Two showers, dinner with friends, and the circus

We had a crazy, crazy, jam-packed weekend. On Friday, Dean and I drove to Des Moines...unfortunately, the weather was not so great so it took us about three hours to get there when it normally takes two. On Saturday morning, I helped throw a baby shower for my best friend, Jamie. She is due April 14th with boy #2. I am so excited to meet her little man! I just wish we lived in the same city...I've been trying to convince her to move back for over a decade now. I don't think it's happening. It's still fun to be going through a pregnancy together though.

After the shower, Dean and I headed back to Omaha and met our old neighbors for dinner at their new house. They have a little boy a bit older than Ayla and recently had a baby girl whom we got to meet for the first time. She's adorable! She makes me even more excited for PIP's arrival. We have missed having them right across the street but luckily, they are only a couple minutes down the road.

On Sunday, I geared up for shower #2. It was a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Surina and I also helped plan this one. I know. Throwing two showers in one weekend while I'm 9-months pregnant. Brilliant idea. But hey, I wanted to be sure to get it all in in case PIP decided to come early and they both went well so we're good.

Afterwards, I headed home and pretty much hopped right back into the car with Dean and Ayla...circus time! I've never been so I was looking forward to it. There were some really entertaining acts, and some not so entertaining. Either way, it was a fun way to spend a Sunday evening as a family. Ayla did really well and happily clapped away throughout the whole show. Towards the very end, she started to get a little bored and had more fun playing with my phone than watching the show. We left and went home for a quick dinner before putting Ayla to bed for the night. I could not wait to get into bed myself. Exhausted.

I did a horrible job taking pictures this weekend. I'll have to get a copy of a picture or two of Jamie and I with our baby bumps. :) I did snap a couple with my phone of Ayla and Peyton (Dean's boss's little girl) at the circus:
This one cracks me up because they're both making the same face...not sure what that was all about!
And a side-note: I am considered full-term today...37 weeks! We're almost there! And I swear I will be posting nursery pics soon...I just need to ask Dean to hang the valance. :)

Maternity shoot by Elizabeth Rose Photography

I mentioned in a previous post that my friend Erika (Elizabeth Rose Photography) came over a few weekends ago to take some belly photos of me. In these pictures, I am 33 going on 34 weeks.

I started to get the giggles and didn't really know what to do...somehow it was just different to have a close friend taking pictures of me instead of some random photographer. It was fun and so nice to be able to sit and chat...something we don't get to do often enough.

I am so thankful for these photos...especially the ones with Ayla. What a beautiful time to remember and capture. My two baby girls. I hope it's something that they will cherish as much as I do.

Erika, I know I keep saying this, but thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Window markers

After Ayla's nap today, I let her test out her new Crayola window markers. I was a teeny, tiny bit worried about it. Before I handed them over, I told her a number of times that they can only be used on windows (in other words, not the walls). Just in case, I'll have some Mr. Clean magic erasers ready to go (those things are amazing).

I can't believe how long her hair is!

Instead of looking at what she was drawing, I became stuck on watching all the different little expressions on her face as she colored. So intent and serious.

And a random photo: R-e-e-e-a-c-h!

36-weeks!

I've come to realize after months of taking these belly pics and only having a couple more to go that I really should take them first thing in the morning. I swear I don't walk around looking like this all day. This is what I look like after 12-13 hours of chasing a toddler around with more energy than I could ever imagine having. Dean took the picture for me and after glancing at it for literally a second, I said, "Thanks, that's good...works for me." He looked at me quizzically and asked, "Are you sure?" And now that I've uploaded it, I understand why he asked. Sigh.

So anyways. Nine months pregnant, people. Nine months. We're in the homestretch...and let me tell you, I AM READY. I'm getting pretty uncomfortable and feel like my skin is going to burst. Since Ayla was two weeks early, I'm already banking on being early with this one eventhough I shouldn't be thinking that way. My luck, I'll end up being late. Seriously, though, I still have a whole month to go...my belly cannot go out any further. It's huge and it's pointy. I'm carrying so differently this time. Either way, I'm so very anxious to meet this baby. I can't wait to hold her. Her clothes have been washed and put away, bottles and pacifiers have been sterilized, and her room is thisclose to being done. A few more finishing touches and it will be a nursery. I don't have a hospital bag packed yet, but a list has been made. Like I said, I'm ready.

My next appointment is this Friday morning. I'd like to talk to my doctor some more about attempting a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean). At my very first appointment, I told her I wanted to try it and she was comfortable with it. Obviously, there are factors that she will need to consider as we get closer, but so far she doesn't see any issues with it. I want to ask her how many of her patients attempt it and of those, how many are successful? I want to make sure I'm making the right decision for the baby and for me.

And an update on Miss Ayla--she has been doing very well in her big girl bed! We told her that when she wakes up in the morning and after her naps, she has to stay there and call for us to come get her. So far, she has listened. It's crazy that she hasn't climbed out on her own yet...especially since her bed is her new favorite place to play during the day. She hops in and out of it all day long so it's not like she's physically unable to get down. Interesting...in a good way. Let's hope it stays this way. :)

Potty-training--doing so so so well. The past week and a half or so, she has been virtually accident-free. There have been a couple times where she starts to go in her pants and realizes it and stops and makes it to the potty to finish. I still put a pull-up on her when we leave the house but she stays dry. We've been able to get her to go on a big toilet while we're out thanks to the new fold-up princess potty seat. She still puts up a fight, but will end up going with some coaxing. I'm (slowly) working on not using a pull-up while we're out. I've started with not putting one on her when we drive to and from my parents' house on the days I have to go to work. They live about a half an hour from us. Baby steps. :) Every now and then she'll wake up from a nap dry, but for the most part, she has not mastered that part and especially not over night. I figure that will happen with time. I'm very happy with how she's doing during her waking hours.

