Christmas 2011

Whew! What a whirlwind of a couple of weeks it has been! I guess that is how it will be from now on, especially with 2 kids starting next year! It's been a fun time, but I am not going to mind getting back into a regular routine for a few weeks (and then all will never be the same again as we try to figure out life with 2 kids!) and not having so many things to do each day, even though most of them have been really fun!

This year's Santa visit went alright. We talked a lot about Santa, read about him, did puzzles, colored him, practiced telling him (nicely) what we'd like him to bring for Christmas, etc. Then, the big event arrived. We went to a local mall and, luckily, the line was short and Santa was very friendly and obviously had a lot of experience with timid toddlers. She went up to him, talked to him, looked at a book she had brought about him; they had a discussion about the reindeer and the elves and she told him she wanted a 'bike and dollhouse' (there maaaay have been some help from mom and dad preparing her ahead of time). Then we suggested a seat on Santa's lap for a picture and the crocodile tears appeared. We ended up taking a picture with her on MY lap, sitting in front of Santa. Her face is not smiling, and is a face caught between sobs. (our scanner is refusing to work, I will try to post it later) Oh well. It could have been worse. Maybe next year, when she gets to show baby brother how it's done, things will go better. Or, maybe he'll show her how it's done. We'll see!!

She was in her 3rd Christmas pageant at church this year and also did very well. She had the choice to be a sheep or angel this year and had very strong opinions on being a sheep. Her buddies Oliver and Rosie were sheep too, so that determined it. She wore the costume with no problems and only needed a little assistance from mom to go to her place. She sat quietly with the other sheep and did great!
Christmas Eve was spent going to the family service, which includes a special sermon for the kids (our priest used to be a chaplain at a school, we love her!), including candy cane distribution, which she was very excited about. We then went to my parents' house afterwards to share Christmas Eve dinner, which in our house has been Italian food for the last few year. Mom made lasagna and Kalaya ate a ton! We opened presents, which for Kalaya was a new table and chairs, which Daddy put together later that night for Christmas morning:
Christmas Eve was spent putting together the gifts from 'Santa' which Nelson loves! (no sarcasm, he seriously does) This year included a tricycle ($15, new in box on Craig's List!!), the table and chairs and a new trampoline!! ($49, down from $120 on Black Friday, thank you very much!) It took 3 HOURS for poor Santa to put the trampoline together, but she loves it!

Christmas morning, we had to draaaaaag her out of bed at 9 and she did NOT want to get up! We would have let her sleep, but had plans to see Nelson' family that day and wanted to give her time to open presents. She finally warmed up after some special Christmas blueberry muffins from mommy and then decided Christmas was pretty fun! She especially loves her new tutu, toy cars, Sesame Street play set and dollhouse.

We then drove to Salem to see Nelson's family and had a delicious meal, none of which I had to cook!! Kalaya got lots of fun gifts and had a great time playing with her one year old cousin Amara. She got lots of cute clothes, which made me extra happy. : )

We rounded off the week with a trip to The Great Wolf Lodge, to enjoy one last vacation and some special time as a family of 3, but that's for another post!

What I Wore Wednesday at 34 Weeks

Let's be honest: I haven't been posting outfit posts, because nothing is comfortable any more. I'm outgrowing maternity clothes, wear a lot of sweats and pjs and just throw on whatever is big enough to be covered. And, when I do actually put on something cute (usually for church on Sunday or to visit the midwife), I never remember to grab the camera. Pants are getting less comfortable, jeans, no matter what size. This guy is getting big! Skirts and leggings are more comfortable, but seem ridiculous to wear around the house. This outfit was to take Kalaya to see Santa, because I suspected I may end up in the picture too. (I was right, more about that later) This was taken at 34 weeks.

Sweater: Hand me down (Motherhood)
Skirt: Thrifted (Motherhood)
Leggings, boots: Kohl's
Snowflake Pin: Target

And the belly to go with it....

