Bambina 2

I'm a little behind on this but here are a few pictures from our 20 week ultra sound with Bambina #2:

Profile:

4D picture, arm under her chin. Sweet little face looks like cupcake did!


Since she's barely been mentioned here's a post dedicated to her. I thought I'd focus on the questions I'm most commonly asked:

1. What will you name Bambina #2?
We won't....until we see her. With Cupcake we had a few names that topped our list. Since she was early we had not narrowed the list down. When we saw her we realized our top favorites were not a "fit" for her. So we spent the next two days in the hospital admiring her and praying for the perfect name. We're very happy with our choice. After that, I was pretty sure I'd never name a baby again without seeing him/her first. So, you'll just have to wait.

2. Will her name have a "kuh" sound to start off?
I know that some of you know that I come from a family of "kuh" names and with the exception of my nephew Pac-man so far everyone has a "kuh" name too. But we're not set on it for this one. She may have a "kuh" name....she may not. Refer to #1

3. Will you have a 3rd to try for a boy?
First, never ask me when I pregnant. It's hard to imagine at this point. Second, we will pray about a 3rd child...and while I "think" I would want a boy, I KNOW the Lord knows what is best. So, really it will be about whether we want three children rather than trying for a boy....

4. Will you put Cupcake in Mother's Day out?
Whew! What a touchy parenting subject. Geez! I never thought I could get so many raised eyebrows. My answer is no. These are my opinions: Cupcake is still so young. While I am in the very physical, tiring, training, years of parenting and a "break" sounds nice some days, I also know I will spend the rest of my life remembering when I had sweet toddlers around my ankles who love me (and the hubs), choose me (and the hubs), and would rather be with me (and the hubs) than anyone else. These children have been gifted to me by the Lord and these early years are HIGHLY crucial in fertilizing the soil that I will plant seeds of faith in for the remainder of their upbringing. I am highly protective of ANYONE who will have time with my children in these early years because any gardener could tell you that good soil takes lots of work. While I'm not judging anyone who thinks they need a break or that socialization for their child can only be had in regular Mom's Day out programs, I might just start raising my eyebrows at you for good measure. Then you can see how it feels. Actually I won't....it just sounded good for a minute.

5. Will you cloth diaper #2?
Really? I'm always surprised when someone asks me this question. Of course we plan to. I guess I can't give an absolute yes because I try not to hold anything too tightly. But it would have to be some crazy unimaginable situation to dive into the world of disposables. I might gag just thinking about it.

6. Will you nurse #2 like you did Cupcake?
Hmmm...what does that mean? This one isn't Cupcake so doing it "like Cupcake" is unfair to #2. She may have her own preferences. I wonder if people mean will I nurse? I plan to. Similar to my cloth diaper response. Or do people mean will I nurse for as long as I did Cupcake? Again, #2 is different. I have no regrets with Cupcake. Nursing her was a lovely experience. We'll see how it goes with #2. If I had my way I will nurse and will do it for as long as she wants.

I think those are the top/most frequent questions I get asked. If you have a burning one....shoot. You may be inclined to raise your eyebrows at my response but you are free to ask. In the meantime #2 is a major kicker and we are busy getting all ready for her arrival. More on those fun projects soon enough!

Frog - EEP!

My cupcake is curious! She also loves animals, insects, and amphibians too. The last two have been a stretch for me. BUT I don't want to squash her learning or her interest in the world around her. So most days I try really hard to be ok or scream a little less when we cross paths with bugs. Snakes - I'm not making any promises.

Last week Cupcake had a friend over to play in the backyard for the morning. We had the splash pad sprinkling, pinwheels blowing in the wind, the beach ball bouncing around, and I was even blowing a steady stream of bubbles for them to pop, chase, and watch drift off into the sunny sky. It was a perfect albeit hot summer day. Then Cupcake saw it. She started focusing on the ground and taking small steps. I said my normal "Please God, don't let it be anything that bites, attacks, or stings." Then I went closer to see what she had discovered. It was a frog....a tiny, baby, no bigger than a dime, frog. We all stood over it and watched it's tiny little jumps. Cupcake looked at me with the biggest sweetest eyes and said "Mommy! Please get it!" My heart sank feeling the weight of the moment. So I took a deep breath, reached down, and picked it up. I was screaming inside but also melting as I saw the look of pride in Cupcake's eyes. She looked closer, watched me hold him, giggled, clapped, and then she even brought me a little bucket to put him in. We had to take pictures. I was only sad that I couldn't hand my camera to a 2 year old and ask her to take picture proof that Mommy was holding a frog. We even let the frog swim in the splash pad which was abosolutely thrilling for cupcake. When it was all over I, of course, made everyone wash err SCRUB hands. In the midst of soaping up to our elbows Cupcake threw her soaps arms around me and said "thanks playing with frog, Mommy." It's moments like those that make me a little warmer to our amphibian friends. It's pictures like these that will hopefully help me remember these moments for years to come:

2 year tidbit

The CDC reports that 80% or more of children between ages 18 months and 5 years are behind on vaccinations. Who are these parents?

