Summertime....And The Livin's Easy

We've had such a great summer so far. I love the summer weather and we've been fairly lucky this year with only a handfull of days over 100 degrees. That has translated into lots of time spent enjoying the outdoors.
One of the highlights of our summer so far was spending a day with the Shaws on their houseboat. Sophia was a natural at driving the boat and had fun hanging out with Shannon and Ian.

After the trip, Sophia kept saying "Daddy and Sophie need a boat Mommy." Hmmmm....can't imagine who gave her that idea!

We live within 2 miles of the Sacramento and American rivers, so we've also spent several afternoons lounging on the river shores. A favorite father-daughter activity is to take a bike ride to the beach. Sophia loves playing in the sand and looking for sea lions (they actually make their way up to Sacramento all the time and are easy to spot most days.) My favorite river side activity this summer has been digging a hole in the sand for my belly and laying on my stomach. It's funny how you don't think twice about something like that until you have to go 9 months without it.

We've visited the local sprayground a couple times, but Sophia is a little more timid this year than she was last year.

We've also spent countless afternoons hanging out in the neighborhood. The Hannah-Bird pool is the favorite hangout and Sophia always has fun swimming with her BFF's.

And of course we've racked up many hours playing in our own backyard.

Our summer activites may change pretty dramatically once Allyson arrives, but I'm sure we'll still have a great summer together as a family of four. And I'll finally be able to enjoy a cold beer ~ woohoo!!

9 1/2 Months

Since I'm in the final stretch now, I have actually had 2 appointments since my last pregnancy post. Last week my OB called in sick so I saw the nurse practitioner. My weight and blood pressure were great and my group B strep was negative. The room I was in had an u/s machine, so the NP decided to sneak a peek just because. Baby looked great, was head down, and had lots of fluid. And once again, she had her hand folded up over her eye and was sucking on her arm, just like her big sis! The NP thought my cervix was still high and closed, but soft and 70% effaced. My belly was measuring right on track too, so she predicted I'll have another 7ish pound baby right around my due date.

I had my 38 week appt on Wednesday, and again my blood pressure and weight were great. My doctor said I felt 30% effaced and fingertip dilated, so I'm not sure if there's really been any progress. I was glad I had an appt because the day before I started having a lot of itching. My hands were itching enough that it was waking me up. Itching can be another common complaint of pregnancy, but it can also be a sign of cholestasis, which is a liver/gallbladder condition that can develop in late pregnancy. My doctor didn't think I needed blood work at this point, but she said if the itching wasn't better by my appt next week, we'd talk about an induction.

The itching has been coming and going, and I'm actually hoping it continues because I've officially hit the "I'm-so-sick-of-being-pregnant" point. And on top of feeling miserably pregnant, I've come down with a cold, which is so unfair.

We're all ready for Allyson to arrive now: the bags are packed, the diapers are out, and all the baby gear is set up, so hopefully the wait won't be too much longer.

Fourth of July

As usual, we had another fun packed Fourth of July this year. Sophie and I actually started the festivities the day before by picking blackberries and making a homemade blackberry pie. Yum! After we washed our blackberry-stained fingers, we painted our nails red and blue. This was a huge treat for Sophia, and she proudly showed off her fancy nails to anyone and everyone!

The next morning we got ready for the neighborhood kids parade. Sophia looked adorable in her red, white and blue dress, which she now calls her "Tinkerbell dress." I'm not sure why she calls it this, but comparing something to Tinkerbell is the highest compliment in her book! She was fascinated by her bejeweled tattoos, as were all the other girls in the neighborhood (yay for Target dollar bins!).

She proudly waved the flag she made at KidsPark the day before.

After getting a sufficient sugar high from doughnuts and orange juice, we marched proudly around the neighborhood with all the other kiddos. It was so much fun that Sophia cried when it was time to go home!

After the parade, we met the Clavennas and Samuel-Burnetts for brunch. Sophia's blood sugar was apparently dropping rapidly, so she wasn't at her best, but it was great to catch up with friends.

After brunch, we went home and all took some much needed naps. We then moved the celebration poolside to Gary and Suzanne's annual barbecue. After swimming and stuffing ourselves with chips, chicken wings and sausage, the Samuel-Burnetts joined us again for the fireworks.

Sophia has never seen fireworks, so we weren't sure if she'd like all the noise, but she LOVED them! She couldn't contain her excitement and was literally jumping out of her seat.

She and Teddy looked absolutely adorable sitting together.

We even caught Teddy trying to sneak in a kiss or two! So cute!

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

We have several great pictures we've taken lately that haven't made the blog yet, so I thought I post them all at once.

Bathing Beauty

Meeting 2 week old Anelia Werner

Playing with Mommy's hat

Muaaah!

Swinging on the Beach: Does life get much better than this??

On the Merry-go-round at the zoo: a close second to swinging on the beach!

Snuggling with Gramma on Mother's Day

Blissfully showing off her Oreo cookie goatee

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.