Portrait Session

Yesterday I decided to visit a portrait studio in our mall; I won't say which because I am sure that I am not legally allowed to post this photo for copyright purposes, so nobody turn me in. Anyway, they were having a coupon deal where I could get a portrait package completely free. I decided to try and take advantage. Of course Lily was a happy camper before and after the session, but during was completely melting down and clinging to me, crying for her life. Oh well! I picked out this shot, which was one of only four to choose from, and they edited out her snotty nose and teary cheek.

How sweet is this photo? I love it!

Although I am extremely happy with the moment captured here, while at the studio I signed up for another promo event and am heading back next Thursday for a free beach-themed shoot and free 8x10 photo. Hopefully Lily will do better. I plan on having more sugary snacks in reserve, as well as an earlier sitting time. Combined, hopefully they will do the trick and Lily will produce some results. (Ava wass such a ham this time around, I am not at all worried about next week.)

I have some extra wallet photos of this picture, so if anyone is interested, let me know and I will mail one to you.

34 Weeks Update

I am officially at the 34 weeks mark now, only 6 more (or less) weeks to go! I have been feeling very fit, but I do tend to get tired out more frequently. I forget how big I am and am constantly finding myself being unable to lean over the kitchen counter or sidle sideways down the hall due to my waistline. I definitely feel heavier as well as much more cumbersome. You can tell the baby is in position and I have had a few pangs down there, so I am sure everything is progressing as it should. I recently was reminded about the value of Red Raspberry Leaf for preparing my body for brith, so I picked up some capsules at the health food store and have been trying to remember to take them.

I have been "nesting", I suppose, cleaning the house from top to bottom and being much more motivated to finish books and projects that I have wanted to complete for awhile. It wears me out to tell you the truth, but I just can't sit still.

The girls have been transitioning too. Lily has been moving towards one nap rather than two and Ava has been slipping out of her crib at naptime, playing in her darkened room rather than sleeping. Tonight we are going to move Lily into Ava's room, as we need Lily's room as the guest room for visiting parents soon, and I would rather tackle this change with a little more energy, which means doing it now rather than later in my pregnancy. Lily still gets up almost three hours before Ava, but bedtimes have synced up, so we will see how it all works. I think Ava will just sleep through me getting Lily up in the morning, based on the fact that when I have had to go in and wake Ava up in the mornings, she is always passed out cold and it is hard to stir her. We'll keep you posted!

Elliott is smack-dab in the middle of budget season, which means he works late nights and we don't see him as much. We miss him, but I hope that he can complete the majority of the work before Piper's birth, so that he will be able to adjust his schedule accordingly and be able to be with us more often in the early days. I have tried to keep him cheerful through yummy treats and fun dinners when he is home, and have tried to keep the girls up later so he gets some cuddles and hugs to greet him when he comes home. Ava has gotten much more cconversational of late and will tell daddy all about her day and what she has planned for tomorrow (even if it's sometimes inaccurate it's amusing; she told him that the other day she and I went to library but Lily stayed home because she was too little and needed to take a nap. No folks, I didn't leave Lily at home, she came to the library with us.)

Anwyay, I asked Elliott to take a photo to document "my growth" and he captured a few other fun shots of me and the girls as well. Enjoy!

Why I Don't Do Spaghetti...

... because then it's bathtime and now the high chair is stained. But she loved it!

(By the way, Lily saw the camera coming and started posing, saying "cheese!")

The Last Few Days

The replumbing is done! It took five days, rather than three, and one of those days I almost lost my cool when they were here until 8pm and I had kids to put to bed, but it is over and behind me. Whew! I have to say, I don't really notice any difference. We didn't have any noticeable problems before with lack of pressure or anything water-related, so there has been no positive side-effects that I can see. Since our house would've been up for replumbing sooner or later, we opted for sooner. I don't have any after pictures to post at the moment, but everything looks like it did before. They patched and painted, doing an admirable job with only a few things I would notice (Elliott didn't until I pointed them out and he wasn't bothered.)

