Mom of Boys II

It's been almost a year, and here I am again!  Fittingly, the last time I posted was about being a mom to two wonderful boys. 

Owen:  Owen turned 5 in April, a week after a playground accident claimed his two top front teeth.   He handled the situation with grace, and Owen and I traveled to Southern California for a birthday weekend in Disneyland only days later!  We went for four days, and played hard.  We had character breakfasts and lunches, ate churros and Mickey-shaped pretzels, rode rides (Splash Mountain!  Matterhorn!), and explored the magic.  Our favorite ride of the trip was the Toy Story ride at California Adventures, which we went on repeatedly.  We also waited in line for over two hours to meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and met Mickey, Goofy, and Donald along the way.  I can't wait to go back again!  It was the most fun I've had at Disney since forever.

 Owen also started Kindergarten this year at The Meridian School.  He is one of 14 students in Ms. Libby's class, and he's loving the play-based learning.  His favorite specialty classes are Library, Art, and Spanish.  He is currently working with specialists in reading and math, to help provide a challenge beyond his advanced levels in both subjects.  They get him and want him to enjoy school.  We love that he gets to be himself.

Josh: Josh turned 2 in January and has a great year himself.  In May, on an electronics-free trip to Shelton, Josh picked up some sidewalk chalk and shocked us all with writing out numbers from 0-15, the alphabet, and even his name!  He's been counting and singing his ABCs for quite a while, but we hadn't seen it in writing before!

 After a Summer of chalking up the front porch with letters and numbers, Josh started Pre-3s Co-Op preschool with Teacher Janice.  He goes two mornings a week, and loves it.  He sings the songs from circle time constantly, especially as part of his bedtime routine. 

 Josh has really started showing his strong personality.  He knows what he wants, and he's getting more communicative in telling us (which is helping all of us through the Terrible Twos!).  He loves sitting with a pile of books, is spelling quite a few words (Cat, Dog, Rabbit, Pig, Frog, Mommy, Owen, Open, Josh, etc), and loves finding some quiet time alone in his bedroom.  He's a generally happy kid, and a super good snuggler.

The brothers are very sweet together.  Owen loves his little buddy, and Josh thinks Owen is the silliest thing ever.  It's so fun to watch them play together, and have a great sibling relationship. 

Our family, as of October 2014:

 

Josh is almost 3, and Owen is 5.5.  We have a busy family life, but it's so fun!  The energy and craziness and silliness can't be beat.

So, back to the point.  Life with two boys is so fun, why not add another to the mix? :)

We are expecting another little rascal to join our family in April!

I am 19 weeks pregnant with this little guy, who is every bit as active as the other two right now.  He is measuring right on schedule, and looks anatomically perfect.  He has started getting hiccups, and Dan could actually feel him the other night!  We are in a two-week wait to check his blood-typing, and then we'll know what lies ahead in terms of monitoring for the same incompatibility that took Elliott from us and caused trouble at birth for Josh.  It's a 50/50 chance, but supposedly the sex of the baby is too (and we're 4/4 there!).  I have my fingers crossed for a clear bill of health, but I'm preparing for the challenge ahead if there is a big E antigen present with this guy. 

We're not a religious family, but we can use all of the thoughts, prayers, vibes, whatever that you want to send our way! 

Owen is coming to terms with this being another brother.  He had a tough time when he found out that this baby won't be the sister he wants so bad, but he's enjoying the process of brainstorming names and the idea of having another little baby to love on.  To find out the sex, my wonderful OB, Dr. Kurachi, wrote Owen a letter.  We taped him reading it, which is how we all found out: Owen finding out.  While I would love to experience a daughter (I think?), I'm thrilled to have a houseful of boys.  We've had so much fun, and I am so so hopeful we get to add to our family at home.  Wish us luck! :)