I've been sewing!

Yep - I've been busy sewing for this new little baby. I'm in the home stretch now - 28 days until the big due date - which means almost nothing! Anyway, I've been madly trying to get things ready. We just ordered Hailey a new "Big Girl bed" and hope it gets here soon. I'm still not sure if she'll be in it any time soon - since we all love the Crib! Hailey especially loves it. But at least it's on it's way and she will have the choice soon enough. I have all the clothes unpacked, washed and put away. We have diapers and a few other necessities all ready to go. So now we're down to the last few things...like the car seat, the cradle, my hospital bag and a coming home outfit for the little baby. Once those are done, all we have left to do is wait.


So here are two of my blankets:

The minky one - oh soooo soft

And the throw-down quilt (big enough to lay a baby on, too small to cuddle, but small enough that I can lay it on the floor with one hand - PERFECT!) The quilting on this one took HOURS!! It was my first real quilt ever and I've learned quite a few things (like how to cut better then I did, how to sew the pieces together better then I did, how to not quilt so tightly together so it won't take hours and hours to finish the final touch) BUT I think it still turned out kind of cute! Actually I love the quilting I did - it took forever, but I wouldn't change it...at least not on this quilt.



I plan on quilting two more - one for Hailey's new bed and a matching one for the babies crib. Those are less of a priority though - so they'll be done...eventually.



So besides being totally consumed with nesting we've also been trying to get out in the RV a bit before out lives change completely (We're hoping on two more trips before the baby comes). We did take a trip down to Montana on May long. All I can say is there is nothing better then a portable DVD player. Seriously, the 5 hour drive would have been unbearable without it.

Look at how mesmerized Hailey is

Here's one of the little girl in her favourite chair, eating her breakfast in the RV. Pretty cozy.

Hailey and I...and the big-rig (that would be my 34 week belly - after a 5 hour drive). Not the best situation I've been in, that's for sure!

When we're not RV-ing, I'm usually just my regular old white trash self...as shown here:

That's what my lucky neighbours got to see last weekend...in my defense, I was 35 weeks pregnant and needed to do some painting/crafting outside. I have NOTHING that fits that can get really dirty. So, out came the pre-pregnnacy trash clothes. Nice hey?? I honestly should not be sharing...but it is kind of funny.

Anyway, when I'm not totally white trash, or sewing, or nesting, or cleaning; I'm speding my time trying to prepare Hailey for the new baby. We've hit some seriously awful terrible two's. Wow. That's all I can say. The good thing is when she's not being 'terrible' she's really really really sooooo sweet. I'm totally loving her more and more each day. She really is cute. We're just getting a lot of extremes in the mood department...which might just be her personality - she is my daughter you know!

Speaking of cute, here's Hailey new favourite spot, under her new slide (thanks to Chantelle and Sheldon). She LOVES playing with her babies in there. Cute hey?

And finally here is my 36 week belly in all it's glory!

So hopefully I can post a few more times - and then hopefully the baby will be here!! YAY!

Big and Small - Hailey at 22 months

I just love watching Hailey learn new things...seeing the look in her eyes when something 'clicks' and then seeing her use her knew found knowledge in her little world. It's so rewarding and so amazing!

Today was one of those fun moments of learning...or actually, the application of her learning. She has a book called "It's not easy being Big" and it's all about big and small things. We read it a lot and she seems to love it...but I'm never sure if she's actually comprehending the lessons it tries to teach. So, today we were reading books before her nap. I'd already read her a few books and told her that she could choose "One last book." So she wondered over to her book collection and fingered through a few books. She pulled one out, looked it over and tossed it to the side "no...(s)mall". She picked up another small book, tossed and repeated "no...(s)mall". This process went on for a good minute until she found the biggest book she could see and exclaimed "Yeaaaaah!! BIG!" and brought it over to me to read. Which we did.

So not only has she figured out the difference between Big and Small...but she's learned some pretty smart delay tactics. If only she could figure out how to control the speed I read the book to her, then she could really delay nap time...I imagine that skills not far off!

I'm still here...

