Sprinkle for Finley!

Yesterday, my mom, sister and sister-in-law gave me a "Sprinkle" for Finley!  It was a wonderful and beautiful shower and I enjoyed the time visiting with so many special ladies in my life.  My sister and mom worked to create a cute banner with Finley's name and also made these super cute letters, which I am going to use to create a wreath for the bedroom door.  We had an assortment of sandwiches and fruit, some tea & wine, cheese and crackers and some tasty desserts.  It was a delicious spread and everything was perfect!  As I was opening the adorable and thoughtful gifts everyone brought we shared stories and laughed at each other's experiences.  Such a great time!

I can't believe that in 4 weeks (or less!) Finley will be here.  It's always felt like such a long way off until recently.  It really started to hit as Frank was assembling some of the new baby gear.  I love our new travel stroller system, pack and play and highchair.  They are now waiting in our dining room and will soon be put to use!  We had a very busy weekend getting things more ready for Finley's arrival.  Dorthy was a tremendous help with the washing of baby clothes and helping to get things organized.  She worked most of the weekend washing and folding baby clothes.  We enjoyed looking through the new stuff and also pulling out the items I kept of Emerson's.  It's been 3 1/2 years since we had a baby and over 5 years with the cute girlie stuff.  It's going to be so fun dressing this little girl!!

Just 5 weeks to go!

We have just 5 short weeks before we get to meet our sweet Finley Irene Paul!  Did I share that name on my last blog post about the pregnancy?  I don't think I did... it has been a long while!!

It was around the halfway point when I last shared anything on the blog, so I have lots of stuff to share since I am now 34 weeks.  We have scheduled my c-section for October 12th!  I can't wait, but at the same time, I can!  I still have so much to do!!  Thankfully everything has been going so super smoothly with the pregnancy.  I have not had any more gallbladder complications and have not had bad back pain.  I'm also not having the major swelling yet, which is really nice.  Maybe I'll be able to keep it away!!  Really, the biggest problem I am having is with my varicose veins... these nasty looking veins are popping out of my right leg like crazy.  They are painful at times and are super unsightly.  I'm not being dramatic... I wish I could get a picture of peoples faces when they get a good look.  So far I have gained around 25 pounds, which is so great for me.  With both Emerson and Cameron I gained 50 or just over so I was hoping to avoid that this time and it looks like that will be the case.  I mean, it would be way crazy to pack on that kind of weight at this point!  :)

I've been busy getting the nursery all ready, which I'll share more about once it is all ready.  But I have had much to do with refinishing all of the furniture and many accessories.  It has come together so nicely and I can't wait to bring baby girl in there!!

Next weekend my sweet sister, mom and sister-in-law are giving me a Sprinkle for Finley and my closest friends are coming.  I am looking forward to the time to visit with them and celebrate this little blessing on the way.

I've tried to really enjoy everything about this pregnancy and to let it all sink in.  It is such a gift and blessing to carry a child... to be part of such a miracle. I watch my stomach as baby girl shifts around, occasionally wincing as she stretches things that don't want to stretch.  I try to picture her all squished inside and wonder what she is up to.  Sometimes she has the hiccups, which is fun, too.  I wonder if she has dark hair or hair at all.  Will she be a big baby or more normal in size?  I feel like she will be a 7 or maybe close to 8 pounder since I am just not as big as in the past.

I have not taken nearly as many pregnancy progression photos this time as I did before, but here are some misc pregnancy photos.  I am so excited that it really is just around the corner!!

Probably my favorite picture from our vacation pictures!

22 1/2 weeks sono picture

Because Blue Bell was not available this summer, I had to find another brand to enjoy my favorite treat!

25 weeks on the 4th of July!

One of the pieces of furniture that I redid in nursery!  I'll share more when I post pictures of nursery.

I love it when the kids feel Finley move... so sweet and special.

Finley's great grandmother's... Irene Mitchell and Twillie Irene Buehring. Her middle name is in honor of these wonderful ladies.

I'm big, but not as bad as it could be!  Frank and I still joke that I am the USS Paul, though.  :)

A Successful Start to the 2015/2016 School Year!

Emerson and Cameron have both started school for the 2015/2016 school year!  Emerson is now in Kindergarten and Cameron is in the 3 year old class!  As Emerson is in kindergarten, she goes 5 days a week and Cameron goes Tuesday-Thursday.  I changed to that schedule as I have learned that you get shorted several days with all of the holidays that fall on Mondays and Fridays!  Both kids are at the Bent Tree Child Development Center as well.  I am so thankful that there is a private kindergarten offering for multiple reasons.  The smaller class size is truly ideal when it comes to developing Emerson's skills and getting her ahead for when she goes to public school next year.  I had so many fears of her not doing well in kindergarten at the public school with the large class sizes that mean less one-on-one time with the students.  Also, the drop off and pick up times would be so different from Cameron's times.  It has been wonderful to drop them off at the same time and place on the days they are both attending.

