a late surprise

So Tuesday I dropped Isabelle off at preschool and me and Lincoln headed to Joanne's to bulk up my supply of girly prints for burpies and blankies for the baby. Shortly thereafter, I had a 32-week appointment with an ultrasound to check on the baby's growth measurements.

Conversation went like this:

OB: So do we know what we are having?

Me: Yeah, it's a girl.

*LONG PAUSE*

OB: Are we sure? Because those look a lot like testicles.

Me: Weird, cause it's a girl.

OB: Yeahhhhhh it's a boy. Those are balls.

Me: Well that's sure a surprise.

Shocked was sort of an understatement. Our last ultrasound we were given an 80% likelihood it was a girl. Turns out that twenty percent really gets ya. We were so surprised. So surprised.

If I'm going to be completely honest, I got in the car and I cried my face off. Ugly cry. Not because I don't want another little boy. Little boys are awesome. I can't believe how much I love Lincoln. But because in my mind I had made plans for a little girl- we had a name. We had new pink stuff. Tiny pink leather shoes are sitting in my closet. Isabelle was going to have a sister! In eight weeks! I'm such a planner so to switch gears this late in the game... it's been interesting. Carbs help. 

So we've spent the past few days wrapping our heads around having a second boy in the house. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO NAME HIM. Every so often we look at each other and say, "dude, we are having a boy. It's a boy in there....a boy." Hot damn.

Oh sweetie pie Isabelle. I told her that the baby was a boy baby, and that Heavenly Father sent us a surprise and wouldn't it be so fun! And she said, "But Mom. I weally wanted a girl baby." Kill me. She has warmed up to the fact that there is nothing we can do to change it and has recommended that we name him "Pancake" after her most beloved food.

Also can I say how BETRAYED I am by my brain? Because I was COMPLETELY convinced this was a lady pregnancy. It so much more resembles carrying Isabelle than Lincoln- I can't believe how wrong I was. I would have bet money that because of the way I felt, I was growing a girl in there. I guess every pregnancy is completely crazy and different and there is no correlation because everything is random and weird. I have no control. I have no control. 

The more I get used to it, the more excited I am. Lincoln will have a little playmate. And I get to re-use all my cute boy stuff! And the baby can move in to the blue grey nursery! And from my experience, boys are so cuddly and soft and Lincoln is such a mama's boy, I'm really excited to have another. Baby boy was measuring right on for 32 weeks- is already over 4 pounds and everything looks healthy and well. And in the end, is that all we really want? 

It's a boy. Surprise.

disney deja vu

This disney trip was a little bit different. Since we had just recently been, and I took both kids without Jazz, and I'm almost 8 months pregnant... we cut some corners. First of all, I didn't bring my big Nikon. Just too much to carry, too much to worry about- and I don't love to leave it on the stroller when we ride rides. So all pictures are iPhone. We drove down family style, in the Suburban, Mom, me and the kids, Morgan and Margo. We all stayed in one big hotel room- Isabelle got to sleep on the top bunk and I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of her trip. She felt so grown up. IT HAS A LADDER, she kept telling me.

This trip was 100% kid stuff. No grown up rides. No fast passes (my dad would have been appalled.) Just toddler territory but it was still so much fun. There is still so much to do! We did parades and shows and nap time under a big tree in Bear Country. It was a little bit busier than last month but we were there for park open every morning- helps to be early! One of my favorite parts is watching the kids see their favorite characters during the parades. Iz loves the princesses, Margo went nuts for Tinkerbell, and Lincoln practically jumped out of his seat when Mater drove by. Izzie's favorite ride- Dumbo, teacups, and the merry go round. Lincoln's favs- monorail, the railroad, and heimlich's choo choo.

can you find margo

Lincoln's all "SQUIRREL."

My kids have the greatest Grandma in the world. She was so much help there is no way I could have done this trip without her.

 

My mom NEVER rides tea cups but took one for the team so I could sit this one out.

We also ran into some friendly faces. My friend Tyler and his wife Nicole were there with their two boys, so we caught up with them for awhile. Also, I ran into Ashley Hawley from highschool? Been probably ten years. Her parents used to live across the street from where I live now. SMALL WORLD.  We also saw our most favorite teenage baby sitters there with their family. 

The last night in the park we closed with the parade, then did a few more bonus rides in Fantasyland before heading home. After our last ride, I was carrying Lincoln and he wrapped his little toddler arms around my neck so tight and gave me a big fat kiss. Like hey mom, I know I'm a lot of work but I really had a good time on this trip and thanks for not leaving me at home. Disneyland is magic. Linc threw some truly epic fits while we were there but I swear that ten seconds of him hugging and giving kisses was totally worth it. Times fifty. It was still hard to leave.

Isabelle loved this trip being the oldest kid she got some special treatment and one on one time while the babies were napping. She didn't nap a single day just ran crazy from one ride to the next. She calls "churros" "cheerios." That is my favorite.

We were riding the train one evening and as we were about to pull out of the station, some late comers ran to the fence hoping to hop on. They had missed the boarding time, and Lincoln shook his finger at them and yelled NO NO NO as loud as he could. Made me laugh.

