There was some brief angst when I confessed to knowing the gender of our baby, but then didn’t actually share the info 😉 And I get it! But guys, if you had a burning little secret, would you not want to have a little fun with it first, too?? Aaaaanyway, I haven’t told you yet because I thought it would be fun to show you in photos! My lovely friend and photographer, Cher, who has been taking progress pictures for me throughout this pregnancy came out as soon as she could, and got me everything in time for me to post them TODAY! Which means, you will know, TODAY! I’ve had this secret for just over a week, lol! Sue me.

Except, don’t.

The baby’s gender may be sneakily hiding beneath a layer of clothing. Do not be afraid. There is more clothing under there. You CAN read on!

I cracked under pressure at the last minute, haha! Somehow this shoot felt like a bigger deal than our usual get togethers…

Don’t worry, I got it together. Sort of. As much as I ever do. But, we got there. I’ll just let you look now 🙂

Baby is a GIRL!!!!! 💖💖💖

Pink happy dance!!!

Bambina (See what I did there? Because, feminine) is roughly the size of an iPhone. A gold, sparkly one. 🤩

…and its upside down because thats ideal for babies, haha!

Straight talk, guys. I know that knowing the gender of the baby doesn’t ensure that she’s going to live and come join us here. I know there is no safety zone. I know we could get hurt again. But knowing she is a SHE makes things so much more real, and SO much more personal! I swore the baby was a boy. Every time I daydreamed, I was picturing a boy. Every time I secretly let myself plan ahead, it was always for a boy. I was SO peaceful and content with having a boy, and then to find out she is actually a girl just BLEW MY MIND. It still feels surreal, in all honesty. I didn’t know if I’d ever have another girl, and I’m thrilled beyond belief to be carrying one! A GIRL!!! AMAZING!!!

I have a video of us telling the kids, but I’ll save that for another day 😉 This is enough amazing for one day! But I have to offer a HUGE thank you to my girl, Cher, for once again documenting such an exciting time in my life!! You rolled with the interruptions that come along with my mom gig, even snapped a few extras, just to make memories.

You are a wonderful addition around here, so please know you’re always welcome in our home, whether you’re taking pictures or not 😘 We all love you!

Thank you, all, for your interest in our family, and for sharing in our excitement! Speaking for myself, I am completely beside myself with excitement!! I cried like crazy when I found out, haha! Having a brand new baby girl is an amazing way to welcome summer. I can’t wait to bring her to the lake, and to wear her in the carrier as the kids and I wander to the playground day after day. I’m just itching to buy her some little dresses and rompers, and to go buy fabric with my mom who will lovingly sew it into personal little receiving blankets. I can’t wait to finally pull out our little baby cradle again, clean it up, and get it ready for LIFE. To pack size 1 diapers again, even if just for a little while. I can’t wait to waste the days away with my beautiful brood of children on the deck, while they splash in the pool, and I lounge in a chair under an umbrella with the little miss, hopefully with a friend or two from time to time <3 I just want her home.

I feel so fortunate to even be daydreaming about this. I hope and desperately pray that it can become a reality! Please pray, and celebrate, with us!!!

Today was another one of those days that felt like we were going constantly, but when I step back and look at it, we really weren’t. And when I step a little further back even, today was really great 🙂 I’m trying to get away from 99% of my blog posts just being a breakdown of the day, but when the days are great, it should be recorded!

Solly slept in nicely this morning, and my mom came to help this morning while I dropped Dekker off, and then while I got Laela to preschool. It is SO handy to have help on preschool days, specifically the mornings. That weird half hour between dropping Dekker and Laela off can feel like years depending on the day. Its especially bad on the days where I have to wake kids to get them in the van, and they’re crying for breakfast or whatever else the entire time. Its totally doable, and it’ll likely all be a bit easier when the weather is nicer and the kids wake up a bit earlier with the sun, but for now, they’re pretty droopy in the mornings still. So this morning was SO nice to have the help during drop off!

