Monday, January 28, 2019

Number 3 on the Way!

Michael:
finished up his presentation last Sunday in San Francisco and moved back home after nine days of hotel living. We're happy he's home! He started his call week the next Tuesday but we were able to spend time with him on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. He went with us to Costco on Saturday so we could get passport pictures taken, then we went to Blaze Pizza and let the boys play at the River Park play area. On Sunday we went to church a little while after he left to round at the hospital, but he beat us home and we had a lazy Sunday together. Westin likes being chased by the drone in the backyard  :)

Maddie:
is having a BABY in July, and it was fun to get that out in the open! We've had quite a few low key, nauseous weeks around here. The afternoons and evenings are much worse than the mornings. I have a new OB and their office seems thorough and really great, I've already had multiple ultrasounds. We are so excited to meet another one of our little people soon :) 

Westin:
taught us about Jesus creating the world when he got home from church today and it was really cute. It's weird to me that he's not a little sunbeam anymore. We had a better solo Sunday than last week, which was a good reminder to me that even when I do everything the exact same some church days are easy and some are just a mess, so I shouldn't dwell on the rough times. I love when he teaches me things he learned at preschool or from Wild Kratts. He's only had one accident this week so I am hoping night training is mostly behind us. I love when he talks to Bennett in Bennett's language. For whatever reason, Bennett calls all treats "hi-hi" and garbage trucks/cement trucks/big trucks "my-my" and Westin will point them out to him using that word :) But Bennett does call backhoes exactly that and it's the cutest. Westin likes to talk about how he hopes the baby is another brother, and he also likes to say "I don't want another baby" whenever he's throwing a tantrum. Haha he has always had a knack for throwing shade.

Bennett:
is living in his Wild Things t-shirt and Wild Things jacket, and carrying around his "roar-roar" (toy dinosaur) everywhere, which means we hear lots of roaring from that little guy all around. He doesn't love trying all his food but knows there's no "hi-hi" unless he does. I swear our Halloween candy multiplied. He loves the new construction duplos from Logan and Jenny's family for Christmas, and will bring them to Westin to help him put them together when he can't quite get it. He loves bubble baths but hates having his hair washed. He still gets bloody noses here and there for whatever reason. Also I still love putting him to bed for his naps or nights more than any part of my day, his little hugs and kisses melt my heart.

Babydae 3:
14 weeks as of last Thursday! I can't feel the baby move quite yet but sometimes I think I almost do. I'm already sleeping with my huge pregnancy pillow and I feel like I look like I did at 20 weeks with Westin. Here we go, third pregnancy. The nausea has felt the same as my first two and I'm hoping it lets up around 18 weeks again. We have an ultrasound at the end of February that will tell us both the gender and if my placenta previa has fixed itself, so I'm really looking forward to that appointment. I am taking medicine for nausea this time and it helps with my food aversions a lot. I'm cooking way more than I did when pregnant with either of my other two, but also, maybe that's just because I have to more this time :) Westin and Bennett are always hungry! But I love that Westin likes to cook with me. I feel more baby hungry this time than ever before, and more bonded to the baby early on. I think because it was all so new before but now I just know how much we're going to love this little person, and it's happening earlier on for me this time around. It's a good feeling.

#babydae3 on the way!
From Instagram:
We’re so thrilled we get to meet this tiny person in July! Especially now that we know firsthand just how different the same two people’s kids can be. :) Who is on their way?! I’m full of nauseous anticipation. 💖💙

Anyone else obsessed with Kodiak cakes? Not ashamed. That Costco sale price can't be beat.

The flamingos were putting on a show on our zoo day, and a zoo employee was there to teach us some new flamingo facts.
There's a white egret that is a frequent uninvited guest in the flamingo habitat, and actually pokes holes in the flamingo eggs and causes contention. The zoo has two silver birds (I forget their name now!) in the habitat that get along with the flamingos and they are also aggressive toward the egret and protective of the flamingo eggs.
But the zoo's flamingos are so old that they haven't had an egg hatch in a while. They are almost twice the age of
flamingos that live in the wild.

Westin loves playing with Colt so much.

Butternut squash soup -- the dinners with extra effort always seem to be the dinners that kids extra hate. :)

Breakfast date. Westin eats early with Michael and Bennett and I eat later on :) He comes in style.

