baby doll stroller and loving my kid

aka all of my pictures from today

one of baby's birthday toys from our friend and realtor, sally.  it's a super cool pool noodle.

it's a happy day when your mail is this colorful.  looove birthday cards!

we haven't taken it to the pool yet so baby girl thinks it's just to hang out with and carry around the house.

and amazon delivered baby girl's birthday doll stroller this afternoon.  and although i'm still bitter that it cost more than baby's actual stroller ($16... seriously?!), i have to admit that it's perfect for her.  conveniently sized and easy to maneuver, i'm loving it as much as she is.

 

 

blurry paparazzi shot.  appropriate because, as we've discussed, celebrity moms wear leggings.

and because i want to remember it, baby was incredible today.  she had me a little worried thursday, friday, and halfway saturday that she'd made it a personal goal to live up to the "terrible two's" stereotype but saturday night and sunday she was totally fine and today she just kept blowing me out of the water with how funny and happy and sweet she was.  i don't know if a happier kid has ever existed.  today she ate awesome, was so perfectly behaved (and precious! "more please mama!" to every sample i gave her), had the most out of control, slap happy laughing non stop visit with our neighbor before lunch, ate great again, took an awesome nap (she's been staying in her crib for close to four hours lately for naps!), was so cute playing with her toys, helpful when i was doing laundry (since i get lightheaded so easily bending over, i love that she picks up all the socks and things that i drop and puts them in the basket/washer/dryer for me), and ate wonderfully (half a tomato, half an avocado, half a banana, almost a whole mango, and a little bit of bacon), and was soooo cute playing with her daddy before she went to bed tonight.

days like today, i literally am giddy with love and excitement that this is really my child.  the best way i can describe it physically is that i have ongoing butterflies in my stomach (no, this is not the baby kicking) and my heart is so full it's like i can never fully catch my breath (again, not due to pregnancy).  baby girl laughs at everything!  she purposely puts her shoes on the wrong feet and laughs like crazy when i acknowledge it.  she says "bless you mama/daddy" when someone sneezes (like saturday night when we had friends over and the wife sneezed and baby girl said "bless you daddy") and is on day FIVE or something of actually verbally saying thank you.  at the end of her lunch today i bribed her to eat half a banana.  she got a bit of cookie every time she ate a bite of banana (although her banana bites were the size of golf balls and the cookie bites she got were the size of peanut M&Ms) and every time i gave her that bit of cookie she would say "thank you mama" and it's so precious.  same with tonight when we did the same thing with banana and bacon (i love that she loves bacon just as much as she loves cookies... but then again, don't we all...?! except for sara snow).  she's recently started protesting when i tell her we're going to pray.  she sometimes doesn't fold her arms, but it's so cute that at the end of the prayer she says "amen!" right after i do.  and at night when i hold her in my arms by her crib to pray and she folds her arms, she actually bows her head or puts her head on my shoulder and it's like straight out of a greg olsen painting.  baby girl is a helper and a pleaser and loves when i give her little jobs like throwing something away for me.  she'll drop what she's doing with a happy "yeah!" and run along to do whatever i asked.  occasionally she'll say no like this afternoon when i asked her if she'd put my shoes away for me but i don't mind because i like that she doesn't say it to be defiant.  just says it because we can't all drop what we're doing 100% of the time.  she has such a funny sense of humor and makes jokes all the time.  she's so understanding when i help talk her through something she's hesitant to do at first like a night when she just wants to keep reading books, i tell her it's time to go to bed now and that we can read more books when we wake up in the morning.  her body relaxes and then she's fine to go to bed.  and when she gets up, she reminds me that it's time to read books.  so as of late, it's the norm to read books first thing in the morning and first thing after nap.  and even then she has a hard time being done (hey... i'm normally too hungry to keep reading) and insists on bringing a book downstairs with her.  

my favorite thing has of late though has got to be that she is so good with her words.  i don't ever feel like we're having a hard time communicating.  she can tell me what's on her mind and she's smart enough to understand my reasoning (like bribing with bacon and promising to read more books after nap).  she gets a binky for nap time but not for bed time.  but frequently at night she'll ask for one anyways... i just tell her it's not for nighttime and that she can have it tomorrow when she naps.  and sometimes she fusses for a bit but mostly she's just fine with that explanation.  

