Motherhood

My first baby is 5 years old. I can't believe it. That is more than 1/4 of the time we get him. I have so much more I want to teach him.

Six years ago we thought we wouldn't have children. That is what the doctors told us. We started looking into adopting. There were a number of different avenues that we could take. We were in the researching stage while we were overseas in missions working with Global Aid Network. We had been praying about weather we would stay for longer than our one year commitment or not. Finally we started praying that we would stay put until God opened the door for us to start our family. The next week we found out we were pregnant. That began our journey as parents.

Samuel has become an outgoing, energetic, loving little boy. My day is never boring with Samuel around. I love my one on one time with him. I really enjoy taking him shopping with me. He is so cute the way that he will find things that he thinks would be great for Ellie or for Josiah. He has no sense of stranger danger. He wants to talk to every person he sees. Even the construction worker acrosss the parking lot, the garbage man taking his lunch, the grocery clerk, the homeless guy on the road...
Some of Samuel's quotes of the year:
*Me: what is the first book of the Bible. Samuel: Genesis. Me: and the last. Samuel: marvelation.

*Samuel was entertaining the bank tellers. I had to crack up when he announced to the bank that he had new underwear.

*Mommy: Samuel what were you doing down there
Samuel: hugging the tree
(Of course he was silly me for asking)

*Samuel sees this Guy with a sloppy red Mohawk. He starts laughing and says "he put spaghetti sauce on his head. That is so silly."

*Samuel: "mommy; daddy and I love you so so so much. We don't want you to die at all." (Um ok.)

*Samuel about his camping trip: I washed the tree all off. Washed off all the woodpecker poop. (Um ok)

* Samuel this morning is narrating his activity. I have heard the following 5 times in the last 10 minutes. "I just did..(fill in the blank).yay good job me. Good job me right mom."

* Samuel: mommy what is a board book

me: see how it has thick pages lake little boards

Samuel: oh I thought it was because it.makes big kids board

* mom I used enough soap for the whole month

* mom when I jumped out of bed I was going 50 MPH

Samuel I love you. I am so glad to see how you are maturing into a strong little man. I can't wait to see how much you grow and learn this next year.

Cousins

My brother Owen, his wife Angela and our nephew William made a really quick visit this month. Owen is going to be deployed in December for 6 months so this is the last time we will see him until at least July. William is 10 months younger than Samuel. That lands him exactly halfway between Samuel and Ellie. When they arrived we met them at the local dairy for an ice cream treat. From the second the boys saw each other they were inseparable.

 After the two days they were spending here they were going to visit our extended families. Samuel was loving his time with his cousin so much that we let him go with my mom on their trip for the last two days of their visit. According to mom he kept going on and on about how it was the best day ever.

The time that I got to spend with my sister in law was precious. We got to have a couple of really great heart to heart talks. I am so glad that I got to have that time.

Josiah is 3 Months

I have to say this is going way too fast. I want time to slow down. Josiah you are so sweet. You smile whenever I talk to you especially after you have a full belly. You will give me these huge belly laughs. Unfortunately I still haven't been able to capture it on camera as that means I have to put you down and then you stop your adorable sounds. You giggle when I try to take your onsie off. I am thinking you will probably be pretty ticklish.

You sleep great at night, you are fighting naps during the day though. Hopefully you will start sleeping well during the day again. I thank God every day for you.

Weight Loss Week 1

I made it through week 1. I can't say that I dramatically changed my eating habits except that I tracked everything, stayed within my WW points, and became hugely aware of the types of foods I tend to eat. So one baby step at a time, I lost 4 lbs.

Weight Loss

I am at a point that I am ready to start thinking about this crazy compounded baby weight. I wouldn't ordinarily post this on my blog. Who knows I may delete it tomorrow as I may not be thinking straight tonight. I am going to start my journey tomorrow. I will post updates on how I am doing on here assuming I leave this post up. Not sure anyone reads this anyway.

First Day of School

Our plan is currently still to home school out kiddlets but in this season we have put them in preschool at a wonderful local church. This year both of them are in class at the same time Samuel is in the 4 year old and Ellie is in the 3 year old class. Works out great they are on the same day.

