We're Moving!

After nearly 7 months of debate, Randy and I have finally decided on a new name for our family blog....since, ya know, we'll no longer be a 'Table for 4' in just 6 short weeks. We didn't want to use a number just in case we continued our family expansion project and, we wanted to avoid using our last name since the Internet is, well, the Internet....so the decision took some time.

BUT, from today on out, you can follow our family news at........

The Fruits of our Labor

'Table for 4' will be up for the next 6 weeks or so, but after M3 joins our family, I will be deleting it...so make sure you update your blog feeds, IE Favorites, etc.

Wait for it.....

My sister so nicely reminded me last night, "You're behind on your blog posts, and I need new pictures."

So sorry, dear blog readers, but as you can imagine, I've been a little preoccupied....but mostly tired.

BUT a new blog post is coming soon.....complete with news about our new blog 'location'.

Busy Labor Day Weekend

Sadly, I'm almost a full week late in posting pics and such from our Labor Day Weekend...but better late than never, right? So, here is what filled our weekend....in semi-bullet point fashion.

• Friday night: Randy's first love is football...he just can't get enough of this season. And since our Residency Program docs work as one of the local HS team's "Team Docs", he thought it would be fun to take the family....show us (specifically, Josiah) where he will be "working" many Friday nights till November. It was a great night (minus the surprising cost of admission=$24)...and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We sat right next to the band (on the non-student side) where Josiah and Laney could dance their little hearts out...and they did! It was an interesting environment, being around all of those 'kids' (boy, things/kids have changed in the last 13 years--whoa, that makes me feel old) and seeing the marching band (yep, I was one of those band geeks, but I loved it). And one other interesting observation....a popular concession item here is cucumber wedges seasoned with chili powder and lemon. Hmmmm, wasn't quite sure what to think of that, so I refrained. Here are a couple off snapshots from our of HS football game experience.

Football is SO big here in TX that it's not uncommon to see scoreboards with jumbo-trons at the HS level...I was amazed.

As long as Laney had popcorn, she was good to go.

Ah, just remembering the days...wool uniforms in high heat and humidity.

Laney also turned 16 months on Friday...and sported her first up-do (or 'whale spout' as I've just been informed my bloggy friend, Sabrina). Isn't it just darling?! Up to this point, she's not really had enough hair for us to pull up/back with even a clip...but with all of the outside activity (translation: sweating), she kinda sat still long enough to let me pull it up off her forehead in an effort to cool her down.

• Saturday: I decided it was time to finally install Laney's new car seat. The big, pink, flowery car seat had been sitting in the entry way for the last couple of months...and every day, Laney would sit in it. My hesitation about installing it so soon after it was delivered was that it was too big to sit rear-facing...and I wasn't ready to turn her around quite yet. But I broke down, cleaned out the backseat, switched Josiah to the passenger side (his legs are too long to fit comfortably when Randy drives), and installed Laney's new seat....she LOVES it. Now there's just one more seat to install.......

• Sunday: We headed to Brownsville for a friend's first birthday party at a local splash park. I've been wanting to go the park since we discovered it last year; but when it came down to it, I never really could get myself excited about traveling 30 minutes just to play around in water when we have multiple friends in town with pools. So this was perfect....plus, we didn't have to worry about a ton of random kids pushing over the babies, my friend had reserved it specifically for her daughter's birthday. It was so much fun...and the weather was perfect (yep, still really hot down here; however, we have cooled down to the low 90s)!

• Monday: We just relaxed and enjoyed having daddy home for a change. I cleared out the hall closet to make room for my newly organized file boxes (I no longer have clutter in the 'junk' corner of our bedroom--YAY, now we have room for the crib!) and was granted time to grocery shop ALONE. Randy had also smoked a turkey on Saturday, so we invited our fellow PGY2s over for fellowship and food.

