Squeezing in the holidays some more

I know I mentioned the other day about how we are squeezing in lots of holiday cheer – so let’s recap what memories we have been able to create so far in December:

Mr. Kringle’s Inventionasium

Gianna’s school program

(she’s in the 2nd row, on the right behind the little girl with the walking cast)

Breakfast with Santa with the little cousins

And a holiday party date night with a handsome guy!

a letter to my {third} daughter

hey there baby girl -

It’s been 39 weeks since you started growing into the little tiny person who is kicking around on the inside today. I have spent nearly that amount time wrapping my brain around the fact that you are our third child, our third little girl. Trying to figure out how are we so blessed and being abundantly thankful that we ARE so blessed.

I have to be honest with you, though. I haven’t been able to to spend much time reflecting on how life is going to change with you in it. I haven’t been able to hand write you a single letter that is just for you. I haven’t been able to take as many pictures to document how you have grown inside my belly. But I have been able to enjoy every wiggle, kick, flip, spin, and dance move from the inside. Sometimes you put on quite the show and we can all see how you move by the way you wiggle around in there. You will even move away from (or toward) my hands when I set them on my stomach. The last time we got to see you we found out that all that heartburn mommy has been complaining about is in fact due to a full head of hair on your little head!

I am thankful to have felt really good this entire pregnancy, so thanks for going easy on me. You have two big sisters who are anxiously waiting on you to come out and meet them. Gianna is beyond thrilled to hold you, to take care of you, to love you. She is also excited to teach Aleesia how to be a big sister. Aleesia, she doesn’t really know what to think right now but I know she is going to love you so much. She’s been practicing how to hold a baby, and how to rock a baby, and she really is the best little cuddler you have yet to meet. Daddy is getting really excited too, he is practically begging you to come out anytime now!

My newest little friend, I need you to know that just because you are the third doesn’t mean you are any less loved than your sisters. I know now that our hearts grow to accommodate each child and love them each to the moon and back. And sisters, oh sisters they are so awesome. I have two sisters (plus bonus step sisters!) and you know what, you all might not (ok, won’t!) always get along  all of the time, but I truly pray that you will be each others best friends for all your lives. There is truly no other relationship like it in the whole world.

We are ready for you to come and live here – your room is ready and Gianna even spent time today making it look extra perfect for you. The swing is set up. The car seat is out and ready for you to ride in. Your closet is full of adorable, teeny, tiny, clothes for you to wear. I even heard that Santa has a little something special for you if you arrive in time! We prayed for you, we have been waiting patiently for you to get big enough to come out, and I can’t wait to see who you are!

*Bella Rose Photography

I’m ready to share your wiggly self with the daddy, Gianna, and Aleesia (and everyone else, too, I suppose!) and we are all just so ready to love on you from the outside.

xo

Mommy

Memory catching

I was reading through some blog posts from the end of Aleesia’s pregnancy. So many things are so similar right now – and I’ll get to that, but first – some memory catching NEEDS to happen.

Things to remember about Gianna:

• The age of five is seriously great. She is such a grown up kid but still very much my little girl. Our conversations are hilariously logical and I wish I could record all of them! Lately she has been ending stories she tells me with “it was classic” or “you just wouldn’t believe it”
• She still mispronounces some things. For example, she made a pilgrim bonnet at school and kept telling me it was a vomit! And a bench = vench.
• Gianna LOVES to just rock out in the car. Taylor Swift is a big favorite of hers, but she will sing along to any song she hears and she usually asks me to turn it up!
• She can tell a story with her eyes – they sparkle when she is excited, they show every ounce of frustration or sadness before she says anything at all, they light up when she is surprised or happy. Those blue eyes are the key to her heart and sole, no doubt about it.
• Gianna is a wonderful big sister. She is helpful and caring and nurturing. She also likes her space, which is okay.
• She still loves to help clean and to just generally be helpful! She is so proud of herself when she is a good helper.
• Her dream is to be a ballerina one day. And maybe a horse rider or a pop star.
• Gianna has one of the most vivid imaginations and it comes out in so many ways – she will play with her toys for hours on end making up stories/adventures for them, she likes to color/create things and she makes up songs.
• The older she gets, the more she likes to snuggle up together.

Things to remember about Aleesia:

• The age of 1.5 is so super fun and Aleesia is on a serious language explosion. I can’t possibly list all of the words that she can say but new favorites are “sinta” (santa), “thank you mommy/welcome mommy” (she says them all together!), “muncle” (uncle), “selsa” (Elsa), “nakey” (naked). Not a word really, but she likes to sing too and will randomly sing parts of ‘Let it go’ and the thinking chair song from blues clues!
• If Gianna has it, she wants, or wants to be looking at it/playing with it. She for sure looks up to her big sister.
• Coloring is one of her favorite things to do. And puzzles.
• We are getting into independent play and it is really fun to watch her play and imagine as well. Tonight, in fact, she put an Ariel doll to bed before we went into her room!
• She is still the sweetest snuggler I have ever met!
• Binkie and blankie are never far from her, although we are getting to the point where binkie needs to stay in bed when she is awake because we don’t want her to talk with it in her mouth. Although, admittedly, I am slacking on enforcing this at the moment but plan to get a lot more serious about it when I am home with the baby!
• She loves shoes and clothes. But mostly, she loves accessories. She wakes up every morning and says “I wanna bow” and makes just about anything into a pretty!
• Aleesia also has a big personality – she knows when she is being bad and has this look that she will give you that makes you want to scream and crack up laughing at the same time. She has a big time pouty lip and can bring on the crocodile tears easily. She also just started literally dropping to the floor or putting her head in her hands when you tell her no as if you just devastated her beyond repair! She also has such a big, bright smile and bright eyes that you can’t be mad at her for long.

