Grace's 3rd Birthday Party in Sanger

Grace turned 3 on March 12th! It was a Saturday which is always the best day for a birthday! We actually celebrated when we went to Sanger the weekend before and then celebrated again on her birthday in College Station. A few quick thoughts from her Erwin Family celebration:

1. She did NOT want to wear her precious bandana skirt that I saw on Pinterest and had Vic make for her. She is so silly not wanting to wear something new until you convince her it is great. But, this one I could NOT convince her of.

2. Once she was happy, she had a great time! She played hard, was excited to open her presents, eat dinner, eat cake, and play some more!

3. Our menu at the party was: hamburger sliders, veggies and dip, fruit and dip, tortilla roll-ups, veggie ranch stick chips, sugar cookies, cake, and I think that was all? Delicious though!

4. Our theme was My Little Pony. It was just cute and fun and fits her love for ponies right now!

5. I think my favorite part of the night was watching her while we sang Happy Birthday to her. She was half embarrassed/half excited and just the cutest little thing. She LOVED being the center of attention!

And here are some pictures from that party! (first the skirt that had to be turned into decoration)

 

 

Trip to Sanger for Baby Goats!

We knew about 6 months ago when baby goats would be arriving at Grandma and Pop's house...right around the beginning of March! So, when I knew that date and I knew that might be my last time to travel before the baby came, we tentatively put on the calendar to come as soon as babies arrived. We love baby goats and the younger they are, the tinier and cuter and easier they are to catch and hold. Since these are not bottle fed, although they stay fairly tame because they see Grandma and Pop all the time, they still won't just run into your arms like bottle fed babies would. So, if we were going to get our hands on them while they were little, we had to get there fast. Overall, I think they ended up with 13 babies? And most of them boys! But, the really fun part was that the second doe that kidded had quadruplets! Our family has had goats since I was 9 years old, and we have NEVER had quads. So, that was exciting! Through the weekend, we played with baby goats; the kids saw some being born; we played in the pasture a little and then it rained and rained so we didn't get to do much playing in the goat pens after that. But, it was a great, relaxing few days, that included Grace's 3rd birthday celebration and seeing Zootopia with GG and visiting Melbo and Pa's chickens and playing on the storm cellar and Atticus playing with Charley's old legos! It's always nice to get out into the country to play! Here are some quick pics!

Valentine's Day 2016

This will be more of a picture post. Valentines Day is a fun day to take pictures of the kids dressed up! A couple days before I left for 4 days for my final (of the year at least until I finish nursing this new baby and I somehow convince Vic to let me go scrapbook again in Corsicana while he watches ALL THREE kids) scrapbook retreat, I took the kids to the George Bush Presidential Library to take some fun pictures. They did a good job of lasting as long as possible posing and then we just walked around and took fun pictures while they played and played at the pond and park area outside. We didn't actually go inside the library, but they were so funny to want to look at all the statues (mostly Atticus). One day, we will educate them on the wonderful, kind Bush Family legacy! So, here are some cute pictures. I fell in love with them. I may not be a photographer, but I think my kids are always cute! #momhasrosecoloredglasses #blindedbylove

Little Moments: The Things I don't Want to Forget

So, I blog because I don't want to forget anything. I have the worst memory sometimes and I LOVE reading back and remembering the cute little things or how different each kid is. But, sometimes, I hope I remember some of the non-actually doing things. So, I don't want to just remember when they crawled or what weekend trip we took, but I really want to remember their little faces and voices and expressions. And you cannot always capture those exact things in photographs or writing a blog post. But, I'm going to write a few down anyways and hope when I read them that one day that memory of mine will remember that little moment.

1. I LOVE watching Atticus talk about something he is curious about. Sometimes, when he is telling us something that he is pondering or wondering about, he puts his hands up to talk with them and scrunches his forehead up while he is thinking and his little voice is so serious because he is really thinking about whatever it is and really wanting to know what you think. It's the most naive, sweet little moment because it makes me realize he is getting so much older and so smart.