What a big girl. She's growing so fast. It's crazy to look at her room now...it's completely a little girl's room...all things baby have been taken out. It makes me a little sad, but she loves it so much. :)

Cousins!

My niece, Haylee, and nephew, Bennett, came over to play for a couple of hours this past Saturday evening. Ayla had SO. MUCH. FUN. They had her running, screaming, laughing, and jumping all over the place. My brother kept trying to talk the kids out of wanting to come over eventhough I told him it was totally fine. If anything, they were helping ME out by keeping Ayla busy and giving her something different to do. They all had a blast and Ayla was completely worn out and went to bed early and even slept in the next morning. :)


This next picture depicts the evening perfectly, eventhough it's a bit blurry. Three happy, giggly kids...nothing better. I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. They were taking turns dumping Ayla's dozens of bouncy balls over the umbrella while the other two sat below it. It looked like a tornado hit my living room by the time my brother came to pick them up, but they all had a blast. :)

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day (a day late)! We started the morning by giving Ayla a few little things--a card, a little stuffed animal, and candy. Grandma and Grandpa brought her an awesome balloon the night before.

After Daddy left for work, we went about our morning until we heard the doorbell ring. I couldn't figure out who would be at our door at 8:30 in the morning. When we opened the door, we were surprised with beautiful red roses! A dozen for me and one for Ayla. :) What lucky ladies we are!

Ayla and I had a good day together--we went shopping and played outside. It was chillier than I thought it was going to be but it still felt great to be out in the fresh air. When Dean got home from work, the three of us went out for burgers and fries. Romantic, huh? It was actually the perfect day with my two valentines. :)

She loves it...so far

Ayla slept the entire night in her new bed with no issues at all. She woke up at her normal time this morning, popped up, and called for me until I went in to get her. She listened! I thought maybe she'd try and get out of bed on her own. I realize she'll discover that option sooner or later but for now, hopefully she stays put. I'm so glad she slept well. I, on the other hand, did not. I kept waking up and clicking on the video to make sure she was still asleep in her bed. I'm pretty sure I'd hear her if she got up and came out of her room, but I was just super paranoid and spent too much time worrying about it. For her nap, it took her a lot longer to fall asleep. Dean said she started calling for me (I was out running errands) but he just cracked the door open and told her it was time to go to sleep and she laid back down. And again, when she woke up, she just stayed there until I went to go get her. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this continues to go well. If and when she realizes she can get out of bed on her own, we'll have a battle on our hands.




We got her a new nightstand with shelves for her books. They were starting to get out of control on the ground. I had already planned on putting her old one in the baby's room so I needed something new and improved to swap it with. I don't want her to feel like the baby is "stealing" all of her stuff and getting all kinds of new things as well so I'm trying to make it a point to make her feel special too. I grabbed a couple new decorations for her walls and we're going to get her a bean bag chair to replace the rocker.
PIP's room is coming along nicely...the walls are painted, most of the decorations are up, and the crib is ready. Dean just has one more coat of paint and hardware to put on the dresser. Once that's done, I can start organizing all of her clothes and we'll be good to go. I'll post pictures when everything is done. :)

Big girl bed

First, here are a few pictures I took this morning...

I think I've mentioned before that Ayla and Kody have a love-hate relationship. They annoy the heck out of eachother sometimes, but they still love eachother. :) Kody puts up with a lot...sweetest dog ever.


And now on to the "big girl bed" business. We've been talking to Ayla about it for probably over a month now...about how she's not a baby anymore so she would get to sleep in a new big bed and her baby sister would sleep in the old crib. Her reactions would go back and forth. Sometimes, she would be super excited, other times, she'd protest and say that the crib was hers. Oh boy. Needless to say, Dean and I were pretty terrified to make the transition. As PIP's due date quickly approaches, we knew we had to do it sooner than later.

Dean got the bed all put together just in time for bedtime and she was so excited about it. We were expecting a negative reaction when she saw that her crib was gone but she surprised us. She even refused to use her old blanket and pillow...she wanted all the new stuff. She is a creature of habit, so I was pretty shocked. We arranged all of her pillows and stuffed animals in the exact same way and after we read a couple books, I put her down without any issues. I ran out of her room and flipped on the video monitor. She stayed quiet but tossed and turned for about a half an hour before she fell asleep. Way too easy. I thought for sure we'd have a tough time getting her to fall asleep...I read up on the Ferber method to refresh my memory and prepared myself for whining, tears, and puking. Of course, it's only been a couple of hours...who knows what's going to happen if/when she wakes up in the middle of the night. I told her that when she wakes up in the morning, to stay in bed and wait for me to come get her. We'll see how that goes. Either way, I'm thrilled with how easily she went to bed and I'm so happy that she's excited about it. :)

Excuse her crazy hair...and I'll get better pictures of the entire bed tomorrow (I love her new comforter set. So cute.)