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Framed With Hearts Girl Birth Announcement

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Framed With Hearts Girl Birth Announcement

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Welcome, November!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby C! Today is "the" day, so it should be any day now (but I've already been saying that for about a week). Miss M is still very excited to meet her sister. This morning she sang her a lovely song asking why she hadn't come out yet (and telling her that getting her nails clipped isn't scary). 

As excited as we are for Baby C's arrival, we're happy she allowed us to go trick-or-treating first! Miss M had a great time trick-or-treating with her BFF. They both got way more candy than any 3 year old needs (which is why this mama was kind enough to sneak quite a bit out of her daughter's bucket after Miss M was asleep!).

The beginning of November means we set up our Thankfulness Tree! Last year was our first year doing it, and Miss M said pretty much the same thing every day (cute!). This year she's way more into it. So much so, that our tree is fairly full already, even though it's only November 2! Some of my favorites so far ... 

I am thankful for: Jesus, a balloon, [real] pumpkins, my family, rainbows

Ready for School

Miss M starts school on Tuesday! She has to be to school by 7:30am, which is early even for my early-riser! Although she'll be eating breakfast at school, I want to make sure she doesn't leave the house with an empty belly, so I'm going to spend this weekend baking delicious, quick breakfasts for her.

I have a whole Preschool Breakfast pinboard full of ideas, but I'm going to start with these three:

Make-Ahead Oatmeal Smoothies (The Yummy Life)

Fruit (Nut, Berry) Whole-Wheat Muffins (100 Days of Real Food)

Breakfast Casserole Bites (100 Days of Real Food)

All of these recipes are new to me, so I'll let you know if any of them don't work for us! I love that they're quick, healthy, and can all be made ahead of time (and frozen!). These will all come in handy once Baby C comes along as well and I have even less time in the morning to get Miss M ready for school!

Two of my other tricks for getting her ready in the morning come from I Can Teach My Child.

Printable Morning Routine Cards & a Hanging Closet Organizer

...

One Month More

We have one more month until Miss M starts preschool (my baby!!). One last month of summer. I look back at our summer to-do list and feel like we didn't do anything! The heat was an unexpected obstacle this year (just like the lack of snow this past winter kept us from accomplishing a lot on our winter list). Obviously, I didn't expect to do everything on the list, but I am hoping to pack as much as I can into these last few weeks of summer - both because it's FUN! and also because I'm still feeling good during this pregnancy, and want to take full advantage of it while I can.

The next few months are going to be all about preparation. Preparing for Miss M to start school (though I don't think preschoolers need any supplies or special back-to-school clothes, so really it's more mental/emotional preparation than anything else. And it's probably mostly ME who needs to prepare. I teared up just thinking about taking her picture on the first day! We'll blame pregnancy hormones ...). 

And then there are all the preparations we need to do before Baby C comes along. More mental/emotional preparations, and lots of physical things as well. Tomorrow I start the third trimester. Wow. I've asked J to get out the storage tubs full of baby clothes for me, so I can start washing, etc. We need to put her crib together and set up the pack 'n' play in our room (she'll sleep there for the first few months) so our cat gets used to both. Today I pre-registered at the hospital (!), and we're choosing a date for the hospital tour tonight. We're also hoping to take a refresher childbirth course, if we can find one. It'll be almost four years since Miss M was born, and that labor did not go as planned, so although I think we'll be okay without a class, I also think we'll both feel a bit more ready with one. 

So many big changes in such a short amount of time.

I hope we're ready!

Paint on the Walls

I feel like we're finally making some progress getting our home ready for the new baby - just in time for me to start feeling HUGE and totally unable to be much help. I'm excited to start washing baby clothes and cloth diapers again and getting them all set for when she arrives!

This past weekend J and his parents painted our bedrooms. Our new (smaller) bedroom is a boring light brown, but check out the girls' new (huge!) room:

This morning Miss M helped me bring in all of her toys and books (which really was a BIG help), so it's definitely her room now. The last big project is to get our bed frame put together so I no longer have to sleep on a mattress on the floor!

I'm glad Miss M and I were able to accomplish so much this morning before the temperature rose too much. Both bedrooms get HOT in this blasted heat, so it's nearly impossible for me to accomplish anything up there after 1pm. At least she'll be able to nap today and sleep in her new room tonight.

