51 weeks old

One week left until our baby turns one. In the blink of an eye, that year flew by us. I know we say that he never really was that little, but 9 lbs is still pretty little.

His cheeks maybe got a little rounder over the past year :) but he's still the sweetest, most loving, easy-going baby there is out there. And always seems to carry a smile. 

It's amazing how much he has grown! We are so in love with our little-big guy!

2013: A year in review

As I look back at the thousands of pictures taken in 2013, I'm caught thinking about how we've all grown over the last year in the fun we had as a family. There were countless adventures, parties and experiences and I can't help but think how lucky we are to have three precious children that make our days full. 

Oh we have our moments, of course. But at the end of the day, as we tuck everyone into bed, we thank our lucky stars to be a family. So, here is a glimpse of our 2013 A year in Review:

January: ice castles. 

This was a unique experience for me and the girls, something they have never seen before. It was cold and awesome all wrapped up into 20 minutes of awe. 

February: Regan's 7th birthday. 

We hosted a slew of Regan's fellow first grade friends for a hair/nails/candy bar/pinata party, during a snow storm nonetheless! I can't tell you how much of a wonderful experience it was. She has some amazing friends, as do I. If it weren't for some great parents' help, I wouldn't have pulled this one off.  

February was also the month we found out we were pregnant with Lincoln. It was a month of secrets and so much fun to share that experience with each other. 

March: Our first picture of Lincoln, at just 9 weeks. Seeing the heartbeat pitter patter away is an experience to remember. Tears of joy were sure flowing between both of us and the u/s tech. She's been with us through some painful days and the joy in her voice is one I will never forget as she announced our healthy baby. 

April: Regan with her amazing teacher and student teacher. 

Holy buckets these two teachers are wonderful. Words cannot describe their patience and love for children. Regan had her music program in April and these two were so proud of their class and all they had accomplished over the school year. 

May: from sunny California we sent our love back to Minnesota. 

A week in California for our family vacation was something the girls will remember forever. From beaches to Disney and pools to zoos; vacations are just never long enough. The girls keep asking when we can go back to Cali. 

June: Hope's graduation. 

I am beyond-words-proud of my oldest Godchild, Hope on her graduation from high school. She is now an adult and enjoying her time in college. She is an amazing role model for our girls and they sure enjoy spending any time they can with her. She held her party at Herman in New Ulm and what kid doesn't like scaling the sides of Herman the German, that view is spectacular!

July: we made a babysitter out of Shane!

Shane spent the summer with us and got to spend an entire day babysitting the girls in July, something I'm sure they will all remember forever. What babysitter lets you throw pancakes in the street?!...or better yet, pancakes at his beloved TRUCK! The bond between him and the girls grew exponentially this summer and the cheers I would hear ("Shane's home!") got louder and louder as summer went on. 

August: another trip to the cabin. 

To put it bluntly, the girls LIVE for this trip. Year after year we have been going to the cabin at the end of August/beginning of September with the Wallner family. They get to play with extended cousins, fish and be kids outdoors. I love the laid back feeling of this trip. There is no cleaning to be done, no laundry to fold and no yard work to do. We spend our days chatting in the sunshine, playing lawn games, swimming and fishing. There really is nothing better!

September: Sidney turned 5

Among pumpkin patches and the start of fall colors, we celebrated Sidney's 5th birthday with a pool party. She invited some of her friends to swim on the hottest day of the summer, I swear. She had so much fun celebrating her birthday with her friends splashing away in the pool. She is one sweet, spunky 5 year old. 

October: Lincoln is born

After a long-awaited 9 months, we were finally given the green light to meet this adorable bundle of joy. Lincoln Ryan was born on 10/28 at 3:28 pm weighing a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz. My water broke at 2pm in the afternoon but thankfully we were already at the hospital, because let's just say that my doctor informed me we would not have made it to the hospital in time! He came quick. I think I'll have to do a blog post on his birth story just to remember. 

He was welcomed with squeals of love to our family. A BOY! 

November: more Vikings losses

Although the Vikings continued to lose, game after game, we continued to support them and tune in week after week; only to be disappointed. 

But having 3 kids decked out in Vikings gear sure makes for a fun picture!

December: our first Christmas as a family of 5

December was filled with school programs, family celebrations and holiday preparations. We enjoyed sitting in front of our fireplace and snuggling up with a movie, all while arguing over who got the best blanket of all....Lincoln :) 

We wish you all health and happiness in the New Year and look forward to new adventures!

Newborn

Here we are, a week into life with a newborn. And boy we couldn't be happier. Sure I'm sleep deprived, and the girls run my patience short with their whining antics (although that part isn't entirely new), but we are loving every second of life with a newborn. 

Here's a run down of how Lincoln is doing: 

* He eats every 2-4 hours, depending on time of day. Sometimes at night he can go 4 hours between feedings, and sometimes in the evenings he will cluster feed every hour. He nurses quite well in comparison to the girls (Regan was technically preemie so I shouldn't compare). 

* He loves to be held, whether it's the girls or someone else. 

* He stares at the light we have in our TV room like it's the most soothing thing. If he's crabby, we just face him towards it and he often quiets down. 

