Baking with mommy!

Today Ella got to help me bake some oatmeal raisin cookies. We are making dinner for a friend tomorrow night and thought it would be nice to give them a little dessert too! She was a great help and was super excited to be in the kitchen with mommy. She helped me measure the ingredients and stirred the batter. The kitchen is usually off limits since I don't want to trip over little people or have her reach up and burn herself on something on the stove. But it was nice for me also to do something new with her and to have some quality time together. I can't always play with Ella like I used to due to my growing belly. Maybe this will be our special time from now on? Although we may have to find some healthier options. I won't have pregnancy as an excuse for my sweet tooth and extra girth for long.

28 week Photo, 29 week Update.

So I'm a little behind.  This past Saturday I turned 29 weeks but I take a photo every 4 weeks.   I feel like this pregnancy is flying by. All of a sudden we went from having plenty of time to prepare to "HOLY CRAP, LETS GET STUFF DONE!!! "  And the worst part is that the "To Do" list is filled with items that I can't really help Ben with. Like moving furniture, painting and cleaning the carpets and couches.  And all the things that I can do are on a stand still until the babys room is complete. Theres no sense in washing  clothes, or linens if I have no where to put them.  I hate feeling useless.  I see stuff around the house that needs to be cleaned or get done but can't even touch it yet until all of the furniture is in place in the bedrooms.  And just when I thought I couldn't be anymore anxious about our time constraint, the OB/GYN said it's time to see me every 2 weeks now for my check ups instead of every 4.  Then at 35 weeks I see him ever week!! YIKES.

 Pregnancy is kind of funny.  You can't wait to get pregnant, and then when you are you ask yourself  "Is this really happening? "   It's like being on a train you can't stop and have no control over.  There will literaly be another human living in this house in 10 more weeks.   At least I don't feel stressed over labor/delivery, or if I'm capable of taking care of an infant.   Ben and I did it once before so I know we can do it again.  But I'm sure it will be even more tiring because we have an infant and a toddler now.

 A toddler who has found an endless amount of energy over the past couple of weeks.  She can't sit still.  We used to be able to watch Jeopardy in peace while she looked at books or played on the floor quietly but now she runs laps through out the house, jumps on and off the couches.  She pulls massive amounts of toys out of her toy box, in a matter of minutes because she looses her interest and get bored easily now.   Sitting still and coloring is not an option for Mommy and me play time anymore.  I end up coloring by myself while Ella moves on to the next object to destroy.  So it was just this week when I noticed these changes in Ella that made me nervous over having two kids in the house.  Sorry for my rant. I know it will all be fine and everything will work out. I guess going to the doctor today gave me a slight panic attack and got me thinking.
 
I saw a newly pregnant woman at the office today. Looked like it was her first prenatal visit.  I knew this because she was thin, young, had nice clothes and looked like a deer caught in the headlights ,but still holding her "Sample" in her hand and had no idea where to put it. I kind of smirked. I kind of wished I was back there. At the beginning of my pregnancy again.  Even the first pregnancy. The pure ignorance you have of what it's like to be a parent, and all the newness of expecting your first child.  You loose some of the excitement with the second pregnancy.  And since this might be my last pregnancy Im  at times sad that its coming to an end soon.  If you have lasted this long and read all of this, Thanks.  Im just venting and dont need any advice. I'm just having a moment today. Hopefully it will pass soon. 

On a positive note..... Baby is doing fine.  She kicked the doctor a couple of times while he was checking me out today.  It was a surprise to him how strong she was already.  Heartbeat is strong, and he thinks she is head down already. She better not be too anxious to get out.  I already had a talk with her that she has to wait till Grandma Mac is in town before we can celebrate her birthday.  But if she keeps kicking me like a Bruce Lee marathon  I might have to evict her sooner.

The month of Ben

At least that's what it feels like. Last week we celebrated Bens birthday. We started a summer tradition and went to the pool early Sunday morning as a family, relaxed and then ate at our favorite restaurant Blue Agave for dinner. He even got to enjoy a couple of margaritas.
Then for fathers days I made a special treat for breakfast. French toast casserole. After we stuffed ourselves we had another fun morning at the pool where daddy got to try out his new swimmers snorkel. And Ella is getting really comfortable with playing and swimming in the pool. Ben is a great motivator for her though. He is adventurous when I'm more reserved and cautious. And I think he helps Ella to explore and relax. Just one of many wonderful traits Ben has as a father. After the pool we got cleaned up and Ella helped daddy build her new big girl bed. (pics to follow) Then we had one of Bens favorite meals shrimp linguini for dinner Also made by mommy. So Daddy had Two weekends of gifts, food, relaxing and plenty of love. We love our daddy!

Ellas new bed

Ella's bed is finished!! She couldn't wait to go to bed tonight. Then she stayed up an hour after we said good night and we heard her playing and clapping in bed. She was so excited. Now daddy can start on her new dresser.

