Oliver

We love our Oliver!  He is quite amazing.  He sleeps well, eats well, poops well ... ;)  The other kids adore him.  Izzy is a little too helpful at times, but also very sweet toward him.  She constantly wants to know where he is.  She has to be able to see him at all times.  The kids have adjusted well this first week and a half.  I am LOVING the baby stage (which has not always been the case)!  I know this little man will complete our family of 6 so I am taking in all of these moments, not wishing them away.  We have been blessed by phone calls, cards, gifts and meals.  We have some amazing family and friends in our lives.  So grateful.  Welcome, Oliver Dale!  We think the world of you already :)

My little loves :)

Enjoying the few days of warmth we had outside!  Now we're back to 40 degrees and windy and cold!  But warmth is on the way, I'm sure of it!! 
Due date for baby boy is this Friday.  Hoping to go in labor on my own, but scheduled induction is next Monday, the 21st.  I am trying to enjoy these last few days of just having the three, sleeping well, quiet time with Eli every afternoon, and playing Ticket to Ride with Brandt in the evenings. This will all change very soon!  But as much as I'm trying to soak in the "easiness" of today, I'm crazy excited to meet the little man, not to mention crazy uncomfortable.  So, it could be today, and I'd be a happy camper :)  Next post will for sure be introduction of baby Oliver :)

What we did today!

 The Sorbel family is trying to get an audition for The Family Feud.  We took this pic and sent in bios and reasons we want to be on the game show.  If they like us, auditions are next weekend :)

 The kids wanted in on the fun as well!

 Uncle Aaron and Jess babysat for us tonight!

 Sweet Iz :)

Eli and his uncle Aaron :)

three weeks!

Three weeks to go before we meet our little peanut!  Seems crazy fast!  Brandt and I were just chatting the other night about how we seem to be in a good routine right now... kids are sleeping 11-12 hours a night, they are getting along well and playing well together, very little behavior problems, etc.  Feeling good about the groove we are all in... just in time to throw another one in the picture and mess it all up!!  ;)  We remember feeling the same way before Izzy came along... 
So as excited as we are about meeting our baby boy, we are ok with waiting and enjoying these last three weeks with just the three.
Never know... my next post could be pics of our new little man!!

Ready for #4??

 This was our attempt at a belly picture with the three kids... not successful :(  But also very realistic!!

This is my bestie!  

We are crazy excited to add another to our family, even though some days we feel like this!!

Happy Birthday, Izzy!

 One Year

 Two Years

Happy Birthday to our sweet, stubborn, strong-willed, and incredibly precious little Iz.  We love everything about you.  So thankful that the Lord has entrusted us to raise you up on this earth.  Praising Jesus for YOU today!

Winter!

I haven't posted in forever!!  Since we are feeling sick of winter and very cooped up in the house, I decided to embrace winter in this post :)  This was our 2014 highlight, thus far...  Brandt taught Addie and Eli how to ski.  So much fun!  They did really really well.  Izzy and I were the spectators, but mostly I just worked on not losing her in the crowds.  She has a mind of her own and is strong-willed, to say the least.  Anyway, we are hoping to get them out on the slopes one more time this winter.  So exciting to picture our family years from now (many years... we should stop having babies!!), hitting the slopes together.  :) 
Brandt is in India for work this week.  I'll feel better once I know he's landed safely.  This is his last travel before baby comes.  We will miss him this week, but we have lots of people taking us in for meals.  I am grateful. 
At Target tonight I noticed the Easter section was out on the shelves.  I immediately felt a surge of excitement and anxiousness!  We are due with this baby boy on Easter weekend, so seeing that stuff made it feel close.  I'm ready.  B is ready.  Our older two are ready.  Nervous about the Iz, but she'll have to be ready :) 
That's my winter update.  Short and sweet.  I'll try and post more frequently.  I should start taking more pictures, but who has time!!?? 

exhausted

I love this little man with all my heart, but wow, he can be difficult sometimes!!  We've gone through a season of tantrums lately where there's lots of yelling, hitting, throwing and destroying.  They don't last long and they are always followed by sorrow for his actions and a different, changed attitude for the remainder of the day... but still exhausting to deal with.
We started a sticker chart for chores, playing by himself, and acts of kindness and he's really made progress!!  He's taking ownership of this chart, doing his duties willingly, and seeming eager to do good.  Haven't had a tantrum in over a week.  Really proud of him. 
He's a boy.  Still expecting tantrums as a way to express his anger, but maybe he's got a handle on ways to deal with it a little better.  Can almost see his wheels turning when he's about to get upset over something silly.  Seems to help him overcome it. 
I do think the Lord blesses us ...when one child is exhausting/hard, the other kiddos seem to be in a pretty good place. 
Anxious but excited to bring another man into our family.  13 weeks to go :)

Baby bump- for my dear friend, Michelle

Alright lady... this was at 24 weeks.  I look 8 months pregnant.  Brandt looks about 4 months along ;)  Love you!