It was a great weekend, filled with lots of family-time. Only a couple more weeks before Randy heads into another horrible month of hospital service, and then shortly after that, we become a family of FIVE.....we are definitely cherishing these moments as our little 'Table for 4', full weekends or even an hour--we'll take whatever we can get. Hope you had a great weekend!

Hiding His Word

Last night was Josiah's FIRST night as a Cubbie in our church's AWANA Club. And if you aren't familiar with AWANA, it's an international, nondenominational, Bible-centered ministry for 3YOs through HS students, and the name comes from 2 Timothy 2:15:

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." Approved-Workmen-Are-Not-Ashamed.

Last night was also Parent VIP Night for the Cubbies, so I was able to sit in his class and observe how he'll be spending his time (6pm-7:45pm every Wednesday)...and Josiah did pretty well considering he one ball of non-stop energy, which is only enhanced when he's around his friends. He began learning his first Cubbies Bible verse: "...God...loved us and sent His Son..." (1 John 4:10), the AWANA Pledge, the Pledge to the Christian Flag, the Pledge to the Bible, and Cubbies song. Each week, Randy and I will work with Josiah to memorize a different verse, thus hiding the Word in his heart. And with each successful verse recall (or series of verses), he will earn a badge to put on his Cubbie Vest, which he'll receive in a couple of weeks.

Randy and I are excited to use this additional opportunity to teach Josiah (and Laney) about Jesus and God's grace (truthfully, I think I'm going to learn just as much). We just can't believe that we have a little one old enough to participate in the Club. 7-8 years ago, before Randy and I were married, we were group leaders for our church's kids program...I remember thinking just how cute, small, and impressionable our Cubbies were....and now we have one.

Kind of a goofy picture....he's learned the art of cheesy smiles.

Preparations for Baby: Part 1

Today I'm 28 weeks pregnant, which means that I'm officially in my 3rd Trimester. I honestly can't believe how fast time is passing! It seems just like yesterday that we told our friends and family our shocking news.

I had the beloved glucose tolerance test this morning...and passed! I really didn't think I would fail, and I was praying that I wouldn't because I would not know life without my carbs and sweets....I already have to endure 6-9 months postpartum without chocolate or dairy.

Anyway, with only 12 weeks left, I've started preparing bit by bit.

1. Nursing cover: during the last couple of years, nursing covers have become popular among nursing moms. But for whatever reason, I've never purchased one. In thinking about things that I would enjoy having with this baby that I've not had with either Josiah or Laney, I decided that I wanted a nursing cover. However, I did NOT want to pay $35 for one. Sooo, I decided to search online for free tutorials and sew my own. I found two tutorials, but ended up using this one. There are a few things I would change upon sewing another one, but in the end, I was happy with how it turned out (despite its imperfections, which will probably continue to drive me nuts--but I do have the satisfaction of being able to say "I made it myself").

2. Travel changing pad: in my search to find nursing cover tutorials, I ended up spending a few extra minutes perusing around Esty (very dangerous) and found that I could buy a travel changing pad to match my nursing cover. What a great idea! So that led me to search for changing pad patterns, and this is what I found. But again, I was unwilling to spend $31 for something I could easily sew myself for much less. Here are pics of my end product:

Again, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Although, next time I would use only 1 layer of quilt batting between the fabric layers (the 2 layers I used does make it extra cushy, but it definitely adds bulk) and try to find a softer fabric for the back side.

3. Diaper clutch: this is the last piece of the set, and I'm just waiting on my mom to send me the pattern so that I can put it together. A friend made me one of these 'envelopes' when Josiah was born and thought it was one of the best gifts (thank you, Lori)! However, when I started carrying around diapers for TWO kiddos, the original clutch was too small....so my mom copied the pattern, making it bigger to accompany more diapers and wipes. And of course, I will be using the same fabric (bubbles-outside, orange-inside).

FYI--The cost to buy all of the fabric, quilt batting, ribbon, thread, boning and D-rings was a grand total of $35, the price of just one Hooter Hider.