there's a million more things i could write but i'll have to save those for another day.  suffice it to say, this kid was an angel newborn and an angel baby and she's an angel toddler as well.  i am so grateful and overjoyed that i get to spend every day with her and that i have the honor of being her mother.  life is too good to me.

cottage cheese

i could have sworn i'd blogged this already but i guess not.  i don't have much time so we'll be short.  the other day baby girl was eating some cottage cheese with peaches.  then she'd eaten all of the peaches so it was just the cottage cheese she was working on.  i was putting away groceries or something when i heard her grunting and calling out "help mommy!  i need help!" so i looked over and saw a speck of cottage cheese.  my first thought was "oh my goodness i'm making my kid too ocd... it's just a tiny speck that dripped on her chest."  but as i walked over to wipe it off i saw the actual problem.

and seriously i was so surprised, i busted out laughing and couldn't stop for a full 60 seconds or so.  poor baby girl to have that much cold cottage cheese resting on her naked baby belly!  it was so much that she kept her stomach as puffed out as possible because if she sucked it in, all that cottage cheese would fall down into her diaper and probably her lap and legs too.

so that taught me a valuable lesson on parenting and how important it is to make sure you know that you actually don't know the whole story and you should give your child the benefit of the doubt and always investigate the situation further even when you think it's pretty self explanatory and you want to take it for face value.  ever since a few situations that happened when baby girl was just an actual baby, i've made it my personal rule that i'm going to always try my best to be her advocate.  even when it comes to cottage cheese.

birthday cake videos

baby girl is TWO!

baby girl turned two today!  it was an awesome birthday.  we had a great time at church and, as always, baby girl loved nursery... especially because they sang happy birthday to her today!  reports were the same as the other week... she tried on shoes the whole time.  apparently today though she stole shoes from a parents or leader and was prancing around in super high heels the whole time.  after we got home, she played on the back patio a bit, ate, lunch, and hung out while we got home taught.  headed down for a nap at two and slept til five or so when we woke her up to head to the hilliers for her party.  she was super happy and in a good mood the whole time.  after dinner, baby girl opened her presents and loved them all... some more than others.  books- eh, books with dogs or clifford- big hit.  clothes- eh.  easter eggs with marshmallows- huge hit.  she looooves "lellows" and i think she probably gets her fair share during nursery each week.  other huge hits included the inflatable baby pool aka "baby beach pool" and the cozy coupe car honey's parents gave her.  and she still has toys and birthday money on the way.  maybe we should reserve that and break it out in a few months when the weather cools down and we need a pick me up?!  this week, amazon will so kindly deliver the baby doll set and stroller i ordered for her (indecisive mom = late birthday present) and i'm soooo excited for her to get that.  she got two little baby doll bottles and diapers and was loving feeding her baby and couldn't stop talking about "baby milk all gone" and "it's baby's nap diaper."  i took soooo much video this afternoon so maybe tomorrow i'll go through that and do another quick post with a few more pictures and some video.  giving things to your kid is soooo much better than receiving things for yourself.  i had the time of my life this afternoon.  like seriously giddy with excitement.  

 

trying to hold up her two fingers.  physically this seems to be unusually difficult for her.  ;-)  but we're working on it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

how many hilliers does it take to put together a cozy coupe?  the answer is five and the time frame is about 40 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

baby girl, if you hadn't guessed it already, i'm pretty obsessed with you and i think you're perfect in every way.  these past two years have been incredible and i can already tell, this coming year is going to be even better.  i can't wait!

ps- in case you were wondering after looking at that next to last picture, yes, i know i'm big.  i had two people at church today straight up ask me if i was pregnant (it's still not really common knowledge), explaining that any sort of an extra belly on me was really obvious.  one lady even told me she started noticing something "a few months ago."  at first i was a little offended because you're not supposed to show that early but then i thought back in my head and realized... yup, i was already having to "cover it up" before 9 weeks.  it feels good to be out... now i just gotta find some clothes that fit.

