he is so grown up!

i can't believe how big my 3 year old is getting!

we've recently started (not for the first time though!) some new things and he is doing great this time around. i guess he really is growing up.

a long time ago we tried to wean him from the binky, but it didn't work and i ended up getting lazy. we decided to give it another shot this past weekend, thanks in part to the dentist reminding us that he needed to give it up, preferably by 3. i was biting my nails because the last time we did it resulted in lots of sleepless nights and nightmares. this time has been much smoother, though not without its little bumps. our incentive is a goldfish, just like dorothy on elmo's world. ethan has been collecting quarters in his money jar (he is able to get one at bedtime, one in the morning and one at naptime if he doesn't cry or ask for a binky) and once he gets 14 we'll go to buy a fish! he is very excited, though he has been trying to negotiate a bit. yesterday at naptime he told me that if he didn't get a dorothy fish then he could have his binky back. he is obviously understanding the concept that he only gets one or the other. he tried that again this morning. it is really hard not to laugh when he asks, because he has a little smirk on his face like he KNOWS exactly what he is doing. today was our first fallback. he had found an extra binky of miles' and had it this morning, so no quarter. but all in all, much better than last time and i bet by next week we will have a new pet in the house.

we've also been working on potty training and i think this time he FINALLY has it. it took some extra hard measures of some negative reinforcement (definitely not my first choice, but nothing else was working, so we agreed to try it) and it worked. quickly too. while he still is having some accidents here and there, i haven't cleaned out a pair of poopy underwear in over a week. YAY! huge accomplishment.

so, my big boy is showing me that he is grown up and ready to take on new things. i am so proud of him!

happy earth day: our container garden

i made the leap and am trying to grow some of our own food this year. i decided to do a container garder to keep it small and also since we are moving in a few weeks, easily transportable. i'm not normally the best with plants, so i didn't start off with much...and i know it won't get any easier once baby #3 arrives in june.

we're doing strawberries, tomatoes, basil and cilantro right now. maybe, maybe i'll add a few things later on in the season, but we'll see. ethan has been very excited about the one strawberry we have right now and as soon as it is ready to be picked, i am going to let him do it. he goes out and checks the plants every morning before we get in the car.

i have great plans of putting the compost from the worm box onto the plants...i just haven't worked up the courage to get it out of the worm box yet. it isn't bad smelling (just smells like damp dirty really) and is actually doing well and already producing good compost...i am just not excited about sifting through the worms to get it. maybe that needs to be a job for lance and the boys.

miles and the blankie

33 weeks!

how far along? 33 weeks

sleeping: not good at all. i know still better than when baby girl arrives, but it is frustrating to not be able to sleep when you know you need it!

total weight gain? 26lbs

movement: still lots of movement, though it is more stretching now with less kicks. and she is big enough now that you can feel little body parts pressing out...i guess elbows or knees or feet/hands??

food craving: raspberry lemonade! i have just been drinking the mix kind, but i found a recipe that i want to try out to make homemade.

what I miss: sleeping well and being able to easily get up off the floor :)

what i'm looking forward to: finishing up her nursery. the room just got painted this weekend (and i love it!!) but i can't wait until we can actually move in and start putting up all the things i've been saving up. seeing the boys with their new sister. i have no idea how miles is going to react, but i think ethan is going to be a great little helper. he has been playing with a little doll at grandmother's house and calling her "baby sister" and it is so sweet.

milestones: going to to the doctor every two weeks now!

how i'm feeling: okay. i am definitely noticing that things are a lot harder this time around than they were the first and even the second time. i felt pretty good up until the end with both ethan and miles, but i am wearing out a lot quicker this time. plus she is scrunched up on my right side and something is jabbing up into my ribs and it is definitely not pleasant! but all in all, i am having a good pregnancy and i know i will miss being pregnant (i do after each time!)

hand prints!

it has been a while since my last post. things have been so busy between packing up our old house, a doctor visit and working on the new house.

today they poured the driveways and walks at our house. we tried some rolled concrete (similar to stamped concrete, you just use a large roller to get a texture when the concrete is wet rather than stamps) on the front drive. first time we have done this and i am eager to see how it looks tomorrow when it is dried.

we had a little pad beside the garage, where the HVAC units will go, and the boys got to put their hand prints down. so cute! they both did well, though ethan immediately said, "my hand is dirty" and wanted to get clean as soon as possible. so glad lance had us come over so we could do that.

