Girls Love Shoes
I’ve been trying to find Izzy some summer sandels, so today while we were at the mall we stopped in at Payless. Izzy tried on every pair of shoes that she could reach, then threw a fit when I said it was time to leave. We did leave with a pair of new white sandels though, which she happily brought to the front counter for me to pay. Then she insisted on carrying her own bag through the mall.
Weekend Fun
This weekend we headed down to Colorado Springs to visit my mom while my dad was out of the country and to hang out with some friends. Luke and I met up with our friends for dinner and to see the passion play called “The Thorn” at New Life Church. That was a great way to start off Easter week and to remind us what this holiday is really about.
On Sunday we took Izzy to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which is literally on the side of a mountain. We fed crackers to the giraffes. Izzy was a little afraid of them at first and closed her eyes to make them go away, but when she warmed up to them, she wanted to keep feeding them crackers. Actually she wanted to feed all the animals some crackers.
Izzy also took her first ride on a carousel. She was scared at first, but then started to really enjoy the ride saying “WEE!” When it was over I had to peel her hands off the pole while she threw a tantrum because she wanted “MORE MORE” of the ride. It took her awhile to get over the fact that the ride was over, but I think that was her favorite part of the zoo.
I forgot my camera this weekend so unfortunately there are no pictures documenting our fun times.
Help!
For all you moms out there I need some advice! Izzy is having some trouble at school. Basically she doesn’t like being there and is really attached to one teacher who is not always in her class. I don’t want to take her out of school because she does need to learn to play with others and be more social.
Even at home we have trouble with her because we have become her security blanket. She doesn’t know how to play by herself. She won’t even be in a different room than us unless she’s sleeping. Obviously with a baby on the way this problem will become more exaggerated when I can’t focus all my attention on her.
Currently if I am not paying attention to her every waking moment of the day she screams until I pay attention. At school she’s fussy unless her favorite teacher is with her. She doesn’t seem to play with the other children either. The other teachers have suggested bringing something that she’s attached to with her to school, but the only “thing” she is attached to is me or Luke.
I’m not sure if going to school with her and being in her class will make things better either, because I don’t want her to get use to me going into class with her. I’ve also found that if she has a break from school like she did over Spring Break it’s harder for her to go back to school because she had gotten use to being around me all day.
I need some suggestions on what to do to make school a more pleasant experience for her and some help on how to teach her to play by herself and be a little more independent at home.
Belly Week: 30-ish
Everyone asks me how much longer I have in my pregnancy. My answer is usually the same. I have no idea, because I’m not keeping track. I should keep track of where I am, but I haven’t. So today after someone asked me that question I put a countdown ticker on my computer. It says I have 70 days left, which would put me around week 30 in the pregnancy.
Pregnancy brain is kicking in again. I hate that I feel like I’m losing my mind. Today I forgot to turn the rice cooker on and when lunchtime came around I had rice water. Yesterday I forgot a coupon for a free pastry at Starbucks. I ended up paying for my donut.
It’s also time to enforce the 5 point roll-over at night. It takes 5 rolling points to get over to my other side while I’m lying down. Luke says I’ve also started to snore. The cure for all of this… DELIVERY!
Luke and I need to tour the hospital I will be delivering at. We’ve heard great things about this hospital and had a great experience in the ER there when Luke sprained his shoulder. This hospital is one of the top 100 in the country. They don’t allow children on the tours through the labor and delivery ward. I thought this was a little strange since they are delivering CHILDREN in this ward.
Spring Break: Update
Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here. It’s been exhausting! If I were to give Izzy a grade for her two “classes” this week here’s what her report card would look like:
- Potty Training 101: C
Izzy did well at the beginning of the week, but by the end of the week she decided it was better to just sit on the potty and sing songs rather than do her business and get off. She will literally sit there for 10 minutes “singing” then tell me “no” when I ask her if she’s all done.
- Eat Whatever Is Placed In Front Of You 101: B+
If I were to ignore today I would probably give her an A, but today was rough. This morning we battled over breakfast, which ended in her staring at one last bite for 2 hours. So we just went straight from breakfast into lunch which she ate all of and more. Dinner was also a challenge which ended in bribery. One bite of Carrot Risotto for one tiny Asian style kid’s “cookie”….repeated about 10 times.
