Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee......

Last weekend my parents came to visit and my mom helped me make Ella's costume. I get really stressed out when using a sewing machine and it was nice to have some extra hands. My machine wasn't working right (of COURSE!) so luckily my mom was smart enough to bring hers as a back up.

Today I thought we'd be real festive and start our Halloween out with a fun activity. So we painted and Ella LOVED it. I tried to get her to stop so she could eat lunch but she wasn't having it.

I turned my back to make lunch and when I went to get her she had already started on a new project. Oh happy day.
So here is Ella, in all her glory as a bumble bee. It's kinda funny b/c I asked her to stand against the wall so I could take a picture and she INSISTED that she lay on the floor to pose. I have no clue where she got that but I'm thinking the sugar had already started kicking in b/c she wouldn't stop giggling. I like this first picture b/c it totally shows her personality.

First we went to the trunk or treat at the church parking lot. Ella was so excited as we got her all hyped up about getting candy and meeting her friends to go trunk or treating but once we got there she wasn't all smiles any more. She was pretty scared....ok really scared. She wouldn't let us put her down and wouldn't even let people put candy in her bucket. I think she thought they were trying to grab her. Once she saw her friends she seemed to calm down a bit and got down to walk with them.
This car is a lady's that I visit teach. It was at the trunk or treat. I thought it was pretty creative. They did a "Little Red Riding Hood" theme.
The trunk or treat only lasted about 1/2 hour so we went to the mall to see all the other costumes and have a little more fun. I mean....come on...you can't make a fun costume and only wear it for 1/2 an hour. Right? :) She had fun running around all by herself (meaning not having to be held or in a stroller) and collecting candy. It was a pretty fun night and I think Ella had more candy tonight than she's ever had her whole life. I brushed her teeth for about 5 min. straight before bed. I haven't put up pictures for a while so here's some more pics from the night. Enjoy.



Here's the second sugar rush kicking in. She was being so silly with her daddy. Having kids definitely makes things like Halloween so much more fun!

Update

Thanks to all who have written comments and e-mails. It's nice to know you've got friends out there to offer their worry, love and prayers for you. :) Oh and a big shout out to Katie! I knew you were out there somewhere! :) Keep commenting, I like hearing from ya. :) Anyway, here's the scoop...Joseph and I went to the doctor this morning. This time it was my own doctor. We had a lot of questions for him. The first one is that after I found out that the baby doesn't weigh enough I did some research on the internet and in some books I have and saw that in pretty much all of the articles, a fetus in the 29th week is supposed to weigh between around 2.5 pounds. I'm 29 weeks and 4 days and Carly is 2 lbs 10 oz. so it looks like she's right on. Plus, her fetal kick counts are going strong so I just don't understand what the big deal is. Anyway, the dr. said that he doesn't see much of a problem with her weight either. That she looks healthy, her heart beat is perfect and all that. The problem is her tummy. It's apparently measuring small. He said that the size of her stomach is in the 4th percentile and if they get under the 10th percentile that's when they start worrying and put the mother on high risk. So who knows, I could have a really skinny baby inside me with a massive head and maybe that's why her weight is right on average. (nice! lol) Anyway....my dr. said that he wants to see me THREE, count them 1..2..3, times a week!!! That's a lot of doctor visits for a dr. that thinks everything is fine. Starting in 2 weeks I have to go in for my regular dr. visits, and then two fetal monitoring appointments all in one week. One of those monitoring appts. is going to be where they put a belt on me and measure my contractions and the heart beat of the baby. The other appt. is going to be another ultrasound to measure the baby and to check the amniotic fluid. The doctor did say that if they see a problem during one of these visits they're going to call him to deliver the baby that day. Depending on if she's in stress or not, he'll either induce me or take her by c-section. I'm not too worried about all this. I am kinda siding with my dr. thinking that things are going to be fine. He said I could still pick up Ella and I could go walking but to keep the walking to about 3/4 mile. (lately it's been 1 1/2 mi.) There are a few times here and there where I think, "oh my gosh, I could totally have a preemie!" I really don't want a preemie, they're so scary! I had to help a lady around the house a few years ago b/c she had a preemie and he was soooo tiny and was on a breathing machine and a monitor during the night with an alarm that went off if he stopped breathing! Yikes!! Mostly what I'm worried about is trying to find someone willing to watch Ella once or twice a week. I don't want to try and find someone different every time to watch her b/c that might just confuse her. There are some girls in my Sunday school class that I teach that always ask to watch Ella and I'd totally have them come over and they'd love it but they're all in school! Anyway, I'm gonna have to figure something out. I hate having to ask for a baby sitter if I don't know the person that well. I'm always worried that they will tell me they don't mind doing it but in reality they really do.