2. I love to watch Grace be precious and all dolled up, but I also LOVE to watch her be a raggedy muffin little girl sometimes. Her hair is growing, but it is still fine and still growing. She will have new growth sprout at the top of her head that does not smooth down well and I tend to put her hair in lots of ponytails which, of course, come out all day long. Plus, sometimes, and particularly right now as she has a cold, her face is full of little dirt smears all over it. And, it's just precious. She just wipes that hair out of her face with that little sweet hand and goes about her business. She doesn't care if she looks a mess or doesn't even realize it, but she runs and plays and doesn't let that crazy hair or messy face bother her. And when she pulls out a bow or a barrett, it is just all over the place. I keep talking about it because it is just cute. Little girls should get messy!

3. I love both of their smiles. I mean, as we grow up, we have natural smiles of course, but we also know when to smile. But, Atticus and Grace - they smile when they are happy or tickled or even when they might be shy. Those little smiles are all so different but so sweet. They are adoring, or cheesy (when I say SMILE! or SAY CHEESE!), or just plain happy. And sometimes their little happy smiles or happy revelations that bring out those smiles just make me want to snuggle them up with hugs and kisses!

4. I love their voices. This is something else they only have for a short time. As they grow, I know their syllables and words will improve and then they will just talk like everybody else. Sometimes, I think Atticus talks completely normally, but then I remember that Atticus still says "W's" for his "R's" and I love that when you ask him what sound a word that starts with R makes, he will say W or Wah. And I love the way he says "Gwace." But, his little boy voice is just sweet and that is something I know I won't always be able to pull out of my memory...so I hope I take enough videos! This is the same for Grace. Her tiny little voice says "Mama" in the sweetest way. And I love how she changes her little voice when she is being someone else in her play. It gets a little higher.

5. I also love Atticus' kisses at bedtime (or anytime). He is just so sweet and always kisses right on the lips. I know this will change too, but even if he has been a stinker all day and we've had a rough one, he will completely calm down at night. I know he likes the bedtime routine and likes having Grace in there. He is such a routine kind of boy and is so happy when it's time to actually go to bed (well, once he is in there and has stopped complaining about it being bedtime if it's one of those nights). And he will so happily give hugs and kisses and those kisses are so sweet.

6. I love how tiny Grace is and how she fits right into your lap. Right now, my tummy is so big, but she wants to be snuggled a lot. When she gets tired or can't calm down after possibly getting disciplined, she wants to be in my lap. She snuggles up right into my arm and is just happy. I think when this baby comes, she will want that more too. I love it. It's just that feeling of her fitting right there and her little body with soft little girl skin and soft little hair, not caring how large I am right now or if I"m her "squishy mommy" as she has recently called me. (the squishy mommy thing is so funny by the way!)

7. I love watching their interaction. Don't get me wrong - they are siblings and annoy each other and are into fighting over things. But, that is just life. But, when they interact just naturally, it's just sweet. I really need to find a thesaurus for a new word for sweet. Anyways, Atticus is SO helpful to her and loves her without any instruction to do so. He sees her needs sometimes before she has them and just does stuff for her. He will unbuckle her from her carseat or carry her things if they are "too heavy (per Grace)" or get her drink or snack for her or help her with her toys when she needs help. I hear a lot of "Mama!" for help and he will just say "I'll help her". And about 75% of the time, she doesn't get mad that he is helping her and she will let him. And I also love how much she loves him. She will wrestle with him or hug on him randomly or tickle him or do anything she can to make him laugh. Sometimes he doesn't want those affections, but she is bossy and pushes them on him anyways. She will say "Atticus is so silly!". And at school as soon as they see eachother, they give each other big hugs! Stop it. The cuteness. And sometimes, they will just hold hands without being asked when we get out of the car. Of course, Atticus almost always wants to hold her hand, and she is a stinker and knows it, so she will sometimes resist. But, mostly, he wants to protect her and love her and she will do the same.

8. Even at age almost 5, sometimes Atticus needs me. He will just want to sit on the couch by me. And that is the best feeling. And even moreso, he needs Vic. He actually needs Vic more and that is good. I mean, he is with me all the time. He will constantly ask what day it is and whether Vic has to work and when Daddy will be home. And when Vic needs his help, he really likes that. He really prefers to do things with just Vic and not me and Grace helping them. So, you can see his little self light up and realize how important he is to a situation and Vic is so good at showing him how much he needs him. It might be doing things outside or cooking or helping with a project.

