Welcome Baby June

One might think that the 3rd time around, some of the excitement of having a new baby has worn off.  If anything, I'd say that it gets more exciting each time as I know what to expect and find myself able to enjoy the moment as opposed to being consumed with anxiety.  Our sweet girl held out until her scheduled c-section on August 23rd, despite almost nonstop contractions in the last weeks of my pregnancy.  When I got hooked up to the moniors at the hospital they couldn't believe the number and intensity of the contractions I was having-go figure.  The scheduled nature of this arrival threw my nesting instincts into an unbelievably high gear-stocking the fridge, laundry baskets empty, emails answered etc.  I couldn't seem to stop preparing to her arrival, it was a relief to check into the hospital knowing I didn't have to spend another day cleaning and organizing.  

We arrived at Northside at 8am, got admitted and taken back to pre-op for my 10am c-section.  I'd venture to say the 5 attempts at getting an IV in me followed by the epidural needle was hands down the worst part of the entire ordeal.  I'm not a huge needle fan; although I've gotten much better over the years but after 5 awful, painful attempts combined with the no eating after midnight thing and I was a woozy mess.  I had a harder time tolerating the epidural this time-my blood pressure was dropping to scary low levels (like at one point it was 70/40) which is a normal effect but certainly makes you feel like you're about to die.  My wonderful nurse was right on top of things and could easily correct the pressures with medication and was very reassuring that I was not in fact dying :)  This was also the first time I was actually being delivered by my doctor (rather than the on-call MD) which helped put me at ease.  

Once you get set up on the table in the OR, it is literally less than 10 minutes before they pull the baby out.  June Elizabeth came screaming into the world at 10:50 am.  She was 7 lbs 12 oz, 21 inches long and with a full head of dark hair just like Lucy.  When Johnny brought her over so I could see her, my first thought was "she looks just like her brother and sister!".  After an hour or so in recovery, I was in my room by lunchtime (although lunch was jello for me...booooo, I was STARVING) and no sooner did I get into my room did Hank and Lucy show up to meet their new sister.  

Hank has been absolutely smitten with June from the first minute he met her.  He is so protective and sweet with her-he makes her things at school and always wants to hold her.  Lucy is still a bit young to understand exactly what is going on, but everytime she walks by the baby she gives a big smile, wave, and "hi baby!".  I was discharged 48 hours after delivery, and this recovery has been very similar to my others, probably the easiest yet.  

June is now a week old, and so far been another super easy baby.  Johnny and I have said all along that there is no way we could get a baby easier than Lucy, so we have been preparing for another needy, fussy baby.  I realize that this will likely come in the next few weeks, but so far she has been alarmingly like Lucy.  She has been my best eater, she took to breastfeeding immediately and never turned back-we were back to birth weight by day 5.  She is still in that sleepy newborn stage, waking every 3-4 hours to eat and so far she's been sleeping at night for a 6-7 hour stretch--what??  I'm just enjoying it while I can, as I cannot imagine one of my children actually being a good sleeper as an infant.  

So with one week under my belt with 3 children, I'm going to have to say that really it hasn't felt any different. I suspect that my transition from 0 to 1 will remain the hardest, as it seems to just get easier each time we have a new baby.  I just don't worry like I did with Hank, I say all the time that my children have mellowed me in a way no medication ever could have!  At this point I know that these precious early days are so short. They become big, dirty, loud, and wild kids so quickly-and stay that way for a loooong time :)  Certainly the days feel like an endurance sport, but luckily Johnny and I have the energy for a challenge!  We were saying that other day that we crossed into the realm of "large families", and while it is scary at times thinking about how we will send these kids to college someday, we have always felt that 2 kids just didn't seem like enough; although 3 did seem to push the limit of too much :)  No turning back now. 

Finally done with the needles, and ready to meet our girl

Welcome Baby June

The Countdown is on

We love a good countdown in our house...Hank and I both love the anticipation of good things to come, so we started our official "countdown to baby" this week. I was also getting tired of the daily question "when is my new baby sister coming out of your belly?".  I'm concerned that he thinks we might be trading in one baby sister for the other...sorry bud, you'll be forever plagued with two baby sisters.  Lucy is pleasantly oblivious; however she's recently started with her first major mommy stage-excellent timing Lucy, she must sense something is about to rock her world.


