Quick Baby Update: 38 weeks

I keep meaning to write a big post about our epic road trip that the kids and I took this last summer, but whenever I sit down to write it, I realize that I didn't grab the camera to upload all the pictures. Getting up off the bed or even from the couch or dining chairs is such a chore these days. In fact, lately, in the morning, Simon, instead of asking me to simply get out of bed to get him anything, states that I need to "roll out of bed." It's pretty amusing.

Anyway, for the last several weeks, the baby, like Simon had done before, kept flipping around back and forth, and always transversely. At last week's appointment, my doctor had me schedule a version, where the doctor manually pushes the baby into position. I did not want to do this. I was not convinced it would work, or rather, that the baby would stay in that position. It didn't work with Simon and it's extremely uncomfortable. I remember crying last time. I was so stressed out about it all weekend long, so I called and cancelled the appointment first thing Monday morning. I'm glad I did.

I had an appointment today and, happy day, the baby is finally heads down. He's a mover and a sharp jabber (I've nicknamed him "Jabberwocky"). I can feel him move around constantly and, especially at night, when I'm trying to relax, is when he likes to really jab my ribs and press into my diaphragm so I lose all my breath. I think he's still going to flip around some more, but I'm glad to know that he knows how to get into heads down now.

So, my next appointment will determine whether we will proceed with a VBAC as planned, or, if he's flipped again, whether we'll schedule a c-section just to be safe. I could really use prayers that we'll be able to do a VBAC. A c-section is so hard to recover from and I've got so much to plan in the next several weeks, namely getting Halloween costumes finished and planning Moses' baptism. Then suddenly, it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas in no time at all. I feel this holiday season may be pared back a bit from what I normally try to accomplish.

Here's a shot from two weeks ago. We travelled 5.5 hours to attend a session at the Sacramento temple where our friend was going through for the first time. Last time I travelled that far at 36 weeks, I broke my ankle. This trip was, thankfully, non-incidental.

Back to School Time!

I figured the first day of school would be a good time to give an update on the kids. I was going to post while they were in school, but it was an early out day at 1pm, so there was hardly time to do anything particularly productive except clean the kitchen.

5th, 2nd, and kindergarten. Asher is trying to make a "K" with his fingers.

Akiko: 

Akiko started fifth grade this year. She's officially one of the big kids at school. Last year she was in the 4th/5th split class and this year it's just a 5th grade class, but she has the same amazing teacher, which is awesome. She got into the GATE program last year, which is California's Gifted and Talented Education program, so she gets to go on a couple special field trips. All of her teachers have loved having her in their classes.

I still can't believe how fast she's grown. She's almost as tall as me and her shoes are only two sizes smaller than mine. I have to tell you how amazing this girl is and I'm so blessed to be her mother.

Since I've been so sick lately, she has really stepped it up in helping me out. She's getting better at cooking and cleaning and is so good about helping Simon and Asher and she does it all without much complaining. We did a massive deep clean in her room right when summer started, and for the most part, she has kept her room in pretty good order and I'm really proud of her for that.

She's a really good example to her friends and was one of the first kids in Primary to pass off all thirteen Articles of Faith. She's obsessed with cats, loves to read, loves to draw, loves Minecraft, loves to bake, and has found that she's got a knack for skateboarding. She can be kind of shy when she's around new people, but gets really goofy and funny when she's comfortable. It astounds me every day how much she has matured and grown, both physically and emotionally. She's always kind of been that way, but it's definitely become more apparent since she's entered her tweens. I love this girl of mine. She's the best!

Moses:

Moses has started second grade. He got a teacher that I've heard rave reviews about from other parents, so I'm pretty pleased. To be honest, I don't hear many negative reviews about any of the teachers at our school, but some of the teachers have been there for years and years and his teacher is one of those. 

Moses had an amazing teacher last year, too. She was teaching a 1st/2nd split class and noticed that he was way beyond the other kids academically, so to keep him from getting bored after his mundane first grade work was done, she began pulling resources from teachers in higher grades and giving him extra work to do while the other kids finished up. She ended up pulling things from the 7th grade teachers. On a whim, she tested his reading and comprehension levels and he tested at 7th grade. She was quite astounded. He was the only first grader reading the Harry Potter series. We're keeping him with his peers though, because that's where he needs to be socially.

Moses really loves his video games. He did a whole bunch of chores around the house and earned enough money to buy himself a new Wii. He didn't want to get a WiiU, because they're just too expensive and he wanted to be reasonable. Actually, he really just wanted to get MarioKart Wii. Moses wants to design and program video games when he's older. He has an active imagination and is constantly making up concepts for new board and video games. 

