Boy or Guhl?

What a honey.

The family has been debating what baby 3 will be. At breakfast today, Alden said he thought it was a "Guhl." Rhianwen said she thought it was a boy. We all went in to the ultrasound (crazy daddy idea) and it's a BOY! He's healthy, growing right on schedule, and moving like mad (I've been feeling him since 15 weeks). He really gave the technologist a hard time, and in the end, she had to give up on getting a good pic of the heart. So I had to schedule a follow-up US for next month. Somehow my babies always figure out a way to add more ultrasounds even though I am the "ideal candidate" for a good US.

He's already thumbing his nose at you.

When asked what his name should be, Rhianwen said, "John." and Alden said, "Beebee...." then later "Grandma." Hmmm, Beebee John Grandma. Very interesting consideration. Choosing a boy name is a lot harder for me than choosing girl names.

Practicing wearing 2 hats: little brother and big brother?

In an earlier discussion in the week, Rhianwen announced, "Male and female means man and woman." When asked how she knew, she said, "Because of Adam and Eve!" Duh! Daddy's been teaching her how to use the Wii, and she's been wake boarding and golfing. In case I was worrying that this would ruin her imaginative streak, she got up one morning and began using the top to a lego box as her "wake board" and a bubble wand as her handle. She hopped and slid around the family room having a grand old time.

She often treats Alden like she is his mommy, but he's having none of that. Here's how one conversation went recently:

Rhianwen: "I say OBEY right now!"

Alden: "No! I shoot you!"

Shocking but Wally and I couldn't hold back our laughter even while we were trying to explain to Alden how totally inappropriate that was. There's no doubt that Rhi is a "guhl" and Alden is a boy. We certainly don't encourage violent speech or behavior, but he just picks up on it from seeing army stuff or from movies like that Veggie Tales The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything or from our own water gun fights. I hope he'll one day see his role as a wise protector as we named him.

Enjoying Rhianwen's space together. I'm so thankful for their enjoyment of each other.

What on Earth Have I Been Doing?

Enjoying his very own "birthday box" and a fun vehicles book from Uncle Robeson and Aunt Natalie.

I can't figure out where I've been, but I don't seem to be remembering my kids cute comments or anything. That's a little scary, since I live with them and take care of them ALL of the time. Maybe it's because Alden's been keeping me on the tip of my toes all day long.

Why mommy really would love a window seat.

"Who, me? I'm as droll as any old chap. I just sit comfortably half the morning and read my paper."

Alden had his first trip to the Urgent Care clinic the other day. Note to self: Put on child's life vest AFTER we walk down the rocky trail to the river to canoe. Alden tripped on a rock and slammed his head into another sharp rock. Urgent Care, steri-strips followed by ice cream and no swim lessons is where we are now. It's been really hard not swimming for so long in this hot weather. Despite the heat, we've enjoyed all of the fun creation God's given us even here in our yard. Our hummingbird feeder's hung just outside our dining room window all summer and we have at least 3 males and 2 females come regularly to it. They often dive-bomb each other fighting over the feeder. We have many goldfinches loving our black-eyed susans and coneflowers. The butterflies love our zinnias and hang out there all day. Dragonflies flit around everywhere. And we even got a visit from a turtle. It's been so fun!

Where's he going?

Enjoying feeding fish daddy's yucky "biscuits" after a picnic by the lake.

A "princess" dress made by Grandmama. Just in time! Rhi has been growing out of all of her dresses. She's also doing a great job in gymnastics and has been taking swim lessons. The scary part is that she thinks she can swim, but she really can't. She can swim to the side with the help of a noodle which is a stroke in the right direction....har har har.

Some things I've been thinking about that I love about Rhi: She loves people and will talk to and try to include anybody...even girls who snub/ignore her. I hope she keeps it up and never gets shy like I did. She refers to the baby as "our baby". She wants a "white buffalo cake" for her birthday (for months now she's been saying this). Where on earth did she get that idea????