anticipating...

...oh so many fabulous things in the hours and days to come!

~the warm chewy cookies baking in the oven right now...can't wait to pull them out and share one with the girlies....chocolate chip with some peanut butter chips tossed in, just to be crazy! dearest leslie's recipe...of course!~

~our trip to the lake this weekend...swimming, taking elizabeth to the "fishy derby" (fishing derby), celebrating my dearest dad's birthday (just a few days belated), sitting on the porch and pontoon, soaking in a bit of sunshine (hopefully!), enjoying my sweet little family, and, of course, a few hands of canasta with my mom~

~dearest elizabeth is sitting next to me right now...talking ninety miles an hour about how she is going to take her goggles to the "fishy derby" and put her face in the water to see the fishies...and then, she is anticipating using her trusty magnetic elmo fishing pole (yep...the bathtub toy) to catch some loon lake fishies...bless her precious heart!~

~celebrating five years of marriage to my dearest michael. i can hardly believe it has been that long...sometimes it seems just yesterday...and yet, here we are...two gorgeous daughters, many, many joys celebrated together, trials and struggles as well, anticipating the birth of babe #3~

~a date with michael, while my generous parents watch the girls and get them safely tucked away in their beds tomorrow evening...~

~dreaming, planning, wondering, preparing, and marveling in God's goodness in the gift of the new life in my womb...wondering just who he or she will be...anticipating hearing my sweet husband make the announcement in the delivery room as to whether we have been gifted with another precious daughter or perhaps a sweet and handsome son...and, oh my, the reality that the next 12-13 weeks are most likely going to fly by before i know it, and lo and behold we will be snuggling that sweet babe in our arms~

~eagerly looking forward to getting to meet two precious, incredible blogging friends in real life...wendi and jackie on monday ...i can hardly wait (EEEKKKK!) to meet these two incredible women--women i already feel like i know so well...can't wait!~

ten smile tuesday

it's been a "smile-ful" week...although, to be honest, i'm not certain where the week has gone. seriously, is it just me or is time moving WAY too quickly! before i know it, august and september will be here, and we'll be meeting our newest little yak....oh my! anyway...without further ado...here are some smiles from our week.

1. i love how much the girls LOVE our bed....and lately kate has been completely enthralled with snuggling down under the covers in "big beds" (ours or elizabeths)...for a minute it makes me think, "hmmm...perhaps she is ready for a big girl bed."....and then the moment passes, i think about my own sanity, and determine that since she isn't trying to get out of the crib, in it she shall say for the time being! :) i also love the qubo channel....especially on evenings when daddy is working late or project-ing....prego mama is completely wiped out....and it just isn't quite bedtime...and yes, that is exactly what elizabeth is so intently focused on in the picture below.

2. garage saling on a dreary thursday morning...and scoring some great deals (which you can see here if you haven't already read that post)

3. the voice of a triumphant, proud 3 1/2 year old shouting, "I'M DOING IT! I'M DOING IT!" while successfully booking down the sidewalk on her very first two-wheeler (well, four if you count the training wheels). she has mastered the art of pedaling, and we've enjoyed many a bike ride down to visit the ducks at the pond and then back around the cul-de-sac. my heart bursts with excitement and bittersweet emotion at how stinkin' big my "baby" is getting! kate also got a new bike in the garage saling fun....she is quite excited to be able to reach the pedals, and we find the handle quite convenient to help our daredevil with the steering process. (i love the way she looks like she just might ride right on into the pond in the pic below...seriously, that would SO be her personality...totally!)

elizabeth did promptly inform daddy that he was too big for her bike...and yes...it's me...i'm actually in one picture...notice my ever growing prego belly!

4. this mischevious, precious, stubborn/mind of her own sweet cherub...who has fallen completely in love with swinging like a big girl as opposed to in the "baby" swing. she would swing ALL day long, if only mommy and daddy had the patience to stand in the hot sun and push for as long as she could swing. i love the giggles of delight and HUGE grin that spreads across her face when she swings....priceless! my kate is getting too big...oh my...for some reason the second picture just makes her look like so much of a little girl as opposed to a baby...oh my, where have the past 22 months gone!

