THIRTY TWO

Can you just pretend i posted this 3 weeks ago?   That is when i actually took the pictures.  My 32nd week of pregnancy, and the kids 32nd month of life.  Mike almost made the cut with his 32nd year of life...but he was about 8 weeks shy and we don't want to rush old age now, do we? ;)

 to expand on the preggo update (as of 35 weeks now): 

It's going okay.  I'm sore--most days a lot--every once in a while i get a good day where i can almost ignore it.  I'm obviously much smaller this time around which does make most things a bit easier.  I can still get out of bed without the help of my husband, i fit in the car--through door ways, etc.  okay i'm being a  bit ridiculous, but really it is nice not being stopped and asked 10 times a day when i'm due and "how many babies are in there?". 

between keeping up with the twins, working on the house and taking all my naps ;) we've been pretty busy.  People keep asking if we're ready for #3 and geez what does ready mean?  We did finally clean out his room and this weekend Mike and his brother, Kevin, painted the nursery.  I have finally started washing baby clothes and diapers that were packed away and we have been pulling out all the baby equipment making sure everything works.  

he doesn't have a name.  seems to be the popular question from everyone.  he will have a name one day.  i promise.  it's not so easy the second time around..we've already used our favorite name...and while trying to stay away from every name already used by family and friends...well that's just difficult.  

are we mentally ready?  who knows.  when i think about the no-sleep schedule after having such great sleeping babies for well over 2 years now, i get a little nervous.  am i ready to balance keeping my two    little ones busy and entertained while providing and caring for a newborn 24/7 and still keeping up my marriage and house...i dunno?  can you ever be? but other people do it and it's happening, so no reason to worry right?  

are we ready to meet this little boy that's been growing inside me for the past 8 months?  oh heck yes.  i'm ready to hold him, snuggle him and watch him grow up and develop into his own person.  and i think it goes without saying i'm ready to get him out of me.  it's really no secret i don't love being pregnant--but that doesn't mean it's not worth every second. 

we really have no birth plan.  military health care at its best....we're 35 weeks with an appointment next week to discuss our "options".  C-section...VBAC...who knows, i am truly not sure what is best for us and it's taken this long to get an appointment with someone to discuss it.  it's almost comical when my civilian friends find out they are  pregnant and know their c-section date all before their first trimester is up.  Heck, us military moms are lucky to be seen and ge a pee test before we're 12 weeks.  Let's just hope nothing happens before my appointment so i can at least make a sound decisions while not in labor.  All this being said, #3 will make it's way out one way or the other--that I AM sure of. 

and an update on these two cuties...

Nora: 

We just had a check-up...like months overdue...and all is well.  She is 37 1/2 inches tall (about 80th percentile) and 25 lbs (about 10th percentile). Long and lean, and ALL GIRL.  

She talks ALL.THE.TIME.  It cracks us up when it doesn't drive us crazy.  She giggles a lot and loves to sing.  Twinkle Twinkle is her favorite..she calls it "twinkle star" and then Jesus Loves Me. 

 She is in love with her stuffed cat, his official name is Meow.  Meow is her best friend.  She talks to him, reads to him, and can't sleep without him.  When she's scared or sad, it's one of the first things she wants.  She also loves our real kitties.  It's not unusual to find her reading to Lulu while Lu sleeps in her box.  Nora brings her lots of toys and talks to her about all kinds of things i can't understand.

 She's turned out to be quite a rule follower.  Of course she's two and often has her moments, but she likes order, routine and having a place for everything.  I really can't complain.  She also likes to boss Holden around, and we're starting to get the first of "tattling" when he doesn't do something right. 

She can still be nervous of new things and places with lots of people.  We've learned not to push her and let her warm up to things on her own.  That may mean it takes her a year to go down a slide...but in her own time, she seems to get over her fears and have a good time.  

She can be a finicky eater, although it has more to do with a chewing/texture problem than the actual taste of food.  We have a hard time getting her to eat meat (aside from her beloved breakfast sausage and hotdogs) but we're slowly making progress.  She LOVES sweets (of course) as well as biscuits.  If she's sees a McDonalds or Chickfila anywhere she immediately starts begging for a biscuit. 

She really is a joy, and as silly and girly as i always imagined a daughter of mine would be.  I'm a very lucky mommy.

Holden: 

At his check-up he weighed in at 31 lbs (about 60th percentile) and 38 3/4 inches (90th percentile).  

Holden is a sweet, sweet boy.  He has 2 sides--it's either go go go and running around crazy like you can imagine a little boy will do.  Or he can be quiet, sensitive and just sit back and observe.  His feelings are hurt quite easily and it's nothing unusual for him to wake up on a any given day, and things just not be quite right for him.  He doesn't easily adjust to changes and can also be weary of new things. 

He loves music of all kinds.  He likes to listen to it, sing it, and play it.  Whether it's his drums, the keyboard, or his ukelele--he loves to walk around a play.  

He also loves to play with cars and trains and planes as most boys do.  His favorite cars are the ones the bigger model cars that look like real cars and he can even tell you what each one is.  

He is very into colors and changes his favorite from week to week.  He picks out his shirts or what toys he's playing with based on the favorite color of he week.  

Holden loves men.  His Daddy, his uncles, his grandpas....  He would rather be with them than anybody.   When we go to play at another kid's house, he's happier hanging out with the men in the room than playing with the kids.  

Holden also has a goofy side.  He does things just to make his sister laugh--she thinks he's hilarious.  He poses and makes silly faces all the time just to get a reaction out of the people around him.  We are already expecting a call from school about being a clown in class.  

He has a fabulous memory.  He remembers people's names after meeting them once..and as many people as we have met in the past few months, that's pretty impressive.  We can tell him what something is one time and he usually has it down.  He also won't let us forget if we told him we were going to do something.  Gotta watch out about that...

Potty Training for both is proving to be as difficult as i thought it may be.  We're taking a break.  I'm just not sure they are ready. We made a valiant effort this summer with not much progress.  I'm hoping that a few months more will make the difference and we'll get this under control.  

It's true what they say about momma's and their boys.  He warms my heart everyday and he still makes time to hug and kiss me--which is more than i can say for princess norabird most days.  They are both getting so big i can hardly believe it, but they really are great kids with fun personalities.  It's a joy to be their mom. 

 here's the outtakes from our mini photo shoot...