I have an older sister. . .

can you tell?
But I still like all things boy. . .can you tell?Love, Porter

What was all the excitement about?

Was it the circus we went to? No, but that was fun and daddy shouted out funny things

Was it the daddy date to Cinderella that Ainsley went on? No, but she did have fun

All the excitement? It was me, being practically potty trained! You should have heard my family hootin and hollerin when I went #2 in the potty :)

Love, Trey

Our big boy. . .er. . .little boy

Trey's big siblings have been encouraging him to sit on the potty! He has gone every once in awhile. . .yesterday he went twice and today he went 4 times! One time he even told us he needed to go. . .way to go Trey! I tried to call you a "big boy" but you say you're still a "little boy" :)

And since I wasn't blogging yet when Ainsley potty trained herself. . .

My philosphy on potty training. . .let the big siblings teach :) Also known as the philosophy of "whatever works!" OK, I don't really have a philosophy. . .we are just excited he went 4 times today!

Who's your Daddy. . .

As GooF's car came into view after work, and we heard the familiar honk, Trey said (very excitedly and with his arm outstretched and finger pointing), "THERE'S MY DADDY!!! THERE'S MY DADDY! HE'S MY DAAAAAADDDDYYY!!"
He had been waiting all day for his daddy to come home and take him on a bike ride. Earlier in the day, Trey had taken it upon himself to hook up the bike trailer and put on daddy's helmet :)

I think I can. . .I think I can. . .I think I can make it til daddy gets home. And Trey, I feel exactly the same way!

Ainsley Brielle

Soon to be 6 1/2. . .

And you are beautiful on the INSIDE. . .
and OUT. . .

I love you! mommy

How to keep 3 little boys busy. . .

A bucket of water, 3 paintbrushes, and a fence. . .

Playful

The Anticipation. . . The Catch. . .

The Tickles. . .

The release. . .

The roll. . .
and roll. . .

and Escape. . .

Butterfly House

We went on a field trip with a homeschool group to the butterfly house. They needed a volunteer and Porter's hand shot up in the air. . .He loved the place. . .

And even got a butterfly on his finger. . .

His little bro was a bit more standoffish. . .Ainsley and I were kinda creeped out by butterflies flying over us, but all in all we enjoyed it! And I was reminded insects have 6 legs, not 8, but you don't need to hear that story :) Even if I told you that story, it wouldn't involve me guessing 8 in front of all the other homeschool moms. Nope. . .I know my insects!

To Baby #4

“For YOU created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

On Monday, April 12, I had the joy of hearing your heartbeat for the first time! What a wonderful sound that was. . .it brought a smile to my face :) The doctor thought my belly felt like 16-18wks instead of 12-13. . .so today we got to peek at you! Crown to rump measuring 6.27 cm and heartrate 162 both daysHead on the left and little arm by your tummy. . .Your tiny arms, legs and body were moving a lot! The ultrasound room was full with your big sister, brothers, daddy and I looking at you!

As I walked into the hospital for that first ob appt, I suddenly felt nervous and the pregnancy felt very "real." A calm came over me as I saw a picture of a newborn baby in a waiting room magazine :) And then, as I anxiously waited for the doctor to come in, I prayed for you. . .I prayed for a good heartbeat. I am getting very excited to start feeling you move and for October to come. . .as are your siblings! Trey says "baby" many times a day and you are already getting loved on, hugged, crawled over, talked to, stepped on, fought over, and loved on some more. You will be fed. . .

And snuggled. . .But for now, I'm just enjoying tiny little you, growing inside of me! And I'm reminded you're there, by the pukin in the mornin, the nappin in the afternoon and the hard bump on my belly! Broke out the drawstring pants and maternity tshirt :)

Thank you God for the gift of children

Come October, we will welcome a 4th child into our family!

Valentines morning I woke up sick, but by the time we went to church, I was feeling great! We knew. The next day I bought a pregnancy test, and the following morning I took it. GooF was at work and he texted, "Are you pregnant, you must be or you would have told me no by now?" To which I texted back, "good thing we saved the crib, good thing we have a five bed house, good thing we have a minivan with an extra seat, good thing ur a good daddy and husband." I have written down all of our texts from that day, which I will cherish. . .texts about getting our money back on our natural fertility method :) and texts about maybe if we didn't tell anyone, no one would notice :) Well, that didn't last long. . .Ainsley informed my family that I threw up in the sink and Porter told my mom I had a baby in my tummy. . .or atleast he thought my tummy felt that way :) And NO, we hadn't told the kids yet! During this time GooF and I exchanged many knowing looks and smiles. . like when I had a heaping bowl of cottage cheese at my moms before mealtime :)

On March 17, when I was around 8 or 9 wks along, we sent the kids on a scavenger hunt around the house with baby clues. All lined up ready for the hunt to begin. . .Ainsley thought for sure she was getting a new doll. Porter just wanted another scavenger hunt :) They were all pretty cute and excited when Ainsley guessed what the clues meant!! Then we sent out a text to our families and friends with a picture of the positive pregnancy test. We got some great texts back, and had some laughs as some family members couldn't figure out what it was a picture of :)

I have been feeling good, other than the normal morning sickness/tiredness/gagging while changing diapers etc. GooF is so supportive, and hands me toast after I'm done throwing up in the am. So far I've been able to mostly enjoy the pregnancy. . .minus the moments of sickness/sleepiness. . .but even those make me think of the baby and reassure me that I am indeed pregnant!

I am thinking I'm 11 wks along, and that we're due around the 20th of Oct but will find out more at my first appt. We will most likely have a scheduled csection, which we are good with. We would love the surprise of waiting until birth to see if this little added blessing is a boy or girl! I don't have a "feeling" yet. . .I feel like we're on a roll with boys so it may be a boy, but a girl would even it out so it may be a girl. . .like I said, "no feeling yet." Whoever God wants this little bonus to be!

The kids are very excited! Trey asks daily for the baby to come out, to see the baby and hold it. Porter says he loves me even more when I have a baby in my tummy. And Ainsley is already planning how she'll help me out! When baby #4 comes along they will be 6 1/2, 5 and 3. . .all able to dress themselves and buckle up themselves! In case you were wondering, like I was, in 13 yrs they will be 19 1/2, 18, 16, and 13. . .all teenagers for a short while :)

They all think my belly is growing, and by the waist of my jeans getting tighter, I'd have to agree :)

When I look at this photo, I think "Really? I have 3 kids and a 4th on the way? Thank you God for allowing me to be their mommy!" And I also think of the mud I wiped off Ainsley's sandals this day.

It's demanding. But it's rewarding. Thank you God for the gift of our children.

The story of our morning

Setting: (Children watching the innocent enough looking tiger)

(Tiger then stands up, turns his backside towards the onlookers and sprays pee on them. Flipflopmama is able to turn her face away, but Cohen gets pee all over his face)

(Onlookers leave the zoo, but then need to return and retrace all of their steps because Ainsley lost the princess part of her watch. . . they don't find it :( )

LATER. . .

Setting: (Eating lunch at the kitchen table after a busy morning at the zoo)

Flipflopmama: "Trey? Are you ready for mommy to read you stories?"

Trey: zzzzz

(All in all, the family had a fun morning at the zoo with good friends, and looks forward to many more outings this summer!)