She's here!!!

 She's finally here!

 Our beautiful Sarah Anne arrived Friday, June 14th at 10:03 p.m.  She was 7 lbs. 6 oz. & 20.5 inches long.  Perfectly lovely. 

 "I'm so proud of the baby for being born."

~Teresa Rose, 3 1/2 years old

Welcome, baby Sarah!  We love you!

Smiley Girl

 This is already 3 weeks ago, but I'm finally getting around to sharing the photos of our beautiful baby!  Everything looks good & we are so excited to meet her.  :)  Little stinker was snuggling into the placenta like a pillow most of the time, so this was the most we ever saw of her face.

I think this one is her first smile!

Guess what?

Want to guess why we made pink cookies?

 It's a girl!  Baby is 18 weeks along & looking beautiful.  Amazingly, I've been feeling her kick for a  couple of weeks already!  Makes me smile every time.  Can't wait to meet her.

Peek-a-boo!

Love Letter

Did you know?

My friend Cynthia tagged me (a few days back) to share 10 things you probably don't know about me... let's see what you do!

10. Drawing is one of my favorite pasttimes... though I rarely get the chance anymore. I specifically enjoy doing charcoal drawings of kids. Eyes are my specialty.

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9. I'm a Facebook rookie. I finally made my first entry a couple of weeks ago, but it hasn't gone much further than that. I'm pretty clueless, but I don't mind. This blog is where I prefer to share! Though I do enjoy keeping up a little with non-bloggers there.

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8. On that note, I really enjoy blogs. Sometimes I feel fellow bloggers are the only non-next-door-neighbor friends that I can keep up with! It's such a challenge to foster friendships in this busy time of little ones much less have a clue where to even start when we actually see each other... glad we can smile with & support each other even when we are too exhausted to get together!

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7. We lead a Sophomore GodTeen group at our parish. They are awesome. It's the perfect outlet for me to get my high schooler teaching fix each week without having to do 9 preps. ;) Plus, it encourages me to know our Catholic faith better & also has been like practice with raising teenagers. More practice necessary before they are our own, please!

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6. My favorite flowers are daisies. They look so bright & cheerful plus they last outside forever & in a vase for almost as long. Just seeing them on the table brings a smile to my face.

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5. I volunteer at Birthright as a counselor for women in crisis pregnancy situations. It's the most powerful pro-life work that I've ever been involved in.

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4. Though I've only had them a handful (ha!) of times in my life, I LOVE a good pedicure. Manicures are nice, too, but there's just something fabulous about happy feet. :)

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3. I've made it a point not to buy Nutella. The stuff is too darn good! I could put it on bananas, bread, waffles, cookies, pretzels, pizza?, well just about anything. If we have it in the cupboard I can't stop eating it until it's gone. I think it is my one true food addiction.

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2. I am a gamer. Not video gaming particularly, more board gaming. I could play Boggle all day long & still not get enough. Taboo, oh yeah. Cranium, you betcha. Pictionary, definitely. The only board game I can think of that I don't love? Chess.

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1. We've added another member to our family... baby #4 is due to arrive on September 1st! We are so excited. :) It's been an interesting ride so far, so please keep our family in your prayers. Thank you!

Our littlest princess...

Teresa Rose has arrived!

After much anticipation, she finally showed her pretty little face on Monday, October 12th at 2:09 p.m. She weighs 7 lbs 15 oz & is 21 inches long. She has a sweet little mess of brown hair on top, long lashes, her Daddy's chin dimple, & long toes. I see an amazing resemblance to big brother Andrew when he was a baby. She is healthy, happy (especially when I let her nurse for hours), & just so perfect!

We named her after Blessed Teresa of Calcutta & Great Grandma Rose F. She nows shares a birthday with cousin Lucy! Andrew & Rebecca were just bursting with joy when they met her last night. Andrew even kind of choked up when he was first holding her. : ) Rebecca asked, "Can we bring baby home with us?" Hooray! I hope that attitude lasts for a while. =]

I'll post pictures & more details later, but for now I'm just basking in the wonder of this tiny little princess. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Creating

In preparation for their little sibling, I made these shirts for the kids. They're so excited to wear them! I said they have to wait until they come to visit us at the hospital... one more thing to look forward to with anticipation. As I've been busy attempting to create order around our home, Rebecca's been more busy creating... well, scenes like this. Busy, busy, busy.

