And it's over.

I love Brielle's face! She is in a diaper because I was getting her ready to put her swimming suit on.

Just like that, without much warning, our time of "play" is over.
One day I woke up and realized, that phase of our life is entirely over.

And surprisingly, my emotions are different than I thought they would be.
An aching excitement.

Aching: I am so sad to have that time over, at times it can hurt. My heart aches to think about how my kids will miss their daddy, and I ache when I think about doing this alone, almost entirely without my best friend.

Excitement: Because it's finally here. The day we have been preparing, hoping for and dreaming of for years. Because I am ready to do this thing.
The surprising part, is this is the greater emotion of the 2.

Yesterday, Richard started medical school.

For pretend, because this week is orientation, but it is all day and the same hours as his classes (8am-5pm). So we are starting "the" schedule and he is preemptively studying the massive amounts of books that he has during the hours he plans to do homework. 80 hours a week of class and studying. Boom baby.

So I am on my own. A thing I haven't had to do since he finished his under-graduate degree last year. It's hard to get used to, but I did it for so long, I have fallen right back in place. The adjustment has come pretty natural, which is a huge tender mercy. 

Classes start on Monday, and the real journey begins.

I feel like I am standing in line for one of the really scary rides at a carnival. It looks exciting, and by the faces of those getting off the ride, it looks totally worth it. In fact, they all come over and tell you it is so worth it. However, it also looks scary, just not scary enough to get out of line. You remind yourself, it will be worth it, and you can do it. 

That's exactly how I feel.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

My Freezer Meal Journey: Month #1

:awkward wave: hi, I am back!
Whew can I just say, it's been crazy?! In the last 3 months this has been the gameplan:
move everything from our storage unit in ID to the storage unit next to our house in WA (24 hour roundtrip)
pack up and move everything from where we were staying in WA to our storage unit (8 hour roundtrip and many days of work)
Stay with family in Boise for 1 1/2 weeks while our house was getting finished (3 different houses in 10 days)
Move into our BEAUTIFUL, new house (WE ARE HOME OWNERS! I am in love with our house) and unpack/get organized/decorate (way too long)
and now...play and enjoy the beautiful summer until my hubby starts medical school in 3 1/2 weeks (way too soon)

So yeah, it's been crazy. Let's just say, I am done moving for the next couple years...

Now that we are caught up with the ultra-fast update, enough about the last few months (although I feel like writing a post about some thoughts on my adjustment to having 3 kids in 3 years, so maybe that is next). A couple months ago, I was thinking about the upcoming...trial...ahem, time of medical school and my fate as a school induced single mom. I came to the conclusion that dinner time, while I love to cook for my family, is the most stressful time of day and sets the tone for the next day (if it is too crazy and I don't have the energy to clean the whole house before bed like I normally do, I wake up behind, and that is no bueno). So if I could change that time of day and not make it stressful, it would make the entire day better! While mindlessly searching studying pinterest one day, I found the solution to my problem! Freezer meals! You do the prep for as many meals as you can in one session and plop them in the freezer so on the night you want to eat them, all you have to do is thaw them and put them either in the crock pot or oven...and that's it! I still get to cook healthy food for my family (one of my passions) but I also don't have awful nights of kids screaming at my feet while I am trying to frantically cook them something for dinner (doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, its no fun)! Heaven sent answer! So I did a lot of research, complied enough recipes for 9 months of freezer meals (no joke) and joined the craze! 

Yesterday I did a test run to get out all the kinks before school starts. I doubled 5 meals (because that is all we will need for the rest of the months with vacations etc) and ended up with 10 huge meals! I made:

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Balsamic Chicken With Roasted Vegetables

Qunioa Patties

Pesto Stuffed Chicken

Sausage and Summer Vegetable Packets

Here are my thoughts:

--Plan for several hours of uninterrupted time! I tried to start mine in the afternoon and because of constant kid interruptions, I finished at 8:30pm! And that was with my hubby focusing all of his energy into helping with the kids so I could cook! Next time I am going to start as soon as my kids go to bed.

--Except your kitchen to be COMPLETELY destroyed. And all your cooking utensils and bowls to be used. It will be totally worth it in the end (you may have to repeat that over and over again while you do it)

--Start with a clean kitchen and all your bowls/cooking utensils clean and ready

--Write all the cooking instructions and the name of the recipe on the freezer bag before you start and have them organized

--Have water and snacks near by. You will get thirsty and hungry!

