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that I got school information in the mail this week for both Grace and Julia when this is how I still see them….

Most people close to me know how I love to count down to special events by celebrating all of the “the lasts” As I’ve covered in many of my other posts, I don’t do well with change, so maybe it’s a way of easing myself into whatever change is headed my way. It doesn’t really matter if it’s for happy events…things like birthdays, holidays, or vacations. Or for things I wish wouldn’t come to an end. A great example of this would be college. The last two weeks were full of “lasts” The last Monday that was an even day, the last Monday that was an odd day, the last bus trip to SJU for dinner, the last bus trip heading back to CSB from dinner…I think you get the idea! In the past, the events I would find “the lasts” for were either for something I was excited about, or something I wasn’t wanting to happen. But in a strange way I am feeling both during this pregnancy. I was counting down until I started to show, but then once I did, I was sad because I knew it would be my last time. I couldn’t wait to feel the baby move for the first time…but now…in the back of my mind I’m reminding myself to soak up each flutter because I know this will be my last pregnancy. I think there is something really special about having your last child. Not that I ever took any part of it for granted…because I honestly haven’t…but knowing this will be our last, I feel like I’m celebrating all of “the lasts” even more! Here are a few pictures from our ultrasound…boy or girl?!?!

Here is Grace last year on her first day of preschool:

and today on her last day of preschool:

I’m not really sure how this happened! We woke up early so that we could have a special date this morning. We had donuts and juice at the high end cafe located in the Champlin Target;) She was so excited. We talked about what we thought she would do on her last day. How next year will be the start of a whole new school experience. And that no matter  how old she is, she will always be my baby–I brought up that topic! Then we were left for our last drop-off together at Zion. I could feel the tears start as soon as I shut her car door. We found a spot for her backpack and the lump in my throat grew bigger. I pulled myself together, took a picture of Grace with her teachers, and kissed her goodbye. I walked out of the classroom and felt the tears start to roll down my face. I was surprised at how emotional I was. I could blame it on the pregnancy…but I don’t think that had anything to do with it. I think it was just me being selfish. I was crying because of how things will change next year. I won’t have her with me for the majority of the day. I will miss playing with her, hearing her stories, answering her nonstop questions, cuddling her, laughing with her…I will miss my best friend.

Julia and I picked her up and headed to the bagel shop for lunch. Mams brought over dairy queen to celebrate the special graduation. And we ended the day with a healthy dinner at Broadway pizza! Mams and Papa joined us…I couldn’t think of a better way to end a special day.

Here are a few of the highlights:

The most exciting part about Grace starting school next year is the same thing that puts the lump right back in my throat…she is excited and ready to go.

is something that you now hear at least once a day in our house. A few weeks ago we shared some big news with the girls, that in late October they will have a new brother or sister! Thankfully they were very excited about the idea of a new baby. They love talking about the big news and start the conversation with “let’s talk about when the baby comes…” and you will hear thing like ”she will cry a lot. i want to feed him. she will want me to hold her. i will help change his diapers. she will want to sleep in my room. we will have to make silly faces to make him laugh” The list goes on and on, and I’m so thankful that the majority of the “let’s talk” conversations are positive and full of excitement about being big sisters. Grace wants a brother and Julia wants a sister…so my joke is that one of them will be happy. Dan is positive that it’s a girl. I don’t really have a feeling yet. All I know is that boy or girl, this baby is going to be so loved, and will have the best two older sisters in the world!

I don’t have anything to back this up…but I’m just going to put it out there…I might be Zac Brown Band’s biggest fan! This isn’t going to come as a surprise to anyone who has spent time with me within the past year or so:)  What might surprise you is how much the girls love them. I’ll admit that in the beginning I would turn up the radio and try to teach the girls all the words (for all you mandated reporters reading this post, this does not require a call into child protection!!) But now they are the ones to shout out “zac brown band” and 90% of the time they are right. My favorite song is Highway 20 ride. I LOVE his voice, the lyrics, and the violin:) We all sing along and ‘play’ our violins. Both Grace and Julia have a style all of their own! The song ends with

So when you drive
And the years go flying by
I hope you smile
If I ever cross your mind
It was the pleasure of my life
And I cherished every time
And my whole world
It begins and ends with you

I will always grab and tickle them at the very end when he sings “my whole world begins and ends with you” I hope it is a memory that they will always have when they hear the song. And yes, I’m assuming that this song will become a classic, and will be played for years to come! I have memories from childhood attached to songs that bring a smile to my face each time I hear one of them. Look at the girls playing their ‘violins’, how could I be embarrassed about this post?

having fun….

enjoyng it a little more….

julia worrying about how much grace is enjoying it….

