What a Zoo!: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

39 Weeks

This week marks 39 weeks of pregnancy. Although overall I would say this pregnancy has flown by, these last 2 weeks have seemed to last an eternity! I can't believe this journey is almost over. Part of me thinks I should have enjoyed it more knowing it would be my last time pregnant but the realistic part of me knows that I did enjoy it as much as a I could while still doing all the things I had to do to keep up with the other 3 kiddos. Robb and I are very anxious to meet this little girl and it is fun that the kids are old enough to understand what is going on this time around so we can share our excitement with them also. They have had fun keeping the name a secret and helping us get everything ready for the baby. Now we just WAIT and WAIT. At my appointment on Thurs the Dr said that nothing had changed and that the baby actually may have moved up higher instead of dropping lower. Not the news I wanted to hear but I guess we have Feb. 4th scheduled whether she is ready or not. I was hoping that scheduling for so late in my pregnancy would make it so the baby was good and ready but for this little girl that doesn't seem to be the case.

Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our Sweet and Sassy little 5 year old!

Abby, you have added an entirely different dynamic to our family when you came along 5 years ago. You have known you were the princess of the family from day 1 and have had your brothers wrapped around your finger from the first time that they saw you. You have grown up so much in the last year and it will be fun to see you fall into the role of BIG Sister instead of always the Little Sister. We have no doubt that you will be a wonderful big sis! You have been preparing for this job for many years now by being a little mommy to your babies and even trying to mother your older brothers. Your baby sister will be very lucky to have you show her how to be a princess of the house and I have no doubt that she will be a very well dressed baby since you have already decided that you will be her "clothes picker outer".

This year with the due date so close to Abby's birthday we didn't have a big family birthday party but instead people just came down to see us when they could. It was fun having the grandparents come down and spend the day with us. Abby opening her golf clubs from Grandma and Grandpa Lutz. They are determined that all our kids will like golf. I hope that is true for Robb's sake! Abby does really enjoy going to the range and who could resist having pink clubs!

Grandma and Grandpa Mattern got to come down and see you for your birthday too. You loved your piano book.

These 2 are too cute together! Thanks Andy for the flower charm to add to my charm bracelet!

Daddy and Abby

Mommy and Abby

On your real birthday, you had a busy day planned for everyone! You had preschool in the morning and then we came home and did your spin paint set before your brothers came home. For supper you choose to have PAPA Johns Pizza with extra garlic sauce and bread sticks. After supper we opened presents and then you had your Frozen cake. I think all in all you had a good day.

Bryce and Caleb worked in the garage on a night that was freezing cold to build you a necklace holder. You have pretty sweet brothers!

You got balloons like you wanted and we finally found the Elsa dress so that you could dress up like both of the Frozen characters.

We hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Reading Recovery Graduation

At the beginning of 1st grade Caleb had tested on the low end of reading and was put in the Reading Recovery Program. The teacher and a lot of parents told us that we were lucky that if he needed help that he had tested low enough to be in this program because it was very good, but as parents it still made us sad. We of course,wanted him to get the help that he needed to be successful but we worried what pulling him out of class for special reading classes would do to his confidence and in a way we felt like we had failed to prepare him in reading.
After getting over our initial feelings of apprehension about it, we tried really hard to make it seem like a very positive thing when we talked to him about it. Caleb can be laid back when he wants to be and he didn't seem too worried about it. So for the next 20 weeks he met with Mrs. Albrecht the Reading Recovery teacher everyday for 30 minutes of 1 on 1 reading time. At first he started out at a reading level 3. By the end of first grade, they expect them to be at a 20 to be considered "on target". This seemed like an almost unreachable goal but we kept up with the homework and he kept working with the teacher. Every night he brought home 2-4 books from his reading level that he had worked on that day and had to read them to us. He also frequently had extra words to study or write. He was quite the trooper and after our initial shock of do first graders really need to have 30-40 minutes of homework a night we just made it part of our nightly routine for both boys.
Slowly at first and then more quickly at the end he really transformed into quite the reader! Starting out with 50 word books that were a level 3 and now moving to 400+ word books that are reading level 17-18 had been the drastic improvement that he has made. It is fun for me to sit down and be able to help both boys now read easy chapter books. They have both worked really hard to become such good little readers! Our goal of getting to a level 20 by the end of the year is no longer an unobtainable goal but a goal that Bryce has already met and one that Caleb is sure to meet or exceed by the end of the year. We are so proud of their hard work and so happy to have such great teachers working with them to help them reach their goals.

Basketball

Bryce and Caleb were old enough to start playing actual basketball through the YMCA this year. They were incredibly

excited. For the last 2 years the only thing that was offered for their age was basketball skills clinics so playing a real game is really exciting.

Robb being the great dad that he is, volunteered to coach the Rockets team this year. The boys love it when Robb coaches. He has his work cut out for him. They are still just a little too little to understand the rules and the important basics such as dribbling. Bryce and Caleb love playing basketball in the driveway with Robb so they have a little bit of a clue what they are doing but at this age it is fun to watch them either way.

During their last game both boys made a couple baskets so that made their day!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Birthday Celebration at Pre-School

Abby got to celebrate her 5th Birthday at Preschool a couple weeks early. The teacher was nice enough to realize that celebrating on the 29th was getting pretty close to our due date so we celebrated a couple weeks early.

