A few good things for your weekend.

I finally got around to making some things from my pinterest boards this week.

1.  Make these chocolate peanut butter cookies because they are amazing.  I had to force us to give some away so we wouldn't eat all 32 in 32 minutes.

2.  I also made these terrible cookie bar things.  Not good.  Maybe it was the tasteless cookie at the bottom or the marshmallow...who knows.  Don't make them.

3. I made this bag with a few tweaks.  Added an oil cloth lining so that it's waterproof for the pool and a few extra pockets.  I've been using it for everything.  I even made Sophie a mini version because she seems to love carrying around a purse.  LOVE IT because now we match.  

4.  Currently making my favorite party streamers for a friends birthday party....I am in love with these and think they are the cutest and easiest decoration anyone could ever use/make.

5.  I am speaking in church on Sunday on this talk about using kind words and then give a lesson an hour later about this talk on the eternal blessings of marriage.  If you love me, you'll read them and send me some ideas because I am having trouble staying focused.

6.  There is a local shop here in Provo that makes the most adorable kids moccasins in the entire world.  I've wanted to buy them forever, but our student budget just can't fork over the dough quite yet....but they are on my list for when we are no longer jobless students.

Today they are doing a giveaway...for 9 pairs.  One pair for every stage of your child's life.  Pretty sweet.  Go check them out and enter it because it's awesome.  Click HERE to read about it.

Happy Friday!

This is my new motto:

The last 3 days I've felt like whining a lot...and because I don't want to torment Rob with it, I've been doing it mostly internally but I think that it still counts.  Today, I'm officially done whining.  

I've accepted these facts today:

1.  I'm not a perfect person, but my life is pretty dang good.

2.  I have an accident prone/fragile child, but she is pretty easy and awesome.

3.  My husband is going to be gone a LOT the next 2 years, but he works hard and makes a huge effort to be there when I need him to be.

  

Pregnancy 2.0

The first time around, there are so many things no one warns you about until it happens.  Then you tell someone more experienced what is happening to you and they say something like, "oh yeah...I dealt with that the whole nine months!"  blah blah blah.  I thought I was pretty prepared for pregnancy and child birth and I think I had realistic expectations the first time around, but really nothing can prepare you until you experience it for yourself.  Everyone's experience is so different and even talking to people doesn't always help.

That being said, I figured this time around things would feel more 'normal' and I would pretty much know what to expect.  Well, of course I was wrong.

Pregnancy 2.0 according to me:

1.  You will be sicker, sooner
2.  You will get heartburn, sooner
3.  You will start having contractions, sooner (starting at 16 weeks and while doing simple tasks such as picking your 1st child up out of her crib or walking to the bathroom)
4.  You will think you have no energy to do anything, ever, but you will fake it for the sake of your 1st child who needs your attention and whom you don't want to deprive.
5.  You will get much fatter, much sooner.  Even if you are in better shape than you were the first time.

All of this being said, I am about 10 times more excited than I was last time around.  If that is possible.  For some reason, really knowing the payoff and how incredible it is makes all of this seem so trivial.  Last time around I could only guess at how great it would be.

I can't wait to have another baby around (I know some of you are thinking that I still do have a baby, but I feel like Sophie is so 'grown up' now.   I'm talking baby, baby....of the newborn kind).

I can't wait for sisters.

I can't wait for playmates.

I can't wait for little kid kisses and hugs.

I can't wait for newborn cuddles and noises.

I can't wait for newborn smells and itty bitty clothes.

Mostly I can't wait to have this little girl be a part of our family.  More than last time, I feel like I already know her.  Maybe because she has felt alive for so much longer or maybe because it's easier to imagine what she'll be like after already having one.

I am not one of those women who loves the 40 weeks of pregnancy leading up to the child birth.  I much prefer the 40 weeks following childbirth.  Right now I'm trying to move on with life and stay busy so that time moves as quickly as possible until the end reward.  Which is MORE than worth it.

Confessions...of a 14 month old.

I haven't done confessions in a while, but I decided to do them Sophie style...so here goes.

Confessions for a 14 month old Sophie.

1.  She'll eat anything better if I give it to her in a bowl with a spoon and then walk away.

2.  She will NOT go to bed without her "bebe" or pacifier.

3.  She likes to help keep our house clean by taking out all of the wipes from her diaper bag and wiping things down...and by throwing away trash in the trash can (she really does this and so far, to my knowledge, has never thrown away 'non' trash).

