Baby 3!!!

I am sure that most of you know by now that we are expecting our 3rd baby! Baby Abbott #3 is due 9/10/11 but will likely be born about a week before that date. I am currently 14.5 weeks along and I feel like I look about 20 weeks. I guess the 3rd time the belly just knows what to do because it is definitely starting to pop. In fact, I tried on my maternity pants last week out of desperation. Unfortunately they are HUGE. I am not sure what my next move will be. It is still to cold to wear capris, skirts or dresses. I guess I will be a fan of leggings and yoga pants for a while.

Jeff and I are so excited to welcome another baby into our family. We are thinking that we will not find out the gender this time as we really do not care either way whether we have a boy or girl. For the record, Jeff thinks it is a girl and I am certain that it is another little boy. We haven't told the boys yet. Mainly because they would think that means a baby is coming tomorrow. Once my belly is really noticeable we will tell them. I am excited to see how Ryan and Owen react to another baby. I think Ryan will be more into it this time and really want to help. I think Owen is going to have a bit of a difficult time adjusting as he is very much a Mommy's boy.

I need to come up with something to call baby 3. B3? I don't know. It doesn't seem to flow the same way that B2 did with Owen.

500th Post

I started this blog almost 3 years ago. As I sat down to write Ryan's 3rd Birthday post, I noticed that I was on number 499!!! I am so glad that I decided to document this big adventure for our family. I have a terrible memory so this blog really does help me remember the times we have had, good and bad! :)

Looking forward to the fun in store for my next 500 posts. :) My pace has dramatically slowed in the past year or so. It might take me 8 years to get through the next 500.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

Ryan turns 3 years old today. Three years. How is that possible? I remember, in detail, the day that I found out that I was pregnant with him. I remember Jeff talking to my belly every night and watching as Ryan moved all over the place the entire time. I remember the moment that I saw his sweet face and the overwhelming love I felt in my heart when that moment finally arrived.

At 3 years old, Ryan is such a good boy. He is a joy to be around, has an infectious laugh and smiles pretty much all the time. He loves to be silly, loves to scream at the top of his lungs, loves to play tag, loves to boss his little brother around, loves to be a helper in any way that he can, loves to play with my iPhone all day long, loves to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates, loves to cuddle, loves chicken nuggets, loves going to the play ground and being as daring as he possibly can be, loves his Fluppy dog, loves to play with his friends, loves to look at the toys every time we go to Target, loves chocolate milk and pretty much anything else any other 3 year-old enjoys to do.

He constantly says the funniest things. He takes after his Dad and is very, very silly. I am actually a little afraid of some of the things in my future! In Ryan's words, today is his "Three Birthday". We look forward to celebrating with just our family tonight and with some friends and family on Saturday!

I say this all the time but I have been so blessed. I was chosen to be Ryan's Mommy and I could not be any happier. There have been many long days, many days where I thought my patience had been pushed to its limits. I know that those days will be plenty in my future. There is not one single thing that I would do differently. I am amazed that no matter how long some of those days may seem that the years seem to click off at warp speed. My little boy is growing so fast and becoming more of a "big boy" every single day! I love you Ryan and I am so proud of you. I look forward to seeing what is in store for you in the future!!!!

A quick (well not so quick really) walk down memory lane.

1st Birthday

The day we brought Owen home from the hospital...

2nd Birthday

1st day of school..

yesterday...

***I am so glad that I am a crazy mom with a camera. I have taken over 10,000 pictures of Ryan in 3 years...actually way more than that. I have 10,000 on this computer alone! ha! I cherish the memories!***

Ryan's New School

Last week I made the decision to take Ryan out of his preschool program. Ryan seemed to really enjoy the school but one thing after another really irked me about the program. It might seem like a lot of little things to some but after a while little things (like not really knowing about peanut allergies and how to accommodate them and not taking my child to the bathroom the entire morning) really add up and I decided that enough was enough. I knew that he was set to go to a school that I love next fall and figured he would just wait until September to start back to school. On a whim I decided to contact his new school to see if they had any current spots available. Strangely enough a little boy just moved last week so they had exactly one opening! YAY!!!! I spent Friday and Monday running around gathering paperwork and taking Ryan to tour his new school and meet his teachers.

