Soccer Video of Calli

Calli has been playing really well in her soccer games the last few weeks so I decided to record today to show everyone. I had to record with our regular camera since we hadn't charged the video camera and instead of taking one long video I just took a bunch of short ones every time the ball was in play. That was better anyway so there isn't a bunch of standing around waiting for the ball to be thrown in, just all action! It's funny to see that they play six minute quarters and with all the stoppage it ends up to be much less than twenty-four minutes! Calli played the first three quarters and I recorded every minute of actual play and it added up to about seven minutes! Crazy. Anyhow, hope you enjoy watching our little all-star. She is #3 and you can't miss her!

Then and Now - The Chair

Serena has discovered our papasan chair and loves to sit in it! She can actually climb in and out of it by herself usually (although she did topple over once this morning!). I had taken a photo of her in the chair when she was just two weeks old and can you believe how much she has grown in a year??

Dress-Up!

Calli has always been the queen of coming up with crazy outfits to dress up in. And now it looks as if Serena is following in her footsteps! On Monday Richard took Calli to the pool that has finally opened up down the street from us. This gave Serena and I some time alone at home and she came up with an interesting outfit all on her own. I was doing something in the kitchen and she walked in with this mosquito netting for Calli's baby doll cradle around her neck. She was also trying to put a skirt on her head and finally gave up and handed it to me. When I put it on her head she seemed content! Eventually it slipped down around her neck, which I didn't like so I pulled it down to make kind of a dress. The netting went on her head and that created outfit #2!

Perhaps we have a future fashion designer on our hands??

Sister Love

There are times when I really love being a mother and some of those times occur when I see my children playing together and getting along. I wish I could say that my kids are perfect angels who love each other so much, always share their toys, and never fight. But that would be a lie because the truth is, although there are fleeting moments of sisterly love that pass between them, most of the time I am breaking up fights. Actually, most of the time I am defending Serena from her big sister. Sometimes Calli loves her just a bit too much and smothers her in affection with hugs and kisses. Most of the time though she knows just how to get on her little sister's nerves and bug her by touching her or stealing her toys. I think it is hard for all little kids to learn to share, but first borns have it especially rough. Calli was the only child for two and a half years and then Serena came along and all of a sudden "her" toys became "their" toys. When Serena was an infant all Calli could talk about was how she couldn't wait for her sister to get bigger and play with her. Now that that day has finally arrived I think Calli is having second thoughts ;). Not to say that Serena is a perfect angel by any means! But being the younger one, she is picked on more and it's harder for her to defend herself given she doesn't have the vocabulary to tell her sister to BUZZ OFF.

But once in awhile, usually first thing in the morning when Calli is so excited for Serena to wake up and Serena is in a good mood, they get along and play together. It starts by Calli being the first one upstairs when she hears Serena up in her crib. I give them a few minutes to play together; Calli gives Serena toys and sometimes climbs in the crib with her. I often hear lots of laughing coming from the room. When we come downstairs Serena doesn't like to eat breakfast first thing, so they dive right into the massive amount of toys spilling out of the toybox. Calli brings Serena a book or shares a toy with her. She helps Serena up on the couch when she can't quite make it herself. And this morning the two of them were especially cute to watch together. Serena loves to play with the wipes, much to my chagrin! So I let her have ONE this morning and of course Calli wanted one too to do her "cleaning". She took hers and started wiping down the TV and surrounding area. Serena decided to copy her big sister and started cleaning with her!

After they had finished their chore Calli went and laid down on the couch. Serena decided she wanted to be up there too and she climbed right up and gave her sister big hugs. I expected it to only last a second, but Serena just laid there on top of Calli hugging her and Calli loved it. They were giggling together and giving each other kisses and being so sweet! Finally Serena decided she had enough and pulled away and Calli started yelling about how Serena had slobbered on her. This cracked Serena up so she started laughing like crazy with Calli telling her "it's not funny!" which only made her laugh harder. These are the moments that make everything worth it.