I have 2 weeks until my scheduled c-section on August 23rd; however due to much discussion about my actual due date it seems quite likely that she will decide on her own to show up earlier (which would actually make life immensely easier since her arrival on the 23rd really cuts into all of Hank's back to school activities).  So I'm hanging out somewhere between 37-38 weeks pregnant depending on who you ask, what calendar you look at, belly measurments, ultrasounds etc (at this point, Lucy had already graced us with her presence in the world).  One would think they could figure due dates with a bit more accuracy at this point, but alas....given that I have been pregnant 3 times now in 3 years I'm fairly certain that I am a bit farther along than initially thought given the amount of timeable contractions I'm having and the amount of pressure this baby is exerting in a downward fashion.  Overall though, I'm feeling pretty good--certainly tired and having a ton of contractions (which it seems happens with subsequent pregnancies and as the doc told me "they are just more of a nuisance than anything").
The Good: No swelling, no back or hip pain this time around (YAY!), my blood pressure was actually the lowest it's been all pregnancy in the past few weeks (totally not normal for me), my weight gain is low as well-only 20 lbs with this babe (after 30 with lucy and 40 with Hank)so now I can say I've made it through 3 pregnancies in 3 years without one stretch mark!

The Bad: heartburn is awful-ultrasound last week showed a full head of hair and possible cause of all this acid indigestion, can't sleep at all because of all the contractions that pick up significantly at about 2am every night, this babe rides so low that she sits right on my bladder causing me to pee all the time.

37 weeks

And since I'm so terrible about keeping up with the blog, I'll give a quick Ritger life update in a greatest hits variety...

1. We bought a car! Say hello to our family friendly 2008 Honda Pilot.  Nicest car we've ever owned, and we're totally overwhelmed by the number of features.  I can't figure out how to work anything, and I always have some new flashing indicator at me b/c I've pressed some button somewhere.  The kids love it and Hank wants to change his seating arrangement everyday.  According to him, the 3rd row is reserved exclusively for boys and/or his friends only.  "no baby sisters can sit in the way back".

2. Our home is still not under construction, but it is super close.  I'm pretty sure we hired the slowest architect and structural engineer in the history of mankind; however they did finally get our construction plans finished last week and they look great!  We got our stamp of approval from the Urban Design Commission and now they are hanging out in the building permit office downtown with the expeditor that we paid $300 extra to move things along quickly.  Our builder says we should have permits in hand in 2-3 weeks with the help of the expeditor (this is compared to 3-6 months without).  Oh City of Atlanta government.....Once the permit is in hand, off the roof goes.  We've already spent somewhere between $6K-$7K for permits and plans alone and so far we've got not a thing to show for it! 

3. Hank heads off to preschool in 3 weeks and it can't get here soon enough for everyone  He's pumped, I'm pumped, I'm pretty sure Lucy is pumped for some time away from her annoying brother.  Of course the school that seems to be the perfect fit for our high maintenance boy is the most unbelievably high maintenance school in terms of parent requirements etc-you'd think we were sending him to Harvard law, not 4 year old preschool.  I have to squeeze in 4 new parent meetings, a home visit, a classroom visit before school starts and before the baby shows up.  There are "no exceptions" according to the director-we miss a meeting he loses his spot unless we pay a $250 fine.  Having a baby is not a good enough excuse :) Anything for our children, right?

4. Lucy is a wild woman who loves Dora, food, and her "minky" (pacifier) equally.  She knows she's adorable, and has already started using that to her advantage.  She will help herself to her snacks and look at me and say "thank you" while she cocks her pigtails to the side and giggles before running off. 

5. Baby #3 still doesn't have a name but we're narrowed down as much as we will narrow before she arrives.  We have about 3-4 names and we just need to decide the combination of first/middle names using those 3-4 names.  Nothing will be revealed until she's arrived and named !

absolute animals....

Yeah, I'm cute

 and it is quite likely that the next time you hear from me we'll be a party of 5!  

June Happenings...

I just love summertime, there's nothing better than long, hot, sunny days full of playing and water fun-crashing at the end of the day and sleeping like a rock from a day full of fun.  Our days are full of playdates, outside time, and all sorts of fun activities like making jello jigglers, oobleck, working in the vegetable garden, trips to the farmers market, and lots and lots of pool time.  I seriously need to move somewhere with perma-summer; although my husband would divorce me because he wants to move somewhere with perma-winter.  We did celebrate 8 years of marriage this month! and 13 years together!  

So what's up with our crew? 

