Pregnanting

So, I'm in my last-mester of pregnancy. And I'm about to be really real up in this blog so, if you don't want to hear about the truths of pregnancy- just click away.

Swiss Army Knife. I'm pretty sure this little person has somehow fashioned a Swiss Army Knife out of amniotic fluid and is using it to dig its way through my right lowest rib. Remember that "Rescue Me" scene in Paul Shore's epic In the Army Now. (Don't pretend like you haven't seen it.) Yep, it's just like that. Also, occasionally the babe uses it to shove into one of my ovaries just to remind me that we are done having kids. Take that tiny eggs!

Ug sauce. I am feeling so incredibly ugly. I swear in the last 6 months I have aged 15 years. I used to be able to get away with chap stick and bronzer. Now if I don't get ready in the morning I look like this: click here. Not cool.

Neepers. When Dave and I first got married we had a dog named Barkley. He was a pug. He was unmanageable and he snorted and he was wall eyed. I loved him. I have some new pets that are just as free spirited and they are my sitting atop my belly. They are my boobs. And they are everywhere.

Peek-a-boo. I'm big and getting bigger. I recently got to the point where I can't see past my belly. As far as I know, my body goes- head, boobs, top of belly, toes. And that's all. I am not comfortable with not knowing how everything is holding up on the parts I can't see...

Pee-a-boo. ...Infact, if I didn't have to pee every hour I may have forgotten that I still have specials down there. My favorite is when I pee, wash my hands, the baby moves, and I am back on the toilet. And when I say my favorite- I mean the opposite of that. Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me for a sec...

Serious Condition. I am not lying in the least little bit when I say that I am pretty sure my baby has seizures. This kid is already practicing his krumping, no doubt, but at least 3 times a day it also shakes and spazzes uncontrollably like it's had too much coffee. It makes me nervous.

Harold and the Purple Crayon. When we got it's 1/2 way ultrasound and saw it's profile- he looked exactly like this. I truly believe the ultrasounds are telling. Miles did something hilarious during his and he is honestly the funniest kid I know. Faye's picture looked exactly like my sister, Celeste, and she still does. Newbie's profile screams Harold. And I can't wait.

My heart on my sleeve. I would like to think I would be a pretty good actress if given the opportunity, but I might be wrong. Lately people have been saying things like, "Are you okay?" "You seem a little down," and "Everything alright?" I have been a little sick lately, but I didn't know that I was also depressed until people kept telling me. So, someone tell me how happy I am. Right now and I mean it!

Professor Actual Factual. The truth is, as much as I love complaining about the woes of pregnancy- I am actually really excited to have this baby. And so are my kids.

Faye says: If it's a girl I am going to name it Tiger. And if it's a boy I'm going to name it Tiger.

Miles will leave little pictures of hearts or submarines for me and the baby all over the house. Sometimes the baby will get a special hug and kiss from one of the kids and every once in a while I can get Dave to feel the baby during one of it's dance sessions.

Dave says: Yep. There's a baby in there.

I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait to hold him in my arms. I can't wait to see her little tiny hand wrap around one of my fingers. I can't wait to watch him stretch his little arms out and not be able to reach the top of his head. I can't wait to see how Faye will love on him and how Miles will protect her. I can't wait to watch Dave look at her with love in his eyes.

I can't wait to meet you, little one. Come soon, but not too soon- keep working on those ribs until D-day.

Love you.

-Cicely

Prego Log baby #3

Week 4: I'm pregnant! And I haven't told anyone. Including Dave. He is out of town and I was hoping to surprise him with a big banner or something, but I'm not super good at keeping secrets...
It took 6 months, but those 6 months really helped me prepare myself for pregnancy and make sure that we were doing the right thing. I'm due April 10th! I'm so excited!!!!

Week 5: I'm pregnant! And I feel so good! Maybe this time I won't be sick!!!! It will be a med school miracle! Especially since we aren't telling anyone until we get to Utah in Sept.

Week 6: I'm pregnant! And feeling it. Today was my first encounter with the toilet- I had been holding back the puke all day and then I finally did to relieve myself and... it didn't work. I still feel like my insides want to be my outsides. My poor kids have literally been watching TV all day.
Oh, man. Lets hope I don't have to have IVs this time. I want my Mommy. I'm sooooo grateful for my Shaker friends. I would be lost without them.

