So Close, So Far!

Dear Kalvin,

37 Weeks!

Kacie and I have been leaving the house a little bit more than usual since daddy bought his moped so we have been in search of good parking spots. It has truly been a a blessing at how many places I have been able to find a close to the front parking spot! Seriously, the last month of pregnancy is hard and I have been waddling a lot!

Then I got a charlie horse one night in my right leg and now I have a limp on top of my waddle.

So one day I was holding Kacie, walking into the grocery store. You've discovered a button in their somewhere and you kick it randomly. The button then turns off my leg and I can't really walk. So I am in the middle of the road, and my leg stops working all the sudden. Kacie is heavy and I was freaking out!

In the middle of the road.

Luckily, it only lasted a few seconds but it was so lame! I'm just glad I didn't collapse or something. Anyway, we are going to try and spend less time outside until you're born.

Except not really cause I'm getting anxious!

When I was pregnant with Kacie, I don't really remember people saying things about me being pregnant unless they knew for sure that I was. Maybe I have just forgotten but this time around I get strangers saying things about being pregnant all the time. I decided though that even though it's a little strange, it's more of a compliment. People are confident enough that I am pregnant, not fat, to say something so I suppose that is a good thing…right?!

Since we didn't have another kid when I was pregnant with Kacie, we had a lot more time to just lay around and think about her. Don't get me wrong, I think about you all the time because you constantly remind me you're there! But I mean like what you're going to look like or when you're going to start walking or what your first word will be. Things like that.

But the other day I was thinking about it and I am so excited to see what you look like, what color of hair and eyes you will have, if you'll be tall or short. Are you going to be shy and scared of strangers or walk up to them and stuff your face in their business like your sister does.

Your dad and I both hope you have blonde hair like Calvin! OH! And we found a Hobbes doll for you! My cousin's mother in law makes them and they are so cute! So we are excited about that!

My appointment on Tuesday was kind of exciting. They told me I was about 1 centimeter dilated and 70% effaced. I'm so anxious and getting nervous about your arrival! I've done this before but it will be completely different this time around and that kind of scares me! I trust my doctors though, it is just weird to be doing this again.

Your dad and I realized that if I'm induced on the 10th, we only have one Friday left!

Wow. That's awesome!

I want to get to know you and start celebrating silly milestones like first smile, first giggle, holding your head up, reaching your toes, solid foods, etc.

We've been trying to get Kacie to recognize words like 'brother' and 'sister' and 'Kalvin' and 'sibling.' It sometimes seems that she just points to my belly and says 'baby' because we taught her that. But today, she saw a picture of a baby and then pointed to my stomach and said 'baby' so I'm not 100% sure that she doesn't understand that you are on the way. I mean, she's only been here on earth for 21 months so maybe she's a bit more in tune than we think she is!

I still think I'm farther along than the doctors say I am (what do they really know) so even though I am 37 weeks, I think I am 38 weeks. These last two weeks are going to be super long, but also really fast!

I hope you're as excited for your arrival as we are!

We love you son!!

Dad & Mom

BackPack, Child Labor & Gus!

Dear Kacie,

As you know, we spend a lot of time sitting at our door looking outside. One day my boss, Ray, was here and he was just cleaning things up and wandering around the property. He was so sweet and took you around with him. He has a lot of grandkids of his own but his youngest is 6 now so he was having just as much fun as you! And it wasn't bad that I got a few minutes of break. 

Back in September Grandma Sandra sent this purse and you would occasionally play with it but now that you've figured out zippers, you LOVE it. You put your chap stick and lotion and a book in it. And then you wear it around your neck like this:

You still enjoy being read to a lot. But you also enjoy reading to yourself. The past few days you will point to the chair and say 'sit' and then sit there with a few books and read to yourself.

When your brother is born, there won't be a lot of room for your stuff in the diaper bag anymore so for church, we decided to put your entertainment in your backpack and you loved it!

