Maybe Not So Soon

I was on the phone this morning with Allan when he checked out my blog. He saw the new ticker for Jacob and said he thought we were on the home stretch of this pregnancy, but 140 days seems really long. I see his point. Time seems to be flying by and we feel so much more organized with this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Claire we moved twice between finding out I was pregnant and her arrival. We didn't have a nursery set up for her until about a month before she arrived. I am still four months out and Baby Jacob already has bedding on his bed (I will share pictures soon). I do feel like he is almost here, but not so much. I am loving making the most out of my time with just Claire, but I am also getting more and more excited about holding my little guy in 140 days or less.

Thankful

I have to give a huge bloggy shout out to my mother-in-law, Gig, although she will probably never see it. I think you should all know just how blessed I am. She was just here for ten days and holy toledo was I blessed by her. She is always so generous with her time and thoughtfulness when she comes to visit. She is fantastic Mimi to Claire and Claire loves getting one on one time with her.

This trip imparticular was so great. I have mentioned before that this pregnancy has been a bit rough, especially the back pain I have had. Gig stepped up to the plate big time. She gave Claire her baths, went grocery shopping for us, helped me organize closets, my kitchen cabinets and our office. She helped get a few things together for the baby and rearranged his room. She was constantly straightening the kitchen and helping pick up Claire's toys. She even cooked dinner for us one night. When she saw me picking anything up she was on her feet taking it out of my hands. It was so nice to have someone that wanted to take care of me and make life easier.

Gig, if you ever read this...thank you so much for EVERYTHING! We are so blessed to have you in our lives as a Mimi, Mom, and Mother-in-Law!!

What We Have Been Up To- A HUGE Photo Update

Our ten days of company started with Allan's parents and his sister and her two daughters, Charlotte and Caroline. Claire had such a fantastic time playing with her cousins. This was their first time to get one on one time with each other and there was a lot of laughter, squealing, chasing and dressing up.

Allan and his mom, Gig, love making popcorn. They will not eat the microwave stuff. It is kind of funny to me. They are passing on their love of homemade popcorn to Claire. They let her help with our new popcorn maker one night.

The morning we found out that Jacob was on his way was really special. We asked our parents to join us for the sonogram. We had to have a little photo shoot after we saw our little man in action. Claire took the news that a "baby brutter" was on the way. It was so nice to have my parents drive in for the day.Allan's parents were excited to find out that the Kavalich name will live on with their new grandson.

After the sonogram we all headed out to lunch. Claire had requested a cupcake party for her baby so we made them the night before and then brought pink and blue sprinkles to decorate with once we knew who was in my tummy. Allan had fun helping her with the blue sprinkles.


Later that evening we just had a low key night in the back yard. Amy, Cooper, and Jack stopped by for a little bit. Claire got a big sister card from her Poppie and Gibbie and loved the picture on the front. She said that the picture on the front was her and Baby Jacob. She carried it around for a full day, even took a nap with it.



Allan and Gig brought home these beautiful roses and It's a Boy balloon. It is fun to have little reminders around the house of our little guy.



Amazingly Baby Jacob knew how much his big sister loves puzzles and princesses and gave her one just to let her know how excited he is about her being his big sister.



Claire has been really into being a princess recently. She likes to dress up like one, dance with her prince (aka daddy), and sing the bippity boppity boo song with her wand swinging wildly.




Claire's favorite game is Ring Around The Rosies. She will get anyone who sits still for longer than a few minutes to play with her. Allan, Claire, and her Papa played over and over and over.They all fell down

I have mentioned before that Claire has a very active relationship with Baby Jacob. He tickles her, she sings to him, and last night he told her he had a big boo boo. She quickly brought him a toy to make him feel better and bandaged him up as best she could- so sweet and so funny!

Another funny thing Claire recently said out of the clear blue- "Mommy when your baby falls out I want to catch it."

Claire holding Baby Jacob's hand for a picture before we headed out to dinner last night.

We had a farewell/celebration dinner last night at Reata in Ft Worth. It was delicious and I was so proud of how Claire acted. She sat at the table the whole time doing crafts and reading a book with her Mimi.

