Merry Christmas!

Well, I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already! I've been anticipating it for over a month, but it doesn't feel like a month has gone by already. Lets hope Jan and Feb go by as fast! We had a great Christmas with family, and we'll be leaving tomorrow for more fun in Iowa. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were spent at the Norman's house for family time. We ate, played the Wii and had a good time talking with family. Hunter was pretty excited about the whole present part of the weekend. He prayed at supper last night, "Bless this food, and thank you for my presents and Tate's presents." Some funny sayings over the weekend(that I can remember)
-after saying Happy Bday to uncle Jason, aunt Fawnda asked him to ask Jason how old he was, and Hunter instead just said, "You're old!"
-trying to find his stocking: "Has anybody seen a bag, kind of like a sock?"
-he kept grabbing Brent's hand at bedtime telling him that he couldn't wait to play with him with all his new presents. (which Brent says was one of the highlights of his Christmas)

I know there are much more, but my mind is blank. The boys were really busy at the Norman's. We came home yesterday (Christmas day) after visiting Gigi at the nursing home, where Tate was all over the place and almost knocked down their Christmas tree. I think Gigi was happy for the visit. Then we all took a two hour Christmas nap and it was very enjoyable and needed. Christmas night was spent as a family playing with the new toys and reading books. I couldn't have pictured a better Christmas than that, being with my three best boys!

Today has been busy! I am unpacking and laundering all our weekend things and finding places for the toys, while trying to get ready to leave for Iowa tomorrow. This morning we did some errands. We went to the post office to have the mail held, up to the bank and cashed in our change for the boys savings accounts, brought the library books back, went to gas up the van and we also got a car wash. That is always fun with the boys, they think its pretty cool(well Tate was scared at first) We ate lunch on the new Cars table.


Here are some random pictures from the last few days:










Saturday morning wasn't the best for me. Brent had to work, and I was trying to get the boys and our stuff packed up for the weekend, and bathe them and clean up the house(which if you have toddlers you know its a never-ending job) Anyway, first off the boys had drug out every big toy they owned. They had out their Thomas tent, their car chairs, the riding truck and hippo. I was trying to walk through the doorway and was kicking things out of my way(probably not the best way, but that's what I usually do) I was a little irritated at the mess, so maybe I kicked the tent too hard, b/c I kicked a hole in the wall!!! I was so shocked when I pulled the tent back to see a hole! Not one of my best moments. Here is a pic of the damage.



So I sat down on the couch and was just looking at the wall thinking "Oh great, what a great day this is!" when I heard the boys fighting(they were at it all morning) It escalated fast and evidently Hunter kicked Tate and Tate bit Hunter(really hard!) So, I thought I'd have my daily cup of hot chocolate to make me happier and relaxed, but as I was drizzling the chocolate syrup on my whip cream, the whole cap came off and chocolate syrup went everywhere. It was one of those days for me. Brent came home and the first thing out of Hunter's mouth was, "Mommy put a hole in the wall." Sigh, I guess we all have those kind of days once in a while. Well Hunter is up so I better go.

Shopping and Children.

Shopping and children just don't mix. I'm a bit of a slow learner on this one. Our "routine" after MAC on Thursdays is to go to Jerry's to pick up whatever sale items I think we need for the week. I went there today after MAC and it was a bit of a disaster. Hunter usually either walks along touching EVERY SINGLE THING or he rides on the bottom of the cart and Tate rides in the front. Tate cannot keep his hands away from the groceries no matter what I give him from my purse to play with. Today he was trying to twist himself around the whole time to get into what was behind him and he succeeded. As we were almost done he got ahold of the bag of unshelled peanuts I was buying and somehow undid the twist tie(kind of an advanced move for a toddler I think) and shook the bag to deposit lots and lots of peanuts all over the floor. He stuck a whole one in his mouth and made a yuck face(but still ate it) There were peanuts everywhere, and I saved what I could, but I had to call the clean up person. Then from the time I got my cheese(which is right by the checkout) to the time I checked out he was either into the cheese trying to bite through the plastic or was poking holes in the hamburger. He is so busy! I remember once at the store he was playing with a big thing of honey I was buying, and I thought, no big deal. But I was wrong, he dropped the whole thing on my toe and I limped around the rest of the night. From 3 1/2 feet honey hurts. So anyway, I'm thinking perhaps I should rethink my whole shopping with the kids thing, even to Jerry's.

