One Last Costumed Rendezvous

So this past weekend was our last little jaunt to San Diego before the baby comes (officially scheduled for Monday, Nov. 19th at 7:30 am!!) Ian and Tere threw the biggest one-year-old birthday party I've ever seen for my nephew Cannon at their new house in Bonita, and since Sophia has decided not to leave her crib and we decided we didn't have the energy to push it, we ran to Ikea to get a cheap second crib for the baby. It was a quick, productive, FUN weekend. Every time we're with my or Ross' family, I so envy those of you who live close to family. I'm sure there are challenges, but there sure are perks. Sophia's just a happier girl with so many people to love and play with her. And so is her mommy.


So the party-- unreal. As you can tell from the otherwise seemingly unrelated picture of Sophia as a fairy, it was a Halloween birthday party. I was excited to get to try out her costume. How cute is she? The part I wasn't so excited about, using the wig/wing combination I've used twice before, this time as a big, pregnant mama. It didn't go so well with my figure, I don't think I'd go for the banged bob if I gained 30 pounds for good... but it was my only last minute sort-of costume. The wig lasted about 4 minutes in the heat, and then I was just a pregnant chick with wings.





So here are some more pictures... (out of order and just to mention a few:) my brother Ian as Donald Duck (I didn't get one of you Tere!) with little Cannon post-skunk costume, the reason for the party, the cutest pair of bumble bee wings I've ever seen on an adorable little girl, Sophia, happy as can be while collecting candy from one of the FIVE piñatas per Papa's orders, Ross as... did you guess it? ... Clark Kent! My very own Superman, :) and of course, below, Sophia with Pocahontas and the sheik (sp?) , (or the terrorist when he had his dark glasses on outside)... also known as Nana and Papa, the people that made my weekend so carefree while they kept my little girl SO entertained. (Ignore the Sophia camera-scowl) She really does ADORE them, just refuses to do the "CHEESE" thing. Thank you Nana and Papa!

The Fires

So so scary. They're nowhere near us out here in the desert, but they've pretty much surrounded my parents and little brother and his family in Bonita and my brother and his family in Carlsbad. Everyone's fine, and today it seems the threats near them are decreasing a bit, but so scary nonetheless. Byron and Kim were on voluntary evacuation as of a couple of days ago but they didn't decide to leave, instead they took the kids to Disneyland for the day to get out of the smoke and have some fun. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Neighborhoods near my parent's house were evacuated, and my mom and Kirk were sure to pack their car with all the important stuff, but luckily were never forced to leave. They've both been home from work and my mom found out that her boss's house in Rancho Bernardo burned down. So sad. Where do you even start after something like that?! Today things seem to be looking a lot better in the Southbay, I think the winds took the Harris fire in a different direction-- away from Bonita where my folks are. Sigh.

It's just so weird how one city can be going to work and school and carrying on like normal, while just miles away people are watching their homes burn to the ground. So so sad. Guess I just needed to post something about it. I sure hope everyone (and your families) are ok.

Fall!

Saturday was the first day I felt a little bit of Fall. Ahhhhh. Fall. We drove out to Redlands and met our friends, Sean and Lindsey and their two, adorable little ones at the cutest pumpkin patch I've ever been to. It was the real thing. Where they grow real pumpkins and Christmas trees (unlike the ones near our house where they've displayed some shipped-in pumpkins amongst a few shipped-in hay stacks.) There was kettle corn popping in the huge kettle, carmeled apples, wheel barrels to push around your pumpkins (or your kids?), a petting zoo, and even a wide selection of porta-potties. I could have done without that last bit of authenticity, especially seeing as an hour of my life can demand 4 or 5 potty breaks these days, what with the baby SO low and constantly doing a jig on my bladder. But really, even with the out-house experience, and the 76 degree weather that might not seem quite "Fall-ish" to some, it was the perfect taste of Fall for our little desert-dwelling family. And SO good to spend time with old, golden friends.

