I'm Dreaming of a...

 You guessed it - A White Christmas! It hasn't happened in 128 years... The last white Christmas in Atlanta was in 1882! It was extra special for lots of reasons...

1. We were there to experience it.
2. It was Claire's first snow!
3. It was also Duke's first snow.  And...
4. As obvious as it is - It was a White Christmas!!!

That is something that people dream of (at least that's what the song says). The kids saw the first flakes begin to fall earlier in the day and the excitement began. Although those first flakes melted as soon as they reached the ground, the excitement did anything but melt. By the time we finished our Christmas dinner and opened presents there was a nice blanket of snow on the ground. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I will save you from reading a few extra thousand of those and I will just share some of the photos from our snowy Christmas fun!

Claire checking out the first snowflakes (even though it was more slush, than flake)

Audrey enjoyed the snow... although her nose turned quite pink! :)

Claire's 1st Snow!

Rolling a snowball for her tabletop snowman!

Just one more on top will make it PERFECT!

See!  It's perfect! :)

Duke really enjoyed trying to catch the snowballs that the girls tossed up!

Audrey's Snow Angel

 

Dad and the girls working on the tabletop snowman

Downtown Melbourne Christmas Parade

This year we were able to experience the Christmas parade in a whole new way... We were actually in the parade!  Our friends invited us to join them on their float, which was actually a boat!  It was so much fun.  Audrey and Claire LOVED every moment!  We rode in the boat while Brock and some of the other adults walked along side the boat passing out candy.  The parade was at night so the boat looked amazing decked out in lights and garland.  We waved and shouted "Merry Christmas!" to the crowd.  Sometimes the float would have to stop to navigate the turns and the flow of the parade.  When this would happen Claire would instruct me to "just keep waving" and not to say Merry Christmas again because we had "already told this group"...  When we would start moving again, she would tell me it was okay to start saying Merry Christmas again.  It was so cute and also very hard not to laugh because she was so very serious about it all.  At the end of the parade, Audrey and Claire had fun modeling the "Sold" sign that hung on the boat during the parade.  A few photos from the night are below... Enjoy!

Santa's Helpers on the boat 

 Brock and Eddie getting ready to hand out candy

Audrey modeling the "Sold" sign

Claire modeling the "Sold" sign



Our friends took some more photos that I will add to this post when I get them...

24 weeks

So here is a photo that Audrey took of my ever-growing belly at 24 weeks... I am a little behind in getting this posted because we are now at 25 weeks but it's been crazy around my house (more on that later).  I went for my checkup on Monday and got a great report.  Baby #3 is right on schedule and my weight is still progressing right on track - only 9 pounds thus far - but I am sure that will change as she starts adding lots of cuddly fat to her little body.  She has been kicking and rolling around a lot lately.  Everyone - being the immediate family - has been able to feel her movements.  Even Duke got in on the action last night... He was snuggled next to me with his body next to the belly.  Baby kicked and Duke jumped!  It was very funny!  She has also found my sciatic nerve or at least found a position to hang out that presses on it... While the discomfort is not a constant issue, it does catch me off guard at the intensity, albeit a short spurt of intensity.  I have added a number of stretches and exercises to my daily routine that will hopefully help alleviate most of the discomfort.  I don't remember having this issue with my previous pregnancies, but the doctor did tell me that subsequent pregnancies tend to carry lower and that may cause more pressure to be placed on the area around the sciatic nerve.  All in all, the pregnancy is still going very well... While I can no longer see my toes, I am able to move around very easily and my energy level seems to be getting better each day, which is a very good thing since the holidays are upon us and my schedule seems to be getting crazier by the day.  We are going for our 4-D ultrasound tomorrow afternoon so I will try to post new photos soon!

21 Weeks

"You are halfway there!"  That's what my weekly e-mail told me this week.  It's seems like we just found out that we were having another baby and now I am 5 months along.  The end of March seems like a long time away, but it also feels like it is right around the corner.  So with only four months to go, I have been feeling really good (with the exception of my allergies that are always bad this time of year).  I remember how great the second trimester is - you know, when you can still move around relatively well, you can still see your toes (well, barely see your toes) and your energy level picks up a bit.  I have been feeling the baby move like crazy, but everytime I try to get someone else to feel her (like my husband or my children), either she stops moving or they can't feel the movement.  It is a bittersweet time for me because, while I want them to share in the excitement of the baby's movements, I still like being the only one that can feel it.  It is like a special bond that only the two of us share.  In the next few weeks, she should grow enough that Brock and the girls will be able to feel her kicks and flips; and I will be so happy to be able to share it with them.  For now, I will treasure each movement that I get to experience solo.

