Friday Night Leftovers

• We've had some cooler weather the past few days and it's been so nice! Especially for sleeping. 
• I really, really like our new stroller. I actually get excited to take it out. Lame, I know.
• Grace is pretty fond of the stroller too. I think it's a lot more comfortable for her. The first couple times we used it she kept saying "Niiice!" Today we walked to the post office and she didn't want to get out!
• I put Grace down for an early nap today. We were out late last night watching B play baseball, and she didn't get to bed until almost 9:00. She slept until 8:30 this morning, but was cranky and whiny by lunch time. Hopefully she's in a better mood this afternoon!
• Grace now plays air guitar. It's awesome. 
• I registered Grace for an early learning/playgroup program put on by our local family resource center. It's a free program but with limited enrollment, and we're lucky we got in! Registration was from 6-8pm, and I got there at 5:30. The line-up was huge! I found out that some people had been waiting there since 2:00 in the afternoon! The other location was much more popular so we were able to get in to the one near our house.
• Check out more leftovers here!

30 Weeks

Well, I had planned to write weekly updates about this pregnancy but obviously I haven't kept that up. I am now 30 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy is going by much faster than my pregnancy with Grace, probably because I wasn't chasing around a 20 month old last time!

I've been feeling pretty good lately. Baby 2.0 is very active; I had forgotten how much I love feeling a little baby moving around in my belly! I'm tired lately because I don't sleep great, between getting up to pee 3 times a night and having a hard time getting comfortable. I could nap when Grace naps but sleeping during the day does nothing for me, I always wake up feeling more tired. I'm better off to just go to bed early.

I am really glad we've had some cooler weather the past two days. The heat this past month has been getting to me. Grace and I spent a lot of time at the lake to keep cool, and I would rest while she napped in the afternoon to try to keep the swelling in my ankles and feet down.

I haven't had any weird cravings; actually, my cravings are similar to when I was pregnant with Grace. Cereal, toast with peanut butter, and I've been drinking a lot of milk. I've been craving Pepsi, of all things, which is weird because I'm not much of a pop drinker. It's a good thing we don't keep pop in the house because I probably wouldn't be able to resist!

We're not even close to picking a name for this little one yet. Since we don't know what we're having, we hope to have a short list of boys and girls names but we don't even have that yet.

Only 10 more weeks to go!

Wordless Wednesday (Say Cheese! Edition)

Chatting with Gracie

Me: "Grace, what does a horse say?"
Grace: "Pooped" (Since seeing horses poop on the road during a parade, this answer has replaced "neigh")

While playing hide and seek:
"Mommy! Where are you?"
(I hear her looking in each room and saying "No" if she doesn't see me).
When she finds me: "There she is!"

In the backseat of the car, playing with her toes:
"Piggy, piggy, piggy, wee wee home!"

On our way home after a busy day:
Me: "Mommy is tired!"
Grace: *yawn* "Gracie tired too."

Friday Night Leftovers

• I am really enjoying being off work. I feel a lot better physically and emotionally. My hips and back don't hurt near as much because I'm not sitting at a desk all day, although some days I feel a little sore depending on what Grace and I did that day!
• I am thankful that I am able to have this time with Grace before she has to share all our attention with a new little brother or sister. 
• Zilla bought us a new stroller! We now have a Phil & Ted's Classic with the double seat. It's great because I can use it as a single stroller for the next couple months until Baby 2.0 arrives. Thanks Zilla!
• I never thought I would be so excited about a stroller. We didn't buy one for Grace, we had one given to us which did the trick, but this new one is quite the upgrade. 
• We went to the lake yesterday and there was an 8 year old girl there who was so sweet with Grace. She played with her for a while and Grace copied everything she did, it was so cute! 
• We've been spending a lot of our mornings at the lake lately. Grace loves the water, and it's a great way for this preggo to cool down. 
• Grace rarely puts up a fight when it's time to leave the beach (hopefully this doesn't jinx it). We swim and play in the sand for most of the morning, then come home for lunch and a nap. 
• For more leftovers, go here. 

Thankful on Thursday

I'm thankful for Grace's great aunt Theresa for taking Grace for the afternoon on Tuesday! Grace and I both had doctor's appointments in the morning, then I had to go to the IWK for bloodwork, do the hour long glucose test, and then get my Rhogam shot. Grace and Theresa went to the playground, played outside in Theresa's yard, and Grace had a nice nap before I got back (it took quite a bit longer than I expected!) Gracie had fun, and I hope Theresa and Bob did too! :)

I'm also thankful that my husband is more of a handy man than I gave him credit for! He's done a lot around the house since we moved in and is always working on little projects.

Wordless Wednesday (Fun at Sea Edition)

Wordless Wednesday (Fun at the Lake)

20 Months

What's new with Gracie over the past month?

• She still loves to dance. She will now ask us to put music on and dance by pointing to the record player and saying "dance! dance!" We've been listening to Grampers' old records a lot lately; Grace loves the Blues Brothers!
• She's become more of a Mommy's girl since I stopped working recently. She wants to be held a lot, and whines if I leave the room. 
• She is saying more and more 2-3 word sentences and will mimic anything we say. She remembers new words very easily and quickly. 
• She has pretty good manners. She regularly says please and thank-you, and excuse me (which sounds like cue me!)
• She's a water baby. She loves to swim!
• She knows some numbers and colors. She will say "1, 2, 3" and then "8, 9, 10" She is pretty consistent with knowing if something is orange, white, pink, or purple. Anything else she usually says purple, but repeats the right color back after us. 
• She recognizes quite a few letters. She doesn't always say the name of the letter, but she will pick out an M for Mommy, D for Daddy, Z for Zilla, G for Gracie, R for Robbie, S for Sharla, B for Baby and T for Theresa. She often gets other letters, but those ones are the most consistent. 
• She is getting better about brushing her teeth. Most of the time. She does much better when B does it than me. 
• Her favorite foods lately are still hummus and anything pasta, and she's also on a big grape kick. She loves cucumber and has just recently started to like broccoli. She loves oatmeal and raisin bran muffins. She still hates eggs, no matter how they're cooked. 
• She likes to point to and rub my belly and say "baby" and she will give the baby kisses. 
• When we ask her if the baby will be a boy or a girl, she switches up her answer but usually she says boy. We'll have to wait and see if she's right!

