Birthday Momma

The best part about turning 34? Having the family make my birthday cake.

Honestly, it was a rainy labor day weekend. Nothing for the kids to do, but mix, pour and bake a sweet treat! As with most things...it didn't turn out quite like they expected! No matter! It still tasted really good! And watching David trying to fix that cake gave me the biggest belly laughs I'd had in a long time...

Annabel at 4 Months

Annabel is now 14lbs, 25 inches long. We haven't settled into much of a schedule yet. Some things remain predictable...she usually  naps for only 45 minutes to an hour, gets tired and cranky after being awake for an hour to an hour and a half, both of which don't leave me much time to do much else other than hold her! It seems like things are going more slowly for her than they did with Ethan and Kate at this same age. She is also waking up two to three times at night, and usually needs help when going to sleep.

We just started Ferber with her. It's excruciating to hear her cry, but it's also hard that she won't go to sleep on her own. I'm the one who has to both feed her and put her to sleep. Not much fun! But she will only be a baby for a short while so I will cherish these moments--no matter how challenging, and no matter what time of day or night--while they last.

She has this cute little dimple on the right side of her face. And the kids officially call her Annabooboo :)

Labor Day 2012

Today we went to our favorite outdoor spot...Starved Rock State Park. We have had a ton of rain the past few days and we were hoping the waterfalls would be overflowing with water. Sadly, they were not. But that did not prevent us from enjoying the hike nonetheless.

I think one of my favorite memories of this summer would be the elusive jellybean bush we discovered today. David spotted one...

And the children enjoyed the fruits of his labor! It was a long hike, so lucky for us we found LOTS of jellybean bushes along the way. When Kate suggested we look for M&M bushes we told her that sadly, those weren't in season :) 

I think Annabel enjoyed the hike as much as I did...

And she got pretty worn out, just like I did!

Three months

It's August! This summer has flown by, and little Annabel is growing fast...For her three month birthday Annabel surprised us with a wonderful gift: her first full-fledged laugh. She still gets me up in the middle of the night, but on the whole her sleeping is getting much better.

I have no idea how much weighs now...but at her two month check up she 11 and a half pounds and 23 inches tall.

This is Annabel at 2 months:

Annabel at one month. This is when she began to coo and smile at us :)

The Arrival of Annabel Faith

It's been two months since Annabel's birth, and this is about as much as I can write right now! Well, to be honest, there isn't much writing. However, here are the few pictures we took at the hospital. I had planned a water birth, but after two hours in the tub, I decided I was done with the water and I wanted to get out!!! I'll post Annabel's birth story soon (it's kinda funny, actually).
 

The below photos are courtesy of Bella Baby Photography...

Ethan's 6th Birthday

It's hard to believe...6 years old! Ethan's birthday celebration had a lego theme to it this year, and we invited his friends over to have some lego building time.

It started with a little scavenger hunt of lego minifigures I cut out of paper and hid all over the back yard....the more you found, the more candy you got to take home!

 Then the boys spent a good deal of time building lego race cars. As part of Ethan's birthday gift, we bought him a lego set that included a variety of vehicles. Each of the boys drew a number, which corresponded to a car "kit" and instructions. Some cars were definitely harder than others!

Here are the boys outside with their cars...ready to race!

Our makeshift race track...

After a series of rounds and eliminations, we have a winner-- his old friend, Grant (in the middle), along with Ethan "H", the runner up! As the first place winner, Grant got to keep his car!

After the race, was snack time of course! I tried to stay with the lego theme with lego cheese and crackers, lego juice boxes, and square and circle shapes in general. Ethan loves donuts, so that was much easier than a lego cake!

I think they all had a great time. I certainly did!

Some video updates

Some highlights of what the kids have been doing this winter...

In the below clip, you can see Ethan just above the music stand, wearing a white shirt. This is his first choir concert :)

In this clip below, we see Ethan's progress at basketball. This was taken at his last game of the season. It's hard to believe that he couldn't even dribble a ball in October!



Lastly, here is Kate at her pre-ballet/pre-tap class. They are rehearsing for their end of the year recital. Kate's in the middle, the only girl NOT wearing any kind of a skirt. Why am I so anti-tutu??? Of course, you should see what their costume is going to be. Totally, offensively girly! Poofs, sequins and all! But hey, you're only 3 once :)

 

A letter to my little one...

Dearest baby girl,

I hope you do not fault me too much with how few pregnancy posts I have written about you. Truth be told, this may be my first, official one.

There were many reasons for this. It took a relatively long time (in our eyes) to conceive a third time, and after two miscarriages I learned not to get my hopes up. And when we finally heard the great news it took me close to four months to really allow myself to get excited.

And here we are, six months in, and I am indeed excited to meet you!

You move around a lot, which scares me, because we are hoping you are mild-mannered, easy, a good sleeper and eater. Your activity in utero makes me think perhaps you have quite a different personality. I wonder who you are and who you will be.

Your older brother and sister kiss you every day (on my tummy) and can't wait to meet you, help take care of you, and play with you.

Christmas 2011

To our friends and family near and far, Merry Christmas!

Here is how we spent most of our morning...and tonight we are exhausted from all the play! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GRbQNRWSg&feature=youtu.be

Why God Doesn't Appear to Answer Prayer

Parenthood is chock full of God lessons.

Tonight, my five year old gave me a glimpse of what it must be like for God to hear me when I'm at my worst. My husband summarized the incident well on his latest Facebook post. He writes:

I'm sitting at the computer writing this...all of the following is being said by my defiant 5 year old son to me as I'm sitting 10 ft away with my arms open wide(literally) ready to receive him...

