Getting Ready for Baby

Call it nesting, reorganizing, cleaning or whatever, we (mostly motivated by yours truly) are making room for the baby. Here is a list of things we have done:

1. Mini-van. Yes, it is a very smooth and comfortable ride, which compensates for the fact that I am that mom (which if you ever see a bumper sticker that reads, "I am that mom" please buy it and send it to me, I will pay you for it!).
2. Bunk beds. These low level bunk beds made by IKEA are perfect for the girls room so that we could still use the ceiling fan (our only cooling system) without worrying that they might hit their heads on the blades as it goes around...something that has actually happened to my cousin's kids. My parents are becoming pros at putting together IKEA products!

3. Move Hannah's bed, pulled out as a King size bed, into our room. Get a new mattress and get rid of the old queen size mattress (thank you free craigslist!)

4. Find storage for 9 large storage containers. This involved Jeff rearranging the shed, and putting some containers on the rafters in our garage. There's only one song to descibe him, "Whatta man, whatta man, what a mighty good man. He's a mighty, mighty good man!" (and yes, I did just date myself by quoting Salt-n-Pepa)

5. Go through toys, selling some, giving some away, and storing what might be used if it seemed new again. On a funny side note, this morning I took the girls to garage sales looking for baby items (like a bath tub, swing...things that we left in Boston and might want again) and Hannah found a brand new Pet Shop Play House and Pet Set. I bought both of them for her and in the car she asked, "Will you please not sell these? I really like them. They are my favorite."

6. The name game. What's the name game, you ask?? It usually goes something like this:

S: Ohhh, Hazel. I love the name Hazel. It has a "Z" in the middle and is such a beautiful color.
J: You want our daughter to be a hippie child?

End of conversation. Or sometimes it's like this:

J: How about Emma?
S: It's number two in popularity right now. We want our baby to be somewhat original.

End of conversation, again. It seems like the names I like are hippieish and Jeff likes names that are fairly common. Family has been great in throwing a few names into the hat too:

1. Wanda (from Amy, my niece. She's really hoping for this!)
2. Rachel (from my sister Rachel, since it is a name she feels comfortable giving when people ask)
3. Mary (so that it would be Mary Murry and we could call her Eminem, again from my sister Rachel)
4. Madeline (from Cindy, Jeff's mom)
5. Brooke (from Hannah...I like the way this girl thinks, but Jeff told her to keep thinking)

So, any girl names that you would like to throw into the mix? We reserve the right to make the final choice, but you never know, we just might chose your suggestion!

Bowling

The other day I took the girls bowling with some other mom friends. Hannah had a great time jumping around and getting exciting when she or anyone else knocked down any of the pins. She did really well, getting two spares and winning the game (thanks to the help of bumpers)! Kate bowled two rounds and then decided that bowling was not her thing and announced< "All done with balls. No more." She then climbed into my lap where she would not be removed for the rest of the time in the bowling alley. I think if we went a few more times she would get the hang of it, and get used to the noise.

Pre Nap Jokes

My girls are an interesting mix of grumpy/silly before naptime. Today I caught them in their prime:

Kate's Birthday

We celebrated our sweet Kate turning two with a backyard barbecue with family in San Pedro.
Kate was very happy all day and when it came time to open presents Kate opened one gift and then took the next package to Hannah for her to open. This girl understands sharing and taking turns (note: this does not mean she always shares or takes turns though). We had to explain to her that all the presents were just for her...our sweet and thoughtful Tatters! She truly is beautiful inside and out and we love her so much!

Here's my sleeping beauty the last night as a one year old.
We played at the park in the morning with the family.


Then after nap time we made wands for the party...

...Enjoyed snacks while the food was cooking....


...and opened presents!

Kate specifically wanted a Strawberry Shortcake cake. While she slept Hannah and I made the cake together.

Check out the messy and happy face on this little girl! I could just eat her up!!!

Girls, girls, girls!

