Updates

Zion - is doing great. Her fingers are healing beautifully. The big "mitten" bandage has been removed but as needed I put on a new bandage of just gauze and tape. Today is the first day she's actually bothered it at all. When I got her up this morning and from her nap she had removed the bandage but that's fine, it gives me a chance to see how things are doing. Otherwise she has adapted completely to being a left-hander when she has obviously been a complete right-hander up until now. She seems to have learned the word "hot" not so ironically but I'm not sure if she really means hot when she says it, I'll have to keep a closer eye on context to confirm. She has also started saying "blue" (complete with the 'l') and "g'een" and is still begging to go outside multiple times a day. Rob took her and Gabe out to play in the sandbox yesterday and she had a blast! I have a few pics but not the energy to post them right now so I'll get them up soon.

Me - I had my 37 week check today and am still "closed up tight". If you don't know what that means just put it out of your mind. :) I got to meet one of the other doctors at the practice though and he is really cool. He was kind enough to address the nasty cough that I have and write me a prescription for antibiotics that will hopefully get rid of the garbage I've been bringing up (too much information, I know). He also told me to take Clariton-D but now that I've had my first dose I think I'll skip it. I just feel way too loopy. Otherwise, I feel good, tired but good.

Gabe - Gabe is on Spring break this week. I'm not sure how he feels about that. He kept asking if he had school today and when I'd remind him that he didn't he just go back to playing. He had a ton of fun role playing with his trains at length today. I love hearing him come up with story lines and plots and disasters and teamwork while playing with his trains. He can imagine some pretty interesting scenarios, I should write them out as I'm listening some day.

Rob - Has been spending a lot of time being a tremendous help around the house. Not only does he have a tired and pregnant wife but a sick one. I think he's enjoying not having to travel even still. He's great - and he made a cake tonight that I am REALLY looking forward to digging into. I am definitely NOT too loopy for cake. Otherwise, I think he is looking forward to starting a new project at work where he'll be on a team looking into alternative fuels - exciting!

Zion's Goofy and Ouchy Day.

How do I start? It was just a weird day. Zion woke up at the crack of dawn probably due to all the light streaming in from outside. We had bright blue skies and sun that reflected off the snow we got last night. It was too much for her. I barely had time to get breakfast in Gabe and Zion before they were both begging to go outside to play. So out we went. I was even able to find gloves for Zion. Last night, according to Wunderground, we were supposed to get about 1" of snow. By this morning we got A LOT more than that, though it's hard to see in the picture.

When I got tired I brought us all in and stripped the kids of wet coats and gloves which I arranged in front of the gas fireplace. A fire seemed like a good idea and would help the kids' things to dry. This proved to be not the best idea. Zion was goofing around and bumped the fireplace screen so that it was cattywampus and then she noticed that her shoes were back there. My brain is not thinking as quickly as it does when I'm not, say, going on ten months pregnant, and I didn't even think about the hot glass. Only for a few seconds though because as soon as Zion screamed I knew what had happened (please don't call CPS on me for not preventing this) and rushed over there. I took her straight to the bathroom screaming (her not me) and ran cold water in the sink. She promptly quit crying and started splashing and playing. I kept checking her palms for redness and burns and didn't find anything so I concluded that she was just startled by the heat and took her back out to the living room to play. She played ghost with her coat and fed her cow puppet pieces of cereal and cuddled with her big bear and was being very goofy.
At one point though I noticed two white marks on the topside of two fingers. Yep, she'd actually burned the skin on the knuckles of her pointer and middle fingers on her right hand and I had only been checking the inside of her hand and fingers. *sigh* It's not blistered just white (and she will have nothing to do with anysort of ice pack) so I call the nurses hotline and leave a message to call me back and feed her lunch which she eats using her ouchy hand. I do notice that she's fussy though and keeps trying to "wipe" her hand off on things. After lunch I put her down for nap and she doesn't want to go down. As I'm rocking her the nurses hotline calls and has me make an appointment "just in case it blisters later". Fine with me. Zion sleeps for a couple of hours and when I get her up, guess what, her fingers have blistered. Poor baby. She's a happy camper though, no more fussiness and she's all smiles. So anyway, I'm making a short story long (which is my super power by the way) so fast forward to later. She gets a glob of burn cream and a big bandage on her hand, which she held stone still for, and an appointment for a recheck tomorrow. We'll see if the bandage lasts that long.

