Our Life With the Littles

The Story of how we met {Part 3}

2012-02-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Read Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.

We got settled in to our postpartum room and around noon my mom made it and came to see us. She drove in from out of state to come and help with the 'big' littles. She now has a birthday buddy, Itty Bitty was born on her birthday!

After a quick visit she headed to our house to pick up the kids and bring them to meet their new baby brother!

They both did very well and were excited to see him! Little Lady came in to the room and said "Where is baby Eli?!" She couldn't wait to hold him and she just ooo'd and aw'd over him. She was also very excited to see mommy and daddy. And we loved seeing our first born, she'll always be my baby girl! I know she will make a great big sister to BOTH of her little brothers.

And Little Dude, I'll be honest I thought he was the one going to have a hard time but he did really good! He's so excited about the "bee bee" that he wants to grab and point out his nose, eyes, etc. Most of the time he doesn't seem to notice Itty Bitty, but he's very enthusiastic when he does! He's only had a couple of moments when I was holding Itty Bitty that he got jealous, but each time he had either just fallen down and hurt himself or he was really tired. I can't wait til he has another friend, his brother, to play with!

And we took our first picture as a family of FIVE!!

We had planned on heading home the next day but we got hit with a blizzard and decided not to risk it and just stay another night. I wasn't looking forward to being away from our 'big' littles another day but it was a blessing from the Lord! Hubby and I hardly knew what to do with ourselves only having one child between us, and a sleeping one at that!! We both took naps and just hung out together. It was a delightful day!

So the following day we packed up and headed home with our newest little!

We are overwhelmed by the love we have for all three of our sweets and even more overwhelmed by the love our God in Heaven has for us! We are thankful that He chose us to be their parents!

The story of how we met {Part 2}

2012-02-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Read Part 1 HERE.

Gradually I started to have contractions but they were not very painful. It felt like everything was going really slow. Hubby had crashed on the pull out couch so I decided to try and get some sleep too. Around 2:30 am the contractions were painful enough that they woke me up. About that time the nurse came in to check on me and I decided to get an epidural going.

At this point I was so emotional and really struggling with how things were going as opposed to how I thought they should be going. I was hard on myself about the decisions I was making and just broke down for a good cry. Hubby was an amazing support to me and just held me while I let it out.

My OB checked me again and I was just at 4 cm. I really felt deflated after learning that. At least one positive about having the epidural, besides not feeling pain, was that I was able to get a little more sleep. At around 4:30 am the nurse came and woke me up because she wanted to put the baby on an internal heart rate monitor. Because of how I had to lay with the epidural they weren't able to get a consistent reading externally. I really didn't want her to put the monitor on internally but it didn't seem to matter. She tried to do it anyway, but an answer to prayer, she wasn't able to get it to stay on. So she gave up and instead had another nurse help get a better reading externally.

At that point she said I was measuring about 5 cm. I kept thinking that it was going really slowly. Shortly after that I started feeling really short of breath and nauseous. Little did I know that I was having contraction on top of contraction. It was around 4:50 am that I told hubby I was going to be sick and he ran to grab a bucket for me.

As I threw up I immediately felt pressure and pain down below. I knew something was up because I couldn't feel any thing else. We called the nurse and I told her about the pain. She checked me again and said I was fully dilated and it was time to have a baby!

Right after he was born!

My OB was in just a minute or two later. I pushed through one contraction and the next thing I knew I was holding my precious newborn son on my tummy! He cried and cried and cried. More than either of the others. It might sound bad to be happy about that but the thing is I had heard many stories about epidurals and how they effect the baby being alert and I worried intensely about how my decision would effect my little one. But God is good and He is always reminding me that He is bigger and He is greater than all things.

After the nurse weighed and measured him, she gave him back to me and I was able to nurse him. He actively nursed for almost an hour! Another praise that assured me that God is bigger than statistics. He's even bigger than any decision that I could make. Shocking, I know! ; P

Part 3 coming soon!

The story of how we met {Part 1}

2012-02-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

I need to tell our story even though I wasn't sure if I would share it as it was happening.

It wasn't how I imagined it happening at all. Then I remembered that it happened just the way He knew it would happen and there are sweet blessings through out our story that He wrote.

Wednesday morning I went to my scheduled OB appointment and I hoped for news of progression in how dilated I was. I knew our little guy had "dropped" {basically his head was in position to engage the birth canal} just a few days earlier. I didn't want to get my hopes up but being that Little Dude came at 38 weeks, it was in the back of my mind that maybe Itty Bitty would follow suit.

I was first informed by the nurse that my blood pressure was elevated and there was protein in my urine. She explained that those are signs for preeclampsia. Immediately thoughts of fear and imagining the worst came to mind and since I was already feeling emotional the tears were welling up in my eyes.

My OB decided to have my fluid level checked by ultrasound and also do more in-depth testing. She told me she'd call when she gets the results. If anything came back abnormal she wanted to induce me that night or in the morning. She explained the risks of it turning in to eclampsia and the advantage of me being almost 39 weeks was that the baby was considered full-term and had high chances of being just fine.

I left the office felling very uneasy and got to my car and bawled. I didn't want to be induced but rather go into labor naturally. I was excited to have and meet our baby but had mixed feelings about doing it this way. I trust my OB and knew she understood how I felt about wanting to give birth naturally, but she wanted to do what was safest for the baby and for me.

I called hubby and told him the information I had received. Waiting to hear back from the doctor was difficult and I struggled with feeling anxious. Part of me was excited about the thought of meeting our son with in the next 24 hours. The other part of me was so nervous about the decisions hubby and I would have to make, if they would be the 'right' ones.

That evening a little after 5 pm, my OB called and gave us the results of the tests I had done earlier in the day. They indicated that I did have preeclampsia and she wanted to go ahead with inducing me into labor either that night or first thing in the morning. She did give me the option of staying on bead rest for a few days and then re-testing, but having the two littles to care for I knew that bed rest was not a real option for me.

After weighing all the factors involved for our entire family, hubby and I decided to go in Wednesday night after we had tucked the littles into bed. So we finished packing some things and headed to the hospital.

We checked in to the ER just before 9 pm and went to the labor and delivery floor. The feelings of nerves and anxiousness clashing with excitement and anticipation were almost enough to make me break down. I don't think I stopped talking the entire way to the hospital and all through out our wait. Poor hubby was probably a little bit annoyed, although he did a great job of humoring me and just being a good listener.

We had to wait for a room {round two of "there are no rooms at the inn" like we experienced with Little lady's birth, although I didn't have to labor in a triage room this time so that's a plus!} and hubby did his best to distract me with a game of Cribbage. Around 10:30 pm they got me settled into a room. At this point I wasn't having any contractions and I was dilated to 3.5 cm. My OB was in surgery so the nurse put my IV in and started me on Pitocin.

When my OB arrived I requested that she break my water in hopes of getting my body to start laboring on it's own. At 11:30 pm she broke my water and the waiting game continued...

Happy Birthday, little one!

2012-02-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, February 2, 2012

at 5:06 am

weighing 7 lbs 0 oz and 19 inches long,

we welcomed our newest baby boy,

sweet Elijah "Eli" James

in to our family!

He is so very loved.

38 weeks {Itty Bitty}

2012-01-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of a 6-7 lb watermelon!!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 22 lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Yes, I'm having a hard time finding shirts that cover my tummy.

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: He shoves his feet and heels in to my ribs. I am pretty sure that he has dropped now so there is a little more room up top.

Sleep: Acid reflux has been my worst enemy. I have had the weirdest dreams lately. Sometimes it feels like I haven't even slept from such active, vivid dreams!

Symptoms: Just Braxton Hicks, heartburn/acid reflux still, no appetite {no room!}

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy. Being able to do more with the Littles.

Cravings: Not much of an appetite any more, I haven't been craving anything really.

Best Moment this week: Realizing that we are so very close to having another newborn and our THIRD child...

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant and I just can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

And for comparison, here I am at 38 weeks with Little Dude, the day I went into labor!

Little Dude {15 Months}

2012-01-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

My handsome boy, you are 15 months {and some days...} old.

And you are finally walking!

You are talking all.the.time! It's seriously the most warming thing to my heart to hear you and your big sister talking to each other and playing together! You two play together all the time and laugh, oh the laughing. I don't even know what you are all laughing about most of the time, you just feed off of each other. I pray that your relationship with each other continues to grow and you can be friends as you go through life.

Of course, things are perfect and you guys have your moments. You are so different from your sister when it comes to discipline. If I tell you "NO" sternly you just look back at me and laugh. As soon as I tell you no you throw yourself on the floor and kick and grunt, giving attitude. It's challenging figuring out the best way to discipline you being only 15 months old.

You take after your daddy in so many ways. You love to study everything and will spend a long time pulling, tapping, twisting, etc until you are satisfied with all that the object does. If you are going to attempt something, taking walking for example, it's got to be perfect or you just don't want to do it. After you stand and maybe take a couple steps but fall or step on a toy and fall down, you get upset and either just sit there mad or continue on crawling. I love watching you stand up {especially when no one is watching} and wait a few minutes, determining in your mind that you can do it before even take a step. You are vary thoughtful.

Lately you have a couple things you say that just melt us or have us in stitches:

1. You put your little hands up in front of you and say "Hug?" You love to give hugs! And blowing kisses, gah! You learned to give them from your sister but oh.my.goodness. It is the sweetest thing ever!

2. You started to make a thinking sound "mmmm" before you say what you would like to have, for example, "Mmmmm, milk?" Cutest thing.

3. Your favorite book right now is 'Good Night, Gorilla' and the way you say gorilla, ok I'll admit, I ask you to say it over and over because it doesn't get old! It sounds more like 'Lala' but you roll the l's in just the sweetest way. You love to read it and make the animal sounds on each page. You now do elephants, tigers, dogs & monkey sounds.

4. I think you learned it from your sister, but you pat my swelling tummy and say 'bro-der' and I wonder if you have any idea what it means... You do the same when you see the pack'n'play set up in our room and the Boppy pillow. It really melts my heart. And I pray that you are excited about him someday as you are right now.

I can't believe you are on the move, but I know you will go great places! I pray that you grow to be a man grounded in the Lord, steady in your steps as you trust in Him.

We love you so much, little dude.

Happy 15 months!

