Spontaneous Snow Day!

Isaac suggested that we take Lucy on a trip to see the snow.  The day was perfect: MOPS in the morning, nap, SNOW!  It was a great plan with one fatal flaw: we told her we were taking her to the snow before her nap.  Naturally, she did not nap.  It worked out well, though, because we got there at the warmest point of the afternoon.  

Lucy does well in the car -- for about 20 minutes, then the requests start rolling in: she "needs" Elsa ("Let it Go" on the stereo), she "needs" to eat, she needs to be out of the car, basically.  To keep her busy, we have a boogie board that lives in the car for such occasions. It usually buys us about 20 minutes of happy toddler, which may not seem like much, but is an eternity in toddler-land. 

Just look at that concentration!
Color, comment, erase: repeat. 

Trying to find "snow clothes" when seven months pregnant is not the easiest.  Lucy was born in December, and I was working full-time, so my wardrobe consisted of dresses and pajamas for the last couple of months. ha! I wanted a picture before I put on my "Michelin Man pants" and too small jacket -- quite the juxtaposition!

Checking to make sure I was following them. 

She wasn't as keen on posing for this picture as mama was to take it. haha! Oh well! 

Dearest LuLu, this is snow.  It's cold, slippery, beautiful, and SO FUN in small doses!

This picture makes my heart sing!  The daddy-daughter moment, experiencing snow together, and then that SHADOW! Heart. Melt. 

Apparently the ski runs are closed on Mondays-Tuesdays at Snoqualmie.  Perfect! 

Mama will always drop everything for a snuggle! 

Big pants, tiny jacket, HAPPY girls! 

When you don't have a sled, you improvise and realize your ski pants are quite slippery! 

Why run after your independent toddler when you can SLIDE? 

Girl is all about the puddle stomping! 

I turned my back for two seconds. TWO. SECONDS.
Clearly whipped cream was too much temptation! 

How can I refuse this face? 

He has my heart. My whole heart. 

Dear hand, you spoiled the best shot of the day! Oh well!  Love adventuring with him!! 

A Belated Birthday Date to Target

Last night Lucy and I had a special date.  We went to McClendon's to visit daddy at his second job, then I told Lucy we'd go to Target and get a special treat.  We still had her $10 from GG Pat for her birthday.  Since her birthday falls right before Christmas, she was inundated with new things and I thought it would be best to wait a little while before spending her birthday money so she'd appreciate her gifts more.  

Mama sprang for popcorn "pah-corn" as Lucy calls it.  She felt like such a big girl with her snack setup and a water tucked away in the cart.  

Since she's not quite old enough to set loose in the toy department, I guided her selections, still allowing her to make some choices along the way.  We perused the Frozen aisle, looking at all the fun Anna and Elsa merchandise, then went for some play-doh.  I also let her pick between a cup, a plate, or a bowl with Anna and Elsa on it -- it was a tough call, but the cup won out in the end.  Then we saw some bubbles for only $1.00 and that tapped out our $10.  Mama sprang for the tax -- birthday money shouldn't have to be used on taxes, ammIright?

Carrying her purchases like a big girl! 

 The next morning we broke out the Play-Doh.  It was a HIT!  I'd tried letting her play with it once before, but she was too young to get it.  This time, she was all about it.  I was breathing in the nostalgia as she dug into the dough.

Sometimes you have to stand to get the right leverage!
She was really good about putting away one color before opening another. 

This started out as "snowman!" and quickly became "BUBBLES!"  -- Two of her favorite things! 

Thank you for the birthday money, GG Pat!  I foresee many fun mornings (and afternoons) in our future! 

28 weeks!

I hit the third (and thank the Lord, FINAL) trimester today.  I realized way too late in the day that perhaps I ought to document the day with a picture, so they're not great quality because I had to use the flash, and a self-timer since Isaac was at work.  

The big things: my thyroid has been underachieving this time around, so I'm taking synthroid, but I think we've found the happy place and my levels have evened out to where they should be at this stage.  My iron and blood sugar both look good -- praise the Lord! 

This little boy is quite active! I don't know if I have just forgotten how much Lucy wiggled and squirmed, or if he's genuinely more rambunctious than she was at this stage.  I'm inclined to believe the latter.  And he's strong for such a bony little dude, some of his kicks and stretches are actually kind of painful!  

This go-round has brought with it a lot more Braxton-Hicks.  I don't know if it's because I know what they feel like this time, or if it's because I'm a lot busier with chasing around a two year old, but they're frequent and uncomfortable.  

I'm up a hair over 20 pounds this time and feel like it's much more in my belly this time versus having a huge belly, but also feeling all-around swollen last time.  I'm still able to wear my wedding band, which was a definite no-go last time well before this point. 

Here's the aforementioned, not great, but documenting pictures: 

And for comparison: me at 28 weeks with Lucy (same shirt by total coincidence -- I only have about 5 shirts that fit me right now)

Clearly lighting is not a strong-suit of our condo