and a couple more

Photo update!

Man.. my kids are cute..

Umm, how cute are these!!

& the brand is called See Kai Run - perfect! There are tons of adorable shoes... check them out.

Fun times

So, having two is pretty awesome. After those first four weeks of help with Kai, being able to heal, rest and care for Claire I was ready to go and things have only gotten better since. Kai is still learning the word "gentle" and he certainly can't be left alone with Claire for a second, but he seems to be handling the shared attention ok. Not great, but ok. For instance today, I was feeding Claire on the couch in the area we have set up as his play room and he just couldn't be close enough, couldn't touch her enough and was desperate for my attention for those 15 minutes.. Then, after feeding her, I put her in the bouncy seat, turned around to put something on the counter, turned back and he was lifting the bouncy seat off the ground by its bottom support - a few inches higher and she would've slid right out onto the floor! Ahhh!
But, all in all, things are going great and we love having 2 kids!

Well HELLO there!

It has been a long time since I posted, but don't get too excited, this is going to be short and sweet.. Claire is doing great, approaching 11#s already (!) and currently dangling in front of me in the carrier..not very happily..thus the short post..
Just wanted to get a really cute video up and maybe a few photos if I'm lucky..
love to all, be back soon..

More pictures

Introducing Claire Elizabeth Bubar!

Born Monday, April 13th @ 11:46am
Everyone is doing fine, Mom and Claire will be home tomorrow, and are resting well.
No complications, Gin did amazing and I'm sure she will on here in the coming days to give a proper post and update.
Thanks for all the prayers!
She's a beauty!!!
Enjoy the pictures, more to come later....

We're excited!

Well, I am pretty sure my water broke this afternoon, but not a gush, just a trickle.. and I am not really having what I expect contractions to feel like, so it may still be a day or so until anything eventful! Hopefully we will get a good amount of sleep tonight and be able to head in tomorrow morning or afternoon.. Sleep.. really?? My Little Girl is Coming!!!
So far though, I couldn't ask for any more of a perfect situation.. My Mom arrives tomorrow afternoon, my friend who is a doula is available tomorrow to help me (& Ben) through this adventure & it is Easter.. Perfect!
Keep us in your prayers!

I wish

I really wish I had news to share! But, all I can say is that I am one day past due date and now I waddle. Yup... I'm a pregnant waddler..

Stats

As of today's appointment..
39 weeks
Gained 33 pounds (!)
LG has dropped and seems to be in the right direction (her back against my front)
everything normal and aok.. just waiting for her now :)

New Dresser

This is Kai's dresser that Ben just finished. A neighbor so kindly donated it to us and we thought we would have some fun with it. I think it turned out awesome & am so glad I have a handy hubby who happens to love color! :)

I am dying to get LG's room set up, but have to wait at least until this summer.. I don't want to have 2 cribs and for now Kai is still content to be in one - I'm counting my blessings every morning! All the nursery furniture is white, which will be sooo cute with the bedding we got for her, but for now, she'll just be in our room in a pack-n-play until I can't take it anymore :)

8 Days out..

I am still feeling pretty good, but definitely b-i-g and sluggish. Kai is just so much fun and adorable these days and I feel badly that am having a hard time getting on the floor to play.. actually it is the getting up part that I struggle with and the moving around actively once I am down.. I just want to lay down and watch him, but that isn't quite enough for our little 19mo old :)

I took him to the play area at the mall today so he could run around and the Easter bunny happen to take a stroll through all the kids while we were there. It was his first time ever seeing a large costumed character, he was curious enough to follow and look, but stayed a few feet away and just watched while other kids hugged and high fived the giant bunny. No crying though and after 2 minutes he wasn't interested anymore - the slide is much more his style.

Last night I packed my bag for the hospital and made a list for Ben of all the last minute things I think I'll need. We are still struggling on the name, but otherwise, I think both of us are ready for little girl to make her appearance. I am finally getting to that point, the get!this!baby!out! point.. I do think I will make it until my due date & am hoping for the 12 or 13th so my Mom can be here, but don't really want to go much beyond that :) I am already feeling like she may be too big for me to push out - HA!