Our 'big' girl.

2012-01-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a week.

Little lady has made the 'big' transition from crib to toddler bed. It didn't happen the way that I had imagined it would happen. We have put it off for so long because she has always done so well with her crib and, well why mess with something that is working!

She had crawled in and out of her crib maybe twice and when I told her sternly that she wasn't to do that, she never did it again. But it came time that something had to change.

Roughly two weeks ago she started having, I guess I'd call it panic attacks when we would put her to bed. She would act afraid but not of anything in particular. She would just start screaming and franticaly crying as soon as we would leave the room, in fact she wouldn't want us to leave the room but stay while she fell asleep. And even if she would wakeup and we weren't there she would scream and cry until we came back in. This would go on until she was hysterical and not able to talk through her heavy breathing.

It was probably the most difficult situation we have faced as parents so far. I was at the point of hysterical crying myself and felt so helpless as to where to go for help or what to do to resolve the issue. I desperately wanted to help her feel safe and know that she could sleep and fall asleep without any fear.

We tried all that we could think of on our own. We prayed with her, prayed over her room, prayed for her while she fell asleep with us sitting right by her bed. Sang worship songs, talked to her about how Jesus is with her and she can talk to Him when she is afraid. She understands and knows these things, but she was still having anxiety about us leaving her.

She would just cry that she misses us and wants us to stay with her, right by her side. It was heartbreaking. Finally we did what we should have done first. Hubby and I went on our knees before the Lord and asked for wisdom and direction on how to take care of our baby girl. How where we to handle the situation to help her work through it without causing more problems or catering to possible age related control battles.

After crying out to God for His direction and wisdom in the situation we decided to look online for any kind of information. Hubby found an article that pretty much described exactly what we were experiencing. It said that it was a form of separation anxiety and that being a toddler and still in a crib can sometimes make it worse. That is creates a barrier and they can feel trapped.

There were other suggestions to help her work through the separation fears. That's when we knew it was time to take the crib down and bring out her toddler bed. We had a toddler bed in storage that a friend found for us at the thrift store back before Little Dude was born. I was nervous about how it was going to go but I really think the desperation for something to help with her separation anxiety overshadowed any reservations I had about how the toddler bed would go.

We set it all up and made a big deal about it. We got her a 'grown up' size pillow and rearranged her room {she has so much more free space in her room now with out a bulky crib!} to be more of a play room. She was so excited and both kids came in and immediately went up on her new 'big girl' bed! So far the transition has been a very positive one and Little Lady is begging me to go up there and play in her room all day long! Sometimes I let them go up there and put a baby gate in her door way so they can play and I'm able to get stuff done! It's really been great.

That's day time anyway. Nights and naps are hit and miss. Part of the process is to tuck her into bed and assure her that you will be back to check on her. Sometimes I sit with her for a couple minutes but then I leave and wait a while before I come back. At first I could only be gone for 2 minutes before she would start to panic again. But gradually we have made it longer and longer and now I can leave and sometimes she is out cold before I return to check on her.

The hardest part is having to leave her door open now, but she prefers it open. Hubby and I have to tip toe around until she falls asleep and that can be frustrating. But as soon as she's asleep we can go through the upstairs freely and she usually sleeps through even her brother waking up.

It's hard to believe my baby girl is a 'big' girl now, I can still remember setting up her nursery when I was pregnant and then bringing her home and just holding and rocking her in there. I'll always have those memories!

36 Weeks {Itty Bitty}

2012-01-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind on pregnancy updates! I can't believe the last time I updated was 28 weeks at Thanksgiving...

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of a 6 lb watermelon!!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 22 lbs total

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and out growing what few I do have...

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: He is all knees and elbows! It's getting so cramped so I feel everything! From a full roll over to his little hiccups.

Sleep: Acid reflux has been my worst enemy. I have to not eat several hours before going to bed, which usually means I go to bed hungry but I guess it's the lesser evil. I also wake up in the night and can't get back to sleep so I just lay there or turn from side to side until I can get back to sleep.

Symptoms: Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions lately. I have to take it easy and try to not lift the kids too much or I'll start having contractions. I'm so winded whenever I use the stairs, which is everyday because we live in a split level house!

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and not needing a body pillow in bed. Being able to do more with the Littles. Eating only 3 meals a day instead of having a few bites of something every other hour and being full because I have no room for food anymore!

Cravings: Not much of an appetite any more, I haven't been craving anything really.

Best Moment this week: Getting Little Lady into her big girl bed and having her like it so much! I think she is going to do really well when her new baby brother comes!

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant and getting back to being a not pregnant me. I just can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

a little bit of independence

2012-01-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

The first time my baby falls a sleep in their bed with out me rocking them, it's always difficult for me.

I don't know what it is but there is something about rocking my sleepy baby and having them give in to the weight of their eyelids, hearing that heavy sigh of total relaxation as their bodies and minds drift off to dream land. I know it's not for everyone, to allow a 15 month old to need me rocking him or her to sleep before putting them in their bed. That's ok.

Ever since I held my daughter in my arms for the first time I knew that I would hold her, rock her to sleep for as long as she allowed me to. They only stay little for a short time. I never wanted to look back and think I should have rocked her to sleep longer. Or regret rushing her into a little bit of independence.

And when my son came along, I decided that any way that I could I would do the same with him. I would rock him to sleep until he didn't want to be rocked to sleep any more. It's been much more challenging having a toddler running around the house who needs my supervision pretty much all the time still. But we have managed and I've been able to rock him to sleep for bed and for naps.

Today was different. I didn't see it coming, I didn't with his big sister either. Lately my little 15 month old son will fight going to sleep, even though he is too tired to keep his eyes open. He fights with them shut. If he resists me by arching his back then I simply lay him in his crib and tell him 'night-night' and leave the room. Usually I return when the sound of his tears turns to a sound of surrender and I pick him up and rock him to sleep.

Today he resisted and I laid him down, but he never cried. He talked and moved around and stayed content. So I left him in there. I knew I would go back in if he began to cry enough that I knew he was ready. It wasn't long though, before I couldn't hear him moving around on the monitor. I listened closer... nothing.

Being the panicky worrier that I am my first thought is he's dead! and I swiftly but quietly crack open his door to check. He's asleep. He's asleep!.... He's asleep... no crying, no fussing... no rocking.

And don't get me wrong, it's bittersweet. With the birth of our third baby around the corner I've been {secretly} praying that he would get to this point. And just the way his sister did, in the eleventh hour of our third child's birth, he gains a little bit of his independence. And I'm proud of him.

Spring day in January!

2012-01-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

The weather is so perfect today that we had to venture outside and play after nap time!

The real thing

2012-01-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

And finally...

This afternoon Little Dude kept asking me to 'wok' with him and he would hold on to one of my hands and we would make laps around the kitchen and living room. Tonight after dinner he said the same thing but this time he let go and took off for his daddy!! So began the 45 min long session of him going back and forth between us, all on his own accord and a much longer distance at one time than ever before!

I can't believe I finally have another walker on my hands...

Little Dude Walking!

2011-12-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

For Christmas Little dude got a walking toy and it's actually been just the thing he needed to boost his confidence and get him going on his own!

These are from Monday afternoon using the walking toy:

And since then he has taken more and more steps on his own! As soon as I get that video uploaded I'll post it too. :)

Mama got her Christmas wish!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

We started off our morning a little rough because Little dude's ear infection spiked a fever in him during the night so mama and he did not sleep much at all. But it was going to be such an exciting day so I ~~got over it as quickly as I could~~ moped around for awhile, had some coffee and decided to choose joy for the day.

We went to our church for the Christmas service. We thought it was really special that it was on a Sunday this year! After we said hello to everyone we headed home and I let the littles open their stockings while everyone else got Christmas dinner ready. We also waited for some more family to arrive.

Once the roast was settled in the deep-covered oven dish, roasting something delicious, we decided to open gifts and then eat after. The first gift that was opened was the baby Jesus from our Nativity scene! It's a tradition we started this year and I hope that it gives them the visual of how Jesus is the gift we anticipate first and foremost. His birth into the world meant our Savior had arrived on the scene and He is the reason we even have anything to celebrate, because of His death on the cross we have the opportunity to spend eternity in the presence and glory of God!

Next we dove right in to opening gifts. Little Dude slept for most of it but he was able to tackle his pile once he woke up. He didn't seem to mind!

The rest of the day was spent playing, eating and just hanging out. We are so very blessed and I'm thankful to have available all that we do. I pray that we don't take that for granted this next year and remember those that need us to give of our abundance and even to sacrifice for others, the way our Savior did, making the ultimate sacrifice simply out of His love for all of us.

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas with Nana!

I made the kids outfits and LOVE how they matched. :)

Saying 'Cheese!'

Listening to her recorded storybook of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and saying 'Cheese!'

She LOVES her Itty Bitty Baby she got and all of the accessories!

Grammy was very excited about her gift and Little Lady was loving helping everyone open their gifts!

The necklace the kids got Nana for Christmas! She had to open her own oyster to get the fresh water pearl that was inside. :)

Trying on her 'Princess Gigi' outfit. She has worn the whole thing since she got it!

Looking through the 'Jesus Storybook Bible' we got for the kids.

After his nap. He was so excited about this one and of course it was the most twisty tied of all the ones he got...

Christmas EVE 2011

2011-12-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

We had an Ugly Christmas Sweater party at our house on Christmas eve! It was a blast, but apparently ugly Christmas sweaters are a hot commodity so they were hard for us to find.

{Forgot the flash so it's really dark :( }

We had fun any way and the winning couple really took it all the way and it made for a fun evening. :)

Our friend and who the kids have named Pops came prepared with a fun game of live Angry Birds! Well, none of the game pieces were alive but there was a real sling shot, pigs and birds to launch.

The trophy for who ever could get all 3 pigs down with using just 3 birds.

We also played White Elephant with old 'stuff' from around the house! The most stolen item ended up being a potty training doll.... Every one brought a delicious Mexican dish to share and we just enjoyed being in the company of some very near and dear friends who are really more like family to us. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

Joy to the world!

Our Savior is born!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Foto Friday

2011-12-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

My sweet little sassafras!

Little Dude {14 Months}

2011-12-22T19:39:00.001-07:00

You are my Little man! In many different senses of the word, and I adore you more and more every single day.

