On My Mind

A lot has happened since the last time I posted anything.  Jared has been working some insane hours.  Like 90 hours a couple weeks ago.  60 hours for 6 weeks before that.  On top of that, he has been doing his MBA, which he just completed his first year (hooray).  One year left.  That will be such a happy day!!! 

Suzy has successfully potty trained again for the third time.  The UTI's earlier this year threw us for a huge loop and we had to put it off for a while because she was terrified to go potty in the toilet.  She associated the toilet with her UTI.  But luckily, about 3 weeks ago, her too small for her diaper that she was wearing, gave her an owie (sp?) and I ran with that! ("Suz, your diapers are giving you owies now! Your body is telling you it wants to wear big girl underwear and go potty in the toilet!")  It worked! Yay!  She's still probably only at 80% success so there are still accidents to clean up, but I'm proud of her and glad we don't have to buy so many diapers!

This week I'm getting LASIK!!! I'm so excited to never have to wear glasses or contacts again.  Tomorrow is my Pre-Op appointment and then on Thursday, it's the surgery.  I've had to wear glasses for almost 3 weeks now to let my corneas go back to their natural/normal state.  HUGE PAIN IN THE BOOTY!  But only a few days left.  I'll have to do a follow up post to talk about the actual surgery and the results in case anyone is interested!

Noah starts Kindergarten next week!  We are so excited (we being me and Noah!) There is no sad mama here. Of course, I'll miss having the little guy around, but he is so ready. He has been talking about Kindergarten since he was 2 years old!  I think he's going to do great.  A lot of parents I think have questioned us for putting him in school (trend is definitely to hold your kid back) with his smaller size and because his birthday is July 27 and the cut off is Aug 1- but I think anyone who really knows Noah knows that he is 100000% ready for school.  Yes, he's wearing size 2T and 3T clothes, but mentally, socially, emotionally, and every other way- he is prepared and ready! 

For the Love of Running

I have been doing a lot of running lately.

I just finished my 8th Half Marathon.  I ran it with my friend, Katie, who helped me run much faster than I would have if I were by myself. 

 

Jared and I are running a Marathon in Baltimore in October.  I'm excited/feel crazy for doing it. But we LOVE running together. We frequently pay a babysitter to come watch our kids so we can go on long runs.  Best date ever.  Amazing quality time.

 

Here's Katie and I after the Bentonville Half 2013.

 

My fan club/support group/future runners.

 

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K.  I got a PR.  Finished 6.2 miles in 57 min. 

My love and I. 

 



Suzy's Potty Training Rollercoaster Ride

It feels good to be back blogging again.  Let's hope I can keep it up.

Today's Topic:  Potty Training.

About three weeks ago, Suzy decided that she was going to be a big girl and wear underwear.  So, just like that, she started going potty in the toilet.  After a week, there were no more accidents.  It was amazing and a dream!  No more money spent on diapers!  I was so proud of Suz. 

(Here's her ice cream celebration for being a Big Girl)

 

Notice all of that last paragraph was in past tense.

She's now back in diapers.

But it's not exactly her fault, per se.

The poor girl got a Urinary Tract Infection. 

 

It started about two weeks after Day One of potty training.  She started to have a ton of accidents.  Like 12 per day!  I was going crazy doing wash and getting super frustrated.  Everytime she would wet her pants, she would cross her legs and scream and cry.  I just thought she hated being all wet.  One time, I caught her before she had an accident and we ran to the bathroom.  I sat her on her little potty seat and when she peed, she started screaming bloody murder and bawling.  So, it wasn't that she hated being wet.  I called the doctor immediately and I was impressed, they got me in within 20 minutes!

 

She did a urine sample at the clinic (I was impressed that Suzy did this- I just said, "Icecream Suz?" and she peed in a cup).  It came back that she had E-coli and she started antibiotics right away.

 

After she's done with the antibiotics, I think we'll try underwear again.  But the AWFUL part is that she now associates wearing big girl underwear and going potty with PAIN. :( :( :(

 

Moral of the story: Don't let a two year old be in charge of wiping themselves.

