An Update to my Update

Things are going a bit better with Layla. I decided to make her a "chore chart" of sorts and that helps us get through the mornings easier. The chores on it are things like get dressed, make your bed (she put the pillows on, not big enough yet to do the rest), brush your teeth, get your hair done, etc. The same sort of chores for night time. Then I also have one for going all night with no potty accidents and one for no accidents all day.

The first day she earned all the stickers and did great with it, so she got to play with Oakley (which I had already planned, I just told her that was her reward. Ha, ha.) The next day she had one accident, but she easily earned the rest. Today she is doing okay. At least it makes our morning and evening routines smoother.

I also have not turned on the TV at all in days. Instead of walking on the treadmill while she watches TV, I push Layla in the stroller and waddle around for as long as my body can stand it and call that my exercise. It's pretty pathetic compared to what I was doing just two weeks ago, but I swear my belly tripled in size this week and it's totally slowed me down.  But at least Layla seems happier and her tantrums are less, though she definitely still has them. On the up side, she is only throwing tantrums at home with Mitch and I, not out in public (yet). I'm hoping between the chore chart, more time playing outside, and following our pediatrician's rule of "ignore and isolate" we can nip this thing in the bud before Marcus is born. I don't want a newborn and a tantrum-throwing-three-year-old.

Sometimes Blogger can't handle RAW images
and makes them super pixelated. Oh well.

Anyways, another update is that I feel more pregnant than I have this whole pregnancy. Seriously, I got huge. The last few days I've had so much pressure and pelvic pain that I wonder if he's coming early. But, I hear it's normal to feel this way, so I'm not too concerned. However, I am concerned enough that today I washed all of his stuff and started packing my hospital bag. Just in case. But with my luck he won't come on his own and I'll end up being induced anyways. Ha, ha. Honestly, the thing that bothers me the most about pregnancy is the unknown. I hate not knowing exactly when he'll be here and not having control over it. Drives me nuts!

34 weeks and 5 days. But who's counting?

I'm excited to meet him though and smother his little face in kisses. I told Mitch that this baby better look like a Marcus, since that's what we've been calling him for the last few months and have not even discussed the possibility of another name. He asked me what a Marcus looks like and all I can say is that I picture him with dark hair. I also think he'll look like my brother Jordan for some reason, not sure why, but I picture him with Jordan's big brown eyes, brown hair, and olive skin.

My brother, Jordan. I love his huge brown eyes and pretty skin tone.

I'm sure I'm totally wrong though since I thought Layla was a boy and Marcus was a girl. Ha, ha. Mitch thinks Marcus will look like me, which I guess also means big brown eyes and brown hair, but I am not nearly as olive toned as my brother. We'll see though.

So, Mitch and I were both blondes as kids, but I was actually born with a lot of black hair. They had to shave some of it off for blood transfusions (I was born 12 weeks premature) and the rest turned blonde when I was young, then slowly got darker as I got older. Now it is very dark brown.

Me. With partially shaved head. But you can see my dark hair. 

Mitch was born with no hair and when it grew in it was blonde, then slowly got darker as well. (I don't have his baby pic scanned in our computer, so just imagine a baby that looks like Layla, only really fat and totally bald. Ha, ha.)

I do know from our last ultrasound that Marcus has hair on his head, which he must get from me. But I'm dying to know what color it is and what color his eyes are. Statistically brown eyes are dominant so I would guess they're brown, but we already have one blue-eyed child, so you never know. Anyways, I'm excited to finally hold him, have him meet Layla, and get to know him. Also, there's nothing like the spirit that a brand new baby brings to your home; straight from heaven and so peaceful. I love that.

I'm also really excited to sleep on my stomach again. And to go running. Oh, I dream about that.

One more random story: the other day we were driving and passed the McDonald's that we pass quite often. I knew I was going to hear that Layla wanted to go there, and sure enough I did. I told her I didn't have any money to go there. I really didn't have any cash, and she doesn't really know what a credit card is, so I thought the money excuse would work. We ended up having the following conversation:
Me: "Sorry, Layla, I don't have any money to go there."
Layla: "Oh. But Daddy has some money."
Me: "Yep, Daddy does. That's why he goes to work everyday-- to earn money to share with us."
Layla: "That's really nice of him."
Me: "Yes, yes it is."

I was so glad that something sunk in when I told her that Daddy goes to work so we can buy food, and clothes, and have a house to live in. I'm trying really hard to teach her to be grateful, even if it means Daddy has to leave every day and can't stay to play with us.

