Super sensitive Beca

We spent the past month in Toy Story land.  It did not always turn out well.  We tried to take Beca to the movies to see Toy Story 3.  But remember when I said she sobbed hysterically at Toy Story 2?  Well, she did that in TS3 at the IMAX theater as soon as Woody decided to separate himself from the rest of the toys at the daycare.  So much that Steve had to take her out less than 1/3 through the movie and she didn't calm down for at least 30-40 minutes.  We had to leave the theater without watching the rest of the movie.  No movie going for Beca until she's 6.  But we have a whole pile of Jessie, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, along with other characters.

Tonight, Beca had another sobbing fit.  this time it was over her bath Ariel Barbie, whose neck met an unfortunately demise and her head came off.  Water and plastic over time do not mix but she was not in the mood for a polymers lesson.  But she seemed ok.  Except then tonight she ended up seeing the Ariel and telling Steve the story at the beginning of bath.  Again, seemed ok.  Until she had been playing in the tub for a while and I heard her crying, trying to be quiet about it, but she started sobbing louder and louder about how Ariel couldn't go away.  Oh boy...  Well, she settled down a bit after we told her that she could probably use her chore jar money to save up and buy a new bath Barbie and reminded her that she has a new Ariel at Oma's house.  We'll see.

Punchy little thing at 32 weeks

Started this last week...

Baby girl is still growing, bigger and bigger.  At 32 weeks, my travel is now restricted.  After all the excitement of Beca's birthday, she really went crazy when I finally laid down for some rest.  And when Steve pushed on her, she answered back - violently.  Unfortunately for me, her stretch hurt but it was so funny at the same time.

Big sister Beca is now really 5 so we can stop with the "I can't do that, I'm just a little girl" mess that has proliferated her vocabulary.  Of course, a few weeks ago, she started using the line "I'll do that when I'm really 6".  Uh, no - you can do it now that you are 5.

So now I'm really 33 weeks and only have 40 days left.  Still lots of hiccups and stretches that are painful for me.  Not entirely sure what always sets her off but someone mentioned kick counts the other day and I just laughed.  I don't need to count anything with Baby Girl.  Except the number of sweltering hot days I have left to get things "ready".  At least there's one holiday in there.

A fabulous weekend with family

Wow - what a fun weekend (oh last weekend but it took me forever to finish this post)!  Thursday was early and exciting but at least Beca and I were just getting up to get the last few things together while Steve and Oma were already on the road (super early).  The airplane ride was pretty good.  Beca started watching Toy Story 2 during the short flight.  By the time we landed in Philadelphia, Steve and Mom had been waiting an hour at the airport, having left at 4:45 am and making great time.  We took off to pick up Uncle Kyle from work for a late lunch - philly cheesesteaks and buffalo chicken cheesesteak sandwiches.  Yummy!  Then a ride past Trenton, NJ and east towards the Shore. We made it to the hotel, got stuff in and then Oma and Beca went to the pool while Steve and I went to pick up his vest.  Then I joined at the pool for a little while during a nap for Steve before we made it .  We ended up the day at dinner at Applebees with a friend of Rob's (Chris, his wife Jennifer and kids Zach and Caitlin), Melissa's parents (Mike and Sue), and Ema, Per-Frank, Mimmie, and Aunt Karen.  Beca was very specific that she needed to sit next to Aunt Melissa and Uncle Bobby so Steve sat with them and I sat at the other table. Good conversation, food, everything until it got too late and Beca broke down over not being understood when she was demanding that I do something about pictures with Steve's iTouch.  But Oma was still nice enough to let Beca sleep with her.
Which really meant that Steve and I could sort of sleep in.  Turned out that the breakfast at the hotel was more than we really wanted to pay and Beca didn't want to eat any of it.  Time for an adventure with the doofus GPS taking us all over Fort Monmouth and Tinton Falls area until Steve and I finally did an override and just found a McDonald's based on what I had googled earlier.  Didn't matter once I had my sweet tea and Beca had pancakes (though she was extremely pissed at me for ordering Hot Cakes because "IIIIIIIIIII doooooooon't waaaaaaannnnnt thaaaaaaat!").  We had a visit from my grandparents and Aunt Dawn and Uncle Glenn and Beca got a big tub of fun scarves, gloves, ear muffs, hats and a cool purple coat.  They went to the Shore with my mom and we went to lunch with Steve's parents, Mimmie, Aunt Karen and Bobby.  It was a fun lunch at Chili's and then back to the hotel - pool time!!   Steve had to go to the Rehearsal at the wedding site.  Beca and I were hanging out for a while in the pool and Aunt Karen joined us and then others found their way out to at least say hi or sit by the pool.  It was a pretty afternoon but we knew Beca needed a bit of a nap so she and I got showers and then napped.  She almost wasn't awake in time to go to the Rehearsal dinner and slept well enough that I could get completely ready!  We had to wake her up to get her dressed so she was a little out of it by the time we reached dinner.  It was at a great family Italian restaurant, which meant lots of food and wine.  Beca met a her "new best friend", Christa, who is the daughter of the maid of honor, Tina.  The only other little kid is Melissa's nephew, Michael, and the three of them had the best time running around, not to the pleasure of the wait staff, I'm sure.  Luckily, everyone realized we had an early morning ahead so we went back to the hotel.
Next morning, Steve went to meet Bobby for breakfast and I got ready while we left Beca sleeping.  We were dressed and downstairs in time for the limo to pick us up.  By us, I mean Steve, Bobby, Ema, Beca and myself.  Everyone else rode over in our vehicles so we had a way to return from the Shore.  The wedding was in a site right off the beach.  The kids immediately saw that the windows overlooked pools and they wanted to be out there rather than dressed up inside.  And we went and forgot swimsuits.  Go figure.

