Happy Halloween!

Love,

Scarlett the piggy

Photo Sesh.

When Scarlett and I are just hanging around the house, it is not abnormal for us to have our own little photo session!  

When there's lippy involved, it's almost a guarantee!  

Currently

Loving:  Sweatpants!  Even maternity jeans are too restricting for this stage of pregnancy!  And Scarlett in her piggy costume; pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen!!

All dressed up for the Halloween party at our library!

Reading:  Lots of Sandra Boynton books to Scarlett; they're her favorites right now!  Pajama Time, especially.  I could use some ideas for a nice, interesting adult read, clearly!

Watching:  My all-time faves; The Office, Parks and Recreation, and New Girl.  I've recently been DVRing Nashville out of curiosity and it's been pretty entertaining.

Listening to: Taylor Swift.  Mostly due to the fact that she is everywhere!  Also, I have been listening to Christmas music lots -- it makes me feel festive and reminds me that there are lots of fun things happening in the next couple of months!  (Other than having a baby!!!!!)

Thinking about:  Scarlett.  How much I'll miss her and worry about her when I'm in the hospital.  How she'll adjust to not being an only child.  How to make sure she doesn't feel jealous of the new baby.  I want her to feel included and love her baby sister!  It's just something that I want to remain conscientious of for Scarlett's sake.

Looking forward to:  Meeting baby 2 and seeing who she looks like!  Scarlett coming to meet her sister and the party that will ensue!  Giving the gifts from baby 2 to Scarlett at the hospital!!!  And CHRISTMAS!  

Making me happy:  Sweatpants!  Talk about full circle, but really, sweatpants, sweatshirts, the pellet stove to make the house cozy, and yummy home fragrance!!!  We are going to batten down the hatches in preparation for Sandy.  Now lets hope that we don't lose power...or that I don't go into labor...during the storm!

 *Thank you, Love, Matt and Kara for the inspiration behind this post!

Scarlett's in HEAVEN!

We set out most of the baby equipment last weekend to prep for baby 2's arrival.  I wanted to get Scarlett used to seeing everything, so she didn't feel weird that her home was being crammed with new things for the baby.  Well, I had nothing to worry about!  She just thinks she gained LOTS of new things to put her babies in to sleep, eat, play, and "go to school."  (Yup, the bassinet doubles as school, obv.)

(window!) Shopping for Scarlett

I just happened to be browsing online at babygap.com when I discovered their Holiday Wonderland line; I want ALL OF IT for Scarlett!!!  All.  

Clearly, that's not going to happen, but it was fun, fun, fun to browse!  Everything red in the Penelope collection is pretty amazing, too!  And this:

Okay, so here are my top favorite picks for Scarlett:

 I full-sized my top two choices!  To die for!

#1 FAVORITE miiight have to happen!

#2 FAVE!  I think Scarjo would love the fairy wand!

So those were my picks for Scarlett and then I found these princess ballerina items that all the little girls would love...especially Alyssa!!!

 Now I dare you to go sneak a peek and not buy all of the things!!!!

It's my due date!!!

NO PICTURES THIS WEEK -- JUST KNOW THAT I'M HUGE!  Sad times!  I'll have to make a point to do at least one belly shot before baby 2 is born, so that when I'm losing the baby weight, I can see how far I've come!  Gotta have some goals!

Baby's size:  7.5 lbs and 20" long -- about the size of a small pumpkin  (fitting comparison!)

Sleep:  What's that?!  J/K, I know I'm getting lots of it compared to what my nights will be like in a few days...

Maternity clothes:  OBV.  And even those are getting tight.  No joke!

Food cravings:  All the foods.  Especially the delicious ones and sandwiches with cucumbers.  Yum!

Food aversions:  Veggies are still eh.

Symptoms I have:  Pain everywhere.  I hope I remember this when I am sleep-deprived, but not pregnant!

Doctor's appointment:  I went today!  I am 1cm dilated -- which means nothing.  BUT she stretched my cervix (TMI??).  It's what they do instead of stripping the membranes.  

Movement:  Lots of BIG movements -- they just happen less often!  

Belly button:  Flat and weird.

Gender:  GIRL!

