This Sweet Little One

Goodness how we love this little one. She is just the best, happiest, sweetest baby! Always quick to smile and now in the last couple of weeks really cooing and talking back. She has been a wonderful sleeper and on her 10 week birthday went 10 hours between feedings at night, yay! I have specifically felt led to pray "joy" over her. And even at 2 weeks when I lay next to her and prayed that she would view life from a position of joy always, she gave great big sleep smiles at the word. Can't wait to see this little personality develop.

Her big sisters can't get enough of her either. Our mornings often start with them snuggling Ver-Bear.

Baby Buds

6 weeks after Verity was born, Jovie Lu Gall joined us. I predict a kindred spirit, bosom buddy friendship to ensue. I love these beautiful girls. 

A Picture Speaks

At Chuck E. Cheese's. Trying to find "the" name. But he looks cute doing it. :)

25 Weeks

23 Weeks

 Me and my friend Janine. This is our third time pregnant together, every time with a girl.

Celebrating Rebekah's 30th

IT'S A......

GIRL!!!! Sweet baby # 3 is another sister. Needless to say, Evangeline is excited as you can hear her say "I knew it!" And she tells people that she prayed for a sister and God answered her prayer. And I love both of them chanting "3 sisters!" I can't wait to see how their friendships evolve over the years, I love my girls!

17 Weeks

Baby is 17 weeks in there. I am finally feeling him or her consistently flipping and kicking, which is a bit later than I felt both the girls. This pregnancy has been very kind to me. Hardly an nausea, no extreme fatigue (no more than normal really). Aside from an achy back and some mid-night insomnia all has been well. And in 1 week from today we will know whether to expect another precious girl or whether we are moving into uncharted territory with a sweet little boy. I have absolutely no instinct either way. I think we both lean toward girl slightly just because it's what's familiar to us but I am very ready to know for sure!! Both girls are so excited about the baby. Cecily of course doesn't quite get it, but she will randomly say, "Baby? I check it." which consists of her lifting my shirt, looking strangely at my belly, usually poking her finger into my belly button and often kissing the belly. Evangeline greets the baby even before me most mornings. She'll say, "look how big the baby is getting!" and "awwwwww hi baaaabbby". I just pray that the excitement continues after the baby is born. 

Snow

Well we actually got two days in a row of snow. Yesterday was a decent little snowfall too. Of course it had completely melted by mid-day but I'm fine with that! I feel bad that my girls weren't able to really go play in it but I did let them bundle up and scoop some fresh snow and bring it inside to eat. 

 Evangeline said she doesn't like the taste of the snow inside, only outside....so Cecily ate both of them.

 As for the flu, yesterday was a turning point, thank you JESUS! Cecily did not have a fever at all yesterday and was very much "herself". Though there are lingering symptoms, Jayme feels SO much better. Only poor little Bean is still hanging in there with the fever. A steady 102 all day. But since she didn't show symptoms until a couple of days after Cecily, I expect we may have it one or 2 more days.

 This day called for ice cream.

My baby. The only good thing about the flu is that it ensures lots of naps and early bedtimes. She is asleep in my bed and I could not wake her for dinner. Sweet baby.

The Flu

Well this is pretty much what our week has looked like. I began to not feel well last Thursday evening and then on Saturday Cecily's fever began. A couple days later Evangeline and Jayme's symptoms kicked in. Everyone's symptoms have varied with Cecily's fever being the most consistent. She and Evangeline both ran high temps around 102 and 103  but Evangeline's only lasted a day or two whereas Cecily's were a few days, then a few days with more of a 99-101 temp and back up again today. So after 6 days of a fever, off to the doctor we went. And yep, they both tested positive for the flu so it looks like our week ahead will look much like this past week. 

 Lots and lots of couch time

 This is when we knew Evangeline wasn't feeling well. She cried hysterically for 15 minutes about a boo-boo on her hand she got 2 days before and then fell asleep on the couch.

Today at the doctor's office. Nap time + fever + worn out after crying in response to the flu and strep swab = asleep on Mommy

Doodleisms

Some examples of our little pistol:

This is a message I sent to my sisters one day: "I exaggerate not- in the last 10/15 minutes I have found Cecily outside, almost stepping her toes right into the scissors I was using, biting a stapler, and sitting at the kitchen table holding a steak knife. The Holy Spirit keeps telling me to check on her and sure enough, for very good reason!"

