Kids say the funniest things

Maggie came running up to me the other day and said, "Aunt Jen! Aunt Jen!  I found a binkie for the baby!!!"  I said 'thank you' and asked her what I should do with it.  She said, "Put it in your belly."

Maggie is in love with Smoochie.  The first thing she says when she wakes up is "Where's my cat?"

Here's a clip of some funny things the girls have said.  Last night at dinner, we were asking the girls what they wanted to do while we were all together.  Beth and I are trying to plan an activity for each day and thought we could make up a list for them.  Katherine said, "Well, tomorrow we have to get the baby and then we can do the rest of our list". 

Laughter truly is a great dose of medicine.  I'm so thankful these kids and the joy they bring to our house.

Katherine's 4th Birthday

Beth, Nathan, Katherine, Maggie and Jonathan are here now to keep me company for awhile.  I was so excited to be able to host Katherine's 4th birthday party-it was just the distraction I needed.

The girls have no idea what a luau is, but they still had fun pretending to be in Hawaii.

 We started the day off with donuts and lots of playing.  Beth and Nathan took Alison and Katherine out for the afternoon to look for a new bike for Katherine.  They didn't find what they were looking for, but the girls got to pick out a pinata and helped fill it with candy.

 Katherine's request for the day was brownies and homemade ice cream (mint chocolate chip and strawberry).  

 We had a few presents

and then it was party time.  We went out on the deck and had luau dress up stuff and ice cream bubbles.  Eli and Maggie were the most excited about the bubbles-Eli wanted to dump them in the pool and Maggie spent the afternoon trying to hold as many as she could.

The girls dressed up and thought they looked absolutely fabulous.

After some hotdogs and hamburgers (unfortunately the ice cream had to wait...it helps to have sugar) it was pinata time!

36 Weeks

Surprise, surprise...Surprise Baby #3 sent me to the hospital yesterday, just a day shy of 36 weeks-just like all my other babies.  I'll spare the details, but I questioned whether my water had broken and I had been feeling "not so great" all day.  My doctor told me to go get checked out (it's always better safe than sorry), so I called my friend Jamie and off we went.  Thankfully my friend Abby had been with me all day and stayed with the kids until we returned home.  I started having contractions on the way to the hospital and by the time we got there they were 5 minutes apart.  Apparently a woman had delivered a baby right outside the emergency room doors the night before, so all of the nurses were on high alert and whisked me up to the maternity triage.  Good news: my water had not broken and I'm not dilated!  However, I was still contracting so the doctor asked me to stay for a little bit to make sure things wouldn't change.  After lots of water, some good pregnant lady stories from the nurses and a long conversation about margaritas, we were on our way home.  I was so thankful to be home and thankful to still have a baby in my belly.  I don't know if I'll ever fully be ready to have this baby-physically I'm ready to not be pregnant, but emotionally I know it's only the beginning.  I'm excited to see what he looks like and to see Alison and Eliot meet him, but is anyone really ready for labor?  Just wait, in 4 weeks I'm sure I'll be laughing that I said this.

Beach Day

 The weatherman forecasted rain all week, but we woke up to a bright sunny morning.  So what better way to spend it than at the beach?  It was just what the doctor ordered for this momma.

 

 We picked up a lemonade slushy and I lounged on the beach while the kids played and ran around with the Aunts.

I fell more in love with my kids today.  I just soaked up seeing a smile spread across their face, hearing Eliot shout "ocean" over and over and watching Alison become the bravest little girl and "surf" with Mimi.

I'm not sure I would have made it through the week without these women here to help me.  I hope they know how much I appreciate everything they did...from cooking, to cleaning, to loving on my kids, to listening to me complain about all the aches and pains.  The kids and I will surely be going through some withdrawl tomorrow when we have to say goodbye.

By the way, the kids LOVED the ocean this year.  Neither were the slightest bit hesitant to jump in and were anxious to get wet.  Rachel said that both of them would try to pull her deeper and deeper into the water, simply not able to get enough of the ocean.  It's amazing how things change over time.  And if you need a little glimpse of how big Surprise Baby is getting, here you go:

Hey Good Lookin'!

Ben sent this to me Saturday-the day he got his first uniform.  It was a proud day, one I know he's looked forward to for a long time.  We got to talk for 10 minutes, both Saturday and Sunday.  Everyone else is only allowed Sunday privileges, but since I'm 8 months pregnant, they gave him some "bonus" time.  He said they've worked them nonstop, rising at 4 am and not getting back to his room until 10pm.  I don't understand a lot about the military yet, but he said that he's doing so well that he's already in charge of other people and second in command.  Only Ben Shear.  Seriously.  Who goes to training and gets to be in charge of other people training?  Only Ben Shear.  It was good to see his face and know he's doing okay.  The kids were awkward on the phone, but I know they still enjoyed hearing his voice.