Maybe one day I'll finish this post...

pictures of various in May

So even though the past few weeks have been interesting, we've still gotten some things done.  These are some pictures I meant to post.  Eventually I'll put some up of people.

Here's some pictures of the garden growing:
May 4(Sunflowers on the right and little watermelon plants on the left):

May 20 (Tomato plants):

May 20 (Sunflowers on right and watermelons on left):

May 22 (little white frog in the peony leaves):

May 22 (bean plants):

And some baby's room pictures:
Her bright purple paint (5/13)!

And the start of the wainscoting, without trim yet (5/21):

Steve putting up the gazebo (Beca took this picture):

The gazebo on the deck:

And lastly, the poodle pouting (either no one would play ball or laser with her or she was mad about no one letting her sleep because we keep moving stuff around):

Beca's birthday wishes

In an effort to get Beca's mind focused on shopping at Target for things other than toys Beca wanted, Steve told Beca they would write up a birthday/Christmas list.  Gratefully, she's not in the same category as her father, where every wish list item costs in the hundreds of dollars range.  But Steve wrote down her wishes.  Some are impossible but she was convinced when I said these toys aren't all available that Santa would be able to take care of it.

I'm sure by "light fairy" Barbie, she means Iridessa.  I'm also pretty sure that she would have listed Fawn, Rosetta, and Silvermist.

In addition to the list, Beca loves games, puzzles, and books - and she's really starting to read more words so any early reader books would be good.  She loves anything Color Wonder but I don't particularly love the paint ones - they may not actually make colors on anything but they do make a mess that is difficult for her to clean up thoroughly.  She also likes the Berenstein Bears a lot - and yes, we have the "New Baby" one.  She has a slight obsession with Toy Story lately, and especially Jessie, who has been more difficult to locate items for than the more well known stars of Buzz and Woody.  Beca has confiscated Steve's Woody doll that I got for him for Christmas when TS2 came out and I worked at the Disney Store.  I know it's more of a "boy" movie trilogy and that the merchandising for Jessie off TS2 was not as popular as Disney/PIXAR had hoped.  Luckily, the big box from the Disney Store arrived during her bath tonight bearing her birthday gifts from us (boots, hat, swimsuit and PJ's).  Now I just have to find Toy Story wrapping paper with Jessie on it.