37 Weeks

WoW! I can't believe we will be meeting our little girl REALLY soon! :) It still feels surreal and when I think about these last few weeks compared to those before we left to meet Kai, I am soo calm this time around.. Last year I was totally anxious, still trying to get the travel dates nailed down, make sure all the paperwork was perfect, making sure I packed all I needed for a new baby, a first baby, a baby who already existed and I had no idea what size he wore or worse - if he would smile at us.. Yearning like crazy to finally get to him, the baby we had waited for seemingly For-E-Vah to make this couple into a family! AHHH! Compared to that.. 9 months is a breeze! :) and now my only source of anxiety is thinking about the delivery.. I am actually a little bit excited to be able to experience it, a lot nervous about the pain (like a train going through your body?? really?), and totally at peace about how life will change when she comes home. Do I have the right size diapers? no. Do I have pj's, nope, Do I have nipple cream? not yet.. But, that's ok, b/c I have a car seat to get her home (thanks Mom & Dad!) an awesome hubby who will run to the store, a mom & good friends who are coming to help... and I'm sure Kai will loan his little sister anything she needs.. little Sister! That is the part we are really excited about.. A Girl.. all she really needs in those first few weeks is us.. and we will be here every moment.

Belly Photos coming soon.. Thanks to Heather

Morning Wake Up Call

Spooning

My little Swifferer

Blah

I have felt completely awful for the last few weeks with the worst "cold" of my life. Now that I am finally getting over the hump and heading down the backside I can focus on something other than just trying to get through the day without calling Ben again, crying my eyes out :) Love you sweetie...



I took on my first Ebay endeavor and boy was that a disaster.. I think in the end I came out ahead only because I was able to sell one of the items through Craigslist, avoid shipping and actually got a decent price. I learned that I am a horrible shipping estimator (even with the tools they give you!) and that the fees for everything add up so quickly! Listing fees, insertion fees, selling fees, Paypal fees and when everything didn't sell the first time I listed them, I had to list them all over again. I am definitely missing something, or just too short on patience to wait for the right price. I know I got a great price on the buy side.. I just sold to cheap! Anyone had success on Ebay?

Random Updates

Kai: We have the most adorable kid.. He is just becoming such an enjoyable little boy.. into everything he isn't supposed to be, of course, but happy, fun and so cute! He is climbing up and down everything he can, eating all things edible and in love with Daddy - definitely his favorite person.. mine too though, I really can't blame him :)

Ben: Cut off his hair.. & is the only one in the family who hasn't come down with this horrible 2 week cold that is going around.. he had to take 1/2 a sick day to take care of Kai b/c I was so out of it one day last week.. thanks sweetie.. love you..

Preschool: Thanks so much to each who gave of their preschool wisdom.. I took the tour last week and decided that Kai belongs in the younger of the 2 classes. The level of play was completely different and I feel confident I made the right choice, so thanks for all your input & encouragement! I think he is going to have a great time a few mornings a week next fall.

Gold Party: My little gold party was a fun time and I have in my hands a check for AHope for $50+! Yippee! I love when you can have fun and make money for charity at the same time :)

Pregnancy: Went to the Dr. last week, everything is still looking aok.. Little girl is growing steadily and I am now at 31 weeks.. can't believe how quickly this is all going! We are still working on names and just today decided what direction to head in for the nursery - I'm pretty excited about it and so thankful that I have a creative hardworking and more than willing hubby! He mixed his own paint color for the walls today from leftovers we had in the garage - haha - hopefully it will be a perfect pink when done. We are planning on keeping LG in our room in a bassinet for the first several months and Kai in the crib, then we will move him to a toddler bed and she will inherit his furniture.. so, her room won't actually be put together for a while, but it will be nice to get the painting done and have a space that feels like a LG is coming home soon :) The bedding was decided by default since I bought several sets to try to sell on Ebay about a month ago and still have some left, good thing I really like all of them. :) This is a stock pic, but you get the idea..

I'm having a Gold Party!

Have you been to one of these yet?? I am so not into home parties and have never offered to host one before, but I went to a Gold Party a few weeks ago and it was awesome! Basically, a rep from a company comes to the host house and buys gold off of people who want to sell. No pressure, no buying anything, just food, drinks and making money - the perfect party!