So far Ellie's teacher has reported that Ellie came out of the bathroom completely naked with her clothes swung under her arm like a football. On another occasion she remembered my comment about worrying when Ellie goes quiet and found her three times in the same day getting into different places she wasn't supposed to. Next was the need to get her to stop putting absolutely everything in her mouth. She is so active and yet her mind is moving just as fast. Homeschooling will be interesting. I better always be one step ahead or life might be a little crazy.

Samuel has mostly been enjoying the time spent with his friends Gideon, Noah, Caleb and more. He has been a little sad that he hasn't gotten a chance to be the special snack helper yet but I am sure that will come.
I have been enjoying the few moments alone with Josiah and Zach.

Josiah is 2 Months

You have been with us for two months now. You are currently eating at 6am-ish, 9am-ish, 12pm-ish, 3pm-ish, 6pm-ish, 9pm-ish and then again around 11pm-ish. You go to bed immediately after the 6am, 6pm and 9pm. The rest of the time you are up for 60-90 minutes. You sleep wonderfully at night in your bed. During the day you tend to sleep better in your swing, car seat or somebodies arms. That is not our goal and when we are home I definitely work on you sleeping in your bed. Since you have older siblings you have learned to be flexible and out of the house often. Your feeds are semi flexible to work around your siblings. You are such a good little sport.

Right now you have figured out how to work your legs out of your swaddle but you still sleep better swaddled so we try to do it just right so you don't escape. You are extremely smiley. You grin at anyone who will talk to you. But especially those you know like grandma, daddy, mommy and of course your smothering doting siblings. You brother is very proud of you and loves doing things for you.

Happiest Baby on the Block - Shooshing



Your sister wants to love and kiss on you all the time. We try and keep her to kissing your head or your toes. She really loves kissing your face though and giving you things such as the sponge from her toy stethoscope she thought you might like to eat.



Soothing Brother


Speaking of eating. You have been fighting eating a lot. We can't quite tell if it is reflux or milk supply but we are working on it. On your 2 month you weighed 12lb14oz. that is up 29 oz since last month. You are growing perfectly. This week we put away all of your 3 month Jammies and brought out the 6 month ones. You are going to be a big boy. If your doctor is correct you will be over 6ft. You will give Uncle Michael a run for his money. We love you very much and are so enjoying your little personality that is starting to shine through that beautiful dimpled smile of yours.

Comments

I was so excited to have gotten a comment on my last post. It was my first comment in 2 years. I figured noone reads my blog, which is totally fine since I really write it as a kind of family memory book but I was excited anyway.

Josiah is 1 Month Old today

Brothers

My sweet Josiah today you are 1 month old. I can't believe you have only been a part of our life for one short month. It feels like so much longer and shorter at the same time. You are such a sweet boy, I can't imagine our family without you in it.
You are currently eating at 6am-ish, 9am-ish, 12pm-ish, 3pm-ish, 6pm-ish, 9pm-ish, 12am-ish and occasionally between 3 and 4 am-ish.

You sleep great at night although you are a very loud sleeper, I like to call you Mr. Grunty Grunty. Day time naps are another story. If you are in a deep sleep when I lay you down, you sleep like a champ. But if I lay you down awake, which is our goal, you are not a happy camper. You scream and scream until I pick you at which point you let out a heart melting sigh. That was the situation until I tried the Miracle swaddle blanket. I feel a little guilty wrapping you in this baby "straight Jacket" (kidding) and yet it makes you so happy.

I am so excited about your weight gain. You finally leveled out at 9lb13oz at 8 days. Today you were back up to 11lb1oz. In the last week you have gained an average of an oz. Great Job.

Everyday when I look at you I wonder what God has in store for you and I pray that you will choose the path he has planned for you.

