Twelve in 2014: a portrait project

I am very behind on posting my 12 in 2014 photo for this month but since today is the that day of the month, and one of my favorite girls Jessica told me I'm overdue for some updates, I'm here for a quick post and a much needed break from packing up for our big move. 

This month, we found out that we are having a baby BOY! Delilah was very excited to announce the news of her baby brother. We have given the baby a first name which I am sworn to silence on. We are still working hard on a middle name. 

August: Delilah introducing her baby brother 

Baby Update: 20 weeks

I've realized that I have not documented or photographed much of this pregnancy. It makes me sad to think that this child may not have as much to look back on as Delilah does. From this point forward, I intend on being better at that. I think that after the loss of our twin, I was just too fearful to document and photograph. Now that we have made it to 20 weeks, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed. 

Tomorrow we have our 20 week ultrasound. We are extremely excited to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. With Delilah, I was 100% certain from the very beginning of my pregnancy that she was a girl. With this pregnancy, I felt that we were having a boy & a girl. After losing one of our twins, I just can't say for certain. I still feel them both with me. 

The heart rate is high just like Delilah ranging from 155-170. My bump is lower and maybe a tad smaller. I'm puffy all over like I was with Delilah. I feel like I am filled with gallons of water. I have come to realize that I will never carry a pregnancy like a supermodel. 

Delilah is extremely excited to be a big sister. She gives my belly hugs & kisses every day and asks me when she can rock the baby in her arms. 

Patrick will not get in to deep baby name discussions until we know for sure if we are having a boy or a girl. However, after seven ultrasounds already, he believes that the baby looks just like Delilah and is a girl and he really wants another girl. He has a name that he loves that he believes we will name the baby. I have a name that I love that I believe we will name the baby if we are having a girl. They are two different names. If we are having a boy, the baby may never have a name. 

The story of our new home

There is so much going on this month and it is all so very exciting!

~ We bought a new house ~

We finally listed our house three weekends ago and it sold in 48hrs. It was a very exciting and a slightly stressful few days. It is a really great story that will hopefully help my husband become a little more of a positive thinker and believer. 

Our listing went live on a Friday morning. On Saturday & Sunday we ended up with about seven showings which kept us out of the house the entire weekend. On that Saturday morning, we looked at a house. We loved it and wanted to put in an offer. The house was a brand new listing and we found out that there were already at least three other offers already on the home. The sellers wanted to give everyone a fair chance so they were giving everyone until Monday night at 7pm to get their best offer forward and, they were only accepting non contingent offers which meant that we needed to sell out house by Monday morning. My husband kept telling me "you know that is impossible and we will never get the house", I kept telling him that he needs to believe that we will get the house and that it will all work out. He didn't want me to get my hopes up and I didn't want his negative thinking to ruin our chances. We are very opposite minded.

 Our last showing was at 3pm on Sunday, at 4pm we received a call from our realtor that there was an offer on our house. On Monday morning, we signed the contract to sell our house and the contract to put in our best offer on our new house. At 7pm on Monday night we sat with our phones in hand waiting for the call. An hour later we received a call that the home owners were not going to make a decision until the following morning. They were going to sleep on it and we were not going to sleep at all that night. On Tuesday at 1pm we finally received the call that they accepted our offer. It was like we won the grand prize. 

In just a couple of years, Delilah will be going to the same elementary school that I went to and the same Jr. high that Patrick & I both went to. I am thrilled about that. She will run wild and play on some of the same streets in the same neighborhoods that I loved so  much growing up. 

We are moving in 30 days and we are crazy busy organizing, packing and finalizing all of the paperwork that comes with buying and selling a home. Patrick has owned a few homes already, one of which he built. I was a traveling gypsy for 10 years renting and moving all around. This is my first home! The house that we currently live in is the longest place that I have stayed put in since my childhood home that we moved out of when I was 11. I have been here for six years and Patrick says it is our house but it has never felt like my home. It's a wonderful and beautiful house and I am so blessed but it always felt very masculine to me. This is the house that we welcomed Delilah in. I am very attached to her nursery and it is my absolute favorite room in the house. I'm sure that I will feel a little bit of sadness when leaving here, but I am overjoyed with the excitement of our new home which I'm sure will keep me from feeling too much sadness about leaving. 

