Baby # 4

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who keeps up with us outside the blog, which is everyone I can think of, but yes, baby #4 is on his way and due March 8th, 2021!

He was planned, and although he is technically a quarantine baby, we've been planning on having him around this time for some while. I am particular about the spacing of my children and didn't want our baby to come after Eden's 3rd birthday because that would mean they would be four years apart in school. I was four years apart from my brother and thought it would have been nice to be in the same school for a longer amount of time. But I also knew we were moving this coming summer, so I didn't want to cut that close either. So I had a small window of time for this baby to come!

I was worried because of how hard it was to get an appointment with any doctor in 2020 that I wouldn't get my arm implant for birth control out. Sam decided to do it himself and took supplies from the hospital to do it (lucky he did because Eli ended up busting his lip that same day and it saved us a trip to urgent care!). All was in place and it didn't take long before I could take this photo:

The first and last belly shot I've taken this pregnancy (whoops!) 

I also can't find our first ultrasound of the baby, so here is a photo of when Sam took me into the eye clinic to try the eye ultrasound on me. Needless to say, it was not built to take pictures of a baby.

You can see baby's spine, and that's why I went with this one.

Everyone was rooting for us to have another girl. And while I agreed that would be nice (Eden to have a sister, it would be easier to divvy out rooms, etc), Sam and I both felt it was a boy this time. I remember before getting pregnant looking at Eden and asking myself if I would be sad if she was my only girl. I found that she fills her role of being my daughter nicely and I wouldn't be disappointed if the next one was a boy. And to be honest, after the ultrasound Sam took, he was pretty suspicious that it was a boy. Me, thinking it was still a pretty early ultrasound and the fact that it was hard to see anything with a machine made for eyes, was not completely sure. Well, my 20 (at 21) week ultrasound put all doubts out of anyone's minds:

You really can't ask for a more clear photo!

Here's his little feet.

We already have a philosopher on our hands.

Here is my gender reveal for Sam and the kids:

And once I could say I knew for sure we were able to make this bad boy to announce it to everyone else:

Adding a new coworker to our office!

This was our most "liked" photo on Facebook, and truth be told, I love everything about this photo. It's the little things that make it so great.

Now some notes on pregnancy #4.

It's definitely hard being pregnant! I kind of forget every time, but the fatigue at the beginning is one of the hardest parts, especially when you have little people counting on you. Our house always becomes a major disaster and I never feel like cooking with the nausea. So basically, I fail at all my jobs! Luckily I have an understanding husband.

Things that are different about this pregnancy is the pelvic pain and pressure I've been feeling earlier on. I think it's due to it being my fourth pregnancy so my pelvic floor muscles aren't what they used to be! I also weigh as much or more than I did with Eden full term, so I think I'm going to gain the most weight this pregnancy. Granted I did start at a higher weight than with any of them!

One thing I didn't anticipate was how hard it would be to get doctor's appointments and such. With my previous pregnancies I brought my other kids along (but would try to schedule it during school time so it would limit the number I had to drag in!) but they don't allow any visitors of any kind this time round. And with the pandemic I especially feel bad asking people to watch my kids. But one of Sam's co-resident's wife offered to watch them every time! That has helped so much! It is still hard to get a doctor's appointment when I need one and the time I need it, especially on shorter notice. AND the clinic I go to is half an hour away, plus going to the baby sitter's house is adds an extra half hour to the commute, so it takes an hour and a half of travel for a 20 minute appointment. It's a little nuts but what can I do?

I also had to not only take my 1-hour glucose test, but the 3-hour! I decided to take the test while Sam had a week off for Christmas and I failed the first one. I then had to go back in the next day for the "3 hour" test. So I get there right when they open, only to find out the orders weren't put in, so I had to walk across the hospital to the OB/GYN clinic to tell them to put in the orders, then when I came back, I found out they have to draw my blood and analyze it before they can start the 3 hour test, so I sat there for an additional hour until they did that. It took 5 hours to do that test! I felt bad Sam got this week off and spent it being with the kids alone while I sat at the hospital scrolling on my phone for hours. But I found out I don't have gestational diabetes so that's great!