Fast forward a fews day later and Layla brings me $0.52 from her piggy bank. I told her she didn't need to give me her money and she said, "But I have some money so now we can go to Old McDonald's!" Oh man, I almost took her right then and there it was so cute. Maybe another day.

Update

I have to vent my frustrations. Layla is three going on 13. Super grumpy at times. Slams her door and everything. Where did this come from?!? Some days she's an angel and some days, which are becoming more frequent, I feel like I argue with and threaten her all day long. She didn't get to go play at Oakley's house last week because she was throwing a complete tantrum, complete with throwing things around her room. I told Mitch she turned into the Incredible Hulk. I felt like the meanest mom ever for cancelling her play date, but I stuck my ground. This was probably more of a punishment to me since instead of having her play at Oakley's house, I had to take her to my dr appt with me. And I felt bad for cancelling on Oakley. It was an awful day. Layla cried a lot and I cried too. I hate being a "mean mom" but I don't want to be a pushover either.

Part of me keeps racking my brain, wondering what I'm doing wrong or what I can do differently to avoid her dramatic tantrums and get her to listen and obey to what I say. The other part of me keeps reminding myself that she's three and it's totally normal for kids to go through this stage. And yet another part of me wants to pull my hair out and scream, but that's probably just the pregnant/hormonal part of me. Ha, ha.

Along with this whole new tantrum phase comes days where she just gives up on using the potty. Most days she's fine, but for the last two weeks she's had one day a week where she doesn't even try. Accidents all day long. Then the very next day she's fine again. Totally blows my mind. And makes me want to cry. (Again, pregnant hormonal lady.)

On to more happy things. Mitch is almost done with school for this semester and then he's taking the summer off! Hip Hip Hooray! I'm sure he's more excited than me; he is so busy between work and school. I don't know how he does it. But I am so excited to have more time with him!

Random story, but funny: last week Mitch was out of town. On one of his nightly phone calls to Layla she ended the conversation with, "I can't talk right now because I just run out of energy." Where does she learn this stuff?

I'm having mixed emotions about a second child. Layla is my little buddy and I love spending my days with her (tantrums and all). Of course, I know I will have enough love in my heart for two kids, I know that Layla will love him, etc., but it is a change and I worry about having enough one-on-one time with Layla. I'm going to miss having it be just me and my little buddy. But I'm sure we'll figure things out and I'll look back and realize it's even better when our new little buddy joins us. The more the merrier, right?

I'm almost all the way ready to have Marcus come. Mitch's parents were so kind and bought us a few of the things we still needed: bibs, wipes, crib sheets, and a boppy cover. I was thankful for that. A few less things for me to worry about. Now I just need to pack my hospital bag, wash his clothes, and get a few last minute things. I want to be all the way ready by the end of the month so that I don't have to worry about it the last month of pregnancy. Then I can spend the last month or so soaking up my time with only one child instead of worrying about preparing for the next one. I'm getting excited!

Today Layla was watching a show and they asked, "What is your favorite thing to do?" Layla didn't know I was listening, but I heard her answer, "Play with my mamma." Awww, see what I mean? She's totally my buddy, even on her grumpiest of days.

In other news, we started landscaping! We found a guy who agreed to install our sprinkler system, dig the hole for the trampoline, and move some rocks around the yard for a great deal! They should be finished by the end of this week. I think it took A LOT of pressure off Mitch since he doesn't have to do it all himself now. After they are done there will still be work to do though. Mitch will need to build a retaining wall for the trampoline, then set up the trampoline, run drip irrigation to the flower beds, and plant the seed. We decided on seed over sod mainly because it is drastically less expensive and also because it is supposed to produce a really nice lawn. After all that we just have to wait for the grass to grow. I'm so excited to have a yard! We may wait a while to plant bushes and trees. Partly because we have no idea what kind we want to plant yet and partly because we are trying to stick to a budget and pay off the baby's hospital bills before we spend too much more on landscaping. So we'll see what else we decide to do with the yard when we reach that point. But I am excited that the whole landscaping process has been started.

That's all for now.

Three

I can't believe Layla is three now. Blows my mind. I am also happy to say that she was officially potty trained before the age of three. I didn't think she'd make it but she did. We even got a "kid" toilet seat so we are no longer using the little training potty.

She was very excited about turning three and kept talking about her birthday weeks in advance. She kept telling me that she wanted, "balloons, a birthday cake, and to blow out three candles."

