What's this?....

Does this little boy look proud to be wearing the huge underwear on his little bottom? Micah has been wearing underwear all week. We started the week a little under the weather and had to stay home anyway, so we though we'd give it a go. He has been doing so well. But maybe the right time is not when we are all sick. It was working out for the most part, but he went from sick to better to suddenly much worse today, and we took him to the urgent care and he has pneumonia and an ear infection. And for some reason he really doesn't care about underwear today. So we will have to pick it up again later.

None of us has really been sick for a long time, and suddenly Micah and Kaden and I got slammed with this bug. I haven't been this sick possibly ever, but for sure not since we first got married and I got mono and strep and hemophyllis and then the antibiotic gave me the mono rash. That was a miserable time of life, but this week--pretty much right up there. Please make it go away...and it's so not fun to have a yucky cough to rip up your already sore throat, and your poor stretched and nonexistant ab muscles! Not so much fun.

So lucky!

My best friend Marian was able to come visit us for a few days at the beginning of January. We hadn't even seen each other in over 3 years, and I always think it's so amazing how with good friend, it can be years but feel like yesterday. This is pretty much the coolest person ever, and one day we are going to live next door to each other. I am such the better person because of her. It was so fun because all of our kids have been staggered perfectly so that we are never really expecting at the same time. But now we are within 2 weeks of each other. So these pics can serve at my 30 weeks...

Insomnia

One of my biggest challenges when I am pregnant, is this horrible insomnia. I think my wrinkles increase ten fold just because of the lack of sleepies for my poor eyes for 9 months. I wish I could somehow resolve it, but it does have it's perks. Like all of the blog entries I just didn. And I just finished doing my 30 nursing credits online to renew my Nursing license. And I did them all in less than a months time, and that was while I was also trying to do lots of primary stuff. It's the best journal writing and quiet project time that I ever get. Maybe in the next couple of months I can finish making our last 2 years worth of pictures into photo albums even!

Really, though, I have been negative about the whole pregnancy thing lately and I have decided to turn a new leaf and see all the good. I truly am amazed and oh so grateful at the miracle taking place inside of me. There is nothing like feeling this little babe squirm around and try to poke through my skin. I am going to try to savor every moment from here on out instead of counting down (I am 30 weeks though! Still need to celebrate a milestone like that...) and feeling miserable. The lack of sleep really helps me be grateful for half decent nights, and separation of limbs that make it so I can't walk and work out the way I want are very humbling and make me slow down and maybe enjoy other things that I wouldn't have. Maybe. And the varicose veins that all of the sudden show up after 4 pregnancies without them, well, also very humbling, and just think how grateful I can be when and if they go away. Huge weight gains....well, again humbling but also while I was at first tempted to just give up and stop exercising and eat horribly, I somehow was able to decide to eat healthy instead. For almost a month now I have been doing so much better with what I eat, and it makes me feel so much better.

Anyway, enough rambling about such things. It's 4 a.m. and I have been up for almost 3 hours! Not so good for my morning mood. I should have been making kids lunches instead so at least that would already be done!

Happy Birthday to my Kaden

Today is a day to celebrate Kaden. Okay so it was actually on Monday...There are so many things I love about this boy. Travis's mom reminded me awhile ago what a difficult 2 year old Kaden once was. It's funny how I had forgotten that completely and she had to give me specific examples to spur my memory. He has come such a long way from the obstinate stubborn little 2 year old who wouldn't come home from the park with Grandma and she had to actually leave him there (just across the street) and get Travis so he could drag him home.

He has always loved food. It's very nice because that makes him my least picky eater and he tries really hard to pretty he likes things that he doesn't.

He has such a kind heart. He has a little dimpled shy smile he gets that is my favorite ever.

He is an artist. We are constantly amazed by the things he draws and the detail and imagination that goes into them.

He plays so well with his brothers, and is a sensitive soul.

He is so easily distracted, and when I get frustrated and how to refocus him so strongly, I sometimes think he just reminds me of me that way. I can't keep one task in my head for more than 30 seconds sometimes. I get frustrated with myself for that, too, though.

He writes me nice notes and makes little gifts for me all of the time. His favorite thing to tell me in notes lately is "I love you Mom. You mak the best dinrs"

He loves to ride his bike, and it's so sad I can't let him do it unless I am outside with him (it's that distractable thing, he just can't keep in his mind not to zip across or down the middle of the road and forgets!)

I can't believe Kaden is 7 already!! Once again I am starting to panic about how quickly the time has passed by. We love him!

And yes, this is our 3rd volcano cake and realistically there just wouldn't be snow around at the same time. For months Kaden has been telling me he wanted a hexagon stopsign cake (???) for this birthday, and then he suddenly changed his mind. So we had to come up with a different setting than the other 2 volcanos.

White Christmas, the day AFTER

It started snowing Christmas night a little--then on Sunday it came down pretty steady and heavy all day long and we ended up getting about 12 inches. This was perfect, because it was a ton of fun snow to play in and we froze for a few days and then the temperature rose to the 40s (and 60s once) and melted our huge snowman within a couple of days.

