Girls Rule!

I just wanted to write a quick post to announce (although you already know!) that we are having another little girl!! We had a great ultrasound last week and she's healthy and beautiful and we are so thrilled!

I have always envied the sisters that I see playing and chatting and being each other's best friends. I hope so much for my girls that they share a deep sisterly bond like that. My GIRLS! I love it :) Poor Sean will be very outnumbered, but I think he can handle it!

We all love you little girl and can't wait to meet you in March!

Photos soon!

Halloween Fun

Mia got a kick out of Halloween this year! She had a party at school, a party with her playgroup, and a blast trick-or-treating on our block. I thought she'd be shy, but she marched right up to people's porches and said "Trickertreat!" and "Gank You" like she'd been doing it for years!

Some photos are below but I think I need to sign up for a photography class. My photos are getting worse and worse. I usually miss the cute moment and end up with the shot of people's eyes closed or moving away from the camera. Maybe I should blame Amelia for changing the settings every time she gets a hold of my camera! I'll work on it, I promise!

Hope you had a monstrously good Halloween!

Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we went to Luray, Virginia, just outside of the Shenandoah National Forest, and Skyline Drive for a fun fall weekend getaway. We had visions of crisp, sunny days, pumpkin patches and corn mazes in our heads as we drove through gorgeous mountain towns and horse country on the way there.

The weather did not totally cooperate (it was in the 30's when we got there and only got to about 49 the entire weekend) but we had a great trip. We hiked (in snow one day!), stayed in an adorable cabin, ate yummy homemade breads and pies, and explored the area.

One night it rained pretty heavily, and at about 3am we heard a loud rustling noise that sounded like it was directly under our bed. It lasted for several hours and I was starting to worry about bears coming in to get our food. Turns out it was likely a family of raccoons taking refuge under our cabin. Nature!

I have lots and lots of photos and I'll put them on the photo album site soon. Here are just a few. I hope to make this an annual trip. I love it up there!

This was one of the few breaks in the clouds. Leaves were almost at peak in some places in the park. Gorgeous!

We did a little hiking on the Appalachian Trail. This is the trail marker.

The snow!

We went to a pumpkin patch, corn maze, petting zoo. It was so cold that we only stayed long enough to feed this goat.

Mia was the tour guide at Luray Caverns. A very impressive cave system and we got there when it opened on Sunday morning and had the whole place to ourselves!

Group shot.

Obligatory self portrait at beginning of hike to waterfalls.

Cuties!Our cabin

Unrelated to the trip, but just a cute recent photo

Mia and her pumpkins

What's new?

Hi! We've been busy living our lives lately and enjoying this great time of year. Mia seems to really like her school! She comes home singing "Gray Squirrel" (a song that I am not familiar with) and talking about her favorite teacher "Miss Kelly". She has her first picture day on Thursday and I'm soooo excited about it! She also has a Halloween party and parade in a few weeks! Stay tuned for what are sure to be the cutest pictures ever!

Sean has been super busy at work and at home. He is painting the attic and re-doing it so that it will be a nicer guest room at some point. He is also now a skilled tree-surgeon as he spent last weekend with a chainsaw and other tree trimming tools to take care of some of our overgrown trees.

I'm enjoying my bit of free time and watching my 2 year old grow up! McBaby2 is doing well too and we hope to find out what we are having on October 30! I have absolutely no intuition this time, and last time I was convinced we were having a boy, so I don't think I would trust it anyway. I feel basically the same as I did during my first pregnancy, although perhaps a bit more tired by the end of the day.

We go to the Shenandoah Valley in NW Va next weekend for a few days. I'm so excited to see the leaves, drive on Skyline Drive, stay in a cabin and eat pumpkin bread and drink apple cider! Oh, we want to go on some hikes and see Luray Caverns too!

We hope everyone is well! Below are a few photos from the past few weeks.

Sleepy girl after school.
Cheesing it up on the way to the Pumpkin Patch!

