Pumpkin Playdate

Last week we made a trip Waterman's for their Fall Harvest Festival with our good buddies The Macks, The James, and The Lands... between us we had five kiddos (and one in utero) all under the age of 26 months. Whew.

Miss Bug's bestest friend in the world is Sarah, and they were sure happy to see each other. (Bug asks me almost every day if she gets to see Sarah.) They're only about three months apart, and they've been buddies since they were about seven and ten months old. Sarah just got a little sister, Abby, about three weeks ago, so they hadn't seen each other in a little bit longer than they were used to and I think they were going through withdrawals.

Their relationship works pretty much like this:  Bug drags Sarah around and tells her what to do. Sarah, a very laid back little gal, takes it like a champ.

Bug got to try out a bouncy house for the first time. And of course, picked a pumpkin and took a hayride.

The crowd:

After I looked through these pictures (and the other 50 I took that day), and saw all of us Mommies, my very first and honest thought was, "Boy, we all look really tired."

Happy Fall!

28 Weeks!

How far along? 28 weeks

Maternity clothes? Are you serious?

Sleep: As much as possible.

Best moment this week: I was at a conference all day on Monday – like 15 hours all day – and on my feet all day. (Got up at 4am to drive to Fort Wayne for the conference.)

While aimlessly wandering around and talking to vendors at random booths, a salesman asked me when I was due. After telling him I still have 12 weeks to go, he got this look of “genuine” surprise on his face and said, “Wow. You look great!” And with so much sincerity that I was slightly startled.

I knew with every ounce of my being that I did not look great. (This was about hour 12 of standing on my feet.) I was pretty darn sure that I looked like I’d been run over by a truck.

Needless to say, he was a really good salesman. He could have won an Oscar for that performance, because it got me through the rest of the day. :)

Movement: All over the place. This girl never stops.

Labor Signs: Few Braxton Hicks here and there, but nothing too serious.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Going up a flight of stairs without having to stop and catch my breath.

What I am looking forward to: The hospital stay. Yeah, seriously. The hospital stay with Bug was like getting to visit a spa. Everyone waiting on you hand and foot, and you just get to bask and glow in the new baby happiness. God willing, there are no complications, I’m really looking forward to it.

Weekly Wisdom: blah blah blah

Milestones: Third trimester! We’re in the home stretch!

First Haircut for Bug

On Tuesday, Bug got her first real haircut. My mom and I took her to Cookie Cutters where it was all fun and games, until the actual cutting began. ...not so sure about this.
And moments later, we'd resorted to turning on cartoons and pulling out the paci - just to get her to stay still.

But she lived! And her hair looks beautiful!

Yes, I am Afraid of Needles

Yesterday was my regular Dr.’s appointment for Baby Awesome, and everything went well. She’s almost 28 weeks, so it was time for the dreaded glucose test and my Rhogam shot. I hate both of these things. The glucose test tastes disgusting, and the Rhogam shot is surprisingly painful. (Although, I will say that the shot I got after Bug was born didn’t even faze me since I’d just given birth.)

Anyway, I got to thinking about this appointment about two years ago when I was pregnant with Bug, and this little story makes me chuckle… so I thought I’d repost.

Originally posted Friday, June 15, 2007

…It was a long appointment and I was feeling a little shaky by the time they got around to my [Rhogam] shot, after having nothing to eat all morning except this yucky orange drink they give you for the glucose test and then having four vials of blood removed.

The nurse came in to give me my shot and began explaining that I was going to have to get it in my cheek.

My CHEEK?! (Remember I was a little light-headed by this point.)

I thought she was implying that she was going to stick the giant needle in the side of my face.

As I restrained myself from running out of the room, thoughts of “I did NOT sign up for this!” ran through my head. No one ever mentioned needles in my FACE.

The look of fear on my face must have been pretty funny, because the nurse started laughing really hard at me as she explained that she meant another cheek that wasn’t on my face.

OH… Ok, that one I think I can handle.

A Name for Awesome

So, let's talk about BabyAwesome's name.

I've tried to not include MissBug's name on here in order to give her a little privacy later in life. It's probably not going to work, but I thought the less I could associate her real name with naked baby pictures, probably the better for when she hits adolescence. So, I'm going to do the same for little BabyAwesome, except for this one post.

I'm going to put this out there, because J and I need some feedback on BabyAwesome's name, and I would like to enlist the help of the Internet.

We're going to call BabyAwesome, Violet. That's set in stone (so long as a girl actually comes out), so no use giving us new first names (You know who you are. Mom. Dad.)

What we're having trouble with is her middle name.

We really like the middle name "Isla" (pronounced eye-luh), but we're (I'm) a little hung up on whether or not this will scar her for life. I really love it... but it sort of rhymes with her first name. And there's the issue that no one will be able to spell it.

Violet Isla

So what are your thoughts? I promise, you won't hurt my feelings, this is her NAME, and I don't want to mess her up straight out of the womb.

Big Girl Bed

This week MissBug started sleeping in her very own Big Girl Bed. Daddy finished painting her room, and putting up chair rail, so we set up the furniture and got her all settled in. All that's left now are curtains and decorations!

She's spent three nights in her bed now, and she's done really well. (I think she kind of still thinks it's actually a crib, though, since we've got the bed rails on there.) She was really excited about it, and has enjoyed showing everyone who comes over her "Big Girl Bed."

As if the ballet classes and tu-tu weren't enough, now she's got a princess room to go with it... when BabyAwesome comes along, Daddy is going to be drowning in girly-ness!

Baby Ballerina

On her way to her very first dance class... MissBug started taking a ballet/tap class about three weeks ago, and I'm not sure we've taken the tu-tu off since. She loves her class - it's 30 minutes long, and it's a Mommy & Me class, so by the end of the class we're both pooped.

Since she started her ballet class, now everything is a "pretty princess." I'm also not joking about the tu-tu. She wears it over her clothes most days, all around the house, and out into the world if I let her. She has her very own tap shoes, which she also insists on wearing as much as possible - although, when it comes to actually tapping in the class, she doesn't have much patience for it. When spend a lot of time now dancing around the house on our tippy toes, spinning and turning and being a "princess."

She's such a girly-girl right now. :) I'm eating this up!

And... there's even a recital in May/June!

Happy Anniversary

four years ago today...

Cousin Fun

...and of course, after that much fun, it was straight to the bath.

Baby Reagan

This weekend, J's parent's horse, Sophie, finally had her baby! We went to visit just hours after the Baby Reagan was born. It was really neat to get to see the little gal wobbling around and getting used to the world. MissBug thought it was all very interesting... but I don't think she really got it.