My...your hands are full!

I had the pleasure of taking Eli and Dayton to the DMV today.  Eli busied himself rearranging the furniture and Dayton was screaming his head off letting me know it was time to eat.  For whatever reason I did not feel inclined to whip my boob out of my tank top to feed him at that moment.  I dug him out of his car seat and talked to him while intermittently telling Eli "no." Finally it was our turn and the lady sees that I'm in a little distress and hurries my transaction along.  Luckily I read the instructions and had my paperwork in order.  As I'm headed out the door with my screaming infant and dragging Eli behind me (he was convinced the furniture wasn't quite right yet) a woman pops up out of her chair to hold the door open for me.  I'm so happy I could cry...but then she said it..."my, my, your hands are full!"

Yes, they are.  Some days I feel like all I want to do is sit down and cry.  Other days I go through my headcount and can't believe that five children is "a lot."  It doesn't seem like much on those days.  All I can think of is that my house is positively full of people that love me unconditionally.  Yes, I do have my hands full but I also have my heart full as well.  I LOVE my big family...even on days they make me want to pull my hair out.  Why?  Because they'd love me with stress induced bald spots and certifiably crazy.

Taylor even came running up to me on the baseball field last night to give me a hug.  One of those "I'm going to stick my face in your armpit" kinds of hugs.  I was dripping sweat and pretty sure I smelled bad enough that the flies were avoiding me.  She gave me a lingering hug anyway.  I asked her "Taylor, do I stink?"  She said "yep, but it's ok...I love you anyway."

Lucky #7

Yes, we've added child number 5 to our happy home!  Dayton Alexander O'Brien joined us on March 28, 2014 at 21 inches long and 7 pounds 15 ounces.  He didn't cry for the first three or four days of his life.  I think he was thankful to be part of this crazy little crew of ours.  

When Taylor was a baby I was tired.  I couldn't imagine how anyone could have more than one child and survive.  Now I giggle when people find out that I have 5 children.  They say one of a few things:

"Whew, you've got your hands full!"

"I don't know how you do it, my kid(s) wear me out!"

"You know what causes that right?"

"Oh, your catholic?"

"You've got a basketball team there!"

"Are you done?"

I always find it interesting that perfect strangers want to know what my procreative future looks like.  But I smile and field the questions as gracefully as a southern woman can muster.  Sometimes I can come back with something quick and smart to answer them with but most days I just answer them honestly with a broad smile that you probably only see on crazy people.  Maybe I am crazy.

Our kids have welcomed Dayton with open arms.  They love him without boundaries, don't mind his crying, spitting up, stinky diapers, or the fact that mom's arms are a little more occupied than normal. As soon as our girls get home from summer school they are racing in the door asking if they can hold Dayton.  It's first come first served in our house so they have to be the first in the door and the first to think to ask.

Even little Eli has taken to his little brother like a champion.  He sits next to us while I nurse him and rubs Dayton's head and sniffs his hair before he tells me "mmmmm..smell good."  He gives him kisses and when Dayton is crying Eli searches frantically for a pacifier to give to his little brother.  The whole time he searches he repeats to himself "Dayton crying."  

Dayton's birth is just the beginning of changes in our home.  Kinsey starts Kindergarten this fall and is currently in summer school.  She loves it, but was a nervous wreck before school started.  I couldn't get her to understand that her friends would be there too.  She has really enjoyed making the little crafts at school and has started gluing cotton balls to anything that will sit still long enough for her to slather with glue.  I threw the glue away before she figured out that Dayton would be an easy target.  

Today is Bella's 7th birthday and she wants to celebrate by riding her first real roller coaster with her daddy (the mamba).  We're trying to make that happen for her.  Jay developed a cold yesterday and I was up all night with a cranky baby but we're going to push through to make Bella's birthday as special as we can.  She wants to have dinner at Fritz's tonight.  It'll be the third fast food restaurant we've eaten at this week since she chooses the meals on her birthday week.  My colon hates me right now.

