The Walkers: Family Update

This is going to be a very random compilation of things we've been up to since we got back from Washington, as well as a pregnancy/baby preparation update. Get ready for lots of randomness! ;)

I wanted to start out with a little update on how both kids are doing.

Isaac:

Isaac is still our little ball of energy! He is excited for the baby to come and has been really sweet about the whole thing (we'll see how he does once she's here ;)). He's had a little bit of acting out that I hope is just him getting it out of his system but I guess we'll find out in a few weeks!

He drew this cute little picture of our family at school and included the baby :)

Isaac is doing really well at school, which makes me happy because he can be challenging at home but his teachers say he is great at school! If I had my choice I would rather he behave better at school so that is great to hear. It has been SO awesome to see him coming home with papers that he has written his name on, it just tickles me to death! He has improved so much with his writing and comes home singing all kinds of cute songs. His teachers are amazing!

I've written down a few little things he's said lately that were really cute or funny, so here we go:

-He hasn't been doing this as much lately, but every night for a while when I would put him to bed I would say "I love you buddy" and he would say things like (and I quote): "I love you in the moon and in the star and in the future and in the computer and in the bones and in the Batman and in the plate and in the nutcracker. You're the best mom I've never seen." He would pretty much just look around the room and throw things out there that he saw. It was so cute and hilarious!

-He is talking so much better but of course there are still certain things that are harder for him to say, especially if it has an "r" or an "l". He calls fruit snacks "snoot" snacks, and instead of the word freezing he will say "fweezing". He also replaces the "th" sound with "f" so he will say things like "I need to talk a "baf" (bath). It sounds so cute!

How cute is this picture of him?? He has the best smile!

-He has started saying "excuse me" every time he wants to talk, its so cute except I think he thinks it gives him permission to just interrupt, haha.

-When we were in Washington the kids watched the movie "Chicken Little" and he kept calling it "Little Chicken in the Middle"

-The other day he found one of my bobby pins for my hair on the floor and he brought it over to me and goes "Mom I found a "booby" pin" (LOL)

-Keith was putting Isaac to bed the other night and when he gave him a hug and kiss he kind of brushed his facial hair against Isaac's face and Isaac goes, "Ouch you need to shave Dad! Your face is sharp like weapons!"

Isaac loves him some super heroes!

Batman enjoying some light reading

Malea:

Malea painted my toe nails the other day since it's a little difficult for me to reach these days :) She did a great job!

I can't believe how grown up she seems lately, it is just crazy! I know she is going to be such a big helper when the baby comes. She always has such insightful things to say and just seems very mature for her age (she reminds me so much of me!).

She is doing so well in school, I am absolutely AMAZED at how much she has progressed in her reading! It's been so cool to watch as she has continued on through the school year what kinds of books she is able to read. It's actually kind of funny though because even though she is good at English, its definitely not her favorite. When we get her new homework at the beginning of each week and I ask her what she wants to work on first she always picks Math! She definitely gets that from her Dad and not me, haha! She is actually really good at Math which makes me glad because 1. it's taught almost completely in Chinese, so it's comforting to know that she is still understanding it. And 2. I sucked at Math so I'm glad she is doing so well with it! When it's time to do English homework (spelling, grammar, etc) she grumbles about it. Totally not what I expected!

She has also been doing the Chinese Immersion program this year which is also so amazing. I can't believe she went from not knowing any Chinese at the beginning of the year to being able to speak some basic conversational sentences and understanding even more than that. So proud of my big girl!

The kids in their forts they made the other day :)

Enjoying a popsicle with our cute neighbor friend on one of the hot days we've had (this May weather has been so random!). Poor Isaac could not keep his eyes open for the picture no matter how many I took, haha!

Malea asked my mom if she would teach her how to sew so one day they went to the fabric store to pick out fabric and they whipped together this adorable dress! (My mom did pretty much all the work but it did give Malea a chance to learn some basics). I thought it turned out darling and they even got some extra fabric to make a matching one for her doll!

Because of work it's been hard for me to go volunteer in Malea's class very much so on this particular day I went and had lunch with her and then stayed during recess (I have Fridays off so I took Isaac with me).

Malea showing me some of her ar

twork :)

Malea's school did a Talent Show and Malea's class learned how to do the waltz. We sat through individual talents and then her whole class performed this adorable dance. She did such a great job!

Mommy & Baby:

Caught this cute pic of Isaac kissing the baby :)

We are continuing to prepare for baby! This pregnancy has definitely been my hardest so far (get ready for a whine session!). I feel like I am about 90 years old when I get out of bed in the morning, haha. I don't know if I've just forgotten a lot (which could very well be since its been 4+ years since I was last pregnant) but the discomforts just seem so much worse this time around. The heartburn/acid reflux has been absolutely horrendous. I take Zantac twice a day plus Tums as I need it and it still doesn't quite cut it. I've also kind of developed a little bit of lactose intolerance, which I'm hoping goes away after I have the baby because I love ice cream! I also don't feel great most mornings, I think it might be just a little bit of morning sickness creeping its way back in (but not nearly as bad as it was in the beginning!). I've also had tons of braxton hicks that started pretty early, like 27ish weeks, but thankfully nothing to worry about. I think just between working and having two other kids I'm on my feet more and don't get as many chances to rest.

This is pretty funny.....we were having a family cuddle on mommy and daddy's bed and we had a good laugh because mommy had ALL the pillows and these three had to share one. I literally sleep with like 5 or 6 pillows every night just to stay comfortable and to prop myself up to help with the heartburn/acid reflux.

I'm 36 weeks this week (almost 37) and it seems like with all of my pregnancies that was about when the swelling/water retention started. Thankfully my blood pressure has remained pretty low most of the time, almost so low that I have felt crappy at times. I'm just going to keep an eye on it these next couple of weeks. So I've been dealing with cankles and my face looks ginormous, haha.

I am very pleased to say that the plan is to be induced on June 17th as long as I don't go before that!!! It feels great to know that the end is in sight!

We've started stocking up on diapers, how cute and tiny are these newborn size diapers?!? It's hard to believe that my kids fit in those at one time and that I'll have another one soon to put them on!!

My mom and I went to JoAnn's fabrics and picked out this darling fabric for a car seat canopy!! I can't wait to see it all done! (My mom is a sewing guru)

Bought this cute little bath seat for baby :)

I found this cute little portable basinett on a yard sale website for like $20. It folds up and can be moved easily which I love. I wanted something narrow that could fit next to the side of my bed for those middle of the night feedings :)

We pulled out some of our dolls and had some fun playing the other day :) It's interesting because I think Isaac was more in to it than Malea! She's almost a little too old for the baby doll phase. I thought it was so cute that he was totally in to it though. He's going to be a good daddy some day :) (On a side note, it's impossible to find boyish dolls for boys! How sexist is that? I tried finding a doll for Isaac that was a boy and you can't find them.)

Changing baby's diaper :)

Putting her down for a nap :)

Then Isaac wanted to be swaddled!

I've been trying to sneak in some last minute Girls Nights with friends before baby comes! This was one particular day when we all met up at Zupas, it was so fun!