buddha bod.

The other night I went bowling with some girlfriends, where I coincidentally ran into some other friends I hadn't seen since the beginning of my pregnancy. One boy told me how big I was, and the other followed with "You brought your own bowling ball?!" Funny guys.

This baby girl moves so much. She's loco.

I'm going to the doc every week now, it makes me feel like I'm so close!

The other morning I actually resorted to icing my cheeks with a frozen washcloth to reduce facial swelling, but it didn't seem to help. I guess that's more of a post-op wisdom teeth thing. The chipmunk look will just have to do.

Swimming is my saving grace. Sorry I'm floating in your pool 24/7 Mom.

I still don't think it's registered to Ivy that she's getting a baby Sister. Any tips on how to prep her?

it's my party, I can cry (the whole time) if I want to.

A few weeks ago, I decided we should probably throw Ivy an official 2nd birthday party. I wasn't planning on doing anything big this year (because I'm what some may call a lazy sac of bones these days) but the guilt set in when I remembered that this is her last birthday as an only child, so it was only right we acknowledge and celebrate it with all our friends and family so she knows how much she's loved. That being said, I sent out a very formal E-vite and there was no turning back. 

The morning of the party however, Ivy woke up seriously miserable and spent the afternoon in urgent care with an ear infection, sore throat, and two teeth making their debut just in time for the party. We considered canceling a couple hours before, but decided that with our luck if we did that, the antibiotics and tylenol would have kicked in and we would have regretted it. Well, the medicine didn't kick in as much as we had hoped, but she got well enough to at least yell "NOO!" and "GO!" at every single birthday guest in attendance. She was so sweet! (Kidding. The sympathy I had had for her all day was definitely wearing thin by the end of the night.) Anyway, we kept it really low key; I made a cake, Geoff picked up some pizzas, and we turned on the splash pad and some music for the kids.

Aside from the birthday girl being the grouchiest and sickest she has ever been in her entire 2nd year of life, we loved being able to spend time with such great family and friends and are so grateful for every single one of you. Thanks to everyone who came, helped with food, brought gifts and princess dresses, dressed up as princesses, etc. We love you all! We didn't take too many pictures, mainly because we were busy visiting, eating, and/or consoling Ivy about something or the other, but Geoff was able to snap some quick pictures of a few of the of the many cute kids and cousins in attendance. You are very loved Ivy girl, even in your crankiest state. 

lang, party of one.

Ivy was cracking me up this morning (well, early afternoon) when she finally rolled out of bed at 10:00 am* and requested to put on a dress for her very formal breakfast party of one. (As formal as Life cereal and bananas get, I guess.) I can't wait till that other teeny chair is occupied by a teeny person so Ivy can have some better table conversation. With all that time to myself this morning I spent it trying to think of girl names and reminiscing on old baby pictures of V. These next 6 weeks can't seem to come quick enough! Also, I wouldn't mind Ivy staying on this teenage-esque sleeping schedule so I can get some quality time in with the new one in the mornings, there's nothing quite like a content newborn in the early A.M.

*Also, her waking up at 10:00 am had very much to do with her being awake a couple hours in the night. At one point I dozed off while rocking her and woke up to her giggling and kissing both sides of my cheeks over and over again like a little old french lady. Moments like that trump sleep any night of the week.

birthday birthday.

 Ivys actual "birthday birthday" fell on a Sunday, which means we woke up, went to church, ate an enormous brunch (even though some demanded birthday cake instead), opened presents, and later that evening had dinner, cake, and singing with family. It was good practice for her actual party this weekend (yes her birthday will be celebrated over an entire weeks course). I figure her last birthday spent as an only child better be a good and spoiled one. Here's to a full week of partying! 

2 going on 16.

we love your little mophead,

we love your teeny feet,

we love your spunk,

we love your sass,

we love that you can't say your "R's",

we love your silly face expressions,

we love your run,

we love your hugs,

we love your scratchy voice,

we love the gap in your teeth,

we love your sweet giggle,

we love your innocence,

but mostly, we love you.

stay two forever?

Musical chairs rooms.

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was talk one of my siblings into letting me switch bedrooms with them. Once I found someone who agreed, we'd spend the rest of the day moving our belongings across the house. I did this more times than I can remember, and it usually took place on a weekend. Sometimes the move was an upgrade, but sometimes not so much. For instance, when I ended up with 2 extra tenants and my oldest sister Lynsi got the biggest room and bathroom all to herself. She denies this ever happening, but my old bunkmates Shanna and Shelly can back me on this. Even though that was not one of my better tradeoffs, I still loved the feeling of change, and I still do. There is nothing better than getting a brand spanking new, squeeky clean room by the end of the night. The other weekend I got the itch to swap some of the rooms around in our house, and Geoff was on board. Our dining room table is now where the den once was, and vice-versa. I'm really liking the change for now, but like all things- we'll see how I feel about it next month. ;)

Seven more weeks.