Abby thought long and hard about what ring decorations she wanted on her cupcakes. It was really important to her to have something that both the girls and the boys liked. She finally decided on Scooby-Doo rings. She helped put on all the rings the morning before school.

She took her spot on the line leader chair the second we walked in.

Thanks to her teachers Sueann and Diane for making school so much fun! She had a great line leader day!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

37 Weeks

We are now 37 weeks and I feel as big as a house! I am feeling so ready to have this little girl! At my 37 week Dr appointment he said I wasn't dilated yet so probably won't get to meet this little girl this week but I wouldn't complain if she came before her scheduled February 4 C- Section date! After a little scare of having contractions for about 3 hours the other night I now have my bags packed and I am ready any time!

Princess Tea Party

Last weekend we had Abby's Princess Tea Party. She got the short end of the stick last year after I broke my ankle and we had to cancel her party. This year with the baby's due date so close to Abby's actual birthday we decided to have the Tea Party early so that it wouldn't get cancelled again. The week before the party Robb and I both ended up getting influenza A and I was sure that we would again have to cancel but luckily none of the kids got sick (which was nothing short of an act of God!) so the party went on as planned.

Abby had this entire party planned in her head. She helped me shop all week to get ready for the big day. As expected it was a bit of pink overload. She had decided awhile back that she wanted to be Princess Anna from the new movie Frozen. The morning before her party we let her open a gift from Mom and Dad which was the Anna dress she wanted to wear.

7 of her little friends were able to come. It was adorable to see all the little girls dressed up like Princesses. Grandma Susie and Grandma Hansen were lifesavers to me and brought pretty much all of the cutsie food that we served. The girls had chocolate mousse in fancy cups, pink jello in glass flutes, sandwiches shaped like flowers, and sugar cookies. They also got to eat on little glass plates that Susie had and drink their lemonade out of little tea cups.

After enjoying tea time we made bracelets. Thank goodness of the extra hands when we were making the necklaces. Becca and Brook were also good helpers to the younger girls.

All the beautiful Princesses

Maddie, Becca, Emily, Ainsley, Abby, Finley, Lennon, and Brook

Our next game was a race with teaspoons and sugar cubes. The girls had to put on high heels and lots of necklaces before they took their spoon to the tea cup.

Presents!

Abby got so many cute things.

Grammy Hansen holding the 2 Anna's.

I think Abby had a great time!

Tasha and I had to get a picture together. It had never happened that we could show off our baby bumps at the same time. Thank goodness for a great friend that is going to be having her 4th too. I will need all the support I can get.

Friday, January 17, 2014

The Name Dilemma

Robb and I have always had a hard time naming our kids, but this time we are REALLY struggling. I just don't want to be "those" people that have to leave the hospital without a birth certificate because they can't decide on a name. I have been thinking about names since we found out we were pregnant. Robb didn't want to think about it until we knew if it was a boy or a girl, so we didn't go to the extra work of thinking of a name for the gender we weren't having. Typical guy! So we have had 6 + months to figure this out and we have gotten nowhere. I have had a name from the beginning that I really like but it is probably a little "out there" for Robb's taste. Robb this time around has been really stuck on the 80's top 10 names and he also has had one in mind the entire time that he isn't willing to compromise on. So here we are at 37 weeks with no decision on a name for this little girl. Abby has had a name picked out for awhile now, Princess Sparkles and Bryce recently has decided that we should name the baby Taylor. Not sure where that came from but he is sure that it is a great name for our baby. Caleb on the other hand hasn't came up with any names by himself but he does have quite the opinions about what names he likes and doesn't like.

Celebrating Lutz Style

Taking shots "of whipped cream".

Doing things you may regret later.

Making a complete fool of yourself while dancing.

Dancing on the table.

Happy New Year!

Last year was a year of many surprises and changes for our family. I am certain that 2014 will be no different. We will be adding another member to our family in early February and as our kids get older and older I am amazed at the new experiences that we get to have with them. I am sure that as usual there will be some curve balls thrown at us but I am confident that we can handle them as a family. I hope 2014 finds everyone happy and healthy and that it is a good year for everyone!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Our Year in Review 2013

January started off a little rough. I broke my ankle on January 17 and that greatly changed the next 12 weeks of our lives but we managed to make it through.

Abby turned 4!

February

Happy Valentines Day!

Bryce started basketball and really enjoyed it. Caleb opted not to play this year.

March

Happy Easter

We also made the commitment to start 2 day a week swimming lessons for the next 3 months. It was a lot but we were hoping that the kids would be little fish by the summer and they were.

The boys started soccer and Robb coached again.

Steph and I threw a bridal shower for Courtney, our future sister in law.

May brought the end of school and I got to go with the boys on their zoo field trip.

Robb finally got the boat he has been wanting!

June

Happy 7th Birthday Bryce and Caleb!

June also brought one of the biggest surprises and changes for our family... We are expecting baby Lutz #4.

Happy 4th of July

We also went on the annual Yankton vacation which was very fun with the new boat. I started a new job in the Endoscopy department at the hospital.

August

We did a mini family staycation at Mahoney park.

The day before school started again we found out that we were going to be having a baby girl. Abby was thrilled and the boys were disappointed to put in mildly.