Hat Island Take 2

I think I'm still coming off of the "high" after returning from a wonderfully relaxing weekend on Hat Island with the Crozier Clan. I think this is becoming my 3rd trimester pregnancy tradition since the last time we went I was 35 weeks pregnant with Isla. Maybe it's because we're thrill seekers (had I gone into labor, the only way off the island in the case on an emergency is to have a helicopter land in the middle of the golf course and fly you back to the mainland.) Anyhow, I remember the last trip well because it was on a beach walk here when my hip first starting popping out of joint in preparation for "things to come" which totally freaked me out. This time around, I was pushing 32 weeks and my hip had already been popping out for many moons. It really is a great vacation spot for pregnant persons but I did tell my sister-in-law that I nominate her to be the pregnant one next time around. :)

Everything about the house we rent is awesome. I'm pretty sure it's the nicest on the island and oober modern. I actually sort of liked the modernity of it though (Graham's usually the one with the modern taste!) I told him that if he built me a house (almost) just like it, I could "handle" it. It'd be a great compromise of our tastes.

The open floor plan is amazing and the fact that pretty much the entire living space is solid windows or sliding glass doors. See, look at the view I had while doing dishes! Can't complain...

We more or less spent 3 full days lounging, eating, walking the island, crabbing or clamming, kayaking, sunbathing, napping and reading (I think everyone finished at least one book except for me who made it to page 264 of my LARGE PRINT version of "The Help." I sorta had a toddler to chase but I'd call that pretty good given my recent reading track record.) I assure you, Graham was wearing pants in this picture!

"Carry please!!!!" Isla still wasn't the biggest fan of sand underfoot...

John caught enough crab to eat it as the main course for TWO dinners--heaven!

Isla slept in the "Monkey Room" with all these stuffed monkeys that she spent much of the time doting on. She wanted ALL the animals in the chair, under the blanket just so and then she would rock them. If ever one fell to the floor (which happened about every 2.3 seconds), she would beg someone to fetch it.

We had GORGEOUS weather for the long weekend with the exception of Sunday which started off a little wet. With all the windows in the house, it didn't even feel gloomy (another reason I want Graham to build me one just like it).

Isla literally spent 1 1/2 hours one evening pouring water from one stacking cup to another. She was soaking wet and freezing by the end of it but refused to stop until someone cut up the watermelon...

We striped off her wet clothes and she went to town on that wedge of melon!

Graham and I even got to watch a sunset ALONE together one evening. Sigh. The glories of traveling with family! As always, I came away from the trip loving my family even more--we are truly blessed!

How I came to own a minivan

I honestly never thought the day would come. Ever. I refused to even consider the idea. I don't know what came over me (maybe let's blame pregnancy hormones?) but there is officially a sleek piece of metal in the shape of a minivan sitting in front of the house. WHAT?!

Man oh man did we try to fight the issue. We tried every argument known to man, trying to convince ourselves that a mid-size SUV with a 3rd row would suit our needs. But then we tried sitting in the 3rd row of many such vehicles only to deem them essentially useless as even I could not fit back there without my knees hitting the seat in front of me. And forget about trunk space! With the 3rd row of seats up, there basically wasn't any which defeats the whole purpose in my mind.

It isn't that we necessarily NEED a seven-seater "family car" at this juncture but we definitely needed a new car. I think we all know by now that I have had a love-hate relationship with our Jetta. It's so stinkin' cute, it's fun to drive (it's a manual!), and it has both a sunroof and CD player (formerly my two main criteria when vehicle shopping). But oh how I also hate that car. It guzzles gas, chugs through motor oil like nobody's business and costs no less than $1000 to repair any time something minor breaks. My little Civic has nearly double the miles on the Jetta but has only required routine oil and tire changes and one new battery in the seven years I've have it. I don't even want to think about how much $$$ we've poured into the Jetta in the short 3 1/2 years it's been in our family for little aches and pains.

My sister-in-law (who grew up in Germany!) says that Germans don't have kids which explains why their car designs are useless (in my opinion) to growing families. There is literally only one infant car seat on the market that will fit in that car and it really only fits in the back middle seat (otherwise the driver has to drive with his/her chest against the wheel). With our second on the way, we need to be able to fit two kiddos in back, hence our quest for a new car. We plan to take things as they come but have a strong suspicion that our family will not stop at 4 members so we hit the car market with that in mind, hoping to find something that will last us a good 10 years.

