January Hiking

One thing that I love about living in California, particularly the area that we live in, is that we have gorgeous weather year-round. Summers are hot (a little too hot sometimes, but not as bad as Utah) and you can escape to the beach or somewhere else along the coast. Fall arrives with its beautiful changing leaves, though Joseph tells me it's nothing compared to fall in Pennsylvania, but I've never been there. Fall melds into "sprinter" a combination of winter and spring, where, technically it's winter, but the leaves have fallen off the trees and almost immediately started blossoming like it's spring. Then somewhere in there, spring begins and lasts us for a few months before it starts warming up for summer again.

This is only our third winter in the Bay area. Our first winter, it rained for about four months straight. It was really cool. Most of the locals weren't particularly keen on the rain, but for Joseph and me, it was awesome. It never rains like that in Utah, or in south Kihei.

Last winter, I'm told, was more typical. The temperatures drop to the mid to low 50s for highs and slightly below freezing during the night. It was nice to get a fire blazing in the hearth and snuggle under some blankets with the kids and sip hot cocoa while we watched tv or talked. It rained about half the time.

This winter has been kind of warm and has only rained maybe one or two weeks so far. The weather has been really nice and mild and beautiful and perfect. So, a couple weeks ago, we loaded up the kids and took them on a hike. Ok, it was more of a nature walk because I'm in no condition to all out hike. It was, however, the first time we've let Asher explore on his own, rather than loading him in a carrier. He did awesome.

I was playing with my manual settings in the car while we waited for Joseph to get snacks at the store. Moses wanted me to take his picture. I just like how this picture turned out. So handsome.

The beginning of the trail. Asher was such a trooper.

Akiko and Moses would race ahead of us...

... then race back down to us (and almost knock over Asher a couple times).

Asher started racing down to meet me, too, which is why this picture ended up blurring him, but I still think he looks super cute in it.

There was a gazebo part way up that the kids declared was a "magic place." I tried to get a picture of the kids together. Asher would have none of it, sitting on Akiko's lap, so Joseph suspended him upside-down, which also got him to smile.

Notice one of Moses' pant legs is tucked into his boot while the other is not. This is how it usually goes down when he puts his boots on.

Asher, explaining to me how much fun he's having.

Akiko really liked to stop and pose on rocks and logs. There are half a dozen pictures  like this.

We were down at this place in Campbell called Villa Montalvo, a school for artists that has a whole bunch of nature trails surrounding it that are open to the public. The trail we took led us to a place that overlooks the Santa Clara valley. It was gorgeous. But I didn't take a picture (d'oh!). It was so clear that day that we could see all the way to Oakland and San Francisco and see the Bay bridge stretched between them. That's a distance of more than 40 miles! Super rare, super clear day.

Growing up, one of the things we did as a family almost every Saturday during the summer was go hiking in the Wasatch mountains. I cherish those memories. I don't remember all the places we went or what may have been significant about each one. They've all kind of blended into each other as the years have gone by. But I had a lot of fun with my parents and siblings and that was the important part of the trips.

I want to share that experience with my kids. It's not always easy to do. Saturdays are pretty busy here. It's also kind of hard to do with newborns and babies. Sometimes we get sick (in fact, I was on this trip). But the kids love to explore. I hope we can get out and do a lot more exploring in the months and years to come. I love that we get all year for those opportunities in the Bay area.

Look Close... But Not That Close!

This morning I was laying on the couch, chilling out and talking with Moses. The baby started moving a lot, so I asked Moses if he wanted to feel the baby moving. He came over, I exposed my belly, and he put his hand on it.

"I can feel him move a little bit!" Moses exclaimed.

Then I said, "And if you look closely at my belly, you can see him kicking me, too."

Moses took his hand off my belly and pressed his nose against it. "I'm looking closely, but I can't see him moving," he said after a little bit.

It took everything in me not to laugh, so that he could see the baby move, but I just couldn't hold it in.

That Moses. He just cracks me up.

This reminds me of another story, but about Akiko. This one happened, oh, I don't know, over a year ago or so. I believe Akiko was in kindergarten at the time.

Joseph and I were in the living room watching a movie and we had the lights dimmed. Akiko was in the other room drawing pictures.

She came in to show me what she had drawn, because she was so proud of it.

"Mommy! Look what I drawed!"

"I'm sorry, Akiko, but I really can't see it in this light."

She then moved the drawing closer to me, about an inch from my nose, thinking I'd be able to see it better that way. Joseph and I busted out laughing.

I love these little goobers!

What's in a Name?

This morning, Joseph's cousin and his wife had their first baby. A little girl. They named her Clara. Their last name is also Wecker. Here's the thing: if our baby were to be a little girl, rather than a little boy, we would have named her Clara. Joseph and I both have great-grandmothers named Clara, so she would have been named after both of them. Herein lies the problem: there would have been two Clara Weckers born within a couple months of each other.

So, while I'm really happy for Joseph's cousin, especially since it's their first child, I also feel a little cheated, like they stole our name. It's silly, I know, because how in the world could they have known that we wanted to use that name, too? It's especially irrelevant now, though, because we're having a boy.

When Joseph and I (okay, mostly me) are thinking of names for our kids, there are a lot of names that get crossed off the list right away, because there is already someone in the family who has that name (usually cousins, since Joseph alone has 80-something of them), regardless if they have a different last name or not, which most of them do.

I have a certain set of rules for our kids names (particularly our boys' names). I'm not going to divulge my stipulations for choosing names, though I'd love to see if anyone can figure out the pattern. Clara fit our my rules perfectly. It's hard to find the girl names that do.

Then I think about how it's Joseph's cousin. Our kids and their kids are more removed from each other in the family tree. They are second cousins. Does it really matter? And perhaps it would be cool someday if they met each other, not knowing they were related and figured out the connection.

It kind of happened to me when I was younger. I found out that a friend/classmate of mine was my fourth cousin. They were in our ward. His mom's maiden name was Brady. She was my Merrie Miss teacher. She taught me how to knit. I love that woman (and of course the rest of their amazing family, too).

Does it really matter that much, that if we have another baby girl someday, that we name her Clara, that she would have the same name as her second cousin? Probably not.

My own brother has the same name as our first cousin, a classmate of his, and a famous television dad. One of Joseph's female cousins has the same name as their second cousin (who, incidentally, is engaged to Jimmer, neat, eh?). Even our little Moses is named after his uncle, though older Moses is deceased. They even have the same middle initial and nearly the same birthday (our Moses was born the day after what would have been his namesake's birthday).

So, I may be a little frustrated now, but as time goes by, it's going to matter less and less, especially in the long run. Perhaps we'll still use the name Clara if I'm blessed with another baby girl someday. Besides, it's kind of cool running into someone you share a name with, or so I've heard. I don't expect to run into anyone else in the world with my name.

Either way, I'm still super stoked for Joseph's cousin. They're such a cute couple in the first place. First babies are always an exciting event and they're going to be amazing parents. Congratulations (if you guys happen to read this, which I have a feeling you will when word gets around)!!

Moses v. Food

I think that most people have a guilty pleasure television program. For some, it's American Idol, for others it's Teen Mom or some other train wreck of a show. I was on a Jon and Kate Plus 8 kick for a while till we moved and no longer had cable (then they got divorced, which came as no surprise, right?).

Lately, Moses and I have been watching Man v. Food on Netflix. For me, I indulge in it probably because I'm pregnant and just about every food they feature on the show looks absolutely delectable (like the bacon cheeseburger served on a Krispy Kreme donut). Moses gets really excited about the host's food challenge at the end of the show. I don't really like the premise of the show, especially the gargantuan food challenges, because I feel they promote gluttony, over-indulgence, and unhealthy binge eating.

When I was a teenager, I could totally pack in the food and my dad called me "the girl with the hollow leg." When I was pregnant with Akiko, I had four piled plates of Thanksgiving feast and one slice of each of the four pies, because they all looked so good. Akiko had the hiccups for three or four days straight afterwards. I totally could have done, and perhaps succeeded, some of the food challenges on the show five or more years ago.

These days, I'm a lot more conscious about my portions, or at least I'm trying to be. As I get older, I find myself not able to eat as much and I can tell my metabolism is slowing down. I'm not exercising as much as I did when I was a teenager, when I had several hours of dance class per week plus cheer, and in my early twenties, where I was taking at least one phys. ed. class per semester.