Many of my favorite childhood memories come from our family vacations. It didn’t matter if it was a short road trip up to Duluth, or packing the whole family in our green station wagon and heading out to the west coast, I could always count on wonderful memories being made!  For the second year in a row, I had the opportunity to take a trip with my parents, but the roles were a little different. Although I still looked to my parents for a fun filled trip, I had two little girls looking at me for the same reason! Well…I think all three of us counted on Mams and Papa to plan all the fun, but you know what I mean:) Like all of the other vacations so many wonderful memories were made!  I don’t think there is anything better than watching my parents interact with the girls. Grace and Julia simply adore my parents, and watching the way my parents love them, I can see why. I have enough pictures in this post to make you feel like you were on the trip with us…enjoy:)

Grace and Julia seeing the ocean for the first time:

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Dear Julia,

Happy 3rd birthday!!! I cannot believe that it has already been three years…it honestly doesn’t seem possible. I can remember everything about the night that I went into the hospital to have you. What a surprise it was to get out of the car and have my water break! I was just so happy that it wasn’t an hour or two earlier, we had gone to evening mass that night, and then stopped by cub! The funny thing about the second child is that even though you’ve already been through the whole process, everything still seems so new, scary, exciting, and wonderful as the first time. I remember meeting mams and papa in the lobby of the hospital so that they could take Grace to their house. I remember crying because I knew everything was about to change. Yes, I had nine months to think about this, but as you’ll come to find, I don’t do well with change! Things seemed to be going pretty well with our family of three, and I knew that leaving the hospital we would be a family of four, and the unknown scares me! We went upstairs and everything went so fast. I can honestly tell you that hearing you cry for the first time was one of the happiest moments of my life!! {the nonstop crying for the following few months…not so much;) } I remember holding you for the first time, looking at your sweet face, amazed by your adorable chubby cheeks, and realizing that you were exactly what our family of three had been missing! Julia, everything you do, you do BIG! Your feelings are big, your laugh is big, your cry is big, your words are big, your fighting is big, your caring is big, your hugs and kisses are big, your curiosity is big, your amazing love is big. I couldn’t imagine my life, our family, or this world without you. You add so much happiness to everyone around you. I love you!

notice how julia is standing on her toes…she does this ALL THE TIME!

but I miss our old house. Not the actual space, the fact that our neighbors would sometimes bang on our wall, how cold we would be right now with this weather, or the fact that we had outgrown it by two kids. I miss the stages the girls were in. I was blow drying Grace’s hair today as she sat in front of the mirror in her room. She was having a hard time getting the cd in her cd player because she couldn’t take her eyes off her reflection(she has ALWAYS loved to look at herself in the mirror!!) and it hit me how big she is getting. This is her last year of pre-school and I cannot think about next year without tearing up. And that means Julia will be starting pre-school two days next year. She is growing up so much, too. Her stories (both true and made up) are constant. I love to watch them grow, become more independent, and change each day…but I can’t say my heart doesn’t hurt a little knowing that things will just continue to change. I miss the days when our biggest decision was what time we should get out of our pj’s. We had the whole day together without any interruptions. We were each others world, everything was so ’simple’.So no…I don’t miss the townhouse…I just miss the wonderful memories we had there. But I know that we are making new memories here each day, and that I have to take them all in, because one day I will miss this stage. Five years from now I will look back and miss the ’simple’ stage that we are in right now. Look at this picture…it says it all! It was almost 2:00 and Julia was still refusing to keep her clothes on(but did walk around the house wearing a backpack!) Her hair is falling out of the adorable braids that my mom put in the day before (yes…that means I hadn’t even brushed her hair yet) It was the perfect day doing absolutely nothing with the girls! I honestly treasure days like today.

One of my favorite things in the whole world is to watch the girls fall asleep at night. I love cuddling them and watching as they fight to keep their eyes open. And for some reason that final blink, when their eyelids are too heavy to open again, just makes my heart happy. When I go to bed I force my eyes shut and try to slow my mind. I don’t want to replay the entire day in my mind, I don’t want to think about the list of things I have to get done the following day, I don’t want to waste one second of sleep. But with the girls it seems to be the complete opposite. It’s like they don’t want to waste a second of being awake. I’m not sure exactly what they are thinking about…and I guess it doesn’t really matter…but I treasure those peaceful moments of watching them fall asleep.