Overachiever, or, in other words: Average, Shmaverage

50th percentile? Average? Not around here - we aim far beyond mediocrity. :-P All of which means to say that this child, who was in the 78th percentile six weeks ago, is now in the 95th plus percentile for size. (And I quote the Ultrasound tech: "We've got all the measurements, let's see what percentile the baby is in…Oh my!" [Me: Is he in the 90th now?] "No, he's in the 95th plus range.") Why measure what is "normal" at 34 weeks when you can measure what's normal for 37? Ha. As the Perinatology OB put it, "You grow 'em big!" Sigh…I mean, hooray! All Ren's clothes should fit this one just right, right?

Guess I'm going through with that planned C-section after all.

The Joys of Pregnancy

When I was pregnant with Ren things were really pretty good up until my last trimester. Then it was an unending nightmare of super-gnarly PUPPP rash, constant, intense heart burn, massive swelling, pre-eclampsia, and finally the less-than-wonderful birth experience.

This time around, I'm not having anywhere near the number of issues I experienced previously (for which I am very, very grateful), but I am SO TIRED. Are my memories of all the other stuff blocking out memories of being tired last time? Was it just that I was three years younger and/or didn't have a toddler? I don't know, but I sure am glad this baby is coming in just four more weeks*!!!

(*Yes, I know that's 38 weeks, not 40. Since I've got Type 1 diabetes they won't let me go past 38 weeks, so the C-section is scheduled for 12/10/14.)

What's the Baby Made Of?

Married, With Children

How does a thoughtful husband demonstrate true love when life is crazy with work and kids? By presenting you with a marzipan fire hydrant* made with your son's play-doh toys, that's how.

:-D

*and "crate" and flames. Hunka hunka burnin' marzipan love, baby!

Oh, and apparently "it goes through the extruder pretty well." In case anyone was curious.

A Little Laughter

We're currently in our car, driving to Utah to attend my fifteen year old niece's funeral. She was killed when the family car was hit head on yesterday. Clearly this is not a laughing matter, and everything has been rather somber for the last 24 hours. However, there are definitely still moments of joy:

- my brother in law and two nephews survived

- her parents were sealed in the temple and so they are an eternal family and will be together again

- my entire family is so incredibly amazing and supportive, I can barely contain my gratitude

- my beautiful son continues to remind me of the beauty and power of eternal families

- he also provides moments of light in a gloomy time, such as the following:

(He wanted a snack; I gave him a box of Craisins. He wanted another box but we're stopping for dinner in 30 minutes.)

Me: you can't have another box of Craisins. 

Ren: Why not?

Me: (First thing to come to mind) because they're napping and it's not nice to eat someone when they're asleep. 

(I shot a guilty grin at Robb out of the corner of my eye. Ren might have caught it, because he laughed and said:)

You're a goofball, Mommy!

I think we all needed that little laugh, so thank you, beautiful boy, for your keen observations. 

Adventures in Hairstyling

In the last two months my hair has gone from this:

To this:

To this (whoops!):

To this (taken today):

I actually really like it at present, but given my recent history, who knows what will happen next!

(PS: Every time I Skype my mom and dad they ask me if I've dyed my hair black. Mom, Dad: look at the last picture. All the [very dark] dye has been cut out. My hair IS dark brown, see?) :-)

(PPS: My default bedhead is now a mohawk!)

Phone Dump

So...um...all this stuff happened in June, too. :-)

Hanging out with cousins Violette and Zoe (late June). 

Being a "tographer", like Daddy. 

Saying goodbye to Grandpa Mike and Grandma Annie before they left for Idaho (mid June).

He decided Grandpa Harrison's shoe rack was a cot (mid June). 

This is what happens when he gets ahold of my phone: toddler selfies. 

Ren usually gives me a really hard time with hats, but on this particular morning (early June?) he noticed the hat on top of his teddy bear and told me he needed to wear it. When he was all dressed he informed me that he looked "very handsome." :-)

Toddler Logic

(Ren and I were playing with a toy snake.)

Me: "I think he wants to ride in your shirt pocket."
Ren: "No!" (Doesn't want the snake on him. I wonder why...)
Me: "Maybe he wants to ride the motorcycle." (I put him on the motorcycle.)
Ren: "No, he doesn't have a bum!"
Me: "So you can't ride a motorcycle if you don't have a bum?"
Ren: "No, you can't."

