A name and a house!

     "Baby Sister" finally has a name!  She will be Cora Maelyn.  Todd and I have been sitting on the first name for quite a while, but it took us a while to come up with the middle name.  As I mentioned last time I wrote, we wanted her name to be just as significant and meaningful as Elaine's is to us, so now she will also be able to say that her name also came from two very special people.  Todd's mom's and nanny's middle name is Mae and my grandmother (who I never got to meet) was Evelyn.  Put it together- Maelyn and it means "wished for child"... sold!  Can't take credit for that one, Todd came up with it one night while we were laying in bed.  Cora is a name we both loved and we thought went well with Elaine, in case you were curious.  Elaine now refers to baby sister as "Caaar" with her long, southern draw.  Considering her being in speech therepy, we think she says it well and it's pretty cute to see her make the connection.
     The house is coming along pretty well also.  We closed three weeks ago and up until this week, we've (or should I say Todd and his dad) have stayed on schedule to move in on labor day weekend, which is when Todd was originally hoping for.  The drywall finisher has put us off a couple of days, so the painter, and now the floors have been backed up a few days.  Just a small blip and a few extra days.  We'll survive!  Posting pictures just requires way more effort than I care to put forth at this point (maybe once we finish... but no promises), but if you could see it now there is no finished flooring, light fixtures, closet shelves/hanging bars, doorknobs, cabinets, sinks, appliances, or load-bearing walls with no supports : ).  What's new are the supports for load-bearing walls : ), tubs, door hinges, clean walls and baseboards, electrical work and some added can lights, some of the doors, and an extremely bare yard.  Todd has worked so hard and because he is the handyman genius, saved us a lot of money in labor.  While it sure would be nice to have someone come in and do it all, we have to make our seemingly impossible budget work for this.  As we move into the phase of putting it all back together, the excitement is definitely building- as is my nesting instinct! 
     While we never dreamed that we would live in Danville for 5, going on 6 months, it's really been great.  In addition to having no mortgage this entire time, we've actually gotten quite cozy in Nanny's home and enjoyed the small town living.  It's always fun to run into people you know at Wal-Mart or only be minutes from anywhere you'd need to go.  Have I mentioned Burke's Bakery???  My mother-in-law might have brought Elaine donut holes this weekend from Burke's that I accidently ate.  Don't worry- Elaine never knew they were there!  I think Elaine's favorite thing about living in Danville would be having Gram, Pap, and sometimes Uncle D right down the road.  Uncle Joe and her cousins are here too, but they stay so busy in the summer that we rarely see them.  Another big hit is the park and visiting with the ducks.  She is so still, so they all come very close (sometimes too close) to her and she says "hi" to each of them and then looks at me as if she's asking why they never speak back.  They also have a super fun playground and swings that she likes.  She is also quite the social butterfly at Church.  I think every greeter knows her by name, and each Sunday she RUNS to each of them for a hug.  One of her favorites would have to a sweet lady named Barbara.  All of Barbara's grandkids are in Alabama, so I think she loves having a little one to squeeze too.  Elaine will say "Baaba" over and over if we mention her.  During the super hot month of July, we had to get pretty creative with things to do inside, so we took on Lowe's as an indoor playplace.  It only makes sense, right?  Lots of boxes to walk between, buttons to push (doorbells), "wetts" (lights) to look at, and I could get some things picked out for the house.  haha
     I suppose that's all for now.  Maybe I'll really get on the ball and add another post before we move in and post some pictures.  Something to get excited about if you care anything at all about our home, baby, or super fun toddler!  One other quick thing- anyone know how to fix the background on my blog???

BIG Changes!

Oh, so much has happened since the last time I wrote, I’m not even sure where to begin!  One BIG change in the Kelly household is me, literally… I am now 24 weeks pregnant with baby girl #2!!!  We are both thrilled to begin this journey again and were so excited to find out that Elaine would have a sister so close in age.  I am due October 17, so based on that they will be 22 months apart.  Some people call it crazy, I think it’s perfect.  Still no name, but I will share once we decide.  Elaine Grace was named after two of her great grandmothers, so baby girl #2 has to have a name just as meaningful (or that’s how I feel anyway).  Pregnancy is absolutely different the second time around!  No time to lie around and be sick or tired, and thankfully I didn’t have much of that- although there are days that I’d love to come home and just lay on the couch.  A precious 18 month old has other plans in mind when I walk through the door… and for that, I am so thankful!  

