Proud Moments

As a mom, you seem to find the smallest proud moments - Brooklynn learning to put on her panties the right way, Chandler actually catching a ball from a few feet away.....Every day something new and something to be proud of.  Some of my new moments:

The girls got themselves completely dressed up on their own (Chandler almost got it) and were so proud of their selections.    

The girls have been excited to help me cook lately.  Brooklynn and I used to cook together all the time, but she lost interest until Chandler wanted to help me.  Now I have two great cooks who can hopefully soon take over the kitchen duties.

On Saturday we took the girls to the Fort for a mens' basketball game - our first this year.  Last year we took Brooklynn but thought we'd be adventurous and try them both now.  Another proud moment - hearing the girls yell, "Go Rams!"  Brooklynn even let out a, "Go Defense."  This made me even happier - she's showing an interest in basketball!  Maybe we could have a baller on our hands after all.

Even Chandler did a great job.  Of course she was more interested in the numbers on the seats and the people around us, but that's ok.  We'll take it!

Family pic after the big win.  We actually upset #13 San Diego State.  Great to see the students rush the court but happy we were up high and away from the chaos.  I'm so old!

We're past halfway......14 weeks to go!

Nothing too exciting to report on the pregnancy, but the 24-week appointment went well.  Baby's heartbeat is a strong 140 bpm.  There's an old wives tale that says boys have slower heart beats (under 140 bpm), and we're right at that threshold.  So we still can't take a good guess at what we're having!

Baby weight - almost 2 pounds
Mom weight - so much more than that!  How come we gain so much more than the baby weighs?      Damn!  Dr. is fine with my weight gain, but I'm a little concerned it's been too much.  I gained much more with Brooklynn than Chandler, and had worse heartburn and back pain.  I've been increasing my gym visits to try to slow down. 
Name game - Still struggling with a girl's name (when you already have 2, it gets tough to find yet another name you like).  Boy has been picked out for years!
Next visit - 28 weeks with the Diabetes test!
Our girls' thoughts - Chandler is ecstatic for the baby.  She has found a sudden interest in babies everywhere we go.  She talks to the baby daily and kisses the belly every night.  Brooklynn, on the other hand, says, "We need to get this baby out of you mom!"  I think she's a little upset how much the "baby" is making mommy sick and tired.  So sweet, but I hope she doesn't harbor any ill feelings when the baby is here.
Our "to do" list - 
1.  Get Brooklynn a twin bed
2.  Get Chandler in a "big girl" bed and moved into Brooklynn's room
3.  Get all the newborn "crap" out of the basement.  Uggghhhhh.....(at least we can get rid of it all after this one!) 

Are We Nuts?

Since I've been pregnant, I've been extra observant of other moms in public (especially those brave enough to take out 3 kids).  Witnessing the insanity every time just freaks me out more and more, coming to the conclusion that it's not going to be easy, and I may never take all 3 kids out together for a long time.  Two experiences I vividly remember:

1.  We're at the library in our "playtime" classroom when I noticed a mom with 3 boys.  Of course I'm always intrigued by moms who have all the same sex kids (as we may be in that position too).  The older 2 are playing really well and the baby is sleeping most of the time.  I'm impressed with her ability to tend to both boys, making sure they share with others, etc.  As we're leaving the library I notice a little boy following us out the doors with no mom in sight.  I immediately recognize him as one of the "3 boys".  I ask him where his mom is, and he's too young to really respond.  So I take him back into the library and wait for his mom, as I'm expecting to see a fractic lady running and screaming to find him.  A couple minutes later she walks up and thanks me for stopping him.  Now I'm freaked out!

2.  At the grocery store this week I notice another "3 kid" mom, with 2 older girls, and a young baby boy (could also be us).  She looks like a pro with the 3 of them.  I immediately sympathize with her as the 2 girls are chasing each other around the cart - been there.  Done that!  She has a "talk" with them and redirects them - everything better.  She's making this look too easy.  Then she's behind me in line checking out.  I glance stare over at them and see the girls grabbing every candy bar they possibly can.  Meanwhile, the little boy had opened the honey jar and was eating the honey.  She continues to remain calm, but I could tell she was stressed, worn down.  I felt incredibly bad for her.  I have trouble shopping with 1 kid, let alone 3.

