smell my feet

we had a fantastic halloween. mason was a knight and stephen was, well he was supposed to be thomas the train. i'm suprised i got him to wear the hat to trick or treat!

and how could i forget........

MY NIECE MARIAM!!!!! becky delivered this little angel two weeks ago today on September 30th. she weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and is 20 inches long. isn't she FaNtAsTiC?????? momma and baby are doing well :)
congratulations my sweet sister. you are going to be great at this! (you already are) she is so patient and loving and kind. i am so glad to be sharing this motherhood journey with her!

13 weeks to go

went to the midwives yesterday and had a checkup. all is well in babyland, baby is measuring at around 28 weeks. his heartbeat is strong and steady. no news is good news, eh?
every day that goes by i get more and more pregnant. i feel as if i could not be any more pregnant but know that i am kidding myself. i've already gained a whopping 20 pounds (eek...that kind of snuck up on me). i'm having trouble staying asleep at night, which i partly blame on the lingering cold/allergies/??? but also the constant need to flip over and over till my back gets comfy. so i'm a little tired, which is also stephens fault as he has been waking up at 5 freaking thirty this week. WTF???? yeah, so tired and a tad grumpy. so i belive i am officially into the third trimester and i am getting nervous about this whole 3 kid thing. really its about having my two year old and a newborn. how is this going to work? i think i am going to have to work even harder at letting go of some of my "controlling nature". i am very much a person that is comfortable with and for my sanity relies on the idea that there is a place for everything and everything in its place. i.e. when its nap time a baby should sleep for the appropriate amount of time. hahahahahahahaha...... so where was i? oh yes: letting go. acceptance. these are the keys to a life of peace and serenity. go with the flow kb. (please do remind me when i'm blowing postpartum gaskets over here) so i'm freaking out a little bit :) but i cannot wait to meet this guy. i was watching the boys running around tonight with 'super speed' really enjoying how different and how the same that they are. pretty soon there will be another, brothers. what a beautiful blessing. this is going to be fun yall.
mason has been drawing a lot more lately, really creative detailed drawings. the last few days its been of piranhas eating other fish. i am loving watching his creativity flow more. for awhile he seemed really concerned with doing "it right". not wanting to make a mistake. but lately for some reason he has loosened up a bunch. also the tantrums are less so things are generally much calmer and happier here. stephen is a ham and a half. talking ALOT more. still train obsessed. i love these kids :) my three sons to come.....

Freedom House Update

after 10 months of being open we are FILLED TO CAPACITY PEOPLE!!!!!! and have a FREAKING WAITING LIST!!!!
just had to share that....

Goal!

yesterday mason started on his soccer team at the ymca. they had a 30 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game. unfortunately i missed it, i was at my friends sons funeral. mike took the boys and said that it was really fun and mason really enjoyed himself. i was a little concerned about how the whole thing would play out (not just dad having to take the two boys on his own) but how mason would handle it. when dealing with the new & unfamiliar he has a tendency to be very shy and at times to get very frustrated. he's like his mom, he doesn't want to learn how to do things but wants to know how, already!! it sounded like it was a success. i can't wait to go watch for myself next week :)

6 months...really??

i am now into my 24th week of pregnancy. i cannot believe how quickly time has gone by, although i know that the last trimester is when things start to move at snail pace. i've finally started to feel the limitations that my body has as a result of being pregnant. after cleaning the whole house yesterday AND going to the gym i realize i need to take it down, just a notch or two. really i have been feeling well physically, i like being pregnant. i started back to the gym for cardio a few weeks ago and i feel really great that my big preggo butt is working it. i was SO sedentary with my last pregnancies and i feel very empowered to be able to run for 30 minutes (and to still be fitting into size medium maternity clothes!!!) for those that witnessed my body changes with the boys i know you can appreciate this with me :) i got HUUUGGGEEE!! people constantly asked me if i was having twins...i was like no. just fat. thanks! i LOVE feeling baby getting bigger and constantly moving around in my belly. its such a beautiful thing to be able to be a part of. there is a person. growing. in. my. body. again!! wow. here are a few pics from my u/s last week. he is sucking his thumb :)

the boys are doing fantastic. mason is getting along well in school and some of the behavioral issues we were having as he got adjusted into his routine have been working themselves out. he has been really interested in letters & sounds lately, oh and star wars. gotta have the battle droids! he is eating like a horse and is continuing to grow, we always joke that he has a hollow leg. man that kid can EAT!
stephen is rocking and rolling as well. he talks so much and has been (with help and coercion) counting to three. he is obsessed with trains. did i say obsessed? OBfreakingSESSED. still will barely eat a damn thing and it makes me nutso. he just got over having what i think was the flu last week, poor guy. he is enjoying his mothers day out (as is mommy) and having daddy around more often (as is mommy!)
so things are as they should be at the cottingham home. freedom house is doing very well and after almost 10 months of being open, we are still here!!! with clients...that pay rent....wow! i am so grateful and i think in shock and denial that this thing is/has really happened for us.
in other news my first niece should be born within the next week or so. my sister becky who lives in n. carolina will be giving birth to her first child pretty soon here. i get to go for a visit the first week in november and am so excited for her :) she has been a rock for me my whole life and been such a good friend, i am so happy about the birth of her daughter. i love you becky!!
in other awful/terrible/gut-wrenching news.....i posted a few weeks ago about the birth of my friends son rhyder who was born with some health complications. he passed away on saturday afternoon after being with us for 3 1/2 weeks. i don't have words for this, they all seem stupid and pointless and empty. my heart is so very sad for my friends and their family. i have never been so close to such a loss before. it is.....awful. my heart aches for them and their loss.
i hate ending on such a sad note but there it is.

new beginnings

mason started back to his montessori school this week. it is his last year of preschool before he starts kindergarten (wow!) and has done remarkably well transitioning back into the swing of things. mommy has been tired. i got used to not having to be anywhere at any specific time! i know, boohoo, i had to get the kids up and dressed and out of the house by 8:15, life is hard. mason is one of the oldest kids in his class so he really gets to be a leader this year. there are a lot of smaller kids than usual which i think will be good because he will get more attention from his teacher while doing afternoon work (which is where they work on reading, writing, etc).

we went today to meet stephens childrens day out teachers, i've been calling it mothers day out which apparently is very 20 years ago? it is now CDO, just so ya know. they seem fantastic and i LOVE his new classroom! he starts back next tuesday and i think he is really going to have some fun.

an update on baby rhyder who i wrote about my last post. they are currently being discharged from the hospital to go home. from what i know they have gotten a lot more information about his health and issues that he has, which can all be worked on once he gets a little bigger. soooo we continue to hope and pray for strength for him and his parents!