Good News and Bad News...

I have had the most stressful day today. It all started with this morning when we got up to get ready to go to the ultrasound. I was excited to finally find out what's going on with this baby to see if I'll be having a c-section or what. (remember the whole placenta previa thing back in aug? I had to go in for another ultrasound to make sure the placenta moved out of the way of the cervix.) My appointment was for 8:40 in the morning. Joseph took the morning off and we had a babysitter all lined up for Ella. We woke up on time but Ella took forever to eat breakfast and get off the potty. (she's in that "me do it" stage where she won't let me help her go fast when we're in a hurry.) So we get to the sitter about 10 min. late. Then of course we hit every stop light and every 15 mi/hr school zone on the way. Then we went to the wrong building and were searching on every floor for the dang dr.'s office. Finally I decide to call (for the 3rd time that morning) and ask where the office is. Come to find out it's next door to the building we're in. So we rush over to the building next door (by now we're 20 min. late) and then start having problems with our insurance coming up so after that gets worked out it's been another 10 mins. and the girl basically just told me I should go home and reschedule. By this time I'm so frustrated I'm to my breaking point and I start crying. Joseph had to reschedule the appointment for me. Luckily he knew I really wanted to find out what was going on so he scheduled it for the afternoon. I had just enough time to run home, get Ella from the sitter, go visiting teaching, feed her lunch, put her down for a nap (that she didn't take), drop her off at a new sitter's and make it to my new appointment on time. whew! I got dizzy just typing that. Oh, and not to mention, no sooner than 5 min. after I dropped Ella off at the sitter's did I, for a split second, freak out that I left Ella at home! I almost threw up till I realized I was just going crazy and had just dropped her off at Hannah's house. (Seriously, who gives someone like me 2 kids??)

It was nice and relaxing in the Dr.'s office and I got a second to put my head back and close my eyes. It was fun seeing Carly again. She's so much bigger now than she was at 18 weeks. And you can see her face a lot better now b/c it is starting to fill in a bit. They gave me a whole bunch more pictures of her. I don't have a scanner but really want to put them up so I'll get it done hopefully this week.
Good news is.... the placenta moved out of the way so I'm pretty much in the clear of a c-section. Bad news is...they found another problem. The Dr. that did the ultrasound said that her tummy is measuring kinda small so she went to get another dr. to come and talk to me. When he sat me down I started to get a little nervous. He said that she is measuring in at 2 pounds 10 oz. and she's supposed to be at 3lbs 10 oz. He said that a pound doesn't seem like much for you and me but for a little baby it's a lot. So I have to quit exercising, stop holding Ella and in two weeks I have to start getting weekly testing to make sure the fluid isn't getting low and she's gaining enough weight. If the fluid isn't enough or she isn't gaining enough weight they're gonna take her out right there. Kinda scary. I think this is worse than the whole placenta thing. So lets all cross our fingers and say a few prayers for little Carly. :) I'll keep ya'll updated as I get more information on things.

