britten - almost 9 months

little B (the Biebs, or Bieber as she's often called by all; hopefully that doesn't stick!) is really on the move now! she started crawling a few weeks ago and is in everything (including the kitty food bowl - all the time. yuck!).  her newist trick is climbing up the stairs.  and man, you think you're big time when you do it, with big brother and sister cheering you on (bieber! bieber! yay!! puts the biggest smile on your face).  you are now always standing in your crib in the morning when I go to get you.  you have, however, know from the start how to get back down after you've pulled up on something (brother and sister had some trouble figuring that out and would just cry and cry because they'd be stuck standing up).  you don't say much right now except 'dadadadada' ; you love to blow rasberries and do a little "puff' sound for words (especially when you see a ktty - you squeal, then 'puff, puff').  4 teeth, size 3 diapers and eating mostly finger foods (ravioli, shredded cheese, squashed and cubed veggies, soy sausage, spaghetti, squashed up pears, chopped bananas, cheerios, mum mums, scrambled eggs). sleep wise, you have been going through a bit of a spell where you go to sleep fine, but then wake between 11pm and 1am, just wide awake, smiling, squeeling and wanting to hang out and play.  you are cute little girl, but not wide awake at 2am. 

I really have a boyfriend, you know....

Oh my - just overheard a conversation between 6 year old Celia with a couple of her little neighborhood friends (Kimberly and Aparoopa).....she had no idea I could hear her talking but from what I gathered this is how it went "I really have a boyfriend, you know. He's in my class.  I've kissed him before" ... the other 2 girls exclaimed "ewwwww, you did??" and C says "yeah. Then he came up to me another time when I was doing math and said 'let's have some kissing time'"....again, the other girls said "ewwww, did you do it?" to which C replied "no, i thought 'this is really getting creepy.  then we were in the bathroom together and he told me we should pee together. then I thought 'this is really getting creepy'. so I didn't. But his name is Carson and he has really blonde hair".   Aye, yay, yay.  I"m not ready for this 'kissing time' stuff!! At least she had the sense not to pee with this guy!  Think Daddy and this Carson kids' dad need to have a little talk to find out exactly what his intentions are with our daughter ;)

happy 3rd birthday, silly man Drew!

my little boy turned 3 - boo-hoo!!! I always try to bargain with the kids on every birthday for them to please not turn one year older because it makes mommy so sad!  Honestly, I don't know how time flies so fast.  drew definitely is all boy - loves sports of all kinds and tearing up things faster than I can put them together.  (requested only 'boy toys' for his party - ha! think he's sick of playing house with Celia with all of her baby dolls and stuffed animals; when asked what 'boy toys are, he told me basketballs and helicopters).  Gift highlights from this year were: a basketball goal to put in the cul-de-sac to practice, a new spongebob tennis racket, a real fishing pole from Papoo, a little helicopter from Celia and a Wii console from me and Joe (really for the whole family, but he loves loves playing at Andi and Kasey's house - is pretty awesome at golf and bowling!)

He's rough and tumble for sure, but also the sweetest little guy you'd ever meet. Currently, when he does something he knows he shouldn't (like swing the dining room chandaleir back and forth for the millionth time or pick the cats up and drag them around, or just make a general big mess) he looks at me with those big eyes and says "oh sorry mommy, I forgot" or "it was an accident". I mean, really, how can you stay mad at that??  I get many compliments on Drew on how well behaved he his - out in public, he typically sits very nicely and doesn't throw fits. His gets dragged from Celia's ballet to speech therapy for almost 3 hours on Mondays, and I hardly ever have any issues with him. He plays quietly with the legos or we read books together. Basically, the boy melts my heart.  I love you little monkey boy!!!  

think we may have ruined them.....

in preparation for the arrival of baby, joe and i decided to let celia and drew sleep together  in her bed, as we had been playing an all night game of musical beds, hopping from one to the other as they called out "mommy, come lay with me" or "daddy, i need to go potty". we figured this way they may keep each other company and not depend on us so much when the baby arrived and needed our all night attention.  it worked, but think a bit too well; now drew will not lay in his bed alone at all - celia claims to not like drew sleeping with her (he kicks me and keeps me awake sucking his paci) but from the looks of things, I really don't think she minds :)

waiting.......

