Still Pregnant...

And here's proof:

I am due in about a week, but sure won't object for sooner than that (ummm, like today!). As for now, I'm still hanging in there and feeling ready to have this little guy any day.

Best Friends/Worst Enemies

As brothers, I think Cole and Mason are doomed to constantly be in this cycle of being friends and then enemies, and often this changes from one minute to the next. I'm sure all siblings are this way to some extent. Well, they are only 17 months apart and one blessing of having them close in age is that they are growing up together. Usually, they get along well and keep one another entertained. But there are other days.... Let's just say that these days/episodes can drive me crazy! Often Cole will bug Mason to the point of tears or be aggressive with him and then when he wants to apologize and give Mason a "love", it is not well-received (for obvious reasons; can't blame Mason for not wanting him close). Cole gets offended that "he's not letting me love him", and then we usually have 2 criers on our hands. Yikes! Well more recently, I think it's funny that when Mason gets hurt and is looking for me to whine to, Cole tries to console him and will say: "It's okay Mason, I'm right here". Ummm yeah, that is the problem!! (As if Mason is turning to Cole for consolation after the abuse he's just received.) I've been trying to explain (uneffectively, I'm afraid) to Cole that he can't hurt Mason one minute and then think that Mason will turn to him for support or be open to his affection right away. I guess it's good that Cole is not adverse to a quick make-up, but Mason appears to be more of my grudge-holder (though I guess I can't blame him at this point). They sure have distinct personalities already! Wonder how baby boy #3 will add a new twist this this scene....??

Birthday Moms

This last week was both mine and Rusty's mom's birthdays. My mom, Cherie Ann turned the big 60 on March 11th and Rusty's mom, Gena turned 55 on March 14th. It was fun to celebrate with them! We feel so blessed to have come from goodly parents and to live near both sets so that our boys have plenty of opportunities for grandparent time. We are grateful for them and love them tons!

Lynnea's parents: Cherie Ann and Jack Christensen

Rusty's parents: Gena and Bob Raban

Loving my boys today!

Out-smarted by my 3 year old!

Cole uses words to rationalize and reason what he is asked to do/not do and sometimes it just amazes me how his mind works this way. He's always out-smarting the situation and thinking literally. If you know him, you've seen or heard him do this. For example if he's holding something in his hand and I ask him to help me pick up some toys, he can be heard to say that he can't help because his hands are already full of something else. Well yes, they are (technically)-- Another example is when I once threatened to spank his bum and he said "Mom, you can't, I'm sitting down". Well, I guess he's right, I couldn't do it until he stood up and I could then reach his back end. One frequent example of twisting my words is how he likes to wear his boots around the house, but my rule is no shoes on the carpet. Well, obviously "they aren't shoes". And if I catch him walking around, he will quickly drop to his knees and show that he's "crawling" and not walking. We recently went thru this and when I knew he was headed towards the tiled entry to find his boots, I reminded him that I didn't want him walking on the carpet with his boots. Obviously, he found a way around that by not walking on them the conventional way...

I guess I need to choose my words more carefully so that my 3 year old does not continue to out-smart me!! It's starting to get embarrassing, but thank goodness for the humor in the situations; he keeps me entertained!!

A bunch of Crazies!

Cole and Wesley were born on the same day and have fun getting together. We had Wesley over to play today and crazy was sure the word to describe these two! Put them together with their tag-a-long Mason and it was sure a sight to watch them entertain me and one another.

His own sense of style

Just had to laugh when Cole emerged from his room-- obviously having rummaged through drawers of both summer and winter things wearing these items with his jammies. His own sense of style I suppose, which would not have been completely without that bow-tie!

What are your kids doing at 5:30am?

Hopefully sleeping, right?? Well, this is Mason chowing down on a banana at this crazy hour! What the heck?? I just hope that this doesn't get to be a frequent thing --- about once a week or so, Mason is wide awake way too early for my liking. I'm usually not sleeping deeply (something about struggling to get comfy with a big belly full of active baby and frequent b-room trips, I presume). So I get him out of bed, so he won't wake up Cole (yes, Mason's still stuck in a bed he can't get out of himself-- it's great). Perhaps he'd eventually go back to sleep after he'd sang and chatted himself and everyone else in the house to death, but to keep Cole sleeping is a major priority for me. So, here is Mason in between Rusty and I in bed and we're both trying to shush him up, quite unsuccessfully. So then when tired Rusty gets up himself around 6am or so, there is Mason-- following his every movement around the house and doing so with way toooo much energy and bounce in his step, being quite the chatty kid. It is unreal to me. So around 7am, I stuff him full of a banana (we all sleep better on a full tummy, right) and I'm determined that he needs more sleep (or maybe that's just me who does!). But then as we're headed down the hall to bed again, who would appear? ... Cole! Luckily, Cole was content to crawl into my bed and keep sleeping for another hour or so, and eventually Mason must've run out of songs to sing or things to chat about because he did give into more zzzzzz's and slept for a few more hours. Yea! Here's to hoping that this 5:30am nonsense does not continue for all of our sakes!!

