Hello again, everyone! Time for the quarterly update on this blog. :) Our third child is due in a week and a half (May 19, I’m looking at you), and I would love to try to catch up a little bit before he arrives. Some of you may remember that this blog and Gil were born on almost the same day — so long ago now!
Life continues to be very sweet here in Coronado, and we are so thankful for good friends, spiritual fellowship, healthy children, a relaxed work schedule for Elliott, and so much more. Here’s a little glimpse into our lives since February:
L: Lena loves weaving on her little loom from Grammie!
R: My silly kiddos after church (and a 27-week baby bump).
L: Two children quietly waiting for a prescription to be ready in the North Island Medical Clinic pharmacy. I am so grateful for free, excellent healthcare through the military. It’s very bare-bones, but you can’t beat how easy and close it is.
R: On our way to the library with the doll stroller, with Gil practicing for his little brother’s arrival!
L: Gymnastics at the park after soccer class.
R: Starting Little House at Plum Creek with Lena before her nap/rest time.
L: Storytime at the library, a weekly tradition that we love.
R: Gil is officially potty-trained!
28 weeks! Bumping along…
An NSW wives’ “St. Galentine’s Day” party with two of my best friends here in Coronado.
Reading Angelina Ballerina books with the kids (28 weeks) in the story tent at the library.
29 weeks! Loving all the flowers that bloom year-round here in southern California.
L: Last run of this pregnancy (30 weeks) with Annelie. I miss long conversations with her and am looking forward to getting back to those — and running — later this summer!
R: Gil’s pediatrician diagnosed a heart murmur, so we got an echocardiogram to check it out. Moments like these are when I realize how thin the line is between good health and chronic illness. Thankfully, he got a clean bill of health — no murmur! We were so grateful and relieved.
L: Two “twins” (matching shirts, jean shorts, and blue shoes) filling up my grocery cart!
R: I took Lena to see an Irish dancing school perform at our library, and her feet won’t stay still now.
L: This girl loves her mama to read to her! Starting first thing in the morning almost every morning…
R: The Hotel Del Coronado asked if I’d like to write an article for my paper about the locals’ specials they are offering in their spa. I asked if I could try them out first, and they said yes! Love my job.
L: Eye candy. Can’t walk by this store without stopping in awe.
R: Another beach sunset at 31 weeks!
We flew to Virginia over Easter weekend for Elliott’s sister’s wedding. We ate Bodo’s Bagels with a few of his siblings in Charlottesville. So good to see family!
L: After the wedding, Daniel and Jess posed with their three ringbearers and three flowergirls! Can you pick out Lena and Gil?
R: We also enjoyed a little Charlottesville wine tasting with family at our favorite spot: King Family Vineyards. The kids loved the new toy.
We came home from Virginia and Elliott got promoted!
I love you so much, Soldier of mine!
On April 3rd, Lena turned 5!
She had a very specific vision for her cake: blue with cherries (like her bike) and white writing and sprinkles, lots and lots of sprinkles!
I see more Little House reading in our future. I’ve been enjoying these books as much as she has, I think.
Chatting with Marmee as she enjoys her new present (which I highly recommend; it’s like a modern slate).
A little more of my Lena: tongue out as she decorates her cake, and tucking her baby in for the night before going to bed.
L: Evening walk to enjoy the gorgeous flowers blooming in Coronado in mid-April.
R: 35 weeks!
L: The most amazing book. Five stars, highly recommend, go out and buy it today.
R: Something she drew during her rest time for me!
Every couple of months, I get to review the new tasting menu at one of our favorite restaurants in Coronado for my work at the paper. It’s always a fun date night for Elliott and me! This time we were tasting seared halibut and a smoked salmon cake.
The Coronado Flower Show is always a highlight of the spring!
Elliott and the kids replanted our balcony garden in Earth Boxes earlier this spring. One evening in mid-April, they discovered the first ripe cucumbers. Strawberries, tomatoes, corn, peppers, and more varieties of cucumbers are on their way as well.
Hard at work weaving more potholders on a chilly morning outside with me.
Can’t wait to meet this little man! On the right, 36 weeks.
A lot of my friends and I decided to have second and third children around the same time, it seems, and I have hosted three baby showers in the past couple of months! Here are the leftover decorations from one of them, and I have more photos to share of a pretty, girly baby shower I co-hosted this past Saturday. Coming soon!
