Update on California

Looks like you guys might be able to vacation sooner than we thought! Lane found out today that we're probably going to move right to California and not make the pit stop in Cherry Point, North Carolina. I'm sad because I have some friends who just left here to go there, and Lane's cousin is there right now. I was looking forward to making the drive up to DC to see the area, see friends from Virginia that are still there, and hang out with Lane's sister and her family who are moving back some time sooner than later. All those plans that I've imagined are thrown out the window to make new ones!

I do have friends out in San Diego also, so we'll be able to see them sooner. And actually, I think there are some people who we were going to miss by just a hair if we had gone to North Carolina, so this will work well so we can see them. I'm also glad to be going without a pit stop because now we know that Baby #2 will be born in California and I won't have to change doctors twice towards the end of my pregnancy. I also won't have to travel all the way across the country at 8-9 months pregnant! Oh the small blessings in life cannot be overlooked, that's for sure!

If I get more "news" I'll keep you updated, but for now you can just call me your California Girl!

Need A Vacation?

We'll have a perfect vacation spot for you before too long! Lane got called into a spur of the moment meeting yesterday and he found out that we're going to be moving to San Diego! This move will take place after another quick move. The quick move will be to Cherry Point, North Carolina, but we're excited non the less.

There are three Marines who are in Lane's winging class and there are three locations of C-130 squadrons. At the meeting they learned that they were going to be sending one of the Marines to each of the squadrons. That meant that someone was going to Japan. There was a part of me that wanted {and still wants} to go to Japan for the adventure. I think it would be fun, I think it would be interesting, and I think that it would be for three years and then they bring us back. However, at this point in our lives, it just isn't the right timing for us to make the trek half way across the world.

Lane had the highest score that determines within the Marines, so he was able to get his first choice for location. Ever since going to San Diego, he's been wanting so badly to go back. He talks about San Diego all the time and he always says that he wishes he could take Eden and I to see the area because it was so beautiful. He's getting his wish and he's going to get to live it for a few years now.

So, if you need a vacation, we'll have a great place for you to visit and we'll make sure to have a room and fresh linens ready for you.

Pee Pee

Did you ever think you'd read so much about Eden and her eliminations?! Ha ha, well, this one is worth writing about, so you just have to deal. Eden peepeed on the potty!!!!!!!!!!! She sat down on the potty across from me going potty and we sang and we read a book. She wanted me to write the letters p and t on her magnadoodle toy.

As we were reading one of her books she said peepee and so we took a peek. Yes! There was peepee in the potty! I clapped, I cheered, I let her wipe, I let her flush, all while she stared at me like I was insane! I was so proud of her and she had no idea what I was so happy about. She kept looking at me like, "yes, we talk about peepee on the potty all the time and I did it, why are you so happy?!"

So there you have it, Eden went peepee on the potty and I would love to keep this up.

Action!

Today, Eden's "pobby" saw more action that it's seen in the past few days. After the first 2 days of the "pobby" being new, Eden kind of lost interest and stopped asking to go. I thought this might happen, so I wasn't too discouraged by it. I just kept asking her if she wanted to use it and went with whatever answer she gave me. If she said no, we just changed her diaper and went about our business. If she said yes, we would sit on the "pobby" and give it a go.

The "pobby" is still as clean as it was the day we got it. She's yet to use it, just sit on it. Today when we were walking back from the mailbox {we didn't get the mail yesterday} she squatted on the sidewalk, stood up and said "poop" so I knew she was back into the swing of noticing when her diaper was filling up. After we were home it wasn't long before she asked to sit on the "pobby," so we tried again.

Today was the first day ANYTHING has happened on the "pobby." Don't get too excited, she didn't actually use the "pobby," but, she did poot on the "pobby!" I guess I shouldn't get too excited about this, but it is the only thing she's done on it!! I might be making it up, but I'm thinking she knew she had to pass gas and that she wanted to sit on the "pobby" so she could use it.

Needless to say, I clapped, said good job and we celebrated Eden's accomplishment {and Eden turned to look to see what she might have left behind}. I am one proud mamma! I never thought I'd be proud of Eden for passing gas, this is a whole new level of proud for me!

Playmates

Today we had friends over for me to babysit and for Eden to play with. This afternoon I had 4 girls here and we enjoyed an afternoon of fun!

Eden on the phone while A sports her awesome purse and L plots how she's going to get the phone back from Eden!

Such excitement!

Eden and A travelling through the tunnel.

L finally got the phone and decided to camp out in the chair until her mom came back. Out of sight, out of mind so Eden would forget about the phone!

I know, I said there were 4 girls total, but S was great at noticing when the camera came out and she avoided it very well without me noticing! Oh well...next time, I'll get her!!!

Oh, Baby!

Well, Baby #2 is giving me heartburn just about every day. Since I have a constant reminder that Baby #2 is on his/her way I decided to share with you some pictures to get you {almost} as excited as we are! I'm not sure it's possible to be AS excited as we are.