Makes sense, I guess. :-)

I Was Being Superman, He Tells Me

Well, at Least He's Honest

Me: Why are you sticking your hand down my shirt? That makes me uncomfortable.
Ren: But I want to make you uncomfortable!

Due Date Update

So I had my NT screening ultrasound today in which, among other things, the doctors "officially" date the baby. Everything looks good, but my new due date is now Christmas Eve. I was hoping against hope it would be moved back, not forward (so I could work up until Christmas break), but it looks like this one will be born on or around December 10. (They won't let me go past 38 weeks because diabetic moms have a higher probability of sudden fetal death after that point.) I guess it's incentive for me to take the best care of myself possible, so at the least I can wait until 12/12.

(And no, I don't WANT to work until the very end, but teachers here don't pay into disability - which is where most people get their maternity leave - so our maternity leave consists of accrued sick days. At the beginning of the next school year I'll have enough days saved up for five whole weeks of maternity leave, but I'll have to take at least eight, especially if I have another C-section. Consequently, I'm trying to have this baby as late as possible, because the later I wait, the later I have to go back, and we have a really convenient one week break six weeks after the return to school in January. I would really like to go back after that break. Guess we'll see...)

Anyway, the most important thing is that the baby is looking super healthy, so...hooray!

Happiness Update

For the last five days bedtime has gone quite well, and I really have to give kudos to Robb for this one. While I did suggest that we make a change and he be the one who actually puts Ren in bed, it appears the whole "be downstairs in timeout or be upstairs in bed" works to help Ren choose bed. For a couple nights he didn't come out of his room at all, but when he did (last night), he stood at the top of the stairs and talked with himself about what to do:

"If I go downstairs, I'll be in time out. I need to stay upstairs in bed."
(We hear him come down a step or two.)
"Daddy says if I go downstairs, I'll be in time out. I need to stay upstairs in bed."
(Comes down another step or two.)
Etcetera.

When he finally made it downstairs Robb looked at him and said "you have two choices: be downstairs in time out or be upstairs in bed."

Ren: "Okay, I'm going to go to bed now."
And he did.

Way to go Dad!

The Pursuit of Happiness

We co-slept with Ren for the first 9 months, and had him in our bedroom (and our bed, when necessary) until 15 months. He was in his own room (but, due to the layout of our house, still only about 7 feet away from our bed) for a few months, then back in our room, and finally back in his own room about six months ago. Throughout all our different configurations he has been a really good sleeper (8:30pm - 7:30 am solid) for at least a year...up until the last week or so.

Lately we put him to bed (same routine as always), and 10 - 30 minutes later he wanders downstairs saying "I woke up!" It's a fight to get him back into his bed, as he wants to be in Mommy's bed (or Daddy's, depending on which one of us he's talking to.)

I don't think he's developed any new fears, nor do I think his sleep schedule has changed drastically (meaning I'm pretty sure he's tired well before 10 or 10:30 when we finally get him to sleep,) but tonight he went above and beyond.

8:30 pm
We go through the bedtime routine. (Change diaper, put on jammies, wash up, brush teeth, read scriptures, read 2 - 3 stories, pray, get in bed.)
Ren: "The door is NOT stuck!" (Meaning: Mommy, don't close the door!)
Me: "Okay, I will leave the door open, but if you come downstairs, I'm going to close the door, okay?"
Ren: "Okay."

8:40 pm
I hear him coming down the stairs.
Me: "If I see you down here then I'll take you back upstairs and close your door."
Ren: "But I want to be happy!"
Me: ??? (I repeat what I already said.)
Ren: (Walks all the way downstairs.)
Me: (I go pick him up.)
Ren: "But I want to be happy!!!"
Me: "Well, you need to be happy in bed."
Ren: "No, I want to be happy downstairs."
Me: "I'm sorry. You need to be happy in bed."
Ren: (Very upset. We go up to his room.)
Me: "How can I help you be happy in bed?"
Ren: "I want a light."
Me: "Okay, I can turn on a light for you" (which I promptly take care of.) "Let's sing your bedtime song and say another prayer to ask Heavenly Father to help you be happy in bed" (which we did).
Ren: (Climbs back into bed under his own steam.) "Mommy, the door is not stuck."
Me: "Okay. I'll leave your light on and your door open, but you HAVE to stay in bed. If you come downstairs again, the door WILL be closed."
Ren: "Okay Mommy."

