( early training )

this is why we have kids.  so we can train them to clean and mow. 

i always thought of mowing as such a chore, but karsyn actually enjoyed it.  check back in about 10 years to see if that excitement is still there.

( new baby ... new obstacles )

first off, i will admit that one of these wouldn't be an obstacle if i would have delt with it earlier in the year.  enough about me and my faults.  let's continue with the story ...

in preparation for the new baby, karsyn is in need of some upgrading, updating, moving, growing up, whatever you want to call it.  i don't think i like "growing up", but we could call it adjusting.  preparing.  whatever, you get the idea.

here are the things we need to work on.  although not a necessity, it would be easier after the baby comes if karsyn did the things soon.

yes, embarassingly i admit that karsyn still takes a bottle before nap and bed.  with water.  but still.  does anyone else have an almost 2 year old with this habit?  i guess it's no worse than a pacifier, right?  i can't bring myself to take it away from her, or maybe it's because it's so dang easy to give it to her.  almost like a switch.  she takes her bottle and automatically goes to sleep.  it'll probably be harder on me than on her to take it away.  does this categorize me as a bad mom?

 

ok, so i know a lot of kids stay in their baby bed until they can climb out of it.  karsyn stays in hers, but the new baby will need a place to sleep too.  we have a toddler bed, but karsyn cries for her own bed.  her baby bed.  i can totally understand where she's coming from.  i like my own bed too.  thought about just buying a second baby bed.  is that terrible?  another easy way out.  **thanks to my sweet friend, DN and her girls, we got the baby bed moved out of karsyn's room so we'll see how she takes to her toddler bed.  she knows where it the baby bed is though!  :)

this is one of those "we've tried, but she doesn't really care" kind of things.  some people say to get her out of diapers before you have two in diapers.  so, we have a potty.  she knows.  but she has no desire.  and i don't think i'm in a big hurry. 

we'll have our work cut out for us, that's for sure. 

( big sister )

although karsyn is still too young to understand being a big sister or that mommy has a baby in her tummy, she does sport the big sister shirt quite well, i must say.  this was taken right before our doctor's appointment when we found out we were having a girl.  we bravely took karsyn with us and hoped she didn't destroy the doctor's office in the short time we'd be there.

when i took this picture, i said "show mommy your shirt!"

hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.  she chewed on her baby's hand most of that day.

i still haven't been able to scan the sonogram pictures and the video i took is still on my camera.  i'm slacking i tell ya.  i'm not on top of my game like i was when i was pregnant with karsyn.

( new friend )

look who we get to play with for 5 days!  sweet reagan.

 

this has been a real test of what our life is going to be like come january.  boy i have a lot to learn and improve. 

( a listmaker )

notoriously.  that's me.  it almost drives me insane that i have to make a list for everything.  everyday.  i know that, by writing it down, it frees up my mind to think about other things, rather than repeating it over and over in my head.  i guess. 

but i love it.

i love the feeling of getting it down on paper and just letting it go.  i love checking things off that list and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it.  HOWEVER ...

with my personality, i tend to let my lists take over my life.  i have to be careful.  i become a slave to the tasks i have written down, rather than simply living.  seriously, do i have to write down on my little paper to clean the kitchen everyday?  no.  but i do.  every.  single.  day.  cleaning the kitchen always encompasses part of my list.  but it gets done and one more thing gets marked off my list.

my life is a list it seems.  but i love it.  it keeps me in check. 

how do you keep yourself in check, organized, sane, or whatever you want to call it?

( and she shall be called ... )

Mikah Reese

there you have it folks.  the name … revealed.  we wanted another unisex name so it would “go” with karsyn.  and, in case you wondered, the boy spelling is micah.  i tend to be leary of sharing the name of our babies because I don’t want to hear people’s opinions, which is why we kept karsyn’s name a secret until she was born.  this time, we didn’t care. 

we do hope you like it because we love it. 

 

( she has a name )

and it will be announced here in the coming days.

i wanted to include a sonogram picture, but my scanner isn't cooperating.

stay tuned ...

** i slipped today.  a sweet friend and her girls surprised me today.  my kitchen is piled to the ceiling with dishes.  karsyn's room smells like diapers.  and there's simply stuff.  everywhere.  and she wanted to use my restroom.  ugh.  so embarrassed.  to make up for it, i told her the baby's name.  i won't tell you who my friend is in case you want to get it out of her.  she'll keep it a secret.  i'm sure of it.

be patient.  i'll reveal it soon.

( popcorn & aggie volleyball )

 

volleyball is my favorite sport.  it runs a close race with basketball, however.  just like a father would a son and football, i wanted to introduce karsyn to the sport early on.  her first aggie volleyball game was last season and her first aggie basketball game was at 5 weeks old.

we took her a few weeks ago to watch again.  she thoroughly enjoyed watching the aggies beat up on the ranked brigham young cougars.  whoop.  i'm not sure what she liked more though ... the game, the band, the people yelling, or the popcorn.  maybe it was the little old lady sitting next to us that insisted on karsyn sitting in her lap.

