The Final Stretch

We're down to the last days of pregnancy number two.  Here's a look at the ever-expanding belly:
32 weeks:

 34 weeks:

 36 weeks: 2 cm and 70%

 38 weeks:

Some third trimester thoughts/observations:

•  I've had a little bit of insomnia kick in, partially due to catching a cold.  I'll be exhausted at night but unable to turn my brain off.  Once I fall asleep I'm almost always woken up by leg cramps, inability to breathe through my nose, occasionally heartburn, the need to pee, etc. And the cycle begins again.  
• Though sleeping at night is a little difficult, sleeping during the day is super easy.  If I allow myself to get comfortable at any time of day you can bet I'll fall asleep.  Most days I don't have that luxury but I've allowed myself to ignore my to-do list and take advantage of Berkley's nap times every so often.  (Though sometimes unintentionally.)
• Besides the difficulty of bending forward, I've noticed this time around how difficult it is to have a toddler sit on my lap.  
• The whole nesting thing.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing.  My Mom has helped with some big things like waxing the wood floors and cleaning behind the oven and I've been doing other things like washing walls and baseboards and cleaning out closets.  Zack said to me one day, "I like it when you're really pregnant."  I laughed and asked why and he said, "because you turn into a clean freak." 
• Even though I've been cleaning a lot, I haven't been very good at preparing the baby's room or clothes or anything.  I figure it's ok if the baby doesn't come home to a perfectly decorated nursery.  I did finally dig out the infant car seat from the basement and got the newborn clothes from my Mom's house.  And at 39 weeks Zack convinced me that I should probably pack a hospital bag for me and a bag for Berkley so I finally did that.  That's all I really need right?
• Comparing pictures from both pregnancies, I actually seem to be about the same size.  My weight however, would beg to differ.  My starting weight with both pregnancies was about the same.  With Berkley I gained a total of about 30 lbs, which is average.  With this one I've only gained about 16 lbs at 39 weeks.  The baby is a healthy size though so I'm ok with it.  I do think my eating habits have been a lot better this time around, though I have had quite a sweet tooth and eaten more donuts than any person should eat. 
• This baby hasn't kicked me in the ribs.  Berkley did.  However, this baby will straighten her leg and it feels like it's going to break right through my skin.  I've come to the conclusion that this one must be tilted forward while Berkley was more straight up and down.  
• The heat finally kicked in around 34 weeks.  It's nice during the winter but for the past week or so I've been almost too hot to sleep.  No wonder people don't like being pregnant during the summer, it's only March and I'm getting too hot!
• I've been contracting a lot more than I ever did with Berkley and I started dilating way sooner. 
• I've always wanted to get a picture like this but I've learned that, although the baby's foot feels like it's going to pop out, this picture isn't possible.  It's totally photoshopped.  My doctor confirmed this. 

• I love parking stalls with these signs.  They make my day.  

• People keep asking me if I'm "so done" being pregnant.  I tell them no.  This pregnancy has really flown by.  I'm really not miserable, my biggest complaint is leg cramps (which are quite painful and inconvenient but if that's the worst of it, I can handle it.)  I still feel like I have a lot to accomplish before the baby comes (I think I always will though.)  And I've come to learn that, no matter how uncomfortable I am right now, babies are much easier to take care of when they're in than when they're out.  Plus I'm really kind of enjoying being pregnant still.  So, I'm not in a hurry.  Not that I'm not excited to meet our little girl, I really am, I'm just ok with waiting a little longer.  

Berkley's Bed

A while back my grandparents offered us this daybed that they no longer wanted.  They said we could have it whenever we needed it.  So in January, when we moved Berkley out of her crib, we took them up on their offer.  Like most daybeds of this era, it was a nice, shiny brass with decorative, flowery balls.  I didn't get a picture of it set up but this gives you an idea. 

So I decided to take it on as my first painting project.  I painted the balls a teal blue to go with Berkley's bedspread and I did the rest oil-rubbed bronze.  I think it turned out pretty well.

 Berkley loves the new big girl bed.  (And in a couple years when we're ready to move baby sister out of the crib, my grandparents will give us the bed that slides underneath too!  Aren't they great?)

