waiting yet savoring the time

D-day is coming; this Thursday's the day! I have such a mixture of feelings as we wait for the baby to come. I'm ready to hold her yet savoring the last moments we have as a family of 3. And I'm trying to remember what in the world I ever did with a newborn. Somehow those first few days with Grace are a little foggy now! Before we get very focused with baby #2 on this blog, I feel the need to journal a few things about Grace. The 2's have been more challenging than I ever imagined, but I can honestly say we've had more fun with Grace in the last few weeks than ever before. These have been such happy days lately, and she just makes us laugh with what comes out of her mouth! She's grown up a bit in the last 2 months. I know toddlers have their ups and downs, but I'm willing and ready for the 3's coming in a few months. I love to watch her learn. She talks almost non-stop while she's awake: telling stories, pretending, coming up with toddler jokes, and basically verbally-processing everything we do. She's fascinated with letters right now and picks them out wherever we go. One of my favorite things right now is to hear her pray at night. And she's extremely excited to be a big sister. I hope it lasts once the baby's here. Here are just a few hodge-podge of pictures from the last month. On one of our warmer days, Daddy and Grace went on another date. She always comes back from these times very excited about their adventures! Here's Grace and her good buddy Carter reading books in his room.

She loves pajamas and/or nightgowns right now. At times I put her down for nap in her regular clothes, but when she wakes up she walks out wearing pajamas.

And on one of the colder days last month, we stayed inside and let her dress up in various outfits. Note the bright orange skirt underneath her dress. We put on coke boxes and chased each other playing "robot." It's fun to pretend with a toddler!

Next time, I hope to post some pictures of our two girls together!

baby shower

Well, I'm feeling really blessed this evening by the fun shower my dear Kristen and her momma Peggy threw for us today. Thank you ladies for making this happen! Kristen's house looked beautiful, and even though she's had an extremely busy week, everything was perfect. Being in transition and getting ready to move back to Asia creates some interesting nesting challenges, but I've been amazed at how God's provided everything (and more) that we need even during this interim time with baby girl. Thanks to my sister Angela and friends Kristen and Summer, I've been loaned maternity clothes, baby clothes, a car seat, stroller, baby bath and even a swing to use in these months before we head back. Talk about provisions! And today was definitely the icing on the cake. It seems like baby girl clothes are getting even cuter than they were a few years ago when Grace was born. Some of my mom's co-workers stopped by today. They gave my mom a thoughtful gift of an hour with photographer Cassandra so my girls can have pictures made with Granna and Papa Jim!

Cuties Katelyn and Haley were dressed alike today...they have a baby brother coming in a few weeks, too!

my sweet Aunt Carolyn

These two girls (and yes, I think we're still girls) were both in my wedding. Kristen's baby Evyn was born in October and Kristin M. (on the right) gave birth to twin boys 6 weeks ago! It was a real treat to get to see Kristin M. for the first time in nearly 5 years!

My wonderful hostesses, Peggy and Kristen, and the amazing wonder-baby Evyn. Really, she's the most laid-back baby I've ever met. And, I will admit, we're praying for a laid-back baby this go-around too!

My mom - I have no idea what I'd do without her

Mom and Michelle

Here's Rendi and her cutie McKenna. Rendi went to HSU and lived on my hall when I was an RA, and a few months ago we met again at church! Such a small world!

When we got home, Grace was fascinated by all of baby sister's new things. She snagged a few gifts today, too, from thoughtful folks. We'll save a few to give to her at the hospital. Last night I was hugging Grace and she looked at my belly and said, "That baby sure is getting big." My sentiments exactly, big sister.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's weekend has turned out quite memorable this year. Friday night the church had a Parents' Night Out, so Kevin and I went on a date to a fancy restaurant. What a treat! I have to say that between the grandparents and our local church, I'm getting very spoiled with childcare. This weekend has also been fun because my brother's kids Max, Anna Kate, and Jake are in town. Chad and Erin are on a business trip, so Granna and Papa Jim are taking care of them until Monday when they will go visit Erin's parents for a few days. Grace is having an absolute BLAST with her cousins. Also, my first cousins Michele and Laura flew into town this weekend, so Granna planned a big family Valentine's party. I have gone a little picture-happy as you can see below. Here we are getting ready to take Grace to Parents' Night Out... Grace has been very affectionate with us this week. Maybe somehow she knows life's about to change for her! pretend pouty-face

And, I had a funny (ok, I thought it was an odd) conversation with my doctor this week in which he encouraged me to document my belly more in pictures. He said most women are glad they did. The belly is getting enormous. It's running into things. Stares and comments abound these days. I can't believe baby girl will be here in less than 20 days!

My two valentines

Here are the kiddos ready to eat lunch so they can get on with the Valentine's party!!

