I gave out my number

Wow, this kid is currently having a disco dance party inside me, it almost hurts! He has been much calmer this whole pregnancy than Riley ever was (please be a mellow baby, please be a mellow baby), I think this is the most I’ve felt him move. At 30 weeks Phil has yet to even really feel him in there! He kicks Riley all the time because she lays and climbs all over me, but so far she’s oblivious.

Have you noticed I’m pretty bad at updating here? Yeah.

Tuesday at playgroup was a very exciting day for me, I had my first phone number exchange! We’ve only been going there a year, now, geez. I told Phil I think she really liked my friend Andrea more and felt sorry for me, but whatever 😛 Tuesday was actually a really good day. A lot of new people have been coming to group who I really like and look forward to seeing, I had a new outfit and even dug out some earrings (since I’ve reached that "feeling fat" phase) and got a lot of compliments, and my child who is usually velcroed to me actually played across the room most of the entire time! There’s one girl in the Tuesday group she really gets along with – they hug and kiss and feed each other snacks and talk their secret toddler language while pointing out various things. It’s really adorable. Then the new girl invited my friend and I over next week and I was super excited! Then Thursday I was talking about how anxious I am about what to do with Riley when I go into labor and one of the Thursday regulars gave me her number and said she was available all day any day if we get in a bind. I thought that was so nice. Her daughter is Riley’s Thursday friend, they don’t get along AS well, but still tend to play together every week.

I’m kind of annoyed because I spent $$ on a punch card for music classes – we went one Saturday and she LOVED it. Like clapped and "yay"ed and asked for more after every song. So I made the commitment and every class since she’s miserable. She doesn’t want to dance, the first few songs she buries her face in my chest, I don’t know why she suddenly hates it! We’re going to try tomorrow morning again and see if having Phil there makes the difference (her and I have been going alone on Thursdays). It doesn’t help the classes aren’t capped and there have been a ton of kids there. She’s more reserved and stresses when I try to rush her to the front to get bells or sticks, but if I let her wait until everyone else goes she doesn’t get any and then she cries. It really makes me sad, the only reason I got the punch card was because it seemed to make her SO happy and now I just feel like I’m punishing her.

We actually talked Tuesday about her seeming fear of other kids. I didn’t get much reassurance other than "It’s okay if that’s who she is". It’s not okay to me! I was that shy little kid and it breaks my heart a little seeing her when she’s like that. I know it could very well just be a phase, too, but when we’re home she’s such a hammy, ridiculous funny kid. We were at the mall play place last weekend and it wasn’t even that crowded, but it was like she panicked any time a kid came up behind her on the slide and would rush back down the ladder, even if she was more than halfway up, and let them go first. And the kids weren’t being pushy, she just got nervous because they were there.

Of course I’ll love her no matter what her personality, I was just hoping she would get Phil’s outgoing/social gene.

She does, however, LOVE art projects, cooking, and reading. All things I loved when I was little, and still do with the exception of art lol. My science brain took over that part of me too much. Lately all she wants to do when we’re home is read, which I’m totally okay with since I’m usually tired and unmotivated 😛 We did make "cookies" today – I use quotes because I’m not sure it can really be a cookie without sugar – and she made a mess playing in the honey and peanut butter. She then spent an hour, yes an hour, playing with a bowl of water, paint brushes, and cut up sponges. I gave her some colored paper to "paint" with water and she was totally into it. The girl loves getting wet! Late last week I brought some snow in and gave her some squeeze bottles of colored water to paint it with. That also lasted about an hour. It deteriorated into the snow getting saturated, then her dropping it all in her warm water hand bath and then trying to pour THAT back into the pan. The kitchen floor was very wet, but I love seeing her explore like that. I also love Pinterest for all the great ideas because I have no creativity at all.

I’ve been super motivated for spring planning recently. I’m trying to get Riley’s birthday party (May) pinned down so I’m not stuck trying to plan it last minute with a 4 week old at home! I’ve also been trying to loosely plan Easter dinner. It’s 2 days after my due date so I told my folks baby or no baby we’re not traveling. It sounds like they’re going to come down here instead. I’m slowly collecting new (no mess!) art supplies for Riley and putting together little activity bags of new things for her to do while I’m nursing and whatnot and very soon I plan to start freezing stuff for Crock Pot meals. I also have Pinterest to thank for that one. Instead of cooking a bunch of food and freezing it I’m just going to chop the meat and veggies and freeze raw to be ready to throw in the pot and cook all day. I’ve also been bookmarking stuff for Riley’s big girl room *sniff* even though we probably won’t transition her until mid to end of summer. Baby will be sleeping in our room awhile so I don’t feel the need to rush that just yet.

Overall I’ve been more productive and attentive to my child than I probably give myself credit for. The days I’m really tired or don’t feel well (I’ve got the 3rd tri nausea off and on this time!) I usually put her to bed at night feeling like I failed and wondering how I’ll ever feel like I’ve done enough for both her and the baby once he’s here. But I know people do it all the time and we’ll survive. You have no choice once it happens, I suppose! I fear for my sanity at times.

I’m really excited for tomorrow. After music we’re going to IHOP for breakfast AND the local cupcake shop has two flavors I’ve been dying to try on the menu, so I’m really hoping I can get one of each. People tend to line up in the morning, but they have call ahead ordering now, so we’re going to try. The alkie in me really wants a lemon drop and a Guinness cupcake 😛 Then I have to work, which is less fun. Oh well.

I haven’t posted pictures in a long time!

She loves, like loves, that hat. Half the time she wears it all of playgroup!

Her cheese face lol

I want that camera, Ma

Snow painting!
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Spinach smoothies

My belly from 2 weeks ago, start of 3rd tri