20 in 2011

A recap of our year...

1. What did you do in 2011 that you had never done before?

I moved into the house we have always dreamed of and I conceived a little girl, both things I thought were never going to happen!

2. Did you keep your New Years Resolutions and will you make more?

I don't remember having any from last year so I don't know. I don't have any resolutions that are exclusive to the start of the year. Every day I try to love God a little better, be a better wife, and be a better mother. Those things are never going to stop being important to me.

3. Did anyone close to you have a baby?

My uncle's wife and a friend from church both had babies this year. I'm next! Woo-hoo!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My grandma Kuni died on June 28th. I still think about her all the time.

5. What places have you visited?

Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Boone, Mt. Gretna, Amish country in PA, Washington DC, Teen Valley Ranch

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Patience and energy!!!

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched in your memory and why?

June 28th cause my grandma died and July 7th cause we found out that we were expecting a baby. Also, June 23rd because it marked our ten year anniversary.

8. What was your biggest achievement this year?

I don't think I achieved anything. I saw so many blessings and I was able to do so many things through God's grace and mercy. I'm very proud of myself for working 5 days a week while being pregnant. That was a challenge, especially in the early days when I was still getting sick every day. It made me realize that I am stronger than I think sometimes. Plus, Steve and I hit that milestone 10 year mark this year. If this was Hollywood, we'd be celebrating our golden anniversary or something. ;-)

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Only from this sweet baby!

10. What was the best thing you bought?

Steve bought me a new wedding set for our ten year anniversary. I didn't buy it, he did, but it is so amazing and beautiful! I love him so much! (even before he bought me the beautiful new rings I would have said that!)

11. Where did most of your money go?

Well, on grown up things like bills and groceries and gas. But the "fun money" that we spent was on travel, as per usual. :-)

12. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson

13. What do you wish you had done more of?

Spent more time in my Bible. With me feeling sick and tired for so long, so many things got away from me. I also wish I had spent more time with my boys but I did my best every day and that is all I can do.

14. What do you wish you had done less of?

Spent less time online and eaten less junk food before I got pregnant. I put on 5 lbs before I got pregnant that I really regret now.

15. What was your favorite TV program?

Modern Family & Friday Night Lights

16. What was the best book you read this year?

Matterhorn! I'm not sure if I read it the first time this year or last, but I LOVE IT!!! Also, The Help was fantastic.

17. What was your favorite movie of the year?

Eh - nothing stands out but I'll go with Breaking Dawn part 1 and The Help. I really liked The Lincoln Lawyer, Rio, and Kung Fu Panda 2 also. We don't get to go to the movies that often.

18. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

I was sick on my birthday - boo! I woke up with a fever and a terrible head cold. Being pregnant, I couldn't take anything and that was very unpleasant. I had plans, they just didn't work out because I was sick. I turned 32 this year. The next day I left for the beach with one of my very best friends for a girls weekend away. That was so needed and such fun!

19. What national/world event stirred you the most?

The Royal Wedding for sure! I LOVED IT!!! The boys kept waking up, asking "is it time?" At 5 we got up and watched the entire thing. Not having a daughter, I didn't think I'd have someone to share in the magic with me, but they were amazing and watched every bit with me. They did turn their stuffed animals to look at the wall during the kiss on the balcony. :-)

20. Who was the best new person you met?

My assistant in my classroom, Marianne. She is such an amazing, fun, wonderful person. I have been blessed to know her. I am slowly meeting the little person growing inside of me but I'll save her for next year. :-)

Santa came!

Santa came to visit us again this year! Both boys got exactly what they asked for and a huge stocking full of candy and new electric toothbrushes and toothpaste. Plus, Mommy, Daddy, and multiple family members made sure they were spoiled rotten with lots of fun things.

Note - Nicholas is SO GRATEFUL!!! for every single thing he receives. He only asked for four gifts this year, so Mommy had to do some creative thinking to come up with gift ideas for him. He looked at me on Christmas morning and said "Mommy, you did a great job, I love everything!" Luke is learning to be a little more gracious. ;-)

The boys were up at 6:00. We had the morning to ourselves, then around 1:30 Steve's sister, mom, and dad came to visit. Around 3:30, Emily left and the rest of us played Pictionary on Nicholas's new U-Draw tablet. That was a lot of fun and then at 5:30 my sister and her family came over to celebrate with dinner and gifts. The children are all getting so big! The babies are almost 2 and 3; I cannot even believe it.By 9:00 when the last guest left the house, we were all ready for bed.

