Hiccups!

Baby Sister gets the hiccups regularly. They are fun to watch when wearing a shirt with stripes!

August 1, 2014 at 36 weeks, 4 days

I kind of feel like Santa Clause . . . my belly jiggles like a bowl full of jelly :)

"He had a broad face and a little round belly,

that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly."

Whale Watch!

Dave and I have long wanted to play the part of tourists since moving to the Cape by going on a whale watch. This summer, we heard that there were more sights than usual and Dave jumped on the opportunity to surprise me. He loves to keep me guessing!

Monday, August 11, was a beautiful morning. A friend had offered to watch to the kids so we could go out for a bit before Baby Sister came (this friend has three kids . . . she knew how to bless us well!) and Dave had talked to her about making it an extended morning. 

The tide was low as we left Barnstable Harbor.

The tip of Sandy Neck from the water.

Another whale watching boat and a spout!

The humpbacks made the icon dives.

This is a fin whale, the second largest animal on the earth (after the blue whale).

Open mouth for feeding time. The boats don't bait the whales in any way, but they do have jets that stir up the rich water that the whales enjoy.

The humpback we watched had a baby with her. (baby on right.) Though it was still nursing, at times the baby practiced open mouth feeding like the mom.

Dave's First Wedding Shoot

Last May, the day before Josiah's birthday, I had a great and fun opportunity: I shot my first wedding. Some friends of ours from the church asked if I would be willing, so I enlisted the help of a friend, borrowed about $2,000 in lenses (there's a reason wedding photography is expensive!), and had a blast.

Jason and I took about 1,650 pictures that day, between the two of us. Here are a few of them.

Father-Daughter Dance

Stephanie's Favorite Part of Her Dress

Stephanie's Bridal Portrait.
Bonus note: this was actually taken inside my office, where I usually have a file cabinet,
because I knew the light would be perfect there just before the wedding started. 

Baby Sister!

[Originally written in early May :)]

On Tuesday, April 1, we had the joy of seeing our little girl! All four of us went to the ultrasound at the OB office. The tech was kind and quiet, but narrated the whole experience. Praise the Lord, she looks healthy and right on track! We were also excited to find out gender (especially after our last experience at an anatomy ultrasound!) and the ultrasound tech was pretty confident in what she saw.

The kids stayed quiet for Dave and only got a little rowdy once they were over the questions (Sarah) and one word observations (Josiah). They both picked up right away that we had a little girl on our hands. Josiah would say sister, and our little contrarian Sarah would grin and say brother, then ask us to ask her again. She got it :)

In the month since then it has definitely settled in even more. Josiah knows right where baby sister is and Sarah is concerned that she is going to eat through my clothes. It has been really fun to talk about pregnancy with Sarah! Dave and I are working on a name and I had the joy of packing away Sarah's clothes with the knowledge that we will probably get to use them again.

We are already feeling like a family of five. That is a blessing that Baby Sister has already given us. August is coming quickly and we are excited!

Happy 4 years, Sarah!

We had such a fun day/week celebrating Sarah's birthday and remembering back to the day of her birth. She is our kind, delightful, helpful girl. We are so thankful for the four years we have shared with her!

Weight: 40 lbs 13 oz (86%)
Height: 40.25 ins (62%)
Clothes: 4T/5T; shoe, size 9

Likes: swinging (by herself!), chalk, swimming, babies, music (piano, making something a microphone, just having a singing day), special sweet treats, learning to do something herself (like buckle her seatbelt)

Dislikes: blowing out candles, smiling for pictures, loud noises paired with crowds

Schedule: Sarah can read a digital clock now and she has taken real ownership of her routine. She knows that at 7am she may come downstairs. If she wakes up before that she may play or potty, but has to stay upstairs/in her room. While Sarah rarely naps we have preserved a rest time from 1-3pm. She goes down at 1pm and knows that she is to stay in bed. At 2pm she may get up to read or play and at 3pm she may come downstairs once she has made her bed and picked up her room. It is working well for our family!

Eating: Favorite foods are green peppers, pancakes, cheddar, crackers, yogurt, and any fruit. Sarah eats well and is willing to give most things at least a try.

Talking: The nurse practitioner who conducted Sarah's well visit said she felt like she was conversing with a 7 year old. (Proud parent moment :) )Sarah is known for talking with her hands and with an occasional flair for dramatic story telling. She loves to sing, figure things out, and pretend.

Random, but fun:
* She is on track with her gross motor skills, which is refreshing and fun.
* It is so neat to watch her pick up writing skills. We haven't intentionally taught her letters and numbers, but we practice them with her and she in turn can copy anything we have given her to write. Making cards is her favorite way to practice!
* She and Josiah have their rough days, but for the most part they love to play together and interact really well together.
* Sarah is taking swimming lessons at the beach this summer. At first she was nervous about being part of the class, but now she loves her life guard instructors and is feeling confident in the water. She chose to be brave!
* This summer Sarah was also part of her first VBS group. She was a year younger than most children, but kept up with the group really well. It was a joy to hear what "stuck" at the end of each day.

Next appointment: Monday, July 27, 2015 at 10:15am

Back in January she was just learning to write her name.

Valentines party! The best day to wear pick socks with red sparkly shoes.

A preschool carnival at church. She was pretty excited about decorating her cupcake. She gets it honestly :)

Their first time riding together in the car. He didn't know he was missing out on suckers yet . . .

And again in the Target double stroller. This is probably her favorite carriage ride. (Yep, they call buggies carriages up here.)

MOPS St. Patty's Day party.

Little girl loves a project. I am not always super great at giving her projects, so the moment had to be documented!

Yep, she came up with that on her own.

She found a way to keep quiet time in her room during nap time.

Silly girl at her finest.

Decorating Dave's birthday cake.

Before we cut her hair . . . enjoying the view at the National Seashore on Dave's birthday.

She sang with the children for Palm Sunday and loved it.

Our girl who used to scream from the time we entered to the time with exited the doctors' office now loves to play doctor, as well as visit the doctor.

Sweet girl :)

We played tourist in May . . . before the tourists came :)

Everyone loves music time with Dad.

She loved to tell people that her Dad didn't like dandelions and she wasn't allowed to blow them. A sweet friend told her she could blow all she wanted in her yard :)

At the AWANA banquet. One day Dave will probably be glad he was in this picture with the Cubbies, right? Sarah wasn't letting go of his hand!

Girl picture! Standing behind a waterfall in NC.

A rare treat to have everyone together. Plus a very large bear :)

Sweet moments

Swim lessons!

VBS closing

Feeling a little sassy in her "robe" at her four year well visit.

Swim lesson dive stick fun.

Loving Mrs. Lisa time!