My mom had a busy day scheduled herself, so she left fairly quickly after I returned, and I had a nice sit down morning with the little boys. Rowan built ramps and raced cars while Solly plunked himself down on a couch and played dolls. No joke, he LOVES Laela’s stuffed Elsa and Anna right now. It wasn’t too long before I bundled them up and drove over to preschool to pick Laela up.

We were the last to leave there today, and I was SO grateful to have a chat with Laela’s preschool teacher! We just talked parenting and the challenges that come along with it. I haven’t had many chances to really take time and talk with her, but it was SO refreshing!! We feel very similarly about a lot of important things, and I found that so encouraging! I love knowing the people who are in authority positions around my children have similar values to me and are encouraging them in the same ways I would. I really really appreciate her.

I brought the littles home and got them lunch right away, as we had plans that afternoon. Nothing too big, but I had a doctors appointment at 1:15 to get to. As it tends to happen, it was of course the lunch where everyone was 500 times hungrier than usual, so it took a while to get everyone topped up, but eventually everyone was fed and dressed, and hauled back into the van.

We made it to my appointment on time, where Brady met us. He took the kids to go fill up the van, and beyond that, just freed them from their car seats so they could run around in there and entertain themselves while I was in my appointment.

My time with Dr. Guselle was awesome. You guys know how much I love her. She answered all my questions, discussed some future stuff, and printed off my ultrasound report for me. I love information, especially about my baby, and she knows that. I told her I was a bit nervous for my appointments to start dropping off a little bit soon, since we’ll go to the regular monthly appointments once I can feel the baby move and have some reassurance that way. She was clear with me that, until I was comfortable, we’d be seeing each other. She gets me. We listened for the baby, who was nice and easy to find, and she checked my ears to follow up with the crazy plugged-ness that I’ve been struggling with. She covered all the bases, and we confirmed that I’d be meeting the resident who would be following me for the rest of my pregnancy at my next appointment. She actually thanked me more than once for being willing to “participate” in their teaching program, because the resident I’ll have is male, and apparently they get far less practice in obstetrics than women, so they are very happy to have the experience. I’m happy to provide it 🙂

The kids were very patient, and didn’t put up a fight to get back into their car seats when I came back to the van. Brady and I quickly hit the Tims drive-thru and got coffee before he headed back to work and I took the kids home.

I realized as we were almost home that it was only about a half hour before Dekker would get out of school. On one hand, to haul everyone out of the van, out of their coats and boots, and let them break into the toys only to haul them back out fifteen minutes later seemed crazy. Yet, they had been in the van for two hours at that point. I couldn’t imagine making them wait. So I drove home and parked in the garage. Solly was asleep and the other two were pretty droopy. So I asked them their opinion, and Laela and Rowan agreed that it would be silly to go in for such a short time. I promised them some tv time when we got home after getting Dekker, and they were totally satisfied!! So, we got the mail, and waited out the rest of the time.

No. One. Fussed.

Not. Even. Once.

I was AMAZED at how patient and reasonable they all were, and then how happy and thankful they were to come home and have a tv show on in the background as they played and got their energy out finally. Amaaazing!!! I give a little bit of credit to great music, but mostly to just my kids as people, because they are exceptional! I may be biased, but I don’t care. I don’t think that makes it less true.

5/6 of us are happily home now, and Brady is on his way! It’s always fabulous to be together at the end of the day. For some reason, I’m just feeling emotional this afternoon <3 Husband come home!

Its such a weird day to have off school, but for some reason, today is a teachers prep day out here and Dekker is home for the day. It would almost feel like a Saturday, except Brady is at work. Merp. So, its close, but not quite right.

