He made it!

We made it through the first day of school. Well, Owen did, anyways. He was suuuuper nervous Tuesday morning. He didn't eat anything for breakfast, needed me to get his clothes on, etc. When we got to preschool he was really quiet. But we went into his classroom, he did great. He hung up his backpack, put his name circle in the train (for attendance), and then found his seat and started painting with the watercolors that the teacher had out at their tables. I sat with him for a minute, and then said, "Okay, mommy and daddy are going to go now! We will see you in a bit!" And then he said, "You are leaving? For just a little bit?" And his eyes got HUGE. And then my eyes started to well up and my lip started shaking, and I said, "Yep, just for a little bit! We will be back soon!" And gave him a hug and a kiss and then we left. OMG.

We went to the grocery store after we dropped him off, and it was hilarious, because Wade kept saying, "Oh-wee! Oh-wee!" (That is how he says Owen) like he was looking for his brother. Poor baby has literally NEVER EVER EVER been separated from big bro, so he was a bit weirded out. But when we got back home and Wade realized that he had control over their toys and that he could do WHATEVER HE WANTED and he wouldn't have a big brother taking stuff from him, or making him play a certain way, he was very excited.

Then we went back to the school to pick O up, and Wade went nutso. He was running around the lobby, hollering, screaming, etc. When Owen came out of his classroom, he was smiling! He told us that he painted a dinosaur, played outside on the playground, had snack, etc. He said he had fun! And then we asked him if he wanted to go back on Thursday, and he immediately replied, "No." LOL! But I reminded him today that he will go back tomorrow, and he seemed okay with it. :)

D-Day

Ohmygosh, y'all. Owen starts preschool, like, TOMORROW. In 10 hours we will be dropping him off, and LEAVING. I am soooooo nervous. And so is O. He had a really hard time going to sleep tonight, he was super antsy. He kept calling me and Chris into his room with random complaints, and the last time I went in to his room by myself, his major issue was "I am getting flat (fat)", which is hysterical, because to hear your scrawny 3 year old muss over the idea that he is getting fat, well, it's just funny, k? But after I tucked him back in and gave him (more) goodnight kisses, his little bottom lip came out like 6 inches, and he was holding back the tears. Break.My.Heart. Thankfully Chris took tomorrow off so that he could be there for drop-off and pickup, because methinks Owen AND momma are going to need Chris!

After dinner tonight, Chris was asking O if he was excited for school, and Owen said, "Yes. But I think that mommy is going to cry." LOL! Well, I need to get off and go to sleep so that I can take my baby to school in the morning! Waaaaah!

The Name Game

Naming babies is hard work. Like, real hard, man. They will have that name FOR-EV-ER, so it is important that you don't eff it up, you know? With Owen, it was pretty easy.

Owen- Part of Chris's family's farm is called "The Owin' Place." Something about when it was first purchased, it was done so on borrowed money, so they were "owin' " money on it. ;)

Henry- Chris's uncle Henry was like my kindred spirit. We were basically the exact same person, with the exact same weird quirks, and I loved that guy SO much. Imagine me, but in a 66-year-0ld man's body, and that was Henry. He passed away when Chris and I were 22, and I miss him sooooo much. And Chris and I joke that Henry is up in Heaven all kinds of thrilled that Owen's middle name is his namesake, because that is just how Henry was.

Wade- this was a hard one! Chris and I were at major odds over Wade's name. I wanted Wyatt; Chris said he would rather die than name our son Wyatt. (No offense to any mommas of Wyatts...I love the name!) So, when we were literally down to the wire, like due to have him within a few weeks, I suggested Wade during one of our name talks. And it was put on the "maybe" list, but I was secretly planning on ambushing Chris in the delivery room and coming out victorious with a new baby Wyatt. Well, Wade won. And it so SO funny/weird, because when he was born, and Chris's parents brought Owen up to the hospital to meet baby, Larry (chris's dad) goes, "Where did you get the name Wade?" And we were like, "Oh, Jen suggested it, and it apparently was the "dark horse" in our name game." And then his dad proceeded to tell us that he had kin in Chula that used to come visit when he (Larry) was a boy, and two of his uncles were named "Doc and Wade." So, in a roundabout way, Wade is a family name, lol.

William- William was my grandpa's name, and I have tons of sweet memories of that man. We thought it would be a great middle name. Actually, Chris wanted William to be the 1st name, and call him Will. But "Will Smith"?? Ummm, no. Wasn't going to happen.

So, here we are again. We were sure we were having another boy, so we had our boy name all set, and picked out. But, alas, we won't be using that name now, and we are back at square one, CLUELESS as to what we will name our baby girl. In a way, it is kind of nice to not really know what you are going to name the baby. Because then you avoid all of the "feedback" from everyone, and plus, if you change your mind when you look at your baby when they are born, you aren't stuck with monogrammed towels that have the wrong baby name on them. And did I mention that you don't have to deal with all of the feedback??? ;)

You're going to miss this...

...You're gonna want this back...

