At the Lake

Ella thinks she is part fish! Even when she was shivering with cold, she refused to leave the water. She did so well kicking her feet and swimming. The beach was so clear and pretty. A little rocky for my tender feet, but they got used to it!!

Jack Jack. I told him to say cheese and he said, "Cheese pizza!!"

Ella's snack of choice. She got kind of territorial over these!

Jara bug in the cutest swimming suit ever!! I loved ruffle bums!

Ella doesn't like the wind in her eyes when the boat picks up speed. I let her wear my sunglasses so she could see. Doesn't her hooded cover up and life jacket make a wonderful combo?

She loves froggy floaty ring. He got some miles put on him!!! I forgot how much fun it is to go to the lake!! Especially with Ella! She LOVES the water. We start mommy and me swimming lessons in a few weeks and I think it will be the highlight of her summer!!

Ella and Her Crazy Ways

She went into the baby's room and tried to put on all of her clothes. When I found her she informed me, "These clothes are too small!!"

After swimming, she likes to wear her froggy towel for a good hour. She loves it! She also loves to play Daddy's Ipod. Scary thing is: she's actually good at it!!

Her crazy tan. When she naked it looks like she has a little white swim suit on!!

The Desert Ground Hog

Starting around the beginning of May, a rare creature appears in my house. The desert ground hog. Every morning she sticks her hand out the door to see how hot the air is outside. If it is only warm, she may venture out. If it is scorching hot, she retreats back into her lair and tests the temperature the next morning.

The ceiling fans are all spinning, the air conditioner is roaring, and the swimming pool is filled. I am sweltering already, as little Scarlet is trying her best to fry me. My feet are puffing up and I'm retaining water. Our bed is at sheet status. (No blankets, just one sheet to cover up with.) Brent asked if he needed to look for a second job so we could keep the house at 68 degrees this summer......and I thought about it!!! Ella has a crazy tan, and her hair is getting more blond.

Bad news?..... It's May, and I have a feeling I have a LONG summer ahead of me!!

* I'll show the crazy tan later. Good thing she didn't get her daddy's honkey white genes!! He just turns various shades of red.

My Mind Is Consumed!!!

As every pregnant woman can probably attest to, I am CONSUMED by all thoughts baby!!

• Will the baby come early?
• If early, will it be TOO early?
• Will labor be fast again?
• Or will it be totally different?
• Will I need a C section?
• What if Brent's at work and it is a lot faster than last time? With Ella I was in labor for 5 hours and 1 minute. I remember because I looked at my phone, ready to call my mom and my water broke. It was 12:38 and Ella was born at 5:39.
• So if it is faster, will Brent get home in time? He has to come in off the road, get out of uniform, and drive to Mesquite. My mom was only in labor for 2 hours with me!!
• And if it is that fast will I not be able to have an epidural? This SCARES me. Yeah I know people have done it and choose to do it the natural way, but I am not one of those who wish to have the experience!!! AT ALL!!
• And if I have an epidural, what if my legs stay numb forever?
• Or what if it doesn't work?
• Or what if it comes un-numb like it did with Ella? Thankfully it was only a little bit, and I needed it to let up a little or I couldn't feel to push.
• What if it's too early and I have to be taken to Sunrise Hospital and have my specialist deliver me?
• What if my mom & dad are in Canada at the time?

And the list goes on. Obviously the more I think about it the more panicked I get. And the more panicked I get the more hysterical I become!! I'd like to think I am not the only one who gets consumed and worried over every little thing, but am I? Does anyone else freak out like this!

Note* I have been posting more often because I'm BORED and my thoughts run away with me!!

Things I Would Do Different

I read one of my blogging buddies blog about what she wished she would have know when having her first babies. I don't feel like I am entitled to claim such an opinion, as I am only on my 2nd child, (she's on her 4th) BUT I certainly know what I will do DIFFERENT!!!

• Breast Feeding- I was very adamant that I was going to nurse exclusively. I even got upset with the nurses for giving Ella a bottle. Nursing is the best and I wanted the best for my baby! Well, flash forward 4 months...she had only gained 2 pounds from birth, had dropped dramatically in the percentile and was constantly crying. In hind sight, I realize this was because she was always hungry. I started supplementing, flooded with feelings of guilt. At 6 months she was done with me completely, and she preferred a bottle to me. This was because she was just starving and I was not giving enough for her.
• Lesson learned? I will not be so narrow minded this time, and will feed my poor starving baby in the event history repeats itself!!! Of course I would rather nurse than anything else, but if it ain't happen' this time, I'll admit defeat!!
• Sleeping in- I would drag myself out of bed at 7:30, no matter what time I went to bed, because I thought I needed to maintain some form of schedule no matter what.
• Lesson learned? I will sleep half the time Brent has FMLA, (6 weeks!) and as much as possible until this baby is 3 months old!!
• People touching the baby- This time I will just be flat out rude if yucky strangers try to touch my infant.
• I will do whatever necessary to make my child sleep. Even if it is going for a car ride, walk, rocking or bouncing!
• I'm very happy to be a home this time where our child's room is not in a dark, dank basement.
• I am very happy to have one good cat and not 2 evil cats!
• I like to envision my due date and focus my inner chi on when I will deliver. This time around I have envisioned a certain date that will put me around 37 weeks. Now I would like to clarify- I am not trying to have my baby EARLY. I am trying to keep it in there that long!!!
• I am thoroughly convinced that this 2nd time around will be a little easier than the first time. We are still struggling with what to do with the first little angel we received!

