Birthday party x 3

Today was a very exciting Saturday. We had three birthday parties to attend, Greyson had been looking forward to this all week long!
His day of partying started at 11am with a round of indoor mini golf. He was awesome! In eighteen holes, he had 2 hole in ones!! I think mommy & daddy were more
excited than he was. Ha! Here is greyson with the birthday boy jack , who turned three:

hard at his game:

Next was swimming at an indoor water park. His sweet friend Hannah from preschool
turned four.

She reminds me of a beautiful little china doll, so precious!!

our little fishie....

Greyson’s cousin Taylor was the ONE year old birthday girl at our third party.

She was not a fan of her fancy party hat....

but she knew just what to do with her cupcake!

being neat is for sissys. ha!

doing his part, belly talk & questions

Did you know February is National Bird-Feeding Month? Today at preschool the theme was our feathered friends. Greyson made a little birdie on a nest and a special treat for the birds too! A bagel smothered with peanut butter and birdseed. We will hang it outside tomorrow, it was so windy here today that it would have blown away!

My 17 week belly has had a major growth spurt this week! Baby girl must be busy growing in there.

Ever since we found out that Luciana is infact a girl, Greyson has been even more loving when talking into my belly. During the day he will ask a few times "can i feel your baby?" He wants to rub my belly and then puts his ear flush against it and asks, "what is baby Luciana doing in there?" I tell him she is probably sleeping. Next he will ask "where is her head?" "where is her belly button?" and so on... :) I love his little questions.

Greyson has not started with the "why" questions yet. Just the "where" and the "what" ones. He usually saves them for when he is talking to daddy on the phone (when jim is on a trip flying)

where are you daddy? where in San Diego? where in the hotel? what are you doing sitting at your desk on your computer? :)

it's a GIRL!!!!!

It’s official we will welcome a baby girl to be named Ava Luciana in five short months. She will be called Luciana, honoring my husband’s Italian roots.
It is still sinking in. I still can’t believe i’m able to type these words "it’s a girl." I believe there are some things that happen in this lifetime that you truly feel blessed beyond measure. Having a loving husband is at the top. Having a healthy, happy little boy is another. Having a wonderful family and a supportive group of friends is the icing. Now, knowing that we will be adding a precious pink bundle in five months has left me speechless. Sometimes I really wonder, what did I do to deserve this happiness? "For this child I have prayed" I Samuel 1:27

My mom went to the appointment with Jim and I today. I was so glad she was there to share and be apart of our exciting news. So glad she was able to capture such emotion in pictures for us. Thank-you mom! In these pictures we are looking straight ahead because the sonogram images are being displayed on a giant television monitor. It was amazing! And the best part is we get to see our sweet girl again in three weeks for her 20 week measurements

If you could please keep our family in your prayers. Jim did receive the official letter yesterday, at the end of April United Airlines will be furloughing around 200 more pilots. He did not make the cut this time. With this upcoming job loss we are facing the possibility of a move, maybe even before the baby. It is a lot to think about. But, I am excited to see what God has in store for our family next.
The good news today was very needed and welcomed. "So I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

Yesterday morning I had my monthly check-up. Jim was so excited to have the day off, so he would be there to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. I actually heard it on January 23rd for the first time, but daddy was flying on a trip. Every visit and every time we are able to listen to that FAST little swoosh it is so special!

According to my doctor, baby and mama are growing perfectly! Seven pounds perfectly, so far! ;) I can't believe four months have gone this fast. I can't believe i will be 17 weeks tomorrow. I can't wait to post BIG news tomorrow too!

I was definitely looking forward to an evening out with friends last night too. Most of us met for dinner, and then saw the show Oliver. You know the beloved family musical that tells the tale of a young orphan boy in London in the mid-1800's.

I really had high hopes and was looking forward to this show, especially because i never read the novel. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as i had hoped , but the company was way better!

Me, Sara, Margie, Laurie, Becky, and Kellie. We missed you Amy!!!

For those who didn't know, I was asked to go in my friend Amy's place.

