Life Lately

We have been trying to potty train Matthew for months now. It's mostly just been teaching him what to do and giving him opportunities to try. However, he has never showed any interest. In fact he has been very opposed to anything having to do with the  bathroom. So I was shocked Thursday night when he told me that he needed to go to the bathroom AND actually went. Then Friday he willingly wore underwear and stayed dry all day. He's been in underwear ever since and it's been mostly successful. However, I feel like we're in a weird potty training limbo now. He doesn't go on his own- only if we ask him to try. And he won't poop in the toilet. It is SO frustrating! I'm trying to just remember that this is progress- way more progress than we've ever made, but I wish I knew what to do from here. I feel like a first time mom again....this time has been so different (and harder) than it was with Emma. Crossing my fingers that he makes some serious progress soon!

We are all excited and ready for this baby to come. It is exactly one month until my due date! It is weird to think that I could have a baby this month....and if not this month it will definitely be next month. I am so anxious to see how things go with this baby, how the dynamics of our family will change. Our family has been just the four of us for 3 years now and it's hard to imagine it any other way. I've found myself watching the kids play together, having one of their crazy dance parties, taking a bath together and it kind of makes me sad to know that this is the end of this stage of our lives. The last time we will only have two kids. The end of being able to leave the house without a huge diaper bag and a million baby accessories. Knowing that this baby will change everything about our lives, I've been trying to capture in my mind all the little details about life now.

At the same time I am excited to for the new changes, the new routines, and for seeing the kids with their baby sister. They are both SO anxious to meet this baby. They love talking about her, talking to her, and playing in her room with anything that is hers. We made a chain to count down the days until she's born and they have told countless strangers about it. Emma makes sure to pull a link off first thing every morning. Matthew likes to put his hand on my stomach and tell me whether Ellie is sleeping or awake. He also thinks that if he lays against my stomach he will hurt her. They have also both become VERY aware of babies around us. They think that all babies are just so cute and that every baby they see loves them so much. Matthew giggles when he sees babies, when he hears a baby cry, when he sees pictures of him or Emma as babies. He just really likes babies right now. I'm hoping this means we'll have a smooth transition.

Emma's favorite thing to do with the baby is to sing "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam" to her. She puts her hand on my stomach and sings loudly so Ellie can hear. I don't remember how this got started, but when she sings "sunbeam" (you know when the kids usually jump), I make my stomach move so she thinks Ellie is kicking. I think I did it once, just to be funny, but now she expects it every time. And she really believes that it is the baby. It is the funniest thing to watch.

Jon was able to spend a lot of time with the kids this weekend. He only sees them for about an hour each evening during the week so we love when it works out to have to time together on the weekend. They did all sorts of fun stuff. I'll be the first to admit that Jon is the fun, adventurous parent. He does things with them that I would never attempt...like the 10 mile bike ride along the bay on Saturday while I was at a baby shower. He also bought the kids bug nets and they spent most of the weekend outside catching bugs. They have seriously been in dad heaven the last few days. They actually cried this morning when they woke up and saw that he had left for work already. It was pretty sad.

These pictures are all from this weekend and yesterday.

One of the kids (nobody will fess up) unplugged the air filter thing in the fish tank, so our fish died yesterday. We have had this goldfish for 3 YEARS. He was a tough little guy! But, this did him in and we had to say good bye. We buried him in the garden, Emma laid flowers on the grave, and Jon said a few words. It was actually kind of amusing to watch.

Matthew loves catching himself with his bug net. He thinks it is the funniest thing ever.

Checking out their catch

Matthew can't go in the backyard without picking some fruit off the trees. He LOVES the tangerines.

And I just had to throw in the flower pictures....I am in love with all the gorgeous colors in our backyard right now.

Whirlwind Week

 Last week was busy....lots of driving and traveling and fun.We started out the week with the kids and I driving down to Southern California to visit some friends on Monday. The Kings moved from the Bay Area in December and we have all missed them a lot! The kids were SO excited to play together again. Emma was so anxious to get there that she didn't even want to stop at McDonalds for lunch....Emma turning down McDonalds is unheard of! She insisted that she would stay in her seat and be good if I would bring 40 bags of fruit snacks so she wouldn't get hungry. We stopped at McDonalds anyway.  :)

We stayed with the Kings until Thursday morning and had a blast.