33 Weeks

Alright, I'll try to stop saying how fast this pregnancy is going by. But, really, now that the holiday season is in full swing, EVERYTHING is happening quickly, not just the growing bump!! Just on a day to day basis, how did it get to be Thursday this week??? And Christmas is a week from Sunday???? Holy cow!! Luckily, having plenty to do distracts from getting bigger and bigger. I finally got my Christmas cards out yesterday, have gotten almost all of the prep work done for the big day and starting to feel like I can slow down a little. Yeah right, the Christmas pageant is Sunday, (starring a certain VERY cute sheep. okay, 'starring' may be an exaggeration.) I have a few craft projects to finish up, presents to wrap and we are going to see the Big Guy in Red next week.

Pregnancy-wise, I still feel good! Definitely more crowded and feeling bigger, but I don't have too many complaints at all. My appetite is fine and most nights I'm able to get some sleep. He's head down, which is a HUGE relief and we're hoping he stays there!! Our next appointment is Wednesday and then we'll be going every other week and soon after, every week! With a VBAC, I'm technically considered 'high risk', but as long as I know my rights and speak up for myself, we can treat this as a 'normal' birth. Our midwife said that if I'm late, they'll let me go up to 42 weeks if necessary (hopefully not!) but that they won't induce without my body starting to labor on its own. Which means, c-section if no labor begins. Hopefully, this won't be an issue. I just have no idea, since my body didn't go into labor at all with Kalaya. Head down means a new sensation; feet poking my ribs! It is pretty painful, but I can usually change positions and feel better. (does not work in the car, I've discovered...)

We started our childbirth class and love it! We're taking Hypnobirthing, which came highly recommended by other ladies who have had successful deliveries without any pain medications, intervention, etc. It's basically an approach to childbirth that has you practice getting as relaxed as possible before labor so that your body is trained ahead of time. It is also based on the idea that your body is prepared for this; God/Mother Nature knew what to do to prepare you, it doesn't have to be this screaming, painful, agonizing, medical event. It's a natural process that your body was created for. We love it!!

Jakiah is still very active and I love, love, LOVE feeling him move. This is the part of pregnancy I missed the most, so I'm trying to savor each moment. People are asking if I'm ready to be done, and honestly, not yet. For obvious reasons, such as I know that he'd be premature at this point, but also because who knows what God's plan is for us with children?? I don't know if we're stopping after this or not, so I'm enjoying being pregnant while I can. Yes, we're excited to meet this little guy, but I'm loving having my daughter all to myself and her having her parents all to herself for just a couple more months. (eek, more like a few more weeks!!) We're taking everything one day at a time. : )

Let the holiday season begin!!

It's been a busy few weeks, which apparently meant no blogging!! Let's see, where to start...

Thanksgiving was really nice. We had (as usual) 2 dinners, one with my family, one with Nelson's family. My mom and dad came over on the actual day and mom and I split up the responsibilities of cooking the big meal, which was GREAT! I was in charge of the turkey, rice, jello salad, green veggie (broccoli), mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and.....I think that was it. Mom did the sweet potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. Then there were those other quick things that just come out of a can. At our house, that includes olives and cranberry sauce. I do the turkey in the crock pot (just the breast, actually), so it actually was a really easy, laid back preparation. We had dinner, the men watched football, the ladies looked through Black Friday ads and chatted in the kitchen. (and the men did the dishes, of course.) Saturday was spent in Salem with Nelson's family, eating another big and delicious meal. And, I didn't have to cook a thing!! I was going to bring a side dish, but Nelson had this idea that he wanted to try to make a new recipe he found, so he made a sweet potato casserole, leaving me with nothing, AWESOME!! Kalaya ate a LOT at both meals this year; much different from last year! She especially liked mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, broccoli, cranberry sauce and stuffing and mommy and daddy let her have a (VERY SMALL) piece of pumpkin pie at each meal, which was very exciting!