We cannot take our eyes off this child for a second. If she is out of sightline it's not a question of "is she getting into something?" she is!

Cecily was just smiling and greeting everyone in a store and a woman as we walked out so I told her "I love how friendly you are and how much you love people". She then proceeded to hit me and say "no!" ---yep.

 As I picked up wipes scattered across the floor I muttered "ugh Cecily" to which she replied "ugh what?"

A few of these are months old and her language has progressed since but they were too cute to leave out:

Vitamins are "nummy". Blankie is "Lamby". She says "out" for both "on" and "off". She tends to favor the "k" sound. For instance, 'white' is 'wike' and 'pumpkin' is 'puckle'. Can say 'buckle' perfectly. "Wateee" is "coffee". "Maaack/Mach" is "makeup". 

She has had a major interest in the potty. She always tell me she has to poop which has yet to happen. So far we've peed only twice. mostly she like to sit there .5 seconds and then wipe :)

She saw a Canada Dry seltzer water in our fridge and said, "Grampy". My dad loves seltzer water but I would not have guessed in 100 years that she would have observed that.

she finally likes books and enjoys being read to at night and even picks out the specifics books she wants by title. She loooves Baby Beluga and Goodnight Moon, and Kiss Goodnight which she just calls 'Sam'.

She can pretty much count to 10 pretty consistently. 

On December 26th she said her first official full sentence. We were in the car on our way to Atlanta and she was trying to do something and said, "Mommy, I can't do it." And ever since her vocabulary has exploded. Already in the first month of being 2 I am blown away by how much she is understanding and communicating. I can't even keep up with what she can say now but I'll try! It's so much fun though.

She asks all the time, "Mommy, what doin?" She totally has her own little Boston accent at this point. Diaper is "diapa", arm is 'ahhhhmmm", color is "culla"

Bath is "bash". and I love the way her sentences are all out of order. for instance if she wants to say "Bean has the blanket" she says "Bean, have it, nankie (which is what blankie is now)". She says "I get you" which sounds more like "I tag you" when she wants you to chase her. For whatever reason, she doesn't like it when I pull my hair up. She'll look at it and say "Mommy stop it."

She remains our thrill-seeker and could probably spend literal hours in a swing. 

And no matter what little attitude may prevail, she still has many adoring fans. 2 of the mamas from her Kindermusik class told me how their boys just kept talking about Cecily all week. Lord help us, haha.

Since she is bursting with new sayings and doings these days I am sure there will be another update soon.

Beanieisms

"Cecily has a big tummy, I think she has a baby in her big tummy!"

"Marina, my aunt likes to go to church at night" - Evangeline finds it fascinating that Auntie goes to church at nighttime, and of course we were role-playing Fresh Beat Band when she told me.

Bean touches my tummy with my wet bathing suit and says "you're freaking cold" so I say "that's a grown up word babe, I don't want you saying that. Her: "ok but you're freaking wet"

We were leaving TJ Maxx and a little girl was crying because she didn't want to get in the back of the cart and Bean observes and says in a very understanding tone "that's how I felt when I was little. I didn't like to sit in the back of the cart either." the woman next to us laughed so hard

"mommy you look divine...that's Spanish for nice."

She saw my freshly painted toenails, "ooooo stylish! I want some!"

"the water is all squeezed out. Spongerific."

Evangeline sees some "big girls" (probably like 7 or 8) at gymnastics and says "oh here come some cheerleaders. Hello, where are you girls going today?"

I love that Evangeline calls Netflix "neck flicks"

When watching the Olympics and responding to Jayme talking back to the athletes, "Papa they can't hear you. They're just on tv"

Bean when is it ok to hit your sister? "when you're not looking"

Bean likes making sentences and it's so cute because it's all words used wrong but she says them so well it's almost convincing. "there. (as she puts a feather boa on me.) a lovely human. A lovely human that wants to come out."

"it's just discreezing. Discreezing means something valuable that's near you and you don't want to touch it." I didn't even ask what it meant. She knew she made it up

"this stuff is algery"

"These papers are really consider-ed"

"hey, you touched my little butt. Now your hands are going to be super stinky".

"I am SO cooperated."

Cecily kept calling Evangeline Nana and Evangeline is getting quite annoyed. "Cecily! I am not Nana! I am not brown!" hahahahaha

"Mommy I need to have a word with you. I accidentally took my nightlight out."