So that's us right now.  Treading water and laughing like fools the whole time.  I guess that is the pace of our life.  :o)

Suck It Up and Do It Anyway!

“If only I were (or I had) ______________________, I would ____________________.”

We have around 4 inches of snow on the ground and my Clever Container orders had come in.  It was not the best day in the world to be delivering bags of goodies to my friends but if it were me I would want to have something new on my doorstep to play with on this less than ideal spring day.  So, off I went with two of my four kids.  

I made a delivery at 6 houses and I noticed that each house had their driveway shoveled out and a neat little path to their door.  I was ever so thankful.  When I cam home I looked at my still snow covered driveway, my indiscernible walkway, and my ice rink of a doorstep and I knew the dirty deed had to be done.

I gave my kids lunch and put them down for their naps.  As I was “suiting up” to go outside and shovel it occurred to me that I didn’t have gloves, or a scarf, a hat, or snow boots.  I put my husband’s gloves on, decided I would pass on the gloves and hat, and just went out in my tennis shoes.  In the garage I pilfered around for a snow shovel before it dawned on me that my husband told me that our shovel was broken and it has been discarded.  I sighed and found a large dirt shovel and opened the garage door.

I went through all of the stages of grief as I began shoveling.  First I was in denial “it’s not that much snow, it won’t be too bad”.  Then it was anger “my husband said he always wanted to live in a place with lots of land and I can’t even talk him into shoveling our driveway!”  The sorrow and self pity came afterward, “I’m the only wife on my block that has to shovel her driveway, poor me.”  Lastly sweet acceptance peaked over all of my foul moods.

It was when I got over myself that I was able to open up and have my God experience in the middle of my snow covered driveway.  I was thinking “I’m the most ill equipped Midwesterner ever!”  That is when that still small voice told me “even when you think you are ill equipped or unable to do something you can still get the job done and do it quite well.  Suck it up and do it anyway.”  

How many times have I told myself I would wear that dress, volunteer for that, go dancing, fix myself up, travel, etc. if only I were thin, talented, pretty, wealthy or whatever?  You don’t need to improve ANYTHING to be worthy of relationships, love, respect, kindness and happiness.  God has uniquely equipped you even though you believe yourself to be ill equipped.  Do you have something you want to do?  Then go out and do it!  No one else can do what you do...so suck it up and do it ANYWAY!  ;o)

Mission: SAHM

I chose to accept my mission again...to be a stay at home mom (SAHM). I put my resignation in at work and have one more day of training my replacement before I am officially done. The last work has served as nothing more than a confirmation of this decision. Bella has gotten strep from school and I have had to take 2 days off of my last week at work to stay at home with her. I have so enjoyed being able to be there and comfort her and answer her zillions of questions.

What am I going to chose to do to celebrate? Well...I've already begun. I am slowly but surely getting my home back under control and reorganized into a functioning place again. I cleaned up most of the dishes today and reorganized my cup cabinets while Bella was snuggling down on the couch watching Christmas movies. Then Bella watched me work on dinner, beef stew and homemade bread. Her job was to count how many "scoops" of each ingredient I added to the bread machine.

I am hoping that the extra time with Bella will help speed along her recovery so she can get back to her normal self. Say an extra prayer for her!

