Benjamin is HERE..

and has been for almost three weeks!  Sorry it's taken me this long to post about our big news.  You probably guessed (or follow me on facebook) that Benjamin Naim was born September 18th.  He weighed in at 9 lbs 15 oz and was 21 1/4 inches long.  Yes, a BIG healthy baby boy.  He has chubby cheeks, large hands, long arms, brown hair (with his daddy's hair line) and big feet.  Just an absolutely perfect little boy.

Delivery went smoothly and I would say he was my easiest yet.  Recovery has been fabulous, physically I feel pretty good (and happily no longer pregnant!)

Benjamin is such a joy to have in our home.  He is a sweet little man who loves to be held and cuddled.  He is a zealous eater and makes sure he gets his eats o-f-t-e-n.  (He has a big body to sustain afterall.)  His brothers are very proud of him, especially Sam who came into the hospital room with his arms ready to hold his little brother.

Keeping Busy ... Still no baby.

Well, I'm still hanging out and my bambino is proving stubborn and content to stay where he is.  With the help of my mom, I've been keeping busy.  In the last couple weeks we have gone to the Baltimore Aquarium, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Ikea (twice), Costco, finished a baby quilt, organized my main floor, spent a day doing quilts for two young women who lost their mother, working on the baby's afghan, emptied his room, set up the crib, and are currently preping it for paint. 

Through all these activities I've had moments where I have been rather uncomfortable (the Aquarium expecially) but still no baby.  Things looked promising at my appointment this morning.  He's still head down and I'm dialated further.  All I need are some good contractions then off to the hospital we go! 

Here are some pics from the Aquarium.  The boys absolutely loved it which is good because we got a membership.  Their favorite was the dolphin show.  I also really enjoyed the Jelly Fish exhibit. 

Elijah in front of a sub outside the museum

Calypso- a rescued sea turtle that we all fell in love with.  She was swimming in the tank with a ton of sting rays.  She had to have her front flipper amputated when they rescued her. 

Sam pointing out the baby upside down jellyfish

Cluster of Upside down Jellyfish

Ugh!

I FEEL like there is a watermelon sitting on my bladder!  I'm ready to be done.

Words a Mom likes to hear:

Elijah at dinner tonight-

"Can I have more brussel sprouts, please?"


(And Papa, don't you dare tell him otherwise!)

Bath Time

Last night Sam got thrown in the bath (see previous post for marker pictures, turns out his face wasn't the only part with marks).  Tilly followed us up there and was looking rather interested in what was going on so we threw her in with Sam.  Wasn't long before Elijah jumped in too.  It's a cute bunch of buds.

I also had to get a picture of Tilly looking like a drowned rat.  Her face is pretty scrawny when you wet down all her curly hair.  Overall she doesn't seem to mind taking a bath.  No fighting and trembling but she was in a hurry to get out of there and bolted out of the bathroom before we could get a towl around her.

My Curious George

I'm ready to start sewing the baby's rag quilt but yesterday while I was resting someone [Sam] decided to "touch" my machine and when I sat down to sew some burp clothes later that afternoon my presser foot had magically disappeared. I'm still waiting for it to magically reappear.  While looking for the foot I found that Sam had also taken scissors to a skein of embroidery floss and cut it into tiny clumps of thread.

Sam is very different than Elijah. He manages to get himself into so much mischief because he has to push all the boundaries. He is my curious George to the "T".   He has been banned from unsupervised use of markers, scissors, hand sanitizer and baby wipes among other things. The kid just can't help himself.


Last night he came to Josh and I looking like this:
 

He's my darn cute bundle of trouble.  Man, I love that kid!

36 weeks...

Well, I've reached the 36 week threshold and I am FEELING 36 weeks -- Uncomfortable, but still going strong though a lot slower.  I had my appointment this morning.  Everything still checks out.  I'm measuring on target, the baby's heart rate is good, he's head down, and I'm already measuring 1 cm.  Everything is lining up for this baby to get here, physicaly.  I've just got to get everything else in my life lined up too.

