Better Than Cupcakes

motherhood calls.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

I bought the cutest black floppy hat the other week. I have a suitcase partly packed with a maternity swimsuit and other sorts. I went through my summer dresses to see what I could wear with my ever-expanding belly.

All of this in anticipation of my big trip to Jamaica, that has been planned for months. Originally, my dad was going to take my younger sister with him on this all-inclusive, six day trip to a gorgeous hotel right on the ocean. (For her big 16th birthday). But then his plans changed and he was going to be in Africa, so someone else needed to go with her. With a smile, I gladly volunteered. Free trip to the Caribbean. Yes, please.

Now, let me go back to my doctor appointment I had last Thursday. We went up to Indianapolis, to our specialist to check on the blood clot that was found on my placenta four weeks ago. Great news--the blood clot hadn't increased in size (nor did it decrease, but it changed shape for the better to give the baby more room), and the baby is still growing great, about a 1-1.5 weeks ahead of schedule, in fact. They were concerned that the baby's growth would be affected, but they no longer have that concern and I can be monitored by my regular doctor from here on out. I also got the "go ahead" from the nurse to travel out of the country.

Then my regular 24-week doctor appointment came yesterday morning. My doctor reviewed the results from Thursday and had a couple of other tests he wanted me to do. Then I told him I was going out of the country. And the red flag appeared. He advised me not to leave because if something was to happen (even if it is a low risk) I wouldn't get the proper care I needed. So at this point I was feeling extremely stressed and frustrated because of the extra tests I had to do and hearing Jamaica wasn't a good idea. All I heard was "Going on vacation to relax and do nothing, sleep in, and have food made for you, isn't in your best interest." What?!

I have been praying about my decision almost non-stop since yesterday morning. There was more than just the blood-clot concern factor, I had some other stuff weighing on me. I asked God to give me peace and discernment about my decision. I realized I was having a lot of anxiety about leaving my girls for six days, even though they were going to be very well taken care of (the hubs was taking extra time off and I had family lined up to watch them during the day). And they probably wouldn't even remember the time I left them to go on this trip. But the thought of not seeing them for that long, nor have the luxury to just call anytime I wanted, was too much for me. I missed them like crazy and I hadn't even left yet.

I had to make a decision today. And I'm feeling really at peace with it. Ultimately, it was my decision, not the doctors. Andrew had even encouraged me to go, he knows how bad I could use this most amazing vacation. But, right now. Motherhood calls. I'm trading free food made for me at every meal, sleeping in, and relaxing on the beach looking out at the clear water, for my everyday tasks of cleaning, making meals, putting puzzles together, running errands, and playing with my sweet babies. (Whew, that last sentence was a doozy to type.)

Thankfully, my oldest sister is going to take my place and go with my younger sister. They are going to have so much fun, I'm quite excited for them. I may have also called the hubs and requested we go to the ocean very very soon as a family. The ocean is one of my very favorite spots. I also told him he has to make one meal next week (which he does not cook), so that I can pretend I'm in Jamaica getting food made for me. He said that would be just fine.

Motherhood is definitely a sacrifice. But one that has the most intangible rewards. Ever.

Motherhood calls and I'm answering it with a smile.

bump watch {23 weeks}.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:13:00 +0000

[Let's pretend a week hasn't passed since I last blogged. Also, let's pretend the last storm we had didn't do any damage to our house (it isn't extensive, but it is damage nonetheless). Or that one of vehicles had to get repaired this week. And another one needs to go in the shop. Let's just focus on baby bump, shall we?]

I have been wanting to post a weekly picture here of the growing bump. Now I'm 23 (almost 24) weeks into it, and I'm just now committing to it. Also, pictures are deceiving most of the time. I feel so much bigger than most of my belly pictures. Wait, I am bigger than what it looks. The appetite is getting out of control. No doubt. I wear black. A lot. I think it is a good "I just ate a second lunch" hider.

(iphone pics, because the dear DSLR is still broken)

I love, love this picture. Not because of me, but because {unintentionally} there is a picture of just my beautiful mama and me and bump in the pic. We will never have a three generation picture, but this, this is good. And makes my heart swell.

There isn't too much news on the baby-front. Except I'm feeling good. And I'm getting to the point where bending over isn't really easy anymore. And flipping sides in bed is starting to require a heck of a lot of momentum. I do feel the mister move all the time. Which is pretty much one of my favorite things, ever. The cravings aren't crazy. Except I just love food in general. A lot. Mexican is probably still top on my list. Queso dip. Yes. Except it better be white, or I may ask the waitress to take it back. (I ordered Queso dip at a restaurant and it came out mainly with beans and red sauce. Huh? Sorry Charlie.) By this time with both girls, I had a nursery planned and even painted. This time around, I don't plan on making a nursery until we move. We are hoping to get our house back on the market sometime in February. But, I do have some fun Pinterest ideas stored away. Think industrial. Orange. Deep grey. Cork board. Maps. Oh, yes!

his name.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:25:00 +0000

It's tempting to have a dozen of kids just so we can name them. Except three is enough for us. For now. For sure. And it has been so fun coming up with a name for each one. Somehow by every twenty-week ultrasound, when the gender is revealed, we always have a name ready, boy or girl. Audrey was going to be a Jackson, and Naomi would have been Nolan. This time around if we were having a girl she would have been Violet. (Someone use that name, I just love it.)

