Brae-isms

Some recent favorites from my favorite 5-year-old:

1) "Mommy, is God preparing a house for me in heaven?"

"Yes."

"And is He preparing a house for you?"
 
"Yes."

"When I get to heaven, I want to be your neighbor."

2) Our beloved sister-in-law endured a miscarriage earlier this year.  Since we had told Brae about the baby before the miscarriage, we had to tell him the baby had not survived further. 

"Mommy, is the baby in Auntie's tummy in heaven?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, that's where God wanted it."

"Because God doesn't have a baby of His own?"

3) "Brae, did you go to timeout today?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

(Shrugging).  "Mommy, I can't remember how to stay out of timeout."

4) We tell Brae it's important to eat all his food so he grows up big and strong.  After throwing up, Brae one morning, Brae turned to me and said, "Mom, I'm a little bit smaller today."

Spring Photos

                                         Playing in spring mud puddles.

                                       A wedding date night.  25 weeks preggo.

                                           Cousins painting Easter eggs.

                    Trying to capture the elusive perfect cousin-grandparent Easter photo.

                Trying to grab an Easter photo as we rush out the door in the morning.  Always an exercise in futility.


Hope you had a Happy Easter!

24 week appointment and an Unexpected Encounter

Last week, I had my 24 week appointment.  It was the kind you dream of as a pregnant woman, and yet are also a little disappointed by.  It was completely uneventful.  Good, in so many ways.  But then it also makes me kick myself for spending 1.5 hours out of my day driving to and from the appointment, waiting in the lobby, peeing in a cup, etc.

I'm measuring on track, and may even be slightly ahead of the game in the weight gain department (hey, I have some catching up to do after all that nausea/vomiting!).  Baby's heartbeat was 150sh.

Baby is moving feverishly.  Watching my belly move is like watching a popcorn bag pop in the microwave.

I continue to feel extremely grateful for this opportunity, and yet am so excited to just get to D-day!

Also last week, I had an unexpected encounter.  A friend asked me to meet a friend of hers for coffee to discuss a possible career change.  As we were talking, the conversation turned to families.  She indicated she had adopted a son, who was now 16 months old.  No stranger to conversations like this - and clearly no shame, either -- I politely inquired as to why she had adopted.  Infertility, she said.

I immediately felt a little saddened by this response, and yet, know it was also the reason we initially turned to adoption.  It is too bad that for so many of us, adoption is our "Plan B," when it turns out it was God's "Plan A" for us all along.

In any event, we continued to talk about infertility and adoption.  I then asked her about embryo adoption.  Her eyes widened.  She'd never heard of such a thing.  So, I told her all about it.  I could see the intrigue brewing in her eyes.  

Later, I emailed her information about NEDC, and told her to keep in touch.

It felt so good to, if nothing else, bring the possibility of some additional hope to someone who thought that pregnancy was a lost cause for them.  Sure, she could do embryo adoption and never get pregnant.  And, if that's the case, then if nothing else, she may herself have an unexpected encounter where she can pass that hope like a torch on to someone else. 

Birth orders

This week, I got curious about what it supposedly means to be at a certain spot in the birth order.  This fascinates me because none of my children will be where they were "supposed" to be.  Brae is the oldest in our family, and yet, he has an older half-sister.  Sienna will be the middle child in our family, and yet she is the youngest in her genetic family, with two older siblings.  This next Colton baby will be the youngest, and yet, if we had gone about creating a family in the "traditional" sense, he/she would have been the oldest. 

According to some sites, this is what birth order means, and whether it rings true with my kiddos:

Oldest (Brae) -- These siblings tend to:

1) Take responsibility for siblings (yes)
2) Get along with authority figures (does Mom and Dad count?)
3) Be high achievers (yes)
4) Need to feel right, perfect, or superior (yes)
5) Be the "good" kids who follow the rules and set examples for siblings (debatable)


Middle (Sienna) (this is a little unfair to her, because she doesn't know yet she will soon be the middle child) -- These siblings tend to:

1) Try to catch up to older child's achievements (not really)
2) Try to be opposite of older child (yes)
3) Rebel to find their own place (yes)
4) Have the ability to get along with almost anyone (mostly, yes)
5) Have an easy going approach to life (yes)

Youngest (Colton baby) (perhaps a look into the future) -- These siblings tend to:

1) Be spoiled (probably)
2) Be clever, self indulgent, and highly creative (sounds like Brae)
3) Be treated as the baby (oh, joy)
4) Suffer from low self esteem (oh, no)


An interesting caution I've seen given to parents is that when the second, third, etc. child comes along, there doesn't seem to be as many pictures taken, videos, etc.  I raise my hand shamefully on this one.  I haven't even taken a belly picture with this precious baby yet.  I know Sienna's photos are also woefully behind her brothers (and yet, she's also lived half a lifetime less than he has, so I can't be too hard on myself).

I'm excited to see how our family takes shape and how each child's personality develops.