FOUR the love...

...this little lady is growing up so fast!  She is our resident second mom, helper, drama mama, princess, lover of dresses, singer and snuggler.  Tyler calls her Daughter Dearest and has been teasing her about not being allowed to get older.  It's a frequent conversation 'round these parts lately.  In exasperation Kelly will respond, "Da-ad, I HAVE to get older...but I'll still be your Daughter Dearest, even when I'm a mom."  Then he makes her promise, and she obliges.

Sister insists on freshly painted toenails and I am happy to deliver because it means that I am freshly painted as well.  And OF COURSE we have to have matching toes, so my nails are often pink with a sparkly coat over top.  Every time I see them I smile because they make me think about my little girl and how lucky I am to have her.

We went to see the baby doc this morning and when we got home Kelly said, "So boys AND girls can be doctors." (her pediatrician is a lady, the baby doc is a guy) I said, "Yep, do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?" She thought for a second and then said, "Ummm...AFTER a princess." I suggested that maybe she could do both at the same time and she said, "Yeah! That's what I'll do. I want to do that."

Kelly is very smart and is trying to do Kindergarten along with Max.  The other day I had to create some homework for her because Max was getting so annoyed with her trying to help him with his.  It was funny because she found the right answer before him and he was telling her she was wrong, but I pointed out that she was actually spot-on...she didn't gloat, though.  And she is a major perfectionist.  If the line for her P doesn't come out exactly straight then she'll erase until she gets it right...I'm trying to work on her loosening up a little with that.

Every night, just as we are walking out of her room, she ALWAYS says, "Good night, I love you, see you in the morning."  And if you don't repeat it to her just.like.that, then she'll shout it again and again until you open the door and say it back to her.

I love looking in the silverware drawer after Kelly has emptied the silverware from the dishwasher.  Everything is perfectly stacked and it makes me smile.

Kelly is my helper.  She'll often be on the kitchen counter when I am cooking dinner or baking, asking what she can do next.  When I am cleaning the house, she'll ask for a rag and find something to wash.  I am always impressed with how long she'll stay at a job...anything that she is working on gets her full attention.  This week she washed the front of all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers (without being asked) and I even saw her polishing off each of the knobs on the drawers when I was passing by.

Sister is very girly and loves to wear dresses.  I have to talk her into jeans some days.  She has several hairstyles she likes to choose from.  Recently she discovered some bracelets her Aunt Jenn made for her when she was a baby.  I'd put them away because I thought they were too small, but we tried them all on and all but a few of them still fit (I'm bummed that I didn't know that a while ago)!  So every day since, I have to get all of her bracelets out and she chooses the one that she thinks will look best for the day.  Today her dress had several colors that matched several bracelets, so she wore two on each wrist.

Kelly has felt the baby move the very most because she is so patient and will sit next to me for a long time with her hand on my belly.  In fact, she is pretty darn good at sitting still for long periods of time.  At church a few weeks ago she sat next to me and about halfway through the meeting she leans up and whispers in my ear (she is BIG on whispering in my ear...it's very cute), "It's fun just sitting here next to each other."

Bo Bell is such an awesome sister and is going to be my right-hand woman when the babe is born.  She has an innate nurturing quality.  These brothers are super lucky to have her in their lives!

She is a Daddy's girl, for sure, but she definitely has an affinity for her mama and I love that.  She is so sensitive to other people's feelings and a very obedient little girl.  So the drama mama part of her personality is totally bearable.  We love our Kelly Anne.  SO.VERY.MUCH.  We are truly blessed to call her ours.

Ack! It's back!

I mentioned in posts during my pregnancy with Ev that I had a weird pregnancy rash called PUPPP.  Well, it has reared its ugly head for another shot at me during this pregnancy.  My mother-in-law had it with just one of her eight pregnancies and so I was really hopeful that the last time was just that - the LAST TIME I would have to deal with it.  Not so, apparently.  Want to know more about it?  Read on, people, read on. I wish to educate and garner sympathy, hopefully in the form of cookies or other baked goods.*** My notes are in red.  