Here's Sophia enjoying the huge blow-up slide. The second picture is when we let her go up by herself... it was too cute watching the kids pile up behind her as she held up the line with her 2-year-old pace.


And just some more...

We did manage to get one of all of us... of course all of us facing forward would have been far too much to ask... but all of us nonetheless: Ross, Sophia, my belly and me, with Sean, Lindsey, Ethan and Malia.

Afterwards, we went to dinner, and thanks to a table clearing in our area of the restaurant, were able to let the kids run figure eights through the empty tables hitting each other with their new balloons. They loved each other by the end of the night. Here's proof of course. :) What's cuter than a little-person hug?

Barneys, we miss you already!

Some of the Loot

Here she is in the baby's new bumpo (a gift from my sprinkle). Apparently it's a hot item-- I just hope Sophia lets the little one use it- she loves to squeeze her little bum and thighs into it-- I'm a little worried one day we won't be able to get them out.

The video is of her opening her gift from the shower (that's how thoughtful people are with your second baby- not wanting the first to feel left out.) She's just started saying "I no know" (I don't know) which I love, so I giggle when she says it in the video. (Sorry, you'll have to hit 'pause' twice on my music playlist, then 'play' twice below.)

A baby... sprinkle?

Seeing as I'm having my second girl, a shower was not in the plans. However, Lizzie, being the loves-you-like-a-sister, always-seems-to-do-more-for-you-than-you-do-for-her, super-friend that she is, planned a "girls-night-out in honor of Lillie having a baby" kind of thing. She shot out an email to some of my closest friends and convinced me it was no big deal, a chance for us all to get out for dinner together.

Last night I collected-- enjoying a night out with a table full of some of my favorite girls, PRESENTS which I don't think are supposed to be part of a non-shower... (but I'm NOT complaining :)- one can never get enough self-pampering and pink- THANKYOU!), Pasta Da Vinci- my favorite dinner at The Cheesecake Factory compliments of Lizzie and Holly, a huge, heaven-sent, beautiful, black-out chocolate cake served in it's entirety... and I'm still enjoying some at home today :) (seriously Lizzie, I've never even SEEN someone purchase a whole cake there), and even a favor to take home. And she said it wasn't a shower. Pretty sure I just cheated the shower-system.

Thank you, everyone for coming... and Lizzie-- what would I do without you? Really.

The Terrible/Wonderful Two's... it's all about perspective really...

She's been two for a month and a half now. But for the sake of my record-keeping, I feel like I need to document some of those priceless two-isms. It's amazing how many different phases they go through and how quickly I forget some of the past habits when she's busy with the new ones. This is my attempt to remember 2.

Current Favorite Foods: Grilled cheese with aged white sharp cheddar (she's got good tastes), still loves straw/blue/black/ras- berries, grapes, bananas, peaches, apples, and pretty much any fruit. Yogurt, smoothies, cereal, eggs, toast, tuna (with a fork but not on sandwich), cottage cheese (plain but not mixed with yogurt or fruit like her mom likes- I know weird), frozen peas (still frozen), avocado, spinach ravioli (one of our new ways to feel like she's at least getting some dark greens-- don't really think peas and avocado work in that category), pancakes and waffles (I've always done homemade, but recently used TJ's multigrain pancake mix and it was a hit, and much easier... and probably a bit healthier, having just said "healthier" what better to follow with than), chicken nuggets, TJ's peanut butter crackers (she eats them like Oreos, licking out all the peanut butter first), cliff bars, and those sesame/honey almonds from TJ's (thanks Sarah for getting me hooked in DC.) As you can tell from any pictures... she's still a good eater. "Good" in the sense that she's well fed, but "good" being a little debatable as she's not my little broccoli, raw cucumber and pepper eater like she used to be... veggies are rough- but she's definitely keeping herself "healthy." :) She loves her "bimins" (vitamins), so I've relinquished some control and just wait for the day that she'll eat the salad/broccoli, tomatoes, carrots etc... off her plate once again....

