Kate's Birthday

Although a few months late, I wanted to post a few pictures from Kate's birthday party. What a wonderful time we had! I loved planning it for her - the preparation for the event was fun for me. The best part of all was that we had all of our family in town, and so many friends there to celebrate. It was really special to us that everyone came in from out of town - Nikki & Andrew, Keith Nancy & Mike, G. Nana & Susie, Al & Suzy, Brady & Emily, and of course Grandma & Papa Little & Maybin. Then with all her best buddies there, what more could she ask for!

She definitely got into the presents! Boy did she love all the fun gifts! Everyone gave her such fun things.

She really wanted a monkey cake, ala Curious George, so that was the theme. After the party she said, "Thank you so much for my birthday party mommy and daddy!" It was so sincere and so sweet. She had such a great time. What a delight she is! Happy 2 years, Kate!

"Inducible"

That's my status as of yesterday's doctor's appointment - "inducible." Basically means although they aren't planning to induce me, they could if they needed to. Feels like progress, as last week they said they would try to stop labor if it started. Now I'm dilating and effacing and all the other important mumbo-jumbo, so I could go whenever. My doctor said, "Could be tonight, could be 3 weeks." I like that kind of expectation management - I really have no idea. With Kate I wasn't making any progress and he said, "but your water could break in the parking lot." And that's not far from what happened. It's a funny thing to have no control over something so important. I suppose control is really just an illusion anyways since big things can always happen, but I tend to maintain that illusion as best I can. I guess it's great preparation for what our world's going to look like. I'm getting more and more excited everyday. Also a bit more uncomfortable ;) Ellie, we can't wait to see you!

Family Camp

This is so amazing - we have a group of friends who decided they wanted to organize a camp so our kids could have memories together with their family and friends specifically connected to their faith. Last year there were 20 families, and this year there were 40 families (and they had to cut it off because it was so full.) Basically there are fun activities, skits, games, songs, swimming, etc. with all of your best friends. When we got back Kate wanted to know if we could go back the next week. It was so sweet.

It's cool to see people who are so gifted bring their best to planning an event for kids and families. There were songs written for the event by songwriters, shirts designed by graphic designers, books written and illustrated by children's authors, financial matters covered by accountants, first aid handled by doctors - you name it, it was first class. And how cool to see that just for kids. At night, they brought in Mae Klingler, a friend of ours who writes and sings children's songs, to perform. It might as well have been Bono to this audience - the crowd went wild. Here is a video of Kate and Cana rocking out...

Flower Girl

Kate is JAZZED to be a flower girl for Nikki and Andrew! As we've been planning the showers she's asked if we were having a birthday party for Nikki, to which I responded, no, it's her wedding. So, she keeps singing "Happy Wedding to you, Happy Wedding to you, Happy Wedding Nikki & Andrew, Happy Wedding to you!" She is excited to be a helper and wear a red dress. What fun! We'll see how she does walking down the aisle in front of all those people - Kate really likes to be prepared before she does anything, and there is really no way to get her prepped for that scene, so hard to say. But no matter what, she'll look cute!

Awkward, fun progress

Well, this pregnancy is definitely not the same as last time. I'm physically much more tired here at the end, which makes sense while playing, carrying, and hanging out with a 2 year old all day. But I'm still feeling good, just physically tired and a little uncomfortable and awkward. Luckily, I love the heat, so that part doesn't bother me a bit. I'm not swelling and my back is fine; I just have a giant belly. The other day while swimming with Kate, I kept feeling like I wanted to fall forward because I was so off balance. It was so funny. It was a great day - Kate said I should take a turn on her "timmy the turtle" raft, which I did, and it was so relaxing! She was right. We played and she jumped off the dock about 30 times. She said to me, "You are the best mommy I have ever seen" and I started to cry at Coney it was so sweet :)

At my doctor's appointment he said Ellie is in perfect position and I'm starting to dialate, so that's good news. No telling on timing, but I'm still guessing early August. Kate came at 37 1/2, my due date is Aug 15th but I think that's technically a week early, so I'm still sticking with first week in August.

We shall see...throw out a guess on the date!

