Trick-or-Treat 2014

Another Trick-or-Treat has come and gone, and Avery really enjoyed being Minnie Mouse this year. It was a little bit rainy tonight, but that didn't stop us! Last year Travis and I walked with Avery, and she was very hesitant about walking up to all of our neighbors' homes. This year she wasn't scared at all! She confidently walked up to get her candy, and did pretty well at saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you." She made the cutest Minnie Mouse, and we were so proud of her. Travis's parents came over and passed out candy so that we could walk around with her, and she made it about 45 minutes. Then we came back and kept her in her costume while we handed out candy for another 45 minutes or so. I loved watching the other kids out, and am looking forward to giving her a sister to go with next year!

Tomorrow is November 1st, and I'm officially in baby month - I hope...unless I go past my due date. Either way, this is happening soon and I'm excited! We've got a busy weekend ahead going to a church dinner (lunch) tomorrow and then meeting up with some friends for dinner later. I'm happy to get out for a little bit tomorrow after 6 days of potty training - update to come soon! Have a great weekend!

One month to go!

It's just one month from today that we'll become a family of 4 (plus Ranger)...give or take a week or so, haha. Logistically, I feel totally ready. The room is basically done, and I bought a few things such as bottles, blankets, a new diaper pail, etc. I made a list of things to get done before the baby arrives, and it's almost complete. Last week I even made mailing labels so that I'll be ready for birth announcements/Christmas Cards. Avery's hand-me-downs have been washed and organized, and I bought a cute little "going home" outfit, along with a diaper cover and headband for newborn pictures. We also bought new carpet for the family room, and it is being installed in about 2 weeks. It will be nice because we upgraded the carpet pad, and it will be more comfortable for all the times I will be sitting on the floor with the new baby.

There are some things I feel like I should do...but I really don't need to until she arrives. I don't have the pack-and-play set up in our room yet, since I know it only takes 5 minutes to set up. Last time around, we had a borrowed co-sleeper in our room for about a month before Avery arrived because I was nervous about setting things up. We don't have the car seat in the car yet, but know I that can be installed in 5 minutes as well. I'm just not as worried about those little things like I was before Avery. 

Another thing we are working on (again) is potty training with Avery. We started again this weekend, and I'm not doing it the way I was 2 months ago. I do think she is ready, but I don't think a "three day" method is going to work for us. I'm trying to be more patient and realize this may take several weeks, or even months unfortunately. My goal is to work with her while we are home, and to still put her in diapers when we go places, and nap and bedtime. I thought at first this might be confusing, but she already knows the difference between her diapers and underwear, and seems to be fine with it. We're having lots of accidents at home, but she is aware of it and is normally in the process of trying to get to the potty while it's happening, so for now we're going with it. Travis went to the dollar store and we made a little prize basket that we are keeping in the bathroom as an extra incentive. She seems to actually be pretty excited about it. It would be nice if she was somewhat potty trained within the month, but we'll see. I don't want to put so much pressure on her or myself because neither of us need the extra stress haha. Here she is with one of her "prizes" for peeing on the potty (a football.)

Some things that I am not sure if I'm ready for are the sleepless nights with a newborn, and all of the attention they demand. I know it will be different this time having a toddler around too, and I just don't really know what to expect. I'm thankful that Travis will be taking some time off in the beginning and I won't be on my own right away. I'm excited for Christmas with Avery this year because I think there will be things she'll start to remember and be excited about, and I hope it will be fun for her with a new baby around. 

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On a completely different subject, Avery had her Halloween party at preschool yesterday, and she went as Minnie Mouse. We have our Trick-or-Treat on Friday, and I'm hoping to get some better pictures of her than I did yesterday, but she is just so hard to photograph because she doesn't like the camera for some reason!! She looked so cute, and she had so much fun at the party! All the parents brought in a treat, and I brought these little clementine "pumpkins." 

Avery helped me put them in the tray, and she put all of the celery "stems" in them. She loves helping me in the kitchen.

She was super excited about eating them, until she had a cookie...then she just wanted cookies, but they were a hit with some of the other kids. Here are a few pics of her in her costume, and I'm looking forward to a fun Halloween on Friday evening!

40 Days Until Baby!!

I had my 34-week doctor visit today, and just scheduled my next appointment for November 3rd...which is the month I am due (Nov 29th.) Yay!! With just 40 days left until my due date, I am about ready to be done with pregnancy. Luckily it's still going by quickly, but I am just over being pregnant. I feel bad saying that sometimes, because I know that my pregnancy is going well, but I am just uncomfortable, and my lower back hurts a lot. This baby moves a ton, and the rib-kicking has begun. I think she likes to stretch out a lot too, because I feel movement both high and low, at the same time. My appointment today went well, and I'm up a total of 18 pounds so far. I'm hoping not to gain more than 25 altogether, and it's looking promising if I can keep to about a pound a week for the next 6 weeks. My blood pressure was a little higher this week (110/51) so not high, but in the normal range. I'm still on and off light-headed but maybe just getting used to it, and trying to take it easy.

