Thanksgiving weekend

We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend with my parents at the lake. Along with my mom's side of the family, we ate a ton of food, put together a puzzle, vegged out in front of the tv, and talked our ears off. 

My grandma holding her newest great grand daughter. She so very much loves holding babies and we have to document it when we have the chance!

Look at this pretty lady! This is my cousin's daughter, Lila. The girls and I had a lot of fun holding her (and staring at her in between playing).

Josie spent a solid 45 minutes (or more?) brushing Trista's hair. While Trista almost fell asleep, Josie just continued on "making her pretty."

The next day, we decorated their home for Christmas. The girls were pretty gentle with the ornaments and breakable decorations. Some of them are the same decorations we would pull out years ago. It's a lot more meaningful to look at them through the girls' eyes now. Since we'd already decorated our tree at home, the girls were old pro's and put the ornaments on like they've done it for years. It was a little bottom heavy, but I played the old "look what I found! Should we put it up here?" game and they always agreed.

We also had Christmas music playing and served the girls hot chocolate while we sipped on coffee. Seriously, can it be more perfect?

I vividly remember playing with these well into my teens every year after discovering them mixed in with the ornaments. Something about their daintiness makes them irresistible. Audrey seemed to agree.

In the evening, we headed into town for a Christmas lights parade filled with horse drawn carriages of all sizes. It was so absolutely delightful. Cold, but delightful! We so hope that we can make this a yearly tradition, at least on the years that we go to the lake for Thanksgiving. :)

Audrey photobomb.

Check out the lady behind us accidentally photobombing. Ha!! She took the above family picture for us and was a great "neighbor" while we watched the parade.

And bringing up the rear, crazy Santa and his mini "reindeer" who ran so fast and all over the place that we swore they were both drunk. 

The last day we were there was also the warmest. After all of the food we had eaten, we were all itching to get outside and move around. It was so beautiful with the fresh white snow and calm, still air. This year was different with Josie being old enough to really play actively in the snow. She was digging paths, making snow angels, running around, and playing games like crazy all by herself. I can only imagine how much fun she'll have when Audrey can participate. Audrey always starts out going strong, but usually gets frustrated after falling over 149382 times and not being able to use her thumbs (we're working on that). She walked around for a while, sat on the tree bench, and then headed into "help" Grammy make lunch. It worked out for both of them.

Onward to Christmas season!

Too busy. Where's the balance?

The past few weeks have been filled with busyness for us. I took on an accompanying job with a local high school. It wasn't a lot in terms of hours, just four hours a day for two days a week along with an evening performance and then the festival itself which is an all-day event. The girls spent the time with their grandma and cousins. It seems so perfect on paper, but it kind of wreaked havoc on us. 

I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is that has turned us upside down and what I've come up with is that I've been missing their main awake time. With them being gone from 9-1, they would get home but immediately need to nap. After naps, they would have a teeny bit of free play time before dinner, then a little time with Daddy, then straight to bed. We lost that special time where it was just Mommy and the kiddos. Then, on top of that, we filled in the other days with our usual activities, like play groups and errands. 

The interesting part is that the girls did okay with being out and about. I generally didn't notice a huge change in behavior when we were busy running those errands or visiting friends. It was the worst when we were trying to leave our house (picture me turning into drill sergeant mom and the girls both taking turns screaming about anything and everything) or if we had more time at home. I hate that! I don't want our time at home to be stressful and full of arguing. 

The pendulum sure does swing, doesn't it? A few months ago, I was really feeling pressure from various people and groups to be more active, to live for Christ in the community more and not just be a homebody. While I believe the intentions were good, this kind of pressure definitely didn't help our family. We got busier. I joined a Mom's group and went to most of the events the last few months. They were fun and the girls are getting to know the other kids pretty well. I started accompanying while the girls went to grandma's. Those two things were huge time takers the last few months. 

I didn't even realize how huge until I felt trapped - how do I juggle all of this with these little ladies that are acting up like crazy? Their behavior has been all over the place. Part of it is just being two and three, but I know these girls and I know that when they act like this, especially at the same time, that something has to change.