9. I love their laughter in the bathtub. Sometimes, they will just tickle the other one so much and they cannot stop laughing. Sometimes, this is because they are talking about "poop" but my goodness, they are funny to hear from the other room. And sometimes baths can last 30 minutes or more because they are entertaining themselves happily. Don't get me wrong - there is also tattle telling and whining and whatever sometimes, but hearing those loud, hilarious laughs is so fun.

10. Finally, for now, I love to watch them sleep. Since I lay in Grace's bed each night for the 2-3 minutes it takes her to fall asleep, I just watch that precious little face relax and sleep. And many times, Atticus is asleep just as fast and I will watch him too. Every little kid is precious when they are sleeping.

So, even though I will forget lots, I hope I remember these back in the back of my mind when I read this one day!!

"My Best Fiend" and "You be; I be" and some of her other phrases

Grace is really into best friends these days. If you ask her who her friends are, she will tell you from preschool. There is Hallie, Emily, Ryder, Crosby, Taylor (who she always says is grumpy) and her teachers Mrs. Thuh-Thuh (Elizabeth) and Mrs. Sumar. She will tell you that she and I are best friends and Atticus and Daddy are best friends. Vic said when I was gone scrap booking one weekend, that she would tell him he was her best friend, but as soon as I got back, he was reassigned to only Atticus's best friend again. I will ask her who other people's best friends are. She will match up any couple that is married and then for Melbo, Pa and GG, she must count them as one group, because they are all best friends. And sometimes she will add Bubba the cat into their group or pair him off with one of them as well. And honestly, there is NOTHING better than her wrapping her little arms around my neck and telling me I'm her "best fiend". And many times, when she talks to someone about Atticus, she will tell them he is "my fiend Atticus" and just recently has started calling him her "bwudder".

I've mentioned before that Grace is really into imaginative play with all of her princesses, Lion Guard, ponies and any other toys. Well, she is also really into pretending to be someone else. Most recently, she will come to me and with this little excited, shy grin, she will say "Mama, you be Mrs. Sumar and I'll be Hallie" and then we will play. We will play with her toys or preschool but if I mess up and call her Grace, she will quickly correct me and say "No, I not Gwace, I Hallie". She will act a little different and sometimes use a little different voice to show she is pretending. One night, she even had Atticus be Crosby. It's the cutest. She will do the same with her princesses. She will have me be Rapunzel and her be Jasmine or whatever. It's so cute!

Some of Grace's other recent phrases, as she talks all the time now, are:

"Mama, Check Diss Out!"
"Oh! Dat a good idea!"
"Oh! Dat's so sweet!"
"Good luck!"
"I not know my magic words" when she is saying something that I just can't figure out and I keep asking. She will get so upset and then tell me that phrase. I don't know where the "magic" part came in?
"Oh yeah!" when she agrees to something.
"Good job Dad!"
"Goodbye!" after you put her on the potty. She needs you to put her up there but then she happily sends you away.
"Be careful!" to whoever she thinks might be in danger.
Recently, she started this "a little more, a little more" when you are doing something for her or getting her something. She is very encouraging, I guess.
"Mama! Look at this trick!" and does something silly.

She also loves to play "I Pie" (I spy) at any given moment. She loves Simon Says and her favorite thing to be told to do is jump rope. And she likes to tell Knock Knock jokes but doesn't understand how to do them at all!

Right now, Grace cannot say "You" and "Y's" come out as "W's". So she will say things like "Woos play with me" instead of "You play with me" or "I need Woos" and it's so cute!

She also likes to match her bows. I tried to teach her this recently and was shocked when it stuck. So, when it's time to pick one out, she will tell me "that bow match me" or if it doesn't.

At nighttime, Atticus still tells us he hopes we dream about dinosaurs doing something each night and we think of something for him to dream about in return.Well, I think I've said before that Grace fell right into that routine and included herself in telling what she wanted Atticus to dream about and waiting for him to tell her.She always talks about princesses, ponies and pooping on the potty (her daily life right now). A couple weeks ago, she decided she was too tired one night and when Atticus would ask her over and over what she wanted him to dream about, she would pretend to snore and not say anything. I lay there in bed with her until she falls asleep each night, so I told him she was sleeping and couldn't tell him. Then, a minute later, she pipes up and tells him. Well, this has continued each night. She doesn't want to do it on his command, but she will do it when she is ready. What a stinker!  Then, about a week ago, she changed it and instead of telling him anything or pretending to snore, she just says "My Knees Hurt" when he asks her and that is her excuse as to why she cannot tell him what to dream about. She did scrape her knees up a couple weeks ago too and they did hurt for a couple of days and she would tell us, but that is her excuse? She is a rascal.

