Hurricane Harvey Hits Texas

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

What started out as a normal week ended up in what may be the most devastating Hurricane to hit the US. 

Luckily, we did our grocery shopping earlier in the week, because everything was crazy in Austin Friday as people cleared off grocery store shelves. Yesterday, I suggested that we go grocery shopping and Nathan came up with a pretty clever idea.

"Mommy, why don't you just go shopping when we are in school." And once you figured out how genius this idea is, anytime I suggest something that doesn't sound terribly exciting to you, you suggest that I do it myself when you all are at school. 

 In the end, here in S. Austin, we received in total about 7 inches of rain (according to our rain gauge) over the span of 2 days. The places we had to get to weren't affected by flash flooding, so we got to go to church for our monthly family fellowship dinner and service project.

 We braved the winds and drove up to Round Rock to attend a birthday party.

Of course, we played indoors. And Nathan even showed the birthday boy how to put some legos together. Nathan you were very excited to give him this gift because you had picked it out for him yourself.

By Monday, the rain had stopped, and Tuesday, it was dry enough to go outside to play. We had a canceled playdate and then ended up meeting up with another group of friends whom you guys really get along with.

 While Hannah was digging around in the dirt, looking for snails and rolly pollies, Nathan was a bit more cautious, sitting on the side, avoiding ants and getting dirt in your shoes.

 Hannah, I have started to make you take a short afternoon nap these past few days. You simply just get too grumpy by the evening and can't seem to stay awake during dinner. It's tough to keep you in bed, but I've managed to get you napping for the past 2 days by laying down next to you and taking a short nap myself.

During this time, Nathan either has some screen time, plays legos or we play games. A game that we recently made up "Monsters in the Bedroom" is quite an interesting game. I'm actually considering pitching it to a game maker to see if we can market it. The game works on number comparison. Kids get to practice comparing 2 numbers (under 12) to see which number is bigger. The monster gets a number and the kid draws a number. That is how we determine who wins. If the monster wins, the kid cries and gets a tissue token. If the kid wins, the monster goes away. It's a 2 player game: monsters vs. Kid. If the kid gets 5 tissue tokens, they lose. If the monsters all get put into the treasure box, they lose.

 This week was your second week of school at the gymnastics center. Everyday you two come home with a new skill. Today, you both showed me your handstands.

 I am really glad that I found this place for you both to attend. You both seem to really enjoy your time there and never want to leave when I pick you up. You both eat your entire lunch and have lots of opportunities to be active.

We are approaching week 37 with baby and it's crazy to think that we could become a family of 5 in as early as a week. Baby's head is engaged in the pelvic region and so far everything is still on track as far as growth and health goes. I've finally found the newborn clothes, washed everything and have them ready. My bags for the birthing center is packed and I took Nathan and Hannah to pick out a baby book for the new baby. For some reason when I mentioned buying a book for the baby, Nathan kept thinking that we were going to borrow the baby like we borrow books from the library. He kept repeating to me, I don't want to borrow the baby, I want to be able to keep her.

I finally just brought out each of their baby books, flipped through it with them and then asked if we should get one for the new baby. Unanimously, they replied "yes" and excitedly accompanied me to Half Price Books. When we arrived, both of them were so excited and exclaimed, "this is the best store ever! They have everything!" Then they proceeded to hand me books to read to them.

If I've done one thing right as a parent, I'd say that both Nathan and Hannah love reading books. I was a bit worried about Hannah at first, but as she gets older, her attention span is lengthening and she now loves to just sit and listen to stories, one after another.

Next week we start school at Bethany. I'm curious what it will be like to have to pick up 4 days a week. I'm still a bit hesitant on whether or not to keep you both in school 4 days a week, or cut back to 3, but I think we'll wait for the baby to arrive before we make this decision.

This week it finally hit me: We will be having a little tiny baby in the house. I've always preferred kids once they are older, but for some reason, I feel like I will be treasuring this infancy period a bit more. Perhaps it's the thought of it being (probably) the last one, or it could also be that there will be 2 little humans who are so excited about getting a little baby sister. Life will be very different, but I am pretty sure that it will be good, challenging, but good.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy

Birthday Parties and Solar Eclipse Fun & Pregnancy Week 36

Dear Hannah, 

This week you turned 3 years old. You absolutely love corn and watermelon. You could eat your weight in those 2 things. You are very focused on things and people being fair and you will sometimes stand up for other kids who (for example) have just gotten a toy taken away by another person. On the other hand, you often take toys away from Nathan still, but it is definitely easier to convince you to return it these days. 