He loves reading and most nights, before bed, we find him reading a pile of books to Asher, then he stays up late and reads to himself after Asher has fallen asleep. For a while, I was constantly finding large piles of books in his bed. He is currently working on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I'm pretty sure I didn't read that until high school.

Moses is still the sweetest kid on the planet, though sometimes lately he's been getting a little sassy as he tries to assert his authority. I know that's just a phase, so I let it slide for the most part. He's fairly good about helping out around the house, but there's room for improvement. His mind is always just somewhere else when he supposed to be doing something I ask him to do. All around, Moses is a great kid and I love him dearly.

Asher:

Where do I even start with this kid? Bouncy, goofy, silly, happy, joyful, funny, helpful, loving, cuddly, smiley, exuberant, playful, jokey, energetic, friendly, handsome, adorable, and on and on and on. I love this kid so much. He makes us laugh a lot every day. 

He started kindergarten this year. He's had to wait two long years for his turn and now it's finally his. He feels like such a big kid now. I missed him a lot today. He got the same teacher that Moses had (she actually told me she requested him), so I'm pleased with that because she's fabulous. He's a really friendly kid, so I have no worries that he'll have any problems getting along with his classmates once he gets comfortable. 

If there is one thing that Asher has really gotten interested in lately, it is helping me out in the kitchen. He loves to help me bake and cook. It's not a totally new thing. I had him sautéing onions when he was two. But lately, if I start cooking without him he gets really upset. He doesn't particularly like it when I don't let him wield a knife, but I let him do most other things, like measuring, stirring, and adding ingredients. He is genuinely interested in how everything comes together to form a meal or baked treat.  I love having his help in the kitchen. 

He also loves helping around the house. I usually call for Akiko and Moses to do things, like empty the dishwasher or set the table, but when I call for them, Asher is the one that comes running. I love that willingness and openly hope that it never, ever goes away. 

Asher has reached that stage where if he's trying to do something, and it doesn't go perfectly right the first time, he gets really emotional and upset. It's frustrating for me. On the other hand, this summer he hopped on a bike and started riding it without any help. You see, we have one of those balance bikes and they are amazing. Simon had recently gotten big enough for it and pretty much commandeered the thing. Lots of fighting between the boys ensued, but we were finally able to convince Asher that he was big enough for the "big boy" bike that we had waiting for him. He's a small kid, barely five years old, so the bike is still a little unwieldy and wobbly for him, but he loves to zip back and forth along the front of our house any chance he gets. 

I love Asher Crasher so deeply. I'm so glad he part of our family. 

Simon:

After we dropped the kids off at school this morning, I thought, and possibly said out loud, "And then there was one." I've never had just one kid at home. Not since before Moses was born. It was really, unusually quiet at home. I know that will change in a few short weeks, but I'm kind of wondering how I'm going to keep Simon occupied and entertained for the next year. 

Anyway, Simon is... well, he's Simon. He's such a mommy and daddy's boy. He's still rather distrustful of anyone outside the immediate family. He's bossy and can be very insistent on how he thinks things should be. He knows exactly which buttons on Asher he needs to push in order to start a fight or a screaming chasing "game", for lack of a better term. He loves to be clean and wants to take a bath all the time.

Simon picks things up faster than any other kid I've ever known. He's known his alphabet since he was barely two years old. He picked up all his colors and shapes and numbers around the same time, too. He can spell and recognize/read everyone's name in our family. We started memorizing a new scripture and he had it memorized before anyone else (even me). No wonder the kid has such a big head. He has a lot of info that needs to be stored there. I jest, of course.

Simon is very empathetic and, especially lately, is always concerned about my well being. He's excited for the new baby, though I don't think he knows quite what to expect. He was so cute with my sister's baby boy, so I have a lot of hope that he'll be an awesome big brother. 

Simon loves to go shopping and get pizza at "Taco Tuesday", which is his name for Costco. He does not like being cooped up in the house all day and feels the need to go somewhere, anywhere, every day. He is obsessed with swings at the park. Sometimes if we go to a park, I'll purposely pick one that doesn't have them because otherwise we would spend the entire time on them and it's a huge battle trying to get him off of them.

I am so glad Simon is part of our family. Three year old kids can be difficult to deal with a lot of the time, but for every moment of stress and frustration there are just as many, if not more, moments of awe and jubilation. Simon is my good buddy and I'm his "good mommy" and I love him so much. 

