Jillian @ 10 Months

I have no idea why this little girl isn't walking yet! She climbs EVERYTHING! She has incredible flexibility and balance...yoga and dance are hopefully in her future.

Jill cut 3 top teeth this week bringing her total teeth count to five. Number 6 is close. 7 and 8 don't look to be too far behind.

Jill got the flu for the first time this week. It was pretty short lived and I enjoyed the snuggle time with her because she is NOT a snuggler normally.

I can't believe that it's time to start planning her first birthday festivities (after Christmas course)!

THREE!

How is it possible that these little guys are THREE YEARS OLD today?!

Now they look like this....

There are no words to describe how much I love these two. My firsts. Even though they're only a minute apart, they have taken on the roles of big and little (and now middle) brother. Though really, they've always been that way, even in utero.

Alexander Martin

38" (holding on to that one inch advantage over Tony) & 38.5 pounds
This kid is the rule follower.
He's recently learned the art of negotiation "Mommy can we go to Cars Land first? Then we'll go on the mermaid ride." My favorite ride...smart kid. He got his way.
He has a touch of OCD...he notices right away if something is out of place. He lines up his cars and trains. He can make a mess like no other, be he hates to be dirty or messy.
He's the inquisitive one. He wants to know what everything is, how it works, and soon to come I'm sure "why".
He loves blocks and legos and tunnels and roads. If this kid doesn't end up an engineer or something similar, I'll be surprised.
He refuses to let me cut his hair or nails. I gave up on the hair issue and am letting it grow out. Striker and I have to hold him down while he kicks and screams to cut his toenails. I can usually offer up a bribe to allow us to cut his finger nails.
He's the love bug. He's not a snuggler, but he's affectionate. He wants to make sure that everyone is okay.
He loves dairy foods and cheeseburgers and sandwiches and fruit. He likes non-chocolate sweets.

Anton Mikael

37" & 33.5 pounds - Oh my tiny kid! (His little sister is already 29.5" and 21.5 pounds...of course she weighed almost twice as much at birth as Tony did)
Tony has spunk. Pretty sure he is at the top of Santa's naughty list.
He's left handed. He's creative, artsy, musically inclined, loves to dance, and so different from his brother.
He's a snuggler.
He likes to sleep late with mommy on the weekend while daddy gets up with Alex and Jill (thanks Striker!).
He's a talker. And a parrot. And he can recap like no other!
He is messy. And a total rough and tumble boy.
He loves cars and trains, but mostly Lightning McQueen.
He loves animals. Especially dogs and cats. Especially Pluto.
He is very passionate. He loves passionately. He also fights with his siblings passionately. He's also becoming very passionately opinionated about some things lately.
He loves chocolate. And carbs. And chicken.


If I remember, I'll ask them the list of birthday questions tomorrow. (Thank you Pinterest).

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 25

I am thankful to finally have a Christmas season in this house where I am physically able to decorate it the way that I've wanted to since we moved in way back in 2007.

Christmas is exploding in here this year and I'm even more excited since surviving: brain surgery recovery (2007), fertility treatments (2008), newborn infants & a c-section (2009), almost one year old twin boys that were still breastfeeding multiple times per day (2010), and pregnancy (2011).

Time flies and wow!

Jillian @ 9 Months

She's on the move and getting close to walking. She climbs flights of stairs and tries to keep up with her brothers at the park. She's a super fast crawler and has been walking around behind things she can push like boxes and chairs. She's getting brave and only holding on with one hand and sometimes she will even let go.

She is such a daddy's girl. He's her favorite. No question about it. It's super sweet to watch her snuggle with him and get so excited when he comes home.

She is a girly girl...loves sparkle, jewelry, shoes, and "pretties".

She's a really good eater of all things that she can feed herself.

She is curious and inquisitive. She needs to know what is going on and hates when she is sleepy and has to miss out. She is napping twice a day and sleeping well at night.

I love you Jilly girl!

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 13

I'm thankful to have met a super duper awesome photographer that has been taking our family photos for over 2 years now.