I LOVE getting her artwork from school! And I found some magnets that stick to stainless steel! Yay!!!

Riding Ben's car at bday party. She loved this toy!

The "Surprise"

Well, I hinted at a surprise a while ago, although by now, all 4 of my blog readers know the big news! :)

We are expecting McBaby #2! Due March 17 (St. Patrick's Day!) although the last measurements indicated March 12... we'll see.

We are very excited of course, and a little nervous about this new adventure. (Will we ever sleep again? How do you get 2 kids on the same nap schedule?)

So far everything looks great. I'm 15 weeks along today and thankfully past most of the nausea and exhaustion! I've had 2 ultrasounds already (I'm considered "Advanced Maternal Age") and the little guy/girl is jumping and rolling and growing like crazy!

Hopefully we'll find out the sex in about 5 weeks, and then the great name debate can really begin! I love thinking about names and so far have lots of favorites. I'd like it to be kind of old fashioned (like Amelia), possibly Irish, and not too weird, but not too common either.

Here is my favorite photo of the little jumping bean at 12 weeks waving hello. We'll keep you posted as the weeks go by!

First Day of Pre-Preschool!

Amelia started her two mornings a week preschool program last week! It seems a little funny to call it "preschool" already, but she calls it school and she is enjoying it so far! There have been no tears, and she will talk non-stop for about 5 minutes when I pick her up, describing her day. I only understand about 1/3 of what she says, but so far I've heard about the potty, a birthday party, toys and a teacher fixing her shoe :) So cute! The time apart is weird, but nice for both of us I think. I'm able to go to the gym and take a long shower without feeling guilty! Today I vacuumed the entire house (glamorous, I know) without Amelia screaming and crying because she's terrified of the vacuum.

I hope she continues to like school and make friends and love her teachers! I'll keep you posted.

Here are a few photos from her first day.

Cheesing it up at the front door.

You want me to go WHERE?

It was a rainy day and she LOVES this umbrella from Maddie :)

Oh, they have toys and other kids here... Hmmm, might be ok!

Photo Overload

Hat time
Fun in Grandma W's pool

I want her hair!!

Stylin' in the rain boots

These are a few photos from the "tumblers" class Mia took this summer. She LOVED it and learend a lot of skills. I blame this class for the crib scaling issues we are having lately :)

Playing in the water with Ben

This is my backyard. I wish. Beautiful Norfolk Botanical Gardens.

Pretty little Swallowtail in the Lantana

Me and Shana in front of the roses we pruned in February!

TGIS (September)

September is my all time favorite month, followed closely by October, and then maybe May. I used to be a summer girl, but in my old age I have grown tired of the heat and bugs and feeling like I am cooped up inside. Jeez, I sound just like my Dad ! :)

Anyway, I am so excited that the weather is a bit cooler, I've had windows open all week and we've been taking more walks to the playground again. A few tidbits from our lives this past week or so:

1) Amelia can get out of the crib. This is not good. We put her down for a nap today, after a gorgeous beach morning (guaranteed nap activity, right??) and sat on the couch to relax. Two minutes later we were greeted by our daughter with a guilty smile on her face. After a few more tries, we gave up and she had no nap. Tonight at bedtime, she tried it once, but was so tired that after our second goodnight attempt, she crashed. We are now frantically searching the Internet for crib tents and other options. Not ready for the big girl bed just yet!

2) Amelia starts PRESCHOOL on Thursday! Yikes! It is really just 2 mornings a week but she will be with lots of other kids in a school environment. I have mixed feelings about this. I think she will really like it, but I know I will cry like a baby the first time I leave her. On the other hand, I'll have 6 HOURS a week of "free time"! What should I do??

3) We are still being kind of lazy and inconsistent with potty training, but as anyone with young children knows, there is rarely any "alone" time in the bathroom for the adults in the house. I can tell that some of the potty training is sticking because when I am finished in the bathroom, Amelia heaps praise on me like "Good girl Mommy! I am SO proud of you"! It is so funny and maybe a little embarrassing!

