37 weeks!

I am full term! Well, actually they now officially call it "early term" or something, but whatever. 37 weeks is some sort of term so I'm considering it a big deal.  ;-)  It was pretty funny - I actually feel like the baby gained about 3 pounds on the day I turned 37 weeks. (yesterday) I was feeling pretty good overall and not super-duper-crazy-uncomfortable until now! Ha! With Matthew I had really bad SPD, but I didn't get it at all with Kate. With this baby I have it ever so slightly, but it is totally manageable and I imagine it'll disappear really quickly after delivery. (It took several weeks to go away after Matthew was born). But still! I think you forget how uncomfortable the last month or so of pregnancy can be! At least I did.

For most of my third trimester I measured small, which resulted in more ultrasounds than normal. It was pretty crazy for me to see this little man around 32 and 33 weeks, as I have never seen one of my babies after 22 weeks before. It was a little difficult to see much since baby boy was pretty cramped in there, but they did switch over to 3D briefly which is always kind of fun. (Though also a little weird, as it is usually super unflattering of the baby, ha!)

I have really enjoyed having Matthew and Kate at least sort of understand what is going on. They both know that their baby brother is in mom's belly and will be coming to play soon. They know his name and call him that regularly. While I can't be 100% sure how their adjustment will go, I am guessing that it'll actually be pretty smooth. I think they'll miss how readily available I am right now to each of them since I don't have a small baby demanding a ton of my time, but learning a little more patience will be a good thing.  :-)  And I am glad that they play together so much and can rely on each other for entertainment. Matthew is already such a great big brother and I'm excited for him to have a little brother. And I really don't worry about Kate at all being booted from being the baby of the family. She's shy and bashful and sweet, but not really the type that would have a hard time not being the youngest. Obviously only time will tell that for sure, but that's my guess.

Overall I have felt pretty good for most of my second and third trimester, other than the achy-ness in the last few weeks and typical pregnancy digestive issues. Ugh. I haven't really had trouble staying pretty active and keeping up with the kids. I have actually been trying to make sure I get them out of the house a LOT lately because I know that they'll be cooped up a lot more once the baby comes. Let's hope this little man enjoys being toted around all the time and can handle sleeping on the go. And please don't tell me, "Oh he totally will - third kids HAVE to be that way because they don't have a choice." No, no... they don't have to be that way. They may not have a choice in being out and about a lot, but trust me, they don't HAVE to be easy and chill for you. You can try your best to acclimate your baby to sleeping in many different places and positions, but ultimately there's plenty that you just don't have control over. I have yet to have a newborn that "just sleeps" or even a baby that sleeps easily and well. Sure, Kate's an amazing night sleeper now, but for the first several months of her life she'd scream her guts out for two hours every single night before falling asleep no matter what. It was awesome. (Not.)  :-) Even now she has major trouble actually falling asleep. But I haven't given up hope! It is totally possible to have a good sleeper, right? Right!? Haha.

As for food cravings lately, I have mostly just had the desire to EAT. I am hungry a lot because I get full really fast. I have slept okay until the last month or so. Sometimes I'll lay in bed totally awake even though I'm completely exhausted. So annoying. So much for enjoying my last month of being able to sleep. Haha. 

The nesting instinct has definitely kicked in. I am trying to get things relatively clean before baby boy comes, though trying to get and keep my house clean is kind of a joke with two toddlers running around it all day. I busted out all of Matthew's old baby clothes (awww, so fun going through them again) and have gotten them washed and put away. Funny how my kids are pretty young and pretty close together, yet I still feel like I've been out of the baby phase for a long time. Ha! 

A couple other random things I want to have documented: This baby is almost ALWAYS hanging out on my right side, just like Matthew did in utero. He kicks the same spot in my ribs (on the right side) that Matthew did. Like brother like brother. I felt the sharpest jabs around Christmas, when it actually really HURT a couple times. I got way freaked out that it was only going to get worse, but luckily I think that him growing more gave him less room to pull back before kicking or jabbing. :-) This boy hates (or loves?) the seatbelt. It is the worst when I'm driving since it goes over my right side (where he hangs out) and he kicks it constantly. Like both my other kids, he gets hiccups aaaaall the time, usually several times a day. Matthew loves feeling the hiccups. Braxton Hicks happen a lot at night, though I haven't had them nearly as much as I did with Kate. I don't know if I'm dilated at all since it doesn't seem to matter much in regards to when I'll go into labor.... though I'm sure my curiosity will get the better of me by my next appointment at 38 weeks and I'll have them check. I am hoping to make it to March (my due date is March 10th) before he's born because I still have a few things I want to get done.... But more than anything I am hoping for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. I am SO SO excited to meet him and welcome another baby to this family. I never feel closer to heaven than I do when I get to know another one of my children. Pregnancy and babies (or kids in general, ha) are definitely hard but family is what life is all about and I absolutely love being a mother.