Outside Work

Yesterday was such a beautiful, sunny day and I knew we couldn't waste it inside. The boys and I have been pretty stir-crazy so I told them that we'd go outside to work-- thinking the yard could use some post-winter clean-up. As I was getting ready to go out, apparently Cole was too. He came to me saying, "I'm ready to work!" He was so cute and I had to take his picture; it makes me laugh. I don't know what work he was thinking we'd do, but he came prepared with his boots, hunting hat and gloves (which he pretty much wears constantly indoors and out anyway), but also a fake phone in his front pocket along with 5 or 6 other tools shoved into other available pockets. I guess no boy is complete without his hammer, saw, and screwdriver, oh- and I guess the goggles were a must for work, too. But they were all soon forgotten as the trampoline had finally dried out enough for some good jumping, which allowed for work to be done on my part. Beneficial day for all!

Rusty's B-day Curse

What a cute little boy, huh! Jan. 29th, Rusty turned 30. I am 3 months older than him, so he likes to joke that I've robbed the cradle, or something to that effect. The boys and I made a cake and some b-day signs for him. We had a fun time enjoying it together and we had a good evening as a family. For his gift, I knew what he wanted-- a chainsaw. Top of everyone's wish list, I know. What man is complete without one, apparently. He's funny about it because as we talked about our budget for one and which one he was going to get and how appalled I was at how pricey the one he wanted was-- all he could say is that it wasn't really a b-day gift, but more of a curse. Umm, excuse me? I didn't get it. Well, he put in a wood stove in our house at Thanksgiving time so we could save money by not heating with our gas fireplace. Since then, he is continually hunting for wood and downed trees to chop up. And now he says that this chainsaw is devoted to this purpose and will keep him working. True. So I guess I can't call it "fun" for him, even though his enjoyment of the dang thing is crystal clear!! But he has been staying busy. He spent much of the afternoon on Saturday cutting up some fallen trees that were offered him. When he got home at dark with a full truck of wood, I made him stand by for a photo so I could document his curse. What an unhappy b-day boy!

Good Baby News!

I was a little scared today. Rusty and I had to go in for another ultrasound to find out the position of our little guy (yes, it was solidly confirmed-- a 3rd boy for sure!). Up until now, he has been in a breech position and my Dr was about to send me to a specialist to have them try to turn him or I'd have to be scheduled for a c-section. Yikes! Anyways, he sent me for another ultrasound just to see if anything had changed since last time (not thinking anything had) and YES-- he has turned. I am thrilled to not have several other unnecessary Dr appts to schedule and the strong possibility of delivering c-section. And I am very grateful that we have been blessed this way. Thank you Heavenly Father!! It was also very neat to see an ultrasound of how developed a baby is at 30 weeks. He was blowing bubbles and sucking on his thumb, and we could see details that we wouldn't have otherwise seen, so that was fun too. Now if the next few months will just pass quickly so we can get our hands on the little guy...

Mason is 2 !

Hard to believe that Mason is now 2-- time has passed so quickly! He's such a happy kid, always smiling and usually with his tongue hanging out! He's been a lot of fun lately-- talking more and imitating Cole, who he adores. We are blessed to have this little guy as part of our forever family!

This is the photo I took and sent out with his birth announcements:

Blowing out the candles on his breakfast waffle and opening a fun gift:


We sure love this guy!!

Girl Cousins in Town

On Rusty's side of the family, there are 9 grandkids-- all girls except my two boys. They are way out-numbered and way spoiled by these fun girls. They came for a visit the other night and my boys are sad it couldn't have lasted longer:
I tried to get some pictures of Mason and Cole that night, too. Except now Cole is in the phase of not smiling and making strange faces. He's all smiles until the camera comes out and then claims he's shy. Whatever, I don't buy it. Hope this phase doesn't last too long; it makes for a frustrated photographer!

Christmas

We had a great holiday season, and it was fun to have a white Christmas, with plenty of snow. Rusty's parents and brother came in the morning for breakfast and gifts. Our boys were spoiled and loved every minute. We went to my parents that afternoon for more food, treats, and family fun. And of course, more spoiling.
Mason and Cole in their new C-mas jammies (monkeys and frogs), and admiring the tree and what lied beneath on Christmas morning!

Just help yourselves...

The other night, I had to do some evening grocery shopping. Rusty said he'd watch the boys, but I could tell I needed to hurry before he crashed after his long day. I got home ready to make dinner and let Rusty have his break. Too late-- he was already snoozing on the couch, oblivious to what the boys were helping themselves to. Talk about chocolate everywhere! Here's Mason still tasting what's left on his face, and Cole reaching in the jar for another helping before I could stop him:

Guess I should have prefaced this by saying that with this pregnancy, I've had a major sweet tooth for these little chocolate jingle things that have butterfinger in them, and my stash has apparently been found and greatly enjoyed. Guess I need a new hiding place for what appears to be my kids' addiction now, too. And now I have to share.