Caroline Rose Novak!

Our daughter, Caroline Rose, was born this past Friday, September 26th, at 2:43pm via c-section.  She weighs 9 pounds and 3 ounces and is 20.5 inches long.

Ben took a lot of pictures and we want to share a few with our friends and family.

Here is a link to Elizabeth's birth post.

 Waiting for the OR

 In the OR, having a baby :)

 She's big!

Caroline getting checked out 

(She did not enjoy that)

 Meeting Caroline

Family photo

 Big Sister Elizabeth!

 Our family

Little Sister Caroline!

 Nana, Elizabeth, Ga-Ga, and Caroline

 Elizabeth, Pap Pap, Nana, Ga-Ga, and Caroline

 Ga-Ga and Caroline

 Nana and Caroline

 Nana, Pap Pap, and Caroline

 Caroline M&Ms for our guests

 Saturday morning in the hospital

 Noah, Jessica, and Caroline

 Elizabeth wanted to hold Caroline

She was so excited!

 Ga-Ga, Me, and Caroline

 Sunday morning, heading out of the hospital

 Ready to go home!

Dad is ready to take his girl home!

Thanks for stopping by.  

We are beyond thrilled to welcome Caroline to our family!

Big Sister Bag

Tomorrow is the Big Day!  Baby sister will be here by tomorrow afternoon and we could not be more excited to meet her!  We have been preparing Elizabeth for months and really talking up baby sister this week.

In order to help the transition go (somewhat) smoothly, and to give her some entertainment at the hospital, I have made her a big sister bag that baby sister is going to give her tomorrow.

I got the idea from a blog I read, Life in the Green House, when the author had her son, she made a big sister bag for her daughter.

So... here is a little about Elizabeth's Big Sister Bag:

I got the bag from Amazon.  I thought it was a toddler-sized tote bag, but it is not.  It is an adult-sized tote, so we are going to tie a nice little knot or bow in the top of the handles to make it the right size for Elizabeth.

These are all the goodies that are inside her bag.  She is getting a couple of books, a couple of coloring books and new crayons.  Some snacks and a couple of other treats.

 

The books I got on Amazon and we have read them to Elizabeth this week, but she is going to see them again in her big sister bag.  I thought the books would be a great way to show her how things will be different with a baby.  They talk about how babies cry to tell us what they need, that babies sleep a lot, and babies use bottles.  I found them really helpful and all week Elizabeth has been "reminding" me of things she learned from the books.

The coloring books I picked up around town and the crayons we had.  The Mickey Mouse ink pad is either from her birthday or a gift from another time.

* For Elizabeth's birthdays and other holidays where she gets presents, I put most of them in the closet and then pull them out for special occasions.  She is so young that she doesn't remember every present, and it gives us "extra goodies" to present at special times.*

Elizabeth LOVES chocolate pretzels and gummie snacks.  So... I threw a couple of these into her big sister bag.  I feel like difficult transitions are always a little easier if you have the food you like with you.  :)

I picked up the Princess Sophia doll at Target the other day and the Tinkerbell doll was a gift at her birthday that I have saved.  I know she will love having toys to play with while at the hospital.  

Happy Thursday!

Light Up Shoes!

Elizabeth has lived in her flip flops this summer.  She will only wear her flip flops and has refused to put on other shoes for almost every other occasion (aside from Adam and Brigette's wedding).  She loves her flip flops and I have been thinking of ways to get her into new shoes for fall (and hopefully forget about her flip flops) before the weather gets too cool.

Well... a couple of weeks ago I was at Target and went down to the shoe section.  I found sneakers in her size that light up.  I thought light up shoes would be a great distraction and that she would immediately love them and trade in her flip flops for her new shoes.

I. Was. Wrong.

I presented her with the new shoes a few weeks ago and she threw them back in the box and said "no way, I want my flip flops". 

This was going to be harder than I thought.

I showed her how they light up, that they have silver sparkles, and are oh-so-super pretty.  She again informed me that she would be wearing her flip flops. 

Sooo.... I saved the receipt, put the shoes in her closet, and figured I would try again after baby sister gets here.

Well... you could have knocked me over this morning when she grabbed the sneakers out of her closet and asked me if she could wear them.  Yes!  Sure!  No problem!

We put on the sneakers and I showed her again how they light up.  She has been running around all day with her sneakers on and refuses to take them off.  Ha!

I very happily present- Light Up Shoes!

And not to be outdone- Light Up Shoes: Part Two!

New Fall TV Shows and my DVR lineup

Ben and I have been discussing for a few weeks which new shows we would like to add to the DVR and check out. 

After reviewing a list online, I realized that I had never heard of 70% of the new shows coming out- bad advertising TV execs.  ;)

Here are the three new shows I want to check out:

1. Gotham on FOX.  Premieres Monday, September 22nd at 8pm

Described as the origin story of future Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon, Gotham is Fox's effort to get in on TV's comic-book craze. Southland and The O.C. alum Ben McKenzie stars as Gordon, a fresh-faced police detective whose life begins to change when he and his partner, the brash Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), start investigating the murder of the parents of none other than a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz).

2. How to get away with Murder on ABC.  Premieres Thursday, September 25th at 10pm

Shonda Rhimes continues her push toward world domination with this legal thriller, which stars Viola Davis as a serious-as-the-death-penalty law school professor whose attractive students vie for her approval and a desk at her prestigious law firm. But their biggest lessons are learned outside the classroom, when they get caught up in a murder plot and, presumably, must figure out how to get away with it. Expect Scandal-sized twists and Grey's-like drama!

3. NCIS: New Orleans on CBS.  Premieres Tuesday, September 23rd at 9pm

Why should Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles have all the fun? The Big Easy gets its own iteration of TV's most-watched drama, with Scott Bakula, Lucas Black, Zoe McLellan, and C.C.H. Pounder solving crimes on Bourbon Street and beyond. We guess the Navy boys get into lots of trouble while they're on leave!