Hank: Energy abounds! Our "spirited" boy  runs nonstop from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning and literally doesn't slow down until we force him to sleep at night.  Naps are becoming scarce; although he keeps himself entertained pretty well, and I enjoy my one-on-one time with him while Lucy sleeps.  He loves to bake with me, and since I LOVE baking (especially when pregnant) the house seems to always be full of homemade cookies, cakes, cobblers, breads etc.  Again, I blame hormones.  Hank is rocking it at swim lessons this summer.   He proudly announces that he's the "best swimmer in his class"-aka the only swimmer that doesn't scream bloody murder for 30 minutes :)  He's been accepted at an awesome preschool for the fall that we are really excited about.  He is loving the summer reading program we are doing at the library, and has turned into a reading fool.  

Lucy: a full fledged toddler at 15 months.  She's clearly the wild, throw caution to the wind free spirit that Hank has never been.  She is into anything and everything-childproofing does absolutely nothing for this girl she figured out how to pull cabinet locks and electrical outlet plugs out within 30 seconds.  She's a rough and tumble girl, filthy and disheveled by the end of every day-eats dirt, hits her brother to get what she wants, and manages to require 3-4 clothing changes everyday.  Her vocabulary is really starting to pick up, and most words are related to food- "cookie" being loud and clear.  She eats anything and everything, and everytime I turn around I see her little pigtails in the pantry or refrigerator.   I just adore this little one's love for life and easy going spirit-she has truly been such a joy from day one.  She's always dancing, giggling, and chattering as she toddles behind me all day-if she can't find me I'll hear loud calls for 'MOMMY' coming from the other room.  

Babygirl: Picured below at 30 and 33 weeks gestation-we are now at the no more than 6 weeks from her arrival.  Doctor seems pretty convinced that there's no way we will make it to her August 23rd scheduled c-section.  She's already dropped and hanging out really low and my actual due date is completely up in the air.  I'm having lots and lots of contractions already that the doc says is totally normal for the 3rd time around, but also increasing the chances of an early arrival.  Since Lucy arrived almost a month early, we are getting ourselves ready for an early arrival.  All clothes are washed and put away, her little nursery in the corner of our room is set up, diapers purchased, and basically we're ready to go.  I think it took me about 1 day to get ready for this baby :)  It's amazing how much things change from the first to the third baby.  I'm still feeling pretty good, the more active I am the better I feel.  Some days are full of nonstop contractions that really slow me down, but the next day is always better.  No back pain or swelling (yet), I've actually gained the least amount of weight in all 3 pregnancies to date,  but I am HOT and sweaty ALL THE TIME.  My whole family will complain that the house is freezing from under blankets,  as I sit literally dripping with sweat half naked in front of a fan with the ac cranked all the way down.  It's an adventure for sure!  

We are about to buy our "family car" a Honda Pilot (hopefully this weekend!).  This will be hands down the nicest car I've ever owned which is very exciting for me-all leather, sunroof, DVD player etc.  Who knew that having 3 kids meant that mom gets a pimp ride?  We are in the final stages of permitting for the home renovations to start and are just waiting for the final paperwork stuff to finish up.  Fingers crossed that we start construction in the next few weeks.  Babygirl doesn't have a name yet, but I have no fear that she will remain nameless :)

Enjoy some pictures from our first month of summer!

 A swimming champion 

Father's day Braves Game

Blueberry picking-yes she is ALWAYS this happy

 He takes this job very seriously

30 weeks

                                                     

33 weeks

                                                     

One of our favorite activities lately

It's big girl carseat time!

Catching crawfish at the river

Splashpark!

Helping me "water" my plants

Happy 8 years to my love!  I think we look better with age!

The Jerkinhead Roof

You might be wondering if we are under construction yet...and I would have to laugh, because no we are not.  The woes of home renovation...the last month has been hands down one of the most frustrating and stressful that we've ever experienced.  When I last left off, we were in the middle of an epic battle with our fabulous historic preservation minded neighbor, Paul.  After we filed our certificate of appropriateness application with the city, and entered the 2 week waiting period with big red sign prominently displayed in the yard, Paul got increasingly annoying.  Letters go out to neighbors announcing our application to defile our historic home (aka add 2.5 feet of completely unnoticeable ridgeline to our roof), welcoming all disgruntled neighbors to join us at the hearing and generally make our life miserable.  Paul invited himself  to our backyard neighbor's home for a memorial day picnic, and was taking pictures of our home from their back deck, and attempting to get our good friends onto his side and join the battle against us!  He was kindly asked to stop or leave--go team Ritger!  A few days later, I pull up to the house to find Paul taking photos in our side yard--when he sees me, he literally jumps off the retaining wall onto the sidewalk and beelines it before I can confront him-seriously, dude?  And a few days after that we are walking back from the pool past his house-his wife and him are coming out of their home and he literally does an about-face and shuts the door when he sees us-leaving his poor wife standing on the sidewalk to deal with the awkward situation.

