Finding the One

It is almost impossible to get a good picture of Ryan these days. His "cheese" face is too much.

 And then there is this kid ;)

 On Saturday, we went in search of the Christmas tree.

I like to air on the slightly too tall for our ceiling choice, which always has EJ a little nervous (can you tell what he is thinking?)

 She is perfect. The tree, that is :) (and just barely fit!)

We got our tree at a local florist. It is beautifully decorated for Christmas, had this cute train set and snacks for their customers. We all left happy.

Waiting for 2

I am not only waiting for my daughter, I am also waiting for my niece or nephew! YES, I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT. Can you tell I am just a tad excited?!?!

Next year is going to be a big, busy, full year for our families. What JOY!

We wait and wonder who will be here first ;) My sister is due late May. I love the idea of little girl cousins. Alex has all his toes and fingers crossed it's a boy :) My boys want another boy! Ha.

My sister and I can wait with anticipation together!
We can be first time mom's together (This will not be like the other 3- I can throw my old tricks out the window)
We can talk about nursery decor together.
I can watch her get bigger and bigger and be thankful I am not ;)

I am so thankful that God would bless me with this surprise, while I wait for my little one. I know our wait is going to get harder and feel longer and I am so excited that I have this little spring arrival to look forward too!

Ry Guy

I am enjoying my days with him. It's amazing the volume change when the older 2 leave for school. I feel guilty for the first few minutes b/c I am thankful to see them off. But I recover awfully quickly ;)

 

Mostly I am thankful for this time with Ryan. Soon it won't just be him and me during the school days (I think about that almost daily). And I know his world is going to be rocked. I have had this year (2.5-3.5 yrs) with all three boys at home one on one. I consider it a gift to be treasured. 

Ryan continues to be a busy busy handful. He is going to be quite the force to be reckoned with. Yesterday, my mom and I "lost" him in a dept. store for maybe a minute. A very long minute. He is quick, quiet and sneaky. He got far. Scared the .... out of us! Not him, happy as a clam. He stayed strapped in the stroller after that.

He can destroy things in a second. He is very creative. And not afraid of much. It is very obvious he has older brothers. The things he says... oh my goodness. Probably not too many 2 yr olds say "shake your booty" on a daily basis or has gangnam dance moves ;)

We love him to pieces. I am going to miss his little voice. I am going to miss his silly stories that don't make any sense. And I am dreading the day that he and I can't sit side by side in his nursery rocker (for some reason that has become a measuring tool for me).

I love that he makes me laugh every single day.

He is trying to grow up too quickly. I am doing my best to stop him :)

More Gifts

I just added some new girlie bracelets to my fundraising page. They are made with memory wire and just wrap around the wrist. Same $2.50 shipping applies.

2 sizes are available

The small ones are for 2 yrs and under.

Larger ones almost fit me, definitely 10 yrs and under. 

These sweet hair bows were graciously donated by a friend, who is also in the midst of the adoption of 2! Thanks Elizabeth.

At the Beach

As much as I HATE the drive, it is SO fun to be at the beach for Thanksgiving.

We picked the wrong day to go on the beach. Sat morning before we left, we went to check out the beach. The temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and it was VERY windy.

Still plenty of beach. Pretty amazing, actually.

Most of the damage occurred near where the bay and ocean meet.

This is a 2 lane highway with connecting bridge off in the distance.

Along the inlet