A Little Late...

Merry Christmas from the Bignell family!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of family, food and fun!

We have one more get together at our house today and then we will be done.
I am trying to go through all our pictures and hope to post some soon. :)

They Did It!

Saturday we went and had our annual Breakfast With Santa. 
Annnnnnnd.....

Both kids sat on Santa's lap!!
Even though they both insisted that they would before we got there, I still wasn't totally buying it.  It did take some convincing for both of them but eventually they did it.  After a little bit we even got Alexa to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas and she told him very quietly, "I need a new big bike" and then Braden (after giving the big man in red several high fives and because he copies everything Alexa does) said, "I want big bike too!" 
(This was great news for him considering that's what he was planning on giving them anyway!) :)

Alexa and her new baby cousin Masen.

Flashback Friday

Next weekend we are going to take the kids and have breakfast with Santa. 

Here's Alexa last year...hiding under the table.

And even when we did convince her to come out there was no way she was sitting with him, talking to him or even looking at him.

Braden wasn't having anything to do with the big guy either, however instead of not looking at him he wasn't taking his eyes off of him.  He stared Santa down for a good 20 minutes to make sure he wasn't coming anywhere near us.

Any guesses on how this year will go? :)

Our Christmas Secret

Last weekend we finally got our Christmas tree up.  I have to say, I am quite surprised at how well the kids (mostly Braden) have been doing with it considering before we even had any ornaments on the thing there was already blocks being thrown into it.  Prime example on why someone incredibly smart invented the shatter proof balls, he or she clearly had little boys.

Anyway, here's our Christmas secret...we bought a fake tree this year.
I know millions of people have fake trees and it's not a big deal but ever since we bought our house we have gotten real trees.  This was our thought, we would be the next Griswold family and make wonderful memories for our children while we sang Christmas songs and went out and searched for the perfect tree.  Here's the thing, the first 2 or 3 years we ended up at the local hardware store picking out a tree.  Ummm, yeah.  Great Memories.

So after some discussion we agreed that we would get a fake tree as long as we still made memories by going to the tree farm and driving around to look at lights and going on sleigh rides and drinking hot cocoa all while our kids cry because we make them sit on Santa's lap.  Combine that with the fact that I don't have to find pine needles in my house until April, perfect.

So here it is, our fake tree's debut.
We like it and that's what matters. :)

As we were out searching for our prefect (fake) tree I passed by this stocking and decided that little Baby Bignell needed it. 

5 stockings.
I love it!

And a picture of our nativity scene because I think it's awesome.

Baby #3 - 22 Weeks

I'm definitely starting to feel more and more pregnant each day.  I have been getting really tired and achy a lot already.  Looking at this picture, I don't look nearly as huge as I feel!

How far along: 22 weeks

Size of baby: 11 inches and 1 pound

Weight Gain: ??  At my last appointment a week ago I had gained about 9 pounds.


Maternity Clothes: All of my jeans are maternity, everything else is still regular clothes.  Actually in this picture I am wearing my first maternity shirt...still just way too big though and looks kind of weird. 

Gender: Unknown.  It's kind of funny though, some people (people who obviously know me and my anal ways all too well) don't think I was able to stay strong and not find out the gender.  Matt and I talked before the ultrasound and decided if we accidentally found out somehow we would still keep it a secret.  We're so mean, aren't we!? :) 

Movement: Lots of moving!  It's fun that other people can feel him/her now too.

Sleep: It's alright.  Sleep is always the first thing to go with all my pregnancies so it's no surprise how quickly my good sleeping nights are fading.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

Cravings: Not really.  There's a lot of things that sound good but I don't think I would really call them cravings. 

Symptoms: Some aches and pains, nothing too terrible though.  When I was pregnant with Braden I started getting bad pains really low in my abdomen the last few months whenever I would move while I was laying down...they were bad enough where I spent the last 6-8 weeks "sleeping" sitting up in our living room chair.  I don't want to jinx myself or anything but I have a feeling the same thing might happen this time around too, I am already waking up when I roll over because it hurts.  I am just thankful that it only happens while laying down though and not all the time.  No one says being pregnant is easy, right!? :)

Best moment this week: Our friends had their little girl and Matt's sister had a baby boy, all within a week!  We have had all kinds of practice holding new babies. :)  I am excited that Baby Bignell already has built in friends and cousins to play with.

What I'm looking forward to: The holidays and spending lots of time with family the next few weeks!

Wordless Wednesday

Our Sweet Little Baby

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and everything looks perfect.
We are so blessed!!

Here's a few pictures of our little peanut...who's gender is still unknown.
I can't believe I stayed strong! :)

Baby #3 - 20 Weeks

Half way there!!  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going.  I am excited it's going quick because I can't wait to meet our new little baby but I am also kind of sad.  I love being pregnant and knowing that this is most likely the last one I want to cherish it as much as possible.  (Someone remind me of this in about 16 weeks, ok!?) :)


How far along: 20 weeks, 2 days

Size of baby: 10 inches head to heel and about 10-11 ounces. 

