She's Here!

Evelyn Jayne Hamilton

arrived…

August 16, 2014 @ 4:47pm

7lbs 15oz 20in

We are so in love!

xo.

Steve, Jenny, Charlie, Luella & Evelyn Hamilton

2 Days Overdue - No Bambino!

It should not be a surprise to anyone that knows me, that my third little babe has not arrived as of yet… Charlie was 9 days late and Luella was 8 days late - I LOVE to hang onto my babies for as long as I can ;)

Thankfully, I still feel good - just tired at the end of the day.   As I wait for little girl #2 to make her debut, I am trying to do lots of stuff with the fam and SLEEP.   Hopefully she will be here sooner than later - keep checking back - I will update the blog when she arrives!

xoxo.
jenny

Baby Girl's Room Debut

Here we are, roughly 3 1/2  weeks to go until we meet our newest addition and we are are all more than excited!  Luella is itching to meet her 'baby sister' and everyday asks when she is going to 'help the doctor get her out' and Charlie is excited to hold his 'new' baby and he will be a very good 'baby holder' considering the practice he had with Luella and now his cousin, Oliver :)  He also loves to tell everyone at his summer camp that he is going to have '2 girl baby sisters'

I finally finished putting the finishing touches on the baby's room a few weeks ago and I am so excited to bring her home so she can enjoy her space - I hope she will love it as much as I do!  I started planning her room back in February when I came across an amazing bedding design which became my inspiration for her color scheme and nursery style.  I literally carried the bedding around with me in my handbag until May so I could match up decorations and accessories to go in her room.  (Crissy saw me carrying it on two separate occasions; I think she may have been a little worried about me because the second time she saw me with the bedding, she asked 'why do you always have that sheet with you?')

In true 'Jenny-Style', I created a time-line in February to get the room done by June 1 and with a lot of help from Steve, I met my goal! Steve handled all the big stuff, like installing a sliding door, painting and helping me hang stuff.  However, I did build all the furniture including a dresser, which might have been the most annoying thing I have ever built in my life - lining those drawers up in the tracks was not fun!  The last few weeks included the final decorating  details (which is my favorite thing to do), washing clothes, organizing the drawers and closet and re-organizing the drawers and closet ;)

Now that her room is all set, it is time to meet our new little girl - let the countdown begin!

The Bedding - where it all began

all about the details!

and again-all about the details!

Luella practicing giving Baby Sam a bottle
(she took a huge digger on our deck the day before
if you are wondering about her face…) 

Charlie & Oliver on our annual Michigan trip.  

Baby Talk

Baby Bump - Week 28

With less than 10 weeks to go before baby girl arrives, you can probably imagine our house is full of baby talk!  Charlie and Luella are really into everything and anything that relates to their new baby sister.  It is super cute to see them so excited and hilarious to hear some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths.  Here are some of my favorite 'one-liners':

Charlie:

"That baby is making you bigger and bigger, Mommy"  (as I was trying to fit the seat belt over my belly - complaining that I could not get it buckled.  Then the voice of reason spoke up from the back seat..)

"Just checking on my new baby sister" (as he put his ear on my belly when I was reading him his bed time stories)

"Can we name her Kenadee and Bosee?  Those are good names for a girl" (ummm, no.  Those are the dogs names)

Luella:

"Baby night-night in Mommy's tummy"

"Buy our new baby at the store?"  (on our way to the grocery store - clearly Lu is mixed up as to where babies come from)

"I help baby at the doctor" (she comes to all my appointments with me and my Dr. tells her she is a big helper)

Every night when I put Luella to bed, she gives the 'baby' a pat and a kiss and says 'night-night baby' :) She also tries to lift my shirt up multiple times a day to 'talk' to the baby…

We are all very excited to meet our new addition to the family but I still can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going - less than 10 weeks?!?

Are you in there baby?

Charlie has helped me build all the baby's furniture!
This is her shelf that we built together

Tres! Trois! Tre! THREE!!

Baby GIRL Hamilton 
arriving
August 2014!

School Days

Charlie started 'real' pre-school two weeks ago - kind of on a whim because he was on the wait list for the school since we have moved and we thought he would not get in this school year.  He had been going to drop off groups and camps since June, which we called 'school' but now this is the real deal!  It amazes me how fast time goes by - I always knew pre-school was on the horizon but I am now making his lunch and sending him off on his own for a few hours 3 days a week.   The transition has been great and he absolutely loves every minute he spends there.

Can't forget about our Luella :)  She will be 18 months on Thursday - again, time goes by so fast!  She is full of confidence, sass, opinions, hugs, and smiles.  Not to mention, a unique sense of fashion along with a passion for shopping.  Everyday is a new adventure with her and I could not be more proud of the little girl she is growing into.

Life in the 'burbs

About 2 months ago we made the transition from city living to suburban living - it has been quite the change but we are loving our new home and everything Deerfield has to offer!

packing up the valuables 

bye bye Paulina Street!

first snowman

love the swing set 

so happy to have a new room all to myself!

walking around downtown deerfield

Sweet Luella is 1!

Ok, so I am slightly delayed in getting this post up in honor of Luella's 1st Birthday!!  But my little girl has been keeping me very busy along with her 'I don't believe in naps and just want to get naked during nap time' brother... (that is a post I will write about another day!)

2 Weeks 

                                                                    
To my sweet little Lu,

Happy 1st Birthday to you!  I know I say this to you everyday, but I can't believe how fast this year went!  It feels like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time and you were staring up at me with your big brown eyes - a moment that is so vivid to me and I will carry with me always.  Your eyes tell such a special story, a story that I am reminded of everyday when I look at you, a story that gets better and better as the days go on.

You are one amazing little girl - your strength, determination, smiles and yes, even your sassiness, make you so special.  I look at you with such wonder watching to see what you will accomplish next.  Everyday it is something new with you and I love seeing how proud you are of yourself - it makes me happier than you will ever know.

Your little hugs, your sweet kisses, the way you wrap your arms around my neck to look out at the world and the way you bury yourself in me when you are being shy- these are moments I never will forget.  I will be telling you about these moments forever and how much they mean to me.   I know as you get older and I talk about them, I will see your eyes roll and hear you say "god, Mom you are so embarrassing" but then I hope as you become a young woman, you will remember me telling you these things and I hope they make you smile and give you comfort.  The world is a big place and simple words and memories that we keep in our hearts and minds are sometimes all we need to carry with us through life.

I want to thank you for all the memories and special moments you have already given me and I know we have so much more to look forward to as mother and daughter.

I love you so much Luella Marie ~ Happy 1st Birthday

Love,
Your Mommy
August 20, 2013

Luella's 1st Birthday Bash Highlights:

(Thank you to my amazing friend Kristin Mann for capturing Luella's special day!!)

Best Day Ever!

This morning my beautiful little girl said 'Mama' for the first time and my heart melted.  It really doesn't get any better than hearing that word for the first time from your baby.

Then a couple of hours later, my sweet little boy randomly ran up to me, wrapped his arms around my legs, looked up at me with his big eyes and said 'I Love You Mommy' (then he ran away giggling) - my heart melted again!

These two little people are my everything - Love you always and forever C & L!!

A Girl After My Own Heart

There has not been much time for blogging these days with 2 kiddos on the loose and constantly chasing them around.  But Luella and I are hanging out right now and I had to seize the moment!  The afternoons are some of favorite moments with Luella because it is just her and I (if she wakes up before Charlie).  Being the 2nd child we do not get much one on one time the way I did with Charlie.   But when her big brother is resting his little head during nap time, Luella and I spend some quality girl time together.  Today she got into one of my drawers of jewelry and started to "accessorize" herself - like mother, like daughter.  LOVE IT!  I think it is time to start filling her jewelry box :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Charlie!

Today is Charlie's 2nd Birthday and we have been celebrating his birthday over the course of 10 days with 2 parties, a dinner out, and 4 different birthday deserts - he is one lucky little boy!  During Charlie's epic long birthday celebration, we learned he loves anything sweet and balloons are by far, the best gift.

Cheers to being 2 buddy!  We love you lots-
m & d
3.26.13

Family Birthday Party for Maelin & Charlie

Who needs a fork or spoon?  I will just stick my face in my cupcake (desert #1)

Cakeballs (desert # 2) served at Charlie's birthday party with his friends

Birthday Party with Charlie's friends
(poor Luella just got kicked by the birthday boy - you can see her crying on the floor)

Balloons = best gift ever!

Birthday dinner with Mom, Dad & Luella (Ice Cream - desert #3)

2 Years Old!  (Confetti Cake - desert #4)

Winter 2013

I can't believe it is the first day of spring (of course it still feels like winter!) Although we had a great winter, we are super excited for the warm weather to arrive.   I am done pushing a double stroller through snow, slush, wind, etc.  And I am so over putting on jackets, hats and boots.  It takes us 20 minutes to get out the door by the time we are all bundled up! Here are some pictures of our winter fun;  Charlie was a wild man in the snow and could not get enough of it.  He loved sledding and trying out his skis.  Luella enjoyed being along for the ride and liked to watch Charlie play in the snow :)

Happy Spring!

Sledding through the park (Luella is in the stroller way back there!)

Heading downhill

Playing in the park

Walking back from some outside fun and grocery shopping

Matching coats ;)

Walking to try out the skis

Snowplow!