Meet Jack

Jack Baggins Presley, born April 4, 2014, at 6:48 in the morning. 8-15 and 21"

39 Weeks

• I look like I'm smuggling a ball, one of those $2 large bouncy balls at Target. We are well past basketball here. 
• Still not noticing any pre-labor signs.
• I get SO hot at night while I'm sleeping.
• When I sleep, that is. It's a lot of tossing and turning and I'm up at least twice, some nights 3-4x, to use the bathroom. 
• I walk like an 80-yr-old if I've been sitting for too long.
• Trying to stay active, though it's hard and I'm tired. 
• My sister, Michelle, came in and cleaned my entire house for me this past weekend. What a blessing she is!! Now it's just a matter of keeping clutter at bay. 
• So ready and excited to meet this sweet baby!

Mimics

38 Weeks

My turnover day is on Saturday. Another week down. Two more to go (hopefully). 37 weeks was so busy that we forgot to take a picture or document it at all.

But, here I am in all my large-bellied glory!

Yep, that shirt isn't appropriate for public viewing anymore. 

• Braxton-Hicks are increasing, still most common when I'm quiet in the evenings. 
• A few days of bad back pain, but the past couple have been good again. 
• Some minor swelling in my feet after sitting for 2 days at a conference. Almost all gone today after some time with my feet up, a lot of water, and increased potassium-containing foods. 
• Down to about 2 shirts that are long enough to cover my belly. Obviously it's not the one in the picture!
• The baby still looks kind of high. I know they don't drop as noticeably in subsequent pregnancies, but I don't think this sweet one is ready to go yet.

Eleanor, 2.5

At 2-and-a-half (the halves are very important to Avery), Eleanor is just a bundle of fun. Some things I don't want to forget.

• Her vocabulary exploded around Christmas, later than it did with Avery, but when she finally started talking, she skipped right over the single words and jumped into phrases and sentences. She has always been an observer, and this side of her proved true again in regards to speech.
• Some of her words and phrases that make me laugh (and that I secretly hope never change): 
• chepah (ketchup): And, if you ask her if she wants "chepah", she will respond with, "No, Mommy, say chepah." Ok, would you like ketchup? Yes.
• "Me, three!" (as in, "Me, too!")
• But "I love you, too" is accurate, as opposed to "I love you, three."
• "Oh, great!" to just about anything
• She transitioned into her big girl bed about 2 weeks ago, which is also in Avery's room. She still naps in her crib in the nursery, but she sleeps every night with Avery. The transition was SO easy. We tried it once while my MIL was here out of necessity due to painting in the nursery, and it was a nightmare. But a week later, she asked to sleep in there, and we haven't looked back.

• In the mornings, she waits in her room (most days) until their clock turns green, and then she comes tearing out of her room at break-neck speed yelling "Is gween! Is gween!" And she'll drag one of us out of bed and down the hall to look (usually Luke). 
• One morning we were greeted with our door slamming open and the big light turned on. Talk about a wake-up call. Avery was much kinder to us at this age. 
• She likes to pat our backs and say "My mommy" or "My daddy"
• She and Avery are best friends. This makes me so unbelievably happy.

Sleepover on the floor of their room

• She falls asleep with her books and her babies and animals all around her, just like Avery did/does.
• We weaned her off the pacifier almost two weeks ago. A rough transition at first, but it's officially gone, and napping has mostly returned. Night-time without paci was easier to deal with than naps without it, and some days I end up rocking her during the entire nap. My mom asked why I don't lay her down after she falls asleep, and then she started laughing before I could even say anything - yes, it's because I can't get close enough to the crib to lay her down gently. I would essentially have to drop her in the bed. My belly - it's just too big!

Getting ready to send the pacis to the Paci Fairy (Boppy Fairy, as she called her)

• She is very devoted to her baby doll, and she will put her down for naps in the oddest of places, usually singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. 
• She also tucked me in with her favorite blanket, sang "Jesus Loves Me" to me, and told me to close my eyes and go to sleep. Sweet little thing. 
• She is active active active. This child is rarely still. 
• She asks me almost every day, very very quietly, if we can go to Chick-fil-a. One day I gave in and treated her to breakfast after we dropped Avery off at school.