Allan and Gig had a few gifts for our new little guy. They gave him the Noah's Ark Halcyon Days box that they give to all of their grandchildren in utero. It is such a special tradition and we love it.
Papa gave his grandson a small collection of golf clothes. I know that these two men are looking forward to taking him out on the links one day.
Mimi gave her grandson some outfits that reminded her of when Allan was a baby. They are cute little baseball clothes.
I love this mother/son picture! I look forward to taking a lot of these with my son in the near future.

We finished out the in laws big trip to Texas in style...stick horses in Ft Worth. Claire ended up bringing the black one home with her and named it Appaloosa Crystal.

Here HE Is

Introducing our SON, Jacob Allan! Our little man was a bit modest at first but after some coercing he finally showed us his business (see picture below). We are really excited. I have thought from the beginning that this was a little boy, but for some reason I still feel a little shocked. It was fun to share the experience with both sets of our parents and of course Claire. She was not as interested as I thought she would be and handled the news of a brother better than I thought she would. I will share more about the day later.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll Love You Tomorrow...

It's only a day away!

We have an appointment at 10:20am tomorrow and (hopefully) the mystery will be solved. Will I be filling a nursery with airplanes or flowers? Who is this little one in my tummy? I am getting really excited and a little nervous. I mean once this baby has a name, a true identity, it is real. I know that it has been real for nineteen weeks, but my heart will fall even more deeply in love tomorrow.

My parents and Allan's parents are coming with us to the appointment. We are going to go have lunch afterwards and Claire has specifically requested a "baby cupcake party" which we will absolutely do. I know I have said it before, but Claire's excitement for this little one is like nothing I have ever seen with someone so young.

I will definitely be posting the results of the sonogram tomorrow as soon as I can. This is such an exciting time for me and my little family.

On Their Way

When we found out that we were expecting this second kiddo we decided that we would ask both sets of our parents to come into town for the sonogram where we found out what we are having. As the time came closer my in-laws, Allan and Gig, decided to make their trip a little longer than just a weekend. They arrive today and will be here until the 26th. We are really looking forward to all the time we get to spend with them. We are also excited that Allan's sister, Elizabeth, and her daughters will be coming into town for a few days as well. I will have to find time to update throughout their visit. Claire is just about beside herself that her Mimi and Papa are coming to see her after her nap this afternoon.

Another Great Post

Hey there Mamas, I know most of you feel overwhelmed with being a mom some (most) of the time and I read a fantastic post today over at My Charming Kids. I hope that you will click over there, if you have not already, and read a little reality. The title of the post is "Down With Mother's Guilt". Isn't that a great title?

A Little Life Catch Up

Claire and I ringing in the New Year at our friends house. She felt so big staying up to watch the ball drop and getting a pretty (plastic) fancy glass to sip sparkling cider out of. She was a champ all night and would have stayed up even later if Allan and I weren't so tired.

The other day Claire asked to do crafts all by herself. Allan got her set up at the table and when she finished she said "I made a picture for the baby". This is the baby's first piece of art and it is a true masterpiece. I could not believe that she did this without any prompting. I love her love for this little one in my tummy.

This is where you can find Claire most evenings. She has my shirt pulled up and is laying her head on my tummy. She says the baby likes to tickle her and hear her sing. I think that she is right.

We are fixing to try the Potty Training in a Day thing with Claire. We went to the store and bought most of the supplies the other day. She picked out her princess potty seat and princess panties. She was so proud of them. She has carried the panties around for a few days and will line them up on the floor and admire each and every pair. I can't believe that we are going to start this adventure, time is flying by. I will let you know how it goes once we find a day to get it done, hopefully in the VERY near future.

How Did This Happen?

The picture above is of my family in January of 2005. Allan and I had just gotten married and my family came out to CA for a reception we were having out there and to help us get settled in to our new home. It is amazing that in just four years we have grown from a family of twelve (with two in the tummy) to a family of eighteen (with one in the tummy). I love that we have a big family and that we are not finished growing. I just LOVE these people with my whole heart.

4 Years

I have been married to Allan for four years today and I am thrilled to say that I can not imagine a better man in the world to share this journey with.

Allan and I had so much fun through our dating years and our first year of marriage. We didn't have a care in the world and did as we pleased. It is easy in times like that to say that life is wonderful and not imagine why anyone would say that relationships are hard and that you have to work to make them last.