Now look at that face. You're thinking "oh, poor baby, it must hurt" and all sorts of things related to her sad condition. Don't feel too bad. She was super excited a second before I took this and only put on the pouty face because Rob was "cruel" enough to put the cap back on the chapstick. She loves to put on chapstick, she'd do it all day if I let her. But there's her big ol' bandage which is kind of like a mitten. They wrapped it allowing her thumb to stay out so she can still grip and she does just fine eating and playing and putting on chapstick.

Gabe I feel a little bad that Zion took over the whole day so I'll stick on a couple of things about Gabe. He had a great day, was very helpful when I needed him to be and very understanding of his sissy's sudden special needs. He had a great time playing outside this morning with his car and has been enjoying spelling the names of his Thomas trains on his Magnadoodle. For some unknown reason he wrote Thomas backwards though. The big silly.

It's Snowing!

Yes, you heard, er - read, me right. It's snowing and it has been for hours now. When I first saw it I assumed that it would turn to rain as it has been lately but an hour later as I was getting the kids ready to take Gabe to AWANAs it was really sticking. By that time Zion had been begging at the door to go outside. She was ecstatic at the thought of going outside and doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. We have no gloves for her even and she just doesn't care. I got us out of the house a little early so that the kids to check out the snow in the front yard and I could take a picture or two (though the photos only show a fraction of how much we have by now). Once that was done I put the kids in the car but decided to call Gabe's class leader first and she said that they had just decided to cancel - whew! To be perfectly honest, I was exhausted, like bone tired, and was not looking forward to driving across town in the snow and having to turn around in two hours and do it again. When Rob is out of town I get the special experience of trying to keep Zion up and happy past her bedtime because I have to go back to the church to get Gabe at 8:30. Can't leave Zion home alone and can't leave her in the car when I'm there so I have to lug her around the church too. I am letting her walk on her own more and more but this is one of those times when it just doesn't work because she wants to stay and play and get really upset when we have to leave. Anyway, I just wasn't looking forward to this excursion today. So, I for one was really excited to hear that AWANA's was canceled. Gabe was not. He was really, really sad actually (which in a way makes me happy because I'm glad that he likes church well enough to be sad to miss it) so I proposed that we have hot chocolate and watch the Polar Express (this works every time). So that is what we did. Gabe was thrilled to watch his favorite movie and have hot cocoa, Zion was thrilled that she got to go outside, and I was thrilled that I got to stay home and get the kids to bed on time. A good night.

And yes, Gabe is wearing pajamas in that picture. He had pajama party day at preschool and didn't want to change so he wore p.j.s all day. I asked him if he would be OK being the only kid at AWANAs wearing p.j.s and he said yes. I like that he isn't bothered by what others may think of what he does, I hope that is something about him that will continue as he gets older.

Oh, and I've remembered one of the words that Zion has been saying for a long time that I keep forgetting to add to her list - "gawk". That translates to "sock". She is a little obsessed with socks right now. Putting her socks on, seeing someone else put socks on or sneaking away with someone's socks before they get to put them on are the highlights of her day.

Here is a picture of Gabe's train tracks that he built the other day. It's just so cool how he figured out how to do something the set wasn't made to do, made it work, did it all by himself, and made it so it makes a really neat and complete circuit. He took it apart and rebuilt it slightly different this afternoon but didn't get to finish before dinner so he'll have a project to work on tomorrow. That will be especially good if we stay holed up because of the snow. I think that's all for now. God bless!

A post and run.

