Finally got these pictures uploaded - what a day!

As you can see - Molly made most of the phone calls when we found out we were having another girl - while Peter buried his head in Bob's shoulder and cried about another girl - he got over it quickly!

Everyone celebrating at DQ after getting the big news that we are having another Baby Girl!

Peter and Annie are almost naked in the picture above - they were waiting for their tubbies!

Korin and Sean came over on Wednesday night and I promised them Italian ice from Rita's if they smiled for a few pictures. It worked! In the above picture Korin and Molly are looking through Molly's Lifebook - Interesting conversations the girls had based on the scrapbook. Molly is so used to tummy mommy's and questions about the color of the kids skins and whether they are REALLY sister and brother. Korin has never really asked and had some really great questions after looking through the book. When they were through I asked if Korin had any other questions and she shrugged her shoulders, said no and then said "Wow - that is SO cool, Auntie Kasey." I think so!

Before I go any further I have to congratulate my cousins Todd and Michelle in San Diego - they are due a few weeks after me and they are having a girl too. That is 6 baby girls on that side of the family in the last year or so (Katie Russell -1 year, Annie - 9 months, Katie Harding - 3 months, Nora Lewendowski - 3 weeks, Caroline - in utero and Michelle and Todd's new baby - in utero) - WOW - Girls Rock!

After a rough start the kids and I dropped Ann off at Auntie Ann's to be spoiled by the three nuns while we went to see Kung Fu Panda. It was so much fun to be able to give all my attention to the big kids - they reveled in it. Bob is in Boston helping KK make the final move to CT - unfortunately there is a huge thunder and lightening storm in Boston so they are drenched and working hard! Back to our movie - half way through after Peter seemed to be concentrating heavily on the movie for about a half hour he turned to me and asked if I still love him. He had had a rough morning of not listening and a hitting incident with Molly but it amazes me that my love could possibly be questioned by any of my kids. I say it 100 times a day- usually with hugs, kisses and attention thrown in - how could my sweet little boy possibly question my love. Or worse yet - how could he question his ability to be lovable - this is my affectionate, cuddlebug of a kid - it breaks my heart but I tried to not make a big deal out of it. I simply looked him in the eye and said "There is nothing in the entire world that would make me stop loving you." He continued to look me in the eye and said "Then how come some mom's do - like the mom's whose kids have to go to foster homes?" And, yes, we were smack dab in the middle of our kung fu Panda movie as this conversation was taking place. I decided to forgo the conversation until later so we could really chat seriously (I also needed some time to think about this since Peter was in foster care for a signifigant period of time as a baby and didn't want to send any wrong messages!) and we held hands for the rest of the movie. We had a great conversation later on - Peter is very intuitive and sensitive!

Annie was wonderful for Auntie Ann and the kids were tired and happy as we drove home. It is Lisa and Paul's anniversary (13 years - holy cow!) so Lucas and Ella are coming over for a sleepover so they can go away - Yeah for them! Did I mention that Bob and I are going out tomorrow night??????????????

Random Thoughts and Pictures!

The kids have been out of school for 2 weeks now and I am just getting around to looking through all of the artwork and stuff that came home on the last day. I thought I would put a little sampling of my cutie pies and their work on here.

This is a story about me and my job - the second one that Pete did. He is such a sweetie and my kids are finally getting it that I am not a doctor! If only!
Pete in his baseball uniform with his game face on - how cute is this kid? He looks very serious but when I asked him about it he said he was concentrating on doing a good smile.
My favorite of Mrs. Nelson's kindergarten projects - the Kimono project. Anything with the kids faces on it is adorable but both of my kids were SO excited about this one. Molly missed a day of school and was worried that she missed making the kimino - she was in tears for hours about it. Obviously she didn't miss it at all because here she is!
My friend Rebecca is going to DisneyWorld tomorrow for a week and I am so jealous. I haven't been there in a year and a half and I LOVE Disney. This is a little more nostalgia for Auntie Beth - The four oldest cousins in Disney with Auntie Leenie and Uncle Pete (Mom and Dad to some of us). Were we ever that young? Were my legs ever that thin? Why did Eileen pull her pants up so high??????????