After my appointment today, Avery had a doctor appointment to get a flu shot. I don't love when she has to get shots, but I think it's important with the new baby coming - especially with her going to pre-school once a week. I brought her Doc McStuffins book with her, and explained to her where we were going, so it wouldn't be a surprise. She definitely did the best she's done with shots so far! I like her pediatricians's office because the nurses are experienced with giving toddlers shots, and they are quick! She still cried during the actual shot, but I quickly scooped her up and gave her a hug and lots of stickers, and she was happy within about a minute. In the car on the way home I talked about it again, and told her how great she did, and she seemed fine, so maybe it will keep getting easier??

On another note, I'm starting to really miss running now. I haven't run for a few weeks now - ever since I started getting more lightheaded. Even though I know it's temporary, it's tough not being able to get out for a run in the beautiful Fall scenery and temperatures. It's also tough knowing that I will most likely not be able to start running until January sometime, and that will be a challenging time to start again because of the cold temperatures. In the meantime, I have been walking a lot with Avery and Ranger, and while it's not the same, it still fun to get out with them. Avery has really been enjoying walks where she can pick up leaves, sticks, and acorns. She also loves seeing caterpillars and also cows when they are out near the far end of our neighborhood. I don't take the stroller as much now, because it's a good way for her to burn off energy, and I will need it for the baby soon enough. I want her to be used to walking like a big girl haha.

On Saturday, we went to a local farm where Travis hunts, and bought some pumpkins to carve and paint. Avery painted a pumpkin with Travis, and he helped her carve one too. She had a great time!! She loved painting the pumpkin, and worked on it for about an hour! She did the entire thing herself. Then she helped Travis scoop out all of the seeds for the one they carved. She doesn't love getting messy, but she was able to get out most of the seeds with her hands, with minimal towels/hand washing.

(Their eyes are glowing just like the pumpkin!!)

On Sunday we went to another pumpkin farm with Travis's parents where there was a hayride and corn maze. It was way bigger and much more crowded than I anticipated. Travis and Avery's favorite part was the petting zoo! She was able to feed goats, sheep, and pet cows  and bunnies. It was a nice afternoon and although Travis wasn't thrilled with the crowds, it was an experience we won't forget!

Halloween Cards

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the most artistic or creative person, but since Avery started pre-school, I've been getting a few good ideas for projects to work on with Avery. At the beginning of October, we made some Halloween cards and sent them to our families. It was a fun project for an afternoon, and it was a good way to get Avery into the Halloween spirit. Our families really enjoyed getting a card from Avery in the mail, as well.

I used construction paper to make the cards. I cut out some pictures of pumpkins, ghosts, and witch hats, and then traced an area in the card for Avery to glue them onto the card. Avery loves using the glue stick, and is really good about trying to keep the glue in the lines. She matched the pictures to their shapes herself, and glued them in!

She then added a few stickers and we were good to go! They turned out pretty cute, and Avery was very proud of them. She loves doing crafts like these, so I plan on doing more things like this soon! It will also be a great way for her to be busy while I am taking care of the new baby.

Nursery Pictures

We had such a great weekend and I'm really enjoying all of the time that I am able to relax before the new baby is here.

On Saturday, the temperature finally dropped down and it felt like Fall. It rained for a lot of the day too, so I stayed in the house and kept warm. Travis took Avery outside for a little while, and mowed the grass, and I actually put a hat and gloves on Avery, even though she was wearing shorts the day before! We watched some college football and lounged around in the afternoon. I did make some hot air balloons from paper lanterns for the baby's room, and they turned out pretty cute! I also found some free hot air balloon printables which I printed and framed, and the nursery is starting to come together! Check out my Pinterest to see where I got the pictures and balloon tutorials. Here are some pictures I took yesterday. The colors aren't what I imagined at first, but I love how it's turning out! I still might get a few more things for the walls, but I think it looks beautiful so far!

(We're going to put her first initial in the white frame after we name her.)

 

With the mobile:

As you can see we are keeping the queen size bed in the room for now. Our house only has three bedrooms, and it will be nice to keep the bed in there as long as possible while our baby is sleeping in our room for the first few weeks or so (for guests.)  Everything fits and gives the room a "cozy" feeling haha. We'll also be switching the rocking chair for the glider in Avery's room, but we'll wait until the baby is here to do that, since we still use the glider for stories with Avery. I love that even though we are using the same furniture we used with Avery, the room has a very different feel than her nursery.

On Sunday we actually went to a chili cookoff at a friend's house, and saw many of our friends (and their families) from Allegheny. It was fun because most of them have kids now that are 3 and under, and Avery enjoyed being there too. We watched more football and realized it's a different kind of party than it used to be, but it's fun to talk to other parents and watch our kids play together.  Avery got to see lots of babies and I really think she's going to love being a big sister soon!