Half way....

20 weeks with baby #3

20 weeks with Dallyn

How did this happen, how am I half way through my pregnancy? And how in the world have I only gained 2 lbs considering I eat ALL the time. Oh well, I guess I can't complain there! But seriously, I am NOT even close to being ready for this baby, let alone the month of April. It will be an April to remember that's for sure!

And yes, I feel like an ass because I can't find a belly picture at 20 weeks with Jayda. In fact I have NONE on my computer. I know I have some in her scrapbook so I will have to take a photo of a photo for comparison.

To my Mr. Griffin

Happy 25th Birthday!

25 years ago my best friend was born, and I am so glad my MIL let him survive (he was a handful apparently).
I love you honey, I hope you are having a great day floating around in the big blue.

Did you ever wish?

That you could be a kid and stay in your pjs all day and just sit around and watch movies? I do. Especially today. So I did :) Although I had to keep the movies pg, I was pretty satisfied with Monsters Inc, The Rescuers and Madagascar. I'm easily pleased.

And the winner is...

Estrogen, well at least in this household. Poor Bryan and Dallyn, I hope they know they are in for a wild ride living with 3 girls in the near future :)

The ultrasound went great, the little turkey was moving a lot though so it took a lot longer than normal, I felt bad for the lady waiting after me but the tech was determined to get every measurement. I had an early ultrasound at 6 weeks and it said my due date was 4-20-10. The dr and I had still been going by my original due date of the 15th, but today I was measuring exactly to the day on all of the measurements for the 20th. Works for me, 5 more days of wiggle room in between the D day and when daddy gets home! In fact, can she just stay in there until....ugh...july?

I'm tired...

Really, that's all I am these days. This baby has taken so much out of me. With Dallyn and Jayda I at least was able to function in my 2nd trimester but i am still just as tired as I was in my first (minus the barfing). Of course, I'm sure the swine flu, infected tooth and taking care of two little kids all by myself has NOTHING to do with it.....right. I'm so pathetic that I am looking forward to our 21 hour drive to Wyoming coming up in a few weeks because I will be able to sleep....maybe not comfortably but I'll take whatever I can get. But it's a slippery slope...the more I sleep during the day, the worse I sleep at night so I am even MORE tired the next day.

Are you ready for this...?

This is going to be the post of all posts....there is so much to catch up on and so much info you NEED to know about our lives. Need. That's right.

We are all healthy and thriving again...we all got the swine flu, lucky us. Thankfully it waited a few days after Halloween, I'm so happy my kids got to enjoy that cough/runny nose/fever free. Who knew we were all incubating a hurricane though! Monday I was sick, I got up off the couch 5 times that day to put Dallyn to bed, feed the kids and throw more cheerios in bowls to keep the kids off of me. Tuesday my savior came over and watched the kids while I hauled my sick ass to the ER at the Naval Hospital. Let me start off by saying that there were the hottest corpsman EVER at work on Tuesday morning...I hit the jack pot. Being that I was pregnant and having breathing difficulties I was put in a room right away and pretty much had constant attention until they admitted me to the hospital. I was sick, really sick. Thank goodness I listened to the nurse and went in, I almost just stayed home. I ended up catching pneumonia and my o2 levels were around 72%...not good for a preggo! But I got discharged the next day (Kelly had the kids the WHOLE time...she is amazing, I owe her A BIG ONE!!!!!). My mom flew out to help with the kids while I recooperated. Thank gosh because they both ended up catching the same thing. They were able to fight it off (eventually, that is one tough virus!) right before she had to fly home. Now we are all back to 100% and feeling good.

I don't know if my kids have really just become AWESOME this week or if it's because I am just remembering how they are when they are sick but they have been pretty cool. Tonight I was sad to tuck them in bed, they were having so much fun playing together and running around. I'm not sure when Dallyn turned into a big boy but he definitely did it behind my back, or while he was sleeping at night. He loves playing with the big kids and it's so fun watching him turn from a whiney, mommy obsessed baby to a really cool toddler. Today he sat in the driveway for an hour coloring with sidewalk chalk with the big kids in the neighborhood. Jayda has been pretty good with him to, she is really excited (a little too much) that he likes to wrestle with her. We have many a wrestling matches that end in someone crying but that's ok with me. I'm glad they are starting to enjoy each other more and more. Especially since they will really need that bond come next April!