Now we take a step back. Josie is not going to be in dance class next semester. With a baby coming and no alternate transportation for her, I foresee that being a huge stressor. Oh, and then there's the part where she still really doesn't enjoy it. She clings to me (so unlike her) when we get there and doesn't seem much happier after class is done til she's sure we are leaving. I don't blame the studio or teacher. She tries hard and keeps me in the loop with what she is doing to help Josie enjoy it. It's just not for Jo, not right now. 

I won't be accompanying anymore this year. I will still give piano lessons one afternoon a week, but I don't think that will be too overwhelming.

We will be cutting back on all of the extra events going on during the week. I think it'd be really good to be home 3 of the 5 weekdays, the whole day or at least the morning. I want us to have a healthy home environment and having that routine is the main way to get it. I want this atmosphere in place before the baby gets here in a mere 8ish weeks. 

Whew! This has been on my heart a lot the last few weeks. So tell me, what do you do to keep the routine and atmosphere pleasant? Have you found yourself in my shoes? 

(I can't say that Christmas season has much to do with this. We do our celebrating mostly at home or the evening with Daddy so that isn't too different than the rest of the year.)

Every girl's dream

We have a huge bin of dress up clothes. Some were gifted to us (princess dresses), some were clearance halloween finds, and some were taken out of storage from when my sister and I were little. Josie hasn't been as interested as those because they aren't costumes she recognizes, but suddenly one day, she couldn't get enough of them. I grabbed my camera and took the chance to capture her in the outfits while playing with my camera (that I'll never really understand).

My parents got married when I was just over 3 1/2, so I was about 5 months older than Josie is now. The dress was made by my grandma. I, of course, matched the bridesmaids. Here's Josie in it:

During her wardrobe change, Audrey stepped in. She kills me with the closed eyes - only when she's told to smile. Who knows why!

The next one was a dress I wore for a cousin's wedding. All of the younger girl cousins had matching dresses for both her wedding and her twin sister's. I am not sure what happened to the other one, but this one managed to stick around. I was older when I wore it, probably around eight, so it's ridiculously oversized on Josie and she can hardly move around.

Back to Audrey...

This dress was also made by my grandma (I think almost all of them were) but was meant for a young toddler, not a 3 1/2 year old.

And last, a huge fluffy pink coat that was worn by both of us when we were just a little older than Josie is now. Oh how we loved this fancy coat!

Dress up is so fun. :)

30 weeks with baby #3

How far along: 30 weeks

How big is baby: 3 lbs and 15 3/4 inches long, about the size of a cabbage







Weight gain/loss: Not sure, pretending it's been healthy and normal. :)

Maternity clothes:  Almost all the time. Looking at my options each morning is less and less fun as less and less fits. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up with just three or four shirts that I rotate as we get closer to 40 weeks. I really don't want to buy more at this point because I have a lot that will fit post baby when I still have baby pouch. I can't even use that as an excuse to go shopping!  I sometimes forget that I have dresses with leggings I can wear... much more comfortable that maternity pants if you ask me.

Stretch marks: No new ones, thankfully.

Sleep: I've been waking up more and more each night, sometimes from discomfort and sometimes to use the bathroom. I fall asleep pretty quickly again, but I can tell that I'm not quite as rested as I was a few weeks ago. A ten minute nap in the afternoon helps tremendously.
 

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I have definitely hit the small meals only stage. I don't feel super hungry ever and have been snacking a lot less. I do, however, get frantically thirsty when I'm not drinking enough water. I downed 72 oz of water in about 2 hours last night and still felt thirsty but knew it would be a long night of bathroom wake ups if I didn't stop. If only I was better at drinking it consistently all day long.


Coffee hasn't been as good but I still love the warmth of it. I have been eating a lot of citrus fruit (grapefruits because I bought them on accident and clementines because they are always in the house for the girls). Also, cereal and yogurt are awesome. And carbs. Of course.

Exercise: Some really good stretch sessions here and there. Pelvic discomfort is preventing me from doing too much because once I am feeling sore, walking and standing a lot more only makes it worse. Thankfully, I'm not sore all the time. Just on the long days. I've been playing piano for the high school for a couple of hours twice a week and whew can I feel it after that! Sitting on that hard piano bench for 2-3 hours is so hard on this big old belly. I'll be done with that after this week and that is just fine with me. The timing is kind of perfect since I don't think I could do it much longer anyways.

