Cupcake!

SO, my beautiful little 10 month old Cupcake decided to melt her Mama's heart tonight and say MAMA!  Clear as a bell and more than once! 

This is after mastering her fun little praying/clapping/army/inch worm crawl over the past week or so! 

Oh, how does one decide to stop having babies in the house?!?!?  How precious is this little one?  Keep on melting Mama's heart baby!

Adoption/Birthday Party!

So my Cupcake is turning one and we are going to finally get to finalize Love Bug's adoption!  Cupcake doesn't turn one until March 19th, but Bug's adoption finalization is on March 9th so we are going to celebrate both in one big party!  I have been having a difficult time trying to figure out how to combine the parties and yet include something special for both of them!  On the way home from our wearhouse shopping trip last night Handsome and I finally got a moment to chat!  I was telling him how I didn't like how the Cupcakes and Ladybug themes were not meshing as well as I would have liked them too and how I love this song called "Blessings" by Laura Story and how it would be fun to turn part of that song into the inspiration for the party.  On both accounts (Cupcake and Love Bug) we spent much time in tearful prayer begging God to grow our family because we knew it was a desire He placed in our hearts!  And Handsome (who is such an amazing man) said we should do a garden theme because there is a quote "What if Your blessings come through raindrops, what if Your healing comes through tears."  He said that would work for a garden theme because of the tear drops from our prayers falling and watering the seed He placed in our hearts for a family.  That has grown into why we are celebrating; celebrating two little precious lives that are forever in our family!  SOOOOO, we are going to do a garden themed party in pale pink, white, green and we will use red and black lady bugs for accents! 

I am really excited about it, finally, something that is okay in my mind to fuse two parties into one!  Love bug will have her own cake that my wonderful Pastor's wife will make and Cupcake will have, wait for it, CUPCAKES!  I am not sure if I am going to try and make them myself or if I am going to have someone else do it...but either way, there will be cupcakes!  But the fact that we can use a song that is very meaningful to me is huge too!  Thank you to everyone that gave input while I was trying to find the 'perfect' party idea!  It will be fun to start putting it together now!  I will leave you with the lyrics to Laura Story's "Blessings" :

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near

And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise

Some happenings....

 First with Miss Cupcake...she will be 10 months on Thursday and has no teeth!  She finally decided that scooting might be a good way to get things as of last night.  It was a very sad and pathetic attempt and scooting 18 inches to get her bottle, but she did accomplish about 10 of the inches by way of scooting and then decided it was easier to turn and roll!  She is such a stinker sometimes!  Though almost always a very good natured baby!  She has moved up to size 6 month or 6-9 month clothes (mostly because baby sister pushed her out of the 3 month ones!) and just moved into size 3 diapers. What an adorable blessing she is to our family!

(The first picture was from early December, she went through a phase where her mouth was almost always open and yet made hardly any sound!  The second picture was from our trip to the middle of our state to meet with our case worker for our monthly home study and she needed a bath, so she decided just to chill out in the hotel sink for a while!)

 And now for Miss Love Bug!  She will be 5 months one week from today.  Hard to believe my baby is getting so old for how tiny she still is.  As of today she has started solid foods...she started with squash and seems to like to very well.  She attacks the spoon as it comes toward her mouth, which makes me think I should have started sooner.  Either way, she is enjoying it!  There are still some Newborn sized outfits she is wearing but she has mostly moved up to the 3 month or 0-3 month sizes.  She is still rocking size 1 diapers though (they pretty much go up to her arm pits, but Newborn diapers just do not hold enough!)  She is starting to grasp at things and bring toys to her mouth, she also is very quick to smile with her entire face and go back to her worried, serious look.  At times you can really get her going and she will make sweet little baby noises for you!  So thankful she is doing so well!  On 12.30.11 she was 9 lbs 11 oz, so not yet 10 lbs!  What an honor it is to be her Mommy!

(Both pictures are taken on random days in December while we were just haning out together!)

One Year Ago Today....

Last Year on November 17th, we had a VERY exciting day! 

