IT'S A BOY!

Wow, it's really cool to say that! Matt and I are so excited to welcome a little boy into our family. We went into this pregnancy wanting nothing more than a healthy baby. With as sweet and loving as our two girls are, we would gladly take another. And to be honest, I was a little frightened of the unknowns of raising a rambunctious little boy. But the past couple weeks I found myself changing my mind. Maybe I did want a boy. I know a lot of sweet boys. And I've talked to mom's of sweet boys. And I've looked at pictures of my friends and their sweet boys. Maybe a sweet boy would work in this family. Yeah, I wanted a boy. And I know as much as Matt loves the two little girls that have him wrapped around his finger, he needs a boy. Needs a boy. When I go shopping with my girls, he needs a buddy to take to the ballgame or wood cutting or some other stinky sweaty boy event.

And for the past week or two Eleanor has told us she "knows we're having a boy". Not think, know. And how cool is it that we also have a 4-year-old with fetus gender ESP?

Throughout my pregnancy I've been waiting for 'the dream'. The one I've had with the past two pregnancies that has up to know, shown me holding my little girl. Both times the dream was correct. And finally the night before my ultrasound I have 'the dream'. This time it's not holding my newborn, but rather seeing the fetus during the ultrasound. And guess what I saw, a cute little blond boy. Just like what really happened today minus the blond hair.

I know I've just been talking about the gender, but the most important thing of all is that our baby looks normal and healthy. All appendages accounted for (with the extra appendage we had never seen with our girls). The heart has 4 chambers. The stomach is developed. The brain with all it's parts. So we are one excited family tonight knowing that in 20 short weeks (give or take) we'll get to meet this handsome and healthy little boy. And we think we'll call him Hank. Yep, Hank McGuffey Young. It was nice meeting you today. Be nice in there and don't kick your mom too hard. And grow beyond your current 11 ounces to a nice 7-7.5 pounds (that'll be plenty). And when you come out know that your mom, dad, and two sisters already love you!

Barbies

So Eleanor received some hand-me-down Barbies today which used to be mine. There are a couple of Barbie and the Rockers girls and some kitchen dishes, but mainly the Heart Family. I had the nursery, the twins, the parents, the grand-parents, the playground, the bicycle, the dog. I'm not sure there was anything I was missing. Now it's all Eleanor's. On the way home with the box in the back of the Jeep Eleanor looked at the Heart Family mom and told me she wished she could have new Barbies, not these old ones. Well that ended when we got home and she saw what else was in the box.

I caught the girls playing and I could help being transformed back to my childhood. Me playing quite deliberately setting up the Barbies and making them come to life while my younger sibling gained great pleasure in making the Barbies nude.

Ohh. Kay.

Okay. That's currently Carolyn's favorite word. But her pronunciation makes it more into two words than one. A very slowly expressed two words. Ohh. Kay. For example:

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(at daycare - Carolyn getting out more toys before putting away the blocks)
Sandy: Carolyn, you need to pick up the blocks.
Carolyn: Ohh. Kay.

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(after daycare - Carolyn trying to get into the Easter candy)
Carolyn: Candy.
Me: No, not until after dinner.
Carolyn: Ohh. Kay.

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(before dinner)
Me: Girls, come in. It's time for dinner.
Girls in unison: Noooo. (lots of running and scattering)
Me: If you eat your dinner, you can watch a movie.
Carolyn: Ohh. Kay.

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(at dinner)
Carolyn: Done.
Me: You need to drink your milk.
Carolyn: Ohh. Kay.

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It's quite nice. She's two and it seems that most two-year-olds have a favorite word that is quite the opposite of okay.

Happy Easter

Here are pictures from our Easter. Coloring eggs and then a few from after Sunday Brunch.

Carolyn's 2nd Birthday

Our little Carolyn turned two today and as many parents say on their child's birthdays, how fast time flies. Carolyn is a little sweetheart who adores and constantly tries to imitate her big sister. But who is also independent and determined. She's not the most coordinated and often runs in the funny, arms out, gorilla manner. And, as much as she tries, her vocabulary and pronunciation is not at the advanced level. But there are things she does so much better than any two-year-old we know, like giving her awesome, neck squeezing hugs, saying I love you, and letting out her giggle that will make everyone around smile.

We love our little Carolyn Mae, Mabel, Mabelina.

On the topic of Carolyn's speech, when we were talking about Carolyn turning 2 the other afternoon Eleanor exclaimed, "Yeah, and then we'll be able to understand her!" So when we all went in Carolyn's room this morning and sang her happy birthday and she gave a mumbled something or other, Eleanor asked, "Mom, why can't we understand her?" Some day Eleanor, some day.

So here are pictures from Carolyn's day which started with a birthday pancake, a stuffed E.T., an Easter egg hunt at the Commons, a lunch with family at Redamak's and is currently at the nap stage. But we still have a whole evening left and I'm sure we'll fill it with some playing and maybe movie watching (besides E.T. she loves Honey I Shrunk The Kids).

Candles in her panCAKE :)

The Little People Camper

Oh how she LOVES E.T.!!!

Check out all the eggs at the hunt!

Redamak's for some awesome burgers and birthday fun

The girls loved their outfits from Aunt Jennifer. Who says kids don't like clothes?

Eleanor's Barbie and the peeing & pooping dogs (yikes, newspaper also included)

Eleanor was cuddly with her Daddy

My sister made the cutest cupcakes, yeah - cupcakes!