 (All descriptions above are from TVguide.com)

NOW... What my DVR is going to look like:

 

Monday:

Gotham - 8pm - FOX

Castle - 10pm - ABC

Tuesday:

NCIS - 8pm - CBS

NCIS: New Orleans - 9pm - CBS

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: 9pm - ABC

Thursday:

Bones - 8pm - FOX

Scandal - 9pm - ABC

How to get away with Murder - 10pm - ABC

 

Happy Sunday!

I hope you have a great week!

 

Pirate Day Doughnuts!

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and Krispy Kreme is celebrating by offering FREE doughnuts!

If you go into a Krispy Kreme and talk like a pirate, you will get one free doughnut.

But... if you go into a Krispy Kreme dressed like a pirate, you will get one DOZEN free doughnuts!

I first read about the special at Southern Savers and she still has all the details listed in this link.

So- for two weeks I have been asking Ben if he would drive Elizabeth and I to Krispy Kreme to get our free doughnuts.  He agreed to drive us but I knew there was no way Ben would dress up (I did get Elizabeth to dress up- kind of).

There were a ton of people there this morning- adults and kids dressed in their best pirate gear.  We picked up two dozen free doughnuts and enjoyed a couple for breakfast this morning.

 Yay for FREE doughnuts!

My pirate attire.

(I promise Elizabeth was dressed as a pirate, but she took off her 

eye patch and bandana before we could get a picture)

(I received a lot of comments on being a very pregnant pirate)

Happy Fall Y'all!

I've started decorating our house for fall and I am loving some of my "new" decorations.  I say "new" because I bought them on clearance at the end of the season last year. 

I decorate for fall with some pumpkins, leaves, and scarecrows and then add some more decorations for Halloween and then replace those for Thanksgiving.

Having a two-year-old does make decorating a slight challenge since she wants to look, touch, and examine everything.  On the positive side- she thinks all the decorations are just for her and refers to them as "my pumpkin" or "my scarecrow" and "I love my decorations!"

 A scarecrow and pumpkin by the movies

(These are "Elizabeth's decorations")

On the bar, I added a little scarecrow and a cute pumpkin

These pumpkins are part of my "new decorations" that I purchased last year.

(Please excuse the drying rack full of dishes)

 On our china cabinet, I added an autumn table runner to the middle shelf,

some gold pumpkins to the Waterford bowl,

and the fall foliage to the top.

 The foliage and gold pumpkins are also part of my "new decorations"

 The gold pumpkins in our Waterford bowl.

A closeup of our fall table runner.

Happy Fall Y'all!

A letter to my first

Dear Elizabeth,

I've been wanting to write you this letter for awhile, and then last night I was flooded with emotion and thoughts that I wanted to write down. 

My life changed forever when I found out I was pregnant with you and it changed again forever 36 weeks ago when I found out I was pregnant with your sister.

I cannot even begin to describe or explain how you have changed my life for the better, but I am going to try.

You light up my heart.  I feel a brightness inside me when I see your face each morning and I am overwhelmed with love for you.  Each night when you are asleep, your dad and I sneak into your room and look at you and give you more goodnight kisses.

Since I stopped working this summer, we have developed a wonderful morning routine that involves lots of hugs, snuggles, and cuddles.  I know this will not last forever and I am cherishing each moment as it comes.

You are kind.  You are loving.  And you, my beautiful daughter, are hilarious.  You love to get a laugh out of your parents and you have a cute, sly smile when you accomplish your mission for laughter.

You can be quiet and shy, or loud and outgoing.  You shyly approach new people and then want to put on a show for them as soon as you have warmed up to them.

You are obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and each morning ask for "milk and Mickey Mouse".  You know what you like and you know what you want.

You love to sing and dance, and you love for your parents to dance with you.  However, you do not enjoy your parents singing with you- as you point out anytime we try to sing.

You have developed a love of chocolate that I am quite proud of.  :)

You love to have picnics and play dress up.  You love to build towers with your blocks or ride your car around the living room. 

You love to read and color and do arts and crafts projects.

You love to play with your friends and you have gotten really good at asking to take a turn and share toys with your friends.

You know Jesus and you love him.

At the beginning of this letter I said I was going to try and explain how you have changed my life for the better.  And it is better because of all the things I listed above.  The sweet, smart, beautiful girl that you are.  All that you are.  Has changed my life for the better. 

Because of all these things, I know that you are going to be a great big sister. 

I have been nervous, panicked, and excited to add another child to our family.  But I know with the addition of your baby sister- our love and fun will only grow and multiply.

Being an older sister myself, I know and understand the pressure you will feel as you get older.  Please know that we will always love you, your baby sister will love you, and that we are proud of you.

You are my baby.  My first.  My ''big girl". And as this season of our lives change, I know it will be for the better. 

Thank you for being you.

I love you.

Mom

Taking you home from the hospital

House Update: Dining Room Wall

As we continue to update our house and make little changes here and there, I continue to blog about it.  :)

Owning our own home is such a joy and privilege and we thoroughly enjoying maintaining and updating it.  I love being able to turn a space into how I want it to look (even if it takes a long time). 

We have been looking for the right piece to go over our bar for the past year and we have searched high and low.  Our last update on the dining room was my post in August. 

When we purchased our new dining room table, we earned a gift certificate to Pier 1 and a coupon (double yes!) and so I have been searching their website for the past two months for something to go in our dining room.  I really wanted a painting but then I saw this sunburst mirror (on clearance!) and thought it would look great in our dining room.

Here is how our dining room wall looks after Ben hung our new sunburst mirror:

Happy Tuesday!