I am excited to add a third sibling to the dynamic. Although he'll be a baby for most of the time Calli is still home (before she starts kindergarten), they will all have the chance to interact together for a little while at least. I know having three kids in four years will be challenging, but I hope it will also allow my kids a strong bond with one another. Here's to many more sweet moments to come!

The Waiting Game...

Well we are just sitting around waiting for our baby to make his appearance! We haven't been up to too much because there is no use making plans when at any moment I could go into labor (wishful thinking!!). Memorial Day was my due date and it came and went. We decided to bbq that night, which luckily turned out better than our Friday night bbq! To kick off the weekend we had decided to barbecue some delicious chicken and corn on the cob to go with the roasted potatoes I make in the oven. The weather seemed nice enough, the sun was out and we saw some dark clouds nearby, but the forecast never said anything about rain. We were watching the kids run around in the backyard and just enjoying the evening. We had decided to come inside and not five minutes later Richard looked out the window and noticed it had started sprinkling. Not long after that the downpour started with the wind whipping the rain hard into our sliding glass door. Next the hail came: yes HAIL! We have noticed that it never just rains here in San Antonio; it is always accompanied by some severe weather like thunderstorms, hail or tornado watches. I am sure there is an explanation for this, but I don't really know what it is. As they say in Texas, if you don't like the weather here, wait five minutes and it will change. So anyhow, we had already had the barbecue going and with no awning of any kind for it to go under, it sat out in the rain. Richard braved the sheets of water a couple times to check on the food and each time reported it was still warm and cooking. When we finally brought it in, it was pretty near perfect (a few minutes in the oven and it was done!). So we lucked out on that! Of course soon after we finished eating the skies cleared back up :).

So on Monday we decided to try our luck again and bbq just some burgers, but that is always yummy! Earlier in the day we had taken a trip to a duck pond about ten minutes away. I had taken the girls there once, last August right before Calli broke her arm. This time was more fun because Serena could enjoy it too. Calli loved feeding the ducks and Serena just was amazed by them and loved to stare. After enjoying the pond and ducks we had a picnic lunch at the tables and then the kids played in the park for a bit. It was a really fun day, but I was hoping to go into labor :)

So now here I sit, three days overdue and no sign of a baby!! I do, however, have an induction date scheduled for next Tuesday. I really, really, really do not want to be induced so I am saying my prayers that this baby decides to come on his own. Serena played a similar trick on me, making me go through the process of scheduling my induction and then deciding to just come on her own that same day! So I am hoping that this one will do the same, or better yet, come earlier! We are ready and waiting for you baby! For some reason, all my babies make themselves extra comfy and cozy in my belly and seem to not want to leave. I like to tell myself that I just make an extra hospitable and loving environment for them, but I think the real reason is that they don't want to give up getting a piece of all the sweets I indulge in ;).

Super Star Soccer Player!

There is this amazingly smart and beautiful little girl named Calli. She loves to wear dresses, play with her dolls and go to dance class. Oh yeah, and she is the best three-year-old soccer player on the planet!

I may be exaggerating a bit because, after all, I am her mother! But I am truly amazed at how much skill she posesses at such a young age. She played her first season for the YMCA in the fall, when she was about three and a quarter years old. It took her a few games to get into it, but by the last one she had scored her first goal (two in fact!) and really seemed to love playing. We signed her up for the next session this spring and I couldn't wait to see how much she would improve again. She picked up right where she left off and each game surprises us with her talent at the game of soccer. Her game last Saturday was no exception: it was her best game to date! It was an 11am start time and it was getting very hot out. When that happens, most of the girls end up dropping out and not wanting to play by about halftime. They divide the games into four six minute quarters with a longer break at the half. Calli was in the starting five out on the field and she immediately went to work. Four times the other team had the ball to kick off and four times in a row Calli stole it from them and took it down to score. The first quarter ended soon after and I offered to hold Calli out the next quarter to give some of the other little girls a chance to touch the ball. Calli was disappointed, but I also knew that most of the girls were going to drop before the game's end and Calli would still be wanting to play. So it really seemed only fair to give them a chance to play in the beginning. I asked Calli if she was going to score four more goals and she told me "no Mom, I'm going to score five!" I think Calli got three more goals in the third quarter and by the fourth quarter it was just her and one other girl on her team out there playing and she got her final two goals for a total of TEN. There are times she would go track down the opposing player heading to score a goal, steal the ball and dribble it the whole field length to score. Richard says she dribbles better than he can! Needless to say, at the end of the game she was pretty happy with herself and we were very proud of her. We had quite a few parents come up and tell us how they were blown away that she was so good and the other coach even went up to her and gave her a special high-five.