Right now I'm resting while she plays on the iPad. Then she's requested we make cupcakes with sprinkles. Guess I should find a yummy recipe!

Strawberry Season

The weather has been all over the place these past few months. We had very little snow in the winter, some warm spring days in late winter, hot humid days in spring, and then chilly days this summer. It's made for some interesting loads of laundry (fleeces with tank tops; shorts with long-sleeved shirts), and it's had an impact on the local crops as well. The small strawberry bush along the side of our house blossomed very early this year (and we've actually been able to pick quite a few delicious berries from it!), but a lot of the local farms are having to cancel the u-pick option all together.

Which is why I threw Miss M in the car the moment I heard one of the local farms was open for u-pick yesterday! It took us a little longer than expected to get going in the morning, and it turns out the farm put up a "closed" sign only moments after we arrived (hours before they were scheduled to close). Miss M and I had a great time picking, though, and came home with 9 lbs of berries. Plus the small bucket Miss M filled on her own.

 

Yesterday evening I made a strawberry sauce, and today Miss M and I made a delicious strawberry pie. Miss M was such a great helper - she spent nearly an hour beside me cutting up strawberries (with a few dance breaks thrown in). I plan to make jam this evening or tomorrow, and then we'll freeze whatever is left. 

Whole Wheat Waffles with Strawberry Sauce

Just the Two of Us

Along with our Summer To Do List, I'm hoping to do a lot of special "just mama and Miss M" activities before Baby C comes this fall. Right now I don't have an actual list, so most of our activities have been spur-of-the-moment kind of things, which in and of itself is something we probably won't be able to do one Baby C's around.

Last week I was craving a Caesar salad (I'm craving one right now, actually ...), so I asked Miss M if she'd like to go to Noodles for lunch. It's not uncommon for us to go out to eat, but I don't think she and I have ever left the house on a weekday just to enjoy lunch and come straight home. It was a really nice lunch! Quiet, delicious. I enjoyed that we could eat at our own pace, and Miss M didn't have to fight for my attention.

Yesterday we went strawberry picking (post to come) - something I hope to do next year with both kiddos - and today we spent most of the morning making a strawberry pie. It was so lovely to have Miss M right beside me in the kitchen. And when there were moments when she couldn't help (like when I was baking the crust or boiling the strawberries), she went off to entertain herself without my even having to ask. So nice!

Are there things you wished you had done with your only child before their sibling was born?

Embracing Summer

Miss M is not so little anymore (nearly 3.5 years old!) and will be starting preschool in the fall. Only four days a week (and only 3 hours each day), but it still feels like such a big step for both she and I to take! She's excited. I know she's going to love it. And it will be great to have those few free hours - especially when baby #2 comes along in the fall.But I still have a strong desire to embrace these last few months of total freedom!

A friend of mine is so great about making lists of things she hopes to do with her son each season. I'm borrowing her summer list again this year (see below). The items in bold are things we've already experienced this year. I'd love to hear how your family is embracing summer!

  

Fly a Kite

Library Trips

Make Popsicles

Farmers Markets

Picnics

Catch Fireflies

Dig for Worms

Ride Bikes

Tie Dye

Make Mud Pies

Plant a Garden

Make Homemade Lemonade

Go Fishing

Feed the Ducks

Sidewalk Chalk

Paint Rocks for Garden

Play in the Sprinkler

Try to Find the End of a Rainbow Walk

Watch Clouds and Create Shapes

Make Sock Puppets

Dandelion Sidewalk Painting

Make a Collage

Build a Sandcastle

Make a Bird Feeder

Sign up for Reading Club at Library

Practice Simple Sewing

Make S'mores

Make Homemade Pizza

Cave of Mounds

Go see a drive-in movie

Go bowling

Strawberry Picking

Festivals

Devil’s Lake

Concerts on the Square

Zoo

Arboretum

Backyard BBQ

Water fight

Olbrich Gardens   

Solstice Bonfire at Olbrich   

Raspberry Picking      

Camping

Go to farm to visit animals

Splash Park

Outdoor Pool

Summer Camp

Collect Shells at the Beach

 Visit Grandpa's Cottage

Bay Beach