Halloween 2011

Isn't it crazy what a difference a year makes?  Last year Berkley didn't have a clue what was going on but this year she loved everything about Halloween!  She got excited about the pumpkins, witches, skeletons, and of course trick-or-treating!  Every day she wanted to wear a "happy halloween shirt."

Helping with the decorations

 I got festive this year and decided to try "dinner in a pumpkin."  It turned out pretty good, I think I'll make it a yearly thing.

 I also made a fun countdown... finished it on Halloween day so it will be ready to use on October 1st next year!

 Annual pumpkin carving with the Morbys.

 Lisa grew this banana squash in her yard!

My little carebear.  She does this goofy smile every time the camera is out.  (And then has to look at the picture immediately afterward of course.)

21 Months

Berkley turned 21 months old on October 21st.  Some things she's been doing for the past 3 months:

-Copycatting.  Not only does she copy everything we say, she copies our actions as well.  If I'm sitting against the wall with my legs crossed, she'll come sit next to me and cross her legs.  If I sit on my bed and put lotion on my feet, she has to sit on the bed and put lotion on her feet.  She even pretends to spit in the sink after brushing her teeth. 

-Zack decided it was time to face her car seat forward.  On her first birthday, the guidelines for a forward-facing seat were 1 year AND 20 lbs.  She wasn't quite 20 lbs so we left her rear-facing.  Shortly after that the guidelines changed to 2 years and 35 lbs.  She didn't know any different so we kept her rear-facing.  Until now.  Zack felt bad for her.  And to be honest, she loves it and it's more convenient for us too. 

-So observant.  Speaking of turning her car seat, she notices everything now.  She points out letters and numbers she sees, can spot a flag from 3 miles away, and tells me whether she sees a school bus or a city bus.  (She gets much more excited about school buses.) 

-Favorite tv show is still yo gabba gabba though she also likes sesame street, especially elmo's world.

-Favorite foods right now are dried mangoes and frosted mini wheats. 

-Loves music and dancing!  She knows the words to several songs.  She'll ask for music in the car and every time a new song comes on she says, "I yike this one!"  She even recognizes a lot of songs just from the first 2-3 notes of the intro (such as Take a Back Road by Rodney Atkins.)  Her favorite song is still Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Ray but she also enjoys singing Twinkle Twinkle, The Wheels on the Bus, and I Love to See the Temple. 

-Loves all shoes and slippers. 
-She pretty much has all of her books memorized and now she reads them to me.  We try to take frequent trips to the library.
-Her favorite toys are her stuffed animals, monkey and wocket.  She always has one or both of them with her and refers to them collectively as "monkey-wocket."  It's cute how she treats them like we treat her, hugs and kisses, pretending to change their bums, and telling us when they're hungry. 
-Her new love is the garbage truck.  We showed it to her one week and the next week we brought her to the window and she said, "Garbage truck!  Dump it out!" I was so surprised that she remembered. 
-She'll say, "Help you?" when she needs help, "change you?" when she needs a diaper change, "carry you?" when she wants me to pick her up etc.  

Most of the pictures we've taken from 18-21 months are already in other posts but here are a few randoms.

Dancing to yo gabba gabba in her slippers.

I think all parents love watching their children sleep.  They just look so precious.  Not to mention getting themselves into funny positions. 

This was supposed to be a before picture of her first haircut.  I couldn't stand her scraggly bangs anymore.  Unfortunately, she would not let the haircut happen.  I snuck it in a few weeks later though...

Bumcrack.  And yes, she does know that word. 
 

Although we don't have many pictures, we did take a lot of random videos over the past few months...

Her first ding dong...

 She now often chants "mommy mommy mommy!" or "daddy daddy daddy!" with a little fist pump.

Some singing and guitar playing before bed.  I especially like how she turns this first one into a medley.

This one was for Merrisa.  She taught Berkley a weird Voldemort noise.

The rest of these I took on the day she turned 21 months of her talking, singing, and counting just so I can remember what she's like at this age.  In pretty much every video she starts saying "Yook? Yook?" because she wants to watch the video before we're even done recording it.

Forks Over Knives

Zack and I watched this documentary a while ago on Netflix.  If you have Netflix "watch instantly" and want a recommendation I think you should check it out.  It really made us think about the way we eat and how it's effecting us.  Eye-opening really.  

Because of this documentary I've been researching and reading and we've been making some major changes to our diets.  Changes that I feel good about.

