Wednesday, February 26, 2014

??????

I can NOT convince Layla to keep underwear on.  Every time she gets into a new dress she wants them off.  We're going through a good 4-5 pair a day over here! If I can't break this tendency by summer, things could get very..."interesting" around here.  ;)

And poor Finn.  He's really been going through something for the last 3-4 weeks or so.  We can't figure it out, if it's mostly developmental, or if it's more physical, but this poor kid is so sad so often.  Emotions are FLOWING out of him.  Serenity now.

Friday, February 21, 2014

My children:

Layla:  These days, Layla has FULLY embraced all things princess.  She changes outfits 4+ times a day, usually each time is to upgrade to an even better princess outfit.  Renee loves to indulge this side of her, and on Wednesday she presented Layla with an insane dress: pink ruffles explode off of this thing, and Layla adores it.  She has worn it every days since then, along with he swimsuit, as she dreams of swimming.

Also, Layla gets very offended these days if I call her plastic high heels "shoes."  She says "Mama!!!  They are GLASS SLIPPERS!!  Not SHOES!!!"  :)



Finn:  Finn has started becoming selectively "mute" at times.  I'm still trying to figure out what makes this happen, but usually I'd bank on times of high emotions, or the "about to become sick" stage of life.  Anyway, last night he went mute for a good hour+.  This involves him trying to talk with his mouth shut, so he makes noises, but no words.  I was finally able to bribe him to talk again.  :)




Girl #2:  She's making my breathing VERY challenging these days.  I breathe the best when I'm sitting straight up, or standing.  So, night time is super fun.  

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

9.

So, I had a Dr. appointment today, and everything is fine.  It was just an OB check, a RARE occurrence for me, so I was in and out of there in 30 minutes.  CRAZY!

I got a little talking-to while I was there about being "underweight" for this pregnancy.  Hahahahaha!  Oh, mercy.  I guess I've only gained 9 lbs so far, and the Drs think it's just something we need to keep an eye on.
Come ON!  :)  With each of my 5 pregnancies I have started the pregnancy weighing MORE than before I was pregnant...EACH.TIME.  So, me gaining "not much weight" just means that I'll likely end up at the exact same final weight as with each previous pregnancy.  I'm pretty convinced by body just has a weight it wants to be when I'm pregnant, and it'll do whatever it takes to get me there.  I'm not doing anything--seriously--to not gain weight.  I don't do any sort of serious or regular exercise these days, and I'm not "watching what I eat."  I eat what I want, it's just that I can't ever eat very much in one sitting, and who has the time to make food more than a few times a day, right??  It's not like I'm going hungry or anything! :)

Maybe my craving for celery and hummus in the first trimester, or my total craving for 3 oranges a day in the 2nd trimester had something to do with it?  Who knows.

In any case, this made me laugh as it's something I never thought I'd hear in my life:  "We're concerned you're a tad underweight for this pregnancy."  *snort*  Plus, there is no worry at all about the baby's growth as she was in the 64th% for weight last time they measured her--she's bigger than either of my other two were at this point!

Now that I've written this post I'm sure that Karma will come zap me, and I'll gain 20+ lbs or something in the 3rd trimester... ;)

Monday, February 17, 2014

Yes.

A note on Valentine's Day:

I am a very un-romantic person, I'm sad to say.  Well, I feel sort of bad for Jonas sometimes with my total lack of creativity, but other than that I guess I don't feel SO bad about it.  :)  We've never been big on Valentine's Day, Jonas and I.  Granted, I LOVE holidays, and I love making a big deal out of them to create fun memories for our family, but Valentine's Day has always been my one big challenge.  I just think it's silly to have a holiday centered around couples--I much prefer families, that way everyone is included, no matter what their "relationship status" is.  I don't want to go on a date on the same night in the world when EVERYONE ELSE AND THEIR MOTHER is also going on a date...if feels weird!  I would so much rather go out with Jonas the day before, or the day after, instead of Valentine's Day.  So, long story short, we've never done much, although Jonas has always done something little to show me he loves me, which I think is very sweet--I just don't need diamonds and crazy expensive dinners, etc.

This Valentine's Day we actually had a reservation at a restaurant, but we couldn't find a sitter easily, and neither of us felt like putting too much effort into it, so we canceled the reservation and just decided to stay home.  As our kids go to bed so early, we could easily celebrate in a much more relaxing, comfortable (for me the pregnant lady), and FREE environment at home.  I suggested we have steaks, something we NEVER ever buy, but something we (strangely enough) have on hand these days due to our cow purchase.  So, we grilled our first steak (just 1, as it was MASSIVE), baked some asparagus, mashed a few potatoes, purchased some fancy Irish butter, and made the most delicious blue cheese sauce to put on our steaks.  Seriously, these steaks were to die for, and the sauce put them over the top.  We ate in front of our fire, and it was perfect--I'm loving our "staying in" traditions for Valentine's Day and parts of our Anniversary, I can tell you that!  There is no pressure, and it's so relaxing, and...it's much cheaper.  ;)  I DO love that too!

