Cute Cookie Chef.

Sonnet and I made Christmas sugar cookies last night. She had so much fun making the dough, rolling it out, and cutting out the shapes. She didn't want frosting on them, but she's been eating them all day, so they must have turned out good! My kitchen was a mess afterwards, but I LOVE my little baker. :) And you know I'm always up for cookies. :)

Dear Santa,

Sonnet wrote a letter to Santa Claus and it's really cute. She asked me how to spell everything, but she wrote it herself. I just love her little handwriting! Then she glued trees and stars and hearts all over it. We put it in an envelope and sent it up to the North Pole! :)


This year she wants:
-A talking Jessie doll (from Toy Story) that's "big, but not the really big one."
-A Ken doll and a Barbie doll. "The ones in the wedding clothes."
-A kid's digital camera that she can "use whenever I want." She's always taking pictures with my camera and while she does a pretty good job, I'm always afraid she's going to drop it.
-A sandbox for the backyard so she can "think she's at Cannon Beach."

She said she got tired of writing, but she also wants:
-A basketball hoop for the backyard.
-Dress up clothes.
-A Barbie coloring book.
-"Lots more Barbies." Haha.

Good Luck, Santa.

A Blue Christmas.

Most of you know that I do a different "theme" for our Christmas tree every year. I know that sounds crazy, but really, I don't spend a lot of money and it's just a fun tradition for me. I save my decorations in color-coded bins (yep, I just admitted that I have different bins for red, blue, green, silver, black and white, and pink decorations stacked in my shed) and I use other cheap stuff that I find around the house as decorations.

This is our 7th Christmas together. The first year I did a black and white "wedding" tree (with wedding bells and little suits and dresses). The next year we were pregnant with Sonnet and we did a "pregnancy" tree (with pickles and ice cream and EPT's). Then we did a pink "Sonnet's first Christmas" tree (I loved it!). The next year I did a "JOY" tree. Once Nate finally got hired on the fire department, we did a "fire" tree (I think that one was my favorite). And last year, I repeated the "JOY" tree because I loved it and I was too lazy to think of something new. For this year, we decided to do a "blue" tree in honor of the baby boy we're about to have...

When we found out we were having a boy, we asked Sonnet what she wanted to name him. She said "Lucky." (I know, it's clever, but it sounds more like a dog's name, yeah?) So I told her to think of a name that starts with an "S." She came back a little while later and said she had "the perfect name." She said, "My favorite color is blue, but not dark blue. I like sunny blue [she means light blue, but she calls it sunny blue] so I think we should name the baby Sunny Blue! It starts with an S!"

Now, that is clever. We are not naming the baby Sunny Blue, but I was pretty impressed with her for coming up with that name. It does start with an S and it has some meaning to her. Very cute. Sonnet still insists that she is going to call him that when he comes out, but she said Nate and I could call him a different name if we want. So, we've been using Sunny Blue as a nickname for the baby.

Which means, a Sunny Blue Christmas tree seemed very appropriate for this year. Sonnet was SO excited to help decorate it! She pulled all the blue ornaments out of the blue bin and organized them into groups. (She's very Monk. She's my child, she can't help it). She was dancing around the house all night long and she hung every single ornament on the tree (I may have spread them out later when she wasn't looking). It was fun to see her get so excited about Christmas! And of course we're all excited about Sunny Blue...

Thanksgiving Station.

Nate had to work Thanksgiving Day this year, so Sonnet and I went to the station to celebrate. All the families came and we had a big spread. Sonnet loved running around with all the other kids and the turkey was seriously amazing... I ate LOTS. Surprisingly, the crew didn't get called out once while we were there, so we actually got to hang out with our firefighters. LOVE.

I'm grateful for a lot of things, but most of all, I'm thankful for my little family... Nate and Sonnet and Baby Boy.

Nate is just a superior human being. (I know, who says things like that?) He just really amazes me with how truly good he is. What you see is what you get. He works hard. He's steady. He's honest. He's loyal. He's kind. He's fun. He always has a good attitude. Plus, he's HOT and he makes me laugh. I'm thankful he puts up with me. So much of your happiness in life depends on who you choose as a spouse. I chose very wisely.