Also, the park at 31 weeks pregnant? Totally do-able but also a little exhausting! We walked a ton, to and from our hotel and all around both disneyland and california adventure. We logged about 38 hours in the park and about a million miles. I almost stole someone's moby a couple times and yes, fine I was waddling a little bit, but I made it! Thanks a lot in part to my mom and morgan for helping juggle all of my children. I drank a bunch and didn't have any swelling in my feet really until the very last night. Then, kankles.

Loved this little bonus "girls + lincoln" trip we had, especially as we count down the weeks until we welcome baby #3.

valentine's day, better late than never.

Yep I know I'm two weeks late with this post... but we accidentally went to Disneyland....again. Me and the kids were gone most of last week back down to the magic kingdom-- we just can't stay away! Morgan was supposed to go with us last month but Margo got pneumonia and Mo had the flu and it just didn't happen. Their season passes expired the 22nd so we squeezed in a bonus trip to hang out with them before they were outside the circle of trust. And what is better than a grown up family roadtrip? Anyway.

We had a nice Valentine's day. Treats. Visiting our peeps. Nap time. Usual stuff. But with pink sprinkles. Isabelle really got into this holiday and wanted to make "frafts" for everyone. She came home from her preschool party with a sack full of goodies to share. And her little Valentines she gave to everyone--- oh man her hand writing is killing me. The little shaky mismatched letters are my favorite.

are my kids the only ones that prefer not being dressed.

making her rice krispy treats/ modeling her new valentine swimsuit

delivering goodies to grandpa

He is so snuggly and warm. my littlest valentine

This is her favorite outfit of choice at my mom's house when we crank the Frozen soundtrack.

From my husband. Bonus for Izzie. Very thoughtful.

Now we are home from our trip (again.), we had a fun and busy Saturday with three bonus kids while my brother and his wife spent the day at the temple. (We do tradesies. ) Today I had to call in sick to life. Literally got a substitute for my church primary responsibilities. Let the kids watch Cinderella at 9:30 AM. Naps for everyone. Just needed a rest day, you know?

30 Weeks

30 Weeks! Third Trimester! Countdown to the end now! Exclamation Point!

Oh I'm feeeeelin it now. The baby is like 3 pounds? 16 inches long? Taking up a ton of real estate and makes bending HARD. All those toys on the ground? Yeah they can just stay there. I know it's only going to get worse, especially that last bit...

Best moment this week. I made a quick trip to target to grab a few things and lift our rainy day moods and as I jumped back in the car my pants split. Not like ripped a little bit, like the whole entire seat part ripped... a good 8 inches. I've never torn pants before and yeah these pants were from my first pregnancy but still. New low even for me. Time to throw those out.

In general I feel great! Sleeping is still good... although I've started experiencing some restless leg syndrome? Have you heard of this? I've never had it before but the past few weeks I get these little lightning sparks in my legs that make them wiggle. Sounds ridiculous actually now that I just typed it out. I've been bad about taking my prenatal vitamins so I'm making sure I take those now to increase my iron and it's helping. So weird. And I love eating slushy ice which is so weird for me because I hate chewing ice. The best is to take some diet 7-up, put it in an empty water bottle and into the freezer for about 45 minutes. THE BEST. Also, Mexican food is a no go...heartburn of mass proportions. 

Shy baby is moving a lot now, but I notice it more when I'm sitting or laying down. She is sneaky though and when I try to get other people to feel her, she totally stops. Stage fright I guess. I feel like she is sitting transverse or something because I feel her WAY out on my side and I'm like, how can you even be over there? Feels a lot more like when I was pregnant with Isabelle than when I was pregnant with Lincoln.

Aced the glucose test. Also, I switched OB's. It was sort of a process and I'll write a different post about it but the good news is I'm excited about my new doctor and feel really good about making the jump.

Hard to think that in ten weeks the baby will be out instead of in and my life will drastically different. Well, maybe not drastically because we will be doing most of the same things just with a newborn in tow but you know what I mean. I am so looking forward to a teeny baby and froggy legs and that little shape they take when they are asleep on your shoulder. Jazz is bringing home all the baby stuff this week from storage so I can sort it out and organize it and I'm SO excited. I love to organize crap. When I tucked all those tiny clothes away a few years ago, baby Izzie had just outgrown them all and now we get to use them again. 

25 Weeks with shy baby 

19 Weeks with shy baby

28 Weeks with Lincoln

29 Weeks with Isabelle

a project

Saturday was a pretty mellow rainy day and we were just kind of puttering around the house so I tackled a project I've been ignoring for awhile. We got these chairs off of craigslist with our table last year (two years ago?) and I've been meaning to recover them. Bought the fabric months and months ago... and it's been sitting in the closet. Of course.

Anyway, once I started removing the staples there was no going back. A few hours later I had brand new chairs! Yesssss. Total cost, under $30.

