{ok}

I'm back briefly after an unexpected hiatus from my little notes to the little one. Christmas was an especially busy time for us this year, and I'm looking forward to having things slow down a bit for a while. Life won't be slow for long, though, as we have quite the busy year ahead of us.

My brother is getting married sometime this spring (yay!) followed by our good friend Kelly and his fiance Molly, who plan to wed on our Anniversary (May 31 - so excited to share anniversaries with them!). Baby number 3 is due sometime around June 14, and just over a month after that my brother-in-law is getting married. His will be the only wedding we have to travel for, as his fiance is from Michigan and their wedding will be there.

Weddings and babies - it should be a great year! I find myself immediately stressed at the thought of so much going on this year, though. Bran is a best man and groomsmen in at least 2 of those weddings, and Emma is prime flower girl material, though we haven't been asked about that yet.

My prayer for this year is that God would give me peace and calmness through this busy time. That I would be able to not stress, but rather praise Him for flooding us with blessings this year.

Here's to lots of weddings and a baby!

Hello, Second Trimester!

Dear Littlest One,

Thanks to your brother and sister, mommy has been without a computer for the last few weeks. My phone really doesn't lend itself to blogging, so I don't have letters for you for those weeks. BUT daddy got us all fixed up with a new laptop and I'm happy to tell you what we've been up to! We hear that you're the size of a Shrimp this week, which is incredible. I sometimes forget I'm even pregnant (except for when I don't feel well... then I remember!). I still don't have what feels like a baby belly, but my clothes aren't fitting well anymore, and my jeans haven't been buttoned in weeks. We got to see more pictures of you at an ultrasound a few weeks ago. You were moving like crazy, waving your arms and kicking. You are such a person, even so little!  I can't wait to see how you wiggle yourself into our lives. It's funny to think about what our family will look like next year. When Emma was born, we couldn't imagine life any different, and then Jack came along and we don't know what we did without him! You're going to change us again, and it will be wonderful. Emma loves asking if you're coming out yet. She can't wait to meet you! Mommy started running again this week, and I hope I can keep it up. It's getting cold, so I might need to run on Mom Mom's treadmill instead of outside, but I'm determined to stay healthy for you! Happy 13th week, little one.

xoxo,
Mommy

{ten weeks already!}

Dear Littlest One,

We got to see you for the first time this week! Daddy and I both went to my first appointment and we got to see you and hear your heartbeat on an ultrasound. You were moving like crazy, waving your little arms and legs. It made my heart so glad to see you strong and healthy! Mommy is feeling much better these days, but I'm still very tired all the time. I think that has more to do with the fact that Jack has given up his trend of sleeping through the night, though. He's been waking me up at midnight almost every night this week... what's with that silly big brother of yours? Emma is as excited as ever to meet you. I didn't think she would really understand when we told her there was a baby in my belly, but she definitely does. She loved the ultrasound picture and any time she sees a newborn baby she asks if ours can be just like that one. She's gotten to see lots of newborn pictures lately thanks to so many of our friends having babies this month! We can't wait for it to be our turn :)

xoxo,
Mommy

the littlest one

Dear Littlest One,

We were so surprised a few weeks ago when the pregnancy test daddy made me take was positive! I didn't think I was pregnant, but daddy was pretty sure I was. Turns out he was right! I was pretty sick for a few weeks afterward, and very very tired, but with lots of help (especially from daddy and Aunt Jen!) I was able to keep my chin up and press on. Emma is very excited to meet you, and she's pretty sure you are a girl. Every time we ask, she says she's going to have a baby sister. Jack doesn't know about you yet, but we know he'll be excited once you get here. He loves baby Owen and gets so excited every time he comes over. I can't wait for him to meet you for the first time! You're 9 weeks new, and growing like crazy. Stay cozy in there, and feel free to take up lots of room. Mommy's ready to look pregnant instead of just lumpy!

xoxo,

Mommy

hello there!

Photo Credit Alyssa Bouma

Whew... with two little ones running around (well, one is running... Jack is still crawling at the moment!) my blog has really been put no the back burner. I would say that I'm sorry about that, but I'm not! These days you're more likely to find me quieting a fussy baby doll (while Emma "nurses" another fussy doll), playing peek a boo with my son, watering our new tree, making home cooked meals, or loving on my little ones than sitting on my computer, blogging. Don't get me wrong - I miss it sometimes! I miss being able to share fun finds with you (heck, I miss getting a chance to find those interesting things to share with you!), and I miss sharing pictures of pretty houses with you. But I know that someday my babies will be grown and I'll have all the time in the world to blog. For now, I'm going to try and pop in every once in a while like I have been. If things get quiet around here, just picture me laying on the floor laughing hysterically in a pile of children and know that all is well!