This Guy

As our family grows this week, I have to take a moment and be grateful that it's this guy:

It's not by chance that God put him in my life, that God chose him for me to walk side by side with me as a couple, as parents, as friends. God knew I'd need his love, the kind of love that holds you together when the days get long. He's beside me to celebrate life's joys, to grieve when life throws hardships, and to parent in a way that inspires me daily.

I'm so thankful it's this guy!
He shows our little one the magic of flight,

and when I hear him playing and talking with The Sheriff from the other room, I know that it's more than literal. He's showing him how to believe in himself, believe in dreams, and figure out ways to achieve them. 

I know there's nothing this man wouldn't do for the four of us. 

When left with cut up construction paper, a paper plate, and instructions, he helped The Sheriff become his own Simba. 

It takes a real man to wield a bottle of glue with a toddler. 

 I thank God for this guy for being our family's "holder." It's more than just a football he manages to prepare and guard for us daily.

Some Call Him a Sibling

Our Sheriff calls him The Godfather.

Ok, so really he calls him Parrin, and my LA friends and family know all about this title. We were blessed with a quick visit from my little brother, W's Godfather, last week, and it was the perfect pre-baby hangout that we all needed. These two were so fun to watch together. Parrin taught him a thing or two about hiking a football (even soccer players know a little something right?), and we also discovered my little brother's ability to learn on the fly while drawing masterpiece helicopters and airplanes with chalk in the driveway.

From manning their own ice cream shop at the park,

to coming up with their own secret handshake, 

I think it's safe to say that these two will be buddies for life.

Thanks again for coming to visit Big A! (Yes, I can still call you that over the interwebs. I'll always be your big sister!)

Right Now

In about a week our lives will turn the pages, our hearts will grow more than we could have imagined, and we will welcome a new baby into our family. Before we find ourselves in those new moments, I just wanted to take this time to remember where we are, big or small,

RIGHT NOW:

Our household thrives on anything the band fun puts out. Seriously, they have the best afternoon dance party/sing out in the car/put us in perfect mood songs.

My everyday maternity jeans are almost completely worn in the knees and might just rip in the next few days. I take this as a good sign. A) I've been strong and healthy enough this pregnancy to play on the floor with The Sheriff B) Our weather has been great for outdoor activities like chalk runways and plane flying.

My heart seems very content right now. Our family seems very content. I am grateful to be in this place as we prepare to welcome someone new.  I know this peace can only be God's peace. I know that there are friends and family members who have helped to foster this. God placed them in my life, and they answered His call.

W impresses us daily with his silly streaks, intelligence, maturity, (and yes, immaturity--he's still 2.5 after all), and open heart to this whole big brother idea. Granted, he doesn't know the changes headed his way, but he seems to take pride in his upcoming role.

 Check out that super cheese! He's learned to write his own name and could not be prouder.

You don't eat paper leaves while pretending to be characters from The Land Before Time munching on tree stars on Monday afternoons?

Back to RIGHT NOW:

My own emotions range from being so ready to not be pregnant anymore to be incredibly anxious about how our lives will change and what chaos will ensue. End of the road pregnancy aches and pains are affecting me, not to mention the whole lack of fitting into anything!  At the same time, I'm nervous for what's to come. It's like I can't remember not being pregnant.  Thankfully, there's the majority of time that's spent in the middle just being grateful for this gift and waiting with excitement to meet our son or daughter so very soon.

I'm not sure where blogging is headed for me. I question how much our lives I put "out there." I've taken some breaks recently, and it's been nice.  I question my intentions; if I'm not going to shoot for the blog world stars, is there a point to having this little space? And I don't want to achieve mega-blog status. I choose not to spend my time there. Yet, there are posts I look back upon and find myself grateful for their existence. I love having our family's moments captured in words and pictures. I just don't know that these memories need to be online.