I just kept cracking up at him in his Lightning McQueen helmet and diaper, with Roar Roar, his cement truck, and garbage truck all close by. He even gave Roar Roar some bites (after he had completely finished all cereal and all milk in the bowl).

Fire station field trip for our friend preschool group! With lots of extra friends that day.

It was such a nice fire station. Each firefighter even has their own fridge! And they let the kids climb in the truck and they turned the lights on for them. California firefighters are rock stars.

Mara played with us on Saturday while her family was moving. We're sad they won't be in our ward anymore!
But we'll still see her at our Friday preschool group.

Always busy.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Quick San Francisco Getaway

Michael:
Moved out. I mean not really, but basically. He was gone from Friday of last week until today at two conferences in San Francisco. He spent the week at a pathology conference with the two other third year residents. Then Friday and Saturday he has some down time in the city before he had to give a presentation at a different conference on Sunday. The boys and I drove to meet him Thursday night so we could play together for a couple days in the city. He had a culinary week, full of nice restaurants with no crazy toddlers. But I think he's happy to be back with the crazy... mostly happy :)

Maddie:
felt like it was a pretty long week without Michael around but the boys and I had some fun and got things done. I finished doing my second round of KonMari and it made a big difference to me. Now I'm doubling down on teaching my boys where everything's home is and that everything needs to be put back into it. The road trip to San Francisco went pretty smooth on Thursday night, and it was fun pulling into the city at night and seeing the bridges and buildings lit up. Westin thought the Golden Gate bridge looked like a roller coaster and I realized it was because he thought you drove up and down along the lights along the top when you went across. I love the way kids see the world.

Westin:
told his preschool teachers that his dad lives in a hotel now. Luckily he then told him it's because "he's learning how to be a better doctor" and they then kind of figured it was a work thing. You always wonder what pictures of your family your kiddo is going to paint to people in the world. He was so happy to go see daddy and really missed him this week. We drove home Sunday morning without Michael since he was coming back with coworkers after his presentation, and Westin was back into grumpy mode. Our dynamic is a struggle lately, but I know it's mostly good.

Bennett:
wanted nothing to do with his stroller during his San Francisco explorations and he was a hand full to keep track of. Traveling with kids gets easier in some ways and harder in others and I feel like I'm always having to reevaluate how we do things. He is so funny to watch when he's exploring and watching new things. He did pretty good on our little hikes, but still spends some time in the Ergo or Michael's arms. He slept great in the hotel (still rocking that pack n play) and I even made them both take a nap on Saturday in hopes for a better dinner/evening experience the night before. Hotel naps are no small accomplishment but it did everyone good. 

It was a fun few days in San Fran! I loved a change of scenery and routine and so did the kids.
We'll be happy to have dad home again this week :)


Threw an old sheet down on Friday for a pizza party and movie night. Within one minute both boys had dropped a piece of pizza face down on that sheet. So, thanks, sheet.

Meanwhile, Michael was not eating pizza on the floor.

KonMari round 2! Feels good. Thanks for the push, Netflix.

We have our hard times, but I love this sweet boy. This was after I told him stories about my grandmas and how I miss them.

Watching Wild Kratt's with such reverence.

I can't get these squatters out of my kitchen.

 I had this book spiral bound and I love the difference. 

So much rain this week!

Westin and his friends at school watching and talking about rain.

W for Westin!

Kicking off our double decker tour up high in the front row. The boys were so excited.

Curvy Lombard street! We learned that they put in those hairpin curves because the street is on a 27-degree incline,
and with those curves it changes it to a 16-degree incline.

Headed across the bridge

A little hike to get a view






Bennett was really into this street performer with a pigeon presence. He handed the boys some bird food before I could care too much about germs and Michael helped Bennett feed some. Hands were immediately sanitized. Why do I think pigeons are so gross? Bennett loved this, though.



Palace of Fine Arts

Checking our Rachel and Spencer's favorite, Burma Superstar. So delicious!
We had Samusa soup, Shrimp Curry, Coconut Rice, Sesame Chicken, and Veggie Samusas.
Westin loved the chicken. Bennett loved the soup. Both were crazy.
I asked Michael if he had missed us this week. It wasn't the right moment to ask him.
(For the record -- of course he did. But not at restaurants.)
(Also for the record -- I'm super well-behaved at restaurants, and Michael loves having me around.
The boys are animals.)

