Jealousy

Have I mentioned before that Michael is jealous of Elli?  Well he is.  Just like how all siblings are jealous of each other.  Well Michael was jealous that because Elli made such a mess eating she got a bath when he didn't.  I turned to throw her diaper away and this happened

I can't really blame him, he just wanted to play in the tub too.  I'll just wait until they are teenagers and want none of my attention, then the jealousy will end.

22

Last week I turned 22.  So old, I know :)

Since mine and my mom's birthdays' are a week apart, we celebrated on the night of her birthday by going out to dinner.  It was a fun dinner and the kids weren't too crazy.  Then again, I've apparently learned how to successfully tune them out, so who knows if they were crazy or not.

The day of my birthday wasn't too exciting.  Except my dad took me and the kids to lunch, which was a really fun outing!  Michael loves his Grandpa, and his truck.  The truck wasn't there but Michael kept asking for it every few minutes.  We laughed at Elli eating faster than we could tear up chicken tenders and fries.  It was fun to spend time with Grandpa.  Josh had to work and had a late class so we didn't see much of each other.

Last Saturday my parents watched the kids so we could go to dinner and a movie.  We went to the Mandarin, a great Chinese place in Bountiful.  Then we headed to The Hobbit.  I really wanted to see the second Hunger Games, but there wasn't a good show time, so Josh got to see the movie he's been wanting to see for a while now.  It was pretty good, except pregnant me really wanted to fall asleep the whole time.

Josh got me Ticket to Ride Europe for my Birthday.  We've played twice now.  We had to change the rules so that the game went faster, but it's been fun.  Also, despite how competitive we can be, no one has slept on the couch yet.

Overall it's been a good Birthday.

On my last Birthday I wrote a list of 22 things I wanted to do before I turned 22 and was shocked to see that I've done about half (originally I thought I'd only done two or three).  I've been thinking I should write up a list for next year, but maybe I'll make the tasks a little simpler.  Like #1 have a baby - can't really avoid this one!

The big boy bed

A week or two ago we took of one side of Michael crib and converted it into a toddler bed.

We have a little checklist of things we need to get done before the new baby comes.  Here are the main points:

• Get Michael out of his crib so we have a bed for the new baby
• Get Michael potty trained
• Get Elli to sleep through the night

Potty training might not happen.  I think he needs another 6 months.  He's great at telling us when he has gone, but not when he needs to go.

Elli is partially sleeping through the night.  We have given up this one until we are in our house.  It's too hard with loud neighbors and paper thin walls.  

So we decided to change Michael's bed.  It has gone fairly well.  He sleeps great at night without a problem.  Nap time can be difficult though.  Some days he lays down without a problem and goes right to sleep.  Other days I hear him playing with toys, opening and closing his dresser drawers, and playing with his diaper pail.  I have to get him, put him back in bed, and listen to him scream for a good ten minutes before he either goes to sleep or starts playing again.  This has been difficult because only 3 months ago he still took two naps a day, now we fight him to take one.  He still needs his nap, I just wish he realized that.  

I think he likes his bed though.  When he's looking through a book or doing a puzzle I tell him to get on his bed so Elli can't steal puzzle pieces or turn the page to soon.  He seems to like having a little space of his own.  Once he gets a little taller we'll get him his own twin bed, but he seems to like his little bed.

Tired

Some days you are just tired, like I've been every day.  I've been falling asleep everywhere, like in the car, any comfy seat, and laying on the floor while the kids play around me and climb on top of me.  Josh so lovingly pointed out to me once that I'm not a cute sleeper.  That's okay, my children are.  That, or they are hilarious when you find them sleeping in weird positions.  Like this:

She was sitting up in her crib and fell asleep leaning forward against her bumpers

Why can't we all be this adorable when we are tired and fall asleep in weird places?

Oh primary

Josh and I teach a CTR 6 class, so a bunch of kids that are mostly 7 now, all but one.  They don't usually listen during class or sharing time.  Some of them are really quite smart while others make me wonder a little.  Despite my wonderings, I wasn't prepared for this conversation.

Me: Do any of you know why we refer to Jesus as our older brother?

*blank stares from all of the kids*

Me:  No?  Well he is the oldest spirit/soul.  He was the first Heavenly Father created.  Then he created the rest of you

(I'll just assume this child was thinking about how old Santa was)

Kid #1:  So Santa and Jesus are the same person?

Me:  .....no?

Kid #2:  Really?  But they do the same thing!

Me:  No, I guarantee you they don't.

Baby, oh baby

I'm sure most of you already know this, but we are expecting baby #3!  I wanted to announce it in some cute way...but let's face it, I still haven't uploaded the pictures from Michael's birthday a month ago, so there is no hope for me to do it in some cute way.  I'm just too exhausted.

Anyways...I've gotten a lot of questions about this pregnancy and about other things in our life that I thought I'd address (now I can just refer people to the blog instead of answering the same questions!).

• When am I due?  I do not have a due date yet.  I will find out next Monday.  Some time at the very end of June, maybe beginning of July.
• Am I having twins?  Okay, I ask this, no one else does.  I'm huge.  Yes, huge!!!  I look like I'm 20 weeks pregnant instead of the ~10 weeks I am.  I can also feel my uterus...it's slightly above my belly button, which is quite big.  So no, I will just assume no twins.  I'm just huge. 
• How much have I gained?  To go along with being huge.  I've gained 4 pounds this far.  Not much, and most of that is probably because of 1) the holidays 2) I'm working less 3) I don't go to the gym much anymore because I'm too busy sleeping.  
• Where are we having this baby?  At home.  I've found a midwife who works with my insurance and I'm seeing her.  We're planning a home water-birth in a blow-up tub.  Josh wasn't exactly on board with it at first.  He wanted us to try a midwife, but didn't know about having it at home.  He's decided that I get to win this battle (smart man) as long as I promise to not get anything on the carpet.  
• Was this baby planned?  Yes, and no.  To me trying for a baby involves counting days and maybe taking temperatures.  I didn't have any day to go off of.  But we weren't preventing.  I was almost finished breastfeeding and was about to get on birth control when I decided to take a pregnancy test just in case.  I was surprised when it came back positive, but not shocked.
• How can we afford this baby?  You'd be surprised how often I get asked this question.  It might be mostly because all of our kids are close together.  Maybe because Josh is still in school?  No idea, but I'll enlighten you a little.  First off, we are building a house and paying the down payment right now, but our apartment is fairly cheap.  Second, we no longer have a car payment (even though we might need a new car sooner than later thanks to a little accident last night).  Third, we haven't had a vacation in almost 3 years.  Where do you go with babies??  When we first found out I was pregnant with Michael Josh found a full-time job with insurance.  He's worked full-time ever since.  His job pays well right now, even though he doesn't have a degree yet.  It helps that he chose engineering.  I've been working a little bit to get some bills paid off and have some extra spending money.  We are also going with a midwife for a reason.  Our deductable is very, very high, and a midwife is very, very cheap.  
• Can we take care of another baby?  Well we seem to do fine now with 2.  I manage when Josh is at work and class.  He manages when I'm working.  We are used to being outnumbered.  Sure, it will take adjusting, it always does, but we will figure it out.
• Is Josh living up to his new nickname, Josh Duggar?  No.  I'm thinking 3 is my number.  Josh is thinking 4.  I told him if I do have twins then we are officially done.  We both love babies, but I get very sick and unable to function.  
• Girl or boy?  I'm leaning towards boy, Josh towards girl.  Either way, we are not finding out.  I want a surprise this time.  Plus, we already have everything for either one so why bother?