Waiting...Among Other Things

So...no baby yet. I'd probably be pretty depressed in different circumstances - I had Gavin a week before his due date, and I'm just 6 days out now. But I'm actually okay with not having had him by now because we ended up moving this past weekend. For anyone who may not have known, we were house-sitting my Grandma T's house while she was in Hong Kong serving a mission. She got home on the 23rd of March and initially our plan was to stay in her house until after the baby was born and Craig had finished school (she had generously made the offer and it seemed like the more logical thing to do). However, we started feeling super unsettled and out of place once she was actually home and just waiting for us to move out before she could move back into her own house! So even though it's been a crazy, stressful time to pack up and move, I feel like this is the right decision and a better place to be. You should know,though, I'm typing this in the middle of a bombshell of a half-kitchen/family room/game room/ piano studio a.k.a. my parent's basement that is now loaded full of all our stuff. It makes me laugh like a maniac that I would consider this as better, but given all the circumstances, that's the way it is. We're hoping that we can get out of their hair and into a place of our own soon, but we'll have to see what comes up and, more importantly, how we feel about what comes up. I think we'll be here for a good couple months, though, what with the new baby and all. But I could be wrong about that too. I'm learning more and more that I can't totally plot out my life - most times the Lord has other plans. And looking back, I've always been better for having done things His way.

Picture Purge

It's been so long since I've posted pictures, so I decided that I would just do them all at once. So, beware, there are a LOT of pictures - and this will probably become a long post!

The first part of February, Gavin had what I figured out was Fifth's disease and it wiped him out. I thought it was another ear infection, but his fever only lasted about a day, then he got the rosy cheeks followed by the rash. His skin is just now getting back to normal. It's so sad when he doesn't feel good! And here are our Valentines Day pics... none of me and my Valentine. I was NOT feeling good. We stayed the night before down at Brad and Valarie's, which was a blast as always. They just spoil us when we're down there. I was starting to feel a little yucky in the morning, but by the time we got home that night I felt horrible. Plus, I had one of my unexplainable pregnancy melt-downs. Poor Craig, not much of a romantic evening...

Gavin loves his little chair we bought him at Ikea. He pushes it all around the kitchen and uses it for a stepping stool to get up to where he wants to be.

I love letting him feed himself as well. We can all eat at once now!

A couple Fridays ago, cousin Avery got to come and spend the day with us. It was so much fun to have her - she was so good and so cute! Gavin turned into quite the character, though. I'm sure we'll have a fun time helping him transition into having a brother... He kept taking Avery's binky from her, so I ended up pulling out one of the ones he NEVER liked before so he could have his own.

It was so funny because he didn't even suck on it, he just held it awkwardly in his mouth.

And of course he wanted Avery's lunch more than his own.

They were so cute together! And I love the food stuffed in Avery's mouth in this one...

My little cheeser :)

This is what Craig and I found one night when we went to check on Gavin before we went to bed. What a funny guy!

And here are a few things Gavin's been up to...

Opening and closing doors,

helping mom ALL DAY vaccuum the floor,

(he'll get it out of the closet and everything)

and dipping his food in just about anything - he just loves the idea of dipping. He's eating asparagus here which he loves because he gets to dip it in mayo.

And here's a little something of what Craig's been up to. He used a paper clip to form this little gadget that holds the water button down so we don't have to stand there while our water fills up. You may be thinking, "Wow! Are they impatient or what?" but really, although we probably both fall under the category of impatience, you've got to cut us some slack here. It takes more than NINETY seconds for our fridge to fill up a glass of water!!! We're hoping that replacing the filter will speed things up, but c'mon people! That is way too long to wait for a glass of water!!! Especially when you consider that I'm supposed to drink half my WEIGHT in ounces per day!

Praises be sung to my innovative husband!

And these last few are from this past Sunday. I love Sundays! Not only does Craig get to stay home with us, but he doesn't have to do any homework. He spoils me. After church, he made me pancakes and eggs for lunch, did about a thousand dishes, cleaned the griddle and the grill, and watched Gavin while I took a long, lazy nap. Days like this make me even more excited that he'll be graduating in May and have one less thing to worry about and occupy his time.

I think these pics are so cute of my little cheesy face. I love that he actually smiles when we prompt him to nowadays.

Just ignore the poor camera skills... what an adorable face!

And we went on a walk. Gavin was much more interested in pushing the stroller than in riding in it. (And sorry Nat, this is the only recent picture I have of my belly. I'll try to get some better ones soon)

At first he tried to reach up where mom and dad push the stroller, but it was too high and he kept getting mad so we told him that he had his very own push place down below and that seemed to satisfy him.

I just love G-man's face here, although I couldn't tell you what he's doing...

Pushing from the side was also a hit.

My two boys... they are just so darn cute!

