French Fies for Everyone!

Sophia enjoying her hamburger
Grandma B and Sophia sharing some fries and some conversation

a beautiful day for a walk and a cuddle

Grandma B has her own personal assistant

What would I do without Grandma B and our bi-weekly excuse to eat McDonald's, I mean I can't be expected to deny an old woman what she wants! Sophia has now taken to the hamburger happy meal and she seriously pronounces hamburger just like the Pink Panther, it's truly hilarious! As much as this kid loves cheese, she prefers her burger plain, plain, plain. It was such a gorgeous day that we even got Grandma out and about for a few minutes to take a stroll around her complex. Sophia was quite the helper as she insisted on pushing the wheelchair. I helped her, of course, but at one point she looked up at me and said, "I do it self." Sorry kid, I just don't trust your driving skills yet!

News About Spud

So today officially marks 34 weeks...deep breath...that means that I have exactly 5 weeks until delivery date! I am both excited and terrified by this. As you all know by now, I'm terribly neurotic and I worry way to much about everything! My latest internal and, who am I kidding, external, breakdowns have been about how maybe I'm just not cut out to be a mother of two. I mean, people are pregnant all the time and lots of people have been chasing after a toddler or two while doing it, but why do I find it so hard?! I've been tired, grumpy, stressed, and a lot overwhelmed the last few weeks. The first 6 months I really felt like a model pregnant woman, calm, collected and ready for baby...but lately, not so much. I think a lot of it stems from our continuing sleep battle with Sophia, but a lot of it is also just my general neuroses coming into play! Overall, I know it will be fine and once the baby arrives, everything will work out. I continue to tell myself this in hopes that one day I'll believe it! ;) In the meantime I have definitely taken Kathleen's advice and resorted to ice cream as much as possible.


As far as Spud's progress everything looks great! I went to the doctor again yesterday and we will have one more 2-week visit and then we're going to every week. The heartbeat was great and Baby is head-down. Now, I know that this is perfectly normal and acceptable, but since Sophia never achieved this head-down status, I am totally fascinated by it! I'm just sort of in awe that it's following directions and getting ready! It has not, however, chosen to slow down in the slightest bit. I kind of hoped that with space getting tighter in there it might choose to move less, ummmm, no. The past few nights I have literally gasped in pain/shock when it feels like it's doing crazy flips and turns in there...and it's not just once. It usually lasts for 1-3 hours and I must admit, it gets a little annoying. But...then again, I think it might be better than having Sophia's head permanently stuck in my esophagus so I shouldn't complain! Additionally, the pressure on my bladder has very significantly increased and this kid knows exactly where to kick to make Momma run to the nearest restroom! This, compared to my first pregnancy, is also a new development. I, of course, felt pressure with Sophia but this is very different. I'm sure it has to do with the positioning of the babies, ie: head down, but wowser, I had no idea!


Finally, the update on my PUPP (pregnancy rash) is that I am now taking steroids. After last weekend where I made myself and my husband miserable with my constant state of scratching I have asked for a prescription and began taking them this morning. My doctor assures me it will help and so I'm ready because this itching business is for the birds! Sophia had even started lifting up my shirt for me and scratching my belly randomly throughout the day...a sure sign that I needed some relief!


The nursery is basically done. There are a few odds and ends that I need to do, but nothing major. The pictures are hung, the bed is made, the clothes are put away (at least the yellow and green ones!) and it's all ready for Baby. I must post pictures soon, I just keep forgetting. In fact, I need to get around to posting pics of all our new furniture and room arrangements. These last five weeks are going to be a whirlwind, I'm sure of it! We have lots of birthdays and social engagements coming up, not the least of which is Sophia's 2nd birthday...AAAACK! With all of this activity I shouldn't even have time to worry about anything else...right?!

