Love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is coming up and it's time to send out cards! Luckily, Tiny Prints has you covered.


You all know that I love Tiny Prints since I've blogged about them before. The customer service is fantastic and they are super fast getting your order out. They have some adorable Valentine's cards this year. Since C is in school this year, she'll need some cute cards to pass out to her classmates as well as the rest of her friends. We've got a couple of fun Valentine's parties to go to this year! Check out all of the cards here:

Tiny Prints Valentine's Day Cards

Some of my favorite cards are the "Crafty Hearts" and the "Light up Hearts" designs. I know that I cannot go wrong whatever I pick!! I am so excited about spending Valentine's Day with my two favorite people (next year I'll be with my THREE favorites). I don't know what we are going to be doing to celebrate the day yet, but I know that we will have a wonderful time. I still remember the first Valentine's Day Adam and I ever spent together. It was our first dinner date. He brought me a rose and took me to Chez Fonfon. :)

If you love Tiny Prints, follow them on Twitter, Pinterest (my favorite obsession) , or Facebook ...or all three! You can see new products and special deals (They have great things happening all the time). Why do I love Tiny Prints? They are giving me 50 free classroom Valentine's cards for writing this blog post!! I have been using them for a couple of years now and have never been disappointed in their service. Check them out, I can't wait to see what cards you pick!

Where did the time go??

I cannot believe that I am now 23 weeks pregnant! I forgot to take a belly picture at 20 weeks. It was right before Christmas and with all the shopping, wrapping, baking, and enjoying the holiday with Caroline I just forgot! I'll take one next week though.

So far I am feeling good. My sciatic nerve pain is back and worse than ever, but that's probably the only negative thing. No more nausea or headaches. I am always hungry. I am sure I have put on several pounds in the past two days as I haven't stopped eating in 48 hours. My energy is up and down depending on the day. Luckily Caroline is napping fairly well these days so I can get some rest each day. I have been nesting like crazy! I am constatly doing projects around the house and when I cannot do something, I start planning things. I have planned Caroline's 2nd birthday, what gifts to get her for Valentine's Day, Easter, Big Sister gifts, and her birthday. I have started a list of what gifts to get both of the girls for Christmas. If only I could stay pregnant forever then I'd get tons of things done!

I have another doctor appointment in 10 days. They will do another ultrasound and I cannot wait! They will confirm the gender and check on the position of the placenta. At the last ultrasound they said it was "low laying" so they would need to keep an eye on it.

This pregnancy is just flying by and I wish that it would slow down a little. I have so much to do to get ready for Ann Parker. Adam is working on a trial coming up at the end of next month so his work schedule is about to majorly pick up. That means I'll have tons to do and no help :( Also, I want to enjoy every single minute that I have with just Caroline. She's my baby (and always will be) and it's hard to think that she's about to be the BIG sister.

Here are a few pictures of life at the Israel house lately.


Sleepy girl snuggling in the blanket in between wardrobe changes.


Caroline fingerpainted the other day and LOVED it! We'll be doing a lot more of that.


Playing at the Vestavia Library before story time.


Hugging big sister Daisy (another girl who has no idea that her life is going to be changing...again)

She has a name!!

Our precious little girl has a name!! Picking out names for your children is hard for me. It has to be something that you love on a child and that you can see an adult having. It has to be something that you love and not just something that is popular at the moment. The first girl name that we ever fell in love with was Caroline. It's not a family name, just one that we both adored (and still do). We had to find a name for our second daughter that we love just as much. That being said, our daughter will be:

Ann Parker Israel

She will go by both names. This name is very special and we just love it. Ann is my middle name (well, technically my former middle name since I legally dropped it). I was named after my great-grandmother. It is also Adam's mother's name. I have always loved the name. In fact - my dog, my car, and my cat from high school (who was a boy) were all given the middle name Ann. It was on our list of middle names for Caroline but we didn't think it flowed as much as Grace. Adam promised me that if we ever had another girl we could use Ann. Parker is Adam's uncle's middle name. So many stories that Adam tells are about his Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary. They never had children of their own so they loved Adam and his brother as if they were. Adam loves them both so much so it only seemed fitting that we use one of their names. Our neice is Mary Scott and we didn't want to have two Mary's so close together. Adam always loved the name Parker (for a boy or girl) so it just seemed to fit. Back in February we were discussing having more children. I was several months away from being pregnant so it wasn't a serious discussion, but we mentioned the name Ann Parker and agreed that we liked it. After I found out I was pregnant, I was actually set on another name for a girl. However, once it was confirmed that we were having another girl that name didn't seem to fit. Adam looked at me and said "Ann Parker?" the night that we found out. From that moment it became our top name. We still went back and forth because we didn't want to pick something so soon, but I think we both knew that Ann Parker was it. We did the exactly same thing with Caroline.