Merry Christmas!

Baby Boy

 Anticipating the news...

 It's a boy!

My boys were CRAZY excited they were getting another boy :)

The best part of the story though, is that after the 30 seconds of sheer joy and jumping around by Addie and Eli, my little Eli looked back in the box, then at me, and innocently asked, "But Mom, where's the baby?"  He thought we were bringing home our little man that day!  Love this innocence!  Gotta wait 20 more weeks, buddy!  But we are all thrilled with the news of having a little boy.  Praise the Lord for the miracle of birth.  It amazes me every time I see an ultrasound.  What a remarkable miracle!

My hubby is home!  After 11 days of travel overseas for work, we picked him up from the airport tonight!  I couldn't be happier :)  I need him!
The 11 days went ok.  We have our routine down, so the days went smoothly, but evenings were hard at times and the weekend was tough.  Plus, we all passed around the stomach flu (including me, which never happens!) during the course of the 11 days, so that made matters worse :(  But we survived and yes, we could do it again.  But it's nice to have him here tonight, wrestling with the kids, helping with bedtime... just being here! 
I love this time of year. I love the two holidays ahead and all the family time that comes with them.  Baby O is doing well.  Feeling more movement all the time.  Making me smile :)  We find out if baby will be a boy or girl next Friday.  This pregnancy is flying!  Probably cause I"m so busy I don't have time to think about the one in my belly :) 
Happy Thanksgiving!  Very thankful for my family and friends :)

My fav pics from Florida

 The girls!

 Nana and Addison

 Kids LOVED the ocean!

 Disney World-- very magical :)

Some of my favorite pics from Florida.  We had an incredible family vacation.  Kids were unbelievably good.  It was surprisingly very relaxing and enjoyable!!  Sometimes vacations can just be a lot of work, but this one was so fun!  We did have three adults, so the one-on-one ratio was nice.  The plane rides were tough with Izzy.  I think I'll drive next time ;)  But that's my only complaint, so not too bad!!  We are very thankful and will have memories for a lifetime. 

Much needed update!

I've kinda fallen off the bandwagon of blogging here... I apologize to my 5 or 6 readers ;)
We are having another!  I'm sure all of you know that, but I had to keep our announcement quiet until I saw a friend two weeks ago that I haven't seen in two years.  Wanted to tell her in person.  I kept the secret and crossed my fingers and it worked!  I got to tell her in person and she had no idea!  Fun :)
But yes, we are breaking the mold a bit-- #4 is to arrive April 18.  Easter weekend...yikes!
We are excited!  I am feeling great!  Addie and Eli are hoping for a boy!  And Izzy has NO idea that this baby is going to flip her life upside down.  So, I'm thankful we have a few more months!  Quite a few... we will be ready :)

In other news... Addie is loving first grade!  She adores her teacher and her friends.  We had a terrific conference about her, which of course I cried through because I was so proud of her.  She's still such a joy.  Eli is a different kid this year!  He's confident.  He loves school.  He has conversations with kids and adults!  WHAT?!  It's good.  I think the world of him :)  Isabelle has quite the personality.  She takes most of my attention these days, but I'm loving the time she wants to be with me (which may be 24 hours a day...ahhhh!!!), cause I know she will grow out of that quickly.   She's got a million words!  And she loves her brother and sister.  Brandt started a new job this week.  Finally, he will be worked hard and a company is going to benefit from his brains!  We are feeling blessed by this new opportunity and the Lord's timing in it all.  All for now... :)

Recent Pics

My friend Amber took our pics last week.  We were blessed!  Izzy was not happy, to say the least, but these kinda represent her personality a bit these days :)  We love her still!! 
My older two are off to school!  Eli started today.  Went in with no tears!  Addie's loving 1st grade.  Loves her teacher, loves eating lunch at school, loves having her own desk, and loves getting homework!  They are growing up too fast :)

Eli is 4!!!

Happy Birthday to our boy!  

We are so proud of you for everything you do.  You are an incredible boy and we love you :)