Cheese and Giants

Here is a funny picture of Nugs saying "cheese!" and dancing at the same time. We had just taken her hair out of pigtails so that makes for a nice poofy look.And a picture of my swollen face with Rich and I at a giants baseball game... they won!

My feet definitely look worse than my face!

Happy 18th Birthday Uncle Zach!

Some of you may know my parents and my little brother Zach are in town... hopefully for the birth of a baby! But who knows, we'll see how that goes.

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Anyway, Nugs is getting pretty good at saying, "Zach." She usually whispers it, but she is started to say it a little louder now. She absolutely adores him and every morning when she wakes up she runs to find him and give him toys to play with and I am thinking she thinks he will wake up when she does this.This picture is a little staged- but basically he looks like this every morning when she is trying to get him to wake up!

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Happy 18th birthday Uncle Zach... too bad CK isn't going to be born on your birthday... but not really. I wasn't ready to have you name my second born child.

LIttle Diva

Here is my little Diva playing in her new high heels,. She absolutely loves them and tries to walk around in them all day long. It is quite hilarious. So today I am going to try and spend my entire day loving on my cute toddler before her baby sister arrives. I gotta keep thinking positive!

Taco Tongue

Cute little nugs is so talented!

Not only can she take everything out of the cupboards, but she can do "taco tongue" while closing her eyes. AMAZING!
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I am definitely sure she is not going to be a "dumb blonde"

5 Years

Happy Aniversary to the most wonderful man ever! And the thing is... no one can disagree with me because I am a nine-month preggo woman! Not that anyone would ever try.

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So let me just tell you how good Rich has been to me lately (feel free to leave this post up for your hubby or significant other to look at!)

1. I can't remember the last time I did dishes.

2. He lets me watch whatever show I want to watch.

3. He occasionally rubs my feet even though he HATES doing it- and he tries to smile the whole time.

4. He has a honey-do list a mile long each week and he finishes it by the end of the week.

5. He takes Nugs to day care every day and they absolutely adore each other (even when she pees on the floor!).

6. He comes home for lunch and makes his lunch so he can save us money.

7. He doesn't complain when he sees target shopping bags, even though he knows that I just dropped at least $50-90.

8. He always refills my water glass- I usually don't even have to hint at how thirsty I am.

9. He takes me on nightly walks.

10. He doesn't complain when I don't make dinner, have absolutely no idea what to fix for dinner, or when I just grab a bowl of cereal and let him fend for himself.

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Uh, and those are just some of the little things he does for me. I could go on and on. But anyway, here are a couple more pictures I thought I would share from 5 years ago!

My mom makes the most AMAZING cakes
Little Zachy-poo

Some of my sweetest girl cousins! Wow- you girls have really grown up!

Silly Rabbit

How come I couldn't get Nugs to wear this headband on Easter- yet she finds it today and won't take it off? Her t-shirt is compliments of Rich- he made it when he was in Kindergarten- and it fit him then!
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No pregnancy update- Jalapenos were a bust- but now all I have to do it wait one more day and both my parents and my brother will be here! I can't wait.
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Did you guys already know that my dad is an OB/GYN and he was able to deliver Nugs? How perfect would it be for him to deliver CK as well?

Speeding things up??

So I just had Mexican food for lunch and my girlfriend ordered me a side of jalapenos.

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If you know me at all, you know I can't handle anything more than "mild" salsa.

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She made me eat 5 slices.

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My lips burn, my tongue burns, and don't worry- I won't let you know if it burns on the way out.

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Last time I ate jalapenos I went into labor with Nugs.

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I am crossing my fingers now!

Pregnancy Update

So not a lot is going on in my mind that doesn't have to do with this pregnancy and meeting CK. Which in turn means I will be blogging quite a lot about it until she arrives and then more pictures will follow.

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No picture today of me- just of a nice refreshing sea turtle. Why? Because my office manager just told me that my face looks "puffy" she meant it in the best way possible (?!?!?) but really I am getting swollen all over.

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My day yesterday was fabulous.... well, besides my midwife saying she wouldn't strip my membranes because my cervix is "too thick"... well, heck... I told her I would find someone else to do it. :)

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My day today has also been fabulous so far (i know this is going to sound sarcastic- but it really isn't- my day is great). Besides the sweating feet and hands, the temperature is going to be 100 degrees here in phoenix, my wedding ring is very tight, I have to pee every 30 minutes, etc... I feel fabulous. I am happy, in good spirits, I slept well last night and I am contracting 4 times an hour instead of 2!!!

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Oh yeah- funny note- I woke up at 4:45 am and totally thought my water broke- just a little trickle, but then I rolled over and realized I had to pee really bad. Thanks CK- thanks for kicking my over extended bladder just enough to make me leak and think that my water broke. So anyway, I went pee and I haven't had any more "trickles" since then.

Bad Day

Let's just say yesterday was a rotten day. You know, one of those pregnancy days where nothing can or will go right? When in fact, everything was fine and it really should have been a normal day. Let me just list the silly things that I THOUGHT weren't going right. Some of them weren't all made up in my head though!

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1.Rich didn't write his email fast enough so that I could get on the computer and blog.

2. Rich ate the last muffin without asking me if I wanted it.

3. While taking a bath Nugs peed on the floor.

4. After my bath I put Nugs down for a nap and she pooped her pants.

5. I had to start laundry on Sunday because we had no more panties for Nugs.

6. I didn't think Rich cleaned her up well enough after the pooping incident and I kept smelling poop all during church.

7. Nugs went into hysterics twice during the first hour of church which required a quick exit- one incident was because Rich wouldn't let her eat the crayon.

8. Nugs peed twice during church in the potty but she then peed again on the floor when we got home.

9. After dinner we were with some friends and Nugs peed again on their floor (FOURTH PANTY CHANGE IN ONE DAY!)

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But all and all I calmed down, I apologized to my husband, he tucked me into bed, and I was much better for it.

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Because today is a new day. And it is one day closer to my new little girl.

Breakfast

If I am too slow getting breakfast ready for Nugs she will simply make her own. Yesterday she found herself a plate and filled it with Cheetos. I did eventually get her some eggs and she ate those as well. Yesterday we also spent the entire day together. We went up to Scottsdale for the American baby Expo. I got lots of free stuff and signed up for lots of giveaways... I won't hold my breath- but it sure would be fun to win all those gift cards.
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Here is a picture of her wearing her pretty flower Auntie Devyn gave her:

And finally I am thinking she will make a great big sister who definitely will be able to multi-task:

Feeding her swaddled baby while watching TV. This big sister thing will be a piece of cake!

38+ Weeks

So my sister reminded me the other day that if this pregnancy was my last one... that I would have baby #2 today! Wow.

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So I was really excited about this, and I was getting prepared and I scheduled an appointment to get my accupressure points worked on, my work partner was willing to "strip my membranes", I was going to eat Jalepenos, and I was ready to get things moving along.

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I then ran into my midwife. Told her how I had been contracting a lot and I told her about some other signs I was having that meant labor might be close. She quickly stopped me in my tracks and said, "You better not have this baby this weekend- I am going out of town until monday morning!"

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SCCCREEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCHHHH

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Put on the breaks. No baby this weekend. I cancelled my appointments and I am waiting until Monday to start back on getting this baby out of me plans.

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So, while I am hoping only a few more days and i am hoping this will be my last pregnant weekend with CK... I do know that I could potentially have 3 more weekends being preggers.

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Thats okay. She is moving well, and I can eat anything I want!

I forgot to post...

Here is a picture of Nug's Bed- It usually has about 3 babies and a couple silkies on it.

CK Here we come!

Okay, the room is set up... Thanks Grandma for the adorable bedding! It works perfect for CK's crib. I can't wait to put that little sweetheart in it!Nugs has tried multiple times to put her babies in the crib, but I wont let her. She has been practicing saying "Cara" lots of times, hopefully she'll get it right soon. Anytime now... Mommy is ready... Oh no- I shouldn't say that... that means it will still be another 2 weeks!
Thats okay, I am patient. I can wait.

Hello?

Nugs has a couple phrases that I love... One is "Hello" whenever she picks up a phone and another is "oh Tootles" like they say on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

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"Hello" is even better because it sounds like she has a British Accent :)

Happy Easter

My girlfriend Natalie took some pictures of us with her "fancy" camera- actually just a really nice one- one that I am very much jealous of- Anyway... she took some of us in our Easter outfits but I am still deciding which ones I want to post- so in the meantime- here is an adorable one of the Nugs and her daddy. It isn't often that you can find such a perfect, matching tie to an outfit from another store. Oh happy day!

More Tramp

For your viewing pleasure- Don't let yourself get dizzy!

Very Casual Easter

Since church isn't until 1:00 we have pretty casual sunday mornings- for example:

No fancy Easter play clothes...

World Tour

We have decided to start Nugs young when it comes to developing her talents! Rich put his drum set together for Wii World Tour and Nugs thought it was the best.
She cracks me up

FlashBack Friday

Since I will be taking a bunch of pictures this weekend, I thought I would post some of my little Easter Nugget from last year. She really didn't have any hair, did she??
You gotta love her!

