Pregnancy Update!

(No, this is not a picture of my belly. Some of you may have even seen this online somewhere before, but I think it is an interesting picture so I decided to use it)

Well, let's see, I will be 28 weeks along tomorrow. Wow! The time really flies. I often forget that we are going to have a baby. I have not bought clothes or prepared at all for little Ashley's arrival, besides moving Everett to a toddler bed.



[as an aside, Everett is doing fabulously in his bed. I think he really likes being free to get in and out by himself. When it is naptime all I have to say is "are you ready to go take a nap?" and he will nod, and toddle into his room, grab his kitty, climb into bed and lay down. What a good boy!]



So, what is going on with Ashley? Well, not a whole lot besides moving around. I feel like Everett moved a little more often, but she is moving more powerfully. I have been very surprised by her strength. The doctor thinks she has turned head down already, which is good, but it wasn't something I was worried about.



I get a weekly email newsletter telling me about Ashley's development for the week. I'll share some of it with you in case you're curious about what a baby is like at 28 weeks gestation.



How your baby's growing:By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a chinese cabbage--see above picture) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.



The best thing to me about her reaching this age is that if something crazy were to happen and I delivered her now, she would be very premature but the doctors would most likely be able to save her. It is a relief to know that, though there is no question that I want her to go full term (and I really am not worried about it). 12 more weeks until she will really be ready!


I have been more tired with this pregnancy. I was very tired during the first trimester (of course), and afterwards I kept waiting to become less tired, but it hasn't happened yet. Thank goodness for Everett's naptimes--my absolute sanity-preserver. I just went a period of a couple of weeks where I didn't even really do my hair (I didn't blow-dry it, anyway), because if I had down time I wanted to use it for something else. On Saturday I took a nice long shower, blow dried my hair, and put make-up on, and when I went out to the living room where Joel and Everett were, Joel took one look at me and said, "Now there's a pretty lady!".


Hah. I guess he must have noticed the extra effort. It is just too bad that actually doing my hair is something out of the ordinary nowadays.

Pictures and Updates

HAPPY EASTER (late)!

I got Everett a new Sunday outfit for Easter, and I think it ended up being pretty cute, but I also think he ended up looking a little like a high school math teacher. Oh well. At least he happily posed for us. And I do like sweater vests.

We didn't do a whole lot for Easter, and I wasn't even going to do baskets (horrible, I know), but when Joel asked me a few days prior to the holiday what I was getting for his basket, I decided I'd better give in or I might find myself having to comfort a disappointed boy Sunday morning. And I don't mean Everett.

However, we did not boil or dye eggs, we did not have an official easter egg hunt (or easter basket hunt, like my family), and we did not get up early Sunday morning to discover what the Easter Bunny--oh, forget it, what I--left. We didn't even have real easter baskets.

I thought (briefly) about getting them real Easter baskets, but then I realized two things: one, I didn't want to buy something I would only use one time each year, at least until I have more kids, and two, we live in a tiny apartment and I really didn't want to have to find a place to store them. So, as it was, Joel had himself a black shoebox (complete with lid) and Everett had a regular cardboard box with the flaps cut off. They looked very manly, or at the very least, decidedly un-feminine (a plus for most of the members of my house). But, in case you think I am the ultimate Easter scrooge, I did get Easter grass. I also got each of them some fruit snacks and starbursts, smarties, and sweet tart jelly beans. I thought about getting some candy I was excited about, but then I realized that I am home all day and that means I will be the one who ends up eating it. I did get myself a tin of pirouettes, because they are my favorite and I figured the holiday justified it. That served as my "Easter Basket", and I was fine with that! I am especially fine with the fact that they are not yet gone and I can still enjoy them for a few more days.

The one activity we did as a family was to hide some empty plastic eggs around the living room (and by "hide" I mean set out in plain view) for Everett to gather. He has been very into putting things away lately, so this was a fun game for him. He would scan the room, his right arm outstretched and his pointer finger extended, and when he found an egg his face would light up and he would run for it, bring it back, and deposit it in a container I was holding. It was fun to see him get so excited about it.

