Happy Third Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my favouritest three-year-old girl in the world!

Thought I'd share ten things about The Girl as she turns the big 0-3:

1. She loves Bubble Guppies and Dora the Explorer
2. Her favourite colour is green (despite me trying to make it purple)
3. Her favourite outfit is anything with Dora on it, or her flowery dress (see pics below)
4. She is kind and generous (when she's in the mood) -- she'll offer you bites of her food, or she'll offer to get you some of your own. "You want some?"
5. She has the BEST and most infectious giggle
6. Her favourite indoor activity is putting together puzzles
7. She needs "Other Bunny" in order to sleep (one of three bunny blankets, the other two are "Bunny" and "Bun-Bun", but Other Bunny is her #1. Ironic, yes?)
8. Her hair is curly and her eyes are blue... we don't know where either of these traits came from!
9. She has a thing for mommy's shoes, especially the ones in mommy's closet with the 4" heels that mommy will probably never wear, and the strappy gold ones that were bought for Halloween one year.
10. She really, really loves her big brother, laughs at all his antics, and wants to do everything he does. (Except potty train, apparently, but who's counting.)

Finally, some pictures from her party. She had SO much fun with her three best friends, Sara, Olivia and Meghan. It was a simple little party at home, and it was perfect for this spunky little 3-year-old.

Love you, baby girl.
xo, Mommy

Diary of a Real Pregnancy: Week 21 - Anger Management

Do not get a pregnant lady angry. Sage advice... except that it's very hard to do, because she will be angry no matter what.

I've suddenly lost all ability to handle stress of any kind. Change of plans, stepping on LEGOs, any minor issue will throw me into an angry temper tantrum of yelling, stomping, pulling my hair out. And it's instant: if you don't put the pedal to the metal the second the light turns green it will take everything I have not to lean on the horn. Rest assured I am yelling at you in reference to your intelligence level and physical appearance (even though I can't see you). I am just so... darn... ANGRY.

I think I need one of these for my car (/office / bedroom / shirt), so people will understand, and just get out of my WAY!

Heh - as if I own a rolling pin.

Besides that, this week has me realizing we will have a newborn in the house in just over 4 months, and I'm reeling about that a little. We have a long, long list of things to do, and as I find myself in the 'easiest trimester' I figured now would be a great time to get started. Yeah!

What they don't tell you is when you have a bunch of mouths to feed (and listen to), and a bunch of toilets to clean, and you're old and out of shape, the 'second wind' of the second trimester is a total fallacy. All I really want to do is have a nap! Just as soon as I'm done yelling about how stupid everyone is!

Anyway, good news for all the other drivers on the road -- I do have a plan to manage the stress and anger a little better than I have been. I've dug out my Hypnobirthing book and CD (The Mongan Method) and I will be doing the relaxation exercises. I expect to be all zen in just a few days :) I'll write more about Hypnobirthing in a couple of weeks but I can tell you, it changed my entire outlook last time and even allowed me to have a drug-free, intervention-free birth. Amazing. Bring on the zen!


Previous: Week 20 -Rootin Tootin Cowgirl (and the big reveal!)
Next: Week 22 - Crackerjacking and Other Pregnancy Woes

Diary of a Real Pregnancy: Week 20 - Rootin Tootin Cowgirl (and the big reveal!)

Yeeee-HAW!

It's quite the ride out here in the wild west, pardner! Yippee-kai-yay!

Have I lost you yet? I've lost a few things (mostly marbles and my cool) lately, so that seems fitting. So what's all the rootin and tootin about?

Well let me tell you. It's about the cacophony of bodily instruments up in this place. I am a sound machine like no other... and the sound is the TOOT. I cannot.stop.tooting. Passing gas. Farting.

Alright, I know. That's horrible and also laughable. But let me tell you what's NOT laughable. When you walk around the office and it sounds like you are walking on ducks.

Walking on ducks.

Thankfully, by the grace of maude, these vociferous exclamations have been loud but otherwise innocuous. Still, totally embarrassing. I have no control either. No warning. Just 'toot toot toot!' as I walk-walk-walk. I can only hope nobody has noticed. A girl can hope!