I think I deserve some sort of reward for making it through this week…
Spring Break
This week is Spring Break at Izzy’s “school”. She usually goes to the Mother’s Day Out program on Tuesday and Thursday mornings but this week she’s home with me. Since it’s Spring Break for all the schools, our regular babysitters are also not available. So, I dedicated this week to Big Sister Boot Camp for Izzy. On the agenda this week are just two things: Potty Training 101 and Eat Whatever Is Placed In Front Of You 101.
Potty Training is still a work in progress, but at least now she’s peeing for me when I put her on the potty. She still has accidents during the day, but I’m hopeful that she’ll pick it up quicker if I’m consistent. I’m still finding that leaving home while potty training is difficult and she gets stage fright, but again, hopefully consistency and patience will pay off.
Eat Whatever Is Placed In Front Of You has been filled with tears and screams, but she’s getting the hang of it. The first day she screamed for a half hour before she started eating what was on her plate, but now the screaming and tears is down to 5 or 10 minutes. Progress! We’ve cut down on her milk intake and told her that she has to learn to eat “real” food which she does eat eventually and reluctantly.
Today was a nice day so we spent the morning at a farm/petting zoo. Spring is around the corner so most of the animals are pregnant. I look forward to going back and seeing all the new baby animals.
Our basement finish is coming along slowly. I think once drywall has been hung things will progress a little faster. The office finish is coming along quicker than expected, which is great! Hopefully that space will be done in a month and everyone can move out of our tiny home office. Below are pictures of the basement.
Stuff for Baby
Last night Luke and I were catching up on The Office and watched the baby episode where one of the main characters delivered her baby. That episode reminded me that I should probably make a packing list for my hospital stay and I should probably go through all the baby stuff I have to make sure things are still usable and that I’m not missing anything. Time is getting away from me though.
I know I have clothes stashed away somewhere. I have a swing which needs needs to go into the nursery with batteries. I just purchased a co-sleeper so hopefully I can get some sleep during those newborn months. I should thoroughly wash the car seat padding. I’m pretty sure I need a double stroller and I definitely need some newborn disposable diapers and wipes.
I did create two baby registries and compared to the baby registries I had for Izzy, these registries barely have anything on them!
Here is where we are registered:
Target
Amazon
San Fran – Babymoon #2
Haven’t heard of the term “Babymoon”? Well, babymoon refers to the last vacation expecting parents take before the baby arrives and thus ending trips with just adults for quite awhile. Our first babymoon was to Toronto to visit friends before Izzy came. This time we went to San Francisco and met up with Michelle and Jim for a weekend, while Izzy spent that time with Paw-Paw and Kong-Kong. This was our first out of state trip that Luke and I have taken without Izzy in 2 years. It was so nice to get away and do things without Izzy in tow for awhile.
Luke and I hit Alcatraz our first night in town. It was an interesting audio tour of the old prison and island with amazing views of the bridges and city. The next day, Michelle, Jim, Luke and I drove to visit the Jelly Belly factory and sampled some of their more interesting flavors like barf, rotten egg, moldy cheese and pencil shavings. We brought a mix of these interesting flavors back to the office to share. We visited a winery on the way back to San Francisco.
Saturday, we all went to the local farmer’s market and sampled some local fair which all looked amazing. Later on, Michelle and I walked through Chinatown while Jim and Luke went to see Apple’s headquarters and one of the Google offices. Sunday we went did the more touristy things like the shopping district and Pier 39. We did a lot of walking up and down steep hills throughout the weekend. I don’t think some of these pictures justify how steep these hills were. Monday we headed home after some long delays and the drive too and from Colorado Springs to pick up Izzy who seemed happy to see us, but sad to leave.
Here are some pictures of our trip along with my most recent belly picture. I think I’m at belly week 27 with 13 weeks left.
Luke’s Gift for the Year
Some women get diamonds and jewelry from their husbands as gifts, I received a piano this weekend from Luke. I think this gift covers every gift giving opportunity for this year, including a “thank you for giving me children” gift. Now the front room is officially a music room, complete with a baby grand piano and my old guitar. Love it!