sleep socks

 

 

 

chicken broccoli braid and baby's preferences

i cooked again!  and it was something i've only ever made once before... like back in 2008.  i remember because we were in pennsylvania that summer and lydia helped me make it!  it's the pampered chef chicken broccoli braid which is this exact recipe minus the onions.  it was always one of my favorites that my mom made.  when i was browsing through recipe books to make this weeks menu, i came across the recipe in the cookbook nurse amanda made for me when she was living at our house in 2006 while my parents were on their mission.  anyways... i have no idea why it took me so long to get the courage to make this without lydia holding my hand because it really wasn't hard at all.  my favorite part was that nothing was time sensitive, nothing required me to multitask, everything went in one bowl (no accidentally mixing the wrong things together!), and it barely made any dirty dishes.  excellent!

that's my phone.  yes, it slides open.

before i took this picture i'd never fully realized the intense blue-ness of this bowl.

look amanda!  your cookbook page made it in to a picture!  ps- i noticed tonight that part of the recipe was supposed to have a graphic to illustrate the dough fringing.  it wasn't there but i laughed at how thoughtful that was of you.  "cut dough on sides as pictured above" or something like that...

delish

it calls for slivered almonds but i only had sliced.  not as pretty but the taste and the crunch were still there!

 we'll have to come back to the story that goes with these two pictures taken while the braid was baking.

the PINK bow

putting shoes on.  that's a remnant of toilet paper.  baby girl loves to blow her nose.  she also now refers to the toilet paper on my nightstand as "mommy's [blows out of her nose]" which when she says it is the funniest thing ever.

look how pretty!

that's honey's fork.  he has low patience for pictures after the food comes out of the oven.

mmm, so creamy and flaky and crispy and crunchy.

and plenty of leftovers!  just the way i like it!  i'm going to be sad when our family is big enough that we won't have half of our meal for leftovers every time i cook.

notes to self for the chicken broccoli braid:

i didn't measure the broccoli or the red bell pepper but i'm sure i added more of both than what the recipe calls for.  especially pepper because i love that stuff.

i added less chicken than called for because i haven't been that into chicken lately.  again, didn't measure it but i just used one of those cans of costco chicken.  it made it so quick and easy and that chicken works really well in this recipe.

each of the packs of dough, i laid them so the longer length went left to right.  otherwise it wouldn't have fit on the pan... which was sad for me to figure out half way through when i was struggling to rearrange my dough on the cookie sheet.

fringing the dough i did lots of thin slices to ensure that all of the dough cooked through and evenly without any parts getting too done.  i cut each "section" into four fringes and made sure to stretch them out thin when i was pulling them up and wrapping them.  it worked because it turned out better than i was hoping/anticipating.

when i sprinkled the almonds on top, i made sure to press them in with my hands so they would stay nice and firm.  

also... because it cut down on dishes, time, and wasting an egg... i didn't bother brushing it with egg white.  i know it makes it look prettier but i also knew i wasn't serving this to anyone other than my little family of three.

aaaannd here's the baby story to match the pictures above...

we've been working on colors more lately so this afternoon as i got baby girl up from her nap and got her dressed, i explained to her that her dress is purple and the sandals she picked out (they're her current favorites) are also purple.  so i asked her if she wanted a bow and of course she said yes.  i picked a purple one and after about fifty failed attempts for me to get it correctly positioned in her hair (she kept yanking it out saying "nooo!!!" and then placing it on a different part of her head) i was so confused what she could possibly want about the bow.  then she ran to her closet repeating over and over "i want bink!  i want bink!" and all i could think is that she was wanting a binky (i keep them hidden high up in her closet) but i thought it was weird she wasn't calling it a binky because she can say that perfectly well.  so then after more of the guessing game as i pointed to random stuff up high in her closet, she requested "up" and tried to point to what she wanted but it was still too high.  so i started pointing again... do you want this? "no" is it this?  "no" how bout this? "no" to all the things i pointed at.  then i got to a pink hair flower "yeah" and a pink and brown pom pom sort of bow "yeah" so i grabbed the pom pom and put it in her hair.  she was pleased.  walking down the stairs i wondered what compelled her to call the pom pom thing a "bink" when she pointed to it again and excitedly and very clearly declared, "it's pink!"  HA.  ohhhhh!  you didn't want your purple bow... you wanted to wear something pink!  i should have caught on to that sooner since she's started pointing out pink things in books and such that we've read.  "that's pink" "that's pink" pointing to a flower or a car or whatever in the book is pink.  i think the problem is that it is literally almost impossible for me to understand her if her voice gets whiny which has been soooooo very much of today... but oh my goodness how that girl is a talker and it is so. much. fun.

