Ch-ch-ch-changes!

This has been a crazy week! Monday was soccer and Tuesday we took the kids to get their pictures taken and we didn't get home until 8. Wednesday I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. George-Ward (seriously, LOVE her) and I got all the info for delivery. I just have to say that I think I have the best doctor in the world delivering my babies. She sat down and talked to us about any concerns we have for the delivery (the main one - I don't want to wait forever to find out how the baby s doing) and gave practical advice. She's just amazing and I'm so glad she's delivering all of my kids!

I went back to work after my appointment and then came home around noon. I was surprised to find both Brian and Dave's cars here. Apparently my awesome husband recruited our awesome friend to help de-stress me. That meant that they went and got a ton of plywood and spent the (really hot) day putting it down in the attic so that Brian can move all the storage boxes that are currently in Gooey's room into the attic. Thank goodness! I am so incredibly ready to get this house ready for him, and that is exactly what we needed to get the house in shape!

Yesterday started a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. We traded this in...

For this.

I have never been a person who swore off minivans. In fact, I've been wanting a minivan for months. We just weren't sure that it was practical for us to do it now. But we got an awesome deal on the trade in and the new Honda Odyssey, and now that we have it we are so excited to have the extra space. But I LOVED my Rav 4. I loved that it was my first brand new car. I loved that Brian picked it out so carefully for me and Wyatt (and eventually Reese). From the Bluetooth to the MP3 connection to the color and the incredible trunk space, I just loved it. But we outgrew it. And we needed a van instead because I couldn't figure out a way to practically seat a 3 and a half year old, a two year old and newborn in a car without somebody getting hit in the face. And I love my van! I just miss my Rav4!

And finally...I am now officially a stay at home mom. Well, maybe not officially. I'll still get paid for two days. But I'm not going to work anymore. It was a rough day. I love being an analyst, I love the insurance industry, and I love the Gecko, but it was time. I am going to really miss all the wonderful people that I worked with, who not only made me laugh and saved my sanity, but also were incredibly kind and generous. But I know we'll still be friends :).

With three kids under 4 there just doesn't seem to be a way to swing working and have it make financial sense. Plus, I really want to take this opportunity to be with the kids when they're small. And I totally get that this isn't for everyone - I have my days where I wonder if staying home full time is "me." But I think that actually staying home is the best way to find out!

Sacrifices will have to be made and I've even already cut back on my Target trips. I went last Saturday and then today - almost a WHOLE WEEK between trips! My record is 40 days when I gave Target up for Lent in 2004. And no, I'm not kidding, and yes, Brian probably will try to make me do that again this year. But I'm still excited to stay home with this little guy after he turns 12 weeks old and to take Reese to story time and the park. I would be excited to take Wyatt to school, but I'm not sure that Brian is giving the rides to and from school up. Even though school is 5 minutes from here and about 25-30 from Brian's office, he really loves the carpool!

So hopefully we'll be able to take a week off from the craziness and get everything organized and ready for our baby boy to be here! We can't wait to meet him!

Pictures!

We took the kids to get their pictures taken last night. It's something we've been meaning to do for months, but for various reasons (like the fact that we don't have any pictures on the wall right now anyway) we haven't done it. Plus, seriously, once they reach this age it's a miracle if I have a free window of time without a scratch or bruise on someone's face!

These two were like little models last night. I don't know what it was, but they were "on" as soon as the photographer pointed the camera at them. These are all of the pictures of the two of them together. I'll probably post some of them solo later this week (they're also in the sidebar over there ->), but I didn't want to send anyone into overload!

I love them all, but the first and last are my favorites. Anyway - enjoy!

The Baby's Name is.....

Since the baby has a (first) name, we've been practicing his name with the kids. Everyone knows how important it is for us to keep the name a secret, so we're not worried about anyone asking them, but we still practiced the appropriate response if someone asks them the baby's name before next Friday! They crack us up! I'm pretty sure that Reese's nickname is going to become "parrot" because she repeats every single thing we say.

General Updates

Wyatt scored 5 goals at his soccer game last week! He had his good moments and some low moments too (let's just say coming out of the game wasn't a highlight). The other team had a lot of parents running around on the field with their kids and that kind of intimidated Wyatt. The second time he went out Brian told him to run under the grown ups' arms. And he promptly scored 4 goals.

Brian and I spent the week miserably watching the Yankees lose the ALCS (Wyatt says that the "Yankees lost because they had bad pitching.") and watching Modern Family on Netflix. I watched a few episodes of the show last year and I told Brian I thought we should give it a try. And we have been laughing hysterically at every episode.