I can't believe how much of your little personality has come out these past few months and let me just say that you had your mama fooled believing you were a passive, quiet, laid-back kind of kid during the first year of your life!

You have decided to challenge your mommy and daddy in ways I never experienced at this age with your big sister! Every single day you are fighting to establish your independence and let us know that you want to do things the way you want to do them. Such a strong will for such a little dude!

You have finally tipped the scales at 20 lbs!! The only reason we know is because you had your first ear infection and we had to take you to urgent care on a Sunday morning to get you some antibiotics! Poor guy. :( Other than that you have had a clean bill of health so far, only going to the doctor's office for your well baby check ups.

I'm experimenting with your sleep schedule to hopefully get you on a more do-able one before itty-bitty gets here {in 1.5 months!!!} but so far you are letting me know loud and clear that you have your own plan and you'd like to keep it that way. But mama is desperate for you to sleep later than 5 AM every morning!!

You were waking up at 4:30 AM and while some may count that as progress, I'm still hoping for a little more give from you. That's why I've been taking away your morning nap only putting you down for one nap, when your sissy goes down. {Except when you had your ear infection, you needed all the sleep you could get!} But so far I'm just left with a fussy, sleepy 14 month old most of the day.

Resulting in this: falling asleep in your chair during snack time...

Although you aren't walking....yet {all I want for Christmas...} you have taken an interest in making laps around the kitchen and living room while holding on to mama or daddy's hands! They say practice makes perfect. You love to just stand up in the middle of the room and then just stand there while everyone says "Yay, Bubba!!" and claps. Then we all coax you to take a step towards us, at which point you drop to your hands and knees and take off, usually grinning ear to ear. You are a stinker!! Or should I say Stinker Pot, as your sister so graciously calls you!

Your favorite word as of late is "No" and I wish I could describe in writing how you say it because it isn't just a plain "No" but with a little attitude at the end. The real challenge is to keep a straight face and remain firm when you tell us no to something. Both daddy and I want to crack up and laugh at the cuteness of it. But we can't let you know that, because you are, undoubtedly, testing your boundaries {already?!} and we want to establish with you that you, my sweet little man, are not in charge. :)

The latest trick you are most proud of is taking your dirty diaper to the trash can, crawling of course, and standing up to lift the lid and drop it in. I think you have purposely been filling your diapers more often just for that simple thrill of getting to throw away your diaper. But you are so proud of yourself when you do it and other things too! You love to clap for yourself and say "Eh ob, Bubba!" {Good Job, Bubba} when ever you do something you dub worthy. And of course, we all follow suit and clap along with you. ; )

Another new word in your vocabulary is "elp" {help}, and there are others but I can't think of them right now. You're just at the stage where you understand so much more than you can express in words and I try to figure out what you are trying to tell me but I fail many times. Then we see the very short fuse you have {and admittedly got from your mother}.

Over all, sweet boy, you are a delight to our family. And even though you know just the right buttons to push {and at such a young age} we wouldn't dream of doing life with out you and can't wait to see how you continue to grow and develop into just the little man God created you to be!

Catching up

2011-12-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have to wonder why I even have a blog....

Just thought I would that out there. The lack of posts this month is a product of our stage of life! But there are so many things I want to record about this stage of life that it simply bums me out to not get it down and documented.

Oh well, not much I can do to change it now. We are in to our third full week of the new job, leaving the kids and I homebound for most of the day all week long. There are some great things about it and we are still working on our finding our groove. Maybe our groove will be to keep changing it up, like I have been ever so many days.

I am quite frankly a get out and do things kind of person. While that is a good thing for my most often melancholy disposition, it can be a way for me to 'run away' from the things I need to get done. {Enter over flowing laundry hampers, floors hidden by toys and toilets not fit for guests...} Not that I've just snapped into the roll of super-house-cleaner since our housebound lifestyle has begun. But it's easier to motivate myself to do productive activities that show for my day.

Although from the outward appearance my life doesn't look more organized that it was before, but I definitely feel a peace about our schedule and house hold. Not to mention the money we have saved! I am guilty of boredom/ "feeling down" shopping. I go to stores with every intention of "just looking around" but knowing full well that I am completely incapable of doing just that.

This Christmas season has probably been the most enjoyable that I've had in a long. I haven't been stressed about gifts or plans or expectations. Just going with what we feeling like doing when we want to and if we don't do something it's really going to be alright.

I'm looking forward mostly to my mama coming into town later this week, a Christmas eve spent with some friends we love and then Christmas day celebrating the birth of Jesus and experiencing the joy of the through my littles.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Decorating 2011

2011-11-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

'Black Friday' was anything but that for us this year. Actually we haven't even participated in the up before dawn festivities. There has never been anything that I want or 'needed' that badly. And I hope there never is!

Our Friday following Thanksgiving was, in my opinion, much more enjoyable! My mama was here and I wanted her to be a part of our setting up and decorating for Christmas. Holidays have been hard for her with both of her parents passing away in recent years and she is an only child. I'm so glad that she has our kids to give her things to look forward to! They are her future. :)

We set up our tree, village and Nativity scene and pondered what traditions we would like to start with our family. I always remembered doing an advent calendar when I was growing up. Maybe you know the kind, that has the doors for each day and you have to find the right one for that day. Behind each door was a piece of chocolate! Every kids dream. I wanted to do an advent calendar with my littles but I wanted it to have a little more to it.

We also, when I was growing up, would do a different activity with the my mom that had to do with the Christmas season. Nothing crazy, just simple and a way to savor the holiday each day! I like that idea and wanted to do that with my littles. So I did what any 2011-itching-to-craft mama would do and searched through Pinterest for ideas of a calendar I could make for our family to use this year and in years to come!

I settled on this one:

{Photo and idea credit here}

And after adding my own twists and ideas into the pattern here's how it turned out:

I used burlap instead of linen and I love the effect it turned out to have!

Once I had the holder I needed to figure out how to fill it. I came across this advent calendar and activity set for little ones and can't wait to use it with the littles!

Click here to buy it for yourself!

It comes with a little word/picture card for each day's activity and scripture reading. Each day has a scripture reading and an ornament to make that goes along with that part of the Christmas story. After going through the whole calendar we will have read and talked about the Christmas story of Jesus' birth! I also alternated a chocolate kiss or candy cane in each day. :)

There are also a few traditional {and a few new ones} activities that I wanted to include so I made my own cards for those and put them on the days I think they will work best for us. For example, driving around to see Christmas light displays, Zoolights, making goodies for gifts, writing a letter to our Compassion International child, and having a birthday party for Jesus!

Tomorrow is our fist day of our advent calendar and I can't wait to dive in with my littles!!

We also started a new tradition this year with our Nativity scene. Growing up we always kept baby Jesus out of the manger until Christmas morning! I got an idea from here {love this blog btw!} that we are going to start doing each year:

We wrapped baby Jesus in wrapping paper {I debated poking wholes for his nose so he could still breathe} and we'll open Him as our first and most important gift on Christmas day!

Little Lady helped me wrap Him up and reminds me He's there everyday. What joy!

Friday evening hubby and I left the littles with their Nana for some quality time and we went out to have some of our own. After a lovely dinner together we headed over to a local Christmas shop that is very popular locally because they have anything and everything imaginable for Christmastime! We picked out our family ornament and one for each of the littles, another tradition we plan to carry out each year. Here is our family ornament this year:

It's SO perfect and displays our family just way we see it, minus the baby bump of course!

And I just had to share my thrift store find from yesterday, as it makes an adorable addition to our Christmas decor!

I have been wanting and looking for a child's wooden rocking chair forever it feels like. And I finally found one yesterday for $10!! And the littles both love it as much as I do! Little Lady's feet don't even touch the ground yet so I know we will get many years of use out of it. I hope to pass it on to their littles some day too!

What are some of your Christmas traditions, old and new?!

Funny Little Lady

2011-11-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just a few of the sweet and funny things that have come out of my two year old recently and on a daily basis:

* She loves for us to read Dr. Suess books to her and lately Green Eggs and Ham is her favorite. Hubby was fixing her lunch and put her plate of food in front of her at the table. She responded with "Thank you, Sam I am!"

* Hubby was taking her to the potty. On their way down the stairs to go to the potty she was taking her time (she has shiny object syndrome real bad). He told her she was a huge dilly dallier. She replied "No I'm not! I'm Evalyn!"

* She was playing with some of her toys in the bath tub. She has a plastic giraffe she is currently very fond of and as she was playing her attention drew away from the giraffe so it started floating away. It caught the corner of her eye and she turned to the fleeing mammal and said "Hey! Come back here you little stinker pot!" Wonder where she has heard that...

* The other bath toy that is a currant favorite is a tiger and she was playing with it by setting it up on the ledge of the tub and I would knock it in. After several times of this she said "Owie! The tiger bit me." I suggested she tell the tiger that isn't very nice to bite people. After telling the tiger that she said, "You bite me again you get a spanken. You want a spanken?! Ok!" as she proceeds to spank the tiger on the bottom. That was a sign of what our day had been like!

* Hubby was taking our darling daughter to the bathroom when she looks at him without hesitation and states "Bubba is a stinker pot and I am a ballerina."

* She is very much into practicing her mommy skills these days and we find her mothering EVERYthing from her brother to her toys to the Christmas tree! Last night she was concerned that the {artificial} tree was thristy. She found her sippy cup and gave several branches sips from straight from the straw! After sitting on an imaginary chair next to the tree for several minutes, she excitedly hopped up stating asking the tree, "You have to go potty?! Ok!" and pretended to pick the tree up and carry it to an imaginary potty by the front door. And she was very proud of the tree telling her it had to go potty. :)

* And while in the bath tub she had a ball and had wrapped it in a wash cloth saying, "You done? Ok, dry you off." "You want to go in bubbles?" and after shaking the ball as if it were saying 'no' she said "Ok, you go to bed?" The ball nodded yes and she set the ball up on the ledge to go night-night.

* This morning I woke to "Mommy... Mommy..............KATIE! KATIE! KATIE!" over the monitor.

* Last month we went to the pumpkin patch and they had a corn maze there. Upon asking Little lady if she liked the Corn Maze she replied with "It's Cornmazing!" Gotta love that girl!