--Make a list of all the things you need to chop, thaw and cook (like the chicken breasts) so you can do them all at one time (I had Quinoa cooking, chicken breasts in the crock pot, chicken breasts thawing and I was chopping vegetables all at the same time).

--Before you start, take EVERYTHING out you will need. This helps you realize if you need to get something else before you are too far in to leave.

--Have bowls for each chopped vegetable you will need and organize them according to meal. Keep them together or you will forget what they are for! Basically just stay organized or it won't work!

--Multi-task! If you don't have several meals going at once, it will take even longer.

My goal is to do 1 cooking session a month and make 21 meals (either 7 tripled or 11 doubled) which will allow us 1 day a week to cook like normal and 1 day a week for leftovers. I want to document my "journey" of having this be my main way of preparing our dinners. The successes and the failures! I am sure we are bound to find gross recipes, things that don't freeze well and moments where all the work is worth it! So follow along for the ride! O and I am back on the blog again! No more 3 month + absences until after the birth of our next baby ;) 

...still can't believe that this crazy wonderful morning was almost 3 1/2 months ago! Time goes too fast...

The story of OUR house.

After being married (almost) 7 1/2 years, living in little apartments that consist of 650 square feet and soon-to-be 3 kids, we will have our own home. Our own starter home. I am still in denial, or shock really.

I feel like for the past 7 1/2 years we have been playing house.
Then the babies came, and it felt more real, but still, just playing.
We left our tiny 650 square foot apartment, the place we had spent the majority of our marriage together and our future was planned.
But now that we are building our first home together, to fill with our own appliances, furniture and keepsakes along with our 3 kids while my hubby becomes a doctor,
I feel like I have legitimately grown-up.

And for those interested, here are some FAQs answered, 

because I am sure there will be many Q's asked by a certain few :)

Why aren't you renting?!

The city where Richard's medical school is located, has some very dangerous non-family-friendly areas. Everyone, including real estate agents, told us to stay away from most of the areas except 2. One of them is a 30 minute drive (one way) from the school and the other area is the one the school is in. It is safe (it has an A+ rating on safety) , very family friendly, protected from the "bad" of the "scary" area by a big highway, and super close to the school. Since time with the family will be very limited because of how busy he will be, we opted to live in the area next to the school so we can spend an extra 1-2 hours a day with Richard (figuring in commuting time and the fact he can come home for lunch). This area doesn't have many rentals and the ones they do have are more than the allotment the school gives you for housing (because they only give enough for a single room apartment since the majority of the students are single men), requiring us to take out more student loans (NO THANKS!!) or not have enough for other expenses. It can be done, and we were going to, but it is definitely not ideal. Considering the only options were very small, with stairs (they are very hard with multiple small children and for that reason I REALLY don't like them) and no backyard and the fact I will have 3 VERY young kids, my time while he will be in medical school would have been awful really really hard. 

Long story short, we found out a couple months ago that my in-laws had sold their house and had a big chunk of money that they wanted to invest in housing for us (they are acting like "bank" and we are going to make monthly payments to them as if they were the "bank"). So we started looking at houses and because the area we need to live in is so nice, there were zero options in that price range. So we decided to look at all the options, including building. We found a perfect lot about a 2 minute drive from the campus for a decent price (and down the street from the brand-new elementary school and church building). And then we found out about a building company that could do everything we needed for the price we could do it in. The whole time we have been very cautious and did a lot of research to make sure it was the right decision. After all our research, we realized it very much is! 

What about the fact you are leaving in 4 years?

With the medical school growing by 30 seats a year and with their plans to open a P.A. school in a few years, we know that there would be a HUGE influx of students and a huge shortage of housing (and this school seeks after students who are LDS with families). So the possibility of renting or selling it when we are ready to leave, is very good. And the price of rentals with it's specs are VERY high, so worse case scenario and we can't sell it, we would make a lot by renting it. And like I said, there is a big market for that with the school growing so much. Plus, worst worst case scenario, and we can't sell it OR rent it out, we could stay there for 3-4 more years after medical school and Richard could very possibly do his residency there (and staying in our brand-new home we built in a very nice area wouldn't be a problem...hehe).
BUT even with all that considered, Business Insider predicts that Yakima will be one of the top markets to grow in the next 4 years (it should grow almost 8%) and it was named one of 15 of the best in the nation for housing markets because of that! And the neat thing, is we will be ready to sell in about 2017 when it is predicted to be at it's peak! HUGE BLESSING. 

How is it a good idea with property taxes, utilities, insurance etc?

