Holidays 2011

The holidays seem like such a long time ago now and to be honest it was a little bit of a blur.  I  want to wriite about it though so I can remember these fun, crazy times!

Of course, Jack was born the Monday before Thanksgiving so we were not driving anywhere.  My family brought Thanksgiving dinner to us that day and we all had a  very laid back day.  We all loved to just sit around and look at Jack all day.  I am having some tecnical difficulties with my computer holding my Thanksgiving pictures so they will have to wait.

The next couple weeks were very busy getting ready for Christmas--

I actually had a little photo shoot with the kids for the Christmas card.  I had very low expectations and was so excited that I got a good picture of all three.

 Ava had a little party at dance and loved wearing her pink Santa hat

Our elf, Sprinkles, was one of our favorite parts of this Christmas s season.  I hate that I didn't get more pictures, but the kids had so much fun.  Sprinkles was pretty sneaky this year and Sam and Ava had a lot of fun finding him every morning - except for when that lazy elf forgot to move :) 

Sam is telling Sprinkles his last minute Christmas wishes

Christmas Eve cookie making

When I was going through these pictures I looked at this one and was trying to figure out which baby doll she was holding.  It took me a minute to figure out it was Jack :)

Christmas Eve - leaving cookies for Santa

...and Christmas morning!  Santa brought them both four wheelers to ride out at our land.  This made for a comical Christmas morning.  They crashed into just about everything in the living room!

She just can't believe it :)

Jack's First Christmas

 Ava and Haven at Mamaw's house - Christmas Day

 Papa and Jack - Grummer Family Christmas

First family picture with all five!

We are feeling especially blessed this holiday season.  Jack was unexpected, but he was certainly the best gift we could have ever received.  These three kids made this holiday (and really every day) so special and fun!

Jack Michael

Long time.. no see!!  Now I know why people don't have any pictures after two kids - no time :)  I have A LOT of things to post, but the most important is the arrival of our baby boy so I am going to begin there!

We went to the hospital very early in the morning on November 21st.  I have to say that for some reason I was more scared this time than with Sam and Ava - you would think that the third would be easier (not for me)!!  It took a while to get my IV in and to get things starting.  James was definitely very supportive.  As scared as I was - James was excited.  Once things started they went really fast.  They induced me around 9:00, broke my water at 9:30, and I was in intense pain pretty soon after this.   James was watching the monitor telling me how strong my contractions were - "here is a big one."  Ha - yeah thanks :)  Erica, my mom and my dad got to be there through most of it -  I was thankful for that. 

I was dilated to 3 when I got to the hospital, so I didn't have to progress very far to get my epidural - thank goodness!  It was such a relief from that point, and it really went fast after that!  At about 11:00 it looked like my contractions had just stopped, and because I had my epidural at that point of course I couldn't feel them.  But I did feel some pressure.  We waited for a couple minutes and Erica couldn't wait any longer so she went to ask the nurse why my contractions had stopped.  The nurse came in to check and Jack was READY.  At this point I was still scared - I just wanted him to be safe in my arms!! 

Our doctor was there before I knew it, and it was time to bring Jack into the world.  It took two pushes and about a minute and a half and he was here.  He was (and still is) perfect!  I think no matter how many times you give birth it is such a miracle and the instant love is just overwhelming.

Jack Michael Piraino

6 pounds 15 ounces (exact same as Sam)

20 1/2 inches long

perfect in every way :)

Love at first sight

 Proud Daddy

I can't wait to write all about our adventures since we have been home.  There is never a dull moment in this house!!

Sam's 3rd Birthday

Sam turned three on September 18th - this post is better late than never :)  I remember looking at Sam that week and thinking that he is not my baby anymore, and that makes me sad!  For so long I have thought of him as my baby boy, and even though he will ALWAYS be my baby, he is not going to be the baby of the family.  And he is looking and acting like a little boy now.

Some things to remember about Sam at 3:

There is no in-between with Sam.  I am either laughing at him because he is so sweet and hysterical, or I am crying because he is making me crazy!

He is hungry ALL the time.  He wakes up at 5:30 every morning and comes to our room asking what is for breakfast.

He doesn't like hugs, kisses, or snuggling (heartbreaking), but he does say, "Mommy, I love you" all day.

He is Daddy's buddy.  He will follow James anywhere and everywhere.  James can do no wrong as far as Sam is concerned!

He is obsessed with tractors - seriously obsessed!

Some of his favorite foods:  Pop-Tarts (these are going to go away when I feel normal in the mornings again), macaroni and cheese, yogurt, any kind of fruit, muffins, cinnamon rolls  - Sam REALLY likes breakfast!

I am so proud to be Sam's mommy.  He makes all of our lives better in every way!

We bought some land out in the country last year and James has been working hard fixing it up.  Sam loves to go out to the land and ride tractors and just hang out with Daddy.  So, for Sam's party we met at the land and had a tractor party complete with a hayride.  It was very low-key and the perfect party for my little tractor boy!

Birthday Boy

All the cousins

When it was time to open presents, Sam asked, "Is it time to open my tractors?"

 Hayride - AJ and Sam

 Nick and Tyler

Cute girls!!

We love you Sam!!

Way Behind!

Well- once again I am WAY behind on my blog.  I just can't keep up with everything going on, and things are about to be REALLY crazy :)

Anyway, I wanted to pick up where I left off and maybe I will catch up to Halloween before this new baby gets here!!

