PHOTOS!

Alexis visited last weekend and spoiled us rotten by cooking and holding baby and entertaining Mia. She also took tons of photos with her fab camera and did some fancy editing. Here are just a few of them and I'll keep you posted when we get more :) It will be so hard to choose one for the birth announcement!

I've also started a new Elena folder on the photo album website and I'm posting all photos there. http://www.sarahmcbride.myphotoalbum.com/

Enjoy the photos! We are doing well... Getting used to the limited sleep and active 2.5 year old!
Love, Us

She's Here!

Welcome Elena Anne McBride!
Born on Sunday March 14, 12:42 am
7lbs, 2 oz., 20 inches
Absolutely perfect and beautiful.

More pictures and info coming soon :)

39 Weeks

and still waiting :) Amelia was born at 39 weeks and I had convinced myself that this baby would come early too. So far there have been no signs of her arrival and so we continue to wait, in a clean house, with a stocked kitchen and packed bags.

I have twinges of sadness for Amelia and I wonder every day if this will be her last day as an only child. I try to spend special time with her every day and I hope she does love this baby as much as she says she does now :) I know that everyone says a sibling is such a wonderful gift for your first child, but I can't help but think that Amelia might just prefer a new tricycle!

I know it will be a transition for Amelia and all of us, but I just can't wait to hold this little one and watch her grow and learn from her amazing big sister. It won't be long now!

Nesting and Waiting

Our doves are back in their nests on the front porch. It seems a little early to me, but I can certainly relate to their behavior.

Last weekend we got a ton of stuff done around the house, packed the hospital bags, got the carseat ready and did lots of tiny baby laundry. The bassinet is set up and the floors are about as clean as they have ever been. I even scrubbed the bedroom doors. Definitely nesting! All that is left is for this little one to make her appearance!

I had an ultrasound on Thursday and they are guessing she is about 6lbs, 10 oz (pretty average). She also has a lot of hair!

I really don't think my belly can get much bigger, but Sean reminds me that I said that for Mia too.

I feel ready to welcome baby into our family! Let the waiting game begin :)

Mom and Dad Dove getting their nest ready

37 1/2 week baby belly! (Seriously, she's only 6lbs??)Cute new hat from Grandma

My Valentines

My sweet little girl who loves wearing this tu-tu:

My wonderful husband:

The cutest little cards we made this week:

What more can a gal ask for?

Happy Valentine's Day to you!
xoxo

Tu-tu cute :)

Snowy SNorfolk!

We finally got snow in Norfolk!! When all was said and done, we probably got about 8 inches, which is the most Norfolk has seen in 20 years! It was beautiful and peaceful and we got to play and throw snowballs and make snowmen and eat snow (Mia's favorite thing).

I'll bombard you with pictures now! Who knows if we'll ever see this much snow here again, so we had to take a lot!

Mia moments

I was going to write another post about the misery that is the big-girl bed transition, but I'm tired of complaining. Instead, I'll list some of the cuter Amelia highlights as of late :)

She continues to amaze us and make us laugh with the things that come out of her mouth! I swear, she has a huge language explosion almost every week! She's started the "Why's", which I suppose is another rite of passage for parents! It's pretty funny (for now) although I can usually only make it through 3 "Why's?"before copping out with some sort of lame response, or "Ask Daddy".

Latest example:

Mommy: Amelia, let's put your coat on!
Amelia: Why?
Mommy: Because it's cold outside today.
A: Why?
M: Because it is winter.
A: W?
M: Because, um, the Earth is farther away from the sun right now and....?
A: W?
M: Because, um, just put your coat on!

She also comes up with some crazy statements that make me wonder what she's learning in preschool, or who she's hanging out with, or what kind of subliminal messages are in Sesame Street and Wow Wow Wubzy. Recently she's been telling us that "the spaceship is coming". No kidding. Should I be concerned about this? :)

She's still such a singer and so independent! She loves to hug my belly and gets to feel the baby kick a lot.

She loves the boys at school and lately loves to wear dresses. I'm not sure how to feel about this yet.

