Love the Talkin'

Eli is talking so much more these days, although it can be hard to understand him with food constantly in his mouth.

His new favorites are:

I ready!
hold me
Ky-ie, bus! (while waiting by the window for our neighbor to come home from school)
orange pease (i.e. orange juice please)
Daddy home!
sock off

Reading Lesson TIme!

Alison's working on her reading lesson.
Eli's repeating everything she says.
Both in goofy outfits, but loving every minute.

What season is it?

We're slightly confused around here...what season is it?
Friday it was 80 and sunny and we spent the day outside playing.
Saturday, Alison woke up absolutely convinced she was playing soccer that day and immediately put on a tank top and shorts. Unfortunately it was 50 and windy. I told her that she needed to put warm clothes on and this is what she came out in...her "warm soccer outfit". She's not happy about her picture being taken, but just take a moment to appreciate the high rise of the pants. Needless to say, we did not leave the house that day. Instead we moved some furniture in the living room and playing indoor, warm soccer.

Baby Update

We went to our "special" ultrasound this week to check out the dots on the baby's heart. Ben and I were pleasantly surprised with a short wait and a great technician. The doctor said our baby has a beautiful, textbook heart that is functioning perfect. The calcification spots will go away on their own and he has absolutely no concerns for our baby. And Ben now has scored a perfect score for being asked if he is a doctor at our ultrasounds. I had to stifle my laugh because I know he was just pulling out what he heard the last doctor tell us, but he sure did fool this doctor. The baby is sitting so low, we could barely see his face and weren't able to get any good pictures. To be honest, ultrasound pictures just look creepy to me anyway. I'm anxious to see he face in person, and then there will be lots of pictures of our perfect baby!

While we were gone

Alison and I went down to North Carolina to have a girls day with our friends Abby and Alex. We got to meet their newest addition, Avery. Alison was very excited to hold a girl baby.

The boys stayed home and played some guitar,

and watched some Elmo.I think Eli enjoyed his "quiet" day with daddy :)

Strong Love

To my Valentines,

I love you as strong as these biceps,

and it grows stronger everyday.


Ben,
I love your fierce gift of cooking,
I love how you fill our house with music and laughter.
I love seeing you smile and the comfort of your voice.
I love the bond you have with our kids-there is something very precious to me when I see your unconditional love for them.

Alison,
I love watching you prance through the house, humming to yourself.
I love that you truly believe you are a princess and pray that you always have that confidence.
I love that you are always my helper and ready to serve in anyway you can.
I love your love for all things pink and am so thankful to have you as my little girl.

Eli,
I love how you wrap your little arms around me when I sing you our bedtime song.
I love hearing you excitedly shout "Ma-mum" when I walk in your room in the morning.
I love your giggles and snuggles.
I confess I often feel like I don't know how to be a mommy of a boy, but there is something I can't explain about our bond and I am so thankful God gave me you.

Surprise Baby,
I love that you remind us everyday of God's sovereignty and unending faithfulness.
I love feeling you kick and move.
I'm excited to meet you and to see you join your brother in all his shenanigans.
I can't make any promises about your name, but I can absolutely promise you that you are and always will be greatly loved.

Happy Valentines Day!
This was one of my favorite Valentine's Days ever. Maybe it's because I had no expectations or maybe it's because I got to spend the day with my favorite people. Ben made us heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes and homemade whipped cream for breakfast. Now that's a way to start the day! After the Y, we chatted with Aunt Beth and the cousins on Skype. The kid's very sweetly were "giving" eachother gifts (i.e. show eachother random toys found around the house) and said over and over 'Happy Valentine's Day!'. I love technology today and LOVE that we can see family whenever we want. We enjoyed an afternoon of napping and then Daddy surprised us with gifts when he got home from work. Alison and I each got a rose, I got a big bag of peanut butter M&M's, Alison got a bag full of goodies and I can't remember what Eli got because he just swiped everything Alison took out of the bag. Alison gave Daddy and Eli each a sucker that she picked out her self. The kids and I read books while Ben cooked dinner. I admit this was my favorite part of the day. Alison and I sat and looked through a 'Where's Waldo' book...I love those books and I loved just sitting and cuddling with her. Now on to my amazing husband. This man can COOK! I'm sad for all of you who have missed out on his cooking. He made flank steak (which he marinated in red wine for me since I can't drink it, but crave it), garlic mashed potatoes and Caesar salad. It was better than anything I've ever tasted in a restaurant. Then, he made a cheesecake with a raspberry sauce all from scratch. It took everything in me not to eat the entire thing. As we sat eating this amazing dinner, I had to sit back and laugh. I was in my pajamas and the kids were being silly. I said to Ben, "10 years ago, we would have been sitting in a romantic restaurant all dressed up, and we would have never imagined a Valentine's Day like this." He looked around and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, this is the best kind of Valentine's Day I could have ever imagined." I love how he loves me even when I'm in my pj's. I love how he loves being home with our silly kids. I love his creamy mashed potatoes and I love how our love has just grown stronger every year. Maybe in 10 more years, our kids will be cooking for us!