39 weeks down, one to go! I can't believe by this time for sure next Friday, we will have another addition to our family. This pregnancy has flown! (though these last couple weeks are dragging right along, as I carry almost 40 lbs of extra weight, waddling due to sciatic nerve pain, and can't get any sleep between my huge belly, numerous nightly bathroom breaks and the calls from my other 2 children to "come lay with me"). I am starting my usual worries (well, wouldn't say just started, as I am a known worry wart). I am hoping the delivery goes smoothly, new baby is healthy, and Celia and Drew love their new baby brother or baby sister as well as they've grown to love each other. I truly am blessed to have such great kids - though their are MANY days they simply wear me out with their, shall we say, energy, they really do get along amazingly well. Drew runs right along with Celia, playing part in all of her imaginary games with her animals, being her pet dog on a leash, playing store, basketball, jumping on the trampoline, putting on dance shows for me, and whatever else their little minds can come up with. Their giggles melt my heart. It's scary to wonder if I still have room in there to love another child as much as love them? I know I will...it's just going into the unknown that's a scary thing. I can't wait to meet you little bean!! My prediction for your birthday was today, February 17th; daddy's is February 22nd. I have a scheduled induction on my due date, next Friday the 25th, so either way, we will know you by then!!!!

ice storm

so this week we got hit with this crazy ice storm that left the streets, lawns and driveways as nothing more than huge skating rinks, with a nice thick 2" layer of ice. the kids and I were iced in our house for about 4 days straight due to school being cancelled, and me not being able to get our car down the driveway. needless to say, we were all a bit stir crazy!!! we filled our days with coloring, play doh, decorating a big cardboard house, lots of tea parties, playing house, numerous bubble baths, tee ball, plenty of iCarly and Dora, and Celia doing a bit of 'butt sledding' down our icy lawn.

But we survived! mom and dad thankfully had already agreed to take the kids that following weekend for me to get one last relaxation weekend in before baby arrived. Thank you!!! It was just what the kids and I both needed! We are so lucky to have wonderful family around that love our kids so much.

big boy undies!!

drew is potty trained!!! We really thought he might go to high school in diapers :) (sorry baby) as he had NO, ZERO, ZIP interest in the potty whatsoever. For a couple of months he's been wanting 'privacy' when pottying in his diaper, so we kept trying to get him to sit on the potty. No way, wasn't having it. "But I not big yet, I only 2" he would say. "Maybe tomorrow" were his famous words about when he would sit on the big boy potty. Then one day, as usual, daddy suggested Drew try to pee on the potty. He agreed, much to our surprise. He didn't want the small training potty though - went straight to standing on the stool, peeing in the big potty "like Daddy". He was SOOOO excited, running around saying "I'm so proud of me!!" wish I would have gotten that on video. this is him having some special diet coke and proudly wearing his big boys. Since that first day, there has been no turning back - accident free (aside from a couple in the hotel we stayed in the next night at Caribbean Cove water park - not exactly the ideal time for him to pick to potty train when we are staying somewhere else the next day). Other than that, he's good to go. Yay Drew!!!

mini van mama

after much, much resistance on my part, I have given in and become a true suburban mom - got me a mini van, oh yeah. Joe and I went round and round about the pros and cons (he was listing all the pros of the mini van, I was listing all the cons, top one being I am just too cool - ha! as if).  He told me that I needed to face the music, I'm a 35 year old soon to be mom of 3 and my cool days are long gone. sniff sniff. Though I still believe I have some cool left in me, I gave in.  I shall now fit in with the mini van parade at Celia's school line pick up.  All in all, she's not so bad. Very, oh what is the word everyone uses to describe a mini-van, yes- PRACTICAL (ugg, horrible!). Yes, it's true they are.  We've not had a new car since 2003, so we are just enjoying all the new technology and the kids absolutely love it. Celia proudly tells everyone she sees about her new van with "a TV and my own back row!". Drew, who is always hesitant on any kind of change and cried for his old car every time we went car shopping, now says "I wike ar new car".    I just imagine I'm really rolling in a Land Rover when I'm out and about.  Goodbye Harry Honda, hello Ollie Odyssey!

joe and his baby - so sad to say goodbye!!

alien belly

I have always wished Joe could feel what I feel when I'm pregnant, if only for a day. The sensation of a little growing baby inside of your belly is indescribable, if not a bit freaky (in a completely awesome way). This is what I miss the most when I'm not pregnant; after carrying this little life around for 9 months, with a constant reminder tickling your belly all day long, it's sad when it's not there anymore.  Celia loves to feel the baby move too. One of her favorite things to do at bedtime (when baby most active) is to feel it moving around inside and try to guess the which part it is (is it baby's head? baby's foot? baby's bum?)  It's so fun that she's old enough for this pregnancy to really enjoy it - she's so very excited for her baby brother or baby sister (ask her and most days she'd prefer a baby brother), and I think she's going to be an awesome big sister, as she already is with Drew man.  She's the sweetest, most caring little girl I know.

