This summer I have had a lot of time alone with my sweet boy Bear. Jack has had several weeks of VBS and then a week of gymnastics camp etc. Bear has been too young for any of the activities and so he’s been having lots of time alone with mommy. While I’ve missed my Jackster (who has been having a complete blast) it’s been fun to have so much special time with my tiny man. He’s such a snuggly, funny dude and I just love him so much!
Tomorrow starts week 41 and still no Pirate. I am *trying* to wait patiently but man, I’m so ready to meet my little guy/girl! I am schedule for an induction next Tuesday which is week 42 but am praying for sooner!
Nanny had her surgery this morning and thank God that all went perfectly! We have been praying for her for months and continue to pray that she heals perfectly. We love you Nanny and can’t wait to hug you very soon!
Well, I’m due Tuesday (3 days from now) and am really hoping our little guy/girl makes an appearance very soon.
My last two doctors appointments have given the SAME update (1 cm and 70% and baby has not yet dropped). Oh and don’t forget the super scientific and very accurate part where the doctor puts his hands on my belly and scratches his head saying, “yep, this baby isn’t even 8 pounds yet. I think this will be your smallest.” Note that the same doctor (who I really do love) said the EXACT same thing the day that I went into labor with Bear. He all but promised that Bear wasn’t over 8 pounds. Of course I have predicted (recently) that this baby will be smaller as well but that is also not based on anything but a hunch.
Jackson was 2 weeks late and week 42 was not my favorite week of life. However, having no children and a super easy to please husband, life was still pretty easy. With Bear I was smart and just told myself that I’d go 10 days over so I didn’t start getting anxious/irritated at all as my due date grew nearer because I still thought I had tons of time. I had a full weekend of fun planned for Jay’s birthday and went into labor instead which was a very nice surprise.
This time I have not been so wise. Partly because every one has said that the third baby comes earlier and partly because we found out this week that we are expected to move to Austin on August 20th. That’s right, today is the 14th and we still have no baby. But in less than 6 weeks we’ll have a baby, have made 2 two day trips (with said baby and exhausted mommy in tow) to Austin to scout for a place to live AND be moved into that place.
Yes, my pregnant lady/nesting/planning/hormonal insanity has definitely kicked in in a very major way.
So, for the last two days I did EVERYTHING that I have ever heard that could make you go into labor. All efforts resulted in NADA. Baby still happily inside playing the drums formerly known as my rib cage while bouncing on the trampoline formerly known as my bladder.
Today I decided (at the prompting of my doula who reminded me that it took me 21 hours of consistent 3-5 minute apart contractions to even get to a 4 with Bear) to stop the insanity. I’m going to just relax and make lots of plans and assume that the baby will come by induction (week of July 26th). And yes, I am also trusting God that all will work out with the birth, move etc. So, now that it’s all on His shoulders and not mine-I’m sure my family will enjoy my company far more!
And, as luck would have it three of my favorite people in the WORLD are coming to visit on Tuesday and my entire house is completely thrilled to have Sissy, Mia and Lennon in Texas for the next 3 weeks. So, once I get to the due date I think I’ll be so distracted with family fun that I won’t even notice the time flying by.
So there is the official update on both Pirate’s progress and my pregnant lady craziness!
This last weekend was a little more exciting than we had expected. Friday night our house was just off. Jack had been sick with a fever on Thursday night and seemed fine other than being super lethargic. Bear was up 8, yes, that’s right 8 times crying Friday night for no apparent reason and I had contractions (not consistent) all night.
Luckily, early Saturday morning Gaga and David picked up the kids to go have breakfast with Spiderman and then play at Amazing Jake’s (one of Jackson’s very favorite places) and they had a blast!
Jack loved the rock climbing wall!
Washing up for lunch.
The boys having a blast with David.
(In the Chris Farley voice) “Brother’s gotta hug!”
Jack was all smiles on the bumper cars!