She's a little under the weather right now (more on that soon) but still resisting that nap, upstairs singing "Ba Ba Black Sheep". How can I be too frustrated though--check out the cuteness below :)

32 Weeks Down! 8 To Go!

I'm 32 weeks into this pregnancy and feeling pretty good! Now that the holidays are behind us, and Mia is (sort of) sleeping in her new bed, I'm ready to get this baby girl's room in order! I want to pull out all of the cute clothes and hang pretty pictures on her walls and get her some new stuffed animals.

I don't want her to have ONLY Amelia's hand-me-downs, so I'm getting excited to buy her a few new things of her own :) Especially, the "Coming Home" outfit! I remember stressing about this with Amelia and ended up choosing a bright yellow shorts/shirt outfit. It was 90 degrees in July in Spain and she looked like a jaundiced little track star! This time around, I think we'll be a bit more bundled up!

We take a tour of the hospital tomorrow and we actually have a babysitter for Amelia so we will take advantage and go out to dinner too!

I promise to update with some photos soon. We had a lovely visit with the McGrandparents last weekend and saw the renovated Va. Aquarium with them, among other fun things! Miss you already!

Big Girl Bed Blues

I've got the big-girl bed blues. I think Amelia does too. We were all so excited when we set it up last week and it looked so pretty and cozy. Amelia slept like an angel in it that first night. Then came nap time.

We haven't seen a solid nap since last Wednesday. I am almost at my wits end. And bedtime is getting worse each night. Last night Amelia ended up sleeping on the floor beside her bed and I moved her back into bed at 10pm. Sigh.... This is not a fun struggle.

And for some reason we decided to make this switch a few days before Sean went out of town.

And I'm 31 1/2 weeks pregnant and just tired in general.

Someone please remind me that this will all just be a funny memory in a few months.

I'm too tired to take any pictures of the big-girl bed just yet, but it is pretty cute. One of these days when we are sleeping better (with new baby coming, it may be more like September), I'll put some up.

Send good sleep vibes our way! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Holiday Photos

A separate post of Holiday Photos for your enjoyment!

Young Picasso at work!

Sledding in PA. It was cold!

Grandma and Mia all bundled up.
Katie and Mia.
Sean and Mia riding up the inclined plane.
The famous Inclined Plane in Johnstown PA. A steep (71degree) ride up to the mountain top.
Annual 4 generations of amazing females, photo!

Mia got a doll with pigtails for Christmas, so now she'll let us put her hair up in them!

Mia in Mommy's favorite present, the Snuggie!

Mia's first school ornament.

Playing with her new dollhouse.

And the new toy piano.

Our first attempt at a gingerbread house.

A New Year

Happy 2010! We had a nice end to 2009, with a relaxing Christmas at our house, and a quick trip to PA to see family and play in the snow again! We capped off the year watching the ball drop (did anyone see CNN's coverage--it is by far the most entertaining with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin hosting a very un-PC show! I actually stayed awake until midnight laughing), and having the Conley's over for the lucky New Year's "white" meal!

The Christmas decorations are down, and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things in 2010! First and foremost is getting ready to meet our new little girl! We are moving along with turning the attic into the guest room, and deciding which room to use as the nursery and which to use for Mia. Also, Mia will be transitioning to a big-girl bed in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

There are a few other things I've been thinking about starting in 2010 as well. Not necessarily resolutions, but just stuff I've been putting off, that are becoming more and more important to me.

1) I want to get more involved with our local community. This month I am writing to 2 of our local city council members about some issues that concern me. I want to actually go to our neighborhood civic league meetings too. I still have faith that small voices can make a difference, and I want to have mine heard!

2) I want to further support our Farmer's Market. My plan is to figure out if joining Costco, and religiously using coupons will save me enough money so that I can buy meat and eggs from the Farmer's Market or Organic Depot. Wish me luck!

3) I hope to start going to the local Catholic Church. I had wanted to start today, but Mia had a rough night, and I was so tired that I didn't get out of bed until 10:30. Not an excuse, I know, but I'd like to at least start going while I'm awake and alert. We had such a nice, comfortable church community in Rota, and we were able to get Mia baptized there. I'd really like to get this new baby baptized, and we need to start looking for a church we are comfortable with. Again, wish us luck!

Anyway, that is it for now, and I think it is plenty!

Wishing you all the best in 2010!