Twenty-Five Weeks

Monday marked my 26th week of this pregnancy {making me 25 weeks pregnant} and I'd like to thank this little jellybean for being such a great little fetus so far!  She really has been so very easy.  Have I been emotional?  Umm, yes, but that's to be expected.  But, I was morning sickness free and up until a couple of weeks ago, I could still fit into my regular jeans.  She gives me sweet and gentle reminders that she's here and doing great with little movements & kicks, but hasn't stuck anything where it doesn't belong and has kept me free from heartburn thus far.  And, while my skin might not exactly be glowing, I have only had a few minor breakouts.  So, thank you sweet pea, your mama realllly appreciates it.

I had David take this picture yesterday since I actually dried my hair {washed it too!}.  There's a little bump action going on {and a big bump action going on in the rear}.

Jellybean is about 13 inches and weighs around a pound, or so says Babycenter.  I got a call from my doctor's office this morning letting me know that my prenatal screenings all came back normal, so that is a relief.

David and I have been working on our list of names.  It's only about 40 names deep, so I'm thinking that's pretty good.  I add in a new name or two just about every week...sort of working in the wrong direction there, I guess.  Some of the names on the list are names I like, but not necessarily names I can see us using.  My two current favorites are Kyra {pronounced with a long I sound} and Sydney.  David's favorite name is Callie.  My worry with Kyra is that people won't know how to pronounce her name...is it Kyyyra or is it Keeeera and then she already will have to deal with NO ONE pronouncing our last name correctly.  Some of my other favorites are more common names like Amy & Emily.  And, I also have a thing for V names because Evelyn & Evie {long E sound} are also on the list.  See my troubles?  {So, if any of you have suggestions, I'm open to hearing them!} Regardless, it's fun thinking of different name possibilities and I love running them by Olivia.  

Speaking of, she likes to say hi to her baby sister through my belly and tells me on a daily basis that there's a baby in Mommy's belly and that it's going to be a baby sister.  She's going to be a WONDERFUL big sister -- I can already tell that she loves her so much.

SISTERS!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful day.  

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Eeeek, David just put on The Hangover and {stop the world} we haven't seen it yet!  So, this will be a quick birthday post.  {Sorry babe.}

David turned 34 today!  It's about time he caught up to me - these 15 days of being older than him are brutal!  Olivia and I made David breakfast this morning -- scrambled eggs, tortillas and some toaster strudels.

We are classy like that.

We then decided to kick David's blood-sugar levels up a few notches and made him sugar cookies AND snickerdoodles.  {And then we threw in a little veggie with a spinach smoothie.}

Can you tell I let Olivia help?

And, speaking of that precious little angel ... here are a few pictures of her on her daddy's birthday!

And if that's not enough cuteness, you can check out Olivia wishing her daddy a happy birthday here.

Happy Birthday, David!  We hope you had a wonderful day!

My Third Mother's Day

Wow!! I can't believe this is my third Mother's Day!  I'm starting to feel like a pro at this whole It's All About Me thing.

We started the day with some ebelskivers for breakfast, burned off said breakfast with a bike ride to pick up fresh blueberries and strawberries, ate those blueberries at the playground and got to go to Target BY MYSELF {where I did pick up a few of the Calypso outfits for Olivia and our new little nugget).  To top off the evening, David picked up our favorite pizza AND gave Olivia a bath.  Now I am going to snuggle up on the couch and watch Country Strong.  I'd say that's a pretty good Mother's Day.

A special Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there who have shaped, influenced and befriended me.  You are thought of today and every day.

Babylicious

David took Olivia to the Avila Farmers' Market tonight -- their favorite spot for Daddy/Daughter date nights and I took the two hours to clean, clean and clean.  I am in full-on nesting mode these days.  I can't get the house clean enough and I absolutely, positively cannot get rid of enough stuff to satisfy my "cravings."  It is amazing how much stuff we have amassed in the last few years.  I found two tubs full of extra wedding supplies - did I really need to keep 150 glass votive holders?  So, my friend craigslist and I have become best buds over the last week or so.  I don't remember going through this phase as much when I was pregnant with Olivia so maybe I am getting a double dose of it now.  I love it though - it feels so good to declutter and dejunk!  Of course, now that good ol' Craig is putting some cash in my pocket, I'm feeling the urge to spend.  UGH - what is wrong with me?  But, seriously, the new Calypso line at Target has some of the cutest little girls stuff in it.  All I'm picturing are my two girls wearing matching/coordinating outfits.  I know that this line is going to be as popular as the Liberty of London stuff.

Check out my list of wants...

Infant romper on the left and toddler romper on the right.  LOVE.

I am definitely getting these two.  I can't get enough of little rompers and this print is just adorable.

These come in both infant and toddler sizes.  Can't you just see our girls running around in these...

... on a beach somewhere tropical.  Who wants to go with us?  

And, speaking of nesting, I've already gotten the bedding for Little Sister.  After buying a bunch of stuff for the playroom last summer from Pottery Barn Kids, we had a nice little rewards gift certificate just waiting to be used.  Fortunately, they allowed me to not only use it after I realized it had expired, but they also let me wait 6 weeks after that realization so I could order gender-specific bedding.  So grateful for that ... and so I splurged a little.  I could have easily used the bedding that I used for Olivia, but I really wanted each of the girls to have their own bedding that they could keep when they were older.  

Here's what I ordered...