Week 7: I'm pregnant and I want to die. Was it this bad the last two times? I'm adopting my fourth. No joke. I just started puking and I have an honest fear of food. I'm worried that the combo of those two things means IVs in the near future. Dave just left for a month long rotation in Erie. I'll see him on the weekends- which means I will be crying every weekday. Oh, and I woke Miles up by puking last night. Awesome.

Week 8: I'm pregnant with a baby! I saw him today. He is strong and healthy and alone in there. I was sort of hoping he would have a friend to play with, but it looks like it's just me and him. I'm not sure it's a boy, of course, but I'm pretty sure it's a boy. or a girl. Seeing him for the first time and watching his little heart flutter gave me hope and a better perspective about having this little person in me. I'm going to be sick- that is for sure, but I'm also going to be happy to share my life with another little person for the rest of my life. Can't wait to meet you!

Week 9: IV fluids. Why do I suck so bad at being pregnant?

Week 10: Improving on the puke scale, but still not feeling great. I miss the crap out of Dave and my Mom.

Week 11: This week we are going to Utah and get to announce to the families! I CAN NOT WAIT! Too bad Mama Suite is out of town until Sunday night. She and my Dad will undoubtably be the last to know. I can't believe I actually kept this kind of a secret from them. Utah here we come!

Week 12: Utah brings celebration and help. Did I mention how much I missed my mom? I heart family. And naps. And baby #3. We just decided we aren't going to find out what the sex is. Super excited!

Love you.

Faye's Birthday!!!

We had such a fun time at Faye's 2nd birthday party. Of course, it was in December of 2010, but still... it was pretty amazing.

We had a baking themed birthday for Faye. First we had the kids decorate their own little cakes.







Then they each made their own little pizzas and put them in the oven.





I think Faye did a pretty freaking awesome job on her pizza.



Here is Dave handing me an invisible tray.



Then it was cupcake-inata* time.





It must have been dance party time. That is one of Faye's awesome shoulder dance moves.



Present time!!!







Hugs for Andersen!



And then- Faye's dreams came true...







I think it was pretty successful. Thanks to all of Faye's special little friends!



See you in 6 months!

*My niece and nephew at Cinco De Mayo.

100 Things to Do in Cleveland and Beyond: Activity 25

Activity 25: Country Lights at Lake Metroparks Farmpark

Ok. This is seriously one of my favorite things we have done since we moved here. Lake Farm Park transforms into Santa's Workshop and the kids LOVED it. Here, let me show you.

Here we are waiting to enter Santa's Workshop. Often Faye gets compared to Little Cindy Lou Who. So it was really exciting to see the two of them together. At least it was exciting for me- not so much Faye.





Once inside, the kids got to pick out the toy they wanted to make in the workshop. Miles picked a jet plane and Faye picked a rocking horse. They got to sand, hammer and glue their projects. It was so fun for them.





And right in the middle of working on the toys- Miles' elf excused herself, put on a microphone, climbed some scaffolding and lead everyone in the shop in a funky fresh dance. Watching Miles' confused, but enjoyable dancing in this video is worth your time.



Then it was time to paint. Both of the kids went to work. They felt so good about their toys after they built and painted them all by themselves. We were pretty proud of them too.





Once the toys were completed, we got to take a horse drawn sleigh(ish) to see millions of twinkling lights in all shapes and colors. So fun. I couldn't waste my time taking pictures, so i just captured Miles as we were going through a rainbow tunnel.



And last (and probably least) we met Santa. Faye wasn't into it. I'm amazed that Miles sat next to him. Santas that aren't cartoons creep me out. But, alas, here we are.



I had to put this in. Even with all the other amazing things we did- this was truly one of the highlights of the evening for Dave and I.



Loves for Christmas in May.
-Cicely

I like....

I like...

Miles' face in this picture.


And this dude's face in this one.


I like easy Halloween. Miles and Faye getting ready to trick or treat. Faye wasn't feeling well so she went as an adorable 1 year old.


I like Henry and Faye playing robots. Don't call CPS, I took the plastic bag off Faye's head just after taking this photo.


See. I told you.


I like it when Miles takes pitures.


I like it when Faye does too.


And I especially like when Faye dresses herself.


And I like you.