I have a little book called "Promises of the Bible" that has a whole bunch of topics with scriptures. It has no pictures at all, but for some reason Hunter loves it. He has been carrying it around with him the last few days. He'll say he's doing his devotions, and he pretends to read it. One story I heard him say was this, "I love poop." We're still going through the whole poop thing. He hid the book before nap time, so Tate wouldn't get it if he woke up before him. Before nap I put a pull up on Hunter, and I had some that are actually girls, I got them free from MOPS. They have Cinderella, the little mermaid, and Jasmine on the front, and as I put it on Hunter today he said, "Hey mom! There's the little mermaid and there is Cindergrella!" I thought it was funny that he called Cinderella Cindergrella.

The latest Tate head injury: The kids were playing as I was making lunch, and Hunter found a stick and hit Tate with it, causing Tate to fall against the wall and humidifier. I heard the comotion from the kitchen and it sounded nasty. I thought he'd hit the back of his head but as we sat eating lunch I noticed a nasty nasty bump and purple bruise on his forehead. I have never met any other person who hits their head as much as my child.

Busy week

This has been kind of a busy week. We stayed Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights at Steve and Debbie's b/c Anna and Justin are back in town, so that explains my lack of blogging the past few days. I had my ob appointment on Monday, a Christmas party at a friends yesterday, and today is a stay at home and get put back together day.

Hunter had a Christmas program at church on Sunday night. He and his Sunday school class went onstage with the other classes and sang a couple songs. One had hand motions and the other one he got to shake a rattle throughout. He did really great! He did most of the hand actions until he started looking at one of the other girls in the group, and he rattled his shaker all the other song.

During my ob appointment Anna and Justin watched the boys and Anna took Hunter outside to play in the snow. I am glad that happened, b/c I know Hunter has wanted to go out and play in the snow, but Tate isn't quite at the age where that is fun for him, and I feel too fat to go out clomping around in the snow. Anna and Hunter made a tunnel in the snow, and I think they had a good time in it.

At my friends Christmas party yesterday the kids made a Christmas ornament out of lifesaver candies. We put them in the shape of candy canes and baked them for a couple mins. The kids, however, just wanted to eat them, so they didn't actually make it to the tree. All in all, it was a fun time.

My ob appointment went OK. I asked about my belly button and I do have a belly button hernia. I can still have normal labor though, thankfully. He didn't say much else about it. I told him I felt the baby have the hiccups the night before, and he said that babies actually don't get the hiccups, what they are doing when I feel that is they are practicing taking breaths. I thought that was interesting. I have been hit with another gall bladder attack. I am really looking forward to an end to these. I haven't been feeling good for the last few days, but last night I got the pain in the back, burping up stomach acid, abdominal pain and vomiting that I normally get when I have an attack. They are very distinct. The pain in the back and abdomen is so severe I can hardly take it. I slept(when I did sleep) with a hot water bottle on my back, but nothing really seems to take the pain away. Right now I have a dull ache in my stomach and back and feel weak. I was online checking out some pregnancy sites about gall bladder attacks, and the people who wrote on them are exactly like me. I have decided that I will not be eating out at any restaurants except Subway for the duration of the pregnancy. Fast food and restaurant food is the worst for me, and I have had that kind of food prior to almost every single one of my attacks.

With Anna's help I wrapped the boys presents yesterday. We are going to celebrate our "family" Christmas tomorrow night. We will be at S&D's from Friday night till Tuesday, and then we leave sometime next week for mom and dads, and we wanted to be able to do the kids Christmas at home, so tomorrow night it is! I have the presents under the tree right now, and am totally amazed that they haven't tried to open them yet! They have gone over to the tree a couple times to look at them, but that is all.

