1,2,3 and 4!

We're dog-sitting for some friends this weekend.  If you thought life with 3 kids under 5 was chaotic, try throwing a dog into the mix!  The dinner/witching hour was over the top tonight.  (Probably something to do with wild toddler boys and a hyper 8 month old puppy feeding off each others' energy.) In fact, it was so bad that my husband is out doing the dishes and the dog and I are shut up in the office for a little "time out."  Surprisingly, I've made some good headway on my lengthy "to-do" list this afternoon so I'm rewarding myself with a little blogging time.  Here's the latest update on our brood:

1.)  Jack

He's always trying to hide from the camera.

By now, I'm sure you're all aware of our beloved Monkey, Jack's lovey-toy since he was a baby.  Monkey's been on many adventures and a few extended vacations.  Last week was his most recent.  Typically he turns back up after a day or two out on the road, but this time, well a week later and still no Monkey.  I seem to vaguely remember Jack having him outside.  So I made two separate searches on my own, in addition to turning the house inside out, but all to no avail.  I thought perhaps Monkey had had his last stand.  On Thursday, Jack and I were outside during the other kids' naptime and just for kicks, went in to search and rescue mode and started calling out Monkey's name.  The sun must have been shining just right because, lo and behold, there in the what Jack refers to as "the digging place," a stretch of sandy dirt located between the swing set and my garden, was a very dirty mound of monkey fur.  There had been two rainstorms since Monkey's disappearance and by the time we got to him he was barely recognizable.  Jack gasped and tenderly scooped up his "best buddy."  I wanted to get a picture of our successful hunt but Jack was so distraught, his face a mixture of fear and responsibility (that tangle of emotion that just about any mother can relate to!) that I felt too horrible to capture it.  I brought out a basin of soapy water so Jack could give him a bubble bath.  Then we put him through a wash and dry cycle and (considering how old and well-loved he was before he got lost) he's looking very much like himself these days.  And Jack is much more careful about where he takes (and leaves) Monkey.

This was was a little bit after we found Monkey.

Jack is entering in to his last month of preschool.  He came home last week quite upset that he wasn't "graduating" at the end of the month like so many of his other friends.  I told him that he's so special he gets to come back to preschool next year and meet all the new friends!  I don't think it would be so bad if the lovely Bryn wasn't graduating too.  It isn't a preschool day if Jack's not talking about Bryn and her pretty dresses.  Oh dear, aren't we much too young for this?  Soon it will be summer break and the only girl he'll have to practice his moves on will be Julia.

2.)  Jude

His latest look - covered heard to toe in dirt.

You've heard about Jude recently, our big 3 year old.  He's struggling with his recent wardrobe change.  A combination of changing seasons and growing boy and we've had to put away most of the shirts and pants he's become so familiar with.  Unfortunately, my stack of 3T boys clothes consists largely of stripes and solids and not nearly enough animals and cartoon characters.  Which makes our morning routine that much more difficult.  As long as he's able to locate a pair of Thomas underwear though we're off to a good start!

Other than the clothing change Jude is taking full advantage of the arrival of spring.  He loves to be outside and is the first one out the door if you merely mention the word "walk."  He also loves mud and bugs ... two things he hasn't yet mastered to leave outside.

Of the three kids, Jude is THE MOST keen on my pregnancy.  He loves to sit on my lap and poke at "Baby J___" (nope, not giving away the name just yet!  You could always ask Jude, but his pronunciation might throw you off a bit!).  He's a bit confused thought about what, exactly, an unborn baby is.  He apparently thinks any "bump" on Mommy's body is a potential baby.  And that some are bigger than others.  I won't go into it any more than that but lets just say Jude thinks I'm carry one big baby and two smaller ones.  *cough, cough*

3.)  Julia

As usual, hands behind her head.

She's sitting on my lap now.  She got removed to the "time-out room" too after Jude decided he wanted to put her in the dog's crate.  She's a little teary-eyed and shaken, but soon she'll be slapping away at the keyboard and tearing apart all my important paperwork.

This girl is ALL 18 month old, whatever that means.  Just like I predicted, she figured out not only how to remove the slats from her window blind but also how to use them to knock down the fabric rounds hanging above her crib.  She then spends a considerable amount of "naptime" disassembling the decorative pieces I spent so much time putting together for her before her birth.

She's also very much in to her Daddy now.  If the boys weren't so much faster than her, she would be the first to greet him at the door of his car when he comes home from work.  But since she still insists on turning completely backwards and inching her belly down from the front step, it takes her a little longer to get places.

I think we finally have our first word (other than "Mama" and "Dadda") I was afraid, for a moment, that it was going to be "poopy" but she hasn't been using that one consistently yet.  And then I thought perhaps "dog."  But again, not consistent enough to know for sure it's one of her legitimate words.  Nope, Julia's first official word is ... BABY!  I love it.  It comes out more like "bee bee."  But she says it to all her baby dolls, when we see a little one out in the store, and when she's pointing to #4's ultrasound picture on the fridge.  I am so looking forward to her playing the part of big sister in a few months.  Although giving up her baby-of-the-family status might be a bit more of a challenge!

4.)  The baby
I've forgotten to take belly pics for the past two weeks, this is our fourth after all...

27 weeks now and strong and healthy!  I can feel this one's presence so much more pronounced than the other three at this age.  She's more "in the front" and we very quickly went from "butterflies" to distinctive kicks and body parts.  Apparently things are a bit "rearranged" in there.  I've been put on placenta previa watch.  In other words, at my last ultrasound the placenta was a bit too close to the cervix.  It is very likely that it will move (actually that the uterus will grow and therefore it will no longer be a problem) but if for some reason it didn't, or if it moved the wrong direction, I'd be looking at a hospital birth and possibly bedrest.  And since bedrest with 3 kids in the middle of summer is simply NOT an option for this Mama, we're really hoping for a good report in a few weeks.  I'll go back for another ultrasound then.  The doctor will want to see the placenta but I'll want to see this baby girl and make sure once and for all it really is a she.  Because if she isn't, I got a ton of yard sale clothes I'll need to retrieve from Marmie and Poppa's house!

Big Sister laying on Little Sister, and subsequently getting a head massage.

And it's official, the first stranger commented on my pregnancy today!  The lady sitting next to us at lunch after church wanted to know if we were expecting another girl.  "Why yes, we're very excited!" and then the older lady behind us commented to Jon on our impending family of four as well.  "We're trying not to wish these years away!" he said, because Jon is very charming with little old ladies and we all know that mother's of very-grown kids have that historical perspective.

And we're not, we're not wishing these years away, as challenging as they sometimes are.  We enjoy them, not every minute, particularly not those few minutes this evening when the boys were running trucks in circles, freaking out the dog who peed on the floor and then knocked Julia's snack out of her hands, but most of them.  They're GOOD minutes and I'm so incredibly thankful I get to repeat them not two, not even three, but FOUR times.  We'll just put that dog-dream off a few years longer!

Typical dinner at our house: Jude killing bugs, Jack playing with his food, Julia doing her hair.