Andrew's new big boy bed

Andrew is all moved into his big boy bed, and it went surprising well.  Brandon built Andrew's bedframe (amazing, right?! I'll do a separate post about that soon), and the room has slowly been coming together.  Naps were a little bit tricky at first, but I think we're doing good and mostly back on schedule.  We didn't do too much other than just tell him to stay in his room/bed, and occasionally he comes out, but for the most part he obeys (before falling asleep for naps, he's often in his room playing quietly for 30 minutes or so, then zonks - again, this is most days but not all).

A big exception to his good sleeping was last week when he came down with a high fever, so I took him in to the doctor and he found sores inside his mouth, which likely meant he had hand, foot & mouth virus (going around like crazy around here!).  Thankfully, he only had a 48 hour fever and there weren't ever any sores besides the ones inside his mouth.  However the sores were painful to him and he couldn't eat many fruit (acidity made it hurt) or salty or rough food items.  All he wanted was dairy, and you know what that led to.  So now he's better, but we're still recovering from lots of night waking and getting him back on normal diet.

Other random things about Andrew lately:
- refers to himself as "Bubby" or "An-rew"
- LOVES to wear pajama pants - all day, every day.  If I get him in an actual outfit, he wants to change into pj's for his nap - it's a hopeless battle!
- Not sure where this came from, but the second we walk in the door from church, both kids request to take off their church clothes - right in the kitchen.  The irony of this is that Brandon and I tend to stay in our church clothes all day - not that we want our kids to do that (we'd prefer they keep their church clothes nice), I'm just not sure where they got it.
- Andrew calls it "nakey-by" when he has his clothes off and thinks it's so funny.
- Love it when the boy says "k" to be agreeable and the way he shakes his head yes and says, "yeah" is my favorite.
- His favorite babysitter is Gaby Mora and he calls her "Aggy!"
- His made up words are "Baa-ba-doo" and "Ba-doo" and "Dookie-by" - not sure what any of them mean exactly.
- We've also been loving his phrases and sentences, such as "I don't know" and "Where's "tee-tee" (blankie)?" and "Daddy at work, be right back."
- Most commonly used phrase, "One more treat, pease?" (followed by a huge cheesy grin)

I love to catch him quietly reading books in his room.

First night in his big boy bed!

8:30pm - success!

9:30pm - huh?  when did that happen?  I'm glad we put those pillows on the floor!

Pretty sure big sister gave him this idea, and she probably helped him fill it with toys..

Life with two kids is about to change

We're gearing up and getting ready for baby sister to come.  We talk about her multiple times everyday.  Rachel is beyond excited and Andrew "gets it" to an extent, but I just know it's going to rock his little world.  He holds a very tender spot in my heart, so I think the transition will be hard on me too - just for him not to be my baby anymore (although the kid is 35 pounds, he still feels like my baby!). 

I always wondered how long it would take them to think up the idea to crawl in.  This was the very first incidence, and I was listening from the other room as they were playing rocket ship.  Pretty clever if you ask me - at least they were smart enough to take their pillows and blankets to the moon.  

Sunday morning - daddy napping on the floor while the kids play nicely around him.  

Pregnancy Update, 34 weeks

This baby is going to be here before I know it!  We are very excited to meet her, but also a little nervous - just the idea of having three kids close together in age is a little overwhelming, but we're ready for the challenge (right? right!).  I'm nesting like crazy anticipating that I won't be able to get much done the first 4-6 months, but at the same time I feel like I'm moving in slow motion and not getting as much done as I'd like.

I have been avoiding cameras like the plague, not because I feel like I look terrible, but I never seem to be ready for the day when a camera is around.  I love to lounge around the house in basketball shorts and t-shirts while pregnant.  And getting dressed is kind of a chore at this point, because it's just hard to pick what to wear.  I should have probably bought some cute summer maternity clothes, but I just tend to make whatever I have work (whatever I have meaning whatever I bought from my first pregnancy when I was working at Aon - those maternity button up blouses and slacks are not getting much use these days).  And my hair ends up in a ponytail most days.  Ponytail plus the basketball shorts, and my sweet husband is still telling me how cute I look.  Liar, liar, pants on fire, but I appreciate the "compliments" anyhow.