Did you Bring the Kindergardner?

Anyone who knows my little Noah knows that he's- well, little.  He was born at 4 lbs 9 oz, not because he was early, but because he had IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction) where he basically stopped growing after 34 weeks gestation.  He's always been smaller than other kids his age, but as he's getting closer to turning 5 (in July) and starting Kindergarten this year, we decided we'd better check and see if we needed to start growth hormones or do any other special measures. 

Noah stats: 28 lbs.  36 inches.  4 years 8 months old.  0.3 %

Dr. S decides to do an X-ray to determine his bone age.  If his bone age is 4 years 8 months or older, it would mean that he is always going to be extremely small.  If his bones are aged younger, then he just has stunted growth and he will catch up.

So, how old are them bones?! 

2 years 8 months!  Hooray!

If you plug his measurements into the 2 1/2 year old chart, then he is 25%.  Still 3 out of 4 two year olds are going to be bigger than him, but we are still excited that he is going to catch up sometime. 

So, yes I'm sending my sweet boy that looks like he is 2 1/2 to kindergarten this year.  After counseling with his preschool teachers and talking it over with Jared, we all feel like he is socially, mentally, and emotionally ready to start. 

When we went to Kindergarten registration last week, I handed a lady our paperwork and she looked at me and then Noah and asked me, "Did you bring the Kindergardner?"  It was awesome.

 (so you can get an idea, Suzy is like 15% for 2 1/2 year olds)

 

 

I sure LOVE my little, smart, sweet man!

 

Life

I have no idea what I am going to write about and why I decided to even log on here.  Maybe because I actually came upstairs to sit at the computer...I'm usually only ever on my iphone.  I think the iphone is actually killing blogging to some extent.  That or instagram.  Or facebook.  At least for me!

Well- life is moving in warp speed ever since Audrey was born.
* insert cute Audrey picture here *

 

Audrey is my easiest baby so far.  She is so good.  She does wake up a lot during the night, but I'm willing to overlook that considering how good she is when she's awake.  No crying or fussing unless she's hungry, but I usually feed her before she ever gets whiny.  She's also very smiley.  And just started laughing.  The kids love her to pieces.  I hate to think of life without her and it's only been 3 months since she joined us.

 

 

 

Noah and Suzy both got hit hard with the flu.  It was an awful TEN days.  I cleaned up never ending puke & diarrhea, stayed up with feverish and hallucinating kids (Noah swore there were green witches in his room and that it was snowing), and quarantined us for a week and a half.  NOT FUN.  I almost came down with it and so did Jared, but we stayed strong.  So did Audge.  Yay!

 

Here we are at the doctor's office. 

 

I needed something different and to feel more 'current' and less 'mom of pukey kids' so I dyed my hair RED and I'm LOVING it.

 

 

Jared's mom had a birthday and we took her out for....SEAFOOD?! (bleh!)

So, obviously that wasn't my choice, but I got a nice chicken pasta and this cheesecake was to die for and...oh yeah, it wasn't about me or the food! ;)

 

 

These two are going to be best friends.  I mean, I think they already are.

 

 

Not pictured, but worth mentioning:

 

I'm training for another half marathon (Bentonville Half) on April 6.  This will be my 8th half!  I'm so excited for it.  Hopefully it will start preparing me for the MARATHON that Jared and I signed up to run in Baltimore on October 12th (one day before my birthday).  I LOVE running!

 

I'm starting a Healthy Habits challenge on Monday.  Basically I will earn a point for doing the following things:

 

Write in journal

Read Scriptures 10 minutes

Say 2 personal prayers

6 fruits/veggies a day minimum of 3 veggies

8 glasses of water a day

30 min exercise

No junk food

Eat within an hour of waking up

No eating past 8 pm

Get 7-9 hours of sleep

 

We put $20 in the pot and the winner with the most points after 6 weeks or the highest percentage of body weight lost splits the ca$h.  I'll let you know how I do.

