Andrea Dekker

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A Peek Into Our Week

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Wow… it’s been over TWO months since my last Peek Into Our Week post!

This is partially because we don’t have much to “peek at” during the long, cold, winter months. We stay inside, playing dress-up, trucks, “food”,  house, games, puzzles, reading books, watching our favorite shows, etc.

It’s not bad, but there’s also not a whole lot to write about.

Another reason I haven’t posted a peek into our week lately is because of the big news we shared last week 🙂

In case you missed it, we’re having another baby… and wow, have I been tired! 

I had virtually ZERO pregnancy side effects with Nora or with James, and a bit of tiredness and nausea with Simon, but that was it. This pregnancy, however, is totally kicking my butt!

I jokingly told Dave that it’s because I’m over 30 now and my body is revolting against being pregnant again.

I also decided that if pregnancy sickness is any indication of the baby’s disposition, this baby will be our easiest and least fussy baby. Nora’s pregnancy was the easiest, and she was our most challenging baby. On the flip side, Simon’s pregnancy was my hardest and he was such an easy baby.

So my fingers are crossed that the last 2 months of basically wanting to sleep all day long and and eat only carbs will be “rewarded” with a sweet snuggly newborn who doesn’t scream constantly!

I’m roughly 15 weeks along now and finally starting to feel slightly less exhausted. I’m hungry all the time, but food still doesn’t sound good (I know, it’s maddening for someone who loves to eat!)

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What I’ve been up to:

Despite being very tired, I have managed to cross a few to-do’s off my list over the last 2 months during random bursts of energy:

  • Dave and I did tons of yard work in the middle of February, thanks to a full week of almost 70º temps
  • I did a major purge of my closet and Nora’s closet and moved any clothing that was too small for Simon into James’ drawers.
  • I purged James’ clothing but didn’t get rid of it yet because my sister is having a baby in July (exactly the same as James) and if she has a boy, she wants to look through my things.
  • I read quite a few books (more on those below) and enjoyed watching a bit of HGTV thanks to Dave’s month-long Sling TV subscription
  • I ordered a few cute maternity items from ThredUP.com and did a bit of online shopping for our upcoming vacations
  • I attended our local Just Between Friends pre-sale last Tuesday and found a few cute items for the kids
  • Nora and I went to a bridal shower for my cousin this past weekend

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Nora enjoyed a fun preschool field trip to our local planetarium — oh my word, she thought it was just amazing.

She is elated that we will have another baby around the house and has asked if I could homeschool her for Kindergarten so she could be home with the baby all day long (yes, that’s exactly what I want to do right after having a baby!)

It will be so different when she’s gone 3 FULL days next year — I’m just happy she’ll be able to ride the bus so I won’t need to get out with all 3 of the other kids to bring her and pick her up.

Nora loves school, she loves learning, and she loves making new friends. She will do just fine in Kindergarten next year! She will also be a fabulous big sister to the new baby (whom she desperately hopes is a girl).

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Simon has had a couple big, exciting months….

For starters, he is now fully potty trained (he’s even dry at night 99% of the time). Also, he turned 3 earlier this month (see his firefighter party here).

He talks (and sings) NON-STOP and is so stinkin’ funny too!

However, the biggest news from Simon is that he gave up his “blue pipe”! For the past 3-4 months, we’ve told him that when he turns 3, he’s too big for a pacifier and will not be able to have it during the day at all. We still let him sleep with it at night (because Simon is an amazing sleeper and Dave and I are too tired to deal with constant wakeups from him right now!)

I was so nervous and figured he would cry and cry and cry without he beloved blue pipe during the day… but to my surprise, the transition has gone really well. There were a couple rough days at the beginning, but now he doesn’t ask about it or whine for it ever. We keep it right next to his pillow so he can get it when he goes to bed, and he’s never tried to sneak it out during the day.

Yay Simon!

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James has been interested in hats lately, and has to point out if anyone is wearing a hat by shouting (at! at! at!)

He talks quite a bit as well — and he giggles and “sings” ALL the time. If you need a smile, watch this super cute video of James “singing” Skinamarinky Dinky Dink with me!

The biggest news from James (aside from the fact that he’ll soon be a big brother) is that HE IS FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Once in a while he wakes up asking for a drink of water (and then goes right back to sleep) but for the most part, he sleeps from 7pm to 7am without so much as a peep. Hallelujah!