Yes I know I'm bragging. I know there are more important things in life and I know that just because she plays well now does not mean it's something she will continue for the rest of her life. But in this moment, just for now, I am going to enjoy it. I am going to revel in the fact that my daughter is a super star soccer stud. I am going to brag that she is the best player on her team (on any team!). I am going to repeat that SHE SCORED TEN GOALS IN ONE GAME. And I am going to continue to watch her dominate the game as long as she will let me.

I was lucky enough to stumble across a soccer camp nearby our house this summer. It is in July, an hour and a half a day for a week. She'll go play soccer with other four- and five- year-olds in the morning, as well as get a free t-shirt, a free jersey and a free soccer ball out of it! This will be her very first soccer camp and I could not be more excited. I used to go to a lot of soccer camps when I was a child. I always hated them, BUT I was a very different kid than Calli. Calli is outgoing and friendly, where I was shy and reserved, scared to make friends. I know she will have a blast and if she doesn't then she never has to go to another one!! She'll also be playing in the summer soccer league at the YMCA, which I am starting to think might be a teeny tiny mistake. I know she'll have fun, but it is already so dang hot that I am wondering if it'll be okay. I know she will have fun, but I am also worried about us sitting on the sidelines with Serena and the new baby (not to mention me, I hate the heat!!). I couldn't not sign her up though; if there is soccer to be played, I want her to play it and I know that she loves it and wants to play too. Besides that, Grandma Keri will get to be here for her very first game of that season in late June so that will be special.

Anyhow, here is Calli's soccer team this year.

Pregnancy Photos

We had some professional maternity pictures taken about two months ago. It had been something I really wanted to have done, being that this is most likely my last pregnancy. And it just seemed special, being that it is our first boy and both of my girls could be in the photos with me (as well as Richard of course!!). I was nervous to have them done because I can't remember the last time I had professional photos taken where I was the main subject! But I was worried for nothing because the whole experience turned out to be really fun. The photographer I found was really nice and put us at ease right away. She is a young mother herself so she knows what it's like to be pregnant as well as raise a family. She has a studio downtown that we went to for the shoot and I am so happy with how the pictures turned out. I got to choose ten photos (she ended up giving me eleven!) to have the copyrights to and print as many as I choose. I also received a 10x10 collage with four photos. After all that I ended up going back and ordering prints of two photos that I didn't get the copyrights to. I can't put them up on this blog because, like I said, I don't have the copyrights to them, but I am glad to have the prints at least. They were photos I thought I might regret not having in some form someday. One is a really sweet one of Calli hugging my belly and the other is a family photo.

Anyhow, here are the pictures! I think I also got them done just in time. It wasn't long after that I started feeling huge and uncomfortable. I had reached the point where I didn't feel "cute" pregnant anymore and just felt "beached whale-like" pregnant. Despite the hardships of pregnancy (and yes, there are many!!) you can't deny that it is such a magical and special time. After all, I am growing a life here! Just saying that makes me feel as if I have been given some important job, even though half the world's population also takes on this job. So anyway, it is really nice that we all have this photo shoot to remember this truly special time in our lives. I would never regret getting the photos done, but I am sure if I hadn't there would have come a day when I would have wished we did them. And I just didn't want that to happen. Pregnancy definitely isn't beautiful all the time, but looking at some of these photos I do feel like I was beautiful; whether that's thanks to the new hair color I had done the night before, the lighting in the studio, the photographer's angles or the slight airbrushing she did afterward, I am not sure. I also see just how beautiful our little girls really are. We are going to have some difficult teenage years ahead of us with them dating! They probably could have used a big brother to keep an eye on them, but hopefully baby brother will help out someday too ;)

Family photo. I love this because it is so unique from any other family photo you see out there. It's untraditional and that's why I love it. Serena was also more comfortable in the outdoors setting. She is not one to enjoy getting her photo taken and I think being in a studio with bright lights and cameras doesn't put her fears at ease. But being outside with her family, where there is just one small camera pointed at her, she gave us some smiles!