Fear vs. Faith

Where you go, I'll go Where you stay, I'll stay When you move, I'll move I will follow... All your ways are good All your ways are sure I will trust in you alone Higher than my side High above my life I will trust in you alone Where you go, I'll go Where you stay, I'll stay When you move, I'll move I will follow you Who you love, I'll love How you serve I'll serve If this life I lose, I will follow you I will follow you Light unto the world Light unto my life I will live for you alone You're the one I seek Knowing I will find All I need in you alone, in you alone In you there's life everlasting In you there's freedom for my soul In you there joy, unending joy and I will follow --Chris Tomlin I was thinking about this song as it was playing in my car. Oddly enough it made me think of my dogs. When I get up to leave the room my dogs will pop up out of a dead sleep to follow me. On a walk my dogs will watch my every move to make sure they are following me (well...when they are being good dogs). To be able to follow my every move they keep their eyes on me. They live for my praise for their obedience and my attention in practically a drug for them. If we don't keep our eyes on God how can we expect to truly "follow" him? Will this require effort? Of course and a lot of it! But I also think that we find ourselves truly transformed when our goals involve Him rather than our career, bank account, vacation, cars, homes, title, status. This area is where I am struggling. Why? Because I am being called into into my home to raise my small children. I LOVE my children, so why is this decision so hard on me? I'm afraid. I once again feel like I am committing economic and career suicide. I KNOW that this is the decision that is best for my children including the precious infant growing in my womb. Fear vs. faith right?

Thanksgiving Reflections

Seriously...does it ever slow down? I am really struggling with the fact that my time seems to vanish before my eyes. I looked down and suddenly I am a mom of 3 (almost 4) and my oldest is 6 years old only 12 years from departing the nest. We are 1/3 of the way through nurturing her through her childhood. Cries for milk have changed into cries of injustice and soon there will be tears of heartbreak and teenage anguish. I am so not ready for this.

My life is over complicated. I am working on simplifying it. I want to be able to spend intentional time with my children...the over-used "quality time" idea. The problem is that my attention span is startlingly short. If I were a child today I would probably be diagnosed with ADD. As it is I am an adult with real responsibilities dealing with the fact that I need to focus and be patient. I desire to be a good wife and a good mother. The question is...what do these things REALLY look like? I'm not talking about a June Cleaver kind of concept but a realistic "good" wife and mom that years from now my children will never doubt for one second that I love them with all that I am for who they are? Nope. I don't have any answers yet? I just hope I am not running up the therapy bill for my offspring years from now while I sort this dilemma out.

We are preparing for Thanksgiving. My in-laws are coming in to town and it is just as exciting as waiting for Christmas morning when I was a kid. I have one of those weird families where I genuinely love and enjoy my in-laws. They are just fun to be around and lets face it...I'm lonely. My children are great company but they lack the maturity to get most of my jokes and I am quite glad about that. I enjoy watching them interact with my children and watch them define "grandparent" in their young minds. I can only remember having one grandparent when I was growing up and that relationship was pure and precious to me. I see the same types of relationships growing between my children and my-laws and my mom. Maybe I am getting old and sentimental around the holidays. Or maybe, just maybe, God opens my eyes and lets me glimpse at what life is really about every once in a while.

My mom is spending Thanksgiving in Israel. It has been on her bucket list for years. I am excited to hear all about her trip when she returns. I never realize how much I talk to my mom until she is out of the country and unable to talk (well...ok...I'm too cheap to talk to her when she is out of the country). I guess this is an eye opening glimpse into the reality of life and the true richness of relationship.

I guess my epiphany for today is RELATIONSHIP and the value that lies there. What a cliche. I guess even cliches have to be rooted in truth right?

Oh Boy...It's a Boy!

O'Brien baby #4 is a boy! We found out on Friday morning 11/4/11 that the baby wiggling around in my tummy is a little boy. I was totally in shock! Jay was grinning from ear to ear from the time she showed us that he was indeed a he on the ultrasound screen. It is really weird to refer to the baby as a "he". It may take a while to get used to!

I have started checking out baby boy outfits to try to decide what to bring him home from the hospital in. I know that sounds pathetic...but with a girl you can chose something frilly and pop a bow on her head and it is easy. With a boy it is going to take more thought. Jay is concentrating on footwear and the fact that he can confidently pick out shoes for his son. This boy may have a serious shoe obsession like his daddy.

There is a ton of Georgia stuff that I can get for the baby...but they don't make them in newborn. The smallest I can find is 3 - 6 months and if this little boy comes out the size of a 3 to 6 month old baby we're going to be having bigger problems than wardrobe choice! I will let the search continue because I would like nothing more than to bring my first born son home in a cute little Georgia bulldogs outfit!

