Today I…

Today I…

… got up early to nurse Asher and enjoyed that quiet, cozy time with him.

… took my five kids on a major grocery shopping run. Two hours and $116 dollars later we were finished, having bought food for the weekend, everything we needed for the Fourth of July festivities tomorrow (including fireworks), stuff for Asher’s birthday, and stuff for our upcoming trip.

… tried a new gluten-free bread recipe. It was rather labor intensive and took about three and a half hours to make, but the results were delicious! It was a huge hit with Joshua and all of our “gluten eaters” as well, who each got to sample one small bite and declared it delicious. In fact, a few kids were jealous of Joshua and his yummy GF bread.

… homeschooled the older kids, but just reading, writing, math, spelling, and grammar because we are on our summer schedule.

… walked two brisk miles on the treadmill while the little boys napped and the older kids had quiet time.

… cleaned my house: vacuumed, gathered garbage, scoured bathrooms, and got every room spotlessly tidy. I did not touch the kitchen, but left it for my dear husband.

… washed, folded, and put away three loads of laundry.

… listened to Joshua read Harold and the Purple Crayon outloud and complimented him on his wonderful, expressive reading.

… packed everything we need (including dress clothes) for our family of seven (plus a puppy) for our nine day trip. The only things that I left unpacked were the pillows, tooth brushes, and anything else that we will need between now and when we leave on Sunday morning.

… hugged my sweet Madalyn all day long it seemed; every 20 minutes or so she’d appear by my side and request, “Hug? Hug? Hug?” I loved it.

… made dinner with a little help from the family (steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, bread, and milk) and ate together when Rick got home from work at 7pm.

… gave Brenna a big hug and thanked her for all of her great help during the day. She helped with chores, helped with babies, helped with anything I asked.

… chuckled when Braden marched into my room with his safety goggles on and his drill already spinning and asked, “Where do you need me to fix something?”

… studied the scriptures as a family before bedtime and got all five kids into bed early in preparation for our early Fourth of July morning tomorrow.

… thanked my sweet husband when he cleaned the kitchen for me, just as I knew he would! It’s mostly done now.

… kissed that same husband goodnight when he got a headache and went to bed early.

… stayed up until 11pm finishing the tasks from the day (a little more laundry and a little more packing), but now everything is finally completely done.

… snuck into my kids’ bedrooms to make sure they were all breathing, tuck them in again, and give them each one last kiss on the forehead. They are so precious!

… sat in bed at the end of a long day, eating blueberries with whipped cream and Cool Ranch Doritos, while updating my blog, and cherishing the kicks and wiggles of my sweet, unborn baby, and feeling very grateful for my life and my fun, busy, productive day.

One Year Ago…

This is our family one year ago. It was taken at the very end of June and Asher was born about a week and a half later. It’s funny how small and empty our family looks without our Asher! I can’t imagine life without this precious boy of ours. And I still can’t believe that he will be one in just a few more days!

Another Birthday for Braden

Apparently Braden’s third birthday in May had quite the effect on him because he has talked constantly of it since then. Braden is completely convinced that he gets to have another birthday very soon. He’s been talking about it for the last month, ever since his birthday, but the planning of Asher’s first birthday seems to have spurred him on even more. He’s dead set on having another birthday.

I tried to explain that birthdays come once a year, but Braden didn’t agree. When I asked him when he thought his next birthday was going to be, he thought for a moment and then suggested, “How ’bout next Thursday?”

Ah, I love that kid! He might want a lot of birthdays, but for my sake, I hope those birthdays don’t come too quickly!

T-Ball Time

Joshua had his first t-ball game last night. He had gymnastics right before the game and ran a mile on the track as well, but the kid has such incredible stamina and such a high energy level that I knew he’d be fine.

The weather was surprisingly cold, especially for an evening in July. It was windy and overcast, with lower temperatures and even a few splatters of rain. During the summer, I always keep jackets for the kids in my van for those occasional unexpectedly cool summer days. I was glad I had them this time because I was able to bundle my babies up against the cold. I didn’t have anything for myself and the goosebumps on my arms made me even more glad that my children were all warm inside cozy jackets.

Joshua did great at the game, especially considering that he’d picked up a bat for the first time only a few days ago. His first time at bat was a bit tough. He threw the bat on the first swing, and missed completely on his next two tries. (Again, this was only the second time he’d touched a baseball bat!) But then he hit the ball solidly and ran to first.

On his second time at bat, Joshua seemed to have a better handle on what he was doing. He cracked a good, hard hit on his first swing and ran for a homerun. He even passed the two little boys that were running the bases in front of him because he was a faster runner than they were. From then on, every time at bat, Joshua had a good hit on his first swing. After that unexpected homer, his coaches made him stop at first base after each hit though. Apparently, the kids are only supposed to run one base at a time in a t-ball.

Josh spent some time in right field, but then got moved up in front of the batter. I was curious how he’d do because this was also one of his first times with a baseball mitt on his hand. But he easily fielded every grounder that came near him and then threw the ball right to first base each time. Most of the boys just chased the ball and jumped on it, but Joshua actually caught it in his glove. And his throw to first base was perfect each time. I was proud of him.

Joshy was very excited about his first game. He was excited beforehand and then he had so much fun playing that he was even more excited afterwards. He can’t wait to play again.

I must say that he looked incredibly darling in his team t-shirt and his too-big baseball cap. I loved the determination with which he played and I loved the smile that was constantly on his face when he wasn’t busy concentrating. He waved and flashed me the “I love you” sign multiple times during the game and I loved that as well!