And that, my friends, is why my new ride has striking similarities to a small bus. I took it out for a spin today and, as much as I hate to admit it, it was really kind of fun. I never knew pure luxury could come in the form of a minivan but I'm telling you, my new set of wheels has heated leather seats, a sunroof AND CD player, a DVD player (or DBD player as Isla calls it), sensors that tell me when I'm about to hit something, back windows that ROLL down, built-in sunshades on all the back windows and, get this: the radio tells me what song is playing (Graham's gonna fall off his rocker when I'm finally able to successfully name the artist/song title when he quizzes me!)

In case you aren't convinced and plan to de-friend us to avoid associating with the minivan types, let me close with a little quote from Popular Mechanics: "From a practical standpoint, minivans have all other sorts of family transportation covered. The vans are roomier than any crossover, more economical to operate than a full-size SUV, and far more readily adaptable to cargos of people or things than station wagons,” says Popular Mechanics.  “If every vehicle purchase was a purely rational decision, just about all of us would be driving minivans.”

That's all! :)

Father's Day 2011

I'm so behind on my blog. But I wanted to make sure that I documented the fact that we have been managing to squeeze in some fun amidst the busyness the accompanies being less that NINE WEEKS from due date! Father's Day this year was low key and fun. Graham's dream was to grab some food from Whole Foods and spend a sunshiney afternoon at the beach reading magazines and having a picnic. Well, do any Seattlites remember Father's Day? It wasn't exactly sunny. So we quickly changed gears. Graham's other desire was to pretend we were in France just like Father's Day last year. I whipped up some sweet crepes the night before and packed a sack breakfast which we took to a new Kirkland coffee shop, Cafe Rococo. We ordered coffees from them but provided our own breakfast of nutella crepes with strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. We (okay just maybe just Graham) has no shame!

Isla and I did a little shopping earlier in the week and surprised Graham with a pair of his long-desired Toms Shoes. Funny story. So we've been married 4 + years now and is it horrible of me to admit that I DO NOT KNOW MY HUSBAND'S SHOE SIZE?? I tried for a while to casually get it out of him but could never get a straight answer. Now I know most of your are probably thinking "Duh, just go look at a pair of his shoes and see what size they are!" Well, I actually thought of that, but unfortunately, NO TWO PAIRS OF HIS SHOES ARE THE SAME SIZE!!!! I was completely baffled but then it all began to make sense why he wouldn't give me a straight answer. Well, for all who are wondering, we now know he wears a size 10 1/2. :)

After making a delicious lunch together of pork chops stuffed with ham and cheese with mushroom sauce and roasted cauliflower, we lounged around and enjoyed a day indoors. We watched our friends' son that night and invited Graham's family over for traditional Sunday night scones in honor of his dad.

I'd just like to say for the record, Graham is an amazing dad. I still can't get over how easily he transitioned into the new role and how wonderful he is with his daughter. I tell him all the time that he is just made to father girls. He knows just what they need. He is intentional about telling her that she is beautiful, he is extraordinarily creative in his play with her, he makes her laugh every day and he is very patient. Happy Father's Day to an awesome Dad! 

22 Months

Our daughter is a total crack up. Out of nowhere, she has started saying "Hi-ho!" in a sing-song voice seemingly at random. I have no idea where she got it and what brings her to say it but it is absolutely hilarious and makes me laugh every time, particularly when she does it loudly while riding in the cart through the grocery aisles...

Isla has begun to string together more and more words to make sentences now. The other day she told me "Isla walk aisle and drop petals" (in anticipation of her role as flower girl in Graham's cousin's wedding). This was a record long phrase but she is stringing three words together more frequently now to make sentences like "Shut the door" or "Isla do it." I love her large vocabulary and am constantly amazed at what comes out of her mouth. Sometimes it's like there's a little echo in the room. The other day I heard her say "Nice work" which totally cracked me up and last week when I asked her what she and Daddy did all day, she told me "hang out." There have also been a couple times when I've said "Oh man!" and then immediately she repeats it and then looks around for whatever man I might be referring to.

Which leads me to another thing. She calls any working male "man." It started with our landscapers. When they came to cut the grass (or throw WEED KILLER on my garden), she would run to the window exclaiming "Man! Man!" Now she just likes calling every unfamiliar worker guy "Man" such as our cashiers etc.

