Celebrating Benjamin

As our little man turned three, we invited the in-town family over for supper and cake.  A small family party, but this little guy felt spoiled!  

He was so excited that it was his turn to be the birthday boy, he gave lots of amazing grins and shouts during present-opening.

And, just in case his energy waned, he had a helper

The big reveal!  We gave Benjamin a sand table.  Playing in the sand box at preschool, or at sand tables at his friends' houses, is his obsession.  Now, he has his own!  

And, he is thrilled!

Gladys just sat, enjoying the show

Benjamin shares his birthday with Opa, so it is only fitting he shares his cake as well.

3 candles for our little guy, and 2 candles for Opa!

Happy Birthday boys!

These kids were so excited about the Triceratops cake!  They asked about 8 times if it was time to eat cake

and now,

it is finally time to dive in!

What a pleasure to celebrate this smiling little man!!

29 Weeks

The big news:  I passed!  I skipped the one-hour this time and went straight to the three-hour glucose test, and I passed!  I am so relieved that I don't have to juggle reflux and gestational diabetes.  With that milestone behind me, now I just get bigger and wait for a baby!

What I whine about the most:  my mobility -or lack thereof- and the amount of water weight in my legs, ankles, and feet.  By midday, I ache.  By evening, I am useless.  My water weight is intense.  Definitely my biggest whine of late.

What I am excited about:  we are going to start painting the nursery next week!  With only 10 and a half weeks left, I am ready to nest for this baby!

The honesty:  I have gained about 8-10 pounds more at this point than I did with the other two.  Again, can we say wa.ter. weight.  Well, that and my belly is huge!

What I crave:  Salt.  Bread.  Good ranch dressing.  Salt.  Subs.  
What I look forward to the most:  a cup of coffee in the morning, coffee with a piece of cake, coffee with a cinnamon roll

Sweetest moments:  Anna-Kate kisses my belly everyday.  The last few days she has started adding comments just to the baby.  She asks me often how many more weeks til the baby is going to come.
And, I Love when people ask Benjamin if the baby is a boy or girl.  He always responds, "My sister name is Befany."  Love how these two are already taking ownership of their newest sibling!

The Non-holiday Pictures of Lately

We visited my parents early in December.  Just a casual visit.  My dad offered to take the kids in the wagon down the road to my old elementary school's play ground.  The kids just hopped in the wagon, waved to me, and were off!  

Christmas Eve service at church has become a tradition when we are home for Christmas.  A blurry picture and then my phone died, but still a great night!

Anna-Kate got this outfit from her Aunt Heather.  She was so excited about it!  She has loved clothes and accessories this Christmas; part of her personality is absolutely fashionista!

This is what 38 weeks and 28 weeks looks like!  

My friend Kathryn is due in less than 2 weeks now.  A few nights ago I hosted a girls night Sprinkle for her and her third little one.  A lot of laughter and a really big piece of cake!

My friend Jennifer and I decided to treat our little girls to their first girls' night.  They were so happy! 

I went about a week ago to pick out fabric for baby girl's quilt.  Anna-Kate loved going to the store with me!  Before I knew it, she had picked out about 22 fat quarters of fabric.  I compromised, letting her get 4.  "What do you want to do with that fabric?"  I am going to make a blanket.  She was determined, and she did sew the 4 blocks together, almost totally on her own.  So proud of her! and totally enjoy her love of crafts.

I'm pregnant!

 Look Mom, it's twins.  Then she pulls out two small stuffed animals from underneath her shirt!  So funny to see how my pregnancy has infiltrated her imagination

We had  an ice cream party about a month ago.  It was Benjamin's first taste, 

and he loved it!  (Chocolate Coconut-milk Ice Cream)

Benjamin thought this was the funniest joke.  Someone pointed out that he had icing on his face.  He said, I'm Santa Claus!

Benjamin in undies....time to potty train!  We are one week in.  The first weekend went well!  I have been a bit lazy the last few days because of a crazy amount of appointments.  Reinforcement weekend coming in a few days, so hopefully permanently in undies coming in a few days as well.  

