Christmas Morning

Each Christmas season is filled with joy and anticipation around our house. Jesus' birth, family filling our home, the joy of togetherness and celebration and of course giving gifts. But this year seemed even more exciting as I sat back and thought through all the adventures we have had this year and our tiny new adventure that will soon be arriving.

It was a real Christmas miracle that the girls (who are sleeping in the same room now) actually slept until almost 8am! Since we moved the two of them in together, R has been waking up before the sun and hollering at her little sister until she too is awake. There's no getting them back to sleep at that point. I somehow managed to get up and be somewhat awake and ready for the day before they started calling for me.

It's funny how things that have always been traditions in your house can quickly change when you have small children. They don't care about the order or way in which you normally do things. Baby Girl ran straight for the stockings, which is unheard of because of course we do stockings last (haha), and grabbed the stuffed animal sticking out of the top. In actuality, it wasn't even her stocking, but thankfully the girls aren't old enough to realize that yet. So we ended up just giving R the animal from the other stocking and she was none the wiser.

I did basically all the shopping and wrapping in our home, so I knew who was getting what gifts, until daddy threw me for a loop. The day before he had gone and gotten the girls a gift that mama never would have purchased, dads are good like that. He bought them bathtub paints, even the thought of that makes me cringe! But they sure do love them. I just have a feeling they will only be getting used when daddy is giving them a bath : )

These two little munchkins are silly and goofy and just plain crazy at times, but on this morning they were so excited and very grateful for every single gift. It makes my mama heart proud.

We did our little family Christmas, ate our yummy monkey bread, then all curled up in bed and watched Christmas cartoons until late morning. It was wonderful and relaxing. 

Around noon, my family came over to start our second Christmas celebration.

We had a yummy cajun meal for lunch and then opened presents like it was Christmas morning all over again, stockings and all! We were all spoiled rotten!

We ate Jesus' birthday cake (which was DELICIOUS!), talked, laughed and just hung out until early evening. After my family was gone, we headed to Jeff's parents house to visit and exchange more gifts. Then we took a drive and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights before heading home. 

It was a perfect day, exhausting, but perfect. 

I was just certain with the way I was feeling on Christmas Eve that this little one in my belly was going to make her arrival any time, but thankfully she stayed in there through the craziness that was the Christmas holiday and now we just have a few weeks left!

Sit Tight Baby Girl

Today might be my last calm day for a while. The girls are currently dressed in their princess garb and watching Mickey Mouse and I am sitting on my couch waiting for the dryer to buzz. 

My goal for the day is to stay in my pajamas, do a little bit of housework and a lot of laundry.

I admit that I have neglected my blog lately. Between the growing baby in my belly (33 weeks and counting) and sleep training two toddlers all over again, I pretty much live in a state of exhaustion. Not to mention that this weekend was WAY more eventful than I would have wished.

Last Friday I got out of the house early and since Jeff has had some time to take off work before the end of the year, I got to go all by myself! I had an OB appointment and followed that up with lots of errands and Christmas shopping. We then met some of his family for lunch, and by the time we got back home I did some dishes, put the girls down for naps and ran back out the door. By about 2:30 in the afternoon, I was thinking all this running around might not have been the best idea. My stomach got increasingly tighter and tighter and the pain lasted longer and longer. So needless to say, after much deliberation, lots of water and a few hours off my feet I decided against going to the hospital. But the next few days held a lot of the same pains and discomfort and I did my best to rest and lay down when possible. 

I know for a lot of women this is common, but not for me. I didn't have a single contraction until the day R was born. Thankfully all of that has slowed down and I am very grateful to say that all of my Christmas shopping is now complete. Those crowds were going to do me in if nothing else did! 

However, all of that hoopla got me thinking- she could be here anytime! (Although I hope she waits!) Her nursery is in shambles, we still have to finalize a name, I haven't even thought about a hospital bag and the house is a wreck. So I immediately started buying things for the nursery. And while technically they probably don't need to be here before Christmas, I'm very grateful for these companies that are providing free shipping and delivery before the 25th. 

As for the laundry that I'm still waiting to change, it is my first load of pinks and newborn sizes for this little girl. I can't believe how small everything is! It hasn't been that long since my girls were born, but long enough that you forget they could ever be THAT tiny. I am also very grateful today that I am a hoarder of sorts. I started a box of clothes and nursery items as I found them on clearance weeks or even months ago, and now all of those items are really coming in handy and taking some stress of this mama.

I know that we will have everything we need and that we could completely make due with what we already have, even if the nursery wasn't perfect. But that doesn't change the fact that I want it to all be done and done well before she arrives.  :) My goal is that this little girl sits tight at least until we make it to the Garth Brooks concert in the middle of January, but her due date of February 4th will be just fine with me!

No, these photos have nothing to do with my post, nor are they from today. But I thought you might enjoy them : ) 

A Trip to the North Pole

Our yearly tradition of seeing Santa continues!