also, while we were waiting for dinner to bake, i found baby girl in my bathroom and she was spitting on her finger and then wiping it on the back of her hand.  then she spit on her finger again and held it out to me.  it took me a minute before i finally understood her to be saying "lotion" as she most generously offered me some.  ummm, no thanks baby girl.  i'm gonna pass this time.  but that was so very thoughtful of you.

i can't get enough of her.  oh, except tonight when that whining was out of control.  then i realized i'd met my quota for today.

ps- happy friday the 13th!

16 weeks

How far along:  16 weeks  (7.12.12)

Total weight gain/loss: + 3 lbs  

Maternity clothes:  not yet but there are definitely lots of my regular clothes that i don't wear anymore because they're either too unflattering or too short.  i borrowed all of my maternity clothes last time and gave them all back so i'm thinking i should go shopping soon...

Stretch marks:  this is the last time you'll see this question.  i have plenty of stretch marks from last pregnancy... so any news about stretch marks i'll just be including in the "extra" section.

Sleep:  not fabulous since i woke up on sunday with a bad cold.  i've been having to read at night until i get suuuuper tired and then i can just shut my book and fall asleep.  my other alternatives are a) lay down and constantly feel like i'm suffocating because i'm too congested to breathe through my nose and b) "lay down" with my head so elevated i wonder if my neck is going to snap in half during the night.  as of this morning i've been feeling better though so hopefully  i'm on the mend!

Best moment this week:  loving food.  even though i was no where near as sick this time around, i really haven't been crazy about food.  but this past week there's been several times i've eaten something and almost melted because it hit the spot so perfectly.  

Movement:  sometimes i think i can feel something if it's night time and i'm laying down and concentrating really hard.  but i'm pretty sure i'm just delusional.  

Food cravings:  hmm, scrambled cheese eggs for breakfast on sliced toasted, buttered, french bread.  every single day... so delicious.  also, as a general rule, beef is awesome.  like in those stuffed peppers.  comfort foods.  i'm still in that "full fat food is good for you!" mentality so i'm trying to teach myself moderation.  chicken is not great, neither is fish right now and don't you dare try to feed me bbq.  sweets are delicious but the texture of fruits is grossing me out.  so hit and miss with stuff.  looove raw veggies with dip.  looots of dip.  and of course tons and tons of milk.  can't get enough.

Gender:  so frustrating that i'm far enough along that you could easily tell but i don't get an ultrasound until next month!  i have planning and preparing to do and i can't get on it until i know what this baby is!

What I miss:  drugs.  like two nights ago when i was suffocating with congestion as i attempted to fall asleep and i thought to myself, "my life wouldn't suck so bad right now if i had a bottle of dimetapp.  also would be handy for those frequent headaches like the one i have right now.  

