rooms and beds

I forgot to post pictures of Ava's (and technically Leah's) new room when we completed it a few weeks ago:

Ava's bed:

Leah's bed:

The room got a coat (2 actually) of new green paint, new baseboards, new adorable bedding (thanks Mimi!) and new curtains! And of course, a new crib (well, the same crib we used with Ava). The girls will share this room once Leah is older and making it through the night without nursing (Ava was around a year-ish). I wanted to set the crib up for diaper changes, naps and to have a place for Leah if I'm busy in the room with Ava.

In the meantime, Leah will be in our room sleeping in this:

That's an Amby bed. They're really, really neat and I'd been lusting over this bed since I first got pregnant. It's such a neat concept and I can't wait to use it with Leah. Thanks again Mimi! We appreciate all that you do for our family!

p.s. please excuse the naked pirate in those pictures. I often forget she's naked until I get ready to post pictures....

a busy weekend update...

Join me for a quick rundown of our jam packed 3 day weekend:

Friday, Wes was still on "cacation" so we headed out to the Dallas Farmers Market

As you may have noticed, Ava has now perfected "smiling" for the camera. The above pictures are classic examples of her new fake/forced smile. It always gets a laugh out of us.

Friday night we joined Mimi, Pa, Aunt Pam and Uncle Gordon in helping make popcorn balls. I failed to get pictures of that, but that's probably for the best. It was a sticky, buttery night and my precious camera is much too fragile for those types of parties.

Saturday we attended a birthday party (which I again failed to get pictures of) and after that we were off to Boo! at the Zoo. It was fun and my little pirate really enjoyed herself.

She's really mastered her "scary pirate face" hasn't she?

Funny story from Boo! at the Zoo:

We were packed into a small area waiting for the "Drumming Monkey" show to start. Naively, we actually thought we would see a monkey drum. Apparently, we weren't alone because when the show finally started and two men dressed in monkey costumes came running out, one little boy shouted "lame!" and Wes muttered, "Are you kidding me." Our sweet little pirate picked up on both of these unfortunate comments and spent the remainder of the weekend alternating between the occasional "lame!" and "are you kidding me?"
We're loving laughing at her as she repeats everything she hears. We're also loving the extreme censorship rule that has begun around our household.

Sunday we spent the entire day at home enjoying Wes' last day of "cacation" and just relaxing, which was a nice change of pace.

But, as always, vacations never last long and today we're back to our normal routine. The alarm went off at 6:15 and Wes was out the door. I spent the morning cleaning bathrooms but we're all relaxed and refreshed and that's what vacations are for, right?

I hear my biscuit beginning to wake up, so I must sign off. I'll leave you with my 34 week belly shot:

Adios

Fossil Rim

hello.

We've returned from Glen Rose and boy was it fun. I don't think I've had such an animal packed couple of days in my entire life. And Ava? Well...that girl loves animals.

Our trip started off with a drive through Fossil Rim. If you haven't ever been, I highly recommend it. And if you haven't ever been and you have a 2 year old, I very highly recommend it. And if you've been and you have a 2 year old, just go back. It's so much fun.

We weren't 50ft. through the entrance gate and we already had Llamas sticking their head (and necks) all the way into the center console of our car. It was hilarious (and a little scary) how incredibly aggressive these crazies were! So, we rolled up our windows for a moment and watched them peck their curious little beaks on the glass instead.

This guy is like "Food? I'll be right there" and he and his little buddy just would not give up. Those two were relentless. But so very funny.

Rather than walk you through every single animal at Fossil Rim, I've put together a little gallery I like to call "Animals Up Close" or "Animals In Our Car"....join me, won't you?

....hey, how'd that get in there?! That's not an animal, that's my little biscuit hanging out of the car window. She got to ride in my lap in the front seat during our 5mph drive through Fossil Rim. Pure heaven to a 2 year old who has been restricted to a carseat in the back since the day she was born.

The weather was a little crazy during our visit to Glen Rose. We literally watched the temperature drop about 15 degrees in an hour on the temperature gage in our car. While it was chilly (especially at night!) it never really rained and overall the weather was pretty close to perfect the whole time we were there.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast located on several acres of land with multiple houses and cabins etc. Basically it was a little town within itself and we spent quite a bit of our time there. They had horses, goats, pigs, chickens, geese, rabbits and on and on and we had a ton of fun petting and feeding these animals.


We had about a 10 minute walk from our train car (I'll get to that shortly) to the front of the grounds where all the animals were kept. Ava loved the freedom of walking without having to hold hands or be watchful of cars. She stopped and picked up as many rocks as she could get her little hands on and a walk that would have taken us about 10 minutes took forever. But, she loved the exploration and freedom of it all, and that's what counts.

Speaking of walking...have you ever seen a pregnant woman in a Glen Rose Dollar General sweatshirt walking with her rock picking daughter down a dirt road? No? Well, here you go:

That sweatshirt is a mens XXL in case you're wondering. It cost me $6 and the headache of standing in line behind a man (presumably a farmer) trying to pay for his Dollar General items with a 2 party check. That pretty much sums up our experience with Glen Rose folk.

