Prego Pic

We were so good with Riley and Victoria's pregnancy at taking pictures every month. Not so much this time around. In any case, here we are at four (and a half) months.

I am FINALLY starting to feel the little flutters and bumps from the baby. My cravings consist of chocolate milk, burgers, Subway sandwiches, sweet tea, and cereal. I almost always end my day with a bowl of cereal. It seems Carey has been doing that as well here lately.

The kids are getting excited and have started talking to my belly. So cute. Victoria keeps taking toys into the baby's room, "these are babies."

We have the sonogram week after next. Very exciting. And no, we will not be finding out if it is a boy or girl. We will just wait. HA!

Victoria is Three!!

I can't believe it. I just can't believe that my little lady is already three. "They" say it goes by fast, but it has gone by ridiculously fast.

Here is a run down of the birthday celebration:

We started off the day with a trip to the donut shop. I do believe that I have passed down my outrageously crazy love for the donut to my kids. I am just amazed at how many donuts those two can gobble down. For that matter, I am always amazed at how many I can gobble down as well ... actually it is more like inhale. It seems that we have made getting donuts on your birthday a bit of a tradition around here. I say let's celebrate all holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and the like this way!

Later in the morning we made our way to the mall. Destination: Build A Bear. Never been there before. Victoria mentioned it the other day and I thought it might be kinda fun. So, she orginally picked out the Alvin Chipmunk to build and momma said "NO." Then, she picked out the camo bear and momma said "NO." I then gave her the option to choose the pink bear, the Hello Kitty, or the regular light brown bear ... I know, I am so mean. She chose the pink bear ... thank you very much. They stuffed the bear, we brushed the bear, we dressed the bear and then we named the bear ... "Pooh Bear." Yep, we have a Pooh Bear that looks nothing like Winnie the Pooh. But, that is what she named the bear. Honestly, I was just glad that she didn't name the bear "Bear." All of her dolls are named "Baby," all of her bunnies are named "Bunny," and so-on and so-on.



Then we did a bit of shopping at the mall for mommy and Riley and then picked up her birthday cookie. Victoria doesn't like cake, so we opted for the gigantic cookie. We then headed to Party City for the pinata, balloons and anything else that just so happened to jump into our buggy. Walked out of that store $50 poorer. Oh well.

Then lunch at Taco Bueno and home.

No nap for her today. I mean it is her birthday. So, during her naptime, she told me at least a dozen times that today is her birthday. I loved it! I love that she gets it. That this day is for her to celebrate and be extra special.

After a very long 2 hours of waiting once we got Riley from school, we headed over to Pops and Gigis for her birthday party. It was a cluster party of sorts (my sis-in-laws birthday, my bro and other sis-in-laws anniversary and my parents anniversary), but still all about Victoria. Of course, in our family, siblings are never left out. Riley did receive his unbirthday presents. And since it was Katie's (my sis-in-law) birthday as well, the big kids received unbirthday presents as well ... love it!

I love that she just couldn't wait to blow out her candles. She had already blown them out before we started singing.

After weeks and weeks of convincing her, she has finally decided that yes, she is three. She just didn't want to let go of being two.

The jump rope. She wanted a jump rope and a pink ball for her birthday.

Close your eyes Victoria.

The big reveal ... a scooter. She has been wanting one of her own for like forever.

Victoria got her package from Grandma and Grandpa and couldn't wait to get this on.

At age 3, here is Victoria:

Loves: Riley, going anywhere (church, store, school, Walmart, to the mailbox), Minnie Mouse, meat, puzzles, playing outside, donuts, balls, being bossy, Oreos, camping, bathtime, the sandbox, picking out her clothes for the day "I do myself," singing (she knows the lyrics to the theme song for Phineas and Ferb and of course Veggie Tales).

Not so crazy about: Pasta, not getting her own way, Sid the Science kid on PBS (don't blame her, he freaks me out a bit too), french fries (thank goodness), her car seat (she misses the one with flowers on it), chocolate milk, wearing bows (of this I am very sad, but still holding out hope), veggies (except raw carrots swimming in ranch).

I am sure she is off the charts on height and weight. She is the size of a five year old. I was thinking that Riley was the same size as her when he was three, but he wasn't. He was four by the time he reached her numbers. We are officially shopping in the "girls" section. Pretty sure we skipped over size 4T. What absolutely amazes me is that this time last year, she was wearing 2T. WOW, what a growth spurt kinda year!

I cherish these days I have with Victoria, especially now that we have baby arriving in August and she will be going to preschool in the fall. She is a delight to have around, even when she raises her hand and says "don't talk me." She is at her best when she has a job to do. She loves to help out. She hates to be ignored and lets you know it. She is Riley's shadow when he is home. Poor guy hardly gets a moment to himself these days. Thankfully, it doesn't bother him ... most of the time. She has the sweetest prayers at night, thanking God for everyone in the family and for her friends at church and every so often throwing in the occasional toy. We are so very thankful for our surprise baby girl. She can make us laugh, pull our hair out and be so very proud all in one moment.

We are ...

... having a baby!

We will be completing our family in August with the arrival of baby number 3! Very exciting!!

This last addition to our family has been a long time coming. We started talking/planning about this one about a year and a half ago. I actually started preparing myself for the fact that it just might not happen. But let's just say that we are very "thankful" for this wonderful gift from God (if you don't know what I mean, click here).

So far, this pregnancy has been alot like my other two ... just plain awful. I was stricken with morning sickness for every waking moment of the day from week 5 until about week 14. It still hasn't totally disappeared, but at least it isn't ALL THE TIME. But, if I do recall my prayers at the beginning of my pregnancy, I did ask that the Lord "bring it on" as far as pregnancy symptoms. I wanted to know at anytime that this baby was developing and growing like it should. He definitely answered that prayer with a resounding YES. And even though I was absolutely miserable, my house was a mess for three months, and my daughter watched a ridiculous amount of TV, I counted it all joy just to know that this little one was ok.

Now that the sickness is just about gone, I do feel much better. I still have some "joys" that are uncomfortable, but I think that might just be my age ... seriously. Being 33 and pregnant is ALOT different than being 26 or even 30.

So far I have gained 11 pounds. Not too bad, I guess. Gained 3lbs in month 2, 3lbs in month 3 and 5lbs month 4. I am trying not to obsess about it too much. I just don't want a repeat of my pregnancy with Victoria. I think I gained a whopping 40 pounds. One of the first things Carey said to me was "You aren't going to go crazy on donuts and Dr Pepper again, are you?" No hon, I am not.

This pregnancy seems to be going by a bit slower than the others did. Not sure if it is because I worked during my other pregnancies or if it is because pregnancy itself has lost its appeal to me and I just want the baby here. I think I am more excited about this one than I was for the other two to arrive. So, the countdown for me has already begun. I have already converted the spare bedroom into the baby's room. I even made up the bed.

The kids are super excited about the baby. I think Riley is more excited than Victoria. He keeps throwing names out there that he wants us to use ... Sam, Nathan, Issac ... all boy names. He wants a little brother SO BAD! I almost want it to be a boy just to see his reaction. But that would be the only swaying factor. I honestly don't care. And the way I look at it, it is just another person to love and care for and most importantly, to teach about being a follower of Christ. Boy or girl just doesn't matter much.

But the hair does. I want a curly-headed child. I have a wavy haired child and a straight (very straight) haired child. I would LOVE to have one with curly hair.