Grandma

While we were on the Island I spent the most time I have spent with my Grandma King in a long time. I have to admit I dread spending time with her. It breaks my heart to see Grandma like this. I know she is still there, it is just hard to remember.
This weekend Aunty Pat and Uncle Ted were here, they used to live down the road from Grandma in Winnipeg. When they were getting ready to leave Grandma's house she requested a ride home. They had to convince her there were not enough seats in the car. Auntie Robyn (who was staying at Grandma's) had to promise to give her a ride home. Grandma proceeded to put on her shoes and coat and head out to the car. Auntie Robyn drove her around town for 20 minutes. I was supposed to hide when they came back in so Grandma would go to bed. Ellie got out of bed and needed the potty though. Right as I tucked her back in they started to open the door. I slipped into the bathroom and tried to no avail to keep Josiah quiet. He wouldn't have it, he wanted to eat. When I tried to sneak back out Grandma said "I thought I heard a little one in there your auntie Jo (Robyn) is in the kitchen." She then went to bed. She didn't remember why they had gone for a drive.
I love Grandma, but I really want to remember her the way she used to be. I want to remember the summers we spent at Grandma's house all of my childhood. The roast beef dinners with Yorkshire pudding and coleslaw. Making Wacky cake and apple crisp. Getting up early to sit with Grandma and watch reruns of Saved by the Bell and Little House on the Prairie. Playing Spite and Malice or Scrabble. Grandma won most of the time. Grandma and Papa lovingly bickering back and forth. These are the memories I really want to have.
Grandma's best moments now seem to be when she is holding a baby in her arms. I am glad to have had those moments now with her and Josiah. Grandma I love you.

Kids Trip To Victoria

We missed our kids like crazy during the 12 days we were apart but they seem to have had a great time with Grandma and all sorts of cousins, aunts, grandmas, great aunts and uncles...


They got to spend time at the King lake house ....


Inner tubing



Spending Time with Cousins

In the Hot tub

Most of the time was spent at Grandma King's House. My mom is an angel to have taken the two of them when she knew she would have to try and keep them calm and quiet for Great Grandma's sake. Grandma quite often asked when their parents were coming to pick them up.

Doing Puzzles - He was so proud of himself when he was able to do it all by himself without looking at the box.



Taking Great Grandma, and Nana out for Dairy Queen, this took a lot of convincing



Picking Apples from Grandma's Yard for Apple Crisp



Going to the Park with Nana

Cheering on Uncle Jared, Papa and Cousin Jessie at another race

Mama is glad to have her kiddos back

This is what happens when you don't come right away when Ellie calls from the bathroom

I am so thankful to have Ellie and Samuel home. I can't really say that life was boring without them because Josiah has kept me busy, but it is definitely less boring now.



Josiah Update

Josiah will be 3 weeks tomorrow. He is a wonderful sweet baby and he has me completely wrapped around his little finger.

Look at those Chunky Cheeks

Daddy Time

The Big Kids are in love, especially Samuel

Mom was going to Victoria to watch Grandma a week ago last Friday. She took the big kids with her. Josiah is eating every three hours and then I am pumping and finger feeding him. Between that and the many visits to the doctor we thought it would be best for her to take the kids. That was a really hard decision. Though I knew they would be well cared for, the thought of sending them away for 2 weeks was heartbreaking. I am glad that we did now though with how little sleep I am getting. I get to see them on Wednesday, I can't wait.

In the meantime Josiah is slowly gaining weight. He is up to 10lb7oz. He is having more periods of wake time and is even starting to wake up on his own for a few of his feeds. We are going from the 1am feed to the 6am feed giving both of us about a 4.5 to 5 hour stretch at night now. He was willing to go longer but I had to wake him every three hours. He is eating much better since I dropped the 3 am feed. I am getting a little more sleep and he is waking up better the next day.

Josiah responds to my voice. When he is really alert and he hears my voice he looks at me with an ooooh look on his face. It melts my heart.

I can't wait to get the kids home and find our new normal. Things have been out of whack since I got pregnant. I am looking forward to getting into a good routine with the three (wow) kids. I hope the summer weather holds out for a while longer so we can still have some fun in the sunshine before fall gets here.