I'm just busy and lazy! But here's a quick update:

I'm getting fat - I'm about 34 weeks along right now and I'm getting soooooo BIG! I'm half ready to be done and half terrified of the sleepless nights. I wasn't so scared the first time around because I had no idea how hard it would be. But this time I know - and it scares me. The good thing is it doesn't last too long - hopefully! I don't have any pictures though. I'll have to take some and update a bit later.

We had Easter - Hailey totally got it this year! She LOVED the Easter egg hunt and G-ma and G-pa's and she loved the mini one we did here at home. She loved the chocolate too! I wonder where she gets that from??:) Here are some of my favourites of the babe from Easter:

Bubbles

Finding Eggs

Just looking so pretty

Finding Eggs at Grandma and Grandpas

Helping Dad find the eggs

We had the Easter Fireside - I spent waaaay too much time stressing over it all. And in the end it was beautiful! Almost 200 people showed up and the music was perfect!! Seriously, so perfect. There are so many talented people in this world - I'm not one of them, but it was fun to work so closely with them all.

We had mother's day - which was wonderful and busy. We spent half the day in Claresholm and half in Calgary. Hailey LOVES her grandmas!! You should have seen the fit she had when one of our nieces tried to sit on Hailey's grandma's knee in Claresholm. Like she should have known that Grandma is only Hailey's Grandma - and she is NOT for sharing. It was a fun day. My gift from Hailey and Ben was a card, some flowers and some much needed shopping for this little baby that's coming soon. I've been stressing about not being ready for the baby for so long, so it was a nice present when Ben took Hailey and I out to gear up for the baby. It doesn't sound like much - but it was the best present ever!

And that's it. We're now just gearing up for another RV season and a new baby. It seems like life is NOT slowing down. And I wouldn't mind it if it did. Oh - I should also mention something that I think is totally adorable! Hailey has friends - like real friends. She sees them all the time and LOVE's them - even though she cries a lot when they're around (she's having a hard time with the sharing thing). Anyway, if we're not with her friends at the moment she's always asking for them. "Mommy - where's KYKA? Where's HOWIE?? Where??" Over and over and over again. Sooooo cute. She also loves to tell everyone she knows or meets that she has friends and proceeds to repeat their names over...and over...and over again. Gotta love this stage! It's fun! Even with it's challenges - which I'll post about later - I NEED advice!

Anyway, here are two more of my favourite pictures from the past 5 weeks. Hailey's first Popsicle (or pocko as she says) and a ride of the 'wings' as she likes to say.

My computer's slow

Which means I haven't really had a chance to get on here lately. Plus I've been soooo consumed with an Easter Music Fireside I've been planning for my ward at church. I don't know what it is, but it's really taking all I have. It might have to do with the fact that I'm sort of going at it all by myself - that's what happens when you don't have a committee. By the way - for those who don't know, an Easter Music Fireseide is basically and evening of spiritual musical performances at church. It will be beautiful - I know it will be. And it would be 100 times better if I wasn't the one planning it, but really, you can't go wrong with something like this. Some highlights of the night are that my wonderfully talented sister Sarah and brother Josh will be singing/playing the piano. I will be playing the piano - and my wonderfully talented sister inlaw Lauren will be singing. I also have two quartets singing - a male and a female group. Two male/female duets. A piano intrsumental by my bogus brother Jon. And a few pieces by the choir. I'm hoping to snag one more solo for the night - we'll see if I can sweet talk that one into happening. But overall - it's going to be a wonderful night. I'm sooo excited and so nervous!

Ok onto other news...we had my parents and Chris and Lauren over for little lunch/brunch yesterday while we watched conference. At one point Hailey was left all alone to entertain herself...and here's what she ended up doing:

Yep - a bag of Lindor's...and a cute little mouth full of chocolate. What a mischievous but cute little girl. And here's the picture of her in the bathroom getting washed off...she's definitely got the 'I'm busted - so leave me alone' look on her face.

And finally my 28 week belly shot:

Lookin' good hey?? Kidding. Actually in all honesty, my OB put me on a diet because I've gained too much weight. I have three weeks to get it under control or else I have to see a nutritionist. A bit backwards hey? I'm sort of trying - but in all honesty I kind of just want to eat what I want when I want it. Whatever. I just have to try an not gain 50 pounds again!

