Almost but not Quite Done

I'm 35.5 weeks pregnant. Being this close to the end, I'm starting to get hopeful and see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm also experiencing the not-so-little things that make the last few weeks crazy and almost unbearable.

• It takes me twice as long to put on my socks and shoes. I'm not even talking about shoes with laces. Just easy slip-ons
• Brushing my teeth still makes me gag.
• The process of getting comfortable for sleep involves 7 pillows and 15 minutes of adjusting. Then I have to start all over again 30 minutes later because I had to get up to go to the bathroom.
• Going to the bathroom 5 times in the night. And I stopped drinking anything fluid after 7pm
• Noticing that I wore 2 completely different shoes out in public. And not even caring because at least they both fit my swollen feet.
• Waiting for a doctor's appointment, seeing the doc for 3 minutes just to be told "yep, you're 35 weeks pregnant. See you next week."
• Asking my husband for a hug and then bursting into tears when he gives me one. And having all 3 children stare at me like I'm from Mars.
• I hate dropping anything because the process of picking it up is too involved.
• Being so hungry and ready for a meal just to eat only 3 bites before feeling full.
• Going through an entire day and finding out that I wore 2 different earrings. And they didn't even remotely match. Why didn't someone say anything!
• Trying to get comfortable while watching TV, reading, or sleeping just to have the baby start its gymnastics routine.

Yet, despite all of these things, I wouldn't change anything because it means my little one will soon be here. I am so excited to finally meet the little person who has been causing all this trouble. I'm eager to see the expression on Spencer's face when he gets to hold his youngest child for the first time. I can't wait to see my children's faces light up when they get to see their newest sibling for the first time. So I guess I can go through a few more uncomfortable weeks.

The Shaws Lately

As is typical, life gets busy and we forget to notice the time going by. I can't believe it's already October and the year is almost over. It doesn't seem that much happens in our day to day busy lives, but when I actually take a second to look at it, I see how busy we are.  Here's a little update on the Shaws.
Spencer
Spencer is working on his accounting degree from Western Governor's online school. We love WGU because you can go at your own pace and it works with his busy schedule. He's been trying to get back into installing cabinets and doing finish work. He's in the process of starting his own small side business by getting a cabinetry/installers license. He's always being asked by friends, neighbors and bosses to do small projects. And he's very talented so he's working to make it a more permanent thing.

Loni
I am 35 weeks pregnant and very eager to be done. This pregnancy has been a little more challenging than the others. I've been having contractions since about 26 weeks and I never realized how annoying it was to have those on a regular basis. As long as they don't progress, the doctor isn't concerned. Well, if he were going through this daily, I think his opinion would change! With the contractions and swollen feet/ankles and headaches we decided it was time to cut back a few hours at work every day. It's been hard to admit that I can't be the super mom and do it all. And I absolutely detest bed rest! I appreciate my husband's willingness to take care of the family and me, but it's hard to step back and let someone else do "it all".

Ayden
Ayden is doing well in 4th grade. He's excited to play basketball this winter and has been working hard to earn his Bear award in Cub Scouts. He is always bringing his book to us and asking if he can complete some project or another. He just joined the Knowledge Bowl team at school and is happy to learn all about geography. We're proud of him for trying something new. Ayden cannot wait for this baby to come. He has a countdown of days and will tell everyone how excited he is. It's fun to see this softer side of him.

Ellie
Ellie is loving 1st grade and doing so well with reading. She loves to read and is working on the book Ramona the Pest. She just finished a soccer season last weekend. She was pretty fast and could outrun most of the kids she played against. Her favorite position was goalie. Ellie is always coloring and writing stories. She's so creative and very talented in her drawings. Our fridge and her walls are covered with her various drawings and writings. My favorites are the personal letters she will write to us. 