Josiah Nathaniel

On Saturday we took the kids swimming. This allowed me to move slightly more comfortably for a couple of hours and provided the kids an outlet for their pent up energy.
On Sunday at church I could not get comfortable. I am sure I was driving everyone crazy. I think I stood up and walked around every 5 - 10 minutes. After church we ate lunch with Zach's parents and took the kids to the Winnie the Pooh movie. I still could not get comfortable. This continued all through our evening although I was still convinced that it was not doing anything. I figured it was just end of pregnancy aches and pains.
On Monday morning at about 545 I got up to pee, as I walked back to bed my bladder was hurting. I was sure this was still residual from the bladder/kidney infection, but as soon as I settled into bed I started having waves of pain in my back and lower stomach. I pulled out my phone and started tracking them, they were coming 45 seconds long and a minute apart. They were intense and I really had to focus to get through them. After five of them I woke Zach up and told him we needed to get moving. He called Carolyn (our most awesome doula and friend), my mom, his parents (to come get the kids), and the  midwife.
Zach started running around getting things together. Thankfully we had packed the bags. We had so much slow labor last time I figured we would have lots of time to do it, good thing Carolyn had told me a couple of times to get on it. By the time Zach's parents got there to get the kids, my mom and Carolyn arrived and I was ready to go. The contractions didn't let up at all. Once I was standing that was the only way I was comfortable. I tried to sit on the ball once while waiting for everyone but I shot right back up the second I hit the ball.
I think we all thought I would be laboring at home for a time but the second everyone arrived we were on our way back out the door. The drive was brutal. Sitting was not what I wanted to do. Thank God the Guide was not covered in bumps and potholes as it was when we made that drive for Ellie. When we arrived at the birthing center around 7 Anne (midwife ) and Jess (assistant Midwife) were already there all set up. Anne checked me and kind of nonchalantly said that things were looking good. When we asked how dilated I was, kind of expecting a 6 or 7, she laughed and said oh about a 10
What????? The only thing I could think was that everything was happening way too fast. The labor was so strong and it was all happening so fast. I continued on for another 2 hours that way until we decided to break the water, then he was born in half an hour. I am sure if we had broken the water as soon as we got there I probably would have only had 1.5 hours of labor. As it is labor started about 6am and he was born at 930.
He was much bigger than any of us had anticipated. He weighed in at 11lb7oz and was 22.5 inches long. My largest baby by a mere 3 lbs. No wonder everyone thought I was carrying twins.
Josiah was really grunty. At first we just thought he was a noisy baby. He grunted all through his first feeding and continually through the first couple of hours. The midwife started to get concerned about how much he was retracting and how labored his breathing was. We decided we had better take him into the hospital. He was checked into the nursery and put on oxygen, by that evening he was in an incubator with an IV in his tiny little hand. I was not permitted to nurse until the following afternoon and I was not even allowed to hold him until much later that night.
I loved my delivery at the birthing center and would definitely do it again. The experience was amazing in comparison to my other two. It was really hard though to move to the hospital 4 hours after giving birth not as a patient but as a parent of a patient. Thankfully they were able to find me a camp room (closet with a cot) to call home for the next two days. I stayed in the nursery as much as I could until someone sent me back to lay down. Zach covered most of the rest of the time with him. Needless to say we were both exhausted.
We were able to take him home on Wednesday afternoon after having gotten him to take a couple of good feedings. He had already lost 1lb though. Since then we have been working really hard to stabilize his weight and get him to start gaining weight. He got down to 9lb13.5oz. We have him slowly inching his way back up. We have been at 9lb 15oz for the last couple of days. He is such a sleepy baby that he has a hard time waking up to eat, which makes feedings take that much long, which makes him more tired and you can probably see how that can become a vicious circle.
Please pray that he wakes up a little more thoroughly to eat and that he starts to put his weight back on.

Raspberry Festival - Written on Saturday 7/16

I have been having contractions on and off since Tuesday, mostly in my back which is totally different than my other two. I really have not been quite sure how to guage them as a result. Zach stayed home starting on Wednesday as things seem to keep escalating in the evenings and then slow down during the night. We have been trying to do things with the kids to make them feel special and to keep me moving. Lot's of walks to try and get things moving along. This baby has a mind of his own. I guess that is what we get for naming him a fiery gift from God.

On Friday we went to the Raspberry Festival to kill time and keep me moving. Samuel said he wanted to climb the wall. I didn't really think he was serious. I got into a conversation with one of the vendors, when I turned around, Zach had gotten Samuel hooked up. I was shocked, and amazed. He made it 3/4 of the way up this adult climbing wall before his arms got to tired to keep going.

 Ellianna chose to jump in the jumpy house instead. Good choice for her. She loved it.

And now we wait!!!!

