Third Child Syndrome

Poor Isaac.

Third child syndrome is in full force at our house.

This is pretty hard for me.

Remember my control issues.  Well, those issues are deeply rooted into mothering. 

Richard doesn't call me a Momma Bear for nothing. 

While this 3rd child syndrome did begin well before I was pregnant,
it has been a lot worse the past few months.

I have had zero energy and been operating in survival mode while I ride out the worst of this pregnancy, puking, nauseous, and thankful for independent boys and Zofran.

Third child syndrome may be described as a parent becoming less worried about what could happen to his or her child due to the experience of parenting other children. 

It may be best described by some examples:

1. Isaac is the first child in our home who has not only tasted, but eaten sweets and junk multiple times.

(We do feed him nutritious meals, but I am pretty sure the other 2 didn't even know cheetos, ice cream, or cookies existed until they were quite older)

3. Isaac has proven to be a climber. Believe it or not, our first! 

This has been hard for me, but rather than freak out when I find him doing this...

(The picture is pretty blurry sorry, but he has just been standing on the table)

or this...

or this

I instead take a picture! 

Now, at first he would use the ottoman to climb up onto the coffee table or couches by pushing it close.

So we barricaded it with chairs.

Isaac just laughed at me.

Instead he has proven to have inherited determination and has figured out how to get up onto both without the assistance of anything else!

The coffee table hits him about nipple line so this is quite remarkable...and nerve wracking. 

The worst part about it, is he is so stinkin' proud of himself when he gets up there he just beams, smiles and starts clapping. 

He doesn't seem bothered by any discipline he has received for these feats either. 

A little slap on the hand or being held down for a 1 minute time out doesn't phase him!

Eeeeek!

He may give us a run for our money, lots of gray hair and keep us in shape as we chase him around!

He is also quite the momma's boy and has noticed when I spend time snuggling with his big brothers.

By noticed I mean he comes screaming over to us and starts hitting or pulling them away from me with a scowl on his face!

We are working on sharing.

Despite the fact that he won't be my baby for much longer, I still have a hard time thinking of him as a "big boy" and want to just keep him small forever.

I have been praying for strength to be consistent and to not let things get too out of control while I am anxiously waiting to start feeling better.

Does this syndrome last forever?

I am sure to some extent.

I guess only time will tell.

The Truth About Michael

Tears fill my eyes as I write these words.

(Hard to believe that my hormonal, sleep deprived self could cry so easily)

Michael is a fake!

If you don't know who Michael is, he was first introduced on my blog here almost a year ago.

He is was Elijah's imaginary friend. 

Not the imaginary friend that is invisible and stands next to a kid with whom they carry on conversations, but the friend who lives out every dream a 4 year old could possibly have. 

Michael has never been present, at least that I am aware of, but I could write a book about the adventures that Elijah and Michael have been on. 

You can do pretty much whatever you want at Michael's house and Michael has done some pretty amazing things!  He has been on some incredible journeys, seen things no one else has seen, and Elijah will tell you all about it. 

For example, as I gently remind Elijah that he can't scale the couches in the living room he would quickly respond with: "Michael's mom lets us do that at his house."

Or when he is in tears because I have just explained why Oreo cookies aren't the healthiest choice for a mid morning snack I am also reminded that you can eat Oreo's whenever you want at Michael's house!

Michael came to be shortly after Isaac was born. 

I think Michael mostly helped Elijah transition into the role of a Big brother and out of the role as the baby of the family. 

Michael has been the best imaginary friend a guy could ever have!

I have been nostalgic as I have watched Elijah mature over the past few months. 

It has been encouraging, of course to see your child grow up, but also a little hard. 

 I wondered if this maturation would been the death of his friend. 

I worked all last weekend and sometime during my hours of working and sleeping Elijah confessed to Jonah that Michael wasn't real.

He was just "joking" about him and pretending. 

Richard told me this and my heart broke a little. 

I asked Elijah about it and he did in fact confirm that Michael isn't real. 

He was quite serious when he told me this.

I said it was ok if he wanted to keep pretending. 

(I don't think I am ready for Michael to be gone from our lives)

He didn't say anything, but just sadly looked at the floor.

Elijah and I have had many fabulous conversations about life thanks to Michael. 

My Dad took the boys to the circus last weekend and the highlight of the circus for Elijah was when a lady was shot out of a cannon 120 feet!

Since I am not in a place to accept the end of Michael as reality, I asked Elijah if Michael saw the circus. 

Then I held my breath.

Elijah quietly answered no.

(More heart breaking)

Then he smiled at me and said he didn't go to the circus, but he was in one once!

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing this wasn't the end of Michael.

Elijah's face instantly lit up and he quickly became his animated self jumping around the kitchen and demonstrating how Michael was also shot out of a cannon, but it wasn't the same boring old cannon the lady at the circus was in, it was a pirate cannon!

