Inspiration

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is place in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into it's soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no others hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We thought Gilana was really starting to understand the concept of the new baby arriving to bless our home in a few short weeks.  That is, until nap time arrived today and I began to read one of Gilana's current favorite's to her.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is considered "one of the greatest childhood classics of all time," but it seems to have confused my daughter regarding the perpetuity of people.  Those innate truths so relevant to every human life; the preschooler's perception of pregnancy.

We arrived at the climax of the story.  The hungry caterpillar has enjoyed his glutenous existence and is no longer hungry, but now a "big, fat caterpillar," to which Gilana stoically asserts, "Just like Mommy."

I suppose in her understanding of things, I will soon build my cocoon and emerge a beautiful butterfly.  Or perhaps my big, fat belly will get wrapped up in some gauzy ethereal material for a lovely baby butterfly to emerge from.  Sounds like a great Anne Gedes concept.  Gilana is brilliant.

Unexpected date night

Byron and I did something very selfish last night.  We stole the Johnson's date night and had a late evening out on the town.  They had planned on a evening out to a movie while we watched the kiddos, but we pulled a switcheroo on them.  Out the door we rushed to our destined location in one of our favorite locales, Glendale.  The evening found me robed in a lovely blue and white gown, with my sweetheart snuggled up next to me as we watched a movie from our private viewing booth, complimentary beverages delivered with sweet precision.

Sounds pretty sweet, right?  I guess there are a couple details I should have included.  After having contractions straight for over an hour and a half, Byron and I excused ourselves and headed to the hospital.  I checked in, changed into my regular hospital attire, settled into that {un}comfy hospital bed, was strapped in and plugged into the monitors, then Byron set up a movie on our laptop.  Not exactly our ideal for a night on the town, but it was nice to have some time with my sweetheart, nonetheless.

After about two hours of false labor contractions, things settled down.  In the meantime, I readjusted my monitors.  When machines didn't pick up the contractions or the baby's heart rate monitor seemed "off,"  I just reached over and squirted some of that lubrication jelly under the sensor pads on my belly and readjusted things.  Byron joked that the next time we come in, they won't even need to come into the room with us, we'll just take care of it ourselves.  "Don't worry, we got this!"

Birthday Fun

Monday's birthday festivities went a little different from plan with my doctor having ordered bedrest.  So, instead of Byron's proposed excursion to La Jolla for the weekend, we stayed local and caught a movie, "Captain America," ate breakfast together, and I got the mani/pedi treatment! 

Dinner plans were simple: order Chinese and spend the evening together.  Lo and behold, sweet friends began to randomly appear in the house for a surprise birthday bash complete with a Cold Stone cake! My hubby is the best!!!!

Scary in the Room

Gilana peered though the railing at Auntie Lu yesterday and whispered, "There's something scary in my room!"  Luana came to investigate and discovered Gigi had changed her naptime noisemaker to the newborn "Heartbeat" setting.  Haha!

The Baby Belly

Baby 3 is getting cramped!

Camelia's New Look

The Cute-Face.

Here's to you...

Pregnancy the Third

This pregnancy has really flown by.  There has been so much to keep me busy considering I have 2 little ones that occupy nearly every waking moment.  Motherhood is a joy and a delightful journey to travel.  Last week I found myself rather amused in considering another baby would be gracing our home with her infant voice and little (though assuredly powerful) presence in a span of only a few weeks.  This considered, I determined to go and pack my hospital bag, but to no avail.

Within minutes of these thoughts, a sharp cramp gripped my side and left me unable to climb the stairs.  This pain continued on for about 20 minutes when Byron called to check on me.  Apparently my Dad had received a vaguely distressed call from someone he thought was me.  I had never called him, but it prompted him to call Byron for information.  Thus Byron was home from work in short order and soon after drove me to the hospital.  We were there for about 6 hours with my contractions varying in intensity and duration.  Since I did not appear to be dilating, we were allowed to go home with an order to rest.  Bed rest. 

I received these orders when pregnant with Camelia, but it seems slightly more daunting at this point.  I am not a very good patient.  The girls need attention, and I want to give it.  Luckily I have help.  Friends and family are gathering round to take the joy of my little rambunctious munchkins out of the house and off to grand adventures.  Marvelous.  This is clearly helpful in making me relax and let the beautiful little life inside me grow and flourish. 

