The protectors

The little princess at four months old, and her protectors. Just look at those chubby little legs!

Olivia, three months

We're spending this week in Holland seeing the tulips. I'll share some lovely photos next week, for now you can enjoy these chubby little cheeks!

Simple things Sunday

We're spending this weekend skiing in Garmisch but I wanted to share a few favorite moments from last week. My baby girl is now six weeks old, and getting so big! She is sleeping 6-7 hours at night and is cooing and smiling all day long. She's such a blessing to our family!

Olivia's Blessing Day

We brought Olivia to church today for the first time to receive her name and blessing. It was such a special occasion and I felt of what a precious angel she is and of her great potential. She looked so adorable in her little dress (and even waited until after the blessing to leak through the onesie and diaper all over her back). 

Olivia's first week

Olivia was a week old yesterday! She is such a little angel and it's so cute to see the boys with her. They huddle together and stare down at her telling her how cute she is. Ethan always wants to hold and comfort her and Joshua is always writing notes that say "Olivia I love you so so so much". They are much more gentle with her than I anticipated, even Grant adores her. Such a different scenario! I'm used to bringing a new baby home to other babies who just don't understand.

What's in a Name?

My least favorite thing about preparing for a new little one is picking out a name. I wish babies came with their name tattooed on their foot. For some this may be the most favorite part, but for me it's a unique form of torture. I'm responsible for choosing a name which this child will be stuck with for the rest of his or her life for better or worse. And some parents can be downright cruel in their naming choices. If you want a good laugh (or cry) check out this site of some of the craziest baby names ever chosen.

Baby Olivia

We welcomed little Olivia Abigail into the world on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 8:31am in Landstuhl, Germany! She weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.

Any day now...please!

I'm finally full term and hoping this baby won't make me wait an extra two weeks past my due date like my boys did! This is the first pregnancy my belly button has almost popped out, it's stretched to the limit and I hate to think what the poor thing will look like when my belly shrinks back down ;) 

I really have no reason to complain because I don't experience most of the things most pregnant women do, I never have crazy cravings, stretch marks (except a few tiny ones on my hips), sciatic pain, swelling, etc... However, I'm exhausted. My babies move nonstop 24x7, not just little movements, like they're riding a roller coaster inside me. Makes sleep quite eventful... And it's no fun carrying around this heavy weight around my middle. Makes every task more challenging. Baby dropped last week and I'm crossing my fingers she'll make her appearance soon! 

Preparing for baby, sewing projects

I've really enjoyed getting into sewing again. In my pre-baby days I used to sew all the time, but I pretty much stopped sewing after I had the boys. When I found out I was having a girl, the first thing I did was get a new sewing machine and order a ton of fabric. I even learned how to sew a basic rag quilt using these Riley Blake pre-cut squares. Quilting has always terrified me but this was simple as could be- cutting straight is half the battle, all I had to do was arrange them and sew together, no cutting at all.

6 weeks to go!

Baby Girl Essentials

Having a girl after three boys will be quite a change for our family and I've been trying to plan all the things I'll need for her. I love to sew and used to sew all the time but frankly boys aren't all that fun to sew for and life just got too busy. The first thing I did when I found out this baby would "possibly" be a girl was to go out to Etsy and order a boatload of fabric (LOVE Riley Blake fabrics!) and I even got myself a new sewing machine since it is going to get a lot of use over the next few years.

Over the next few months I will share some of the fun girly projects I'm making, but first I wanted to share some of my favorite baby girl products sold on Etsy. There are some stinking cute things out there for girls!

Adorable handmade shoes: have you ever seen anything so darling? As soon as these come back in stock they are mine.

Let the shopping begin!

It's official! After waiting 6 long months we finally found out for sure...
we are having a girl!

I was so happy she cooperated better this time and since the ultrasound tech was 100% sure this time (rather than only 80% sure) she said it was definitely a girl. Phew! I was beginning to have dreams of alien babies ;)

Immediately following our appointment we headed up to the outlet mall in Indiana for our last shopping spree in the United States.








Here is the damage done, although it wasn't all for baby girl, some of it was for her brothers and yes, some of it was for me (I can still fit into regular clothes for a few more weeks...)




And here are the pink results! It's first time I've ever bought girly things and it wasn't for someone else's baby.

