tick tock

This week brings me to 6 months pregnant.
I can't believe that I'm over half-way through with this pregnancy. 

I feel like I just found out yesterday that I was expecting.

Baby Girl is kicking and grooving up a storm these days.

Thankfully, she settles down at night and I'm still able to get a good night's sleep.

(Except for the 5 times a night I have to get up to pee!)

We have decided on a name (no, I'm not telling)
and it's fun to talk to/about her like a real person now,

instead of referring to her as "the baby."

Sam is getting used to the idea of another sister...
although he's still praying that she will come out a boy!

And Ava, she's totally clueless.

However, she is very, very interested in her newborn cousin.

And wants to be touching and playing with her whenever she can reach the baby.
So, I'm sure once her little sister arrives, Ava will be all over her!

Speaking of Ava...

she is walking all over the place now
and tries really hard to keep up with her big brother.

Her favorite questions are, "What's that?" and "Who's that?"...

questions she asks a hundred times a day!

She also says, "WOW!" about anything that catches her eye.

She has perfected the temper tantrum,

and looks up at us out of the corner of her eye
to see if we're watching her do something she knows is wrong.

She is obsessed with cell phones and, if there is one in a 20 ft. radius,
she will have it in her hands in 1.6 seconds.

The moment music hits her ears, she wiggles and jiggles like she's dancing for her life.

And she manages to wrap everyone around her little finger in a matter of moments.

I'm just wondering...what happened to my newborn? 

how is it

that I got a little girl that loves everything girly?

At 13 months, she is completely smitten with babydolls

and jewelry

and fixing her hair.

She crawls around most days with a beaded necklace (or three) around her neck.

She feeds and pats and rocks her babydolls like a pro.

Not that I think there's anything wrong with this...at all.
I love that she loves all these things.

It's just that I was so, so different growing up.

Instead of dolls, I loved drawing.

Instead of baubles, I loved books.

There were no frills or lace or pink (gasp!) around me if I could help it.

And now, I have a daughter, who at a very early age
is showing serious signs of girliness.
This is definitely a stretch for me.

God has such a sense of humor!

in other news

Alternately titled: Random thoughts that have nothing to do with each other.

Tomorrow I will be 18 weeks pregnant.

Now that I am fully into my 2nd trimester, my energy has returned and my stomach has settled.

My tummy is starting to pop out a bit and the maternity clothes have come out of hiding.

Can I just tell you how much I love wearing maternity clothes...cute ones, anyway?

I love them.

I love that I can have a tummy and people look at me with a twinkle in their eye,

instead of giving me the stink eye because they think I've had one too many twinkies.

Just kidding. I don't really normally get the stink eye.

Only if I'm walking passed a gym eating twinkies.

Sam has finally decided that he is okay with the boy name that we've most likely chosen.

Whew.

Now he wants to name the baby Charlotte Leah, if it's a girl.

Not our first choice, but it sure beats Gator!

Anyways, my 20 week ultrasound is coming up soon and all mysteries will be revealed.

Speaking of Sam, his mouth is healing well.

He had his stitches removed yesterday, and the scabs have all fallen off.

Unless I look into his mouth, I can hardly tell that he was a bloody mess one week ago.

His teeth have not shifted back into place yet, and I'm not sure that they will.

I'm just happy that they are all baby teeth, that will eventually come out anyways.

Ava is taking her first steps, and will soon be on her way to full-on walking.

She has also acquired several new words and has become quite a chatterbox.

She is fascinated with babies (baby dolls, specifically)

and anything with a face-that is smaller than her-is a "baby."

The S.W. Florida version of fall is finally here, which means pumpkin patches and fall festivals. 

It also means weather that is NOT scorching hot! 

I'm thrilled that our highs are in the 80's and the lows are in the 60's.

Outdoors, here we come!

happiness is...

...balloons

a ladybug smash cake,

and turning ONE!

Happy Birthday, Ava!

To see what others are happy about, check out this blog.

raw(e) smiles

This week's RAW(e) photo challenge over at Sailor & Company is
SMILES & LAUGHTER

Introducing...

Miss Mischief.

I have discovered something about Ava.

She is FULL of mischief.

Even at 11 months, she gets that glimmer in her eye

and I know that some naughtiness is about to happen.

You can almost hear the "MUAHAHAHAHA"

running through her little head.

She is so completely different from Sam in that respect.

He was my calm, totally compliant baby/toddler.

If we told him not to do something, he didn't.

No questions asked.

