Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

metropolitan

hey loves!

thanks so much for your kind, sweet words on my last two posts...you guys are just amazing, you know that?

i wanted to quickly quickly share my december SC layouts...no time for explanations this month, just short and sweet!

i purchased all four addons and love each and every one of them. truly. you just can't go wrong this month!

happy monday!

xoxo

 

 

metropolitan

park bench

busy sidewalks

fiskars squeeze scalloped heart punch

apron lace punch

AC .03 precision pen

 

metropolitan (days stickers)

mass transit

uniball signo

park bench

days of week stickers from metropolitan

large circle border punch (i used this and then trimmed the tops off of the circles)

stampin up heart punch

martha stewart butterfly punch

metropolitan

 

holiday lights

apron lace

 

oh- and i also wanted to share my layout i did for the sketch challenge this week. this is based on a layout by kelly purkey.

i've been DYING to use these notions. i told april, i think she went in my brain and designed them just for me!!

to see the challenge and join in, check the SC blog.

hope to see lots of you there!

i don't even know where to begin.

i really don't. i have so much to say, so many emotions, memories, so much excitement...and the exhaustion. oh, the exhaustion! i forgot how crazy it is. but the best kind of crazy there is!

i know i'm not ready to share the birth story. i need to remember it, write it down, and then share it. it was wonderful. it really was. a dream delivery...to these two precious babies!

i thought for today i'd just share some photos and words.

a quick primer on how to tell the chickies apart:

lucy is WAY bigger. she also has way more/darker hair.

cate's features are tiny. she is tiny. like a little wee elf!

they both have clefts in their chin and awesome dark hair.

cate on left, lucy claire on right:

 

 

 

cate and j on his couch. he was SO happy to say goodbye to that couch! although it was pretty swank compared to the chairs we have gotten in the past in military hospitals!

this photo cracks me up b/c they look so much alike!

we have been doing lots and lots of practicing of the "double football hold". i think i'm getting a hang of it, and it makes breast feeding SO SO much easier.

although obviously when i do it their heads go in, not out.

a bit about the bigs meeting the littles...the joy on their faces when they walked int the room made my heart hurt.

it was truly overwhelming. and a testament to God's love and blessings...pure joy is just so beautiful.

 

 

 

harper especially...it melted my heart. i am so proud of her. she is really, truly over the moon happy to be a big big sister. she takes the job very seriously.

 

 

 

and sadie...well, we're working on it. in THEORY she is VERY excited. in theory. she wants to touch them, and we are teaching her that "gently touch" is not the same as "poke your sister's eyes out".

she's only two. and at two the world revolves around YOU. she has been the baby her entire life. it's all she knows.

 

 

getting used to anything other than that is hard for her.

she's thrown some fits...

pouted a bit:

and then in a classic move (perfected in christmas of 2009)...

she tried to lick the baby.

 

because that's what sadie does. :)

i have no doubt she will survive. but i hate that it is so overwhelming to her right now. so i sneak moments with her...love on her, hold her, whisper her secrets...and wait for her to adjust.

 

we are all adjusting! and this house is so full of love, i just can't stop whispering that same old three word prayer over and over...

thank you Lord.

i hope you all had a beautiful, blessed thanksgiving!

xoxo

s

 

 

 

My cup runneth over

My heart is so so full today. And I can't think of a better day to welcome these beautiful girls into our family. Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it!!

Introducing Lucy Claire Howell (to right in photo)
6 lbs 4 oz
Born at 6:42 pm

And

Catherine "Cate" Bennett Howell
4 lbs 12 oz
Born at 6:48 pm

No c-section necessary and that's another thing I'm so grateful for.

We are all cozy in the mother/baby unit, all healthy, all deliriously happy.

Tomorrow the bigs meet the littlest, and I just know it will be a beautiful sight to behold. And will also probably include some classic one- liners, knowing miss h.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and friendship!!

Happy, happy thanksgiving!!!!
Xoxo

update

still here, still pregnant.

going a little stir crazy!

at my appt yesterday i was past 3 cm dilated and 80 percent effaced.

he told me i was right on the verge of active labor and that he'd be shocked if he saw me next week for a checkup. praying he's right. ;0)

yesterday and today i've just felt WEIRD. nauseated, off...and hoping this is a sign that things are about to happen.

hope you are having a beautiful tuesday! xxo

36 weeks

* i look like i'm smuggling a bouncie castle under my dress

* when the lady at WalMart said "YOU ARE HUGE!!!" the other day, i briefly debated saying "and you are rude...at least my problem will be remedied in a few weeks!!" but i didn't. i just smiled.

* not sleeping at all. pretty big braxton hicks every night.

*taking LOTS of baths. LOTS. the water bill will be interesting. HEE!

*working on not being so grumpy. remembering that these babies will come when THEY are ready. not when I am ready.

*feeling so sad that i can't hold my girls really at all any more. i can't pick them up and there's no room left in my lap!

*watching modern family season one on dvd

*reading and resting lots

*i had a complete nervous breakdown tonight (ugly cry and all) b/c i couldn't get the dinner i was trying to eat to my mouth. i literally could NOT get it over my belly. i dropped the bite a few times and then had a meltdown. feeling much better now, actually. it was ridiculous. i was laughing at myself as i was crying. hahahaha!

*so happy with the nursery, my mom worked hard on it today and it's precious.