I love these goobers so much. I'm the luckiest momma.

Baby Boy:

We have a name picked out, and some people know what it is, but I'm not making a formal public announcement until he is born. I have about a month left, around five weeks or so. I really dislike the last month. It drags. Literally drags. On and on.

The baby had been transverse, a fancy way of saying sideways, for a long time. At my last appointment, he finally changed positions... he was transverse in the opposite direction. I feel him move constantly and can tell he is flipping all over the place in my belly. This, to me, is not the best news. Simon was a flipper, which was why we decided to have a c-section. I really want to do a vbac. They're so much easier to heal from and the hospital stay is not nearly as long. However, I understand all the risks and I am willing to do what's best to bring this kid into the world. He also has a whole month to figure out what position he'll finally be in when it's time. So please pray for me that he decides to go heads down and stay there.

Hello Old Friend

It's been almost two years since I've written anything on the old blog. Almost two years since I got called as Relief Society president in our ward, which was the main culprit for my extreme lack of posts, not to mention the need to take care of my active and growing family. A lot has happened in the last two years and there is really no way I could catch up with it all. A lot of things have gone undocumented with nary a picture to prove anything. This is unfortunate for this history of our family, but it is what it is.

I've often felt the nudge to document something, even a short blurb, but it all seemed so overwhelming at the time, so writing got put on the back burner. But here we are now. A chapter in my life has ended and a new one has begun. Of course things overlap, but there are some defining lines that mark the eras.

So why now? Why try to pick up where I left off after so long? Well, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands... for now. Every once in a while I've perused my writing and felt that twinge that I need to keep up with our little family's history. We're also still far removed from our families in other states and many of them have remarked that they miss reading what we've been up to. For now, I think I'll just reset and give an update on everyone in the family. This will probably be a long post. I may have to do it over the course of a couple posts.

Joseph is suddenly one extremely busy man. It all began with a letter he received last spring from the county asking if he'd be interested in serving on the grand jury. This is something Joseph was certainly interested in, so he marked "yes" and sent his response off. We didn't exactly know what this all meant, but it's something that's right up his alley. Fast forward through the whole selection process and since the beginning of July he is serving a one year term as a civil grand juror.

Two weeks after that began, Joseph got called as our new bishop. Our stake president was moving, so near the end of June we had our stake conference where the new stake presidency was called. Our bishop got called as a counselor in the new presidency, which meant our ward now needed a new bishop. After a few weeks of the new stake president visiting our ward on Sunday, Joseph got a call from the stake clerk asking us to come in and meet with the stake presidency. I kind of had a feeling he'd be called into the new bishopric, but didn't want to speculate or anything, so I pushed all my thoughts aside. I certainly didn't expect him to be called as bishop though.

Our stake center is about a 45 minute drive from our home. It was a very quiet car ride. We had a lot to contemplate. For some reason I felt that a calling of that magnitude wouldn't happen until we were much older, wiser, and more refined. Perhaps, also when our kids were older and better able to take care of themselves, out of the house even. The Lord has other plans for us, however, and we both understand that we need to jump into this with both feet, with faith, and know that we will be taken care of. It's been a little over a month since that meeting and I can already see the change that has come over Joseph, the extra strength he's been given, and the love and support from our ward family has been overwhelming.

In addition to being on the grand jury and being a new bishop, Joseph has also gotten very involved in the Masonic lodges both in Eureka and here in our home town. Last week, he went away for the weekend and joined the York Rite, which is a further extension than just being a member of a Masonic lodge. He's been enjoying his membership and has loved learning about this ancient fraternity and it's strong ties to what we believe in as LDS members.

All in all, Joseph is a very busy man. He still has his full time job, on top of it all, but still makes time with our family count, and I really appreciate that he does that. I love him so much and I'm so proud of him.

On to me. Since Joseph got called as the bishop, I've been released as the Relief Society president. I currently have no calling, which is kind of weird, but I think there's one waiting for me soon enough. My stint was rather brief, but I really enjoyed the experience. I got to know so many women in the ward I would not have gotten to know otherwise. I am in awe of some of the things my sisters do, not only for our ward, but for the community. I feel like I learned so much from them and I hope to perpetuate what they do, because someday they will be gone and people like me will have to step in and keep things going. I really love the work that the Relief Society does, not only on a local level, but worldwide the things that are accomplished are mind-boggling. The sisters of the world really help move the Lord's work forward.

