Progress

Progress is really a beautiful thing. It can be so easy to get frustrated because I'm not where I want to be or things aren't finished yet or whatever. But, this week I've been seeking contentment in seeing progress. For example...

Truthfully, I'm kind of over being pregnant. I'm 28 weeks and feeling huge and wanting nothing more to meet this baby (and find out if it's a boy or a girl)! So it's easy to get down because I'm so far away from being done. But, the flip side is that I've made great progress. I'm already 2/3 of the way there! The baby is healthy and and moving around a ton - literally, a ton - like, I'm pretty sure more than Nolan or Abby ever did. Maybe that is just his/her way of making sure we remember to remember him/her? Either way, I love that I can feel those kicks so often. Progress!

There has been some good progress in our house too. I'm anxious for it to be finished and wish it were already done, but given the challenges of this winter I'm pretty thankful that any work was completed at all. Over the last few weeks they've done all of the siding, dry wall, fire place/mantel, and even put in kitchen and bathroom cabinets and counter tops.* So while we're still a long way from it being finished, I'm just thrilled to see progress!

Here are a few pics:

Outside view:

(This pic was taken on March 25 - during one of our many, many snow storms this winter. See, with that much snow it's a wonderful thing to see progress!)

Nolan checking out the kitchen cabinets:

Nolan and Abby pretending to be the refrigerator:

*I was really nervous to see the cabinets/counters in place. After we picked those options last summer, I agonized over our choices and thought many times about changing them. It's really hard to get a picture of what the kitchen will look like when you're choosing colors based on a 3" square of material. So, I was glad when they went in and I didn't hate them. There is nothing special or fancy about them. In fact, most people might look at that and go "that's so boring". But, I love it. It is perfect for us right now. Maybe someday when the kids are grown we can afford to upgrade to the kitchen of our dreams. But for now I am happy just to have a kitchen that is my own. I am already dreaming about what to do with all that cabinet space! :) 

Winter Fun

We are now in the first week of March, and as much as I've been enjoying this winter and all the snow days that came with it, I'm hoping that it's about time to pack up the sweaters and snow gear. Mother Nature tends to have a mind of her own though so we'll see. In the meantime, here are a few highlights of this winter... I don't have a  ton of great pics because I refused to be more focused on taking pictures than on my kids and enjoying the moment. So, here's what I've got...

This was the first winter that the kids were old enough to really enjoy going sledding. Abby was a little more hesitant but Nolan had an absolute blast! He would go down the hill, come back up, and immediately go down again - like 30 times in a row. Meanwhile, I made it down and up once and had to take a 10 minute break ;)

(in this pic you can see Nolan and our cousin Colby walking up and Abby riding down with our cousin Hunter)

(Abby making a snow angel)

(Nolan climbing on a big pile of snow)

(Our snowman)

(Nolan getting the royal treatment by Uncle Brendan)

(Family trip down the sledding hill :) 

(Testing out the frozen pond. I told them both to stay away because it was dangerous. Notice that Boomer listened and Ben didn't ;)

(Once we were sure it was safe, Pops and Abby ventured out)

(Nolan and Uncle Ben "ice skating")

We've had a lot of other fun moments that I didn't catch on camera... so needless to say we've had a great time this winter. But now I'm ready for some warmer temperatures! Come on Spring!

Big Girl Milestone

Sometimes it feels like the kids are growing up WAY too fast. But, one area where I am glad for them to grow fast is the area of potty training. Recently we celebrated a big milestone... Abby is
officially potty trained!

This is a picture of [crazy-haired] Abby with her certificate and prize from her awesome babysitter (who did a lot of the work), Ms. Lisa! She got her first ever barbie doll for her reward. She was very excited!

Potty-training is one of my least favorite things about parenting so I am glad to have another one down! We get a little bit of a diaper break now before D3 comes along. This will be our first break from buying diapers in almost 5 years! Hurray for that and Hurray for Abby!

It's a _____!

This week we got to get a look at baby Donohoe #3 - or D3 as we affectionately call him/her. The big 20 week ultrasound is usually used to find out the gender of the baby. But, this time we decided to keep it a secret. So there won't be a big "It's a girl!" or "It's a boy!" announcement until the baby actually makes an appearance! We found out with both N and A so this will be different for us - it's definitely harder not knowing. But it's more exciting too - it will bring even more anticipation as the big day gets closer!

Nolan and Abby got to witness the ultrasound with us this time. I thought it might be something fun for them since they know that there's a baby in my belly, but they don't really understand why it can't come out yet. Abby frequently asks if she can hold my baby. Or she'll find a baby toy and say "this is for the baby" and then drop it down my shirt. Needless to say I think she is going to be excited when the baby comes! (At least until she realizes she is the center of attention anymore). Neither one of them was super excited about seeing the ultrasound - it would be kind of hard for a 2 or 4 year old to see what you are looking at. At first Nolan said "Is that a monster?" And then later on said the baby looked like a dinosaur - I think that was around the time she was checking out his/her spine. In an event, D3 looks healthy and got a good report. I am officially over half way done now so hoping that the 2nd half flies by as quickly as the first!

In other random D3 news, we've started talking about names some (which we are not sharing). But, did want to share that if it's a boy, Nolan thinks we should name him Peter (he got fixated on this name once and not thinks that everything that is a boy should be named Peter), and if it's a girl, Abby says she should be "Hope" (after her favorite baby doll that is named Baby Hope). Not knowing the gender will make it harder to pick a name. But we've still got several months to narrow it down!

House Update

It's been a while since I talked about our house, so here is the latest construction update!

Over the past few months they have been hard at work on the foundation. We had a bit of a set back because we found out the soil on our house site really sucks, so we have to have some extra work done on the foundation to make sure it is secure. Of course you all know what that means - more $$$ and more time to redo plans and such. But, thankfully we are back on track and the foundation is now complete. Here are a few pics from along the way:

Nolan posing with the beginnings of the foundation:

Lots and lots of cement trucks pouring the foundation:

Nolan and Abby playing in the "basement":

The back of the house (walk out basement):

The front view of the house - left side is the garage, right side will be the front porch:

So there you have it... It's been really cold and rainy/snowy the past few weeks. Hoping that the weather cooperates enough to get it under roof. Then bring on the snow days! :) 

D3

There's big news in the Donohoe House... Baby #3 is on the way and due to arrive next July! (Which you already knew if you read the Christmas Letter - but I didn't want D3 to be deprived of his/her own big blog announcement post)

We waited until Christmas Eve to tell the kids. As we were getting ready for bed we told them we had a surprise for them. When we told them what it was, Abby was super excited - she LOVES babies - and immediately tried stuffing a dolly inside my shirt. Nolan was less excited - but not upset. He mostly wanted to know if he could see it. And then cautioned me to be careful because the baby might bite me from the inside. 

I think it is too early for them to really understand what this actually means for them. But for now, they are excited. While Nolan and I were cuddling on the couch recently he started patting my belly and said he was "petting the baby". And Abby talks frequently about the "baby in you belly". 

I know that 3 kids is a scary thought. And there are times that won't be a picnic. But we know this little life is a blessing from God and are excited to meet him/her next summer!