But, since He is in fact, a BOY (eek!), we have come up with (what I think) is the perfect boy name. If we are friends on Facebook (which I hope we are), then you got to see the most adorable video of Audrey revealing her brother's name. [I'm having trouble uploading it onto here, sorry.]

For now on, instead of calling him boy or baby #3 on here, he will be known as...

LINCOLN WAYNE

Don't you just love it? I'm bias, but I think it is a pretty teriffic name. I like how strong it sounds. We picked Lincoln after going through quite a bit of boy names. I wanted something classic and easy to pronounce (I grew up with a name being read wrong 75% of the time, so I didn't want that for my kiddos). Some other picks of mine (not necessarily Andrew's) were Jasper and Porter. His middle name, Wayne, is a family name, the middle name of Andrew, his dad, and his grandpa. We are up for calling him Linc as well for a nickname.

There is little Lincoln, 22.5 weeks along!

I can't believe I'm more than half way done. Sometimes I get quite excited about it and then other times I'm like, whoa, slow down pregnancy I'm not ready for another one yet. This week has been quite hormonal for me with my patiences running thin. I thought I was suppose to be in the energetic/nesting stage right now, but apparently I'm still really tired all the time. I'm hoping something kicks in soon, I have a lot to do before little Lincoln arrives!

the weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

[Being that my DSLR is broken and I attempted to use a super-duper old camera in my last post and now those pictures make me cringe from the grainy-ness, I will be using my iphone for pictures for the time being. Crazy to think my phone takes better pictures than one of my cameras!]

We have had such crazy {wonderful} weather here. Like in the 50's for days. It is such a tease, because I know before March comes, a winter storm or two or three will be here. In the meantime, we are soaking in these beautiful days. On Friday afternoon, we took the girls to the zoo. And they didn't even have to wear big coats! In January! It was great fun and the animals were really active. Especially those tigers. Naomi was not intimidated at all by them. Audrey, on the other hand, took a step back pretty quickly when the tiger came up to the window.

For the next six weeks, we are the "parents" to my little sister, while my dad is away on a missions trip in Africa. And his first weekend away, happened to fall on her big 16th birthday. Usually, I like to think of myself still as young and somewhat stylish. But after spending the weekend with a bunch of 16 year old girls, I am suddenly feeling very old, and well, frumpy. Ha. I spent my weekend hauling around my sister and her youngin' friends out of town for a day of shopping and hosting a bonfire for them on Friday night.

And now, let me throw this randomness in here. It is usually told that girls are more expensive, right? Well, this boy already has me eating like crazy. All.Time.Time. If this is any indication of his appetite, we are in trouble with food expenses! Now excuse me, the fridge is calling my name.

small style {tea collection}.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Ahhh, I'm finally getting back to linking up with Small Style over at Mama Loves Papa. Small Style is so fun because you get to see a bunch of cuties.

I tend to put the same thing on the girls over and over. If it is comfortable for them and layerable. [Kids get hot and cold so quickly, don't they?] Especially now that Audrey has an opinion about what she wears-- 75% of the time she wears princess dress up clothes. But sometimes I can talk her into something I little bit warmer for these winter months. She never complains about the Tea Collection dresses she has. I bought them about a month ago when they were on sale. And now they are even at a better discount-- you can get an extra 25% off the sale prices by using the code 25OFFSALE at check-out! It ends on Sunday so be sure to check it out. I even bought baby boy a couple of super cute t-shirts.

[Please excuse the super grainy photos. I'm using a camera that is about 8 years old since I broke my DSLR on Sunday!]

Audrey is wearing:
Hairclip: Zuzii Etsy
Dress: Tea Collection
Leggings: Crew Cuts
Socks: Target
Boots: Thrifted, Osh Kosh

Naomi is wearing:
Dress: Tea Collection
Leggings: Misha Lulu via the Surplus Store
Socks: Target
Shoes: Target
Bracelet: Sophie's Closest Etsy

Sisterly love.

I'm definitely not being compensated for mentioning Tea Collection. But when I see a great sale, I love to share!

it's a new year.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:35:00 +0000

We were able to slip away for the night on New Year's Eve with some of our closest friends. We have hung out every NYE for the last four years. Now that's pretty awesome, especially considering we all have kids. I slipped on my sparkly top and heels and even hit the dance floor. You can't stop this 21 week belly from busting a move. I've been known to break it down on the dance floor even at 7 months pregnant.