Part of our research we did before making the final decision was to find out exactly how much that would be. The school gives you a utility and insurance allowance which is a little bit higher than what we will need to spend. And when we figured in the property taxes plus all the utilities etc. in the monthly payment, it is still much cheaper than renting.

What is the status?
The building permits have been approved, we have paid for the lot and closed on it, we paid the first deposit to the builder/contractor, temporary power pole is up and they are staking out the house on the property tomorrow so they can start excavating this next week!!

Will it be done by the time school starts?
The reason we choose the company that we did is because they are under contract to be completely finished with the project in 4 1/2 months. School doesn't start for another 5 months so we know it will definitely be finished in time. Their contract says 4 1/2 months, but they have been finishing houses in 85-90 days consistently and the main contractor is one of Richards relative and very old family friends, so we know we are in great hands. He knows our deadline and says he will definitely make it, with a good buffer.

What are the specs of the house?

almost 1500 square feet

3 bedrooms

2 full bathrooms

2 car garage

Walk-in closet in master bedroom (YAY!)

Kitchen bar

Covered front porch

Soaker tub and normal shower in master bathroom

Oil rubbed bronze fixtures (all lights and door handles)

Recessed lighting in the kitchen and covered porch 

Thick craftsman style trim throughout the house

Rounded corners on all walls and windows

Cheyenne doors throughout the house

Staggered cabinets in the kitchen

ETC

...perfect starter home!!!

(and I can't wait to put pictures of all the things we picked for the inside!!!)

So it is happening. 

I still can't believe it! The way this has come together is absolutely amazing. I really feel like things have been "guided" and really full of so many blessings. I know it sounds weird, but I have felt that way several times in this process. Like for example: as soon as we realized buying a house in that area was too expensive, I started looking at property and found the one we bought. We looked at other options and did our research trying to keep an open mind, but the whole time I felt a real sense of urgency. I quietly felt a little frantic. But I wasn't sure why because they hadn't had any offers on it since it hit the market almost a year before. Well we sped things through, put an offer on which they accepted and paid our earnest money. Almost as soon as we did that, the Realtor said they had multiple people put offers on it as back-ups and a lot of people very interested in it. She said that we did it at the perfect time. Now I see why I felt the urgency! If we would have waited much longer, we probably wouldn't have gotten it because they went $6,000 under their asking price and I am sure someone would have offered a full price offer! PHEW. 

Richard and I have had so much fun through this process! We are always talking about how we want to decorate the house, how we want to put a huge garden in the side yard and set-up our backyard asap (the yard is going to be HUGE!!! I am so excited). Richard is so excited to make some of the furniture we need  (like this kitchen table) and I am filling my Pinterest boards with ideas for our house. We had so much fun picking out all the things for the house (like carpets, cabinets, doors, flooring, windows, trim, fixtures etc) and we agreed on all of it!! We kept laughing the whole time because we would choose the same exact thing every time! We really are 1 mind and soul mates. We have had so much fun daydreaming constantly, making plans and getting randomly giddy when we think about it!

And lastly, we are SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL to my in-laws who have chosen to invest in this project so that our lives in medical school will be much easier! I feel so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful, supportive and selfless family!

Can't wait for our house to be finished so we can begin to fill it with fun memories!

91% complete

So as is the territory with pregnancy (especially as you start your 9th month of pregnancy), I am asked at every turn: "how are you feeling??" just a note, I really don't mind being asked! So don't think I am complaining about that :)

Well let me tell you. I am feeling like I have a baby trying to break out of her cage which is my BODY. O wait, that is exactly what is happening! I love pregnancy, don't get me wrong. I always have loved it. Which is why I have done it 3 times in the past 3 years. BUT. It is in these final weeks that I am ready for this part of raising a baby to be finished. Why??
(and this is the moment we allow an exasperated 9 month pregnant woman a few seconds to complain. I still love it and appreciate it. But I have earned my right to have a small pity party!)

My entire body hurts in ways I can't relay to anyone (acid reflux, hips breaking apart, back hurts from all the stress of carrying my huge belly, legs hurt from a huge varicose vein and other "wonderful" things I won't go into detail about)

My energy is non-existent

Her kicks hurt really bad sometimes 

I have random (and sometimes not random) contractions that actually kind of hurt this time

I can't cuddle my babies on my lap because I don't have one anymore

I can't get full but at the same time, I always feel full

I can't keep up with my kids like I want to because I am afraid 1.a baby will fall out of me 2. my body will split in two 

I don't sleep well in between having to pee all the time, random contractions, acid reflux, her running her feet a long my ribs etc.
I hardly have anything left to wear because even the huge maternity shirts don't completely cover my huge bowling ball/torpedo/watermelon belly
My patience is smaller because I am in constant, excruciating pain
The only position that doesn't cause grit-your-teeth pain is laying on my side, but sometimes that doesn't cut it, but it's not like I can stay in that position for more than 2 minutes with my 2 active kids.
...