To remember about this pregnancy:

• I have felt so good (with a few exceptions) the entire time. Seriously, I don’t have a thing to complain about.
• Except the heartburn – but I know she has hair so it’s worth it, right?!
• I am 38 weeks pregnant and my feet just started to swell and I am just starting to really “feel” as pregnant as I am. But my wedding rings still fit!
• This little lady is no different than her sisters in that she is super super active and strong! And she also prefers to lay on the right side.
• There hasn’t been much focusing on being pregnant, which I think attributes to how good I feel, but every day on my way to and from work I enjoy the quiet time with her and usually have my hand on my stomach as I drive.
• I am not sleeping much these days, which isn’t very fun, but she is so active sometimes at night one swift kick to the ribs or punch to the hip wakes me up!
• Her big sisters are very excited to meet her. Gianna can.not.freaking.wait until she gets here and Aleesia, well, she has no real idea of what is happening but she’s excited because Gianna is.
• My hair was fabulous until a week or so ago – I want my nice pregnancy hair back!
• My stomach is much rounder this time than I remember it being before. And I apparently look like I am going to give birth at any moment the way people have been acting!
• I’m starting to get a little cranky/extra hormonal but I know that has a lot to do with the holiday season, constantly doing all the things that need to get done, and just you know being unavoidably tired!

To remember about life in general – it is so good right now! We all have our moments and not all the days are great, but I can’t truly remember being this happy and content with the way life is playing out around me – possibly ever. I know a lot of that is my general outlook on things, but it’s also a lot of hard work that has paid off to get us here. While I could do without winter and a little more certainty around when my newest peanut will be coming out to meet us, there is just so much to be thankful and joyful for I feel like I am living in an alternate universe sometimes! But I sure am enjoying the ride.

squeezing the holidays in

The holidays are nuts, always, right? I know I’m not the only one who thinks that!

We are trying to cram so many things into the short period between Thanksgiving and Christmas that between all of the fun stuff, plus work/school/life/new baby prep I can hardly catch my breath.

So here are, squeezing in as much holiday cheer as we possibly can. So far we have:

celebrated Thanksgiving!

Took a quiet day to clean, decorate, and spend some time in our pjs.

Gianna was in our local “welcome Santa” parade with her dance school – she loved it! And we got into the spirit by visiting the Christmas tree festival put on by our local children’s hospital – it’s one of our favorite things to do!

Gianna and Aleesia’s elf, Krista, brought Gianna tickets to see the Nutcracker. It was a really really great date with my biggest girl who was in awe of the ballerinas and really wants to know how she can be in the Nutcracker some day.

Gianna and Aleesia’s elf is lazy-ish, or forgetful, or something, She brings things to them some days but other days? She snoozes on the job and forgets she’s supposed to move! (they are also allowed to play with her, it helps the whole thing not feel so creepy to me!). BUT! One thing Krista can do is deliver notes to Santa. Gianna wrote a thank you note for the Nutcracker tickets (She said it was the best day ever with her mommy. Her mommy cried.) and hand delivered her very thoughtfully written Christmas list to the big man himself.

I wish Krista could cook dinner or clean the bathroom though, that would rock.

We decorated and did some other random stuff throughout the weekend too – like the girls painted pictures for their sister’s room.

It’s all super fun stuff and those two smiley blue-eyed girls that live here love every minute of it! I feel blessed to be able to make these memories with them, even if I’m extra tired and the bathroom still isn’t as clean as I would like.

This weekend will be more squeezing in of things like: Christmas shopping with the girls for their grandparents/aunts/cousin, taking the girls to a fun Christmas event (Mr. Kringle’s Inventionasium) with our niece, hopefully checking out some Christmas lights, continuing to celebrate Advent, finishing up our Santa shopping, and also having dinner for my mom’s birthday. Followed by a week of continued holiday squeezing in of: Gianna has a Christmas program for school and her class is “going” on the Polar Express (at school, sounds cute!). A Santa breakfast, Christmas party, my mom’s actual birthday and who knows what else awaits us next weekend. And all while we continue to get things ready for baby sister who could decide to arrive at anytime, totally throwing off our holiday squeeze in!

Wordless Wednesday

More catch-up!

I totally forgot to mention that Aleesia was baptized in September!

typical – impossible to get everyone to smile or even remotely look in the same direction!

We had fun at my parent’s Halloween party at the beginning of the month

We dressed Aleesia as Linus because she takes her blanket everywhere, which was perfect since her uncle and favorite dog-cousin were Charlie Brown and the great pumpkin!

Our goofy family!