We were able to enjoy our new plumbing for a full two days before we awoke yesterday morning to a busted water heater and flooded garage. Sigh! Honestly, Elliott and I both knew the water heater was on it's last legs, we were just hoping to make it a little longer. God's timing is good though. Even though dealing with a busted water tank is the last thing I want to be doing on a Monday morning (and one that was already packed with appointments), if it had to happen the timing couldn't have been better. Our neighbor across the street is a plumber and was actually in his driveway when I rolled up the garage door and the water poured out. He hurried over and turned our water off then offered to go to Home Depot and install a new one for us that morning. Praise the Lord! He and his teenage son had the new one installed and garage cleaned up by 11am and hot water was restored! Whew! Come to find out when chatting with him that they are moving next week, so if this had happened in a week I would have been completely lost!

Yesterday afternoon I went in for another ultrasound to make sure the baby wasn't getting too big. We wrestled a bit with insurance to make sure they were going to pay for this procedure and then went in for a sneak peek. Piper was very active during the first half of the ultrasound, movin' and groovin' in there, and towards the end fell asleep. It was actually quite amusing to see it all on film, because at the end she was just perfectly still and you knew she had worn herself out. Everything looks perfect and the doctor says we are on track for another 9lb baby or so. Right now Piper is measuring 5 lb 3 oz, so I am a little ahead of schedule, but nothing to be concerned with. Only 6 weeks to go, unless I decide to induce a few days early. Wow, did time fly or what?

I have to tell you a funny story - a boy came to our door Sunday afternoon during lunch. He must live in the neighborhood but I don't know him. He said "can I have 2 or 3 dollars for ice cream? My mom and dad said no." Ha ha! I told him I didn't have any cash right now, sorry. "Do you have change?" he says. I told him then that if his mom and dad said no then I can't give him any money either. Elliott was amused by the boy's gumption then worried that his girls' would someday wander the neighborhood asking random strangers for money.

And lastly, here are a few Ava-isms for your enjoyment:

(Big yawn from me.) Why are you so tired Mom? We're just talking!

Ava it's naptime in 5 minutes. I told Daddy 'no naps'. Well, I'm sorry but Mommy is the boss of naptime and she says you will take naps. 5 minutes. (Ava went off to nap without any incident.)


Sitting on the couch, reading a book she says sweetly and serenely as Lily is melting down, Uh-oh. I think somebody needs a nap.

The Other Baby Blankets

In case you were curious, here are the other two baby blankets that I created for Ava and Lily:

Lily's baby blanket. I got the pattern from a quilt my grandma made for Ava. Lily has a fuzzy blanket that she likes to sleep with more than this one, but I am hoping that one day she will enjoy it and use it.

Ava's baby blanket. The embroidered squares have names of states and the state flower. I found them in an antique store years ago and eventually found a good way to put them to use. I *did not* embroider them myself.

Ava loves her baby blanket. She likes to be wrapped and cuddled in it every night, enjoys

relaxing on the couch with it, and is fiercely protective of it when Lily finds it interesting.

Our Replumbing Mess

Our house is being totally replumbed this week. Due to a defect in all of the pipes used in every house in our development (and several other developments across the city), they are replumbing every house - and this week it was our turn. Today is day three and supposedly the last day. It has been a bit of an inconvenience to try and corral the girls either on the couch or in their bedroom and not let them wander throughout the house, but we have made do. And I have gotten halfway through "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" again, just because I too am limited in my movements and it is easy to sit in their bedroom supervising their playtime and reading my book. So overall, I can't complain too much. But I am glad it will be over soon!

Piper's Baby Blanket

I have been working on a baby quilt for baby Piper with the goal that I would finish it before she was born (a goal I have not achieved with the other girls). I had set a precedent of machine quilting the blocks and hand-quilting the quilt for each baby (in Piper's case, I made circles on the quilt), so that they have a unique present from me. Ava loves her baby blanket, which in turn makes my heart melt, and someday Piper and Lily will hopefully appreciate theirs as much. My sister Tracy gave me this pattern (Log Cabin I think it is called) which she used to make a quilt for her son. So here's Piper's baby blanket!

Popsicle Time

The girls have discovered the joys of popsicles, which I let them enjoy after dinner out in the backyard (usually on days when I won't mind having bathtime afterwards.) Oh glorious summer!