Zoological

This weekend we had our friends the Cox family come out from St. George to visit for the day. They got here Sat. morning and left that night but we sure packed in a lot for the day. Shortly after they arrived we left for the Zoo. I guess you could call it a zoo. It was a pretty sorry excuse for a zoo. It was only 3 acres but quite big for a couple of 22 month old kids. One cool thing was that they had peacocks, roosters and pigeons freely walking around the place. We thought it would be fun for the kids if we got them each a cup of bird seed to feed the birds.... BIG fat mistake. Not only was Ella freaked out by all the birds by our feet but I was too and they wouldn't leave us alone. So as long as we had the bird seed, a swarm of nappy birds were always at our feet and if we didn't start feeding them fast enough they'd peck at our feet! I just took the cup and threw the seed out of it (away from us of course). We were lucky enough to get to the zoo right as they were letting a few people in this room where there was a baby kangaroo, a wallaby, a monkey (can't remember what kind but he was sooo little with real soft fur and big eyes), a porcupine, and this one thing that was like a cross between a bunny/gigantic rat/monkey. They were letting us play with and pet these animals and it was so cute to see Ella and her buddy Gavin enjoying these new animals so much. Ella thought everything was a kitty. The monkey/rat/bunny thing was so dang cute. He was crawling from shoulder to shoulder on everyone in the room. Crawling on everyone's head and sniffing to see if they had food. I was standing next to Joseph who was holding Ella when the animal jumped on my shoulder and was trying to get some snacks I brought in my purse. When he couldn't get them he then jumped on Joseph's shoulders and freaked Ella out for a second. Once she realized it was ok she was so excited for the little guy to be there. We ate at In and Out Burger for lunch. Then when the babies went down for a nap our husbands were nice enough to stay with them so we could do what we do best...go shopping. :) Alissa and I had Ella and Gavin a day apart and now we're both pregnant again. Alissa is due the 28th of Dec. and I'm due the 8th of Jan. and we're both having girls. So it's been fun to have our kids grow up together, go shopping for them and talk about our kids and pregnancies together. I don't know why, but I love shopping for Ella. Not me or the new baby but for some reason it's so fun to get Ella new things. Maybe it's b/c I'm having another girl and I feel bad buying new clothes for her when I have SO MANY clothes from Ella. I need new shirts, probably some jeans and a new coat but I don't even feel like trying them on let alone go in a store for me. Anyway, that night we walked around Green Valley Mall and picked up some dinner at Chipotle. Green Valley Mall is fun b/c it's outside and on the weekends they have a live cover band and a courtyard where people can sit and listen and kids can run and play. They still have tons of shops and restaurants there. It's a real fun atmosphere. I feel so bad that I don't have any pictures of the day b/c it would be really fun to have them. My camera's battery was dead and I didn't realize it till right when we were leaving so I didn't have time to charge the batteries. But here is a video for your viewing pleasure from last week when we went to FAO Schwarts. It's pretty dang funny. Kinda sad but funny.


Ok, I've tried to get this dang thing uploaded and now I want to go to bed so we'll try again tomorrow. :)

Going, Going, Going

We've been so busy the last two weeks that I don't even know where to start nor do I remember everything we've done. I've got the memory of a 2 year old. Conference...went to Arizona to visit my parents. We got sucked into one of those time share meetings but came out with no timeshare and $150 visa gift card in our pocket so I guess it was worth it. Between the meetings we didn't really have much time to go have fun. We went swimming in my parent's swimming pool and totally froze. But it was still fun. Poor Ella's lips were purple but she cried when we pulled her out to get her warm. Funny girl.

When we came home it was nice and relaxing for a bit but then it was pick up and go go go. Days full of doctors appointments, visitors, errands, and fun. I can't remember once the past two weeks where I spent a day at home. Quite a change from a few months ago where I couldn't stand being at home all day yet I was home all day long all week long. After all of the errands I feel bad for dragging Ella all around Las Vegas so we take her out to do fun things. Although I think she really likes running the errands...fun and new exciting places to see. If we are spending a day in she grabs her shoes and runs to the door and says, "bye bye? A go? Go Mimi, go". Ella is really starting to find her voice. She'll tell you when to leave her alone, when she wants you to go with her, and of course the famous "No No NO". It's so cute in the mornings to wake up to her yelling, "Mimi! Miiiiimiiiiii!!!" I go into her room singing a good morning song to her. The mornings I don't sing it she'll tilt her head, smile and say, "mo-nings Mimi, mo-nings". I'll start singing it and she just giggles. She wakes up so smiley which is no change from when she was a baby. I hope little Carly is just as fun and happy.


One of Ella's best bed head shots


We took Ella to Cesar's Palace to see the big fish tank and FAO Schwartz and she was in Heaven! She loved the fish so much and in FAO would run from toy to toy squealing with glee. I have to admit, whenever Ella is having fun, I'm having fun. Well, let me rephrase that... USUALLY when Ella is having fun, I'm having fun. :) We also went to a pumpkin patch that had a lot to do. Ella was so excited to see pumpkins and ran to one after the other pointing and laughing. She got to go down one of those big blow up slides with her daddy a few times and a swing with me.