That time I ditched my family on an ice cream trip because I couldn't handle anymore toddler verbal abuse and walked back to our hotel by myself. Keepin' it real guys, worn out kids are rough. 

Land's End Trail


Michael's friend Derek from high school was able to meet up with us for our (slow) hike. He's a patient guy :)

Taken moments before Westin fell backward off this wall and was then verrrrrrrry angry about it, so....

.... only us in the final picture :)



Bennett was always up for our late night exploring, he loved those busy streets.

Shark gummies made their day.



Another delicious restaurant, another struggle with the boys.
I just want them to learn how behave at restaurants!
Does this come with time? Or should they be permanently uninvited? :)
This was at Surisan where we had K Tacos and a super yummy Dolsot.

Bubbles on a busy street, Bennett's happy place.

Friday, January 11, 2019

Getting Things Done.

Michael:
is busy in his last two months of being on oral surgery service before he transfers to his trauma rotation. Life always feels so different when he's on service. So busy. He's not on call until the end of the month but he does have to be gone to a conference in San Francisco during January so that stinks. He loves eating breakfast with Westin and usually wakes him up before work so that they can spend that little time together. They also love sending emoji texts to each other and there’s a lot of the poop emoji in those. 

Maddie:
had such a productive week thanks to my sweet parents here helping me. During their week here I checked off:
-dental cleaning
-haircut
-pedicure
-doctor appointment
-oil changed in my car
-LA road trip with my dad to pick up our van
-registered the van
-smog checked the van
-Initiatories at the temple
-Endowment at the temple with Michael
-Dinner date with Michael
-Girls road trip to San Francisco
-Parenting conference in SF

They watched my kids so much and helped get me ready for the next few busy months! I'm always so happy when they are here and I'm so grateful for parents who are understanding and kind. I’ve also started a second round of KonMari. I’ve been on this bandwagon a long time but the new Netflix show has inspired me to start another round. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up is the most appropriately named book. Life-changing, guys. Unless you’re already tidy I guess :)

Westin:
is thrilled to be back in school and swimming lessons, he missed his teachers and missed playing in the water. He was sad to see grandma and grandpa go. He is super sweet and learning to look for the good my kids do (from that parenting conference I went to) has really opened my eyes at how much he truly tries his best and is kind. Sibling conflict is still the source of all the drama around here and I wish I knew how to better handle that! He has wonderful new primary teachers and I’m so grateful for them. Managing all the changes in primary this year has been a big learning experience but we’re getting there!

Bennett:
sleeps in these days and it cracks me up. Westin has just never done that. But Westin also didn't sleep in a completely dark walk-in closet for the first years of his life, so there's that. Bennett says "Thank you mama" and "Sorry mama" at all the right times and it's adorable. So dang adorable. He also loves to see videos of friends and family when I watch a Polo, and lately loves his "Roar Roar" (a toy dinosaur that grandma and grandpa gave him for Christmas). But... the batteries already died from all the Roar Roaring around here and I'm not nice enough to replace them. He still loves it, though. This week he went to nursery by himself!!! Michael was working and both my counselors were gone, so I needed him to be able to. There were a lot of other things happening at church. So I left him BAWLING but instead of a sad Bennett coming to me ten minutes later like usual, they said he was fine after three! Huge blessing today. Our church is 11:30 to 1:30 so I give the kids snacks right before and a sandwich on the way home, then they are both down for naps by 1:50. It’s still a little late but better than no naptime at all!

Walks with Grandpa

Orange Seasons! The trees by my house are prime for picking! We had our first few rounds of fresh orange juice this week and we were all looooving it.

The low oranges are the best right now so Westin and Bennett feel so big finding oranges to pick.

Walks include citrus cargo for the next few months.

Westin always stops at this raised cement after swimming lessons and says,
"Take a picture of me on this stage and send it to daddy!"

We're always in a funk after grandma and grandpa leave! Luckily they always get us donuts the morning they leave us.
That helps.

Back to Mornings with Mommy at the Lutheran Church

Roar Roar! And Bennett is still rocking the Santa hat often.

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