Tuesday, September 18, 2012

32 weeks

I feel like I've been neglecting this pregnancy. With all the other girls, I was pretty good about writing to my unborn child every few weeks or so in my journal. I think I've written maybe 3 times with this one :(  I also haven't taken hardly any pictures of my baby bump. On Sunday, I finally gave McKinley the camera & asked her to take a picture.
So - I wanted to do a quick post about this baby.

How am I feeling physically?  I am going to be positive here & say pretty good most of the time. Sure, I am tired. Sure - my sciatic nerves bug me by the end of the day & I walk around like and old person. Sure - I go to bed looking WAY hot in 2 wrist braces for my carpal tunnal, Jason's old T-shirt, and nose strips so I can breathe. And sure - my hips ache at night and I toss & turn & have to get up to pee at least a couple times.  Not to mention that my shirts and pants are already too tight and I have 2 more months to go...
Wait a minute!! Where did my positive-ness go? Hmm - I guess I'll have to work on that ;) No - really I am  blessed to have the opportunity to be pregnant. I am thankful that there are just a couple months left and that the heat of the summer is slowly going away.

How do I feel about having a boy? It's growing on me (and IN me :). I have definitely gotten used to using "him" "his" "he", "brother", which I think is a good start. However, after I read articles like THIS, I start to feel panicky and wonder if I am really cut out to be the mother of a boy. You mother of boys will have to read it & tell me if it's true!

Names? Sigh... wish we were one of those people that just knew from the start what this baby should be called & make our lives a whole lot easier. I am determined, however, NOT to be like we were with Kezia & wait until 3 days after the birth & realize we should really figure it out sometime. We are going for an "L" name because we have an H, I, J, K and an M in our family. I like the name Link Hamilton - because it Links our names together & he's a link to the generations. Jason likes Lincoln, but I feel like it's too common and Lincoln Hamilton sounds a bit to presidential to me. Yes, yes, we could name him Lincoln & call him Link, but it still would have a different meaning. The middle name is the real challenge, however, each of our girls have names that are a combination of family names from Jason's side & my side. If you can come up with a great way to combine the name "Daniel" (my dad) and "Billy" (his dad), you let me know, K? :-)

Sibling opinions? They are all really excited. McKinley especially loves to feel my tummy when he's active. Just last night he was moving all around & she just laughed as he kicked, moved, and squirmed around in my belly. Ireland & Kezia haven't really been patient enough to feel him move too much, but they talk about him a lot. I'm excited for McKinley to be old enough to really be a helper and I'm excited for Ireland because she really LOVES babies, and I'm excited for Kezia to be a big sister, though I'm afraid she's going to have the hardest time because she's been the baby for almost 3 years & I'm sure it's going to be a bit of a transition for her.

Feeling Ready? Not really. I have the crib and the mobile up - and the changing table/dresser. I have more blankets and gender neutral things than I realized that I did, but I still will need some more clothes & I need to find a cute boy nursery set and a boppy cover and a diaper bag. Also - need a new car seat. Of course I bought a gender-neutral car seat with McKinley & now it's expired & I need a new one. If I would have known, I would have bought a super-girly carseat to begin with! I also want to do the letters of his name once we can figure that out!

Worries/Fears? Of course, I have the fear of every mother - that something will go wrong with the pregnancy or birth. That something will be wrong with his little body. I also don't know about how the delivery will go. I still haven't decided if I'm going natural. I may just get induced & get the epidural this time. Not sure how that's going to go. I also worry about after he comes - with my other babies, I haven't really dealt with school, so I could just turn on cartoons in the morning if I needed to sleep. I won't have that kind of luxury this year. I need to continue to get my girls up & going in the morning so they can catch the bus. Just praying that this little guy is a good sleeper!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

August Slideshow & Newsletter

Enjoy!



