Double Whale Spout

I finally gave Lily a couple of whale spouts. Goodness knows I probably could have done it the day she was born! I think she looks like a little "Who" from Whoville. The sad news is that she doesn't like it when I do her hair. I think we're looking at a future tomboy. I'm going to have to get my share of dresses and bows as much as I can before she makes her own choices.

Well Lily has always been in love with her rubber duckie during her bath.... or maybe she just loves it when I sing the rubber duckie song to her. No she loves chasing it in the water when it gets away from her. This has made it really hard for me to bathe her so I've decided I now need to wait until she's done being bathed to let her play with it if I actually want to get her clean. So what does she do now? She loves looking at her reflection in the overflow drain. Oh dear. I'm afraid I might have doomed her to this. I love watching her in front of a mirror and so she has mirror time every day. I guess it was inevitable that she would find her reflection during her bath. And the outcome of the change of distraction? Sigh. Now all she wants to do is grab the drain and so she's back to being a wiggle worm.

.... and World Peace!!!!

Last night Lily had the opportunity to be dressed up as Miss America for the pageant last night! We watched it together and I thought it would be appropriate for Lily to wear patriotic colors, a tiara, and a homemade sash. I was planning this out all week and, of course, things didn't go exactly as planned: Lily had just woken up from her nap when it started, she needed some oatmeal (she likes to suck on her hands at the same time so you can imagine everywhere it ended up), then I put her sash on her which she thought was a nice little snack. So her drool broke her sash in two and her tiara didn't stay on her head (at least that part was realistic). So she's not the ideal Miss America yet, but at 7 months, that's OK. I'll give her a few more years.

Lily's Miss America walk. You can see her nice curves from the movie. They're all over her legs. :)

Things That Have Surprised Me About Being a Mom

• I never would have guessed that of all of the toys in my daughter's possession her two favorites would be an alien head (really it's a catipillar head that looks like an alien, as seen in the above picture) and a broken calculator.
  
• Sleep is the most important thing ever! I was lucky with Lily. I only had to do nightfeedings for about a month and a half total. She just liked to sleep through the night. But now that I'm pregnant again and EXHAUSTED I'm back at the begining where I sleep when she sleeps.
  
• I never thought I would cry when she achieved something. Like when she laughed for the first time I got a really good cry out of that. There's just something about her learning and growing that triggers my emotions. But then again it seems like I'm ALWAYS pregnant these days so I could just blame that....
  
• Going out in public takes more planning than anything else. Just a simple shopping trip or a weekend trip will take lots of thought as to how I'm going to have her packed, dressed, fed, etc. I always have to be thinking ahead! I dread the day when I have to go to the bathroom in a public place when I have a baby!
• I never realized how much love I was capable of giving. Yeah I grew up with a family that I love dearly. And then I got married to an amazing husband. But having a baby is its own kind of love that I just can't explain. My mind always revolves around Lily and what she needs.

I went to my OB/GYN today and it looks like my pregnancy is taking a turn for the better. (Knock on wood). I'm grateful for all of the little blessings I've been given.

SURPRISE!

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post but Lily woke up with bedhead and I had to take a picture. You know when your 6 month old has 4 inches of hair that you're bound to get some fun pictures! Oh what a cute little Einstein!

Anyway on to our surprise! It all started in November when I just wasn't normal physically. I just didn't feel right. Then two days after Thanksgiving Ben and I got a little surprise and found out that baby #2 is on the way! Yes, we realize that since this baby is due August 4, 2009 that our babies will be 13.5 months apart. To be completely honest I'm a little freaked out and I'm really hoping that Lily is walking well by then otherwise I'm literally going to have my hands full!

Normally I would have announced my pregnancy sooner but this has been a very complicated one. I was at high risk for having a miscarriage, but now that I'm pretty much in the 2nd trimester everything should be ok. I have had blessings and I feel that this pregnancy is going to be complicated and my doctor is really worried about it also. Something isn't quite right, and it's too early to pin it down to one thing at this point. I won't bore you with all of the pregnancy drama I've been experiencing so far.

Anyway, Ben and I call this our "pleasant surprise." We are excited for August (and at the same time dreading the fact that we'll probably be moving at some point this spring/summer because Ben graduates in April....) We're very excited that Lily will get the chance to be a big sister so soon. I'm also grateful that Lily is the most easygoing baby in the world since this pregnancy has been difficult. We're excited that we'll be able to become parents all over again. After having Lily I know what I get to look forward to all over again. Hey, maybe I'll just have a baby every year until I'm 24 or 25 and take advantage of my good metabolism!!!! jjjuuuusssttt kidding.

Thanks Mommy!

Last Tuesday I woke up feeling worse than I have ever felt in my life. Ben had to skip work so that he could take me to the doctor and I was literally crawling to the door. Anyway to make a long story short the doctor was very concerned about me and pinned my horrible feelings down to three different things that I was experiencing at the same time. He said I would be this miserable for a week. I was totally clueless as to how I would take care of Lily for a week. Lo and behold my mom was flying out to Salt Lake this week anyway and so she just bumped up her flight a week early so that she could come and take care of me and Lily. Well things changed and I ended up recovering more quickly than expected so I was able to enjoy my mom's stay instead of staying in bed for a week. Anyway thanks mom for coming to the rescue! Who knows what we would all do without our moms?!

Primary Songs

Well here are some new pictures for my family who think I am some crazy lady because I don't put up new pictures of Lily everyday... *cough*papito and becca*cough* Anyway at the bottom are three primary songs that I sing with Lily. We all know that I am the black sheep in the family and have no musical talents so please no posts on my voice. :)

Book of Mormon Stories

Once there Was a Snowman

Popcorn Popping

I used to sing Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, too. However, I stopped doing that one because she would just give me a confused look every time I popped her up on every "beam." At least I don't try Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes......

Twilight

Well this past summer I decided to conform with every other typical mormon girl and read Twilight. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed the book..... as well as the other three. I did get a little tired after all of the mushy-gushiness but once I pushed through it it was a good story (and an AMAZING waste of time with nightfeedings....). Anyway this past Saturday Ben and I decided to go see the movie in the dollar theater. Did I enjoy it? Yep. I thought it was pretty good. I was actually expecting the opposite. Anyway, I almost had to drag Ben to see it because he had to put on his typical boy face and say that it was probably going to be too girly for him (although he enjoys chick-flicks.... MY HERO!) The biggest surprise of the day was when we were walking out of the theater and Ben looked at me and said,"Heather, can we start reading the books together?" WHAT?!?!?! That caught me off guard. So we are currently in New Moon and I am having a ball with this. When Edward gets all dramatic Ben will say things like, "he's such a jerk! Bella deserves way better than him!" Anyway...... this post is meant to praise my husband. Who would have guessed that my hubby would join us female mormon weirdos?