All About the Birthday & the Baby

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Josiah & Lilly's second birthday on Sunday! It's hard for us to believe they're 2! I know all parents say this, but it's quite astonishing how quickly they grow.

Steve, the kids and I ran several errands the morning of the party. Steve and I were very tired by lunchtime and were glad (for our sake and theirs) that they laid down for a nap. I was out of their room only a couple of minutes before my parents and sister knocked. They helped us finish the decoration and food preparations before everyone else arrived. We didn't intentionally plan it this way, but it was great to see the kids' reactions when they came out of their rooms to a full and decorated house. Steve purchased a small helium tank and inflated a ton of balloons. Between these and theWinnie the Pooh decorations, the attention from our family and the opportunity to munch off of everyone's plates, the kids were in heaven!

It was as stress free of a party as I couldn've planned. We are so thankful for all the messages we recieved over the last week or so sending Josiah and Lilly birthday congratulations.

A few additional things happened recently that gave us a lot to smile about. At my doctor's appointment yesterday we found that I was 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced. Not quite there, but definite progress! Also, Steve picked up our baby bassinet and we spent the evening after the kids were in bed washing, cleaning and generally getting things together. On Saturday, we officially choose Baby 3's name and have since referred to him as such. It's strange/amazing/scary/astonishing that he'll be here so soon. We can't wait for everyone to meet him!

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Second

Dear Josiah and Lilly,

I was so nervous the day we had our 20-week ultrasound appointment with the OB. It was the milestone that would (hopefully) tell us whether you were boy/boy, girl/girl or boy/girl. I have to be honest. Although I tried very hard not to want any particular combination, my heart was set on having a boy/girl. Having grown up with a sister and a limited amount of male friends, I desperately wanted to raise a little boy and have a precious sister for him to love and protect. And occasionally pester and annoy.

The jelly they used on my belly for the ultrasound was freezing. I was already on edge and desperately had to use the bathroom. Having them slime that stuff around on your core is like getting a bath in ice water!

When the technician asked if we wanted to know, I suspected that she must be 99-100% sure to even ask us. Your daddy and I looked at each other for a second and said, “Yes!”

From that day, I felt a connection to you that was strong and deep.

My sweet Lilly,

I have never, in all of my life, known a kinder little girl than you. When you first smiled, it took my breath away. Your natural happiness and flexibility, fun loving spirit, determination, spontaneous hugs and kisses, and intelligent grasp of new things makes you a wonder to be around. Some days you play cars and crash trucks with brother and on other days, you wrap your baby up and snuggle with her saying, “Hi, baby” in that adorable voice of yours. You hold your own and don’t let yourself be outdone by anyone. You try, try, and try again until you’ve mastered something. I’m astonished at how many new words you’re using every day and how much information you retain. You love coloring, finger painting, playing with your brother, reading, chasing the cats, taking walks outside, music and making us laugh. It is fun and relaxing to be around you. Daddy and I truly loooove hanging out with you.

Monster Man,

You’ve been a fighter from day one. Everything, from your first feeding to your first steps and now your obsessive delight with the vacuum cleaner, you want to do or figure out yourself. Daddy and I so admire your strength and independence. We are amazed at how intelligent you are. You’re constantly taking things apart and putting them back together. Anything that’s considered “child proof” you quickly figure out. My favorite memory of this is when, after seeing daddy and I use the magnet to unlock the magnetic child locks on the kitchen cabinets, you grabbed one of your magnetic letters and ran it over the length of the cabinet to open it. You weren’t even a year and a half yet! I love how protective you are of “La-La”. It makes me tear up when I see you kiss her on the cheek or take her hand to show her one of your toys. You love crashing your trucks, using your tools to fix things around the house, trains, tractors, reading stories, dancing, being chased around the house and the tag on your blanket. Daddy and I treasure your tender heart and unabashed love.

Happy second birthday, my loves. Daddy and I are so proud to be your parents.

Looking forward to many, many more years of memories.

Snow Day

It snowed today! The first of the year! We didn't make it outside (we wanted to) but we just had too much fun playing and snuggling inside with the kids and making progress on a few major organizational projects. 

