oh cecilia

a few weeks back.

maybe close to a month ago.

i took the girls out to snap some summer pictures of the sisters. so far i have shared the sister pictures, ellie and maggie.

that leaves sweet cece bug.

cece is an easy photo subject. her blue eyes sparkle. she has several smiles and faces. she works with the camera.

it's fun.

oh cecilia. we so love you.

monday!

like that exclamation point i added up there.

totally trying to convince myself to get going for the week.

i mean rain at 4 am makes a person reeeeeaaaaaallllllly want to snuggle up and sleep in.

and i think everyone in our house reeeaaaallllly wanted to sleep.

it took a little bit, but once we got going people were in pretty good monday morning moods.

the girls are riding the bus in the morning, so we have to head to the bus stop a little after 7. little sister really likes the walk to the bus stop. it seems to wake her up and put her in a good mood. honestly, it is tough to get her back in the house afterwards. i guess a little early morning trike riding never hurt no one.

we had a nice, hot weekend.

tim and i had a wedding date on saturday.

we were even able to do a little shopping for our little guy. we picked up a few newborn sleepers. mags laughed when she saw them and said "dabers!?!" which is what she calls her cousin gabe. so she knows they are boy clothes, she just doesn't realize they are for her little brother.

and to end the date we stopped at sams club. responsible dating.

then there was plenty of basement working. tim has just been amazing. he has worked so hard making this space for our family. he has definitely stepped outside his comfort zone and you know what it is turning out fantastic. we are going to love that space. i just know it.

this week isn't nearly as crazy as last week.

last week was a little overwhelming.

softball, back to school nights, ear infection, ultrasound appointment, baby BOY!

emotionally a little draining.

all good stuff.

minus poor miss maggie's double ear infection and suspected sinus infection. on that note she picked up a cold a few weeks back and i tried soooooo hard to rest her up so it wouldn't turn into to something more. and no dice. luckily those antibiotics worked like a charm and she is back to her happy, spunky self. tim and i even noted that she was maybe too spunky yesterday. can that happen? :)

anyways it just wears momma out to be so all over the place.

but this week looks to be a bit calmer.

at least we can hope for calmer. right?


here is to calmer. a meal plan.

monday: chicken salad sandwiches and roasted potatoes

tuesday: ballpark hot dogs and hamburgers. i am sure my girls will convince me a big pickle is necessary. it's a veggie, right?

wednesday: chicken gyros with onions and peppers right out of the garden!

thursday: crockpot beef enchiladas kind of like{this}except instead of baking them, i am going to roll them up and put them in the crockpot to cook up while we are at softball practice.

friday: pizza


and congratulations folks.

you made it to the end of this long and rambling post. who knew i had so much to say. ha.

happy monday.

BOY!

on thursday we found out #4 is a BOY!

it has taken me a little bit to wrap my mind around boy.

this pregnancy has been different, but not dramatically enough for me to say boy.

so when the ultrasound tech told us, we were both surprised and very excited.

our family is going to enter a whole new world. three girls and one boy. a fun mix.

AND we get to experience all things boy.

we are all very excited.

"i know what i am doing. i have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future to hope for." jeremiah 29:11

we could never have planned this out so beautifully. we had a fourth child to have a fourth child. we honestly did not care boy or girl. either way would have been so perfect. this little boy joining our family will be so perfect. its even more amazing to think this was God's plan all along. all along this was His plan for us. He is so good.

we have started to gather boy things.

blue, baseball, trucks, dirt, dinosaurs, footballs, green, khaki shorts.

boy stuff.

it's gonna be so good.

five for friday: baby edition

1. we are 18+ weeks. this baby is making their presence known. a growing belly and more and more kicks. next week we find out if this wee little one is another sister or a baby brother.

2. i am feeling better and better in the upset stomach department. i think we are almost there. fingers crossed. i still need to chew gum into between meals. not sure why but it just makes me feel better. but chewing gum all day in a school where i am not supposed to. whoops. i feel a little guilty breaking the rules on the first days of school. i also have to be careful not to eat to much or my stomach gets all upset.  i have been craving cheese...specifically mozzarella string cheese. and of course chocolate. peanut butter toast, breakfast burritos and fresh fruit make me happy. and tomatoes. bring on the tomatoes.

3. early on i made the move to maternity clothes. i just find them easier to wear and much more flattering. i am a little picky, so it takes me a little searching to find things my style. i want to be comfortable yet feel put together. this pregnancy is a little more challenging in the clothes department. with maggie i only taught until 30 weeks and then it was summer clothes for me. this time i am returning to school at 18 weeks and teaching til this baby arrives. so i felt like i needed to get some nicer looking outfits for school figured out. my go to items are long skirts, skinny jeans, comfortable tops, cute necklaces, longer tops, leggings and boots. i am feeling good about what i have. in fact one of my co-workers told me i looked "cute" today. my day was made.

