happy second birthday stevie c

i'm a week late on this post as his bday was last saturday. did i mention that i was not even in town for said bday?? so we celebrated when i got home on sunday evening, my fabulous hubby made a cake! i cannot believe its been two years since he was born. he has gotten so big and is no longer the baby that he was. to me he still seems like it. even through the words, the independence, the attitude. hes still that little guy that we brought home that i could not hold enough, rock enough, kiss enough. he is definitley not mommys little boy anymore, has taken alot more to his dad. (he finally realized that dad is the fun one!)
i love you stephen. you are such an amazing joy in my life, our lives. you fill my heart up. you are soo goofy and smart and silly.

ms mariam

i went for a visit last week to see my sister becky and my fantabulous niece mariam. i had such a great time hanging out with my sister and holding her beautiful baby! mason kept asking me what i did while i was away (i went for 4 nights) and really all i could say was hang out and hold the baby. it was nice to not have to run around two little boys creating havoc!!
she is super cute and really a calm baby (lucky you sis, lucky you!) i didn't take as many pics as i should have but here are a couple. also big sister kate was coming for a visit as well and luckily we got to overlap for a day so the three of us could be together, which hasn't happened in, wow, a long time. i can't even remember! enjoy the cuteness!

i think i forgot to mention how freaking cute this town is that they live in. its about 20 minutes west of charlotte and has the quaintest little main street. LOVE it!

smell my feet

we had a fantastic halloween. mason was a knight and stephen was, well he was supposed to be thomas the train. i'm suprised i got him to wear the hat to trick or treat!

and how could i forget........

MY NIECE MARIAM!!!!! becky delivered this little angel two weeks ago today on September 30th. she weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and is 20 inches long. isn't she FaNtAsTiC?????? momma and baby are doing well :)
congratulations my sweet sister. you are going to be great at this! (you already are) she is so patient and loving and kind. i am so glad to be sharing this motherhood journey with her!

13 weeks to go

went to the midwives yesterday and had a checkup. all is well in babyland, baby is measuring at around 28 weeks. his heartbeat is strong and steady. no news is good news, eh?
every day that goes by i get more and more pregnant. i feel as if i could not be any more pregnant but know that i am kidding myself. i've already gained a whopping 20 pounds (eek...that kind of snuck up on me). i'm having trouble staying asleep at night, which i partly blame on the lingering cold/allergies/??? but also the constant need to flip over and over till my back gets comfy. so i'm a little tired, which is also stephens fault as he has been waking up at 5 freaking thirty this week. WTF???? yeah, so tired and a tad grumpy. so i belive i am officially into the third trimester and i am getting nervous about this whole 3 kid thing. really its about having my two year old and a newborn. how is this going to work? i think i am going to have to work even harder at letting go of some of my "controlling nature". i am very much a person that is comfortable with and for my sanity relies on the idea that there is a place for everything and everything in its place. i.e. when its nap time a baby should sleep for the appropriate amount of time. hahahahahahahaha...... so where was i? oh yes: letting go. acceptance. these are the keys to a life of peace and serenity. go with the flow kb. (please do remind me when i'm blowing postpartum gaskets over here) so i'm freaking out a little bit :) but i cannot wait to meet this guy. i was watching the boys running around tonight with 'super speed' really enjoying how different and how the same that they are. pretty soon there will be another, brothers. what a beautiful blessing. this is going to be fun yall.
mason has been drawing a lot more lately, really creative detailed drawings. the last few days its been of piranhas eating other fish. i am loving watching his creativity flow more. for awhile he seemed really concerned with doing "it right". not wanting to make a mistake. but lately for some reason he has loosened up a bunch. also the tantrums are less so things are generally much calmer and happier here. stephen is a ham and a half. talking ALOT more. still train obsessed. i love these kids :) my three sons to come.....

Freedom House Update

after 10 months of being open we are FILLED TO CAPACITY PEOPLE!!!!!! and have a FREAKING WAITING LIST!!!!
just had to share that....

Goal!

yesterday mason started on his soccer team at the ymca. they had a 30 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game. unfortunately i missed it, i was at my friends sons funeral. mike took the boys and said that it was really fun and mason really enjoyed himself. i was a little concerned about how the whole thing would play out (not just dad having to take the two boys on his own) but how mason would handle it. when dealing with the new & unfamiliar he has a tendency to be very shy and at times to get very frustrated. he's like his mom, he doesn't want to learn how to do things but wants to know how, already!! it sounded like it was a success. i can't wait to go watch for myself next week :)