The kids have spent the morning playing like champs. The Play-Doh was out in full force, stories were read, paper was colored, and arguments were refereed. It was a busy morning! Meanwhile, I discovered that Children’s Place was finally clearing out their winter gear at amazing prices, but the website (despite being one of the worst websites to shop on in general) was super limited and picked over. They had next to nothing that I was looking for. I put a cry for help on Facebook and a small handful of people got in touch with me and offered to check nearby locations. They have all now been scoured, but to no avail :/ Not sure my next move, but I was very much looking forward to having winter stuff nailed down for the kids for next winter already! Ah well, there is still time.

As the kids began their lunch, my friend Cher came over to take a few quick pictures of me. They might even reveal a detail or two that you guys might want to know 🤷 Maybe! Maybe not. I don’t know who wants what. But we had a good time together, and she was very patient and understanding as we were interrupted time and time again to put out metaphorical fires left right and centre. Eventually, we got what we wanted (I hope!) and she headed off to an appointment.

I put the three younger ones down for naps, and got myself lunch. Is it just me, or is spaghetti noodles drenched in butter and parmesan cheese just the absolute bomb sometimes? I love it, and it really hit the spot for me today. I ate lunch and had a quick chat with Brady on the phone. Now, I’m blogging, and I have some typing to do for a meeting I attended a while ago. Hopefully Jerilee will come over before too long, and we’ll have a good solid evening of the Bachelor and tuns melts!

Note to self: Don’t forget to take Dekker to kids club this week!!! Yikes! Parent fail at its finest.

BEFORE I go into todays post, I have to offer up a slightly half-assed apology about my teaser on yesterdays post, haha! I am so looking forward to sharing the news of the baby’s gender with all of you who care about our family and want to know and celebrate with us! I promise, it will be soon 🙂 Don’t hate me! Its coming! I probably want to tell you even more than you want to know, if that helps.

***

There are pros and cons to living where I live, specifically in a newer, less developed area of town. An obvious downfall is that we have no tall trees, and fewer houses to block us from the elements. We basically have no cover. So when the kids play on the deck in spring, they get ALL the wind! LOTS of sun! Everything that comes, we get in FULL. Our house is also taller than our last house was, so storms are louder and seem more powerful. Especially with the master bedroom about the garage, thunder just shakes that room. And guys, I LOVE that.

I don’t love winter, thats not a secret. But today, for instance, isn’t super cold out. Much warmer than yesterday. But the wind is completely nuts. I’m currently sitting in the living room, and the kids are napping/resting in their rooms. The only sound is me typing, and the wind just whipping at the house. It sounds amaaazing! I keep thinking a big truck is driving by or something, but nope. Its just the wind.

I’m not sure what I love about it so much. Maybe its just the fact that its white noise. Or maybe I love the security in hearing the chaos outside when my house is sturdy and warm.

As I tucked the three kids in for their naps this afternoon, the room was so loud with wind, but they were all totally at peace and ready for rests. I hope they grow up to love storms the way I do.

After spending the morning at preschool, my legs are back are burning and I’m ready to take a little rest myself! Brady somehow CRUSHED work today and won’t have to work late!! <3 I’m so looking forward to having him home. It was a lovely morning, and I anticipate a lovely afternoon and evening, too 🙂 The wind just adds to it, somehow. Makes it feel whimsical. As long as I get to stay inside, haha!

Well, guys, we did it. We passed that awful 16.5 week mark, and I am now 17 weeks pregnant. It feels like I haven’t been this far along in FOREVER, though I was days away from it just last year. I believe the last time I was this far into a pregnancy was two years ago, when I was pregnant with Solly. I know people space their kids out much further apart than we do, and both ways are fine, but its hard for me to think about how long its been, and how large of a space there will be between the two youngest. It’ll be right around two years and one month, which is the exact gap between Dekker and Laela. While their dynamic is fine, not abnormal, its always felt like a bit too long to me. But as we ALL know, this has been wildly out of my hands.

Size Comparison: My app says that the baby is around the size of a chipmunk, or a pomegranate. I’m going with the chipmunk, because while my baby is probably as sweet as a pomegranate, it is not in the shape of a ball. And a chipmunk has arms and legs and feels more relatable somehow. Also, the chubby cheeks probably don’t make sense yet but we all know they will in the future 🙂 I tend to make babies of the chubby variety.