Now I am starting to think about her a great deal more and she is becoming so real, so present, so SOON to be here in my arms as a daughter, sister, and precious addition to our family and home.  I am growing in excitement and desire to prepare for her.  God's work is truly remarkable.

Earrings

Gilana is currently playing with my earrings and let me know that she wants to wear them. 

Not yet sweetheart, you need holes first for your earrings to go in.

I want holes.

Someday, but it hurts.

No it doesn't.

My ear bled when I got this hole.

I want to bleed.

No baby, it hurts.

But I want earrings.

Not yet, Gigi. 

Can I wear this on my finger?

Sure.

:)

Gilana Said...

Gilana at 32 Months

Daddy came home early from work the other day and Gilana excitedly proclaimed, "Daddy!  You got loans?!"

At dinner last week, "Lilyan can I offer you some more?  Mommy!  I offered Lily food!"

Coloring with chalk in the back yard, "This is Mommy and this is your best friend, Daddy."  Pointing at her next drawing (what appeared to be a balloon with two squiggles in the center): "Auntie Lu!  This is your hubby!"

This morning, "When I grow big like Daddy I am going to marry my best friend, Camelia."

She is so precious!!!

Camelia the Chatterbox

Camelia is talking a LOT now. 
As in sentences. 
Full, descriptive, opinionated sentences. 
Sentences such as "Come sit down now, Mommy!"
We are still working on adding PLEASE as a part of that.
But it sure is cute.
She is an adorable munchkin with a mind of her own.
I love to love her, get "nuggles" from her, and just purely enjoy her sweet countenance.

Of course she isn't always pure sweetness.

Yesterday she had a full out tantrum that lasted about 20 minutes of consistent screams and wails.
Once she realised that attitude wouldn't work, she settled and decided to leave the "naughty chair" in exchange for an apology with hugs, kisses, and her favorite thing, dinner.

I love watching this little miracle grow up!

Two In a Room

With a new baby soon to make her presence in our home, we are striving to complete all major transitions prior to this pivotal one.  We have been BATTLING the girls over the last several days trying to get them to happily sleep in their beds, in the same room, at the same time.  Consistent discipline, persistence, prayers, even pinning them to their beds has left us with our own consistent exhaustion at the girl's bed and nap times.  Thanks to Kristen and her recommendation today, we put a thoroughly exhausted Camelia down first.  She was especially worn due to the toddler trampoline that arrived in the mail today and our excursion to visit the ducks earlier with Lola and Emma.

Half an hour later after a long story, prayers, singing together, and a exhortation on being a "big girl" and making certain Camelia would sleep well, Gilana went to bed without one tear or complaint, merely a request for some more "nuggles" and a "kiss on the cheeeeek!"  The reminder of seeing her dear friend, Bailey, tomorrow after GOOD sleep seemed to also help.  After 20 minutes of silence from the upper region, I am convinced that Gilana is asleep, and honestly, quite staggered by this realization after the tedious saga we have recently endured with the girls.  I hope this becomes the regular trend.

Ducky Days

We have had several recent trips to visit the ducks, but today's excursion was the most exciting.  Our little party was accompanied by Lola and her daughter, Emma.  Towards the end of our stay as our bread supply rain low and the girl's energy level flagged, Gilana peered over the edge of the bridge and lost a show into the water below.  Her favorite shoe, but luckily, a Croc and thus a shoe that floated.  She was lost herself to several boughts of tears as we scrambled to find a way to remedy the situation.  Lola went off in search of a boater to help capture the renegade shoe, but her cries to him were lost in the noise of his motor.  Luana happened upon a long branch in the perfectly groomed scenery and set to work enlisting the help of a flock of ducks to push the shoe towards the shore.  The girls were kept distracted with games of Ring Around the Rosie while Luana set about two onslaughts against the wayward shoe with her duck army.  After nearly a full pack of crackers flung about the shoe, it was brought near enough to reach and a delighted Gilana had both feet clad once more.

Girls at Play

Baby Gate

We had an immediate need for a baby gate when our oldest was starting to crawl, but couldn't find anything to properly accommodate our space.  So we made our own gate and reinforced the outdated, out of code railing in the process.