Jan 11 - And baby makes five...

In case you hadn't already heard, the McLochlin family will soon be adding another member. No, it's not another cat or dog or fish (though Maddie has been asking for a hamster.) Nope, it's a human baby this time. I'm currently due on June 1st, but will probably be having a c-section the third or fourth week in May, depending on my doctor's availability.

To say that the girls are excited would be an understatement. Here is a picture of the little note Maddie wrote to the baby today as we were waiting for our 20 week ultrasound:

Dear baby, would you let us see you

We had mentioned to them there might be a chance we could find out whether the baby was a boy or girl. It all actually depended on whether or not Bill wanted to know. That's because I already knew. Yes, I've known for the past month or so what we are having, but I've kept it to myself. See, Bill and I had originally planned to wait until the baby was born to find out. We were excited about the surprise. Well...

I went to my appointment last month and happened to bring the girls with me, as it was during a time after school. The girls were excited to see the baby and my doctor agreed to show them on the ultrasound. I hadn't even planned on finding out anything. We were all just excited to see the baby moving around and waving. (The girls were in awe.) So, I'm lying there and my doctor suddenly asks,

Did you want to know the sex? Because I know the sex if you want to know. I can REALLY tell.

Now, tell me what YOU would say at that moment! Curiosity overcame me and I agreed she could tell me, but not to let the girls know (since I knew they would probably tell Bill who didn't want to know.) Her reply was, Well, does XY mean anything to you? Yes, I know what those two little letters mean, but it really took me a couple of minutes to wrap my brain around it. I was just in such shock.

So, I kept this little secret to myself for the past month or so. I'm a HORRIBLE liar, so I tried not to say anything at all about it if possible. Bill soon realized that I knew and would try to trick me into accidentally saying something. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a secret from someone who is trying to get it out of you, but you're keeping the secret because he really doesn't want to know? Trust me, it's very difficult!

Well, today was our 20 week ultrasound. We discussed finding out beforehand, but I told Bill it was completely up to him. He was undecided (for reasons he can explain in a separate post) all the way up until the ultrasound began. The tech asked if he wanted to know. He said that he wasn't sure, so she said she would wait until later to even check that area. First, she would do some measurements while he thought about it. Well, the first thing she measured was the baby's stomach. And, of course, it was quite obvious that there was some extra anatomy near that little stomach and those long little legs. A few minutes later she asked again and Bill said that she could tell him. She then pointed out that we are having a little BOY!

Yes, I already knew, but in that moment I just lost it. Bill and I were both teary-eyed, and the girls were jumping up and down. They had wanted a brother all along! In fact, while we were in the waiting room, Maddie had been mentioning she hoped it was a boy. When Bill asked how she would feel if it turned out to be a little sister, she said she would be only a little disappointed!

According to the tech, everything looked good. The baby is healthy and actually measuring more than a week bigger. They didn't move my due date, but instead said they'll just keep an eye on how big he is as time progresses. It was so amazing to see the ultrasound. It was so different than the ones we had seen when Maddie and Josie were babies. It had so much detail. We saw his little lips and nose and eyelids. He spent most of the time with this hands up by his face, a finger in his mouth. Then he took his finger out of his mouth and started opening and closing his mouth, almost as if he was babbling to us. The tech said he was probably swallowing fluid. She then showed us his little heart (we could see chambers and all), his spine, his long legs (just like Maddie's ultrasound), and his bladder. She showed us his bladder again later in the ultrasound and noticed that it was smaller. Apparently, he had emptied it during that time. One of those things you never think about the baby doing while it's in the womb...

We've already had some people ask, but although we did cave in and find out the sex, we aren't telling the name until he's born. One reason is that we actually haven't decided between the 2 names we have in mind yet, and we want to see which suits him better. The other is that now we have to leave something as a surprise. So, everyone will have to wait until May to see what this little guy is going to be called.

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Jan 11 - Snow in Atlanta!

Last week saw our first glimpse of snow in over a year (even though most of our family up north has been seeing it for quite a while now.) We got one night of it last year, but it melted right away. This time around it snowed all night and was still there the next morning. School was canceled on Friday, and the girls woke up almost more excited than they had been on Christmas morning. Fearing it would melt soon, I agreed that we could skip breakfast for the time being and head outside to play in it. Little did I know after 20 minutes of bundling them up, that the "snow" was actually now just sheets of white ice covering everything in sight. The girls had wanted to build a snowman, but instead ended up playing with the icicles they could find.

Josie stayed outside for a total of 15 minutes, and Maddie stayed only 5 more minutes after that. I can't blame them, though. It was COLD! 13 degrees out, at 8:30 in the morning, and I didn't want to stay out much longer either. We came inside and bundled up on the couch and drank hot chocolate and watched movies for the rest of the morning. A perfect winter weekend.

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Jan 11 - Christmas 2009

We had an amazing Christmas this year. Even though it seems like it suddenly sprang out of nowhere, we had been filling the weeks prior with lots of holiday-related activities: Stone Mountain Christmas, Lights of Life holiday lights display, school holiday parties, making Christmas cookies and ornaments and gingerbread houses, and many more that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Not to mention celebrating Christmas Day with my family and having another celebration a week later with Todd and Amanda.