We have played with the eggs all week and he has been especially happy to discover that he can open them, even though there is nothing inside. Everett has also learned how to pick up and carry multiple objects at one time. He used to try to grab everything with just his hands, but now he knows he can collect and carry them in a heaping mound by holding the top portion with his chin and cradling the bottom portion with his arms.

That's about all that is new out here. Some of you have asked to see pictures of my pregnant belly, so maybe next time I'll address that. It is probably time for a pregnancy update, anyway!

Studies

So, last night I was watching the news and the anchor was sharing a study that had just been published about teenagers getting high off of medications, particularly cold medications. The verdict? Surprise! "There is no safe way to get high", she said.

I heard that and thought ".....And.....?"

It just made me laugh because who needs a study to learn that? The feeling of getting high is a result of less oxygen to the brain, so it makes sense that (oh, wow!) it would not be good for you. Huh.

It kind of reminded me of those studies that say something to the effect of, "Guess what? Fruits and Vegetables are good for you!". Or, "News Flash! Fast food is not healthy!".

So, here is a shout-out to all of our mothers, who knew all of this long before there were any published studies on the matters. Maybe those scientists are in the wrong profession, and they should get some bonafide mothers in on some of these studies (or at least to determine which ones are worth funding).

Be-ribboned and Be-bowed

(sorry; the angle of the camera has made some of these bows look lopsided and funny)

I thought I would share my latest project with all of you. I love ribbons and bows and all sorts of things like that, so I am very excited to have a girl to dress up. A friend of mine noticed that I have made baby headbands and bows for people in the ward and asked me to make some for her to give to a friend. I had a lot of fun doing it and it made me get some good ideas for the ones I am going to make for our own little Ashley to wear when she gets here. They are fun because they all snap onto the two headbands (brown and white) you see pictured so they are interchangable.



Joel came over to where I was working on them when I had finished and said, "Do you want me to tell you which one I like the best?" I told him to go ahead. After he looked the bows over for a couple of seconds, he said:

"Well, I like this one and this one (pointing to the top two), and I hate all of the others".

I laughed because that was the reaction I thought he would give, considering that he has a general distaste for girly things. I informed him that our daughter would be wearing bows and he hastily let me know that from now on I would have to "run all the bow ideas past [him] first".

Yeah, right! If it were up to him, she would wear basketball shorts, sneakers, and hooded sweatshirts like her brother (not that there is anything wrong with that, and I'm sure she will sometimes). Therefore, I am taking it upon myself to bring a little femininity into this house, and Joel full well knows he can not do anything to stop it from happening.

Hah.

P.S. If any of you want to know how to make these, I'd be happy to show you. They are very very easy and pretty fast once you get the hang of it.

A Call for Names

All you people out there who have ever heard a name, read a name, or thought of a name, listen up! This post is for you!

ASHLEY ________ JOHNSON

is the name we have settled on (sans blank). Yes, I know, we're introducing another Ashley into the world, which was my main reservation with the name in the first place. Joel has been pushing for this name for a long time, and I have finally cracked, with one caveat: we must find an interesting middle name. She may never use it, and I don't care if she does, but it would make me feel better about having two such common names as the first and last.

This is where you come in, dear friends and family. We need middle name ideas, very very badly! If you have any ideas (and even if you don't think you do) please let us know what they are. Even if we don't use the exact names you listed, you might give us an idea for one we wouldn't otherwise have thought of. Don't be shy! Even if you don't normally comment, well, this is your time to shine.

So, feeling heroic? Inspired? Helpful? No? Well I sure hope so, because Everett here has not given us any input.

Something of Interest, Maybe?

I keep waiting for something "interesting" or "exciting" or "funny" to have happened so I could put it on here for all of you who check regularly, but try as I might, I haven't been able to think of anything.

Therefore, I am resorting to writing another post all about Everett (you would think I have absolutely nothing else going on in my life, which is almost, maybe, sorta, kinda true).

These are some of the cute or funny things Everett does on a daily basis.