Then when the kids came back Bear immediately went down for a nap and Jay (aka super dad) took Jack back to Amazing Jake’s (despite having a bad headache) to continue using the all day pass that Gaga and David had bought. Poor Jay ended up feeling worse and worse and long story short I ended up taking him to the ER that night for two iv’s worth of pain medication to treat the worst migraine I have ever witnessed. Poor Jay’s blood pressure was through the roof from the pain and I was really worried. Praise the Lord that all of his labs/scans came back normal and the head ache was just a major fluke. And a huge thanks to Mom (Gaga) for coming over and hanging out on our sofa until after 1 a.m. Sunday we were wiped and the kids had an unlimited tv pass. . .so they of course were thrilled!
We were surprised that with me being 39 weeks pregnant Jay was the one in the hospital but are hoping that soon it’ll be me there for us to meet baby Pirate!
Nana worked with Jackson on his diving skills while we were enjoying our babymoon and sent me this great video. I especially love the random back flip he throws in after swimming to the side of the pool.
Way to go Jackson. . .and thanks Nana!
Jackson has been doing gymnastics camp this week from 8-4 every day (other than Wednesday). On Tuesday when I picked him up he quickly let me know that he’d “gotten in love with a girl that day.” It seems that a 6 year old girl named Kaitlin has stolen his heart. Here is the video of him talking about it:
My phone’s hard drive was full (apparently I need to delete some major videos and pictures to make room for Pirate’s arrival) so here’s the second half of Jack and Kaitlin’s plans for their “future lives.” Just ignore what I will call minor um, nose scratching, towards the end of the video.
Jackson pretty much has a little girl he’s smitten by every where he goes. However, this is the first that I can remember actually making plans for marriage, kids and pets. He reminds me so much of BJ in the way that he just loves girls and notices everything about them. Thursday morning as soon as he got up he got into his savings shed to get some change because he wanted to buy animal crackers for Kaitlin to surprise her at snack time. I offered just to pack an extra apple sauce for her but he already knew that she didn’t like apple sauce and what her favorite things were in several food categories. He was so proud of himself for buying the crackers and kept telling Bear that he was going to hide the crackers in his cubby (where they kept their lunches etc. through out the day) and then surprise her with her favorite thing. Kids just crack me up!
This 4th of July was made extra special by us celebrating our last holiday as a family of 4. The festivities began last night with Jay taking the boys (along with Papa and Uncle Jer) to Kaboom Town in Addison. Kaboom town is one of the biggest fireworks displays in the nation. Jay took Jack last year and they had a blast and this year was the same. It was doubly sweet that Jay took the boys because I had what will likely be my last girls night with my MOMS group last night. We had a great time together while the guys braved the crowds.
We continued our celebration Wednesday morning with a special breakfast followed by lots of family fun (aka wrestle with daddy extravaganza) and then lunch at Benihana. The kids LOVED Benihana. The hibachi chef was great and really played it up and put on a great show. We were seated at the same table as a married couple with no children. They were very friendly and at the end commented on how well behaved and polite our boys were. Yes, it’s true, the stars aligned that day and we had yet another meal where our children were extremely well behaved. I’m not going to lie-I could really get used to that!
This isn’t the greatest picture but man, my guys love having wrestling wars. . .and the botachas are a serious favorite in our home. If Pirate turns out to be a boy we are going to have to find a third for him!
The boys having a great time at the restaurant.
My sweet almost 5 year old.
Jack used the kid chop sticks at the beginning of the meal and was using the adult sticks (not with 100% accuracy, but doing a pretty decent job) by the end. He was very impressed with himself for eating like mommy and daddy.
Quite possibly the last picture of our family of 4.
At the end of the meal when the bill came Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out 8 quarters, which he had gotten from his savings shed (piggy bank made at home depot) that morning. He told Jay that he wanted to pay the bill for the family and had saved for it. Such a sweet little guy!
