Aunt Leanne Names the Baby

Aunt Leanne has three and half years of experience at this aunt job and she thinks she's quite the authority on the subject of babies.  For as long as I can remember, she's been very interested in babies and children.  She's always fussing over babies in church and at the grocery store.  She just can't help herself.

Aunt Leanne and newborn Josie

Without needing anyone's permission, Leanne scoops up my children and nurtures them with full entitlement.  She never hesitates to offer her input on parenting either ("F+.  You should put her in time out FOREVER!").  

During their last visit, my mom and Leanne were walking out the door one afternoon and Leanne looks me right in the eye and very seriously proclaims "Elizabeth, I want you to know that I support you in this (gestures to my stomach).  I am here for you.  You have my support"

My mom and I just exchanged confuses glances like 'Huh?!  Where did that come from?'  It was so random!  I felt like an unwed teenager who was seeking approval!  But I couldn't help but giggle and say "Thanks, Leanne."  It was a very kind albeit strange statement but Leanne's unpredictability and candor are among her best qualities!

Aunt Leanne and newborn Merryn (notice the absence of my mom's hoovering arms the second time around.  LOL!  Leanne will probably carry baby #3 around in her backpack and no one will notice)

With the same entitlement and authority that Leanne grants her support for this third pregnancy, she also has taken the liberty of naming baby number 3 (Pardon the background noise - we were in Starbucks):

My favorite part is how if Travis doesn't like that suggestion, Leanne will choose a different one.  So I guess he has veto power but no jurisdiction over actually coming up with a name for his own child.

We actually do have a name selected if it's a boy.  But Leanne doesn't like this name because it's a family name, hence, it's already "taken".  That's why she plays the Aunt Leanne trump card.  Something tells me even if it IS a boy, and even if we DO use the name we've selected, Aunt Leanne will call him whatever she wants to - just like she does with the other kids!

As for girl names, Leanne likes "Suzy"...That's a lovely suggestion but we're still receptive to others.  Merryn thinks the baby should be called "Baby Bottle" and Josie thinks the baby should be called "Taylor Swift".  Um, yeah...so the jury is still out!

Ultrasound and Pregnancy Photos

Well, our big secret has been revealed: we are expecting Baby #3 in May!  In case you missed Leanne's announcement, you need to check it out (click HERE).  I wasn't sure how she would announce it but I knew no one could deliver the news quite like she did.  She did not disappoint; especially when she explained how they get the baby out - OUCH!

Here's our first official picture of the new kiddo.  The family resemblance is undeniable, isn't it?!  Ha!

 And here's what will likely be the last picture you see of me pregnant,  so enjoy it.  I'm not one of these stand-in-the-mirror-in-nothing-but-a-sports-bra-and-take-weekly-selfies kind of gals.  Don't get me wrong - I love a good baby bump photo as much as the next person.  I just don't love being the subject.  If my last pregnancy was any indication, just Google "Shamu" and that's a pretty spot-on depiction of what I'll look like.

We will find out the gender at the end of December IF the baby cooperates a little bit better than this one did...

Merryn is going to be the BEST big sister.  She already has a "Big Sister" shirt and if she had her way, she would wear it every day.  In fact, that's how we announced the pregnancy to Mama Hop - we had Merryn wear the "Big Sister" shirt when my mom was here in October.  Unfortunately, Mama Hop just assumed it was a hand-me-down shirt from Josie and she thought nothing of it.  That idea was a bust!  LOL! 

 Merryn is very excited about the new baby, although we suspect she assumes I'm carrying a Cabbage Patch doll instead of a human being.  She said "Mom has a baby in her belly and I have a baby in my bed!"  We've been talking about the baby frequently and the other night Merryn exclaimed "Let's get it out now!"  Poor thing is going to have to hold her horses...

 We're not sure if Josie understands the whole pregnancy thing but she is very interested in the babies she encounters in public so we know she'll be thrilled to have her very own baby to dote on.

 And as for those who wonder what the heck we are thinking having three kids four and under...well, some days I am among those wondering what the heck we were thinking!  But I remind myself that ever since we embarked upon this journey called parenthood, we have known happiness, fulfillment, and love in ways that we never experienced before starting a family.  It's not always easy, but it's always worth it.  We are over the moon in love with these two little girls of ours and we are so grateful for the opportunity to welcome another child into our family.