This last year has been a rough one on me physically. Last October, my beautiful, wonderful, amazing sister was gave birth to her first baby. There was no way I was going to miss that, so I drove to Utah with Asher and Simon to help her prepare for and then help take care of her and the baby once he arrived. By the way, my nephew is perfect. Unfortunately, the whole time I was in Utah, I suffered from the worst allergies the entire month I was there.

While I was in Utah, Akiko got a new kitten. Its name was Fluffle. We all thought it was a girl, but a trip to the vet to treat the grossest case of tapeworm I've ever seen told us the kitten was a boy. Akiko was in denial for weeks. Fluffle was a spunky kitty. Always attacked Sparky when he came in to eat. Always on the table and counter. Always missing the litter box. Cute cat. Very cute cat. Silly even.

Unfortunately, he ended up being a bad fit. I was extremely allergic to him. Not sneezing and watery eyes kind of allergic. I literally could not breathe. He exacerbated my normally mild asthma so bad I was having horrific attacks several times a day. He almost sent me to the ER for treatment a few times. We didn't know he was the culprit until January. I still feel bad that we had to get rid of him, but when mom can't function, the entire household falls apart. Oh, I also got bronchitis for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas, both of which were hosted by us for family that came into town to visit. That was the icing on the cake. I still can't quite figure out how I managed to pull those off.

When I was finally able to breathe after getting rid of Fluffle, we found out we were expecting again. The joy of anticipating a new baby quickly went away when I began experiencing the worst morning sickness I have ever known. Most days I could not get out of bed. I missed about five weeks of church. I felt like I was going to die. None of my tricks for warding off the nausea worked. I tried everything and everything failed me. It was the worst.

I finally started feeling better after the 13th week, but still felt really off. I was extremely tired all the time. The nausea was still in the background. I'd have maybe one good day a week when I felt well enough to get things done around the house, so I'd end up over-exerting myself on that one day and be useless for the next several days. At one doctor appointment, my blood pressure was really low and I was diagnosed with anemia. I was prescribed an iron supplement and told to eat a lot of iron rich foods. I feel a lot better now, not 100%, but at least most days I'm useful. I feel bad because I'd been sick in one form or another for several months and barely able to get the bare minimum done in my calling. I was finally starting to feel better and excited to be able to do more when I got released. I guess it's really a blessing in disguise.

As of now, I have about seven-ish weeks left I think. I've lost track. I'm due sometime in the first week of October. I've been given two due dates: October 1 and October 9. I've learned that due dates don't really mean anything; they're simply approximate guesses. Oh, and if you hadn't heard on Facebook, it's another boy.

In the next month and a half, I've got to get three kids ready for school, which starts in a week and a half, rearrange furniture and get the crib set up, get all the baby clothes out and washed, get Halloween costumes made, and start getting things lined up and prepared for Moses' baptism in early November. I want to get as much done as I can before the baby comes. I have no guarantee that I'll be able to do any of it afterwards. We're going to try to do a VBAC (Google it if you don't know what it is) and I'm the best candidate for one, but I understand the risk that this baby could also end up being a c-section like Simon.

I'm going to have to leave this post here. It's quite long already and it's getting late, so stay tuned for an update on the kids in the next few days.

Happy 6th Birthday Moses!

Today marks six years since I gave birth to one of the coolest kids I know. I had trepidation at first when I found out I would be having a boy, but this little man soon changed my mind. (And now, for some reason, I can't stop having boys. Haha.)

You can't look at this picture and tell me that he isn't the cutest baby you have ever laid eyes on.

Happy Birthday, Moses!! You are the sunshine in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better son.

No, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth...

I haven't written a proper blog post in ages. Not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that life got kind of crazy once Simon turned one. Now it's almost six months later. It seemed like any time I'd find a moment that I could sit down and type, one or both of the little boys would start crawling all over me and want to commandeer the computer so they could watch something on Netflix.

We had a busy summer. We did a lot of fun things with our friends. I would have blogged about it, so that I could remember what they were, but I didn't, so I don't. Such is life. There was a last minute trip to Utah near the end of it. It was so nice to see family and hold my newborn nephew.

Then school started up again. Moses started kindergarten and is thriving. His two best friends from his brief stint at the preschool here ended up in his class. They are a pair of twin girls. He keeps waffling about which one he might marry someday. While I don't really want him to think about marriage at such a tender age, it's still pretty cute.