Some funny Hunter sayings:
-pointing at the fireplace he said,"That's where Noah's going to come down."(he thinks Santa is Noah)
-about baby(the cats pretty much out of the bag about the name we've chosen) Callie:
"When she comes out she's gonna say, 'WAAA!'" I asked what he would do, and he said, "I'll say, its OK baby!"
-also about the baby, "When baby Callie comes out she's going to watch Sesame Street with me!"
-to me: "Mom, your belly's getting really big."
-to Olivia at the Loukota's last night: "Olivia, you're cute. I love you!"
-at the Loukota's supper table last night while praying: "Bless this food. I forget the rest of the words."
-about the largest present: "I think its a truck! Or a Hunter! Actually, probably not."
-asking more about the baby: "What does Callie do in there?(to my stomach) Me: "She moves around, she sleeps. Hunter: "Does she sleep in a crib?"

Pregnancy

Well, I'm not sure what exactly is going on here, but I seem to really have morning sickness back. You could even call it all day sickness, since it is 2:00 and I still feel like crap. I don't know what is going on! A friend said she heard morning sickness can sometimes come back in the last trimester(of which I just entered) and so maybe that is it. I hope it is temporary. Smells are bothering me again, and I've lost ALL interest in sweets(which isn't' a bad thing, sweets I should cut back on anyway) The only thing that sounds good to me is Mountain Dew. This pregnancy has been so extremely different than my other two! It MUST be a girl. I did and ate and acted the same way with the boys. For breakfast I always ate malto meal. This time I have only had Malto meal once, and it did not stay down. I ate cheese and crackers as my morning snack and drank ginger aisle with them, and this time cheese nauseated me and I haven't had ginger aisle at all. I think that is partly b/c I never want to drink it again after having so much of it while nauseous before. I craved the same things each time with the boys, I had aversions to the same things with the boys. This pregnancy is sooooo different! I can tell I am way more emotional this time, too. I can remember the last two times thinking(although Brent disagrees with me) that I was fairly unemotional except for the obvious discomforts at the end. I would be the first to say this time that I am an emotional roller coaster(Brent's agreeing with me this time ;) ) I have said that I'm not sure its the pregnancy or just the fact that it was such an unexpected surprise. Today for example I feel very fat and moody and I feel almost embarrassed to be pregnant again b/c our other two are so young. I feel like people think, good grief they are irresponsible and can't keep away from each other! I realize that no one probably thinks this, but is how I feel. A man that I know casually asked me at the grocery store yesterday, "Excuse me, is that a baby bump I see?" I felt kind of embarrassed to say yes b/c I was JUST pregnant it seems like. I won't be embarrassed when the baby is born by having three kids, but I guess those are the hormones taking over. At least I can pretty well tell what is me talking and the hormones talking. It will be nice to have my old self back in a few months. It is going fast.

I was at a friends house yesterday and her 5 year old was really interested in the baby. He, Hunter and her daughter(who is Hunter's age) all had their hands on my belly and their ears on my belly trying to hear the baby through my stomach. They even had a flashlight trying to see in. The 5 yr old, Isaiah, asked how come the kids couldn't see when the belly opened and the baby came out. I told him as best I could how it actually happens. Then he said that he knew what the baby ate when it was born. He pointed to my chest and said they ate off of those. Then he asked how we got milk in them. It was pretty amusing. I wonder what kids think about all of that. Tate put his hand on my belly this morning with Hunter. I think he thinks its just a game, though. I really think he is going to be blown away surprised when we bring home a baby. I think it will be hardest on him. This time I at least know that I will have enough love for them all, when I was pregnant with Tate I was constantly worried I wouldn't love him as much as I loved Hunter, but I can say that it was unnecessary worry, b/c I love both Hunter and Tate an insane, even, amount.