You still love to do what Nathan does, but sometimes you will catch yourself and say, "Actually, I want..." and insert your own preference. I think this is a great thing because you are starting to think as an independent individual. I have learned that I really need to stop giving you two choices (for example, do you guys want sandwiches or wraps for lunch) because while you two used to agree on the same thing, these days, it almost seems like you purposely pick what the other person did not pick. 

Hannah, you love pretending that things are family members. Transformer cars, dolls, blocks, and even bottles of sprinkles can be imagined into a family with mommy, daddy, and baby. 

On your actual birthday, we hosted a joint birthday party for you and Nathan. We actually just asked you both to list 3-4 friends that you would like to invite from school, we also invited some neighbors and combined with siblings, it was a good size party. While Hannah, you would've loved to have a princess themed party, and Nathan would've loved to have a Transformer themed party, we were able to make a happy compromise: Lego superheros. Both of you love the Lego superhero shows and reading the books that are based off of those movies.

One of the activities that we had, was a spin off of pin the tail on the donkey. I made it while you two were sleeping, and the next morning, when you two came down, Nathan, you actually asked me if I spent a lot of time making these and if I even got to go to sleep. I told you that I did spend a lot of time and stayed up late making it. and then you said, "well, I hope you are not going to be grumpy today."

 The pool party ended up being a perfect way to stay cool in 100+ degree weather.

 We also had a watermelon eating contest...

 And a brisket nacho taco bar. Using an under the bed box as a cooler was totally a Pinterest win!

 After we cleaned up, we went home, opened presents, and headed out to another birthday party. Nathan's best friend from school had his birthday party that afternoon, so we headed out for party #2, which also involved water.

Hannah (along with other kids) were pretty enamored by the gigantic bumblebee balloon.

 There was a water slide in the back and also a pinata, which is always a hit with the kids...hehe.

 This was a present that Nathan made for Hannah. When we got home, Nathan realized that Hannah had not opened her present from him yet. Hannah opened it and found this sweet picture.

 I guess belly buttons are still pretty essential parts of a person's body. Nathan, you always make sure to include those in your portraits. I love to see how your portraits continue to evolve.

On Monday, we had a few friends over for a playdate, and ended up having an eclipse watching party. Before we went out, we watched a quick National Geographic video that explains an eclipse, had lunch, and then ventured outside, armed with special eclipse watching sunglasses, colanders, and pinhole projectors.

 Daddy also set up the telescope with a solar filter so we could see the sunspots and the eclipse up close.

 The colander was a pretty cool projector.

 I don't know how much you two will remember this day, but in 7 more years, we'll be able to see another one, and I know then, you will remember it.

 Today, you guys started your first day of school at National Elite Gymnastics. When I picked up you two at school, Nathan, you told me that it was "Super, super, super duper fun!"

I'm excited to see what gymnastic skills you guys learn from the program, and whether or not this will be an interest that we pursue further with you both, or one of you.

As far as baby 3 goes, tomorrow marks 36 weeks. Since both of you came 2 weeks early, it's crazy to think that we could have a third child in as little as 2 weeks. At this point, we will be seeing the midwife every week. I'm continuing to see the chiropractor weekly to get adjusted, so I am still feeling pretty good. I'm trying to still keep up with bodypump once a week with reduced weights and zumba twice a week. I usually drag myself into the room, but usually afterwards, I actually feel energized. And then I pick you guys up and as I wait for you both to saunter into your carseats, I can slowly feel the energy just drain out of my body. I already have to leave 10 minutes earlier if I want to get anywhere on time. Will this be extended to 15 once #3 comes?

In addition to my prenatal vitamin, I'm continuing to take Vitamin B12 supplements 1-2 times a day and iron supplements every other day. I feel both supplements really help give me the energy that I need without any caffeine (although I still enjoy a cup now and then, just for the taste).

