The Difference a Year Makes...

Well it's been a year since I last wrote, and lots of fun things have happened. Here's our year in short:

Tandem wearing -- Liam on the back in a woven wrap
 John on the front in a ring sling

 I got really into babywearing after my second was born. I kind of did it when Liam was born, but after John was born our survival depended on me figuring out how to hold and nurse a newborn 24/7, and take care of Liam, and cook, and clean, and run errands, and solve the problems of the universe etc. Enter babywearing. I even got Kevin into babywearing. Nothing sexier than a man wearing a baby ;)

Costco run on a Saturday morning -- John in a woven wrap and Liam in a mei tei.

I am no longer a work at home mom, I was able to stop working last spring to be able to focus on our boys which is a huge blessing for Kevin and I. I also have a little more time for my interests and will be able to start preschooling Liam in the near future. Hopefully I'll be able to dedicate time to the blog and not take another year off! I have decided to become a doula and a lactation consultant, and I've started all the required reading. It's going to take some ingenuity to get the classes and certification done while being a stay at home mom, but we will make it work!

My mom gave me a sewing machine for my birthday and all of a sudden I've been really into sewing and quilting, and I'm currently focusing on living a repurposeful life with my sewing. Cloth diapers, turning onesies into dresses, turning old t-shirts into usable objects, etc. Along with living repurposefully, we make as much as we can at home.

As for the kids, Liam turned two and as part of his birthday gift we converted our loft (my old office) into a playroom/school room. When I get my act together and organize a curriculum I'll be able to start Liam's schooling while keeping the other kids occupied up there.

Liam and the Elmo smashcake I made for him

John turned one  and we had a day at the pumpkin patch the day before his party. I can't believe my kids are getting so big! John started walking shortly after his birthday and is having a blast running around after his big brother. It warms my heart to see them play together... until they try to kill each other anyway.

John and the pumpkin smash cake I made for him

Our boys at the pumpkin patch

Pregnancy Announcement #1

Pregnancy Announcement #2

Perhaps our biggest news is that we are expecting our third baby! Emma Christyna is due March 8 but has tried making an early appearance so this mama is on strict bed rest. I'll probably end up writing more about this because the entire experience has been eye opening in ways I never expected. We are stable and healthy right now, so we are praying that Miss Emma stays put as long as possible.

Gender reveal invitation picture

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I will say that I probably won't ever do another gender reveal party. We had our families and friends over, lots of food made, and Miss Emma decided to be shy so we had no gender to reveal on the day of the party. We did find out three weeks later and announced it to everyone at a set time using a picture sequence ending with the one on the right.


Well that's our year in a nutshell. With all the time I have lying down and being unable to do pretty much anything (argh) hopefully I'll get some good writing done.