pros

Isn't that a gorgeous sunset??! It's one of the pros in living here and I'm thankful to have it. Not that it's TERRIBLE but living in another woman's home is no easy feat. Needless to say, we are ready to move on in life...if LIFE would just cooperate.

Now this face will always keeps me going. The joy in this woman's life. My precious daughter.

Oh, and this face too. Heaven on earth, this little girl.

21 weeks

Our dear sweet Isabelle is measuring about the length of a carrot these days. I'm pretty sure she's a bit "fluffier" than a carrot but whatever.

Thursday night, after enjoying some Fazzoli's chicken alfredo and yummy bread sticks, she was giving Mommy some nice kicks. I haven' t been one to eat pasta these days but my hubby REALLY wanted Fazzoli's and since we always go where I want I figured it wouldn't hurt me to suck it up for once. It seems she liked it though.

Things are seemingly running smoothly still....WELL....besides my two year old creating some new sleeping patterns. Too bad I didn't get the memo BEFORE she started this up. She usually wants up about an hour after we initially put her down for the night. Sometimes we let her run off some more energy and sometimes we don't. THEN she wakes up at some point in the middle of the night and since Daddy is usually home and awake at that hour he just tosses her in bed with me until he's ready for bed and then carries her back to her own sleeping quarters. I know we aren't helping here in breaking these habits but it's so much easier right now just to do what's simple and makes everyone happy. Although, I know I'll be kicking myself in approximately 19 weeks when I have another child to tend to. I know I need to crack down soon.

I'm waiting on a phone call from my OB about my appointment with the fetal echo doc. She (the fetal echo doc) usually prefers to do it between 21-22 weeks so I should be getting a call soon with an appointment. It's going to be so interesting to see the inner workings of Izzy's heart (and I pray that all is well with her). Again, this is totally my OB just being overcautious. Since I had a heart murmur as a kid and AK had one that was caused by one of her valves being a tad bit too narrow (she has what I'm hoping to be her last echo in a few weeks) he just wants to make sure this little one doesn't have something going on as well. I'm not sure when they picked up on my murmur but AK's wasn't picked up on until she was about two months old. My OB says the problem was always there even though it wasn't heard for a couple of months so with this fetal echo we'll know BEFORE we can hear the problem. So, I'm thankful he's being "overcautious". BUT, I'm super excited about getting to see her again :). AND of course they'll confirm that she is indeed a little girl. That will be a relief in itself.

I'm happy to be 21 weeks.

P.S. I didn't get around to a belly shot because one, I didn't feel like getting dressed today and two, I've spent entirely too much time playing Bejeweled on Facebook. Ain't no shame in my game ;-)

"M&M video"

I've been attempting to potty train lately. It's been really hard on me because I'm not quite the patient one. The other day she stayed dried all day and then filled her diaper at naptime and bedtime. The day after that she stayed dry most of the day and then, all of a sudden, she peed like four times in about a 15 minute span and EVERYTIME it was right after I had just sat her on the potty and changed her panties. Very frustrating to say the least. I started out giving her an M&M everytime she sat on the potty without a fuss. This is huge people. She hates sitting still long enough for anything that involves persistence and concentration. Now, I only give her one when she remembers that she "should" get one and when she actually goes. Eventually we'll get to a point where she only gets one for going in the potty.

But, this morning, she's been quite the crabby apple. Fussy and whiny and driving Mommy to crazy places. So, when it was time for her to sit on the potty she was wanting an M&M right away for being on there. She hasn't done this before and I was at my wits end with hearing her whine the whine that she's been throwing at me ALL MORNING. Plus, I LOVE the way she says M&M and I've been wanting to get it on video so you can hear it too :-). I took this as the perfect opportunity.

Did you hear her start fussing for a second? Yeah, that's nothing compared to her attitude all morning. BUT, my oh my, the way she says M&M steals my heart. It's so adorable. If she said M&M all day I'd be happy. HAHA.

