These three.

Maybe it's the new year. Or maybe it's the fact that I only have 5 weeks until my due date (and I know life is about to drastically change!). Whatever the reason, I am feeling especially sappy about my children. I feel an urgency to record the stage they are in at this moment. A need to memorialize life as we know it RIGHT NOW. To remember them pre-baby brother. Because gosh I love these three kids!

 

 

 

Isaiah

 

 

This kid is so laid back and relaxed. He definitely is his father's son because he didn't get it from me! He is constantly telling Charlotte not to worry (see below). Running late to school? No big deal! Forgot to turn in his homework? Oh well there's always tomorrow. He just rolls with the punches. He still loves his rainbow looms! He loves to craft and create things in general. A recent obsession has been origami. Legos are still a favorite. The kid just has an engineering brain. For the most part he plays great with his sisters. And he is an avid reader these days. He would read for HOURS at night if we allowed it (but we try to limit it to 60 minutes so he can get some sleep). Speaking of sleep. He is like his father - he requires very little sleep and has boundless energy. He's a night owl and a morning person. 

This is going to sound dumb, but I am constantly amazed at how BIG Isaiah is. Not just in size but age and maturity as well. I look at him and just can't believe I have a kid that is so capable and independent in so many ways. He's like a real kid. Not a little kid anymore. (If that makes sense). And him and I are in such a good place at the moment. For the most part he is very respectful and affectionate towards me. And this is NOT where we were a year ago in our relationship. A year ago I was struggling majorly with Isaiah. Our relationship felt distant and cold. He was rude and defiant. And in turn I was harsh and...honestly....floundering in mothering him. I cried a lot of tears and said a lot of prayers. I felt like I was losing him. A year ago I would have said I had failed him. I felt hopeless in in regards to Isaiah...and it scared the crap out of me! I honestly don't know what changed. I don't know how we got to where we are today but I am SO THANKFUL that we are here. It's amazing the difference a year can make! And my prayer is that we can stay in this place even as we transition to life with another baby.

 

Charlotte

 

Ok. So just picture the opposite of Isaiah (in regards to being relaxed) and you have Charlotte. This girl worries like it's her job! She is constantly asking me "what's that noise?" and "where are going mommy?" and "is that okay to do?". She wants to know the rules and expectations at all times. And she is going to make sure everyone is following said rules...especially Hannah! Admittedly she comes by this worry wart personality honestly...from me:(  Her world is black and white. Right and wrong. No in between. Unfortunately for her, her siblings don't always see it that way. 

This girl is always saying the funniest things. But what makes them so funny is she isn't trying to be funny. Just her four year old observations. Like the other day after she threw up (yep, she got it too!) she said to me, "well mom, it's a good thing when you threw up you didn't throw up baby brother."  Good thing indeed. 

Her current obsessions are all things "Frozen", telling Hannah what to do/not to do and school. She loves school! The structure and consistency and routine of it all is so good for her. Oh and me. She is EXTREMELY attached to me. Maybe even a little unhealthily so. For example, my going to the bathroom and leaving her behind (when not at home) can cause serious anxiety in her. She is also my girly-girl. She loves dresses and jewelry. She likes for me to do her hair and makeup. She wears leggings or skinny jeans every day. No regular jeans for her. It is important to her to look cute/presentable...and I love it:) Although some of the outfit combinations she picks can be quite interesting! She still LOVES to help in the kitchen. Baking is her favorite, but cooking is good too. I am getting glimpses of the big kid she is becoming...and it's bittersweet. Her sweet big baby cheeks are disappearing even! 

Hannah

 

Oh Hannah! Where do I even begin? This girl is so full of life and spunk. And opinions! She is two and half in every sense of the way. So independent and defiant...in an equal parts cute and frustrating way! I am either grinning ear-to-ear because of this girl or pulling my hair out! There is no in between. And she talks! ALL THE TIME! A year ago I never would have believed that. But she is the cutest little chatterbox - that sometimes I just want to be quiet:)  Never would you know she was speech delayed. She's funny. When she breaks a rule purposefully she will put herself in timeout afterwards. Or she will ask ahead of time what her consequence will be for a "crime" she wants to commit. This girl is my replica. I was that child. And my mom is LOVING watching me trying to handle Hannah. She always said I deserved a child just like me. And I got her in Hannah. Oh and she is a ragamuffin. Seriously look up "ragamuffin" in the dictionary and you will find Hannah's picture! I try to make her look presentable. But most of the time she has her hair in her eyes with food smudged on her face and is wearing mismatched clothes that are on backwards. And she couldn't care less! (And it drives Charlotte crazy.) She is NOT a girly-girl. 

