Funny stuff

So, there are some things I've been wanting to document, mostly just for me, but wasn't yet ready to share things publicly.  I guess I just decided that not enough people read this blog to make it "public" so it's probably safe to use it more as a journal.

Jacob and I are excited to be having another baby!  I am due at the end of July and should find out in a couple of weeks if this baby is a girl or a boy.  I'm hoping for a girl but lately have been thinking it's a boy.

One of the things I was most looking forward to was telling Isaac and Ben we were going to have another baby in our family.  I figured Isaac would be really excited and Ben would mimic that for a few minutes but not really know what was going on.  I was pretty right.

Jacob got it all on video but I can't stand watching me in it so you don't get to see it.  You just get to know that it took Isaac a few minutes to realize what we had said and then he clapped his hands to his face and said excitedly "We have to get ready!"  He had some questions (and has continued to have questions..."How did the baby get in my belly?",  "How does the baby get out of my belly?",  and "When will the baby get here?") and just bounced around for the next few minutes so excited about it all.  We let him call Grandma Brunson and tell her - though she already knew- and he loved that.  He started talking to my belly and says things like "Hi baby.  How is your day going?" and "Are you a girl baby or a boy baby?"  And then he answers for the baby.  It's pretty cute.  He's actually been pretty good about only telling a few people that we are having a baby.  No big announcement in sharing time or anything, yet.  The day after telling the boys about the baby Isaac pulled out all the baby blankets I had stored in his closet.  He told me we needed to go through everything to get ready.  We made Isaac a calendar to help him understand that we have A LONG time before any baby will be here.

Ben was excited and said "baby" a couple of times and that was about it.  About what I expected.

I've reached that terribly awkward phase where I have outgrown my regular clothes but don't quite fit into full on maternity wear.  So, sometimes I wear the maternity pants just to be more comfortable.  Isaac saw the tops of those pants on me one day and wondered what it was all about.  I explained that the pants were stretchy to make room for the baby as it grows in my belly.  The next day I was wearing just some regular  stretchy pants.  Isaac noticed they weren't maternity pants and asked, "Mom, why aren't you wearing your baby proof pants."  I about died...baby proof.  Awesome.

It's been fun to see Isaac so excited about it all and to help Ben try and understand it all.  I am ready to know if this babe is a boy or girl though.

Hard Lessons

The other day we went to quilt group at the Van Shaar's home.  The boys love the chance to play in their basement.  I had a visiting teaching appointment scheduled right after quilt group so we had to make our exit a little more quickly than we normally do.

I went to the basement to help the boys clean up and then we grabbed some treats and headed out.  My visiting teaching appointment was nice.  I recently got reassigned and I visit one of the sisters in our ward who I really look up to.  She is the mother of 7, mostly adult children, and reminds me of my mom in some ways.  And in some ways not.  It was good to visit.

When I got home the boys got started playing and I got started on sweeping and mopping the floor.  In the midst of that I noticed Isaac pulled something out of his pocket and was playing with a quarter.  I knew he hadn't taken one of his quarters with him so I asked where it came from.  He told me he had found it in the Van Shaar's basement.  I kept about sweeping for a minute or two when it registered for me that he had just taken something that didn't belong to him from someones home.  I put down the broom and went and told Isaac that it's wrong to take things that don't belong to us and that we would have to return the quarter to the Van Shaars.

He was not happy.  I think he was really wanting to keep the quarter and then also, he was starting to feel some guilt.  I talked him through why and how we would return it and all the while he was crying.  He said he wanted to wait until tomorrow when he would have forgotten about the quarter.  I told him I wanted him to take it now while it was fresh in his memory and because it was the right thing to do.  I got Ben ready to go and then told Isaac we were heading for the car.  He really started crying and ran to his room.  I followed him there and talked some more.  He cried that he "didn't want to feel this way anymore."  I assured him that after he returned the quarter and made it right he would feel better.  He told me he needed to be alone to calm down.  I talked a little more and then he said "you aren't leaving me alone."  Oh right.  I told him he could have 5 minutes.

I went back downstairs to check on Ben and then finished up sweeping.  I headed up to Isaac's room and while I was going upstairs I could hear mumbling.  I went into his room and told him it was time to go.  He crawled out of the closet and said he was ready.  He was totally calm and pleasant, no more fit.  He said he had said a few prayers and Heavenly Father was telling him he was doing the right thing.  I told him that feeling was from Heavenly Father and we rehearsed how this would all go down again.

On the car ride to the Van Shaar's I was praying they would be home and Isaac was praying he would be brave.  We got to the Van Shaar's and unloaded out of the car.  I rang the doorbell and Isaac hid behind my leg.  I told Carol that Isaac was feeling shy but had something to return that belonged to them.  I handed her the quarter.  Carol was great at talking to Isaac and thanking him for returning it.  He had expressed earlier that he didn't want Sister Van Shaar to be mad at him.  I assured him she wouldn't.  After that Ben and Isaac ran off in the front yard and began playing.

I talked with Carol a bit and then we headed home.

I was so proud of Isaac.  What a demonstration of faith.  His prayers were so sincere and humble.  But I was mostly surprised at how hard this whole thing was for me.  I wanted to cry with Isaac.  I didn't want him to "feel that way" either.  We've all been there.  It's scary and hard to do the right thing.  But I also knew that now was the time to learn this lesson, with such a small thing and friends that what love.  Hopefully Isaac won't have to learn this lesson again with something bigger and more awkward.

Being a parent is hard stuff.  I hope I'm doing it well enough.  I have good boys and I hope I tell them that enough.

Oh January...You Went by Quickly

I think I'm having a harder time keeping up on this blog.  I guess it's partly not taking many pictures and partly not doing too much that is noteworthy.

We've just been hanging in through these longer winter months.  But, as it turns out, we've had a string of unseasonably warm weather and have been enjoying being outside and bike riding and park playing and such.  But not much picture taking.

Really, these are just about all the pictures I've taken this month.

Ben has been really good at staying in his bed for naps.  I remember Isaac at this age would sleep in all kinds of weird places and positions.  Ben, not so much.  He fell asleep one day crying by the door and then another day fell asleep here:

We had just put new batteries in this star turtle so it was a brand new toy.  I love that he cuddled up with it on the couch in his room and fell asleep.  So cute.

Jacob took these pictures of me reading to the boys.  I love that he captured this regular, everyday moment.  I'm not usually in pictures much but I'm happy to be in this ones.

I love little kitchen helpers.  I especially love little kitchen helpers helping their Daddy make cookies on a Sunday.

I also super love pictures of how these kiddos play.  They are silly.  

And that's it folks...January.  Ha...pretty pathetic.