How to Have a Great Beach Weekend

1. Go for walks

2. Spend quality time with family

Including some girl time 

3. Get to the beach! Be safe!

4. Spend a lot of time in the water! This is Lyla's "Surfboard."

5. Dig on the beach... get as sandy as possible.

6. Take a ridiculously long beach nap.

Bringing Back Newborn!

So yesterday I got out Lyla's first bin of clothes I had packed away, containing all the itty-bittiest baby clothes... size newborn!  As you probably could guess, I am getting things ready for BABY DOS' arrival. It feels like every time I turn around, the day is 3 weeks closer. How is that happening?!?!? We have only 12 weeks left! Maybe even less! Maybe more, although I don't like to think about that. 40 weeks is plenty, thank you!

Anyway, I was feeling really nostalgic pulling out all the newborn outfits. And Erik and I were both in shock at how small they looked. We couldn't believe that our giant almost-2 year old wore that teeny, tiny dress home from the hospital. We are always saying, "Remember how small Lyla used to be?" Well now here is the tangible evidence of how small she REALLY was and how much she has grown. It really brought us down memory lane... "This was Lyla's coming home outfit." "This was my favorite sleeper!" "Lyla was wearing this when she first laughed!" As a parent, there is always this heartachy, bittersweet feeling about your babies growing up.... one stage is gone and past and you know you'll miss it SO much (except for the Terrible Two's I'm guessing..), but there is even more to look forward to as they grow up.

So while it was a bit sad holding that evidence of time passing... I couldn't help but think about how much fun we are having now and how proud I am of my little baby, now growing up so fast!

And I just kept getting more and more excited about the big day, meeting our new daughter! There are so many outfits I just can't wait to get out and use again! We also bought her some new clothes of her own and a coming home outfit. She really doesn't need a lot, with an older sister and three older girl cousins, but it's nice for her to have some stuff to call her own! Not that she'll really notice now haha.

Lyla is getting really excited about the baby! I noticed that if I call her "sissy" she gets more excited than if I'm talking about her new "sister." Wording is everything! Lately, she likes to lift up my shirt and throw a ball to my belly. She says she and baby are playing catch! It's so sweet! She also got to feel the baby kick the other day! So excited, so in love with our little family!

A Day in the Park

We'd been taking advantage of the 'cooler' days and spending lots of time outdoors!

We usually bring a ball (or two) to kick around. Lyla loves to kick. She loves to watch soccer. There's a soccer field right by our parking lot and during the year, we usually stop and watch for awhile if there's a game going. Now, a lot of people still come to play pick-up. Lyla gets upset because she wants to play, too... so we don't always end up watching for too long. 

And yes, poor Lyla has an ouchie on her face! One of the difficult things about your baby growing up is that they run around all over the place and sometimes wipe-out. Lyla recently face planted in some bark chips at the play ground.. poor girl! But I think mommy was more upset about it than her!

27 Weeks!

I think I have to check my planner to see how far along I am every couple of days. It's so funny because with Lyla, I always knew exactly how far along I was and what was happening with the baby in each week. I guess there just really isn't that much time to sit around thinking about how many weeks I am! And time is literally FLYING so that makes it really hard to keep track!

Without further ado, some bump pictures!

And some Lyla funnies/cutesies from the week!

1. Lyla and Erik were pretending to be bears one day, crawling around on the ground together. Now Lyla likes to be called "Bear," "Little Bear," or "Baby Bear." Mommy is also a little bear, and daddy is BIG BEAR! GR!!!!! Sometimes I'll ask her a question, and she'll say "Bear." And then I have to re-ask the question but address her as "Bear" instead of Lyla! Today she also woke up from nap and I heard her in her bed going "Grrr, grrr, grrr."

2. Lyla has been much more excited about the baby! She "reads" to the baby and sings to the baby all the time! She mostly sings "A B C D, A B C D, A B C D!" 

3. Today we were at the park by our house when Erik called to say he'd be home in five minutes. I told Lyla that we had to go so we could see Daddy! And she said... "Daddy home now!" And then in a whisper, "Oh my! Oh my!" It was so cute! 

Big Mommy Lessons

As we are slowly coming up on the arrival of our baby girl, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the things that I've learned as a mom. What will I do differently in round two? What wisdoms have I gained that will make this time easier?

First big lesson is this: There is not a wrong or right way to be a mom.

