Mommy in waiting

A couple of weeks ago I got the pleasure of shooting a maternity session with one of my friends. There is something about this picture that speaks maternity to me. Possibly the aniticipation. Maybe the fullness of the belly that bears a little life inside, the miracle waiting to be born. She is due Dec 5th and I'm a month behind on Jan 8th. Another friend that was due Dec 17th had hers on Nov 24th. I thought this was an appropriate pic to post. L - thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to try some creative and artistic things. I hope you enjoy the pictures and have found some to cherish and remember your first pregnancy by.

As for the Riese family, we had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving at Mark's aunt and uncle's. The kids enjoyed all the attention, 4 wheeler rides, cooking, drawing, and everything else.

I think it is officially winter here in NE as the temperatures have dropped to the 30's. We are slowly putting up our Christmas decorations but apparently not fast enough for Schuyler = ) Speaking of Schuyler, she woke up with a fever this a.m. She is spending the majority of the day with Papa. Thank you dad!!! Hope she gets feeling well as she has a big weekend with a violin practice and bday party on Saturday and then on Sunday church and violin recital, which she is very excited for.

Hope all of you are doing well!

Eat and Give Thanks!

An early Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there! In the spirit of the holiday, I want all of you to know that I'm thankful for you. If you read this blog, it means that you are somehow connected to me and/or my family. What ever the relationship, God has broght us together for a reason. May this holiday serve as a reminder for all the things we have to be thankful for.

Sometimes it's best to take a child's perspective. Here are some of the things my children are thankful for, all in their words and in no particular order...

Baby
God
my mom, my dad, my sister, my dog, my baby, my papa... you get the hint = 0
the animals
the world
my food

Picture is from the bridesmaid luncheon when my bro got married in September. Thought it was a good representation of what is done on Thanksgiving...eating.

I have a Dr. Appt today. I'll give you an update next week as well as a rundown of the 4-day weekend. Have a good one!

hmmm...what to blog about...

Ahhh, a 3-day work week amd 4 day weekend. I'm looking forward to it. What is everybody's turkey day plans? We are heading back to Hastings to spend Thanksgiving with Mark's aunt, uncle, cousin, and Grandpa. The kids are excited. They'll have a blast on the farm and the forecast is predicting good weather, 60's. On Saturday, we'll do lunch or dinner back in Lincoln with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. Pretty low key. Any free time will be used to organize and get ready for baby and put up holiday decorations.

The weekend was good. Schuyler had a "special" day with Papa and his friend. They took her to see the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra at the Lux Center for Arts. She had a great time. The children got a free sketch book and oil pastel colors. And, her violin teacher was playing and she got to say Hi to her afterwords. They also took her to look at Christmas ornaments and a coffee shop where she sipped on hot chocolate with whipped cream and ate a cookie. My kids aren't spoiled at all! We took it easy on Sunday. The girls and I all napped together in our queen size bed. Let's say it was VERY cozy. Mark was on a mission to get a closet organizer in the baby's room and make a backdrop stand. He was a busy man running between Home Depot and Menards.

A belly shot!

Guess who? Just me and baby boy. My photography friend Holly and I had our 3rd playdate of the year. The whole Riese family packed up and went down to Fairbury. The goal was to take each other's family pics. Let's just say that her family was MUCH more cooperative than mine. However, being the fabulous photographer she is, she managed to get some cute family pics, which you'll all get to see on our Xmas cards. I also got to shoot some of Holly and her girls, Holly alone, her oldest daughter, and a few of the Riese girls. As usual, I'm way behind on pics but I promise to post by the end of the year - that should give me plenty of time = )

Holly, if you are reading this, thank you so much for being a gracious host and capturing some great moments with my family,of my pregnancy, and of my girls. I hope I was able to return the favor to you. I love my "belly shot" pics and that's saying a lot b/c I usually like it behind the camera better.

