Big Brothers and Little Sister

    

#3 Update

Today marks week 37 for this pregnancy so I figured it was time for an update on #3. 

We found out in November that it is a

  

girl!!

In recent months we’ve been working on getting the bedrooms situated.  

Reed had to move from his crib in the nursery

(don’t worry, the blanket was removed after the picture was taken :)

 

into a bed in Graham’s room.

The move went much better than expected.  One day some superhero sheets arrived in the mail and R wanted to sleep in his new bed.  He’s been there ever since and they are doing really well with sharing a room for both bedtime and nap time.  They need the occasional reminder to stop playing and go to sleep, but I’m pleased with how well they handled it.  I’m sure the two fans and music that plays helps keep them from distracting one another too much!

The nursery is still a work in progress, but almost done.  The biggest challenge was finding bedding that went with the yellow walls, since we did not want to paint it.  I wanted to go girly but not pink and then I found bedding that I really liked.  It includes shades of pink, so it is very pink in the end.  I hope to post pictures once it’s completely done!

Pregnancy Update

37 Weeks

It was bright out and they were tired so this was the best we got!

 Thankfully this pregnancy has been complication free.  Given my history of big babies (G was 9lbs 5 oz and R was 10lbs 3 oz) the doctor has been monitoring her size.  We had an ultrasound at 34 weeks which showed her around 5lbs 9oz which is slightly bigger than average.  Assuming that measurement was correct (it can be off by a pound in either direction), then she should weigh around 9 lbs at 40 weeks.  I have another ultrasound on Friday to check once more.  We have an induction scheduled for April 16th when I will be 39 weeks and 1 day (Reed was induced at 39 weeks and 5 days and weighed over 10 lbs and his ultrasound showed him weighing a pound less than he really was).  While I don’t want to be induced and hope that she comes on her own, I feel that it is the best option to be able to have her naturally and hopefully avoid a c-section.

The next couple of weeks will be exciting for sure!  I’m done working and the boys are off for Spring Break so I’m planning some fun Easter activities for us to work on and maybe I'll attempt to get our house cleaned!

Buddies in the Making

They continue to spend more time each day playing together. It's still a love-hate relationship, but I'm thankful for the growth that has happened! It has really helped that Reed has learned to say, "I love you (fill in a name)" and would say it to Graham several times a day as well as the rest of us. I think Reed's initiative encouraged G to say it more and to proclaim to me several times that he loves his brother so much! Now to just get them to share their toys :)

Playing Together

I've find them playing together more everyday. 
It certainly brings a smile to my face hearing them enjoy each other!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Psalm 133:1

Cheesy Boys

Screaming Boys

One Sunday Morning

I don't usually dress them in matching outfits.  Lately I have been finding coordinating outfits that they just happen to have.  On this Sunday morning we pulled out the ties.  Although they were not fully cooperative in the picture taking process, they were still cute in them!

A morning at the Rosolowski Institute

 

Maybe once a month I follow through on my desire to do more educational activities with G.  Now that R doesn't take a morning nap he wants in on it too, so he sat at the table with us.

On this day G was using these ABC/abc cards.  I hadn't cut them apart yet, so he just used the pointer hand to point to the answer.  I was impressed with how many of the lower case letters he knew.  

I really want to do more of these things with them.  I just need to start small and keep adding to it in order to keep it going.  I bet it would also help with the disagreements that seem to be arising more each day!

Any suggestions for getting started.  My mind is so tired these days :)

Spring Break

Julia came for spring break.  The weather was really nice.  We had a girls night at her school, did some shopping, played and laughed a lot with two energetic boys, and she did some homework too!  She babysat a few times and we went to see our brother's band play (a nice treat since they are all from NY).  

Thanks for coming to visit Julia.  We love having her here.  Enjoy the rest of your semester and we'll see you in May!

Playing Cootie Bugs together

Sweet Shot

Silly Faces Begin

The Way Boys Play

Rough housing has become a common way of playing. It usually ends with Reed crying because Graham is sitting on him and the constant reminders that he is too big to do that to Reed. I tell G he has to wait until Reed is bigger than him to sit on him. It might happen sooner than I think!

Basket Boys

Bathtub Mohawks

Daddy and His Boys

They both love their dad so much and enjoy watching him play his computer games!

2 Boys 1 Tie

Graham at

18 months

Reed at

13 month

Yes, Reed wears most things earlier than Graham. I think he is bigger but we also have the stuff to use. To prove his bigness he has already outgrown shoes that G wasn't even wearing yet at this age. He's wearing a size 6!

Matching Shirts 2

Together

Sliding

Snacking

Matching Shirts

Halloween Recap

Graham loves the Veggie Tale movie Josh and the Big Wall and also enjoys when I read the story to him. I thought it would be cute to take a favorite Bible story and base his halloween costume around it. I've never really liked the holiday so I thought this might help redeem it.

Anyway, since I could not come up with a costume that depicts Josh aside from typical Bible garb or somehow making a wall for him to wear, we went with another favorite- David. We decided Graham would be David, Anthony would be Goliath, and Reed would be David's sheep. I had scrap material to make David's outfit and sling shot and the Dollar Store provided a suit of armor for Goliath. I searched the internet trying to come up with a sheep costume. Cotton balls would have been cute but way too time consuming and Reed would have eaten them anyway. I made a vest out of batting and yarn which could have worked, but he started pulling on it when I put the semi-finished version on. I put the idea on hold.

I then went back to finishing David's outfit and when it was done, it was a little small for G. We made a last minute costume shift that worked out well. G wore the armor and was Goliath. Reed wore the David costume. It speaks to the nature of their relationship! Now we just have to help Graham understand that Goliath was the bad guy :)