Weight Gain: No idea, I haven't had an appointment in a few weeks and I don't weigh myself at home. 


Maternity Clothes: Some maternity jeans and that's about it.

Gender: ??? 

Movement: Lots and lots of moving!  The only downfall of feeling the baby move a lot is that I tend to get a little stressed out when I don't think I feel it for awhile.  Usually I can give him/her a little poke and it kicks back. :)

Sleep: Pretty good.

What I miss: Not much.

Cravings: Not really.  There's a lot of things that sound good but I don't think I would really call them cravings. :)

Symptoms: I have been noticing how much more out of breath I am already.  I usually run up the stairs and now when I do that I feel like I'm breathing heavy for like 5 minutes!  Other than that (and the peeing lots) everything is pretty normal so far.

Best moment this week: Matt felt the baby kicking for the first time last week.  I love that!  Also, Alexa has been talking to my belly lately and when she does the it will usually start kicking, it's so cute.

What I'm looking forward to: The ultrasound on Wednesday!

Thanksgiving Week!!

I can't even believe that Thanksgiving is already here, where the heck did November go!?
I'm happy it's here though...this week is going to be really busy but fun and exciting.

Of course there's Thanksgiving on Thursday.  I can't decide what I am looking forward to the most, the French Silk Pie my mom is making or the stuffing.  Oh and here's my Thanksgiving confession...I could care less about turkey, not a big fan of it.  I would rather have leftover sandwiches the next day. :)

Wednesday we have our ultrasound!  I am so excited to see the little guy (or girl.)  

Friday is not only shopping day (YAY) but our neighbors and good friends are having their baby that morning!  I am so excited for them and I can't wait to hold their sweet little girl.

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Okay so I posted this in January but I thought I would share it again in case you are having Thanksgiving at your house and need something to do with the carcass.  (Carcass...ewww.)  Anyway, throw it in your freezer and take it out when you are ready.  We actually made a turkey a couple weeks ago solely to make this soup.  Good thing Matt likes turkey more than me, I think he took it to work for lunch every day that week. :)

Original post:

Alright people, remember that turkey soup I was talking about last week? I thought I would post the recipe, because seriously, it's GOOD! My mom makes it every year after Thanksgiving and I think people get more excited about that than the actual Thanksgiving meal. (Okay, maybe not but close!) :) This recipe is actually made to use your leftover turkey carcass. I had NO idea there was so much meat left on those things...we ended up with a huge bowl of soup plus some.

My mom is a lot like me (or maybe it's me a lot like my mom...) and just kinda follows recipes. For this one we pretty much doubled most of the stuff and I think it turns out more like a stoup than a soup...ya know, super thick, more stewy than soupy. Yummy!

Leftover Turkey Soup
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or sage)
Bones and trimmings from 1 turkey or 2 chickens
3 cubes (or 3 teaspoons) chicken bouillon
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) water
1/2 cup barley or rice or 1 cup noodles
3 medium carrots sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
2 medium onions chopped

(Now that I am typing out the recipe I am realizing how much I didn't follow it..but you can change, add, subtract whatever you want, it's just a good base. The recipe suggests other veggies to try too...corn, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, peas and mushrooms.)

In large pot/dutch oven (I used our big roaster since I had a 24 pound turkey carcass) combine the first 6 ingredients. Simmer covered about 1 1/2 hours. Cool then remove bones - cut off all meat and return to the broth.

Add remaining ingredients. (I totally forgot the onions, oops!) :)
Simmer covered about 30 minutes or until vegetables and noodles are tender.

Garnish with parsley if you want and serve with a thick hearty bread...that's a must! :) Also, we use Reames frozen noodles...SO good, I would suggest those over rice for sure!

Enjoy! :)

Love, Me

Dear Matt,
Thank you for bringing in all the Christmas bins so I can decorate the house even though you don't think they should go up until after Thanksgiving.  I'm so excited to get everything out and I think you will like it too.  You're such an awesome husband!
Love,
Your Happy Wife

Dear lady at the gym,
Thank you for asking me when I was due this week.  It's always nice to have that first person who doesn't know you're pregnant say something.  I now feel a little more pregnant and a little less fat.
Love,
An Excited Pregnant Woman

Dear Alexa,
Thank you for having the kindest heart I have ever seen in a child.  You amaze me with the passion you have and I love that you never go day without doing or saying something that melts my heart.
Love,
Your Very Proud Mama

(Here's one that I really loved from this week.  Alexa has a children's read and learn Bible that she loves reading.  She usually takes it with her to bed for rest time and at night and looks through it.  There has been many times she will tell me a story from it just by looking through the pictures.  This week she was looking at the end where they had Jesus' hands tied up and were bringing him to the cross.  Alexa came running out of her room asking why they were doing that and then kept asking other questions like, "Do you think they were hurting Him?" and "Do you think Jesus cried?" and after we talked about what was happening she looks at me with the most serious face and says, "I do not like this one bit!"  Such a sweet heart.)

