Should have had my camera...

This morning was delightful.... an absolutely beautiful day out. We started out with blueberry pancakes at Gams & Pops' house followed by tag in their yard. Ryenne and Kai were over the moon being chased and caught and tickled. It was so lovely. I wish I had my camera on hand!!! It was wonderful to sit back and watch that interaction between them. So much love. Makes me just beam with happiness :)

... growing ...

Just a note about the two littles...

Ryenne is officially a big girl who never wears a pull-up! We have gone a week with no diaper at night time and no accidents. SO BIG. I am so proud of her.

Kai's vocabulary is officially expanding. New words are: Choo-Choo, Choos (shoes), Dip-Dip, Doo-Doo, Ball, Doggy, Woof-Woof - I'm sure there are more. Seems he is saying new things every single day!

He also bit through his last plug yesterday, so into the rubbish it went. He cried himself to sleep for a while last night missing his plug - but then he slept all night. He's officially "plug free" (whether he likes it or not).

And for the third little... well I had a prenatal appointment today and the midwife is guessing baby is over 8 pounds already. Big Dagupion baby! I'm dilated to 3cm so hopefully labor will kick in soon? I hear a full moon is on Sunday :)

Our "Snow Day"

Snow doesn't really happen often in Austin... especially South Austin, where we call home. So today was a big treat. We got SNOW!

We really don't have "snow gear" so our venture outside was a quick one. But the kids sure enjoyed it and we all came inside with snow in our hair and on our clothes... quickly melted and got us wet!

This was Kai's very first time experiencing snow. So special!

It was hard to get smiles out of him...

I love these of Ryenne - she had such a great time!!

And lastly, one of my favorite images of the day. Kai likes to run between our fence and the neighborhood fence that is growing berries. I imagine that this will be a spot he'll like for a while since it seems to hold all kinds of treasures. His own little imagination spot, perhaps? Here he is running around with his doggy, Dexter. Priceless.

I took some video too and a couple of things on the little camera. I'll load those up a bit later. Koa also arrived into Austin today! WooHoo! Hopefully we'll get to see him in a bit!

Magic trip to pre-school

Ryenne and I had a magical trip to pre-school this morning. We opened the garage door to discover that it had just started SNOWING! We did a little happy dance and drove safely and slowly to school. When we got there, we got out of the car and caught some flakes with our tongue and watched it land on the plants outside. Ry and all her classmates were buzzing with excitement - nobody wanted to go inside!

She looked like a little snow angel with white flakes in her dark hair. Magical! I wish I had my camera! The snow has stopped for now and has been replaced by rain, but perhaps we'll get some more today. :)

pico

I was attempting to get a smiling shot of the boy. Smiles have been far and few between since he's been sick - or masked by his plug.

But Kai Boy sure does love his pico - his belly button. He proudly displayed it for the camera yesterday. It gets lots and lots of kisses!

And yet another change for my baby boy!

Kai is seriously tripping me out. Since when did he go from my sweet baby boy to a rowdy little toddler??

When I dropped Ry off at preschool yesterday morning Kai cried on the way back to the car screaming and pointing "That! That!" and I realized that I really haven't done enough big boy stuff with him. He's just been "the baby". I know this is totally pregnancy hormones at work, but I felt crushed like I have been cheating him. Ryenne is such a high maintenance little person that she commands so much attention. And Kai is such a cruiser that he just happily plays by himself while his sister is a drama queen. Anyway.... feeling super guilty for not spending as much time as I should with him. He is beyond sweet....

Anyway, the past few days he has been running around the living room making his plug (that's his paci) sideways in his mouth and rubbing his teeth on them. Peter and I inspected his plug arsenal and discovered that he's been severing the sucky part and they are a major chocking hazard. Into the rubbish they went... he now has about 2 that are intact. He has them in his mouth all the time, needs them to sleep, and just to pacify himself. But now I have visions of severed plug nipples dancing through my head and wake up in the night just to go check on him and make sure he's not choking in the night (overstimulated brain you say?).

So this morning after a talk with my mom I decided that he cannot have any more plugs during the normal course of the day. He'll get one for nap and for night-night time tonight, but I think we're going to phase them out completely. I don't know how much more worry I can handle from these things. Seriously... the site of those severed plugs was downright SCARY!

Little Kai Boy will soon be a toddler without his plug - with short hair - a complete transformation from just weeks ago. *sniffle*sniffle* And I'm a hormonal mama!!

Seriously...

My mom mentioned to me today that I have been a little on the "negative" side. And this is SOOOO NOT NORMAL for this everyday optimist. But seriously... I can barely pull up my own pants. So when one starts the day huffing and puffing to pull on one's pants, it kinda starts the day off in a negative way with hurting bones. And I can't figure out exactly why I am sleeping well but wake up feeling tired.

