The Curse of the Pink Polish

So I must say that this pregnancy is going much smoother than the last, besides the fact that I feel like a giant whale already! I'm definitely holding up to the theory that you get bigger with your second- at 7 1/4 months I look the same as I did at 8 1/2 months with Brooke. Oh well, guess we'll be having a big boy!!

One thing that I have been grateful for this pregnancy is the lack of water retention in my feet and ankles, aka, cankles. I remember having to wear compression stockings for at least 5 months with Brooke since I was retaining so much fluid.

The other night, however, I was getting ready for bed and looked at my ankles (which are getting harder and harder to see). I was shocked to see a familiar sight, that they were very large and puffy. I thought "Dang it, here we go again!" Luckily I wore the stockings for a couple days and they seem to be back to normal.

It wasn't until this morning that I realized I may have brought this upon myself! Not long ago I repainted my toenails pink. I like the color and was tired of what I had been wearing. What I realized this morning though is that it is a very similar color to what I was wearing when my ankles were ginormous the last time I was pregnant. Take a look......I think I'll go change my polish.

Happy 2nd Birthday Brooke!

Brooke's birthday was a couple weeks ago. Between Tyler and I having to speak in church, give lessons, and try to get to as many of the 5 wedding receptions we were invited to that weekend, we pushed her party to the next weekend.

We had a lot of fun. We met Tyler's family at Peter Piper Pizza and enjoyed playing games, eating pizza and cake, and watching Brooke open her presents (she's become a pro at taking tissue paper out of bags and unwrapping presents). I had fun making Brooke a doll cake (with help from Lauren :) and Brooke thought it was cool too. She insisted that everything be taken out of the packages so she could get to playing with it right away. This is Brooke demonstrating how she drives her new bikeBrooke on her new "Dora bike". (Lucky for us her birthday falls right when toys from Christmas go on clearance!!)

I just love the age that she is at, minus the occasional glimpse of the "Terrible Twos". Luckily, as long as she gets the naps she needs those times are kept at bay. I wanted to write down things that I love about Brooke, 1 for each of her 24 months.

1- Your "Big Hugs", the ones where you hold on really tight.

2- The way you say "Mama" and "Dada".

3- The way you are fascinated and intrigued with "Baby Jesus" from the nativity.

4- Your laugh.

5- The way you love dolls! Every doll has a name- there's Baby Elyse, Baby Girl, Baby Tiffany, Baby Betsy. Each doll has something different they need, too. It's quite humorous! Baby Tiffany has to have her pacifier, Baby Girl has to have her blanket, etc.

6- Your love for music. We play a CD of preschool songs in the car and you sing along with them, including "Do, Re, Me".

7- Your silliness. You try to find things that will make us laugh and do them over and over.

8- The way you and KyKy are such good friends.

9- How you get your little broom and spray bottle out when I'm cleaning and tell me you're "Mommy's Helper"

10- The way you pat my back when I'm coughing or sneezing and ask me "You okay, Mama?"

11- The way you say "Gay Goo" (thank you) after I change your diaper.

12- Your love for Shrek. We still don't know why you love that big green Ogre so much, but everything is Dada Shrek (which sounds more like Geck), Mama Shrek, and Baby Shrek.

13- The way you understand that certain things are only for mommies and daddies (like gum and soda).

14- The way you are so concerned about my "icky nose" and tilt your head to make sure and see inside it. (I have been battling allergies since, oh, July!!)

15- The way you always want to play the piano, and when I have my back to you you start singing songs where the only lyrics are "Baby Jesus".

16- The way you love Baby Brother already. You love to have me lift up my shirt so you can look at my belly 'cuz you know he's inside there. And then you give him kisses and hugs.

I can think of tons more throughout the day until I sit down to write them. I'll have to keep continuing this.

A Child's Prayer

Last week Brooke was ready for a snack. I sat down at the table with her yogurt and asked if she was ready to eat. She then folded her arms and said "Bless Dada, Bless Mama, Bless KyKy (her cousin Kyden), Bless baby brother. Amen"

This was the first time that she has prayed without us helping her so I told her good job. Immediately she folded her arms again and said the same thing. Then she did it again and again. After doing this about four times she finally took a bite of her yogurt. It was so sweet!

Melt Your Heart

Today I was in my room getting ready and Brooke was in there with me. She was looking through my Sunday bag and pulling out snacks and stuff. She looked at me and said "Look pretty, Mama. Look pretty, Mama." Then she said "I pretty, too". It was so sweet. (I love the way she says Mama).