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The above crazy lady was doing dances in my belly...as we watched her on the big screen while we discover she was a SHE!  I still remember right after the ultrasound tech. said "it's a GIRL" the first thing I did was look at Princess' face to see what she thought!  She was thrilled and her eyes were all big and her smile was HUGE!  I then, of course, looked to Handsome and he was excited and then Sunshine...he had a very sad face!  What a difference a year will make!  Cupcake started off this 'special' day with a bang...we ended up having to give an early morning bath and start a load of laundry with her crib sheets, PJ's, and blankets because she had waited a few days to mess her pants!  I cannot imagine being more blessed.  Cupcake has been a wild spirit but at the same time a very easy baby!  God has blessed us richly!  I am thankful for that!

Click HERE for my post from November 17th, 2010!!!

Happy 1 Week Birthday Cupcake!

 Last week at this very time I was laying on an operating table as my beautiful Cupcake was being welcomed into the world!  The birth story will come soon, I just have not been able to bring the emotions together to write it yet! 

This week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life.  I love my Princess and my Sunshine, but there is something about having an instant bond with a baby...the kind of bond that just being in my arms sooths her...just gazing into my eyes calms her...and just simply being enough for her makes her happy!  Now those things came eventually with Princess and Sunshine, but with Cupcake the minute Handsome placed her in my arms that was all there already!  I have shed many tears this week over what an amazing gift it has been to experience pregnancy and now having her here is even more amazing! 

Happy one week birthday Cupcake, Mama and Daddy love you so very much ~ you are our miracle baby!

Letter for Cupcake~

My Precious Cupcake, Mama doesn't really know what is all about to happen that will finally bring you into our world, but she is very excited to finally get to hold you in her arms.  We do not know if today will be your birthday or tomorrow, but we do know there are a great number of wonderful people praying for you to join us safely!  Your big brother and sister are very excited to meet you and I think they even have a gift for you when they do! 

Sweetheart, you are a miracle.  Mommy and Daddy were told many time that you would never be...we believed them!  I think back to August 1st 2010, the day that wonderful test had the two lines and remember how much disbelief I was in!  It was a Sunday morning before church and I couldn't even talk to tell your Daddy....all I could do was show him the test and he looked at it and asked what it meant!  It was so hard to believe that after church Mama went to Walgreens in Grandpas convertable and bought a digital test so I could specifically read 'pregnant'!  The next day I begged the receptionist at the doctor to see me right away and we did get in that day. 

There have been scary points in the last 9 months, but alot of happiness and some disbelief!  Mama even now is having a difficult time sitting here thinking about the fact that God is about to bring you into our world!  We have been taking pictures of Mama's belly almost every Sunday since 15 weeks and you have made my belly VERY big!  That is why the doctors decided to induce Mama two weeks early!  But your Daddy and I think that this is right in time!  I remember the first time I felt your tiny little flutter inside me, and have been in awe lately as you don't really kick but more just 'adjust' yourself while making my belly funny shape in the process!

Sweetheart, you are coming into a family that will love you more than you can ever imagine!  We are a special family that God has pieced together in His own way and in His own time!  I cannot wait to see if you look like Mama or if you look like Daddy.   If you really have as chubby of cheeks as it looks like on the ultrasound!  If you have hair or not and all those other things! 

My precious baby girl, I do not know how long we have left until we get to hold you in our arms....but one thing is for sure....when that does happen we will NEVER let you go.  Sweetest Cupcake....we are excited to welcome you into our world and looking forward to the days and weeks and years ahead with you!

With all my love,
Your Mama


Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Mama Thoughts

 Something has hit me over the past 12 hours that I wasn't ready for.  Something that has brought tears to my eyes several times in that short time!  Last night as we were having Princess and Sunshine say their verse and sing to Cupcake one last time before she is born and then we have bedtime prayers with them I couldn't keep my tears away!  All these thoughts started running through my mind, thoughts that I had not even really considered before then.  You see our children are leaving at noon today with our Pastor and family and will be with them until after Cupcake is born (hopefully sometime tomorrow if the induction goes well!)  So the next time we will all be together we will be a family of fine.  Something we are all very excited about, and I believe Princess and Sunshine are very excited too.  But no one knows how bringing Cupcake into our home will effect our 4 year olds! 

