Is that one T or two?

One of my favorite 'kiddo-isms' deals with the misplacement of words. Here's one example, while kiddos were playing and I was making dinner:

Me: Jacob, do you want to have reading time with Mamma before dinner?

Jacob: I don't want to read but.

Also, Jacob told the babysitter this week, after smelling her arm, "Girls smell like berries." She asked, "what do boys smell like?" Jacob responded, "hmm... chipmunks."

Update on the belly!

We've had an eventful last week and a half. Friday the 17th, very early in the morning, Dani couldn't sleep because of a side pain in her left side. The babies are on the right side, so it wasn't the babies, but it was a very intense pain. We ended up in the hospital Friday to get the pain under control and got back home Friday. For close to 48 hours, the pain was kept under control.

Sunday night, it returned and intensified until, around 3am Monday morning, we had to call our neighbor to watch the kids while we went into the hospital. Dani was in pre-term labor at 32 weeks, so they gave her 2 steroid shots 24 hours apart to help develop the babies lungs and magnesium sulfate to slow the contractions. Fortunately, the magnesium worked and Dani's contractions were contained. Dani's pain was also contained. While we were told we would be there for at least 4 days, and we half expected to have the babies, we ended up coming home Wednesday afternoon.

Since then, Dani has been on full bedrest. We've had Jacob and Claire go over to others' houses and have had a friend come stay the day with them since.

It has been a time-consuming process, but we are glad the babies are still where they can grow and develop the best. We hope Dani makes it about 2 more weeks.

We've been grateful for the support of friends and neighbors, some of whom have come over in the middle of the night, others who have watched Jacob and Claire overnight or for many hours, others who have brought meals or visited Dani while she's confined to her room, or others who have made themselves available for us to call upon.

I've also been grateful to work for a company where I can take work home and where I am encouraged to put family first.

Here's Dani today, at just over 33 weeks.

Dani's belly definitely leans to the right, especially during a contraction (as shown below). The peak is where the baby boy is - the girl is (on the picture) on the left. Her pain was (again looking at the picture) on the right side, where there aren't any babies.

We've been eating dinner in our bedroom some nights - not all (I'm scared to bring certain foods onto our carpet!) Kiddos love that!

It's feeling like time is dragging for Dani, but at the same time, it feels like time is flying by for me - my days are more full than ever, and Dani's are slower than ever! We are both looking forward to life in a couple weeks, for sure!

30 weeks

I am supposed to be taking it easy and laying down as much as possible, so it is getting harder to get a picture since I don't always get ready for the day. Yesterday I had an appointment with the doctor so Jared got some pictures. Here I am just past 30 weeks.

Preschool Graduation

Last week was kiddos last week of preschool. We also got to go to Kindergarten orientation and see where they will be going to school next year; they are very excited. They had a little graduation to celebrate completing preschool. It was very cute and the highlight for kiddos was that there was cake when it was over.

Here are all the graduates, each class has a different color hat. Jacob and Claire are right next to each other, you can see them because Jacob is the only one with bright blue glasses and Claire is waving at us.



Jacob and Claire with Jacob's teacher, Teacher Tina.
With Claire's teacher, Teacher Sherry.

Both of kiddos teacher's are so happy with how they have done and know that they will do really well in kindergarten. They keep telling us how much they will miss them both, including watching them deliver little surprises to each other's cubbies.

28ish

These pictures were taken a little over 2 weeks ago, just before 28 weeks. Hopefully we will get a new one in the next couple of days so you can see what 30 weeks looks like. Jared thought we needed to get all angles... so here they are.

26 weeks

This picture was taken a little over a week ago.... I am 27 weeks now, but there have been a few requests for a belly update, so here is the last picture we took. Enjoy!

The elephant in the room

I've mentioned many times about how much like my sister Amber Claire is. We've found yet another couple similarities.

Claire over the past week has been waking up multiple times at night telling us she can't sleep. This morning, we were awakened by Jacob crying because Claire had come into his bed (oh yeah, we bunked kiddos' beds... pictures to come...) and had accidentally hit him in the nose. Later, we again asked her why she woke up so many times and was in Jacob's bed. Her answer:

"There is an elephant trunk that comes into the room at night while I'm asleep and wraps itself around my bed and it makes a noise like breathing."

Crazy, realistic dreams!!! Thing #150 (okay, I haven't really counted, but it's gotta be close) that Claire and Amber have in common.

So, tonight, the ordeal (outside of an emotional, crying-like-a-teenager-at-an-EFY-testimony-meeting Jacob who needed to hug his mama because, as he put it, "I just love you so much!") was trying to keep Claire safe from the elephant trunk. Dani (the logical one) first tried talking common sense to Claire that it was just a dream with no luck.

So, we tried a different strategy. Here are the steps we've taken, illustrating thing #151, a lack of common sense when tired and convinced about the realism of a dream:

1. I need a bear. "What about your stuffed bears?" No, I need a REAL bear! "Claire, real bears couldn't even get up the stairs - they're too big!" What about a baby bear? "Claire, a baby bear plays even rougher than Jacob."

