A stubborn princess

This year a Halloween costume was put on on the back burner.  Like WAY on the back burner.  Mainly because I wasn't feeling well- I was completely unmotivated.  And also because I kept remembering last year's costume experience where our stubborn child would not even consider wearing her costume. 

So this year, I tried to let Alayna choose what she wanted to be, in hopes to make sure a certain little girl would wear her costume with no fuss.  But she still just didn't quite get the concept of what I was asking her.  So I decided to show her some pictures of costumes online.  I had two or three ideas of what I thought would be cute, and she shot me down on every one.  Although, she did give me a hint, every time I would ask her about what she wanted to dress up as, she would say, "I want a pretty dress."  I figured I could make that happen.  So, a few days before Halloween, we had her go through the dress up barrel and choose which "pretty dress" she wanted.  It took some MAJOR convincing, but we finally ended up with a "pretty princess"....or a pretty STUBBORN princess.  Heaven help us if every Halloween is like this!

So, here's our stubborn princess before our Ward Halloween party.  The gloves and the crown came off almost right after the pictures, but I am just considering it a success that she wore the dress.  We told her if she wanted to go see her friends at the party, she had to wear her dress.  Thank goodness she loves her friends!

Here she is before we went Trick or Treating.  Can you you say attitude?

This is what she did when I said, "Say cheese."

Finally, the attitude has disappeared...somewhat.

The gloves again came off right after the pictures, but I somehow convinced her to keep her crown on.

We went Trick or Treating with our good friends and it made all the difference for Alayna to watch the older kids and follow along.  Holly and I took the kids around the neighborhood and the men stayed home and passed the candy out. 

It was Alayna's first experience Trick or Treating door to door.  She started out shy, but had it down by the end. 

Oh, and I have to add that we Trick or Treated outside (in the upper 60's low 70's) without a coat....or a jacket....or snow!  I think that is MY first time trick or treating under such wonderful weather conditions.  And you could tell that I am a bit of an amateur considering I didn't even think about bringing a stroller/wagon along.  We had to borrow/share Holly's.  Where I'm from, you ride in the car from house to house because it's too darn cold to walk.  I'll be sure to be better next year. 

Here we are trick or treating at our house. Not the best picture, but this was our last stop and I think the kids were tired.

Alayna: princess
Nate (whom Alayna calls "Mate"): gnome
Carter: mad scientist
Gabby: hula girl

I just had to add a picture of this guy.  Isn't he the cutest little gnome?

One more present

Alayna got one more present, I thought you might like to see.

That's right. A BABY!

Alayna's going to be a big sister.

And this is how she feels about it.  :)

We are THRILLED as well!

A few more details:

I am due April 6th, which means I am 17 weeks.

I am feeling good....especially now that I am in the second trimester.  Although, I can't complain too much since I wasn't near as sick as I was with Alayna.  I did have some daily nausea, but nothing that made me run to the bathroom.  There were a few close calls, but I can proudly say that there was NO throwing up in my first trimester.  Dan considers that quite the feat since it was quite the opposite when I was pregnant with Alayna. Mainly I was drained of energy, had a serious lack of motivation to do anything (My poor house suffered during that first trimester), and I was extremely tired. 

Now, I can tell a huge difference and I am really starting to feel like myself again.  Myself with a tummy anyway.  Boy, when they said you start showing sooner with your second, they are NOT kidding.  I think I have been trying to hide my belly since week 6.  You think I am exaggerating, but I am not. Anyone who lives here in Safford will vouch that I am telling the truth.  I actually had someone ask me if I was expecting when I was 5 weeks along.  But I am considering that a fluke and I was not actually showing.  I mean, really?!?  

I shutter to think how big I will be at the end of this pregnancy if I am this big now, but I am enjoying it.  Pregnancy is the only time you can have a belly and get away with it.  Right?

Alayna went with us to one of the ultrasounds to find out our actual due date.  (There was a discrepancy between what my official due date was so we had an ultrasound done.)  Now, every once in a while she will ask if we can see the "baby on the computer" again.  And, this week I was telling her she has a doctor's appointment (her 3 year check-up) and without skipping a beat, she said, "Yeah, I do, so I can see the baby in my tummy."  I quickly told her that there is no baby in her tummy, only a baby in my tummy.  And based on the lovin' she gave the baby we babysat yesterday, I don't think this baby will have a moment alone with her around.  She loves, I mean LOVES babies!

My relatives have all asked if we are going to find out the gender of this baby (since my sister hasn't found out for her last two babies) and my answer to that is...probably.  We're not for sure yet, but I don't know that we could handle the suspense.  I like to think we could, but I think Dan is really wanting to know.  As for boy or girl?  I have an inkling, but I still go back and forth.  Basically because I think it's one and Dan thinks its the other.  But it's only two more weeks if we do find out.

Does that about answer all your questions? 