* As for diapers....he's giving me a run for my money! I think I have been peed on daily. And it's not for lack of "covering it up", because I do, but the second I pull the diaper down to give him a wipe or apply diaper cream, he's like a water spout. Shooting everywhere! 

* Sidney has helped me give him several baths and he is so content while she washes his hair. As for the rest of the sponge bath, I think he would prefer we skip them. 

* And despite being nearly 9 1/2 lbs at birth, yes, he still wears newborn diapers and clothing; a question I seem to field regularly.

Isn't he just a sweetie!  

Ryan thought I should pose with that "Just Born" sticker on my belly instead....funny man. 

A special thanks

We are forever in debt to Grandma Jan. She spent last week at our house cleaning, shopping, caring and loving up all 5 of us. She looked after the girls while Ryan and I were busy delivering Lincoln and recovering in the hospital, all while keeping my mind at ease. Mothers just seem to have a calming affect, even when the child is in her 30's! 

The girls will never forget their special time with Grandma Jan and neither will we! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

And I think she was the most excited to have us home so she could hold this little guy for hours on end. :)  We love you Mom!

The many faces of Lincoln

The little man of the house has a million facial expressions to show off and capturing them on camera has been so much fun. I find myself hitting that shutter button way too many times each day :) But I just can't resist. 

aww, he's just so precious!

24 weeks

Here we are at 24 weeks (and one day). Baby is growing and at about 1.5 lbs, is sitting breech currently. We got another peek inside today and s/he is looking good. The cord was across the face, casting a shadow on the cheek in the picture below. 

As for me, I can't complain. This pregnancy is both similar and different from the previous two. Strangely, I get some horrific side aches from simply walking. I can do an elliptical for 30 minutes, but can't walk one block. At this point, we are chalking them up to muscle pains and nothing more. Baby is constantly moving and that is very reassuring. Feeling the breech movements is something unique to this pregnancy, as neither of the girls were ever in that position by this stage. So I get a lot of kicks to my bladder....yea, that's fun :) S/He is very active in the afternoons and evenings, this is very much a pattern. I'm up most nights with a wild one and I can't help but smile at 3am :) 

So far so good. The girls are thrilled and excited and both enjoyed seeing baby today during the ultrasound, commenting "ohhhh, it's so cute!". Sure is! 

Baby Belly #3

Baby is growing and it's showing on the outside. I'm beyond the questionable stage and into the full blown "you are pregnant!" stage. 

I don't have any real complaints while pregnant, never really have. Spent the first 9 weeks feeling like I had just gotten off a roller-coaster every moment of the day, but that has since subsided. I'm loving this warm weather because it means cute skirts and dresses on a daily basis and that means a very comfortable waist. 

Baby does a lot of flips and kicks throughout the day, but more importantly, throughout the night. This is a new experience for me, having never really been woken by a pregnancy (other than bathroom trips). Now I lay awake, smiling at the beauty inside of my belly keeping me awake. Let's just hope it figures out night/day in the next 4 months! 

No major cravings to describe. I really wanted a donut a couple of weeks ago but resisted the urge. Shocking! 

My workout routine has slowed down. I still head to the gym 4 days/week, but instead of busting out a 2-4 mile high paced run and some strength training, per the doctor's orders, I'm lazily going through an easy Elliptical or bike workout. 

Lap swimming in our pool hasn't been something I've been able to participate in. I tried a couple of times but each time I get out of the pool with some belly cramps so until I get the all-clear, I'm holding off on any more laps. 

Here's a progression over the the last 8 weeks: 12, 18 and 20 week pictures. 

Something's growing around here.

This weekend we took a family picture a top Herman the German in New Ulm. 

A picture of our growing family :) 

It hasn't been easy to hide a pregnancy for the last 20 weeks, and I haven't exactly been successful other than removing most pictures of myself from the blog. 

But the time has finally come, to introduce the blog world to this beautiful baby who will be joining our family around Halloween. We are thrilled and so in love with this new bundle of joy that is doing flips in my belly while I type. 

We learned about this addition back in February. Yes, February! It's been a tough secret to keep :) Sometime around 3 months pregnant, we announced it to the girls. Their reaction is something to write about in another post. In a nut-shell, Sidney jumped up and down screaming "I told you! I told you that you were pregnant!" (somehow she just knew, and had been telling me for several weeks that there was a baby in my tummy). Thankfully the announcement was all caught on camera :) Shortly thereafter, the girls brought my parents both a pink and a blue balloon, and after 5 short seconds, tears fell from my mom's proud eyes. Gotta love it! 

Today we had our regular half-way mark ultrasound. Regan got to join us, while Sidney opted (on her own choice) to stay behind at daycare. Regan paid close attention to all the angles, watching the yawns, and really enjoyed seeing our baby all wrapped up in a ball.
Here you can see the leg, which is actually up against baby's forehead. Curled up in one little ball. 

All of us are in agreement that this 3D shot was our most favorite. Such a gem and we are already so much in love! 

So while this skinny boy gets skinnier (side by side shots of his new/old driver's license)....

This mama is getting bigger!! 

And if you are wondering, no, we didn't find out the gender.
Yes, that was done on purpose. Just following suit from pregnancies of the two girls we already love so much!