I can't recommend him enough and the boys love him and his family. We took our Christmas Card photos Sunday and our cards shipped Tuesday (Monday was a holiday).

I've also got him lined up for the boys' birthday party again...he's been there every year, and I'm totally hooked!

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 11

I am thankful for all of those currently serving, that have served, or gave their lives serving our country. And to their families that sacrifice so much while their loved ones are away...thank you as well!

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 10

I am thankful for the busboys in restaurants that clean up the aftermath of a family dinner out. We always tip ridiculously well...I just hope the servers share accordingly.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 9

There are a lot of things wrong with the state of California, but there are also a lot of things about it that are easy to take for granted when you've lived here your whole life.

The weather
Disneyland (yes, it gets its own mention)
Plethora of museums, aquariums, and historical landmarks
Beaches
Parks
Mountains
Desert
Cultural diversity
Opportunity
Convenience...we've got just about everything here

As much as I sometimes dream of living in another state, it would be really hard to leave!

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 8

I am thankful for technology, specifically for my smartphone. Without it, I am certain I would have lost my mind staying home with the kids. It not only keeps me connected to adults, but keeps me organized, up to date on current events (since our day time tv watching is limited to Disney Jr), and prevents my brain from completely rotting away.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 7

Last night a group of twin mom friends joined me for candlelight yoga, and for the second time in the last few weeks someone said "I thought yoga was mostly just stretching". Bwahaha!

Trying yoga was one of the best things I ever did after I had the boys. It gave me alone time, quiet, strength, flexibility, and relaxation. I love that the place I go to offers a variety of classes including Pilates and even belly dancing which I had tried before kids and liked.

Last night was the first time that I felt I was back to where I'd left off in my practice before having Jill. I'm looking forward to kicking things up a notch and taking more hot yoga and yogalates classes.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 6

I am thankful to live in this country where we have the freedoms that we do. I wish that everyone could be more accepting of our differences. In general my philosophy is "what works for me, might not work for you, and vice versa. As long as I'm not hurting you or infringing on your right to live how you wish (so long as it's not harming anyone...no you may not be a cannibal), and vice versa, we can agree to disagree."

I am so thankful that today is election day and that no matter what the outcome of any office or proposition, all of the junk mail and phone calls will stop, and hopefully soon (because I believe that in such a tight race there will be some controversy - hello hanging chads) the awful attacks on facebook will stop as well.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 5

Today I am thankful for my mom who moved closer to us a few months ago and comes over regularly to entertain these three very busy kids and clean up the aftermath of their activities so that I can remain mostly sane and keep up on basic household activities and get in some "me" time to exercise and hold adult conversations...and drink wine. (Longest run on sentence ever?)

I was lucky to have my grandma live with us for most of my childhood and I'm happy that my kids are getting to spend so much time with their grandma too...even when I have this conversation with Alex:

Mommy: do you love mommy?
Alex: no
M: do you love daddy?
A: no
Do you love brother?
No
Do you love sister?
No
Do you love grandma?
Yes!

He was kidding and being silly...mostly. ;)

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 3

*my blogger app "ate" my original post. Actually it's stuck in "publishing" but I can't find it on the computer or open it in my phone anymore. It's just sitting there...taunting me.

Saturday I got to spend the day at SCMOTC's fall workshop in San Diego. All 5 of us drove down together so that I could feed Jill on my breaks and Striker entertained the kids at the beach, aquarium, and park. I'm not sure who had more fun. :)

So today I am thankful for the gift of twins.  After struggling with infertility for years, to have been blessed with the two-fer was more than we could have hoped for (and then there was Jill, but that's a post for another day).

So much of who I am today is defined by being a twin mom and it was nice to spend time with women who "get it" and only have to hear the "I don't know how you do it's" from the guest speakers...who were actually good...just wish they were twin moms too.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 4

We spent Sunday at Disneyland celebrating my MIL's birthday. I am so very thankful to get to be a kid again and experience things through my kids.

It was Jill's first time meeting Chip and Dale during breakfast and while she wasn't too sure of them at first, it was so much fun to watch her interaction with them.