Nowadays, I'm too busy trying to manage a household and taking care of three kids, while I'm growing a fourth. I'm in the worst physical shape I've ever been in and it bugs me (I'd be considered "skinny-fat"), so I'm gradually making changes in my lifestyle, not only for myself, but for my family. Eating better with appropriate portions is one of them.

That's why Man v. Food is my guilty pleasure viewing. The food often looks so good, but at the same time, I'm disgusted by it.

Like I said before, Moses is really into the food challenges at the end. I'm not sure how or if the portion sizes are affecting how he views food, but I'm fairly certain that he's mostly into the game aspect of it, like he is with almost anything else.

Yesterday, I heated up some leftovers for lunch, a pork chop that I split between us, and some rice. Moses felt the need to turn lunch into a race between us. I won by finishing my plate of food first, but he won when he finished his water before I did. It was a tie. Anyway, the really cute part of this story is when Moses, who was done eating, but still had food on his plate, declared, "Mom, in this challenge, food won." (If you've never seen the show, at the end, the host always says, "In the epic battle of Man v. Food, man/food won.")

I laughed. At the same time though, I was so happy and proud that he knew when it was time to stop eating because he was full and didn't feel obligated to finish the food on his plate. Every time we go for a check up at our pediatrician and the subject of the dietary needs of my kids comes up, she says to me, "You decide what and when. They decide how much." I agree.

Anyway, I've decided to stop watching Man v. Food, at least while Moses is around. I don't want him to think that he has to eat everything in sight. He'll take care of that in about ten years anyway, when the diaper budget stops and starts going toward an inflated grocery budget. And, no, I'm not planning on changing diapers for the next ten years, but I do know there are at least four more years of it to look forward to for now.

In other news: I officially start the third trimester today. 26 weeks down, 14 weeks to go. I hope they go by quickly, but that I can get everything done that I need to in the next three short months.

Baby Cakes and Blankets

There have been quite a few babies born in my circle of family and friends lately. It's hard to keep up with giving gifts to all of them, but I try. I just wanted to share a few of the gifts I've made recently that I'm particularly pleased with.

So, my brother, Mike, and his wife, Chelsie, were blessed with twin boys right before the new year. I was really busy in December with trying to get Primary ready for the new year, so I was unable to get them their Christmas present on time. Once I had a chance to catch my breath, I dove right into making gifts for my nephews in Oregon. Mike already has one two year-old boy, so now he's got his hands full with three.

I made the babies coordinating knitted striped hats (with their initials, so you can tell who is who when they're out and about) and crocheted blankets. I had a ton of yarn leftover, so I made Liam, the big brother, an awesome striped scarf that coordinates with the twins hats. The following pictures were taken by Chelsie's phone and texted to us and posted on Facebook. I have texted consent from her to publish them here on my blog.

I also sent them diapers, which I'm sure lasted them about a day or two, but it's the thought that counts, right? I would have sent them a Costco box, but they don't sell NB size and I bet the postage would have been astronomical.

Liam, sporting his new scarf.

I know this one is Lucas, because of the "L." Oh, so snuggly!

Jude wants to take me to "eat food." You know. The code.

So, I'm totally excited for Mike and Chelsie and I can't wait to meet the twins someday. They're already a month old and they've both gained almost 3 lbs. each! Ahhh! They're growing too fast!

The next gift I made for our Primary president, who just had her fourth baby boy. Her due date and Chelsie's were actually about three days from each other, but Chelsie had to schedule her birth early and then my friend went over on her due date by a few days.

I didn't have much time to crochet her boy an entire blanket, but I was able to knit a hat in a few hours. Then, the other counselor and I got together and we made her a diaper cake.

I am really pleased with how this cake turned out, mostly because I decided to use the hat as the topper. We stuffed this one with lots of pacifiers (because they always magically disappear), butt cream, pain reliever and Orajel, you know, stuff she will need, since, after three boys, our friend already has baby boy clothing and toys galore. For an extra special treat, though, we also ringed the hat with Lindt truffles, just for her, because every mom needs a chocolate break.

Here in Weckerland we're gearing up for our arrival. Another friend of mine just gave us her crib for free! I was having no luck perusing craigslist in my quest to find one. 

We haven't had a crib since Akiko. Our crib went into storage when we moved to Maui. Then Joseph's brother used it for his little guy and we just let them keep it when their twins were born (yep, we now have twins on both sides of the family). They so needed it more than we did.

