Seven years in the making…

So with apologies to my dad and our Boy Scout camping trips, Friday night was seven years in the making.

Seven years ago a good friend had the idea of going backpacking in the Gila National Forest.  I had never been backpacking before, but of course I was in. And since this isnt a post about that trip I will keep it short. We decided to head out and it was a pretty eye-opening experience.  I was hooked. Here is a video from that trip:

Fast forward one year and for a bachelor party we decided to repell off a 240 foot waterfall (Hemmed-in-Hollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemmed-In-Hollow_Falls). Here is myself headed off the cliff for a 270 foot repell:

Fast forward one more year and I headed off to Patagonia with NOLS to learn glacial moutaineering. Here is a quick video from one of our summit hikes in Patagonia:

One last video, if you recall I kayaked the Buffalo River with my brother-in-law  and it kind of got out of hand.  Here is a video of the Buffalo well into flood stage and what could have been a very bad situation if we hadn’t seen this downed tree in time:

Those were some great trips, but I took my favorite camping trip this weekend.  I took B on his first camp-out.

B and I went with a good friend and his daughter who is one month younger than B.

Here we are at the campsite:

We decided to take the kiddos on a hike to try and wear them out:

Mission accomplished:

So my tent has two flaps on it, I needed to secure the zippers in case B decided to break camp in the middle of the night, here is one flap:

The other flap zippers had my watch looped through them, I was able to sleep soundly knowing that he would have to navigate a watch or carabineer in order to get out.

We got in the tent about 9:00 and he finally fell asleep around 10:00. Here we are about 9:30 as he was exploring every square inch of our tent:

Here is how we ended up:

Note that he is over 3 feet tall, so he was taking up half of my sleep pad which made it a bit tough on me to lay straight.  But he is well worth it. Here is a video of him when he woke up:

I think this picture sums up our sleeping experience nicely:

Saturday morning we decided to get a hike in.  Here we are:

Two very cute hikers:

And one last picture:

I texted S about 11:00 on Friday night about  how blessed I was to be laying with my son outside under the stars.  The night turned out incredibly well considering how far south it could have gone.

Here is to hoping it is one of many.

A’s First Week…

We are continuing to bask in awe as we think about God’s goodness to our little family this past week.

A’s delivery couldn’t have been more different than B’s, it wasn’t the middle of the night and we sort of knew what to anticipate.

God’s grace was evident throughout A’s entire delivery. He provided us with an incredible delivery nurse who hummed praise and worship songs and allowed my epidural to be administered early on.

C and I were able to have some sweet time with our two littlest ones before the rest of our family met A. B's initial reaction to A was priceless, he was a little tentative…but then saw the buttons on the hospital bed and became quite comfortable.

Later, our family, who was able to be in town, came to meet A.

C’s cousin brought us some special treats to enjoy in the hospital from our favorite bakery. She brought treats with an A monogram on them. She said when she ordered the little cakes they said they couldn’t have them ready in time for us to enjoy during our hospital stay…when C’s cousin mentioned who they were for, the woman at the bakery remembered our little family and worked to “pull some strings” to get them done…this story made our day…

And B enjoyed the sweet treats!

We can’t get over how much A looks like B did as a new born. After A was born, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

We tried to keep B’s “status quo” as typical as possible while we were in the hospital…though I missed seeing our little guy, he enjoyed some fun outings with his Gigi and Papa.  He also enjoyed going to school for his class Easter Egg hunt while we were admitted.  B was kind enough to bring us breakfast in the hospital before heading to school for his big hunt…his breakfast was much better than the meal the hospital provided…plus it provided him with the chance to see his little sister and even hold and kiss her!

We were given this TCU hat when B was born.

This is B wearing the hat…

This is little A wearing the hat…

Our little family…finally together at home!

We have enjoyed the company of family and friends and felt so celebrated now that we are home.

Some friends blessed us with dinner the night we got home from the hospital. They have a baby about six weeks older than A, it was amazing to be reminded of how quickly she will grow.