Oh yeah. That would be me.

I was miserable morning (all day)sick around Cupcake's 2 year birthday. Then we had lots of travel, we all were sick for a week, then summer came and I didn't want to ruin any summer day with shots. And finally, I decided no more excuses. It was time to go for our two year check up. So, at 2 years and 4 months our peanut finally is all caught up on shots and well checks. She's still 50% head, 50% height but we moved up in weight. With an extra 4 months to put on some pounds we are now up to the 7th% in weight. I'm not complaining! I love that I can still manage to carry around my 2 yr old as much as she likes.

This was the hardest well check for me yet. We told Cupcake she was going to see the Dr. and she was soooo excited. She loves our Dr. I hated knowing what was coming. When we got there she was so excited to be in the waiting room and kept asking "How long until Dr. comes?" Finally the Dr. came and the two of them had their own conversation. It went something like this:
Dr.: Hi!!! How are you big girl?
Cupcake: Good.
Dr.: You have such pretty hair and it's getting so long.
Cupcake: Thank you.
Dr. What have you been doing this summer?
Cupcake: Playing with lots of toys.

I know....this conversation seems basic. But she was doing it all on her own without looking at us or expecting us to "prompt" her. It was just an everyday conversation to her. I was proud.

When it came time for shots, we requested our favorite nurse and then explained to Cupcake that she was going to get two boo-boos. One on each leg but those boo-boos would only hurt for a minute and would keep her healthy. She nodded, processed, and then whimpered a little. Daddy reassured her it would be fast. The nurse came in...Daddy held her down (he ALWAYS does this because Mommy is a wimp and can't bear to watch). It was fast, the nurse put sparkly band-aids on and was gone. Crying ensued and I rocked her in my arms until she was ready to go out and pick stickers. Whew. I'll never like the tears from shots though I do believe vaccinating is a good decision.

After the appointment we told Cupcake we'd all go to lunch together and get a burger. She wanted to go to the "sand one" which is one of the local places that has a small sand box on their breezy patio. It's one of our favorites (local, serve "real" antibiotic free meat and local produce, type places) and who can tell a precious cupcake with elephant tears on her cheeks and band-aids on both legs "no?"

Cupcake got to play in the sand. We all had a yummy lunch. And then....as a first ever treat, we decided to share a chocolate milkshake. We gave Cupcake her first sip and her eyes got wide and she said very slowly "WHAT IS THIS?!?!" I told her it was a milkshake. She took another sip and said "Mmmmm Milkshake" and another "Mmmmm Milkshake" and then handing it off to share a sip, said "I like Milkshake!" We told her it was a special treat for being brave during her shots and confident with the Doctor. She nodded and enjoyed a few more sips. I think....actually I'm pretty sure that sharing a chocolate milkshake made the shots a little more bearable! (Just don't tell her she won't have shots again until she's 4!)

Precious cupcake and her first ever milkshake:

Mom to the rescue!!!

I love summers for lots of reasons. But new to the list of why I love summers over the past few years is that my Mom generously gives up a week of her summer vacation each year to come help. They are shoes only my Mom can fill and I'm certain that because we don't have family living in town, it's a week I'll never take for granted.

In 2008 it looked like a week of Mom cooking food, freezing food, cleaning our house, and cutting watermelon after watermelon while I puked the days away. I was pregnant and so so sick. All I could keep down was watermelon, hence the never-ending watermelon cutting job. The hubs wasn't getting to eat much because not only was I too sick to eat I would throw up with the scent of so many foods. So the cooking and freezing was to make sure he didn't starve either. It was a GLORIOUS week of help.

In 2009 it was a mostly fun week of playing together with Cupcake and having an extra set of hands around to wash diapers, make or clean up dinners, and watch girly movies. My Mom's college roommate came to town the same week so we got a visit in with her and the Hubs' mom came for a visit that weekend so we got to have two Grandma's together too. I was thrilled to have my Mom's companionship that week as I was still in the super tired, didn't leave the house much stage.

In 2010 I spent the week unboxing. After being in the house for just a few short months we still had endless piles of boxes and with a very curious new walker around, unpacking wasn't happening. Somehow it's 2011 and I still have a few boxes. Eep. BUT, the week of Mom 2010 was the biggest unboxing dent of them all.