It was a long day, but such a wonderful one. I am so grateful for every single day I get to call myself "mother" but especially on a day when we remember the most important birth of all.

Christmas Break

Luke's contribution to "candy making"

Things are busy over here! I feel like I say that a lot and that most people probably think "things are busy for everyone, you aren't special" but alas...things are busy over here.

With it being the last Christmas before Kate arrives, I had a laundry list of things I wanted to accomplish/experience with my boys. It is also the last extended period of time without school in session before she comes. So, we spent the week leading up to Christmas in a flurry of:

• Visiting Gingerbread lane and checking out all the amazing gingerbread houses. I say "houses" in the loosest possible sense because we saw Panthers stadium, Japanese ninja training thingies, snowman repair shops, whole villages, Santa's summer cottage at the beach, Angry Birds platforms, and so many other amazing things. We had a great time meeting up with friends and oohing and aahing over all the details. Our favorite details were the dog that not only peed on a snowman, leaving a big yellow spot, but also ran off with one of his stick arms. (Snowman had on a very grumpy face - can you blame him?) Another favorite was Santa at his beach bungalow, hanging out in the hot tub with a cooler. And my favorite was the gingerbread ninja with his star-weapon thingies.

• Visiting Santa of course! We love to go see Santa at Great Wolf Lodge. The boys were so good and put in their requests very politely. Santa kept saying "that is all? just one thing?"

• Having long playdates with friends
• Baking, candy making, pretzel dipping, gift wrapping, cooking, chopping, decorating, gift making....

• Playing board games - Luke is ridiculously good at both Yahtzee and chess, much to Nicholas's dismay. I lose at everything.

• Visiting with family. We saw a lot of family this holiday season and it was really nice. Some of our grandparents are getting older and aren't in the best health. This year we made sure to visit with as many relatives as possible and I'm so glad we did.
• Trips to the Discovery Place - we have so much fun there and haven't been in a while. It was really nice, even if half of Charlotte had the same idea. :-)
• We even worked in a "pajama day" where the boys were allowed to stay in their jammies all day and do anything they wanted, as long as they were kind to each other. It was such a nice way to spend the day!

It is hard for me to believe that school starts back up in just a few days. The time goes so quickly! I wish we could bottle these days and just hold on to them forever.

We 3 Kings

About two days ago, we were sitting at the table, talking about the Nativity story. Nicholas, for some reason probably linked to his genetic tie to Steve, was inspired to burst into song. He began singing "We 3 Kings". Loudly.

Suddenly, he stopped singing and asked us "Where is Orientare?" I said "What?" He said "You know, in the song...they say "we 3 kings of orientare". Where is that?"

I love how children hear and interpret things! The magic of childhood...

27 Weeks

How far along: 27 weeks
Size of baby: about 14.5 inches long and weighs about a two pounds
Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs. It could be a lot worse.
Clothes: Maternity clothes are the only things that fit right now
Gender: Still a girl
What I Miss: This week I miss fruity drinks. And energy. Energy gets way less credit than it deserves.
Cravings: Subway sandwiches with the following: lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, pickles, onions, green peppers, light mayo, oil, and vinegar. The sandwich is enormous! It is like a salad on some bread. So yummy!
Symptoms: ligament pain, tired
Moment to Remember: This week I said good-bye to my Mon/Wed/Fri class at preschool. Something had to give 'cause I am just exhausted and I'm hoping this helps. They are sweet, loving, amazing children and families and I'm so sad to leave them. I'm trying to remember that being a better mom to my boys and the sweet girl growing inside of me makes the loss worth it. Also, this week I felt little miss actually turn and roll under my hands. It was pretty amazing, a little scary, and sort of gross all at the same time. Other fun things from this week in being pregnant: we discovered that Kate will "play" with us. If I lie down on my back while she is awake, she will kick you if you poke her. The boys had a great time with this one night. They would give a poke or two and she would kick them back in the same spot. One day we could actually see her poking something up, sort of big and rounded so I think it was either her head or her bum. Seeing that one little distinct part poking up out of me was pretty great. There really is a person in there!

