Baby #6
Does it feel like deja vu to anyone else? I keep scratching my head and thinking it's Groundhog's Day. Oh wait, that was yesterday. I feel like the last three years have been constant pattern of surprise loss and surprise gain. The whiplash has really started to set in, if I'm being honest. My brain cannot process as fast as life is happening. But, regardless of everything that has brought us to this moment, we are so thrilled and humbled and grateful to be welcoming a new life into our family!
I was still getting my HCG (pregnancy hormone) tested after our miscarriage. It had finally returned to zero and I shared the story of our loss on my blog. (Little did we know, I was likely already pregnant at that point. Again.) I was thankful to have all of the appointments and labs behind me. We dove into harvest and then right into our house remodel. There was so much going on.
I was awaiting my period, but knew it can take some people a little bit longer after a miscarriage than others, so I didn't think much of it as week four, six, and eight ticked by with no sign of my cycle. We had a small stomach bug hit a couple kids in the family mid-November. Around that same time I started feeling nauseous. The first couple days of it I assumed I was just fighting the bug. But I never threw up and each episode was short-lived. When it didn't stop after the first couple of days, I honestly just didn't think anything of it. It always hit me in the afternoon or evenings, so I just chalked it up as being hungry, eating something I shouldn't have, not drinking enough water, or just being exhausted. We were two weeks into the remodel and there was just a lot happening; I really didn't have much brain space to even let it register that it was consistent.
{This might be a good point to interject and say I had no reason to believe I was pregnant. Um. How do I get this point across? From everything I understand about conception, which I would like to think is a lot at this point, it was not possible for me to be pregnant. According to every ounce of science I am aware of and the entire process... this was certainly a very very rare exception to all of the rules. Swimmers don't live three weeks. But apparently one time they did. Or something else entirely bizarre occurred. Or God performs miracles. I lean heavily on that last theory. I believe some pretty crazy things in the Bible. Lame walking, blind seeing, dead raising! All of that makes this pretty easy to believe. Plus, I saw the ultrasound. Something happened.}
November 23. We put the kids to bed and I was helping James with a construction project when I felt another wave of nausea sweep over me. This one felt stronger than the previous, which is probably why it got my attention. I told James that it was really weird that I was still feeling nauseous from the stomach flu a week plus later. Unless... My brain just raced. Oh my goodness. "James, I can't be pregnant, right?" He laughed at me and said no. Once I had the thought, I couldn't shake it from my mind. My period hadn't come yet, so technically it's possible, but also, it wasn't possible. I decided to just take a quick test. That way I could get the thought out of my head when it showed negative, and we could get back to work. Well...
Pretty sure my eyes grew three sizes that day. And my jaw hit the floor. A flood of questions filled my mind as I stumbled out to show James. He didn't even look up at me when I came out and I was totally speechless, so I just stood there, with the pregnancy test in my hand, wondering if I was dreaming. He finally looked up at me and I just handed him the test. He started laughing and I spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of it all.
I was careful to guard myself and was sure I understood that it was possible that my hormones were still whacked from the rollercoaster that my body went through in September. And then the thoughts of a viable pregnancy creeped in. Was it in my uterus? Was it growing as it should? I had been told two months earlier that I was likely losing my fertility. We had mourned the loss of any future babies that day. We're obviously so thankful that my miscarriage was not ectopic, and that I still have my fertility. But a super surprise pregnancy was a huge pendulum swing from that moment. It was a lot to soak in.
We were a couple days out from Thanksgiving and I knew I couldn't handle the possibility of having concerning labs over the holiday weekend, so we opted to wait until the Monday after to go into the clinic. It was difficult being with family the entire weekend and not saying anything, but really, we didn't know anything. We had no idea how far along I was, we didn't know if it was a real pregnancy, we didn't know if it was ectopic. These thoughts didn't consume me, but they were there.
