We will soon be...

a family of four! 

We are super excited that baby #2 is on the way. I am due in January... exactly 2 years to the day from Aubrey's due date. Pretty crazy!

I'm almost hitting the 13 week mark of the second trimester, and I'm really hoping the morning (or really all-day) sickness is on the way out. It has been a rough couple of months.

Since Aubrey was born premature, I'm being watched very closely this pregnancy. I have my regular OBGYN that I do all appointments, ultrasounds, and lab work with. And then, I also have a team of MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) specialists that I see. I will have extra ultrasounds every 2 weeks, and I have to get progesterone shots every week from 16-36 weeks. I can either go to the nurse for those or have Steven give them. I'm still undecided, especially since when I asked Steven he said, "sure! I'm not afraid of GIVING shots." Gee, thanks :)

I'm honestly not super confident that I will go full-term because of the likelihood of what happened with Aubrey happening again... but I am confident that I am getting the best care possible. My doctors are all pretty darn smart and amazing. However, it is times like this when I definitely wish I had family around to help watch Aubrey for all these appointments!

The one really good part about being high-risk is that I get to see lots and lots of my baby. I had an ultrasound today and the doctor was already pretty sure on the gender. Since it is so early, I won't share, but we are pretty excited.

So.. all that medical stuff aside, we are so excited, blessed, and grateful that we have a new little set of "feet" joining our Foote family!

Berries

We went berry picking again. This time out at Webb Ranch in Palo Alto. Boysenberries and ollalieberries were the pickings of choice.

We had a great time. You pay $3 per person admission, but get to eat as many berries as you want while picking! We definitely took advantage.

Aubrey was very funny. She would carefully choose a berry, pick it, and then either shove it in her mouth as fast as possible or run over to the basket as fast as possible. You could tell she felt very important that we trusted her with the task.

She also thought riding in the backpack was super fun. 

And... this last picture is actually from the 4th of July. It has nothing to do with berry picking, but makes me smile every time I look at it. The wilder the better with this little girl. 

Nursery

Today was Aubrey's first Sunday in our ward's nursery at church. Here she is all dressed-up and ready to go. Thanks Grandma Peterson for the adorable dress!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this because it is so her personality, but she ran right into the room of toys and never looked back. *sniff, sniff* Isn't she supposed to cry and demand that I stay with her? I guess not this little bundle of energy.

When we picked her up, she was sitting at the table with her feet up, orange snack all over her face, and proudly displaying the picture she had "colored."

Church was so different without having to chase her up and down the halls. Sunday's just got way more relaxing.

I'm proud of my big girl!

Better than Disneyland

We have spent the past week in Canada with my family.  Other than the plane rides (which were terrible. Just picture an 18-month-old yelling "NO!" "OUT!" for a few hours...), we have had a great time.

Aubrey thinks that her grandparents' house is better than Disneyland...

And, despite all the pictures of Aubrey... I was there too! We sure missed Steven though. He had to stay home and work. boo.

The best part was seeing Aubrey with her cute little cousin Zachary and her grandparents. We are lucky to have such great family.

Aubrey especially loved to give lots of hugs and kisses to the "baby." What? I still think of her as the baby. I can't believe she is growing up so fast.

Now, it is time to go home and back to work. It's a good thing I have such a good helper.

Red-Handed

We spent this weekend in Reno for Steven's family reunion. We have had a great time- always good to see family! Some of us are having a little TOO good of a time.

Aubrey had been getting by on little sleep due to all the fun she was having with her cousins, so when I put her down for bed Saturday night she didn't make a peep. I was thinking, "wow... I'm so lucky! What a good sleeper I have. She is so sweet." Ha.

When I came back to check on her a while later (thinking she had been sleeping the whole time) this is what I found:

Her little arms were JUST long enough to reach out over the pack-n-play and find lipstick. The picture does not really do it justice. There is lipstick everywhere! In her hair, pajamas, feet, face (she knew what to do with it). Everywhere.

What a little stinker. It is a good thing I still think she is cute.

Anybody have good tips to get lipstick out of a pack-n-play? Because ours is pretty much covered....

Beach

We were able to spend our Memorial Day at the beach. Love the beach.

And we realized after we got home that we spent last Memorial Day at the beach. A lot has changed in a year!

Aubrey has a lot more hair for one thing. I almost forgot she was such a little bald baby.

She will seriously sit and play in the sand for HOURS. I really have never seen another kid love sand like she does.

I never thought I would get to this point, but California now feels like home. If only it were not so darn expensive we would probably stay here forever. We have a good life here.

And, this has nothing to do with the beach, but my old roommate Heather came to visit today! She was in town and stopped by. Aubrey loved her and I loved catching up. Has it really been six years since we were roomies at BYU? I'm starting to feel old.

A Day in the Life

I get to hang out with this cutie all day:

She is sweet, generous, and tons of fun.

She is also mischievous, sassy, and way too clever for her own good. 

I don't want to forget any of these crazy, fun-filled, tantrum-filled days. So to help me remember, here is a typical "day in the life" at our house, with today as a snapshot. 

6:30-7:00: Dragged myself out of bed, and got started on "morning chores." 2 loads of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned up the apartment, ate a bowl of granola. Chatted with Steven as he got ready for work.

7:45: Steven left on his bike to work, and I hear miss Aubrey waking up in her crib. Breakfast for Aubrey. She (sadly, unlike her mother) is NOT a morning person. She wakes up and is little miss grumpy until she has a full belly.

8:15: Strap a very unwilling Aubrey into the stroller and go for a run. Run by the park. Aubrey and I make some new friends, climb, and go down the slide over and over. 

Then I bring out the bucket and shovel and she plops herself down in the sand for a good hour. I wipe down the stroller, help build a few sand castles, and fill out my California Primary election voter card that I have been ignoring for the past few weeks. 

10:00: Run home. Fold laundry. Attempt to take a shower. Aubrey freaks out and so she comes in the shower too. I have yet to find a way to shower without her sleeping or Steven home. *sigh* Aubrey "helps" me with my make-up.

11:30: Lunchtime: Strawberries, and leftover meatball subs. We read some books. Aubrey picks out Dilbert. Steven will be so proud :)

12:00-2:15: Naptime! Whahoo. While she naps, I finish the laundry, pay some bills (so exciting), update our accounting, make a shopping list, and waste time on Pinterest and Babycenter (my guilty pleasure). 

3:00: Meet some friends at the pool. I bemoan my super sun-burned shoulders from Tuesday's pool day (does anybody else slather their kid with sunscreen like crazy and completely forget about themselves?) and try to keep Aubrey from drowning. I also get to hang out and chat. Love this part about being a mom!

5:00: Home to change. Aubrey walks around in my high-heels yelling "shoes, shoes." She is truly a girl.

6:00: Steven is HOME. We decide to go the Chipotle for dinner. This part is not typical. I love to cook and so we rarely eat out, but the cupboards were looking pretty empty...

7:00: Due to empty cupboards, we go grocery shopping at Target and Fresh & Easy. I LOVE shopping with Steven around to help. 

8:00: Aubrey goes to bed and falls asleep in about 10 seconds. I've been very blessed with a good little sleeper.

9:00: And now, I will finish up the blog, probably watch an episode of Lost with Steven (our third attempt at watching the series.... haven't figured out why everybody thinks it is so amazing yet...), catch up on our day together, and go to bed!

That is a day in our crazy life. Every day is different, but they are definitely busy. I love it and am so grateful for my little family.