37 year old husband

Yes, you read that correctly.  My man turns 37 today.  Late thirties.  Almost 40.  37.  I like to tease him about being old because I'm still in my twenties but in actuality, I absolutely love how old he is.  I love that there is an 8 year gap between us.  I love that he lived on his own for quite some time before we got married.  I love that he is wise.  I love him.

Daniel- you are an amazing husband.  Someone asked me the other day why I married you and I just stopped and smiled.  There are so many reasons.  Stability.  Kindness.  Gentleness.  An appreciation for me and all that I offer.  A love for God and knowing Him more.  A love for others and serving them well.  Your ability to sing and play guitar.  The way you look.  (Is that shallow?!)  You desire to keep learning.  Your want for a family.

I hope this year you realize how loved you are and know that no matter what, I'm here for you.  And so are your daughters.  And I'm pretty sure you son is going to be crazy about you too.

Here's to many more birthday celebrations babe.

gender reveal

So.  We know the gender of baby love.  And I couldn't be happier!

We were definitely not planning on finding out right away but I've been feeling more and more lately like this is our last.  So, with that and the fact that I'd love for the girls to be able to call this baby their "baby brother"or "baby sister" we decided to have the results put in an envelope so we could find out someway special.  Also, I've been feeling like this is a little man since the beginning and I really wanted to know if that was right or not.  So, we had our u/s on Friday and had the technician write it down.  I left with the girls then and my man went to work.  I took the envelope out when we got to our destination and I held it up to the light to make sure that it was really covered.  Needless to say, it wasn't.  I freaked out!  I called Dan right away and told him that I now knew and that I didn't know what to do.  He laughed.  Best reaction ever.  I was sick to my stomach.  And he laughed.  Just what I needed. 

I wanted to find out someway special.  Like when we're in Costa Rica in two weeks.  Or out at a restaurant on a romantic date.  Or with the girls by opening something preplanned.  But instead I found out by looking at the picture.  Alone.  It wasn't the least bit anti-climatic but it was surreal.  Did I really see what I thought I saw?  

I still wanted my man to find out in a special way so I took the girls shopping and we bought two outfits (I didn't want them to know already but looking back they were not paying attention at all and I could have totally bought the correct one right away) and two pairs of sandals.  I had thought all along that if we did find out we might be able to use the fact that we met camping, fell in love camping, and have continued to camp throughout our marriage as a personal touch.  

And then I went to lunch with most of my immediate family and had to lie to them.  It slipped at one point in front of my mother and older brother but I tried to recover quickly.  I did the best I could to keep my poker face and not react.

And then I had a play date with a friend.  And upon seeing each other she quickly said, "I just had this funny feeling that God told me you're having a boy".  To which I could say nothing because I really wanted Daniel to hear first.  

I wrapped up the present that was correct after checking to confirm what I head read and waiting very impatiently for my man to come home.  

Once he did we sat out on the porch and I filmed his reaction.  

And I cried.  A lot.  I heard very clearly from God about a month ago that He was preparing my heart for a son but I didn't want to believe it.  This is a longing I've carried through two full pregnancies.  Don't get me wrong.  I adore Greta and Audrey.  I am so very grateful to be raising sisters, something I never biologically got to experience myself.  I'm also more than grateful for who they are.  But a son is different.  Completely.  And if we really are "done" then I would love to get to experience this.  

And so, once again, we feel blessed.  I feel so fortunate to be able to get pregnant.  And I feel so fortunate that I now get to fall in love with a little man.  Thank you for your continued prayers. 

halfway comparison shots

 I'm 19.5 weeks now with Baby Love and feeling great.  But smaller than I can remember with the girls.  So I did a little comparison shot to see if I'm right.  You be the judge.

19 weeks with Greta Elise, my firstborn.

20 weeks with Audrey Louise, my second.

19.5 weeks with Baby Love.

And the three pieced together. 

When I see these three photos put together it confirms for me the thoughts I have been having about feeling like I look so much different with this baby then the previous two pregnancies.  Oh my word.  Maybe this is a boy?

18 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along: 18.5 weeks (Sunday is my turnover day)

How big is baby: 5 1/2" long and 7 ounces! About the size of a bell pepper!

Weight gain: I'm guessing 5 lbs? I kind of don't care.  I mean- it's good to know if I'm gaining too much or too little but I just feel normal with a bump :)

Standing behing my latest food creation! Almond Kringlers

Stretch marks: no news ones :) I have plenty from the girls!

Sleep: I'm loving the second trimester so far!  I sleep great at night and still take a nap almost every day with the girls.  It's glorious!

Definitely getting up there in the bump department!

Cravings/Aversions: I think about spicy food all the time.  Yup.  All the time.  It can't get hot enough.