I actually thought for awhile it was because of our fabulous parenting skills.

HA!

Now I know that it was just his laid-back personality.

But not his sister!

Oh me, Oh my!

She is proving to be a little handful.

And this is just the beginning...

raw(e) pink

Ok, so this week's theme for RAW(e) is

PINK.

Yes, pink.

The color that I avoided like the plague.  

Until recently, that is.

Because now that I have a daughter, pink is popping up all over my house.

Pink clothes,

pink sippy cups,

pink towels,

pink shoes,

and yes, even pink toys.

It's a losing battle.

And I, the reluctant prisoner, am coming to terms with the fact

that pink will forevermore be a part of my world.

If you are a lover of pink, hop on over to Sailor & Company to get your fill of pink-ness.

raw(e) 2(6)

No, this is not some strange new blogger code,

it's the theme for this week's RAW(e) photo challenge. 

Here's the skinny - go to your 2nd folder and post the 6th photo.

No matter how wacky or horrible the picture.

No editing.

Just raw.

So, here's my photo.

 It's a cast-off from a photo session I did with Ava. 

I really would've loved it if the picture was something crazy like Sam picking his nose

(yes, I take those pictures!).

 But alas, this is what we've got.

So trot on over to Sailor & Company and see if anyone else has a crazy, hilarious photo...I'm headed that way now!

a slight detour

...now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

bed head

This greets me every morning.

The cutest case of bed head I've ever seen.

toes

Sweet toes, how I love you.

Chubby and cute

deliciously soft

I could kiss you all day long!

happiness is...

...grass on your toes.

Playing with Daddy.

Sidewalk chalk.

Blue skies and cotton candy clouds.

Ahhhh...summer happiness!
Now stroll on over here to see more "happy" photos!

miles of smiles

 
I found this blog a few weeks ago and the name caught my attention right away. I love taking pictures of people, and 90% of the time I'm taking face shots. There is just something about capturing a close-up expression that thrills me! Anyways, I got brave this week and decided to enter their weekly photo challenge. The theme is "Smiles." 
  I know I recently posted the same photo here. But, it was perfect for this challenge so I'm reposting it.  

I can't look at this picture without grinning! If you need a pick-me-up, head on over to iheartfaces.There are tons of pictures that are guaranteed to brighten your day!

drum roll please...

But first, I need to vent. 

Does anyone else have a babe that is stuck to you like glue??

Seriously, 

Ava is a BIG TIME momma's girl right now.

For the past couple of days she has flat-out refused (read: screamed at the top of her LUNGS!) to be held by anyone but me. 

It's exhausting.

And I'm totally open to suggestions on how to ease her out of this phase (if possible!)

Ok, enough about me. 

On to the real reason that you're here...the winner!

Well, I guess mystery picture #2 wasn't that tough either.

Almost everybody got it right!

The correct answer is 

MILK JUG.

  And thanks to Sam and a bunch of numbers, 

the winner is...

SAMI! 

(email me and I'll get the necklace out to you this week)

Thanks for playing.

Next week's photo is going to be a hum-dinger (I promise!).

warning...

...the following pictures may induce sugar shock! 

Of course, this is coming from a totally obsessed and slightly completely biased momma. 

she sells seashells by the seashore

Don't Ask. 

Just enjoy the cuteness.

Happy Wednesday.

oh happy day!

I love getting mail. 

Well, FUN mail. 

And the other day I received this in the mail.

This adorable knit beanie (that I WON!) from Amber over at Dawdler 101.

Thanks, Amber...I love it!

sweetness

here's mud, er, milk in your eye?

So, let me preface this by saying that Sam is COMPLETELY fascinated by how bodies work. Maybe it's because he has CF and has been poked and prodded all his life, maybe it's just because he's a curious kid. Anyhow, we have been having "What's that?" conversations since he started talking. So...

The other day I was nursing Ava, and Sam wanted to see where the milk came from. I non-chalantly pointed to my um, nursing area (keeping it vague for the men-folk). "But, how does it come out?" he asked. "Like this" I said, as I squeezed a little...which would've been a-okay except that a renegade stream of milk popped out and squirted him right in the EYE! Clearly shocked and completely grossed out, he jumped back about a foot. Trying my best (and failing miserably) to keep a straight face, I assured him that it wasn't a big deal and it wouldn't happen again.

Strange...the body questions have suddenly come to a halt.

my rolly-polly

the newest p in the pod

Welcoming, baby Ava, Born 10.2.09, weighing 8 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 20 inches long. And look at all that hair!