PUPPP

The term PUPPP is short for Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy, a skin condition also known as Polymorphous Eruption of Pregnancy orPolymorphic eruption. It is an itchy, bumpy rash that starts in the stretch marks of the abdomen (except I don't have stretch marks) in the last 3 months of pregnancy then clears with delivery. (It lasted for 3 or 4 weeks after Everett was born, not cool)

What are the features of PUPPP?

Small, pink, raised spots (papules) appear in the stretch marks around the umbilicus. There is often a pale halo around the papules. These papules coalesce to form large red, raised (urticarial) patches (plaques) which spread to involve the buttocks and thighs, and sometimes the arms and legs. (that was true last time, but this time it's just the lower belly) 

PUPPP is very itchy (pruritic) and patients find it difficult to sleep at night. (and makes your husband cringe because you scratch so hard and it sounds so awful when you do)

Treatment

There is no curative treatment for PUPPP (apart from delivery!). Symptoms can be controlled using (my doc with Ev told me "sorry" and offered no other help aside from moisturizing, which looks like the only thing I would use):

• Emollients (moisturisers) applied liberally and frequently as required.
• Topical steroids applied thinly twice daily to the red itchy patches.
• Antihistamines - conventional antihistamine tablets appear safe in late pregnancy (though they may make the baby drowsy on delivery).

Can PUPPP recur with future pregnancies?

This is very uncommon. If it occurs the PUPPP is likely to be milder. (another testament to my "uncommonness" and it IS, actually, milder...for that I am thankful.  Plus I just have a month and a half left.  No big thing.)

Thank you for your attention, you may now return to your PUPPP-free life, even a little more thankful that you are not me. :)  

***It really isn't all that bad, and I have very little else to complain about.  I am thankful beyond words for this little babe and so this is totally worth it.

I'll be 34 weeks on Sunday!  What?!  I wish we could settle on a name for this little man.  I am feeling really good!  And suddenly the reality that a teeny-tiny baby will be in our home in about a month and a half is settling in. I am so, so, so excited!  I can't wait to meet him and add him to our crew. I might get his clothes out and washed this weekend (or I might not...energy comes in bursts) and I think we're going to transition the Ev man to a toddler bed and into his new room with Max and Kelly very soon.  I have to take pictures of myself and my belly from a somewhat flattering angle at times....

otherwise this (and many other pictures like it) taken by people under 4 ft. is all I would have to show for myself. :)

Cute Moments

I love little kids that want to copy older siblings.  Ev was sure to get his feet just right so he could look like Kelly.  And Kelly ends up in her ballet outfit a lot lately. :)

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everett loves to line things up and often empties the shoe closet for this task.  "All yined up, Momma!"  Other favorite objects to "yine up": tupperware, tupperware lids, books, cars, big trucks.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I posted this on Facebook:
Sweet moment I caught in the mirror. (Don't worry, I was stopped when I took the picture) They held hands the whole ride home from school. Max is usually in the back, but opted for Kelly's seat today. Ev was super excited to see Max when he got out of school. Max: "Ev was jumping up and down and hugged me THREE TIMES!" Love when my kids are so sweet to each other. :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funny things kids have said that have been posted on Facebook (some from December), but need to go down in the Foster Fam blog book:

• Max: "What if I sang 'Praise to the Man' SO loud that it filled ALL the states with joy? People would start to plug their ears, but then they would hear the music and they would kneel down and pray. Even astronauts who just landed on the moon would hear it and kneel down to pray."  (then he went on to discuss the possibility of the astronauts being on the planet with lots of volcanoes and the singing would make a volcano erupt and kill the astronaut while he was praying...but it started out sweet :))
• I love when my kids understand certain sayings wrong. Kelly just said, "Mom, come enjoy us in here." You know, instead of "Come join us in here." I think her way of saying it is much more appropriate...not to mention cuter.
• I loved Max's note to Santa he left with the milk and cookies. I was the scribe and he wanted me to write, "I love you, Santa, SO much." But then he said that he wanted to say something else but didn't want to make Santa feel bad. I asked him what it was and he leaned over with his hand cupped around his mouth to whisper in my ear, "But I love my Mom and Dad more." I told him that would probably make Santa happy to hear that he loves his mom and dad, so we put it in the letter followed by (I hope that doesn't make you feel bad)
  Then he said, "Santa, I don't want any presents for Christmas, I just want to learn about Jesus. (pause) Wellll....I do want SOME presents. Thank you for all the things you do." :)
• Max: "I'm not a lover, I'm a fighter" (when Ev was hugging him) :) But that couldn't be further from the truth. Brother is a lover.
• Tonight Max said, "If I were married to Reyes (little girl who lives next door, is the same age, and best friend to both Kelly and Max), every afternoon at 9:00 I would hug her. That's what I would do if I were married to Reyes." :)
• Everett has learned to say "snuggle" and says it even cuter..."nuggle." Yesterday he said, "ome on (come on), Mama, nuggle" and motioned for me to follow him to the couch. You better believe I dropped what I was doing for a nuggle with my little guy!
• Max's class is doing a Holiday concert tonight and we've been playing the CD of songs here at home for practice. There is a song about Hanukkah and lighting the menora. This morning Kelly was very sweetly singing every word, including hand motions. "...on this the first night of Monica." :) I've tried correcting her and explaining Hanukkah, but later I still heard her singing the song about Monica.
• Two cute things this morning:
  1) We'd just dropped off Kelly at preschool and were driving home and I said, "I sure love my boys." Ev responded, "Okay, Mom." and a few seconds later added, "Me too. Me too, Mama." I asked, "you love me too?" "Yep, wove you too, Mama."
  
  2) Max and I were just talking at the table and he was saying that he hopes it snows again so that we can go sledding at his school AND have our special date (last time it snowed he and I stayed outside longer to sled on our street and he called it our Mom and Son date). I said that would be fun and he matter-of-factly said, "So let's be looking forward to that." Then hopped down from the table.
• I just asked Ev how old he is (because I like to hear him say it) and he held up the right number of fingers and declared "Two!" I told him "That's right, good job!" He then starts shaking his shoulders, dancing, and saying, "Booyah!" :)
• I saw that Max forgot to flush the toilet and said, "Ugh, Max, you didn't flush!" His response? "Oh, yeah I forgot. (then with a smile) I thought it was during Joseph Smith's time (1800's) and I didn't have to flush." Oh, puh-lease, brother. :)

Go Cougs!

This is out of order, but oh well.  The first weekend in February we drove to Portland to see the BYU Cougars play some ball.  It's about a 3-hour drive and it was a very fun little trip!  We ate at a BBQ joint called Podnah's that was on Diners, Dives and Drive-In's (is that what it's called?) at the suggestion of our friend Dave Lewis who also made the trip with his boys and another friend.  The food was delish!

We got to the Chiles Center with enough time to see the players warm-up, so Ty took the kids down to see the action up-close (see the back of the head of the guy in the gray shirt in the pictures?)  Max was especially excited about all of this!  We all wore Cougar gear and/or Cougar colors.  I squeezed my pregnant self into my one and only BYU shirt.  I almost didn't because I thought it looked ridiculous, but Ty convinced me I looked super cute and sometimes when he says that I believe him. :)

We danced - ate some popcorn and other snacks - almost overheated because we were up high and it got HOT for the big pregnant momma (just look at my flushed cheeks in the pictures below) - gave some of the players a high-five when they were coming back in for the second half because we realized we were standing right where they'd be coming in, so we stayed put until they closed off the area - and cheered the Cougs on to victory!  It was really fun to be there for a game.