The best part is company that I am hosting for gives a percentage of the proceeds to any charity I want, so my party is benefiting AHope.

If you want to come, it is this Thursday, 7pm - contact me for directions! Funfun!

Still want advice (see next post) but need to say..

I just had the best grapefruit ever...Like ever - In.My.Life. and I'm from FL.. the citrus state.. It was THAT good.. Those of you that live in the NMetro should seriously consider buying your produce from this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Fellow Moms.. Advice needed..

So here it is: I am enrolling Kai in preschool for the first time next fall and I am not quite sure what to do.. His birthday is Aug 31, so he officially will be 2, the cut-off date is Sept 1, which would put him in the 2-3 year old class next year.. The school is super helpful and will let me enroll him in either this class or the younger, which would be kids from about 19-23 months old which would make him the oldest in the class by a month or so over the other kids.. instead of almost a year younger..

My reasons for wanting to put him in the younger class: He is still tiny.. It's his first year (he does great in the Church nursery and my Moms group nursery).. He didn't start walking until 16months.. I am afraid the older kids will just totally run him over..

Reasons for wanting to put him in the older class: He would probably learn a lot more.. I'm sure he would be fine, I'm probably just being ridiculous.. I'm sure he won't be the only kid in this situation.. & the kicker - I could enroll him for 3 days a week instead of just 2..

I should also mention that if I do not hold him back now, I will probably do it before Kindergarten, they offer "young 5's" classes around here or 2nd yr Pre-K, just for this situation.. Just not sure if I should do it now, or then..

advice??

29 Weeks

I am still feeling good, great even. I am not sure if I have already said this, but during this pregnancy, I have felt more "normal" than I have in years. My hormones seem to actually be in balance during this process, no real mood swings (ok, maybe occasionally..), fairly rational thinking, a reasonable amount of chutzpah and not quite as much anxiety as I usually feel.

Physically, as of 3 weeks ago I was up 22lbs (!).. I can only really wear maternity pants, am in size L underwear and have had to buy all new bras and shirts.. my tops stopped covering the belly a while ago - especially since I am so long waisted anyway! I don't really have any food aversions or cravings at this point, and have only recently begun to feel tired again in the afternoons, welcome 3rd trimester. The Braxton Hicks have come on with gusto in the recent weeks and some times they are so strong & uncomfortable I have to stop what I am doing and sit down and just breathe. Not exactly painful, just incredibly uncomfortable.

Since the weeks are flying by, I am starting to feel the pressure to actually try to get some things done before baby girl arrives. Ben has his honey-do list and I have my own.. hopefully half of them will get done :) One of them is to finally decide on a name for little girl - it is proving really difficult this time! Malakai was a definite stand out for both of us, and now we are just taking our time and it is starting to drive me crazy. Hopefully something will start shining before long, or she will have to be named Talitha "little girl" by default :)

Wow - how much time has past??

Ok, really.. I can't believe it has been weeks since I last posted.. This month has flown by and things have been a little different around our house on a daily basis. As the year started, Ben & I have been trying to focus on what we want to see change this year in our lives. How we will handle the uncontrollables, and how we want to try to influence change have been heavily on both of our minds.. so, I've been a little distracted :)
Our church always starts the year out with a month long fast and for us this year, it felt very right for us to participate on the level God impressed on us individually. I completely cut TV for the last 3 weeks, save for a few movies with hubby (have you seen Slum Dog Millionaire yet? good flick).. we modified our diets and tried to get back to focusing more on daily conversation with God.. we had realized that somehow we both just started forgetting to talk to Him..and we both want to change our lack of focus and discipline. Still, no matter how badly I want to start my day with a more spiritual slant, no matter how sure I am at night when I lay my head on the pillow that I will spring out of bed in the morning.. I have found it to be incredibly difficult. My heart wants to, but my body and self usually fight harder and I have been very dissapointed in my lack of discipline and fortitude.. Thank God for grace.. and for knowing that He really will talk to me at any time.. not just in the morning :)

Just in time for Christmas

Kai started walking :) Here is a little video from today, sorry it's a bit dark..
I will post Christmas pics soon!