15 WEEKS - BABY DOS

My belly is about as big as it was at 20 weeks with Finley. But luckily I seem to be carrying a little higher  so I still fit into my regular pants. Thank goodness. Maternity pants are not the best.

At my last appointment the baby's heartbeat was 155, which if you believe the old wives tale means we are having a girl. But that myth has been widely disputed. In fact it was based on Brad's heartbeat that his mother's doctor convinced her Brad was a girl until his birth. So we'll have to wait until January 12th before we can find out the baby's gender for sure. Any guesses? Brad and I are both stumped - we have zero premonitions.

And can I say how fantastic the first half have this pregnancy has been compared to Finley? Want to know the difference? DRUGS. No seriously. Anti-nausea medication was a gift from above. Now I can eat more than crackers, cheeseburgers, and Shells and Cheese. My nausea actually felt way worse this time around but at least I wasn't stuck sitting at a desk. I just felt awful after weeks of laying on the couch while I replayed Elmo's World for Finley until about 11AM when I could actually function. She was definitely getting the short end of the stick mothering wise and it wasn't fair to her. And let's face it. The thought of feeling like crap for two more months sent me into hysterics. So at my first appointment I asked for something that could help and before I could even finish the question the NP was ordering a prescription for me on her Ipad. Ever since that day I've felt close to human again! Which is delightful. I'd actually forgotten what it felt like to not want to throw up all the time. My appetite is still all messed up but at least I can eat a wide variety of non-processed foods! Hurray! As my brother-in-law once said, "There is no medal for toughing through morning sickness without drugs." Awwww. I feel like I should cross stitch that on a pillow.

CALI CALI CALI

And our last and final stop on the Fall US Tour 2011 is California. Even though I was in week two of pregnancy nausea and felt like I wanted to crawl into a bathroom and die I still have very fond memories. I just wish Finley had been old enough to have some of those memories for herself. The entire reason we went to California in the first place (other than - HELLO - it's California) was because my amazing friend Jenny (younger sis of the oft sited Kristin) got married. This was hugely exciting and so fun since the reception took place on Balboa Island (also known as "Heaven").

Jenny and Taylor sitting in a tree... the almost newlyweds.

Boat ride around the harbor. I'm so happy we sat at the front of the boat with the screen - otherwise Finley would have been in that water so fast.

Brooke (older sister to Jenny and Kristin) and her daughter Lily. Finley was not so lap compliant.

Finley entertained herself with the life jackets and as usual believed she was the center of attention and tried playing peek-a-boo with everyone else.

These pictures were from the temple grounds during the wedding. The girls watching the kids outside made sure to mention afterwards that Finley is the most energetic child and didn't sit still for a second. Surprise. Surprise.

Getting some loves from Audrey - Kristin's niece. They all call Kristin "Aunt K" and we tried all week to get Finley to say it too but she was not game. I'll keep working on it though, it's so cute.

You can tell Audrey and Ryan have their own little brother at home, they were so sweet and kind to Finley.

 

Finley and Drue are three days a part in age. But Finley definitely has the only child syndrome. She's not what you would call "a good sharer" or good natured about rough play.

LOVE this picture. Right after this a temple worker walked out and sad, "She's on the right path, just a little early." So cute.

And here is the blushing bride! I tried my best not to be annoying to the real photographer so I didn't manage to get one with her and her husband.

One of my favorite moments from the whole experience was when Kristin's uncles played and sang a variety of songs with their guitars and ukeleles. It was so awesome and Finley was entranced.

This is just outside the house where the reception was held. Finley and Lily were constantly trying to devise an escape route.

These were my thoughts exactly. After spending a week chasing Finley whilst feeling like I had been drug through the desert by my toenails all I wanted was to hug someone and pout.

INDIANA

And our tour of the United States continues... when my mom was in town we went to Indiana to visit my brother's family. He has two boys full of the type of energy that you wish you could bottle for adult consumption. They make it very obvious that there is a distinct difference between raising boys and girls. If Baby Dos (that's what we are calling the little one that's currently cookin') ends up being a boy it will definitely be a shock to the system. Anyway, we had a blast in Indiana. And since Brad wasn't with us we got to go to Cracker Barrel! Hooray! He has some strong opinion against the place - I swear if I knew that before we got married it might have a been a deal breaker. Who doesn't love rocking chairs and southern breakfast served all day?! Don't get me started. So we ate at The Barrel, did some shopping, and hung out at my brother's house. A short but sweet trip.

Here is my brother throwing Finley up in the air. One of her very favorite things that her own daddy does.

Finley enjoying the fine seating at The Barrel.

Finley and Ryan sharing a seat.

We also enjoyed a nice fall day at the park. Finley is still obsessed with slides but I'm a bit overprotective so I if they can accommodate me I usually slide down with her. It was a good thing I did because this was the Space Mountain of slides. It took me by surprise but as you can tell Finley loved every second. The little daredevil.

Finley and Iain playing high five on the swings. Finley thought it was hilarious when he would high five her face. Whatever.

 

Alex and Finley enjoyed some swim time at our hotel. Finley LOVES water. So she truly is my child. YES. She still tries to push away from us because I'm pretty sure she thinks she can swim. Note to self - really need to get the munchkin in swim lessons. 

 And that concludes our tour of the midwest. Next stop California!

CHICAGO

A few months ago I visited my friend Ashley in Chicago for the day. She lives just down the street from the shore of Lake Michigan so we took our three kids down to get as sandy as possible. I wasn't sure what Finley would do but she seemed to love it. At first she laid down on the beach towels and just rolled around. Then she discovered that copying Parker and Lincoln was a lot more fun, so she got to digging.

 A moment of cooperation, but of course not looking at the camera. I think Ashley managed to get a picture of all three looking in our direction.

It was so unseasonably warm, honestly we couldn't have ordered a nicer day. There were tons of people out on the water - which even on the nicest of days is still pretty freezing.

Her second favorite thing to do was run away from me - do all children run away from their mother like Finley? I swear sometimes it's like she doesn't like me very much.

This was taken moment before she walked straight into the water and then a mini wave knocked her down. She was not too pleased but luckily it was warm enough for me to strip her down to her diaper.

This is her sandy face after I had cleaned her up - she was pretty much covered head to toe. But getting in a warm car while you are covered in sand and falling asleep on the drive back home is part of childhood,  right?

You can also see Ashley's post - her's was a bit more timely than mine. Showoff.

LAST DAYS OF SUMMER

I'm still catching up on all the posts I've been meaning to do... I'm the worst. These pictures were taken back in September, but they so perfectly capture the last moments of summer that I couldn't resist posting them. I always feel nostalgic for summer on December days when snow is forecast for later in the day. But in the dead of summer I'm always nostalgic for December snow days. It's funny how it switches like that, huh? We took these in my in-law's back yard right at sun set. The adults were standing around talking and the kids were running around and riding their bikes. Does it get more quintessentially suburban than that? If only we'd have the BBQ going.