What Would You Do?

What would you do with a pair of raggedy old pajama pants?

Most would just toss them out.
Some would turn them into cleaning rags.

But if you just can't part with them,
they could magically transform into a pair of "clown pants".

And when the circus has left town, with a short trim, they turn into Princess Jasmine pants that a princess won't take off the rest of the night.

Nana's Visit

Elizabeth was able to stay with us a few more days after the ultrasound and everyone enjoyed the extra time with her.Highlights of the week:
We had a dusting of snow,
Nana tried Chick-fil-A for the first time,
We spent a morning Antique shopping and brunch at the Bakery,
and we began our long quest for a name for Surprise Baby.
But best of all, Nana got to see a little glimpse of what our "normal" life looks like.

It's a Baby Brother

On the way home from the ultrasound, we stopped by Target to pick up a few gifts and some ice cream, so we could have a little party to share the baby news with the kids. Honestly, I shed some tears in the car on the way home...I dreaded disappointing Alison, but was so thankful Ben had thought of buying her a new doll. And that doll was worth every single penny (thank you knock off American Girl dolls!). I was also thankful for the cookies Ashley had made with the kids, because that's all Eli cared about. We tried to emphasize that the party was to celebrate our family and all that God has given us. We talked with Alison about all the blessings that will come from being the only girl. She's named her "new sister" Micole, and yes, that's supposed to be a 'M'...but you can call her 'Molly' for short. Elizabeth and Kent bought her a PJ outfit for the doll and everyday she's gotten her ready for bed and dressed again in the morning. I feel like this is the first toy she's really taken ownership of and been really excited about, and it's been a great distraction. Last night, she was helping me cook dinner and she told me that she's really excited about the baby. I sighed some relief, but then she said she was still disappointed that it's not a sister. I've tried to assure her that it's okay to be disappointed (I always thought she would have a sister someday too) and that the whole boy thing is new to me too. I grew up with just a sister and always wondered what it would be like to have another sibling. I never had brothers, I have no idea what it's like to have brothers, nor do I know much about boys, period. So I told her we would have to learn together and someday, Daddy and the boys can go play football and we'll go shopping.

Surprise Baby #3 is a...

BOY!!!

My first thought when I saw our little boy was "oh, he looks different than Eli". Of course he does, but it makes me excited to see him in person in a few short months.