Later in the week, C’s sister was able to make a quick trip to meet our little one…

And so did my dad and youngest brother…

Even “Auntie M” and C made a surprise trip to Cowtown!

It has been nice to settle into our new “norm” at home…

A seems to love the swing…we couldn’t be more thrilled as B didn’t really take to it. B likes to stand next to the swing and simply watch A sleep…don’t be fooled, we are working to teach him that he doesn’t need to help A swing…he just needs to watch he

All swaddled like a little burrito…like B, it is amazing how she wiggles her little arms up out of the swaddle.

A’s first walk…

B the big brother! Though we may still be in a “honeymoon” phase, B loves his little sister.  He points to her hands, feet, head…and loves to try to give kisses.

We made our first outing as a foursome to the bakery on Saturday morning. I was thrilled to be able to enjoy caffeinated  coffee with my cinnamon roll again! 

This is just a small glimpse of our family’s big week…we continue to be so grateful to have A here…and thankful for all of our family and friends who have and continue to bless us throughout this transition.

Happy Monday.

Be blessed.

The Merry-Go-Round

I guess B likes the merry-go-round, but his dad LOVES it.

Happy BIRTHday Little A!

Little A is here!
We are praising God for a healthy beautiful little girl.
Thank you for all of your prayers for our littlest one, for B as he transitions into big brotherhood and for us as we learn how to parent two little ones.

Happy Monday!
Be blessed!!!!!!!

Oh How Life Has Changed…

Gone are the days of…

-Hectic Saturday afternoon errands and house projects

-Reading a book cover to cover within just a few days

-Trying to woo C by my “beauty” (as identified by my fantastic choice of apparel and protruding belly)

-C watching baseball games from the comfort of the couch

-A living room free of diggers, train cars, stuffed animals and little people shoes

Instead…

-We are home to provide B with his much needed afternoon nap!

-I am working my way through a book that I have been reading since November

-I am lounging (quite literally and not very femininely) in jeans that have an elastic waist that almost reaches my chin and an old running shirt

-C is watching a baseball game on the floor with his head propped up on a pillow as he rubs my feet

-Our living room floor is filled with evidence of our home’s youngest inhabitant

I don’t think either C or I could have imagined how much life might someday change…especially while dating or being newly married.

I am so grateful for life as we know it today…I am grateful for lazy weekend afternoons, grateful to be comfortable enough to lounge and be seen at less than my best, grateful for C’s flexibility and willingness to rub my feet, grateful for all the diggers and trains that populate our living room…grateful for the life the Lord has graciously provided us with!

Life will only continue to change…so we better savor life as we know it right now!

Happy Saturday!

Be blessed.

Little A’s Diaper Cake

One of C’s neighbors (from growing up) blessed our family with this adorable diaper cake. She had heard that A & B were sharing a room and that our nursery theme was “Ella Dogs”.

The all appropriate, Ella Dog cake topper, donned a sweet pique sun hat…

While other parts of the cake were adorned with baby socks, mittens, onesies, pacifiers, receiving blankets, rattles and bottles.

We were thrilled to discover numerous diapers rolled together to form the inside of the cake as well!

It is such an honor to have our littlest one celebrated…as it only adds to our looming anticipation and excitement for her arrival!

Happy Saturday!

Be blessed.

Gigi’s Birthday

We caught up on our birthday celebrating this weekend as we celebrated Gigi’s birthday with B’s Gigi, Papa, Gram and Auntie B.

We met at one of our new favorite Cowtown breakfast eateries and continued our celebrating by playing at the museum. We had almost the entire museum to ourselves…B loved it, it was very gracious of Gigi to be willing to celebrate her day doing one of B’s favorite things!

I forgot my camera in the car (hence the lack of photos from the museum)…but was able to capture this photo of B and his Gigi at breakfast. B picked this “Baallooon” out for Gigi…he was really excited about it until it was time to actually give it away…then he got a little timid and shy (go figure).

We all had fun celebrating together…we had thought we might be celebrating Gigi’s birthday in the hospital…but little A continues to be quite content hanging out right where she is.