After the positive pregnancy test, I realized just how bloated I had been. (Deep down I think I was giving myself a lot of grace, having just miscarried. I didn't dwell on my stomach or anything else that wasn't back to normal because my poor body had been through surgery, miscarriage, and a hormone tornado in the recent weeks. I didn't really notice when the bloating started because I wasn't focusing on it. Also, it's hard to notice my stomach when I wear oversized crew neck sweaters 90% of the time.) The bloating and the nausea continued over Thanksgiving weekend. I made a trip to the clinic on Monday for a blood draw. They called me back soon after and reported that everything looked amazing. My HCG was so high that they wanted me in for an ultrasound the next day.
There was definitely a pulse of adrenaline and a sigh of relief when my labs were good. I couldn't help but wonder, "How pregnant am I?" According to my own math, I could have been 11 weeks pregnant at that point. I think I was most anxious to find out how big this baby really was and how on earth it got in there.
The first words out of my doctor's mouth were, "Baby in the uterus!" I think I let out the breath that I had been holding for a week. She measured the baby and told us that I was almost 8 weeks, due July 14. James and I looked at each other in confusion, which quickly turned to pure joy. I expressed to my doctor that I had no idea it was even possible for me to be pregnant at this point. Her response has stuck with me. She said, "Maybe it's for the best that we didn't know until now." It hadn't really dawned on me yet, but we had been spared from several weeks of anxiety and unknown by not finding out right away. I didn't have blood draws multiple times a week. I didn't have to worry for weeks if I was experiencing another ectopic pregnancy or wonder if my remaining tube would rupture at any given moment. The thing that had become the most difficult part of my pregnancies was kindly removed from me. Since we could confirm viable pregnancy inside of my uterus, I was no longer high risk. God is so so gracious.
We told the kids the news when we arrived home from the ultrasound. It was so great to be able to say that this baby was healthy and safe. Trevin especially has his guard up when it comes to pregnancy, because he remembers all of the trauma we've gone through. He lived it. So it was incredibly helpful for him to hear that everything looked perfect with this baby. Myla squealed, as expected, and is quite easily the most excited sibling. Macklin has no idea what is coming, but his world is going to be rocked, for the better I'm sure.
Announcing this pregnancy was a funny thing. We told family and some friends pretty quickly, but I think everyone was as shocked as we were. Then life just got really crazy with the holidays and the remodel and week 9 became week 11, which then became week 13... Maybe it's because its pregnancy #6, maybe it's because of the bewilderment of the string of events, or maybe it's because of the chaotic state of our house, but my mind has been preoccupied with so many things besides the pregnancy. It's been hard to keep up. Not going to lie, I think I'm just still trying to process everything that has happened since September. It's been a whirlwind. Suddenly I'm 17 weeks pregnant and wondering if this is going to be the quickest pregnancy in history.
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| 12 weeks |
The first trimester (or what was left of it by the time I knew) was filled with evening nausea which usually just meant I went to bed at 8:00. I've had a few headaches, but nothing major. My nausea let up as I entered the second trimester and I started feeling really good. I had my energy. I was comfortable. And baby was growing.
I started experiencing SPD (pelvic pain issues I have in pregnancy) at week 14. It comes earlier each pregnancy. It feels like a baby dropping out of me at every moment. It is one of the worst pains I've experienced. And it was chronic in my pregnancy with Myla. Thankfully, I learned in Macklin's pregnancy that I can "cure" myself by walking my butt off. (No pun intended.) So the first day that the pain was excruciating, I did laps around the yard for as long as the kids let me and I felt much better the next day. I'm hoping long, light walks and weekly chiropractor adjustments will help keep my pelvis where it needs to be. But if you see me waddling, don't point and laugh.. Or at least wait until my back is turned.
Baby gave us quite the show at the 12-week ultrasound. Showing off all of that flexibility, sticking that cute tiny foot clear up in the air. Well. Not air. But you get it.
If I ever forget I'm pregnant, I'm reminded in twenty minutes when I have to pee again. I've just started to feel the slightest flutters. The funniest thing in this pregnancy has been my obsession with hot sauce. I want it on everything. I've been known to fry an egg just so I had something to put hot sauce on. Every food item is first analyzed whether or not it is a good vehicle for hot sauce before deciding what to eat. The most miraculous thing is that I haven't had heartburn. Normal Megan gets heartburn. Pregnant Megan dies from heartburn. New Megan chugs hot sauce and doesn't blink an eye. I believe in miracles.