So we Skyped with both our families one Sunday. You are just full of silly things. While we were Skypeing , apa and Graham you were standing on your stool at the door. All the sudden, you started falling off the stool backwards! You were doing a trust fall with yourself! It was a little terrifying to watch you just fall back and land on the floor. What if I hadn't been there to catch you! But it was also hilarious, and I just love your spunky personality!

When we Skyped with Grandma Tracey and Grandpa G, you were in the bath. Grandma Tracey loves to play 'find the body part' with you. So she says 'where's your nose? where's your ears?' etc. This point I came in the bathroom so she was asking you where the baby is. You were pointing to your belly saying 'baby.' So Grandma Tracey said "No, the baby isn't in your tummy" And you pointed to your nose and said 'nose' and then leaned and pointed to her nose on the screen and said 'beep beep!' I guess when you heard 'tummy' you thought she was playing the game!

At the end of each week, we pick up all your toys and move the furniture and vacuum. I would do it more often but it's not as easy when I'm pregnant. Anyway, you get really excited when dad gets out the vacuum and always try to help. You vacuumed a good 3 feet one day! And then it got heavy and you just kept saying 'help. help. help.'

And then you tried to put the cord back on by yourself.

And then you gave up and decided to sit on it instead!

Back in January when we were at my parents, my dad made this delicious smoothie for breakfast. It settles pretty good with baby Kalvin so I got the recipe and make it all the time. Recently, you've started enjoying it too. I always drink mine from those plastic double layer cups with the straws that can't come out. I found a small one at Target that is the perfect size for you. I know it's silly but it is adorable to me that you love these smoothies and watching you drink it from a mini version of my cup just makes it even cuter!! 

We went and hung out with Dez and Gus one day. I am trying to find cheap/free things to do during the day because I am getting nervous for your brothers arrival. We will probably be seeing a lot of Gus the next few weeks!

You two are funny together and it's great for Dez and I to let you two entertain yourselves a little.

We tried to get one of you both smiling and saying 'cheese' but you kept looking around or looking and smiling at each other. So cute!

And then on the way home you fell asleep. It's wonderful when you wear yourself down and sleep really good! You still do that thing where you pinch the back of your left hand when you are tired or nervous. You were doing that when you fell asleep in the car.

You still love spaghetti. One night you started eating it like this for some reason

I found this idea on Pinterest to make fake makeup for kids. I don't own any eyeshadow or blush but when we were at my parents in January, you sat on grandma's lap and put makeup on with her. So I decided to make you some of your own and you love it! You carried it around all morning. You also wandered around without your shirt on for a while...

But then I made you get dressed so we could leave! You were so cute because you packed your makeup and your play phone in your purse and then put your purse on like a necklace and took it with us. Then you just contently sat there for several minutes with your purse on your lap!

I love how big and smart and girly you are becoming. I am hoping that you start to wear dresses and play dress up soon because that will be fun and adorable!

We love you so much!

Mom and Dad

Braids, Minnie Mouse & Jellies!

Dear Kacie,

You are getting so big! You say so many words and its helpful for me and dad because they actually mean something and you know what they mean!

You say:

Napk (napkin)

Pupcake (the dog on strawberry shortcake)

Book (you love to read)

Yo ho (pirate show)

Raw war (water)

Papa (grandma and grandpa)

Yuck (when I change her diaper)

And you know a lot of animal sounds now!

Horse, duck, bear, lion, frog, monkey, owl, dog, bird, cat…

And also you're starting to count with me! I will just count 1 to 10 and you know 1, 2, 6, 8 & 9. But that is only when I count with you. Otherwise you just say 1, 2, 1, 2, 1...

One day, I decided to french braid your hair because you were distracted so I thought I could do it… and I did!

They were only half french braids and as you can see, the part was a little crazy but seriously, I am amazing cause they turned out exceptionally!

You still love dad a lot!

You two just play and goof around together. It's so fun to see!