I made "drip catchers" out of baby food lids.

This video is a bit mundane, but I thought you would like Lily's "yum" comments:

Week in Review

I think it has been closer to two weeks since I have written, but it has been a lovely, slow summer so far. And I am loving it!

The past two weeks Ava has taken swimming lessons in a friend's pool with an instructor who teaches a two-year old class. Overall, she did very well. At least she stayed in the pool for most of the 30 minutes each lesson (which wasn't always the casse with the kids), but she was adamant that she not go underwater and was pretty hesitant about putting her head anywhere near the water. Oh well, I hope that she feels more comfortable in the water now and we will try to teach her some fundamentals next year. (I will confess here I am a bad mommy and never took my camera to swimming lessons, so I don't have any fun shots for you. Boo!)

The last couple of weeks were very mild here (high of 85) and we took full advantage. After swimming class the girls and I would head to a little park down the street (Ava calls it the Twirly Whirly Park, due to some spinning toys) for a picnic lunch. I would find a shady spot under a little tree, catch a nice breeze - it was heaven! The girls would run around a bit and then would take a really long nap. It was so nice.

Ava and I went toa Super Why! event at Toys R Us last week, where we picked up some fun goodies including a 24 piece puzzle, which she LOVES. We do it after dinner each night and she is so good at it!

A lady down our street was giving away some free toys last week (I found out via an email) so I jumped on it and got a few fun new playthings for the girls. Among them was a Little People Carnival and a Fisher Price rocker in the shape of a blue dog. The girls love them (especially Lily) and it has kept them busy for hours!

Enjoying our backyard

I have been enjoying some garage saling on Saturdays, catching some good deals including a new baby swing motor for $5 (which I had decided to order this week for over $40, so it was a steal!). Yesterday I actually held my own garage sale, since I had been purging little girls' clothing and Elliott agreed to take a hard look at his closet. We didn't have any big ticket items and I have more baby clothes left than I would like (there wasn't as many shoppers as I would have liked), but we made enough to get a few things on my wish list (like new pillows) so I am happy. I think I am going to put the rest into storage rather than donate it and try to have another sale in the fall.

Lily went in on Monday for her 15 month vaccine shots and we were able to get a size update on her, which is always fun. She weighed 26 pounds 6 ounces and was almost 32 inches tall. Just for curiosity's sake, I looked up in Ava's baby book to see where she was at this stage and discovered that at Ava's 2 year check-up she weighed 27 pounds and was 33 inches tall. So Lily is as big now as Ava was at 2. Oh boy! Well, I could've told you that without any science - just to pick her up these days is an effort. Elliott will say "which one do you want?" when we go out and I don't think it really matters as far as which girl is smaller or easier to wrangle. They are pretty evenly match.

Lily is now able to climb on the couch all by herself. So I have to watch where I put things on the kitchen counter, to make sure she can't get anything. Here's where I discovered her the other day:

Last night Jack caught a bird in our backyard. Elliott and I constantly egg him on as he barks at the back door at the birds that enter his yard, but have never seen him actually catch anything so it seemed harmless. Well, last night I let him out at a bird he was barking at, thinking it would be smart and fly away. But Jack caught it. And killed it. Into several pieces. Elliott and I sat there in shock as it flopped on thre ground, asking each other what we were supposed to do and how did that happen. I tried to keep the girls' attention away from the door because it was easy to see and I knew Ava would be upset by it. Eventually the bird stopped flopping and Elliott packaged up the pieces for the trashman on Monday, but we have learned not to underestimate our hunting dog again.

And here are a few funny Ava-isms for your enjoyment:

Ava wanted a toy from the other room and after I told her 'no' she started proclaiming "Don't make me sad mom!"


After swimming lessons we talk about how fun it was, etc. Ava kept insisting she didn't want to go underwater, but that she would become a boy THEN go underwater. I tried to explain to her that girls went underwater too and that God made her a girl, not a boy. "When I go to the grave, then I will come back a boy." OH BOY! No, people I have not been talking about reincarnation or anything. I think she picked up the word "grave" from church, i.e. Jesus in the grave. This thought was solidified when she overheard me telling Elliott about our conversation. She piped up "Why you say 'grave' mom?" No reason, nobody's in the grave. "Jesus is in the grave." You're right, he was in the grave, but then he rose again and went back to heaven. "He went to heaven on a horse. Or an airplane." The theological ideas she comes up with!