My crafting spirit has enjoyed a few weekend days spent with Mod Podge and sponge paint brushes. The nursery's alphabet is complete, minus a few pieces saved in case we need to "girlie" it up a bit.

The Sheriff's room found itself with a few new pieces as well as we oh-so-slowly transition to a big boy room. When he's still in the crib, I can't quite call it a big boy room yet. More to come on those projects.

I feel so loved by friends and family that showered us with love through a surprise, long-distance book baby shower to build W's and Baby's library. I found this idea so thoughtful because it includes big brother with sweet reminders that yes a new baby is coming, but he's an important part of the family that is growing.

RIGHT NOW, I need to savor every breath.  Changes are coming, good changes, but changes nonetheless. I believe we have so many blessings in store, but I don't want these last few days to pass without acknowledging the gifts within each one.

When You Wake Up From a Nap to Crawfish

"Caw, that's a big one!" 

I wonder where he learned that one.

Love this mini Cajun Cowboy (and his Daddy of course)!

Copycat Handprint Valentine Tree for Kids

I love receiving an Oriental Trading catalog in the mail, and not because I'm planning party after party around here. I love glancing through their prepackaged projects and thinking of ways I can recreate them myself for FREE!

I tore out a few Valentine's Day projects, and I thought I'd share one of my favorites before this year's day to spread a little bit of love. If you're stuck inside because of snow up north or rain as we are down here, this is an easy Valentine with which to surprise someone in your family. I made a couple this year, and might make them again next year with better materials for more of a keepsake craft.

Materials:
Green and brown construction paper or cardstock
Red paint
Scissors
Contact paper/laminating paper

 You can see the original project on the clipping on the right. I traced his hand and cut out the prints and tree shapes. Don't worry; that tree trunk was shortened.

The Sheriff took a break from cutting practice to show me how proud he was of his work and then help me glue the pieces of the tree together.

I helped him use his thumbs to create a few hearts on our tree and then let him have at it himself for a bit.

At nap time I printed out the poem below, added it to the tree, and stuck some contact paper around the entire Valentine. Aren't these words perfect for sending to out of town family?!

I'm proud of our copycat finished product. We'll hopefully send it to work with Daddy, and by next year we'll perfect our technique, grab some sturdier materials, and create a little something that can last through the years. 

Because It's Carnival Time...

Well, not really here in The Lone Star State. Sure, the stores carry King Cake; Galveston has its own version of the LA festivities, but I wouldn't quite call it Mardi Gras around these parts. The looks I received wearing a single bead while picking up snacks at the grocery for our toddler Mardi Gras play date were priceless. Come on, people! Just one state over, the store would be flooded with people wearing varying shades of purple, green, and gold.

Because a certain pregnant Momma couldn't drive one state over this year and witness The Sheriff's first real parade going experience, we decided to make our own. Last year we hosted a Mardi Gras play date here at the house with dyed pasta bead making being a main event.

We later held our own one man parade in the backyard.

Combine the fun that this little guy had with the fact that all of the kids in the group are another year older, we decided to head to the park this year for a "parade" of our own!

First up, feeding the ducks...

 And then on to some mask making, apparently very serious business.

You're surprised that this guy's got a helicopter sticker on his aren't you?

I think he wore it best!

Check out a few more members of our krewe!

 The two (and only) ladies stole the show!

Most of us decorated the "floats" beforehand, and the kids were raring to go.

With a hat like that, of course J was the sole choice to lead the parade.

He's quite versatile my friends and soon found himself parade goer begging for beads as well.

We mostly threw beads to (or in some cases at) other kids at the park. Maybe next year we will invite more family or friends and get closer and closer to a legit Mardi Gras Krewe!

He wore that mask on top of his head for two days! I can't wait to get to LA next Mardi Gras!

Super Pregnant

I just had to laugh when one of my favorite bloggers responded to a comment and asked, "Aren't you getting super pregnant?"