* The other day around nap time I was putting Little lady down for her nap. Over the monitor I could hear her talking and what not... her usual routine before she falls asleep. It went on longer than usual so I went back in her room to remind her that it was nap time and not play time. Upon entering her room I found clothes on the floor and a half naked 2 year old in her bed. When I asked her why she took her clothes off she replied. "I need to go to the swimming pool."

And that is all for this installment of Funny Little Lady!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

A few of the many things I give thanks for.

2011-11-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 28 Weeks {3rd Trimester!!}

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of a squash!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 11 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yes, but I'm much more comfortable in comfy or pj pants and t-shirts.

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: Getting stronger everyday! At night especially but even through out the day he is moving around in there. I can even see my stomach pop out at some jabs!

Symptoms: Most of the symptoms have died down, but I can tell it's the 3rd trimester as I'm usually ready to go to bed for the night by 2 pm.

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and not needing a body pillow in bed.

Cravings: Pumpkin pie or anything pumpkin. Lucky me since it's Thanksgiving week!

Best Moment this week: Realizing I finally made it to the 3rd trimester! It's exciting to think that we are going to have another newborn in the house in less than 3 months!!

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant and getting back to being a not pregnant me. I just can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

Little Dude {13 Months}

2011-11-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

What can I say about you, sweet boy, at 13 months?

You have grown and changed so much in the last 30 {+} days! No walking yet, but you are a speedy crawler and I think you are happy with that right now. You love to roll around on the couch and will even stand up with out using anything while you're on the couch. You'll even stand there for a minute or two, swing your arms around and just look steady as a rock! But if we even try to walk with you by holding your hands, you are like putting a cat in water and keep your feet off the ground. Stinker!

You adore your big sissy and often wait for her at the bottom of the stairs while she is taking her nap or in the morning before she wakes up! If we didn't have a gate up at the stairs you'd be up there in heartbeat, you are a stair master!! The only reason I keep the gate up is to keep you and your sister where I know where you are at all times.

We are finally over the hurdle, for the most part, of your gag reflex keeping you from eating solid foods. In fact I am starting to see what everyone warns me about having a boy... you are eating 99% of the time you aren't sleeping! But I won't complain yet because you will eat anything I put in front of you and everyone knows mamas love a non-picky eater!! Lets just hope it stays that way. I wish I could say what your favorites are but you're just excited when I put food down in front of you so it's hard to tell!

Surprisingly, you are pretty good at communicating. You know where the cups are and crawl over to them and point when you want a drink, you have your own sign for eating or you just get cranky, and you actually have an impressive list of words you can say: drink {ink}, ball {ba}, up, down, please {pees}, cheese {whenever you see a camera, even a strangers!}, this {when you want something}, Evie, Hi, Bye, dad, eyes {as you point to any where on your head}, pull {as you pull off your socks I just put on you}... I can't think of any others right now. A lot of the times, you will repeat a word you hear someone else say and if we react with excitement you will just keep saying it over and over.

You love 'reading' books, chasing your sister around the island in the kitchen, bouncing around on the couch, being outside, swinging at the park, going down the slide on your tummy, climbing stairs, eating, eating what ever mama is eating, pulling your socks off, growling when ever you see a lion, tiger {or any other animal you think growls}, 'dancing' to music, pulling mama or sissy's hair, drinking from a straw, bath time, and trying to do any and every thing your big sister is doing!

You are an amazing wonder and so fun to have as a part of our family. Just thinking of you makes me smile! We love you and can't wait to see you grow into the boy and man God has made you to be!

Change

2011-11-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Change is good.

Change keeps us from getting into routines and being complacent. Routines feel safe, I'll be the first to admit that! But that's not always what is best for us. Routine keeps us from relying on God and believing we can do life with out Him. When we have change, we are often forced to rely on God and trust that He will take care of the things we can't, the things that are unknown.

But, change is hard.

We have some change come up in our families routine in the form of a new job for hubby! The change has been unexpectedly harder for me than I ever thought imaginable. It's change in schedule, pay, insurance, and everything else we are used to. All the changing, it's brought out the ugliest of ugly in me! Yikes! The last few weeks were some of the darkest and hardest I've experienced in a long while. My rebellious spirit against the Lord was a rude awakening to some much needed change in my heart.

And slowly, I've been able to humble myself to allowing God to use the change for the better in our lives and in our family. I don't trust very easily, and that starts with my relationship with God. If I can't trust the one who made me or has my fate in His control, who can I trust? God's word tells me He is trustworthy.

During this past Sunday's message at church, it was said that "The greatest contender for God's best isn't the 'bad' things. The greatest contender for God's best are the things that I think are good." That statement could sum up the struggles that I've been wrestling with the past couple weeks. God is removing or weaning me from {asking me to let go of} things that in themselves aren't bad or sinful. They just aren't the best He has for me. But I try to tell myself, it really isn't bad or is God really requiring that of you? Which is just the Devil trying to get me of course with my greatest weakness, not trusting in God.

Change is good.

When I let go of those things that are not God's best for me, I feel free! I feel like me again and not a grouchy, ungrateful person that has been me for a couple weeks. I no longer face misery and self pity each morning, but instead see the unmeasurable blessings before me! I am so glad to be coming out on the other side of this cloud and seeing so much clearer that God loves me and He has a plan and He has better than better for me, He has the best!

I can not wait to see what it holds my family. I'm going to try my best to embrace the changes as they come and choose joy for the Lord!

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 7, 8, 9 & 10!

2011-11-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

I know I've been lagging in my blogging of thankfulness, but I haven't been lagging in the actual thankfulness...

Ok, maybe it's been a little bit harder this week to find the things I'm thankful for. It's been a rough week. The Lord is doing some serious sifting in my life and can I just say it hurts, a lot. But it's a good pain. A pain I may find hard to be thankful for today but I know I'll be grateful when I see the fruits of His work in me!

So on to my thankfulness:

Day 7:

I'm thankful that this heartburn, among other uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms, is only temporary!

Day 8:

I'm thankful for my 2yr old daughter who keeps me laughing even when parenting challenges arise. Her

reason for taking all her clothes off in her crib? She needs to go in the swimming pool, of course!!

Day 9:

I'm thankful for 2 out of 3 working toilets and being caught up on laundry!

Day 10:

I am so thankful for a beautiful day to take the littles to the park and get some fresh air today! We all needed it :)

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 6

2011-11-06T19:27:00.001-07:00

Today I'm thankful for my church family and all the amazing things that the Lord is doing through the people. I love that they are just about sharing Jesus, nothing else. I'm thankful for the sound biblical teaching no matter who is at the pulpit and that I am constantly being encouraged in things of the Lord in what ever I'm goin through.

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 5

2011-11-05T11:08:00.000-06:00

I am so very thankful for a loyal, steady, helpful, handsome husband.

Yesterday he surprised me with starting the crock pot dinner before going in to work while I ran errands with the littles. He even left me a sweet note of encouragement.

I love you, Brandon.

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 4

2011-11-04T11:47:00.000-06:00

Since I missed a day...

I am thankful to have another day to be thankful!

AND

I am thankful for the hope of Jesus and his return to come and take me home and be with Him!

Maranatha!!

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 2

2011-11-02T13:08:00.000-06:00

Plenty of snow on the ground and more coming down

baked potato soup in the crock pot

and a day playing inside with my littles

thats what I'm thankful for today!

Thanksgiving Challenge: Day 1

2011-11-01T17:48:00.000-06:00

I'm taking the idea of expressing my gratitude for a different thing each day of this month from Kristen over at We are THAT family's blog. Just like her, I want to take time to acknowledge something I'm thankful for, even if it's just a sentence.

On this chilly first day of November, I am thankful for a warm house and a cozy bed and a hot meal.

What are you thankful for?

First Snow

2011-10-28T21:50:00.000-06:00

We had our first snow this past week and it was so surreal to me. It was gorgeous fall weather on the days leading up to the snow. I'm still trying to figure out where the month of October went! So I took my little snow bunnies to the store to get the proper snow gear in the proper sizes. And we came home and played.

This is the only picture I got of Little dude as I was

trying to keep him out of the mud most of the time.

First snow day of the season: 10.27.2011

24 weeks {Itty Bitty}

2011-10-25T17:18:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of an eggplant!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 9 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yes, but I'm much more comfortable in comfy or pj pants and t-shirts.

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: Yes, The kicks are getting much stronger and even wake me up sometimes! I usually get some kick back when one of the littles is on my lap. Siblings already :)

Sleep: It's difficult to get to sleep between the heartburn and Itty bitty's exercise hour. :)

Symptoms: Heartburn is getting stronger every day. Feeling short of breath after any activity.

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and not needing a body pillow in bed.

Cravings: Apples and carmel dip! Just in time for fall :)

Best Moment this week: Getting to go on a long afternoon date with my hubby. He's my best friend.

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant. I can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

2011-10-25T06:25:00.000-06:00

So this whole Pinterest thing, I'll admit I was a sceptic at first and avoided it for several months after learning what exactly it even was. I saw the potential 'time-sucking' factor and quite frankly I don't need another one of those.

It wasn't until I wanted to start planning a birthday party for our Little dude that I decided I'd sign up and only use it for that purpose.

It started out that way... but I actually saw the value in getting ideas for organization and making things in the name of saving money. I gave my self one rule and so far I've done pretty good with it. That is to only 'pin' something if I plan to use it, and I mean really intend on using it not just dreaming, and if I really like it, and I mean really really won't-be-able-to-forget-it-but-won't-remember-where-I-saw-it kind of like it.

So far I have used it to make Little lady a couple of cute things! And today I got hubby to help me hang some of the other ideas:

Little lady's reading corner.

I got the idea to use Ikea spice racks {$4} for book casing from Pinterest! I love it because it's a simple {and cheap} way to organize and it helps me to keep her book collection down and from getting out of control. Win-win!

The other idea:

Bath towel hooks for each Little. Little Lady's is the flower, of course, and Little Dude and Itty Bitty's hooks both have their first initial on them. Hubby and I found these fun hooks at Anthropology yesterday when we had some time to ourselves! We enjoyed each others company and looked through all of their eclectic style house wares. I could easily decorate our house with their goods!

Our Life with the Littles.

2011-10-24T10:45:00.000-06:00

"Yes, this is our third."

