Christmas

The week of Christmas was really busy and a lot of fun. My brother and his family came in from Colorado on Friday the 18th and spent an entire week here. I hadn't seen them since April, so it was great to get to spend every day playing with them. It was a full house every day at my parents', with 16 people, including 6 kids under 4 years old. It was mostly loud and chaotic, but so much fun. For the most part, Mr. Mister did a great job playing with his cousins, despite a few hitting/biting incidents. By the end of the week, I think we were all a little worn out from all of the activity. The past few days we've enjoyed spending time just the three of us (Daddy is taking this whole week off!) before the whole Pennsylvania crew comes to visit later this week.

With all the activity, I forgot to take a lot of pictures. We didn't even get a family picture with all 16 of us together. Or pictures of Mr. Mister opening his presents. So here are a few of what I have....


Mr. Mister holding his 1 year old cousin (the only girl!)

Some of my family visiting my Grandma at her assisted living place on Christmas eve.

Mr. Mister at an indoor play place we went to. It had playground equipment and inflatables to jump on. Definitley a highlight of the week.

Nonno with 3 of his boys.

Ultrasound Reflections

If you missed the ultrasound pics in the post below, check those out before reading this.

My Top Ten Thoughts and Reflections on the Ultrasound
(in no particular order)

1. It's amazing - to see the baby actually in there and moving. And to see the ultrasound tech measure the baby's kidneys and brain and the blood flow.
   
2. It makes it more real - there's really a person in there!
   
3. It melted my heart- I told my husband that the ultrasound makes me want to have 10 kids. The baby just looks so precious in there...so innocent and adorable even in hard to see black and white images. (then I come back to reality and remember that the baby eventually comes out and turns 2!)
4. Ultrasound techs are really impressive - good thing she provided commentary the whole time. Every time I thought I had it figured out what we were looking at, she would say a body part at the opposite end of the body!
5. It's really hard to "sneak a peak" - There's no way I could have been able to tell if it was a boy or a girl. She saw it and made sure it was healthy, but I had no clue when that was.
6. It was good bonding time - I feel like I connected with the baby more and that Daddy did too. It makes it more real for him since he doesn't have the big belly and can't feel the baby's movement.
7. It's extremely comforting - hearing that the measurements are all normal is a relief. Even though I had no real reason to worry, it's good to know that my occasional sneaking of a Diet Coke or feta cheese didn't have permanent effects!
8. I might actually be earlier - she thinks I may be due a couple days or even a week earlier than May 4. But it's not enough to officially change my due date. This is way better than being told I'll be later. No pregnant woman wants to hear that!
9. CALM and LOW KEY - these were the words she used to describe the baby! Now that made me smile.
10. The intricacies of life growing inside of me have to point to a Creator. I never cease to be blown away by how perfectly life is formed, developed, and sustained in my body. The Word says that God knit each one of us together in our mother's wombs. To see that in action is humbling and awe inspiring. I almost cried as I watched the image of my baby's brain on the screen, knowing that He formed that brain and has already wired it for specific purposes. Maybe it will be an artist's brain or a business brain or a teacher's brain....but the Creator of the universe has already intimately created it and formed it with unique giftings.
    

It's a.....

Healthy Baby!!

I had my ultrasound today. Over the past 21 weeks, I have changed my mind a million times about whether or not we were going to find out what we are having. It really depended on the day so I kept saying that however we felt when we walked into the office is what we would end up doing.

So this morning I met my husband at the office after he dropped Mr. Mister off at Grandma's and I came from my monthly OB checkup. He showed up having decided we would wait. I showed up having decided we would find out! Perfect. So in our 10 minutes in the waiting room, we had a really good conversation in which my wonderful husband lovingly helped me realize that waiting to find out was really what I wanted to do the whole time. He's always so encouraging but is also good about challenging me to stick to my convictions.

Anyway, I am really happy with this decision (although I do admit that I tried to sneak a peak during the ultrasound to see if I could "accidentally" find out - I was unsuccessful). To be honest, before I really wanted a girl. But lately, I've had a new contentment with having either. So in the meantime, I'm really happy that I just have a healthy baby!

Okay, here are the pics. They are labeled and I added some of my own commentary so I hope you can figure them out! I think I'll share my reflections on the whole experience in another post so this isn't super long.

Look at it as if the baby is laying on its back and you are looking from the side. The nose is in the air.

Pretty clear and easy to see, I think. That's one good looking hand!

I like this one because the baby's thumb is up and its finger is pointing out. Adding a little spice to the ultrasound pics.

This is the calf and foot. The heal is at the top with the toes pointed down to the left.

Happy 1st Birthday, Cousin!

Tonight we went to my nephew's 1st birthday party. All day Mr. Mister was looking forward to singing Happy Birthday and eating cake. He wanted to eat it right when we got there, but I told him he had to wait until after dinner. He was disappointed to find out after he ate really fast that we had to wait for everyone to finish eating.

He finally got his cake, after a little miscommunication (see below). And he got to help his cousin open his presents. Of course, he wanted to play with everything and one time he even said, "Look what we got!"

