lots of snuggles!

Alex came down with the stomach bug this past Thursday night... first time he has been sick since before Gary's time at home... 4 1/2 months ago was his last time sick! I think that was our longest stretch ever. I guess I shouldn't have spoken so soon - just that afternoon at daycare his teacher and I were talking about how her little one had been sick a lot and I mentioned that Gary and I had taken bets on how long till back in daycare before Alex would get sick. I told her I guess I lost the bet because my guess was his second week back (Gary guessed it would be after 3 weeks, probably over spring break...) So anyway, I guess I spoke too soon because he woke up throwing up Thursday night :(

It is so hard to watch a sick toddler... he was up from 11:30-4:30 throwing up every 10-20 minutes, it was awful! We just snuggled on the couch all night and watched a couple of movies. He would dose off every now and then but then wake up within 20 minutes sick again. Poor thing! Finally he fell asleep about 4:30 though and that was it for getting sick. I took Friday off and we spent the day snuggling, sleeping, and watching movies together. As much as I hate for him to be sick, there is something about being able to hold him and comfort him and spend a whole day just snuggling!

Alex is such a snuggler anyway... he is a very affectionate little boy and I love it :) He gives big, long hugs and will smother you with kisses! I think that will be hard for when the baby comes for him - seeing another little one snuggling with mommy and daddy. Of course we will do our best to show him there is plenty of love and plenty of snuggles to go around :)

I'm thinking Alex may be an early little reader... he is so into his letters and it is so cute! I don't feel like we've pushed it or quizzed him or anything, he just really loves letters and his little mind is soaking everything up! He has foam letters in the bath, a letter puzzle, magnetic letters for the fridge, and lots of letter books that he enjoys. (You can tell I'm a K/first grade teacher! haha.) He also loves "The Letter Factory" movie he got for christmas and probably watches it once a week or so. His favorite TV shows have been "Super Why" (or just "why" as he calls it) that revolves around letters/sounds and "Word World" (or "words" as he calls it). Anyway, he got some letter flashcards from Santa in his stocking back at Christmas time and we hadn't really gotten them out yet. He saw them in the closet a couple of weeks ago and asked to play with them, so I went ahead and took out just a few of the ones that he knows and a couple of others for him to play with. He asks to "play cards" and we'll go through them together or he'll just line them up and say them to himself. I decided to get them all out when he asked for more cards yesterday just for fun and to see which ones he knows. I went through the whole stack of 26 (capital and lowercase on the same card) and he knew 17 letters!!! I was very surprised and so proud! What a smart little boy! He went from knowing 7 to 17 in just a couple of weeks! My goal was that he'd know his letters by kindergarten, but it looks like he'll know them before he's 2 1/2!

busy, tired, and counting down!

A lot has been going on for us these past couple of weeks! Gary started his new job and really seems to be enjoying it so far! Alex is back in daycare and is doing great... I really think he's missed being with other kids. He has been excited to go each day and we haven't had any tears yet, which is far better than I had hoped for! We are settling into a pretty good routine at home as well.

My parents and sisters were in town two weekends ago to visit and we had a great time! We took them to IKEA and we all went out to lunch... we spent most of the rest of the weekend relaxing and catching up! They will all be back again over Easter :)

This past weekend we took Alex to the circus - it was priceless to see his big eyes as he watched the show and so fun to see him clap and cheer for the different acts. He was in awe! His favorite thing to watch was definitely the animals - elephants, horses, tigers, and dogs!

I'm starting to feel really tired at this point - I'm sooo ready for spring break in two weeks and then maternity leave to start three weeks after that. It still seems like a long time though, the days and weeks are just dragging! It's not even that I'm necessarily ready to have the baby yet, I'm just ready to be done with school. It's definitely been a tough year with my class and my patience is pretty much gone at this point. It is so exhausting trying to deal with angry, emotional, and often mean and disrespectful kids all day while also trying to actually teach them something. And of course it isn't the whole class, but 6 kids or so that really make it tough for the rest of us to enjoy our days together. Anyway, keep praying for my energy and patience as I make it through 4.5 more weeks with this group of kids!

But, I actually love being pregnant! Each time I feel those little baby kicks and movements, I am just so amazed at the miracle of pregnancy! Other than tired, I'm feeling overly hungry all the time and very obsessed with food haha. I literally go to bed thinking about what I'm going to eat for breakfast the next morning! My back is really bothering me this pregnancy too. It bothered me last time, but this time it seems worse. Maybe it's how the little guy is laying or something?