However, I had no idea how our visit was going to turn out. R is a little finicky about costumed individuals. One second she is happy and excited to see them and the next she will practically hyperventilate trying to get away from them. This trip to the North Pole didn't begin very promising, but she pulled it together well.

And thankfully I had an extra set of hands with me. The girls love it when LaLa comes on our adventures.

And let me tell you what, the girls LOVED Bass Pro. 

I do my best to pick a time when I think the fewest possible people will be there and this year I guessed pretty well. We've stood in long lines before and fought with cranky children for a cute Santa picture and then ran for the door the second they got their candy cane, but this year was different. Since we don't have much of a schedule, we are free to pick a random weekday morning instead of having to go in the evenings or on a weekend and I much prefer it. The girls not only didn't have to wait long to take their picture, but the store had coloring tables set out and we meandered around looking at all the animals, fish and toys. It was a great outing!

Baby Girl, however, was not amused by the other children that were around. She just couldn't be bothered :)

R just wanted to talk to the ducks outside the window.

I may or may not have bribed them with a "special treat" and told them that if they were good on our adventure to see Santa, they could have it when they got back to the car. I, of course, then had throw in a mini-photoshoot before they left because I knew they would cooperate in hopes of getting their treat.

Yep, mom of the year here! But I got some cute pictures!

Thanks for hanging out with us LaLa!

I love my girls! All three of them! 

Another successful trip to see Santa and there were no tears!

The Winds of Change

It's been weeks since my last post and I have no real reason to lag in my diligence to keep you all informed about our oh so entertaining life... Well besides two trips to Louisiana, celebrating Thanksgiving, trying to wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, chasing two toddlers around, oh and being almost 32 weeks pregnant and preparing for this little girl's arrival! : )

Still writing this blog is an outlet for me and I hate to leave it for so long. 

I honestly have no idea where to begin in filling you in on our adventures. 

We traveled home to Louisiana for Thanksgiving. It's crazy to think that this was our first holiday spent there since the Thanksgiving after R was born!  We enjoyed some wonderful and relaxing time with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and of course a trip home isn't complete without a visit from Roxie. The days were filled with wagon rides, tree stump tea parties, a little day-after-Thanksgiving shopping, a night of reminiscing at Chilis with Roxie, and an amazing Thanksgiving meal that our wonderfully eclectic group of friends and family could not even come close to finishing off! 

We made it home a week ago and I must admit, I am still not completely unpacked. Some people might be embarrassed or overwhelmed by that thought, but honestly it is the least of my concerns at this point! Ha. I am making a list and checking it twice and am really working hard to find the balance in maintaining "the wonder and awe of Christmas morning" with the real reason we celebrate the season. It has been fun to watch the girls understand more and more. It's as if you can see the little cogs in their brains turn as I try to explain Jesus' birthday. Baby Girl has seemed to grasp it even more than her big sis at this point because every time we mention Christmas she says, "It's Jesus' birthday!!" They have already decided that they want to make Him a cake. Their innocence, joy and enthusiasm are contagious. They don't have any lists for Santa, nor do they really even understand yet that most people associate the holiday with what they can get out of it, and I love that. I hope we can keep it that way. As their mama, I want to give them tangible gifts (and we will), but I can think of so many better things I can give to them that they won't break or outgrow. But if you know me, you know I love to give gifts! So Christmas is my favorite!

I showed R something online tonight that I had picked out to order for her new baby sister, and all she could say was, "Mama, I love it! She'll love it! Can I give it to her?" I have a feeling she's going to be a little gift giver, just like her mama. All she can do is talk about how when "her baby" comes that she wants to hold her and sing to her and push her in her swing. What a loving little girl.

To add to the fun, we've now moved the girls into the same room. *cringe* We started that transition while we were visiting my parents because they were going to have to share a room while we were there anyway and then we just continued our efforts when we made it back to Oklahoma. It has gone... well it's gone exactly as I imagined it would go. Every once in a while we have a good night where after only a few minutes of playful giggles and whispers they fall asleep, but most nights it is an hour (or two) after bedtime before we can even get them remotely settled. I'm really hoping once the novelty wears off the good days will far outweigh the bad. But at this point naptime for R is pretty much out the window. I try everyday to get them to both take naps, but R was such a sparse napper to begin with that all she does is keep her baby sister up well into naptime. Of course after two weeks of not taking naps at all, I can really tell a difference in level of obedience and impulse control. Any creative tips you have in getting a three year old who has never been a great napper to take naps in the same room without waking up little sister, would be greatly appreciated! And prayers are always appreciated for this pregnant mama who needs both girls to rest so I can catch my breath!

The winds of change are coming in so many wonderful ways and I can't wait to be free to share them all with you on the blog! But for now we are focusing on the wonderful holiday season we are in the midst of and counting down the days until our beautiful, healthy little girl makes her appearance!