I got the Hayley bumper and quilt and the little owls are just adorable.  I wasn't a fan of the crib skirt, so I ended up taking a chance with a different one.  Turns out, it looks fabulous with it.

I love the idea that they girls may someday share a room and love the owls and butterflies of this bedding.  With the rewards money, I also got a butterfly mobile and have actually registered for another one so that each of the girls can have one.  And, I got some cute butterfly wall decals.  Our life is going to be full of pink for the next several years and I couldn't be more thrilled!

As far as how I am doing, I would say that this trimester has been pretty easy.  I've gotten back a lot of my energy that seemed completely drained first trimester, although I have indulged in a nap or two when I've needed it.  Now, I just need to get on the ball with some belly pictures...

Happy Friday from the Central Coast!

Keepin' it Real ... and Random

A certain someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  And she did it about 2 hours earlier than normal.  That pretty much made for a cranky Mommy this morning.  I was able to get her to lay down in the chair with me for about 45 minutes, but only because I let her hold on to my Do Not Disturbs. {Does she not understand what Do Not Disturb means??}  She has been on this kick for the last couple of weeks where at least a dozen times a day, I hear, "Hold Mommy's boobies," or "Drink of Mommy's boobies."  Four months after she is completely weaned and she's asking for them again.  And, I know I have to break her of this because in a little over four months, there's going to be a little baby attached to them and I am pretty sure it is going to make Olivia one unhappy little camper.  Not to mention, they need A BREAK.  It's not that she just rests her hand on them, I could probably deal with that.  There are times when she is squeezing and pinching the most sensitive part of them.  I know that this is probably too much information and Lord knows she is going to hate me one day for putting this out on the internet, but I am at my tits wits end!  Not to mention, my dad already knows all about this because he heard her beg for it on a daily basis when we were in Arizona.

Now, I know what those of you without children are probably thinking.  I think the same thing DAILY. Just don't let her have them.  Well, one, you probably have never met Olivia.  And, two, it's not that easy!  I could be wearing a turtleneck and if I am holding her, her hand is like a magnet to the inside of my shirt.  If I say NO, she throws a fit.  Literally, she will put herself onto the ground and tantrum for at least 15 minutes.  It's unbearable, but I do let her do it a lot of the time.  But, when I'm exhausted at 6:30 in the morning, the hand gets a hall pass so to speak.  Nothing like mixed signals there, Mom.  I know.


And since we're on the topic of tantrums or, really,  just being difficult, let me just say that we pretty much eat all of our meals outside these days.  It helps that temps have been in the upper 80s {WOOHOO} and it is still nice and warm at dinnertime.  But, the real reason is that getting Olivia into her high chair {or anything else that holds her down} is probably my least favorite part of the day and our meals are not so enjoyable when she is struggling to get out.  So, we've been eating outside and she sits in a little plastic chair and can wiggle and squirm and run around as much as she wants.  And, we get to enjoy our meals.  It's all about picking your battles and I'm calling that one a Win-Win.

Olivia does pretty well with most meals - she definitely has her favorite foods and strangely, one day she'll scarf down asparagus like it's her last meal and the next time she won't touch them.  She LOVES salad and likes to muncha muncha cruncha cruncha on her carrot slivers, but I've been wanting to sneak in some more veggies.  So, after seeing this recipe for smoothies, I decided to give it a try.

I had a bag of Jamba Juice smoothie mix and added a huge handful of spinach to it.  Sounds gross doesn't it?  It looked normal though and tasted just as delicious.  To be honest, I could taste a little spinach when I thought about it, but for the most part it just tasted like a berry smoothie.

We ended up drinking our lunch smoothies outside.  Olivia sucked hers down and then had some of mine.  Yay for sneaking some spinach in there!  I'm calling that a Win-Win too!

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining about Olivia because that certainly isn't the case.  I know her behavior is absolutely, positively typical for her age.  And, I also notice that she tends to get more clingy when I'm not giving her as much attention as I should.  After a few tantrums this morning {while I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes and preparing food in the crockpot}, we went outside for some playtime and she was great.  

Beyond GREAT.

I love her - tantrums and all.

Happy Thursday from the Central Coast!

Too Tired for Words

So, here's {some of} our day in pictures.

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!

Her Royal Highness

I know most people are over the Royal Wedding by now, but Olivia and I can't seem to get enough of it.  We have watched it four times already, twice due to Olivia's request.  All day on Friday, Olivia talked non-stop about Princess Kate and Prince William.  She loved seeing all of the horses and the airplanes, but her favorite part was seeing them kiss!  After they kissed the first time, she kept saying, "More kissin'?!"  Whenever it is on she is glued to the television.  Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding.

I thought she looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress.  She just oozes classiness!  And, I think Prince William looked very dashing in his suit as well.  I loved seeing him smirk at her during the wedding ceremony and do his best to contain a smile that looked like it could spread from ear to ear!  I also have to say that her sister, Pippa {whose name I am currently obsessed with}, looked incredibly gorgeous in her dress.  WOW.

I feel like I practically have the Archbishop of Canterbury's speech memorized by now.  It was so beautifully well-put.  {My favorite parts are in bold.}

“'Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.' So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but the hope should be fulfilled. It is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely a power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

“Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,
Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon.”

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practice and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

‘God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.
Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.’ “

That is some powerful stuff, isn't it???  I hope you all enjoyed watching the wedding as much as we did. I would give anything to have been to the reception though!  What was your favorite part of all of the festivities?

Happy Monday from the Central Coast!