There was a lot of plasma car riding....they honestly did this more than anything else.

A girls night out to get pedicures and dinner. (I had forgotten how much I love having my toenails painted....I feel so fancy!)

A trip to the beach, on what just happened to be the coldest day we were there. However, we are used to the usually cold San Francisco beaches, so it didn't phase the kids at all. They played hard and all got wet anyway.

 

 

 and lots of visiting. It was just a nice, laid back trip. We are so glad we could go and see them.

Thursday night, Matthew woke up complaining that his ear hurt. So, first thing Friday we took him in to the doctor to get antibiotics for his double ear infection, then met Jon at work for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. From there I took the kids to grandma's house so Jon and I could have a little getaway before the baby comes.

We stayed at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose. It was really inexpensive so we weren't expecting much, but we were pleasantly surprised. Gorgeous grounds and buildings, nice comfortable rooms, and a delicious breakfast. It was such a nice little escape.

 Before going to get the kids on Saturday we headed down to another mansion. We had heard so much about Filoli and really wanted to take advantage and check it out while we didn't have the kids with us. The house and gardens were impressive! Just wish I wasn't so pregnant....I was WORN OUT!

We spent the rest of the weekend with Jon's family. The kids got to hunt for their Easter baskets on Saturday. They also got to paint eggs, which they loved. On Saturday night we got to go see The Lamb of God oratorio, which our sister in law participated in. It was a great program. It was a great Easter. We love being close enough to spend holidays with family.

After all the nonstop fun, we were so happy to finally come home Sunday night!

32 Weeks!

 Wow! This pregnancy is seriously FLYING! I cannot believe I have less than 2 months left (hopefully!). We are all getting SO excited.

This has been a fairly uneventful pregnancy, for which I am grateful. The real discomfort is just starting. So far I have been carrying very high, but I think sometime Friday night baby dropped. And she dropped very low. And I am really feeling it! Lots of pressure during the day and almost no sleep at night. But it's okay...it just means the end is close!

One of my favorite things right now is to sit still while the baby moves around like crazy. I love watching my belly move around- the occasional jab and then the wave of movement all the way across. There is something strangely fascinating about it.

Emma is SO excited for this baby. She loves trying to feel the baby move. A couple of weeks ago she tried to feel the baby, but the baby wasn't moving. I jokingly told her that I just needed to eat some chocolate and that would make her move. Now every time Emma wants to feel her she asks me first if I've eaten any treats. If I haven't, she'll sigh or groan and tell me I need to go eat some candy. It's very funny.  :)

 32 weeks!

What a difference angle makes! I don't mind this angle.  :)

Just Me and My Thoughts

Jon left Thursday afternoon to go on a snow camping trip with the scouts. They will be back late tonight...I can't wait! Until then I sit here, my third quiet night in a row, trying to pass the time. These 3 days have gone better than I expected. We've tried to stay busy and at the same time to keep things low key. Yesterday we had a Friday Funday. In the morning, after chores, we went to Pump it Up to use our free play passes we got on Groupon. Emma has been begging to go since the last time we went (in February), so she was thrilled. It was a great way to pass the morning. After coming home, we had lunch, quiet time, and then got the grocery shopping done. Then we spent the next 4 hours, until bedtime, at our neighbors house. It was great! The kids all played hard and fell into bed as soon as we got home. That whole day just flew by!

Today has been much more low key. We had a pajama and movie kind of a day. We made silly face pancakes for breakfast, had cereal for lunch, and hot dogs and leftover pizza for dinner....the kids were in heaven! And honestly, it's been kind of nice to not feel like I have to cook the last 3 days.

The evenings have been kind of nice too. The kids are always in bed by 7:30, so I have been left with a few hours each evening. At first I really enjoyed it. I got a lot done around the house. By tonight I'm starting to feel like it's just too quiet. I'm ready for Jon to be home...to have someone to talk to again. And I'm ready to start going to bed at a decent time again. I've found myself staying up later and later each night that he's been gone. And for someone who's a morning person, that's not a good thing!

The last couple nights I've found myself reflecting a lot, mostly about the kids. I've found myself watching them a lot lately, in awe of how grown up they seem all of a sudden.