Sometimes we go to Hobby Lobby to wander around and look at house decorations and stuff. Every time we go, you will run up and down the ramps! It's funny cause they aren't really steep or anything but I guess for your little body they are so it's an adventure to run on them!

We celebrated Pi day! Well, your dad and I did… we might have waited for you to go to bed to eat the pie…

It was delicious! I made a peanut butter pie! It had lots of delicious chocolate and peanut buttery pudding.

The next day at church, you finally got to wear your gorgeous spring time dress from Grandma Sandra.

You even have started carrying around your little purse so it made the outfit even more adorable!

You like to put your fake chap stick, a travel size lotion bottle, and a little book in the purse. It's cute that those things keep you so entertained.

And once again, I got adventurous with your hair!

You look kind of silly in this picture but I had to capture the moment. After we ate breakfast that day you had me put on your socks and shoes. Then I had pulled out your backpack and some jewelry. You sat in this same position for about 45 minutes taking the necklace out of the backpack, putting it into your purse, then taking it out of your purse and putting it into the red bowl/toy. Then you would take it out of the red toy and move it to your backpack… and so on. It was just funny because you literally didn't move your bottom from that spot. You might have shifted your legs a little but you were glued there!

We are very lucky because you love your crib so much. You usually sleep about an hour and a half but then I usually don't even get you out for another 30 minutes or so! And even then, when I go in to get you out you don't always want to come right away.

One day I went in and you looked up at me and said "where'd go?" I asked you where did what go and then you reached down your shirt and pulled out a pacifier! I took this picture and then picked you up and another pacifier fell out of your shirt!

You've started getting into carrying your Minnie Mouse around. Not all the time but more and more you will bring Minnie Mouse out of your crib with you and then carry it around sporadically throughout the day. One day you even brought her with us! She road with you in your carseat most of the time but occasionally you'd pass her to the front and she'd ride with me and man the shifter.

It's been cold enough that I haven't really let you go without clothes for long (even though I do!) But it was a bit warmer this week as we officially welcomed spring and this particular day you spilled water all over your shirt. So while it dried, I let you run around in your diaper and you loved it! You read books and played with your toys and danced!

And then for nap time I put your clothes back on. You decided that you needed both Minnie's to take a nap right by you!

Unfortunately this winter was not ever really cold enough for you to wear your cute hat and gloves. Fortunately you just like to wear them anyway!

We bought you these cute jelly sandals so that we wouldn't have to put socks on every time we leave now that it is warmer. The first time we put them on you flipped out! You did not like wearing shoes without socks. Dad would stand you up and you would throw yourself back on the ground crying. So, we put your socks on and you were fine… as you can see below!

Your hat is stored in your sock basket so one day we were going to visit daddy and you found your hat. You didn't want to leave without it so we visited dad with it on. 

You of course, are adorable, even though snow hats with socks and sandals and short sleeves would look ridiculous on me or dad!

Everyone at dads office loves it when you come to visit. You help to brighten their day just a little bit!

Last week I was in charge of making the center pieces for our relief society activity. I LOVE to craft so even though this was a bigger project, I had so much fun making them. Our theme was family history so I made these picture frames into trees!

At first, they really looked like frames with medusa hair… so I had to add the leaves and then when we got the grass and rocks out with them, they looked sooo good! And the little beads all had words on them like 'family' 'history' 'love' 'past' and other clever descriptive words that fit on them.

Anyway, your Aunt Ang helped me think of the idea and we were both happy with how they ended up. But it got me thinking about what you're going to be like when you get older. I love to craft and sew and decorate. It's something I wish I could do all the time!

But your dad is so active and loves sports. And so far, you are very much active like he is! I just can't wait to see what you grow up interested in. I'll be ok if you play sports and don't craft, but I sure hope one of my kids will get my artistic talents! It would be fun to have a craft buddy!

But no matter what you do, your dad and I will love you no matter what!

Love,

Mom and Dad

36 weeks

Dear Kalvin,

You are 36 weeks today! I am definitely feeling it!