New Rooms

We've had a big move lately - Kate has recently moved to her new, big girl room. She has done an amazing job. We approached it with what appears to be the one and only strategy I know - cold turkey. Luckily, it seems to work for her. We've been talking up the new room for quite some time, and we made the decision that as best we could, when the time came we would move her to the new room, and specifically new, big bed for good - naps and nighttime. Brett came up with a back-up plan (thank God for 2 parents :) that if she rejected the big bed she could sleep in her pack & play in her new room, which was great because then she still had a choice but it did not include the crib. The big thing was, we didn't want to buy a new crib for a 2+ year old. Luckily, it really worked well.

Kate has been amazing in her new room. She really loves it. We have been picking out decorations for it for almost 2 months, so I think she really feels ownership of it. Her favorite color is blue, so there is lots of teal everywhere. The furniture was mine, and also my aunt Susie's before that, and I'm so happy with it. Our FANTASTIC painter Graham said, "I'd like to give you a gift and paint your furniture for free." Uh, absolutely Graham, I love gifts, you can definitely paint the furniture for us. He did a great job and I'm really happy with it. (PS - if you need a painter, Graham is amazing and very reasonable- see his website at www.vfpainting.com)

The day before she moved, we threw her a "new room party." She wanted a monkey cake (the same as her birthday), so this time I made it pink and blue. We celebrated with the Pattersons, and they showed her their big beds. It was perfect - I think both the party and the big kid room tours were clutch. The first couple of times she pulled a typical Kate negotiation - "I think maybe my Pooh crib would be better for me for my nap." Nice try, cute girl, but we're going to your new big girl bed. Now she's excited to be in there, which is so lucky for us.

I'm really happy with the way Ellie's room has turned out. It feels totally different to me than when it was Kate's room; just new bedding and some new pictures, but it makes a big difference. I'm excited to be in there with her. Kate seems to get that it is now Ellie's room. Hopefully she's still good with it when Ellie is here. But so far, she is doing great. Lucky for us - what a blessing!

Celebrating Ellie

I received the best gift recently. My friends Alli and Sara threw me a shower for Ellie. I would probably have to say it was my favorite party ever. Let me tell you some of the reasons why:

First, they broke the "rule" that you don't have a shower for babies after the first born. The truth is, the best part of any shower is celebrating the baby who is coming into the world. I felt so blessed to get to celebrate Ellie uniquely. Secondly, the party really felt like a perfect celebration for who Ellie is. It was very feminine, held at the Bonbonorie Tea Room. It was light and fun. There were so many beautiful gifts just for her. It was awesome. Next, and probably the best part, was the invite list. It was very small and included my very favorite people. With my dearest friends there, it just felt right. Probably connected, I received the best presents ever. I'm not normally a "gift person", but every single gift was just delightful and perfect. I guess from the people who know me the best, that makes sense.



The theme of the shower was gifts just for Ellie, and that was perfect. I really felt compelled early on that Ellie shouldn't just have everything from Kate. Her room should feel different; she should have different things that reflect her. This shower made that happen in lots of fun ways.

Overall, it was such a beautiful event. It made me so happy. Happy to have such amazing friends. Happy to receive this beautiful new girl. Just happy.

Expectation

I'm definitely getting excited for Ellie's arrival. I had an experience the other day that really felt like a gift, so I thought I'd share.

Now that I really look pregnant, it's fun to get people's reaction. Of course it's nice to have people want to help you with things, like offer to carry something or open a door. But even better is when you can see that they are celebrating the joy of pregnancy with you. That's always cool, even from a stranger.

The other night, I went to Target to do some quick errands by myself around 8pm. (Aside - I was shocked at how many people had their little kids there, and then watched as they got frustrated that they weren't behaving - I wonder why!) Anyways, 3 times in the same trip, I interacted with people who were clearly excited for me. One woman was 25, she looked married, not yet ready for kids, but excited by the prospect. Another woman was 40 and was in the thick of raising her kids, and was excited about that newborn stage. The last woman was around 65, her kids were grown, and she looked at me with a fond remembrance and knowing joy of what was to come.