This shot is so sweet. I love how they are both looking toward my belly and how Calli is poking it as if to say "Baby brother, are you in there?"
Neither the photographer nor I remember getting this shot, but somehow she managed to capture us all looking down at our bellies at the same time!

This picture is just priceless. A mommy and her girls, what could be more perfect?

After Calli and Daddy left the set Serena wasn't exactly happy. So we didn't get any smiles from her but I do love this photo. Her eyes look so big and blue and you just want to kiss those chubby little cheeks! She has another ponytail in on the other side, but it's somehow hidden, which is really funny!

Calli just looks so sweet and innocent in this picture

This is the eleventh photo that my photographer threw in for me. We had trouble narrowing it down to ten. We got down to eleven finally and I couldn't decide which picture to throw out. I knew I couldn't pay the $125 for copyrights to one photo so I would have to choose. Richard had said "don't get any of me" but I didn't feel right leaving him out. After all, it may be my pregnancy, but it is his baby growing in there too after all! So finally my photographer just told me she would throw in the last image for me because even she wouldn't have been able to decide. So thank you so much to her!!

I love this shot of our hands on my belly. It's priceless.

Love this photo

I really love this one and how it is in black and white

The photos she took on the couch were the "modeling" shots. This one was my favorite.

And obviously this isn't part of the professional set, but here I am last night, nearly 40 weeks pregnant and ready to pop! Come out baby, we are ready to meet you!

Guessing Game!

Think you know when our baby will be making his big debut? Take a guess! Here is some relevant (or maybe unrelevant, you decide!!) information to go on:

My due date is MONDAY May 25th.
Calli was two days overdue and weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 17.5 inches long.
Serena was eight days overdue and weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
We already know this baby is a BOY.

Happy guessing!

Hi!

Serena has officially said her first word: Hi! She says it as she waves and it is so precious. I have been waiting for her to say her first word, but in no rush. I think being a parent the second time around is so different. With Calli I remember I couldn't wait for her to talk and I was always encouraging her to try and say something. With Serena I am much more laid back and figure it will happen when it happens. And besides, I have the experience of knowing CALLI, who pretty much started talking and never shut up. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely a good thing and I think she is a very smart for her age. But I am not in such a hurry to get the little ones talking anymore. It happens when it happens and it is not a race or reflection on your parenting or how smart your child will be. Moms get so competitive about every little thing when it comes to their children. Most of them forget that by the time they all go off to kindergarten, every one of them is TALKING, WALKING, POTTY TRAINED, etc. etc. And by the time that child graduates from high school I can guarantee that they are not going to be exchanging stories with their friends about who said their first word the earliest or who walked the youngest. So anyway, I am sure in no time Serena will have as wide a vocabulary as her big sister and will be teaching her little brother to talk as well.

Serena also seems to have discovered Calli's favorite hiding place. If you have been to our house and know Calli, you have probably seen her disappear a time or two into her "hiding place" as she calls it, which is really a cabinet in the kitchen. She discovered it when we first moved in when she was about eighteen months or so. Despite the fact that she is nearly four and has grown tremendously in that time, she still fits! But now it seems that she has some competition for that spot because little miss Serena has desginated it her "hiding place" too!

The Surprise

This pregnancy has been a different experience because we chose to find out the sex of our baby this time around. With both of the girls we had no idea what they were before they were born.