Vices: Hmmm... I just looked back at my 18 month update. How embarrassed should I be that the vices haven't changed, or at least, we haven't conquered any yet? 1. Binky: not terribly concerned any more though, as she uses it only in bed, and pretty sporadically at that. That probably means it would be a good time to eliminate it completely, but with the big girl bed issues and baby coming, I've had it off my radar. Hmmm... but the baby is coming, maybe that will be a new goal. 2. Fan: We pack it in our suitcase for trips, does that sound obsessive? -- I just can't bear to worry about other people waking her up or having to be quiet in our little house. We've accepted the white noise vice. 3. TV: How do you think I'm on the computer at 8:30 in the morning? That one is a constant challenge-- setting new limits. Once we leave for the gym at 9:30 or 10, the rest of the day isn't much of an issue... maybe a show or two in the afternoon. But mornings are hard for me to keep it off. I guess it's sort of my vice, not hers' eh?

Words (Language): So this one is pretty funny-- I don't know where on earth she got it, but literally, most of her words end in "didee" and "dada." She definitely has a ton more words than 18 months, she has a word for most things, it just doesn't always sound like the word you and I might use for it. :) She seems to hang on to the first consonant or some other primary sound in the word, and then add her own little ending to it. Needless to say, I'm pretty much the only one who understands her Sophia-pig-latin. Ross is catching on :). He had a few questions for me when I returned from DC. Sophia: "Doe Doe?" with hands out to the sides, shoulders shrugged, Ross: "THAT! She's been saying that a lot, what does it mean again?!" Me: "Duh Ross, 'Where did it go? go?' Can't you understand your own daughter?" Perhaps it's unfair for me to expect him to learn a new language when he's at work all day and all. Some examples: Wadidee (water), bididee (binky), peedidee (penguin and penny), dadidee (daddy), nananee (Nana and banana), oo-dada (balloon... apparently the "oo" jumped out to her in this one ???), ce-didee (cereal), toodada (cookie... yeah so she also uses a "t" in place of "c", I told you I'm the only one who can understand), moo-nana (monkey), edidee (elephant- this is a favorite too... pretending there's an elephant in the house somewhere, she runs around "oh no, whe's da edidee??!!" and then Ross makes the noise in the closet/pantry/ drawer etc. We use the word all the time, but she refuses to evolve from edidee. ???) There's lots more, but I'll stop there. Oh and she does have words she uses without the ending, but I've rambled long enough and those are far less exciting. kidding. should I be worried about the Sophia-latin???

Funny things: 1. She demands to be chased "row round!!" the house by Ross (she yells it first thing in the morning in his face and when he gets home from work-- poor guy doesn't get a break, he's forced to run around the house in his "pajamas" or his suit singing his made-up "round and round" song 'till they're both beat. Luckily she doesn't associate the game with mommy). 2. She wakes up most mornings and goes right to her little people zoo animals, especially the "edidee", "tow" (cow), "wion" (lion.. sort of mixed with a roar when she says it all husky in the back of her throat), "burrr" (bird-- but you've got to see her say it with her lips all puckered out trying so deliberately to form that "rr"), and the "moonana" (monkey- but it might be because she wants the "nananees" (bananas) he's carrying. Dunno. 3. She loves to count things. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, the numbers she's stuck on right now are 2 and 9 so she'll point things out in a book counting all the while "tyooo (that's how her's sounds) nine, tyooo, nine, tyooo, nine" Don't know why that stuck when everything we count is 1,2,3. But it did. And she's stubborn. 4. Still runs naked from her bath to the couch and rolls around in the cushions all happy and diaper less. 5. She points at the mole above my lip and says "mooole, mooooooo, tow (cow)" in that order, like she associates my mole with a cow since it sounds like moo. 6. If someone burps (or heaven forbid, anything of that sort) she says to them "you poood" and laughs. *Sigh* that's my little girl.