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 2

I am thankful for the hubby (forever known on this blog as Striker despite the fact that he has not bowled in a really long time). Not only has he put up with me for over 10 years now, but he also works really hard to make sure that I get to stay home with the kids. Then when he gets home from his day job, he takes over a good portion of the child care duties so that I can get a breather, exercise, get out of the house alone, or take care of the many household needs that I just can't get to with three kids under 3. Once these kids are older and can do chores and are in school, Striker and I might actually get to sit down and have a conversation before 9 pm. Then we'll REALLY be thankful! ;)

30 Days of Thankful 2012: Day 1

I really want to get back into blogging more regularly than once a month. This blog is such a good record of Alex & Tony's first year and I don't have much but a bunch of photos and monthly updates on Jill. I need to get better at documenting stuff for her and hopefully posting daily for 30 days will get me back into the swing of things.
So, today I'm thankful for this blog :)

Jillian @ 8 months

New this month: 18 month clothes. Crawling like crazy and trying to stand up. She doesn't try to pull herself up with her arms, but uses her legs. Climbing...yes, really. Her first word was "mama" but she means "food" when she says it. She stole a pb&j and eats anything I'll let her have. She's only nursing a few times a day...she just simply doesn't have time to sit still that long.

Jillian @ 7 Months

Oh this baby girl! She has her bottom 2 teeth and likes food as long as she can feed it to herself. She wants no part of me spoon feeding her and refuses to open her mouth. She will feed herself purees from pouches...she's just a little messy in doing so. She also eats rice rusks, puffs, and pretty much anything her brothers are eating if I let her have some. She loves peach and banana...despises apple. Complete opposite of her brothers at this age.

Jill has just started wearing 18 month jammies due to length. I'm forcing her to remain in 12 month clothes as long as possible since we are "hopefully" at the end of summer. Her hair is almost long enough for me to try a small, lightweight bow.

She's mobile. Awkwardly crawling, but getting where she wants to go. She is such a happy baby. Rarely cries or fusses unless she is hungry or tired or frustrated that she can't do something she wants to. Nicknames include: Bean, Jilly Goat, and B (short for Bean).

Jillian @ 6 Months

Almost a week late, sigh. We held half birthday festivities for Jill...her brothers helped make her half cake and insisted that they get her flowers for a present. So adorable and so much fun!

Jill is wearing 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. Baby girl has junk in her trunk and I actually have to buy/make her new diaper covers to go with her dresses because the 12 month ones don't do much covering.

She is sitting like a champ. Not crawling yet, but determined. She gets where she wants to go, but gets really frustrated that she can't make crawling happen. She is done with the Bumbo. Loves the walker and her floatie in the baby pool at grandma's house which she uses as a water walker and zips around the pool. She loves the pool and laughs when she gets splashed, my little Pisces.

She puts everything in her mouth and finally cut her first tooth...the second one is close. She started finally getting into food this week...looks like I have another rule follower. :) She loves anything that she can feed herself. She's not a big fan of purees, but eats rice rusks and toasted bread like a champ.

She is loud. And opinionated. And knows what she wants (usually her brothers' toys). And will surely be getting into it with Tony on a regular basis. I'm already suffering from hearing loss. It's also really fun. :)

Jill's First Tooth

Just to be clear, today is August 19th and Jill is still "five" months old. So to be sure that she wasn't outdone by her brother, she cut her first tooth at 5 months also.

We also weighed all 3 last night because I couldn't wait for Monday...

Jill: 19 pounds
Tony: 32 pounds
Alex: 35 pounds

Jillian @ 5 Months

A day late. :( Poor, poor 3rd child. I got caught up in all of the "grandma's moving in to her new house" excitement and failed to realize it was the 20th yesterday. Mommy fail.

Size wise, Jill is just about out of 9 month stuff completely. We're using up the last of her size 3 diapers and then we're moving on to 4s. Her "right sized for her age" feet are finally outgrowing her 0-3 month shoes. Or is it her 3-6 month shoes? Whichever size her white sandals are :)

She loves her Jumperoo, the pool, her new single stroller, and watching her brothers. Her brothers love her too and are so gentle, protective, and helpful with her.