Yes, yes I did. I took the intelliGender urine test at home. I just had to when I ran across the test and saw that it was only $7! I'm curious to know if it's right...we'll see in a few months.

The first of the bump, though my clothes aren't getting tight yet - August 19, 11 weeks, 4 days.

Finger Paints

Eden and I decided to change up our "regular" schedule and do some finger painting this week. She loved being able to get "dirty" and then splash in the water to clean herself off. When she dipped into the paint the first time she tried to eat it because of getting to "finger paint" with pudding a little while back. I only had to correct her once, and then we made some great masterpieces!

Getting started. She started truly as a "finger" painter and only used one finger to paint...

So happy to be messy.

So she made herself more messy!

Admiring her messy hands, not too sure about it.

Cleaning off in the bowl of water outside.

The girl loves water, loves being outside, and loved painting. She was on cloud 9!

Her works of art!

Say "Cheese!"

August 13 - My picture with our *dirty, dog-hair-covered* rug. The rug was the "inspiration" for the bird colors.

August 14 - Nugget, standing at the back door, waiting to come inside. This is the shadow I see every morning. Ginger's too short to cast a shadow, but she's standing there right along side him. They don't like the Texas heat any more than we do!

August 15 - Eden's pillow pet couldn't stand being washed 2 days in a row. She got sick 2 nights in a row and everything in her crib had to be washed. It was too much for the lady bug, so we had to say goodbye.

August 16 - I let Eden feed herself yogurt for breakfast. It was a big step for me, I don't like the huge mess! She loved it, so I gave in.

August 16 - She did a good job. She did make a mess, but she was happy and fed, so that was an accomplishment. 

August 16 - I painted Eden's fingernails and she loved looking at them! She noticed mine, so we painted hers and she sat still and watched the whole time.

August 16 - We also painted her toenails to match Mommy's!

August 17 - Eden loved her evening walks and her sunglasses were a hit tonight. She likes the "fa-wos" on them, even though they aren't flowers, they're starfish.

August 17 - What a pretty little girl!!!

August 18 - Eden got to paint for the first time today.

August 19 - We had friends over to play and we got out Eden's tunnel *which she hasn't seen since moving here* to play with. Big hit with all the girls!

15 Days!

I was so worried when Lane and I first started talking about trying to get pregnant with Baby #2. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to enjoy pregnancy this go round like I enjoyed it when I was pregnant with Eden. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy time with Eden as much because I was trying so hard to enjoy my pregnancy. I was worried about balance in general! But, boy was I wrong. I think this is God's way of teaching me that my love, my time, my efforts, and everything are going to work out and all balance each other out even with Baby #2 on the way.

As summer is winding down, and Lane is finishing up flight school, and we're preparing for another vacation for Eden and I, and another move is right around the corner, I've found that I still get excited and count down the days until my next milestone with Baby #2. Just 15 short days and I get to go to the doctor again! This is so exciting for me because I will get to see Baby #2 again - I think. I'm expecting that the doctor will do an ultrasound because the last one was simply to confirm that the heart was beating. Nothing was recorded from the ultrasound and therefore I feel like she'll do another one. I am also excited about the appointment because I will be in my 2nd trimester! I can't believe it is going by so fast.

On the same day as my doctor's appointment I get to leave with Eden {but, sadly, leave Lane behind} to go to the beach with family for our family reunion. I'm excited to see family and I'm really excited about the opportunity to enjoy some down time that includes fun in the sun! Eden's cousins on my side of the family will be there and I know it's been at least 6 months since they've seen her. They will be shocked at how much she has changed. I'm not even sure if she was walking the last time they saw her.

So, the next 14 days will be fun, but I feel like they will drag on because I'm looking forward to day 15 for so many reasons!

Oh What a Night

 

Last night I had the opportunity to go out with a friend of mine that I originally met in Florida. I love it when the military brings us all back together! Lindsey's husband is also in flight school, but with the Coast Guard. We've been going to the same church and our families have become closer since being here in Texas. I've enjoyed getting to know them better. That's why I was super excited about going to Tipsy Canvas with Lindsey to paint another masterpiece!

Lindsey, myself and some other moms were talking about getting together and going to Tipsy Canvas for a girls night out one day soon. Lindsey took the initiative and looked at the calendar and saw a painting that she wanted to do. Luckily, Lane didn't have any flight school events this weekend, so it was perfect timing with the painting that Lindsey wanted to do. I enjoyed spending the evening with Lindsey and having the opportunity to have adult conversation without looking over our shoulders to check on the kids.

Last night the painting was of a bird on a branch and I knew I could make it work for my house. The original was a blue background with soft colors for the bird and flowers. Most of my house uses warm tones, so I just changed it up the colors and made it work for me!

The original picture that we painted, provided by Tipsy Canvas.

The start of my painting.

Lindsey's picture is the blue one in front of mine. If you look in the background, you'll see that everyone had the same, but different pictures - pink, browns, green, blue, purple. The end products were so much fun.

