Birthday Girl!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My little girl turned 2 on Friday...Holy Cow! I of course tried to tell her the story of her birth, but she just wasn't interested! I now totally understand why my parents tortured me with these tales every year! LOL! We had a great day!

On Thursday we had her portraits taken and on Friday I tried to let her celebrate as much as possible. It was fun to see her so excited about her birthday, a big change from last year where she really had no idea what was going on! She woke up all smiles and ready to open presents! She was thrilled with the wrapping paper, which was covered with monkeys, one of her most beloved things, and tore right into things! The video shows a little bit of her excitement, but not all of it. Plus, I cut off just before she looked at Charlie in desperation and said, "Get my baby out!" Priceless. We also got her a little bag of baby essentials like bottles, blanket and spoon/fork set. She's all set to continue mothering!

We then got dressed and met some of our friends out at the park for a morning play date. I had made cookies and brought some juice, which of course was a big hit, and all the kids had fun. They played and played, I hated to even take her away, but we had things to do! We made the trek to pick up her cookie cake, a fond childhood memory of both mine and Stacy's, and then met back up at mom's house for a birthday dinner. Even though her big party was the next day I thought it was important to have a little celebration with her grandmas and godfather! So, Sue, mom, Stacy and Shelby joined us for yummy pizza, cookie cake and more presents! Mom got her another adorable monkey that she coveted all night (and tonight too), a new pair of pj's, and an adorable book. Sue got her a precious little ballerina doll and a super cute book that even came with "tickle gloves". She was happy about all her presents, and even happier about opening them! She went to bed tired and full of sugar, I guess that's what your birthday is about, right?!

I continue to marvel at the little person whom she is becoming and we love her more and more every day, which doesn't even seem possible. She is such a joy and I look forward to another year with my little girl.

Birthday party pics are coming soon! I know it's been a few days, but I'm moving slower every day! Now that the party is over, I'm a little more relaxed!

Spud Stuff

In Spud related news, I had another check-up with the doctor today. I went earlier in the day, and boy was it different! I got in and out in no-time! I guess morning people are really serious about being on time! Anyhow, as he was feeling around my belly, he sort of looked at me quizzically and asked if he had done an ultrasound last time to check to see if the baby was head down. I informed him that no, in fact, he hadn't, but had told me weeks ago that it was. He responded with, "Yea, I know, but now I'm not so sure." Curious. I was pretty sure I would have noticed if that baby had flipped, and I'm also pretty sure I would have noticed if it's head had taken up residence in my throat as it's sister's had, but I was game for an ultrasound.


No, we did not find out the sex, in fact when I reminded him that I didn't know he said he remembered and not to worry because he was only looking at the head. Bummer for me, cuz I kinda wanted to see the baby moving around but even just seeing the head I was amazed at how big it looked! Anyway, I digress....so he did the ultrasound and basically laughed saying that indeed it was head down and it was so far down that he couldn't even feel it with his hands! Yikes! He then proceeded to tell me what to do in case I go in to labor. Uh, okay. Never experiencing labor before, I'm a little freaked out at the prospect and wonder if I'll really know it's happening, but I'm pretty sure I will. And if I do go into labor before next Friday, remember, Baby, it not to be until after the party on Saturday!


He also said that the baby was probably between 7.5-8.5lbs or so. He wants to see me one last time next Thursday before we check-in at the unholy hour of 5:30 am at the hospital just to make sure everything is okay. We have an appointment at the hospital on Tuesday to do blood work and get registered, so everything is really falling into place! It's hard to believe that in one week I'm going to have a baby! Wow! I'm excited but it also kinda freaks me out to have come this far and now it's actually here! Eeeeeek!

A New Place to Play!

We apparently now love the sandbox!

tire swings are fun!

climbing the scary rock wall!

traversing the bridge

Success!


And just because I don't discriminate...many of you will get a kick out of my work-out photo!! Ha!

So, Jodie is looking to re-vamp her image and because of it, we've been trying out new places to work out in the mornings for Boot Camp. We tried a park near us, that by no means is new, but it's new to us and it's absolutely fabulous! It seems that it might be working out to be our new morning spot and I think that idea is A-Ok by Sophia! They have a sandbox, which she previously avoided like the plague, but now seems to be her favorite thing! Whatever?! They also have various play structures along with swings and a tire swing! Charlie recently taught her how to climb a rock wall and before I knew it she had scaled this one and was sailing down the giant twisty slide! The next time I watched her, and let me tell you when I actually saw the thing my heart about stopped, I could hear her saying to herself, " foot goes here, foot goes there..." as she climbed. Too cute...Daddy taught her well! And finally, yes, I am still working out...sort of. I show up every day and do most of the exercises, but it's at a slower pace and maybe not as many reps as the others. I think it helps me stay motivated and I really do think up until the last month or so it has really helped me keep my weight in check. Plus, it continues to be a nice outlet for both Sophia and me and keeps us busy, because unlike the first pregnancy, I don't have time to sit around "resting" like I should! So, the next best thing is keeping my child occupied with something besides her mother! ;)

Johnny!!