• She adores puzzles and will do the same one over and over again, a dozen times in a row. She also likes for us to sit and affirm her while she's doing them, even though she needs zero help with them.
• She is quite witty, a skill that surprises us for her age. 
• She tells me that she's ready for the baby to come out of my belly, and she'll lift my shirt up to see if anything is happening, and when she sees that nothing is changing, she tells me, "Not working!"
• She is becoming more insistent on doing things herself: buckling her carseat (she also taught herself how to unbuckle the chest strap, while I was driving, which involved a fast pull onto a side street and a stern talk); getting dressed; picking out clothes (definite opinion on pjs, but not as much on daytime clothes); doing the buttons on her clothes; putting on her shoes (almost always on the wrong feet, while Avery almost always got them right, even from the beginning); opening her yogurt cup....

Flannel pjs over fleece footie pjs. Can't even imagine how hot she must have been.

• She loves blue lollipops, which she receives after my doctor appointments. She also always remembers to get one for Avery.
• She just started saying "please" in the most adorable manner - clasping her hands tightly together, squinting her eyes, and practically begging. No idea where she learned this, but it's too funny.
• "Mommy" has become shortened to "Mom". This makes me sad.
• Almost zero interest in potty training, but she adores the Elmo panties we got her and wears them over her pants.

We love you precious girl!!

Just for giggles...

A behind the scenes look at trying to corral 4 children (one who refused to be in the picture at all) for one decent shot of all of us together. Our girls are such goofballs.

Bumpdate, Week 36

Now that we're a month out, I'm going to do weekly updates, though I fully expect to see April anyways before this baby comes. Avery was 3 days late, and I was induced with her. Eleanor came on her own, one day early (she's my favorite) (just kidding!).

Feel good. Can't believe as of today, we only have 26 days left until my due date. Sounds much shorter when you put it that way.

Braxton-Hicks are increasing, usually at night as I'm settling down.

My belly button is quite prominent this time, which is new for me.

This week I've started freezer cooking to stockpile some food for that last couple of weeks when I don't feel like cooking anymore, and to fill in between meals from friends. Why do I not do this all the time?

We were gifted a steam mop, and I'm in love. I mopped the whole house last night in half the time it used to take me.

I'm becoming my sister - starting a no-shoe policy in the house for this last month, and we are working extra hard to stay on top of clutter control and cleaning. I'm reaching the crazy stage, and thankfully I have the energy for it still.

Scrambling to finish work; was hoping to be done by the end of the weekend, but the office moved and the server is down this week as well as the printers. So. There's that. Let's me focus on home and baby stuff since I can't do much else. :)

Bumpdate, Weeks 31-35

• Still feeling good! I'm so thankful for an "easy" pregnancy. When I passed 33 weeks, I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't on bed rest this time around or spending a weekend in the hospital because of a bleeding scare. 
• Looks like I grew quite a bit between 31 and 33 weeks, and again between 33 and 34. Week 35 looks a bit lower, and feels a bit lower to me too. 
• Active baby! At my last appointment, the midwife felt around, found the position of the baby, and before she could put the doppler on to listen to the heartbeat, the baby had flipped sides and she had to find him/her again. 
• Nesting continues. Working on a quilt for the baby and finishing the nursery. Haven't hit the 'crazy' yet (though if you ask my husband, he might disagree). My to-do list grows faster than I can check items off. 
• My mother-in-law is amazing and spent a week with us, helping me paint the nursery and the dresser and cabinet. The dresser is finished; the cabinet needs new hardware still.
• Meeting with my doula in the next week or two - it's officially time to start counting down!
• Still no name for either gender. 
• Sleep is hard to come by - insomnia strikes again.
• Maternity isn't fitting as well this time. Many of my shirts are already too short, but I am about the same size as I was with Eleanor. I wonder if I'm carrying lower, and that's the issue?? I've gained a bit more this time than last but not as much as my first pregnancy, so I'm curious to see how the birth weights differ between all of my babies. 
• Eager to meet this baby!