Moses and Asher both slept (NOT!) in our playpen. They hated it. I can't blame them. It doesn't seem terribly comfortable. We moved Moses out of it, and onto the bottom bunk when he was about 13 or 14 months old and he suddenly stopped crying himself to sleep and started sleeping through the night. Asher got into a toddler bed [another free score from yet another friend (I have awesome friends)] a couple months ago and is sleeping much better. He still ends up in bed with us every once in a while, but it's becoming less frequent and Joseph and I have gotten a few all nighters of blissful sleep.

So, there are about three months left. I kind of want to get things ready a little earlier for this little man. I feel like I just barely put all the tiny newborn clothes, the infant car seat, the swing, and the baby tub away. Now I have to dig them all out of the garage again. 

And with this being our third boy, in a row, I have a feeling I'm going to get really confused when laundry rolls around. I'm already having trouble just sorting Asher's vs. Moses' clothes because of the hand-me-downs. With Asher and the baby being a lot closer in age, I'm probably going to have to check tags to make sure each boy is getting the correct size. Not looking forward to their teenage years. I'll have no idea what belongs to whom then. Thank heavens Akiko's clothes look so different. 

I just got a splendid idea! I'll just teach them to do their own laundry when they're older! I'm so brilliant!!

Funny Kids

The following are just some of the funny things that the kids have said or done in the past week or so. They're kind of for my own record keeping, but they're also too cute not to share.

First, Akiko was working on her math homework the other day and she came across a question that she needed help with. It read something like: You have 5 buttons. What is the greatest amount of buttons you can give away? Then it gave a choice of answers: 1, 3, 5, or 6.

Akiko marked her answer as 3, but then started second guessing herself and the following conversation took place:

Akiko: Mommy, I don't get this question.
Me: Well, what is the most buttons you can give to someone else? How many buttons do you have?
A: 5.
M: Okay, let's look at the answers again. Can you give away six?
A: No.
M: So of the three choices left, what's the most buttons you have to give away?
A: Well, I would give away three, so that I have two left over for myself.
M: But that's not what the question is asking. It's asking you to give all your buttons to someone else.

Akiko felt that question was so unfair. Why should she have to give away all her imaginary buttons? Can't she just share them?

This is not the first time Akiko has tried to change the rules of her homework, but it is the funniest one in recent memory.

Second and third, Moses gets two stories.

Four year old Moses was playing with a three year old, who is actually just a couple months younger, and the other boy asked him why Moses was shorter than him if Moses was older. The other mom and I simply explained that everyone is different shapes and sizes and that it was normal. However, Moses has been mulling over the fact that he's shorter than some other kids who are younger. The other day, while we were out driving, The following dialogue took place:

Moses: Don't you think it's funny that I'm actually four years old, but I still look like I'm three?
Me: Yeah, I guess that is kind of funny.
Mo: Well, Mom, how old are you?
Me: I'm 30.
Mo: Well, guess what? You only look 29!
Me (chuckling with flattery): Well, thank you, Moses! That makes me feel so young!

The next story happened the other day while I was cooking dinner. Moses came into the kitchen and asked me for a snack. I told him that he couldn't have one because I was just about done cooking dinner, which was literally (and I mean literally, not figuratively) five minutes from being done. Moses didn't like my answer and went into the living room to throw a fit.

Five minutes later, dinner was ready and the table set, so I called the kids into the dining room to eat. Only Akiko showed up. Asher had gone down for a late nap and was still asleep, so I called for Moses again, but he still wouldn't come. I went into the living room and found he had fallen asleep on the floor, which is unusual since he doesn't nap anymore.

Oh well! I shrugged and Akiko and I blessed and ate dinner together, just the two of us.

About half an hour later, Moses woke up crying. I figured he was still in the throws of his tantrum and went to calm him down. He wouldn't calm down and tell me why he was upset or what he wanted. After about five minutes (I'm not really sure, but it seemed like an eternity) and offering him food, water, more rest, candy... anything to calm him down... he told me, through tears, that he'd like me to warm him up some dinner.

I made him a plate and carried him to the table where he started bawling again. At my wits end, but still trying really hard to stay calm, I asked him again what was wrong.