Berkley Funnies

• I have a birthmark on my forearm with lots of freckles on it.  We call it a cookie and Berkley pretends to eat it sometimes.  One day she was searching her arms with a confused look on her face and said, "Where's my cookie?"
• I told her it was nap time, time to go to sleep, and she kept telling me it wasn't.  I asked her why and she shouted, "Because it's DAY!"
• One day in the car she started repeating to her monkey what people say to her.  "Why are you SO cute monkey?  Monkey, you're SO smart! etc."
• My belly button is an outey these days and you could see it through the shirt I was wearing.  She noticed and said, "Hey, that's a nipple!"
• She was "falling asleep" at naptime one day and I heard her start singing, "Don't!  Don't!  Don't bite your friends!" (from Yo Gabba Gabba) followed by, "Ow!  My armpit! Monkey, don't bite my armpit!" And then singing the song again. 
• There were a few times she would sit on the potty and say, "I don't have a diaper, I just have a bum."
• I was making dinner one day while she played with some toys at the kitchen table.  She dropped one and freaked out a little and told me to get it.  I told her she could get it.  She said, "I can't, I'm busy right now." 
• Sometimes when I'm crouched down to help her go potty she'll reach out, rub my cheek and say, "Nice face!"  One day she continued by saying, "Nice eyes!  Nice hair!  Nice arm!"  While touching each one. 
• She sings Follow the Prophet sometimes but she says "don't go a straight" instead of "don't go astray."  One day while she was in the bath one of her toys started floating away from her.  She started yelling, "No Toodee, don't go a straight Toodee!" 

Potty Training Part 2

So we left off here with the whole potty training thing.  We still had two obstacles to overcome: fear of the big potty, and staying dry while sleeping. 

1.  The first one was easy.  I got a potty seat that went on top of the normal toilet and got her excited about it.  She loved using it and eventually just went in the normal toilet without any problems. Now she'll go at the grocery store, in restaurants, and at people's houses.  So nice!

2.  After she was used to her big girl bed I decided not to buy any more diapers so we started the process when they were gone.  The problem was that she would stay dry while she was sleeping and then go pee as soon as she woke up because she was used to having a diaper on.  So we started a sticker chart. 

I'll let her explain it to you.

I'm sure I could've found a fun printable chart online and customized it to make it super cute, but drawing it with a sharpie took me 10 seconds and was just as effective.  She loved earning the stickers and putting them on her chart.  When she earned ice cream I took her to Arctic Circle because it's the only place I know of around here that has a play area.  (I don't frequent the fast food chains that often.)  Plus the child-size cones are complimentary.  The first time we went was probably the best day of her life so far.  She couldn't stop talking about it afterward. 

She still has accidents occasionally but, for the most part, she's totally potty trained and I love it!  (Just in time to start changing #2's diapers.)

Lady A on Valentine's Day

This year for Valentine's Day Berkley got dressed up in her heart attire.

 We attempted to make heart-shaped cupcakes by putting marbles in the cupcake pan.  (An idea found on pinterest.)

They looked more misshapen than heart-shaped but it was worth a try.  We brought them to Zack's work where they didn't mind the odd shape. 

 For Christmas, my awesome sister Misty surprised the whole family with tickets to the Lady Antebellum concert which happened to be on Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately my Dad was on a work trip to Canada and Zack had classes he couldn't miss.  (He just barely missed those classes while he was at a school competition in Reno.)  So it worked out to be a Woodbury girls night which was fine with us :). 

We started with dinner at Cafe Zupas because we figured it wasn't very romantic so it shouldn't be too busy.  Plus it's delicious. 

Then we headed to the concert.  I haven't been to a concert in years.  It was so fun!  Thompson Square and Darius Rucker were the opening acts, both of which were fabulous.  Darius even performed a couple of his Hootie and the Blowfish songs.  Then there was Lady A.  What can I say, they were amazing. 

Thanks again for the fun night Mist!

Getting Organized One Step At a Time

I don't know if it was the start of  a new year, the Spring-like weather we've been having (that makes me feel like Spring cleaning), or if my nesting instinct has kicked in.  Whatever the cause, I just feel the need to clean every nook and cranny of our house, organize everything, and get rid of lots of junk.  Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of spare time or energy so I don't think I'll accomplish everything I'd like but I'm doing what I can. 

When we moved into our house and unpacked our stuff, the linen closet in our bathroom was fairly organized but it was set up for failure from the beginning.  We had so many tiny items on big deep shelves that it was impossible to know exactly what was where. 

The last straw was when Berkley got sick in December and we couldn't find her booger sucker anywhere.  Zack and I both searched the closet more than once (along with several other places.)  We never found it. 