Baby #3 is doing well, we should find out what the little booger is next Monday (the 23rd). It's a wild one already, at my last appointment it kicked the dr while she was listening to the heartbeat. She was pretty impressed that it was strong enough to do that since it's about the size of a potato, haha. Then she made a comment that I am probably feeding it pure caffeine (if she only knew how addicted to cherry coke I am) since I have been feeling it for about 3 weeks. Jayda has felt it a few times, she seems completely unimpressed. Although she is REALLY excited about having a new baby. She tells me that it will sleep in her room and she will feed, burp and bathe it. That being said, she means that she will do that if it's a girl....a boy and all bets are off. She really really wants a little sister so we will see if she gets what she wants. Bryan has his vote in for girl. I am torn, I would love either and am not really "feeling" like it's one or the other. I have all the boy stuff still but I do love purple. It's nice to not really have any pressure as to what it is. I know people always say that it doesn't matter but we all know that's not true. Even if it's just the pressure you put on yourself!

18 weeks

Happy LATE Halloween!

Halloween was an absolute blast this year, it was so busy and so fun! We got to see some of our oldest and dearest friends and it was great to spend a holiday with my extended family here in San Diego. I honestly was a little nervous at how I would feel spending a holiday without Bryan, my hormones have made this deployment a rollercoaster already and seeing the kids spending a holiday like this without him was hard but thanks to some great people, not as bad as I thought it would be. We were honestly so busy it was much easier than I thought. Jayda loved everything about Halloween, from the creepy decorations to the sweets she got at EVERY party....she is going to be on a sugar high for 15 days! And even at the end she really enjoyed handing out candy to the big kids when we were done trick or treating. This year was just great, one of the best I have ever had. It's amazing how happy it can make you to just see your kids happy :)

It's official

I am pregnant....lol. I'm 15 weeks and starting to feel like a human being again. I had forgotten what it felt like to have clean dishes, clothes and floors. But that's ok, we all survived and that's all that counts. Soon we will hopefully be finding out what the little bugger is, I'm pretty excited. Jayda WANTS a girl....and when I say wants I mean NEEDS. Yesterday she told me if it's a boy then we are going to give it to grandma. Yikes....come on God...help me out on this one. This ride is just starting to get fun and I am getting more and more excited. Feeling "it" move, looking like I am pregnant, eating anything and everything I want (did I just say that?). Without Bryan here I think I am going to be more inclined to give into all my cravings...watch out scale! That's ok, my body is pretty awesome. Two kids and no stretch marks so far so hopefully this one goes as smoothly as the others.

Love you momma

Thank you so much for coming out to see us (the kids, lol). We all love you so much. The kids had a blast and it was nice for me to "disconnect" for a few days. I LOVE YOU!!

Is it April yet?

Jayda saying goodbye to her Gonzo!

Today my Mr. Griffin left for hopefully his last deployment. He will be due home about 10 days before my due date.....so lots of sitting around and crossing my legs for me :) We had a good time playing on the pier with Jayda, she really enjoyed watching his boat actually move. She thought it just sat still since that's all she has ever seen it do. My hormones didn't throw me under the bus and I was able to contain my tears until I saw a little girl crying for her daddy (not Jayda). Even then I held it mostly together :) We love you Mr. Griffin and we will be paitently waiting for you to come home!

Ah, life...

We have been busy. And when I say busy, I mean it. A month and a half ago I found out that I was unexpectedly pregnant with baby #3. Between puking, wiping butts, throwing up again and keeping the kids from killing each other life has been crazy. We have snuck in a few fun outings to the zoo during Ape Days and Jayda got her zebra fixed up by the vet and then graduated from the Gross University. Pretty fun! I will get back in the groove in a few weeks, I am 10 weeks (11 on Thursday) so hopefully feeling good will be just around the corner. Bryan is set to deploy for 6 months (he will be home 10 days before my due date, oy!) at the begining of Oct so I REALLY need to be on top of my game :)

And if I haven't mentioned it before, I have the best friends ever. If it weren't for the help and support I have received I would have totally lost it. You guys are wonderful and I hope you know how much I appreciate you all!

One of my favorite milestones...

Happened 8 months ago....I was just thinking about what it would be like to have two in diapers again....NO THANKS!!! This is a VERY happy reminiscing for me.......

Another AWESOME giveaway!!

At cinnamon sticks boutique HERE

Happy Birthday My Baby Boy

I honestly cannot believe you are one, really. I know people say this all the time but I MEAN IT!!!

