The Fox Family Returns

Well, not our Fox family, but the family of foxes that was here last year.  I think the same mom came back and had another litter (if they call it that?) of kits under our back porch.  I was at the side of the house moving some plants, and I noticed what looked like some kittens playing at the back of the porch.  Then I realized they were foxes!  They let us stand right above them on the deck and take pictures of them.  Momma Fox probably didn't like this very much, but the kits didn't even seem to notice us.  They are the size of small puppies - not much bigger than a large squirrel. 

I love all the wildlife that we see here in North Carolina.  On our jogs (now walks), we regularly see bunnies, snakes, turtles, squirrels, all kinds of birds (including hawks, owls and herons at very close range), baby geese, foxes and deer.  It's fun to teach the kids these new words and show them these animals in real life instead of relying on picture books.

Puddle Jumpers

We're ready for the pool!

31 Weeks

Well, I'm at 31 weeks now with Baby Girl #2.  I have been feeling really good this pregnancy - thankful to still be able to be physically active with the kids, though I am slowing down.  On Monday of last week, I had what I think is probably my last jog of this pregnancy with my friend, Elise.  We went about 4 miles.  But it's just getting too awkward with the growing belly to bounce it around for a few miles.  I have still been able to walk 3-4 miles 3 or 4 times a week, in addition to Pilates, yoga, my workout DVD and mowing the lawn (hey - mowing our lawn with a reel mower is a workout in my book). 

I started at 155 lbs, and I'm up to around 177 lbs now.  That sounds much less daunting than the 55 lb weight gain that I had with the twins (though I was able to get back down to 155 eventually).  I wanted to hit right around 180 with this one, but I have a feeling that I'm going to pass that mark pretty soon.

Baby Girl is head-down right now, which is excellent.  My OB won't deliver a breech baby vaginally, so I'm glad to hear that the little biscuit has her head down.  My blood pressure is good (98/60), and everything seems to be going smoothly.

I took my wedding rings off last week, because with the heat, my hands tend to swell.  I notice this a lot when I'm walking in the heat and humidity, but this is something that happens even when I'm not pregnant.  So I just decided to go ahead and take the rings off until we meet our baby daughter.

I have the same pain on the right side of my ribs that I had with the twins.  It is an annoying, dull pain.  I'm not sure exactly what is causing it, but I had it for a while during my twin pregnancy as well.  I put ice on it a couple times a day and that seems to help.  I'm hoping that it eventually goes away, but I might have to wait for Baby C to make her appearance for that to happen.

We don't have a car seat, crib or a name for this little bambino yet.  It's funny how different pregnancy is the second time around when I'm chasing after two almost 2-year-olds.  It's going by so quickly.  We have a couple names that we like, but we just can't seem to choose one.  I have a feeling that we might end up naming her at the hospital.

So far, so good.  I can't believe we only have to wait a couple more weeks to meet her.

Band-Aid Inequity

And so it begins...

Today was the first time that the kids noticed Band-Aid inequity.  He scraped his knee up pretty badly yesterday, and we put a Band-Aid on his knee last night.  This morning, Vivienne lost one of her toenails (an unpleasant result of the hand foot and mouth disease she had), and we put a Band-Aid on her toe.  She kept pointing to her knee and saying,"Knee!  Knee!"  She wanted a Band-Aid on her knee because Miles had one on his knee. 

I will probably forevermore be getting two Band-Aids out of the box instead of one.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm the luckiest mommy in the world!

29 Weeks

I'm at 29 weeks now with our baby girl.  She seems to be doing very well.  I can't believe that this is only the second time that we have tried to get a belly photo during this pregnancy.  We'll have to be better about pulling the camera out.

I feel her moving every day.  She reminds me of Miles in the womb.  He was very active, but I didn't feel Vivienne kick as often or as strongly.  This baby kicks frequently, during all hours of the day, and seems to have very strong legs and arms. 

I'm at the point where I'll go the OB for appointments every 2 weeks.  It's hard to believe that we're at that point already.  This pregnancy has gone by so quickly.  I'm sure that chasing two 21-month-olds has something to do with that.

I've been feeling pretty good.  I have a dull pain on top of my ribs on the right side.  I had this pain with my first pregnancy as well.  I just try to ice it a couple times a day, which seems to help a little.  I'm hoping it goes away before the end of the pregnancy (like it did with Miles and Vivienne).

I've still been fairly active.  I only ran once this past week - 4 miles with my friend, Elise.  Unfortunately, she was out of commission for the rest of the week, so I took that as an excuse to take an easy week.  I still did Pilates and yoga and mowed the lawn.  Those things all make me feel a lot better physically.  I'm hoping to still try to jog as much as I can or at least walk with the kids a few miles a day.  Before this past week, I was still jogging about 12 miles a week and walking another 4 or 5.

Can't wait to meet our baby girl in just a couple months!

Chocolat

Daddy gives Miles and Vivienne a couple bites of 85% dark chocolate almost every night after dinner.  I'm surprised that they will so eagerly eat it, considering that it has very little sugar in it.  But they seem to love it.  It also makes for some fun photos.

Dressing Herself

Vivienne has started taking an interest in dressing herself.  She doesn't quite have the coordination to get her clothes on correctly, but she comes somewhat close.  At least the shirt is over her head.

Saddle Up!

Happy Mother's Day!

This is Jason here hijacking the blog in order to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful wife and the mother to Miles and Vivienne (and yet unnamed Baby Girl Fox).

Leslie, you are a rock star Mom!  I honestly don't know how you are able to do all that you do for me and for the kids.  All three (soon to be four) of us have lucked out big time to have you in our lives!  You are the best Mommy and wife a family could ask for.

Mommy with a snuggly Vivienne (both my ladies looking very beautiful on Easter)

My goal was to give you a card colored by the ever so talented Miles and Vivienne.  I also wanted to get some pictures of them holding the cards.  Well ... the plan didn't quite work out as I had hoped.  Here is snapshot of the Happy Mother's Day drawings:

Miles and Vivienne helped color the cards

I only had about a brief window of time to execute the plan.  Leslie was out running some errands so I had to work fast.  After the drawings were complete, I attempted to have the kids hold the pieces of paper while I photographed them.  It turned into more of a "crumple the paper and run away from Daddy" game, although I did manage to get one or two decent shots.

Vivienne almost gets the idea

Miles looks like he might cooperate for a moment

But then he realizes that it might be more fun to ball up the paper

So once I saw my plan was foiled by Miles and Vivienne, I took a fairly drastic measure.  I knew we had washable markers, so after first testing the wash-ability of the marker on my own skin, I transferred the Happy Mother's Day message from the paper to Viv's tummy.  She wasn't too thrilled, but she played along.

  No babies were harmed in the making of this Mother's Day message

She didn't quite understand what Daddy was doing, but she was a good sport.  And with the evidence soon washed away Leslie was none the wiser.

So Happy Mother's Day baby!  I love you and I can't wait for our family to grow again this summer.  You continually amaze me with your love for us and your fun and free spirit.  I hope you feel loved on this Mother's Day (and every day).

 

It's All About Me

Well, Vivienne's vocabulary has really exploded over the past couple of weeks.  Her latest new word is "me."  She tends to say this kind of like the Finding Nemo seagulls ("Mine.  Mine.  Mine.").  At least she hasn't learned to say "mine" yet, though I doubt that's far behind.  Basically whenever she wants something or wants to be in a certain location or wants to be picked up, she says, "Me.  Me.  Me." 

I have no idea how many words she has now, but she definitely has "no" and "me" down.  Maybe that's all she really needs anyway?