38 weeks pregnant yesterday! I've got to tell ya, this pregnancy has been less fun than I anticipated. I admire those women who love being pregnant (yeah, they're crazy). I just love babies. I wish I could just be like a hamster; pregnant 16 days, pop out 8 kids, and then I could be done! However, if I have to be pregnant, then I'll take it if I can have those precious little babies.
It would be this week that Adelaide decides to get a cold. I have been sanitizing and washing both our hands more and staying away from all the sickies in Rexburg. There are PLENTY. Addy won't even be able to come to the mother/baby unit to visit me because of RSV. It's pretty scary to think about. We are praying that we will have a healthy baby quickly so that I can get back home as soon as possible and see Addy. I am going to miss her overnight :( So we are staying home. And not playing with other kids. Tuesday the 5th! Less than a week away!
Monday, Addy and I got out her bag of balls and tunnel. She thought it was hilarious to be in there with every single ball. Every time one would roll out, she would say, "uh oh" and demand that I put it back in. I have been really enjoying my mommy and Addy time the past couple of weeks because I know that soon our daily routine will change and I'll miss just being able to give her all my attention all the time.
This is me trying to convince Addy to eat her lunch! She wasn't into it, probably because her throat was hurting. But she was very into talking...She gets that from me :)
This week I will just be cleaning and praying for my water to break :) Everything is ready for baby. We could not be more excited. I am excited to have a delivery with an epidural. And hopefully a shorter one, which I think is pretty likely seems how this baby is so much lower than Addy was and my body already knows what to do. I am also looking forward to having my new doctor deliver her. I really like him and think he'll be a million times better than my last. Come on, Baby Ellie! We wanna meet ya!
We had another fun filled week! Every day with Addy is a party! She is always so excited to play and learn. She really got into the snow! She has been loving it lately, and I have been taking advantage of the hour that she keeps herself entertained while mommy can just relax and follow her around!
"Tree, tree, tree" she was saying.
Loved her little footprints in the untouched snow.
Following her true love :)
We really wore her out! Here she is sleeping Saturday :) She always has a foot through the bars. She hasn't gotten stuck yet. Knock on wood!
Daddy let her eat her own red vine. She loved it! She was kind of touchy Saturday, and when we turned from our tidying up to look at her and saw this mess, we both busted up laughing. That hurt her feelings :( But it was too cute not to get a picture of. This girl cries the biggest tears I've ever seen!
Saturday, we got some major snow. And the wind made drifts all along or back yard and garage doors. They looked way cool, but they are so deep! I was worried that we weren't going to be able to get the van out for church Sunday and Scott was away at work all day, so I took it upon myself to shovel the driveway. I should have taken a picture. I got half of it done myself! That is a HUGE driveway. And shovelling that much snow was hard work! My belly must be too big because upon bending to scoop the snow, I ripped my coat! (I wasn't too sad. That's the nice thing about D. I. I only paid $5). It was hard work, and my arms were sure sore, but the rest of me felt great. If that didn't put me into labor, nothing will!
Addy got this hat in her Valentine's day package from Mimi. It frames her little face so cute!
Stepping into the snow. The first thirty seconds of an hour long journey. I finally decided she had to go inside, whether she liked it or not. She did NOT.
We learned a new song! Here it is!