We are still living in Danville and we’ve managed to make it feel like home for the last three months… however, we finally have an end in sight!  We have bought a home in Jessamine county that we are so excited about and are closing July 21st.  It has all of the major things we were hoping for, some things that will be a compromise, and something we weren’t expecting at all- a ginormous yard with a pool!  It is right on the county line, so we will still be very close to Lexington, walking distance to work, and still have the benefit of the schools I was wanting Elaine to be in.  It’s a house that we feel like we’ll live in for a long, long time.  One tiny thing… it hasn’t exactly been kept in the best condition and will need some love and work… to the tune of a month/month and a half’s worth.  If you are doing the math, July 21 (closing date)+1.5months (time to get it ready for move in)= Sept 1.  If you are wondering why this matters, refer back to the due date.  Basically we will have about 1.5 months from the time we can move in until baby’s due date!  Shewww-weee, makes me sweat a little to think about all the chaos excitement that will ensue when trying to unpack and very quickly get a nursery together.  It’ll be a lot of fun and I have a great partner to share it all with!  

So back to “little bit”- I know that I’ve said this a zillion times over the last almost 19 months- but this stage is so much fun!  I just love hearing her sweet, little voice and watching all of the funny things she does.  She does a role call in our house about 20 times a day… mama? dada? Baybay (Bailey)? Wayne (Elaine)?  We also go through body parts in the same way.  When you ask where something is, like her nose, she will show you, and then show you everybody else’s who happens to be in the house, including Bailey.  We’ve learned to be careful with the belly, because she doesn’t just want to point and show you where everybodys are, she wants to see belly buttons which involves her pulling up your shirt.  Cute when you are at home, not so much in public!  She has learned to kick her ball, which is so funny to watch and still loves to read.  Most nights we have to hide the books after we finish them or we end up re-reading them again and again.  She loves blueberries like her mama, playing outside, boons! (balloons) at Kroger, bubbles, and stacking lego blocks one by one, but only the square ones.  I think she’s finally getting over her infatuation with “boy”, the lego man that came in the set.  For a while he was what got her into the bathtub, kept her still for diaper changes, and content during Church.  He still gets a bath every night, but she doesn’t get near as excited to see “boy!”.  Onto the next thing, I guess.  She’s very good at following simple instructions too and especially enjoys throwing things in the garbage… hopefully it will last.  

We talk about baby sister, but try not to focus on where she is.  At this point, I don’t want her to be confused about baby and belly what the two are, however when you say something about baby sister, without prompting she comes to kiss my belly… melt-your-heart!  Our prayer is that she will adjust quickly to all the changes ahead and LOVE her new role as a big sister.  

If you are bored silly by now, refer back to my first post, I warned this would be lots of baby talk!

One other quick thing, my friend Jessica is getting married Sept. 17 in the mountains of North Carolina!  Our parents lived right behind one another when we were born, so we have “known” each other since birth and have remained friends all along the way.  I’m so excited that she has asked me to be part of her and Robert’s special day!  I’ve given baby strict instructions that she is not to share her birthday with J & R’s wedding day.  My OB said she would send us with a copy of my chart just to be sure, so no worries, right?!

Hope you are all enjoying this amazing summer weather and happy 4th of July!!!

Still here!

I know, I know… I’ve taken quite the hiatus lately!  However, does it really count as a hiatus if you’ve only written four times?  Well, since I’m the one writing, yes, it does.  

There has been lots happening with our fam lately!  As I flippantly mention more about Danville on Facebook and read the responses and questions, I’m reminded that I’m far overdue for this update.

First off, we sold our home!  We moved to Danville (get to that in a bit) on a Friday, closed on the house Monday, and left for Mexico Wednesday.  It felt like somewhat of a whirlwind, but we were both so glad that we decided to get it all done before vacation.  So back to Danville… we had not found a home to buy by the time we closed, so thankfully, we had an option in Danville.  We are living in Todd’s Grandmother’s home.  Since she only has her bedroom suite in the assisted living facility she currently lives in, we, or Todd had to do some finagling with her fully furnished house (and closets), but we are in and comfortable!

I’ve learned that Nanny and I definitely have one thing in common… our unwillingness to relinquish clothing.  I’ve always had a hard time getting rid of clothes on account that I MAY wear that Mickey Mouse t-shirt from 1991 again sometime.  You know, to paint or garden in, because I do both so often.  Nanny has got the clothes!  In addition to the wardrobe she keeps at her new place, she also had all three closets in her house full, as well!  When you lived through the Depression, you at least have an excuse… I, however, do not.  My husband, Mr. Handy remedied this situation with plain, old PVC pipe.  In about ten minutes, we had a freestanding, double-decker closet in the most appropriate place… the formal living room, of course.  He is so clever and it works out great, except for the fact that the other half of the room is completely full of our things, and you can’t get to the light switch.  So, until my sweet co-worker let me borrow some motion lights, you were out of luck picking out clothes at night or in the morning.

