Opinions needed

Luke and I had crafty afternoon last week. I was feeling bad that I was just using Noah's preschool afternoons as time to run errands. Not that Luke seemed to mind but I thought I'd have some fun with just Luke this afternoon while we can.

Here's the proud boy with one of his pumpkins

Okay, so here's where I need your help. I'm trying to finish up the nursery, and need some opinions on this dresser. I'm not sure if I should put the mirror on or leave it off. So here are the the pics of both. Please let me know which you think looks better.

With Mirror

Without mirror


I found a slipcover for the nursery chair yesterday, which makes me very happy. It' just a solid brown and makes the chair look a little retro but it's definitely better than the orange crushed velvet. It just needs a couple of cute throw pillows. Now I just need to hang a few things and I think I'm done.

We've been having a few issues with Luke lately. He is very sensitive and over reacting to a lot of things. His lip can stick out and quiver in no time flat over the simplest of things, like not getting into the right side of the van. I'm having a lot of flashbacks to his toddler tantrums. In talking with other moms this seems to be a normal reaction for 3 year olds prior to a new baby. I'm just hoping that he will get it out of his system before baby comes. And in the meantime we're trying to be sensitive to him but still trying to keep a reasonable balance of discipline for unreasonable reactions. Does that even make sense?

On an unrelated note, I am done Christmas shopping for my nephews. Which I'm happy about. I only have 2 though so technically it's not that significant an accomplishment, but it still makes me happy.

Don't forget to register your opinion on the dresser!

S

Luke's Appointment

So we were back at VCHC today for Luke's annual Cardiology check up. Where he had an EKG, BP, and Echo done. He is always so good for his appts! He sits (or lays) so still, and has never had to be sedated (which is apparently common). Dr. Soni came in to tell us all the results and said that everything looked good and that there was no constriction at the site of the surgery. But there was one vessel around the surgery site that was slightly enlarged. Nothing to be too concerned about right now, just something to continue to watch. If it got worse it would be something that would require surgery to replace it with a tube, but that is very unlikely. So all in all a good appointment, and just one more thing to be thankful for this weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Activities

So Fall has felt busy, good busy, and it has taken a toll on the boys, they are needing naps where as they didn't before. Here's our little Luke fast asleep on the couch. They look so innocent when they're sleeping...

One of our favorite fall treats is Apple Chips. We spent an evening with our new apple peeler which peels, slices and cores all at once, and loaded up our dehydrator. We can dehydrate 25 apples at once in this baby. We had a nice little assembly line going. Noah would crank them through the peeler, Nath would cut them in half and put them in the lemon water, and then Luke and I would put them onto the trays and sprinkle with cinnamon.

We spent one evening having a supper picnic and then playing at St.V park.

The boys have a new love for games. So the other day we splurged and bought Snakes and Ladders as well as UNO. We have been playing them constantly ever since. I was surprised to find that UNO suggested age was 7years +. I'm not sure why you would need to be 7 when my 3 year old isn't having much trouble with it. Anyhow we've been playing a LOT of Uno lately.

And finally here's a sneak peak of baby stuff. We got a dresser from my Mom and Dad, actually the dresser that I had as a little girl. And I had wanted to paint it white, but I didn't have any at home, and I did have pink at home, so it got painted pink. There is also a mirror that goes on top, I'm jut not sure if I'm going to put it on or not. The camera doesn't do a great job of the wall color, because it looks darker than it actually is. But I love the color combination.

And yes I am nesting now, I officially have less than 5 weeks left, and a lot that needs to be done before then. I still need to get general fall cleaning done, but babywise, I think we're ready for her. Check out this drawer full of pink! I finally got everything washed and ready.

So I really hope it is a girl. Because there aren't any neutrals in there. I have been having my doubts with the number of boys being born in our church, it's hard to believe it is actually a girl. We do actually have a boys name just in case. And I think I have a girls name figured out. But I don't think I'll tell Nath til she arrives so he can't veto this one. It'll be a surprise for everyone.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good, been having lots of Braxton Hicks and retaining a lot of water, my fingers go numb very easily. And still battling a cold with this nagging cough which makes for less than restful nights along with my numerous bathroom breaks. But I can usually get in a little nap if I need it. The boys are being pretty patient waiting. I wonder if they think it's actually going to happen, we've been talking about this baby since February! That's a long time when you're only 3 and 4 years old.

