I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of Naomi's art party that we had in MN.  It was so fun to be able to celebrate in MN with family.  I kept the party details pretty low key since my motivation has been lacking with this pregnancy.  

Making cupcakes.

The girls were so excited to decorate for the party.   We just let them go crazy on this wall and they had so much fun doing it!

Sweet, little Ryder who slept through most of the party.

Naomi was a little unsure of everything when she first woke up from her nap/the party started.  She just sat at the table eating goldfish.

Riding the tricycle that I got for my 2nd birthday! 

Grandma with her grandbabies.

The cousins having so much fun with the balloons.

Norwood melting my heart.

The painting station.

All the kids had a canvas to paint and did such a great job.

Mia, Diana, Naomi, and Selene with their masterpieces.

Naomi did such a great job opening presents.  She really enjoyed looking at each gift; it was so fun to watch.

She LOVED her sunglasses and wand from Uncle Jake.

Hugging her new zebra.  It was a small, plastic zebra and she kept holding it and saying, "so soft".  HAHa.

Naomi got a little bashful when everyone was singing to her.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!  

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Naomi is 2!!  

We had so much fun celebrating Naomi's birthday in MN this year and we were thankful to get her last free flight in (even though she was a day over 2 on the way home).  Joe is the photographer in the family, but he is too busy, so I did my best to get some pictures of my little lady.  She wouldn't give me a normal smile but smiles or not, she's still pretty cute!

Naomi's 2 year stats:

Weight: 25lbs 14.9oz (40%)

Height: 34 3/4in (50%)

Clothing: 3T

Diapers: Size 4

Naomi is so sweet and loves to be cuddled and held.  She would sit on my hip all day if I let her.  She especially needs me when I'm making dinner every night. 

She loves to play outside and has bruises on her knees to prove it.  She is also a dancing queen and is never sitting still if music is on.

Besides dancing, Naomi loves reading books and playing with babies.  Several times throughout the day, you'll find her sitting by the bookshelf reading book after book.  If she's not reading, she's probably taking care of her dolls and putting them to bed.

Naomi is a super picky eater and only likes a handful of fruits and vegetables.  Luckily, she loves smoothies and homemade juice so I can sneak vegetables in that way.

She is doing great developmentally and loves trying to keep up with her sister.

And, she hardly cried when she got a shot at the doctor.  I love her so much and can't wait to see how she does as a big sister.

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are best friends.

One of the reasons that daycare was hard on our family was because the girls were in separate classrooms. They actually didn't get to see each other all day, which broke my heart.  Now that I'm home again, it seems as though their relationship has grown even more.  These two do everything together and they seem to love it.

They go to gymnastics,

 

clean their bathroom,

laugh,

 

go to story time,

 

play outside,

swing,

wave goodbye to daddy,

go shopping,

and share friends.

In the next few months, Mia and Naomi will also share a room.  Eek!  I'm so nervous to make the move because who knows what kind of craziness they'll get into.  I'm trying to remind myself that even if it's a hard transition, they'll probably love being together and make even more memories sharing a room.  I'd love any room sharing tips!  Please!

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Baby #3 is due November 18!!

I am besides myself excited for this baby.  I always knew I would have more than 2 kids, but after we had Naomi, Joe wasn't so sure that he wanted to go for a third.  This might sound dramatic, but I was heart broken and longed for a third baby.  I even told my friend, Hillary, that I might need to go to counseling to grieve the baby I wasn't going to have.

 I love being pregnant, I love having a newborn and I think seeing your baby for the first time is more amazing than anything else in the world.  I feel so extremely blessed that I get to experience these things again.

I'm also excited to extend my job as stay at home mom even longer.  Before I went back to work, I wanted to have my kids as close together as possible so I could get back to work faster.  Now, I am in no rush.  Going back to work a couple months ago made me realize how much I love being home with my kids.  It made me realize that the job that I once feared is now my favorite job.

Here's to being a family of 5.  More chaos, more laundry, more hugs, more kisses, more complete.

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Happy Easter!  I hope you enjoyed your day. Since we don't have a lot of family by us, Holidays are usually pretty low key.  We had Joe's brother, Mike, and his girlfriend over for breakfast, went to church, played with friends at the park, and are finishing off the day with a small ham dinner (which is cooking right now).  Joe and the girls are enjoying a movie downstairs, which made making dinner quite lovely for me.  : ) I kind of like cooking when I don't have a toddler pulling at my leg.  Anyway, here are some pictures of some Easter fun from the week.  I hardly got any pictures today and not one picture of us dressed nicely for church!  

Mia decorating Easter cookies (in her swimsuit of course).  

 

Coloring Easter eggs.

 

Dying Easter eggs.

Mia had so much fun decorating the eggs to look like princesses.

 

Walking to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

 

Easter morning fun.

 

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