You are our little shining star, we all love you so much. Thank you for completing our family and pushing me to be a more patient and loving mother. You are so sweet and happy these days, it's hard to remember my colicky newborn. You will smile at anyone willing to even look at you, it's so adorable. I love everything about you, even the fact that you already know and LOVE to climb. I love hearing your vocabulary develop, although I hope I will never forget your "Whatsthat?" You are my baby boy, Happy Birthday sweet heart. I know it's a day early but I am going to turn the computer off tomorrow and spend it all with you and your sister.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just what the zoo needs...

New tour guides! I think they are ready!

Early!

We celebrated Dallyn's birthday as a family 5 days early so that Mr. Griffin could be home. I made (bought) a cheesecake and it was so yummy! It was pretty fun watching Dallyn attempt to blow out his candle and finger paint with the cake, apparently cheese cake is an acquired taste in this house. Neither Jayda or Dallyn ate any of it! But we had fun and per Jayda's request we sang happy birthday 40 times :) In the next few days I am sure they will both be sick of the song and of cake....well maybe not the cake :)

One year ago today....

Was my due date. What a joke that turned out to be :) It amazes me how fast a year can go by. I vividly remember laying down ALL day munching on Country Time lemonaid ice chips and waiting for Mr. Griffin to come home. He was supposed to fly in at 11pm.....I was so excited I even tried shaving, not sure what made me think I could do THAT.

family portait

Here is Jayda's first drawing of our family portrait....so sweet. All except for the fact that I am the RED one with the HORNS....ya...horns. WTH? Apparently that day I told her that she couldn't have ice cream for all 3 meals...

My babies...

I just love my kids....really....I mean really really!! Here is an up to date post of where they are in their amazing little lives.

Our first big "NEW" thing in our little family is bed time....I've never been one of those mom's who have looked forward to bedtime. When Jayda was little she needed me and I was totally ok with that. It was our special time together and I still don't regret how I put her to sleep for three years. I get really emotional thinking about how it bonded her and I together by sleeping in the same bed every night. Dallyn on the other hand was a NIGHTMARE. He only would sleep on me and would only sleep for 45 minutes and wake up as soon as his sleep cycle was starting over....NIGHTMARE!!! In march I had had enough and let Dallyn CIO. It worked like a charm. My colicky baby now lays down in his crib, grabs his blanket and passes out for the whole night. And my co-sleeping 3 year old? Well she now is in her own bed too. One night we decided to let her go to bed on her own. We read her stories, gave her kisses and he mickey and walked out of the room. That little turkey never even made a peep. For 3 years I second guessed myself thinking that she was NEVER goign to sleep on her own, let alone all the way through the night. Now both of my children are asleep 30 minutes after starting the bedtime routine....HEAVEN!!! And the best part is that they both sleep all the way through the night. I almost feel my brain cells starting to revive themselves. It's amazing how much of a difference a good nights sleep makes!

Jayda has been growing a lot this month, she is definitely coming out of her shell. She will play with new kids at the playground and loves playing with the big kids down the street. She is starting to draw really well too. She can draw all of the letters (if I tell her how) and she can draw people really well. We have them everywhere....she is so insistent that we hang them up and give them names, so cute! She is very careful to give them hair, ears, eyebrows, tongues and is now starting to draw clothes. Today she drew me and made sure I realized that she drew me little because "You are skinny like me!!" she said. I love that kid!!

Dallyn is crazy, he is going to kill me! I always knew boys were different by JEEZ!!! Having my sweet, mild tempered Jayda did NOT prepare me for this wild thing. He is already skilled at climbing anything he can get his leg up on and just today he learned to turn on his belly and slide off the couch. He is starting to walk and has no fear most of the time. A few days ago he was walking through the kitched and tripped and landed right on the computer tower. He has a lovely dent in his forehead to remind me everytime I look at him. He is starting to talk and it's so adorable, especially with all those teeth he has. He is just getting #8. At this age Jayda had 3....LOL!!

We are keeping them busy between the beach, pool and friends. Dallyn and Jayda both love the beach, mommy not so much. It's fun to take them though, they have such a blast and are happy for a few hours playing by themselves. I learned not to let Dallyn in the water, he won't come out! Last time I had to drag him out because he was shivering and turning blue but he still cried to go back in!!

Well, that's our new stuff....well some of it! life is busy, crazy and absolutely amazing for us right now.