Advent

This is one of our advent calendars. The little doors open and each day we take out two papers. One with a bible verse about Christmas and one with our advent activity for that day. Here are some of the fun things we've been doing to make Christmas a month-long celebration of our Savior!

• Snowflake Lane in Bellevue (we did this three times already! it's sooooo fun!)
• The Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach Camp
• Candy Cane Lane in Seattle
• Bellevue Botanical Gardens D'lights
• Decorate our Trees (we are so Christmasy, we have two!)
• Put lights up on our own house
• Put up lights in the kids' rooms
• Set up Nativity scences and talk about Jesus' birth
• Drink eggnog and read Christmas books by the fire
• Make and decorate cookies for gifts
• Go see Santa and take pictures
• Make an ornament with our Cousin Ethan
• Make gingerbread houses with Ethan
• Go shopping with kids for gifts for each other
• Molbaks to see the poinsettia tree and have kringle
• Eat Candy canes
• Take a walk in our neighborhood to look at people's lights
• Deliver Christmas gifts to our neighbors
• Daddy dates and Mommy dates
• Wrap presents for family together
• Watch movies together: The Grinch, Charlie Brown's Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life
• Sleep out by the Christmas tree

Here is Clara's gingerbread house. These kits are only $10 at Costco.

The angel ornament project. We tried to replicate an ornament I made in BSF when I was 6. It was fun to make the same thing with Clara and Ethan.

Merry Christmas!

Two Months

Late again posting this but at least I took the picture on the right day. Henry looks a little dazed in this picture but he is really as sweet as can be. At two months he is sleeping 8-9 hours each night(some of the other children in this house [both will remain nameless] didn't sleep through the night till at least 6 months and one of them 9 months, so Henry is earning big brownie points with Mama in that area). He is smiling basically anytime someone looks at him and starting to make louder and louder sounds which resemble a "HEY!" followed by another one of his cute little smiles. At his 8 wk appointment he was 12 pounds, 3 ounces.

Fashionista

Clara is really into ACCESSORIES lately....

This hat is a staple in her wardrobe and she mixes it up with her jewelry depending on her mood. She loves to wear a dress and turns her nose up at a "shirt and pants". She says, "Oh Mom, that's just a shirt and pants, that not "dressed up", I want to get dressed up." Good thing she has so many accessories in case she needs to spruce up a "shirt and pants" outfit.

Henry One Month

Henry! You are one month old. (you are six weeks old when I'm posting this.) At one month you weighed 10 pounds, 10 ounces. You have gained over two pounds since you were born! You've grown out of all your newborn clothes and are too long for some of your 0-3 month stuff. You are pleasant and calm and sweet. You actually harldy ever cry. Your awake time is getting longer and longer each day and you quietly look around and observe all the excitement in our house. You have been smiling and cooing at us. You "talk" the most to Jack when he gets in your face and yells, "OH BAAAYBEEE!". You love to cuddle and snuggle and be held a lot. You are a blessing and constant evidence of God's grace to us. We love you!

Henry's Fan Club

Henry is very loved by....

his happy Mama,his handsome Dada, Big Sister Clara(who specializes in having little brothers),
and Big Brother Jack!

We're a family of FIVE!!!

Here He Is!!!

Henry Conner Green

Born at home Friday, October 9, 2009 at 2:15pm.

He was 8lbs. 8 oz. and 22 inches long.

We are so happy and love getting to know this sweet little boy!

Guess Henry's Birthday!

38 weeks now and waiting and nesting.
Post a comment and guess his
Date of Birth:
Time:
Weight:

For hints and starters or just to throw you all off, Clara was born at 2:50am and weighed 6 pounds 1/2 an ounce. She was TINY! She was also just over THREE WEEKS EARLY! Jack was born at 10:40am and weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces. He was a TODDLER when he was born. He came the day before his due date.

When do you think Henry will be born??? Clara recently predicted that he will be born in 50 years. I am praying that she is wrong.

Second cousins once removed?

This baby is my cousin, Davy's new baby girl, Paisley Joy. (Isn't that just the cutest name?!?!?)She was born on 09.09.09 and is just a DOLL baby! This picture of Clara holding her, makes me excited for Clara to meet her second little brother. She was practically a baby when Jack was born but now she has such a bigger understanding of what's going on. She attends all my midwife appointments and helps measure my belly, take my blood pressure and listen to baby H's heartbeat. She thinks that she has a baby in her tummy too. She says his name is Arthur and that he's going to be born soon with a binky in his mouth....

Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS to Davy and Jake and Welcome Little Paisley Joy!

The Greatest Shower on Earth!

My sister, Laura and some close friends hosted a Circus shower for Henry last week. It was called, "The Henry Brother Circus" and what a party it was! This was a very creative theme for a baby shower. They went all out with food, decorations, signs and details. It was a fun party atmosphere complete with circus music. I especially loved the "Henry" stuff like the candy bars and rootbeer. Here are a few of my pictures, my sister has lots more.

Rootbeer belly.

And here I am at almost 34 weeks.

Thanks for the wonderful shower everybody. I felt truly honored and celebrated and am even more excited now for Henry's arrival.

Family Resemblance?

Sometimes I sit and wonder what Henry will look like when he's born. Then I remember he has a fairly good chance of looking just like his big sister and brother! We'll find out in about 6 weeks!

Clara one week old.

Jack one week old.

Lately

What I'm into:

• Counting down the weeks left in this pregnancy. I'm at 33 now so hopefully no more than 7 left.
• Halloween costumes for all THREE kids.
• Target. Really the best store for moms.
• All the earrings I got recently at....Target.
• Paint colors and decorating bedrooms for my boys.
• Baking any and all fruit crisps or desserts in general for Jeff
• Vanilla ice cream
• Facebook status updates
• Iced Americanos with Mocha
• Plain yogurt with peaches and agave

What I'm not into:

• McDonalds
• Prices on cute (not dopey) Halloween costumes
• French vanilla ice cream
• Heartburn
• Sleeping
• Cleaning the house
• Bending over
• The new Health Care legislation
• My rose bushes and their sheer lack of flowers
• Toys with many small parts

Pop Quiz

What do these things have in common?

Need a hint? They all share a very special NAME! After much deliberation and discussion over the subject, we are happy to share our third baby's name is:

Henry Conner Green

Henry is mostly in honor of my dad, whose middle name is Harry. (Harry is a popular nickname for Henry in England.) Conner is my Tutu's (Henry's great-grandma)maiden name. The name Henry means Home Rule, but our prayer for him is that he will allow God to rule his home and that he will have a servant's heart as he leads people and his own family well someday. We are excited to meet our Henry in October!

In case you didn't know, pictured above is Henry Ford with his model T, Oh Henry candy bar, Henry Huggins,(Beverly Cleary's first book), the Kate Spade "Henry" diaper bag, Prince Henry Charles of Wales, (Harry is his nickname.), and lastly, Henry Weinhards Beer. Thanks for playing!

Mostly for the grandparents

Jacky boy shows off some tricks and sings a song.

Happy Fourth of July!

An Early Summer Day's Dream

I found this little garden fairy in my yard this week.

BOY oh Boy!

It's a BOY! Pumpkin Baby is a Boy! He is healthy and big (measuring a week ahead) and never stopped moving the entire ultrasound. We feel thrilled that there are no problems but also a little surprised that he's a boy. I guess I would have felt surprised either way. Clara will not believe us and keeps saying, "well, it's not my brother, SHE'S my Sister." So we're working on convincing her of the fact that her and Mama are now outnumbered in the Green household! Jack doesn't get it yet, but I hope he's saying "baby" by the time his brother is born.


Congratulations to all of you that guessed correctly! 11 people guessed girl, and 6 guessed boy.

Now off to diliberate about boy names. Will take suggestions if you have them...

Boy or Girl?

Our 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for June 1st. This is less than one week away! Since we are planning a home birth, we chose to do this ultrasound to determine any health issues that would need to be addressed at the birth. Otherwise, we would probably skip all ultrasounds altogether. Getting just this one is fun though and kind of breaks up the pregnancy into two parts. Its like a reward for all that morning sickness, moodiness and weird-kinda-fat-but-not-really-looking-cute-and-pregnant-yet stuff at the beginning. PLUS, we get to find out the gender!

We did not find out the gender before Clara was born. It was so fun and mysterious to be in labor with her and not only get a baby at the end but finally find out if she was a boy or a girl. I actually held her for a while right after she was born without knowing. All I knew was that my baby was here(three weeks early!) and that "it" was the tiniest thing I had ever seen and I loved "them" so much. I love that I got to talk to her and see and hold her as my child before I knew she was my daughter. Finally, I said, "what is it?" and Jeff made the big announcement, "A Girl!"

With Jack, I knew I wanted to find out. I'm so glad we did cause I was in complete and utter shock for days and days when he was a boy. I'm still in shock. I have a boy. Wow. I was POSITIVE that he was a girl till I saw that ultrasound. My eyes saw before the tech had to explain what I was seeing. After that I couldn't stop laughing or hold still for the rest of the U/S or all day. I kept yelling(happy yells) "WHAT?! A BOY!"

So this time, I'm not making any guesses. No speculations. No predictions. Just wait till 20 weeks.

I feel super grateful for my Girl and Boy. While I'm excited and almost giddy to find out about this baby, I honestly feel no pressure either way. It's so relaxing. I already have a girl and I also have a boy. I'm not "hoping" for either one. I'd be so happy for Jack to gain a brother but also be thrilled for Clara to have a sister. I enjoy dreaming about girl names more than trying to pick a boy name but that's about it. I am so thankful I already have one of each. This one feels like a bonus!

So WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS??? Make a guess on here and check back next Monday for the big announcement. (You don't have to have an account to comment, you can just select "annonymous" and make your pick.

Here are some (unscientific) facts to help you make your pick: (these are based on my two previous pregnancies.) Again, I really have no intuition about this one.

Reasons it could be a GIRL:
~This baby is a surprise.
~My nails are growing fast and long.
~My Hair is growing thicker and shinier.
~I cry at AT&T commercials.
~I also cry at commercials for the Marines. Semper Fi. (I'm very patriotic.)
~I craved baked potatoes for 12 weeks at the beginning.
~I crave sunflower seeds. (ate them a lot with Clara. I know, B vitamins maybe?)
~I just painted my toenails bright pink.
~baby's movements feel gentle and calm inside me. (which reminds me more of Clara than Jack.)
~Baby's heartrate is in the 160's.
~Clara has said that Pumpkin Baby is a girl from the beginning. She uses full "girl" vocab for my belly and the baby: "she, her, my baby sister, when she's born she can borrow my red bow, etc".

Reasons it could be a BOY:
~I do not crave chocolate, would rather have candy.
~I do crave coffee flavor-not caffeine, just coffee. In a cup with a green mermaid on it.
~my nails have stopped growing so fast.
~I'm fairly grumpy and disagreeable. (this happened with Jack. With Clara I was a pregnant blissful Angel.)
~my belly feels low and heavy. (I know, I'm only 19.5 weeks. Third kid in three years, my abs are shot so this could mean nothing.)
~A handful of TMI reasons that I won't post here.
~I am unbelievably forgetful.
~I have a few girl names that I LOVE. But no boy names that I like much. (This is the most convincing reason that this child is a (nameless) BOY.)
~Baby moves often and fast.
~This chart was correct for both my other kids. http://www.webwomb.com/chinesechart.htm

So please make your guess and tell me why if you want. I'm trying to pass the time this week without going crazy! Next week at this time I'll be either sorting through Clara's baby clothes or Jack's baby clothes!

Nature or Nurture?

I thought Clara was so sweet, such a "little mama", when she started offering her own bottle to her baby dolls at 16 months. I guess I never expected my son so do something similar at that age. Jack has a different approach but the idea is the same....

Here is Jack feeding his dog some ketchup. While he feeds the dog, Jack says, "mmmmmmm".

Happy Mother's Day!

My own mom always says, "don't get me anything, I just want a card." So we'd ignore her and get her a present and make breakfast in bed and be on our best behavior, but ALWAYS we would give her a card. These cards could be found in the following months on her bedside table, on her window sill where she put her makeup on or near the kitchen sink. Evidence that all she really wanted was a card-a written word of appreciation, thanks and love.

I wrote those cards to my mom for 26 years before Clara was born. Suddenly, as I stared at my daughter, and was initiated as a "Mom" myself, I realized there were NO WORDS to express my gratitude, love and AWE for my own mother. It is so humbling to get a glimpse of how deeply my own mom loves and sacrifices for me because already, in three short years, I realize that I love Clara and Jack more and more each day, month and year.

