Thankful I am not an African Elephant

Tomorrow we are 35 weeks!

Can't believe this little peanut will be here before we know it.

While I feel as though my body is falling apart at a rapid rate and I am questioning whether it will make it for these last few weeks, I am so thankful this little one continues to grow safe inside.

I do really enjoy being pregnant and marvel at the miracle of having that little person growing inside until the birthday party.

However, I have found myself complaining a little more than normal this time around.

Ahem, okay, maybe most nights.  I am sure Richard would not agree at all. 

It seems as though I have been pregnant forever and although I do know the big day will be here soon, it also feels as though I will just remain pregnant forever. 

Unable to bend over, sleep for more than an hour at a time without having to pee, eat more than a few bites every few hours, and not feel as though I have just run a marathon every time I walk up the stairs.

While marveling at the strength of this little one's kicks and punches, Richard wondered what a mother elephant experiences during pregnancy. 

I googled "what mammal as the longest gestation" and what do you know...it just happens to be the African Elephant!

According to National Geographic, the African Elephant

 is pregnant for up to 22 months!!!!!!!!!!!  

Makes my 9 month pregnancy not seem so bad!

While I was also fretting about the size of this baby (our boys have all been pretty decent size), the average elephant weighs 200 pounds at birth and is almost 3 ft tall! 

Makes my 8lb 14oz, 22 inch child seem like a shrimp!

So while I am anxious to meet this little one and a little lot anxious to be reassured my body won't fall apart, I am thankful I am not an African Elephant.

Potato Bowl Parade Fun

Last weekend was the Potato Bowl Parade, and it was a beautiful day for it!

Richard was out of town for the day for cross country and so was my brother-in-law who is one of his assistant coaches. So fun to be a cross country coach widow with my own sister!

The boys, my sister and I headed downtown and set up camp in an almost perfect spot to watch the parade.  Almost perfect only because we ended up having kids and adults coming and sitting/standing right in front of us towards the end!

These three boys sure enjoyed it though...

Me and my boys waiting for the parade to start.

 Cheese!

Isaac had the best seat in the house for most of the parade...right on top of Auntie Nikki.

Between all the bands, trucks, and candy it was a good time had by all...

Don't be fooled by this picture, Jonah was a little grumpy when I made him come sit back and watch while other kids were standing in the middle of the street. 

Isaac was pretty cute about getting candy too. 

He was too slow to grab it himself so Jonah and Elijah would run out and grab it and then throw it down right in front of him and he would get so excited!

We had a few other pretty small kiddos standing near us and Jonah and Elijah reluctantly shared their candy at first and by the end were placing handfuls in the other kiddos bags.

It was lots of fun and I wouldn't have been able to do it without my sister's help.

Yeah for parades and Aunties!

"Mawn Mower"

Isaac continues to be fascinated with trucks, trains, cars, and machinery. 

He has probably been the most interested in these things of the 3 boys.

It is fun to hear him squeal with delight as we drive around town when we encounter a truck, or if he hears an airplane, train or siren when we are outside. 

Isaac also loves to mow the lawn.

He loves hearing and seeing lawn mowers, which he lovingly refers to as "mawn mowers" it is quite adorable and I am going to miss this stage. 

I had to get some pictures of him happily mowing our lawn the other day.

He wiped out at the park and skinned his nose! 

Poor little guy looks like rudolph.

It hasn't slowed him down though!

Isaac, you are so busy and keep me on my toes (literally) all day. 

I am sure loving your discoveries each day and watching your personality evolve.

I also am desperately holding onto these last few weeks of you as my baby.

I love you lots and think you are growing up too fast!

Love, Mommy

32 weeks....getting closer!

This is me and Bruce the Deuce at 32 weeks...

While I am actually almost 34 weeks....I still wanted to post this pic.

I feel as though I am torn between two worlds.

The one we now know with 3 little boys and a routine we have adjusted to nicely....to one with a newborn upon which everything will become different and new again.

Then we will have 4 KIDS! 

Yikes!

Exciting and nerve racking at the same time. 

Mostly I can't wait to see if we will have 4 boys or 3 boys and 1 little lady.

I am enjoying the one-on-one time I have been able to sneak in with each of my boys as the weeks continue to fly by and this little one will be here before we know it. 

It's funny how different they each are when they are alone with you too.

It is also so exciting to daydream about my 3 boys admiring and loving on their baby brother or sister.

The big boys LOVE babies and Isaac has recently become quite enthralled himself.

I am not so sure he will like babies after one moves into his home and takes his momma hostage.

Funny thing is I also go between feeling as though I might be pregnant forever and forgetting that I am pregnant until I sit down at the end of the day when 3 little boys are off to dream land.

Praying for these last few weeks of that baby growing big and healthy!

We can't wait to meet you little one! 

Well, we can wait a few more weeks, so just stay put until at least mid October okay?

Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

We have a new addition to our family....

A beautiful Canoe!

Richard has been looking for some time for a canoe and he found an incredible deal he couldn't pass up!