My 30th Birthday

The best present ever came at 4:30 am when I got a "secret" text from Ben.  Oh, it was so good to hear he's okay and that he was thinking of me.  Then, somehow he sent me flowers.  They arrived while I was out getting a pedicure and Alison added a sweet card to go with them.  It took everything in me not to completely loose it.  The simple things.  Yes, it's the simple things that get me.

I had a fantastic day and am so thankful Rachel and the girls were here...they certainly know how to make a girl feel loved.  Rachel made me crepes for breakfast and then we went to get a mani/pedi.  I don't think I've ever been so relaxed.  We picked up a very big diet coke (my current big time craving) from Sonic on the way home and after the kids napped, we heading out to do some shopping and had dinner at Abuelo's.  I requested ice cream cake for dessert and Rachel very sweetly put a '29' candle on it for me.  I was not excited about turning 30, especially being 35 weeks pregnant.  I had dreamed of spending it on the beach with a margarita, but alas, the Lord had other plans.

 

The Nursery

Thanks to a very loving Mimi, the nursery is ready for a baby.  Rachel worked so hard on these decorations and I am beyond thankful for her help.  Plus, she's way more creative than I am, and I just couldn't get the right vision for all the circles.

 The only thing left to do on the "baby list" is santize the binkies.  I think with 5 weeks left, we can handle that one.

29 Days

Daddy comes home in 29 days.

Before Ben left, he recorded a book for each of the kids.  I wrapped them up and "the mailman" delivered them yesterday.   Eliot was beyond confused how he could hear daddy, but not see daddy.  They've spent a lot of time listening to those books and I think just hearing his voice has given them a lot of comfort.

Rachel, Cierra and Madisyn are here this week to help me and I am beyond grateful for them!  They've played and played with the kids and Rachel helped me grocery shop and has cooked every meal.  They have saved me in so many ways.

So far, things have gone much better than I anticipated.  The kids' behavior has been far better than it was last week.  I've seen the Lord work in mighty ways since Ben's been gone; He's given me a peace and comfort that I've never experienced before.  I've felt him protect and guard my emotions and thoughts.  People have asked me if it's hard when I would normally expect Ben to be coming home from work, and I was shocked to realize that I hadn't even thought of that once.  Moments that are the hardest are when I see the kids miss him.  Ben made the kids a video of him singing goodnight to them...that definitely gets me every time.  I think it helps to count down the days, but to a 4 year old, 29 is a huge number and she often gets discouraged when she looks at the calendar.  I am so thankful for distraction and family here to help entertain and take care of us.

Mother's Day

Alison gave me the best Mother's Day present ever.  I was surprised she even remember what the day was-I hadn't said a thing.  But when she woke up, she immediately grabbed a piece of construction paper and a stencil.  All by herself, she wrote "I Love You" with a heart at the end.  When she presented it to me, I teared up.  Yes, I'm pregnant.  But she remembered that I had told her all she needed to do was tell me she loved me and this was the first time she's ever wrote a sentence all by herself without asking for help spelling.  

We got ready for church and the kids looked absolutely adorable.  I mean, they were stinkin' cute and I had hopes of a beautiful picture.

Eliot did not want any part of cuteness.

 And this is the best I could get of Alison.  I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it.

After church, I picked up a huge diet coke and enjoyed a movie with twizzlers while the kids' napped.  Then we went over to some friends house for dinner.  Stacie's husband is deployed right now, so we thought it was only fitting to spend Mother's Day together.  We planned a ham, fresh bread and mashed potato dinner...but something went wrong with the ham and we ended up eating hot dogs and mac n' cheese.  The kids loved it and Stacie and I just had laugh.  I guess that's what life of a mom is-sacrifice, improvisation and loving a smile on your kids' face.  It was great to spend the day with one of the most encouraging mom's I know. 

Our Adventure Begins

Ben left this morning...34 days until he comes home.

Today went much better than I anticipated.

Yesterday was HARD.  Seeing Ben say goodbye to the kids was the hardest.

Hearing Eli ask for Daddy today was even harder.

We stayed busy today and it felt almost "normal".  We hit some garage sales, ran some errands, went swimming, got a treat from the ice cream man and had movie night.