Noah pulling Micah

Our street and buried cars. Our roads were pretty awful unti they melted and you didn't see many cars driving around for a couple of days. Virginia just isn't equipped to deal with snow like this, but they did do all right with the major roads.

Micah and Dad going to the top of the hill Monday morning.

Noah

Kaden and Noah

Pulling Micah back up after sledding down with him.

The cutest ever Passey boys. I would like to show all the pictures of me hiking up this hill and sledding down, but the truth is, it hurt bad enough just to walk to the hill with everyone. My poor body is falling apart and is not the iron woman pregnant person body that I always imagined and hope I would be. Sigh. It was fun watching from the bottom though.

Lucky boys.

Christmas

Before WAKING the boys up to come downstairs. It's so nice they didn't get up early. It was about 7:30 when I finally went up to check on them.

Eating the traditional Christmas Crunch breakfast. This is a tradition Trav grew up with and I am still trying to figure out how to get away from it. Once a year, though, right?

28-29 weeks. I keep thinking I should take pictures regardless of how little I feel like it in case I someday regret not doing it.

Anyway, we had such a nice and quiet and together Christmas. The month of December speeds by way too fast for me, faster every year. I wish I could declutter the month and be able to savor the Season more. I think we did still savor it and were able to feel the spirit and love of the Savior, but it was just SO busy, and at the same time trying to organize the new year for Primary was a little crazy. Now it is January and suddenly I am having days with nothing really planned and being able to declutter and do what I want to do a little. It's so nice!

Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa Timothy. We left this thing up for over a week before taking it down. Now we are not sure where to put it, but it sure it fun.

Before it is lost forever!

I have been feeling a little panicky feeling every now and then the past couple of weeks. Travis was able to take leave between Christmas and New Years, so we have been spoiled all being home and together. He and the kids both go back to the grindstone tomorrow and I miss them already! It's been so much fun. It seems like more and more during our days, the kids do the darndest and cutest and funniest things. I love how they will do something and Trav and I will look at each other and smile. I don't know why, but it's one of my favorite things ever. It just makes me feel happy. However, I have been realizing all of the sudden how much they all do and say that I NEVER write down. I did better when Noah was a baby and toddler and it's gone steadily downhill.

This little Micah of ours is such a character. He has his fair share of ornery and obstinate moments, which are steadily increasing--but his cuteness and good moments help us to forget all of that and think he is the cutest thing ever. I keep telling myself that since we are having a girl, Micah can always be my baby boy and will never lose that spot. Anyway, I am now going to record the things we love about this boy.

His prayers lately...depending on him mood he will sometimes to prayers all by himself. When he does he buries his face in the carpet and I have to strain to hear what he says, but I hear words and phrases like "and brudders (brothers)" "a mommy" "a daddy" "a baby" "an candy" "and chocate (chocolate)" "and a eat a gum" (which he has been forbidden because of repeated incidents of swallowing and sneaking...)--Oh and he still includes Tara in his prayers and asks where she is once in awhile, since she was just out here a couple of months ago.

His favorite phrase is "I do it, I do it, I do it" and it has been for a very long time. Yet if it's firmly something I just can't let him do, I say no and he says okay. Usually.

He sneaks food, especially if he can figure out where the gum is or where his brothers may be stashing candy. None of my other kids did this. Aargh.

He has a magical gift of making other people ogle over him. It's not really even like he is extra friendly. Since people have exclaimed over his eyes since the day he was born, he stares at everyone and if they don't mention his eyes, he starts to bat his eyelashes.

He has the cutest little look that he gets that I call his shy look.

Every morning he comes down and climbs into bed to snuggle with us. If Travis is not there, he always asks about him and then names all of his brothers to see where they are. When Daddy comes home he runs as fast as he can to give him a hug and knock him down.

He loves to help set and clear the table. And insists on carrying his own laundry basket upstairs...

He loves loves loves his daddy and they wrestly and giggle and play all the time.
Anytime I go in the kitchen "what making mommy?"

He knows about the baby in mommy's tummy, but I don't think he really does. He always wants to lift my shirt a little and points to the belly button and says "baby" and kisses it. It's very cute, but I wonder how much of a surprise he is in for.

He goes between saying he is a big boy and not a baby, and the next moment lays in my arms and says he is a baby and wants to to sing "rock a bye baby"

Moments of silence in the house are a definite reason to make everyone scatter and search for Micah and stop whatever he is doing.

He tells on himself when he steals gum and candy. Yesterday he was upstairs and Trav asked what he was doing and he said "paying pay dough" and Trav said "you have playdough?--bring it down here, and he said "no take it daddy" and Trav said "yes I am going to take it, it's not allowed up there" and he came down and gave it to him, all the while saying "no take it daddy"

He's basically just the funnest kid ever. His brothers love him and love taking care of him and he knows he is the center of attention wherever he goes. We are grateful for our Micah.