Monday Musings

• Just some random thoughts to document what's happening at home during this season.
• This week my lovely mother-in-law is in town helping me get the nursery ready. We're painting a dresser and a cabinet, as well as the room, and if time allows, we'll tackle a couple nightstands for the master. Thankful that the weather is cooperating and it's not freezing outside.

• My back - oh my aching back. 

Ha! That gets annoying after awhile, doesn't it?!

• Eleanor has taken to pretending to be Curious George. We watched the Christmas movie a few times this season, and she, rather smartly, noticed that he wears mittens on his feet when he goes outside. One day she walked in with mittens on her own feet and announced that she was Curious George. I laugh every time she does this. 
  
• I'm addicted to the Olympics. Ice skating has always been my favorite, since I grew up watching it with my grandmother. But, I've really gotten into men's snowboarding. Fascinating what they can do!
• I'm in crunch time at work, getting everything ready for the rest of the semester of Sunday School before this baby comes, since I'll be out for the last month of it. Not stressful in the least. :)
• I keep adding projects to my list of things to get done before the baby arrives, but with work, they keep getting pushed off. I'm sorry sweet baby! You'll get your own quilt one day. 
• Avery will start kindergarten in the fall - eep! Where has the time gone? School choice has been made, and we're excited about it. 
• I still have 3 more years with Eleanor, since her birthday is a week after the cut-off. Thankful for the extra time with her!
• The baby is still nameless. We've been playing the name game very casually for months now, but we're having a hard time settling on something we like. It was easier to narrow down the boy choices, but the girl names are harder this time. 
• Eleanor is talking up a storm now, repeating everything we say and quite well. It's like she sat back and watched for a really long time, and chose to start speaking only when she could do it in phrases and short sentences. 
• My pregnancy dreams have been off the charts weird this week. Panic about my other children being hurt, weird body issues, all kinds of strange happenings.
• Braxton-Hicks contractions are picking up. Never noticed them with Avery, and not until the last 2 weeks with Eleanor. 
• My energy is lagging. I'm starting to get to the point of being tired of pregnancy. Not fully there, but I'm ready to meet this baby now (in 7 weeks! No early babies!).

♥ Day

I will never throw these cards away. Good thing I took high school Spanish.

goofs

french toast with nutella

trying to show me her gift - she refused to pull it out and look at it

enjoying her special breakfast

set-up for heart day breakfast

For A's party at school - my mom's infamous sugar cookie recipe. 

I was *that* mom that sent the healthy valentine. 

My little baker, playing with the sugar cookie scraps. She likes to roll dough into teeny tiny balls.

Avery's valentine bag for her school party - yes, I "helped"

Bumpdate, Weeks 26-30

                                      

                                      

I feel enormous. The pics don't make me look as big as I feel (shh, don't tell me if I'm wrong), so I guess I've got room for this belly to grow, but oh, that scares me. I always have popped early, and I tend to carry straight out, but this time I fear I might topple over by halfway through my last trimester.

I also love the comments people give, and they are on the exact opposite ends of the spectrum. Either I am "tiny" and "look awesome" (I LOVE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE) or I get "how are you still walking?" and "Wow, you're only ... weeks? You have SUCH a long way to go." (I DON'T LOVE ALL OF THESE COMMENTS, BUT I STILL LOVE (MOST OF) THESE PEOPLE)

It'll only get better from here.

I feel great, honestly. My back hurts a bit first thing in the morning and again at the end of the day, but it's been a good couple of months otherwise. Still more tired than my last pregnancies, but this is partly due to keeping up with more children. And I'm older.

This baby is still very wiggly, which is so fun. Unless I'm driving, because then he or she finds a way to press both up and down at the same time, making it really difficult to breathe. My stomach does all sorts of waves and the girls (mostly Avery) got to feel the baby for the first time. It's hard for them to be patient to wait for the kicks, but now that Avery has felt the baby, she loves to sit and wait for it. She'll rest her head on my belly sometimes just to show it some love. So sweet.

Still enjoying not knowing the gender, though I have a strong suspicion one way. Both girls think the baby is a boy, and Avery still REALLY wants a brother. I hope she doesn't cry if the baby is a girl.