I think I have been a little negative. Especially today. Today I was actually downright bitchy. I dropped an "F Bomb" soooooooo not like me. I think mostly I am peeved at myself for having a hard time saying NO to people. Today was one of those situations, which I won't blog about, but mom and Peter know what I'm talking about. By the way... THANKS MOM for standing up for me! I don't know how I've let myself become such a damn pushover.

And while we're on the subject of bitching.... here is my bitch for today (and if you don't want it, you're getting it anyway or else just stop reading now) I AM A BIG GIRL. Yes... I do know this. I will work on it more AFTER P3 gets here... but by NO MEANS does gaining a TOTAL of 11 pounds for an entire pregnancy mean that I need to cut out all my sugars and only eat salad!!!!! GAH..... I am dang proud of myself for only gaining 11 pounds (so far) and not turning into more of a house than I already was to begin with. So take that midwife!

And see... there I go. I smile in the office and don't say a word and then it call comes to me later of what I should have said. Aysus.

right about now...

I am missing the Boy's mad scientist long hair. I keep telling myself "It's JUST hair" and it will grow, but will it be as wispy? Will the ends ever be as light? He looks so GROWN now. He's upstairs getting a bath with Daddy. Still sweet sweet as ever, just with short hair.

Big Boy

I've been thinking about it for a while... and his hair was kinda "mad scientist" most of the time and in his face and tickling his ears. But it was still hard. His first BIG BOY haircut. We did it. I have two emotions going at once... sad that the baby wisps are gone but then again so proud of how big he's getting.

The "after" picture makes it look shorter than it actually is. We used the longest comb of the clipper so he still has some length in the back but it's not in his eyes or on his ears. He seemed proud of it after he had a shower with Daddy. My big, handsome boy. I love him so much.

A good laugh

Ryenne is so Filipino. She told me that she wants to eat her rice with shoyu and that I shouldn't put gravy on it anymore. Gave me a good laugh!

We had a great day today with Gams and Pops and Kupono Dog. Just hanging out and eating. :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Well.... still no P3. I think He/She is just gonna stay put for a while. Stubborn! I slept well again but I just can't shake the tired feeling... and still having a hard time eating anything (and keeping it down) so I'm pretty convinced that perhaps a stomach virus triggered some false labor. That's the best explanation I can come up with!

So today is Valentines Day. We had originally planned on surprising the kids with donuts this morning but neither of us had the energy to go get them - so the kids had cereal and then we colored some Valentines.

These red hearts didn't last too long. Ry got tired of them and switched over to white paper where "her colors looked better."

Kai Boy liked playing with the crayons for about 30 seconds - then they went in his mouth and he wanted to try a marker and that too went in his mouth. Then he got green fingers and kept trying to shake the green off his hands. It was pretty funny. He is such a snuggle boy in the morning. So lovey and sweet. I just love how he is really playing with his sister now. He wants to copy everything she does.

And Ryenne.... oh Ryenne... she is changing. I've noticed over the past few days that her face is starting to change. Maybe it's losing the baby fat or just plain ole growing, but I see a much bigger girl when I look at her. I think the contours of her face are starting to change and she is just so darn beautiful. It's really amazing to watch that transformation. She is turning into such a big girl! And such a good helper too... she amazes me.

Still Waiting

Fortunately everyone gave me an amazing nights' sleep last night. Seriously. I haven't drooled on my pillow like that in a while. It was a deep, unconscious sleep... and Peter told me that Kai woke up twice last night and I didn't hear a thing!

Contractions have slowed down a lot. Practically gone... but then just when I think they've gone away completely I get one. Go figure. The lower back is extremely sore - signs of a back labor like I had with Kai Boy. My tummy is still upset and only accepts the smallest amount of simple foods. So I've been living on Gatorade and toast/yogurt/crackers for almost 3 days now. Ah well... whatever works!

I am in a good mood though because I feel so well rested today. Maybe P3 is holding out to be a Valentines baby? This is interesting and different to go through such a long prelabor. Maybe the actual hard labor won't be so bad (or long).

Pre-Labor

Well we're on day two of minor contractions going on. Some hurt and others are minor. But no pattern to them and not significant enough to go to the birth center. It's so frustrating. The belly is significantly dropped and parts of the plug have come out. I did get sleep last night and a nice nap today but I still feel tired. Probably more of an emotional tired.

I'm just afraid that this is a totally false labor and P3 wants to stay inside for longer! Peter has off from work until Wednesday night, which is super supportive, but also stressful. He is being "Super Dad/Super Husband" and helping out with the kids and food and kitchen cleaning duties. I think even if P3 doesn't come today or tomorrow it will still be nice having him around with all the extra support at night time!

Ugh.... here's to hoping that things progress a bit more!!! Oh yes... and the belching continues. Along with various other unmentionables. Ick.

Could it be????

Adding to my belching is some cramping... ah yes... labor could be starting! WooHoo! Bring on the pain... P3 I'm ready!

It's 4:07pm now... it would be nice to get this show on the road already. We'll see. I'll keep everyone posted!

like a champion beer drinker!

