100 days!

Today marks 100 days until my due date! I feel like I'm at that nowhere place in pregnancy where it's no longer new, I'm feeling big and uncomfortable, but I still have a long way to go. Instead of that exctied "when are you due?" that I got before I'm now getting "how much longer do you have?" when I run into friends. And considering I have to make it through every hot month while big and pregnant, it's feeling like I have a long time left. So, I'm commemorating every milestone along the way to make it feel like all I have to do is make it to the next milestone. Our next milestone is in just over 2 weeks when I enter the third trimester. Here's a belly shot of me today:

And this is what we've been doing to get ready for the baby:

-I bought crib bedding! This is the first step in getting the nursery ready.

-We're shopping for a minivan. Yeah! :s

-We've pretty much decided that remodeling isn't an option at this point, which is a disappointment because neither is buying a new house. Instead, we're trying to make the most of the space we have. I've pared down the kids' toys since the play room will become the nursery, and we'll continue to do that in phases. We also bought the kids a bunk bed in order to make more room for the toys in their room.

-Adam has finally brought up names, so we are starting to discuss now! His latest suggestion: Joseph.

-I ordered some baby clothes from the Children's Place, and bought a super soft fuzzy blanket for this winter baby (all Isaiah's baby blankets are thin and light since he was a summer baby).

Thanks for all your well-wishes and patience with me as I grumble through what really is a joyous event!

Beautiful Hair!

Now that swim lessons are over, and we're coming back into normal activities in the next few weeks with the end of summer, it is more worth doing Katie's hair! This blog has inspired me--check it out if you need fun ideas for doing your girls' hair! She frequently does giveaways for hair accessories.


Today Katie asked for "upside down hair." Here it is:

Directions: Part hair in a zigzag part from forehead to nape of neck. Clip off one section. Part one side across the crown starting at the ear. Clip off top section. Gather bottom section into a ponytail, pointing up. Add this to top section and gather into a high ponytail. Bunch into a messy bun and secure with a rubber band or bobby pins. Repeat with second section, matching the middle part.

Happy hairdoing!

Pioneer Day

We had a very busy Pioneer Day, and a very fun one! Something about celebrating holidays with children just makes it more fun, don't you think? For our friends outside of Utah, Pioneer Day is a state holiday celebrating the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley, July 24, 1847. We celebrate in a manner fitting Independence Day: parades, picnics, fireworks, and gallons of sunscreen.

In the morning, we woke up and dressed as pioneers for the annual Ivins Pioneer Day Parade. Katie got to ride the float this year (although technically she's not old enough, I got permission). She did great! Both kids smiled and waved at the crowds in the 100 degree heat, while wearing bulkier clothes than usual, I was so proud of my little pioneers. Adam and Grandma Linda cheered us on and took pictures. I was thrilled not to have to wear a full dress or walk the parade route this year, sitting on the float in my bonnet was hot enough.

(We're the last three from the right--I'm in the blue bonnet waving, Isaiah's to the left of me, Katie to the left of him.)

We raced straight from the end of the parade to the car so we could make it to our last day of swim lessons, and the accompanying water party. We're so proud of them! The kids have learned a lot and are much more independent in their swimming skills.

We got dried off and headed back to the Ivins Park to make crafts. There were lots of booths and fun things going on, but after a busy morning, and because Adam and I are still not 100% from being sick, we stuck to the one thing that mattered to Isaiah: making a craft at our ward's booth. The kids each made a bracelet, then we came home and crashed for naps.

In the afternoon, the kids and I headed to Grandma Linda's for a reinactment of the trek west. It was tradition when I was a little girl to pack some pots and pans, food, and blankets into a wheelbarrow and "trek" around the house, pretending to stop for the night, eating sparse "meals," being attacked by Indians, etc. Grandma took them on a loop around her house, and the pioneers were tired and hot and ready for another activity. They both insisted it was great fun, though, and felt like "real" pioneers.