Holiday Favorites

I love the holidays!  I love all the time with family!  Here are a few of my favorites from our family time during the holidays

Absolutely one of my favorite moments!  When my sister Amanda and her husband Anthony babysat the kids a couple weeks before Christmas, they took the kids out to Chick-Fil-A and Target.  They let the kids pick out Christmas presents for us.  The kids were so proud of what they had done!  They got each of us an ornament, plus I got a set of colorful bracelets and Will got a tin of holiday cookies.  The excitement on the kids' faces as they surprised us absolutely made the day for us!

Love this sweet grin!

This kid and her faces after opening presents

This was a design-your-own-dresses for Barbie.  My girl who says she is going to be a fashion designer one day, this was a perfect gift!

The next couple pictures aren't anything stellar; they just scream family Christmas to me.  Sitting around, smiling and laughing while opening presents.  

You  know you have grown up w hen.... a diaper bag is one of the most exciting gifts you anticipate

The day after Christmas.  Surrounded by gifts, trying to remember to eat breakfast through the excitement

Hanging with Grandma

then we switch to Simmons Christmas

Once again, I barely take any pictures, but these two capture the essence of the fun of Simmons Christmas.  The pillow on the side of the picture points to the fact that Simmons Christmas happened on New Years Eve, so the cousins spent the night so us adults could enjoy the New Years fun!

Anna-Kate told Benjamin this morning, "11 months til we get to do Christmas again.  It doesn't sound like much, but we have a lot of days before then!"

26 times 2

LeAnne and becca,

college roommates,

Raleigh roommates during the single, young professional years,

friends through way too much,

and now due one day apart

It was an absolute treat to see them over the holidays!  We were so excited to take this picture, since we are sharing pregnancy joys and woes from a distance.  Love walking through life with this girl, whether as roommates or mostly over the phone from half a country away.

Christmas Morning

I love, love, love Christmas morning!  

These grins make the morning so magical for us parents.  

Seriously, this grin.

Do you see her grin, just from the box of Sprees in her stocking...

this grin never disappoints!

At our house, we get three gifts from Santa with the stocking.  Anna-Kate requested 2:  a Barbie from the Secret Door and a peacock.  Yes, a peacock.  Not the stuffed animal that you find around every corner, but it was the truly anticipated gift at our house!  Benjamin requested a dinosaur and a circle.  Luckily for us, the dinosaur was mainly remembered so the circle could be saved for a later date.

the Barbie

Benjamin doesn't give grins as easily as Anna-Kate and rarely turns toward the camera. 

The grin toward Anna-Kate and needing to set up his new T-Rex and stegosaurus in a row translates to high praise from Benjamin.

Ah, my peacock!!

It is not as pretty as I imagined, but I love it.  

If she hadn't proceeded to keep one hand on her peacock while opening her other gift and watching Benjamin with his, we could have doubted her love for it.  

Mom, you should feel how soft this is!

Okay, true love solidified.

About a week before Christmas, after reading through her library book on the bald eagle, she said, "I really need more research books!"  Love this sweet kid's passion for animals and learning and was glad this gift was already in the works.

Finally, a grin toward the camera.  (Benjamin's three were the two dinosaurs, an airplane with drill, and a lawn mower.)  

I find the image of my man opening toys for our kids on Christmas morning irresistible.  I also love that Benjamin gets about 2 inches from what you are doing so he can see everything.  

This sequence is perfect!

Daddy showing how

Benjamin saying, "I want to do it."

The grin that says, "I did it!"

Post-present moment to dance with Gramps

Dressed and ready for our day.  Telling Grandma all about the T-Rex and the Stegosaurus

Anna-Kate got a unicorn mosaic picture from me and Will.  After getting dressed, this was first on her list to attack!

She finished the unicorn with her Gramps

I can not love more that the two of them are laying on the floor to do this together!