She moved into her crib in her room permanently a few weeks ago and began sleeping better immediately. She did the whole "wakeful 4 month old" thing and taught me something new. Just last night, on her 5 month birthday, she rolled over onto her tummy and snuggled in, then fell asleep. Her daddy was completely astonished by this.

Teething is driving her crazy, but still no first tooth. She had her first "food" last week when she ate 2 rice rusks in one sitting. Nothing really since then though. That should start happening a bit more this month.

She is such an easy baby and an old soul. She just hangs out in her Bumbo seat, her stroller, or the Ergo and keeps up with the rest of us. She went to another wedding this month (The Newcombs)...totally the party girl!

Her hair is starting to fill back in, which makes me happy since we've already acquired quite the collection of bows and I can't wait to start doing her hair...I'm really not that in to the headbands.

I love you Jilly Bean!

The Kids at 4 Months

Jillian @ 4 Months

Jillian is weighing in at 16.5 pounds, but I couldn't get an accurate measurement. She's wearing 9 month clothes and starting to wear 12 month stuff too. I'm considering size 4 diapers given the amount of laundry I've been doing recently. Yes, I find that absurd. Still no teeth, but still chewing and drooling like crazy.

She's been a pro at rolling from back to tummy for over two weeks now and in that time has figured out how to pull her knees up, raise her bottom and come dangerously close to moving her arms in an army crawl style. Thankfully she just plows her head into the ground face first for now.

She likes to be on the move...she has a circuit she likes to repeat over and over: jumper, floor to roll around and play with toys, bumbo seat to watch her brothers,  sitting to standing in someone's lap, and briefly in the rock n play sleeper if Mickey Mouse Clubhouse happens to be on tv.

On her 4 month birthday, she switched from infant carrier to big girl car seat. It's purple and I couldn't be happier! Jill is also very happy to be sitting more upright and cries and fusses much less since we made the switch. In fact she seems to fall asleep in it more quickly too...maybe because she's more comfortable.

She's almost always happy and smiling if someone is talking to her and has started babbling regularly and blowing raspberries. This little girl definitely has the Kolbow gift of gab.

Jill now expects every hockey season to end with the Kings winning the Cup! She loves watching hockey and I'm so very happy that she got 2 months of bonus hockey to watch with daddy.

Jillian @ 3 Months

I love my baby girl!

My sister is getting married today, so I'll be weighing and measuring Jill later this week (hopefully...we're also going to potty train her brothers...oye!)

Jill is determined to sit up. She loves watching her brothers and am pretty sure she's going to master sitting on her own in the near future. If she's propped up, she will pull herself up. This is also happening in the infant carrier/car seat. I'm not ready for her to want to sit up more than it allows...I thought it was bad when the boys outgrow theirs at 6 months!

Within the last week, we officially stopped swaddling Jill at night and she began doing 180s in her crib. Not only does this mean she's mobile, but that she's going to be a crazy sleeper like Alex. Kinda bummed she's not a snuggler like Tony, but that's no surprise since she will also put herself to sleep by sucking her two middle fingers on her right hand. A tad independent this one is.

Her teething was getting kind of bad...she was chewing her fist all afternoon, everyday for a week when I finally decided to try a Baltic amber teething necklace. Within 24 hours of putting it on, she stopped chewing her fist and started doing her finger sucking to sleep on her own. I'm a believer! She started drooling a bit this week, so I won't be surprised if she gets her first tooth within the next month. She was born with bulging gums, so I'm pretty sure she'll be beating Tony's early first tooth at 5 months.

She's been handling wedding week festivities and the disruption to her routine like a champ. The only time she'll really cry is if I miss getting her in her jammies at 7 (a time she has designated, not me). She has set her own schedule and I can pretty much tell time by her...it's kind of awesome.

She started playing with toys and enjoying her fish jumper this week. She had a growth spurt last weekend and it was definitely noticed in her development, both physically and cognitively!  She's in her last week or two in 6 month clothes...I can't believe it! She's already outgrowing some stuff lengthwise and it's making me a little sad. And of course, she's in size 3 diapers. Baby girl has some junk in the trunk! 

