Sew it up

So going back and looking at all of those baby baby pictures of Evan has made me super excited for Elyse to get here. Not that I wasn't before, of course, but seeing the leeeeetle baby Evan made me remember how sweet and snuggly newborns are and yay for getting that again soon!

 

Another thing I was busy with this past weekend was sewing. I made Elyse a couple of gowns for the hospital and obviously I couldn't help matching something for Evan. Believe me, I thought about making Luke one too, but I thought the purple floral might make it a giant mistake. (see, I really do love you Son!)

 

 

The first gown I made a few weeks ago. It took forever to try and find a plain white gown, I finally had to order one off Amazon. Which was frustrating because I literally spent as much in shipping as I did the gown its self. I LOVE how they turned out though! The flowers on the beanie are actually detachable, when I made it I put an alligator clip on the back so it can later be put on a headband or clipped straight into their hair. I'm hoping that the beanie fits Elyse better than the beanie I'd gotten Evan for when she was in the hospital. Girlfriend was a huge baby and the hat was still 2 sizes too big.

 

Because it's me, I couldn't help but put a little sumpin sumpin on the back for my girls.

 

Another thing I made was a diaper clutch for my purse. I know I'll only use this for a few months until I switch back to the diaper bag, but it's handy now, and I can use it in a year or so after I'm done with the diaper bag. I didn't use a pattern or measurements or anything, and apparently I'll never learn.

 

 

 

Trying to get the wipes case to fit properly was a GIANT pain, and consequently will probably shorten the lifespan of the product, but it's done for now. If I make another one it could be a little shorter and a bit more wide, but I'm rolling with it. Plus it looks pretty in my purse amidst all the Vera Bradley.

 

If you look carefully there is a VB wristlet, iPad cover, and checkbook cover in there. Normally I've got a little VB cosmetic bag too, but it somehow got taken out and replaced by a little plastic cup?

 

 

I don't know. Life with kids I guess. But on the plus side, I drop my keys down into the cup and they don't get lost, so....I'd say that's winning.



2+ years later....

This girl has been sleeping the same way all of her life.  I don't think it's going to change any time soon.

 

 

 

 

I think one of the many fun aspects of parenting a child is watching their personality grow from the very beginning. You have this infant who has little unique habits and you wonder. Is this just a part of being a newborn? Is this a deep rooted part of who they are? Will they grow out of this trait? I never thought I'd wonder about someone else's sleeping habits the way that I do. Luke's thing was loud noises. Now granted, he still freaks out over public toilets, terrified that they are going to be loud, but he doesn't run screaming for the hills any more when I vacuum or run the garbage disposal. Maybe Evan will grow out of the habit of sleeping with her arms up. But for now. I love it enough to make little hearts come out of my eyes. It's very symbolic of her personality- this girl is going to take up as much space as she can, make sure everyone knows she's present, never be one to tuck into a corner.

 

VBS and Evan's weekend

Last week was VBS for my big boy. On Monday when I told him he was going, he was a little concerned about me dropping him off somewhere and not staying with him. This, coming from the boy who's gone to a baby sitter for the last two years, gone to preschool for the last two years, bible class for his whole life, and went to VBS last year. Sometimes I wonder at his thought process. I just laughed and told him there would be lots of people, all of his friends, and that I have never (nor would I ever) dropped him off at an empty building and driven away. Of course he had a blast. That first night he got to say the closing prayer in front of everyone- I'm talking over 200 people. What a proud Momma moment.

Tuesday morning he was a little shocked that he had to go back, but of course he loved it still. Tuesday was also the day I decided to head to Lowe's and pick up some of the items that Evan had broken around the house.

 

Yes, that is a toilet seat. I don't know how she managed it, but she did. Or at least Luke said it was her and not him. I'm more than willing to bet he's right, though. I swear I stood on the potty isle for 10 minutes trying to remember the shape of our toilets. Are they round? Are they elongated? This is something we use multiple times a day. Why was is so hard to imagine what it looked like? Finally I just picked one (as you can see, I picked elongated) knowing that which ever one I chose would be wrong. And yep. I got home and FYI we have round toilets.

 

Wednesday morning Evan decided to dress her self while I was putting on make up.

