Man Cave

 Remember this little baby boy room?

It has now turned into Zachary's very own Man Cave. When we came back from Christmas we took Zachary's crib out of his room and into Brielle's room for the new baby. Zachary started sleeping in a "big boy bunk bed" and was BEYOND thrilled with himself. Every single person who dared come to our house was immediately taken by the hand, with Zach saying "Bed? Bed?" ("Do you want to see my bed?"), and then escorted up the stairs to see the new bunk bed (new from KSL classifieds). 

And he did it it all for "Baby Cake". He calles the new baby "Baby Cake" because he can't say "Kate". So he points to the the crib now and lets everyone know that the crib is now for "Baby Cake". And we appreciate it.

The beauty of the new bed is that he is on the bottom bunk so it really is a little dark nest or Man Cave. He has a railing and is surrounded by pillows and blankets and chupas and of course, a baseball, football, basketball, dinosaur, three books, an army guy, green monster stuffed doll, a lion and anything else he can hoard in the cave. And because of that railing he feels like he is still in a crib and can't get out. He never gets out on his own, but sits in bed calling for us to come and get him just like before. Hopefully it is a while before he figures out he can just climb out.

Ava will soon join him in his room on the top bunk. Things are getting tight around here, but they are excited to share a room.

Zachary is the man of the house in other ways too. He was the only one invited to join Scott and Papa Fred at a recent U of U basketball game. The men folk ate hot dogs, drank soda and cheered on the Utes.

Zachary LOVED it and even got a little side action with a cute girl sitting close by. Scott says he went over and flirted with this girl for a long time. Why? Not because of her cuteness, but if you look closely she has an open bag of Skittles in her purse.

About Zachary:

He is finally (at 2 1/2) talking more and more. He is able to say so many more words every day. It's funny and cute to hear him talking. Only problem - anytime he says "fork" he can't say the "r".

He likes anything manly. Everything turns into a gun that he shoots at us and yells "DIE!". He is desperate for some real wrestling with Scott every night. He is completely mesmerized by the "Hockey Guys" (kids playing ice hockey at the Rec Center). He LOVES when Scott has football or basketball on TV and sits down to watch every second of it. 

His favorite thing to do right now is play Just Dance 3. He drags me over to the WII and begs to "dance". Then he MAKES everyone have a remote and dance. No sitting and watching.

He tells me every morning that he dreamed about cars. 

His favorite shows are Curious George, Elmo (only YouTube clips) and Diego. 

He has liked doing Kindermusik, especially when all the musical instruments come out, but usually gets quite clingy and shy with all the other little friends there.

He is over the moon, thrilled to see Scott show up at home each evening. He runs to the door so excited and yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" He always prefers Scott and is much happier when he is with him.

He is learning to handle the girls quite well. If he doesn't like what they are doing (bugging him or bossing him) he gets a really mean face and really lays into them. He screams, "No Ava!" or "Nice!" ("Be nice!").

He calls Brielle, "Di Di" just like we all do, and still calls Ava, "Aw".

He is very demanding in the the shirts he will wear and not wear. He ONLY wants a Utah Utes shirt, a Red Sox shirt or his Curious George shirt.

He BEGS and I mean begs, pleads and cries all day, every day for a "treat"! He only wants candy, juice or milk and wants it ALL THE TIME.

Man, I love this kid! 

All About Me

Thursday I went to the doctor for my 34 week appointment. All is well, as far as he is concerned. The baby's heart beat sounds good. There is plenty of movement. No contractions or anything else concerning. We had a good little talk and I was on my way.

This is the end of what is most likely my last pregnancy. If this baby follows the good example of her older brother and sisters she will be here in about three weeks. What I am feeling right now?

Really big. Honestly. It's getting ridiculous. I have officially gained 45 pounds. Granted, I completely enjoyed myself with Halloween candy and then Christmas treats without being careful in any kind of way, but otherwise I haven't been eating all that differently than before. But, I sure have put on the weight.

What makes it worse is that there are three different experiences (one at Scott's work party, one at ballet class and one at Kindermusik class) where I was talking to another woman who looked BARELY pregnant, just a tiny little bump, and asking when she was due . . . well, wouldn't you know it . . . the same time as me. I am like three times the size of these women. Honestly, they are just starting to show and I started at about 5 weeks. Agggghhh! People have seriously looked at me and said, "Whooaaaa! How much longer?" I don't ever tell them the true due date.

This is me this same time last year:

This is me today (You see what I'm sayin?):

Carpal Tunnel. This has been the worst part of pregnancy every time. It might not seem like such a big deal. I actually kind of forget what it feels like until I'm pregnant again and it comes back with a vengeance.