As everyone is well aware, my sister has been the most influential person in my life.  I love her beyond what words can explain.  So I believe siblings are a true blessing and I am grateful to be able to give my children the opportunity to experience this type of bond.  I'm already looking forward to holidays decades from now when Travis and I have adult children and their families flood into our home and fill the place with activity and noise.  I picture them reminiscing about their childhood saying "remember the time we..." and dissolving into laughter.

Alright, alright...I better wrap this up now before the hormone-induced sappiness gets too nauseating!  Thank you to everyone for your kind words and well-wishes.  Stay tuned as we explore the complexities of baby names with special guest, Aunt Leanne.

Aunt Leanne and the Big Announcement

The best Aunt Leanne video of the year is finally making it's debut here on CCE.  It would have been posted sooner, but it started out as a 12 minute interview so there was a lot of editing required to get down to the (mostly) pertinent stuff.  Without further ado:

Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving (in no particular order)

Okay, where were we? Ah yes, Christmas.  First Christmas, then Thanksgiving. I know, I know - it doesn't make any sense but that's how it worked out this year so play along...Since Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne won't be back for Christmas, Mama Hop planned a lovely meal and gift exchange at the condo.  Upon walking in, we were greeted by red and gold gifts scattered about.

Mama Hop and her trusty elf had clearly been busy wrapping presents.  Here's that trusty elf with her cherished "brother" - aren't they lovable?

 Josie's most anticipated gift was Big Hugs Elmo.  Because of her affectionate nature, we knew she'd love it.  Besides, who doesn't love Elmo?!  

 The biggest box was for Merryn - it was a pretty impressive peddle car.  I'm sure you'll see her driving that bad boy around the block come Spring.

 But despite the grandiose nature of that enormous box, Merryn's favorite gift was her preschool prep book from Mama Hop.  She sat and flipped through that thing forever!  We have quite the little scholar on our hands.

 Fast forward to Thanksgiving.  My mom and I were reminiscing about how the last couple of Thanksgivings we spent together were really hard.  Thanksgiving 2010 was the last time I saw my Grandpa before he passed away, and Thanksgiving 2011 was the last time I saw my father before he passed of cancer.  Both men were in really poor health with bleak diagnoses which made the holiday difficult to enjoy.  There's always a fear that those difficult memories will undermine the joy on future holidays but that really was not the case this year.  Having my mom's cousin, John Perry, and his family join us gave us something new to look forward to that certainly enhanced the festivity and boosted our spirits.

 As previously mentioned, Thanksgiving was not without its blunders.  First, I dropped a whole bottle of wine in the driveway.  After I cleaned up the broken glass, Travis dumped a bucket of water on the wine to attempt to clear the mess and avoid a Cabernet stain.  That resulted in a nasty ice patch forming right where we all parked.  Then John Perry sliced right through the foil roasting pan while he was carving the turkey - I'm sure it was nothing more than an empathetic gesture to make me feel less foolish about the wine debacle.  Either way, it was pretty funny.

 The girl's had a great time with John Perry's son, "Godfather" (his real name is Jeff but my girls don't know that.  Ever since their baptism, he answers to "Godfather").  Apparently all kids love Godfather but Merryn took a particular liking to him.  You see this picture below?  He snagged her a piece of turkey while his dad was carving it.  He then proceeded to provide her with an endless supply of Cheetos.  She was glued to his side throughout the rest of the day.

 One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving 2013 is that I learned to use the timer on my camera.  I set up the tripod, push the button, and the camera waits a few seconds before it takes 10 consecutive shots.  The biggest benefit of the timer is that the photographer (me) can run and get in the picture.  The biggest drawback is that there is no one up by the camera singing and dancing around like a fool to attempt to get the children to look and smile.  I mean, it's hard enough to get everyone to look and smile when the photographer is behind the camera:

 Travis and Leanne were kind enough to help me practice using this new camera feature.  The 10 rapid-fire shots along with Leanne's unwavering commitment to her job as a model, contrasted by Travis' complete failure to take any aspect of this task seriously totally lent itself to the funniest flip book ever:

I love those two!  And while I got about 39 terrible family photos with plenty of crying, whining, blurry images, and eyes gazing anywhere but at the camera, I managed to get one tolerable Thanksgiving shot thanks to Leanne standing next to the tripod emphatically re-enacting scenes from High School Musical with a toy microphone. Merryn looks underwhelmed but at least she's facing forward!