That's probably it for now, but she is just too funny!

Birthdays for Vic and I

So, I want to remember our fun birthdays this year with a quick post! Vic turned the big 35 on February 5th and I turned 33 on February 28th. For Vic's, since he shares a birthday date with Katherine and she was turning 30, we joined some friends and family together and ate dinner at Chuy's and went to northgate for the night. Ana and Charley came into town and Katerina joined us. Then a bunch of Chris and Katherine's friends joined as well. The really funny part was that Ana and Charley bought "Over the Hill" decor and decorated the house with it for Vic! The pictures do it justice and it was so funny! Also, on his actual birthday, Friday, the kids and I took a picnic lunch and met him at Research Park to eat and walk and feed the ducks. And that evening, we took him to Grand Station Entertainment to do the arcades. Atticus constantly wanted to know what kind of birthday party we were having for Vic...you know he LOVES birthdays. So, we tried to plan a fun day for our little family to celebrate that would be enjoyed by Vic, but also by the kids.

For my birthday, it was on a Sunday and I got to enjoy the whole weekend with naps and relaxing. We ate delicious food and Vic and Grace even made me this amazing ice cream cake from the Pioneer Woman! They gave me a movie basket with coupons and snacks and then since my birthday always falls around Oscars time and Vic and I enjoy watching it, we had Oscars Bingo and Oscars ballots to fill out after the kids went to bed. It's just fun to celebrate with the kids too because they understand and LOVE birthdays so much!

Pregnancy Update at 37 weeks

Since I had an appointment yesterday morning, I thought I'd do a quick pregnancy update. Well, I think I've hit that point of being done. And by that, I just mean, when the baby wants to come, he or she can come! I have been doing really good...no swelling, getting around good (except in and out of bed is always tough), no heartburn, no other issues really of any kind. In fact, just a few days ago, I told Vic "wow - my back doesn't even hurt like it did last time with Grace". That was a mistake because now it hurts a lot more. I just remember I had to pick Atticus up so much that my back was in constant achy mode. But, with Grace being a little older and able to do more by herself, I really haven't run into that unless I just totally overdue it during the day.

So, all has been good until the past 2-3 days. The kids have been sick since Friday night with fevers/colds, so there has been less rest and more getting in and out of their beds and my bed and being up at night. So a little less rest for my body; and now I've come down with the cold. And my entire mid section/uterus area/lower back has had aches and pains and while not something that is not alarming to me yet, but just uncomfortable. So, I'm doing a little complaining but I always hate to complain much because it's just part of pregnancy and I know I need to suck it up. It's just that little thought in the back of your mind constantly that you want to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary that would be causing any distress with the baby. The baby still moves a lot but I think it must be a giant boy right now because there is less and less room to move in there. It's just no fun to be in pain or discomfort. I like to think I am a pretty easygoing pregnant person; but yesterday with everything hurting and kids being kids and just being kind of tired, I was kind of an emotional mess. Tears, tears, go away! I'm better this morning. Thank goodness for Vic who came home and took over; I feel like the worst person to just sit while he does stuff, but it sure helps my body last longer to sit and rest when I can.

At my appointment yesterday, Dr. Bertsch said we are still good to go right now for April 21st as a c-section delivery date. She mentioned a different wound suture plan she might do this time, but didn't go into detail yet. My blood pressure was 144/90 when I went in and she said the bottom number of 90 is usually their cutoff point for concerns so we took it again before I left and it was 138/83. So, she said since it went down, she feels good about just seeing me at my regular appointment next week. She said if there was gestational hypertension, they deliver at 37 weeks (as in THIS week) and would need to monitor me for the next few days. So, hopefully we are ok since the second time it was lower. Plus, I had Grace with me and while that is not a big deal, I know they usually tell you if you are busy, then your blood pressure might be higher. It's been in the 120/80 range most of my pregnancy but since it was high with Atticus and low with Grace, she wants to watch it. Anyways, so hopefully we are good to go there.

