Its a....

It has been almost 6 months since I've posted?!  Seriously, how did that happen?  Since the last post a lot has happened, but the biggest news is we found out I'm pregnant again!  If you follow me on facebook, that would of course be old news, sorry. I just entered my 3rd trimester, also really hard to believe, and  I'm currently 27 weeks along! This pregnancy has been very similar and yet different from my previous two.  Different in the fact that I just don't think about being pregnant as much.  My plate is full caring for my two other children, and doing life. I guess by the third pregnancy it's old hat, I don't need to worry about all the other things I worried about with the first two! Its the same in the fact that it has gone very well so far, I'd even go as far to say that this has been the best pregnancy! I've started visiting the chiropractor again because of hip issues but that was something I dealt with in the other pregnancies as well. I have yet to share a baby bump picture so I guess its about time!

This picture was taken on our recent vacation to Maine the beginning of August, one of my favorite places!

We decided to find out the gender this time as well, and I wanted to share that with you all!  We are having another BOY! We are all very excited!  Here is the video we took when telling the kids!

Piper has been sure we were having a girl ever since we first told her we were having another baby, so she was a little disappointed at first but that all quickly changed!  We now have fun asking her what we should name the baby, it's always something different and usually humorous! We haven't decided on what we are naming this little guy yet.  Any suggestions?!

Well, that's all for now, until next time...
-Monica

Piper & Toby

These two... I just can't get enough of them!

A few weeks ago we got to celebrate Piper's 3rd birthday! Where did my baby girl go?!  Toby is not far behind either, his 2nd birthday is coming up fast, he's just a couple days shy of 20 months! I thought it was about time to do another update!  (ps... I finally decided to try and cut Toby's hair myself. I was pretty confident in my ability to cut hair, but not so confident in Toby's ability to let me give him a haircut. He wasn't really into it but I think it turned out pretty good regardless, don't you?)

Many evenings after the kids are in bed Matt and I talk about all the funny things the kids did and said during the day and just laugh!  They are just so amazing, and that word doesn't feel like it does them justice, there really isn't a right word that can completely encompass how awesome they are!

Piper is our little chatter box. She converses with ease these days and sometimes she sounds more like a 13 year old than a 3 year old.  She doesn't get every word right though, one of my favorites is when she says yesternight and yestermorning to try and talk about things that happened the previous day, or week. She continuously surprises me with how much she remembers and how long ago some of the things are that she references!

Piper loves to carry everything in plastic bags these days.  This almost always includes her Teddy, because Teddy goes everywhere with her.  There also tends to be a random assortment of toys accommodating teddy in the bag, or blocks, or all the puzzle pieces from every single puzzle she has!  We got her a backpack for her birthday to hopefully curb her enthusiasm with plastic bags, which it definitely did for a little while but I just caught her in the pantry again the other day swiping another plastic bag.

She role plays with Teddy a lot which is so cute to watch.  I'll catch her reading Teddy books, sometimes when I put Toby down for a nap, she will put Teddy down for a nap too.  If Toby takes Teddy (which happens about once an hour) when she gets him back she will console him and say something like, it's ok Teddy you don't have to cry.

Her favorite show is Clifford, that's pretty much the only thing we watch at our house  Toby also enjoys "clipberd"!

Toby is learning to talk really quickly.  He is repeating everything we say, his little voice is so cute, I could listen to him talk all day! Just this past week he started asking "Whats that called"  or "Whats this" about everything he sees!

Toby is my little helper, he loves putting stuff back!  I'll get something out and he'll immediately ask to put it back.  He especially loves when he can throw things in the trash. He also likes helping me load and unload the laundry, and sweeping the floor. We got this little kids size broom except he brushes it against the bristles leaving more mess than he cleans because they are all starting to fall out!

He's very smart and knows how to push Piper's buttons! This usually entails taking Piper's Teddy or pillow which she is very protective of.  I'm trying to work with them to not just stand there screaming at each other when this happens, but it feels like we have made very little progress in this department :(  He also likes to tackle Piper, its always a toss up how she will respond, sometimes she loves it, sometimes she hates it!