Just a quick update. I had my 36 week check yesterday and all is well and we were able to verify via ultrasound that the baby is head down. My doctor is seeming pretty grim about the baby's size and allowing me to go anywhere near my due date. I will see someone else at the practice next week but at my 38 week check she wants to talk induction. She knows how I feel about that and that big babies don't scare me, I've had two already after all but something in her tone has changed in the last week or two. I'll have to balance my experience with two inductions due to late babies who were big and her experience and knowledge as a doctor. Prayers would be good that the baby will decide to come on it's own before we have to worry about induction.

Rob is back in Oregon until Thursday. His last trip for a while. Yeah!

Gabe is still very stuffed up and coughing but it's not dragging him down. He is excited to be having a pajama party at school tomorrow. Today I scolded the dog for snatching a bit of food from under Zion's chair (something he's not allowed to do because he gets really obnoxious when we let him take food from us at meals). Gabe told me that he is sorry that it was upsetting to me and then went and asked the dog, now banished to his bed, if he would forgive me (I suppose for getting mad at him). I guess the idea of asking for forgiveness when you apologize is starting to really sink in with him.

Rob reported that Zion has added "diaper" to her vocabulary. I've also been meaning to add "Gabe" to her list for a while. She says it like "Gob" most of the time though. Too funny. She also tries to say "brother" but it comes out differently every time. I keep hearing new words from her and tell myself to add them to her list but by the end of the day when I take my opportunity to update the blog I've forgotten what they are. She hasn't learned any new signs lately, we haven't had much time to spend working on it for a little while but she is still using those she's already learned.

Happy Easter!

I hope that you had a fabulous Easter Sunday! It always surprises me, and by now it shouldn't, how emotional I get on Easter. When I sit in church , when we sing together at worship, when I consider the cross and the significance of the day. It is overwhelming. This Easter was no exception. Easter may just be my favorite holiday. I do miss going to a large church that offers a Passion Play regularly. When I attended Overlake Christian Church I was fortunate to participate in the actual play since I was in the choir. We played the "extras", the people who one minute wave palm branches and shout "Hosanna!" and the next are shouting "Crucify Him!". The "hosannas" were easy, "crucify Him" often caught in my throat. Obviously I was not among the original crowd to make this demand yet I am no less guilty of His death than those who were. It was for me as much as them and anyone else living or dead that he endured the cross. Thankfully, it was for us also that he rose again. Gabe's verse for AWANA's last week was "He is not there...He is risen." Luke 24:6 - Amen!





This Easter we had a nice easy morning. Our church service didn't start until 11 and it was completed promptly at 12 (a record for our church I believe). That allowed us plenty of time to head back to the house to get the food we were taking to my sister's house for the kids to do an egg hunt and for us to have dinner. We got to their house and Zion noticed the colorful eggs hidden around the house immediately (it was pouring outside, perfect Washington weather). Gabe's attention went immediately to the Easter baskets and he instantly knew which one was his since my sister had packed it with a new Thomas train for his collection. He continued to remain oblivious to the eggs all around while Zion started to collect them. She was not able to collect more than two at a time, one for each hand, so we let her continue her efforts while we waited for friends of my sister to arrive.







After dinner and some time with the Wii (one of my nieces got Mario Party for Easter) the kids and even a few of the adults colored eggs. Gabe had a really good time this year being able to do pretty much everything by himself. Zion wasn't really interested, she spent the time stealing jelly beans out of the bowl when I turned my back and playing ball with the egg that my sister had given her. Good thing they were hard boiled. No amount of effort on our parts could convince her that she might do anything but throw it around. Enjoy the pictures!

35 week belly shots

Tomorrow I'll be at 36 weeks, these pictures were taken last Tuesday after I spoke at my MOPS group.

Things are going well. The baby is active and seems to be a big one like his/her older brother and sister. Of course, we'll have to wait to know for sure. I am feeling pretty well except that on Thursday I woke up with a bad cold again. This is getting seriously ridiculous. Why, oh why, can my family not stay healthy for more than a few days? Hopefully we will all be well and stay well by the time the new baby comes.