My Cute Piranha

Asher recently became the proud owner of another top tooth. What’s an almost-one-year-old to do with FOUR pearly whites? Why, bite his mother with them of course!

Asher has always been a bit of a biter. He loves to bite! He’ll pull up to the couch and gently bite my knee. He’ll nibble my fingers when I hold him. He’ll even bite my toes if they happen to be within his reach.  He gives fabulous baby kisses, but he sometimes gets so excited while he’s giving them that he uses his little teeth as well. Asher is still just a baby and he is never malicious when he bites. It’s just a fun game to him. He bites playfully and always very gently.

But now that Asher has four teeth in his mouth, my little boy has turned into a nursing biter as well. This is much worse than all the other bites and nibbles combined! He’s quite the little piranha, clamping on with those four sharp teeth. OUCH! My toes are curling just thinking about it! He’s probably not biting really hard, but it’s such a tender area that it really, really hurts. 

With each bite, I hold back a scream and then firmly tell him NO and promptly end the nursing session. I think he’s getting the idea, but I am still really nervous as I nurse him. Pregnancy hormones make everything tender anyway and it’s just so incredibly painful when he bites down that I can’t help but feel a little guarded. Hopefully this phase will pass quickly. And hopefully I survive it with… um, everything… relatively unharmed. 

It’s a good thing Asher is such a big cutie… because it turns out that he’s also a big biter as well!

Brenna…

Brenna loves candy, staying up late, and going barefoot… just like her Mama!

Quad Screen Results

Our little guy is measuring too small so my OB recommended several blood tests as a precaution. She recommended the quad screen to look for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy, and a few others. She also recommended some testing to check for Fifths Disease and some other diseases that can effect unborn babies.

I haven’t thought much of these tests during the past week and a half. I have been pretty confident that everything was okay with our precious son. Now and then, I would feel a tinge of worry, but overall I felt peaceful.

Today I got my test results. Everything is perfect! All the test results came back normal! Whatever is making this baby boy extra small, it is NOT Downs Syndrome or Trisomy or Fifths Disease or anything else!

As far as I understand, we are down to two basic possibilities. Either this baby has some form of Interuterine Growth Retardation that is slowly his growth down, or he is just an extra small, but perfectly healthy baby. Only time and repeat ultrasounds will tell us what is happening. I have an ultrasound in a week and a half to see how he’s growing, and I’m glad that my doctors are all being careful with this situation. 

I feel incredibly happy and peaceful and blessed. This baby is a blessing and I am thankful that he is doing well, even if he is itty bitty. I feel confident that everything will be okay.

Roseola

I think Asher has Roseola. He ran a 102 fever for four days straight. He was irritable and tired and having very mild diarrhea, but otherwise he didn’t have any major symptoms. The fever finally broke on the fourth day, and almost immediately he broke out in a splotchy rash all over his torso, neck, and face. I googled Roseola and found symptoms identical to the ones that Asher has displayed, even down to his swollen eyelids. (I have wondered WHY his little eyes have been so swollen this week, but this obviously explains it.)

The good news is that Asher is no longer contagious now that the fever has broken, and the rash shouldn’t be uncomfortable for him. Roseola is generally a benign illness and they usually just let it run its course without treatment. Although Roseola is contagious, kids usually only get it if they are between 6 months old and 2 years old. So my other kiddos should be spared. And it’s not dangerous for a pregnant woman to be exposed to Roseola either.

I am glad to know what Asher has been sick, and I’m even more happy that it’s nothing too serious!

July?

I just erased and rewrote the dry-erase calender that hangs on my fridge. Today is, after all, July 1. I still can’t believe it. Where does time go? How can it be July already? 

July will be a big month for us. We have three birthdays in our family to celebrate, plus many more in our extended family. Asher will turn one and Maddie will turn five! I will turn 29. There’s the 4th of July to celebrate, which is always a big deal around here. We have two weddings during July (both out of state), several trips home to visit both sets of grandparents, a backyard campout to kick off the summer followed by a family camping trip by the lake, a reunion for my mom’s side of the family at the very end of the month, a couple of doctor visits and an ultrasound to see our our tiny guy is growing, and several hikes and fishing trips planned. Plus there is all the usual… homeschool, wrestling, gymnastics, t-ball, church callings and activities, and so on. And more of the usual… cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping and errands and so on. I will also be ordering lots of homeschool books and supplies for the rapidly approaching 2009-2010 school year, and I can hardly wait to do so. AND, at the end of the July, I will be very close to starting my very last trimester! That alone seems incredible!

July will be a good month. And I am sure it will go by just as fast as June did!

Today…

I am feeling a little queasy today, though I did manage to eat a half a box of Cinnamon Chex. I love that stuff. Milk sounded terrible so I devoured it right out of the box. I was disappointed when it was gone, especially considering that I only bought the box the night before. If I’m anything when it comes to eating, I am certainly QUICK.

My tummy is still a little upset. That’s okay though because today has been a good day in spite of that. I got four loads of laundry completely done, dusted and vacuumed my entire house, washed all my walls and baseboards and doors, and cleaned most of my downstairs blinds. The kids helped out and vacuumed their own rooms, did dishes, and tidied the kids’ bathroom. Then we got started on homeschool. Even with our increased schedule (doing two weeks worth of work in one weeks time) the kids still move through it quickly if they stay on task. It makes me think, once again, that things are way too easy for them!

It’s noon now. Joshua has just a bit of school left and there are a few more chores I’d like to get done and I plan on exercising as well. But, even so, we got a lot accomplished before lunch today! I love days like that!