I don't think the nesting instinct has really kicked in yet. I don't even know where baby's clothes are, I probably need to dig out the newborn diapers and wipes, but there doesn't seem to be any internal sense of urgency to get it done right now. Maybe that is a good sign. My mom is coming on the 18th, so I hope we deliver closer to that day.

If you see me at the grocery store with 10 boxes of cereal and 5 packages of toilet paper, baby will probably be here soon.

Well, that's about it for this week. Until next week,
Love,
Mommy

Fun in the Sun, in the Water, and on Ice (Gravel too)

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

The post is a day late because as we await for the arrival of your little sister, I have been trying to spend as much time with you two during the day, and then at night, there's work to be taken care of. Alas, here's this week's post. 

We had grandpa and grandma visit this week so we got to pack in so much fun in one weekend. 

On Saturday, while I was getting ready for the church's tea, and Nathan went to a birthday party, 

Hannah had some alone time with grandma and grandpa. You guys went to the splash pad and then McDonalds. 

In the afternoon you guys helped grandpa put together a doll house that grandma and grandpa got Hannah, for your birthday. You hardly ever get presents, especially being the younger sister, and you were so excited when you would say and point to yourself, "This present is Hannah's! It's just for me!" 

On Sunday, after church, I got some time to myself, while you guys all went ice skating. Grandma and Grandpa brought some skates down for you to use and you were skating pretty well after awhile.

Hannah, I didn't expect you to enjoy skating as much as you did. I pretty much expected you to be out in the ice for about 5 minutes, get frustrated and want to get out. But Daddy said that you did such a good job getting up quickly by yourself and while you needed someone to hold you around the rink, you giggled the whole time you were out there.

You definitely had a blast and didn't even realize the blister that had formed where the top of the skate rubbed on your shins.

Whew, guys! It's definitely been very hot outside. We've gone to the pool, usually for about an hour...

Early in the mornings, it's actually kind of nice before the sun becomes to intense, so we spend some time at the playground before heading out to whatever errand we have to run that day.

You know you grow up in Texas when you want to make angels in the gravel...which then led to attempts at burying each other in the gravel.

Hannah, you are starting to get better at using your words, instead of always just snatching things that you want from Nathan and Nathan you are slowly getting better at talking to Hannah, instead of directly coming to me when you feel wronged. 

Yesterday, we went to the post office to mail off grandpa's glasses and when we walked in, Hannah was pretty much amazed. You looked around, and said quietly to yourself, "Woah, cool! This is so cool!" Just a great reminder of how everything in your world is still so new, including your first trip to the post office. 

You two must be going through a growth spurt or something, because today at lunch, both of you ate an entire Costco hot dog by yourself. I usually have you two split one, but today, you both insisted that you were soooo hungry and wanted your own. 

This weekend we have your combined birthday party coming up. A few weeks ago, I had you guys make up the guest list and you all listed your best 4 friends from school/church. We then added some neighborhood friends and so now we have a pretty good sized group for a pool party. 

Pregnancy update: Week 35. 

Last week I had our 34 week visit and we got to see our little baby with the ultrasound machine. She looks soooo cute! Right now, I'm feeling pretty good. Chiropractor visits have been very helpful in that I pretty much feel pretty normal except for always feeling like I'm carrying around a huge watermelon. My weight has plateaued at 140, which is about where I was with Hannah around this time. I think I ate too healthy with Nathan, which caused me to not gain enough weight, and thus, had some issues with milk production. With this girl, I still eat healthy, but indulge in a Sonic peanut butter banana milkshake every so often. 

The kids are excited for the baby to arrive. Nathan has taken the phrase, "the longer the baby stays in there, the healthier she will be" to the extreme. He thinks that baby will stay in there for 20 more weeks. 

Hannah is still convinced that she has a baby in her belly too. She loves to feel the baby kick, although every time the baby does kick, it freaks her out a bit and she retracts her hands.

It's a bit weird to think that our lives will be completely changed in 3-5 weeks. There's still so much to do (I still have to finish Hannah's felt stocking...) and l have lots of loose ends that I have to tie before baby comes.

Well, that's it for now.
Until next week,
Love,
Mommy

Sunday Date Day and What I've Been Doing for "Work"

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

Here is the story of how you two ended up in matching blue outfits eating chocolate frosting sprinkle doughnuts on a Friday morning. 