So, after all this annoying behavior, we get an overly friendly email from Paul inviting us to the neighborhood association meeting to present our application to his committee-awesome, another presentation!  We oblige, choosing to take the high road and ignore the fact that we all know he was sneaking around in our yard the day prior taking pictures (I'm pretty sure that's considered trespassing, but whatever).  Bottom line: the meeting didn't go well.  Paul's historic preservation committee is basically a group of little Paul preservationist clones that are well trained in the "spirit of Grant Park"  (no lie, I could do nothing but chuckle and smile when he accused us of "destroying the spirit of Grant Park").  Our home renovations, were "detrimental to the historic nature of our home".  I'm pretty sure I clearly rolled my eyes at least 10 times during his presentation of why the neighborhood cannot support our project, despite their sympathy for our situation.  Lucky for us, there was Rick, another board member who clearly  saw that this was going nowhere quickly, and before he let Paul pass a motion of neighborhood non-support,  suggested that we all sit down with the architect and builder and attempt to come up with a compromise plan that would make everyone happy.

We agreed (well Johnny agreed, I was so frustrated and sweating and pregnant that I didn't want to give these people anything...this is why Johnny balances me so well).  I spent much time on the phone with our architect the next day, near tears of frustration due to the stress this was causing me, the rediculousness of the situation and the notion that it was looking like there was a really good chance that our renovation was going to be denied 8 weeks before I birth our 3rd child in 3 years and I will permanently have a child living in my bedroom.  I think our architect sensed the stress and urgency that was oozing from me, and this is where the Jerkinhead Roof plan comes into play.  In a moment of architectural genius, she comes up with a plan that while it will require "structural acrobatics" and "engineering precision", it will meet all historic guidelines and still give us the space we need.  She sends the plan, it just might work! We meet with 3 neighborhood reps, our architect, and builder the next day at our home to present the plan, and hot damn, PAUL LOVES IT!  He agrees to write a letter of support from the neighborhood to send to the urban design commission for our hearing in 3 days.  Our architect scrambles to come up with new plans before our hearing date to present in place of the originals.

And that brings us here: The Atlanta Urban Design Commission hearing-practically a date night for Johnny and I.  I have to admit walking into this room was  slightly unnerving as it looked  like we were presenting our case to congress.  Luckily we were about #15 on the agenda, so by the time it was our turn we had a really good idea of what we needed to do/say.  It also was significantly less intimidating than it looked-only 6 out of 12 commissioners showed up, and most of them had very little to say to anyone.  They seemed to have the attitude that the less we talk, the faster we get out of here. We hand our updated "option-c, the jerkinhead roof plan" to the commissioners and ask them to disregard our original submission.  They also had a beautifully supportive letter written by Paul in support of "option c" that actually encouraged the commission to pass this through.  We do our presentation while they look over the plans, and then refer to the staff member who seems to have all the guidelines for approval memorized forwards and backwards.  She quickly reports that this plan is in full compliance with historical regulations, and if we had submitted it originally we wouldn't even be standing here in front of the commission.  They smiled, and said, well do we even need to vote on it? or can we just send these folks home to get building?  They decide to vote so we can have our official stamp of approval after 6 yays and 0 nays!  I cannot express the feeling of relief I felt at that moment.

So now a week later we have finalized floor plans and are waiting on the structural engineer to come out and give his report for permitting.  We have a construction start date set for the second week of July!  Our builder anticipates that we will be into finishings (trim, paint, doors etc) in 8 weeks by mid september!  In case you are wondering what exactly a jerkinhead roof or hipped roof is...it looks like this...Basically the gables turn down on the sides. We will be working behind the original "historic" ridgeline completely by using this type of roof, and we still keep very similar square footage inside to the original plan.  

In order to maximize our space, we are building bed nooks for all the kids that will look like this with build in reading lights overhead...how cool is that?  Hank is already calling it his cave bed.  

Things are looking up on the home renovation front!  

