Final Countdown: 7 Weeks

Meeting Everly Jean is all I can think about these days. My mind whirls with the simplest of thoughts - the tiny size of newborn fingers, the way a little head rests so perfectly in that space between your collarbones, lying awake with a breastfeeding infant in the middle of the night when the rest of the house is deep in sleep. That’s where my head is right now.

The girls' shared room is complete and I should post some pictures soon. We are working on getting a spot in our bedroom ready since that is where she will be sleeping for a while. I have briefly thought about packing a hospital bag, gathering music and returning the infant car seat to the back seat of my car.

I am pretty sure Evie is upside down and ready to rock-n-roll when her time comes. All I feel are little feet and a hard bottom rolling around under my ribs or in my side - and despite this being my second go-round, when I really sit and think about the fact that there is a little person inside of me, it still blows my mind. How absolutely weird and fantastic?!?

Lake Girl

We were so lucky to spend the weekend at Table Rock Lake with family over the weekend. We had wonderful company, fantastic food and plenty of sunshine. Here is a small peek of how our time was spent relaxing at the lake:

Are we there yet?

Driving the boat with Uncle Randy

Early morning fishing with Poppa and Grammy

Reeling in a fish

What a catch!

Floating

Eating

It's always so hard to say goodbye when you are having such a great time!! A BIG thank you to my aunt and uncle for hosting - we all had a fabulous time!!

Birthday Hat

via stella and livi

For both Aliyah's first and second birthdays we went to Stella and Livi for creative, unique hats to help make her special day even more so. I adore all of the wonderful and cute things that Theresa can come up with from felt, thread and a whole lot of talent. For Aliyah's first birthday she made a hat to match the party dress that I had picked out and added a bright sun to tie in the "You Are My Sunshine" theme.

This time, I didn't have any specific colors, I just requested a cute hippo hat for her zoo themed birthday. When it came in the mail, I opened the box right away and couldn't contain my excitement! I kept telling Tyler "awwwwwwwww" and "I just love it, don't you?" and "It's perfect!"

The hat came in enough time for me to use it in Aliyah's birthday invitations and I even used the colors in the hat to create the color-theme for her party (light purple & teal). I truly can't say enough how fun it is to work with Theresa to come up with ideas and I am looking forward to getting Evie's birthday hats from Stella and Livi too.

You can check out Stella and Livi's BLOG, follow her on FACEBOOK, TWITTER or shop on ETSY (although I believe she is taking a small break this summer - no worries - she will be back!)

I just had to share!!

Dodgeball

Oh how I dreaded having to play dodgeball in gym when I was a little girl. Thankfully I grew up with a nice bunch of boys who usually took it pretty easy on the girls who were 'not that into it'. I would stand in the back of the gym and just pray I didn't get beamed in the face. Hopefully you girls will have your dad's dodgeball skills - but if not, "Don't worry, mommy's here!" (Dad said he would help out too) LOL

Terrific Twos

Style. Attitude. Beauty. Love It!

You took a serious growth spurt since your last doctor visit. You jumped to the 75% percentile in height and 35% in weight. At your 2 year check up, you were 25 lbs 8 ounces and 35 inches tall. You’ve got a closet full of size 5 shoes and you’ve got a serious opinion on the ones you like best. Your wispy hair is starting to grow and we are finding the cutest, craziest curls all over. You sport the most radical bedhead the world has ever seen most days (despite my attempts to tame it).

Your appetite rocks! You are such a great little eater! While you’re still not a huge fan of some green veggies, you’ll pretty much try everything and when you love something, you’ll clean your plate and ask for seconds! Among your favorites right now: shrimp, cheese noodles, carrots, pizza (of course), blueberries, chicken legs, & baked sweet potato fries.

