#5 is a BOY!

 

At 14.5 weeks I had my first prenatal appointment and the midwife pulled out the ultrasound machine to check my dates. I was due on Valentine's Day and then she informed she after looking around that she "didn't see any boy parts". I came home and broke the news to Ashton and David and told them it was probably a girl so they should prepare themselves for the inevitable. Ashton kept saying "it's probably a girl" but when I told him straight out "it's a girl" one day he looked at me and almost cried. It was heartbreaking and I told him we're not done so there was still hope for a brother somewhere along the way.

Meanwhile, I got really excited to have 4 girls right in a row just like my sisters and I. Thinking that now the girls could room 2 and 2 instead of all 3 in one room got me planning their futures as a pack of 4. Fast forward to my 20 week ultrasound. I was chatting with the ultrasound woman who wanted to know if I was Mormon or Catholic and she did her 20 minutes of checking the anatomy of the baby. I was interested in our conversation and she knew I thought it was a girl so I was totally distracted. When she paused before she turned the computer screen around for the big gender reveal I wondered if something was up.

 She turned the computer screen around and it was very obviously a BOY!! I just kept saying, "It's a boy. Oh my gosh." I. was. shocked. Then I thought about getting to tell Ashton and David and how they would react and I started to cry right there laying on the table. She kept saying, "Oh good, I'm glad you're happy! You sounded so excited for a 4th girl." Happy didn't begin to describe the emotions flowing though me.

Then I hurried to catch Ashton during his lunch because I couldn't wait till 3:30. He has faithfully prayed for a boy for almost a year now. He was thrilled. He never gave up hope.  I think he's always known it would be a boy.

I picked the girls up from preschool and drove to David's office to catch him at lunch. Usually he answers his phone and I was planning on having him come out to the parking lot. He didn't pick up the phone so I took the 3 girls inside and waited in his office. He walked in and I handed him the ultrasound pictures without saying a word. He started looking at them and then he got to the picture labeled "boy". He kept looking at me and saying, "is it for sure?" "This is for real?" As I said "yes" a few times, I'll embarrass him and say, he started to cry. Like a manly cry. David is a great Dad to girls. We would have kept having kids even if they were all girls and every single one of them would have been loved by their Daddy. But David really has been hoping for a brother for Ashton and another son. So it was really magical seeing him tear up over finding out about his 2nd son.

 In hind sight...Just a few nights ago I was telling David I felt completely disconnected from this pregnancy. I didn't even feel pregnant and have refused to wear maternity clothes. I was calling it a "she" and talking about girl names like crazy trying to name her so I would feel connected... so it makes sense that I wasn't connecting with my imaginary girl baby. I did note the one resemblance from Ashton's pregnancy to this one was the craving for the cheap, comes in a jar, fake nacho cheese. Oh I love it. Anyway, it's a boy. I'm still processing it. Walking around for 5 weeks thinking it was a girl made the surprise that much more awesome!

Tennis Thursdays

Before we had kids David and I would play tennis at least a couple times a month. We loved it and were sad we hadn't figured out a way to make it work with kids. Well, when we moved here and saw through the fields of our backyard 3 tennis courts we promised ourselves we would figure a way to play. And we finally have! The past couple of Thursdays we've deemed Tennis Nights. We eat an early light dinner and get to the courts behind our house by 6pm. We bring the plasma cars and bikes and the kids love it! David and I can usually fit in a couple real games before the kids start cruising through our side of the courts.

 

 They run back and forth getting the balls an after an hour they are toasted.

 We love helping the kids learn to hit a ball.

Just after a few practices Ashton is getting a lot better.

And this is how we handle a non walking baby. She rides for a little and then completely tears up her knees chasing balls. Next week I'm going to fashion out some sort of knee pads.

