Happy Birthday, Big Sissy!

Our baby girl turned 3 today. We have been counting down the months/days for a long time now, so today was very exciting. Nana and Papa took her to McDonalds and Build-A-Bear workshop for a special day. She got a mama AND a baby kitty, which she was so excited about. Mom said she wanted everything sparkly, so the kitty has a sparkly shirt and pink sparkly shoes, but she also is wearing jeans and a cowgirl hat. I think I have a little Texan on my hands. :) She came home to a birthday party complete with a Hello Kitty cake, balloons, cake, ice cream, and about 17 family members congratulating her. Mommy and Daddy got her a fun trampoline with handles, which she and Little Sissy just went to town on. Happy Birthday, big girl. You are our precious gift from God!

Our Toy Story

For several months Little Sissy has been attached to a cute little Baby Gund, what-used-to-be-pink lamby. It used to say "Now I lay me down to sleep..." when you pressed his belly. Thankfully that stopped working long ago. Today even the little blanket that was attached fell off. Several times I've taken it away after she fell asleep in order to wash it. She inevitably wakes up in the middle of the night looking for it, though, so I've had to put it back in her bed soaking wet several times. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued. I finally found it online, though, and ordered her a new one. I couldn't believe the difference between the new and the old. Instead of being excited, though, she gave the new one a kiss, threw it on the ground, and then snuggled with her old one. I guess I'm going to have to start roughing it up if I have any hope of having a replacement.


Here's a picture of the difference. Notice the particularly nasty tail on the old one. This is her chewing spot. The 2nd picture is Little Sissy with old lamby. I can't figure out how to put labels under the pictures...

Bedside Manner

I am kicking myself for not switching doctors before now. I'm nearing the time that I have to see him every week, and he is SO RUDE!!! When we were struggling with infertility, we got a particularly bad test result and his response to me was, "See. It's a good thing you never got pregnant because you'd never be able to carry it full-term anyway." What encouragement. Today he said, "You better start watching your weight. I see you have on your BIG clothes today." Uggghhh. I am definitely seeing a woman after this. It's just that for the past few years every time I started thinking about switching, I was pregnant again. My file must be a nightmare, so I need to commit to a new one before I ask for all that paperwork to be copied.

So, just for the record....never say these things to a pregnant woman.

Deceptively Shallow

We spent the weekend with our good friends that I knew from my days in Springfield. It's so refreshing to be with that group. We had good food and good conversation. I love that this group can talk about theology, finances, nutrition, exercise, and even grammar. One conversation we had centered around the phrase, "The pool is deceptively shallow." Does that mean the pool is deep or that the pool is shallow?After looking it up on dictionary.com, we found out that it is truly just vague and that it can go either way. I love that I can even have this conversation with people. Hubby usually makes fun of me for thinking about grammar. So thanks, guys, for indulging my love for fun, conversation, and grammar. I'm not sure if you are deceptively shallow or not, but I had a great time!

Health Assessment

I had to take a health assessment for UPS to get a $50 credit towards our flexible spending plan. I'll do nearly anything for money (within ethical and legal boundaries, of course), so I just spent 20 minutes realizing how lethargic I am. Yikes! I don't even do moderate exercise one time a week right now. Amazing how circumstances have changed my life. There was a time when I was single (and had nothing else to do, apparently) when I worked out for an hour and a half every day, then went for walks with my friends in the evenings. I was good with yogurt and granola for breakfast, veggies for lunch, and salad for dinner. Then I got married, and after a yummy salad for dinner, my husband said, "That was good. Now what's for supper?" Maybe I can blame him for the 15'ish additional pounds (when I'm not pregnant). Anyway...it's a good thing I don't smoke or drink and wear my seatbelt or we may not qualify for insurance. :)

This is a bad time to sign up at the gym, but I am determined to do it once I have this child. Anyone want to join me? I'll try again to motivate you after the holidays are over, I'm recovered, the frozen tundra has thawed outside, etc. In the meantime, Sam's Club has a Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake that looks perfect for Thanksgiving. Yum...

Reminiscing Last Halloween

Halloween has been a good reminder of how quickly the children are growing up. Last year, for example, Big Sissy got a banana at each Grandma's house and was TOTALLY excited about that. Little Sissy just slept mostly. This year Big Sissy knows to beg for candy, and Little Sissy at least wants the good kid snacks. Next year I'll have a 9-month old at this time. What a whirlwind!

Trick or Treat

Since our kids are still little, our trick or treating consisted of going to Nana's house for some nice mommy-approved treats. Big Sissy worked hard at being good all day long so she could have candy (she had acted ugly at the zoo and had to forfeit her candy on Saturday). She was totally excited to have vanilla pudding and a kitty cat (Kit Kat). Little Sissy got cinnamon sticks...yummy.