 

 

 

 

 

The ride home was late and we were T-I-R-E-D.  My hubs who rarely needs a reprieve finally asked me to take over and, luckily, I'd gotten my second wind so we made it home in one piece.  Phew.

This Valentine's Day Wins

• The night before, Max and I put together his valentines.  Each child got 4 army guys with this note attached: "I would go to battle to be your Valentine!"  Max felt a little bad about giving them to the girls, but I told him girls like army guys too and Kelly came out of the bathroom shouting, "Yeah, Max, I like playing with army guys!!!"  Besides, I knew he would be getting plenty of Barbie/Tangled valentines the next day and wouldn't mind those.  
• I supplied pink, heart-shaped pancakes and orange juice for breakfast.  The kids swore they were so much yummier than regular pancakes and each kiddo ate three!
• Made pink, heart-shaped (I'm sensing a theme) rice crispy treats with Max for his Kindergarten class.
• Got to take Max (and Adam and Reyes) to school instead of putting them on the bus since I needed to take the treats in.
• Met the desperate eyes of a Kindergarten teacher who wanted me to stay and help her take each child around to deliver the valentines to their classmates.  It was SO fun to see their excitement.  They all wanted to stop and talk to the person they were giving the valentine to and tell them what it was and why they would love it. Thankful for Marcela keeping Kelly and Everett while I dropped the kids off so I could say yes and help out.
• Stopped by the dollar store to fulfill the dreams of my super easy-to-please children with a single gift and candy for my hub's gift, then stopped and got the few missing ingredients to make my husband's favorite dinner of all time - Crispy Chicken Costoletta.
• Hid the goods in my bathtub.
• Kelly helped me put all of the notes on the candy for Ty's candy basket (kind of like a candy poster, just in a basket).  The candy served the purpose of saying what I wanted to say...not so much meeting the desires of my husband's heart.  But I did throw some strawberry twizzlers in there for him. :)  And then he let me eat his Twix last night.  What a man.
• Picked the kids up from school, came home and looked through Max's valentines.
• Got started on dinner before Ty walked through the door...he was so excited when he saw what I was making.  He helped me get dinner ready and then I sent everyone upstairs to put laundry (it was also laundry day yesterday) away so I could get the table set.
• Set the table with candles, dimmed the lights, and put everyone's little (emphasis on the little) Valentine gift with accompanying homemade valentine and balloon by each of their plates.  They were so excited when they came downstairs. It made my heart happy.  When we started eating Max said, "I bet we're the ONLY family doing this right now!"  Probably not, but I'll let him go on thinking that we rock. 
• We ate the very delicious dinner (I think it's better than the same dish at the Cheesecake Factory) and then - my new favorite Valentine's Day tradition - we went around the table and everyone said what they loved about each person in the family.  It will go down in my memory book as one of the sweetest family moments ever.  My heart felt like it would burst and tears were just under the surface.  Could have something to do with the pregnancy hormones, but I likely would have been choked up non-pregnant as well.  Everyone was so genuine and sweet.  Everett would insist on it being his turn and then he would say, "I yuv (love) Mom" and "I yuv Dad".  After Max had said a few things he loved about Ty I asked, "Is that all?"  "Well, that's not ALL I love about him!  I love SO many more things about Dad and Kelly and Mom and Everett...." Kelly was a little shy/embarrassed when it was our turn to talk about her, but she warmed up to it quickly.  Did I mention I loved this?!
• The kids played with their new toys for a bit while we did dishes and then we were off to Max's basketball game.  

I was exhausted last night, but so happy and content.  I love my little family and loved the memories made, and traditions begun, yesterday.  This morning Max said, "Yesterday was the BEST day EVER!"  I agree.  Perfect day.  Minus the laundry.  And lack of a single picture which makes this post kind of boring.  Other than that, perfection.