Friday Night Leftovers

• We had lots of company this past week. B's parents came to stay with us for a few days, and Great Aunt Theresa stayed over for two nights. We had a great time with all of them!
• Grace is such a water baby. I'm so glad, because I love the water. 
• She is getting brave at the lake. She will walk right out till the water is up to her chest, then asks to be picked up but she still wants to go out deeper! She points out further into the lake and says "that way!"
• She loves playing in the sand, and bringing buckets of water from the lake up onto the beach. 
• I always bring a container of Goldfish crackers to the lake with us, to prevent meltdowns if we have to leave before Grace is ready. 
• I usually don't have to break out the emergency Goldfish, which is nice. 
• Can you tell she likes Goldfish? We limit them so they are a special treat, but I think she would eat a whole bag if we let her. 
• We decided not to get cable when we moved to the new house. I really don't miss it, but we didn't watch much of the Olympics, which we normally would. 
• We still don't have a home phone, and my cell phone reception is horrible here. I think we're going to try Magic Jack instead of a regular landline. 
• I haven't been updating about my pregnancy lately, but I'm feeling good! Can't wait to meet this little babe!
• Find more leftovers here. 

Dolly

This is Dolly:

I've had her for my entire life. She was given to me when I was just a few days old, from one of my Mom's best friends. You could say I was slightly attached to Dolly. She was with me 24/7 for the first few years of my life. She's been through a lot, including getting decapitated by a lawn mower when I left her outside. Thankfully, my sister found her in two pieces and Mom was able to sew her back together. Dolly was my comfort item; I actually remember sucking my thumb and rubbing her smooth skirt between my fingers on my other hand. When I got older, Mom put her away for me and I've kept her with me again for the past few years. I want to put her in a shadow box on the wall, but B thinks she's creepy. 

This is another one of my doll's from my childhood: 

I don't remember if she had a name, but I remember really loving this doll. I guess that's why I hung on to her over any of the others. I found her again when we moved, so I scrubbed her up and gave her to Grace to play with. 

"Hi Dolly"

"Lay down"

Kisses for Dolly

Dolly going for a rock on Jimmy

Dolly tossed aside so Grace could have a rock on Jimmy :P

Gracie Says ...

"Where is she/he?" - Any time I mention someone who isn't with us at the time. 

"Toes, where are you?" - Grace entertaining herself in the backseat by covering up her toes with her blanket. 

"Wain, go way!" - Wishing away the rain so we could play outside. 

"I did it!" 

"Weeach!" - Trying to get something that she can't quite reach. 

"Almost!" - Said as she tries so climb up on something and slides back down. 

"Tank you much!"

And some things that she says that are just too cute:

Doo jays = Blue jays

Beeza = Zebra

Baby bug = Lady bug

Bampers = Grampers

Yibbit = Ribbit

Friday Night Leftovers

• B has finished his first week of his new shift (6:00am - 2:30pm). He's been a bit tired, but is getting used to going to bed a bit earlier. 
• I've been trying to get used to a new routine of showering at night, since B leaves so early in the morning. 
• I much prefer my morning shower. 
• It's just not worth trying to get up before Grace, since she gets up between 6:30 - 7:00. 
• Grace usually sleeps in till around 8:00 when she stays the night at Zilla and Grampers' house. What gives?
• Our new couch was delivered today! Now we're just waiting for the kitchen table and chairs. 
• I really need to get some pictures printed so we can get some frames up on the walls. 
• Tomorrow is the annual washer toss tournament we usually go to, but I'm skipping it this year. It will be way too hot for this preggo to stand around all day long, and I know my feet and ankles would be super swollen. 
• We spent the afternoon at Zilla and Grampers' house today. Grace loves putting peanuts out for the blue jays to come eat!
• Head over here for more leftovers. 

Last Day

Today was Grace's last day at daycare. While I'm excited to be able to spend these next few months at home with her before the baby comes, she always had a lot of fun there and I think she will miss seeing her little friends.

We were really lucky to find this spot for her. She's been going to an in-home daycare with just three other kids. One of the guys that B works with takes his daughter there and he told B when there was an opening. We were looking for childcare and I knew I wanted Grace in someone's home rather than in a daycare center, it was just a matter of finding that right home that we were comfortable with.

When we went to meet K, I got a good vibe from her right away. At this time Grace usually needed some time before she would let someone new pick her up, but she let K hold her right away - a good sign. I took Grace over for a couple hours for a few days in a row, then left her by herself for a half day. I won't lie, I cried a little leaving her there the first time. Not because I was worried, I just wanted to be able to stay home with my baby and didn't want to go back to work.

Grace has been going to K's house for the past 7 months. She has had so much fun and learned so much during her time there. She's brought home many crafts and pieces of artwork that she's done, and they've taken trips to the Discovery Center, the farmer's market, the museum, and went on the ferry across the harbor. They've played a lot outside and helped bake yummy treats on rainy days. Grace was the youngest but loved trying to keep up with the big kids.

She was happy as a clam when I picked her up today. They had hummus for lunch (Grace's favorite) and she gave everyone a big hug before she left. We'll be going for a visit sometime soon because I know Grace will miss her friends, and K!

Wordless Wednesday (Parade Fun)