So as you can see, I guess I don't like pregnancy all that much, haha! Sorry to complain so much about it, but it's been hard. But I am truly blessed I can plan for a baby and it almost always goes to plan. My niece has had to work so hard, go through so many tests, and pay so much money for the little man they are welcoming a month after we have our baby. And my pregnancies and deliveries for the most part are "easy". So again, I truly feel so blessed for all the babies we have been able to have. 

Despite this, I told Sam this is my last pregnancy (God willing). I believe four kids is the perfect number (or the most I feel I can handle while still maintaining some sort of sanity). I haven't been sad that this is my last pregnancy. I am sad it's the closing of a door in our lives and we are entering a new phase as a family and in our marriage. I don't feel that old to already be having all of our kids but it really testifies that I really am getting older! 

Here's to the caboose!

Summer 2020

We managed to have a fun and little busy summer. Sam started working (😩) as well as starting his chief resident duties. June was pretty much filled with that. In addition, he poured hoooouuurs into the event known as the Eye Ball. It's the Senior resident's graduating celebration in the program and he worked really hard to make it enjoyable for people present and attending over zoom. Here is a link to all the amazing videos Sam created. Here is also a photo of the graduating class since I can't find any photos of the actual event. It was soooo awesome. The food was great, the videos were all entertaining, and I didn't really hear a single complaint. Some people even told Sam it was the best Eye Ball they've attended. I've only attended two but this one was for the books, that's for sure!

Other than that June was a little quiet at home. I was starting to get into a little bit of a depressive state with Sam being gone and stuck at home with our spawn day in and day out. But we survived! I think Eli had a little bit of depression for a while too because all he wanted to do all day was build with blocks or legos. When we did have an activity outside of the house he didn't want to go. Luckily I can say he is his very happy self again and all is well. Here is where we found Eli one day when he disappeared for a little bit:

We found him under our bed asleep!

His favorite isolation activity.

We decided to try out Sea World for the 4th and had fun being out of the house!

 

We were able to stay for the beautiful firework show and ride rides (Eli loves them).

Eden loves wearing masks. Just maybe not on her face!

I found more photos of Emily. Here you can see her dewlap pretty well.  

Look how green she looks in this picture! I love how green anoles get.

I spoiled Sam with this chocolate berry nut cake. My baking is really hit or miss, and although it doesn't look completely professional, this is one of the best cakes I pulled off!

Sam's birthday meal for good measure. Happy 31st Sam!

Found a little toad on one of our walks.
Joey wanted to keep it, but no more pets!

Here is a picture of the day we released Emily. It was so sad and we really didn't want to, but it was best considering the cricket shortage in the stores and not finding good alternatives. Hope you are doing well out there, girl!

Can you find her 😉?

 That concludes this post. We celebrated Eden's birthday in Albuquerque, where we went the very beginning of August. But that's for another time!

Dear Eden,

I wrote you a letter on your actual second birthday, but it vanished into thin air. It makes me sad that I didn’t pot it in time so that it never would occur, but hopefully this letter will still capture you at two years old. You are now two years four months so I at least didn’t miss the window by too much!

Can I just tell you what a beautiful little girl you are? I seriously am so enamored by everything you do or say. You can be super silly, you can be super sweet, and your voice just melts my heart. I am so glad you are my daughter, and that I even have a daughter!

We took you to the doctor not long ago and everything checks out! You are doing everything a two year old is supposed to do. You are in the 70th percentile for weight and height, and I do love your legs! They are the perfect amount of chunkiness. You can be a good eater, but you have been pickier as of late. You love sweets and snacky foods. You ask for chocolate milk all the time. One of my favorite things you do, though, is rummage through Eli’s backpack when he gets home from Preschool, find whatever he didn’t eat in his lunch, and deem it your lunch!

You have many interests, all that circle around shows or videos. You loved baby shark for a time, calling it Daddy doo doo, then Daddy shark, then Mommy shark, and then most recently calling it what it really is. You also love Cocomelon (a youtube show full of nursery rhymes and songs) and will start singing a lot of their songs, like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Rain, Rain Go Away. I just eat your singing up! Lastly, we have entered the Paw Patrol stage. You called it Double for a time, but now say the real deal. You love the toys and the show, and Skye is your favorite. I swear as soon as one child is done with Paw Patrol the next child just starts interest in it. This mom doesn’t catch a break!