Appointments: I had an ultrasound last week. Baby wasn’t as busy as usual, or as cooperative, but as far as I know, everything still looked well. My tech commented that this baby has never been particularly easy to get a side profile shot of, and she is required to get one as part of the anatomy scan, which is coming up. Because of my unique circumstance, and my regular ultrasounds, she’s already gotten a lot of the information she needs to fulfill the requirements of the anatomy scan, but there are still a few things left to show up, and the side face shot is one of them! I rolled in all different positions and it just wasn’t happening. But we tried. Maybe next time. It was interesting to see the baby more packed in there than usual, with less room to wiggle. I’m sure baby they will make more room in there soon. Frankly, the tighter it gets in there, the bigger the baby is getting, and the sooner I can feel movement. This ridiculous anterior placenta is driving me bananas.

How am I feeling emotionally: I feel a lot better. I have passed a big, scary point in time that, while it doesn’t ensure “safety,” was significant for me to pass. Its time to move forward. We are not out of the woods, but really, we never are. No one ever is. And we can’t live like that, waiting for the worst thing to happen. So, I will continue to miss my little boys, and make room for my grief, but keep my head up and looking ahead. Even when its scary and vulnerable. Lots of self pep talks these days.

How and I feeling physically: I was in worse shape for last weeks series post, for sure. My back was BAD and I have since seen my chiropractor twice and he’s been able to put me back in place, which has been both satisfying and incredibly painful. But worth it. I started wearing my support belt, which you may or may not have seen on Facebook or Instagram, and it has made a big difference when I have running around to do. My belly doesn’t need support yet, but my pelvis sure does. Beyond that, I’ve ben very slowly weening off diclectin, and am down to a half dose before bed. I could just stop taking it probably, but I know that causes some people to spiral back to square one pretty quickly, so I’m going slow. But nausea is down. That being said, since I’ve backed off the diclectin, my body doesn’t like coffee as much again :/ Shooooot. Also apparently I haven’t been sleeping very deeply.

Diclectin messes with my sleep. I cannot wait to be off of it completely!

Wish List/Purchases: So, I did a SMALL amount of purchasing recently. I bought a couple of clothing items when I was at Value Village the other day buying a few things for the other kids. I also finally bought a big water bottle to make that whole thing happen. I really don’t drink very much water at all, and I really should. I found a light pink Nalgene bottle that holds half of the recommended daily 8 cups of water, so I’ve made it my goal to drink one hole one before noon and ideally the other before supper. If I wait and drink it too late into the night, I’m going to be getting up to pee far more than necessary. For today, I’m halfway through that first bottle and its not even 10:00, so go me! I am not loving the huge water bloat that comes with it, but what can you do?

Pictures: I ran upstairs and snapped this picture a few minutes ago and I couldn’t help but laugh at how unflattering it is, haha! I think I look WAY bigger in this picture than I actually am, lol!

This was NOT the sweater I should’ve worn, but hey. Comfort always wins. Except when you’re pregnant and uncomfortable almost 100% of the time. But thats less about clothing.

How are the kids feeling: The kids are AMPED! Walking through baby clothes aisles have all three of the older ones in full “Aaaaawww!!!” mode, touching each piece with excitement. “Gasp! A hootie! “Gasp! A dinosaur! What do you think Bambino will like??” They’re almost as bad as me.

Get to know the baby: We got to know the baby pretty well this last week! I guess you could say we were formally introduced when baby waved at us through the whole ultrasound. Those hands just went and went and went.

 

We also found out the baby’s gender. 😯 Had I not mentioned that? 🤔

The BEST part of being pregnant: I’ve genuinely enjoyed a lot about being pregnant this week. I’ve enjoyed the excitement of carrying my pregnancy past the scary point of loss from last time. I’m enjoying that my belly is visibly growing. It somehow feels a bit more real these days, and I’m loving it!