crazy weekend

The best part about the weekend is that Steve's pain meds seem to be on the right dosage/schedule.  Actually the best part is that I got 3 bras that fit (a true accomplishment given the difficulty in finding this particular size) but that's completely selfish.  Steve's pain meds is a good thing though.  He is actually sleeping which means he can get to healing, and he is also able to accomplish things besides just the dishes and making dinner and playing WOW.  We actually went out to get lunch today and make a visit to Lowe's.  He's got 2 walls of wainscoting and trim completely up and another wall part way finished with the baseboard and wainscoting.  The rest of the walls require lots of cutting to get around the window, closet, and over to the door.  Originally, he thought the entire thing would take him a weekend to put up and maybe a night or two to paint.  Oh well.  Now he's just hoping he can get out of the house - he's attempting to work tomorrow, as long as my mom can drive to pick him and Beca up.  She had vertigo so we were down to 50% capable drivers today - good thing Dad and I are fine.  Hopefully that clears up quick and she can get to her accupuncturist to clear that up.
I was able to disassemble the linen closet, finding homes for most of the linens on Beca's new bookshelf which up until it held linens was completely and totally empty.  We just hadn't moved books over yet because it hadn't been anchored to the wall.  Then I took out all the wire shelving and hardware and puttied the holes.  Last night, I got it painted so at least one of the closets getting organizers is completely done.  Hopefully, the other two will get their work done next weekend.
And amidst all the thunderstorms, TV (mostly Phineas and Ferb), movies, and computer time, I was also able to plant the last of the things that needed to get in the ground, like the garden beans and pumpkin seeds.  That little tiny garden is so full and I think I have a better idea of what needs to be done next year to spread some stuff out.  I found these little metal fences too for the tomato plants - they ended up being a quarter each at Target.  I managed to convince Beca to pick out some cute Toy Story stuff for her birthday party treats.  She managed to watch Toy Story 2 at least twice this weekend.  And she keeps telling us every time she sees a Toy Story 3 commercial that it is coming out and that she told us already that Jessie is in it.  I also started getting some of the stuff to donate packed up.  Oh yeah - I also finished putting everything into Beca's 1st baby album.  I'm horrible at weeding out things so it only covers through her baptism.  Oh well.  Maybe baby sister will give me some time to work on the next one and I can get to like 4 or even 6 months old on Beca's scrapbooks.  I'm already giving up on everything being fair.  That's just not going to happen.
And Zoe believes we are truly horrible.  She has not had enough time to just sleep and everyone keeps staying in the house and we come and go and split up in separate rooms and then there's the whole outside business with the squirrels and the bunnies and sometimes the birds and most definitely the geckos and frogs (but only by day).  The frog noises at night creep her out and she often refuses to go into the yard.  Her age is getting her a bit - thunderstorms are much more torturous than they ever used to be but I think that's because the noise is a bit like fireworks, which didn't scare her until we moved here and then the fourth of July happened when lots of people set off their own fireworks very near our house.  She just wants some peace and quiet for once!  Quite frankly, me too.

sensitive Beca

Beca has taken to crying during sad parts or emotional parts of movies/shows.  It's very sweet.  She likes watching Toy Story 2 and actually the first Toy Story but it makes her upset enough that she has trouble talking for a while.  She tries to get through it but then she thinks about a part coming up and trips though her words and then with big fat tears welling up in her eyes first, she just starts to sob.  It is absolutely one of the most darling things and I'm amazed at her level of emotional capability at not quite 5.
So her birthday presents from us are mostly Jessie (the cowgirl) related and Toy Story 3 will come out just after her birthday - in IMAX.  Need to figure out how to get tickets for a family outing to the movies.  She is super excited about the whole "turning 5" thing.  I'm sure we're going to mess up some sort of the planning in her head though.
And tonight was her last ballet recital for a while.  Hopefully, once Steve is feeling better, we can join the Y and head over to the pool a couple of nights a week.  luckily, my parents are probably going to join as well.  Beca will love just being in the pool.  In her new Jessie swimsuit, I'll add.

week 29 already

3rd trimester officially - well as of last week!  Baby girl is probably about 2.5 pounds and 15+ inches - I think she tries to stretch out longer than that!  She is still moving like crazy - constantly and if you are watching, you can see her kick or punch or move around.  Except when she is kicking into my cervix, pelvic bone and even my tailbone and butt but I think those are usually punches or her head jerking when she has hiccups.  That's still one of the weirdest sensations ever.  The scheduled date for her arrival is July 27 so that's the latest possible birth date and I like having a plan with an end date that isn't going to move later!  I had my glucose test this morning as well - nasty stuff.  I didn't gain much weight since the last check but the nurse was more worried about it than the OB.  Any weight I have gained is all in the front half of my torso and not necessarily all in my belly.  And all this extra spacing doesn't work well in booths.  I actually get a little dizzy and nauseated when I am sitting too close to a table.
Thus far, we have purple paint on the walls and all the wainscoting pieces in house (up on one wall), closet organizers coming in June, clothes and other baby stuff waiting to move in, and a big pile for donating because I can't get it together enough to have a yard sale.  Steve's case of shingles has kept him from being able to do much at home except the dishes so its been a little at a time on everything else.  I know it will get there eventually.  It doesn't help that I'm always tired too.  It does help that my mom can drive past our house to pick up Beca in the mornings and drop her off and that my parents can help do things in the house.
I am loving certain foods - McD's Sweet tea (get over the lecture now because I stopped sodas, I don't drink coffee and this is my one vice that keeps me able to function), Blue Bunny ice cream - especially the double strawberry - it's like heaven mixed with cream and strawberries, and the Goldfish S'mores bag.  The last is a recent discovery.  But I don't crave much.  In fact, I usually don't want to eat with the bongos being played on my stomach so I am eating because I know I have to.  Less than 10 weeks to go.

BGC2 - week 26

Ok - apparently the length this week is that of a English hothouse cucumber - around 14 inches from head to heel.  And that lovely 14 inches likes to burrow into my hips - and then punch anything in my pelvic area.  Baby girl is moving non-stop.  She wages war with the belly belt and takes her frustration with that out on my bladder as well.  Pilates is still good but my tailbone is getting more and more sore, especially if I sit for a long time.  Of course if I don't sit enough, my feet swell.  But my blood pressure is good and measurements are fine and her heart rate was 157 last week - probably would have been the 160 it had been if she hadn't just taken to kicking my intestines.  But still good all around for both of us.  Now if I can just get some of the stuff sorted so I can have a yard sale and get things out of my house to make room for this princess!!

