37 Weeks…

Wow oh wow…suddenly (well not really) but yet suddenly we are here at 37 weeks.  Full term in baby land which is an absolutely amazing feeling.

Not only is that wonderful, but I have yet to have any complications with this pregnancy.  Which means no 24 hour urine samples, twice weekly ultrasounds and non stress tests and lot of blood draws.  Until she is born I will continue to cross my fingers, but so far I can’t believe how much better I feel physically.  It makes it hard for me to believe that she will be here so soon. 

I now just have the same complaints as most women in their final weeks.  I feel like there is not much room left in there, lots of pressure, hard to sleep to long without having to go to the bathroom and tired by the end of the day. 

Mike and I (we think Thomas too) are getting excited to meet her.  We keep wondering and talking about what she will look like, how she will act and how she will change our lives.   Only time will tell but we are all anxious for the next couple weeks!

For the most part her room is finished and I have started to gather things for us to bring to the hospital.  Compared to how over prepared I was with Thomas, I feel like I might be scrambling in the end to get things together.  However, with the 2nd, I feel like I have more of an idea of what to expect and how things will go (hopefully much quicker and simpler than the first time around!)

Day at the zoo

Thomas and I were joined by Whitney and Dahlia for a morning at the zoo.  The sun was out and it was gorgeous day to visit the animals.  Thomas was a big fan of feeding both the parakeets and asked to feed the penguins again as we were leaving.

In the video you can see that Thomas was down to business concentrating as he fed the birds.  We even had to buy a couple more sticks once our initial ones were gone.   After a poop landed on my shoulder and a bird landed on top of my head we decided it was a successful bird adventure!

It always amazes me that after all our visits to the zoo, we still have areas that we haven’t discovered yet.  Today we found out that you can see the chimpanzees down on the floor level.  Dahlia and Thomas both thought it was fun to watch them put the “blankey” on their heads.  At lunch the they were all giggles as they put the napkins on their heads and it was a true case of “monkey see monkey do.”

Egg Crackin’ Good Time

After a long and late nap yesterday Thomas was ready for an “ark projek.”   On Pinterest, I was given this idea for Easter egg painting.

I knew with a 2 year old we would be quite a bit messier but went for it anyway.  All but 1 set of our eggs had holes in it, which I thought would be a disaster, BUT for Thomas it ended up being perfect.  It was difficult for him to independently crack open the eggs, but he could hit the paper and paint would come out.

We started our project so late that Mike even got in on the fun!  Best part was watching Thomas paint Mike.  We tried to ask him if he remembered painting Daddy in October or if he remembers it from the picture we have sitting in the house, he didn’t tell us.  Regardless, it was a fun paint session and as usual it was followed with a shower!

Dot dot dot…

Crack…

Pour…

Smear….

Spread…

Get Daddy messy!!!!

For your viewing pleasure a couple little snippits of Thomas painting and the messy fun with Daddy home!

5 Years Ago…

My family’s life was forever changed when my cousin Josie passed away from Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.   Today, just as it did 5 years ago it feels raw, unexplainable, and unfair.

As tears streamed down my face watching her video and taking a few minutes to tell Thomas about his cousin, he said “miss Jojo.”  Oh little guy how I wish that none of us have to miss her. 

Losing her glimmer of light and happiness in such a short battle with Leukemia was difficult for me, yet I cannot and still cannot comprehend what it felt like for her parents, sisters or soon to be born (at the time brother).   In her 3.5 years of life she touched so many people and has forever made me want to be a better Mother, friend and member of our family. 

It has also made me abundantly grateful for every minute and experience that that we have been blessed to share with Thomas and our unborn daughter.   The reality is that life is so uncertain and this taught me that.  Once I became a Mother it also rocked me because I have caught myself thinking about the “what if’s” and although I know I must not live that way, there are days where I am overwhelmed with emotions of missing her, longing to know “why” and wanting to have the reassurance that all will be well.  I guess this is where faith and the trust in God come into play and for that I am also thankful. 

So on this 5 year anniversary, I will continue to remember Josie’s sparkle, her spunk and her well lived however short life.  I love you Josie and I miss you and think of you everyday.

A Little Change in Color

It was a long and hard decision to get rid of our sea foam green house.  We decided that it might just look and feel better to change it up, make it more modern maybe?

So we changed it to a steel blue color and are very happy with how it turned out.  What a difference a color can make!  Don’t you think?