Now....Week of Mom 2011? Well, it was strangely a combination of all previous Week of Moms. I'm still "recovering" in some ways from the hurricane that came through. My sweet Mom literally worked around the clock! She painted the new baby room, took uncountable layers off some chairs I got at a garage sale for the girls, took off all the layers and sanded down beautifully Cupcake's dresser (that was the Hubs' at one point). And in all the in between time managed Cupcake with multiple pool trips, playing kitchen, reading books, painting, snacking, and rarely resting! I could have gotten tired just watching her. But there was no time for watching her or taking my normal naptime pregnant naps. I cleaned out the Hub's and I closet, completely emptied, cleaned, and organized our pantry, cleaned out all the baby clothes from Cupcake's closet and moved them to the new baby's closet, and I cooked dinner each night without having to worry about entertaining a 2 yr old or keeping her from getting cut or burned in the process. I forgot how much I LOVE to cook! If that wasn't enough....we finally got a portion of our attic finished out so that we can actually store stuff properly up there so Dad and the Hubs loaded an un-named amount of boxes up to the new attic. They also hung a shade on our back porch. (Of course they worked a full week too). Sooooo, in one week, while pregnant, Week of Mom was like an extreme home clean out. Whew. Like I said I am still recovering. But it was WONDERFUL!!!

We're still finishing the furniture so I'll have to post some more pictures of them once they are done but here's a peak at a few of the projects. (Sorry for the gross blue tint coming off the tarps. We were in project mode...not perfect picture taking mode).

The dresser:

The drawers:

The chairs:
I know I'm not the only one who sooooo appreciates my Mom. In fact, it's humbling to be along side some other old friends, who like me appreciate their Mom to no end. I can clearly remember the days when we all wanted to desperately to get to college, away from our Moms, and be independent. I know we're all thankful that while our emotional pendulum has swung over the years, our Moms have stayed there, by our side, taking our love, our frustration, and our needs in stride and returning love and grace each step of the way. It is what makes a Mother-Daughter relationship so dear. Now while I get to be a Mom to a daughter (almost 2) I'm so thankful to still have MY mom standing there taking each step in stride and giving me love, grace, AND a week of her summers. She's irreplaceable and I'm so happy to have a daughter of my own that I can offer the same support to for many years, decades, and really....my whole life to come.

Thanks for a great week, Gigi. We all miss you.

Cow Day 2011

We did it again!

After recently watching Food Inc. I wasn't sure I could manage Cow Day this year. But ultimately I decided that if we rarely indulge in Fast "food" than it wouldn't hurt every now and again. AND if I don't pay for it...even better. I know, Michael Pollen just rolled his eyes at me.

This year was especially fun because with Gigi in town that meant we had 3 generations of Cows to attend. The 4 of us girls (look closely you can see the fourth hidden in my costume) had a lovely free lunch and apparently when you are pregnant and wear a full cow costume in 100+ weather you are even worthy of free ice cream because I got some!

Cupcake was absolutely petrified of the cow this year. This meant I was holding or snuggling my little calf for most of lunch until the big cow took her lunch break. I have to be honest, I'll be a little sad when we grow out of the scared-of-mascot stage. I like the snuggles.


Did you get your free Chic-fil-a?!?!

America's Sweetie

SHAME ON ME!!! I didn't get a single 4th of July picture with Papa before he left to return to Houston. We went to a neighborhood parade in the morning and then had an All-American LOCAL lunch of Yak Burgers, Coleslaw, and watermelon. Everything came from our Farmer's Market....can't get more American than that!

After Cupcake's nap we went out on our newly shaded (thanks to Papa and the Hubs hanging a shade) porch for some treats. Since the drought is still a HUGE concern here all fireworks shows were canceled. I wanted to end the day with something festive. So, remember my Zoku post here? I got a little more adventurous in honor of our Independent Day:


The strawberry lime flavored treats were a HUGE hit with a certain cupcake! And I didn't mind her chowing down because I knew exactly what was in them and lets just say "healthy" plus a tad of sugar.
We stayed on the porch until we couldn't stand the heat any longer. That was about 15 minutes later. Eep! It is hot and without fireworks to lure us out, we spent the rest of the day inside. It felt a little strange to not see the rockets red glare...or be kept awake until all hours of the night with neighbors who keep the party going well past our bedtime.

Cupcake with Gigi who gave her the precious outfit! (Thanks Gigi and Papa!)

Our Annual Family Shot:Check out last year's here. WOW! Someone or really two someone's have grown. One has grown up and one has a belly.

We're into July now which means 3rd trimester, a big ole belly, crazy hot heat, still no rain, and well the usual Crack Team Adventures. Happy 4th of July 2011 style!

Happy 4th of July!

I have lots of posts for the past week. It has seriously been a FULL week. Here are a view hints of what's to come:

Cinco, Sparkles, Americana, Productivity, and more....

But first, I need a night to just lay on the couch and I'm not even the one who did the bulk of the work. But I do have a little kicker inside.

To tie you over, here's a little 4th of July spirit from our favorite Cupcake: