Good News!

I am almost 37 weeks pregnant and I found out at my last ultrasound that I won't have to have a c-section. My placenta is 2cm out of the way... yipee! So this little man gets to pick his own birthday just like my other kids. The scheduled delivery does have some appeal, but I would rather have a labor day. So I am very grateful that it all worked out.

I have been MIA for a while again because, well other than being exhausted... I lost my power cord to my computer (actually only half of it). I am so scatterbrained these days, which I am going to full heartedly blame on my pregnant brain. I really hope it turns up because it was brand new and I only had it for a week or two. The good news is that Brandon was able to modify a cord he found at the thrift store for 80 cents, but I don't know how long it will last. I'm just hoping this rigged cord will give me enough time to find the one I just bought. I honestly feel like I've looked everywhere but obviously not, because I haven't found it. I hate it when something is lost! (But I am so thankful for my computer savvy husband!)

Today my princess and I had a fun girls day out. We both went to the salon to get haircuts. I finally persuaded her to cut her hair again. She still has baby hair around her face plus bangs growing out so I wanted to cut it in a bob again to have it all the same length. I've always been the one to cut her hair so she felt super special to have it done in a salon. (Plus it was only $5 because I had a coupon for her haircut.. which was worth it to not have to do it and clean it all up). She was so funny afterwards because she kept looking in the mirror and swinging her hair back and forth... she couldn't stop checking herself out! It's really cute on her (I'm not biased or anything). I think the hair dresser may have layered it a little short on one side, but it will grow out. Plus Isabelle likes it so thats all that matters. I have to admit that I will miss the updos we did with her long hair, but I'm not going to have too much time to do hair in the very near future. So I'm glad Isabelle was willing to do what I wanted. She and I kinda have matching cuts... both short to the chin but now mine is auburn! I have never done anything but highlights so it is a litter different to see myself with darker hair, but change is good! Brandon even likes it. But I don't know if I can trust his opinion because he has never NOT liked how I've cut my hair, and I can't say if thats good or bad (there was one cut when it looked a little too boyish, so it's a good thing my hair grows really fast). I am grateful that my hubby thinks I look good with short, long, blonde, or red hair. It is really fun to experiement!

I have a before and after of Isabelle... and I'll try to get a picture of me tomorrow since it's new years and I'll have a real excuse to make sure I'm in a picture!

Hide-N-Seek

When Brandon gets home from school it's typical for the kids to hide from him so they can be found and tickled to death. Tonight Brandon got home around 6:30 and the kids had already eaten... so they had to try to wait until he ate. But when he sat down to eat he had two little boys pestering him to play hide-n-seek. This was the conversation... (the boys were both hiding under the table while Brandon was seated at the table eating)

Landon: Daddy you have to find us!
Daddy: Where could those little stinkers be?
Levi: You have to look in all of the rooms!
Daddy: Or maybe I should just look under the table since I can hear you two!
Landon: (Whispers to Levi) Don't say anything!

I guess they figured that daddy would forget where they were if they became quiet all of the sudden. :0)

These little people are pure entertainment!

It's about time!

Okay so I am totally pathetic at this blogging thing. In my defense I have had a whirlwind of technical/computer problems. But hopefully all is resolved...I finally have a power cord that works so I can spend more then 5 minutes on the internet at one time. Plus at one point my entire hard-drive was wiped out so I had to get all of my pictures from my external hard-drive (thank goodness that I actually back up my pictures). Unfortunately the pictures from my external hard drive were rebooted onto my computer in utter chaos. So I have at least 3 years of pictures to organize... enough complaining about that because at least I have them.

On to the big news! I am pregnant... well actually I am VERY pregnant. (I just passed the 32 week mark). So here are the pregnancy highlights. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks because I was quite large (at least 6 cm past my week), my HCG levels were very high, and I had twins last time. So we went into the ultrasound with the mindset of, "okay we've done the twin thing before, we can totally do it again". The doctor did the ultrasound and it was verified that there is only one baby. I think Brandon was quite relieved:0) So we are back to one baby at a time.

The kids are so excited about the new addition. Right after we told them we were going to have another baby. Landon asked "can the baby see the food in your tummy?" to which I replied "no, the baby is in a different room in my tummy." Isabelle was just so happy and very certain that it was going to be a girl. (She really wants to share her room... she thinks she needs a buddy to help her clean and to go to sleep with). Levi wasn't too interested at first, but as my tummy has gotten bigger he has really surprised me with how much he wants to feel the baby kick and he has become a lot more snuggly, which I love because it's usually not his thing. Plus this baby is great for the kids because it'll kick more then once in the same spot so whenever I feel movement I just put their hand in that spot and within a minute they get to feel it too. Isabelle loves to hug my tummy and one time she got kicked in the face. She thought that was really awesome! Plus she will tell me this at least 2-3 times each day: "mommy, I love baby...pause... and I love you too!" I guess I'm more of an afterthought now :0) All the kids try to take care of me too. Whenever I ask them to get me something they will say "I'll get it so you don't have to bend down." Don't get me wrong... I still have to clean up after them constantly, but at least they're trying to to help me out.