Where the first 3 months with the boys were the hardest time for me, both because I was a new mom and because there were two of them, I am completely enjoying this fleeting time of Jill's infancy. She's definitely left the newborn stage and moved into babyhood already. She is an easy baby on top of my twin training, so it is rather often that we sort of forget she's there. When she does want to be held, I am never annoyed (thank you to my friends Ergo and Moby) because I know it won't be long at all until she's running around with her brothers.

Jillian @ 2 Months

Her 2 month appointment was yesterday. Her stats:

13lbs 5 oz (a nice even 4 pounds since birth)
24 inches (2 inches since birth)

She took her shots like a champ and only cried for a minute or two.

She keeps sleeping longer and longer stretches at night. She usually falls asleep between 7:30-8. Sleeps until 5ish, eats and goes back to sleep. Occasionally wakes up around 2-3 to eat but will then go back to sleep until 7. Don't hate me too much...she's Tony-i-didn't-sleep-through-the night-until-i-was-two's sister. 

She is content just looking around and people watching when she's awake during the day. She'll squawk when she gets bored.

I still am having a bit of a hard time getting some place at a specific time, but I've pretty much got my routine down and have had many solo outings. I'm confident until Jill becomes mobile...then I'll probably have another period of panic.

Jill's nicknames include: Jilly Bean, Bean, and Baby G (as in girl)

Her brothers are very protective of her when other kids want to check her out. They rock her car seat and play with her toys in the car when we stop at red lights to entertain her. Love them all!

Jillian @ 1 Month

So after month, it's safe to declare Jill "the best baby ever"!

Since she was a week old, Jill has been going to sleep for the night between 8-9, sleeping until 2-3, waking for a feeding and diaper change, sleeping until 6 for another meal and diaper change and then starting her daytime pattern of nap, eat, awake, repeat. I am getting more sleep than Strikers who is on Alex & Tony duty at night.

She really doesn't cry...just squawks when she's hungry, in need of a diaper change, or bored. She's recently started spending more time awake and just likes to watch her brothers and look around.

She loves to be in the Ergo, but hates sitting in her infant carrier car seat when she's awake. She does fine in the car, as long as the car is moving. She is a snuggle bug and loves to be cuddled up with warm blankets. She's reached the end of 3 month clothes already. Her one piece outfits with feet won't fit her much longer. Same with onesies. Length is going to be an issue.

She came dangerously close to rolling from her tummy to back yesterday...so not ready for that yet!

Happy 2 Weeks Baby Girl!

Yeah, I am in love...and she is the world's easiest baby. I really hope that doesn't change and that we don't have to pay for it too terribly later (still very scared to have a teenage daughter).

At her 2 week doctor's appointment she weighed a whopping 10lbs 1 ounce. This is particularly impressive given that she weighed 9lbs 3oz at 4 days and has been sleeping like a champ! Sunday night she slept 8 hours straight, woke up once to eat at 5 am, then slept on and off until noon. I got WAY more sleep than Striker (sorry babe!). She's also managed to speed up her eating time to 10-15 minutes already. This is particularly helpful for me and her impatient 2 year old brothers. She's in the 90th percentile for height & weight...yeah, I grow kids big :)

Jill's two week birthday marked Striker's return to work. In anticipation of the boys' daddy withdrawals, I lined up a full schedule of visitors: auntie B, followed by their twin girlfriends, followed by Oma, then grandma. They survived without any daddy meltdowns. We'll see how they do on Tuesday...

Jillian Anneliese is Here!

Finally! ;)

February 20, 2012
5:30pm
9 pounds 5 ounces
22 inches

I will post her birth story later. In the meantime, we're in love and the boys are doing very well adjusting to all of the upset in their regular routine and getting used to having a little sister. I'll get pictures of them giving her kisses eventually. It's adorable, and makes me one proud mommy!

Rachel Made Me Do This

She didn't really, but the title is a throw back to the original blog title...which I will be renaming again soon...third time's the charm, right?