Josh has his 9/80 day today (which means he has work off) and he has a LONG list of things to do.  My main goal is to find the floor in the bedroom my sisters will be staying in and get the downstairs shower curtain up so they can actually use the bathroom.  Lots of work to do for Josh (while I sit here blogging)!

The "Coolest Thing" They've Ever Seen

Earlier this week our neighbor across the street had a company come a cut down one of his trees.  We're talking a BIG tree.  The diameter at the base was probably close to 2 feet.  It took 5-6 guys about as many hours to get it cut into pieces and most of it mulched to tiny bits.  It was really an interesting process involving one guy up in the tree and many others manning ropes from below.

Anyway, they pulverized most of the tree that same day but left two large sections of the trunk in the front yard until yesterday when a big truck came to get them.  The truck is what totally fascinated the boys.  It had a huge orange claw that picked up the tree trunks and delicately placed them on the bed of the truck.  The boys were glued to the window (with it's newly installed blinds, I might add).  They were very excited about it and repeatedly commented that it was the coolest thing they have ever seen.  Sadly the show didn't last that long.  In nothing flat the logs were in place and the truck was on it's way.

(Sam is under his still beloved blanket, "BB".  He was pretending it was his long beautiful hair when the truck show began.  I've tried stashing the blanket but he always realizes when it's gone and hunts for it.  Silly kid.)

Nursing Cover

I've got projects piling up in various stages of completion.  Last night Josh had a boys' game night with friends in the ward and I sat down to sew my nursing cover.

I found various tutorials online and combined a few of them for my end result.  My favorites were these two:

Sew Much Ado: Nursing Cover Tutorial

Pinkatilly Nursing Cover Pattern

I found the cute fabric at JoAnn's along with the 1/2" polyester boning and 1" D rings.  I also used some left over brown flannel to make a triangle pocket in one corner.

I made the overall dimensions bigger than those given in either tutorial.  The width is from selvage to selvage and for the length I think I did 28".  I bought a yard of fabric and had some left over. 

Overall it came together rather easily and for about $8.00 I have my own nursing cover.  I'm excited!

Eaten Alive

I am feeling overly loved of late... by MOSQUITOS! 

They must love the way I taste because I am getting eaten alive everyday, throughout the day.  I go outside with Matilda 3-4 times a day (her potty training has been going great)  for about 5 minutes and I always come in and find that I have at least 2 new bites.  The worst is when they follow me into the house and bite me when I'm eating dinner or sitting at the computer.  ARgh!  The first hour or so after I'm bitten is maddening trying to ignore the itching burn.  After that they stop bothering me and disappear but that first little while drives me nuts!  I've started spraying myself down in the morning with bug spray but they still manage to find a spot I missed.  These aren't your average Utah mosquitos either, they are a little bit bigger and are black and white striped.  The annoying thing, which is also good, is that they don't seem to be attracted to anyone else.  Josh never gets bit or at least his body doesn't react and the boys aren't outside a lot.  When they are out Elijah is like Josh and doesn't get much attention but I think they are more attracted to Sam. 

Oh the joy of Maryland and it's natural inhabitants aka pluthera of BUGS!

Masterpieces

Okay, this post is long overdue.  The boys painted these back in June for their room and for Josh for Father's Day.  They've been floating around since then and I finally broke down and took pictures of them.  Elijah and Sam were sure excited to paint on the special "paper."  They each drew a rough draft of their picture on paper first and then they painted it on the canvas.  They were very serious about the whole process. 

Elijah's Masterpieces:

He chose to paint a rocket for his bedroom.  He designed and painted it all by himself.

For Josh he painted a picture of them together.  Again all by himself including the star and the heart and five fingers.

Sam's Masterpieces:

Sam painted a "Cleaner" Robot for his bedroom.  This painting just makes me smile!

For Josh he painted a picture of himself (yellow) and another robot.

Puppy Love

We haven't been doing much this month, and I haven't taken a lot of pictures.  But I have caught a few of Matilda in her cute puppiness.

Sam can be a bit physical with Tilly but I often catch him being really sweet with her too.  She was laying on the floor and Sam went and cuddled up with her and is watching a movie.  Pretty sweet.