5. dreaming and planning and preparing for the baby's nursery....and the fabulous bargain i scored at a garage sale saturday...which i posted about (with pics) here

6. starting a knitting project. oh my, i haven't had a knitting project going for quite sometime, but after scoring the bargain nursery bedding and decor, i decided the baby needed a soft, hand-knit blanket to match. i'm using naturally caron yarn (for those fellow knitters who might be curious) in four colors--soft sunshine, green sheen, ocean spray, and naturally....and doing a simple (because simple is all my mind and attention span can handle these days!) block pattern. once the baby comes i will decide what color i want to whipstitch the blocks together in....pink or blue!

7. what better fun for kiddos than a big, empty box. mike and the girls decorated their "rocket ship" while i was at a baby shower saturday morning. the girls LOVED it!

8. and i loved what came out of that big ol' box....a water softener! and, i love my dear husband, who slaved over installing said water softener and paneling the garage wall all weekend. THANKS sweets!

9. summer dresses...i love getting the girls all ready for church on sunday mornings...and i especially loved the orange polka dress i bought for kate at a garage sale for just $1. elizabeth loved it too and was way disappointed that it was a bit too short for her...she did come around though and tell kate just how beautiful she looked in it. i love that the shots below capture my girls personalities so well...kate is a-rockin' away in the chair...spunky little monkey...and elizabeth, just chillin'...that is SO them!

10. a fabulous tuesday thus far...an OB appointment (sans the girls...the church nursery director, bless her heart, let me drop them off there an hour early for Bible study childcare!) and getting to hear that incredible sound of the baby's beating heart--LOVE IT!....a refreshing morning at Bible study....and enjoying some chat-time with a dear, dear friend while picnicking after Bible study (this time with the girls along for the fun!). i just might have tried to keep kate awake on the ride home by offering the occasional M&M...and well, from the picture below, you can see just how well that worked...see the chocolate running down her arm...yep...my sweet girl fell asleep mid-M&M...and, well, thats okay...because really, whats more precious than a gooey, chocolate covered sleeping babe in a carseat...especially since that particular cherub was still plenty sleepy and is napping as i type!

....and i can barely contain my excitement over whats coming this weekend...our first summer trip to the lake! hooray! so come back next week for lots of pictures of the girls splashing, swinging, and otherwise LOVIN' some time at the lake with grandmommy and poppy.

...not only that...but mike and i celebrate our 5th (wow!) anniversary on friday!

take a peek....

here is a sneak peek of how the new nursery is shaping up! hard to believe there will be a little one to fill it in less than three months!

when we moved the girls to the same room, we decided (for our own sanity!) to keep kate in her crib and simply borrow a second crib for a bit. we also decided to put the girls in the curious george room...which had formerly functioned as our nursery. i initially planned to simply use the crib bumpers, skirt, and curtains from the "old" nursery...as the bright primary colors would work just fine with the bright yellow walls in the new nursery...and, i figured kate's crib could go skirtless without a problem. until this morning...i had a wee bit of time to kill before heading to a baby shower....and i stumbled across this....

...it was marked at the low price of $10...and i thought that just included the "bedding" portion...but the lady quickly informed me that it also included the lamp, bookends, mobile, etc. i stood for a few minutes, looking through it, checking for damage, contemplating how it would look with the yellow walls, and whether it was gender neutral enough. apparently the lady thought i was contemplating the price...because she quickly said, "i'll tell you what...$5 and its yours." at which point, i replied..."SOLD!"

as i gathered up the "goods" i quickly realized that it also include the quilted wall-hanging, window valance, cutey clips for hanging the valance, and on an on....in one fell swoop of $5 i decorated the entire nursery! not only that, but we had decided to go with an elephant theme of sorts for this baby. (if you've been around long you probably realize elizabeth is our monkey...kate is our alligator...and so baby 3 was to be inundated with elephants....so i simply adore that elephants are one of the prominent animals in the set (which is from the carters john lennon line from a few years back).