It’s close quarters and once Elaine is sleeping, it’s pretty much ‘silence on the set’ at our house, but I am enjoying the small town feel and convenience of everything.  Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Burke’s Bakery are less than five minutes away!  I even run into people I know while I’m out, which is new for me.  Have I mentioned Burke’s???  We just feel so fortunate to be in this situation and excited about what God has next!  We haven’t had much luck with the house hunt, but in the meantime we’ll just continue enjoying our kind neighbors, having one set of Elaine’s grandparents in the same town, and our cozy, borrowed home.

Just for a little update on sweet, Elaine.  She is Miss friendly these days and will go to almost anyone.  When I say “go to”, I mean arms up and reaching.  This includes her Gram, which unfortunately was associated with us leaving her until not long ago.  We have really come a long way, there.  Just this weekend at Church, one of the greeters (who we’ve never met) was holding her while passing out bulletins.  She has found a toy bin that Nanny had for when her great-grandchildren came over, and has become quite attached to a plastic cow.  He is taken everywhere including the bathtub at night.  When you ask her about the cow, her response is always “mmmmmm”.  We’re working on adding the “oooooo” to that!  She will also tell you what the pig says, but it’s not “oink”… she really snorts, a trait she has been perfecting since birth.  Nicole, her fellow snorting buddy would be so proud!  She loves being chased up and down the hall and hiding under a quilt that Nanny has hanging on the wall.  She started using the sign for “more” at the dinner table and since we always oblige when she asks for more food, she now uses it for everything.  If she wants that out-of-reach whatever, she’ll sign and say “more more”, which really sounds like “muu muu”.  She is just full of cuteness and we are really enjoying this fun age.  Another big milestone we’ve hit is graduating from the “Wobbler room” at daycare.  This Monday she will be in the “Red Room”.  In the red room they nap on cots and sit in tiny chairs at tiny tables to eat.  She has been visiting for a couple of weeks and seems to love being there.  One of her teachers asked Todd if she was always so happy… gotta love hearing that from the people you trust your child with for a good portion of the day!  Our baby girl is getting so big and time is flying by, but we are just soaking up each and every moment we have with her and enjoying the crazy ride that is parenthood.

Daily Awesomeness

A friend at work was given the challenge to make a list of 100 things she likes.  Anything.  As she was talking about how difficult it was for her, I began rambling off all of the things that even I knew of, which fit on her list.  If I can do this someone I’ve known less than a year, surely making MY list would be a piece of cake (which sounds dee-lish right now, by the way). I gave myself one rule- no people allowed on the list.

Maybe I should be ashamed to admit this, but I wrote two things before I had to stop and think.  Diet Coke and turtlenecks… pathetic, huh?  Of course, after a short pause and a commercial that reminded me of funnel cakes, I went to town.  Now my list includes 22 food/candy items, Diet Coke, and turtlenecks.  It was time for bed and we sleep when we can now that Little Bit is teething and nights are unpredictable, so that’s my list for now.  I might finish it, but probably not.  

After reading a blog of one of my super-fun co-workers, I was inspired to change it up a bit.  Instead of 100 random things I like, I’ve made a list of 12 things I get to daily experience the awesomeness of.  Thanks, C. Hahn (www.coffeeandmeetings.blogspot.com), squeeze jelly might be Todd’s number one.  Anyway, my list (in no particular order)…

1. A ginormous, comfy bed
2. XM Radio, specifically channel 17- Prime Country (that’s 90’s country… and don’t judge)
3. Big ol’ baby grins and belly laughs
4. DVR
5. A God who loves ME just as I am
6. Having a dog watching at the window and waiting for me each day I pull into the driveway
7. Chocolate- in any form, and yes… everyday.
8. Disposable diapers
9. A phone- being able to press a few buttons and talk to anyone, anywhere in the world is still amazing to me
10. Getting to live with Todd Kelly
11. Hair products- anything that will lessen the “finger in light socket” look
12. A car- not having to walk everywhere I want to go is just awesome!

Just a few things I enjoy each day among many, many others.  What about you?

 

Reflections

“What a difference a year makes” has never been more true in my life until 2010!  This sweet, little girl has turned our world upside down.  Never would I have thought that waking up at 8:00am was really sleeping in, that we would participate in early bird specials before 60, mapping out naptime options would be critical before setting out for anything, having drool spots is to be expected on any colored shirt, or that a certain baby’s laugh alone could fill my heart with such joy. 