Tate
Tate started preschool this year. His teacher really stresses reading and sends the kids home with little worksheets. He loves doing homework.  He loves his daycare and playing with his best friend Kaylie. His regular sitter was gone for a week and it was torture for him to go to someone else. Tate also talks about the baby a lot, but always refers to it as a "she". He tells us his sister is coming soon and how he will help take care of her. If you ask him "what's in mommy's tummy?" He'll answer without hesitation, "my baby sister." It'll be fun to see if he's right.

So that's us in a nutshell. We'll see what the next few months bring.

Sleepin' Monkey

I've been looking through pictures on my phone and found these. They aren't the best quality pictures because I still have a dumb phone, but you'll still get the idea

only made it to the top of the stairs

Mouth wide Open

Like Father Like Son

Zangeef, get some clothes on!

So Tired

Asleep before dinner

Found outside his room at 11pm

Playing at the park

                                                                       

I LOVE his face in the morning

 

It would appear that this kid only sleeps! I love that he can fall asleep anywhere, clothed or naked, upright or laying down. Tate is such an important part of our family and is constantly making us laugh. He is our sweet, crazy, funny boy. I guess it requires that much sleep to be that awesome! We love you Taters



A Little Family Rivalry

It's that time of year again: the leaves start to change colors, the weather starts to feel cool and crisp, holidays are just around the corner, and college football season is in full swing. The last part I really don't care about at all. It does still affect me however. Spencer and Ayden bleed blue, Cougar Blue to be exact. They religiously follow their team and cheer, yell, rally, and yes sometimes cry for their team! They record and watch every game so they can agonize over the loss or cheer over the victory. It's quite comical how serious it can get.
When we found out that BYU was playing Utah State University (my alma mater) in Logan, we thought it would be fun to attend the game as a family. Over the weeks leading up to the game, there was friendly banter back and forth about whose team would actually win. My Aggies have actually had a decent year so I thought we'd have a good chance of beating Spencer and Ayden's inconsistent Cougars.
As is typical Utah fall weather, the weather leading up to the Friday night game was crazy. One day it was in the 70s and the next it was freezing. On Friday morning, we actually woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. So we prepared ourselves for a very cold game. We packed lots of blankets, coats, hats and gloves. And to throw another hitch in the plans, Tate ended up being very sick with a nasty cold and cough. We decided with the cold weather, he probably shouldn't go. Thankfully Aunt Dani came to the rescue and let Tate stay with her for the afternoon and night.
We drove up to Logan and arrived at 3:30pm for the 6pm game. We thought we'd be there early to get good seats for our general admission tickets. Wrong! There were huge lines already formed with fans for both teams waiting to get in. There were lines that wrapped down the street and around the corner of the stadium. It was fun to talk with people in line and banter with them about what team would win. Most found it funny that we were a "house divided" between BYU and USU. At the start of the game Spencer, Steve and Ayden were cheering for BYU and Ellie, Carson (Ayden's friend) and I were cheering for USU.

Watching the teams warm up before the game

We didn't have any Aggie gear for Ellie so we had to improvise and turn her BYU shirt inside out and tape an 'A' on it.  We actually ended up with pretty good seats in the end zone. Of course, we were surrounded by Aggie fans. That didn't deter Spencer from being an overly exuberant BYU fan! He was pretty loud and at one point Ellie covered her ears and ducked her head and said "Dad, you're embarrassing me!" After the first 2 BYU touchdowns, Ellie betrayed me and switched her loyalties to BYU. She had Spencer turn her shirt back out and cheered for BYU the rest of the game.

But I forgave her quickly and we enjoyed teasing each other about our teams.

Ayden and his buddy Carson had a blast watching the game and being boys. They ate everything in sight and went to the bathroom 5 times, not kidding. They had smaller bladders than the 34 week pregnant lady!

I'm glad we went to the game. It was so much fun to be at the stadium and to be in that environment. We all had fun teasing and bantering about the teams. Even though my team lost substantially, 31 to 14, I am so glad we went. It honestly is best that the Aggies lost because I don't think the car ride home would have been endurable if BYU lost. They would have been pouting and mad!