Addy has found a new fascination in Photo Booth...so we had some fun while Daddy was working. She thought some were funny, and some, she kept grabbing her face just to make sure it was still normal! lol
She got very excited to see hearts :)
A video of Addy finally saying "mimi" (what she calls my mom). She must have missed her while they were on their cruise! Enjoy mom :)
Anyway, a week away from our baby! A week and a day, to be exact. Unless of course I go early. Which I doubt. We are so excited to meet her!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! We had so much fun! It was fun to have Addy and to watch her reactions to the different things we were doing. I had the house clean, other than the usual dishes for nap time, so we got to play all day. I love my little valentine :) The day started out with my wonderful husband bringing me breakfast in bed. I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I tend to stay in bed with the heating pad on my hips while he gets ready. It was such a nice surprise! Here is my plate :)
And his lol. I thought it was cute that he would eat the crusts :)
This is Addy with her dolly from Grandma, which she actually got on Tuesday because I opened the package while she was sleeping and left it on the table for her to climb up to and get into herself. The doll has buttons and snaps and zippers for Addy to do, but her favorite part is definitely the crown, which she calls the "hat"
In one of Addy's books about being a big sister it talks about painting nails, and I thought it would be fun to paint Addy's pink for Valentine's Day. She hasn't had them done in quite some time because she is NOT one for holding still, but yesterday, she was golden. Just let her sit on the table and play with the finger nail polish (both things she is not supposed to do) and she sits still like she was born for it.
This is her playing with the polish while I was painting my nails...which took a while...cuz I'm kinda fat...
Pretty princesses all painted up and ready for our baby to get here ;)
Then we made rice crispy treat kisses for daddy. His mommy used to do it for him and he liked it, so I decided that was a Carter tradition I would adopt :) Addy made him a card and even colored it for him. She was so funny when I was tracing her hand. She thought I was coloring on it...so she tried to copy me. Luckily crayon doesn't write on skin :)
At this point, Addy needed a nap. Afterwards we continued playing beauty parlor and getting ready for our daddy date that night. I did her hair all fancy, and she sat very still with her doll and her comb while she did her baby's hair.
Ready for our date with Daddy! We missed him while he was working :)
I have a "Dora the Explorer" addict. I hate the show. It drives me nuts. But the first time she watched it she learned how to say "map" and "backpack" and "oh, man!" and so I let her watch one a day. Sometimes two, if I really have to get something done. After that, this momma is DONE with Dora :)
Next, we got out the blocks. She LOVES her blocks. However, she doesn't build towers. She would rather look at the picture on every block. She only has a few left to learn. I took the opportunity to teach her what another picture is, and she was very excited about it! There's a video down below.
This is her face when, in the midst of all the blocks, I asked her where her belly button is. She was slightly confused...
Until...
"There it is mom!"
If you wait until the end of the video, you get to hear her say, "I don't know!"
Next, we got to eat a chocolate swirled cookie. And there, in her mouth, is a candy heart from her grandma package.
This is her new trick. She stacks her lawn chairs and climbs on up...I'd better not leave any knives laying around! She wanted that baggy of candy!
And then, Scott got home and shoved me out the door for a milk and butter run. He told me he'd have dinner ready when I got home. I had put this table cloth on during the day, and he had bought another so he replaced it. He said that Addy got so mad that he ended up switching them back. Silly girl! He bought me a watch and necklace and the lovely plant. Dinner was salad (yes, my husband planned a veggie into our meal) and Texano burritos from a little Mexican place in town. I love those burritos! He couldn't have picked something better!
Addy must have been starving, because her table manners last night were abhorrent. She was screaming at me (though she was saying "bite!") to feed her! It was so funny! Then, Scott got one of his rice crispy treats and she kept yelling, "Please, please, please, please!" until we figured out what she was saying and got her some :) Here is a video of her blowing out the candles. She had been waiting ot do it all through dinner. I should have gotten her blowing out the first bowl, she was much more excited, but this video is still pretty cute :) She loved the smoke!
We have been outside just about every day since the last time I blogged! Addy is such an outdoors girl! She loves running and walking down the street. She loves seeing the horses down the street and touching every mailbox. She loves playing in the snow, and eating it. She love, love, loves her hat from her aunties :) It's her favorite part of her entourage. She HATES going back inside. Saturday, we found out that she also loves to shovel snow! It was a warm day and Scott decided it would be a good idea to get the five inches of ice at the start of our driveway while we could. Addy ran into the garage and wanted a shovel. Luckily, we happen to have one her size :)
Here it looks like she's being forced to labor away for her mean, cruel parents. It looks like an advertisement that might say, "For just 5 cents a day you can sponsor a child like Addy and save her from the monstrous adults who force her to labor for free." However, those are the angry eyes I got when I told her to stop for a minute and smile at mommy...
