Completing our Family

Our little family of four can often seem quite hectic and overwhelming (hence the lack of posts since last August).  We are having a lot of fun - but between Benjamin starting kindergarten in the fall, and my returning to work full time in November --- there just hasn't been a lot of time for "extras."

So what do we go and do?  Add more mayhem to the mix! :)

In August, we adopted our now-forever dog Teddy.  This was our third attempt to adopt a dog.  The first didn't like kids, the second was a COMPLETE spazz.  Who would have thought that the dog who would win our hearts and a place in our home would be a pitbull mix?  I was VERY hesitant about him, with an attitude of "prove yourself, dog."  But he did.  He's WONDERFUL with the kids - particularly Benjamin.  He sleeps in Ben's bed with him every night.  And when Benjamin gets in his wild modes, and is loud and persistent in Teddy's face, the dog just licks him.

AND we decided to take the plunge...and have another baby!  We were undecided about whether to have another child, and so waited a little longer than we might have otherwise.  Hopefully that will play to our advantage to have slightly older children with a new baby in the house (Katie will be a few months over three; Ben will be six).  Our kids seem so big to me now - I know they will seem huge when the baby arrives.  While I am enjoying being pregnant one more time, I also feel peaceful about completing this stage of our lives and moving forward as a family of five (plus a dog).

So the news is out...I'm pregnant!  We waited a bit longer to share the news about this pregnancy, as I didn't want Benjamin to overhear people talking about it before we were ready to share the news with him; but I also didn't want to tell Ben until we were ready for EVERYONE to know (because, as we guessed correctly, Benjamin likes to tell everyone he meets about the baby).

We're going to wait to be surprised about the gender until he/she is born.  Ben wants a brother, Katie wants a sister, and Mark and I are undecided.  Guess it's a good thing that we don't get to pick. :)

Here he/she is at our 12-week ultrasound.  EDA: July 17, 2013.

So this should be the last news report you receive about our family growing...unless Mark someday gets his wish about getting a cat...Ugh, I have a hard time seeing that one coming. :)