Even though Josiah's sick, he (thankfully) slept through the night and even though they were up early, they were in great moods. We watched Winnie the Pooh and snuggled together. After a late breakfast, the kids got baths while Steve went to the loft to begin the daunting task of going through the tubs and junk up there. Because we were both home, I bathed them separately. It was a lot of fun! Instead of spending the whole bath time keeping them from dumping handfuls of water out of the tub, or keeping them from stepping on each other, I got to really play with them and take it slow. I cherish the times when I get to focus on one child at a time. They're so amazing.

We'd really like to get the loft into a condition where we can use it for a guest room/ "it's your night to be in the bedroom with the baby when he's difficult" room. We don't like the idea of the baby sleeping in our bedroom simply because it only further narrows the space Steve and I have just for us, but what can we do? It's not like we can to put him in the loft. It's an awkward space for many reasons so we've only ever used it for storage.

While Steve did that, the kids and I continued organizing their closet. It was a mess!!! My mom helped me go through a ton of things in there yesterday so I felt that at least I was on my way. It's not completed, but it's already so much better. 

We had sloppy joes and tater tots for lunch with the kids and then it was family nap time! It was an hour and a half of much needed rest. The afternoon was spent playing with a little more organizing. The kids played upstairs with Steve as he continued cleaning out the loft. By far, the most favorite find of the night was my old Mac laptop. Josiah went ballistic. He loves any kind of machinery and adores his trucks. What a great kid. 

I asked Lilly to model the hat and scarf GaGa made for her. As soon as I got the camera out, she would smile big and say, "Cheese!"I did a black and white so you could appreciate the pattern, but included the colored pictures so you could see the color, although it's not that accurate because of the lighting in the house at night. 

After pizza (the kids ate a ton!) for dinner, we settled in for our Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site story and put the kids to bed. 

All in all, a wonderful Saturday. 

Birthday Girl!

Last night we celebrated my mom's birthday! The twins were very excited about blowing out the candles with her. They were practicing yesterday until I had to tell them to stop because they were getting spit all over the place. Guess I shouldn't have let them near the cake ;)

 

 Happy Birthday, Mimi! We love you soooo much!

The Funny Part of Pregnant

Ok, people.

37 weeks. Officially full term. Things are starting to get pretty cramped and uncomfortable. I've started reading articles on ways to induce labor. Now if only I could drag my humongous body off the couch to try just ONE of them.

A friend thought I'd enjoy this pregnancy blog. And I do. It's reallllllly funny. It comes at a perfect time because things are feeling less funny and more like, "Holy crap, this kid is coming soon and I feel so uncomfortable, and nothing is finished, and I wish I could walk without being winded and, and, and..."

How many of us thought we'd never feed our kids chips, wouldn't let them pull things from the shelves in Target and wouldn't drag them through the park kicking and screaming in protest?

THIS girl.

These two posts from the aforementioned blog had me laughing pretty hard. Enjoy.

"When I have kids, I'll never_____"

There's always Walmart to cheer up a pregnant girl:

People of Walmart

Baby and I at 37 weeks (I wouldn't let Steve take a full body shot of everything because let's face it, there's not room for my belly and my face in this picture). Notice the pretty bracelet...a present from my babies for Christmas :)

Construction of the Titanic

Thought these old photos were interesting:

Titanic

Old Videos

Preparing for Baby

We've made several trips to the storage unit this weekend in order to get things organized and sorted before the baby comes. Three weeks!!!! In three weeks he'll be here. How crazy is that?

The kids LOVE going to the storage unit. It's a large space that they can run around and be crazy in. They look forward to the rides on the "carts", the elevator buttons, the locks and doors, and seeing out the big windows. They're such funny little people. 

What fun!!!

It's hard work being productive...

Look at those curls. (Sigh) She's getting so big...

I think she looks like a little Russin in this one :)

Loves his vacuum.

Sending a picture to daddy at work...

And again...

Hanging out with my family at Grandma's house

And again...
The fairy princess and the mechanic.

Steve made them piggy pancakes for breakfast. Big hit.

When do we NOT go to Target???

Working on our fine motor skills...

Storage Unit Fun!