Wednesday, December 21, 2011

We have been busy!! :) Love this time of Year!

This month and the month of October are prob my favorite months!  They are very busy but there are so many fun things to do with children!  (and without) I continue to be so tired with this pregnancy and usually head to bed around 8:30-9 after we get Allie put down for the night!  Other than that I'm feeling pretty good!  I usually take all my pictures on my phone and then upload to the blog- but the last few times I have set down to update the blog my phone goes on the fritz!! (So I'm waiting till the sprint store is less crazy to go in and get my phone fixed) 

Anyway here are a few of the fun things we have been up to since the last time I posted-

This is Allie's Wed class and her teacher Ms Jenny!  We Sure do LOVE her!!!
All Dressed up for the program on Thurs!

We can start off with Allie's Mothers Day Out program.  She had one on Wed & Thurs- (for each of her classes) They sang Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells & Happy Birthday Jesus- it was adorable!  Allie was very involved with the songs and did all the hand motions to Away in a Manger. I have a very cute video- if I can only figure out how to get it off of my silly phone!!  The following week she had had her Christmas Party at school and they painted adorable reindeer shirts with their hands and feet!  Myself and another mom were able to come into the class and help make the shirts!   The Christmas parties were so much fun and Allie got to have one on Wed & Thurs again! 

We signed up to bring treat bags one day and made cute little reindeer & snowman donuts.  They were a hit and so much fun to make!
 

Every year (for the past 3 I can remember) We have gone to Karen's house to do Gingerbread houses. She stays up for hours and hours baking the houses for us and everyone usually brings candy or things to decorate with!   This is a "mommy" only activity as we take several hours to complete these silly houses. And Leslie & I usually bring our moms too- It is so much fun!!  A tradition I really look forward to every year!!  

Something else fun that we did with some of my moms in the playgroup was we got together for a cookie exchange and a toy swap. In this picture Allie & my mom are helping me make the cookies!!  We swapped some toys that our kids no longer played with and everyone ended up with 3-4 new toys!! That was a bunch of fun!!

 Later in the week we met up for a Mom's Night Out Christmas Party at Tru Fire.  We had such a good time!  I am so blessed to have so many wonderful mommy friends!!

Also we have started working on the nursery furniture.  I was hoping to save some money so I purchased all the baby room furniture off of craigslist and plan to paint & re-finish everything... So far we have sanded and primed everything.  I started to paint last weekend, and realized that I had the wrong paint! UgH!  SO we went to the store and bought more paint... just wish I had the right paint before painting with the wrong stuff for 21/2 hours last weekend! (Its not like I have extra energy here! :))

Friday, December 16, 2011

Fun with Toby the elf!

Here are a few fun pictures from the adventures of Toby!  We are having so much fun with our little elf this year!  Every morning Allie wakes up and wants to hunt for Toby, then she says how silly he is! He is a great tool to help remind her that "Toby is watching" and will report all naughty behavior back to Santa!




Saturday, December 3, 2011

Breakfast With Sata

This morning we got up and went to have breakfast with Santa at the Methodist Church.For $5 we got breakfast, a craft & Allie got her picture with Santa!   It was a really nice fund raiser and the breakfast was delicious!  They served pancakes, sausage & fruit!  Tasty!!  But boy was it packed!  I had no idea it would be so packed!!  Allie did pretty good considering the chaos!  (Also she stayed "clean & dry the entire time- even though we tried to take her potty 4 times!!)   We had both grandma's with us today and that is always a lot of fun!  (the extra hands are very nice too!)  Here are some of the pictures!

Here we are waiting in line for Santa, the line was over an half hour-
 thankfully the Grandmas kept Allie free from the line until the last 5 mins or so!


I was so surprised how good Allie did this year!! Last year she had an awful fit! 
 This year, she went right up and told Santa she wanted a Piano for Christmas!!
 (funny bc we have one at home??)

Meet Toby!! (and the potty training blues....)

This year is our first year to celebrate the Elf on the Shelf family tradition.   It took us 3 days to name our little elf (naming isn't quite our strong suite) but we have finally decided on the name Toby.  The way this tradition works- or as the story is told- this little elf comes every year after Thanksgiving as Santa's helper. His job is to report back to the North Pole if you have been Naughty or Nice. Upon his return he will arrive in a new place in the home. Each morning the children will awake, and have to find their elf.  Because the elf is magic, he can not be touched by the children or his magic will be lost.  While Allie is so little we are being really tricky to keep him out of her reach for now!  Also we love to tell her "Toby" said so, or "Toby is going to tell Santa"... seems to be working just right! :)
This was Toby's first appearance, He left her a note thanking her for his name!!

