The Sweetest Things of 2015, Q4...
Spilling the Secret...though Lindsay and I found out that we were expecting a fourth child in mid-August, we keep the news to ourselves for the first few months. We were still taking in the shocking information; I was feeling pretty sick; and we just weren't ready to spread the word, Particularly with our girls, I thought it would be better to tell them once we knew the baby's gender. With all three of my other pregnancies, I had zero desire to find out the gender prior to the birth. But, with number four, the baby in and of itself was such a surprise, that I didn't think I could handle anymore surprises! So, pretty much from the moment I went #1 on that stick, I was dying to know if a little he or she would be joining our crew. At my twelve week ultrasound, the doctor told me that he was 70-80% sure that we were having 'another female'. Now, I won't pretend that this information was exactly what I wanted to hear, and I did not share the speculation with Lindsay. I knew that it wasn't conclusive and waited {utterly impatiently} to get a phone call with the official results that would come via chromosomal blood testing. The much anticipated phone call never came, but, when I randomly checked my phone at an extra long stop light on our way to gymnastics, I did see an email pop up from the doctor's office. I quickly opened it (not kidding, the light was like three minutes long), and saw this.
Now, a lot of this made no sense to me,
but one line jumped out and really couldn't be misunderstood:
Two Sex Chromosomes: XY Male
Remember, I was in the car with my three children who did not even know I was pregnant, so containing my emotion was both important and {extremely}difficult. Once I'd made a few phone calls verifying that I did, in fact, know what I was reading, I made plans to share the news with Lindsay that we were going to have a son. He didn't even know that I'd gotten the results, so he was doubly shocked when I presented him with a precious little boy's outfit that evening. The next day, we told the girls in a super, sweet way.
Jumping for joy for a new baby boy.
Carter cried, wept, tears of joy for nearly half an hour. She told us how she had prayed to God to give her a brother (would have been nice if she'd let us in on her request...). Murphy was both excited and unsure; and Wright was just caught caught up in all the excitement. We let the girls FaceTime to share the news with grandparents, and then the story went 'public'. It's been so fun watching them share the news with important people in their lives. Wright walked into school the next morning with her chest puffed out telling her teachers that Mommy had a baby brother in her belly. Watching their excitement grow and hearing their interesting questions over the past few months has been a fun, new component of this pregnancy.
Sweet angel.
Twenty week ultrasound. Boy status verified.
Five Going on Twenty-Five...on October 3 our Murphy turned five, but in planning the birthday celebration, I felt as if I was planning a party for a girlfriend turning 25! Her gift requests? High heels and new makeup. Her idea of a party? Her favorite fella joining her for cake and a 'limo full of candy'.
Loaf of pretzel bread for her birthday breakfast. It's her tradition.
Despite suggestions of celebrating with a party and lots of friends, Miss Mature was pretty set on her plan, so we went with it. She and I had a ball shopping together for a dress fit for such an event, and when her date showed up at our front door, hair parted just so and rose in hand, we both melted.
She said the rose was her favorite birthday gift.
A quick happy birthday song and cake before heading off in the limo.
Simple design by the birthday girl.
Photo opp.
They're all so cute. I could die.
Buckets of candy and Willy Wonka viewing awaited in the 'elmo', as Wright called it.
Even when he's goofy, she's a smitten kitten.
Cheers to the birthday girl.
She'll drink to that.
The limo took the crew to Disney on Ice.
They were mostly interested in choosing a souvenir and heading back to the limo.
Just a couple weeks after she turned 25 5, Murphy and I went on a special, school-night date to her first concert: T Swift.
All dressed up and somewhere super special to go.
Mid-song makeup touch-up. Well, of course.
And, proving that this little miniature woman stays ever true to who she is, I couldn't stop smiling when I pulled this paper out of her backpack a couple days later.
That's right.
She uses her muscles when she puts on makeup.
Also?
Her favorite part about Halloween this year: her eyeliner.
Growing Goofball...the phrase, 'What would we laugh about if we didn't have Wright?' has come out of both my mouth and the girls' mouths many times over the past few months. The kid keeps us laughing with her constant antics and silly nature. She went from straight up potty refusal to fully day and night potty trained in just a couple days of Daddy's potty boot camp and was excited to 'head' to Michael's for a little reward.
A styrofoam head. Obviously.
The baby turned three on October 28.
Standing proudly in front of her school.
Still working on letting the thumb hold the pinkie.
All dress up. All the time.
She had her first dentist appointment
AND her first taste of Pop Rocks.
She is often a source of contention between her big sisters.
Everybody wants a piece of the goofy one.
Though she is quick to point out, tiny finger raised, that she enjoys mac-and-cheese, yogurt milk, frozen yogurt, and grilled cheese,
She continues to be the pickiest - and most STUBBORN! - eater I've ever known.
Many mealtimes leave her plate untouched and her lips pooched at missing out on dessert.
She takes bossiness to a whole other level, which is saying a LOT in this house, and not only instructs all of us on what to say, but how to say it as well! Her kisses are still hard to come by, though she does enjoy giving us an unexpected lick here and there.
Like biggest sis, she's fearless and coordinated.
And like big sis, she enjoys dressing up and sitting pretty.
I'm so excited to see how the little one will take on the role of big sister and relinquish the role of baby. She says that baby brother will be the boy baby and she'll be the girl baby, and that's just fine with me.
QT with Loved Ones...the last three months of the year allowed for several opportunities to spend time with those we love the most - far and wide! Early October brought an unplanned family gathering as we came together to honor the life of Grandma Margie.
Sweetest little great grands. Missing a few.
Most of the Bowman family.
In late October, we spent a weekend in a mountain cabin - getting away from the hustle and bustle of life at home and catching up with our favorite family.
Wright and Emerson, born 27 days apart.
Cohen and Murphy, cutest lil faces.
We took in fall activities like the pumpkin patch and corn maze and enjoyed meals together and general catching up.
Quite a crew!
Thanksgiving took us to Tulsa where we had the chance to spend time with both Pops and Misha and lots of extended family.
I did say lots.
Among that bunch was this trio of Braly cuties.
Miss this fam so much.
Carter, Aunt Kiki, and Kevin.
And one with Murph.
As always, I took far too few pics of our time in Tulsa, AND we even missed out on our annual trip to see the Utica Santa, nevertheless a sweet time with family was had by all. The week after Thanksgiving, we came together to see Carter hit the 'stage' for her roles in The Stone in the Road. As a second grader, she's in an acting class for third through fifth graders, and it was so fun to see her really step up her game. She did a fantastic job of memorizing her lines and getting into her characters.
As Nico, a boy assistant.
As a retired fortune teller.
Family fan club.
Schmidly cousin cheerleaders.
Their presence was a sweet reminder of how blessed
we feel to have these guys 'right down the street'.
The Christmas season brought many annual traditions and opportunities to spend time with family and friends.
Life Group Christmas party.
Love making memories with these people.
The girls at Christmas Eve Lunch with the Schmidlys.
Extra sweet this year having Aunt Suzie {and Uncle Charles}visiting from Arkansas.
Christmas with the Busicks.
This picture is EXTRA special as it's the first EVER of its kind:
Nanny, Pa, and all their grands.
Sunny Getaway Courtesy of Santa...our girls were kind of funny this year when it came to Christmas gifts: they really didn't want anything! Carter said she 'didn't want to be greedy'; Murphy said more toys would be 'too much to clean up'; and Wright's only request was a Darth Vader sleeping bag. This was not a bad situation for us, or Santa!, really. Things got interesting when Murphy began asking Santa for a trip to the beach. Hmmmm... a beach trip over winter 'break'. This could work out in everyone's best interest, and Murphy had been awfully good this year. So, our elf, Dolly, got busy researching, and when Christmas morning arrived, the stockings were filled with wetsuits and a note explaining that we'd all be heading to Hammock Beach Resort on the Sunday after Christmas! Lindsay and I agree that car trips with our girls are almost like 'dates' for the two of us: the kiddos watch movies and keep each other entertained, and he and I can actually have adult conversations. We arrived at Hammock Beach just after 5:00 on Sunday - just in time for dinner, unpacking, and a nighttime swim for the two big girls.
Precious sister love.
The view from our balcony. Not bad for December.
The next morning, we slept in and then got geared up for a day of sand and salt and fun.
The girls agreed to a quick pic before heading out.
Notice Wrighty with her signature finger point.
Baby brother and I quite enjoyed our view for the day.
The weather was a gorgeous 80+ degrees,
but the ocean was still much too cold for us wimpy grownups.
Day one included nearly seven hours of ocean and pool fun. We headed up to our suite as sunset neared, had nice, warm bubble baths, and ordered room service for dinner.
Wright entertained herself with her pet puppy and a doll umbrella.
These two were tuckered out from all the day's fun.
Day two was pretty much a duplicate of day one: beach, pool, beach again, baths, room service.
They loved exploring these rocks that were formed from lots of shells.
Wright was in on all the action.
All the girls were so stoked to enjoy the water slide.
And I was pretty bummed that I needed to skip out due to the little one I'm growing.
Daddy and the tiny one.
On Wednesday we headed to the pool for a few final hours of fun before hitting the road.
Requested a photo of her silly faces.
When we finally got ready to head for home early afternoon on Wednesday, I realized that this was the first time any of us had worn something besides a swimsuit or pajamas since we'd arrived!
Could have only packed these dresses and saved a lot of suitcase space!
Murphy, and Santa, knew this trip was just what the Lewellen family needed. We all had a wonderful time of being together and breathing in that salt air. The girls got along quite well, as did their Mommy and Daddy - HA! With the upcoming addition to our family, it's hard to say when we'll get to take such a trip again, and this was a great one to get us through!
That wraps up the Sweetest Things of the last quarter of a year that brought a bigger surprise than we could have imagined. We lived a lot of life in 2015 are excited about all that lies ahead in the new year.