A little catching up

I've abandoned my blog for a while now. We've been really busy with all this moving commotion. Our closing was suppose to be on the 21st but got pushed back to the 27th...TUESDAY! We are so excited!!!! Can't wait! It's going to be a little bitter sweet because we can't move in right away cause there is a lot that has to be done before we move in so Philipe will be MIA on his days off. Not having him around will probably stress me out, but I'm trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

January has been a very eventful month. We know a lot of people who have lost loved ones and a lot of others who have brought new life into the world. Half the time, I don't know if I'm suppose to be happy or sad. 

Bri has been a ball of fire lately. I definitely think she's going through the terrible twos a little early. Everything thing is, "NO! No! NO!" And it's not just one "no", it's a whole crap load of whiney loud "No's!" If some one looks at her the wrong way she has a break down. At times it can be quite embarrassing. Philipe and I often find ourselves asking each other what we're suppose to do. Being a parent is really hard at times. The way you discipline your child affects them for the ret of their life.... what is the right thing to do??? Brianna has started pinching out of frustration lately. Like if it's time to leave and she's not ready she throws a fit. I'll end up picking her up and she'll scream and pinch me. While I want to beat her little heiny for hurting me, I know that would kind of send the wrong message. I try to see things from her point of view but sometimes I just can't find a way to communicate with her. Ugh! I wish they came with instruction manuals. 

My belly is getting quite large now. Shaving my legs this morning was quite a struggle and I came out of the shower feeling like I could use a nap. LOL! This baby beats the crap out of me! I don't remember Brianna's kicks ever hurting so bad. Sometimes the baby will kick me a certain way and I feel like my vagina is going to fall out (if that's even possible). And....I wouldn't change it for anything in the world! I just can't wait till she gets bigger and has less room to move around. Maybe she'll stay still a little bit longer. I can feel her get the hic-ups now too. It's so cute! Brianna likes to walk up to my belly, with out warning, lift my shirt and give her "sissy" a kiss. It's adorable! It's a little strange when we're in public though cause if I try to stop her from lifting my shirt she throws a fit. Of course she can't just talk to her and kiss her threw my shirt, she's got to share my belly with the world. My friend Jen just had her gorgeous baby, Annalea, at home with the same midwife we're using. Her story is beautiful and it makes me even more excited about us having this baby at home. Soon, I'll have a beautiful birth story of my own to share. Can't wait!

Here I am at 6 months:

Welcome home Blendtec baby!

Today, I woke up feeling a little crappy. My throat hurt and my body ached. I hate being sick.

Philipe and I had some running around to do today. We got all that out of the way and decided to go to Nelson's family farm. I was really bummed that I had to leave my local organic co-op but we needed to make sure we were doing everything we could to to save money for when we move. Philipe assured me that I could get more produce and pick what I wanted for cheaper, as we are moving right down the street from 2 local farmers. I didn't really think it was going to be that much cheaper but I was wrong. I got twice as much for the same price. I was stoked! I was so excited that I told Philipe that it would be even better if we went home to my blentec on the front porch. Whouldn't ya know.....it was right there, next to the front door. Ugh! It was like Christmas. I hurried in and washed all the produce. First, I made Bri a strawberry grape juice. It was soooo delicious. Brianna didn't relly care for it to much. LOL. I think she's really built up a taste to her green smoothies. Her little buddy was here though, and she chugged a whole sippy cup full. Philipe loved it too. Next, it was on to the big dog. I put a bunch of kale and spinach mixed with some berries, mango, apple, bananna, and flax seed oil. It was pretty good but the kale was a little over bearing so I added some lemon and more berries. It was a little better. I loved it but I was worried that Philipe would complain it wasn't sweet enough. He drank it like a champ! He said he thought it tasted pretty good. I think his palate is getting acclimated too! Bri got excited about having another "moothie" and drank some like a champ too. She didn't drink as much as she normally does but that's becasue it was a totally different taste for her. I'm so excited to see my family healthy. Brianna has gotten so much better about trying new things and Philipe has been super supportive of me trying to better the fam. I love my happy little family.

With out further ado, meet the newest addition....

Smoothie Queen...

Or at least I'm getting there. These green smoothies are GREAT! I am so excited... about my nutrition. LOL! Who ever thought I would be that kind of person. What makes me most happy is Brianna gets so excited when she hears the blender start up. I love it! She runs over to me saying, "moothie, moothie, moothie", and points to where our straws are (as if I forgot). It's to cute. She's going to be in for a big surprise too.... Daddy's getting us a Blendtec for our anniversary!!!! It is the king of all kitchen appliances. I know. I'm spoiled. For the record: Philipe is equally spoiled. I'm getting him a kegerator for our anniversary. I don't know why, but he's been wanting one for a long time. It's a certain kind. Whatever! This is going to be our last big purchase for a long time. Once we move, we're not going to be able to afford anything. Hey, at least we'll have good health (with my new blendtec blender) and if not, we can drink our sorrows away (from our kegerator). LOL! Just kiddin! 

