Grae’s favorite toy is a robotic fish that swims when put in water.  Little did we know, the battery died.  I gave little G the fish, filled the fish bowl with water and he put fishy in.  He was horrified when the little guy didn’t move… “WIM!  WIM BUSH!! BUSH DIE!!! WIIIIM!” Translation:  Swim! Swim Fish! Fish Die! Swim! (March 2014)

“Jamma SOOO BUNNY!” (June 1, 2014) Translation:  Grandma is so funny!

“Mommy, you BEST Mommy…. I… BATMAN!” (June 7, 2014)

“Happy Mother’s Day, Daddy” (Father’s Day, 2014)

“Wow! He’s faster than a CANTALOUPE!”

I keep meaning to post to my blog, but a little someone keeps distracting me with her round chin, tiny fingers, baby soft skin and velvety hair. This child… I just can’t even find words for it …. the way I feel when she opens her eyes and looks at me, the noises she makes as she snuggles against me, how capable I feel when I feed her.  Its so consuming that I have had little desire to do anything else but drink her in.

We have been overwhelmed by the support and well wishes from so many of you. We’ve received so many heartfelt messages of love and support and it has really lifted us up. Please know I’ve read all of your messages and emails and have really felt your thoughts and prayers with us in these first few weeks.

I’m going to try and find some time to post a detailed birth story, but I hope you all will forgive me for being quiet for a while. Just know that I am squirreled away with my family, learning how to be a mama of three and feeling as happy as I’ve ever been.

To Our Dear Friends and Family,

We’d like to introduce you to our newest star,

Gianna James 

April 1, 2014

9:36 pm

8.0 lbs

21 inches long

I’m going to tell you all about her really soon, I promise… but for now I will keep it short and tell you that she is the sweetest little creature I’ve ever met in my life. She smells wonderful and she coos constantly. We cannot get enough of her.

Thank you for all of your thoughts, well wishes and prayers. Her birth was the most incredible experience and I’m still just trying to process it all.

With so much love,

Andrea and Ian

Birth story coming soon! 🙂

Someone needs to tell this little girl that the exit out of my belly is not straight through my right rib cage. She’s been trying to Chuck Norris kick her way out for several weeks now and it’s really starting to hurt!

When I was 38 weeks pregnant with Grae, I was enjoying every moment for what it was.  This time around, I am beside myself waiting for her to come out (aside from being absolutely terrified at the thought of another traumatic labor experience).  Every day, I try to tell myself that this might be my last day feeling her safe and secure in my belly and having her all to myself. This might be my last day to parent RJ and Grae with every fiber of my being tuned only to them and their needs. I am looking so forward to the new journey that begins when we meet our daughter for the first time, but I’m also trying to remember to savor the last few experiences of this chapter before the next one begins. Being a parent has taught me patience and I am putting it to practice right now.

I had a midwife appointment today and I’m now squarely at 23 pounds gained.  She confirmed that baby has DEFINITELY dropped, and determined that I’m now a good 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced- and also ordered an induction date for March 30 or 31st, just in case I have not gone into labor on my own by then!  (They are hoping to avoid some of the issues (ahem, 4th degree tear *cringe*)  I had with my first pregnancy by getting her out while she is still in the 7 pound range.) She even told me what midwives to look for at the hospital this weekend, just in case I need to head in! 🙂

In the meantime, I’m trying to stay comfortable with my monthly prenatal massage, the nightly soak in the hot tub, and I even went to get a pedicure yesterday (for the first time in 10 months!)  It was Ah-mazing! 🙂

We can’t wait to meet you, Baby Girl! Anytime you are ready! 🙂

YOU ARE SO LOVED ALREADY!

Some of my most treasured photos are the ones from my pregnancy with Grae and a few days ago, we had a wonderful opportunity to capture the joy in growing our little girl. I am so excited to have these pictures, forever reminding me of just how blessed we are.

Here are some of our favorites:

35 weeks!

I am officially uncomfortable. It seems this little princess has decided to settle down further in my hips and back and all of a sudden POW! I feel like a legit pregnant woman. The whole “I’m really truly pregnant” feeling came on so suddenly this week but I can’t get comfortable, my hips and pelvis feel so ache-y and sore all of the time now.  I’m also having regular contractions and overall I can just feel my body really starting to prepare for the fact that this little girl will be making her entrance into the world soon.