Why hello 3rd trimester, you really snuck up on me this time...

This week we hit 27 weeks and begin the journey into the beloved 3rd trimester.  The 3rd trimester, for my 3rd child (does that make it a golden trimester?) should be exceptional as it begins right as the temperatures start rising into the unbearable range in Atlanta.  Thankfully, the pool opened this weekend and between the splashgrounds, neighborhood pool, and the backyard kiddie pool I plan to beach at one for the duration.  However, so far so good in terms of "how I'm feeling"  I find that the more active I am the better I feel.  No swelling yet, back pain has subsided (?), and I'm actually sleeping better as are my children who now sleep until after 8:00 everyday!!  Babygirl flipped head down last week which has caused some intermittent discomfort as she was already riding super low thanks to the other 2 children that have stretched my belly muscles beyond the limit over the past 3 years-now it feels that she will fall out with any sudden movements, I'm sure we will adjust.

 At my last appointment my doctor suggested a maternity belt to help support my super low riding belly--curious when I got home about what exactly this contraption was a quick google search revealed this http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Form-Maternity-Support-Small/dp/B000Q174G6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1369750544&sr=8-5&keywords=maternity+belt

Let's be real people, there is no way that thing is comfortable in 95 degree heat strapped on beneath my already uncomfortable maternity pants.  It just screams itchy and sweaty to me...we'll just hang low but breathe freely thank you very much doc.  Of course I now get all the standard unwanted stranger comments about my pregnancy shape/size etc--most to the tune of "you're carrying low, it's def a boy!"  Glucose test up next, which I actually find quite tasty-no lie I have a total sweet tooth and think the stuff tastes like the most wonderful gatorade ever!  I get to start going to the doc every 2 weeks now for closer monitoring and more frequent ultrasounds due to some fluid and growth issues that happened with Lucy--I'm pumped for all the ultrasounds to see the sweet girl at the end as I've only ever had the one ultrasound with the other kids.  Also, the trips to the doc are like a vacation for me since Johnny stays home with the kids.

 I figured it was time for some belly comparison...and it seems that I always do a 27 week belly pic, and honestly I don't notice much of a difference despite the fact that my other two children were dramatically different sizes when they were born.

Baby #3 at 27 weeks

Lucy at 27 weeks

Hank at 27 weeks

                                                    

So the biggest question I get is if I'm stressed about our home renovation...in short, not at all.  We are no stranger to home chaos as we bring a new baby home.  The following pictures were of Hank's nursery aka our first major home renovation in the weeks and days before his arrival.  

This was Hank's room 3 weeks before his arrival

                                       

and this was his room 4 days before his arrival

This home renovation continued until Hank was about 6 months old...he slept through constant hammering and nail guns with no problem.  He even hung out on his dad in the baby bjorn helping to paint the bathroom and grout the floors.  The babies always stay in our room with me until 5 or 6 months anyway, so our nurseries basically go unused for the entire first half a year of each child's life.  So this time, I'm just setting up a little nursery in our room with the pack n' play and dresser and she will live there just like the other two did until the renovation is done and she is ready to move into the nursery and Lucy will move upstairs to her big girl room vacating the crib for her sister.  Likely, she will be ready to move out of our room about the same time the renovation will be finishing up so it will all work out, as it always does.  I made a list the other day of things I need to get before she arrives-there are 5 things on the list and diapers are one of them.  Wow, things are easier this time around!

Item #6 on the list of things to obtain is a larger vehicle.  After significant research and contemplation I think we are 99% convinced that we cannot go the minivan route.  We drove them, and hear all the glowing reviews from other families (most whom only have 2 children) about how they will change our life etc etc.  However, it honestly comes down to excess.  We are both believers in only having just what we need in life,  and to us the mini van just seems like excess.  We have decided on the Honda Pilot (3rd row suv).  Even this car seems enormous to me, but in size it is significantly smaller in length and width and honestly is all we really need (and actually holds 8 passengers compared to the van's 7).  We drive so little now that we both work in the neighborhood-I think I put about 10 miles on the car in a week and certainly only fill up with gas once a month or so.  So while the van's offer a lot of bells and whistles to the tune of 47 cup holders, automatic sliding doors, and DVD systems-they are certainly more than our family needs in a car.  So Johnny is on his quest for the slickest deal out there on a used Honda Pilot-I can assure you our car will make Mr. Money Mustache proud (if you aren't familiar check him out- http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/  This dude is  Johnny's hero and if I had a nickel for every time my husband asked me if that was a "mustachian money decision"-well, I'd probably have to invest those nickels in my retirement or shop with them at Aldi with coupons, but your get the idea)  Of note...we are also considering becoming a one car household, and selling both of our current cars to buy one family car. I love this idea, but Johnny is taking some convincing.