35 weeks with Liam (left) and baby #3 (right)

Making a human is truly wonderful. I love it. But it is definitively a lot of work, especially in these last few weeks. We sure do sacrifice a lot to bring our kids into the world, that is for sure. 

I had my 36 weeks appointment and all looked great. My blood pressure was low, weight gain was just as it is with my other 2 pregnancies, her heartbeat sounds perfect, I am measuring good (a week ahead actually), she is low (but not engaged yet), head down (yay!) and I am starting to slowly show signs of progression with my cervix (I won't go into too much detail for the weak stomached haha). 

36 weeks with Brielle (left) and baby #3 (right)

This weekend I finished washing the newborn clothes and 0-3 month clothes as well (cause my kids come out too big for newborn clothes...). The newborn clothes (just in case she is smaller) are put away and in our closet, clean and cute. 

To do list:
Finish washing the blankets and assorted baby needs
Put her (cute little) bed together

Pack the hospital bag
Get assorted baby needs
Fix my roots and get some more blonde highlights in
Get a manicure/pedicure
Get "big sibling" gifts for the kids for when they come to the hospital to visit
Put the car-seat in the car

I had 2 dreams recently I had a baby.

In one my labor went really fast and I had her in a classroom and she was born as big and alert as a 6 month old (yikes). In another, my water broke and I spent a whole day running errands before I realized I should head to the hospital. But after both, I woke up so anxious for the experience of another labor and delivery experience. Call me crazy, but I also love love love that part of pregnancy/raising kids. I am not sadistic. 

But the first moment I see my baby for the first time is the most wonderful, all-consuming favorite moment of my life and I am so excited to experience that again. 

I cannot wait. 

Ok, time to limp to my bed so hubby can give me a massage...ouch...

Cook time: 67 days

I can't believe that the end is getting closer and closer! I said it before with Liam and Brielle but holy cow I am reeling with how fast this pregnancy has gone! I am more than 2/3rds done and I have only 67 days left and that seems crazy!! Easily less too!! The cooking time of this bun will be done in no time! 

(p.s. sorry about the corny title...couldn't come up with something else that wasn't super boring)

Things have been going so good! With Brielle by this point in my pregnancy my hips and lower back hurt SO bad I was almost incapacitated. I went to the doc pretty much in tears around 33 weeks and he told me that the only thing that would have helped was having muscle to keep my hips in, so since I didn't have that (because I hadn't exercised all pregnancy) the only thing he could do was prescribe me a very strong pain killer (which I didn't take). That was horrible. Anyways, so this time my #1 goal was to exercise to strengthen my hips in hope that wouldn't happen again. I started exercising everyday starting at 21 weeks (was too sick up until 14 weeks and then we didn't have exercise stuff until 21 weeks) and it has been AWESOME! I am hooked. I do elliptical for like 40 mins and 10-15 mins of yoga specifically designed to strengthen hips during pregnancy. The difference is INCREDIBLE! I haven't exercised the last week because I was on the verge of getting sick and my hips have been hurting. But as soon as I exercise, the pain is basically gone. Its amazing. I mean I have to be careful not to sit or stand too long, and sometimes it does hurt, but nothing like my last pregnancy. Plus I feel so much better after exercising and my endurance is so much higher. I am doing this every pregnancy from now on ;)

Anyways, my doc appointments have been perfect and event-less. My weight gain has been on track for me to gain 5 pounds less than my other pregnancies, my blood pressure is super low like normal (the nurse comments on how super low it is everytime), baby girls heartbeat has been perfect, my blood sugar is really low again etc. Baby girl is SUPER active, and I would say my most active baby yet (yikes...) almost constantly jumping and moving! Good thing I love love love feeling babies move! She keeps me up at night she moves so much and is the most active around 9-10 at night. My heartburn has been worse but luckily tums makes it go away.

