Meeting Dora!

This weekend was a BIG weekend for Paiton :)

On Saturday Nana and I took her to the Boise Kids Fair at the fairgrounds. They had booths you walked around to, snacks, freebies, and what Paiton was most excited about - Dora and Diego!!

We got up Saturday morning (Matt, Spencer, and Brandon had had a grown-man slumber party at B's house since he is living the bachelor life right now), and I made Paiton cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

She knew we were going to meet Dora that day and she was soooo excited. She told me she needed to wear a Dora shirt, and she ended up wearing her Dora hairbows and shoes as well! (Along with a necklace she found in my bathroom!)

A funny story about our drive there - Paiton was jabbering in her carseat and apparently had been talking to Nana but we didn't know until Paiton yelled "I'm talking to ya Nannie!!" When Mom and I started cracking up P yelled "Don't laugh at me! It's not funny!" That girl is too stinkin smart, I tell ya!!

We made it to the fairgrounds and walked around a bit. Paiton spotted Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and wanted her picture taken with her! She jumped out of the stroller and gave her a big hug, then posed for a picture. As soon as I got ready to take the picture she got shy and wouldn't look up!

We walked around for a bit and then Nana spotted....DORA!!!! There was a looong line of kids waiting to meet Dora and Diego, so we got in and prepared ourselves for the wait! Paiton did great waiting (despite the fact that Dora and Diego apparently needed a break every 5 minutes causing the wait to be even longer. Paiton commented that "they go potty a lot.")

To keep her entertained Mom and I took turns walking P around. There was a snake you could pet pretty close to where we were and Paiton LOVED it.

At one point Pai told the lady "I can hold that snake for ya!" Haha! For some reason she sure loved that snake!

She colored a couple pictures:

And then.....it was finally almost our turn to meet Dora and Diego. This begins the story of how I almost murdered a bratty boy. We were next in line behind a little girl to see Dora. The girl went up to get her picture taken, but made her brother go with her. As soon as they were done I set P down and she RAN - full on ran with arms open - towards Dora and Diego. At that exact second the stupid brother of the little girl decided he needed a picture alone with Dora and Diego, and right before Paiton could run into his picture I grabbed her and pulled her back. I think she thought she was in trouble because she immediately started to cry and buried her head in my shoulder. We tried to tell her she wasn't in trouble and she just had to wait one second for that (STUPID) boy to get his picture taken and then it would be her turn. I seriously could have pummeled him.

When it was finally her turn I set her down, but she wouldn't go up to Dora again :( It broke my heart into a thousand pieces that she had been soooo excited and then wasn't anymore. So I carried her over and we got our picture taken with them together. She wouldn't hug them, but she did let them hug us together and she waved at them. Afterward we stood off to the side and she told me she just wanted to see them "from back here" and that they "are so beautiful!" (a favorite saying of hers.)

Here is our picture:

Not too bad considering!!

She didn't seem too traumatized anymore, so we headed off to get her face painted, which was the other thing she had requested to do. We got there and it was another long line, which luckily Paiton didn't feel like waiting in, so we left to get lunch instead!!

Paiton talked about meeting Dora and Diego and would say that she cried but that she got to meet them, so I think (hope) she still feels it was pretty cool to get to see them in real life. They are her absolute favorites and I'm glad she got to do it.

A BIG thanks to my mom for standing in line with us, and for braving all the crazy kids to spend the day with us! Paiton was happy to have you there!

These are just some cute, sleepy face pictures I took this morning, I can't resist stalking my kid with my camera, she's just too perfect!

29 Weeks

Yesterday I reached the 29 weeks pregnant mark and also had a doctor appointment. I had to drink the gross orange drink to do the glucose test, yuck! I choked it down during a meeting and then P and I headed to the doctor! They took my blood and Paiton was very concerned for me. She kept saying "You're ok Mommy?" and rubbing my arm :)

