Update

I was thinking that maybe I should update people on what's going on with us.  I think about it often, but there's usually never real time to sit down and write about what's going on.  There's not really even time right now when I should be moving the laundry, but I'm upstairs and it's down, so I it can wait a moment.

Sariah:  Sariah loves school.  She has already made several new friends and tells me all the time about what they did that day.  For awhile the thing to do was start different clubs.  During recess they were in a grasshopper club where they tried to catch grasshoppers in the grass near the playground.  I hear they caught a couple too, but for awhile they were concerned that "Queen" grasshoppers ate people, so we had to look up what they actually ate (not people.)

Her favorite thing in class is a center called "writer's workshop."  There they draw a picture and try to write a story.  Sariah loves to write.  She can't read yet, but she loves to try.  She actually just started sounding things out more for me.  I'm sure she does it much more at school because she's much more inclined to try things for other people instead of me.  I've noticed that she also tends to write and read things right to left instead of left to right.  She spells her name backwards often, and the other day she read "no" instead of "on."  I'm hoping it's just a learning thing and not something to worry about.  (I'm a mom, I tend to worry.)

Outside of school she is still swimming, and she's doing really well.  She's been in level two and becoming a very strong swimmer without aid.  I'm thinking they might graduate her to level three for the Spring, but we'll have to see.  She's also doing a community class called "Showstoppers"  Its a basic broadway class for grade K-2 kids.  Her group is doing a medley of Beatles songs, and she's have an official recital on her birthday.  She really enjoys it but tells me that the hour long rehearsals make her very tired.  They have rehearsals on Monday afternoons since it's an early release day from school.

At home Sariah loves to play with her brother.  They often wake each other up in the morning to play before school.  She's a good example for him (most of the time.)  After the disappointment of not getting a sister, she's gotten over it with the purchase of a low loft bed.  Bryson will be sleeping in her room for awhile after the baby comes on a mattress on the floor.  They're very excited.  She's planning on being Morgana (from King Arthur legend) for Halloween, but she wanted to be a good Morgana because we watch a BBC series called Merlin where Morgana was good for the first 2 seasons, so it's a very pretty Morgana dress.

Sariah also amazes me with her love of the gospel.  At times I think she was more excited for General Conference than Christmas!  It helped that we had treats for most the speakers and pictures of the First Presidency and the Twelve on the wall.  After each talk, she would write the topic of the talk on a paper under each person's picture.  I meant to take a picture of the finished project, but never got around to it.  She's excited about the Primary program coming up in 3 weeks.  She's really learned the music well this year.  She's also been working at home at memorizing the Articles of Faith, and she's managed so far to memorize 11 of the 13.

Bryson: Bryson is growing up, which means he gets in trouble more often.  There's a whole new world of things to explore!  Taking after his sister, he's learned to climb and be his own kind of monkey.  He's still a very helpful little boy.  He loves to help with the dishes or the laundry and especially the cooking and gets very upset when there's nothing for him to do.  It's been really nice to spend some one on one time with just Bryson and learn more about his personality.  Bryson loves dogs.  He's really into Blue's Clues and books with dogs.  Sariah never cared for being read to, but Bryson will sit in my lap and let me read story after story to him.  Sometimes I think he's trying to grow up too fast on me, but he is becoming more independent.  Today he got dressed all by himself for (what I think is) the first time (that I've seen.)  He's picky about his clothes.  Bryson is planning on being King Arthur for Halloween, and if you didn't see, there's a preview picture on my facebook page.

I purpose under scheduled our time this semester after a super crazy Summer, and with driving Sariah to school and back every day.  We do have a couple of activities that Bryson enjoys during the week.  We attend a Sound Beginnings music class every Monday (we call it Bubby/Mommy music class.) Bryson tends to be more musically inclined, so I've been trying to encourage that.  I'm also thinking a sound basis in music theory will help him later in math and science.  He really does love it, and has been picking up lots of rhythms and sounds.  He's very involved during class.  I'm very pleased with it considering it costs a bit more money then I like to spend for classes.  He's also doing a class on Thursday called Jumping Jellybeans which has helped him be more social.  I'm hoping he'll be ready for Itty Bitty Broadway in the Spring which is an individual class and not a parent/child like Jellybeans is since I can't bring the baby in with us.

