the greatest show on earth...

So the whole downloading thing is still not working and I'm really bummed because I wanted to post some pictures of our exciting weekend. We got to go to the circus!! I have never been before so Brian surprised me and bought tickets for Saturday. What a sweet guy :)!! I think I enjoyed it just as much as Duncan. We were able to go early and walk around with the elephants, horses, zebras, and tigers. It was amazing to be so close to the elephants. I could have just stood there and stared at them. They are truly incredible.

After that we made our way into the main arena. There we watched one of the elephants come out and paint a picture. The girl, who I am guessing is the main elephant handler, was telling us that she is a fourth generation circus performer and has been around elephants her entire life. Clowns were all around us. I kept getting sprayed with a water gun by one of the clowns while we were watching the artistic elephant.


They cleared out the ring and the show began! It was so entertaining. Brian said it seemed so much smaller than he remembered from when he was a kid. I wonder if it is any smaller... or maybe he just got bigger. hehe! Out of all the acts, I really enjoyed the tight rope people and the elephant acts. I didn't realize that elephants were so flexible... for lack of a better word. I have only seen them standing around, but they were sitting on stools and climbing all over each other.

I still can't get over how expensive it was! The cotton candy was $12!!!! I mean it came with a pointy hat and all but that is excessive. I wanted to get Duncan something , so they were selling these fancy flash light things so we bought that and it was $22. Absolutely crazy!!!! Anyway, it was so much fun and of course Fiona was perfect. She really liked all the lights :).

Thank you my dear husband for a truly remarkable weekend!!! What an awesome memory for our little family :)

On Sunday I opened at Starbucks so we couldn't go to church. When I got off, we did a ton of yard work and got all the beds ready for some planting. I can't wait to plant some flowers!!. Duncan had a blast finding all the bugs and worms, and helping collect sticks and things. Boy was he dirty last night!



Fiona has her 6 month checkup tomorrow. I am looking forward to finding out how big she is :) My chunky girl! I am so grateful for this little girl. I can't believe how much I love her. I know this sounds silly, but before I had Fiona, I was concerned about loving another child as much as I loved Duncan. But it is so neat how you really can love all your children with THAT kind of love. What special love that is... it really makes me understand a little better how much our heavenly Father loves us. It seems so much more real now that I have children.

As soon as I am able I will post pictures from the circus and from Easter :)



The picture of Fiona is from a few minutes ago from my phone and this picture of Duncan is a few months old, but I love it because he looks like such a little boy.

It's almost Christmas...

This was taken at the Chesapeake Christmas Parade. It was actually a lot of fun. I don't think I have ever been to a Christmas Parade so I didn't realize how loud and long it would be. Duncan loved seeing all the emergency vehicles and lights. He was truly amazed. I think Fiona enjoyed it as well. :) She was wide awake just taking it all in.

I am super close to being completely done with my shopping. Just one thing to pick up tomorrow. Every year I tell myself that I will have it all done by the beginning of December and for some reason I am still finishing up at the last minute. Oh well! Maybe next year.

The little ones are doing so well. I am a blessed woman. Duncan has adjusted very well to filling up those big brother shoes. He is very caring and thrives on being helpful... i.e. getting diapers, throwing things away, turning off the tree when we are leaving, ect. He gets upset if she is crying. He will tell me over and over "Mom, baby... crying." As I try to appease Fiona I am reassuring him again and again that she is ok. He has a tender little heart. Fiona is such a joy. I cannot imagine a better baby. She has nestled her way into our little family. She is an amazing baby. She has slept through the night since she was 5 weeks old. She goes to sleep about 9:30 or 10 and sleeps till 6:30 or 7 in the morning. I know with a baby everything come and goes in stages, and so I am waiting for it to change. While enjoying every minute. :) She is very smiley and has started cooing and talking all the time. It is so fun to see her little personality come through. Transitioning from being a tiny little helpless baby to a happy spunky sweet little girl is incredible to watch.I can't believe she is almost 3 months old!!



I have loved being home with my children. I am going back to work next week. I am dreading it. On one side, I am grateful to be able to have a job that is so flexible and provides insurance to employees who only work for 20 hours. I am an assistant manager and have completed all my training to be a store manager and have just been waiting for an available store. But now that Fiona is here, I am stepping down, and am transferring to a store that is super close to our house (I could walk if I wanted to)! We have our family insurance through Starbucks and so that is why I have to return to work. On the other side, everything in me wants to stay home with my kids. Brian would love for me to be able to stay home as well, but this is where we are right now. This is going to have be something I have to totally trust God in. I feel kind of frantic when I think about balancing work, home, and my family. If you think to pray for me I would truly appreciate it!