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What I’m Watching and Reading:

  • Various HGTV shows — thanks to our month of Sling TV
  • Gilmore Girls on Netflix
  • The 5 Love Languages of Children — I’ve wanted to read this for a while now but our library never had the digital version. I finally got it last week and it’s SO good. I highly recommend it!
  • I read 5 or 6 books by Samantha Chase via my free Hoopla membership through our library. They were all cheesy romance books — but quick reads and entertaining.
  • Once Upon a Wager (free for Kindle right now)
  • I read 3 books by Kim Vogel Sawyer (more romance books set in the 1800’s)

I tried reading a few parenting books or “self-help” books but I just couldn’t get into them. I was falling asleep after 2 pages so I had to switch to the romance books to keep me interested 🙂

Our Weekly Menu:

SUNDAY:

  • Leftovers

MONDAY: 

We welcomed the first official day of Spring with Brats on the grill!

TUESDAY: 

WEDNESDAY: 

THURSDAY: 

  • Soup supper / fundraiser at church

FRIDAY:

  • Olive Garden ToGo
  • There was a really good online coupon code and we had a gift card — so we ended up getting 4 full-size meals, 10 breadsticks, and a ton of salad for around $26 (before our gift card). We still have SO many leftovers 🙂

SATURDAY:

  • Went to Dave’s parents’ house for dinner

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We are gearing up for a vacation in Florida with my entire family — it will be the first vacation we’ve taken since James was born (and probably the last “big vacation” we take for a couple more years).

When we get back from vacation, we have a laundry list of yard projects, home projects, and a couple renovations to tackle before the new baby arrives in September.

It should be a fun (but full) spring and summer for the Dekkers! 

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Comments

  2. Hannah says

    Oh I just LOVE these posts so, so, so much. I can’t put my finger on it but I find I’m smiling the whole way through. And by the way, you have a lovely singing voice!

    Reply

  3. Jenny C. says

    Andrea, I just read about your exciting news! I’m so thrilled for you 🙂 Your family is just precious. You & your blog have been a favorite of mine for a long time! God bless the Dekkers.

    Reply

  4. Alicia says

    Your family is so adorable, Andrea! Makes me smile. Also, I can totally relate to the sickness/tired of the first trimester! My sickness is actually typical for all my pregnancies, but still exhausting nonetheless! ESPECIALLY with 3 other kiddos! Hoping it gets a little easier for you soon! 🙂

    Reply

  6. Debbie says

    Congratulations on baby #4!!! Looking forward to seeing what this little one will be like. Here’s hoping your pregnancy nausea subsides soon.

    Reply

  8. shan says

    Dear Andrea, Your whole family is adorable!! Thanks for sharing with us! You have such a cheerful and generous spirit, and your children’s beautiful smiles reflect the love that you and Dave are pouring into them 🙂

    Reply

  9. Gillian says

    Congrats on the upcoming member of your family! Just a heads up to check out info on zika virus zones in Florida though as it’s particularly an issue for pregnant women. Just thought of it as my sis is currently pregnant and mentioned she wasn’t going to go on originally planned baby moon to Florida because of it but not sure exactly where she had been planning to go. Hope you get in some good naps soon and start feeling more energized though!

    Reply

  10. Sher says

    I had my first 2 kids when I was 22 and 25 and never felt “tired” until I had baby #3 at age 33 and WOW what a difference a decade makes in energy depletion!
    Congrats!!!! nap when you can? when is that? 🙂

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Thanks Sher!
      I actually take a 15-20 minute cat nap almost every day!! I have Nora and Simon play upstairs while James is sleeping and set a timer for them. They know they can come down when the timer goes off — but sometimes they just stay up there and play together. I feel like I’ve won the nap-time lottery — I mean, who has time to nap with 3 young kids at home all day!?!?

      Reply

  12. Angela says

    My fourth was a September baby as well, and also born after I was 30. That pregnancy kicked my butt. Probably for a combination of reasons: my being older, having three other kids to take care off, the summer heat, and the fact that the baby ended up being a pound bigger than my others were! : ) She’s the sweetest thing though, and thoroughly adored and spoiled by all her siblings, even now that she’s a “big kid” in kindergarten! I think she’ll always be everyone’s baby.