Why yes, yes I am. We have approximately 3 weeks until delivery day. Somehow having a month left didn't feel as super pregnant, but upon entering that less-than-a-month zone, I am noticing that super pregnant means:

*Feeling impatient
Call it nesting; call it whatever. I want all of the newborn clothes washed, never mind that they are not really gender neutral outside of the handful of those teeny, tiny shirts that snap on the side. I think it's a boy anyway. I want the nursery complete, and I spend way too much time traveling from room to room picking up here and there. The kitchen should be clean every single night. You never know who might have to come over right? This could go down at any time!

Mostly I'm just ready to have things complete and sit in the quiet and wait for the arrival of a new gift from God. Wait, there's The Sheriff. So I'm ready to hustle around the house after him, flying airplanes and helicopters and wait for the arrival of this new blessing.

Within this rush to get ready, I made a poor nursery decision. Trying to save some money during a time when it seems to be pouring from our pockets, I purchased a glider from a local facebook resale group. I met a stranger in the Target parking lot in the rain on the way to a play date and paid more than I should have for a glider I didn't really have time to inspect. I should have offered less. Perhaps she was willing to part with it as much as I was going to say yes. I'm horrible at that kind of thing. I felt like I put her out and had to purchase. Silly, I know. So I came home with this glider, fine.

I took the cushions last week to get dry cleaned and with excitement went (for the second time since they weren't ready as they should have been the first day) to pick them up. Towards the end of The Sheriff's nap I grabbed the zippered bag they had stuffed them in and took them out to place on the completely wiped down "new" glider in the baby's room.  Whoa! Story stops here. The foam inside of the cushions is balled up and deformed, and I was livid. I still am. As soon as J arrived home from work I took off for this little confrontation with anger balled up inside like those dang cushions. Of course the manager wasn't around on a Friday afternoon, but I will be visiting again this week. It's unacceptable service. First of all, I feel they charged me more than necessary, but if their work was up to par, fine. Second, they handed these to me as if they did do a quality job. Not cool.

At this point I should have purchased a reasonably priced, brand NEW glider.

*Feeling like time is crawling by
With just a few weeks left, I am wavering between the excitement of meeting our baby and feeling like I did early in the pregnancy that there is still a while to go. I know it's going to fly. I better keep that bag packed!

*Getting crafty in the nursery
Before W was born, I made a rag rug for his nursery. It was quite possibly the longest, most tedious craft I've ever taken on. I love it, but it took forever. This time around it's nursery decor similar to this one:

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Darian on Pinterest

I started this weekend but am waiting to do a few letters to add more feminine touches in case this next little one is a girl. Of course I'll post my version once everything is complete. I know J can't wait to hang these babies up!

* Not thinking things through

We went to a ranch birthday party on Saturday. This ensued:

Of course I let J Instagram it, and looking back realized that this picture will surely end up one day on some site devoted to awkward maternity pictures. Hey, we only live once, right? Why not get up on a metal horse while practically 9 month pregnant?! And then put it on your public blog! 

But I did manage to snag a Super Bowl Sunday ICEE in some sort of commemorative cup. I'm hoping this bad boy can be refilled (all with the purpose of saving the planet of course). 

*Doting on Big Brother

He loves being in the baby's room and playing with the swing, bouncer, and other toys while I clean up and clean out. While I  know that there will be periods of adjustment and his world as an only child with Momma's attention will be rocked, I have high hopes for his feelings for the new little guy or gal on the block.

He is often hoping to feel the baby move in the couple minutes I hold him before he gets in bed, but unfortunately, the little one is pretty still during those moments.  When I tell him at other times that the baby is moving and he can come feel it, he doesn't want to. Typical big brother--he'll give the baby attention on his time!

So yes, super pregnant and super excited to see our two children together. I am careful not to ask what he wants, just in case it turns out the opposite, but he tells people he thinks it's a boy. We'll find out sooner than later!