Loves: Running, climbing, jumping, balancing (in rolling shopping carts and rolling toys and other dangerous moving objects), singing, pretending, dancing (I have to be prepared if I go to turn the music on, she WILL grab my hands and yell "deedada!" (dance) and make me dance in circles 'till I'm nauseous), giving kisses, doing somersaults with daddy, jumping on the bed, Miss Spider Patch, drawing (with pen), going to the gym child care, cleaning tables with baby wipes, playing patty cake while sitting on the potty, DADDY (she never looks so excited as when he comes home, runs to him literally with wide open arms)... and lots lots more. She's a lover.

She's two and has moments of "terrible", but has got to be the coolest girl I've ever known. Nothing in my life has every been so insanely rewarding and... (dare I say?) frustrating at the same time. She's my baby 'till November and my buddy forever. She makes me laugh harder than most grown ups. No doubt she'll be the best big sister ever.

Because

Just felt like looking at a cute one of her today. I love her hair in this photo... sometimes she looks like she has real-life layers, sometimes just grown out, crazy, whispy, baby hair... this day I had no desire to bob it.

Utah!

So besides Sophia's less than ideal sleeping patterns, and a slight injury, Provo was, as always, so fun. One of the perks of Ross' dad owning a car lot is that we get to drive fun, new cars the whole time we're there. He brought home this cute red mini for us to take on our date Wednesday night and Sophia loved it. She tried to take my spot but we were able to pry her out of the car and into her Grandparent's arms so we could head out on our hot date to see Stardust. (Loved it.) Thank you Nana and Grandpa B. for babysitting!

On our date, (last time, btw I wear non-maternity jeans with the rubber band around the button- I was so uncomfortable the whole time as my belly/gravity forced them down all night), the nice overweight guy at American Pie (the new Pizza Pipeline) and the girl at the drive thru for The Malt Shoppe ( I told you, hot date) who "drinks a root beer shake every night with her boyfriend" asked Ross with a little too much enthusiasm... "Is this your car?"... I think they were both flirting with him. My huge belly and undersized jeans must have made me incredibly un-intimidating.

Could Sophia be any more in love with her Grandpa? No. She really is a man's girl. She loves to cuddle with her grandpa and always runs to her uncle Zach... until she sees her dad elsewhere and realizes that's not him. :)

And they really came!!! They made the six hour drive from Boise like it was nothing (it would kill me) and we got to spend a couple of days with John, Marnie, and baby MAC at Ross' folk's house. Even through John being sick and passed out for part of it, and my becoming an invalid after slipping in a puddle at Day's Market and spraining my pubic bone?? (Too much information?), hanging out with them was perfect. Definitely haven't skipped a beat. Thanks for wheeling me to the bathroom on the office chair on my crippled morning Marnie. Oh we've missed you guys. And Marion is perfect and aDORable and chubby and all John right now... it seems you guys have been parents forever. You make it look blissful just like I knew you would. This picture of Marnie was in Children's Place-- something spilled in my purse and I was making sure my camera still worked. I'm glad I did. It's my only proof we even saw them. I wasn't really on point with the picture taking this trip.

Between conference sessions on Saturday, we escaped to the Clean Flicks sale for some $8 movies. They made it a party with food and music which was smart, because as Sophia danced her heart out to "she's got ruby red lips blonde hair blue eyes...." and stuffed her face with peanut butter cookies, we were able to buy far more movies than planned. Some I'm super excited for: Amelie, Flags or our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Knocked Up (should I be embarrassed about that one?)We’ll see which ones were major mistakes.