I'm thankful for Sonnet. She is funny and smart and brave and sensitive. She makes me laugh. She makes me see the world differently. She teaches me patience. She encourages me to be creative. She surprises me. She gives my life meaning. I am SO thankful that she is healthy. What a big responsibility it is to raise strong, righteous children. I already feel like her spirit is more mature than mine, but I do my best to guide her everyday. I am thankful that she is mine.



And I'm thankful for the baby boy bouncing around in my belly. (Seriously, this kid is SO active. I really hope he's not this hyper when he comes out!) One way or the other, I am thankful that he is on his way. I'm thankful that we are adding another member to our family. The timing feels right. I'm thankful that my pregnancy has gone smoothly so far. I am thankful that I am about to have another child to snuggle and play with and teach. I can't wait to meet him.

Today, life is very good. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.

That Face.

I'm 28 weeks along now! Third trimester... two thirds of the way... 7 months. Oh my gosh! Can't wait... totally terrified... very grateful.

We went to have a 4D ultrasound tonight. We did one with Sonnet when we were 28 weeks and I loved it. It's just so cool to peek into the baby's world and see what they're up to in there. And obviously I wanted a glimpse of my little guy's cute face.

At first, we got A LOT of this...

And this...

Apparently, my son is camera shy. He's also super wiggly. He would not hold still for anything, but we did manage to get some shots of his mug. LOVE.











Oh my gosh, I just want to kiss those cheeks!!! What a good Thanksgiving present.

[And he's officially still a boy].

4.5

Sonnet is officially four and a half today. I would like to say more than that, but right now I'm too lazy. Let's just say that she is hilarious and wonderful and kind and we adore her. And I really wish she would stop growing up.

Hot N8 is 28!

Nate had a birthday! Our gorgeous, funny, tender, hard working, World's Best Daddy, hunk of a man is now 28 years old! We celebrated with lots of Dr. Pepper, lunch at Firehouse Subs (you get a free sub on your birthday there and they are yum!), and then Nate and I went on a date. We were going to go bowling since Nate loves bowling, but Sonnet was sad that we were going without her, so we ended up at Outback and then spent an evening together enjoying our kid-free house. :) Today, Nate had to work, so Sonnet and I took cupcakes to the station. We love our Nate so much! He is such a GOOD man and we are so grateful he is ours. Happy Birthday, Nate!!!

26 Week Ramble.

I'm 26 weeks along. Yeah, baby. I've been feeling good. I panicked at 24 weeks because all of a sudden I felt gigantic and I thought 'if I keep growing like this, I'll be a whale!' But things seem to have normalized again. Not much has changed in the last couple weeks, which is nice seeing as how I still have a while to go. I don't feel huge... yet.

I'm told the baby is about 14 inches long at this point and weighs just under 2 pounds. He can hear my voice (poor guy) and his lungs are starting to inhale and exhale amniotic fluid. Wow.

When I was pregnant with Sonnet, I had a pretty "easy" pregnancy as well, but I remember having horrible sciatica for the last few months. The right side of my whole lower body-- back, butt, and leg-- would just seize up and ache. Nate would rub my lower back once in a while and I would just cry because it felt so good to get some relief. Well, it's struck again. On the right side, again. I spent all day yesterday whining about how my back and the back of my thigh hurt so bad... I'm sure I was a joy to be around. Poor husband.

Anyways, I'm happy to be at 26 weeks and I'm grateful that everything is fine and dandy so far. I can handle some butt pain. It's a good excuse to lock myself away for a hot bubble bath every night.


I don't really get the "nesting" thing... just because I'm constantly in a state of wanting to organize/clean/decorate something whether I'm pregnant or not. But once I fell in love with that retro cowboy fabric, I definitely got the bug to work on the nursery.

Our house technically has two master bedrooms with an open loft in between. The loft has windows and a closet, but it needs an entire wall added before it can become an official bedroom. I really wanted Baby Boy to have his own room. Sonnet's room is already full (and it's pink!) so I just didn't feel like having them share. Besides, NO ONE would get any sleep with the baby in her room.