We're not planning to find out the gender. I know. I'm just as shocked as you. We really enjoyed it last time. My friend Alyssa asked Myla at church if we were finding out if it was a boy or girl and she said, "We will eventually!" Alyssa didn't know how to interpret that, so she had to ask me. So if you ask Myla about the baby, just know you may not get a clear answer.
But I "think" we have names picked out. If you know me, you know that it is a huge relief and I can now sleep soundly at night.
A lot of you have asked so many good questions, and I'm here to answer them all.
I don't know.
I don't know where the baby is sleeping and I don't know what our house will look like by baby time. But I DO know that we are pumped. This baby just straight up stole the show for 2022 and no one is mad about it. Life has never been more crazy, but we have never felt more grateful. I don't know who this baby will be, but I can tell you that our lives are richer because of this new life. There is no doubt about that.
It's hard to imagine that this is my sixth pregnancy. When on earth did that happen? It's my fourth pregnancy in less than three years. One-third of my babies never saw my face, nor I theirs. I greatly anticipate meeting this new life, Lord willing. Every single child of ours is deeply cherished. All six of them.
Overwhelm can creep in some days with the house remodel, homeschooling, farm, church, and baby, but I've found that we've really grown in our ability to adapt. I think when you have kids, you have to learn that. I find myself pushing the agendas and dramas and challenges out of my brain and just resting in the joy that we've been given. A joy that is deeper than our circumstances, but a joy that is certainly compounded by the goodness God has placed in our lives.
Farm
This tractor-loving boy chalked up some impressive farm hours this fall.
Harvest feels like a lifetime ago, but it was another successful farming season and we are so thankful to wrap up another year.
I only get called on when things are desperate, which is almost always the last field for some reason. I ran the grain cart, and I'm not going to lie, I was a little rusty. But no popcorn was lost on my watch, so I'm calling it a success.
James also spent a couple days moving a new (to us) pivot onto the farm. Two weeks later we had a tornado come through and roll it over. Never a dull moment here... as you will continue to find out as this blog post goes on.
School
School has felt a little different this fall/winter with all of the chaos. Let's just say, I'm thankful we started in July. Between my pregnancy and loss in September, another pregnancy in November, stomach flus, colds, the house project, flood, and life with a toddler.... it's made for an interesting homeschooling semester. We've hit it hard this semester, and we're well over half-way through our curriculum, so there's no reason to panic. Our main subjects are getting well covered, just lacking in the electives department some days. Grace for the season.
I did take a big step in the homeschooling world and finally got us a library card. Trevin has read every book in this house and I would be buying at least three new books a week to keep up with him, so it was time to finally utilize the local library.
The library is a lot more serene without Macklin. But thankfully we haven't been shushed yet.
Dude Perfect
In October, we surprised the kids with tickets to Dude Perfect in Lincoln.
We told them we wanted to take them to supper and go run some errands, but that's all they knew. It was all fine until we dropped Mack off at my parents' house and suddenly Trevin and Myla had no desire to come with us anymore. We basically forced them back into the car and neither one of them was very happy with us. I nonchalantly started playing the Dude Perfect Overtime song in the car. When we stopped in the parking garage in Lincoln, they were confused and honestly just very annoyed with us. I handed them each a Dude Perfect shirt. Myla thought that the shirt was the best surprise and squealed, "Thank you!" I told them to put their new shirts on and Trevin was really puzzled by this point. I asked him, "Where could we wear this tonight?" It took a second, but then the lightbulb turned on. "The Dude Perfect show?!"
They were shocked and so so excited. Talk about giddy.
What a fun night we had. It's not something the kids will soon forget.
Trevin's First Husker Game
Two days after the Dude Perfect show, Trevin and I headed back to Lincoln for his first Husker football game. (A huge thanks to James's aunt and uncle for the tickets!) It was the most beautiful October day. We grabbed a donut on our walk to the stadium and enjoyed feeling the thrill of game day as we made our way through the crowds.