Oh hi little guy. You sure are cute:

Now onto train cars.

This is where we stayed. It was fun and Ava loved it:

See this sweet horse?:
She and her baby liked us so much they followed us back to our train car and waited outside for us.

I'm realizing how long winded this post has become (surprise surprise) so I must wrap up. I've got things to do that can only be done while a toddler sleeps folks, things to do.

Our experience at Dino World is pretty much summed up by these two pictures....and a bank account with $25 less than it started with:

Thought you'd all enjoy that last one. Nothing like sitting on a dinosaur 34 weeks pregnant. That's what kind of trip this was though, you do understand? Full of shenanigans.

Oh! One more thing. Watch this video of our interaction(s) with the animals at Fossil Rim. What fun.

I'm off to enjoy time with my husband who is off work for 5 days straight! Hooray!

I forgot my favorite one!

There. That's better.

quick picture post

We spent most of today in Las Colinas (such a beautiful area with lots of great architecture) for a "homemade" photo shoot. I'd been wanting some family pictures before the baby arrived and we just couldn't afford to pay the standard price a photographer wants to shoot outside a portrait studio...so...off we went.

We took over 100 pictures and got a handful that turned out well (it's pretty difficult to get pictures of a 2 year old, especially "posed" pictures). We also visited a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and for our annual pictures, but those didn't turn out very well. It was just too hot and Ava was way too focused on picking out pumpkins to pay attention to the camera (rightly so)...and I'm just way too pregnant to bend and squat and chase after her.

Alas, here are the few that turned out well today:

I just noticed that the above print is blurry....guess I need to try and edit that....

more to come!

a turkey for my turkey

I had my 32 (1/2) week checkup today with my midwife. I just love her. I know I say it time and time again, but I do. I just do. She's so wonderful and I leave her office feeling confident, assured and even excited for my upcoming natural birth every single time I visit her.

Things are well with baby Leah. I'm measuring correctly and my blood pressure was perfect (hallelujah!) and my weight gain is still on track. We did discover today that the baby is currently head down, but posterior. Lindsay said it's not really a big deal at this point, especially with a second baby, because my uterus has already stretched so often times 2nd babies do lots of turning and twisting all the way up until birth. She did however send me home with some tips of natural ways to try and get Leah to flip to an anterior position so that I can avoid back labor if at all possible. See? That right there...that's why I love my midwife. She's just so darn smart. She's full of unique and useful ideas. So, if the 3 people who read this blog decide to have a baby and are looking for a midwife, I've got just the right lady for you.

Also in baby news, last night was our first "official" meeting with my doula, Maria. She's pretty great as well and I'm excited about having her at my birth. She's educated, calming and encouraging. All very important qualities in a doula if I do say so myself. Plus, she comes with all sorts of labor goodies like birthing balls, rice socks and massage oils. You really just have to like a person who carries around a bag like that.

So Ava was in rare form today at my midwife appointment. They were running behind due to a birth earlier in the day so we had to wait for quite a while in the waiting room. Ava really put on a show for everyone in the room. I've said it before and I'll say it again...there is nothing shy about my girl. And talk, oh man that girl can talk. She will talk all day long. All. Day. Long.

Patient in waiting room: "How old are you?"
Ava: "2! My was 3 yesterday. My was having a clown birthday cake and blowing out the candles..."

and on and on and on......

Also today we were riding in the car and Ava was chatting from her carseat in the back. I was having a hard time figuring out what she was saying so I kept repeating the part I understood and then saying "and then what happened?" After a few times of this, Ava finally said "My just using my imagination!" which I took to mean "I'm not talking to you!"

I read an interesting article recently about the "wave" of toddler personalities. How one moment you have a loving, patient, cooperative toddler and then in what seems like the next breath they're bossy and demanding and impatient etc. The article claims that toddlers personalities change in 6 month intervals as they develop the skills they need to communicate and express themselves. I thought it was a very fascinating take as it seems to ring true around here. Obvious "triggers" make or break this theory of course, like hunger, tiredness and over stimulation or uncomfortable situations, but for the most part it is very interesting to look back and think about the different personalities that Ava was developing as she was achieving certain milestones.

I have no idea how I got all tangled up in that rant. My apologies. Here's something a little less Piaget:
She's decked out in all her Halloween gear. Those leggings are actually called "Baby Legs" and they're like tights without a crotch or feet. They make potty time wonderfully easy on a little girl who has only been officially potty trained for about 2 weeks.

This is the pumpkin that Ava made to hang on our front door. She is amazing me more and more every day with her detailed drawings. It's hard to see here (because he's flipped backwards), but this pumpkin has very accurately placed eyes, nose, mouth and ears:


I know I'm annoying with my constant hobby jumping, but right now I'm really into bow making. I had been buying all of Ava's bows and when I played around with making them and found just how easy it really is, I got a little carried away. Here's a little turkey I made for Thanksgiving. Isn't he cute?:

That's all I really have in the way of pictures this post. We have a busy weekend coming up though, so I'm sure I'll have more to post early next week.

