It's a Boy!!

Tuesday afternoon was the big reveal, the ultrasound that would show us whether we were expecting another boy or another girl.  I had only scheduled it about 2 weeks earlier which was kind of nice because I didn't have to spend months painstakingly waiting for that day.  And as the day got closer, I got more and more excited, but also more and more nervous.  I'm not one to always dwell on the 'what-if's' that could happen, but I was definitely wanting to see a healthy baby on that ultrasound screen!!

It's always so amazing to see your baby through an ultrasound.  It wasn't even a 4D ultrasound but it's just so cool.  The fact that you can see the heart beating, see the brain, see the limbs....awesome.  So we just fully enjoyed looking at our little baby (even more so after the ultrasound tech let me go empty my bladder, ha!!) and waited for the shot that would tell us boy or girl.

Right away it was pretty obvious that we were indeed having another boy!!  My reaction to the news was funny, because I wasn't super disappointed that we weren't having a girl after having two boys previously.  My reaction was sort of like, hmmmm, okay, it's not a girl.  Okay, it's not a girl.  It's a boy, we know boys.  We love our boys, this is great!

Especially after I was able to go home and just sit for an hour after the appointment, it was just so fun to think about the crazy chaos that 3 sweet, lovable brothers are going to bring to our household.  People's reaction to our 3rd boy news has been mixed.  Some people were just excited, some seemed a bit disappointed because they were hoping we were having a girl, some said to keep trying for a girl, some didn't seem to believe that I was okay with having 3 boys.  But really, Peter and I are more than okay with it and spent that evening just watching Benjamin and Jonah and smiling at each other imagining another little tackler in the mix.

I would have been okay with either a boy or a girl, and I am so, so, so grateful to have seen a healthy baby.  We really are blessed to be able to have children easily and I count it a great privilege to be able to do my best to raise 3 godly boys who will love Jesus and love their mama :-)

And although our grocery bill is going to be out of this world crazy big, just think of the money we are going to save on weddings!!!  Now the tough part of finding another boy name we like.....

Sunday best

My boys love going to church on Sunday and I love torturing them by trying to get a picture of them before we leave in the morning.  Most of the time they fight me, but I am relentless and know that some day I'll love looking back at my handsome men in their Sunday best!

Bunkbeds

Soon after Jonah turned two, we lost our minds for a second.  Okay, not really.  But we did determine to put our bunkbeds together, say goodbye to our great sleep, and let our boys sleep together in the same room.  Which if you think about it, is kinda the same thing as losing your mind :-)

Peter had the day off for Veteran's Day so we decided to bite the bullet and get the transition done.  Ben has already been sleeping in what we call the 'playroom' since my Mom and sister have been with us, but he's been on a futon.  We had a set of bunkbeds that we got for a steal of a deal ($30) at a garage sale last summer, so we decided to combine our playroom with the boys' bedroom.  It's the biggest of the rooms upstairs and will allow us to still have a guestroom and nursery upstairs too!

It was quite a bit of effort to move all the toy shelves, bookshelves, etc all around in order to put the bunkbeds on the biggest wall away from the windows, but we got it done!  I forgot to take before and after pictures of the whole room, but I will do that soon.  It's probably my favorite room in the house because it's so cheerful on a sunny day and just the right size.

The boys have looooved being in their bunkbeds and together in the same room.  Jonah had never been out of his crib and neither one had ever shared a room.   So all things considered, they have done great!  Of course, the first week they both woke up super duper early and naptimes were really short.  But they were getting used to sleeping with new noises, and learning how to wake up without waking the other one up.

Now, they've learned how to sleep through each other talking/crying and have learned how to wake up and quietly get out of their room without waking the other one.  We still have our moments of course, but it's gone really smooth and their back to normal sleeping and normal naps, it took about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks for this to happen.

And watching them bond even more as brothers?  Ahhhh, be still our hearts.  Seriously, Peter and I just smile so big when we see them laugh and tickle each other and talk to each other in their bunkbeds.  It melts our hearts every time and we feel so, so blessed to have our boys.

Superheroes and Valentine's Day

Both my boys love superheroes right now and I know I'm biased, but they sure do make cute little Captain America's :-)

We don't do huge celebrations for Valentine's Day.  I would much rather have Peter get me flowers on a day when the price wasn't bumped up 400%....but that's just the cheapskate in me.  For Peter's present the boys and I cleaned out the van and the garage during the day on Friday.  And by the boys and I, I really mean me.  The boys got into mischief, went on a treasure hunt for interesting sticks and leaves, and played with slugs.  100% boy they are.  Peter very sweetly made me a little homemade card and had the boys write me a little note too.  We also made a yummy cheesecake for dessert after the boys woke up from naps.  They loved being Mommy's helper and it turned out really well!

On Saturday my mom and sister volunteered to watch the boys for most of the day so Peter and I could have some time together.  They took them to Chuck E. Cheese so I'm pretty sure we weren't missed.at.all.  Both boys had a blast!  And so did we!  We got some Starbucks for the road, then went to a college basketball game in Portland.  Then we ran a few errands and ate a yummy dinner at the Portland Seafood Company.  Anytime we can eat a tasty meal without kids is seriously my love language.  It was just really refreshing to spend 2/3 of a day together catching up, laughing and just enjoying each other's company.  Of course I didn't take a picture, but I promise, it was a great day!

Snow Days

A few weeks ago we had a 'major' snowstorm.  Probably not major for some parts of the country, but for Oregon....it was major.  It resulted in a few more snow days for the schools and being holed up inside for a really long weekend.  Church was canceled, streets were pretty bare.  I've never seen it snow that much (or ice that thick) in the 9 years we've lived here.

The boys ventured out to play one morning.  And by play, I really mean that we spent a half an hour finding all the appropriate gear, 15 minutes getting them dressed, and about 5 minutes playing outside before they were cold.  Ha!  Benjamin actually lasted much longer than that but Jonah was not a fan.  Peter took them sledding in the street which consisted of him just pulling them along on the sled, and both boys pretty much hated it.  I took some hilarious video of them both screaming their head off and declaring that they hated sledding.  We were dying laughing from the front porch :-)  Ben and Peter played outside for a good hour before they finally headed inside for some apple cider to warm up.

On the first night we were stuck inside Jonah got the stomach bug.  He threw up 4 times within a few hours and then it was over.  We kept him on the applesauce/water diet for the next 24ish hours and he wasn't sick again.  Jonah did not appreciate not getting to eat normal food though that's for sure and he certainly missed his milk.  But this mama did not want to clean up that kind of mess in the middle of the night if he was still sick!

Despite him being sick, everyone else was well so I cooked too much while we were stuck indoors and when we could finally venture out safely a few days later it was pure bliss.  Makes me realize that although I love my childhood, there's no way I could handle the Iowa winters anymore!!