 

Growing up in my house tennis was a family sport. All of us can still play to some degree. As I drive past soccer fields on Saturday morning I know 100% I cannot/do not want to commit to those kinds of team sports when we have so many little ones we'd have to drag around to practices and games. In fact none of our kids have participated in any class or organized sport yet. Part of it is because we're cheap and the other part is because it's not worth it to our family yet. Tennis as a family? Perfect. Secretly David and I are hoping to breed them all into tennis players so we can always hit up the courts as a family and play together. So tennis lessons? If they were available in this area... we'd probably splurge but they're not an I'm glad. I'm sure sports and dance will come eventually but I'm relishing in this time where we can still play as family on a weekly basis.

Lake of the Ozarks

Since we most likely have less than 10 months left before we move to our next post I created a Missouri bucket list awhile back. My number one thing to do this summer was rent a boat at the Lake of the Ozarks and take the kids tubing. The military has a whole portion of the lake reserved just for service members and families and there are boats just waiting in the dock to be rented for super cheap by the hour. It's definitely a deal.This summer was cooler than normal and we were out of town a lot so it never seemed to work out for us to get to the lake...until last Saturday The weather was mid 90s and we decided on Thurs we just had to do it. We tried to coordinate with a couple different families so we could take turns with the kids but in the end decided with our fabulous babysitter/kids playmate Rosie that 4 kids would be no problem on a boat. We were mostly right.

Guess who hated the boat? Poor Hannah. She cried/panicked whenever she wasn't on someone's lap.

Lucy LOVED the boat and even put up with the life jacket that pushed her chin up way beyond comfort.

Here's Ashton and Rosie playing on the tube.  Ashton and Mallie both tubed a couple of times and liked it if we went super slow.

Ashton went with David a couple of times. And then David was on his own once as I was driving (never driven a boat before) and I got caught in the wake of a massive boat. Well the boat started jumping pretty high waves. And I was in a panic because Mallie was right up front bouncing all over the place... and poor Rosie was in the back trying to hold both Lucy and Hannah on her lap. I was torn between rescuing Mallie and steering away from the waves. It was hilarious later when I told David but crazy in the moment. I've decided the boat driving thing is not for me.

That's where Mallie was sitting when she was flopping all around like a fish. She stayed in front by herself almost the entire time. Afterwards she just giggled and said it was fun. She's a trooper.

And then we got out to swim in the warm water and it was perfect.

 On the way home David and I got in the car and talked about what a perfect family day it was. It's days like that that remind us what a joy is it to just be with our small family and focus on the kids!

First Day of School

1st day of school! I can't believe Ashton is old enough to be in Kindergarten. He was so ready and very excited. I still think elementary school is 2 hours too long - but he loves it so I wont complain! Also, this year both girls are in the same preschool Ashton went to last year.Through a series of very fortunate events and Ashton's preschool teacher last year the girls both got in the free AM preschool on post. I hadn't originally planned on putting Mallie in preschool at all but it has worked out perfectly and Mallie loves it. So I feel blessed that the Lord worked it out just perfectly and I am enjoying this time because I know having only 1 child home during the year may not happen again for another 5 years.

Mallie - 3 yrs old - preschool

Hannah - 4 yrs old - preschool

Ashton - 5 yrs old - Kindergarten

His awesome goose egg is from a bike crash. He was wearing a helmet but it wasn't tight enough and bam. It's a cool battle wound and at least he's young enough not to care what he looks like the first day of school.



Morning picture with Daddy

So we're 3 days into this school thing and all the kids are happy. I'm super productive for 3 hours with only Lucy and I love it. I had no idea I'd become such a huge fan of preschool but both girls are thriving and by 11:30 I get them back and don't have to stress about doing enough crafts from pinterest with to make them feel like we're doing school at home.

Ashton came home the first day of school ate his cookies and told me everything. It was one of those mothering moments I've been waiting for forever. He was wondering why I was taking pictures of him as he was talking.

Also, that same day we finished his reading book. We started it in November right after he turned 5 with the goal to finish before he started Kindergarten. We did it! He can read now and I feel super accomplished that I taught him myself with this awesome book. He doesn't love to read yet but I am glad I'm sending him to kindergarten without having to worry about having him memorize the lame lists of sight words that I think are a complete waste of time. So now Hannah has started the book and loves it. So we're pretty happy with the results of just 10 minutes a day!