10:00 pm
(I could hear him talking to himself and banging his foot against the wall, but he stayed up there for a while.)
Ren comes downstairs.
I told Robb it was his turn.
Robb picked Ren up and held him.
Robb: "You are in time out since you didn't listen to Mommy."
Ren: "But, I want to be happy!"
Robb: "Well, you can be downstairs and be in timeout, or you can be upstairs in bed. Those are your choices."
Ren: "I want Mommy!"
Robb: "Mommy is not a choice right now." (Repeated the choices. I got up and hid in the kitchen.)

I then listened to Robb and Ren talking for about 5 minutes. It went something like this, repeated about ten times:

Ren: (crying) "But, I want to be happy!"
Robb: "Are you happy?"
Ren: "Yes!" (As he cries.)
Robb: "Okay. Like I said, you can stay here in my lap on timeout, or you can go upstairs to bed."
Ren: (still crying) "But, I want to be happy downstairs!"
Robb: "Are you happy right now?"
Ren: "Yes!" (As he cries.)
Robb: "Okay. Like I said, you can stay here in my lap on timeout, or you can go upstairs to bed."
Etc.
Ren finally chose to go up to bed, at which point Robb took him up, turned off the light, and closed the door. And Ren went to sleep!

The whole thing was funny (I was laughing my head off in the kitchen), but it's also very frustrating. Why won't he stay in bed?????

Cousins

We visited Southern California in mid April and Ren had a great time playing with his cousin, Will. The trip made such an impression that when I told him (3 weeks ago) that we would be going to visit again, he started asking EVERY DAY if we're going to see Will and Aunt Drea and Uncle Blake. According to him, "we need to play with Will and Will's toys!" ☺️ I'm just glad he enjoys family so much!

On the way down. 

Celebrating Blake's birthday. 

Costco!

Playing in the backyard. 

They filled the sandbox with water. (Sorry Drea!)

Vocabulary

Ren is quite the talker (mostly due, in my opinion, to his insanely verbal daycare buddy, Lincoln.) As such, he often says interesting things.  For example...

Ren: "Mommy, use your knockers!"
Me: "My what???"
Ren: "Your knockers!"
Me:  (Making fists with my hands and knocking in the air) "These?"
Ren: "Yes!"

So we start walking and I knock in the air as we walk.

Ren: "No Mommy, not like that, like THIS." (He holds them up to his eyes.)
Me: "Oooh - you mean my (bi)noculars?"
Ren: "Yes, your noculars!"
(Glad we figured that one out!)


This next one involves an anatomical term, just in case you care. We refer to things by their real names, both to remove the mystery/stigma and (in my case) to help me be comfortable talking about it with our kids. (Which is REALLY hard, so I guess it's good I'm starting now rather than when he starts asking questions.) At any rate, today at church Robb and Ren were sitting on the front pew while I conducted the opening hymn. When I came to sit with them Robb was laughing. He related the following:

Robb picked Ren up and moved him on the pew. He accidentally lifted Ren by his crotch.
Ren: "My penis! My penis! Ow!!!!!"

I don't think anyone else actually heard, but it made us laugh so hard I decided I want to remember this one. (And yes, Ren was fine.) :-)

Mother of the Year!

The award most definitely goes to me, hands down. Here's why:

Yesterday we went on a little hike at Uvas Canyon County Park. We went along the waterfall trail (about 1.5 miles). Robb carried his "light" camera gear as a test run for his Crater's trip.

(Turns out that's not going to happen. At least not in a week. Too much pain/stress on his back.) Ren walked and/or rode in the BOB when he got tired (at least half the trip). I pushed the stroller. Uphill. A lot. We enjoyed the beautiful day, the beautiful scenery, and the water. (Ren particularly enjoyed throwing rocks in the stream and making big splashes.) We stopped at the final waterfall for a family picture.

On our way back down the trail we looked at Sticky Monkey flowers to keep Ren occupied. About halfway down the trail Robb spotted a small (6 - 8 inch?) garter snake. We looked at it on the ground and then Robb picked it up. He held it, I held it, I showed it to Ren...and it fell out of my hand into his stroller. Oh yeah.