Last night we went to a BYU vs. UNLV football game. It was my first college football game and Ella's first football game all together. It was a little hard to know who we should be rooting for b/c Joseph's buddies are BYU football players but Las Vegas is our home now and we're friend's with a few players on the UNLV team. Not to mention we were sitting right in front of some die hard UNLV fans that we were a little nervous of cheering for another team in front of. :) It was a lot of fun though and I'm so happy we get these opportunities to do things as a family. Here are some pics from the game.

I have no clue what this face was all about. Maybe it's her game face but I do know that it is hilarious.





In other news...I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and doctor is saying baby is all good. She's measuring right on target and heartbeat is nice and strong. I was a little worried for a day there when I didn't feel her kick at all and hardly moved a muscle. But the next day she was all over the place so I was at ease after that. The doctor told me most likely I could attribute the minimal activity to her changing positions. Most days I'm so busy, I forget I'm even pregnant. There is just too much to do before the baby comes and I feel like I need more time. I'm already seeing the doctor every 2 weeks! I'd be happy to have an extra 3 months tacked on to the less than 12 weeks I have left right now. My brother and his fiance just announced that they were getting married in SLC on my due date. I was like, "hmmm, way to plan". My brother is counting on me getting that c-section in December I guess. :) We also have Halloween, ward parties, baby showers, Thanksgiving, Ella and Joseph's birthdays, Christmas, the annual Carmedic meeting in AZ, and Adam's reception in Missouri all before the 3rd week in Jan. I thought I learned my lesson about having a holiday baby the last time around. I guess not. :) Then there are days like today at church when I saw one of the sisters with her brand new baby twin girls. So tiny and beautiful...I can't wait to see my new baby girl and have a new born again. --Anyway, I've got an ultrasound next Wed. to see when I'll actually be able to hold our new addition. So we shall see in a few weeks.

Ode To My Husband

Yesterday I was getting pretty excited b/c I got a $10 Kohls gift card in the mail and these boots that Ella wanted there were going to be like 50% plus an extra 15% off if I get in there before 1pm. So me, loving shopping the way I do, set off after breakfast fully packed with snacks, a water bottle, Ella in hand and a smile on my face. I went across town to Kohl's and didn't see any signs for the extra 15% off. After asking the lady in the shoe section about the sale she said maybe I read it wrong and it was this weekend. I wasn't going to let that make me sad so instead of shopping I took Ella to the park out there. She had fun and played and then we hit Target on the way home. By the time we were coming home snacks were gone, water was gone and it was nap time. We hung in there by singing Wheels on the Bus and Pokey Bear, but inch by inch things started to annoy momma and Ella. (such as people riding my tail on the freeway, not letting me in the lane when my lane was ending and people going soooo slow)The gas light came on in the car so I thought I'd better fill it up so that if I'm in a hurry next time I need to use the car I don't have to stop at the gas station. We pull into the gas station, park and go in so I can pay by credit. I pick up my 24 pound daughter while being tired and 6.5 months pregnant and go in the store to prepay. (The whole time I'm thinking that I can't wait to get home) I tell the lady I want $30 on pump 9. She tells me they don't take credit so I said, "Ok, well then just put $20 on my debit." So she said ok and then gives me my receipt along with 2 ten dollar bills. I looked at her like, "what?? what is that for?" She freaking put $30 on my pump AND took $20 for cash back. Normally this wouldn't bother me but when you have a million bills coming out this week and your husband doesn't get paid till Monday you tend to freak when an extra $30 gets taken out of your account. I asked her to just void it out and put it back on my card and she said she couldn't. So I did the only mature thing and ripped the cash out of her hand and told her she was an idiot...then walked out. If it weren't for my sweet spirited husband I probably would've been still angry but when I called him and he told me I was kind of a monster I realized he was right. Obviously the lady didn't hear me right and I'm sure she wasn't trying to cause trouble with my bank account and I could've handled it differently.

Is it just the day or am I turning into an angry person?? Sad that this is written right after the whole Mailboxes fiasco... makes me sound like I'm crazy. Maybe I am. I think you moms out there will understand. When you're pregnant and tired and hungry and everything seems to be going wrong sometimes you just snap. When I met Jospeh I used to be the most layed back person ever and let things slide a lot. I would still stand up for myself but I was pretty easy going. Ugh. I'm just glad he's here to keep me sane. Thanks babe-a! I love you.