He was really a pirate on a ship and there were bad pirates coming to get him and his crew, so Michael volunteered to be shot out of the cannon across hundreds of miles to the bad guy pirate ship so he could kill them all with his sword. 

Then I smiled and bent down to his level and hugged Elijah. 

I told him I would really miss Michael. 

He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes and told me it would be okay. 

So, there it is.

The truth about Michael.  

I probably won't believe it for awhile. 

I will probably get out the video camera and capture a few more of 

Michael's adventures before they are forgotten.  

Then I will start praying for Isaac to have an imaginary friend.

And then there were 4!

In case you missed the announcement in my last post...

We are PREGNANT!!!!

Baby Dafoe 4.0 is expected to make his/her arrival sometime around November 4th!

(Most likely before since I have never made it to my due date)

We are 10 1/2 weeks and got to hear the most beautiful sound last week, that still brings tears to my eyes despite the number of times I hear it, a little heart beating away. 170 sweet beats per minute!

I have been puking my guts out, despite being loaded with Zofran and Unisom.

We were shocked, surprised, and caught off guard by this news.

In fact, since I am all about being truthful on this blog, I had a small mental breakdown when I found out.  Okay, I passed out and called Richard in tears at work begging him to come home.

Funny now, not so much then. 

I also felt guilty for feeling diapointed as I have so many dear friends who are struggling to become pregnant right now and my heart breaks for them. 

I am feeling overwhelmed by God's plan for us and this little peanut.

Also, since I have already confessed about my small mental breakdown, I am hoping for a girl.

Not that I wouldn't adore and love another little boy to pieces, but a daughter would sure be fun.

In fact Elijah told me before I even knew I was pregnant that he was praying for a baby sister!

I laughed at him. Being pregnant right now was the last thing on my mind!

God was probably laughing at me.

When we told the boys, Jonah responded similar to me. 

He covered his eyes and said, "You're having ANOTHER one! That will be 4 kids that I have to take care of!" He has since slowly become excited, but is rooting for a brother.

Elijah didn't really respond when we told them and when I asked him if he understood what we were saying he just smiled and said, "Yes. I have been counting the stars and Jesus already told me he was giving me a baby sister!" 

Crazy huh? 

Not sure what's crazier...the fact that Elijah wants another sibling 

or that there is still a 50/50 chance it is a girl? 

Boy or Girl I am praying for a healthy little one and a pregnancy that 

does NOT involve preterm labor and bedrest!

Our 20 week ultrasound is currently scheduled for my birthday!

We would covet your prayers for this little one!

Jesus, I praise you for this little one who you already know everything about. I am in awe of your plan for us and pray for safety for this sweet baby. Thank you for the amazing miracle of life! Thank you for, yet again, teaching me to trust in you. Becoming a mother has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding things I have ever done.  I pray that instead of worrying about all the "what ifs" I will be able to praise you for each day we have with this precious child. Thank you for my dear husband who has been reminding me of YOUR plan and beaming ever since he found out!

Growing up too fast!

I am behind on blogging, but I finally got Isaac in for his 1 year check up ( a month late) and Jonah in for his 6 year check up a few months late. 

Isaac was 25 lbs 13 oz and 32 1/2 inches long! Yowza! Our biggest and longest 1 year old yet!

Jonah was 53.2 lbs and 49 inches tall! 

Hard to believe some day I will be the shortest one in my family! I rarely feel short around others and am not sure what that will be like. 

Here is a fun picture of Isaac. He is growing up too fast, could someone tell him to slow down?

Duct Tape works for everything

Last week a nasty stomach virus was kicking my butt and while I was making multiple trips from the couch to the bathroom, I asked the older boys to keep an eye on Isaac while I was in there. 

Now, I know this is no easy task as the one thing 13 month old Isaac doesn't do all day is stay still for very long.

They were snuggled up on the couch playing Jonah's leapster together.

They sweetly responded, "Sure mom!"

My heart melted a little and I shared one of those proud Mom moments with myself.

As soon as I was in the bathroom I overheard the following conversation that made me a little nervous:

(I am not sure who said what so I will refer to Jonah and Elijah as Thing 1 and Thing 2 for this dialogue)

Thing 1: Ok, we have to get Isaac to stay still.

Thing 2: Why?

Thing 1: So we can keep playing the Leapster AND watch him like mom said.

Thing 1: We could just hold him down?

Thing 2: No, he'll just scream.

Thing 1: Hey, we could tell him to sit down and duct tape his legs to the floor!

Thing 2: Good idea! Except won't mom get mad?

Thing 1: Not if we put some fruit loops by him and his milk. 

Thing 2: Brilliant!

Needless to say my proud mom moment from earlier was slightly crushed by the grand plan for duct taping their baby brother to the floor!  I did find their idea creative and at least they were going to leave him some snacks? 

I hid the duct tape after this and found some new distractions for Isaac while I sprinted back and forth from the bathroom.