 

So all in all I didn't bawl my eyes out when he started kindergarten. He's so old and independent that I didn't worry for a second. Mostly, I'm just fiercely concerned he has a good experience and loves learning. Here's to a new phase of life and school aged kids!

Lucy turns 1!

On the 19th Lucy turned 1! I know I've said it a million times but she is the best baby ever. She loves everyone, has zero stranger anxiety and puts up with a lot from her older siblings.

For her first birthday we were going to go to the pool but it was closed so we headed to the splash park.

We could hardly keep her still for a picture.

There we go. Do you love her ears? I do!

Then we had Ben and Emily up for dinner and cake.

She was concerned at first but then wrinkled her nose as all the kids gathered round and sang to her.

So while I was cutting up cake Hannah decided to try and give Lucy her first bite... on a fork.. and then scratched her under her right eye. So she cried for a few minutes before she even had a bite.

But then she was all about it for a few seconds. Just long enough to take a picture and then she was done.

Lucy at 1 year is 18 lbs and is just getting brave enough to take a step on her own. She sleeps 12 hours every night. She gets call LuLu and Goosey. Her favorite places are Mallie's bed and crawling around the sectional. And she digs her head into her muslin blankets as soon as she is tired. She never loses control or becomes inconsolable when it's naptime and I so love that about our 4th baby. She is carted everywhere and is just happy to go along for the ride. She only says Mama and Dada but loves to chase her siblings around. We love this little girl and are so glad she is ours!

Mallie turns 3

 We've been calling Mallie a 3 year old for months now. She is just so darn self sufficient that we never really felt like she was a 2 year old. She has dressed herself for at least the last 7 months. She will push a chair anywhere to get what she needs to feed herself and she is always finding trouble. She is spunky, crazy and a "free spirit". Just last week at the park Ashton poured water down the slide and not two seconds later Mallie was buck naked ready to slide down because she knows it's faster naked. I mean this girl has some serious street smarts. David and I watch her in awe.

We celebrated her birthday Sunday while David's family was here. She got lots of fun toys and her favorite thing ever. Puzzles.

 The kids associate birthdays with party hats. I think it's the cutest thing ever.

Ashton helping her unwrap.

Eating cake with the fam.

She melts my heart. Mostly because I know something very mischievous is lurking right behind that darling smile. Happy Birthday Mal!! 

Clifty Creek and the Inlaws

David's family came to visit on their way to Branson last weekend. On Saturday miraculously the high was 75 so we decided it was perfect hiking weather. We found a perfect 2 mile loop to an arch called Clifty Creek. David had a sore throat so he volunteered to stay home with Lucy and his Dad stayed home with him.

The rest of us set out. Along the trail we saw a snake and tons of little frogs that Cody and Chanelle caught.

Super scenic spots with great Missouri foliage.

 Stopped for lunch a little early when we thought we may not find the arch after all.

And then we found it! It was awesome and huge!

So we hung out for another hour.

And Cody climbed to the top of the arch which we thought was so impressive.

Let me start out by saying when I chose this hike I knew we would need sufficient backs to carry the girls. They could never do the whole 2 miles of hilly terrain. Well, as soon as we started hiking back to the car Mallie immediately said she was done. So David's Mom kept Mallie (who fell asleep) on her back for at least 30 minutes up hill as she was trying to stay hunched enough over because Mallie stopped holding on her back. As I was walking behind her, begging her to let me take a turn, I kept having visions of how I would tell David that I killed his Mom on a hike all in the name of Mallie's nap. It was so impressive. Only a grandmother would do that for a sleeping child.

This is Chanelle taking her turn with Hannah. Nothing better than awesome Aunts and Uncles!

Here's the after church shot. Can I tell you how amazing it was to have 4 adults sit with me. I didn't see Lucy or Hannah the whole sacrament meeting. Proof that David's Mom lived to tale the tell of the hike. Thank goodness. Thank you for coming Jacobsons you took the title of easiest house guests ever!