Maren Grace

Dear Maren,
I prayed for you...for the past five years I have just had this feeling that our family wasn't complete.  This feeling that we were still missing something.  I started praying...praying that God would either send us a baby or change the way I felt.  And then one day, it happened...God gave us you.  We were so excited.  Parker and Row were over the moon.  I spent every day praying that you arrived safely and you were healthy.  I had a feeling very early on that you were a girl...everything gender-neutral somehow seemed too masculine. I found myself ordering bows and dresses-just in case.  We even knew your name very early.  It was the first name we mentioned and we never went back.  You have always been Maren.

The night before you were born Parker and Rowan wanted to have a sleepover in Rowan's room.  We read stories together and talked about how excited we were to meet you.  Gram Gram, G-Dawg and Grammy all stayed the night too.  It took Daddy and I soooooo long to get to sleep because we were so excited.  We had to wake up at 4AM and Rowan and Parker woke up and came into our room so that they could see us before we left for the hospital.  That was such a sweet time...getting ready and listening to them giggle with excitement.  As we left the house, they were waving from our bedroom window.

We checked into the hospital and began the process of prepping for surgery.  I was so scared.  I could not wait for you to get here so that I knew you were healthy.  Surgery was quick and Daddy was the first one to say, "it's a girl!"  We were both so happy.  You cried the loudest of all three kids and we laughed at how you had already found your voice.  Holding you for the first time was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Luckily, the nurses let us sneak parker and rowan in early so they could meet you.  They were both excited...until Parker cried, ha.  He was definitely overwhelmed.   Rowan held you right away and was smitten from the start.  Parker needed a minute to digest everything, but when he came back the next day, he fell completely in love with you.

We came home after three days and two days later, Gram Gram, G-Dawg, Uncle Landon, Aunt Bette, Ellis, Nana and Papa Bill all came to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house.  You were loved on so much.  Even as a newborn, you brought out the best in each of us.  We could not love you more.

Florida Vacation

This sounds crazy, but we have never been on vacation with just the four of us.  We decided that we needed just that before the Rookie comes in November.  The kids only request was the beach...all they wanted to do was play on the beach.  At 25 weeks pregnant, that was something I could definitely do.  We ended up in Clearwater Beach, FL and had the best time.  We spent hours every day on the beach, went on a pirate cruise where we saw dolphins and ate lots of seafood (per Parker's request).   While there, Rowan decided she was going to live at the beach when she grows up...we decided that she was probably going to be a street entertainer and swim all day and dance hip-hop at night to make money.  She is definitely the free spirit in our family.  We also realized that Parker is so.much.like.me...after a couple of days at the beach, he was ready for something new.  I usually plan our vacations down to the hour, so this was not the norm...he is so my child.   He also found a new friend every day we were there to play football with on the beach.  I loved watching them so joyful.  

The Rookie

When Rowan was around two, I started talking about wanting a baby.  Brady thought I was joking...we had always said we wanted two kids, a boy and a girl, and lucky us, that is what we had!  Why in the world would we want to add to the crazy?  We have man-to-man defense, one child per adult, the perfect scenario to make our life the least amount of complicated.  I couldn't let it go though...a longing for a bigger family...a knowledge that life would be crazy and hard for a few years, but the joy would be so worth it.

About a year ago, Brady said that he was willing to see what happened.  We both prayed about it, and in our hearts believed that God would provide our answer.  It was a need of mine to let go and let Him take control.  An acknowledgement that everything good in our lives has happened when things didn't go exactly to our plan (see the originally title of this blog: shocked and knocked up:)...lifting the burden of planning everything to the minute.

Warning, TMI coming...in early February, I was a day late and just had a feeling.  I was running errands while the kids were at church and decided to buy a test at Target.  Normal people would wait until they got home...I'm not normal...I couldn't wait...I took the test in the bathroom (after I paid, of course)...POSITIVE!  I called Brady right away and we both just laughed.  We had our answer...we were going to have a baby.

I had a rough first trimester...nausea, vomiting, exhaustion...keeping it a secret from the kids was hard.  We told them around 8 weeks...we originally wanted to think of a creative way to share, but we're too impulsive.  One night at dinner we just couldn't keep it any longer...we turned to the kids and said, "we have a secret to tell you..."  Parker's response, "you're pregnant aren't you?"  Ha, no fooling that kid.  They each called our parents and told them and were so excited...probably Row more than Parker, ha.