And on the Gooey front, he does in fact officially have a name! At least a first name anyway. I ordered his personalized pacifiers yesterday.

The kids spent Saturday with my Mom, and Brian and I went shopping for necessities for the baby. We also went to Babies R Us and picked out his furniture. We weren't actually planning on getting furniture for the baby, just reusing Wyatt's crib and taking a dresser from my parents, but with coupons and everything, we actually spent less on a new crib and dresser than we would have on a twin bed for Wyatt. Brian and his dad picked the crib up on Sunday. It's not actually together yet, but we just have a few things to clear out of the baby's room before we can put the crib together and start getting it all together.

I got his coming home outfit last week too, so now I can get our hospital bags packed!

I am just in love with this little outfit, and I can't wait to bring him home in it! We're pretty much set on the baby front, but we still need a new double stroller and we need to get the bedding for his room. Now that I've started doing laundry I can see that we are set on clothes, blankets, towels and pretty much diapers. I think I might get one or two more packs before he comes, but that's all. I finish up work this Friday and then have a week off work to continue my nesting and organizing before the new baby comes! 11 days!

Hallowscream!

We knew we had to get in one last trip to Busch Gardens this year before the season was over, and of course it's time for Hallowscream (again). During the day it's not scary at all, so we knew a day time trip was a must, and we also wanted to get there first thing to avoid the crowds. Busch Gardens has actually met capacity the last two Saturdays, which is crazy and something we definitely wanted to avoid. We left the house around 8:45 on Sunday and we were there at 10. Brian's parents went with us, and we all had a great time (that's probably the only reason I had a great time - I can't tell you how exhausting it is to walk around that place. If I had to keep up with the kids too - ugh).

Sesame Place is always the best place to start because it's not crowded first thing in the morning. The kids love this Elmo ride, especially the fact that it drops down!

Ready to ride!
Blue eyed girl!

I love this picture of the two of them! Wyatt was actually trying to run away from his sister and avoid the camera, but I just love the way she's leaning up against him!

Wyatt is Spiderman. He was slinging his webs at the spider.

Petting a puppy after the Pet Shenanigans show.

Enjoying the rats! Eeeew!

Sibling love! They were too cute on this horse.

Walking with Daddy to go get some lunch.

Reese cracked me up on the airplane. She LOVES going around on it, and everytime she passed us she would shout "Hey Mommy and Daddy and Baba and Mimi!"

Brian stopped for some kettle corn on the way out (we need snacks for the ride home), so I took the kids to look at the Griffen while we waited. The loved watching the people about to drop and then they followed the roller coaster around the track.

Some fun take aways from our trip:

• While we were passing the eagle sanctuary, one of the workers was talking about how the eagles ended up there. We were literally just walking by. She mentioned that some of the eagles were shot by guns and they can no longer fly. Wyatt has been harping on this for days. I feel like every other question out of his mouth has been, "Mommy, why do bad men with guns shoot eagles and hurt them?" I have no good answers for this. He even told his teacher about the eagles at school this week!
• They have a rock concert show at Oktoberfest right now, and it was going on while we were eating lunch. Reese was rocking out to the music, and I looked over at Brian and he was too. They basically played all of his favorite songs from the 80's.
• They have Halloween decorations all over the place, and they have werewolves standing in random places - think Teen Wolf werewolves, not Twilight werewolves. Anyway, Wyatt asked Brian what happened to them, and Brian explained the whole werewolf concept to him. And tonight when I put him to bed he told me he was scared because the moon was full and the werewolves were coming. Daddy points awarded for that story: 0.

Baby Boy - 37 Weeks!