Life is still wonderful, but not as easy as we once knew. There have been job changes, moves, and babies. There have been minor trials, but we have stood strong. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it is to be in a relationship with a man that is committed to our marriage in every way. He has been my rock when things felt shaky for me emotionally. When I have been totally overwhelmed with life as a stay at home mom it has been a true comfort to have Allan by my side. I have never had to worry, not even once, that he was growing too tired of my whining or bad moods and might back out of this deal we made four years ago. I am so blessed. I am honored to be married to a man that is helpful around the house and with our sweet daughter. He really is perfect for me.

I feel like my love for Allan is different than it was a few years ago. It is not all sappy rainbows and skipping through daisies everyday, it is more. It is deeper than anything I could have ever imagined. When I think about what FOREVER means my heart kind of speeds up. It is so exciting to know that I get to have FOREVER with Allan. I get to be with a man that respects me, loves me, makes me laugh, makes me feel at ease, is committed to me and the family we are growing. I get to share life with the man of my dreams until death parts us. I am in love a deeper love than I could have hoped for, a love that I didn't know existed, a love that changes with life but never waivers. I have my prince charming.

Happy 4th Anniversary Sweet Man! I am FOREVER yours!!

My Boyfriend

Allan and I have been dating for six and a half years today. I knew that I was in love with him just a couple of months after we decided to try out the exclusively dating long distance thing on July 7, 2002. I have had some of the best times in my life since Allan became my boyfriend. I love you Sweet Man! Thank you for sticking with me.

Tomorrow is our four year marriage anniversary so I will save some sappiness for then.

"HELP!!!" (and they did)

So if you have known me for any length of time (especially since becoming a mom) you know that I can get a bit overwhelmed with my life as a house wife/stay at home mom. I just don't have it all figured out yet and from what I hear I probably never will...how encouraging. I think that I will just have to adapt. Anyway, since becoming pregnant this time around I have felt like a sinking ship when it comes to getting my house under control. The clutter was building, the piles of paper and laundry seemed to almost reach the ceilings (that is a bit of an exageration FYI), shelves aren't dusted, and floors aren't clean. Besides feeling like puking for a few months I have had some pretty severe back issues that have kept me on the couch on a heating pad most days and on the days that I would get stubborn and work around here I couldn't walk by the evening. I am not meaning to complain I am just setting the stage for what came next.

I started getting more and more frustrated as I watched my house fall apart and Allan was as gracious as he could be, but he wasn't loving coming home everyday from working outside the home and having to totally take care of everything around here. I wallowed a few days in self pity because I really needed help and nobody was helping me (besides Allan). Then it hit me, nobody even knew I really needed help so I couldn't really blame them for not being here for me. I decided to suck up my pride and ask my mom to please come and help me straighten up around here. At first it didn't look like it was going to work out and that was a huge bummer; then what do you know she and my dad found a time to make it up here and save me from clutter and self pity all in about 24 hours.
New Year's Day I got a call saying they were heading up here and wanted to help me around the house. My dad was a lifesaver in entertaining Claire for hours and my mom just went to work and didn't expect me to be by her side the entire time, she didn't even mind when I needed a break after only helping for a little bit. She put away a box of Claire's clothes that had been sitting in her closet for a few weeks, organized the playroom, cleaned the kitchen and my back porch, and just straightened up any of the other messes she could get her hands on.
Tonight my sister Sara, who is kind of known for swooping in and saving her sisters in their time of need, is coming and asked me to just do all my laundry and leave it for her to fold and put away. She said that anything else she saw that needed attention she would take care of too. I am blessed! I have cried tears of thankfulness for my family who takes care of me and the things that I should be able to take care of on my own but just can't at the moment.

One other side note: Allan gave me a house cleaning for Mother's Day, that is right I said MOTHER'S DAY and every time I tried to set something up it fell through for one reason or another and I had almost given up on cashing in this gift. A few days ago a family friend that reconnected with the "Selke Family" said that she is starting to clean houses and is coming on Monday to clean my house for a very reasonable price. Another answer to prayer for me.

One day I will have it more together (whatever that means) and I will figure out a way to repay the people that have bent over backwards to make my life easier and hold my arms up when I feel like I am drowning. Thank you Allan for being supportive, Mom and Dad for generously giving your time to take care of your babydoll, and Sara for always being there for me. My life would be a wreck without all of you, really! I love you!!!!