Hello!

So, blogging with 3 kids has proven to be hard.  So here is an update from the last 2 1/2 months.  I can’t believe Eva has been here for almost 3 months.  She has grown so much – she is quite the cute chubby baby now – a little over 11 pounds!  She can smile now and is sleeping pretty good – usually between 10 and 11 hours now.  She never did take to a paci (even though I kept on trying), she prefers sucking on her fingers (any of them) if she is very hungry.  She reminds us in temperament of Lilly when she was a baby, but does not really look like her. 

4th of July

  1 month old

We concluded our summer with a trip to the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh – so much to see and do – it was a winner! 

2 months old!

Preschool started up this week.  The kids really seem to like going  to Bayleaf and it is a wonderful, Biblical school that loves on and teaches the kids. 

First day of school pics

We have also started up AWANAS, Lilly is a Cubbie again this year and Hudson is a Puggle.  He is very excited to be there this year with big sis.  Lilly is also doing preschool choir at our church – can’t wait until they sing in church in the fall!  So cute! 

We Have a Baby!

So, in the past month, there have been many changes to our family.  I did not want to forget to post a picture of Lilly in her dance recital – she was so cute as a cat in her Alice in Wonderland recital.  She did all the moves – we were so proud of her! 

Then, 5 days later, little Eva was born.  We had our C-section on June 14th.  We were bumped from our original 8 am time, due to two sets of twins that decided to be born, so at 10:19 she made her debut.  This c-section was so much better – lasted all of 5 minutes (to get her out) and then got to go to recovery with her and Brian.  Maybe knowing what to expect made it better, maybe a better doctor this time around, but recovery has been so much easier (still no piece of cake, but way better!).  Eva was 6 lb. 10 oz and 21 inches long.  She has dark hair and blue eyes right now (maybe this will change, we shall see).  She enjoys sleeping mostly right now and is a wonderful eater.  She loves being held (who wouldn’t?) and is very tolerant to noise made by  her sister and brother! 

  

Having three kids is very different – I love them and know my family is complete.  Some days I feel very torn and feel I did not give each one enough one on one time, or that we did not do anything great besides getting dressed, eating, and playing/watching TV (way too hot to go outside).  But, then I remember it has only been a few weeks, that we are all healthy and getting used to our new normal.  If this summer is pretty low-key, that is okay – we are building time together as a new family.  I love being a mom, I know I was called to this and I feel so thankful to be at home and enjoy this moment that will most likely go so quickly!

Myrtle Beach

Went to the beach last weekend – Brian had a business trip, so we decided to have one last hoorah before the baby.  We really enjoyed staying in our hotel on Kingston Plantation.  The ocean is still a bit chilly, but we had fun playing in the sand and at the fun splash area for the kids. 

    

We also went to Broadway at the Beach and enjoyed a very cool aquarium, lots of fish, and a burger at Johnny Rockets. 

Easter and 31 weeks and counting

This Easter we had a good time celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.  My parents came to visit us and a few days later, Ada and Billy came to visit (they got to experience the tornadoes that ripped through our area).  We celebrated Nina’s birthday while the lights were out!  We did an early Easter egg hunt with Nina and Papa.

 

Our church had a kids Easter show and egg hunt – my kids are not very aggressive when it comes to finding the eggs, but they still have fun. 

We had a great service at church on Sunday morning and helped out in the 4 year old class as well.  We hunted eggs again at our house and made cupcakes and watched the new Veggie Tales Easter movie. 

Looking at Easter Baskets

So I am 31 weeks now – here are few pictures of what the belly looks like now.  She is doing good – got to see a 4D ultrasound last week, and she was smiling at us – so cute!  6 weeks to go! 

Trip to Texas

So about 2 months ago we took a trip to Texas to visit both sides of the family ( I know I am so slow about posting – alas, I am have just been a slacker when it comes to blogging.)  We all met up at Brian’s family home in Pearland, my parents came and my sister and her two girls.  We also got to see Brian’s brother, sister (and their families), and both of his grandmothers – so we definitely saw everyone while there.  We all fished (and actually caught a few) and the kids rode horses, and Hudson rode the tractor a few times with Papa Bill.  We had a great big slumber party at night – it was fun!

 

Valentines/Belly Pics

Happy late Valentines to all of you out there! We have been doing good, not so good at blogging it seems. If I sit down at night, it is to prop my feet up and totally veg out in front of the TV or read. We had a very light snow 2 weeks ago, Hudson wanted to play for a bit in it - he loves to see snow and touch it.

Valentines was very fun and family friendly. My hubby was so sweet and romantic and showed up with a box of roses for me and some for Lilly as well - they are still beautiful today! We went to Mellow Mushroom with the kids for pizza, had cookie cake, and enjoyed our family time.

I can't believe I am 22 weeks along. I am posting a 20 week and 22 week pic. I can't remember if I posted what we are having, but ........the baby will be a she! Her name is Eva Jane - Eva was my grandmother's name and Brian's mom's middle name is Jane. She is moving around alot and causing some serious chocolate cravings.

20 weeks

22 weeks - Lilly took this today

Lilly and Hudson's hands on mommy's belly

We are in the process of redoing the playroom to be a big boy room for Hudson and then will turn Hudson's nursery into a girl nursery (from dinosaurs, to pink). Will post pics once we are somewhat complete with this project.

Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas this year.  Because we had just had a trip to Texas, we decided to have Christmas here with just the four of us.  We rented a cabin in the mountains of West Jefferson, NC and went up on Christmas Eve.  We took Santa presents and make Christmas cookies and had a wonderfully relaxing time.  We played games, watched movies and played in the snow! The kids and Brian got to sled behind the cabin – pretty funny seeing them!  It started snowing on Christmas morning and really snowed hard for two and half days straight – easily a foot or so of snow.  We opened presents with each set of grandparents via Skype before leaving for the cabin so they could see the kids open presents.  I felt like we could focus on Jesus’ birth and loved making these special memories with my family.

Before Christmas Hudson had his Christmas program at school – he only made it halfway down the isle, saw me and started crying, and his teacher held him the whole time.  Oh well, he was just not into playing the bells this year!   

Lilly had hers after Christmas due to a snow day before Christmas.  She did great and sang all the songs with gusto and knew all the motions!

     

I still cannot believe how cold it is here – a complete shock to this Texan’s body.  It has been cold every day – not just a couple of days out of the year!  I actually ordered the kids snow suits on eBay so they can be warmer when we play outside in the snow. 

I am 16 weeks this week and doing good.  I am not so nauseas, but still very sleepy in the evenings.  Need to post belly pics soon – you can definitely tell now!