Today was Ryan's first day and I was absolutely amazed. I guess I didn't realize just how unorganized and poorly run his old school was until I saw the new school in action. The teachers are outstanding. The way they greet the children by coming down to their level, smiling and hugging each child just warmed my heart. At the end of the day one of the teachers stepped out of the room to tell all of the parents exactly what the children had done that day. She went on to talk about how well behaved the children were. :) Ryan had a fantastic day at school. The teachers both told me that he was great and that he fit right in and played well with all of the other children. The teachers give hugs to each student as they leave for the day. They genuinely seem to love their jobs and love their children!! Ryan talked the entire way home about all that he did at school -- he went fishing in a bucket (it is fish week at school), went to the playground and found a cave, painted with blue and red paint, played in the water but didn't waste it, had pretzels and fruit for snack, went to chapel and prayed, played with the kitchen and a few other minor things. It was wonderful to see him so excited!!! I am looking forward to many more fun days ahead!

A share...

I have a blog that I absolutely love. I follow it daily even though I do not know the family or the photographer at all. I only know that she is a former professional photographer who took some time off from her business to raise her family, 3 boys and a baby girl. I love the way she captures their every day life in such great detail. Many of her posts have inspired me to look at life in different ways, change my perspective, enjoy being in the moment that much more! Sometimes it might seem as if I am not blogging much or not taking as many pictures as I should (which technically I am not). But I am doing things more important than that...I am creating memories with my boys and enjoying every single moment of this short time that they are little!

If you are interested in checking out this blog, and I highly encourage you to do so, click here.

How about a Potty-sicle?

A few months ago I found these fantastic little popsicles, Mighty Minis. They are tiny melt really slowly and they are the perfect treat for little kids. Ryan calls them potty-sicles which I think is absolutely hilarious. Owen isn't sure what to make of them. He has to have one whenever Ryan gets one but he doesn't actually enjoy the cold sensation one bit.

Ryan with his waaayy overgrown hair.

Ok that wasn't bad...

but I still prefer to eat it this way..

16 Months!!!

I am about a week and a half late on posting this but Owen is now 16 months old! He is still a man of very few words but he is able to communicate his wants and needs. We have noticed in the past several days that he has been trying to imitate most of the words we say. I know it won't be long before he is stringing words together and has a word for everything! Owen loves to be outdoors exploring the world. In fact, I have noticed that when he is outside he is very interested in what is around him. He points at things trying to discover what they are, what sounds they make and what they do. He loves airplanes and loves to wave good bye to each one that passes by our house (Ryan did the same thing when he was smaller too).

Owen has started to become a little more particular on what he will and will not eat. He still eats pretty much anything he can get his hands on but he has made it clear that he does not like broccoli, popsicles (I think they are a little too cold for him..haha) and beef.

Owen has started to transition from 2 naps to 1 nap a day. Most days he will only nap once from about 12-3. If we have an errand to run though he often will cat nap in the car and take a shorter nap in the afternoon. Owen is now wearing almost all 24 month clothing, a size 6.5W shoe and size 4 or 5 diapers. He is not a fan of brushing his teeth -- of which we are now up to 8! He has the 2 on bottom in the middle, the top 4 and then 2 molars on top.

One of my favorite memories from this month has been watching Ryan and Owen interact. Every night before bed I rock Owen for a few minutes. In the past month or so it has become a family event. Jeff brings the boys to the chair, I hop in then he helps the boys get situated in my lap. Then Ryan instructs Jeff to leave and turn the light off. We listen to classical music and sit and rock for a few minutes. The boys usually do something sweet or silly like hold hands (the first time they did this they thought it was hilarious) or play games with Owen's paci. Those few minutes spent in that rocking chair have quickly become my favorite time of day. I also find myself wondering how long we will be able to do this with my growing belly and how on earth I will be able to fit another child into that chair with me!

Happy 16 month birthday, Owen!!! Here's your first goose-egg!

At a friend's birthday party. Owen thought he was so big and sat with all the other 3 year-olds waiting for his pizza and cake!

and because EVERYONE has been telling me how much R & O look alike here is a comparison of my sweet little Ryan at 16 months! My oh my how fast he has grown.