4 Fairy/Princesses and a Monkey

Look at these cute girls. I esp love estie's get-up with the t-shirt underneath. She did have a simple Dora costume (bought "Backpack" and put her in shorts and a t---easy peezy lemon squeazy)......but she decided to be Belle at the last minute.

A little love from the tummy tum tum

The New Me, Old Me, Real Me

Got my haircut a few weeks ago. I feel so darn liberated I could scream.

Must Record

Jon had golf lessons tonight. Esther really wanted to go, so Jon told her that when she gets older, he'll take her golfing. So later tonight while getting Estie in pjs, I was putting on her diaper when she said,
"I have a penis."

I said, "No you don't!"

We talked about her true anatomy, and she said, "I want a penis instead."

Yikes. Penis envy starting early. "Why do you want a penis?"

"So I can be like daddy."

"Why do you want to be like daddy?"

"So I can go golfing." I couldn't help but totally bust up~!

Painting pumpkins with cute cousins

TURNED INTO THIS!

(that's a mixture of orange and black, rendering Estie more of a GI Jane than anything else.)

Love this bathing beauty . . .

And this one too!

Feeling Better . . .

I'm so happy that I'm in week 22 and my nausea has basically subsided. (Basically=key word). I was happy enough to actually document a few pictures of my prenatal progress and put my hair in pigtails. Too bad all that hair is going to be chopped off in a few short days. Yay for short hair!

Bird's Eye View

of my big big belly.

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Sugar and Spice . . .

and everything nice. That's what little girls are made of!

Yep. Girl number 3. We are thrilled and delighted. She put on quite the show during the ultrasound. Legs bent and crossed, she showed us some amazing swimmer kicks (the kind you imagine a back-stroker doing at the side of the pool to get a good start). Leah and Esther are really excited. Leah said, "can we go buy her outfits and toys now?" I said, "just a few!" Jon said, "no way! She's got a million things to wear already!"

Sorry Jonnie, every girl needs a few things of her own. Just a few.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

We had our first rain on Wednesday since . . . . hmmmm . . . . can't even remember . . . . April? Major cause for celebration. The girls immediately stripped down to "unders" and put on vests; they frolicked until I thought they'd get hypothermia --- and then some. We filled a hot bath for them and they came in to warm up. Next thing I knew, they were out of the tub, and back on the tramp; this time in nothing but their birthday suits. Jon and I watched them as they laughed hysterically, slid around on the trampoline and enjoyed the rain. Leah had a cough, and Estie had some boogies, but we couldn't bear to pull them off. Instead, Jon went in and added some fresh hot water to their bath. After several minutes of sheer happiness, they came back in, wet like baby seals.

Studying Leah

Now she's got it! (This pic should be after the next one. So much for trying to do things in reverse to tell a story.)

Esther's attempt at catching rain in her mouth. She hasn't quite got the tilt-the-head thing down.

The decision was made to celebrate the first rain on the tramp . . . in underwear and vests. Estie has a constant wedgie. She even will say, "got a wedgie, mom!" I'm surprised that you can't see a whole cheek.

The girls in action on the wet tramp. Estie catches wicked air for a 2.5 year old!

Estie didn't want anything to do with the photo shoot.

Bliss

I love the gap in her teeth. I secretly hope it won't close all the way. It's such a signature of my Leah Bluette (along with the curly hair).

A close up of the classssssic wink.

Should I Wink, Mom?

Leah came out the other morning and surprised me with this outfit. I think it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen her put together---complete with the orange knee socks. And then when I told her I wanted to take a pic, she did this hilarious little winking thing. I asked her why she was squinting and she said, "I'm just winking! Should I wink, mom?"

19 weeks and counting . . .

I feel like I've gone into a stage of hibernation or hermitage. Maybe both. It's just that I'm not a gracefully pregnant person, and when I'm still barfing in the 18th week, there isn't much cheer around here. Definitely not enough to go around.

When people ask me how I'm doing, I can't lie. All right, sometimes I do. But mostly, I'm a wet rag to the general populace. Pregnancy zaps all of my motivation, ambition, drive, brain power, patience, creativity . . . and leaves me a shadow of my former self. But, to quote my "favorite" misquote: "I never said it would be easy; I only said it would be worth it." Although that's not a bad philosophy to follow, I can't stand seeing pictures of Christ with a near-tear in His eye and that quote. He never said that. But that's beyond the point. And "Footprints"? What's with "Footprints" anyway? I digress . . .

I guess that little rant was just case-in-point to show you my current mental state. I almost erased it because it has nothing to do with anything, but realized that it was a proper Exhibit of said behavior/thought processes. If you need cheering up, definitely give me a call.

I wish it wasn't this way, but if this is what it takes to usher in a new life, so be it. I just don't know if I can ever do it again. Jon knows that I can't. He has forbidden it. I never argue with my husband. Ever.

I do get really happy when I see a picture of a new baby----especially one that is straight from his mother's womb. For some reason, seeing the baby before it's cleaned, scrubbed, swaddled, dressed, and "presentable" is just so amazing. I got shivers the other day when I was looking at pictures of a baby with the umbilical cord still attached---I almost burst out into tears. Not necessarily tears of happiness, sadness, or any label-able emotion, but just tears for the rawness and realness of human existence---in all its amazing savageness. I'm actually really excited for delivery of this baby. That first moment is literally a merging of heaven and earth. And the spirit is literally unrestrained.

And so although it's hard for me to see into the beyond right now, I am getting to the point where I can see glimpses again of how amazing new life is. And how sacred family is. And how glad I am that there will be one more spirit and body entering our family.

Will he/she have curly hair? Or no hair? Or silver highlights like Estie did? Will he be a great sleeper? Ping-pong nurser like Leah? Cuddler? Who will this baby be? It's a wide-open question with such a specific answer. I can't wait to meet this baby.

cutest gogglers in the world

We had a lovely, lazy Labor Day weekend in Clovis with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill. The girls especially loved playing for endless hours in their new pool. Leah got very comfortable in the water and swam all around with that noodle. And she loved pretending that everyone else was a shark. Esther, without a swimming lesson to her name, thought she was a pro swimmer. We had to watch that chica like a hawk. Every once in awhile she'd start yelling, "I'm drowning, I'm drowning!" Thankfully she didn't.