So what are your lessons learned? What would you do different? Something that you think would just solve everything?

The Quiet Book

The front cover. The purple button is just for show, it closes with a snap underneath.

The sun, cloud, rainbow colors and birdie are all removable with Velcro.

Rubber legged kitty cat.

Cookie jar, complete with a dozen cookies.

Tool box. There are other tools besides the ones showing but they are kind of ugly! So I hid them in the tool box!

Shapes. Under all the shapes I stitched the outline so she would know where to put them. Also attached with Velcro. (Everything is!)

Little monsters! Or amoebas. Also know as: left over felt, googly eyes, buttons and Velcro!

The big shoe. Big shoe is missing its laces. I still need to do little button holes and give it a lace so Ella can tie it.

Caterpillar. All his body segments come off.

And finally!! The barn. The little animals are finger puppets. Horse, cow, sheep, chicken, and pig. I thought I would add what they are because some people have had a hard time identifying the horse!!

I stole a lot (ok most) of my ideas from my blogging buddy Lauren!! She is an awesome, crafty girl!! The quiet book should make its 1st appearance on Sunday. Hopefully it does its job and keeps Ella QUIET.

Nobody Asked Me But.....

I posted this same post a few days ago. When I went to post about the baby, I somehow inadvertently erased it. So I'm posting it again!! It will be from memory and I'm not sure I'll be able to remember it all, but I give it a try!

Our local newspaper runs a weekly column written by a man named Dr. Larry Moses. I like reading his ideas and opinions on every day matters. So I'm ripping off his idea for some of my format.

Nobody asked me but...... Cloth diapers are nasty. I am up to my neck in poop every day as it is, I don't need to be rinsing out said poop in the toilet. I don't care if I end up living in one big disposable diaper-filled landfill. I still wouldn't make the change.

Nobody asked me but...... 'Prolonged nursing' (or nursing after 12 months) is also gross. If your kid can run up to you, pat your boob and ask for a snack, it's time to wean people!! Your not proving anything to anyone by nursing your 3 year old!

Nobody asked me but...... Co-sleeping is dangerous. Sure put baby in your bed to nurse while you sleep, or for a few hours, or when they're sick. But all night long isn't the best choice. Ask my husband who has been on numerous calls of suffocated infants. Either by parents, siblings or pets.

Nobody asked me but.... Home births are also dangerous. I know my pioneer ancestors had a baby and trekked 30 miles across the plains the next day. But they also lost multiple children to birth complications and disease. If you don't want to bother with a doctor, or you don't like hospitals, fine. Go to a birthing center and make sure your mid wife knows what the hell she's doing.

Nobody asked me but.... If your kid is sick, take it to the doctor!!! I don't need my child sick because little Johnny was coughing, sniffling, puking or running a fever. Antibiotic were invented for a reason and so were immunizations! If not, half the countries populations would still be effected by polio. God bless penicillin or I would have died from strep throat years ago!!

Thanks for reading! The opinions expressed above are my own. I don't think this 2nd draft did the 1st one justice, but the idea is the same!

It's a.........

I went to the specialist again today. I really do like both of my doctors very much, but doubling up on appointments makes for A LOT of trips to the doctor's office! I dread every one because I have "white coat hypertension". Which basically described is: I'm scared of doctors and going makes me stress out. But Dr. W and Dr. O are awesome! They are great men who are excellent at their jobs. They always answer all my questions, even when I bring a literal list to the appointment to ask!

Baby Bowler measure good. Looked good. Was kicking around like an angry little cat. And even measured a little big. 7 whole ounces! Two weeks ago, they told us they were %90 sure it was a GIRL and today they confirmed it!! We are having another girl!! I am very, very excited!! I WANTED another little girl SO much. I wanted to be able to use Ella's clothes, gear, shoes and general stuff again. I wanted to have more pink and bows and lace. And I DIDN'T want to get to experience 'boy parts' from a general upkeep kind of angle!! I know that's selfish, so I promised Brent that the next one could be a boy. :) If in the event I loose my mind and decide to be pregnant again. It's really hard on me... and my ego.

Crazy thing is: out of the 6 women in my family unit, of child bearing years, 4 are pregnant!! And so far 3 of us are having girls!! This little one will definitely have cousins to play with.

We have decided the name Scarlet. I haven't quite narrowed down a middle name yet. I named Ella after my mom's mom, Ruth. So we'll see where we go for little Scarlet. The only flaw in the plan is, if she is born with red hair (which is a possibility) she will not be named Scarlet. Because that is just cruel!! We will have to think of something else!!