Before I leave you, I wanted to write down the various funny ways that Ava pronounces her words so that I can always remember them, even when she's lost that last little remnant of baby and she's officially a big girl:

pajamas = catjamas
baton= caton
I=my
aquarium= aquamarianan
"ka-pow!" = "ka-choo!"
airport= airpork
bandaid = banshade

I'm sure there are several others, but that's all I can think of for now. See, I'm already forgetting!

She certainly doesn't have any problem naming off male and female anatomy though....I still can't decide if I should kick myself for teaching her the "textbook" terms for those or not....

That's all. Have a good weekend!

A quick update....

I've got lots to do and naptime doesn't last long these days!

Just thought I'd post a quick update for those of you on pins and needles wondering what in the heck is going on around the Fisher household on a daily basis.

Let's begin with me, can we?

For starters, I'm huge. Massive huge. Gargantuan huge. Whale like proportions huge. Really. Huge.
Next, I thought I broke my toe. I think I was wrong and it was just badly bruised. Bruised or broken, it hurt.
I need to take a moment and tell you that when I started this blog, I never thought I'd post pictures of my bare belly for you all to observe on a weekly basis, much less my naked foot. But here I am doing both in one post. This is a Rachel Fisher I never thought I'd know. Must be hormones.

Let's see...what else....Ava! She's as perfect as ever:

And as mischievous as ever:
What is she doing? Well, she's climbing naked on my headboard. Where was I? Well, I was taking a momentary (20 seconds or less) potty break. I long for the days when I could potty in peace. The days when I could actually take my time and relax for a moment without worrying what damage my toddler had done while I was away. Those days are coming, right?

Right?

Geez....first bare bellies, then naked feet and then talk of my potty breaks. I better go before this post turns X rated!

wedding fun

Last night we attended the wedding of Wes' cousin Andy and his new wife Crystal. It was a really nice wedding and it was fun being around family that we don't see often enough.

Bet you didn't know, Wes' family actually overlaps. What I mean by that, is that he has the same cousins on one side that he has on the other. A cousin of Wes' mother's married a cousin of his dad's. So, their children are Wes' cousin's on both the Fisher and the Wilson side. Clear as mud?

But more about that later. For now, here are a few pictures from before and during the wedding festivities yesterday:
Not the greatest picture, but it captures the cuteness of my little Pea, and that was the goal.

The next picture is baby Avery. Baby Avery is really not much of a baby anymore. She's almost a year and a half, but she is tiny! See, this is where things get interesting. Avery's mom, Kelly, is one of the cousins I mentioned earlier who is a relative on both sides. Her dad has Fisher blood and her mom has Wilson blood. So, that further validates my thoughts that Ava gets her small frame from the Fisher side. Avery is built very similarly to the way Ava is. Enough talk about cute little Avery though, let's see a pic! That's Avery below. Where? There. Right there, behind Wes' beer.

Pretty cute, huh? Even despite my poor photo taking abilities. Now, here's Hannah (with her mom, Teri):

She's 3. Hannah is related to Ava in a way that I just can not figure out a term for. Basically, her mother is Wes' mom's cousin. So what does that make her? A 2nd cousin? A 5th cousin? A 12th cousin?...I have no idea. I just know that she loves Ava and Ava loves her:

That's a choke hold of love. Hannah decided that Ava needed some help looking directly at the camera behind which approximately 10 people were yelling "Ava! Look here!" or "Ava! Smile!" We appreciate her help.
Those two tore that dance floor up. Ava told us on the car ride home "I was doing the robot!" Clearly there isn't an ounce of shyness hidden anywhere in that tiny body.

And, because I think it's a great picture, here is Wes and his cousin Cory. Cory is another "related on both sides" cousin as well as the grooms brother:

The wedding was a fun one and we got through the whole event in big girl underwear and with only one accident, which considering how distracted Ava was, I consider a huge success.

Let's get to more important matters than love, unity and marriage though, can we? Here is a picture of a ridiculously awful yet so incredibly wonderful chocolate sheet cake I baked. It's still cooling here...but you can tell just how delightful it is:

I call it "Heart Attack Cake" because, well....that cake is just downright awful. I won't even begin to describe the ingredients that make up this heavenly creation. Besides, the real question is: Did Ava like it?
She did.

and then she did....

and then she really did.....

And lastly, here is yet another belly shot. 31 weeks now and because I seem to be growing so much from week to week at this point, I think I'll start doing the belly shots weekly instead of monthly. I know I know...just the news you've all been waiting for. Nothing better than seeing a person with a massive recent weight gain lift up her shirt on a weekly basis, right?

Remember last weeks picture? For those of you who didn't print it out and put it on your refrigerator, I've taken the liberty of re-posting it here:

That's quite a change for just one week! She is certainly getting big though and her kicks and pokes are getting harder and harder. I'm doing well and loving every minute of it. I'm still waiting for the difficulty sleeping, constant peeing and overall discomfort to kick in, but so far, I feel great.

Happy Monday to you all.