We have been busy...and I've been tired

There has been a two week gap in my posts.  I do apologize.  But, you can imagine how the house has been the last couple of weeks.  It didn't help that a week ago Molly got a stomach bug.  AND there has been a couple of minor basketball tournaments keeping us pretty occupied.

Lack of blog posts aside, I feel the most prepared to welcome a child as I ever have.  Perhaps it is having a fourth and one is pretty sure what one needs at this point (and more importantly, what one does not need).  I have been unable to find our boy newborn clothes, however, I also know that I don't really need that many.  I have several neutral sleepers and the kids and I took a trip to a local consignment store and bought a few outfits.  Nana and L'Opa also contributed to the essentials, so I believe we are covered for the next three months or so:

Nana has provided a future snuggly for John.  We are debating names.  Our suggestions are Naismith, Phog, and Gene.  We are breaking tradition and giving John two middle names:  Eugene and Anthony.  Anthony for St. Anthony (patron saint of lost items) and Eugene for a good friend of ours from Dayton.

A couple of weeks ago I also got the 'nursery' set up.  All by myself...well, except for the heavy lifting of assembling the crib and changing table.  I had Eric do that back in November.  But, I think it all turned out quite nicely:

What is really neat (in my opinion) is that there are a few blankets that were used by Dom, Will, and Molly as babies included in the room decor.

And then to just run out this post, some photos of the kids:

 After taking glasses in for repairs two weeks in a row, I purchased a back-up pair online.  I think they are adorable.  Molly prefers her pink frames.  Of course.

 Dom has been living in his Jayhawk basketball jersey for the last several weeks.  He will allow me to wash it regularly and he always changes his white t-shirt.  He has plenty of those.  But, the majority of the days will see him sporting his No. 22 Jersey!  Rock Chalk!

 And finally, Will was eating an ice cream cone which resulted in a very similar likeness to his father who is participating in moustache march.  I really wish I knew how to get a picture of Eric uploaded to the blog.  They are nearly identical!!

PS.  Here is Dad's mustache.  I'm all dressed up to sing in the San Antonio German Men's Choir!

Ok, gotta go cheer on the 'Hawks!  Happy Sunday!

Week in Review

I try to update the blog a couple of times a week.  Many times I have a specific topic to write about, but on this occasion I will just recount the week's events.

The biggest event was that my friend, Alicia, and her two kids came to visit.  They got in Tuesday evening and stayed until Saturday morning.  I really enjoyed having another adult around to talk to, but the kids absolutely loved having her two kids, Will and Lucy, here to play with.  Molly loved pointing out that there were two Williams and tracking down Lucy's special doll to give to her. 

 Most of the time, all of the kids could be found together.  And the fact that young Will had his own tablet made him a quite popular person with my sons.  Though, they really didn't play it that much.  Honestly.

 Though, he had a pretty awesome something or other on it that allowed them to play popular nintendo games...we'll be looking into this at some point in the future.

 I am quite partial to my children, but Lucy is adorable.  The above picture does not come close to doing her justice and for that I apologize.  She will turn 2 in a month and was so fun to watch walk around and her little voice was pretty cute.  Though, don't be fooled by her looks...she has a temper!  Just like Molly.  They could get in quite a bit of trouble together I think.

 On the last night, we put out blankets and pillows and they watched a movie together.  Dom told me later that Lucy laid next to him the whole movie.  He really enjoyed having her around and practicing being an older brother to such a little person.  He did comment that all of the crying made him nervous (there was not a lot of crying, but with two kids so young there was a bit more noise and by default a bit more crying).  I told him to just wait!

And finally, today after I got Molly dressed for Mass she went out and started pedaling her tricycle for the first time.  She was so cute with her backpack on.  Luckily, I was actually ahead of schedule and able to get a video of her to send to Eric. 

She also fell asleep on our way to Mass, so that was pretty sweet, too.  All in all, a very lovely week.  Next week we turn 36 weeks pregnant.  We have a couple of doctor's appointments so please keep us in your prayers that everything continues to progress uneventfully.  We are almost there!

Preparing for Baby John

 When we initially told the kids about their newest sibling, the reaction was a bit underwhelming.  But, I cannot blame them as I did not look any different and the pending due date was several months in the future.  However, now the due date is quite closer and he and I have grown to the point that there is no question of his existence.

 As such, the kids and I have started to make many preparations for his arrival.  One example is that Molly will pour over a comical book of dos and don'ts on how to handle a baby.  Katie gave me this book as a joke gift while I was pregnant with William.  I remember sitting on her stairs in tears because I was laughing so hard.  However, both Will and Molly take its advice relatively seriously. 

I also took the kids to a sibling class at the base hospital.  They watched a silly video about newborns which they have acted out a few times.  (What does a baby do when he is hungry? Shows baby crying, What does a baby do when he is tired? Shows baby crying, What does a baby do when he needs a diaper changed? Shows baby crying...)  The video also discussed how an older sibling might feel left out because Mom and Dad are so busy with the baby...somehow, I don't think my kids are all that concerned.  If anything, I may feel left out of their club.

In the class, the nurse showed the kids how to diaper and swaddle a baby using stuffed animals.  The looks of contentment on my kids' faces as they quietly rocked their swaddled animals was pretty precious.  The nurse also pointed out that on newborn diapers there is a line that will change color when the baby wets it.  Will asked the quite pertinent question of what color it would become when the baby pooped.

Speaking of Will and diapers, we normally don't watch a lot of regular TV with commercials, but two straight weeks of P&G commercials have been quite effective marketing.  Will has on multiple occasions declared that we need to buy Pampers for John because they will keep a baby 3X drier than any other diaper.  He further explained this meant John could wet the diaper 3 times before he'd get uncomfortable.  I'm not sure if that is really what it means, but frankly, it makes sense, doesn't it?  Much to Will's delight, we bought John's first package of Newborn Swaddlers yesterday.  He is sure that John will sleep as peacefully as the baby in the commercial.  Right.

The kids are also preparing to meet their brother in other ways.  Mainly, playing with him.  Sometimes this is quite literally.  The smile on Will's face the first time he felt John move was luminous.  I wish I had recorded it.  Now, Will and Dom will sit on either side of me and play 'Hide and Seek' with John.  They feel for his body and he will often move to avoid the prodding of little hands.  I do not have this same luxury.  Molly even includes 'Baby John' in her play.  Telling him to chase her or warning him to watch out for monsters (Will and/or Dom, but mainly Will).  As much as I enjoy hearing them include their unborn sibling in their play, I love the special hugs they give him and the way they include him in our nightly prayers. 

So, yeah, we are all pretty excited about meeting this little guy in a few weeks.  Now, I just need to wash all of his clothes and blankets, make up his crib, stock up on diapers and wipes, pack a hospital bag, have a list of phone numbers handy, and give birth.  Piece of cake.  Especially with this team in my corner: