What Bathroom Project?

Lately we have been so busy!  Let's see...Caramel has found a new place to get furry.  She LOVES Haylie's new bed...and so does Haylie.  Haylie has done really great.  Staying in, not falling out, ya know, the good stuff.

We also had Haylie's good friend Ava (Va-Va) come over for a semi-sleep over!  The girls did really good.  Ava stayed on her trundle bed and Haylie (for the most part) stayed in her bed.  They were both asleep by 9 pm after about an hour of giggling.

Haylie loves her new shoes I found her at Old Navy.  So much so, that she just laid on the floor wearing them while watching Elmo.  This girl loves shoes.

Oh, wait, we also have a bathroom renovation going on.  Justin has been a powerhouse and working on it pretty much by himself for awhile. My contribution has been going to get the soap dish and shower shelves.  Last night I finally was able to lay some tile with him, after Bug-a-boo went to sleep.  This bathroom seems to be going SO much faster than our other.  It might be because the tiles are a lot bigger so we can cover more footage with just one tile.  Whew.  We have given ourselves a deadline to get it done.  October 13. 

Think we'll make it?  We'll find out!!

It's Big Girl Time!!

We decided it was time for Haylie to move into her big girl bed - after we finally purchased a mattress (or two, since we also have a trundle).  Tonight was really the best night to put it together since we had some crazy busy nights coming up.  That and I think we were impatient to just get it over with.



Little Miss helping Daddy take down the crib



Testing out the bed.  It's a keeper!

Foreshadowing??  Jumping on the new bed.  SOO much fun!

New bedtime routine.  Mommy laying with H while reading a book.

We were prepared to sit outside her room and to go in several times tonight to make sure the new bed worked out.  We did put up a side rail so hopefully she won't fall out and pulled the trundle out a little so she can get up and down on her own.  We said good night and left.  2 seconds after that, I heard her through the wall doing something.  Justin went in and she was sitting in her chair, reading her books.  He put her back in bed.  About 5 minutes later, Justin went to check on her (she responds so much better to him) and she was at least ON her bed but playing with the picture above it.  About 10 minutes later Justin went in to check on her and she IS ASLEEP IN HER BED!!!  Goodness, I hope it goes that smoothly every night.  I'm anxious to see how tomorrow morning goes...if she gets up to read her books on her own or if she cries like she has done for the last 21 months to get out of bed.  I'm hopeful it's a restful night (for everyone!) and a good morning.  Fingers crossed!

Sinking In...

Now that the complete and utter shock of having a boy has kind of sunk in, I'm diving in full force.  Names...nursery decor...cleaning out baby stuff from Haylie's closet and moving it over to guest/baby closet if gender neutral acceptable...mentally preparing myself for cars, trucks, BUGS, dirt, sports, etc...and basically having to get boy everything!  Luckily, my sister and lots of friends have boys so if I ever really need something, I know I can ask them.  (Like, how do I deal with that...thing?!)  Everyone has said that having one of each will be awesome - and I totally agree.  I'm hopeful this baby will be a little more laid back than my drama queen Haylie.  I'm hopeful this baby will not scream with all his might the second he is hungry.  But most of all, I'm hopeful Haylie will love her little brother so much and they will be life-long friends.

I saw this on my friend Miranda's blog and I like it (first I copy her party idea and now her blogging idea...can you tell I like how Miranda thinks?)...so here we go!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Due Date: February 2, 2012

How far along: 21 weeks (tomorrow!)

Size of baby: the size of a carrot or banana

Gender: BOY!

Cravings: anything with cheese (pizza, french fries, nachos), soft pretzels from Target snack bar, pickles, salt & vinegar chips 

Sleep: Sleeping through the night!  I wake up and my bladder is screaming at me for ignoring it, but it's nice to get a full night's sleep.

Symptoms: Starting to get leg cramps but other than that, I feel GREAT!

Movement: I feel taps, kicks and punches pretty normally.  I love feeling them!

Best moments: Finding out the gender of our baby.  I don't think we can top that reaction for awhile!

