Emmie Turns 5!

The princess is officially 5 years old!  She wanted a Mad Hatter tea party and we went all out to make that dream come true.  Jeff created huge characters, my hot glue gun and I made many crafts, and Alice had a blast! Some may say we went overboard, to that we say nope, we put in the effort to give our daughter a special day and a memory to last a lifetime.  And that is worth all the hours of crafting it took to pull it together!

October 2014

As always, fall is going by in a blur of activity.  From school carnivals, to soccer, to pumpkin patches and corn mazes, fall is a whirlwind of fun.  I love how my kids view the year, breaking the seasons into groups of holidays.  Growing up I always loved that my grandma had boxes of decorations for each holiday season, and I always wanted to do that for my kids.  Granted the Easter box could be a shoe box, while Halloween takes up several tubs, and I won't even tell you how many boxes I have for Christmas! But all in all, my goal of creating an event out of every season is on track. 

This year we hosted our annual Halloween party (with a ventriloquist magician even!),  carved pumpkins, explored the pumpkin patch, and so much more.  I love all the memories we create together...

Mommy and the big kid crew got a special trip to Dave's when school was out on a random Monday.

DECS Fall Carnival was a blast, hands down my favorite October night.  The kids had fun playing all the games, I won the pie contest, Milo was happy, the food trucks were yummy, and we got to hang out with tons of great people.

Picking out pumpkins at Dave's one Sunday evening... 

Pumpkin carving with Aunt Megan and the neighbors...

Halloween!

Catching Up After Milo Was Born - 7 months later!

Well, my last post was seven months ago.  A lot has happened in the past seven months.  I wish I had kept up on the blog this whole time.  So many things have happened - I wish I had documented them all.  I considered backdating posts to make it look like I kept up, but that seemed pretty disingenuous.  So here is my recap... and hopefully I will get better at keeping up.  This blog is important to me, it documents my legacy, it will be here when I am gone someday, and I want my family to know how much I adored every single day.

Miles arrived on April 3 after a particularly painful induction.  He wasn't ready and due to a host of logistical reasons, we had to kick him out.  I like to think he was trying to listen to his mommy, who spent 9 months telling him his birthday would be April 4.  But, as the saying goes, I make plans and God laughs.  He arrived tipping the scales at over 9lbs and we cried.  We all cried - the nurse, me, Jeff, Meg, we all cried.  He was beautiful and he was our rainbow.  After a terrible storm, he was the rainbow and we all were swept into that emotion in that moment. 

We have spent the last seven months adjusting to our new family, getting to know our little Milo, and creating memories.  Every month on his monthly birthday I take his photo 

In between monthly photo shoots, I have snapped about a million photos of him sleeping.  Doesn't everyone take too many sleeping photos of babies?  This one is by far my favorite though...he looks like an angel.

Bath time has been one of his favorite past times, but getting out of the bath is not his favorite part.

In an effort to keep each other front and center we have squeezed in a couple of dates including a Blake Shelton and a Luke Bryan concert - both were AWESOME!

Logan started Cub Scouts with Jeff as his scout leader.

Emmie started out a little upset about the new addition.  She was perfectly happy being the youngest and the center of her daddy's world.  A couple times she even accused Jeff of loving Milo more than her - guilt trips already!  At this point she seems must more adjusted and loves her little brother.

Another fun date night, State Fair tradition continues...

Jeff took the boys camping during the summer and Joey caught his first fish!

Fourth of July was a whirlwind of fun from the Clarksburg parade to a block party.  The best part was watching the kids ride their bikes in the middle of the street at midnight.  Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it seems- the street was cordoned off and the block party was being cleaned up while they were riding.  They were so happy, it was the perfect cap to a perfect summer evening for them.

Logan played t-ball and here he is after being awarded the game ball.

He also graduated kindergarten.  Just thinking of the side by side photo of this and the one in his cap and gown for high school graduation makes me cry already!

Our happy boy...

Joey riding his Papa's Harley...

Logan with a newborn Milo, so much love in that little face...

Proof that at some point in his life Milo looked like his Mommy...

Emmie had a sleepover with Bella and got her first pedicure, such a princess.

Cuteness.

River Cats fun!

Logan reading to newborn Milo.

Took the big kids to Six Flags in August for some baby free attention.  Funny thing about babies, when they are in a room they suck all the attention their way.  Joey, Logan and Emmie all enjoyed their special day.

More fun sleepovers with Bella...

Swimming with the cousins...

Date night at the Landeros wedding...

Just like Joey, Milo came to work with Mommy in the weeks after he was born.  Here he is with Baby Einstein on one screen, chillin' in mommy's lap.

Last Night of Pregnancy

It is officially my last night being pregnant as I'm headed to the hospital tomorrow to be induced. Tomorrow we meet our little boy, tomorrow our world changes. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, terrified - you name it! 

I'm not great at being pregnant. It's not a strength of mine. I get very sick, experience a lot of the negative side effects, and just don't get that elusive "glow." But that doesn't mean I don't cherish the miracle that is pregnancy. Knowing this is the last night my son will be a literal part of me is a little sad. This is the last night I will feel him rolling around inside of me. The last night I will wonder what he looks like... 

I'm looking forward to the next phase though. Not the labor part - that part sucks! But the getting to know your new baby part. The baby smell, the snuggling, the growing of our family, the rush of love and devotion I will feel... I'm looking forward to meeting our little rainbow baby. Our miracle that God has given us after the storm of the last couple years will be here tomorrow, and that is amazing. 

Fairy Tale Town Fun

For what quite possibly could be our last weekend as a family of five, we headed to Fairy Tale Town on Sunday to enjoy the weather and let the kids play.  We are big fans of Fairy Tale Town - the kids always have fun, the snacks are cheap, plenty of shade, and lots of benches which come in handy when you are waddling around 9 months pregnant.

The stage area was set up with streamers, hula hoops, and foam swords and shields.  Emmie and Daddy had a blast having a sword fight and then the brothers joined in on the fun! 

 

 

And here is our last pre-Milo family photo!  Can't wait to meet our new little man, but thankful to Cheri for capturing this last family shot before the family grows by one!