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My pretty girl

I can't believe that Christmas is in 6 days! This holiday season is flying by. It has been a joyful one for our family. After having Dan's parents here for Thanksgiving, we decorated the house, have had our house full of almost daily play dates, we've baked, watched Christmas movies, made lots of fires in our fireplace - it has been so fun making memories with our babies.

We will spend Christmas in Alabama and New Year's at the condo in Panama City Beach, Florida. I did the majority of our shopping online and had gifts sent to my folks' house - so now all we have to worry about is packing a couple of suitcases and hitting the road! I am excited. Noah has asked Santa for a trombone and a Redskins jersey and helmet. Ellyotte will be getting some kitty cat toys and baby dolls; she is ALL girl and I love it!

I hope that your Christmas season is filled with all of Christ's joy and blessing. It is more clear this time of year than any other that the real joy of the season is giving - not receiving. We have found such happiness in our sponsored family this year; they are a precious group of people who literally didn't have one warm coat between the four children. The excitement Noah has had buying gifts for his new friends has been priceless to experience. We have learned that while we may not be able to make a change in everyone's sadness and burdens, doing what we can for even one family has allowed our children to begin to see that it is so much more beneficial to GIVE rather than receive.

I promise to post updates more frequently! This term with Troy was a tasking one - I had a full class and a LOT of papers and essays to grade. But, I submitted my final grades and can rest a little bit before Term 3, 2012 starts. Thus, no excuse not to blog more frequently!

We love Daddy!

Noah found the perfect tree

Merry Christmas!

Learning about Jesus's birth

Lots of warm nights by the fire

Our tree

At a friend's Christmas party

My mini-me

My "Soldiers"

Boys Will Be Boys

What a DAY!

Our (almost) 3 year old, Noah, and I had a long day: he was obsessed with making me his playmate all day. I don't mean at different times throughout the day - I mean, he made me play with him all day. And after a long month of traveling and parenting without the help of Mother's Day Out, one could say that I was moderately exhausted and ready for him to go back to school.

I had just gotten Ellyotte down for a late afternoon nap and was playing on the floor with Noah and his magnetic numbers when he popped up and ran out our back door (which was open because it was a gorgeous day outside). Within 15 seconds, I hear a crash followed by Noah hysterically crying.

He came running inside and was gushing blood from his chin. I didn't know what to do: Ellyotte had begun to scream from her room, Dan was still at work and there was blood everywhere.

Long story short, I called my neighbor Michelle to come keep Ellyotte, I called my friend Season - who is a nurse - to come check out the injury before Dan got home and I got my things together because I knew we'd be heading to the ER!

We waited for about 3 hours before getting a room (crazy Wednesday night in the ER, apparantly...) and Noah was far past his bedtime at that point. The doc came in and told us that he would definitely need stitches and we chose to not put him completely under and do local anesthesia. Good long term option, but terrible for the short term.

They wrapped his little body in a sheet to keep him from hitting, a nurse held his legs, another held his head, the doctor did the stitches and to top off the horror of it all, they covered his face completely with a sheet. He was beside himself. And so were we. The doc looked up mid-stitch to make sure I was okay (I wasn't).

I wanted to claw my skin off with each terrified scream from Noah. He screamed for me, for his daddy, for it to stop and when all else failed, he pulled out his super defiant "Go AWAY!" and yelled it at the doctor. It was so pitiful. When it was over, his little face was swollen and his eyes almost swollen shut from his hysterics.

But, he's home, got some Tylenol in him (and some ice cream) and is finally asleep. He will have his stitches for a week before getting them removed. Boys will definitely be boys... Noah proved that tonight when - after recieving his stitches - he asked if he could be wrapped up like a "burrito" again!

Needless to say, Dan and I each had a stiff drink when we got home and got the sweet little man and his sister to bed :)

Merry Christmas!

36 Weeks

I don't think I can get much bigger! This baby's getting ready - and so am I.

Photos from the Beach!

We just got back from a wonderful 9 day vacation at our condo in Panama City Beach, Florida. We spent the last part of the time in Alabama where I was the speaker at the CHHS Spanish Club Banquet and Honor Society Induction. It went well. It was an honor to be there - what a special night.

