Updates by kid:

Well, let's see...
Jack is officially over 2.5 years old, and his attitude certainly shows it! Sometimes, he can be the sweetest kid on earth, and at least once a day tells me very seriously "Thank you for take care of us Mommy." But then also nearly once a day he yells "WHAT?" at me in an irritated tone from another room when called upon for nearly anything. Teenagers...scary! He is pedaling his bike now, (all over the house) and singing alot of songs. Among his favorites are "Where is Thumbkin" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He is very excited about his baby sister, and talks about her and her new room daily. He hasn't gotten upset in the least about his crib reappearing in her room or giving up his changing table (since we replaced it with toy storage in his room!) He did not, however, want to give up the "Diaper Champ" pail until it scared him in his sleep two days in a row, and now it has been gladly relegated to his baby sister's room. He continues to love stories, and his favorite TV shows include "Goodnight Moon," "The Little Einsteins," "Dora the Explorer," and "Diego."

Sam is talking up a storm, and follows Jack like a puppy dog. They go zooming around the house together on their trike and scooting Radio Flyer bikes respectively. Sam has even started saying complete sentences now like "I don't rike it, Mommy," and "Hold you, Mommy." He knows a multitude of words and most of his animals and sounds. He is very snuggly most of the time and has learned to say "thank you" without even being asked at times. We have had to institute time outs with him, but I have to say they have drastically improved his behavior. He cries the whole time, but comes out of the room and automatically says that he's "Sossy" and gives a kiss. I forsee some jealousy issues from Sam when Olivia arrives, but he can say "baby sister" now and it's really cute. With any luck, he'll follow Jack's lead and they will both want to be Mommy's helpers.

They continue to be each other's best friend, and they are always looking for each other when the other is sleeping. They fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but always end up forgiving and forgetting and I try to convince myself that they are learning good skills in negotiation and compromise, but we'll see! Their new favorite way to spend the afternoon is in the backyard, circulating among the swingset/slide, baby fishing pool, sandbox, and picnic table for snacks and popsicles. Oh, and bubbles, both manmade and bubble machine generated provide hours of fun. I have to admit, sitting outside under the shade of the umbrella with a slight breeze and my swollen feet dipped in the cool baby pool in the afternoon with bubbles swirling around my head and my kid's laughing in the background...well, it just doesn't get much better than that.

As for the pregnancy/Olivie, she is due in a little less than 5 weeks, and I'm hoping she'll be early. Not only has this pregnancy been alot harder than the first two, but being huge in the summer is NOT fun. The room is coming along nicely, and we have painted pink, hung and painted chair molding, added green stripes, and are just about ready to hang the rest of the decor. I was hoping for a June 1 deadline to have everything done, but I'm not sure we'll make it with Ryan going out of town this week. This weekend we have pressure washed the house, painted and stained the front porch, stained the back deck, organized the garage, and run errands. Tomorrow (Memorial Day) is going to be Spring Cleaning inside and hopefully hanging all the things that have been sitting around for ages. Ryan is hoping my nesting stage will end soon since his back can't take much more manual labor! And I have done as much as possible, but I have so much cramping and tightness all the time, moving around can be difficult.

I feel both ready and very afraid of a new baby in the house again. I can't wait to smell those baby smells, and watch her learn all the things she'll learn in the first few years. I'm excited to think of the bond a mother can only have with a daughter. But I'm also afraid. Afraid of the way it will change the relationship I have with the boys. Afraid of not being able to say "me and the boys." Afraid of having enough of myself to go around. Afraid that discipline will slip in light of the exhaustion and frustration of having 3 kids under 3. Afraid of not being the "perfect mom." A few more weeks will make it all very clear. I can't wait to meet you, my sweet baby girl. I love you already.