*listening to lots of cee lo green

*enjoying the time that is left with our family of four. remembering to be grateful, not grumpy. trying my hardest not to worry. it's all in God's hands!

patiently waiting

to kiss these sweet toes.

to smell that beautiful new baby smell.

to see clenched fists and bent legs,

to hear wails and mewling cries,

tiny fingers and toes,

heads of hair.

waiting to meet them.

to hold them. to feed them. to swaddle them, spend sleepless nights with them.

to introduce them to their big sisters.

the other day, a lab tech was drawing my  blood and asked me what i was having. the girls and j were with me.

i said two more girls. she said "oooohhhhh" and harper said "i KNOW!! isn't it WONDERFUL????".

sigh. i love that girl.i was SO proud of her in that moment!

at the doctor several days ago i was 3 cm. i've had a night full of contractions since and sporadic day contractions...so it's only a matter of time.

my mom comes back tonight just in case.

it could be tomorrow, could be a couple more weeks.

but i'm ready.

and patiently waiting.

xoxo

s

i am also so very happy and excited for my sweet friend tina as she awaits the LONG anticipated birth of her first son, tyler. maybe our babies will share birthdays???? :)

 

in our last weeks as four (photo heavy)

i hope you'll indulge me today as i share more of the photos from our photo shoot with ker-fox photography.

we received the rest of our photos today and although i could easily share ALL of them, i love them so much, i thought i'd share a few more. i can't help it. hahaha!

i honestly don't think i could decide on a favorite if i was forced to. okay, that's a lie. i think my favorite is probably the one i shared previously, the one of sadie with the dirty knees and the "shoot, i got caught!" look on her face.

but here are more of the ones i love second best. :)

hope you have a beautiful tuesday- i have an OB appt today and i'm curious if there has been any progress!! :)

xxo

s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

savannah children's book festival

saturday we headed to the savannah children's book festival in forsyth park.

we had a tote full of some of our favorite bedtime stories...the llama llama books, the skippyjon jones books, and pirates don't change diapers, as well as a camera and a sharpie for when we met the authors.

the girls were SO excited. especially when we met some of their favorite characters.

as you can see, sadie was suspicious. as usual.

"get your stinkin' llama paws off of me."

we made our way to the main stage,

where the girls listened to judy schachner and anna dewdney speak.

it was so cool...they read their books and then answered questions.harper was WAY into it.

i may or may not have recited all of the words to llama llama red pajama without looking at harper's book.

after each author read, they made their way to the author tent, where you could wait in (MASSIVE) lines to meet them and get their autograph.

we quickly went over to anna dewdney's tent (huge lllama llama fans in our house) and waited for a long time, even though we were towards the front of the line.

i'm pretty sure the wait had something to do with the older couple at the front of the line that had at least 3292128429340238420384023840238 books for her to sign, and totally looked like a couple out of a saturday live skit. they were probably her biggest fans. heee.

eventually we got up to the table. and the girls were SO cute and polite.

she told them how precious they were and also that they were very precocious. hahahahah! sadie kept saying "LLAMA LLAMA MAD AT MAMA!!!!" and making her laugh.

and miss h, as usual, was being the queeeeen of TMI. telling her goodness knows what. her middle name, her baby sister's names, her favorite snack? who knows.

we had an awesome time. i am loving living here SO SO much. i'm already dreading the day we have to leave!

well shoot! there was a layout here, but i received emails from several of you reminding (correcting???) me that the phrase is "all of a sudden" not "all of the sudden". believe it or not, i know that...i blame it on VERY tired preggers  brain. luckily it was easy as pie to correct the title. i'll repost it later!

hope you have a beautiful monday!!

xxo

s

 

 

 

Metropolitan Sneaks

Happy Sunday y'all!

I hope you are all having a beautiful weekend. We are having so much fun. J is on block leave as of last week (this means his entire battalion is on leave until early december!!) so we have had lots of great family time.

we are getting ready for the sweet babes (i can't believe i'm 36 weeks this week!!!). we purchased a new car seat, laundered all of the linens, burp cloths, and wee onesies...and packed my suitcase! better safe than sorry! i guess it could be any time, or another month. craziness!!

yesterday we went to the savannah children's book festival, where the girls got to hear several of their favorite authors read. it was awesome. i love love love living here!

i'll share more on that tomorrow (including photos).

but for now, i want to share my sneaks from the studio calico december kit, metripolitan.

i was really drawn to this month's kit and ended up purchasing all four add-ons. i'm loving all of them, and just for the heck of it, i decided to do one layout per kit or add-on, using only that kit or add-on. (for the most part...i did combine one element from add-on two on my add-on three layout). :)

so here are the images from the layouts i've done so far. i've made four, and hope (really really hope) to make more this week!!!

 

main kit ( metropolitan )

 

add-on one ( park bench )

add-on three ( holiday lights )

 

 

add-on four ( mass transit )

so far, i've only done one traditional "christmas" layout with this kit. so, it's super versatile and i like that!

one more thing...make sure to stop by the SC blog, there is a fantastic giveaway going on through tonight. See it HERE

 

have a fantastic sunday...see you soon!!

xxo

s

i couldn't possibly be happier

**first, i want to take a moment to convey my gratitude today, and every day, to the men and women who keep us safe. especially to my handsome soldier. i love you, jimmy, and couldn't possibly be prouder to call myself your wife. thank you doesn't even begin to cover it.**

 

the title of this post refers to these amazing photos by ker-fox photography.

 

 

 

 

all images courtesy of ker-fox photography©

 

for a bigger sampling of the gorgeous photos they took, look at this blog post.

my  heart is so happy right now! we've never ever had family photos. i don't even have official engagement photos. or many wedding photos.

these capture such a special, unique time in our lives, they make me teary every time i look at them.

thank you so much wes and neely...for capturing these moments for us!

happy happy thursday.

xxo

s