FIVE boys, a baseball and a betsy

we spent an awesome evening at starridge park near our house with courtney and her boys - their daddy is with our daddy and we have so much fun with them! little man was in heaven when i told him we were going to meet fun friends at the park - and since we picked up his first tee ball set at target during our mommy-petey date today, he was even more excited about it. of course the boys all had fun romping and running and climbing together (and betsy didn't care what they were up to, she had her own agenda of things to tend to at the park), pete and charlie really figured out they were two peas in a pod and ran together and tackled each other and chased each other all around the field.  it was really fun to see how excited ALL the boys were about the baseball scenario and it was an all out epic race to see who could field the ball so he could have the next turn at bat.
we set pete up and gave him some "help" to show him how to bat right handed.  he looked totally awkward and ridiculous and confused and his swing was catastrophic. but then he righted himself, took a left handed batting stance and WHACKED the ball across the field. apparently he's a lefty at the bat, daddy! :)  it was pretty exciting to see the pride wave across his face when he really gave the ball a good hit - a lot of his attempts he ended up sending the tee across the field too, but when he connected with just the ball, he really did send it sailing!  thanks courtney and boys for an awesome night at the park.  and thanks for organizing the pizza delivery too, a great way to end an afternoon of play. i feel like i am just surrounded by awesome friends who are awesome moms with awesome kids everywhere i turn....i sure do feel at home here in san diego.

grandma giving pete his first batting stance lesson

his first swing....i am bummed i didn't get any pics of the left handed action, it looked SO natural!

throwing out the runner at home

courtney half supervising half waiting to rescue our monkey man - he literally scaled the side of the castle and shimmied his way onto the roof, and then there was nowhere to go but he was happy to hang out, proud of his accomplishment.

betsy and luke swinging with grandma in charge of pushing - courtney rescuing charlie in the background

cutie pie luke doing the slide thing

jack checking out the corkscrew

charlie getting it done!

hurry up charlie, here comes jack!

a serious race to see who could get to the ball first for their turn at the bat ....a race that turned into a wrestling match. these two are perfect pals, neither one a bit malicious, but neither are they afraid to get physical and share some throw downs

jack waiting for the ball

charlie giving it a whack

big brother daniel showing the boys how to do it, he was disappointed in his mom's pitches, however. but she looked good doing it!

racing across the field

look at that concentration

and then there was the running with the branches...pete was seriously having the time of his LIFE!

sweet courtney and a very exhausted looking preggo momma. :) we miss our boys! xoxo

ready and waiting

am so behind from posting photos, this week has been a whirlwind of waiting if that's possible.  sweet grandma nannen is here and has been loving on these babies non-stop while i've been running around tending to last minute business and giving myself and baby a little extra bit of pampering in anticipation of officially rolling out the welcome mat and giving him the go ahead to come any time he pleases (with hopes that its sooner than later, of course!). today we decided to break up the waiting game with a morning trip to beautiful moonlight beach in encinitas and a bonus stop at leucadia pizzeria with my doula, linda.  everyone arrived home exhausted, but guess which little napped - big brother took a great nap, and little betsy decided she was going to push through and play. she and grandma played busily outside while i took advantage of the opportunity to take my baby bump on a nice looooong walk with lots of hip sashaying and hill climbing and descending and lots of time to chat to him along the way. i made sure he knew i was anxious to meet him but let him know that we were in no rush and i was perfectly happy for him to choose just the right day.  so, i'm doing my best to take naps and put myself to bed early to bank every little tiny bit of sleep possible in the days ahead as we wait for his arrival as i know i'll be glad for the extra sleep stored up when he arrives.  thanks to grandma for making things easier for me and giving me some time "off" to rest and prepare.  we've been able to chat with daddy throughout the week which has been a little piece of heavenly relief for me and i've been oh-so-grateful for the support of my ladies in these days of waiting. so baby, we're all ready and anxious to see how our story unfolds. grandma has the birth-day cake recipe ready and waiting! xoxo
and here are some pictures from our today.

grandma cam: the kids were treated to a special trip to the donut shop earlier in the week. betsy was all about it...until grandma committed the crime of cutting her donut into more managable pieces. oh man, apparently it was the crisis of the century!

we received a special letter from daddy on thursday (dated Dec 17) containing two special dog tags for the kids. they were excited to get something in the mail from the man they love most!

