"On your markets..."

Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean things haven't been going on around here. I am SO happy to be out of the dregs of morning sickness and enjoying living life like a normal person. Well, I guess I am living as normally as I can with a basketball-sized bump under my shirt. (And yes, I am really only 24 weeks along.)

This strange (but welcome!) mild winter weather has us jumping on the tramp (not me, sillies) and playing at the park. It being so nice, I do wish I could be out there with all the runners I see. (I never really get to run through a pregnancy because I am sick at the beginning then don't feel like it would be good to start back up after 4 months off and that far along. Blah.) But you all have fun without me! Just don't brag too much about the races you are beginning to train for. I guess my upcoming labor could count as my half marathon this summer. Yeah, that will have to do. (I am, however, enjoying doing a daily Pilates workout from a great Prenatal Pilates DVD I bought. And I do a Yoga DVD once a week. It feels so good to be moving and stretching every morning. It can just be difficult to hold myself in down dog and focus on "the union of body and breath" while my kids are yelling at me from the basement. I do what I can.)

The kids are keeping me moving, sighing, cleaning, praying (for patience - yikes), and laughing. As usual they love to read so we often cuddle up with a stack of books. (Last night Gabe insisted we each take a turn reading the classic: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. Julia has had that one memorized for a while but I was surprised to hear Gabe recite it nearly word for word. I remember that book being one of the first I could "read" on my own too.) Some new favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz and Shirley Temple's Heidi. (Watched that one Sunday on Netflix. I can't believe they sit through the entire black-and-white movie. They just love "The Grandfather!")

They often break out into the Flight of the Concords song, "Brown Paper, White Paper" at the dinner table. Gabe loves "the sticky stuff" part. And after dinner nearly every day Jonny and the kids play and wrestle like lions - Scar, Simba, and Nala. (Someone always ends up crying from an accidental bump. So went the days of dog-piling on my dad too.) They have been playing a lot with Jonny's sister Rudi who is staying with us for a little while. They are always looking out the window in the morning to see if her car is parked in the front of if she has already left for work. "Rudi's car is here!" is often exclaimed.

I might as well share some of the funny ways the kids are saying things. Julia (who will be five in June and is too excited for kindergarten) says "usually" for "actually"- and that can come out pretty funny sometimes. ("Mom, I usually forgot my socks at Amber's house" or "I usually went potty before we left.") A paper cut is a "short cut." And when they are racing she says, "On your markets...set...go!" Then during the race, "I'm gonna beat you up." Lastly, she is really looking forward to "Ballenstime Day."

 Here she is looking a lot like Aunt Rudi:

Gabe (who will be 3 in May) loves to get "ta-yo-yo juice" (tomato juice) and "pink-a-butter" (peanut butter) out of the "fridger" (fridge, or refrigerator, I guess.)  He is crazy about the dinosaurs Santa gave him and the giant 24-piece ABC puzzle that he independently puts together every single day at least 3 times. He usually sings the Leapfrog ABC song or "Never Smile at a Crocodile" while puzzling. Last week he nonchalantly reported to Aunt Amber that "Scar is at work" (referring to Daddy, as mentioned earlier). He wants to learn to ride a "bike-cycle" and suddenly loves to sit on my lap - which isn't easy or comfortable for all three of us involved.

Other than that, Jonny is working hard and we are excited that his company just moved from their Orem building to a new one at Thanksgiving Point. I was released from being the Young Women President after three years, after which Jonny was immediately put to work with the Young Men! Julia and I are loving my two-day-a-week preschool class, through which Gabe still naps most days. And we are all really looking forward to meeting our baby girl in a few more months. Perhaps potty-training is in our near future. But we will wait a little longer to see just how ready Gabe and I am for that.