A Little Bit of Everything...

We have had a little bit of everything going on lately...

My sisters twins, Celina and Jozef had their first birthday earlier

in the month. I can hardly believe they are one already. They are just so cute and I love seeing how different their personalities are. Celina is as spunky as ever and from what I can tell is the more dominant one! While Jozef is very laid back. You wouldn't even know he was in the room. He likes to just observe things and take it all in. Aniela and Charles just love seeing them, especially Charles who can't get enough of patting their heads, giving them hugs (which look more like choke holds), and trying to soothe them when they are upset. I love seeing how much he cares for them and know he is going to be such a great big brother.

We have also begun landscaping! And right now our house looks like a construction zone. The first step was putting up some retaining walls. We have some good slopes on our lot and with the help of my dad, who literally can do it all, they are coming along. However things have been put on hold for a few weeks since Charlie is in South America on business. I can't wait to get them done so we can start planting....our house is in much need of some color!

As for the pregnancy. I am 34 1/2 weeks and I feel like a beached whale already! Which is not good considering I have 5 weeks to go and have always gone over my due date. The baby is kicking like crazy, especially at night. Hopefully that doesn't mean she will be a night owl. This pregnancy is also giving my vascular system a run for it's money... as my left leg has exploded with varicose veins and believe me when I say they are not pretty! I have always had one behind my knee but man oh man is it bad with this 3rd pregnancy. I have the joy of wearing thigh high compression hose to help alleviate the pain. At least it's not 90 degrees with 100% humidity. I couldn't imagine wearing the stockings in those weather conditions. Not to mention the awesome fashion statement I would be exposing everyone to! Oh the things womens bodies go through during pregnancy....it's worth it though. The nursery is also slowly coming together. Charlie painted it a few weeks ago and I am working on the finishing touches. Below is a little preview of the room. And as you can see from the initials on the wall we came to a decision on the name. We decided to use names from both Charlie and my side this time around. You'll have to wait till the baby is born though, but have fun guessing!

Then this last Sunday my sister Ela came into town. She has a good friend who owns horses and thought it would be fun to take the older kids to see them. Gabriella, Aniela, and Charles loved it. They helped brush the horse, fed them and then Ela saddled up her favorite horse, Tinker, for the kids to take a ride. I wasn't sure how they would react to such a large animal but they all did great. Even Charles, who could barely get both his legs over the saddle because he is so small, wanted to keep on riding. And Aniela looked so grown up. At one point Tinker even gave a good tug and resisted my sisters lead but the little jolt didn't scare Aniela one bit. She tightened her grip on the reigns and kept on riding! Now Aniela is asking for horseback riding lessons and I just might consider it. I think it would be wonderful for her to learn how to ride and care for a horse. I know my sister Ela loved it growing up and I still am in awe of how easy it is for her to know what to do around a horse.

Now we are just waiting for Charlie to get back from his trip. His traveling has picked up a lot lately. Which we knew would happen coming back to Peoria. And boy do we miss him. Especially Aniela, who has become quite the Daddy's little girl. But thankfully lots of family and friends in town help make the time pass by fast.