Definately Different

For months, everyone has been telling me that going from 2 kids to 3 is a pretty rough transition. I believed them then, and I'm living it now.

• I missed an adorable photo opportunity of #2 (laying on his belly on the floor working on a Halloween puzzle) because I was busy feeding #3.
• I thought I'd lost #2 in the parking lot of the library. I left him on the "big boy" side of the truck expecting him to climb into his car seat while I put #3 in the other side. I came back around to strap in #2 and couldn't find him anywhere. After doing a full circle of the truck and calling his name several times, I came to the conclusion someone had kidnapped him while I was not watching him. Seconds later, a teenage boy brought him to me explaining they'd found him by their car. (Lesson learned... take the extra 30 seconds to lift #2 into the truck.)
• I didn't get any pictures of #1 & #2 pulling faces at the guts that had to come out of their pumpkins before said pumpkins could be carved. (Adam was literally on the verge of tears when Kirk tried to touch Adam's hand with the slimy guts.) Once again, busy feeding #3.
• I find that I have to constantly choose between quality time with the kids, cleaning the house, and taking care of myself. I am pretty much sucking at all 3.
• I have to go to bed at 8:30 each night due to sheer exhaustion. #3 then wakes me up 3 times to eat before I have to get up at 7:00 to start the morning routine with #1, #2, and the two nephews that live with us. I wake up feeling just as tired as I felt when I went to sleep. Basically, I'm using tons of energy doggy paddling just to keep my head above water and getting absolutely nowhere.
• #2 (who used to be a momma's boy) has deserted me. He now clings to his daddy whenever daddy is around. I miss him.
• Every night is bath night for somebody. T, Th, Sun for the big boys. M, W, F for the baby. Ok, technically we don't have to wash anybody on Saturdays.
• I have laundry coming out my ears. It amazes me how much laundry a little 9 lb boy goes through!

But if that sounded like complaining, it honestly isn't. I may be tired, and I may feel like I am running constantly to keep up with my own life, but I am keeping up. I am functioning. The kids have yet to go unfed or unwashed. No one has run out of clean socks or underwear. And I have an awesome husband who does everything he possibly can to help out when he's home (I would have drown by now if it wasn't for him). Yes, it's an adjustment, but it is such a small price to pay to have our sweet Dylan as a part of our family.

Dylan's Blessing

I promise the invite is really cute, but I know the details may come out smallish in blog form. So here they are in easy to read print:

Dylan's blessing:

Nov. 8th at 1:00 p.m. at our church (7035 W. Loch Ness Ave.)

Refreshments afterward at Kirk's parents' house (3750 West 4040 South)

Love to see any of you there.

Extra! Extra!

Someone Else's Eyes

I was lucky enough to have my friend Jami of Life in Moments Photography come and photograph Dylan's birth for her portfolio. The slideshow she put together is absolutely gorgeous, and I will always treasure the memories she captured. It's funny, though, to see the experience through someone else's eyes. I find it interesting that:

- Apparently, when I look tired it looks quite a lot like pain. I had an epidural long before Jami got there. So any picture that looks like pain isn't.

- I really love my pillow. Kirk got if for me one Christmas, and I thought it was kind of a weird gift. But that pillow is the most comfortable thing I've ever laid my head on, and I refuse to lay down without it. It comes camping with us. It goes to hotels with us. And I couldn't even imagine being in a hospital for 3 days without it. However, I didn't realize I apparently spent most of my time waiting for Dylan to come hugging said favorite pillow. Hm.

- I felt scared when they put me on oxygen without really explaining why. Apparently I looked scared, too.

And two things I already knew that I've had reconfirmed:

- I'm super uncomfortable with letting people in to my special moments, and obviously the birth of a child qualifies as that. But this is beautiful, so I'm trying to get over it.

- Jami is AWESOME at what she does. Seriously, use her when you need a photographer. She's amazing with my kids, and she puts up with my husband. (Unfortunately, she laughs at his jokes, which just encourages him. Seriously, Jami... you've got to stop encouraging him!) She always makes me feel totally at ease, and her pictures are BEAUTIFUL.

NOW... you're welcome to watch the slideshow on Jami's blog here. (Scroll down on her blog.)

Wii Fit Plus

Kirk's mom gave me $25 for my birthday, and I immediately knew what I wanted to spend it on. I only had to wait 1 week for the release of the new Wii Fit Plus.

I've been the proud owner of the Wii Fit since its initial release about 18 months ago. I loved using it for the occassional workout, but could never get into a good routine because I was frustrated with the process of having to click several times to start the next "exercise" and only being able to exercise in little 2- to 3-minute chunks. I knew eventually they'd get it right and come out with a game where you could set up an exercise queue or use preset routines to just get going.

Enter Wii Fit Plus. All the exciting games, difficult muscle exercises, and crazy yoga poses of the first, plus several new games and exercises. PLUS the ability to set it up for a hassle-free workout. I can't wait to be recovered enough to actually try it out.

In the meantime, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Adam march while throwing a baton, navigate through the obstacle course, juggle, and patiently try to drop marbles through holes. When it just isn't a great time for riding his bike out front, I'm glad he has an in-living-room option for some moving around. Even Alex is pretty good at heading the soccer balls. Good, clean fun for all!

Pics of the Little Red Head

Well, yesterday's labor was long and boring, but at 5:48 we finally welcomed Dylan Parker Fife to our family. He weighed in at 8 lbs even and 21 inches long. That's a little lighter than we expected, but the biggest surprise was his red hair! We have the combination of the Middlemiss and the Nelson (both his Grandmas) genes to thank for that. He spends most of his time asleep, but he is a very content little guy when he is awake.

Here's his reddish hair. Sometimes it looks reddish blond, sometimes reddish brown. It is really affected by the lighting.

And here's a really cute picture Kirk took during Dylan's first bath. I just think he looks really relaxed and sweet.

October 7th

Knowing I'd be having this baby early, I never thought we'd be this down-to-the-wire, waiting to find out for sure when I'd be induced. After lots of waiting and worrying, I finally have the green light from my doctor, and we'll proceed with induction tomorrow. Barring any craziness, that means Dylan will be born on October 7th. Wanna know what famous people will share his birthday?

Taylor Hicks

Toni Braxton

King Charles XIII of Sweden

and

Drumroll please...

Simon Cowell

What does all that mean? Beats me.