Liam is SOOOO excited for her to be born. He rubs my belly and tells her how much he loves her, introduces me and the baby to strangers and talks all the time about how she is his best friend. Its so incredibly cute. I need to write things down he says about her! Of course Brielle is so young she is totally clueless ;)

Here are some pics we took today including Liam wanting to be in the pictures (so we took some real "mommy and Liam" pictures) and 2 belly pics because I couldn't decide between jacket on or off ;)

2012, its been great.

4 hours and 2012 will officially be history. It leaves me stunned that this year has gone SO incredibly fast. But tonight I am celebrating all the wonderful things that have happened for us this year, and so excited for all the BIG things that will happen this year, like having baby #3 (I am still in shock we will have 3), moving to a new city we with call home for 2-4 years, hubby starting MEDICAL school and my little's growing up even more.

Here are all the things I am celebrating, in the typical (read: corny) Christmas/end of the year newsletter format: 

Dear family and friends,
Looking back at the past year, 2012 has proved to be one of the most momentous and exciting years we have had for our little family. It has been full of big life changes, wonderful blessings and memories.

In January, Richard took the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), even though he had not taken Organic Chemistry or Physics yet which comprise 2/3rds of the test, and he was only able to study for less than 2 weeks (most people study for 6-8 straight months). He was very blessed, did amazingly well and got a very high score. Richard also finished his bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in pre-medical classes and Marriage & Family Studies, in July. As soon as he finished we packed up our little family, leaving our home of the last 4 years, and moved back to WA. Both kids did amazing with our big move (they had never moved, so we weren’t sure how it would go), impressing us so much! Shortly after moving, all of his hard work paid off and Richard was one of the first students accepted to Pacific Northwest University of Health Science’s class of 2017, our top medical school choice, which also happened to be his first medical school interview! He will start school August 2013 and is so incredibly excited to begin the road towards his lifelong dream of being a doctor. For now, we are all enjoying the year-long break he has from school and have been so spoiled by having him around so much, with no homework!!

The week before our move from Idaho, we found out that we are expecting our third sweet baby (surprise, surprise)! I am due at the end of March 2013 and we recently learned we are having another darling, active, healthy little GIRL! She will be born a couple weeks after Liam’s third birthday, and while having 3 kids in 3 years will be challenging, we are so grateful for the timing of our sweet girl joining our family. It will be so nice to have another baby during the year-long break Richard has from school, with live-in babysitters until she is 4 months old (we are blessed to be able to live next to my family during this break)! Other than taking care of our 2 young kids as a stay-at-home mom and being pregnant, I have really enjoyed keeping up on our family blog (http://richennaclan.blogspot.com), photography, writing for the parenting website “The Power of Moms”, spending time with my family & friends, exercising everyday (except Sunday), and cooking (yes, it’s a huge hobby).

Liam turned 2 in February and is such an amazingly sweet little boy! He is so gracious and polite it is mind-blowing and also extremely loving, randomly telling us how much he loves us multiple times a day while giving us hugs. He is such a good talker, so mature, smart and big for his age that people mistake him for a 4 year old almost constantly. When he was 2 ½ we started the potty training process and he was trained in 2 days (he is convinced that he owns a “potty train” somewhere). He loves friends, nursery, dreaming of going to school/growing up, animals, wrestling with Daddy, drawing, reading books, eating, playing with anything he can make a toy, playing in the dirt, collecting bugs/reptiles and cuddling. Liam is totally in love with “his” Brielle and very excited for his new baby sister to be born!

Brielle turned 1 in August and is our darling little blonde-haired, blue-eyed firecracker! She is the sweetest, funniest, flirtest, most friendly, outgoing little bundle of beauty! She is such a girly girl and is always running around covered in jewelry, skirts, bows and drama! She brings so much joy into our lives, it is overwhelming! She loves being around people, playing with friends, animals, dancing, babbling (which is quickly turning into words and sentences of her own “words”), copying people, singing, playing dress-up, to be tickled, playing with Dad, squealing, any kind of music and being held/cuddled by mommy. But her most favorite thing to do is wrapping everyone around her finger with her cuteness and pretending to be a puppy.

Richard and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary (time flies!!), and had a BLAST! We went away for a 2 ½ day trip just the two of us, which were the best days of 2012! It was so much fun celebrating the best 7 years of our lives married to our best friend. It has been such an amazing blessing to have our love, adoration and friendship exponentially increase every year. This year we have also continued to go on a weekly date, enjoying the time as star-crossed lovers.

2012 has proved to be yet another amazing year, and we are so incredibly grateful for the blessings that have come to us this year. We are so grateful for our Savior and the wonderful family, friends and memories we have enjoyed this year! May you feel the love of your Savior at this Christmas season and throughout the upcoming year!