Girl or Boy?

This is the ultrasound photo I came home with today. The ultrasound tech said "it looks like a girl, but don't buy pink just yet". I am 22 weeks and have never waited this long before to know what I was having! This is my second ultrasound (the other at 18 weeks) and both times I was told, "it looks like a girl, but it's still too early to tell". 

So...what do you think? Girl? Boy? or alien baby? 

The Stroller Fleet

No one ever mentions the fact that if you plan on having more than one children you are going to go through a whole fleet of strollers. Meet our newest editions- strollers #6 the Bugaboo Cameleon and #7 the Peg Perego Si.

With my first child I purchase a travel system- a small lightweight stroller that the car seat could attach to and a single jogging stroller. Then baby number two came along and we needed a double. I got rid of both my single strollers, purchased the Graco Quattro Tour Duo stroller and a double jogger. Then baby number three came... We bought an umbrella for the older and the younger two rode in the doubles. Of course I contemplated trying to buy a tripple jogger, but gave up on the idea. I wish I'd kept the single jogger so I could have pushed one boy while my husband pushed the other rather than cramming them all in the double (which we did on several 15+ mile runs).

Bugaboo Cameleon

Baby number four requires a whole new system. The main reason is because we will be living in Germany! I remember my first trip to Germany seeing mothers out for walks, rain, snow or shine with their babies in old fashioned buggies with 4-wheel drive tires that can easily maneuver over cobblestone streets and six inches of snow, Russian-style buntings and adjustable umbrellas. They are certainly a sight to behold.

When I first learned I was pregnant and would be having the baby in Germany I knew I had to have one of those mega strollers. Partially out of want, and partially out of necessity. It would be impossible for me to push my current strollers on European cobblestone streets. Unfortunately, those mega strollers cost a small fortune when you add in all the accessories. Fortunately for me, I found a fabulous local deal that included everything! I just love the little basinette that hooks right onto the stroller and can't wait to join the german mamas strolling down the strasse.

Peg Perego Si

And as much as I love a double stroller, it's just not practical for European streets and metros unless you get the kind where the smaller child his hidden behind or below the other. My kids are too strong willed to sit blindly in the back, they need a view of everything.

Grant however, still needs to be in a stroller. After much research trying to find a small single stroller that would ride well on cobblestones and wouldn't break the bank, I finally found this Peg Perego Si. It's lightweight, fully reclines, has 4 wheel drive wheels that lock and costs just under $200. I LOVE this stroller. It took some engineering skills to figure out how to open and close it, but I was amazed at how well it steers! I can open a door with one hand and wheel it through with the other. If only I'd known there were strollers that were so easy to push! I will never go back to the pathetic small wheeled strollers of my past.

I plan on Baby Bjorning baby #4 as long as possible and by the time he/she (wishful thinking) is old enough to need the stroller, Grant will be old enough to walk. We'll probably also get the buggy board for our Bugaboo so when the older boys get tired they can catch a ride.

I'm also bringing along my double jogger for around the neighborhood, but for city trips we'll use strollers 6 and 7. I really hope we don't have to buy any more strollers in the near future!

Party of six...European Adventure

I have some news I've been dying to share, but haven't been able to...until now...we FINALLY know where we're moving...

To Germany!!!

We are SO excited. I LOVE Germany and have been dying to get back there. The bad news is I have to leave town NOW to get my car shipped and do all the fun processing and shipping.

In other news, we are expecting another baby in February! This pregnancy has been much harder on me than the others (I couldn't possibly have forgotten?). I felt pretty miserable until week 14 and lived off beans, quesadillas, and quacamole. I had zero desire to cook and the thought of anything sweet made me feel ill. Like magic, once I hit week 14 I started to get my energy and appetite back and actually cooked my first non-mexican meal, now I feel pretty much back to normal. And though I've only gained 5 pounds, unless I wear loose shirts, it's pretty obvious that I'm pregnant. I just hope I can find that maternity box I buried in the storage unit and hoped I'd never need again...

Anyhow, posts will be intermittent until the end of October while we get all moved, but I'll try to at least post a few updates on facebook...

Also, Congratulations to the Piper Reed book winners!

Joann T

Shirley D

Brooke W