Tree Jubilee

Sophie loves Christmas lights. When I saw that there was a Christmas Tree Jubilee here in Ogden, I had to take her.

The one here totally SUCKED compared to the giant tree festival down in SLC. Next year I'll be taking her down to that one instead.

Sophie's favorite tree was covered in Beanie Babies.

Daddy loves her so much, that he ordered her favorite one.

The weird tie-die goat thing in the middle.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We invited our families over for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone brought food, so cooking wasn't a total pain in the butt.

We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, veggies, cranberry sauce, greenbean casserole, rolls, and pie. Everything was super yummy.

I wish the rest of my family could have been there, but we are all spread out across the states. :P

We were in need of new family pictures, so I pulled out the camera before we ate.

Dinner was yummy. The leftovers lasted us the entire weekend. (yay no cooking) And I got some nice pictures. Good day.

Thankful

I figured I could post my "Thankful" list, while our turkey finishes cooking.

I'm thankful for my husband. He not only completed the majority of the Thanksgiving Day tasks, but did it all with a headache. He provides for us. He supports me staying home to raise our children. He steals all 3 quilts at night. He loves and stands behind me, no matter what insane task I want to take on.

I'm thankful for my girls. Sophie often makes me want to better myself. She loves unconditionally. She reminds me that the glass can always be half full, you just have to look at it the right way. Little Mya is growing strong an healthy. She lets me eat whatever I want and enjoy pregnancy.

I'm thankful for our home. Everything fell into place just right when we found this house. Thanks to family, our realtor, and Denny dealing with everything - we were are to be home owners.

I'm thankful for my mommy. Nothing I do could ever make her stop loving me, and she makes sure I know it. She never judges me, no matter what it is I need advice with. She has always taught me to love myself and not worry about what others think. I hope I can teach my girls the same things she taught me.

I'm thankful for family. While our whole family isn't just a quick drive away, I'm glad we have some nearby. It's important to me that my children grow up close to their family.

I'm thankful for change. If I didn't believe that people and situations could change, I may have lost my mind this past year. While change can be scary, much has changed for the better in my life.

I am very blessed in life, and probably take it for granted sometimes. So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Take a minute to think about all that you have.

Let It Snow

What with the blizzard going on outside (literally), I figured it would be a perfect time to post the "first snow" pictures.

Over the weekend, the first snow of the year came. I hated it. Sophie and Denny couldn't have been happier. Right after breakfast, they both headed out to play in it.

You'll want to click the pictures to enlarge them.

I got this right before she threw a snowball at my poor camera.

*BOOM* Headshot.

Getting snowballs from dad. Those gloves were a bit too small, so she couldn't quite make the snowballs on her own.

Showing off their snowballs.

Crotch-shot.

Growing Up

Last night...

*brace yourself*

Sophie slept in her own bed, all night long. No fuss at all.

This is a big deal for us, because we've always co-slept to some extent. When you nurse (like we did), it is just ridiculous to get up a billion times a night, walk to another room, nurse the baby, and crawl back to your bed. I'm not so gifted in the sleep-deprived-walking area, I often ran into things. It just wasn't safe.

She slept in our bed more often than not. Since we stopped nursing (18 months), she's been in our bed all night, every night.

I love the co-sleeping. I love the snuggles. I love waking up, seeing her bright eyes two inches away from my face, and hearing "mom.... it's morning." But alas... we need to make room for #2. I've been really iffy about moving Sophie to her own bed, because I don't want her to feel like she's being kicked out for the new kid. Last night I took the dive.

(I say "I" took the dive, because Denny has learned to just go with the flow. If I'm not ready to do something like: stop nursing, move Sophie to her own bed, or her own room, or let other people watch her... it ain't gonna happen. It's easier just to agree with me than try to reason with a hysterical Mexican woman.)

I dragged her bed into our room, and set it at the foot of ours. She seemed excited enough, and fell asleep at a normal time for her. Even though she was a bit restless most of the night, she stayed asleep in her bed.

I, however, couldn't sleep at all. It was probably worse for me than it was for her. I was half tempted to crawl into the tiny toddler bed with her. I felt like a crack addict going through withdrawals. Strange? ....maybe. I'm a Hispanic mother, and we are passionate about our children, damnit!

Once Denny left for work, she woke up and asked if she could come lay with me. I snatched her up and we snuggled for a good two hours.

Last night, while tucking her in, I promised her a special present if she could sleep in her bed all night. This morning she requested a bracelet.

She replaced sleeping next to mommy.... for a bracelet. The sell out.

Farewell Fall

These were all taken about 2 weeks back... when there was a little spurt of nice warm weather. To bid fall farewell, we decided to take a trip to the park.

She was totally the coolest looking kid there. Blue stripe leg warmers. Pink flower sunglasses. Cupcake shirt. One Fish Two Fish shoes.

Her faithful giraffe and pink backpack even sat on the grass while she played.




Then we came home and waited outside for daddy.

I hate that Hannah Montana is on there.... but it's pink and it lights up, so she wanted it. For $2, how could I say no? Yay, Kid to Kid.

Goodbye warm sun. You will be missed.

Party Time

Adorable invite, yes? I know, I made it. :)
I blocked out our address and numbers for obvious reasons - the world is full of crazy people.

In case you haven't guessed, her colors are going to be pink & brown. I can't stand pink on it's own for babies, it is just so generic to me. I guess I'm a sell out, because I just think pink & brown is cute.

I've already invited the friends/family near us, so this is just to include our out of state family. We love you and wish you could be here with us. :(

Also, here is a list of things we want/need for her. (I just pulled it from the "Wish List" at the top left of the blog.)

• Diaper Registry: my name, password "boobies"
  
• Carter's gift card (my favorite clothes store)
  
• a baby monitor
• Sleepy Wrap (light green/red/dark pink)
• this carseat
• this bedding set (totally not necessary, but if I had the money I'd get it)
  
• side snapping shirts - short sleeved ones are at walmart/target/babiesrus
• fleece pjs
• fuzzy socks
  
• crib mattress
• small dresser
• nursing pillow
• Grandmas generally do a good job at spoiling in the clothes area. We already have a crib, pack n play, clothes, blankets, towels, swing, bouncer, and all that jazz.

If you do get her clothes, we are MORE than set on newborn/0-3 months. A larger size would be better. :)

Another Reason Why I'm Awesome

I become slightly obsessed. Crafts, video games, books... it's just what I do. I like to do things from start to finish. Examples:

• reading the entire Twilight series in less than a week
• Mario Brothers, Sims 3, Spore, Kameo
• mass producing tiny cloth diapers

And now this-
my project for the weekend.

I made Sophie a "mommy" set for Christmas.
On the left is a baby bassinet, and on the right is her very own diaper bag.

Inside the diaper bag is:

A set of diapers & wipes.

The wipes and wipe case.

Baby modeling one of the diapers.

A quilt and pillow. ...yes, I actually quilted the quilt. (and the bassinet, and the diaper bag... don't judge me)

Baby in the bassinet.

(I got the tutorial for everything from here.)

I was really excited about getting all of this done, what with the new baby on the way. This way Sophie can take care of her baby, and feel like a big helper. Plus, the stuff is freakin adorable.

Instant Gratification

See that t-shirt?

Most amazing thing in the world! (to her)

Since going to the zoo, Sophie loves giraffes. She brought home a fuzzy pink giraffe that day, and insists on taking it everywhere we go. Pink has also been her favorite color for the past while.

When I asked Sophie what kind of cake she would like for her birthday, she responded "PINK GIRAFFE!"

Back to the shirt.

Yesterday, I dragged both Sophie and Denny to JoAnns. Sophie picked out a little bottle of sparkly pink fabric paint.

When we got home, I pulled out her birthday shirt. (I didn't plan to stencil it until her birthday, but hey, one less thing to do.) I let her pick out a giraffe silhouette online, then I sketched it out.

Sophie did the actual painting, which she loved. 4 hours later, the shirt had dried! The moment I gave her the "ok," Sophie ripped off her shirt and demanded the new one.

Toddlers make life so much more rewarding. Often times, before I even finish a project/craft, Sophie exclaims how much she loves it. She is my biggest fan, and I love it.

Nesting

This would be a portion of the diapers awaiting baby girl. (hiding elsewhere are the prefolds, flats, wipes, covers, inserts, liners, and all the bigger diapers) I started sewing her stash, bit by bit, back in May.

In her stash are several flat wraps.

A few pocket diapers. The inside of these is so insanely soft... I heart them.

A few with umbilical cord snap downs.

And the lovely diapers that I've gotten in my monthly swaps.

A nerd diaper specifically for Denny.

And oodles of prefolds.


All in all this is what I have for her.
(keep in mind these are only newborn size, I have a buttload of others)

• 12 covers
• 49 diapers
• 33 inserts for the diapers
  
• 62 prefold/flat diapers

Dare I say, we are well prepared. :)
That totally won't stop me from making even more...

The Diseased

I hate sick people. Simple as that.

To specify, I hate people who:

• know they/their family are sick
• continue to go out and about
• "forget" to mention to others that they are sick
• cough/sneeze all over the place

Winter is full of these people. (just another reason I hate winter) So just to let everyone know... if you come over/invite us over/go out with us and you are any of the above - I'll totally kick you out/leave.

Am I mean? Sure. I'd rather be mean than deal with a sick toddler while being sick myself.

Even worse than the non-parents who do this, are the ones who actually have kids of their own. If your child is dripping from any orifice, leave them at home. I assumed this was common sense, I've been proven wrong on multiple occasions.

The handful of times that Sophie has actually gotten sick, was because someone simply didn't mention that they/their kid was sick... then said person infected her. Then when I went to inform that person that Sophie had become sick, so they may have been exposed, it comes out. "Oh ya, so-and-so has had a cold the past week." Really.... REALLY?

End rant.

Giant Baby?

Perhaps...

At my check up this week, I was 149 lbs. I am 30 weeks as of tomorrow. I'm now 1 lb shy of gaining 30 lbs with this pregnancy.

I am also measuring 2-3 weeks further ahead. (top to bottom of uterus) Baby is also measuring 2 weeks ahead in size. Yay?

In 2 weeks I go back in, and we'll check her weight. Midwife was guessing she's already about 3 lbs.

You know how mothers curse their children? "I hope you have a child just like you." Maybe I'm going to be punished with a huge baby. My mother had the same tiny figure I do, and she gave birth to me.... at about 10 lbs.

Oodles of Pictures

Just because.

Taking a picture of me.

Then Denny came home and let the stinky dog inside.

And they squished her.