Update

So I'm too lazy to upload any pictures to this post, but I think I'm due for an update, so here it goes...I made it to 36 weeks!!! Almost done. All I can say is that this pregnancy has been 1000% better (at least emotionally) than the last one. Not that I haven't had my melt-downs, but I have been a lot less angry about everything. Actually, I mostly have felt happy! Amazing. I'm hoping that I won't have to wait all four weeks before this little guy decides to show up, but I at least have to make it 'til the 23rd. My parents are in Hong Kong picking up Grandma T from her mission until then. Not that it wouldn't work out if he came this week, but I'd prefer he wait, so that things can go how I've worked them out in my mind - since my mom is supposed to come and be labor support for Craig and me. In other words, I'll have two people (Mom and Craig) doing whatever I ask them to do while I'm bent over in pain. :) I really feel like it will all go really well, and my midwife says that the labor and delivery for a second compared to a first baby is not only shorter, but also much less work. I have high hopes.

Lately, Gavin is keeping as busy as ever. He learned how to open and close doors this last week, and I've had to start locking the NO-zone areas to keep him out, otherwise I spend the whole day chasing him around to make sure he's not into anything he's not supposed to be, like the toilet or the garbage. If only I could figure out the reason he loves those places so much; I bet it has to do with the fact that he knows its against the rules to be in them. My favorite thing that he says is "high, Dadda" when he wants Craig to throw him up in the air. It is so cute! The second Craig gets home, Gavin says "high" and "go" as soon as Craig is holding him. In fact, he talks about it all day and just can't wait til Daddy gets home to play with him. Gavin's also pretty into himself (we have no idea where he got that from...:). He loves his reflection - in the mirror, the tv, the oven, any reflective surface - and says "hi" and jabbers and laughs and says "ba-bye" as he is walking away. What a funny little guy. We took him to the park on Saturday and he loved it. He went crazy with the sand, picking it up and throwing it back down. It kept him busy for at least 15 minutes (which is equivalent to days for him). We think he just couldn't get over how awesome it was that he wasn't getting in trouble for touching the dirt (last summer he always tried to grab the dirt out of the flower pots and we'd have to constantly be on the look-out). He only stopped when he got mad at us that his hands were cold! Silly boy.

No real complaints here. We are having a great time and so happy that it's getting warmer outside! We're on the count-down for the baby, Craig to be finished with school, and to hopefully get into a house or someplace of our own, but we know that we're being blessed in every way. Thanks to everyone who has hung out with us lately (Westin and Chelsea, Sarah and Nate) and kept us from being totally anti-social. We really need to plan fun things more often, we just get lazy :) Have a good one!

My 32 Week Relley-Belly...

So here are pictures of my ever-growing belly. I finally figured I'd just take them myself because I'm never ready for the day before Craig leaves for school or work, and I'm always frazzled by the time he gets home! My poor sweetie...but he still tells me I'm beautiful. What an awesome hubby! I already had a hard time believing him, though, and now I'm pert-near positive he's at least stretching the truth after watching "Liar, Liar" with my parents on Tuesday. Quoting Jim Carrey, "All grown-ups have to lie sometimes," and the example he shared was of when he used to tell his wife that she didn't look fat while she was pregnant-so she wouldn't feel bad! As long as we get another baby at the end of it all, I guess it's worth it.

And this is what I see... :)

Everything's going well with the pregnancy, which is a blessing. I'm anemic again this time around so I've had to start back on the iron supplements. And this little guy likes to hang out with his head up in my ribs, instead of kicking them like Gavin used to. So I'm also trying to get him to turn around - I'm not excited at the thought of delivering a breech baby. If only it was a little more comfortable laying with my face on the ground and my rear in the air! The play-back in heaven should make for some good laughs, though!

And Chelsea and Natalie, you girls feel free to post some belly shots of your own - I want to see!

Proof...

I really was that skinny once! This picture is from 2 1/2 years ago, and 1 3/4 pregnancies ago. My mom took it the day of my bridals. We recently got our wedding pictures from my parent's computer, and it's been a lot of fun to look through all of them. Yea for Jeff Hodges!!! We LOVE our pictures! For me, now that I have a growing belly bump, looking at these is almost therapuetic. My "large" feelings are comforted by the fact that I was once thin (even though I don't think it's possible to EVER get my pre-baby body back). Good thing babies are so darn cute - it makes all the sacrifice (physical being only one aspect of it - I find my brain power is diminishing by the second!) worth it! I know I'm way past due for posting another belly shot, but I keep forgetting to take one, and Craig has the camera today at school so even though I'm thinking of it now, I can't take a picture. So, hopefully soon...at least before the baby comes! :)

And kudos to all the great parents in the world! There's just no way to fathom what parenting entails until you experience it!