I had a fantastic midwife appointment last week- everytime I leave I have the biggest smile plastered across my face. The midwives at my practice are so informed, so encouraging, so patient – I feel like it’s a medical appointment and a therapy session all in one. As of yesterday, I’ve actually LOST a pound – that makes my total weight gain 19 pounds. Because her head is now what they call “Fully Engaged” and sitting directly on my pubic bone, they made another appointment for me to go in for an internal exam to check her progress on Monday.  And, I’ve got weekly appointments from here until my due date so that we can monitor things closely. I’ve been told to be ready for her at any time!

We love you, Baby Girl!  And we cannot wait to meet you!!

2 years, 3 months old:

Grae’s speech has exploded in the past few months. I used to keep a list on my phone of all of his new words, but it’s grown so quickly that I’ve lost count. He’s also begun to talk to us in a series of simple sentences!  It is so awesome! We are working with him on his pronunciations. There are a lot of words that only Ian and I can understand because we’ve learned to know what he means. Most folks don’t know that when Grae says “da da” he actually means thank you.

Some of our favorite Grae-isms so far:

• Night-Night Wall (his bed)
• He re-names anyone he wishes- he renamed RJ “Waldo” (we believe he is calling him “Brother”), where as Jay Jay is now known as “Guys.”  (When addressing both Grae and Jaydon, I must refer to them as Guys, and he just assumed that must be the other little dude’s name.)  Grandpa is Choo and/or Papa, and both grandmothers are called Nanny.
• Me: How old are  you, Grae?  Grae:  Eyes.  (I think we’ve talked about him having two eyes a few too many times)
• Apple Dis (Juice) is by far the most requested beverage
• When asked if he would like to use a spoon or fork to eat his dinner, he always chooses the “Poke”

We’ve waited anxiously to hear him speak over the last year and his gentle voice is the sweetest music to my ears.

I can’t help but hunger to learn more about my son… To hear him, in his own words, express his wants and joys, objections and frustrations. Just recently he has started to announce (in his little sing-song voice) “happy, happy!” when he is sitting between his Mommy and Daddy. (Talk about heart melting!) There will be plenty more for him to tell us one day, but for now, he’s already said everything I need to know.

🙂 

Two toddlers and a six year old don’t leave much time for blogging… I’m hoping to get back into the habit of sitting down and writing a couple times a week- we’ll call it a New Year’s Resolution… although I’ve never been very good at sticking with those.

I’m now 34 weeks pregnant with our baby girl! I just can’t get over how fast time is flying!  In just 3 short weeks, I’ll be considered full term?! Wow!  I’ve always heard people say how each pregnancy is different, but I never imagined it to be this drastic.  While carrying Grae, I felt wonderful up until the last few days, but this time around, it has been rough.  I’m still having bouts of “morning” sickness and have been having multiple contractions a day for the last ten weeks- some more powerful than when I was in actual labor.

She is very active and kicks so much harder than her Big Brother- I am still absolutely mesmerized by this… each kick is just as cool as the last.

RJ’s adoption is getting SO CLOSE to being finalized… (I’m aware I’ve been saying this for over a year, don’t remind me! ;))  However, now we are just waiting on paperwork and The Superior Court to set our date! We are still hoping for this to be over by the beginning of summer at the latest.

Grae is talking up a storm, still loves sports of any kind (although baseball is his favorite), and is taking a toddler art class at Gymboree.  We are about to try swimming lessons with him again- he did not enjoy it the first time around- but he LOVES to swim in our hot tub and in the bath.  He is starting to feel very comfortable voicing his opinion (read: he pretty much rules the roost around this place) and we are beginning to understand the term “terrible twos.”

We have been building the boys a new “bunk bed set” which has transformed into a whole new room- complete with secret forts, lookout towers and a slide.  We have moved Grae out of our room… finally… into this room with his big brother and it has been a fairly smooth transition!  He calls his new bed his ‘Night-Night Wall’ and asks to go to it when he is tired.  He sleeps there until about 5:00am, then makes an appearance in our room and goes back to sleep until about 8 or 9 in our bed. This frees up the nursery and I cannot wait to start making it a little more girlie for our princess!

Little JayJay is still with us- its been about four and a half months now.  He is almost fully recovered from his injury and is really coming out of his shell… Let’s just say the honeymoon period is over. 😉  We think he will be returning to his relatives at the end of the week.