This morning my parents took care of Hannah and Kate so Jeff and I could go to our ultrasound for baby Murry #3. We were so excited to hear that the baby is looking healthy, weighing about 10 ounces and a GIRL!! Many people have asked if we were hoping for a boy, and honestly we were not. We love our girls so much and the bond between sisters is so special that this next baby girl will just add to the love already in our family. As we left the ultrasound appointment I asked Jeff if he was nervous for three girls and he said with confidence, "No. I got this." Jeff makes a great dad of girls, doting on them, leaving them special notes in the morning, cuddling them and playing with them. The girls were also excited when I told them about their baby sister. Hannah's mouth dropped, then she jumped around and topped it all by hugging me. Kate soaked in the news and then hugged me and said with some excitement, "I a big sister. Hannah a big sister." We are all happy for our baby girl and can't wait for the next 20 weeks to pass until we can meet her and hold her!

Another Year to Celebrate

My Dear Sweet Kate, My Tate Baby, My Tatter Tot, My Kate-Cakes, My Grace,

Today you are two. Two years ago you were born and changed our lives for the better. I became your mama, Hannah became a sister, and Daddy (as you call him) cradled you, prayed for you and held you with such pride. You are a blessing that entered our family at an unexpected time, and blessed us all in unexpected ways.

You are such a gentle, caring, sensitive little girl. You often walk around the house with a doll clutched in your hands wrapped delicately in a blanket while shushing and kissing her. When babies cry or someone is hurt your often rush to their side, pat their back and say, "Awww" as if you understand their pain. You quickly share, know how to take turns, and are just beginning to explore the limits of your independence. And BOOKS. You love books. You could listen to books nonstop!

You live up to your name: Pure Grace, reminding me every day that God was gracious when he brought you into our family. And so today we celebrate you. You are uniquely made, and uniquely loved. Thank you for blessing me, your mama with so many special memories, laughs, hugs, kisses, and snuggles. I love you deeply my sweet Kate and cherish these days that I get to spend with you and call you mine.

Love,
Your Mama

Meet Big Boy Nate

We finally had the chance to meet my newest nephew Nate and hang out a while with his mom Erin. She is in town early for a family wedding (which will bring more family into town...can't wait!) and had some extra time on Sunday so we went to see her for lunch. Although the girls were extremely tired from a long weekend, they held it together long enough to meet their new cousin and have some tasty food!


So why did I call him "big boy Nate?" Well, at 8 weeks Nate has grown from 8 pounds 1 ounce at birth to 13 pounds, something which took my girls 4 months to do! Although there is 22 months age difference between him and Kate there is only 9 pounds difference. Jeff figured out that if he keeps growing at this rate he will catch up to Kate's weight at 6 months! I figured out that his chubs make him super extra cute!!

Learning to Swim

Hannah is a fish. And at this point, she is a fish with no skills. She loves the water and will fearless jump in any chance she gets. Because of her bravery we enrolled her in swim lessons so she would gain some skills to match her courage. The class is a 30 minute session with one other boy that runs for 8 days. We are now 5 days in and I am amazed at what she has learned.

The first day started off slow because the majority of the time the teacher was trying to get her to take a deep breath, which she did, and then hold it for 3 seconds. Hannah misunderstood what "hold it" meant" though and would blow her breath out and try to grab her exhaled air as if she were holding it. The second and third days were better, working on the arm motion and keeping her head in the water for 3 seconds. The fourth day she worked on "big slow arms" to keep her swimming. As well as jumping in the water.


Today the teacher began letting go of Hannah so she could swim for 3 seconds on her own. The teacher also began teaching her to roll over to take a breath and then roll back and swim for 3 seconds again.

Hannah practicing the roll over.
Kate relaxing with Mama. Each day I bring a package of fruit snacks (something my kids hardly get) so she has just as much fun as Hannah.

Spray Park!!

There is one spray park in San Diego area, and we found it! We headed out on Friday morning, and unfortunately the water was not working. So, we decided to enjoy the park and play. Right as we were getting ready to leave, the water came on! The girls got to nap late, but both girls napped and both girls had a great time at the park. It made me miss all the fun water parks that Cambridge had.