Cowboy Karson

In 3 short days...

...my little cowboy...

...will be...

 TWO YEARS OLD!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Life.Rearranged for InstaFriday.

It is upstairs. In our room. Next to my bed. I am in Heaven.

It is my absolutely favorite piece of baby equipment.

I was in it when I was a baby. Next to my Mom's bed.

Now I only have  45 more days until my due date.

Forty-Five more days until she is laying in the cradle, next to Mommy.

She is allowed on the couch.

She isn't supposed to be on the chair.

Unless, Karson shoves her off the couch yelling "down!"

Then  I find her curled up on the chair.

Karson was born 3 weeks early.

I was not prepared...at all.

I didn't have my house ready, I wasn't prepared.

So I am really trying to be ready...as ready as I can be this time.

Like-cleaning out my pantry, and having it packed with Karson food.

Organization makes me happy.

My baby is sick.

He had a fever for 6 days.

His nose was running like crazy, his throat hurt so bad he wouldn't swallow.

Then the coughing started.  Coughing so hard he was gasping for air & making himself throw up.

I thought he was getting better.  Then I found him like this.

My kid gets up when he wakes up, and stops running around when he goes to bed.

Poor baby did not feel good!

 And then the next day I found him in the exact same position.

He slept for 2 hours in the chair, while I locked Moll in the bedroom with me so she wouldn't bark.

He loves to watch youtube videos of Signing Time, Monster Trucks, and Trains.

I can put a youtube video on DJ's tablet, and Karson will hold the very edges, so he doesn't touch the screen.

He has been watching a lot of movies while he has been sick.  Yesterday, he insisted on putting the laptop on the floor, to watch Signing Time.  I can't blame him.  I love being able to lay on the floor too. ;)

A clean kitchen makes me happy.

Too bad it never stays this way for long.

A good reminder to put above our baby's pictures in our bed room.

DJ helped me make it yesterday.

He was feeling a little bit better yesterday, and wanted to help me clean the kitchen and diningroom.

He sprayed about half the bottle of water on the window...and then took a 5 hour nap. :)

Sister's Room

We have 3 bedrooms in our new house.  All of them down the same hallway.  I told DJ last night, how much I absolutely LOVE walking down the hallway and seeing two kids rooms.  It always catches me off guard.  Soon I will have two babies! 

This summer, right after we found out Karson was going to be a big brother, I got a magazine from Pottery Barn Kids.  I fell in love with this bedding set.  What I didn't love, was the price tag.  Eek!!  We went back and forth on what to do.  We could just get the bumper and crib skirt, and it would still be less than buying a whole set, but still more than what I wanted to spend!  So I set out to find a white bumper and crib skirt.  Do you know how hard it is to find a plain white bumper?!  They don't exist.  Unless I want to pay $200 for one on Etsy, or buy the PBK one.  A few months ago, my Mom and I were out shopping after one of my ultrasounds, and we found a cream bumper, extremely reasonably priced.  I decided it would work, and we started searching for a crib skirt to match.  They don't exist either.  Then while we were walking though the extremely unorganized isles at Burlington Coat Factory, I found a WHITE bumper, that was identical to the one I had just bought...but it was WHITE...and $5 less!

Still need to go through the house and find some 'trinkets' for her shelves. 

 

The next task was to find a crib skirt.  They really don't exist, so my fabulous Mom agreed to make me one.  Off to the fabric store we went, and we found the perfect white dotted swiss to use.  It turned out absolutely perfect, and even better than the ones on Etsy for $200.  Plus, Nana made it which makes it even more special!

it looks pink in the picture, it is white

Along with making Sister's crib skirt, my Mom made her a blanket.  She found this tutorial on Pinterest, and it turned out perfect.  Karson calls it Sister's "Nana 'B'" I can't wait to wrap her up in it at the hospital!!  

I had planned on keeping Sister's room just shades of pink, white, and brown; but after I saw the blanket in there, I decided I wanted the pastel colors too.  My Mom is also going to sew her name, to put above her crib, in pastel shades of pink, purple, and yellow. 

The dance pictures in my room at my parent's house.  DJ repainted the frames and mats to match the walls.  I absolutely love them!!  We have the picture of the tap shoes in our living room too.  It is one of my absolute favorites!  I have the stuff to make a sign to put above the pictures, that says:

 "Twinkle Twinkle little star.  Do you know how loved you are?"

Her crib...

This is Twist.  She was my first doll when I was little.  

I love that she is in my little girl's crib!

Now I just have to wait a little over 6 weeks for her to arrive. :)

Cutting Veggies

I love...

 ...when I catch him...

...playing on his own...

...when he doesn't even know...

...I am watching...

...and taking pictures.

Did you know...

...cutting a tomato...

...can be very hard to do.

33 Weeks

I am 33 weeks today!  I told DJ last night, that I finally feel ready.  I got out of the house with my Mom for a few hours on Saturday, and picked up the last of the items we needed on my list.  The cradle is set up, her room is {almost} ready, her teeny-tiny {pink} clothes are all packed and ready for her to wear them at the hospital, her diapers are prepped.  The only thing left to pick up on my list is white long sleeved Carter's onesies, and curtains & blinds for her room.  My Mom is sewing her name to put above her crib.  I have the fabric picked out, I just have to go to Hobby Lobby and pick it up.   I also have a few signs to make for her wall, that I am hoping to finish this week.  A sneak peak...