And for a few favorite 2 year old sayings from these past few days:

• "onamark, set, go!" (on your mark, get set, go!)
• "uv ooo mama" (love you mama) - a favorite saying that will never get old :)
• "why?" and "but why?"- this is a new one... only within the past 3 days or so... I have a feeling we are entering a why? stage! It's cute for now, but we'll see in a couple more days ;) Normally right now it's used when we ask him to do something that he isn't so sure he wants to do!

Answered Prayer!!!

We are so excited - Gary accepted a job today at Guardian Savings Bank as a senior accountant!!! Praise God!!!!! Just to brag about my hubby a little, he was selected from over 300 applicants after three rounds of interviews! He is scheduled to start this coming Monday - it has all happened so quick! We are so thankful for this wonderful blessing and good timing! He will have the chance to get settled in his new position and be in a good routine before our baby boy is here in 10 weeks or so... and it's just such a relief to know before our new little one arrives that Gary has a job!

I took Alex to visit daycare today and he is all signed up and ready to start back up at the same place he went before- I'm a little nervous about how he'll adjust having been home with his daddy for over four months. He really doesn't have much time there though - three weeks till spring break (woohoo!) then three weeks after that until my maternity leave begins. There will be a lot of transitions for our little guy within the next few months!

Thank you all so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement these past months - God is so good to have put so many great people in our lives to love and support us - as well as to help us grow and learn - through these few months of unknown. We have learned so much about God's sovereignty and trusting in Him. In addition, I am so thankful for this time of really learning about God's will - and knowing that His will for our lives is to strive to glorify Him in all that we do - and if we do that, we really can't go wrong!

Please continue to pray for our family as we go through many transitions over the next few months :)

Current Happenings

We've had a big two year old for a little over a month now! I can't believe how big Alex is getting and what a little boy he is turning into. Here are some of the things that he is currently doing/saying:

• "MINE!" (not a mommy and daddy favorite ;) )
• "ready... GO!"
• "WOOHOO!" (can be said for even the littlest amount of excitement... and with both arms thrown up in the air)
• He is VERY into letters... he likes to play "cards" with letter flashcards, watch TV shows with letters, play letters on the fridge, and points them out on everything! He now knows: A, M, R, T, Z, Q, O and sometimes K and S. I know, it is a very random assortment!
• "One... two... tree!" (before running across a room, back and forth)
• Says his own prayers... not in full sentences or anything, but he now likes to say the words. (Mommy and daddy are usually second on the list of "thank yous" after his little buddy Jack!)
• Enjoys choo choos (and even tries to build his own tracks now), cars, and trucks - he is all boy!
• Does great sleeping in his "big boy bed"... still doing great with staying in bed until he gets permission to get up, which is wonderful!
• "no way!" (another way over-used phrase... often involving a pointing finger... the two year old attitude is coming out!)
• "come here" and "up please" and "play please" to get mommy and daddy's attention to play!
• Gives kisses to mommy's belly and will tell you his baby brother is in there... he loves babies right now - we'll see if that is still true in a couple of months ;)
• Books! Alex can sit and read books for a very long time for a two year old... and he loves going to the library and bookstore with mommy! I hope this love of reading lasts a long time!
• Playing with his daddy - they have definitely been able to bond and enjoy lots of guy play time together with Gary being out of work... he sure does love his daddy! It is so sweet to watch them together... how blessed I am :)

Ok, so I could probably go on forever, but since those are the first things that come to mind, I'm sure they are the most important to remember! :)

The pregnancy is still going great! Of course the tiredness is hitting me more and more (I am now 30 weeks!) and my back bothers me and I have to pee allll the time - but that is all normal of course. This little guy is quite the mover! He doesn't just kick the way that Alex did. His whole body moves, and it moves a lot. It is crazy to feel and to watch... not sure what that means for once he is born, haha. We still haven't settled on a name for sure. Our top name is still Nathan (Nate for short), but we haven't completely decided yet. I feel like things have been so busy this time and we've had a lot of other stuff going on that this pregnancy has taken more of a backseat... Gary was already saying the other day that he doesn't think this baby is getting the same attention as the first! I guess we just feel like things are pretty much ready since we've already done it once. Probably over spring break in a few weeks I'll make sure the nursery is together and go through some more of the clothes and stuff.

Well, anyway, I feel like I'm starting to ramble! Keep praying for a healthy baby and the current job situation!