Peas & Love For Us

Yep, we are on 34 weeks now. Just had a midwife appointment and all is well, good blood pressure, good weight gain, measuring right on target, and a strong heart beat from the little fellow. I’m attempting to mentally prepare myself as well thinking about how I want the labor to go and facing what ever fears come and go. I would like to have a natural birth this time around with no Pictocin what so ever. I’m not saying I wont get an epidural I don’t think that I am super women but I think that the less medicated the labor and birth is the better. So I want to give it my best effort. I want to let my body do it’s job and I want it to be a beautiful experience.

Bada and Aunt Danielle have bought their tickets to come help support us and be here for Ellie. Hopefully we will get the timing right. I’m looking forward to having them here with us. My Mom, Dad, and neighbor Jen are on call in case the timing isn’t right.  I’m so thankful for the support system we have makes me feel very good.

In trying to prepare Ellie and I took a trip to the library yesterday. We picked up some books for Ellie about new babies and families. I also picked up some name books for Gary. He is starting to get stressed out about names. I’m not too worried it will come to us when we see the little fellow. I picked up some books on birthing. One book in particular we had a chuckle over last night it was a little dated and seemed as though some hipppie wrote it long ago. It had some really graphic pictures in it. That I kind of wish my brain didn’t take the time to process. You know the kind that make childbirth look like a horror show. It also had recommendations for conditioning and preparing for labor, like squatting and such, according to this book and the pictures your supposed to do all these exercise naked with the assistance of your partner who is supposed to be in 70’s style short shorts with white trim. Hmm… Also Gary read that I’m not supposed to sit in cushy chairs. My reply “Do you want to sit in a stiff hard wooden chair after a long day of carrying around an extra 25 plus pounds?” I don’t think so. Needless to say I took that book back to the library today.

Here is a few nuggets from Ellie. We all know she is a fan of Elmo and his songs and Gary and I are fans of Adam Sandler and his funny songs. So, when we saw the two of them do a skit on Sesame Street we were all very happy and it has resulted in this

“This is a song about Ellie” She plays the uke better then me!!!

Also, her new favorite spot for watching a movie

Last week Gary’s sister Sarah came out for a little visit and a ski vacation with her fiance Mike and our nephew Kevin. They stayed Monday to Friday and we had an awesome week with them. On Tuesday we all skied at Alta. Ellie took her first ride on the chair lift. She loved it and was in awe of the views, trees, and mountains. I skied two runs myself. Two was all I had in me though. It’s not easy when your carrying an extra 20lbs. But I will say it was definitely worth it. Ellie got right into it she was super excited and kept saying “go fast” and whooping it up. It was a thrill to ski next to her and Gary and watch her thoroughly enjoy herself with a big smile and wide eyes. Kevin is a fabulous skier and I think a natural athlete.  He did very well and we were pleasantly surprised by his good attitude. I wish I could have spent more time with him out there.

Gary was so proud of Ellie he had to buy this picture taken by Peak Photo on the mountain. It is a great shot and I’m glad we have it.

On Wednesday we took Kevin and Ellie to Soldier’s Hollow to go tubing. Kevin was very patient with us as he had to wait a few hours while Gary finished up some work before hand. Once we got there I think he had a good time and was running laps around Gary and Ellie.

I think Gary had just as much fun as the kids.

Unfortunately I didn’t take all the pictures I should have or wanted to. Sarah and Mike got away without even one photo for me. Dang. On Thursday everyone went skiing while Ellie and I had a chill out day at home. Then we all reunited for some dinner. It was good to visit with Sarah, Mike, and Kevin. Kevin was so sweet to Ellie he brought her some toys and helped her make a big tent out of blankets in her room. He is an expert at tent making. He was a good sport to hang out with us and play with Ellie. The visit was too short and I wish we could have had just a few more days to play. It did cure some of the winter blues that always seem to come around in February. Thanks to Sarah and Mike for coming out and bringing Kevin with you. We miss you a ton.

Tags: Alta, Skiing, Soldier Hollow

Gary got me a special Valentine this year. He knew that he would be down and out over the weekend due to getting his wisdom teeth yanked out. So he bought something that he thought would make me comfortable and cozy and made sure it would be here while we were in the thick of wisdom teeth misery so that I would have something nice to open. He said he over heard me talking about how great Ellie’s pj’s are with the footies in them and how warm and cozy they would be. They are great for the Wee Ones. They do sound good in theory, but…. In reality when an adult tries them on especially a pregnant women, well I’m not so sure.

I will admit they are warm and soft and cozy just like you would imagine them to be, just a bit snug for me right now… I love Gary for this gift it was thoughtful of him, and he was being attentive when he over heard me chatting about the qualities of wee pajamas.