Trevin really enjoyed watching the band play and the parachuters land on the field. I made sure to yell enough for the both of us during the game, since he's not much of a yeller. I did tell him a couple times that he had to yell or else he'd be grounded. (It was 3rd and goal and our defense was needing some help. Surely you understand.)
I made sure to give Trev the full football game experience by saying yes to pop and candy and popcorn. We ate, we cheered, and we went home very disappointed from an excruciating loss. The epitome of Husker football.
Forever and always, GBR.
Halloween
The day after the Husker game was Halloween.
(It was a busy weekend.)
These scallywags were on the hunt for candy treasure. The parrot wasn't too sure about his costume, but he came around.
Remodel
This is what the house looked like in October, but it has quickly changed.
The long-awaited house remodel! I did a full Part 1 post here if you want more pictures or details to everything we're doing. Here's a few photos to show what our main floor looked like while the rest of our life was happening.
We have been in construction for 85 days. At this point, the remodel life is just the norm. We're used to the mess. We're used to the inconvenience. It feels regular. It does feel like we've reached a huge turning point. We've reached the mid-point. Everything from here feels like we're putting things back together and each step is one of big progress. I do think the hardest is behind us. Now we get to watch it all come together, and that is really exciting.
Paul's 70th Birthday
My father-in-law, Paul, turned 70 in November! We had a really special family supper to celebrate. I definitely only gave him really nice gifts that were in no way offensive.
So thankful for this guy and the legacy he's created in his kids and grandkids.
Flooded Christmas
Christmas 2021 might go down as our most "memorable" Christmas ever.
We planned to celebrate our little Christmas at home on Christmas Eve, so I ran all the errands on December 23 to get the last minute food items needed for the weekend. I dropped off the groceries at home and left to pick up the kids at my parents' house. When I returned home, this is what I found.
I had taken Mack downstairs to start getting supper ready when I saw it. I think my heart stopped. The only thing I could do was yell, "Water! Water! We have WATER!!" James had just come out of the attic. (He'd been wiring lights.) He instantly knew what had happened and came running at a speed that I've never seen before. I panicked and knew I needed to get Macklin out. I jumped into the car with the two littles and ran them down to Dori, calling her on the way. When I got back, James had been able to get the sump pump working and the water was down tremendously already. Trevin and our nephews were helping James as he called out orders on everything that needed to be done. I rushed to get everything off of the floor, setting it up on whatever surface I could find. I made my way back to the storage room, where I knew the water had started. I started salvaging anything I could that had value. Unfortunately, we had packed everything from our main floor for the remodel and it was in totes and boxes in this room. (Thank goodness I invested in a ton of plastic totes.) I spotted Myla's keepsake box tipped over and laying on the floor. It was a plastic tote, but a short one that latched in the middle. The water had found it. I frantically pulled everything out and hung what was salvageable to dry. That was the first time I cried. I saw her ultrasound photos, her newborn footprints, her first drawings, and everything that I had deemed incredibly dear. Things you can't replace. We lost a few things from the tote, but I was able to save most of it. Pages are just a little crunchy now, and they have a few water lines, but saved nonetheless.
People kept showing up and there were fans and dehumidifiers coming in and furniture, carpet, and trash going out. It was a frenzy. James kept looking at me and saying, "Where can we put this couch?" or "Where can we go with that dresser?" In normal circumstances, everything would have gotten moved upstairs to the living room and we would have made it work pretty easily. But with the construction going on, we had no useable space to put things where it would be protected. We were in the midst of mudding the ceilings and walls upstairs and it was not realistic to fill the rooms with our nice furniture while that was going on. Some pieces got put in the garage, a couch and tv went to Bethany's, a recliner ended up in Macklin's room, and the rest got stacked in the basement.
I was thankful we had a trailer here for the remodel trash, so everything that was ruined went straight into the trailer. The water was running out the bottom of the trailer; it was all so saturated. 85% of the carpet was wet, and the worst parts were cut and taken to the shop. The heated shop floor and fans did a great job drying it out.