Everett loves to help with the laundry. It is so funny to see him get excited about it. Whenever I open the doors to the washer and dryer and turn on the water, Everett will giggle and run around the house gathering every little scrap of clothing he can find. At times his little arms will be overflowing with clothes (his or ours) and he will hurriedly bring them to me at the washer and say "this?" He doesn't even really care if he gets to be the one to put them in, although he loves doing that. He is just happy to be helping and will giggle the whole time. It almost, almost makes me look forward to doing laundry. But I don't think even my child being adorable can entice me to do my least-favorite chore.

Let's see, over the past few days I have decided I am going to try to listen to see how many words Everett really does know how to say, whether they sound like the real word or not. It has been tougher than I thought, and I am with him all the time! Turns out, he knows more than I thought, and I think there are more but I haven't pinpointed them yet. Here are some of them (I know this isn't very interesting but it is more for my reference than yours):

• Kitty: "idd" or "iddy" or a similar version
• This: "is" or "zis"
• Woof: "fffffffff"
• Mama: "Mah"
• Milk: "Mih"
• Please: "eas"
• Yes: "es"
• Banana: "na na"
• Chair: "deh"
• Ball: "ah" or "awh"
• Nose: "es"

You notice there is no "papa" or "dada" in there. I don't know why. Joel certainly plays with him all the time, but I think Everett just doesn't feel that he needs to refer to him by any other way than just yelling to get his attention. You see, I am so tuned-out sometimes that he yells a variety of things to get my attention, and sometimes yelling "ma!" does the trick.

Let's see, what else is new with Everett? Well, the other day I was trying to show him how to creep along to scare Joel, and I was making the "shhhh" sound with my finger at my lips. Everett started mimicking it and thought he was something else. He can't exactly "shhh" but he does blow air, so that is a good start!

I've started teaching him the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". I don't know why I haven't thought to do that before because it teaches so many body parts. He really likes the song but won't do anything besides putting his finger on his nose at the end and sometimes putting his hand on his head at the beginning. We'll keep working on it.

Random Thoughts

Firstly, go ahead and take a look at the link I'm going to give you. This has got to be one of the coolest ideas for a cupcake, ever. At least if you're willing to spend the time. I'm thinking Valentine's Day pity party, but it could also work for those of you who are enthused about all things anatomical.

Secondly, well, I just wanted to say that Everett has hit another major milestone (besides learning how to type). Now when he is angry, he doesn't bite me--major "no-no"--but he will smack himself repeatedly in the head and face. It's a little unfortunate, but he never really hurts himself, and really he does it because this is the only way he knows how to get rid of all that emotion. As he gets more verbal I can work with him some more, but right now I think all I can really do is hold him and focus his attention on something else without reacting too much to the hitting. I know that anger management is one of the main things I will have to work with him on as he gets older, but right now he is definitely too little to understand if I tell him to go scream in a pillow or run around outside the house.

Thirdly, Everett now knows how to nod to say "yes". He actually picked it up a few days ago after I worked with him on it for a day or two. What can I say, sometimes I think I need a little positive affirmation that I am giving him what he wanted. Now if he wants something he will come up to me, do the sign language for it, and nod very enthusiastically with a huge grin on his face and his eyebrows raised. It makes me smile every time. I can tell how much he wants something by the height and the speed of his nod.

I am a little tired so I can't think of anything particularly clever to say next, so I think I will consider this the end of the post. I have written more than I thought I would anyway. Check back later to see if I have thought of anything insightful, witty, or entertaining. But don't hold your breath!

Message from Everett

Hi, Every one. I decided that since momma puts so many posts on here, I am entitled to a post of my own. I am sixteen months old in a couple of days, after all, and Momma says I act like a terrible two-year old, whatever that means.

So, for any of you out there who may ever babysit me, listen up! This post is all about how and what I like to eat. Momma doesn't like feeding me sometimes because I get so frustrated with her, but she just doesn't do things the way I like her to all the time. This post is to save the rest of you the trouble of figuring it out the hard way.

