a baby and a beard

We had our ultrasound this week!  It's not quite as exciting when you aren't finding out the gender, but it was still fun to see Baby bouncing around in there and find out that everything looks perfect.  The ultrasound also confirmed that baby is measuring for a Nov. 14th due date.  That means I'm actually 20 weeks along.  Half-way.

Can you tell if we are having a boy or girl?  Baby didn't give us much to work with. Once the tech switched over to 3D/4D all she could get was the baby lying face down!

Something else is growing at our house beside my belly?  You may not recognize this man come November because he's planning on not shaving it off until then.  Wonder which will be bigger?  The baby or his beard?  Here's Jason on his 30th birthday with the boys!

Week 20 stats

How big is baby: as heavy as a can of pop and as long as a banana

Maternity clothes:  Not much variety.  So if you see me wearing the same thing all the time, try not to mention it.

Sleep: It seems like something different hurts every morning, but luckily it wears away pretty quickly.

Best moment this week: The ultrasound.  Jason came with me and then we went out to celebrate his birthday early while my mom and sister watched the boys.

Movement:  I found out that my placenta is on the front side of my uterus, which explains why I didn't feel this baby moving around near as early as I did Silas.  But movement really seems to be picking up now.

Food cravings: I just really haven't had much of an appetite recently.  

Food aversions:  Breakfast, ha!

Gender: If anything, the ultrasound made me more uncertain about the gender.  I had been thinking girl, but now I have no idea.

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button in or out: in

What I miss:  sitting on the floor without hip pain

What I'm not loving:  Bending down to pick up things.  

What I'm looking forward to:  We're taking a mini-vacation to South Dakota mid-July!  We've booked the B&B and everything!  

What I'm loving:  Amos coming up with ridiculous names for the Baby.  Wanka Wanka, anyone?

Milestones:  Half-way mark!

summer fun at the lake

We knew we wanted to get to the lake as much as possible this summer.  We both love it and the boys do too!  After two failed attempts, we finally made it down this past weekend.  It was extra fun because all my siblings were there too!  It felt like old times, with the addition of 5 kids under three.

Due to my pregnant state, I wasn't allowed to do any skiing, but I enjoyed sunbathing in the boat.  My favorite part was holding Silas.  Every time the boat started, he quickly laid his head on my chest until we turned it off and then he would sit up and yell, "All done."  He's still getting use to the boat, but I loved all the snuggle time.

All the kiddos, minus Clara, tried out the tube.  Amos loved it and rode a second time.

He also liked watching Daddy ride the wakeboard, but when asked if he was going to ride it, he nervously laughed out a "No" and told us he was too little.

Amos has several favorites from the lake.  His others are driving the boat with Gramps

and jumping into the water!

baby bump #3 - week 18

Week 18 stats

How big is baby: sweet potato

Maternity clothes:  Yes!  I'm contemplating tweaking some tops that I never wear to make them more belly friendly.  We'll see if I get around to it.

Sleep: I'm still able to semi-stomach sleep, but that will be over very soon.  I'm trying to soak up a decent night's sleep while I still can.

Best moment this week: Amos telling Silas to "be careful with Mommy because there is a baby inside of her tummy."  He's really catching on.  Although that means he asks me about once a day if it's time for me to go to the hospital.

Movement: Definite movement.  I'm still only feeling from the inside out, but soon Jason will be able to feel the little baby too!

Food cravings: No cravings.  I'm trying to eat semi-healthy.  But that doesn't always work out.

Food aversions:  Here and there certain things won't sound good, but no specific aversions.

Gender: Not yet. 

Labor signs: Luckily nothing

Belly button in or out: in

What I miss:  summer clothes

What I'm not loving:  The constant urge to use the bathroom

What I'm looking forward to:  Ultrasound in 5 days!  Can't wait to see our adorable little alien baby.  And to show Amos the pictures.

What I'm loving:  Jason being home and having some lazy summer days.

Milestones:  Lots more movement this week.  It's nice to have a semi-constant reminder that baby is in there and doing well.

recent happenings

Summer is in full swing at the Vance house.  So far its been filled with three things: house hunting, water, and family.

HOUSE HUNTING

Jokingly, I told Jason to sell the house while we were on vacation.  (We've had it on the market since February)  Well, he just about did.  The day we traveled home from Cali, we had a house showing that Jason prepped for completely on his own.  And that weekend we found ourselves UNDER CONTRACT.  Our relator told us we might want to start looking at houses, and that's what we've been doing since.  I've had trouble remaining at peace during these last 3 weeks, as it seems like everything could fall through any minute.  And it could - that's the nature of this crazy process.  I'm constantly sucked into worry, and constantly having to renew my mind and trust in the Lord - the one who holds tomorrow.

On the flip side of things, the boys have loved going in and out of house after house.  Amos' favorite thing to do is find the highest thing to jump from.  And most days Amos asks if we are going to see Ms Cindy!

WATER

These boys love water.  We've tried to go to the lake twice already, but due to weather and an Ecoli outbreak we have yet to go.  Instead we've gone fishing, went to Grammy's pool to swim and broke out the sprinkler and our little pool.  The heat doesn't seem to bother the boys too much, neither does profusely sweating, so they're out quite a bit.  And good news for me, Dad can be out with them if Mom needs a cool break inside.  

FAMILY

We've spent the last two weekends with family.  First was when both of our parents came to town to check out a potential house.  To Amos' delight, Jason's parents and Grandma stayed the night, so we had extra playtime.  

The next day we headed to my parents house for fishing, eating and swimming.  The weather cooled off a bit, making it an enjoyable, laid back day.  

