Happy Birthday Eric!

Eric's birthday fell on Memorial Day this year so we sure tried to make the most of it and play all day long!  We started off early driving up to Torrey Pines which is one of the most beautiful places in San Diego.  We hiked the trails above the beach before heading down for some beach play time.  

The birthday boy!!

 

After Abby's nap we headed off for a late afternoon visit to the zoo (Abby's pick).  And in our short time there we saw some good stuff, like the tiger pacing right up front and the hippo swimming.

We didn't have time to make Eric's cake before Abby went to bed so we pulled out a lemon brownie that we had in the fridge and let Abby put candles in it.  She put every single candle in, somehow finding room!

                                          

Quite the flame on that tiny piece of cake!

Potty training - Abby

Almost two weeks ago, we started potty training with Abby.  It was a Sunday and I was staying home with Abby for possible pink eye so I figured since we were stuck at home we might as well give it a shot.  

I really didn't know what I was doing.  I had read little bits here and there and so kind of mixed some ideas together.  In the morning I asked Abby if she wanted to say 'bye-bye' to diapers.  She thought this was a wonderful idea and was all for it.  So we went completely bare-bottomed the whole day.  I rolled up our carpets to prepare for the accidents. And there were tons.  No success at all.  

The next morning we made a sticker chart together (Abby loves stickers) and I explained that she would get to put a sticker on whenever she peed or pooped in the potty.   Well that whole day was sticker-less, until right before bed.  She had a couple half-successes (half on floor, half on potty) so we gave her stickers.  The next day she got four stickers.  Each day got better and better.   

                                    

I was so afraid to go anywhere with her, not knowing when she would need to go.  I ventured out on Tuesday to go running, taking the potty with us in the stroller.  We stopped half-way at a park to let her sit on it.  We got home and she was still dry!  Yay!  We ventured out for walks the next day, and on Thursday the potty came with us to playgroup at a park.  I was asking her to have potty time every 1/2 hour at that point, and have stretched it out to about every hour now.  

And she is doing so great!  She seems to really get it, and the only times she resists are the times that she doesn't need to go.  Otherwise she sits right down and goes pretty quickly.  After nap is a struggle.  Her nap diaper is dry most days so I try to get her to sit down pretty much right when she wakes up, but that girl just doesn't wake up from naps happy so she really doesn't want to. The accidents have decreased a ton, today we had two. 

I really didn't think it was going to work, but I'm glad we stuck with it.  This girl is sure on her way to being potty-trained!!

Day Out - Bird Rock

Had a Saturday morning open and Bird Rock was calling so we went! Tide was high so we didn't get to too many of the tidepools but enough to fascinate Abby. And there were rocks, lots of them.  Even better.

Ready to go fill up the bucket!

Found a big shell!

Snack time

We climbed up from the tidepools, went and got some frozen yogurt and took it to the little park nearby that overlooks the ocean.  Such a pretty place.  Abby and Eric rolled in the grass and had a great time.

Loved this day!!

Pregnancy #2 - Weeks 16- 20

This pregnancy has been such a different experience than with Abby.  I don't think I was necessarily more sick but it was a lot harder to get through those first months.  The exhaustion was really the worst.  I felt nauseous pretty much constantly but I was also sooo tired.  And then there was Abby.  I feel like those weeks were really a fog that I somehow lived through.  We would be reading books and I would fall asleep on each page mid-sentence.  She kept having to wake me up. I napped with Abby most days which felt amazing but didn't seem to help me feel any more energized the rest of the day. I started to feel better around 13-14 weeks and by about 16 the morning sickness and extreme fatigue were gone. Yay!!

We went to see the midwives for the first time at 15 weeks. I was so excited to hear the baby's heartbeat.  We had talked with Abby about how we would be hearing it and had her listen to ours so she would know what we were talking about.  It took the midwife forever to find it (at least it felt like it!) and then we only heard it for a couple seconds.  I was a little disappointed, but I should have asked her to let us listen longer.  

16 weeks

Around 16 weeks is when I first started to feel the baby move.  There were times before then that I thought maybe I felt something, but by this week I was sure it was the baby.  With Abby it was 19 weeks, so a little earlier this time.  

 18 weeks 

  
20 weeks
I'm feeling great now for the most part. I have been able to run this whole time again so far which has been wonderful.  I feel so much bigger than I remember being with Abby, it's already so hard to get up from sitting or from bed.

At 19 weeks we had a midwife appt and had our ultrasound the same day.  I was secretly hoping for another girl so I was definitely very excited when we found out that sure enough it's a girl!  We had tried to prepare Abby again this time so she would understand that we were looking at baby.  She seemed to get it. It was such a wonderful moment when that baby first popped up on the screen.  She wasn't moving much so we didn't get to see too much of her, but it was amazing.  Abby has asked a couple times since then to see pictures of the baby and likes to look at them.

When we ask Abby where the baby is, she says 'tummy' and points to me.  This week she also started to ask for the baby to come out.  She holds her baby doll next to my tummy and says, 'same!'. Adorable!

It's a...

GIRL!!!

 We had a mini gender reveal party with my parents. White cupcakes with red in the middle!

So excited that for our little girl to join us!

Our little diva

This little girl is just too cute!

Beach days

We've had some really hot days so Abby and I have been spending lots of time at the beach.  So grateful that we can escape the heat for a least a couple hours!  Yay for San Diego living! The weather has cooled back down to normal now which is very nice.  

My friend Serena came down to SD and we got a chance to meet up.  Adorable new little baby boy!

  

Abby loves her truck.  It goes on walks with us, and also is now a must a the beach.

Birthday Fun

My birthday conveniently fell on a Saturday this year which made for a nice going-outside type of day.  We went to Border Field State Park, which is just what the name says - a state park right on the border.  You park and walk maybe 1/2 mile out to the beach through marshlands (well, pretty dry marshlands).  The beach is usually deserted expect for people riding horses.  The park runs right into the border so you've got the loud, Mexican beach teeming with people just on the other side. 

Beginning of the trail

The 'marshes'

We hiked out carrying bbq stuff in our backpacks so we could enjoy lunch out there.  Seemed like a great idea until we had walked the 1/2 mile, then another 1/2 mile along the beach with a little toddler who suddenly absolutely couldn't walk on her own.  And then we had to go back.  It was a little too much for this tired pregnant lady.

Watermelon!

Happy girl

Love, love this picture

If you can't tell, it says 'Happy B-day Kiersten #29'

Our little family

I made it easy on Eric by requesting that we go out to eat for dinner.  We went to Project Pie, a little 'build your own' pizza place down the street from us that we haven't tried yet.  So good!! Abby loved the olives.

Cake!  Eric made me a rhubarb streusel cake which was super yummy and super rich.  We had some friends over the next day to help make a dent in it!

29 years old.  I suppose this is my last year as a twenty-something.  I'm okay with that.  And it's going to be a great year.  We've got a new baby on the way (gender-reveal coming soon!), an adorable toddler, an amazing place that we live (albeit the apartment we are in is tiny and only going to get tinier!), and I've got a great husband.  I'm a happy girl.