Question for Other Mama's

I have a question for all of you Mama's out there who deal with the same family dynamics I will soon have.

I have had it heavy on my heart lately that I do NOT want to leave my 2nd born son, Micah, out in any way especially when Ann Marie comes in to the picture. Those of you who don't know. I have 2 sons and soon a baby girl. So many things about Micah are so much easier then Parker was. Even though Parker was a great baby...Micah is so great and easy too. We are very blessed. But what happens is because Micah is so easy he just doesn't have to be heard. You know...and his brother, the 3yo, does. I am worried because I have to buy new clothes for Parker simply because he is my first. I will have to buy clothes for Ann Marie because she is my first girl. And then there is sweet Micah. He will always get his brothers "Pass me downs". I absolutely do not want Parker to get attention because he is the oldest, and Ann Marie to get attention because she is the only girl(that might change one day) and then Micah to feel left out. Even now, I catch myself trying so hard to not overlook him. I try to love on him extra hard because I don't want him to feel this way. I love this boy sooooo much...I almost tear up...I can't describe the love I have him. The same way I feel about Parker. It would break my heart if he ever felt something different from Derek and I.

So, my questions is: if you are a Mom of two(or all) of the same gender children in a row how do you handle it?
And if you are someone who happened to be the one in the family who falls under this category how did your parents handle it?

I want to be so loving and fair to all of my children. I do realize that children's perspectives are off sometimes and sometimes...they are going to feel left out...no matter what. But, I want to be able know with everything in me that we do not do that.


Oh my word. I could eat this boy up! :)

What happens when...

You move your 18mo into a big boy bed & into the room with his brother? A lot. Ha ha.
So, the biggest transition we have gone through lately is moving Micah into Parker's room. They both now sleep in twin beds and I really do like their room...considering we live in a rental home(I would do more if we owned this house). The transition has been fairly easy. However...there are still things we are having to figure out at the time being. So...here are some bullet points about my kids and this transition.

My 3yo:
-He understands to be quiet and not wake Micah.
-He understands to get in his bed and not get down. Don't play.
-He is now having go to bed a bit later then Micah or go to sleep in our room until Micah gets used to Parker being in there.
-He has decided to wake his brother up EARLY the last two mornings. At first I was fooled and it didn't even cross my mind that he woke up his brother. Until this morning. Grrrr....
-He can sleep through Micah waking up(which hasn't happened much).
-He loves Micah sleeping in his room. He now calls it "our room" and calls the nursery Ann Marie's room. Sweet.

My 18mo:
-If Parker is in the room he will play, play, and play for an hour and half before going to sleep...even when Parker does not participate(reason why we decided to not put them to bed together...just until Micah gets used to it.)
-He didn't discover he could get out of the bed for a week. That was nice while it lasted.
-Doesn't matter what time it is...even if it is dark. If he is wide awake he will crawl into his brothers bed and play.
-He is sleeping better in his big boy bed then his crib.
-He naps GREAT in there.
-He loves his bed.
-He loves being in the room with his brother.

So...even though we are having to tweak things temporarily, our boys are doing really good with the transition. Even though at 6:00 this morning I was talking with God about wanting this to get better...I believe God reminded me how it is good that we are doing this now and not when I am 9mo pregnant or when Ann Marie gets here. So far...Micah has done a great job with transitions. Right now, his age is busy, busy, and more busy. He is into everything. He doesn't pitch fits hardly at all...I have seem him pitch just a few in his 18mo of life. I am very grateful for that. He is very consistent with his moods which I am so thankful for. He is so darn cute and I love him to pieces. Oh yeah...he LOVES his ride on toys. Which cracks me up. He rides his fire truck all over the house and thinks it is his. IF anyone else is on it he is not happy. Parker didn't care much for ride on toys. It is so cute seeing him throw his feet forward to get himself going. ha.