I really had to take a moment to express my grief over the recent loss of Patrick Swayze. In case you didn't know, he's been battling pancreatic cancer and loss the fight yesterday. Really there were two movies that I loved him in, one being Roadhouse, because let's be real, who doesn't love the combo of him and Sam Elliot looking rowdy in mullets and jeans and kicking the asses of the town hoodlums. But, my real love for Patrick began with none other than Dirty Dancing. This was and still is my favorite movie of all times.

I truly have the fondest memories surrounding this movie. I remember seeing it in the theatre and absolutely falling in love with him. From the leather jacket to the tough car to the muscly back he reveals while teaching Baby to dance...oh swoon! I remember watching this scene over and over and over again...delicious! I also remember getting the VHS version, which was ultra cool back then, for my birthday and watching it repeatedly at Lisa's house on her giant sofa. I would take it with me every time I slept over I think! Then of course, in college it was a Nollen 303 staple! Kathleen and I would alternate between DD and Grease pretty much every day. Our other roommates would come home, look at the TV and roll their eyes! They had no appreciation for art! ;) I can recite this movie from beginning to end and in my eyes, it's what made Patrick famous. Although, I'm sure he wouldn't want to be remembered for it! I recall seeing an interview with him and he did mention that after DD came out he received lots of scripts calling for him to play the heartthrob type and he turned them down because he didn't want to be type cast, so I'm sure he's annoyed by those like me who only want to remember him as the sensitive bad-boy that girls loved and father's distrusted...but I would carry a watermelon for him anywhere, any time!

I truly am sad for this great loss and I will be watching Dirty Dancing as a vigil for weeks to come. I'm considering having a movie watching party, but let's be real, can I really fit in anything else in the next 11 days?! My darling husband however has outfitted me with both the DVD and Blue Ray versions, not to mention that I still covet my battered VHS copy, so be ready to party at a moment's notice in case I change my mind! Goodbye, Johnny Castle... thank you for keeping Baby out of the corner, staying true to yourself, never knocking Penny up and remember that you will always live in my heart!

Mad Greeks!

Vroom, vroom!

safety first!

enjoying our food!

Sophia's favorite...gyro sandwich!

If you look carefully, you can see that she's spreading extra tatziki onto the pita before each bite

Nick and Aunt Bess

Shelby and Stacy

We hit another Greek Festival tonight for some good ol' family fun! There are two Greek churches in the area; our church, which is the "Kansas" church and the other church, which is the "Missouri" church. The Missouri church has a much more showy festival, which in some ways is nice, but I think most of us prefer our church's homey atmosphere and ala carte menu. Nonetheless, the food was tasty and the company was even better! Although Sophia probably would have been happier traveling on the motorcycle, we all piled into Marsha to put her third row to the test! We got 7 people inside and I think we were all fairly comfortable! We could have fit one more in between mom and Shelby, who were in the third row, but that would have been tight! It was kinda fun to pack in there though and really get the use out of it. However, in just a matter of time, there will two car seats in the back and things will not be so accessible! As per expected, Sophia was thrilled with the music and dance and I literally had to stop her from running onto the stage to join in. She settled for sitting on the stairs that led to the stage and watching for a bit. She enjoyed her gyro and it was seriously too funny to see her spreading on the tatziki before every bite, she knows where the good stuff is!

Little Miss Perfect

Sophia had her two year screening from our Parents as Teachers representative yesterday and she received a perfect score! Hooray! I realize that this is just a way to keep track of benchmarks, but it is exciting to know that she is growing and developing so well. I was even surprised at a couple things she did, not even knowing that she could! One was stringing beads on a string, I didn't think she'd be able to do it as it was never something we'd even practiced, but sure enough, she did it! She didn't really like that activity though, as once she put the bead on she was quite concerned with taking it off again and didn't want to string more than one bead at once! She was also able to draw both a vertical and a horizontal line when asked, which is apparently a 3 year old skill. She also enjoys drawing circles and is pretty good at those too. Sophia also managed to stack 7 blocks on top of each other, jump with both feet and run, one of her favorite activities! Our PAT lady has always been impressed with Sophia's vocabulary and of course she passed that part with flying colors! So far I think the longest sentence I've heard from her has been about 8-9 words, pretty good I'd say! She said I should take credit for her mad language skills as it's a sign that she comes from a home where she's talked to a lot and hears a lot of language, but I'm thinking it's mostly cuz I'm a big mouth who talks too much, but hey whatever works! ;)