Emerson absolutely loves kindergarten so far.  Her classmates are sweet little kiddos, her teacher is the nicest lady and she is already learning so much!  We have been diligent about doing her homework every week night and making sure we read 20 minutes each night.  I know for many parents, it is a super emotional time on the first days of kindergarten, but for me I have really been so happy and hopeful.  I think certainly some of the reason I have not been upset is I am so comforted by the bubble that the private kindergarten is providing for Emerson.  I'm not having to worry about her being one of the littlest kiddos in a big sea of kids at the elementary school.  I suspect next year to be a little harder as I will be juggling more of those fears along with the joy of watching her enter first grade.  We will see how that all goes!

Cameron is also very happy with his teacher and does not get upset when I drop him off.  He's such a chill kid and the teacher just loves him, as would be expected.  ;)  I was worried before about him having potty accidents, but he has done perfectly!  I'm so glad I was able to get him potty trained a couple of months ago!!

Here are a few pictures from the first day and of the classrooms, etc.  I look forward to watching these kids learn and grow so much this year!

Reading their "Night Before School" books from CC and PaulPaul  :)

Sweet Emerson all ready for kindergarten!

So happy to be there! 

The names of her classmates!

Emerson's 2nd day and Cameron's 1st!

Look at our cute 3 year old!

He was also happy to be there!

Cam's classmates!

One of Emerson's first assignments!  

Emerson's 5!

I remember when Emerson was just a newborn thinking how big of a deal her 5th birthday would be and that is was just sooooo far away.  I don't know that the 5th birthday is a big deal to every parent, but to me it symbolized a sort of right of passage when they change from preschooler to truly being a little kid.   I didn't know it then, but there is so much emotional development that happens in that pre kindergarten year.  While yes, young kids are always growing, learning and changing so much, it is more than that.  There is an independence and confidence that develops during this age/time.  Emerson is truly a little girl now.   Her 5th birthday was a special milestone and it was every bit as special and meaningful as I hoped and imagined.  I am so proud of her and I think she is the most wonderful little girl.  She is thoughtful, silly, joyful, smart and sassy!  Sometimes she gives us attitude and I worry about the teenage years ahead with such a head strong little girl.  I see so much of myself in her... her sensitivity especially.  That's where I worry a little for her in the future... thinking that in her good intentions of being sweet to someone, a mean kid will hurt her feelings for no reason other than they aren't a nice person.  (Because, let's be real here... there are many kids who sadly are not nice and will probably grow up to be those grumpy adults no one likes to be around) So I wonder how to prepare her for those kids/people as I am 33 years old and still struggle with not being hurt by mean people!  (true story)  Some parts of her personality definitely don't come from me, like her "girlie" nature.  She loves to wear dresses and look pretty.  When I was her age I was a tomboy really... I don't think I worried about dresses and being pretty.  But sweet Emerson is happiest in a dress or skirt!  Preferably and longer dress or skirt, which is interesting.  It is also good for the dress to be blue, her favorite color, and/or for it to be a sparkly dress.  If it has glitter and jewels you have a winner!  Interestingly, she often looks like a gypsy when she dresses herself... that or a hippie.  :)  It's cute and makes her happy.  She likes having her hair down and not in a pony tail usually.  She'll wear a headband sometimes or enjoys having an Elsa braid, which is hard for me to achieve!  I am not a talented braider, but I think I do ok enough.

Emerson is still a pretty picky eater but I am making some small progress lately with explaining that eating more fruits and vegetables helps her tummy and will help her grow stronger.  Still, her absolute  favorite thing is macaroni.  She MUST have salt and pepper on it (we usually pretend to put the salt on)  She still loves pancakes for breakfast as her favorite food.  The favorite fruit right now is blueberries.

Emerson is such a big kid, literally!  She is as tall as half of all 6 year olds according to her doctor.  She is trim and tall.  I am finding that many of the clothes that I thought would still work for school are too small that were size 5, not 5T, size 5 and are too short.  It varies by brand as well, but many times size 6 is the best size.  At her 5 year appointment she weighed 43 pounds (75%) and was 45 inches tall (90%).

Our beautiful little girl!

I love this.  

She has grown so much!!

Getting measured at her 5 year well visit!

Emerson thought the house smelled bad so she put a sticker over her nose... so funny.  

Emerson's Frozen 5th!