I'm feeling nesty the last few weeks and it's weird not having a nursery to set up or worry about. I'm itching to get out all the old baby clothes and go through all of them but I'm not sure where to put them yet. Dresser? Our room? Izzie's room? Isabelle was a Utah winter newborn, and this baby will be a California spring newborn.. we may have to do some shopping. (Just kidding Jazz! 70/30).

The rain has been a welcome change, and it's supposed to rain the rest of the week and I'm totally good with that. Maybe it will force me to work on a few more neglected projects...

disney download

Welp. It happened again. Little jaunt to Anaheim for a few days at The Park. It just doesn't ever get old for us, ever. And almost every time we leave on the last day, I cry just a little bit. MAGIC. and also PREGNANCY.

It was the maiden voyage road trip for our van, and if I loved it before, now it is my soulmate. I freakin love my car. So much room! We loaded up Tuesday morning, drove for 9 hours, and showed up at our hotel just in time for baths and bed.

There are some definite advantages to going to Disneyland in January/February. 1. The weather. 2. The weather. and also 3. The weather. Okay.. also, fewer crowds. The park opens up a little later- at 9 am so there is no pressure to be super early. But if you have children, you will be up early anyway because it's against hotel rules for them to sleep normally. "The sky is awake.. so I am awake..so we have to play!"

If you want to avoid crowds, go during the week on the off season. Wednesday was so magical because we killed that day dead with a sword, seriously we hit so many rides/attractions/shows. WE DID ALL THE THINGS. It was the 50th Anniversary of Sleeping Beauty or some nonsense so we got special wrist bands to stay an extra two hours in Fantasyland after the park closed to ride the kid rides. And Maleficent was out in character taking pictures.. I guess that never happens?

but BOATS.

Lincoln's main objective on this trip was to run away from us. Not unusual from our regular day to day life, except he had hundreds of acres to hide in. We (I) did lose him one day for about five solid minutes.. I'll tell you about that in a sec.

Line for the princesses

Curtsying. 

Oh hey there did you want to see my dimples.

Mom teaching Iz her friendly gang signs.

So we stayed extra late and the park cleared out and when we left there was NO ONE on main street. I could not believe it. I kept saying "what should we do! There is no one here!"

DO YOU SEE THE EMPTY.

Jazz's pedometer logged almost ten miles the first day. 

Should I just smoosh this all into one post? Probably.

Excited for day two- California Adventure.

scuse me may I please come in.

"So those are teeth and you are gonna wanna use them to eat things."

So this picture was taken right before I lost Lincoln. We just rode his favorite Heimlich's ChoChoo or whatever the hell it is called. The grown ups ran to ride a big ride, and me and Mom stayed with the kids. Five kids, two adults, no problem. Well we let them out of their strollers for a snack and literally in two seconds Lincoln was g-o-n-e. I was totally paying attention, wasn't distracted, just he was there and then he wasn't. We were sort of in an intersection so there were several ways to wander. Mom ran one way, I ran the other, I yelled at the other kids to get in the strollers and stay there. And I ran yelling ANYONE SEE A TODDLER IN A STRIPED HOODIE. TWO YEAR OLD MISSING PLEASE HELP. Seriously, I yelled that. As I'm running my giant pregnant body around, I'm sure it was a stellar moment for me. Anyway, some teenager said oh yeah does he have a mohawk. YES HE DOES! Oh he ran that way. And sure enough, a kind Asian man was trying to encourage Linc to turn around. Clear around the corner from where we started. I was never so thankful in my whole life. Thank you, older asian man, thank you teenager, thanks random middle aged lady for not judging me and just pointing in his direction. After that Lincoln was grounded to his stroller for awhile. Worst parenting moment by far.

Grandma makes everything fancier.

I love this picture. You should see the the people behind the camera distracting Linc. Thanks, family.

Storybook

Izzie rode the matterhorn! 

Get to Toontown as it opens, it's worth it to be first to see Mickey

Jungle Cruise. Always a must.

The best little pals. Seriously, Isabelle wants to do everything Madilyn does.

By the end of the trip, we were all pretty exhausted. Over 30 miles walked...we opened/closed the park several days in a row. I gotta make a major shout out here to my spouse because he did not complain a single time, not once- and I understand that this is a big trip.. not everyone loves disneyland as much as we do and he was such a good sport about all the rides and helping with the kids. I can't go on most rides since Shy Baby is gestating and he willingly took both kids on the rides I was excluded from. He smiled for pictures, though they are not his favorite by far. He stayed late, he got up early, he had sore feet and still he grabbed Linc to change a dirty diaper whenever he could. Cheers to you, Mr. Sorensen, for being such a great disney partner. Couldn't have done it without you.

Both the kids are at such a fun age to take to Disneyland- Izzie is tall enough for some major rides like Cars Racers and the Matterhorn. (Though both, not her favorite. Teacups still reigns supreme.) Lincoln understands characters now and really was excited to see his favorite peeps in big form- he smiled SO much when he met Mickey. Izzie didn't need a mid-day nap, which was nice, and Lincoln sacked out in the reclined stroller for a few hours in the afternoon. I feel like it just gets more fun slash chaotic. We are about to throw a third in the mix and I'm not sure how that will go once we are outnumbered!