So on to the story of our ultrasound.
Alison was up bright and early, ready for the day. Nana and Granddaddy are visiting and were waiting for her with a heart shaped donut. Eli on the other hand slept until it was time to leave for the appointment. I got him up, dressed and was getting him some milk when he threw up. We all stood there in shock, not sure what to do. I started crying because my poor boy was sick (he's never thrown up) and I didn't want to leave him. I was also stressed because we needed to leave, but didn't know what to do and I was covered in throw up. After a quick clean up, we jumped in the car to take Alison to a friend's and thought we would just attempt to take Eli with us. I knew there were a lot of people praying for us that morning, and I'm so thankful they were...because God provided a wonderful friend to take care of my kids at a time I needed it most. My sweet friend graciously loved on my potentially flu infected son and it was such a wonderful feeling knowing he was being taken care. I was able to relax and enjoy seeing son #2. Eli must have just choked on some congestion, because he never showed another sign of any illness-Praise the Lord! She even made Valentine's Day cards and cookies with them! What a precious gift friends are.
Even after the chaos of the morning, we made it to the appointment on time. I cheated this time around and didn't follow the "drink lots of water and don't go to the bathroom" instructions. I still had to go to the bathroom and was STARVING by the time we got into the ultrasound. The technician put the wand to my belly and before I could even see the baby, Ben announced that he knew what it was. SERIOUSLY?! I said, "Well, it must be a boy if you can already tell". The technician laughed and said he was right. And then she asked if he was a doctor. This has happened every.single.time. we've had an ultrasound. I don't understand how he does it! I could barely make out that it was a baby and he already knows the sex. The technician looked over a couple of things, but she quickly got stuck at looking at the heart and spent, what seemed like forever, analyzing the heart. She found 3 calcification points on the heart. Everything seems to be functioning fine and the size of the heart is normal, but she said 3 points is unusual. Usually she'll see 1 or 2 in conjunction with other "markers" for Down's, but our baby doesn't have any other "markers", just 3 spots. She also said that in her experience it really doesn't mean anything and that it could just be how the baby is positioned and the ultrasound machine is seeing the heart. She had a doctor come in and look at it...both seemed not overly concerned, but thought we should see a specialists just to make sure. As strange as it sounds, I knew this was coming. We went through a similar situation with Eli and it seems like nothing in a child's life can go without extreme scrutiny. I feel good about the health of our baby; I know that he is fearfully and wonderfully made and God is sovereign over all things, even 3 dots on his heart. I am, however, upset that we have to go through the stress of tests and expensive appointments.

Speaking of stress, now he have to name another son.
Rule #1: he will only have ONE name...there will be no nicknames or shortenings! And as I thought about this, I realized that I am the only one that calls Eli, Eli. So I guess this rule is really for myself.
We had a great girl name and I'm slightly, okay really, disappointed we won't be able to use it. Why, oh why, can't boy names be easy for us?!
Alison is calling the baby Charlie. Do you know why? Guess what she watched at Miss Ashley's house while we were at the doctor? That's right. Charlie Brown. Sorry, Alison. 'Charlie' breaks Rule #1.

Tid Bits

• We find out if the baby is a boy or girl in the morning. I feel oddly content not knowing. I'm excited to see the baby and make sure everything is healthy, but I think I could wait until he/she is born to find out the gender. I don't have any strong feelings what it is, but I'm leaning towards boy.
• Alison told Ben the other day that she needed to get her "cutie" sleep and that nobody believes she's a real princess.
• Eli's new nickname is 'Rocket'...thanks to his big sis. Ben has started calling Alison 'Ship'.
  

20 Weeks

I'm exhausted and starving all. the. time.
So much so that I'm often irrational when it comes to food. I almost left church on Sunday because I was THAT hungry. Ben has cooked from scratch, every single one of my cravings. One night he made white chocolate/peanut butter granola bars...I almost had a tantrum when he said I had to wait 2 hours to let them set. I would say it's safe to say that I'm in the "I'm hungry and I need it NOW!" stage of pregnancy.
Some nights I've fallen asleep before Alison...and she goes to bed at 7:30. I keep wondering how this exhaustion is different than sleep deprivation. It doesn't really seem fair that women have to be tired for so many years of their life.

The baby is moving a lot and Ben felt his first kick a few nights ago.

I'm carrying very low, just like I have with my other 2 pregnancies.

I've heard about a million times this week, "You barely look pregnant!". I assured them all to just wait a couple of weeks and they'll be saying, "Wow! You're huge!".

Alison asks every day when the baby is coming and she's very excited about finding out whether it's a brother or sister. Ben has settled with her that if she doesn't get a real baby sister, that she can have an American Girl sister. She seems to be satisfied with that compromise.

Alison thought she needed a belly picture too.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Alison!

My princess is 4 1/2!


The weather was beautiful and we headed to the park for a picnic.

I really should end the half birthday celebration, because it just gets confusing for them as they get older. And I confess that the mini cupcakes were a last minute result of a smidge of cake batter I had left over and some icing left from Christmas. Add some princess sprinkles, make a pink smoothie and Viola! you have the perfect 1/2 birthday party celebration.

We sang and ate and Alison kept saying, "This is the BEST 1/2 birthday ever!!!".
The smile on her face made it all worth it.
We'll end 1/2 birthday's some day...but for now I think it's a pretty good excuse to have some cupcakes.