baby shoes

In my parents' entertainment center there is a wonderful collection of charming Hummels and exquisite porcelain figurines and beautiful snow globes. Among these precious treasures is a pair of tiny, black patent leather baby shoes. When we discovered we were expecting our first baby, we gift wrapped these shoes and gave them to my parents, explaining it was a "souvenir" from our trip to Europe and wanted to share with them. This announcement was so unexpected and they were thrilled. So now those precious little shoes sit in the cabinet among other treasures and precious items. They were joined by a second pair of shoes a seemingly short time later. And as of this weekend, joined by a third pair of baby shoes.

Three. Which means we will be completely outnumbered. :)

There are no words to describe how wonderful it is to watch our beautiful family grow. Being a parent is such an incredible journey filled with so many beautiful experiences (as well as chaos). Our first little girl made us wait for her. At the time, it seemed like such a long wait, accompanied by some discouraging and emotional experiences. But then the joy and anticipation of having her was incredible. Realizing the time and difficulty in having baby #1, we decided to encourage another child as soon as we could. Incidentally, that ended up being much sooner than we had imagined. Baby #1 had made us wait, but baby #2 was eager. And baby #3 was downright determined. Our girls are 18 months apart, something that has been both wonderful and exhausting. After having those two so close together, we felt we needed more spacing. But baby #3 disagrees and decided its time to join our family.

The realization was a shock. In fact, I denied my suspicions for several days because it should have been impossible. But once I saw that life-altering little plus sign, I became excited at the possibility, but still in disbelief at the probability. I called daddy and invited him home for lunch. I like making dramatic announcements, so despite my shock, I wanted to make this fun. I made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and as he came into the kitchen and observed his prepared lunch, he pointed out "um, there's a binky in your soup". I clarified that the binky was in his soup and watched as understanding came upon him. (I think he was even more shocked than I.)

So next came the doctor's appointment. I have to admit, I still harbored some disbelief. I half expected him to gently break the news that it had been a false positive test. Instead, he fired up the ultra sound machine and within seconds, I recognized the form of a small but thriving baby. Which meant not only was I really and truly expecting, but that the baby was further along than I thought. I heard baby's heartbeat, a strong and fast rhythm, and such an incredible sound. My baby is growing--a baby that I didn't expect but immediately love.

I'm eight weeks along and due in September. Which means baby 2 and baby 3 will be exactly two years apart. As far as how I'm feeling, I'm doing good (another reason for my disbelief). My stomach usually feels unsettled but I'm definitely not sick the way I immediately was with my girls (and desperately hope it stays that way). I'm exhausted but blessed with wonderful girls who still take naps and usually allow me the same. Baby 3 (as he or she will be called until assigned a more gender-specific nickname) is certainly a surprise but as the doc suggested, this baby simply knows its time to be part of our family.

3 kids under 4. ...oh dear...