• How Far Along: 37 weeks!
• Size of the Baby: He's a watermelon. Probably about 6.5-7 pounds and anywhere from 19-22 inches. And he feels that big.
• Total Weight Gain: 23 pounds. I lost more weight this appointment. I find it very hard to eat three meals a day. If I eat breakfast and lunch, then I'll probably have a snack around dinner time. Or breakfast and dinner and no lunch. I just can't eat that much! I'm measuring right on schedule, and honestly, it wasn't like I didn't have a little extra weight on before I got pregnant!
• Maternity clothes: Yeah. Why is this even a question anymore?
• Gender: Boy. And he will probably not have an official name until we meet him.
• Movement: Have you ever felt like an alien invaded your body? That's pretty much what it's like with Gooey between 8 and 10 every night.
• What I miss: Sleep. But mostly, playing with my kids. We went to Busch Gardens yesterday and had a lot of fun, but I was on my feet from 10 am until almost 8 (we went to Wal Mart and Target after Busch Gardens), and I can barely walk today. Or move. And they really want to go to the zoo and park, and I just can't even muster up the energy to get them in the car. And I feel so bad. But I am spent.
• Sleep: I have some nights where I sleep with no problems (besides the getting up to pee thing), but others where I wake up at 2 or 3 to go the bathroom and don't fall back asleep until 5. That's a problem because I wake up at 5:45 for work or Wyatt's up by 6:15 at the latest. But I guess it's all just getting me ready for the sweet baby boy who is on his way!
• Symptoms: I'm tired, sore, have Braxton Hicks, I can't move, and oh yeah, my stomach is huge. But I have this amazing pregnancy glow!
• Best Moment of the Week: We had an awesome time at Busch Gardens yesterday! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat at our appointment on Friday. Brian's work threw a really great shower for us on Wednesday at Red Robin which we are so thankful for! And two weeks ago my work also threw a shower for me, and they are just so amazing. Which leads me to another kind of moment: worst. I turned my two weeks notice in on Friday morning. Which means that I have 8 days of work left, which translates to 40 hours of work left before I become a stay at home mom. I am really excited to stay home with the kids, but it is going to be so hard to leave behind my friends at work. I'm crying thinking about it. I can't imagine what I'm going to be like next Friday :(. And somehow best moment of the week became worst moment of the week.
• What I'm Looking Forward to: Shopping for baby! We still have a lot of stuff to get him, and I'm looking forward to using some gift cards on this little guy. The kids Halloween costumes are really coming together (Wyatt is going to be Iron Man and Reese is a bit of a surprise), which will be a lot of fun. Wyatt has a Halloween parade at school next Tuesday, so we're looking forward to that. And on top of all of that - we're going to have a new cuddly baby boy joining our family in 18 days!

Honky Tonk Badonkadonk

So we went to Texas Roadhouse for Brian's birthday dinner. They play music and the waiters and waitresses dance (which I never would have done when I was waiting tables), and for whatever reason, Wyatt decided he wanted to dance too and he can really bust a move!

*Disclaimer* I listen to country music (and have my entire life) but I hate this song with a passion.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Brian's birthday was Wednesday! It was a crazy, fun day. We had a surprise shower at work for my boss that morning, then the fantastic folks at the Waterpark threw a shower/birthday lunch for us at Red Robin, and then we went out for the traditional birthday dinner with Brian's parents.

The kids spent all afternoon asking when it was going to be time for Daddy's birthday party. They were so excited to leave when Brian got home!

Reese had to go and grab her pocketbook (yes, that's what she calls it). We went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which the kids refer to as "The place with the peanut floor."
When we got home the kids gave Brian the cards that they had "signed" for him.
Reese loved that her card had Cinderella on the front!

Iron Man 2 came out on Tuesday, so we have Brian a copy for his birthday. I don't know if you can tell from the picture above, but Wyatt is way more excited about the movie than Brian. He said, "look Daddy, you got Iron Man for your birthday. This is so cool. We can watch it." But he won't be watching more than 5 minutes of the movie.

Brian's birthday cake was so good! He wanted a Coldstone cake for his birthday, and we got a Midnight Delight cake. It is seriously so delicious! I am not a huge fan of the chocolate "frosting," but the rest of the cake is great!

Brian also got a Foo Fighters CD for his birthday so apparently the boys will be jamming out to that on the way to and from school from now on! They love their "Jeep Buddy" time during their carpool to school, and they definitely like different music than I do!

Soccer Monday!

Wyatt's soccer game on Monday was pretty interesting. Basically, the smile photographed in this picture might have been his only smile the entire first half.

We seriously had no idea what happened that made him so moody before the game started. He just wanted to sit down next to me. He didn't want to warm up or anything, and when he went on the field he wasn't really into it (even though he scored two goals).

While we were sitting down before the second half he seemed to perk up and he got pretty excited to get in the game. When I asked what was wrong with him when he was on the field before he said, "I didn't want anyone to know who I was." Which is apparently code for, "I was trying to go out and play really badly so I could blow them away in the second half with my athletic skill and speed."

He went out on the field and scored three more goals in the second half! One other parents actually said "The game is over when Wyatt goes in!," which made me laugh. There's a little girl on the team named Nora who that could be said about as well. She is a little soccer dynamo who wears a skirt every week with her shin guards and cleats, and runs down the field faster than the boys! The parents on the other team were actually dragging kids down the field by their arms and holding them up and kind of swinging them to kick the ball (?) and she basically ran right up to those kids and got the ball and ran it back down the field. Apparently she thought that was as ridiculous as everyone watching it did.

Wyatt also wasn't really having any of that.