4.  Her version of coming down the stairs involves sliding all the way down on her tummy at super sonic speeds.  Without stopping once.

5.  When she gets in 'trouble' she attempts to divert attention away from what she did by playing "peek-a-boo" and it usually works.

6.  She pees in the tub or next to the tub before she gets in almost every single day (you'd think I'd learn).
7.  She prefers bananas mashed in her oatmeal for breakfast over anything else.

8.  She gags on purpose when she doesn't want to eat what I'm feeding her.

9.  She will chew on food for hours (literally) before swallowing it.  Once, I looked down and noticed she was stretching something between her hands (imagine stretching a rubber band out and letting it back in several times really quickly).  I got nervous and wondered where she had found a rubber band.  I immediately took it away only to find that it was a piece of bacon fat from a tiny piece of bacon she had gotten when she took a bite of Rob's pizza almost an hour earlier.  Delicious.

10.  Her favorite snack is popcorn (the real kind that you pop in a popper without butter or salt).  We let her  sit with  us on the couch, eating popcorn and watching parts of movies (usually Tangled, or Ice Age) occasionally before she goes to bed.  And I don't feel bad about it because she loves it and so do we.

11.  She is spoiled.  Not the lots-of-toys kind of spoiled, but the attention craving, mom leaves and she cry's kind of spoiled.  She is going to have a rude awakening in December.  Hopefully I'll be able to find a good balance.

12.  One of her favorite things to do is brush her teeth.  She runs into our bathroom before I can get her diaper on after every bath to get her tooth brush.

13.  She will sit in her chair (her soft pink one or her mini high chair) for 30 minutes at a time doing absolutely nothing but playing with the straps and talking to herself.  I'm convinced she thinks she's the queen of something.

14.  She carry's everything around like  purse.  Over her shoulder.  She's even mastered the shoulder shrug to get it back on when it starts to slip off.

15.  She loves everything GIRL.  She will hold her hands still and let me paint them with polish and proceed to blow on them until they are dry.  She'll brings me different outfits and shoes throughout the day that she wants to wear.  We go through 4-5 outfits a day because she wants a different dress on, not because they are dirty.  Sometimes when I take a dress or skirt off of her, she will cry.

16. She can climb onto or into almost anything in our house and if she can't quite do it, she'll try until someone stops her.  She is one dedicated little monkey.

17.  She has mini melt downs which include her throwing herself to the floor and flailing around.  Or, she'll start throwing anything within reach.  We usually ignore her when she does this unless/until she hurts herself.

18.  She is still extremely obedient will do anything you ask her to.  I love this about her.

19.  She hates diaper changes.  Still.

20.  She likes to put lotion...actually coconut oil... on her belly in the morning because she see's me doing it when I get out of the shower (got to prevent those stretch marks).

21.  She is still the happiest baby I know....as long as strangers or animals don't get too close.

Best Summer

This has been my favorite summer in Provo...by far!  Proabably because I have finally had time to actually enjoy myself.  Last summer was all about taking care of a new baby (good summer, but we stayed inside a lot) and every summer before that it's been work and school.  This summer is still all about Sophie but in an out doors, pool going, park playing kind of way.

We had some fun at our family cabin with most of my family a few weeks ago.

Sophie got a new chair from Rob's mom.  She loves it.  Our apartment is tiny so I put it away when she's not using it.  As soon as it's gone, she notices and wants it back again.  She does everything on the chair.  Snacks, plays, sings, everything.  Here she just finished pulling out all the bibs from the drawer and pilling them on the chair next to her...you know....because they can be fun toys too.

She's become a very good dancer.  At least with her arms.  And a good singer as well.  Especially at church during the hymns.  Here she is singing and dancing to the African Soweto Gospel Choir. 

We have season passes to a water park down the road and go several times a week.  Sophie is obsessed with the water.  She falls down constantly, but it doesn't seem to bother her.  She learned pretty early on not to breath under there.  It's a special treat when dad comes because then we get a chance to go on some of the water slides (which she is also obsessed with).  He got to come with us recently, and I was able to snap some pictures which is an impossible task when I'm alone.

We've also been spending some quality time at the park when it's not too hot.  She is in love with the slides and goes down them voluntarily without help.  Usually on her stomach with feet first, but occasionally head first when she's feeling extra brave.  Recently, she learned this skill....which was not aided in any way by Rob or myself.  I swear.

Enjoy.