Fast forward to the end of January when I was getting something else out of said closet and there it was.  The booger sucker that we so desperately needed a month ago.  That was it.  I went out and bought some storage tubs and went to work. 

The closet transformed from this (how embarrassing):

 To this:

I'm sure I could have done it so it looked cuter and fancier.  I'm sure I could have figured out a classier way to label than using masking tape and a sharpie.  I just needed it to be functional and that's what it is.  I know exactly what we have and where it's located.  I know it's such a small accomplishment but it made me feel so much better to have it done.

80 Years Young

My Grandma Toolson is one of my favorite people on this earth.  She turned 80 on the 28th of January so my Mom organized a surprise party for her.

Lots of her siblings came and all of her living children were there.  (Some traveled from Colorado and Washington.)  She's always the one serving everybody else and is never in the spotlight so she didn't know why everyone had made such a big fuss over her birthday. In fact check out her reaction to the party.  Pretty funny.  She WAS genuinely surprised when she saw her son Jeff from Washington though.  At the end of the video she's talking about how she's not dressed for the occasion.

 The siblings/spouses who came

 All her kids

 The kids with spouses (who were there.)

 All the kids, grand-kids, and great grand-kids who were able to come.  What a good-looking bunch.

 We ate dinner and played some games that helped us get to know her better.  Then everyone shared a fun memory they have of her.  It turned out to be a great night. 

 Here's to 20 more years Grandma Toolson!

The Party

Berkley's favorite tv show by far is Yo Gabba Gabba.  It's super weird but it's the only thing that allows me to take a shower before naptime so for that I am grateful.  (Unless I want to wake up before she does, which I don't.)  Here's a video of her dancing to a Yo Gabba Gabba song and doing a "cool trick" she learned from the show. 

So I put together a little Yo Gabba Gabba party for her birthday and she was thrilled.  I went one step above text messaging this year and actually created an evite.  Lots of our family members came and Berkley was in heaven.  She has so many people who love her and she loves all of them right back. 

She helped me make the cupcakes the night before her party.  She was so excited she COULD NOT fall asleep that night.  She kept getting out of bed and saying, "I waked up!  I go to my party now?!  I eat a birthday cake?!"  Here she is the morning of:

I'm not one to go crazy over decorations but I did a few things to make it fun.  For some reason nobody around here sells Yo Gabba Gabba decorations so I used mostly printables. 

I made these Muno cups by gluing an eye onto them.  When Berkley first saw them she said, "Oh!  That's Muno's contact!"  I had a great idea to make DJ Lance hats for everyone but (luckily for our guests) I couldn't find anywhere that carried packs of only orange party hats.  We did all have name-tags though.  They said "My name is _____________.  I like to dance!" 

 I made some Brobee cupcakes.

 Rylee is a cake decorator by hobby so I asked if she would make a Yo Gabba Gabba cake and she far exceeded my expectations with this Brobee cake!  (One of his spikes melted on the car ride over.)

Since we had all adult guests I didn't want to play little kid games but I still wanted to start with an activity so everyone had to take a quiz about Berkley and a quiz about Yo Gabba Gabba.  Here are the questions and answers to the Berkley quiz:

Berkley’s Birthday Quiz

1.     What’s my full name?

 Berkley Ann Morby

2.     How much did I weigh when I was born?

 7 lbs 1 oz

3.     What do I say is my favorite color?

 pencils

4.     What do I get when I poop in the potty?

 a sucker

5.     Where is my favorite place to go to play with my friends?

 nursery

6.     What is my favorite food?

 cereal (currently cheerios but it changes often)

7.     What is my favorite part of Sesame Street?

 Elmo's World

8.   Over the past year I’ve learned lots of new words but didn’t always pronounce them correctly.  What did I mean when I said:

Shishoo- lotion

Double-double- W

Bucky- Berkley

Fie-day- french fry

9.    What song do I sing the most?

 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

10.  What is my favorite song to dance to?

 Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Ray

11.  Who was my first non-family kiss?

 Micah Mecham

12.  What stuffed animals are my constant companions?
       Monkey and Wocket

After quizzes we had some pizza.

 Opened presents

 And had cake and ice cream

Proof I was there:

A couple days after her birthday I took her to the pet store to pick out a fish.  She chose a red betta and named him birthday cake.  He died within a week so we exchanged him for a blue betta which she also named birthday cake.