Baby number 3!

These past few weeks have been sort of crazy! We found out that we are pregnant with baby number three!! I am 8 weeks along now and due July 31st. I had a little scare about a week and a half ago, but everything is ok now!!! I had my first ultrasound and was able to see the little pulsating peanut in my belly. Monet and Paxton are so excited to have a baby brother or sister. Although, both of them are saying that they think there is a boy and a girl in my tummy. Haha. I am not feeling too bad right now. I have been having some nausea, but really not that bad. I have been super tired, but am so happy that I have been cleared to do some light exercise!

I am on winter break right now. I get to see my grades from Fall term tonight after 5:00 pm, so I am kind of anxious for that. I am hoping for straight A's!!! Winter term will start in about two weeks on January 3rd. I am looking forward to taking a yoga class and stress management class! I will taking a quantitative statistical methods class and first aid class as well. It should be interesting to be going to school, working more hours, taking care of the family and house, and being pregnant! It kind of makes me feel tired just thinking about it. Haha. I know that I will get it done! Although, I really am wishing that I had a housekeeper for at least once a month!!! That would be so awesome, but so not gonna happen. Haha.

Today I am making a wedding cake with my baking partner Stephanie Gooding. It is our first paid job, so we are pretty excited. I will be delievering and setting it up tomorrow up in north portland. Then, we have another one to make in march and I will also be singing at that wedding. Needless to say, I am keeping very busy with my baking and crafting hobbies as well as school, work and family. Loving life and trying to soak up each and every minute that we get to spend as a family. Has seemed like Scott and I are going different directions a lot of the time, each spending time with the kids when the other one is busy with other duties outside of the house! We are both looking forward to spending more family time together next week and in the decades to come. We are also hoping to have a date night on Sunday so that we can go listen to some Jazz music and have yummy food and drinks. Thanks to my mom for always being willing to watch our kiddos!!! It is precious to see how much all of them enjoy time together! My mom loves her grandkids so much, and that love is definitely returned!!!

Back to the pregnancy... I am very curious if the baby is going to be a girl or a boy... I am kind of hoping for a boy since my sister has a baby boy and my sister-in-law is pregnant right now with a boy. However, I will obviously be excited either way! I remember people telling me that I would show a lot faster with the second one, but was not quite prepared for the earliness that I would show with the third! I typically show early due to my tilted uterus, but at 7 weeks?!?! Kinda spooky! haha My friends that are also pregnant right now with their third or have already had a thrid reassure me that it is because it is the third baby. :) Below is a picture of my little bump. I will try to update as I go along... but we will see. ;)

Love to all this holiday season! This has always been my favorite time of the year, but has only gotten better with my kiddos around. This year they are so much more invloved and excited! I am hoping to go look at Christmas lights next week and maybe go to zoo lights as well!! Happy Birthday to Christ the risen Lord!!!!

Halloween and the pumpkin patch

This is a little late, but I wanted to share some pictures from when we went to the pumpkin patch and when I took the kids trick or treating with my mom, sister and brother-in-law. I cannot believe that October is over and now November is almost over too!!! Time is flying by so fast!

1 year aniversary

Typically, 1 year anniversaries are a time for celebration. However, today marks the 1 year anniversary since my Brother (in law) killed himself. This whole week has been really rough for me. The pain that he was in was inexplicable, but the pain that his death has caused his family has been unbearable at times. I have struggled with this death so much because it was so traumatic and sudden. I have been angry that this could have happened at all, and that his children (my niece and nephew) are going to have to grow up without him around. I have been angry that my sister (his wife) had to go through the delivery of their son without him, and has to raise their kids on her own. But today I want to try to dwell on all of the happy memories that I had with my brother, and not the dreadful day last year.

Scott was an awesome husband and daddy. I loved watching him with my sister and niece. His role in my life, though, was big brother. He had watched me grow up. He came to almost all of my basketball games for years, played games with me, talked to me, protected me and looked out for me. I looked up to him so much, and that may have been part of the reason that I also married a man named Scott.

Scott, you were an amazing brother, and support for me. I wish that we could have ended your pain without you having to take your life. The legacy that you have left behind is incredible, and I will always be proud to call you my brother. I pray that you are now resting peacefully in the arms of Jesus. Monet thinks that you and Papa are probably playing basketball up there together. Someday we will meet again without the pains of this earth. I love you!

Twins?

I have been asked quite frequently lately if Monet and Paxton are twins. They are getting so close in size, it is scary. Paxton officially has bigger feet and hands than Monet who is 17 months older than he is. He is only about an inch shorter than her, and they really do look an awful lot a like. People often expect more out of Paxton than he is really capable of right now because he is so tall and looks older than 2. He is about 40" tall and Monet 41". There are as close as can be. I often tell people that they are the best of friends, they are great at playing together, but they are also really great at fighting. Here are some of my favorite pictures of them together.

