11/52

the softest robe by shop pink blush

[a portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2017]

hadley: this girl is becoming so independent. i mentioned it already on instagram but she is turning into quite the little helper! she sweeps, makes her bed, sets the table, helps empty the dishwasher, loves to take food out of the fridge (ok so this one is not so fun...thank the lord for baby gates!) and her favorite new phrase is "i try! i try!" she absolutely refuses to sit in her high chair and this has been such a testing of my patience--which to be quite honest i am grateful for the refinement, but it's been a lot of deep deep breaths for me. i've told her that until baby sister comes she has to sit in her high chair and as soon as she gets here, she doesn't have to. i have no idea what that is going to look like when the time comes. but when i softly tell her this and i mention her sister's name it helps to calm her down and get her to comply! so i'd call it a win. besides the slipping into terrible twos--which i really hate they are called that, what if someone called you terrible for your age?--hadley is the absolute sweetest little girl. she wants to share everything with us and sometimes we feel bad because we really don't want something, such as a bite of her food, but of course we give in to her cuteness and take a little courtesy bite. she brings me my shoes each day as we are getting ready to leave and even wants to help me put them on. i'm praying her helping, her graciousness, her compassionate heart stands the test of time and the cruelness of the world. 

baby girl #2: at 34 weeks today she is the size of a cabbage but really feels like a bowling ball in there. i can tell she's running out of room, because her kicks have become rolls and attempts at stretching, although her little feet still manage to make their way up into my ribs. heartburn comes and goes, thankfully it's not as bad as it was a month or so ago. i have been living in this maternity robe lately and i have got to say, i am so so glad they make maternity clothes now that don't make you feel matronly or frumpy, but rather almost sexy, youthful and full of life (ha! literally!). it's been hard with this growing belly wanting to invest in anything because i won't be wearing it much longer, but i am so thankful i was gifted this. it has made being pregnant a little less uncomfortable for sure! we are so close to the end and we seriously cannot believe it. every day we are more looking forward to meeting this sweet lady. what really makes this time special, though, is that we will get to introduce her to hadley. i have these perfect visions of what their meeting for the first time would look like--hadley a little bashful at first, but then warming up she squeezes her and gives her all the kisses. however, after talking to a friend who said her expectations were way too high when her boys met for the first time, i think she's right. i want it to happen the way it's going to happen. and i want to be present for it. and to soak it up, no matter if it's not the perfect moment. i don't want to be disappointed, so i am trying not to have any expectations! we will see how that one goes ;)