Memorial Day Madness...

What a weekend we've had.

Fun.

Fun.

Fun.

Friday, Sarah and I spent the day at Underwood Family Farms picking strawberries, lettuce, zucchini, and pea pods with friends. The berries became a tasty treat of strawberry pie; my first. We also now have a huge bag of berries in the freezer ready for smoothies and Popsicles this summer.

Saturday we rode our bikes to Aiden's Place and the westside pool. Sarah loves that park and there are so many different toys for her to play on. We rode our beach cruisers; no gears. Not certain how smart that is when you're 5 months pregnant. Richard and I took turns playing with Sarah while the other one swam laps in the pool. Not so sure how smart that was considering we then had to ride our bikes back home again. We stopped at Wahoo's on the way home for lunch. That's always a wise choice; even 5 months pregnant.

That evening, Richard worked his every 6 weeks, Saturday shift at the temple while Sarah and I went to a fabulous Memorial Day BBQ. I thought we would only stay for an hour or so after our already busy, practically napless day, but over 3 hours later, we headed home.

When Richard came home from the temple I had him stop at the grocery store for a few things I needed for Sunday and he brought me a bag of Mother's Circus Animal Cookies. THEY'RE BACK!! For those of you out of the know, they went bankrupt last year, but Kellogg bought their recipes and right to the name and they're on grocery store shelves again. What a perfect end to a wonderful Saturday.

Today, while most Californians spent the day at the beach, we spent ours hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. We headed up to Solstice Canyon. Sarah enjoyed it until the end when she was past tired. On our way home I decided we couldn't have the frozen raviolis I had scheduled for dinner. It is Memorial Day after all. We stopped and purchased all the makings for BBQ; burgers, potato salad, and corn on the cob. I was very pleased with that decision. YUM!!

It has been a great weekend.

I imagine tomorrow will be a low-key, long nap day for Sarah Jane. Usually Mondays are recuperate days for her and I imagine since we threw in one more long play day she'll really need to lay low tomorrow and truthfully so does mommy. I too am worn out. But before we call this weekend over, I am going to enjoy another slice of strawberry pie.

Thank You For Your Prayers!

Everything is perfectly fine with Stitch!

We had the fetal echocardiogram last week and all of the spots, except one have completely gone away. The doctors were very surprised by that. They told us that these flashes don't usually disappear so quickly.

Richard and I both had a strong feeling during that appointment that prayer works!!!

So thank you!

Here's the babe at 22 weeks...

3D Stitch

Does this remind you of anyone else we know?

I know Stitch is floating in amniotic fluid so it's not the same, but the second I saw this one, I was reminded of Stitch's older sister...silly girl!

We're Ready For Summer

Not only is it our first corn on the cob of the season, but it's Sarah's first ever. She pretty much cleaned it right up, all the while saying, "MMM, num-num, MMM, num-num!" with every bite. We'll be having plenty of this in the future.

Can You Say HALLELUJAH?!?!

I CAN!!!!!!!

I figured out the infamous shirtdress.

It only took 5, yes, 5 tries!!!!!!

Try #1) Remember the off the shoulder dress?

Try #2) It was such a cute red and white striped shirt and I was super excited about this one. Again, it was too small through the upper body. HOWEVER, I ended up turning it into this...

A little skirt with a darling yellow and white gingham waistband, narrow decorative hem, and a cute little pocket to hold all her special treats (bunny crackers). I actually really love this and will make more of them in the future. I plan to put it in her closet until next summer. Something fun to look forward to.

Try #3) One of Richard's shirts. AGAIN too small throughout the upper body. AGAIN Richard and I went back to the drawing board to recreate the handmade pattern. He's really helpful with figuring things out, as well as being my seam ripper. We are getting closer. I had told myself that if this one didn't work out, I was finished and would move onto another project but when this one didn't work I just became more determined. OBSESSED really. Most household chores have been put on hold. Sarah's naps have been solely devoted to this.

Try #4) I finally got smart and decided to make this one out of an old sheet, rather than wasting ANOTHER shirt! Also I only did the basic parts of the dress and then tried it on her. SUCCESS!!! It was a little tight under her armpits but is wearable. We altered the pattern just a bit to make it a tad roomier.

Try #5) T-A-D-A...I present to you, Miss Sarah Jane in the shirtdress. The sleeves may be a little long and poofy, but that's nothing after all I've been through. I can deal with that.

Bonus--the waistband is made from an old pair of pajama pants I was going to DI, so the entire dress was upcycled!!!

She did not want to try this on, or pose for the picture, but I'm the mommy and I said so!!!

IT'S A...

We had our 20 week appointment (20 weeks this coming Saturday) today and they did an ultrasound to see how everything is looking. At one point she said, "Look away I have to check the gender." HUH? I really don't think our other doctor ever knew what we were having and knowing that there is someone who knows for sure what we're having and we don't, is a little difficult. I must admit I was tempted to look, but resisted the urge. We loved being surprised with Sarah and want the same experience with Stitch.

Everything looks good with Stitch and he/she was obedient for the camera. They did however discover some "flashes" in the heart; buildup of calcium in the muscle tissue---wish I could explain it better, but I can't. These flashes can be a sign of Down Syndrome, which we didn't do any other testing for. However, the doctor did say that there were no other signs of Down Syndrome in the ultrasound. Baby Stitch has a nose bone and the neck looks fine; both things that would look differently in a baby with Downs.

As a precaution we have an appointment in 2 weeks with a specialized doctor for a fetal echocardiogram. (It's moments like these I wish Richard or I was a doctor!) One of the reasons they are more concerned with Stitch is that the "flashes" are in parts of the heart that they normally do not see them in. They will look even more carefully at all parts of the baby's heart--arteries, valves, chambers, "flashes" and will hopefully be able to conclude more certainly if/what the problem(s) are; if any. They did say that this occurs in 3-8% of pregnancies and that often they just go away as the baby develops further. It's a little nerve wracking right now, but we feel confident that all will work out.

We can hardly wait for September to get here.

Stitch at 8 weeks...

Stitch at 12 weeks...

Stitch at almost 19 weeks 3 days...

Look at that cute little nose already!!!!!!

and I swear those lips look like Sarah Jane's.

Babies Galore...AGAIN!

In 2007 when Sarah was born she was the last of 17 babies to be born in our ward. 17!!!

Now I know for some of you in Utah and Idaho, 17 babies born into a ward in one year is no big deal but in Santa Monica, it's significant.

Well, we're all starting over. The number won't be 17 but there will be plenty of new little bundles of joy to cuddle during our church meetings; just in time for sending the oldest to nursery.

Last week I went to a baby shower for a friend who is having her 1st baby, little Jade. Here's what I created for her...a freezer paper stenciled onesie (cupcake on purple knit I double stitched on) with baby leg warmers, and a bandanna skirt with matching monogrammed top. (I didn't make the shirt, I just monogrammed it)

Thanks for the ruffle bum idea Dana.

Bakin' Bread

Today Sarah and I made bread.

I've been trying to make our bread rather than purchasing it. That way I know exactly what goes into it, it's fun, saves us a couple of bucks, and tastes oh so good!

Sarah was a good helper.

However she didn't like it when the dough climbed up the bread hook while kneading. It really made her nervous; almost like when she gets too close to a dog on the street. Hysterical really!

While watching it knead in the bread machine, Sarah reached over, placed her hand on my shoulder and then leaned in, propped her forehead against mine, and just sat there, enjoying our moment.

I could have died right then!!!

But I'm glad I didn't.