Welcome Addison Wrigley!

Thursday started off as a normal day, Izze and I built a pink lego house, did some laundry, and had some breakfast.  Around 10:15am I took realized my water had broke.  I really wasn't sure if it really was my water so I got Izze cleaned up. called Drew, my mom and the doctor.  While waiting for Drew to come home I had 100% confirmation when I thought I wet my pants : )

Thursday was quite snowy so we finally got to the hospital around 12:30pm.  They had me walk around a bit until the doctor could see me and to speed things up a bit.  The doctor finally came in around 2pm and told me I wasn't going crazy, just in labor.  The day seemed to pick up from there when they brought some drugs to speed up the labor process.  Around 7pm everything went into fast forward and by 8am I started pushing.  Only 19 minutes later I was holding my beautiful baby girl.

Addison was just as perfect as Isabel and I am so blessed to have 2 healthy beautiful baby girls.  Drew brought Izze in first before the rest of the group.  She was more excited to use her new camera to take pictures of her baby sister than she was to hold her.  Izze did get some kisses in and finally held her before grandma, grandpa, Auntie Stephanie, Paige and Auntie Carrie joined the fun.

Life is great in the Halbesma house and we couldn't be more thankful for our family and friends.

Happy New Year!

Where did 2010 go? I feel like I just got used to writing (and typing) 2010 now I need to work on 2011.
Well, lots of exciting things are in store for us in 2011, we are anxiously awaiting baby #2's arrival any day now and I think I have been going through what they call the "nesting" stage.   This past week I have completely cleaned and organized our wine room desk, Izze's playroom and the baby's room.  I'm not sure how much time I will have in a few weeks, so the timing seemed great.

Last night we had a quiet New Years, just the 3 of us.  Drew made us steaks and I made crab legs.  Izze didn't like the crab legs much and it was funny because she thought they were called "crap legs".

After dinner we played Rock Band (again Izze's idea), she thinks she is playing even though her drums are not plugged in.  Izze was in bed by 8:30 and amazingly enough Drew and I made it until around 12:30am.

Well, here's wishing you a wonderful and prosperous New Year!

Let the Countdown Begin

Well, we are down to our final weeks, what a quick pregnancy this has been.  I remember waiting and waiting for Izze even though she was almost 3 weeks early, but this time I am just trying to enjoy my final weeks of being pregnant.  I really can't complain much, I never had morning sickness, haven't had too many completely sleepless nights, haven't put on as much weight as I did with Iz, and my hubby has been pretty good to me.  Besides the fluctuating blood pressure, all seems to be well with the world.

Isabel has been an amazing little girl, she always wants to help mommy out.  She has become such a little person with her own personality and I love every conversation we have.  Tonight we were making foam snowmen (craft of the day) and Izze said to me "mom, when I grow up I want to be just like you".  Maybe it's the pregnancy, but I was quite emotional : )  Either I have a super brown noser for a child, or she is very sweet and appreciates her mommy.

Well, as I begin week 33 of my pregnancy and my countdown to Christmas vacation (7 more teaching days to be exact), all seems right with the world.  Merry Christmas : )

Holidays

This is my absolute FAVORITE time of year! I just love the glistening Christmas lights, the smell of cookies in the oven, the adorable knit hats for little ones, the chill in the air, and just the mood of those you are around. Our house welcomed our "Elf on the Shelf" on Thanksgiving morning. Isabel was shaking with excitement! This year Santa sent her a girl elf which Izze named Snow. Snow watches Izze over the next month taking note of the good and bad things she does. Snow then "magically" reports to Santa each night. Drew and I LOVE our little elf Snow, she brings out the best in Izze.

This Wednesday we start our Advent calendar countdown. Stay tuned, more excitement to come....

One of those days!

Have you ever had one of those days where you forget to actually sit down? Today was one of those days. I am 7 months pregnant and worked my buns off from 7am until 5pm. It actually hurts to sit down if you can believe that. My doctor appointment went well despite my high blood pressure (go figure).

The Halbesma's are looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving this Thursday for 22 people (the last time I counted). It should be a nice event and despite the work, I do enjoy having family to our home.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! Please know that I am thankful for you!

Fast Lane

At times I wonder when life will slow down. Time continues to fly for me, we already have 2 months of school under our belts, I visited DC with my 8th graders, and meetings are in full swing. To top it all off in around 3 months my life will again change and our family of three will become the perfect 4. I pray things will slow down by then so I can enjoy every minute of it.

Lovin Fall

There's something about fall that I just love! Maybe it's because the weather is changing, maybe it's because we are back in the school routine, maybe it's because we celebrate my birthday, or maybe it's a little bit of everything. There is nothing like a chilly fall day when you can snuggle up with a cup of warm carmel apple cider and a good book (currently I am reading Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert). The Halbesma's have been enjoying the change in weather. You can still occasionally find us playing baseball in the yard or racing bicycles up and down the driveway, but it sure is fun doing some cooking, reading and snuggling.

This weekend we celebrated my birthday with some nice dinners, family an

d rest. Today we supported our parish and attended the Fall Festival. Drew and I enjoy the chicken dinner, while Izze enjoyed the kids games and painting a pumpkin. Isabel was our lucky charm today. She won so many tickets from the games (mostly by luck) and tripled her money in a betting game (shh I know she is only 3 years old). Finally, Auntie Stephanie had her peel a special matching game ticket and won her $25. I think she needs to go to Vegas when she is older : )

Happy Fall Everyone!