Potty Learning

A few weeks ago Dallin decided that he wanted to use the potty. It was very random, and unexpected, but I was happy to oblige. He had seen the girls and I use the bathroom enough to do it all himself, with a little help from the bathroom stool. Dallin handed me his pants and diaper, said "bye bye" to me, and shut the door, with me on the outside. Apparently privacy is very important to my little guy. After a minute or so he called me in, and showed me the "fruits of his labor." I was so excited, I jumped up and down and started praising him. He hated it! He kept saying "NO!" "NO!" My bubbly nature was a little too much for him to handle, so I toned it down after that:) 

Well one successful potty trip, led to another, and another. We still had him in full time diapers, but I would go to change him and they would be bone dry. He seems to have very good bladder control. I went to Target to get some groceries, and decided to take a leap of faith and buy some underwear for him. Magically the car and train character underwear were on clearance. Coincidence? I think not.

So about 2 weeks ago he started wearing big boy underwear, and I'm happy to report that he has pretty much potty trained himself. He has had 3 accidents in that time, but has done an awesome job of remembering to use the potty. After 10 days of waking up to dry diapers, we slept him in underwear, and he did great!

I've heard that boys tend to potty learn later then girls, and since the twins did at 2 years-28 months, I figured some time around 3 might be good. I did not at all expect him to be using the toilet full time at 27 months. It's definitely a blessing, as we are about to add a new baby to the family, and only having one in diapers would be nice. I've also heard that toddlers can easily regress when a new baby comes into the picture, so I will not be shocked if that happens. I'm going to try my best to continue encouraging him and make potty time exciting, and hopefully he'll continue. Either way, I am so proud of Dallin and his go to attitude. He is a very determined, results-driven little 2 year old, and sometimes it's easy to look at the negative sides of that. I'm glad that he took that talent into learning how to use the potty, because he rocked it!

Next Month

Did I mention that next month we will have a new little girl in our family? NEXT MONTH PEOPLE! Can you believe it?! So here are some observations and random thoughts from a 35 week pregnant mom of 3 small children. Beware, I have a lot of hormones running through my system at the moment!

- Being pregnant while taking care of 3 kids is a lot harder then being pregnant and taking care of two, or no kids. It's true. Physically, mentally, emotionally, you name it.

- Pregnancy aches, discomforts, braxton hicks etc. seem to come on sooner then they did the last two pregnancies. I am not complaining, I am just observing....It makes sense though. I still have had really healthy and fairly easy pregnancies thus far, and I am so grateful!

-Pelvic floor exercises are a good thing after having a vaginal birth. I didn't have any issues after my c-section obviously, but this pregnancy was a little different. I will just say that I have mastered what I call the "flamingo leg" whenever I have a big sneeze coming on. It's all good people, you can thank me later for that one.

-Sleep is important, exercise is important, eating well is important, constant spiritual nourishment is important. Having a husband who can manage the hormonal tidal waves and roller coaster of emotions with sensitivity is important:)

-This last Sunday I went through 5 or 6 outfits before I could find something that I felt fit and matched. Yes, it's getting to that time where there are slim pickings in the wardrobe department. Even so, I'm gonna rock this belly, and it's not gonna be in king size sheets!

-Midwives are the bomb dot com. I'm sorry if I seem bias, but I have never felt so much support and genuine love and care then I do from the midwives I have seen, and am currently seeing. There's something about having a nice long, un-rushed conversation with another woman who has been there done that, and doesn't make you feel silly about anything. I know there are some great OBs out there too, but I love love love midwives.

-People will always say things about how you look when you are pregnant. For me it's usually how big I am,

(in your best troll voice, because that's the only voice I know how to do for these)

"You're 8 weeks along, and you already have a baby belly?!"
(said to me by the nurse at my old midwives office)

"You're HUGE!!!"
(said to me by a stranger at a research study)

"Funny how you carry different each pregnancy, because I don't remember you being so far out there last time..."
(said to me by my hair dresser last month)

"38 weeks along?"
(said to me last weekend by a male stranger)

  -Why people care so much about how I carry my baby, or how big I am will continue to baffle my mind. While I have gotten better at not taking them personally over the years, it still bothers me at times. I am also critical of my body as most women are, and hearing other people being critical just makes it worse. The point is I'm carrying a baby, and I'm doing a good job of it, and people should really limit their comments to positive words only, and preferably those that aren't related to size. I can't change other people's words, but I can add a large grain or a few gallons of salt to them.