Then Dr. Jones came in and asked how things were going. I told her I had been having cramping and Braxton Hicks contractions every day and worse at night. She wanted to check my cervix to make sure it was still closed since it was about this time I had kidney stones and went into labor with Paiton. They had to hospitalize me and give me shots to stop the labor, so she wanted to be safe. She checked and everything was fine! Before she came in and did all that I had turned Wonder Pets on on my phone and set P up in the recliner in the room to entertain her. Dr. Jones measured my belly and listened to Quinn's heart. I asked about my Rhogam shot, and I had totally forgotten that since it's a blood product I have to go to the hospital to get it! Dang! As she was leaving she said to Paiton 'Bye Paiton! Have a good day!' at which point Paiton leapt out of the chair and yelled "But what about Quinn's heartrate!?" Dr. Jones looked baffled and said "Well I already listened to it!" to which Paiton responded "Well I didn't hear it!" and crossed her arms and looked sad. Dr. Jones started cracking up and came over to do it again. She put the one end on my belly and handed the speaker part to Paiton, and because Pai always helps she knew what button to push and turned it on to listen. Then she handed it back and said "Thanks! Bye!" She seriously cracks me up!! And not just me, I thought Dr. Jones was going to cry she was laughing so hard!!

Here is my 29 week picture:

We have been having a ROUGH few nights with night terrors. Luckily Paiton's appointment with the sleep doctor is FINALLY next week!! Woohoo!! On Tuesday night she was having 2-3 night terrors every single hour. By 2 am I just got up and didn't bother trying to sleep anymore. Last night was rough too but not quite as bad. I hope the doctor has some suggestions for us because I have been so tired lately it's making me physically sick to my stomach! It will not be fun to deal with this AND a newborn, so cross your fingers for her appointment!

We have also been having a huge struggle trying to get Paiton to eat. She used to be a great eater and now she isn't so much! She won't eat very much and won't try new things. I read that putting different foods in a muffin tin can help with that and thought it was worth a shot:

If you look closely you'll realize that she is using an outlet plug as a spoon...that was all her doing and I figured it wasn't worth the fight to take it, so that's how she ate her yogurt!! Silly girl!

I just thought this was a cute picture of P lounging around one morning:

We have still been working in the concession stands at Matt's school twice a week, which Paiton LOVES! She likes to hand out the candy to the kids, eat popcorn, and be friendly! Her favorite thing is any time someone orders a drink, she will run over to the cupboard where the lids are, grab one, and hand it to us! So helpful! She doesn't know that we pretend to put the lids on that she hands us because they aren't the right size, and by the end of the night we have a stack of "Paiton lids" :)

This has been SUCH a busy week for me. Poor Paiton has been dragged to numerous meetings and doctors appointments, etc. all week long. She is such a champ. But today was day 3 of not having time for a nap and it really caught up to her. We had to go to Target and she was having behavior issues! She was screaming and crying and not wanting to listen so she ended up having to put back a toy she was going to get. Then we met Matt at Costco and she had more meltdowns and finally Matt had to put her in timeout. I don't think she believed he would do it, but like a good daddy he followed through and did it!!

She got a time out in the cereal aisle! She sat there for her two minutes, then when he asked if she was ready to be nice she screamed "NO!" and got another minute of time out, after which she gave hugs and apologized for being naughty, then went on her merry way skipping and jumping over cracks (her new favorite game). The picture of her pouting on the cereal just cracks me up :) People are always amazed at how well Paiton handles her time outs! We have been doing them with her since before she was 1, and she knows exactly what is expected of her and exactly what she is to do and she does it 99% of the time!

And here are my funny Paiton stories from the last couple days:

~The other day we went to Albertson's and I had to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting a duck that was walking through the parking lots. Paiton said to me "Wow Mom! You drive like a crazy person!" I was trying to tell Matt how absolutely hilarious this was, and later that night when we were in bed I remembered something I needed to do and I jumped up and ran out of the room and Paiton turned to Matt and said "Mommy is running around like a crazy person!" Haha!!

~ We were driving this morning and Paiton pointed out the window and said "Look at the mountains!" I just thought it was really smart that she recognized the mountains and also that she noticed them. She also said "They are really way far away!"

~ This morning she woke up way earlier than usual and I was going to close the garage door behind Matt as he left for work. It was still pitch black out but the lights in the kitchen were on. Paiton insisted she go see her Daddy so I carried her out to say bye. She buried her face in my neck and said "The sun's too bright! Turn it down!" :) She melts my heart!!

For Fun

Here is another comparison picture, just for fun.

I was as far along with Paiton in this picture as I am with Quinn now:

The other day Paiton received a fun surprise in the mail! We heard a knock at the door, and when we answered it there was a package addressed to Paiton!

She was very excited to open it! (And my kid likes to be topless!)