This boy is super athletic, his kicking and throwing skills are quite remarkable. He also has a love for coffee which is oddly hilarious. He knows and points out coffee makers everywhere we go, we don't typically let him drink it, although he has had a few tastes and seems to like it!

Toby finally figured out how to give real kisses, (not the slobbery open mouth kisses) and it is hands down my favorite thing in the world!  I ask him for kisses all the time and he always obliges, I hope he doesn't get sick of it anytime soon because they are just so precious!

To get to be at home with these kiddos everyday is such a blessing!  I have the best coworkers in the world! :)  If you want to see more pictures of the kids make sure to follow me on Instagram @mgibbel.

<3
Monica

6 Talents I've Aquired Since Becoming a Mother

Becoming a mom for a second time has broadened my view, made me feel like I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, again, and helped me chill out all at the same time! With one kid I still felt like I was competent and able to do most things, with two, I've stopped trying to be competent at most things and just decided to be fairly good at the essential things, the rest can figure itself out! That being said I have picked up few extra "talents" that I didn't know I needed to be a mom. However when you make room for new things sometimes other things get bumped... like how to be sociable, or how to look in the mirror before leaving the house, you know the non-essentials (;


1. Doing anything and everything with one hand.  From making supper or vacumming, to getting dressed, feeding other siblings or lets be honest, feeding yourself... the list could go on.  Every baby has those stages where they are just stuck to you, sometimes its just easier to hold the baby than listen to the crying or half tripping over them while they are clinging for dear life to your legs.

2. Juggling acrobat. We are getting ready to leave, and when we walk out the door I'm holding the baby in the baby carrier, the diaper bag, my purse, which may or may not be in the diaper bag, and holding my toddlers hand, all while trying to lock the door and get everything into the car at the same time. This does not include keeping a watch out for the littlest potentially kicking off one of his shoes while walking to the car or throwing out the toy he is holding, and hopefully I'm not forgetting my keys or my phone or the nuk.... (I don't even want to know how it is with 4 kids... maybe by then though they will be old enough to carry all your stuff for you, so you can walk like a normal human being?!)

3. Superhuman strength, but only in my left arm.  This one kinda goes hand in hand with #1. Because I'm holding the baby all the time and I'm right handed, I need my right hand to actually do the work. That means he's usually hanging out on my left hip.  After supporting a 20lb, wiggly human for any amount of time you build muscle pretty quickly.  As I was taking before pictures for my latest attempt to work off this baby weight, I realized my left arm looked in slightly better shape than my right.  Thanks Toby! Now to be ambidextrous so we can even things out!

4. The ability to overlook dirt and mess. I have to admit this one comes and goes, but lets face it, it's just inevitable that kids will be dirty, or make your house dirty, or eat, no, lick, dirt, food or who knows what off your floors.  Sometimes to keep my sanity I just pretend I didn't see it... after freaking out about it on more that one occasion I've come to the realization it really can't be helped.  You can work to clean up the house or try to keep your kids from licking the floor but lets face, they will mess up whatever you cleaned in .5 seconds, and they will still lick the floor just when you actually aren't looking!

6. Feeding 4 people simultaneously. Being a stay at home mom, feeding both my kids at the same time as myself is a pretty regular occurrence.  Even still it takes some skill and organization to make sure everyone has what they need to eat, including myself on any given occasion. My husband, the gracious man that he is, will often take over feeding one if not both of the kids at dinner time to give me a break, but on the somewhat rare occasion that he forgets to eat lunch or didn't have time to eat lunch I feel bad that he isn't eating as well, so I help get him food so he can grab bites while feeding Toby, while I give Piper some food, and also take a couple bites myself. :)




I jest, in some aspects, but really raising kids is no joke. I've always heard people say that but I obviously never got it!  I'm not sure you can until you are there.  That being said I LOVE being a mom, it truly is incredible. I have 2 great kids and a wonderful husband, wouldn't want it any other way, no make up, unwashed hair, snot on my shirt and all! 

- Monica