Best Summer Photo

This is by far one of my favorite photos ever! The wings are from our Playgroups annual Summer Picnic, which was a lot of fun. I have so enjoyed my time being Gwen's Mama. The two of us have done so much together, and I don't think she will remember when it was just her and I, but I will. She will likely never remember a time without little brother in her life. So, any day little guy, we are eagerly anticipating your arrival into our lives, and know once you get here it will be hard to imagine we ever lived without you :-)

Baby Boy Update

There really isn't any update :-) I had my 38 week appointment this week, and there was hardly a point to the appointment (much like most of my prenatal appointments). I am having a regular old pregnancy, no blood pressure issues, moderate weight gain, baby always has a strong heartbeat. I had been measuring on schedule until this week, I measure a week behind, but my OB likes to point out that I hide large babies. She hasn't done any cervix checks, and won't until I am 40 weeks. Spencer and I are taking a "Managing Comfort and Labor " class at Harmony Birth tomorrow, and that should be a nice refresher. Maybe we will pack our hospital bag this weekend. I have my next appointment for 9.20 (my due date) but I am hoping this little guy comes next weekend...we'll see!

*photo was taken August 1st.

First Trip to the Dentist!

Gwen had her first visit to the dentist 9/1! She met with our current dentist's wife who isn't technically a pediatric dentist, but is good with children. Gwen got a little freaked out while we waited since she could hear the loud noises of the patient before us getting his teeth cleaned. She has been to the office before; she came with us our appointment last month when we took turns having our teeth cleaned. When it was Gwen's turn she sat on my lap on the exam chair and let the dentist look in her mouth and tolerated a brief cleaning with cherry toothpaste, and brisk application of strawberry fluoride. There were some tears and Gwen said, "All done- tickles." But apparently it tickled in a bad way. The dentist noted that she has stains in the crevices of her back bottom molars- apparently her crevices are very deep. She said that to prevent them from turning into cavities to keep sweets (including raisins and dried fruit) to one sitting, rather than grazing, since sweets change the PH of your mouth allowing bad bacteria to breed- if I understood her correctly ;-) And then when they are limited to one sitting you can brush afterward. Gwen may have to get sealants when she is a bit older to protect her teeth from cavities- even though they are baby teeth, she will have them for a while. The dentist also said she tends to have more successful visits with children closer to age 3, but we are going back in 6 months for a check up. Between now and then we are going to work on brushing more frequently and practicing spitting so she can start using real toothpaste instead of the baby toothpaste which as far as I can tell is just a tasty gel.

Running!

Today is the first day I feel really pregnant. We went on a walk downtown last night to get Frozen Yogurt, and the walk wrecked me. I couldn't sleep last night since I was so uncomfortable, and today I could hardly walk. TMI: My crotch feels like it is broken :-(
But Gwen was so amazing last night. I need to capture video of her running because it is hilariously cute. She ran almost the whole way home (except when we insisted she hold hands crossing the street and over the bridge). She probably ran a total of 1/2 a mile. We are adding Track and Field star to her list of possibilities. She has taken to calling me Mom sometimes, which is cute, since it almost sounds like Mum. She is counting to 10 (she threw in 20 the other day) and recognizes numbers out of sequence too. She is a force of nature! She also has been working on using the potty. She goes #1 and #2 in her little Baby Bjorn Potty, but can't pull up/down her underwear/pants so she has to go naked while we are at home (or with a dress/skirt on). She is so funny because all of a sudden she will up and run to the bathroom and I can hear her tinkle. She has gotten so used to the potty that she no longer tells me, and no longer needs the positive reinforcement I was giving her (letting her have 2 squares of toilet paper, the honor of flushing the toilet, and a high five). We haven't been pushing the potty training (she instigated with insisting on naked time) and the few times I have gotten excited about her progress and encouraged her too much, she has lost interest. As soon as she has the coordination to pull up her pants I think we will work on going all the way and phasing out daytime diapers. Though that will likely be months after little brother arrives (don't want to do too much around such a big transition). She hasn't been sleeping through the night for a few weeks, which has been a bummer...I think there is just too much going on in her little head!

Mommy! Daddy!