 I tried my best to capture some of this movement on video so I would never forget.....

to blog or not to blog?

that is the question..... I have resisted for so long, this whole “blogging” thing, never thinking my life was interesting enough for others to even care enough to read about. We are a typical family of 4, soon to be family of 5, living in the ‘burbs of Indianapolis. Nothing too exciting there. But what I have come to realize is, this is MY life, and I want to remember it. So I am taking the plunge....I realize this is 2010, soon to be 2011 and blogging is SOOO 2006 (ha!), but I'm always a bit behind on the trend. I am using this blog not as a tool to show off how incredibly smart and cute my kids are (and yes, they are! lol) but instead to journal our day to day lives, as a reference for me and our family to remember how young and innocent the kids once were, as well as to re live all the growing pains we experienced as a family. Since I've missed about 5 years or so since welcoming our first born into the world, I am going to attempt to do some backtracking and cover the 'highlights'. Welcome to the “miles life”!!!

celia's goodnight prayer

looking back, I wish I would have started a blog from day one of my childrens’ lives - they grow and change so much everyday, and though I try to keep up to date on journaling the usual first tooth, first word, first steps, etc, its those small day to day things that are so great, yet so easily forgotten as there really isn’t a spot for them in the aforementioned baby book. case in point, celia’s 1st prayer. age 3 1/2.

halloween: a monkey and a princess

halloween 2008 - drew was a great sport putting on his monkey costume (at 6 months old, you really don't know enough to be embarrassed, even when walking around with a squashed banana on your head!). celia could not wait to be a beautiful princess. this was the first year she was actually excited about putting on a costume. we trick or treated with all of her cousins in aunt jacki's neighborhood.

celia turns 3!

can't believe my baby girl is 3!  we had a typical little family party at our house with all of our cousins (which actually adds up to be quite a houseful!) celia was super excited of course, as the girl loves a party! she couldn't make up her mind what kind of a cake she wanted me to make this year, so we ended up with a butterfly. it turned out pretty cute :)

at the end of the night, as I was saying goodbye to everyone, Celia had snuck onto the kitchen island and, unbeknownst to me, began finishing off her birthday cake and stamping up her arms until she looked like a little tattooed woman.  so funny!

paci fairy

Celia turns 3 in a month - high time to get rid of the paci! We decided to write a letter to the 'paci fairy' and put all of her paci's in the mailbox for her to come and get for the new little babies who need them. Even though she is extremely fond of her paci's, Celia did surprisingly well. Had a great time gathering up all of her paci's from their hiding spots,

writing her letter,

and taking to the mailbox.  I was so proud of her! She only had one sad moment when she had to go back out to the mailbox and "see her paci's one more time" - then she leapt into daddy's arms and sobbed (drama!!).  I had a special slumber party with her that first night since I knew that's when she'd be missing her paci the most.

In the morning, she was so excited to run out to the mailbox and see what the fairy had left her (in this case, it was a spongebob balloon, make up kit and a stuffed dog she named 'jackpot').  There were a couple of rough patches after that, but all in all, not as bad as we had thought it would be. Goodbye, paci's!!!!

growing up so fast....

the next months flew. celia changed every day - you were hitting all your milestones and amazing us along the way. teeth, scooting, rolling over

, sitting up on your own, sleeping through the night (FINALLY at 6 months!),

eating cereal, baby food and your first steps at 11 months. You became a more easy going girl (or maybe we just relaxed a bit as parents) and we got into a routine. By the time you were a year old, you were walking around,

saying your first words (dada, kitty, uh-oh, no-no, mama), loved clapping and dancing to the wiggles and your favorite game was playing ring around the rosy (in which you would direct everyone in the room to join and throw a fit until they did!). Did we really have a life before you came into ours?? Couldn't even imagine.....

life with baby

wow - what have we gotten ourselves into??? that's what we were thinking for oh, about the first 3 months of our lives after bringing home little miss from the hospital. celia was a very very spirited infant - I had heard many people talk about how much the baby sleeps for the first few weeks, having to wake them up to eat and such. Not ours! She was awake and ready to go from the beginning!! What did I ever do with all the spare time I had before having a baby?? She also liked to test out those lungs, spending what felt like hours on end crying. Gradually we learned little tricks to calm her (vacuum cleaner, standing in front of the stove fan at 3am in the morning, running water) and got in our own groove, growing more confident in ourselves as parents.

We were lucky to have so much support around from my mom and Joe's mom, plus our siblings who were all more than willing to come over and take turns holding the baby when our arms (or eyes) needed the rest, as we weren't allowed to put you down very often!!

Even with the lack of sleep and frustrations of not being able to calm your needs, we were head over heels, smitten in love with you. You were a gorgeous little baby, and those little baby smiles made us forget that we had only gotten 8 hours of sleep combined over a course of 3 days. It was so worth it.