Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Last Trimester

Well, I have made it to this point in my pregnancy, PHEW!  I survived a hot and humid summer, a dog bite, managed to keep up with two crazy busy boys, pretty much didn't slow down any activity even though I would have liked to, and have continued exercising until the end.  I think back and ask myself where did the time go, yet other times I ask myself will I ever not be pregnant?  This has definitely been the most up and down pregnancy for me emotionally and physically.  I guess I'm not 25 anymore.  My body is older and this is the third baby.  But I look at my growing belly and I realize my pregnancy has been a lot better than many other women.  It is truly a blessing to be able to bear children.  It's a miracle what the body is capable of.  It's wonderful to feel that little life inside of you.  And it is incredible to have the privilege of being a mom of such unique and special boys.  When I became a mom for the first time I continued to think about all the things I would be teaching my kids.  Now that it's my third go around I realize that my kids teach me as much or more about life, who I want to be, and how I can be better than I teach them.  I realize now it's not just about what I should be teaching them, but how we can learn and grow together.  It's a process.  We are constantly thinking of solutions for potty training or homework battles or nightmares or friendship conflicts.  We are constantly learning how to help, love, encourage, stay connected, surprise, be patient, and so on.  There is no perfect parent, just one that tries hard to provide the best for their children and learns from their mistakes.  
35 weeks pregnant

38 weeks pregnant
If you see that bandaid on my face.  This pregnancy has given me lots of interesting little things on my body of which the most strange was a growth I had on my cheek.  I thought it was a pimple at first but when I had it for over 8 weeks and over that time it got bigger and bigger and wouldn't go away I realized it was something else.  I went to my regular doctor to check it and she thought it was a Hemangioma.  So I set up an appointment with a dermatologist.  They couldn't see me until December. As I accepted my fate of having this ugly growth on my face for months not knowing what it was it continued to get bigger.  I called my doctor again and they were able to get me into the dermatologist immediately.  It turned out to be a huge cluster of blood vessels.  The doctor nicknamed it "proud flesh" which is a reference to a skin condition horses can get.  LOVELY.  On the up side they removed it that same day and my face is finally healing.  I don't feel like everyone is looking at me wondering what that nasty thing on my face is......Yet another fun part of this pregnancy.
Here I have 9 days to go.  Let's hope I am not 13 days late like I was with Xavier or 10 days late like I was with Gavin.  I would appreciate one of my kids being on time.


Monday, September 23, 2013

First Day of First Grade

August 26, 2013 marked another big milestone for Xavier.  He is officially a first grader and going to school all day.  Talk about an emotional day for mommy.  I found myself wishing I could turn back time and keep him home with me another year.......but I knew I had to be strong and let him grow.

This kid was born to fly!  He has always been so independent and ready for the next big thing.  I love that about him, but it's also hard to let him soar.  Sometimes I just want to freeze time and keep him little forever.  But I am so glad he is such an outgoing and ambitious kid.  It reassures me that he will be able to do great things.
Here he is waiting for the bus with his buddy Justin.
One last goodbye before he takes his first steps on the big morning bus.

After school we had our annual Back to School Dinner.  I couldn't wait to set the table in back to school fashion.  I definitely didn't make this idea myself.  Thanks to pinterest my table was all decked out school style.
I put together a Back to School Survival kit with tips of advice on how to have a successful year in school.  I also gave the boys a book (Gavin's was The Night Before Preschool and Xavier's was the Night Before First Grade), a pad of drawing paper, and a new box of crayons.


We had a yummy dinner of Italian Wedding Soup, Spinach and berry salad, and cornbread.  It was a hit!  My three braniacs!

I read the kids a poem about attitude and how much our attitude can determine our success in school and life.  We also chose the theme "We can Do Hard Things"  this year because this year marks many big changes for our family, some will be easy, some will be hard, but through it all, if we work together and keep Christ as our center, we can do hard things and be successful.  I used the scripture Phillipians 4:13 as our focus which says,  "I can do all things through aChrist which bstrengtheneth me."
Tim also gave the boys and me father's blessings to start the year off with some words of wisdom.  I love this tradition and am grateful the boys have a dad that is able to perform such a blessing that will give them strength for the upcoming year.
We are 1 day in and may the adventures for our Richardson home begin.......