Good food, GREAT company, one of the comfiest homes I know, cold weather :):):):), high thread-count sheets, a discounted maternity MASSAGE thanks to Jill, (thank you Jill! How great are you? I wish I'd gotten to know you when we had time at BYU), a husband who essentially carried me around for a night and got me dressed while I couldn't and got up in the middle of the night to put a towel under me after my frozen veggies had melted into an ice cold puddle, in-laws who served me icecream while I was planted into a couch I couldn't dare rise from, and major BYU nostalgia. It was all I could have asked for.

It's a long one...

It's 7 and we've been up for an hour. That doesn't make me happy. She's getting up earlier and earlier and the last few mornings have been 6 on the nose... and ...no, she is not sleeping in her big girl bed... that's a whole other story but after two good nights and two, bad, I decided maybe I didn't care if she stayed in a crib FOREVER and had a cluttered room with two beds. Maybe all I really cared about was keeping the FABULOUS bed-time routine we had- "time for ni-night Sophia", she runs to crib, we boost her in, "ni-night", shut door, see you in twelve hours. Loved it. So we bagged the bed, figured we'd go the weak route and minimize challenges pre-baby. Felt good about our two steps back.

And then we went to Utah last week. She had climbed out of her playpen before, but always with furniture near-by to assist. This time it was graceful and assist-less. So she skipped two days of naps in Utah due to constant wandering, which doesn't sound like a big deal- but made me realize I quite possible AM crazy, and a schedule Nazi, and just about lost my mind when I lost that control. Pretty sure Ross was frightened to be married to me, non-sleeping toddler mixed with pregnancy hormones and all. The worst of it was the night before our early return flight home. She decided to hop out at 2:30 in the morning and play- with us- while we tried to sleep. So for 2 and a half hours she bounced around the bed poking us, playing the drums on Ross's chest, sitting on my throat, draping her body across my face such that I couldn't breath and trying to escape the room because she was "hundadee" (hungry). It was the most helpless feeling, what could we do? There was no where to contain her, except for the room we were in. Unless we wanted to lock her in the bathroom or something--- but then where would I go for all the 15 minute increments remaining in the night? And that seemed cruel.

So after sleeping from 5-6, we woke up and headed to the airport exhausted-- all three of us, arrived home in time for the second session of conference on Sunday to a house with a heaven-sent crib. I crossed my fingers that she hadn't developed the confidence to climb out of that too. Imagine our happiness when she went down like usual for a nap, slept for four hours, called sweetly for us to come get her, and went to bed just as happily two hours after that.

But then imagine my depression when she came strolling in to our bedroom at 6 am the next morning.

No. I say to myself in utter sadness. She can climb out. It's official. I'm pretty sure this is when you're not supposed to fight the big-girl bed transition anymore and just deal with the fact that some things might change. I used to think I was good at change. Hmm. So the nap yesterday? Another failure. And it's a very good thing that nobody but strangers at Target came into contact with me. I was not a happy camper. Especially when Target didn't have the childproof door-knob covers I needed, "go ahead and check online" Sylvia says. Do I look like a woman with a week's worth of patience for shipping?

So when I got home I had the brilliant idea of switching door knobs between the master and Sophia's room to get a lock on the outside of her door. It worked! With only one minor incident. I may have locked myself in my room with no phone with the door knobs fallen out of place for about 15 minutes crying in frustration and guilt while Sophia cried on the other side-- I really thought I was going to have to run out to a neighbor's through the back door and call Ross to come home while staring at Sophia through a window or something. Luckily I had Ross's tool box and finally got it open. Sigh. And I think my story's almost over. Rebecca, just never direct Levi my way. (He hates longs posts.)

So bed-time was fine... that is after I put her in her crib. The big-girl bed was the first attempt and upon finding the locked door, she went crazy. She screamed for about 25 minutes with one intervention, and then I put her in her crib and she went to sleep, only to try the lock this morning at 6. A bit calmer after a good night's sleep, the whining was softer and sporadic... but mixed with her new cough, we only had the heart for about 12 minutes before we brought her in our bed to watch that Spanish show on PBS. (The English PBS kid’s shows don't start 'till 6:30. That's how I know 6 am is *universally just too early. *Well I guess more like nationally.... Culturally? Whatever. It's too early in our house.)