Without going into much detail, Rachel and I have gone through so much together in our desire to become mothers that getting to share being pregnant with our daugthers at the same time means more to us than anyone can know.

Here we are on December 4, 2011...when we thought we were big and waddling...hahaha! This was the day after Jill did her first drop and yet, look how high she is...

Here we are a few weeks ago on January 30, 2012 in what we thought would be our last prego picture together...

And here we are today at 38 weeks and 40.5 weeks...

At this point, we're hoping our girls share their birthday. 

It should be noted that we did not purposely stand on the same side in all three pictures...apparently this is just how we stand together...I'm now going to search for any previous pictures of us together to see if this holds true...

#3 - Week 40

Got a little festive with the belly this week since I can't believe I have 4 weeks of pictures in this shirt. And seriously, this better be the last one...though there's a chance for ONE more. Disneyland did nothing except exhaust me. I insisted on a little bonus monitoring on Friday since Jill had been VERY chill (for her) for several days in a row. When my doctor couldn't prove me wrong with his in office monitoring (thanks Jill!), we got to go to the hospital for a NST and AFI. Jill of course decided to be her usual soccer playing self for the nice lady in fetal diagnostics, who said all of the right things to make me believe that I wasn't crazy, and my doctor was a jerkface who thought he knew everything. I think Striker was reassured that the nice lady said everything about a VBAC that I had been saying and of course rested our fears that Jill would somehow be a boy since we hadn't had an ultrasound since week 18. While she was only a tech and not allowed to tell us such things, she did leave the glorious crotch shot up for a very long time for us to see (knowing that we were pros at ultrasounds having had so many with the boys). I love the ladies in Fetal Diagnostics at St Jude!

While we went to the hospital unsure if we'd end up staying, I left confident that Jill was cooking nicely and prepared to just wait her out. Next dr appointment is on Friday. It's most likely going to also be D-Day...as in scheduling Jill's formal eviction...I think I'm going to beg Striker to come (like he hasn't already missed enough work this week and he's not busy as heck right now) just to see how Dr jerkface's attitude changes...as I suspect it might. Plus I want Striker included in scheduling his daughter's birthday and how her eviction will go...which is a really weird concept for me.

#3 - Week 39

I really hope this is the last one...Disneyland tomorrow just to see if that helps any. After all of the fake out contractions last week, Jill has been laying low and being pretty chill the last few days. Tick tock...

#3 - Week 38

Revelation for today...it's okay if I go into labor. If it happens, Jill is fully cooked and ready to go. February 1st is in 2 hours. She will have an amethyst birthstone and share her birth month with Grandma. This is the equivalent of hitting 36 weeks with the boys I suppose. Any extra time is just bonus growth for her. Weird!

I had decent and consistent contractions yesterday for about 2 hours...so much so that I sent out preliminary notifications to those that "needed" to know. After lying down and chugging water like a frat boy chugging beer, they stopped. We were so close to February I just had to do my best. ;)

And so now, we're just waiting. I'm no longer going to be sitting on my butt waiting for February to get here. Alex & Tony are going to wonder why they can't watch as much tv anymore...poor kids...welcome back to "normal" life. It's business as usual until Jill decides it's her birth day :)

#3 - Week 37

Well this is new...never made it to week 37 before. It has been requested that I wear this same shirt for the duration of my belly pictures for better comparison since there are no other belly pictures to compare it to, so I will do my best to remember. Let's just pretend that my hair isn't down and I'm not wearing old raggedy clothes because I had just gotten home from an MOMs Night Out before Striker had to leave to play hockey.  Yeah, we have this tag team thing down...just in time for things to get a little more complicated. 

I got my hair done on Saturday (before Striker and I went on my Christmas present date to dinner and IRIS in Hollywood...we had a super awesome time...I should write a post about that...) and my hair lady commented on the freakishly curly patch of hair in the back of my head right along my Chiari scar at the bottom. I just kind of blew her off and said that it had been wavy there since my surgery. Tonight I realized that she wasn't kidding and it is even MORE curly that I've ever noticed. If I have to start straightening my hair in that one spot I'm going to go insane...my hair is wash and go!!! Apparently not only did Jill cure my seasonal allergies that the boys gave me, but she gave me a curly patch of hair...if it all goes curly I don't know what I will do!!! I wonder if that means Jill is going to have curly/wavy hair...that would be odd since no one in our family really does. 