But before that, we had to have some tickle-fighting

and piggy-back riding

Granna and Max with one of his gifts

Grace was thrilled to get a Dora crown

Jake had fun at the table with his new toy, too. You should see this 2 year old on a razor scooter; he's amazing!

Pretty ladies Laura, Granna, Aunt Carolyn, and Gram

Anna Kate was excited to help Granna make the Valentine's cupcakes last night

cousin Michele, Grace, Anna Kate, and cousin Laura at the party

There was lots of activity to behold today! A great time was had by all.

On the mend

Last week we had the privilege of having Pappaw, Nana, and Aunt Kimberly come see us. Unfortunately, while they were here Grace got very sick with what the doctor called bad bronchitis/early-stage pneumonia. So, as a reward for traveling all the way across Texas they got the chance to spend quite a bit of time with a sick, puny, cranky toddler. Thankfully, they are family and have to put up with us anyway. :) But there was a little time for fun bubble-blowing before Grace got sick... And while she was on the mend, Aunt Kimberly was kind enough to crawl around with Grace on the floor and pretend to be various animals. One of Grace's favorite things to do these days is to hide, and to make people hide WITH her. She doesn't necessarily want to be found, just hide. So, we played along with her game. Some days, even when Kevin is gone, Grace and I hide under the covers and have nice, lengthy conversations. She doesn't seem to mind that no one is really looking for her. (Oops, these pictures are a little out of order but you get the idea!) And here's Grace getting a breathing treatment with her new favorite toy, the nebulizer. We are thankful to have this machine when we head back to East Asia for any future breathing incidents! It's a scary thing when your kid can't breathe well in the middle of the night!

Happy Year of the Ox!

Today we're thinking about all our friends on the east side. January 26 is Chinese New Year on the lunar calendar! Happy New Year! This current lunar year is the Year of the Ox, or Bull, however you want to say it. It's difficult to convey what an important holiday this is to the Chinese world. It's HUGE: the biggest, grandest holiday of the year for them, celebrated with family, food, fireworks, and gifts of red envelopes of money. Makes me crave authentic Chinese food!

getting excited

I think it's finally starting to sink in that we're having another bambino. For the longest time, March seemed like a far-off date. Not so much anymore. Looks like this baby girl will be born March 5, if not before. Only 39 days left! I'm excited to know that Grace absolutely adores little babies right now, although I'm sure she will have quite an adjustment not being the only child...I'm forseeing some major jealousy in the days ahead! But, for now, she loves to kiss my belly and talk to baby sister. When she sees the baby move, she pulls her shirt up and makes her belly move and says, "look mommy, my baby's moving too." Tonight she was "tickling" baby sister and holding her hand on my tummy. She looked up and me with sincerity and said, "Mommy, can you take her out?" It's fun to watch her little brain try to process this. We're attempting potty training, but thus far we've only had lots of sit-time and not much action. Hmmm, I've been reading up on potty training and am learning there are as many different potty-training philosophies as there are experts.

the zoo and other fun

In late December, after we discovered we wouldn't be boarding a cruise ship, we decided to make our way back from south Texas to west Texas via our old stomping grounds of Ft. Worth. One of our favorite things to do during grad school days was to visit the zoo. Yes, back in the day we 2 grown adults (with no kids at the time) bought a one-year zoo membership. But, the FTW zoo is not just ANY zoo, it's now considered one of the top 5 zoos in the nation. It's spectacular. Our 4 years in Ft. Worth hold many special memories but were also bittersweet because it was during those years we were waiting and praying for a baby. I remember going to the FTW zoo on many occasions and having waves of sadness back then, because all I saw were mommies with their kiddos. Maybe that's one of the reasons Kevin and I had so much fun when we took Grace a few weeks ago...it was a reminder of God's faithfulness to answer our years of prayers. It also helped that Grace was on her best behavior that day, the weather was glorious, and we had no time crunches. It was just one of those fun family days. Grace loved the animals, but perhaps her favorite part was getting to ride in this stroller we rented. She insisted on buckling in every time she sat down!

Grace loved the giraffes, but later in the day she said her favorite animal was the "ham and cheese." It took me a while to realize she was trying to say "chimpanzees!"

Checking out the lions with Dad

Later that evening, we ventured to another of our favorite Ft. Worth stops: downtown! We used to go there on dates almost every weekend. Our favorite dessert at our favorite restaurant was Uno's pizzeria's peanut butter cup. It's so rich I don't think we've ever totally finished one between the 2 of us. But it's sooo good.

The Christmas decorations were still up and very beautiful.

And the best treat was getting to see our dear friends Daniel, Tiffany, and Claire the next day. This sweet family of 3 also lives overseas and happened to be in the US for a few weeks. Grace and Claire really hit it off, and I know they would be best buds if they didn't live on different continents!

D, T, and C--it was wonderful to see you!