It's Official...

that I have redefined myself as a 26 year old, mini-van driving, Justin Bieber loving mom of two.

I guess we're van people after all. I'm really excited about our new car. I absolutely love the Jetta. Love love love love. This is just more practical for our little family. It's a 2004 Toyota Sienna and I'm in love with the color. It's not one of the new fancy shmancy vans, but it does have a DVD player and dual sliding doors. The best part is that it fits much better within our budget. Look at me being practical. The Jetta was beginning to feel a little tight with the car-seats and all and we realized that when people come to visit, we'd have to take two cars everywhere we go, unless, of course, they wanted to try and fit between the car-seats. I'm pretty excited to start my life as a minivan driving mom. Okay, I'm a little reluctant, but I'm still having fun.

34 Weeks

I switched practices this week. It's a little late in my pregnancy, I know, but my last visit with my OB left me feeling unsupported and hopeless. I asked my HypnoBirthing instructor and my good, natural childbirth friend for a recommendation and both gave me the name of the same midwife practice. So, at the beginning of February, I called and made an appointment. They are pretty popular and pretty busy but I had my first appointment this week. I don't think I can properly convey the great difference in the way I felt during and after visits with my former care-provider and with the kind woman who listened to my concerns with patience and Derek's birth story with incredulity. I felt great relief as she told me the things that I felt I had to talk my doctor into previously are standard practice for the midwives! I still have to have an IV and continuous monitoring because I'm attempting a VBAC but I do not have to have the epidural catheter inserted "just in case." I just feel so much more confident, safe, and supported in the kind of birth that I would like to have.

So anyway, that's the big excitement for the week. I still feel great and I can't believe that I'm 34 weeks. It's getting harder to sleep because my options are severely limited and I wake up with numb limbs. My back has started to kill me, just starting today. Small prices to pay, really, and I think it's my fault. I need to work on my posture. I sit on the couch at a slant too. I need to be better. I've taken out the exercise ball; that will be my new chair. We're in the home stretch! I'm so excited! Little Scarlett will be here before we know it! I better pick a middle name... I've narrowed it down to 4 or 5. Maybe I'll just take those to the hospital with me and decide when I see her. Hopefully I won't be on Morphine like I was when I named Derek. Haha. Seriously.

Weeks 32 and 33

32 Weeks.

I'm still feeling pretty good. I am tired of the acne though. I had beautiful skin with Derek. My first pregnancy made my skin so nice! I guess girls start giving you grief early. I think it's finally getting better though. I don't know if it's the ProActive, the Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy, the massive amounts of water I'm drinking, or if it's just that the hormones are fluctuating in my favor but I'm hopeful that maybe my skin will start to clear up!

Scarlett is a squirmer. Her kicks are distinctly different than Derek's were. Derek's were sharp and quick. Scarlett's movements have a more roll-y feel to them. Does that make sense? It's funny how you can tell in a small way the different personalities of babies in the womb. She moves a lot. She's a lot lower than Derek ever was too, which I look at as a very good thing because it probably means she's actually in a proper position for a natural birth. Woohoo!

I still don't have heartburn.

33 Weeks.

I'm getting more and more excited as Spring approaches. I am excited and happy that Scarlett will be here soon. I still have so much to do before she comes. When I tell people that I'm "due" in April, it seems so far away and then I think about it in weeks and I freak out a little bit. 6 or 7 weeks! That's it? I don't have her room ready or a middle name and I have about a thousand little organizing projects that I should complete before she gets here! I am stressed about the cleaning, etc. And I just can't decide on a middle name. I have a few favorites but... I don't know.

I've only started swelling in the last couple of weeks. We drove to California, and I think the swelling there was just from being in the car for so long over a three day spread. I had to take my ring off during church today because it was feeling a little tight but I was able to put it back on shortly afterward. So, not bad at all! Like I said, I still feel pretty great. I could use a nice massage though... Man, I want a massage!!! And a foot rub... awww... a foot rub would be awesome... And a bath! Does anyone have a big tub I can camp out in? Mine is very very small... Maybe I'll just have to escape to a spa. If only...

If only...

A preggy can dream, can't she?