Now I have a request of all you ladies that have had babies within the last few years, where do/did you shop for your maternity clothes.  I am in need of a few things and I am coming up empty handed.  I am tall and somewhat slender (with a belly) and it seems to make shopping a bit harder.  Any tips would be much appreciated!

Rainbow Party

For Alayna's party, I wanted to keep it simple this year.  And I did.

A few family friends + cake and ice cream = one simple party.

It was perfect.  The kids came, played with all the new toys, ate cake and ice cream, and the adults got to eat and chat.  And all the fun was had in a little under 2 hours.  It doesn't get more perfect than that. 

Nowadays, Alayna is thrilled with a playdate, so I just decided to do the same thing here...just add cake and ice cream.  I think I will do parties this way for as long as I can get away with it.  :)

I read a darling blog where they did a birthday party based on their little guy's favorite color.  It was such a cute idea, so I decided to ask Alayna what her favorite color is.  I wasn't sure that she really knew what her favorite color was, but she gave me an answer, so I was set.  But then I wanted to double check, so I asked her again.  This time she told me a different color.  This process was repeated a few times throughout the day, and then it hit me. 

RAINBOWS!  She LOVES rainbows.  So a rainbow party it was.

Just a few rainbow decorations.  Dan's even in the background wearing the birthday hat that Alayna refused to wear.

A close-up of the homemade rainbow banner.

And a picture of the b-day girl being sung to.  She had to wear one of her pretty princess dress-ups.

And a pic of the rainbow cake made by yours truly.  Please do not judge.  I am most definitely not the cake boss, but my three year LOVED it!

Now, the coolest part.  The inside.

Isn't that cute?  Seriously.

And last, but not least.  The rainbow shirt.  Once, I saw the tutorial for it, I had to make it.  :)

THREE!

Three.  Three?  My little girl is three?! 

That really can't be possible, but I know it is because at least once (most likely more times) a day Alayna will say,  "Mom.  I'm THREE!" (All while holding three fingers up.)

So, on the 13th our baby girl turned three.  We celebrated a day early (since Dan had to work on her actual b-day), which we all know does not matter at this age.  In fact, to her it's not a birthDAY, it's more like a birthWEEK or month. 

We had to start the day out right....with birthday doughnuts.  With sprinkles.

After breakfast, it was time for presents.  We told Alayna that her gift from us was hidden under a blanket and she would have to take it off to see what it was.

Here she goes.

A kitchen! We got the smile(s) and reaction we were hoping for.

She was SO excited!

In fact, she was jumping up and down she was so excited.  We'd say, "What did you get?" and she would say, "A kitchen!" all while jumping up and down the entire time.

It really made staying up 'til midnight the night before so worth it.

Here it is:

It even has a phone.  And the entire time she was checking out her present, we got reactions like this:
Priceless.

We had to let her play with her kitchen for awhile before she was even interested in opening any other gifts. 

Now, on to the other presents.

I'll spare you from having to look at all the present opening pictures.  Instead, I'll show you a couple of the gifts she got. 

I was terrible, and didn't take a picture of all the gifts, but rest assured, our three year old was SPOILED!

Suzy Homemaker

These past few weeks I have been busy canning.  If you remember, last year was my first canning experience and quite frankly, I am hooked. 

Our good friend Roberta gave me a refresher course on how to can chicken and I even did a few batches by myself. 

All in all I canned about 30 lbs. of chicken, 16 jars of beans, and I even tried my hand at canning peaches this year (A totally new experience for my friend Holly and I).   And I think it's safe to say we could definitely do it again....and maybe even try a different fruit to change it up a bit. :)

So now, you can just call me Suzy Homemaker.  HA!

It feels like Fall

FINALLY!

I have been waiting -not so patiently waiting- mind you, for it to feel like Fall.  I 've had enough of the 100 degree weather and am ready for a "chill" in the air. 

And guess what?  Yesterday it happened.  Alayna and I walked outside to go teach cub scouts and it was chilly.  The wind was blowing and the air was crisp.  Now, it was still 62 degrees, but it is amazing how much colder 62 degrees feels compared to 100 degrees.  (It makes sense, since that is almost 40 degrees different.)

And get this, today I wore pants.  That's right, PANTS!  I never thought I would be so excited to wear pants....and a jacket.  It is the fair this weekend so there was a parade this morning and we wore our jackets.

Here's Layna at the parade.  She insisted that she have her hood on.  Don't worry, she wasn't as miserable as she looks.  In fact, I think she is telling me something.  She LOVED the parade...until the end when three fire engines had their sirens going non-stop.  L-O-U-D!

Can you believe, there were too many other cool things to look at besides me? 

 And here she was showing me her pockets.  "Mom, there's TWO pockets!"  I don't know why that small fact was so exciting, but it was.

Here's to cooler, crisp Fall days!

No more bills

We've reached a milestone in our lives.  Our first car that we purchased is PAID off (as of July).

 No more payments!  Yahoo!

And while of course there are other bills to be paid, I am basking in the fact that I don't have to pay anymore bills of this sort for awhile.

It feels good.

*sigh*