It really made me think about an article I read that talked about the way we talk to our children and the impact it has on them. It is so important to talk positively to them so they feel that way about themselves. I remember it gave the example of a mom who always says that her child is shy. That child constantly hears that and over time will fit into the mold that the mom has placed him in.

I really feel like that is true and think it is so important to always be telling her that she is smart and pretty and such a sweetheart. Not that I think my child is perfect or a genius, but she really is all those things. And when she's not being such a good girl I let her know that what she is doing is wrong, but not that she herself is bad.

I just wanted to write about this while it was still fresh on my mind. It was a good lesson in parenting for me.

Overload

I'm going to try and catch up on the last few months that I have been a total SLACKER!! I have been trying to get pictures on here but have been having issues. So here we go, from the most recent going back (pictures may have to come at another time)!

2 year update: I took Brooke in for her 2 year check up (and to make sure everything was cleared up from her UTI). She weighed in (with clothes on) at 25# 11 oz (40%), 34 1/2" long (70%).

Our Christmas season has been great, and crazy at the same time! It seemed to come so fast this year and I just did not feel ready at all. It was so fun though as Brooke understands more and more. We took her a couple months ago to see Santa at Bass Pro and although she wouldn't sit on his lap by herself she loves Santa Claus. Anywhere we go she points him out and gets so excited (she saw a statue in the window and told him thank you for her new baby doll the day after Christmas). She also loves Baby Jesus and will point him out too. Grandma Gayle always reads her the Nativity story and she is just fascinated with Baby Jesus. When you ask her where Jesus was born she says in a manger and then ask her where he slept and she says that he slept on straw, that his mom's name was Mary and his dad's name was Joseph. She's so dang smart!! She definitely got spoiled and loves playing with all her new toys!

When we found out we were having the baby Tyler insisted that we we take one more vacation before we couldn't anymore. So, December 13th we left out of San Diego on a cruise that went down to Cabo and Ensenada. We went with Tyler's parents and sister Elyse and had so much fun. It was so nice to get away and have a break from work.

We drove up to Idaho to spend Thanksgiving with my family. It was so fun to have the whole family together and to see Analynn again and how much she has grown since we saw her in September. Tyler and the guys went out pheasant hunting while the girls made earrings. We also had some family pictures taken and a fish fry. My Grandma and Grandpa Fisher were also there and it was fun to see them again. On the way home we stopped in Salt Lake to see the Temple lights, which Tyler has never seen before.

It's crazy that our family has gone from the original 7 to 17!!!
Since this pic I have had a very much overdue haircut!!

It was nice to be able to make some random stops and see new scenery on our drive, but I can't say that we will willingly make that drive again anytime soon! (Brooke's DVD player decided to stop working a couple hours into our ride home!)

The week before Thanksgiving, Grandma Workman, Linda, Mike, Aleta, and Alexis all came down from Canada. We had fun hanging out with them and got another picture of Grandma with the great-grandkids.

Haloween was pretty low key as well. We dressed up the Brooke in her cute little witch outfit (thanks Grandma Sue!) and went out to eat with Emily, Terah, and Kyden (who was the cutest little pirate).

We took a trip up to Idaho again the end of September since I had a free ticket voucher and to see the newest addition to our family, Annalyn. She is such a doll! I think it was good for Brooke to see me holding another baby. At first she did not like it and actually hit her. She started to get a little more used to it toward the end of our trip though. It was fun to hang out with everyone and get away for the weekend. The weather was still warm enough to enjoy the famous Raft River waterslide and zipline at my parent's (we skipped on the mud pit). Brooke loved all the attention from her cousins.

It's a...........

Last Monday we went to see Dr. Beck for another ultrasound and to find out what we were having. I have felt through this whole pregnancy that we were having another girl. In fact, I was willing to bet on it. As it turns out, I was ....................................WRONG!!! Yep, we are having a boy!! When he said it was a boy I said "You're kidding!" He said he was 100% sure and pointed out our little man's "package", as he called it. We are very excited! It will be interesting to see how different out little boy will be from having Brooke, and we will now have to shift our thinking from pink to blue.

I guess for me this means that I'm pretty much going to be sick will each pregnancy, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl, although this one has been slightly better and I'm starting to feel better for the most part. We are still on track for a May 2nd due date, and the Dr was glad to see that I had finally gained a pound. I feel like I've gained 20 though since my 4 1/2 month belly is already showing the way it did when I was 6 months pregnant with Brooke.

We had a great weekend with my family in Idaho over Thanksgiving. I'll post pictures when I have some more time (which hopefully won't be another couple of months, especially since I will be out shopping for boy things). Until then, hope everything is going well!

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