The last of recent happenings

Will is all over the "Cheeeese" when he wants his photo taken. He will be 2 in 9 days! Here is my sob story: this has been an unusually crazy August. I 'kind of' forgot about my physical therapy license being due, so took a last minute crash home study course, prayed to pass, and renewed my license in the last possible hour; we have had 4 appreciation dinners this month thanks to Brice...so more running; Gabbie is starting school; I wanted to finish my list of "fun things to do with the kids this summer", so off to the parks and pool we've gone; family reunion as mentioned before; this weekend I have a small get together with old classmates; and I just remembered my drivers license is due :-) This list of dates and appointments would explain why my taillight on the van has been in place with duct tape for over a month, and would also explain why the phone call from my Mom asking me when Will's birthday party would be made my heart sink. I haven't thought about it other than to order his photo book. I don't have a cake idea in mind or an evening set aside to celebrate. Thank goodness after my initial panic I remembered I can rent a cake pan and we can have a simple family supper with cake. The end. We won't worry about his 2 year pictures until his hair grows back after my attempt to save money and time and do it myself...

August is the month for minimal time at the grocery store. We've had plenty of apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. If only I knew how to make cheese, the kids would have everything they want (other than candy and hot dogs)

Crash course. They like to mess with each other heads, too. If Gabbie gets off her bike, Will will try to get on it. For her to get him off her bike she will get on his tricycle, then Will gets upset and gets off her bike and the world can return to normal.

Here's the last bit of updating. At the beginning of March we will welcome baby #3. I hear ya'....we aren't really sure what we were thinking either :-) This picture really shows nothing, I just liked how the lady typed in 'Baby Hundling'. The ultrasound was unplanned. I had a few nights of pain which wasn't letting up much during the day. So doctor thought they'd do the ultrasound just in case. Nothing wrong, just a baby measuring bigger than what we had for our dates. Don't have to worry about another ultrasound now until we are past 20 weeks as long as all goes fine. Today was my first doctor appointment. Everything looks good so far...I got a little nervous as doctor was having trouble finding the heartbeat, but finally it came around. We've made it 12 weeks and so far we are good. I've been able to keep running; not as often as I was, but that might be more our recent busy schedule than anything. I may need to back off of that however, mostly as the ligament laxity probably won't help my already bad foot situation. My main issue is extreme motion sickness. Even the lines in the highway while I'm in the car make my head spin. I typically have some dizziness, but not like this. The other major difficulty has been scrolling down a computer screen...makes me sick for nearly an hour afterwards. My blood pressure is low so doctor said to eat more salt, which I've already been doing. I can't complain if that's the worse thing I deal with. We have kept this pretty quiet compared to last time when I wanted to tell everyone right away. We've gotten the typically congrats from some people that know, but here are some other fun responses:
~"Really?! Remember when I told you that 3 pushed us over the edge? And when I told you that when I had the 3rd there was literally no alone time anymore? Not even in the bathroom?"
~"Oh man Mel, you will find out with 2 you can go. You can go shopping, get groceries, etc. With 3 that becomes impossible"
~"Wow you guys are nuts, we are done at 2" (got that one a few times)
~"Seriously? This can't have been Brice's idea" (well...I didn't do this to myself)
~"What names have you picked out?" (Really?! Remember how Will was 2 days old and still didn't have a name? Also, half the time I forget I'm pregnant. Also we are in survival mode this summer...its all I can do to not chug a bottle of wine. So no, haven't thought about names)

There have been other major differences this time.
~Today when the nurse asked me "Taking a prenatal vitamin?" Oh...I think I've remembered that a few times?
~Gabbie gets it. And she does NOT want another boy
~I've never dealt with the first trimester sickness in the summer before. Its nice in the winter when you can sleep it away!
~Now they want pregnant women to get a DTap booster due to the significant increase in whooping cough. Another thing for me to overthink and research. I may been forgetting to take a vitamin regularily, but mention a new recommendation that I didn't have for my last 2 healthy kids and now I have to think.
~That book "What to expect when you are expecting". I dusted it off today. And forgot how annoying it was to read questions like "I smoke pot socially...is it safe to do this while pregnant?" and topics like "How to deal with domestic violence" and statements like "Let your spouse pamper you". Have you met my husband? And how about some realistic questions and answers.

Overall we are excited of course, its just not the off the wall crazy excitement like the first one. It has come with lots of nervousness; as my sister puts it "switching from 1:1 to a zone defense". I think having a baby can become such a production sometimes (as my Mom has said...its a little much when you have to ask family to move so you can deliver the baby) and I'm fine with keeping this one low key. I learned after having Will...maternity leave is only relaxing after the first child :-) Being home with a baby is easy. Being home with a baby, toddler, and running Gabbie to school and dance will be fun...just fun without the 4 hour naps I took after having Gabbie!

That's all the updates from here, probably until I have some pictures of Will's 2nd birthday!