It still needs a name, and unfortunately we won't be able to use it until next summer, but that hasn't stopped the boys from exploring in it.

They have had many fun times already pretending to row down a river and go on adventures.

Isaac has been thrilled to be a part of it too. 

I am looking forward to many memories made with this canoe.

Maybe some trips to the Boundary Waters as well as Tulaby Lake?

Attack of the Giant Band-aids!

So having a toddler who is independent results in many times during the day when I discover him getting into something he shouldn't or making a mess somewhere.

The other day I was upstairs making supper and heard Elijah shrieking about a mess Isaac had made and then scolding Isaac.

It had been one of those days where nothing seemed to go quite right and I had already spent my day cleaning up messes Isaac had made after I had finished picking something up.

I was bracing myself for another disaster and taking nice deep breaths while I did that.

I was heading downstairs to investigate further and heard Elijah yelling to me that Isaac made a mess with "giant band-aids" and he threw them all over the bathroom.

While I was hurrying to assess the situation I was trying to think about what "giant band-aids" I had stored in the basement bathroom and why they were there.

As I rounded the corner into the bathroom I started laughing at the following scene:

Elijah was jumping up and down and yelling while Isaac 

stood beaming at the beautiful mess he had just made, clapping and yelling Yah!

The "giant band-aids" happened to be a box of 50 panty liners!

I was laughing so hard I started crying and was afraid I would pee my pants, Elijah was upset at my reaction and between laughing and trying to breathe I told him they weren't band-aids.

He was very confused and I just told him they were for ladies and he didn't need to worry about it.

He wondered what kind of "owie" a lady would have that they needed such a big band-aid and why did it have a sticker on the opposite side that needed to fix the "owie"

Mostly he was worried he was going to have to clean up the mess I think, so he was very relieved when I told him I would do it. 

I wish I would have taken a picture of the scene, but Isaac had already tossed a few "giant band-aids" into the toilet so I had to act quick in my clean up efforts. 

Isaac once again lived up to his name providing laughter in our house.

I probably will have to use that code name on my grocery list when I need to restock too...giant band-aids just sounds like more fun.

Nesting much?

This summer I had a list of things "to do" before #4 arrives and very few items were checked off the list.

Most of the things I wanted to do involved organizing, cleaning, purging, and sorting.

A task that made me hyperventilate just thinking about it!

The biggest job I wanted to tackle before baby comes was going through ALL the boy clothes we have and minimizing.  After 3 boys, we have accumulated way more than even one little boy would need. 

We also don't have enough room to keep everything.  So, for months I have been slowly going through closets and drawers when little "helpers" aren't around and making piles in the laundry room.

Finally, the piles were taking over our laundry room so I set out to tackle the biggest job (sorting 3T to 5T) and deciding what was worth keeping, what my hormonal self could part with, and what I could sell or donate. Whew! I started one night after the kids were in bed and 4 hours later I finished...

Everything is labeled, ready to be stored and used again?!? 

After doing this, I had mixed emotions about the sex of this next baby.  If it is a boy we are set! If it isn't a boy I am not sure I can part with these tubs of clothes that have so many memories of each boy exploring, growing, and just simply being adorable.  I also am hyperventilating thinking about where exactly we would have room for little girl things in this house!  Richard reassures me that if by some crazy chance this is a girl she would probably be a tom boy any way so I shouldn't worry about it. 

He also doesn't see why she couldn't just wear her big brother's clothes that are still in great shape.

I am 99.9% sure that if I were to ever have a girl 

she will be dressed in pink until she has her own opinion!

Then Richard helped me tackle a coat closet one night, our own closet, and I was able to organize a frequently used closet in the hall filled with games, colors, and other fun things. 

I have taken an embarrassing amount of clothes to the salvation army and was able to sell some items in a garage sale last weekend. Feels pretty good!

The last part of the project was Isaac's closet as I had sizes 12-24 months in there and needed to get out the 2T for him for this fall. 

My great friend Mollie came over and helped me tackle this last step...

I have officially made it through ALL the clothes and it feels amazing!

While I still have a few more smaller projects I wanted to finish I feel much better about this baby's rapidly approaching due date. 

What I really want to do is get out the newborn/3 month clothes and wash them up so they are ready.

They are just so small and cute and precious memories of each of our boys flood my hormonal mind as I touch them.  Can't believe the 3 big boys we have fit in these little clothes!

I am holding out for a few more weeks to do this so they smell fresh for #4, plus that means this baby really is coming soon!

I also have to wait until Jonah moves downstairs, Isaac moves into Elijah's room and the drawers are empty for baby clothes to fill them.

Now I need to take a break from nesting and rest up...at least for a week or two.

Too bad I am not motivated to finish the boys' baby books....they may or may not be pretty empty.

I have years to do that right?

Or I am sure I will have so much free time when baby #4 comes 

that I just won't know what to do with myself?  

I will be able to get them done then.  Or maybe some other time. We'll see.