First of all, here are the foods I really like, with some specifications as to how I like to eat them:

1. Bananas. I love bananas, but you must first peel it, break it in two pieces, and give them to me so I can hold one in each hand and alternate bites between the two sides. If you try to give it to me any other way I will either throw my head backward in a screaming fit or I will angrily throw it all over the floor (sometimes both).
2. Vanilla wafers. These must be eaten in one of my little bowls. Sometimes Momma lets me take the bowl out of the kitchen to eat them, but if I spill she makes me pick them back up and that is not very much fun. It used to be when I was littler, but it isn't anymore.
3. Milk. I really like milk, but lately I really want it back in my bottle. Momma isn't very nice because she only gives it to me in my sippy cup. Most of the time when she gives me a sippy cup with milk in it I throw it on the floor and glare at her because she just didn't listen! I want my bottle back!
4. Frozen berries (thawed). I am really not very particular about these. I like them so much that I will eat them just fine sitting right on my tray, as long as Momma doesn't meddle and try to help me too much.
5. Chicken Nuggets. I like these a lot because they taste so good. Momma cuts them up into pieces for me and puts them in my bowl. If she doesn't then I stuff my mouth so full that I can't even chew, so I have to take them back out. By that time they look so gross I won't eat them, and I will thrown them on the floor. Momma gets mad at me when I stuff my mouth like that but I can't help it; I just like them so much.
6. Whatever Momma and Papa are eating. Here's the thing, though: Sometimes they insist on just giving me little bites, but I really really want them to give me the whole thing so I can hold it and take bites all by myself. I just don't understand why they don't do that. If they try to give me little bites when I want to hold it, I will angrily take the food they gave me out of my mouth and throw it on the floor as hard as I can, no matter how much I wanted to eat it. That will show them, every time!

Also, here are some general rules:

1. If you are giving me something to eat out of a bag, I have to hold the bag and pull it out myself, even if it is tricky. Momma never listens to me and sometimes she hogs the food and pours it out for me by herself. When she doesn't listen to my protests, I will throw the food everywhere after she has given it to me and then she gets upset because she knows I want to eat it.
2. Sometimes when I am hungry, I just want to pick out my own food, and it has to be from the refrigerator. When Momma opens the door so I can look inside, I make a little "oooh" sound so she knows I like to look in there. Most of the time it is hard to decide what I want, but Momma gives me cheese a lot. Sometimes I want it and sometimes I don't. I can never make up my mind about what I find in the refrigerator, but I always want to pick my food from there.
3. Don't put me in time-out! Whenever I throw my food, Momma puts me in time-out. I really don't like time-out! I guess she hasn't figured that out yet even though I try to tell her by screaming and yelling and banging on the closed door. You would think she'd get the hint by now, but I guess she hasn't. Don't worry though; I'll keep working on her. I am very stubborn, you know.

I think that is it for now. It isn't everything, but it is a good place to start. Make sure you remember these rules because I am very picky now that I am getting older. Momma calls me a pill sometimes, but I don't really know what that means yet. Maybe I will by the time I am seventeen months old. She also tells me a lot that she doesn't want to raise any hooligans. I don't know what those are, but I sure don't think we have any in our house. They sound too crazy.

Differences

Today I discovered the difference between a Mother's way of reading a book and a Father's way of reading the book (at least in our house).

The book you see above is one of Everett's favorite books because it is a singing book, so I get to sing the "Skidamarink" song every time we look at it. It is a cute book full of illustrations of a little baby bear and his parents. This is how we read this book in my house:

ELISE:

(Singing)

Skidamarink a dink a dink, Skidamarink a doo

I love you!

Skidamarink a dink a dink, Skidamarink a doo,

I love you!

I love you in the morning, and in the afternoon.

I love you in the Evening, and underneath the moon.

Skidamarink a dink a dink, Skidamarink a doo,

I love you!

JOEL:

(gets to a page where Baby Bear is snuggling with his stuffed animal bunny while going to sleep)

Look, he is snuggling with a little bunny. That's funny, because bears eat bunnies.