This year Jonas hit his gift to me out of the park:  he left me a few flowers that morning, which were lovely and completely enough, but he ALSO came home that night with all of our knives professionally sharpened.  *SWOON*  THAT is love, people.  True love!  Don't give me chocolates, do something that will make my daily life delightful for months to come!  These days, as I chop and slice through anything with ease, I feel loved.  :)  (By the way, if you have never had your knives professionally sharpened, you have no idea what you are missing.  We normally do it about 2-3X a year, and it is so worth it, but it had been too long since our knives had last been in, and then things start to become dangerous with your knives.  Do it.  Trust the professionals.  Worth every penny.)


A note on Finn:
We moved Finn out of his crib this past weekend, a few months shy of his 3rd birthday.  We left Layla in her crib until I think around 3 or 4 months after she turned 3--my motto would line up quite nicely with "If it's not broken, stop trying to fix it."  Both of our kids have slept great in cribs, and Layla NEVER climbed out of hers.  Finn climbed out once, only because his mattress was on an incline due to a severe cold.  Since they were safe and comfy, we just leave 'em as long as possible!  I don't at all get the parents who want to rush their kids through every possible "milestone," but that's another very long tangent/rant.  So, anyway, we really didn't need to move him from his crib, but he's been having a little bit of a harder time at bedtime lately, and we thought we might change things up and see if that helped (he has been very clingy when normally he would go down in his crib just fine).  ALSO, with the baby coming, we're planning ahead to help everyone get the most possible sleep at night.  Layla and Finn sleep just fine--exactly as toddlers and preschoolers should sleep--but they still obviously get up at night for the many reasons we all wake at night:  using the bathroom, being sick, aches and pains and sickness, bad dreams, etc.  When baby girl comes, I'll need to focus most of my night energy on her, so Jonas will be doing most of the handling of the other two kids at night.  With this in mind, we put a queen size mattress on the floor in Finn's room--a Montessori style floor bed of sorts.  That way, if something is needed at night, Jonas can still get sleep and snuggle with him, and the baby and I can do our thing in my bedroom.  Everyone getting enough sleep is a big priority for me, and so I'm glad we have this option. Last night was his first night in the bed and he did just fine, although I went in to check on him before we went to bed and he was right on the edge of the mattress, outside of the covers.  So, I tucked him back under the covers, far along the OTHER side of the mattress by the wall.  At least that way he'd have to do a lot of night rolling to become uncomfortable again.  :)  I always wonder if I'll feel all sentimental about moments like this with my kids, but frankly, as much as I am not romantic, I am also not super sentimental about most things--my kids included for the most part.  I think it helps that we just don't rush most stuff when it comes to our kids, so by the time the "milestones" happen, it seems more than appropriate, and more often than not it's super easy.

 So, that's that!  Finn is in a big-boy bed now, and it was barely a blip on our radar.  :)  I'm just glad it'll be normal before the baby comes, because I want to try to keep as much stuff simple and the same as possible--for the older two kids, initially.  Based on Layla's FREAK OUT reaction to Finn when we brought him home, I know those transitions can be hard for some kids.  However, I'm really not expecting much chaos from the older two--Finn will be three when baby girl comes home, and that is SUCH a better age than 18 months (Layla's age when Finn was born).  He can understand so much more, he can communicate well, and all of this leaves me VERY thankful for the space of 3 years between my youngest two children here.  VERY thankful.  :)  18 months--mercy.  That was rough.  Cheers to a new beginning, and learning from the past! ;)


A note on the Olympics:
1.  I am a die-hard Olympics fan, but I have to tell you, having the opening ceremonies on day 2 totally threw me.  I couldn't take the 1st day of competition very seriously, and I've been less-than-invested in these Olympics every since.
2.  "Normal" Lisa cries at almost every finish in the Olympics, no matter what the event is.  Pregnant Lisa?  Holy Cow.  My tears know no bounds.  I was almost sobbing at the women's cross country relay finish a while back.  CROSS COUNTRY SKIING.  Sobbing.  I'm truly rolling my eyes at myself, and the crazy things hormones can do to your body, mind, and emotions!! :)

Friday, February 14, 2014

Baby Girl, 29 weeks:

Sorry about the quality of the photos here, folks!  It's a super sunny day, and my mirror is dirty, and my camera lens needs to be cleaned...and so do my floors.  :)  But, this is about all the energy I have for this today, so this is what you get!  Also, no head shots as it's been a while since my hair has been washed, and I just wasn't feeling the makeup today... ;)



Getting the right angle is always hard for me, I feel like...
I passed my glucose test at 28 weeks, so that's nice.  Pretty soon I'll start doing my weekly non-stress tests where they count heartbeats and movement for about 30 minutes at a time, AND the ultrasounds weekly where they check to make sure that the baby is breathing (or at least exercising those lungs with fluid).  These Dr. visits take FOR-EV-ER, because they have to sit there and just wait, watching the baby, until it breathes.  Sometimes that happens in the first 5 minutes...often it's a good 15-20 minutes of me chatting with the ultrasound tech.  Fun fun!