I cannot sleep. I wear my carpal tunnel braces, which help, but I still wake up all night with arms and hands that are throbbing in pain and tingling. I can't put any pressure on my arms or shoulders, which is tricky when you are only supposed to lie on your side. It takes me a good five minutes to get settled into position. I have a pillow tucked in front of me and behind me. I keep the lower half of my body sideways and then twist the upper half to try and lie flat on my back. It is like a three ring circus at night as I try to switch sides because my hips start to hurt so bad. Poor Scott.

During the day, the carpal tunnel makes it extremely painful and actually quite impossible to: hold the phone, brush my teeth, write with a pen or pencil, make a fist, stir food in a pot, cut food for the kids, do the girls hair, wash my own hair, hold the steering wheel to drive the car and pretty much anything else that requires small motor skills. At least I know this will go away.

Here I am with my nifty braces that actually SAVE MY LIFE:

Sick. So, I've never had to be sick while pregnant before, but this week changed all of that. And it is not a good time. I started out with a little cold, not a big deal. That cold somehow changed into a whole night (1am - 9am) of intense stomach pain and throwing up anything that I tried to eat or drink. I thought I was going to die. It was the most awful night of my life. Scott woke up at about 5:30am and gave me a blessing. I didn't throw up again and was finally able to rest a little bit. I was blessed enough to have a good husband that then took the day off of work to let me be sick in bed while he got kids ready for school, drove to school, took girls to ballet, put Zachy down for a nap, cleaned and organized the closet and junk drawers, made chicken cordon bleu for dinner and folded laundry . . . all while bringing me toast and gatorade and Red Box movies. What a man! Lucky him, he got to continue doing that for another four days . . . .

That sickness (whatever it was) then turned immediately into a really bad cold. My cough went deep into my chest, I'm now congested, achy and have a sore throat. All of this (plus the carpal tunnel) is making for some truly sleepless nights. This cold then hit Scott, Brielle, Ava and Zachary. Oh, plus ear infections for two of those. So, we are on day number 5 of the whole family being confined to the house and sick. We are going CRAZY! Scott actually went skipping and smiling out the door and off to work today.

Nervous. I'll admit, I'm getting a bit nervous about having four kids. Especially when all of those kids are age 6 and under. Some people tell me having number 4 is not that big of a deal because, "you've lost control already anyway." And other people say that number 4 is what put them totally over the edge. I know we'll adjust just like we have with number 2 and number 3, but I can foresee some hectic, chaotic, noisy, stressful times with having four kids home with me all day.

Excited. I am really excited to meet this baby girl. It is a special thing to have her just to myself right now. I am the only one that feels her move around all the time. I'm the only one who knows when she has hiccups. She feels very much like she is just mine. Soon, I'll share her with everyone. I'm excited to hold her and especially excited to see who/what she looks like. I am curious to know her personality and just who she is. Excited that baby Kate will soon be here.

P.S. Scott may in no way and at no time use this write up to remind me of the woes of pregnancy to further plead his case for a vasectomy.

Brielle Ann - 6 Years Old

Brielle took her six year old pictures (and absolutely LOVED every minute of all that posing) and had her six year old doctor's visit. It's official - she's six!

Weight - 38 lbs.

Height - 3' 8"

About Brielle:

Still a happy, social, fun loving girl who is still into anything pink, frilly, lacey, girly or fancy. She was just born that way.

She likes school, I guess. She complains most mornings about going to Kindergarten, but then runs in and is so happy to be there once there.

She is still more excited about school for the social part of it than anything else. She is learning and is doing very well (I get to see when I go in each week), but only tells me about her friends.

She has three to four friends call each week to plan play dates with her. Her social calander is hard to keep up with.

She is becoming quite independent and a good help around the house, although anytime you send her to do something she gets distracted in route and has to be reminded what it was you needed.

The girl absolutely does not stop moving and does not stop talking. She talks non stop! She is always wiggling. We practice her trying to sit still on the couch while we read to her. Still working on it.

She makes up a new dance or show or concert to perform for us every day. She always enlists Ava and Zachary to practice with her and be in the show as well . . . with herself as the main attraction of course.

When she can concentrate and tries, she can read. She usually loses interest so fast and just doesn't want to do it. When she does read she is very proud.

She is so loving and isn't afraid to show it. She hugs and loves her teachers, her friends, her cousins and us at home all the time and with a lot of enthusiasm.

She says something every day that cracks me up. Yesterday she was talking about what she wants to be when she grows up. We talked about a nurse and then a mom. She said, "No. I just still want to be a waitress." I told her if she is a mom she gets to be a nurse AND a waitress!