It's good to be 5

My first born is 5 years old. It's still sinking in...if you couldn't tell. If I think of it in terms of having been a parents for 5 years, or that it's been 5 whole years since he was a tiny newborn...I just can't wrap my mind around it. They tell you it goes by fast, and I know adding baby sister to our family will only speed the clock up, but wow has it flown past us!

Malakai counted down to his birthday for at least 2 weeks leading up to it. He was just so excited to be 5 and once the day came he was mostly looking forward to our traditional breakfast at the Original Pancake House... I can't blame him! When we asked how it felt to be 5 or what he thought about it, his reply was always "good".

I love watching my kids grow into the people God has created them to be. I love watching them learn and I love learning about them. They are always so interesting to me.

Ben + I are discovering that Malakai is mildly introverted. It's not so intense that he has trouble in social situations, but he does get overloaded by them. He does some times get overwhelmed, especially when he doesn't know what to expect. He went to his first vacation Bible school earlier this summer. It was tough at first, but on the last day he asked if he could come back next week. He's also really looking forward to day camp next month and is already in love with Camp Harlow. Something that his daddy is very happy about (Ben has a long history with Harlow).

{directing the camera or acting a little camera shy}

Over the last 5 months since we took Malakai to Kindergarten orientation he has gone from being extremely hesitant to super excited about starting school this fall. I know that my chore seeking, craft loving, project obsessed little boy is going to adore school. It is my prayer that he excels but is not bored and that he blooms socially. I'm so thankful that we've had him in so many social programs, the most of which has been being at church 3 times a week for the past year. I know they have helped prepare him for going off to school since we did all his pre schooling at home. I'm also thrilled that he will be heading to public school with Christ in his heart, something he will surely need to cling to when things get hard. As his mama I want to protect him from anything that might hurt him, but I know that he will learn and thrive in doing for himself and leaning not on his own understanding but that of the Lord, who is always with him. I'm comforted and strengthened knowing he has that foundation to build on.

As I mentioned, Malakai is always asking for projects. Every day he asks if I "have something for us to do together." Most of the time he'd prefer a craft or a constructive type toy (legos, and other building toys are right up his ally at the moment), but sometimes he'll settle for something simple like helping clean up or coloring. He also loves work books, dot to dots and mazes are a new favorite. He's learning to play board games like Connect Four and he always wants to help daddy build things. He has been helping his Grandpa Ron build a cabin in their back yard and loving it. He's also learning to cast on his very own fishing pole with G'Pa Jim. He wants to do it all!

Over the last few weeks Kai has really come into his big brother role. He seems to have grown up overnight to want to protect and lead his brother and nurture his little sister. He is so curious about babies and loves to ask questions about his brand new cousin Luke. He can't wait for his sister to get here. Kai does not like surprises, so when we tell him that her name will be a birth day surprise he has gotten upset to the point of tears. This boy just wants to know everything there is to know.

This morning he had his well check and he was amazing. I'm honestly impressed by his bravery. We talked about shots a few days ago and again today, he wasn't happy about it. This would be the first time he's had shots in his arm. I don't think he's had any immunization or other needs for shots since he was 3! When the time came he winced and said it hurt but no tears, no fits, and he's totally fine. Even I tend to whine for a few hours afterwards!

He's taking after me so far in all of his 41 inches (9th percentile) but is a sturdy kid for looking so skinny at 44lbs (73rd percentile). He's developing right on track, the whole appointment was a breeze.

I'm so blessed by my sweet family and today I'm especially thankful for my new 5 year old Malakai Benson and the privilege it is to be his mama.

our little secret...

If you follow my husband or myself on Facebook or Instagram, it's not a secret anymore. For the rest of you, here's a little video…

{Ben shot this video back in January right after we found out we'd be expecting again. Hence the shaggy hair on the boys, who have long since gotten haircuts…and probably are due for another one!}

We got our positive test on January 4th, we told our families but have been keeping it under wraps since then. First, we wanted to wait until my sister-in-law, Kristi and her husband Nick announced their pregnancy as they are expecting their first child due about 7 weeks before us. Once they announced, we were so close to my 12 week appointment (today) that we decided we might as well wait to hear the heartbeat. The due date is September 4th, but we're thinking (and hoping) we'll end up with an August baby.

This morning Ben + I went in and baby has a strong heartbeat at nearly 170. Take what you will from that as far as old wives tales go on predicting gender, but we'll have our ultrasound in April, and YES we'll be finding out and sharing here. For those of you who don't know- we do keep the name secret. Once we choose a name, we keep it between Ben + I until baby is born. This may be harder to do with 2 very talkative boys in the house, but we'll do our best. 

Here are some obligatory growing belly photos to kick off the baby Pottorf #3 blog posts off right!

{1.5.14 at 5 weeks, 3 days}

{2.15.14 at 11 weeks, 2 days}

And here are the boys, who decided they wanted to pose for daddy to take pictures of them as well. 

Desmond thinks that everyone has a baby in their belly, which is pretty sweet. He's also kind of right. We keep finding out about pregnant friends and family members left and right! 

Malakai loves talking about the baby. Since day 1 he started tickling my belly and saying "tickle, tickle baby!" He says the baby will be a girl and at first he wanted to name her "Alien" but recently he has changed it to "Toothpaste"…I'm not sure which one is better. He loves to be silly. 

I've been pretty miserable for the past 6 weeks. A lot of nausea and headaches, oh and the heartburn! I had heartburn the entire time with Desmond so I'm resigning myself to it again this time. The worst part had been having a sinus infection on top of it all, and I still can't get rid of the cough. Coughing plus nauseated pregnant lady are NOT a good combination! 

I started to feel better when I took some unison and B6 at night a couple weeks ago, and that day was the day Desmond had to go to the hospital. I think it was a total God thing that I was feeling well enough to cart him all over the place and deal with the stress of going to the hospital with a very sick little guy. As soon as we got home we all felt worse and I came down with a fever. That has since gone but I'm still coughing and I'm back to being nauseated. I'm praying it'll pass in the next week or 2…feel free to join me in that prayer. 

I haven't gained any weight, which is a first for me and is certainly a surprise judging by my belly but I've actually lost a little weight (I had some holiday pounds to lose, so I'm not too sad about it) because I have had such a hard time eating…or even drinking. I have to force myself to get enough water and normally I'm always drinking lots of ice water. 

All of us are beyond thrilled to be adding to our little family. Ben + I are very much looking forward to the end of summer when we'll officially be outnumbered!