I LOVE everything!!

Life raising two toddlers can be super busy, stressful, messy, you get the point. My husband and I have tried to make both of our kids know how equally important they are to us, and part of our way of doing that is by spending one on one time with them. These are some of the sweetest moments that make all of the mess and stress seem OK. As I was putting Paxton to bed last night, he decided that he was going to tell me all of the things that he loves. He is a lover anyways, just a total sweetheart, but had never told me about all of the things that he loves. He started with his room, his bed, his pillow, his Buzz and Woody blanket, his stickers, his cars, running, painting, brushing his teeth, then he moved on to people. He said I love my mommy, I love my Daddy, I love Monet, I love Grammy, I love Jada, Nana, Bumpa, Leslie, Aunt Nell, Sophia, and on and on till he had named all of the people that he loves. Then he looked at me, and told me, I love your eyes, I love your hair, I love your cheek, I love your other cheek, I love your mouth, I love your neck, I love you chin, etc. This loving went on for at least 10 minutes. I was so enjoying hearing about all of the toys that he loved, his friends, things he loves to do. It was so sweet to get a glimpse into my little man's heart. When he was done, I told him, I love you soo much, thank you for sharing all of the things you love with me!! Then I said, it's time to go to sleep now. His reaction... I HATE the sleep!! I couldn't help but giggle.

Locked in the bathroom

I tried to take a bath the other day while the kids were playing and dad was supervising. I locked myself in the bathroom with my laptop to do some homework/relax (how do you like that combo? lol). I was able to get some moments of quiet in, but soon both of my children were banging on the door and insisting that I had taken a long enough bath and should get out now. I "gently encouraged them" to go play with daddy and let mommy relax. They continued to knock and yell at me through the door. They did finally walk away for about a minute. During that minute I had a thought that made me smile. My kids really love me. It seems like a silly thought, but it wasn't to me in that moment. I think that, at times, I get overwhelmed with life and all of my responsibilities. Every moment I am with my children, I am doing things for them. When I am not with them, I am thinking about them and still doing things for them... It is easy to feel a little unappreciated as a mom of toddlers... (sigh) I am making a pledge to think differently about the times when I am feeling overwhelmed and bombarded by my kids. Don't get me wrong, I still think that breaks are good and very important, but I am going to remember each time I hear "MOMMY" yelled from the top of their lungs, that they love me and some day I know I am going to miss it!



As moms I think that we need breaks from taking care of the kids, doing housework, working, being a wife, etc. But the best part about taking a break is the hugs you get when you return. All of the chaos is worth it when you see their shining smiles and arms outstretched in love.

The Craziness has begun!

My life is officially nuts!!! I am loving it, but feeling a little stressed at times too! Right now I am squeezing in the time to write this as I sit at my desk at work before I need to go pick up the kids from school/daycare. I am taking 16 credit hours of psychology courses this term as well as working and volunteering. It is all very interesting to me, but it is a TON of work. Some updates on my silly toddlers...





Monet is back at school on the campus where I attend school. She absoultely loves it! She gets excited to play with all of her friends and to paint! She absolutely LOVES to paint. She did a painting the other day with "M" painted on it! It was really good! She is getting better and better at writing and spelling her name, and is interested in learning how to spell more and more words. One of her favorite things to do with me is sing, what I call the spelling song. I use the tune to BINGO and spell words that are important to her. It is fun! I am sure I may sound a little odd to other people driving as I am singing and spelling words down the street, but that is ok. On another note, she has figured out how to stand on her head up against a wall, and can even push up to a headstand which I found to be pretty impressive.





Paxton... my sweet little boy is getting picked on at school, and is not enjoying it very much. He is our quiet and shy one, and it is taking him a while to adjust to the new environment. I am praying that he will be able to make at least one friend that he can play with this week. It just breaks my heart to leave him screaming and crying so that I can make it to my classes on time. His teacher says that he is sooo well behaved and never causes any problems, but he is having a hard time making friends and is getting picked on by some of the older kids because he will just take it and not say anything. :( On a more positive note, Paxton is officially potty-trained!!! He went all 5 days at school last week without a single accident! He is now in underwear at school. I am anxious to hear if he had another dry day today!! :)





The things that light up your day once you are a mom is comical at times. I find joy and excitement in the thought that my kids could go a day without peeing on themselves! :)

Worries about this new season...

I have some worries about this new season that we are entering. My children have decided that they are going to be as difficult to get to bed as possible!!! I know that I am not going to be able to go to bed with them once school starts because I will need the evenings to do my homework! Our solution to this matter has been to make new beds for each of the kids... Monet is going to get loft bed that will sit on top of her kitchen that we made for her, and Pax will get Monet's twin bed with a new headboard... I am hoping that they will be excited about the new beds and we can start a whole new bedtime routine and schedule this week, that will make them sleep in their own beds and go to bed more easily. (I hope that this is not wishful thinking on my part).

