Perfection

The Two Littles

The Lima Bean at Last!

Before

Mimi hugging me goodbye, right before I left to be induced.



During My mom's favorite picture of me.


After!
Those precious moments, right after he came into the world.

Those first few minutes are like treasures to me.
I remember these first few minutes with each of my kids,
when I met those little angel-babies;
those are the happiest, most precious little quiet moments of my life.

He has fuzzy dark hair.

Welcome to our family, Baby Joe!
....Or Jack....We'll decide one of these days...

I've Hit The Puffy 3rd Trimester. Henceforth I Will Answer to "Puff Mommy."

Oct. 2007

This is a reminder to my current pregnant-self that I used to have cheekbones.

FHE

We practiced how to look up scriptures for Family Night tonight. Isabelle received her baptism scriptures early--due to MUCH badgering of poor Grandma Hanson, who couldn't stand it any longer, broke down & took her to pick them out 9 months early. So we sat on the couch and Mike showed the kids how to find a particular scripture.
I was surprised to hear how well Max & Isabelle can read those difficult words! Max can whip through the verses. Isabelle muddles through, but does better than I thought she could. Am I actually at the stage in life where you read the real scriptures with your kids, and not just the Scripture Stories? That feels a bit surreal. I have big kids! Weird.Incidentally, Mimi was the winner of all scripture chases. She'd flip open her scriptures and yell/announce, "Found it!" No matter that the scripture was Alma 32:14 and she was in Helaman.

It was a simple little Family Night and I felt the peace of the Spirit in our cozy room with my little family. Lima Bean even made himself known by kickboxing me from the inside out the entire time. We said a prayer and kissed them goodnight.

Then, a half hour later, I ruined it all by yelling, "Will you just go to BE-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-D!!!!" Actually, "yelling" is a rather mild turn of phrase; it was more like screeching. Yeah, way to go, Mom...that's the way to cap off a cute Family Night.

But in my puny defense: I began Family Home Evening way later than I should have--basically at bedtime, 8pm--it was 8:30 when we finished, and it took them 25 minutes to brush their teeth and get their patooties to bed. Twenty five minutes!!! After years of living with me and witnessing The Transformation Into WitchMom occur promptly at 8:30, you'd think my kids would be afraid of me at Witching Hour. But no. Instead they artlessly ask for more kisses, and even a snuggle.

The nerve.

It's time for A Cold One.

Bah Humbug to St. Patrick's Day

It is without shame that I state for the record that today I sported no green garb. I didn't whip up a festive green dinner. I didn't speak in brogue. There was no sighting of miniature green leprechaun footprints winding through my house. I did not color the kids' breakfast milk green. I went to help in Isabelle's classroom and when a cute little 1st grader pinched me, I glared at him.

I don't even own any green sprinkles.

What can I say? I'm Scottish. Bring on the haggis.

This blatant disregard for festivity is very unlike me. I love holidays! I love to build anticipation and celebrate and bake festive desserts! It just never enters my mind to do so on St. Patrick's day. I'll redeem myself at Eastertime.

Then again, maybe not; I don't even have an Easter dinner planned. Nary a course. Me! The compulsive list-maker, party-planner, food-whipper-upper, grocery list queen! No Easter food!

I always seem to lose my personality sometime during my 3rd trimester. I walk around like some sort of hollow-eyed zombie. So I think my usual personality is gone for now...not to be recovered until sometime in July. Maybe.

IT'S A BOY!
52 Blessings, Week 6: Our Little Lima Bean

This image (above) is of the baby's face profile. His little hand is up by his mouth. You can even see his tiny spine and upper torso! His arms were crossed and held close up to his face in every image we saw.
And here is his arm--so tiny, but perfectly formed. What a miracle.
Hee hee. There's no room left for doubt in this picture. To understand this view, imagine the baby sitting cross-legged on a glass table and the "camera" is right underneath the glass, taking a picture of his little bum. (what an invasion of privacy) Max was so tickled to find out he's got a little brother coming.

There is something very special and sacred to me about those moments in the ultrasound room. To glimpse the tiny little life inside me, at the very moment in time that the baby is doing this-or-that inside of me, is beautiful and breathtaking. I feel a connectedness that is even more immediate that when he kicks and moves--probably because I can see him. I can see him! That little half-angel that is still a part of Heaven.

I am so grateful to have this baby to distract me from other problems at hand right now. I feel like my attention is forced to be focused on the big picture, the long-term vision of my life, and I am glad for that. I'm so eager to meet this little guy in person; to hold him for the first time and start our earthly adventure together, as the newest member of our little family and as mommy and son.

Oh Really.

I receive a weekly automatic update via email which shows me what the Lima Bean looks like. Here is the depiction of Week 16.


Yeah. Right. MY bum doesn't quite look like Cartoon-Mom's bum. And her tummy isn't protruding at all! Mine already has a shelf! Maybe for my next Wordless Wednesday, I will post a comparison photo....of myself.

Or maybe not.