Oh boy. I think we're committed.

We didn't mean to do it, it was a total accident. Today Rob stayed home from work for a variety of reasons (get the Explorer in the shop, I'm sick...) and while Gabe was at school we checked out a different preschool for him for next year. The reason being that he is currently about to conclude the 4-year old's class where he has been all year despite the fact that he is (was) only 3. Even as the youngest student the work wasn't really up to his level. They are doing letters and numbers 1-10, colors and shapes and he knew all that to start with. The class was really good for him for a number of reasons but our only choice would be for him to repeat the same class if he stayed there and that would bore him I think. So Rob and I drove to another church that offers a Christian preschool that has a Kindergarten prep class. Wow! Right up his alley. He will still get to go to chapel, have Bible stories and lessons, have circle time and free play but they introduce reading and math among other things and since he is already doing that at home I'm way more excited about this class and it's curriculum.

After we picked Gabe up today we let him know that we looked at a different school for him for next year. I explained that, for one thing, he would get to have recess out of doors and that they have slides, swings, and climbing toys (at this point he interrupted me with a cheer of joy) and that in class they would help him with his reading and math. That was all it took. He is totally revved up for his "new" school and everywhere we drove on our errands he'd ask "Is that my new school?" at every building. Not only that but he has told just about every person we met on our errands that he gets to go to a new school. Rob and I hadn't entirely decided yet but I supposed there's no going back now (although we would if we could think of a reason not to register him there but we can't). The only drawback to this school is it's distance away. We got really spoiled with his current preschool being just around the corner from our house, this one is a whole 10-15 minutes away! How will we ever manage? ;) We'd better get him registered quick before the class fills up.

Pasta e Fagioli

Or, as we have come to call it, Pasta with Flatulence. This is an amazingly yummy dish and it is incredibly easy (one of those dump it all into a pot and simmer type recipes) but be forewarned, the family who eats this together will later make music together. Get my meaning? The original recipe came from Epicurious but I modified it to make it more soup-like. I really love soup. So here goes:

A couple Tablespoons olive oil (just enough to saute the garlic in)
2-4 garlic cloves, minced (garlic is to taste and I really love garlic so I usually double the original called for amount of 2 cloves)
1 16-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped (or just get the pre-diced ones, that's what I do - do NOT drain, and with Italian herbs is fine, too)
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/2 teaspoon dried, basil
1/4 teaspoon dried, oregano
1 15-ounce cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained (this is where the music comes from)
2 (or so) cups strong beef broth (this is my own addition entirely, weak broth will ruin the soup, leave out completely if you want basically pasta with sauce)
salt and pepper (I often forget these and don't even notice)
8 ounces (or whatever) elbow macaroni, freshly cooked
Grated Parmesan

Heat olive oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Add parsley, basil and oregano and simmer until tomatoes soften, stirring occasionally and breaking up large pieces with the back of the spoon, about 15 minutes. Add beans and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add pasta and broth to desired consistency. (When stored it will lose broth so just add more beef broth as needed to leftovers.) Serve allowing each person to sprinkle with Parmesan.

A Traditional St. Patty's Day Dinner

St. Patty's Day A traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner includes beef flautas, refried beans and sopitos right? Well, it does if you're in our family. It's our tradition and though it might be a bit odd I'm sure it will catch on like wildfire across the States. We started it by accident one year when we lived in McCleary. Well, technically we were "living" in Aberdeen because Rob's employer had just moved us and we were still in a hotel there while we house hunted. Very near the hotel was a Mazatlan restaurant and for some reason we decided to eat there that St. Patty's Day. We did it again the next year and twice in a row makes a tradition right? Last year we actually made a true traditional Irish meal complete with corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and champ (mashed spuds with green onions and other yummy stuff) and that was decent, everything turned out alright, especially the champ - yum! But this year I asked Rob "are we doing Mexican?" and he said "that's what I've been thinking" and we both laughed so I have a feeling that our accidental tradition is going to stick. We also decided that come Cinco de Mayo we'll go out for Chinese.