When I found out I was pregnant with Calli I couldn't WAIT to know if she was a boy or a girl. I made an ultrasound appointment in January when I was sixteen weeks pregnant, only to go in and find out I had to schedule an ultrasound at in the radiology department of the hospital (it would have been helpful if she had told me that on the phone when I scheduled it!). The doctor was nice and took a peek anyhow, but couldn't tell if she was a boy or a girl. I set up my ultrasound appointment in the correct place on Valentine's Day when I was twenty-one weeks along. I was so excited and couldn't wait; I just knew this was going to be the best Valentine's Day ever! After taking the baby's measurements, the ultrasound technician spent a good ten to fifteen minutes searching for those elusive parts that tell you BOY or GIRL. Well Calli being Miss Calli decided to hide them behind my belly button and we left the appointment not knowing. I was devestated and sobbing in the car as we left. I couldn't believe that I would have to go my whole pregnancy without knowing what she was (oh the tragedy, right!). At my next doctor's appointment the following week I asked the doctor if she could possibly take a look and she was so nice and said she would, but there were no ultrasound machines available. I made sure to book my appointment four weeks later with her again and ask. It seemed to be fate that day when we were put into a room with an ultrasound machine. She started it up and there was our baby on the screen - but again, in the wrong position. I was twenty-six weeks pregnant and all I could do was laugh. It seemed that she really did not want us to know that she was a girl! By that point I was okay with it and even started to embrace the fact that we were having a surprise delivery. I was on pins and needles just waiting and was so anxious to find out. We joked that after all the ultrasounds I had and all the times she hid from us that she would come out with her hands covering herself, still not letting us see!

When that wonderful day came, two days after my due date, it was extra exciting. It really does give you that extra incentive to make it through the pain, knowing that you are going to have the most wonderful surprise after all that is over. Everyone knew the baby was a surprise and when it was finally time to push the nurse relayed my wishes to the doctor when she walked in: I wanted my husband to be the one to tell me BOY or GIRL. Well, baby came out, doctor held her up and before Richard could utter a single word I squealed "it's a girl!" It's a moment that makes me smile just thinking of it. IT WAS THE BEST!!

We had so much fun with that we decided the second time around we weren't going to find out either (but this time it would be on purpose and OUR choice). At my twenty week ultrasound (which really happened at about seventeen weeks) we told the technician we didn't want to know the sex of the baby. She was quite taken aback, like we were the only people in the world who wouldn't want to know what their baby was! I know it's pretty uncommon nowadays, but it still happens. And besides, there was a time before all this technology could tell us and we would have no choice BUT to wait. She even went so far as to look and tell us that the baby had it's legs crossed. I was thankful for that because I would have been very upset had she said something after us telling her not to.

So again, the big day came, this time eight days after my due date. The labor was quicker and all the nurses thought it was so neat that we had a surprise baby. It wasn't quite as fun as Calli's because when they broke my water they saw that there was meconium in it so they knew they were going to have to take the baby right away and make sure it was okay. I remember her coming out and then the doctor suctioning her mouth and us just sitting there. I wanted to know so bad, but the suspense was also so fun because I knew after it was over, that was it! Finally the doctor told us "it's a girl!" Later he said that he didn't know we didn't know or he would have made it more special.

This time around, I did want to know beforehand. Having two girls and having these last two spaced so close together, we wanted to know if we were going to have to be buying a bunch of new clothes and things or if we could be using the hand-me-downs again. The day I found out that he was a boy was VERY bittersweet (emphasis on the BITTER part). I was *supposidly* seventeen weeks along (turns out I was really fifteen weeks) and was having an ultrasound to check for markers of Down syndrome. The first technician was doing her scan and I mentioned that I did want to know when she got a chance. He was moving a bit but she got him in a good position and paused the screen shot and I said "is that what I think it is??" Yep mama, you are having a little boy! I was in shock. I tried to just focus on that as she did the rest of her work and pray that he would be a HEALTHY little boy. The next technician confirmed it was a boy again so I left pretty dang sure we were having a boy. We'll put another emphasis on the BITTER part because Richard didn't get to be in the room to share the moment of finding out we were having a son. The office didn't allow kids, which we didn't know until we got there so he had to wait in the car with the girls. (My amniocentesis also confirmed that it is a boy in there so there is no wondering if maybe the ultrasound is wrong!).

