Entertaining Ourselves

Silly Girls...

Another Beautiful Day

I gave birth to Aliyah 1 day shy of 42 weeks. I am exactly 1 day away from that today. Well, today actually would be the day that I started labor with Aliyah at 5am and then just under 24 hours later, she arrived! While I continue to make every effort not to compare my pregnancies (how could I anyway - they've been so different!) the time that I carry babies seem to be similar with these two.

Even though there was no baby today, Tyler and Aliyah made it a special one! We went to a world breastfeeding celebration at Loose Park in the morning. We really had a blast watching Aliyah play with bubbles, color with friends and run through the park. The swings and slides are always her favorite. The weather was gorgeous and it was great to run into a few familiar faces.

One of our favorite restaurants is Europa Cafe but we just don't get to eat there very often as it is a little ways away from our house. Since we were in the area, we decided to grab lunch there (they have the BEST pastries!) as a special treat. Tyler stopped in the flower shop next door and surprised me with a beautiful rose. Aliyah and I shared a spinach & garlic pizza while Tyler enjoyed a spinach & feta quiche and a cup of tomato, basil soup... yummm!!

We headed home with Aliyah singing in the back seat until she fell asleep. We all took a nap and then woke up to eat our pastries that we saved from Europa Cafe - the best afternoon snack ever! We then decided to drive by the Midwest Balloon Fest and watch the hot air balloons take off before dinner. The excitement that poured out of Aliyah as we watched and counted the balloons was priceless.

Dinner was pretty low key, then a walk around Target finished our day. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Saturday!

What NOT to Wear When You're Pregnant

A Little Weekend Fun... and to let you all know that I am still here!! (from Adored Austin)

Rompers -- don't tell me to move up a size... this IS a large!

Beer t-Shirts -- classy - real classy... makes people wonder, "Is that how she got pregnant?!?"

Suspenders -- I know those pregnancy pants are hard to keep up around that belly bump, but nothing looks like an old man's beer gut like suspenders do!

Non-Maternity Button Up Shirts -- They may seem harmless at first, until a family member looses an eye due to a projectile button off your shirt!

Body Suits -- Just because you can squeeze into it, doesn't mean you should wear it!

A Little Nesting

I already posted pictures of the girls' shared bedroom - that was one of my first projects and I should really take pictures of the playroom we have been working on, but there are a few more things I want to do first. So for now I will share some of the projects I have done (with Tyler's help) the past few weeks to transform our living room and add a little more color.

A serving tray that I made from an old cabinet door. A little crackle paint and two teal door knobs I found on sale at Hobby Lobby on each end. I really loved how this turned out!

I found the teal and black box from Target to hold Aliyah's Disney DVDs. I found these old fashion swing doors from ReStore that I painted teal for a little extra color in that corner of the living room. Large shutters would probably look very similar to this.

For the mantel I put up some of our music records and found a few unique vases from Good Will. We bought two different colors of teal paint and painted the inside of the bottles by spooning the paint inside and swirling it around until the walls were fully covered. We poured the extra back in the paint can and let them dry - easy! I found the birdcage at Home Depot on sale in their summer section... I made the "i love us" sign and found the wooden figures for cheep on etsy.

We also added a beautiful throw to the couches and painted some candle sticks that I didn't get a picture of. I made this ruler using a 2x4, stain and a paint pen. Some of the lines are a little crooked but I think it turned out great! We are going to use it as a growth chart to track our kids heights! The teal banner under the old window that we turned into a picture frame is from Aliyah's 2nd birthday - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Baby Prepping 101

Aliyah practiced diapering her bunny...

Isn't this one of the cutest cloth diapers you've ever seen?!?

The REAL edition

I’ve been reminiscing on the preparation we did before Aliyah arrived and trying to remember everything before our new baby girl arrives. But thinking back on the things a new baby course teaches you - how to change a diaper, how to swaddle, how to give baby their first bath - I realized that all of that stuff is fairly easy and intuitive.