Gender Reveal Party

Today was RESULTS DAY!!  I was ready but not freaking out about it...like my husband was. He kept asking, "ready to do the cupcakes yet?"

And I always said, "nope - we need to do this first."

I'm so mean.

By the way, I got all my ideas from blog-stalking via Google.  Thank goodness for Google - I'd be lost. 

The party was at 3 in the afternoon so we just kept it simple.  Popcorn, watermelon, cupcakes and meatballs.

Our baby's pictures!

What do you think - pink or blue filling?! *Cupcakes made by Chellie*

The Poopy Diaper Game.  By the way, don't microwave diapers.  They tend to burn.

Team Boy

Team Girl



It's a....What?!  A BOY?!?!?  Wait, why is Justin falling on the floor?



After we recovered from the surprise.  I accidentally spit cupcake at Justin while he was getting up from falling on the floor and then almost choked on it.  Smooooth.



Name suggestions.  My favorites - Bob, Nesbit & Justerin



The sign in - team girl vs team boy



Sweet Chellie got us our first baby BOY outfits!!



This party was SOOOO much fun.  Seriously, the surprise and being surrounded by everyone totally beat the tech saying in a monotone voice, "it's a boy."  I'm just impressed she saw the "turtle" but we never did.

Thanks everyone for coming and for indulging us in our gender party.  We appreciate you, your support and excitement! 



Anticipation

Today was one of the busiest, yet so rewarding, of days.  H and I left the house at 9:15 AM to make it to school (for her) and bible study (for me) on time!  She is doing really well with the school deal.  When I drop her off, there are no tears whatsoever.  When I come back, there are sometimes a few tears, but I can handle that because I can love on her and take her home.  I'm off track.  So off to bible study, left that a few minutes early to make it to lunch with two friends from my old work.  Leave, go get Justin some lunch, go get Justin, go to the doctor's office where we sit for 2 seconds and then we are whisked back to the ultrasound room.

Pause.

The next 20 minutes are so enjoyable - it makes my day complete.  We told the tech we didn't want to know, but to please put the gender of the baby in an envelope.  I saw on Katie's blog how Lauren did her party and my friend Miranda did a party as well.  I thought that was a fun and a special way to announce to friends and family what our baby is instead of via text message like we did for H. So we get to see our baby move, yawn, stick it's thumb up...and the very real beating of the heart.  God is SO good.  Anyway, the tech was great - she didn't even tell my DR so she wouldn't slip and we would find out. 

Fast forward again - off to drop Justin off at work, go to the bank, go pick up H from school (insert tears {from H}here).  Stop, get gas, get McDonald's cookies, head down to MWC to give secret baby info to friend Chellie who offered to make our cake/cupcakes (whatever she decides).  Stay there for about an hour or so, come home at 4:45 PM.

Exhausted yet?  I am.  Add in cooking dinner, creating family facebook page, cleaning bathroom and laundry.

This day is finally over.  As much as we fit in, I loved every second of it (well except for the cleaning and laundry)!!  I absolutely can not wait for Saturday to find out what we are having.  It's weird that one of my good friends knows...but won't tell me.  But the fun and anticipation of the party is hopefully all worth it!!

Sneak Peak

We still have 4.5 months to prepare for the new baby coming in February, but we have decided to go ahead and start transitioning Haylie to a "big girl room."  We bought a beautiful daybed and trundle from my cousin and I found the bedding last weekend!  So, with my main inspiration in hand, off I went to several stores on Tuesday while Haylie was in school.  The deal of the day??

This lampshade that goes perfectly. I about cried when I found it and cried even harder when I was told the price was under $5.  It will be an easy trade out for the rather-dull lamp shade currently in her room.  I wanted to come home and re-do her room that night...but I gotta pace myself!!!  After I bought several things, I think the tally came to under $50 (even curtains...that match perfectly)!!  Everything I got was clearanced out or on discount.  Ahh.  Have I mentioned lately that I love good deals?!  When I get her room done (it might be awhile...we have some other projects going on), I'll post pictures of it.  Until then, just gaze lovingly at this lampshade like I'm sure I will be doing for the next month or so.

