Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas from the Gillespie's. We are not going to be getting out Christmas or New Year's cards this year so we hope that everyone has had a great Christmas and will have a blessed year in 2010. We feel so blessed to have Claire here and healthy and to be able to start the new year with a family of 4. It's a little scary, but everything seems to be working pretty good so far.

We had a great Christmas this year and just wanted to share some of the pictures. We went to the Brooks for lunch and hung out for the afternoon. Everyone got to love on Sadie and Claire and we ate a great meal. This year, we taught Sadie a little about celebrating Jesus' birthday on Christmas. We can ask her, "Who was born on Christmas" and she puts on finger up in the air and yells, "Jesus!" It is really cute.

Here we are. Our family of 4.
This picture just shows the reality of our Christmas morning. Sadie "helping" change Claire's diaper while saying she needed to go potty at the same time and her pajama pants falling off because they are a little big. She also found her hat that she thought she had to have on. I just had to laugh!

I thought I had rotated this picture, but I guess not. Oh, well, here is Claire all dressed up for Christmas. She got bottles from Santa. That's about all she is interested in right now.

Sadie got 2 goldfish from Santa. She was pretty excited. She probably would have liked a puppy more, but we are nowhere ready for that.

Here she is with her other presents.

Christmas 2009

So I'm going to start with Christmas Eve and hopefully be able to blog about Christmas Day soon. We had a very relaxing Christmas this year, or as relaxed as you can be with a newborn at home. Anyway, Claire slept through just about everything and Sadie seemed to have a great time. I was determined to do some kind of Christmas cookies so we ended up making slice and bake snowman cookies about 10 minutes before her bedtime. I don't think she really understood leaving cookies for Santa. It really upset her that she had to leave the cookies (even though we let her eat one).

Here is Claire. Sleeping away her first Christmas Eve.

Sadie got some new pajamas that she opened Christmas Eve. They are Minnie Mouse. Big surprise!


This is quite possibly my favorite picture from Christmas. Sadie with her cookie.

Nothing like a cookie straight out of the oven right before bedtime.

Making cookies really fast with the help of Nana. We wouldn't have gotten it all done without her!

A beautiful baby girl!

We've been home from the hospital a few days now and I am feeling pretty good. Still recovering, but it hasn't been as bad as last time which I am very thankful for. Claire is a beautiful little girl and is doing great. I am so thankful she is healthy. We've had a little trouble keeping her weight up and I'm trying not to worry too much. It's hard to do when they are so little. Sadie is doing great with her too and Gabe is the best Daddy ever.

My parents got us a cute little door sign at the hospital.

Sweet baby Claire!

Daddy with Claire.

We had a great nurse that brought Claire over as soon as she could and let me hold her. She was really great.

A great Christmas present!

Claire is here!!

This is Gabe blogging:) Claire Hope Gillespie arrived at 7:58 a.m. Dec 18th. She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and is 21 inches long. Mom is recovering great from the c-section and Claire has arrived to much fan fare! Sadie is a great big sister and was very sweet to Claire when she saw her and mom for the first time. When she walked in we said "This is baby Claire we've been talking about" and Sadie waved and said "Hi baby, Hi mama"

Claire looks almost identical to Sadie, only with a head full of BROWN hair (not pictured here).

We will post more pictures soon, but for now...Mom is doing great and Claire is SUPER cute!!

Update on Claire

Just thought I would give a quick update on the pending arrival of Claire. So far, we are still on for a C-Section in 6 days. (December 18.) The doctor said that everything looks great and I go for my last appointment this Thursday. I am very ready for Claire to get here and for me not to be pregnant anymore. I can't complain about anything and the pregnancy has gone great, I am just feeling huge, not sleeping well, and getting anxious. I am ready to figure out this 2 kids thing and get going. Yesterday was my last day of work and I am "planning" on getting tons done this week. All the family is coming in Thursday so that gives me three days to get it done. I won't even go into the length of the list I have come up with. Gabe always knows I'm getting stressed/anxious when I start making a list. He has been so great though. He has really been trying to get some stuff done that there is no way I could do like putting things in the attic and hanging things above the crib. He really is the best!

So, if all goes as planned, we will be welcoming Claire on Friday morning. We'll post pictures as soon as we can. Please pray for a safe delivery and a healthy, happy Claire.

Christmas Parade 2009

This year was the first year that we went to the Christmas Parade. We thought we would see how Sadie would do. At first she didn't really know what to think, but she quickly figured it out. She stood at the side of the road just watching for a little while, but once Mickey and Minnie showed up she was way into waving and so excited. All the way home she was saying, "saw Minnie Mouse." Last week, Santa went to her school and took pictures. When Santa went by and we told her to say Bye, Bye to Santa, she said, "See you at school Santa." She just makes us laugh everyday!

It was really difficult to get any good pictures, but here's the best we could do. Enjoy.

Family Photo

Sadie and Gabe waiting for the parade to start.

Sadie pretty much just stared at everything for the first few minutes.

This one is really hard to see, but it's Mickey and Minnie. This was Sadie's FAVORITE. She could hardly believe that they were really that close. She LOVES Minnie Mouse right now.

... and here is Santa. Sadie loved seeing him too and actually knew who he was.

A Conversation with a 2 year old

Sadie was finished eating the other night and wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Here was our conversation.
Sadie: "Watch Minnie, Watch Minnie!"
Me: "Can you say that nicely?"
Sadie: "Nicee." (Nicely)

What could I say to that?