Favourite thing: This is probably a weird one. Fried mushrooms are this weeks “favourite.” I could eat those things by the bowlful, and often do. Brady lovingly fries me mushrooms (that he hates, by the way) in butter and garlic, and I eat them with EVERYTHING. Or just y themselves as a snack. Don’t judge! I briefly tried to convince myself that it was a healthy craving, but have since given in to the fact that they’re just carriers of fat and grease and thats probably why I’m loving them. Regardless, yum. Fry something in garlic and butter this week and think of me! Lol!

Its been a good week, my friends. A hopeful, uplifting week of pushing past fear, and daydreaming about what and who is to come. I couldn’t be more thankful for all the support I’ve received over these last couple of weeks, as its been a huge part of whats kept me standing. Hopefully the future is bright, with fewer sad tears and more excitement. Healing is coming.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit off around here. No one is struggling more or less than the other, but we’re starting to think that no one is feeling 100%. But Solly is the guilty party for making church so hard to get to these days!

He is SO SCREAMY!!! Sometimes its a constant fussiness with crying thrown in, and other times he’s screeching so loud, and he just will not be stopped! We have a few theories.

1. If you’ve seen Solly in the last month or so, you’d have seen the little red blotches on his cheeks. They are humorously round and even, and they are now dry, rashy spots that are just sticking around. They don’t bug him or anything, he has no idea they’re there, but to me, they suggest teething. He has cracked everything except for his two year molars, but I’m not confident that his eye teeth are all the way through :/ So he could still be working on that.
2. Dekker and Laela have both have very small (but still relevant) bouts of vomiting in the last two weeks, and without going into too much detail, Ro has had his share of sick poops as well. So maybe Solly is just feeling a bit down and out, just without showing many physical symptoms. Maybe! That one is sort of impossible to judge.
3. This option would probably be my first choice, if I got to somehow choose why this was happening. Solly barely says any real english words at the moment, but he really wants to! He’s in a very chatty, babbly stage, and just wants to communicate! Riiiiight before Rowan finally achieved language, he did the same thing, and got suuuper loud and screamy and opinionated. Maybe Solly just wants to talk and is on the cusp of figuring it out!

Whether sickness or development, its pretty impossible to quiet through church. We work tirelessly at it last Sunday, and while everyone was very gracious and understanding when we’d haul him out of the service for the five hundredth time, it still really sucked for us. Solly’s feelings are also very easy to wound these days, so a mere “shush” sends that lower lip out and from there, its all over.

I understand there are times that church is just hard to get to, and I think thats ok. Yet I see the value in bringing everyone there and instilling the importance of going to church into the kids. But these days, with Solly screaming SO MUCH, we just had to sit a morning out. Especially when my back is in the shape its in, I can’t do much, if any, of the hauling of the Solly. I can barely lift him these days. Yikes!

So instead, we stayed home and watched a movie and coloured. I finally saw Madagascar and I’ve gotta say I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Not that exciting of a movie at all, in my opinion! But let’s be real. I just wanted to watch Storks instead.

We may venture back into the city this afternoon to finish up one or two things that we didn’t get to yesterday on our errand day. Maybe, maybe not. We’ll how Screamy McScreamerson is feeling.

I slept HARD last night! Anyone else? Was something in the air, or was it just me? Regardless, it was such a good, refreshing sleep, and I’m feeling pretty good so far today 🙂 My bad is quite sore, which is disappointing because I just had a chiropractic treatment yesterday, but I also slipped and fell on the ice leaving my appointment, heading to my van :/ So I guess its to be expected. Merp.

We invited my parents to join us for waffles this morning. Its become a bit of a tradition. Its not every weekend, but probably every other ish? Its so fun to have a house full, and the general chaos of getting food on while kids play, stories are read, music is going, and we’re all visiting. Its loud and busy and we love it!