Me I have been planning and running around like mad for a couple of weeks now because today was a very special day for my MOPS group. It was our Tea and Treasures meeting and that means that the table leaders, which I am one of, got to dress up all the tables, plan a special gift for our gals, and some of us got to give our testimony. I was one blessed to speak so all my planning included writing my testimony as well. It wasn't my first time but that sure can put your heart through the wringer and it can be such a blessing. It's hard to decide what to include and what to leave out when you only have about ten minutes to speak. I trusted God to give me the right words and I know that I affected at least one person because one of the moms from another table approached me afterward in tears and asked for help in receiving healing in one of the areas of my life that I spoke about. If she was the only one who received something for her life from my testimony out of everyone there then it was worth it and praise God for giving me the right words! After getting home from the meeting it felt so strange to come home and just sit with the kids and have a leisurely lunch instead of writing, making my gifts, running errands and all that.

Gabe Unfortunately I have to report that we have sickness back in the house. The last few days Rob has been coughing and Gabe's rough cough has returned and tonight he, Gabe, has a fever again. At dinner he just sat there and when I asked if he just wanted to go to bed he started to cry and said yes, he didn't feel good. Poor little guy, it broke my heart. When is this ever going to end!?!

Rob It has been fabulous to have Rob home again!!! The kids have really enjoyed it as well but I can't say enough about how nice it is to have his presence and his help around the house. Tonight we had an appointment after Rob got home and on the way there Gabe suddenly spouted "wow, Daddy went to work this morning AND he came home today!" I guess that sums up how strange it is that Rob has been home with us for more than a day or two. He has one more, short trip planned for next week and that will be the last before my due date (which is April 21 if you need a reminder - or didn't know yet).

Zion I guess since I went off on the rest of us it would be unfair to leave out Lil' Miss Zion. What new can I say about my crazy girl? While I was out last week shopping for supplies for my MOPS gift she fell in love with a stuffed tiger. I broke down and got it for her. I couldn't help it, she was sitting in the shopping cart rocking it, stroking it, kissing it. Turns out she didn't put the tiger down for the next three days. She loves her stuffies but this was a new turn even for her. I could hardly wrench it out of her hands to get her strapped into her carseat and she kept it in her chubby little hands no matter what we did. Even now, more than a week later she still wants to carry it around much of the time. I'm totally breaking my own rule about this. We've always been strict that the most special blankies and lovies stay in the kids' bed with a few exceptions of coming out of their room but never leave the house that way we don't have to risk losing them. I'm must be getting soft.

Joshua Matthew Sams

...went to be with Jesus today. His beautiful story is here http://mnssams.blogspot.com/.

First Song

Zion's first song is officially that silly "moo, moo, quack, quack" song I previously wrote about. Today she kept say "ma, ma, ma" over and over and just about the time I'd say "what, Sweetie" she'd shout "ka kack!" I finally figured out that she's singing that song. Too funny.

Gabe's current favorite is from the same CD, it's "No, Don't Give Me That Brocolli!" I really like it too except in the end the singer actually tries the brocolli and likes it. That has never, ever been my experience. I try it on ocassion and find it just as repulsive as the last time. Oh well.

Just a note, one of the blogs that I follow (see right, "Joshua's Story") has recently posted that Joshua will likely be going to Heaven very soon. Please pray for him and his family.

A post and run.

Yesterday we three were hanging out at a friend's house. Gabe was playing with my friend's son who is his age and Zion was hanging out on my lap. Zion kept patting my belly and signing "baby, baby, baby" over and over. It was too cute and amazing that she seems to understand that there's a baby in there. This response is different than usual, prior to yesterday she would just pat or kiss my belly and then show me her belly.