Anyhow, I know I have not delivered my UNsurprise baby yet and I know there are many things to look forward to about his birth. I know seeing him for the first time will be a surprise and finding out what he looks like is a surprise. But I think it is truly special to wait and have that surprise at the delivery. Having it both ways now I can tell you that having an ultrasound technician tell you doesn't even compare to finding out in the hospital. I know some people say they are too impatient, but really I always think it is only a few months longer to wait. And it is so worth it. I wish we would have waited and I always encourage moms-to-be to wait. There is no surprise like it in the world!

Perspective

Lately, I have been trying to get some of it! Whenever I start to worry about becoming a third time mom something or someone seems to be placed in my path that makes me say "what am I so worried about!?" This week it has been a fellow pregnant mother at Calli's swim lessons. We got to talking today (isn't it funny how pregnant women can just start chatting each other up just because they are both pregnant?) and she mentioned she is pregnant with her EIGHTH baby. Eight kids. Wow. And I am scared of three? They have a fifteen passenger van to carry them around, which makes my new six seater, third row vehicle seem tiny. It's always fun to talk to other moms in the same situation as you, but it was funny how much we seemed to have in common! They had the name Callie all picked out for their little boy, who was a girl at the ultrasound (they ended up calling him Cal instead). She also told me how she ended up changing one of her childrens' names after they were born and it was so easy "...but that was in Guam". It's always fun to run into other people who have been stationed in Guam since it's not a very big club. She also lived in my birthplace, Santa Rosa, CA, for a short time, where her sister was born. Sometimes the world is so small!

Anyhow, after getting in my car following Calli's swim lesson I thought, if she can do eight, I can surely do three! I adjusted to two just fine and despite what everyone told me, I didn't think that it was harder than going from zero kids to one. That was definitely harder for me. Maybe it was the fact that I was so young and had no family there to help out, but the first one was HARD. With the second baby, you are already in KIDS MODE; your house is littered with toys, you've done the midnight feedings, the diaper changes, the bottles. You just know what to expect! Sure, the first month was trying, but when ISN'T having a newborn hard, whether it's your first or tenth!? Those first few weeks are difficult for anyone. At least this time around it is an experience that is fresh in our minds from just having been through it last year.

Serena is at this time in her life where she is really clingy. Her personality seems to be pretty shy in general, but at the age of one she is now trying to find herself and her independence. And I feel so guilty for having to cast her off a bit to care for a new baby. I feel like I have made her grow up too fast and won't be able to spend the time with her that I would like. I think in the long run having a sibling just a year difference from her will be beneficial for her, but when she is so young she isn't going to understand why my attention can't be so focused on her. When I think about this, my heart just hurts. I am sure all moms of two or more kids (especially MORE kids) must feel like their heart can't possibly go in all the directions that it is being pulled, so I know I am not alone. I just hope my children can know someday that I love them all just as much as the next and have always tried to be the best I can for each of them. I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to stay home with them, as hard as it may be at times. I am sure that Richard comes home some days wondering what I even did all day, but when the weekend comes and he spends his days with the kids he is exhausted when it is over. Kids just have the ability to wear you out (especially Calli!) and even if we don't leave the house all day I am still tired by the end of it. But I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world because if I did, I couldn't go back. I will never get these years of life back and I am trying to enjoy them. Calli is just about a year away from entering kindergarten and will start her own path in life in the school system. I want to make sure that I have given her a solid foundation to spread her wings from because there are no re-dos in life. We all get one chance. Parenting is hard, but it is worth it.

So I know without a doubt, we can do this. I look down at my huge belly and think how much easier it is to care for them when they are in there. But at the same time, I can't wait to meet this new little one. I can't wait to see the color of his eyes, the hair on his head (or not), the shape of his cheeks. I can't wait to count each of his fingers and toes and hold him for the first time. I can't wait for his sisters to meet him, to hold him, to love him. I can't wait to someday watch my children all playing together, fighting together, standing up for each other, disliking each other, loving each other. I can't wait to be able to take a trip to Disneyland someday, to make memories with each of my children separately and together. I can't wait to be a family of FIVE, to show Calli that there is one person in our family for each of the fingers on her hand. I can't wait.