In other news, Spud has dropped even more. The doc said Baby has moved even lower but is still hanging out waiting to be born! Good job, Spud...stay in there just a little bit longer! I even "lost" a centimeter this week, which I was quite pleased about! My doctor attributed it to the baby moving lower which causes the height of my belly being less, I attribute it to the fact that I didn't have a dozen cupcakes at my disposal this week! I told him to let me have my happiness any way I could get it and he agreed that was probably wise! ;) Spud is still fairly active as I continue to be amazed by how much room it thinks it has in there! I have started consistently waking up around 2ish and 4ish am, so I'm thinking that this will probably be feeding times. I have such high hopes for myself during the days, where I really need to get things done, but in reality, most of it just doesn't happen. During Sophia's nap time the past few days I've been napping myself, which is wonderful, but it of course stops me from doing things that need to happen! Charlie is being a big help and has started pitching in with more housework lately, which is much appreciated. I know he's tired too, but it really helps when I don't have to bend over to clean floors, etc. We've also been finalizing plans for Sophia to spend the nights with Aunt Annie and Bama during our hospital stay and putting finishing touches on her birthday festivities. I have also been trying to get out of the house as much as possible the last few weeks, and it's been so fun! Tonight Jill and I have pedicures and ice cream on the agenda and I'm so looking forward to a ladies night!


Overall, I think I'm to a point of readiness for this baby to arrive. Like I said last week though, it needs to wait until after the party, but then it's game on! I realize it's only a week later that we're scheduled for surgery, but I'd be okay if he/she came any time during that week! Of course I have other appointments, not the least of which is my registration at the hospital, but we'll just have to wait and see I suppose!

The Surprise in on Me!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

First of all, let me say that this post is looooooong overdue, but it's not my fault! They didn't tell me to bring my camera! ;) I have been at the mercy of others and then Jodie gave me a disc of pictures, and c'mon, now, I'm not that advanced. So, now that Charlie has loaded some pics...I'm ready to post!


I love my friends, they know me so well! Last weekend Julie and Jodie were the hostesses to a surprise baby shower for Spud and me. I was tricked into thinking I was going to a Silpada party (I must say I was disappointed, but only midly!;) and when mom and I showed up at Julie's, there was a baby shower, with a theme and everything! Their theme was cupcakes and it was very well chosen! Everyone was to bring a dozen cupcakes for judging and sharing. Some people made their own, some did store bought, but all were delicious! They made me a platter and I had to sample each one and then judge the overall best. This was too difficult, as you can imagine since their must have been at least 10 different kinds of cupcakes to begin with, so they gave me a break and let me chose a winner based on cuteness and on taste. The cuteness factor went to Pam and Shelby who made cupcakes that looked like little sleeping babies with a chocolate hair curl and a plastic pacifier. Anne made a chocolate cupcake with a very creamy and delicious frosting, plus she decorated them so cute with pink and blue, sprinkles and a Hershey's kiss. I also have to give a shout-out to Lisa who was a very close runner up in the taste category with her s'mores cupcakes...they were TO DIE FOR! (Lisa, you're going to have to shoot me that recipe, by the way!) Instead of frosting she used a melted marshmallow with a little Hershey square on top, ingenious, I say!


My guests stocked me up with diapers and other goodies like wipes, bibs, and a soothing sounds bear. Plus, Jill made me some awesome books and a cd that will come in very handy once Baby arrives. Everyone also contributed to a group gift. Even Sophia, who was not in attendance, recieved a few things too. We played a few games, including one where people guessed how big Baby would be and surprisingly everyone was pretty nice. I think the largest guess was 8lbs 6oz, or somewhere around there. Sophia was 7lbs 11oz, so if the wives tales are true, Spud will be bigger, but I'm hoping not much more than 8-8.5lbs. Not that it matters too much since it will be extracted from my womb, but I still have to carry it around!


I was so overwhelmed with happiness, surprise, joy...you name it! After the party, everyone was able to take home a dozen cupcakes to share with their family...a perfect parting gift in my opinion. The only un-perfect part was that now I had all these cupcakes that I devoured far too quickly, maybe that contributed to my weight gain! Charlie and Sophia did get a couple of them, but I'm going to go ahead and take responsibility for most of the cupcake eating that happened in our house!


I think we're ready for Baby and this made everything even more joyful! Thank you to everyone who planned, contributed and attended...you made my day!