I can't believe tomorrow is our anniversary. 2 years baby!!! I'm not sure how long we've been together.... I think like 6 years or something. I'll have to figure it out later. We started dating my senior year of high school so there were a couple break ups in there and I was a total b*itch to him. I'm so lucky he is so stubborn and hung around. I can't imagine my life with out that man. I am truly blessed. I never, in a million years, thought life could be so great. He really makes it all possible. And, he's a super hunk.... so, that's always a plus! 

Have you had your Green Smoothie today?

I've been wanting to make green smoothies for a while now but I thought it would really hard to make it yummy enough for everyone in the family to drink. I copied a recipe one time and tried to share it with Brianna and she seriously gagged. 

I decided to give it another try. This time I was going to "wing it".  I put 5 whopping handfuls of spinach, 1 cucumber, some mixed berries, OJ, and flax oil in it. It was delicious! It tasted better than something from tropical smoothie. And, it got Brianna's approval. (See pics below)

Today I tried to make another one. It wasn't as good as yesterdays but it was pretty good. Philipe even said he didn't mind drinking it. He doesn't understand the whole concept but he'll drink it if I make him. ;) Hopefully, this will be an easy way to get to Bri to consume her daily veggies.

My baby's a big girl

Tonight was monumental. Every night when it's time for bed we have the same routine. It ends with me saying Brianna are you ready to go Night night? She comes running over with a smile on her face signing and saying milk, I nurse her, put her in her crib, and she falls asleep comfortably with no fuss. Well, tonight after our bath she watched a little Diego and started to look tired. She went pee pee on the potty, I put a diaper on her and asked her if she wanted to go "Night night". She didn't sign anything or say anything. She just put her arms up in the air for me to grab her so I put her in her crib and she fell asleep with no fuss and..... no boob! I thought I would be excited when this day finally happened but I ran to Philipe with tears in my eyes saying maybe we should go check on her cause, obviously, something is wrong with her. LOL. Since I've been pregnant I stopped offering to nurse her. I only do it when she asks (unless she is extremely cranky and needs to chill out). Well, she doesn't really ever ask anymore. I'm so happy this is all happening on her terms. I'm anxious to see how she's going to react when the new baby gets here. 

5 months!

This pregnancy is going by so darn fast. It's insane! I know I'm going to be so sad when it's all over. I just want to savor it as much as possible. I couldn't be happier that we're having another little girl. It's so exciting. It think God was definitely looking out for us because with us buying this house I couldn't imagine having to buy new stuff for a boy. It's perfect! I know Bri will be so good with a little baby sister. I'm sure they'll be super close. (*finger's crossed). 

I'm really excited about ECing this baby from birth. I have a friend (Natacha) who EC's her little boy. He's 4 months old. It's so exciting watching him go on cue. He gets really happy after he goes too. It just seems so natural. Plus, washing diapers every other day sucks!

Well, without further ado... here's my 5 month (21 weeks to be exact) belly pictures. Enjoy my fullness! I am!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Bri visits Santa

Today Philipe and I took a trip to the mall to finish some Christmas shopping and get Brianna's pictures taken with Santa. It was great! I for sure thought she would cry bloody murder and Philipe and I would end up sitting on Santa's lap too. I even put make-up on just in case. She was awesome. While she didn't smile, she tolerated the big guy for a good 5 minutes. The pictures suck. The sun is always right in Santa's face. You'd think they'd relocate him or set up camp in a shaded area. Oh well! I'm just so proud of my baby girl. 

This year money's a little tight so I'm having Bri make Christmas presents for family. I love doing crafts with her. She has so much fun and I can just see her little brain connections firing up. I love it! Any who... There were 2 parties we were suppose to go to this evening. Once I got home from being out ALL day I didn't feel like changing and getting ready to go out again so Bri and I stayed home while Philipe went to some Christmas party a guy from the fire dept was having. We had a blast. I pulled out the finger paints and she went to town on making presents. We even talked about who we should give them too. And, she was sure to tell me every color she was using. She's so darn smart! After Christmas I'll have to let you know what we did for gifts. I know we have dedicated grandparent readers and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Enjoy the pics... of course they're in reverse order. 

Bri, finger painting.

telling me, "purple"

an expert with the paintbrush

Mommy's happy little artist

tolerating Santa

Bri and Mommy, waiting in line (for an hour) to see Santa

Before we saw Santa we had to make sure we had full bellies. Bri loves her some mac & cheese!

cheese!

See how swollen her bottom gums are!?!? Hopefully, that puppy breaks through soon!

Hair is a little frazzled, but still cute as ever!