{Side note: I went to get a trim last week and ended up getting about 4-5 inches cut off. I have super healthy hair now, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my long hair.]

I can't believe it's January. And it's 2012. No seriously, I sound so cliche, but really. This is the year our baby boy will be born and hopefully we sell and find a home that we will be in for a very very long time.

Do you do New Year's Resolutions? It seems nowadays everyone likes to call them goals. Whichever way you want to call it, I like to always refresh at the beginning of the year and reflect back on things I would like do more or less of. I just looked over my goals from last year; looks like I need to revisit them throughout the year, some I think I accomplished others I definitely did not. This year I have a couple of goals in mind--one of the main things I would like to do is be more purposeful. More purposeful with my kids, my husband, my family, and friends. To spread myself a bit for someone else. Send that card for no reason. Deliver a meal to a friend in need. Leave cookies on a doorstep. Play with my kids. Like really play. Put down my phone and play. Sounds silly, but I get so distracted with technology. A quick second here and there and it adds up. Another goal of mine is to be more savvy with our money. I used to be really good with being on a "Dave Ramsey" budget--using cash for everything. But I have definitely slipped. Mainly with online purchasing. I get so many great deal-sites delivered to my inbox everyday and trust me, it is so tempting. Time to get back on a budget. I would love to be completely debt-free (besides a house payment). We aren't far from it (silly student loan), so I know we can do it.

And my top goal: to eat a dessert from every local restaurant in in my town. Which pretty much goes against everyone elses goal to get fit. What can I say, I like to go against the flow.

So, tell me what are you looking forward to this year? Have you set any goals?

merry christmas forever late.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:58:00 +0000

I almost decided with the New Year that I would just throw in the towel with blogging. So much has happened since the last time I posted with all the holidays that I feel sort of lost. But once again, I have to remind myself this little ol'blog is for me and my family. I love looking back at old posts and seeing the pictures and reading the words. Also? Occasionally I will run into people (or the hubs will) and they will say they read this little ol'blog. It's super sweet when I hear that, and it also keeps me wanting to share here.

I went on a blog hiatus because I left my camera at my sister's house on Christmas and just got it back on Saturday. Then on Sunday I dropped it and BROKE my DSLR. So, I will be whipping out my very old camera for the time being till I send my camera off to get fixed. But I do have good news! Tomorrow my new Mac Notebook should be arriving! The hubs won it through his business and is giving it to me. I'm slightly nervous about switching to a Mac. But rumor has it, once you go Mac you never go back. We shall see.

So, I guess I need to play catch up now. Let's start with Christmas. It was {as corny as it sounds} so magical watching the girls that morning open gifts. They slept in until 8:45, in fact we had to wake them up, I couldn't wait any longer! Audrey was pretty much speechless the entire time and Naomi was just so cheerful. My very favorite gifts to them were handmade dolls I bought from Miss Baker Stitches on Etsy. I ordered these dolls just a week before Christmas and Tracy had them made and shipped within days to me! They were custom made to "look-like" the girls and had their initials embroidered on the front; I also got to pick the fabric for each one.

Christmas Eve ready in the stockings.

Christmas morning. The girls also got a mini-trampoline which has already been so nice with the winter weather.

After a quick morning bath, it didn't take Audrey long to get in her ballerina outfit she got. I cannot wait to take her to the Nutcracker in a couple of years. She already loves the story.

Look at that sleepy face, holding a cow she got in her stocking.

[I just noticed a horse sticker on the trampoline. That didn't take long for Audrey to decorate it. Ha!]

Family shot Christmas morning. It's hard to tell from the picture, but Audrey's dress has Hello Kitty all over it. She picked it out herself at H&M. It was $12, I couldn't say no.

Those last two pictures were taken a few days before Christmas on our way to a family get together. It was almost impossible to get Naomi to sit still. Also? Audrey looks so, so big to me here! And I did not tell her to put her hands on her lap like that.

There you have it, folks. Christmas in a nutshell and some pictures. I seriously can't believe it has come and gone. I do hope you had a lovely Christmas too!

baby {boy} wishlist.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

[Here is my boy wishlist I created two days before I knew we were actually having a boy. Also, I have already made first boy purchase! A super adorable Mad Boy cowboy pj set and a Bambino Land comfy outfit via Zulily.]

With each consective baby you realize what you need and really don't need {which is quite a bit}. But you also learn that sometimes it's okay, and even better to invest in a piece that is more durable and will last through multiple kids (or have good resale value or keep as a keepsake).

