She's a trooper!

As if we haven't moved around enough in the last couple months, Kate endured yet another change last night. It turned out that her bedroom was the hottest room in the house, with the evening sun streaming in just about at her bed time. Although she's been sleeping fine, Ryan and I have been constantly worrying that she's going to suffocate, bake, and all the other worries only parents can concoct. We finally decided to just move her to the other bedroom, which stays cooler, and hope for the best. I tried to hype her up yesterday, telling her about how fun it would be to have a new room. As with most things, I worried more about the change than she did. She took it just fine, seemed happy to switch and, hopefully, got a better night's rest last night. I know I did. So, Kate, thank you for being so amenable to change. I'm sure you'll pay me back for saying that once the baby comes! :)

HOT, quilts and two months to go...not necessarily in that order

Summer has hit full force around here and it is officially HOT! I'm learning why people always comment about the horrors of being pregnant in the heat. I do love my warm weather, but I'm definitely less comfortable with a lot of extra weight attached to my mid-section! That and the swelling and....oh, I'm guessing no one wants to hear about that. So I'll move on. We are actually enjoying the glorious weather by finding water, shade and just basically bathing in sunscreen. On Friday, Kate and I went to the pool at the club we just joined. Kate is new to this whole swimming thing, but she's getting into it. Especially when a nice boy of about 12 shows up and exhibits all the tricks only boys of that age are willing to do. He was such a nice kid, playing toys with Kate and obliging her many requests for him to "jump in again and make a big splash." I should not be surprised that Kate discovered that she really likes being hoisted up in the air and splashed back down. She also got into sitting on the side of the pool and "jumping" in to my arms. As long as it makes a splash, she's all for it. We went back today (Sunday) and I've officially decided that a pool is the ultimate thing for a pregnant lady. I mean, who wouldn't want to feel weightless at this point?? Kate was more brave today and was completely convinced that she could jump in at the deep end, just like "the big kid did." She was not impressed when I said, "mommy can't touch the ground here, so we have to jump somewhere else." She looked at me as if to say, "Jeez, mom, if that KID could do it surely you could just catch me." There's not much winning once they've got long term memories. :) In other news around here, the annual quilt show was yesterday. Lest you think "right, likes THAT'S a big event," let me just tell you that the world is apparently filled with avid quilters eager to come display and or look at them. I'm not sure how many quilt shows there are in the world, but this is touted as "the biggest" and I would not doubt it. People come by the tens of thousands, from all over the world, booking at least a year in advance to get a place to stay. Ryan and I have already decided that we'll be renting out our place next year, wherever we are in Sisters. We did take a stroll downtown to check out the works (really we went to get ice cream, I'll admit it), but it was neat because the entire main street is shut down to traffic so it's just quilters and quilts galore. As I'm not crafty in the least, I can't imagine the work that go into these creations, but I know it's a lot. And I'll end this epic length, not very exciting post, by saying that it's just about 2 months until the debut of Singleton #2! I know the time will fly....especially if I can spend a good portion of it in the pool.

Toddler dreams?

When I went into Kate's room this morning, she was still sound asleep. As I opened her window, she sat up as if she had never been sleeping at all, laughed and said, "the brown horse makes mischief." Then, after a pause, "I want a purple cat." Hmmm....wonder what was going on in her dreams??

PS Kate LOVES this book right now. Shocking, isn't it?

Early summer photos....

....just because I think Kate's gorgeous (shamelessly).

Happy 4th!

Daddies do the best job of chasing and wrestling!

Kate can't get enough of twisty slides!

Seriously, you have to love this: nominate YOURSELF as Queen of something!

We've already been informed that Kate will be "on a bike" at next year's parade

Perfect day for a holiday and a parade

Happy 4th of July to everyone! Ours is winding down now (we won't be heading out to any firework shows since Kate and--ahem--I would never make it past 10 p.m....), but we've had a great day nonetheless. We started it out be heading to Bend's Pet Parade, which is not so much a classic "parade" as it is a chance for anyone and everyone who every WANTED to be in a parade to do so. There were a lot of pets, but there were also just loads of people fulfilling their parade fantasy. I've never seen so much candy flying through the air--kids were just chucking handfuls! There were lots of decorated bikes, which Kate has decided will be her role next year. My very favorite parts were one boy of about 5 who was riding his bike with this look that just said, "get out of my way, I don't care if this is a parade, I am GOING TO WIN this thing." Somehow, I think this could have been Ryan and just might be Kate next year.... I also loved the little girls who were dressed up as princesses and queens, riding in little kid cars, waving as if they were just made Miss America. Talk about great way to fulfill a fantasy! I think the whole town was out for this parade, half watching and half in it! Watch this spot for us next year!! After the parade, we went for a picnic, played in the park and got ice cream. Pretty nice day, I'd say!