We took Bella and Kinsey out to breakfast at Ginger Sue's to tell them that they are going to have a baby brother. We videoed the event. Jay tried to drag it out to create drama, but when he said that the baby is a boy Bella burst into tears. It took her the rest of the breakfast to come to grips with the idea. She finally decided "I can take care of a baby boy." Good decision. Kinsey pondered it a while and when I asked her what she thought about having a baby brother and she said "it's a great idea." Alrighty then...

Taylor has been PRAYING for a baby brother almost on a nightly basis for over a year. Apparently God answers the earnest prayers of a little girl. We told her when she came in the door from school. She screamed and jumped up and down. She LOVES the idea!

Coming soon...O'Brien baby #4!

Yes, folks...that's right we're having another baby! We are 17 weeks along with our 4th baby. The little one is due to arrive on March 5, 2012.

The kids are super excited and Bella tells us all the time that she can't wait to hold the baby. We rented a doppler so the kids can listen to the baby's heartbeat. The kids think that the doppler is a two-way radio and when they hear the baby's heartbeat they start screaming into the speaker "I love you baby!" Taylor is working on her reading skills by reading Your Pregnancy Week By Week. They all like to kiss my tummy and rub the baby. Kinsey will tell me "that's my baby." I hope she likes the new addition when it is out and requiring mom and dad's attention.

Our ultrasound is scheduled for November 4, 2011 when we will get a good look at the little tyke and see whether the baby is a he or a she. According tot he Chinese birth chart the baby is supposed to be a girl. Jay really feels like it is a boy and I feel like it is a girl. Taylor and Bella have both said "we have enough sisters, we need a brother." I hope the baby isn't shy and tells us whether to think pink or blue!

I have been feeling the baby pop and flutter around for a while now. I've only been positive that what I was feeling was baby movement for about two weeks or so. I woke up last week to the feeling of a rhythmic "jumping bean" in my tummy. I guess the baby was ready for me to get up.

I remember when I was pregnant with Bella I had curled up next to Jay while he was sleeping and he woke up thinking I was poking him before he realized that it was Bella kicking him. His game after that was to put his hand on my tummy anytime he woke up through the night because it would get the baby moving around. It will be a while yet before he can start his little game with this baby and he may be so exhausted now with 3 other kids running around to never wake up in the middle of the night.

I am still taking my dance class trying to keep some muscle tone through the pregnancy. My protective little Taylor had laid down in my room and was asleep waiting for me when I got home. When I woke her up to take her to bed she just smiled at me and said "good, I'm glad you're home" and trudged off to bed. So precious!

Powerful Beyond Measure

"“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
by Marianne Williamson,
from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles"

Happy New Year!

It was a wild 2010 and we are moving on to an action packed 2011! We rang in the new year laying in bed, completely exhausted from our three little spitfires with imaginary glasses. After saying a "Happy White Rabbit Day" to one another (long story), and I won by the way, we promptly rolled over and enjoyed our first snore of the new year.

We celebrated Kinsey's second birthday with her totally adorable little friends all around her. We waited a couple of weeks after her real birthday to allow things to settle down (and for me to get the Christmas decorations down) to make sure that she was the focus of the celebration. She had a lady bug themed party and she was clad in her red & black tutu that I made for her. She is so sweet and will ask you "snuggle me?" Everyone once in a while she'll say "I lu you" (I love you) and it is so stinkin' cute! Yesterday at preschool I was running a little late and her teachers were telling me that she was walking around the room saying "mommy, where are you?"

Bella is still enjoying preschool and dance. She totally blew my socks off with what a big girl she has become when we went to Tori's birthday party and she asked me to unlock her skates and then rolled right out onto the "big kid floor." She was amazing! Her heart is so big and so tender. Sometimes I look into those big blue eyes of hers and am totally amazed at the wonderful, caring person that is budding within her. You just SEE her and want to give her a hug!