Tilly has adopted our old brown chair.  It sits in front of our big sliding glass door/window.  She will sit on it looking over the arm rest and watch our neightbors.  You will also often find her sleeping in it.

Often in the most random positions.  Oh what a care free life.

I also had to snap this picture of Josh and Matilda.  When I did it he made some remark about using it for blackmail.  Josh really is sweet on that puppy.  That are a cute duo not to mention he is a handsome man!

Panic/Survival Mode

I'm pretty much running on survival mode right now.  I can't really comprehend that this baby will be here in a matter of weeks.  I'm 6ish weeks out from my due date and I wouldn't be surprised if he came 2 weeks early like Sam.  But I've been so preoccupied and busy that I really haven't had a chance to do anything but panic a little that this baby will be here soon and be excited that my mother is coming into town.

I'm scared to think that in the next couple weeks Elijah will start Kindergarten.  I'm throwing him into the world.  My sweet innocent spounge is getting thrown into a den full of other little boys and girls that I don't know and I can't filter what he will hear and learn.  AHhhh!  Not only that but I'm actually accountable to get him there everyday, ontime.  That means I actually have to pull together a morning routine.  No more lazing around when there's nothing on the schedule for the day.  On top of that I AM HAVING A BABY!  I know what babies do to my morning routines.  I know how I feel/function (more like not function) when I haven't gotten enough sleep.  I'm crazy to be doing this at the same time.  Thank goodness my mother will be here!  At least I know Elijah will get to school ontime the first month and hopefully that will be enough time for me to get my act together.

In the meantime I'm busy getting projects together for the baby, finding the baby's room, busy with YW's, planning Young Women in Excellence, keeping up on laundry and dishes, and trying to be patient with my restless boys.

Phew... I think it's time for a nap.

It's been HOT

I think Tilly's got the right idea...  Sprawl out on the air vent.

We've had record heat this month.  A lot of 90 degree days with high humidity.  It's been killer.  Needless to say we have been spending A LOT of time indoors.  The boys have been restless and I've had little energy to entertain them.  We are SO looking forward to Grammie, Aunt Bekah and Aunt Rachel coming to visit!

They grow SO fast

We've had Matilda for a month now.  She has just fit right into our family.  We all love having her around.  She is quite entertaining and frequently makes us laugh.  We are still working on the biting, which is getting a lot better, and the potty training...  Generally she just makes us all happy, including my proclaimed "non-dog person" husband.

Josh spends his early mornings with Tilly.  Lets her out of her crate, feeds her, takes her out, wrestles with her, and they have started jogging together.  It's pretty cute to listen in on their activities.  Tilly is very fond of Josh and I would be hard pressed to believe he doesn't recipricate.  She even pitched in to help him on his Home Theater Computer.  They are a cute duo.

Tilly's growing like a weed!  It's amazing how fast that happens.  I'd guess she is close to 11lbs now and we've had to loosen her collar.  I think she will eventually end up bigger than we thought/were told, but I have no regrets.  I think she's a perfect fit for our family.

She can sit, fetch, release her toys, go IN, and "go out" meaning potty.  She's a smart girl when you can keep her focused long enough to care.  She loves playing with the boys.  They run around the main floor and Tilly chases the boys cutting corners and surprising them and barking.  It makes for a pretty crazy house (my mom with vouch to that, she's heard it over the phone) and very funny to watch.   She likes ice cubes and will bat them around the floor and chew on them.  She also has radar for Bunny and Brownie, Elijah and Sam's precious stuffed animals.  She knows she's not supposed to but whenever she gets a chance she will run off with them but easily surrenders them.  Tilly will also bat around egg shell halves and carry them in her mouth, often covering her nose.  Pretty funny to watch.

Tilly will crawl under the couch on the main floor (our old love seat from our college days - WEIRD to say that!). She will pop out and jump at the boys.  I don't know how much longer she will be able to get under there.  It's becoming a tight squeeze.