A few days later- he was coloring pictures for her when she got up!
And on to the Blues... Potty training blues... Last week we went to Panties everyday- all day.  This has been such a chore for us! (and her too)  We started potty training in August and were almost 90% trained when MDO started.   I felt bad for the teacher, and worried about accidents so I sent her to school in pull ups- BIG MISTAKE, HUGE!!!  Well we went from having 1-2 accidents at a time to only being about 50% potty trained to having an accident EVERY time we put panties on!  UGH!  So we are back to square one.  Everyone is re-training.  I am learning as we go, and Allie really does not like to be "told when" she needs to "go".  (strong willed?)  So we argue and negotiate (I'll give you candy if you go) - and then preggie mommy gets fed up and  I say- OK fine, and let her win, a few mins later she has an "accident"...  The worst part to me is when we have an accident in the car seat!! It has to be brought inside taken apart and washed!! Last week when I brought this inside (after she peed in it) I was messing with the straps and looked at her to find she was peeing in the kitchen floor!!! I had enough and told Daddy he could help put the car seat back together!!   I look forward to the days when I can look back and laugh at these moments!  Lord help me when I have 2!!  Not sure how I'll manage- lets hope Lindy is an ANGEL!!

Friday, November 25, 2011

So much to be Thankful for...

What a fun week we have had this week.  Allie didn't have MDO this week so we stayed in all week.  Part of my plan was to really put some hard work into this potty training thing.  Man- if it were just as easy as "they" say!!  SO knowing that I planned to "stay-in" this week I got on-line and looked up some fun Thanksgiving craft ideas for Allie & me to do...
This picture is to show off her "princess" shoes, she loves to wear them around the house, and dresses are easier to potty train in... 


This turkey is Allie's foot, and a collection of her recent art works cut into feathers.  She drew the eyes and helped me glue everything down.. 


The next craft we did was using old wine corks as little dabbers to make leafs on the fall trees.  It was really funny to me on the other trees we made for the Grandma's she went a little crazy with the brown below the trees. When I asked her what that was, she told me that they were "dinosaurs"- what a silly little girl!

Tuesday I caved in and we went to a "Thanksgiving" themed playdate. My playgroup is one of the things I am so thankful for- we started the playgroup about 2 years ago and it has turned into such a FUN- loving group of moms & toddlers and now new babies as well. It is so nice to have a group of friends who run into the same things you do day in and day out in this journey of motherhood!  

Another thing I am thankful for this year is that the pregnancy is going well! (minus not being able to feel her move all the time) (Also thankful for the doppler that Alyssa let us borrow- very re-assuring to hear the heart beat anytime you start to worry!! )  Oh and we have finally found a name for "she"!!  Her name is going to be Lindy Mae Stuart!   Its really cute to ask Allie about her baby sister- she will tell you that she is in her tummy, and that her name is Lindy!  This morning Allie picked up one of the baby name books and told me that she was "looking for a name"... too cute!

I could go on and on about all the many things I am so thankful for, our home, our health etc etc- (which I am sooo thankful for btw)  but I really want to stop and really be thankful for a few more things!  Most importantly I am so thankful that Allie has 2 AWESOME Grandma's!! They are both so helpful and hands on it is so fun to watch her grow and interact with each of them.  I grew up with 1 awesome hands-on grandma that was so much fun and another grandma that lived out of town and we didn't see her very much.  I love that Allie sees both of her grandmas every week and is building fun memories with each one of them... aww!

Princess Allie & Princess Daddy
 Thankful that daddy lets me sleep in and takes such good care of this Princess!

Finally I am so blessed with my little family!  Allie & Kelsey- They make my world so complete!  I am so thankful to have met, married & made babies with my best friend in the whole world!  (as I write this they are upstairs giggling and wrestling and having so much fun!)  I love what a great Husband and Father that Kelsey is- I don't always brag about how awesome he is- at least not to all of my friends, bc I don't want to "rub it in" on how awesome he is- or be "that girl" who has the BEST kids, or Husband...... but man am I ONE lucky girl! 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving Feast

Last week Allie had her Thanksgiving Feast at her mothers day out! They had a sign up sheet where everyone signed up to bring something. The teachers brought in chick-fil-a, and then the parents all brought a side, (paper goods, cookies, pretzels,juice boxes, cheese bites- you know- toddler feast stuff!)  We signed up to bring cookies since I have so much fun making the sugar cookies! :)  Here are some of the pictures of the fun!



Such a big helper! 
 (we are with out pants here- as usual at home- we are potty training!!)


Mrs Jenny said the kids had a LOT of fun eating these cookies!  The "eyes" were their favorite part!

All dressed up for the party at "school"

I also like to try to "spoil" Allie's Teacher Mrs. Jenny- so about a week ago I sent her a list of questions to find out some of her favorite things... Dark chocolate just happens to be one of those so I put this little gift of "thanks" together for her!  Its a bag of dark chocolates with a little turkey decoration on the top.

One more bit of baking I did last week was make a "super hero" cake for one of my friends little boy's 5th birthday party!  I had a LOT of fun making this one- except for the part where I stress out since it is for someone else!! :)  I'm really proud of this cake- I think its one of my best yet! :)  

Friday, November 11, 2011

April 4th- or so they say!

