Stuff our kids say

I know I'm biased, but my boys are so cute.

Brice: Baby Dusty! No, no Baby Dusty! Baby Meow!

Chase: (about 6:30am Saturday morning): Mommy, feel this. My beard is growing.
Helen: Oh buddy, I think it's some dried drool.
Chase: Nope. It's my beard.

Brice: (After strapping himself into the high chair) Stuck! Stuck!

Stephen: Chase, do you know what Good Friday is? It's the day Jesus went to heaven.
Chase: Oh, that's sad, Daddy. He's going to miss Christmas.

Helen: Bricey, I love you to the moon and back.
Brice: No, no moon and back. Sun and back! Peh-luto and back!

Chase: (literally, 5:24am Friday morning) Mommy, I don't want you to be jealous of me today. Okay?
(Without any prompting, no context. Presumably because I had to go to work and they all got naps to make up for waking at 5:21am)

We've been listening to a lot of Raffi lately. It started with the "Brush your teeth" song and has progressed from there.
Helen: Brice, what should we name the baby?
Brice: Baby Boo-ga! No, no-- baby brush your teeth. No-- Baby Down by the Bay!

Looking forward to sending our last weekend as a family of four with these hilarious little guys.

What a difference a weekend (and a Monday) makes!

We moved back into our house only 10 days ago and have been trying to get our lives back in order, unpack, and decorate. Since before our move, I'd been in a panic that we had nothing ready for the baby. I mean, I knew if he did come early that someone would take care of this stuff (Hi Mom!) but I would rather have it all cleaned and set myself.

Well, I'm happy to report it was a very productive weekend. We did 15 or more loads of laundry and made endless trips up and down the steps--And I am happy to say the stuff at the house is ready. Chase was baffled at my crying while folding all the little outfits he had worn (we brought you home from the hospital in this outfit! This is what you were wearing the first time you smiled! TEARS). Stephen cleaned the carseat and the swing and the bouncy seat, and some of the toys. Aside from the large "BRICE" over the crib, the nursery is ready to go- we'll move the BRICE letters to the boys' new room this weekend. On Sunday, I made a trip to Target to get all the little things for the hospital bag so we're not running around like maniacs before we go. And on Monday, I pre-registered at the hospital and got my TDAP shot (for free at work!-- Hooray for HHS!).

Done:
-Hospital registration sent and received
-Nursery mostly ready (even though he won't sleep in there for months)
-Carseat cleaned and ready
-Hospital bag packed
-Pediatrician
-Whooping cough shot
-Picture of boys for baby's hospital bassinet taken and ordered
-Ordered gifts for boys from their little brother
-All clothes washed, folded, and organized.

To-do:
-Set up co-sleeper

Important Pregnancy Milestones

During my first two pregnancies, I blogged religiously on a weekly or almost weekly basis. I also marked all of the relatively arbitrary milestones (Halfway! X months to go! 35 weeks/35 days). This time that is obviously not the case. But that doesn't mean I'm not marking the pregnancy.

So here are my top 10 list of pregnancy milestone.

1. Belly button pops out (the turkey's done! No picture of this)

2. Under-belly shirt cleavage (when even maternity shirts stop being long enough to cover the belly and skin peeks out underneath. Sexy!)

3. First time someone says "Wow, you are really pregnant!" Or "Any day now?" No, 4 weeks, thank you very much.

4. Give up on tying your shoes (thank goodness for my spring babies and slip-on shoes)

5. Start grunting every time you roll over in bed. The rolling happens less and less, but the grunting becomes more frequent.

6. Rings stop fitting (my tightest wedding band barely fits and sometimes gets stuck, but I'm lucky that most of my rings do).

7. Weight gain slows (because your stomach is so smushed that there is no room to eat more than a few bites. Apparently I am not there yet...).

8. Random tears- could be at a sad story on the news, or a touching commercial, or nothing at all. (Let me tell you how much Stephen LOVES this symptom!). Lately it's been happening when the boys are sweetly playing together, or they snuggle with me, or the say something very sweet....because I love them so much and I am so excited to have another child......and also a little terrified and overwhelmed...and that makes me cry too!

9. Start counting your lasts before the baby. For example, last trip to the hairdresser and last time getting a mani/pedi. The trick with these two is to make them close enough to the baby's arrival that you look good at  the birth and for a few weeks afterwards, but not so close that the baby comes too early and you've got serious roots showing. It's superficial, but it's also my best chance for being in pictures for the next few years.

And the moment I am most excited for, but still weeks away from:

10. The moment you feel "ready." Bags are packed, car seat is installed, nursery is set up. Check back on that in about 3 weeks...

Kitchen Reno

The renovation is complete and we are back home! While we have been making the common error of identifying all the little things we are disappointed about (and they are very small), by and large we are very pleased with our new kitchen and our new space. It's beautiful and functional for our growing family. 

So, without further ado, some pictures:

Some before and afters:

(Excuse the messes- we are atill getting organized and decorating. And excuse the iPhone pics. And the random light bulbs in one lantern-  I bought the wrong ones.)

More pics to come, no to mention some parties!