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!

Bath time

Noah and Elliana love to make each other laugh. And we love to hear it.  Here's a little sample of what we got to listen to during bath time tonight. :)

TWO

How can it be that my sweet little Elliana Joy is two years old?!  Was it really TWO years ago that I was looking down a this sweet little face? (haha. not mine! :) )

Was it TWO years ago that these cutie pies were posing for pictures together for the first time?

 And TWO years ago that Daddy was cuddling with his TWO kiddos?

 And here I am TWO years later getting to look at this sweet face

 

 Getting to take pictures of these cutie pies

 

And, TWO years later, I'm taking pictures of daddy playing in the snow with his TWO little ones

Happy 2nd birthday, my sweet Ellie girl.  I love being your mommy, you are such a joy! With these TWO, I am blessed, indeed.