GIRLS WEEKEND!!!!

Benny was gone this past weekend on his annual 'Guys Trip' with his best buddies. Considering that Mimi and I literally wait for him by the back door every night to greet him when he comes home from work like golden retrievers, I thought it'd be hard to have him away for consecutive days.

Instead the weekend turned into a time just savoring Mimi and doing fun things with her. It really showed that attitude plays such a part in parenting. If I think I should be grumpy/tired/worn out, then I probably will act that way. We just made every moment special, and I've never had so much fun with Mims!

Day 1 started with a trip to Denver. We visited a favorite store where we purchased a Butterfly Nursery to watch the life cycle of a butterfly! Mimi has become such a naturalist lately (as most kids are) and I love fostering her curiosity. Plus, who am I kidding? I'm still playing teacher,  just to a classroom of one :) We may or may not have started a "Science Journal" and I have sentence strips pasted all over the house. We also had "Berenstain Bears Day" yesterday in honor of the books with various activities. I'm holding myself back from teaching her "Zoo Phonics" because I don't want to spoil the fun of preschool/kindergarten (but you know I'll be super excited to sing along with the Zoo Phonics song when she comes home singing it.. ;)

Then we met Ali for lunch and got to catch up with her...A fun, very "girl" treat for sure!

Here's the wonderful Gelato afterwards:

That night we also made a huge pillow fort and watched a movie. Instead of racing to get Mimi into bed, she was my little buddy. We stayed up WAAY past our bedtime (which of course as any parent would know didn't necessarily translate to a later wake up time..drats!)

Day 2 was filled with a morning trip to Mickey D's for breakfast. We found the best play place by far and spent at least an hour there, as the only customers in the spot. Then we went through a car wash. I only include that detail because the fun that came from that menial task was priceless. It reminded me of how fun the world of a 3 year old is...everything is new, everything is exciting and a thrill. Here's to living for quarter toy machines and car washes!

The evening was spent at Bob and Robyn's, cooling off in the pool, eating heavenly burgers ala BT and kicking up my feet in the backyard while Mimi played with Oma.

Day 3 we spent the day at home and then drove to Nana and Rodger's house for a "spend over" as Mimi coined it. It was also to be with my cousin Gabe who was up for the weekend too! We had a blast hanging out in the backyard- Mimi learned to ride her little bike/tricycle, played with all the dogs and even shot some baskets (thanks to the new hoop from Nana and Rodger!!! SPOILED!). The next morning we went to breakfast at Snooze in Fort Collins with the gang (plus Gabe and Calvin..I just didn't get a picture). I had been wanting to go for a loooong time, and it didn't disappoint! 

Toast and fruit for a hungry girl (mimi, in case you were wondering. But I was hungry too!) right away provided by the attentive hostess, a very cool waiter named August (almost made me second guess OUR name for baby...) a free house pancake of the day (chocolate, caramel and sea salt), a FANTASTIC menu and food and even a roaming balloon lady who pulled out an Ariel balloon that was AMAZING!

Then Mimi and I went to the Clothes Pony right down the street. (Our five minute stop turned out to be for at least 45 minutes as I tried to restrain myself from pulling out various plastic cards from my wallet and Mimi "shopped" with a real little cart and had tea parties with girls she'd made friends with). I was in SERIOUS FoCo love all day...what a great place to be :)

Then we got home to see this guy:

We were sure glad to have him home!
Here's to our "Girls Weekend!" 


(although I wouldn't complain if the next girls weekend was without play places, toy stores and animated films. Maybe Mama will get to play a little sometime soon.. ;)

Baby

Dear Baby Boy,

Listened to this song on repeat over and over today and couldn't not think of you. xox

Love, Mama

"Belong" Eddie Vedder

I'm falling harder than I've
ever fell before
I'm falling fast while hoping
(you'll) I'll land in your (my) arms
'cause all my time is spent here
longing to belong
to you

I dream of circles perfect
eyes within your face
my heart's an open wound that
only you'd replace
and though the moon is rising
can't put your picture down
love can be frightening when you fall

And when the time is right,

I hope that you'll respond.
like when the wind gets tired
the ocean becomes calm
I may be dreaming but I'm
longing to belong
to you

***

I Don't See Candles...(yet!)

WORD OF THE DAY:
BIRTHDAY!!!


No, not because Mimi's birthday is today (or even in this month, or the next) but because talking about it/planning it/dreaming about it is her newest fixation.


For example:


On Sunday, when I went to pick up Mimi from Sunday School, the sweet volunteer teacher asked, "is it Mimi's birthday tomorrow?" (I had to tell her no, that it was TWO months from Monday). 


Literally on the hour the subject comes up-who's coming, what they are going to bring her, what we are going to do (the latest request is that we let go of a million lit lanterns like in "Tangled"...that may be taking this princess persona a bit too far...don't you think? Maybe all of the costume and crown-wearing has gone to her head).

We play "birthday" where she wraps something up in her blanket and has me unwrap it, then we switch. Very entertaining.


AND..


Lastly, ANYTHING she sees, she requests it for her birthday. I mean ANYTHING. Which makes shopping/watching TV/going to someone's house/reading difficult and exhausting.

So, I've taught her to do what I do when I want something from a store. I usually pull out the ol' cell phone camera and snap a picture. That way, I feel like I sort of took it home, or I will remember it for when the budget allows...it's therapeutic for sure.

On one particular day in Target (with Nana and Rodger) that strategy seemed to help. Here's Mimi's photo roll of birthday wishes:

So there you have it. Mimi's birthday wish list (during that hour).