What we really need is a how-to class on all of the things that you have to learn the hard way. A class on the stuff no one ever prepares you for until you’re in the thick of it

Here’s what my dream “Baby Prep 101” class syllabus would look like:

Course 1: How to get baby poop off the walls

Course 2: How to breastfeed while simultaneously making a pot of soup

Pro tip: Moby Wrap!

Course 3: How to drive a car with one arm, while reaching into the backseat to hold a pacifier in your child’s mouth with the other.

Course 4: How to walk ninja-style silent out of your child’s room at nap time

Pro tip: Wear socks

Course 5: How to successfully buckle a wild, protesting child into a carseat during a rainstorm.

Pro tip: distract them with goldfish or car keys. Block the rain with an umbrella strategically held between your ribs and elbow

Course 6: How to cut tiny finger/toe nails without taking off an appendage

Pro tip: Fingernails are easiest cut on sleepy babies.

Course 7: How to get crud out of the corners of baby eyes without having your child react as if you are trying to stab them with a hot poker.

Course 8: How to change a baby’s diaper in a public restroom without catching the plague, the funk, or swine flu.

Got any pro tips you’d add to the list above? Maybe a completely different course you’d add to my syllabus? I want to hear them! And who do we need to talk to to make this class a reality?!?!

Weekend Recap

I know that it is already Wednesday, but I wanted to share some of our great adventures from this past weekend. We have been keeping busy and it has been so much fun!!

FRIDAY:

After I did a quick sign language storytime in the morning, Grammy and I decided to take Aliyah to the movies to see Ice Age 4. Aliyah did great - probably because Grammy is a pro when it comes to packing lots of healthy snacks to keep her happy!

In the afternoon, Tyler and I decided to indulge in some retail therapy and make a trip out to Nebraska Furniture Mart. We stopped in at Famous Dave's for dinner and Aliyah really enjoyed the pork ribs! She keeps it classy with the raised pinky finger!

SATURDAY:
We didn't get any pictures on Saturday, but we had a great day hanging out with YaYa and BopBop all afternoon. We went to our neighborhood luau at the pool, Chipotle for dinner, and had an ice cream treat for dessert. Aliyah even talked everyone into watching a Dumbo (one of her favorite Disney movies) with her when we got home. Aliyah got in lots of good snuggles and kisses!

SUNDAY:

Grandpapa wanted to take Aliyah fishing! We headed to Antioch Park to let the little one have a go at it. She didn't catch anything, but I think she had a great time!

Trying out her own fishing pole, but the fish still weren't biting.

So... she decided a net would be best.

When we walked to the park to play, Aliyah found a bench and scooted all the way to one side. She patted the place next to her and said it was for Evie. She is always thinking of her sister - such a sweet girl!

 We walked around the lake.

 And then headed back home.

Another GREAT day!

MONDAY:

I know Monday is not technically the weekend, but since the weather had cooled down the past few days, Grammy, Aliyah and I decided to take advantage of the last nice morning of the week and go to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. Aliyah got to ride the tractors, pet the goats, and feed the fish. She also loved the big slide and looking at all the other farm animals.

It has been nice to have so much time with our families! Another bonus to waiting past 40 weeks, is that my calendar is completely clear to fill our days of waiting with fun activities together!

41 Weeks: Bathroom Interrogations

Because my family thinks they are funny...

Although, I guess this picture is pretty appropriate considering how often I frequent the loo these days! I have threatened to find a tree if I have to if a bathroom isn't spotted soon (don't worry - it hasn't gotten that serious... yet).

On a similar note, every time I go to the bathroom, Tyler waits 30 seconds and then yells, “Honey, is everything ok?” and I yell back “Yes! If it wasn’t I would tell you!” For some reason, I think Tyler has convinced himself that I will go into the bathroom and give birth to our daughter in a matter of minutes without making a noise or notifying him. lol!

I am feeling pretty good - Just ready for this sweet baby. I have an appointment with my OB (yeah! she is back in town) tomorrow and also a sonogram to make sure my fluid levels are still okay. Everly moves around a bunch and gets hiccups often, so I feel those are good signs she is doing ok in there!