(Taken on our family date to the Woodland Park Zoo)

Isla has a very good memory. I've started telling her things like "When you wake up from your nap, we're going to go to the park" and, without fail, when I go to retrieve her after she sleeps, the first words out of her mouth are "Go park!"

I love that Isla can now communicate to me pretty much everything she wants/needs. She will often tell me "Mommy, come!" and then pat the ground next to her. She also often asks me "Mommy read Bible?" or tells me "Isla hungry." This talking thing makes life so much easier! However, there are a couple drawbacks. Last week, I was at work and she was having a day at home with Graham. Apparently it was a rather rough day and she cried for over an hour after she woke up asking for me. Finally Graham put her on the phone with me and through her tears she begged "Mommy, come!" which pretty much broke my heart.

I think we may be entering our first real phase of separation anxiety. Isla is a total mommy's girl and has just recently been refusing even Graham and asking for me only (poor guy!) The last couple weeks she has had a hard time in her class at church (as well as her class at my parent's church). Not sure what that's all about because usually she is begging to go to church and "push stroller" all week. I think maybe the doll stroller disappeared from her classroom and so she isn't finding it nearly as fun anymore.

Isla finally has her four bottom front teeth. She cut the 2nd bottom right tooth I think on June 16th. I don't know what has come over her but ever since, she has been taking GOOD naps and sleeps for 2+ hours each afternoon. It is divine for me and divine for her attitude. She has NEVER slept like this before in her life and I'm savoring it and spending lots of time glued to the sewing machine.

Isla's favorite activities include: going to the "cool" (pool), going to the park, reading, going outside, wrestling with Daddy, pillow fights, tickling (but she pronounces it "teek-cool") singing, going to "Papa's," pushing strollers and taking care of her babies/Ducky. Sometimes she'll go to the closet, grab her shoes and head for the door. When we ask her where she's going, her typical answer is "the park." We try to oblige her as often as we can but I think she could really live at the park and still not get enough of it.

She is going to be such an awesome big sister! She apparently knows how to put a diaper on her Ducky now which I just realized the other day. She can fasten the straps and everything. If we can just teach her to wipe thoroughly, we'll be set and put her to work! She plays a lot more independently now which allows me to get a bit more work done around the house.

Isla's favorite foods right now are Raisin Bran (which must be strictly rationed and not given on 2 consecutive days to avoid "issues"), applesauce WITH cinnamon (she'll ask for it if you forget to sprinkle it on top), grapes and berries. She also likes meat and continues to ask for all things carb.

She knows the tune and a lot of the words to the "ABCs," "Jesus Loves Me" and "I'm a little teapot" and also loves to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" while sitting on the potty. We are working on learning colors but we have a ways to go. It used to be that when ever you asked her what color something was, her first guess would be green and then yellow. She at least switches it up a bit now but only gets the answer right about 10% of the time. She seems to know orange though!

Isla is very excited about the new baby which means a new bed, new sheets and a new car for her. She has felt the baby kick and likes to tell me "baby sleeping" or "baby awake." I sort of think she gets what is happening (which might explain her sudden attachment to me) but who knows?

She is starting to understand different emotions and she loves to tell us that "Isla excited!" Then she always wants to know "Mommy excited? Daddy excited?" She also tells us when she is happy. Love her!

Isla definitely has a mind of her own and I pray it will take her places. She continues to be very sweet but also knows what she wants. She loves to give kisses and always says "Sorry!!!" when she knows she has done something wrong in hopes of avoiding a timeout. This girl is such a blessing and a joy!

Best Flower Girl Ever

I might be just a wee bit biased but my heart couldn't help but swell with pride watching my sweet Isla act as flower girl in Graham's cousin Susanna & Kyle's wedding yesterday. After she walked down the aisle the pastor said "I have never seen a flower girl take her job that seriously. We could all learn a thing or two from her!" Watch and see what he means...

A Sneak Peak

I've been a little absent from my blog this month because I've been too busy nesting. After a rather traumatic ordeal of indecisiveness, I am proud to report that I FINALLY chose fabrics for the kids' bedding, mostly thanks to my sister who finally met me at a fabric store for a little decision-making intervention. I'm pretty sure Graham is SO relieved that the process is OVER and could care less how much I spent--he's just glad not to have to give his opinion anymore! I'd like to think I'm saving money by making everything myself and I'm sure I probably am, it just isn't quite as cheap as I was hoping but that's what I get for choosing designer fabrics. :) But it's going to be so much cuter than what you can find in the store and I don't have to waste money on bumpers that I can't even use if I were to buy a pre-made set. I'm really excited about what I chose and can't wait to post pictures of the finished product.