He is still not a very big fan of sitting on the sidelines while the other kids are playing. He actually did a little angry stop and scream when it was time to come out. Ugh. This kid would be out on that field for the entire game if he could, but I guess it's all about the baby steps to team work!

I talked to his teacher yesterday because we wanted to check in on him before parent teacher conferences next month. Brian and I just want to make sure that he's doing well with his lessons and that he's doing well socially with the other kids (since he's never been in a group setting like that). She said that he's doing very well academically, and there is no difference between him socially and the other boys. Which is all his class is (there is one girl). She did say that teaching a class full of boys has it's own special challenges, like constant running in the classroom, but that Wyatt is doing very well! We were so happy to hear that!

We really can't say enough about his school. It is absolutely fantastic. He learns so much, and while we love the fact that he gets one on one attention with his "academics," we really love how much we've seen him come out of his shell socially in the last month. Little things, like acknowledging that the clerk at Target exists and talking to her, and participating in the question and answer part of soccer are things that he didn't really do before, but he is really getting involved now! I can't wait to see the progress that he's made at the end of the year!

Weekend Update

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Brian and I spent Saturday morning doing chores around the house, and then we went out to dinner at Just George's while my mom watched the kids. We were also able to go run a few errands/ figure out a few baby things, so that was super helpful! My amazing friends at work actually threw a surprise shower for me last week and gifted us with a gift card that will really help out with some baby items! I am really excited to go spend it and get the necessities for little Gooey. Speaking of Gooey - he has a name (I think)! Brian and I had a list narrowed down to three choices and I think we finally settled on one. We are of course still caught in a middle name quandary because we're down to about three choices there as well. But we do have 24 days!

On Sunday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. They were really excited to go, and even more excited to bring their wagon along! One of their very favorite things about Hunt Club is the fact that there are two dogs walking around all the time. Whenever they're in the midst of getting cranky about something, a dog walks by and they instantly cheer up!

They each got to pick out a little pumpkin for themselves and then picked out a "little, tiny baby pumpkin" for Gooey. There was a great debate over whether they wanted white or orange pumpkins (although there was no question in our minds that they would in fact, be bringing orange pumpkins home).

Reese wanted to bring this big gourd home! I couldn't even look at those things! After watching last week's episode of Grey's Anatomy with the Tree Man, he was all I could think about when I saw the warts all over those pumpkins. Eeeeeeeeeeew.

Where is Wyatt?!?! I can't see him in all the pumpkins!
A big ole pile o' pumpkins!

Reesie ran away and was running back. I still can't believe how blue this little girl's eyes are.

They don't do the best job posing for pictures together! I have this picture where they're both at least looking the same way, and then two others where they're looking at the camera individually.

We had a full load when we left - a big "Mommy and Daddy" pumpkin, a "Wyatt" pumpkin, a "Reesie" pumpkin, a "Gooey" pumpkin and two mums for the front porch. Wyatt couldn't fit in the wagon so he decided to pull Reese and the big pumpkin. And that lasted for about 30 seconds!

We spent the rest of the day Sunday at home - I mainly did laundry while Brian spent 5 hours in the yard! I will say that our grass is incredibly green right now though, so he's doing a great job. Over the next week I have a list that I think is a mile long of things I need to get done before the baby comes. At the top is packing my hospital bag (I know it's scheduled, but I'm still paranoid), and organizing the kids' closets. We also get to celebrate Brian's birthday on Wednesday, so this should be a fun week!

Wyatt's Third Soccer Game - Finally!

Wyatt's games have been cancelled the last two Mondays, and even last Friday's game was a rain out. They were finally able to play last night and catch up on team pictures. But Brian still doesn't have a shirt a month after the season started. The Y isn't too organized on that front... They decided to make it a short game (pictures were right at 6 and then they had to fit in the game before the sun went down), so Wyatt only got to play once. He broke away from the pack and made his way down the field and right to the goal!

And he SCORED!

Brian didn't tell him to give up, but he did explain after he made the goal that the other two kids on his team were trying to score too, and they were all one team. And they both promptly went on to score a goal too.

We have another game on Monday night, so maybe he'll be all soccer'ed out by the end of the game. Or maybe not. We only have 4 games left this season, and then he'll have to wait for spring, when we'll probably end up putting him in a more structured league. Reese won't meet the age requirement until next fall, so it will just be him playing in the spring. I would love to find something for him to do to burn off some energy this winter, but with a newborn I don't think we'll be spending a ton of time outside!

One Month!

2 years, 1 month and 10 days ago we welcomed this little beauty into our lives,

and 3 years, 6 months and 5 days ago this little fella helped us begin our family.

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY
we welcome our third child, second son and another amazing blessing into our family!
And we can't wait!