I am sorry for not being more diligent in my posting. I am always checking on other people. I am really going to be better :). I hope and pray this Christmas finds you among friends and family and that you will genuinely feel God's pleasure and love in your life. Merry Christmas!!

My babies...

I took this with my camera phone earlier this afternoon. My little Fiona is three weeks old today! She is such a pleasant baby... very easy going like her brother. She is becoming more alert everyday. It is so fun to watch how Duncan is with her. I couldn' t ask for a sweeter boy. I am really loving being home with my little ones. Now I am off to feed baby Fi...

Fun for the deck!

My parents gave this to Brian for Father's Day. What a sweet gift. We use it all the time. We love to eat breakfast out on the deck on the weekends. The patio set has given us the opportunity to make some fun memories. Now that is getting to be so beautiful out and fall is now here, I think we will be using it much more! Thank you so much mom and dad for your generosity!!!

First haircut in a Barbershop...

Well... it was time. His hair was a bit out of control to say the least. So we made a visit to the barber. Duncan was bit unsure, but he sat on Brian's lap and did remarkably well. You can tell that by the end he was having a good time. He looks like a little boy... not a baby anymore.

Adventures to the zoo!

For Christmas, Chris and Christy gave us a Norfolk Zoo membership. We have made many visits during the summer. Duncan loves animals. He gets so excited. I think he likes the giraffes the best. They are truly amazing animals and they are super entertaining to watch. We usually meet up with friends and go together. Here are some pictures of a few of our visits. I definitely think that we will have to get a membership next year too.



Duncan and his cousin Henry














My adorable nephew!








They have these wonderful fountains where kids can play. I always pack Duncan's swim stuff and after we have trekked all over the zoo, the cool water is a welcome relief to little ones. This was one of his first times in the fountains. Since this he has become quite brave and runs through them. My crazy boy!






Abbey met us one day and after the zoo we went to Dumar's and got some yummy vanilla shakes. Super fun!

A great find...

At the beginning of the summer my sister-in-law came across this play set out by the road with a "Free" sign on it. She thought of us and Chris went to disassemble it and then gave it to us. How sweet!!! With just a little cleaning up it was practically new! Duncan has had so much fun playing on it. As you can see :o). Thank you so much Aunt Christy for thinking of us.

Exciting News!

This morning we went to our second ultrasound. Brian and I went out to breakfast first. That was so much fun to spend time with him. Our appointment was at 8am. The tech took us right back. I was so excited... a little nervous, but mostly excited. The tech said that the baby looked great. It is always so special to see that little person inside you... wow. I got to see its spine, heart, stomach and bladder. So cute :). Anyway, on to the exciting news... we are going to have a little girl :) Yipeee! I had a slight feeling it was a girl because this pregnancy has been so different, but you never know. With Duncan I knew it was a boy. I had four dreams that I was having an ultrasound and they told me it was a boy. Pretty crazy. I am so grateful that we have a healthy baby girl so far. The tech said she weighs 9 oz. :) I haven't stopped smiling all day. We have her name all picked out, but we will keep that a surprise for her arrival. I posted some of our ultrasound pics. Hopefully you will be able to make some sense of them.


This is her profile...



It's a GIRL!!!!

Baby Bugs!

I know it has been a while... :( Baby Bugs is a nickname I have called my boy since he was tiny (haha... he still is fairly tiny I guess). Duncan is seeming so much more like a big boy these days. He is running all over the place. He is not talking a ton, but he understands exactly what you say. He is crazy about animals. He knows lots of animal sounds. He thoroughly enjoys being outside. He is still super loving. He comes over to give me hugs and kisses while he is playing. He is a little lovebug. Duncan is such a joy. I can't help but smile whenever I look at his little face. He still loves to sleep. He usually doesn't wake up till 8:30am or 9am (he has slept as late as 10:45am) Pretty crazy. I am not complaining :). I think he will make a great big brother. This pregnancy has been going by super fast. I was pretty sick at the beginning, but now I am feeling great. Everything has gone very smoothly so far. Well, I am going to finish planting some flowers before it rains. I hope everyone has a great week!!!!