9 Months

We're now counting down in days instead of weeks or months until Ally's arrival. Eeek! I still feel totally unprepared and have a long list of things to do. I remember starting to get impatient for Sophia's arrival at this point with her pregnancy, but this time around, I'm hoping Ally stays comfy in my belly until her due date.

Overall I'm feeling relatively good, but I'm starting to have more fatigue, contractions, heartburn, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with the end of pregnancy. I've also started getting some swelling in my ankles, especially after I eat a high sodium meal. I'm thankful it's flip-flop season so I don't have to try and squeeze my cankles into regular shoes, but it is kinda fun to make indentions in them with my fingers!

My last doctor's appt was quick and boring. Baby was kicking like crazy and my weight and blood pressure are great. We actually ended up talking more about my doctor than me - she announced that she's 18 weeks pregnant after having 5 miscarriages, so I'm thrilled for her.

Sophia seems to be the most anxious about Ally's arrival. She's always talking about what life will be like with a baby sister. She points out where the baby will sit in the shopping cart, where the baby will sit in the car, where the baby will sleep, how she'll hold the baby, etc. A couple weeks ago she said "I want Bamy Assyn to come out Mommy's tummy today!" Totally made me melt! I just hope her enthusiasm about being a big sister continues.

Big Girl Room

It's a long story as to why it's taken so long to get Sophia's room ready, but I'm happy and relieved to announce that it's FINALLY done!
She absolutely loves her new room and had no problem at all transitioning from her crib to a twin bed. She's not used to sleeping with sheets yet, so when I put her under the sheets she asks "What is on me?" and pulls them off. Instead she prefers just to have her favorite blankets snuggled all around her, which is fine since the weather is so warm.
For some reason she won't come out of her room unless we come get her, which is great since she wakes up so early. We often wake to find her happily singing and reading on her bed, so we're not about to let her know she can come out if she really wants to. She also demands to go to her room when she's upset, which is awesome since we don't have to look like the bad guys by sending her to her room.
So here are the pictures:

We hung some original artwork by our favorite artist;)

We can't believe how tiny she looks in her bed, especially since we are so used to seeing her scrunched up in her crib.
Sophia is VERY proud of her new room, so next time you visit, I'm sure she'll be happy to give you the tour!

Adventures in Potty Training

We have Sophia registered to start preschool 2 days a week starting in September, and the only requirement is that your child be potty trained. So in April, we decided to start giving potty training a serious try, and I have been so impressed with Sophia's progress.
She likes using the potty (especially since she gets an M&M as a reward) and she knows how to identify when she needs to use the potty, so at this point it's more a matter of will power. That means she'll go 3-4 days accident free (excluding naps and overnight), and then when we're out of our normal routine or she's feeling particularly defiant, she'll have 3-4 accidents in one morning alone.
Yesterday I made her sit on the toilet while we were out watching Grandpa's new band play, and she yelled and screamed at me that she didn't need to go. When I told her she'd get a lollipop if she used the potty, the protests instantly stopped and she started smiling just as I heard the tinkling begin. It's frustrating, but overall I'm proud of her progress.
The one area we are still really struggling with is pooping. Sophia only likes to poop in her crib, so first thing in the morning and right after her nap, we often find her with a dirty diaper. When I ask her where she's supposed to go poo-poo, she answers very matter-of-factly: "in my night-night." The few times we have been successful in getting her to go number 2 in the toilet, we had to make sure she had some privacy. I couldn't help but snap this picture of her, but I'm sure it didn't help our efforts any!

Since she won't be at preschool long enough to nap, I'm not too worried about it yet, but I'm expecting it to be a challenge to break her of the habit.

8 Months

My 8 month appointment was quick and boring, which is a good thing when it comes to doctors appointments. My blood pressure is great and I've gained 21lbs, which is right on target with my goal of 30 pounds. My belly is measuring right on with my due date, and the baby's heartbeat sounded great. It was actually a little hard to hear because she had the hiccups and kept squirming around!
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. The sciatic pain I was experiencing is totally gone, but I'm still struggling with daily headaches, so my OB wants me to follow-up with my regular doctor. I'm also starting to develop heartburn, fatigue, swollen feet, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with pregnancy, but I know it'll all be over before I know it. My doctor gave me the paperwork to pre-register for the hospital and it made me a little nervous to think that the end of this pregnancy is coming up so quickly!
I had my first good run of contractions this week. They were coming every 3-5 minutes for a little over an hour. I had the same thing with Sophia, so this time I know the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and the real deal. Even so, they're annoying and a little unnerving, so hopefully they'll be few and far between until this little girl is ready to arrive.
As I write this, it feels strange not to refer to this baby by her name, but I was holding off on making the official announcement until we could agree on the spelling. We did finally come to an agreement and.........Allyson Ellory is the newest addition to our family! We have already begun calling her Ally, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy to hear Sophia talk about "Bamy As-syn."

Movie Star

Lately one of Sophia's favorite pasttimes has been watching videos of herself, so in an attempt to divert a tantrum, I shot this short video yesterday. It actually turned out pretty cute and is a typical depiction of daily life with a 2 year old.

We've watched this video together at least 20 times since I shot it, and now Sophia likes to reenact the video while watching it. I'll have to get that on film next time!

Tot Chef

Sophia has been really interested in helping me cook lately, but the first time I agreed to it, I was cooking pancakes and she ended up burning her finger pretty badly on the pan. Since then, I've been trying to think of more kid friendly recipes that she could help with. My first thought was baking cookies, but she ran out of the kitchen in terror when I turned on the hand mixer, screaming "Oh my gosh! I scare me!" After I coaxed her back to help me, she ended up being more interested in eating the cookie dough rather than actually baking the cookies (I can't say I blame her!).

Tonight I thought I'd give it another try, so I bought the ingredients for personal pizzas. Sophia was really excited at the opportunity to cook again, so she immediately pulled up a chair. She did a great job putting the sauce and cheese on the pizzas.

She wasn't excited about putting olives on her pizza, but she kindly put some on my pizza.

Once the pizzas were ready to put in the oven, she watched them cook with total fascination.

The finished product actually turned out really good and we both ate a good portion of our pizzas. (Notice the Sophia-sized bite already taken out of hers!)

Our pizza night was such a great success, I'm thinking about making it a weekly tradition, although I may have to reconsider once I have some baby weight to lose!

Easter Pics

I know, I know.....these are really late, but as every good procrastinator knows, they're better late than never!

Painting Easter Eggs

Sophia's first Easter basket

Hangin' with Aunt "Tee-cee"

Showing off her Easter outfit

On the hunt for Easter eggs