Moses: I can't eat!!!
Me: Of course you can. You just sit here, pick up your food and eat it.
Mo: But, I need two hands!!! (We were having chicken burritos that night.)
Me: You have two hands.
Mo: But, I only have one!!!
Me: Why do you only have one?
Mo: Because the other one needs to hold in my pee-pee!!!
Me (chuckling, with a hand to my forehead, because I didn't notice): Well, then hurry and go potty!!

He soon returned to his normal sweet self. Oh, the joys of deciphering tantrums!!

Last, I just have a quick quip about Asher. No dialogue, since he doesn't converse with us much yet.

Asher had a snack in a bowl before bed the other day and he refused to let go of the bowl, even after he'd fallen asleep. We had to wait until he was deep in his sleep before we could even attempt to pry it from his hands. Previous attempts would wake him up. This is how he fell asleep and he refused to budge from this position.

Asher also thinks it's really funny to play on my bed while I'm trying to make it. He especially likes to be made into it. He's pretty much claimed our bed as his own.

This last picture makes it look like he saying, "Ha ha! In your face! It's all mine now!"

Kid Update

A lot of my blog posts are geared towards adventures that we have. But we don't have an adventure every week. Most days around here are pretty mundane. So when I sat down to do a post, I thought, Maybe this would be a good opportunity to do a quick update on the kids. Obviously, this is more for the sake of grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins, but since this blog is public, anyone is more than welcome to read on.

Akiko

Akiko continues to be wonderful. She is extremely helpful with Asher, who loves her to pieces. She loves helping me around the house, but especially in the kitchen. If she realizes I'm in there cooking, she will drop whatever she's doing, grab her apron, wash her hands and run in to ask if I need help. Sometimes she's a little too late and/or there's nothing for her to do, but I'm so grateful for her offer to help anyway. 

If I'm busy or unable to get the kids a snack, she will jump in and get them something to eat. She recently made up her own recipe. She calls it "Sweet Bread" and yes we've told her what sweet bread actually is, but she doesn't quite get it. (Sweet breads are kidneys, if you didn't know.) Her recipe calls for one piece of toast, sprinkled with sugar, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and chocolate chips. And yes, it's very sweet.

At school, Akiko continues to do extremely well. She's being challenged more in first grade than she was in kindergarten, so she's not complaining about boredom. She's an amazing reader and her favorite subject is math. She has lots of friends and seems to really enjoy herself. She's getting a lot more independent about getting ready in the morning, so we've all been feeling less rushed to get out the door. 

Akiko is a very good example to her friends and her brothers. Her testimony is growing and she's extremely excited to get baptized next year. I often catch her reading her scriptures or her Friend. Her prayers are getting more sophisticated and sincere. When I'm having a crazy bad pregnancy hormone related day, she will go out of her way to keep the boys happy and occupied and bring me snacks or draw me pictures to cheer me up. She's been a great example of Christ-like service in our house.

She may have been a difficult toddler and, at times, can still be stubborn and hard-headed, but Akiko is turning into an amazing young lady. I'm so grateful for her love and all the help she gives me. 

Moses

Moses is one of the sweetest boys you'll ever meet. He's also extremely intelligent and catches on to concepts really quickly. He has a knack for puzzles and math problems. I've never met a kid his age who could do double digit addition and subtraction with positive and negative numbers (though I know those kids exist). He's also starting to read simple words and spells phonetically. He also really loves music and catches onto melodies and lyrics really quickly. 

He absolutely loves video games and spends a bit too much time with them. We're working on less screen time and rewarding him with it for positive behavior rather than taking it away for negative behavior. When he's not in front of the screen, however, he still turns everything into a game. I believe I talked about that in another post a few months back.

Moses adores Akiko and they get along famously. They do have sibling spats, as Moses has gotten older and wants to do things his way, like things that are less girly than Akiko would prefer, but otherwise they play really well together most of the time and they have a lot of inside jokes already.

Moses also really loves Asher. A little too much sometimes. I have to keep reminding him to give Asher space. As Asher gets older, though, he's getting more tolerant of the constant hugs and kisses bestowed upon him by his brother.

Moses is very loving and is always telling me, "Mommy, I love you to the end of the universe and back plus a thousand sixty-five gazillion four hundred and twenty three (or some other similar giant number)," and "Mommy, I love you more than you love me." He still climbs into bed with me first thing in the morning for a quick snuggle before he so sweetly asks me if he can play Angry Birds on my phone. He has unlocked almost all the levels on that game, whereas I couldn't get past level 1-7.

