And The Survey Says...

I did not sleep well last night. Surprise, surprise. I was up more than usual, and I tossed & turned a lot! Because of this, when I called Brian this morning, one of the first things he asked me was, "Are you ornery today?" I told him that asking if someone ornery is not a nice question, regardless of their mood. He disagreed. I told him to ask some of the ladies around his office their opinion of the question and then get back to me. In the mean time, I thought I would conduct my own survey. Is asking, "Are you ornery?" a rude question???

Big Sister

Since the day I found out I was pregnant, I have wondered how Ashlyn will react to the 'new baby'. It has made me sad a few times thinking about how this will affect her. Ashlyn has been my world for the past 20 months and now she will have some competition. Soon I will not be able to give her all my time and attention. I have tried to talk to her about the baby, but really she has no idea what is coming. When I ask her where the baby is she will point to my belly.

She likes to give the baby hugs...

and kisses.

She is such a sweet girl. My hope is that she will still feel loved and will always know how important she is to us. All in all, I think she will love being a big sister and she will be a great one.

What A Woman!

Yes, that is my husband! Brian dressed as an old maid this year. He made a pretty scary looking lady. I would not let him hug me while he was was wearing the dress and wig, it was just too weird. Brian hasn't dressed up for Halloween for about 6 years, but it paid off this year. He won two contests! At my cousin Jen's Halloween party, Brian won for "Best Male Costume". He then dressed up for work, and won 1st place! He was awarded $50.00 for braving this get-up. Way to go Bri! I should also mention that he shaved his legs for the occasion! I think he had so much fun, he just might dress up again next year :)

Our Little Devil!

My original idea for Halloween this year was to have Ashlyn be a rabbit. She does a very cute bunny impersonation by wiggling her nose and I thought it would be adorable. Then at a recent doctor visit, I was looking in a parenting magazine and saw this cute little girl devil costume. I thought it would be perfect and would fit Ashlyn's personality so well! So I got online, looked it up, and it was $50.00! That only included a tutu, horns, and pitchfork - tail and bodysuit not included. I thought that was a bit much, so I made it myself and I think it turned out pretty darn cute. And the whole ensemble cost half that price, which included the tights and shoes! It really is fun to make costumes for kids. Last year I made Ashlyn's monkey costume. It is a satisfying project, especially when it turns out well.

I took Ashlyn to Brian's work place and she caught on to the trick-or-treating idea very quickly! It only took a couple times before she began walking ahead of us, into each office saying, "trick-or-treat" and holding her bag out for a goody! She had a lot of fun and she loved the attention. I then took her to my dad's work place to get more treats. I think she would love this as a daily activity! Later that night, we took her trick-or-treating with Ben & Maggie through my parents neighborhood. By the end of the day, after these three events, I think she had gathered enough candy to last a whole year! And she loved every minute of it! Holidays are so much more fun with kids.

If you have looked at Monica or Mindy's blog then you have already seen this next picture. But what I love about this photo and what you may not have noticed is Ashlyn. If you look closely, she is plugging her ears! Apparently the chaos of the group photo was too much for her!

What a fun day! Happy Halloween!!

The Countdown: 1

Just one week to go. Only seven more days. Less if I'm lucky. More if I'm very, very unlucky. For most people a week doesn't seem like much, but when you are nine months pregnant it seems like an eternity. I am dilated to a 4 and 100% effaced. My doctor said she would be surprised if I made it for another week, but I made another appointment just in case. I wish I fit the norm when it comes to labor. Instead, I have been having irregular contractions for a couple months. Some of them are pretty strong, but I never take them seriously because they are never consistent. And I just keep slowly dilating. Any guesses on when this baby will make its debut?

Twinkle Twinkle

Ashlyn loves to sing. We would sing ALL day if I allowed it. But you can only sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" so many times before going crazy! Some of her favorite tunes include: Rainbow, Barney, 5 Little Ducks, ABC's, 5 Little Speckled Frogs, Head Shoulders Knees & Toes, and If You're Happy & You Know It. She used to just sing bits and phrases as we would sing together. But recently she had begun singing the whole tune of a few of these songs on her own. Here is a sample - it is simply adorable!

A Friendly Reminder

I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon. I can not think of a better way to start the day! Also, it was 10:00. That's right, 10:00. Brian got up with Ashlyn this morning and I got to sleep in! The extra sleep was greatly needed because my nights are not very restful these days. So I was able to sleep in and then awaken to the smell of bacon...yum. Brian had made bacon, eggs, and cinnamon toast. What a guy! I really am a very lucky lady!

An hour later at 11:00, Brian said he had another surprise for me. How could my day get any better? Brian said his Pocket PC, or Smart Phone, had sent a reminder that today was daylight savings and it was really only 10:00! How great! I now had two hours to relax before I needed to get ready for church.

It was the perfect Sunday morning. And then came the shock. When we got to church, one of Brian's deacons walked by us in the hall and asked, "Why are you so late?" I admit, we were two minutes late, but I would not consider that "so late". He then said, "sacrament meeting is almost over." WHAT?!! Not such a "Smart Phone". Just a friendly reminder, daylight savings is next Sunday.