If you listen carefully and ignore the goofy parents, you can hear Sophie.  The best is the way she laughs when she gets to the top, as if to say, "ha ha ha....I did it!"

Campbell 3.5

Our family is quite literally 3.5 right now.  Baby number two is due in December, so I am just over half way done!  Wahoo.  We had the first ultrasound yesterday and found out we are having a girl!

So modest.  The technician had trouble getting a good shot to determine the gender.  Her legs were crossed like this the entire time (if you can't tell, this is a picture from her knees to her feet crossed at the heels).  Fortunately for us, she decided to take a little stretch break near the end and they were able to finally determine the gender.  Completely the opposite of Sophie, who had her legs stretched out the entire 40 weeks.  

Profile...minus the nose, which is squished near the top.  It was funny to see her arms moving around the entire time.  Exactly like Sophie.  So wiggly, even today.

Couldn't be more excited.  I LOVED having sisters near my age and am really excited for Sophie and her little sister to have fun together.  In case you are wondering- they will be almost 19 months apart.

Just for fun, here's a little taste of what our summer has been like...can't believe it's almost over.

My vacation.

I had the chance to visit Sarah in D.C a few weeks ago.  The vacation could not have come at a better time.  I have to admit that I was feeling really nervous about leaving.  So nervous, in fact, that I almost cancelled a bazillion times.  Sarah even called a few days before to let me know that she wouldn't be hurt/disappointed if I couldn't do it.  I have never left Sophie before and even though I knew she would be well taken care of, I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving her.  We get a babysitter maybe once a month for only an hour or two and I really wanted to take her with me.  It felt weird to leave behind the person that has been attached to my hip for the last 13 months, but with a lot of convincing from Rob I decided to go alone and get a real break (before breaks become more impossible in the next few months).

I didn't take a ton of pictures, but some of my favorite places included:

The library of Congress.  Really interesting place and so beautiful inside.  Plus, Sarah and I were pretty sure that we saw the Dalai Lama while we were there.

The Capitol building....even though it took as a million years to get inside because of our food and water bottles (they expected us to walk around in 100 degree heat + 100 % humidity without water....go figure).

The Ford Theater.  It was closed the last time I was in D.C for renovations.  I don't think I've ever heard the entire story of Lincoln's death before, but it was really a lot more detailed that I knew.

Mount Vernon.  We took the Potamic River Cruise to Mount Vernon.  We almost missed our boat, but I'm so glad we didn't because this was my favorite part of the trip.  Even though it was the hottest day ever.

Such a fun trip.  I didn't realize how nice it would feel to have a break.  I definitely felt refreshed when I came home and I think it made me a better mom.  Hopefully this rejuvenating feeling will last for a while longer so I can keep being productive.  Plus, I needed to see Sarah.  We've really missed her since she's been away and it was fun to spend time with her again.  

And...Sophie had the time of her life with Rob and his mom.  Seriously.  She was well taken care of.

Granola Bars

These are my all time favorite granola bars.  My sister lovingly adapted this recipe from here to make it a little healthier and yummier.  I used some of her tricks to make the recipe below, so here you go.  

Delicious, Healthy, Chewy Granola Bars

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the following on a large cookie sheet:

2 cups oats

¾ cup wheat germ

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

½ cup peanuts, crushed

½ cup almonds, crushed 

**I use whatever nuts I have on hand (cashews and pecans are delicious).  Just make sure you end up with about 1 cup total.

Place cookie sheet in oven and toast lightly for 5-10 minutes stirring once.

While you wait chop:

8 oz. of dried fruit (cranberry’s, raisins, blueberry’s, cherry's) 

Set aside.  

Then mix the following over medium heat until completely melted:

½ cup sucanat (blended in blender until fine like powdered sugar to help it dissolve)

½ cup honey

4 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp kosher salt

*Use ¾ cup brown sugar to replace sucanat if you don’t have any.  You can buy it at your local health food store.

Rob likes it when I add chocolate chips.  Shhhhh.  They are supposed to be healthy.

Place dry and wet ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the dried fruit and mix together until evenly coated.   Poor granola into a wax paper lined 9 x 9 inch cake pan.  Place another piece of wax paper directly on top of the granola and press down with your hands until the granola is tightly packed into one large bar.

Set aside until completely cooled and slightly harder.  Turn cake pan over onto a cutting board.  Peel away wax paper and cut into bars.  Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in airtight container or ziplock in the fridge.