I've been pretty lousy at keeping up with our blog lately...please forgive me. :)
I think if I don't start posting more pictures and updates, there are a few family members that are going to disown me...so here I go! =)
Gosh, when I'm not actually sitting down to blog I have a million and one thoughts and ideas that come to mind. And now that I'm here...nothing! Hate when that happens...
So, starting with Miss Ava...
She's been a full blown 2 & 1/2 year old lately. Her personality is sprouting more everyday. She can be bossy and independent one minute, loving and docile the next. She loves to play "monsters" with daddy and she's always on the lookout for "Swiper da neeky fots!!" (Swiper the sneaky fox). Hilarious and annoying at the same time! I can't tell you how over Dora the Explorer I am! Thankfully, I think she's fading a little for Ava as well. She enjoys Tinkerbelle, Minnie & Mickey Mouse, Backyardigans, Finding Nemo and basically anything else that involves ocean animals. She loves playing with play-doh and coloring with markers (mostly on paper...but sometimes on herself too). She always wants to make caves with the play doh and fish that can swim in the caves. She likes me to color with her and draw stick figures of our family. She even asks for me to draw "daddy's van & daddy's fo-wheelder". And she loves drawing rainbows. It's pretty cute to see her preferring certain things over others and having her own independent thoughts. Amazing little person she is!
She looooves books. We read a few books everynight before bed and lately she's been asking to read books before naps as well. The nap book requests are likely her sneaky way of delaying the nap...but oh well. :) She still takes about a 2 hour nap everyday. I'm not sure how much longer the naps will last...especially after we transition to her big girl bed. Either way, it will be take a nap or have 1 hour of quiet time everyday. Speaking of big girl bed... I think we'll take the plunge next week. She's getting our spare bed which is a full size bed. Totally skipping the toddler bed...mostly because we need the crib for the next baby. I think she'll like it. We keep talking about this "big girl" bed she's about to get and how special it will be. :) We'll see how it goes... no matter what, it's all just a phase, right? ;) I will tell you one thing...the girl cannot fall asleep in our bed. She woke up last week around 2am, crying and asking to be rocked, so I thought she'd just fall asleep in our bed since it was the middle of the night. I brought her to our bed, she snuggled up beside me with her blankie, and 20 minutes later when I thought she must be asleep she looked up at me and said, "mommy, i wanna watch tv". LOL. She was STILL awake!
She definitely eats like a toddler nowadays!! Wow. I can't imagine what some people go through, because although she's getting picky about things, she still eats a monstrous breakfast and lunch. Dinner is always a struggle. She's boycotting anything that has the slightest hint of spicyness. No tacos or other mexican for this girl. Sometimes the food can't even be too warm or she says its too hot and won't eat it. She has issues with textures too. No cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, carrots, avocado (which she used to love) and there are plenty of other things she wont eat. Regardless, I make what I make for dinner and if she doesn't eat it, or even take a bite of it, then she just doesn't eat dinner. She'll usually ask for a snack later, before bed, and she can have an orange or some other fruit...or we'll try her leftover dinner. The good news is, she's growing and healthy...so I guess she's not starving... ;). I feel especially reassured since she gets her Juice Plus everyday. 17 servings of fruits and veggies right there. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am with that product...but thats an entire post in itself! So if you want to go there and hear my exciting story on why I live & love Juice Plus, then please email me. eric-liz@hotmail.com. I love the stuff. It's enhancing our lives for sure! :)
Onto baby #2...
I'm growing and glowing. A little more everyday! This has been a wonderful pregnancy. I'm thankful everyday for every kick to my bladder or ribs and all the shooting pains in my back. Honestly. I wasn't this aware of how precious a healthy pregnancy is during my pregnancy with Ava. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved it and knew it was purely miraculous that a human being can live and grow inside your body for 9 months and then come into this world kicking and screaming. But I realize now, mostly because I take care of sick moms all the time, how much of a gift it is to have a healthy pregnancy. I love growing this sweet baby girl!
We are slowly...and I mean slooowwlly...getting a nursery together for Stella. Time goes by so fast with a little one at home already. And honestly, we've learned a thing or two from having our first. Basically, you don't need much to take care of a baby. A boob (well, two) and diapers will satisfy their needs for quite awhile after they come home!! :) But really, we do plan on getting her room all dolled up and cute...we just need to make some decisions on some simple things like paint color and then just DO IT. We are using a lot of stuff from Ava. The good thing about having another girl :) It's pretty cheap to prepare for another one! We can't wait to meet her. It's crazy to think we'll have another little one running around who owns as much of our hearts as Ava. Cannot wait! I don't think Ava totally understands the idea of having a baby sister soon. She knows where baby Stella is and will point to my belly when we ask about her, but the other day when we asked if her belly was full after she ate she replied, "yea, my baby stella full too!" Haha!! Soo...I don't think she gets it. I don't know what she's thinking sometimes...lol.
Okay...some pictures...
Nothing like starting with a blurry pic! She's been wanting to wear a cape like a "super hero" lately. So we tie her little blankie around her neck and she zooms around the house like superman. Can you say tom boy?! The babysitters little boy is crazy about super heroes too...that's where she gets it! :)
Trying to catch her in action!
Nutty girl...
My sister in law and I at her baby shower. She's having a boy! Baby Drew meets Baby Stella ;) Lori's due the end of May and I'm due the 1st week of July.
My 26 week belly shot.
Not sure if this girls hair will ever grow!
She's loving the new Dora bow I made for her. ;)
Popcorn and a movie...our kind of night!
The jealousy begins...even though she doesn't normally love having her picture taken, when daddy starts snapping shots of mommy and baby Stella she has to get in there! :)