In addition to singing, you love to dance as well. You like to raise one arm, bob your head, and tap your feet. Other things you’ve learned to do is go down the stairs. I wish I got a video of it, but in addition to turning around and going down, you’ve opted occasionally on bouncing on your butt and, my favorite, full on belly slide down (feet first, of course). You were the soonest of my kids to learn how to jump and you do it regularly. 

Some of your favorite things to do is brush your teeth (more like eat the tootpaste), play with toys, read books, go outside, sing, and dance. You are so easy to put down to sleep, thank goodness, as long as you have your “Puppy binky” and your two blankets. We have to have all these things to get you content, though. You have started to like clothes, opting to put new clothes on the second you see or get any. You do that with toys as well. “Open it! Open it!” Your vocabulary is pretty expansive, I can’t write all the words you know here. I’ve heard you utter up to four words in a sentence, but it averages two to three. You refer to yourself as baby usually, but that will soon need to change…

Because you are going to be a big sister come March! You are having a baby brother, so you and I will have to stick together as the only girls. I think you will be a wonderful big sister, but I hope it doesn’t rock your world too much! You do like to be held a lot by me and consider yourself as the baby in the family. I try to teach you about the baby in mommy’s belly, but you only point to your own belly when I point to mine and say “baby brother!” I’m sorry we couldn’t get you a sister, but luckily at this age you cannot be disappointed!

You are the happiest little girl and definitely know how to get what you want! You bat your big, beautiful brown eyes and use your cute little voice to say please and thank you and there is no hope for this mom! Please stay this sweet forever! I need it in my life. Be that sunshine in others’ lives! I love you so much, baby girl and I hope the rest of your two’s is filled with wonder and learning. And patience, as I know it’s hard for you when we don’t always understand what you want or need. I know you can change the world, because you have changed mine.

Love, 

Mama

May 2020

 It's been so long since we've blogged. I try to keep this up more for my sake than anything else, and I really didn't have much of an excuse. I was hoping my first post in 7 months would be Eden's birthday letter, but I can't find it (insert crying face). I might have to rewrite it and make it her 2 1/2 letter! So in the mean time, I will start from May where I last left off.

I took up weaving for a small part of the year.
It is really fun to do but takes a lot of time.
Here are the weaves I made for Mother's Day.

Eli graduated speech therapy! Very proud of our little man!

Joey had to do school at home for the rest of first grade.
Here is the fun art he got to recreate.

I try to get a picture of Joey at the end of the year with his teacher.
We snuck this one while we were dropping off school supplies.

We found a green anole in our kitchen in the spring time and we kept it on a whim since we had an extra animal tank in the closet and Joey was very happy about that! He ended up naming her Emily after the girl who runs the Youtube channel Snake Discovery. Green anoles are pretty cool lizards, being able to change colors from brown to bright green. We fed her mainly crickets and kept her next to our frogs.

We had Emily for a few months but the pet stores started having a cricket shortage and we couldn't get food for her to eat (I didn't trust backyard bugs if they have been touched by pesticide). We had to let her go very end of July in our backyard, but we enjoyed having a lizard for a couple months! I told Joey no more pets until after Sam's done with fellowship and we move back to San Antonio.

Eden is the sweetest little girl. Sadly she lives in Texas where there are bugs she is allergic to! She ended up with a bug bite right under her eye and her face swelled up the next day, poor thing! Luckily it didn't bother her too much.

When we were in quarantine we tried to get out when we could. It was so nice the time that Sam had at home with us before they okayed him to go back to work! Here we are at the Medina river. Very pretty!

Last but not least Sam's co-chief Bryant got a couple of jet skis for some time and invited us to go play on them. We had a blast trying them out a few times with his family!

Complete with a floaty for the kids to be pulled on!

Eli is our bravest child.

They could fit almost our entire family!

We did all our jet skiing at Canyon Lake. We've enjoyed camping here before and since. We love the wildlife here. The deer will get pretty close!

Bryant also caught a frog for Joey to enjoy!

I don't know how I would have survived the initial lockdown period without Sam. With at home learning and shutdowns it really helped to have Sam help me with these sweethearts.