Milk & Cookies Party: Elliot's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday we had Elliot's 2nd birthday party at the house. It was a milk & cookies theme. We woke up to pouring rain. On one hand I was so happy that we finally got some. But on the other hand, of all days, it had to be on E's party day? What are the odds with the drought that we're going through. Plus Lane hadn't mowed the lawn yet, so he had to do it when it was all wet...gross. 

FYI, none of these ideas were my own. I took them from this lady's blog. Her party was a lot fancier looking than mine, but I loved how ours turned out. Everything went great. I felt like everyone had a good time & that's all that matters. It was definitely a full house at our place...20 adults and 24 kids. Thank you to all that came & helped celebrate with us and for all the wonderful gifts! Enjoy the pictures...

It's too bad we didn't even cut the cake. In fact, we still haven't tasted it yet. There were just so many cookies, that I don't think anyone had the appetite for one more sweet thing.

Kids cupcakes

Cookie bags

Those are picture tags on the cups. I think that was one of my favorite details.

Elliot puts her fingers to her cheeks when she says "cheese" because of the song "when you're happy & you know it".

We actually did a redo on the cake which is why there is no table cloth. Everyone had gone home at this point.

I wanted to get a picture of her blowing out the candle, since she has learned how since her 1st birthday.

Her favorite part about the presents was the tissue paper.

So glad I decided to put out the pool. It was a muggy day. Not sure if I would have preferred it to be hot & sunny or overcast & humid. It's a lose lose either way.

Thanks to Amy for lending me the bounce house. It was a hit.

Dog Sitting

For the past 2 weeks we have been dog sitting Winnie. I was really dreading this, especially since it was for so long. Surprisingly she did really well. We didn't have any issues with her. Even though I've said in the past that I want a dog, this little trial run did not make me want to get in any hurry. I think the biggest issue I have is having to clean up the backyard after she does her business....that's a pain! Elliot thoroughly enjoyed herself while Winnie was around.

 Excuse her "Bozo the Clown" hair. Seriously, that's what it reminds me of when she pulls out her pig tails.

Elliot was constantly giving Winnie kisses.

 They liked to hide under the bed together.

And E liked to hid in Winnie's cage. Winnie of course did not join in.

She Finally Knows Her Name!

30 Weeks

Now that I'm going to the OB every 2 weeks, I'm going to do little updates & pictures accordingly. So bare with me on these. I want to make a collage of belly shots for Davis's baby book. Therefore you will be seeing a lot of me in the same pose. Sorry about that! Well I am now in the 8th month of my pregnancy. I finally hit week 30 meaning I only have 10 more weeks to go, possibly less...hopefully less! Elliot came 1 week early & I have a feeling it will be the same thing with Davis, but maybe even 2 weeks early...fingers crossed.

I don't know how I can get any bigger. Even though my doctor says I'm measuring a little small, my stomach feels like it's reached it's full capacity. I can't imagine him getting any bigger. There is no space left for him. Which makes for lots of uncomfortable days for me. I am no longer able to sit upright on the couch. I really need to be sprawled out. And driving in the car is difficult as well, so I try not to go very far. I'm still having a little acid reflux here & there. But a big issue I'm having right now is leg cramps. I'm talking charly horses all up and down my legs & they usually come in the middle of the night. I did not have these with Elliot, so I was seriously thinking something was wrong. But apparently it's because of the heat and maybe because I need more calcium. I am also a lot more tired this time around. With E, I worked up until I had her, so I have no idea how I had more energy then. But now, it's hard for me to get up & going in the mornings. And in the afternoons, I'm exhausted.

Enough complaining. On the more interesting side of things, Davis's skin is now opaque, his bones have hardened except for his skull, and hair on his head is starting to grow. From this point on he is supposed to accumulate fat more rapidly, which means I will be gaining lots more weight :( I weighed in at 119.6, but I might as well round it up to 120. I'll probably be there by the end of today anyway. That's a total so far of 14 pounds since the beginning. But I think I gained 3 pounds since the last time I was there, which has only been 2 weeks! I guess I need to lay of the Haagen Daz & Blue Bell.

Swim Lessons

Elliot started swimming lessons yesterday. It's everyday for 2 weeks for 30 minutes. I signed us up for a mommy & me class. I figure she'll love getting to go to the pool every day & I'll love getting a tan! I really don't think she'll learn too much in this class. It's really just to get them familiar with the water. The first day the instructor said I could move her up to the preschool class because she can do the skills. In that class parents aren't allowed. It allowed me to get 2 pictures. She did just fine with out me with her. But we're going to move her back down to the original class. The instructors said she was kind of clueless (they didn't use those words). This doesn't surprise me at all because she has a hard time listening & focusing these days. She knows how to do things, but she'll only do them if she feels like it. As I was watching her today, it looked like she was in her own little world. But at least she's having fun.

