What we didn't share in 2016

First of all, can I just take a second to say how GOOD it is to be back in blogland???  Because, wow.  You guys.  The love!  Thanks for your emails and notes.  It is good to be back, especially when the welcome is warm.  

So thanks.

There was so much I wanted to share with you last year.  The kids grew by feet, not inches.  We homeschooled, we played, we traveled.  We got an Asian kid.  And knocked up.  We renovated the back of our house.  We started new schools and made new family traditions... it was busy!

Oh, how I would like to photo dump today, but I'll restrain myself (and don't laugh when you see what that actually looks like!  I missed like 2/3 of the year!) to just the "big" moments.

1. Summer

Summer was a pretty typical affair for us, major life changes aside. 

We played.

Jake joined our neighborhood swim team (another brand spankin' new item for his ever-growing firsts resume)

We had fun cheering him on.  Or, as many as ever have fun doing anything at the same time, anyway.

We took a road trip to south western Colorado and camped at Mesa Verde.

In August, we celebrated an adoption

and two birthdays

2. Starting School

Which - obviously - they all did.  

Holy crap.  We have a high schooler in the house!

And no, I'm not homeschooling him.  For so, soooo many reasons.

We have a proud second grader.

A preschooler.  Who can't stand still, as preschoolers are likely to do.

And of course this one, who just didn't want to be left out.

3. Gender: Revealed!

There were so many other awesome moments from the fall that I wish I had time to share.  Pumpkins, costumes, trips to the mountains, cute littles hard at work on their various projects.  But without doubt, the biggest moment of our fall was finding out about our little tie breaker. 

Initially, we weren't going to find out.  I think Casey felt cheated that, despite the fact we didn't find out with Olivia, I knew she was a girl deep in my bones.  And I wasn't shy about proclaiming it to the world.

The truth is, I absolutely adore knowing who's in my belly.  I find it to be such a bonding process; one that is just precious which I was hesitant to give up.  So I twisted his arm, and we decided that finding out this way would be a nice way to bookend our pregnancies.

It was 7 years - almost perfectly to the day - after we did this:

Seriously.  We were just babies!  WHO let those two have a kid???

...but OH how much has changed!

What hasn't changed - no, not even considering this is the 4th time around - is my own practically incoherent excitement.

And the fact that I still CAN'T STAND the suspense!!!

Oh my goodness.  A BOY!!!!

There were some very fat tears of joy (me), and some very bitter tears of disappointment (Leah).

But, she has since come around, and Casey and I are over the moon.  Logan needs a buddy, and is SO beyond thrilled to have a brother.  The only one who gets his own room in this house is Jacob, so it works out absolutely beautifully that we'll have two little girls and two little boys.  

So there we have it.  That's what you missed from 2016.  In a nutshell (biggest understatement ever).  

Sweet Relief

6 Weeks and 6 Days!

The first close up of our beautiful, blessed little miracle!

Baby is measuring 0.88cm - I hear that's kind of big... must be Casey's genes!

We went to the doctor today, and much to my relief and amazement, everything is wonderful. Baby and I got a great report from the doctor - the words "low risk" and "perfectly normal" were bandied about, and, as it turns out, they are some of the most beautiful words in the world!

The best part was that Casey and I got to see Baby for the first time, which of course made me cry. Which didn't really help the doctor much, since it shook the picture, but I couldn't help it. It was by far the best, most incredible picture I've ever seen.

Even when the little stick came back with two lines, part of me was worried that this was some kind of trick on the part of my body; that it couldn't possibly be real. That it was simply too good to be true, and that I can't possibly deserve my heart's complete happiness. Nobody gets everything they want, and I have so much joy already. It seemed like a baby would just tip the balance of my happiness to a level that can't possibly be allowed to exist.

So, of course, I have been nervous and anxious to see the doctor, to have someone who knows what they are doing (and not a little stick) confirm this miracle for me.

Besides that, though, it seems crazy that anyone can just have a baby! All those pregnant 15 year olds at Adams City High School should have clued me in, but I have such a hard time reconciling the fact that I had to go through like 6 months of training just to get my driver's license, but I can get pregnant and carry a baby with no guidance whatsoever. I had to go all the way through a Masters degree before I can teach, but I can just create and care for a life any old time and no one has anything to say about that! I mean, really... So again, from that perspective, huge relief to have a professional check us out and give me the all clear.

The only down side of our visit today was that they had to draw about a gallon of blood. Blech! Casey was a saint and tried to distract me; I hate having blood drawn. I truly think I can handle everything about pregnancy except two things: the nausea (which, so far had been mostly avoidable) and all the pricking and poking and blood-working; basically, anything related to needles. Yuck. Fortunately, though, Casey's distractions worked fairly well - he was showing me the ultrasound picture of the baby - and it was over... well, not before I knew it, but eventually.
All in all, a good report, a great, emotional day, and best of all, confirmation from the doctor about our little miracle. And, our new due date - certified by the doctor - is...

March 17th, 2010
YAY!!!!!!!