I'm stoked for my appointment on Tuesday. That will be the first of checking for dilation and effacement and then we go to weekly appointments. It's coming up fast!

My hips are hurting so bad and I randomly can't walk all the sudden. Like the other day I was in the middle of the road, holding Kacie and my left leg cramped up (or something) and I literally couldn't walk without immense pain shooting up and down my leg. It was so weird and could have potentially been very embarrassing had it not gone away shortly after it started.

I am pretty sure I am having Braxton Hicks contractions because my belly gets super tight and I feel like I can't stand all the way. I definitely didn't have those with Kacie! 

We took this picture in our spring outfits cause we just looked so cute. It would have been much cuter though if you had been in my arms and not my belly… although, I am a pretty cute pregnant lady aren't I?! And also, I wanted a picture of our little family because pretty soon it will be a bigger family and that's just weird!

Most days I am in a good mood but some days I just don't want to wear pants and then EVERYONE comes to the door and I have to be dressed. Anyway, I just think this is funny because I seriously feel like this when people need me.

Your Aunt Ang sent this to me and it is the funniest thing ever! "You will shout, you will yell" I think we will both be doing that and I can't wait to hear your little yells and cries. 

I remember with Kacie I really felt like she would NEVER come. I would sit around the house thinking of having a baby around and then about having a toddler around. Well, now, I already now what that is like, and even though it seems like a long ways away, I know that the day will come soon that we will be in the hospital for your arrival.

Don't get me wrong, dad and I are both very anxious to have you here. We talk about it a lot and every time you kick my rib I count the hours until you will be here. We are so excited for this next step in life because Kacie brings us so much joy. We just can't imagine how much better it will be to have another adorable child around!

I'm positive we will be exhausted and you won't be the same as Kacie, but even on those hard days, the joy just out weighs the bad.

Once you're here, daddy will then graduate and then we will move to a new home and state. There will be a lot of changes happening this summer with the move and it is so exciting to think of you being with us too.

Maybe ease up a little on those flips you're doing in there. But keep growing and stay inside there at least until April 3rd! But not too long after that cause I keep having that not-being-able-to-walk pain that shoots down my leg, and that makes it a little difficult to take care of Kacie!

We love you!!

Daddy & Mommy

Kalvin needs a Hobbes!

Dear Kalvin,

You are 35 weeks old!

Today has been a pretty good day! I really haven't felt too pregnant today. I mean, I can tell you're in there, but as far as feeling fat, stretched and tired it wasn't too bad!

There was one point where I tried to bend over but you pushed your foot (or something) against my rib and I literally couldn't bend! It was so weird! It's a very strange feeling to have something push on your bones from the inside.

I'm certainly not always feeling this good though! Even if I don't feel sick or uncomfortable, I am just tired. I was looking through all of my weekly pregnant photo's and it's so funny to see how each week I just look a little bit more tired. You can see it in my face that even though I sleep pretty good at night, I am just physically tired from growing you!

I've been so anxious for your arrival and feeling kind of like I'm not really prepared. But then your dad and I talk I talk your dad's ears off about the same things, over and over and I realize that there isn't as much prep to do for a second baby.

I even made a list of things for my hospital bag because that's one thing I can prepare right now, but when I made the list I realized it will only take me a few minutes to pack it all and I have everything in the house for it.

I realized today I probably only have 3 weekends left until you're here so that should go by fast. Except it feels like it's FOREVER away.

We are hoping you have blonde hair, so you'll be even more like Calvin. Oh and we are still looking for a good Hobbes doll for you. They are apparently expensive and not that common!

You've been rolling around a lot and it's been fun for dad to see you moving… that's right, not just feel but see my stomach moving!

Your sister isn't really interested in feeling you move. She actually hates it. She will not keep her hand still long enough to feel you move. But she does point at my stomach and say 'baby Kalvin' (not that clearly though), or just 'baby' a lot. She likes to lift up my shirt and hug my belly.

She is going to love you but it will definitely be a shock for her only child world. But that's ok cause it will be good for her.