Luckily Steve doesn't work long hours or travel too often, so hopefully I won't be doing the errand trips with kids.  But I know there will be days I'll have to venture out with them all, and I just hope I can keep my cool and not have a mental breakdown.  As moms we're always worried about making sure our children are "well-behaved" in public and worried about the opinions of other moms.  I think most of us sympathize when we see another mom struggling with the kids, because we've been there.  Done that!  

Sometimes We Know Too Much!

A couple weeks ago we had our 20 week "big dog" ultrasound.  Everything at the ultrasound seemed to go smoothly, and of course, Steve made sure to let the tech know up front we didn't want to know the sex.  (I was hoping she'd slip and tell us).  It's been tough not knowing whether we'll be looking at fronting the bill for 3 weddings, or we'll get our little boy finally.  Here's some pics of our little one:

 Now when I first saw this pic, I thought for sure it was a little boy (look between those legs).  Then I realized it was probably an umbilical cord (goes to the knees).  So either we have an extremely well-endowed little boy (woop woop) or a healthy umbilical cord.

The day after my ultrasound (my bday) I received a call from my OB that the baby had a dilated kidney.  I asked her what the implications of that meant, and she said, "You are at an increased risk of the baby having Down's Syndrome."  I had the immediate feel of my stomach dropping and tears immediately streaming down my face.  I had never had any issues with either of the girls' pregnancies and never had to endure bad news about a baby.  We were on our way to a restaurant to meet Steve's family, and I felt so hopeless.  I just wanted to get home and digest her info and do some research of my own (since she didn't seem to have any further information for me).

After searching online, I realized the problem is quite common and not serious - calming my nerves.  It can be a very soft marker of Down's, but they would probably see abnormalities in the heart and brain.  Then after talking to friends, it seems even more common.  Of course, I was upset that my doctor broke the news to me the way she did, and she didn't do her research before talking to me.  

Medicine has come a long way, and I am appreciative of that, but sometimes we just know too much!  We were probably all born with dilated kidneys and didn't even know it!  There are also so many legalities involved now, that I'm sure she needed to warn me of my risk to cover her own butt!  I guess that's the price we pay nowadays for our amazing technologies.

Either way, it was a scare, but it helped Steve and I realize that we really don't care whether it's a boy or girl.  We just want a healthy baby - so cliche yet so true!

What Really Matters

In November my grandma (91 years young) was admitted to the hospital for bleeding.  Shortly after a transfer to a hospital in Buffalo, my grandpa (just as young) was admitted as well.  After a scary few weeks, they both rebounded, like always.  Unfortunately they weren't able to spend Christmas together as they were both rehabing (probably the first in 68 years).

When my grandma was physically ready, she was able to visit grandpa in the nursing home (where he's staying for a short while to rehab).  My mom was there to witness the reunion, saying "there wasn't a dry eye in the place."  I could just picture the moment, because it's inevitable when you see these two how much they love each other!

My grandparents are amazing people - great grandparents, grandparents, and parents!  Even though grandma has had her fair share of health scares (including a triple bypass), she always bounces back stronger than ever, with grandpa always there to care for her.  They have been amazing role models for what a marriage is and should be. 

One vivid memory I regularly think about comes to mind.  I remember right before Steve and I were getting married, grandpa leaned over to Steve, shook his hand, and said, "Take care of her."  Of course, my initial reaction of thinking was - I don't need a man to take care of me.  But now I know what he meant.  We always need someone taking care of each of us, and I'm no exception to that.  Steve and I will always need to take care of each other and even more in the future.  Those words from grandpa will always resonate with me.

So thank you both for being such an inspiration - teaching us all the importance of family and taking care of each other every single day! 

