February Fun

Derek had a day off in the middle of the week this week, so we decided to do something fun. We had been wanting to go to the Indy Children's Museum for a while, but when I was researching it, I discovered that Muncie has a children's museum as well- much closer and much cheaper! So we went, and we had so much fun. Annabel was the perfect age and she absolutely loved it. 

Here she is looking at the big snakes! She didn't like them :)

Watching the trains with daddy

Her very favorite part of the day? The big "wee!" She talked about it all the way home!

This little kitchen was so cute. Everything was scaled to miniature :)

Seriously, Annabel was thrilled to load and unload a little dishwasher! I think she could have done this all day! She always tries at home and I don't let her ;)

The little grocery store- so cute!

Filling her cart with fruits and vegetables like a good girl!

"Checking out"

The child was thrilled to have found a box of mac & cheese on the shelf!

Being an ant

By about 1:00, she was completely pooped out :) This was way more fun than she's used to!

Chilling out with daddy after a long day, ready to go home!

Yesterday and today I have been in the process of going through and organizing baby clothes. Annabel's room looks like it's thrown up blue everywhere! It's okay, though- I'm starting to grow (kind of) fond of blue/green/orange. Between Annabel's gender neutral stuff, some hand-me-downs, and what I've bought, I think we have enough clothes for triplets. At least for the first 6 months or so! And there's still yard sale season :)

 

Annabel LOVES to try on the baby clothes- both on herself and on her baby! Check out these 3-6 mo pants! 

She's learning the golden rule of being a girl- just because something goes on doesn't mean it fits!! (She's going to kill me someday when she realizes I put this picture on the internet...)

Her baby gets to test one of the teeny weeny diapers!

Miss Cookie Face

One of the things I love to do with Annabel during the day is baking. She loves to "help," and especially loves to sneak bites of batter and dough! She has the cutest little apron (she calls it her "opern") that I still need to get a picture of her in. This week we made chocolate chip cookies. I had to take some pictures of her enjoying the warm cookies just out of the oven! 

                                "Whoops!"

Last weekend we went to some friends for a Super Bowl party. Derek made me dig out Annabel's cheerleading outfit from last year... it is a size 12 mo! The sleeves were a little short, so we rolled them up, and of course it fit more like a tunic than a dress this year... but overall it worked :) Here she is playing stamps with Derek's boss:

And how I spent most of the evening...

Here are some silly belly pictures that Derek snapped before we left... 22 weeks here. And my hair is wet, not greasy! 

I posted on Facebook tonight that we have more or less decided on a name for Baby Dodo. Annabel knows his name... but it sounds suspiciously like she is saying "Baby Asshole!" Any guesses?! :) We weren't really planning to reveal the name... but this was so funny I just couldn't resist! I about spit out my milk at supper when I heard her say it! I'm just hoping she gets the pronunciation down a little better before June...

Oh yeah, one last picture. I finished the sweater I've been making for the baby! Here it is, so tiny and cute! The wool is a superfine merino, just so soft and cuddly. And I'll probably switch out the yellow ribbon for a light blue one, I just wanted to see how the ribbon would look. It's a pretty light wool, so I'm hoping it will fit around early fall. This was my first "big" project, and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! 

Adventures in No-Poo

I just thought of something interesting that I've been up to that is blog-worthy. It is called no-poo. And no, it does not mean that I'm refusing to use the bathroom :) (Gross!)

No-poo is an underground movement of sorts, perhaps better defined as a rebellion against the idea that we must wash our hair every day. So I've stopped using shampoo. Well, actually, I'm weaning my scalp of shampoo, and am currently going about 10 days between washes. In between I use a baking soda paste or an all-natural shampoo bar. 

I think its been really interesting. I've always had pretty dry hair that could go 2-3 days between washing, but the point is that your scalp produces oil on an as-needed basis. Just like breastfeeding, scalp oil is all about supply-and-demand. So if you wash your hair more often, the more it needs washed, because you're stripping away the natural oil. 