 

 

From this direction, the outfit wasn't too bad. Colors actually semi-work, if you can get past the clash of prints. Unfortunately the shirt is on backwards and you can't see the elephant and turquoise bird. A quick change of shirts and she still got to wear "her" outfit. She also decided to practice another new skill in the car.

 

 

What a proud day for us both.

Thursday night we had to hustle dinner before taking Luke for his final VBS night (which started at 6:30), so I just took them to Schlotzsky's for a quick bite.

I totally had one of those Mom moments where I looked across the table and couldn't believe how lucky I was to have such perfect little loves in my life.  *gushed*

Thursday was "family" night, so I got to stay at VBS and watch them perform the program they'd practice.

Friday night Jacob's mom and stepdad came over. They'd met the kids before, but Mom had offered to have us all over for dinner. Yep. You read that right.

My family.

His family.

Meeting.

I had them come over to my house first, so they would know where I lived, could see Elyse's room, and (hopefully) feel more comfortable about coming over once she's here. Then we went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner. I wasn't nervous. I was just acutely aware of the potential for awkward. Jacob and I are not together. The only thing this whole group of people had in common was the baby in my belly. But you know what? It wasn't at all. Our parents all hit it off, and blessedly the kids were well behaved. Evan was the life of the party (what else would she be?) and Luke was charming in all of his 5 year old boy ways. Jacob and I left about 8:30 to take the kids home for bed/bath, and his parents even stayed a bit longer to visit. That's what I'd call success!

Saturday morning I took the kids swimming, and we stayed until Sister friend looked like this.

Saturday night was our friend Jack's 3rd birthday, and Sunday was church as usual. I'd tried to put this blue outfit on her last Sunday and had mistakenly started with the pants. She told me right away she didn't like it, so off they came and I put her in a dress. I pulled the same outfit out yesterday, and immediately she looked at it and said "No, I no wike dat one." But I changed her diaper and stuck the top on her anyway. She stood up, looked down and said "Ooooooo! I wook cute! I wuv it!"

Lord have mercy.

Then while I gathered our things to leave, she decided she didn't want to wear the bow I'd put in her hair and needed a headband on. The only newborn sized headband on her board. By the time we got to church, she looked like this.

The sass. It kills.

Then Sunday after noon I put her down for a nap in just a diaper. She emerged from nap like this.

Except under those jammies was no diaper, and her bed was wet. Boo. Never the less, I scurried us out the door so we could go to the water park with plenty of time before it closed at 6. I'd say that was a very good weekend indeed.

28 weeks

How Far Along: 28 weeks

Size of baby: size of an eggplant- about a 15 inches and 2 1/4 lbs

Total Weight Gain/Loss: The dr on Monday showed 127. I can't believe I'm already almost to 130.

 

Maternity Clothes: Yes. You've seen me, right?

Gender: Elyse Ann is on her way!
 

Movement: Lots. I'm pretty sure on Thursday she flipped over completely. There was some weird stuff going on in there. More hiccups, lots of jabs, and the visible movement continues to glide along.
     

Sleep: Not great. My hips have really started hurting, I have to wake up to roll over, and things are just getting plain uncomfortable.
   

What I miss: Not anything comes to mind right now!

 

Cravings: Nothing here really, either.

Symptoms: Mostly I just have one or two Braxton Hicks a day. The skin in my lower belly has felt tight and uncomfortable though. Hopefully that just means I need some more moisturizer!

 

Best Moment this week Realizing the third trimester starts now! I looked it up, there is much debate on when it starts- anywhere from 26 to 28 weeks, but now it's officially official. And Friday I'll have been pregnant for 200 days with only 80 more to go. WHOA. Not so great moment this week? Feeling like I look full term and knowing I still have 10-12 weeks left. I've seen overdue women not look as pregnant as I do 2/3's of the way through. :(

Getting ready for baby, part 2 (girls' room)

So, I'm finally posting pictures of the girls room. Mind you, we actually did all of this the week before we left for vacation. This has got to be a record hold out for me! It took 4 adults 8 hours to get the kid's rooms switched around. Luke had the bigger room, and whomever was going to have to share would be the ones to get the bigger room. Obviously. (Evan's original nursery is here)

When you come down the hall, this is what you see. Evan has done great in her big girl bed. Only in the last week have I really had trouble with her getting out of bed to play after I tuck her in. She's learned how to turn on the lamp on her night stand, so I frequently find her reading in her chair or playing with her babies.