Gender: Another girl!

Movement: Often, at least once an hour. She has the hiccups pretty much every day and I'm wondering if she is head down now since I feel kicks up near my ribs a lot. If I am sitting down, I have braxton hicks constantly and she must not like being as scrunched up because she really goes to town kicking and squirming.

The belly: Seems to be growing right on track with Audrey's pregnancy. Different shape as you can see below, but still about the same size.

What I'm loving: Holding my friends' newborns and thinking about the baby that will be here very soon in our house. Now that winter is here and holidays are started, we have more weekends home meaning more time to work on the nursery. That will be fun (I hope)!



What I miss: Normal moving without aches and pains. Having options for shoeware (my feet are so much larger when I'm pregnant!)

Symptoms: Everything? See all the things mentioned above plus no bladder longevity. Bathroom runs are ever so frequent these days.

The nursery: We will be picking out paint colors this week and hopefully fabric for the curtains. I hope to make some visible progress soon.

What's different/the same this time: The biggest difference is the shape of my belly. Much less pointy, I think she's sitting higher up. I can definitely feel that in my ribs, more like how I felt with Josie. The pelvic discomfort and lack of back pain at this point in pregnancy is very similar to Audrey's pregnancy.

Best moment of the week: We celebrated Thangsiving with my mom's side of the family and it was so fun! I got some baby snuggles from my cousin's newborn baby girl, who has dark brown hair just like our girls did. She reminded me so much of our girls and was crazy to think about it being us again so soon. And also fun to have a "cousin" so close in age to our baby, just three to four months apart. Also, Josie is still all about babies and loves to help with the pacifier, bottle, and loving pats. It warms everyone's hearts, as corny as that sounds. She's just so sweet.

Last appointment details: No gestational diabetes!

Next appointment: Two more weeks

30 weeks with Baby #3 (left) and Audrey (right). No photo this week of Josie.

Audrey's second birthday

Audrey girl turned two last week! We celebrated with a small party consisting of family and it was pretty great. I know I've mentioned it before, but we try not to have too big of birthday parties unless it's more of a milestone year. That means minimal decorating and the invite list is short. Of course, no party can be completely plan and work free, since we like to go all out with the food (think made from scratch, not necessarily creative) and of course have a clean house and gifts for the birthday girl. 

It's really quite nice to have those you love dearest come and celebrate without the pressure of having a huge theme complete with party favors, decorations, and costumes or specific fancy foods. I get stressed out just thinking about it. We do other things to make the birthday girl feel special. The hoopla of "today we having a party for you!" is the main thing,but she also gets to pick out a birthday donut, eat what she wants (easier as they get older and can actually tell us what they want), and of course getting showered with hugs and kisses all day long. It also helps that we all celebrate her. This year, Josie rocked at making sure Audrey knew it was a big deal that it was her birthday. I so loved watching that.

Like I mentioned earlier, we can't help ourselves with the homemade food. I made cupcakes with buttercream frosting, which turned out perfectly. I love to pipe the frosting... there's something about getting the swirl just right that makes all the work completely worth it. It didn't feel like all that much work, but when you make a ton of food from scratch instead of having it prepared and purchased ahead of time, it just takes a lot of time. 

I made homemade buns and potato salad (along with the cupcakes) and hubby smoked a few roasts for bbq style sandwiches. My MIL also brought coleslaw. It was a great meal (if not completely seasonal... what do we think it is, July?). 

All the gifts we got were so appropriate and fun. A few clothes, educational toys, an outside playhouse (a huge hit). Of course, a balloon we'd been gifted earlier in the week was also a huge hit. Cheap fun. :) 

I think the best part, though, was just all of the people being together, enjoying company and celebrating our Audrey girl. She had a huge smile on her face the whole time. 

And now the pictures!

A few pictures of the new outdoor playhouse that we just had to check out right away.

The newest member of the family, my niece, Clara. She's so sweet, isn't she? 

 

Very few decorations, but the birthday banner is a must.

  

And finally, the birthday girl blowing out her candles. She loved being sung to and blew out the candles like she's been doing this for years. I wasn't sure if she'd like all the attention, but her bashfulness didn't mean grumpiness and she just seemed even more sweet. Oh this girl... she wins over everyone she meets.