Bens birthday dinner.

You know your pregnant when....

You go to CVS and this is what you buy. I haven't been to a CVS in 3 years. They just don't have a lot of the chain pharmacies(except for target and Safeway) out here in CA. In FL you had a Walgreens or CVS on almost every street corner. I was a regular at Walgreens and when I was bored I would go just to look at makeup, lotion, and hair accessories. But today, the beginning of my third trimester I have no interest in my face, hair or the quality of my skin. The third trimester has come on with a vengeance and as you can see from the pic I'm not enjoying it. By the way.... This CVS must have been designed by a pregnant woman. All these products were on the same aisle right in front of the entrance. All the other useless crap was in the back of the store and on the other side. I didn't have to walk through crappy beach toys,cheap tourist shirts, and processed foods to get what I needed. It was a pleasant surprise for my aching back and pelvis. Also wanted to note for everyone wondering why I bought pads, No I'm not peeing the bed.... Yet. Those pads are for labor. They are also handy to have around for newborns. It's easy to change them on a pad that you don't have to wash or wipe off. Cause let's face it, sometimes you can't get that diaper on fast enough before the next event happens.
And let me add one other funny but embarrassing fact about buying these items together. Don't bring your toddler if you can help it. The last thing you want to do is draw more attention to your particular state by having your toddler throw a fit on the floor while clutching the basket of unpurchased "personal items" because she wants to carry the basket by her self. Jeez!! C'mon kid, give me a break!! Even the cashier was embarrassed for me and I'm sure she has seen a lot of strange things go through her line. Pregnancy and motherhood are very humbling. And you have to find the humor in it, otherwise being a parent will make you crazy.

Yosemite Vacation

As promised here are the rest of the Yosemite pics.  We had a great time.  I feel like we could have spent two weeks in the park and still not been able to see everything we wanted too. Yosemite is HUGE! Ben and I had an over ambitious itinerary of things we wanted to see and do. We stayed about 40 mins outside of the park in a small town Groveland, where we rented a house.  Once we got into the park it took another 30-40 mins to drive to the main hiking trails and sites we wanted to see. By the time we parked everyone had to use the bathroom again.  Then we would unload the stroller, grab all the cameras, snacks and water. So add another 10 mins to our prep time.  So you see it was turning out to be a time consuming process.   We could only fit in one good "hike" a day with all this driving and prepping and pregnancy related stops to the bathroom and to eat.  I put hike it quotation marks because hiking takes on a whole new meaning when you have a toddler. We stuck to mostly paved trails since we had the stroller.  We tried to let Ella out of the stroller as much as possible.  She had a few spills but I guess she has to start learning to watch where she walks.  Don't take this as complaining about our trip. It's not.  It just stuck me as amazing the differences between our PRE-baby vacations to state parks vs Now.   Before Ella Ben and I would get up early, eat a quick breakfast and find a trail off the beaten path. We were typically the first ones out on the trails in the morning.  Afterwards we were physically exhausted but felt great that we mastered the woods.  Now, it doesn't matter what time we get up or which trail we take we end up exhausted just from change of routine and taking care of someone elses needs.  

As much as taking a vacation with a toddler can be tiring, it's exciting to see Ella's face when she sees something for the first time.  We talked about the animals in the park.  We even saw several deer. One of which we feed from our back yard. She loved looking up at the huge waterfalls and feeling the rush of water under her feet as we stood on the bridge for a photo opportunity.  She picked up every rock, leaf and stick she could find.  She got dirty several times and even dipped her feet in a cold stream that was fed by one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen.  Mommy even dipped her feet in the water too.  It felt amazing on my tired  feet.  Ella on the other hand was not thrilled.  Guess she doesn't like her feet being cold.  But she ended up finding plenty of rocks to throw into the stream which is her favorite activity.   I always joke that she might turn out to be like her Aunt Julie and become a geologist.  She can't resist picking up rocks, and digging in the dirty with her shovel.  Although, she can't stand to get dirty.  So I'm not sure how that is going to work out.

The last night there we made a quick stop at the store and grabbed some marshmallows for roasting, or in Bens case, burning.  Ella wasn't fond of toasting her marshmallow but she liked eating it off of the stick anyways.  The last morning we were in Groveland after eating breakfast out, we packed up and found some stable where we fed the horses. (Pics to come) Ella wasn't thrilled with their massive size but I think she liked seeing them up close.  She talked about the horses all the way home.   Overall it was a pretty amazing trip.  I hope to go back some day when the kids are better hikers and really get some miles under our feet.

Yosemite Pics

Just a few Yosemite pics. Will post and write more later.   We took over 400 pics while we were in the park!!!  It has been a chore to pic the best pictures to share.  The park was so beautiful I wish I could post all of the pictures.