Most people probably go no-poo for ecological reasons (less plastic packaging) or just to save money. Myself, I kind of just wanted to try it. Why not? I'm all about saving money and simplifying my life so I thought it would be a neat experiment. 

I've read a lot of testimonials online about how people who do this have amazing results, with shinier, bouncier, healthier hair. I can't say that my own results have been amazing or life-changing, but it hasn't been awful, either. There is a transition period of anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months for your body to regulate the amount of oil (sebum) it needs to produce. That has been the hardest part for me, because obviously, nobody likes greasy hair. But I just tried to time my "in-between" days for days I knew we weren't going anywhere and it was okay. And after about 4-5 weeks, I think I'm at a good place with this. My hair just seems... normal. Not amazingly beautiful, but I've never been that lucky anyway ;) And certainly not greasy or stringy or gross. 

I mentioned something about it to Derek a few days ago, and he said, "oh, are you still doing that? I completely forgot!" So I guess thats a good sign :) If this is something that interests you, just google "no poo" and you'll get tons of information. It's kind of cool. 

See, it doesn't look too bad :) This is how Annabel and I spent the last hour of the Super Bowl!

I know I've been lazy in my posting lately. I've been pretty lazy in most areas of life lately, to be completely honest :) Staying home all the time with very little structure is not good for my productivity!

So what have we been up to for the past several weeks? I'll try to remember. I've started back to my Thursday night job at Family Services, which is nice. Unfortunately, it's only 1.5 hours a week! It is basically just leading parenting groups at our local elementary schools using the Family Foundations curriculum. And it's nice because I'm able to bring Annabel with me if Derek's working late, since child care is provided, or she can stay with me if she wants. 

I've been doing a little bit of summer-clothes shopping when I find good deals. Annabel had fun giving me a fashion show earlier this week! Here are some pictures of us wishing for summer (and yes, I should have taken off her socks and wiped her face before taking pictures! :) :

This dress is such a soft velvet, and has such pretty detailing. I couldn't pass it up :)

She loved this striped halter top. She asks to wear it all the time :) 

And this is one of her favorite things to do right now:

 
She loves to be "up high!" Don't worry, grandpa, Derek or I stand close behind her.

Two weekends ago, I drove to Lexington to meet up with my friend Melanie. We spent the day doing some shopping, hitting up the clearance sales at Old Navy and Marshall's. After much deliberation, I picked up this bedroom set, so I'm posting this pic for you, Mel!



I found a little table for Annabel, which was supposed to be an art table, but she loves to eat her snacks there. 

Her attempt at a casual pose :) This is the bathrobe I made her for Christmas. 

Last week, Derek was gone at a camp leaders conference in Lexington. I took Annabel to McDonald's as a special treat... she calls it "EIEIO's house." So cute! Here she is playing in the play place.  

Of course, that night she came down with the flu and puked 7-8 times. I don't know if she'll ever want McDonalds cheeseburgers again! I know I sure don't ;)

In anticipation of a new little one, I bought Annabel a new carseat. Buying carseats is tricky because our car is so, so little. I was excited to find this one, because it was on clearance for $120 OFF, and it will grow with Annabel to 80 lbs. I really thought it would fit behind the driver seat (with Derek driving) but of course, it does not. So again, we are faced with the decision of selling our car and getting something bigger, which is SO not in the budget, or driving the jeep everywhere until we CAN afford something new. I don't like that idea either, b/c the jeep isn't very comfortable or safe, in my opinion. Ugh. 

Winter days get so boring, but we try to break up the monotony with play dates. Here's Annabel doing one of her very favorite things, holding a baby! 

And yes, she's wearing red and pink ;) My little stylista loves to dress herself!

Pregnancy-wise, things are going well. I'm still feeling well and showing more every day, it seems like! My midwife informed me that my placenta is lying very low at this point, over my cervix, so hopefully it will move upwards. I have another u/s scheduled in a few weeks to check. If it does not move, I'll have a c-section... obviously not what I'm going for. 

Annabel loves to talk to her little brother and shake my belly to "wake him up." She says the funniest things :)