Here is the gender news. I really wanted to have the kids there when we found out so that the news came directly from the doctor and so we could all have some time to adjust to the idea of a boy or a girl. Isabelle wanted a girl and Levi and Landon wanted a boy. I was actually a little concerned how Isabelle would react to another boy because she was adamant that the baby was a girl. Once the ultrasound started I got a glimpse right away so I knew, but a little later the doctor asked if we wanted to know and it was verified that we are having a boy! The funniest part was when Levi heard the news he litterally grabbed Landon by the shoulders with both hands and exclaimed "it's a boy!" Then they wrapped their arms around each other in a big bear hug that kinda turned into a wrestling move (as everything does with them). I reluctantly looked over at Isabelle, and to my surprise she had a HUGE smile on her face. It turns out that I worried for nothing. She's just happy to have a baby in our family. I was very relieved that everything worked out so well and most importantly this baby is very healthy... he has always measured in the 95th percentile for his gestation. Brandon keeps telling me he is going to be huge... which is a very nice way of saying that I look huge. I love my husband!

The only glitch is that we found out that I have complete previa, which means that my placenta is covering my cervix. F.Y.I... the placenta doesn't actually "move" because it is implanted in the uterus but the hope is that as my uterus stretches then it will stretch my placenta out of the way of my cervix. Otherwise I will have to have a c-section. The good news is that I had another ultrasound done just over a week ago and the position of my placenta has improved... I'm still not in the clear but it's getting better. So I am going to mentally prepare for a labor day because I probably won't know for sure about whether I have to have a c-section until the final few weeks. I go back for another ultrasound at 35 weeks so hopefully they will say that I can go into labor on my own. It was be quite disappointing to have a c-section this time when I didn't have to with twins. Oh well, I will do whatever is safest for baby and me.

That is my pregnancy novel... I will post a picture, once I find one on my mess of a computer!

Better Late than Never

Here are some of the pictures I promised. Unfortunately, my computer is being super slow now. I had the cutest pictures downloaded and it wouldn't let me save it to my blog. Such is life in the computer world. So there will be more to come when my internet has improved.

Old School... Finger Painting

The first two pics are Levi and the last three are Landon. You can see why I like painting at an easle much better!

Painting Fun

They all love to paint and now I love it too because it's not nearly as messy as it used to be. Landon is in the blue smock and Levi is in the red one. Landon's cunning little smile is one we see often and I love it! Did you check out Levi's masterpiece! He loves to fill in all of the paper with as much color as possible. And Isabelle is a goof just like her daddy, can't you tell from that goofy little grin?!

Before and After hair pictures

She wasn't too happy about the photo session... even after I finished cutting her hair she still didn't want to look at the camera. I love her, stubborness and all!

Long Lost Laurie

I haven't forgotten about the blogging world... but I have been in Colorado for almost 6 weeks! I know, crazy right?!? We had so much fun playing with grandma's, grandmpa, great grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. The kids are still talking about all of the little people they got to play with. They talk about everyone but I think Zeke-a-man (never just Zeke...it's always Zeke-a-man or Zeke-e-boy) comes up on a daily basis. It was nice that Grandma Gail watches him throughout the week cuz we got to see him a lot. We visited the zoo with everyone we know in CO 4 or 5 times. What can I say, except my kiddos love the zoo! We also frequented the kids museum compliments of Grandma Wilcox's annual pass. That was a favorite too! Of course they just loved playing in the backyard in the sand pile at the Wilcox's, playing with the dog at G.G.'s, jumping on the tramp at both houses, playing at the parks, swimming at the rec center, and getting Happy Meals at McDonalds (we NEVER buy them Happy Meals b/c we are too cheap, so that was a huge treat for them). Can we say that they were incredibly spoiled! They had so so so much fun, but they are happy to be home too.

Levi actually has a hard time being away from home for so long. He became really introverted (he wouldn't even look at people or answer questions when they talked to him) and he had a few more meltdowns then normal while we were gone. Not fun for the adult in charge... I'm sure Grandpa Wilcox can attest to that. He had a good meltdown when they (G and G Wilcox) watched my kids for 5 days while I got to go to Rexburg with all of the Bench girls. (Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching my kids) I got to be a part of the party who brought Jessie to college. For those of you who know her... YES she is actually old enough to be in college... scary how time flies. Our little Jessie is all grown up!

While in Idaho I got to see two of my old college roomies who still live there (and work... they aren't still in school). It was super duper fun. We had a slumber party at Liz's house and stayed up until 3:30 (which I must say, almost killed me... I'm getting old) just talking. We had so much catching up to do since I hadn't seen Daleen for 5 years! That is way too long! It went by way to quickly but it was so much fun. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to see Liz again this summer since her fam lives in Wisconsin. I'm really hopeful that we can get the whole group together in the next year or two at the most.