Baking - with a toddler and a Husband

Well at least my Toddler and my Husband. Man oh man oh man...where do I start?

So this morning I decided maybe I would make some buns....delicious buns. And while I was making buns, I'd also make some BBQ beef to go on the buns for dinner as well as some cinnamon buns. Not such a big deal. The buns are simple, the beef just goes in the crock pot all day, and the Cinnamon buns just take a little more time to roll out and yummify (i.e. add sugar!!!).

Anyway, I should have sensed it wasn't my day to bake when Ben and Hailey were both pulling at me to help them with something from the second I pulled out the flour. The day went like this:

Hailey wants a cookie...and Ben wants me to do some work for the business. So, I try to tend to them both while adding ingredients. No biggie, us moms can multi task like you wouldn't believe. I distract Hailey with some toys, and I agree to help Ben and send off some quotes for a job he wants to work on, and I measure away.

1 cup of sugar
4 eggs
4 cups flour
3 1/2 cups HOT water
1 T salt

and Mix

Then Ben comes to me with the numbers he wants on the quote and a list of things to add as well. I'm still multitasking and trying to make a yeast mixture to add to the other bunch of ingredients that are mixing away while listening to the list of numbers he has for me.

3 T yeast
1/2 cup water
1 tsp honey

Then as I'm letting that sit and work it's magic, Hailey comes and paws at me some more...asking for both a show on tv and some music to dance to. So I turn the music on...which means she then asks for a tu-tu, which I get her. While I'm running down the stairs to get the tu-tu, Ben asks me to send the quotes off in the next 15 minutes because that's what he'd promised. Uh...ok. Shouldn't be a problem. I just need to add the yeast to the other mixture that's been mixing away in the KitchenAid for...uh the last 10 minutes. And then add the rest of the flour. So I do just that...and then start adding flour.

1 cup
2 cups
3 cups
4 cups
and...oops I'm out of flour.

I run down stairs and grab some more. Oops...I'm out down there too. So I run upstairs to find a twirling Hailey and an anxious Ben. Hailey wants me to dance with her, and Ben reminds me that I now have 12 minutes to get the quotes out. Ok...I do a little twirl to please Hailey and promise Ben that he can rely on me. He leaves for work, I pack Hailey up, in her pj's and all, throw my hair in a ponytail and run out the door to buy some more flour. I have 11 minutes to get to the store, buy the flour, add it to my already rising/half finished dough and send off the quotes I promised.

The store is a success...there's flour! And some really cute rubber boots for Hailey that I must have - but I don't buy. I may have spent a bit too much time there deciding whether to buy the boots or not. But it's ok, the yeast is fresh and can handle the extra work it's doing...and there shouldn't be too much to do for the quotes. So I walk in the door, put Hailey down, open the new bag of flour and start scooping away.

5 Cups
6 Cups
7 Cups

and done...the dough looks good. Not too tough, and not too sticky. I put it in the greased bowl I have set aside, cover it and leave it to rise. I head to the laptop to start on the quotes and remember I haven't put the beef on to cook...ok that should take just a minute. Which it does....except for the whole disinfecting the entire kitchen afterwards. You know, raw beef...ugh.

Mental check list: Kitchen clean. Dough rising...wait, dough rising?? I suddenly remember that I forgot to add:

1 cup oil

to the original mixture. Oops. So out comes the dough...and after a quick phone call to my mom for advice, I start hand kneading the oil into the dough. Ugh. 10 minutes later, I'm done.

Ok. Kitchen half clean, dough rising, beef cooking, Quotes waiting, Hailey....wait where's Hailey? I start looking for her and instantly find her in the living room, she's found the flour and the measuring cups and spread the flour EVERYWHERE!! Yikes. I deal with the mischievous Hailey and turn on a show for her. Ah TV - Sometimes that's all I've got up my sleeve. I finally sit down at the laptop to work on my quotes. But of course I have to check my Facebook. I quickly discover that my cousin is on and an old friend from back in the day. I just have to say hi! So I do, and we start chatting. And time just sort of passes. And then suddenly I get a call from Ben asking me where the quotes are...uh right-e-o. I'm on that. I quickly say bye to my chatting friends, and get to the quotes. I'm only 45 minutes late. No biggie. So, I type away, call Ben a million times to confirm all the things he went over with me earlier - when I was forgetting to add ingredients to the dough (and obviously not listening to him). After almost 45 minutes of typing, I'm done. The quotes are done, they've been sent off and things are looking good.