Oh, but earlier today she was walking around saying, "Ba ba, yar you?" Translated to, "Ball ball, where are you?". Now that was pretty cute too! She used to say ball just fine but recently ball has turned into ba ba. I guess she's just experimenting with words. Next I'll have to get her saying "Mom" on video cause that's way hilarious!

bedding for AK

Today I am in search of some bedding for Anna-Kate. Right now she basically has two sheets and two pillow cases for her bed. No bed skirt, no comforter, no nothing. If you know me well at all you know that this is driving me nuts. I can't stand walking in her room to see a bed with just a fitted sheet and pillow on it. It's driving me bonkers. I like order, I like things to match, I like beds to be made daily, I like toys to be where they're supposed to be. The toys thing can definitely be difficult with a two year old but everything else is manageable.

ANYWAYS, I had found this bright and spunky bedding at Wal-Mart that I liked better than the other bedding sets but wasn't IN LOVE with it. So today, while in search of just a cheap bed skirt to atleast find SOME order in her bedding situation I decided to check out Anna's Linens. I'm not sure if we have one anywhere around here but I know there is one in Waco and I love that store. You can get anything and everything you need for the home for a pretty decent price. Atleast it used to be that way, I think some things have gone up since but it's still pretty much affordable. SO, today, while looking for a bed skirt at Anna's Linens online I found THIS!


I LOVE this bedding and definitely way more than what I had orginially found...which is this:


Both are definitely colorful, which totally matches her personality but I like how the cocoa one is more relaxing and calming...atleast in my opinion. I for sure don't need anything that's going to liven her up. I also love that you can buy different color solid sheets to match the bedding. It's flexible, pretty and warm. Ahhh. I'm so happy to have found something I'm REALLY happy with.

Another thing I love about the "cocoa dot bedding" is that it's more "baby friendly" if you will. It's not so !AAHHH bright! and I can toss another little girl in there without really doing much to make it work for both of them. I found this bumper pad at Burlington Coat Factory that's a pretty pail pink. I think that would go well with the bedding since it has a light and dark pink in it. I can make a brown bed skirt for the crib and voila!, I have a nice coordinated room.



OOOOOR, to save money I can ask my sister-in-law to use the cream bumper she used for my niece that is just like this one and then make a brown AND pink bed skirt or something. The possibilities are endless. How exciting.

wordless wednesday

melt your heart out.

some random stuff

My weather bug says it's 62 outside right now. UH-mazing! Too bad it's raining outside or AK and I would be painting the town...or park. Whatever. I hope it stays this way. Happy first day of FALL!

Last night we found a SCORPION in AK's BED! It totally freaked me out and she slept with us lastnight. She's been napping with daddy the past few days for naptime. She loves it and he eats it up. It's their quality time together I guess...since he sleeps most of the day while she's awake.
But right now she's actually sleeping in her own bed for nap. I went through her whole closet to make sure there were no scorpions in there and her whole room. Hopefully that was just a fluke because if it happens again I might actually have a heart attack this time.

I found out yesterday at the doctor that Isabelle weighs 11 oz! How fun. When we found out that AK was a girl at 18 weeks and 5 days she only weighed 8 oz. I think Izzy might be a little chubber. It's only a week and a half difference and she's 3 ounces bigger. Maybe none of this even matters but I can definitely tell by comparing their ultrasound pics that Bella babe is a little "fluffier" than AK was in the womb at this time. It's okay though cause I love me some chubby babies :-).

I also got my flu shot yesterday while seeing the doc. It didn't hurt, and never does, but I always hyperventilate right before for some reason. I hate pain. I'm a wuss. My arm is definitely hurting today though. I'm also proud to announce that I've gained all of two pounds this whole pregnancy. WHOOT WHOOT! I can afford to gain so little, trust me :). I say this now but I know at my next appointment I'll have put on some pounds because I've been eating for three days straight now it seems. Maybe she's just growing super fast right now. I don't know what it is but I'd like to slow down on the snacking.

This may seem crazy but I've already pulled out my two tubs of newborn paraphernalia. I figured I might as well get a jump start on doing these types of things before I don't feel like it anymore. Plus I really need to go through stuff and see what I won't be using with this winter babe seeing as how my precious AK was a summer babe. I'm even washing all the stuff because it smells like it's been storing for a while. I'll give it another wash right before the baby comes.

