Braxton and Hicks Were Evil Men...

Not really. They just named something that Mother Nature already had given us. I have been doing too much. I am trying desperately to continue my life as normal despite hauling around this baby. I hate being debilitated. I hate relying on anyone else. I hate feeling lazy. But. When I actually try and do anything that requires lots of physical effort or stamina I fail big time. The contractions come and come on strong. I had them every 4 minutes on Tuesday night for quite a while. I couldn't decide if I should call the midwives or not. They did go away after a while, but it was scary. Charlie is NOT ready to come out yet. I know that. So I have to do my best to let my body have it's way for a while. I just wish I could be one of these women that just breeze through pregnancy and it doesn't seem to slow them down at all. Maybe those women don't really exist and just put on a happy face when we see them out in public. Maybe behind closed doors, they too are making the kids pick stuff up for them and are making grunting noises while getting up off the couch....9 weeks. 9 weeks.

Spring Fever...

Daddy and William spent 5 hours out and about on Sunday, playing at various parks. William is loving being outside again so much and so are we! I can't wait for the weather to make the full leap into spring, I am ready to open up the house and breathe the fresh air again. We grilled last night and stayed on the deck till it got too dark to be out. We spent Saturday evening shopping for books for William to open on his birthday. Jason and I get so tired of reading the same ones over and over, and with all the reading we do, it takes a lot of books to keep the rotation exciting. We got him some very cute ones and a couple of science books, one on nocturnal animals and one on artic animals. He has been into the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, including jumping from one couch to the other so he can eat grass on the opposite hill, and get "nice and fat". Too cute! So, I got him a copy of that. His fear seems to have greatly improved over the last week. He is back to normal, sleeping through the night, in his own bed again, so we are all happy again. As for little Charles, he is moving a lot, growing bigger by the day, and seems to be doing well. We will have a new Ultrasound a week from today to monitor his growth, but I doubt there will be anything wrong. William is 3 this Saturday, and I am still stunned! This year has gone by so fast, and he really seems like a little boy now, no longer a trace of baby about him. Wild!

The Bus Driver...

Fear...

Poor William has developed a SEVERE anxiety towards bedtime, and being alone. I am not sure exactly what triggered it, but it seems there is a certain episode of Thomas the Tank Engine that sent him over the edge. He has been a little weird for a while about being left alone in a room, but now he wants to be next to you all the time. So sad. Last night he came into our room and we let him stay, since he was so upset. I snuggled him up in my arms and he said "Thanks Mom for saving me." SO SAD! Who could send him back to his own bed after that? When you ask him what he is so scared of, he says it's one of two things: A cobra chasing him, or Percy and the ghost (from the Thomas movie). Jason and I are trying to reassure him constantly and we put his teddy and kitty on night watch duties tonight. I am sure they are up for the job. I am certain that this too shall pass, but I just ache for him. You can tell these fears are very real to him, and I remember all too clearly being scared to death to get up at night to go to the bathroom, simply because I was certain something was waiting to grab my ankles the minute my feet hit the ground! Yikes! It isn't easy being little.

Warming Up!

Will is trying to figure out the forward pedaling vs braking issue...
Practicing for the wall exercises, for his future in the Marines...

Enjoying watercolors...

Will and I took the trains outside today, I liked having more room to expand!

We have been having such delicious temperatures that Will and I have been living outside! Today was 66, and tomorrow is supposed to hit 69! They say it will be gone by the weekend, so we are enjoying every moment!

Harper's Ferry and Antietam...

Daddy and William laughing together...
William contemplates man's inhumanity to man...


Filmore the Frog and William playing on the trestle at Harper's Ferry...

Cleaning up all the rocks on the river's edge...

We were practically at the halfway point!

This is where the Shenandoah and the Potomac meet up...
Harper's Ferry is built on the point.

William prepares to pull the fire cart, just in case...

An old train car wheel...

William spent a long time pretending to be a train on this little hunk of track...

The National Historic Site at Harper's Ferry...

Today, I had the day off work, so we were going to drive up to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah. Thankfully, I called ahead and found out it was still closed due to ice and snow. We rethought our plans and decided to spend the day learning a little more history. Neither one of these areas took very long to see, we left at 10 am and were done by 4. Just the right amount of time for an almost 3 year old. Harper's Ferry was first, and we saw a lot of interesting paraphernalia related to old John Brown and his rebellion. I have always thought he looked just a little crazy in his pictures and honestly, after what he tried, I don't think I was too far off in my assessment! I admire his courage though, and I found out today that he lost 4 children to illness in just one month. When I learned that, I thought that maybe his lunacy was justified. The Appalachian trail also goes right through this town, and it was neat seeing the actual long haul hikers passing through. I can't imagine doing that trip, and after reading "A Walk in the Woods" I would never even contemplate doing it. After seeing all the sights, we headed off to Antietam. It reminded me very much of Gettysburg. Lots of monuments, and long winding roads showing you where each big battle happened. It is good to see these in person, because you can imagine how it would have actually gone down. When you see a cornfield in which 2,500 people were killed in 30 minutes, you can imagine how horrific that must have been. Especially when you consider how long it would have taken them to reload the gun! Yikes! I am grateful that we live so close to all these historic places, but I am happy to cross each one off my list and never revisit the depressing history which occurred there.... On a happier note, we ended the day at Cracker Barrel where I got my beloved hush puppies, so I was a happy camper!

Free Couches? Yes, Please!

The "New" couches...
Cowboy William enjoys some time in his pickup truck...

He demanded that the tailgate be UP! If he was a real cowboy, he would have wanted to remove it completely.

Our friends got new living room furniture and so offered us the old set. I jumped at the chance for some better stuff. We have been on a love seat that has been falling apart for the last 10 years, and I didn't really think it was going to last much longer. These are such great couches! They are really comfy, and the whole thing is covered with slipcovers that you can remove and wash. We rented a truck for the day and Jason got one of his friends from work to help us move it. William loved having a truck to play in for a few hours. He even climbed onto the top of the cab! I love to get such great hand-me downs!