Movement: I feel the baby all the time now!  Nothing from the outside yet but I know my placenta is on the back of my uterus so my man and the girls should be able to feel the baby soon!

What I'm loving: Sunshine.  Plain and simple.

Symptoms: A little touch of heartburn here and there but nothing really to write home about.

What I'm looking forward to: Springtime with my ladies and walks! And transitioning Audrey Lou to a big girl bed!!

Best moment of the week: Just now I've been working on the computer for a bit and I can feel the baby doing all sorts of crazy movements.  I love that sweet time when no one else knows about this little one besides me and the people I share with.  So precious.

How I'm feeling: Awesome!  Ready for a fun but busy weekend with my family.  Going to attempt to start social media free weekends.  Not sure if this is the weekend for it or not but I'll go without blogging, Instagram (which I'm on by the way but private.  Look me up! ) and any other forms like Pinterest (unless it's for a meal- but no scrolling!).

Prayer Requests: I'm starting a new section here- I'd love some prayer for a bachelorette party I'm throwing this weekend.  I don't know most of the girls coming and I'm attempting to keep it quite clean but it's always a tricky thing to plan when you're a believer and the others coming may or may not be.  Want to honor God first and foremost, know what I mean? That's it! Enjoy this beautiful day if you haven't had a chance yet!

Movie Monday

Yes.  I realize that it's Wednesday.  But I had a fabulous idea this Monday to start posting videos on the blog from our weekend and then I ran out of time.

Family of 5!

So, here's a video from this weekend.  My man and I took the girls on an impromptu trip to the Mall of America for some rides and dinner.  It was nice to not have to cook however, we soon realized upon parking that we were going to one of the busiest places in the world on a Saturday night in Minnesota when it was really cold out.  It was busy.  But we still had a blast!

For one reason or another I can't load the video.  Sorry.  I'll try again as soon as I have another chance!

16 week pregnancy update

I was terrible about updating during my pregnancies with the girls so this time around I'm going to attempt to be better at it.  A lot of my friends use this little list of questions to answer each time and I think it's a fun way to watch the progress!

So here goes:

How far along: 16.5 weeks

How big is baby: 4 1/2" long and 3 1/2 ounces already! About the size of an avocado!

Weight gain: I have no idea!  I'm guessing 5 lbs?

Stretch marks: no news ones :) I have plenty from the girls!

Sleep: I'm loving the second trimester so far!  I sleep great at night and still take a nap almost every day with the girls.  It's glorious!

Cravings/Aversions: I think about spicy food all the time.  Yesterday I had a Charley's sub with tons of jalapeños and banana peppers on it and it was awesome! Nothing really sounds gross now though.

Movement: I'm hesitant to say that what I'm feeling is the baby and not gas but I think it's just starting!

What I'm loving: The snow has forced us to stay tucked inside and I really don't mind it.  Time to bake and sew and play with the girls.

Symptoms: After a fairly eventful first trimester I'm doing great.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  My gums bleed when I brush them but that's about it.

What I'm looking forward to: Popping!  I'm so ready to start showing.  I think this baby just likes hiding because most days it's really hard to tell I'm pregnant.

Best moment of the week: I love to read to the girls and they are just getting used to sitting for longer periods of time so we're starting chapter books.  Right now we're reading Charlotte's Web and they love it.  Today though, we hit a few pages in a row without any pictures and rather than complain Greta just started staring at me.  Literally staring.  When I asked her what she was doing she just said, "Oh, I'm watching your mouth read!".  It was really sweet.

How I'm feeling: Great! Ready for the snow to melt so we can start playing outside! Ready for walks and all the good things that come playing at the park!

Number 3

We're pregnant again!
And we couldn't be more excited!

Dan and I started talking about adding another member to our family towards the end of 2012 and by mid January we were no longer talking about it and were simply realizing it.

I love when the verse for the day lines up with my heart. 

We found out on January 12th that another little lamb will be joining our family.

Of course I told my man via text message.
He was downstairs with the girls and I couldn't tell them yet.  

Our official due date is September 22nd but with my track record I changed it to September 29th and honestly am planning another early October birth.

Audrey's immediate reaction!

We plan to have this baby at home again, with the same midwives, and are so excited to experience it again!

Here is Dan's drawing to help explain it to the girls.
Audrey and Greta both had p.j's on at the time with animals on them, hence the little drawings on them. 

We, as of right now, are not finding out the gender.  Dan really wants to be surprised!

On Valentine's day we got to see Baby Love's heartbeat! 

The girls are really excited to be big sisters!  Greta thinks it's going to be another girl and Audrey says, most days, that it's a boy!  Either way we feel blessed!