On our way home we stopped and bought our entertainment for the night . . . FIREWORKS! It took dragging out the whole evening, eating dinner late, starting baths well after actual bedtime, etc, to keep the kids going until it was dark enough to light them, but it was worth it. We got a pretty good selection, and with both Grandma Linda and Grandma Bubbles to share it with, it was a great time. One day Katie will decide fireworks are worth the noise, but I think the ones we light at home are much more endurable than the deafening ones they have at the Sunbowl for Independence Day. Isaiah was just enthralled with the shadows the lighted fireworks made, to the point that he had his back turned to sparkling show just to watch the effects behind us. They both enjoyed every last one of our many, many strobes as they danced in the flashing light.

It was a great holiday, one I've enjoyed more than any other this year, I think. Maybe it was the time spent as our little family instead of pleasing all the extended family. Or maybe it was just a serendipitous occasion. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed your Pioneer Day as well as we did!

Monkey Boy

Isaiah has become quite the monkey lately, loving to climb this tree in our front yard. He's been getting more and more brave, climbing higher and higher, making me very nervous. A couple of weeks ago he begged to eat lunch in the tree, and I gave in. Silly Monkey! Luckily, so far he hasn't fallen--yet.


Monday night he did fall from a chair into an end table in the living room, and managed to put his teeth through his lip. (He says he was just sitting down, but when I looked over he was flying through the air, doing a nosedive into the table. I'm guessing he was jumping into the chair and lost his balance.) We spent family home evening at NightLight Pediatrics making sure he didn't need stitches instead of reading a story together. He's no worse for the wear, just has a nice fat lip and a scratch on his eye.


Despite the frequent scares, I love my Monkey Boy, and I love that he is all boy. He's very excited for this little brother that's coming, and is quick to say what a great soccer player he's going to be now that he can feel (and see) his brother kicking. I hope that Isaiah can teach his brother to play soccer, climb trees (carefully), and all the other fun "boy" things he loves.

Wordless Wednesday - Unconventional Corn on the Cob

Rant

Okay, is there anything more miserable than being sick when you're pregnant? I'm sure there is, but it doesn't seem like it to me today. I'm already stiff and achey and tired and cranky, but then add to that a headache, a stuffy, runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, and difficulty breathing and you have one miserable mama! Yes, there are medications you can take while pregnant. And no, they don't help one bit. (Neither have any of the natural things I've tried.)

Okay rant over. I'm sure I'll feel better soon. I'd better . . .

Friday Flashback

This is the summer of 2001, when Adam and I were engaged. We were washing my mom's car--really!

We had a longer engagement than courtship, which I don't generally recommend, but it was a good opportunity to get to know each other since we had only known each other a couple of months before we were engaged. I have so many fond memories from that time, it's amazing how quickly it went. And how quickly we settled into being married.

This October we will have been married 7 years. I am so grateful for every day I've spent with Adam, he is the joy of my life. I love you, honey!

Names

Why is it that the opposite gender of what you're actually having is always easier to name? With Isaiah I had a few girls' names, but struggled with his name. With Katie, I had several boys names and she came home unnamed. With this one, I'm loving my girls' name list again, and not loving my very short boys' list. The first thing I'm asked when I announce that we're having a boy is whether we have a name. And of course, I have no idea.

So I'm opening it up to you all:
Help me think of names!

Here are some helps: I love biblical names, but I don't want it to be too matchy-matchy with Isaiah. I also love traditional names. And it's always good to have a name that isn't too long so that Adam doesn't say, "Well, if we're going to call him a nickname, why don't we just name him the nickname?!" (BTW, that's why Katie is Katie and not Kate. Not my preference.) And we are considering some family names for middle names, but I don't want to post them and have family disappointed if we choose not to use a certain one.

On your mark, get set, name my baby!

(Disclaimer: Your suggestions will be just that, suggestions, okey dokey? I won't make fun of your names, and don't make fun of mine. I reserve the right to use or not use the names you suggest.)

It's a . . .

BOY!!

And here's his face:

He was really shy at the ultrasound; these shots were hard to get. Dr. Winward saw that he was a boy right off, but couldn't get a clear picture for a while because he kept himself tucked pretty close. And, he covered his face with his hands almost the entire time! I don't know what we'd do with a shy kid in this family . . .