Emma especially seems so much older lately. It's interesting to see her personality continue to develop and mature. She can be very rough and tumble, but at the same time she is very sweet and caring. She is very aware of other people's feelings. We've been trying to work on potty training Matthew the last few days (it is SLOOOOW going...he knows what to do but just doesn't want to). Every time he has gone to the bathroom on the toilet, Emma gets so excited. She rushes over to congratulate him and tell him what a big boy he is. Then she tells him that she loves him so much and they give each other a big hug. It is the sweetest thing ever!

She is also getting so excited for this baby to come. She loves to feel the baby move...though she really believes that I have to eat a treat to make the baby move.  :)  She has become very aware of babies around us. She loves to talk to them and softly touch their heads. If she is around an older baby, she will spend the entire time bringing them toys and telling them how cute they are. We watched our friends kids a couple weeks ago. Their youngest boy just turned 1. Emma wanted so badly to teach him how to talk. She followed him around saying a variety of words over and over, loud and slow. Then she would occasionally giggle and tell him he was such a cute, big boy. It makes me excited for this baby to come. I can't wait to see how the kids do with this new little one. Matthew watches Emma very closely when they are around babies, and he has started to do the same things that she does, though he is still very curious and holds back more. He is definitely fascinated with babies and points them out every time he sees one.

One of my favorite things about Emma is how helpful she is. I love that I can ask her to do something and she does it, even if I leave the room right after I ask her. And often she will clean up or put things away without being asked at all. Cleaning the playroom is the kids' job. Matthew tries to help, but he usually just gets distracted and starts playing with whatever toy he's cleaning up. But Emma will go in, clean up her share, and then offer to help Matthew clean up his part. It is awesome!

And Matthew is still our cuddly little guy. He is generally very happy and has the funniest little laugh. He loves to be silly and try and make us laugh. One of the things that I love about Matthew right now is his habit of collecting and carrying random objects around. Every night his bed is filled with a random assortment of books, toys, and other things that he collected on his way to bed. Throughout the day he is never without at least one toy in each hand. At meal times, he always has a small pile of random objects next to his place. It's pretty funny to see what objects he gets attached to each day. He is also a  boy who knows exactly what he wants and is not easily persuaded to change his mind. He loves his trains and cars and will play quietly by himself for long periods of time. He will be 3 in a month...and I still cannot believe it. He is my little guy, my baby....not a big 3 year old! Just don't try and tell him that.  :) 

I guess in short, I have just been struck the last couple of days with how lucky I am to have these two. 

And now I need to make myself go to bed so I'll end my ramblings there.  Good night!

Big Ball of Fun

We spent last weekend with Jon's family. It was a big weekend! His brother flew in from Utah to get engaged (and it also happened to be his birthday) so we went to his parent's house Friday for a  birthday/engagement party. We are so excited for him and excited to add another member to the family.

We stayed Saturday and Sunday to watch General Conference. This has become tradition since we moved to California. We love having that excuse to spend the weekend with family.  :)

So, Saturday in between sessions we ran to Costco and Jon's mom bought this big ball. After spending way too long blowing it up, it was ready to try out. It was a hit....definitely worth the work and the wait! The kids loved being rolled around in it and Emma actually got to the point where she stood up in it and ran to make it roll....I guess kind of like a hamster wheel.  :)  Whoever thought of this thing is a genius!

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

 We have really been trying to be better about family night lately. Instead of just watching a movie or coming up with something at dinner right before family night, we are really trying to put some thought into lessons. So far it has made a world of difference. Not that there's anything wrong with having a movie night, we were just falling back on stuff like that way too often!

This week we decided to talk about missions and missionaries. We sat the kids down and told them that they were going to go on a mission and that they would get a mission call telling them where they were going. Emma was SO excited. She was jumping up and down in her seat and giggling the whole time she was opening her letter. I actually got a little teary eyed imagining what it will be like when they are doing this for real...in another 16 years.

They were each called to serve in Mexico (just like their dad!). They put on their missionary clothes and went to the Missionary Training Center. There they each got their name tag and headed off to class to learn Spanish and how to teach the gospel.

 

 

They lucked out and got their dad for a teacher. He taught them all sorts of stuff and then they were ready to go. He took them to the airport, they boarded the plane (we rearranged the chairs so they were one in front of the other) and took off to Mexico, each with a Spanish dictionary in hand. Emma was taking the whole thing so seriously and really getting into it. Matthew just kept saying, "I'm in Mexico!" and "I'm a missionary!". It was so funny to watch them.