It's a....

Weeee'rrreeeee baaaacckkk! :-)

The appointment went well. They got me right back which was nice since I was fully loaded with toast, water and some Big Red. Anna-Kate was SO CUTE watching the ultrasound. She said, "bye bye baby" a couple of times. I hope that's not an indication of how she will be once the baby is here. HAHA. It was still cute though. She sat through the whole thing without incident, thank God.

The baby is perfectly healthy as far as the ultrasound can see. My doctor was at the hospital delivering a baby so I'll go back today at 3:30 for my visit with him and he'll get me set up with the fetal echo. I'm excited about that because it's ANOTHER ultrasound. YAY. And at that one they'll confirm today's findings :-).

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to

Isabelle Grace.

Isn't she lovely!

I'm so excited to go pull out all my newborn stuff. Yippee!

Oh, and I said I'd start taking belly shots around 20 weeks so here you are:
She's a big girl....although the lady never told me how big she was. I'll ask when I go back today.

before the doctor

I wanted to post this picture of Anna-Kate eating icecream to hold you over until later. Yesterday after dinner I made her an ice cream cone and the girl was in heaven. She only ate about half of it and her Daddy would argue that she's not his child if I were to tell him that BUT she enjoyed what her little body could consume.



She's just as sweet as the ice cream she was eating...you know...except for THOSE moments when she's not so sweet. Haha!

product of the sale

So remember how I mentioned that I was working my hiney off on producing bows for that huge consignment sale in Waco that was this weekend? Well, I ended up pulling off around 73 bows. I think that was the exact number. My mom just went and picked up the display board and what was left over from the sale and I have 15 bows left!!!! HOW AMAZING IS THAT! I am so excited that people liked them enough to buy them. That makes me SUPER DUPER happy! The lady told my mom to tell me that I did a great job and she'll see me in the Spring! YAY! I am so beyond thrilled right now. Wow. That was definitely the confidence booster that I needed. I was getting so blah about bow making because my etsy site isn't bringing in many orders these days but I think the route to take is to consign at different places-here and in Waco. I mean, who wants to pass them up in person?! Ya know. I'm about to get working on some "fall" bows for etsy so keep your eyes posted.

Speaking of fall. I bought AK this shirt today that has a cute pumpkin on it and below it it says, "Daddy's lil' pumpkin". I got it at Wal-Mart for $5! I couldn't pass it up. There was only one left and I had to get it. Hubby totally approved because, of course, she is a Daddy's girl. I can't wait for her to wear it. I'll be sure to post a pic when she does...which is a couple of weeks away I'm sure.

Anyways, yeah, I HAD to share about the sale. I am so excited how it turned out. Yaaay. Oh, and speaking of sale, I actually shopped at it before I came back home and my WONDERFUL mom got AK three complete outfits, a zip up hoodie, one shirt and two pairs of shoes for like $30! She also got me two long sleeve maternity shirts for $5 each. It was definitely an all around success.

Well, stay posted. Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

20 weeks!!!

Today marks 2o weeks! It's so exciting to be halfway through this pregnancy. You have nooooo idea...well, unless of course you've been pregnant before with a two year old running around. Actually, I'm thankful to still be pregnant because I have nooo idea what life is going to be like once I have TWO kids to take care of. AAHHHH! It's such a catch 22 thing. I can't wait to have this baby and I can...at the same time. I'm sure someone out there can relate.

We have LOTS to do before this baby comes. I mean lots...financially...and it all seems so out of reach. My husband is STILL in search of a full-time job so if anyone out there knows of ANYTHING ANYWHERE please let me know. We are literally looking all over the US at this point. We have come to the realization that quitting his job and us moving here was all a bad idea in the first place. We should've given it more time and thought. Now, we're paying the consequences. BUT, there's no turning back so we have to accept that we made a mistake and move forward. So, in a nice little timeline: he has to find a full-time job, we have to buy a new car (this isn't just a want it's seriously a need. I doubt a family of four is going to fit in a Ford Ranger) and we have to move out all by the spring...sooo, lets say March or April. So that gives us about 6 months max. It's all definitely a little overwhelming but I'm sure the Lord will provide................right?? Someone?? RIGHT?!!