This pregnancy has been similar to the others - no morning sickness as long as I eat every couple hours, and I feel pretty good without complaining too much.  But here's some complaining for the record - I get HOT a lot, so I've been keeping the house at 78-79 while I'm at home (probably a shocker to those that live out of AZ, but those are cool temps for indoors when it's 115 outside!).  I'm measuring right on schedule and have gained around 30 pounds, which should put me around 35 pounds gained by the end of the pregnancy.  I'm happy with these weight gain numbers!  However, I just don't feel like my body is handling this pregnancy as well.  I am achy and tired and my muscles are weak.  Oh weird, maybe I should have been working out or something?  Duh! But it's just so HOT, I can't even imagine doing pregnancy pilates in my living room even with a fan straight on me because of the heat.  Excuses, excuses!  I blame that darn sprained ankle that put me down for a month - I seriously had to be down and resting my ankle every evening to get it better.  It was the worst, and now I'm a weakling.  I need a half marathon next spring/summer to whip me back into shape - anyone doing any fun ones?

If I had to pick out some things that I've been eating more of, I'd probably say that I've had more rootbeer this pregnancy, and a sweet tooth for candy (no surprise there).  Oh man, there are these super long nibs by Twizzler that they sell at Walmart (not the bites, but NIBS!), and I can't pass them up if I walk into that store.  They are my favorite!  A burger and fries from Five Guys always sounds amazing, but I have enough self control to hold back on that one.  Or a bagel with cream cheese - sounds delicious any time of the day!  I've been a much better water drinker this pregnancy, and I have also made more salads than usual, so I'm not completely unhealthy.  And I think the water intake has helped my ankles - they are not swollen yet (crossing my fingers)!

And so the countdown begins!  I'm hoping to make it to 39 weeks or October 26th, if I haven't already gone into labor then I'd hope to be induced somewhere around then (Nancy has a flight for the 25th and will be with us for a week - yay!).  Andrew came at 38 weeks (8 lb, 1 oz), but that was right after getting my membranes stripped which put me into labor.  That was not the case with Rachel who finally came at 40 weeks and 4 days (9 lb, 2 oz).  It's impossible to guess when this baby will come, but if I could choose, I might like to be induced just to have it a little more planned out (just taking into consideration arrangements for our kids, Brandon's work, and not being up in the middle of the night wondering if I should go to the hospital, etc.).  Or maybe I could have my membranes stripped the 24th or 25th right before having an induction scheduled on the 26th and see if it doesn't do the trick?  Anywho ... Dr. Huish is fantastic and we'll start talking about all this at the next visit, 36 weeks.

Picture taken by Rachel, 30 weeks pregnant

Snow Cone Stand

We decided to help the kids have a snow cone stand to help them earn some money and learn about tithing (and I may have also tried to teach them a little business 101!).  Remember last year's DISASTER garage sale and lemonade stand (see here)?  I am happy to report that we had a very successful snow cone stand!!  

We passed out loads of fliers to neighbors and friends (genius advertising if I do say so myself!), so we only had to be out selling for an hour and a half and we kept busy almost the entire time.  Lots of Rachel & Andrew's friends came, and it made it so fun for us and the kids.  While Rachel was passing out fliers, she was a relentless sales person!  We ended up just taping fliers to doors instead of actually talking to people about it because she wanted them to commit on the spot that they would come a buy a snow cone from her for a dollar.  During the snow cone stand, she greeted each customer and took the orders and collected the money, and made sure no one got a snow cone without paying her for it.  :)  Andrew's only contribution was eating snow cones - I think he had four of them.  

Thanks to dad for providing the awesome snow cone machine, and for keeping up with all the orders!  We sold about 50 snow cones, so our sales were $50.  We figured it cost around $20 for the expenses so we gave Rachel the $30 profit since she did most of the work (*wink*wink*).  She paid her $3 tithing the next day to the Bishop and proudly handed in her envelope covered in stickers.  Rachel also got to go to the store and pick out a toy with the money she'd earned.  She really wanted a Lalaloopsy sister doll, and they were on sale for $10, so she got to pick out two and she was thrilled.  Technically she gave a doll to Andrew, but then I convinced her that it could be mine so that we could play together.  We generously gave Andrew $5, just so he could turn in 50 cents tithing with his big sister.  I would have let him pick out something at the store if he cared, but he truly doesn't.  He holds toys for a second, then drops them.  He just wants treats.  He'd pick a treat over a toy any day. 

Not a bad business venture for only being open for an hour and a half!  The fliers were key, and my estimate is that a little less than half of the families who received fliers came.  Only two people stopped by that didn't receive a flier, and were just driving by.  We had a lot of fun!  And hopefully people were impressed with the snow cone, or at least felt like they got their dollar's worth.  Our current favorite flavor is rootbeer syrup - Brandon likes his with ice cream on the bottom, I prefer mine with the creme on top.  Yum!  Brandon makes himself one at least 4 times a week I'd say.

