Updates

Just some updates from what's been going on here lately:

- We picked a name for our 3rd boy!  Matthew James Domine.  The boys are so excited to meet him.  They talk about him all the time and ask if he's kicking, or laughing, or cold, or anything.  :)  They pat my belly and give him kisses.  Caleb says when Matthew is born he'll be zero, and then he'll get bigger like him.  He said he's going to get him a baby pillow, read him a baby book, and get him some clothes because when he's born he'll be a nudie.  :)  Nathan talks about him a lot too, which is funny because I'm pretty sure when I was pregnant with Nathan, Caleb hardly realized anything was different.

- This third pregnancy is kicking my booty.  I had more 1st trimester sickness with this one - which is why a lot of people thought it was a girl.  But I'm also having way more 3rd trimester exhaustion.  It's just harder to take it easy and take care of yourself with 2 active boys around.  I've hit the point where I'm not sure how I'm going to make it another month and a half!  I'm having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  After making dinner, I feel like I've run a marathon.  I'm not able to eat much because there isn't much room in my stomach.  It's so hard to get comfortable.  If I lean back, I can't breathe, and if I lean forward I can't breathe.  I'm constantly re-adusting when I'm sitting on the couch.  I don't want to sound whiny, but that's just how it is now.  THANKFULLY, I'm sleeping well still.  :)  And I haven't had an horrible groin/joint/ligament pain like I did with the last two.  I can't tell you how happy those two things make me.

- I love my boys.  I can't believe how much I love them.  They are the sweetest things.  David sometimes takes them to the park in the evening while I cook dinner and rest a bit.  Today they were so excited that I was coming along because they wanted to show me a new playground they found.  Caleb held my hand and said, "Mommy, I'll hold your hand so you don't get lost."  And "Mommy, there is a chair over there for you to sit in so you don't get tired."  They're used to hearing me say I can't do things because of my big belly or because I'm tired.  And one of my favorite things is when they're doing something on the playground or kicking the ball, and they glace over to see if I'm watching.  And when they see that I am, you can see the happiness on their faces.  I love giving them that reassurance and confidence that I'm there and I'm proud of them.  I love being a part of those little moments.

- We're learning more about Nathan's personality.  I can't believe we once thought he was going to be our serious child.  He's so silly.  He loves to make us laugh.  And this kid is crazy smart...in my motherly assessment.  :)  The doctor asked at his two-year appointment if he was starting to string phrases together.  Uh...I feel like I've been having full conversations with this kid for months.  Tonight he was showing me the moon.  Then he said, "It rises in the east.  Sets in the west."  Um, ok, crazy memory child.  He absorbs everything.  Because he's so verbal, it makes it really fun to listen to the boys have conversations together.  They love to playfully argue.  So we'll be driving, and Caleb will say, "I saw a mail truck!"  And Nathan will say, "No, I saw a mail truck!"  C: "No, you didn't!"  N: "Yes, I didn't!"  Nathan just loves to say the opposite of whatever you say.

- And I'm very thankful for mild Texas winters.  While the summers are crazy hot, I'm glad to be able to go outside and play with the boys, so we're not cooped up inside the house all day.  We've been to the park a lot this week.  It's already a bummer that it's dark at 5:30 now.  I can't imagine how people do it up north with all the snow and bitter cold!  Well, I can because I grew up in it.  I'm just glad we can get out and run around without having to layer on clothes, only to last outside for 20 minutes.  :)

First camping trip

David was very adventurous last weekend - he took the boys on a camping trip!  The "first annual guys camping trip."  Some guys from his office organized it.  It was his first time camping, and dragging along a 2-year-old and 3-1/2-year-old seemed challenging to me.  But he did it!  And they had a great time.  It was a pretty easy first camping trip to get their feet wet.  It was just an overnight trip, only 30 minutes away from home.

When I told Caleb he was going camping, he didn't really understand the concept.  I told him he'd sleep in a tent, and it was kind of the The Bernstein Bears Go to Camp.  He said, "I don't want to.  That's too scary."  When I told him he'd get to sleep in the tent with Daddy and have flashlights, he was super excited!

Everyone excited to head out in the Jeep!

Playing in the tent.

Tent all set up.  It's pretty big - sleeps 6.

Coloring.

Peeing on the site.  :)

Ready for a nap.  But really they just played the whole time.

Nathan making his lion sing Jesus Loves me while "napping."

 

Standing on a stump.

David brought our wagon along, and giving wagon rides proved to be one of the favorite activities of the trip.

 

The group of tents.

The boys slept well at night.  David said it got a little chilly, but they all cuddled up with the blankets.

But I guess they didn't sleep that great because they fell asleep within minutes of driving home the next morning.  I guess part of it could have been the time change too.  That was the nice part for me!  I actually got to sleep in while they were gone.   Can you imagine there being 3 boys in the back in a couple years??!!  More fun camping trips to come!

Dewberry Farm

We took our first trip out to Dewberry Farm a couple weeks ago.  It's a little misleading because it isn't so much of a farm, as it is more of an outdoor rustic playland for kids on farmland.  Caleb wanted to see the animals because I told him it was a farm, so thankfully they had a few for us to look at!  We got to go for a cheaper rate because we went with a church group.  Glad we did, because my boys wouldn't have given us our money's worth.  Most of the time they just watched their friends jump and ride and play.  But they still had fun.  The highlights for them were the cow train ride, the animals, and the maps of the farm they gave us.

Cool bouncy thing the boys watched their friends jump on.  I think if we wouldn't have done this one last, the boys would have warmed up to it.  But it was our first thing to do, and I think they were reluctant to participate.

Pedal carts.

Nathan was up for trying it, but unfortunately he couldn't reach the pedals, so pregnant mama had to push him around the track.  :)

Rope swings in the hay.  My boys still just chillin and watching their friends.

Yay!  Cow train ride!  They did this one.

But they wanted me to ride with them, so I squeezed there in back of them.

Lunch break.

Reading maps.  Highlight of the trip for Caleb.  He read his map for the next two days.

Group photo!

 Looking at the animals in the barn.

Yay for Fall fun!  :)

Baby #3 gender reveal!

In conjunction with Nathan's birthday, we found out the gender of baby #3 while our families were all together.  David and I kept the paper with the gender written on it in a sealed envelope for about 6 weeks, and didn't peek!  We gave the envelope to a bakery that made truffles for us with the color of the gender inside.  On top of the truffles were pink or blue sprinkles.  So everyone had to choose if they thought it was going to be a boy or girl, and then we took a bite to find out.  It was really fun.  People's guesses were about half and half.  David picked girl, and I picked boy.  And it is....

 

 

A BOY!!!!

And here is my first official side belly picture.  :)

We're so excited to meet baby boy in January!

Nathan is two!

Our little Nate turned two!  And what a cute two he is.  We just love him more every day.  He's got such a funny and cute personality.  He has no trouble keeping up with his big bro.  He can hold his own that's for sure.  He's sweet and compliant, yet feisty and determined.  We love him so much!

We had a fun party with our families.  He totally knew it was all for him, and was really excited.  He loved all the Mickey Mouse decorations.

 

We love watching you grow up, big boy!!  :)