Are you familiar with that Darius Rucker song? It's about looking back when your kids are grown, and missing all of the quirks that go along with living with wee ones. I was singing that song in my head tonight as I about broke my neck trying to maneuver around the landmines (read: toy trucks, hot wheels, hard plastic dinosaurs) that the boys left all over the kitchen floor. I know that when our babies are all grown up and it is just me and Chris left to hold the fort down, I will actually miss not risking bodily harm by walking across the floors. OH. And speaking of "missing" stuff, one thing that I will miss once our kids are older are the surprises that I always find when I change the laundry. Wade is momma's-lil-helper around here, and when I am stuffing clothes in the washer or dryer, he loves to help. But if I leave the washer or dryer doors open while I am running to the bedrooms to get something, it never fails that he will find his own things to add to the wash. Sippy cups, diapers, books, hot wheels, etc. I never know what little treasures I will find when I change the laundry! Kind of fun. Except for when he sneaks a diaper in the wash. That is just gross because the diaper kind of explodes, and this weird ballish-gel type stuff gets EVERYWHERE, so you have to take everything out, wipe out the washer, reload the clothes AGAIN (keeping a better eye on your baby) and so on and so forth.

Pregnancy Brain

I have it bad! But I would also like to state for the record that I also have two toddlers, so I am not exactly "firing on all cylinders" as the saying goes. Today's story:

We had to go to the grocery store, which, with both boys is such a delightful adventure. Owen wants to push the cart, Wade wants OUT OF THE CART RIGHT NOW THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and I am left trying to buy a week's worth of groceries in about a 30 minute time frame. Such fun. Well, today we went to HyVee, and we went after the boys woke up from their nap, that way we would be getting home from the store right around the time when Chris got home from work, so he could help unload groceries. So, we did our shopping (and I would like to throw a little Shout-Out to HyVee. Thank you for giving my kids slices of deli cheeses, cookies from the bakery, and balloons from the florist. Those little prizes are the only way we survive shopping trips!) and then we went and checked out. I paid for the groceries, told the cashier I wanted drive-up (where you pull your car up and they load your groceries for you!) and then managed to find the car, get the boys all loaded up/strapped in/snacks served, and get home in great time. Chris heard the garage door open, so he came outside, opened the back of my Acadia to unload groceries, and says, "Ummmmm, where are the groceries?" I FREAKING FORGOT TO GO TO DRIVE-UP AND PICK UP OUR GROCERIES!

So, we had to drive BACK to Hyvee. And I had to look like a total dumbass when I pulled up, and had to explain to the high school boy that was sitting there with my cart of stuff that I am a complete airhead and forgot about actually picking our stuff up. So embarrassing! But, at least we all got a good laugh about it. And now Chris has more to ponder when he spends time wondering "how exactly does Jen get through her days?" Because, really. How do I even manage to get through my days intact with 2.5 kids while running on about 7% brain power? It's a mystery, I tell you.

My Superhero

The boys and I were playing downstairs today, and Owen kept jumping off of the fort/slide thing. Here is our conversation:

Me: Owen, please stop jumping off of that, you are going to break your leg.

Owen: Mommy, no I won't. I am not jumping, I am FLYING. I am Superman-boy, and my cape helps me fly. So it's fine.

How do you argue with that?

I've caught the sickness...

...that would be the "Mom to Baby Girl" sickness in which one must purchase anything pink. We have a perfectly good bouncy seat, swing, tub, high chair, towels, washcloths, pack and play, etc....but did you know that you can buy those things in PINK?? For your baby GIRL?? 'Tis true, 'tis true...those smarty pants companies capitalizing on this sickness. Should be a crime. Chris will be so thrilled. ;)

A Girl???

We had our "big" ultrasound this afternoon, and we were SHOCKED to hear that the lil one taking up residence in my belly is a baby girl! I was fairly certain we were going to have another boy, which would have been amazing! We had our boy name picked out and everything! Here are a few pics from our ultrasound: her pretty profile

The absence of "junk" between the legs...I made the ultrasound tech check like 3 different times before I believed her, ha!

Her sweet little feet! Everytime we have a baby, after we have our ultrasound that tells us what we are having, we always go to Babies R Us and buy the baby's coming-home outfit. So we did just that today! We got to go to the PINK side of the store! I felt like an imposter...and it felt really strange to not be purchasing something with a monster truck/football/construction equipment/trains/etc on it. Luckily I have several friends who have little girls that will e passing down their clothes to our little lady! I still can't believe we are adding a girl to our family! The best quote of the day was from Chris. Before we found out the gender, we had talked about how if we have another boy, our next house would probably be a 4 bed/2.5 bath, and the 3 boys could share a bathroom. And if we have a girl, we would probably get a 4 bed/3.5 bath so that she wouldn't have to share a bathroom with her older brothers. So, Chris goes, "Well, I guess that means we will be getting either the Perry or the Lexington (the two 4 bed/3.5 bath floorplans we are looking at). Damn, she isn't even born yet and she is already costing me more money!" HA!