Names

According to babycenter.com, almost all our boy's first and middle names all ranked in the top 100 for 2008.

Mason: 26 (this one really surprised me)
Eric: 96
Miles: 94 (this actually surprised me too, I hear it a lot recently and thought it would be higher)
Ellis: not on the list. (not surprised. this was my patenal grandfather's midde name)
Max: 61
Ethan: 3 (not surprising, but have loved it since we named Mason)

Maddox did not make the list, which makes me happy. I like unique names, but not names that are too out there. Simple names are best suited to our family.

I actually went through a phase while trying to come up with Miles' name where I kept liking names of counties in Texas. Seriously. Ellis, Grayson, a few others I cannot remember now. Hearing severe weather alerts on the news make me laugh as I hear those county names pop-up.

4 weeks

Just 4 weeks left. The days are going so quickly.
I cannot wait to meet Max.
Nursery is not ready. But I am.

And really? That is all that matters.

I have diapers and wipes.
Milk comes from momma.
He has pjs and comfy clothes all freshly washed and put away and waiting for his arrival.

And, he has a family that is greatly anticipating his arrival.
What more could a new baby ask for?

Would you buy this doll?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1204486/Meet-Bebe-Gloton-breast-feeding-doll-comes-nipple-bra.html

It is a breastfeeding doll. Seriously?
I have only boys, so I cannot imagine buying this. At all.
But, if you have a daughter, would you buy this? Discuss.....

Prayer for the first day of school

Today is Mason's first day of K4. He is at Grace Acade*my again this year. I love his school for so many reasons. I loved his teacher last year. I can't wait to get to know his new teacher. I love his classmates. Several were in his class last year and they (and their parents) are precious. But still, I am a little sad to leave him this year.

My baby is growing up.

He is so much bigger than last year.
He knows so much more than last year.
He wears uniforms to school this year.
So, he looks like a big kid, not a K3 baby.

Although, a little bit of me will enjoy having some quiet in the house. And, I'll enjoy some one-on-one time with Miles. We don't get that very often.
Miles starts MDO on Sept 10th. So, I will have one day (9.14) that both boys will be at school and I will be alone before Max joins the madness family. :) On that day, I may just sit in our empty house. And just sit. And enjoy the blessed silence. And our nice, newly completed shower. :)

(I didn't write this prayer, but I loved it and had to share. I share the thoughts in this prayer and hope you do too.)

Here we are again, Lord.

Their backpacks are loaded and their faces are scrubbed and their lunch boxes are full.

And I know you'll walk with them, Lord. You always do. But a mom still has to ask.

Will You walk with them? Will You whisper to them what they need to hear, when I'm not there to whisper it?

Will You please, oh please, cover their school with the protection only You can give, and will You keep harm far away?

Will You make their minds strong and ready to learn? Will You help them understand that hard work honors the One who created them?

Will You guide their teachers, giving them patience and wisdom and creativity and more patience? Will You bless them for their efforts?

Will You love all those children there, the ones whose lunch accounts aren't full, the ones who feel alone? Will You teach my children to be kind and unselfish and to love those who are different from them?

Will You point them back toward home just as soon as you can?

Lord, I give them to You today and everyday, trusting them to Your care.

Amen.

Maternity and family pics

Last week, we had family pictures and a few maternity shots done.
Karen was an awesome lady to work with and did a great job putting up withkeeping up with the boys. :)
For a sneak peek of the pictures, click here.

She will also be taking pictures of Max the day after he is born and the first time the boys meet their new little brother.

Wordless Wednesday - Jumping from the high dive

PS.... happy annivesary Nana and Papa. 42 years ago today.... it all began! :)

A confession

Can I make a confession?
(Really, I don't know why I am asking. It is my blog. If you don't want to read my guilty confession, you can just move on with your day. And, I will never be the wiser. Ahem.)
Anyway.
I am SO looking forward to meeting Max.
But that is not all.
I am SOOOOOO looking forward to having 3 days in the hospital.

Alone.

Yes, Max will be there, of course. I didn't forget about him.
But, the third time around, I have a very different perspective.
I realize that a newborn baby is SO easy.

Yes, feeding/nursing can be difficult. But, it will work out.
Yes, there are lots of diaper changes. But, there are a lot of hands around to help out.
Yes, there is that whole pesky detail about a major abdominal surgery and recovery. But, there are GREAT drugs to make it all feel better.

There will also be quiet. There will be 3 days of quiet time away from my favorite 4 1/2 year old and 2 year old.

Don't get me wrong and please hear my heart. I love our boys with all my heart. I would not trade them for anything in this world. But, they are high energy and require a lot of attention.

Especially Miles. He is hitting the "terrible 2's" and is constantly into something. Sleeping also seems to be overrated lately. He would rather do almost anything other than sleep.

Ahhh..... sleep. I will be able to take a nap when the baby sleeps in the hospital. Yet another perk I had not yet thought of! :)

Anyway, I am looking forward to meeting Max. I am also looking forward to getting to spend a few days getting to know this little boy and spending one-on-one time with him. He will get the least amount of mommy's undivided attention in the days, weeks, and months to come. I know to cherish every moment together (even at 2AM) because he will grow up so quickly.

But, did I mention the alone time for mommy in the hospital??? :) Can't wait. Any suggestions for a few mindless books I can take with me?