Overall I am happy to be home. It's nice to get back into our routine and see daddy everyday. I have to say that I am loving the fourth year of dental school because Brandon is actually around everyday. Our first year of dental school we made it a rule that he had to come home for either dinner or bedtime so the kids could see him for at least an hour everyday. Sadly it was even hard for him to be away from homework for an hour some days, but he did it for us. Now it's so nice because we get to have him from the second he gets home until bedtime. The kids and I are thrilled about how much more we get to do as a family. It feels like family night every night! Brandon has had a few projects going and he loves to get the kids involved. They even "helped" him change the oil in the car and they thought it was so cool. Let's face it, everything daddy does is cool! He and in effect the kids has a huge passion for orchids. I have to admit that I love their passion for nature because it's been such a great way to teach the kids about Heavenly Father's creations.

Last comment... I am so happy to have my Levi back. I missed my little guy! From the minute he got home he has been talking/yelling (excitedly) non-stop. Plus he and Landon are loving their bikes. They roll out of bed every morning and the very first thing they do is go ride their bikes in their pajamas. I can't get them dressed fast enough. Oh well, as least they are clothed.

Crazy Dayz

I have been meaning to update for a while. Of course my perfectionism has been getting the best of me and I've wanted to start at the beginning of the year, and that task is a little daunting at the moment. It's insane I know... if I can't do something "perfect" (at least in my mind) then I don't do it at all. I frustrate myself because I keep getting further and further behind. So I am going to step out of my "perfect" box and give you the low-down on our April.

We've been doing most of the same things we normally do (preschool, church, library) with one huge exception... we've actually been able to play outside a lot! The kids had spring break from the 7th-11th and we were lucky to have great weather. Unfortunately, Brandon didn't have the same break :0( But the kiddos and I have had a lot of park time and we have loved every minute of it. I especially love how all of this hard work (play) makes them crash at night. The first chance we had we went to the toledo zoo and oh boy was that an event! My kids get a little excited at the zoo... it's so much fun. Landon had a rough time at the end of our visit but that is to be expected since it was late in the afternoon and he tends to get too tired some afternoons. My Lando Commando has some interesting sleep habits. Pretty much every night he talks/yells in his sleep... it could go on for minutes or sometimes a couple of hours. It is so strange because sometimes he seems to be asleep when he's talking and other nights he is definitley awake. Those semi-sleepless nights make him have a hard time the next afternoon. But if I let him nap then he will definitely wake up during the night so it's just a vicious cycle. I have to be honest though... most of his episodes are quite funny. He has a conversation with himself and he'll change his voice for each character. At first we thought Levi and Landon were both talking (this has been going on since he was about 18 months), but nope, it's just Landon. The ironic part is that Levi sleeps through it all! I guess he's used to it. When they were infants Levi wouldn't calm down until Landon was right next to him... even if he was screaming in his ear, Levi would fall asleep. I do worry sometimes about Landon though because it's not good for him to have interupted sleep. Maybe we'll need to have him do some sleep tests to see if he is getting the rest he needs. The other night when he was putting on his nightly show, I went in to try to get him to lay down and relax enough to fall back asleep. So I told him that he really needed to get his rest because he had a busy day tomorrow. He instantly grinned and responsed..." because I am going to Costco?" I guess a busy day means we're going to costco, which we weren't. It is not a big secret that I love costco and obviously my kids do too.

I also love IKEA! Especially since the kids can play for an hour while the adults shop alone... just remember to bring socks, we had to make a quick run to the dollar store becasue we forgot them. We went there last Friday and everyone had so much fun. We finally found an affordable easel for painting! One side is a chalkboard but we just tape the paper to that side so the boys can paint at the same time. All of the kids have been painting at least once everyday. They always asked me to paint but I only allowed it about once a week becasue it was so messy at the table and on their clothes. So I LOVE having an easel... they even wear their smocks when they paint at the easel... they don't like to wear them at the table. Needless to say we have more masterpieces then we know what to do with!

I cut everyones hair over the weekend. Isabelle now has a bob again. She looks cute with short hair and we get along better because I don't have to struggle with her to do it. It's so much easier and it suites her. I totally understand why my mom always kept my hair short when I was young... my daughter is too much like me... stubborn! I will post pics tomorrow because it's late and I am tired.

Lastly, I got to go to the temple with our relief society. It was so great. I need to go more often. I can't even put into words how wonderful it was!

Seriously... lastly, Brandon was on a mock jury for a day and got paid for it! Whoo hoo that will help pay for our trip to Colorado! More details later...

It's about time...we're jumping on the band-wagon

I've finally decided to succumb to the peer pressure of blogging. It is postive peer pressure after all. I'll be the first to admit that I love to catch a glimpse of other people's lives so why not send our crazy life's message out into cyber space. Plus I think this will be nice way to document our experiences since my memory can't handle all of the excitement/chaos some days. It will be great to look back on, even if it's just to say "wow, I can't believe I survived that day" or to have a great laugh. I find that the laughs are innumerable at this stage in our lives... my kiddos say the funniest things and I have to document them. Ultimately, I'm determined to record special events throughout this year and since I am a few months late I will be posting a lot to get caught up.