We are so excited about adding Ann Parker to our family this year. What a beautiful blessing she is!

What's going on over here...

Adam told me that after the first of year we could hit the ground running when it came to house projects. Poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into!! We are going to be super busy over the next few of months. I have a self imposed deadline of March 31 for getting bedrooms in order (nursery, big girl room, and ours). I'm pretty sure that this baby is coming in April and I'd really love to enjoy (or just try to be as not miserable as possible...) the last month. The rest of the stuff can be finished whenever but hopefully by the end of the summer.

I have taped off the current guest room/soon to be nursery. Once we remove the window treatments, outlet covers, and cover the furniture we will start painting. Our plan is to paint this weekend!! I have all the bedding picked out for the nursery but won't order that until the end of the month. Since it's brand new, it's not on sale but a little birdie told me that there might be a sale at the end of the month. We have all the furniture we need for the new nursery including a new twin bed! I still haven't picked out the bedding for that bed yet but it will probably be plain white with accent pillows that match the crib bedding.

We have big plans for C's current room. This will remain her room and just transition to a big girl/guest room. I have the bedding picked out and once I decide on which shams I want, I will go ahead and order. It's so cute and I know it will look great in the room. I have a nightstand for her that we will strip and paint and put new hardware on. We are also building a bookshelf and a cornice box for the window. We are looking a dresser that we can have distressed and painted so if you happen to be selling a dresser, let me know!

We finally got our bedding on our bed as well as bedside lamps. I have fabric to cover to bench once I find that. I need to frame a few pictures and art and also find some window treatments and then our room will finally be done.

Other house projects include: hanging our new window treatments in the living room (they have already been made and are here we just have to get them up!), find a new floor lamp for the living room, paint the laundry room (which will be done in the same color as C's big girl room so it will get completed soon), find fabric for curtains in the kitchen, repaint a bookshelf, find a new buffet for the dining room and work on a gallery wall.

We have lots to do in the next few months but I know that our house will look fantastic once it's all done. Slowly but surely this house is coming together. Our goal is to have it complete by the time we go to sell it :) If anyone wants to come help out you sure are welcome to! Stay tuned, I'll be taking before and during pictures throughout.

Welcome 2012!

2011 was a fantastic year but we are ready for 2012! We're excited about some big things this year - new car for me, making a nursery and a big girl room, a much needed "babymoon", a beach vacation this summer, and most importantly - our family growing from 3 to 4!

Here's a quick look back at 2011:

January: Caroline started pulling up and learning how to crawl. Major babyproofing began. We had an icy day that kept Adam home with us for a couple of days.

February: Caroline said her first recognition word - "Day Day" for Daisy

March: Baby recognition Sunday at Trinity. Daisy had lots of teeth pulled :(

April: Tornadoes swept through the state and we spent nearly 5 days without power. C took her first unassisted step.

May: C turned ONE!! I celebrated my first Mother's Day and loved it!

June: She ate watermelon for the first time.

July: C had her tear duct surgery. It went fantastic. Thank goodness for the amazing Dr. Cogan and Children's Hospital.

August: Adam and I found out that Baby Israel #2 was on its way!

September: Caroline started PDO. We took a much needed trip to Point Clear.

October: C had her first haircut. Adam and I had a lovely weekend in Nashville (minus Caroline, who enjoyed spending time in Haleyville).

November: C showed off pigtails for the first time. I showed off a baby bump!

December: We found out that Caroline will have a little sister. We celebrated a wonderful Christmas.

We had a great New Year's this year. We had several friends over to our house for the evening. Although Caroline didn't make it until midnight, I know that she enjoyed the party. We cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store for the Israel family!

Nineteen Months Old!!!

Nineteen Months Old - December 23, 2011


Right before Christmas, C turned 19 months old. Things this month have pretty much been the same as the previous couple of months, so this will be a short post.

She is learning and using new words and phrases everyday. Some of our favorite are:

No mom-MEEEEEE!! (Mommy sounds like she has an Italian accent) - She doesn't necessarily say this just to me. Mommy has become her frustrated word.
Uh-Oh
Yum
Wow
Woah
Who's you?