Little artists after their rest time.
Elliott’s brother Jonathan and his wife Erika came to visit for a week. We loved showing them around San Diego and adventuring up to the Santa Ynez Valley with them, too.
L: Delicious breakfast in La Jolla at one of our favorite places: The Cottage.
R: Hanging out with one of the adorable men in my life while everyone else went ocean kayaking in La Jolla Cove.
On a hike on our friend’s ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. Elliott and I visited here during our coastal California honeymoon, and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world!
L: Lunch at In-n-Out on our way back to San Diego.
R: “You made a mess all over my coffee table, so I guess I’ll have to nap in here.”
In a slightly scary turn of events, I slipped and fell on a wet road at 37 weeks and had to spend 24 hours in the hospital for monitoring! Thankfully the baby and I were totally fine, and everything is back to normal. I also must admit: I enjoyed the break to get some writing, reading, knitting, and journaling done.
The food was meager, I gotta say. This was “lunch” at 4pm, and they forgot my dinner. (Although an apologetic nurse did offer me her store-bought salad!) It’s good to be on this side of healthcare every now and then, I think. ;)
L: Some good reading as we consider homeschooling Lena next year.
R: Me and my two (three!) favorite kiddos in the whole entire world.
We continue to love slipping away to the beach in the evenings, sometimes with a hastily packed picnic dinner, and sometimes with just books and sand toys.
The jacarandas are in bloom! We can’t get enough of them!
And last but not least, another evening on the beach. Will we keep doing this once we have a new baby? I hope so! Only a matter of days before we find out!
Check back soon for a couple of pretty posts about baby showers (my own as well as the one I co-hosted) and some book recommendations… and maybe some favorite baby products I can’t wait to use?
Or just check back to see if we had a baby. ;)
A wonderful update and some pictures I hadn’t seen–always good! Thank you, Becca, for your faithful and delightful reporting on your faithful and delightful lives. Love you…<3
Love you too! It’s always so fun and satisfying when I do update — I’ll try to be more faithful with a new babe.
I LOVE this! Your photos tell such a story; each one tells a story. What a great chronicle of your lives to this point, when it’s all about to change. I can’t decide which ones are my favorites. I do love the photos showing your growing little babe! Lena doing her Irish dancing and Gil so bravely getting his echocardiogram are two I love!
Can’t wait for you to get here and see all these children and bumps — just a few days now! Wait on your Grammie to get here, baby…
So adorable…from Momma and Major right on down!
Thank you, Dad. :) So glad you get to spend more time with all of us and see these growing children regularly.
Becca, you are really a very nice pregnant mum.
I enjoy to follow your nice family.
All you write is very interesting,
My english, reading, become better.
Take care of you.
Paty
Thank you so much for your kind words, Patricia. It is always so good to hear from you!
I love seeing you guys looking so happy and healthy. Hooray for new babies! I’m so glad that you’re ok after the fall (scary!) and Gil doesn’t actually have a heart murmur. I also love hearing about the books you’re reading with the kids. Some of my good friends here are working through the Little House series with their two boys and it’s always wonderful and funny to hear their perspective on what’s happening in the stories. It brings back memories of reading them with my mom when I was homeschooled. :) I’ll also definitely check out that other book you mentioned. You look fantastic and I’ll keep checking back for news about the babe.
So good to hear from you, sweet Sarah! Hope all is well with you, and much love!
Hi Becca,
I want to congratulate you for your posts and the pictures you share. I think you have a wonderful life, wonderful husband and so so wonderful kids…. You have such a beautiful “light” that comes out from your soul….
I want to whish you all the blessings for the birth of your new son…. and for the whole family!!!
Good luck dear! I am your fan.
Mónica
Such a sweet message, Monica! Thank you!
Love your updates! Can’t wait to see baby #3 :)
Thank you, Katie — such a faithful reader! Not much longer to wait…
Lovely update, Becca. Also: I’ve been admiring these lovely purple-blue trees here in my SoCal neighborhood but had no idea what they were called. Jacarandas! Thanks!
I feel like I read about them for years in books and never knew what they were called either, Bethany! Wish I knew more names of the local flora…
You look seriously amazing and glowing! I’m so glad everything was okay even after that fall. Scary! Hoping your baby is one week late so he and Annalee can be birthday buddies! May is a great time to have a baby! :-)