Shutterfly Photo Book

I had mentioned I was working on creating a photo book with pictures from our summer zoo trips. A couple of years ago I had made a similar one for my sister and I had recently gotten a couple of free photo book codes that expire before Aspen arrives so I decided I wanted to use them and a zoo book sounded like a great idea. I made the book so it would be something both my sister and I could enjoy and that way I could just order two of the exact same book. It ended up costing me $13 to have both books shipped, but that's it. I think that $13 for two awesome photo books is a pretty great deal, especially when this is really the only way we print pictures anymore. I can't wait till I get that orange package in the mail! Here is the book:

Click here to view this photo book larger



Nursery Updates...and nesting!

This past weekend we made a little progress in the nursery and a lot of progress in the baby preparations. As far as the nursery, Justin hung up the book shelves that we painted. I think they look great and we actually really needed a place for books in the nursery so they are very functional as well. Also, since they are spice racks from Ikea that we painted with leftover paint from the dresser...they were cheap too! We filled them with board books because we all know babies like to rip paper.

 

 

My sister and I also got started on a tassel garland that we are going to hang on the wall behind the crib. It is going to be time consuming but we got some trial and error testing out of the way so hopefully it doesn't take too much longer. Working with tissue paper is always a joy!

 

 

As far as nesting goes I got a couple more loads of laundry done. We got the diaper bag packed as well, but more importantly we got a lot of dishes done. Justin reorganized some of our kitchen cabinets to make room for baby bibs, baby bottles, and pumping supplies while I cleaned all of those items. I also found two boxes of milk freezing bags in one of the boxes with bottle stuff so that was exciting. We boiled some bottle nipples and pacifiers and just got really organized. When getting my pump out and ready I noticed that the one of the tubes had a crack and apparently I had just dealt with it by putting a piece of scotch tape over it. I decided I should probably look into getting new tubes and when I did I discovered that Medela will send you new tubes free! They had awesome customer service and the tubes are already in the mail on their way. They also recommended I replace some other parts and others were kind of gross so I am going to pick up a few things for that in the next couple of weeks. Next up we need to get our own bags packed for the hospital, as well as a bag for Everly who will stay with my mom/sister while we are at the hospital.



Mall Trip

One of the things we love to do on weekend mornings in the summer is go to the mall. It always cracks me up when we get there early and no stores are open but there are plenty of people there. Apparently it is common for people (generally elderly) to get there exercise in by walking laps around the mall. I get it, I guess. It's air-conditioned and that is the same reason we are there instead of outside at a playground. Anyways, Justin had an appointment at the apple store that morning so it was perfect. My sister was working but my mom met us with the boys and they all had a lot of fun. This 5 or 6 year old boy came up to Everly and asked her if she wanted to play tag. She got shy and didn't say anything but it only took a couple of minutes before she was giggling and chasing him. It was so cute. Cameron had a blast as well and was a little giggle monster. The play area is right next to the Disney Store so we obviously went in there after. We often don't buy anything in there but Everly loves it and calls it the princess store. We walked around the mall a little more and took a ride on the little carousel before visiting the puppies and heading out. Everly almost passed out before lunch so I guess she had fun! I know Teddy fell asleep on the way home!

 

Also, can we talk about these boys in baby blue...

 

Pregnancy Update: 36 Weeks

Trying to get in lots of protein!

How far along? 36 weeks

How big is baby? The size of a large cantaloupe

Total weight gain/loss:  still gaining...

Maternity clothes? Yep. Can't wait to wear normal clothes again.

Sleep: Mostly good. Some weird dreams still and the peeing but not too bad. Thankfully we have a fairly low-profile bed. I can't imagine trying to roll out of a big bed at this stage.

Best moment this week: Everly has been hilarious this week. She is telling all kinds of crazy stories and rambling and just really entertaining us.

Movement: Still a lot of movement but I think it is getting tighter in their for her. The movements are less disruptive than they have been.

Food cravings:  I think they are calming down a little actually.

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything, obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  I think I might be starting to waddle :(

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss:  Lately I have been really missing running as I stopped at 33 weeks due to it being too uncomfortable for me. My SIL is training for a half and I wish I could train with her!

What I am looking forward to: this week I realized I am looking forward to not driving in traffic in the morning. Schools started back up this week in AZ and so did the traffic!

Upcoming appointments/events:  4 more scheduled weekly appointments. Anything after that will be past my due date.

