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 :)

Who Can Take Credit for Annabel?

Yesterday Annabel and I were having a conversation in the car. We were talking about the difference between boys and girls... i.e. "Mommy is a girl. Daddy is a boy. Bailey is a boy. Are you a girl or a boy?" Most of the time she is pretty convinced that she is a boy, and I was trying to explain to her that she is a little girl! 

"Why, mommy?" As I start to go into specifics, about our bodies, etc, I stop myself. We've been down this road before and it's way over her head. I sigh and say, "Because that's the way God made you!"

"No, mommy. Daddy made me." :-D

Gift Registry

Some have been wondering what we need for Baby Dodo. Really the only thing we really need are some new diapers. Since I bought most of Annabel's used, and we had a pretty small rotation, they are getting pretty threadbare! I added a link to a gift registry I created there to the right ------> See it? Let me know if you have any questions!

In Baby Dodo News...

Since there hasn't been a lot going on here lately, I thought I'd just update on the pregnancy. I am 18 weeks along, which is just about half, woohoo! I've been feeling really good for the past several weeks, and trying to get a lot done while I'm in this second trimester. I'm trying to remind myself of how exhausting the last couple months are so I'll be even more motivated to get stuff done. Really, the only thing I need to do is paint the room and get it in order. 

We're not planning to transition Annabel to a big-girl bed until she nearer three. So that means, Baby Dodo (this has been Annabel's nickname for the kid since the start!) will spend the first several months in our room, so I'm not stressed about sleeping arrangements yet. If there's one thing I realize this time around, its that there's plenty of time for everything! Everything does not have to be perfect to bring a baby home from the hospital :)

Since I lost a little weight at the beginning of this pregnancy, I'm still only 3 lb over my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm not showing much yet, but again, there's still plenty of time for that! Hopefully I won't put on the 50+ lbs with this one!

I have felt the baby kicking for about 2 weeks now, since about the 17th week. Derek has even been able to feel it a few times- very exciting! Baby Dodo appears to enjoy supper time the most, and especially after-supper hot tea! I love feeling all the bumps going on in there and it makes me feel like this is a strong baby. 

Oh, and I saved the best for last... we had our ultrasound yesterday, and Baby Dodo is a boy!!! Annabel has predicted it since the start, even when I was convinced it was a girl :) I am a little nervous about what it will be like to have a little boy, but excited at the same time. I loved having a brother and we had a lot of fun together, and I'm sure these two will, too!

Happy New Year!

Well, it is that time once again. A new year, and a new chance to start good habits :) I am always a sucker for New Year resolutions, so I thought I'd start by reviewing last year's goals. 

1. Learn how to knit in the round - I did it!

2. Do more crafts with Annabel - Certainly did

3. Eat more salad - Nope. I just really hate salad.

4. Make laundry soap - Did it, but haven't been too impressed. Maybe I'll play around with different recipes this year.

5. Redecorate the living room - Did it, but am already ready for a change again!

6. Write my brother more letters - Don't think I wrote a one

7. Lose 5-10 lbs by going to the gym on my lunch break - HA!

8. Stop biting my fingernails - Hmmm, well there's always this year :)

9. Stay on a routine for keeping the house clean - I'd say I've done better at this, but nowhere near where I want to be!

10. Walk the dog at least twice a week - HA! At least I nagged Derek to take him out more :)

So this year I am making a few new resolutions:

1. FInd a decent-paying part time job

2. Have a baby

3. Learn how to juggle two-child parenthood and said part time job

4. Start paying off student loans

5. Keep a plant alive long-term

6. Visit my brother in Seattle

7. Redecorate the kids' room

8. Make a new friend

9. Continue to develop a house-keeping schedule

10. Be nicer to Bailey

Wish me luck!

It's Christmas!!

Since we had planned to do so much traveling at Christmas this year, we celebrated at our house a few days early. It was so much fun to watch Annabel open her presents this year, and we were rewarded with many "ooooh!'s" and "gasp's" So sweet! We kept Christmas pretty low-key, since we knew she would also be getting so much from grandparents and aunts/uncles! From us she received many books and puzzles, two of her favorite things! She also got a wooden train and a train whistle. I'm pretty sure her favorite thing was the candy in her stocking, since she doesn't get much candy around here!  