She's been sleeping much better than in the previous several weeks. She's also eating a lot better. We have found several things that she really loves (umm...Indian food). She is getting better and better at using silverware. She still LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but Little Einsteins is quickly becoming another favorite. She is doing great in school. She loves her teachers and has so much fun with all her friends in her class.

She is incredibly independant and strong willed, which leads to lots of melt downs. Adam and I are still trying to figure out how we "parent" and our style of discipline. We have found that is very sensitive - especially when Adam gets onto her for acting up.

We will be transitioning her to a big girl bed in the next month or so. So much is in store for this little ball of energy and we couldn't be more excited!

Happy 19 Months precious girl! You are such a wonderful addition to our family and we couldn't be more thankful to call you ours. We love you more than you will ever know!!

Christmas 2011

It's hard to believe that Christmas is already gone. The only evidence left in my house is my bare Christmas tree...and that's only because Adam and I haven't taken it apart yet but that will come tomorrow. We had such a wonderful Christmas. It may have even been better than last year - and that is a hard one to beat :)

On Christmas Eve, my family came over for lunch and gifts. My brother and his wife traveled from Charlotte, NC. They hadn't seen Caroline in over a year so we were very excited to see them! We had such a fun time laughing, talking, and opening gifts that I didn't take too many pictures. Of course in true Duggan fashion silly dares were made...like who could fit into Caroline's Cozy Coupe. Not sure why this is only thing I have pictures of. And no, you won't see me doing that. This pregnant mama is a little too big (and the two spouses were a little too smart for this).



Caroline really racked up. She got some adorable new pj's, a Mickey video, new shoes, play food and pots and pans (Santa dropped some hints about what he was bringing), stuffed animals, and several more things. Adam and I also did very well...new kindles for both of us and a new video camera!

After the fun, my family left. Adam's parents came over shortly after that. The five of us went to Trinity for Christmas Eve Communion. When we got home we had a delicious meal of spinach salad, beouf bourguignon, and fingerling potatoes. Adam and I love to cook and so we started cooking nice meals on Christmas Eve. It's such a perfect night to have a good meal and use our beautiful china. The food was perfect and Caroline was a doll throughout the meal so we could actually enjoy it!

After dinner, Caroline got to open two gifts from us. We started the Christmas Eve pj tradition with her last year and we were so excited about this year because we added a new gift - a Christmas book. Each year on Christmas Eve, the kids will get to open new Christmas pj's and a book. We'll change, read the book, and then send them off to bed. Caroline is such a wiggle worm but she really enjoyed listening to the story!


Since Caroline had about 1,000 gifts under the tree and we knew Santa was bringing about 1,000 more, Adam and I decided to open gifts to each other after Caroline went to bed. We wanted to spend the whole morning opening gifts and playing with her. I am so glad that we did - because I would have wanted to spend all morning playing with my new iPhone 4s! Adam and I both got lots of wonderful stuff from each other. After gifts we went to bed and when we woke up...

We saw that Santa had come!!


He even brought gifts for the new baby!


Caroline was quite surprised at all the fun stuff.


She went right for the play kitchen.


Her new puzzle block was a big hit too.


Then she went to check out the new potty!!


Reading a new book in her new sock monkey hat with a new sippy cup!


Back to the kitchen.


Watching Mickey with her new Mickey doll.


While she was opening her presents from Adam and me we didn't take pictures, we just videod it. I am so glad that we did because she was precious! Everytime she opened a gift she would say "Wow!" Some of her favorite things from us were: puzzles, Mrs. Potato Head, accessories for her Baby Stella doll, play doctor set, My Little Pony dolls, magnadoodle, and several more.

After all these gifts, you think that would be enough for one girl but oh no...there was more. Adam's brother and his family came over for more gifts. She got to open gifts from them, Adam's parents, Adam's grandmother, and Adam's aunts and uncles. Caroline is one very loved (and very spoiled) little girl. We've been joking that Caroline got her own Toys R Us for Christmas. It seems like she really did! We have so many new toys, clothes, shoes, books, etc. around here. Precious little girl #2 even racked up - new clothes, sleep giraffe, wubbanub, boppy lounger, bibs, and lots more.



After all that excitement it was time for a big bath before we sent this little girl off to bed. We had such a wonderful Christmas. I know that next year will be even better. Caroline will be even more aware and will be more excited and we'll have another sweet baby celebrating her first Christmas. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year!