Mama Hop & Aunt Leanne's Visit in Photos

I'm leaving on a jet plane...bellowed from the depths of Mama Hop's lungs as she waved goodbye from the airport yesterday.  No, actually there were no cheesy sixties serenades but I could totally picture that happening.  Watch - she'll do it next time just to embarrass me.  I only joke to distract from the sadness that that their departure leaves.  But before you get too down in the dumps, hear me out:  Aunt Leanne will fill several more posts with her signature charisma and humor, and when we run out of that, we have what will likely be the best post of the year so stay with us!

These past 10 days with Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne flew by, as time tends to do when two smiling faces show up to pick up your toddlers every morning so you can enjoy some much needed R&R (Ha!  Who am I kidding?!  R&R translates to doing laundry and running errands without toddlers in tow and that, my friends, is a mother's definition of a vacation!)  Check out Mama Hop & Aunt Leanne's tundra gear: 

 That fur on Aunt Leanne's hood makes me giggle every time I look at it.  All week, I would glance in my rear view mirror and see nothing but  an enormous lion's mane of faux fur engulfing her adorable face.

You know the girls enjoyed every minute of their time with Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne.  

 From bathing to dressing, from braiding hair to putting on footwear, from zipping coats to buckling car seats, Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne took over and surrounded these girls with fun times and love. 

Josie was particularly delighted to be in the presence of the only person who appreciates endless displays of affection as much as she does.

While I was off Christmas shopping and attending to my domestic drudgery, the girls were having a fantastic time at the condo.  Mama Hop even let the girls help her bake cookies.  She's much braver than I am, folks.  And I can't help but giggle when I go to retrieve my children and Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne's incredibly orderly, adults-only dwelling, looks like it's been hit by a hurricane (Hurricane Merryn to be exact).

Ah but even though Merryn gets a F+ for tidiness, Aunt Leanne can't help but love her.

With the holidays upon us, it was time to start decorating over at our house.  I got myself in way over my head by jumping on board with this decorative mesh craze only to realize that after six unsuccessful tree-wrapping attempts later, it was never going to be Pinterest-worthy.  Lucky for me, my personal creativity consultant was in town to save the day.

Thank goodness her trusty sidekick was there to help (that is, if "helping" entails resting on one's laurels, sipping hot chocolate, singing along to Christmas music, and cheesing it up for the camera).  You've gotta love Aunt Leanne!

I'm very pleased with the end result!  The Christmas tree inhabits the awkward corner of our kitchen nicely and the house now contains the perfect amount of holiday cheer.

Kind of makes you want to break out in the José Feliciano classic, "Feliz Navidad"...

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart!!!!

Sorry, I can't help myself.  I love that song.

 I think the only thing this place is missing is wine glasses.  We could really use a few more wine glasses.

Be sure to tune in to the next post to witness all the fun we had at Thanksgiving and our Christmas gift exchange.  "Thelma" and Leanne did the gift wrapping.  Talk about entertainment.  

And don't forget to check back soon to catch an exciting, hilarious and unforgettable, "must-see" Aunt Leanne video.  

CCE Condolences

I had another post almost ready to publish when I got some sad news from my mom: her beloved cat, Neko, passed away. 

 Neko (Japanese word for "cat") was a beautiful Siamese cat.  As a part of the family, he received several mentions on CCE, so it's only right that we acknowledge his life and his passing.  He was arrogant and aloof in a way that cat lovers find incredibly endearing.

 Failing to exude many qualities that the general public would consider particularly appealing, he has been the target of an anonymous death threat, he has been quarantined because of a particularly violent encounter with a pizza delivery man, and he has bitten more visitors than we care to mention...

...but Mama Hop always points out how he never bit Leanne.  He was extremely gentle around both of my children as well.  And Mama Hop would justify the aforementioned character assassination by saying that Neko took his role as the man and protector of the house very seriously.  What some people perceive as an villainous feline, Mama Hop considers a good guard cat.

So let's take a moment to pay our respects to Neko and to extend our extend our sympathies to Mama Hop, Aunt Leanne, and her surviving kitty, Art C.  Rest in peace, Neko.  It's been a fun ride.

What Aunt Leanne is Thankful For

My computer is still being operated on by my beloved computer surgeon hubby so he reluctantly agreed to let Leanne write a brief blog post on his computer.  We managed to dig up one photo to include.  Cross your fingers in the hopes that my computer has a speedy recovery because we've got lots of FUN stories to tell and pictures to share!  Without further ado, here's Aunt Leanne:

 

HEY EVRBODY  I HERE SITER HOUSE

 

(paragraph removed because it contains a big secret)

 

THANK FOR

 HAPPPY

JOY

LOVE

LEAANNE

SISTER NICKNME

IS

CHESESEBGHREAD

NICKNAME