Celebrating Easter…

Eggs…Eggs…and more EGGS…this was the theme of the weekend!  It started on Saturday morning with an egg hunt at the community center a block from our house.  This was a much bigger event than we expected and with kids 10 and under all trying to get every egg possible we felt lucky to have Thomas get 4. 

After that started our weekend project of putting bead board in the basement.   As always Thomas was an excellent helper going back and forth from helping to “hamma” and “glue” to taking breaks and playing.  After lunch, Mike and I made some real progress and got a couple walls done.   Then it was time for Mike to do some work on the trim alone, so Thomas, Stella and I headed to the grocery store to grab stuff for dinner. 

After dinner we successfully dyed Easter eggs with minimal staining!  Thomas liked dipping the eggs and using the tool to “hold them.”  Only 3 eggs were lost to the never ending desire to “crack them.”

Easter morning started off with Mike and I telling Thomas that the Easter bunny had come.  We then proceeded to let him open some of the eggs that were left inside and told him about why we celebrate Easter.  After a wonderful breakfast cooked by my favorite chef we headed outside to check out the egg situation!   The eggs were a hit but the bubbles that were left were too much fun.  The rest of the day Thomas wanted “little bit bubbles outside please.”  I have to admit watching Thomas and Mike run around screaming chasing bubbles was the highlight of my day!

We then finished up some house stuff and started to get ready for Max and Amy and our dinner.   Thomas adores these two and the from the minute they get here he hardly bats an eye at Mike or I. 

After dinner we went to the park with the neighbor boys and everyone got some running in.  What a fun and productive weekend!  We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

~you will notice our house changed colors in the picture- “the guys” have been working hard in our nice Seattle weather to paint the house.  We are so pleased with how it looks and can’t wait for it to be done.

Big Boy Room

The big boy room has been a work in progress for the last couple months.  There have been glimpses of what it looks like and what is in it, but here is the official reveal.

Thomas loves his room and you can find him hanging out in there with his trains and chalk board playing away.  He also likes to look at all the pictures on his shelves and point to the “go go’s.” 

New Toys

Thomas got a new balance bike and sand table for his birthday.  So this morning we made a trip to get some “hand (sand)” and then after his nap we tested out his bike.  He loves going fast on his bike and hopefully by the end of the summer (or with some modifications from Grandpa Jim) he will be able to scoot along on his own.

On our bike ride he wanted to stop by and see the chickens at the end of our block.  He was so happy and loved showing them his “new bite.” 

We then stopped by the park for a quick play and Stella found herself a great stick to destroy!  

Sleeps

I have heard of many little ones putting their babies or stuffed animals to sleep. Thomas puts the things he loves to sleep too, they just happen to be things like his balls, bike and Stella.

What a goof!  Stella and the ball were just pretending to sleep.  He did actually go to bed with his bike and then once he was asleep we moved it away from him

Celebrating Thomas’ 2nd Birthday

Our day of celebration started by snuggling in bed. Then we packed up and headed to Snoqualmie Pass for some skiing.   It was a great time.  Thomas again loved skiing and I don’t know what was more fun for me watching Mike teach Thomas or watching Thomas light up when he went “fast.”

They made 6 runs and on the 7th run Mike let go and Thomas skied a 10 or so feet on his own.   Mike and I were so proud of him and he was pretty pumped up too. 

After we finished up skiing we went to a little pull off and had a little lunch before heading home. 

Once home we started to get into party mode.  We cleaned, started to cook and most importantly got the birthday boy a nap.   Not going to lie his truck cake was not the prettiest, but in a pinch it worked and it tasted great which is all that matters!

We had a few people over and the chaos quickly started.  Thomas had fun playing with his friend Savannah.  I spent over an hour trying to “fix” the pasta dough Mike had created and Stella paced anxiously around the house.  Aside from the excitement of the cake there was some excitement with green paint.  While we were all occupied, Thomas got a hold of his green paint and proceeded to paint himself and several things in his room.  It was pretty comical and after we got everything cleaned up we continued with the dinner/pasta disaster.

2 hours after dinner was suppose to be served it was, with a taster of homemade noodles, some store bought noodles and great company!  We followed this with a shy boy hiding in his Mom and Dad’s arms while we sang happy birthday and then enjoyed cake. 

Maybe next year we will be ordering pizza!  What a fun day of celebrating our little Babaganoosh, and the most amazing 2 years of our lives!