New every morning

Thankfully, God promises us that his mercies are new every morning.
Lamentations 3:21-23
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Today, I was not a good mommy.
I hate making excuses, but I have not been sleeping well at all. Max is getting bigger and I am often unable to find a comfortable. My hips and back missed the memo that I am having a c-section and there is no need for them to spread to accommodate childbirth. That and the heartburn...... oh the heartburn. Tums, you are my very best friends.
Anyway....
Not much sleep last night = grumpy, tired mommy.
We had quite a few errands to run this morning and we did get through them well. The boys obeyed, acted well and mommy kept her cool.
After nap/rest time, again things went well.
Bedtime. Oh bedtime. It is so rough in our house. After 3 months, I still cannot put the boys to bed at the same time. Miles has to be asleep or almost in dreamland before Mason can go to bed. Or it is a free-for-all play fest. We have separated, talked, lectured, yelled, spanked, separated, taken away privileges... the list goes on and on.
Tonight? An hour and a half after putting the boys to bed and they were still awake and wound up (and all mommy wanted was quiet), I lost it. I yelled longer and louder than I should have. (Just keeping it real here.) I am so frustrated that after 3 months the boys cannot just go to bed at the same time and go to sleep. It is not like they have not been together all day. All day. All day to play, talk, get it all out of their systems.
I would really, really like to get this figured out in the next 5 weeks.

Totally open to suggestions here.
Anyone?
Please?

HopingPraying for the hope that his compassions (mercies) are new every morning. Praying mine are too towards the boys.

Best buds

We went to the Chi1dren's Museum on Monday. The boys had a blast! Such great learning experiences and a great outing for hot, August days!

Forget

It is so easy to forget how little they are.
I hear this all the time.
Look at a newborn and often your first thought is how little they are.

I received Max's going-home outfit in the mail today.

(Yes, I found something that I fell in love with! Despite this rant.....!)
It is tiny. SO tiny. It's a newborn (up to 7lbs).
It is so easy to forget how little they are......
Sweet BabyBoo, I can hardly WAIT to meet you!

Goals

I have been working on Mason's 4th year scrapbook. (Yes, he turned 4 in January -- I am a little behind. Haven't had the year I expected. Shoot me!) Anyway, as I have been putting it together, I realized he has spent a lot of time in the pool lately. He has had several semesters of swim lessons. Why? He loves the water. He loves to be in the water. He loves to have his head in the water.

Earlier this week, we took the boys to the pool and Mason was watching the big kids jump off the diving board. You know, the board in the deep end of the pool that is about 5-6 feet above the surface of the water. Yeah. That one. Mason really wanted to jump off that board but the lifeguard told him he has to be able to swim the full length of the pool all by himself in order to get an orange wristband. The orange wristband gives him the ability to jump off the high board.
Goals, baby.
Apparently Mason set one in his 4-year old mind.

Today, Eric took Mason and Miles to the pool. Mason told Eric he wanted to jump off the high board. He told him he had to swim the length of the pool. So, he took off. He did it. Twice. The full length of the pool. The Olympic-sized pool. 50 meters long (164 feet).

Twice.

Kid's got goals.

So, he earned his orange wristband. He then jumped off the high dive about 10 times.

How proud do you think that I am?????

But also sad.

My baby is growing up.

And, I missed it all.
Eric took the boys to the pool. I was at the grocery store. Sigh.

Also? I now know how to motivate Mason. Set a goal and he is suddenly motivated. And, they need to be Big goals.
He's highly motivated to reach really big goals.

When the lifeguad told us he would have to swim the entire distance of the pool, I thought that would be a great goal. For next summer. When he's 5. Surely a 4 year old cannot swim the full distance.
I was wrong.
SOOOOO wrong.

Watch out for some big goals this year, baby!!!

32 week appointment

It's a first. It has taken three pregnancies, but I finally heard these words from my doctor yesterday:
"He's measuring a little small."
(Now, before anyone panics, Max is growing and doing fine. There is no cause for alarm. I am at 32 weeks 4 days and he is measuring just shy of 32 weeks. My OB is OK with that. I am elated. No reason for worrying.)
Seriously. I have big boys. Mason was 8lb 4 oz and he was born 11 days before his due date. He could have easily been 9 lbs. Miles was right on time and weighed 7lb 10 oz. So, he was no lightweight, but I also worked out my entire pregnancy and chased Mason around.
This time, there is less time for working out but I am still constantly running around after two very energetic, active boys. Eating is rarely done while sitting. Or at least not without getting up 2 or 3 (dozen) times.
So, I am taking it for now. I am SO happy to think that I might have a small-ish boy. I seriously doubt he will be too little though. OB is estimating he is already 4 lbs. Oh my aching back!!!

Belly Pic and a sneak peak

OK, I have not even taken a belly pic so far in this pregnancy. I honestly have not even thought about it. How sad is that??? So, for all those curious, this is what I look like 32 weeks pregnant for the third time :)

Here is a sneak peek to BabyBoo's bedding. As soon as we (Eric) get paint on the walls in the nursery and I get the bed and room put together a little more, I will post some more complete pictures. (You can click on a picture to see a larger version. Just not on the one of me above - I am large enough already!)

And, here are a couple of sneak peeks at the tile going into our master bath this week. I can really see it all coming together these days and CANNOT wait to take a shower in that big-ol' shower with all 3 (yes, 3!!!!!) shower heads spraying my aching back!

PS....It is 9:40PM and still 93 degrees out. My car showed 103 degrees this afternoon. UGH! Summer is back in Dallas!