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!