-This could be our last baby, my last pregnancy, my last birth, and so I want to punch anyone including myself when any negativity about my body or weight enters, because there is no time for it. No time. I struggle with self image and body issues, and I always have, but I want to enjoy this last month, and I'm going to by golly!

-Pregnancy is truly a magical time. My face somehow doesn't break out. My skin is smooth and shiny, but not in a KFC chicken thigh way.  My hair doesn't fall out EVER, and is thicker and easier to manage. I can actually fill out a bra, and I'm growing a human all at the same time! I mean come on, can it get any better? That might sound really shallow...but as I said I'm enjoying this pregnancy in every way I can!

-This sweet little girl is active, and very strong! I have a feeling she is a lot like her mom, and I'm so excited and nervous at the same time to meet her. I wonder what she will look like, and what she will be like. I wonder what she will add to our little family. Her name means "and God will add" (shhhhh!!!!don't tell Kevin I told you that), and I think it fits her perfectly. I have no doubt that she will add something special to our lives.

-Overall I'm really really grateful for this little girl that I'm carrying, and for Heavenly Father for entrusting me with another child. I have so many weaknesses as a mother, oh SO MANY! I know He sees them on a regular basis. He knows about all the times I've messed up and haven't tried hard enough, but at the same time I know that He can see my potential, and that with Him I can reach it. I can be better with His help. Sometimes I think, "are you sure you wanted to give me this baby, even after everything I need to work on, and all the mistakes I keep making over and over and over again?" But the answer is clear, she is coming, and she is meant to be part of our family. It's definitely humbling experience.

Halloween 2012

A friend of mine, who is also a great photographer, asked me in early September if she could use my kids as models for a Halloween photo-shoot ad. I was all about getting some great photos for free, and so I agreed! Who could say no to such a great offer?! I'm not that much of a planner when it comes to Halloween, but this year I knew I wanted Dallin to be Nacho Libre. His curly hair, white pop belly, and intense nature just screamed Nacho, and I  knew I wanted to make his costume. Realizing that his outfit would have to be done within a week, and way before Halloween, had me in high gear and Dallin and I were out at Goodwill scavenging for anything Nacho-like for his costume. I found a red tablecloth, some turquoise colored (stretchy) pants, and some white leather boots that were marked in 100% espanol. Need I say more?

I got to work sewing a cape using the tablecloth, and bought some of that fancy gold colored fringe from SAS to decorate the back. I'm not very skilled with the sewing machine, but after some YouTube videos I finally learned where the tension was, and what it did, so that was helpful...Did I mention I'm not very skilled with the sewing machine?

I hand stitched two square pieces of the tablecloth onto the blue leggings, and took a red fabric marker to the white boots. Lastly, I searched high and low for some red bloomers from the girls old toddler clothes, but couldn't find any! It was the one thing I just couldn't find no matter where I looked! In a moment of sheer desperation, I remembered that I had some red underwear in my gym clothes drawer, the same underwear that Kevin tried to put on me when my body was trying to push Dallin out of my hoo-haw and we were trying to get me out of the door of our house, if you can remember that far back. Anyways, that's besides the point. The point is that they were solid red, and PERFECT for my little nacho after taking them in on the sewing machine. I was quite pleased that I managed to whip this outfit together in a matter of days. It was definitely homemade looking, but I loved how it turned out! 

 

Dallin as Nacho Libre
 

Brooke as Rapunzel

and Brenna as Belle

They looked great in their costumes and the photo shoot gave us some awesome pictures:)

I was so glad we did it!

 

Girl's being girls, they changed their mind several times leading up to Halloween, and ended up being a few different things for each holiday party we went to. Brenna went from a princess, to a mushroom (below), to Merida. Brooke was also a princess, and then a gymnastics girl twice. Dallin was Nacho every time, and he didn't complain a bit.

