A party for my two littlest loves!

We had a wonderful birthday party for Lucy and Hazel today. What fun to celebrate our girls with a house full of people who love them both!

This was supposed to be the year Lu had a Candyland party, but I couldn't resist doing Milk & Cookies while Hazel is a babe.  We'll do Candyland next year! I'm totally crazy about how the pink & gold turned out! The garland, painted vases, painted candle holders, and mini cake stands were all Pinterest inspired projects that were really easy and I thought turned out really well. Starbucks bottles were perfect for the milk.  I made the posters for the girls on the computer and then had them printed at Costco.  The print on the table is from Etsy.

Hazel's monthly pictures (and paint chips - whoops!)

 My sister made monogrammed cookies - adorable!

I found the cutest "made with love" cookie stamp.  It didn't show up too well, but still fun.

Sundae cups and stamped wooden spoons.  The spoons were adorable, but I didn't like eating with them!

I love "bars" for parties.  We didn't do cake for the party since we had so many cookies, but I did an ice cream sundae bar.

 Oh... this girl!

 They are too cute in their crowns!

Hello.

So.  6 1/2 months since my last post huh?  I guess blogging is pretty far down my priority list these days!  Life is beautifully, crazy busy (and fun) these days.

Hazel Rae Snider was born April 15 after watching HOURS of footage about the Boston Marathon bombing and finally asking for the TV to be turned to ANYTHING else!  Labor/birth followed exactly as it did with her big sisters and she was born just before dinner weighing a healthy 8 pounds.

She honestly is pure joy.  People are constantly asking me, "is she always smiling?" "is she always this happy?"  The answer is, usually, YES!  She's such a happy girl.  She laughs at everything and anything we do.  I thought Stella would be the most crazy about her, but Lucy and Hazel have such a special little relationship brewing.  Lucy cracks her up more than anybody and the both are constantly looking for the other and light up at the sight of one another.

Who knows how often I'll blog.  Once in a while I think of something to write about but there just never seems to be the time.  Instagram has utterly taken over as my main means of documenting our little life!

Here are way too many pictures...  Maybe I'll get some updated ones before her first birthday!

Nervous, anxious, excited...

I know a lot of people are strongly against being induced. Since it's all I know, it really isn't an issue for me. I have to admit, for a planner/list maker/control freak like me it's actually pretty nice! We have plans in place for the girls & dog. Bags get packed, house gets a good cleaning, all of the laundry is done. (Not to mention how much easier it makes the transition at school!)

That being said, it's also a bit of an odd feeling to go through your day knowing its the last time for all of your normal things. Our last time going to breakfast as a family of four. Our last "relaxing" evening for the foreseeable future. Our last morning to wake up slowly with Stella in our bed and get those precious morning snuggles in. We've spent the weekend trying our best to balance spending some good special family time together with getting ready and it's been so nice.

I know I worried about the same things with Lucy but with 2 littles here now and Lucy being younger, those fears are magnified this time. Add to that the fact that Jim's only taking a week off this time and I'm a little worried. I know we'll find our new normal, I'm just praying it comes relatively quickly!

Despite all of my concerns, we're all ready (well, the littlest may not be). Stella is about to burst and I'm trying to soak up the last few hours of pregnancy and seeing the girls around the belly. One thing's for sure, this house is never going to be the same!!!

Stella was loving on the baby and talking to her to make her squirm - one of the things I'll miss!

Sharing space

I think it was the first day we found out about our little surprise when Jim frantically said, "we'll have to move to a house with 4 bedrooms!"  I immediately shot down that idea (there were enough things we were going to have to do/change/get, and a house would have totally thrown me over the edge).  He's the youngest of 6, but the age difference is pretty significant and his two siblings immediately before him were both girls so he never shared a room.  I only shared a room a few days a month when I went to my Dad's house, but it was enough to see what it could be like.  I described to him my sister and I lie in beds next to each other making up little stories until we fell asleep.  There's something about a shared room that gets me all emotional.  In fact, this morning I showed this Pinterest pin to Jim:

(Notice what I wrote and when I pinned it... this was 9 months ago (AKA right before the bomb was dropped.  CRAZY huh?!?!?) Parts of this room have now become the inspiration for the "big girls room".)





Between this and the fortune from my cookie do you think maybe the universe was trying to give me a heads up?

Anyway...  all of that to say that I don't subscribe to the thought that every child in a family needs their own bedroom.  The girls won't be allowed to have TVs or anything in their rooms (Ok, maybe WAY down the line).  I think it's so important for our family to share space.  I don't want/need seperate bedrooms, a playroom, craftroom, office, etc.  People want such big houses now and I think it just gives family members room to spread out and spend more time apart.  Houses are marketed for all of the rooms that they have.  Personally, I'd rather fewer large rooms for us to all gather together.  While our house isn't really what I'd call "small", it's not big by any stretch.  It's a normal size with 3 nice big bedrooms (again, I by far prefer this to the choppy smaller rooms that they seem to be putting in developments today.)

I found these two quotes on Etsy and I love both of them.  I think that families should find more ways to spend time togther.  We don't all have to be doing the same thing, but I don't like it when we're spread out.  My favorite thing is when we're all in one room: girls playing/reading, me knitting, and Jim usually doing school work.