    After having really bad morning sickness with all my pregnancies and trying all the tricks, I finally found one that worked the fourth time around. I wore a rubber band on my wrist and it seemed to help a lot. Now we have sea bands for carsickness – same pressure point idea. I liked it much better than the Unisom/B6 thing that I tried with #3 – I felt like a zombie with that method!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      yeah, I’m sure the summer will be hot, but I really liked having Nora in the fall (more than Simon in the spring or James in the summer) so hopefully it will be worth the hot summer. We’re traveling so much this summer that we really didn’t want a summer baby to “disrupt” our traveling plans 🙂

      Reply

  13. Janice says

    Surprise! I missed your announcement last week about the coming baby so I was surprised to read today. Congratulations to your whole family! I had to tell my husband at lunch today that “my friend Andrea is pregnant with baby #4.” Since I have followed your blog for several years now, I feel I know you and my family knows exactly who I mean when I tell them something that “my friend Andrea”said. Will be praying for you in this pregnancy.

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Oh good, glad you got the announcement now. I don’t want you to be “out of the loop”!
      I SO appreciate your long-time readership (and all your comments!)

      Reply

  15. Olga says

    Dear Andrea,
    Firstly i wanted to congratulate you in your big news… i am sure it gets harder with age, but i still hope you will feel better in couple of more weeks. If you have done early ultrasound you already have chance quite accurately to predict your baby’s gender by Ramzi theory.
    Also, if you are looking for interesting parenting books i would suggest Growing up Social (Chapman), Bringing up Boys (Dobson), Dads and Daughters (Dobson), Strong Willed Child (Dobson). Please share with whatever parenting books you read and liked.
    God bless you.

    Reply

  16. Denise Z says

    Aw, I missed your previous post. But when you posted that picture of the kids walking ahead and you pushing the empty stroller…I thought “She needs another baby to fill that stroller!” LOL! Congratulations!!!

    Reply

  18. Lane says

    I just love this! I love what a little mommy Nora has become. I love how they’ve sorted all the plastic food by color (my first did this and called them “color matches”). I love that you let Simon keep his binkie – my first was so attached and I got so much unwelcome advice about letting her have it until she was 3 (and at night even longer). One friend even *pulled it from her mouth* and said “you don’t need this anymore.” I couldn’t believe it! I figured if she was sucking her thumb, I couldn’t take that away so easily and it was so very important to her at the time. It was also a package deal with her beloved blankie, and of course we would never take that away. I love that James is sleeping through the night – hooray! So excited for you and baby #4 and hope you’re feeling better soon!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Thanks Lane 🙂
      Yeah, we have LOTS of people who just take the pipe right out of our kids’ mouths — it’s very weird (especially when they put their gross hands all of the nippple part. Seriously!)
      James isn’t nearly as attached to his pacifier, so I might try to ween him off of it at 2 so he’s done with it before the new baby comes — we’ll see how that goes 🙂

      Reply

  19. Beth says

    Congratulations guys!
    We are over here at 13 weeks, expecting #3, and boy it has been rough. I have a pretty tough stomach but this go around the nausea has not been fun, I’m hoping your right about this leading to an easier baby! My oldest is starting kindergarten this fall as well, so I will be following along as our families share similar experiences!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Wow, we do have similar ages of kids! Will your kindergartener get bussing? I’m praying Nora likes the bus because I just can NOT get out of the house that early with Simon, James, and a newborn!

      Reply

      • Beth says

        Yes he will be using the bus, and I am thankful because I hear ya on the “wrangling all the kids into the car, etc. to get to school.” Although the downside we have is, we are currently in an apartment and the bus stop is very close but not as close if say your kid is walking from the front door of your home. And I think at least for kindergarten they require a parent to be at drop off and pick up from the bus stop. So I have to take my 3 yr old and newborn with for that short walk, not looking forward to it, lol!

        Reply

  21. Amber says

    Congratulations to the Dekker’s on baby number 4!!
    I have been reading since before Nora. I am currently 16 weeks along with my first! I’m 38, so it was a surprise and a huge blessing to my husband and I.
    I have been reading all your old blogs about pregnancy. I am so looking forward to being pregnant ‘together’.
    Take care and I can’t wait to hear what your having!!!
    Amber 🙂

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Wow — congrats to you too! We’re only about 1 week apart!
      I always go late though, so you’ll certainly have your baby before we do 🙂

      Reply

  22. Dana says

    We did the exact same thing with our now 4 year olds binky. At 3 we only gave it to him at night because he was an amazing sleeper! You do what you have to do! He doesn’t take it anymore but when his little brother was born right before his 4th birthday he tried to sneak the babies binky. Hahaha

    Reply

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