Peter Parver Pumpkin Carver.

Pumpkin carving at our house is an annual event full of magic and wonder. Okay, it's not that awesome, but we do look forward to it every year. And this year- the whole family got involved. Well, at least for a few minutes.







Dave, if you didn't know, is quite the artist and his pumpkin carvings are always amazing. I am always a few years behind him in technique. This year he did something totally different...


This is what he carved. I know. It's amazing.





And this is mine. I know it's not as cool as Sir Pumpkin Master Cain, but I was pretty proud of it.

Happy Halloween!
(I just wanted to be the first to say it for 2011)

West Virginia and the Goat Attack.

Before I begin- let me give you a little background* about this zoo. It is literally in the back yard of some man's house. You have to drive on a dirt road to get there. All the animals in the zoo are former circus (or something like it) performers. There is nothing more than a chain link fence between you and a bear. The zoo keeper lets the animals roam around the zoo sometimes. You feed popcorn to the animals through a tube. It is one of the saddest places I have ever been to and possibly the scariest place that my kids have ever been to. But other than that- it was great! ;)

--Now onto the amazing story of: (duh duh) The Zoo.

If you know my kids then you know that they, namely Miles, is terrified of animals. Any animal. If Miles gets worked up enough- he can get Faye to be just as scared as he is. When we walked into the indoor part of the zoo (where the birds and snakes reside) we were surprised to see a monkey knocking on the window to say, "hello." It was kind of adorable, but being that close to an animal was making Miles a little nervous.



And then the birds started squeaking and squawking and the kids were done. So we ventured outside.

We saw and fed a bunch of animals.




Faye fell in love with some crazy little monkeys.

And she wouldn't leave them. So she sat down by them while we did a loop and looked at some of the other animals.



And then...


Ok. So this isn't actually Miles- but this picture is a good representation of what the next few minutes were like.
Let me fill you in with a little story I like to call: Being mauled by a goat.

The zoo itself is basically on a great big hill. As we were making our trek down to the bottom- Miles spotted a goat who was out of it's cage- it made Miles a little tense, but it was about 100 yards away so I told him not to worry. The goat looked up, gave us some crazy eyes and then started charging. What the?!

Miles started freaking out- he let out some piercing screams of terror and fear and was climbing up me as fast as his little legs and arm could which made Faye get crazy and do the same. At one point- I was trying to run up the hill holding both screaming kids and push the stroller, but as the goat was gaining on us- I let the stroller go whizzing down the hill and moved as quickly as I could. Maybe I would get lucky and the stroller would distract him. It was no use. I, running up a ridiculously steep dirt/rock hill with two little people on each hip, was no match for this mangy snaggle tooth of a beast.

He caught up to us. My kids screaming in fear. I may have been screaming too- I was terrified as well. And then, he reached us. I tried to kick him away, but it seemed to only aggravate him. I'm not exactly sure what happened after that. He must have disappeared into thin air- because I have no memory of him actually leaving us. But he was gone- and we made it out alive. Just barely.

I thought we would be safe inside the snake and bird house- but, of course, we weren't. The goat must have spoken to the parrots inside because as soon as we walked in- our eardrums exploded at the scary squawking of about 15 birds. My kids started screaming again. Not cool, crazy birds.

We went to the dirt lot where our car was and were about to go sit in it and wait for our friends when my kids saw the one part of the zoo they could accept: the playground.



We had other adventures as well at the zoo. Including, but not limited too:

-Worrying about the senior citizens getting mixed up with a poo-throwing monkey.
-Miles getting a little depressed when noticing how sad a lonely gorilla was in his cage. "All he has, sniff sniff, is that log to be friends with. Why does he have to be in there?" I feel ya, Miles.
-A lion (whose sign reads, "don't get too close- I'm afraid you might take one of my girlfriends" referring to the three lioness sharing his home) tearing into raw meat like it was Christmas morning. It was frightening and amazing.

It was a pretty memorable day. And looking back- it was pretty freaking hilarious, but I'm not sure that my kids have ever recovered. Or, for that matter, if they ever will.

More West Virginia later.
Loves.

*One of my very best friends in all the world lives in West Virgina and we were able to go spend some time with her and her friends over there. We had many great adventures, including laughing so hard we cried- numerous times. Love you, Abs.