I am sure there will be a transition time where things will be less than lovely with attitudes and behaviors...but I am also sure that big brother and sister will love their baby sister VERY much!  But as a Mama you start thinking about things like 'have I used my time with JUST them well enough' 'have I loved them enough that they know I will still love them even with a baby?' and things of that sort.  They just started creeping into my head!  We have had 'extra' kids around most of their lives through the Patch and also foster care, but all of those children end up going home at some point...they do not stick around!  We are still a very spontaneous family...there are times when at the spur of the moment we decide to run out of the house to get ice cream for fun and with a baby you need to be a little more prepared than that.  So things are going to change.

Anyway, just some thoughts on the day before my induction.  The day my big kids will leave my home with people I fully trust to care for them, but the day that they will take a piece of my heart and a life that will no longer be the same with them only to return to an entirely different situation in a matter of 72ish hours.  So I cry, I cry because I am so happy that we are so blessed.  I cry because I am sad that their lives will change (though in a good way, they may not see it as good at first) and I cry because I am still pregnant and that is what pregnant ladies do! 

But I want Princess and Sunshine to know how very much their Mama and Daddy love them...we love them today, we love them tomorrow, and we love them forever....and bringing Cupcake into our home isn't going to change that! 

Thankful Thursday ~ 2.24.11

You are probably getting tired of hearing about how amazing my husband is by now.  But really, I do not know how we would have made it through this pregnancy without his amazingness!

He is so caring and loving and protective of myself and our little Cupcake!  We found out yesterday that I am starting to dialate just a little and that I needed to 'chill out' so he is checking up on me and once again has taken over all household responsibilities.  I basically just run my daycare during the day and rest in the evenings.  Though for how often I get up I am seriously considering going to bed right after work and doing the up and down thing until morning!  Haaha!

He is making sure with the melting snow and then freezing ice that I do not walk without a good grip on his arm and making sure I am eating well to provide enough nutrition for Cupcake.  Tonight even though he has been busy every night this week instead of relaxing he will be hanging up the wall decor for the nursery because this pregnant lady cannot dream of bringing a baby home to an 'unfinished' nursery (and my parents are coming this weekend {as long as they can get through the snow} and I would really like to show off the mostly completed nursery to them!

Anyway, I am thankful for the amazing husband that God has blessed me with.  I do not know why I was so fortunate to be the woman to marry this man....but seriously, I don't deserve how amazing he is. 

I love you Handsome...you are the most AMAZING husband and AWESOME daddy anyone could ask for!

34/36 Weeks!

 14 weeks!

 15 weeks!

 16 weeks!

 17 weeks!

 18 weeks!

 20 weeks!

 22 weeks!

 23 weeks!

 24 weeks!

 25 weeks!

 28 weeks!

 29 weeks!

 30 weeks!

 32 weeks!

33 weeks!

The weeks until we get to meet Cupcake are getting less and less!  What an amazing thought to have!  The weeks listed under the pictures coordinate with our April 2nd due date, but would could be 2 weeks farther along than that so that is why the post title says '34/36 weeks!'  We are trying to be patient in waiting for her arrival, but it is getting more and more difficult!  Just cannot wait to see our chubby little Cupcake!

Our Cupcake!

 We were able to have another look at Cupcake on Valentines day to see if she was still measuring ahead...she was!  She is beautiful!  We cannot wait to meet her!

 The ultrasound tech. said she could see hair on her head and that she is 'plump!'  I can clearly see she has chubby cheeks!  So basically we could have a baby any time or we could have another month left to go!  We are on pins and needles waiting to meet her!

February 2011

Happy February! 

*This month is the first of 3 that our daughter COULD be born (since we do not really know our due date!)
*This month Handsome and I will celebrate 8 1/2 years of married life!
*This month holds VALENTINES DAY (a big thing in my book!)
*This month will start off very cold, but we could also see some nice temps too!
*This month holds no negative memories for me! 
*This month will be a good one!