Love Richard, McKenna, Liam, Brielle and baby girl

So there is the summary of 2012 and the awesome, monumentous year it was. I am so glad it was such a great year leaving so many big memories. But I am so excited for all the big things 2013 will bring!

P.S. I have been thinking of my motto for this year, more on that later...

Merry (barf) Christmas

...this is my first post from my phone, so lets see how it goes...
Every Christmas has something memorable about it.
2005: first Christmas married
2006: ...nothing too memorable...
2007: first Christmas away from my family
2008: first Christmas it snowed on Christmas day in WA
2009: first Christmas with an almost baby (I was almost 9 months pregnant with Liam)
2010: first Christmas with just our little family AND the day we found out I was pregnant with Brielle
2012: first Christmas home with my family with the kids AND the day we blessed Brielle (Christmas was on Sunday)!
2013: the year everyone (but Liam and I) in my whole family had a horrendous stomach flu.

...as the Christmas present opening went on, more and more people got sick, diapers were filled every couple of minutes (poor brielle), moaning was heard, barf bowls on laps and the bathrooms occupied. Christmas dinner will consist of rice, bananas and Gatorade instead of ham, funeral potatoes and delicious desserts (which has been rescheduled to the first day everyone is better).

Other than everyone being sick, it was a great Christmas and the kids loved all their presents (we totally scored). And I was thoroughly spoiled by the hubby including a beautiful homemade jewelry box full of jewelry and a new 8 gig camera card (he knows me well).

Every year has to be memorable somehow and this one definitely is, just not in the "big milestone" way I was hoping... at least I get to watch from the sidelines with the assurance I already had this yuckiness and the knowledge that my son was the one who gave it to everyone...

Ho ho ho.
(Here are the few pics I took with my phone. All of Christmas morning I took pics with my big, nice DSLR which I can't upload with my phone so they will do, I guess. Even though there are so many cute pics and videos...waaaa)

Family Time

This weekend was full of fun and family time.

Some of Richards cousins and their families came to my in-laws house castle to stay for the weekend.

Most of them we hadn't seen for years, and most of the adults hadn't met the children. 

The kids had fun meeting each other too and playing.

We ate yummy food, went to one of my favorite restaurants for breakfast, debated talked tons, tried on costumes, went to the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, picked apples and so many more fun "fall-y" things.

Richard trying to get Brielle (aka the "pink blob") to pet a pig

the 3 boy "cousins"

Liam decided he wanted to pull the wagon full of kids ;)

took a lot of tries to get a picture of them all together!

She was SUCH a ham this weekend!

Liam sat carving the top of his pumpkin for HOURS this weekend

It was so much fun spending time with family!

The kids had fun, and the adults might have had more ;)

My only complaint?

This weekend went too dang fast.

The littles

We have taken a break from the internet lately. At first we didn't have control over it (we moved next door to my parents who have just moved into their new house and didn't have internet set-up). But then we decided we liked not having internet and it's distractions, restricting it only to our phones so we can still stay in contact in basic ways. It has been a very nice break from the many distractions and I have found myself playing pretend, organizing, cooking and sitting watching my babies play. 

But, it's time to update. There have been some cool milestones reached and I wanted to write about the kidlets.

Liam: He is growing up so much and so fast, it hurts sometimes to think about how fast it is going. He sleeps great at night, goes to bed early, and still refuses to take a nap during the day no matter how tired he is. He is talking up a storm, and no longer sounds like a baby talking, but a grown child. We have long talks regularly and he says the funniest things. The biggest change for him, is that he has been potty trained for the last month. Honestly, I was terrified to potty train him. I knew he was ready, but I was scared it was going to be a horrible battle. But, he is such an amazing, smart kid and he was potty trained within the first day and fully potty trained AND night trained within 3 days. We never had any problems and he hasn't had an accident in weeks. I am so proud of him and how well he did! He is totally independent in that "area" and it's so nice to only have to change 1 set of diapers, at least for the next couple months. He is so excited to go to "school" (aka preschool) next fall and can't stop talking about it. And he is so polite!! If you asked him if he wants something, he will say sweetly "no thank you. I am fine". He is stubborn, too smart for his good AND 2-years-old, so we still have "moments" if he doesn't want to do something, or wants to do something he shouldn't. But we have learned that if we just sit down and explain the situation out to him, he understands and is obedient on his own. It's so nice when you figure out how to work with your kids in the way they need!!