Getting to That Age

I can already tell that Elliot is approaching the age of 2. Now don't get me wrong, she's still a good girl most of the time. But the issue we're dealing with as of this past week is her nap/bed time. What has happened to my sweet girl who never resisted these important times? Nap time has been the worst. I still put her in her crib for naps & usually it's no problem at all. But over the past week she has skipped her nap 2 days in a row & is constantly climbing out of her crib & opening her door. After returning her to her crib about 5 times, I tried putting her in the big girl bed. Of course she would just get out of there too. I even attempted to lay down with her & hold her so she couldn't move. But she is the wiggliest kid around & that lasted about 5 minutes. Then I tried putting her in the crib again, thinking she might want it this time around. Of course she didn't. So my last resort yesterday before I'm ready to ship her off to boot camp was to put her in the big girl bed & close the door. This door she can't get out of for some reason. Of course there were tears, screams, knocking on the door, etc for about 45 minutes. But finally there was silence. I didn't want to risk waking her to see where she ended up, so I waited until I was sure she was asleep to peek in on her. And there she was on her bed asleep. Whew! Since she slept in the big girl bed for her nap, I figure why stop now & put her in there again today. It was more of the same, maybe 15 minutes less of tantrums.

As for bed time...she used to be really good about sleeping in her big girl bed at night, but this past week she constantly gets out. So I did the same thing & closed the door. Tonight there was barely any crying. She went to the door once to make sure I had closed it & then got into bed & didn't get back out. Hopefully this phase will pass soon & she will no longer fight it. I am at my wits end.

Musical Doctors

27 weeks 5 days

Today I met my new OB. This is my 3rd & final doctor of this pregnancy. So glad I will not be switching again! I have to deliver at Parkland Hospital since that is where Lane works & our insurance goes through them. Because it is in the ghetto, I was pretty leery about the doctors & service I would get, but I was pleasantly surprised. I love both my doctor & my nurse. They are easy to talk to & very friendly, so that's good. The only downside is that I have to drive out there for all of my appointments. 

Today I did the glucose test (which I don't mind that drink at all). I also got the Rhogam shot & a blood type test. I was being poked all over. Baby's heart beat sounded good. They gave me this book with information about you & the baby month to month. I glanced through it & realized that I am already at the end of my 7th month of pregnancy, which I cannot believe. I guess I could have done the math, but just never have. Baby Davis weighs about 2.5 lbs & is 14 inches long. That surprised me as well. That's pretty long. I think Elliot was 19 inches when she was born. I only gained 1.5 lbs since my last visit which I am very pleased with. I will be going back for my next appointment in 2 weeks, which will start the whole every 2 week appointment thing. I can't believe I'm already at that point. Anyway, all is good.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was filled with lots of fun. Some of my relatives were in town (although I realize I didn't take any pictures of them!) & we spent Friday & Saturday with them. They have little kids too so we went to the Indoor Safari Park in Southlake. I had never been there before & didn't know what to expect. The part that drew us in was it being indoors! I was a little disappointed with this place. The concept was great, but it felt like the A/C wasn't turned on, there was barely anywhere to sit to watch your child play & only 2 people were working there. But that was just my adult opinion. If you ask Elliot, she would give it 2 thumbs up. I guess that's all that really mattered.

 Here she is climbing up to go down the slide.

 Flying down into the ball pit.

 They had an indoor train.

 Riding the zebra. They had a couple of other animals to choose from. They were motorized.

 A little tot area.

 Saturday was Eleanor's birthday party. She had it at the play pool like we did last year. What a difference a year makes. E was so independent, I didn't really have to stay with her much.

 She really went to town on these monkey cupcakes.

Tumbling Time

I have enrolled Elliot in a couple of classes at the rec center. Today was her first day of tumbling. She absolutely loved it! I knew she would. She's been doing head stands & somersaults all over the house lately. Anyway, I felt the class was really organized & the teacher was great. She learned lots of new things which is always exciting. Here she is with her teacher on the uneven bars doing pull ups.

Splash Pad

My friend was telling me about a splash pad near our house, so Elliot & I ventured out to find it. She had so much fun running around. And it was nice for me because I could just sit in the shade & watch her.

Lane's 1st Paycheck

Lane received his first paycheck as a doctor about a week ago. I thought I'd post it because it's pretty comical...a measly $182. It was only for one day (whew!). I'll be interested to see the next one so I'll know about how much to expect each month.

4th of July Festivities

We kicked things off Friday night at Amy's sister's house. She had TONS of food! We swam and afterward headed to watch fireworks.

 Saturday we were supposed to go to a friend's lake house, but I was deathly sick all day. I ended up running between my bed & the toilet all day long. No fun. Sunday I felt better, just weak. Monday we went with my mom & Patrick's family to the Arlington parade. I always go to this with my mom. It used to be better back in the day with really elaborate floats, but now people just get in a trailer & wave. Oh well. Elliot still enjoyed herself.

Elliot & Eleanor sharing a seat.

She loved waving at the people in the parade.

 

Later that night we went to my sister's to swim & bbq. Unfortunately Lane got sick from me, so he wasn't feeling well. We decided it was best to leave early. I was so upset that I still wasn't feeling well enough to eat anything. Oh well, I don't need any help in the gaining weight department.