 

The transition of the bird. He was light yellow with a burgundy belly - ew. We decided that based on the earth tones in the rug in my living room that I should change him, and now I love him {even if he is fat!}

Our finished products. I love that all of the pictures in the same class end up looking so different even though they're they same painting!

Crayons

Crayons, how lonely they must feel

Stuck in that shaggedy old box;

But when someone uses one

How beautiful that picture becomes

Oh, crayons what a beautiful thing they can be.

                -Parker Travis

My brother wrote that poem when he was in early elementary school and my parents have had it framed in their house for years now. When I decided to tackle the project you're about to see, this poem came to mind and I wanted to include it somehow. I tried to cut the letters out using vinyl and my cricut dicut machine that I use for scrapbooking and making cards, but the letters didn't stick to the wax, so I think I have to scratch the poem from the project. He'll be happy about it because he wasn't excited about me using it anyways. In fact, when I asked if I could use it, he said, "you would really embarrass me like that?" Anyways, I saw this project online and loved the look of it. Take a look, see what you think!

I got a new canvas and a new box of 64 crayons. I layed the crayons out in color order that I wanted to use on the canvas and I got to hot gluing them onto the canvas.

Then I heated the crayons so that they melted down from the wrappers. I first tried the sun, but the heat wasn't direct heat and it didn't melt the crayons to the point that they were dripping. After the sun failed me, I got my hair dryer AND sat in the sun blow drying the crayons for about 20 minutes until I was happy with the way the "mixed wax" looked. There were a few times that I was going to stop because some of the crayons were completely coming out of the sleeve {just keep an eye on the ones you're heating directly}. The hotter the crayons are, the better they drip. I also found that heating the "body" of the crayon, and not just the point of the crayon provided better results.
A few notes to those of you who may get crafty and try this out:*When blow drying, make sure the canvas is as horizontal as it can be so the wax drips easier. *Make sure the hair dryer is pointed straight on the canvas, not at an angle because the wax will splatter in different directions instead of dripping straight down. *The longer you blow dry, the more the colors will mix together. When you start, the colors will not mix, but just drip straight down, give it time! 

Enjoy your craft time! I'm going to hang ours above Eden's coloring table in the living room {with hopes that I can put her coloring table in it's own room with her toys upon another move}

Big Girl

August 9 - This is what Eden wanted to do ALL day. She was miserable and we never did figure out why. She was over it the next day.

August 10 - This is one of Eden's favorite songs right now. She also loves "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "ABCs,""Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to name a few. Singing is one of her new favorite past times.

August 11 - She loves sitting at the table with us.

August 12 - Eden was walking around with a crayon and when she came back around she had a green mouth. So much for when she used to tell us "no, no, no" about eating the crayons!

On to the real good stuff! Eden has been telling us "poop" a lot recently. Ever since the bathtub incident I've  been taking her comments a little more seriously. I've been asking her each time she tells us, if she wants to sit on the potty. Recently her comments have transitioned from "poop" to "pobby" {or potty} so we've done a lot of sitting on the potty without much success.

The other day she cried when I put her on the potty, so I knew I had to figure something out, and quick, before her willingness to try fizzled and gave way to fear of the big potty. Today Lane and I gave in, we got her her very own potty! We put it in the downstairs bathroom because it is the easiest bathroom for her to access - right off the living room where most of our day at home is spent. Since installing the new potty, Eden has sat on it at least 3 times without pants and a diaper on, and many many more times with her clothes on. She's very excited about the potty, now we just have to get her to use it!

Please note: I still think she's too young to be potty trained, but she's showing signs of being ready, so I'm starting, but not pushing the issue. We will probably sit on the potty once or twice a day at my request, but stick to sitting on the potty mainly when Eden requests to go "pobby."

Pizza Night

Last week a friend of ours left for their next duty station, so Eden and I went to their house to go "grocery shopping." The movers will not pack anything that is liquid, and of course anything that is left over in the freezer or refrigerator can't be moved either. One of the things they had was pizza dough, and we took advantage of having the dough last night for dinner.

I spread out a trash bag on the kitchen table and let Eden play in some flour so we could press the dough together without having the dough stick to our hands. At first, she was a little unsure about playing the bowl of flour, but she got the hang of it. She loved being able to play with the dough, and she actually did a very good job helping me press it - when she wasn't pinching off pieces to sample. We used our hands and we also used the rolling pin that we have. She loved it! I was excited to figure out a way to have her help make dinner because that's usually when she's most grumpy.

We topped the pizza with pepperoni and cheese and tossed it on the baking stone to put into the oven. I turned on the light so Eden could peek into the oven and help me keep an eye on it while it cooked.

When I told her it was time to get the pizza out of the oven she opened the drawer that has the oven mitts and put one on to help me. She touched the refrigerator while I got the pizza out and then stood and watched me cut the pizza, all the while saying, "is-ha" to remind me that it was hot because it had just come out of the hot oven!