Milestones: I am definitely nesting. This week we worked on projects for the nursery, I contacted my friend about newborn pictures, called the hospital to make sure our forms were received, started working on a birth plan, finished a documentary about natural childbirth, and picked out a gift for Aspen to give to Everly. Still a lot to do but the fact that we are getting stuff done is good.

Toddler Talk

Everly was having quite the chatty night earlier this week. It is so funny to see her get so worked up when she is rambling. Luckily I was able to catch some on video:

 

I have no idea what prompted that and although I am laughing at it, I did talk to her after and tell her that killing is not nice.

 

After bath time, there was this:

 

 

 

Initially we had no idea where this came from but later found out that Everly's babysitter's daughter read her a book about a pigsty and we are guessing that was what prompted this. It is funny though because she didn't even think Everly was listening while she read it and it was the week before this rant happened. What she picks up and how her little brain works is so funny. Love this stage! 

Nursery Updates... and toddler room too!

This past weekend Justin finished sanding/painting the other bunk bed for Everly's room. Shortly after putting them up in her room, we headed to our favorite mattress store (R&S Mattress) to get Everly a new mattress. When my Dad gave me the beds they still had the same mattresses that my sister and I slept in when we were younger. Although the mattresses actually looked in pretty good condition, we wanted to get a new one for Everly to sleep on and we knew a twin would be relatively cheap. It was funny because she was acting tired and the whole trip took maybe 20 minutes, but she couldn't make it out of the store before falling asleep. The picture below looks like the mattress is smashing her head but she had her head like that before we even put the mattress in the car and she didn't wake up when Justin put it in. The bunk beds are put together in her room, but we will only allow her to be on the top bunk when we are in there with her. For now, the ladder will be tucked away in the closet. Also, we haven't picked out sheets yet so she is still dealing with some crappy purple ones (which she actually loves). I am so glad we were able to get these beds. It was so much more affordable than buying a new bed and I love that she has something handed down. Also, she has a big room and this really fills it up a little more.

 



 

 

She kept saying, "I love it!"



 

On Saturday I also went to Ikea and picked up a few things for the nursery. We got this kitchen cart to put next to the changing table to store diapers and wipes and things. I have been wanting one of these forever and I love it. I also got 4 of these spice racks. We painted them coral last night and are going to hang them and use them as little bookshelves. I got this rug because it was so dang cheap and also a couple of gold picture frames. I wanted curtains, but they discontinued what I was looking for so I will probably find some at target. The room is still messy, but it is coming together! Better late than never right...



I realized after we put the cart in here that I had absolutely zero newborn diapers, so I went to Target and bought a small package...just incase.

Super easy and cheap project. The shelves are $5 each!

Everly "helping"

A cute print for the nursery.

 

Zoo Day

We had a very busy weekend with a lot of productivity involved! On Saturday morning, we started off with the zoo. I plan on making a photo book of all of our zoo trips soon so I actually took like 150 pictures this day but I will only share a few from my phone so this doesn't drag on forever. On Friday night it rained pretty hard which meant it was overcast while we were at the zoo the next morning. My youngest sister also came to help us out because Justin was working that day. We got there at 6:30 a.m. and stayed until about 9:30 a.m. It may sound crazy, but getting out early is our way of still enjoying the outdoors in the AZ summers. I figure it is better than snowy winters because at least we can avoid some heat early in the morning whereas in snowstorms in the eastern states...there is no avoiding it. The kids had fun and we got to do some things that we don't always make it to including the kids farm area. It has a playground and a petting zoo. The boys got to meet Pedro the donkey and Teddy even kissed him. We also got to see the bears playing with a tethered ball that had snacks inside it. They sure are smart animals. Hopefully we can fit in one more trip before baby Aspen arrives

Two seconds later...Teddy tried to do the same thing.

Rhino!

Such a charmer!

Cousins!

Pedro

The playground got some new ride-on toys!

Love how much she gets excited.

Reminding us that she is a toddler.

bears!

If you have ever been to the Phoenix Zoo more than once, then you know that this wolf is always laying in the exact same spot.

Cheese!

Belly Video: 35 Weeks

I feel like every time I try to show someone how crazy Aspen moves sometimes, she totally stops. I have also tried to take video of it several times and when I do...she stops. Yesterday I was able to catch a little clip, though. I guess it is starting to get a little tight in there for her...

 



Toddler Talk

 

I am horrible about documenting all of the hilarious things that Everly says but I did manage to write a couple down this week. They are both money related, which should not be a surprise considering Justin is a banker and I work in an accounting office.

