How Many Times in a Day...

As a mother, how many times in a day can you:

• Sweep the kitchen floor.
• Wipe off the kitchen table.
• Clean off a high chair tray.
• Wipe off the counters.
• Pick up the same toys from your tornado, havoc-reaking one year old.
• Wipe a snotty nose.
• Wipe a bum.
• Hang up the hand towel in the kids' bathroom.
• Pick up the throw pillows from off the floor and put them back on the couch.
• Push in the table chairs and barstools.
• Wipe off smudgy fingerprints off the stainless steel appliances and black cupboards.
• Get a sippy of milk out of the fridge.
• Refill sippies.
• Answer, "What?"
• Say, "Please put _________ away?"
• Say, "Be nice to your sister."
• Say, "Did you wash your hands?"
• Say, "Quit (fighting, biting your fingernails, whining, complaining)."
• Say, "Go get back in bed."
• Say the word "no".

It's never ending, but I guess I would rather be doing these things countless times a day than sitting in an office working, away from them.

Its A... Wait, What?

Today I went in for The Ultrasound, and as Bryan and I made our way down the long corridor, I think I was on the border of being cocky of what this little bambino was going to be. Because I have mother's intuition, you see, and I'm rarely wrong.

We went into the darkened room, I laid on the bed and the ultrasound technician got started and looked and measured various parts of the baby. As I laid there, my confidence started to waver, and I started to wonder, "What if it's really not a boy?"

But I was just so absolutely positive it was a boy. I dreamed about it being a boy. I had the "feelings" about it being a boy. I saw our family consisting of three boys and a girl. I thought about how there was just going to be one little girl, and we were going to be so close because she was always going to be outnumbered by boys. I was so 100% positive it was a BOY.

And then it was time to find the gender... And there it is, right there between the legs.

There's nothin' between the legs. Because it's a girl.

Huh?

I couldn't quite take it all in. I was in shock. It's really not a boy? But, I'd never even thought about two girls. Bryan was excited; he wanted another little girl. I couldn't even comprehend it. I think in my mind I even questioned the technician. It wasn't until SEVERAL more shots that I came to truly realize that yes indeed, it was a girl!

Now that I've had time to process it, I'm excited. We're excited for Lily to have a little sister and one so close in age. I just hope they get along. (Rissa and I weren't the best of friends growing up, so I certainly hope they are.) The boys have been the best of friends and so I hope these girls will be too. Having another girl definitely makes things a lot easier in some aspects. Two and two - nice and even. That's what's in my family and I love it.

Jace is extremely excited that it's a girl. When I told him, he jumped up and down and shouted "yay, yay, yay," and then quickly asked, "Can we name her Kate?" What's the reason Jace wanted a girl? So we could name her Kate. He's dead set on naming her Kate, which we like, but we're just not positive that's what it's going to be. Cole, on the other hand, was pretty upset. "I don't want a sister! I wanted a brother!" The main reason Cole wanted a brother? Because he wanted to name him Spike and he wanted a new brother to play Ninja Turtles with Jace and him.

So it's a girl.

Not what I thought I knew, but I'm happy.

Lost in Translation

About 5 months ago, I posted about my love for the 18 months of perks. At the beginning of that post I wrote a disclaimer stating that I may come to regret what I had written. Well I can't say I "regret it", but perhaps I should have waited several more months to write it; because apparently sarcasm is lost in translation with The Man Upstairs.

You see, there was a line at the end of that post that said, "I'd get pregnant tomorrow just to not see her ugly face again." Well, I didn't get pregnant the very next day, just about exactly a month later.

Even while I was pregnant with Lily I always knew there was a number four waiting to join us, and I always wanted a number four. I just didn't want/expect them this close. Lily and this new one will be 20 months apart and it is kind of freaking me out. The other kids have been 26 and 30 months apart and the spacing has been wonderful. I was never worried going from 0 to 1 kid, 1 to 2, and 2 to 3 kids; but I am really worried about going from 3 to 4. I know there are many other situations out there that are closer and harder than mine, but I'm just sayin - these are my concerns.