We go to the doctor tomorrow at 11:30 AM to find out whether this little banana is a boy or a girl. I am SOOOO very excited! So so so so so soooo excited. I am, however, not excited about consuming a butt load of water before the appointment. I hate that. Don't they know it's torture ESPECIALLY when they're "running behind" and you're sitting there doing the "I gotta pee" dance waiting on your turn?! I'm going to get a can Big Red tonight so that I can consume that before the appointment as well. Last time we had an ultrasound the little turkey fell asleep right in the middle of the ultrasound. NOT THIS TIME! It's gonna be nice and sugared up! I hope that doesn't backfire though and it be too active to get a glimpse of anything. I think I'll drink it like an hour before so that way it's not like super hyper but not sleeping either. ANYWAYS!

That's what's going on right now. Stay tuned tomorrow for the big news!

i tried

Here are some many semi-successful attempts to get my girl sportin' and supportin'. Haha. I'm really not a fan of any certain football team but this year my Granny says she's supporting the Bears so what better way to support them than to buy her great-granddaughter a Baylor shirt for her birthday.

I tried to get a cute pic of her standing on the stool at her window...


and then she decided to take a leap.

She's so silly.





Well, it's the best I could do :-)

oh.my.goodness.

The title is about all I can muster up at this time. I am so tired of bows right now. HA. Here's my problem, I don't like making the same bow over and over again so I have a plethora of many different kinds, styles and colors. For this sale I tried to be a little intentional on making solid colors in many sizes and many of them but it was soooo hard that I got very little of that done. Grrr. I just like fun and colorful and different. I don't like having a million of the same ones.

ANYWAYS, here's a peak and what I've been working one. Obviously whatever doesn't sell at the sale will go on etsy. AND if you happen to see on you like just let me know and I can whip one right up.








And this last picture is just for fun because I think it's hilarious.
My daughter, ooooh my daughter, she has two hats like this and she LOVES them. One is just pink and white stripes and the other is the one she has on her head. Yesterday when I told her to "come on, lets go to the store" she grabbed this hat and put it on her head. It was SO FUNNY! Of course, it was totally crooked but she thought she did the job well enough...atleast well enough to walk out the door. She wore this through a good two stores. Of course, people were staring and some commented on how cute she was but I'm sure most were just wondering what loony mom would put such a hat on their child in 79 degree weather. HA! Whatever, you have to know her to appreciate such cuteness.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll head to Waco tomorrow morning to get these bows where they need to be. I'm still nervous.

current happenings

I feel like I need to update for some reason...not really for others, but for myself.

Here goes.

AK started making bedtime a nightmare for everyone involved with her screaming and yelling and taking up camp at her bedroom door. We worked and worked for a few days to stop her protest-like actions but nothing was working. I eventually called on my last resort, the pack-n-play, and that did wonders! For four or five days she didn't scream, yell or protest. It was wonderful. THEN, she got sick!

On Thursday night/Friday morning at 3 AM she started crying. We went in for what seemed would be a routine check and then we saw it...puke...everywhere. NOT COOL! I felt SOOO bad for her! I was trying to remember what she had eaten last, where we'd been and what could be causing this. First, I'll say that trying to remember all of this at 3 AM is hard ESPECIALLY when one hasn't even been to sleep yet! Yeah, bad move on my part. My hubby was off and we were looking at this funny website online. When he's off my whole schedule gets messed up. ANYWAYS, yeah, we had just been in Waco for two days when all this happened and my mom keeps kids in her home so I figured she probably caught some thing from there. So thus begins a night full of vomit.

AK puked about every 30 minutes until around 8 in the morning. It was terrible! AND I hadn't gotten ANY sleep. Finally, after the last round of puking at 8 we fell asleep until like 11. Then she was ready to rumble. I guess she was feeling better because she got a little sleep and hadn't vomited in a few hours so she wanted be awake and I wanted to be asleep. She didn't eat for a good two days and that first morning after being up all night she watched the Cars movie THREE times! No joke, the girl loves that movie.