That's where I am at. Thinking about what I really do need/wish for baby #3, our BOY! I would rather have less and love, love the baby items. Then buy something because it's on sale. [Don't get me wrong, I am a true sucker for sales.]

I received so, so many blankets for the girls. Blankets are great- for play, laying on, picture backdrops, swaddling, and of course keeping warm. Most of them are however, pink. This time around I would love to get some Aden and Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets for my little man. [These aren't over the top screaming boy, but I love the orange and grey combo and think they would be perfect.]

Amazon, $40

If it has cowboy print on it, I'm all for it. I love this blanket- which makes a great playmat too!

Etsy, Peppermint Pinwheels, $35

Now, I know babies do not need shoes until they are learning to walk and even then I'm a fan of soft sole ones like Robeez. But, I can't resist these adorable mustache booties.

Etsy, Charlie's Giraffe, $20

I love looking at baby carriers and slings. There are so many beautiful, well-crafted ones out there. And hello, they work magic. I'm thinking this time around, I might need a couple of new ones, like this gorgeous floral blue and orange ring sling, it's a great price too!

Etsy, Zmunki, $45

I've been coveting an AngelPack Carrier for a while now, ever since my cousin, Erin, raved about one. I just haven't been able to justify buying one because I own an Ergo, which I absolutely love. The Ergo is super comfortable, easy to use, and works with babies all the way up to 40 lbs (Audrey can still be worn!). But the downfall to my Ergo is it isn't very compatible for babies less than 3 or 4 months without the newborn insert (which I don't own and can get rather toasty-- I will be having a summer baby). I think the AngelPack has the extra head support needed for wee little ones. And not to mention the fabric!? Gorgeous. When I bought the Ergo, I had in mind that my husband would use it (which he certainly does), so that means the look is pretty basic. I'm ready for some super cute! I love the Cherry Blossom print.

AngelPack, $139

I'm so excited to be shopping for boy clothes! I like the challenge of finding unique boy pieces, that aren't all sporty {the hubs is all about the sports, it's already a funny discussion on how to dress our boy}. I love this sleeper gown I found, these are terrific for those middle of night diaper changes.

Etsy, Aimee Sharp, $18

There are so many adorable and SAFER teething toys out there. I could get lost on Etsy looking at all the beautiful handcrafted wooden ones. And I think my boy needs this one.

Etsy, Teeth Me, $8

There is my first wishlist. I'm sure to create more- ha! Tell me, if you have a boy, what is an essential, must-have? Brands that last?

P.S. We have a name! Some of you that know me well, know the name already. I'm looking forward to sharing it very soon! I'm thinking I should get Audrey on video saying it.

four days.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

This. This is just classic.

Four days left till Christmas. I'm so, so excited!

boy, oh boy.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:59:00 +0000

So, I'm feeling pretty good that my motherly intuition was correct. But I really shouldn't be bragging, because Audrey told us day one that she was having a brother. She even prayed for one.

Audrey and Naomi will be having a little brother!

I may or may not have purposely wore a blue shirt, thinking that it would in fact, be a boy.

We also got word that the baby is looking very healthy and his heart is working great. It was so fun to get a super in-depth look at our baby BOY. {Gah, I can't stop saying the word boy, I can't believe it.} We did get a caution flag when the doctor found a blood clot on my placenta. They aren't super concerned, but they do want to monitor it to watch it's growth. Which means another ultrasound in four weeks. We are praying that it doesn't grow or even shrinks, which is possible. If it grows it could interfere with baby's growth. At this point baby boy is growing great--he is actually measuring about a week ahead. I'm not going to worry about this, but just give it to God and thank Him for all the positive news we heard today.

Now I have a confession, two nights ago I began researching things I want for a baby boy and started a blog post on a wishlist. Looks like I will be able to share that wishlist soon! I'm going to break the rumor that there aren't very many cute things for boys.

And thank you all for the sweet words on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram today. I keep reading all the thoughtful congrats. It's fun to spread the word with technology.

tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:55:00 +0000

I've been trying to fill this day up with fun and stuff so it goes by as quickly as possible. This morning started out with homemade snowman pancakes. Then we ran errands, which usually always includes a trip to Target. Audrey had the idea of a picnic for lunch in our living room and now naptime with leftover Mexican. [Biggest craving this pregnancy for sure.]

And here we are.

I just snapped a quick 19 week shot of my belly. 19 weeks!! This pregnancy is almost half way done! I have to remind myself daily to take it in and actually think about being pregnant, because this is it {as far as our plans go with pregnancy}. I seriously forget throughout the day that I have a human inside of me, it's kind of crazy.