As for myself, Derek was very thoughtful in the gifts he chose for me. I'm always surprised at how well he knows me when he chooses gifts for me! He got me several knitting pattern books, including some vintage baby patterns and some toy pattern books. So cute! He also gave me several more "fancy" types of yarns than I am used to buying for myself. My fingers are itching to start on some adorable little things for this new baby! And maybe some leg warmers for my "big" baby! Derek also surprised me with a Moby Wrap so I'll be able to tote around the little tyke in style ;)

Derek was happy with his dehydrator and Organic Gardening book:) He's been looking up recipes for jerky, which I'm pretty excited about, too. 

On the Tuesday before Christmas, we headed down to my parent's. We were able to take Bailey, which worked out so well and saved us so much money. As I walked into my parent's house, I was amazed to see an 18-foot Christmas tree in the living room! It was enormous! I couldn't believe my mom actually had enough decorations for it, but she did and it looked lovely. 

On Christmas Eve my brother flew in from Seattle. My mom was really nervous that he wouldn't make it, since last year his flight was delayed until the day after Christmas. :( However, although 105 flights from Minneapolis (his layover) were cancelled on Christmas Eve due to weather, my brother's flight made it through! It was so good to see him and I know my mom was ecstatic to have him for Christmas. 

My parents surprised Annabel (and me!) with a beautiful hand-made dollhouse. A man who is a long-time family friend made it for her, and he did a very good job. Since it was too big to fit in our car today, I'm anxious for them to bring it up here! We had so much fun playing with it while we were there! 

On the day after Christmas, we loaded up again and headed to Des Moines where Derek's parents live. I forgot my camera, so I'll have to wait until my sister-in-law posts pictures and steal them from her blog! While we were there, we got to go sledding in their front yard- very fun! I didn't think Ananbel would like it, since she tends to not be much of a daredevil, but she loved it! She kept asking, "one more time?" I was also excited to be able to do a little fabric shopping with my mother-in-law and purchase some stuff to redo the kids' room. I'm planning to do blue, lime green, and pink, and I got lots of fabric in these colors. Woohoo! 

Soon after we got back from Iowa, we headed to Kentucky for New Year's Eve! Such craziness! Derek's uncle throws a huge party every year, and always asks us to come. This year, we decided to accept, and my brother came with us. It was fun, but I ended up getting a horrible headache and going back to grandma's around 10:00 to crash on the couch! Sooo, yeah. Not a great New Year's for me, but I think the boys had fun. 

My brother helps Annabel buckle her baby into the carseat :D

I made my brother this scarf for Christmas!

Silly Times, and Sad

During the weeks leading up to Christmas, I racked my brains trying to come up with new and creative ways to entertain my child. I hate getting out in this cold weather, which means we spend a lot of time staring at each other within these four walls. 

Annabel has become so silly! I have the funniest picture of her wearing one of my, ahem, brassieres, but it is a bit shocking so I'm not going to post it!  If you come to my house I will show you :) She loves to imitate mommy in every way, which can be flattering but a bit scary at times!  

I'm not sure what she's eating here, maybe pineapple and banana?? Whatever it is, she seems to be enjoying it!

Fingerpainting in the living room...

And fingerpainting in the bathtub!! Hey, don't knock it until you have a bored two-year-old needing an outlet for lots of energy! Slap on those play clothes and go for it!!

Aaaaand, here she is nursing her baby. Annabel is obsessed with her baby. Not only does she nurse her regularly, she changes her diaper, says "Shooooweee, baby!" then proceeds to "dump" the diaper in the toilet, then puts baby on the potty to pee, takes her baby downstairs and puts her in the highchair to feed her "roni cheese," back upstairs to rock her, read to her and put her down for a nap. Annabel is learning how exhausting it is to be a mommy!

My little diva.

One night, while unsupervised, I hear, "mommy, I get snack." I walk in the dining room to see that she has dumped an entire box of cereal on her high chair. Doh! 

I didn't get a good picture of my sweet girl in her Christmas dress, but this is the fur coat that my grandma sent up for her :) So over the top, but adorable! Her dress was beautiful, I'll try to remember to get a picture the next time she wears it - and she will be wearing it again!

It was also a sad week because Annabel's best friend Noni moved away. Of course, she doesn't understand what that means, but I was sad for her. Okay, okay, I was a little sad for myself, too. But don't tell anyone!

Saying goodbye. We will miss you guys!