I saw a quote somewhere that said, "I didn't know how much I loved your dad until I saw how much he loves you." This is so true. Watching Scott with Addy is so amazing and awe inspiring. I love watching him teach her new things (even when it involves throwing blocks or opening doors) and I love the light in his eyes when she runs to him upon getting home from work. I love when she wants him instead of me (even though it breaks my heart just a little). Addy and I are SO blessed to have Scott for our husband and daddy. He was made for us :)
Sunday she got to wear her Valentine's day dress from my mom. I have had this dress since last February, when my mom bought it on sale. I have been SO excited to put her in it. It was the cutest thing ever! I put her hair in two pony tails that I twisted under to make knots instead of letting them stick up. Scott's response was, "It's a big girl hair do. I don't like it" lol. She is starting to look so grown up! I have put away all her twelve month outfits and gotten out the 18 month size. I've put away all the size 4 shoes and gotten out her size 5's. Ellie needs to hurry up and come so that I'll be okay with all this!
Love her mouthful of teeth!
This week, Addy gets to meet Uncle Shane the returned missionary. We so badly want to be there when he gets home, but at 36 weeks pregnant, that isn't something we can do. So we'll have to webcam him for a long time and let him meet Addy and see what an amazing little spirit she is. We can't wait to see him in person!
I am learning so much as a mom. I am learning that being a mom is not just taking care of kids. That I can do. That's easy. I can change a poopy diaper in 20 seconds flat. I can feed a kid without getting a single drop on their too-cute-to-mess-up outfit. I can bathe a child thoroughly and make them smell like heaven. I can do laundry and clean up messes (though I don't like those things lol).
However, being a MOM is so much more than that. Since I've had Addy I have learned that I can love that little spirit and body more than my own life. I can be patient with her while I'm dying of strep because when she smiles at me or says a new word, it makes up for the blocks thrown down the stairs and the pots, pans, oven mitts, towels, cereal, etc all over the kitchen floor. I can learn more about the Savior from spending an hour with Addy than I can doing ANYTHING else. I can make mistakes, and do frequently, but I can start again tomorrow. I can teach Addy to be everything she wants to be. I can teach her about Jesus and prayer and sharing (though I'll admit the last has required me to do quite a bit of the second).
Being a mom is the best thing ever. It's the thing that makes me the most happy. When Addy does something new or says a new word, it's the new best thing that has ever happened to me. The last two weeks have been so fun. She is starting to learn so quickly. She is starting to do everything I do. She is also saying all kinds of new words. She can name every picture on her alphabet blocks, and you can actually understand most of them! Last week we mastered umbrella (umbewa). She loves to brush her teeth and apply fake-up. She loves to brush her hair and her doll's hair. She loves to rock her baby, pat her baby's back, poke her baby's eyes, and undress her baby. She is starting to be so smart she's naughty (pushing chairs to the counter and getting into stuff for one example). Today she bit me because I told her I had to use the computer for a minute instead of reading a book (had to see if my package from Deseret book had shipped). I was so proud of how I handled it! I wanted to flick her mouth but I didn't :) I picked her up, told her we DO NOT bite mommy, and put her in her room for one minute with the door closed. When I went to get her, she was playing. So I said, "Addy, we don't bite mommy. Do you understand?" She smiled at me, so I returned to researching my package. She came out of her room, touched the wet mouth mark on my shirt and gave it a big kiss, saying, "Muah!" I think she learned the lesson :) And, honestly, even if she didn't, I would let her bite me again just so she would kiss it better!
I can't wait to have another sweet baby girl. Three weeks and three days is NOT soon enough. Everyone pray I just go into labor before then! Because being a mom is truly the biggest blessing in my life. Okay, I'm hopping off the soap box, but I just had to share how blessed I am and express my eternal gratitude to Heavenly Father for trusting me with his children. Have a good week all!
