Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve I headed to the gym in order to get my head on straight for a long day ahead.  This is what I came home to.  I absolutely fall in love with Lila Grace more and more each day.  I love the girl she is growing into.  So sweet!  She works very hard to fill my bucket with love each and every day.  Who wouldn't want this special lunch?

Phew, Christmas Eve is exhausting for a pregnant mama! We baked and cooked and then cooked some more. Luckily, I had very helpful girls. . . especially the big girl. Here Lila and Savannah are making pumpkin pie and cornbread.

We finally got our dresses on, dinner on the table and out the door to church. Before leaving we snapped a couple of pictures to document our last year as a family of 5!

Here are some more last pictures of just three girls!

When we walked out the door we found this!!

Here is my Christmas Miracle holding her candle during Silent Night.  This moment brings tears to my eyes each and every Christmas Eve as it takes me back to her homecoming on Christmas 6 years ago.  She is an amazing girl with an amazing journey under her belt.  I love her so. 

Recital

Savannah had her first piano recital.  She is under the direction of a new teacher which has taken her playing to new level.  Her Christmas songs were quite difficult this year and I can safely say, she plays better than I ever did now.  For her recital, she played a beautiful version of Carol of the Bells and two other Christmas songs.  

Savannah was nervous and didn't quite know what to expect being that she hasn't performed solo in front of an audience before.  I was nervous for her!  When it was her turn she walked up on stage and did all the things her teacher asked of her, including playing her songs almost flawlessly!  She was at her best that night and walked away feeling proud.  Of course, Alex and I were very impressed and proud too. 

Birthdays

Alex and I celebrate our birthdays one day apart so instead of two cakes, we just ate one side and turned it around the next day. Pretty clever in our old age huh?!

We still miss Bobby terribly and not a day goes by when we don't think about him.  However, our latest family member Sammy, is providing lots of distraction and positive energy. 

She Did it Again

Savannah ran The Girls on the Run 5k in early December.  Not only did she come in 97 out of 2000, she got second for her age division.  I am so proud of this runner girl.  She works hard and pushes through tired legs.  I can't say that I do the same.  She definitely has her daddy's legs. 

Gotta love the red hair that marked all the girls from her school!

My Jingle Elf

You might remember that Savannah ran her first official run last year at this time.  It was called the Jingle Elf run and was two miles through the town of West Chester.  The streets are lined with thousands of people waiting for the annual Christmas parade to begin.  They enthusiastically cheer on the runners. 

This year Lila Grace decided she was up for the task.  I couldn't believe it.  She was absolutely amazing.  There were only a few six year olds who ran and she came in ahead of all of them.  Her time was 23:00 minutes which puts her at an 11:30 mile.  That is FAST for a Kindergartener.  Who knew preemie lungs could perform so well?  We were a great pair, the littlest looking racer and the pregnant Mama.  There were tons of little kids putting their hands out for high fives and Lila made sure to zig-zag to get everyone of them.  She was overjoyed that the crowd was cheering for HER!

We stayed to watch the parade and Miss Lila fell asleep in my arms.  (Please excuse the bad cell phone pics)

Gingerbread Babies!

I hosted the Kindergarten girls while they decorated their gingerbread babies.  It was a small and sweet bunch of girls.  They did such a nice job.  Adeline was especially creative and turned her cookie into a gingerbread astronaut.  Why would have I thought otherwise?  

Here are my three with their master pieces.

Thanksgiving Day

In order to escape some of our sadness, we headed to DC for a relaxing Thanksgiving vacation.  Just like last year, we started our holiday with a five mile turkey trot.  This year, Savannah joined us!!  She ran the race of her life.  Out of 4,200 runners, she finished 3rd for the 10 and under crowd.  She averaged a 9:25 mile.  Needless to say, passed her pregnant Mama!  This girl can really run!!

Later that day, we devoured a delicious meal with the good company of friends.  Some of us, including Savannah, braved Toys R'us that night just to see what it was all about.  Savannah was thrilled to get her first taste of Black Friday madness.  Personally, I did most of my shopping on my ipad throughout the day.

 

We ended our stay with a drive through a light show and amusement park rides.  We were all pretty tearful as we geared up to drive home to a very empty house.  We really miss our kitty. 

Bob

Sadly, we had to put our beloved kitty down over Thanksgiving break.  He had been with us for 17 long years.  Our hearts were broken and our girls were drowning in sadness.  It was hardest for Savannah.  She had to say good-bye to her cat before she went to school.  This is a cat that has listened to every chapter of many novels read out loud by Savannah.  Bob let Lila hold him and carry him every which way.  He came to us just a month or so after Alex and I met.  We never expected his departure to be this sad.  Having to make the call, deciding when it was time, while forever haunt Alex and me.  He had a good life but we sure wish he never had to get old.  We miss him each day.


Notes written through tears and buried with Bobby. 

 

The last pictures and very sad goodbye. I am so thankful that Savannah is wise and mature beyond her years. She was broken but gracefully so.

 

 Funny Memories!

Because I Love Her

This fall was pretty hectic.  I was extremely sick for the first 16 weeks of this pregnancy.  Laying in bed more than not prevented us from doing many of our typical  fall traditions.  One is the yearly fall photos.  Luckily, on the way to school one day, I had my camera and made Savannah hop out of the car for a quick pic.

I am sure glad I did.  I love this girl!!!!

A Dose of Reality on World Prematurity Day

While walking by the jewelry case in Costco this afternoon, Lila announced, "Mommy, we have to get the new baby a ring!"  I was initially confused.  She explained that the baby needed a ring to hold like she and Adeline did when they were babies.  I looked down at her and said, "We still have that same ring.  It is right here on my finger."  Lila looked at me with shocked eyes and asked, "It was THAT ring?  But it is sooooo tiny!"  She just couldn't believe that her fingers fit through the ring that was resting on my finger.  I had no idea she didn't know that picture was of my wedding ring.


Lila Grace. . . two days old and holding daddy's ring

Adeline. . . three weeks old and holding mommy's ring

 

Lila Grace. . . five weeks old and holding daddy's ring

Lila is just starting realize how tiny she was when she was born.  The twins know they were sick and tiny but digesting how tiny will be a  process.

Our SHOCKING News!!

Eventually, the shock faded and now we are all very excited to become a family of SIX!!  Our love for our newest family member is growing right along with my tummy!  Our baby girl has a due date of April 9th but due to my history of having children early, we are expecting/hoping for a March arrival.  Here's hoping we just stop by the NICU to say hello!

My biggest helper and most excited daughter. . .

Happy Halloween!

 

From a Spider Witch. . .

A Firefighter. . .

And a Duck Burger. . .

Due to the pending Hurricane and questionable forecast on Halloween day, we put on our costumes and headed to the mall for some early trick-or-treating.