Everly to us: I need to go shopping.
Me: You need to go shopping?
Everly: Yea.
Me: What do you need to buy?
Everly: Monies.
Justin: Can you get me some? 


Everly: Can I have $50 dollars?
Me: For what?
Everly: 20 minutes.

Also, the picture at the top is from when I gave Everly her taco salad for dinner this week and she looked at me and asked, "Where is the guacamole?" Girl knows what she wants, I guess.

Weekend in Review

 

 

Justin had this past weekend off (it usually is every other weekend although he never works on Sundays) and it is always nice to have him home. We didn't have any big plans and it was a pretty nice weekend. On Saturday morning Justin went for a run before I went to the gym and then when I got back we all had eggs and toast for breakfast. It is so funny because all 3 of us eat our eggs differently. Everly has one egg scrambled with toast and jelly, I have two scrambled but I mix in tomato, bell pepper, and onion and top with a little cheese and tobasco and Justin had some kind of fried concoction on top of toast with cheese and hot sauce. We don't get to sit down together and eat breakfast during the week so it was nice to on Saturday. Later we went to lunch downtown to celebrate a friend's birthday. Everly is just at a really fun age and she constantly cracks us up. When we took the picture above at lunch she said we were squishing her, haha. On Saturday night I went to mass by myself because Everly was still napping and to be honest it was kind of nice. Sometimes it is hard to listen and focus during mass with a toddler and then I feel guilty after because I am Catholic. After church my sister and the boys came over for a night swim with lots of jumping in. Those kids are crazy. Saturday night we got a CRAZY monsoon storm that woke us up and my sister even lost power for a little. There was so much thunder and lightening!
 

 

Sunday morning we all slept in a little longer than normal. Also, I guess I must be nesting because we got a lot of cleaning/re-organizing done that day. We have a pretty large 2-car garage (at least compared to our last one) and we weren't fully utilizing it. It also kind of became a dumping ground during the move. Now it looks awesome and there is more room to get in and out of the car which will be extra nice once I have to carry a baby in a car seat in and out of the car. No real updates on the nursery, but in cleaning out the garage we moved more baby stuff upstairs and did set up the bassinet/mini pack'n'play next to my side of the bed in our room. Our new room is so much bigger which makes it a lot easier to have that in there and not be cramped. Saturday night we had a nice dinner at my sister's and played Cards Against Humanity for the first time. Oh man! That game is funny, and thankfully we did not invite my mom to play.



Pregnancy Update: 34 Weeks

 

How far along? 34 weeks

How big is baby? The size of a pineapple!

Total weight gain/loss:  A lot. I have come to accept that I am just one of those people that gains a lot of weight during pregnancy. I am not perfect, but I am healthy, and active, and it does no good for anyone to obsess about the scale.

Maternity clothes? Yes, but a lot of non-maternity too in larger sizes that I had from before. Lots of dresses. At this point my favorite are my old navy maternity tanks. I can wear them to work with a cardigan and I can also workout with them and not worry about my belly peaking out.

Sleep: Mostly good. Cat is still a jerk and he actually bit my toe this week.

Best moment this week: I finally nailed down my decisions and ordered the bedding for Aspen's nursery. Also, Everly moved out of the toddler-converted crib and into her own twin size bed...so I feel I must include this song...haha.




Movement: Lots. Nothing painful, but usually pretty uncomfortable unless I am laying down on my side.

Food cravings:  The usual carbs, but I guess I should also include fish tacos. We have added those to our rotation of weeknight meals and I have been enjoying it.

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything, obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Nothing new at this point...and my skin has still not gotten remotely close to what it was with Everly so that is a bonus!

Belly Button in or out? In. I don't think mine will ever go out.

What I miss:  same stuff still: beer, fitting comfortably into clothes, being able to exercise at the same level/intensity as before I was pregnant, playing soccer and beer...again.

What I am looking forward to: maternity leave. I know it is not going to be a walk in the park but I have not taken time off basically this whole pregnancy to save up for my leave so yea, I am looking forward to 3 months away from the office. I am lucky that I like my job, but still 3 months at home will be nice.

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment next Tuesday and then every week after that through September 3rd for now (due Sept. 5th).

Milestones: Still wearing my wedding rings and no noticeable swelling. Although, I am not too worried for once I do start swelling a little more because I am reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and it mentioned that a slight amount of water retention is actually beneficial.