Ava was running around my room and picked up a bra. "This is for my boobies." I played along and put it up to me, Is it for mommy's boobies? Do you have boobies? She pulled up her shirt, took a look and said "No, I no have boobies. They're still growing."

Update from Sarah

I figure that after volumes of what the little girls are up to, I would take a moment to write a few things on my behalf. I have a life too (I think).

Elliott and I are enjoying the lack of summer TV, freeing up lots of time to catch up on movies via Netflix. I have also taken advantage of some free Redbox movie codes as well, so we have been running through movies like mad around here. Better late than never! So far we have watched the last two Bond movies (so-so), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Elliott and I agree that we couldn't figure out how to feel about the movie but by the end we wanted to go hug our girls), Revolutionary Road (a Sam Mendes-directed movie which really made me think), and Valkyrie (we really enjoyed this one). There are of course a few glut movies thrown in there too, but in the line-up for our viewing pleasure this week we have the The International and Defiance. Yeah! And we even have a date night lined up for this Saturday, so maybe we will actually try to take in a new release in the movie theater, like the new Star Trek or Transformers.

Even though the TV season has wound down the return of one of our favorites is here: So You Think You Can Dance. We love this show! The last couple of weeks they have profiled the audition process and last night was Week 1 of the actual competition. Elliott and I agreed that overall we were highly impressed at the talent level for Week 1. These are some talented people! Can't wait to see what new dances they come up with each week!


The little girls have been enjoying the watermelon season, even though Elliott doesn't like watermelon and I am allergic. The funny thing though is that when I was pregnant with Ava I could eat watermelon with no allergic reaction. I was quite excited to see if this held true for the third baby, but alas no. I am still allergic and am forced to watch Lily and Ava enjoy it without me. We have been eating smoothies together though, and we are all enjoying that.


Just a couple of months left to go for Baby #3! Time has really flown by the last few weeks. Overall I feel pretty well, but I do get more tired every day. I am back to taking a few naps (something I only do the first trimester) and just trying to keep the pace slower. Even though the weather has been unusually mild here in Las Vegas the past couple of weeks I get really hot and am grateful that Elliott doesn't give me a hard time by how low the thermostat it set. I try to be conscience of the energy bill and keep it up as high as I can, but there are simply moments where I get too hot and give in. I also love ceiling fans, they are my lifesaver!

The baby moves more and more all of the time and I am excited for her to get bigger and for Elliott to be able to feel her freely too. There are moments where he has felt her, but the bigger she gets the easier it will be for him. We have settled on a first name for her: Piper. We are still debating a middle name, but it has been fun to refer to her by name and see her personality developing.

A couple of pregnancy side notes: I can't keep up with my growing fingernails! I seem to clip them all of the time. I know this is normal, but I am finding it highly annoying. And the time is soon coming for my final craving (I have it every time) - ice chewing. Elliott and I joke about this but it doesn't matter what weather season I am in, I never chew ice except the last six weeks of my pregnancy. Now that it is even hotter out, the time may be coming sooner than that. I actually went out of my way to go to Sonic the other day so I could get a yummy drink then eat the pebble ice. Ha ha! Oh well, if that's the worst I have it there is no complaining.

I have really been enjoying the beginning of summer though, with the slowdown in schedules. I never even thought we were that busy (and in the scheme of things we aren't) but with no where to be at no particular time is such a treat and I am taking full advantage for myself as well. In the past couple of weeks I have caught up on so many little projects (like writing in the girls' baby books and filing paperwork) as well as bigger projects, like piecing a quilt together for Piper and actually finishing a novel. It makes me feel so good to have a little bit of Sarah-time before Piper comes along, and to watch Ava and Lily play together nicely and not worry as much about them. Yesterday we went to a local park for a picnic lunch and I enjoyed sitting on a bench the entire time while they played independently. That is such a treat, seeing as Lily is just now hitting this phase and I am taking in every minute of it.