3!!!

My sweetie, E, will be 3 this weekend. I just can't believe how fast these last three years have flown by. She is such a sweetie, a lover, and a keeper for sure :) 

Just one day old:

6 months:

one year:

18 months:

turning 2:

30 months:

 And last week, on the brink of 3:

Happy Birthday, darling girl!!! You are going to love being three! 

Oh baby!

So, I had a prenatal yesterday and can't believe how fast time is flying, (like usual.) In just 4 short weeks, I'll be 36 weeks along and we will have our big home visit with our entire birth team present. How exciting is that? That also means that I need to start getting some birth supplies. Aaron and I still are like, yeah, I guess we are having a baby, huh?  The baby is good to go on clothes and diapers- which I want to write about in  this post.  We are just in need of more practical stuff that a homebirth entails like towels and bedsheets. It's been a few years since we've had new of these anyway, so I think we are going to buy new and use our older stuff for the birth.  Friends have been so gracious in passing some bigger ticket items along. Next month, we'll have a co-sleeper and car seat ready to go. I think Aaron is going to set our crib upstairs so I have a safe place to lay babe down when I'm up there doing bedtime with the girls.  After doing it with two other babes, I think I've got a knack for choosing what we do and don't need.
Here's what we are stocking up on:

A car seat: That's a no brainer, but we plan on leaving it in the car most of the time.

A carrier: Or multiple carriers. I'll have one that will just stay in the car so I'm never without one.  I have a few slings, a woven wrap, a mei tai, and I plan on making a k'tan and another mei tai with buckles for later.

Cloth diapers- yes, we are cloth diapering again, but we are doing it on a budget. I've been given a set of diapers from a friend that I easily could have spent hundreds of dollars on. I also bought a set from a friend for only $75 that would have another couple of hundred dollars. I also have diapers left over from the girls and am making whatever else I need. If you can sew in a straight line, you can make prefolds on the cheap and really bulk up your diaper stash.

A cosleeper: Either one of these or a bassinet for those first few months. You really could skip it if your bed is big enough and you don't have any other littles in with you. One or both of our girls still make it into our bed at night a few nights a week, so we needed a safer option for this new guy. A friend is loaning her mini co-sleeper for the first few months, then we will upgrade to either a big one, our pack n play, or some other arrangement, depending on how everything is going.

Clothes: Another no brainer- but yeah, he's already good to go on clothes.

That's really it for necessities.

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Here's a list of what you don't need when you have a baby, (and I had all of these ready for A 6 years ago.  You could really skip without!) :

A crib:  even if you plan on using one, you don't need one right away. That goes along with bedding and all of the other cute nursery stuff. Your baby will need to be with you for at least the first few months, so skip the big purchase right away.

A changing table: Have a dresser? get a changing pad and put it on there. I found that I changed the girls far more on the floor, couch, or bed than I did on the actual changing table. It's nice for storage if you need it, but you can really make due without it.

A stroller: Maybe you'll need one when your kid gets mobile, but skip the stroller for the first few months and wear your baby.  Your baby needs to bond with you and pushing him in a big plastic cage doesn't really do the trick, you know?  (This includes using the infant car seat as a carrier. 9 times out of 10, you can leave that thing in the car and carry your baby. Carrying around the car seat with baby in it is not good for your back, not safe, and does not promote bonding with you. They are not safe, EVER, to be used in the top of a shopping cart and really should stay in the car.)

A breast pump: Unless you are planning on going back to work in the weeks after baby is born, you really won't need on if you are staying home with your babe.

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Over the next few weeks, I'll be creating his little space in our room and gathering the rest of our supplies. I'll have to post some pictures when it's all ready to go.  I'm pretty sure my 10 week count down has begun (to 42 weeks!)

October Happenings

Boy we have been busy! As I type this, we are not so patiently waiting for Aaron to get back home from a 4 day trip out east. During his time away, I've concured a solo trip to KC to pick up my sister and even finished a hat.  The house is mostly clean and the girls are healthy and fed. I even bathed them yesterday!
All of that said, solo parenting is rough and I take my hat off to all of you who have ever had to do it or are right now.
How about a list of exciting stuff around here?
*My brother returned safely back from Afaghanistan last week! We've skyped and I got to see him in him living room so my heart got to slow down just a bit. He and his wife plan on taking a trip out to the midwest this winter, so I'm excited to see him!
*A lost another tooth! This time on top and now she has that no-top-tooth-lisp. It's adorable. I want to hug her all day.
*We are already a full month into ballet for A and she's loving it. She's really great at memorizing what the moves are called and looks pretty adorable in her ballet clothes. E is missing out though, so in the next month or so, I think I'm going to sign them up for gymnastics as well.
*This is the conference that Aaron is returning from.  Apparently he was so captive with his audience, that someone fell asleep and started snoring :/ I'm totally jealous that he got to go to the east coast in October. Hopefully next year we can all take a proper vacation!
*My little ponies are so in right now around here. I might cut back on the amount I plan on making for Christmas since I'm sure any and all plastic crap ponies will be played with much more that anything I could make.
*My belly is huge!!! And growing right on track!! At my last appointment about two weeks ago, I was measuring 30cm, which was how many weeks I was and everything is looking great. I did start seeing a chiropractor over a month ago for some wicked pelvis pain I was and still am having. He's helping, but man, I am looking forward to the night when I can roll over without hurting.
*on the baby note, J is moving around a ton, I look like I'm trying to smuggle a basketball, and Aaron has been able to hear his heartbeat from listening to my belly since about week 26.  I've started printing out birth art for the room I intend on putting the pool in and am over all feeling pretty calm about this baby. My body is growing the perfect size baby for me and that's what I've been focusing on. I am starting my every two week appointments already and cannot believe that it will be baby month in less that 8 weeks!! Time is really flying by.
*E is turning into a 3 year old before my eyes. The way she plays and speaks just blows me away. She's turned into the biggest snuggle girl since we weaned back in June and I adore her. If she doesn't make it down to my bed sometime in the night, I can count on her snuggling up to her sister instead. Those two... They sure are a pair.
*A has been taking photos with my camera since last week! I love seeing her perspective on her surroundings. She's also very scissor happy right now and can spend hours at the table making and cutting out little animals.
The first five pictures were taken by A.