It’s been a year schedules, routines, and major adjustments in this household.  Some expected, some not so much.  Everyone knows that with a baby comes endless diaper changes, singing silly songs, sleepless nights, and lots of oohing and aaahing, clapping for every little victory, and lots of sweet, sloppy kisses. 

What I wasn’t prepared for was how much of a tag team event our days are… you play with her and I’ll get dinner ready, you get her ready to go and I’ll take a shower- I could go on and on!  Also wasn’t prepared for how much stress an unhappy baby can create.  Ever tried driving in the car with a screaming baby???  I think that situation alone would test the healthiest of marriages.  Nobody warned me that having a baby throws your emotions into crazy overdrive either…. Whoa mama, was NOT prepared for that.  These days I’m lucky to hold it together through Hallmark commercials (I know you are proud, Nicole).  Also, the enormity of knowing that God has entrusted US be her parents and raise her (I’m starting to panic now, just typing it!).

Todd and I have grown so much as a team, we have loved in a way that we never knew our hearts had the capacity to, and we given lots of thanks to a God who has blessed us abundantly this year.  While it might now have been what we expected, it was definitely our best year yet! 

Instead of a New Years resolution for 2011, I have made some goals for the year and have chosen a word to live by- Intentional.  You’ll hear more about this later.  I have been feeling that unrelenting pressure to update that I mentioned in my first blog, so I can rest easy tonight!  Until next time…  

Oh Christmas Cards...

One of my favorite things (among many others) about this time of year is opening the mailbox each day and finding REAL mail. Hark... it's Christmas card season! I can't get them out of Todd's hands fast enough to read, and even more so if there is a "here's what we've been doing all year" letter included! I even check and re-check our pile each night, just to make sure I didn't overlook one.

All that excitement, yet every year when it comes time to make our card to send... I go through the pouty "it'll just be thrown away" phase and act like we just won't do them. This year I piddled around much longer than usual, and then pannicked Tuesday night and ordered them. Shheww, I was relieved that we wouldn't be the only family who didn't send Christmas cards this year. I had no list before ordering them and addressed them as the names came to me... total disorganization (why some of you might not have received one). I'm sorry! I know, I know Mom- next year a list (and more organization) will be in order.

Today, I got a message from one of my friends' grandmothers. You'd have to know this family to understand (a long line of major talkers), but it was three minutes worth of thanking us for the card and how it just made her day. She even ended the message with "thank you from the bottom of my heart"... wow. It wasn't anything super special, not even one of the cool letters went out with ours, but it brought her joy. Totally worth it. I love Christmas cards!

Where to start???

So, here it is… finally... my own blog. I have been reading a few for a while now and love the idea of having pages of thoughts, ideas, and memories to look back on, but I've never really felt like I have much to write about, and I get a little sweaty just thinking about the pressure to update! I have decided that I want to record the special memories our family makes and share them with whoever might like to know what we are up to... so that is what this is all about. I will warn you: I am NOT a super awesome writer, I WILL make grammatical errors, and unless you can handle major gushing over our precious baby girl, read no further. Welcome to a snapshot of our life as "The Kelly 4".

My daughter is one. I have already noticed that we share some similarities in our personality. We like the action, lots of people and stuff going on, we don't want to miss a thing, but we also don't always like to be at the center of it. We are a-ok to be amidst the madness, just don't MAKE us participate. Put a child in daycare and this is the recipe for no sleep. On an average day, she naps 15 minutes. If you don't have children, this is craziness. Most kids are getting 2 or 3 hours of naptime in... not our little people watcher! The upside is that she sleeps like a champ at night... most of the time.

This week we had a couple off nights (teething maybe, I don't know). Call me crazy, but sometimes I look forward to nights that she wakes up (there are also times I'd like to throw the baby monitor through the window). I love the extra time I get to spend snuggling my sweet girl, studying her little round face, and praying over her. I know that all-to-soon the days of rocking her to sleep will be gone, so I cherish every chance I get. I went upstairs to find her standing in her crib reaching for me. As I got closer it turned into all out arm flapping/grunting excitement. I picked her up and she quickly found a spot to cuddle into and was out cold. Yep, she went from practically jumping up and down to sound asleep in a matter of seconds! Why can't I do that?! My girl just wanted her mama to hold her and be there. : )

As I rocked "baby E", I was reminded that sometimes that's all our Heavenly Father wants, too- just time with us. No special books, eloquent words, etc. required... just me, as I am. So thankful for the little reminders He sends through a mid-night wake up call. That's it... big story, not much of a point... it might be a trend in this blog.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."