"Ghostly Girl" and the "Viking Princess"

From the risen dead to the plundering vikings, our Halloween was full of fun!  Audrey searched and searched the costume catalog for the perfect costume.  When she found "Ghostly Girl" she knew that was the one.  She loved the idea of being one of the "risen dead" on Halloween.  It was a spooky, but not scary costume.  She appeared to be floating down the street with her long, tattered gown.  Her favorite part of the costume was the wig and hat.  Claire, on the other hand, went back and forth between several costumes until she finally decided on the Viking Princess.  Her costume did double duty since she had to dress up for her school's International Fall Festival, where each child had to choose a country to represent.  Claire chose Sweden and went back into their early history to represent the vikings that pillaged and plundered through parts of eastern Russia.  She wanted to be a princess, but not your everyday Disney princess.  The Viking Princess costume was the ticket!

We had a great time trick-or-treating through a few of the houses in our neighborhood before joining Audrey's friends and their family for candy-seeking adventures on their street.

Below are some photos of the girls in their costumes... Enjoy!

"You are next!"

 "Stop!  Give me all of your gold and jewels!"

And of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without some silly photos... :)

 Hope everyone had just as much fun on Halloween as we did!

It's a GIRL!!!

We went to the hospital on Friday for my second trimester ultrasound.  The tech told us that everything looked great - the baby was just the right size for the due date and all of the parts were there and in the correct places, oh, and she also told us that more PINK was in our future! :)  Baby Ballard #3 is Baby Girl #3!  While most people have thought that we might be disappointed that we are having another girl, we are actually very happy.  We would have been happy either way, but having another girl just goes along with what we already know what to do.  Other plus is now we do not have to rename the boat! ;) 

(note the name at the back)

Audrey and Claire are very happy about having a new sister.  Claire wanted a sister all along and declared, "I was RIGHT!" when the tech told us it was a girl.  I think 'being right' is something that means a lot to a little sister!  Audrey, who really wanted a brother, was still excited about a new sister.  The fact that this means that she will get her own "big girl" teen room when the baby moves into the room with Claire probably had a bit to do with that.

Okay, for those of you who are wondering, we do not have any names at this point but we are putting our thinking caps on and getting started with the process.  Audrey's name was relatively easy.  We knew that we wanted "Grace" as the middle name and when we found the name "Audrey" in the family tree we just knew that was the perfect combination.  Claire's name didn't come quite as quickly, mainly because I put so much pressure on myself to come up with a name that was equally as perfect as Audrey's.  We knew we wanted "Claire" (another name from the family tree) but we struggled with another name to go with it for quite some time.  The doctor scheduled my induction for the 30th of December and that put the name selection into high gear.  We found "Natalie" which means born on/near Christmas, which worked great since Claire was born on Dec. 30th.  With that we had an equally perfect name for our second baby girl.  So we have "Audrey Grace" and "Natalie Claire"... and now we have to come up with another girl name that is equally as perfect as those two.  I have no doubt that we will, but I know that it will take some thought. :)

16 weeks

16 weeks -- Photo by Claire

Claire wanted to take a picture of my ever-growing belly, so I thought I would share. :)

So far this pregnancy has gone well. I had a bout of morning sickness for a couple of weeks, but that is over now! Yes, I know that my belly looks quite big to be a four month belly, but I haven't gained a lot of weight... yet... I know that I will pack on the pounds from here on out, but this is the good kind of weight gain -- the weight gain with a "pot of gold" at the end! I gained 33 and 31 pounds with my previous pregnancies and that seemed to be a good amount of gain for me. The doctor told me I should gain between 30 - 35 pounds this time around as well. So that's the goal! Healthy weight gain = Healthy baby, so it's really a win-win... I am also trying to stay active and keep up with a regular exercise plan. I started a prenatal Pilates class a month ago and I LOVE it! I did regular Pilates for about a year before I got pregnant and it was very beneficial. Now, with the ever-growing belly, Amy (my Pilates instructor) has modified the exercises to accommodate my needs. I feel fantastic after each class and look forward to seeing if there is a difference in delivery -- my doctor said that Pilates is a great exercise, along with walking and swimming, for moms-to-be. So time will tell...