Here's what we think happened - since we've been remodeling, we've been using the schoolroom sink as a kitchen sink. That sink feeds right into a sump pump. It would get pretty rank after a week of pouring milk or juice down the drain, so we had been flushing out the entire tank to keep it fresh once or twice a week. James started to flush it out and left it, like he'd done many times before, but for some reason the pump failed this time and the water just began pumping into our basement. Of course, water runs downhill, so it quickly led down into our family room after filling the storage room and schoolroom.
Thankfully our schoolroom floor tiles were a water-based adhesive, so as soon as it dried, they reattached and were fine. I was also grateful that we were on Christmas vacation and I didn't have to worry about missing school days and getting behind.
We decided to stay home instead of moving somewhere else for a week. Our bedrooms and bathrooms were still functional, so we figured we could manage long enough for us to get put back together.
After we did all that we could, we sent everyone home. The kids were long in bed and James and I sat staring at the mess. Just a few hours before, I had put away all of the Christmas groceries and made mental lists of everything I needed to do before the next day. And now. Now I was in disbelief at our life. Tomorrow was supposed to be our "Christmas morning" and we didn't have an inch of communal space we could use to celebrate. I cried for the second time that night.
As James and I talked about what the next day would bring, my pride kept internally screaming, "It's not fair! It won't be amazing. It won't be special. It can't be a great Christmas!" And then the Lord, oh so softly, reminded me of the very first Christmas. The Christmas we're actually celebrating beneath all of the music and lights and toys and events. The Christmas that happened 2,000 years ago in a dirty, smelly stable. The most humble of nights that changed history forever. A humble Christmas IS the perfect Christmas, and that's what we were going to have. We still celebrate because a baby came, and that gives us hope that He is coming again.
I got up early the next morning and tried to salvage some sort of Christmas tradition. We knew there was more James needed to do that morning, like pull off some trim and remove our built-in that had wet carpet underneath it still, so we planned to celebrate Christmas that afternoon.
I picked up my room, which was kind of a joke because it has been the catch-all space since our remodel started. I hung twinkly lights and brought in their stockings. Our Christmas tradition has been to make abelskivers, but there's no way that was going to happen. I had randomly splurged and bought pop-tarts the day before thinking it'd be a fun treat over Christmas break. I knew the kids would be more than excited to have pop-tarts, so that happened. I brought our toaster to my bedroom and washed up a plate of berries. I looked around and actually laughed. Then I checked around to try and find a place where we could open gifts that afternoon.
But when the kids woke up, it felt as magical as ever. Their eyes lit up when they saw the lights. They squealed when I showed them the "Christmas buffet line" and the toaster. I pulled the computer in and we set up a Christmas movie as we ate breakfast in Mom's bed. They thought it was awesome.
It wasn't the Christmas morning we imagined, but dang, I'm sure this is going to be one they talk about for a long time.
After breakfast and movies, we got ready for the day and then we opened our stockings.
Our secondary kitchen was a mess, with totes, books, toys, papers, boxes, games, and food strung across every flat surface, so eating at home wasn't a great option. We decided to run to GI and have a nice family lunch at Napoli's where everything could feel normal for a minute. Then we took the kids to CRC for the afternoon.
Someone was at the lodge when we arrived, so we improvised by opening our first round of gifts outside. It was a beautiful 60 degree day!
We played there for awhile before walking the trails. Eventually we ended up at the obstacle course, which burned a lot of time and energy.
What a gift it was to be able to spend so much time outside when our inside was a mess!
We did land at the Lodge and it felt like the perfect cozy spot to open gifts. On a day that should have felt really chaotic, we made some really special memories.
Then we came home. We celebrated Christmas Day at James's parent's house. When we got home that night, I let out a sigh of relief knowing that the hardest part was behind us, getting through the chaos of the week. And, as if on queue, people started puking.
What's that saying about drowning and then someone hands you a baby? Yeah it was kind of like that. Remodel half of your house, but still live in it, while homeschooling, and SURPRISE you're pregnant, and now the other half of your house floods and then you're all going to puke a bunch when you can't even get to your kitchen or couch. (Oh and did I mention that our fridge went out from the flood?) Yeah, 80% of your refrigerated food is gone now, too. Glad you went grocery shopping for all of those meals you couldn't make and the fridge that couldn't hold them! Ok.. I'm done whining.