 

The last couple of nights have been better though. Right before I leave her room we go through all the things she likes to play with and say "nooooo" to them. "Do you get out of bed and read stories?" "Noooooo." "Do you get out of bed and play stroller?" "Nooooooo." It seems to help to go over these VERY SPECIFIC rules.

 

I'm a teacher at heart. What can I say.

 

Coming into the room you see the crib on the same wall. Does the bedding look familiar? ;) I just finished Elyse's name this week, and I'm not sure how I want to actually attach it to the walls. I hand painted Luke's name for his nursery. I did Evan's name in fabric which was used throughout the room. Elyse's name is scrapbook paper decoupage to wooden letters. I like that each kid has a different technique and a totally different look. 

 

And this is the final corner. The dresser is the only thing that didn't get moved in this whole process. Mostly because I didn't want to deal with trying to hang that mirror somewhere else. And look at those ruffly curtains! So unlike me, but looks so good with everything else.

Closer up of Elyse's space. Yes for now I have Evan's birth stats pillow in her bed, but only until she's born. Swearsies. And it may not look like it in this picture, but there is actually enough space on either side of the crib for there to be room for her twin sized bed (eventually). Whoo hoo for no more furniture moving!

 

 

Yes, it's a lot of stuff in a little space. But that's what happens when you put two girls in one room. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is knowing how much stuff a little person accumulates, and at least Elyse's brother and sister were starting with a semi blank slate when they were born. The good thing about small spaces: it forces you to be thoughtful about what goes in, so you don't end up with a ton of useless junk!

Getting Ready for Baby, part 1

It's a well known fact that I made most everything for Evan when I was pregnant with her. Heck. It's even got it's own label. And while there are a few things that can be reused for Elyse (a plus in making all those burp cloths with just an 'e' on them!), there were a few things that were going to need to be made new. 

The first thing I realized was a new nursing cover.  I loved the nursing cover that I'd made for Evan. I loved it so much, that last year when I redid my bedroom I turned it into a pillow for my bed. 

So. A new one was in order. I'd also learned some things from making the last one. I didn't want to make a border, it was messy from the back and hard to piece.  I wanted it lined because this is a winter baby. And finally, I didn't want the boning in the top to make it "easier" to see down in like the ones you buy have. It turned out the weight of the boning weighed the cotton down and ended up flashing more people than helping with privacy. Plus when you folded it up to put it back in the diaper bag, the corners of the boning eventually wore little holes in the fabric.

Another thing I wanted to make for Elyse was some blankets all of her own. With Evan being a summer girl, the blankets I made were cotton and one has her name on it. (me? put Evan's name on something? never.)  This time I wanted to make something a little warmer, which calls for minky. Minky is the biggest pain to work with, it slides everywhere, bunches up, and sheds like a snow storm, but once it's finished it's so soft and warm.

 

The third thing I've made so far is the car seat cover. (It's what took all weekend in the last post)  Imma level with you. I've always thought these were dumb. I've never had a cover before, I've never thought they were necessary. Why would you not want people to see your baby? Are you so afraid of germs that you have to hide her away like that?

Once again, my naivety from having two summer babies came through. It hit me one morning that I will have a new infant right as the temps are dropping, and while blankest do fine for her body, that sweet little face would be blasted every time we stepped outside. I suddenly found the appeal of the car seat cover (now don't get me wrong. when I see people using them now in 100+ heat I still think they are crazy). I made mine with a minky underside and ruffles. Come on. You didn't really think that I of all people would just have a plain car seat cover, did you? It was hard enough to just finish the blanket without adding any detail!

26 weeks

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of baby: size of an cucumber- about a 14 inches and 1 2/3 lbs

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't know. As usual. My guess would be 125?

Maternity Clothes: Yes. You've seen me, right?

Gender: Elyse Ann is on her way!
 

Movement: Oh yes. And I think she's gotten her first (feelable) case of the hiccups the other day. Lots of movement, and not in one specific area, so that tells me she's still got plenty of room to maneuver around in there.
    

Sleep: We're on the downward slope, folks. I'm up to about 3 pillows in bed. I have started waking up to roll over and my hips ache when I'm in one position too long. Not to mention Missy Lou likes to throw herself a party when I lay down.
  

What I miss: Not grunting every time I bend over. I don't mean to. It just happens.

