It's been a LONG LONG time...

Since I actively kept up with the blog. I have such high aspirations of posting about this or that and then something beckons, often times a little girl or the inner tappings of a little boy! :)

SO here I sit, trying to catch up on our life over the past few months in a short concise entry...

BIG EVENTS of recent:

1) In early March, March 5th to be exact, Jenna made a big change. She gave up her nap. Now we'd thought this was happening before and seeing as though she was approaching 4 in a few weeks, we shouldn't have been so surprised, but yet, we were. Jenna has been able to sustain her happy-go-lucky spirit most of the day, often until 7/7:30 p.m., and then she is a bear! BUT, considering, she handles herself quite well. We have noticed that if we can get her to concede and take one or two days to actually nap-even for 30 minutes-she is MUCH more pleasant. We also have come to the realization that tackling a dinner/late afternoon playdate with Jenna sans nap or rest is asking for trouble. Feels like our nap/lack thereof is dictating our schedules just like when you have a new little one---hmm, sounds like preparation for our upcoming addition.

2) Maya has really developed into her own person of recent. Now not that she wasn't comfortable in her own skin or unable to keep up with the "big kids," but she now has many more opinions about her likes and dislikes. She is aware of the days of the week and what class or schedule that means for her and for Jenna. Maya also has taken on a LOVE of language-written and conversational. Her favorite phrases of recent are: "Hey, want to hear the craziest thing?" or "I have to call Brooke's doctor, she called because she wanted a coffee." "Today is a work day for me, want to help me make my lunch?" Maya also knows how to spell her full name, first/middle/last. She can print the letters: O, E, L, F, J, and cross the middle of an uppercase A. She loves to count as well-up well past 30! Today, Maya is officially 2 1/2 years old. She's getting so big; though she reminded me today, "It be a LONG time till I'm 3!" I am sure it will be here before we know it!

3) The LONG anticipated Cinderella party arrived on Saturday, March 24th and it was even better than Jenna had dreamt of! Cinderella arrived in her "carriage" aka a BMW and was a huge hit! She taught the kids princess dances, decorated cookies, magic wands/robots and even led them in a red carpet walk. Jenna adored her-"It was THE REAL Cinderella!" Many guests commented about how much of a ham Jenna was and how much she came out of her shell at that party. She was in her glory. The guests, dressed in festive attire from princesses to knights and more, feasted on Cinderella themed cupcakes (see earlier post of the cupcakes) and left with Cinderella purse goodie bags. What a hit!

4) The girls have a new love; well it's not really a new love, but a stronger one. Michele, our babysitter is a HUGE hit-the girls ADORE her! They sit and wait for her for 10's of minutes and cannot wait for her to walk in the door to come and play. Michele teaches them funny games, brings books, art projects and lets them be "super silly." The girls make her pictures, are frequently asking to go over and play at her house and most of all, love to pretend to BE HER!!!!!!! Michele is a wonderful woman. She cares for our children so deeply, treasures the time with them and we trust her immensely-obviously, we are leaving our kids with her! :) We hope that our daughters continue to spend time with Michele as the months and years progress and that their relationship continues to grow. We love you Michele!!!!!

Cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are the cupcakes from Jenna's 4th birthday party!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2012/03/cinderella-cupcakes-complete-with-mouse.html

Preparing for the little (or not so little) man....

You know it's funny... When you are pregnant, people feel this liberty to say whatever they think or feel regarding a woman's size. "Oh my, you are so big!" "Wow, you are all belly." "Oh you must be ready to go any day." And comments of the likes.

Even though, I'd give anything to have the unsolicited commentary over strangers and familiar outgoing friends and family caressing my expanding abdomen, I still am in awe of the comments.

Over the last few weeks I have been told a number of things, often by either complete strangers at Dunkin Donuts, the assorted grocery stores or by my dentist, manicurist or even friends. "WOW, that is going to be one BIG baby!" The irony is, while yes, I do feel bigger this time around than I did with any of my other pregnancies, even at the point of delivery I don't recall feeling this physically strained, my doctors are keeping an eye on the baby's growth to make sure he is not too small! (This week's two appointments will give me some insight into how he is actually growing...)