Anyone who gets to interact with Moses always tells me what a great kid he is. I couldn't agree more. He is an amazing little man.

Asher 

I can't get a posed still shot of Asher because this kid is always on the move. Whereas Moses was quiet, docile, and totally chill at 18 months old, Asher is loud, rambunctious and full of spunk. We had a feeling Asher was going to be like this when I first felt him move when I was 14 weeks pregnant with him. He never stopped moving for the next seven months in utero and never stopped moving for the last eighteen months since he was born. 

Asher is just bursting with energy, love, joy and volume. He gets into cabinets and drawers a lot more than the other kids did, but he's starting to get over that phase.

Asher is starting to understand and obey commands like "Put your shoes in the closet", "Throw your diaper in the garbage can", and "Give (insert name here) kisses!"

His communication is starting to take off and he knows a few words. "Mom", "Bop (stop)", "Ew!", and "No" are the most used, but we've been hearing "Whassisat (what is that)?" and "Didit (I did it)!" a lot lately, too. Asher has a lot of words that he has made up and we've had to decipher them like "Wizzo ahh-poh" means that he wants a drink. We have dubbed it "Asher speak." If he's not actually trying to communicate, he has a near constant stream of babble or song coming out of his mouth.

Asher, like any other kid, hates it when things get taken away from him, but is really good about giving you the object in his hands if you ask nicely. We're still working with Moses on this concept. 

Example: The other day, I was at the store with the boys. I only had to get one or two things, so I didn't get a cart and just let Asher run around following me, which he's getting good at. If he took an item off the shelf, I'd tell him to put it back, which he usually did. If he didn't, I'd ask him to give it to me, which he would, and I would put it back. Well, as we were walking to the checkout, Asher ran down one aisle and Moses ran after him to retrieve him. Asher found a big display of chip dip envelopes and grabbed a couple of dips. Moses, knowing I just wanted to leave at that point, grabbed at the envelopes in Asher's hand, rather than simply asking for them, there was a struggle between the boys and, next thing you know, they knocked down the entire cardboard display and ranch and onion dip envelopes went sliding clear down half the aisle. I had to laugh that one off, rather than get mad at them, because it really was more funny. They both helped me clean up as best as we could and made sure to let someone know what happened as we left the store. At least it wasn't a shelf of pickles or wine or something glass and breakable, right?

Asher is very affectionate towards his family and loves to spontaneously give us hugs, snuggles and kisses. He's shy-friendly around people outside of the house. 

Asher went into nursery for the first time on his own today and we were told that he did as well as could be expected. That means he cried for a bit until he got distracted and did well the rest of the time. Joseph, for the first time since we moved here, was able to go to Sunday school and Priesthood today without distractions (we taught a Primary class together until I got called to the presidency and he has wandered the halls with Asher for about a year since then). He was so excited. He is looking forward to the next four months. 

All in all, Asher is a silly, goofy, smiley, funny little sweetheart of a boy. He is really good at getting us to smile, even when he's doing something he's not supposed to be. It's hard to get mad at him. 

Baby #4 

Well, we have ultrasound pictures of the baby, but we can't access them because the cd the clinic gave us will only allow you to open the files with Windows. Seriously. It actually says on the instructions that it will not work with Macs. Lame, right? I mean, who uses Windows around here? Apple is just down the street. 

Anyway, I think I'm around 22 or 23 weeks now and the baby is doing great so far. He really likes it when I eat chocolate. That's when he gets most active.

As far as the pregnancy is concerned I'm just getting to the point where things are getting uncomfortable or in the way as the second trimester draws to a close. I can't bend down to tie my shoes anymore and it's really awkward to get on my hands and knees to locate a shoe under the couch. Making the top bunk bed has become a chore.

I haven't had too much discomfort. The sciatica is threatening to make a comeback. If I feel it act up, I try to take it easy the rest of the day. Restless legs are also threatening, but haven't become too troublesome so far. 

As long as the sciatica doesn't get bad and if I don't get insomnia, I think this pregnancy will be bearable. I've only got four short but busy months left. People are finally starting to ask, if I hadn't told them already. I guess I'm finally past the stage where people don't want to ask in case it was just me getting fat. 

I'm out of things to say now and this post has gone on long enough. Thanks for taking your time to read.