Halloween night we went trick or treating in our neighborhood, and the kids had so much fun. Some older people weren't quite sure who Dallin was, and called him He-Man or Super Man, so while we were walking the streets I pulled up the opening song to Nacho Libre on my phone and played it out loud. "I am, I am, a true religious man!" It probably just confused these people even more, but it was fun:)

Kevin's 31st Birthday

 Kevin turned 31 in October. His birthday reminded me more of the Olympics, with an opening and closing ceremony, because somehow we celebrated for 4 days in a row. But why not, right? The night before his birthday, his family took us out to eat at the fish restaurant at Bass Pro Shop. Kevin is a lover of all things fishy and seafoody, so it was no surprise that it was his first pick:) A nice big squidy-shrimp n' fish platter, and he was in heaven.

 

The next morning, on his actual birthday, he went to get a massage while the kids and I got busy decorating the kitchen. He seemed quite pleased when he got home. I think he approved.

 

 

(my rendition of birthday Kevin in streamer and balloon head form)

 

For dinner we hit up our favorite place for birthdays, good old Joe's BBQ.

 Kevin opened his presents, and enjoyed a hearty pulled pork sandwich on the house.

 His presents from us included

 

 

a Vitamix blender tamper

(the thing you use to shove the food down so you don't destroy your spatula or hand, because you don't mess with Vitamix blender blades people)

a paper cut out of a kindle paperwhite,

(it was on back order until November)

 

and a homemade gift card from the girls to get a new hat, because he lost his favorite one when we were on the lake the previous month.

 

Pretty cool stuff....

The next day happened to be Saturday, so we did some more celebrating by eating out at Chic-Fil-A (one of Kevin's favorites). His mom babysat for us so we could have a hot date. We went to Gameworks, played games, ate dinner, and then saw The Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX.

 

The next day was Sunday, so we had a family dinner with his choice of meal, and some angel food cake with strawberries, cool whip, and candles to top it all off.

And that was the closing ceremony for Kevin's 31st birthday:)

 

 The End

Watch Me Grow {pregnancy update}

 13 Weeks

 

14 Weeks

 

 15  Weeks

 

 16 Weeks

 

 17 Weeks

(with Brooke in background)

 

 18 Weeks

 

 19 Weeks

(notice crying baby in background)

 

 20 Weeks

 

 21 Weeks

 

 22 Weeks

 

 23 Weeks

 

 I'll be 24 weeks/6 months pregnant on Tuesday! Mercy! Sometimes it feels like time is going so slow, and then I look back and see how much farther I am now. More then half way done:)

 

I really love the 2nd trimester. Notice there are no pictures from before that point. I think being sick and bloated all the time kept the camera away for a while.

 

Updates as of 23ish weeks:

 

Cravings: Tons of protein. Protein, protein, protein! I like me some eggs, greek yogurt, cheese, turkey, chicken, beans, and anything else I can get my hands on. Lots of fruit too. I don't usually drink milk, but I'm starting to like it now.

 

Baby's Movement: This baby girl is BUSY! I started feeling her move around 18 weeks, but now it is constant throughout the day. She does an irish jig on my bladder on a regular basis, and sometimes it feels like she punching or head butting my cervix. If I set anything like scriptures or even my arms on my belly, she will kick it.

 

The Wardrobe: I'm at the point now where I can no longer button the top of my jean shorts, and they feel tight and uncomfortable. Same with skirts that have zippers. On to the maternity or larger sized jeans!  I've also noticed that I'm growing out of shirts left and right when it comes to them being long enough to cover my belly. Eek! I did some thrift store shopping yesterday and found 2 shirts that fit me out of 20+ that I tried on. I thought I had more time before that happened! I've gained around 14 pounds I'd say, and at this point with Dallin I had gained 22. Maybe I won't have to gain 40 this time? Who knows.The holidays around the corner have me a bit worried, but I think I'll do ok:)

 

Physical Health: I'm working out at the gym twice a week for atleast an hour, and then walking to the park/grocery shopping or cleaning the house on other days. I always plan to work out 3 days a week, but things happen and it doesn't work out. I do see a big difference in how I feel physically and emotionally if it's been a while since I've worked out. I feel good, and I'm sleeping well. The other night I woke up to charlie horses in my calves, but that's the first time this pregnancy.