Thanks Riki, Joe, and Caydence!! You made a little girl VERY happy! She squealed with delight when she thought it was just Kit Kats and Yorks (which happen to be her two FAVORITE candies, so good choice!), and then she was very excited when she saw more presents underneath!

Digging in to the Kit Kats!

Thanks so much guys!! What a fun surprise! A thank you painting is in the works! ;)

This weekend was my sister-in-law's baby shower. She is due with a boy on March 19, our third nephew! I decided to make the baby a quilt.

This is before it was done - the back wasn't sewn on or anything.

Close up of the notebook paper lines. The lines I sewed on with my machine, the paper "holes" and words are hand embroidered.

Paiton has been busy hiding in cupboards:

And being cute as always. She sure has an ornery streak in her, but we still love her ;)

She can now sing the Wonder Pets song from start to finish, which is pretty stinkin' cute! Last night we were counting with her and she decided to surprise her Daddy and I by counting to six in Spanish instead of English like we had been! Silly girl! Although her little voice counting in Spanish is definitely one of the cutest things I've seen in my life! :)

Yesterday was my parent's 29th wedding anniversary! Woohoo!! Happy Anniversary! I made dinner for everyone last night and it was delicious!

Paiton helped me and we wore our aprons together. When we put them on she told me "We are looking fabulous!" Here's our fabulous (and not tired from cleaning all day at all) picture!

Paiton's hair is getting SO long! You can really only see how long it is in the bath when it's wet and straight, but her little ringlets are just too cute!

She insisted I take her picture by the door (her favorite spot) but then refused to take out her binky or smile. So here's what a 2 year olds mugshot looks like:

I can't believe it but next week is #1 - March, and #2 - the start of....DANCE CLASS!!! I don't know who's more excited, me or Paiton! (Ok I do know, but I'm not telling.)

We have a dress code we have to follow that includes black or pink tights, black or pink leotard, black or pink skirt, and ballet slippers. I figured I better start collecting these things, so today since Matt had the day off we went to the mall and started looking. We found a pink skirt and black tights, but no shoes or leotard small enough!

Paiton obviously insisted on wearing the skirt as soon as we got home! It was very cute, I told her it was for dance class and she needed to be careful with it, so she would spin around and say "I'm like a dancing girl!" :)

Already quite the prima ballerina:

Playing play doh with Daddy on his day off:

In case you couldn't tell, this is her showing her muscles:

I think I mentioned this before, but I am now in the third trimester. I got welcomed in by that disgusting flu we had last week and definitely did not take pictures to document that. Brandon got it a couple days after we had it, and since then the family has been barf free...let's hope it stays that way!!

So here is my late 28 week picture. I'm actually 28 weeks, 6 days in this one:

I have a check up on Wednesday and it is NOT one I'm looking forward to! I have to drink the gross orange drink for the glucose test on my way in and then have my blood drawn to check for diabetes. Then I have to have my first (of this pregnancy, I have had many in the past) Rhogam shot. Boo! They HURT but are necessary because of my blood type possibly harming the baby once he's born. They are blood products and each time I get a shot I get a card with a number that I have to save in case something is wrong with the blood. I have a stack of them in our fire safe from my miscarriage and my pregnancy with Paiton. From now on I will have to have them periodically throughout the rest of pregnancy and the last one after I give birth! So exciting! :\

Please make that happen

Just wanted to share a hilarious Paiton story before I forget it.

Tonight we had to work concessions at Matt's school, which we managed to do without vomiting in anyone's popcorn, always a plus.

On the way home this was my conversation with Paiton:

Me: Paiton, what do you want for dinner?

Paiton: Ummm.....a hot dog and apples with peanut butter. Please make that happen.

Please make that happen!? This girl cracks me up! I immediately had to call Matt and tell him. She never ceases to amaze us!! Because I didn't have hot dogs we headed to the store where I realized I didn't have my wallet and couldn't buy any. So I sure didn't make that happen, unfortunately and much to Paiton's dismay. Oops. Fail for Mommy.

VDay and The Plague

Valentine's Day is pretty fun when you have a little 2 year old girl to spoil!!

We woke up that morning and Paiton came out to see her Valentine's present. When I told her she had a present waiting she said "Is it my happy birthday!?" :)

She remembered the second she woke up that I had told her I would make her pink waffles, and she was ready for them!!

Opening her present:

Not wasting anytime eating candy!

Ooooh new lipsticks!

Pink waffles, coming up!