The first night of the stomach flu (Christmas night, mind you) started with Trevin projectile vomiting across his room. Bed, walls, carpet, himself. Everywhere. James had already started feeling the bug at this point, so he knew he was next. My gag reflex is very heightened anyways, let alone when I'm pregnant.. I couldn't hang. I busted out through the front door and into the cold night just to get a breath of fresh air. I about lost it into the bushes. We got him cleaned up and made preparations for the next round. James started up shortly after and they took turns from about 11:00 PM until 4:00 AM. Macklin was happy to wake up at 6:00 AM and I was not as happy about it after a very short night.
Thankfully, it was three days after the flood and we were able to get some of the carpet dried out. Enough to flip part of it back into place and have a priceless piece of home returned.
The drama from the flooding, Christmases, stomach flu, and lack of sleep finally got to me. I about lost my marbles. James could "sense" my anxiety and exhaustion and sent me off to soak in the tub. It was 9:00 AM and I was in the hot bathtub with a full-sized snicker bar. I think that's what surface-level rock bottom looks like. Then I fell asleep. In the tub. I felt much better after a little soak, Snickers, and snooze. But a couple hours later I was face-deep into a bucket throwing up for the first time in years. It got me, too.
Honestly, it ended up being ok that our kitchen was a disaster, because we just ate toast and fruit for three days straight. Fevers and body aches consumed the next couple of days and we didn't do much at all. I think part of me died that week. Maybe it was my optimism. I started anticipating the next hit that life was going to give us. My guess was a house fire and probably lice.
By some real miracle, we were able to get carpet relaid one week after we flooded. We were able to salvage all of our original carpet and just had to replace the pad. A couple days later, we got our fridge fixed and everything felt like luxury. Maybe that's why life feels pretty easy at this point of the remodel. It's all perspective, I guess. We're learning to be extremely flexible and gracious. Good lessons to be had.
Christmas Season
December was full of fun Christmas traditions like the Parade of Lights.
And the church Christmas Program.
Trevin played his guitar for the prelude at the program. It was his first time performing in front of a large group. He was a little nervous, but he did so well!
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is the Behold the Lamb of God concert.
We let Trevin and Myla join us this year. They really loved watching all of the different instruments and were very familiar with the songs since I have them on at home often during the Christmas season.
Nuss Christmas and Christmas with my immediate family.
Remodel life
One of the last things I did before we tore into the house project was make homemade chocolate croissants. I must have really wanted to utilize my oven and baking opportunity, because these babies were a chore. The turned out really yummy, but I don't know that I'll be attempting them again for a little while.
Once the remodel started, everything was moved to the basement. We've been calling this room our apartment. It's our kitchen, dining room, and schoolroom all wrapped up into this cute little space. I don't know what I had in mind when I designed this room in 2017, but my goodness, I don't think I could have foreseen what a blessing it would be to us. It functions as a perfect space for homeschooling, something that was a million miles from my radar 5 years ago. And it has doubled as a great home away from home (or more like home within our home) while our main floor is tore up.
Cooking has become quite interesting. Our only major appliance is a fridge. No oven, no microwave, no dishwasher. We borrowed a small hot plate from Ashton, which has been a lifesaver! We use it all the time. We've also used an electric skillet almost daily. I do have an instant pot that gets used often and a crockpot. And we're not complaining about the mild winter, because the grill has been in rotation, too.
I've had to get pretty creative with meals and just accept that some of our favorite meals just aren't doable right now. But it's pushed me to find new recipes and make meal prep more efficient. We're using a lot of paper plates, but there's still loads of dishes that need hand-washed. I haven't minded it as much as I thought I would, but it all just takes extra time. We've really found a rhythm to life in the remodel and in a lot of ways it's been easier than I anticipated. (Granted, this all may be from my perspective shift after the Christmas Chaos, but I really can't complain. We're managing.)
A lot of time is spent in front of the fire. This room has toys strung out across the floor 95% of the time.
Did I mention we like using our wood stove?