 

Baby Names: After some debating between Kevin and I we have a first name for our little girl! We are still working on the middle name though. We do family names or the middle names, and there aren't very many to choose from so it's tricky! Kevin wants to keep the name to ourselves until she is born, kind of like what we did with Dallin. I want to honor that, but it's hard at the same time because I like to tell people things like that.

 

Mood:  I've been ok for the most part, but in the last month I noticed that I was super sensitive on random days. I would read an article on facebook about something controversial, or I would look at my "to do" list and just start crying! The hormones are definitely at work! Fortunately it has eased up a bit, and I try to avoid things that could effect me negatively as much as possible:)

 

Baby To Do List:  I am now wishing we had not sold our co-sleeper a year or so ago, because we are now needing one again. I'd also like to get a baby swing. I've thought about doing maternity pictures since I've never done them before. Finding a middle name for this girly is on the list. Hiring a doula for the birth and possibly a photographer, although that could wait a few more months. We already have a lot of girl baby clothes from the twins, so I don't think we will need a whole lot. I also need to decide whether to cloth diaper this baby or not.  There isn't too much more other then prepping for the birth and I've still got oodles of time:)

 

Odd/ Random Pregnancy Things:  I sneeze A LOT! It's super annoying. One day I did a sneeze count and I got up to like 12!

 

 

 

 

Mr. Dally Turns 2

 

On September 12th, Dallin turned 2 years old!

 

 We headed off to Organ Stop Pizza for dinner with family. It was the same place we went last year for his birthday, but it's always fun and the kids love it every time.

I was not ready to make another chocolate cake from the week before, so I went with Kevin's idea of angel food cake with cream and strawberries. Dallin didn't know what in the world the candles were for. It took a few minutes and some help from Dad and his sisters to blow them out.

 Dallin did a great job opening gifts, and he kept wanting to stop and play with each toy. He loved everything that he got.

We had a fun time visiting with family and celebrating his big day!

A Golden Birthday

 September 5th was Brenna and Brooke's 5th birthday,

and their golden one at that!

 

They had school that day, so we had them choose a place to go for dinner. The girls chose Peter Piper Pizza, and had fun playing games and eating pizza. After dinner we had family come over to our house to have cake and ice cream. Brooke had a very specific request for a chocolate cake with cream and strawberries on top.

 Next we opened presents. The birthday wish list consisted of the following:

Brooke- a red scarf from Target, a Dr. kit, makeup, a lamp for her room etc.

Brenna- an ice cream play dough kit, makeup, strawberry shortcake purse, etc.

They got a lot of fun stuff:)

 We gave the girls the option of having a birthday party with one friend each, or going to the lake with extended family (which had been planned earlier). After some thought, they decided to go to the lake and do a friend party next year. We were happy to oblige:) So we left around 530am the Saturday after their birthday, and headed to Roosevelt Lake.

  We all had a great time! It was overcast and not too hot, which was perfect for being on the lake. The girls got to ski, ride on the wave runner, the banana boat, and the tube. Even Dallin got to ride along with the help of Kevin. I enjoyed being in charge of the flag inside the boat or on the wave runner. Kevin tried out riding an air chair and got some air on the banana boat. We all had a blast and were so glad we went:)

 

Since it was their 5th birthday, here are 5 random things about Brenna and Brooke:

 

Brenna

1. When she gets really excited she says "are you kidding me?!"

2. She is very sensitive to others feelings and will cry sometimes if others get hurt.

3. Her favorite color is blue

4. Her favorite princess is Cinderella

5. She loves strawberry shortcake movies

 

Brooke

1.  She likes to be the authority as often as possible

2. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up, and isn't afraid of seeing others getting shots

3. Her favorite color is gold

4. Her favorite princess is Ariel

5.Her favorite food is cheese pizza, macaroni cheese, and cheese crisp, but she doesn't like cheese by itself.

 

Kid Sister Indeed

Remember my post from a year ago about the girls randomly becoming obsessed with having a little sister? Probably not, so I'll remind you. While they already had a baby brother Dallin, they were suddenly entranced with the need for a baby sister. After a while they stopped asking about it. A few months later when we were in San Diego, they had Dad draw this picture of our family. Little Dallin on the far left, Dad, Mom, Brenna, Brooke and lo and behold in pops the baby sister.

