The View from Here

Before the baby comes, I wanted to share some stories and reflections that I don't want to forget about this pregnancy. It has been WAY HARDER than my first two pregnancies: more pains, more sickness, more tiredness, more nausea. It has also been extremely joyful as Margaret Mary is old enough to know what is going on inside me. She cannot wait to have another sibling and talks all the time about how she can't wait to hold the baby, how the baby is going to be so cute, and how she is going to be a big sister again. She sings songs into my belly, tries to feel the baby moving and gets a big kick out of being kicked by the baby. When she hears the baby's heartbeat at the birthing center, she yells "that's my baby!" John Henry is just fascinated at how big my belly is. He likes to kiss it (in fact, he will only kiss my stomach bare, not over clothes), drive tractors on it, hit it (with sincere affection), and hug it. I think he knows there's a baby in there, but I have a suspicion that he will continue to love on my belly long after the baby comes out. He also LOVES to help. If he hears me say anything like "okay Margaret Mary, lets go find some shoes," he will come running with her shoes, even if he is in the next room. If Margaret Mary falls and ask for help, he is the first one on the scene trying is best to pick her back up. If I could train him to refill my water bottle, I would be set!


I have found GREAT comfort in the many trials of pregnancy knowing how many of our good friends are going through the same thing. The Andersons, The Havens, The Langs, The Staudts, some friends here at church (and a couple others that haven't announced yet!), are all balancing kids, trying to cook good healthy food, educate our children, keep an orderly home, not let their kids watch too many movies, all while dealing with the exact same exhaustion that I am. So many moms laying down their lives for their young growing families; all doing it out of love for Christ, learning more and more each day that "to love" is the most important commandment. So you ladies have been such an inspiration to me as I lay on my couch watching my children destroy the house...this is the good fight. I love you ladies and think of you often.

Random Things I don't want to Forget:

* I have had the craziest food aversions with this pregnancy. I didn't have this at all with the others. I would feel the need to eat, open the cabinents, then the fridge and get grossed out at everything that I saw. When going out to eat, I wouldn't know where I wanted to eat and then I would have to have Jason order for me because everything on the menu looked unappetizing. When food was brought to be fully cooked, it always looked good, but for some reason the thought of raw ingredients made me sick. The only thing that I consistantly want is chili cheese fries from Bubbachinos. :) Don't judge me...

* I have had an obsession with swaddling blankets. Not recieving blankets, but blankets big enough to swaddle with in muslin and flannel. These blankets are pretty expensive, so I was super excited when I saw a flannel bed set on sale from target for 7$. My mom then made me a swaddling blanket from that material when she was in town. I had this plan that I would sew blankets and diaper wipes from this bed set, but have found that I have NO extra energy once the kids go to bed for such operations.

* I have had round ligament pain like crazy these last couple of weeks. It feels like a runners cramp, except you can't walk it off, you have to sit down and rest for it to go away. They always come when I'm taking the kids for a walk in the afternoon. Margaret Mary has learned that when I start pushing the stroller really slow I have a cramp and will yell back to me "Mama, are you okay? Do you have a cramp?" I love that she looks after me.

* The first time I got one of the said cramps, I didn't know that you couldn't walk it off. The cramp got worse and worse and I had to call Jason to come take us back to the house. I knew it wasn't a contraction cramp, but was treating it like one, leaning over the stroller, rocking back and forth, etc. I was so into dealing with the pain from the cramp that I didn't notice that Margaret Mary was holding her sippy cup upside down the whole time. When I looked up to see if Jason was there yet, I saw drops of water all around me and where I had been standing and rocking. I was in shock for a minute thinking my water had broken! Thankfully, Margaret Mary started complaining about being wet a minute later, so I was able to put the pieces together and calm down. It is so amazing how being pregnant with young children around makes everything different and exciting!

*My first instinct was that this baby was a girl, but now am leaning more toward boy. With my other two pregnancies, my first instincts were right, but I always changed my mind by the end of the pregnancy. We shall see! The baby's heartbeat was high at the beginning but is now a steady 140 beats her minute. Margaret Mary's heartbeat stayed high for the whole pregnancy (170's), and John Henry's stayed low (140's). The midwives tale is that high heartbeats are girls and low are boys. So, even though my first instinct is that the baby is a girl, the heartbeat makes me think its a boy. So exciting; we can't wait to see who is inside me!

