28 weeks

I am now 28 weeks along in this pregnancy, putting me at 6 months and at the beginning of my third trimester. "Cumbersome" is the best word to describe how I feel lately. I can't bend over any more and it is getting harder and harder to squat to pick things up. The sad thing is that I know I'm just going to get bigger and bigger. The baby is healthy and VERY active and my blood pressure finally went back to normal which means no more fainting spells :). We are all looking forward to October when we can meet this little guy.

My Current Project... Baby Dolls.

I got out patterns and was planning on making Sara a special baby doll for when the new baby was born. When Nikolai and MaryKate saw what I was planning they protested, "We need one too!" So, I figured it would be just as hard to make four (one for the new baby) as it would be to make 3 so that is what I did. I am almost done now. I need to finish Sara's hair and the pajama's for Sara's and the baby's then I also bought enough fabric to make a blanket for each of the kids that will match their babies pj's.

All during the process Sara loved piling the "bay-bee" around her and lugging around as many as she could, usually making several trips.

This was half-way through when they only had half of their faces on. I tried to personalize each of them with individual eye color that matches each of my kids.

Nikolai with his completed baby doll.
And MaryKate with her completed baby doll.

Nikolai

Nikolai wanted a driver's license when MaryKate made hers. They both wanted their pictures taken in front of different cars so that it looked like they were grown up with their own vehicles and their drivers licenses.

I love this series of photos and how it shows how close this brother and baby sister are...

Tired and Cuddly...

Big Yawn...

Fast Asleep in her brothers arms :).

Nikolai invented this game while Ethan and Avery were staying with us. Using the Battleship game they stacked the white and red pegs together as long as they could... all the way down the hall! Nikolai is going into 4th grade this fall. He has the opportunity to be part of a self-contained ELP class. We decided it was the best thing for him because it will accommodate his particular style of learning even though it will be an inconvenience to drive him 5 miles each way to a new school this fall. I am hoping there will be at least one more family from our neighborhood making the trip that will want to carpool with us. He has been learning how to type this summer and is a great play-mate for Sara.

MaryKate

MaryKate is so excited for her birthday and baptism within the month, especially after going to her cousins, Marx and Emma's, baptism. Kevin snapped this picture of us while we were looking on line at dresses.

And this is the almost final result. We also ordered a bolero jacket from a different company that didn't come in until the next day. Kevin said it best when he told her she looked like an angel.
MaryKate got an idea in her head that she wanted a drivers license. She asked me for help and this is what we came up with using an old school photo! She insists on taking it every time we drive anywhere.

MaryKate loved having her cousins Ethan and Avery staying with us for a few days. They all got dressed up for a wedding! MaryKate has been wanting to learn how to sew. This was her first official project, a pillow! She sewed it all by herself on the machine and even completed the hand work to close it up. MaryKate's 8th birthday is at the end of this month and her baptism is scheduled for August 8th. Earlier this year she surpassed Nikolai in height and weight and has stayed about an inch taller then him since. She is a big help at home with chores and especially with taking care of Sara. There are many mornings that she will get Sara out of her crib, change her diaper, and make her a bottle before I even drag myself out of bed.

Sara

I was sitting at the table working on my computer and Sara was sitting right in front of me. Nikolai came in the room and said "What happened to Sara!" at which point I looked up and discovered this blue faced monster! Kevin had gotten out the last of the Robin Egg Malt Balls from Easter and had left the bag out on the table. I had forgotten that Sara did not like the chocolate part but loved to suck off the candy coating. She had gone through about 5 of the blue ones before I even noticed. It actually stained her hands for a day or two.
Sara started praying with the family. She can usually make it through an entire prayer with her arms folded like this.

As always she loves to do anything that her big siblings are doing. (Which is why she started "praying" so much earlier then my other kids did) I no longer allow her to do this because the puppy is old enough to be eating real food which means real poop that the mommy dog does not clean up so I am glad I got a lot of pictures while it was a daily occurrence. One time I told her it was time for a nap so she grabbed her blankie and climbed into the crate and shut the door behind her and laid down next to the puppy. She was mad when I made her go to her own bed.

Sara loves this little chair that Oma gave her for her birthday. She moves it around to where she wants it and plops down. Sara is 18 months old now and weighs 22 lbs and is 31 inches tall. She has stayed pretty constant at the 20-25% for weight and between 40-50% for height. She is about as thin as my other babies were but is shorter (Nikolai and MaryKate at this age were always in the 75% for height). She is such a fun and happy baby. She has her little tantrums like any other toddler but they usually consist of her laying flat on her back and sulking, it is so cute it is hard not to laugh at her.