I take 5 minutes to breathe, when I suddenly realize that the dough has been rising for...oh, and hour and a half. Yikes. I run upstairs only to find the biggest bowl of dough ever. I punch it down (hoping that I haven't used up all the rising ability of the yeast) and start shaping buns. 30 buns into the process I look at the clock and realize that it's lunch time and I suddenly understand why Hailey's pawing at me again. Thank goodness for leftover mac and cheese. I throw some in a bowl, warm it up, and sit Hailey down for lunch. While she's happily distracted I finish making the buns...30 more and a dozen cinnamon buns as well.

I cover all million pans of buns and leave them to rise again. Hailey's done lunch and is wanting me to play with her, so I do for a half hour and then I set her up with some crayons and paper and HOPE that she decides to colour on the paper. She sits quietly and colours while I clean the kitchen up...and all the flour spread throughout the house.

Mental Check list: Quotes done - finally, Clean kitchen - again, dough rising - again, and Hailey playing quietly...I hope.

I decide to look over to where Hailey is 'colouring' only to notice that she has not only found a pencil, but also the apples which were so temptingly sitting right in front of her. Being the creative little girls she is, she has managed to poke holes in the apples with her pencil and then stuff the apples with her crayons. LOVELY. Just lovely.

So, I clean the crayons up, think about what to do with the apples and start to get Hailey ready for her nap. I get her changed and ready and then decide to throw the buns in the oven while I'm putting her down. I take the cover off the first pan...perfect; pan two....perfect; and then pan three...uh, oops I forgot the wet the towel covering the buns and now the buns are stuck - completely stuck to the towel. If I peel the towel off it will flatten the buns and they'll need to rise again. At this point though, I'm sure there's no rise left in the yeast. So I give up, I peel the towel off and throw the flat buns into the oven - hoping for a miracle.

I run up to put Hailey down for her nap, and come down to check on the buns. They look ok. not great but ok. Edible at least. The beef's still cooking away, the kitchen is clean, Hailey's taken care of, the apples are ready for apple crisp now, the quotes are done, and I can finally sit back and relax. And I do.

And here I am now, reflecting on why I never get anything done around here...I think I have an answer. The next time Ben asks what I actually do all day, I'll print this off and show him. And the next time I'm at the store and contemplating buying buns, I'll just do it. Sometimes it's just not worth the hassle. And now I'm really wondering how I'm going to handle another kid. We'll have to see. On a positive note - I've now written the bun recipe out...give it a try!

Potty Training?

I've been thinking a lot about potty training and how Hailey is sooooo not ready yet! She's just NOT even interested...and that's fine with me. She's not even two yet! But, I do think we're making progress as far as the 'being comfortable with the toilet' thing goes.

Wouldn't you say?? In fact, she may love this toilet a bit too much! Don't worry it was a brand new toilet...not even installed yet (which would explain why it's in the middle of the living room); so it was clean. It is now nicely situated in our basement bathroom though, and she is no longer allowed to play in it.

Besides not potty training Hailey, we have been working on teaching her how to smile for the camera. This is the best we could get:

I may be biased...but that's pretty cute.

So, last week was just gorgeous up here...for March that is. It wasn't summer weather (well depending on what kind of summer day we're talking about); but it was 'melt all the snow and splash in puddles' kind of weather. So we took a little trip to the park. Hailey wasn't too sure about me pushing her on the swing at first.

But once I let go, she LOVED it!

We also so lots of 'a-payz' (Airplanes) in the sky. Did you know that airplanes say Choo-choo? I didn't, but Hailey's pretty sure of it.

But mostly we spent the entire afternoon splashing in every single puddle in sight. Trust me, we didn't miss a single one.

And finally, is this not the face of a Guilty child?? A child who found the Cake Mom made and just started mowing down on it?? It is. That's my sneaky child. Gotta love her!