I can't think of too many funny things that Hunter has said or done the last few days, except that he said he was going to marry gma Debbie today. We talked him out of it, though, and now he is going to marry Hannah. I'm pretty sure Tate will marry our friends daughter Ella, b/c he is in love with her. He gets so excited when she is around.

the first concussion??

Well, Tate really fell hard today. I would say it has been his worst fall yet. We were at MAC and he was standing in the carpet ball game, which is probably 3 feet off the ground. He backed up and wham, fell backwards and hit his head first on the ground. It was a nasty fall, and I had to watch it happen in what seemed like slow motion b/c I couldn't get there fast enough. I hate that. He cried pretty hard for a long time, longer and harder than the usual cries. Then he sat on my lap for a good half hour looking brain dead. Luckily, one of Brent's old classmates was there who is training to be a doctor, so I had him take a look at Tate, b/c I was ready to bring him in to the doctor. He checked him over and said to just keep an eye on him. I didn't put him to bed until 2:30, and I think he is ok, but it was a nasty fall. Then I noticed that his bottom molar is coming through and he feels a little warm, so that poor boy is having quite the day. I say Hallelujah about the teeth, though, its been a long time getting them in!

After MAC we went to a friends for lunch. One of my good friends is visiting from Michigan, so it was good to catch up with her and find out that she is expecting! YAY! I am really happy for her! Hunter got to play with one of his best buds, Ryan. They compared their Lightening McQueen underwear and Ryan said Hunter was his greatest friend. They took turns dressing up as cowboys and spider man, and he and Hunter sang Hunter's poop song. I thought we'd heard the last of that song, but I guess not:)

Yesterday at lunch Hunter decided that he wanted to feed Tate his yogurt, so exhausted as I was I let him, and it was a big mess. Tate had some yogurt in his hair as hair gel, and his whole high chair was full of yogurt. Hunter was in a "helpful" mood yesterday, though, and I didn't want to discourage him from helping, as I plan on needing his help in a few months. I took some pics of the mess:




We had to make some treats for the youth girls party last night, so Hunter helped me make them. I get a little tense when he cooks with me, b/c he usually misses the bowl at least once, but he is getting very good at it and really enjoys it. He now taps all the measuring spoons and cups on the side of the bowl, so we have a budding chef I think. He has to hold on to the the mixer with me and always wants to lick the beaters. While we were waiting for the bars to cook I vacuumed the house and he took the hose extension and used it as a weight bar. He had it over his head and grunted, "I'm strong like daddy!" Then he stood on his chair and said he was a teenager.

Our youth girls party went really really well last night. It started at 6:30 and I didn't get home from it until almost 10! I think the girls really enjoyed it. We decorated it all fancy and had pizza and salad. Then we did a toast to girls and gave them presents and had them write themselves letters that we will be sending them in two months. Then we had a commitment prayer and played some games. I think all the girls enjoyed it and were flattered that we did so much for it. I have really enjoyed doing youth group this year and have really enjoyed getting to know some of the girls better. I was originally going to quit after the end of this curriculum, but I decided I'd do it until the baby is born.

Speaking of the baby, I am now in my third trimester and am due three months from yesterday! I know that these next three months will be the longest. My baby website tells me that this week the baby will be turning head down for the final destination, and that if the baby were born now, with some intensive care would most likely make it, which is sort of a relief to know. I go for my next ob appointment on Monday and am going to ask about my belly button.