Swimming Video

Here is a short video of Calli's swimming lesson

Swimming Lessons

Calli started taking swimming lessons on Monday. It has been a rough two days for her to start, but I think she is still having fun. The classes are Monday through Thursday from 9:45-10:30. It's a little hard (especially on me!) having the classes each day, but I wanted to get at least one session in before the baby gets here because I don't know that we'll have time after.

Anyhow, yesterday we got ready and left the house and I had a nagging suspicion that I forgot something. We were sitting at the light to get onto the freeway and it hit me: I forgot her towel! We couldn't very well arrive without a towel to dry off at the end so we had to turn around and get one. Luckily we were still on time, but I really hate being in a rush. It's not the easiest thing to quickly get two kids out of the car and try and carry one as quickly as my pregnant feet will take me. (Today it was the sunscreen I forgot, but I didn't turn around for that one. It was cloudy out anyway and Calli inherited the same Italian genes her Grandpa James and Auntie Brittany have and she doesn't burn easily, just tans. If only Mommy and Daddy were so lucky!).

They all sat on the edge of the pool before getting to go in the water. Calli is just a fish so you know she was itching to get in!

They were practicing blowing bubbles in the water (Calli had just finished)
Floating on her back

Kicking her legs

Serena watching Big Sister swim. I don't really have to be nervous about her around the water because she hates swimming. So I wasn't too concerned she may go near the pool and jump in. Sure enough, she kept her distance from the water.

Practicing her arm motions

Practicing her arm motions again

They all lined up to get ready to jump in

And there's Calli jumping in the water!

She had lots of fun. The only incident yesterday happened a couple minutes into the class. They were all standing on the ledge just inside the pool and Calli was moving around and ended up falling off. They quickly pulled her head up, but she was startled for a moment and exclaimed "I falled" when she got up. It was kind of funny and she shook it off and was just fine.

Today, however, there were a lot of bees around the pool for some reason. When I sent Calli to walk over to her class I saw her step on something and then she tried to get it off her foot. I just kind of assumed it was a rock. When she reached the rest of the class the teachers were also looking at it and then finally one of the parents said that she had stepped on a bee! It ended up stinging her, but she never made any noise or sound like it hurt. Unfortunately the stinger was in there and one of the lifeguards tried to get it out with tweezers, but Calli is Calli and didn't want those things anywhere near her. We tried for awhile to convince her, but she wouldn't hear any of it and just continued to freak out. Finally I let her go back to her lesson and might try to get it out again tonight if I can. I am not anticipating it to be an easy task!

So hopefully tomorrow's lesson is a bit less eventful :)

Happy Mother's Day!

We just wanted to take a moment to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially the two most important ones in our life; our mothers, the ones who gave birth to us, who raised us, who support us and love us unconditionally. I don't think that there are two better moms on the face of this planet and we love you more than you will ever know. Happy Mother's Day, today and every day. Thanks for everything.

Richard and Mom

Nicole and Mom
As one of my favorite sayings goes: "Great moms get promoted to Grandma"

Grandma Molly with Calli and Serena

Grandma Keri with Calli and Serena

Although I know I am a mom (times two!) I still don't feel like this day is about me. Maybe I will feel like it's my day thirty years from now after I have raised my kids. Nonetheless, this is my FOURTH Mother's Day and all of them have been wonderful. I have the best kids I could imagine. I bought Calli a book called "The Berenstein Bears and the Mama's Day Surprise" awhile back. When she was told that Mother's Day was approaching she wanted to do exactly what the kids did for the mother in that book: make blueberry pancakes for Mom in bed. So although it wasn't much of a surprise when she walked into my room this morning holding a paper plate with a blueberry pancake she had proudly helped Daddy make, it was the best present I could have asked for.

Here is a picture of the day I became a mother

And here is a picture of the day I became a mother for the second time

This is probably my favorite picture of my kids and me. Serena was two and a half months old and Calli was nearly three.

Finally, a recent picture of my kids and me. We have all grown so much! Pretty soon we'll have another little one to be celebrating the holidays with.