Derek, Just About a Month Before the Big 2

Derek is quickly approaching 2 years old! He is so funny and so lovable. He still loves "Kachow" or Disney/Pixar's "Cars." I think that's what I'm going to try to have as the theme for his birthday party. He will often fall asleep with two or three "Kachows" in his hands. If you'll notice in the pictures, he had to have "Kachow" playing with him in the snow. He also loves to play the Wii "Cars" game and MarioKart. He knows Mario, Yoshi, and calls Princess Peach, "mommy." That's how he gets me to play "Go Go" (MarioKart). He's getting better at it and can even make it through a whole lap every now and again! I was impressed.

We had a couple of good snow days that he was able to go out and play. He mostly likes to throw it and eat it. I tried to help him build a snowman but he kept eating it. He calls the snow, "nose," which I always find amusing.

He says a few things very distinctly, like, stuck, for instance is "scuss." He also says some pretty funny phrases like, "are you kidding me?" and "aww man!" His vocabulary is growing quickly and we have to watch what we say because he repeats just about everything. Not everything is completely understandable yet, but he's getting there. He also sings along with whatever music we're listening to. His favorite right now is anything from "Wow Wow Wubbzy." We went through a phase of listening to "Witch Doctor" and "Hot Dog!" from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse over and over again.



He gives lots of hugs and kisses. The other night, Derek was asleep and kinda woke up, found my hand, and put it under his face. He let out a little baby sigh and fell back asleep. It absolutely melted my heart. Those are the moments I live for. Just the other day, Tyler was taking my pregnancy picture for the week and Derek wanted in on it. He smiled and said, "cheese!" He kept giving me kisses and posing. It was adorable! It was the first time I've seen him ham it up for the camera. He usually gets this look on his face like, "okay, Mom, enough pictures!"

Derek can jump with both feet off the floor, which is apparently advanced as far as balance goes. I'm such a proud mama. He's getting those fine motor skills down as well. He eats with utensils, most of the time. I don't even put a bib on him most of the time anymore because he's not really that messy. Well, at least he doesn't get a lot of food on his clothing anymore. He still makes a mess. He's really good at picking things up with his thumb and forefinger. He can kick a ball. He tries to throw and catch as well. He stacks blocks. He's even starting with pretend play. That's a big milestone!

I can't believe my baby is almost 2. I can't believe he'll have a baby sister soon! It's probably going to rock his world. I hope everything goes well. I know there will be an adjustment. I'm just worried about it. I hope he still feels loved and appreciated and that he and Scarlett get along. When I ask Derek where Scarlett is, he points to my stomach. The first time he made the connection he said, "Oh there he is!" It made me laugh. How did I get such an adorable little boy? He is adored. Have you seen his eyelashes? I think he's beautiful.
And smart.
And amazing.

Goodbye to a Beloved Uncle

I got a call from my mom a week ago, Sunday. She sounded sad when she left me a voice message and when I called her back, she told me that my Uncle Ron had passed away that morning. It didn't sink in right away. It still doesn't feel real and it's been a week and a half. I still feel like I'll see him next time we go to Riverside. I wish we would have made it down there more often.

I love my Uncle Ron. It was so fun to visit him. I knew that when we were going to see Uncle Ron, we'd have good food and laugh until our cheeks hurt. Some of the best meals I've ever had were made by Chef Fry. When he used to barbecue, he'd give us little bits to taste that he called, "cheater meat." His beef jerky put all other beef jerky to shame.

His sense of humor never failed. You could count on his sly wit and impeccable timing to have the whole room laughing. He loved us, even though we may have annoyed him. He was patient with me. When I was very young, I'd steal his seat every time he left it. He smiled and resisted the urge to forcefully remove me from his chair. He won my heart by calling me, "the pretty one." He was a character.

I will miss him. I'm sad that my children won't get to know him in this life. I'm comforted in my belief that I will see him again one day. Goodbye, Uncle Ron, until we meet again.

My family at the Memorial.

That Goal I Made...

Ask me how I'm doing on that goal I made to go to bed before 2:00am every night...

Go ahead...

Remember, it was just a few nights ago?


I'm failing miserably. Goodnight.
Maybe I'll do better tomorrow...