So, a few days before her actual birthday, I took her outside to take some pictures. We took pics of her having a tea party with her favorite stuffed animals, since both are things I would say depict her perfectly at this age. I love how they turned out and have a hard time picking a favorite. They're all favorites.

Right after pictures my mom picked her up to take her out for her birthday. They went to dinner and then to the store to pick out a present. Layla chose the Cinderella movie, which she got to bring home with her that night, and she has watched it almost every day since.

She had fun that night and I think that will be a little birthday tradition she will enjoy. My parents also gave her an adorable little table and chairs set at her bday party.

On her actual birthday we did a lot of fun things. We took her bff, Oakley, with us to the museum. I wish I had thought to bring my camera. Oakley was so sweet and kept saying, "Happy Birthday, Layla!" like every 10 minutes. Those two have so much fun together and I love listening to their hilarious conversations.

When we got in the car to go home, Oakley insisted that we sing Happy Birthday to Layla, which we did while Layla sat and smiled at us. Then Oakley gave Layla her present, which was a wood/magnetic ballerina that you can dress up in different outfits. Layla loves it. I'm glad she has such a kind friend.

After that we had lunch and nap time. Then Daddy came home from work and we partied. I made Layla's favorite things for dinner: corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, and lemonade. Super healthy, huh? At least I baked the corn dogs and made a healthy version of mac n cheese. She loved it.

Then she got to blow out three candles in her cupcake.

After that she opened her present from us, which was this cool kid-friendly camera. It's an actual digital camera that you can download the pictures from to your computer and do all sorts of things with. It's really easy for her to use and I love that she can do it all by herself. She takes pictures of everything, it's so funny. The other morning she said, "Mom, will you hold my banana so I can take a picture of it?" Ha, ha. Seriously, you should see some of her shots. It cracks me up.

We also got her this princess necklace that she was in love with until she accidentally broke it while getting undressed. I fixed it for her, but she has yet to wear it again.

She got lots of phone calls on her special day and birthday cars in the mail. She is so loved and I dare say she had a great birthday.

The week of her bday she had to go in for her 3 year check up. I was nervous because she is now fully aware of what a shot is and since we're spreading out her immunizations she was due for two shots. But she was brave and impressed me. She is 75th percentile for height (38.2 inches) and 96th percentile for weight (36 lbs). She's a little tank. Super healthy though. The doctor doesn't want her height to weight ratio to get out of wack so he said to stop giving her milk. I'm sure she'll be fine, but she probably doesn't need as much milk as she drinks. She just really likes milk.

The weekend following her bday we had a party with our families where she was completely spoiled!

Every time I asked her what kind of birthday cake/party she wanted, she told me "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." (It's a tv show on Disney Junior.) We tried and tried to talk her into a princess party or any other type of party that would be more girly, but she insisted on Jake and the NLP. So, we went with it. Mitch and I took her to Sam's Club to pick out her cake. In a last ditch attempt we showed her the princess cakes they offered, but she didn't want those ... and you should have seen/heard how excited she was when we showed her the two options for a Jake cake. She was SO excited.

She also loved the decorations I made her and kept talking about them after I hung them up. (Of course by the time the party started she was over it and so excited to open presents that she didn't seem as excited, but I promise she was really excited initially.)

So anyways, everyone came over to party with us and the pirates. We had 18 balloons at the party, which was maybe a little overkill but Layla loved it so that's all that mattered. We had lunch and I was so grateful that everyone brought something because it really helped me out. Of course Layla blew out three candles on her Jake cake and opened lots and lots of presents. She got several princess dresses (she is wearing two of them at the same time as I type this), tu tus, princess jewelry, a princess purse full of cute things, clothes, puzzles, an awesome kite, money for college, some books to complete a set she got at Christmas, and a few other odds and ends in addition to the table and chairs I mentioned earlier. It was seriously like Christmas. She is so loved and spoiled! She has had so much fun ever since playing dress ups, reading her books, and doing puzzles.

Thanks to our families for coming to her party! My grandpa and brother both traveled several hours to celebrate with us and she was so happy to see them both. Thanks everyone for loving her so much. I know she loves all of you too!

