Baby Shack's Dr. Seuss Nursery

Get Ready Week!

Well this week we are working on getting all our final baby/house projects done.  Our list is soooo long but I am excited to get everything ready for Baby Sister!  One smaller task has been to find a new "going home" outfit for Baby Shack.  Since Lena surprised us and was so small I never got to pick out her going home outfit so this is fun for me.  Lena was a preemie and was born in a different season so I realized in going through the newborn stuff that I needed to buy a new hot weather outfit (cotton and not fleece).    I've narrowed it down to these four outfits:

Which do you like more?

Cabbage Rose

Vintage Rose

Gum Drop

 Navy and Coral Floral

(Just the one piece on the left with hat.)

Or....buy them all and decide later!? 

We also went to Target to let Lena pick out a present to give to Baby Sister when she is born.  She picked out "Funshine Bear" which matches her "Good Luck Bear" which used to be mine when I was little.  We've been practicing Baby Sister's name, visiting Sister's room, picking out clothes for her, talking about when she will come out of Mom's tummy, and now we have a present to give her when she comes out!

She loves her Sister's Bear!

Picking out the gift bag

Adding pink tissue paper

All ready to give to Baby Sister!

 Now back to working on my list!  Today I am going to finish laundry, organize the master bedroom and bathroom, and pack everyone's hospital bags!

35 weeks and 2 days According to Lena

Mom at 35 weeks 2 days pregnant with little sister as portrayed by Lena.

Lena loves to draw and paint.  Yesterday she decided to draw "Mom".  She narrated my various body parts to Dan as she drew this chalk portrait of me.  It is obvious to me that she has noticed my big pregnant belly and my "boo boos" (boobs).  Ha!  Lately she has commented that I am a "giant".  The time for little sister to arrive must be nearing if I am entering the "giant" category! 

I wear these little dresses around the house a lot and she captured the shape in her drawing well.

San Diego 2014

The weekends before and after our Palm Desert "Babymoon" we headed down to San Diego for a little more family adventure before we welcome a newborn into the mix.  In June we spent the day with friends on Silver Strand State Beach relaxing on the sand while the kids built sand castles.  That evening we headed up to Escondido to stay at a hotel for one night.  We got a Living Social deal for the Wild Animal Park and took Lena there the next day before heading home.  She loved seeing all the animals, riding the tram, feeding birds and petting goats, and getting to ride the merry-go-round.  

"On Safari" in the wild life tram.

Lena and Dan using their binoculars to see animals up close.

Mom posing with her favorites, the giraffes!

Dan feeding the lorakeets

The birds just kept coming...

...and coming...it was so funny!

After the Fourth of July weekend we headed back down to San Diego and stayed at the Hilton in the Gaslamp Quarter.  It was a great location for us right on the trolley stop and next to a fun dog park.  Lena loved seeing the trolley and dogs right outside the hotel.  The first night we took the trolley up to Old Town to have dinner at Fiesta del Reyes and then dessert in Little Italy at Extraordinary Desserts before catching the trolley back to our hotel.  

The view from our hotel room.

Relaxing in the courtyard at Fiesta del Reyes.

I ordered an enchilada sampler: pork with salsa verde, chicken with white cheese sauce, and cheese with red sauce.

Dan ordered the chile relleno plate

Summer berry bread pudding make with croissants and creme brulee cream with house made while chocolate ice cream and vanilla and berry sauces

Dulce de Leche cheese cake with caramel and vanilla sauces.

The next day we spent the whole day at Sea World since Dan was a "first responder" to the San Diego wildfires and was gifted admission for our family.  Neither Dan or I had been there since we were little kids so we were excited to take Lena there for the first time.  She LOVED it...every minute of it!  She wanted to pet all the animals, even Shamu. Ha!  After Sea World we cleaned up at the hotel and had dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory next to our hotel.  We were exhausted!

Watching the killer whales!

Taking a ride over the bay in the sky buckets.

Petting bamboo sharks

The sea turtles were one of our favorites!

Waiting for our table at Old Spaghetti Factory

After a nice sleep in and checking out of the hotel we headed north to Oceanside for a fun beach day with my brother and his family before heading home.  Dan and Lena had a blast building a sand fortress with the cousins. 

It was a great couple nights away as a family.  I love our little adventures!

July 4th 2014

Lena with eight of her cousins - the two youngest boys aren't here for this picture.

Lena and I had a fantastic time with family this year for the 4th of July but poor Dan had to work and miss all the festivities.  Lena loves spending time with her grandparents and has been asking daily to go to their house.  She had a blast swimming with the cousins and grandma, playing games/toys, getting dirty in the sandbox, and going crazy with excitement during the fireworks show. 

Dan getting patriotic during a World Cup game a few days before the 4th.

Helping Grandma make the baked beans.

Lena picked out her own patriotic outfit for the day.

Enjoying the pre-show with Picolo Petes, snakes, and smoke bombs.

Snuggling up with cousin Winnie

Sparkler fun!

Getting cozy during the big show.

Just where Lena always likes to be...in the middle of the action!

34 Weeks - Babymoon - Final Countdown!

34 weeks!

 

Today the final countdown begins!  I am due in 40 days!  June was full of fun family activities as we enjoy these last few weeks as a family of three. 

Someone is VERY excited about our Baby!

My 34 week check up with my OB went very well.  My blood pressure is normal, no swelling, no signs of any problems, and my weight gain even slowed a bit.  Baby Girl has been moving a ton lately and I can tell she is getting bigger because she is kicking and punching me all over the place from under my rib cage to numerous unidentified organs below! The plan is still to see what my body does and go for a VBAC.  We will know more about Baby Girl at our 36 week ultrasound and appointment on July 14th.  It seems like my body is still handling this pregnancy very well and I am so thankful!

Celebrating 11 years of marriage at Mikado in Palm Desert

At the end of June we took a 9 night "babymoon" to our timeshare in Palm Desert.  We had a blast swimming everyday, visiting the local zoo and children's museum, eating great food, and spending some quality time together with close friends. 

Relaxing in the pool cabana.

Lena is a fish in the water!  She learned to use floaties to "swim" all by herself.

Making a fun face craft at the Children's Museum of the Desert.  But Lena loved the pretend grocery store the best!

Feeding a giraffe at the Living Desert

Taking a boat ride at the JW resort to Mikado where we celebrated our 11th anniversary with a Japanese teppan dinner.

Dan took me to The Cheesecake Factory for our anniversary dessert and I picked the red velvet cheesecake.  YUM!!!

I gave Lena her first manicure which she loved!

Dan got a round of golf in and we got to watch him play since our room/patio looks out onto the 17th and 18th holes.

Decked out in their red, white, and blue to cheer on the USA in the World Cup.

Up next week is a fun two day trip to San Diego to Sea World!  Dan gets free tickets for being a first responder to the wildfires that happened there a few months ago.