This girl is like her brother and filled with boundless energy and seems to require very little sleep...bedtime is such a struggle with her. Thankfully she is still napping beautifully in the afternoon. (I need that break!)  

There have been some big changes for Hannah recently. First off, I can confidently say she is out of diapers (except when sleeping). It was a very sloooow transition...mostly because I am big, pregnant & lazy. We went with a "toddler lead potty training" method. In other words we left the potty chair and underwear out and available to her and she used them as she desired. Gradually that became more frequent. And now she has been accident free and in undies for a few weeks. It's amazing! (And as soon as I hit publish she will regress and I will have to recant everything I wrote.  Because that's life.) The other big change is I finally moved her clothes out of the changing table baskets (which is in our room) and into...well...a cupboard in the kids' room. (Yes a dresser would be nicer but it's in storage. So we are making do!) And Hannah thinks this is THE BEST! She is so proud to have her stuff in her room. (Again this bothers Charlotte. A cupboard is not for clothes!) Which means I now have room to bring out baby brother's things. Yay! Speaking of baby brother, Hannah is getting very excited for him to come out and asks me multiple times a day "how baby boy come out?" To which I vaguely respond "at the hospital". She wants to hold him  and to be a big sister just like "Tarlotte". She gives him lots of hugs & kisses and instructions to "be good". That last one I find ironic. 

So that's my kids in a nutshell. The good, the bad, the funny. And I love them. And I can't imagine life without each one of them. But what I really can't imagine is life with them PLUS one more. It's going to be a wild ride. That I know for sure. 

And now for a bonus. In case you ever wanted to see an old(er) guy snow tubing with his little dog....I present to you...my dad & Eddie! 

 

Yes they are an odd pair. And yes it was even funnier to see in person!

Hello 2015!

Hello 2015. I've been waiting all year to meet you.

Seriously. A year ago when we were ringing in 2014 the first words out of my mouth were "I sure wish it is were 2015 right NOW". Not exactly the best sentiment for starting a brand new year. But those were my honest thoughts. No filter. Just my gut feeling.  Its not like I wanted to completely skip 2014. I just wanted it to be a year that went by quickly. 2015 held so much promise and excitement that I could hardly wait to be there experiencing it all! And now here it is. I still believe it is going to be a good year. Match Day and graduation and the start of residency. Good stuff. The stuff we have been working towards as a family for FOUR YEARS. And now it is all just a few months away. (Oh and lets not forget about the quickly approaching arrival of baby boy!!! That's pretty great too.) Yep 2015 is going to be our year. One for the family record books. I mean my husband will BECOME A DOCTOR this year. That's big stuff. Stuff I can hardly wait to experience and celebrate.

We had planned to end 2014 with our best friends. There was going to be a "Count Down to Noon Party" for the kids and lots of food and card playing for the grown ups (once all the kids were tucked in for the night). Quality time together. It was going to be great. And then Hannah threw up. Thankfully she threw up BEFORE we loaded into the van and drove 3 hours to our friends' house. But it still stunk.  Because with the arrival of vomit our dreams of partying instantly vanished. There was no way we could bring that party favor with us. Instead we spent the day at home. Eating whatever random food we could rummage together. Playing cards. And baby dolls. And rainbow looms. Watching movies. Holding puke buckets. Just hanging out as a family. Which isn't such a terrible way to end a year. Just not the party I had been dreaming of.

 

Hannah insisted on wearing her party dress all day despite the fact that we were no longer going to a party. So we had the party come to us. Or at least a mini version of a party. First there was dancing. Then there were rootbeer floats (it had been 10 hours since her last episode of vomit). And finally a countdown to the NEW YEAR...or 8pm and bedtime...close enough!

 

See ya later 2014. You've been pretty good to us. But lets be honest. 2015 is looking pretty fabulous! A new baby and a new career in a new city. That's good stuff. The stuff of dreams coming true. 

