The before-four family

I wanted to get a few pics of all of us before the baby comes--it is still surreal to think we will be a family of four in about three weeks.

Unfortunately, the day when I decided to have us take these shots on timer was very bright and the pics are pretty washed out. Oh well.

 Phew--we hadn't even started taking pictures yet, but we were tuckered out already.

 It was hilarious trying to get this posed pic with Clara.

 Love the sneaky grin.

 And Clara's expression in this one is my favorite.

Never too old for piggy-back rides.

Just three has been great. I will miss it in many ways, I'm not going to lie, and this last month is precious time. But I also don't want to be overly dramatic about how "this is the last time it will just be the three of us" because we will always make time to just be the three of us no matter how many more we have. That's one thing my parents did with the seven of us--made time for each child individually.

Thank goodness for eternal families.

Tiny dancer

Clara had been asking me for a few months to take ballet lessons. So in January, we decided we could do it and enrolled her in a little class. It was a really great class for her--very small with a patient, encouraging teacher.

Her recital was a week or so ago. We really didn't know how she would do, based on previous experiences in front of audiences.

But she did awesome. 

On stage performing--the girls danced to a classical arrangement of "Tale as Old as Time" from Beauty and the Beast and were dressed in yellow as little "Belles."

The fact that the entire dance lasted about one and a half minutes probably helped.

 After her performance.

 There were some funny, typical moments as well. What is Clara doing here, you might ask? Using her rose as a blaster, of course. Her teacher, Ms. Zilda, is in front.

Hooray for Daddy's little girl. (Clara is reading this and just told me, "BIG girl you mean, Mama!")

 Striking a cool pose.

She was so proud of herself, which was the best part.

However, she has decided she no longer wants to do ballet. Now she wants to do gymnastics or karate. We will see what the fall brings. 

Muddy buddy

I know I've mentioned this before, but Clara loves squishy things. Did I tell you all she asked Santa for for Christmas was a squishy toy? Today, for example, she was eager to help me form meatballs and tried to sneak pieces of bread dough to just walk around the house and play with.

This also means she likes the mud. I need to get her some rain boots, but I haven't and so therefore rarely let her splash in puddles and play in the mud. Sad, I know.

However, last week I relaxed and sat outside watching Clara have a blast in the mud.

 She invited me to play in it with her--I walked in the water (the un-muddy part) for a little bit and called it good.

The amount of mud on Clara isn't evident from these pictures, but her muddy bliss made the subsequent washing worth it.

Fun fun fun

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend visit from Michael's brother, Caleb, his wife, Shannyn, and their two hilarious kids. I forgot to take pics on our hike in the Shenandoah National Forest, but here are a few other highlights of our weekend. I most especially enjoyed just talking and laughing--that's my favorite part of every family visit.

 The three brothers. Hyrum is now as tall as Michael. Crazy.

 Clark and Clara got along well with both of her cousins, which was so nice. But why on earth don't I have a pic of Jane and her amazing dimples?

 Watching a movie.

 Michael is becoming a grill master.

 Dinner time--love Clara's face. I failed to take a pic of the other side of the table with Hyrum and Michael :-(.

 For the cookbook. (Michael is very good at reminding me, "Do you need to take a picture of this?")

 Clara just loved Caleb and Shannyn and not only preferred having Caleb read to her, but she also asked Shannyn to put her to bed.

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures--if we could just hear the sound of Hyrum and Michael laughing together, it would be a family treasure. But now Hyrum will be gone for nearly the entire month of June, and we miss him already.

Family rocks. Thanks again for coming, guys!

Growing

I was organizing Clara's closet this past weekend and pulled out a few of the clothes I had saved from her babyhood.

                  

Clara saw the bear costume that I had made back in 2008 for her Halloween costume. (There was a little bear mask, as well). Can you believe this cutie pie?!  And look at her foot--I had covered her purple cast from her leg with a brown sock as camouflage.

Clara insisted on trying it on, and even with shorts and a t-shirt on underneath, it amazed me that it still fit, although now as shorts. The fact that she had taken out her braid from the day before and brushed her hair out by herself really adds to the "scary bear" look, don't you think?