I will post more later this week.

Some pregnancy highlights:
*I had a doctor's appointment last week.  Everything is going well.  Sister is measuring small.  I had Karson with me at my appointment, like I always do, and my dr. asked how big he was when he was born.  He was 7 lbs 6 oz...at 3 weeks early.  In other words, he would have been huge if he came full term. :)  My doctor did tell me to slow down a little.  No more trips out of town, and no more chasing a {almost} 2 year old around a water park when I'm sick.  :)

*I have no idea how much weight I have gained...I choose not to pay attention. :) 

*I have said from the beginning of this pregnancy, that sister rarely moves.  She moves so much less than Karson ever did.   She still only moves a few times a day, but when she does....OUCH!  Sister kicks HARD!  She usually moves when I sit down during Karson's nap time, and when I lay down to go to bed.

*The last week, my reflux/heartburn has been making me miserable.  Especially after dinner.  I have been trying to be careful what I eat, but it doesn't seem to matter.  I made homemade ginger ale last night, and felt so much better.  I had about a half a glass with my dinner.  I thought I was going to have to gag it down, but it is really good.  I just really like plain ice water, and am not a huge fan of carbonated drinks.  Not sure if I felt better because of the ginger ale or what I ate, but I will definitely be keeping it in the house!!

*I have started nesting.  Karson and I cleaned out the pantry today, and we cleaned our bedroom and rearranged some things over the weekend. 

*I am starting to stock up on ingredients to freeze as many dinners as I can.  I plan on freezing meatloaf, spaghetti bake, manicotti, burritos, Grandma's chicken (family recipe-so good!), bbq pork, chicken and biscuits...and anything else I can think of.  Any more ideas?

*I still get charley horse.  They hurt.  If I can eat enough calcium/potassium in me it seems to help.  They are annoying!

*I can not wait to have both of my babies in my arms!!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Jeannett for InstaFriday at Life.Rearranged

We spent the beginning of our week at Great Wolf

I am a safety nut Mama, and although we didn't ever use his life jacket, I wanted it along in case my crazy little boy decided to get too brave in the water park.

Luckily, he wanted to hold Mommy or Daddy's hand the whole time.

He sure is cute in his life jacket though!!

Nana and  Bumpa got Karson a pack of 'Choo-Choo' books for Valentines Day.

He read them the entire way up to Great Wolf.

Until he fell asleep...still holding on to the choo choo book.

Every night at Great Wolf, they have a Clock Tower Show and story time.  

Karson loved it.  

But oh my word, he was so, so tired!!

Sign of a successful vacation?

When your {almost} 2 year old looks like this the entire 3 hour drive home.

Exhausted the morning we got home from Great Wolf.

He wanted a banana.

He wouldn't let me help him open the banana, he insisted he could do it himself.

So he bit it open.

Goof ball!

 He woke up while I was making his birthday decorations.

...which is in LESS THAN two weeks.

He had so much fun helping with the punches!!

We have a chocolate lab.

That is a white fluffy dog.
Obviously not our Molly, or as Karson has renamed her "Wowee."

I have no idea whose it is, but it was in my back yard yesterday.

 I am pretty sure we have a sign only visible to dogs that says "play area for all neighborhood dogs."

We had pancakes for breakfast at Aunt Katie's on Wednesday.

They were yummy, so I tried to make them yesterday.

Not only did they turn into 1 massive pancake but I burnt them.

I must have messed up the recipe, because the ones I could salvage weren't even eatable.

Or Karson dumped baking powder in them while I wasn't looking.

they all found their way to the trash.

Bummer!

Karson's Cookies

I came down with a cold last week.  

A nasty, crummy, keep me from sleeping, make me feel awful, cold.

Combine that with being 31 weeks pregnant with an {almost} 2 year old...

I was one exhausted Mama.  

Who did nothing more than lay on the couch...all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Karson was so good!

He slept in, took a 3-4 hour nap, and let me lay half asleep on the couch all day.  

...as long as I played 'choo-choos' with him & kept his sippy cup full, he was a happy kid!

By Friday I was starting to feel bad about not doing anything fun with him.

Especially since he had been so good!!

So after I laid him down for a nap, I took a few sticks of butter out of the fridge to get soft, and decided I would muster up the energy to make cookies with him when he woke up.

Karson loves to help me bake & cook!

After his 3 1/2 hour nap I asked him if he wanted to make cookies with him. 

He was so excited!

We went to the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients from the cupboards.

...and then I realized I didn't have a white flour.

I only ever use wheat flour, but if I'm making sweets, like chocolate chip cookies, I like white flour. 

Or any chocolate chips.

I pulled out the wheat flour, found a bag of m&ms from the back of the cupboard, set Karson on the counter and decided these cookies were going to be about the process of making them...and not how they actually tasted.

After all it was supposed to be a fun activity for Karson.

Who was thrilled to have a bag of open m&ms with in his reach.

Every time I looked, he was sticking another m&m in his mouth!

And when I wasn't looking, an egg mysteriously landed on the kitchen floor....

 ...someone snuck a few more m&ms...

...and dumped an extra 1/4 cup of sugar into the bowl...

...and a few extra...tablespoons or so of vanilla.

Then he proudly stirred up his cookies.

He helped me put them on the pan, and signed 'cookie' over and over again until they were done.

And when they were done, we enjoyed our very sugar-y...very vanila-y Whole Wheat M&M cookies.