What I'm looking forward to:  Watching Scarlett love little baby 2.  (I mean, I really hope she loves her and there is no jealousy!)  That's my goal with this whole thing -- I want to make sure Scarlett's needs are being met, so that she isn't threatened by baby 2.  And baby 2 is coming bearing gifts, I feel like that starts out their relationship on the right foot...!  

What I miss:  I'm feeling so sad about missing one-on-one time with Scarlett already.  Like, really sad.  I just keep reminding myself that I'm giving her a sister.  That beats everything bad, right?!  

Bein' Festive!

Every year, I always plan on doing all things festive for the appropriate season, and I usually succeed (Minus Maple Sunday; I can never remember when it is), but this year I am a hundred years pregnant.  That changes things bit!  I want to take Scarlett to the apple farm, corn mazes, and pumpkin lands, but I just don't have the energy, so the most festive thing I had done until today was make sure her halloween costume was here and ready, just in case I have an itty bitty baby to also take care of.

I realized that I was going to have to step up my game when Scarlett shrieked with excitement over the neighbors halloween lights an decorations.  (over-achievers.)  She's getting to the age where traditions mean something to her and I wanted to make sure that we had some festive stuff going on.

Honestly, I had planned to step up to the plate during the Christmas season and have Tyler decorate the house!

Mary and I had made a million plans to go to the apple farm all Fall, but it had yet to happen.

The only reason we even had pumpkins that were maybe going to be carved was because Auntie Mary took Scarlett and Lulu out to the local grocery store to pick them out!  Mom fail.  I missed the first pumpkins that Scarlett ever picked out!

Clearly, I have been slacking this season in the fun, festive department, so when Mary suggested we go to the apple farm, I jumped on board!

It was a quick 15 minute drive to get there, but once we arrived, we soon realized we'd missed prime apple-picking season; the place was dead.  Still, we excitedly picked out an empty bag and headed out to the field.  That was their favorite part; Lulu and Scarlett were obsessed with picking out any apple to stick in their bags!  It was so fun to watch!  (Though, I'm not even gonna lie, when we got home and looked through our apples, we realized that most of them were gross and bruised, but it was the experience that mattered!)

Ready for some apple picking!

Now as far as those pumpkins went, Mary kept trying to convince me to carve them, but never seemed to work out.  Carving was either going to be too messy and I was going to have company over or we'd find something else to do with the girls.

Turns out, today was the day!  Apple picking and carving pumpkins back to back -- hello, festivity!  I am taking no credit for the Fall fun because Mary carved Lulu and Scarlett's big pumpkins and Tyler came home early and carved "Smith" into the baby pumpkin that Scarlett had picked.  I was just the photographer of all the Fall Festivities!

Carving pumpkins outside because the weather was THAT nice!

After the pumpkins were carved, the girls had a dance session on the front lawn!  Lucky neighbors!  

Lulu's ballet dancing!

Now I'm getting ready for my doctor appointment this morning -- happy 40 weeks to me tomorrow!  I wonder if baby 2 will make her appearance before halloween or if she'll be a November baby...?!

FUN Links! {Tumblr edition}

Pretty on crack and I'm addicted!  Where has tumblr been all my life?!

Blondeness that would rock my world.  How do I do this?!

Yes, please!  This book added to my american ginseng and st. john's wort post-pregnancy, I'll be the most fun person ever!

Best Halloween costume. Ever.  Scarjo could totally pull this off!

I am loving this nail color and the shiny-ness is enviable!

Fun and girly...my kind of thing!

Yes.

Because I'm a lady.

Disney Princesses.  They make Scarjo happy!

Oh, Mitt. 

Awkward!

This is just wrong!  Poor Britney?  Or poor Jessica??  I can't believe they put Justin's ex girlfriend on the cover with his new bride!!!  

Right??? Or am I the only one still holding out hope for a Justin/Britney reunion?!!  