Silver lining

As we walked anxiously around the maternity ward at the hospital the other night, I realized that I was quite prepared to be there, but less prepared to actually bring our baby home! Well, since we were able to come back home, I've better prepped. Dresser is moved & full, bassinet is in our room, diapers are bought, pantry is more stocked, & much better full-term picture of my baby belly is taken. Hooray! NOW we're ready. Come on, little one...

Trial Run

A huge THANK YOU

to my little sister Cara for being part of what turned out to be a trial run last night. She graciously drove over in the middle of the night...again (she was our go-to for Rebecca as well). After laboring for 7 hours & being so anxious about who would be with the kids/getting there in time, we gave in & went to the hospital. It was not without progress, but stalled out around 4:00 a.m. Now this little one is just rejoicing to not be squeezed anymore by doing some crazy break dancing in there. So, here we are, very pleased at how smoothly our trial run went...just wishing it had been the real thing. Please, say a prayer that we can each find time to rest today & that baby Sprinkle is a healthy baby...

whenever we may meet.

Advice?

Anyone able to explain to this baby what 'fetal position' is supposed to look like?

It's official

I've been thinking it for a few days...

but the doctor affirmed it this morning; baby has dropped! It's SO much easier to breathe. Hallelujah! (Although I'm convinced my bladder is now the size of one of Rebecca's little tea cups.) I'm hoping it doesn't mean much more than that for now. Another 2 weeks at least would be best... especially since Darren will be gone to Minnesota 2 days next week.

Please, keep up those prayers!

A Week in Pictures

After much forgetting, we finally remembered to snap a shot of my baby belly on the way to the ultrasound last Thursday. It's by no means my favorite photo, but I haven't seen so many of you for so long . . . nobody believes me when I say I feel like a whale . . . I thought you deserved a little extra proof. ; )

I don't remember what superhero he was supposed to be . . . I'm still just amazed at his dress-up combinations! (Maybe I should title it: 101 Ways to Wear Underwear on Your Head)

We celebrated the birthday of Our Blessed Mother on Tuesday. This dessert was . . . interesting but delicious. The blue pools of frosting weren't exactly my original intent.

Rebecca has boycotted her nap for 6 days in a row now. I even "gave in" & slept in Andrew's bed the other day in hopes that she would take a rest. Instead, I awoke from my 3rd trimester stupor to this train she made out of books at my feet. At least she was quiet!
Andrew took his first single professional photos ever at preschool this week. I've never been big into posed shots at a studio; I figure if I just take a bunch wherever we are, we'll eventually have some good ones. Well, he was fascinated by the photographer. He built this camera out of Tinkertoys, set up his studio, & photographed Rebecca with assorted stuffed animals. My favorite part is the blue cloth napkins for the backdrop.

Rebecca was rather amused by the whole ordeal as well & inspired to take some pictures herself . . . too bad the camera was backwards!

Sprinkle

We are happy to announce the arrival of Sprinkle to our family! Today marks 11 weeks. When we first realized he was there we found a website that said the baby should be about the size of a chocolate sprinkle. I think it's cute so the nickname has stuck...at least with me.

What a blessing. What a gift from God. What an adventure! This has definitely been my most challenging early pregnancy...I finally decided that for Lent I'm just being pregnant...& attempting to do it joyfully. ; )

We heard his/her heartbeat today for the first time & it was so exciting! Andrew just found out today, too, when he was able to hold the Doppler for our doctor...very giddy. He said it sounded like a really fast train. Then he added, "Maybe it's a boy. Then he could be my neighbor!" When I informed him that wasn't the case he asked, "Can he be my twin?" Well, they won't be twins, but their birthdays may be very close. We are due on October 9th! We're not sure if Rebecca gets it yet, because she talks about babies nonstop anyway, but there have been a lot more references to tummies today. ; )

Please keep us in your prayers! Joy, joy, joy!!!