So, tomorrow is the big day. We get to find out the gender of this baby-yay yay yay! More importantly, we are going to get a super close look at this baby's growth and especially the heart; we are traveling a short trip up to Indianapolis for this ultrasound. Since Audrey was born with Pulmonary Stenosis (and had a heart procedure done at 5 days old), each consecutive baby gets checked in the womb to see if that baby is a carrier. Naomi did not have it and most likely this baby will not as well, but we will find out tomorrow with a heart echo. There isn't anything that they can "fix" before birth, but it will help prepare us and the doctors if something needs to be done at birth. I'm really excited to see little baby pop up on that screen! It is almost as exciting as birth but without any pain--score!

I've been asked a lot if I have a mother's intuition of what gender this baby might be. I definitely have my idea, but before I go and share what I think, I must say, boy or girl, we are over-the-top thrilled for another one to join our family. And clearly we don't have a choice in the matter. Ha! But, honestly, I'm thinking it's a boy. Not because "we need a boy next" or "it's about time for a boy" or "Andrew needs a boy for him." [Yes, I hear these things all the time. Can I give some advice? Don't tell a pregnant lady what gender they need to have next. Mmmkay.] I think it's a boy because this pregnancy has been very different than the last two. Audrey and Naomi were quite similar, all I remember is sickness A LOT. This time I have very rarely been sick and I feel like I'm carrying differently. Only tomorrow will tell, though! I may be surprised!

the binding bee.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:08:00 +0000

I'm happy to say, I'm almost done with Christmas shopping. And most of it was done from the comfort of my couch. I do believe, online shopping was made for moms. Also, the anticipation of waiting for something to arrive in the mail is almost addicting, even if the present is for someone else. I hate checking the mail normally (I have to walk across the street and I'm lazy), but lately I have been going out there as soon as I can to see what fun package has come next.

Today, one of my very favorite Christmas presents arrived. My dad, whom I'm really close with (especially after losing my mom 5 years ago), is getting ready for a six week journey to Africa. SIX WEEKS! I'm so happy he is able to do this. He will be doing missionary work with his brother, who is a pastor. They will be traveling all over and hopefully get to go on a safari. (that is on my bucket list). So, I wanted his Christmas present this year to be purposeful for his trip. After visiting a local art show in my town, I came across an awesome Etsy seller, Megan Winn. Her online store, The Binding Bee, sells custom, handmade journals. You guys, these journals are gorgeous. I knew the moment I saw her journals, that was what I was going to get my dad.

So Megan worked with me and created a beautiful leather journal, with an antique key closing and an African map on the inside. How cool is that?! She made sure there was leather that covered all sides, since she knew this journal would be traveling a lot. Durability, yes.

Today I spent time filling some of the pages with pictures of my dad's grandkids and devotions, so when he is traveling he will be encouraged and have sweet pictures to look at.

I can't wait for my dad to open it on Christmas. It's not the newest fishing pole or latest gadget, but sometimes gifts like this speak so much more to us.

['m not getting compensated for this post and I purchased the journal myself; when I find an awesome store that sells handmade unique stuff, I want to share. I love that she has a variety of prices in her journals too.]

You really must go and check out her store, The Binding Bee.

holly jolly.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:51:00 +0000

The weekend was filled with so many festive activities, from a Christmas breakfast, to Santa Train, to a Holiday Get Together with some super close girlfriends to church to a live Nativity Scene. Oh, and a birthday party mixed somewhere in there.

Santa Hat Brownies, idea came from Pinterest. I would write down how to do them, but they are pretty self-explanatory- brownies from a mini muffin tin, white chocolate melted, and strawberries.

Today I mailed out my Christmas cards. Yay! I was going to splurge and buy them from Tiny Prints (oh the quality and customer service!), but I ended up winning them from Tiny Prints instead through my friend Lenae's blog. I decided this year to do a letter along with it. It will be fun to look back on over the years and read.

I found a fabulous idea via Pinterest (hello, addiction) on what to do with old Christmas cards. I have been collecting them (mainly just picture ones) since 2006, they have remained in the Christmas bin year after year, but this year, they are out for all to see. Such an easy and cute idea. Buy two metal clip rings from a craft store. Take a hole punch and punch two holes in all the cards. Make sure your hole puncher isn't ten years old, it will take twice as long and your hand will be sore the next day; lesson learned. Separate into years (fortunately, I already had them all divided in bags, so I didn't have to do any guessing), and make into a little coffee table book. I also had scrapbook paper to divide and label each year in the book. I've had so much fun looking through the pictures of friends and family.

Have you been working on any fun holiday projects? Do share! What about Christmas cards, do you order them or make them or buy Christmas cards on sale the year before? (I used to do that, years ago. Then I never liked them as much the following year.)

oh, the holidays.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:57:00 +0000

I splurged on a Little People's Nativity Set the other day. [My thought was, I spend enough on cute little decorations and smelly candles, this should be in our house.] I'm so glad I bought it, because the girls have been playing with it almost non-stop. Audrey favors Mary and Naomi favors baby Jesus, it works out great. And we are pretty sure Naomi says See-sus.

