Friday, May 16, 2008

Daddy's Little Girl

Cameron was admiring our blog the other night and was upset that there weren't any pictures of him and Hallie. So, here are some of my favorite moments of daddy and his little girl. I couldn't ask for a better hubby and dad for our kids. He is so good at making time for Hallie and doing the little things with her like making cardboard houses, forts with blankets and couch cushions, and doing one of their favorite things: throwing Frisbee or balls at the park. I know Cam will be just as good if not better with our next baby!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Big Sister in Training

As I've been preparing for the arrival of our baby, so has Hallie. Every time my friend, Darla, comes over with her daughter, Makenna, to play, she nurses her baby a few times while she's over. Hallie has been very curious lately and the other day she told me her baby was hungry, so I assumed she would go get the baby bottle to feed her like usual. A few minutes later, Darla told me to look at Hallie and there she was with a blanket draped over one shoulder pretending to nurse her baby... she's definitely a "mini-mommy."

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Four Weeks to Go Until We Meet our Little One!

Here's a sneak peak at our little one! Less than four weeks to go until he or she is welcomed with love into our family. We are so excited, especially Hallie. Every day she asks, "Baby coming out soon?" One of her favorite things has been our doctor's visits when we get to listen to the baby's heartbeat. On the way to the doctor's office, she asks, "Listen baby's heartbeat?"

Despite mine and Hallie's growing anticipation for the arrival of our baby, Cameron has been worried lately that we don't have names picked out yet, but might I clarify that... we did have names picked out but Cameron doesn't like any of them! So, we finally agreed on a few for both a boy or girl and thanks to Nicole, I thought I'd share them since I'm sure some of you are wondering what names we've thought of.

Boy names: Ethan Cameron or Miles Cameron
Girl names: Sydnee or Addison (we are still working on middle names!)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Finding the Humor in Motherhood

A little insight I've gained since becoming a mom... I find myself questioning every day if I spent enough quality time with Hallie that day. Then I dwell on the fact that I could have spent more time with her if I would have just waited until nap time to do dishes, or just folded laundry when she was in bed, etc. I just don't want to look back at life and wish that I had treasured the doing a little more than the getting it done.

It's funny too, being a mom, I try so hard to teach Hallie (and the rest of our children) the good things: say prayers, wash your hands, pee in the potty not on the floor, help out with chores. And everyday I find myself contradicting myself as I tell Hallie, "I don't need help with dishes," "stop cleaning," "you have enough soap on your hands," "just pee in your diaper cause mommy's too tired to get up," and finally, "stop praying and eat." I realized yesterday when we were finished saying our breakfast prayer, and Hallie got down from the table to unfold Cameron's arms and told him to eat, that I shouldn't get frustrated when she tries so hard to do the things we teach her.

It helps to realize that the joys of motherhood come in moments and to treasure those moments. I am surrounded by other moms who do such a good job at taking in those moments of motherhood. And I hope that I do better at spending a little more time doing things with our children than getting them done.

p.s. Happy Mother's Day!

No Longer "Cool"

Well, it's official... we've become a minivan family. Cameron and I promised we'd never get one, but when you have two or more kids, it's just practical! Here is our new van: a 2003 Honda Odyssey, with leather interior, automatic doors that open on both sides, a "stow and go" bench in the back, and a dvd player to top it off! We were blessed with such an awesome find! Although, you definitely can't be "cool" when you're in a minivan.