The gut, the babe, and the nut!

So, I guess when you are pregnant with your third you show a little sooner than normal? I don't know, but that's what I'm telling myself because I've had a belly for well over a month now (I'm 17 weeks along this week). I heard the baby's heartbeat on Monday...160 beats per minute...maybe Ben will have another little sister?! I'll find out on April 12th!

The gut..

Here's my snuggle bug after her bath tonight. She is in love with this Elmo hooded towel and has to snuggle with it before bed (she gets mad when I hang it up to dry). She's in love with everything Elmo right now. She just lights up whenever she see's his face on anything. Why is that furry, red monster so appealing to the one-year-old crowd? Somebody at Seasame Street is a genius.

The babe...

1 - We like to stick her in boxes to keep her occupied for a moment. 2 - She discovered her reflection in the bathtub faucet and had fun giggling at herself. 3 - She is so cute with her baby dolls. She likes to carry them places, rock them, and pat their backs...adorable!

Last, but not least, here's a video of my crazy kiddos in the tub together this week. If you are overly concerned with germs and/or general cleanliness you may not want to watch this video. I realize how gross this may be to some, but Nattie doesn't seem to mind...ha ha! At least they are related, right? She thinks her big brother is hilarious. (Oh...and pardon the big scab on Ben's face. He said he fell down the stairs on his face?? Not sure how or when that happened?!)

The nut (aka Ben)...

Finally...

..the sun decided to come out and the temps rose above 20 degrees! It was actually in the 50's yesterday and we jumped at the chance to be outside for awhile...even if there is still lots of snow on the ground. Ben had fun riding his bike until he would come to a patch of unshoveled snow on the sidewalk and get stuck. Oh well...we tried?!

Just a few random pictures from the last few days...the bottom left picture is a typical scene in our bed on any given morning. For some reason BOTH of my children end up in our bed at some point in the night. I love them both and cherish these days when they are little...since they will soon be gone...but I much prefer my bed to myself! At least they are cute all snuggled up together...right?

A little Benny story from today....I came home to find out that he got a stick taken away at preschool. They get sticks taken away for disobeying the teacher. Apparently he was told not to touch an electrical outlet and he did so anyway. The note from his teacher said he was "very upset" because he thought they (the teachers) were mad at him (Mr. Sensitive!). When I asked him tonight why he disobeyed he told me..."Mom, my brain was just not turned on today. I couldn't think and I couldn't listen. Sometimes it just gets turned off." WOW...great excuse, Benny?! At least he's creative...

The smiley, little terrorizer...

I had a lot of random pictures of Nat on my camera, so I thought I'd post them. She is such a smiley girl and I love that about her. The bottom middle picture of the collage is what she does when we say "Where is Nattie's belly?" :)

Here she is looking a lot like one of her Daddy's baby pictures...

Finally, this is what my cute little one-year-old will do if ignored for any amount of time. Mike and I were relishing just lounging on the couch this morning and didn't have the energy to stop the little terrorizer from creating messes all over our house. She would just go from one thing to the next. Oh well, sometimes it's just worth it for a little relaxation! :)

Friendship

This weekend our good friends from college visited. We love the Gerber fam and it felt good to spend time with people who we love, respect and have history with. Ben had a blast hanging out with one of his best buddies, Will. They played so nicely and even slept in Ben's bed together in their Lightning McQueen sleeping bags. :)

On Saturday we headed up to Cleveland to the Children's Museum. We only had an hour or so to spend there, but I think Ben and Will had fun exploring all the exhibits together. They went grocery shopping (Can you believe Ben got all of that food for $14? I think Will cut him a deal?!), played in a giant sandbox, and had fun splashing around at the water exhibit.

Finally, just a few pictures of Nattie. She was wearing another cute outfit, so I had to document. :)

Thanks for spending the weekend with us Josh, Karrie and Will! We loved having you and can't wait to get together again soon.

Happy stuff...

Meet Baby Moser #3 (see below)! He or she is set to arrive at the end of August and we are VERY excited. This little one was a big ol' surprise, but a big blessing, as well! I am 13 weeks along and feeling good (other than being at the point where I've put on a little weight and people aren't sure whether to ask if I'm expecting or just chubby!). Nattie will be 19 months when this baby arrives and I'm not sure what it will be like to have two babies so close in age. I think I'm spoiled now with having Ben be pretty self-sufficient. I could nurse Nattie or rock her to sleep without worrying about him getting into trouble. It will be a whole new ballgame, come August, but we are thrilled to have another! :)

I'm already having moments of feeling sad that she will only be the baby of our family for six more months. I am going to just snuggle and soak her up as much as I can for now!

This picture makes me smile. Same head...same ears. :) Oh..and I like the way her hand is up on his cheek too.

Finally, a bit about my my favorite little man. Last night something pretty special happened at our house. I was tucking Ben into bed and I said a prayer with him, like I always do. When I finished, he said "Mom, I want to say a prayer and ask Jesus to come live in my heart." I was so surprised that he was asking me this already. He isn't even five-years-old yet, and I know he doesn't fully understand all that it means to ask Jesus into your heart, but I certainly couldn't deny him! We talked for awhile about what it means to be a sinner and about Jesus dying on the cross for us and what it would be like to live in Heaven some day, etc. We also talked about trusting in God and relying on Him to meet our needs. He has a pretty good understanding of a lot of the important basics and I was really impressed that he initiated all of this on his own.

This morning, on our way to church, he said, "I want to tell my Sunday school teachers that I asked Jesus into my heart. They will think that is so cool." So, he was even thinking about it this morning...which makes me happy! Obviously, he has a lot of learning and growing to do, but it is pretty neat to know that his heart is already seeking a relationship with Jesus! What a special little guy he is to us!

Mish mosh...

I've been a lazy blogger thus far this year...maybe it's the weather...who knows? Just thought I'd post a mish mosh of pictures from the last week or so.

Yesterday, I looked out the front window to see six or seven Robins hanging out in our tree. Nattie had fun watching them until they flew away. They looked pretty perched on the frosty branches.

I love putting both of my kiddos in blue. I just like the way it makes their blue eyes sparkle. Oh... and I think there is some fashion rule about not wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Is February considered after or before Labor Day and does this rule apply to a one-year-old with a fashion challenged mom? What else would go with this outfit? Your suggestions are welcome!

Just hanging out in her carseat...

...chewing on her tennis shoe! She loves to take off her shoes and socks in the car...drives me nuts!

Oh..and a random Ben story... This morning I was getting Ben dressed and Nattie was crawling around on his bed. I wasn't paying close attention to her and she got too close to the edge and fell off (oops!). She started crying and Ben ran over to her and said, "Awww...it's ok, honey....accidents happen" and then he gave her a big ol' kiss on the forehead. He is such a sweet brother...most of the time. :)

Nat...

I know she's not smiling in these pictures, but I just thought she looked so cute today...so I had to post. Thanks, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Adam, for the cute outfit for her birthday.