Jeff Fest and Father's Day

We stood in line forever so Lovely & Snugglebug could get a "bunny face."  The pictures don't do it justice:

 

I finally made room on my camera so I could take more pics of Laea. Such a cutie!

 

 

Excuse the Father's Day pose.  S's reply to me when I asked to take a pic:  "Why?"

 

 

Comparing Children

I'm not really comparing my girls...

 

 I'm just seeing how much they resemble each other :)

The first two are of Laea.  The last is of Lovely.  At first I thought they looked exactly the same, but then I took Laea's picture, which highlights her individuality.  Now, if only I could find the picture of Snugglebug wearing the same outfit!

Thirteen Weeks and Counting

So I hit thirteen weeks last Saturday. Has the morning/afternoon/evening/night/anytime-I-eat sickness dissipated? Not yet.  I finally had a bit more energy on Monday, but that seems to have left just as suddenly as it arrived!  I still haven't gained any weight, but I feel as big as a horse, and I'm pretty sure everyone around me thinks that, too! 

I've been a bit side-tracked as I attempted to get health coverage, which finally (after phonecalls and prayer) is effective.  However, I called the doctor's office and was told he can't see me until July 11.  Hmmmm....I'll be almost 17 wks before I have my first ob visit.  When I was high risk last time.  Hmmmm....  At least I have much to occupy my time meanwhile.

Soon, we will be going to my nephew's wedding, and Snugglebug is one of the flower girls.  We're hoping to take a mini-vacation at this time as well because our ten year anniversary is approaching, but because of time, school, and price, we can't take the second honeymoon we had planned.  We will be busy, though!

Laea has been doing the army-man crawl lately, with a few real-crawl moves thrown in.  Moral of the story:  don't let anything on the floor that shouldn't go into a seven-month-old mouth!

Laea and Snugglebug (birthday)

Laea's first experience with cereal.  It took her a while (this was at 4.5 mos), but she loves it now and opens up like a little bird :)

Snugglebug's 7th birthday.  I can't beleive how old she's gotten.  And yes, S is yawning in the background.

 

Finally sitting like a little lady!

About to blow out the candles on the funky tiarra cake I made for her birthday. 

Six months old on Grandma's lawn.  She didn't like grass, thus we only have this one all-right picture. Gotta love the dress, though!

Laea now has two teeth and she learned to click with her mouth the other day.  She loves to jabber on sometimes, and she'll sing with you.  When she wakes up from her naps, she rests quietly in her crib, sucking her thumb, usually until you go get her--it's like she has her own quiet time. She loves applesauce and sweet potatoes, likes pears, and suffers greenbeans. 

Lovely and Snugglebug are doing the summer orchestra program again, which only lasts a week, but is pretty awesome.  There last day of school was May 31, and they have to return on Aug. 1 already!  They both took home several awards at school, so I think they were pretty happy. I was!

Another New Beginning

Wow.  This post seems reminiscent of 12 months ago.  Oh wait!  It was 13 months ago.  Silly me.

As you can probably guess from the picture above, we are now expecting our fourth child (what I’ve been referring to as the fourth and final…we’ll see!) due Dec. 21.  I know.  Of course we wanted children only 13 months apart.  Of course I wanted to have a newborn before Laea begins walking.  Of course!

Actually, we fully believe children come when they are supposed to, and if God wanted to give us this gift now, then we know He will provide for all our needs.  Thoughts do run through my head like:

·         How can I fit another huge carseat in my vehicle?

·         How can I go ANYWHERE in December or January?  My oldest two didn’t begin walking until they were about 15 months old (yes, they took steps, but I’m talking about walking).

·         How can I fit another crib in our little, tiny house, in a little, tiny bedroom? 

Yet, all will be well.  These really seem like such petty questions when looking at the big picture.  Of course, I may have come to this realization after some of the trials we’ve been through lately.  I was having some problems (bleeding), which I never had before, and so I spent the day after Memorial Day in the emergency room having every test under the sun done to me (let’s just say PAIN).  But, as soon as I saw the little alien baby on the monitor, boxing and flailing his/her arms, I was overwhelmed with even more love than I had felt previously.  There’s nothing like an alien baby to do that to a woman.

Everything turned out all right, but it was a bit scary.  I had decided not to tell the girls until after school was out anyway because I didn’t want them telling everyone at school yet, and I wanted to make sure everything was A-Okay so far.  Lovely and Snugglebug were both pretty excited, although it took a while for Lovely to catch on when I told her she could “dream about have a baby brother or sister…around Christmas time.” 

So, here’s what’s going on so far:

·         I’m 10 lbs less than when I got pregnant with Laea

·         My blood pressure has been good.  Sugar was off in the beginning because I had a terrible cold, but it’s calmed down now.

·         Nausea hits throughout the day, and especially around 3 a.m.  I hate 3 a.m. 

·         I have no energy.  No, you don’t understand.  Absolutely no energy.  I try to remind S that my body still hadn’t fully recovered from having Laea, but he doesn’t seem concerned.  At least the doctor said everything will be healed by the time the baby is born.

·         Clothes don’t fit.  My waist has expanded, along with my hips and everything else, it seems, despite the fact I haven’t gained any weight.  Gotta love it!