Play.

Spring is here.

We're not home much these days.

That might change as the pregnancy progresses, but I'm choosing to ignore that.

But, for now, we are enjoying the new season.

The kids have discovered a love for the library. Matt and I both love to read, so this is an outing I can almost never say no to. Maddox loves to walk up to a shelf, pull out one book, sit and slowly turn each page.

We're also huge fans of picnics. I want a real picnic basket more then anything. It has to be one like my Grandma Faye had. Has to. I really hope I never forget picnics in Wallsburg.We have quite a few favorite parks. It seems like we visit one for awhile and, when we feel it's been sufficiently explored, we venture to a new one.

The girls have discovered a love for hills. They pedal their little bikes up our hill, turn around and come flying down as fast as they dare. We'll probably be taking a trip to the Emergency Room soon. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a couple of trips.

Everyone got a fun swimsuit from the Easter bunny. There's no way we'll be able to wait for Memorial Day to swim, so for now, we'll swim at the Legacy Center.

Everytime I think about summer, I think about being pregnant all summer long. I have to keep reminding myself that this pregnancy will end in July.

Right now, I plan on just taking little brother along for the ride. I hope he doesn't come to earth expecting rest and relaxation.

That's just not the way we do things around here. 

Time.

Right before I got pregnant, I had a very unsettling experience at Costco.

A man and his wife came up to me while I was standing in line. I had all three kids in the cart and grocery piled high around them. The woman began commenting on Sloane's hair. This is nothing out of the ordinary, people are always complimenting her hair. The man looked at me and said, "Your children are beautiful, but so young! You need to be done. No more. Ok?". He chuckled and walked away with his wife. I was dumbfounded. Here I was, stressed to the max over trying to get pregnant and this guy just told me "No more." I didn't know what to say. The experience stuck with me.

Now that my belly is getting quite round, I'm getting more looks and questions from strangers when I'm out and about with all three kids.

Actually, I get very amused when someone asks about my kids when Holynd is at Preschool. Their eyes always get really wide when I say, "Sloane is 2, Maddox is 1 and my 4 year old is at Preschool. I'm having our 4th baby in July."

Most people are very kind, even though I can see the judgement in their eyes.

People can say and think what they want. My kids are perfect and they love each other, that's all that matters to me.

One question that I'm hearing more and more often is, "How do you spend time with each child?"

This is something I never know how to answer.

Actually, this is a question that I prayed about almost everyday when I was pregnant with Maddox.

"How will I ever be able to spend time with each baby individually?"

I never really got an answer.

I've been confused about it for quite some time. However, recently, I've noticed that the answer has been in front of my face for a long time.

It just happens. I don't know how it happens, but when one of the kids needs time with just me or just Matt the opportunity just sort of presents itself.

This is no coincidence. We're definitely receiving some sort of divine help.

For instance, Maddox loves his dad. Unfortunately, I don't think Maddox gets to spend as much time with Matt as he would like to. A lot of the time, when Matt has to run a more husband-type errand, like getting the oil changed or the tires rotated, Maddox tags along. He loves every minute of it. This, in turn, gives me time to spend with the girls. We do things that normally Maddox would just interrupt, like fingernail painting or playing in make-up.

Holynd is at an age where she's can easily tag along with me on my sort of errands. She loves a trip to Hobby Lobby and I've even taken her with me to have a manicure while I get a pedicure. Sloanie is my grocery shopping buddy. She knows the layout of Smith's just as well as I do. She LOVES to be the one to get things off the shelves and put them in the cart. She's also extremely content sitting in the cart, drawing all over the grocery list with a pen. Matt also makes it a priority to take Sloane with him every morning when he takes Holynd to Preschool. The ride back may not be very long, but Sloane is on top of the world having daddy all to herself for a few short minutes.

Sometimes the opportunity doesn't come in the form of an outing. When Holynd got Croup, she really didn't want anyone around her. As long as she could lay in my bed with a movie on, she was content. This was a strange situation for Sloane, Maddox and I. We stayed downstairs most of the day, playing blocks or cars (things that Holynd normally found BORING). When it was time for Maddox's nap, Sloane basically had me all to herself. By the time Holynd was better, Sloane was SICK OF ME. She wanted her sissy back and Holynd was way ready to play too.

This doesn't come without some sort of sacrifice from Matt and I. Usually, in order to make it happen Matt and I have to split up, which means less time together. It used to bother me more, but I've slowly realized that it just means that we have to be more adamant about having date nights. Matt and I also know that in a few short years, our kids will probably be "too cool" to hang out with us anyway. Matt is also a really good sport about taking the girls on Daddy Daughter Dates. I know he wasn't thrilled about seeing Beauty and the Beast in 3D or taking the girls to Disney on Ice, but he's always 100% willing to take them out. I don't really mind getting to spend time with my baby boy either.

One thing is for sure: taking one or two kids with us is NOTHING compared to taking all three. I took Maddox shopping with me a couple of weeks ago, it was almost like a mini-vacation.

I'm still unsure what to say to people when they ask us how we ever get in quality time with each kid. I'm still trying to tell myself that these people really aren't just being rude. There will probably come a day when I yell and scream at someone at Costco.

What I Know About You..

Baby Boy,

I don't know much about you yet. It's hard to pay attention with all the chaos that goes down in this house. Did you wonder what was going on a week ago? Holynd got sick and kept having horrible bloody noses. You probably noticed that I had a nervous breakdown once or, maybe even, twice.

