Preparing for a BIG change!

In a little over a month to a month and a half, our lives will change....again.

Our world will once again revolve around feeding schedules, diaper changes, sleeping patterns (or lack there of) and so many other things that come with the "newborn" territory. This time will be different though. Not only will we be welcoming a son, but our little girl will be welcoming a brother!

Are we excited? ...Yes!

Are we nervous?...A Little...after all each new addition means change and there is always the learning curve!

Are we ready? Getting there...it's amazing how relaxed I am about things this time. I'm a planner. I like to have things done a month before they need to be. And so the fact that I am not stressed that we have yet to have a baby bed set up or clothes/sheets/blankets washed is somewhat strange. I'm sure that will change in a couple of weeks!

I often find myself thinking about the miracle that is busy growing inside of me. I think about the fact that this 'could be' my final pregnancy and how thankful I am that it has been such a great one so far!

At the end of the day, we feel EXTREMELY blessed. We know how much of a miracle babies are and we know that we have a wonderful support network that will be there to help us!

With that said, bring on this next month. We will be very busy washing, sanitizing, cleaning, constructing, decorating, and most of all praying for a safe delivery and healthy baby to begin our 2012!

Happy 30th Birthday, Kris!

Today we pause the Christmas celebration to celebrate the birthday

of a very special man in our lives.

He is an awesome husband to me and a wonderful daddy to Sophia.

She absolutely adores her daddy :-) !

Happy 30th Birthday, Kris!

Mema Bartels

Sophia has this routine when we visit Mema's house. It usually starts with a hug and then within minutes she either gets into the cabinet where the crackers/snacks are to see what Mema's latest purchases have been! After that if Mema is making something, she climbs on the little step stool/chair in the kitchen to watch her.


It's special to me because I remember doing some of the same things when I was a little girl. I know how special my grandparents were to me so it makes me smile to see Sophia having some of the same experiences.

Making cinnanmon rolls with Mema!

Bartels Christmas...

It is great to have Kris's entire family (parents and sibblings) in town to celebrate Christmas!

Uncle Jason (aka Trunky Monkey) with his niece and nephew!

Mema with two of her great grandchildren!

"Uncle Jason...I'm not distracting you am I?"

Aunt Lara with Wyatt and Sophia

Our little family

Our Sweet little girl (most days :-)

Sophia and Baby Wyatt (her cousin who is growing up fast)!

Her own special touch...

Last night Sophia and I had a full schedule! At the top of her list was to make sure she was able to wrap the homemade Christmas gifts she had made for family this weekend. Needless to say, it was quite time consuming and required lots of patience on my part.

My first instinct was to correct her when the first gift ended up having tape wrapped all around it! However, when I saw how proud she was as she shouted "I did it!" there was no way I was stopping her. Tape is not that expensive after all and she had so much fun. The gifts are pretty small creations, but the amount of "love and heart" in each of them is what counts!

Baby Update...30 weeks

Today marked our 30 week appointment! It is hard to believe three fourths of my pregnancy is over! The baby sounded great and the measurements were good.

So far this pregnancy has been so different than my one with Sophia. At this point with Sophia, we really did not know what to expect next. I was mostly kept on weekly visits after 30 weeks because our doctor was concerned that I may deliver early. This time around things have been much more relaxed and for that I am very thankful.

My doctor will be gone for the holidays in two weeks and so my option was to see another doctor in their practice or wait three weeks. Since things are going so well, I decided to wait.

Sophia loves giving her baby kisses on my tummy and has even started telling him, "I Love You Brother!" And we have a name (or we are pretty sure we have a name)! Sophia helped Kris finish painting the room blue. Uncle Jason and Kris are planning to put crown molding up this weekend. After that, we will be busy switching and converting beds!

Things are beginning to come together!

Some Christmas Happenings...

The Christmas excitement continues around our house....

A very special "Santa" has been mailing Sophia some cool things. Here she is making homemade snowmen ornaments for the tree!

She has really become a Daddy's Girl lately. She wants to be in the middle of anything her daddy is working on or constructing. This Lowe's Build a Sleigh was a hit for both Kris and Sophia! Sophia liked helping and daddy liked that she wanted to help!

This past Saturday we went to the Lights of Tejas right outside of Giddings. It was a lot of fun and Sophia loved the lights!

School Party

We wanted to make sure Sophia was able to celebrate her birthday with all of her friends at school. Per her request, we had pizza, grapes and cupcakes! She was so excited to share her day with the other 3 year olds!

Three years ago and it feels like yesterday...

Our Dear Sophia,

I remember it like it was yesterday. Daddy and I were so ready to meet you. We wanted to see the little baby girl we were already so madly in love with. We wanted to hold you, kiss you, hug you and protect you for the rest of your life. And on December 2, 2008, at 9:35 am our greatest dream came true.

It is so hard to believe that was three years ago! Time has passed quickly, and our love for you has only grown. Every month has brought new joys, new smiles, new accomplishments. We can hardly believe that we are helping you with "schoolwork" and setting the groundwork for years of education. It's hard to believe that we are having conversations with you, learning numbers and letters, participating in gymnastics. Even though we strive to teach you more everyday, you have taught us just as much. We have grown as parents just as you have grown into your own individual personality and person.


Today we celebrate you and the awesome kiddo you are. We thank God for giving us such an awesome miracle three years ago and cannot wait to see you blossom even more this next year.

Happy 3rd Birthday to our energetic, full of life, pretty, smart and totally awesome little princess! We love you so much!