Creepy Crawlies

I have never even seen a scorpion in Arizona, and we've lived here for three years ... that is until last month, when I found one in my house!  It was just scampering down the hall like it owned the place, so I grabbed a jar and put it over the top of him, then tipped the jar over and sealed the lid.  I know it sounds silly, but I didn't feel like squishing him with a shoe because I didn't know how that would go, and I didn't know if I flushed him down the toilet alive if he could somehow swim or survive in water - dumb, I know - but I was in total panic mode.  So then we kept him as a pet for a couple days, then put him in the freezer to die and then I flushed him down the toilet.  I didn't take a great picture of him, but it looked a lot like the one pictured below (except ours was much bigger than that one, but it was the same color).  They are nasty little buggers.  I called our bug guy and we found only one more scorpion in the weeks to follow, but because of the spray, he was pretty much dead.  I was still totally creeped out and made sure to clean under all the couches and beds.  Hopefully we won't see any more!

A couple weeks ago, we were at the Trendler's for Sunday dinner, and they live in Las Sendas where there has been a huge population of baby frogs all of a sudden.  I think this is so random for the hot desert, but regardless, there were TONS of baby frogs in their backyard.  So we gave the kids a jar and let them catch them.  Paul, Kate, Rachel & Andrew caught over 20 baby frogs, and had an absolute blast doing it.  I must have lost my mind, because I said it was fine if we brought them to our house to keep them as pets for a couple days.  What was I thinking?  I got them home and in a bigger bowl, and then was completely stumped at what to feed them.  Again, what was I thinking?  So Rachel and I went to our neighbors, Jim & Pam, who have a pond and thought he might want them or be able to tell us about the frogs.  Thankfully, he said we could put them in him front yard near the pond and he was actually kind of excited about it.  Rachel was excited too, since if they live at Jim's then we can go see them occasionally (that is if they survive - Jim thought that his fish might eat them).  We left with no frogs and a present for Rachel - he always gives her cute little things - they are the sweetest neighbors.

And while I am thinking about creepy crawlies, after Rachel's soccer game last week, we found a lizard just crawling in the grass.  Rachel has no fear and went to catch it.  Luckily Nana was there, so she helped Rachel catch the fast crawling lizard so they could hold it.  Rachel carried him to a safer place in the rocks and off the soccer field.

Gotta love Arizona!!  (Lore, this post made me think of you since I keep hearing about all the cute animals your children are playing with in your rural Wenatchee, WA farmland.  While your children are taking care of baby goats, puppies, pigs and horses, my poor children are completely satisfied with their scorpions, frogs and lizards!!  Hopefully we can come visit sometime and see your life there!)

Scorpion!!  Gross!!

The kids caught 20 baby frogs in Las Sendas with their friends!

Rachel loved her "pets" that she got to keep for about one hour.

Girl's Camp

Camp is over!!  I feel a huge sigh of relief and I also feel like a huge phase of my life is done (especially since I just got released from YW).

I spent 4 days at Camp LoMia (Aug. 1-4) with 15 6th year YCL's (ages 16-17) - we slept together, sang together, ate together, danced together, and they were really good girls.  Thank you for that!  And my sweet mother-in-law flew down to take care of my kids and hubby (who had one of the busiest work weeks of the year the same week as camp).  This is her third year doing this for us, and I am so appreciative!

Big accomplishments included:
- brand new camp songbooks for our stake by yours truly
- YCL evening program
- doing the splits at our dance party (for reals?)
- being 30+ weeks pregnant for the second time at girl's camp
- I truly hope the girls went home having felt the spirit of camp and received the message of change and becoming something special and that our decisions today determine who we will become!

Big hurdles included:
- Being in the know - I felt like I never had any idea what was going on, yet my YCL's were supposed to be running the show, so we were just flying by the seats of our pants the whole time, which made it a little hectic
- Lacking in brain cells due to this pregnancy
- Two girls sneaking off for awhile one evening and having to search around for them
- Lack of sleep
- Playing line police at the Flying Squirrel
- Flip flops / cell phone issues

Extra Special Moments included:
- Sister Van Wagenen from the YW General Board (in her training to the leaders, her message of being spiritually prepared in our callings really hit home)
- Music video done by the boys in the stake (link HERE, then the girls made a video at camp, link HERE) - the girls had an absolute ball with this!

