my favorite trip of 2010

We got to go on a 3-night Royal Carribean Cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate our 4th Anniversary this past June. It was amazing to go just the two of us. We missed Miss E. but we knew we had to take the time...especially with a new baby on the way. It was fabulous. I earned a free book from Shutterfly and knew I wanted to use photos from our trip.

Here it is...

Click here to view this photo book larger

stay-cation

We had an absolutely amazing, wonderful, fabulous Christmas. I have lots to share but this week we are trying to soak up as much family time and relaxation as possible, since it's our last week of stay-cation. Hope your Holidays were joyful:)

merry days

Here's our 2010 Christmas Card. I made it using Microsoft Photo Editor and printed them as 5x7s through snapfish.com.

Today we're hoping to clean up the house a bit, make a few treats, finish up our shopping (just have papa to buy for...food at Sam's club!), wrap all the gifts and FINALLY see Tangled!

May your days be merry and bright!

snow day!

We love, love, love when Daddy's home! We thought the house would be cleaner...but nope, it's not. We do get to have fun times playing - and today in the snow - so it's ok!!! What memories we're making:)

lovely: eating every meal together as a family

not-so-lovely: haven't wrapped one gift yet!

the one with all the baby announcements

It was super hard to decide which baby announcement to go with. I made them myself (patting myself on the back as I type) and I just kept making more and more. As usual, I found inspiration on sites like tinyprints.com and shutterfly.com. It's way cheaper that way and I like making them my own. It's probably illegal or something but don't tell.

the one we sent out:



the rest:

lovely: I baked 21 loaves of bread today.
not so lovely: I have a stye on my eye.

sweetness

Isn't he just soooo kissable?

I just wanna squeeze his adorable little cheeks. Too bad for me his cheeks are covered in a little rash. We're going to the doctor this afternoon so hopefully they can give us something to clear him right up! Then we can get back to the cheek-squeezing:)

AK has been SUPER busy so we are beyond excited that he has off this friday...PLUS the next two weeks for us. Yay for us!!!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Jingle Bells

love times two

Life with two kids is so different. Adding a second child isn't as "shocking" as becoming a parent for the first time. No, life isn't dramatically different...but it IS a big adjustment. It's a challenge to give both children the attention they need and deserve. Most days I'm being pulled in two different directions and praying for Daddy to be home soon. I love being home, but when there are two parents for two kids it's obviously much easier. Some days all we do is feed kids, change kids and try to get kids to sleep.

ella

Miss E. has been doing tons of coloring and eating luncheables once a day. Thank God she thinks they're wonderful and doesn't know that we get them mostly because they simplify mommy's life! She is a great big sister. Our only negative is that she is a little too helpful - she sometimes trys to push baby brother a little too high in his swing or push his binky into his mouth a little too forcefully. She is currently VERY into puzzles, knows almost every nursery rhyme and serenades us at the piano. Her favorite shows are Max and Ruby, Super Why and Caillou...although she still watches Barney and Dora. Miss E. loves chocolate, her "special" water (sugar free kool-aid drop-ins) and mini-muffins. Potty training is still at a stand-still but she DOES like to sit on the potty and read books/sing...sometimes for hours. It's been fun to watch her with all her little friends. They are really starting to play together like big kids:) Miss E. is such a smarty pants and so funny. She makes everyone smile...except when she's beeing TOO sassy (she's discovered she does NOT like time-out!)!

evan

Little man Evan is such a cutie! I'm trying to soak up every single second I have with him. I want him to stay a baby forever and he's just getting too big! Much like his big sister, his first month has been spent in someone's arms - mostly mommy's. He LOVES being held and demands it. If we put him down, he grunts and complains until he's picked up. Then he wiggles around in our arms, sighs in content and falls right asleep...naughty boy! He is a very good baby - as long as he's being held. We put him in the moses basket a lot and he looks so adorable in there. Pretty soon he'll be too big though. He is a GREAT eater...and has been right from the start! He wasted not one second getting started nursing and we've had no issues. He has become a spitter though and how quickly we've remembered the fabulous look and scent of spit-up all over us. Our big boy has already outgrown newborn diapers and most of his newborn clothes...I can't believe how fast he's growing! We are so in LOVE with our little man and can hardly remember life without him!

With two kids, it's hard not to compare the two. We see so much of Miss E. when we look at our little man. It's been such a trip down memory lane - especially when Evan wears things Ella wore. It's like we have our baby Ella again...so weird!

ella

evan

ella


evan

ella

evan

We are still adjusting and have some hard days, but we are SO BLESSED and SO HAPPY. We just love our 2 babies!

33 days

The last 33 days have been remarkable and have gone by in a blur. Even though we had been waiting for months, it seems like our lives changed so very quickly.

33 days ago...

AK and I checked into the hospital at 6am.
I got an IV.
We filled out tons of paperwork.
I got my blood drawn.
I was poked and prodded.

AK got his scrubs on...including his surgical hat.

I got wheeled to the OR (I saw Nana peeking out of the waiting room window on the way).
I got a spinal.
I couldn't breathe.
I cried.
The doctors made jokes to calm me down.
AK finally could come in.
and he held my hand.
We knew our lives would never be the same.
I felt a lot of pressure.
I saw AK's face.

And just like that...

On October 29, 2010...

At 8:41 am...

...we went from 3 to 4.

We heard a cry.

I could finally breathe.

It was really a boy.

We saw our angel...

...and our hearts grew.


He was 6 lbs 11 oz.
He was 19 inches long.

He had a little dark hair.

He was the cutest little munchkin.

Mommy was relieved.

Daddy was beaming with pride.

Big Sister was happy to meet her baby brother.

We named him Evan Lee.

People came to meet him.

His family loved on him...especially his grandparents.

He made our family feel more complete.

We thank God for him.

We have for 33 days.

We will for the rest of our days.