Reid William Biggs is Here!!

Our sweet little boy has finally arrived! Reid was born on Monday, October 8th at 8:25pm after a long 41 week pregnancy and a long 24 hour labor. He wasn't in a hurry to join us but we are so glad that he finally did! He is our biggest boy so far, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz. and measuring 21 inches. He is simply perfect and we are so in love. Big brothers are very proud and can't believe he's finally here after all of the waiting and the praying. Randy and I feel like our family is complete and are so thankful that God has blessed us with these three boys!

Summer Fun and Pregnancy Update

The boys and I have been having a great summer! And since Randy hasn't been tutoring as much this month, we have been able to spend lots of quality time with him in the evenings as well. I am really loving the family time! I have to admit, when I made the decision not to enroll the boys in any kind of playschool or mother's day out this summer (for the first time), I was a bit terrified that I would go crazy. But honestly it has really been relaxing. The boys are sleeping in every day and it is so nice not to be in a hurry to get out the door with everyone's bags and lunches packed. We have been able to snuggle and eat breakfast leisurely before heading out the door to the gym, park, church library, or a play date. We have been doing some swimming at my parents and have science museum and movie plans coming up. We also have so many family plans in July with reunions, weddings, etc. that I don't see us having any time for boredom! I am so thankful for this time with my two boys before Jack heads to kindergarten and we add a third little one into the mix.

Speaking of baby Biggs #3, I am happy to report that I am finally past the sickness stage! It took 25 weeks but it has finally happened! Of course now, at 26 weeks exactly, I am starting to feel some of the aches and pains that come toward the end so I didn't get much of a honeymoon 2nd trimester. :( Luckily though it is just a little pressure here and there and slight discomfort when sleeping. Overall, I am feeling great and have lots of energy. Baby is moving like crazy and sometimes I can even see him moving. I'm looking forward to hitting the third trimester milestone next week and beginning to really prepare for this kiddo. We haven't don't much in the way of preparation other than moving Jack and Graham's things into the same room, including their new bunk beds! We still have to transition G into the room though as we still have him in the crib in what will be the baby's room. I would also love to have G potty trained before the summer is over. Wish us luck!

Here are some pics of my sweet boys:


And a video of them singing their favorite song:

Memorial Day, My Boys, and Pregnancy Update

We had a great Memorial Day weekend this year! It started out with a fun birthday party for Jack and Graham's sweet friend, Stella, on Friday night. Then on Saturday we spent the day at my parents' pool with Hayley and Nick. On Sunday the rest of the family joined us for swimming and a cookout. The boys are just relishing in the summer fun! The only downside of the whole weekend was that Hayley had an emergency appendectomy earlier in the week so she wasn't feeling stellar and wasn't able to swim. I was so glad she could be there though and we enjoyed laying out and chatting while watching the boys. Jack is becoming such a great swimmer! I am so proud of him. I thought we would want to do a couple refresher swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer but he really is doing well. He's remembering good technique when swimming and can also swim down to the bottom of the deep end now. He can float on his back and swim back stroke and is learning new tricks to do off of the diving board all the time. He's my little fish and I could even see putting him on a swim team at some point. He's really looking forward to our first lake trip in a couple of weeks and says he is going to try to ski. We'll see! I think I was six when I first attempted it and seven when I really skied so he's starting early! Graham has always been a water baby. He uses his puddle jumpers (best product EVER) and is very independent in the water. BB and Grandad bought him a little Nemo toy that could keep him entertained all day in the pool. Graham is growing up so fast all of the sudden. He is stringing together so many sentences now and it amazes me that every day he talks more than the day before. He continues to be a riot not only in what he says but in the looks he gives us. I don't think anyone in the world can make Randy and I smile like Graham can. He has a gift that way and I really can't wait to see how God plans on using it. He has become obsessed with Thomas the Train. Jack likes Thomas now too, but Graham is particularly attached to his Thomas toys and books. He likes to push his little engine "down the tracks." Just now, as he's supposed to be going to sleep, I can hear him saying to his train across the room, "Thomas, can you hear me???!!!" He can name all of the other engines as well and this has been helpful for us in teaching him his colors, which he refused to learn until recently! Sometimes I think we don't give him credit for being as smart as Jack but he certainly is. They are both so smart but in different ways. Jack is very curious, very intent on learning every detail, and very focused on being right and knowing as much as he can. Graham really only focuses on something if he's particularly interested in it and even if he knows the right answer, he likes to say something silly instead to get a laugh. He does enjoy being praised though so he impresses us with his knowledge when he can. As for me, at 22 weeks pregnant, I am still suffering from morning (which is really all day) sickness! It really is not pleasant and I can't believe it's hanging on so long this time! It isn't every day anymore so I do think it's slowing down but really, this is ridiculous. On the days with no nausea, I feel great! I am sleeping pretty well still and have plenty of energy on most days. The exhaustion that I felt the first 16 or so weeks has let up and I'm able to stay up later at night which is nice as Randy and I have time to spend together now. I am starting to feel big but my weight gain is pretty much on track with the other pregnancies (maybe slightly higher this time). I am feeling baby kick lots now. He is very active and I think pretty soon we'll be able to see him move! I feel like this pregnancy is flying by and we haven't done a thing to prepare for his arrival. Life is busy with two active boys already but it will all come together at some point! I can't wait to meet baby Reid!