Bryson is also swimming.  This is his last semester in the parent/child class.  They use float belts and noodles, but he's confident to go out on his own and not cling to Doug the whole time.  He loves to jump off the side of the pool.  When he starts Shrimp one in the Spring they play a game called "Chop Chop Timber!" and he's very excited about that.

Bryson is very excited about the baby and loves to kids and hug him already.  He can't wait to hold his little brother and talks about it all the time.  He was a bit sad when we moved the toys out of his room to make room for the baby bed and dresser but he's excited again to share his room.  He's also in love with his whole family.  He still gets really upset when Sariah and Doug leave in the morning, and I usually hear about 10 minutes of "Me miss sister and daddy" once they leave.

Speaking of speaking... we're firmly stuck in what I call the cookie monster phase.  Everything Bryson says is "me" or "us" instead of "I" and "we."  It's driving me insane.  I know it won't last forever but I seem to be correcting him 500 times a day.  He will repeat the correct way, but I know I get tired of correcting him and he's not really interested in saying it right yet.  At least it is kinda cute, and I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually.

Doug: Doug is even busier now that he was two months ago.  He's worked his work schedule out so that he is able to take Sariah to school most mornings, but still get home for dinner most nights.  Sometimes deadlines do get in the way of that, though.  He seems to be enjoying work still, so that's good.

Scouting takes up a new chunk of his time, but I know he loves it.  He's really into getting those boys to progress.  They had his first campout (and thankfully the last of this year) a couple of weeks ago and I swear scouting took over our whole house and van for a week.  They were very prepared (even for the wind and rain that hit them overnight into the next day) and I think it was a success.

Scouting has become a bit of a family affair.  Bryson and I went out to purchase Doug's uniform, and I sewed all his patches on (good practice for later when Bryson starts) and Sariah and Doug went on a pre-scout campout campout together weeks before Doug took the boys out.

Doug was able to take the day off on my birthday and we found a sitter for Bryson so we could have a lunch date at our favorite Indian buffet.  It was super tasty, and our first date in over 7 months.  We really don't get out enough.  I'm looking forward to the end of the year when he burns off his remaining vacation days (so he doesn't lose them, he can only roll over 8) so we can spend some more time together.

Marin: Nothing too exciting going on at my end.  Still pregnant.  We just entered the 3rd trimester last Saturday and I'm feeling pretty good.  Exercise is amazing.  I'm not as constant as I was about going to the gym, I've cut down from 6 days to 3 or 4 partly because my gym buddy had her baby, partly because of scheduling conflicts with the kids.  I am still doing pretty well, I can squat down and still get back up, I'm lifting the same amount of weight, and I can hold plank position for 12 seconds, which I do twice.  Pretty good for 28 weeks pregnant.  The exercise has really helped, I'm not as sore this go around (somethings are sore, but that's just pregnancy.) I'm sleeping pretty well, too.  I can't complain.

Pregnancy and exercise are really my life right now.  I'm not singing with the Wisconsin Chamber Choir right now because their first concert is on Sariah's birthday, and I'll have a newborn for the next two.  I'm still technically on the board, but I'm not participating as much, in fact I only go when they need a quorum to make decisions.  It's been a welcome relief not to have the responsibility on my shoulders right now, as much as I miss singing in the choir.

Other than that, life is normal.  I can't keep up the cleaning before the messes happen, but life goes on.  I'm looking forward to the fun at the end of the year.  After making the Halloween costumes for the kids, my next big project is Sariah's birthday, including a Butterfly Princess Party.  I start volunteering once a week at her school next month as well.  So I keep busy.

Baby:  Our little guy is doing fine.  As far as I can tell, he seems to be head down already, but I'm sure my doctor will check next appointment, he's pretty good at telling.  He must be bigger because he feels way more active now.  I can feel him, not just when I'm lying down, but almost all the time.  Plus, for the first time, Doug felt him kick the other day.  Its actually the first time Doug has felt any of the babies kick.  So that was kind of cool.

We're pretty much ready for him to be here, even though we've got awhile to go.  The biggest project to finish is to put the baby clothes in the dresser drawers, but that shouldn't take long.  So nothing too exciting on that front.  I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that he will probably be a 9 pounder again.  I guess if I accept it and expect it, maybe I'll be emotionally more ready this time than last time when I tried to fight it.  Babies are going to be as big as they're going to be and come when they're ready.


So, that's what's going on with us.  Hope it was exciting... pat yourself on the back if you actually read all that!