This was taken last week at about 36.5 weeks!

P.S. I'm still beyond terrified of labor, so I just try not to think about it. ;-) Or if I can't help but think about it, to just tell myself it'll be worth it!  :-)

Kate Turns 2!

I seriously cannot believe my girl is 2! 

I have always said that Kate has been a huge ray of sunshine since the moment she was born, and she continues to be just that. Even with the bit of sass she has developed over the last six months or so, ;-) we can't help but love her easygoing personality and bright countenance. She makes us all happier just by being around.

Kate is a smarty pants. She can sing her ABC's and knows most of her letters and most of her colors. She has recently really started to love books that involve an actual story. Her favorite books include the Princess Baby books, Green Eggs and Ham, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Curious George books. She also loves songs and her favorites include I Am A Child of God, Once There Was a Snowman, Frosty The Snowman, The Wheels On The Bus, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She is not that big into TV or technology but she definitely loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and all things Minnie.

Kate is definitely my independent child. I remember saying to Michael when she was about six months old, "Oh my goodness! Look at her! She's just sitting on the floor playing with a toy!!! We always wondered what it would be like to have a kid that did that and now we know!" Haha. She is still pretty good about playing by herself for short periods of time, but she is also good about playing with others if they want to play with her. However, she is NOT a fan of having her toys taken away or having what she is doing disturbed. Matthew tends to do this to her a lot and I can often hear her screeching at Matthew to, "GO TO TIME OUT!" It's pretty hilarious. While she does tend to fight with Matthew several times a day, she also loves him. He is usually the one who greets her first every morning when she gets up and she lights up like a Christmas tree when he walks in. He enjoys teaching her things and she likes learning from him. He shows her how to be a troublemaker and she loves every second of it. Despite the fighting, they are best friends and it makes my mom heart happy.

(Matthew stuffed her romper FULL of rocks).  :-)

Kate is still a horrible napper. Always has been, and my guess is that her napping days are just about over. It's okay though - she is still a DREAM at night. She only gets up in the night if she's sick.

Kate loves to be outside. She has a blast at the park and is brave about the big slides. She is very strong for her size and also very flexible. I need to get her in gymnastics or dance soon!

Kate definitely went through a picky eating stage, but she has gotten a lot better in the last couple months. She will actually eat a good amount of fruits and veggies which is so nice. She continues to LOVE "sauce." (Ketchup and Ranch). And if you want to make her life, give her fruit snacks and "chock-it." (chocolate)

Kate is obsessed with "jewels." Her outfit is not complete without a necklace. She also loves having her nails painted. After I do her hair, she also likes to choose her own bow. She loves pink and princesses. Yes, she is a girly girl and yes, I love it. ;-)

Kate is silly, fun, beautiful, sweet, and such a joy. I am eternally grateful that I get to be her mother. 

Kate's birthday was on a Friday, so we sort of celebrated on Friday, but did her big fun activity on Saturday so that Michael could be part of the fun. ;-) On her actual birthday I made her scrambled eggs (her request) for breakfast and took the kids to a park that we don't often go to. That made it more exciting I think. ;-)

That evening after Michael got home we had pizza for dinner and then had a little family princess party. All afternoon she was dying to dig into the cake! I made her wait until after dinner when we were all together, but I did let her lick some frosting after this picture. :-)

She thought the whole blowing-out-the-candles thing was pretty awesome, though she did need a little assistance. 

And then Michael helped her dig in!

Okay okay, we ended up giving her a fork. :-)

For her birthday she got Minnie Mouse books, a Princess Baby book, wall decals, a baby doll, a zoo toy, and a bubble machine. She loved everything.

The next day we took her to Jump Street. They have a toddler area where you can jump on trampolines and play on a bounce house with a slide. Kate loves it and so does Matthew, so we all had a blast being there for her birthday activity.

We love you Kate!

All Things Christmas

Our Christmas was wonderful. We got to spend the entire month at home and both sets of parents came to see us during the month. Yay!

We kicked off our December by decorating the Christmas tree. So much fun! Both kids were SO into "helping" this year, so there were lots of ornaments at the bottom of the tree.... that got rearranged at least 1000 times during the month. ;-)

I take the kids to Bass Pro Shops every year to get our Santa picture because it's FREE! It's also usually super crowded since apparently tons of other people are cheap-o's like me. ;-) We did have to wait in a small line but luckily it moved quickly and I was able to get my picture. I thought Kate might do better this year but no such luck. Haha!