The story starts about 2-3 months ago, I was working through a devotion that basically had me examine my passions in life. I listed 3. 1) Following Christ in an authentic way 2) Family and 3) Helping kids get out of the cycle of poverty. I thought to myself, well, right now, I can pursue #1 and #2. Someday, I'll be able to do #3 again. Closed the book and didn't think much about it afterwards. Well then, the very next day, one of the pastors from church messaged me and asked me if I would be interested in helping out with coordinating a mentoring program at a nearby elementary school. Well, God could not have made it clearer that this is what I was supposed to do, but I doubted. With your baby sister on the way, I was thinking that this was just not possible. But I continued to pray about it and over and over again, I was constantly picking up messages like "step out of your comfort zone", "trust in God" more than ever and when the pastor said that he would be able to help out when I have your sister, it was an offer that I couldn't refuse.

So this mentoring program is pretty cool. It's through Academy 4, which is a program that targets 4th graders in title 1 schools. (More than 40% of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunch. At this school, the numbers are more like in the mid 60's) The kids get to participate in 2 different clubs and on top of that, each and every 4th grader is paired up with an adult mentor for 90 minutes.  So, what I've been working on these past few months is finding people to lead the clubs and I am still working on finding 90 mentors. So, if you are reading this and you live or work in south Austin, and you have the opportunity to take off from work or school from 1:15 - 2:40, consider being a mentor!

So, let's continue with the story. Aug. 4th was academy 4 day, and our church prayed for the program and a few of us met up and did a prayer walk around campus. You guys were pretty good for the most part, until you started to fight over who got to hold the scavenger hunt paper. I should've printed 2. Lesson learned.

Afterwards, we went out for doughnuts. That's it.

So that morning, you two actually woke up quite early and played by yourself for awhile before coming down to wake us up. Nathan, you picked out some clothes for Hannah and Hannah, you were so proud to wear Nathan's old clothes because that meant that you are getting big like him.

You definitely adore him so much. But you still need to work on not swiping things away from him. Use your words and be patient for your turn. I feel like I say this to you 1,000 times a day.

Nathan, on the other hand, you are very dramatic when Hannah acts like a bully towards you. I am proud that you don't hurt her, or take things from her, but you also need to be able to stand up for yourself. I'm still trying to figure out how to help you figure out a good middle ground.

On Saturday, we went to another one of Home Depot's builder workshops. You both love doing this so much. We ended up going with 2 friends and saw many other friends at the workshop. It's quite popular.

g

 Hannah, your baby Goldilocks was getting pretty gross. When I mentioned to you that we needed to give baby Goldilocks a bath, you pulled out the baby tub and proceeded to try to give her a bath and then when I suggested that we just put her in the washing machine, you looked at me like I was crazy. And then when you actually found out that I had snuck the baby in the machine, you got so upset and was really worried for the baby. Reminded me of how Auntie Momo used to be so attached to her little Sally bear.

 On Sunday, after church we had part 2 of our dates. Nathan and Daddy went ice skating. Daddy took a few videos of you holding on to the walls at the beginning, but after a few minutes, you were skating around by yourself.

 You really love the zamboni. I'm pretty sure plants vs. zombies has nothing to do with it. But even during dinner, I heard you say to yourself, "Zambonis are so cool. I love Zambonis."

 Hannah and I went to a chinese restaurant and we ordered shrimp and scallops because that's what Hannah wanted to eat and since Daddy is allergic to shrimp, we don't have it too often.

And then we went to Michaels to make some cool slime. It was perfect for an almost 3 year old. You had all the glitter, foam balls, googly eyes and dye that you wanted to use to make some cool slime.

 Afterwards, we went and picked up some frozen yogurt. I love seeing your decide things for yourself, rather than just follow in Nathan's footsteps.

 And then, afterwards, we went to Costco...I know, boring, but Hannah, you love going there and you often ask to go...like almost every day. You love going into the cold section, and you love the samples.