Black Friday. Yup, it's totally crazy and I understand completely why people avoid it. The last few years, my mom and I have sometimes gone out in the late morning or afternoon, to check out the sales, but avoid the crazies. Then, last year, my friend Sarah got me to go with her in the middle of the night and I got HOOKED!! Do I feel guilty about those people having to work ridiculous hours and for supporting corporate America?? Yes. Very, very much so. But, we are on a limited budget and the sales really do make a huge difference in savings. Last year I went to 5 or 6 stores, but at 7 months pregnant, not this time. I go with a plan and very strategically. This year, I decided on Toys R Us and K Mart. Toys R Us opened at 9pm on Thanksgiving (which is absolultely horrible, I agree) and I learned last year that it's pointless to get there before 2 hours after they open. (the line out the door takes that long to get through) I arrived just before 11 and got in pretty quickly, got the items I wanted and checked out @ 1am, which was exactly what I expected. Yes, it's crazy, but I got everything we wanted for Kalaya and saved 50% or more on each item, as well as the other kids on my shopping list. My make a list ahead of time, arrive with cash in hand, have back ups for each item and only go if it really is worth the savings. Last year, it was for her kitchen, this year a trampoline and some other toys. I got up and went to K Mart @ 6, which wasn't crowded at all, had no lines and I got everything I wanted. The only bummer this year was that I did it alone, since Sarah had just had a baby 3 weeks prior.

The weekend after Thanksgiving was spent finalizing projects around the house and working in the yard, getting things ready for our Housewarming party that we had this past Saturday. Nelson has removed a LOT of weeds and been putting down mulch, it looks SO much better. We did a lot of raking as well. Nelson put the lights on the house and we did come other decorating around the house, including getting our Christmas tree! We found a great place, within a couple of miles of our house. It's a family home with 5 acres of Christmas trees behind it, all trees one price and you cut it, they tie it to your car. We'll be heading back, it was really nice!! And so close! Kalaya had a lot of fun running around and looking at the trees, even though it was COLD! She wasn't too sure about the whole tying the tree on the car part, but once we got home, she loooves having a decorated tree in the living room, especially the lights!!

Running around and having a blast!

Supervising

New word learned: Stump

Helping decorate! (notice her area of choice, mommy had to spread a few out, as she put them all on the same branch : )

30 Before 30

So, I've noticed a growing trend in the blogs I read: a lot of the people who are under 30 have a '30 Before 30' list going. Since I turned 29 recently, I figured I might as well get on the bandwagon!! Here's what I have come up with so far. They are in no particular priority or timeline order, they are just what I have thought of so far. I am open to suggestions!!

1. Deliver a healthy baby (boy!) around January 31st, to increase our family to 4! DONE

2. Have a successful VBAC with as little medical intervention as possible, particularly without pain medications. DONE

3. Complete the Hypnobirthing class series before labor. DONE

4. Compost more; throw away even less waste.

5. Learn the basics of sewing on a machine. (starting with: how to turn it on, how to put the thread on...seriously embarrassing!)

6. Sign Kalaya up for more classes through our rec center. (we've already done swimming) DONE

7. Plant an herb garden in the backyard (I wish this could be a veggie garden, but it will be too much with a new baby. Next year!)

8. Really focus on working out our family budget, finding a way to spend less and save more. DONE

9. If the budget is balanced enough and our tax return is enough; buy a 2nd car.

10. Use more coupons!

11. After baby is born, get back to my pre-baby weight or at least fit in my clothes.

12. Try (at least) one new recipe every week. DONE

13. POTTY TRAIN MY TODDLER

14. Learn to bake my own bread. DONE 

15. Get our yard cleaned up (even more) and some basic landscaping.

16. Paint our kitchen. DONE

17. Make more meals ahead and freeze them. (my parents bought me a freezer for my birthday/Christmas!!!) DONE

18. Find a way to take a vacation as a family. As in, not just in Oregon. (I have been slooooowly saving a bit at a time since this time last year and plan to keep going!) DONE

19. Have a successful housewarming/holiday party in our new house! DONE

20. Transfer my grad school credits from WOU to PSU and start their online Master's of Education program this fall term.

21. Keep going to pregnancy fitness swim class regularly, followed by deep water aerobics after the pregnancy is over. (with several weeks to transition back with a new baby!)

22. Along with the budget, pay off the small amount of credit card debt we have and then use cards only when truly necessary. (for Papa John's when I don't feel like cooking does NOT COUNT!)

