Bubble fest

There is something about being 30 weeks pregnant and working a 10 hour day as a nurse.  It is exhaustion.  But coming home at 5pm to my house full of boys is the perfect end to my day.

I open the door to Ryk's "welcome home mommy, I missed you so much."  Kip eagerly runs to me, begging to be scooped up and snuggled.

It is all just so perfect.  

The rushed dinner of the not-very-healthy, yet oh so tasty blue-box Mac n' Cheese is worth it to make extra time for a long bath.  My favorite part of the day, when the boys simmer down, beg for bubbles in the tub, and exchange a "messy high five" (bubble filled little boy hands that collide, creating a bubble-fest in the bathroom).  And when it is bubble bath night, it is done right...bubbles galore.

and while the boys are in the tub, we explore bath letters.  R creates words by sounding out each letter and properly placing them in the correct order.  Tonight - Red, Dog, Cat, Play, Love.  K just grabs the bubble soaked letters and throws them outta the tub, giggling like crazy when one smacks me.  Ryk was just 21 months old when he could properly pick out each letter when asked from the tub.  We would say - Ryk give mommy the "B," and he would do so, I am not kidding.  I wonder if K will do the same, or if I am doomed to be giggled at while trying to dodge the bubbly letters he throws outta the tub.  Though I am convinced that he knows E and O, and even says E and O.  

and I love it.  These moments.  The normal ones, that are just so perfect.

Just pictures

 

I think sometime between 25 and 29 weeks little J turned from sideways to head down.  My belly majorly got smaller...

laziness - forgot to post this one...

It was 1:00pm and I got a text message from one of my co-workers.

"FYI - nrsg mtg today 2pm :)"

I almost forgot, well I would of, if she hadn't sent me this message.

Because at 1:00pm this is what we were doing...

Still in pj's compliments of Nana - which say "I'm on Grandma and Santa's nice list" and doing some major bed snuggling/wrestling/giggling...

and goofing off for the camera

 pretending to sleep

Soaking up some snuggles with a favorite blanket, complete with fingers ready to grab his favorite silky part.

"blankie boy"

 loving on George...

Watching, and being a referee of two little boys wrestling.  See little K's leg wrap, dude can hold his own.

 and perhaps even play unfair - leg lock and an ear/hair grab.

But despite it all, we are all hugs at the end.

K's proud look of accomplishment after successfully taking his socks off.

R even had time to create our potato head family, and flash his cheeseball smile...

and put together a puzzle only one of our kiddos would have...

Hot mess

It is Christmas Eve, which would normally mean celebrating my dad's birthday together as a family.  This year though, I am a nurse.  And nurses get to work all days of the year.  The one downfall perhaps of this profession.  Though I love being a nurse, so I'll deal.  I do have to admit though, lastnight when snuggling Ryk before bed it was a bummer to hear him say "but mom, it is Merry Christmas Eve tomorrow, and you have to go to work...?!"

Yesterday, after I got off work, we went to Red Robin to eat dinner.  I'm not sure which was my favorite part of the whole experience...

Perhaps it was when I officially became initiated into mommyhood, after a long 4 years and 2 months, when R spilled a full glass of ice water all over.  Not just all over, but all over me.  And of course it would land perfectly in place to make it look like pregnancy bladder managed to win.  It wasn't the embarrassment of having a wet crotch all night, it was the fact that it is December and I was soaked with freezing cold ice water.  R also managed to spill ranch dressing all over the floor, and choke on an apple.  To top the night off, after a long 20 minute car ride filled with nausea, I know firsthand that crispy chicken burger and fries tastes just awful coming back up.

So we've had better dinners...but I suppose this birthday dinner for P will be a memorable one.  

Remember P, I did suggest that I could cook/pick something up on my way home from work :). 

Anyway, we were a hot mess - which I am not really sure what that even means, but a co-worker says it often, and well for this experience it sounds good...really good.

28

Happy Birthday to my wonderful guy.  

Today he turns 28.  Which seems so old to me for some reason.  But at the same time to be 28 and have accomplished everything he has already, it is really so young.

See he has been married 5 years, is a daddy of (almost) 3, and is thisclose to being finished with his PhD.  Which means he has done this all while working and going to graduate school.  He is a rockstar.

He is a guy who knows what he wants, and what he wants he works his butt off to get.

and if you have seen his butt, or lack thereof, you'd know I'm not joking.

While I am at work today he will be busy at home, wrestling the two little boys we love so much.  So bummed to miss out on his birthday, but so thankful that he gets to spend it with the two little people he loves so much.