* As I said earlier, I think this has been the hardest pregnancy pain wise; I feel like I have arthritis in my hips each night (which is totally normal and nothing to worry about). But Jason says I'm always in pain during the beginning and end of each pregnancy, and that I always forget how hard the previous pregnancy was. He thinks I'll have forgotten how hard it is a month after the baby is born and already be talking about wanting to grow our family more. I don't know if I will forget that fast, but maybe by next Christmas I'll have the "baby bug" again...

The following picture is a little out of focus (I was trying to shoot it from the hip, not looking through the view finder), but I love how it turned out. Henry playing with my belly and Margaret Mary on the couch, talking to her Papa. Just another day in the Craig household...



(I totally stole the blog title and picture idea from The Sivyers blog. Thanks Brittany for all your great ideas!)

Dear Grandparents...

I have a little request. Next package you send me, PLEASE send some masculine dress up clothes.

I feel bad asking, because you are always so generous and loving. But I'm desperate. There is only so much a boy can do with tutus, fairy wings and beads.

Please.

I miss you guys.

Love,
John Henry Alfred

Goodbye to the Afternoon Nap

This is a rare happening in the Craig Household:


Its been a rough transition. Margaret Mary just wouldn't sleep in the afternoon. She still had to lay in her bed and look at books, but she was being too loud, waking up Henry and making me mad (as I was trying to nap as well). We moved out of the bedroom and instituted the quiet time, aka listening to lullabies and reading books while a tired Mama napped beside her. But nothing can replace the afternoon nap. When she does nap, Margaret Mary is the most kind, agreeable, obedient little girl. But when she doesn't, all hell brakes loose. I didn't know the girl could throw such a tantrum. We know its because she's overtired and adjusting to a new sleep habit, but she basically "looses it" emotionally. On average they last about an hour and consist of her screaming a litany of things she doesn't like or want. Things like "Don't touch me," "this blanket is too soft," "the pack n play is too bumpy," "I don't like the light," I don't like the dark," 'I don't like your name,""get away from me," etc. Its intense. She gets even more mad if you try to help her or to offer her something (like a sippy cup of water or a hug), that she doesn't want. My favorite thing she yells frequently is "I NEED A MAN!" aka, I want papa. The best bet is to put her on the couch, wait until she calms down a little, and then when SHE asks for help, "mama, hold me," or "i can't stop," to move in and hold her.

Jason and I talk a lot about how to love her in these times. My first instinct is to yell at her to stop (embarrassingly enough). But it is obvious she has lost control and couldn't stop even if she wanted to. Not to mention that that reaction would NOT be very loving. I'm learning that this is an adjustment time for us all and that her tantrums are a normal reaction to being out of balance; overtired yet not tired enough. Things are getting better. Quiet times are becoming more of a relaxing time for her and the tantrums are getting shorter.

Margaret Mary finds great comfort in her Papa's arms during these times. He's able to talk to her in a way that I don't know how and can often keep a tantrum from escalating. I love that my little girl feels safe and secure in her Papa's arms and even when she has lost it, knows that she is HIS and knows his love for her. I captured these moments outside the other day. We had a picnic and they were laying together on the blanket...so sweet.


Margaret Mary said the other day while getting ready for bed, "I can't wait to show Papa my pajamas. He thinks I am so beautiful and I think he is so handsome!" My heart melts when she says stuff like this; it's so important in her understanding of her heavenly Father to know the love of her earthly father. She also said she wanted to marry him the other day for the first time. Sweet sweet Papa daughter time.

Before I end this post, I have to say that John Henry has turned into such the Papa's boy. He talks about his Papa all day (says his name over and over again), and only wants Papa to help him when Papa is home. He also signs that he wants to drive every big truck or train he sees. I am enjoying the rest and think that John Henry has chosen the perfect time to really latch-on to his father's love. Come on baby #3!