4. Freezer meals: I've also started the process of stocking my big freezer. A couple of times a week, I'll make a double batch of dinner and freeze one. So far, I've got a Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole, Noodle and Spinach Casserole, meatloaf, and some 3 Bean Turkey Chili already done.

This week will be:

Tacos in Pasta Shells,

Baked Spaghetti,

King Ranch Chicken,

Swiss Stuffing Chicken, and

some banana bread (I've got tons of frozen bananas that I need to use up to clear out my in-house freezer).

And once I get my hands on a couple of OAMC cookbooks, I'm going to spend a day just cooking my little heart out. If you have any great recipes that work well for the freezer, please pass them along! If there is one thing that has me a little anxious about caring for a newborn, a 19-month old, and a 3YO, it's finding enough time and energy to cook. I just don't want to have to do much more than thaw and bake.

Next on the list....moving Laney to her new car seat (and finally turning her forward-facing), crochet another baby blanket, organize drawers, and transition Laney to the toddler bed. Wish me luck...and energy.

Getting SO Big

It's no secret that the baby stage is by far my least favorite stage about having children, so it should be no surprise that I'm filled with excitement and joy each time Josiah and Laney figure out how to do more 'big kid' things.

Last Thursday, Josiah's 3rd birthday, I decided it was time to really try the potty-training gig (having 3 in diapers really scares me financially). The night before I purchased some cool 'big boy' underwear, the ones that had all of his friends on them--Buzz Lightyear, The Incredibles, Nemo, Wall-E, and Lightning McQueen, hoping that this would be a good place to start, incentive-wise. I'm excited to announce that since last Thursday, he's only had a handfull of #1 accidents and NO #2 accidents. In fact, as soon as we got home Thursday night from a Residency pool party/dinner, he told me that he needed to go poo-poo. SUCCESS! And don't you know that we had quite a cheering session! In this past week, we have even found him running out of the room, taking himself to the potty (even climbing up onto the toilet to take care of #2). He's also been waking up dry from nap and nighttime. I'm not entirely sure if I can say he is potty trained quite yet, but he is making strides everyday. We are SO proud of you, Josiah!

Not only has Josiah tackled potty training during this past week, he is working on dressing himself. The arrangement is for me to lay out his clothes, and then he is responsible for putting them on. We are still working on "the tag goes in the back" and "your head goes through the big hole at the bottom of your shirt first"...and dressing in a timely manner, but he's doing a great job. And a lot of times, despite his obvious struggle, he still wants to "do it by myself"......

thus the unique way to wear his underwear.

And we moved Josiah out of the 'baby' room and into his own room, complete with 'big boy' bed with 'big boy' sheets. As per my mom's suggestion, instead of transitioning Josiah and Laney at the same time, we decided to make a big deal about him moving to the big bed...and we disassembled the toddler bed. There are days when he wants to sleep in his 'little' bed, but overall he's doing really well.

Laney, too, is growing by leaps and bounds. She can now speed walk, can step up and down stairs unassisted, throws balls well (and is even trying to shoot baskets), is gaining a little bit more 'air' each time she tries to jump, is speaking many more words--saying 'more' and 'all gone', will say "uh-huh" and shake her head 'no' depending on the question, and can tell you what the letters A, B, D, and M say...it's so cute! She's also become our biggest picky eater....not entirely sure what happened, but one day she wouldn't eat her up-til-then most favorite foods. Speaking of eating, she loves, loves, loves, to sit in a booster seat and will sometimes prefer it over a highchair.

She is also becoming quite a the 'little mama'....she sits her baby in her highchair when she's not in it, she brings baby up in the highchair with her and feeds it Cheerios, and even enjoyed helping me change Josiah's diaper by wiping his bottom (when we were using diapers, *wink, wink*)....let's just hope this behavior continues once her little brother/sister arrives.

