Homesick? Yes.

I have been feeling a little homesick the last couple days. We are going home the very end of June. I really, really love it here. But, you can't beat home cooked meals at Mom's and Pat's houses. I also miss seeing my nephew, Luke. I have never even met my little niece, Amelia. She is going to be 11 months old when I meet her for the first time. How sad for my girls that they aren't going to really know their cousins. But, I just have to be thankful for the life we have here. We have such great friends that I will miss terribly when the military has up part ways someday.

On a little brighter note, Leah has started to say I love you. You can tell what she is saying. If I say it to her she says "I love you too, Mom". How special and precious. Sometimes she will come up to me and wrap her sweet little arms around my neck and tell me "I love you, Mom". She always calls me Mommy except when she says I love you. So sweet. I think it is one of the greatest rewards of parenting so far. She is not currently wanting to potty train. So we are stuck in diapers because I refuse to force her. She will learn when she is ready. She has decided she really likes Sponge Bob too. She isn't allowed to watch the show. I don't know where she picked up his name even besides commercials. But, she likes him and wants me to buy Sponge Bob snacks in the store. Another thing she really likes to do right now is color and draw. She especially likes to draw with pens. She has learned her bedtime prayer and table prayer (the singing ones not the common table prayer). I am so proud it just makes my heart swell to hear her little voice singing along and singing the right words! She is starting to grow so fast. Some of her 3T pj's and dresses are getting too small. I just can't believe that in a few months she will be turning 3. Wow does the time ever fly!

Lauren is growing so fast. She now knows that socks go on feet and tries to put them on all the time. It is so cute. She walk/runs all over the place! She is so funny! She growls when she thinks something is funny with this funny little grin on her face. She has been growling since birth. Some babies make cute little cooing noises. Mine made growling noises. It is hilarious! She really likes to put things in a container and take them out, repeat. She is also starting to like to draw with sidewalk chalk. She only tries to eat it sometimes. She had her first ice cream cone today. We stopped at Dairy Queen and got Leah a dish of vanilla and put a little in a cone for Lauren. Boy was she ever happy! We are really going to have to watch that kid, because she LOVES her food! She is so happy all the time. I have been weaning her a little. She is only nursing about 2 times a day now (including the night). I don't think she is ready to totally give it up yet and frankly neither am I. Her pediatrician said to nurse her to two years old. My ob-gyn said until I am 20 weeks pregnant. I guess we will when we are ready. The LLL says it is fine during pregnancy unless I am high risk for early delivery. I am not so we continue until she is done. Every kid is different. Leah really wasn't happy with nursing when she started getting teeth and then went on a strike when I got pregnant with Lauren. Pumping at work for her and at home got to be too much and she wouldn't drink it anyway. So I gave it up when she was 9 months old. That was a good time for Leah and I to stop. Lauren will wean someday. :)

I am doing really well. The pregnancy has been going smooth so far. I am 12 weeks, 4 days today. I have been getting sick in the afternoons a lot though. But so far I have only thrown up a handful of times. Compared to my other two, this one is pretty easy. I should find out the sex early June. Yay! Really my list of baby stuff consists of: car seat, toddler bed and bedding for Lauren, mattress for baby, pacifiers, diapers and if it is a boy....clothes, blankets, crib sheets, receiving blankets. My good friend Jenny gave me all her little baby boy stuff including a nice bedding set. So we don't need much for clothes. But we will need a few things. I know Pat is probably the only one who cares about what I need to get! I really was thinking about buying a triple sit and stand stroller. But they are around $300 and I think we can do the double and put Leah on a backpack leash. Jeremy hates those things. But, hey....what can you do! I will have to have one if I don't have a triple stroller. My double stroller needs to be junked but it might hold through one more kid. It was the best $15 I ever spent at a garage sale! I had no idea it would get this much use. I am getting a little excited and nervous about having another baby. I don't know what to expect as far as epidurals here at the hospital. I had such a bad experience with Leah and such an AWESOME one with Lauren. We shall see I guess. Another thing is we may not even be here when I deliver. Who knows what God has in store for us. Only Him! So my prayer tonight as I tuck myself in is that I am satisfied with my life and where(ever) it may take us. I need to remember who is in control. I also am so thankful for the blessings of THREE children in our lives when we thought we would never even have one. Praise God!

I realize I wrote a novel tonight and I apologize. That is what happens when I get banished from the living room so Jeremy can do (watch) something very important! :)