We're Still Here - We're Just Outside!

I've been a terrible at updating my blog lately. Either a) I've been feeling too exhausted in the third trimester to care, b) The weather finally dipped below 100 degrees and we've been busy doing things outside! c) Time has been just slipping away like sand between my fingers and the other day I suddenly realized October is more than halfway over and I've only baked once, or d) All of the above. You decide.

In a snapshot, here are some things we have been up to lately! We had Princess's birthday party the first weekend in October which was a smash! I spent hours making these to eat instead of traditional cake, and failed to remember to take one good picture of them.

We had some professional pictures taken of Bella by Debbie Kilduff at Sonoran Lane Photography. We think she does a fantastic job!

We made use of our Disneyland annual passes again and took a quick weekend turn-around trip the second weekend in October. This time Nan came with us.

One day we visited a dairy with Princess's cousins, and we learned where the milk comes from that we buy at the store.

And yes, we milked this cow, and yes she was thinking about kicking us (I'm sure, like with humans, it hurts when you do it wrong! Ha ha), and no we weren't afraid.

In general we have just been spending lots of time outdoors, with evenings at the park as a family, the pumpkin patch, a football game with Daddy, Grammy and Papa, and most recently a play date with Princess's buddy Jaelyn. I'm always tickled pink to see these girls obvious affection for each other! (I stole this picture from Jody. Aren't their "cheeeese" faces amazing!?)

My Stud has been back and forth to New Mexico for meetings a few times as he is already working almost entirely on the groundwork for the new job, while still sitting at the same desk he has been at for the past two years. We are planning a trip to find a rental house sometime in November.

Princess officially dubbed us "Mom" and "Dad" almost the minute she turned two. She must have picked the words up in conversation as My Stud and I mention our parents to each other. We are still both a bit in denial and continue to refer to ourselves as "Mommy" and "Daddy." ;-)

Speaking of things that happened the minute she turned two, the phrase "I need help!" has been almost completely replaced with "I do it my byself!" (you read that right - she switches "my" and "by." Hee hee!) With her newfound independence she has found an extra dose of patience. She will spend as much as ten minutes doing something (like trying to put on her shoes) that would have previously frustrated her to tears in 30 seconds flat.

She seems to have had a cognitive growth spurt because all of a sudden she remembers and talks about things from day to day like never before. For example, we told her two days in advance that we would be going to the football game with Grammy and Papa and first thing in the morning both days (and several times throughout the day), Princess asked about that event. Also, she has declared, "Let's go to Disneyland!" at least once a day since we got back over a week ago...which reminds me, she tries to boss everyone around now too. Oh my.

It has been fun that she can really anticipate things all of a sudden, but we have to be especially careful what we tell her now! Oh it goes without saying that, as always, that we have really been enjoying our precious daughter.

Sweet Baby Sister continues to grow inside my big ole belly. I'm in the 31st week now, and this picture was taken at 30 weeks. Everything with the pregnancy continues to go well, and I have been feeling really fantastic! I'm starting to tire more easily than before, but of course nothing like the first trimester (thank God!). In the 7th month, I am finally starting to feel reasonably large, and simple things like bending over to pick something up off the floor may yield an "Umph!" I will continue to watch our nieces through the end of the month, and after that, I will start to focus on packing up most of our house so that I don't have to do it in when I am a full term giant or when I am a sleep-deprived producer of milk. ;-)

The last thing of note as far as the pregnancy goes is that I am officially entering The Feisty Stage. You know the one I mean. Normally calm and easy-going, I literally screamed at my phone one day last week. You know how when you leave someone a voicemail, sometimes that annoying woman interrupts your message about 10 seconds into it to tell you that she deleted your message and you need to start all over? Yeah. After my third attempt to leave someone a message, each one getting faster and shorter, I let out a terrible, angry shriek. Where did that even come from? Poor Princess. Oh wait, she was napping and slept right through it. Anyway, that is certainly not my usual reaction. No, Mother, not since I was a teenager. :-) The next day, I definitely snapped at a lady (at Bible study - HA) whose criticism I did not find amusing. That was very out of character for me, especially since I don't know that woman very well. I realize these are minor infractions, but keep in mind that we still have two months to go so this potentially gets more interesting. If I get too bad, I'm going to hide in my house until I go into labor. (I must remember to ask my husband if I was like this toward the end of my pregnancy with Princess because I don't remember it if I was.) Feel free to comment with your own "crazy pregnant lady" stories so I feel better about my short fuse. Okay? Thanks!

Hope you all enjoyed the family update!