Accidents Happen

Remember how just over a year ago we bought this car and I fell absolutely in love with it?  Like probably more than a person should love a material possession?  Yeah, well now it looks like this.

We're pretty sad about it.  What happened, you ask?  Let me explain.

I was driving home from work late (I often work the 3-11pm shift) in the first storm of the season in early October.  It was hailing like crazy and I was in the left lane driving a little too fast for the conditions when I noticed a car facing me up ahead.  It had slid off the freeway but I couldn't tell if it was partially still in my lane.  I decided it would be to my advantage to slow down and get into another lane.  As soon as my foot touched the brake pedal I started sliding.  At this point there was nothing I could do.  My car ran into the median (a steel-cable fence), slid back into the freeway across 3 lines of traffic, slid past the car I was trying to avoid in the first place, and safely back over to the left side of the freeway where I came to a stop. 

The side airbag went off as well as the one in my seat.  (I wasn't even aware an airbag existed in my seat.)  My door would no longer open.  The car was declared a total loss.  Luckily, I escaped with nothing but a bruise on my arm and some back pain.  Baby is fine.  Thankfully I didn't hit anyone and nobody hit me while sliding around.  Apparently there were 4 other cars that slid off in that same area at the same time.  It could have been a lot worse and we have a lot to be thankful for but it's still a bummer.  I really loved that car. 

Now if we can ever find time to go car shopping (maybe during Christmas break?) and if we ever both agree on what car to get, then we'll get a replacement.  Who knows when that will happen...

We're Multiplying!

Berkley is kind of a lonely kid.  She doesn't have many friends her age and she has no cousins so we decided to provide her with sibling.  That's right, we're having another one!  I'm due on April 1st, no joke.  So you can add me to your super long list of people you know who are having babies this Spring.
Here's how we told our families:

Some family members caught on faster than others.

I know everybody doesn't want to see pictures of me every 2 weeks but that's what I did for my first pregnancy and I like to compare.  Plus, this child is already paid less attention to than the first one so I want to at least make an effort to document like I did with Berkley.

14 weeks:

 Yes, after almost 2 years of neglect I FINALLY got a hair cut!  It was time and I needed a change so I'm trying out new bangs...

16 weeks:

 18 weeks:

This picture was taken on Halloween.  The same day we found out we're having another GIRL!  (Although Berkley insists she's getting a brother.)  The Dr. tried to find out at 16 weeks but this, apparently, is our second stubborn child and we couldn't get a look so we went back at 18 weeks.  I'm excited to have sisters who can be friends, play dress up and barbies, etc.  Zack is a little nervous about all the estrogen but he'll love it.  Maybe my dad can give him some tips? haha.

I wanted to write down some thoughts about this time around as well as my "oh yeah" moments.  There have been several instances with this pregnancy where I've found myself thinking "oh yeah, I remember this."

1st trimester moments:
-I can't brush my tongue because my gag reflex is way too strong.
-Puking my guts out with hardly any warning.
-How disgusting eggs are.
-The ability to smell everything within a 2 mile radius.  Mostly not good smells.
-Needing snacks with me everywhere I go.
-Always being exhausted no matter how much sleep I get.

Things I love about the 1st trimester:
-Keeping a secret.  It's so fun to hide.
-Seeing the little gummy bear with a beating heart at the first appointment.  I just melt. 

Things I hate about the 1st trimester:
-Obviously the nausea and the exhaustion.  Luckily this time around I had some nausea medicine so I didn't feel yucky all day long.  With a toddler and a job I don't have time to lay on the couch and be sick all day so those pills were lifesaving.

2nd trimester moments:
-The first nudges and movements.  There's nothing that quite compares to feeling a little baby move around inside of you.
-Forgetting everything.  I went outside to take Berkley's diapers to the garbage and get the mail.  When I came back in I hung up the mail keys on the hook and it took me 2 hours to realize I didn't even get the mail.  My brain is gone. 

Things I love about the 2nd trimeseter:
-The nausea goes away.
-You get at least some energy back.
-You get to feel the baby kick and move but it isn't kicking you in the bladder or jabbing your ribs yet.
-Husband gets to feel the baby move.  Zack first felt her at 18 weeks.  It's amazing to see his face light up.

