Baby #3

We are excited to announce that Baby #3 is another Girl! (we would've been excited about a boy too). This morning we got final votes from the kids. Elliot has never said "boy" or "girl" ever that we can think of and immediately said "girl" when Richard asked him. We even asked a 2nd time worded differently and he said the same thing and he was right. Libby has been saying girl from the beginning mostly because she loves pink and girly things. I kept changing my mind, but figured someone should guess boy. I thought it was boy for the first trimester and then kept picturing a girl.

Baby was perfect size and looked healthy. We get another ultrasound at 28 weeks to make sure things are still going well. The placenta is a little close to the bottom and they are hoping it moves out of the way so I don't have to have a C-section. We will probably name her Eleanor, Richard and I both really like it and hardly agree on any other names. Haven't quite got to thinking of middle names yet. Possible nicknames though are: Ellie, Ella, or Nora.

Here's a few pics

Her first hair bow ;)

She was super wiggly, so getting a good 3d pic was hard

She was snuggling the side

Cute little feet

Heart beat was nice and strong. High because she was getting her exercise

Cute profile with her hand by her face

Gender predictions

I just read a funny post about all the different methods of predicting a baby's gender. We find out via ultrasound Mar 20, so only 1.5 weeks!! We are very excited. I don't understand how people do the whole surprise thing. I did not do all the tests, but here are a few results for your entertainment and to help you make your prediction. Please comment with your prediction!

Heartbeat= girl (it has been around 155, at my last few visits and above 140, is supposed to mean girl)

Carrying high/low: Boy (I'm not too big yet, so I don't know if this is accurate, but I feel like the baby is low like Elliot was, Libby was high so this one has a high accuracy for me)

Cravings: Boy (anyone want to bring me a juicy hamburger?)

Chinese predictor: Girl

Mayan predictor: Boy

Acne: Girl

Ring trick: Girl

Richard's guess: Girl

Becky's guess: Boy

Libby singing!

Libby has been so into the Frozen music lately that we broke down and bought the soundtrack to avoid the commercials on youtube. She has most of the soundtrack memorized already. I caught a few bits on camera for your listening pleasure. She is so cute and smart. I just love hearing her sing. It really makes my day. She often sings primary songs too, which are so sweet.

 

Libby's birthday interview

I did a birthday interview with Libby! Here are the results:

 

Note: Self portrait she drew has teeth in the mouth, which is why it looks a little creepy. She also drew her future baby sister (she really wants it to be a girl, few more weeks and we'll know for sure!!)

Libby also got to have her "SUPERSTAR" day in preschool where she got to be the center of attention for about 10 minutes and talk about all the things she loves. We made a poster that got to be hung up in the classroom and she brought in a few of her favorite things.

Best friend Lila is front & center there!

Libby's Birthday Festivities

My little girl is 4! I can hardly believe it's been that long!

Posing for the camera

Being cute in her "Anna" apron

and silly of course

 Libby requested a Frozen party and it was actually really fun to put together thanks to pinterest and my love for themes and crafts. Libby helped a lot, she helped make the invitations, several of the snacks (most of the white pretzels and stirred the jello) and really tried helping make the pinata but it was a bit messy.  she also helped decorate. The party was a big success and she loved every minute. I think there were 12 kids in our apartment plus a lot of parents so I was amazed it didn't feel more chaotic. Libby was so excited her best bud from preschool even made it! (all I hear about when I ask about preschool is her and Lila played frozen together)

Enjoying the ring pop from her goody bag

Food Table: Pretzels, Jello and a huge (store bought) CAKE!

Pin the nose on Olaf (only 3 kids wanted to stop playing to do it, but that's ok, it's cute and Libby loved it)

Found this princess version of the fishing game for $2.25 on clearance at Walgreens a week or so before the party. The kids are obsessed! It's been on almost constantly since Saturday

Pinata collage: It was funny to watch the different kids. Most the girls barely hit it, especially the littler ones. One definite difference between boys and girls, 2 yr old boys think it's awesome to hit things with a bat, girls...not really seeing the point yet. The 5 year old boy was the only one blindfolded and he had no problem getting that thing open even with Richard moving it all around. Overall a big success though.

Elliot clearly enjoying his ring pop!

She has loved every present too. We scored a free tricycle with our pampers point accumulation from the last 4 years and 2 kids (plus a little help from some awesome people who donated codes)! Elliot is pretty jealous of the bike and luckily Libby has been pretty good about taking turns. She loves her fancy Nancy book and is so excited we can have it at our house all the time! She also is having fun with her Elsa Barbie that goes with the Anna one she got for Christmas. She also got birthday money which she was way excited about, she bought a Doc McStuffins doll (that may be losing it's batteries soon as they won't stop pushing that darn stethoscope). Oh and a new dress from Grandma is another favorite thing, it's pink and ruffley, can't get much better than that! Spoiled girl!

Hot kool-aid

A few nights ago I had a bad case of pregnancy brain. I wanted some lemonade and I thought I was being smart by turning the water on while I grabbed a pitcher so it would be really cold. I put in the crystal light and added the water and stirred it up. I then went to drink some and realized I turned the water to hot, not cold! It was not what I expected and need a lot of ice. Anyways, it reminded me of this funny YouTube video that we watched a few years ago.

Happy New Year

puzzle announcement that I put together while I was too nauseous to do much after the teeth extraction. I got really bored, there's only so much Netflix a person can watch in one day

I am very excited for this new year. It's already had a bit of excitement. Jan 2nd I got my wisdom teeth out! Rather painful. It wasn't THAT bad since I didn't need surgery of any kind, just simple extractions, but I was very sore and felt kinda terrible for a few days. I wanted to get it done before we moved since I found a low income clinic that only charges $54 per tooth, which seems to be a great deal. Besides getting some teeth out, this year will have LOTS of changes. Richard graduates in April and then we'll be moving and starting a new job (fingers crossed). We are hoping for something in Washington or near some of our other family members. Another exciting thing happening in August will be expanding to become a family of 5! We got to see the little peanut already and see the heartbeat which was nice and strong. I've been a little nauseous, but not too bad, mostly extra tired. (Getting my teeth pulled with morning sickness might not have been the best plan, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been). Growing a baby while keeping up with my 2 munchkins wears me out. Libby is hoping for a sister, but we won't know for awhile. She is already picking out names, luckily she isn't too picky and likes most of the names that will actually be considered. Elliot doesn't understand yet, but he loves babies and is very gentle with them. Maybe when my belly is big he will figure things out. I think it's another boy since I've been craving similar things to my pregnancy with Elliot, but who knows. Richard thinks it's a girl, I think it's because he hates all boy names, so picky. I'm excited to find out and also a little scared to have 3 kids. Hopefully no scary hospital visits this time around either.

As for resolutions go... mostly keep myself and the kids alive and healthy! Hopefully find some good doctors where ever we move. Reading scriptures and having family home evenings more regularly are some goals as well.  I want to do some sort of mommy school with Elliot to help increase his vocabulary and communication skills, I used to be good about doing that with Libby when she was his age. I am also hoping to potty train Elliot. He was in underwear most of today and had some successes and accidents, but hopefully it will go well. I am afraid I will give up soon and have to try again in a few months. Any good motivators?