My new favorite thing to do to help pass the time a little quicker is to blankly stare at strangers who ask when I'm due and reply with a confused, "Wait...what do you mean, due?" Don't worry, I usually put an end to their mumbling and apologizing after only a few moments, but it's certainly uncomfortable and hilarious (for me) while it lasts. I know it's a little mean, but it's a lot more fun than saying, "Seven more weeks" and then immediately hearing, "Oooof! You've got a hot couple months ahead!" Plus, when you're still getting sick most mornings, not sleeping well, and struggling to buckle your sandals, a good laugh is just what the doctor ordered. (I told you I was good at complaining.) Seven more weeks.

 Hey! Ho! Let's Go!

iPhone dump.

Whither it's a sweet memory I don't want to forget or just Ivy making a silly face, I feel so lucky to be able to capture any moment with the convenience of my phone. I love scrolling back in my photo stream and "awing" over how teeny tiny Ivy once was, and one of Ivy's favorite things to do is to watch old video clips of herself. Thank you phone, for collecting all these little memories for me.

This morning I am grateful for...

-fresh flowers that geoff is so good at keeping on our kitchen table

-air conditioning

-the wild baby in my stomach that seems to constantly be doing 'the running man'

-having most my family live close

-a fun job i get to share with my fun husband and fun people

-how good ivy is at sleeping in and waking up happy

-fresh baked bread and raspberry jam for breakfast

-late night 3 hour phone conversations with my sister shanna

case of the mondays.

After a birthday and holiday weekend spent celebrating, this is how I'm feeling about Monday.

this weekend...

To my cute mom (pictured above), who is the perfect example of everything a woman and mother should be. I love, love, love you! Also happy day to my amazing mother-in-law (I lucked out!), to all my older sisters (aka my "other mothers"), and to every other mother or future mother out there. I hope you all get pretty flowers and sweet notes this weekend.

birthday recap.

Yesterday was the best. I reigned in my 23rd year (eek! how does 23 manage to sound older than 47 to me!?) by ditching yoga and going to a nice big waffle and whipped-cream breakfast with my Sister Shell and our kids. Afterwards we met up with some friends and all their babies and went for a birthday swim. You know it was a party because a group of firemen even made an appearance! (Don't worry, that's not as scary... or sexy for that matter.. as it sounds.) Afterwards we got home and it was time for my birthday nap, where I realized that the only thing better than a nap is excitedly laying in bed listening to your husband mop and do dishes (my two most dreaded chores!) and set up "birthday surprises" throughout the house. (New living room chairs, score!) I'm spoiled.

When dinner time rolled around, we decided to go to Culinary Dropout. We knew we made the right decision the moment the appetizer came out- we ate our weight (and I'm 8 months pregnant mind you) in soft pretzels and cheese. Everything was delicious! Next on the agenda was shopping at Scottsdale mall- which became more of jewelry/shoes/baby shopping after an unfortunate and panicky time spent stuck in a dress in the fitting room. I decided to raincheck the shopping and stick to window shopping for now, which was still a pleasure because I finally got to check out the new Madewell store! It's pretty in there.

Anyway, I give my overall birthday a 5 out of 4 star review. Thank you so much to everyone who called, sang, texted, Facebooked, babysat, mailed letters, etc. You certainly know how to make a girl feel special! Most of all, thank you to Geoff for being so good at making me feel like it's my birthday every day- I mean it!

Ivy is a real pizza-work.

¡cinco de mayo nombre fin de semana!

Actually we didn't really celebrate Cinco De Mayo at all last weekend, but we did manage to squeeze in a wedding, a good old fashioned American BBQ, lots of patty-cake-patty-cake-ing, swims, lots of baking, a girls night to the new Postinos, a family nap, a father/daughter date to the 'princess store' and our favorite, Grimaldis! I'll say it was a slam dunk weekend, festive or not. (However I think it'd only be fair to the holiday to make up for my lack of fiesta-ing by eating a dangerous amount of chips and salsa everyday for the next week. I at least owe that to you, Cinco De Mayo.)

#TGIF!

Excited for a fun-filled weekend with this little goofball! She sure knows how to keep us laughing.

the homestretch.

Hey, don't make fun. If I remember correctly, the last 10 weeks are the longest, so every day (and especially every half week!) count. If I had to describe this point of pregnancy in 6 words or less I'd probably go with: Excitement, insomnia, heartburn, and chocolate-covered-cranberries. (I'm certain that words 2 and 3 are direct results of eating too many of words 4-6.)