Here are some funny pictures from the night:

This was after I told him he couldn't stick his finger in the cake. He thought I said he couldn't have any cake. He immediately broke down in tears. We quickly cleared that one up!

The birthday boy, looking a little confused when everyone was singing to him. And he wasn't interested in eating his cake. But he had a big brother and a big cousin who were more than willing to eat it!

The 2 year olds were "helping" open the gifts.

3 toddlers playing the piano together in their pajamas - it doesn't get much cuter than that. Especially because for this one minute there was no pushing, yelling, or fighting over toys!

B is for...

Here is an example of how much kids learn from having books read to them.

Today, Mr. Mister and I were reading an alphabet book and there was a picture of a blue bird next to the B. I said, "B is for..." And he quickly said, "Blue Heron!" Haha, I was thinking bird, but I guess that's too basic!

He got blue heron from one of Eric Carle's books Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What do You See? I really like this book because it has all kinds of different animals that he's learned, like a mountain goat, a flying squirrel, a prairie dog, and a screech owl. We read it so much that he pretty much has it memorized and it's cute to hear him say all of those animals!

Give Clean Water

I'm taking another quick break from Mr. Mister stories to step on a little soapbox for a minute. Did you know that America spends approximately 500 billion dollars on Christmas each year? And did you also know that for a tiny fraction of that - only $5,000 - a well can be built that will bring clean water to an entire community of people in Africa?

That idea is crazy to me. People die daily from the lack of clean water. And something can actually be done to solve it. For not that much money. I can't get past the idea that clean water shouldn't be a luxury....it's a basic need.

There's a great organization called Charity:Water that builds wells in these places where people drink from and bathe in puddles of muddy water. I set up a personal fundraising website through Charity:Water to try to raise $500 by Christmas, which will bring clean water to 25 people.

I'm not really asking you to donate, although if you want to I'd love for you to be a part of what I think is a really valuable project (I'm only $100 away from my goal). Mostly, I just want to raise awareness of the fact that not everyone can turn on their faucet or shower, that the alternative is usually a dirty, muddy, disease-giving puddle of water that people walk miles to draw from, and that most importantly, it's really a simple problem to solve.

So I encourage you to check out my personal website, called A Glass of Clean Water

There's a great video that explains more of what I'm trying to say, along with more of my thoughts written there, and an explanation of what $500 can do.

Thanks for letting me share.

More Words

Mr. Mister speaks really well for a 2 year old, but of course there are words that come out a little mixed up. Here are some of my favorites:

epitice - elephant
tapato - potato
ambambance - ambulance

Fast Asleep

We usually leave Mr. Mister some books in his crib when we put him down at night. He likes to have the hall light on and read a little before he falls asleep. This night, we gave him a photo album that he likes looking at. No wonder he was so quiet - he was busy!!

At least it was easier clean up than the time we let him take a crayon with him for his nap. I swear we pulled the crib out from the wall that time...somehow he reached it anyway and it was covered in purple scribbles. Once again, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to the rescue. And lesson learned. A 2 year old can always outsmart you!

Disclaimer on the picture: It really was dark in his room...it's just the large flash on the camera that makes it look like we make him sleep with the lights on. And don't worry, that blanket near his face is not at risk for suffocating him. It just looks that way :)

The Swing

We recently got out our old baby swing to loan to a friend who is having a baby any day! Mr. Mister had so much fun playing with it for the couple of days that it sat in our family room before giving it to her. He put his duckie and baby in there and swung them gently (most of the time) and fed them pretend food (playdough). He told me, "When Mommy's baby comes out, Mr. Mister going to put it in the swing and push like this. Weeee!"

He even climbed in it and spent some time relaxing as it swung. I thought it would break, but apparently it holds at least 35 pounds!

Even though it's now been a week since we gave it to our friend, he still says, "Mr. Mister sad give swing to Beybeth with baby in her belly. Want it back." So I assure him that it's fun to share our things and that we can use it again when our baby comes.

I wish I got a picture of him actually in the swing, but here's him pushing his toys in it and then one of him as a newborn in it. What a big difference!

Words

Here are some funny conversations we've had lately.

1. When Mr. Mister prayed for our dinner the other night, he said, "Thank you for our feet." I asked him afterward if he meant, "Thank you for our food." He said, "No, our feet!" I guess we should be thankful for those, too!

2. He always wants to use my makeup, so we talk often about how only girls wear make up. To make it a little clearer, I listed all his uncles and grandpas as examples of people who don't wear makeup. Here was our conversation that followed:
Me: "Why don't they wear makeup?"
Mr.: "Because they are mans."
Me: "That's right, they're men."
Mr.: "No, mans."

I love the language development process. He always makes me laugh!

3. The other night, Grandma and Nonno were putting him to bed at their house and my mom said, "Okay, let's put your pajamas on" (pronouncing it pa-jah-mas). Mr. Mister said, "No, not pa-jah-mas, pa-ja-mas!" They started laughing about how to say that word and Mr. Mister finally got mixed up and decided that we wear bananas to bed!

