Splish, Splash

Well, we made it through swim lessons. Despite some very cold days, split bleeding toes, and a maternity suit that seemed to get smaller everyday. (I told my mother-in-law that you know you are wearing a maternity suit when you pick up the swim bottoms and you can't tell which side is for your rear--both sides looked equally huge).
My girls are not exactly little fish but they are improving each summer. I could especially tell June was making real progress as she would put her head under the water a lot now; we just have to work on the actual swimming technique. Robyn is much more hesitant but still doing well, and Ivory loves the water even if she won't blow a single bubble. My mother-in-law is certain we are all going to drown since I myself didn't learn how to swim well until college. I think she actually feared that I was the one taking Ivory in the pool. However, I am just fine in the water, no worries and at the moment I have extra buoyancy (I don't think you could sink this belly if you tried).
I didn't get any pictures until the last day because I was usually in the water. The last day was so nice too, it was the perfect weather for a free swim and Tyler got to come too. It was really fun, and I even managed to escape being photographed (lucky you guys). But here are a couple pictures of our splish splashing day. The cherry suit was the most popular at the pool. There were two others in her group that had the same suit and several others in the pool with the cherries. Target must have made a fortune on that suit.



One more thing on my list to get done before the baby arrives. Swim lessons--check.

Husband Tag

1-What is his name? Tyler Cazier
2-How long have you been married? 8 ½ years
3-How long did you date? 2 ½ months and then we got engaged for 2 ½ months
4-How old is he? 30 and looking good!
5-Who eats more? Tyler, maybe, but when it comes to food, we can both put away our fair share
6-Who said I love you first? Tyler, I think
7-Who is smarter? Depends on what subject you pick
8-Whose temper is worse? He has a bigger temper, but I can be moody
9-Who does the laundry? Me, but Tyler will put some clean clothes away if they are on the bed when he wants to sleep
10-Who does the dishes? Half and half
11-Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We don’t have a side (seriously)
12-Who pays the bills? He does
13-Who cooks dinner? I do, unless we grill and then I turn it over to him
14-Who drives when you are together? Whoever gets in the driver’s seat
15-Who is more stubborn? Yikes…both of us
16-Whose parents do you see the most? Depends on the year, they both live out of state
17-Who proposed? Tyler
18-Who has more siblings? Tyler, he has two brothers, I have one sister
19-What's his favorite color? Blue
20-Would he prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Chocolate, definitely!

And then since I am talking about my favorite subject, Tyler, I would like to add some pictures. This was the first Christmas after we had June.



This one makes me laugh. He came home after priming the entire house and he looked like a snowman.



I love these pictures because it makes me smile that he is such a good father. Watch the glasses too, they change throughout the pictures.



The girls stickered him while he slept.



Here is another daddy shot. Aaaahhhhh.



Then we have to give credit where credit is due. Without these two, there wouldn't be the one in the middle.

Bananas Revenge

I have mentioned that this pregnancy has been very different than my other ones. Sometimes this is a good thing. For instance, I haven't had very much heartburn. With my other pregnancies, I think I took something almost every night so I could lie down without melting holes in my esophagus. But with this pregnancy, moments of heartburn are few and far between. I have identified several culprits and I steer clear of those; things like peppers, sometimes onions, and always BANANAS!! They give me some terrible heartburn. I like to make banana bread if my bananas over ripen, but I am scared to eat it because of what a regular banana can do to me. So, instead I usually take a fresh baked loaf over to Tyler's work and the guys take care of it for me (they don't seem to have any complaints).
Yesterday was one of those days and I watched a bit sadly as the loaf vanished and I couldn't even try it for fear of discomfort the rest of the day. But I was strong, and refrained from even one piece. Then in the evening, I made this cherry delight thing in the crockpot that used cherry pie filling. It was fairly tasty. I didn't think much of it and I went to bed early because I was very tired. Right before bed I finished reading Fablehaven to June (the book was a bit above her level but I think she really enjoyed it and she seemed to listen very intently to the details).
So I am off somewhere in dreamland when I start imagining little fairies that burn. They seem to fly into my chest and I can see them glow a bit under my skin, and they hurt so much. They come one at a time but they are never ending; one after the other. Right before midnight I wake up and realize I have some killer heartburn (thanks Fablehaven for trying to translate it into fairies for me). I sit up thinking that will help the problem but the heartburn just charges ahead with renewed vigor. Thank goodness for Gaviscon. Tyler was very kind to fetch medicine for me and wait dutifully for me to feel better (man, those pills are nasty; I can't stand how they foam in my mouth before I swallow them). Here I was thinking I had escaped the wrath of the bananas only to find that I apparently need to take cherry pie filling off my list of safe foods as well. And maybe I shouldn't read fantasy books right before bedtime either.

So Little Time...

I was going to wait until July to start on baby projects, but suddenly six weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time to get ready for a baby. So I will probably start next week.

On my list...