My friend Rebecca was telling me how cheap she got everything and trying to convince me that I should start planning a trip so I can go when the baby is a few months old. One problem - I've never been to Disney without my parents and I have no desire to go without them. So much more fun when the grandparents are there to help and make everything more special for the kids! Peter was lamenting the fact that Annie has never been to Disney - I had to remind him that she has only been around for 9 months and most kids wait a lifetime to get to Disneyworld. They have no idea how spoiled they are!

A few other tidbits - with my brother's permission we have changed the baby's name - I just could not get a good nickname for Patricia and only decided on it because I was SO sure it was a boy! So the baby's name is Caroline Beth Harding - Wheeler. Named for my favorite song by Neil Diamond, "Sweet Caroline" and my cousin Beth.

I am having such a good end of week - Bob and I are going out on Saturday night - ALONE! I hate asking people to watch the kids for us - first of all there are alot of them, second of all everyone is busy and third of all my family gives us so much help in other ways that I feel guilty but Meg came over last night and offered to watch the kids so we could use our J. Gilberts gift certificate and go out to dinner. I originally thought we had a wake to go to but found out today that my friend at work's mother who died is not having a wake so J. Gilberts here we come! I am on cloud nine in anticipation. Barnes and Noble is across the parking lot and I have a $25 gift card from Mother's Day on top of everything - ahhhh heaven!

GNM - ILY!

Meggie!

I hurried back on the blog after my parents left so that I could fix my faux pax and add something about Meggie to my sister comment but she had already left a message. Sorry Meg - didn't mean to leave the cutest of the Kelly sisters out! Love You!

Sisters!

A few weeks ago I asked for prayers for a friend of mine from high school whose daughter had been diagnosed with Leukemia. I realized afterwards that many of you had some tie to Cathy and her family Cathy and her sisters all grew up in Cromwell (the Connell Family), Beth and I went to Mercy with Cathy's sister Debbie and so on. This is the link to check in on Shannon - Cathy's daughter who is fighting cancer right now. Even if you don't check out the site please keep Cathy and her family in your prayers - the news sounded great today but they have a long road ahead.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shannoncody

SISTERS

I was looking through pictures this morning and this one fell out of the envelope. Since finding out about the baby being a girl I have been thinking alot about sisters and the fact that this was a pictures of the 3 Kelly (oldest) sisters seemed like a sign. I have loved watching Annie and Molly develop a relationship and, as most mothers do, I have a tendency to dream about their futures - Annie looking up at Molly as she leaves for the prom, Molly coming home from college to help Annie pick out her prom dress, gifts they will give each other, memories they will share , each being maid of honor for the other on their wedding days - the list goes on and on. Clearly these are the daydreams of a woman who has wonderful , loving, supportive and kind brothers but no sisters and has transferred every dream of having a sister to her daughters - everything I hoped to do with my sisters I can picture my girls doing together. And now there will be three and the dreams go on and on and on. Molly being the older, wise sister that paves the way for the little ones, Annie and the new baby being so close in age that they are practically like twins and their Mom in the thick of it all. I never had an older brother but I definitely had a BIG brother and Peter will be right there, just as Uncle Pat was for me - making fun of me, harrassing me, but also protecting me and when he couldn't protect me making me feel safe and loved all the same. Peter will no doubt be adored by his sisters and hopefully as they all find their paths in life they will remember to be grateful for the gift of each other!
Don't worry I'm not dillusional - I realize that my brothers and I have JUST gotten to this point but 36 years isn't bad right????

KK is moving home on Friday and Auntie Beth is forgoing her Hawaii trip to come home for the birthdays. Newport is less than a month away and I have the day off on Friday to hang with the kids - pretty great summer so far!