2. "What about if I put another light in your room to shine on the door?" He doesn't come in the door.

3. "I promise it won't hurt you." It doesn't hurt me. "then why are you worrying about it?" I just don't know what damp means. (!?!?!)

4. "What about robo-panda (a gift they were given for their birthday)? He moves" But he isn't real!

5. "What about the gator-golf (another gift)? If something goes in his mouth, his mouth shuts!" Oh yeah!

Claire and Jacob run back to their room. We go and set up the gator. 1 minute later

6. BUT WHAT IF IT GOES AROUND THE GATOR!!! We go back into the room He can go around the gator. "What about if we put these (decorative bulletin) boards next to your bed?" No, I need real wood! "Claire, we don't have other wood" It has to be nailed with a hammer. "Claire, look, these block all of underneath the bed. There are toy bins there at the foot and a wall at the other side and the head."

7. But I need noise! "The radio is playing." Not loud enough! We turn it up a bit "There you go, it's perfect now."

this appears to have worked. for about 45 seconds after we leave the room.

8. BUT I HAVE TO MAKE NOISE!!!!!

9. "Fine, Claire, let's have you sleep in the green room (okay, it's a white room with a green bed in it - known as the green room)."

we relocate Claire to the green room, get her set up with a nightlight and music, say goodnight, walk out of the room, sigh once, and hear...

10. SCREAMING!!!!! "Claire, what's wrong?" There isn't enough light! "Claire, there are 3 nightlights in your room. Let's go there. We'll leave the door open a little." All the way! "Fine."

So, there you have it. With gator, wooden boards, louder music, an extra nightlight, and an open door (we forgot robo-panda and didn't get her a real bear), Claire is in her room asleep. We'll see if that protects her from the elephant in the room (which doesn't do any harm, but breaths, oddly enough, just like a sleeping Jacob) so that all can get a good night of sleep!

Candy Land Birthday Party

I decided that since 5 is a big birthday I would have an actual birthday party for my kiddos. They wanted a candy land birthday. The invitation.
The Cake.
All the guests sitting on the 'game board' for present time.
Some of the decorations/party favors.
Behind Jacob was the table where they could make necklaces with licorice laces and fruit loops.
This is the table where they could decorate their Princess Frostine or King Candy crowns.
Decorations/favors.
Here is the game board, we used it for a cake walk type game with the songs "I want Candy" and "The Candyman"; they got a prize if they landed on Candy Land Castle.

All the kiddos. Basically we just decorated the crowns, made the necklaces, did the cakewalk game, opened presents, had cake and ice cream, and then filled up everyone's party boxes with goodies and toothbrushes. It was a little chaotic but I think everyone had fun. I have to give a shout out to my dear sweet husband who manned most of the birthday party since I got hit with another inner ear infection right before the party and spent the 20 minutes before it started losing my lunch.

Happy Easter

One Hand Old

These two are 5 (one hand) today. I can hardly believe it! We have had so much fun in the last five years, and although maybe a mother shouldn't have a favorite year I have to say I think the year from 4 to 5 has been the most fun. Somedays I can hardly believe how grown up they seem. I will post more later about all of the celebrations when they are all over!

Kiddos toy shelves look like a Cincinnati grocery store before a snowstorm!

Since the babies are growing in Dani's tummy (see posts below), she hasn't been able to keep up as well with kiddos' messes, so I've seen more messes. While I don't think we are too strict with cleanliness in kiddos' playroom, kiddos have had some difficulties cleaning up when asked recently. The recent history:

• Middle of last week, I ended up cleaning up their room after they went to bed just to have it clean. How nice of me.
• By Saturday, it was a mess again, so I gave kiddos the job of cleaning up while I was cleaning the grill (which Dani set in flames Friday!). It took me 3 hours to clean the grill, and when I came up, nothing had been put away. My patience ran out, and I (kindly) sent kiddos to their room. Then, I thought of a more effective teaching method - having them watch as I cleaned (knowing I would take their toys away). Mean, I know.
• Today, I asked kiddos to clean up after dinner. While some of their toys left the floor, they were put in totally random places, meaning more cleanup for me when they went to bed. This is what is left of their toys:

Most of them are in our room - there are some other bins in our closet. It should be a smaller mess tomorrow!

"Oh no, I weigh almost as much as the contestants on Biggest Loser"

But she looks so cute! Here's Dani at 22 weeks!

Kiddos wanted to compare bellies. Check out those bellies!

Little Scholars

Claire and Jacob have been really into doing "Daddy Homework" (a.k.a. their workbooks). It has been interesting to observe and see how differently they learn.

Claire quietly sits (normally at the table, not on the table) and does her work. She will ask instructions on pages she doesn't know, then will sit down and complete the page. If she has questions for me, I can respond with questions that help her learn and figure it out. When she colors, it is neat and in the lines. She takes time and makes sure everything is right.

I think Claire learns very thoroughly and independently - before she's done learning something, she wants to truly know it. She isn't a slow learner by any means. She reminds me very much of my sister, Amber.