Avery has become my photographer for most of these pics. She's pretty good! Better than her daddy sometimes.

I started noticing hiccups during week 29, which is cute the first time. And then...

My lungs no longer expand fully, which means by the end of the day, when I'm full, it's really hard to breathe when I lay down. It takes me forever to get comfortable and fall asleep, but once I do, I'm usually good for the night, which is a huge blessing. Not experiencing as much insomnia as in previous pregnancies.

I always seem to be pregnant during Girl Scout cookie season. I've had to avoid making eye-contact with the Girl Scouts in order to not cave and buy 6 boxes. So far, so good. I've bought zero boxes in an effort to keep my low-sugar diet on track. I have the occasional treat, but those cookies would totally do me in.

10 Weeks to Go!

One Little Word 2014

This will be my fourth year to pick one little word to exemplify what I hope for that year. I'm learning that it's often something that I'm lacking, something I hope to see more of in my life, as opposed to something I'm already good at. At the end of each preceding year, I spend some time reflecting and praying for God to help me see my word, to help me see what needs to be addressed in my life (sins, misplaced hopes, etc). He always delivers, which can sometimes be hard, because who wants their weakness and sins exposed?! It isn't all-encompassing at times, because God isn't put into a box and doesn't only work on one aspect of my character each year. Yet, the word does dip into every area of my life.

For 2014, it's DELIGHT.

I always try to pair a verse with the word: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I'm no theologian, so feel free to correct my interpretation of this verse, but it seems to me that we don't delight in the Lord so that he will gives us our heart's desires, but that in the process of delighting in him (truly delighting, enjoying, seeking Him), He molds and shapes our hearts so that our desires match the will He has already set out for us.

This brings back last year's word of JOY. Living with a heart of gratitude for His particular care in our lives. Joy doesn't equate happiness, necessarily, but a deep-seated contentment in the One who cares for us and in the events he brings our way, knowing that He is working our good out, even if our good is not the easy and happy that we long for. We can choose to be joyful even when it hurts. Therefore, we can also choose to delight, even when the days are long and the kids are whiny and you feel like you are beaten down and worn out.

Because, let's face it, as mothers of young children, we are in the trenches. Our days can utterly suck, but at the end of the day, we can't help but recount the tiny moments that did delight us. The funny thing the four-year-old said, and the crazy mess that the two-year-old got into that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. The way the older helped the younger with a task, without your prompting her to do so. Sweet little gifts that show us that God is working in their young hearts as well.

So, this year I choose to delight in Him, and I choose to delight in the day-to-day moments that He brings my way. I will stop and take a deep breath and laugh more and yell less. I will put aside the phone and engage with my children, delighting in their silly antics. I won't do this perfectly, but by His grace, may December of 2014 look better than January.

See previous years here: 2011 (and again), 2012, and 2013.

Photo Dump

practicing her trumpet-playing skills with wrapping paper

mopping day makes for new playscapes for Eleanor. She worked her way down the whole row of stools and back again.

I think she likes donuts.

  

This girl ADORES stickers. No wall or piece of furniture is safe. And she still falls asleep with a bed full of toys and the lights on. 

A gag cake (well, real cake that was really delicious) for one of the pastors at church during staff meeting. Made by moi.

9 weeks and 28 weeks along. More cousins!

Goofing around at dinner one night. Mommy had a craving for Kerbey Lane pancakes. 

As my sister-in-law so aptly put it - "She's not afraid of a pattern." We've been letting her pick out her own clothes in an effort to reinforce her efforts to get dressed by herself.

Eleanor had her first haircut. She left the salon with a sassy new bob and a lollipop. Only a few tears, thankfully. 

Big sister getting a trim. Can't even tell a difference, but it helped her get over her fear of the hair salon.

A junk food treat, because we all needed out of the house. 

Avery's tall tower (I think she said it was a diving board), with an Eleanor photobomb.

Eleanor's first bubble bath.

gorgeous weather this January. Lots of outside time.

practicing her princess dancing

Eleanor has been working on puzzles NONSTOP since Christmas. It's the first thing she asks to do every day.