She had a ticket, but was unable to attend because she was at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) with her little girl Brooke. Brooke is one of greyson's very best friends (since around the age of 18 months old). Here is a few pictures of them. The first is their very first day of pre school, the second is on Brooke's third birthday. Brooke was barefoot because we had just arrived at the party and she jumped out of the bounce house to come greet greyson. It was such a fun day. Brooke was having stem cells taken today to be harvested and used later for her bone marrow transplant.
Please take a moment and visit brooke's caring bridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brookemulford

She and her family could really use your thoughts and prayers. Brooke is four years old and was recently diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer. She will be starting her third round of chemo next week hopefully. Her mommy and daddy SO appreciated your kind words of encouragement on their guestbook.

pregnancy cravings

having random urges for strange foods, has been quite funny this pregnancy. when i was pregnant with greyson the only craving i had was for bacon. it was quite a mild craving that didn't last very long. every once in a while a BLT sandwich just sounded good to me. but this time..... wow! i want (need) anything SOUR! the daily list includes: pickled beets, dill pickles, and brussel sprouts or spinach drenched in vinegar!
what kind of pregnancy cravings did you guys have?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Greyson and I spent a quiet Valentine's Day here at home. Tomorrow we will celebrate together as a family, daddy comes home from his trip. yeah!! Nana & Boppie came for a visit this afternoon and we made valentine cookies. there was lots of powdered sugar, icing, & sprinkles involved. greyson had a blast rolling out the dough, using all the heart cookie cutters, and decorating the cookies. decorating until he grew tired, so nana and mommy finished up. i was so happy to finally see all that dough come to an end. sorry i forgot to take a picture of all the pretty cookies.

valentines from preschool & 16 week baby bump

these are the treats greyson gave the friends in his class today at school along with valentine day cards. super easy and yummy! here's the recipe:

Pretzel Sweet Treats

1 bag tiny pretzel twists

1 bag of hershey kisses, hugs or ROLOS

M&M's candies

1. Heat the oven to 170º. Spread pretzels twists in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss, Hershey's Hug or Rolo.

2. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feels soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

3. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons

Valentine cards, loot bags & treats from preschool. he told me all about the valentine party when i picked him up, he said the pink cupcakes were his favorite part!

he just couldn't wait to open those sweet cards (and the candy).

so here i am, 16 weeks pregnant today! didn't greyson do a great job taking this picture? he loves my camera and has gotten SO good with it, despite how heavy that lens is!

baby bump close-up

being silly together

realizing the days of just “us” together are going to come to an end. trusting and believing that a sibling will be one of the greatest gifts that we could ever give him. it still saddens me when i think of how easy and carefree our days are now, and the changes to come. Things are about to be shaken up a bit around here this summer. especially our mornings of sleeping in. it will all be worth it, remind me in july! :)

7 more days until we hopefully find out the gender of this little blessing. I can’t wait!!

Another busy week...

just flew by! We started off by a fun birthday party at a little indoor water park. Swimming in February is always a cool thing to do! It really made me long for spring and summer to hurry so we can swim in our own pool.

Greyson got a long overdue hair cut one evening followed by a stop at coldstone for ice cream. YUM! So far "blue and pink" aka: cotton candy & strawberry, are still his favorite flavors. Daddy always orders chocolate and peanut butter, while i usually have the berry berry.

Wednesday Jim and I were the parent helpers at preschool. Greyson's class had a field trip to the post office. Everyone got to mail Valentine Day cards, stamp their own envelopes to cancel

the postage stamp, and the morning was finished off with a ride on the mail cart. It was a very exciting morning!

Tomorrow he celebrates with his first class Valentine's day party. He can't wait to pass out cards to all his friends. Nothing says I really like you like a spiderman valentine. ha!

Chicken Acapulco

just wanted to share a quick and delicious recipe from our dinner tonight!

Chicken Acapulco

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp. butter

3 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 0z. sour cream

4 oz. can green chilies- drained

4 oz. jar of sliced mushrooms- drained

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

8-10 flour torillas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup milk

Saute chopped onion in butter until tender. Stir in next 8 ingredients mixing well. Spoon about 1/2 cup mixture into each flour tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased 13x19 baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients spoon over tortillas. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 mintues or until hot and bubbly.

wouldn't you love to be four again? back when your biggest worry was fitting all your playdoh in the fun factory? ha!

grover says goodnight!