We had a blast celebrating Emerson's birthday with a Frozen themed birthday party!  It was called "Emerson's Frozen 5th!".   We had wonderful weather for swimming and used our patio space for everything.  I purchased a cute little snow cone machine, which has been a fun thing to have!  Instead of hassling with cooking anything, we ordered pizza.  That is seriously so helpful to do!  And who doesn't love pizza??  Emerson's best friend, Ava, came as well as another sweet friend from school named Sarah, along with lots of other friends.  It was really a great time and I was so happy to see Emerson so happy!  Here are pictures from the party!

Special thank you to my sweet friend, Stefanie, for helping me with the party favors and tags!  She rocks!

Elsa and Anna came to the party, too!!

Her best friend, Ava!

Some of the goodies to eat

Time to blow out the candles!

Misc decor

Friends who came to celebrate with us!

Summertime Fun!

We have had such a busy summer!  I'll write individual posts about a few of the fun things we did, so this is more of a catch all recap of the other fun things we did, much of which is already on my Instagram, too.  :)

At the start of the summer there was definitely an excitement and energy thinking about all the fun we would have.  I was feeling good and it wasn't too hot, yet, outside.  We enjoyed many outdoor activities, like the zoo, an outdoor concert, swimming, swim lessons, summer barbecues, time with friends and more!  It's now September and crazy to think that the months of June-August went by so quickly.  Here are lots of pictures and some recaps!


Swim Lessons!!

Ms. Jordan came to our house to give the kids their swim lessons this summer as we did last summer (for part of the time).  At first they were both unsure of it all, but then they warmed up to her (as expected!) and would enjoy their lesson.  Emerson especially really learned so much this year.  She gained a lot of confidence with being in the water, much more so than how she was before lessons.  Neither one of our kids are huge water babies at all... they are so cautious and afraid of getting hurt.  At one point Emerson was so close to being able to swim on her own... but then she got scared again even though nothing happened to bring on extra fear.   Even though it has been weeks since their last lesson, both kids were so much more confident swimming in the pool this past Friday night.  Emerson was kicking her feet above the water like she was taught and Cameron was swimming with his puddle jumper on and blowing bubbles in the water with his mouth.  I was glad to see that because it is a huge change from the start of the swim season.  Our goal neat year will be for Emerson to swim without the puddle jumper.  For Cam, we hope he will be more comfortable swimming freely with his puddle jumper and doing more kicking and such... maybe we can even get him to do it without the puddle jumper.  We will see!  :)  While part of me thinks it would be fun if they were a little less apprehensive about swimming, it is also nice that I don't have to worry that they will be careless when it comes to swimming.  They both know it can be dangerous and they can get hurt if they aren't careful.  

  

Ms. Jordan is the sweetest instructor!

As we were in the middle of potty training, Cam was in his undies waiting for his turn to swim.

Random Stuff!  :)

This little boy is just so precious.  We were enjoying a day at the zoo.

Family zoo day!

At the zoo with friends... Emerson and Sophia enjoy time together.

We HAD to ride the train.  ;)

Swimming at the club house

It was so fun going to an outdoor concert with the kids.

We visited the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano 

These girls are so sweet

Aunt Amanda is the best... she loves spending time with these kids.

Emerson lost her first tooth just after her 5th birthday!  Since then she has lost another!!  

CC and CamCam  :)

We visited the Sea Life Aquarium with our friends, Nora and Kate!

More swimming fun with family!

A morning at the club house with great friends!

Story time at the Frisco Sci Tech Museum

Happy Birthday to Uncle JP!  (look at that stinker Cameron... good thing Emerson and JP were all smiles!)

Family Birthday fun for JP and Aunt Amanda at Main Event

Swimming with Frank's cousin's in Austin and enjoying a truly delicious ice cream sundae bar!!  Yum!

ASI Gymnastics for Emerson
We started Emerson in gymnastics after seeing a groupon that offered a great deal.  Since she did dance for a couple of years I thought it would be good for her to try something new.  She does a little tumbling in her school and enjoys trying to roll over, so this seemed like a great new adventure for her.  So far so good!  She is always super excited for class to start.  The stretches and exercises are completely new to her, and I can see with the stretching in particular, that she gets a little irritated holding the positions.  The instructors have been so patient and helpful to show her the proper form and help her.  Her favorite things are the trampolines that they occasionally get to jump on and the swinging rope.  When she does a new task well in class she gets to go ring this bell to celebrate.  Seeing that huge smile on her face as she runs over and rings it just absolutely melts my heart.  I want to scoop her up and squeeze her.  Though she is getting older (5 feels so old!) she will always be my precious little girl.  Seeing her so happy warms my heart so much!  Cam has also been a real trooper hanging out with me during the class.  He has recently started to love coloring books and spends much of his time coloring.  He is just so darn cute and makes me laugh with the silly little things he does.

She is just so happy!

Little goober likes hanging out with his mom.  :)