The Bump

Last night Rich and I were able to go out to a "networking event". Sounds fancy, right? Well, in February I was able put on a health and baby fair where a company based in Phoenix, called, THE BUMP, attended the health fair. Now that I am on their contact list they have started inviting me to these promotional events.

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So last night we went to this fancy hotel in Scottsdale, put out business cards for my midwifery care and for Laborlooks hospital gowns, and met lots of cool people who are in the maternity/baby business.

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Not to mention the cupcakes were FABULOUS!!!

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Oh wait, and I think I forgot to tell you the best part.... drumroll please.... Rich and I won a free nights stay at the hotel through a random drawing they did!

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Since our 5 year aniversary is coming up we plan to use this before CK arrives- hopefully we will find some time.

Kisses Anyone?

Not only are kisses from Nugs the best ever... but her favorite candy is Hershey's Kisses. To prove this I really should take a picture of before and after with her potty treat jar. I filled her potty treat jar with tons of chocolate candy (being Rich's daughter I learned very quickly that chocolate is her favorite!) and then I also mixed in some hershey's kisses. Well, the kisses are gone and there is basically all of the other chocolate left in the jar. She pretty much ignores the potty treat jar now when she uses the potty.

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Back to my original story about the pictures: Grandma Mingo and Aunt Vicki found this cute Hershey Kisses container that plays a little song every time you open it. And now we hear the Hershey Kisses song all day long while Nugs is opening it trying to find more chocolate. Too bad that ran out a long time ago...

Thanks Gra'Mingo and Aunt Vicki for the fun treat!

DayCare Easter Egg Hunt

I hope Nugs had fun at Miss Mary's Easter Egg hunt- because this 9 month preggo mama did not. Chasing after a runaway who wants to swing on the swings with 85+ degree weather, no shade, no husband to help catch her when she tried to run into the street... you get the picture.

However, she is stinkin cute.


Even with an Easter bucket on her head.

36 Weeks

So I am thinking I look a little tired in this picture... I am definitely more tired with this pregnancy than I was with Nugs. For multiple reasons obviously... probably the biggest reason is running after the little nugget in my arms!

My feet and ankles are also getting quite swollen, my feet are tired, and I can't wear my wedding ring, but my wedding band still fits well but leaves a mark. Every day I run around at work and then when I sit down it is at a desk so that doesn't leave much time for swollen ankles to subside.

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Other than these couple of common pregnancy discomforts- I feel great. I love feeling CK move, watching my belly grow, talking to Nugs about her soon to be baby sister, practicing my hypnobirthing relaxation, and preparing everything for her arrival.

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This pregnancy has had a lot less anxiety than my last one. I am GBS negative which means no antibiotics in labor which means I probably won't need an IV and I wont need to stay 48 hours in the hospital. I also have prepared a notebook for Rich on his expectations, my doula is on call, my midwife is ready, and my nurse at the hospital where I will deliver is also standing by.

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Granted- I still have 4 weeks until my "due date" and this makes me happy because there is so much more I would like to get done. 4 more weeks of successful potty going by Nugs would be AMAZING because regression should be less if she really has it down well.

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Anyway, that is the latest update- I will keep you all posted.

The "baby-do" list

I often make "honey-do" lists for Rich. I know that he loves them because he just loves me so much. Anyway, I have started making my "baby-do" list because there are a lot of things I need to do before CK gets here.

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Some parts of my "baby-do" list are fun, others are not. Some are hard, some are easy- but all must be accomplished before I can feel even a little ready for CK to make her entrance into the world.

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Here is a fun one I am working on- but hard- because I am not that creative. I have adorable wooden letters for nugs in her room already, but I needed some for Cara- so I looked all over www.etsy.com but they are charging like 12$ for each letter. Not something I can afford. So... here is what we have so far:And now I need to take these paint "writers" and somehow make them cute. Maybe add some ribbons or buttons? Any ideas? Any suggestions? Even send me links to cute ones online I can try to copy.

I am afraid if this task isn't completed soon- it might be too late. Well, probably not. I will probably be 3 days past my "due guess date" and still working on them with CK on the inside nice and comfy.

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Maybe I will share some other "baby-do" list items later. But for now I must go to bed.

Laborlooks Gown

So I am trying to get ready for CK to come- and on my list of things to do it get my hospital gown all ready- which means, prewashing it- and of course- taking a few pictures of it before the big day! I picked out the Reese Butterfly print from http://www.laborlooks.com/ and I am so excited to wear it for pictures when I have CK!

I definitely think I will have Rich take some pictures later because these aren't that hot.