He is such a wonderful little boy, and my best little man buddy ever. 

 

sooo handsome!

Brielle: O my little princess. She is such a funny girl! Ever since she was 11 months (2 months ago), she has been walking and now constantly running like a pro. She goes so fast though that she falls down a lot and almost always has a bump or cut on her face! She has no caution and just runs full force ahead. She is cutting 4 teeth right now which will end with a grand total of 12 teeth when they come through, so her night time sleeping has been less than ideal, and most nights up hurting for an hour for two, sometimes more. That has been hard on this pregnant mommy. But even so, she has been such a champ and still her abnormally cheerful self! She is always jabbering and "talking" to us. I swear she says "thank you" and "all done" and then "yes" or "no" if we ask her a question. And she loves to wave when she sees anyone. She is so smiley, so happy and such a wonderful little girl! She has charmed anyone that meets her with her cute, flirty smile! I serve in the nursery and bring her in with me, which she loves!!  She squeals with excitment when we get close to the nursery room! She is such a people person, and always wants to be a part of what is going on (just like her mommy).  She also has adopted this little wooden basket that she carries around on her arm wherever she goes, which is so cute to watch!!

That sweet little girl brings so much happiness into our lives, it's hard to comprehend...

Baby: I am 16 1/2 weeks now and can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going! Thankfully, as soon as I enter the second trimester a couple weeks ago, my morning sickness and nausea went away! So nice. Glad to have that finished with... It has been so much fun to feel our little sweet-pea bumping around more and getting stronger with those bumps. He/she seems particularly active in the early morning, after I eat a meal and when I am going to sleep, probably because those are the only times I am still and it wakes up! Because I am on my feet constantly, all day with hardly any breaks, I am starting to get some varicose veins which were hurting pretty bad. I am all about prevention, and once I got 1 long one that was pretty painful, I got some support hose which make a WORLD of difference. I am supposed to sit down and prop my feet up as much as possible still, but with 2 little kids, we all know that isn't possible...but I do try as much as I can! It's also been hard because with Brielle not sleeping well at night and Liam not napping, I hardly sleep. With the other kids, I had to take naps in the middle of the day to survive, so it's been...interesting! But I have found that if I just stay really busy (speaking of, I need to get up...), it's fine and we just go to bed pretty much as soon as the kids go to bed. Because this is going to be my third baby in 3 years, my stomach muscles aren't the greatest, so my belly has grown really fast and I am way bigger than with the other 2 kids. Also, because I am carrying this baby so low, most maternity pants are already uncomfortable. So I ordered some maternity jeans from Motherhood Maternity that should work, but until then I am living in yoga pants and leggings!

I had my 4 month appointment, and as normal, all is well! Baby is super low (already...) but very active, blood pressure is low, weight gain is on-track and all is good! I made our appointment to find out the gender on November 1st!! I am so excited!! I can't wait to find out. I think it's a boy, because my pregnancy has been more like Liams, plus that is just my hunch. But the chinese chart says it's a girl, the babies movements are more like Brielle's and before I got pregnant I had dreams I had Liam, Brielle and a little baby girl. We'll see! Can't wait to find out!!

good-bye toes...

We also have some incredibly, exciting news that I wanted to record in our "family journal", but because this is getting so long, I will save it for it's own post.

We are so happy. 

So enjoying this "calm" time of our life and every minute we have. 

We feel so blessed and life is so wonderful.

Sleep deprived and all.

Sweet-pea #3

Yes, it is true. So wonderfully true.

We go from a family of 4 to a family of five at the end of March (I am due the 29th)

Even though I am 3 months (12 weeks) a long and pretty much in the 2nd trimester, I am still shocked.

I am so excited.

So ready.

And a little nervous.

This baby is our "planned surprise" (more on that below)

I am due a month after Liams 3rd birthday, which means we will have 3 kids in 3 years.

But as hard as it might be at times, I know that I can do it.

I love being a mama so much and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Plus watching how excited Liam is to have another baby, makes me all the more ecstatic. 

He will regularly hug me around the stomach and kiss my growing belly while saying 

"Hi my baby. I love you so much. Whats your name? My name is Liam."

He loves to talk about the fact that his baby is growing next to my tummy 

and how he is so excited to play with it when it's big enough to come out.

Talk about the cutest thing ever.

I love watching our little family grow.

Getting to know and completely adore each spirit we get to welcome into our family.

I have said it before and I will say it again. We are addicted to having babies.