Well kiddo, keep growing and being alive in there. We are so excited to meet you!

Love,

Dad and Mom

Pigtails & Forward Facing Freedom!

Dear Kacie,

March has already proven to be a fun month, despite how tired and large I am getting!

Sometimes I just don't have the energy to keep you in your seat at the table, so I will lay a towel out for you in the living room. One day after you ate you then used the towel as a blanket. You weren't even laying on the memory foam all the way, it looked uncomfortable! But then again, you don't have a baby in your belly!

One of my favorite things that you do is asking for help. Since I am already weak, and being pregnant makes me extra weak, I have a hard time getting up on my own. So a while ago you started helping dad help me up. Dad will hold you and you'll hold out your hand and groan and moan with me while I attempt to stand!

Well, lately you've started asking for help too! If you trip or are just laying on the ground, you will hold out your hand and say 'elp! elp!' until we come and help you stand up. It's hilarious and unnecessary but I love it!

I LOOOVE putting your hair in pigtails. It just makes you look so cute and old. And the hair just curls in these little ringlets naturally. 

Just look at that cute ringlet baby!!

We bought this little sweater thing back in November for family pictures and it is one of my favorite of your outfits. I was trying to get a picture of you aaallll day in this outfit because you are starting to outgrow it so who knows how many times you'll get to wear it.

Unfortunately, you weren't cooperating with me at all that day! You of course wanted your pacifier, which you don't normally use during the day.

And you were just kind of grumpy for no reason I could tell!

Anyway, I got this picture of you. You kept backing up away from me and even though the picture is dark, your little pigtails just make me smile!!

Back in January, we were getting ready to leave for the airport to AZ. We were literally about to go get in the car when someone came to the door. Luckily, it was a GIRL SCOUT!!! Anyway, our cookies were finally delivered and man are they delicious! The Tagalongs gave me a little heartburn, but it was totally worth it. Let's hope that the girl scouts can find us again next year!

Sometimes, you try to drink food that isn't actually drinkable… like your noodles!

Here you are playing with blocks with dad

And here you are going on a woodland adventure with dad!

We brought a baseball with us and we were throwing it back and forth. Dad bent down behind you at one point to help you catch the ball. a couple seconds later, you bent down too and waited for me to throw you the ball. It was very observant of you! And now it is one of Daddy's favorite pictures! I was glad I was able to capture it because it is just so fun to watch you grow and learn!

You were dipping your fingers in the cream cheese… you started with the crackers, but apparently you really just like the cream cheese!

We still love waiting for dad to get home from work at the door. This time, Minnie Mouse joined us!

I've been meaning to get a picture of your dad and his 'bike' but it has just been too cold! I finally got one though. He loves riding that thing and he has a sweet Iron Man helmet to go with it, so we had to name the bike 'Jarvis' Iron Man's trusty side kick!

Your new thing is running around in your towel after bath time. It's funny to watch you run back and forth as the towel flies behind you. One night you started playing peek-a-boo too.

All the experts say to keep your kids turned rear facing until they are 2 years old. I agree that it is much safer to do that and we wanted to! But we had decided that once Kalvin was here and we had to move the car seat behind the drivers seat, we would have to turn you around or it'd be almost impossible to help you with anything while we were in the car.

Well, when your car seat is rear facing, the front seat has to be scooted up a little farther. It hasn't been a problem until recently. I was getting in one night and it was actually kind of difficult to bend over to avoid hitting the frame while simultaneously lifting my legs into the car while the seat was farther forward.

So out of your pregnant mamma's desperation, we finally put you forward facing.

And you LOVE it.

I'd say we did pretty good making it to 20 1/2 months rear facing. And this picture just makes you look so old. I just can't believe you aren't going to be my baby, baby anymore! You're all grown up and facing forward!

You were so happy the whole ride. You just talked and giggled and danced the whole ride. And dad and I loved it cause we knew what you were doing!

We love you!

Mom & Dad