Little update

We had a busy weekend. We celebrated Audrey's birthday with our close family yesterday, and then had an almost perfect day filled with church, family time, and Christmas decorating today. Ahh it was just great! (Except for that part where Josie acted like a three year old and decided to keep Audrey awake for what seemed like the entire night because she was so wound up. Three year olds are...fun...)

Life is so busy lately. I looked at my calendar for December, and it seems like there is something every single day. Some if it is optional, but it's amazing how quickly it filled up. Yet, even with the busyness, I'm so looking forward to this Christmas season. The girls are understanding more and more (I say this every year, but every year is even more fun). I'm trying not to be too fancy. Our decorations are not all up and I have no plans of unpacking the rest. Low key is key. :)

But seriously. Three years old? So very tough. The "why? why? why?" stage is in full swing, and the back talk is ridiculous. Combined with a strong amount of silliness that comes out at the worst times, and we find ourselves pulling out our hair at least once a day. Yet, her curiosity is adorable. She is figuring out this world in her own way and we are happy to be part of the ride. I just hope we make it through this year.

Baby update will be this week along with pictures from Audrey's birthday and a dress up photo shoot. Don't you have a lot to look forward to??

Baby #3 - 27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks

How big is baby: About 2 lbs and about 14 1/2 inches long (cauliflower)

Weight gain/loss: Not sure, don't want to know

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all the time

Stretch marks: No new ones, thankfully

Sleep: Pretty good! I'm getting up once or twice a night for a bathroom break but overall sleep is pretty good. I'd say I take a 10-20 min nap about three times a week. It's nice to not feel so tired in the middle of the day (especially since I know that is coming).

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Halloween candy... glad that's over with. I just started getting that super full feeling after each meal even though I haven't eaten that much. Then, an hour or so later I'll be starving. I'm still probably eating the same amount at this point, but I can tell the slow descent into tiny meals all day long is upon me. So much work! I feel like all I do is eat snacks all day. I did stock up on fruit, yogurt, and meat snack sticks. Much less junk being consumed which will help with that good old double chin.

Exercise:  Just daily life for exercise... so not too much! I think I'm physically less active this pregnancy than I was the other two. Not something to be proud of.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: All the time. When I wake up, I usually wait until she wakes up and then just enjoy her kicks. Same at night... it's pretty regular. It's amazing to me that a baby who has no concept of time can be so regular and predictable.

Last week, I got to feel her move or flip completely around. It didn't feel great, but it was amazing to watch. The belly morphed. It was kind of strange, but also pretty sweet.

This week, I felt hiccups from her for the first time. Love all the firsts!

The belly: Very round, feeling large, definitely looking larger this time.

What I'm loving: We have a tentative baby name (not ready to share yet) and I've been saying it to the girls to get them used to it and see if it sounds right. It's so fun to hear them register this new name and connect it with a new sister. They still regularly say that baby's in mommy's tummy and I will get kisses and hugs for the baby randomly almost every day.

What I miss: Unlimited caffeine, a normal eating schedule/appetite, a drink every once in a while

Symptoms: Most of the back pain has disappeared and now comes the pelvic/hip pain. Unfortunately, prior pregnancies show that this will not go away until baby is here. So... woo hoo for the next 13 weeks! It feels so long at the end of the day when I'm in pain and getting up or moving around makes me want to groan like an old lady. Thankfully I usually feel good to go after a night of good sleep.

The nursery: Ideas are swirling in my head but none have come into fruition yet. Hopefully soon.

What's different/the same this time: Right now, it all seems very similar. Similar back pain, similar eating habits.

Best moment of the week: The hiccups were pretty special. Seeing a friend's newborn baby got me even more excited for this little lady to make her appearance.

Last appointment details: Nothing new, no appointment for one more week. 

It's so awkward to smile at a timed camera... but here you go. Huge belly to start out this last trimester.  Click here to see my growing stomach with Baby #3...

and below is a comparison with previous babes.

27 weeks with baby #3 and Audrey and Josie

I am not looking as pointy and baby seems to be sitting much higher although it doesn't feel like it. Sidenote:  I miss my long hair.