I can't wait to see our 3 littles together, loving each other and playing together.

March, please come fast.

So for those of you who are interested (and for the sake of journaling), here is the story: Last year, when we had been planning for Richard to start Podiatry school this August (in 2012) right after finishing his bachelors degree, we had decided to wait a while and space Brielle and our third out 2+ years, to give us time to get settled into our new life and school. 

Then around April this year, two things happened/changed. 1. Richard decided to go to medical school instead and because of the timing of things, he wouldn't be able to start medical school for a year after he finished his bachelors degree and pre-requisites (fall 2013). And that we would be moving home to live close to my parents so Richard could work for that year. The year off school sounded like the perfect time to have another baby, so we started praying... 2. we started having some neat experiences that made us realize, it was the right time to seriously consider having another baby. 

So at the beginning of June, after just weaning Brielle, we decided to stop birth control. Soon after stopping, we did the math and realized that would mean I would be newly pregnant, sick and exhausted right as we were moving out of state and during Richards finals. With the timing of Richards classes and our move, I would have zero help from him, except 1 day to load the car. So we decided to just use the "rhythm method" as birth control until after our move. Apparently, that wasn't enough. But we were too involved with moving, Richards finals and life to think about it much. Until the first week of July when I was almost a week late getting my period. At first I didn't think about it, because I had just weaned Brielle, and I figured my body just needed some time to "get back to normal".

Then one morning, I woke up and I felt off. Super off. And it hit me. "I am pregnant". But like before, I filed it away to focus on the move, plus we weren't "trying" and we had been careful. A couple days later I took one of the kids to the doctor and mentioned my late period to him. So he sent me in for the 2 kinds of pregnancy tests to rule that out. Both came out negative. I waited a couple more days and still no period. I felt like I should go in to get another blood test done, so that pregnancy could be ruled out for the reason my period was now almost 2 weeks late. I had the test done, and when they called for the results they told me "a blood level of 2 or lower is negative. Your level is 13. Doctor wants you to come in in 48 hours to have the test done again to see if it keeps rising." I was shocked. Totally shocked. And anxiously waited the 48 hours. Richard was certain I was pregnant since with both our kids we got pregnant in the month we stopped birth control, so he said it made sense to him that would happen again. He was busting at the seams with excitement!

At this point, I was frantically packing us for our move in a week while Richard finished finals. Quite a stressful interesting time to be dealing with this. But I was SO anxious to find out. I was afraid Richard was  getting his hopes up in vain, so the morning I had the 3rd blood test taken at the doctor, I broke down and bought a pregnancy test. I didn't want to wait the day it would take to get the blood test results back. As soon as we got home, I took the test and this is what I saw: 

The second line showed up right away and my suspicions were confirmed! I was so excited! Once I saw the second line, Liam and I (who watched me take the test) did an elaborate "yay-moms-having-another-baby" dance, right there in the bathroom! I realized Richard would be home soon so we quickly made this to put on the door for him to see when he got home from school:

Needless to say, he was so excited when he walked in and I explained the sign with my positive test.

The next morning, the doctors office called and said that my levels had gone up to 50 in 48 hours, which was way higher than they wanted (a 26 was what they were hoping for at least) and that I was definitely pregnant. I was so shocked for a couple weeks. I couldn't believe it, but so excited to be pregnant again. We were going to start trying a couple weeks later once we got settled in WA anyways, so our plan just came a couple weeks early :) (hence the "planned surprise")

The timing is perfect though and I am so glad we decided to stop the birth control when we did, even though it didn't make sense at the time. We will have a 5 month old when we move to medical school and we will be living right next to my parents the entire pregnancy and the first 5 months (aka the hardest time) with my mom almost next door. It's perfect.

This entire pregnancy has been perfect. My levels always doubled faster than they should, ultrasounds have been perfect (baby is measuring a day ahead), and we were able to hear the heartbeat via. doppler the last 2 appointments! Just like it's siblings, this baby is very very active (which the doctor confirmed when she tried to find the heartbeat via doppler and "sweetpea" kept dodging her and running away!) so I have already felt the baby move!!!! That's my favorite part of pregnancy! 

Probably because of the stress of moving, the exhaustion from the kids getting up more than normal at night as they have gotten settled in etc. I have felt more sick with this pregnancy. Almost constantly nauseous and tired. But, since I am pretty much in the second trimester, I have started to feel a little better recently. 

We are SO excited to have another little sweet pea coming to our house soon

And the fact that in march,

we will have 3 peas in our pod.