I do know that you LOVE chocolate. This is an interesting experience for me because I don't like chocolate. Daddy thinks it's funny when I ask for a candy bar or Oreos. These aren't things I usually want.

I also know that you hate Swedish Fish. I still can't look at Swedish Fish without getting nauseated because of what happened during the Super Bowl. We watched the end of the game in bed while daddy got everyone else ready for bed.

Baby - you move non-stop. Your brother was the exact same way. You two will be quite the duo.

Holynd says she wants to name you Lulu or California. I'm trying to talk her out of it. We're working on finding the perfect name for you. However, Holynd may call you Lulu or California anyway. You might want to prepare for that.

We're not exactly sleeping at night anymore. 22 weeks seems early to be dealing with sleepless nights. Hopefully we'll figure that out soon.

Sometimes I feel like you might try to come early like Sloane did. I have to admit, I'll be ok if you want to stick it out until after the 4th of July. Our summer is already REALLY busy, but I did manage to schedule time for "Having a baby" after the 4th. Just keep that in mind.

We love you so much already,

Us.

One of a Kind

I have a child that is definitely One of a Kind.

 

She's amazing. Smart, talented, sassy and independent.

 

She also never fails to keep us guessing.

 

I've thought a lot about Sloane lately. Maddox turned 16 months old earlier this month. He growing up, but in many ways, he's still my little baby. Sloane was 16 months old when Maddox was born. I realize now that I saw 16 months as a lot older back then. She couldn't be a baby anymore, there was another baby to take care of.

 

Luckily, Sloane fights tooth-and-nail to keep her place in this family. Her personality makes me smile everyday. The shyness she used to have has been replaced with a deep desire to be independent.

 

When Maddox started crawling, he loved to follow Holynd around. Now that he's older, he no longer wants to watch Holynd dance around in princess dresses or play with Barbies. He has, however, found a tight companionship with Sloane.

 

Sloane is not really into all the frilly stuff. She doesn't like dress-ups and Barbies the way Holynd does. Although, I think she still appreciates the girly stuff, just because she loves her older sister so much. Lately, she'd much rather be in Maddox's room playing with cars and trucks.

 

 Sunday morning, I was putting on my make-up. Sloane came in and asked if she could put on some make-up too. Sloane NEVER wants to do that, so I agreed. Once we were done with her make-up, she looked at herself in the mirror and started to yell, "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME!!".

 

Then, there's dance class.

 

When we take Holynd to dance class, we usually stay to watch. There are a handful of little boys around Holynd's age who are also there, waiting for their sisters to finish dance class. Sloane LOVES to play with those little boys. They usually get her to play the bad guy. She chases the boys around, wrestles them to the ground, fake shoots them with her own "gun noises" and then stands-up triumphantly to announce, "HAHA! You're dead!". She doesn't cry or get upset when they fight back, in fact, she loves it.

 

I usually just stand there shaking my head.

 

My Noanie. Little Miss Sassy-Pants.

 

And... I'm Sick.

It hit the week of Matt's birthday.

This was a real tragedy because I had big plans for Matt's birthday.

I had wanted to wait until Matt's birthday to even tell him about the pregnancy, but I'm so glad I didn't wait.

Sickness really hit me hard this time.

I had planned to make Matt a week of his favorite meals for his birthday. I do a menu every week and I decided to give him complete control the week of his birthday.

Not only that, but I was planning on making dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls the day of his birthday.

I almost didn't make it through the whole week. To make things even harder, hardly anyone even knew I was pregnant. We weren't planning on telling until Christmas.

Somehow, I summoned the energy and willpower to cook every night. It wasn't that fun. Unfortunately for Matt, he wouldn't get any of this favorite meals again for weeks. The thought of making any of those recipes made me dizzy and nauseated for quite some time.

Little did I know. Things were just getting started.

About 2 week after Matt's birthday, I was sick all day, everyday. I'm not sure how my kids survived. I could barely take care of myself. (Please don't mention Thanksgiving food around me. I will cry.)

At about 8ish weeks along, things got really bad. I wasn't even able to keep down water. I remember laying in my bed and thinking, "If I just lay here, completely still, I won't throw-up".

The sickness stayed that way for another week and a half. Finally one day, I texted one of my only friends that knew about the baby, "I'm losing weight. What should I do?" I was over it. I had finally decided I was going to call my doctor and ask for a prescription.

Every time I picked the phone up to make that phone call, I ended up deciding not to. For some reason, I just felt like things would change in just a couple of days.

They did. Things got better. Not great, but better. Throwing up only one or two times a day became HEAVENLY. After weeks without a single Diet Pepsi, I was able to keep down half a can! This was amazing.

Sure enough things continued to improve. By 11 weeks, I was back to working-out every morning and going to yoga on Saturdays.

We announced the pregnancy on Christmas Eve. A lot of people were shocked that we had kept the pregnancy such a secret when I was so sick. All I could do was give Matt credit.

For over a month or so, Matt did everything. He took care of the house, kids, laundry, Christmas shopping and me. I don't think he ever complained. I'm sure he was exhausted. He's basically the best husband anyone could ever ask for.

I've never been that sick before. I think the only thing that got me through was telling myself that it would all end at 14 weeks. I remember throwing up on the day I turned 14 weeks. I hadn't been that sick, but it was as if the Pregnancy Gods wanted to send me a message or something.

I still get sick a few times a week. Mostly at night, but I'm able to to take care of my kids and my house. I can definitely live with that.

I seem to be the most sick with my boy pregnancies. Maddox was an amazing baby. He still is. I'm hoping that this baby will follow suit. ;)