A little of this, A little of that

I am WAY behind on posting and I don't think it will get much better as I spend all of my free time either eating or resting. :) 37 weeks has been tough, but I'm hanging in there, constantly amazed at the beauty of family. here are a couple of pics to hold you over until I'm able to post more...

What we've been up to:

Hanging out with my parents:

(Side note: Margaret Mary LOVED sewing with my mom and told me today that when she gets bigger, she is going to make me beautiful "lellow" (yellow) dress to wear for Mass. Too sweet)

Enjoying the warm weather on the porch:

Playing with the fan: (there's a lot of yelling, screaming, and of course, singing)


Finding any excuse to play in water:

Thats it for now....

Hope yall are well. I strongly encourage you to check out The Fialka's blog to the right. Not only are they hilarious, but they just had a baby! So exciting!

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

Monday was the feast of St. Joseph and Jason got the day off! Why do we love St. Joseph so? Because he was in charge of protecting the child Jesus and of bringing him up in the Lord. We kept the day simple. We found some flowers to commemorate St. Joseph and then went to the park.


The kids got to swing; their favorite thing ever!...


and go down slides with Papa...

I got some handsome headshots of my husband.


I think he looks really fatherly in the picture above. Maybe it was because I took them while he was pushing Henry in the swing! :) Getting good pics of Jason is hard because he always looks at the camera with a goofy face like this:

But that's my Jason. :)

The Only Bad Thing about Yoghurt Pretzels...

the mess they make! And these dont even show the mess on the carseat... aye aye aye! I learned my lesson about letting John Henry eat these in the car!

Playin in the Pack N Play

Lots of hugs, wrestling, smiles, shaking the pack n play, Henry's intense faces and laughs. John Henry and Margaret Mary love to snuggle. Rarely is it at the same time. Henry will come in for a hug and MM will push him away and vice versa. The other day they both wanted to snuggle at the same time! MM held John Henry and told me that he "was her baby!" Speaking of baby, MM goes up to my belly at least once a day, hugs it and says "baby, come out now!" Almost...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

For a Catholic, St. Patrick's day is a big deal. A big enough deal to break the serious fast of Lent and celebrate St. Patrick's contagious love for God that converted a WHOLE country!!! Can you imagine that??? We dress in green, drink beer (those of us who aren't pregnant), get together with friends and feast. Jason and I had fun dressing the kids in their green-est outfits.

Margaret Mary wore a green dress, green pants and green beads that a guy at a bar gave her (story later).


Henry rocked some patch madres pants with a green knit sweater:

Jason wore green pants, a green and red belt and a madres sports coat. He originally came out of the study with a bright green polo on too, but I thought that was a bit too much.

I wore the only green shirt I own that fits over my giant belly.


We planned on going to a parade in downtown Denver that is one of the biggest in the country. They were supposed to have nuns in it and everything! We packed up the family and rode the light rail to downtown, but when we saw how crowded it was (there was NO PLACE for us to see the parade), we turned around and came back home with a vow to arrive MUCH earlier next year. It was a little disappointing, so when John Henry fell asleep on the train home, we decided to hang out in downtown Littleton while John Henry napped in the stroller. And you guys know I can't resist sleeping baby pictures...


While John Henry and I rested in a park, Jason and Margaret Mary went to a local bar to get us some food. Apparently, Margaret Mary had the time of her life. The bartender lady gave MM a glass full of cherries and the guy beside her gave her all of his beads. I have a feeling this is going to become a daddy daughter tradition: daddy getting a drink and babygirl feasting on cherries.


As I write this, John Henry is passed out asleep and Papa and Margaret Mary are out at a friend's house dancing to Irish music. I will probably head to bed soon as well; I have to savor these last couple of weeks of good sleep! Thank you Lord for St. Patrick and his example of what we all are supposed to be. As Pope John Paul said, "If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire." Tomorrow we are back to lenten fasting and penance with the desire of drawing close to our Savior.

Writing this post, I realized that I didn't take many shots of my kids faces today. Tammy, (Jason's mom), passed down this AMAZING lens that really helps you to capture detail, and today I have had too much fun taking close ups. It is by far my favorite lens (a 35mm 1.8?) and I have been using it nonstop since I got it. So once again, thank you Tammy! I promise more pictures of faces in posts to come.