1 Month

Where has the time gone?? I can't believe lil Ally Elle is already a month old! On our home scale she weighs 8.6 pounds, and so far, she hasn't lost any of that long mop of hair. She's starting to look more and more like her big sister (and Daddy) with biiiig eyes. And yes, they're still blue, but they're a dark steely blue, so they could still change.

Allyson is definitely starting to develop a personality. She is a total mama's girl and snuggle bug, which I love, although it's hard to get much done with her constantly in my arms. She's been sleeping 4-5 hour stretches at night since we brought her home from the hospital and my fingers are crossed that she continues to be such a great sleeper. She's started smiling this week, but we usually have to make complete fools of ourselves to get grin out of her. She's let out few coos as well, which is sooo cute!

Sophia is still totally enthralled with "Bamy Assyn," which thrills me, but it's been hard to teach her how to contain her excitement and be gentle. She always wants to hug Allyson, but it looks more like she's trying to smother the poor thing! When Allyson cries, she tries to soothe her by saying "It's OK bamy gull," or if she's crying because of a diaper change or bath, she'll say "Mommy, Bamy Assyn says no."

I'm hoping time will slow down a little so I can make sure to enjoy every moment of having this tiny little blessing to love on, but I have a feeling it's only going to by faster and faster.

Our Little Angel

We decided to start Sophia in preschool this year, and after alot of research, we found a great program at a nearby Lutheran church. Sophia is one of 7 kids in the "Angels" class. We met the teacher and saw the classroom last week, and as usual, Sophia was glued to my leg. After a few minutes, she discovered the play kitchen, and then the computer, and then the puzzles, and at that point I had to drag her out of the classroom! So by the time the first day of school finally arrived, Sophia was very excited, which is pretty obvious from the pictures we snapped.

And here's a short video of us in the car picking her up.

The teacher said that Sophie did great and even said a few words. I was nervous about her having a potty training accident because she's definitely regressed since Ally arrived, but she made it through the first day dry. And after dropping her off, I successfully made it back to the car before I let the tears fall, so it turned out to be a wonderful first day of school!

National Night Out

Every year our neighborhood participates in National Night Out, which is an event to encourage neighborhood solidarity and prevent crime. Sponsers provide free hot dogs and ice cream, and the organizers put together activities for the kids. Ally was a week old, so we thought it'd be a great "coming out" party for her. We got her all dressed up, but she ended up sleeping through the whole thing! Sophia wasn't too sure what to think about Smokey The Bear. When she saw him, her first response was "Uh.....Mommy, that bear is wearing a belt!"

Like most kids, Sophia loves firetrucks, so she was thrilled to get the chance to see a firetruck up close.

She even got to climb inside! She was shy and didn't say a word when she was in the truck, but she has talked about being in a firetruck every day since then.

Sophia and her buddies had a great time climbing on the firetruck.

We are so fortunate to live in such a tight knit community. Next we need to have an event to kick the skunks out the neighborhood!

Ally's First Condo Trip

Well, our daughter is quickly coming up on 2 weeks old, we figure she was a bit overdue for a trip to our condo in the Lake Tahoe area. What a success! She slept well, ate well, and enjoyed the great outdoors!

Of course, Sophia had a great time too! Here she is on a mountain bike ride with Daddy:

With so many trails nearby, Daddy wasn't sure which way to go. Sophia used some of her Dora the Explorer map-reading skills to help us find our way again!!

She also enjoyed getting off the bike and hiking a bit. It's hard to go far, though, with all the sticks, rocks, and dirt to play in!!

We had such a great time, and Ally really enjoyed her first family hike. Can't wait to go back!

I leave for 20 minutes....

...and come home to find my 2 year old saying this:



I have a feeling the next time I leave Sophia alone with Daddy she'll be asking for a jet ski!

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.