Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas this year! Caleb was really into everything-Santa, the presents, the whole deal, so it was super fun. Bryan had to work Christmas Eve, which stunk, but at least he didn't have to work Christmas Day night. We went to our church's Christmas Eve service the night BEFORE Christmas Eve, and went to my mom's on Christmas Eve. We went over to my dad's house late afternoon on Christmas Day (so Bryan could sleep a LITTLE bit) and had a good time seeing him and Christy, Greg and Binnie, Ashley and Matthew, and David and Sherry. Molly Kate slept a lot of the time, and was such a good girl who got a LOT of attention. Caleb's BIG gift from Santa was the Marbleworks toy from Discovery Kids and wow, is that thing cool. We took it over to Pop Pop's house and it occupied him for most of the day! We were also blessed to get a lifetime supply (seriously more than you can imagine) of GeoTrax trains and track for a GREAT price from a Craigslist seller...those have been a huge hit as well. Bryan surprised me with a Kindle, which I'm excited to use! I also got some new brown boots and tennis shoes, my new favorite scent (Warm and Cozy from VS) in spray and lotion form, and a very sweet gift from 'the kids" that Bryan worked hard on-I'll have to take a picture of it. My parents bought us an iPad2, since they were going to help us pay for our trip to FL that we're no longer taking...I think it will be an okay substitute, haha. ;-) We have had a lot of fun playing with it-even Caleb! Sharing it might be a problem...haha. Here are some pics from our day.

Ok, I had Caleb take $% to the Dollar Tree this week and pick out 5 things for Daddy for Christmas. I let my control freak tendencies go to the wayside and didn't help him at all in what he chose. He chose: A gigantic party hat, 100 Grand candy bars, a parenting book, red rope, and...2 birds. Yes. Two birds. Hilarious!!!!!!

 Daddy and Molly Kate on Christmas morning.

Playing with his new GeoTrax trains.

Playing with his "marble toy" at Pop Pop and Nana's.

Sweet sleeping girl

Merry Christmas!

A few pictures of our Christmas season...

This was tonight, on the way to Christmas Eve at Gigi's house

                                              Caleb's school's Christmas performance

He did a GREAT job!! Sang very loudly and was not shy at ALL! 

               
                       Caleb loves for me to take a pic of him when I'm taking pics of MK. ;)

The stockings and a baby...my best Christmas gift this year. 

                                                          Sweet sleeping angel.

                                                           My whole world. :)

Well, I didn't get done nearly the amount of things I wanted to get done during the Christmas season this year, but I hope to make up for it next year, when I don't have a newborn. :) Trying to just soak in the little moments with my family, pray for patience when a certain 3 year old is crying out for attention 24/7, and focus on the Birthday Boy, Jesus. There will be plenty of time for cute Christmas crafts, baking, and the like in the years to come. I have been blessed...for God to have given me Bryan, Caleb, and Molly Kate was my every prayer answered, my every wish on a star come true. We may not have everything, but we have each other, and that is more than I could have ever hoped for. God is good. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year. 

1 Month Old!

I can't believe Molly Kate is one month old now! Here are a couple pics of her "monthly photos." I have stickers that are supposed to be coming that say which month it is, but they haven't arrived yet. So cute little pink elephant jammies will have to do. :) Poor thing couldn't sit up for more than a second without flopping over. Mean momma, I know.

She is getting bigger and longer, but she is still wearing newborn clothes. 0-3 month clothes SWALLOW her. Her eyes are still blue and she still has super dark hair (but not much of it). She is still nursing and supplementing as well, and it is going well...so much better than it ever did with Caleb. There has been no "nipple confusion" to speak of. We call her "scootchie" as her nickname, haha. She is a good sleeper, waking only to eat for the most part. She does NOT like baths so far (just like her brother!). She likes being swaddled. No "real" smiles yet, but we love the "gas smiles" she gives us on occasion. Big brother loves her and loves trying to make her smile and feel better if she is crying. We just think she is the most amazing thing and are loving every minute (well, almost!) of her sweet little newborn-ness. What an amazing blessing this Christmastime!!!

Pictures with Santa 2011

Took Caleb and Molly Kate to see Santa and I thought they turned out so well!! This Santa looks like the "real" one for sure, and there is never a line to see him, which is a big bonus!! I can't believe I have TWO kids for Santa to hold. Caleb loved him this year and told him he wants a marble toy and that is all. *Whew*! ;-) We went to lunch at Tony Roma's after pictures and then Caleb got a free cupcake from Whole Foods after that. It was a good morning!!

Molly Kate is here!!

 Last shot of us before we went to the hospital.

 Birth minute! 12:59 p.m. on 11-18-11

 Meeting Mommy for the first time

 Daddy and his princess

 Caleb and my mom seeing Molly Kate for the first time

 Getting to hold her for the first time

 Mommy's little perfect angel.

 Getting ready to head home!! Finally!

Caleb holding her for the first time at home

Molly Kathleen Boling arrived on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 12:59 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and was 19.25 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and we are so in love! Caleb LOVES his baby sister very much, for which we are extremely grateful. The c-section went very well and I healed a lot quicker and easier than the first time around. My blood pressure behaved this time, too, thankfully. Molly Kate is now around 7 lbs and change and seems sooo small to me. Her newborn clothes swallow her! She is very good-only crying when she's hungry or needs to be changed so far. (Knock on wood!) Nursing is going well and I'm praying it continues to go well, since that wasn't the case with Caleb. God is so good, she is such a miracle and I can't wait to see what His plans are for her life.

Baby Bump Progression

I was so bad during my pregnancy with Caleb with letting people take pictures of my growing belly. So I resolved to take a pic of my belly every 4 weeks starting at 20 weeks this time. The best part was that I could include Caleb in these photo shoots-he makes everything so much cuter.

 20 weeks

 24 weeks

28 weeks

Preschool!

Caleb started preschool right after Labor Day!! I have been so excited for him-so far he has really enjoyed it. He's already learning a lot. He can say the word for blue in Spanish and can do the sign for it as well! He has 10 kids in his class, and I think his teachers are fantastic. His homeroom teacher is a former LCA mom, so of course that is a bonus in my book!! I thought I would be a little sad to send him off, but I've really been more excited than sad. Plus, I have 2 mornings a week free now, and I have certainly enjoyed getting to get a drink from Starbucks, do my Bible study, take a nap, clean, go to the grocery, whatever, child-free. It won't be long before I have a little baby on my hands, so I am trying to enjoy this while I still can! Here are some pictures from the first few days of school.

                                                                         Such a big boy!!

 It was really rainy and cold on the first day, so he got to wear his new fireman rain jacket!

                                                    Walking in with Daddy

                                                 Finding his classroom after a brief potty break

                                                                 Finding toys to play with!

Soooooo happy to see Mommy and Daddy after his first day of school!!!!

4D pics of Molly Kate!

Today is my birthday and Bryan was so sweet to surprise me with a 4D ultrasound session this morning! Caleb came along, too, and we got a great hour of time to see our baby girl on the big screen! Here are some pics from the session:

Isn't she just beautiful??? I wanted to snuggle her so badly after seeing her on the screen...but she needs to stay in and bake for about another 3 months! I'm sure it will be here before I know it. I'm still feeling pretty good....a bit more uncomfortable and tired easier, but not too bad. It's been wicked hot here the past few days, but luckily there is going to be a break in the heat this next week. I had my glucose screening test on Friday and should get the results from that on Tuesday. Hoping the Metformin will keep that from developing, b/c I sure would be sad to give up my McD's sweet tea, haha. ;-) I also had a flu shot (ouchie!) and Rhogam shot this last visit...but got to hear MK's heartbeat, which of course made it all worth it. I've had friends on FB say that they think the first picture looks like Caleb--anyone agree? We still haven't done anything with the nursery/moving Caleb's room due to the heat, but hopefully in the next month or so we can make some real progress. I'm very excited about PINK and decorating that nursery...as well as Caleb getting a "big boy" room...I think he's pretty pumped about it! :) That's all the baby news at the moment!

New ultrasound pics of Molly Kate!

Aren't these pics great?? We went this week for our BIG ultrasound, even though we knew already that it was a girl. She looked perfect (still a "she"!) and weighed 1 lb 4 oz. already! That is hard to believe! We took Caleb with us, and he loved when she was "waving" and kept waving back to her, saying, "Hi, Molly Kate! Hi!!!!" It was so cute. I measured right on track (22 weeks). God is good! I can't wait to meet our little princess!!

Randomness post

Just a few random things to post about...

*Caleb is totally convinced that he is also having a baby, and that his baby is named "Mol"-and he says it in the funniest way. Today at a consignment store he picked out some boy clothes for "Mol." (I didn't buy them) Too funny!
*Little Girl Boling will be named Molly Kathleen, but we will call her Molly Kate. My grandmother who passed away before I even met Bryan's name was Kathleen, so it is in honor of her. :)
*Caleb loves the song "Facts are Facts" by Stephen Curtis Chapman. I have been playing some "old school" Christian music in the car lately and that is by far his favorite. He jams to it, and I love it because he is singing words of such truth. :)
*We start back up at The Little Gym in a couple of weeks. We can't wait!!!
*I got to go see New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys this past week with my good friend Kristy. It was AWESOME but I didn't get to bed until 2 and paid for it for 2 days! I'm not as young as I once was! ;)
*I'm trying to get Caleb back to napping, and so far, so good. It makes SUCH a difference in his mood in the evenings, even though he goes to bed quite a bit later now. It has been great for this pregnant mama!
*Caleb is in a "But, WHY, Mommy?!" phase. Fun times! :)
*Even though I apparently haven an anterior placenta, I am feeling the baby move at times. I love it. I am 20 weeks now. Halfway there!!
*Caleb's current favorite book is "Green Eggs and Ham." Love it!
*I am buying more clothes than I probably should be at this point, but baby girl clothes are ADORABLE!! I just can't help myself! Luckily everything I've bought has been on major sale or at a consignment store.
*I found Molly Kate's bedding on Craigslist. Pottery Barn Kids sweet, sweet bedding, pink and white, for an amazing price. I can't wait to start on the nursery.
*Took Caleb to see the Winnie-the-Pooh movie at the theater with his friend Conlee last week (it is SOOO hot here right now!!) and he liked it. He calls the screen a "big tv". :)

It's a...