I've been spending some of my baby-prep time trying to get Lucy's room ready to be a shared room.  I still have a ways to go (look at how small that picture collage looks now - I already have things to add.).  The best part of all of this?  Both girls have adjusted SO WELL!  Stella is spending far more nights in her own bed rather than crawling in with us.  The other night she said she and Lucy had both woken up so she pretended to be sleeping and then really did go back to sleep!  Each night as I carry Lucy in to bed she asks for Stella.  I tell her Stella will be up soon.  Often, when I bring Stella in Lucy is still awake.  Sometimes she sits up and says, "sissy" but lays right back down when I lay Stella down.  The other night as I went in with Stella I could hear Lu sucking on her pacifier and then say, "sissy" over and over.  It utterly melted me!  I just love seeing those two beds side by side and can only imagine all that will take place as they grow up and Lucy can have conversations with Stella.  Priceless!

In baby news, we're all getting so very ready to meet this girl!  I still have far too much to do to be ready for her to be born, but we're dying to see her and love on her!

Too much

This post is really just for me to look back on later and reflect. I haven't posted in ages. There just seems to be far too much going on and I'm feeling... unsettled.

I'm not "stressed", that's too strong of a word. I haven't been sleeping very well though because my mind just goes crazy with all of the THINGS going on or to do. Fabrics/pillows/window bench cushion/artwork/blankets/knitting patterns/closets...

I can't seem to get ahead at school and we still don't have a sub lined up. It's getting frustrating because I've been trying to get it figured out since October and we're quickly running out of time.

There are far more things on my list of things to knit than time. To some, this seems like a dumb thing to even think about, but to me it's not.

The bedrooms are a MESS and no place near done. I know a baby doesn't need a finished room. It's not about her. It's about me wanting hints to be done and settled before bringing her home. I want to feel calm. Settled. Ready. It's about me.

I keep forgetting things we need for a baby. Stella reminded me we need a new tub. I'd totally forgotten about swaddlers until yesterday... Who knows what else! Thank goodness for Amazon Prime and it's 2 day shipping!

Add to that the fact that we've had to get two "new" vehicles in a month and a half, furnish a room... Things just haven't been calm for a while and I'm in need of calm right now. I know this will all pass, we'll be ready for her, etc. just documenting these feelings as they're happening.

On a lighter note, here's a pic of our rapidly growing girl who the Dr thinks will be even bigger than Lucy! I'll be 34 weeks in just two days!

A downhill slope

Baby girl was 29 weeks on Sunday and I figured I'd better post before things change!  People have been asking me how I feel and I keep saying, "great, this has got to be the best time of pregnancy!"

So far:  I'm not tired, I haven't broken out maternity pants, the numb spot at the top of my belly hasn't made an appearance yet, her kicks aren't uncomfortable, I feel great...

BUT.  I can feel it coming.  That bend in the pregnancy road that lets you know you're nearing the finish line.  I'm starting to feel my breathe getting a bit shorter, it's getting harder to carry a 5 year old upstairs to bed each night, and it's harder to find a comfortable position on the couch. 

I'm not complaining.  I won't ever complain.  (ok, maybe once or twice to a husband who needs a little reminding of what I'm working with)  I feel so blessed to have the chance to go down this road once more when there was a time I feared I'd never get to experience any of it.  For the sake of that heartbroken version of myself and for all of the women who still long for this, I refuse to complain about any of it!

I'm getting anxious though.  Getting her room ready for her is on my mind a LOT, I want to knit for her constantly, and I'm SO looking forward to the feel of that fuzzy bit of hair tickling my nose as I breathe her in.  I can't believe I'm being trusted to be a Mama to another beautiful girl, how very lucky I feel!

We're getting closer, and I cannot wait to complete this family of ours!

25 Weeks

I don't have a 25 week pic, but here are two from 24 weeks.  I swear it's grown a TON since these were taken!

I'm so far behind in blogging!  I finally uploaded some pictures last night so I just need to organize some posts and get them up!

I wrote a post on my first blog when I was 25 weeks pregnant with Lucy about some of my fears.  I hadn't thought about it in ages, but just in the last week or so I've started WORRYING.  It's funny how it's hit at exactly the same time it did last time.

This time, I'm worried about Lucy mostly.  There have been several people (2 of which are from 3 girl families) who've said that the first and third are really close but that the middle daughter is the "odd girl out".  I want all 3 of my girls to be close.  I'm not naive, I know that there will be bumps and that there will be times when any given 2 may be closer, but I hope that WHICH two it is is more of a fluid thing and that there isn't EVER one of them who feels like she doesn't fit in.

I'm so totally over any disappointment about not having a boy (even though I do still feel badly for Jim), and I'm SO VERY EXCITED to have another girl to watch movies with, bake with, craft, paint nails etc.  I never dreamt our lives would turn out like this and I feel so incredibly blessed.  I just so badly want them to have a strong relationship/bond/love for each other!

I still have moments of shock, and there are still times I feel like I'm too old and/or I'm going to be SO very overwhelmed with 3 littles, but I must admit that the feelings of excitement at meeting her are beginning.  I'm not a person who usually goes ga-ga over babies in general, but my own...?  Oh, I can't wait to smell her, snuggle her, feel the weight of her sleeping body on my chest...  Heavenly!  Most of all, I am so excited to watch Stella be a big sister again and this time she'll be able to do even more.  We certainly have struck it rich!