catch all

I think this baby is freaky. In the best way possible, of course.  She just moves so much, it freaks me out.  I made sure with my doctor that she isn't just having seizures in there, apparently she just startles a LOT and then flails around her limbs.  Her thrashing doesn't hurt (yet) but it's bizarre to sit down and just have my entire torso twitch--girlfriend is strong.  And consistent!  She moves ALL THE TIME.  It's better than not moving much at all, because then I would worry, but dag yo.  She is crazy.  And big--I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow.

Something big must be going on developmentally this week because I have been sick as a dog.  And exhausted.  I thought I knew what fatigue felt like--but today it has hit me in a new way.  I don't feel like I can lift my limbs, let alone um care for my toddler.  Right now Ruby is sad because she wants me to dance.  Poor girl, that is just not going to happen.

Ruby is in a new stage, like separation anxiety related.  She is always worried about being left.  She is SO upset when Kyle goes to work.  She sobs when I leave her room for naptime.  She hates when Eliza and Celia leave our house.  It's so sad, because it's not just normal crying.  It's like her heart has been broken as she sobs "I don't want you to leave me!"--which is so hard to respond to!  I want to comfort her but I also need her to go to take a nap so I can go to sleep!  So it's sad, but luckily I have a heart of stone.

My hair is really long. It's insane.  I've had a trashy chipped tooth for months--I haven't gotten it fixed because I'm scared of throwing up on the dentist, with my super sensitive pregnant gag reflex.  I finally got an appt. to fix it though--I still might throw up on him, but I need it to be fixed before Ashley's wedding in June. (I'll be the bridesmaid who is 8 months pregnant.)

Update, several hours later:  Celia knew I was feeling awful today so she took Ruby--she's been gone going on 5 hours, playing and eating and even going to the splash pad.  That means I took a 3 hour nap so I am functioning better.  Also, last night I told Celia that all I wanted in the world was Chex Muddy Buddies.  What did we find on our doorstep today?  A large tupperware full of my favorite treat.  Kyle put it next to me on my nightstand so I saw it immediately when I woke up from my long nap.  Amazing.  Everyone needs a best friend like Celia when they're sick and pregnant.

Tomorrow morning Ruby and I are waking up and heading to the airport to pick up my parents!  This is going to be an awesome weekend.

5 years

Kyle and I have been married for half of a decade!  I feel like we have accomplished a lot in these 5 years.  We own our home, we have 1.5 kids, and Kyle has a good job.  Here are some more significant things we're proud of, at least jokingly:

we both have callings we enjoy
we're on our 2nd vacuum cleaner
we have stainless steel appliances
we've discovered our vacation style--no more wasted trips
we have mostly "real grown up" furniture
we've gone through a couple crises to prove our mettle
we've watched so many seasons of so many shows together

Kyle goes to work freakishly early in the morning, so he has to go to bed several hours before his night owl wife.  When I finally get in bed, he is sleeping peacefully and looking peaceful/hot.  I don't stare at him and watch him sleep for long, I promise, but that's when I reflect on how lucky I am to have married someone so amazing.  I don't know anyone willing to serve like Kyle is.  I am a lazy selfish layabout "lately" (I'll blame pregnancy, but it's kind of always true) and Kyle picks up all of my slack without a word of...anything.  He does it all--and that's after waking up at 4 to go to work.  Our daughter is obsessed with him for a reason.  He is SO FUN to play with, and I am grateful for his awesome parenting skills--Ruby obeys him way better than me.  He is a freakishly hard worker and I know that Ruby and I (and soon, our baby) will always be taken care of.  He is willing to go along with my whims, even when they're dumb.  He puts up with my pregnant craziness--without even pointing out to me that I am just being crazy (he lets me realize that later on my own).

I asked Ruby just now why she loves dad, and these are her answers:
--My gma loves flowers
--No
--I want to watch my show

What a punk.  She's not quite getting it yet.  But believe me, she is obsessed with her dad.

I'm pretty self absorbed these days--mostly just focusing on my own physical discomfort and pregnancy ailments (because being pregnant suuuuucks right now), so I don't tell him very often how much I appreciate him and love him.  I'm excited to go out with him tonight on a fun date to see Star Trek and get milkshakes.  Maybe I'll force a sappy moment in the car where I can tell him all about my mushy feelings.

things about ruby and her baby sister

I am sucking at documenting this pregnancy and Ruby's adorableness.

Ruby was plenty active when I was pregnant with her, but this baby girl is unreal.  When is she NOT kicking me?  Does she ever sleep?  Does this tell me something about the future and her personality?  Am I in serious trouble?

I'm 28 weeks along now, and I'm already feeling uncomfortably large.  I'm ready to be done.  The pathetic thing is that I know it's going to get so much worse.  I've only gained a couple pounds but I've gained many many inches.  I'm sleeping like crap--4 or 5ish hours every night, so I'm taking a nap every day.  Luckily Ruby is agreeable to this--thanks to her awesome clock that I praise heaven for every day.  I still throw up mostly every day, which is more irritating to me than anything else.  I should be done with that!  Luckily the Prilosec I take every day has kept the crazy heartburn at bay.

Ruby is killing me lately. In a good way.  I find myself feeling so proud of her all the time.  She is independent and clever and grown up and generally well-behaved.  She is really into dancing lately--mostly breakdancing; she has some serious floor moves.  She is soooo excited to have a baby sister--we talk about it all the time.  (That doesn't mean she won't freak out and hate not being the only kid once the baby arrives, but for now it makes me feel better to prepare her.)  (I'm pretty stressed out about having 2 kids--maybe because I'm so dependent on naps right now, and I know that these days of quiet afternoons are numbered.)
 

She loves playing outside, playing with her friends, cooking in her kitchen, dancing, and cuddling.  She is more in love with her Tigger than ever.  She is quite reasonable about rules and punishments for breaking them and the reasons behind them.  Making Daddy happy is her motivation behind most of her good behavior-- and thinking that her actions might make me or Kyle sad really upsets her.  (Rightly so.)

Baby names.  Literally the only name that Kyle and I both like is Jane.  We're working on a middle name.  I think Ruby and Jane sound like cute siblings.  We aren't totally set on it, but Ruby is saying "Baby Jane" to reference her sister now sooo that might seal the deal.

project

We finally transformed our ugly-but-had-potential tv stand into something that we truly love!  It was quite a job, but nothing that Kyle couldn't conquer.

Here's what it's looked like the last 4 years:

He set up a pretty respectable Dexter kill-room with our freakishly gigantic tarp.

Ruby enjoyed watching.

Um, our new paint sprayer wouldn't work.  UNCOOL.  So we ended up painting the entire thing with these tiny brushes.

The color is Sunken Pool, by Martha Stewart.  I love it.  It changes in the light and is way more complex than "light blue"--we have a ton left over so probably we'll be using it for every project in the future.

 The white hardware really makes it!

It really transformed our living room and made our whole house look brighter.  It inspired us to buy new curtains--and makes me want to buy a LOT more stuff that we probably can't for a while!  I'm thinking new rug and fixtures.