I took both kids to their well-child/baby exams on Tuesday (Josiah-3 years, Laney-15 months), and here are their stats....

Josiah
Weight: 37.5 lbs (just shy of 90%)
Height: 39.75 in (between 90-95%)
Head: 19.5 in. (50%)

Laney
Weight: 27.5 lbs (between 90-95%)
Height: 32 in. (90%)
Head: 18.5 in. (75%)

Clearly, neither one of them is deficient in the physical growth department. YAY for healthy babies!

Outside-Inside

As of today, we are 26 weeks and 2 days pregnant...only 96 days to go....or 14 weeks....regardless of how you count it, though, it's not much time left at all!

Everything is going well....I'm measuring right on target, my BP is good, weight gain is fair (as in maybe gaining too much), my iron level is great, and baby's heartrate is around 150-160bpm.

On Monday we had our 'big' ultrasound...and I managed to keep my word and tell the U/S tech that we were not interested in finding out the gender and to please tell me when she would be taking the abdomen and femur measurements so I could turn my head. Baby M#3 is still laying horizontal with its feet near his head. According to BabyCenter, he weighs about 1.75 lbs and is 14 in. head to heel.

Picture from the OUTSIDE....

and from the INSIDE....

In 2 weeks, I go in for the oh.so.loved glucose screening and the following week, I have my very first appointment with the Nurse Midwife. I've hesitated in switching my provider to the CNM mainly because I've loved my epidurals too much and I really don't think I can endure 12+ hours of labor with no medical intervention (I'm too much of a pain wuss). But after sitting hour after hour to see my OB and then to just feel like a chart, I'm more than willing to try a different perspective to labor and delivery. Please pray that it goes well.

Flashback Friday

I'm going to be perfectly honest...I'm not sure if I failed to post a "Flashback Friday" last week because I was wrapped up visiting with family or if I was just hesitant to post baby pictures of both me and my husband....okay, maybe it was a little bit of both.

BUT....for your viewing pleasure and a few giggles.....

Me: 3 1/2 Months

Randy: 3 1/2 Months

Josiah: 3 1/2 Months

Laney: 3 1/2 Months

(I always thought my children looked similar, but geesh....at 3 1/2 months, it's hard to tell who is who)

Me: 2 Year Birthday

Josiah: 2 Year Birthday

Three

My dear, sweet Josiah,

As we celebrate the THREE years of life God has given you and blessed us with, we can't help but reflect on all of the things you've done or come to enjoy this past year.

Since you turned 2, you've become quite the big brother...you gladly bring me diapers and wipes whenever I ask, you inform me when Laney wakes up from her naps, and you make her laugh every day in a special kind of way that no one else can.

You learned how to pedal your tricycle and eventually ride a bicycle with training wheels....you especially enjoy riding up and down the 'ramps' (aka driveways) when we go out on our family walks.

You absolutely love anything to do with skateboards, scooters, motorcycles and tractors. You ask Daddy for a ride on his motorcycle each and every time he takes it out.

You enjoy helping me in the kitchen....you are a great stirrer. You even made your first gingerbread house this past Christmas.

You discovered how much fun carnivals are....you love the rides, the faster and taller-the better.

In the last 3-6 months, you learned your letters and their sounds. Plus, you enjoy playing Starfall on the computer since you figured out your hand-eye coordination with the computer mouse.

You love to play basketball....and you often say to us, "I have to practice so I can make the team."

You took your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th trips to the beach this year....and you loved it! Plus, you love to swim in your friends' pools....and you even started purposefully putting your face under water.

You love to sing, play your guitar, and drum on anything....you are our little noise maker. Lately, your favorite song to play your guitar to is the "Fruit of the Spirit" song.

You love to go to church (the worship is your favorite part)....and play with your friends during Children's Church.

Your favorite movies are Bolt, Cars, and Kung Fu Panda...you could watch them over and over and over again.