Oh right...I can't forget to add this picture of me from last week - before my eventful fall down the stairs (which I'm still recovering from ...but doing better). Anyway, I think I'm about 23 weeks in this picture. Like the cheesy smile??

So that's it. Nothing - I repeat nothing exciting has happened in my home in the last week. I've done a LOT of standing because the sitting thing just hasn't gone over that well. I've done a lot of sleeping and eating. So the weight's packin' on that's for sure. Hailey's been cute as ever. So although my home is boring, there's been lots of excitement in the family! My brother and is wife had a beautiful little girl this week. Oh she is going to be spoiled! She's an absolute doll!

Wipe out...

So last week when we got our new carpet in our basement, I was bragging about how soft and luxurious it was...which obviously led to my mom warning me that I needed to be careful on the stairs. Her reasoning is that the carpet is soooo soft that I may not notice the edge of the step and slip - and of course because of my ever expanding belly, I can't see the stairs any more and my balance is off. Well...like all good daughters do, I immediately dismissed my moms warning and filed it away with other crazy warning she's given - like don't put your head outside the car window because it might get chopped off...or a pencil will stab you in the eye or something crazy. And then like all good daughters eventually do, I learned that my mom was right (not about the pencil in the eye thing - at least not yet).

BUT....I wiped out big time on the stairs on Friday -resulting in a good hour of crying, a sleepless night and a wonderful little invalid ring to sit on. LOVELY. So the good things first - I landed on my tail bone and nothing else - so things are going to be ok. It's just a useless bunch of pain. Another good thing - it happened on Friday, meaning that Ben was home all weekend to help with Hailey. And my parents were able to come out and help on Saturday too!

The bad things?? I crushed my tailbone 13 years ago in a little skiing mishap...which means I had to have some very special luck to hurt whatever tiny fragment of it is left. And boy does it hurt! Another bad thing?? Combine a broken/bruised tailbone with 'Diastasis symphysis pubis' and you're in serious pain! I just got diagnosed with premature separation of my pubic bone last week - which basically means I can't sit, or laydown or walk without pain. And now because of my tailbone, I really can't sit, or laydown or walk without pain.

So it's all pretty funny though - what are the odds? I guess when you consider who I am and the 'special' luck I've had all my life, I should have known that something dumb like this would happen. I'm really not complaining though - I'm just laughing at myself. Because what's not to laugh about when you picture me sliding down the stairs?? I can guarantee it was funny to see!

Anyway, I just had to share, because most likely I'm going to take a bit of a break from this little blog because sitting for more then....well any amount of time hurts too much. So I've got to limit my down time to when I really really need it, like at night when I should be asleep! So I'll be back...soon.

I'm so loving these...

Have you seen this site yet??

http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages

It's the LDS channel on YouTube: Mormon Messages

Ben and I spent our Sunday Evening watching these and just loving this Church! They're all great, but I especially Love Dieter F Uchtdorf's message "Create" and President Hinckley's "Lesson's I learned as a Boy". I highly recommend taking a few minutes out of your day to watch these to videos! I'm now anxiously waiting for the new message for this week. LOVE IT!

My Life...

Even though nothing really exciting happens around these parts...I really just LOVE my life. I've got a great husband and wonderfully entertaining daughter - with another on the way. Things are good...and I'm grateful for that. We live in a tiny, but beautiful home (which just grew by 50% this last weekend - due to some much anticipated carpet in the basement), Ben has a decent job, and we all have our health - for the most part. I may disagree on that last part when I'm trying to roll over in bed at 3am. But really, such discomforts are a sign that I'm blessed with the ability to have another child - for which I will always be grateful. Anyway, I was just thinking about this blog these last few days and how I often just poke fun at myself or my family - or at least that's what I intend to do. We really are a funny bunch...but sometimes I feel like I need to just express my gratitude for what I have. Especially since I write this Blog with the intention to keep it as a record (of some sort) of this time in my life. So I want to be able to look back and remember the fun times...the crazy times...but also the grateful times. And today I'm grateful just because I am.