Taylor is turning into a remarkable young lady as well. I was extremely proud of her when we went ice skating with the Daisies and then roller skating at Tori's party. I watched her take something head on and conquer it. It is unbelievable the feeling you get as a mother watching your little girl stride out with confidence. She's gotten pretty attached to me here recently to the point that she even gets a little sad at school because she misses me. I tell her every day that I will be here waiting for her when she is done with school and that it is okay to go and have fun. I love it that she loves to be home and be with me and her sisters. I WANT her to feel safe, but I also want her to be free.

Oh how my babies have grown since the last time I posted on this blog! These are my "good ole days." Nope, not high school with all of its responsibility free boasts...not college with its promises of experimentation...today.

1-2-3 Imagine with the Kids

We took the kids to see the Sesame Street Live concert "1-2-3 Imagine." It was mainly for Bella because she LOVES Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street crew. When we left we asked Taylor what her favorite part was and she told us "the pinata" and Bella told us "Elmo...and lots of stuff!"

We started the morning with breakfast at Perkins where the kids ate their pancakes before we trudged down to the Sprint Center (AKA Canada*). We got to the Sprint Center and Jay let Taylor, Bella, and I off at the front door to go to Will Call to pick up our tickets. There was no line and no waiting. So we waited in the foyer for Daddy and Kinsey. The kids had a good time looking at the junk for sale while we were waiting. Once Jay and Kinsey arrived we went up to our seats which were very close to the entrance and we noticed that NO ONE was there! I had messed up the time and we were there 45 minutes early! So...Bella and I went exploring. We found a QT and bought some snacks for the rest of the crew.

When the concert started Kinsey was dancing like crazy and Bella was grinning this HUGE cheshire cat grin from ear to ear. They started to get a little sad at intermission, but when we told them it was coming back they were ecstatic. When the second half started Kinsey was ready to start dancing as soon as they started singing.

The kids were so good and they didn't even cry when it was over!

Why a Mommy can't look away from her children...

Taylor's 1st Soccer Practice

Taylor started Bitty soccer today at the Liberty Community Center. She did very well at practice and looked terribly cute in her little soccer shorts, socks, shin guards, and shoes. I had her hair pulled back in a little pony tail that was braided so her hair wouldn't get in her face. She just looked too stinkin' cute! Bella had a good time watching her big sister play and a couple of people brought their dogs to the field and she enjoyed looking at them as well. She calls them "woo woo" because thats what they sound like when they bark. Kinsey slept quietly in her carseat that was set in the stroller during the whole practice. Andy Reiger was Taylor's coach. Andy is Meg's dad, one of Taylor's best friends from our MOPs group.

DC Father-Daughter Dance 2009

Jay took his three little ladies to the annual DC father-daughter dance. He intended on taking them out to dinner before taking them to "the ball", however I wanted to go to the dance to get some good pictures and you know me...I'm not going to miss out on a good meal. So I tagged along with them and we went to the casino for the buffet before the dance.When we arrived at the dance Bella was TERRIFIED of the balloons. We honestly thought that I was going to have to take her home because she would just sit in a chair in the corner and cower away from the balloons. As the night wore on she got much more brazen and even chose several dance partners other than her daddy. She even danced on the stage with Taylor!Both girls got in the middle of the big circle to dance when it was the girls turn. They were much braver than their daddy. He wouldn't get into the circle and dance when it was the daddies turn.
They really didn't want the night to end and it was definitely one that he will cherish for the rest of his life. He even won the prize for the youngest daughter for the second year in a row. The prize was a gift card to Chipotle. I told him we were NOT going to try to win this prize next year.

Kinsey's First Smile

Jay got the best birthday present that he could've asked for, Kinsey gave him her first smile! We went to Ginger Sue's for his birthday breakfast and as he was talking to her she smiled. He teared up when she gave him that award winning grin.

Welcome Mackinsey Rae O'Brien!