By the way the wisdom teeth yanking has gone relatively well thanks to pain pills and tea bags. Our weekend was mostly spent like this…

With CNN or some other nonsense playing in the background. It’s hard to see someone you love in pain but he has been a trooper with a good attitude.  Even helped me move some boxes around as I took the opportunity to try to get the house organized this weekend. I think I’m in the “nesting” stage. I have some serious urges to get organized for the little fellows arrival.

We sent Ellie up to Grandma and Grandpa McKenney’s house this weekend while Gary recovered and I attempted to organize. The twins Coleman and Parker were spending the weekend with them as well. I think she had a good time hanging out with the boys. We are ready to get her back though and have our home filled with her presence. She was definitely missed.

We caught three good videos of Ellie being Ellie this week. She is so funny I love this stage where she mimics and repeats nearly everything and is trying so hard to grow up. It’s happening too fast really all that baby time with her is gone. She is becoming a “big sister”. I think she is going to be an excellent “Big Sister”.

We have taken Ellie skiing a couple of times now. Twice to Alta and once just up here in Timbucktoo on the roads. Unfortunately I have only one measly video of it all. Gary put it up of facebook a while ago so lots of friends and family have seen it already but I want to be sure to journal it here on the family blog too.

Skiing with Ellie is definitely a challenge lugging the extra gear, carrying her when she has just had enough, and supporting her in general is exhausting. Fortunately for me my big belly keeps me out of the game and it is all up to Gary. I did try to go down the hill with her but she wanted Daddy not me. Gary even admits it’s a harder workout then skiing “Eddies High Know Where” (one of the more challenging runs in Alta).  We both agreed last weekend that it maybe a little too early for her. She wants to sit down all the time poor thing needs more muscle in those skinny little thighs. Baby steps though, she is interested in the skis and likes going down the hill with Gary she lets out some hoots and hollers as they go she is just not happy in the flats where we have to work a little harder. Pretty normal that’s just how I feel about it too.

Here is what we did on New Years Eve…

It was actually pretty comical because the fire fizzled out after 5 minutes. We had a great Christmas tree that was very green and didn’t want to burn. Once the fire went out Ellie wanted nothing to do with being outside she promptly walked onto the porch and right to the door. Then she was ready for bed. Needless to say none of us made it to midnight I don’t think we even made it to 10pm for that matter. The neighbors down the road let us know when it was midnight though lots of fireworks and such.

We have been enjoying the weather up here. Utah is a funny place with the inversion and all. If you live roughly above 6000 ft you get perfect sunny days with blue skies. Below that you get fog, smog, and cold weather. So in January when the inversions is at it’s worst we are grateful to be in Timbucktoo breathing fresh air and catching plenty of Vitamin D. We spent one of those days at Solder Hollow a few weeks ago. Ellie was a little too small for the hill. (I think next time we can do it though) So they let us play around for free on a tiny hill close by…

We have also been enjoying walks with our neighbors Jen and Zak. We took a big walk this last week. Zak and Ellie were having a great time giving each other “nature talks” and pointing out the trees, sky, and birds.

Finally, the hours we spend inside lately have been spent dressing up. Ellie rediscovered the Birthday present that Aunt Danielle got for her. It has several fancy outfits and some lovely plastic high heel shoes. Everyday Ellie goes through the ritual of stripping down and putting on the princess outfits then coming out of the room and surprising Mom and Dad with a proud smile and her arms up in the air saying “look”. It has been very entertaining and silly. In fact Ellie woke up one morning at 4:30 am and immediately started to put on the shoes and look for the “dresses”. Mom had forgotten to put it away. She was very upset that she had to go back to bed and wait for a decent dress up hour.  The princess in her has found her way out I even caught her putting on some of my lipstick the other day and she did it perfect. It wasn’t smudged a bit just applied as dainty as could be right on those smackers. What a girl…

and on this note Ellie as begun to develop some “isms” Ellieisms that is. She is learning her manners and when given something she says “thank you” and then quickly follows up with a “your welcome”.  When she wants to see what your doing she brings her little chair over to stand on and says “excuse me” in her wee voice which no one can resist stepping aside and allowing her to move in. She is also learning to use please when asking or more often demanding something she wants. It’s nice to hear these words sneak into her vocabulary and it’s nice that she is using them on her own without Mom and Dad’s encouragement.

Ellie had a hard time Christmas morning deciding if she wanted her presents or not. We think that she thought that Santa was actually there in the room and that disturbed her a bit.

Christmas morning take one…

Christmas morning take two…

Christmas morning take three!…

She finally got into it all and was so fun to watch. It literally took all day to unwrap all her presents because she would spend time playing with each one.  Which was a good thing because she loved and appreciated each and every gift she was given.