23. Figure out a way to raise 2 kids! DONE....

24. Wear a bikini out in public, with a pregnant belly. (well, to swim class anyway) DONE

25. Make and freeze several batches of fruit and vegetable purees to sneak more healthy foods into my picky toddler's diet. DONE

26. Read at least 3 classic novels, including Pride and Prejudice, which no, I have never read!

27. Visit Grant Park and Klickitat Street, in honor of Beverly Cleary and Ramona. Have lived in Portland too long to not do this!!

28. 

29.

30.

30 1/2 Weeks

I have not been doing a good job this pregnancy with belly pictures! So, there it is! He's getting bigger! I can't believe I will be full term in only 5 1/2 weeks, that sounds so soon! It will be interesting to see what happens; I didn't have any signs of labor what so ever with Kalaya and my c-section was only 5 days before her due date. We'll see what plans this little guy has!!

28 Weeks

This little guy will be here before we know it! Every year, once Halloween hits, I feel like life speeds up rapidly and it has only happened more so after having 1 child, so next year will be even crazier! Halloween, then my birthday, my brother's birthday, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Winter Break, Christmas, New Year's, WHEW!!

This pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, for which I am very thankful. I am feeling pretty good most days. Now that the third trimester is upon us, I definitely feel bigger from week to week! This little guys is extremely active and moves all the time, which I love and had really missed!! So, I enjoy the wiggles and kicks and watching my belly move and jump.

As he grows, I am getting more uncomfortable. I remember having hip pain during my first pregnancy, but it seems different this time. I was able to go walking every day with Kalaya, but walking for exercise is really challenging me, which is frustrating. I keep thinking that if I push myself, it will get better, as soreness used to get better over time with regular workouts or sports. But, it doesn't seem to be muscle related, more joint and bone. I have a midwife appt on Thursday, so we'll see what she suggests. I have been taking a pregnancy fitness class at the pool, which helps a LOT, but is only a few times per week for an hour. The rest of the time, I'm trying to do yoga, but worry that I'm not getting enough exercise. I have my glucose test on Thursday as well, and I'm actually concerned about the results, since I haven't exercised as much this pregnancy. Fingers crossed, we'll see.

Sleep is also getting more difficult, but still tolerable. I've had a few restless nights, but mostly am getting enough sleep. God bless our new mattress, I give it a lot of credit. Kinda spendy, but it has been WORTH IT. Lots of pillows are helping too.

I know I'm carrying him differently than Kalaya too. My shirts are starting to get too small that I wore all the way through my last pregnancy, which I at first thought was because I was huge this time, but pants still seem to fit just fine, about the same way they did at this point last time. I'm trying to avoid buying more maternity clothes, but it may be inevitable. Luckily, Goodwill tends to have a good, inexpensive selection.

Honestly, we're about as 'ready' as we can be for this little guy at this point. The nursery is put together (though, it turned out to be mainly for show with Kalaya, we'll see how this little guy is...) and we still have the gear we used with Kalaya. I replaced a couple of things, but from consignment stores, so at a very low price. I have 2 lovely friends who want to throw me a shower (in early January is the plan, I believe), so we have a small registry at Babies R Us. We mainly need the co-sleeper and some boy clothes, as well as that stuff you have to get with each baby; lotion, etc. Luckily, diapers and wipes are still around from the first, though we may buy a few disposable here and there. Last time I wanted to wait to try the cloth, but discovered that they were so easy, I think we'll be doing cloth diapers almost from the day we bring him home.

Kalaya is 'ready' too, I guess. How can you REALLY prepare a 2 1/2 year old for a sibling? Sure, we talk about it all the time, show her everything for baby brother, talk about babies, how they act, what they do, etc. She's been around lots of babies and it very interested. But, to explain that never again will she be the center of our universe, will forever have some competition and that baby brother will be completely dependent on Mommy and Daddy for a loooong time?? Right. We're totally on top of that. We know she'll be fine and that there will be some adjustment, obviously.