Today I had to pick Gabe up early from AWANA's, he kept laying down and had actually fallen asleep on the floor in the middle of class. When I got him home and asked him what the matter was he started off "well, sometimes my socks smell...". I couldn't wait for the rest of his list I cracked up laughing and it was a good few minutes before I was under control again. I'm still not sure if he wasn't feeling well or perhaps the odor from his socks just completely knocked him out, who knows, but he doesn't have a fever and seems to be fine. Thank God! I was really, really worried that we were about to start yet another round of sickness in the house.

Little Miss Smarty Pants

OK, this is going to be a post that only parents can understand so if you're a single person - or maybe even someone who is married but has yet to have children, just pass it on by. Don't bother reading because A) you will be bored and B) you'll think I'm crazy to be excited about this.


Alrighty, here goes. Since Rob has been traveling so much and I've pretty much taken over bathtimes (which is part of his bedtime routine with the kids when he's in town) I've been letting Zion sit on the little potty before putting her in the tub. She thinks it's something funny and usually pops up as soon as she sits down. Tonight she sat and stayed for a few seconds before getting up then I plopped her in the tub. She and Gabe started to splash and play and I went to shut the potty but what do my eyes survey but actual honest to goodness potty in the potty! I feel a little bad that I missed the opportunity to praise her at the moment but I really hope that it won't be long before I get another opportunity. I'm such a proud Mommy tonight, what a big girl!

A post script.

Zion has some new words and signs that I've added to her list. She has been caught saying 'eek!', 'story' and 'quack' as well as 'coat', 'shoes', and 'outside' like I mentioned in my post. She is also signing 'Daddy' and 'cracker'.

'Eek!' she says a lot because I say it to her to make her laugh. Especially when she's up set that it's time for a diaper change. She loves it when I pretend to be startled by something and yelp "eek!", makes her laugh every time. 'Story' was just newly added today when she handed me a book and mumbled "iwannastory". 'Quack' has an adorable background to it since it started in a song. We recently checked out a Sandra Boynton (popular author and artist and I just found out song writer) CD that has a silly and very short song that goes "moo, moo, moo, moo QUACK QUACK!". Every time Zion hears it she cracks up so we sing it to her all the time. Now she has started to say it "Ka-Kack!" all the time. Tonight at bedtime I sang the moo, moo, moo part and she chimmed in "ka-kack!" right at the right time. Silly girl.

Now, seriously, I'm going to bed.

Too much to post.

I've had something that I've wanted to post just about everyday for a week but haven't had time to do it. For instance, the other day Gabe and I spent a few minutes to photograph him with some of his art from school and church. We don't have the storage to keep it all so I take his picture with it and keep the most special ones. One of my favorites right now is a card that Gabe made us for Valentine's Day, it has the hand sign for "I love you" on the front. Interestingly enough that has been one of Gabe's favorite signs that he recently learned at home. He throws his hand up into the air and shouts "I love you!" like he's at a rock concert, it's so funny. The first time he did it we were eating dinner and Rob and I both almost spit food out of our mouths we laughed so hard.



One of his pieces of art that keeps us laughing is his picture of George Washington. The children were supposed to paste his silhouette onto colored paper. Gabe pasted his on upside down insisting that it's a bunny, not a person.



We had some amazingly warm weather last week. Gabe wanted to play outside a lot so one time Zion and I went out with him (before it was too cold for our taste). I'm not sure that it was a good idea or not at this point. Zion apparently is now an out of doors freak! She loves it and wants to be there constantly! She plays with Gabe's car and little bikes and trikes but I think her favorite thing may be to hang out in the gravel to shovel. That's all well and good not to mention adorable but the bad part is having to come inside. As soon as I pick her up she starts kicking and screaming, even once inside she'll stand at the door and wail and beg, signing please and howling her version of "outside" over and over - so sad. Even if I tell her that it's time to eat she doesn't stop. This is extreme since previously eating has been Zion's favorite thing. She constantly brings us her coat and shoes (both of which she can now say as well as "outside") and asks us to put them on for her. She gets excited even if we just let her walk to the garbage can and back with us. This will prove to be an interesting summer that we have ahead of us I'm sure. If she knows we are going somewhere she waits at the door to the garage and has gotten really good at shoving Gabe out of the way to get out the door and negotiating the two steps down while holding our hand. We've been practicing her walking while holding our hands as well as opposed to being carried. She needs a little work at not trying to pull away but she's a confident enough walker that she rarely needs to be carried unless speed is called for or the terrain is difficult.