We find out if we are getting a boy or girl added to the family at the end of the month! Audrey and Claire are so excited, although they each want something different. Audrey wants a brother because she "already has a sister" and Claire wants a sister because she "wants there to be three sisters in our family". I can relate to Audrey because I wanted my baby brother to be a girl because I already had a little brother. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I wanted. And while I wasn't very excited at the beginning, I learned that having two little brothers was actually a lot of fun! Claire is very adamant about the baby being a girl. She isn't open to having a brother, but if it turns out to be a boy, I am sure that she will come around to the idea and love him just as much as she would have loved a sister. Brock and I are actually neutral on the whole gender issue - healthy with 10 fingers and 10 toes is what we want. So my next baby post will be a big announcement - Boy or Girl! Stay tuned...

Family Time

Okay, I know it has been a while and I promise to catch you up with all of the happenings with our crazy bunch... but that will be the next post (or two)... this one is about our "family time" day.

Brock's travel schedule has been quite hectic lately and it doesn't look like there will be much relief anytime soon.  So while he is home, we try to make the most of our family time together.  This morning we got up and had breakfast (Mom's omelets and cinnamon toast... yummy!) and then a boat ride.  The weather has not been very cooperative this summer so there haven't been as many boat rides as there normally would be.  But today the "stars aligned" and we took advantage.

There's not much that is better than being on the boat early in the morning before the river gets crowded and the sun heats everything up.  It is cooler and quieter and in one word - great!  We went to Bird Island and explored for a bit, but the vegetation had grown so much over the summer that our normal exploration paths were a bit too tight for my comfort zone.  The thought of spiders and ticks kept jumping through my mind.  After a bit of time on the island, we decided to go back to our "regular" island, which is actually a sandbar, just down the canal from our house.  The water level has been unusually high so the sandbar never surfaced.  But the water was clear and cool and the girls had a great time swimming.  Another family was there with their dog, so Duke had a playmate.  The two dogs splashed and ran, and ran and splashed.  Needless to say (but I will anyway), Duke was one tired pup when we got back to the house.  Audrey and Claire swam with the other family's daughter and the parents all enjoyed some chit chat.  We left the island and headed back down the canal to our house.  We cleaned up and went to Grills (a local seafood grill) for lunch.  It was a fun day just being together as a family.  Now, we are gearing up for a family game of Scrabble!  Should be interesting...  I leave you with a photo from today...

The girls on the boat

(with Duke in the background)

After-School Special

Part of being a stay-at-home mom, in my mind at least, is having the ability to welcome your children home from a busy day of learning with a fun, healthy after-school snack.  I have wanted to do this for a long time and just haven't kicked myself into gear to get it done.  Well, that all changed this week.  Each day my goal is to have a different snack ready for the girls when they get home from school.  The snack is something small (as we eat dinner around 5:30 or 6:00), easy to make (a must for me) and healthy (I was aiming for an alternative to cookies and candy).  I wanted to post this on Monday, when we started, but life got in the way. :)

Monday - Ants on a Log

Audrey loves raisins, but Claire did not want them on her snack.  "Just on a log for me, hold the ants" was her request.   So it was one "Ants on a Log" and one "On a Log"... I love that they make me laugh every day.  I love being a mom... and most importantly, I love being their mom!

Tuesday - Apple Slices and Peanut Butter

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures (but I'm sure you all know what apples and peanut butter look like)...

Wednesday - Fruit Skewers with Cinnamon Dip

This was a snack that took a bit of preparation but was quite easy.  Audrey loved the dip, but Claire passed.  The main reason for that was because she saw that I put sour cream in it and she got it in her head that it would be sour, which it is far from being sour.  But once she gets something into her head, there is not much changing her mind at that sitting.  I'm sure she will try it next time without any problems.  The cinnamon dip recipe is below for those of you who might be interested.

Cinnamon Dip

Mix 1 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons each brown sugar and lime juice.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Mix well.  Thread fruit on skewers and serve with dip.

This made a good bit of dip.  For small children, you could easily cut the recipe in half and have plenty for a snack.

Claire's First Day at VPK

Today was Claire's first day of VPK, which is, for those of you not familiar with the program, a pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds designed to help get children ready for Kindergarten and the beginning of their school career.  The program is three hours a day, five days a week.  Claire is very excited about getting to go to school five days a week (just like Audrey).  Last year, the Mom's Day Out program that we enrolled her in was only two days a week.