4. on a non baby note. ok maybe it is related to the baby or more accurately all my babies. with each baby i lose a little more curl. it has been getting harder and harder to get my curls the way i like them. i have been considering going straight for awhile. so after a hair appointment a few weeks ago, i just decided to stick with straight. it has actually been pretty easy. even a time saver. cece loves it because now she can much more easily brush my hair...something that when my hair is curly she just couldn't do. 

5. overall, i have not been too tired. i will admit this first week back at school wiped me out. like falling asleep at the table wiped me out. like falling asleep at 7:30 wiped me out. like sleeping like a rock wiped me out. yikes. 

happy friday y'all

Happy First Day of School!!

today we started back to school. 

everyone was eager and excited to get back to school. 

it made for a pretty easy morning. 

the girls in front of their school. their school is brand new. its pretty fancy. they are very lucky girls. 

cece at her desk. 

ellie in front of her locker. 

ellie started 5th grade! the last year of elementary school. yikes.

cece is a 1st grader!

mags was not feeling the picture taking. but she loved cuddling up with daddy.

busy, busy!

wow.

this week is a busy one for our family. 

like super duper busy. 

i started back to school monday. 

softball started monday for both big girls. 

tonight was meet the teacher night. 

and thursday is the first day of school. 

i think momma will be tired come friday.

like super duper tired. 

the big girls are very lucky to be going to a brand new elementary school. we went on sunday to check out the playground and peek in the windows. and tonight we got to meet our teachers and tour the building. wow. it's nice. great teachers and fancy school building.

they are lucky girls. 

cousin joy watched the girls yesterday and they got to do every fun thing they could possibly come up with all in one day. they had so much fun. 

tim will be home with the girls this week. today he sent me this picture of the girls playing at the park. 

jealous for sure. 

but then they picked me up and took me out for lunch. 

definitely made my day. 

and then when i got home while tim was mowing the lawn the big girls cleaned pretty much the entire house. 

cece told tim "i told ellie we have to work our booties off!!" 

day made yet again!

well that is all for now. 

happy tuesday y'all

an interview with miss maggie

with a little help from her sisters we interviewed or we answered the questions the way we thought miss maggie would answer them if she could :)

1. What is your favorite color? Pink

2. What is your favorite food? Cheese....cheese sticks, cheese crackers, cheesy popcorn, sausage with cheese. 

3. What is your favorite drink? Apple Juice

4. What do you want to be when you grow up? Minnie

5. What is your favorite toy? Bounce House!!

6. What is your favorite game to play? Follow my big sisters!

7. What is your favorite movie? Frozen 

8. What is your favorite type of ice cream? Ice Cream Cones with any type of ice cream. 

9. What is your favorite place? Outside in the sandbox

10. What is your favorite book? Any book with Minnie Mouse it in. 

11. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Minnie Clubhouse as she calls it. 

12. What is your favorite thing to play with Cecilia and Maggie? Anything they will play with her!

13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing and play in the sandbox 

14. What is your favorite thing to wear? Minnie Pajamas!

15. What is your favorite thing to help Mommy do? Help mommy cook and rock with mommy. 

2

today miss maggie turns two.

two.

honestly it feels like we were just awaiting her arrival.

and boom now she is two.

it's cliche, i know, but wow. time flies.

she has brought nothing but joy to our family.

she is one happy, loving girl.

right now she is in a minnie mouse loving, cheesy grin, no momma no phase.

she weighs 23 pounds and is 30 inches tall.

her blue eyes sparkle.

she loves carrying the basket out to the garden to pick "apples."

she says momma, dadda, ellie and kiki. she is starting to put together phrases and sentences. learning new words daily.

she loves her family. her nana and papa, her grandma and grandma, her cousins, her aunts and uncles. she knows her people and she loves them.

she loves to go to the pool and enjoys the water, but LOVES snack time.

her favorite foods are cheese, ice cream, strawberries, and olives. she has asked for a cup of coffee a time or two.

the sandbox is her jam along with belly swinging.

and keeping up with her big sisters is a big priority for magpie.

she sleeps good at night and still takes nice long naps. she cuddles up with her blanky and a variety of stuffed animals. oh and she still uses her paci (which she can now ask for) but does not seem overly dependent on it. we will see how dependent when it goes away in the next year:)

she tells us when she is wet. "i poopy"

she loves watching minnie clubhouse.

mags has us wrapped around her finger. just this morning i heard "kiki will do anything for you mags." yep mags has a way.

we thank God for her daily. it is so cool to see the plan He has for our family and the plan He has for her.

we love our sweet little miss maggie so so so much.

happy birthday sweet girl!