We like to enlist the brain of our 3 1/2 year old on all major life decisions, because we often find it helpful.  Hank has been adamant that we don't want the van.  

                                    



There's the welcome to the 3rd trimester roundup.  The best news of all? IT'S SUMMERTIME and if you need us, we'll be poolside!

Adventures in Home Renovation Chapter 1: "I apologize for the inappropriateness of my home"

I wish I could post pictures of our awesome home under construction, sans roof,  contractors tracking mud throughout the house, instead I can post pictures of certificate of appropriateness applications, emails and endless paperwork for the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, and endless hours of discussion regarding historic preservation.

In case you aren't familiar with our home...it is 100 years old and sits in the heart of a historic district in Atlanta.  Basically, when you move into a historic district, you give up all rights to do as you wish with the home that YOU pay mortgage payments on monthly.  We (our contractor and architect) have done everything in our power to avoid going before the urban design commission, but unfortunately our plans would just not allow.  There is this crazy building code that you can do whatever the heck you want to the back of your home as long as it does not affect the "historical structure" as seen from the street facing side.  Unfortunately, our plans require an extra 2.5 feet of ridgeline on our roof to allow for the necessary ceiling heights to comply with code.  This extra height to the roof ridgeline will be seen from the front; however would be completely unnoticeable to the general population as we will be retaining the outward appearance of the home.  The actual addition to the home the "pop top" will be invisible from the street.

Seems simple enough to get around, right? Think again, this is City of Atlanta government we are talking about.  After a trip to city hall to turn in 14 copies of our plans, a description of the project, 14 burned copies of photos (who burns CDs anymore? oh yeah, this is a government operation) etc etc etc we end up with the totally awesome "certificate of appropriateness" sign that gets to adorn our front yard for the next few weeks.  This is like our scarlet letter, announcing to any naysayers that we are trying to violate the code of their precious historic district, and basically inviting those naysayers to write letters and oppose our project.   You may think, who would oppose such a thing? Well, unlucky for us, there is Paul, he lives 3 doors down from us, and he is the chairperson of our neighborhood's historic preservation committee (aren't we lucky to live in such a highfalutin place that we have such a thing?).  He has some degree in historic preservation and apparently devotes his life to the cause.  As instructed, we have run the project by him, "pleading our case" and he flat out has told us that he will be opposing our 2.5 feet of ridgeline and writing letters to the commission explaining why our ridgeline is offensive to him.  Nice Paul, way to be neighborly.

So on June 12 we get the pleasure of going before the Atlanta urban design board to plead our case to 12 wonderful individuals as to why they must grant us this exception to the rule.  Our battle plan? as organized by the architect and contractor-a lucky pregnant lady, aka moi, has been tasked with looking extra round, swollen, and miserable and giving a really hormonal, sob story about my 2.75 children and nowhere for them to go.    How can you say no to that, right?  Our architect literally has us writing out our presentation and rehearsing.  Have I mentioned how much I despise government run operations?

We have probably a 50/50 shot of them approving the project at the hearing-what happens if they say no to the preggy? We have to come up with a plan B on the drawings that suits the board and return in two weeks to try again...basically we do this until they say yes or we give up and move (Paul has suggested that we start looking for a new home, isn't that nice of him?)  I can't wait to invite him over for a BBQ this summer.

So here we are, we have a two week waiting period before our hearing.  Our architect is working on other options in the event that our plans are denied, but there certainly isn't any construction happening anytime soon.  Alas, I guess we will just enjoy these early days of summer with our wonderful new yard art.....

A quick rundown

I'm not quite sure where March and April went this year...well when I look back at my calendar it starts to make some sense....So for a quick update on what's happening with us...