My question is, how is it possible that she is now seven years old and about to have a baby brother? Mind-boggling.

Pregnancy

This pregnancy has taken a whole lot longer than nine months. I still have nine weeks to go and I feel like the weeks crawl by. The comments about how big I am, whether or not I am carrying twins, or "Wow, not until July?!" don't help much either.

But I remind myself that I am so grateful I'm not on bed rest, that this baby boy is alive and reminds me of it daily through his active kicking and squirming, and the fact that we are actually going to have another child. Very weird and scary but wonderful.

Clara is so cute with the baby in utero. She comes up and kisses my tummy and likes to feel him kicking. I am trying to prepare her for the realities of a newborn, but frankly, it's going to be an adventure for all of us.

This video was taken at 28 weeks, I believe. You might have to turn up the volume to hear Hyrum in the background.

Other shtuff

As for a re-cap on other happenings 'round these parts, here's a sampling:

 We baked sugar cookies out of a classic 1957 Betty Crocker kids' cookbook from my mom.

 Clara pretended to be a dog. Or a bear. Or a lion. She doesn't like to be anything scary, though--a "baby lion" or a "cub" or a "puppy" is infinitely preferable over the adult version. At our house, asking Clara to do something in a regular voice does not always guarantee compliance. But saying it in an "Ernie" voice or a "puppy" voice or an anything voice pretty much does.

Clara had hat day at Cub Run Elementary.

 Michael let Clara watch the classic version of "The Karate Kid" with him several weeks ago. Since then, Clara continually wants us to be Mr. Miyagi (she has dubbed me Mrs. Miyagi) and she is "Miyagi-daughter." We have to use the right voice, or she corrects us. She especially loves it when Michael gives her a "karate lesson."

 We went to the children's museum on Charlottesville over Spring Break. It was pretty paltry, I must say, but it was a fun diversion.

This was the coolest part--the tubes blow air and shoot out different handkerchiefs or sponge balls.

See my next post for a video of me in my pregnant splendor. Or something.

Easter

I didn't realize I hadn't posted these pictures. Man, I am behind. I have been very unmotivated to do things on the blog--maybe it's because I am not happy with its current design. Or I'm lazy. Or I'm stressed. Or lazy.

I love Easter and had big plans to spend each day reading about the last week of Christ's life, doing the Resurrection Eggs for Family Home Evening, etc. That all went to pot when I went down to Atlanta, which I don't regret, but it did make our Easter a bit less meaningful than I would like in the future.

Anyway, here are some highlights of our brief Easter festivities.

 Normally we do our egg hunt on Saturday, but Michael couldn't be there so we had it on Friday.

 I made Hyrum carry around a basket--of course, it didn't fit all his eggs, but whatever. I mean, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo of a large teenage boy in a sweatsuit with an itty-bitty Easter basket, could I?

 The loot--I bought too much candy, even though I thought I was being lean this time. Well, live and learn. Speaking of learning, Clara seems to prefer non-chocolate candy to the chocolate candy (crazy), so next year she might just be getting some jelly beans and gumballs and we'll call it good.

We dyed eggs--Hyrum couldn't be there because he had a tournament, I believe. Anyway, I loved the tradition of dying eggs growing up, but I don't think my family is a big fan of hard-boiled eggs--I am not sure if Michael ate more than three, and Clara didn't eat any. I think it's because they're a pain to peel. Not sure if we'll do it again next year.

Speaking of peeling, when I was in Atlanta I watched a youtube video with my brother Bryan about how to blow the peel off an egg, and we did it and it worked! But then when I came home and tried to reproduce it, I was unsuccessful and must at some time redeem myself to prove to the menfolk that it is possible.

I love Easter and its message of hope, don't you?

Circus time questions

I have never been to the circus. It hasn't been a life dream of mine. But when the circus came to town, and we had some coupons, we decided to go for it. It was fun, but I won't chalk it up as life-changing. I kept thinking things like,

 "Those poor tigers! I wonder how they are treated," and "How does someone get a job as a tiger tamer? How much does he get paid?"

 Other questions entered my mind as well. "That poor kid. Is she homeschooled while the circus travels around? Does she like that elephant or is this a family business and she just has a part to play?"