FAMILY:  We had a great time in August – we got to see a lot of family & have a lot of fun! On the 4th, we spent most of the day unpacking boxes and Jason worked with a guy & his mini excavator to clear some sagebrush. That was hot, dirty, draining work, but our side and backyard look MUCH better! McKinley got to stay with Grandma Devenish from the 7th to the 10th and they had a lot of fun going to the fair, going swimming, playing with cousins, and grandma tried to teach McKinley how to crochet.  While they were gone, Ireland & Kezia had fun with mom – going to the park, having dance parties, and going shopping. We met the Devenishs in Cove Fort on the 10th & the kids had fun doing the Cove Fort tour. The weekend of the 11th was adult stake conference & Hannah & Hailey watched our kids & the Bealers while we went to the adult session. The main session was on Sunday & the girls did really well. After we got back we had some fun visitors – the Warrens (our friends from Herriman) had been in St. George & stopped for lunch and a visit on their way home. It was great to catch up & McKinley was SO excited to see her friend Lizzy! J The 13th was our special Family Home Evening where we talked about school & blessings & Jason gave all the girls a blessing. On the 14th, McKinley & Ireland went to the dentist & we’re so happy to say that they are cavity-free!! That evening Jason went to back-to-school night with McKinley at South Elementary. McKinley started 1st grade with Mrs. Robb on August 16th! Also that morning, mom went with Ireland to meet her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ekker & do her assessment. We had our annual Potts family retreat on August 17th-21st. It was hot there, but we spent a LOT of time swimming!! We also had fun hiking to Delicate Arch (wow! What a hike!), playing games, visiting, doing crafts, watching movies, and MORE swimming! The condos were really nice and we all had a great time. Jason wanted to take the scenic route home & while it was MUCH longer (3hours!) than he estimated, it was beautiful to drive past so many national parks & forests. We came back from Moab with some colds, but thankfully they didn’t last long. The Simons went to Las Vegas & stopped by to see us on the way back – the 26th. We had some good lunch & cookies & it was fun to show them our new home & play with their cute kids. Mom & Dad went to the dentist on the 27th & we wish we has as good of a report as the kids. Jason has 3 cavities & Heidi has 2 teeth with a little decay that they want to take care of L  Ireland started Kindergarten on the 28th & she was SO excited to ride the bus with her sister! Now it’s just mom & Kezia in the mornings – quite a change! Also at the end of the month, the Checketts moved to Minnesota L We are sad, but glad we got to spend time with them in Moab & hope they come visit LOTS!! There has been a LOT of rain this month here in Cedar. Almost every afternoon the clouds roll in & we get thunder & lightning & a rainstorm. We’ve had fun watching the rain from the deck or playing in it in the front yard J Our other big news this month is that we sold one of our Enoch lots. HOORAY! Miracle!


JASON:  Jason’s boss has headed to another fire, so he’s got a busy workload again, but not too busy to spend time with family & take some time off for Moab & Labor Day. They got news that they are getting a new Forest Supervisor from the Nevada BLM next month, so he’s looking forward to seeing what changes she might bring. Jason got called this month to be a Priest Quorum advisor/scout leader and he’s already started going to activities on Tuesdays. He’s looking forward to getting to know the boys and the leaders. Jason has been working with Ireland at nights – helping her to learn her sight words and read her BOB books. Such a good daddy!

 HEIDI: Heidi is still very pregnant. Just over 2 more months to go. She’s feeling pretty good overall, but her hips are really starting to bother her at night. She still tries to get a couple-mile run in a couple times a week & a walk or two. The baby is really active at night – right before she goes to bed. He also seems to really like sweets J Heidi got called to be the teacher in McKinley’s class & is excited to get to know all McKinley’s friends. She’s team-teaching with her friend Elise, so it should be fun J Heidi is trying to be wise about her time with just Kezia in the mornings. She gets stuff done, but likes to just relax & play with her Kezia while she’s still the baby of the family J She read some good books this month – Matched & Crossed, by Alie Condie, and The Wednesday Letters. She also completed McKinley’s birthday book. Yay!

McKINLEY:
-McKinley had a great time having some special time with Grandma Devenish this month. Grandma took her to the fair & tried to teach her how to crochet. She also took her swimming & McKinley got to play with her Reed cousins in Richfield. Grandma also took her shopping & got some really cute dresses & swim suits.
-McKinley is really liking Mrs. Robb’s 1st grade class so far. She’s even had a girl from her class call her for a play-date – Alyssa. She likes having lunch at school (and mom’s notes) and she likes her 3 recesses, though she says she doesn’t play much. She says she gets hot & likes to sit in the shade. So far McKinley’s homework has just been to write her ABCs. Everyone gets to bring something from home when it’s their day for that letter. She has the letter O and gets to be the leader on her birthday next month. She’s VERY excited!
-McKinley has also had lots of play-dates with our neighbor down the street, Jenny Dowse. Jenny is 9 years old, but is about McKinley’s height & they seem to have lots of fun together. Jenny has a pool in her backyard, so McKinley got to go swimming over there for a while one afternoon.
-McKinley is loving school, but grappling with the reality of growing up. After a few days of school, one evening it was time to get ready for bed & lay out clothes for the next day. McKinley realized she hadn’t had any screen time that day & had a major meltdown. She said 1st grade was too hard and she doesn’t have time for playing and friends and screen time and all she ever does is go to school and come home & do chores and eat and she never gets to do anything fun anymore. She decided that night that she was done with school and she wasn’t going to go any more and no one could make her. Thankfully by the next morning she has some better perspective, but she really is realizing there’s not enough hours in the day to do all the things she wants to.
-One Sunday while the rest of the family took naps, McKinley was bored & decided to get the box of crayons out. She got a blank piece of paper & wrote down the colors of each crayon. It was filled front & back with names like “midnight blue” and “slate gray”
-When we are trying to get out the door, Mom will often chant “L-E-T-S G-O! let’s go, let’s go!” (and old cheer). One day we were trying to leave & McKinley yelled “L-E-G-S T-O!”
-When McKinley went to the dentist this month, she got a fun surprise. The dental assistant that worked on her teeth turned out to be Kaden’s mom. Kaden was a boy she had a crush on in Mrs. Jones Kindergarten class. Kaden’s mom said she knew McKinley because Kaden would talk about her & say there was a girl that talked to him & chased him at recess J McKinley got Kaden’s number for a play date J
-After McKinley went to back-to-school night with dad, she got to go to McDonald’s for her date that she earned with her points. They had ice cream & a great time!
-McKinley has had a REALLY hard time sleeping this month. With school starting & having earlier bedtimes, she struggles with getting to sleep. Some nights she’s up almost to 11 & complains that she just CAN’T go to sleep. Mom & dad try & help her to say prayers, count her blessings, write in her journal, read a book, or other quiet activities, but she still seems to struggle.
-McKinley had a LOT of fun in Moab. She got to have sleepovers with Michael & go swimming to her heart’s content. The Delicate Arch hike was hard, but she didn’t give up & she had a good attitude the whole time. GREAT job McKinley!