Child #1: Hank...officially 3 1/2 going on 15.   Loves angry birds and any game that can be played on an i-device, telling jokes, having fires with dad in the backyard, playing with friends, play dough, and chocolate milk.  Hank is a total brain-inquisitive, thinker, problem solver (has a brain that works just like his dad's)  Learning to read and write, and still can't seem to get a spot in preschool for the fall...hanging out on 3 waiting lists, fingers crossed for a phone call soon!  Let's hope getting into college will be a little easier (and possibly cheaper) than getting into a preschool around here. A master of negotiation....everything is always 3 more bites, 5 more minutes, or if I do this, then I will get this.  I stand by our house rule that we do not negotiate with terrorists.  Recently started 3 year old soccer--not quite sure what we think about team sports yet, but the uniform is fun-swim lessons start in a month.  Still a fierce mama's boy, and so so thoughtful.  He makes me so proud the way he cares for others and is so genuinely interested in being kind to those he loves.  He adores his sisters (both of them) and says he wants to share his room with both of them! Both Lucy and "my other sister in mom's belly" get a big kiss every night and every morning.

Child #2: Lucy Jane

These babes come so far in just 12 months of life.  Lucy is now a walking, talking, noisy little person in the house. She's figured out the purpose of communication, but can't quite get all the words out yet that she needs to.  Finger pointing and grunting (typically at the refridgerator) all day long.  She does have about 10-15 words already, and is doing all those fun baby things like "showing her nose", giving kisses, and waving byebye.  If we don't immediately figure out what she wants--screaming and banging her head on the floor ensues.  She's got quite a flair for the dramatic.  She is certainly still my more laid back child, and very independent.  She can now be found toddling from room to room throwing rocks at her dolls and whatnot.  A girly girl she is not, she comes in for bath every night completely covered in dirt.  Favorite toys are dinosaurs, hot wheels, trains, and anything musical.  Put her in a dress she will scream and pull at it until you take it off, put a bow in her hair it immediately comes out and thrown across a room.   A true animal lover-her favorites are birds and never misses a birdie when we are out.  She's a noisy little thing--always yelling or babbling loudly about something.  Her days are filled with lots of giggling as her brother knows just how to make her laugh uncontrollably.  She is a tough little thing, if Hank is making her mad she will pull his hair and has been known to knock him off a chair or two.  Still a snuggler when she's tired--needs her "bink and a bun" to sleep.  Speaking of sleep--for the past month the peanut finally decided that night time was meant for sleeping--11 hours straight every night now--only took 13 months to get there! She eats more than anyone else in the family, and has started the awesome stage of throwing food wildly off her tray when she is done.  I have to scrape the floors and walls 3 times a day now :)  While Hank is my fierce mama's boy, Lucy is daddy's number one fan.  All day long she will look at me and ask "hi dada?" wondering when he will be home from work.

Child #3: The easiest one of the bunch at the moment...Currently at 23 weeks feeling her kick and punch me all day now.   I never tire of feeling the little ones moving around inside me, it is such a special time that a mama shares with just her baby before the baby is shared with the whole world.  Honestly, I am probably enjoying the third time around more than the other two-not because I'm not exhausted, hot, bothered, sore, and achey everyday because believe me I am.  You just don't stress about each subsequent child like you do the first time.  I am so excited to add this one to the brood-the relationship I see growing between Hank and Lucy is so amazing to watch.  I never got to experience the bond of siblings, so I am very much enjoying watching it in my own children.  A sibling is the greatest gift you can give to a child, I'm sure of it now.  I can only imagine how the dynamic will change with the 3rd little one.

                                                      20 weeks-the halfway point!

To accommodate these children described above, we are quickly approaching demo day where our cute 1600 sq foot, 100 year old home is getting her "top popped" as those in our hood call it.  We finalized plans with the contractor and architect today for an amazing 700ish sq foot upstairs addition or the "kids wing".  Two bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room, and huge playroom will make up the space, and anyone who files as a dependent on our tax returns plus all of their associated belongings will be heading up!  This will be a life changing addition to our home as we currently are being taken over by our children and their extensive amounts of fisher price related items. I plan to blog through the whole journey as I'm sure we will want to remember all the joys and stresses of a massive home renovation someday when the dust has settled (literally).  The first step for us was to deal with the disaster zone that had become our attic, as we are losing most of our attic storage.  We managed to clear out 2/3 of the junk and eliminate between a yard sale and a huge donation to the Kidney Foundation.  So hopefully if all goes well in the permitting office at the city and the structural engineer we are just a few short weeks away from construction!

                                                       Our (almost) finalized plans!

Well that's the news in a nutshell-a rather large nutshell I realize, but hey, we have a lot going on all the time.  My absolute favorite saying about parenting (and I have no idea where I heard it)...the days are long, but the years are short-ain't that the truth?