This morning, after we dropped Audrey off at her school, we packed Claire's lunch box.  She picked a very healthy lunch - peanut butter and strawberries wrap (no jelly for this child), some carrots and a cup of applesauce.  She was very pleased with her selection and Mom was too. :)  Claire is in the afternoon class which starts at 11:20.  This allows her to have lunch at school with her classmates, something she was quite happy about.  At carline, parents do not get out of the car.  We pull up, put the car in park and the teachers come out and help unload and load your child.  When Claire left the car today, she didn't give saying goodbye a second thought.  "Bye Mom!" and a quick wave and she was inside her "new school".  I love the fact that she is so independent and doesn't need me as a security blanket when she starts something new.  She is a big girl and we are all very proud of that!

 At home with Duke before her first day at VPK!

Our Little Surprise

We officially found out yesterday that we are expecting Baby #3 at the end of March.  We are very excited about the news.  Audrey and Claire are beyond excited.  The ultrasound tech told us that the baby is about the size of a blueberry right now, so the girls were calling it "Baby Blueberry" all night.  Claire keeps saying, "I can't believe there's a baby in your tummy!"  Audrey can't wait for the baby to be big enough to kick so she can feel it.  She loved that part when I was pregnant with Claire.  They are both reminding me how big they are and how much they can help out with the baby.  Since Audrey will be 10 and Claire will be 5, I know that they will be good helpers.  I flipped through my calendar yesterday to show Claire how long it will be until the baby is born and she said "That's a long time... Your belly is going to be huge!"  LOL!  Aww, kids say the cutest things! Cute, yet brutally honest... :)

First Day of Fourth Grade

Wow!  4th Grade!!!  It seems like I was just getting Audrey ready for Kindergarten and now she is a big girl in 4th grade.  Fourth grade just seems so big... I know all of the older moms (those of you whose children are in high school or college or even grown with children of their own) are thinking that I am crazy for feeling like my little girl is growing up so fast.  I know one day she will be going to her first prom, graduating high school, moving away to college and all of those things that come with your children growing up, but I am living in the now and right now, my little girl is going to the big 4th grade.  I am very excited and, if I'm being honest, a bit terrified at the same time.  This is just one of the reasons why I listen to the advice of older moms when they tell me to "enjoy every moment".

Anyway, this is about Audrey's first day of fourth grade.  She is very excited about this year.  This will be her first full year at her new school.  She has quite a few friends from last year's class in her class this year, so she was happy to see some familiar faces in her new room.  She is also excited because as a fourth grader she can join chorus.  She is very musically talented and is looking forward to the numerous concerts and events that they host throughout the year.  Below is a photo of Audrey at school.

 Audrey - the Big 4th Grader!!!

A Childhood Right of Passage

For many children, getting braces is just another childhood right of passage.  Audrey is experiencing that right of passage now.  She started Phase 1 of her orthodontic treatment today. The time frame for this phase is approximately 12 months. She was a bit anxious beforehand but did really well.

Audrey brought along a "friend" for support

She chose a different color band for each bracket - "Rainbow colored", as she calls it!

At home... showing off her new additions:)

The one thing that I remember from having braces was the difficulty eating certain foods.  So I am trying my best to incorporate easy-to-eat foods into our good-for-you diet.  I use the word "diet" in the sense of our eating lifestyle, not a weight loss plan.  Although it would be nice to lose a pound or two in the process. :)  But I digress.  So tonight we had "soft" foods for dinner to help alleviate the discomfort that usually comes those first few days of treatment.  Audrey gave her seal of approval for dinner and we made it through the first meal quite well.  We worked on cleaning around the braces after mealtime and discussed the best practices for dealing with meals away from home - like lunches at school, etc.  Audrey is doing great and I hope that this "right of passage" is one that is a positive one for her.

No more monkeys jumping off the bed...

Yes, it is a familiar verse from a treasured childhood book... but it is also the words that came out of our doctor's mouth yesterday when we had to take Claire for x-rays of her foot.

Audrey and Claire thought that jumping from the highest rung of the ladder for their bunk beds would be fun... Well, not so much... for Claire anyway.  Apparantly, Audrey jumped without incident and then it was Claire's turn.  Since big sister had just done it, I'm sure Claire thought it wouldn't be a problem for her to do it as well.  So, she jumps.  But the jump was too big for her and she landed, rolled and hit her foot on the leg of their desk.  At least that is the story that I got when I went to investigate the mad screaming coming from their room.  Brock and I looked at her foot and decided that ice and elevation would be a good first step - there really wasn't any noticable swelling or bruising.  Later that afternoon, Claire still did not want to put any weight on her foot, so we continued with the ice and elevation measures.  At bedtime, she said it still hurt on the inside so I told her that we would go see the doctor in the morning. 

