Collin

 Collin Clinton Jennings

12.19.12  9:32 a.m.

7 lbs. 9 oz. 

20 inches long

Baby Sprinkle

My gal pals from church threw me a sweet sprinkle today for Baby Boy #3.  I was so humbled and loved all the care and cute details.  It was at a cute new coffee place on Magnolia called Brewed and we had a blast.  

Last weekend, my gal pals from school threw me a little sprinkle/Girls' Night Inn, too.  Sadly, I have no pictures but they got me a rocking diaper bag (an Ika bag...adorable & machine washable).

Thank you, God, for sweet friends. 

Here.

Best Month Ever!

September was basically the best month ever to exist.  Adam had a great schedule and we were able to spend lots more time all together.  It was so good for my heart- Adam is the best man I know and I am so thankful to be married to him and to have him as my main ally.  Love him.

 in our new swagger wagon (Adam traded his truck in...awwww)

 both boys down with the stomach bug = tons of technology!

 Uncle Gabe came for a visit

 Henry got the stomach bug and then three days later got a respiratory infection.  Poor sick kid.

 ridin' the train

Loco.

And two months later...here I am, posting again.  I think that's just life these days.  I can't get on the computer whilst the kids are awake or else they are all over me wanting to watch garbage truck videos or something of the like and then when it's night time, I do other stuff (like...really important stuff, you know).

To catch up, though, I am 26 weeks pregnant and currently switching doctors due to some insurance changes (we need to stay in our network now or else pay out of pocket like crazy).  Adam is on the best month of residency to date:  it's an elective and he chose Anesthesiology and Ultrasound and he basically works Monday through Friday 8-5, give or take a little.   Residency has made me so appreciate having him home on weekends or being able to go to church as a whole family.  Having him home every night for supper and bath time and bed routines is bliss.

Speaking of, we have had some wild shenanigans with bedtime over past two months.  Henry was dealing with some fear during August and it fell while Adam was working overnights.  I could tell that Henry was really scared as he wouldn't even walk into a dark room during the day time.  We prayed a lot and talked a lot and in the end, I let him sleep in our bed those few nights.  Then, he had some breakthrough (Praise God!)  and I felt like he really wasn't scared anymore but he was in the habit of sleeping in our bed. So we tried to move Elliot into his room and that was three nights of pure chaos.  I was so glad that Adam was back on days during that transition because, by the grace of God, we were able to laugh together about all the craziness.  We ended up moving Elliot back into his old room and the new baby will just sleep in our room for a few months then we will try again.

Yet, Henry still wanders into our room a few times a night.  Adam is a very sound sleeper and so I usually walk Henry back into his room a few times but, if he persists (like some nights every 20 minutes for over two hours), then I usually give in and let him into my bed.  Other nights, I win and he ends up staying in his bed.  I really wouldn't mind him sleeping with us except that he can be a dreadful bed partner (last night, I ended up going and sleeping in his bed...not the first time).  Alas, we all do what we can to catch a few winks around here and a new baby will be fun to add to the mix.

There's more about fall and visits and riding the train and playgrounds but I am tuckered so I will have to blog again about all of that later (hopefully not two months later).   Adieu!    Adieu!  To you and you and youuuu.

Baby Tres

So, as previously stated, I am 17 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  This baby is due on Christmas but we will have a c-section on 12/19 (I ended up with sections with both my boys, back story in the blog archives).  Henry will be 3 1/2 and Elliot will be 2 years and 2 months old.  Elliot and Henry are 18 months apart so that seems like a pretty decent space to us!

Our plan is to move Elliot into Henry's room before the baby comes.  I am becoming more and more skeptical about that plan.  Elliot is still in his crib and, though he and Henry go to bed at the same time and nap at the same time, I fear them never falling asleep at night and playing/fighting til Mama throws them out the window.  How do you make that adjustment?  Is there just a rough period that everyone must endure?  Mild sleeping potion?

Also, on the adjustment front...looking for a pre-owned mini van.  Three car seats won't fit across the backseat of my car and so I am going to sell or trade-in the station wagon (Incidentally, only 58,000 miles in 7 years....not bad, huh?)  and get a mom-mobile.  Practicality be key, my friends.  Coolness is out floating amongst the gillyweeds.

But cannot wait to do this again...

one of the best feelings in life.

Some Things That I Want to Remember.