It's a...

BOY!!!!!! And we couldn't be more excited! The ultrasound was just wonderful yesterday. The minute the tech put the camera on my stomach, Randy and I both saw clearly that it was a boy. The tech said, "I think you all already know, but I'm going to wait until the end to tell you." I didn't want to be too sure just in case but was already overjoyed. The best part though was seeing everything measure exactly right, seeing the four chamber heart, five fingers on each hand, etc. What a blessing to have a healthy baby. I am so thankful. I commented to Randy halfway through that this baby wasn't sucking his thumb like the other two. But I spoke too soon because a few minutes later, there went his hand right to his face and stayed there the rest of the time! Just like a Biggs boy. :) Of course we would have loved a girl too, but I really feel complete with my sweet boys and feel like I was always meant to be a mom of boys. I can't wait to meet baby Reid and see how his personality is similar/different to the other boys. I hope they will grow up to be the closest of friends! Randy and I decided to surprise the boys after school with cupcakes that had blue filling inside. Jack was very anxious to find out and had actually been praying for a girl so I was just hoping he wouldn't be completely heartbroken. The cupcake must have softened the blow because he took the news well when he discovered the blue icing and was very excited! Graham was happy to have a cupcake but other than that showed no signs of having any clue about what was going on. :) I think he's in denial about not being the baby anymore but I have a feeling he will love being a big brother once it happens!

Pregnancy Update

Well, I'm almost 18 weeks along and can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by! We will find out this Thursday whether we're having another sweet little boy or adding a precious girl to the family! I cannot wait to know. It will really make the pregnancy feel "real" and make our family feel complete to know whether we'll have three boys or two boys and a girl. I honestly have no inklings either way, not that it matters since my instincts have been wrong both times. :) As for how I'm feeling, I am feeling better. I am not all the way through the sickness yet which is disappointing but I feel like I'm toward the end of it. Most days are good but I still have some really sick days (usually evenings) in the mix. The baby does not seem nearly as active as my other two. Maybe that's a good thing? :) I honestly have worried a bit because I don't feel much movement. I know it's early but both boys were VERY active and easy to feel (even for Randy) at this point. He has felt this baby kick but it is certainly less noticeable and less often. I will be happy to see the ultrasound and verify that baby is growing and thriving in there! We think we have settled on names. I really wanted to have names picked out when we found out the gender so that we could go ahead and start calling him/her by name right away (no more "it!"). As of now, a girl will be named Sylvie Kaye and a boy will be Reid William. So excited to find out which one it will be!!

Pregnancy Update

Ugh. That's pretty much all I can say about the first trimester! This pregnancy has been no different from the others in that I have been so sick and so tired from six weeks on until now (14 weeks). With the other two, it began to subside at 14 weeks and was pretty much gone by 16, so I think I'm at the end of this stage, but seriously. Yuck! It is much harder keeping up with two active little boys when you don't feel well and have a husband who is working lots of hours for his new business. I'm working on not complaining though, as this baby is such a tremendous blessing and worth every bit of sacrifice on my part. I am so excited to hit this second trimester where I should start feeling more movements, feel better physically, and find out the gender!! We are so excited to find out this time so that we can really get to planning if this baby is a girl. For a boy, we're pretty much all set, although I must say I'm a bit tired of some of these clothes by now...

Randy and I have been working on names and have settled on a name for a girl. She will be Sylvie Kaye Biggs. However, we are not making much progress on boy names. We already used the two best boy names out there :) and most of the names I like are classic which means they are also very common and have been used by friends. We would like something classic/traditional that is not overly used... kinda like Graham. Hmmmm... I think I'll wait until I know it's a boy before I get too panicky about this, but it is frustrating not to have a name you love for a person that you love so much! Hopefully we'll stumble upon the right choice if we need to!

Baby Makes Five

I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.
Mae West

Randy, Jack, Graham, and I are proud to announce that we are expecting baby number three in late September or early October! I had so many different feelings when I found out I was pregnant: 1. Thank you, God, for another blessing! 2. Wow, that was fast. 3. OMG, what have we done?????!!! Such a mix of joy, gratitude and fear! I hear moving from a man to man defense to a zone defense is quite a challenge but we are ready and know that God's grace will cover us and take over in our own human inadequacies. We really feel that one more child will complete our family and simply cannot wait to meet him/her and see what God has in store for us. Each child is so unique that we know we are prepared in some ways but in others, we could never be prepared! As for girl or boy, there is a part of me that really wants another boy. Maybe because I'm "used to" boys and feel like I would know what I was doing. Jack desperately wants a girl and is confident that the baby is a girl. He was adamant that Graham would be a boy so maybe we should listen to him! Obviously all of us will be overjoyed either way.

I am really feeling pretty well so far and this pregnancy seems very different from the others. I have had some different issues such as shortness of breath and my heart racing. I'm already struggling a bit at the gym which did not happen with the other two. On the bright side, I am not nearly as sick as I was with the boys. Anytime I have felt sick, I've just eaten something and then I've felt better. With the boys, NOTHING helped! Hoping it continues to be this manageable!

Looking forward to the journey!