I cannot even do this post justice for my mom because I just start crying and can't even type. Well, here it goes:

Mom, I just wanted to say, Happy Mother's Day! It's your 30th Mother's Day! Can you believe it? You are truly an amazing woman and I am so proud of you. Thank you for getting up early and reading your bible on the couch in your bathrobe. Thank you for giving up your time and your space to homeschool us and invest in our hearts and minds. Thank you for being frugal and creative with money. Thank you for making dinner for us every night and for having the courage to say no to so many outside activities. Thank you for upholding traditions in our home and making memories with us. Thank you for praying for me and pushing me to do my best but never holding me to impossible standards. Thank you for being a wonderful Mimi but also for stepping back and not overwhelming me with mothering advice or ideas. Thank you for being the first person to tell me I will be a great mom to three kids. Your support and confidence is a foundation for me. I am more and more in awe of you every year. There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am for you. I love you so much! Happy Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Christy Marie

What's in a name?

I've loved the name Jack as long as I can remember. We knew Jack was a boy before he was born but didn't commit to a name for him until we met him. There were a few other great names in the mix, but after that fast and furious labor and seeing that gigantic 9lb. 6oz. man child, I said, "He's Jack." There was really no question.

I knew it was his name, but had didn't think about how it would play out in everyday life.

Here are some things I find myself saying to my son:

"Are you talking on the PHONE JACK?"

"Do you want a CRACKER JACK?"

"Ready to get in the CAR JACK?"

"Do you want an APPLE JACK?"

"Are you HUNGRY JACK?"

note: these pictures were taken before Jack's latest awesome haircut.

Other People's Babies

I feel like I know 100 people who are pregnant right now. It's less than that but not by much! Ha! I've decided to write it all out for fun. How many pregnant women do you know????

~I knew five people who had babies in March.
~three out of five of the march babies were girls.
~I know 3 women who had babies last week.
~one of them was my cousin! (Welcome Baby Rubie Brooklyn!)
~All three of those babies were girls.
~Today, I know of two women who are past their due dates and scheduling their inductions.
~3 more women are due within the next two weeks.
~All three of those babies are boys.
~I know five more babies due in June and two due in July.
~two of the babies due in June are Twin Boys.
~My other cousin, due in September, finds out her baby's gender TOMORROW! (I'm so excited about this!)
~Speaking of September, I know three women due in September.
~I am due October 17th along with another friend of mine due a week ahead of me.
~My sister and two more women are due in November!
~The women on this list who are pregnant with BOYS have done the most complaining/commenting on how unconfortable they are via facebook, blogging and/or in person.
~All but three of these women found out what they were having before baby was born.
~ Of the babies' genders that are known, 9 out of 17 have announced the name before the baby was born.
~3 of these births were/are scheduled C-sections.
~5 of these births were/are natural childbirths, either at a birth center or at home(including mine).

That's all for my interesting Other People's Baby facts. I lost track, I think it's 27 babies? It really feels like a lot more though. Many of these women attend Mars Hill Church and we did a series on Song of Solomon in the Fall. Do you think that has anything to do with all the babies? Hmmmm. A lot of these women got pregnant before the series started though.

If you are one of my pregnant or new mama friends, Congratulations! If this is your first, hang in there, it doesn't really get easier, you just get stronger. If you are a third or fourth time mama, you are my inspiration. If you are still in the yucky morning sickness part, I hope it's over soon for you. If you are waiting to discover the gender, I'm excited with you. If you are in your last days or weeks of pregnancy, I pray patience and perseverance for you and a birth experience that empowers you. And if you are holding your sweet sleeping (or crying or hungry or pooping)newborn, just absorb everything about them and love the magical moment you are in and kiss their little nose 17 or 1700 times.

(And if you are a woman who has lost a baby or is still waiting for a baby, I know who you are and I pray for you often that God will give you grace and his peace in the meantime and bless you with a child soon.)

Children are a gift from the Lord! Psalm 127:3

Happy Birthday Clara Jill!

I can't believe it's been THREE years since this day:

One Year Old!

Two Years Old!

Three Years Old!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Your name means "clear and bright" and you are our little light, shining into our lives. You are such a joy and we are so thankful to God for putting you in our family. You changed our lives forever when you were born three years ago-so tiny and so quiet. You are still petite but now you never stop talking, singing, imagining, pretending, laughing and growing. You are just too amazing for words! Daddy and Jack and I love you so much and Jesus loves you more than we do! Happy 3rd Birthday Clara!