Yesterday for our Advent activity, Audrey picked out some special toys from the store to give to a little girl. Then we took the toys to Stuff-A-Bus. I was thoroughly amazed at how well Audrey did while picking out the toys for someone else, then we got to the bus and she walked right in and placed the toys down next to the other ones. She picked out a Hello Kitty microphone and Hello Kitty lipgloss, somethings she would definitely want herself. This activity that we did isn't much at all, there is so, so much more to give and not just material things, but I'm thankful that we are able to give when and where we can. It's funny how you do something to teach your child something, like the value of giving to others, when really it's a lesson for yourself {me}.

We do make it a point to keep the holiday season focused on the celebration of Jesus' birth, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy going to other fun festive events, that even includes Santa Claus. I love imagination, so we do the Santa thing. Today, Andrew took the girls to a Santa Train, while I was at a Christmas breakfast. [Have I mentioned how awesome of a dad he is? He works really hard at his business, but also being a rockin' dad.] Despite the crazy amount of people there, the girls had a blast. What's not to love about seeing Buzz Light Year, Snow White, Cinderella, Cindy Lou-who, Thing 1 & Thing 2, Shrek, Rudolph, and of course, Santa on the train? [It's all free too.] I got word that Naomi thought Buzz Light Year and Shrek were the coolest things ever and she kept giving them high fives every time they walked by, and they walked by a lot, because they saw how thrilled she got by them.

We often call Audrey Thing 1 and Naomi Thing 2, so this picture is so appropriate.

You can see last year's pictures of the Santa Train here (when it was much colder out).

this girl.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:08:00 +0000

She is such a ham. We were in the kitchen and Audrey was moving around a chair and then sat down in it to do a project at the table. The next thing I know, Naomi has dragged a little blue chair into the kitchen from Audrey's room and sat right down.

I just didn't want to forget this little moment. It made my heart smile.

happy december.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:43:00 +0000

I'm so excited it's December. We started our Advent activities today. We were going to paint some little people for our Nativity Scene, but the craft store didn't have the ones I wanted, so we improvised and Audrey picked out a Nutcracker ornament to paint. She loves the Nutcracker, I can't wait till she is old enough to take her to it.

I have been slowly getting the house decorated for the holidays. I did most of it last Friday, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the front porch and our "mantle." I think decorating is a process, and can take time to make it just right. So far, I'm liking what our front porch is looking like, not quite finished, but almost. I like simplicity.

Nothing like using sticks from the yard to decorate with, right? I popped some large sticks in a container, filled it with some decor stuff, and added lights. The only thing I bought were the lights. [Psst. The idea came from Pinterest. And now I admit I may be slightly addicted. So many great ideas. And inspiring.]

For the other part of the porch, I just used some greenery that was cut from our tree. And I bought the wooden tree from TJ Maxx.

It's kind of bitter-sweet to think this may be our last Christmas in this house. I do love the coziness of it.

{first} snowfall.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

On Tuesday mornings I have a work meeting, so Andrew has dad duty. On the way home from my meeting, I had the plans for the day running through my head. Lunch. Target for returns. Maybe play with some puppies at the pet shop. Organize some more Christmas decorations. But when I came home and the rain just kept coming and Audrey asked if we could just stay home, I said okay.

I'm so glad she did. Because we would have been galloping around Target and missed out on watching our very first snow fall of the year. We literally watched out our window as the rain began to turn to giant snowflakes. Immediately Audrey wanted to get geared up to go outside even if it wasn't sticking yet.

And so we did. I abandoned my plans and enjoyed the magical moment.

Within a very short amount of time we had a small amount of accumulation.

I watched it from my kitchen window in awe.

What would playing in the snow be without coming inside for some

hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream and sprinkles?

I usually despise the cold and winter months. But for some reason this year, I'm like bring it. There is something so enticing about being forced to stay inside like trapped in a snow globe and just slow down. To give up plans. And just be. Come February I will be wishing away the cold, I'm sure. But for now, I will put on my fuzzy socks, curl up with blanket, and tell Naomi for the umpteenth time to leave the ornaments alone.

thankful.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

[I'm totally blogging out of order- yesterday it was the Christmas tree and today it's Thanksgiving. I just don't want to forget these little moments so I'm writing them down out-of-order and all.]

On Thanksgiving day we traveled to three different locations. THREE. Which means, yeah, we ate a lot. It was kind of awesome. Thankful the girls traveled so well that day. But by the end of the day we were all pretty exhausted.

Audrey's outfit killed me that day. I sort of want to borrow it.

Morning breakfast at Andrew's mom's house.

Naomi wanted to be outside so badly with her sister and the other big kids.