Anyway, enough sappiness from me. Here are some recent pictures:

So last weekend was Valentines day/our 6 year anniversary. We contemplated celebrating...but ended up just working. We spent the Saturday laying tile in our basement bathroom. Then our anniversary (the Sunday) was spent going to church and then to a family dinner. So not the typical way to celebrate our anniversary or Valentines - but it could have been worse. Our gift to each other this year was the basement. Because let's be honest - it is NOT cheap to develop a basement. So although the weekend was pretty uneventful, we still found time to have a special little Valentines breakfast... little heart shaped French toasts. Cute hey?

Now for the random pictures - I just have to share this one:

This is Hailey's 'special' time after a bath. She gets to bundle into our bed and watch TV while I race to get a diaper before she pees all over. She takes her TV so seriously though, which is what cracks me up about this pic.

She also takes her reading pretty seriously:

And I wouldn't dare break the news to her that the book is upside down...because like I said, she's busy doing important work - and that's serious!

Speaking of taking things seriously:

She obviously takes her fairy duties very seriously. And in case you're wondering - that is the basement carpet she's walking on. Oh how sweet to have a basement!

And finally...since I know everyone is wondering what a typical day in my house is like - wonder no more:

A usual day/evening around here is spent just like the picture above. Ben's always working on one project or another, and Hailey's always right on his heels...in her tutu. And I'm usually laying on the couch watching...and sometimes taking pictures. The amazing thing about this picture is that Ben's actually reading the instructions. AMAZING!

And that's it. That's our life. Just the way I like it.

p.s I promise I'll post some Belly pics soon - I just haven't taken any in a while. But maybe today will be the day!

Hailey's First Hair cut

I decided it was time for the mullet to go. I was kind of hoping it would just grow out and things would look good. But it was getting more and more obvious that things were just not working out.


So last night I pulled out the scissors and got started. Ben was totally opposed to the idea - he still has nightmares from the one and only time I tried to cut his hair. But I told him that it was a right of passage that every mom must go through. Plus if I really butchered it, we could always get it fixed professionally - besides, Hailey wouldn't care either way.


So here are some befores:

From behind

The embarrassed Hailey - who did NOT want her picture taken without her hair done

Afters...the next morning after I trimmed things and fixed it all up:

behind

And the side - the best shot she would let me get.

Cute hey??

It actually turned out ok, but I think that next time I'll leave it to the professionals - It was way too stressful.

Sometimes I'm so boring

So we've been busy! It's amazing how busy life gets. We're still madly trying to get the basement done - Ben's hanging doors right now and trying to tile the bathroom before the carpet guy comes next week. He's also working very very hard on his theatre system down there. What-ev. I'm excited for the toys to be out of my way! And I'll admit, it will be fun to watch movies down there...maybe we'll have to have a party. But it's still not my #1 priority. Carpet? yes...tv? no.

Besides that I've been busy teaching piano, trying to keep a somewhat clean(ish) house, playing with Hailey, going to doctors appointments and ultrasounds, and cooking without an oven. Yep that's right.

Three weeks ago our oven just shut down. Ben was pretty proud of himself when he discovered that the circuit board was fried. So we ordered a new one - $260 and 2 weeks later we installed it in the oven only to find out it still wouldn't work. Hmmm....so Ben took more of the oven apart and realized that the element had blown up. Literally. So after $50 this time and a very nice delivery service called 'grandma' we installed it and we now have a working oven - finally. But $300?? Seriously, what a rip off! We're so annoyed because the only reason the element blew was because it wasn't even screwed into the oven like it should have been - so totally a manufacturing error, but still not covered by warranty. Anyway, I'm glad I have a somewhat handy husband, it saved us a LOT of money. I couldn't imagine paying labour on TOP of the cost of parts. So we've spent a few weeks trying to come up with yummy meals that don't require the oven...here's a Yummy example, remember This post from a while back? Well here's the Ratatouille. All I can say is Y-U-M-M-Y.

Anyway, that's probably the MOST boring of all boring stories...so on to bigger and better things.
We have been having some really beautiful sunsets around here lately. It's making me LOVE where I live...the end of the 'minus 20 freeze everything on you' stuff has helped too. But really, this is beautiful! And this picture is totally unedited - so those colours are 100% real. Gotta love it.

Hailey turned 16 last week...I kid you not.

I decided to grow a bit of a Belly - and obviously decided NOT to wear maternity shirts yet. I probably should think about that again. This is me at 19 weeks.