He's measuring a bit big (92 percentile), and looks perfectly healthy. And we are all thrilled!

4th of July

We spent the Fourth having lots of fun (and being very hot!). We went for lunch at Vernon Worthen Park, and the kids played a bit in the bounce houses and rode rides.

Then we had a barbeque at Grandma Bubbles (Adam's mom, Sybil) with all the cousins and Grandma Linda (my mom). That was a lot more fun because water play and air conditioning were involved. :) And we all went together to the Sunbowl to watch the fireworks. They were really great this year. The kids love dancing with their cousins to the bands, and glowsticks are always a fun treat.

Isaiah and Kaden dancing--this is the best picture I could get of Isaiah as he never held still! I think he enjoyed the fireworksthis year more than he ever has.

Katie said she liked the fireworks, but she definitely didn't like how loud they were.

Cousins: Shelli's kids, Echo's kids, and our kids.

Tagged

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had just finished my sophomore year of high school and was beginning a summer with driving freedom and a job at Nielsen's Frozen Custard.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Start another batch of apricot fruit leather
Get things ready for church tomorrow
Dust
Vacuum
Help Adam print/stuff/send paychecks for Instaproofs

3. Snacks I enjoy
Fruit, especially strawberries
Little Debbie snacks (like Oatmeal Creme Pies and Swiss Cake Rolls)
Yogurt
Cottage cheese

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Buy a moderate home with cash
Donate money to charities and the Church
Help our family achieve their goals (getting out of debt, starting their dreams, etc.)
Invest

5. Places I have lived
Kearns, Utah
Taylorsville, Utah
St. George, Utah
Cedar City, Utah (for school)
Ivins, Utah
(quite a span, eh?)

6. Jobs I have had
soccer referee for kindergarten city leagues
housekeeper
ice Cream Scooper
office worker at public pools
night teller at credit union
wife, mother, homemaker

7. People I want to know more about (the challenging part..not tagging twice)
Kel
Stephanie
Kelie
Becky
Haley

Our California Vacation

This year was our year for a family vacation with my parents and siblings (we do this every other year). We rented a house a couple of blocks away from Huntington Beach (for the beach lovers) and went to Disneyland (for the Disneyland lovers). It was a great vacation with lots of free time to lounge around, but also lots of great things to do. We spent a bit of time at the beach sunbathing, playing in the sand, jumping over waves, and boogie boarding. We were only two blocks from Main Street in Huntington Beach, so we got to enjoy their weekly street fair with all kinds of vendors and attractions. We spent two days at Disneyland and California Adventure (our secret weapon was RideMax). We visited with cousins and Jeremiah even got to take a surfing lesson.

The only thing I could have wished for was to not be pregnant :) It does make it a bit harder to ride long distances in the car, and I missed out on some rides at Disneyland. Plus, I had no desire to boogie board, to Adam's disappointment. But it was such an enjoyable week, I can't really complain!

Some pictures from the trip:

homemaking

I've been feeling quite domestic lately, despite all the craziness with birthdays and vacations, school ending and summer beginning. Maybe it's early nesting. I don't know. But the apricots are finally ripe, and so I learned to can yesterday. I made cooked apricot jam and processed the jars myself! (Thanks to Anne for all the knowledge and tools, and to Mom for the moral support!) Then today I made freezer jam. And there are still tons of apricots! So I'm hoping to puree some to make fruit leather tomorrow . . . we'll see if I'm up to it ;)

Also in my domesticity, my friend Stephanie and I learned to make Hooter Hiders about a month ago, so when my friend Leslie sent me an invite to her baby shower, I knew just what to give her! This is how the one I made for her turned out:

and the matching burp cloths:

This morning as I lay in bed trying not to be awake (it wasn't even 7 and I had no reason to be up early), I was thinking about the stack of too-short, holey jeans in Isaiah's closet and I decided I need to make a denim camp quilt.

But first things first; I've got to get those apricots taken care of!