Baby factory?

Or, at least, that's sort of how it feels at my new doctor's office. Don't get me wrong, he is a very nice guy and, as I'm finding out, one of the most well-respected OBGYNs in Bend. So I know he's good at what he does. However, that doesn't really change the fact that I had my 28-29 week check-up yesterday and was in and out in 10 minutes flat. And we're not talking doctor face-time here, we're talking 10 minutes from the time the nurse called me back, weighed me, took my blood pressure, told me the doctor would be right in, waited a few minutes, doctor comes in, measues my belly, listens to the heartbeat, asks how I'm feeling, says I look good and sends me on my way. In 10 FREAKING MINUTES. And since they put you on a payment plan to avoid sending a large bill at the end, I paid $100 for the pleasure. Jeez. I suppose I shouldn't compare to last time around since I had midwives and, well, their role is to guide you through. They're people-oriented and I guess traditional OBGYNS are just more business-oriented. Fine, but I'm really glad this isn't my first pregnancy. I was often in the midwives' office for 45+ minutes, with them explaining all that I should expect. I even still keep in contact with the nurse who taught our birthing class and the nurse who came to our house after Kate was born. Somehow, I doubt that's happening this go around. It's not a bad experience, it's just different. I think one big advantage to going with a midwife is that they make it feel like a really special thing to have a baby. A regular doctor seems to see it at more of a normal routine. Again, not bad, just different. Oh well. No real moral to this story. Just me venting. But, my word of advice to anyone who's not yet a mommy but wants to get a lot of help and information when they are pregnant is to go to midwives who work with a traditional OBGYN. If I were pregnant again (HIGHLY unlikely!!!!), I think I'd shop around here a bit more. But that's just me.

Random musings on a Thursday morning....

I'm enjoying the quiet before Kate wakes up, with nothing particular on my mind, so here's some of the randomness.....Grandma Starla and Gumpa Bob come tomorrow! Kate is really excited and keeps asking "when do I see Gamma Starla and Gumpa Bobby?" She's also pumped for the Pet Parade on 4th of July. Actually, she's not so much excited about this particular parade, persay, she's just happy there's another parade to go to. She asks nearly everyday if she can go to the "Sis Parade" (Sisters Parade) again to see the horses and the Bobcat. Hopefully, this one isn't a let-down since there's no heavy machinery (on that note, her FAVORITE book right now is "I am a Backhoe"). What else? Well, I'm thinking how much I LOVE, love having a CSA every week filled with fantastic veggies and fruits. If you've ever thought about taking part, DO IT. We've been getting a box every Wednesday from Groundworks Organics and it is one of the best things we've done for our tastebuds and eating habits. Just last night, our dinner was roasted fingerling potatoes, beets and turnips (all from the box), eggs scrambled with zucchinni, kale & cherry tomatoes (all from the box except for the eggs from a different farm) and strawberries (from the box). Yum, and what a great variety of nutrients. Plus, we didn't have to go to the grocery store for any of it! And, last but not least, although I do love the quiet time to myself before Kate-the-whirwind awakes, I woke up thinking how much I love her sweet voice. I mean, I could just eat it up. It's so fun now that she speaks in pretty clear, complete sentences and we can have actual conversations. She loves to draw right now and we spend a lot of time at the kitchen table, drawing and talking. It's amazing what thoughts she has that she can now verbalize. She thinks about so, so much and it's so interesting to hear what goes on in her head. I love how she's starting to make her own jokes, or at least knows when she's saying something that's not reality. She'll say things like, "I want a pink bagel." And I'll say, "Do you think there are pink bagels?" And she'll say, with a devilish grin, "Maybe there are! And maybe they make pink horses, too." And then she'll laugh and laugh. I know, it doesn't sound that funny but, for some reason, it just is. Probably because she muses on everything with such joy. Oh, I could go on and on, but I'll let the rest of my morning thoughts remain thoughts. I wish everyone such a relaxing morning!