...and i just adore these sweet little bookends...and i am envisioning them sitting next to the lamp on the baby's dresser...kind of makes me want to set it up right now...except for the minor detail of the small disaster we need to organize in the nursery and office before continually on the nursery set-up. :)

once the baby arrives, i am thinking i would like to do some cute letters for his/her name on the wall over the crib (we do have names picked out...we're just keeping them a secret until the baby shows up...just call us old fashioned...we don't find out gender AND we don't give away names...we're the kind of people that drive me nuts!)...and then have the wall hanging on another wall. since we have become quite fond of having our glider rocker downstairs (it used to be in the nursery), i will be stripping down and painting my parent's old boston rocker (i'm thinking of using a light sage green color like the crib skirt). the only thing left to take care of is a dresser....and voila, we will have a nursery up and ready! :)

and friends...while i simply adored the curious george murals (painted by my sister) and nursery...i am quite excited about having something new (to us) and different for this baby. it is quite satisfying for my nesting instinct, since we really don't need much of anything...no registering...no showers...no big to-do....so this has really gotten me excited and planning, thinking, and dreaming about this wee one. well, and it was exciting that this (in the chocolate brown color) arrived in the mail yesterday...compliments of a great sale price at babies-r-us, a gift card, and free shipping!

i do have some little sewing projects and little "wants" for the baby...mostly handmade things...but not much else that really needs to be done....except digging into the organizing and rearranging. and that will have to wait a couple more weeks, as right now we are in the midst of another couple of projects...as i type mike is working to get our new water softener installed (hopefully making cleaning easier...our hard water is a KILLER on sinks and toilets and showers...ugh!)...we're putting some finishing touches on the gardens...and mike has a few more projects up his sleeve. i'm thinking getting as many projects done as possible before becoming a family of 5 is a great thing....since our project-ing time is prone to be a bit limited next year. :)

one man's junk.....

....is another man's treasure. it was gray and gloomy this morning, so what better than to hit the neighborhood garage sale up the street...especially since it is the same neighborhood where i've scored many a bargain in years past. needless to say, we were not disappointed! i've had a mental list of a few items i hoped to snag throughout the course of garage sale season...if the price was right, that is!

well, last week i knocked one of those items off my list when i was driving through my neighborhood and noticed a Step 2 Easel for Two sitting on the driveway, calling out my name....for just $5! elizabeth was with me, but i didn't want her to see the easel, since we will save it for a special occasion gift for both girls...perhaps new entertainment for when the baby arrives and i am occupied with nursing, etc....so i stealthily paid the lady and promised to return in a moment once i could get elizabeth dropped off at home and sneak back around the corner to pick it up. elizabeth was also quite delighted by the strawberry shortcake nightgowns i was able to pick up for $.25 a piece...gotta love garage sale PJs!

anyway...today i was able to knock two more items off the list. kate has been enchanted by elizabeth's shiny tricycle...the one she received from GG and big bapa for her second birthday...but, alas, kate's little feet just don't come close to reaching the pedals yet. so i was hoping to find something more her size for riding outside. and in the back of my mind, i was also thinking that perhaps now that elizabeth has mastered the art of pedaling AND steering her tricycle she just might be getting close to having her very first two-wheeler...well, four when you count the training wheels...cause this mama is not crazy!

here they are on their new wheels...elizabeth's very first "big bike"...princess themed, with streamers and a matching princess helmet! i have a feeling we'll be removing the push handle from kate's bike, as she seems to do the pedals fine by herself.

elizabeth hopped right on...no fear!

not only that...but i found this box of four wooden puzzles for $1...and kate has already put them together and taken them apart at least 20 times. let me tell you...kate LOVES puzzles...and i never cease to be amazed by her puzzling abilities. elizabeth, too, is enjoying one puzzle in particular. can you guess which one?

