My Angels

Today was a pretty hard day ...

I had a melt-down over something completely meaningless. 

But ya know, when hormones hit, all you can really do is ride them out and wait for them to pass.

I sunk to the floor against the wall in the hallway upstairs and began to cry. The instant the first sob/gasp for air escaped my lips, I could hear Aaron call out my name and start racing up the stairs to find me. He came right up to me and asked if I was hurt. I replied that no, I wasn't hurt, I was just sad. He proceeded to give me hugs, stroke my hair, and raced off to get me a car, because toys always help you feel better. He then looked at me. He tenderly took my hand and gently said, "I know you're sad ... but I know everything will be ok. Hold my hand and don't let go - I'll keep you safe." This caused me to cry even harder as you can imagine and soon I was in need of a tissue. I asked Aaron to go grab one for me and he, slightly confused, repeated the request. I acknowledged that I did indeed want him to go grab me a tissue and he said, "Ok Mama, but I'll be right back to hold your hand!"

Later, I was sitting on the floor in our living room. Not necessarily sad, but definitely not myself. Audrey came up to me sensing something was wrong. She rubbed my shoulder and gently cupped my chin. She then said what I can only imagine were words of comfort in her own language and proceeded to give me a hug and a kiss.

Thank you, God, for giving me such precious angels who take care of me as much as I take care of them.

Lunch Time!

 I got to meet up with Eric for lunch today!

We went to Olive Garden and after tons of soup, salad, and breadsticks, decided to order these AMAZING Italian donuts. I was so excited and sooooooooo in heaven once I began eating that Eric felt he needed to take a picture - so I took one of him too :)

I love these random times where I get to see him during the day! It gives me such a boost!

Silly Personalities

My kids have such funny peculiarities. Audrey is obsessed with brushing her teeth. If I don't close the bathroom door, she gets a stool, climbs into the sink, grabs whatever toothbrush is closest and will turn on the water to get the brush wet. Aaron loves his snacks - and this is a common snack that he collects and brings to me to prepare. Apples, oranges, carrots and cheese. I love it!

 

 The other day, a song came on during the movie the kids were watching and Audrey reached out to Aaron and said, "Dance? Please?" So he took her hand and they started dancing. So cute!

And Aaron found a way tow Audrey when she can't get her bike to move - he's very clever. 

 

Audrey and I got some "girl bonding time" in yesterday :) I love how much she enjoys preening!

This was the first time we did her fingers as well as her toes and she loved it!

She shows them to me often and says "pretty!"

 

Aaron has been VERY into bringing bugs into the house to show me - he'll come in with worms and lady bugs and then more worms (though, apparently this time - since I said no worms in the house - they are actually sea snakes). He has also brought in ear wigs squirming between his 2 front fingers and then today he brought in this spider - hairy and big with spots on its back! EW!
For now, he has been told that if he brings bugs into the house they may get lost and never see their family again (he is sensitive enough that it should work)... and if he wants to pick up a bug to study, he should come get mama first!

 Apparently this is how we watch movies now ...

 

Sometimes, I don't know about this girl... She does such funny, odd things!

She chose to wear the apron and the sunglasses and wanted to sit on the counter to drink water and eat candy.

 

Despite how silly she is, I sure love the snuggles! Turns out Audrey loves my old bear as much as I did!

 

I love watching Audrey play!

Audrey also loves to do my hair - she sings and chatters while she does it. I tried to get a video (selfie style) of it and she noticed and started paying more attention to herself than my hair!

I love these little crazies! They certainly keep me entertained!

Maternity Photos for Baby #3!

Ane sweetly offered to take the kids today and was even willing to snap a few pictures for me when we went over for dinner in the evening! 

Spotlight

Yesterday at work during an IT Team Meeting, Eric was spotlighted!

I was emailed a series of questions to answer about him and I thought I'd share them here so you guys can get to know Eric better too!

1. What is Eric’s favorite holiday?

Any holiday that has a Steam Sale :)

2. Does he have a nick name?
no

3. What is his favorite color?
Green some days, blue other days :)

4. What is his favorite flavor of ice cream?
Baskin & Robins: Pralines & Cream

5. What is his favorite food?
Meal wise? He loves Homemade Mac & Cheese, but you can't go wrong with Pizza & Rootbeer
Not meal wise? He is totally into fruit and smoothies right now!