 

Cravings: None this week. I've been good.

 

Symptoms: Thankfully the Braxton Hicks have slowed down some, I've only had a couple total, as opposed to a couple a day. My patience has been wearing thin though. :( My poor kids.

 

Best Moment this week: Luke and I were sitting on the couch a couple of nights ago just talking before he went to bed and Elyse was kicking up a storm. I put his hand on my belly, and you should have seen the smile on his face when he felt her. He tried to keep talking to me as we sat there, but I could tell when he felt her because he'd get distracted and stop what he was saying! Now he asks me if she's moving, if she's sleeping, and just this morning why God sent her to our family. I don't think he meant that in a bad or jealous way at all, just childlike curiosity. He's also loved watching me make things for her, exclaiming over all the fabric about how much she will love it, how much she'll be surprise, how pretty it all is. My sweet sweet boy.

 

Not that Evan doesn't care or isn't sweet, she's just 25 months old. But every bit as darling. And I'm getting so excited that I get to recycle her wardrobe! This is what she wore to church two weeks ago...

 

And what she wore to church yesterday....

 

 

Yes, her baby has on exact replicas of her outfits. And yes, that is the second dress I'd put on her yesterday. I'd like to not discuss the little pot of white facial highlighting powder she spilt ALL. OVER. herself 5 minutes before church yesterday. Or how everything on me and in the bathroom still carries a nice shimmering sheen.

 

And also for the record, Saturday morning I took the kids to the pool for an hour and a half, then came home and got started on a sewing project. It literally took me the entire rest of the weekend, but I'm so pleased with how it turned out. More on that later!

Birthday mail

Last night I got some happy mail. I'd ordered a couple of things with the birthday money my grandmother gave me, and they happen to both come in on the same day! I'd been itching to replace the necklace I wear pretty much every day. It was the one I got two years ago when I was pregnant with Evan- it had both kid's name on it. Since there is going to be a new kid in town, I needed a new one. And I wanted it a little different than the first one.

 

I love it! The "I love you" sign in the middle seems a little wonky to me, it looks like it was stamped twice and not quite on top of each other. Makes me a little cross eyed. But other than that, it's perfect! It was a completely custom design and I was so thankful that the girl was able to translate what I'd described. Evan's necklace has the same "I love you" little pendent on it, so it makes it even more special that we can match. Okay, special to me. She doesn't care. Yet.

 

 Happy!

 

The second thing that came in was my new purse.

 

 

It's the perfect size for what I need. I don't really like carrying shoulder bags, I really prefer cross body bags, but Sunday mornings I need something a tad bigger than what I've got. Generally I don't have to carry around a couple of diapers, Evan's cup, Luke's water bottle, and a snack, but Sundays at church I need all that. This is not nearly as big as a diaper bag, but it can fit all that I need.  Whoo hoo!

 

So. What were my two children doing while I took those three pictures? Well, we'd been eating dinner when I started with the selfie. I actually wore my glasses to work yesterday (it's what happens when you realize you don't have any more contact solution as you get ready for work), and I took them off to take the picture.  A little boy picked them up.

 

 

Then he requested to have his picture taken as he made funny faces. (notice the bowl of uneaten pasta sitting in front of him) The first two are his "funny" faces. The next two were when I told him I absolutely DID NOT want to see him smile.

 

 

That little trick is about the only way I can get a genuine smile out of him.

 

And Evan? She'd polished off her bowl of pasta and had pulled my bowl (half eaten because I got distracted taking pictures) and proceeded to continue to eat.

 

 

Yeah. She finished my bowl off completely.

 

After some bribing for Luke, I got him to eat pretty much all of his food and we ran up the street to 7-11 for our free Slurpees. You didn't think I'd actually let National Slurpee day go by without celebrating, did you?!

The 4th and there after

So, it's Thursday and I really meant to post this sooner. Seems to be a theme, eh? Last Thursday was 4th of July. Cody asked to take the kids all day to the family get-together his family was having, so I was on my own. After I dried my eyes, Jacob came over and we knocked out a ton of house work. How exciting is that?!  Ha. I got the house scrubbed on the inside while he mowed, fertilized, and hand watered the yard. Then we washed my car, vacuumed in and under the couch (holy moly, that had never been done in the 10 years I've had the couch), and went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner. After we ate, he was wiped out, so he went home and I met up with friends for fireworks.