Santa Decided to Put Us on the Nice List

Our seemingly never-ending Christmas celebration began early on Christmas Eve, with a moving church service at Flatirons.  Then we headed back to Steve's parents' for some grub and gifts.  Carrie and Josh flew in the night before, so we were able to spend the day with them too, and the girls were ecstatic to see them!

As good as it gets for family pics with 2 little ones.....

 More our style!  (I think we need to think of a new original "silly face" though)

 Sister bonding

Before dinner we all opened our stockings.  The girls had to help everyone open theirs.

 Stockings were followed by a yummy dinner of turkey and all the fixins'.  Then more presents! 

Brooklynn taking pics of Santa dancing with her new camera

 Chandler is pooped out already!

 Working for their food & presents

 Carrie & Josh enjoying their favorite gifts - Snuggies!  Who knew they were still loved by everyone?

 It's 8:00 and Josh is already sleeping - what's new?

The girls awoke Christmas morning to full stocking and lots of presents under the tree.  I guess the fat man came after all - we were a little worried this year!  After presents we made and decorated our donuts and played with all our new presents. 

 Christmas afternoon we drove to mom's, for yet another Christmas celebration.  The novelty of opening gifts soon wore off on the girls.  They sure do get burned out on opening so many gifts - poor kids.  After presents, stuffed again from another yummy dinner. 

Chandler opening her favorite gift - hot dogs!  It's all she really wanted.....

 Opening their new dollhouse

 Our 3 favorite girlies.  Aren't they the cutest?

 Actually able to get a picture of Andy (doesn't happen often)

 Matching p.j.s

So a few days later, 5 or 10 pounds later (who's counting at this point), we made it through Christmas.  There's always a little let-down for me, taking down the decorations, throwing away the cookies, but luckily the girls transition through the time with ease.  The next days we spent resting, trying to get back on a routine, and of course, assembling all those dang toys!

Our Family Traditions

We knew once we started our own family we'd have to start our own Christmas traditions.  I always enjoy hearing others' family traditions, but it's difficult to find something unique.  I'm beginning to think I've gone a little overboard though, because it always seems tough to squeeze them in during an already hectic time of year.  And I think we keep adding more each year.

#1 - Gingerbread House
The girls really enjoyed decorating our house this year, because they could both participate and do whatever they wanted.

 Proud of their finished product

 #2 - Cookie Decorating for Santa
Usually my mom organizes a cookie decorating party (hint hint), but I had to pull this together myself for the girls this year.  We made way too many cookies for Santa (he even saved some for us).  Brooklynn made a real work of art out of her cookies, placing each sprinkle meticulously in its place, while Chandler just ate the frosting and sprinkles.

 And our new tradition - naked cookie decorating (but we'll keep that part for the girls only)

 #3 - Making a Snowman
Brooklynn was extremely envious when our neighbor, J.D., made his own snowman a couple weeks ago.  She reminded us each time we drove by how much she wanted to make her own.  So when we had enough snow (which hasn't been tough this year), daddy took the girls outside to build one.  Brooklynn was dedicated and proud of her finished snowman.

 For good luck (although they got the beatdown from Buffalo).  There will probably be no more Broncos snowmen with Steve being so superstitious!

 Our other "baby" loving to play in the snow

#5 - Advent Calendar

Each day the girls were able to open their "gift" for the day.  It was fun to watch their excitement, as this was the highlight of their day.  Chandler was not happy when we had to put it away for the season. 

#4 - Making donuts Christmas morning

Last year we decided we'd start a new tradition of making and decorating donuts on Christmas morning.  It went much smoother this year (and next year we'll have a donut maker, rather than having to fry the donuts).  We had chocolate, powdered sugar, and cinnamon sugar, along with lots of sprinkles.  What a sweet Christmas morning treat!



 Uhhhhh........I love donuts!

We did start another tradition this year as well.  Jan & Forney gave us a pickle ornament, which is a German tradition (fitting since we're both German).  You hide the ornament in the tree, and the person who finds it gets an extra present.  After that tradition, we'll stop!  Otherwise we may go a little crazy!