6. What is his greatest accomplishment?
He has SO MANY! I think he'd say his family, but working for Precoa is a good one too or finishing school... He also got the John Phillips Sousa Award in High School for Drumming (it's awarded to only one student in the whole school every year. When he started drumming, apparently he kinda sucked ... but he worked hard and pushed through. He'd practice till his fingers bled. He's pretty much amazing now!)

7. What is his favorite season?
I think probably summer - he hates driving to work or coming home in the dark.

8. How many siblings does he have?
4 (Jon, Michael, Tyler, & Rachel)

9. What did he study in school?
He got his degree from the Marriot Business School of Management in Organizational Behavior, Human Resources. He was working toward a minor in Information Technology but my pregnancy with Aaron was rough so he dropped the minor to be home more to take care of me. Luckily, he got to still do what he loves!

10. What kinds of bands has he been in?
He has mostly done Jazz/Funk but has done lots of Orchestral bands (He played with the Portland Ensign Orchestra & Choir last minute for a Christmas Concert). He was also on the Portland Trailblazers Drumline and the Drumline for the BYU Marching Band as 5th Base (the biggest one!)

11. What hobbies does he have?
He loves playing with his kids, practicing the drums and playing video games. I'd also say finances (the art of saving money) is another of his favorite pass times.

12. What is his favorite video game?
This one is tricky... His favorite of ALL TIME is Half-Life 2, but the ones he plays most right now are Dota 2, whichever RPG we are in the middle of (we started playing these because when I got pregnant and super sick all I wanted to do was watch movies and he can handle one movie max, so these games play out like a movie for me only when I yell at the screen, the screen responds and he gets to play a game!) at the current time, and anything he can get me to play with him (he gets really excited about this concept) - Surgeon Simulator, Apocalypse Nation, Diablo 3... Brothers, A Tale of 2 Sons is probably the most impactful game he's ever played and he'll recommend it to just about anyone!

13. Does he have a middle name?
His middle name is Richard. It's the name of his Mother's brother who died. Grandpa decreed that the name could never again be used, but Eric's mom felt right about it. For a while, Eric's Grandpa lived with them and every day Eric would look out the window for his Grandpa -- just like Richard used to do. Eric was able to form a strong bond with his Grandpa before he died.

14. Does he have any pet peeves?
hmmm ... People giving up easily drives him batty. **I have since added: bobby-pins encroaching on his territory.

15. How many different places has he lived?
He was born in Indiana (1) and then they moved to Oregon (2). Then came South Dakota (3), Ohio (4), Texas (5), and then back to a different part of Oregon (6)

16. Does he speak any foreign languages?
He has a secret language with Audrey consisting of Trills ... other than that, no.

17. Where is his favorite vacation spot?
hmmmmmmmm I'm going to pretend it's the resort we went to on our Honeymoon (Now Jade Riviera in Mexico) but I don't actually know ;)

18. What is his dream vacation?
This is a good question because I think he really probably has 2 dream vacations. One would be to go to a resort with me again and no kids and the second would be to take the kids to a burned down warehouse after telling them we were heading to Disneyland ... Afterwards he would take them to the real Disneyland (I hope...)

19. Where was he born?
Batesville, Indiana

20. Does he play any sports?
He played Basketball and Football in middle school / high school and lots of Ultimate Frisbee in college.

21. What is his best characteristic?
His tenderness. Really, he has such a huge heart and sometimes he takes on too much because of it, but it's a pretty amazing part of who he is.

22. Is he allergic to anything?
A Dirty House?

23. Is there anything he doesn’t like to eat?
Anything that has been cooked in the microwave. Seriously. I kid you not. He'll wait an hour for something to be done in the oven before he'll put it in the microwave -- he invented warming pizza in the toaster to avoid the microwave. He also won't eat ice cream with hot fudge on top or a warm brownie or cookie in with the ice cream... It all has to be separate. Heaven forbid his ice cream begins to melt!

24. What is his favorite movie?
It once was The Two Towers but I can't be certain what it is now. **I have since learned it is Live, Die, Repeat.

25. What made you fall in love with him?
oh boy... Well, I'll admit, when I first met him the thing that made me want him was that my roommate claimed him. I remember distinctly having the thought, "I could take him from her..." haha! But as I got to know him, I fell in love with his tenderness, his goofiness, and his charm. (He was also in the marching band and working out every morning which definitely didn't deter me o_O)

26. How long have you been married?
Coming up on 5 years!

27. How old are your children?
3.5 and 1.5 and negative 1 month

28. What is Aaron and Audrey’s favorite thing about Eric?
When Eric comes home, it doesn't matter how long his day was - he always has a smile for them. He's eager to play with them and he's so patient (much more than I am!!!)