2014 in 12 Photos

Here is it is our year-in-review in 12 pictures (and a few words!) - the annual link-up with House Unseen. These have quickly become my most favorite posts because it is such a fun way to see all that we have done in a year...or not done...how far we have come as a family...or not come...whichever the case may be!  Mostly I get to see my kids grow and change right before my eyes. And as a mom that never ceases to amaze.  I've decided to change it up this year just a tad and include the most popular post from each month as well. And by "most popular" I mean clicked on the most times that month. NOT that they were my best writing or anything terribly special.

2014 in 12 Photos

 

 

Winter was in full effect in Illinois and we were just trying our darnedest to not go STIR CRAZY. Lots of playing and reading and crafting and a little bit of baking. The big kids learned to embroider. And Hannah started to learn to talk (thanks to her fabulous speech therapist!). I bought my first DSLR and took A LOT of mediocre pictures.

This guy kept on plugging away at third year of medical school. Clinical rotations + many hours of studying for Step 2. Meanwhile the kids and I kept ourselves busy. Charlotte had ballet. Isaiah continued chess club at school and took an art class through the park district. I wavered between surviving and thriving much of this month. Joe and I got a much needed date night. Oh and my dad retired!

This month I did a lot of crafting! And I joined a Bible study and learned a lot about myself. I also went on an epic road trip with friends...to do even more crafting:) It was a much needed respite from life as winter was dragging on and on and on. Other family members did other things as well I am sure. I just don't remember. Oh and March marked my one year of blogging here.

 

 

 

 

We started the long and slow process of preparing to move. Lots of purging and packing! The kids and I went to Wisconsin for spring break (although it felt anything but spring-ish). Isaiah participated in his first chess tournament. And we hosted our first Easter in our home (with my parents). Oh and we all survived Joe's first stint of night shifts. Mostly life carried on as usual in our home.

 

 

Hannah graduated from speech therapy and decided she wanted to ditch diapers as well. Foolishly I attempted potty training. It was a failure. Charlotte performed in her first dance recital. Joe & I celebrated 11 years of marriage. We found out we were expecting baby #4...much to our delight! Apparently I had three top blog posts this month so here's the last one - the one in which I admitted that preparing to move was making me CRABBY. 

 

 

 

We finally MOVED! Or more accurately the kids and I moved our belongings into storage so we could live in my parents' basement for the next year. Joe stayed behind in Illinois to take Step 2 (ie medical boards exam). We seriously wouldn't have survived that endeavor without the selfless help of many friends and my parents. (Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!) Somewhere in middle of all this chaos Charlotte, Isaiah and I all celebrated birthdays - we turned 4, 7 and (gulp) 31 respectively. Before hitting the road to join Joe for his away rotations the kids and I went camping and Isaiah went to summer camp for the second year. And thus began our grand adventure of fourth year of medical school!

 

 

 

We spent the month in Iowa in a 2 bedroom apartment without a dining room table. It was interesting to say the least. The kids LOVED it! We did our best to take in all the local sights and experiences. Joe had a blast in the local emergency department. I thought it was a pretty good experience overall although "morning sickness" (ie all day nausea) was definitely making it more challenging for me to enjoy.  I attempted self-timer family portraits. That too was interesting.

 

 

 

Hannah turned TWO...which was nearly impossible for me to believe. We took our family on the road again and spent the month in Michigan. New state, pretty much the same story. Joe spent his time in the local emergency department learning to save lives while the kids and I attempted to explore our new surroundings. Admittedly I wasn't as impressed with Michigan and pregnancy related nausea and exhaustion made me a poor sport. However our housing situation was MUCH better. So that was nice. Not so coincidentally this is the month I became real lax in my mothering standards (Exhibit A: two year old on table playing with mirror. Pictured above.)  After finally seeing my doctor I went public with this pregnancy!

 

 

 

The kids and I left Michigan. Joe stayed behind to complete another one month rotation in yet a different emergency department. Before settling into life in Grandpa and Grandma's house we made a quick trip out to South Dakota and Montana to see family. The first day of school was rough on everyone. New state. New town. New school. That's a lot to take in. But we survived. Isaiah started soccer for the first time. Charlotte started preschool. And Hannah went back to "undie school" and moved up to a toddler bed. Eventually Joe joined us in Minnesota. YAY! And we learned that baby #4 is a BOY!!! Overall it was a very good month. (I finally wrote up Charlotte's birth story!)