This now means I have 10 weeks to go until we for sure will have a new baby around this place.  I highly doubt I'll go into labor early, but I guess you never know.  With Layla I went into labor with her naturally at 39 weeks, my labor with her was 36 hours long, and she weighed 7 lb, 13 oz.  With Finn I was induced at 39 weeks, my labor with him was 30 hours long, and he weighed 8 lb, 13 oz.  With this one I'm guessing I'll be induced at 39 weeks, and I have my FINGERS CROSSED for a labor that is under 24 hours.  That seems reasonable, right??  I have NO idea on weight.  However, I wouldn't mind a majorly chunky baby.  :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This morning I came downstairs to find flower for myself, and balloons for the kids.  :)

So I had them wait in the hall until I called them into the kitchen, ready with my camera.  It didn't do much to prevent the "blur" that is my children on camera, but at least I captured some instant emotion.  :)

LOVING it.

Finn didn't stop to admire, just ran right in to tackle them all of the counter. 






Happy Valentine's Day, Friends and Family!

Love to all!

Layla had a BLAST at her preschool Valentine's Day party yesterday ("Mama, I shared my cards with all my friends, and THEY shared their cards with ME!!"), and she came home with my first home-made Valentine from her:
I am sure she didn't cut out the felt heart herself, but everything else she glued or stuck on there on her own.  Lots of Jesus stuff on there, huh?  She's a very spiritual girl...who goes to a Christian school... ;)

My favorite is probably the heart at the bottom.  I know those are hard to do for little kids.  


Monday, February 10, 2014

St. Lucia...a month or two late. It's how we roll.


The Three Lucias.  We'll be sure baby gets a white dress next year too.  :)


This year Layla got to wear the dress Anja wore in Greg and Andrea's wedding.  She was in HEAVEN, and has since worn it every day after.  Each time she walked around the table as we sang she would stop at Renee and say "I'm doing a good job!"


Layla and Finn couldn't eat the cookies Aunt Renee brought, but they COULD have the giant marshmallows!  They both loved the idea of them, but didn't really finish anything...


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Radio silence.

Sorry for the lack of presence here!

The last 8 days (February 1st-8th) have been crazy busy for us, at least according to our normal life standards.  It's been people people people, and activities activities activities, and late nights late nights late night...and not much time for blog updates in there.  :)

Tomorrow, we have blocked out the whole day for NOTHING.  We "might" make it to church, because we love it, but then again...nothing might win out.

A few highlights:

Sunday night we let the kids stay up a bit later than normal so they could be awake when the Rydbecks got here (they stayed from Sunday-Friday of this week).  The kids were SO excited to see Zoey!  We watched the Super Bowl, and there is no one we are more compatible to watch football with than the Rydbecks--you could likely not find two couples who care less about the entire sport than us all, and the Rydbecks are even currently LIVING in Seattle!  We enjoyed the half time show, the commercials, and one team getting royally crushed by another.  Whoop-de-doo, sportsing! ;)  Now the Olympics?  That's an entirely different ballgame for me.  I'll watch anything there, and I'll likely cry at some point during every single event too.

Monday night we stayed up late doing the fire / wine and cheese / catching up thing with the Rydbecks.

Tuesday night I went to my first professional hockey game.  It was much more fun than I had anticipated.  :) The club level seating probably helped with that...along with the exceptionally polite and quite MN fans.

Wednesday night we went out to eat at our favorite restaurant in St. Paul, Everest on Grand, with the Rydbecks from Seattle.  Rachael's work was paying for us to go out, so it was even more fun to eat when you know someone else with much deeper pockets than your own is picking up the tab.  Delicious, delicious food, as always.

**Oh, I forgot to add that on Wednesday I had my 28 week appointment, and I took my glucose test.  I have always passed it in the past, so I'm not sure why I was so worried this time around, but I was.  Turns out everything is fine, I pass with no problems, so no gestational diabetes for me.  :)

Thursday night we had our whole Life Group from church (and the Rydbecks) over for a birthday party / Olympics party.  We ate well, and laughed often.

Last night I had a bunch of women from church over to watch the opening ceremonies with me.  Once a month, on the first Friday of each month, someone hosts a gathering of women from church at their house.  Yesterday was my chosen night...I just forgot how buys the week leading up to that was going to be!  It was still a delightful time with women I very much enjoy.  And, oh, the food...again!

Today Jonas is at a leader's meeting at church, and tonight my whole family is coming over here (including Greg and Andrea, up from Rochester) to do St. Lucia.  Layla is SO excited to wear the dress Anja wore in Greg and Andrea's wedding to this event.  Pictures will for sure come soon of this event, but maybe more from Renee on FB--stay tuned there for those.


Monday, February 3, 2014

Injuries.

You guys.

I pray for about 35-45 injuries a day, between the two kids.  And I use the term "injury" veeeeeeeery loosely.

My kisses have lost power.  Finn still let me "kiss them better" after Layla stopped believing, but now they both just want me to pray for their hurts.

While I appreciate the now more appropriate trust in God to be their ultimate healer...it just gets a little old.  :)  It's the new "magic healing band-aid" I guess!

~L

** Since I posted this I have prayed for 8 injuries.