(turns the page)

Look, there he is skating with a bunny and a bird. That wouldn't happen because Bears eat bunnies.

(turns the page)

Etc. Etc. Etc.

I think it is safe to say that Everett is getting a varied education between the two of us and the books we own. No wonder he likes books so much; they are completely different stories depending on who reads them!

Oh, I am SO Clever...

Everett has been fascinated with the gum in my purse for a long time, which is why I usually try to both keep my purse out of his reach and keep the zippers firmly closed. Today, however, he found my opened purse and pulled out the gum, immediately demanding a taste (sometimes these kids figure things out you'd rather they didn't, like the fact that gum is actually edible).

Instead of taking it away from his grubby little grasp, I decided I would take a moment to be clever--oh so very, very clever.

Curious? There is one thing you need to know about this particular gum before I continue: this has got to be the most powerful gum I have ever tasted in my entire life. I don't even really like it because it is so strong, but I can't justify throwing it out because it's, well, gum, and I love gum.

This is where the cleverness comes in. You see, I realized that as soon as Everett got a taste of a flavor akin to an unwanted mint tsunami, he would spit it out and lose all interest in the gum, and I would never, ever, ever again witness a gum-wanting-tantrum.

So, I popped out a piece, bit it in half and gave him a smidgen for his mouth. He chewed it and I waited for the shocked look I knew would emerge on his little face.

......And waited.

It never came. He chewed for a little while, swallowed, and then began an even bigger tantrum because it was gone and he knew I had the rest in my mouth.

Sigh. Okay, so I wasn't actually all that clever. Maybe next time I'll have to dunk it in Tabasco sauce first.

Book Recommendation

I just finished reading one of the most fascinating autobiographies I've ever read, so I thought I'd pass on a recommendation to all of you.

This book was written by a Jew who went underground and survived the holocaust by changing her identity and marrying a German Nazi (he knew who she really was and still wanted to marry her). Just in case a book that is an autobiography sounds dry or like it will be a slow read, know that it most definitely isn't. This reads like a gripping novel and it only took me a couple of days to finish it.

It was interesting to read a first-hand account of what the German people really understood about the holocaust (nothing), and how even the Jews in hiding thought rumors of mass-murders were simply propoganda. She is a powerful, vivid writer and has a way of saying the most with the fewest amount of words.

If you have a few hours this week, I would recommend checking this memoir out from the library. It is fascinating, gripping, and one of the best books I have read in a long time.

Blessings

Today has been a wonderful day. I was able to go out for lunch with a dear friend and the two boys we have between us, and it has been sunny, breezy, and practically a perfect introduction into spring. I could not have asked for more out of today, which brings me to the point of this post: to express a (very) few of the things I am feeling particularly grateful for, in no particular order.

• Friends who are good listeners, good care-ers, and good company.


• A child who is sweet enough to want to help me with every single mundane task I have to do around the house, simply for the reason of being near me.


• Little toddler-boy kisses!


• A husband who has resumed a normal work schedule and who comes home ready to play with his son and pay attention to his home-bound wife who needs a little adult interaction.


• The nice middle-aged asian man working at the grocery store bringing in carts who took the time to stop and notice a pregnant woman getting out of the car with a toddler, and pulled a cart out of his stack and held it while she placed her child inside.


• The people in stores who ignore the fact that a toddler is throwing a fit because he wants to hold everything he lays eyes on, and smile and talk to him anyway as though he is the cutest thing in the world.


• The Ensign that came today in the mail and the tribute to Gordon B. Hinkley that was included.


• Family Home Evening! Because it gives me a reason to come up with some sort of spiritual thought or activity for Joel and me to do.


• That Everett is learning to like wearing his hat and will now leave it on his head.


• Nectarines for 99 cents a pound!!!!


• The breyers cookie-dough ice cream I am waiting to enjoy tonight.


• The baby girl inside of me who moves constantly and powerfully, and assures me both of her health and presence.
  
  


• Warm, spring-y days that make me feel so grateful about everything in my life!