Hailey found a new friend in the mirror - we LOVE friends around here.

We finally decided to venture out into the "outside world" as Hailey and I both call it. The poor girl doesn't have snowpants that fit her. It's just something I forgot to buy this year. So, what does she get to wear?? Her snowsuit from last year - let's just say she had some serious diaper wedgie. Poor kid.

She really loved the snow though - enough so that I almost got a smile out of her.

And onto the story of the week. Hailey did NOT have a fun Super Bowl Sunday. We spent the afternoon with Chris and Lauren and everything was going fine - until Hailey decided to take a closer look at the fire in the fireplace. All I can really say is that it was one of the hardest things to see. My poor baby girl placed her hands directly on the burning hot glass of the Fireplace. And the hours of tears that followed were enough to break anyone. I was doing all I could to hold it together - but I honestly think my heart broke into a million pieces as I watched her cry and knew that there was almost nothing I could do. Cold water and Ice just made her more hysterical - but we had to force it on her. It definitely paid off big time. We took her into urgent care, and got her all wrapped up. They said the burns were so much better then they could have been and partly because we made her ice it so quickly. She just got her last little 'glove' off today, and besides a few blisters, her hand looks pretty good. The doctors' pretty sure there'll be no scarring - and are amazed at how well it healed. So we're really grateful things turned out as well as they did.

Anyway, here she is the day of the 'event' - what a little trooper.

And then the next day - wearing her glove...I'll admit, it is pretty cute!

And finally, I had another ultrasound today. Baby was still a little squirmer - but at leat we were able to get the missing shots from last time. I also asked for another guess on gender; and once again the tech guessed girl. But it was a really really iffy guess she said. Not a 100%, or 90% or even 75% sure guess. So I don't know, I'll just assume we're having another girl. Which will be all sorts of fun and crazy! And if it ends up being a boy - which I'm sure it won't (in case you're counting all the way back to 2006, we don't know how to make boys) he'll come home wearing pink - and will eventually make his way into some blue clothes. But I'm 95% sure it's another girl - what else would the baby be??

Ultrasound...

We had the BIG ultrasound yesterday. The one where we find out whether I'm cooking a boy or a girl. And as it turns out, there was no real conclusion made. The baby was too squirmy for them to catch any pictures. In fact I have to go back next week for a follow up to get the rest of the pictures.

It's definitely had me thinking...Hailey is a busy kid - a VERY busy kid. Busy to the point that strangers sort of shake their heads and laugh in pity when they see me chasing her everywhere. She's a kid who doesn't know how to just walk - she has to ALWAYS run. Now, I remember her very clearly when she was just a tummy baby. She was definitely a mover and a shaker. She kicked ALL the time, and rolled and flipped and jumped around in there constantly. But when it came to the BIG ultrasound, she cooperated quite nicely. She moved just enough that they were able to get all the measurements in without a problem...but stayed still at all the right times (i.e. when we wanted to see whether she was going to be a She or a He.)

So I'm wondering, if that's what a busy baby was like...what is the current tummy baby going to be like? Am I really in store for a child more wild then my Hailey?? I'm really terrified!

All I know is that when I go in for the next ultrasound I'm going to forgo the 'something sweet' they recommended I eat before hand - because as it turns out, my children do not need anything to get them moving. They are busy all by themselves.

Speaking of wild, I just got the CD of the pictures Ben's sister took of Hailey for her one year photo shoot (well more like 15 month shoot). Doesn't that look like that face of someone who's just waiting to go and terrorize the world??

There were some really cute pictures from the session...but I just had to share this one right now. It so perfectly captures the child I'm trying to describe.

Oh and here's one of the family - I may be biased...but I think we all look pretty good!

This has me really (really really) excited!

So, I'm a stroller obsessed Mom! I LOVE strollers and although I only have one, I spent hours/weeks/months researching and falling in love with every cool stroller out there. I like my strollers to be unique and special. Which is exactly why I'm soooo in LOVE with all things Bumbleride. Seriously, I LOVE this stroller brand. It's hip, it's modern, but it's practical and classic. In fact my #1 choice in stroller for Hailey was this Beauty. I loved it at the time - and I still sort of wish I could have bought. However, now that I'm expecting baby number two, and will have two kids under the age of two...it seems I should be thinking a little more about the Indie-twin stroller by Bumbleride. Wouldn't this be a dream???

