Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My Sweet Madeline


 Tomorrow is the big day; graduation.  It's a day I've been both really looking forward to and dreading at the same time.  There's a safeness I feel at the preschool; it's become familiar.  The teachers, students and parents have basically made up our little community for the past 4 years.  It's the only school we've known.  Trust me that there have been moments of frustration at the preschool but overall it's been amazing.  Maddie has seriously grown up there.

Maddie began preschool the day after I delivered Gracie.  So, there's something full circle about the fact that I'm now super pregnant again as she ends her preschool career.  She was 22 months old and she barely had enough hair to fit into a ponytail.  My Mom and Gabe took her for her first day.  I was in the hospital with Grace who was only 12 hours old at the time.  Back then, she couldn't write her name, recognize letters or numbers, use the potty or stay up past 7pm; she was basically a baby.  My first baby and it was hard to let her go. 

So, here I am 4 years later and the neat thing is, I know her so well.  She is a real person now; not just a baby.  She has thoughts, feelings (major feelings), emotions, and so much love to give.  She has one of the kindest hearts I know.  She humbles me with her generosity towards others and with her ability to seriously love me just as I am.  She also has an amazing love for the Lord.  She has these questions about Heaven, and Jesus and I love the simplicity of it all.  I'm just so very grateful that she was given to me.
 
Tomorrow will be here before I know it and the tears I'm typing through are just the preamble to tomorrow's real waterworks. I fully expect to be an emotional mess but I figure I won't be the only one; plus I'm pregnant and hormonal! 

Kindergarten is just around the corner and she is ready.  She cannot wait.  I'm so happy for her, that her life is changing and that she's excited about that change.  For me, it will take some getting used to.  I still see her as my first little baby and it's heartbreaking (in a good way).  I want to still protect her from everything; I never want a single bad thing to happen to her.  But, I know that's unrealistic.  So, tomorrow I will watch her performance and clap and take tons of pictures.  I will try not to cry too much and I will be present.  Afterwards, we will go out to breakfast as a family and she will get her new charm bracelet as a graduation gift.

And, I will remember it always. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Mason's Sweater

I literally just finished this minutes ago and I'm SO proud of it so I ran downstairs to post it here and now I'm ready for sleep....
Tomorrow I will buy the buttons for it :)

Friday, May 18, 2012

What's in a name?...

Gabe and I officially decided on this baby's name, Mason James, back in February on our way to California.  However, it should be noted that back when we were having Maddie, she too would have been named Mason if she was a boy.  It's been our favorite for a long time.

This week the Social Security Administration published it's findings stating that Mason is now the #2 name in the country for little boys.  USA Today reasoned that it's because Kourtney Kardashian had named her now 2.5 year old Mason.  I have to admit that this gave me a little panic.  I don't want people to think that I just jumped on some bandwagon and copied a celebrity reality personality to name my child.  Ugh.
I began reflecting.  Since I knew that over 6 years ago I already loved the name Mason, I had to remember where I first heard it.  And then it came to me.

It was 2001 and I was 23 years old.  I was really into Jack Johnson and had tickets to his concert in San Francisco.  My boyfriend and I got there early and we heard the opening act; it was Mason Jennings.  I immediately fell in love.  His music consisted of just him and his guitar (a harmonica here and there) and I LOVED it.  I bought his album and it sort of became the anthem in my old Toyota Camry on my way to class at SFSU everyday.
 
So, what does all that mean.  I guess it means that I first favored the name because I loved (and still do) the music someone with that name made.  I think it gives me some nostalgia for a time from long ago.  A time without much responsibility and with a lot of freedom.  It reminds me of California and the Pacific Ocean.  It feels like home.

When Gabe and I chose it for our baby this time we reflected on the fact that this will be our only son and in fact that word "son" is actually in his name.

I don't know what it is about me that wants the world to know that I in fact loved the name long before anyone heard of the Kardashians, but I do.  So there.  I was years ahead of the trend ;)

Listen below to hear one of my fav's :)

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

#3

I have so many things to blog about but at the moment I'm tired.  So, here's a sneak peek into the photo shoot we did a week and a half ago with our fabulous photog Megan Keys of Keys Photography. 
I can't wait to see the rest!
In other news, I am extremely pregnant.  Yes, I know this isn't earth-shattering information but it's all I can think of/feel.  Everything is getting hard to do; shaving my legs, putting on shoes, bending down to pick something up off the ground, rolling over in my sleep... You get the drift.  However, today I heard someone say that "it's all a matter of perspective and if you look for it, there's always something to be grateful for."  So, I will say that I'm grateful for this baby boy that is healthy and moving all the time.  I'm also grateful that tomorrow we are doing a 3D ultrasound and will see his sweet little face.  I'm also grateful that there's only 5 weeks (or less) until I get to hold him :-)

PS: As some of you may remember, when I had Grace my blog's web address had to change.  Well, it's happening again ;)  I won't change it until Mason arrives, but just FYI, it will change next month :)

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!!!

At the Farmer's Market yesterday am :-)

34 weeks pregnant today :-)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Baby Shower!! / 6.5 weeks to go!!!

The Girls and I at my Baby Shower last weekend :-)