The next night I slept in her room JUST to make sure she wasn't going to throw up anymore. She always makes this noise before she pukes and she gets really hot and sweaty so I know when it's about to hit...which totally saves on changing the sheets every time. This was my reasoning for bunking ONE more night with her.

So you can just guess, all the work and success we made at bedtime went out the window after mommy slumbered with her for two nights in a row.

THEN, mommy got sick. Mine started at about 6:45 in the morning on Sunday I think. Mine started at the other end though. No need for a description there. Then around 8 I started throwing up. I threw up about 4-5 times that day and visited the potty for reasons other than that. It was a looooong few days for us around here. I was pretty much sleep deprived, my kid wanted mommy in bed with her and my poor hubby was trying to figure out how he was going to be fed in the midst of all the madness.

Thank God for a new week! We are all feeling better and we are about back to normal on the whole bedtime thing. She goes down fine but usually anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour and a half later she starts crying. All I do is sit in there for a few minutes beside her bed and she goes back to sleep fairly easily. Hopefully this won't last much longer. Mommy likes her evenings to herself when Daddy's at work.

THIS WEEKEND though, there is this big fall/winter sale in Waco through Just Between Friends and I've been planning on having a nice collection of bows for sale. I've been quite busy trying to get everything in order for it all. It's not as simple as just signing up and taking what you want to sale. First, I've been making bows for two days now and entering them online. Then, I have to print the tags and apply them to the appropriate bow. THEN, I have to have them all there by Thursday at noon. You wanna know all I've gotten done so far??? About 65 bows, tags entered but NONE printed or applied, stuff is a mess and I still have to plan a trip to Waco for Thursday and then turn around and go back on Saturday. I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment. THEN, there's all the what-ifs. What if no one likes them? What if they're over priced? What if this was all a huge waste of time and energy? Oh Lord, let this be good for my etsy site!

Okay, so, apart from that, all is good. I'm just trying not to freak out. I did watch The Biggest Loser Premiere tonight and enjoyed some chocolate donuts WHILE watching it. HAHA! Hey, I'm pregnant. Whatever.

I hope YOU have a good week!................oh, and one more thing, only 6 more days until we find out boy or girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19 weeks

19 weeks. Wow. Time really is flying by. In 7 days we'll find out whether this little munchkin is a boy or a girl and then things will REALLY pick up. I'm super excited about being able to tell Anna-Kate (all the time) that's she's going to have a baby sister or baby brother. Oh what fun! I think she'll really begin to understand more at this next ultrasound.

We still haven't come around to a girl name just yet. It's been way harder than I thought. I've always been one to have a girl name that I absolutely love but things are just different for some reason this time around. Maybe that means it's a boy.

......Okay, good thing I typed all of that yesterday because today I am puking my guts up. UGH! My darling two year old was throwing up two nights ago and I guess from snuggling with her for two days I got whatever it is she had. Not cool. AND not only did my body decide to rebel today, my baby decided to make it's presence more known in all the upchucking by kicking mommy in an excited (or scared) frenzy. But I like it even though I don't feel good. I've been wondering when that little nugget was going to say hi. It's been a while since I've felt it.

So, um, I'll leave you with goodbye. I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't appreciate waking up to a vomit soaked keyboard and screen.

purse and keys

Today my cutesie little tot walked by with a purse (aka: one of those black diaper bags you get from the hospital when you have a baby) on her arm and her princess keys in hand. I found this to be hilarious so I chased her with the camera...only to find her in the bathroom. I guess she watches mommy WAY more than I think she does. I ALWAYS go to the bathroom before we leave the house...especially with this ever growing child in my uterus...and usually I brush my teeth before running out as well. Anyways, I thought that was pretty funny.



Then she went to the front door but got distracted by Ooh & Aah on the Disney Channel. So much for her outing.




She's so stinkin' precious if I do say so myself!

daddy and AK

My sweet husband is such a good daddy! He loves his little princess and you can see it all over his face when they're together. He teaches her fun little things all the time and they have a relationship that is out of this world. He respects her and she respects him. It's so sweet to watch.