30 days will be here in the blink of an eye. Hopefully this process will go smoothly because at 5 months pregnant, moving sure is challenging. 

Twelve in 2014: a portrait project

Delilah: July 2014

Delilah is halfway to her 3rd birthday! Like most parents, I just can't believe how fast she has gone from a newborn to a wildly energetic toddler filled with excitement, wonder and a magnificent personality. We have been enjoying all things summer and the pool has been a big hit this month. 

4th of July weekend!

I love when holidays fall on a day that extends the weekend and the celebrations last all weekend long. Since I was a teenager, we have gone to the same local 3rd of July festival & fireworks. It was a different kind of night of festivities when I was a teenager and different again in my 20's as it is now that I am a mother. Now it's all about the little ones and it is a fun friends & family night. 

Last year my mom made Delilah an amazing 4th of July outfit out of vintage fabric that my aunt sent us. Her outfit was a huge hit last year. 

This year, my mom added an extra ruffle to her pants and her top still fit. I was so excited to get another year out of this outfit. Now I'm hoping that we can do the same thing next year. 

On the 4th we went to the 4th of July parade. Patrick's dad marches in the parade for the VFW which is always a very moving & emotional sight to see. The crowd claps & cheers as the men march down the street. Brings a tear to my eye every time. 

After the parade we spent the day at Patrick parents swimming, barbecuing and I may have taken a short nap in the sun room, ps... I'm still exhausted.

The rest of our weekend was spent having good times with our fabulous neighbors who always spoil us with their hospitality and wonderful family. I also managed to get a few more naps in and a little bit of shopping. 

I hope that your 4th of July weekend was filled with great celebrations.

Delilah's first dance recital

Back in January, just a few days after her 2nd birthday, Delilah started Twinkle Tots dance class. Her dance class is a 45 minute tap & ballet class filled with adorable two & three year old girls. Pat & I both went to class every week to watch her dance. Watching a child dance, filled with joy, individuality and a free spirit is one of the most uplifting & inspiring sights to see. 

This six month dance session came to an end with a spectacular summer recital. Delilah had a full dress rehearsal on stage in full costume and makeup the night before the big show. She also had class & individual photos that day. At the dress rehearsal I was waiting in the theater while Delilah was taken backstage without me, for her photos and to wait for her class to take the stage. This was a huge my baby is no longer a baby moment for me. About 30 minutes later Delilah's class came out on the dark stage. The bright stage lights came on and there was my baby squinting her eyes saying "mom, mama" I waived my arms up and said "here I am baby" she gave me the biggest smile, jumped up and down and said "I'm dancing on stage mama!" A star was born. Her class rehearsed their dance twice and Delilah put on a big performance. She did many of the choreographed moves and added many of her own. She received some big cheers and happy laughs from the crowd. Her performance was absolute perfection to me. She came off the stage so excited and so proud of herself. 

At the end of her rehearsal day she said to me "again Mama", she couldn't wait to dance on stage again and she got to do it all over again the very next day for her big show which was amazing. Summer classes start this week and Delilah can't wait to get back into class and dance with her friends. 

Pregnancy update: Twin b is happy & healthy

Two weeks after finding out that we lost one of our twins we had another ultrasound to check on our surviving twin b. Two weeks ago I had absolutely no desire to go to this ultrasound appointment. I wasn't sure if they were still going to show me both babies or just the surviving twin. If they only showed me the one, I didn't know how that would make me feel after seeing both of my beautiful babies growing within me. It took me about 10 days to emotionally digest the loss of another baby. I never though that this would happen to us when it happened in December and there was absolutely no thought in my mind that this would happen again. 

A couple of days before this ultrasound I was ready and now very much wanting to see our baby. I was very calm and at ease on the way to our appointment. As soon as the ultrasound began, I was looking away from the screen. I finally turned my head to see our beautiful baby (twin b). As soon as my eyes hit the screen, baby b put on a big dance routine. It was the happiest dance that I have ever witnessed. We laughed & cried as our baby seemed to be telling us "look at me, I'm happy & healthy!"

I have now graduated from the fertility specialist and next week I see my regular ob/gyn for my first prenatal visit with him this pregnancy. I'm hoping that this next step will make things start to feel like a regular/normal pregnancy. I'm excited and hopeful to now start being able to share beautiful & happy stories of a pregnancy journey with a very happy ending.