The Baby Bump

I have barely posted about my pregnancy and honestly I can not even believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. I am due in just 2 days!!! We are so excited to meet baby Harrison and welcome him into our family :-) Since I have not posted belly pictures I thought I would take this opportunity to post some from the past few months.....

The girls have been so great preparing for their little brother :-) They only refer to him as "Baby Harrison" which is so cute!!! They help me rub lotion on my belly and give kisses to it all of the time. Brooklyn is learning how to say her prayers on her own and as she prays for each one of us she includes baby Harrison too, which was so adorable!! I thought that she didn't really understand that there is actually a baby in there but she obviously understands more than I realized. Olivia has had a countdown everyday until my due date and often talks about all of things she is going to do with her little brother when he gets here.

We recently went on a hospital tour to get a better look at where I will be delivering because this time it will be a whole new experience in another state. The hospital is beautiful and the tour made me anxious to have the baby. I love being pregnant and I so look forward to the delivery. The girls also went to a sibling class at the hospital (in March) where they learned all of the roles of an older sibling and how to take care of the baby. It was a really cute class and the girls enjoyed it.

The girls showing off their Big Sister Diplomas :-)

Holidays

Since I am such a slacker these days on the Blog scene I figured I would post pictures from a couple holidays together...

This year on Valentine's Day we celebrated the day of love by hanging out at home eating heart-shaped foods, playing with some little presents we bought the girls, & meeting Brian for dinner after his day at school.  I had fun spending the day with my Valentines and sharing their love.  <3 <3 <3 

This year on St. Patrick's Day we had so much fun!!!  We started off the day by giving the girls their St. Patrick's Day books before heading to the hospital for a sibling class.  The girls were so cute at the class where they learned how to care for their new sibling on the way.  The class taught them how to help change diapers, what their responsibilities are as big sisters, & they also got to take a tour of the nursery :-)  After the class we went to GG & Papa's house for a St. Patrick's themed family game night.  We enjoyed playing games with the family and eating a delicious dinner together.  

Snow Days

I am determined to catch up on blogging now that I have some down time in the next few weeks. I am really behind as usual but some how I always manage to catch up. Well I can not complain about this winter in Chicago because it was really mild. We barely got any snow and the temperature was bearable. Although the girls were bummed that they didn't get to build a snowman this year because of the lack of snow, we still had a few snowy days. Olivia loves the whole winter experience of getting bundled to go play in the snow and then coming back inside to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate :-)

Brooklyn's Birthday Party

On January 8th we celebrated Brooklyn's 2nd Birthday by throwing her an Elmo themed party!! There are not many things that Brooklyn loves more than that little red furry monster! She was so excited to have Elmo decorations everywhere and be the center of attention for the day. She looked absolutely adorable in her party outfit consisting of an Elmo t-shirt, skinny jeans, Elmo vans, and two giant bows on her head. We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating little miss Brooklyn with our family and friends.

A few days before her party Aunt Tay Tay gave Brooklyn her present so that she could wear them at the party :-)

Invitations for Brooklyn's party.

Party Decorations...

The table centerpieces were blocks and Goldfish crackers in fish bowls because Elmo's best friend is his fish Dorothy.

We had the usual themed cd playing Sesame Street songs and everyone wrote a special message to Brooklyn in the "Elmo Loves You" book.

Since my mom had a bunch of old Sesame Street toys from when I was little I used them as party decor setting them out all over the house.

An Elmo party wouldn't be complete without a Sesame Street sign!!

I made banners with Sesame Street alphabet cards.

As guests were arriving my sisters decided to play one of Olivia and Brooklyn's favorite games-"London Bridge is Falling Down" (so random lol) and all of the kids started to join in. They love the part where they get "locked up" and it was so funny watching them.

Party Pictures...

Opening presents...

Cake time...

My friend Taylor's adorable Elmo cookies!!

More party pictures...

Game time...

There were only a few little kids at the party so we played "Hot Potato" and "Hide and Seek" with Elmo.

The prizes were Sesame Street coloring books and crayons.

For favors all of the kids home went home with ABC Elmo books, Sesame Street stickers, and flash cards.

Thank you everyone for joining us in celebrating Brooklyn turning 2!!!