 

The next night we celebrated Ashley's birthday. She left for vacation on Saturday and has been gone all week, so we had to do it before she left. Dinner at Blue Goose...

 (stole this from the Instagram picture she posted)

with a little entertainment of watching the kids play in the fountains.
 

 Look at the pure joy on my girl's face! *sigh*

 And how happy my boy is!

 

Saturday morning we ate a leisurely breakfast and then headed to the pool. We had the run of the place for 2 hours! They were cracking me up. Luke is now obsessed with going underwater with his goggles, and Evan would not stop belly flopping into the pool. I'm convinced small children have a much higher pain tolerance than we give them credit for. At one point Evie girl decided to take a break from swimming and sunbathe a little. You will never have to convince me that girls are just born knowing how to be girls.

 

Always wants to do what Bubba does.

 

Sunday morning Shae had toddler room duty during service, and she sent me this photo. APPARENTLY Evan pulled all the chairs into a line by herself, then got all of her friends to join her in the "choo choo". Have I mentioned I'm in trouble with that one? And that I'm about to give her a little minion all her own?

 

The rest of Sunday we spent at home (I think...nothing comes to mind) (maybe we went grocery shopping....) and all of this week we've been able to lay low in the evenings.  It's been a welcome relief. Thursdays are the day that Mom keeps the kids this summer, so I got this in a text this morning:

 

 Lucky ducks.

Oh. And one final picture. You never have to wonder where my sweet girl has been. Apparently Baby needed some reading material in the bathroom.

You are 5

My precious boy. Last Sunday you turned 5, and I just couldn't believe it.  I remember when you were born thinking that 5 seemed so far away, that I just couldn't picture my perfect baby as a 5 year old BOY, and that surely it would take forever to get here.

Yet here we are, and I'm pretty sure that was yesterday. 

 

These last 5 years have completely changed my life in every single aspect. You have taught me to be patient (okay, maybe I'm still learning). You have taught me to love something greater than myself. You have taught me unbridled joy and true delight. I can't imagine my life without buckets full of Hot Wheels, air planes, and having train books memorized. Where would I be without my daily "What fast cars did you see today?" "Did you see any trains?" "What kind of plane is your favorite?" questions? I can guarantee that at any given moment I have a small car within arm's reach- they are in my purse. They are in the couch. They sometimes appear in my pillow at night.

 

You are my independent boy who doesn't need much. You are, as always, so content to play on your own, do your own thing, not worry about the crowd around you. Every now and then I see the pang of disappointment of being left out, which tears at my heart, but you are so quick to move on and do what you want to do. I have always been able to let you be, never needing to hover or be untrusting.

 

The down side to your "I'll just do my thing" attitude? The respect issue. Oh my love. I couldn't love you more, but sometimes your attitude and your level respect is something left to be desired. Don't worry, we work on it constantly. And I tell you that the reason I want you to try it again is so that you will grow up to be a good, kind, and respectful man. That's always been my second biggest prayer for you (first, being that you always follow your Lord and let Him lead your life to things so much bigger than you).

 

 

So what are you up to? Well, you love to have conversations. I figured when I was so adamant about getting you speech therapy when you were 2 it would come back to bite me, and sure enough, here we are. You still love your planes, trains, and automobiles, and you are learning to love swimming (mostly the "going under water" part). You are 39ish lbs last I heard (I'm not taking you or your sister for your well checks until I'm on maternity leave in October) and while technically you could be starting kindergarten in the fall, I've prayerfully decided to hold you back another year. You'll be starting Jr. Kindergarten at LCS in the fall, and every single person I've told has told me it's not a decision I'll ever regret. I hope that one day you'll realized that having an extra year to grow and mature, to not be the very youngest in your class, was a gift.

 

Another thing about the fall- you get another little sister. I've loved watching you interact with Evan. Sometimes ya'll fight (okay, a lot of times) but sometimes you are so sweet. You actually really enjoy engaging her, playing chase or tools or games with her. You seek her out and include her. You watch out for her (even when she gets frustrated from not understanding and gets mad!) and you even share with her on occasion. Evan and Elyse are so very lucky to have you on their side, you to call big brother.

I love you babe.

More than you will ever know. You are my first born, my only son, my little man. Thank you for being you.