Milestones:  hitting the 16 week mark.  that's a big one.  15 weeks is child's play but 16 weeks is the real deal.  now i'm looking forward to 20.  that's legit.
Theme: the week of being sick and hitting 16 weeks!
Extra:  i had my 16 week appointment on thursday where i met my doctor.  my only previous appointment was at 8 weeks when i met with the nurse practitioner.  anyways, this appointment was the most pointless waste of time ever.  basically, they just weighed me, checked blood pressure and stuff, listened to a heartbeat ( i guess that's kinda important), and answered my questions.  i'm guessing my doctor was either a preschool teacher or sesame street actor in her previous life.  i wish someone else had been there with me to witness it.  also, i know it's common for doctors to do this but for some reason it was bothering me yesterday when she kept making comments as if she knew me.  lady, i know you just read through my chart right before you walked in the door, don't act like you know me and my history.  like when i told her "yes, this is my second pregnancy, my daughter will be turning two on sunday" then she just kept making comments and attempting conversation with stuff like "she keeps you really busy!" and whatever.  ummm no, you have no idea what my kid is like.  she keeps me occupied but i would in no way say that she keeps me "busy" so you must be thinking of everyone else's two year olds because my angel baby is the exception to that rule.  she also commented that i'd gained SIX pounds so far this pregnancy and i was like "WHAT?!  where'd that number come from?!"  and she was like "well, your prepregnancy weight was 118 and today you weighed in at 224."  and so i explained "yes, but i weighed 118 at HOME so you have to had a few pounds for clothes."  but she took a look at her computer screen and corrected me.  apparently at my 8 week appointment i only weighed in at 118... fully dressed.  so i apologized for being wrong and explained that i actually did get super sick during week six and pretty sick during week seven so i must have lost weight before that appointment.  anyways... by my calculations, weighing at home without clothes, i started at 117-118 and am now at about 121.  so we'll say i started at 118 and have gained three pounds.  that's my story and i'm sticking to it.  although my meals these days are so huge and i'm drinking so much milk that any weight that's not taken immediately after waking up is going to kinda all over the place.  the other thing that bothered me about my doctor was that she seemed unsure and almost apologetic of herself.  like when she commented that i was starting small but that she hoped we could shoot for me to gain 30 pounds if that's something i could try to do.  like a question she was shy to ask because she didn't want to impose.  once again, lady, you have no way of knowing this but i'm a little obsessive about being pregnant and have already spent more hours than you should care to know researching about my pregnancy this time around. i already know i need to gain at least 30 pounds, i'm with you, don't apologize, just tell me that's our goal and remember to congratulate my progress at future appointments.  she also followed this up with telling me that i could eat as much ice cream as i wanted this pregnancy which was kind of humorous coming from a medical professional.  so that redeemed her some points.  but let me get this straight for the record... i have no ill feelings towards my doctor... i just thought the experience was a little strange.  my big ultrasound appointment is scheduled for monday august 6th and i'm excited that honey will be able to come with me this time.  last time he had a midterm and couldn't come and i felt bad that he missed out because it was such an insanely incredible and spiritual experience for me.  i'm excited this time around that we'll get to experience it together.  also, i'm at the awkward stomach stage where i can either look fat, suck in my stomach and look normal (to strangers... close friends would notice), totally relax my stomach or push it out and look hugely pregnant or anything in between.  and of course it depends on meals and what i'm wearing too.  i was at walmart earlier this week and ran into a woman whose little girl kept giving abigail her doll to play with.  so we made small talk.  she was hugely pregnant so i asked her when she was due, fully expecting her to say some date within the next month.  and then i could excitedly tell her i was due in december (because i'm that annoying pregnant person that thinks we're BFF if we're both pregnant).  well, her due date is sometime in october and thank goodness my filter was working because my head screamed "ARE YOU HAVING TWINS?!?!" but my mouth said "oh my goodness how exciting!"  goodness that lady is twice the size of my other october due date friends.  so you better believed i sucked in my belly and didn't mention that i was due two months later.  i hope people are that nice to me when i'm enormous in a few months.  because i know my stomach is going to be epic.

and last time i never posted pictures with the weekly posts... because i really didn't want a whole lot of pregnant pictures of me on the internet... but this time around i've already enjoyed looking back at those posts and have been hating that i don't have pictures pared with them.  sooo, for my own sake, i'm going to try to suck it up and do it a little differently this time around.  here are a variety of poor quality pictures to show you how i may look throughout the day depending on how lazy my stomach is and how recently i've eaten.

 

 

 

 

and because we all hate posts without pictures of baby girl, here's two that got left out of yesterday's post.  "glasses on!"

 

i think it's a good look for her.  she's going to be an awesome big sister.