All about Noah

So, it was really good while it lasted!!  We had Noah sleeping 8:30-7 and it was so awesome!!  I thought, this is the beginning!  That was short-lived.  For the past week (maybe more), he's now getting up anywhere between 1:30a and 4:30a and coming to our room.  He knocks on the door and wants to get into bed with us.  He's told me he doesn't like his bed, so I thought, maybe he'll sleep better once we get his "big boy" furniture.  No so...we've had that since Sat. and he's consistently come downstairs.  There were a few nights prior to that where we couldn't even get him to go to sleep.  Maybe it's a growth spurt?  He wants to snuggle all the time, which I can't blame the kid but I'm not sure how we break him of the habit.  I imagine it will get worse when the baby is here as he'll want to be around all of us all the time.  Bye-bye sleep...AGAIN.

On another note, the potty training seems to be going really well at school.  He goes most of the time with the exception of 1 or 2 accidents.  Now, at home is another story.  We've tried bribing him with stickers, with cars, with silly bands...they all worked for a while but now he's flat out refused to go at home.  There are a few instances when we can convince him or he'll randomly shout out his need to go.  I've taken to bribing him with M&Ms now.  I think that works a bit better but we've yet to have huge success yet.

Tantrums abound and he gets VERY upset when he doesn't get his way; although it's odd because he'll say he wants something and when we give it to him, he gets upset and tells us he doesn't want it.  Its aggravating on our end because it's like, "just tell us what you want already!"  He's very bossy and demanding (I wonder where he gets that from?!) but he's also very charming and sweet at times.  He loves to sing and dance and every 5 minutes asks "wha you doin'?"  He's particularly picky when it comes to eating at home (although I'm told he eats pretty much everything at school).  I guess that is a blessing.  We are trying to hold firm on him taking at least a few bites at dinner but even that is tricky sometimes.  He'd rather go to bed hungry.

Sometimes he kisses my belly and tells me he wants to kiss the baby, which is so sweet.  He then proceeds to lift his shirt and show me "his baby" as he tells us.  No matter what we say, he's never convinced that we are right.  He asks about his grandparents, aunts and uncles all the time and it makes me wish everyone was closer as he always enjoys spending time with everyone!

He's particularly shy to strangers until he warms up, then he's your best friend.  I look at him and then his baby pictures and wonder, where has the time gone?!

Speaking of baby, the newest addition seems to be doing well.  He loves to wriggle and move around (I hope he sleeps more in the outside world than he does on the inside!).  I am in countdown mode (yes, 6 weeks to go) as I'm more and more uncomfortable and the swelling of the feet has set in.  We are still struggling with a name so it's any one's guess what we'll end up with.  We'll probably be just as surprised as the rest of our family and friends. :-)  I have my 33 week apt. today and hopefully will find out if he's still breach or has turned (lets hope for the latter) as well as his size.  I'm thinking a little over 4 lbs right now. Although, with that number, I keep asking, so what about the rest of the weight I've gained - where is all of that?!  Yikes! Workouts are just around the corner...

My back still seems to be holding up despite the increasing size of my belly.  I hope it continues through delivery.  My chiropractor has been pleasantly surprised so it's obvious that God is taking good care of us.

We are still working diligently on the house.  The boys' rooms are just about complete (just need a few minor things done) and our next steps are to repaint the kitchen and work on the game room.  We also hope to do some updated landscaping in the next few weeks.  For those visiting in the next few months, there will be lots of changes for you to see (hopefully for the better!).

We are very much looking forward to the fall weather, if it would just get here already!  The 90s is just killing us (esp. us big pregnant women!)  I have yet to see an end in sight but we are keeping the faith.  It will be nice when we can take Noah outside more often.

Ok, this turned into more of a Family letter than a blog so I'll say goodbye for now.  I know it's been a while since I've updated hence the long-winded ramblings. (but of course, that's the title of the blog so I guess it's appropriate!)
Love to all,
Corri, Mike, Noah and baby Reichert