A kind act

This morning we had MOPS. It went really smooth. I had laid the boys outfits out last night so there would be no arguing, and we got out the door at a decent time. It was my tables turn to bring treats, so I had a big bowl of blueberry muffins along with the diaper bag. I wasn't quite sure how to get everything inside the church w/out making two trips, but one of the older nursery workers was getting there as I got there. She came over to the van when she saw me trying to get everything together and asked if she could help me carry something. I gave her the blueberry muffin basket and she chatted with me on the way in. She said she remembered what it was like to not have enough hands. I told her I wasn't sure how I'd get around when we had our next in March, and she said, "Oh yes, but God doesn't give us more than we can handle!"(which my mom says to me frequently :) ) She then said that her third was a surprise(so I can relate to her), but that it worked out just fine. Once inside she went ahead and took my muffins upstairs for me. I have been thinking about that nice gesture all day, and have been kind of motivated to be more aware of others around me that I can help and share an act of kindness with. So MOPS got off to a good start for me and I really enjoyed the speaker. She talked about the birth of Jesus in a character by character way and a lot of what she talked about was shed in a new light for me. I've never been pregnant during Christmas before(well not THIS pregnant) and I find myself totally relating to how Mary must have felt(although not fully, I'm pretty sure I'm not carrying Jesus :) )
It was a nice reminder of what Christmas is about and what we are celebrating. I got lots of goodies at MOPS, too. My table leader gave us all these very cute picture frames, and I won a drawing and got the nativity movie. Hunter enjoyed his class, he was very eager to show his craft to me. They made ornaments with their pictures in them, so he hung his up on the tree first thing when we got home. He got a little jingle bell, too, and Tate had a kazoo, so it was a noisy ride home. Tate's teacher said that she really enjoys him and that he is so strong and definitely all boy. He was going around the room grunting when we got there. I tried to explain Christmas to Hunter on the way to MOPS, about how Christmas is kind of Jesus' birthday and how he was born and there were a lot of animals around, and his reaction was "WHOA!"

Tate woke up very early from his nap yesterday, and was up during the night. I can't think of the last time he was up in the night. It has been forever. Some nights he'll wake up crying but will go back to sleep without me going down there. Last night I could tell he was upset, though, so I went and held him for awhile. I noticed his top gum looks blue, like a blood blister or something, and I can feel his tooth right behind it, so I think that is giving him pain. I wish those teeth would pop already!

Hunter was being a little disrespectful before nap today, so as I was rocking him to sleep I told him that God gave him mommy and daddy to raise him up to be a good boy and that he needed to obey and listen to us. His response: "I don't like that story."

Remember: do a kind act.

The return of morning sickness.

I'm not sure what has happened, but my morning sickness has returned! Yucky! I've felt sick in the mornings for the last few days now. I got sick on Friday morning, and this morning also. At church yesterday I felt like getting sick all during the service. Its weird, I was doing fine, and now I have to snack every hour or I get nauseous. Maybe the baby is growing? I will be entering my third(and final!) trimester this week, so the end is somewhere in sight! I still can't believe that we are going to have another baby!

We were busy the last few days. On Saturday we went to Brainerd to get our months groceries and stuff for our Christmas party. I decided that I'm NEVER going to go grocery shopping by myself with the kids, it was SO nice having Brent along to help. We stopped by Sears and picked up our pictures a couple days early, they were in luckily, so now my next thing to do is to get my Christmas cards out, which I am not at all motivated to do. It will go fast once I get an idea of how to make them. Then on Saturday night we went over to Steve and Debbie's to watch the parade of lights. We had the best arrangement, we got to watch it from their warmer porch. It has been really really cold here lately, so it was nice not to stand outside. The kids waved and waved and Tate kept saying Hi to everyone. Then we went and watched the fireworks from the van. It was an impressive show, quite longer than I expected it. The boys got a little antsy, but enjoyed it. Then we went back to Steve and Debbie's for some hot chocolate. Tate got loose in their bathroom and put a whole box of band aids in their toilet. He is all mischief and smiles.

Yesterday we had our Christmas party. I was so nervous about the food I made, I started cooking on Saturday afternoon, and cooked pretty much from 1-4 yesterday. Everything turned out great, though! The boys went to gma and gpas after church, so Brent and I had the house to ourselves to get ready, and that was a total lifesaver! Brent got MAJOR MAJOR brownie points. He cleaned pretty much the whole house the hours I was cooking. He scrubbed the bathroom like it had never been scrubbed before, and vacuumed up and downstairs. It was so nice this morning to not have to do my normal Monday cleaning. All I had to do were the 4 or 5 loads of laundry that accumulated over the weekend. Then Brent helped me make an appetizer, so he is husband of the year right now. Also, this morning he got the kids cereal ready and read to them and played hide and seek, so he is doing mighty well right now. It was surprisingly easy, also, to clean up after the party since adults don't make the messes kids do. The party was really fun(at least I enjoyed it) It was amusing to me, that as moms we long for some time to ourselves without the kids, but when we get it we spend the time talking about them. We all talked about our labors last night, and its so weird to think that I'll be doing that again soon.