3 year old bliss: a big open sandy hill to race up and down to his heart's content

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racing up the hill

tending to business as usual, stopping the races to eat her treat

her new favorite trick at the top of the slide

talking to daddy on the phone "showing" him his digger and dump truck by holding the phone up to them. i guess skype does confuse the issue of communication and what is and is not possible with technology.

can't wait to let her loose this summer when it warms up, she is ALL about chasing the tide in and out. but boy was it chilly today

grandma and pete with their toes in the ocean - she was equally all about protecting herself against sun and breeze, sweet irish grandma :)

our beach camp for the morning

snack time always helps remedy the crashes and falls of the playground

grandma cam: betsy cheesing in the back yard this afternoon. :)

and just wait...coming soon is a video of betsy saying "1-2-cha-cha-cha" and doing a little dance. its her favorite trick lately, but she only performs when she has some type of stage to dance atop (coffee table, kitchen table - ahem, bucket turned upside down, they all suffice). its really cute when they both get going at it.

sneak peak: pete's quilt

finally...the quilt is pieced, sandwiched and pinned, ready for quilting! i've had the fabric for over a year, just waiting for attention. and of course, in typical sarah fashion, i've decided that its imperative to finish this quilt before our third baby arrives sometimes in the next....5 weeks. i know that seems like a big window but the "welcome baby" sign goes up at 37 weeks and extends to 42 weeks, although i'm expecting he will be timely to somewhat early. we'll see.
back to the quilt.  i got some inspiration about making a strip quilt after looking through some ideas on pinterest. it seemed quick and easy and painstakingly NON-precise, exactly what i needed. it is momma made with love and cozy and gorgeous, with organic fabrics and a delicious organic fleece for the backing. he asked me again today, "is my blanket all ready, mom?" (he calls me mom now, stop growing up child!)...i told him it was almost ready for his bed. its a twin bed size quilt, meant for his bed. i chose a little more grown up fabric, hoping it would grow with him and someday make an excellently oversized cuddle quilt for two (imagine my little man, someday snuggled up with someone special - yay!). i am hoping it lasts the test of time and is a tangible gift of love from his momma that he will always keep close.  so...let the quilting commence and fingers crossed that baby and i time it just right to finish this one last project before he arrives in our world.

Nature Walk ORGANIC Collection, Cloud 9 Fabrics - plus additional corduroy from my stash to make it the right dimension.

36 weeks, 2 days

not that i'm counting. :) i've actually been very tuned in to the passage of time with this growing baby, particularly because miss betsy caught us so by surprise when she arrived three weeks before her guess-date.  37 weeks is considered full term and "safe" for arrival and because i've been having multiple braxton hicks contractions since right around thanksgiving and because the past month i've been having what have felt like painless, early-labor surges throughout my days, i have been even more accutely attuned to the passage of time, willing and praying for the baby to stay put at least until 37 weeks (if he were to come early, we would not be able to birth at the birth center due to possible preterm complications). as we near the 37 week mark, i can feel all that anxiety slowly releasing, as i am more and more able to get back to trusting my body and baby to know what its doing. my goodness, the female body is designed so perfectly for growing and birthing babies, but our culture has associated so much fear with the process and assigned so much doubt to our own innate abilities. i am grateful for such a smooth pregnancy again and looking forward to sharing another beautiful birth-day journey with our little man.
it will be so exciting to see how all the details of the day unfold as so many things are not set in stone. i'm grateful i've learned to give up control of things over which i truly have no control at all, a lesson that apparently only motherhood could teach me.  this week continues to be a flurry of activity as i direct all my attention to getting our ducks in a row, everything prepped and ready so that this weekend i may shift down into "waiting gear" and rest an relax until baby chooses his day. i am grateful for the arrival of my mother-in-law this weekend to further facilitate the downshift in required activities in my momma-day. it is so nice to have help and to feel taken care of and most importantly to know my two sweet littles will be tended to around the clock, even if i need a nap and especially when i slip out of the house when the time comes to meet our third sweet babe. 
i have been swooning this week with gratitude for the love and support that is swirling around me everywhere i go here in san diego. i finally feel home with so many close friends to lift me up and give me the energy and support and love i need in this time of transition, especially with my very best friend/darling husband so very, very far away. thank you to all of you for loving our family with all of your might, it makes this period of change even more special for us! xoxo

36 weeks 2 days, in front of the door to the birthing room where peter was born

more tidbits from our week

time is passing too quickly for me to keep up (am so grateful). here are a few shots from our last few days. all of our time is spent getting ready now. prep and anticipation of all the things to come in the months ahead. :)

the other day my sick boy decided he quite liked baxter's normal perch on the couch. he looked so cozy in his little pillow hammock

finally put up the countdown-to-daddy paper chain. we take down a paper link every day right before bedtime and throw it away and each night we say "when all the papers are gone, daddy comes home!" i am using a notional homecoming date for our countdown, so i will add or subtract links when its closer to the real deal.  we taped a picture of daddy up at the very end of the chain to help visualize what is happening. i *think* p gets it, betsy just thinks it is pretty.
daddy-do you like the mirror's new home? i bet our house looks a little different than it did when you last saw it....lots of nesting has been going on!

the first half of the chain. i am glad we did not start it the day he left, that would have been TOO much paper for me to mentally handle having to visualize every day.  was easier to stomach the time still remaining after a few months have already passed.

exercising her rights as an almost two-year-old and protesting vehemently against all things naptime. 3 days in a row she persisted for at least 2 hours repeatedly getting out of bed, only to be put back again. so, when your baby doesn't nap, this is what she looks like the rest of the afternoon. the 4th day she gave in after an hour. the 5th day she went right to sleep. but today, she skipped again. oh dear.

sharing stories at bedtime

we miss you daddy!!!  hope these pictures warm you up when you see them! xoxo