IRELAND:
-Ireland has had a really hard time this month using her WORDS instead of her HANDS or even TEETH. She has pushed & kicked & she lost the privilege of getting to stay with Grandma Devenish with McKinley. One day mom was just exasperated & asked “Ireland – what do I have to do to help you remember to use your WORDS instead of your HANDS?” Ireland thought for a minute & said “Ummm… I know!! Maybe you could give me candy!!”
-One day mom was trying to get Ireland to clean up her room. She was supposed to put the books away & mom looked to find Ireland reading them instead of putting them away. Mom said “Ireland – just put the books away – don’t read them!” Ireland replied “But I have to check to make sure all the pages are there!”
-Ireland did great at the dentist again – no cavities!
-Kezia smashed a spider one morning & Ireland yelled “Kezia’s our HERO! She smashed the spider!”
-Ireland has been really cute with her notes lately. She likes to write on the little heart post-it notes. She will write “I love you Jason” & give it to daddy or “I love you Heidi” and put it on mom’s shirt. She’s also been doing lots of drawings with sun & grass & 2 stick figures holding hands. One day she also put lots of random letters & lines & at the end she wrote THE END. She told mom all about
the story she wrote. It was so cute J
-Ireland has been SO excited to start Kindergarten this month – especially since McKinley started 2 weeks earlier than she did. Every night she would ask, in the morning I go to Kindergarten, right?
-Mrs. Ekker said she did really well on her assessment & is ALL ready for Kindergarten. Just in the past month, Ireland has REALLY progressed in learning sights words & reading. She knows about 30 sight words now & can read about 8 BOB books all by herself. GREAT JOB Ireland!
-Ireland has been having a hard time with mean faces lately. If someone takes something away or she’s upset at her sisters, she will get in their faces & scrunch up her face & yell or growl at them. We are working with her & she has gotten some cayenne pepper this month
L
-Ireland LOVES to ride the bus. Mom picked her up on her first day of school so she could get some pictures & Ireland was so mad that she didn’t get to ride the bus home.
-Ireland is LOVING her new school clothes – especially her sparkly shoes. She has not gone to school one day without sparkly shoes one. She will just look down at her feet as she’s walking & smile
J
-Ireland is loving Kindergarten. She learned the tortoise & the hare story & they made their own tortoises. They are learning color songs & it’s so cute to hear her sing her R-E-D red song. She says that she sits on the letter E for Elephant on the alphabet rug.

KEZIA
-Mom wishes she had a recorded to record Kezia’s sayings. She is just too cute these days and says the funniest things. Mom can’t even capture a part of it.
-Kezia walked in on a family member in the restroom. Kezia asked if it was going to be stinky & the person said “yes.” Then Kezia said “Ok – then I’m going to plug my ears”
-One day Kezia said “Jesus is goin’ to be mad to Ireland because she’s pinchin’ me!”
-When mom was washing Kezia’s hair one day, Kezia said “it’s in my eyes!” Mom said “what’s in your eyes?” She said “The air conditioner!”
-Mom was in the other room & she heard  this song in her sweet 2-year-old's voice: "Mary had a little knife, little knife, little knife..." sure enough, mom went in there & she had this sharp knife, trying to cut a piece of fruit. Glad she warned mom even if it was the creepiest thing she’s ever heard!!
-Kezia loves to lift up her shirt & try to stick out her tummy & say “look mom! My tummy is big like yours!”
-Kezia is apparently unafraid of smashing spiders lately. Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing!
-Lately Kezia will cover her ears with her hands when she doesn’t want to hear something. If her sisters are mad at her, she covers her ears. If she knows she will get in trouble, she will cover her ears. Mom caught her coloring on the tile with marker & she just put her hands over her ears.
-One day Kezia came to mom & said “I tooted!” mom said “well, what do you say?” Kezia: “WOW!!” Mom (trying to keep a straight face): “No – we say excuse me!” Kezia: “Well, dad says Wow!” (yes… yes, he does.)
-Kezia was on mom’s lap one day & said “Mom your baby is trying to get out! He’s trying to make a door so he can get out!”
-Kezia has been a bit sad about her sister’s leaving. She will often ask where they are. She was sad, too, because they were getting all these new things for school, so mom bought her a few new things so she wouldn’t feel too left out J
-Kezia is still having some accidents, but overall she’s doing great and we are so proud that she wears her big girl panties!!