My parents got to our place around 9:00 and after a while, everything was ready to go. We ate our collective body weight in waffles, whipped cream, breakfast sausage, fruit salad, and coffee. It was so delicious, and no one was quick to get up afterwards. Except the kids, of course, who don’t feel the weight of the food as much as the lift of the whipped cream and syrup 😉 They were raring to go, while the rest of us sat for a bit and caught up. It had been a while, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Time flew, as usual, and very quickly, Solly was crying and slumped on Brady, in desperate need of a nap. Poor weepy baby.

So my parents headed home to take on their afternoon of house cleaning, and we gave the kids a small lunch/snack before napping the little ones. We may venture into the city for a few errands this afternoon yet, but maybe not. Its a low pressure day 🙂 As Saturdays are meant to be!

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

While we have still mostly managed to dodge the questions about how the baby gets in there (a piece of mommy, a piece of daddy, and a whole lot of Jesus) Dekker asked me the other day over breakfast how the baby comes out. The whole table of children came to attention and stared at me, waiting for a response. I couldn’t ignore the question. We were going to talk about this.

It was a pretty long conversation, so I won’t have it word for word, so please accept my best attempt at paraphrasing. Its just all far too cute to summarize.

It all started with Dekker asking about eye color, and he wondered why we all had blue eyes. A kid in his class told him he thinks Dekker’s eyes are green. I told him the colour can look different based on light and stuff, but because mommy and daddy both have blue eyes, all of our babies will have blue eyes. I retraced my steps and back-pedalled a little, because while its not a current, immediate plan, we’re open to adoption very much around here, and you just never know when and if that time will come. So I changed my answer to “Any baby that comes from my tummy will have blue eyes.” That was what did it.

Dekker: How does the baby come out of your tummy?

*pause as I think of the right way to say it all*

Laela: I think the baby comes out of mommy’s mouth.

Dekker: No, that would be craaaaazy! (He had no idea the bomb that was about to drop) Maybe it comes out of mommy’s belly button. That makes more sense.

Everyone stared at me for clarification.

Laela: Ya bum?
Me: Nope, the baby actually doesn’t come out of any of those places. It comes out of the place where I pee from.

(Not that I should HAVE to have a disclaimer in here, but our children absolutely know the words penis and vagina. I’m all for using the proper, real words when it comes to important things like our bodies. But, I don’t know, I think in the moment I thought it would be a lot of information to take in, and I knew my kids would just giggle at the word “vagina” and miss the actual point. Hence, me saying it this way. Aaaaanyway…)

Dekker and Laela broke out into hysterical tittering laughter at each other, while Rowan looked confused, and confirmed “the pee ‘pot?” Yes, I told him. The spot that pee comes out of.

Dekker: That doesn’t seem right! Babies are bigger than that! Wouldn’t that hurt.

Yes. Yes it would.

Once the crazed laughter died down, I went on to tell them a few more, less scary details. I said I’d go to the hospital, and I’d get my own room and new “jammies” to wear. I told them, in my case, I’d have some medicine, because it does hurt to have a baby, and then my body works very hard and eventually the baby comes out. And that despite how crazy it sounds, its actually how bodies are designed to work! Everyone has different outcomes and different ways, though, I made sure to tell them. Some women have to have surgery even to get their baby out of their tummy, which the kids all agreed was a HUGE amount of work!

Dekker: Is that how I came out of your tummy, too?

Me: You were the first baby to come out of me! You were SO BIG and it took a pretty long time, but you were just so content and calm when you were born! I was so so excited to finally have you out!

Laela: Me too, mommy? Was I calm too?
Me: Haha! Laela, having you was CRAZY! We almost didn’t get to the hospital on time, and I didn’t get the special jammies, or the medicine, or anything! I didn’t even have to push! You just flew right out! It was pretty scary for me, and it hurt, but it was also VERY exciting!

Laela: Push?