Things I hate about the 2nd trimester:
-The awkward stage.  You know what I'm talking about.  When you have a little "pooch" but it's not yet a "pregnant belly" so you kind of just look like you're getting chubby.  People who know you're pregnant think it's cute but people who don't know just wonder and they don't want to ask.  It's awkward.
-Round ligament pain.  At about 15 weeks I started having this sharp pain in my lower right abdomen.  It was pretty severe and would shoot down my leg.  I don't remember this with Berkley.  Apparently it's just my round ligament stretching and the pain gets worse with each pregnancy.  It lasted about a week and a half and now only comes back once in a while but it's pretty mild.  It should go away completely by 22 weeks or so.  

So that's where we're at now.  Sorry for the novel, I just don't have a great memory.  We're so excited for Berkley to be a big sister this Spring!

Lighthouses, Crabs, and Sandcastles...

We spent a few days in August on the Oregon Coast with the Morby family.  We stayed at an adorable beach house in Lincoln City and had fun exploring.  I really should break this post up because we took SO many pictures but I'm not going to. 

Day 1:

There were blackberry bushes EVERYWHERE so Zack went out the first morning and picked us some fresh berries to have with our breakfast. 

We went on a little geo-caching adventure which led us to a beautiful beach.  How awesome are these stairs?

Her first time seeing the ocean.

She loved it. 

Too bad it was WAY too cold to swim in.

We visited Regatta Park.  We didn't have time to stay and play which was unfortunate because the park was awesome.  We did get to visit this 400 year old tree though. 

It was really big.  And something bit Zack's upper thigh.

We explored downtown Lincoln City. 

There was tons of "home-made" salt water taffy.

We headed to Newport and visited the Yaquina Head lighthouse. 

Berkley got all the attention she could handle, and loved every second of it. 

Then we went to the Yaquina Bay lighthouse. 

And checked out the tide pools down below...

Zack was trying to smile like Berkley but she actually smiled somewhat normal.  What are the odds?

The tide pools were pretty cool but it was a little difficult with Berkley because we couldn't put her down to walk around, and she really wanted to get down...

The Newport Bridge

We had dinner at an awesome crab shack.  Love fresh seafood!

Then we decided to check out the harbor and walk along the boardwalk.  During this trip, Berkley learned what sounds seals, seagulls, and kites make. 

 

Day 2: Portland

After making the drive into Portland we had lunch at the food trucks.

We went to Hippo Hardware, where apparently Madonna shot a music video and Steve-O took a dump in one of the display toilets. 

It was pretty cool but it gave me anxiety to have Berkley in there.  So many breakable items...

Then to a vacuum museum.  This was a little joke for Carson who used to be deathly afraid of the vacuum. 

And finally to the place I was most excited to visit, Voodoo Doughnuts!

Standing in line was seriously like waiting for a ride at Disneyland.  And apparently the line is ALWAYS that long, no matter the time of day. 

Sheer excitement...

The doughnuts were worth the wait.  The maple bacon bar was amazing and of course we had to try the voodoo doll, complete with bloody innards. 

We then went to see the famous Rose Garden. 

It was pretty.  Basically a gazillion different kinds of roses.

And on our way out of town we stopped at the Portland temple.  What a gorgeous building!

 

Day 3: We woke up early to check out the tide pools right by our beach house.  They were even cooler than the first ones we went to.  

Piles and piles of sea-stars. 

This one was the "nemo" of the sea-stars. 

 

We had big plans to drive out to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, see more lighthouses, and go to the fair but we were so exhausted and so tired of driving so much that we decided to hang out at Siletz Bay and try our hand at crabbing. 

Who wants chicken?

It brought back memories of going crabbing with my family when I was younger.  My Uncle Alan (who is Indian) used to make the most delicious crab curry afterward.  Mmmmm...

Zack had a blast!

There also happened to be a sandcastle competition going on that day. 

Many crabs were caught but only one keeper.  A little kid also showed us a spot to dig up clams so we took home one crab and a bag full of clams.  Or were they oysters?  Who knows...  they ended up being really gross when we tried to cook them.

Berkley didn't know what to think of the sand at first. 

She kept telling me her hands were dirty and trying to brush them off.

Eventually she warmed up to it and went to town with her plastic shovel.  She LOVED her hippo chair too!

Sand Princess

 

On the way home we stopped to look at Multnomah Falls. 

Just being Asian...

And, of course, an attempt at a tripod shot of the whole family in our gorgeous road trip attire. 

The drive was really long for only a 3-day trip and I wish we had more time there because there was so much more to do and see but we at least got to squeeze a lot of fun in the short amount of time that we had.