Gwen has taken to calling us Mommy and Daddy (as opposed to Mama and Dada)- it is very strange. It makes her seem so, well, grown up. It also just dawned on me last night that she is really talking- full on sentences. She told me this morning, "Mommy has blue eyes." This was something her and Spencer talked about last night. She also can sing the itsy bitsy spider with hand gestures and all (will have to get it on video). She has been sleeping in her crib converted into a toddler bed (crib with the front off) and doing much better. She wakes up maybe once a week, and usually will go back to sleep in her bed (we had been in the habit of bringing her into ours). It also seems to help that she is going to bed a little later. I really wanted to have a bedtime, with the start of bedtime routine around 8am so she would be asleep around 8:30pm...but what we have learned about Gwen is she does better with things on her own terms. It is more like asleep by 9:30pm/10pm and awake around 8:30am. With the exception of yesterday and today which involved her waking up at 7am, and 6am respectively. Poor tired Mama! I was subjected to Barney this morning at 6:30am... it was painful.

P.S. Today is our 5th Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated with a walk downtown (bike ride for Gwen) to get frozen yogurt. Gwen is staying overnight tomorrow with Grandma so we can have an evening to ourselves, and sleep in! Yesterday was 15 years of being together, since we celebrate the day we met- WOW.

What Haven't We Been Doing!?!?

It is summertime and we have been busy! Besides some 'lazy' days at home in the garden and working on projects around the house, we have been doing a lot!












Shopping with Gwen is a weekly occurrence- here she is hiding from the paparazzi.















Our first big produce from the garden. Last year we had a zumkin, this year we have a volunteer pumpchini (more pumpkin than zucchini).











In an effort to get our finances under control, I now have a food budget (goal at least ;-) and have been meal planning. Every Sunday night I check the cupboards, then the weekly ads and come up with a meal plan and then shopping list. I have had to be a little creative in the kitchen, which I don't mind. This is Easy Peasy Zucchini quiche that I added my own flare to.













Gwen got an early birthday present from Grandma- a tricycle that allows her to peddle if she wants, or sit back and enjoy the ride while being pushed. This thing is awesome! She loves her bike and wearing her helmet, though she hasn't quite figured out the peddling.













We went to a Fourth of July party at our friends house and Gwen, being the only child, got a lot of attention. This is her being cute with an umbrella. She had the mother of all tantrums before we left, but was an angel while we were there (of course).









This is another recipe that I have recently discovered and love: Potato Pancakes with Avocado Salsa. I served it with a green salad with hard boiled egg to complete the meal (got to get in the protein and greens!).

We had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Andy and Jeannie (Spencer works with Andy) at Plumpjack in Squaw Valley, which is a cute little lodge owned by Gavin Newsom. It was lovely and we got to stay overnight which was a real treat. Though once I was up there I realized that I hadn't thought about the high elevation and being pregnant- apparently the two don't mix. We thought we would hang out the day after the wedding, but the lack of oxygen was making me a little fatigued and slightly nauseous so we headed home early (we also missed Gwen who had the time of her life at Grandma's).


We have started to slowly get ready for little brother's arrival. There really isn't that much to do, especially this early, but I did go through the clothes I have already accumulated for him. This is a picture of his wardrobe comprised of a donation of hand me downs from his little cousin Thor who is a summer baby but had a lot of winter clothes given to my Uncle and his girlfriend, the grandmas who have started shopping for their first grandson, and from Gwen's gender neutral clothes. He is pretty much set with clothes in the 0-9 months sizes :-)











This photo is Spencer and Gwen on a bike ride in Cambria before bedtime. We met my sister and her husband last weekend for a lovely mini vacation on the Central Coast. Angel found this great cottage with an organic garden, outdoor tub, and nest. Check out this link to Cambria Cottage. We had a great time; it truly felt like a vacation, which was nice.

Well, it is almost midnight and I have my Water Exercise class tomorrow morning (I go every Saturday). Gwen also has a swim class which she does with Spencer. I have been trying not too stay up late because the less sleep I get the more sore I am and the more cranky I get, and a cranky Mama is no fun. I also have been napping with Gwen during the day (well she naps in her big girl bed, and I nap in my Mama bed). And between sleeping, eating, and taking care of business around the house, as well as all our playdates and classes, I haven't had much time to update our blog, but I will try and be better. I realize it is one of the few ways I keep in touch with people these days. As Gwen would say, "Night, night."

Gwen's First Sentence!

Gwen was playing in the backyard while I was in the kitchen, and I went out to check on her. "Uh-oh Mama. Uh-oh. Kitty. Kitty throw up." Milton had hacked up a huge hairball and part of his lunch. I had no idea she even knew the concept of throw up. This picture is from our trip to the Zoo last month.