We had so much leftover food b/c two couples couldn't come last minute, so I had my friend and her kids over for play and lunch today.

This morning Hunter greeted me carrying "baby Miah" and has been carrying him around all day. I took a picture of him cuddling with him this morning. Then Tate was being a ham, so I took one of him, too.





We have a nickname in our house for Hunter's bottom, because they resemble dinner rolls, whenever I give him a bath I "pinch his dinner rolls." This morning he brought me his outfit for the day and his only pair of boxer briefs(which are the cutest things ever) and after I put them on him he started dancing around and shaking his booty and went and asked Brent if he wanted to pinch his dinner rolls. I got the same question from him, too. It's funny now, but when he's 16...

Well, I better go either fold the mound of clean laundry on my bed or make Christmas cards.

To borrow from my friend Jen, I remain: drinking hot chocolate out of my "Because chocolate can't get you pregnant" cup. (Thanks Nikki!)

Zapped

Today I am zapped of all energy. It has been a draining week, and I'm trying to think positively, but I'm a little on the cranky side. I know I have a lot to feel blessed about. I guess I'm just in need of a little "me" time. The kids have been sick this week, as have I, and I just hope that is the cause for this mostly awful week. I feel kind of defeated as a parent, like I'm not good at it and am failing. I pretty much put everything I have on a daily basis into my kids happiness and well-being. I'm not feeling "well liked" by my children at the moment, and it is hard. I deal with low self-esteem sometimes b/c I don't bring anything to the table financially, and yet I work so hard. I just hope all that I am doing will matter and that I'm not totally failing like I feel I am. It mostly started a couple days ago when Hunter found his (hidden) Christmas presents downstairs and wanted to play with them. I said no, and oh my goodness you would have thought the world was ending. I've never seen him like that. He kept yelling, "I don't like you!" at me and said he didn't like my face. That's a wonderful thanks for all things I do for him. Then it continued and is continuing. He woke up the next morning and went directly downstairs and got the presents again(b/c I hadn't the energy to re-hide them) and when I said no again, the same thing happened. He said he didn't want to look at me and for me to leave and that I was bossy. I know he loves me and I love him dearly, so its a little hard for me to hear this kind of talk, especially the amount of times he's said it in the last 3 days. I guess today its getting to me, and I feel sad. Perhaps I'm just being a little selfish, and need to harden myself to those sayings, after all, they WILL be teenagers someday and I'm sure I'll regularly hear I don't like you, but I want my little boy to think I'm the best! I guess there are days when being a parent is easy, and there are days when being a parent is hard, and this is a hard day. I know it will be better, every day is a new day.

In other news, Tate somehow hit his face on the kitchen chair and bit both the top and bottom of his tongue very deeply. I could not believe how much it bled. Hunter was upset that he was bleeding, he was very sweet, he came and brought Tate a washcloth to wipe up the blood.

That's about all for now, I'm going to go try to get a little nap in, might help me feel better!

Winter Wonderland

That is the lovely view from my front window. I feel like I'm in some sort of Disney Christmas movie, it is REALLY pretty out. I never thought I'd be saying that about snow, but it is. Also, I'm listening to a little Nat King Cole Christmas on Pandora, so its beginning to look(and feel) a lot like Christmas! It's sunny out, too, which is nice for someone like me.