"Yeah, we'll have 3 under three in February."

"Yes, we know how this happens..."

"No, not a single one of them is an accident according to God's plan."

"No we aren't crazy, although we feel like it most days."

These are things I find myself saying aloud, both to people we know or complete strangers. I also often find myself thinking things like, This isn't a muffin top, there is a bun in the oven, as I struggle with being the biggest weight I have ever been in my life.

Hubby and I spend a lot of time feeling like zombies and counting down the hours to bed time as we get through each day with a goal of surviving. Of course that's an exaggeration but you get the point. With two littles who are boycotting nap time and believe the latest trend to be waking up for the day at 4:30 AM and being a melt down mess by 8:30 AM, on top of that exhausting mess of a schedule I'm rounding the corner to the 3rd trimester and feel worn out and winded after sitting up in bed first thing in the morning.

I'm not complaining, who am I kidding, I'm definitely complaining!

As difficult as life with a 2 year old and 12 month old and one in utero is {can I just add that in the last 27 months only 13 months have I not been pregnant, and that's split into a 6 month and a 7 month period}, we do realize this is a season and it won't last or be at this pace forever. And not only that but this, all of this, it's God's best for us!!

He knew it would happen. He knew we couldn't handle it, not with out Him. That's His plan all along and this is the life He has given us. So we might complain and make sarcastic comments about the most difficult things we face right now. We probably will find ourselves day dreaming of a different season, past or future, but when we remember why we are here and Who led us to this place and we remember this is the life He chose for us there is no way we can't be glad in our hearts and praise Him for all of this.

This life He has given us. Our Life with the Littles.

Pumpkin Patch 2011 {Cottonwood Farm & Mays Farm}

2011-10-23T17:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was our second trip to a pumpkin patch this month! The first one was a couple weeks ago when we went with our moms group at our church. Hubby wasn't able to go that time so he was excited to go with us yesterday, mostly because he knew there would be a lot of great photo ops of the kiddos!

The first pumpkin patch was at Cottonwood Farms and I took pictures with my point-and-shoot:

Hubby's pictures turned out much better, but he had me for extra hands! I love the shots he got:

And since it's so fun to compare:

October 2010 October 2011

Dresses

2011-10-18T17:49:00.000-06:00

I found some fabric that I had to use to make Little Lady some dresses! I was so excited to get 3 of them made this weekend! I had a great idea to share them actually on the little lady they were made for, but a photo shoot with a 2 year old is probably the most ridiculous idea any one could ever have....

Things started out well.

{This one started out as a dress but I didn't really care for it so I cut it shorter to be a cute top instead!}

And my little model was still on board for the next one, but she didn't want to stand still for very long.

{This one is my number one favorite of the 3! Love those buttons :D}

By the third outfit change we were just racing the clock.

{It's a little blurry which makes you feel a little dizzy with this fabric.}

And it just wouldn't be a photo shoot with out sharing the out takes.

All the rest were blurry. So there you have it! My favorite past time right now is making sweet dresses for my sweet little lady!

*Here are the tutorials I used for 2 of them. The other was from a pattern book I have.
Junebug Dress
Ruffle Peasant Top

Happy Birthday!

2011-10-14T20:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, sweet baby boy!

You are a year old today and I can't really believe it!

I was ~~too tired to notice at the time~~ fortunate enough to be up with you this morning at the exact time you were born on this day exactly one year ago. 3:51 AM

I couldn't help but think back to that morning when my suspicions were proved right, when the doctor told us, 'It's a boy!'

And boy are you!

Having a sister to compare you to, I see how much of a boy you are.

You are so playful and love to climb on ~~any~~ everything!

You love to study and see how things work, taking them apart and trying to put it back together.

Your favorite thing to do is wrestle with daddy.

And pretty sure it's a favorite thing of his too.

You have stopped bitting, for the most part anyway.

The only time I still get teeth in the flesh is when you are hungry and I've let too much time pass before feeding you.

Speaking of teeth, you've had 5, yes 5, teeth come in all at once!

You have four on top and three on the bottom.

We didn't notice them until they broke through the gums.

And then it made sense why you weren't sleeping so well night after night.

In the words of your big sister 'Ah, poor fing!'

I love these pictures that your daddy took to capture your little self at 12 months old!

They completely capture all your expressions and personality.

You are so fun, playful, and ornery!

There is one thing about your personality I hope you will grow to control as you seek the Lord and desire to honor Him.

That is, that you have a temper. A quick temper and it comes out of no where sometimes!

You can be so upset you are inconsolable and we either try to distract you or just let you work it out on your own.

I love how you adore your sister and crack up at her silliness all day long.

Of course you know how {or you don't realize you are doing it} to push her buttons.

And how to pull her hair. Ouch!

But you two are growing into good friends. You love each other and I pray that only continues to be the foundation of your relationship together.

A couple of your favorite things to do right now is say and give 'kisses'! You smack your lips and you are just so adorable I could eat you up.

Your daddy taught you how to say 'booya' and you say it all.day.long.

You say 'sissy' and 'Evie', mommy and daddy.

And it sounds like you are trying to say things that we say, your just learning so much everyday!

You know the sign for 'milk' and you use it correctly, but you also use it to say that you want more of something. It's the only sign you know so far.

You're a chatter box and you like to hold things up for us to see and you jabber about it like you are telling us all about it.

You are absolutely the sweetest bundle of ~~baby~~ one year old boy and we are so grateful that you are our son. We love watching you grow up and learn. We love you so much, sweetheart!

Happy 1st birthday, Little Dude!

Memory Lane

2011-10-11T13:03:00.000-06:00

Here is the slideshow hubby made for Little Dude's party for family and friends who couldn't make it.

*Make sure to have your volume on!!

Celebrating Little Dude!

2011-10-09T19:35:00.000-06:00

We had a birthday party for our Little Dude yesterday. He will be one years old on the 14th! I started collecting ideas and making decorations for the party a couple months ago. I got pretty much all my inspiration online and was able to make most of it which helped keep the cost down. {You might recognize some of the ideas from Jessica's blog at The Mac's. Love her style!}

The invitation we sent out to our friends and family.

I picked the colors aqua & orange, I just love those colors right now! And I went with a pinwheel and pennant theme because those seem so boyish to me. It's been so fun to be able to do both a girl party and now a boy party!

This display greeted our guests in the entry way. Can't wait to share how Little Dude's 1 year pictures turned out... but that will have to wait so this is a preview!

Circle garland: I just used different sized circle cutters to cut the paper and then ran them through the sewing machine. Simple and cute!

This banner hung in the stairwell and displayed a picture of Little Dude, one for each month, to show how much he has changed and grown in the last year. I chose all the pictures to be B&W except for his 12 month picture. This was a favorite of party guests!

We served Italian Beef and BBQ Chicken sandwiches, chips and veggies for lunch. It was a perfect wintery day for hot sandwiches! Yum.

We set up a kid table downstairs with PB&J sandwiches, goldfish and orange juice boxes. We also had a coloring station set up for our little guests!

Orange sodas with aqua striped straws were fun but it ended up being a rainy/snowy day so the hot drinks were a big hit for obvious reasons!

I used a turquoise bucket we have in Little Dude's room to keep the sodas on ice!

We made an ice cream dirt cake for the guests and a chocolate cake for Little Dude's smash cake.

Our happy birthday boy! He took a nap just before his party and was asleep when guests started arriving. But at least he was well rested and a happy boy for his party.

Daddy had to get in on the smash cake action and show Little Dude how it's done!

There was a variety of party favors for guests to choose from:

- {Gum balls} "Hope you had a BALL"

- {M&M's} "So SWEET of you to come"

- {Gold fish} "Hope you had a SWIMMINGLY good time"

We had a Time Capsule for Little Dude too. Guests were asked to write a note to him and then we will give it to him to open and read at his 18th birthday! Hubby spray painted the glass jar and used vinyl to make a "C" shaped window.

A few pictures of Little Dude opening gifts:

Playing with Grammy.

His train set was a HUGE hit, especially with big sister!

Thank you to everyone who came and made it a successful and enjoyable party! It just wouldn't have been a party with out you all there.

And a particular HUGE thanks to my mama who came out several days before the party to help me set up! She is also responsible for the delicious and popular ice cream dirt cake! Thank you for ALL of your help, we couldn't have pulled it all off with out you.

Potty Training {Day 3 and beyond}

2011-10-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

Monday was actually the 3rd day of our 'official' training. We stayed home and continued our routine with Little Lady and she showed us that she was getting it! She told us when she needed to go and we would take her. She was having less and less minor accidents before making to the potty.

That evening we decided to take our first adventure out of the house and meet Grammy and Auntie D for a birthday dinner for Grammy. I was SO nervous about how things would go and if she would even go on a public potty if she needed to go. I was afraid for her being embarrassed if she had an accident. We just kept reminding her to tell us if she needed to go.

It wasn't until we were close to leaving the restaurant that she told us she needed to go. The first time I took her in to the stall she took one look at the potty and turned back towards me saying 'Too big, mommy. Too big.' She was referring to the size of the toilet, since she uses a training seat on ours at home, and I couldn't help but think our biggest hurdle is that she is too smart for her own good! I didn't force her to go and we went back out with the group. Soon she was saying she needed to go again so I took her back and assured her I would not let her fall in! She wrapped her arms around my neck and finally was able to go!

I had such a huge relief and it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Since then I've been carrying a training seat in a bag in our diaper bag for the times that she won't go on a 'too big' public toilet and that works great. I think she has the control part down pretty well now.

The next challenge we faced was night time. She has only had one night {Monday night to be exact} that she slept all night and stayed dry. All the other nights I go into check on her and she would be wet but still sound asleep. It doesn't bother me that she has an accident, we have plenty of sheet and extra blankets and pj's. I have a hard time with her not waking up when she is wet and continuing to sleep in it. I feel so bad for her.

We've been trying lots of different approaches for night time. One is cutting off all liquids, except a little bit at dinner time, at a certain time and encouraging her to use the potty multiple times before getting into her crib. Those things alone haven't worked yet. I was planning on trying to wake her up 1-2 hours after going to bed to go, but last night she actually woke up when she had to go and stayed dry until I got her to the potty!! She did that twice last night! So she was accident free!!!

