34 Weeks

I am at work in this picture and look horrible...but I feel horrible so it's fitting to capture that on film. Officially reached that point where I am miserably uncomfortable and ready for the arrival of Miss R. Nothing I do right now is easy. Nothing.

Right now Miss R is hanging out on the right side of my belly and there's some crazy stuff going on in her little world. From time to time I see, and feel, what is either a little foot or fist pushing up. I am not sure what is so great about that right side but it's noticeable she has her entire body over there. I am lopsided for sure.

My appetite has changed a lot recently. Nothing sounds good. But I am also have to eat like I did when I first found out I was pregnant. So, regardless of whether or not I want to eat anythng or whether or not anything actually sounds good...I have to eat or I feel like I am going to puke. I also don't have a lot of space left for food.

This weekend I am doing some organizing of all of Miss C's old clothes to turn them over to Miss R when she arrives. It would be much easier if I didn't need help moving tubs of clothes and carrying stuff around...but thankfully I have help. The new furniture for Miss C's new room should be here soon so we can get her moved to her new room and then do all those final touches for Miss R. She'll be here before we know it.

Nap Stickers

We are now on day 25 of our nap calendar. We're only missing one sticker but otherwise Miss C is going strong with the daily naps. The criteria for getting a nap sticker isn't much...take a nap. Doesn't matter how short or how long. Just have to take one. So the duration of each nap has been all over the board, but she's napping.

As you can see from the smile on her face, she is quite proud of those nap stickers. Every day when I pick her up we talk about her nap. When we actually gets home, she runs to SP with her sheet from school to show him that she napped.

Typically we put the nap stickers on the calendar as soon as we get home, but sometimes we forget. Either way we count them. She enjoys this part as much as she enjoys getting the stickers and putting them on the calendar.

Outside Inside

Now that the weather appears to have turned a little for the better we are spending more time outside. Most nights we quickly eat dinner and then head out for our family walk. Of course the distance and pace has changed greatly since it's pretty uncomfortable for me to walk at all. This pelvic pain is still an issue on the left side and will persist until the baby comes.

This presents a challenge for me because I love to exercise and be outside with my hubby and girl. But doing so comes with a pretty painful price and typically ends with me popping Tylenol, placing an ice pack in odd places, barely able to walk and unable to sleep. Sounds not worth it doesn't it? I am just not ready or willing to give it up yet.

Other things going on in our world...

• Both bedrooms are now freshly painted.
• We are waiting on Miss C's new furniture to come in before we move her to her new room. That should been any time now.
• Nap calendar is still going strong with only 1 day in 3 weeks where Miss C didn't get a sticker.
• Trips to use the potty with success are more frequent but she still struggles with putting our hands in her diaper when she poops. Totally gross.
• Miss C's vocab and ability to articulate what she wants gets better every day. She also says some random stuff that just cracks us up.
• People keep asking if Miss C knows she is going to be a big sister. We talk about it but I don't think she'll fully get it until the baby actually comes.
• Speaking of babies, I feel like Miss R is HUGE. It's like I have run out of room for her but she just keeps getting bigger. We think she'll be bigger than Miss C was but know it's equally as likely she'll be smaller and I am just a big baby.
• I currently feel like I am not equipped to handle two kids at one time. Random questions run through my head like how will I get them both into the daycare without Miss C running into the street or forgetting Miss R is in the car.
• Also not sure how I will manage to work, be a mom and be a wife successfully. Some women make it look so freaking easy...I think I'll make it look clunky and awkward.

That's it for now. Have pictures I'll post soon.

Miss C's Birthday Guest

For the big 2nd Birthday Party we invited a special guest. Elmo, who is a favorite of both Miss C and Mia, came to the party. Both girls were a little unsure of Elmo. One minute

they were ok with him and the next they weren't. He didn't stay long because in the end Miss C was a little too overwhelmed even though it was her Daddy in the suit.

Now we have an official Elmo costume that fits a 6 foot tall person so I am considering either renting my husband out to friends and family members for their parties to make a little extra money.