Well at my last midwife appointment a week ago I was 1.5cm and slightly efaced. This didn't really give me much hope that anything was going to happen anytime soon. Yesterday at our appointment I was at 3cm dialated and 80% efaced. That could mean tomorrow or next week. I have some hope since we went to the hospital pretty well into labor with Ellie and I ended up only being 4cm.

I feel like we are ready though. The house is clean, the laundry is caught up. The books are caught up. The house is organized. So now we wait. Wait and enjoy the time with our other two littles. We want to spend this time really focusing on them and making them feel special so that they are excited about these changes too.

Swimming Lessons

We did swim lessons at the Athletic Club this year. Last year we did them at the Y. Since I wanted to put our fearless Ellie in this year that was not an option for me. The Y requires parents to leave the pool deck and watch from a window upstairs over the pool. This was just a little far to be from Ellie the fearless. Also they had all the kids on the edge of the pool in the youngest age group. At the Club we were able to stay on the pool deck on bleachers and the kids stayed on the steps.

 We really enjoyed our whole experience here. The kids were in the Belugas. Ellie did great and so did Samuel. Samuel was advanced to Clownfish next time and Ellie will do Belugas again.

 Ellie needed to work on paying attention. hehe. This does not surprise me. They both were very comfortable with the water by the end of the six sessions. I think technically they want you to tack on another session to ingrain it farther. That would be right over the due date though and is not going to happen.

It is really important to me that my kids can swim and be safe around water.

Summer Fun

It has been a struggle for me to find the balance between getting ready for baby and just having fun with the kids. Yesterday I looked at the forecast and saw that it was supposed to be rainy the next two days. That was enough for me to put everything else on hold long enough to have some sunny summer fun with the kids.

 We went to Grandma's with the fun sprinkler and pool toys that Ellie had picked out with her birthday gift card from Auntie Pam. Mom and I sat in the sun and watched while the kids played in the water.

 Ellie was so cute in her Hawaii swim suit from Grandma. At one point she decided that swim suits were overrated however and completely stripped off everything except her crocks. She just would not be persuaded to put it back on. Normally this would totally not fly. But right now I am tired and as Zach likes to say I have the reflexes of a dead cow. He says this in love of course. he he

Every now and then the kids would come to warm up. It was a fun morning. Thanks Mom.

4th of July

Since Zach was working on the fourth starting at 11 am I really didn't have any ambitious ideas of what we could do. I didn't really plan on doing much of anything. Then I ended up talking to Carolyn who invited us to join them at the Overstreets for a Potluck. I am so glad that she did.

We started the day by going to the Blaine Parade. I had never been before. I can honestly say that if it was just me I probably wouldn't go to very many parades. But viewing them through the eyes of my children makes them so much fun. Their excitement and enthusiasm over the smallest little things is contagious. Mom went with us to the parade. Thankfully. The whole trek there was quite exhausting at this point in my life.

Later we went to the Potluck at the Overstreets and had so much fun. I got to sit and chat with great friends while our kidlets had the time of their lives. There were so many other kids to play with. They also had a jumpy house, cotton candy machine, and snow cone machine. And a metal swing set that the kids thought was amazing. I didn't plan on staying as late as the fireworks but in the end by the time I looked at the clock it was time to go down to the show and so we decided to stay.

Samuel's response to the fireworks was priceless. He exclaimed " I can't believe my eyes."

We didn't get home until 1130. The kids had both passed out 10 minutes before getting home. I had to make the decision between putting them into their beds covered in dirt or dipping them in the bath. I chose the bath. They were both balling, they didn't want to bath they just wanted to go to bed. I was glad that I did though when I stripped them down and the bathroom floor was covered in sand and the bottom of the tub looked like I dumped mud in it. Libby and Ellie had been showering each other in sand.

You can imagine my relief in the midst of all the tears and drama when I turned around to find Zach home 3 hours earlier than I expected. He showed up right when I needed him most.

Remembering Hannah Beth!

I have never said anything about this as I didn't feel there was anything that I could say that wouldn't make the whole thing that much sadder. In December My brother Owen and his wife Angela lost their sweet baby girl Hannah Bethany. We don't know why God chose to call her home but we are thankful for the time that Owen and Angela were given with her.