I'm hoping that means that it is clicking but I still expect accidents and for the training to continue. I'm just so proud of her for picking it up and doing so well and only being a little over 2!

We have officially have just one in diapers! Of course that is only until February but it's a small victory that feels huge!

21 weeks {Itty Bitty}

2011-10-03T13:01:00.000-06:00

I wanted to update at 20 weeks and share about our appointment and ultrasound but we were in Branson and it just didn't happen. So here we are at 21 weeks instead!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of a cantaloupe!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 6 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Hoping the weather is warm enough for shorts as long as possible! Not looking forward to buying maternity jeans, this is my first heaviest-in-winter pregnancy.

Gender: We are having a boy! We announced it here, in case you missed it.

Movement: Yes, but not nearly as strong or as often as the first two pregnancies. I suspected {and was confirmed at my ultrasound} that the placenta is right in the middle/front of my uterus. This adds a thick cushion so the kicks and movements are felt nearly as much. I'm a little bummed now, but I'll be grateful in the third trimester. :)

Sleep: Still having crazy dreams, I mean really crazy. And really real. I still feel so tired in the morning. I wake up several times to use the bathroom and have to flip often in the night because my sides get sore.

Symptoms: Heartburn is getting stronger every day. Feeling short of breath after any activity.

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and not needing a body pillow in bed.

Cravings: Lately and unfortunately I've been craving chocolate. Why all these things that add to the heartburn?? :(

Best Moment this week: Getting my 2 year old out of diapers! Looking forward to only having one in diapers for a couple months.

What I am looking forward to: Honestly, not being pregnant. I can't wait to hold this baby boy in my arms. :)

Branson Flea Market

2011-10-03T07:07:00.000-06:00

I almost forgot about my exciting flea market find while we were in Branson, MO last weekend!

They had several flea markets that I could have spent a whole day in, maybe even two. I had to apply some self discipline and just keep walking past, only gawking from the window {your welcome, hubby!} But the one we did go in I enjoyed browsing and could have easily picked up ~~junk~~ treasures I was sure I needed.

But I was willing to give it all up when I found this baby doll high chair for Little Lady!!!

I was thrilled because we had already discussed getting her an American Bitty Baby Doll for Christmas. But I knew I'd have to find accessories for the doll else where, because lets just say they are highly over priced at the American Doll store.

But upon further investigation we figured out it's a Melissa & Doug high chair! They retail at about $70.00! Of course this one needs a little work and I plan on painting it all white {I think} and I'm still undecided on any detail to decorate it or just leave it plain.

So, I bet you are wondering how much I found this steal of a deal for???

$9.50!

Can't wait to give this to Little Lady at Christmas!

Potty Training {Day 2}

2011-10-02T19:48:00.001-06:00

Praising the Lord tonight for answered prayers, today was even more progress than yesterday!! I think Little Lady actually gets it, at least as far as going pee. She tells us when she needs to go and we take her to the potty {we don't have a bathroom on our main level} and she makes it with undies still dry.

Last night wasn't perfect but it wasn't as bad as it could have been! I woke up to her stirring in her crib over the monitor and went in to check on her around midnight. She was wet but still sound asleep. I woke her up and got her all clean and back to a fresh bed and she woke up at 5:30a {my kids are early risers...} and she was DRY! If that's the only hurdle we have in the night, we can handle that. I'm going to try something different tonight and hopefully we can get her to make it through the night.

*TMI ALERT

She also experienced going #2 today and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. She just didn't make it to the potty in time but we caught it right away so there wasn't really a mess. I think she just needs to keep trying to make it to the potty in time, she doesn't seem afraid of it. That's a relief.

I must say this potty training business is a lot more draining for me than I anticipated. I kind of had some emotional times this afternoon and I realized that I'm just dealing with the fact that my baby girl is becoming a big girl! I'm so proud of her and know that she is so smart for her age. But I feel like she was just my little newborn and we were bringing her home from the hospital. How can she be done with diapers?!

I'm sure my currant state of pregnancy matched with the fact that this method we are using requires us to stay home and one of us be with Little Lady at all times so we can pick up her signals and always catch her accidents in the act and make it to the potty before she is done has a lot to do with it. It's just physically and mentally draining. But she is so worth the sacrafice. All three of my littles are.

Potty Training {Day 1}

2011-10-01T20:24:00.001-06:00

Our first day went well, I'd even say it went better than I anticipated. But my perfectionistic tendencies had me stressed out and wanting to be successful right off the bat. My common sense kept reminding me that just isn't likely, or fair to our Little Lady for that matter.

We started out with a few accidents but after just 3.5 hours into it we had our first success on the big potty! She was on a roll for several more times! Then came nap time. I was anxious. Mostly I worried about how she would handle waking up wet, but I tried to prep my self for the probibility. Nearly two hours later and she woke up DRY! I was very proud of her and made sure she knew it.

Only one more accident and the rest of the afternoon was right on track! She let us know when she needed to go and we rushed her in just in time. I'm hoping that our second and third day are just as successful as the first day!

As for the night, we will see. I'm mentally prepared for waking up to change clothes and sheets but that's ok! It's all part of the learning process. We also haven't had to deal with 'number 2' business yet, not sure what to expect from her with that. But the bottom line is we will take it as it comes and help her figure it out. Our Little Lady is one smart cookie and I don't even doubt that she will get it and be successfully potty trained in the 3 days or less!!

As for me, I'm wiped out! I'm going to need 3 days just to recoup from this.

*We are using the 3 Day Potty Training method.

Tomorrow.

2011-09-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

New little girl undies are washed and stacked high...

Crib sheets are clean and in easy reach...

Reward charts are printed and the stickers are ready...

Potty seat and step stool are in place...

Tomorrow starts a whole new way of life for us...

*3 Day Potty Training

untitled

2011-09-29T19:29:00.000-06:00

I have so much on my mind and on my heart right now. It's hard to say how much of it is due to the pregnancy hormones and the fact that just about anything can make me feel emotional. Does any one else find that they have an extra soft heart while pregnant? What ever it is that's responsible, I'm not really complaining. I like having meaningful thought processes regularly, reflecting on things that normally would just rush past my ~~harder~~ less noticing, non-pregnant heart. Any way, there are so many exciting things going on and I want to write and record all these thoughts that come through and take residence in my brain. But the reality is that there is just no time for that usually, not being a wife, a mom, and all the other hats we women often wear. I hope I can just get a few sentences down with each meaningful milestone and event. Until I then I'm going to spend time with my hubby, now that our bags are unpacked and the littles are tucked in tight.

p.s. Tomorrow is the last day our baby girl will be in diapers. As much as this is great news I'm going to savor every single diaper change all day. :)

While we were on our trip...

2011-09-26T18:29:00.000-06:00

... we found out what gender our Itty Bitty is!! And the littles wanted to be the ones to tell...

We are so excited!!

Branson Trip: Silver Dollar City

2011-09-25T21:13:00.000-06:00

We've been enjoying some time away as a family {+ Nana!} in Branson, MO. Our experience here has made us fall in love with the 'South'. We didn't even realize we've been missing hospitable, kind hearted, friendly people until we encountered them at every possible turn. In general, the people here seem to still care about ... well, people. It's hard explain really, it's just a feeling of family that you get and it's been refreshing!

Besides all that, we are enjoying some fall-ish weather, good company and tasty food. Our first full day spent here was at Silver Dollar City. Such a fun place to go with the family! {Note to self: wear walking shoes, it's hilly.} The landscape is gorgeous, trees every where. In a couple of weeks all the leaves will be changing color and I'm trying to figure out a way to transport myself so I can see it! I love fall time of the year!

Even though we didn't get to experience the colorful leaves on the trees, they are having their Harvest Festival at Silver Dollar City and the decorations made me crave hot apple cider somethin' fierce! They had scarecrows and pumpkins on display. And so much more. We really enjoyed just being there. We love that it's a family friendly place and they aren't ashamed of their faith in Jesus! That goes for most of Branson as well.

Here are some pictures from our day at Silver Dollar City with explanations below.

{From left to right}

1. Little Lady posing with a scarecrow. Her adorable piggy tails rarely last long...

2. Little Lady and Nana rode the carousel. Little Lady named her bear 'Go fast' but he didn't listen, apparently.

3. Little Lady waiting at the train depot to ride the choo choo. We are really into choo choos right now. Really into them.

4. Little Dude with daddy. He is Little Dude's preferred person at the moment. All day long he says 'Daddy' and it's really pretty cute how much he loves his daddy. :)

5. Little Lady covered in sticky, gooey mess but loving every second of her 'ya-yee pop!'

6. The littles having a ~~rare moment of sharing something~~ good time on the ladybug!

7. I might be slightly obsessed with little wooden rocking chairs and would ~~desperately~~ love to find one at a ~~steal of a~~ good price!

8. Some people just can't follow the rules and must pay the consequences... but not these two, they're just having fun! :)

9. Can't resist a good photo-op with my ~~three~~ four favorite people!! {Thanks Nana}

We can't wait to bring our littles back to Silver Dollar City someday!!

Little Dude {11 Months}

2011-09-14T03:51:00.001-06:00

Your a month away from being a year old and all I can think about is the day and hours before you born. These past 11 months have flown by and it's been so fun to see the little person God created you to be.

Your growing so fast these days and your into 12-18 month size clothes. Just in time for fall!

You have two teeth on your bottom gums and one {almost 2} poking through on the top. I just loved your toothless grin, but then those two little teeth on the bottom came through and I couldn't help but smile when you showed them off. You are going to look so grown up with the ones on top added to your handsome smile!!

Finally you are a mobile man! I am loving having you crawl and be able to entertain yourself. And even better... you can play with your big sister! Nothing is more warming to my heart these days than to see you two interacting, laughing and playing together. You adore your sissy and watch her and sometimes even try to do what she is doing. It's so adorable. I'm praying you and her continue to become close friends.

You still are mostly on a bottle and baby food diet. I think you have a texture issue because most solid food, even soft foods, cause you to gag and sometimes get sick. Maybe as you get more teeth and learn to chew your food things will go better for you.

We've been practicing sign language for some things, you almost have 'milk' down. That is, we need an alternate way for you to communicate besides making demanding grunting noises while slapping your leg or throwing your head down between your knees and squealing. Yes, ~~I've birthed a cave man~~ you have a bit of a temper.