You don't really have any favorite foods because you've grown into a very picky eater (except if we stop at Rudy's for smoked turkey). However, you do love your 'hot cocoa' (aka chocolate milk), and you call it 'hot cocoa' because you heard it once during an episode of Curious George.

And today, you moved to your own room and wanted to wear underwear...marking the start our potty training endeavor.

We are so proud of all of your developments and accomplishments this past year, and we can't wait to see how you will make us laugh, how you will make us jump for joy, and how you will stun us with your knowledge/comprehension this next year.

We love you.

XOXO,

Mommy & Daddy

A Bouncy House and Motorcycles

The day that Josiah's been waiting for, for what seemed like forever, finally arrived on Saturday, his birthday party--complete with bouncy house and motorcycle cake!

Josiah and his cousin, Samuel

We had a great evening....WE (yep, the pregnant momma even enjoyed the bouncy house) bounced until 9:30PM. Many thanks to Randy's family for making the 10 hour drive down to celebrate with us....for the smoked brisket, homemade tortillas and potato salad, and especially for spending an extra day in town, just hanging out with us and the kids.

Tomorrow is Josiah's real birthday, and we will be spending the morning moving him to his own room, the afternoon decorating cupcakes and the evening swimming with friends.

You Know You're A Mommy When.....

Despite the fact that I never leave home without both sippy cups full of some kind of liquid and a snack cup full of Goldfish crackers or two (or more) packs of fruit snacks.....

that I've cleaned up multiple piles of cheerios and raw oatmeal off the floor (because the kids wanted a snack)....

that I just spent the last 45 minutes talking with a friend about car seats....

and that I consider myself lucky if I get a shower once/day....

You know you're a mommy when you get the store, rummage through every pocket of your bag only to find that you have no pen (to mark things off your list) BUT....

you have crayons.

Beachy Sunday

We headed to the Island on Sunday, our first trip of year. Sad, I know...we live 45 minutes away from the beach, and we haven't been but one time all summer....but there is no appeal in dragging two toddlers (and all of their gear) to the beach by myself. But since we would be joining friends (who have a tent for shade) and Randy was able to go with us, I thought it would be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon...before we start a rough month.

It was beautiful out on the Island (translation: it was 10 degrees cooler). The water was a little cool, but it was still refreshing; and the sand was soft. Surprisingly, Laney wasn't too excited about the water--she went crazy in Corpus. But after we sat down, started digging a hole, and building/destroying a couple of sand mounds, she was ready. Unlike his sister, Josiah jumped right in with his friend, Lincoln. They immediately found fun in trying to jump over the waves and splashing in the "baby pool" we dug just a few feet from the "big pool".

*I decided to take the camera off 'automatic' and play in 'P'....

clearly not ready to take the next step...

but this is what we walked away with.*

We stayed all afternoon...and we heard not even one small whine from the little people. We all had a great time, and the only bit of sunburn happened on my back (due to an error in application by the husband)...is it bad to be jealous of your children because they have gorgeous tans (and don't seem to burn)?

I'm so glad that Josiah and Laney enjoyed themselves and were so well behaved because next weekend is our Program's Beach Retreat, and I'll be taking them....alone because Randy has to work.

Flashback Friday

During the summer, every Friday we have a playdate at the pool. It's the only place outside we can stand to be for longer than it takes us to get fastened into the air conditioned car. Have I mentioned that we have been on quite a lengthy stretch of 100 degree weather?

Much of my childhood was spent in the water, and I'd hope that my children would love it as much as I did. I'm excited to say that it takes quite a few "no, not yet"s and "wait"s once we enter the "pool zone" to keep them from jumping in alone. They are more than ready.

Here are a few pictures from Josiah's first swim at 6 months old.

These are a couple from Laney's first trip to the pool....she was just 2 months.

Thank you, Sabrina, for hosting "Flashback Friday"....I've really enjoyed looking back. Although, I'm not sure I'm too excited about next week....baby pictures of me and Randy (if I can find any).