I really need to post pictures from the non-showers...and hopefully Jill's room will be finished this weekend so I can post pictures of that as well. 

#3 - Week 36

I don't know if you can tell from last week's photo, but Jill is lower. This means no heart burn. (YAY!) It also means...she's lower. I'm going to the doctor on Friday to get "checked". If there is no "progress", I'll be surprised, especially if her current positioning and activities continue. This little girl needs to stay put until February!!! 

And now, the last comparison photo from pregnancy #1, week 36:

Best Thing I Bought This Year: Sterilite Sorting Hampers

I realize that it's only the 12th, but this also might be one of the top 5 things I've ever purchased for our house.

The Sterilite Sorting Hampers are FANTASTIC!

• They are made in the USA
• Hold one loads' worth of clothes
• Fit underneath the door clearance of the washer & dryer on pedestals
• Are super easy to carry (check out those handles...no breaking nails!)
• They work superbly with my new laundry schedule!

I bought 6 of these. One for the boys clothes, and 5 for our room: whites, blacks, grays/tans, colors, and jeans. (Yes, I need one more for Jill now). This is just how our loads sort out and how I was washing them anyway. Now I just don't have to spend time sorting or bending over a million times. I can also get rid of all of the random hodge podge of hampers/laundry baskets that never seemed to get emptied due to my avoidance of actually folding clothes. The hamper follows its load from dirty to clean and then makes it easy/motivating to fold a quick load so I can put the hamper back in the closet. I will only keep one regular laundry basket to use for linens on the days I do those.

Once I organize our closest and remove all of the maternity clothes after Jill gets here, they will fit nicely at the bottom under the hanging stuff. I also plan to bust out the Cricut and some vinyl and label them.

Sadly, Sterilite does not have a Facebook page :(

#3 - Week 35

What a difference a week makes...Jill's room is painted. Her crib arrived today. Her dressers should be here by the end of this week. Her curtains have been hung (though I do need to make a little modification to the valance). We had Grandma, Oma, Opa, and Auntie B over this weekend and they helped us knock out a 17 item to do list...plus watch the boys and do regular chores. So instead of feeling like a procrastinator, I'm going with "working well under pressure"...or efficient. Yeah, efficient, I like that better. 

I am measuring right on schedule, maybe a few days ahead. Since the measurement is done while lying down, I can only say that for those of you who repeatedly ask me if I'm sure I'm only 35 weeks, gravity is a not nice thing, and I had two good sized twins 2 years ago so my skin and ligaments are all very stretchy. 

However, Jill is no longer pleased with the amount of space she has, and thus kicks my ribs all the time. When I do something ridiculous like sit on the floor to play with her brothers, she'll sort of maneuver into a transverse position, then when she has more room she wiggles back to head down to kick my ribs (again, things are all very stretchy...just not anymore vertical space). Tonight, Alex elbowed her accidentally while trying to snuggle with me on the couch, and then she threw an elbow back, followed by a few kicks for good measure. Alex was looking at the belly, saw all the action and was completely amazed. Great moment in siblingdom. 

Enjoy them while they last, pregnancy #1, week 35 (only ONE more comparison photo left!):

#3 - Week 34

I don't want to say it, because then she'll probably try and do something crazy, but I think Jill is pretty much done somersaulting and turning in circles. I'm pretty sure she has cooperated and assumed the desired position, but again, I'm sure I'm going to regret writing that. I go to the doctor on Friday. We'll ask him to confirm both her positioning as well as my unofficial measurement..I do believe that I am measuring "on time" despite feeling huge. It should also be noted that I have not yet started painting her room (or having Striker paint for me) nor have I ordered her crib or dressers. I plan to do all of that this weekend. :)

Only 2 more weeks of comparison photos left...pregnancy #1, week 34: