Sisters!!

June Anne loves her Ma-Ma!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Jason's Grandma Faunce was 100% Irish, so St. Patrick's Day is a big deal to the Faunce family! I had to make sure the girls were dressed for the occasion. Grandma Faunce would be so proud!

Love

Love when newborns pucker up their lips like this and scrunch their little face up. Priceless and precious and loving every moment!

Birthday!!!

I had an amazing birthday this year!!! There is nothing sweeter than spending the day with my family of 4!! Jason was off work - his last day of being off with me for paternity leave. And June Anne did not go to school. We had to take both girls to the doctor - June Anne for her 18 month appointment and Madeline for her 2 week appointment. Dr. Miller said both girls are very healthy and doing great, which is such a blessing to a mama's ears. June Anne is 24 lbs, 4 oz (50th percentile) and 31 1/2 inches (45th percentile) and Madeline is 8 lbs, 3 oz (50th percentile and well over her birth weight! Wahoo!) and 21 inches (75th percentile). I swore June Anne was 30 lbs before we went! It's all relative, I guess. She seems so big now that Madeline is here! June Anne had to have one shot this visit to catch up on her vaccinations. When she saw the bandaid, she immediately started crying and said, "Boo boo!" Sad!!! It only took a snack trap with animal crackers and Daddy's lap to calm her down. But, the rest of the day we heard "Boo boo" repeatedly. Bless her sweet little heart. Madeline, on the other hand, barely made a peep during her exam. Maybe she's used to being poked and prodded? Sad, but true. Such is life with an 18 month old sister!

After the doctor's appointment, lunch and a nap (for all three of us girls!), I wanted to go to the park. The weather was beautiful yesterday. High right near 70. And there's nothing I love more than sitting outside in beautiful weather watching June Anne and her Daddy run around. (Before I got extremely uncomfortable during my pregnancy, I used to be in the mix. Now that I have Madeline strapped to me, I can do more, but I'm still somewhat limited). We had a great time at the park. June Anne is so rambunctious - she desperately needs torun off energy every single day. When she goes to school, they go outside in the morning and I the afternoon! So , when she is home, we try to go to the park often.

After the park, Madeline had to eat before we met friends for dinner. Rather than go all the way home, I just nursed her in the car. (I'm not above nursing her on a park bench with a nursing cover, don't get me wrong! But it was pretty windy, so we opted for the car). Jason and June Anne took a little walk and then Jason put Word World into the DVD player for her while Madeline finished up. She made her was to the back seat and thought she had done something big! So funny to watch their little minds work at this age.

Jason and I decided no gifts this year. We are currently getting a pool put in so that's our gift to each other this year! He did get me a very sweet card and the girls also got me a precious card, which June Anne decorated. I feel so incredibly blessed. I couldn't ask for a better birthday.

Madeline Eileen

Madeline Eileen Faunce has arrived! She was born 2.28.2013, 18 months to the day after June Anne! She made her grand debut at 9:16 am, 21 inches long and weighing in at 7 lbs, 14 oz! Birth story to follow! It's 2:30 am right now, and while I forgot how not-so-fun interrupted sleep is, I'm being reminded of how so very sweet these quiet moments are. And I'm praising Jesus for such a precious life.

Ready!

We are ready, ready, ready to meet our sweet girl!!! I can remember being this way with June Anne - anxious, excited, nervous about labor and delivery. When will I go into labor? Where will I be when my water breaks? (Will I be in our weekly office staff meeting?! Oh dear!) But, now, add to these thoughts - who will come to stay with our sweet girl if we go to the hospital at 3:00 am like we did with June Anne? (We have a ton of people who have offered, but what if they are sick? What if they are out if town?) What will June Anne think when someone else gets her out of her bed in the morning? Will she be confused, scared? Will she cry? The list goes on and on and on....needless to say, without grandparents in town, it's gets a little complicated! Right now I'm praying for peace and trusting that The Lord has it covered!!!

I'm exactly 2 weeks out from my due date. And, unlike June Anne, I feel like my due date this time is exactly right. I'm huge, I'm pretty uncomfortable (she's estimated a pound bigger than June Anne, which doesn't seem like much, but makes a difference when you start out at a pre-pregnancy weight of 110!), and, honestly, I'm ready to have somewhat of a normal life back. Not for selfish reasons - more because I'm ready to be able to get back to sharing the load with my husband and playing on the floor with my daughter. But, I know she will come when she is ready. We will see!!!! I can't wait to meet this sweet angel!!!

Pics

Just some cute pictures if my monkey from the last few weeks. I LOVE THIS CHILD! Obsessed is probably a more accurate description. She is funny, daring, sweet, generous, particular. She knows what she wants and she is very verbal until she gets it! (With lots of "peez"s, of course). She says so many words these days! It's hard for me to even keep track! The latest are "apple" and "amen". But, she says probably 30 or so more also from all the family's names ("mommy", "daddy", each grandparent, and she's even attempting "Madeline"!) "please" and "thank you" to "diaper" (really more like "biaper"). One of the newer additions to the vocabulary is "no". Yikes!!!! And she uses it in perfect content! We are trying to couple it with "thank you" and "ma'am". It is useful for her to be able to tell us if she we are totally off base when communicating with her. But, we'd like for her to be respectful in that communication. We are working on it!

The other latest is that she now tells us when she is about to go poop. (Yes, I realize this is not a glamorous topic!) So, I'm thinking potty training is in our near future, although I don't have the energy right now! Kinda like I don't have the energy to even consider a toddler bed for her yet! I'm learning to offer myself a little grace. My child is advanced, she always has been, but that doesn't mean I have to push everything the moment she displays a certain behavior. In time, in time!