Not only am I grateful for this because it's getting harder for me to carry her at all but I'm hoping that she will be a pro at this by the time the baby comes so I can carry that one and walk with her. Gabe of course is a pro at walking with me without needing a hand to hold so he is not a concern. This is kind of a funny situation though because of the two Gabe is the one who would rather be carried or ride in he stroller, Zion values her independence too much. She hates to be hindered and always wants to do her own thing.


Speaking of the new baby, I just had my 34 week check today. Everything looks good and the heartbeat is strong and fast. The baby appears to be bigger than the space allows already, I seem to have elbows or feet or whatnot sticking out all over, which is scary considering how big Gabe and Zion both were. I've been hoping that this one will be smaller but day by day by hopes are being dashed. Then again, who knows, we'll just have to wait and see. If you pray for us just pray for a smooth and easy delivery free of complications. Gabe and Zion were both late comers and I'm fine with this one being late too as long as everything goes well. Besides, currently I don't have any of the extreme pain that I had with Zion at the end and this little guy or girl is a very active mover, keeping me company during the day and mercifully allowing me to sleep at night. That is something that I always miss after delivery and only God knows if this will be the last time I get to experience this. I love all the bumping and turning and watching my belly jump and roll.


Rob has still been traveling a lot. He was in Oregon last week and is back there again as of today. He was, however, home for the weekend which allowed me to take off with a bunch of girlfriends and make some new friends. One of the ladies in my MOPS group planned a small getaway for about 20 women and I got invited to go along. We stayed in the neatest house, it must have been 100 years old but had been renovated. It was gorgeous! Wood paneling, stained glass windows, secret liquor closet behind a bookcase (it was not stocked but it was fun to discover anyway) and a completely amazing kitchen! The kitchen had restaurant quality and sized appliances which included a pizza oven, a 6-burner stove top and a separate steamer. Not to mention that it was right on the water and had enough property between it and the neighbors' that it was really peaceful and serene. An added benefit is that I got to eat FIVE entire meals where I didn't have to cut someone else's food, wipe someone else's face or pick up a dropped sippy cup at least five times! Of course I missed my kids but those things are thrilling anyway. I'll post some pics in another post perhaps tomorrow. For now, I have to get to bed!

New Words

Just a quick post today to add some new words to Zion's list. She's just started using "car", "hug", and "go" and there's a few more I think but of course I waited until the last thing before bed and my sleepy head isn't remembering them all. She repeats so much but I try to see her using the word independently before I officially add it to her list. I can't remember if I already mentioned that she also added "baby", "bird" and "cat" to her signing vocabulary. It seems like I did but oh well.

Gabe's latest funny statement came on Sunday (well, funny enough to mention, he's funny all day). He told Rob "Dad, I think you're awesome! But you dress the same everyday." We will now be accepting donations to help purchase Rob a new wardrobe. I guess we may also want to send him to a therapist to help with any self esteem issues that might arise.

For anyone who is interested, Rob is back in Oregon today. He is supposed to come home late Thursday. Friday I leave for a women's retreat with my friend's church and I'll return on Sunday. Monday Rob turns around and heads out to the East coast until Thursday of that week. Yuck! I really hope that is his last trip but he's not entirely convinced it will be. Part of me is hoping that this baby won't be early for fear Rob will be out of town. The rest of me, you know, my back, hips, ribs, lungs, bladder and all that really wouldn't mind so much.