My dad and my brother Jared are really into competitive races. Marathons, Triathalons, Iron Men... Last weekend they were relaying a half Iron Man in Vancouver. They decided it would be a good opportunity to pay tribute to our sweet neice. So they named their team "Remembering Hannah Beth"

 Unfortunatly I was not able to be there for the race. Samuel and Ellie went with Grandma and Papa and Uncle Jared to get registered for the race though.

The guys did very well. They placed second in the Men's Relay and ended up getting interviewed by a bunch of people including Canadian TV stations.

Owen and Angela, please know that we are still praying for you guys and that we have not forgotten your sweet baby girl. We love you and miss you very much.

The Countdown is on!!

I thought for a while there that I was going into labor early but it turned out that I was having labor symptoms as a result of a UTI and Kidney Infection. Once the antibiotics kicked in things settled back down again. I am very thankful for that.
Now we are hunkering down and waiting. 12 days left today. We are trying to stay on top of the things around the house as much as possible so we don't start behind and do extra fun things with the kiddos. Our family is going to change a lot in the next couple of weeks.

Ellie's 3rd Birthday Party

I have done Parties for each of my kids each year. Not that they need it, but it is a great way to get to see some of our friends that we don't always get together with. This year I was kind of dreading Ellie's Party because I am so tired all the time. I tried to make it as simple as possible.

We met our friends at the city park with some sandwich makings, cupcakes, juice and chips. It really was super simple. The weather wasn't looking like it was going to cooperate but thankfully the rain stayed away. We ate lunch, opened presents, had cupcakes and then the kids spent an hour or so playing in the park with all of their friends. It was the easiest party I have ever done. Might have to use that one again.

Nesting!

Well I have been doing a lot of nesting in the last 2 months since Zach came back from Portland, we found out what we were having and I quit throwing up. I knew my days were numbered until this baby came or I just couldn't move anymore. No the baby has not arrived but I am getting to the end of my energy. My midwife wants my feet up more and I am just so exhausted that the nesting process has slowed down significantly. Thankfully I have finished about 80% of the house.

I have gone through almost every room in the house purging, reorganizing and cleaning out cupboards and closets.

Here is the kitchen after I reorganized and made room for the baby bottles and inevitable collection of baby items that end up in the kitchen.



Kids Bathroom Closet

I have also finished the Kids' bathroom, Hall Closets, Living Room, Laundry Room, Cleaning Closet, Master Bathroom. The only thing left to do is the Master closet and Bedroom. A few final details on the "Big Kids'" Room, and the nursery.

My nesting came with a long honey do list for my honey as well as a list of things we have been talking about for a while. We have been trying to create more storage to make things more accessible and functional. In the dining room we added cupboards for kids arts & crafts as well as homeschool items.

I love this. Before I had all of the crayons, coloring books, stickers, play dough stuffed in a cupboard so tight that we honestly never used any of it. It was too much of a hassle to get out.

Our next dilemma was putting the kids in one room and still having enough room for toys and books and clothes, not to mention space to play. We initially bought a bunk bed that had a trundle underneath and dresser, desk and shelves in the middle. It became apparent pretty quickly that the unit was too much for our little room. Samuel wasn't ready to be up on the top bunk so he was still sleeping in his toddler bed. The trundle slid all over on our wood floor and wasn't deep enough to keep blankets in the drawer with the mattress. It also did not leave very much play space.

So we put it up for sale and started rethinking things. I had an idea about toddler bunk beds. We only found one place that made them and it would have been close to $1200. So we started toying with the idea of Zach making them. Zach's friend Brian thought it was a great idea and was willing to help him. So after about $200 in parts.

Before

After

Zach and Brian spent a good day and a half building these. Zach spent another week whenever he was home sanding and staining. I think they turned out amazing. The kids are super excited to start sleeping in them. Samuel will sleep in them for the first time tonight. As for Ellie, we will try and make the transition a couple of weeks before the baby is due, to work out some of the kinks of them sharing a room.

The next issue was organization for the closet.

We had plenty of space it just was not very functional. After shopping around and working on a plan this is what we came up with.

We switched to bifold doors that Zach had to cut down to the right size, stain and install. We bought the center unit from Ikea and then cut the shelves and rods to the right size. Zach again did an awesome job.

We are pretty close to being ready for this baby to come. I just have a few more things I would like to finish.