 I didn't get any pictures of the airplane or of them knocking on doors....but it was pretty hilarious.

When they got to Mexico, their mission president (again their dad....I tell ya, they're lucky kids!) met them, showed them where they would live and then took them out to knock on some doors. They came and knocked on my door and told me about the Book of Mormon and invited me to church. It was the sweetest thing to see.

Their mission ended, they flew back home, and we talked a little more about missionaries. Then we read them this page from the Friend magazine about preparing for a mission, and had them sign their names.

It was such a fun night and it was so nice to have them pay attention and get excited about it.

Lately

The time has once again come to clean off my overloaded camera and update our neglected blog. So, here is a random sampling of our last month.

One rainy morning, we built a huge blanket fort in the living room and then watched a movie in it. After the movie, the kids had a blast tearing it down and jumping in the big pile of blankets.

Another rainy day, we headed to Pump It Up, which happens to be a convenient 5 blocks from our house. It is one of those places that has all of the big inflatable, bouncy things. There was a groupon recently and we were able to get passes for super cheap. The kids were in heaven....pure bliss! We all can't wait to go again.

Emma jumped right in. Matthew took a while to warm up. He wanted me to stay right with him on everything, but eventually he realized he could do it all by himself.

Boomerang air hockey....I'd never seen it before, but it is SO fun.

Emma got to try rock climbing. She watched several older girls go before she tried it, so she was sure that she would be able to make it all the way to the top. She was pretty disappointed when she didn't. I was impressed that she was able to make it as far as she did!

ANOTHER rainy day...we've had a lot of rain recently! This particular morning, it had poured rain...tons of it. The kids ventured out to splash in all of the huge puddles....some of them were so deep they went up to Matthew's knees.

Emma had her special day at preschool last week. All the kids with summer birthdays have a special day that they get to bring treats and basically have a little birthday party at school. She chose to do rainbow chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting, sprinkles, and gummy worms. They were a huge hit with all the kids.  :)

Last week we went to Habitot, the children's museum in Berkeley. This is probably our favorite children's museum ever....just wish it were closer! We went with our friends/neighbors, the Lyle's and had a blast.

They had a new hospital display, complete with an ambulance for the kids to drive, a nursery, a pet hospital, an x-ray machine, etc. 

These two drove the ambulance

while Emma and Brady took care of all the sick dogs in the back.

We took a break from that to do some painting

And of course, we had to play in the water area.

All of the kids painted their faces

and they all thought it was hilarious to pretend to be dogs.

Dr. Emma

It was such a fun afternoon!

And some non-picture updates-

Matthew has started to use the word "because". It's pretty funny. He feels the need to say it in almost every sentence, so he'll say things like: I can't go to sleep because I'm tired, I don't want to because I don't want to, I'm crying because I'm crying because I'm sad, I'm hungry because I'm hungry and I want to eat. I can tell he gets the concept, but a lot of times it just comes out funny.

Emma has started talking like a baby. I was really worried at first, wondering where it came from and why the sudden change. And then I realized she was talking like the duck on Wonderpets. So, I'm relieved that she's not going through some regression stage, but I think Wonderpets might just have to go.  :)

I got Emma registered for Kindergarten today. Crazy! Up until today, I was really excited for her to go. We've been waiting for this for so long and it's finally here. She is so ready to start school. I didn't think I would have a hard time with it. And now that she's registered, it's all sinking in. She's going to be 5 in a few months. She's going to start school. This is the beginning of 20+ years (once you figure in the younger kids) of school projects and late nights doing homework and all of that fun stuff. And all of a sudden I don't know that I'm ready. I kind of like how simple life is right now! But I am really excited to see her continue to learn and to watch her grow and see the person she becomes.

And Matthew gets to start preschool in the fall. That is really hard for me to believe! He just seems so small, it's hard to imagine him in any kind of school. He is going to go to the preschool Emma is at this year, and he is really excited about it.

And of course we have the baby coming this summer. So many changes! I am really glad we'll have the whole summer to adjust to life with 3 kids before we have to jump into the craziness of the school year. We are excited though. 12 more weeks!

Jon was recently called to be the assistant scout master, which is the PERFECT calling for him. He is so excited to be working in the scouts, and he's especially excited to get to go camping every month. And that leaves me looking forward to many widow weekends.  :)  I really am glad that he has this opportunity though.

And that's life lately.