She also said, when she was checking the heartbeat and feeling around that she thinks this will be a big baby. She said that doesn't change anything on her end as far as delivery, but our pediatrician might have some extra instructions about formula supplementing, etc. when the baby arrives. So, that will be new for us if the baby is really big. With Grace at 8 lbs. 14 oz at 40 weeks and Atticus at 6 lbs. 9 oz. at 36 weeks, I'm not surprised this one could be big. And maybe that is why I am so uncomfortable right now.

I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions a lot lately in the last 2-3 weeks. Only a few times, have they been kind of painful, but at least I know these are contractions. With Atticus, we induced at 36 weeks and so if I had BH, I didn't know it. And with Grace, I hit contractions in the middle of the night and all at once, I knew what one felt like. But, there was not time to hang out with those - they were strong and we went in right away to find out I was dilated to a 5 or 6 I think? Anyways, this time, I can tell when I have those little contractions. I'm sure I'll make it to 39 weeks, but part of me really wonders. 39 weeks makes it easier to plan, but 2 weeks still seems like a long time away and I am not convinced I'll last until then.

As far as food, I've not had any crazy cravings throughout my pregnancy. Mostly, they come and go and last a few weeks. Right now, I can't get enough cold things...like watermelon or water. I will wake up just to eat watermelon in the middle of the night to get that satisfaction of water and coldness, but try to avoid filling myself up with water just to use the restroom 5 times a night. My nausea has been under control since I've stayed on medicine. Back around 31 weeks, I got sick for the last time...I hope. The insurance company has gone crazy and only gives me 9 pills at a time, so every 9 days I go get more. Around 31 weeks, they made me wait a few days and not taking that little tiny pill meant I was sick the very next day. Crazy! I have been feeling yuck, so I've been taking 2 a day if I feel yuck 2x in a day. Our bodies are just crazy the way they react to pregnancy sometimes....and you just don't know what to expect.

As far as other updates, we are ready for the baby. We have a few little things to pick up, like diapers, and we actually have not gotten the 0-3 clothes down for both boy and girl yet, but we will do this weekend. I'm getting excited to see how tiny they are and reminisce. We also have not gotten the crib down, but since the baby will just stay in the bassinet, I'm not too worried about that. We can do the crib in the weeks after baby comes. With Atticus and Grace in one room now, the baby room is ready.

Atticus and Grace ask all the time when the baby will come. Grace even gets it now...as much as she can. She talks about the baby and yesterday, kept asking me to pull my shirt up in the doctors office for her to look at the baby. They both kiss my stomach sometimes and they both change their minds about what they think it will be. Grace even pulled out a baby and bottle and paci the other day to play with...so maybe she will embrace it! Atticus talks about the baby using "she" and "her" but also has said in the last 3-4 weeks that he thinks it needs to be a boy so "the boys will be stronger and the girls will be weaker".

One funny thing the other day happened when I asked Atticus if he would help me take care of the baby and maybe not go to kindergarten again. Of course, he says he has to go to kindergarten. And I kept asking who would take care of Grace the other times and he said he would. So, I asked him if he would make her food and put her on the potty, etc. And he made the decision that when she needed to go potty, he would trade me and he would take care of the baby and I would do the potty stuff and then we would trade back. I just thought it was cute because it was all willing to help, but "trading" kids was the way to do this. He's going to be fun with a new baby in the house, especially now that he is almost 5.

We also attended a Sibling Class at Scott and White on Saturday with our friends, the Gregory's. It was cute; she read them a little book and asked them questions about rules with babies. She let them wrap up baby dolls and carry them. And then they got to dress in scrubs and take a tour through the rooms of the hospital that they might see when their little siblings arrive. Grace was feeling a little under the weather and doesn't really like dress-up anyways, but Atticus was all in to putting on the scrubs and walking around. It was pretty cute to see all of those little miniature doctors and nurses walking around. It was also nice for me to see the facilities - all so clean and new and big.

I can't really think of much else. Most of this post is not too exciting, but I like to remember these little things. I am getting excited to see what this baby looks like and whether they resemble Atticus or Grace. And I am anxious for the baby to arrive and know that he or she is healthy...still a little nervous about it being so big - not for the delivery part, but I hope they are healthy and ok when they arrive. 15 days to go!

 Lizzy and Atticus look like a couple of great, and very serious doctors!!

 Hopefully with a real baby, he will be a little more attentive....