Here is Daddy and Anna-Kate giving each other Eskimo kisses with lovies on their heads. For some reason he calls them butterfly kisses when talking to her (probably because that's a word she knows) but I'm pretty sure rubbing the noses together are actually Eskimo kisses...so I'll call them that here :-).

She had somehow gotten a hold of two lovies one day when I wasn't paying attention and she's clung to them ever since. I actually tossed them in the dirty laundry yesterday and replaced it with a clean one. Anyways, she looooves her lovies. It's so cute because when she picks it up after not having it for a while she squeezes it tight and goes, "Mmmmm mmmmm!" THAT, of course, is another thing her daddy taught her. How to "Mmmmm mmmmm" when giving a hug. Haha. It's the cutest thing.

Daddy and Anna-kate...the loves of my life.

I'm excited to see how this next baby fits into our family and what it's little personality will be like.

Speaking of next baby, I had a dream last night that I had it...it was a little girl...and it nursed like a champ. I could only pray for a good latcher. HA. BUT, I'm not taking it being a girl in the dream as anything huge because a couple of weeks ago I had a very clear dream that it was a boy. AHHHH, only 14 days (including today) until we find out!!!

18 weeks

According to What To Expect When Expecting I am now entering my 5th month. If you were to ask me I'd say I am 4.5 months but I'm good with being in the 5th month. The weeks and months in pregnancy land are so confusing.

In exactly two weeks I'll be halfway through my pregnancy and in exactly two weeks and one day from now I'll (hopefully) know whether this little bell pepper is a boy or girl. I am so excited to find out so that I can get plans under way. I've been waiting to buy AK's bedding for her bed because if it's a boy I'll have to find something else other than what I have picked out. AND, if it's a boy, I can start the grueling process of accumulating boy things. With AK everything she owns is pink and/or girly. I was going through all her blankets and sheets and such and there may be like two neutral items.

ANYWAYS, I'd love to have a little boy OR a little girl. I'm not picky. I'm just a little stressed about having to re-purchase everything if it indeed is a boy. Great thing for grandparents! Luckily, our pack-n-play, infant travel system, bouncer, bassinet and swing are all gender neutral. Thank God we did that (and not on purpose) because those are the most expensive things. Whew.

Another ANYWAYS, my appetite has FINALLY been picking up a little lately. My poor baby is probably thankful for that. I can be sooo hungry but NOTHING sounds good so I just won't eat anything or I'll settle for toast. I wouldn't be surprised if I delivered a piece of toast (topped with strawberry jam of course) or a bowl of cereal. Those two things have been my lifesaver for 18 weeks now. Pasta still sounds terrible but I'm finally coming around to hamburger meat (turkey meat in our house). I can eat it but the hubby still has to prepare it. And my newest craving-Big Red! Ugh, how I wish it wasn't so tasty and loaded with sugar and caffeine. I have one every couple weeks or so but I want one almost everyday! It's killin me.

Well, that's about all I have for now. Keep tuning in on Sundays for updates AND be sure to come back on the 21st-15 days! to find out what this little cutie is.

toddler battles

What does this picture:

and this picture:

have in common??

Ha, that's kind of a tricky question, huh? Because it looks like she's supposed to be in bed but I found her chilling out in the recliner. That would be funny but that's not it.

They both have to do something with my toddler not being where she's supposed to be when she's supposed to be!

Lately, she's been refusing to stay in her bed. I mean flat out refusing, screaming, pitching a fit, standing at the bedroom door letting me know she is clearly displeased about the situation. This has been all week.

The first nap she pulled this stunt she required close to two hours of discipline. I was exhausted when it was over with. I eventually gave up our "technique" and layed down with her and she was asleep in three minutes flat. The girl is as strong-willed as can be!

The night of the first nap incident required very little at all. One round of discipline and a few tears she stayed in her bed and went to sleep.

The next day at nap she went to sleep without incident.

That night at bedtime was an all out war. It required two rounds of discipline when I decided that that probably wasn't a good idea based on two days before so I let her scream until she climbed back in her bed and passed out. It took about an hour and a half or so.

