Can You Hear Me in There??

I am sure you have all heard the joke that a pregnant woman's belly button is like a turkey timer that pops up when the kid is done cooking. Well, apparently when you are working on cooking your fourth kid, it pops up when you are about 12 weeks pregnant. So for the last month, my belly button has been popped out. Well, today, Chris told the kids that it was a microphone for them to talk to the baby (that is a new one), and they all took turns telling the baby "hi" and who they were and how they were related to the baby. It really was so cute and so funny too watching them all walk up to me, pull my shirt up, "talk" into my belly button and just giggle. I hope that they don't try this with any other pregnant women, they might not think it is so funny.

On another note, we had a great Thanksgiving, filled with many of our favorite things. Chris went golfing, I took the kids to see a movie, they played at the park, and the food, the never ending food, and then, more food. Of course, being the pregnant woman that I am, I ate waaaaay to much, and then instantly got heartburn and have not been able to even think about desert, so sad. But, we have so many things to be thankful for...a great family, a new sweet baby on the way, amazing friends, an incredible church, the list goes on and on. I hope you all are enjoying full tummies, warm houses, and family and friends right now too. Happy Thanksgiving!!

The proof is in the picture

Well, the ultrasound confirmed it, we are having boy #3. WooHoo!! As someone at church pointed out, 2 more and we have a basketball team. Yeah, thanks. Obviously that won't be happening. After this, the shop is closed and any other children will not be coming to us biologically, meaning we will have some say over whether it is boy #4 or a girl that will hopefully stick around longer than Avery did. Needless to say, this is not what we were expecting, but the idea is growing on us and we are excited to have another newborn in the house, they are just so cute and kissable. Laurie was in town this weekend and we went out for some serious retail therapy. Nothing like some cute new baby clothes to lift the spirits. We are also getting a new diaper bag and something called a hotsling. I figure I need a way to carry this kiddo a little easier since he will be hauled everywhere because we just don't like to sit around at home. So much fun new baby stuff!! And we do make incredibly cute boys, and I am sure this one will be just as cute. We got a good profile shot yesterday and he looked a lot like the boys. Ryan came with us to the ultrasound, he is always asking how big is the baby, what does the baby look like, so we thought he might like to see. He was not very impressed, but I guess black and white, grainy ultrasound wouldn't do much for me either if I was 3 and I had been promised a picture of the new baby. Anyway, that is the news for the day, no names for sure, but we will let you know.

A whole new world

I could sing, but I won't, you wouldn't want to hear it, but this is a blog, so you really can't hear anyway....moving right along... The greatest thing has happened, we finally got a cleaning lady. I know this may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but if you read my previous post about how my house is actually usually worse off when I try to clean thanks to two small boys, this is a huge deal. Three ladies showed up yesterday, I left my house for many hours, only to return to beds with all clean sheets, picture frames that had been dusted, clean ceiling fans, and the microwave free of the glob of unidentified food that I had been unable to remove no matter what I tried. Also, my shower, which is 23 years old, was sparkling, who knew it could sparkle?? These women and their chemicals are magic. I am so excited, I could just burst, and Chris is even more happy than I am. We obviously are pretty boring people since this is one of the more exciting things to happen to us in recent memory. Is it wrong to love a cleaning lady?? Now if I could just maintain what they did until 2 weeks from now...who am I kidding, it will never happen.

Hummus

OK, just a little funny story (Chris told me I needed to post this). We were having a snack yesterday when we got home from the zoo. I was eating some Hummus on pita bread and Brandon kept swiping bites, so he finally asked for some of his own. I got him a little plate and some bread. Ryan then started complaining that he was hungry so Brandon offered him some of his Hummus, because "hummus is soooo goood, Ryan." Well, Ryan walked over to get a bite, turned his nose up and came running into me to tell me, "Mom, Brandon is eating poop!" I guess if you look at hummus it doesn't look very appetizing. But, it sure tastes good, just ask Brandon.