****

Swim Lessons

Mims just finished her last class of swim lessons for this session. She loves the water. Ever since she was 9 months old we've done some kind of class at the Rec Center during the summer (thanks to her swim-passionate Grandpa, BT). This class was the first that I wasn't in the water with her. It was fun to play mom on the sidelines (and I even made a new friend! :)

The first day of lessons, Mimi wore her frilliest, coral bikini and had pigtails in her hair. Watching her walk away with her swim teacher and the group of kids was a special moment for sure. So far she loves being away from me and seems confident about trying new things and meeting new teachers. She also likes making friends. 

Here are some photos from today:

Afterwards we always find a bench to sit on and have a snack

(I do also want to state for the record that when I pulled these shorts out of the swim bag for Mimi to change into, she informed me that they were "for boys."  I had to point her attention to the pink flowers embroidered on them, and remind her that they were hand-me-downs from her GIRL cousins before she would put them on. There may have been some bribery with gummy bears as well.) It's rare for me to be able to pick out ANYTHING that she wears. It's ALWAYS a dress (and it's sometimes even the dress that she wore to bed the night before!) These are the battles I'm not willing to pick! At least she is getting good at dressing herself! :)


After swimming we went to see "Despicable Me" at the Twin Peaks mall during their $1 kids day. She really really loves that movie. It was a good day of fun things with my girl!

35 Weeks

YIPPEE for every number that starts to feel closer to 37!!! Which is closer to 40!!!!

Not much has changed except the size of this belly. Still chugging anti-heartburn meds (one in the morning, one in the afternoon), sleeping well (if you don't count the amazingly slow process it takes to change positions in the middle of the night) and waddling with the best of them.

I have started to feel the urge to get "my house in order." I'm addressing Mimi's birthday invites, organizing my recipe binders (not sure exactly what that has to do with anything) and feel like eventually packing a bag for the hospital and lugging up all of the baby paraphernalia (ie. swings, bouncy seat, pack 'n play, etc...) up from the basement. It's probably too early for all of this, but the distraction gives me something to do instead of counting the hours and days until the next week's mile marker. (Plus, at this stage, who knows when there will be energy and when I will turn into the Bride of Chucky! ;)

And speaking of the "Bride of Chucky," this stage of pregnancy brings to mind a clear as day picture of a mom that I used to know. I met her and her cute brown haired girl, Katie, at the pool I worked at towards the end of her second pregnancy. She waddled to the pool regularly, and I quickly became their steady babysitter. I spent Tuesday and Thursday nights at their house helping out/babysitting Katie while Anne got other things done (her husband was also getting his masters). All was well throughout the months I spent with Anne (mom) and Katie (2 1/2 year old) until one fateful day. 


I came knocking on the door as usual and was greeted by a COMPLETELY different person. Anne came to the door looking like she had been run over by something large and violent. Her hair, normally cute and styled was tousled and she could barely keep her eyes open enough to let me in.  The third trimester had gotten the best of her. She had hit the "Miserable Mark." This is the picture I will forever have in my head of a woman who's about to give birth (and with an almost 3 year old in the picture). I really didn't have an appreciation for what Anne was going through the whole time I was babysitting for her, but now as a mom who's been through morning sickness, cranky 2 1/2 year old's fits, the desire to just grocery shop by yourself, etc...I can relate so much better. I'm doing okay, but let's just say I wouldn't mind having a "mackenzie" (or some equivalent) show up at my door every Tuesday and Thursday evening to play with Mimi while I do things around the house or go run errands...

Let's just hope that we can stay positive to the end (and I don't permanently scar any young college girls in the process).


Little baby boy has his head down (at least that's where the hiccups have been coming from lately) and is still moving and stretching out lots. I definitely feel like he is wedged into my hip area, which I guess means he is low. The sweetest thing about him is that he wakes up at the same time every morning (regardless if I'm moving around or not)..it's usually around the 7 am hour. It's so fun to feel like he has a personality and habits all his own already!

Waiting...

Mom's Day Out

Here's my Monday in pictures.


This first:

Ahhh...

Then this:

 (special parents and "expectant mothers" parking...LOVE IT. Whoever invented it has my heart. Way to make a big waddling woman feel VIP! Although now I'm feeling bad taking that from a mom with multiple kids and strollers, seeing as I didn't have mine with me and I was just literally going up the stairs. But still...very rockstar)

Had a healthy lunch here:

(but truth be told was still RAVENOUS after my healthy salad...)

Ate while looking out onto THIS view:

(sort of..just imagine a parking lot and some cars a bit in front of it, but you get the idea!)

Then I fulfilled the long-time craving of frozen yogurt...

I had cheesecake yogurt with raspberries and pound cake pieces. Now you want some too, don't you? ;)

This place was right next to Mad Greens...it felt like a divine intervention. I've been googling frozen yogurt places for a few weeks now. This was after I loaded Mimi up into the car to go to the only TCBY I knew of in Twin Peaks Mall. Only to find that it had just moved! (This was after Mimi and I had to pass through the wall of quarter machines...AND I had to carry her most of the way screaming).  I was so in with the "frozen yogurt" movement that I've been tracking a grand opening of one in Loveland so that I know where the closest yogurt places was...you get the idea. That's why angels started singing and I busted out the cell phone camera when I took my first bite. In silence, none the less, because....

... Mimi was here:

with the fabulous Aunt Kate!!!!
What a DAY!

******