Sports Camp Sunday

Mommy giving some batting practice
all on her own

cycling for one

cycling for 2

bubble blowing

You know it's an action packed afternoon when everything from the garage ends up on the front lawn! Sophia also participated in golf and soccer, but I failed to capture those moments on film! She had quite a time but was most thrilled with her "new" bike, courtesy of Jason and Jenn. We'd like to find some training wheels for it, but she's quite happy just sitting on it and having someone wheel her around! Baseball is her latest love, don't know where she got it from or where she's seen it, but she's all about it. Jason let us borrow their tee and she had a ball (pun intended!). She did quite well hitting it off of there, but sometimes forgot to use both hands, much like her golf swing! ;) She's actually fairly coordinated for an almost two year old and I think she'll do pretty well at sports...although, I think I have to use my veto card early and declare NO on women's rugby.

Birthday Time!

Sophia being quite a helper, indeed

we tried to encourage her to supervise as much as possible!

everybody's gotta chew on something!

Lauren and Aubrey get ready to blow out the candle on their giant cupcake!

Sophia enjoying a cupcake of her very own!

Jill's twins turned one last week! Holy Cow! It's hard to imagine it's been a whole year and here we are about to welcome our second child, it's funny how it all works out. We had a good time at the party and I must say that Jill and Matt were very gracious with Sophia. She just wanted to be in the middle of everything! I swear the rest of her family is going to look back at the pictures in years to come and wonder who is that other child! She wanted to help with all the presents and then she, of course, wanted to play with all the presents. She ran over more than foot with the girls' new baby stroller, a stroller I might add that was so stinkin' adorable I may have to look into for Sophia's birthday, and I already know she loves it! It's exciting that both girls are beginning to walk, Lauren a little more slowly than Aubrey, but she's on her way! I know that this will only lead into more exciting times and playdates for our two families! Happy birthday, girls...here's to more years of health and happiness!

Had to Do It

Reference Picture...

So one of the fun Daddy/Daughter things that Charlie likes to do with Sophia is to watch Sesame Street Cartoons on the computer. They really have a good time and Sophia loves to see the characters and sing songs. In fact, Jill and I were just discussing yesterday the crazy crack-like magic that Elmo has over little kids. Anyway, this morning Sophia and Daddy watched a new video and when the main Muppet came on the screen Sophia excitedly pointed to him and squealed, "Daddy!" Check it out and see what you think, but I have to say, there may be a resemblance! ;)

Artist in the Making

Cari, with Blake and Brady, helping Sophia get suited-up
Everyone listening to the story

and by listening I mean acting goofy and repeatedly chanting "I want to paint!"


at last...painting time!

Here she's using the ever-popular double brush technique

enjoying the stamp wall

Blake, Brady, and Sophia show off their finished masterpieces!

after a hard earned pizza lunch, they enjoyed lollipops

We had a wonderful morning hanging with new friends and checking out new places today! My friend Cari often watches her two nephews on Fridays and although they're obviously a bit older than Sophia we decided we needed to plan a play date, because let's be real, play dates are often for the parents (or aunts in this case) more than the kids anyway! Blake is 5 and Brady is 8 and both boys were just too sweet. They were both very good with Sophia. Blake was great at sharing and holding her hand across the parking lot while Brady was great at making sure Sophia was following the rules. We all had a great time and hopefully we will get another chance again, even though school is about to start up for them, maybe Cari and I can have some play dates!

We visited a paint your own pottery place called Paint Glaze and Fire. Every other Friday morning they have a program called Paint Me a Story. The kids listen to a story and then they paint a figure that goes along with the theme. This week's story was Smiley Shark. I found it really cool that they did let the kids glaze their projects and they will fire them for us to pick up in a week. I really expected that they would just paint something so they could take it home that day and it would be less muss and fuss, but that was not the case at all and I was happily surprised! The price also includes a snack and a drink for the kids and there's a coffee house built into the shop, so that was perfect for me too! I would like to go back there for both this project and others...it had lots to offer!

Fore!

She's going to be famous for her one handed approach to teeing off

golfing in this heat is just too much

Yesterday Sophia and Shelby did some serious golfing in the front yard! Today we headed to the pool for one of our final afternoon swims! It is a serious travesty that the pools close during the day starting next week. I know they are short staffed, obviously with kids going back, but there has to be someone that can work to at least keep a couple of pools open for the under 5 crowd! Grrr!

Sophia taking advantage of the bump

Don't you just love trying to take pictures of multiple toddlers!

Isabelle, Luca, and Sophia all enjoyed their time.