Thanksgiving

We had such a great family day on Thanksgiving. Meme went all out and cooked the works: turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, heavenly corn casserole, cream cheese stuffed celery, fruit salad, and rolls. It was so delicious.

I ate and ate and ate. And then had leftovers the next day and they were just as good. Our family has so much to be thankful for. We are very blessed. For Derek and I, it was our first holiday as a family of four. I am so glad Liv made her debut early to celebrate with us. I was prepared for her to come early and had made a little turkey onesie for BOTH girls out of some vintage fabric that I've had forever. I absolutely love this fabric. I made Ingrid some ruffle pants to match. I hadn't made Liv any pants, because I had run out of time before her arrival. So I stayed up the night before Thanksgiving and made her a pair. No ruffles for her short little legs, but some cute pants nonetheless. I also made her a little rolled flower headband out of the tan fabric and brown felt for the leaves. I am a huge bow/headband fan, but her head is soooo tiny none of the headbands I have will stay on right now so I'm left to making my own.




Amelia and Elise were so precious in matching panda dresses. I wanted so badly to get a pic of all four cousins, but this is the best I got. Maybe when they're a little older...?

There was lots of playing toys, games, reading books, laughter, and fun.


Elise showed off her walking skills AGAIN!

For dessert we had an adorable turkey cake made by Jenn. The "big" girls were very patient while we were taking pics. But they wanted to dig in!


Meme also made 2 pumpkin pies, a pecan pie, and an apple pie!!!!

My little family!

I was so excited to get dressed in something other than leggings or sweats. I wish I had a shirt like this is every single color/pattern combination possible. I love it. Perfectly loose and blousy without being a tent and it buttons up for easy feedings! Hooray.

Sisters! Here we are with our babies. Loving my sister's new bangs. So cute!

I ended the night with an ice cold Coca-Cola in a glass bottle! PERFECTION.

First Bath

Liv did great on her first real bath. We've been waiting and waiting for her cord to come off so she could have a nice soak. She only cried for a split second at the beginning. Then she decided she loved getting her hair washed a good scrub-down!




All smiles!

Here's a look back 16 months ago to Ingrid's first bath! So serious.

My "official" due date

Today was the 40 week mark of my pregnancy. The day we thought we would get to meet Liv. She's already been with us 13 days and amazingly, I can't imagine these 13 days without her! I never got to post the rest of my pregnancy pics, so this is it. The last of them. And some cute shots of my girl in a pretty pink gown. On her due date. :)



From sleeping peacefully to big yawns!

Ingrid says, "Biv's eyes open!"


Ingrid got a new Christmas moose from Darren. She's making it give Liv a kiss.


Tomorrow is Liv's two-week appointment at the doctor. We're praying for a great report and no heart murmurs! I'm going to be all over the place on blog posts. I still have so many pics to post from the hospital and from our first days home but I haven't had time to sort through them yet. I know we have some good ones, so I can't wait!

Meme's Big Day

Two weekends ago was Meme's 75th birthday! We had a celebration for her at mom and dad's house. It was so much fun, and little did I know, it was my last family get-together before Liv arrived. We actually all guessed her arrival date, birth weight and length at the party. No one guessed she would come as early as the 15th! Meme deserves one million gifts, truckloads of cards filled with kind words, and hugs for a lifetime for all she does for our family. She is a one of a kind lady and I am SO PROUD to be able to call her my Meme.


A cousin headbutt? No way, a cousin kiss!



Liv was not left out of this party. Jenn brought a present for her! It is a precious lion set. A little lion to cuddle with her name monogrammed on it! And a big lion for her to lay on and do tummy time. She has already used him 4 times and she's getting stronger by the day.



We also attempted to take some family photos that day but the wind was INSANE. We have a couple of shots that were salvageable and I'll try to get them posted this week. I have to include these pics from the same weekend. It was the next day and we were gathered for the yummy leftovers. Amelia was being Ingrid's "mom" and feeding her and taking care of her all day. It was hilarious.

Curly Top!

I have soooooo many pictures I want to post and so many things to write about that I'm a little overwhelmed. So I'm sticking with something simple tonight. My little Ing's curly top. What curls you ask? The ones she has after bath. They are so cute and bouncy. I just wish they would stay. The baby hair that never fell out is so fine and long that it pulls most of the curl out by morning. But I have hope that she might be able to wear a semi-curly style one day--or at least some waves. This first picture is of her looking at herself in the mirror. She just kept looking and looking and touching her hair. I know she was wondering "What in the world is going on here!"

What a difference a week makes...

One week ago I was posting about a girls night out and hoping to catch up on my belly shots of Liv. I was teaching my class how to tell time to the half hour and getting ready to make some crafty Thanksgiving turkeys. I was playing Bunco at my principal's house and celebrating my friend's 50th birthday. I was also having major contractions and wondering when I should go to the hospital. And at 10:01 Tuesday morning, Liv Riley was born! This has been a whirlwind of a week. My life is completely changed after one week. I am now a mother of two. We are a family of four. Ingrid is a big sister. Having two babies is so much different than having one. You can't "nap when she naps." You can't devote all your time, energy, and attention on her. Because you have another child to think about. I have been more tired than I could have ever imagined. It's very different, and I'm so grateful for the help we've had. My family has made sure Ingrid is not feeling left out. She is adjusting beautifully. She definitely cares where Liv is and what she's doing. She loves to give her kisses and say her name. I'm so very proud of how she's handling being a big sister so "maturely." And she's 16 months old! I'm loving having a baby at the holidays. It makes everything seem even more magical. I love, love, love my life!

Offering "Biv" some milk.



Trying out one of the new "toys" around the house.



Mommy and Liv time.

Mommy and Ingrid time.