Happy Birthday Gigi!

Be blessed.

Twiddling our Thumbs….Nope, Just Walking!

Little A seems to be rather content staying right where she is…

So with that said, we have been trying to think outside of the box in regard to activities that help to pass the time.

One of our favorite time passing activities has been walking…living close to TCU has been a gift as the construction projects around the campus prove to be perfect entertainment for a two year old! 

We haven’t been afraid to make ourselves comfortable as we walk…taking our time to watch “diggins” and trucks has provided a nice break for this very pregnant momma.

B’s Gram has even joined in on some of our walking fun!  C seems to appreciate me having a walking partner other than him…he has been gracious to walk with me in the evenings, though I think he likes that we have been getting walks in earlier in the day so he doesn’t have to walk every night in between dinner and B’s bedtime.

Little A, we can’t wait to meet you…you will probably be born saying “BEEP BEEP!” and “Diggin!” as that is all that you are probably hearing each and every day…please come soon!

Be blessed.

Getting Settled…

We are finally starting to feel settled in our little rent house…it’s taken about six weeks…but it is starting to feel like home.

There are aspects of our house that I miss…especially the dinning room and kitchen…but really, I can’t complain…we have a roof over our head…a smaller roof…but a sweet one!

B and little A will be sharing a room in our new house…so setting up the nursery/kids’ room hasn’t necessarily been a “starting from scratch” type project, but has provided a great creative outlet.

This is the quilt that my mom made B before he was born. The quilt has several different textures that B enjoyed playing with during various tummy times. B now sleeps under, on top of, next to, beside... this quilt as he sleeps in his myriad of sleeping positions each night.

I was able to use some left over fabric from B’s quilt to make a bunting to hang on B’s side of his new room…

My parents found these books ends for some of our favorite books…they thought they seemed rather apropos for our little guy’s room. They sit on top of B’s dresser which houses all of B’s clothes…really just shoes, shorts and shirts…A has a matching dresser on the other side of the room…her dresser is filled with a little more variety including ruffled, pink and girly items (so fun)!

C and I found this play mat for B’s cars, trucks and trains that matches the nursery color scheme remarkably well.   It is not uncommon to hear “BEEP! BEEP!” sounds coming from this side of the kids’ room as B plays.

B’s crib/bedding didn’t change much…we kept the golden retriever theme as we felt like it captured B’s personality and love for his “Ella B”.  My mom made a cushion for our white trunk (a gift that C made me in college) that now doubles as a window seat and storage unit. It isn’t uncommon for B’s Ella Dog and A’s Ella Dog to hang out together on the trunk.

My mom and I were able to find some “feminine” fabrics that matched the fabrics that she used in B’s quilt to make a quilt for little A. She added texture to A’s quilt in hope that she might enjoy it as much as B has.  A’s quilt has somewhat of a bird theme to it…which was fun to incorporate on little A’s side of the room.

Little A’s bunting…

One of our favorite spots…many choo choo and digger books are read within the confines of this chair.

We found this little bird cage to hang over the chair…in effort to add a little “whimsy”.

This is little A’s basinet/cradle. She’ll reside in this until B makes his big transition into a big boy bed.  The basinet is on wheels…we plan on little A being mobile and sleeping in many different rooms throughout our little house as we fully anticipate her not to be sleeping through the night for quite a while. 

My mom helped me make this mobile to hang over the changing table…this was one of our attempts at melding a little of B with a little of A as it has birds and bumble bees (no we aren’t trying to teach any lessons about the birds and the bees just yet…B  just loves bumble bees…promise)!  The birds are made from the B & A’s quilt fabrics.

C’s mom gave us a monogramed pillow with B’s name on it just before he was born…the pillow has found it’s home in the  nursery and recently gained a companion that has A’s name monogramed on it…it is fun to see both of our little one’s names throughout the room.

It is an honor to have had help in making such a simple room a special place for our two little ones. It is surreal to imagine tucking two little ones in at night…we can’t wait!

Little A, we can’t wait to meet you.

Be blessed.