baby baby baby

I am so very excited to be having a little girl. I had so much fun picking out bedding, colors, drapes and such for the boys room. BUT I am so much more excited to decorate a girls room. It just seems so much more fun with frills and such!

I just caved and bought this bedding moments ago.

I am in love with this mobile....

but it was $60, and I just splurged on the bedding. So, I'm going to attempt to make my own. I'm going to make the top similar with the two rings, but I'm going to attempt to make these little birds to hang from it.

I just went ahead and bought the valance because it was so darn cute, and I'm going to make yellow drapes to match. I'm not an expert seamstress, but I'm going to give it my best shot! I feel like between my mom, mother-in-law, and my expert seamstress friend, Jessica, I should be able to get this stuff accomplished with little tears...I'm hoping anyhow!

Oh I just want to go buy fabric and get started right now, but I need to clean this place up! Maybe tomorrow...

where has the time gone?!

It just dawned on me this morning that I can no longer call my little men toddlers. They are not toddling about, they are not mimicking noises - they are full on sprinting and using complete sentences. Um, where have I been, and why have I been calling these little boys toddlers?!

I told Bryan last night that I am having the hardest time with Isaiah turning 4 in April. I realize it's a few months away, but 4. Doesn't that sound so old to you? My first born is going to be 4. Yeah, I really can't get used to that idea.

I think all these thoughts started when we started looking at bunk beds for our boys. BUNK BEDS! Oh man, I'm not ready for these changes!

21 weeks!

21 weeks along, and I'm feeling quite large! I'm carrying this precious little girl a whole lot lower than I did my boys. She's quite the mover and shaker these days. Her most active time of day is around noon. 
A few days ago I laid down on the couch and she started going crazy, so I asked Isaiah if he wanted to feel his baby sister kick. He was so stinking excited. 
He put his hand on my stomach, and she kicked him pretty good. He ripped his hand back and his eyes got huge. "That girl just kicked me, Mom!" Then he quickly responded with, "Don't worry, I will kick her back". And he punched me in the stomach. 
Ouch! I was trying so hard not to laugh because I was not expecting that kind of reaction, but I could not help it. It was so darn funny. I did inform him that he couldn't hit me, but he was so confused why it was okay for the baby to kick him but not okay for him to hit her. Oh my, here we go.

random thoughts on a semi-sunny day

Sitting here, sipping my coffee, waiting for the boys to fall asleep so I can vacuum. I'm staring at my Christmas tree and smiling because it looks nothing like I decorated it a few weeks ago. The boys have moved balls and ornaments around; even the presents under the tree have been relocated a few times. Makes me laugh. I'm surprised we've only had two broken ornaments so far. I was expecting far more catastrophes. 

I'm also trying to decide if I want to splurge and buy a bedding set for our little girl, or if I want to keep my cheap, cute one I found at Target, or if I want to attempt to make my own. Yup, can't figure it out. The cheap side of me says, just stick with the Target one. But then I'd have to make a bed skirt anyway because the one that came with it is ugly. So then, the other side of me says, "If I'm making a bed skirt anyway, why not attempt the rest". Then the lazy side of me wants to buy the adorable set that I found on Ebay for half the cost of what it would cost to buy it from a store.....But, it's still more expensive than my cheap Target option. 

hmmmmm what to do, what to do....

This is what I'm loving at the moment...it obviously looks better than my lump of a bumper all fancy in a nursery

Here is what I currently have, and would make a bed skirt to match

Bryan has informed me that he doesn't care what I do. I think he's tired of me asking him what to get. He is fully man and has no desire in decorating a little girl's nursery. He's very happy to leave it all up to me. I love that, but hate it at the same time. I'm a bit indecisive when it comes to splurging. I feel guilty for spending a little more money on something of pleasure and not necessity. So, anyone who reads this - got a solution or opinion? 

As I close, I'm leaning on splurging. That may change in a few minutes :)

Holiday fun

Last Saturday we went over to our friends, the Hartenstein's house, and made gingerbread houses! We've done this as a family every year, but it was so fun this year to do it with all our friends too. We just bought kits because it sounded so much easier! I got one for each boy since Isaiah is a perfectionist and Elias is not at all! I know what it feels like to work on a project with a sloppy person, so I'm all for spending a little more money to help a boy out! 

We went to zoolights at the Portland zoo for our first time last night. Wendy and Lanson joined us, and the boys had a pretty great time. I didn't realize how many lights there were! It was pretty, but no animals. That was a little discouraging for the boys. The funniest part of the night was there was a man I will call the "monkey nazi". He was in the monkey area telling everyone to keep their voices down because the monkeys just went to sleep. Really?! It's a dumb monkey! I thought it was quite hilarious.

humbled and grateful

We started the ol' potty training with my dear Elias last week. It just makes me laugh seeing that my life's excitement today lies in pee and poop. Seriously. I had big plans for myself. I was going to be some big shot in some big money making company. BUT here I am doing a pee and poop dance with Elias because he's catching on. 

I love it. I wouldn't change the way my life has folded out for anything. I love staying at home with my precious boys. I love teaching them something new. Heck, I even love the pee and poop dance we do! I just love this life the Lord has blessed me with. I'm humbled as I think about what I do (it doesn't get a whole lot of recognition, let's be honest), but I'm so incredibly grateful for these little souls the Lord has put me in charge of.

light it up!

It has been raining like crazy this week. The last sunny day we had was a week ago, and Bry wasn't feeling good so lights didn't go up until this weekend. So Bryan went out in the pouring rain and put the lights up today with his little helper, Elias. Isaiah is a lot like me - he's a fair weather helper. If it's sunny, we're all about helping. If it's raining, we like to stay cuddled up inside (he with his water and animal crackers, me with a steaming cup of coffee). 

I got a few pictures of Isaiah and Bryan putting up the lights. I only stayed on the porch under the cover, so I didn't get a picture of the house yet (fair weather gal, remember?).

Christmas tree oh christmas tree

I absolutely love going and cutting down a tree. It's like a mini adventure for me. We don't have a truck, so Bry throws it up on top of the Honda and ties it down. Every year, I watch anxiously through the sunroof to make sure it doesn't fly off and hit the car behind us. So far, it's never flown off the roof, but I'm always anxious. 

Anywho, we went to a little tree farm in Oregon City - Candy Cane Farm (I think that is what it's called). Bry let the boys help him with the saw, and you can tell from the pictures how much fun he had with them. So precious. I love all my boys! 

Our pick!

Isaiah had more fun picking up sticks than picking out a tree!

 

 

Elias loved helping cut down the tree

Love these little men!

All done!