sonic treat!

not much better on a saturday afternoon than a treat from the sonic!

construction update: week five

the house is moving along very quickly. lance has been doing a great job with the scheduling and making sure everything is running as smoothly as it can. we are looking at an early to mid-may move in date if all stays on schedule. ahhh, a couple of weeks to relax before baby girl arrives, what we will do with ourselves? :)

progress pictures:
living room view from the kitchen - there will be built-in bookcases with cabinets below on either side of the fireplace and a tv space above the fireplace.

standing in the family room looking back towards the kitchen. the window on the right overlooks the backyard.

standing in the main hallway in front of the living room looking back towards the kitchen.

baby girl's room!

the dining room, though for us we will be using it as a playroom. sooooo excited! we haven't had a playroom yet and i am very eager to have all of the toys stored somewhere other than our living room.

standing in the main kitchen work area looking towards the breakfast area and then the family room behind.

upcoming construction will include wall texture (should be happening this weekend), exterior and interior painting, install cabinets and trim, finish minor brick work, install granite and tile and begin HVAC, electrical and plumbing trim-outs (means putting in switches, plate covers, grill covers, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc) it is going to start looking a lot more finished in just a week or two! we will also be pouring the driveway and exterior walks.

i have been busy, busy figuring out furniture layouts, picking out curtain rods and other extra items like that that we'll need to have hung by our trim guy. it is making me think a lot more about things earlier than i thought i'd need to. it is hard to figure out where you want a shelf in a room if you don't know how you are going to lay it out! i guess that is a good thing though so it will be done earlier rather than later...or realistically never getting done.

i've also been in the process of packing up our house. luckily when we put it on the market (a long, long time ago...i think miles was only a few weeks old!) we cleaned out a lot of our extra stuff and put it in storage, where it has been ever since. so i don't have all that stuff to deal with. and it is nice that we are only moving a few miles away and we don't have a buyer on our current house yet so things don't have to be out by any certain date. but i am trying to gather things up that i can so i'll feel a little bit more organized because i know it will only get crazier when baby girl arrives in about 2 months.

ahhh, the honesty of 3 year olds

i had to pick up a few things at wal-mart this evening after i picked the boys up. not usually a great idea since they are normally tired after a day at the babysitters and just ready to get home, but we desperately needed some items for their lunches the next day. so off we went.

they actually did really well for the most part. miles started melting, but overall better than some other disastrous trips, so i was pretty pleased. i had just finished paying so i was about to make it out of there with my sanity in tact (seems to be a lot harder to do these days...) when ethan starts up a short, but oh so very embarrasing conversation with me. and mind you, he is not being at all quiet about this.

"momma, see the baby behind us?"

"yes, there is a baby boy."

"momma, you have a baby in your belly!"

"yes, i have your baby sister in my belly."

at this point, it is still fine and cute and i see the people behind me smiling and nodding.

then this...

"momma, did daddy put the baby in your belly?"

oh lord. i don't remember what i said, i mumbled some sort of response. i see the people behind us trying not to laugh. i got out of there as quickly as i could.

of course i immediately called lance who thought it was hilarious...he wished he had been there. he told me at least ethan didn't ask if someone else put the baby in my belly. i have absolutely no idea why he even asked that! i know this isn't the last time the boys will embarrass me but it was enough for one day!

more cuteness for baby girl!

a few more creations for baby girl...

the reversible bib was made from a pattern from romeo & mae - love her stuff! and the perfect little pillowcase dress was made using a pattern from owly baby. making stuff for baby girl has given me the excuse to buy more and more fabric and i have been LOVING everything from amy butler, especially her midwest modern collection - that is what the fabric for the dress is. it is so simple, modern and comes in lots of great colors!

i have lots more in the works, including these absolutely adorable ruffle bloomers, but somehow building a house has gotten in the way of my sewing time. i forgot how involved building is, especially when it is your own home. it is much easier to build for someone else! but the house is moving along very well...look for an update later this week - LOTS of progress has been made!

easter 2010 in pictures

egg coloring - everyone got in on this, even miles...though he was more interested in playing with the crayons and trying to drink the dye:

happy easter - 31 weeks!

easter baskets and easter morning:

happy easter!

i hope everyone is having a wonderful easter!

the weather has been great and we are enjoying a perfect easter sunday that included easter basket treats, time with family, egg coloring and egg hunts...but i am lazy right now, so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.