So What! Wednesday

• I teared up while watching Ellen Degeneres -- dang pregnancy hormones -- I don't have feelings!
• With my impending due date, I feel like my life is about to be over.  My world was rocked when Scarjo was born, so that's what I'm expecting to happen again, but it makes me feel guilty that I'm nervous!
• Scarlett calls my make up "wake up" and tells me to put it on, so we can go bu-bye.  
• On top of telling me to put on my wake up, she also loves to wear it.  Blush, eye shadow, and lippy are her favorites.  And she knows what they're all called and where they go.  
• I'm a bit worried that I'm ruining her self-esteem with my obsession with make up and all things girly.  I love that she loves girly things, but I also want her to be well-rounded!  Here she is in her high heels with her purse: 

• Tyler brought me a pumpkin munchkin to "try" and I went along with it even though I have definitely "tried" quite a few of them this season!  
• Secret confession: I looove Taylor Swift's newest song.  I almost want to go buy RED...Oh man, I know the name of her album!!!  Super-secrets!
• Scarlett calls things by the wrong name and I never correct her; I think it's adorable.  {Wah wah yeah = water, trees = trees AND leaves, stop signs = the political signs lining our streets.}
• The worst part about not being able to walk?  I'm freaked out that I'll go into labor and will not be able to shave my legs quickly before heading to the hospital.  

So here I am...

...less than ONE WEEK away from my due date and I have twisted my foot.  AGAIN.  It's the same foot that I twisted last summer.  Ugh, what a pregnancy!  On top of twisting this dang foot twice, I also fell on my baby bump and had the worst sunburn of my life.  Maybe that means and easy labor and delivery?!?!  Or baby 2 will be an angelbaby to make up for her rough pregnancy?!  That would be okay with me!

So now I'm couch-ridden.  With a toddler.  BUT at least Tyler's here this time!

Here's how it went down: Scarlett had her flu shot appointment today.  It was an absolute must that she got it before baby 2 is born.  I was helping her go to the bathroom before we left for the doctor office when I turned funny and heard, "POP!"  It was my foot.  Instantly, I could barely hobble around.  I called Tyler to have him meet me at the pediatrician's and hopped to the car.  We were called right in and the shot was a quick little thing -- Scarlett survived!  (I think that was more traumatic for me than Scarjo; I hate to see her cry!)

After the appointment, we all went back to the house, Tyler set me up with Tums and some ice and back to work he went!  Scarlett had a play date this morning, so at least she had fun then, but with me on the couch, we just turned on Sesame Street.  Thank you, Elmo!

Luckily, Mary was feeling generous and she came (after 2 episodes) and rescued Scarlett!  They're shopping  together with Lulu right now!  Phew!

Scarlett gave me her sticker from the doctor!  Sweet little girl!

On the plus side, I did get to enjoy The View today!  Alanis Morissette was on to perform (the song was okay.) and she was a guest on the couch to talk about her new album.  The topic of attachment parenting came up and the co-hosts had lots of questions.  My favorite part was how confident Alanis seemed while answering all those questions.  She was confident and bold in her answers.  Yes, she still breastfeeds and, yes, she co-sleeps with her son.  There was almost a, "duh" at the end of her statements.  I loved that!!!!

It makes me feel less crunchy in my parenting decisions and like they mean something because I'm just doing what feels right to me.  Love, love Alanis all over again!!!

Ipod Pics.

I found these pictures when I uploaded ipod pictures onto my computer.  Camdyn and Scarlett had a mini photo shoot in the backseat!  Too cute!

39 Weeks

I think there were enough baby bump pictures from yesterday's post, so I'll spare you from another one today!  Welcome.   

Baby's size:  She weighs a little over 7 pounds and she's about 20 inches long -- like a mini watermelon!  At least this is what she's supposed to be at this time; Scarlett was born under these measurements, so I'm curious to see how big little Miss #2 will be...!

Sleep:  What sleep?!  J/K!  I fell asleep at 7:30 last night and aside from my 4 nightly trips to the loo, I slept the whole time until 6:45am!  MAGIC!  (and yes, I wish I was British!  don't judge!)  

Maternity clothes:  Yes.  And I've stocked up on black yoga pants for after the baby to start the move from maternity to regular clothing again!  I'm hoping for an early Spring, so I can bring the babies on the loop and to the playground/toddler time and shed this baby weight!  Pipe dreams?!  Maybe... 

Food cravings:  Same as before, but Mexican seems to be especially tasty!

Food aversions:  Vegetables and beef.  Still.

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn, exhaustion, hip pain.  Fun stuff!

Doctor's appointment:  The baby dropped last week, but then at my appointment yesterday, she hadn't dropped any more and seemed to be happy and content to stay in there.  That works for me -- I want to have a November baby!

Movement:  Still a wild thing, but seems to be moving less often.  I think she's squished!

Belly button:  Photographic evidence.  Sorry for that!