Later that night Bear was just exhausted from the night prior so Jay stayed with him and Jack and I met Gaga, David and Grandmommy for dinner at The Twisted Root. It was really nice not only to see family but to have a night out with Jack. All in all a super awesome 4th of July and a fantastic family of four celebration!
Last weekend we had our babymoon and it was FANTASTIC!!! Not only did our boys have an awesome time but we got to relax, go see a movie (The Avengers), go out to eat, get massages etc. We were reminded of how little we appreciated our kid free years. Of course these years are amazing and we wouldn’t trade them for the world but we kept saying things like, “can you believe that we had this kind of freedom ALL OF THE TIME just 5 short years ago?” And “what did we do all of the time?” It was pure greatness having a whole weekend to just enjoy my incredible husband.
I have to elaborate regarding my pregnancy massage. . .it was interesting. Dad and Laura had given me a gift card for Christmas which was super awesome. When we got to the place on Saturday the lady offered me a pregnancy “release” massage as opposed to the regular kind. She said everyone she had given one to had gone into labor within 2 and 48 hours of the massage. I, assuming she was crazy, said sure and went for it. She even made sure that us missing our dinner reservations that night to have the baby would be ok. We took a risk. Despite her being one of the nicest ladies ever she was also one of the weirdest and most granola people I have ever encountered. She “spoke” to my body about several different things and even listened to the baby (who she claimed talked non stop). She didn’t want to ruin the surprise of the gender although she said the baby told her right away but I convinced her to tell me. I pretended to put more stock in her knowledge that any other guess. She said he was a boy and very happy, great energy and extremely talkative. Unfortunately the 48 hour mark passed Monday and still no labor but we’ll see if her other assertions are correct. Still a great massage and she certainly gave me some interesting topics to discuss with Jay that night.
And now about the boys, a huge thanks to Papa and Nana who took Jack for the weekend. He has gone on and on about what a fantastic time he had. They rode bikes, went swimming and went to Medieval Times for dinner and the jousting show. Jackson said the Green Knight, “their Knight” won which thrilled him to no end. He said it was likely due to his “spidey sense” being transferred to the knight. Jack had been begging us to take him there for literally years and we’d never gotten around to it (I know, major slacker parents). But he’s talked about it every day since.
He also ate a “tuna kit” for the first time and is now obsessed with them. He begged for me to buy them for him to take for snacks to gymnastics camp this week. He wants to be just like his Papa-even eating the same food!
Thanks again Dad and Laura!
And another huge thanks to Adrienne and Damian for keeping Bear for the weekend. He had a terrific time being loved on by his best friends and playing outside and in the pool. He particularly loved helping Adrienne make home made pizza and eating Damian’s home made pancakes for breakfast. When I picked up Bear from church on Sunday I jokingly asked him if he wanted to come home or go back to Adrienne’s. He immediately answered that he’d go back with Adrienne. Luckily he settled for coming with us. Thanks to the awesome Hirst fam for showing him such a great time!
And while our babymoon couldn’t have been any better, at night when I was tossing and doing the 7-point turn just to hoist myself up to go to the bathroom I was also reminded of how nice it is that this is my last babymoon. While I have loved feeling Pirate kick etc. it will be very nice to have him/her here soon and be able to just enjoy our 3 awesome kids!
Is it just me or did this pregnancy go by incredibly fast?!
Bear wanted in on the picture fun too!
Poor Jay works so hard that he barely ever sees the boys during the week. Luckily he’s super awesome about spending TONS of time with them on the weekends. Last Saturday he got up with the boys and took them to a special breakfast and then to see his office. They were fascinated and are still talking about the elevators, daddy’s desk etc. It’s so wonderful for my guys to have such an involved, fun and loving daddy!
Here they are having fun outside of Jay’s office building.
Last week Bear dressed himself and the combination of Jay’s BU ski hat (inside out), his own Hawaiian shirt, Jackson’s pajama pants and his own rain boots turned out to be a winning ensemble. As you can see Jackson was sporting underwear and a helmet. To each his own!