For the most part, I'm trying to just enjoy having only one each and every day. Not that I prefer only one, I just know it will never be exactly like this again and I want to cherish every moment, as I have her whole life. There are times (possible pregnancy hormone reaction) when I get choked up, can't believe how big Kalaya is already and how fast time has already gone. And I know it's only going to go faster once Jakiah is here. Then I have these meltdowns, because I feel like I can't give Kalaya what she needs as much as I used to be able to. I'm just getting so big and uncomfortable, it's hard to do things that involve getting down on the floor or lifting her up. It's gotten hard to go to the park, which I know I should do more. And I just get tired so easily and it makes me irritable and I feel bad that it comes out in my parenting. I know I'm doing my best, but I get upset and wish I could do more. Nelson has been wonderful; he comes home after working all day, runs around with her, gives horsie rides, throws her around and gets out a lot of the energy that I can't keep up with. I wish we had a 2nd car during the day, it would make it easier to get to places, so that I could give her more of a variety of activities. We'll get there, I know and I know that she is very loved, lucky and well taken care of. Anyway, enough ranting, only 12 more weeks (in theory) to go!!

At 2 1/2

How quickly we stopped keeping track of Kalaya's age by years, no longer by days, weeks or months! We're getting close to 3 and pre school and so much more!! But, one day at a time...

Kalaya is such a joy. Seriously, I need to remind myself of that (in writing), because, obviously, we have challenges with 'the twos', but overall, she is such an easy going, pleasant child. Do we take credit for it? Some, I suppose, but her personality just seems to fairly mellow. Of course, we have our definite drama queen moments, melt downs and stubbornness. But, she is usually full of smiles, laughter, cuddles, kisses, hugs and happiness.

She talks so much now, it's unbelievable. She is so observant and descriptive of every. single. thing. she. sees. 'Mommy, I hear a doggie! There's where we wash our hands! What sound does Pippy make? Can you draw Elmo pease? I want to read the David book. Can I have a snack pease? Where's Daddy? Can we go to the park? There's the fire. I hear the washing machine! Daddy's doing the dishes. I went poop. Where does Allie live? Can we look at pictures of Amara? Halloween is over? Where did the pumpkins go? They fixed the tree outside, it made a big boom, it fell down, they took it in their truck. Don't stop believing song? Alphabet song? Brush your teeth song? Let's go eat macaroni and cheese with broccoli and color and get a balloon! (we maaay go to Red Robin fairly often...) What's Pippy doing? Did we go to church today? We go to the pool on Monday and take a shower with Mommy." and oh so many more things about EVERYTHING.

Favorites right now include: riding Daddy's horsie (bless him, I can't satisfy her need for running around these days), playing dress ups, going to church to 'play with the toys', going to visit Oma's school, building with blocks and Duplos, listening to hours of kid's music, especially the ABCs, the 'brush your teeth and eat breakfast song', the Hokey Pokey, Old McDonald, Twinkle Star, etc, taking swimming lessons, giving mommy's baby lots of kisses, petting mommy's baby (apparently he's some kind of pet now...), playing with all of Jakiah's toys in his room, going to the park to slide and swing, digging in the rocks (gravel pile out back), driving her car, riding in Mommy and Daddy's car, pushing her own shopping cart at Trader Joe's, practicing putting a diaper on her bunny, anything involving Sesame Street or Disney characters, coloring those same characters, asking Mommy to draw endless pictures on her magna doodle, especially, Mommy, Daddy, Kalaya, Jakiah, Pippy, Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Mickey, Minnie, the New House, Mr. Noodle, Dorthy, shapes, (YOU try drawing some of those some time....), talking to family members on Skype, playing 'camping' in her tent, Pillow Pets, endless stuffed animals, reading books over and over, especially Go Dog Go, David Shannon's books, and Sesame Street Books, Disney books, looking at photo albums, helping Mommy fold clothes, practicing on the potty with occasional success, stickers, and more!