Yesterday, however, I was at odds with the snow. I decided that we should go to the library and stock up on lots of books b/c I really plan on only going out when necessary. Our driveway had not been shoveled b/c the neighbor couldn't get to it quite yet, and I had my doubts that I'd be able to get in and out, and I should have listened to my gut. We were at the library and had picked out our books and we were at the checkout when I realized I'd forgotten my purse with the library card in it(at home, even though I'd reminded myself a couple times before NOT to forget it) so the books were held and I was to "run home" for the card. I got SO STUCK IN THE DRIVEWAY! I mean stuck. I sat there for about 20 mins going back and forth, shoveling out my tires and trying hard to get out. I was extremely frustrated. Hunter was a sweetheart, though, he could tell I was frustrated, and when I'd get in the van after shoveling a little and I'd go a few inches forward he'd say, "Mom! You did it!" But then we'd be stuck again. He did that several times, which I found to be sweet. Yesterday wasn't much fun, though. The boys are still stuffy, and Hunter has been really crabby and disobedient. I try to cut him some slack, its no fun being sick, but when you hear, "I don't like you!" too much, it starts to wear on you. (Thanks for the pep talk last night, Mom, I don't know what I'd do without you!)

Today, however, has been a lot better. We stayed in, the sun is shining, the driveway is shoveled, I have my appetizers picked out for the party, its a good day. I've been kind of stressing about this party, but I think I have a good selection for everyone. We are also having a youth girls party to end our 10-week study, that will be next Wed, but I found out last night I had to have my affirmations written in the journals we are giving them by tonight, and it was proving to be harder than I thought. I got them all done, though, so I feel a load has been lifted. Tonight we have a meeting at the DQ about what to do now for youth group. I don't plan on going to youth, though, I don't want the kids to get other kids sick in the nursery.

Brent's aunt Beth had borrowed me a toddler activity book with a TON of great ideas for all kinds of activities, so I got that out yesterday and was looking through it. I got the idea to have a "Color Hunt" so this morning I wrote with markers on some paper all the different colors, and we got our "hunting hats" on and went on a color hunt adventure. Hunter was REALLY into it! I was a little surprised how much he enjoyed it. Basically, we just went around and found things in the house that matched the color on the paper. We went up and down the stairs. He did a really good job, even the subtle hints of color he found. Tate wore a little backpack around, and thought he was pretty big. Speaking of Tate, I finally outsmarted the kid! I unplugged the TV, so no more CONSTANT turning off and on of the TV. My life is more peaceful already!

After our color hunt I got out this tent I had picked up at a garage sale this summer(possibly the bargain of the summer, it has a chair, sleeping bag, flashlight, compass and is in a bag with wheels on it, all for $3! It wasn't even opened!) Anyway, I got out and set up that tent in our living room, so the boys went in there and read books for awhile. I think they enjoyed that, too. Its good to have a few things you bring out rarely to keep it special. Here are some pictures. Tate is really drooly, his bottom teeth are about ready to pop, I can see them through the gums.







After they got tired of the tent, we played play dough and watched a Disney Christmas sing-a-long video, so it was a busy day. At lunch Hunter called Tate a "macaroni monster" b/c he was shoveling mac and cheese in his face fist at a time. I thought that was funny. Then, after lunch I was reading them books before nap, and I was reading an animal alphabet book. I got to the "L" who's animal was the Lion, and I gave a big roar, and the baby totally jumped! I think I scared it! After that the baby was moving all around and I put Hunter's hand on it again, and he felt it and said excitedly, "She's coming out! She's coming out!"

I am in my 26th week now, and have been pregnant something like 182 days, with only 98 more to go! That doesn't seem like so long compared to how long I've been pregnant. The kicks are getting stronger.

I sure hope its a girl...