The Zoo

Today we hit the zoo again, it really is one of our favorite places to go. And because the weather has been so cool and the sun so warm, it was a perfect day. A bunch of us from church went, and we are quite the stroller brigade when we go places. I think we had 10 kids 5 and under between us all. We made it to all the boy's favorite spots, the bats, the wild dogs, the reptile house, the playground. We even got to see them giving the elephants a bath. Also because it was so cool, the animals were all very active. I guess they don't like the 95 degrees and 100% humidity either. My friends were asking if I thought I could do this kind of stuff with 3 soon. I hope so, I love getting out and going places, so baby number 3 may just have to be along for the ride whether he likes it or not, and Brandon will be old enough to "help," right? Just kidding about that last part.

Adventures in House Cleaning

Today I decided I should clean the house up a bit. It has been a while since I dusted and mopped, etc... Well, the boys decided they wanted to "help" me. Maybe I should ask for dustbusters and little tiny mops for them for Christmas. Anyway, after fighting over the one kid sized broom we had, I got one of them sweeping and one of them using the swiffer thing to dust, and I started to mop. Well, again they wanted to "help." Brandon got some paper towels out and put them on his feet and walked around the kitchen "drying" the floor. Ryan realized that wet tile is pretty slippery so he went running and sliding into the wall, which is apparently pretty fun, so he did it again. Then he wanted towels to help dry the floor too. Needless to say, the mopping came to an end, and I am not really sure if my house is any cleaner after the whole thing. And you wonder why I don't try to clean more often. These sweet silly boys make me smile, but they sure do make a big mess, even when they are trying to clean.

Well.....

I am going to leave out the person who voted puppies and say that 12 out of 13 of you were wrong. Thanks for having such great expectations, but really, I never allowed myself to believe it. So whoever you are that voted boy, you win the prize. While I know this will risk sounding ungrateful and sacreligious, please, if you choose to comment, I would prefer to not hear that God has a plan or that this baby was meant to be. I know all of those things, and really they don't make me feel any better. I am just beyond disappointed and a little more than confused. But there you go, an end to the suspense.

Still Nothing

OK, still nothing, this is getting a little old. I have contemplated having my sister call and saying that she is my doctor and she needs my results. It has worked before. When we were at Texas Children's with Avery, she would call and say "This is Dr. so and so, I need to speak to Avery's nurse." They would connect her every time. She was calling from a different state and had nothing to do with her case, obviously, but the respect just from saying, "I am a Dr." was so funny. When we were getting discharged with her, Kelly had come to Texas to help us, and she instantly starting bossing around the nurses and the interns telling them to hurry and call this person or that person. It still makes me laugh just thinking about it. However, in this situation, I will probably just wait and pray that we know the results before the weekend. Please pray too!! And thanks for being so interested in what is happening with us.

No News

So, I am sorry to keep you all in suspense, trust me, I am more sorry that I am in suspense. But, the lab and genetics office are being quite pokey, and we have no news. I know none of you care about the gender and you are all just waiting to hear that the baby is healthy, right? Well, we are eagerly anticipating both, and man, I just want to know. So, let's all pray that they just hurry up a bit and post the dang results already. Ok, that sounded very patient didn't it. Sorry everyone, I will let you know when I know.

(Oh, and for the person who voted for puppies, thanks for making me smile. And whoever voted for boy, if you are right, will you help me pick my next set of lotto numbers?)

And a Few More

More Pictures

Just more pictures....

As Promised

Here are some pictures from DisneyWorld. We had such a great trip. It did take the boys a few days to get into it, Ryan kept asking when we were going home, but then when it was time to leave, they both cried and keep asking when we are going back. I really recommend not going to Disney in your first trimester of pregnancy, but some things can't be helped, and we all survived with the help of many snacks and a good pair of tennis shoes. We can't wait to go back, but it will be totally different next time with THREE kids, oh my.