if you guessed dinosaurs...you are right! she is particularly fond of the "poppy-saurus-rex" piece right in the middle of the puzzle...although she's had fun having me name each of the dinos and then repeating them.


we also picked up this super fun "movin' monkeys" gear constructing set for $1...which elizabeth and i broke out during "school time" once kate was down for her nap. what a blast...and a great combo for elizabeth....building, concentrating, and MONKEYS! :)


my mental garage saling list also contains a select list of more "classic" books...and today i was able to check this one off the list for just a dime...and enjoy reading it with the girls after lunchtime.


elizabeth also scored a pair of PJs...and then, i couldn't resist these sweet baby boy bibs that were in the "free" bin at one sale...no stains and they look like they've never been used...because, after all, who knows, perhaps this little one just could be a boy...i must admit that i perused several tables of adorable little boy clothing....clothing that made me kind of wish we'd found out the gender of this wee one. and i spent just as much time gazing at little pink sleepers and onesies...laughing all the while, because heaven knows, we have boxes and totes and drawers FULL of little pink clothes. but really, its always fun to look...right!?


my grand total expenditure for today's hunting was $16.60!

ten (or fourteen!) smile tuesday

err...maybe i should have titled this "lotsa picture tuesday"...either way, here are some smiles from the past week at our house! and you'll notice...i went a bit overboard and included not ten but fouteen smiles...

1. "sprinkles"....i busted out the sprinkler late wednesday afternoon...and, oh my, was elizabeth THRILLED! kate wasn't as sure about it (which surprised me, considering her "charge headfirst into ANYTHING" personality)...but, nonetheless, she too had fun and was drenched by the end.

is there anything more classic than the catching sprinkles on your tongue pose!

as for kate...she LOVED the nemo goggles that came with the sprinkler...

one day soon, we'll have to break out the slip-n-slide that came with the sprinkler and goggles!

2. a fabulous "finale" MOPS meeting for the year. i'll miss thursday morning meetings, but i'm also looking forward to a break from the prep and responsibilities i had as the "hospitality" person...next year i will be taking a break and simply sitting to enjoy meetings as i do some "stepping back" and slowing down with baby #3!

3. having our little buddy brennan hang with us all day friday...

4. ...not only was brennan with us friday, but we also had daddy home for the second straight friday in a row! mike typically only works half days on friday, but he took a few hours of time off so he could take advantage of the gorgeous weather and get the topsoil taken care of for our garden! and that, too, is a smile...the garden that we are in the process of planting...bring on the fresh veggies!

5. chocolate milk+coffee+ice=scrumptious! i mean seriously, some good quiet time, a tasty drink...what more could a mama ask for!? (as a side note...a great coupon, combined with a great sale scored us some "dean's over the moon" chocolate milk...and oh my, it is the best chocolate milk i've ever tasted!...i don't make a habit of buying chocolate milk...but it is helping me actually drink at least a bit of milk each day throughout this pregnancy since i'm totally not a milk drinker usually).

6. elizabeth's first ever "drop her off and leave her" birthday party...for her buddy aidan. she had a blast...and, quite frankly, so did i. mike insisted that i drop her off and then just go somewhere, by myself (but NOT running errands!) and simply relax and have some "me" time. how delightful! i dropped libs off and then headed to one of our favorite little mexican restaurants nearby...where i enjoyed chips and salsa, diet coke, and some good time in the Word. what better combo is there!?

7. my two sweet girls in their matching "cherry" swimsuits...what's not to love!

8. listening to libs giggles of delight and happiness...as she once again enjoyed some sprinkler time. she was so not into the sprinkler last year...so i am loving watching her discover the joy of the sprinkler...and hoping this perhaps means she will be a bit "braver" when it comes to the lake as well....(can't wait to make it up that way in less than two weeks!--build poppy, build...we're comin' soon!)