Dear Braden,
Thank you for not getting sick or having any side effects after eating half of a pack of gum that you found in my purse.  Oh, and thanks for not getting hurt after learning to crawl out of your crib this week.  You sure do know how to freak your Mom out on a regular basis.
Love,
Your Thankful Mommy

Dear Carl,
Thank you for being my parent's neighbor, a great family friend and a doctor.  I really appreciate that you don't mind getting calls because of a slightly panicked Mom and reassuring her that this isn't the first time a child has eaten a massive amount of gum.
Love,
A Mom You Will Probably Hear From Again

Dear Little Baby in my Belly,
Thank you for being so active and kicking hard enough that Daddy was able to feel you move for the first time last night.  I was so excited and I think he was too.  I can't wait for Alexa and Braden to be able to feel some of your kicks too.
Love,
Someone Who is Very Excited to Meet You

Winter Wonderland

This past weekend we woke up to snow.  Lots of snow. 
And then it snowed more.  All day long. 
The kids were freaking out, they were so unbelievably excited.  It was really fun watching Braden since he was so young last year and didn't really remember the whole Winter thing.  At first he kept saying, "Mommy, mommy it's raining!"  So cute.  Alexa was getting her hat and mittens on at about 6:30am, she was so ready to get out there and "make snowmen and snowballs and snow angels..."
How could I say no to that!?
So after breakfast we bundled up and headed out.

They had so much fun...it was so fun just watching them!
A few years ago I would have woke up, saw the snow and crawled back in bed.  Having kids makes everything so much more enjoyable, their excitement is so contagious.

I love this picture!!
Braden fell and Alexa ran right over to him to help him up and kept saying, "It's okay Buddy, I gotcha."  

Happy Winter! :)

Potty Dance, Potty Dance

This little guy is super excited

and we are too

because he went potty on the potty chair!!

There was a whole lot of potty dancing around here this past Thursday when Braden used his potty for the first time.  It hasn't happened again (yet) but we are happy to have things going in the right direction! :)

Baby #3 - 18 weeks

So do I look pregnant yet?  Yeah, I didn't think so.
But now I know why Alexa calls any type of comfy pants "Mommy pants" apparently that's the only thing I wear when we're home. :)

How far along: 18 weeks, 2 days

Size of baby: About 5 1/2 inches head to rump and around 1/2 pound

Weight Gain: 5 pounds


Maternity Clothes: I have been wearing a few more maternity jeans but that's about it.  Still in the annoying in-between stage.  I'm thinking I should stop complaining about it and enjoy it while it's here, huh!? :)

Gender: ??? 

Movement: I have been feeling a lot more action the past couple weeks, I love it!!

Sleep: Great!

What I miss: Not much.

Cravings: Not really.  Maybe salty foods.

Symptoms: Headaches have gotten so much better.  Also, this may be TMI, but I go to the bathroom ALL the time.  I used to have a never ending bladder and even when I was pregnant with Alexa and Braden it wasn't bad, I hardly ever got up in the middle of the night to go even at 9 months pregnant.  This time around is not the same, I have been getting up during the night sometimes more than once already!  Please tell me I will have my good bladder back again someday.

Best moment this week: Feeling lots of movement. 

What I'm looking forward to: Our ultrasound!!  2 weeks away...can't wait to see our little babe!

Halloween

I am waaaaaay behind on blogging but I wanted to post some Halloween pictures anyway, so here they are.

Carving pumpkins.
Don't let her fool you, she didn't actually put her hand in the pumpkin. :)

Matt ends up doing almost all the work, such a good sport.

Alexa drew the face on her pumpkin that she wanted Matt to carve...it's the one on the right. :)

Trick-or-Treating.
Alexa was a Princess (3rd year and counting) and Braden was a Giraffe.
They had SO much fun.  It was kind of chilly but they kept going for quite awhile.

Our neighbors came over to go out with us, the dinosaur is their little boy.

Birthday Recap

I still can't believe my little girl is four!  I keep calling her 3, partly because I'm just not used to it and partly because I don't want her to grow up.  But man, if that girl catches me saying three she sure speaks up..."I am FOUR now Mommy, FOUR!!"  I promise I'll get it right sometime in the next 6 months. :)

Last weekend we had her birthday party, which turned out great!  She woke up so happy and talked about it all day.  I love this age and how excited she is about everything.  Here are a few pictures from the party...

My grandma made this quilt for her and she loves it so much!  She drags it around the house wherever she goes and tells everyone, "My Nana made this for me!" 

My mom made cake balls and cupcakes and this cake for Alexa, SO yummy!

Last Tuesday was her actual birthday and of course she woke up to (my favorite birthday tradition) a room full of balloons.  Her and Braden have spent hours this past week playing in those things.  I told her today that it was time to get rid of them because I was sick of tripping over them all over the house, but then she gave me a sad face...maybe a couple more days. :)

I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday and she insisted that we got to the beach.  I wish!  However it was about 40 degrees and rainy so it wasn't going to happen.  So instead she decided to just wear a swimsuit around the house all day.

That night we had leftover cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday 4 times, per her request. :)