Yesterday for her nap I did the "scream it out" method again and it took about an hour.

THEN I decided that screaming it out really wasn't the best idea because one, she shouldn't be pitching a fit like that because she's mad about going to bed and two, she KNOWS she's not supposed to get out of bed and does while she screams at the door until she decides to get in bed and go to sleep.

So, for bedtime I pulled out the old trusted pack-n-play. When we put her to bed last night I told her very clearly that if she got out of her bed she would be placed in the pack-n-play where she wouldn't be able to get out at all. She just kind of looked at me with these knowing eyes that said, "no thanks!". We left the room and heard peace and quiet until 9 AM this morning. It totally worked! I think that pack-n-play might become a permanent piece in her room until she completely gets that we're serious about her staying in bed.

It has been a rough and exhausting week and I know that the pack-n-play isn't going to work ALL the time but I think once I stick her hiney in it she'll get the message loud and clear that mommy ain't jokin'.

Now, the pic of her chilling out in the recliner...that was from this morning when she was supposed to be in her booster seat at the kitchen table eating breakfast and I walk in and she's sitting in the recliner drinking her milk. SILLY GIRL! She figured out how to scale down the side of her booster seat about two days ago. We're in big trouble round these parts.

wordless wednesday

The adventure never ends!

our trip

We left on our trip to Victoria on Friday afternoon. It took us close to three hours to get there and my plan to wear AK out at McDonald's before leaving didn't work one bit. She stayed up the whole time watching videos. Yeah, yeah...I'm all about what makes the trip easier on us all. About 30-40 minutes into the drive we had to pull over because I had her seat "reclined" a little too far and her hiney and legs were going numb. In our carseat this would work fine because the seat sits flat but we were using the one my MIL has in her car and the butt sits lower than the legs so it wasn't happening that way. I didn't actually realize the problem until we put her back in the seat and drove another 20-30 minutes. We finally pulled over and I readjusted the seat and all was well in her world...as you can see from the picture below:



Now, the family's home we were staying at is about an 8 minute drive down this gravel road in the middle of nowhere. It's so pretty out there. It's like a farm...without the animals...except for dogs and cats. So once we would get in the gate we would let AK out of her seat and let her "drive". It was so cute! Here she is driving:



Once we got there and got settled we had dinner and then pretty much headed to bed.


The next day we slept in until like 9:30-10 (just like at home :-)), got up and rushed to get ready to meet more family at a mexican restaurant for lunch to celebrate Sean's Aunt Sharon's birthday. Of course, this was exciting for me because I love mexican food. Excuse the fact that I look like I just rolled out of bed...because I kind of did:



We enjoyed a fun and relaxed weekend full of toddlers, food, sleep and card games...oh, and one movie.


One night while E and I were trying to prepare dinner the men took the kids on a walk to wear them out. I took that as a nice photo opp:



This was the sunset that night:



We ended up staying a night longer so we headed back on Monday. Before we started our journey home we stopped by Sean's Granny and Granddad's place to hang out with them since we do that pretty much every trip. Anna-Kate had fun climbing on Granddaddy and jumping on his recliner.


She played with pots and pans with Granny.

And then we headed out.


I was shocked to see the outside temp. reading 88 degrees. I almost fainted. Yay, for overcast days and dropping numbers. I can't remember the last time it was 88.



On our way back we stopped off at a McDonald's (surprise surprise) to let AK stretch her legs a little. Somewhere in the mix of all the fun she pretty much had a blowout diaper which hasn't happened in ages. I'm assuming two cups of juice and a whole snack bowl of animal crackers was a BAAAAD idea. So I had to totally sanitize her and change her clothes...which landed her back in the outfit she road TO Victoria in. Good thing I washed all of our clothes before we left :-). That cute little striped Old Navy onesie looked too comfy to pass up for something else.



She was sooo exhausted by the time we got close to home.


Oh, I forgot to mention, the whole time we were there she took a total of ONE nap! The girl was busy busy busy.


Overall, it was a very nice and refreshing trip and I'm glad we stayed a day longer. I was definitely ready to get out of here for a while. Next time, I think they're planning on coming here so that'll be a nice change.