Ren FREAKED OUT. He was strapped in and twisted his entire body up and away from the seat while he cried and screamed. I don't know who was more traumatized - Ren or the snake. Watching him contort his body to get away from the snake was horrifyingly funny, but afterwards I was seriously concerned that I had permanently scarred my son by giving him a not-so-irrational fear of snakes. As the day progressed the snake went from "a scary snake" to "a cool snake", so hopefully he doesn't have a new phobia.

Hopefully! :-S

Optimist or Just Plain Bossy?

Me: Sitting on the couch, feeling a little sick.
Ren walks up.
Ren: Hi Mommy!
Me: Hi.
Ren: You're not sick.
Me: Actually, I am a little sick.
Ren: No, you're not sick.
Me: Okay, fine. I'm not sick.
Ren: You're happy!
Me: (Dredge up a smile from somewhere, obviously not convincing.)
Ren: You're happy!!!

Tell Me a Story

Ren: Mommy, can I tell you a story?
Me: Absolutely!
Ren: Ponce a time there was a engine that came from the smoke.
Me: And what happened next?
Ren: He got water in his boiler and went away.
Me: Was he still smoking?
Ren: No. He went to visit Percy!
Me: Is your engine named Thomas?
Ren: Yes, it's Thomas!

I think I've got a Thomas-obsessed child. I have to say my favorite part of all his stories (he's been doing this a lot lately) is "ponce a time".  :-)

Impossible!

Ren: I want a snack.
Me: If you want a snack you need to get Dad.
Ren: I'm not getting Daddy. He's impossible!

Out of the mouths of babes... ;-)

Break Into Song

Ren has "sung" before, but today we got a full song. Repeated many times. :-)

Ah, Technology, How Do I Love Thee

None of us slept well last night, so we all crashed once Ren went down for a nap. I woke up around 6, and wandered around for a bit before noticing my laptop and getting online.  I wanted to see if Robb was awake so I could ask him a question but didn't want to go upstairs in case I woke up Ren.  FB to the rescue!

Is Farren still asleep?

Yes

Hmm. Well, I want to go to Savers.

Go

Should we get dinner ready, wake him up, and all go together, or should I just go?

PS: I love that we are doing this via FB rather than me going upstairs.

PS2: We have stuff for tacos.


Just go. I'll take care of him if he wakes up

/when/


PS3: My shirt smells like strawberry shortcake.

Alright, I'm out. Thank you

Cake Feet

"Mommy, I cake feet!", he tells me as he drops the cupcake box lid on the ground in the living room.

I now know his stride is approximately 12 inches (after cleaning up the frosting from every other step.) :-)

Beating New Paths

So I just skimmed a few chapters of Chime, by Franny Billingsley.

I didn't like it enough to want to read the whole thing, BUT, I found myself intrigued by the way it describes beating new paths in our minds. It's like CBT, but described in a new way, which improved my understanding of the concept. Beating new thought paths is so incredibly difficult. Why is that? And how do we get such distorted thought paths so deeply worn in our minds in the first place? 

While I didn't like the book (the writing style irritated me, which is why I read the first five chapters and skipped to the last two), I'm grateful I read part of it! 

A GREAT GF sugar cookie recipe

Don't want to lose this, so I'm posting it here.  A friend shared the link with me; it's from www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com and make delicious GF sugar cookies. Ren helped me (I should have taken pictures), and they have his seal of approval, too.

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/soft-frosted-sugar-cookies/

I Would Have Gone With Jonah, Myself...

Rather than hand over the iPad so Ren could watch Thomas, Robb was showing Ren silly animal pictures on Facebook when he came across this video:

Farren's reaction:

F: What is? 
Pause.
F: That Jesus.
Pause (while Mommy starts busting up laughing).
F: Jesus go bye-bye.


(And Mommy and Daddy laughed even harder!)

Crocodiles

Ren is really into crocodiles.  Well, crocodiles and trains.

For Christmas we went to UT to visit Robb's family. We had awesome weather, plenty of fun with cousins, and...a stomach bug.  Yesterday we were shopping and Robb's stomach growled, loud enough for Ren to hear.

Ren: What's that sound?

Robb: That's my tummy.

Ren:  There's a crocodile in Daddy's tummy!

On the upside, our illness is providing some minor entertainment.  :-)

Happy 2014!

2013 treated us well (I got a wonderful new job, Robb was asked to apply for the Artist in Residence position at Craters of the Moon, Ren has been healthy and happy), so we're sad to see it go.  Here's hoping 2014 is equally awesome!