This temper has also been known to cause vicious hair pulling, hitting and biting. In all seriousness, We are seeking the Lord in the best way to discipline the behavior. I'm afraid if we don't handle it now it will just get worse and we want the best for you.

Your daddy and I will continue to commit you to the Lord and seek His will for your life and how to raise you up to be a man of God. We love you with all our hearts.

Less than one month is your birthday party!

Love you baby boy, your mommy.

Met my match

2011-09-08T14:04:00.000-06:00

This pregnancy I've been craving any and all things spicy {at least once the heavy sickness wore off}. I'm not usually a big fan of spicy foods, a little spice was ok but only occasionally. And if I did have something spicy, it was very mild. So mild some wouldn't even call it spicy at all!!

Ever since I gained more of an appetite {aka. I started the second trimester} all I want is spicy salsa or hot buffalo sauce. In fact if I even catch a whiff of buffalo sauce I start salivating!! It's crazy, and my heartburn and acid reflux are not really appreciating... But I can't help it, it's the only thing that sounds good most of the time. One time I ordered boneless buffalo wings that made hubby teary just from smelling them and I could have sworn that their was little to no spice in them at all.

But....

I think I've met my match.

I like to call 'him' Senor Tapatio, he is my spicy friend! Wow, my mouth is on fire!!

**And yes, I did just write a whole post on my spicy cravings...

California Vacation

2011-09-05T12:16:00.001-06:00

Last week we had a wonderful time in Southern California visiting my dad and step mother. The kids did amazing on the plane ride and slept better than they do at home most of the time! Now that's what I call vacation!!

We took our camera and our camcorder but either left both at home when we went on an adventure or forgot to charge the battery. Darn! So we have gaps in pictures to reflect all the fun stuff we did. :) Hubby made a slide show of the best pictures we did take so instead of posting a huge long post full of pictures, I'm just going to put the slide show in this post. Your welcome!

And I'm going to do a quick summary of what we did each day, mostly for our record of memories for the littles. Feel free to skip it if you aren't interested.

{make sure to have your sound on :) }

California Vacation 2011 from Katie B on Vimeo.

Day 1

My dad and hubby went scuba diving @ La Jolla beach and the littles and I tagged along. We hung out on the grass near the sand where there was a play ground for the littles. When I learned that the temps were over 100 deg back at the house I was really glad we chose the 70 deg temps where the beach breeze was so refreshing and relaxing!

Day 2

Hubby stayed at the house with the littles and I got to go do some shopping by myself! We met up with my dad after he got off of work early and headed to the Disney store at the mall. We wanted to get a Mickey and Minnie mouse doll for the littles since we were going to Disneyland the next day! Little Lady had a blast, she's really into the princesses and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Day 3

Disneyland!! It was a gorgeous day in the 70's and we just went with the flow and did the things we wanted to do first, then what ever we had time for we'd try and do too. At least as long as the littles were content. :) They stuck it out until 7pm, and even then it was more their tired mama who was ready to get back to the house. Little Lady was so excited about the choo choo so we rode two different ones! We took them on 'It's a Small World' and I thought about my grandma the whole time {It was her favorite! I really miss her}, and 'Pirates of the Caribbean', and the Jungle tour. We also went through Goofy, Mickey & Minnie's house and Little Lady got to meet both the mouses!! {Little Dude slept through it all...} She wasn't scared at all! She went right up to both of them and looked at them like "Aren't you going to say something?!" The only princesses we saw were in the parade but Little Lady loved it all the same. Can't wait to go back when she's a little older. :)

Day 4

On Wednesday we decided to stay close to the house and recoup a little bit. We took the littles to a children's museum and hubby and Little Lady throughly enjoyed themselves!! After lunch we headed back to the house where the kids napped and we got some laundry done. That evening we played and enjoyed the clubhouse pool where my dad lives.

Day 5

Beach day! We took the littles to Oceanside, CA and after enjoying a delicious lunch at In-n-out we played in the waves and in the sand until we couldn't take it any more! Which for Little Dude was much sooner than the rest of us, considering he made a face plant right into the sand and got it up his nose, in his mouth and all over his body. Poor guy had sandy snot for several days. He recovered and ended up taking a cozy nap snuggled up to his mama while hubby and Little Lady continued to play. Hubby even got to boogie board some and had great waves to catch. The one time I went out to enjoy some waves a wave caught me and knocked me off my feet. It shoved me to the shore and drenched me in sand! I was over the water after that. :)

Day 6

Opa and Oma were off work so we headed up north from the house to the Long Beach Aquarium. Little Lady enjoyed sticking her hands in the water where they had sharks and rays you could pet, but she wouldn't pet any of them. No, she just wanted to taste the water... She ran and played in the little splash area they had and we saw lots of different fish.

Day 7

On our last day we headed down to San Diego were the weather was perfect and the breeze was refreshing! We took a Seal tour on one of those bus/boat thingys. It drives on land but turns into a boat when we get in the water... Lets just say I was glad I took a motion sickness medicine before hand, I actually got to enjoy it! It was windy but the littles did pretty well. They were over it close to the end. We headed back to the house and packed our bags for an early flight home.

Thanks Opa and Oma for a great time and thanks California for a lovely vacation! Until next time...

16 weeks {Itty Bitty}

2011-09-04T17:21:00.000-06:00

Seaport Village, San Diego, CA

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of an apple {approx. 5 ounces}!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 1 lb since 8 wks.

Maternity Clothes: I mostly wear dresses and cotton shorts and tank tops. It's just too hot so I dress to stay as cool as possible.

Gender: Boy? Girl? Twins? 3 weeks until we {hopefully} find out!

Movement: Yep. Just feels like soft flutters in my tummy, usually when I lay or sit down. :)

Sleep: Crazy dreams! And a lot of them are bad dreams :( I always sleep on my sides now and only wake up when Little dude does.

Symptoms: Besides the growing size of my belly??! Heartburn is getting stronger every day.

What I miss: I'm not missing much these days, being on my third pregnancy in 3 years is starting to make being pregnant the norm rather than the exception!

Cravings: Salsa and chips {but mostly salsa! I can eat a whole bowl only using 2-3 chips.} and anything covered in buffalo sauce! This kid is going to be one spicy meatball!!

Best Moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at my appointment. {160 bpm}

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully finding out the gender of this little!

Today is the day

2011-09-03T22:53:00.000-06:00

Even though he is still determined to pull himself up when ever he can and prefers standing to any other posture, today is the day our Little dude is officially a crawler. Today he finally figured out and gained the courage to go forward several paces while up on his hands and knees! Then he plops down on his belly and then he'll just fuss and try to squirm his way to where ever he is try to go.

Of course I know that him being mobile is potentially more 'work' for me, but I am so excited for my 10.5 month old to be on the move! As my belly grows and bending over to pick up anything, let alone 18 lbs of pure cuteness, is becoming more of a challenge each day. I'm excited for him to be more interactive with his overly active big sister. And he is just so darn cute when he is determined!

We are so proud of you, Little Dude. And we love watching you grow and develop every step of the way. Happy crawling day.

Wish you were here...

2011-08-31T10:59:00.000-06:00

Funny Little Lady.

2011-08-20T17:11:00.000-06:00

I did a post a while back about some of the cute and funny things that Little lady was saying at the time and I've been meaning to do it again. Especially because the list of things she says is growing all the time and I'm afraid I will forget them all. :( I really wish I could record her saying them all so I can remember her at this age forever, she is such a sweetheart and she is such a hoot! Plus everything little kids say is so much cuter in their little kid voice!

Me: Ouch! {Whenever I hurt myself or little dude bites me...}
Little Lady: You get a ouchie, mama?
Me: Yeah, mommy has an ouchie.
Little Lady: Aw, Po fing.

Me: LL, would you like to go play at the park?
LL: Yeah, I sink so.

LL: How you doing, mommy?
Me: I'm doing good, baby, how are you doing?
LL: I'm doing great!

"How 'bout dat?"

"Mommy, hold you." {When she wants me to pick her up}

LL: Oh, tank you, mommy!! {just out of the blue.}
Me: What are you thanking me for?
LL: New ca! {New car, she thanks me for it at least 5 times a day! I love her thankful heart :) }

Any time she hears me calling hubby "Honey" she will start calling him "Honey"! It's so adorable. :)

She loves to sing and will usually start singing her own songs every time we are in the car, even if I have the radio on. She loves singing "Jesus Loves Me" and a song my mom started singing to her and now she loves it. I don't know what it's called, we call it Goggle's song {Goggle is what we call my brother} because it was his favorite when he was little. It's just the scripture Isaiah 40:31 put to a song! It's soooo sweet to hear her sing it. I know it's sweet, pure music to the ears of our Savior!

And I have a little video of Little Lady singing Jesus Loves Me this morning!

Little Lady sings Jesus Loves Me from Katie B on Vimeo.

To teach and train my children

2011-08-15T19:44:00.001-06:00

I've been think a lot about my role as a mom and wife and God is just teaching me so much! I want to soak up everything He's showing me in His word and then confirming through His Spirit. I hope that I will continue to seek Him and desire His will over my own will when it comes to my family and responsibility as a homemaker.

This morning, in my quiet time with Him and as I got ready for the day, the Lord spoke to me specifically about who He wants my children to be as they grow and mature into adults. There are so many ways, perspectives and opinions on how to raise, discipline and guide our children in the world today. And there are two main influences as well: there's the worlds view, that is society and a secular view point, and then there is God's view point, based on the truth given in His Word, the Bible. This morning God gave me three specific points as a guide for how to raise my kids and one day be used by Him.

I want to share and record them as a reminder to me of the vision God spoke to me.

They are as follows:

To teach and train my children

1. To obey and trust God with their lives and their future.

Those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalm 9:10

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." John 14:23

2. To serve those around them the way that Jesus would.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12

3. To make wise decisions that bring glory and honor to God.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will reap everlasting life. Galatians 6: 7-8

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." James 4:15

And then for the really challenging part.

I heard the Lord speak to my heart,

And how, my daughter, will you teach them? Will you tell them or will you show them?

ChooChoo and Giraffes

2011-08-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

We originally planned to take the kids to a park sorta close by that has a $1-to-ride train through the park and a $1 petting zoo yesterday! But when I looked up how to get there I saw that they are closed on Mondays. Bummer!