Here are a few funny things Layla has said lately:

• She likes to role play with me. This typically consists of her telling me what she's going to say and what I'm going to say and then we each have to say those exact things to the T. No mistakes!
• She is always asking us, "What are you guys talking about?!?"
• She is obsessed with slides. Obsessed. She can spot them when we're driving in the car from a mile away. And she asks if she can go down it every.single.time. and I hate telling her no but we can't stop at all of them.
• Sometimes I'll ask her what she wants to be when she grows up (a doctor like Doc McStuffins? A vet like the vet we take our cat to?). But no matter what, she always says, "No, I want to be a mamma." Aww, best job in the whole world. (And then I tell her that's great, but she still has to finish college.)
• Lately I've been talking to her about choices and how good choices make us happy and bad choices make us sad. Jesus wants us to make good choices, etc. The other day she was mad about something I said she had to do and yelled, "That's not your choice!"  Other times, just to be a smart alec, she'll say, "Good choices make me sad" or "Bad choices make me happy." Stinker.
• 
• Today I gave her a pancake to eat. She said, "Let's see if I like it," then licked the pancake and said, "Yep, I do!"
• The other day in the car I was stuck behind the slowest driver ever and some other guy totally cut me off. I said, "These people are making me crazy!" to which Layla responded, "But we're not crazy, Mamma." Nope, we're not. But some days I wonder ...
• Layla is always yelling out random names of TV characters from the shows she watches. Probably a sign that she watches too much TV. I justify it by figuring that she really only watches it while I'm exercising and exercising makes me happy and calm so I can be a good mommy the rest of the day. So TV it is. Anyways, sometimes she'll yell out things like, "Doc McStuffins!" or "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" or my personal favorite, "The bite-sized adventures of Sam Sandwhich!" It's hilarious and always totally random. My SIL Natalie said that Layla has TV Turrets. I have been laughing about that ever since.
•        
• On the way to my parents' house she said she wanted to go to McDonald's. I told her to ask Mammy to take her. She said, "Mammy M will take me and so will Mammy B." I said, "Yep, both of your grandmas love you so much!" Then she said, "Yep, and my two grandpas love me too." Lucky girl to have so many people who love her.

Easter

It felt a little rushed and disappointing this year. Mostly because I was sick. Too sick to fully participate in the Easter festivities. Mitch and I flew in on Saturday afternoon from Cali and went straight to my parents' house to celebrate Easter with my side of the fam. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and visited afterwards. My mom made each couple an Easter basket full of goodies and gave Layla her own Easter basket with candy, a puzzle, little dolls to dress up, and a few other cute things including new clothes. Spoiled girl. My grandma made the cutest cheesecake cupcakes that looked like bird nests with Peeps on top. Adorable and delicious. It was a fun night, but I felt like crap so I really just wanted to go home and sleep. I tried to make the best of it though.

For weeks before Easter I kept saying, "I don't care what we do on Easter, I just want to go to church." I felt like that is where I would best feel  the Easter spirit, since it is a holiday about our Savior afterall. Unfortunately, my one wish was not granted. I woke up Sunday morning and felt like a train had hit me. I felt awful! I suppose I could have dragged my sick, tired body over to the church, but I didn't want to get anyone sick and I honestly just couldn't do it. I was so sad about that.

The Easter Bunny did, however, hide a few eggs around our living room for Layla to find when she woke up Sunday morning. That was fun to watch. Apparently she got her Easter-egg-finding skills from me, because from what I hear, Mitch was horrible at finding Easter eggs when he was a kid. (Maybe because he's color blind?) Layla found all of them pretty fast and she also loved the new dress she got.

Mitch's family was having an Easter lunch that day so Mitch took Layla and they got to have fun without me. Layla looked SO adorable in her new dress and her little pink hat. Mitch took a few pics of her at his grandma's house. Mammy and Grandpa B did an Easter egg hunt for Layla and I love that they filled the eggs with healthy snacks and loose change. Perfect, we already had enough candy to rot a little girl's teeth out! Ha, ha. Mitch was kind enough to bring me home some leftovers. Katie made raspberry bread pudding that was so delicious. I ate it all, even though I'm sure some was meant for Mitch. Sorry, Mitch. Just one more reason why I love you; you let me eat all the desserts. Ha, ha.

Hopefully next year will be better and we'll all be healthy enough to go to church together and attend all the other family festivities! With our family of four.

But most importantly, I enjoyed pondering the magnificent blessing of knowing that Christ was resurrected and that because of Him we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father again someday. I tried to teach Layla to say, "Christ was resurrected," but that last word proved to be too much for a 3 year old. So instead we just went with "Easter is about Jesus." She'll get it eventually. :)

One Of My Favorite Places

Huntington Beach, California. I love it there. I love the ocean, watching the surfers, walking on the beach, and the overall laid back feeling of that place.