Well our sonogram went well yesterday... or at least we haven't gotten any calls yet from the Dr/ Midwife with any concerns.  Kelsey said that "if" something was wrong the sonogram tech would have spent a whole lot longer than 15 mins looking at our little "she".   The tech said that everything looked good from her end, but I don't know if they are "allowed" to say anything or not... so I'm going to think positively and assume that everything is fine!  YAY!! Currently, based on the 1st sonogram & this one yesterday "they" project the due date for April 4th.  If you go by my calendar (and my last cycle date)  the due date is March 31st.  I guess I'll get used to saying that "she" will be here in April- instead the end of March... April birth stone is a Diamond anyway... so can't go wrong with that right??  Except Kelsey may go broke buying me Ruby's (Allie's birthstone) & Diamonds... 

Oh and I'm really glad we went in for the early sonogram to do the gender reveal party... that sonogram was so much more fun.  We got to watch her play around, wave, kick, suckle- and it was so clear on the "big screen". This apt was mostly for the Dr's purposes to measure bones and check organs etc- so we didn't get to see nearly as much of her as we wanted to, and the pictures they gave us were freaky!! They didn't really look like a little baby to us.  The good news is they confirmed it was still a "she"...  A few other things I learned was that the placenta is above the baby- so that is why I'm not feeling her move  as much as I did Allie. I think my placenta was below Allie, in my first pregnancy. This is also the reason it was harder to hear the heartbeat at 12 weeks, bc you had to hear it thru the placenta. (we kept hearing my heart beat over hers) Finally, we learned that she weighs about 10 oz right now.

Here are some sono pictures from both sonograms- the first few are from the "fun" sono- the last one is the freaky picture from this last one...

Head is on Left side, you can see spine very clearly...

In this one her head is on the rt- and you are looking at a profile shot...

A little more clear in this picture... head on right

weird freaky one... Head is on Left side and I think she is on her side..??

The next sonogram we will get will be at 32-34 weeks and it will be the super fun 3D sonogram where you can see what her facial features look like... 

Finally here is a BUMP picture.. me at almost 20 weeks! :)  Half way there!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Baby Natalie is Here!! (and baby she)

I am so so excited that baby Natalie is here!  She was a week over due and put her momma thru 2 days of labor!  She was born 9lbs 21 inches!  She is such a BIG baby!  And we LOVE her!!  So so excited that the cousins will be close in age!



A little update on our little baby "she". We have been just calling her "she" because we can't find a name. I'll be 20 weeks this weekend so we are almost 1/2 way done!! YAY!!  After watching Kris & Leslie go thru their experience I'm even more nervous to be having "natural" labor.  I have been taking yoga on Tuesday's and it it soo hard. It does seem to be helping the sciatic nerve pain in my hiniey, but the real reason for the classes is the Midwife told me that "women who take yoga- birth their babies like butter"... we shall see.    We have our 20 week sonogram tomorrow- and I'm excited to see her again!!  I'm always a little nervous to go into an apt-or get a sonogram bc I'm always afraid of the "what-if's" ... Lets pray "she" has a clean bill of health at her sonogram!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Trick or Treat

Here are the pictures from the trick or treating!  This was Allie's first year out!  Man was it a good time.  Of course it was right up our alley to dress her up and take her door to door and be told how cute she was!! She did really good knocking on the doors and saying "trick or treat" & even saying "thank-you" after she got her candy!




Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween Party! & Playgroup Fun!


Saturday night we had a Halloween party for Allie & her little friends!  It was SOO much fun!  Part of the fun for me was getting ready for the party.  I had so much fun decorating the house and making all the goodies!  Here are the pictures of all the fun!  Here are a few pictures of the inside decor...


The next favorite part of the party was making all of the "goodies"  I joke that that was the only reason I threw the party was so I could make all these cute snacks... (and yes I found most of my inspiration from Pinterest)
Juice box Ghost

Apple Chompers

Nutterbutter Ghost

Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats

Pudding Frankensteins

Mummy Cupcakes! 

Besides food, we also had some "arts & crafts"... and a bounce house!!

The other craft was a "footprint" Ghost!


Kelsey & I made these costumes!  It was a LOT of fun, and we love a good project!  We made one for Allie with candy in her tummy, but we couldn't talk her into wearing it!  She was a pretty butterfly!




The o- so famous couch pictures!

Too cute!  LOVE it! 

And now for the Playgroup pictures.  We meet in a large room in the library and let the kiddoes run wild... seriously- Allie got bit 2x's today!  but the 2 1/2 hour nap afterwards is always worth it!!  What a fun day/ weekend/ month!!  I'll try to post more trick-or-treating pictures tomorrow! (or later this week)



This was the 1st prize winner, she was dressed up like a mermaid!  SOO cute!! (and she wore the wig quite a bit!)