This is one of those posts where I feel the need to remind, this is also my journal-- and I know all these details must bore some to death, or at least to avoidance. But they've consumed my thoughts and I can't seem to write anything down without writing them. I guess it's no secret that my life right now is not much more than the sum of pregnancy and toddler joys and challenges. Good things that's more than enough.

Music

So if anyone hasn't noticed, yes, I have been stealing every new, good, commercial song for my blog. I can't help myself. Now whenever a good song comes on a commercial, Ross automatically rewinds it for me so I can get enough to google it. Is it obvious that we watch too much TV? What I don't get is how people like Sarah (Sarie) at A Box of Chocolates already knew all of these good songs. How do you just become inherently music cool and always know the latest? And isn't it true that music is much cooler when it hasn't been over-discovered yet? So the fact that I don't catch on until it's used in mass marketing for little-known companies like Old Navy or JC Penny... well what does that say about me?

In Mourning

Is it really all over? I never did the Harry Potter thing so I'm not used to having to wait around all anxious and desperate for the next one to be written. This will not be fun. She is writing more right? And how am I supposed to keep myself motivated at the gym? My work-outs on the Elliptical went from a very "efficient" 25 minutes to about an hour while I had these books to read. And for those of you scratching your heads, yes I've still gained 30 pounds. Don't ask. Maybe it has something to do with the never-ending frozen cookie dough balls I've had in my freezer.

So Ross and I were arguing the other night (and I think I might take full responsibility this time, I'm pretty sure the pregnancy hormones are working their black magic on me this time around) and I finally said:

"I just wish you could love me regardless of when I'm stupid or rude or in the wrong-- like Edward does Bella."

Ross: "Huh?"

Me: "The vampire in my book-- he's so in love with her he can NEVER get mad at her- just wants her to be happy and safe above all."

Ross: looks at me like I'm crazy

Me: "She's human you know? So she does all sorts of stupid human things, and he's perfect. And regardless of what she does, he sees the reason and doesn't get mad, mostly takes the blame on himself."

Ross: "So you want me to be like the vampire in your high-school, fictional love story and never get mad and always take the blame, even when you're mean and irrational and wrong?"

Me: "Exactly."

Why can't they all be like Edward?

I'm kidding Ross, I totally visualize you when I read about Edward anyway... but since Ross doesn't act, who do you think they'll cast in the movie?

I have to admit I've been thinking Clark Kent on Smallville even though he doesn't do movies. And I'm not even a fan of the show. But we used to watch it off and on, and he feels like Edward to me. Wholesome, good, handsome and strong but humble. Well Edward's not quite as humble... but old fashioned... and of course full of super-human strength. I know he should have lighter hair... but that can be fixed.

I also love Ryan Gosling even though I didn't think he was anything to look at until I watched the Notebook. But he pulled it off in there... became cuter and cuter with every scene. I think he could do beautiful vampire.

Anyone?

If you haven't read Eclipse and you might-- you may want to skip the remainder of the post--

So I really did love the books... but the main disappointment in the last two books? TOO MUCH JACOB! I get it that he saved her during a bad time and left a lasting impression. I get it that perhaps sometimes the human traits are comforting (the warmth and softness etc...) But he's still a gawky little teenage kid compared to the far-beyond-human... FAR-beyond-teenager Edward. He can't compete. He can be her friend but "best friend" is too much for me let alone another love! I mean if Edward and Bella's love is really supposed to be so intense, so beyond this world, where neither one seems to even have a say in the matter, and where Bella should give up her Eternity for one as a vampire, then Bella is not supposed to struggle with the same silly feelings the rest of us humans (who didn't have a sparklng-skinned, topaz-eyed vampire in our lives) struggled with in High School. "Can I love two people at once??" Not when one is Edward. Come on Bella.