SPRING!!!! Or close enough

With the warm up this weekend we were able to get out and go to a local park. I think we all needed to get out and stretch our legs.

32 Weeks

This picture looks like I have a stain on my pants but it's actually the cat's tail. Everyone wanted to be in the picture.

I am now 32 weeks and a few days pregnant. I think Miss R is running out of room because I officially feel like she has fully taken over. What I think is her foot is now wedged up near my right boob where Miss C liked to put her little foot. She's also doing a lot of moving and stretching and I swear the other day she was doing a hand stand. That was not real comfortable let me tell you.

Still, even with the weird belly rash (now gone thankfully), the odd swelling of my feet when I wear shoes with a heel and the inability to see a lot of what is going on below my belly all is good. The weather has turned and I am able to get out walking which I completely enjoy. The pelvis is still a mess and painful but I am NOT puking so I am NOT complaining.

There is also a strong urge to get things ready for the arrival of Miss R that I am trying to work through. It's like a bunch of dominos. We have moved Jake to the basement and are getting that space in order. Miss Amy has started painting Miss C's new room and her furniture should be here around the end of the month. Miss R's rnew oom will be painted and we'll get that set up next. So the rooms will be square.

I plan on doing two other organization "sessions" over the course of the next two months. The first will be done with the help of my Dad and Sue and will involve taking out all the tubs of baby clothes, sorting, re-tubing by age range and figuring out what needs to be tossed or bought. I'll also be scrubbing the toys, high chair, stroller, exerciser, etc.

The second will be once the room is ready and will be done with the help of my Mom to get the room actually ready for Miss R's arrival. I can't really do this part until the room is set up so hopefully I won't give birth before it's done.

Getting creative Mommy style

When at home Miss C is a good napper. We put her down, she might play for a few minutes, and then she puts herself to sleep. We aren't quite and don't tiptoe around the house when she's asleep. And, she sleeps.

Daycare is a totally different experience. She naps, sometimes. And when she does it's often not for very long. I think it has to do with a couple of things. The first being she wants to be involved in everything and there's a lot more going on in her toddler room than there is at home. She wants to know what everyone is doing and be a part of it.

The other is that she's learned very quickly that if she is disruptive she gets individual attention. The teachers work to keep her quite so the other kids can sleep. They hold and rock her trying to get her to sleep. Basically, she's working them for all it's worth. Which on one hand is hilarious but on the other, having a tired cranky child in the evenings is not pleasant.

So, I created "Miss C's Nap Calendar" with special stickers. The stickers are really just colored dots I had left over from some past yard sale. We hung the calendar on the back of her door at her height. Each day she gets a sheet from school that says whether she napped or not. If she naps, she gets to put a sticker on the calendar. If she doesn't, no sticker. We talk up those stickers and napping like they are the most important things in the world because to a toddler, they sorta are.

I'll let you know how it goes. We are two days in and have two stickers.

Happy Birthday to You - 2nd

Happy Birthday to You - 60th

Home is where the heart is

This weekend we went home for two different birthday celebrations. One was a joint 60th birthday party for my Dad and Sue. The other was a joint 2nd birthday party for Miss C and Mia. Both were family affairs and as always coming back to Cincinnati makes me miss them even more.

One of the things that became pretty clear for me is how nice it was to go to an event and be "off duty" as a parent. I know that sounds silly but SP and I don't get a lot of down time. When we go places up here one or both of us has to always keep one eye on an active toddler and let's be honest, that's exhausting.

At both parties, there was great comfort in knowing Miss C had other eyes watching her. My parents, my sister, my niece, my cousins and aunts. My family. It was hard to turn off the Mom-mode a little at first but once I did, it really was nice. I felt like she was safe and taken care of and in turn I was safe and taken care of.

That's not to say that we don't have help here, because we do. We have great help and we rely on people like Miss Amy and Miss Katie heavily to get date nights and some downtime. But it is unmistakenly different.