All of these women had an overwhelming look of love and joy in their eyes. They didn't know me at all, but they were excited by the expectation of a new baby.

My friend Josh, who some would say has a bit of a hard exterior, said recently when looking at his newborn son (his 5th child) that "babies are like crack to him." When I asked why, he said, "because this is as close as we are to perfection. So innocent and pure."

I can't say for sure what it was for each person, but there is something very exciting about the expectation of a newborn baby. It's a love that's very raw. While I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed logistically by the thought of a newborn, I am ready for that kind of love.

Tonight at 8pm

You should turn on NBC and watch "The Jensen Project." Our buddy Steven wrote the original script for the movie, and he wrote and sang a song that is in the movie. I'm really excited for him - this is his first time doing something like this. Randy Jackson from American Idol picked all the songs, so he was probably more excited about his song getting selected than even about the movie. Hopefully the movie is good - he didn't get to write the final screenplay since he's not yet in the writer's union. No matter what, I'm super excited.

Steven's blog is linked on my site, as is Dora's wedding blog Viva Bella events. His music is at stevemanuel.net. (Steven led Kate's dedication, in case you're trying to place him...he's also our pastor.) Here's what the Cincinnati paper wrote -

P&G movie storyteller's big chance
By John Kiesewetter • jkiesewetter@enquirer.com
July 15, 2010

When Steve Manuel of Oakley saw the helicopter with "The Jensen Project" logo, he realized that he finally made it as a movie writer.

"We made this thing up on the phone, and now hundreds of people were making our vision become a reality," says Manuel, 37, a singer-songwriter-screenwriter, about his February visit to the Montreal set for the TV movie.

Manuel and pal Jeff Davenport of Denver created the story for "The Jensen Project," which debuts Friday night on NBC and is the second family-friendly NBC movie produced by Procter & Gamble and Walmart.

LeVar Burton, Kellie Martin and Patricia Richardson star in the film about a rogue genius stealing cutting-edge research developed by the super-secret Jensen Project.

It turns into a "Spy Kids" story when two teen-agers (Alyssa Diaz and Justin Kelly) try to rescue the boy's parents.

Manuel and Davenport pitched about three dozen ideas to Brian Wells of Cincinnati's Front Porch Entertainment, which is producing the films with P&G. He's an executive producer on the film.

"P&G makes movies much the way it makes soap, finding out what people want and need. Then they put the ideas into testing and see how people react. The Jensen idea got traction, so we expanded on it," he says.

The part-time music leader at Crossroads church also wrote "Anything Is Possible" for the TV soundtrack album produced by "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson. They met while recording the movie trailer music last month in Los Angeles.

Manuel was awestruck walking into a Hollywood recording studio filled with session musicians who had played with Paul McCartney, Sting, Michael Jackson and Madonna. Then Randy Jackson asked him to join back-up vocalists on a track, after working with Manuel's song.

"After plugging away for 20 years as a singer-songwriter, to be able to write, sing and perform for Randy Jackson was pretty satisfying," he says.

Manuel has been helping friend Sam Hills prepare to open the High Five hair salon Aug. 19 in O'Bryonville. Manuel's wife, Dora, plans weddings and events through her Viva Bella Events company in Kenwood. They have a 9-month-old daughter.

Manuel says he and Davenport want to write more for Front Porch and the P&G-Walmart family friendly campaign. The companies plan to make at least two more films, says Jeannie Tharrington, P&G publicist.

P&G launched the movie series in April based on research showing that only 23 percent of U.S. viewers are satisfied with family-oriented programming.

To Manuel, it's as simple as the "You Are What You Eat" message on his T-shirt.

"We want to tell stories that inspire, teach life lessons, and model integrity that impacts all who watch them," he says. "When you have good stories of hope and caring, then that's what people will aspire to do."

More coming soon...

I promise I'm going to have some updates soon!

The third trimester hasn't been bad, but I've been napping during my normal blog time.

But expect to see more details on the following soon - A super sweet shower for Ellie, Kate moving to her big girl room, our almost complete construction projects, and more.

I promise, more soon! But we're all doing well!