A gentle reminder

The other day we had an instance occur which I like to call "a gentle reminder". Mack's old provider which is also where baby boy will go used this term. We live in a nice neighborhoold. 'Nice' meaning people take care of their houses and lawns and that it is a safe neighborhood where people watch out for each other. Back to the point. Recently, I have been letting Schuyler ride her bike in the front yard by herself and normally I'm waiting for Mack to get her shoes on or in the backyard with Mack. Schuyler knows her limits. She can only go 2 houses up, 2 houses down and halfway up the walkpath, which is adjacent to our house. The other day, a white car drove past and slowed down by our house. I didn't see the whole incident since I was in the garage but after it happened one of our neighbors huddled a few of us together. Apparently, it had slowed down by his house as his son was playing outside. It disturbed his son, TJ, enough that TJ went and got him. So, the initial time when I saw the white car was actually the 2nd drive by. As we were talking, it drove by again. This time we took down info. I got the liscense and Jim got the make/model and year and we all got a glimpse of the man driving. Some time went by and the kids and I resumed playing. However, it did drive by a 4th time.

By this time, I was getting bit paranoid and so I tried talking to Mack, Schuyler and her friend Abby about the incident. While this was not the first conversation we've had with Schuyler, I'm still not sure she understood the message. I struggle with this b/c I want her to understand the importance and danger of strangers but at the same time you don't want your child to have a fear of everything. It's finding the right balance. My whole point is this served as a gentle reminder to make sure you remind your kids of not talking to strangers. Also, I'ved had second thoughts about Schuyler riding her bike alone in the front yard. I think we'll stick to the safety of our backyard with the privacy fence.

To finish the saga, I did call the police department and apparently Jim had to. A police officer came to our home and took our report. He did indicate he was familiar with the gentlemen driving and that he had no crimes against children nor adults. Apparently, he has drove up and down other neighborhoods, but this is the first time he's "watched kids". The officer also indicated the man is not mentally all there. Another neighbor followed up with police chief Cassidy. The man lives on the other side of the city and to his knowledge, really should not be driving in our area. Cassidy said he has been ticketed for having a pipe and on one other occassion when him and his brother made a fire on airport property and roasted hot dogs.

I'm sure that was more detail then needed but just wanted to share the gentle reminder. Have a good weekend.

Hump Day

Happy hump day to all! Seems like the week has flown by but at the same time I wish it was Friday. Does that make any sense! Nothing too exciting in the Riese household. Schuyler had a dentist appt on Monday. Mack wanted to go back with her and just as I was about to say 'no', the assistant said 'sure, come on back'. I kind of gave her the look and asked 'are you sure'. After all, this is 'lil Mack. She can be charming and cute but she can also be opionated and sometimes her 'spunk' can come out. The assistant told me to sit down, relax, and read a magazine. I didn't know what to do with myself. Much to my surprise, all went well. Schuyler got her teeth cleaned and they look great. She's fortunate to have great spacing between her teeth. I'm afraid her sister's teeth are a little different. Mack got a special sticker name tag and enjoyed watching both the movie and her sister. We have a great pediatric dentist, Dr. Becky is what the girls refer to her as. I actually played on a select soccer team with her growing up so it's always great to see her and she's wonderful with the kids.

Mackie surprised me the other night as we were cuddling in bed. She said 'more please'. Then she did some gestures and said 'more please' again. She said 'this is sign (sign language) for more please'. Kids just melt your hearts!

Reagan - part one!

Here is Alex's little sister, only by a few mintues! This is Reagan. She is a doll! I absolutely love her name. Until we found out our little peanut was a boy, this is the name we were thinking of using for a girl. Great minds think a like = )

I hope everybody had a good Halloween! Our kiddos enjoyed trotting around the block in their Thomas costumes. Mack almost didn't make it trick-or-treating b/c she was refusing her costumre. Initially, Schuyler was going to be Thomas and Mack was going to be James the Red Engine. Well, she didn't like the costume and wouldn't put it on so I sent it back. She wanted to be Thomas like her sister. So, our neighbor gave us a sack full of costumes, one of which was Thomas. So, no sooner do I get her in her costume for a little photo shoot and snap 2 pictures, she is taking it off. "I don't like it" she says. I show her the other costumes and she says "NO" to all of them. She tells me she wants to wear her swimsuit! Here in NE it's not very warm, 30's. So, obviously that's not a feasible option. She proceeds to show her dramatic side by throwing a little fit and once she calms down, she decides to remain naked. Papa stopped over and with his help, a little coercing, and the mention of Thomas tatoos, we are able to get her dressed!

Anyone have big plans for the weekend? Mark and I are going to the football game with his dad and a couple of his dad's friends. I usually make it to one game a year so this will be it. Mark's mom will watch the girls. Schuyler has a play date with her best friend, which should give Gma and Mack some time to bond. Have a good one!