For Sale: Two Year Old

Before you start your bidding there is one disclaimer I need to warn you about.....looks can be deceiving!

All in a days work for Kate:
1. Locked both her parents in the basement (good thing for us her big brother had just gone upstairs to use the bathroom)
2. Hid the lemonade filled pitcher in the crisper (It spilled everywhere and it literally took me several hours to find it. Originally, it was on the top shelf behind a gallon of milk).
3. Found the hidden black permanent marker and colored on the play table and ruined her brand new shirt the first time she wore it.
4. Got red and purple marker on the week old YELLOW couch. Thankfully, they were washable markers.
5. Has lost all interest in potty training but, hates wearing wet and poopy diapers.....yes that means she takes them off herself. She even gets out the wipes and changing pad and then practically floods the bathroom washing her hands afterwards.
6. Somehow manages to make me feel like I am the bad one.........
Karen: "Kate, I am sick and tired of it!"
Kate: "Mom, I am sick and tired of you yelling at me!"
7. Literally destroyed the laptop and somehow managed to put a password lock on it.



In her defense:
1. She does it all with a genuine smile
2. She never hesitates to say, "Sorry, Mom."
3. She now has to share her mother's attention with a pretty cute, new, little brother.





If anyone wants to visit........NOW........would be an excellent time. I could use the extra hands and eyes!
I have found myself in tears more than once this week.......and it's not because of the new baby or Ben.....they are angels.
I believe the saying should be, "Thank Heaven For Little Boys."

Any Similarities?

Jacob: The earliest! 5 pounds 3 ounces



Kate: The biggest! 6 pounds 6 ounces


Ben: The smallest! 4 pounds 5 ounces

Jacob William

Early Friday morning, March 12th our little boy decided he wanted to top both Ben and Kate and arrive at 34 weeks. I was literally awakened at 3 am to a popping sensation. After awakening our friends to come stay with the kids and packing those last minute things we headed to the hospital. We checked in with the triage nurse at 4:15 am and he was born at 5:10 am! He wasted no time. I only pushed 3 times. Fortunately, we live within a mile of the hospital. Jacob was taken to the NICU right away as a precautionary measure due to his prematurity. He received IV antibiotics for 48 hours and was monitored closely. His blood sugar dropped at one point, but was quickly corrected with a little formula. He never even required any supplemental oxygen. He was discharged Monday and is doing great. He is nursing, sleeping, peeing and pooping like a little champ! We are so grateful. My biggest struggle at this point is my enormous milk supply, so I can't complain. The NICU nurses teased me that I could feed the whole NICU. Their census was 32! Jacob reminds me a lot of Ben...wearing the same little preemie clothes, etc. I have found myself calling him Ben on several occasions already. Now I understand why at times my mother went through all my sisters names before she got mine right! David was given the week off so we are enjoying our time together. Ben and Kate are in heaven and doing quite well for such a big change. We are so grateful to our wonderful friends.....especially Ann, Kristen and Heather (you too Destry!). They took such great care of Ben and Kate, allowing both David and I to concentrate on the baby. They were in perfect hands and I never worried about them once. That was a great blessing to me. No matter where I have gone, my church friends have literally become my family. My mom will be coming on March 25th. We are looking forward to her visit. Several of my pregnant friends are jealous Jacob has arrived....hang in there. I have all but forgotten how uncomfortable I was. He was more than worth it all.

Sneak Peak!

Today we got to have a sneak peak at the baby! He was measuring right on....about 4 1/2 pounds at this point; 33 weeks. I think he looked like Ben, but David thinks it's all in my head. He does have David's widow's peak though! We will get a final report from the Doctor later about the fluid levels. Ben and Kate love looking at the new pictures! They seem so much more real to them in 3D. Kate is so excited for her, "little baby" to arrive and Ben wants to "rock him or something tomorrow!"

Random Bits & Pieces

February has been an interesting month in Baltimore! We have gotten more snow this winter than Anchorage, Alaska! Needless to say, today was Ben's 1st day back to school in over 2 weeks. He was thrilled to go back. We had a fun time in the snow, but it did get old after about 4 feet of it. Everyday in February felt like some sort of weird Groundhogs day to me. We passed some of our time making sugar cookies for Valentine's day.



Kate took up running on the treadmill. She even got out my ipod, plugged in the headphones, and took off her shirt (just like Daddy does) to go for her jog.

On Thursday, I turned 31! I feel so old, despite Ben telling someone I was only 15! I got to go out to eat twice that day and got lots of birthday wishes. After many pleas from some friends in OK, I will post a picture of my belly. This will be the last! Now you can all agree that its a fact.....I am huge! Do I really have 8 weeks to go? I think I am even more ready for this baby to come than Spring!

On Saturday, Kate got her first haircut. She was an angel and absolutely loved every minute of it. She didn't want it to end!

A Record Snowfall!

I can't remember the last time I was literally snowed in! Saturday marked a new record for Baltimore! We got about 26 inches at our house in 24 hours. It was pretty crazy, but fun since David was off this weekend and we never lost power. It took David nearly 7 hours to shovel the driveway and sidewalk! Maybe now he can finally empathize with my sore pregnant back! For the first time, I was relieved my due date was still far off and I didn't have to rely on David's 6 week OB rotation to deliver this baby! David spent most of yesterday playing with the kids in the snow. They sure had a good time sledding in our backyard and building a snow cave. Not only did we surpass the record single snowfall this weekend, but we also surpassed the record snowfall for the winter. Looks like we moved here just in time. And looks like Nana's best investment all year will be Ben and Kate's snowsuits. They sure have been put to good use!

I REALLY MUST BE HUGE!

I am 29 weeks now and feeling bigger than ever! And apparently I am! When I was pregnant with Ben and Kate I never got any "big" comments. This time around things are very different. Is it because I am on the East Coast? Is it because its number 3? I think I have finally realized its just because I really am HUGE! So some friends at church suggested I start a section on my blog dedicated to these lovely comments I have received. Someone might as well enjoy them and be grateful its not them! You can read them along the side of my blog in my new section, "Life, when you are pregnant."