And apparently Heavenly Father isn't the only one that has lost things in translation. Do you ever have those thoughts/premonitions that make you think, "This could be a possibility; a real possibility"?

When I would think about having Number 4, there was this little thought in the back of my mind (premonition, maybe) that this little baby could come sooner than later, meaning sooner than when we were planning on having them join our family. I had the thought that Lily and this baby would probably be closer than two years apart. Apparently this thought and my math calculations were lost in translation too because I didn't realize that I would have to be pregnant NOW (and four months ago for that matter). I think that maybe these thoughts/premonitions were Heavenly Father's way of warning me to prepare myself mentally for this.

But these thoughts were lost on me because I didn't prepare myself. I wasn't quite ready for the fact of being pregnant NOW. In fact, I was in denial for quite some time. I didn't even take a pregnancy test until I was three weeks late! I didn't make the pregnancy "public" until I was 15 weeks along - almost 16. I'm 19 weeks tomorrow. (Ever want a pregnancy to go by fast? Just don't tell anyone for 15 weeks. :)

Now that I have accepted the fact that Number 4 is joining our family in June, I am excited. I am excited to have another little newborn in our family. I love newborns. They are in every sense, Heaven. Pure Heaven. I am excited to have our family complete and to move on to our next adventures. Yes, there are going to be challenges and struggles and LOTS of changes (an entirely different post) with another one right now, but it will definitely be worth it. And I cannot wait to see if it is a boy or girl (although I really, REALLY think this one is a boy). Call it mother's intuition. I guess we'll find out for sure next Tuesday!!

So if you want to learn anything from my situation, I would say be careful what you ask or wish for and in the manner you wish for it. Because remember, sarcasm is lost in translation.

Oh, and in case you were wondering? Yes, the perky perks are back. And for that I am grateful.

Silly Lily

Oh, Miss Lily. So full of life and energy. When I was a little girl my uncle gave me the nickname of "Spitfire" because I could have quite the feisty attitude. Well, I think I've passed that down to Lily. She is so full of life and laughter and all out craziness. She loves to laugh and play with her brothers. She whines and begs to be picked up and as soon as you have her she squirms to be put down, and so you put her down and she whines and begs and the cycle goes on and on.

A lot of the ladies at church get a good kick out of her because of her craziness. She loves to turn around on the bench and laugh an talk to the people behind her. She lets out some really loud squeals and yells and she is ALL over the place and I can NEVER get her to sit still. I've devised a plan where we go to sacrament, during Sunday school we stay in the hall the entire time and I let her run off some energy so that that way I can got to Relief Society and get most of the lesson in.

She loves to wag her little finger around and say "stop it." She has even started to sass back in her own little language and I get quite the kick out of it. She also has the most loving side to her. She says "hiiiiiii" in the softest, sweetest, girliest voice ever. It's my absolute favorite thing she says. She also LOVES to give hugs to anyone close to her size and in her proximity. She will crawl up to little kids at church and lean her head on them and try to give them so many loves.

She has 12 teeth and they are so cute and goofy and I love her smile. And if she's being particularly silly she does this face where she smiles and scrunches up her eyes and she looks like Chunck from Goonies.

She has her moments when she can be quite the handful but at other times she is the complete opposite and so easy going, can roam and play and keep herself entertained for hours. Yesterday I went to the bathroom and came out to find this:

Lily covered in peach yogurt and "Mmmmm - Mmmmmming."

Oh Miss Beans, what would we ever do without you? You are crazy and wild, sweet and cuddly, sassy and silly, and we all sure love you!

Toothless?

Jace lost his first tooth on November 11. (I know, I'm so on top of things.) It was discovered several weeks ago that he had a loose tooth, but behind that tooth he already had his permanent tooth growing in, and quite a bit.