I explained that most ladies have to help their baby come out with pushing.
Laela: Like a poop?

Me: Sigh. Yes, exactly like a poop.

Rowan: Can you talk about me now?

Hahaha! 🙂 Classic Ro.

Me: Of course we can! I was a little bit scared after I had Laela so fast, so I went to the hospital early when I had you, so we could really watch and see when you were going to come out. I had my doctor there, and a great nurse, and I got to have medicine so it wouldn’t hurt as much. And you came out so nicely and quickly, and I wasn’t scared! Having you was SO fun!

Dekker and Laela: And Solly??

Me: Solly was born a lot like Rowan. I wasn’t scared, I had really nice people helping me, and Solly was born so easily. Lots of people came to watch because it was going so smoothly.

Laela: But I was the crazy one!!

I confirmed that, yes, she was the crazy one, but that her birth was very exciting and surprising, and probably the one I learned the most from. We also talked about how her birth wasn’t all too different from how Auntie Caity was born. She was THRILLED to know she could share her crazy story with another person, and someone she loves quite a bit.

It was probably the cutest conversation I’ve had with the kids in a long time, and I think it was pretty successful, too! They know the basics of what happens when a woman has a baby, and they’re not completely scarred or afraid of it. Laela still maintains that she wants to have babies someday, which makes my heart happy. It feels like a mom win that no one was upset by any of it.

I’ve been wondering when the day would come that my kids would want to know their birth stories. I didn’t anticipate they’d ask so soon, but I LOVE that it happened! I can’t help but hope we can add another exciting birth story to the mix this coming summer! Cmon, Bambino! You have a crew of siblings eager to meet you!

Poor Dekker.

I got a call from the school today. Its probably our third in the last two weeks, so it feels like a lot. One hadn’t been a bit deal – asking for some of Laela’s information so she could be added to the list of kindergarteners. Another was the call that Dekker had thrown up last week. And now today.

Dekker had fallen during recess and was pretty upset about it. However, he had requested to come home. Now I really don’t want to be the mom who comes and picks up her kid for every little bump and bruise. But his teacher seemed to think he wasn’t being totally unreasonable, and asked if I wanted to chat with him. We had a little phone convo, and he admitted that he wanted to come home because he was mad, and that he was scared to fall at recess again. I reminded him that he sometimes falls at home, too. He agreed to try to be brave and stay at school.

But then I heard him make this sound. Dare I ask you all try to make it while you read this? Lol! close your mouth all the way, with your teeth clenched together. Then blow some air out. See how your whole face kid of flaps? How make a crying sound like that. That is the sound Dekker makes when he’s trying not to cry. And he made that sound as he walked away from the phone.

When his teacher came back on, I told her I didn’t want to be harsh and leave him there if he should really come home, and I wanted to be compassionate, but I didn’t want to start a bad thing. She was honest and said it would be fine either way, but that he was pretty choked, and without actually saying it to me, I got the vibe that he was somewhat disrupting the class. So I agreed to come get him.

So, here’s the story. Dekker was playing on the snow hill in the playground and another kid kind of jumped and fell into him. Dekker said he tried to jump over him, but it clearly didn’t work out with the ice factor, and he landed on his face. There was some concern that he may have bit through his lip, but thankfully, we’re in the clear on that one. He definitely bit his lip, and its clawed up on the outside and the inside, but not through! Win! I brought him home and marched him directly up to my room where we took some quiet minutes, made sure he was all clean, and “put some stuff on it.” Lol! “Stuff” fixes everything around here. Sometimes the stuff is lotion, or chapstick, or warm water. But in this case, I rubbed a bit of polysporin on it and he was satisfied. It had been his only request. “Can we just go home so you can put some stuff on it?” Yes, of course.