We are on the eve of the start of the last trimester. This somewhat arbitrary landmark I had made for us to start really planning and preparing for our baby boy's arrival. I have allowed myself to purchase a few items of clothing, bedding and even have the nursery painted. I am sure it wasn't a coincidence that the first night Maya had her big girl bed and the crib moved into our bedroom-directly across from our bed-I tossed and turned all night long. The reality of adding to our family doesn't scare me, rather it excites me. Our girls sleep through the night most nights until 7 am or later, they predictably nap each day-simulataneously-and get along SO well. In 3 months or less, our world will be rocked and I can't wait! I do savor our "girl time" and family of four moments a bit more these days, which I see as a blessing as well. However, adding to it, will do just that-add to our lives.

Our son, who continues to have the most challenging name selection we ever could have imagined, is going to enter a world filled with love and nurturing sisters who are SO eager for him to be born. I am a little sad that the talking/singing/hugging/kissing to and of my belly will end. The girls are giving him all of their most valued objects-from princess pull-ups to stuffed animals and such, this little guy is one lucky man already! I can't wait to see how they smother him with love and affection in person!

AND-if you see a pregnant woman, no matter what you think you want to say about her size, her belly, her anything... The only appropriate comment is "Oh my, you are so beautiful!"

Some recent pictures...

Here are a few to enjoy!

Updating the pictures

It's been a while since I added a post of just recent pics. Here are some of the best!

It's FINALLY here!!!!!!!!

Maya's big girl bed! We got the call on Thursday afternoon on our "babymoon" trip. We shared the news with the girls that Maya's BIG GIRL BED would FINALLY be coming on Monday! She was SO excited!!!!!!

The three men arrived at 330 p.m. on Monday and Jenna, Maya and I all spent the 30 minutes they were here working watching them intently. Maya continuously told them "This be MY big girl bed! It's here and I do my sleeping in it with ALL of my guys!" One of them fed right into it even helping her arrange "her guys" and her blankets in her bed. (Of course after they left, 6 month pregnant Mommy insisted on moving all but one of the pieces of furniture single handedly to a new location in the room! (NOT a good idea mind you!)

Most families get nervous for the first night with a child in a bed. Not here. We knew and Maya knew this was the real deal! She'd been waiting for the bed and new dressers, night table and such for over 2 months and she was ready for it the day after she asked for it! Maya went to bed, with a little extra snuggles at the same time she always did and slept through the night until 630 a.m.-a little later than her wake up most mornings in her crib. She (completely different from Jenna) bolted out of her bed, ran into our room and asked Scott, "Umm, Daddy, you help me go back to sleep, I still tired, you help me go back to sleep in my bed?" It took a little selling on our part to help her understand she could get up and have breakfast now-contrary to her crib routine of you go into her room anytime after 5 am and she would nearly demand breakfast immediately!!

Suffice to say, Maya has adjusted, napped, slept and played in her new big girl bed. She is elated! Mommy and Daddy are now adjusting to the reality that there is a a crib in our room along with a gliding rocking chair both of which await baby boy Farber's spring arrival. Ironically of all of the possible combinations of people who could have been up last night, it was Mommy who awoke at 230 a.m. and didn't go back to sleep until 5 (after completing a load of laundry, breaking my cell phone, and reading lots and lots and lots of meaningless information on the internet!) :) Guess someone is thinking about the changes ahead, oh and the baby was booting soccer balls, playing hockey, driving a dumptruck or whatever all over my insides from 2 a.m. on! As Jenna reminds me, you know he is the size of an eggplant right now!

So, the excitement is still present. Maya LOVES her new bed so much, we have to plead with her to get out of it, but considering the alternative, it is all working out for the best! She's such a big girl! Now it's on to tackling potty training! Wish us luck!

Funniest things..

"What is that other part that a boy has, you know not the penis, but the other part they hold when they do pee pees?"-J

"I have a hot, not a cold!"-M

"Poker poker toes poke oh roll let them." (Boker boker tov, boker oh latham.)-M

"How do they get the baby out? If you don't push it out does the doctor do that part for you?"-J

"I am going to get up in the middle of the night, carry, our baby into my room and rock him back to sleep. Don't worry-you'll never know, you can sleep all night."-J

"I will change the baby's poopies."-M

"Be gentle, I have baby in MY belly!"-M

"Oh, I can't have hard shell tacos, I have a baby in my belly."-J

While on the potty, "I did a fart!" "Now I get an M & M?!"-M

"Could you please tell Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle to stop talking they are keeping me awake!"-J

"What's the real word for a bummy?"-J

Speaking to the OB-"You know we don't have a name for our baby yet. Because you know why? Our Daddy doesn't like any of the names we like, so we can't decide."-J

Speaking to the OB-"I was telling my husband that since our baby has it's legs on that side and it's head on the other it is MUCH harder to push out than other babies."-J

MORE TO COME!