So we spent the next few weeks wiggling the tooth and we even tried to pull it, but it wouldn't come. So we went to the dentist worried about over-crowding. Sure enough, the dentist decided to pull it. Jace was lucky enought to have banana flavored laughing gas and they numbed him up, gave him a shot, and pulled the tooth. Thank goodness the dentist and hygenists were awesome and they never mentioned the shot and just told him he was going to get some "sleepy medicine" for his lips and teeth. They popped it out and he was able to take home his first lost tooth in an envelope!

The Tooth Fairy came and left him two dollars, and you would have thought he won the lottery! That Tooth Fairy stuff is hard to remeber to take care of. Thank goodness Lily woke up at 3:45 am or else the Tooth Fairy would have forgot and Jace would have been devestated.

So here's the proud boy with his not-so-much gaping hole.

(He's going to hate me in future years for this picture. :) )

Halloween 2010

The great debate was on this year to as what the kids were going to be. It was that constant changing of their minds as to what they wanted to be. So we sat them down a few weeks before Halloween and MADE them decide.

They decided on Batman and Robin. Jace took the high road and let Cole choose which one he was going to be. Usually, since Jace is older, he would naturally be Batman. However, Cole chose Batman and Jace was just as excited to be Robin. So then of course Lily had to be Cat Woman/ black cat.

And when we go with a theme, we really go with a theme.

We bought Cole's costume and I made Jace's. Lily's was pretty simple to put together, and really I only had to buy the ears. They had so much fun being Batman and Robin! Jace loved his costume, and when he put it on he said, "Mom, I think I look pretty darn awesome."

We did the trunk-or-treat at our ward Saturday night and it started pouring on us. We got home and the boys were soaked and they decided that they didn't want to go out for any more trick-or-treating; so they got in their jammies and stayed home. I love how easy they are! (And so does their dad because that meant he didn't have to go out either.)

Having Halloween on a Sunday was not so fun. Dressing them up for school on Friday, trick-or-treating on Saturday, and a family party on Sunday did me in. Keeping track of all the little pieces of their costumes was annoying and I ended up having to make two masks for Jace because we lost one. Oh, the things you do for your kids.

They had a blast being Batman and Robin, and now they are so excited and are planning their costumes of Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione for next year.

Look Whooo Turned One!

Lily turned 1 last Saturday, Oct. 2nd. How is it even possible that a year could go by that fast? I have truly enjoyed this past year with having a little girl in our family. She is so full of life and energy, has a smile for anyone. Besides when she is tired, she is always happy. And I mean always.

We celebrated her birthday with family and a few close friends Friday night. It was an owl theme, and it the night turned out perfectly. I went for a girly, whimisical, fall-ish theme.

We had chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, and veggies for dinner.

Dessert was an assortment of vanilla and chocolate owl cupcakes and owl sugar cookies.

Lily had her very own mini owl cake. Thank you Joslyn, for teaching me how to do fondant.

We had a few games for the kids of Pin the Beak on the Owl, Bean Bag Toss (thru the owl's eyes), and Crack the Egg out of the Nest (popping balloons).

Lily received so many fun new GIRL toys: baby dolls, a purse, a tea set, and a stroller. She also received lots of fantastically girly outfits. Who knew it could make me so happy to see little dolls and girl toys laying around the house? The poor girl has been deprived.

Thank you so much to all of our family and friends that came and supported Lily and her first year of life.

Thank you Lindsey, for designing such an adorable birthday invitation and favor tags.

Thank you Karlee, for taking such great pictures for me so that I didn't have to worry about that aspect of the night while trying to entertain the guests.

At the end of the night, Bryan summed it up best when he said, "You know what? We're pretty blessed to have such great family and friends."

Yes, Dear; we are.

Lily, we love you so much and you have added so much joy and happiness to our family. Boy, Sundays would sure be different without you! Happy Birthday, Miss Beans!