I've found that being a parent can be laden with insecurity. There is always someone who will say that you're doing it wrong, you're not doing enough. Why else would "mommy wars" get so out of control? Why do moms have to be in each other's business anyway? Pretty much for every decision you make, there is someone out there saying that it's wrong.  So many moms are naturally on the defensive about certain issues, and others are almost militant about their parenting choices. Hence mommy wars. Breastfeeding v. formula feeding, circumcising or not, vaccinating v. delayed vaccinations v. not vaccinated, homeschool v. public school, cloth diapering v. disposables, Baby Wise v. Dr. Sears... the list goes on.

Before Lyla was born, I read and read and read and read because I wanted to be the BEST mom and do everything the 'right way.'  I had zero real life experience with babies and felt that the only way to figure it all out was to study up. The result of all this reading was general confusion on a lot of parenting decisions and some insecurity when Lyla was born. Although I pretty much decided to ditch the books and magazines, I still felt that nagging sensation in the back of my mind.. "You're not doing good enough.. You're doing this wrong."  It was overwhelming (baby blues).

But I eventually realized that there is no RIGHT way to do anything. There is only the best way for me and my family. Who cares what so-and-so next door is doing or those people in that magazine you'll never meet or see in your life. I felt so much more relaxed and at ease and it has really shaped my outlook as a parent. In that way, I hope things can be easier this time around. We are the best parents we can be, and I know that now.

Second big lesson: You don't have to get everything done every day.

This one is pretty self explanatory. Prioritize. Certain things can wait. Sometimes it's better to just have a day of one-on-one baby time and clean later. Memories aren't made doing the dishes!

Not a big lesson, but this is one thing I'll do different... Don't cut your baby's bangs! They were getting in her face so we chopped them off. Now we wish we just let them grow out because they are STILL getting in her face! We'll let the next baby's take their natural course.

Best and Worst of Parenting

Some of this week's bests and worsts moments.

Bests:
1. Listening to Lyla sing! She can pick up little snippets of songs she likes, and she has started going "A, B, C, D... A, B, C, D...."

2. Lyla has started entertaining herself a lot more and for a lot longer. This means I can do some housework, or more likely, rest on the couch for a bit. I feel like this is so important with another baby on the way! I just love watching her work hard at something on her own or come up with a new way to do something!

3. Lyla has always been very in tune with people's emotions, and if she thinks you're sad (and you aren't a bearded stranger), she will give you a big, big hug. Sometimes a kiss. Today I was feeling sick and lying on the couch. Lyla kept saying, "Up mommy!" And I told her I felt ouchie and if she built something with her blocks I would feel better, just to buy myself some more lay down time. She got her blocks out and built me... I'm not sure.. but something that was "pretty" and lived in the "ocean!" And then she said "feel better!" It was so cute! And she is always hugging her stuffed animals and making sure they're okay! It's so sweet!

4. Yesterday Lyla and I baked cookies!!! She had so much fun and was such a great little helper! She dumped in the ingredients and stirred them up! She even tried to ball up the dough, but she just started flinging it everywhere because she couldn't get the dough off her fingers. Overall, a fun and messy experience! She was so proud to eat some later! "Baked it mommy!"


Worsts:
1. We're in a hitting phase! It's hard when your child isn't playing nice. She gets overwhelmed easily, and if she's tired, she will be more likely to hit.

2. Carrying Lyla around in the awful heat on my big belly. Talk about uncomfortable. And it seems like the more I'm carrying, the more persistent Lyla is about being carried! If I don't have anything else, she is totally fine with walking.

25 Weeks & Remembering to be Thankful

I sometimes read a pregnancy board for women due in October 2012. It is rarely helpful, as it has really turned into lunch room, middle school drama. I won't get into it, but imagine 15,000 hormonal, pregnant women with nothing in common, aside from being pregnant, hashing it out over every little thing ever.

Anyway, one thing that I'm constantly reminded of from this board is to be THANKFUL for every day I am lucky enough to carry my baby girl in my belly. So many miscarriage announcements, so many premature labor announcements... It is easy to sit around and complain about my aching butt and back, or moan about how I thought my nausea went away 10 weeks ago.... and then I see a posting on the board about how a mommy delivered her baby at 23 weeks and held her baby girl until she took her final breath.  These announcements make me emotional for hours, but more than that, they remind me that every day I am pregnant is a blessing. Each day, our baby grows a little bit more, has a better chance at life.  So even though some days can be difficult, I am trying to complain less and remember to enjoy the beautiful thing that it is to bring a baby into this world!

BUMP PICTURES!