As for WHAT exactly I'm making, well, I decided to redo Isla's bedding now that I know she's a girl to add a feminine touch to the room. I've made two new sheets for her and will be starting on her bed skirt and reversible comforter in the next few days (I hope!) and baby gets two crib sheets as well as a bed skirt. I can whip out a crib skirt in an hour now and am finding the process rather therapeutic.

In other news, I found a steal of a double stroller on Craigslist that has hardly been used ($350 for a double Bob with rainshield!) so am feeling more and more prepared for the wee one by the day. We plan to go out and look at cars (our 3rd attempt) on Wednesday so once that happens, I'll really be feeling on top of things. Phew, there's nothing like waiting until the third trimester to get ready!

27 or 28 weeks. ish.

(taken 6/1/11)

So basically I have no idea how far along I am anymore. Well, I have a little bit of an idea. But I'm totally confused. At my appointment last week, I thought I was 27 1/7 week based on my due date of August 31st but my Dr called me 28 weeks. I questioned him on it and his response was less than clear. So now I'm thinking he's no longer using my early ultrasound to determine my due date (it moved it a week later) and instead is going with my original due date of August 24th (which I believe to be more accurate). Or something. I have no idea. And I know it doesn't really matter but actually it sort of does. So, I'm gonna grill him on it at my next appointment. I realize the baby will come when the baby comes (as I'm sure he's going to tell me), but I just want to know what he is calling me so I can match it. Anyhow, I was already assuming we'd have a mid-August baby so this may make it even more plausible!

I'm feeling really pretty good in general except that I am SO TIRED. It finally hit me the other day as I was laying on the bed midday and whining to Graham that I could not get up I was so tired that maybe it's because of my anemia! It was an ah-hah moment for me. Oh yeah. Guess I haven't mentioned that fact yet on the blog. So I'm a little anemic. I had a bunch of labs done with my gestational diabetes screen on 5/23. My hematocrit was 32.8 which isn't really that low for pregnancy but mine was in the 40s with Isla so it's probably quite the shocker to my system. I've been eating tons of beef and was started on supplements so hopefully that helps. Too bad the cow I ordered won't be butchered until October...

I PASSED my gestational diabetes screen with a fasting of 81 which was quite the relief. And my TSH level was good at 1.27 so all things thyroid are working well. I had them throw in a vitamin D level too while they were taking my blood (since I've never actually had it checked) and I was disappointed to learn it was only 31. Not horrible, but not great, especially given the fact that I've been taking supplements for a couple years. I've been doing a lot of research lately on vitamin D needs in pregnancy and the importance of being sufficient for the baby. The unfortunate thing is that goal level has not been established for pregnancy but basically all the research says prenatals definitely do not contain enough (hence my supplementation).

Something very, very tragic happened this week. Graham has been losing weight due to stress and I have been gaining because, well, I'm pregnant. This week, our weights crossed and I now officially weigh more than him which is probably like the saddest thing that has ever happened to me. I guess that's what I get for marrying a bean pole (a cute bean pole though!) He weighed 15 or 20# more when I was pregnant with Isla so it was never a true worry but now that he is stressed to the max and forgetting to eat, the inevitable has happened.

Other tidbits include: the realization that I don't recall ever feeling this baby hiccup (Isla had the hiccups all the time), I am loving root beer and lemonade, my hip joints started hurting this week which I think means my body is preparing for "the big day." Last time, that didn't happen until 35 weeks so it freaked me out that I was feeling it so early this time around. But my Dr confirmed that it usually happens 5-6 weeks earlier in subsequent pregnancies which would be now so I guess it's normal. I've also started to feel some pain in my behind and upper leg with I assume is my sciatic but I can't be too sure. I'm not having to wake up in the middle of the night right now for some crazy reason. I don't like going to bed which is unfortunate since Isla has chosen 6:30 AM as her new wake up time. I am experiencing some serious nesting urges (as in I want to repaint the living room, recover the pillows in bright fabrics, cover my lampshades, make crib skirts and sheets for both kids, sew a reversible nursing cover and touch up the scuffed up paint on our walls...) I am starting to make some progress setting up/planning the nursery but am SOOOO indecisive it's unreal.

All in all, the pregnancy is going great and plans and slowly falling into place!