Our Ordinary Miracles

So when I was pregnant and Shane and I were thinking of baby names, I liked Charlotte. He liked Sophia and since I picked Samuel, & we both liked Julia, he won on Sophia. When we were thinking of middle names, one of my nurses in ob/comps suggested that we pick A, B, C names since they were labeled as such in the womb. We thought that was a neat idea! And since Shane had always liked the name Alexander and my middle name is Brooke, we had 2 down that worked out nicely. We just needed a C name. Shane found the name Cayden (it means “fighter”) which is terribly appropriate for out Little Bit, who was so small and such a fighter! So we used it.

Now, three years later I have started wondering why we didn't use Charlotte. (And one of the meanings I found of that name is “Little” so again – appropriate)! I asked Shane if he would have gone for that name and he said he would have. We just didn't think of it at the time! And I'm really kicking myself. I mean, I like Cayden – if I didn't I would not have agreed to it. But our other name choices are a little more classic and Cayden is more trendy. I think Charlotte would fit better. I even sort of think of legally changing her middle name! Things that bug me about this are: we have things embroidered with her full name. Also, she knows her middle name, although she says her name is just Sophie. I'm sure we won't change it. It just doesn't seem right. Would you? I'm so curious what other people would do!

My birthday was Sunday. My parents gave me the gift of relaxation and took the kids from Friday-Sunday! Friday I went to Rio Salon to get some pampering. That night Shane and I did some shopping and went to Cheesecake Factory - one of my favorite places! Then Saturday we worked on the basement all day. It doesn't sound very birthday-y, but it was nice to have a full day without interruption to get some much needed organizing done. Plus, I happen to love organizing! Sunday my mom, dad, and Uncle Josh brought the kids back. They were so excited to get hugs and tell me that it was my Happy Birthday, and sing the birthday song quite a few times! They showed me the cake that they made me. It was so special! We all went out to eat that night and everyone was so good – it was just such a nice time!

The kids were really worn out from the weekend. They all shared a room so they were chatting into the wee hours. They went to the circus and it didn't get over till 10:30! They loved it though - Thank you Great Great Grandpa Cleve! So during the day Sunday, Julia fell asleep on the couch with Noni. So weird - they have never been kids to just fall asleep in random places!

Do you remember how GREEN our laundry room was? We decided it was not the “fun” room I was going for so we painted it a week ago. As we put up the green painters tape that we had on hand, it blended right in with the color. So... electric painters tape green. Not cute! We painted it the same color as Sam's room – kind of a gray-ish blue. Very nice and soothing. And since I am a big fat copy cat, I got inspiration from my friend Rebecca and did the same kind of ribbon-y window treatment that she did. I love it! I still want to make all of our wood trim white, but that's a huge project for another time.

More pics to share....

Sophie chillin with Daddy

The four Musketeers!

Beautiful Jules

Sam's fingers sprouted Little People! These are the same ones that I played with when I was a kid.
The kids got these marker dot things that they love

They are still really into painting

Sophie and Julia are starting to draw faces and stick figures. It's SO fun to see!

Sam eating the snow ice cream we made

Julia in love with a big old bunny