Happy birthday P, hope your day is filled with giggles from our little boys; sloppy, wet kisses from little K; and that your lap is filled with farts from R.  Cause nothing speaks love from R and K more than that!

our kiddos

 Yesterday was my 29 week appointment.  With the news of a fabulous 3 hour fasting glucose test, it looks like I will be welcoming all the holiday goodies this year : ), in moderation of course...or perhaps not.  We also had another ultrasound.  Jovie is "tiny" according to the phone conversation I had with my Dr. today.  She is in the 30th percentile for height and weight, according to ultrasound, though her head size is normal for a 29 week gestation baby.  And it just makes sense that if something was going to be normal size on her, it would be her head, you know, cause she must want to make me have to really work during labor.  Anyway, we get to closely monitor her growth for the remainder of the pregnancy which just means more ultrasounds - which I don't mind one bit.   

Kiplin just LOVES Curious George.  He has even picked up on the monkey noise, and now carries George around saying "he he, who who."  He climbs on everything, I am sure he is going to be our kiddo who frequents the ER.

And Ryker loves putting on my glasses.  If only I looked half as cute as him when I wore them...
After much debate over not liking the name Jovie, he has decided it is a good name for her because P told him "this is the only name that no one else has."  So R thinks it is just perfect, because he "wouldn't want there to be two Kiplin's in our house."

27 week pictures...

Yes, I am 28 weeks.  So I a week behind, nothing new.


And with the official mark to the 3rd trimester, we have finally decided on our little girls name!  Tonight to be exact.  After 2 weeks of calling her by this name, we have fallen in love, and are so excited to meet her in March. 

Jovie Reese Loprinzi.

Jovie means "joyful"

Reese means "running"

Perfectly fitting for a little girl belonging to P and I.

and I can't wait to meet her, little Jovie Reese.

All over the place

What a difference 10 weeks makes...

                                                         17 weeks                         27 weeks

and now that I am officially 28 weeks, we have entered the home stretch - the last trimester of pregnancy.  Holy smokes!

This week we have been busy making paper chains to count down the days till Christmas -

also a brilliant opportunity to sneak in some learning - cutting a straight line

Practicing writing letters

So proud of his handwriting skills

and the final product

We also have been busy playing nice.  The brotherly love moments that I just cherish.

We have been enjoying hot cocoa next to our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, and bedtime stories read by the ghetto fab lights hanging around R's room.  When we put our tree up all the lights worked, and now all we have left is one pathetic strand that still works which happens to be right smack in the middle of our tree.  Our ornaments have been moved for the gazillionth time, and are now all at R height because it must just drive R crazy that K moves them over one hundred times in a day...Because of this our almost light-less tree tips in a weird way.  And that is how Christmas decorations are done, with flavor from a 4 and 1 year old.  It makes me smile, I'd take our tipping, fake, Charlie Brown Christmas Tree any day over that perfectly decorated one.  So take that Martha Stewart! 

R was busy with playdoh this week.  He made a mommy giraffe and 3 babies "since there are going to be 3 kids in our family."  He kept squishing the baby giraffes and asked me to "fix em' cause that is just what a mommy does, fixes kids when they get squished."  Sheesh hope I don't ever have to fix a squished kid!

Other things enjoyed lately - bubble baths, raisin toes, nose picking, wagon riding, crayon dumping - both out of the box and in diapers, under-leg tunnel running, and little boys in Levi Jeans.

P always brings the boys things home from his trips, and me...nothing.  This time it was trains.  I was totally fine with this until one night this week when he bragged about eating a donut from Dunkin.  

Bitter, perhaps.  Dunkin-less, definitely.

Belly

She is growing...and by she that is not only me, but my sweet little girl!  Or at least she has to be, cause my belly sure is (and so is my face, butt, thighs, etc...but come March this will easily be fixed by running pushing 2 kiddos in a jogging stoller)!

Right side picture is 24 weeks, and the left side is 25 weeks and a couple days. 

She is the reason for my constant heartburn, weight gain, belly growth, obsession with all things pink, and the purchase of a...MINIVAN!

So according to my sister J, we now own a "swagger wagon."  Whatever that means, I'll have to google it, later though.  We have a 2009 Toyota Sienna and it is pretty much amazingness.  I push a button on my keys and the sliding doors open...how lazy amazing is that!  With three kiddos come March, this open the door with the push of a button is, well, genius!

and today I am on a roll -

I have been flipped off, twice

Been called every name in the book.

and one of the girls told me "I hate you!"

Just one of those days I guess.

But 4:30pm will be here soon, and I'll be welcomed with love by my house of boys.