No I'm not sitting back swigging beer (just occasionally when Pops is having a Shiner), but since yesterday I have been a champion belcher! This is the joys of the final weeks of pregnancy.... belching, excessive sweating, and hip pressure. Nice!

Had a check up today and I am now measuring 42 weeks (last week was 40), but I have lost one pound for a total gain of 9 pounds this pregnancy. I now have the official "ok" from the midwives to go into labor anytime. So hopefully P3 will take the hint and get this show on the road SOON. Once the baby is out maybe I will actually be able to find a comfortable position to sleep... one can only hope!

It is a very cold, gloomy day today. We actually had a bit of hail fall! I have the heat on in the house, we are all wearing our sox, and just kicking back.

36 weeks!

Ah yes... 36 weeks today. That was the milestone that I needed to make in order to have P3 at the birth center. I've officially made it.

I still think my due date is off. I just feel more and more like it's going to happen soon this time. Ry and Kai both "cooked" for their full 40 weeks... so we'll see if my instincts are right on this one.

We had a rough night last night... Ryenne is sick and it's worse at night time. We ended up running out of bedding last night because she threw up on everything. Peter has been great with getting it all laundered today. Kai learned from his sister how to make himself throw up... so we ended up washing his bedding too. Apparently if we don't come fast enough to him in the night, he sticks his finger down his throat... yeah grrrreat...

I had a great nap today. I needed it so bad. Peter is sleeping right now. I think we're ready to take on the kids tonight!

I am starting to feel more pressure so I don't know if that means that labor might be coming in the next few days or if ligaments are stretching and labor will be in the next few weeks. We shall see. I have a prenatal tomorrow so maybe we'll see if anything is happening.

Spaghetti Dinner Out!

Last night we took the kids to Ry's preschool for a fundraiser dinner. We had spaghetti, bread, salad, drinks, and brownies for $5 per person! What a deal! We met up with our friends Katie, Graham, Jackson, and Hogan and we all had a really great time.

The kids went bananas. Kai wanted to run off and I had the urge to go scoop him up. He wanted to play with all the big kids. And I stepped back and let him play. It was the first time I saw him as a little kid and not a baby. He had so much fun. He is such a social boy. I think I might need to use some tax return money to get him into preschool. Hard as it is to believe, he will be 2 this year - the same age Ry was when she started preschool. It was really awesome watching him be an independent little boy.

Ryenne and Jackson ran off together chasing each other and running around like crazy. Notice in the picture of them together they are holding hands. Such good friends... it is so sweet!

Here are all the kids! Ry wanted everyone to wear crowns :) And of course in true Ryenne form, she refuses to look at the camera...



The Moore Family



The Dagupion Family

35 weeks

Hiccups

This space has been very quiet lately. Notice the camera and I are taking a little break from each other. It has been cold, and while I think about doing crafty things with the kids, it just comes down to me being too tired. I am more tired this time. The crayons lay in their drawer, the play-doh is untouched, and instead there's dancing to Yo-Gabba-Gabba on tv. Bad mama!

But today I did experience something new! P-3 had the hiccups today. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Ry and Kai never had the hiccups when I was pregnant with them (that I could tell anyway) and this is the first time I've ever felt it. What a funny feeling!

So I hear today is Groundhog Day and that we have another 6 weeks of Winter ahead of us. I guess that's ok. I can't chase the kids at the park by myself anyway. But I do feel guilty for not taking pictures. It's so unlike me to keep the camera tucked away. I just haven't felt 'inspired' for anything artsy lately. Mostly just feeling beat up!

Today I am 35 weeks and P3 needs to stay put at least another week before I can have him/her at the birth center. I hope he or she decides to come just a tad early - maybe 38 weeks? I don't know how much longer my body is going to hold out. t-i-r-e-d.

But while I'm all tired and crabby, I will end this post on a positive note... I did the taxes last night. And we're getting enough back to pay toward our credit card debt to put us a whole year ahead to becoming debt free. We can do it. Like the Little Blue Engine That Could, we'll just keep chugging away. But instead of saying "I think I can..." I am chugging along, "I know I can, I know I can, I know I can..."

cheesey-cake!

The first day of February... wow! It kinda snuck up on us and January is gone already! Peter woke up this afternoon and upon coming downstairs I immediately requested pie of some sort. Rolling his eyes, he asked for a hot dog in return. He has been very good about his gout the past few days so I caved and off to Costco we went with the kids. He had his hot dog and we scooped up a beautiful cheesecake covered with strawberries. :) Oh yes.... can't wait to dig in!

Kai is developing further into a little boy daily. He says "Uh-oh" after he throws things, brings his shoes to me and says "choos", and sits on the couch making train noises when his favorite show, Chugginton, is on. And... he's withholding kisses from me. This pains me. He offers them up freely to Dexter, Ryenne, and Daddy... but mama gets none. SAD!

Ok Peter just served me up my cheesey-cake. BYE!