So, stuff was administered and soon after, lunch was had, and 3/4 kids are napping. Dekker is up and relaxing. He’s definitely fine, but sometimes the reassurance is worth the half day at school. Its hard to get hurt away from home! He does it often, and he usually bounces back no problem. But he was swollen and scraped, and frankly, no one at school was his mommy. Its just different. School has different “stuff.” They wear gloves when they look in his mouth. No one kisses him there. All of these things make sense, but they’re just not home. So, now he’s home, and that was the right move this time <3

Brady should be home shortly, and I’m looking forward to a relaxed evening with the lovies.

I was feeling a bit stumped on what to write today, which often results in a boring post, if we’re being honest. Brady suggested I write about the kids recent accomplishments and changes. Being that my head is full, both figuratively and literally (still working on these plugged ears) I told him I couldn’t think of any. Mother of the year award clearly does not go to me! Haha! He texted me back and he was SO right! Our kids have been doing some exciting new things recently that I should absolutely have on record!

Dekker’s newest accomplishment comes along with school. His class has started skating, and we had never taken him before! The first day of skating was last week, and I debated going to help tie skates and lend a hand, but my back pain was pretty out of control and I opted to stay home. Plus, I figured with Dekker being completely new at it, he might attach himself to me, and I didn’t want that to happen. Sometimes they just do better without mom and dad there, you know? So I asked him how it went after school that day, and he said he fell a lot but that he had liked it! Just yesterday, he skated for a second time. He excitedly told me after school that he still fell down, but less. Not too long ago, it was me saying stuff like that to him, reminding him that falling down is ok, and that he was improving, but he wouldn’t be able to see past falling and failure. But he is SO comfortable with it all of a sudden! I am SUCH a proud mama! My timid little boy is getting bigger and older and more confident with every day, and it is just so exciting to see it happen!

Laela has been working HARD on her letters! We bought her a pre-k workbook a while back, really just for fun, and she took to it quickly. She would be upset when “her homework” was done. She has since finished the work book and is asking for more, so we’ve started her on the kindergarten one. Just to practice writing letters and such. She already holds her pencil perfectly! The other day, she was done her page, and Dekker was still working on his homework, so she asked for more. Brady suggested she write out her alphabet. And guys, it is the CUTEST thing!!

Sure, things are a bit all over the place, and I think she missed a couple, but I’d say she did pretty stinking good!! This is one of her “pictures” that I’ll save forever. She melts my heart.

Rowan has been doing some crazy things recently! I think he’s just about ready to potty train!! He insists he won’t until he’s three, but thats just less than a month away now 🙂 He tells me the moment he’s peed or pooped, or if I’m lucky (or yucky) he tells me as its happening. Nothing like your kid standing beside you and telling you he’s pooping. And the smell grows as he stands there. And then he tells you he’s done. Thats a bit bizarre, haha! But he is suddenly VERY aware of bathroom stuff, and even once, completely out of the blue, asked to sit on the toilet and give it a try! While he didn’t end up using the toilet that time, I love that he tried and didn’t seem too nervous. I think its coming! We MAY suddenly only have one in diapers!! Eek!

Solly’s latest talent is maybe a little late to the game, but I’m still stoked 🙂 He waves and says “hi” and “bye” now! And sometimes he says “wave,” hahaha! Just about nothing thrills my heart as much as him running to the window to join the other kids as they wave someone off, and to see him waving too, saying “waaay bye bye!” He couldn’t be cuter, really. For those wondering about his speech, Solly doesn’t say a whole heck of a lot yet, but in the recent week or two, he has gotten VERY chatty! All baby babble, but LOTS of babble. Thats what Rowan did, too, when he was on the cusp of language, so I’m excited to see what comes up soon! He says a few of the easy words (mama, dada, ni-night) and he’s starting to “help,” which is cute. He puts his sippy cup away after a meal, and he is juuust starting to add a toy or two to the bin while the kids tidy up 🙂 Its starting! He’s becoming a legit toddler! I’m not ready.

I couldn’t be prouder of my kids and the strides they are making recently. I am completely thrilled with who they are, and who they’re becoming. What amazing little people I have in my family!