Life with 3

2012 has been such an emotional roller coaster for me. First and foremost, our unexpected pregnancy with Eisley. I was so happy, but sometime during the earliest part of my unaware pregnancy I had a mammogram, xrays, and an MRI for my shoulder that seemed to have an unusual mass growing for about 10 years. I put it off mainly because I didn't feel that it was a big deal at the beginning. The MRI for my shoulder indicated that I have osteoarthritis. The mammogram also came back negative and I was so relieved. I feel so blessed that results for the xrays, tests, and MRI came back negative and non life threatening. So, when did we learn of our pregnancy with Eisley.... I first suspected that I was pregnant with Eisley after my appointment at the University of Utah hospital with the doctor who told me that the last thing he wanted me to have was an operation on my collar, so he prescribed physical therapy instead. In response, I cried and cried with overwhelming emotions. Happy that it wasn't dying But sad to know that I will be living with this pain. Not a usual reaction I would give to a doctor, so without much thought, I stopped by the store on the way home to pick up a pregnancy test at the dollar tree...YES, the dollar tree because a friend told me that it was legit. It turned out positive and because I had my speculations of it being inaccurate, I made Rico buy an ept test for me immediately. Rico's response to the positive pregnancy..."How did that happen?" Anyway, we didn't tell friends until we were close to three months pregnant, but news spread like wild fire when the children in primary had to express their gratitude for something. Erin announced that she was thankful that she will have a baby sister soon! I was just a couple of rows away from her class as I was the Sunbeams teacher. I knew she was going to mention it as our eyes widened at each other and lips pursed! So, as fortunate and blessed to add another baby to our little family I was haunted by the fears of what could happen to the baby because of all of the xrays and MRI I had while I was pregnant. I was doing just fine and convinced myself that the baby will be just fine. When 8 months hit, I had major anxieties and decided to call U of U radiology department and inquired about what the effects of xrays and MRIs on a fetus. She gave me an web address. Her voice was calm and she didn't promise me anything, but just talking about it with her made me feel better and I didn't feel a need to search the web for further information. A feeling of peace came over me and I knew Eisley was going to be fine...and after four ob/gyn's later because of our move and changes in health plans, baby Eisley is as healthy as could be! Eisley is now almost four months. She is an amazing baby. She brings smiles to everyone she comes across. I had a gloomy day the other day and all it took was her smile and my sadness just melted away. Rico came home from a stressful day at work last week and he said the exact same thing to me after Eisley greeted him with the biggest smile and as she kicked her legs and flared her arms with excitement with the sight of her dad. Everyone says that she looks like her uncle Edsel and Mommy Grace. She is so excited that baby cousin Ellie (Ricky & Jen's baby girl) is here and that baby Elise (Emily & Charley's baby) will arrive in less than a month. Triple trouble! Erin is such a great big sister. The first thing she asks when she gets home from school is, "Is Eisley awake?" She dresses her up, shops for her outfits, and lets me take catnaps sometimes. She is adjusting well to middle school. She's made friends rather quickly, is in band and plays the flute, and in student council. She has done well and is receiving mostly B's in her classes. She is such a fun, and outgoing gal. She sure knows how to make us all laugh with her impressions of any comedians and accents. She is in competitive swimming with the Lake Oswego Swim Club. Swim practice takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours of her time after school. After that she eats, does homework and off to bed. Twice a week she goes to school an hour early for student council meetings. We are so proud of her and her ambition to "make lots of money" when she's older so we could go to Disneyland every year...oh, and give Rico and me weekly allowances. Two weeks ago, she made state cut for her 50 breaststroke and she was stoked! Last weekend, she didn't make any cuts and was so bummed. We will give updates on state competition in a couple of weeks. Her future goals is to make it to the Olympics! Eli...on the other hand has been a little drama king lately. Whining, tantrums, outbursts over the smallest things. A couple of days ago, he had Erin and me convinced that he'd dislocated his knee cap. He was love'n it...slaving us away like no other!! Along comes Rico and it only took him a couple of minutes to realize what Eli was up to!!! The crying and wailing from what we thought was pain didn't stop in like forever. Rico just ignored him and me being a concerned mom I wanted to call the doctor. Rico was right...he was playing us! He enjoys kindergarten and riding the school bus to and from school. He has been sick a lot since we've moved here to Oregon. Last week he was out for a week of school because of the flu. He has been sick with pneumonia twice for the first 4 months we were here and every month after that fever after fever. Poor guy! Last week, Rico gave him a blessing and instantaneously he fell asleep at 3am. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and that I am married to a worthy priesthood holder. When not playing hooky or isn't sick, Eli loves to be active, riding his bike, on the pogo stick, and jumping on his skip it. He loves board games and is very competitive. He's enjoyed playing mexican train, scrabble, puzzles, and match games. What I love most is his contagious laugh and his silliness. He loves baby sister Eisley and can't get enough of kissing her. Rico is such an awesome dad. Working long days is no excuse for him to come home and not monkey around with the kids. I love especially when Eli greets him at the door and says to him, "Let's play dad!" with such excitement! And it's not easy after a long, tough day at work to come home to a tired and sometimes moody wife. He has become such a patient and quick to forgive husband. So....life with 3 is not so bad! It is much easier than I thought. So far, it has been smooth and we are loving it! How did Rico and I get so lucky to be parents of these three kids that we are so crazy about!!!!! We are sure 2013 will have plenty of joy and great memories in store for us!