We headed off the next Thursday for an extended stay in Lebanon.  We can do that in the summer.  The weather was perfect for spending everyday outside, talking, riding bikes and even hiking.  Amos got an early birthday present from Granny and he woke up from every nap asking if he could go ride his new blue bike.

a taste of amos' may

May was packed with fun! And June is flying by.  Here's his video.  Better late than never.

baby bump #3 - week 17

With Amos, I took a picture EVERY week of the pregnancy and kept a pregnancy journal up-to-date.
With Silas, I managed to tell everyone I was pregnant.  Take two pregnancy picture.  And announce his arrival.
My goal with this pregnancy was to fall somewhere in between.  Well, I'm 17 weeks in and have yet to take a picture.  But I'm planning on it.  Gotta remember how big I was this early on.  Everything was very ready to stretch back out.

Week 17 Stats:

How big is baby: a pear

Maternity Clothes: I felt like I got so big, so early, that I'm definitely wearing all my maternity pants.  So far most of my non-maternity tops are still working.  The trend of flowy tops is definitely working in my favor.

Sleep: Most day I'm going without a nap, but every so often a day hits where I feel like I MUST NAP! I also prefer 9-10 hours at night.

Best moment this week: My doctors appointment.  Got to hear to baby's heartbeat again!  It's always so reassuring to know that they are doing good inside of there. 

Movement: There have been enough flutterings here and there that I'm pretty sure its a little baby and not just gas.  However, there haven't been any repetitive movements.  I'll just get one little jab every so often.

Food cravings: For the most part, I'm not craving anything or feeling like I'm starving.  I do have a few things that always sound good: pickles and cottage cheese!

Food aversions: none.

Gender: Our midway ultrasound is next week, but we've decided to not find out the gender again this time around.  It was fun knowing with Silas, but the excitement of not knowing was kinda un-beatable!  My only hesitation is that I FEEL like this one's a girl and I would love to know if I'm right or not.  I guess I've got a while to wait.

Labor signs: n/a

Belly button in or out: in, but my tummy is starting to get tighter.

What I miss: sleeping soundly.  Between using the bathroom and switching positions, no night goes uninterrupted!  And the bad part is, I know its only going to get worse!

What I'm not loving:  Wardrobe troubles.  Too big, but not big enough!  I prefer my yoga pants and a t-shirt.

What I’m looking forward to: Summer and getting to see family.  We're hanging out at the lake and then heading to Lebanon for the rest of the weekend.  It's nice being able to still travel comfortably during the summer.

What I'm loving: Being in the sweet spot of pregnancy.  No more morning sickness and not big enough for discomfort.  I could almost forget I am pregnant at times.

Milestone(s): Our house is under contract!  Very exciting, but that also means we need find a new house, move in, and hopefully be settled by the time this next baby arrives!  Prayers very much appreciated as we walk through these big decisions.

silas john - 19 months

1.  He didn't get his first tooth until 8 months old, but they sure are coming in fast now.

2.  He's been fascinated with the stairs but always a little too cautious to do more than go up and down on his belly.  On vacation there were a couple of stairs that he practiced on all week.  He now only wants to walk up and down stairs.

3.  He's a sinner.  Up until this point, it's been easy to think of him as a little angel.  He's now figured out he has a will and wants to do what he wants.

4.  He loves shaking his head "no," but does it with a smile.  Basically, he's ornery.

5.  He's been saying words for a long time, but now he knows that when he says something, I can understand him.  His vocabulary has probably quadrupled since.

6.  I've been trying to get Amos' name out of Si for a while now.  However, he normally just smiles really big and points.  Not anymore.  We've finally gotten it out of him.

7.  With Amos, our potty training started with pooping on the potty.  I've been talking to Silas about it for a while, and just recently, he's started telling me after the fact.  I guess we've got to start somewhere.  My goal is to potty train before baby #3.

8.  Vacation!  Too bad he won't remember it.

9.  My mom thinks he's getting slimmer.  I'm not so sure, but he does appear to be getting ankles.

10.  He's got a similar love of shoes that Amos has.  However, he's a little more faithful to one pair than Amos ever was.  He's now trying to put them on himself.

the great california adventure part 2

After getting all rested up, it was time to go to Disneyland.  Our house was in "walking" distance to Disney.  That meant a 40 minute walk both ways, but when it came to paying $50 bucks for parking, we decided we could walk.  We made it.  And so did everyone else.

The park has several rides for all ages, but that means the lines are long too.  My guy did NOT like watching everyone get on and off Dumbo multiple times before he did.  After lunch, my sister and her husband took the little ones back for naps, and we kept the older two.  At Disney, I feel like a 3 to 2 ratio is much better anyway.

They had fun exploring Mickey's Club House.

 And one of the major highlights was watching Mickey himself.

 Amos kept pointing to his hat and saying Mickey is up there, and he's on my hat.

 It was pretty magical for him.

The other major highlight was the parade.  If you go with kids, you should make time for the parade. 

 Amos kept holding his hand out for high-fives. He scored a few too!

The next day was our trip to the beach.  By this time, the sickness had started spreading around the kids, so Amelia and Matthew kept Priscilla and Clara at home.  Silas was sick too, but he was pretty content to sit on the beach towel with me.  He was not a fan of the sand.

 The water was a bit cool, but that made it nice to just sit in the sand.  Even in the sun, there was a constant breeze making it enjoyable all day.  Next time we'll have to spend a few more days at the beach.

 These two loved it.  Amos will correct you that you don't swim in the ocean because it is too deep, you just run and jump around.

Our sand fortress was pretty good until the occupants knocked them all down.

 Here's our California man, Uncle Joe.

We were still finding sand on our flight home the next day, but it was definitely worth it.  Daddy was anxious to see us, and we were ready to be home.