Uh, little lady, you pretty much say it all. Like full on complete thoughts, sentences and ideas. It’s incredible to be able to openly communicate with such a tiny individual. You tell us when you are happy, sad and tired. You ask us if we are happy, sad or tired. When dad gets home from work, you tell him all about our daily adventures. You love to sing and have recently started your own singer/song-writer career. I was pushing you in the cart at the grocery store listening to you sing, "Poppa eats crackers, Honey eats crackers. Grammy and noodles and cheeeeeeeeeeeese." I think you have a great thing going there! Oh, you make us laugh! You almost have the alphabet down only skipping over a few letters. You can find letters on signs and identify them (A is your favorite). You can count to 10 by yourself and almost to 15 and will also identify numbers you see (you pointed and told me "ten" at Home Depot when you spotted the number 10 above the register). You can tell me who our president is (oooooooooo- mama), who his wife is (mee-shell) and where they live (white house). We are astounded by what you know and what you observe and how well you articulate your wants and needs to us. You are one AMAZING two-year-old Aliyah Jacquelyn!

I promise birthday/party pictures are coming!! I just need to get them uploaded to my computer from my camera ;)

Final Countdown: 8 Weeks

I feel like every time I turn around, it’s Tuesday again and I’m writing one of these updates. My head is SPINNING with how fast these weeks are flying by.

No idea how much weight I’ve gained this week as we don’t have a scale at our house, but I still feel wonderful... and BIG.

Today I braved the neighborhood pool and took Aliyah swimming with her grammy. I never went swimming with Aliyah since most of my pregnancy was during the winter months. My round tummy popped out of the bottom of my tankini but no one seemed to mind. We all had a great time today and are looking forward to relaxing with family this weekend at the lake.

I try to take a little time each night before I go to bed to just be with my sweet Everly focusing solely on her. I lay in bed taking in all the stretching and banging she is doing inside my belly and envision a quick/smooth birth for her and I both. I know this may sound a bit hippy-dippy but I really believe that there is a lot of power behind positive thinking. Each day we get closer to meeting this little lady and I just can't wait!

To My Children

inspired by THIS print I saw on etsy.com

I made this print today to hang in the girls' bedroom and it got me thinking:

Ten of my greatest hopes for each you…

1. That your father and I instill in both of you a love of education and books and seeking knowledge. Read everything. Fill your head with philosophies and history and science. Education is one of the few things in life that can never be taken away from you.

2. Travel the world. Experience as many different countries and cultures as possible. Take every opportunity to go and do and see!

3. Seek out your passions. Grow them! Be they music, art, dance, sports… whatever! You are capable of reaching whatever goal you can dream up. Invest in yourself and your talents.

4. Do not be afraid to speak up when you feel something is unfair, unjust or harmful. We are all deserving of kindness. There is no cause or difference worthy of belittling or bullying others. Doing the right thing is not always the popular thing, but it will always be worth it.

5. I hope that one day you know what it feels like to love another person with all of your heart. Take your time (lots and lots of time!). Don’t rush into matters of the heart. Enjoy your youth and be carefree but when you’re ready, loving someone else faithfully and completely will be one of the greatest gifts of your life.

6. And along those same lines, I hope that you know what it feels like to be loved by another with all of their heart. When you do fall in love, make sure that person is willing to give the same to you. You are worth the effort. True love is an equal partnership.

7. May your heartbreaks in life be minimal. They will happen. And they can feel so consuming and paralyzing but know that they are part of your story. The hurt will shape you and it will make you a wiser, better person. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is allow yourself to be vulnerable.

8. Have a group of friends who will be loyal and encouraging. Over the course of your life you will hold so many different friendships - some of them good and some of them detrimental. Don’t waste time on anyone who is not good to you. Let the lessons from all of these relationships allow you to build a circle of friends who will always be there to stand with you in the highest and lowest moments of your life.

9. No matter what happens to you, remember that your father and I are here to care for you and guide you and support you. Even if we disagree with you, don’t ever be afraid to come to us for help. We may not always have the answer or the means, but we’ll be in it together. Our love for you is without limits or conditions and it will always be that way.

10. And lastly, the most important hope of all. Never forget that a faith and love for Jesus is all you need. Above the love of a partner, the friendship of your peers, even your family. Let Him be the north star that guides your life.

When I think of your future, my mama-heart can barely contain the hope it holds for you. You are so small now, but the days are moving fast and I am taking every opportunity to be purposeful and open about my dreams for you. But these words are just that … my dreams… merely a launching pad for the possibilities of your life. Who will you become? What will you achieve? Only time will reveal those things. I am certain that the very best thing I will ever do in my life has already begun. In whatever you both accomplish, you will be my greatest legacy.

Love, Mama