A couple months ago we started our back to school routine which means we have something to do every day.  I do like having a routine and the kids are much happier having things to do every day, but I do miss sleeping in!  Here is what our schedule looks like:

Monday:  MOPS
Tuesday:  Preschool/Mother's Day Out 
Wednesday - Dance
Thursday- Preschool/ Mother's Day Out
Friday - Playgroup

And I am taking one class and completing 200 hours of my internship (on Tuesdays and Thursdays while kids are in school).  And in between all of that getting ready for baby!

Here are some of the shots from our first days:

We had to go to the store to buy some new ballet and tap shoes for Ava.  I told her that we could get one new leotard since the ones she wore last year are a little tight.  She saw this one and HAD to have it.  She has worn it every week and all she does is check out herself in the mirror :)

First day of preschool - I am SO not looking forward to kindergarten next year!

Sam on his first day of Mother's Day Out.  You can't tell from this picture but he screamed all morning because he didn't want to go.  He LOVES it though and is so excited to tell me everything about his day when I pick him up.

The Big Reveal

We did something really fun to announce the gender of our baby this time around.  Let me start off by saying that I thought about not finding out at all.  But since I thought we were done I had given away just about everything baby thing we had, and I am a planner I needed to know.  I have to decorate a nursery before this little one gets here!!  So we found out and planned a gender reveal party to share our news with everyone!

We knew that we would be thrilled with either a boy or a girl.  So James and I went to the ultrasound appointment on July 7th and found out the gender, and most importantly found out that everything looks healthy.  We were both sooo excited, but we had to keep our secret for a couple weeks until we had planned our reveal party!  It was really fun to keep the secret with James :)

On July 22nd we invited family and a couple of our friends over to swim, cookout, and to finally find out about the new little member of our family. First, we had everyone choose a team when they arrived - Team Pink or Team Blue!

Team Pink



 Team Blue - notice that both Sam and Ava are on this team!

 We had a great time visiting with everyone, and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins and their friends!

The kids having a great time!

James, Joey, and Brandon

Sam and his buddy Brooks

And then it was time to make the announcement.  I had made cupcakes earlier in the day filled with frosting to let people know the gender.  So we passed out cupcakes and told everyone to take a bite at the same time....AND

IT'S A BOY!!!

(Excuse my appearance in this picture - it was 110 degrees that day and I had been swimming and I have pregnant face)!!

It was such a fun way to share with the people that we loved and see all of their expressions.  Everyone was so happy.  James and I both feel blessed beyond anything we can have imagined , and we can't wait to meet and hold our son!  

Little Fish

OK - well I promised to update regularly and I have failed!!  I can blame it on a lot of things because we have been beyond busy.  But the truth is I keep this record for the kids and for me to look back on and they deserve better, so I am going to try to be better!! 

We have had so many things going on this summer, but I am just going to start at the beginning.  The first two weeks of June Ava and Sam went to swim lessons.  They had the best teacher, Ms. Lynn, who I refer to as the miracle worker.  Prior to swim lessons Ava would barely put her chin under water and always used floaties.  And Sam was absolutely terrified in the pool - he screamed the entire time.  I don't know what changed for him from last year to this year, but Lynn told me that is pretty normal around the time a child turns 3 and just becomes more aware.

So I had pretty limited expectations for swim lessons, but I thought we would give it a try. Well, Ava now swims without floaties (unless she is in the deep part), swims under water, dives for toys, jumps in the pool without help.  I am seriously amazed.  She has become a little fish, and has even had swimmer's ear twice this year.  Sam still uses his floaties, of course, but he is not afraid at all and will even put his head under with a little coaxing.  I am beyond thrilled at the transformation this year, and I love seeing how much fun they are having in the pool every day!

For some reason, I still can't upload videos here, so you will just have to take my word for it about how great they both are :)

Announcement

It is about time that I made this official.  The very week of my last post our lives changed in a VERY unexpected way!!  We are expecting baby #3 in November. 

I was extremely shocked (yes- we know how it all works) and terrified for a while.  I have to say James was excited from the very beginning.  There are so many reasons not to have another baby right now.  But through all of this I have come to know a couple things--

I know that I am blessed beyond anything that I could have imagined.  There was a time that I thought that I may not find the right person to marry much less have kids.  And I did find him and we have two beautiful, healthy kids and now one more on the way!  Being Ava and Sam's mother has been the blessing of my life and this new baby will be no different.

I am a planner - and I mean I plan everything.  I write lists for every day, every trip to the grocery store- EVERYTHING.  So when we had our little girl and our little boy - I thought I had really planned that out well :)  But, I have to step back sometimes and remember that God 's plan and my plan are not always the same.  And his plans for me have exceeded anything that I could ever have imagined for myself.

So - I am 16 weeks pregnant today.  I just came back from the doctor and the baby  looks healthy and wonderful.  The doctor tried everything to see if there is a little boy or girl in here, but he or she wouldn't cooperate so we can wait another month :)

And I thought I would share some ultrasound pictures: (Forgive the blurry pics- my scanner is not working)!!



Can you see the little hand- he or she is giving a high five!

 The baby's face- eyes, nose, and mouth

I promise lots of new posts coming soon.  We have been busy lately and I have so many things to post about the new things that Ava and Sam are into!