29. What is his favorite restaurant?
This is going to sound terrible, but I don't actually know. When we go out to eat for a date night, he always picks my favorite because he knows it'll make me happy so most often we go to CheeseCake Factory. I think if I asked him what his favorite is, he'd say CheeseCake Factory simply because he wants me to think that ... that way he can keep on taking me where I want to go and I won't feel guilty. Though, I do know he LOVES sushi!

30. What is his favorite board game?
He is rather in love with Dead of Winter which is a zombie apocalypse game but he also likes Twilight Imperium but it's harder to find people to play that one because it is so intricate!

A Baby Update

Today, I am 35 weeks pregnant. 

So close, right?

Yeah, totally doesn't feel that way...

Ah well.

Luckily, Audrey sleeping in her big girl bed went well last night, as has her nap. And it was pretty fun to have both kids climb in our bed to wake us this morning. So that helps my overall mood :)

We had a doctor's appointment today to check on how she's doing.

Overall the results were positive :)

The kids love playing with the toys in the waiting area and are getting better and better at behaving in the exam room. Audrey got to help find the baby's heart beat today and she thoroughly enjoyed that.

We learned that I'm dilating which earned me the "call us if..." lecture. I was thinking that perhaps this Saturday would be a nice day to go into labor. Though, chances are she's going to take her time cooking and come out late. sigh But, if that's what it takes to keep her healthy, then I'll do it.

Aaron gets excited every time the baby starts moving and declares that she's coming out! I feel like I'm breaking his heart every time I tell him that she is, in fact, just dancing and she isn't ready to come out yet - as much as I would like that...

As far as how I'm feeling goes ... There is still no hope for any food I've eaten to stay down if my heartburn gets too bad combined with my cough or if I push myself too hard during the day, but as long as I take it easy, I'm pretty safe.

I feel like a hippo, but what can ya do?

 Come out any time baby girl! We're ready!!!

Audrey's Big Girl Bed

I decided today it was time to switch Audrey to a big girl bed.

Not because she was climbing out of the crib - she in fact hasn't attempted that for quite some time.

No, it's because she climbs the bunkbed frequently, gives me a heart attack, and tries to climb down over the side like her brother does and it has yet to end well.

So, to avoid my racing to the bedroom once again because Aaron yells, "AUDREY'S GOING TO FALL!" we took apart the bunkbed and moved out the crib.

 Everyone enjoyed story time taking place in Audrey's bed.
It's so fun to see her using my old pillow case, blanket and baby doll!

It took Audrey quite some time to crash. This whole freedom thing is new...

Aaron would get upset each time she got out of bed or got into something in the room.

But after we had a chat (or two or three) with him, he eventually chose to ignore her and fall asleep before she did. But she did choose to sleep in the bed in the end.

I went in to lie with her for a bit and she gave me some very sweet snuggles :) I think I'm going to like this!

Is It Summer Yet?!?

Oregon weather feels like summer right now!

It's been in the 80's so we've spent a ton of time outside!

 Aaron decided to get himself and Audrey some frosting, haha. And with the sun going down later, we've had to switch up our bedtime routine to get the kids more excited to go to bed. Now, they get to read with Daddy!

 Look at those curls!!!

 Saturday, Daddy had a GREAT idea to pull out all of our summer water toys!

  

 Aaron was all about getting Daddy and I wet with either his squirt toy or his bucket.

Luckily, he can only ever get our feet with that bucket since he doesn't know how to swing it high yet.

Yeah ... my little water bugs :)

 After playing, Aaron requested some shade (a tent) and then Audrey took a nap while Daddy and Aaron did an obstacle course!

 They did crunches, ran through a series of chairs, did "up-down's", jumped through hoops, crawled and did push ups over and over and over again. Aaron loved being able to work out with Daddy!

Aaron chose soccer drills for their cool down.

After playing outside, we came in to watch The Princess Bride and had homemade pizza. 

The kids watched the entire movie :)

But the sun keeps coming back so we keep going out! Today, again, it's in the 80's!

 

 

 Sweet Eric installed the AC Units for me as well this past weekend! I am sleeping much better now!