a baby quilt

ever since my mom and i took a quilting class before christmas, i've been itching to make one for the new little one.  this last weekend, i got a chance to go to a fabric store that i could literally spend hours in.  my mom and i went in while poppy (my dad) walked around the block with the boys.  it was a little overwhelming, but i eventually chose what i wanted.  not finding what i wanted in the way of a pattern, i made one up.  i don't say that lightly, because i'm only halfway through sewing the top, but it's a very simple striped pattern, so i'm hoping there isn't much i can do to mess it up.  because my impatient self will find a way, if there is one.  here's the start of it, we'll see what comes of it...

it's a great picture, i know...

having fun with instagram

i've started trying to take more pictures, and this wonderful app helps me out tremendously, considering i am nowhere near a professional photographer.  i don't even think i'm near an amateur one.  here are a few from the past month or so...

 the plaza at sunset, a rare dinner out with bryan

 cutting out lots and lots of felt circles for a banner to hang in the nursery

(navy/kelly green/white)

the watercolor print for his room

 potty training!

(can you sense the sarcasm in the exclamation point?)

 making it look like we're starting them playing the piano already

another rarity: reading, sharing, sitting so close without combat 

and finally, something evil made its way into our home, hitting finn first

(this is a miracle drug.)

24 weeks!

here we are at 24 weeks!  we are viable, something that's probably only a big deal to former labor and delivery nurses.  i mean, it's a big deal to every mama, but maybe they aren't as aware...  ok let's face it, anyone who isn't a labor nurse just isn't as cool.  moving on.  i haven't really talked a lot about this little guy, mostly because my other little guys kind of require more attention at the moment.  there isn't much to say, except i love just having one in there! is that obvious? but actually, this is a harder pregnancy in terms of what my body is feeling.  lower back pain, lower pelvic pain (like debilitating), shortness of breath all the time, even though i don't feel like he's sitting that high, etc.  but he is so active, almost all of the time, especially in the evening.  because of that, i feel like i'm bonding more with him than i did with the boys.  i can't fully explain it, but with them, i had to figure out which one it was moving and i really wasn't always 100%, so for some reason, i feel like i wasn't able to connect as well with them.  obviously, it all changes once they're born, but this time around, i'm happy to be able to focus all on him.  him, who we're calling chester because liam told my mom he wanted his name to be sister and she thought he said chester.  my sister-in-law is due a week before me and they're calling her little one homer, so i think homer and chester go very well together.  

next up, painting the nursery and getting it ready. i'm planning on getting my DIY hands dirty, so i'll try and post some of those projects here.  maybe some watercolor, maybe some graphic prints on the computer, and definitely a felt circle garland to hang.  no theme, but lots of color!  right now, we're planning on light gray walls, and navy blue, kelly green, and orange and yellow accents - we'll see if it all comes together!

orange and green train party!

warning: lots o' pictures filled with orange and green coming your way.  

when we first asked the boys what kind of party they wanted to have for their third birthday, liam said a "percy train party" and finn said a "thomas train party."  well...  i'm all for doing what my boys want on their birthday, but i don't really like brands.  so we turned it into a train party.  then it somehow evolved into an orange and green train party because these are their favorite colors (their sheets on their beds are orange and green, and somehow they became the faves).  i liked this idea much more, so it basically ended up looking like an orange and green party and i put a couple of their trains on the table for good measure.  maybe i could say orange and green a few more times...  although it was just family and a couple friends, in our world, that means 20+ people, but with a little help from my in-laws and fantasia while i baked their cupcakes, we managed to have a pretty fun party.  (yes, i've gotten a few ideas from pinterest).

happy birthday, liam and finn!

 the spread...

although i had grand plans for a candy buffet,

bulk candy is $$$!!! 

 liam was quite content between clare and grace

and bryan was quite content drinking his orange cream soda

("it's just like drinking ice cream!")

 bring on the cupcakes!

 and the OCD...

finn: mom, wipe my fingers, i got icing on them!

 me and my loves

 my favorite picture of the night...

 you see this washcloth?

 this is what you do with it.

 a book from spencer and grace

 etch-a-sketches from molly

 and i don't want to brag or anything... but --

 the best presents by far... tricycles!

from mommy and daddy

 the smiles were endless...

and they haven't stopped asking to ride them since...

but it's 30 degrees outside and our door jambs are already a little torn up from them riding them around in circles last night.  looks like it's going to be a looonng winter, but luckily we have a few days coming up that will be warm enough to venture down to the park.  happy third birthday to these great boys!!

the fam

it's been a wonderful, exhausting, family-filled couple of weeks.  having my sister, her husband and their two kiddos here the week of christmas, bryan having off work (yea!!) for all of it, then working five in a row while i woke up every morning feeling like it was a little more like groundhog day every day, happy new year and the boys' third birthday party to end the madness yesterday.  it was a lot.  so i am going to go take a bath.  i will have a plethora of party pictures up soon (ish), stay tuned.  in the meantime, happy happy new year.

it's a boy!

this little face and cute little crossed feet belong to our third boy.  three boys.  three and under.  after that initial shock wore off (and the tears stopped quickly), we saw image after image of a pretty perfect babe.  measuring exactly where he should, wiggling all around (maybe due to the peppermint hot chocolate i'd drunk earlier), and showing us that there wasn't any question that he was a boy.  i had told bryan before the ultrasound that if it was a boy, it'd be a lot easier naming him because our list for boys was 1, maybe 2 long.  our girl list, on the other hand, seemed to only be growing.  so now we'll (most likely) wait until he's born to name him and have a couple to choose from.  to me, certain names go with certain personalities, and that's definitely been the case with liam and finn.  in a way that i can't really explain.  so we'll probably wait to see what he looks like.  i say probably because it's hard for me not to call him something now that we know he's a boy.  we'll see.  this pregnancy has thrown me for a few loops, so i'm not setting anything in stone.

a little announcement!

because i don't ever want to be normal not creative with whatever i have to say, i decided to spice up the usual "we're having another baby!"  the boys were more interested in pointing out which letters and numbers they knew on the boards, which made it a bit difficult to get them to hold them the right way.  so i snapped away and managed to get a few cute ones.  i also never want to have the children who put on a fake, cheesy smile as soon as they see a camera, although the smile on liam's face in the first picture may suggest i already have one.  cute, nonetheless.

we're due may 8, which i think sounds like a perfect time to have a baby.  i've wanted nothing but junk food and sweets (i.e. donuts, doesn't matter what kind, as long as they're chocolate), so i'm convinced it's a girl.  only a girl could do that to you, right?  however, if it is a boy, i think it'd be exciting to see if he looked like one of his brothers, or someone else altogether, and what his personality would be like.  obviously, things that would be exciting for a boy or a girl -- and i'm not going to lie and say i'll be happy with either.  i mean, i will, but i would love a little girl!  preferably one with red hair, since apparently we're a dying breed.

exciting times in the stork house!!