"Help me I'm hurting!"

"Ow!"

"I want you to come here!"

"Why isn't my daddy helping me?"

"Dad you are breaking my heart"

"Dad would you come here please?"

" Why isn't anyone helping me?"

" I'm tired!"

"I want daddy to come over here"

"Help myself!"

"This is the bad day ever!

"I never get my way!"

"What is wrong with my father...I want him to come here...I wish he could!"

"This is the worst day!"

"Do what I say!"

"I wish dad did what  I said!"

At no time did he direct his comments to me, but always to some "generic" dad...remember, I'm 10 ft away inviting him to come to me.

You see he didn't want me...my son wanted to feel better about himself and go on with his life...without asking for my forgiveness.  Before you say..."what an awful dad"...here's the back story.  10 minutes earlier Ethan had been very rude and disrespecful to me disobeying what I had asked him to do.  I told him he needed to say he was sorry to me for speaking to me like that...he refused.  I told him when he was ready, I would be waiting for his apology...then the above rant began.

There's a spiritual lesson here for all of us I think. We so often are unwilling to come to our Holy father for help because we really aren't willing to admit we need his help and his forgiveness. BTW, the more I invited him to come to me...the more defiant he became.  He who has ears to hear...

And the lesson for me, his mom? It's not enough that I cry out to God to change something in my life. God wants us to COME to him, SUBMIT to him, and in the brokenness of our lives admit that we are wrong. So The next time I become frustrated by God's seeming lack of response to my prayers, I'll stop and examine my heart. Chances are I will see some defiance and pride holding me back from my Father's arms.

My idea of comfort

I've been thinking about comfort lately. With the holiday season approaching and the upcoming preparation of a Thanksgiving meal, all my favorite comfort foods come to mind...mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, savory meats and appetizers. The comforting crackle of a fire...

But this past week, comfort came to me in another form...the sound of my baby's heartbeat.

I'm in my 17th week of pregnancy. Despite reaching the second trimester, there is still a bit of fear, worry and uncertainty. At every doctor's visit, as the nurse moves the doppler device over my tummy, those ten seconds seem like an eternity before I hear the reassuring rhythm of baby's heart. But then I always hear it...it beats strong, almost like baby is saying, "I'm here!" and I nearly cry with relief.

Thanksgiving is next week. I have much to be thankful for...

Bragging Rights

David and I got a neat email today from Ethan's kindergarten teacher. I just had to post it here for all of you to read for yourselves...check it out : 

I wanted to just share a fun Ethan story.  Yesterday, I had a website up on the smartboard and Ethan told the kids, “It says, Welcome to Your Library” and he was right!  Every day he is amazing me with the new things he can read.  I also assessed him again yesterday on the 61 kindergarten words.  He got 57/61!  When he finishes up the kindergarten list (which I am sure will be soon) I am going to start him on the first grade list.   I’ll send a copy to you when we get to that point.  I am so proud of him!

And we are proud, too! Amazed at far he's come along. We always knew he was good with words, knowing his letters and numbers at a very early age, but to see it all come together in a just a few months has got David and me beaming with pride!!!

Happy Halloween

Can you guess who Ethan and Kate are for Halloween this year?

I found Ethan's Anakin Skywalker costume at Goodwill and fashioned a leather-like vest to complete the look. I couldn't find anything for Kate, so I decided to try making her entire Princess Leia costume. I'm not completely proficient in garment making, and I hadn't really worked with knit fabrics, so this was a stretch for me (no pun intended)! Her hair was another issue. After several experiments I decided on a cap with "buns" attached to them. I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

We had a great evening of trick or treating in the neighborhood! And yesterday, we spent the afternoon carving pumpkins...

I think they came out great!

Ethan's Kindergarten class also had a Halloween parade and party at the end of school today. His goody bag contained vampire teeth, funny eye glasses and other trinkets. He had fun with the teeth :)

Here are the kids in his class!

Okay, now back to the candy....

Kindergarten

It's been over two months since Ethan started kindergarten and the transition has been a wonderful one! He's made new friends, learned new skills, LOTS of vocabulary from his peers (yikes! Nothing lewd yet), and he's learned to read.

Most mornings dad takes him to school (we live too close for the bus route), but on those mornings when I take him I am often overwhelmed by the same feeling. It's not sadness, not pain (though it's a kind of pain), not regret...

It always happens when I say goodbye to him and he trots off to join his classmates in line. Something about this image of him walking--no running--away from me, fills my eyes with tears and pulls at my heart strings like nothing else.

These are the bittersweet things about growing up. He's only five, but already he does not reach for my hand when we walk across the street. He packs his own bag, gets himself dressed and makes his own bed. I am thrilled at his independence, but these little moments are also a practice in letting him go...because one day he will indeed leave me for good.

Ok...enough of the sob stories...I'm hormonal, and have good reason to be. But that is another post...

These are photos from the first half day of school...

And his first full day...

He is a happy boy in his school...eager to learn new things. And I always anticipate 3:30 when he comes home and tells me about his day :)

3 Years Old

She's a bit of a tomboy, yet picky about her clothes. Outgoing, almost aggressive, yet cries at the slightest reprimand. Kate's personality is really starting to show! She stands 39 inches tall, weighs a solid 35 pounds and loves to sing and dance (jeez, I wonder where that comes from ;)

For her third birthday we invited some close friends and their families to Sugar Grove Nature Center in McLean, IL for some outdoor fun in their Imagination Grove. It's an outdoor play area that encourages kids to explore, get dirty and just be kids. Happy Birthday, Kate!

Here is a video clip of us singing to the birthday girl. Or, you may click here to see it