Self Sufficiency and other Goings On

What you do when you are almost 5 and you just can't wait another second for your mom to get done feeding/changing/caring for the baby and you NEED your gloves down because it's FREEZING in San Diego? Pull up the chair, then get the foot stool and hope for the best. It didn't work out all that well.

What do you do when you are a tiny baby and your family insists that you need 6 pacifiers in hopes that just one will make you happy? Find your own thumb. Much more satisfying, when you want it.

We are learning to be self-sufficient around here. It's a good lesson to learn early in life.

In other goings on... Mom and Dad had a date night recently thanks to Grandma Cozette being here. We did take the shortest one with us, as he doesn't love taking a bottle. Our date was from Justin's Christmas gift of 12 date nights. A walk around Mission Bay park and dinner at a food truck After searching for an open food truck on a Saturday night, we decided the ice cream truck counted. It was a fun night. We watched the sunset, watched some dancing and had a great walk and talk. Joseph wasn't thrilled the entire night, but he did pretty well.

We've had lots of visitors lately, and their adventures are coming up in another post. Also coming up soon, our 20th anniversary. What to do, what to do...

Birth Announcement

Justin created our birth announcement this time around. Gotta love a guy with a sense of humor. In case you missed the story about the turkey the first time around, you can read about it here.

Welcome Baby Joseph

Our newest family member, Joseph Taylor, joined us on Wed. Feb 8 at 8:00 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 6.6 oz and 21 inches long. He has the best honey colored blonde hair ever and has been the best baby. As predicted, he was a few weeks early, but he did very well in the hospital and they let us go a little ahead of schedule, thank heavens. There is little sleep with a new baby and even less sleep in a hospital setting. His big sister and brother think he's just about the best thing EVER and Meg especially wants to pick him up about 12 times an hour.  We are looking forward to visits from Grandma's and other family over the next few weeks. We are thrilled he's here safely and our family is complete.

Long few days

 It's been a long few days at our house. Last week the little one decided he wanted out, kind of. I went in for a regular appointment and sat on the monitor for my required 20 minutes when they came back and asked me if I was feeling those contractions. Yep, sure am. Been having them like that for a while. Not the answer I should have given. Over at Labor and Delivery a few minutes later I was again hooked up and waiting to be checked. One freaked out Dr. Resident and 45 minutes later, I knew I was going to be a while. After some back and forth and being told to sit in the waiting room for 2 hours before another check, I was beyond tired. I didn't stay in the waiting room, but came home and took care of kids who were in school (short appt, remember?) and went back. Then they wanted me to wait another hour for another check and I politely declined. This new Dr. Resident told me she didn't know if I would know when I actually went into labor. Funniest thing I had heard all day. I told her I would be the first to tell her when it was happening.

I am progressing, just as I did with the other two babies. Things happen a little early for me, but I tend to hang on in the end. When people ask me how long I was in labor with Megan I tell them 6 weeks, and about 4 hours. Her labor started with a freak-out and trip to a far away hospital and bedrest for 6 weeks before it really kicked up and she was born in about 4 hours of actual hard labor time. It was similar with Adam. I started contracting and progressing with him at 33 weeks and he hung in there until he was good and ready, a full month later. I have a feeling this baby will be here sooner than later, but every day counts. I am trying to exercise my patience and rely on my amazing hubby to keep me calm and centered. He's doing a great job of not letting me freak out and just "Get it over with".

Only a few more days of bedrest before I will feel way more comfortable with the timetable and baby can come with no reservations on my part. Of course if the Dr.'s keep messing around with all of their "checking" and "being cautious" it may be a lot sooner. I am pretty sure I will know when I am in real labor and trust my body to do what it needs to do when the time comes. Being high risk is hard, but I still think I know me pretty well. Will keep you all posted!

Random conversations with a 4 year old

A little background here... the neighbor boy next door who is about 9 got into a motorcycle accident while on with his dad a few weeks back. The cast just came off and we were talking about that earlier in the day.

While in the backseat of the car, Meg notices a Guy and Girl riding a motorcycle. He was driving, she was on back, both wearing helmets. The converstation went like this...

Meg: Mom, when am I old enough to ride a motorcycle?
Me: (trying not revealing my motorcycle phobia) Ummm.... never.
Meg: Well, when am I old enough to ride a motorcycle with a boy on the front and me in the back? When we wear our helmets?
Me: A long time from never.
Meg: What about when I am a helicopter pilot? Then can I ride a motorcycle?
Me: Let's talk about it when you are a pilot.
Meg: When I get married and have a husband are you still the boss of me?
Me: I'm your mom. I'm the boss of you forever.
Meg: I have to think about that.

Babymoon

I always thought that was an odd term, Babymoon. Meaning having a little get-a-way before the baby comes. Odd that you don't have a little get-a-way before the wedding, but after, called a honeymoon. In any case, Justin and I took one this week, a babymoon that is.

{Mission Valley, San Diego, CA}

For Christmas this year I gave Justin a years worth of date nights. 12 dates. Some are fun, some are funny, most were pre-paid or free. I know date night would be ideal at once a week, but with a new baby coming soon I decided once a month was more realistic for us. The best part about the whole gift wasn't that he loved it, it was the conversations I had with the Big Kid in preparing it. We talked about things like why mom and dad need time alone away together. Why we need to do silly things sometimes. Why having fun with someone you know very well is still important and what you have to do to put someone else's needs above your own. I hope the example we set for our kids will inspire them to work at staying in love with their chosen mates in the future. I got several ideas from The Dating Diva's and tweaked them to fit our family situation. What a great place to find ideas and remember how important it is to uplift and show love for your mate.

One of his date nights was a hotel stay from a gift certificate I won in an auction a while back. We had a great babysitter come armed with movies and games and we headed out with dinner to a local hotel. We are glad we didn't have to pay too much for it, because it didn't have a lot going for it, except the pillows. I am a pillow snob and I was in heaven with these soft, fluffy, supportive pillows.

We went swimming after dark, because no one wants to see a 31 week pregnant woman in a swim suit that was not made for maternity wear. The pool was heated and lovely. We watched movies and relaxed and occasionally answered texts from the home front. We talked and laughed and had a great time.

The best parts were that the house was still fairly clean when we got home, the kids were fed and happy and we were able to sleep in late. It was a great way to wrap up 2011 and prepare for 2012. Huge changes are coming our way and we look forward to all of it. We hope it's wonderful for all of you too.

Happy Birthday Kiddo

Adam turned 11 this year. He had a fun birthday, even though it was just family. He requested pumpkin pie over cake this year, which was great. He even helped me make it. We gave him a huge wall map, knowing there was more coming for Christmas. He had fun playing games with his sister, and she was eager to help him open gifts. We also took him out to dinner and to the National Comedy Theater. He laughed so hard I was worried about him breathing for a while.We knew he would enjoy it.  I can't believe how fast time has gone sometimes. He's turning into such a young man with compassion for others and a great sense of integrity. I can't wait to see what the coming years will bring.