Spring is Here!

We are so happy to be seeing the sunshine, albeit occasionally, around here! The kids are getting to play outside more often, which is good for everyone's soul. :)

Spring has brought with it a flurry of activity. As the school year draws to a close, I am busy up at Jewell, and both of the kids have had several fun field trips and activities with their schools. The pace has picked up at work for Brandon, too, so we're all on our toes!

I worked all week last week, and we were fortunate to have Grandpa Carlson come and stay with us for a few days to help with the kiddos while I was away. He got to go with Kylee's class on their field trip to the firestation. One of Kylee's teachers, Miss Chris, snapped this picture of the class (our girl can be found in the middle of the back row in a purple dress):

We also attended Connor's first Kindergarten music program together. Some of the McKinney delegation drove down to join us:

Here's our big man, singing his tunes and doing the motions (front row, fifth from right):

The program was centered around going to the Zoo, so there were several great songs about different animals and the kids were supposed to dress as they would for a day at the Zoo. It was really fun to watch and Connor did a great job!

In baby news, I am now 27 weeks along. Time is moving quickly! I had an appointment this week where we did another sonogram just to make sure everything looks okay. I was thrilled to see that our baby girl is weighing in at about 2.5 lbs, is moving lots, and is developing cheeks that bear a strong resemblance to those of her siblings. My fluid levels are appropriate, and the very patient sonographer was willing to show me both of her kidneys and her bladder. Hooray!

Walking out of the appointment, I allowed myself, for one of the first times, to relax and experience true joy. Seeing that things are okay with our little girl at this point in the game gave me a sort of permission to actually envision getting to bring her home with us. It was an amazing, and overwhelming, feeling. I am dreaming of holding her, smelling her (the baby lotion type, not necessarily the poopy diaper part, although it is amazing how excited I am even about that!), listening to her quiet grunts, and feeling her precious little breath on my cheek.

I was talking to Kylee this morning, who is often in despair these days about not being a "big kid." She wants to go to Kindergarten next year in the worst way. So, we talked about how important it was going to be for her to be home with me to help with the baby. I asked her how she thought she might help. Here are her ideas:

1.) Feed her.

2.) Play with her.

3.) Make sure she's healthy.

4.) Help her eat healthy snacks.

5.) Bathe her in the sink.

6.) Dress her.

I love it that our older children now recognize the blessing that health is. What important lessons our journey with Caden has taught us!

We can't believe she'll be here in just over two months...baby girl, you are SO LOVED ALREADY!