I left Matt a little note on his mirror so he would see it when he got up for work:

He left me one back :)

After breakfast and getting dressed we worked on making Daddy a card to go with his present. Paiton had fun painting it and when I asked her what she wanted her card to say, she was very specific. It had to say "I love you Daddy" and have hearts on it :)

After that I had to go to court to fight a speeding ticket, so Matt's mom came to watch P. (Long story short: I got a ticket for going 35 in a 20 school zone, BUT the lights that flash to tell you it's a school zone weren't flashing, so I took a picture and decided it was worth fighting, since 35 would have been the correct speed. I'm glad I did, when I showed up to my court date I was the SIXTH person with the same cop, same ticket, same place - all the others had pictures of the lights too!!)

After that Daddy came home from work with a surprise for his girls!!

Beautiful roses and cards!!

Paiton was very happy to get flowers and kept smelling them:

We always like to get the shaped pizza's from Papa Murphy's that they do for all the holidays, and at Valentine's it's a heart!

For dessert I made fondue:

Paiton laughing like crazy at her dad:

After fondue we had planned on watching a scary movie that I had rented, but a certain little girl wouldn't go to sleep, so we ended up just going to bed.

And it's all downhill from there...

At about 4 am on Tuesday morning Matt woke up not feeling well. By 4:30 he was really in trouble and throwing up. I got up with him and he got online and requested a sub. He had to run into school to grab something though and by the time he came back, I was sick too!

It was AWFUL. It just hit us out of nowhere. We were both pretty sure we were dying. We couldn't move, stand, sit, do anything without hurting and getting sick!

Luckily Paiton was fine, but it is so hard to have a 2 year old feeling fine and with energy when both her parents can't stop throwing up and can't move! She was pretty neglected, I have to say! We just kept putting movies in and I didn't even get her out of her pajamas. I felt really bad, but she is such a trooper. She kept asking us if we were sick and telling us to feel better.

My super amazing mom came over after work to take care of Paiton for me. I told her she shouldn't come expose herself to the plague, but she did anyway! She played with her, washed my dishes from our Valentine's dinner the night before, went to the store and got us Saltines and juice and some treats for Paiton, and even gave Paiton a bath and got her all ready for bed. I can't thank her enough for helping out SO much. I know Paiton was glad to have some attention and be taken care of and I was glad to not have to worry about her being bored or ignored!

The flu is always awful, but I have to say, it's 100 times worse when you are big and pregnant! Quinn has been moving like crazy the last few days, never stopping! Every time he would roll around in there I would get sooo nauseas. Then he would give me a good kick to the stomach sending me running for the bathroom. I told Matt I was about ready to reach up there and pull him out! It was, I think, the second sickest I've been in my life! Tuesday night Matt put in for a sub again for Wednesday.

Wednesday we woke up feeling somewhat better. Matt was a little hungry, I wasn't but my legs and hips were really hurting, I think from being so dehydrated. Around 10 am Matt went to let the dogs in, only to realize they weren't in the backyard! Matt went out in a panic and noticed a little piece of fence that had been broken off and it looked like they had slipped out through it. We hurried and went out in the van looking for them. I spotted Kotah right away, just a couple streets over walking down the sidewalk. Matt got him into the back of the van with a treat. I was surprised that he and Keilah weren't together. We drove around but couldn't find her. Then I took Matt home and he took his car out so we could cover more ground. We drove and drove looking for her. Poor Paiton was yelling in the car "Keilah! Come on puppy! Ruff ruff!" She kept telling me "We'll find her Mommy." I called the vet and the microchip place to let them know that we were out looking for Keilah, in case someone found her and turned her in.

Then I started to head home to see if I could find her on the way and to get online and post a listing on craigslist. As I pulled up to our house I saw Keilah running in our front yard. Matt was right behind me and got her to jump into his car. It was good timing since it had started to snow and she was wet and cold. I don't know how she found her way home since they have never even been in the front yard of this house, but we're glad she did!

Needless to say, we are ready for this week to be over!! We spent yesterday recovering. Matt was able to eat some food. I ate an apple and a little chicken soup and called it good.

This morning we woke up to more snow! Yuck!! So far Paiton still seems to be fine and not sick, I am really hoping it stays that way!! It would break my heart if she got so sick.

In baby news I am now 28 weeks pregnant and into the third trimester! I haven't taken a 28 week picture, maybe in the next couple days when I feel like a human again!