I know it doesn't take much to be right about the gender of your next baby, it's 50/50. But at the same time, I think sometimes little kids know things. A few weeks ago, I was watching some home video of me talking to Brenna and Brooke when they were 2 years old. It was Christmastime, and they were both playing with their baby dolls. I asked them whether their baby was a girl or a boy, and they both said it was their "baby brother." I asked them if they were going to ask Santa for a baby brother, and they nodded yes. Less than a month later we found out we were pregnant, and it was a baby boy:)

This pregnancy I thought would most likely result in another boy for some reason. My older sister has two girls followed by two boys, and we had followed the same pattern thus far. The Chinese calendar has always been right for us, and it said a boy. So when we went in for my 18 week ultrasound, I was surprised at the complete lack of boy parts. No white weenies floating around like last time, and trust me we looked! Three different technicians, and they all saw the same thing. Three white dots, but no weenies and beans! I tend to always be wrong about what I'm having, so I guess it shouldn't have surprised me:) I'm just glad I don't have to choose, and that we get what we are suppose to!  I'm excited for this baby girl to join our family. I get the chance to experience the pregnancy and birth of twin girls, *one* boy, and *one* girl. Heck, maybe we'll get twin boys next time to even it all out. Ha!

It's funny how so many people have asked us if this is our last child. Even the lady who gave me a pedicure a few months ago tried to confirm that with me. It's odd to me that people care so much about how many kids other people have. I get curiosity, because sometimes I'm curious myself. But I would never respond to someones pregnancy announcement by saying, "this is the last one right?!" I honestly have no clue whether this is our last baby or not. I grew up wanting 16 kids, reality set in a long time ago, and ultimately I figure Heavenly Father knows best.  He will let us know when our family is complete. For now I tease Kevin about our next baby being a boy, and he teases me about this baby girl being our last. It's nice because neither one of us are 100% correct, and I like it that way:)

The Case of The Curly Hair

In the last few months or so, Dallin's hair has grown into a cute mop of curls on his head. Everyone always tells me how much they love his curly hair. Strangers, friends, people at the gym etc. What's not to love? I figure his halloween costume options have only expanded as he could easily pose as Richard Simmons, Nacho Libre, or one of the little brothers from the movie Brave. Well along with this admiration comes a commonly asked question. "Where does he get his curly hair from?" Well, that is an interesting question, and that is where the case begins. Now you may be thinking "why do you care about where he gets his curly hair from blah, blah, blah." First, you must realize that every time I have given birth to MY children, who spent 9 long months incubating in my cozy womb, carrying half of my chromosomes in them thank you very much, that everyone likes to tell me that they look like my husband, and thus look nothing like me:) I hear it a lot, and while I can agree on most of their points, I do not agree with all of them. So when someone asks where he gets his fine curly hair from, I must attempt to take some credit, and thus the case begins.

I give you exhibit A:

Toddler-ish aged me with fine blonde curls on my noggin.

I have clothes on, so this is a good one. Check it out.

Exhibit B:

 Naked (pardon me) toddler-ish aged me in a bucket of water with tightly rung all natural curls.

Boo-yah!

Exhibit C:

Just over toddler-ish aged me half naked (once again), and in boyish looking underwear for some odd reason. I had an issue with clothes when I was young, so you can't judge me or my parents too harshly. Plus we live in the desert, and I have a free spirit. But look at the hair. Do you see a pattern? Fluffy, fine, curly hair.

I'm the one on the right with the fluffy curls....Need I say more?

And just in case you weren't convinced, here is a recent picture of me when I let my hair do it's thing. Some mousse, and a diffuser and batta-boom, fine, curly hair.

To keep things fair I must provide some photos of Kevin as a toddler. I agree, he had some wave in his hair. Take a look see...

Exhibit A:

Kevin age one.

Exhibit B:

Kevin around 14 months old. I see some waves in his hair for sure.

Exhibit C:

Another toddler aged picture. Definitely some loose curls going on.

Kevin on his 2nd birthday.

           Lastly, I give you the handsome hubby Kevin with his current hair. Thick, dark, straight.

I cut it every couple of months so I would know:) 

And so you have it...the case of the curly hair. Where does Dallin get his fine curly hair from?

 I say he gets it from his momma, but I'll let you be the judge:)

Case Closed.