December Beginnings

December has begun and the majority of our days here in Grand Rapids have been warmer than colder.  Actually, I believe that there were some record temperature highs on Monday of this week!  Such a strange experience it is to not have snow yet on the ground and already a week of December is over.  We did have one snowfall at the end of November, however, it was not substantial enough to stick around for more than a few hours.  I'm sure if you asked Steve, he would say there is nothing wrong with the weather we are experiencing and that I shouldn't hope for snow too early!  I guess I am one of those people who anticipate the first (good) snowfall of the year.  Even more, I hope for a 'White Christmas'.  With 19 days until Christmas, I shouldn't be worrying, though!  I am sure that once we have had snow on the ground for a while, I will be very ready for the warm months to arrive once more here in Grand Rapids!

Waiting for Christmas is a lot like waiting for our little Joelle to arrive.  This past Monday marked the beginning of our 32nd week of pregnancy.  There are 19 days until Christmas and 53 days until our Due Date (January 28th).  We are definitely to that point in the pregnancy where it is getting very difficult to wait for her arrival!  With all of the kicks and flips that I feel throughout the day (and night), sometimes I just want to have the baby right away, but I know that it is best for her to stay inside for a bit longer until she is bigger. According to my OB GYN, Joelle is somewhere around the 4 lb mark and probably over 16 inches long!  These next few weeks of development for Joelle are very important and she will continue to grow in length and weight as well as internal development of the lungs, brain, and lots of other organs!  Even though I am anxious to meet our little girl, I know it is best for her to stay put for a few more weeks!

While waiting for our baby to come, we are staying very busy with Jonas.  He is about 15 1/2 months old now and is running around like he owns the place!  He has such an imaginative personality!  Jonas loves to eat pretend food, push pretend buttons (sound effects included!), and he is just starting to read books aloud!  Every day he is learning to say new words.  Most of what he says is still hard for anyone, except Steve and I, to understand.  Some of his new words are 'bubble, hot dog, cracker, milk, yes, watch, pretty, bath, up please, open' and lots more!  We still hear a lot of  babbling, but I knot that he knows exactly what he is trying to say.  As you can imagine, Jonas sometimes gets very frustrated when we don't understand what he is trying to tell us.  We are doing our best to teach Jonas patience, and in turn, it is taking much patience on our part!  

Here are some updated photos of Jonas.

Time Flies!!!

Wow!  I can' hardly believe that we are quickly approaching the holidays!  We are busy preparing for visits with family and celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in the following few weeks.  It will be an exciting Holiday season this year!  I can't wait to see the excitement in Jonas's eyes as he experiences Christmas and winter time!

The past few months have been busy with lots of little things around out house!  We have spent some time visiting with great friends, visited the zoo with Jonas, and our biggest project was reclaiming the messy spare room.  Over the past two and a half years that Steve and I have lived in our home, our third bedroom has gradually grown more and more messy and cluttered.  Unfortunately, I have heard that this happens even more once you have children!

With our little three bedroom home, we have our room, the nursery, which will be Joelle's room, and now we have transformed the spare room into Jonas's room!  I won't be sharing a 'before' picture, as it is quite embarrassing how it looked before!  Here are a few photos of how his room looks now!  I still hope to put up some more pictures on the walls and get some curtains to cover the windows, but you get the general idea of what it will look like!

        

Jonas is not yet sleeping in his toddler bed, as he is only 14 1/2 months old.  We set up his room so that he will get used to everything and start to attach to this room more than his 'baby' room where he is still sleeping.  We only have one crib, so we intend to switch Jonas over just after Joelle is born.  I found an inexpensive bassinet in the past few months that will work wonderfully for Joelle for her first few months.  So far, his transition into his 'big-boy room' has gone very well!  Every morning when I get Jonas out of his crib, he wiggles out of my arms and runs into his new room to play!  

On Monday, I will have reached my 30th week of pregnancy.  I can hardly believe how quick this pregnancy has gone by!  It seems like it was just yesterday that Steve and I were praying for the possibility of a second child, and here we are nearly 10 weeks from welcoming our daughter into the world.  The pregnancy is going very smoothly, and there are no medical complications to be concerned with.  I am amazed, though, how much more tired I am this time around!  I think that chasing a toddler around has added to my tired-ness!

Here are some photos of Jonas these past few months.  He is growing up so fast!  

Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next 10 weeks as we continue to prepare for Joelle's arrival.  There is still a lot that needs to be done before she gets here and I am hoping to finish the major things this month!