Overdue...

So it's been far too long since I've written on here, but as you can see a few things are different! I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but we have a lot to catch up on! -- I'd like to add, please pardon any grammatical errors or run on sentences, I've been up since 4am today!

L:
He has about 4 more weeks in his helmet, and then he will be done with it! We had our most recent appointment with the orthoist this past Friday, and have seen some good changes in the symmetry in his forehead and the width of the back of his head but the "shelf" is still a good bit more prominent than we'd like. Ultimately our clinician said that his head is pretty hard in certain areas and won't be able to change shape much beyond the direction it has gone. All this to say, we are VERY happy we pursued the helmet, and very happy that we saw some results. We have no regrets :)

L also woke up with croup last night at 4 am, and after trying the steam shower and cold air we still ended up going to the ER for steroids. I am thankful he seems to be ok, but rather exhausted today! We're praying the cough he and Ziah now both have don't keep them up tonight. It seems I've contracted some sort of cough in the process too so I'm also hoping for some sleep myself!

Other than all that, he is now a very skilled crawler (sometimes uses one foot and one knee), can run around the house if he holds on to your hands, and has 4 adorable teeth (which he has only begun to realize he can bite with.. uh oh!). He will play by himself for a while which is AMAZING to me, since Z has only recently acquired that skill. Oh, and he thinks the cat food is fun to play with, and it's even funnier when I give him a firm "no" and look at him with the "mom look" in the eye. He giggles like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen.. I may be in trouble with this one yet!


Z:

Z is doing very well! I cannot believe how much she has grown and changed, and I'm probably more sentimental about it with #3 on the way! She finished up her ballet class with a recital (on a real stage in an auditorium-- they were the 3rd to last group to go up, and had to wait almost 2 hours before it was their turn to dance), and she did WONDERFULLY!! (Ok I'm probably biased, but based on my expectations of her walking on stage, seeing the lights and people, and sitting down, she was amazing!). I have a video, so if you're interested shoot me an email and I'll send it to you :) (It's only 2 min long or so.)
She had her last gymnastics class today 'till summer session, and will move up from the Mini-Gymies class to the Mighty-Gymies, so I'm excited that she'll get to learn new things.

Other than this, she is LOVING wrestling with L, (and I should add that he thinks it's hysterical), and I love watching their relationship develop.

Me:

Well, as you can assume from what I've said, and the picture at the top of the post, I am due with baby #3!!! A huge surprise, but welcome nonetheless. We know God definitely wanted this baby with our family so we're getting ready to adapt on or about January 1st, 2012! (Although both L&Z were overdue so I'm not expecting anything less of this little one.) Overall I've been feeling surprisingly good, with the exception of exhaustion. I figured out that sugar makes me nauseous, so I've just cut out almost all sugar from my diet and have been relatively ok. I think God knew I wouldn't do well with nausea and taking care of the other two :)

J:

J is doing well, I think. Again I'm speaking for him so perhaps to get a real answer you'll have to ask him yourself, but I can update you on what I do know. I'm certain he's adjusting a lot already with dealing with an exhausted wife, and two very energetic children. He works very hard every day, and comes home and takes care of us, and I am so thankful for him. He's playing softball and so far had minimal injuries, and enjoyed having his own "thing" to do every week.

I wish I had more energy to write today, but I hope to have more energy to write very soon and keep you updated more often.