Showing me her Fancy nancy book, "Mommy this is an antique." Me: "it is?" Bean: "yes it has been in the car for a long long time"

"Mommy I'm getting tired of Cec. I've just been with her forever and sometimes I get tired of her."

I took this painting mishap photo and Bean says "is that for showing Mauntie and Auntie"? And I said "how did you know?" And she said "because. I'm just clever."

Saying bedtime prayers for Eisley tonight and I said "we pray for Eisley who turns 6 tomorrow." Bean cut me off, "tomorrow!? She's 6? Am I invited!?" Me: "well you already went to her party. Tomorrow is not a party, it's just that on that day 6 years ago she was born." Bean ::::::long pause::::::: "am I invited??". They get this concept eventually right? Haha

Bean is making me take her "deppendix" out wit her toy doctor scissors after seeing Tristan after his surgery which removed his appendix.

"I don't think you should eat chicken that used to be real because it makes me feel sick" - Might have a vegetarian on our hands.

"Dear Jesus thank you that we get to live with you someday. Thank you for friends and baby sisters and brothers. And that we get to dream stuff. And eat stuff we don't like, and get to drink juice a water. " Bean's first prayer that was self initiated and more than 5 seconds long. There was more but I can't remember

Upon finding me laying down -"Mommmmyy you have to play with me. That's the rule in houses. If a kid wants a grown up to play, they have to play with kid".

Evangeline made a mess with that hay on the front porch so I'm having her sweep it. She came in and said, "mommy outside I'm singing a song about being poor while I sweep".

Just put a shirt on bean with a hood that is obviously too small and I said that it made me sad. And she said "I just want to stay the size I am. God can I just stay this size for now? 'Yes' he said yes!"

Bean wanted to dance and came across a Nat King Cole CD. "No, I don't want jazz". Me: "how do you know it's jazz?" Her: "because I saw that man and he plays jazz"

"Mommy can you play with us? We just need attention" (insert guilt here)

Instead of singing "Deck the halls with boughs of holly" she sings, "Dec-orate the halls with jolly". I pretty much love that.

Still showing so much of that sensitive heart. At Christmas she got a baby duck and she was singing to it and started to cry. My sisters and I saw it and about died and then I started crying. I completely get that - I do the same thing. If she sings "rock-a-bye baby" she does it too. Be still my heart. 

Also she was watching an episode of Road to Avonlea with me where the mother stood up for an issue of justice and was put in jail and Evangeline just started bawling because she was separated from her baby. And said, "only people who do bad things go jail."

She has been doing so well with her room time lately, one day playing for over 3 hours and didn't want to come down and another day not wanting to be bothered by her little sister, headed up on her own initiation to play. But she still usually prefers to be all together. One day I did come up to her room and she exclaimed, "Now I'm not all alone!" She doesn't mind playing by herself but just likes us to be nearby. Another thing that's totally me. 

2 year check-up

Yesterday was Cecily's 2 year check-up. She came in at a whopping 21 pounds, that's 3rd percentile for weight hahaha. And 33 inches tall which I believe is 25th percentile for height. She was wonderful, completely still and in awe of the process. I don't even think she noticed her toe prick until the band-aid was being put on, which she was very excited about - it was Hello Kitty. 

And as a little added bonus Dr. Sam is/was a midwife as well and asked if we'd heard our baby's heartbeat yet. We told her we hadn't so she asked, "well, do you want to hear it today?" So she ran out, grabbed her doppler and we got to hear our sweet littlest one for the first time. It always makes it so real - there really is a new sweet baby Braun growing inside of me. Cecily was so confused. She kept saying "Baby!" in a silly tone and pointing to my tummy afterwards. 

Official First Haircut

She sat completely still and stared into space while Jessica combed her hair. She loves her hair brushed and her head rubbed :) 

Cecily is 2!!

Our  Doodle is 2!! She is full of life and busyness, joy and curiosity, and we couldn't be more thankful for the chance to explore the world with her. She adds SO much to our family. We love you so much Doodle Bear. 

Going to bed a 1 year old, waking up a 2 year old!

 We went to The Discovery Center to play for her special day.

Oh What A Beautiful Morning

I could not help but just rest in gratitude as God gave us a beautiful morning as a family. Jayme got home yesterday after 11 days away and we enjoyed the beautiful autumn turning today, as it should always be enjoyed...with a big pile of leaves.