Lucky for me, Mitch travels there quite often for work. Usually they put him up in the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, which is a very nice hotel and is literally a walk across a bridge to the beach.

Everything worked out perfectly a couple of weeks ago and  I was able to spend 4 days in HB with my Hubby. We had enough sky miles for me to fly for free, and his food per diem covers enough for me too, so it was basically free for me to go. Also it was Mitch's spring break from school so he had his evenings free, which was so nice for me, but especially for him I'm sure! He really needed a little break from school.

Mitch flew in on Monday and I joined him on Wednesday so that I could attend the photography class on Tuesday that Mitch gave me as a gift for Valentine's Day. (The class was great! I enjoyed it and learned a lot!) My mom, grandma, Layla and I went to lunch right before they dropped me off at the airport. And I'm not going to lie ... I cried a few tears when they dropped me off. Partly due to pregnancy hormones and partly because I knew I was going to miss Layla like crazy. (She stayed with my parents.) It's funny how I can be SO excited to get away and have a break from mommyhood, yet dread leaving my baby girl at the same time. Ha, ha.

I think Mitch was worried about me being bored while he was at work, but I kept telling him that I was just enjoying the silence and not having to constantly worry and watch a toddler. I may or may not have still called Layla twice a day because I missed her, but I did enjoy only having to worry about myself for a few days. 

While Mitch was at work I went on long walks on the boardwalk to the pier. I enjoyed practicing photography during my walks. I practiced a new technique I learned called panning. I still need some practice:

I also enjoyed talking to local people, watching the surfers, reading books, and taking plenty of naps. I actually came down with a pretty nasty head cold while we were there, so that put a damper on things, but I still enjoyed myself. I absolutely loved seeing the foggy, cloudy weather conditions and the way it made the ocean look extra beautiful. I have this fascination with the ocean that Mitch says he doesn't understand, but I just tell him that I was supposed to be born and live near the ocean, there was just a mistake made somewhere along the line. :)

One morning, while I was sitting on the pier, I watched a pod of about one dozen dolphins swim very near the surfers. It was so neat to watch them! I wished so badly I was one of those surfers, so close the the dolphins! I also saw a pelican on the pier who kept waiting for one of the fishermen to drop a fish. He was a pretty bird and not shy at all.

Of course, Mitch had to work during the day, but in the evenings we went to dinner and checked out the area a little more. I kind of feel like all we did was eat, but it sure was yummy! We went to the same Italian Restaurant in Long Beach that we discovered when we were there last year. It is called L' Opera and it is absolutely amazing. I don't usually freak out over food, but seriously, it is SO good we both just go on and on about it's amazingness. We even ordered dessert this time, creme brulee, and it was just as good as their food. Everything we've ever ordered there is mouth watering, plate-licking good. We also ate at Fred's, which is a Mexican restaurant in downtown HB, but it is a very different tasting Mexican food and we both like it a lot. And one night we had some yummy Thai food at a place in Newport Beach.

Our last morning there we planned to walk to the pier at eat at Ruby's. From the hotel to the end of the pier is 1.25 miles. I made it about half way before I could go no farther, despite having walked to the pier several time over the previous three days. Unfortunately on that day my cold symptoms were pretty bad, and that on top of being 7.5 months pregnant, I just couldn't do it. So we ate at a little restaurant on the boardwalk instead, which still had nice ocean views.

I talked to this fisherman for quite a while and he loved having his picture taken.
He was hilarious.

It was a nice little trip. Probably one of our last for a while, seeing as how we'll soon have TWO kids (which still kind of scares me), and it will be harder to get away. I was excited to go home and see Layla. I missed her, but truly enjoyed a little "me time" and some time with just my hubby. He knows how much I love that place and always tries his best to have me come when it works out. Love that man.

Self-timer pic in our hotel room.
Should have at least taken one of us at the beach or something,
but I was way too lazy to pack my camera down on the way to dinner. Next time.

Thanks to my parents for watching Layla! It worked out nice because my mom had two days off for spring break anyways (she works for the school district), and so she only had to take one day off. I really appreciate it and I know Layla had SO much fun. I heard for several days after we got home about the fire they made to roast marshmallows, the trip they took to Sam's Club to get samples (one of Layla's favorite things to do), and all the other fun things they did. I'm glad she had a fun time while we were away and it comforted me to know she was well taken care of.