Parker is growing and understanding things more and more. I love it. Honestly, it is getting much easier with him. Not that it has been horribly hard or anything. But he will go get diapers and wipes for me. He told me that Micah's diaper was full the other day. ha ha. I can take him anywhere and he is really good. As long as that boy has plenty of sleep he is good. We are getting over whining so much(thank the Lord!). And doing better with pottying(after almost a year and a half!!!). We are talking about putting him in preschool but not sure when. Maybe Jan. but probably not until next Sept. He is very lovie and snuggily with Derek and I but not so much anyone else. When his cousins or friends try to hug him he is not all about it. ha. He knows the difference between his right and left and is learning to recognize his letters(I just haven't put much emphasis on this one). I think he is so smart and so sweet to his brother. He talks about Ann Marie like she is here. He knows she is in my belly. But he says "Mom, are you buying those for Ann Marie?" "Mom, look at Ann Marie's room!" I think he is going to love her so much and be a huge help.

Speaking of Ann Marie. She is doing good. She is moving all day but not kicking me nearly as much as my boys did. Derek hasn't even felt her yet. By this point he had felt the boys. I am about to be 19 weeks pregnant and you can't even tell I am pregnant! I just look fat! I have to tell people I am pregnant and that I am having a girl. This is so different for me. With the boys you could definitely tell I was pregnant by this point. I, honestly, am not happy with the way I look. But what I can do? Nothing at this point. Acid reflux has definitely kicked in. Yuck. I go for my 20 week appt. in 2 weeks. I am half way there! But...feel like I still have forever before she will get here. Yesterday and the day before I had waves of nausea! ugh! Crazy how different pregnancies can be. Oh...one more thing..I made her 3 bows last week. The first time I have made bows. They are super cute and I only hope to get better at it. Hopefully it will save me money.

Here are some pictures. I haven't been camera happy lately. Sorry. But here are my cute boys!


Messes do not bother him at all. Yummm...Chocolate pancakes!

He LOVES balls!! If you look closely you can see his toe coming out of his footy pjs. Probably time toss these.

Parker in action. My kids think it is so fun to jump off the short wall behind our couch onto our couch. Yes, they have gotten hurt. And yes, it is kinda dangerous. But they love it and they are boys. Boys will be boys.

Trying to get up there with Park.

Don't you love his get up? He will dress up a gazillion times a day. He liked me taking pictures of him in this. ha ha.

Dreaming of Bows, Dolls, Pink, & Purple

What does that title mean? If you read in my previous post I was going to the Dr. this week to find out for sure this baby in belly is a girl. And it is!!! I am very happy about that simply because I already bought her quite a few things. Oops. ha. I thought I was having a girl and I believed the sonogram tech would have given me a 100% sure answer at 12 weeks but she is not the Dr. and probably couldn't. However, even though I REALLY thought this baby was(is) a girl every time I purchased something I got a tad nervous. ha. ha. Thinking my husband is going to kill me if this baby is not a girl. I waited forever at the Drs. office but luckily I didn't have my kids. The nurse did the ultra sound first and said it was girl and then Dr. Seeker came in excited as ever when he saw that it is a girl. He threw his arms in the air and said "You can say now that we are 100% confident that this baby is a girl!" Lol! He is so sweet! Now I think about it all of the time. That I am having a girl! This is so wonderful and perfect! I have 2 amazing, handsome, hilarious, sweet little boys that I would not trade for anything...and now we are just going to add a sweet little princess to this crew. I know she will love her brothers so much and they will love her so much too. Not too sure Daddy knows what to expect with a little girl...but I know he will be smitten. He is excited! I loved how Dr. Seeker was showing me her face, and her belly and he was calling her "pretty". Alright, now it is time to soak in loving my sweet boys...and of course my wonderful husband.
This random but as of yesterday my 18mo little boy is sleeping in a big boy bed in his brother's room. Well, now it is Parker and Micah's room. We put his twin bed up yesterday and moved their room around. But did not anticipate putting Micah in there yet. We decided to just try it out last night and for the most part he did great. Took a while to get to sleep. He was talking and standing in the bed. But after he fell asleep he was out until 7:30am. He napped in their today once w/out Parker and the other time while Parker napped. It is kinda weird though because now Micah's room is "empty". All his furniture is in there but nothing else. :( Not his clothes or him. And no one will be in there until Ann Marie gets here. Kinda sad....my baby is growing up!
No pictures here. Thats all folks! But it is BIG news!