We welcomed our third daughter into the world on Monday December 29th at 9:57pm. She weighs in at 7lbs. 3oz. and is 19 inches long. She didn't get to come home with us today, she's taken a small vacation in the NKCH NICU to sunbathe her cares away. She has a bit of jaundice, so it is light therapy all the way for her. For those of you that are curious...here's our birth story.

I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for several weeks. It was no different when we took Bill & Lynn (aka Papa & Granny) to the airport on Saturday night (Dec. 27th). However, that night I wasn't able to get a good night's sleep because I was up every 13 minutes with a contraction. Sunday morning I was EXHAUSTED but still couldn't rest because the contractions started coming 8 minutes apart. At that point in time I called the doctor's office and they advised me to come to the hospital to get it checked out. They watched me for a couple of hours and told me that I was having contractions 3 to 5 minutes apart, however there was no change in my cervix. They told me that I likely had a urinary tract infection and sent me home with an antibiotic and a prescription for vicodin to help me get some rest.

That night I took my antibiotic and vicodin and was able to get 2 hours of sleep before I was up having contractions for the next 2 hours before I could take any more vicodin. We did this for two rounds before I became nauseous and bowed my head to the porcelain throne. I called Labor & Delivery to let them know that I was having a new issue and they assured me that it was because I'd taken the vicodin on an empty stomach. I ate half of a bagel and tried again. I was still sick. I decided I would just lay around and "get over it".

Jay went to work and the kids and I had a pajama day on Monday Dec. 29th. I was very nauseated all day long and couldn't eat or drink. I called Jay for help at 3:00 because I was so tired and so sick. He came home at 4:00 and I told him that I was going to go lay down upstairs to try to get some rest. When I stood up I felt a trickle. I thought "that might be my water breaking" and I told Jay that I thought my water had broken. I went to the bathroom to tinkle to make sure I hadn't just had some bladder leakage. I was still conflicted...until I stood up and the fluid began to flow down my legs.

We began the protocol that had been designed weeks before. We couldn't get in touch with Jeanne to watch the kids so we took them to Kim-Marie. I called Kelli Craft (a dear sweet friend that agreed to help me scream my way through contractions) to meet us at the hospital. We finally got in touch with Jeanne and she picked up the kids from Kim-Marie and brought them home so that they could get a good night's rest. We were all set.

I went into the hospital at 4:30pm. I had dialated from 1.5cm & 50% effaced to 2cm. and 70% effaced. While we were waiting for pitocin I began to have contractions and I dialated from 2cm to 4cm. Once the pitocin kicked in I lost it and started yelling at the nurse to "please get me my friggin' epidural". They finally agreed to give it to me when I was so hysterical that it took everything in Jay and Kelli to get me to breathe. I got my epidural at 9:05pm (none too soon in my opinion) and was immediately checked and had advanced to 6cm. In the 15 minutes it takes for the epidural to be effective I went from 6cm to 9cm. They decided to get me up in the stirrups by then. After they'd gotten me situated I told them that I felt a ton of pressure and they checked again and I was already a 10 and was totally ready to push.

I pushed 4 times (10 seconds each) during 1 contraction for Kinsey to make her grand entrance. She was BEAUTIFUL! She had a little trouble with breathing smoothly and had to be observed for 2 hours in the nursery befor we were able to love her up.

We got to spend a day with her before she developed jaundice and had to be moved to the NICU. Her bilirubin count dropped from 9 to 8.5 over a 8 hour period so we are hopeful that we'll get to bring her home tomorrow.

WE ARE BLESSED!

Getting ready for Christmas!

Wow...time flies when you're having fun! We are preparing for Christmas and I think that we are almost done. Jay decorated the outside on the last pretty day that we had and I must say that he did a FABULOUS job. The outside looks like each light was intentionally and perfectly placed. He also put icicle lights around the living room, dining room, & kitchen. The kids love all of the lights!