However, apparently my belly is now too big to see what I'm doing:

Eliot's obsession with Thomas has escalated to the point of filling his arms with trains when it's time to leave.

I'm ending day 1 feeling SO THANKFUL.  I thought I would be weepy all day, but we had a really good day.  I think if I can keep my eyes focused on the day at hand, instead looking at the big "5 weeks and oh yeah, you're about to pop" picture, things will go much smoother.

The Kids

I LOVE 2.  I am absolutely in love with this stage.  I think I say that in every stage, but right now, I feel like the Lord has blessed this stage for me.  I love hearing Eliot talking and saying new, funny things all the time.  Just hearing him say "Mommy!" melts my heart.  This toothy smile has helped me get through many moments this week.

Eliot at 2...

He loves to get ALL of his cars and trains out and lines them up through the house.

He is totally in love with Thomas the train.

We him 'Bubby' way more than we should.

He calls Alison 'Sissy'.

Alison has been very concerned about Mother's Day.  Sunday we went to a Mother's Day Tea for church and the drive there was full of questions about what Mother's Day is, what she was supposed to do, and how was she going to get me a present if daddy was gone.  I told her not to worry, that she just needed to say 'I love you' and we would spend the day together.  She said, "So, it's just a normal day?"....yes, I suppose it is.

All the kids made flower pots for their mom's, however, Alison didn't feel like that was enough and has worked on several projects since then.  Yesterday, she took a heart doily and sticky letters and wanted to write 'Happy Mother's Day'.  She needed a little help with the spelling...this is how our conversation went:

Alison: "Mommy.  Does M-A-D spell Mother?"

Me (trying really hard not to laugh): "No sweetheart.  M-A-D spells mad"

Alison: "AH!  I don't want to say Happy mad Day!"

Sadly, this led to a complete meltdown.  She tried again that evening, but I laughed even harder when I realized that to her, it's not 'Happy Mother's Day'...it's 'Happy Motter Stay'.

I ended up with a doily that says 'Hppy Mot Stay'.

I'll take it.

When I finally get to sit down at the end of the day, Surprise Baby decides it's time to play...this particular evening I felt like he was just going to jump out of my tummy.  It's crazy to see legs roll by and feet stick out-definitely creeps Ben out.

We had our ultrasound this week and the baby is already over 5 lbs.   Um, Alison was 5 lbs when she was born at full term, so I don't think there's any concern about me measuring small.  The technician was in such a rush that the pictures were absolutely terrible.  At least I know he's healthy and head down and he's #3...or else I would be pretty mad at that lady.

The song played during the baby video is a song Ben and I have been playing frequently through our house.  First, we both just love it.  But for me, it's where I hope our focus is and pray for our family.  It is a gift to keep things simple.

I pray that our focus would be on Christ, and Him alone.

I pray that His peace would fill our home and that we would cherish the simple moments in our family's life.

Eliot's 2 year picture

Eliot James Shear

2 Years Old

 Please don't tell this middle child that his mommy forgot to take his 2 year old pictures...let's just say we were waiting for the new fancy camera.



I quickly remembered this morning why I hate paying other people to take pictures of my kids and why I've longed for a nice camera since the birth of Alison.  Taking good pictures of kids is HARD!  Especially 2 year olds.  I got the munchkin all cleaned up, put a pretty outfit on him and set up our usual photo shoot place.  Then he peed.  Just stood there and let it all go.  We were doing SO good!  So, we cleaned up again.

Then he just got goofy and silly and rolled around the floor.  And this is why I firmly believe a parent is the best photographer of a child.  I had the time to take as many pictures as I wanted and if it wasn't working, we could stop and try again some other time.  I also know what makes him giggle and I know when he needs a firm "You need to obey Mommy" talk.

After all our hard work, it was time to play...and move on to the third outfit of the day.

Pool Party

It was a hot day, and Ben filled up the little pool for us before he left for work.

The kids were anxious to jump in...

and I was anxious to try out my new camera.

 And this is what happens when a pregnant mommy is lounging in a beach chair, playing with her new toy...

little boys fall out of pools backwards

and somehow they get away with swimming in their clothes.

Alison said it was just like playing at the Duck Pond in Boston.

 This is possibly my favorite sight in the world:

Ben coming home from work.

I love the sound of his truck turning the corner of our street, his tires hitting the gravel, the pitter- patter of feet running to the driveway and the gleeful shouts, "DADDY'S HOME!".

And after a good cleaning, it's always nice to end the day with some music.