9. ...and this little lovey...who was quite overjoyed by her red popsicle...i mean, really, check out that grin!

10. our makeshift swimming "pool"....getting the pool out and inflating it seemed like a lot of trouble at the last minute...so we made a rubbermaid tub work for us! i filled it up, and the girls spend some good time emptying it out, cup by cup...dumping cupfuls over their heads...over each others heads....onto the trees....onto mugho....and, of course, onto mommy's feet (which felt fabulous in the humidity and heat!)

11. we also enjoyed having a few fabulous families/friends over for a cook-out yesterday evening....plentiful amounts of tasty food, great fellowship, and after a mostly gray day the sun even peeked out just in time for some swingset and bubble fun!

12. sometimes it's the little things...like discovering a new tasty little treat...chocolate covered sunflower seeds from trader joes.

13. moments of happy, laughter filled play between the girls...let's face it, this doesn't happen all the time...but since moving them into the same room a couple weeks back, i truly am starting to see more "love" between them. i think it is also partially due to kate getting old enough to really "play" with elizabeth. in the past couple of weeks kate has started to say elizabeth's name...well, it sounds more like "liii-beth"...and that, my friends, is a huge milestone since kate seems quite resistent to the whole talking thing in general!

14. hearing the belly laughter that often comes from their bedroom after we've tucked them into bed...there's typically not a lot of sleeping going on right away...but really, is there any better sound than my precious daughters giggling and enjoying each other!? i think not!

ten-ish smile tuesday

since i only manage to post once a week these days, i figured i should be sure to get my post up. but i must admit that i'm exhausted and REALLY ready for a nap while the girlies nap...so this may be more "bullet-point tuesday" than ten smile tuesday! :)

-having daddy off for five...yep, five!...incredible days in a row!

-a fabulous-o date with my hubby thursday night...thanks to our date swap for free childcare and to ted's montana grill for the B1G1 bison burger coupon. i mean, a night out with my favorite guy would have been fabulous, regardless, but its nice when there's a bargain involved as well!

-a fairly successful garage sale...despite the lack of advertising on our neighborhood's part and the cool and semi-rainy weather saturday. i still made $100 for stuff i'd have been getting rid of anyway (and some things i would have considered j-u-n-k!)...plus it was fun to spend two mornings hanging with a friend.

-this sweet girl!

-and this one, who did a FANTASTIC job at her first ever dental appointment...she passed with flying colors and was proclaimed one of the most cooperative and calm little patients they'd ever had...which made mommy's heart happy...i wasn't sure how she would react...hence the fact that daddy went along instead of mommy....he seems to have a calming effect! we celebrated with homemade chocolate malts to share...yumm-o!

-celebrating daddy's happy birthday...it was a day-long affair...

donuts from our favorite local bakery for breakfast before church

elizabeth and kate loved their cinnamon "squiggle" donuts...

elizabeth even gave daddy a push on the swing as a present...i mean, really, what more could a daddy want on his special day

then the girls gave daddy the gift of letting him push...elizabeth loves flying HIGH IN THE SKY! and she loves to sing, "high in the sky, and the world wonders why...i'll just tell them i'm loving my KING..ooohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhh!" LOVE IT!


mommy gave daddy a german chocolate cake...and he appreciated that as well!

and finally, we invited some friends over to enjoy the cake and sunshine with us...gotta love that of the four kids, the youngest of all, kate, is the one standing at the top of the slide platform!

-sunshine...these shots all came from this morning. the girlies and i have been soaking in the beautiful day...and looking forward to what looks to be a string of fabulous may days to come!

elizabeth talked kate into "pushing" her on the swing...kate was so proud of the inches she was making her sissy move

and after watching sissy do this...

kate figured it out as well...

and then they paused for a rare "together and both sitting still and mostly smiling" picture...these girlies are a joy to my heart! and i can't wait to meet their little brother or sister...who surely will expand the joy and blessings infinitely! only 15 more weeks, folks!