Better late than never

the boys on their first limo ride

Thanksgiving 2011

First we celebrated in town with Steve's family

Then we headed off to Mt. Gretna, PA for a week with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We visited Baltimore, MD, Lancaster, PA (and all the amish country), Washington, DC, and beautiful Mt. Gretna. During the one week we took four plane rides, one 2.5 hour limo ride, we rode on subways, Amtrak trains, buses, and in various cars.


We had one episode of motion sickness resulting in migraine and vomiting, one episode of coughing til we got sick, one tick bite, one allergic reaction skin rash, three calls to the pediatrician, and one Daddy vowing to never travel without his own vehicle again.

Also included in this week was delicious food, fun times with family, Chinese checkers on the gorgeous porch, the adventure of staying in a cabin that is over 120 years old, a trip to Dutch Winter Wonderland, drives through the beautiful Amish countryside, two trips to the movies, the best turkey I've ever eaten, many games of Scattergories with very flexible rules, and countless episodes of Dog Training 101, and only the best Christmas movies. We visited Kettle Kitchen, an Amish owned an operated shopping area where we ate homemade jellies, saw more horse and buggy combos than you would believe, saw the most amazing quilts ever, and ate ice cream made from milk from cows they owned. Also, we visited Wilburs, the greatest chocolate factory on earth. Seriously. And you know I love chocolate.

It was awesome.

In this moment

In this moment:

The house is quiet. Steve has gone to take the boys friends home and the children are in bed. I can actually hear the hum of the refrigerator.

My feet are throbbing. I did almost 100% of my Christmas shopping today, the weeks grocery shopping, and wrapped all the gifts I bought from a standing position because I can't sit and bend over. Now my poor feet are swollen and hurt.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, the mantle is draped with garland, and the tree is up and beautiful. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I can feel baby Kate kicking and rolling up a storm. She is actually tickling my ribs on the right side with her sweet little feet. The baby book says she is "pedaling" her feet, which will play a role in her learning to walk someday. When she is in there, bouncing around all I can think of is that song with the line "I knew I loved you before I met you." I don't know if I buy into that applying to your spouse, but I know it applies to your child. I just can't wait to kiss those tiny toes that are causing all the ripples in my tummy right now!

Luke is tucked into bed beside his brother. Snug, safe, happy. Also, turning the pages of a book. I can hear him in the quiet.

Nicholas is sleeping. He is worn out from playing basketball and playing with his friend. He was asleep about as quickly as his head hit the pillow. I hope he isn't getting sick.

I am content. My home is safe and warm, my children are peaceful and happy, and Steve still seems as smitten by me as he was 16 years ago. Today is a happy day.

26 weeks

How far along: 26 weeks
Size of baby: about 14 inches long and weighs about a two pounds
Total weight gain/loss: I'm scared to look
Clothes: Maternity clothes are the only things that fit right now
Gender: Still a girl
What I Miss: Being able to get out of bed without a struggle, being able to turn over in bed without a struggle, and being able to get down on the floor and then get back up again
Cravings: citrus (i.e. lemonade, pineapple) and subway sandwiches with the following: lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, pickles, onions, green peppers, light mayo, oil, and vinegar. The sandwich is enormous! It is like a salad on some bread. So yummy!
Symptoms: ligament pain, slight swelling, hungry all the time
Moment to Remember: Steve told me to "lighten up" and I looked at him and asked "are you trying to say I'm getting fat?" I was serious. His laughing til he almost couldn't stand did not help.

25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks
Size of baby: about 13.5 inches long and weights about a pound and half
Total weight gain/loss: 13 lbs
Clothes: Maternity clothes are the only things that fit right now
Gender: Still a girl
What I Miss: I could use a fruity drink about now :-)
Cravings: Taco dip - weird, right? I don't know why but I have a terrible craving for it. My appetite has finally kicked in and I feel like I'm hungry all the time so I'm trying to eat/snack on healthy things. All this holiday food isn't helping though!
Symptoms: I'm having a lot of round ligament pain on the left side. My left leg just does not want to function properly.
Moment to Remember: Baby is a kicking machine! She is so very active, which I am grateful for, even though when I'm trying to rest it can be a bit tiresome. She can literally kick for an hour or more without stopping. When we went to the Taylor Swift concert it was very loud. Kate either loved it or hated it, but she kicked the entire 3 hours the music was going. She reminds me a lot of Nicholas in utero. He turned out to be a busy baby/toddler, but one of the sweetest, most amazing boys on the planet so I'm hoping it all works out well for her! :-)