Noah felt her kick for the first time last week. We were talking about what to name her at the supper table and Luke suggested "sharky" I think, and I said "I think she likes that one she just kicked". So Noah ran over and put his had on my belly and it was so sweet because she kicked again and you could just see his eyes light up. He had never held his hand there long enough or still enough to actually feel it. I can't wait to see their reactions when they actually do get to meet her!

September!

So we are officially into the September activities. The weather has been a little more forgiving, with a week of nice warm temperatures, which has put me in a better mood and made me want to blog again. So the biggest new activity for fall is that Noah has started PreSchool! He's going Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. He is loving it, and asks to almost everyday. I think it's going to be a good transition for Kindergarten, if not for him, for me and Luke! Our fridge is slowly filling with his new artwork and projects. It really is fun.

Here he is on his first day!

Noah mixing some whipped cream

Luke mixing some chocolate pudding
Notice the marker on his face

The boys and I went to the Zoo with these two little boys along with their mom who is expecting another baby boy a couple days after our little girl. They loved watching the fish and turtles in the Tropical House.

Noah and Luke with the Polar Bear

All the little boys with the Polar Bear.
I can't believe our two families will make up 6 kids under 5 in a couple of weeks!

In other fall news, we harvested all the carrots out of our garden this weekend. We only had 3 rows and we've been eating from them most of the summer. But Nath weighed them after they were washed and we had almost 22 pounds of carrots! So if anyone has great carrot recipes please pass them on.
We couldn't believe how well our little garden did this year! I've picked 6 little sugar pumpkins already and there's atleast 3 or 4 more green ones in there. (and we didn't even plant pumpkins!)
While we were cleaning out the garden, Luke found a little striped catepillar, which became his pet. He carried it around and gave it rides on the wagon and put it down the slide. It was really cute, and unfortunately I couldn't find the camera to take a picture of it. The catepillar survived all of his loving, and crawled away when we went inside.

The pregnancy is going well, I'm taking iron supplements now which is making a big difference in my energy level. I've started my nesting I guess, because I am making a lot of lists. Lists of what I need to get done before baby comes, possible baby name lists, lists of food to put in the freezer, lists of people to call when I go into labor, lists of people to call after the baby, lists of lists etc...
So that's right our baby girl still does not have a name. We have never had an easy time finding names for our kids and I think it's harder with the third because you've kinda set a trend with your first two kids' names. So not only do you have to find a name you like but it has to flow with the boys names. Noah, Luke and ______. And it has to work with the last name Wiebe. So if anyone has any suggestions, please share them!

Picture of me

I had a request for a picture of me so here it is.
Luke took this lovely portrait of me at 30ish weeks.

Brereton Lake

We spent some time at Nath's aunt and uncle's cabin last week on Brereton Lake. It was our annual holiday with Nath's family. Lots of fun was had by all!

Noah turned out to be quite the little angler, he caught 3 fish on his own.
This is the first one he caught.

Opa and Noah

Noah and Uncle Eric trying to catch a minnow, they caught one.


Then Daddy and Eric had to try to catch a "friend" for the minnow.
They gave up after a valiant effort.

Oma and Luke on the rocks

Noah playing Turkish Chess

Noah and Luke got facials with the girls

Then the boys had to give Auntie Rachel a facial too!

Oma and Opa and Daddy took the boys on a little hike nearby the cabin.

Halfway through the hike there are some "rapids" that you can play in. The boys had lots of fun playing in the water, and since there were no extra clothes, they walked back to the van in their underwear, which was really cute, but probably not appropriate to post on the web.

Silly String

Nath and Noah in the water on our last day there.
It was so windy that day the boys couldn't really relax on their inflatables because the waves and wind kept blowing them into the rocks.

This last picture is of Luke at Bird's Hill Park.
We spent a lovely afternoon there this past weekend.
I'm glad that we took advantage of this last warm day, because it has been so chilly since then.

Nath's "Surprise" Birthday

I decided to try a surprise Birthday party for Nath this year. I've never attempted it before, but worked out pretty well. I invited a bunch of friends and family to come over for a weiner roast the evening of his birthday. We had almost 40 (with almost half being kids under 5) show up. It was a great evening.
The pictures aren't really in any order. And I have to give Noah the credit for most of the pictures. I only took a couple. I was impressed with how well he did!
And a small explanation for the cake: 100000 is binary (computer code using only 0's and 1's) for 32. (I did not come up with that myself, thanks Barrette!)
Thanks again to everyone who came out and helped up celebrate!