Big Changes

Today was a big day! We started by taking apart Lily's crib to move it for Gideon and to make room for Lily's new big girl bed. Both Gabriel and Lily thought it was a great way to spend the morning, "helping" Daddy dissemble the crib and playing in the pieces each time one was taken away. Lily loves the look of her Minnie Mouse themed bed and was more than happy to let Gabriel help her break it in by jumping on it.
We let Gabriel know there would be sdome changes to his room, too. We had been using some shelves that aren't necessarily great for a kid's room because they were what we had. We told him he would be getting new shelves, and he was not okay with it. He told me repeatedly that he did not want them.
A little later in the morning, the kids were picked up by their Manny (their name for Jeff's mom) to spend the day with her. Jeff and I finished up Lily's bed, put in Gabriel's shelves, and got a few other things done before joining the kids.
When we brought them home, I was expecting Gabriel to throw a fit over having new shelves, but he loved them! He's so excited to be able to reach things better and that they're small and sturdy enough that I don't have a heart attack when he climbs them.
When Lily went in her room, however, I guess it was the first time we actually said out loud that she would be sleeping in her new bed. She burst into tears. She's a sweet girl. She lies down and closes her eyes every time I tell her it's time to go to sleep. But she will not be on the bed alone. If i try to leave, she jumps up and screams like a banshee. So I'm typing this on my phone with my left hand while she rubs my right arm for comfort.
This might take some adjusting.

Puppy Love

Both my kids have their obsessions. Lily likes a lot of things, but it's pretty clear what her favorite is. Whenever we walk into any store with toys, she finds it...

If you were to walk into his bedroom, you would think Gabriel's obsession is Thomas the Tank Engine. And you would be right. As I've mentioned before, he also tends to favor female engines. But when it comes to affairs of the heart, he only has eyes for one fictional character.

Until our trip to Disneyland last September, I don't think Gabriel had even heard of Tinker Bell. His cousins wanted to go meet her at Pixie Hollow, so Gabriel went and waited impatiently in line for he-didn't-know-what. He fell so in love that, when his sister's birthday came a couple months later, his grandmother bought her a plush Tinker Bell, knowing full well that it would immediately be taken by Gabriel.
He sleeps with her every night (I'm sad I can't find the picture right now) and sometimes tells her how pretty she is. If you ask who his girlfriend is, he will say Tinker Bell. Almost a year after our Disneyland trip, he still regularly asks if we can go back so he can take Tinker Bell out to eat. We even all dressed up in a theme last Halloween so he could dress up as Tinker Bell's love interest.

Earlier today, I was playing with the kids in Lily's castle-shaped tent thing. We've made it comfortable with pillows and things, so Gabriel decided it was the perfect time to pretend to sleep, so he needed to go get Tinker Bell. Unfortunately, he left her there until it was time for him to go to bed, which meant Lily was already in bed.

I really didn't want to risk the wrath of a tired Lily, but I knew I had to get that fairy. So I went in as quietly as I could, and snuck away with her. Lily wasn't asleep. She looked up at me in curiosity, but she was okay. She didn't mind because she was already cuddling with her best friend Minnie Mouse. So I was able to comfort Gabriel with his special Tinker Bell.

I know it sounds silly, but it made me think about the importance of support and love. I actually woke up from a terrible dream last night, and was incredibly grateful to have my support right next to me to comfort me until I could fall asleep again.

I am really so glad that my kids feel supported and loved by their characters of choice, and I pray that they will always feel that far beyond the years when cuddling a toy doesn't feel like enough anymore.

I got this

Remember all that stress I've been under? Well, I'm not going to lie. It got to me. I just completely broke down. I let it ALL out. After the kids went to bed, thank goodness.
And you know what? I am SO glad that I did. I can't believe how much better I feel after just releasing all the tension I had built up.
And even better than that is that I actually felt competent today. In the morning, I was super exhausted, but I got the kids fed and bathed for church. They stayed entertained and didn't make the house any more of a disaster than it already was. I got them down for naps and got to rest a little myself. I got myself dressed and ready for church, woke up the kids, fed them, and got them dressed, too. I got them to church and I didn't have to walk out embarrassed with a screaming child even once during sacrament meeting. Lily kept her hair nice most of the time,  Gabriel kept his tie on the whole time, and we didn't lose any toys.
I rocked it.

Side note: When I had gotten myself ready and went to get Gabriel, he woke up, looked at me, and said, "That's okay. You can wear that dress to church. That's a church dress."
Um...thanks for the approval, kid.

Reptiles!

So I finally got my act together and took the kids to something fun this morning. We went to a really fun reptile show hosted by the library!
Gabriel really enjoyed it and really wanted to be chosen as a volunteer to hold an animal, but he wasn't great at figuring out when to raise his hand. Fortunately, everyone who hadn't been chosen got a chance to help hold the big snake at the end of the show. He loved it!
When it was time for the kids to sit down, Gabriel and one other kid lingered. I tried calling him, but he didn't hear/ignored me. Finally, the reptile guy kind of touched him and told him to sit down. As he started walking back toward me, Gabriel said, "Mommy, how he didn't want me?"
Everyone heard and took a moment to laugh, including the reptile guy who turned bright red. I was only a little mortified and explained that he did want him to help hold the snake, but now he's all done. Sigh...
Lily also enjoyed some of it, but then wanted to fight with another girl over a seat. That was fun.

Oh, and what was the part Gabriel wanted to tell people about later? One of the lizards didn't have a tail, because the mommy of this species bites off the tail of the daddy after mating so he can't find anymore mommy lizards.

Moments

Okay, so here's the truth of it. Life is getting to me right now. My 3 year old is in a phase that includes saying no to everything, throwing fits, and pushing boundaries. The 1 year old seems to be incapable of getting through a day without at least three major spills and enjoys biting. I'm really bad at being pregnant, and I'm in a lot of pain. And pretty much the whole state of California is on fire, so Jeff has to work a LOT. We also don't go do much fun stuff, because all the cool stuff around town never seems to match up with my schedule.
Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of good stuff happening, too. In fact, Jeff isn't assigned to any of the fires, so he gets to come home for a short time every night. That's WAY better than last year! (Though I think that sometimes it just makes me more stressed about making sure the house isn't a disaster)
Anyway, I'm stressed. So it's been hard for me to think of any stories to document that don't involve me losing my mind. There are, however, moments.

Like seeing my pretty fashionista in a Minnie shirt and fire boots

Or playing with filters

When Gabriel insists we have a photo shoot with his favorite engine

And sometimes, just sometimes, when you insist that they leave the room to give you time to clean ONE thing, a little magic happens...

Followed by running in circles and screaming...

The Bright Side

Today was hard. I'm definitely not a perfect parent and, while I know that's true of all parents, I'm not confident enough in myself to share the details of my imperfections.

So, instead, I'll just mention a few simple things that brightened my day.

Gabriel told me that he wants me to be his wife, because I'm "the sweetest mommy ever."

Lily had me sing "Popcorn Popping" with her a couple of times, doing the motions all by herself.

Gabriel explained to me that he will make treats for Gideon when he comes and they will both eat them ALL up. After they eat their dinner.

Jeff had to fill out some paperwork a couple of weeks ago for a background check. Today he told me that, in said paperwork, he referred to me as his "amazing wife."

The Great Thomas Tragedy

Today there was a crisis. Gabriel had me open his Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book to his current favorite page which he had painstakingly made beautiful as he tends to favor the female engines. I think he sometimes just likes to have pretty things available to look at, because this isn't the first time he asked me to open to a certain page and then left it somewhere nearby as he played.
Well, he was a little too distracted to notice when Lily came and colored this very important page with the wrong color in the wrong place, right on Belle's face no less!

When he realized what had been done, Gabriel was VERY upset. He repeatedly asked me to fix it, and I genuinely felt awful that I couldn't.  Even though it was just a silly page in a coloring book, I know how it feels to have something important to you get ruined. He often uses the word "how" when he means "why" and all throughout the day he would ask, "How did Lily color brown on Belle's face?"
Finally, just a couple of hours before bedtime, Gabriel held the coloring book up to Lily and addressed her. "How did you color brown on Belle's face?"
I was worried that he was going to get worked up and yell at her, so I quickly tried to explain that she didn't mean to upset him and she couldn't talk well enough to answer his question. That wasn't acceptable to him, but he took control of the situation. He said, "Lily, say, 'Because I wanted to.'" With a little help, she managed to say it in a reasonably understandable way, while laughing pretty hard as she clearly didn't understand why everyone was being so serious.
And with that, the issue was resolved. Gabriel looked at some other pages in the coloring book, went on to do other things, and didn't bring it up again. Once he had an explanation, even if it was a kind of lame one that he had given the offender himself, he let go of his anger. It was amazing.

Lily didn't upset everyone today though. Even when Figaro took her seat, she made sure he had plenty of toys.

A Day of Firsts

Today started off exciting just because Lily actually let me do her hair! Like, with a bow and everything! I had to redo it before we left for church, and the bow came out halfway through sacrament meeting, but I'm pretty sure that's still a record.

It was also Gabriel's first day with his new nursery class. The nursery in our ward was getting so big, they decided to split it into older and younger kids. Gabriel wasn't real happy with this idea as he LOVES younger kids (Last week he came home telling me he had kissed ALL the babies in nursery. Sigh...).
With the promise of a reward for good behavior, Gabriel said he would give it a try. He saw a Mickey Mouse puzzle as soon as he walked in, so that helped him be more okay with the situation. Apparently, Gabriel had a little bit of a problem over who got the "big knife" with the kitchen toys, but otherwise did great.

And tonight before bed was Lily's first time taking her turn saying family prayer! Well, kind of.
Gabriel decided it was her turn. I tried explaining that she couldn't talk well enough yet, but he asked if she wanted help and started helping the way he has seen nursery leaders help other kids. He would say a few words of prayer and pause for her to repeat. Mostly, she was silent, but she said a few random words.
It was a little silly, but still such a sweet moment.

The Other Happiest Place on Earth?

This is what happens when you're unloading the dishwasher and allow your daughter to steal her two favorite bowls...

I had told Gabriel that we would be going shopping today, so one of the first things he said to me this morning was, "Where are we going after shopping?"

"I don't know," I responded. "Where do you want to go?"

"Um...Sarah's house or Disneyland." (Equally as exciting, right?)

So we actually skipped going shopping and spent the whole day at my sister Sarah's house. The kids had a blast with their cousins, and Gabriel got to take advantage of his favorite thing about seemingly any house we go to: new train toys. He also tried very hard to be like his cousin Logan, copying what he said and did, and even requiring a band-aid when he noticed Logan had one. Lily spent most of the day stealing Fiona's baby doll, but there were some friendly moments.

When we got home, we ended the day just how we had started it during breakfast this morning, with Gabriel "helping" his baby sister. She is very independent, which makes it kind of adorable, the way she allows him to help her when she doesn't actually need it.

Angry Face

First off, I just want to thank people for reading this. Documenting the events of my family is something I've wanted to do for myself pretty much since I started a family of my own, and seeing that other people read this is really motivating me to keep it up! So, really, thank you!

So today, I snuck up on Lily while she was very gently and lovingly playing with her stuffed animals in her little castle-tent-thing in her room.

Don't let my description, or the picture, fool you. Just minutes before this, she was literally throwing her favorite baby doll, overhand, as hard as she could and laughing. I'm hoping she learns that's not okay before her new brother comes.

So yes, Lily's moods can swing pretty quickly and extremely. Luckily, it's difficult to be frustrated at her, even when you're the target of her temper, because this is her angry face:

Oh, and Gabriel explained to me today that, "G is an ABC, but it's not in the song. Say Q." This is especially funny, because I would sing the alphabet incorrectly when I was a kid. When my older sisters would correct me, I would say, "But MY alphabet has a Q in it!!" 

He also sings the alphabet with three M's in it, so I guess we have some work to do.

Breakthrough

Okay, real quick update. I saw the doctor today and he just checked a few things to make sure nothing too serious was happening. Then he was pretty much done with me. When I asked how I was supposed to take care of my kids, he told me to talk to the physical therapist. So...ugh. But at least it's nothing serious, and it has been getting more bearable, so I'm sure it'll all work out.
Now, more importantly, I have an exciting story. I was lying down while my kids napped. Yes, I make sure they nap at the same time so I can nap, too. At one point, I heard footsteps in the hallway, but then nothing so I wasn't sure if I was half asleep and just dreamed it. After another 30 minutes or so, I heard a small voice. I thought it was Lily, so I went to check on her in her crib, but she was still sleeping real hard. So I went in the living room, and there was Gabriel just reading a book. He looked at me and was very excited to tell me, "Mom! I was quiet for you! I was quiet with the trains, and I was quiet with the Stitch (toy)!"
Now, those of you who have children who actually believe it is possible to breathe without your presence may not understand. This boy's first destination when he wakes up is always by my side. Not only did he manage to play on his own, but he intentionally did so quietly with the express purpose of letting me rest. I love this kid, and I'm super proud of this little show of independence and thoughtfulness.
And while we had some time together, we sent pictures to Daddy at work!

The Blessing of Family

I had intended for this to be a place for cute/fun stories about our family, but I don't have any right now. However, in an attempt to get in the habit of documenting the events in our lives, I decided to post what has been going on.
Yesterday morning, Jeff left for his usual three day shift before the kids and I got out of bed. An hour or so later, Gabriel jumped in bed with me and we cuddled for a bit. When I got up, I realized I was having some back pain. This is pretty normal, especially during this pregnancy, so I didn't let it bother me. However, as the day went on, it got worse. It became difficult to play with my children, to walk, even to move. I wanted to power through until the pain subsided, but eventually admitted to myself that it wasn't going to happen.
I am very fortunate to have family living close by who were both able and willing to help. My sister-in-law picked up my kids so I could rest. After a few hours of the pain increasing, my step-dad gave me a ride to the doctor. I was prescribed some pain pills and referred to a physical therapist. My step-dad took me to get my medicine and my in-laws allowed me and my kids to stay the night with them as I'm in no shape to take care of my very clingy children right now and Jeff is still at work.
I don't want to complain or try to get the whole internet to pray for me or anything, but I do want to express my gratitude for those who have been so willing to help me in my time of need. I know that my Heavenly Father is watching over me and has provided me with a way to face the problems in front of me. In this case, it's in the form of loving family members who are willing to make sacrifices for me. I'm so grateful to know that, even as much as I hate asking for help, it's there.
As far as the pain, it has only gotten slightly better. The doctor has called me personally a couple of times to check on me and to tell me to schedule an appointment sooner than what I had just scheduled. While that doesn't give me a whole lot of comfort, I'm glad that he is concerned and wants to get to the bottom of this.
As for Gabriel and Lily, they have been champs. They've adjusted to routine changes, given lots of cuddles, and tried to make me feel better. Gabriel even just lied next to me and talked for a while. He has tried multiple times to kiss my back all better. Between his help and the doctor's, I'm sure I'll recover in no time.

Family Introduction

Well, I've been meaning to  start a family blog for a really long time. I thought about waiting until I had a good story to do the first post, but I think it's better to just get started when I actually have the motivation to do so. So I think this post will just be a little introduction to our family for anyone who may not get to see us all the time.
When Jeff and I got married, I was a high school teacher and he was about to get his teaching credential. Now I'm a stay-at-home mom, and he's a firefighter! It's crazy how things work out in ways you would never expect. Anyway, Jeff is absolutely wonderful at providing for our family, and he is an amazing help with the kids when he's not at work. We make a pretty awesome team, if you ask me.
Gabriel is our 3 year old son, and he is an absolute lover. He is very good at sharing, loves to give hugs, and has a really hard time when anyone is sad. He doesn't like to play on his own, which can make it a little hard for me to get things done around the house, but as he gets older he's turning into Mom's big helper. He loves to be involved with everything going on around him.
Lily is about a year and a half old, and she loves to accessorize. Shoes, necklaces, purses, sunglasses, etc. She can't get enough. She absolutely adores her big brother, but she's also not afraid to speak up for what she wants. She likes to have some alone time once in a while, but she'll let you know when she needs company, and her hugs are inescapable (not that you would ever want to).
We also have one more baby on the way, and we're very excited to meet him in a few months! Gabriel is constantly talking about how much he loves his little brother. He already tries to play with him and give him toys while he's in Mommy's tummy. Lily loves babies, so we know she'll love her baby brother, too.
Overall, we're a pretty happy family who are excited to see what the future holds for us. Hopefully, I keep up with this blog so that I can document all the excitement!

(The picture is kind of old, but it seems to be the last one we all took together.)