GIRL!!!!!!

We are so excited to find out that #2 is a girl! We weren't supposed to find out for another couple of weeks, but when I went in to my last appointment, they couldn't find the heartbeat. I was scared to death, but they pulled in an ultrasound machine, and everything was fine. Turns out I have an anterior placenta which blocks the heartbeat from being heard by the ultrasound machine. I asked the doc if she could tell what the gender was, and she showed us the money shot--It is most definitely a girl! :) I have bought a few things, and some great friends have already bought me a few things, so I couldn't be happier. We have a top name contender, but I think we're going to wait just a little bit before we make it Internet official. :) Hooray for some pink in this house full of boys!!!!!!

Caleb is THREE!!!!

 Birthday donut at Krispy Kreme!

 Birth Minute Picture...9:45 a.m. on 7/8/11

Family picture at his birthday party at The Little Gym!

I can't believe Caleb is THREE!!! He had a great birthday and party, with lots of friends and family who came out to The Little Gym to celebrate!!! His party was a Mickey Mouse theme, and he loved it. Bryan and I bought him a Mickey scooter which he seems to like a lot. We had to go searching all over town for a helmet to fit his head...and ended up with one designed for ages 8+! What! He had his 3 year well child visit a few days later, and is in the 98th percentile for height and 82nd for weight. His doctor said he looked like a very healthy boy! :) I thought I'd write a little about the things he's saying and doing right now, since I've neglected this blog way too much lately.

*He is attending his first VBS at a friend's church this week and seems to really be enjoying it. Mommy is enjoying having 3 hours to herself...can you say, SPOILED? ;-)
*His favorite color is green
*His favorite number is 2 (although this may change now that he is 3)
*He loves Mickey Mouse, Diego, Curious George, and the Cat in the Hat
*He loves playing outside...riding his scooter, his trike, playing in his sandbox, going to the park, etc.
*He likes plain spaghetti and LOVES breadsticks. His favorite restaurant is a toss up between "the Tomato place (Fazoli's)" and Jimmy John's.
*He is now in the Preschool environment at church...I think he'll really like it there!
*He LOVES to dance, and has QUITE the moves.
*He can count to 20, but occasionally leaves out 17-18 ;-)
*He can count to 10 in Spanish (thanks Handy Manny)
*He also loves to sing
*He likes to whisper in our ears and have us whisper in his
*He doesn't seem too sure of this whole "new baby" thing just yet...
*He loves his flip flops
*He could sing the ABC's all.day.long.
*He is fully potty trained and ready for preschool in the fall!
*He is testing more limits lately
*He won't eat anything green to save his life...sigh...thank goodness for vitamins
*He likes taking pictures
*He loves being the center of attention around people he's comfortable with
*His confidence grew by leaps and bounds this winter during his semester at The Little Gym. Can't wait tor the Fall semester to begin!!!! He learned to do forward rolls, walk on a balance beam, make baskets in a basketball hoop, hang from rings, walk on uneven bars, and a bunch more things!! It was amazing to see.
*He loves to be the "helper" in those kinds of environments. Definitely a pleaser.
*He likes to hold hands with his friends
*He has an amazing memory
*He says the funniest things on a daily basis...I need to start blogging them!!!

Phew! That's all I can think of at the moment!! I am just loving seeing Caleb grow and change into such a neat little person. He is a boy who loves his mama, and that brings me great joy. I love him so much, and can't wait to see what this next year brings. :)

Ultrasound pics from today

Had my first doctor visit with my new doctor today. I was SOOOO sad to leave my old OB...I've gone to her since I was 21, she delivered Caleb, etc. But Bryan's insurance is such that if I don't deliver at St. Joe East, we would have to pay a $4000 difference (since his insurance favors St. Joe, obviously). Just can't justify $4000!! The new doc seems nice, and I really liked her nurses and the ultrasound tech. Plus, I didn't have to wait an eternity to see her, which made me VERY happy. She doesn't seem as laid back and funny as my old doc, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Anyway, I got a surprise ultrasound because they wanted to do an NT scan to test for birth defects, but all I heard was "ultrasound!" Woo hoo! The baby was moving all around, waving, etc...it was so fun to see. Enjoy the pics-this is seeming more and more real with each passing day! 

             Whole body shot today...13 wks 5 days or 14 wks 3 days...depending on what you believe! :)

                                                                           Waving to us!

                                                    Sweet, sweet profile picture. I'm in love!!!