Last week I took the boys to the pediatrician to check on Jackson’s ears (unfortunately he’s been plagued with swimmer’s ear this summer.) Anyway, while we were in the super crowded waiting room Bear happened to be skipping (his new talent) across the room and as he walked past the fire extinguisher he pulled out the ring. Immediately a light green powder started spraying out covering all of the people/children within a 3 foot radius. It was awesome, and I say that with the utmost sarcasm. The kids were freaking out, there was a loud noise coming from the extinguisher and the nurses were worried about the powder being toxic. Turns out it’s only toxic if ingested.
My kids weren’t even misbehaving and I was still “that mom” whose mere presence was causing chaos and disruption. I have no clue why a pediatricians office would have the extinguisher at the two foot level but regardless, ugh. Then we went in to find out that yes, Jackson had his third ear infection since May. Then we went home.
At home I decided that we all needed some green smoothies and got a little overzealous with the chard and kale so I decided to add some of Jay’s fresh honey (from his bee keeping class). With my newfound lack of any type of coordination (thanks to late 3rd trimester balance issues) I dropped the entire jar on the floor breaking it. I can tell you that honey is one of my least favorite things to clean up. The mess it makes is not entirely fun.
So, at this point, I was in a pretty bummed mood. Hormones, exhaustion (getting up multiple times each hour due to being so enormous and uncomfortable AND having to pee constantly), etc and I was just down.
So, my sweet 4 year old came and sat beside me. Anyone who’s lived with me in the past 15 years will tell you that one of my favorite things ever, especially to cheer up myself or anyone else, is a good dance party. When I lived with Danielle at Baylor we quite often would hop onto the sofa and sing our hearts out into our hair brushes while dancing and having fun. It’s definitely continued through out my life because when Jackson came up and sat next to me on the floor he said, “mom, I think what we need is to crank up the music and have a dance party!” So, of course, I hopped up and turned on the music. “Open the Eyes of My Heart” was on and it was perfect because it’s one of the kids favorites. So, we danced and sang (luckily my glass cracking voice has never impeded a good dance party) and instantly were all in great moods. And then when the song was over Jackson looked up at me and said, “when I’m an adult I’m going to have a huge, fancy dance party. I’m going to buy you a princess dress and dance with you and dip you like a prince.” And with that, the day was saved and all I could think about was how richly God has blessed Jay and I with these super energetic, wild, curious and amazingly loving little boys!
Back in March Adrienne and I worked on the school auction together. The one item that Jackson was literally obsessed with winning was a date with his teacher. The date consisted of dinner, a movie and ice cream and we were outbid with 3 seconds on the clock. Thankfully, Mrs. Loppatto was super awesome and allowed us to donate the winning amount to the school and take Jackson on a date anyway. Jackson was SO excited in the days leading up to the date and even asked his dad to shine his shoes so he would look handsome. He had wanted to wear a suit but I convinced him that 100+ degrees was not the best suit weather. Mrs. Loppatto said that they had a fantastic time and was her usual loving self and he has talked about the date ever since. Jack was very proud of himself that he was a gentleman and remembered to open the door etc. for Mrs. Loppatto. I have said it before but we are so thankful that Jack had such an awesome teacher this year. She left some pretty big shoes for the next teacher to fill!
For Father’s Day this year we, of course, went to Papa and Nana’s for a day of fun, swimming and grilling. As usual we had a great time and Nana made my day super easy by playing with the kids in the pool the whole time.
Nana taught Jackson to dive.
Bear wanted to learn too!
Little Bear loved swimming with Nana.
And he even settled for Mommy for a while.
Fun in the hot tub.
Uncle Jer and Papa chilling by the pool.
Jay and I are both so blessed to have such amazing fathers. And additionally my boys lives are incredibly blessed by their fantastic grandfathers and super amazing father!
Poor Bear was really tired from way too much fun the other day and literally ran into the wall 3 times in one day. Even bruised up this little guy is still pretty cute!