Christmas Tree and Cookies

Here are some pictures of Mr. Mister enjoying some fun Christmas traditions. He loved helping Daddy put up the Christmas tree and still enjoys decorating it, as he takes the ornaments off and puts them back on several times a day. I left some of my more fragile and enticing-to-a-two-year-old decorations in the box this year. For his safety and my sanity.

He also got to make sugar cookies with Grandma yesterday. He had a lot of fun using the rolling pin and the cookie cutters. It was like playdough, but a lot more yummy! He even did a great job using the spatula to get them off the cutting board and onto the cookie tray.

Big Boy Underwear

The other day Mr. Mister was laying on his back about to get a new diaper on when he said, "Mr. Mister need to use the potty!" He jumped up, ran to his little froggy potty and went #1! It was the first time he initiated using the potty. I was so excited. (I'd love to have him potty trained by the time Baby #2 comes along!)

So we bought some Thomas big boy underwear as a little bit of a motivation. He was super excited to try them on. I'm not sure if I should really be posting these pictures of my son on the internet, but they are just so cute!

Kate

Remember Kate, the 5 year old who is battling a brain tumor? I've mentioned her before. I can't even remember how we came upon her story, but I've been following her Caring Bridge blog for several months now and Mr. Mister prays for her every night. I almost feel like I know her family!

On Wednesday, their story was on the Dr. Phil show. He and his wife visited them at their house in Phoenix about a month or so ago to interview them and to be able to share their story with more people who will pray for Kate.

You can read a recap of the show or actually watch it by clicking here. It's the last half of the show so you might have to skip through a little bit. You can also check out Kate's new webiste www.prayforkate.com to read more of her story.

Reality

I just wanted to note that today I had to actively recall to my mind the thoughts I wrote last night. Overall, it was a good day, but there were a few instances that I had to choose to remind myself of my realizations. It felt really good to choose that mindset instead of defaulting to the emotions that come more naturally. So I'm encouraged that my post last night won't be a temporary thought but one that brings lasting change to my interactions with Mr. Mister and my life long relationship with him.

Thanks for the encouraging comments. I think all moms are in the same boat to some extent and it's so healthy to be honest about how we feel instead of trying to convince everyone else (and ourselves) that we just love being a mom all the time.

Coming soon...jumping out of the depths of my mind and back to fun stories of Mr. Mister!

Reflections

Maybe it's the fact that it's midnight or that I'm pregnant and emotional or that or that I feel really encouraged by hanging out with some great friends tonight, or maybe it's because it was one of those days that I felt the conflicting emotions of my incredible love for Mr. Mister and the challenges of his strong will.....but for whatever reason, I'm feeling reflective. And I had a realization.

I love Mr. Mister for who he is.

A lot of people see his entertaining, funny, sweet, and charming side. I tend to see (and focus too much on) the challenges that come from his strong, strong will and his personality that can be so different from mine. I see how he's always the kid running away, not coming when I ask him to, screaming when he's told no, yelling "NO, Mommy," hitting me when he's frustrated, doing what I am clearly asking him not to do, hitting other kids for no reason, breaking something in our house, etc. And on the days that it feels like everything is a battle, I wonder how God expects me to be his mom. I know that sounds harsh. It's a vulnerable admission. But honestly, it can be so hard.

But I realized tonight that I don't want him to be any different. He is intimately hand crafted by the Creator, the One who has perfectly equipped me and designed me to be his mother. Mr. Mister's strong will does not just exist to bring me to the end of my rope. It is who he is. And the One who knit him together in my womb created that exact will with purpose far beyond what I know. I am confident that that very will that is so strong in Mr. Mister will be used for eternal purposes in the Kingdom of God in ways that will make me fall to my knees in thanksgiving for who my son has become some day.

At church on Sunday, a woman told us that the previous week in the 2 year old class, a boy was crying and Mr. Mister went over to him, hugged him, and rubbed his arm out of such concern for his sadness. It brought tears to my eyes. And it reminded me how every single time someone gets hurt, the very first thing Mr. Mister does is go over and pray for them. He says, "Jesus, Daddy's foot feels better. Thank you, Lord. Amen." His compassion and empathy for other people is amazing.

And today, a light bulb went on for me when Mr. Mister was crying as I tried to put him in time out. He finally told me that he was sad because he didn't listen to me. I was shocked. I always thought he cried when I disciplined him because he was mad at me...that his escalating screaming was directed at me. But really, he was just so sad because he made a bad choice.

It's rare for such tenderness and such a strong will to coexist in such great magnitudes in the same person. So I know that it's the perfect design of a perfect Father who has perfect plans for this boy. And his mom, who is growing so much in the process. Does that make the tantrums easy to deal with? Does it make it okay that he doesn't always listen or that he can be randomly aggressive toward other kids? No. But it gives me so much hope. And it makes me love him for who he is. Not who I want him to be or who I think he should be or who he is compared to other people's kids. I just love him. Strong will and all.