Now on to much more important details...

The Big Reveal

We had our big ultrasound this week, aka the anatomy scan. Again, because I'm old as dirt, I got to go 'upstairs' to the Floor for Special Pregnant Ladies to have the scan done. The bonus of this is of course better technology, but also a doctor doing the scan, so he's at liberty to talk about everything he's seeing on the screen... including what's between the legs*! Yippee!
*On the screen! Not HIS. Gross!

Before I get into that I will say that everything looks great, baby is measuring right on track for dates - measuring 19w 6d when I was 20w 1d. The doc spent extra time on the palate to make sure there was no cleft (it runs in the family) and saw nothing of concern. I was also told I have the blood work of a 'fifteen-year-old'... so that's good! I think!

The Boy was able to be there with us, due to an unfortunate incident the night before requiring 5 stitches in his lip and skipping school the day of the ultrasound (he's fine now). I thought it would be so neat for him to see all this stuff with us... He thought it was much neater to play Battleship on the iPod. 5-year-olds...

When I saw that the doc was hovering around what I assumed was the crotchal area, I made sure to mention that we'd like to find out the sex if we could. He said "Sure thing! I will let you know as soon as I know! This is the stomach..." Right, I knew that.

At one point The Hubs and the Boy went to the washroom, and thats when the doc said "So, do you want to know what you're having?" And I said "Yes!! Do you know??" And he said yes. I suggested we wait until the men returned. The doc had another idea... his plan (which he shared with great enthusiasm, as if he'd planned the whole thing out on his way to work that morning), was for me to make a big list of things I wanted done around the house. Then, he'd tell ME the sex, and I could withhold the information from The Hubs until everything was done! Haha! Wouldn't that be GREAT!

I was like, "Honey, I hear ya. But I've had a list like that going for YEARS." I didn't say that The Hubs would probably just tickle me until I peed my pants and then I'd have to tell him.

Anyway he told me. Hee hee! Then the boys got back, and the doc went on with the ultrasound with nary a word about gender the rest of the time. Finally, he finished, said everything looked great, and no need to come back as he got all his measurements. Have a nice day!

The Hubs on the other hand was giving me A Look that said "WTF!", but didn't say anything. I nonchalantly said, "Oh... I know what we're having, by the way." He said "You do?? WHAT!" Ha. I asked one last time, what everyone thought. The Boy said a brother. The Hubs said a brother. I said...

Nope! You're wrong!

We're having another baby girl!!

We are thrilled! A baby sister for The Girl. The Boy was like "Oh that's nice" haha, and The Girl's reaction was basically to tell us she knew this all along so what's the big deal?

Now we're on the hunt for names, as I don't think Plate or Table are quite fitting for our little princess :)


Previous: Week 19 - Almost Half-way! What!
Next: Week 21 - Anger Management

Diary of a Real Pregnancy: Week 19 - Almost Half-way! What!

Almost Half-way! What? HOW?

Okay, 19 weeks. It's cool. It's all good. 19 weeks pregnant is really no big deal.

Except, it IS. It's almost half-way. It might even BE halfway if baby decides to come before 40 weeks. Nearly half the pregnancy is over. HALF.

It's all good. I'm totally, totally prepared for three kids so being half-way through what will most likely be our last pregnancy is totally fine by me. Totally.

'Scuse me while I go freak out... Talk amongst yourselves.

Alrighty then.

As for how things are going physically... 19 weeks is actually kindof fun. Lots of kicks from baby, little pokes and bumps all the time which is great. I've also popped out more so people who haven't seen me for a week are all, "WOAH!" while staring at my belly. Heh. I laugh now, because I don't feel like a cow (yet). In fact I feel fine, I don't even think I'm showing at all because it doesn't seem to me like there's anything there, but clearly other people do so that's fun.

