thoughts on christmas 2010

Christmas was a bit…non-eventful this year. We enjoyed spending time together as a family of four and then with my parents and my sister and her family. We opened stockings and presents. We gave Lily extra hugs – again so thankful she is with us and growing and a sweet delight to be around. We delighted in watching Jude’s face. At three and a half years old, he is so full of energy, so dramatic, so full of expression, so eager to engage, and so full of hugs and snuggling. It was definitely the most fun to watch Jude. He ‘gets’ Christmas now and there is nothing better than to experience a little magic at Christmas through the eyes of a 3 year old.

I am still struggling to accept number three. Really God? Are we really going to have three children? To many of you out there, three is fin e and planned for and expected. But for me, two was always my number. There would be one child for each parent, more money to go on vacation with, four to a booth at the restaurant, a family car for four, and last but certainly not least - no more being pregnant (something, many of you know I absolutely hate). Two was good and enough - Especially enough after Lily (we still can’t get her to gain much weight – she is tiny and at 13 lbs. 12 oz. - probably close to the healthiest tiniest 18 month old on the planet – no lie). I never seriously considered three. Three meant…my children would outnumber the able bodied parents, we’d have to buy a new suv (not a mini-van mind you – I just can’t bring myself to do it), more of being pregnant and nauseous and being fat and uncomfortable (oh how I miss those wonderfully skinny jeans I could wear after Lily), more diapers and pumping and bottles, more sleepless nights, more children to keep from pummeling each other , another child to worry about, more chaos I cannot control. Whew. See how three just throws everything off course? Really God? Are we really going to have three?

And after I ponder all of these things, I am still left with the fear that what happened with Lily, could happen all over again. And the other concerns fade,…and I really just beg God to keep this child healthy and growing for a very very long time inside me. I am currently 16 weeks pregnant. The closer I get to 28, the more anxious I get. In some ways, I can’t wait for week 28, because if I can make it that far, I’ll be so preciously thankful for each week after…and I think I’ll be able to get close to 40.

And then I return to thinking about Christmas and hoping beyond hope that next year I will have had a ‘huge’ full term baby and that we are then a complete (ye s, absolutely no more) family of 5 (with 3 children all born in July – really God…I mean come on…all three children born in July?). I look forward to both Jude and Lily tearing into presents and taking pictures of them holding the new little baby. And then…there will probably be nothing better than to experience Christmas (magic and lights and carols and stockings and smiles) through the eyes of a 4 year old and a 2 year old and a 6 month old.

fall

It was a beautiful fall here in Littleton. The trees changed vibrant colors and the leaves stayed on the trees for quite some time. I tried so hard to get a good family photo while the leaves were still on the trees. It was impossible. We took a zillion shots in our front yard. None of these are stellar, but it gives you a quick look into our growing and sometimes crazy family.

 

 

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

This weekend, we've been down in Albuquerque, NM with the Cobbs for the International Balloon Fiesta. On Friday night, we went to see the 'Special Shapes Glow' - where all the different character balloons glow off and on for about an hour. It was pretty spectacular. The kids enjoyed watching the balloons, swinging light sabers, eating funnel cakes, and watching fire works.

On Saturday Morning, we went back to the fair grounds for the balloon ascension (bright and early - 5 am). It was a brilliant display. The first balloons to go up were the dawn patrol, sent up to make sure the conditions were ok for all the others. Then wave upon wave of balloons went up between 7:00 and 8:00 am. There were approximately 500 balloons. Simply amazing. The kids enjoyed seeing the balloons, being able to touch the balloons, eating warm fresh donuts and hot chocolate, and finally ending the morning with burning off the last little bit of energy by chasing Uncle Daniel and jumping in the carnival jump house.

first pigtails...

Here are Lily's first pigtails. Love them! What's Lily up to these days: she's starting to tell us 'all done' in sign language, she's still working on crawling - sometimes goes backwards, she wants to eat by herself and pick things up to put into her mouth (no spoon feeding mommy), she claps, she bee-bops to music, and she has started to say goodbye.

Jude has started to love preschool (he goes two days a week). He loves jumping, chasing, rolling, spinning, and anything rambunctious. He's really into pumpkins this fall and always loves racing cars.

24 hours of Leadville...

On Labor Day weekend, Daniel rode in the very first '24 hours of Leadville' mountain bike race. The goal of the race for as long as you can (or 24 hours max) around a difficult 17 mile loop that is over 10,000 ft in altitude. He and his friend, Keith, started at 10:00 am Saturday morning and rode all day and into the night. Both rode a fantastic race. Daniel ended up riding about 70 miles before having to stop because of not being able to see. He forgot his glasses at home and his eyes were dried out and burning up. When it's pitch black at nightHis buddy Keith suffered through and ended up completing 7 laps; he received 10th place. I was very proud of Daniel for his efforts. With each race, he gets stronger and learns more and more about how to fuel his body. The pictures below are from the start of this race.

This last weekend, Daniel completed his last race of the season - The Bearable (a short adventure race that includes swimming, running, orienteering, and mountain biking). He and his buddy, Drew, received 5th place for their efforts. Daniel had a blast and was excited to end his 'racing' season with such success.

thirteen months...

Lily is a little over thirteen months old. She sits up really well, rolls everywhere, army crawls a bit, loves to eat things she can pick up on her own (pulled pork, bananas, raisins, puffs, chicken, bread, blueberries), protests when brother bonks her or takes away a toy, and is still very pleasant and very smiley.

sick...again...

Jude and Lily were both sick with a fever two weeks ago. Then we had one good week. And now they're both sick with fevers again. Ahh...preschool...

first day

Last Thursday we went to Jude's preschool parent orientation. It was his very first day of preschool. He'll be going on Tues/Thurs mornings. Wow - I can hardly believe my little boy is going to school!