This summer has been one of my favorites, if not my favorite.  Despite Adam working a lot, the boys and I have enjoyed swimming most days (probably 6 days a week?) and play dates and the YMCA and popsicles.  You know, summer stuff.  We stay up much later and shift our schedules.  My heart is happy seeing my boys play more and more together but I will say that those moments are "balanced" (ahem) by a fair amount of fighting and frustration.  Elliot has learned to say NO to Henry and sometimes to wallop him on the side of his head.  In other words, he has learned to stand up for himself and fight back and that has made life interesting.  Eventful.   (Also, Elliot has learned to just get all up in Henry's grill quite often too...it's not just a one-way street).  However, even with said sibling delights, this has been a glorious summer and there are some things that I definitely want to remember.

Elliot is 20 months old.  He is the opposite of Henry in so many ways.  Henry has always been intense, whether happy or sad or mad or euphoric or whatever the emotion. Elliot is light-hearted and so funny.  He is just a natural charmer and cracks us up with his dancing skills and silly running around the house.  Elliot has been slower to speak than Henry was.  His most frequent word is probably truck.  He only recently began saying Mam-Mam and Daaaaa whilst addressing us.  Other words include dog, plane (paaaaain!), milk (mmma), and bite (biye?).  We hear biye?  a lot while we are eating or anytime he spots food.  He calls Henry "Enyee" usually.  Elliot loves swimming with his puddle jumper (don't get me started unless you want to hear the miracle of the best flotation device on the planet.  Only $18 at Target!), books (buh!), and dogs.  He is not a picky eater and is a very easy & happy child, even when sleep-deprived.



Henry is 3 years old.  He adores friends and is good at sharing (except for with brother).  Henry really likes to play pretend games with me or Adam or his buds. For example, pretending to be a cat or hiding from monsters or he likes to rescue us as he's a fireman.   He has developed a deep love for swimming this summer and has gotten really good at it.  He can swim across Meema and Dude's pool without any assistance.  Henry still has a major passion for tractors and pretend plays with his cars, trucks, and trains quite often.  I see a tender little heart in Henry and he really has a very sweet nature.  However, he is three and doesn't always handle his frustrations well.  When Henry was two, we simply worked on discipline for behavioral issues.  Now, there are attitude issues that come up with whining or having a bad attitude when things don't go his way.  However, I see sweetness and obedience at some points every day with him and that helps encourage me during some 3-year-old moments.

Ok, just wanted to type out what I was thinking about my boys on this day.  More later, hopefully, as I don't want to forget but am so prone to doing so.  Also, didn't mean to include two photographs with Adam's shirt off but hey, they were the most recent pictures off of my phone and it was a matter of convenience, although I think that he is very handsome, as well.  Over and out.

P.P.S.  (hee-hee, pp).  Anywhoos, I am still pregnant:  17 weeks and 1 day.  Won't find out the gender until August something or another.  All is well.  More on that front later.

the Beach and stuff.

I have great motivation to blog during the day but, the problem is, my children are awake then.  By the time they go to bed at night (which is much later this summer), I am typically not very motivated to blog and therein lies my excuse for lack of blogging.  And being pregnant.  Double whammy!

We had the great fortune of basically having a beach trip handed into our laps by some very generous and loving folks.  Adam was able to go from Sunday to Wednesday morning and I flew back with the boys (solo!) on Friday morning.  This was such a fulfilling trip after the most demanding month of residency to date (during June).  The kids enjoyed the beach and it meant a lot for us to all four spend so much time together (even sleeping in the same room....well, Elliot slept in a pack and play in the bathroom- we tried to let him sleep in our bed with Henry as well but he is not ready for that yet, clearly!)

More on all that later, my motivation tank is empty again.

Back On the Wagon

Ah, bonjour my puppets.  It has been six months since I made my blog private, and all I have to say is, "What happened to blogger?" (Seriously, something is way different...and dark.  Do you feel that icy wind?)  During this privatization of blogging, I only blogged thrice (as opposed to thrice weekly).  Thus, it seems that I am largely motivated by you all to blog regularly and, since I want to document the life of my children and I don't scrapbook, here we are again.

Let's see. To recap the past half-year:

moved across town
Elliot learned to walk
Henry's third birthday
Henry wears big boy underwear now
Adam finishing up his 1st year of residency
made and am making friends in Fort Worth
found out that baby #3 is coming (December 19th)
joined the Y (that one has really changed my life.  God bless the YMCA.)

 Elliot!  He is almost 20 months old now.

 Chillaxing on the couch.  Note how clean that couch is!  Sparkling!

 A hug right before Henry pushes his brother down.  Tender.

Do any of you guys shove blankets at the base of your kids' doors?  It blocks noise and also the surplus of ragged blankets lying around the home look elegant and understated!