That's about all for now. We hope to enjoy this long weekend and spend time doing some yard work, and hanging out with friends. Again, photos are coming... Some nice ones of a trip to the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly House and maybe even a surprise :)

Happy Labor Day and Welcome September!

Cali

We lost our best friend last week. Our faithful, funny dog Cali passed away after vets discovered that cancer had taken over a large portion of her internal organs. We know in our hearts that we did the right thing but we are still so very sad about it.

The house is much quieter (even with a toddler running around) and our routines are changed. Nighttime is tough because for almost 13 years, the last thing we did was let Cali out, listen to her bark a few times, do her thing, eat a bite of food, and run upstairs to sleep under our bed. In her younger days she slept on our bed, but that was tough for her lately. Plus, she liked to sleep diagonally and take up way too much room.

We have so many happy memories with Cali. She was a sweet, happy, smart dog and quite the world traveler. She loved going for walks, eating cat food, having her ears rubbed and just being with us. We worried about how she would act when Amelia arrived, and she responded with incredible patience and understanding and the occasional "why me?" sigh.

Friends have reminded us of her funnier moments: Being spray painted green at a St. Patrick's Day party, being caught red-handed on the top of the dining room table eating the feast before another party, racing up and down the beach and at the hills of St. Mary's Lake. We know she had a good life and as Sean liked to say, she knew it too because she came from a life on the streets :)

We will always miss and love our Cali girl. We know you are up in the big, fluffy human bed in the sky, eating cat food to your heart's content and snoring as loud as you want. Good dog!

The Peanut

We got to experience yet another joy of parenting the other night: "Foreign Object Removal!"

Apparently Amelia shoved a peanut up her nose during snack time, unbeknownst to Mommy (I'm up for Mom of the Year this year). A few hours later, she told us about it. Lucky Sean was watching her while I was at the gym. He tried to get her to blow it out, he tried the snot sucker, he tried tweezers. Nothing worked. He called the after hours number for our pediatrician and got the most fantastic tip ever! (Thank goodness for Daddy! I think I would have panicked after Googling, and probably rushed to the ER!)

Anyway, by this time I was home and feeling really guilty. The doctor's tip was to basically do reverse CPR on Amelia. Sean laid her down, covered up the unblocked nostril and gently blew into her mouth. Lo and behold, the peanut came shooting out the other nostril! How cool! And soooo much better than a night in the ER!!!

Needless to say, no more peanuts until she's 18!

2 Year Stats

Just a quick note about Mia's 2 year old check up. I like the idea of printing out this blog one day and having a record of this stuff !

Height: 34 1/2 inches (1 1/2 inches too short to go on all the rides at Bush Garden's Sesame Place! But we are going to try it this Fall anyway!)

Weight: 28 lbs

50-75% for both.

She's healthy and happy and was a perfect angel this time at the doctor's office! Barely shed a tear for the one shot that she needed! On a slightly disconcerting note, there has been fluid behind her ears for the past few check ups. The doc wants her to come in again in a few weeks, and then again a few weeks after that to monitor it. I really hope she hasn't had fluid there since her only (known) ear infection back in October!! She shows no signs of hearing loss and her verbal skills are great, so we'll just have to see what happens.

I have some cute photos to post as soon as I find where that stinker has hidden my camera!

The Little Lady's Birthday Party

We had a great little party for our little ladybug. I made ladybug cupcakes which turned out super cute and we had a great visit with friends and family :) Amelia had been so looking forward to blowing out candles, and she did a great job with her single "Number 2" candle! Thanks so much to those who were able to make it! Mia had a blast. We missed you Engels but hope to see you soon!

I'll put lots more photos of the party and of some of our summer fun on the photo website soon!Stay cool out there!