The Missaoui family came to visit for Thanksgiving and helped us put up our two Christmas trees. The small tree in the foyer has our "family ornaments" on it. Each family member going back out our grandparents has an ornament on that tree. We need to make a new one for Kinsey this year! The tree in the living room has all of our fun ornaments and an ornament for every year of Jay and I's relationship.

Jay also hung up the stockings (the mantle is getting very full) and our various other knick knack decorations. Marian, Stephen, Angie, Tatum, Christine, & Connor went together and bought us a gorgeous painting of Santa Claus that is hanging in our living room.

Taylor's highlight is moving the mouse along our countdown calendar. I've had this calendar since I was a kid and looked forward to moving the mouse. She gets confused and REALLY wants to move the mouse after naptime too. So we move the mouse in the morning and in the evening we read our "Jesus cards". Ms. Jeanne at church gave us the gospel account of Jesus' birth divided up among 25 cards and you read a new card each day so that by the end the kids almost have the story memorized. They LOVE it!

All of the gifts have been bought/shipped and we lack only one gift per child. We're arranging for a "shopping date" so that the two of us can go out and agree on what we'd like to get each one.

Taylor asked Santa for:
1) A pink robot that talks and walks.
2) A big dinosaur that must be pink or green.
3) A teddy bear that she wishes to name "Faluka".

When I asked her what she wanted Mommy & Daddy to get her she said "I don't know." I guess we get the creative freedom that Santa only wishes he had!

Bella looked at Santa like he was from Mars and didn't say a single word.

When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas she just said "Winnie the Pooh". Simple kid.

So that is how Christmas is shaping up in our house. We've done A LOT of internet shopping since I'm about as big around and I am tall and walking is sort of difficult for a weeble. However, I think that things have shaped up nicely. After Christmas we'll be in the final preparations for Kinsey's arrival!

Kinsey's 3D ultrasound

We had a 3D ultrasound done today of Kinsey and I think she looks alot like Bella, but she has Jay's smile. His cheeks fold a certain way when he smiles and we saw hers do the same thing.Jay wanted to make EXTRA sure she was a girl since that is what we are totally prepared for and sure enough...there's no mistaking that she's a girl!

She likes to keep her feet up by her face. Here's a good shot of her cute little feet.

Apparently she was on a mission to see if she could explore her mouth with her toes.

She gave up on this mission and covered her eye with her hand. It looked like she was a little bothered that we had intruded upon her sacred time in the womb.
We got to see her cute, tiny little ears in the ultrasound and the lady said it looks like she has a little bit of hair on her head. (They said this about Bella too and she's STILL having trouble growing hair at any length!)
Right before we were done with the session she folded her hands like Taylor & now Bella will do from time to time.
I think we wore her out because she started to yawn right before the session ended. Good night Kinsey, sleep tight!

Taylor plans dinner

On the way home from school today Taylor asks me "Mama...what are we having for dinner?" I tell her that I don't really know and I ask her what she wants. She says "we will have mashed potatoes, corn, and NO GREEN BEANS!" She also tells me that "we will need macaroni and cheese too". So, just for kicks and giggles...that is what I'm fixing for dinner tonight. She said "I don't want chicken and I don't want steak, I JUST WANT MASHED POTATOES, CORN, AND MACARONI AND CHEESE." So that is what we are having for dinner tonight.

Bundled up

Bella and I accompanied Jay and Taylor to gymnastics this week. Winter has fallen on Liberty so we had to bundle up. Bella looked so cute in her winter dress that we had to take a picture.

Jay wanted to take this picture so he can show her one day that she was small enough for him to lift with one hand.

Of course Taylor had to get in on the picture session so she got on Jay's shoulders and I thought that this picture was funny because Jay's head looks huge compared to Taylor's.

Taylor's favorite thing to do right now is to make the "Granny face" so this is a picture of both Jay & Taylor making the "Granny face".

I had to get a good picture of Taylor's face for MOPPETS so here's how she posed.