August will be crazy and wonderful :: 2 Big Changes!

It's the middle of the day and I'm sitting in bed, propped against the wall... feeling so so pregnant. :) I am currently 36 weeks and 4 days along. This has been a great pregnancy but I'm definitely feeling the shift to "baby time". The changes are uncomfortable but it's pretty cool how they have made me ready for the next stages of labor and delivery and becoming a family of four.

This morning, I went to our church for a couple of hours to help out in the office. I waddled across the parking lot to the door, felt crazy for taking the steps, and felt much better after joking around with the other ladies about this stage of pregnancy. :) Laughter is good. 

Proverbs 17:22 - love this verse... thankful for the promise of "good medicine" and strength!

All of these "very pregnant feelings" gave me motivation to get some baby-prep done today... washing and folding newborn clothes, cleaning up a little in Bekah's room, organizing and donating, etc. We have a lot to do before our little girl arrives but today was a step in the right direction. A waddle in the right direction. :)

I have some other fun news! We are in the process of buying a house! We will likely close in early or mid August. The whole house buying process has been fun, suspenseful, stressful, and pretty darn cool. Our realtor is a good friend and she's been absolutely amazing... I would recommend her to anyone! I think we visited six or seven properties before finding the right one. Friends recently told us that with each home they've bought, they always knew it was "the one" right away. They didn't have to talk themselves into it. That's what we wanted and we were very happy when we both felt that way as we toured this house. 

I love these fun colors and patterns... collecting inspiration for the "sisters" room in the new house

I can't wait to share pictures once we move in and to document some of the changes we make. For now, I'll just have to write about it. :)

Some of the things I'm most excited about are...

1. the first floor laundry room (does anyone else love hearing the sound of laundry during the day?)

2. a nice backyard with a swingset for our girls

3. cozy bedrooms that are a good blank slate

4. lots of character.... like bead board walls and wainscoting

5. a great location where were can walk to fun things

We're excited to learn a ton and have fun as first time home owners. God is such a faithful provider. There is a lot about this house that I could not have known to ask for... but He made it work out within our budget. 

So there we go! Two big reasons why August will be crazy and wonderful... the arrival of our daughter and moving into our first home. What do you have going on this summer? We're doing a lot of lounging around the living room, sleeping in (while we can haha), and playing with Bekah. She is so much fun. 

Love,

Bonnie

Recent Mama-Thoughts and Stories

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting on a comfy recliner in the living room, while Bekah plays in the truck with her grandpa. She is all about that right now... pressing car buttons (especially the ones that make noises happen) and going "ou-side". Bekah turned two years old last week! We were at the beach with my family and I felt like she grew and matured so much during our time there. I absolutely love that little girl... love who she is and who she is becoming and all the differences that she makes in my life.

One night when we were at the beach, I was doing the bedtime routine with her (brush teeth, read books, snuggle and sing or pray until she's ready to get in bed) and I asked her what she wanted me to sing about.
"Dishes."
"Dishes?"
"Yeah."

So I made up a song about dishes. That's a lot harder than you'd think. I tried to change the song and sing about her instead "Bekah, I think you're special..." "No. Dishes".

Bekah takes the best selfies :)

She says a lot of funny stuff like that right now. Yesterday I was eating some trail mix with her and I shook the bag out into my hand little by little. When three chocolates came out at once she said "NO WAY!" She has the best sense of humor. Luke and I love catching this one face she makes when she knows she is being funny. :) She's also so nurturing right now... watching her interact with her baby dolls makes me want to cry! haha. And she loves singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

Right now, I'm 32 weeks pregnant with our second daughter. As a reminder, she just moved so strong in my belly that it visibly shifted as I typed. I'm looking forward to sharing her pretty name when she arrives in August. The past few weeks have been kind of funny with this pregnancy. I've hit a few rough spots, nothing major but just a bunch of yucky-feeling days. At the same time, my joy and sense of expectancy about meeting this little girl has really taken over the fear or worry about our transition to two children. We keep saying that having two girls just feels so right.  Luke and I love imaging what she'll be like and what it will be like to have two girls. Whenever I picture her, I picture her with brown hair. In her ultrasound pictures, she definitely resembled Luke... can't wait to see her sweet face.

I started visiting my new midwife's office last month and that has been a total blessing. I had a great experience with my care surrounding Bekah's birth with doctors at a hospital, but this feels like a much better fit. I'll still be delivering at a hospital but under the care of a midwife. At my first appointment meeting her, she shared a poem with me including our little girl's name. Their care is so friendly and personal... like they really want to get to know you as a person before going through such a big life event together. I'm due August 11th, so we're praying for a full term pregnancy and totally healthy mama and baby.

That's about all that is going on in my head this morning. :) We're looking forward to celebrating Luke, my Dad, and my father-in-law tomorrow for Father's Day. What are you up to this weekend? Any recent mama-thoughts and stories to share?

Love,
Bonnie

And We're Back! {Home from Vacation}

As of yesterday, we are home from vacation! It was a really wonderful and relaxing week. The week flew by but I am feeling energized, thankful, and excited about everyday life around here. Vacation feels a little bit like New Years to me in that way… it feels like a fresh start to think about what I want life to be like when I go home.

We spent the week with both our families in Ocean City, Jersey. Luke and I both grew up going to there with our families even before we met. We love everything about that place. It was so fun bouncing back and forth between the two beach houses, having fun with both sides of our family. We even had a chocolate fondue night with the two families together - so fun! My sister, Ellie, was the only sibling who couldn't make it this year. We missed her a lot but the cool news is that she got engaged early in the week! So happy for Ellie and my soon-to-be brother, Jackson. They are perfect together.

This was our first vacation as parents and it was an adventure just experiencing the joys and challenges that come with this new season of life. Bekah did awesome with the travel and our family was incredibly kind, offering to watch her sometimes at two or three in the morning just so Luke and I could get some extra sleep. I had so much fun watching her aunts and uncles love her, sing to her, and start their relationships with her. She has grandparents and great grandparents who love her (and us!) so much and we felt that love all week long.

My favorite vacation moments this year...

  everything on the board walk: taking walks, getting ice-cream, playing mini golf

spending the afternoon at the beach with Bekah & wave jumping with my brother and Luke

how the sunshine made Bekah's red hair even brighter

dinner at Manco & Manco on the last night

sitting around with family doing nothing but watching Bek and her cousins be cuties

laughing with my siblings

 my french fry and lemonade date with Luke and our encouraging conversations

spending time with Grammy when it was just the four of us left at the house 

playing bananagrams

sitting on the boardwalk eating Kohr Bros. and watching the sky change over the ocean 

with Dad, Luke, Bekah, Aaron, and Annie

so much time to spend with my husband - love that guy!

I had a tough time getting myself to stop writing that list! I guess that's a good problem to have - having too many favorite memories from vacation.

How was your week, friends? I'm beating the post-vacation blues by dreaming about what I'd like to do this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'd love to hear what you've got going on in the week ahead!

Love,

Bonnie