A Party for Andrew

This past weekend my Dad's side of the family came up because we had a big reason to celebrate!  My cousin Andrew has spent the last year in Afghanistan working as a air-traffic controller (I don't know his official title...but I'm sure that's close.)  Anyway, it was great to see my grandparents, two of my aunts and cousins this Saturday!  We are really proud of Andrew and the service he provides for our country in the National Guard.  It only seems fitting that we had the party on September 10, the day before 9/11.  I doubt that was part of the planning...but anyway, it seemed to fit.

Great-grampa with the Peterson girl's kids!

Great-gramma with Little Miss E

The reason for the party - cousin Andrew

Andrew and his sweet wife, Karissa



Isn't my niece adorable?!



The matching t-shirt triplets

  So during the party, we were noticing all these bee's.  My parents NEVER have a problem with this so we were really wondering what this was all about.  Well, several hours after most everyone leaves, we notice the hummingbird feeder is the new "hive."  Gross!!  Lesson for all you hummingbird lovers out there - don't let the nectar get too hot and ferment!

It's Cool To Be Thrifty

Or at least I think so.  I don't care who you are, kids consignment sales are awesome.  Look at all this stuff I got for Haylie this past weekend at the Pass It On sale!!!!

I'm going to break it down for you just so you see how far you can stretch a dollar.

1 Elmo
1 guitar

13 books

1 truck

1 pr of boots

4 sunglasses

3 necklaces

3 bracelets

2 purses

1 pj's

2 jackets (1 winter, 1 raincoat)

9 pants

2 dresses

2 skirts

1 sweater

1 long-sleeved t-shirt

7 pr of socks

1 hat

1 pr of gloves

twin sized quilt & two shams for Haylie's big girl bed!!!

All for less than $90 (which sounds like a lot, but think about how much I would pay retail.)

And everything is washable or Lysol-able so who cares if it's second hand.  Haylie sure doesn't.

And it begins...

Yesterday was Haylie's first day of Sonshine School.  She has no clue what was about to happen that day or why she had a lunch box.

Apparently I'm in love with this new blue color.  You can't even see her backpack/lunchbox.  It blends in!

 She's such a pretty girl (I'm biased, I know).  Look at her hair!  It's actually out of her face!

Crying all the way to school.  She now hates being in her carseat...so even if we are going somewhere fun it's a major fight getting her there safely.

 Oh wait.  As soon as we pull into the parking lot to school, she pulls her hair out.  Sweet.

But then she refuses to get out of the car.

Mop top Haylie right outside her classroom!

I worried and thought about her all day.  Hoping she would nap, not get kicked out on her first day and would actually eat something during lunch time.  She did GREAT!!  She napped the whole designated nap time and had no tears all day until I came to pick her up.  I can't say I didn't bawl as soon as I got back to my car kid-free, but I quickly snapped out of it so I could go do some fun stuff...like grocery shopping.  Yes, I think I'm going to LOVE Sonshine School. And she will too!!!

Our Labor Day Retreat

For the long weekend, we went to Columbia, MO to visit Justin's family. Turns out we were just in time for a birthday party for the nephews (which I have no pictures from...eh, I suck as an aunt.)  Even though it's about a 7 hour trip made longer with an almost 2 year old...we still had a great weekend!

Hmm, is there something on my neck?  Like 14 princess stickers?

I need something else so I can fall asleep.  My pillow, blanket, Elmo, teddy bear, Elmo cell phone, water cup, paci and blanket just don't seem to be enough...

At the party, we got great use of Jagger and Cash's birthday present.  Haylie played on this thing for-EVER!  Her little cheeks were so pink and sweat was just pouring off her.  Gross.

Cheese...

Good thing Jagger and Cash's house is so cool.  Cousin Wren found this in the garage and Haylie and Papa took a few walks around the cul-de-sac.

Papa and Grandma's house is pretty cool too.  Haylie got to take her first 4-wheeler ride.  She was a little nervous (so was her momma!) but she still had a good time.

It's always great to go to Missouri. The drive is never fun with our Bug-Face, no matter how hard we try to be prepared.  But the time spent with family is priceless!