I’m baaaaack!

I cannot belive that it has really been 8 months since my last post.  Really?  Really!  I have so many things to blame my blogging absence on, but the primary 3 reasons are a computer that wouldn’t cooperate, a two and four year old and a pregnancy (well…now a baby!)  There were so many things on my plate, something had to go…for a time.  But, I’m back.  I have a new computer, I’m in the groove of life with three kiddos and I’ve missed blogging.  So, with the new year just two days old, why not begin now?
I suppose I should start back into blogging introducing you to our latest addition, sweet Josiah James Hylkema. 

Josiah was born on 10/10/11 at 5:10am weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long.  I went into labor 4 days before my scheduled c-section and had the smoothest c/s delivery yet!  The recovery was the hardest (I now have stairs and two other kiddos running around!) but the actual surgery went so well. 
Josiah is honestly the most wonderful baby alive!  He is happy, happy, happy!  From day one he has slept well, eaten well, been mellow, patient and an all-around wonderful addition to our family.  Not to say that he’s never had a fussy time…but he’s typically sooooo good!  I was a little nervous about how adding one more to the mix would be, I’d say it’s been the smoothest transition yet!  Noah and Elliana absolutely ADORE him, and even now, almost 3 months (yikes!) later, they are head over heels for their little brother and Josiah is still as much of a novelty as the day we brought him home.  Noah loves to call him jo-jo, buddy or bubba-boo and we frequently hear him saying, "How’s my bubba-boo??” Although we have to remind Elliana to be gentle when loving on him (ie; not laying on top of him) she is such a little mommy.  When she hears Josiah crying, she’s the first to go over and comfort him saying, “It’s ok, I’m here”.  Couldn’t ask for a better big brother or big sister.

Well, I certainly hope I really AM getting back into the swing of things as far as blogging goes, and hopefully you’ll hear from me soon!!  Just to let me know that SOMEONE out there is still reading this, leave me a short message letting me know you’re there.

Noah reading

This is a 5 minute video, but so worth watching it all if you have the time.  I'm so proud of my smart little guy!

14 weeks 2 days

Those of you with multiple children probably remember the phenomenon of  showing earlier with each child.  When I was pregnant with Noah I couldn't wait to be able to fit into maternity clothes.  I remember being 16 weeks on Christmas and there was a little tiny belly sticking out.  With Elliana I remember that belly (which, unfortunately was never "little tiny" haha) poked out much earlier.  THIS time around, though I'm only 14w2d, I'm looking and feeling much closer to 20 weeks!   Here are my first (two) official pregnancy picture(s):

Some Easter Fun

 My wonderful (and very talented) friend, Michelle, set up a little Easter shoot for some of her friends.  I couldn't believe what a great job she did designing this little photo shoot set (except that she's really talented, so I kind of can :) ).  I also couldn't believe how absolutely adorable these pics turned out!  These are mostly of my kiddos (and Michelle"s daughter, Sydney...one of Noah's best friends) and though I'm a little biased, I think they are the most adorable kiddos ever. :)

Done!

You may remember my post back in September when I wrote about Elliana starting to show signs that she was ready to potty train.  Honestly, I wasn't ready to potty train her.  Anyone else agree that a diaper is super convenient...especially with an 18 month old??  She continued to tell me that she had to go potty several times a day, and even though she was staying dry most of the time, I kept her in diapers.  Finally, in February, I realized that I just needed to make the transition from diapers to big girl undies.  She was SO ready!  I think of it as a trade off...when she was a baby, I was up in the night with her WAY more than I was with Noah.  But, she made potty training super easy.  :)  It's so funny how big her pants look on her bottom with no diaper...so cute.

Forever

I know, it's been forever since I updated!  Sorry!  I'm blaming it on first trimester fatigue and being sick (not pregnancy sick!) for almost 4 weeks.  I am finally on antibiotics, but relief can't come soon enough.  Needless to say, every free moment has been spent resting, or doing something to try and feel better.  I have some posts that I've written in my mind, but the energy it takes to sit and write just hasn't been there.  So, be patient with me. I really do promise that I'll be back sometime soon. :)  In the meantime, please pray that healing would come quickly for me.  Thanks, my friends!

Here it is

I had a bunch of creative ways to tell my blog friends our fun news, but now that it's time to tell, I don't want to wait to take a picture of the kids in cute shirts, or post the "awkward" post I'd been planning (though I DO want to do that!).  Instead, I just want to say that today we had an ultrasound and saw our precious baby #3 and heard our precious baby #3's heartbeat for the first time.  God is so good!  So yes, baby Hylkema #3 is on the way, due this October and we are ALL so excited!