GNM -ILY!

It's another GIRL!

Check out the hamburger bun, as they refer to it. The second I saw it on the screen I knew - a few ultrasounds and it becomes a familiar sight! Yeah - another perfect, beautiful baby girl.

Here she is with her hand in her mouth - I have had hundreds of ultrasounds and the miracle of it never gets old for me. She was kicking and moving and changed positions twice during the screening. First she was head down and back out and then she was head sideways and legs kicking my side - looking straight at us. I have been secretly worried because I haven't felt the tiny kicks that I did with Annie - only big round movements - but come to find out my placenta has moved off the top of my cervix (a very bad place for it) and is now right in the front of my tummy so it creates extra padding (like I need it there). The baby is perfect in every way - perfect head, big brain (at least it looked big to me), great size and heart beating exactly as it should. The facial features show no sign of anything wrong and all of her organs are accounted for! Bob and I both had the same reaction when we got outside - this baby looks just like Annie. Say what you will about how similar all ultrasounds look but my guess is that she comes out with masses of dark hair and big beautiful blue eyes that sparkle and shine.

Molly and Peter were slightly disappointed at not getting a brother but they got over it quickly - they both loved the ice cream and having Grammy and Papa with us. I can't get the picture to upload of all of us at DQ (its tradition!) celebrating another H-W baby girl!

1 Boy and 3 Girls - such blessings!

GNM - ILY!

Pictures and updates - Finally!

The girls hanging out with Annie when they woke up on Sunday morning!
Molly and Abby always want to wear their hair the same way -

how cute do they look in their braids?
Our beautiful Girls!
Annie has her first sip of milk! She HATED it!

Julia came over on Sunday afternoon and all the girls watched Camp Rock.
Annie got a new toy to help her learn how to walk - she was so excited!

Julia dressed as Pocahantas.
Abby dressed in one of Molly's dance costumes! She loves this one.

Annie's first chicken nugget!
Our girl finally learns how to crawl and she is all over the place!

The girls playing dress up - they have so much fun together! I love this picture of my goddaughter - the outfit, the headband and the guitar - and the cute little smile to top it off!

The three girls posing for Auntie Kasey - AGAIN!

My girl working on her walking!

Abaigeal spent the entire weekend doing some form of dancing - she called this one naked dancing after her shower and she was so flippin cute that I decided to post it!

We had a wonderful weekend with the kids - Annie gets loads of attention when Tyler is around and the girls can't get enough of her. The only one who wasn't interested in her was Julia who at one point said to Molly (in an effort to get her to come back and play) "She's just a little baby and she doesn't do anything, Molly - I'm a big girl - come play with me." We barely saw Pete and Tyler on Sunday - they were out on walks with Bob and up in the playroom setting up armies - Bob and I agree a full house is the best! Having to add chairs to the dinner table is great! We also had a nice dinner - BOb and I got DeAngelo's with a gift card from his birthday (Believe it or not that is his favorite sandwich place) and the kids got McDonalds with a gift card sent to Peter and Molly a week ago from a friend from college who just found out we had another baby.

My friend Amy is coming home from Arizona this week - I can't wait to see her. She watched Peter for a year when he was a baby and we love Amy and her daughter Kelly. When Peter was 2 and Molly was 4 months we took a trip to Arizona to visit them but our visits have been once or twice a year at best since then - I hope to get some quality time this trip since they are here for a while!

So I can upload to blogspot if I do it by individual pictures and not as a group - takes 10 times as long but KK insisted so.....................

GNM - ILY!

Cute pictures but you'll never see them!

I would love to show you all the pictures of Annie learning to crawl and the girls dressed up playing High School Musical and lots of other good stuff.......but once again I can't. Blogspot will not allow me to so I'm not even going to blog - I'm going to simply start checking out other blog spots - sorry if I sound bitter but I am! I'll try again tommorow!

GNM - ILY!