I dream of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at our home one day. To be in the kitchen all day long and inviting everyone and anyone to come. Until then, our little family just keeps traveling.

traditions.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:15:00 +0000

[I'm going to pretend like it hasn't been almost three weeks since I last wrote here. Because if I think too much about it, I may never blog again. And I don't like that idea. I like this little space of mine. So, I'm just going to write as if no time has passed like two best friends seeing each other again after a long holiday.]

This past weekend we did two of my very favorite holiday traditions that have been going on since I was a wee one. We went to our downtown lighting on Friday. The weather was just right, we didn't even have to bundle up like years past. It truly is a magical moment when our town counts down and the lights pop on. Also, having kiddos make events like this that.much.cooler.

Despite the rain, today we decided to get our Christmas tree. I absolutely love our tree farm we go to every year. While the tree is getting trimmed and ready, we go in a little log cabin and have free cocoa and popcorn and buy an ornament. We sort of cheated this year and just picked a Fraser Fir already cut because we didn't want to walk around in the rain.

Two years ago Audrey wore that exact same hat, coat, and boots. Growing babies, gah.

[You can see last year's adventure to the tree farm here.]

catch up.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

This past weekend my baby turned 13 months. And suddenly she has all this 'tude and talk to me like I'm big, because I am. It doesn't matter if it's the first or fifth, every single baby amazes me and how fast they learn and pick up on language. Also? This past month Naomi became a full time walker. I love watching her toddle around. But my all-time favorite thing that she does right now is THE LOOK. I have posted this specific look on Facebook and Instagram. But I seriously can't get enough of it. She started about a week or two ago doing this grumpy look when she was mad---someone took a toy away from her, she fell down, you didn't give her a treat, you know, the usual. Now she does the look on demand and knows it's funny. She tries to do it as long as possible and then busts out a smile.

I will be 14 weeks on Saturday, which means I'm in my second trimester now-what, what. This third baby business is completely different then the first, even the second. I haven't even thought about a nursery or any preparation, I'm not even sure what fruit or vegetable size the baby is this week. But I can tell you, I'm excited about a newborn again and loving on this little one. I'm anxious to find out what we are having, it won't be too much longer. [Yeah, I'm not one to let it be a suprise, isn't birth a suprise enough? Ha.] I also haven't taken hardly any belly shots, maybe one? So, I quickly just got the camera out to snap this one. I do want to start a weekly what I wore: baby bump post. Because every now and then I like to get out a little dolled up. And by dolled up, I mean out of my pjs.

Those who have asked how I'm feeling-thank you! This pregnancy has, by far, been the easiest as far as sickness goes. Generally, I feel pretty good. Tired, but good. I get sick about once a week, but it is usually triggered by something I did, like waiting too long to eat between meals. I have learned that in the morning I must eat the second I get up. I can't even pick Naomi up out of her crib until I have eaten. And apparently this baby only likes waffles in the morning. I have tried cereal, oatmeal, and eggs, but it doesn't sit well with me. Waffles, just right. Every single day. In the first two pregnancies I always lost weight in the first trimester because I was so sick, this time I gained a pound. Ha! I can still cover my bump up just fine (although regular jeans are out of the question), but I can notice a difference each day now. And I have to pee a lot. What the heck, this didn't happen in the other pregnancies till the last trimester. One of my favorite things about this pregnancy is how much Audrey talks about the baby. Mainly in terms of it being a boy. That is my brother. Even when we tell her it could be otherwise. She can't wait to hold the new baby because, sister is just too big to hold now.

Days can be really long with two little ones and another on the way. Sometimes I want to crawl into the tub and hide, but they are too quick, they would find me. But really, this life is so right and good. I may not be sky diving every day, but I sure am living on the edge with this parenting gig I have.

today.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:29:00 +0000

It's raining today. All day. I made it a goal to keep the kiddos in their footie pajamas as long as possible. They are currently taking their afternoon nap in them, so far so good. I took them out of the house today just so I could go to Starbucks and buy one of my favs--peppermint white chocolate mocha (decaf, nonfat). I have multiple Starbucks giftcards in my wallet. This makes me very, very happy.

This morning Audrey and I made a "thankful tree." (Took the idea from my cousin.) I cut out the tree, branches, and leaves. But she did the gluing and coloring. She also traced the words "Give Thanks." She is kind of an awesome tracer, I must say. We are doing a "thankful" leaf for each day. We had to catch up and do three today. I asked her what she was thankful God gave us. She said clouds, trees, and scissors. I agree. She even drew a little picture of each thing under the word.

I've started to listen to Christmas music. Mainly while I'm driving. On Tuesday I had a "day-off" for my birthday present from Andrew and while I was browsing Target {alone} I decided to jump on the band-wagon and buy the She & Him Christmas Album. I'm glad I did, it's light and airy and not-too over the top Christmas-y. I do have a personal rule not to put up any Christmas decor till the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, I love having the fall colors up around the house still and celebrating Thanksgiving in it's full.

