Usually waking at an early hour means I am headed for the gym, but that hasn't been the case lately. I finally froze my gym membership. Between getting everyone going in the morning to the sciatica (that actually went away all by itself, whew!) I haven't worked out quite as regularly or vigorously with this pregnancy as I did when I was pregnant with Aaron. But I'm also remembering that when I was pregnant with him, we lived about a block away from a 24 hour fitness with a great kids program where they did activities with the kids, had a huge slide and climbing wall, plenty of area to play, disinfected every hour, did not allow food or drink (except water), had to wear socks (but couldn't wear shoes), highly regulated, parents had to show i.d. each time they checked in or out, add all that to the fact that the girls really looked forward to going and it made it a piece of cake to workout no matter how pregnant I was. Here in Woodland, our gym options are not so great. The exercise equipment is nice, and sure, the childcare is free, but sometimes "free" is a big red flag! I'm pretty sure the qualifications for the attendant are simply "a warm body." The room is tiny and the toys are old and broken, I've seen children eat in there, and I've seen kids through the window carry sippy cups and bottles of milk around dripping them on the carpet... so I can't bring myself to take my kids there. My workouts have consisted of walking to and from school, housework, and chasing the kids at the park. Believe it or not, I think I'm equally as exhausted as when I've run 5 miles in the morning. However, I can't wait to really push myself after the baby comes.
We enjoyed watching the BYU game last Saturday. It made both of us a little homesick when we saw the beautiful mountains of Utah Valley. We both started daydreaming about what it would be like to move back there someday and be closer to family. It didn't help to know that 4 members of my immediate family were there at the game or that this past week Abby has been telling me over and over that she really wants us to move back to Utah so we can live with Grandma and Grandpa again. I explained to her that we probably would someday, but that we wouldn't live in Grandma and Grandpa's house, we would live in our own house. She wasn't crazy about that idea. She liked her idea about living with Grandma and Grandpa. She thought that was really fun! I'm glad my kids have such fond memories of those days. It's not always easy for adults to make things work in a situation like that, but I have to hand it to my parents for putting up with us twice in those type of circumstances. It really was fun, and all of the frustrations and annoyances that I know we all felt at times have been washed away in the joy that we each felt having that time to become so well acquainted with one another. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. Abby decided that as long as we could live next door to them, things would be okay. I don't think Marvell or Jody are going anywhere soon, so Abby may have to settle for something a little different.
We enjoyed watching the BYU game on Saturday as they creamed UCLA, and we all looked for #12 along the sidelines during the game (#12 is Stephen, Emily's fiance). We didn't see him during the game, but our favorite shot in The Daily Herald about the game, totally made up for it! His excitement says it all!
Speaking of Emily, and being homesick....it's been really hard not being there during this exciting time in her life. She and my mom have tried really hard to include me in the details as much as they can, but it's just not the same as being there with them. Mom offered to fly me out for the announcement tea next Tuesday, but with it being the middle of the week, and with Joseph taking a day off next week for his cycling event and our Lake Tahoe trip, I decided it probably wouldn't work. I tossed around the idea of flying out early that morning and home later that night, but I just don't feel like I should leave the kids with anyone (besides Joseph) for that long, especially since we'll be needing help with all of them until my mom can get here when the baby comes. Bummer! I try not to think about it, because I tend to get a little sentimental about it, but I really wish I could be there. I'll miss being with her as she receives her own endowment next week, but I am very grateful that we will all be there for her wedding day in December.
The primary program is tomorrow and I can't wait! The kids have been practicing their parts for the last month and memorized them pretty quickly. During the practice a couple of weeks ago, Abby got up to say her part and when the teacher tried to help her, she turned to her and promptly said, "I don't need any help!" Apparently everyone said it was pretty funny! Hopefully she'll be brave and say it on her own tomorrow during the real deal.
While we were practicing her part yesterday, she said without missing a beat, and while flipping her hand in the air..."I can learn about prayer in the scriptures. Enos prayed....who is this Enos guy anyway...for a long time for his sins to be forgiven-ed, then he prayed for those he loved." We then went straight to the scriptures and learned about Enos. She was so happy to learn more about his story and said, "Mom, would you read that to our family for family honed evening? I think everyone would really like it. " Why didn't I think to explain who Enos was before, I guess I figured she already knew. Abby is quite the delight and the handful. I love her to pieces.
With Brynn in school all day, and Abby in school a few days a week for a few hours, I have quite a few hours with just Aaron and I love it! I constantly debate on whether I should even enroll Abby in pre-school, because I don't think it's really that necessary and I enjoy being with her so much. But she loves it and really looks forward to ti, and I love that she gets to learn through play, music, dress-up, and of course lots of messy, messy art projects (that I don't have to clean up). Abby loves that she gets to play with lots of friends on school days and she really looks forward to her Tuesday playdates with Molly and Maggie, she is always asking why we can't have friends come over to play everyday. She really enjoys people! I am so grateful that I had my two girls so close. It has been a huge blessing, especially at this point in our lives. As much as the girls love friends from school, they are each others very best friend.
Having the time with Aaron is so much fun! We've always had a great bond between the two of us, but having the time with just him is great! He's starting to talk more now and I find his simple phrases adorable. I constantly find myself telling him over and over, "You are so cute! I love you!" I love his little "I ya you!" back. People ask me if I send Abby to pre-school for a break. It's actually harder for me to have one at home than it is to have them all at home at once. Having more than one, they break things up a little by playing with each other, and I can get some things done. Having just Aaron at home, I find myself starting on a project, and the next thing I know he is pulling me around the house to play with him. He loves reading. Sometimes we sit on the couch for 30 minutes reading story after story after story. He ends each story with a "De End." He then runs as fast as he can to put the book away and to get a new one off of the shelf. One of his favorites right now is "There's a Monster at the End of This Book!" ( one of my childhood favorites). He has the book memorized, and repeats every phrase, but it brings him the same delight each time we read it. We've spent some days at the park, just the two of us, and it's been fun to see him literally climb to new heights and say the words, "I did it!" It makes me as happy as I think it makes him.
Right now he is really into the pockets on all of his shorts. He walks around with one or both hands in his pockets. He looks up with a smile and says, "Pocket!" He looks like a little man walking around like that, it's pretty cute.
Brynn is a big help to me and is as sweet as ever. The kids are full of personality and each one of them is a pure delight to me. If I had all my ducks in a row, I would have 4 or 5 more! I know I could love many more, it's just the rest of their basic needs I think I would have a hard time with ;) .
Life is busy and good.
2 comments:
sounds like things are going good!
Amy it's so fun to read this post, I feel like I've just had a conversation with you. You've been in my thoughts recently-I've been meaning to call for a while now but I have been so super busy with just the day to day stuff that it's unreal. We too are missing the grass and Mountains of Utah-especially during fall. Emma, Aaron and I are headed up in a couple of weeks to visit for the weekend. Anyway thanks again for the one sided conversation! I'll get around to calling sometime I am sure!
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