 

 

 

 

Joe left for 5 weeks. Another rotation + residency interview season began. But before he left we took on painting and carpeting my parents' basement AND we enjoyed a mini family vacation to a water park. The kids and I embraced all things fall...pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, raking and playing in leaves, trick or treating. We tried our best to keep busy while daddy was away...including belly and kid line-up pictures.

 

 

 

Winter made it's unwelcome debut in Minnesota. This pregnancy chugged right along into the third trimester (with multiple repeat ultrasounds due to a pesky placental lake). I tried not to panic about becoming the mother of four children.  Hannah got her first haircut. Joe came home! Lots of extended family time this month. And of course Thanksgiving happened as well.

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa left town so we DECKED THE HALLS for them. Joe went on even more residency interviews. And I snuck away for another quilt retreat. That made two in one year!  The kids participated in the Christmas pageant at church. I finally, finally, finally completed my required CME so I can remain a certified PA.  And we had fabulous Christmas celebrations with family. 

 

 

And just for fun...here are my year-in-review posts for 2012 and 2013!

A Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was pretty laid back and relaxed for us. Probably largely due to the fact that we didn't have to drive 8 hours to get "home" to celebrate with family. We are already "home". But since it isn't technically our home there wasn't a lot of pressure to decorate the entire house and get everything just right. Instead we put up the tree. Wrapped a few presents and called it good. Being 8 months pregnant definitely allowed me to lower my expectations of myself as well. All in all it was a recipe for a very nice Christmas.


First there was a little Christmas cookie baking and decorating. (Thanks to Grandma Donna! I definitely wasn't up to that task this year.)

And then a quick trip to the ZOO. Because clearly Christmas isn't complete without the zoo! We even brought our nephew & niece along...via Facetime.

 

I was attempting to get a picture of the intricate snowflakes,
but I think my belly stole the show!

There of course were a few last minute gifts to be finished...

Christmas Eve was spent "up north" with my side of the family. Lots of eating, chatting and just being together as a family. Charlotte and I snuck away with my dad and uncle to attend their Christmas Eve church service. I am so glad we did. It's my favorite church service of the year. We made it back in time to to play the dice game for white elephant gifts. Despite their best efforts our kids did NOT win the coveted white elephant. Aah shucks! Better luck next year.

 

Upside down Hannah...her newest trick!

Thanks to my aunt's creativity, before going to bed on Christmas Eve we sprinkled Reindeer Food on my cousin's driveway (so Santa could find us!). Well most of us sprinkled. One of us just dumped it in a pile and let the cat eat it.

 



And it worked! Santa found us. Don't be fooled...Isaiah was pleased with his present from Santa. He just couldn't open his eye all the way because of the corneal abrasion his littlest sister gifted him the evening before.

 



After a little driving we arrived back "home" to celebrate with Joe's family.

Santa ALMOST forgot the toilet paper,
but he snuck it in the stocking at the last minute! Phew.

 

 

To quote Isaiah it was "THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER". And I have to agree it was a fabulous Christmas. Definitely in my top 10 Christmases. And not just because we were spoiled rotten with gifts...trust me we were spoiled! The fact that it was low-key and relaxed was great too. But I think knowing that we may not be "home" for Christmas next year really allowed me to soak it all in and enjoy it. To appreciate this time with family. We have NO IDEA where we will be living a year from now. And we certainly don't know what Joe's schedule will look like. It may be a few years before we get this much family time again. All of the unknown in our future made the here and now all the sweeter. Of course opening up the tablet he wanted definitely sweetened the deal for Isaiah!

 

 

Family time continued over the weekend at Joe's grandparents' cabin. Which of course meant more gifts to open! See what I mean? Spoiled.

 

 

Typically Joe and I do not exchange gifts at Christmas. And this year was no exception. However on our drive home from the cabin we FINALLY agreed upon a first name for this baby boy. And that felt like the best gift ever! I love knowing who he is...even if I don't really know him yet. We have a name. Well a first name at least. And that's a pretty good start. My "gift" to Joe this year? Oh it was just me showing him a little grace as I watched him drop my beloved Pepsi on the side of the road and then open said Pepsi and spray/waste half of the Pepsi. And I do mean a little grace. Because I definitely had unkind words for him. Like "idiot" and "no common sense".  But I let him live. So grace was definitely shown...even if it was only because there were three small children watching the Great Pepsi Incident of 2014. I was proud of my restraint regardless. (Moral of the story: don't mess with my Pepsi!)