We ended the vacation at my parent's home and had so much fun seeing them and letting Noah spend time with Jan Jan, Graddy and Kelly. A vacation following a vactation! My parents were not at the beach with us but did stop by to see us while we were down there. They were so gracious to allow us some alone/family time while using their condo.

Noah is ALMOST swimming on his own! He uses his floaties but it won't be long before we are able to take them off. He's fearless! And he loved the water - the pools at the beach and the Waters and the ocean. He's a beach boy.

I am feeling good. Hitting the 30 week mark this week and starting to wind down in the energy department. Ellyotte is ALL feet these days and halfway through my speech last week, I thought I would pass out: she stretched her feet as hard as possible and since she's head down, they went straight into my lungs! Ugh, not cool.

Enjoy the photos - we had such an amazing time.

All Things Pink

I initially wasn't going to post any pictures of Ellyotte's nursery till closer to the time of her birth. But once I hung the gorgeous ballet shoe painting my girlfriend, Melissa McCord Amos, did for her, I couldn't resist sharing the pictures.

I never, EVER knew that I liked pink till I found out we were having a girl. And while her room doesn't look like it is bathed in Pepto by any stretch, we are in love with the pink and femininity that oozes from her room.

As I said before, the quilt above her bed was made for me when I was born by my mom's side of the family. It is so precious to me to be able to look at that quilt daily now and study each square cross-stitched with love 3 decades ago.

The AWESOME glider/ottoman that my parents bought for us when we had Noah will go in Ellyotte's room. We decided to not recover it (it is currently covered in blue/white gingham) because the same fabric is in the quilt above her crib. So, it actually works and I am thankful. Right now it is still in Noah's big boy room - he may be a big boy in so many ways, but I haven't been able to let go of the habit we have of rocking together at the end of the day! Once we are closer to her arrival, I will move the glider into its rightful place next to the window in Ellyotte's room.

Hard Workers

How hilarious is this!?

Noah is obsessed with his daddy. So everything Dan does, Noah has to mimic. I am not complaining: Noah is turning into one masculine little boy! He is ALL BOY. From football, to baseball and even golf, he wants to play it. And when his daddy's not available to play catch all day, then that duty falls to me.

Today the masculine event was mowing the grass. The boys did the front yard and the back yard. By the end of it, Noah was a sweaty mess - just like his Dad! But he definitely loved being out there with Dan. They are so cute together. I just can't wait to have Ellyotte arrive now so that I will actually have a playmate :)

Nightly Routine

Our nightly routines are so precious to us now that Dan is home and will be for the near future. Noah still goes to bed very early - in fact, he now requests "night, night" if we aren't moving towards his room fast enough.

Noah eats dinner at 5:00 pm and watches "Sesame Street." He usually inhales whatever I put before him because he plays SO hard all day. His favorite foods are brocolli, fresh cucumber, yogurt, string cheese, cheesy scrambled eggs, corn, PB&Js, and chicken. He also devours any kind of fruit. Sure, he will request a popsicle or a cookie from time to time but for the most part, he will choose fresh foods first (not like his mama!).

Bathtime usually starts around 5:45 and lasts a good half hour (if he's in the mood); his daddy usually does his bathtime - he's much more fun! Afterwards, Noah dries off and then he and Dan come sneaking around the corner to whatever room I might be in at the time and do his quiet "Super Baby wrapped in a towel" surprise! I adore that moment of my day - and Noah gets such a kick out of "surprising" me.

We get ready for bed and Noah curls up with his dad and a cup of milk to watch - get this - "Seinfeld" every single night. I am not kidding! I have a mini-me of Dan Beall. Dan can repeat word for word each episode of "Seinfeld" and now Noah asks for and expects to watch it at the end of his day!

Around 6:30 (or whenever their show is over), we get told by Noah that it is time to go "night night" and we all three head to his room. If Dan is lagging behind, Noah will yell "Come on in, Daddy" until Dan gets into his room! He's a bossy lil man :)

Dan and Noah curl up in his big boy bed and read a story - usually Noah's favorite "Kiss, Kiss" or my childhood favorite "A Pig's Tale." While Dan reads to him, I either get his room picked up or rock in our beloved glider that will soon make its way to Ellyotte's room. Once they are finished, Noah will bring me his blanket to "rockie." So Noah will crawl into my lap and we three will say our prayers together - at the end, Noah gives a hearty "AMEN!"