So plan B, the Zoo!

Getting an annual pass was a good choice for us as we've paid it off at least 3 times over and we have only had it since March. I really like our zoo and will probably love it even more once the new addition they are building is built! They'll be getting a couple new species of animals.

We had already told Little Lady about the choo choo before we learned that the park was closed, but great news is the zoo has a train for the kids too! And with our membership it was the same cost as the other train. Once I told her we were going to the zoo to ride the train she said, "Choo choo AND giraffes!!" I really love that kid. I wish I could bottle up her enthusiasm and drink it for breakfast every morning!

It was a hot day! But one of the things I love about a pass is that we can stay as long or as short as we want and don't have to worry about getting our money's worth.

This little girl loves Choo Choo's right now! She was one happy little lady.

And despite the some what troubled look on Little dude's face, he didn't mind the ride either. Not sure he really cared one way or another! He just wants to 'stand' all.the.time. Forget crawling...

And as if the Choo choo wasn't enough, this little girl got to go on her very first carousel ride! She LOVED it! She even rode on her own animal with out daddy standing next to her.

These littles are growing up so fast, right before our eyes! But don't think we aren't enjoying ~~every~~ almost every minute of it!

12 Weeks {Itty Bitty}

2011-08-02T12:34:00.000-06:00

I am 12 weeks along in my 3rd pregnancy as of yesterday. My OB appointment was actually last week. So here is the update!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: Itty Bitty is about the size of a plum!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 4 oz since 8 weeks

Maternity Clothes: I mostly wear dresses and cotton shorts and tank tops. It's just too hot so I dress to stay as cool as possible.

Gender: 7 weeks until we {hopefully} find out!

Movement: Not sure but there have been times when I thought I felt something. It's still pretty early so it might not be.

Sleep: I'm already having crazy dreams most nights. I try to sleep on my stomach as much as I can because I know those days are coming to an end!

Symptoms: Going pee all the time. The mornings I wake up and throw up right away are growing fewer between. I am hoping that is a sign for the sick and icky feeling leaving! I have heartburn at night but only when I eat certain things.

What I miss: Energy! Not always feeling like I could lay down and take a nap pretty much any time of the day.

Cravings: Most of the time I lack an appetite. I'm still really hungry but not too much sounds good to eat. I've craved pickles a couple times. I was really craving salad yesterday. And a couple weeks ago I really wanted an apple pie!

Best Moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat at my appointment. {170 bpm}

What I am looking forward to: Getting to the 2nd trimester and hopefully feeling a lot better!

Botanical Gardens Photo shoot

2011-07-24T08:10:00.000-06:00

On Memorial Day we had a photo shoot with MckMama!

I wanted to share some of my favorites!!

These are some of the ones I plan on framing very soon! I love how they turned out :)

Which is your favorite?

Little Lady {2 years old}

2011-07-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

Here we are. Your second birthday. I'm not sure how time has just slipped through my fingers, but here we are. You are quite the little lady, complete with a sweet heart and all!

It seems a coincidence that we were at the hospital today, where you were born, as I had to make a quick stop at the OB's office. It only intensified the rush of vivid memories of that sweet, sweet day you made your entrance into the world! For brief moments I found myself longing to be back there, just for the day, to relive the exact hours following your birth. The joy your daddy and I had from the minute we saw you can't be described in words. You are the bundle of pure bliss that changed our world forever!

And to see the precious little girl that you are becoming has only multiplied the bliss many times over! You are a strong, strong willed, confident, independent little person. You are exactly who God created you to be! I admire so much about who you are, a reflection of your Maker, and dream with great anticipation, the path He has before you. It is so exciting!!

I wish you the most wonderful 2nd birthday a little princess could ever have. But you must know, my sweet baby girl, that you are really the gift to us!!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Evalyn!

Not 'our' plan

2011-07-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

I should probably apologize for my recent absence in regular blogging. It isn't for lack of content or anything. I do have a very verbal, active toddler who is quite hilarious and mischievous running through our home. Our summer days have been filled with play dates and activities, trying to keep cool during these hot and unusually humid Colorado days.

No, things to write about have not been the reason I've been "away." The truth is more along the lines of being honest and transparent with all that I've been feeling and struggling with lately. You see, I couldn't bring myself to telling about our day, the fun we are having and the cute, adorable things my Little lady is saying and leave out the other half of my day. The half spent wrestling with life and all that we are experiencing.

I've found myself saying {much more often then I'd like to admit to} "This wasn't 'our' plan, but it is what it is" in regards to this 3rd pregnancy. And I can't help but want to retract my words as soon as they come out of my mouth. Each time it feels like I am betraying this life -given to me as a gift- growing inside me. And betraying the Giver of life. I can't help but feel like I've shamed the One who has chosen me, He chose me to be a mama, and this little one's mama at that. Who am I to say this is less than perfect or even just ok?

But I'm struggling none the less. And I'm thankful for God's mercy and grace, new every morning and poured out on my life in abundance!

Please, please, don't misunderstand me. I am so excited and in love with the idea of another sweet new born and for this new personality, fearfully and wonderfully made, to join our family! I'm not at all in doubt that we weren't 'planning' on another addition! I love our babies and I know I ~~will~~ do love this little baby too!

It's just that everything about the pregnancy is weighing me down. I won't bore or bog you down with the seemingly endless list of things I have selfishly complained about, out loud and in my head, these last several weeks. The bottom line is that every. single. one of the things on the list are selfish. They all deal with my comfort, my desires, my plans, etc. And it disgusts me.

Maybe this doesn't make any sense to other people. You might know of some of the things I've complained about and thought, "Well, that is a legitimate complaint." Or maybe you have recognized my self pleasing tendencies. Either way, I know that God has created me with a specific purpose, a plan for my life. He wants to do a work in my life to shine His light to all those around me and draw people to Himself, through His love. His perfect love.

I know that my thoughts, actions and spoken words have been anything but fulfilling His purpose and plan for me and this life He has given to me. But from this moment forward, I am choosing to willfully accept His plan, even if it isn't the plan we would have made for ourselves or chosen if we had the chance.

But His plan is perfect. And that is the plan that I know is ours.

Little Dude {9 Months}

2011-07-13T18:23:00.001-06:00

*Sorry I've been MIA on here, I'll share more about that in another post.

It's that time again... No matter how much I wish my littles would stay little, it just doesn't happen!

Today, my Little dude, you are 9 months old! Wowzers!!

Eating sweet potatoes! Yummy!

I am loving watching you grow and am so glad you are a part of our family. Seeing you and your big sissy interact could just melt my heart every time. She loves playing with you and every time I bring you down after a nap she asks for me to put you in your exerciser so she can play with you! It's so cute. Most of the time you are up for it, but if you are hungry you usually cry as soon as I put you in there.

Most mornings you are up with the sun, if not before it. And bless daddy's heart, he is usually getting up with you since I usually get up with you all through out the night. And as soon as I get up and come down stairs you start kicking your legs and grunting or whining for me to come get you and feed you. If I do anything but come straight to you, you start crying and getting all worked up. We are working on teaching you, so most mornings you cry and get all worked up while I do something else for the first few minutes.

Here you are saying, "MOM, put down the camera! I'm ready for another bite!!"

I am noticing that you may have a problem with a short fuse. You don't take long to get worked up once you decide you want something and don't get it immediately. I know part of it is because you are a baby and patience isn't part of you understanding yet, but I am already committing your character to prayer, that the Lord will be able to mold you in to a patient man of God who is slow to anger. He can do that and I trust that He will.

You are a growing boy and sometimes I think the only thing you think about is eating!! We are still nursing which has been a little challenging since becoming pregnant, but I intend to nurse you to at least a year, as long as you still want to. And so far, you still want to! We have increased your feedings to twice a day now to help where my supply is lacking. And although you are developing a good pitcher grasp you are hardly interested in putting any finger food into your mouth. Even if we try to show you how to do it or put the food in your mouth, you just look at us with a "What in the world are you doing?!" kind of look.

~~Still no teeth.~~ You have one new tooth! It's only just cut through the gums on the bottom but it's there!!

Still no crawling. But you have attempted to pull yourself up using larger toys or boxes. Not with success yet, but the desire to do it is there. Who knows, maybe will just skip this whole crawling thing all together! Even though I find myself complaining that you aren't crawling yet, it's been so much easier to sit you down somewhere and know that you will be there when I come back! Or not have to worry about what you are getting into... I know those days will come soon enough.

You grab and try to reach for everything in your sight. And you have a strong grasp. Sometimes it's even painful! But you are a curious boy and love to explore and study and look, touch and taste all new things. It never gets old watching a little one discover the world around them!

Your daddy, big sissy and I love you more than words could ever describe and we love having you in our lives! We can not wait to see what the next month and months to come have in store for you.

Happy 9 months, Little Dude!

Something to say

2011-06-22T20:48:00.000-06:00

The Littles have something that they want to share!

At first Little lady had to explain it to Little dude, he didn't quite understand. But once she told him all the details...

He wasn't sure it was good news!

But sissy gave him a hug and kiss and told him it is good news!

And he eventually warmed up to the idea!

We are so excited to be adding baby #3 in spring 2012!!!!

Swim Lessons

2011-06-20T10:03:00.000-06:00

Little Lady had her first 'swim lesson' on Saturday! She is doing them with her daddy and so far she is loving the water! I really want our littles to love the water and to feel confident in and around it. I have had a great fear about water and drowning since I was a little girl and if it can be avoided with our kids I would be so grateful! It helps my anxiety with the kids near the water too, if I know they are good swimmers. Plus it's a great way for the two of them to have daddy-daughter time together!

We could have put Little dude in the same class with his sister but we decided he would probably get more out of it next year. He and I tagged along this week so we could get pictures of the exciting event!

Her hair is getting long again!

She was cold by the time they were done, but she didn't even complain!

So far she loves to "sim!"

Father's Day

2011-06-19T17:02:00.000-06:00

To the best daddy my babies could ever have, want or need...

thank you for loving us and leading us,

and having fun and playing with us,

and for stopping to smell the ~~roses~~ dandilions with us!

We hope that you know how appreciated you are on this Father's Day!

We LOVE you!!