-Find and wash all my baby clothes.
-Buy some new items for things that are worn out or have way too many spit up stains.
-Find the swing and bouncer seat and reassemble (then try to keep the other three kids out of them).
-Make a list of things to take to the hospital and pack a bag (I won't do this until the end, because if I pack too early, labor seems more imminent).
-Put up the bassinet and find space in our room for the little one to sleep in there for at least a month or until I feel like walking farther in the middle of the night.
-Make sure the infant car seat is clean, find the base and get everyone used to the idea of sitting somewhere new in the car.

What seemed so far away is really around the corner. I am getting kind of excited.

More June-isms

All my kids crack me up sometimes with the things they say, but here are a couple from June this week.

June has problems with inanimate objects. She tends to get hurt and she figures they (the chair, the couch, etc.) did it on purpose. I have explained countless times that those things don't move by themselves, but she's convinced they are just plain MEAN! So she came in whimpering about some chair hitting her. I tried a new approach.

Me: What a mean chair.

June: (whimper, sob) Momma (it is so infuriating that when she gets hurt, all she will say is 'Momma' which is not a term I like and it doesn't help solve the problem of what happened).

Me: I hope you told that chair to say sorry.

June: (with a quizzical look) what?

Me: Did you tell him to say sorry because obviously he can talk and move.

I think she could tell that I was trying to trap her in the usual conversation that chairs don't move, so she said...

June: He can't talk, but he CAN move.

I give up.

So I moved on to another topic. Pain. I was trying to distract her from the moving chair and the crying, so I asked her to give me a number between 1 and 5.

Me: On a scale of 1 to 5, tell me how badly it hurts-- Five being It hurts so bad, I think I'm going to die!! And one being Eh, it's not too bad.

She looked at me for a minute and then said...

June: 10!!

She must have thought of that all by herself because I have never given her an option of numbers before, but it sure made me laugh. And fortunately, when I laugh and June realizes she has said something funny, it usually cheers her right up. So, the evil chairs will probably live to strike another day, but I will be on my guard (as should you all).

Shameless Plug

Tyler mentioned that my last post may have seemed like I was fishing for compliments. Hardly. First of all, I am very secure in my appearance (even when I disapprove of my girth) and second, I usually don't fish. If I have a question about how I look, I usually just ask. So, I thought that I would stop complaining for a moment and examine the wonder of my belly.

*From some angles, I don't even look pregnant
*I don't get stretch marks
*My girls love to give kisses and hugs to my belly
*There is a baby in there!!

Here are a couple of lovely shots of the belly.



I definitely look pregnant in both, but more so in the one where I practically blot June from the entire picture (by the way, it is amazing that I got a picture by myself, because once the camera comes out, the girls flock to it like flies to honey.

But I know what you are really interested in...it is that amazing head band I am wearing. I know you want one just like it (perhaps in a different color?) and I know just where you can get one. See, Emilie and I made them (aren't we crafty) and we will be selling them at Charesse's Boutique this Saturday.



The address is 1590 W. 525 S. right off of Geneva. There will be plenty there to check out including $3 pedicures which I will have to take advantage of while I am there. How is that for a shameless plug. I have never tried making something and selling it before so it might be a bust, but it was fun nonetheless and in the end, I know I will have some dang cute head bands (that don't fall off or hurt for that matter). (Shameless plug, shameless plug.)

But back to belly business. There is great obsession with bellies in our house at the moment. The girls were feeling left out so Tyler gave each of them a little friend for their tummy. Please excuse the nakedness of Robyn, but this picture is worth viewing (you have to look closely to see the faces).



And here is one more of Ivory because I love this kissy face she is making.



So the moral of the story is...bellies are beautiful. I am happy to have the biggest one in the family at the moment. I shouldn't complain because a big belly brought each of my beautiful girls and I expect this one will be no different.

Am I Pretty?

Ivory is very two right now. It seems like just the last few days her ingenuity is getting her into trouble. Well, she thinks it is getting her into interesting things, her mom thinks it is getting her into trouble.
She has recently combined the skills of taking off twist tops with the skill of using a stool to reach everything her heart desires. My lip gloss is no longer sacred. I have them stashed around the house, but that just means more opportunities for Ivory. She comes to find me after getting into one, and she will have lip gloss all over her face. "Am I pretty?" she asks.
I really should be taking pictures of these precious moments, but it is hard to run for the camera when you feel the immediate need to extract the nail polish bottle from her purple sparkly fingers and clean up the floor as best you can.
My makeup is another draw for her and she often comes down with something that looks like a bruised eye, but is really just her creative rendition of watching mom (at least the eye shadow goes somewhere near the eye and not immediately on my the floor, although I have found it there too).
I guess this is not the end of the world. She will grow out of it and in the meantime it should keep me busy and not thinking about how huge I am and that I still have about seven weeks to go. I hate telling people that because they look and me and think that I miscalculated somehow. Nope, I am just a blob. I'm even measuring three weeks small (can you imagine what a whale I would be if I didn't have small babies...I shudder to think about it).