And just because this picture cracks me. It's like a window into a real life moment.

Also, I have been lacking on comment response. But I plan to catch up! Thank you to those who take the time to leave a comment, I definitely read it and even think about the sweet words throughout the day! xoxo

happy halloween.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:27:00 +0000

We started the day out as Dorothy and Toto for a little Halloween party in the morning.

By the evening, she wanted to be a cat. Which went quite well with Naomi's Toto/dog costume from earlier. I love letting her be whatever she wants to be. She has been Rapunzel, Jasmine, and Tiana in the last few days as well. [None of which we had to buy, she has quite the dress up stash, with the cat and Jasmine costume borrowed from friends.]

She greets her friends by their names. Hey Jonah. Hey Hudson. Hey Deacon.

She walks up to each door with confidence in her little cat costume. Trick or Treat. I'm a cat. Meow.

Sister sits back and watches with her little dog ears dangling and a blue face from the sucker she snagged. Oh, the cute.

Oh, aren't holidays the best? Did you dress up? Or your kiddos?

Next up, Thanksgiving. Yay!

29.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:54:00 +0000

Tomorrow I will begin my last year in my twenties. It's only natural to reflect on the last {almost} decade and know that these years have been good. Not always easy, but good. I'm thankful that I'm no longer trying to find my path in life, but I'm comfortable in this skin that is slowly aging. With lines of laughter and marks of motherhood.

I may not have that enormous house that I wrote about when I was ten in my little diary. But my heart. Oh, it's so much bigger than I could have ever dreamed. And to think, this year, my 29th year, it will grow even bigger with the addition of number three come May.

In my twenties, I've experienced death in one of the hardest ways of losing the woman who birthed me. I've learned that life is short. {But eternity is coming. And sweet reunions.} And sweating the small stuff really is silly. And mostly, I want to become more aware of others and less consumed with myself. This, I'm always working on.

I'm so thankful I have arrived. I'm in the now. This is life. I'm not wishing away the days or eagerly wanting to be older (I remember doing this many times in my teen years). I'm learning that life is made up the struggles and the joys, what matters, is how you respond to it all. {Often times I need to remind myself of this.}

Bring it 29. Teach me a lesson or two. I'm ready for it.

**Photos by the beautiful, Liz Russell.**

THREE. {snow white birthday}.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Since probably June, Audrey has been asking for a Snow White birthday party. I thought she might change her mind by the time October rolled in, but nope, Snow White was definitely still it. So, we went with it. After all, she only turns three once, right? I'm not one to be into characters and themey stuff, but, I am one to be into making my littles happy. And she definitely glowed that morning.

I didn't go all out. But I did do a couple of things to make the party special. Like make a banner to hang from a vintage Snow White book I found at goodwill.

I bought some vintage-looking Snow White pieces I found on Etsy from the store Hey Yo Yo. And used them to decorate the table and for a game. (They played "find the missing dwarfs." They had to ride a pretend horse into the kitchen and find a dwarf to bring back for a treat. It was pretty cute seeing the kiddos riding as fast as they could to find a dwarf.)

We played Pin The Nose On Dopey. I spent a good 45 minutes of naptime the day before drawing and coloring in this Dopey.

What would a Snow White party be without a real Snow White costume, compliments of Audrey's Gamma (Andrew's mom), who made it for her!

Now that I have shared all the nice posed, pretty pictures. Here is real life. And what 12 toddlers plus moms and babies, look like entering your 1150 square foot home. [Also, once Audrey saw all her friends come in with princess dresses, Audrey wanted to change again...into Repunzel.]

We had a blast with a house full of kiddies. They even decorated their own cupcakes!

Happy Third Birthday, my dear Audrey Rose!

family video.

noreply@blogger.com (Abra) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:44:00 +0000

It's been over a week since I last wrote here. I hate when that happens. But such is life. We had an incredibly full and busy weekend with a snow white toddler birthday party that I plan on sharing a little bit about, and I took some family pictures for some good friends. [I feel so honored when I get asked to take pictures, I absolutely love it!] But my favorite part about our weekend was a beautiful friend (although we have only met twice in person!), named Liz, came down and took our family pictures and the most adorable video ever. [I'm bias, of course.] Last year she came and did such a lovely job, it is definitely a yearly tradition now.

I shared the video on Facebook, but I couldn't resist posting it here too.

Thank you Liz, dear. I can't wait to see the pictures!

P.S. Liz just opened up an Etsy shop with some super fun vintage dresses and jewelry. The best part? 50% of the sales go to support an awesome African project called the Kwagala Project. Quick, go to Sweetie Cake to check out her shop!