( catching up )

i've skipped around a bit in order to announce that we have another baby girl on the way.  we had a weekend away as a family, which was extremely nice, but now we're back and getting back on schedule.  to keep on schedule and on an apparent rule that you must post pictures in chronological order, here goes my attempt to catch up our last few weeks.

a few saturdays ago, my favorite man's family got together for a wonderful day of fun and yummy food.  karsyn had so much fun playing in the water, then dirt, then water again with her cousin.  her baby even got in on the action and needed a bath herself when all was said and done.

poor baby.

time to clean up.  again.

"shhhh ... don't tell mom i'm dirty again"

time to clean up.  again.  again.

more to come.  soon.  i promise.

( oh boy, oh boy, oh boy )

are we gonna have our hands full or what?  we're super excited and, as all father's do, my favorite man thought of the money first.  you see, right now we won't have to spend much money.  but in twenty five years and two weddings later, we'll be broke. 

it is indeed another GIRL.  yippee!  we were surprised for sure.  we really thought it was another boy, but the sonographer said she was 99.9% sure.  videos and sonogram pictures to follow, but probably not until next week because we're evacuating ourselves to my parents house for the weekend. 

oh, and we are not set on a name yet, so we'll reveal that at a later date.  and i'm doing good too, in case you wondered.  i'm having to get on some iron supplements because my levels were too low.  maybe that'll help with my energy.

( interesting )

the wacky old wives' tales say it's a girl.  { my face breaks out like crazy; i've gained weight in my face; i've had a bad case of morning sickness; i've developed a raging sweet tooth }

BUT with karsyn, the wives' tales said she was a boy. { i craved chips and other salty foods; i carried low; my husband packed on the pounds with me; BUT i also had terrible morning sickness }

should be interesting.  only 2 days to go. 

{ a little help, please }

ok, folks.  my parents find out on thursday if our new baby is a boy or a girl and i'm not so sure i'm pleased with the names they picked out so far.  mommy thinks she likes one, then changes her mind the next day.  she's driving me nuts.  so, i'm taking things into my own hands.  can you please let me know what you think we should name our new baby, whether it's a boy or a girl?  here are the only rules that i know of that my parents have for the name ...

1. it HAS to go with karsyn.  see, daddy suggested andrew for a boy and it just doesn't "go".  you know, my name isn't real traditional, so i guess they want something unique. 

2. it cannot be the same name of anyone that we already know. 

3. it needs to be more than one syllable.  our last name is short.

suggest any and all names you have or have heard before.  please, help these people out.  thanks.

xoxo

karsyn.

{ confessions }

i confess that i have never, indeed, liked potatoes or chocolate. 

yes, it's true.

hi, my name is erin and i do not like chocolate.  and an occassional potato is ok with my palate.  is that un-American of me?  i do have to say that i'm not the only one around with these food aversions.  my grandmother is exactly the same. 

however, this pregnancy has changed things so far.  i crave both of those things.  weird, huh?  i could eat bowls and bowls of mashed potatoes, although i can still pass up the fries.  baked potatoes are out of this world.  maybe next time i'll step it up and eat the peel, since it's loaded with iron.

this pregnancy has also brought about a craving for sweets, not just chocolate.  i normally hit a bag of chips or something of that nature instead of cookies and ice cream.  not so these days.  you see, i found me some of these ...

TWINKIES!

i haven't had one in years.  mmmm ... looks like there are just enough to make up for lost time.

my new favorite treat, however (if you can call it that) is a large water with lime from sonic.  yummy!  thanks nicole for suggesting that.  and karsyn doesn't like it so i don't have to share.

{ wordless wednesday *i love daddy* }

{ big girl }

my sweet karsyn started mother's day out today.  she woke up so excited to go play, but wrapped her arms so tight around me when i took her to her room.  she did, however, warm up quickly when the other kids came in the room, so i played the sneaky mom card and slowly squeezed my way out without her noticing.  she'll thank me later.

here's my big girl getting ready to go ...

 

oh sweet karsyn, you're growing up too fast for my eyes.  dropping you off this morning was new for us because mommy has always stayed at mother's day out too.  this time i came home to an empty house and dug deep for energy to pick up all of your toys that you left out this morning. 

i hope you have a fun day playing with new friends.

xoxo

mommy

 

{ photoshop }

photoshop, erin.  erin, photoshop. 

wouldn't that be nice?  i've had photoshop for a while now and still don't know how to use it.  if anyone knows of a photoshop class or can give me simple pointers, let me know.

{ it's almost here }

the first day of FALL, that is.

at the end of september, the first day of fall greets us with ... well, most likely with 90 degree weather, but still ... it'll be fall.  it's my favorite time of year. 

football.  pumpkins.  hopefully cooler weather.  leaves.  pictures like this ...

it's just around the corner, folks.  it's so hard to go to football games when it's 105 degrees outside.  and carving pumpkins in the heat is no fun either.  why do i live in texas again?