Finding the Happiness

I apologize to all my loyal fans (AKA, my mommy and daddy) who have been anxiously awaiting another blog from our corner of the world. To be honest, pregnancy is not agreeing with me so well at the moment. In other words, I am just about the crankiest person on the face of this planet at the moment. Sometimes I think I have good reason to be cranky; after all, I am nearly 38 weeks pregnant, I am tired, uncomfortable, can't sleep well at night, have swollen feet, and not to mention this very large belly. I have been acutely aware this pregnancy how hard it is to carry all this extra weight. I haven't gained much more than I did with my other two, but for some reason I am feeling heavier on my feet. Trying to tote around two kids, one of whom needs to be carried at times, and you can see why I am a tired mama! But nonetheless, women have been doing it for a very long time before me and will continue doing it after me and we all survive and get through it. As much as I gripe, I will miss it. There is something so special and awe inspiring about creating and growing a life inside of you. Knowing that this is probably the last time I will do so has me feeling a bit sad.

Maybe it is the weather. I am not a hot climate kind of person and with the temperatures creeping up to ONE HUNDRED DEGREES the last two days, it has not made me a happy camper. To heck with the electricity bill, I have been turning the A/C down so I won't completely lose my mind!

Maybe it is me feeling a bit lonely. This being my third pregnancy, I've realized that I've never had family or my best friends around to share it with. I've never had people waiting in the delivery room to visit or my mom by my side helping me through labor. Doing it alone plain sucks. You want to be able to share this special time with everyone you love and the best that you can do is a phone call and birth announcement in the mail.

Maybe it is me being scared of having a third child. Materially, I feel prepared: we just got a bigger car, Richard's parents kindly purchased our double stroller and carseat, I preregistered at the hospital and have my bag pretty much packed. But mentally I don't know if I'm ready to take on another child. Am I ready for the sleepless nights? Am I ready to deal with Serena's clingy-ness while trying to care for an infant? Am I ready to run errands with three kids in tow, when at this moment I am struggling doing it with two? Now to be fair, part of the problem IS that I am pregnant and out of energy so getting two kids in and out of carseats is really hard. But getting three kids in and out? Like that will be easier!

I have been trying hard to focus on the positives, the good things in my life, the things that make me happy:

Happiness is ... my children.
Happiness is ... knowing without a doubt that we have the two most beautiful girls on the planet. Happiness is ... hearing "Mommy, I love you" twenty times a day out of the blue from a three-year-old, usually followed by "you're the best mommy in the whole world".
Happiness is ... seeing your one-year-old climb up on a small chair for the first time alone, turn around to sit and applaud proudly at herself while swinging her little legs which don't even come near the ground.
Happiness is ... watching that one-year-old walk up to her big sister and plant a huge kiss right on her belly (because that is as high as she can reach).
Happiness is ... watching your three-year-old score six goals in her soccer game and realizing that she just might be even more of a soccer star than you were.
Happiness is ... having your three-year-old run ahead of you up the stairs to get her little sister up because she wants to be the first to see her. Then making your own way up the stairs you hear that sweet laughter coming from the room and come upon two sets of bright blue eyes and two heads of sweet blonde hair peeking out over the crib bars.
Happiness is ... reading your child her My Goodnight Book each night before bed, followed sometimes by Prayers for a Little girl, which your dad used to read to you before bed. Happiness is ... tucking your kids in at 7:30pm and unwinding with a bowl of ice cream (perhaps soon to be something stronger!).
Happiness is ... being the one your kids run to when they get hurt because despite growing up and being independent, they still need their mommy or daddy.
Happiness is ... an ice cold Diet Pepsi.
Happiness is ... a new car, in the form of something used and so much better than you expected to find in your price range.
Happiness is ... family dinners...every night.
Happiness is ... laying eyes upon your baby for the first time, holding her/him in your arms and feeling a love so powerful that there are simply no words.
Happiness is ... having the same person share your hopes and dreams, your life, for nearly six years and counting.

Happiness is ... realizing that you truly have the perfect family.
I could go on. My point is, happiness is not found in a spotless house, in a million dollars, in all the brand name material possesions. It is found in people, in the simple things in life. And if I can just remember that each day then I have succeeded.