 

AND last but not least.

I finally ordered one of these.  And it arrives tomorrow.

I am SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!  It's like Christmas Eve right now!

 

 

 

Goodnight!

Audrey Elizabeth

Right now might be the first moment that I've had a chance to sit down and even think about blogging little Audrey's birth.  The transition from 2 to 3 kids has been the busiest yet.  Not hardest.  But busiest.  I am up around 6 am most mornings and go NON-STOP until I collapse in bed around 10:30 pm.  And then I am up at midnight, 2 am, and 4 am.  Sometimes Audrey skips the 4 am feeding and I feel like a million bucks.  But not usually.

 

I love my 3 kids.  Noah and Suzy have bonded in this transition.  And they both love Audrey to pieces.  Audrey is the calmest, sweestest baby alive.  Cute too!

 

Today marks 4 weeks from her birth, 4 weeks since my 3rd C-section, and 2 weeks since my Mom left town.  I've come a long way.  I am looking forward to Thanksgiving to be able to lace up my running shoes and go for a jog.  I have daydreamed about it since I had to stop running last summer.

 

I'm in survival mode.  I still need to drop 15-20 lbs so I don't know what to wear ever.  I don't leave the house much because it's too much work with 3 kids.  I spend most of the day fulfilling little kids needs, making meals, and cleaning.  And nursing. 

 

I'm very tired.

 

Here are some pictures of the big day:  October, 10, 2012.

Welcome Baby Audrey.  We love you!!!

 

So excited for this Week

 

Well, I honestly have one thing on my mind at the moment.  And it's---let's have this baby this week, shall we!  I am so excited and almost can't believe that all the waiting and anticipation and counting down for this day...is finally almost here.  My mom flies in tomorrow and I already feel all my burdens lifting just knowing she is here to take care of all of us.  Having her come and be with us for a couple weeks while we adjust to our new life with our new little children, is honestly one of my favorite parts of having kids.  I have the best memories with her in these moments.

My kids are OBSESSED with their Grandma A.  And we are pretty obsessed with her as well.

 

I put up a couple of random pictures from the last month that I liked.  Here's Suzy walking up our front porch, holding one of her babies.  She is obsessed with babies and I think she is going to LOVE having a little sister.  I don't think she fully realizes what is about to happen, but she will be sweet.

 

I love my little Suza.  She is such a good girl.  I'm very lucky to have her.

 Here's a picture I took probably around 37 weeks.  I'd have to look it up to confirm it, but that's pretty much what I've looked like for the last month or so.

 Here is what we have done to accomodate Baby Audrey into Suzy's room.  Suzy got a big girl bed, which she is loving sleeping in.  Suzy's clothes are all in the Target bins and Baby Audrey's clothes are folded and put away in the changing table drawers that used to house blankets.  That's what the closet is for now.

 The room is cozy, girly, pink, flowery, butterflies,and bows, and I LOVE IT.  It's perfect for little two year old and newborn girls to feel like little princesses in. 

 Suzy and Audrey's room is one of my favorite in the house.
I'm not sure if we ever announced the name that we were going to call Audrey.  But it's going to be Audrey Elizabeth Gorden.  We quite like it!

 I look like I'm going to beat someone up here.  I was just doing projects around the house all day and was about to go out and mow the lawn.  I am looking forward to running and getting in shape and laying on my tummy sooo much.  Not too much longer!!!

 I had to throw in a picture of my cutest little man- Noah and his cute friend, Mia.  They get a long so well.  Love their little poses.

Well, Mom comes tomorrow.  Pedicures, Lunch, Hobby Lobby, and Frozen Yogurt on Tuesday with Mom.  Then, Wednesday 5:30 am, I will be at Mercy Hospital getting ready for a 7:15 am C-section.  I'm ready! I'm excited! This week is going to be the best!  I love having visitors so come by if you are up for it.  I should be there until Friday night or Saturday morning. 
Big week!
xoxo