OOh - we did get some exciting additions - our pepper plants finally poked through enough we could get them outside.  But something has been digging in our garden.  And we're not convinced that it isn't the dog chasing the lizards.  We've started seeing more frogs though - and bunnies and squirrels.  Zoe is beside herself most days.  And inside, we got a beautiful green bookcase for Beca's room (picture soon, I hope) to which she promptly pouted and sulked because she wanted a pink one.  I convinced her it would clash with her new pink curtains once we were able to get those.  Ha.  Well, maybe she's convinced.  We'll see.  She's still not convinced that all the books in the house that are not mommy and daddy's shouldn't be hers entirely.  Sharing the books is just a little hard.  I am hoping to convince her with a large stack of chapter books - Ramona Quimby, Anne of Green Gables, and some others that I know she will like once we finish Charlotte's Web.

Last week

Oops - skipped a week.  Last week was crazy and my Wednesday night was to crop and finish Beca's 1st album.  It's only the first month of her life through her baptism but I love how it turned out - and she loves looking at it!  I still have some writing to finish up in it but at least the book is together.

Then Thursday was my birthday - a weird day.  I won a Barnes & Noble gift card from work (and 9 other people) and got an invite for a special event.  I also had everyone cancel on lunch for me - all with good reasons so I wasn't upset.  And work was odd all morning.  So I went shopping for a dress - found one that would fit the belly, well, really the boobs - but then had the lady tell me its scheduled arrival date is the day I need it but they have been getting them in early.  But lots of phone calls and well-wishes and the magic of turning 33 is over.  One of my favorite gifts is the Arbonne cleanser and moisturizer that my mom can get for me because it is one of the only products that I don't break out with and it isn't cheap so a gift of it is better than having to pay - and I like consumable goods as presents.  It's always nice on my birthday because I get to hear all the neat Earth Day stuff.  Plus my grandmother was in town so its always fun to have a 4 generation celebration!
The next night we had tickets to Wicked (the musical).  Well, we thought.  When we got there, the tickets wouldn't scan and the lady finally looked at them and said "these were for last night".   I was proud of myself that I didn't burst into tears.  Steve was attempting to figure out what could be done to see Wicked that night and finally called me to the ticket counter.  Now, granted little Miss had wiggled herself into a position so as to push everything in my abdomen up and out as far as she could get it, but when the ticket lady said "Oh honey, when are you due?" and I said "oh the end of July" and her eyes got really big and she said "WOW - are you having twins?", I thought I was going to fall out and gave a tentative "Um, no."  We ended up with seats for me and Cynthia in row P just to the left of the stage - very good seats - and 2 balcony seats for Steve and Jason, though they had to sit one behind the other.  I really didn't care who I sat next to - it was a great show!  However, we all agreed on one thing.  My mother would not like the monkeys.  Not sure how the torture started when she was a child, but the monkeys in the Wizard of Oz really freak her out.  She won't watch the movie usually.  We were very proud of her when she made it through the musical, though to be fair the monkeys in that are adorable little kids wearing sweet little chin strap costumes so their little faces stick out and they have the little pill box caps sat jauntily to one side.  The monkeys in Wicked are scary looking things - they have masks and fly about and jump around.  Not sweet or lovable at all.  And they are throughout the show.  She's been duly warned so it is now up to her as to whether she will go, although the music and story are definitely worth it.  And the actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda.  Amazing.
Saturday - 4 generations went to the Spring Daze festival at Bond Park in Cary.  It was nice and there were some beautiful things but I really wasn't in a buying mood, after having spent the morning clearing the stuff off the shelves that were int he baby's room so Steve could take them down and start sanding.  Beca got a huge flower bow - a pink peony - and a lavender bow to go with her dress for her uncle's wedding.  And lots of free stuff - she liked when she got to go around and get stamps but she was confused when they wouldn't give her the piece of paper back with the stamps and only got a flower pot and some seeds.
Sunday, I found out after it had happened that Beca had been invited to a playdate but Steve forgot to send me the information.  Forgetting emails regarding our child and happenings in and about her life, school and friends has been a common theme.  I was ready for the several days of disappointment to be over.  I was also accused of just sitting around on the computer when someone finally came downstairs after sleeping in because it was a long night on the video game trail and apparently failure to recognize that the 4th load of laundry was in the wash and that the other three were put away really wasn't important.
Sadly, I was happy for work on Monday.  Maybe this should have gone on my private venting blog but oh well.