Akiko started third grade. It's been harder for her because that's the grade when you really start doing work and have homework every night. A lot of her best friends are in older classes that have different recess and lunch times, so she doesn't get to hang out with them at school. Otherwise, she's adjusted well to her new class.

Asher has entered the thrashing three's with gusto. Having had a worse experience with Akiko at that age, I feel better prepared to be able to deal with the tantrums and emotional outbursts. On the other hand, when Asher is happy, he is the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest, silliest, helpful, most adorable thing on the planet.

Simon is still a mama's boy, though he's starting to get over his extreme distrust of others. Everyone in our ward tries to get him to at least sort of crack a smile and if they're successful they feel like they won the lottery. This kid gets into everything. Cupboards. Drawers. Unrolling the toilet paper. Emptying tissue boxes. Chasing the cat. The other day, I caught him laying on his stomach drinking out of the cat's water dish! He loves to help me unload the dishwasher and is less helpful in the same way when I'm trying to load it back up again. He's starting to talk and says "Hello" and "I yuh you!" He loves to "go bye bye!" and tells jokes and laughs at himself all the time. This guy is learning tons of stuff every day and I love watching him grow.

Joseph is still working hard trying to get his business going. We're truly grateful to everyone who has helped us out. This has been a test of faith like I've never experienced before. Prayers are still appreciated. I don't really know what else to say on this subject because we're still in the thick of it. And it's late and I'm typing when I should be sleeping. Is any of this coherent?

So, I guess the biggest news lately is about me. No, I'm not pregnant. That seems to be the first thing everyone asks, so let's just clear the air on that one. Anyway, last week I was sustained and set apart as the new Relief Society president in our ward. It's been an interesting ride so far. So many people say things to me like, "I don't know whether to tell you congratulations or send my condolences" or "I'm glad it's you and not me." I know nobody's serious when they say these things, so we all just laugh it off. When the bishop first called me, honestly, my first thought was, Oh thank heavens I'm not playing the piano. But then I was like, President?!?!?!?!?!

I've been a counselor in Primary and a secretary in Relief Society (very briefly) and I feel like I'm very good at supporting the person in charge and giving my opinion on a given subject, but I've never had to be the accountable one; the one in charge, so to speak. However, having had about a month to mull this over and especially now that I've been set apart, I'm really excited that I have this opportunity to serve in this capacity. Do I feel overwhelmed and under-qualified? Absolutely! But I am not alone in this calling. I have the Lord on my side. I am simply the means that He needs to get His work done in this area.

I also feel that this calling is going to help me be a better member of Relief Society. I've been in Primary for 7.5 of the last 10 years or so and for a while, I thought that's where I belonged and I was fine with that. But really, I had become stagnant. I was not growing spiritually and I was often ignoring my role as a member of Relief Society by solely focusing on all things Primary related.

Whenever I was visiting another ward, I had a hard time sitting in the adult Sunday school classes and Relief Society and my mind would often wander to Primary. As soon as my baby would fuss, I'd be out in the hall walking with him towards the Primary room so I could listen to the kids sing. In our last ward, after I got released right before we moved, I could not bear to leave my Primary kids. I'd gotten to know them for the last three years and I love them so dearly and I think of them and still pray for them so often. I was so happy when they almost immediately called me into Primary in our current ward.

But for now, the Primary chapter in my life is closed and I have other areas where I need to grow and learn to thrive. There is so much work to do here and I feel like I have so much to give. The Primary kids know that I love them, now it's time for the Relief Society sisters to receive that love, too.

So, now we're sort of caught up. There's still so much more that I'd like to catch up, but that's likely not going to happen. I'm going to be busy. I don't know how busy. I don't know what to expect or what's in store for me, I just know it's going to be busy. If I can, I'll try to write, but please don't be surprised if another few months go by without a peep on the old blog. I don't even know if anyone has checked to see if I've written anything in a long time. But don't give up on me. We're still here. Just pray for us.

I love you all, dear family and friends!

My 3rd child is 3!

I remember this day so well:

Now it's been three years.

We've been through so much with him.

He's sweet. He's exuberant. He's helpful. He's independent. He's loud. He's cuddly. He's silly. He's handsome. He's bouncy. He's happy.

Most importantly though...

He's mine.

Yes. He still does "stinkface" for the camera, too.

Happy Birthday Asher!!

Simon is One!!

I wish I had time to make a longer post about how awesome this little dude is, but I've kinda been busy all day, so it will have to wait for a different post.

Happy Birthday Spanky!!

I asked him how old he was...