Cute Kids

My posts lately have been about random things but I thought I needed to throw a picture in of my two biggest responsibilities.  They keep me busy and fill my days (mostly) with love.  My boys are such goofy kids who just love life (and are loving having a puppy in the house).

Toad

I came home from YW's last night to find this on the table in one of our drinking glasses:

Apparently the boys were out with Josh and Tilly last night and Elijah found and caught this little guy all by himself.  Josh and I were pretty impressed.  Elijah wanted to keep it in the cup so I could see it when I got home then we let it go outside.  I need all the misquito eaters out there I can get.  They are sure bitting!

Earthshake

This morning we were awakened early by the house shaking.  Yep, I have officially experienced my first EARTHQUAKE!  I find it ironic. 

Anyway, apparently it was a minor 3.6 magnitude quake.  It didn't even wake up the boys and Josh and I woke up long enough to wonder what was going on then rolled over and went back to sleep. 

Apparently Washington DC has had minor earthquakes in the past but this morning's was the strongest to hit within 30 miles of DC since they started keeping records (1974).

Pretty crazy!

See Usspost for an article on the quake.
There's also a cool seismic activity picture on the Maryland Geological Survey website but it is being really really slow loading right now.

Nursery Brainstorming

I've been surfing and drooling at baby stuff online for a few months now (okay 7). There is a ton of cute stuff out there made by such talented people. When I found out we were having a boy that limited everything by two-thirds but I am still excited about the possibilities.

This is the first time that I have had full freedom to decorate a nursery. After much hee-hawing I've decided to do a woodland theme. Granted I still haven't actually done anything but I do have a good idea of what I want to happen... eventually. (In all reality some of it is not likely to come together until my talented and motivated mother gets here. I love you Mom!)

I have plans to make a quilt for the crib as well as crochet an afghan (which I did for Sam and Elijah). I would also love to do a crib skirt and possibly crib sheets. Ambitious, I know.

As for decor, basically I'm leaning toward the colors orange, brown, blue, warm yellow, and lime green. I've also always been attracted to owls and trees. (Okay, so it seems the room is all for me.)  I think the wall color will either be a robin blue (not baby blue) or a warm yellow.  I keep changing my mind though. A mossy green would be nice too.

So here are pictures of ideas that I like. Let me know what you think.

I want to do a tree mural on the wall, either vinyl, painted or mod podged.  I think the little bird house light on the tree is adorable.  I also like the branches used for wall decor and for the mobiles and the ball lamp with honey bees wrapped around it. 

I've also started crocheting some of my ami critters.  I've got an owl and part of a hedgehog so far.

I've also been drooling over things on etsy.  Mostly fabric and project ideas.  Here's a list of some of my favorites.

What do you think?  Am I nuts?  Do you have any ideas to add?  I would love to hear your feedback.

Slave vs Mom

Yesterday Elijah watched some episodes of the show Liberty Kids. My mom (and sisters) recommended it and when I saw it at the library I picked it up. It's a cartoon series that goes through the events surrounding the American Revolution and supposedly it is rather accurate. Anyway, Elijah was glued (and I happily took a nap hence I can't give my personal opinoin) and apparently some of the content stuck with him...

Last night as we were settling down for FHE Elijah asks "What is a slave?"
I told him it was someone that is owned by someone else who has to work for them, isn't paid and can't leave if they want to.
He quickly processed that and responded, "Like you, Mommy."

Umm, well... not exactly.

Living in Maryland

My observations:

Trees, Trees, TREES (and more trees)
Humidity- UGH!
I really like my house
Rain does not make it cooler outside
I would hate to learn how to drive on these freeways
There doesn't seem to be a "Maryland" accent
Grocery stores are small, lacking in selection, and expensive
No Super Target or Super Walmart (closest is 30+ minutes away)
You can't see the sunset
Close to loads of things to see including historical sites
Josh is enjoying his job
No one has sprinkler systems, they let their grass die (go dormant) in the summer
Love the variety of birds in my yard
You have to drive on a freeway to get most anywhere

Seems like I am forgetting some that have been floating around in my head. I'll update my list as they come to me.