Me and My Girls

This is my firstborn, my now nearly 5 year old daughter! Her big brown eyes and bright smile bring me so much joy! Kevin and I are still amazed at how big she is (not literally, of course, afterall, she is 1/2 Hetland). She will start Kindergarten in August and is eagerly awaiting it! She loves to draw and color, and really do any sort of craft to use her creativity. She is starting to read and truly loves learning. She thrives on being the oldest, learning independence, helping me, and showing Rylin what to do, how to do it, etc. She loves being outside, especially in water. She absolutely loves shopping, especially for shoes! She loves going golfing with Kevin and her pink putter, going to the movies with Daddy or Grandpa, and going for coffee/hot chocolate with whoever will take her. She is very much a perfectionist, and thus is easily frustrated when things don't go her way. She loves her extended family and friends, and gets very excited to spend time with them. She has a very tender and compassionate nature, hates seeing people hurt and is always the first to offer comfort. This is a trait from nature (our Creator), not nurture, as this is not a characteristic people would use of me. She is very observant and inquisitive and wants to know how everything works and why. She once asked me why the water is clear in our cups, but is blue in the lake. What would your answer have been? It amazes me, and yet doesn't, how many questions she has about everything and yet has never once questioned God or Jesus' existence. How does He see everything, How can He be everywhere, yes, but never a doubt that He does exist (confirmation of what Romans 1 teaches!) She loves to sing, and I'm afraid to say, sings quite off tune like me, and loves to pray. She told me just last week during bedtime, when we were saying our "I love you's" that she loves God most of all because He made us and gives us everything.

So this is Rylin at 2 1/2. She is quite possibly one of the most adorable kids I have ever seen. She is extremely petite, still wearing 18 month old clothes, but really does this surprise anyone? She is very busy and rarely sits still. We are still waiting for her to sit through a book or a cartoon. She is very social, loves to talk on the phone to whoever I am talking to, will talk to anyone as long as I am nearby, and really enjoys singing. Her favorite song right now is the hymn, "I'll Obey and Serve You" and she loves listening to "her" CD in the car. She is a self proclaimed vegetarian, I honestly cannot get her to eat meat, and she is extremely stubborn and strong willed. Rylin loves to be silly and goofy with her random acts and makes us laugh often, but she can really be quite sneaky and a little stinker when she feels like it. She has a very animated personality and expresses herself well with her eyes, face, hands and voice. She loves ball, and she is my pick for our athlete since she already loves sunflower seeds. She absolutely loves her big sister, but make no mistake, she will not be ignored, left out or bossed around, this girl has a mind of her own. She too is very compassionate, like Kacia. Everytime I prick my finger (which is 4 times a day for a couple of months now) she says without fail, "Oh, I sorry Mom." Her favorite thing to say, thus my least favorite thing to hear all day is "hungry Mom" repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. Seriously, you would think she would weigh so much more with as often as she eats! She thinks she loves dogs, remembers everyone we know who has one, runs to them at the park, and then screams the second they get too close. But if a fence or slider door are in between her and dog, she is very intrigued by watching them. Right now she is learning to pray on her own, and these are words I treasure so much!

So this is me and my girls. In so many ways they are so alike, and in others they are as different as the color of their eyes. Life is about to change forever, but in the meantime, this is us.

My Thoughts

So something hit me earlier this week. It was Dr. Appt day, and I had about 45 minutes in between appointments, the girls were with Grandma, so I decided to take advantage of the alone time and run a few errands. As I was waddling down the sidewalk (yes, I waddle now!), and getting smiles from complete strangers as they notice my belly which is quite hard not to notice, I realized that any day now will be the last day I am ever pregnant! And although I am so excited to see and hold and love this little baby, and am anxious to once again be able to bend over and pick up something on the floor, or get out of bed without having to come up with a strategy first, I am going to miss being pregnant! I love feeling the baby move, I love watching my girls talk to the baby and rub lotion on my tummy, I love how at any time, any where, someone always has something to say. I love the excitement and build up for delivery day. And although this touch of nostalgia does not make me doubt our decision to be done at #3, (at all!) it does help me to not be so focused on getting this baby out, but rather, to fully enjoy every day he kicks, rolls, punches and hiccups inside keeping me awake with his movements rather than his cry!

Preparing for Baby

So, if you look at that number to the right, the baby's arrival date is getting very close!! As it does, I am reminded once more how different Kevin and I can be. Kevin is getting so anxious and is convinced the baby could come any day because I'm having a lot of contractions, but I think he has forgotten that I did the same thing with Rylin. My body says "I'm done" and the baby says "Oh just a little bit longer please". So in the meantime, I have been so motivated to get as much done as I can (and to pass the time). We finished priming the baby's room (it only took 3 coats!) and I plan on starting the paint tonight. (This will probably surprise Kevin since he brought home a movie to watch!) Typically I would not tackle a job like this so close to delivery, but if you look at the picture before, with the two shades of green, you might agree that even we left it with just the primer, it is an improvement! I also figure the sooner the paint gets done, the sooner we can put up the crib and all and I may be able to start parking in the garage. I have also been frantically attempting all of the deep cleaning projects that need done around the house and Kevin, well Kevin is having hard time wanting to work, and just wants to know when life is going to change. But as we all know, these are things that just can't be predicted, and so I remind him and our 4 year old, that the day the baby decides to come is a complete surprise to all of us!

Old Pics

So life has been a little hectic with moving in and attempting to settle in before the baby arrives, so I know that I have been a blogger slacker. Anyhow, I had wanted to post these pictures we took the week before we moved. We went up to Dunsmuir with our friends to let the kids (or dads) do a little fishing and play at the park before the chaos of our busy week started. Kevin had warned me that he was going to have a "crazy busy week" and wouldn't be seeing us much. I know that we are hitting summer months when business seems to be at its peak, so I didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until the end of the week that he revealed that yes, he had been busy working a lot, but he also surprised the girls and I by painting their new room and setting up bunkbeds. He even snuck out one of the quilts that I had bought to take it to Home Depot to match paint, then shopped all over town to find the best deal on good mattresses, plus picking up the beds that we had discussed getting, but that he had told me to wait a month or so and then we would see where we were at. The girls are adjusting well to sharing a room and sleeping in their new beds. Some nights are easier than others, but all in all the transition has been much smoother than I had imagined. I will post some pictures of their room when it is a little more picked up ( I think every toy we have unpacked is currently on the floor!)