Only negative thing happening (other than the continuation of noxious gas, but meh, what can you do) is the inability to handle any kind of stress without Losing My Schmidt. I have absolutely no tolerance for... well, anything these days. I go from "Hey how are ya?" to "WHAT THE ACTUAL FLUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM??" in about half a second. No joke. I just have no time for idiots, or even regular people. Either do things the way I want them done, without me explaining anything to you, or risk pissing me off. I can't help it. Honestly, if I could, I would -- I don't LIKE being mad all the time. I just am. So shut up, damnit. GAWD.

Finally, the countdown is on for our Big Ultrasound. Only 3 more sleeps til we find out if this little one is Team Blue or Team Pink (and also check for all the toes and what not, of course)! Yippee!


Previous: Week 18 - Not Much Happening
Next: Week 20 - Rootin Tootin Cowgirl (And the big reveal!)

And then, they go and do something like this...

Kids. Always at ya. Adorable, but tantrummy. Hungry, but hate everything you suggest to eat. Scream at you for looking at them funny, but don't want you to leave the room. Aggravate you one minute, then run up and give you a hug for no reason. And so it goes.

After this past weekend of cleaning, organizing, chores galore and not much time reserved for play, both the kids and the parents were starting to get cranky with each other. Generally the kids have been playing SO WELL together (ack! I said it out loud! *knocking on wood*) so in that respect they were at least entertained by each other... even though I kept thinking, 'I should be doing that puzzle with them...' etc. I do know we're lucky that they enjoy each other's company though, so that when a weekend like the one we just had comes along, we can focus on the big people stuff (and my goodness it's nice to have a beautifully organized laundry room again!!) while they play.

But, of course, two whole days at home is a long time, and they got tired of each other. Little arguments, yelling... then us yelling to cut it out.

Sometime mid-afternoon today (I know it was after The Girl's nap as she was pantsless... don't ask), they both ended up on their i-Things, playing games next to each other on the couch. It's funny, because even though we have a big ole house with lots of places to go off and do their own thing, I still find them squashed next to each other in the same small chair sometimes.

Anyway, this past weekend we hadn't had a whole lot of 'electronics' as The Boy calls them, and the TV had been off most of the time, so I felt okay letting them veg out and play on 'electronic's for a bit while I finished up some of my jobs. There they were, on the couch, each in their own world and iGame, and that's when I heard this...

The Boy (quietly, without looking up): "I love you."
The Girl: "I love you, too."

I mean. Seriously.

God I love these kids.

Diary of a Real Pregnancy: Week 18 - Not much happening

So this week came and went and I totally forgot to write anything until now. Typical... third child. So easily forgotten. Technically I am still 18 weeks pregnant for another hour and a half, so it counts. :)

Two things did happen this week though: people started noticing my belly, and I had a doctor's appointment. Wowee! Honestly besides that there's really nothing going on.

Getting comments from people who know I'm pregnant is both exciting and a little off-putting. It's nice that it's not all in my head that I'm expanding a little, but at the same time it means others can SEE me getting bigger, they've noticed. She has a BELLY. It's only off-putting in the sense that I tend to forget there's anything there, so when someone says "Oh look at your belly!" my first thought is, What?? Did I spill something? No, I'm just bigger. Right, there's a baby in there, and it's not just my little secret.

The doc appointment went well... EVerything checked out fine and dandy. I had The Boy with me so he got to hear the baby's heart and helped hold the doppler so that was all very exciting. Doc said the heartbeat was 140. Girl? Boy? Your guess is as good as mine. I've gained more weight... up 12 lbs now. Aie aie aie. I can't remember how much I'd gained by this point in my previous pregnancies. I feel small(er) than I was last time, but I don't know if it's me being forgetful about being pregnant or if I actually am smaller. Or if I know how big I will eventually get so it's like, this is nothing. Either was 12 lbs seems okay, "they" say to average 1 lb/week so we'll see how that pans out...

Hard to believe we are nearly halfway there... Less than two weeks until our BIG ultrasound!! Eeeee!!

Previous: Week 17 - Active Baby, and You Are What You Eat
Next: Week 19 - Almost Half-way. What!