Well, today my sister-in-law and brother-in-law found out that they are having a girl. I am excited that we can be pregnant at the same time, and now even more excited that its a girl. Which has me thinking this morning...I SURE HOPE MINE IS REALLY A GIRL! Most days I am certain its a girl, I go over all the evidence in my head and convince myself it is, then other times I think, but wait, maybe its a boy and they just missed it! I guess I had come to terms(before I found out I was pregnant) with the fact that I would have no girl. I thought about it more than I realized. I had sort of made my peace with the fact that I'd never get to put pigtails in my daughter's hair, never get to paint her fingers and toes. I'd never get to see the father-daughter bond between her and Brent, never see her walk down the isle on her wedding day. I'd never get to share in the awesomeness of being a mom with her, never get to have that mother/daughter adult relationship, but now that it is a possibility, I would go crazy if it didn't happen! So I sure hope it really is a girl for us! I would, however, not be totally unhappy if it turned out to be a boy, I love my two boys so much, and it is very familiar and we would have tons of fun, but I guess a little part of me would have that "wonder what it would have been like.." thought. Plus, I have some CUTE clothes! I did decide that I think Joe and Nikki HAVE to move up here, though, so our girls can be close friends, since I'm(although I've said this before) done after this one!

My silly boys have been busy today! We all have colds, unfortunately, though. I've gone through about a half a box of tissues, and I gave Hunter a little decongestant before nap. I was reading the bottle and it has the normal "2 and under" ask a doctor and I realized that he is 3 and I can give him some. I guess I forget he is 3 most times. It sure goes by fast! The boys tore into their closets today and drug out every toy they own. The played with it all, but it took quite a while to pick up before nap. I always hurry when I'm downstairs changing laundry, b/c that is when a lot of mischief happens. I finally got a great idea today to tell Hunter to hide while I am downstairs and I'll find him when I come up, so that way he doesn't get into anything. I think that I am brilliant:) Hunter told me he had to go poopy, so I sat him on the toilet, but then he said he needed privacy, so I left him alone and kept checking on him. I went in there after a few minutes and he had the toothpaste(again!) and had unrolled completely a half a roll of tp. Yesterday morning Brent went downstairs when the boys had woken up to find that Hunter had squirted toothpaste all over the bathroom sink and floor, and then had gotten into the gum that is in our top cupboard in the kitchen. He had been trying to hide it I think, b/c when Brent went to put toast in the toaster he found about 5 gum wrappers. Ornery stinker! I'm hiding the toothpast from now on!

Well, I better go, we are having a Christmas party on Sunday and I am making appetizers for it, so I am going to browse my cooking sites for some delicious recipes. Here is a slide show I made from a site I got from my friend, Erin.

The first winter storm

Well, the weather forecasters were right, we got and are getting the snow they forcasted. We probably have at least 6 inches so far. I need to work on my attitude towards winter, I DO live in Minnesnowta. I want to hibernate. Between getting the kids stuff on and wearing my uncomfortably fitting(read: tight) winter coat, I think it best to not go outdoors unless I have to. That being said, the snow is pretty. Brent and Hunter had some hot chocolate after Hunter's nap today: He had quite the 'stache going:





He told Brent he was pretending it was coffee.

Hunter has been on a banana kick since Sesame Street. Last night he wanted one after supper, and I gave him a whole one(he can peel it himself) and he came over to me and said, "Mom, you better wash this off, its dirty!" He had a bruise on it and thought it was dirty. I thought that was pretty funny. Last night he also felt the baby moving for the first time. I've tried to have him feel it several times, but his attention span is(expectedly) short. We were in the playroom and the baby was moving so much I put one of their legos on my shirt and it was bouncing back and forth, so I grabbed Hunter's hand and put it there. I was looking at him and could tell the moment he felt it move, b/c he looked at me with his eyes big and said, "What's IN there?!" After that he kept his hand on my stomach feeling it for a long time. I think that is really fun.

Tate is proving to be a little stinker. He has been turning the TV on and off lately. I'll hear it turn on when I'm in the other room and I'll go in there and say "No, Tate, turn it off" and go turn it off. I think he thinks its some sort of game, b/c he laughs now and runs back and does it again. Tonight he did it probably 20 times and Brent and I both were disciplining him(unsucessfully since he kept doing it). He is going to throw us for a loop I think. Such an ornery stinker!