We make sure to get out of the house when we can, too! It give our brains a little break from the mess and helps life feel really normal.
And we're always happy to celebrate birthdays or drag a bunch of kids out for a playdate.
Kiddos
Winter can feel long, homeschool days can feel long, remodeling can feel long, so these siblings are getting a lot of practice being together. Building friendships and probably leaving scars as well.
More often than not, two of them will pair off to play, always mixing up who's playing with who. But my favorite moments are when they are all three playing together. Makes me want like 8 kids. Not really, but almost.
Trevin
• This guy has had some really special moments over the last few months. He had a dentist appointment in Omaha this fall, so we made it a date. I had a few errands to run, but we made some really fun stops, too.
• He also got to got to his first Husker football game and a Dude Perfect show (all mentioned before).
• He heard the song "Lover" playing on the speaker and he blurted out, "I don't care about lovers... well I do care about meat lovers!" He's got one-liners like that for daysssss...
• Trevin has become such a big helper and is trusted with more responsibilities each month. This might be the underrated stage of parenthood. It's been so fun getting to enjoy his company and personality. Life is pretty dull without this jokester.
• His top three favorite foods are: toscana soup, shrimp, and rice.
• I have so few pictures of her in this season, because she's the most content person in the house. She'd play in her room all day long if I let her. I told James the other day that she really does fit that typical middle child role and doesn't "demand" attention like her brothers. We're always finding ways to shower her with our love and affection, because they just don't come any sweeter than her.
• Oh buddy. Is there anything better than this age? No. Is there anything worse? Also no. It is just that rollercoaster stage where we don't know which Macklin we're going to get. First he's sour, then he's sweet. Like sour patch kids. But those cute moments sure make up for the tantrums.
• He's a busy-body, tractor-loving, full of mischief boy.
Myla
• She gets sillier by the day and giggles about the most random things.
• Myla loves Kindergarten and is starting to read! It's been so exciting for her, although, she always wants to do math first.
• She received makeup for Christmas, and oh heaven help us. If you see her, please know she's not sick and she doesn't have a black eye. We've got a lot of room for improvement. I usually don't say much, sometimes just offering a little advice here or there, but when the eyebrows are neon green, I step in.
• She's always the first to offer to help entertain Macklin. And he loves playing with her.
• She is her Aunt Ashton all over again. Listening to her tell stories is like a live video of my childhood, listening to Ashton tell a story. Maybe that's why I often call her "Ashton" by accident, or I just as easily call Ashton "Myla".
Macklin
• Oh buddy. Is there anything better than this age? No. Is there anything worse? Also no. It is just that rollercoaster stage where we don't know which Macklin we're going to get. First he's sour, then he's sweet. Like sour patch kids. But those cute moments sure make up for the tantrums.
• He's a busy-body, tractor-loving, full of mischief boy.
• He loves demanding that "T" and "My" play tractors with him. And to my surprise, they usually listen.
• Mack is our early riser. He's usually our alarm that goes off before our alarm. Usually his first word after we get him from his crib is, "Pancake?" He's down to one nap a day. I think he'd still prefer a morning nap over an afternoon nap, but for the sake of our routine, I try to hold him off until after lunch every day.
• We finally gave up the bottle this fall for good. The transition wasn't too bad. He's gone through several food stages. He'll eat everything in sight for a week and then he won't touch hardly anything the next week. We've found that Trevin is the best food motivator for Macklin. He's usually got the best chance at getting Mack to try a new food.
• He loves to play with people. He doesn't play independently very well, but if anyone else is on the floor with him, he'll play for a long time. Once Myla is finished with school, she can usually keep him busy for a long time while I help Trevin.
•Inevitably, I get desperate during school time some days and need entertainment for him. I've tried turning on kids shows or movies, but he won't sit and watch them by himself. The only thing I've found that he'll sit and watch is tractor videos on Youtube. This kid. James finally got a farm-obsessed child.
WHEW. You made it to the end. Thanks for following along. Life is happening at incredible speed right now, and I'm doing my best to soak in the moments before the next big change. I'm sure life will be really predictable and boring after that. Right?
Baby #6, growing on the farm...
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