Gender:  I hope she's still a GIRL!

What I'm looking forward to:  Going for walks with the babies.  Scarlett's already planning on taking her stroller filled with baby dolls for walks while I have baby 2 in my stroller.  She's psyched!

What I miss:  Feeling like myself.  

At this point in my pregnancy, this is completely accurate!  Also, pulling on maternity jeans could be classified as "doing yoga" too.

Truth!

I Won!

EXCITING!!!  I was not expecting to win this raffle, so I was so happy when I got the call!  Turns out, it was filled with baby formula and bottles, but it was still fun to win!  Tyler knew some co-workers who were using formula that had a use for it and the rest was donated, so it was a win/win!  I feel good being able to give the formula away and those who need it will save a few dollars!  (Actually a lot of dollars!  Have you seen the price of formula?!  Whoa!)

On top of the formula and bottles, the basket did include a $25 gift card to Walmart!  I used it to buy a new pram style baby stroller for Scarlett from baby 2 that she'll get at the hospital -- yippee!!!  She saw a picture of a kitty in the same stroller in her Turtle magazine and has been eyeing it ever since then; Rexy has no idea what's coming...!

The best part about this basket was that Scarjo and I had a blast sitting on the kitchen floor together tearing it all apart to see what was inside -- it was like Christmas!   It was a great tension-breaker because we looked through all the goods after our sticker trouble.  A happy ending to a very chaotic morning!

Baby Belly...you've been warned!

Scarlett was finger painting one rainy afternoon and I got this crazy idea that it would be fun to paint my baby belly.  We didn't have a plan, I just let her go crazy!  While it wasn't pretty, Scarlett had fun, and now I have photographic evidence of my bare baby belly.  Eeek!!!

Belly painting is serious business!

Honestly, I wish I'd been more creative with it, but at the time I was really just in it for the messy fun!  In the end, my baby bump was covered with paint-- Scarlett was having a blast!  I think she was a little shocked that I was all, "Suuuure, paint all over my skin!"  She was going to have fun with it while it lasted; smart lady!

You can thank me later...

I stumbled upon these sites on pinterest.  They're just pure awesomeness!

Little Texts -- a fun way to spend a quiet evening.  And it is pretty much like reading a book!

happy pretty sparkles -- 43 pages of pretties -- how can you go wrong?!

Here are a few of my favorite tidbits:

I am a huge Marilyn fan and have never seen either one of these pictures!  LOVE.

YES!

The last line is my favorite.

So What! Wednesday

• All I want to do is sleep.  Always.  This has been cutting into my free time majorly.
• Scarjo mixes her play-doh colors.  This annoys me immensely.  I should probably let that one go! 
• Scarlett knows the name of all the fairies in "Abby's Flying Fairy School."  
• Shannon may be on to something here, but I just cannot give up the control yet.  And I know it's coming, but I still picked out Scarjo's halloween costume again this year...maybe next year!  But then I'll have two ladies that will be so fun to coordinate costumes, so we'll see...!
• I haven't read a book for as long as I can remember.  (other than Scarlett's bedtime stories)  I'm so embarrassed!  I just keep falling asleep at night!
• I have started Christmas shopping!  Actually, I started a while ago, but now someone is officially checked off the list!
• Feeding Scarlett healthfully is an everyday struggle for me.
• My hair appointment is today and it's pretty much the highlight of my week!
• I say, "I have to go potty," on a daily basis.  Welcome to life with a toddler...

Gingerbread Man.

Hehehe!

This pretty much made my day!  Well that, and the fact that right now I'm blogging while Scarlett is playing beauty parlor and brushing my hair.  Hea-ven!

Scarlett and her kitty!

No matter how much Scarlett abuses Mr. Rex with her "love," he never lashes out at her and he always comes back for more.  We try to keep a close eye on them when they're together because I don't want Rex to get hurt; the other day I snapped a few pictures of their friendship in action!

Kisses!  She starts out so gentle...but he knows better!

She's serious about giving love!

"Frex!  Freeeeexxxyyy!  Come 'ere!"

Oops!  She slipped and fell on top of him while bending down to give him love -- yikes!

Scarlett is snapping a few shots of Mr. Rex with her phone!

"Frexy!"  She's trying to lure him closer for more pictures!

Time out for posing!

Sad times.  Rex had had enough!