 "Is it possible for these metal folding chairs with the chipped red and yellow paint to get any more uncomfortable?"

 "How can I get myself a pair of shiny red pants like that?"

"Are those dogs having fun, and do they enjoy wearing sequins?"

 All in all, I am glad we went, but I won't feel the need to see the circus on a regular basis.

I would like to know how they cut the magician in half, though. Guess I'm a sucker for neat magic tricks.

Spontaneity at an end

On our last full day in Atlanta, we went to the Fernbank Science Museum with Bryan and Emily.

I hadn't been there in years, and we enjoyed the kid-centered exhibits.

 These three Musketeers were so photogenic I couldn't resist taking more pictures, even when they weren't really paying attention.

 Yikes! Ferocious dinosaurs on the loose.

 Just a short trip down the river in the canoe we hewed out of a large log, all by ourselves.

 Giant bubbles = every child's (and adult's) dream.

Gotta end on a silly face.

After we had absorbed as much history and science as we could, we stopped by The Varsity to get lunch. It was my first time being inside (rather shameful for someone who lived most of her life outside of Atlanta).

 Of course I had to order the traditional frozen orange drink. We shared one and it was good, but I couldn't finish it. Guess I had filled up on that burger and all those fries. And Clara's grilled cheese.

The whole gang--apparently Clay and I were the only ones cool enough to wear the hat.

We also dropped by my oldest brother's house for a brief visit, which was great. Families are the best.

The next morning we headed back to Harrisonburg, which welcomed us with temperatures twenty or so degrees cooler. It was a memory-filled trip and I am so glad I made it while I can still fit behind the steering wheel.

Spontaneous continued

After our visit with the Weilers, we spent a night at my brother Clay's house. Their girls were in school still, but Clara's favorite part was jumping on their trampoline. Lia, their three-year-old, is such a cutie pie. My favorite part was just chatting with Amie and enjoying wonderful company.

 When my brother Clay came home, he kindly played with them on the trampoline, which Clara absolutely loved.  Wish I had gotten a pic.

Faith arrived home from school, and she and Clara were found on her bunk bed playing the iPad. Clara uses iPads at school and loves them. Are they really worth it, though?

For Family Home Evening that night, Clay and Amie had planned a special lesson/activity based on Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk last year about the young woman whose purse had been found. We made juice carton coin purses--they turned out quite spiffy but definitely required adult help.

 When we went to Bryan and Emily's house the next day, Clara and Grace opened a beauty spa (grace a Fancy Nancy). Grace painted my toenails, Clara did my hair, and Grace painted Emily's fingernails. They each gave me and Emily a hand massage with lotion. Ooh la la!

These kids got along well, and it filled my heart with joy. Grace and Clara wanted to be matching, so I did their hair the same way and Grace found a similar outfit. Poor Clay was a bit excluded, but he bore it well and was a great sport.

And then we went to Fernbank and the Varsity! To be continued...

Spontaneous

Spontaneity is not one of my strengths. A recent example:

MICHAEL: Honey, how would you like to go to a movie tonight?

ME: Um, well, it's a school night, and I have to get Clara to bed on time, and I'm tired . . . can you give me more notice and then I'll go another time?

(What person turns down a date night?! Me, apparently.)

Anyway, a week ago Friday, I decided to buck my stick-in-the-mud tendencies and leave the following day to drive down to Atlanta for Spring Break. Michael had to stay here since he had patients, but Hyrum, Clara, and I left at 5:00am on Saturday and then returned home the following Thursday.

It was a wonderful trip, and I was so proud of myself, even though I was having figurative heart palpitations leaving in such a rush and driving most of the nine-hour drive both ways. (I did let Hyrum drive for a little while. He did a good job and was patient with my side-seat driving.) We were grateful for the Lord's blessings of safety as well.

We jammed a lot of good stuff in, besides watching a wonderful General Conference, of course.

 Playing "boat" on the top bunk with Weiler cousins.

Some of my beautiful Weiler sisters-in-law during Sunday morning brunch.

 Reading "The Clone Wars" with Grandma (Yes, that was the book that Clara checked out from the school library--she loves it, for some odd reason.).

It was lovely, lovely, lovely.

To be continued . . .