Many things about Kalaya are a breeze now, especially compared to when she was an infant. She sleeps in, goes down for her nap without a hitch most days and sleeps all night in her big girl bed, though she still joins us in our bed about once a week. She plays really well independently, which I hope sticks around. She enjoys getting to watch Elmo, Word World or Mickey Mouse, but knows that's only on Saturdays. She is a fairly good eater, but is partial to cheese, pasta, shrimp, hummus, rice, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, bread, crackers, dried fruit, strawberries, broccoli, milk and water. We have to get creative to get most fruits and veggies into her (I puree a lot over pasta or spread on bread) or proteins other than shrimp. Even peanut butter has to be hidden. (which is crazy to me, but to each her own!) Potty training is coming along slooooowly. We're not sure what's going on. We've had a lot of success with pee on the potty, but she holds her poop in until nap or bed time or goes and hides to go in her diaper. Believe me, we've tried all those 'tricks' out there, but she's just stubborn. We're not going to force it or punish her. She'll get there. I just hope it's before I'll have 2 in diapers....

Kalaya, you are an adorable delight and we love you so much!!!

Swimming Lessons

Swimming has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was swimming at a very young age and was an active swimmer and water polo player in high school and college. We spent hours and hours at the pool every summer. Even now, I feel so comfortable in the water. It is my go-to activity for exercise. I am so happy that our new house is only a couple of blocks away from a pool!

We signed up Kalaya for the 'Toddler and Me' class that the pool offered and she has LOVED it! It's a nice way for us to be together as a family. I can't wait until she is swimming on her own. I'm sure many many hours will be spent at this pool! Nelson didn't take swimming lessons as a child, and is still pretty unsure in the water. He can swim to survive, but that's about it. He is thrilled that our kids are going to love the water from early on and know how to swim.

We have learned some important things about Kalaya as a student: (1) She enjoys, no thrives, no INSISTS on routine and consistency in a class. This girl was telling the teacher what to do next by the third class. (2) She is totally going to be that kid who tells substitute teachers 'that's not how Mr. or Mrs. _____ does it!' I can't imagine where she would get these traits with a mom that's a teacher.....

The class is just to get kids used to the water, not actually teach them to swim yet. Each activity really shows how it will eventually lead to a skill though. Enjoy the pictures! We usually do the class with her together, but I opted out that night, so I could get these shots. Just picture a really hot pregnant Mama next to them. Right.

Every class starts with gradually getting used to the water by washing different body parts, while singing a song of course. : ) (each activity has a song with it!)

Then another song to make getting into the pool fun....

We practice blowing out our breath to make the ball move

And reaching (streamline!) for the ball away from Daddy (or Mommy)

Lots of the songs involve up and down, which I am happy to let Daddy take care of, as Jakiah is making my back hurt if I lift too much...

We practice floating on our back, with help from toys. (she insists on doing this with me when I participate. This is the only activity she's a little apprehensive about. I swear she knows that Mommy is more confident in the water than Daddy for this one)

Fun with the pool noodles

Blowing bubbles in the water

Splashing!

Practicing with a kickboard

In only a few short years, we'll be watching swim meets and water polo games; can't wait!!

Small Style Halloween

Halloween is still pretty low key at our house. We haven't started going trick or treating yet. Kalaya is so timid with strangers and unknown environments that we think it may be more traumatizing than fun, so we're waiting one more year. We still try to make it a fun day though and she gets a big kick handing out candy to the trick or treaters. Unfortunately, we only had 4 total at our new house!! We bought waaaay too much candy, I'm sending some to work with Nelson. That actually works out well for us, because we both want to be able to take the kids trick or treating in the future, not take turns with one staying home.
We still had a fun day. Since my mom is a Kindergarten teacher, we went to her class party and Kalaya walked in the costume parade with the kids. She loved wearing her pumpkin costume and has been asking to wear it all of October. However, from the first time she tried it on, she made it very clear that the 'hat' (hood) part of the costume was not going to be worn. (in her defense, it's kind of tight and covered part of her face, making it hard to see) We even let her wear it to church on Sunday. : ) I picked it out, I figured this is the last year I get to pick her costume, I'm sure she'll have a say in the future! Toddlers in chubby pumpkin costumes are my favorite and this one is perfect!!

Costume: Once Upon a Child (thrifted for $6.50!!)
Headband: Target (Dollar bins!)

I am linking with Mama Loves Papa.