Dan will then say his goodnights and close the door behind him. We have an awesome noise machine that Noah sleeps with along with a Mozart for Babies CD that will play until he's asleep. I will rock Noah for about 5 minutes and then will lay him in his bed. Most nights, he wants me to rock while he gets comfortable - which I do. Then I kiss him again, tell him I love him and leave him for the next 12-13 hours.

Most nights, he will sleep from 6:45 pm - 7:00 am. WONDERFUL! And he will take an hour and a half nap. It took some work getting him used to his big boy room but now, he loves being in it and in his bed. We are very thankful for the amount of quiet time we get together at night and I love knowing that Noah will wake up happy and feeling secure in his room in the morning.

I would trade nothing in this entire world for the nightly routine that we have. It may sound mundane and boring to some people, but my little family thrives on that nighttime ritual and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Easter 2010

He is RISEN indeed! What a wonderful holiday. The whole weekend we spent telling Noah in the basic language what is the meaning of Easter. He loves to point out things in the sky so on Friday, he started pointing to the heavens and saying "God in tha skkkyy." "Jesus in tha skkkyyy with tha airpanes."

What an incredible sensation to hear my 2 year old tell me those things. And what an incredible responsibility we've been given to teach our children about the holiness and love of our Father. It really humbled me to be able to teach Noah - as best as I can at this point - about the significance of the most important 3 days in the history of mankind.

Dan allowed me one last opportunity to dress Noah in a smocking! And I lept at the chance. I think 2 (my opinion only) is the latest one should be allowed to put boys in smockings so I was excited to get to dress him once more as I wanted to. And I think he was adorable! Dan has been warned that Ellyotte - being a girl and a Southerner, at that - will be clothed in smockings and monogrammed outfits from the moment she leaves the womb. He has a lot to get used to, I am afraid!

Ellyotte's Bedding

Here is what we chose for Ellyotte's bedding. I chose the Scalloped Pique bedding in Light Pink. We got it from Pottery Barn kids and I just fell in love with the simplicity of the set.

My mom's side of the family put a quilt together when I was born and it was used in my nursery when I was born in 1979. That same quilt will hang over Ellyotte's crib in her first nursery. Once I am a bit closer to her birth and get things a bit more organized, I will take some pictures of her room to share how it is coming along with you all.

6 Months

As soon as I said "I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by!" things started changing and slowing down for me. Just in the last few days, I have started to feel and look incredibly pregnant. The "glow" only lasts for so long before it is replaced with bloating and discomfort! I noticed my feet were swelling a little at the end of a really long day this past weekend. Ew! But, she's worth it.

By all accounts, I still feel really good. I am sleeping a bit less because she's moving around so much - especially at night - and because we are having some teething and sleep issues with Noah right now. But I try to "sleep when Noah sleeps" as much as possible. Sometimes that means papers that need to be graded add up extraordinarily and laundry doesn't get done right away, but I am trying to take advantage of any and all down time Noah allows me so I can give this new little one - and myself - some time to rest and grow.

I haven't been craving certain things too much. But what I do crave this pregnancy are: Subway sandwiches, pudding cups, SODA (I don't normally drink it but this time around, I am craving Coke and Dr. Pepper), bananas, corn, Eggos with peanut butter, and chocolate milk. Maybe not the healthiest of cravings, but at least I am being honest! And these last few days, my appetite has increased a lot and my tummy is tightening a bit too. I add that up to mean she's having a growth spurt - and my stomach is starting to look like she is as well.

We will have another doctors appointment next week and by my request, we are going to have an extra ultrasound done. We weren't totally happy with the pictures and (short) length of the last one we had so since we'd been given false diagnoses with Noah's feet last time around, the doctor is allowing us to have an extra ultrasound or two to put our mind at ease.

Her nursery is slowly coming together. We bought her bedding and have started collecting pink items here and there. And Noah loves to go into her room and whisper "Shhhh, shhhh, baby sister's sleeping, shhh." It is precious! He's getting really excited and loves to hug my tummy and kiss it. He's gonna be a great big brother.

I think we will schedule the c-section at our next appointment. I will let you know which date we choose!