Baby Sprinkle

My sweet big sis and my dear mama threw me a baby sprinkle this past weekend!  It was truly lovely.  My sister is so clever when it comes to decorations.  My baby shower with Caleb was quite different, since we chose to be surprised with the gender.  It limits the decor a bit and everything is green and yellow.  It was so much fun seeing all the pink!

Since quite a few things I received before Caleb was born were hand-me-downs and have long since broken and been tossed, or Silas ripped some other things beyond repair, it was time for a small shower.  And since we still need to buy a car that can fit three kids with car seats, we truly needed help!  I was so grateful for the gifts we received, but more than that, I was grateful to see family and old, dear friends of mine I haven't seen in years!

When I sat down to open my first gift, I could see it was clothes peeking through the tissue paper.  I felt a long pause in my heart before I continued opening.  The significance of this moment was not lost on me.  I was going to see my baby girl's first clothes!  I was not disappointed!  Plenty of pink, flowers, and a onesie that said, "Daddy's Little Princess" and a tutu to boot!  I think I heard the whole room gasp in delight of the sweetness!

It was a beautiful shower, and I wish I had more photos.  The truth is that my camera turned on via travels and the battery was drained when I arrived.  I thought I plugged it in after arrival, only to find it got knocked out of the socket during the chaos of the shower.  My sister was so busy serving and preparing delicious food that she neglected to get many photos, too.

My sister out-did herself with everything.  Her family and mine both eat as healthfully as our budgets will allow, so I don't take for granted all the money my sister spent putting the food together.  She made delicious gluten-free cupcakes and anise cookies for dessert, and served a healthy sausage with potatoes and a chicken meatball soup.  All stuff I could eat, and my kids, too!

The boys had fun with their five cousins, whom they rarely get to see.  Brian and Uncle Rich took all the boys out for a bit, to get them away from the shower.  Silas did very well with his big girl cousins especially, who love to pretend Silas is chasing them, and he loves it too!

My sister purchased a decorative picture for me (seen up above), that says, "For This Child We Have Prayed".  It is so true when we think about our little girl.  We always believed we were supposed to have her, but as time went on and circumstances remained as they were, we started to give up hope.  God did quite a work to get us to the point to be open to pregnancy again, and in about three months or a little less than, we'll be holding our baby girl in our arms!

I'm so blessed to have had this sprinkle this past weekend, and I am grateful for all my mom and sis did for me, and for all those who celebrated with me!

Dolly

Well, hello.  Perhaps you'd like to meet the newest member of our family.  This is Dolly.

Last Sunday, I was at the store buying a few things for the Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift.  Last year, I chose a boy, because I am just so used to buying boy things, but this year, in honor of the baby girl we are waiting to hold in our arms, I decided to buy for a girl, age 2-4, the youngest age bracket you can choose.

I was looking at little dollies, and the only kind that I could find that would work well in a shoebox was this one here, along with her twin.  There were two dollies in the box.  I figured, well, we are having a girl in three months, so why not get the two?  It would not be a waste.

When I got home and started taking the dollies out of the box, both of my boys were ready to pounce on me and grab them from my hands.  Each had one before I could blink.  For little boys who are used to seeing trucks and cars, Paw Patrol toys, Lincoln Logs, and Legos galore, these dolls were foreign creatures.

I had to declare warnings (for Caleb mostly, since Silas doesn't understand) that we are giving one away, so let's not go crazy.  After Silas ripped the arm off the purple baby above, I quickly grabbed Caleb's unharmed pink doll and put her safely into the shoebox before she met some unfortunate fate too.  (I did manage to put the arm back in its socket, but alas, it is not the same.)

As I was putting Silas to bed that night, Caleb tucked Dolly into a Lincoln Log box and closed the lid, thinking to put her to bed.  When he reported this to me, I thought it was time for a lesson on how to care for a baby.  After all, he is going to have a little sister before we know it.  "Oh, no,"  I said,  "Get Dolly out of the box.  Let's tuck her in the car seat.  This can be her bed."

And so we did.  Caleb has been enjoying tucking Dolly into bed each night and getting her up in the morning.  Silas was fascinated by the fact that Dolly's eyes opened and closed whether she was laying down or upright.  However, do not fear.  They don't play with her throughout the day.  The newness has worn off.  For Caleb, I continue to use it as a lesson on how we can care for our own baby girl when she gets here.   I know Caleb will be a good big brother to his sister.  He notices EVERYTHING, and will report to me on every scrunch of face she makes, I have no doubt.

In church today, there was a baby girl two rows ahead.  I watched her and watched her, thinking of our own baby.  I still can hardly believe we are having another baby, let alone, a girl!  I'm enamored with pink sleepers and headbands, flowers and bows.  We still have so much to do, and I am working hard at home getting as many things ready as I can before the holidays hit.

Soon enough, these little feet that are kicking me constantly will be ours to enjoy!