6th Year YCL's:  Marcie, Mollie, Kealoha, Ashley N., Tessa, Chanty, Kelsey, Shannon, Jezerea, Rochelle, Michele, Ashley W., Lydia, Ellen, Juliette, Kathie, Mandy

6th Year Leaders:  Kathie Melchin, me & Marcie Burnham

Stake Leaders with Sister Van Wagenen - Shanell Gamble, Lynne Jones, Erin Merrill, Lindsay Merkley, Thelissa Blackhurst, Mandy Smith, Brooke Eagleston, Wendy Redwing, Erin Woods, Brooklynne Williams, Brenda Sibley, Melissa Sarager just to name a few.

Preston Ward

Not only is camp over, but I got released as Young Women 2nd Counselor right after camp, and I got called as the Nursery Leader.  It's bittersweet - cliche to say, but it's true.  I have worked in the young women organization for nearly 6 out of the 7 years we've been married (Assistant camp director, personal progress specialist, YW President, 1st counselor, 2nd counselor, Stake 5th year YCL Leader, Stake 6th Year YCL Leader), and I have learned a TON from all the women I have worked with and the girls have been a joy in my life.  I am so glad that I have been able to serve in the YW program, and I believe it is an extremely important and inspired program for teen girls.

Earlier this summer, I had many small impressions that I needed to speak to our Bishop about my callings.  I was hesitant at first, but finally got enough courage to explain to him that I have felt overwhelmed with the new baby coming soon, and being able to manage my family responsibilities and mine and Brandon's church callings.  Without any nearby family support, I am anticipating the next year will be challenging - three small children (none yet in school) and supporting Brandon's schedule.  I also expressed to the Bishop that I wanted to make sure he knew I wasn't asking to be released (I love the YW program), but that I truly wanted to do what Heavenly Father wanted me to do, and if it meant staying in YW, then we would make it happen - no questions asked.  Brandon has been such an amazing support to me in my callings and I want to return the favor and be more available to him so that he can serve as needed, instead of me constantly asking him to stay home with the kids so that I can go to mutual/meetings/firesides.

The stake camp leaders also asked me if I'd be interested in helping with next year's camp (May 2013), and they are already having planning meetings and getting things organized.  I told them that for now, I need to focus on my little family and that I needed some time.  I mentioned that I would contact them in March/April to tell them how things were going and if I had any capacity to provide some service.  I really enjoy working with the women in the Stake, but it's just not the right time - I feel the need to focus on my family and recharge a little bit.

Nursery will be a fun challenge - I'm excited.  (I must admit that I did some complaining about nursery when we were getting Rachel and Andrew transitioned into nursery, so I am thinking this is my payback for those comments!)  Andrew is thrilled that mommy gets to stay with him, and mommy is thrilled that it is a Sunday-only calling.  What will that feel like?

Random Questions

1.  When you need clipart, do you have a go-to source?  I find myself searching through google images, and that's not working well because then I find something and it costs money for a simple little clip art image.

2.  Do you use shaving cream/gel? Something else?  I'm tired of buying shave cream because it seems to disappear so quickly.

3.  I'd love your recommendations on favorite computer learning-type games/websites for pre-school aged children.  Rachel hasn't really been on the computer very much at all, so we're newbies.  I'd just check pinterest, except I'd rather get a personal recommendation for something like this.  Also, if you have some must-have learning-type apps for preschool age children, feel free to pass those along too.

4.  We just moved Andrew to his big boy bed, and it's great - he loves it for the most part.  Naps are trickier - only because he plays and has a harder time falling asleep.  Any advice on helping to maintain the nap when you move to a big boy bed?  I seem to remember that Rachel stopped napping shortly after we moved her to her big girl bed.

5.  I'm in a bit of a cooking rut (must be due to the fact that it's still very hot and I'm hugely pregnant).  If you have a favorite family-friendly recipe, please send it my way.

THANKS!

First Day of Preschool

Rachel's first day of her second year of preschool was August 13th and she was so excited to go back to school!  She's in the Love 2 Learn preschool with Miss Arlene (Lunt) from 11:30-2p on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.  She's in a 4 year old class, and Miss Arlene is very organized, strict, clean and loving.  I love the preschool set up in her home, the dropping off/picking up system, "tell me" time, show & tell daily, they wash their hands lots, and her communications home are very good so far.

I was so relieved it started early like the public schools - it would have been hard to keep her busy at home until September.  Andrew likes one-on-one time with mommy, and we're still trying to figure out what's best for his nap schedule (during or after preschool), but the time schedule will be so perfect for us once this new baby comes in October, since realistically could I get out of the house before 11a?  Probably not!