I love how worked up the girls get each year as they anticipate the holiday. I dread the year that comes when they aren't bouncing all over the place with excitement. This year they both wrote letters to Santa and he, in turn, gave them a call at home one day to let them know he got their letters and that he would be visiting soon. It was a moment we should have caught on tape. Both their jaws dropped when they realized who was on the phone. They were thrilled to wake up on Christmas and find that they had not coal in their stockings, but exactly what they'd hoped.

We hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season!

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Nov 23 - Maddie's story

Maddie's class has a period of time each week that they focus on creative writing. Last week she brought home her first story for us to read. She had been talking about it all week, excited for us to get the chance to read it. I'll share it here with you (copied completely as it was written, spelling and all) so you can enjoy it as well. We think she did pretty well! It looks like she takes after her dad... perhaps we have another writer on our hands?

Once upon a time, there was a princess. Her name was Maddie Elise McLochlin. One day, there was a war with the kings. Their names were King Authur and King Tony. King Tony's land was fearless with fright in every corner. King Authur's was fun and cheerful in every corner. Princess Elise was forced to marry Prince Coco, but she did not want to.

She left for the finest castle in the universe. There was a kind prince. He knew that she was in trouble with King Tony! "I have to save her." So the prince went on and on and on and on. When he came upon dancing porky pines doing the cha cha, he had to fight them off. Then he had passed the first quest yay! So the prince went on and on and on and on. When he came upon yelling Coco Puffs he had to round them up! "Yay" he has past the second quest. So the prince went on and on and on and on. When he came upon skiping dinosaurs it was loud but he could do it! He fought the dinosaurs so much they died. "Yay" the third quest is done. So the prince went on and on and on and on until he saw the princess. He climbed up her hair and saved her. "OH! Prince you saved me" she said. They both climbed down with the sowrd and were married. The end.

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Nov 20 - In a nutshell

Well, where do you even start when you're 2 months behind on blogging? It has been an amazingly busy Fall for us. I know I say that every year, what with holidays and no less than 12 birthdays just between August and November, but this year set a new record. I didn't anticipate how much our schedule would change with not only two kids in school, but also a teaching schedule on top of it. But am I complaining? Not one bit. It's been such a fun joyride so far!

In hopes of sparing you the longest catch-up post ever, I'll condense the past few months for you.

September:

- School field trips to Sunny Patch Farms for pumpkin-picking. Josie's, Maddie's, and my classes all participated on a gorgeous day. Thankfully, Bill was able to attend as well, so the two of us split our time between the girls and my class own class. It was a juggle, but lots of fun, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

- Trip to the North Georgia State Fair with Uncle Todd and Amanda. Jungle animal shows, a petting zoo, rides, clowns, and games. The highlight for the girls seems to have been the music-playing pig. No, I'm not kidding.

- Atlanta Greek Festival. Baklava, Spanikopita, kiddie rides, and Greek music and dancing. Opa! It felt like a walk down memory lane, as my family attended Greek Orthodox Church when I was little. All the flavors and colors and music came flooding back to me. The girls really seemed to enjoy it as well.

October:

- The girls' 1st rodeo, including riding a mechanical bull! We got the chance to go while Grandma and Grandpa were visiting, so they had the wonderful opportunity to experience it as well. I was so impressed with the cowboys and their skills. I definitely would have been nervous around some of those bulls!

- Maddie turns 6! She spent her birthday weekend with breakfast at IHOP (her favorite), a Superhero-themed birthday party at the park with her friends, and lunch at The American Girl Cafe. She also picked out her very first American Girl doll, Kirsten, a present she'd been requesting for months. Like years past, we were so lucky to have many of our family members in town for her birthday: Grandma & Grandpa, Nana & Poppa, Aunt Mic & Uncle Heath, and Uncle Todd.

- Apple-picking at Hillcrest Orchards in the North Georgia mountains. It was our first year going here and we loved it. The girls picked apples, milked a cow, petted various farm animals, participated in a tricycle race, and enjoyed the gorgeous warm Georgia weather. We may have started a new annual tradition.

- And we finished off October with a fantastic Halloween. The girls each celebrated with class parties at their school. We also attended a pumpkin-carving party at the home of the Hites. Halloween night ended up being rainy and cold, and Maddie hadn't been feeling well earlier in the day, so we took the girls trick or treating at the local mall. They got a chance to get some candy while still keeping warm and dry.

and that leads us to November:

- A school field trip to The Center for Puppetry Arts to see the show "Dinosaurs." The girls loved the show. We'd been there before to see "Cinderella" but this was a much different experience. A little darker and more serious, but very educational.

- The girls each had their class Thanksgiving parties this week, as they are out of school all next week. Yes, we did only have their Halloween party 3 weeks ago, and yes, we will have Christmas/holiday parties another 3 weeks from now, but that's what makes this time of year fun, right? It's all about the celebration!

We hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy as we wind down to Thanksgiving next week. We will staying here and hosting, as we do every year. My family will be coming from Alabama for dinner that day, as well as an old high school friend of mine and her family.

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Nov 20 - McLochlin theater

Have I mentioned just how much I love sitting back and listening to Maddie and Josie play together? Especially when they decide to play dress-up and put on plays for each other.

I'm sitting here currently listening to an original play that sounds like a twist between "Cinderella" and Barbie's "Princess & the Pauper." Josie just walked into the room, dressed to the nines in her princess dress and heels, declaring to Maddie,

Excuse me, fine lady. I can no longer work for you and do sewing. Don't you realize I'm supposed to be a princess, sitting in a castle being beautiful? I have no time for this!

Josie exits the stage in a huff. End scene.

I love these little girls. :)

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Sep 27 - Josie's 1st day of Pre-K

I can't believe I'm writing this almost a month late, but what else is new right? I thought having one child in school kept us busy, now with 2 in school, as well as teaching job, well, time is no longer ours.

Josie started her first day of Pre-K on September 8th. She chose her favorite meal the night before: pasta with butter and cheese. We followed with baths and a bedtime story (First Day Jitters, a gift from her cousins) and soon it was time to go to bed. I know she was so excited as it took Josie longer than usual to fall asleep that night.

If you'd asked me two years, or even one year, ago to describe Josie's first day of school, I'd have probably said that she would be very shy and maybe even a little upset at having to leave Mommy and Daddy behind. Little did I know! Josie walked into school full of confidence. I just barely got her to turn back so I could take a picture. She was too excited to get inside and see her friends and teachers.

Later that day when I picked her up from school, she talked nonstop about her day. She absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to go back the next day. She adores her teachers and loves to tell us stories about her friends and the things they play at recess every day. I have gotten only good reviews from her teachers as well, who proclaim her to be very attentive and a great listener. I look forward to her class Halloween party in a few weeks, where I'll get the chance to see her interact with her friends in her classroom.

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Aug 26 - Josie's Meet & Greet

We attended the Meet & Greet for Josie's class this afternoon. She got a chance to see her new classroom and meet her new teachers and classmates. She was EXCITED.

Josie's class is called the Lions class, hence the jungle theme in the classroom. Her teachers Mrs. Dominguez and Mrs. Onsager are so sweet, and Josie already declared tonight that she thinks they are the "nicest teachers ever."

The class did a little craft project, decorating their own picture frames. Afterwards, I gave Josie my camera and let her walk around and take some pictures herself. She made sure to take a pic of every single item in the classroom that had her name on it. She really loved seeing her name written everywhere.

Tonight at bedtime, I was asking Josie how she liked the class and the other students. There are only 2 other girls in the class of 9 kids, so she was especially happy to get to sit next to those two little girls today. "And, Mommy," she said, "those are MY friends. Maddie doesn't even know them yet!"

I was so caught up in watching Josie work the room today, and just taking it all in, that it didn't really hit me that my baby is going to school until I was uploading pictures tonight. I'm a little sad that she's getting so old so fast, but I'm also so excited for her because I know this is something she has been looking forward to for the past year or so. Though a little more shy than Maddie most of the time, Josie is still a very outgoing, social kid who loves to play with other kids of any age. I just know she is going to love her time at school this year.

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Aug 25 - Maddie's first day of 1st grade

As we mentioned before, the 1st and 2nd grades at the girls' school started a few weeks earlier than the younger grades. Maddie's first day was last Thursday. She had half days on Thursday and Friday, and this week started full days (until 3pm.) It has been a transition, but a good one. I feel like we're already in a good groove just a week into the school year.

She had a great time last week seeing her old friends again. She was so excited to tell them about her two loose teeth. Well, Saturday afternoon we were all milling about, getting ready to go out when Bill was talking to Maddie about how he pulled out his loose teeth when he was little. He told her just to gently pull the tooth forward more and more until... Well, Maddie did exactly as he explained and... POP! Out came her tooth! We were all so surprised! She, of course, was THRILLED! I'd planned on making her a little Tooth Fairy pillow to put under her own pillow for her first tooth, but I hadn't anticipated it happening so soon! I quickly whipped something up (which was so poorly done that I plan on redoing it) and she was able to put her tooth in it that night. The Tooth Fairy came, as promised, and left her a whopping $5. (FYI: I'd heard the going rate for the Tooth Fairy these days is $5 for the first tooth, followed by $1 for each tooth thereafter.) You should have seen her face when she woke up on Sunday morning. Maddie is usually the last one awake, and even then doesn't fully wake up until an hour later, but she bounded out of her room with a huge smile on her face, so excited to show us what the Tooth Fairy had left her!

You can't tell from this pic, but she was thrilled.

This week has proven to be really good so far too. I wasn't sure how Maddie would handle the long days, but despite being a little grumpy, she's done okay. It's hard to still fit in some of her usual daily quiet time when she comes home and plays for a while and then has homework, dinner, bath, etc. We're still ironing that part out. Plus, this year she has P.E. on three days a week, so that wears her out even more.

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