Kathy and Don came to see us in the middle of the month and we had a blast with them here. They brought the kids fun presents, we ate lots of yummy food, and we went to see the Mesa Temple lights. My kids were definitely sad when they left!

We also went to see Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo with some friends! We went to dinner beforehand and then walked all over to see some really fun animal lights. AND our wonderful friends (the Browns) got us a smokin deal, so we didn't even pay much for it!

Oh, and we did lots of baking, (and eating) because duh. It's treats-season!

Our ward Christmas party was in the morning so we ate waffles, did some crafts, and got to hang out with friends. I thought the photo booth was super cute.

My kids (and of course then myself) did manage to get a cold the week before Christmas, but it wasn't anything too crazy.... and I actually considered ourselves lucky considering sooo many people get stomach bugs and flus and all types of other crazy illnesses during this time of year. But - we had plenty of Christmas shows to watch during our sick days! Matthew and Kate's favorites were How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman. While those were definitely the favorites, they also enjoyed Christmas episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Super Why, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, Rudolph, and The Polar Express.

Oh, and we decorated a gingerbread house one night for Family Home Evening! The kids absolutely LOVED it! (And of course loved sneaking a large portion of it into their mouths). ;-)

And then.... Christmas!!! My parents came up on Christmas Eve and we spent the day reading, playing, and drinking Christmas punch. YUM! We had a delicious early dinner of ham, turkey, salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and crescents, and then headed to Queen Creek (a neighboring city) to see the Loop of Lights. It's a housing development that is SUPER festive and most of the residents put up tons and tons of fun lights. They even close down the streets to traffic except for residents! We definitely weren't the only ones to spend our Christmas Eve there (it was super crowded!) but it was still awesome. Sooo many fun houses to see.

The kids were exhausted from all the fun so they slept in later on Christmas than they normally do (ha!) but the morning was a blast, as usual. The kids loved their presents. It is seriously so much fun watching kids on Christmas morning. So magical!

And then we played Christmas Bingo! One of my favorite traditions growing up. I was so excited when I saw my mom had brought it.

My parents stayed a few extra days and we had lots of fun with them around. Me and Michael even got to sneak in a couple dates! Woohoo! 

And that just about wraps up our Christmas! It was definitely one of my favorites!

The Polar Express and The Grand Canyon

So there's a town a few hours north of Phoenix called Williams. And in Williams there's a train called The Grand Canyon Railway. In November and December, they transform this train into the The Polar Express. I'd heard wonderful things about The Polar Express from my sister, who did it last year with her family, so I decided it would be super fun to go! We went in mid-November.

As soon as we arrived in Williams, I was charmed by how cute the town was. It is surrounded by forest and has all the cute diners and shops that comes with an old-school small town. It is also very much what you'd think of when you think of a Route-66 town.  :-)  Anyway, we checked into the Super 8, changed the kids into PJ's, and grabbed an early dinner at a place called Pine Country Restaurant. They're famous for their pies, so after dinner I ordered a lemon meringue pie. Yum!

And ignore Michael's awful facial hair. I HATE NO SHAVE NOVEMBER! ;-)

Anyway, we got to the train station and got ready to board. The kids were so excited! (Especially Matthew).

The workers were dressed up like the characters in the book and they danced, served us cookies and hot chocolate, and read us the book. (I'd bought Matthew the book a few weeks prior and had let him watch the movie too so he was familiar with everything). Kate was squirmy, but the snacks helped a lot. Haha.

And then we made it to the North Pole! It was all lit up so the kids looked out the window and waved to Santa on his sleigh. The train then reversed and when we went back the other way, Santa was gone! (He'd gotten on the train).

We sang Christmas carols until Santa appeared in our car! Matthew's face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw Santa. So cute. Santa gave each kid a bell and the kids totally loved it.

We got back, looked at he lights around the train station, and headed back to our hotel. We were all exhausted but Kate whined in her Pack-n-Play until after midnight (!!!!!) so none of us slept that well.

The next morning we (sleepily) drove the 45 minutes to The Grand Canyon. I've lived in Phoenix for almost three years and had never been, so it was more than time! It was seriously SO SO cold and I did not adequately prepare for that in how I dressed everyone (oops!!!) but since the kids are so small, we didn't stay much longer than an hour anyway. It's not like we wanted to do any hikes or anything - I mostly just wanted to finally see it. And it sure is beautiful!

And then we headed home. It was a super fun mini-vacation, though after all the traveling we'd been doing it sure was nice to know that we were done with road trips for a while.  :-)