We also had a memorable incident involving fire and candles. We set up our Christmas pyramid I bought last March while visiting my sister in Germany.  While I was trying to capture the moment with a picture Ellie leaned in a little too close and caught her hair on fire. I heard a sizzle and looked up from the camera to see flames on the side of my wee ones head. So I jumped up quick and patted it out. Just some singed hair. Ellie wasn’t even phased by it all she looked at me like “what are you doing?”. At any rate lesson learned and a memory we can laugh about now.

On Saturday we traveled up to my parents house for a Christmas dinner with my brother’s family, Grandpa Jackson, and Aunt Laurie. As usual my Mom made a huge delicious spread and we ate our self’s silly.

After dinner and some naps we went out to the garage to play on the big wheel the my uncle Dan sent for the kids a few years back. My Dad had just put it together over the weekend and was excited for the boys to play with it. Needless to say it was a hit.

Now we are settled in and enjoying our gifts and food. Baby brother has had plenty to say as he is actively kicking and rolling in my belly. We just had our 28 week checkup and all is well. Just the finale third trimester to get through and he will be here. Time is flying by.

Ellie and I spent the weekend with my parents. Our main objective was to visit with Grandma and Grandpa and the Cousins. I also wanted my Mom’s back up for a Christmas project I’m working on for Ellie.

We made plans to go to the American West Heritage Center in Cache Valley where they had different events such as tea parties, train rides, pony rides, Father Christmas, and a live nativity. On Friday afternoon we had a little tea party with just us girls. It was fun and we had a little lesson about manners and learned a little bit about life at the turn of the century.

On Saturday we went back with the boys and Uncle Jon to enjoy the train and pony rides. Ellie surprised me by getting right on the pony with out any hesitation. In the past she has been extremely reluctant to do such a thing but this time in the company of her cousins she was fearless. They also had a live nativity with a donkey and a goat. Unfortunately the donkey and goat were resting when we went on day two but we still dressed up the kids and got the picture…

Ellie also really got into helping Grandma with some of her Christmas treats. She was very focused on unwrapping some chocolate kisses for her

I didn’t complete my Christmas project unfortunately but I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did without my Mom’s help. It will just have to be a New Years Present instead…

Tags: Christmas

Yesterday we received a pre-Christmas package from Bada and Papa. Let me tell you it was met with much enthusiasm. I wasn’t sure about opening the box at first but then I found the card with instructions explaining that it was a pre-Christmas surprise. There were specific instructions for Ellie to share the shaker with her baby brother and let him hear all the fun too. It arrived just at the right time. Ellie and I were starting to get some winter blues after being “home bound” for a few days due to our latest snow storm. Now we have some fun stuff to play with until Christmas is really here. Whew, so here is a bundle of videos to show Bada and Papa just how much you made our day. Thank You!!!

There are some more on my flickr page if you are interested too. Enjoy

It’s snowing and snowing and snowing. Started yesterday and I don’t think it’s going to stop until tomorrow. Of course Gary got the powder fever and got up early this am to make the trek to Alta for the frenzy. All I can say is that he will be coming home to a job of work because it is building up out there. Ellie and I went out for a hot minute to get some fresh air. She didn’t last long kept saying “go home”, but she did manage to get her share of freshies.

And then there are the things we find ourselves doing on these snowy home bound days. Oh the fun!

Tags: Snow Storm

We had a week full of fun Christmas activities including a train ride on the “Polar Express“, Gingerbread Houses, and getting our Christmas tree. It was a busy but very fun week.

First up the Heber Valley Railroad provides a nice little Polar Express ride during the holidays. We enjoyed Hot Chocolate and cookies, a reading of the Polar Express story, a beautiful moon light view, Christmas Carols, and Santa of course. Our neighbors joined us for the adventure. I’m really glad we did this Ellie and Zak were in awe. It was a good first interaction with Santa for Ellie. He was kind enough not to scare her too much and offered her a jingle bell. When he had to leave she kept saying “bye bye Santa”.

Next up we teamed up with our friends Jen and Zak to make Gingerbread Houses for the Midway Cottages for the Children Fundraiser. They came over Wednesday evening and we built our little gingerbread neighborhood. Zak and Ellie helped for a little while but then decided playing and running around was more interesting. So it became a Mom project. It turned out pretty good. The next morning Ellie checked it out for a while with big eyes naming all the gingerbread animals we scattered around the cottages.

Finally, on Thursday we picked up our Christmas tree. We were particularly excited because it is our first little family Christmas Tree. Getting a tree and decorating it was one of the little events I was really looking forward to this year. I did missed decorating the tree Marcoccia style late into the night with the scratchy old record player. I was worried we wouldn’t have enough ornaments or lights for it but it turned out just right thanks to what we have collected over the years from family and friends. Ellie got right into it hanging up bells and ornament, enjoying hot chocolate, and dancing to the Christmas music. It was a good night in our wee little home.

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Tree, Gingerbread House, Polar Express