Knowing me, the baby will probably spend the first three months of his life attached to my side because I just can't bear to put down a sleeping baby, so he doesn't need a nursery, but I love to have a designated place to hang up clothes and store toys and change diapers... plus, I needed a new decorating project. :)

We were using the loft as an office/craft room/library, but over the last few months, it hasn't been the bustling center of activity that it once was. So we decided that we wouldn't mind turning it into the baby room. We moved the books downstairs, put a little desk in our bedroom, and moved most of my craft stuff to some shelves in the garage. Then we pulled the crib out of the garage and unpacked the baby toys. And then it sat there...

Until, yesterday. I bought some paint and went to town. The room started out with one red wall and two brown walls. I moved things around in my craft room so often that there were about a thousand holes in the walls. I'd thrown a bunch of junk in there and just ignored it. It was quite the sight.



I spent last night and most of the morning, painting and wiping stuff down and organizing all the cute cowboy stuff I've managed to acquire already (mostly for free!). I've got my brother's old cowboy boots and Nate's old hat and a horseshoe from my dad's favorite horse and an old tree stump... and, well, it's going to be cute!

I went with a kind of a steely blue color for the walls. It looks a bit purple in the pictures, but in real life it's just a denim-ish, vintage-ish color and I really like it. I tried the Behr 'Premium Plus Ultra" paint for the first time. It's the one with the paint and primer in one. I was covering a super spotty red wall and two chocolate brown walls with a relatively dark color and I did not feel like doing multiple coats. It's about 9 bucks more per gallon than regular Behr paint, but it was totally worth it! I'm a believer. One coat and I was done. It was one of the easiest paint jobs I've ever done. And I've done lots.

Anyways, I have about a zillion things I still want to do in this room (like, build a wall!) and I'm sure I'll subject you to lots more pictures as the project progresses, but for now, I'm happy that the walls are painted, the furniture is clean, and I have a nice organized list of how I plan to spend the time and money I don't have in this room. :) Haha. LOVE.



And finally, in the spirit of November and Thanksgiving (which happens to be my favorite holiday), I've been feeling grateful lately. So, I shall gush about and embarrass my favorite people...

I'm grateful for a husband who is just amazing. I swear, I congratulate myself everyday for picking such a nice guy. He's just honest and good and hard working. He's loyal and kind and funny. We laugh at the same things. He makes me laugh. He's down-to-earth and he's fun to be around. He looks for ways to help others. He always puts Sonnet and me first. He is patient with Sonnet and has tea parties with her every time she asks (which is a lot). He slept a total of 2.5 hours at the station last night, but still came home and helped me finish painting the nursery. He brought me some food he knew I was craving (and we all know I love to eat). He runs a power drill like no one's business. There's never been a project I've asked him to do that he didn't know how to do. He's smart and he can figure stuff out. Even the dog adores him. He's got good muscles and gorgeous eyes and I'm pretty sure I could snuggle with him every second of every day and still want more.

And then there's my kid. Right now she is laying in her undies on the floor next to me playing with her barn set. She's talking about milking cows and putting the milk in glass jars and keeping it cold in the fridge. Haha. :) Every once in a while she takes a drink of her Capri Sun and says something crazy to me about a disney princess or what holiday is coming up next or how Pop Pop told her you can't feed goats Milk Duds, only carrots or lettuce or leaves. :) She just cracks me up. I swear her brain is working all the time. She is so curious and creative and even though she talks so much she drives me insane, I LOVE the things that come out of her mouth. I love that she is my little friend. I love that she's healthy. I love that she ran into my room naked tonight after her bath and shook her butt at me for a good 3 minutes while we all laughed hysterically. I love that she knows how to lasso Blaze with a rope and that she wants to play dress up every single day and that she just recently decided that she likes pumpkin seeds and peanut butter with "no chunks." I love that she comes in my bed every morning when the sun comes up and snuggles with me for another couple hours of sleep. Waking up to her little face is enough to make even ME enjoy the mornings.

That is all. The end.

Hula Girl.

Sonnet playing dress up... again! :)