In the weeks that followed, our secret was out...I'm pretty sure at least twenty people knew within 24 hours of telling the kids, ha!   We also had to find a name to call the baby...we are not finding out the gender so it couldn't be too specific.  For a while, Row was calling him/her 'sucker'...all I could think of was 'welcome to the family, sucker!'  So, we finally decided on The Rookie.  It is the perfect name for this perfect little babe.  He/she will be the rookie of our family and the kids are definitely going to show him/her the ropes.  Our hearts are so very full.

Row

Rowan is growing up so fast; every day she learns to do something new on her own and is so proud.  She told me yesterday that she is certain that someday she will not need me to do anything for her, but she still wants to live here with her husband when she gets married (or at least next door).  I am not ready for her to grow up.  Sometimes she seems like such a big girl and then like my baby again all within ten minutes.  Time has just gone too fast.

Row seems to always know when I need a hug.  She still wraps herself around me when and rubs my back when I pick her up.  She absolutely hates being in trouble and will start crying almost before we say anything to her.  This means that she doesn't get into trouble much...I think she has watched Parker get into trouble too often, ha.

Rowan loves to dance.  Her body almost moves on its own the instant she hears music.  She is always dancing around the house and loves dance parties and dance class.

Row has started saying, "boom," every time she makes a point.  I'm not sure where she learned this...actually, I take that back...she learned it from Parker.   Having an older brother means she sometimes learns things I wish she didn't, but also means she is more willing to take chances outside of her comfort zone because she has watched Parker...basketball, soccer, etc.

Right Now...

Right now Rowan wants to live at home forever, never get married and go wherever I go...
Right now I am completely fine with that scenario...
Right now parker wants to play with his friends every.single.day. after school...
Right now Parker also feels like he doesn't get enough time with me...the struggle is real...
Right now I feel like I am constantly on Parker to "do things right the first time..."
Right now Rowan gets super proud when she isn't 'shy' around other people...yet she bosses everyone in our house around and has a way of timing tantrums so that we inadvertently give her whatever she wants...
Right now Parker is constantly dribbling a basketball and has recently started teaching Row..."pocket, window, shot..."
Right now Rowan is playing basketball and can finally make a basket!
Right now Parker is between little boy and big kid and that is hard...
Right now we are still trying to decide whether to send Rowan to kindergarten or hold her for a year...I'm fairly positive I am the one struggling more...
Right now I am realizing that Rowan has as big of a personality as Parker...she constantly clicks her lips after making a point and sounds like a teenager when she talks...we are in so much trouble...

Yo Row!

Tonight we were sitting at the dinner table when Rowan tells us, in her best gangsta voice, "I just want a cookie, yo!"  This was in response to our request that she finish her dinner around the time she was twirling around the floor.  We are constantly laughing at her antics...even when she has completely destroyed the house by getting out every single toy possible.  I just love her to pieces and have so much fun watching the character she is turning into.

love of sports

Parker has loved sports for as long as I can remember...we even had a golf-themed first birthday because he was already swinging a club correctly, ha!  We have hit the age where he plays whatever sport is in season which means most evenings and weekends are booked with games or practices.  Right now is baseball season...he wakes up by six and puts on baseball pants, runs downstairs and finds a baseball game to watch on tv...while tossing a ball in the air.  If I let him, he would go play baseball with the neighborhood boys all.day.long.  He just can't get enough.  Luckily, Parker's baseball team advanced to the second round of their end-of-season tournament and he gets to play a few more games...the boys were just so excited.

Rowan, on the other hand, is perfectly content playing with dolls or her kitchen or coloring.  However, at this very moment, I am watching her play indoor baseball (eeeek, I know) with Parker.  She is loving it!  She also played soccer this spring and actually did pretty well.  And when I say 'well' I mean as well as a three-year-old can play.  I coached her team and there were several times kids were crying on the field because the other team stole the ball, but I am proud to say the tears were never Row's.  At one point, she was even the only one still playing while everyone else was on the sidelines crying!

They both are just changing every day.  I am so proud of the little people they are becoming.