Decorating for Christmas

We started decorating for Christmas while we were off since things are going to get a little crazy in the next few weeks. Gabe put about half of the lights up on the house today. He's going to finish tomorrow. This is the first time we have done lights on the house. I think he has done a great job. Of course, Sadie was right there "helping." She actually did great. She played with some clips we weren't using. She put them in the box and then would dump them out over and over. It's so great when we find something that actually entertains her.

Here is Gabe, hanging Christmas lights for the first time. He did great.

Sadie playing with her little clips.

And...of course enjoying a popsicle. This is when I was trying to get her to hang out just a little longer.

Hard to believe!

So I was cleaning out today...I think the nesting instinct is kicking in, and I found the little hats that they gave us at the hospital when Sadie was born. Of course, when I took them out to show Gabe, Sadie wanted to put it on. How they change in two short years.

Missing the run...

We went to our annual 10 mile run last Saturday. It has actually been changed to a 10 kilometer run now. (6.2 mi.) I obviously did not run this year. I am so looking forward to being able to really exercise again. It's just how I keep my sanity. Anyway, we still had a good time. The run was in a beautiful area that had a lake with ducks and peacocks so that definitely helped entertain Sadie. Gabe ran and did great. I'll get back at it next year!

Gabe and Sadie afer the run.

Checking out the water and the ducks. Two of her favorite things.

After the excitement of the water and ducks wore off and Sadie fell on the parking lot, we just played in the car until Daddy was done.

Race participants. Doug or "Race Director" and our friend Derik after they finished. Everyone was ready for breakfast. So were me and Sadie!

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday and just wanted to share some of the pictures. We usually go to New Mexico, but with me being 36 weeks pregnant I didn't want to be too far away. We also just wanted to be home to get some things ready and not feel rushed to get out of town or tired when we got back. Our friends, Dan and Amy came over for lunch and then we (I should say they, I pretty much just watched and kept Sadie occupied) played Dan's Wii. The highlight was definitley Rock Band. We had some great entertainment. It was a great day. Gabe and I both really enjoyed spending the day with Sadie and watching her run around and have fun. We are so grateful for her and are excited to meet our Claire.

Sadie and I started out the day making mini-muffins for breakfast. She was so excited that she got to eat them in the living room while watching Pooh. We let Daddy sleep in as long as you can sleep in with a two year old running around.

Here are the guys standing next to the spread. We split up cooking everything and had soooo much left over. It was great! I am so grateful to have a husband who likes to cook. It takes a lot of stress off of me this time of year.

Sadie's favorite part was the pumpkin pie. Actually it was the whip cream on top. This is her second (maybe third) helping.

Dan and Amy enjoying their pie too!

...And our rock band that entertained for the evening. Sadie had to have a part too. She's a great drummer!

Today I went to a Children's Consignment Store to look for a jacket for Sadie. They had just put out all of their Christmas stuff and I found this cute Christmas dress in sizes for Sadie and Claire! It was so fun to buy two of the same thing and even better that it was just $10 for both.

I'm really starting to get excited about having another baby in the house and Claire completing our family. Since I found out I was pregnant I have been a little (ok, a lot) nervous about having two children to take care. The questions just run through my head like, "I already feel like we are so busy, how will we ever take care of 2?" "How am I going to get out the door in morning?" and many, many others. My prayer has been since that I will know that I am ready and prepared by the time Claire gets here. Well, earlier this week, those questions started coming back and I just prayed that I would be prepared and confident. Well, I know there are a lot of different opinions about how God speaks and when he speaks and I definitley don't have all the answers to those questions, but when I prayed the same prayer I had been praying for 8 months, I had a very calming feeling and the thought that, "I am ready and prepared" and now I just know that I am prepared and ready to be a mom to Sadie and Claire and a wife to Gabe. I don't know what all that means and I know it's not going to be easy, but I know that I am not really in charge of it all anyway and I am just following His leading. I have some great people in my life that I am learning from all the time about listening for God's voice and following his lead. I am so grateful for them and for what God has taught me so far through them. I can't wait to meet our sweet Claire and to see both of our girls in matching dresses!

Halloween 2009

For Halloween this year, we went to a trunk or treat again. It was such a great way for Sadie to trick or treat and she had a lot of fun. She figured it out after about 3 trunks and had no problem running up to the trunks and saying, "Treat!, Treat!" "Tank, Two" (Thank you). Anyway, Lincoln met us there again this year and they took off. Sadie was a cheerleader- mostly because we had the outfit and it was easy. I know that will only work while she is little. We'll see about next year!

Our little cheerleader!

Playing in her car before we left.

Lincoln as a Home Depot worker.

Here they are...getting some treats.

And enjoying the loot. She woke up this morning asking for treats. They have now been emptied out of the pumpkin and are hidden.

Moving into a new room

We have moved Sadie into her new room and so far it is going great! She really likes her new bed and has stayed in it for a week now. Having grandparents here the week of her birthday really helped us get it done. Without them there is not way we would have finished. I'm so thankful the transition has been smooth and she loves it so much. She is growing up so fast. Now I just have to get the nursery ready for Claire. Moving in baby clothes, getting the baby stuff out of the attic, etc. At this point, I have just closed the door and I'm procrastinating. I do have 7 weeks to get it done. (Hopefully!)

The Pumpkin Patch

We made it to the Pumpkin Patch today or at least as Pumpkin Patch as it gets for West Texas. It was windy and dusty, but what isn't out here! Sadie had fun running through the pumpkins and we got a few pictures so I would call it successful. She even ended up with a pumpkin.

Holding on to the pumpkin so she doesn't blow away!

Looking them all over.

She picked a pumpkin, now we just have to get back to the car.

She did it! (with a little help from Daddy)