welcoming you...

The weeks seem to fly by in a blurry fog when sleep is erratic, schedules have been thrown out the window and little ones need attention and love.  I snapped some here-and-there photos of our first week with our new little babe.  Things have never been busier nor have they ever been better.  It is amazing how the miracle of a new life encircles a family in such rich love despite the chaos that exists when a new family member arrives.

  

This year on your birthday you were overjoyed to be the center of attention during the birthday song.  Your smile lit up your entire face and you giggled with glee.  You were delighted to blow out the three candles on your birthday cake all by yourself.  

You seem to be slightly obsessed with Cinderella after your grandmother told the story to you one afternoon.  Even before ever seeing a Disney Cinderella movie, book or doll, you talked about and played Cinderella.  On your birthday, I was a little embarrassed when you expected your family to bring you Cinderella toys.  I was thankful that you didn't ask them a second time to give you Cinderella things.  We talked about being grateful for the things people bring you, no matter what it is.  I hope this will sink in...  

You have grown so much this year!  You are talkative, vibrant, without fear, wonderfully imaginative and have learned to be gentle with friends and family.  We love you!

How old are you?
(holds three fingers up)

What is your favorite color?
pink

What is your favorite thing to do?
play with Cinderella

What is your favorite food?
ketchup and fries and apple juice

What is your favorite food Momma makes?
Cinderella food

What is your favorite animal?
Radi (giraffes)

Where do you want to go?
Cinderella's castle

What favorite thing to do outside?
play
play what?
play cars


What do you want to be when you grow up?
Cinderella when I grow up


What is your favorite fruit?
strawberries


What is your favorite song?
Daddy's song


What is your favorite book?
Cinderella book

What is your favorite game?
Cinderella puzzle

your day

This month we celebrate you!  We celebrated much earlier than normal to avoid the hot summer temperatures.  Nostalgically, we planned your celebration at the city park Momma played at when she was your age.  We rode the little green train on the same tracks I remember crossing as a kid.  The park hasn't changed much and still bears some of the same play structures I loved playing on when I was little.  You seem to share the same joy over the little train and city park.  You excitedly spoke of this special day ever since your sister had a birthday earlier in the year.  Although it was warm, it was bearable for an overzealous birthday girl who looked so forward to "her" day with sweet friends at the park.

hurling the ball

A while back we decided to take the kids bowling.  I hadn't been to a bowling alley for years and questioned the type of alley that might be suitable for a family with young children.  I thought of old bowling alleys polluted with cigarette smoke, old carpet and people that hung around for days.  I questioned my husband's idea to take the kids but decided to keep my ideas and thoughts to myself and see what bowling with children might be like.

It turned out to be such a fun experience for everyone!  My kids were mesmerized by the balls slowly rolling down the alley to the bright white pins.  Little dances of joy ensued when a pin or two was knocked down.  

  

They only lasted for 1 game but it was a fun morning out for the family.

Only later did I find out about this fun program for kids over the summer.  If you sign up, your kids can bowl free all summer long!  We have been a few times to beat the heat on a hot summer afternoon and have not left disappointed.  

a wagon load...

Today she rode away in "her" very own Cinderella carriage.  Delighted to take a ride in a wagon filled with a comfy pillow and warm blankets, she gladly left her anxious parents.  Thankfully, a sweet friend was at her side the entire time.

Wonderful nurses distracted her busy mind with special stickers 

and a wagon to play with while she waited.

We were calmed by the short procedure for your little ears and all the kindness we encountered today--so happy a Friday the 13th hospital visit went wonderfully well!  Whew!

ready?

I am not sure I have ever been 100% really ready for the arrival of a newborn.  I would argue that most families would fall into this same category of organized unpreparedness.  There are always little things that aren't thought about until that little baby makes it's appearance -- like the lack of sleep that comes with precious children. 

As we inch closer to meeting our third, I must say that my body seems ready and these big sisters are definitely ready to meet their sibling.  Their excitement over this baby has prompted me to get my act together and prepare more despite my daily laziness and exhaustion with this pregnancy.  

Somehow having all the "stuff" from my previous babies has somewhat squelched the busy nesting that happened with my other pregnancies.  Instead, my nesting seems to be for my older children--making sure their little souls will be well taken care of when this new one arrives.  Getting their old clothes cleaned out of their closets and straightening their things seems to be top priority in my mind these days.   I am sure they are both ready for me to be done straightening their things.  My big girl pleaded with me the other day when she politely requested that I not throw anything away from her room.  Poor kid.

Even though I am not itching to set up the Pack n' Play, cradle, rocker and drag down the newborn clothing from the top of the closet, I do think we are ready for this little one.  Perhaps it is a weird calm that comes from already having two...I am not sure.  But I do know that we will be more than ready to hold him or her in our arms and enjoy the sweet innocence and miracle of a new life.

July 4th