Restless and Wild

At times it's difficult to stop and smell the roses. It's something I strive to do everyday and if I get to do it just for five minutes a day, I consider it to be a success. In those five minutes I find there are lots to be cherished. 

Some days the only way I can shower is to let Maddie play in the shower with me. I stood in the shower the other day watching her play with the bar of soap, recognizing the white suds on her hands then proceeds to clean her own bum. Children really are sponges and it can be either a very fascinating or terrifying process to watch.  A terrifying example is when Jordan is at our home and he's all over Madelyn and in return she will slap him or push him away. Our baby is becoming rough and I blame the husband. It's the husbands fault because he is always always always playing rough with Jordan. Something Jordan (and Cony) loves. 

We're now finding ourselves constantly talking about ways to discipline M3. She just laughs at me if I spank her and giggles when I say "no ma'am" to running out into the street. What we are finding what works best so far is praising her when she does what we've asked her to do. She likes praising herself too. We're in a learning curve and I'm guessing once we master this phase, she'll throw us another curve ball to figure out. She may be wild and at times a little rough with her cousin, but when she folds her arms at the dinner table to pray, brings us a book to read, stops whatever she's doing to investigate in between her toes, runs around the house after she's taken off her diaper, hugs on Gracie and gives us 'night night' hugs & kisses...we can't help but be wildly in love with her. 

Another moment I'm trying to savor is this pregnancy. I've had strangers say to me "oh you must be ready for that baby to come out!". As anxious as we are to meet Baby Olive, I really am embracing this experience. It's not always easy especially at night when I need to rest to stop the contractions and the second I do, rest less leg syndrome sets in. There are two things that have been a real struggle for me during this pregnancy... 1.) not being able to sleep in my own bed with my husband (sofa has been my bed for the last three months) and 2.) waiting for someone else to do something physical for me, ie: lifting boxes, moving furniture. The closer we are to the end, I can't help but feel a little panicky. It's the not knowing what to expect that can be a little unnerving at times. But I've made it through some hard times and I just keep repeating to myself 'I can do this, I can do this...'. 

(me at 31+ weeks)