I love everything there is to love about it. I LOVE that it's only 29.5 inches wide. That's just over two feet...and also just three inches wider then my current single stroller. So I'd have no problems navigating through the malls in this thing. I also love that it has an adjustable handel...perfect for the height impared like me - and the not so height impared like Ben. Just perfect!!

Anyway, here's what has me soooo excited. My friend Angie just posted about this giveaway on her BLOG. So I had to share...and of course enter myself. Sorry Angie, I have really really good luck, so your odds of winning just went down significantly. I hope we can still talk after this. Just kidding. Anyway, check out this giveaway:

http://inevergrewup.net/giveaway-25-bumbleride-indie-stroller/

Aren't you in love?? I am. This contest is open until the 30th...so check it out!!

18 Months...

Yep that's right, the sweet little baby who graced our family with her presence back in July 2007 is now a toddler...who you wouldn't dare mess with.


Right?? This is the face of a girl who knows what she wants and how to get it (and whose mommy obviously doesn't keep her clean).

But really, she is still a sweet little angel - mixed in with lots and lots of fun. For example, Could you guess what her three favourite toys from Christmas are??

First - her new baby.

She actually got lots of new baby's for Christmas...but this is the first one she opened and so far her favourite. Although all of her dolls are greeted by Hailey each and every morning with a very darling "cuuuuuuute". Picture it, it's pretty much the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

Her next favourite?
Yep, that's exactly what you think it is...a whoopee cushion. It's actually now in hiding because blowing that thing up makes me want to puke. And she could go for hours with it. Nothing entertains her more then a little fake flatulence.

And her third favourite gift??This little chair from G-ma and G-pa.
It's not a girly toy that's for sure. There were plenty of princess chairs to choose from, but the grandparents were wise and knew that this little child would prefer a "lightning McQueen" chair over any Princess. And she does. She LOVES it. I fact it's now turned into the ultimate rocking chair (i.e. she throws herself backwards on it full force until it falls back onto the floor...and then she giggles and does it all over again. Wild child.)


Ok...I just can't resist. I HAVE to share this picture, because it's sooooo sweet. She LOOOOOVES her babies. Loves them so much that she actually shares with them (imagine that? Hailey willingly sharing?). She also wraps them in blankets, blows their noses for them (which usually ends up with a quick trip to Kleenex box to wipe her nose which she accidentally blew as well), and gives them diapers to wear and so on. And in this picture, she's giving them a little concert on her beloved piano. So adorable.

Ok, and I have to share this picture of the Kid because I can't get enough of her when she's in a 'grumpy-sit on the stairs' kind of mood. Seriously, there is no guessing what kind of mood this child is in. She's very very open about everything. All the cooing and giggling when she's happy are so worth it because we definitely know when she's not. She'll be a fun teenager.

And then one last picture from Christmas...classic kid. Just playing in the boxes.

Which reminds me I have to share this picture too:This is Hailey shaking her head at Ben. I think she said something like "oh Dad, you've done it again. You've bought something waaaay too expensive and now we'll have to actually use it". Which I'm ok with. Really once the carpet's laid in the basement, this bad boy will be nicely positioned on the wall and we can watch all the tv we want! Anything beats what we had before (i.e. a 27inch tube tv)


So that's it for pictures. Now for a little update. I'm 17 ish weeks pregnant...which would means I'm due sometime at the end of June. Originally it was June 30th, but it's looking to be June 23 according to our last ultrasound. Speaking of which, according to the last ultrasound, it looks like we may be having another girl. BUT...nothings positive yet. I was only 14 weeks. So lots could happen still. So we'll see. Either will be fine.

Oh...we're working on our basement like C-R-A-Z-Y!! We are waiting on carpet...and carpet only! Once that's in, we'll be down there watching TV...or playing with all Hailey's toys. Well of course there will be trim work left to do, but that's soooo not important. What's really important is that we're a matter of weeks away from hiding all Hailey's toys. Best news ever!!

Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get around to updating more often.