When she woke up yesterday morning, she was still limping.  I called our pediatrician and we went in for x-rays.  Claire was not happy about the 2-3 seconds that the technicians wouldn't let me stay in the room while they actually shot the x-ray, even though they let me back in the room in between each shot. But I would think that the whole situation would be quite scary or at least unnerving for a four year old who has never been through something like that.  Thankfully, the x-ray was negative! No break!  She has a bad sprain that we will continue to wrap, ice and elevate per our doctor's orders.  And of course we will definitely follow her most important order - "NO more monkeys jumping off the bed"...

Nothing says "Summer" like a good bedhead...

While our plate has been overflowing this summer, we have still managed to take advantage of the fact that summer is a time you may sleep late.  Although my children do not fully understand this concept yet.  Their idea of sleeping late is 7:30, but that is better than their usual 6:00 rise and shine.  And on the positive side, it still gives us plenty of time to have a productive day.  In true relaxed summertime spirit, Claire was sporting the best summer bedhead one day.  It reminded me how relaxing summertime is.  It also made me make a pledge to myself to try to keep that relaxed atmosphere going after school starts back in August.  It is usually a time when we are crazy busy and our schedules get out of control.  But if we keep the right mindset, we should be able to keep that relaxed summer spirit going well into fall... just without the bedhead of course (as adorable as I think it is)!

Renovations Continued - Kitchen

If you are just checking the blog, be sure to go to yesterday's entry - Renovations! - for the first installment of our renovation tour...

Okay, so I left off with the floors being installed on Day 12.  At this point, we were still dead set on getting the kitchen move-in ready by our D-Day and were putting in very long hours to make it happen.  On Day 13, the kitchen cabinet installation began.  Let me clarify - the kitchen cabinets were installed by two very handy homeowners named Brock and Amy. :)  I should also tell you that while it was very tedious at times (mainly because our house, like every other home in Florida, is built on a slab thus making the floor far from level) doing the work ourselves saved us another chunk of change.  I think it was our determination and the fact that we are both perfectionists that enabled us to get the cabinets installed.  The granite company that installed our countertops (some things should be left to the pros) said that the cabinets were the most level and plumb installation that they had dealt with.  Also, those compliments came before they knew who installed them.  So kudos to us!

Here is a photo tour of the cabinet installation:

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets)

Off to a great start...

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets)

End of Day 13...

Kitchen (View #4 - Cabinets)

I love my appliances... If anyone is in the market for new ones, I highly reccommend Electrolux.  The stove has a double oven.  The lower oven is small, but the perfect size for bread or pies.

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets) 

 Making headway - We relocated all of the appliances, but we left the sink in its original location due to both the cost and labor-intensive task of moving plumbing work in the slab.

Kitchen (View #2 - Cabinets)

The island is installed - To begin with, I only wanted an island that was just a little bit bigger than the one in our previous house, but ended up with one twice the size because this kitchen had so much more floor space than I thought.  I was able to get a 5'x4' island and still have just over 3 feet of walkway around it.

 Kitchen (View #2 - Cabinets)

The empty spot on the left side of the photo is where my refrigerator will be placed and the door opening is the pantry.

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets)

 This is Day 15 - It took us a while to get everything installed, but we did it.

Kitchen (View #2 - Cabinets & Granite)

 Our granite countertops were installed on Day 16.

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets & Granite)

The island has a 10-inch overhang which is the designated area for the girls - breakfast and lunch is enjoyed here as well as all of the homework that is accomplished while Mom is cooking dinner! :)

Kitchen (View #3 - Cabinets)

The trim was installed to the top of the cabinets.

Kitchen (View #3 - Semi-finished Kitchen)

The kitchen was move-in ready with a few outstanding to do items (installing the drawer pulls, installing the remaining baseboards, etc.) by the end of week 3!  Even though we still have a few things left to finish, I love my kitchen!  It is a great room for entertaining!!!

Kitchen (View #2 - Semi-finished Kitchen)

You can now see my refrigerator on the left side of this photo.  I have another picture below...

Kitchen (View #2 - Refrigerator)

I chose the Electrolux French Door refrigerator.  It has so much space and works very well for our family's needs.  The freezer on the bottom is great and has much more useable space than our previous side-by-side.  Again, if you are in the market, this fridge is fabulous!

I will continue the tour of our renovations in other parts of the house in my upcoming posts.  So check back soon!