Jacob often will start at the table, move to the island, move the the coffee table, back to the kitchen table, and then onto the floor. He goes very quickly through things - he does most things well the first time, but doesn't take the time to color in the lines or make sure lines are straight. Jacob will ask questions and look for help throughout, in part because he whizzes through pages and doesn't try to figure out how to do a page before starting. At the start of a page, his goal is to finish the page.

I consider Jacob to be a very quick learner. He reminds me of myself a little, where he can learn very quickly, but sometimes if it doesn't come right at first, he can lose interest.
It is interesting the way they learn together. Claire is very interested in what Jacob is doing - often, Jacob will complete multiple pages while Claire watches him and participates with him in his workbook page. This is in part because Jacob vocalizes everything, and because Claire is so interested in what he is doing.

Jacob is very competitive - over the last couple weeks, at times, it has become important to him to be ahead of Claire. This has reinforced the decision to put them into different classes next year. That said, I think it will be an advantage to them to be able to learn what the other is learning. I think they will be like my younger brothers, who would give each other math problems at night (though one was 3 years younger than the other) and help each other learn.

We will need to work with the very differently. But it is a lot of fun to watch them learn - both in the structured time we give them and in their own unstructured time playing, coloring, and writing with each other.

Keeping Things Even

I keep forgetting to post on my blog. For those of you who don't know yet we found out we are having another girl and boy! Jacob and Claire are both very excited and I was glad not to disappoint either of them. I wonder how similar they will look to the two in the picture above!

Almost halfway there!

Dani is almost 20 weeks! At the doctor's visit 2 weeks ago, the doctor told Dani, "You're carrying almost 1 pound of baby right now." Yikes - that means there's another 10+ pounds of baby (hopefully) to go!!!Where is it all going to go???

I'm in Love

These two guys have my heart (and one little girl and two fetuses). I love them, lots! I love how much the little one adores the bigger one. I love how much the bigger one is obsessed with the little one. I love what a good Daddy he is. Jacob has been feeling under the weather and is even more cuddly than usual. This morning he climbed in my bed with me because I now have what they have had and he scratched my back and held my hand... I smiled and told him he is a good boy, he told me "you are a good mommy." My sweet husband has been getting up and doing a lot of what I do in the morning lately and never once complaining... he is a good husband, and a good Daddy... I am telling you, he is obsessed with our kids, they are so fun right now. (ps - notice how young Jared looks).

Interpretation needed

My kids had lost a number of toy bins over the past weeks because they hadn't been cleaning up well. Last night, I gave them back their animals. Tonight, I went into the playroom to clean up and saw all the animals gathered around an upside down alligator.I'll post what the story actually is in a couple days. In the meantime, feel free to leave your guess in the comments!

What I saw: Some sort of animal sacrifice! I was worried about my kids!

The Real Story: The alligator in the middle was actually an egg waiting to hatch, and all the other animals were waiting to see the alligator hatch. They stayed overnight waiting, and the next morning, the alligator hatched.

The Tummy

Ok, because I have had a few requests and because it is just a little bit funny, I am posting some of the belly pictures we have taken. I am so much bigger than I was last time, but I guess that means the babies are growing well. So, for a good laugh, here ya go!

10 weeks!
12 (almost 13) weeks!
14 weeks!
15 weeks!
16 weeks!

For the record, I don't wear most of these outfits out, Jared just has a habit of taking pictures as I am headed to bed.

Valentine's Day 2011

We continued our tradition of non-traditional Valentine's Day dates this year with our great friends Jim and Mel who are always up for a good time. We started our evening with dinner at a close-by Denny's to go with the theme of the evening.

After our bellies were full of Denny's we headed to "M-M-M-Monster Jam!" My first monster truck rally experience.
It was loud and hilarious and we had a great time.
We dressed for the occasion.
Thanks Jim and Mel for not being afraid to be a little silly. PS... both Mel and I did a pretty good job of squeezing our pregnant bellies into some regular clothes from the backs of our closets.

Cancun

We spent the week after Christmas in Mexico with Jared's family. We had such a great time and it was nice to be somewhere warm and soak up some sun. We were near Playa Del Carmen in a little resort. We spent a lot of time relaxing, building sand creation, eating and eating some more. Uncle Matt and Uncle Andrew were the main sand architects. Here is one of their creations.

Here is another (you could always count on Claire to be helping with the building).
Uncle Taylor was really trying to meet new people.
We visited Tulum and learned more about the Mayan ruins.

We also went to Xel Ha, but none of us got our cameras out while we were there. Jacob and Claire got really brave and actually played in the water (especially Jacob).
We found the perfect shirts to help us make our big announcement while shopping in Playa Del Carmen.

another sand creation.
Downtown Playa.

The best way to babysit kids on the beach. We all had our fair share of yummy drinks.
Yet another sand creation.
Uncle Matt.
We had a lot of delays and such on our trip, by the time we were about to board our last flight Claire was so exhausted that she fell asleep half standing. We celebrated New Years in the air (twice since we were changing time zones).