My other worry is about cooking for my family during the week when I know that I am going to be so tired after school and work... So, I think that I am going to become a once a month cooker for at least the next 6 months! I have found sound really yummy and healthy recipes that freeze well, and I will be able to make up so that I can just pop them in when I get home! I will let you know how it goes... Pictures to follow as well. :)

I Love Fall!!

There is officially one week left before school starts back up for us! I am really excited to start my last fall term as an undergraduate student! I will continue to do my work as research assistant for Oregon Social Learning Center, I will also be a research assistant for a professor at the University, and will also be taking on a campus job for a little extra money while taking my 18 credits and caring for my two toddlers and husband! Busy, busy, busy is what I am going to be!! It has been nice to have a little break over this summer, but I am anxious to get back into the school routine. I only have two terms left before I will be done with my BS in Psychology. I plan on taking a year off from school, and then I will go to graduate schoool if all works out as I hope and plan! :) The thought of being a graduate student while caring for my family makes me a little bit nervous, but we will figure it out I am sure. Never a dull moment around here!

I have always loved Fall time. It means that we get to go back to school, buy school supplies and school clothes, start wearing cozy clothing and drinking hot chocolate in the evenings. Fall always makes me want to make some yummy soup. I love to be cozy, and fall time is the perfect season for just that! I love the smell in the air right after it has rained, and in Oregon there are a lot of those days. So, here is to a new season!!!

Froggy

So, Paxton has developed a new voice, and we are not sure if he is sick and losing it or if he is just developing a deep raspy voice. He does not seem to be sick, so I am thinking that his voice is just making a change. It sounds really funny coming out of the little guy. I posted a few things about Monet, so I figured that I would update about Pax. He is such a sweet and lovable guy. He LOVES to cuddle, and can be very shy. We went to the zoo yesterday after Monet's appointments, and he managed to climb up a wall of rocks before I could catch him! The people walking by were like, "Oh my goodness look at that kid! Can't believe he can climb that!" So, yes we have two climbers... Keeping up with these toddlers is an endless and often tiring job. But the exclamation of "I did it, I did it!" while jumping up and down once he reached the top made my angry face disappear and break into a smile, he is just too darn cute!

Spiral urethra??

My 4 year old daughter has been having difficulties with UTI's. She has had 6 since last December!! So, we have been taking her to see a urologist. Yesterday she had a test done called a VCUG. Basically, they had to insert a catheter into her bladder fill it with dye, take x-rays while it was filling, after it was full, and as it was emptying. The whole point of this was so we could see if she has renal reflux, where the urine flows back up into her kidneys. Well, she does have it, and we also found out that she has a spiral urethra. She was born with it, but it is increasing her liklihood of getting UTI's. So, as for now, I am working with her on going potty often, relaxing, and tons of other things. I am pretty nervous about the possibility of her having to have surgery at some point... She was such a little trooper yesterday, I am so proud of her! Will keep updating as this process will continue over the next 18 months or so.

Happy Birthday Monet!

MONET LUCILLE GERHARDT turns 4!!!

September 3, 2006 our first baby was born. After being in labor with her for over 30 hours (I lost track somewhere after then...) our beautiful baby girl was born! She was a beautiful baby, and an even more beautiful toddler! Full of life and energy!! She is a princess through and through. We had her 4th birthday party a few days ago, and in true Monet fashion, everything was princess!! She dressed in a Princess outfit from her Nana Gerhardt, we had Princess cookies, a Snow White cake, and Princess everything! I love to make my kids' birthdays special! So, I generally make a lot of things, and choose a theme and play it out where I can. We had a blast with Monet's friends, here are some more pictures from the party... :)

Those are just a snapshot of the fun we all had! I absolutely cannot believe that my baby girl is 4 years old! You always hear people say that time flies by once you have kids, but I do not think that I really understood what they were saying until I had my children. They grow in the blink of an eye! I am trying to treasure each moment of these years because I know once they are gone I am going to miss them!

Day 1

Living life with two young children, there is never a dull moment. They are the light of my world, and yet sometimes I think that I may pull all of my hair out when they won't listen! I have two toddlers, Monet will be 4 tomorrow, and Paxton is 2 1/2. Keeping up with toddlers is a full time job. They are full of energy right up until the second they fall asleep, ask millions of questions (some that I have no clue how to answer), and change their emotions at the drop of a hat. While there are many things about raising toddlers that is a challenge, it is also soooo much fun! They say the funniest things, and there is never a day that passes by that they do not make me burst into laughter! I have always said that the best sound in the world is the sound of a baby or toddler laughing! Hearing my two crazy toddlers laughing together makes my heart sing, and all is right with my world!

This blog is probably going to be random... Following my busy schedule keeping up with my family, work, school, and research. Stay tuned... :)