You continue to not nap in the afternoons. Some day you will get a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home from somewhere and oddly enough, that 10 minutes will get you to bedtime, and you are happy for the most part. But then on the days where you don't nap at all, you get cranky, and then on days when just play through the afternoon without any screen time, dinner time becomes this:

 Well, we have a busy week with grandparents visiting, birthday parties, and church events. I'll be sure to take lots of photos.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy

Last Month As a Family of 4

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

Whew, it's been a hot week! We've been to the pool a few times, and went to a splash park for the first time this summer. It's actually been awhile since we've been and I guess the demographic of kids who play at splash parks are younger than I remember. You two were probably the oldest kids around, with most of the kids around Hannah's age or younger. 

 We watched the movie Frozen, and I was inspired by Pinterest to have you guys try to build tall ice mountains with shaving cream. Well, it was partially a pinterest fail, because it was pretty impossible to build anything super tall without a mountain detatching from the base, but you guys had fun. The clean up wasn't too bad and I even gave the glass table a good clean at the same time.

 On Friday, we had our monthly service project dinner. This month we made prayer guides to help us 1) remember to pray before bed, and 2) have a guide to follow when praying. You guys were able to do much of the project.

 On Saturday, we check out what the hype of brick fest was all about. While we all had fun, the lines were super long (averaged about 20-30 mins per attraction) and the tickets were a bit overpriced for what was available for the kids to do. Luckily Hannah was free, so we saved a bit there.

You two got to play your first game of mini-golf. Very different from the Wii version.

 And then we all built cars to race on the lego derby track.

 The lady who launched ours dropped both of your cars, so we did not win. But it was cool cheering all the cars on!

You guys then got to drive around a few lego bots. Nathan did a pretty good job navigating, but Hannah just liked the idea of being able to hold a real phone in your hands. There was a bit of disconnect between what you were doing on the screen and where your eyes were looking (at the next booth over or other kids). 

There were definitely lots of stations where you could build your own lego creations.

 I think we probably could've stayed here for hours, just letting you guys build stuff, but we outstayed our 4 hours and had to leave before our parking meter ran out.

 Hannah, you absolutely love dresses. This pink dress is particularly your favorite. If you could wear it every day, you probably would, but we've made a compromise and you only wear it on Sundays. So, for the past 8 Sundays, you've worn this dress to church. It's actually getting a bit tight on you (a button bust this past Sunday) so I hope it won't cause too much of a problem when I put it away for your baby sister.

After the lego fest, we checked out a toy consignment store to see if we could pick up some more legos for you guys to build stuff. We did. But we also picked up a doll house for Hannah's birthday. Amazingly, we were able to haul it back home in the back with a towel draped over it and neither of you noticed.

During the week Nathan had an idea of building our own doll house for Hannah, so one afternoon, we scoured the house for boxes, and designed a house of our own. You guys helped me figure out which rooms went where, where to put the stairs and doors, etc. The next day, you guys got to make your own wall paper to paste on "your" rooms' walls.

Last night, we went out for date night. Daddy and Hannah and then Mommy and Nathan. We actually ended up at the same restaurant, but we sat at different tables.

 It was nice to be able to talk to Nathan without Hannah interrupting and Nathan getting frustrated.
This weekend we will trade dates and Nathan will go ice skating with Daddy and Hannah, you and I will go paint something fun.

The restaurant we ended up going to was Applebees, which we've only been once ever. When we asked you where you wanted to go, we were 99.9% sure that you guys would say Chick-fil-a, but  I was totally shocked when Nathan, you yelled out, "Applebees!" and quickly Hannah did the same as well.

 Hannah had a pretty bad injury this week. I was cooking dinner downstairs and you two were playing upstairs. Suddenly I hear Hannah cry, and Nathan quickly ran to the railing and said, "It wasn't me!" I went up and saw that Hannah was bleeding through her underwear. After cleaning things up, we drove to the doctor's office to make sure things were ok. While making the appointment, Hannah, you kept running after me, yelling, I don't want to go to the doctor. Once you understood (but didn't quite 100% believe me) that you would not be receiving a shot and that the doctor was going to help you feel better, you calmed down and agreed to go to the doctor.

It ended up being ok, and things will heal on their own. But in the meantime, besides hurting when you go potty, you are pretty much your same ol' self.

Did I mention that you guys have gotten really good at sliding down the stairs on your belly?

Things finally slow down this summer as we don't have anything scheduled besides birthday parties every weekend this month. I'm going to be sure the treasure the time we have together, because pretty soon your little sister will take over our lives.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy