That's Life

Last weekend at my brother's amazing wedding I was approached by my mom's good friend Sharilyn who mentioned that I had not written in months. I had to think about it and then realized she was right. 
Life is busy and has gotten in the way. First off I was out of town 3 out of 4 weekends in September...I hosted a bridal shower up north, went to San Francisco, went up north again for WSU game then flew to AZ for a week. 
In October I was hardly home, as mentioned traveled to AZ with my mom to visit my grandparents. Then I went to Vegas for my future sister-in-law's bachelorette party. Then we went home for a week before the wedding! I have not had to time to sit down and post and have forgotten about the blog. 

In other news....we are pregnant again!! 14 weeks today and feeling great. I have had 2 ultrasounds and all looks good. Due date is May 3rd (Jeff's grandma's birthday). 

12 week thumb sucker (just like sister)

We have been trying to explain to Jenna how there is a new baby coming and she gets to be a big sister and help us. I don't think she understands but figured we can keep talking about it. Especially as my belly has started to pop. I am a little worried about have 2 kiddos but I know I can do it and we will make it work. 

All is well here and I will try to be better. Jenna is doing great and can't believe she is almost two! She is learning her ABC's and counting to 10. Is talking up a storm. It is so fun to finally be able to communicate with her. She is a joy!
 

Loving the Babies

As mentioned before Jenna loves babies...real ones and the dolls. We went to the children's museum today to beat the heat and when we found the babies she was in heaven!

You will notice that these babies are anatomically correct and Jenna noticed the boy baby part (the reason for my giggle).

This is the best age. She makes me laugh every day!

Where have we been?

After a friendly reminder message last night from a fellow blogger and probably my only reader...Hannah; I realized that I haven't posted in a while. So here we go...

Life has been busy. I remember when Jenna was 7 months old this time last year and how I thought "oh boy our life is busy." I was kidding myself. Life with a 19 month old is REALLY busy. I can't imagine what this time next year will be. 

Jenna is a delight as always and has really grown into her personality. She is talking up a storm and really starting to communicate. She is obsessed with her baby doll and looking at pictures of "babies" aka herself either on our phones or on the computer. Lately we have been watching videos of her as a newborn and she is loving it. Not sure if this is a sign that she is ready for a sibling or just a phase. I am not sure if we are ready for that sibling yet so she will have to wait. 

Here is a recap from the last few months:

JUNE

The month of June consisted of a visit from cousin Kailey, Brian and Krissa. Grandma Myrene also came down. We celebrated Jeff's graduation from residency. I am so proud of him and so happy that everyone was here to celebrate with us.

JULY

Over the 4th of July, Jenna and I headed north to spend the week with family while Jeff flew back east for Red Chris' bachelor party. We had fun at G.G.'s and Grandma Myrene's houses and spending time with Grammy, Papa, Nana, and Grandpa-pa.

 We had a fun play date with Jenna's friend Timothy. 

At the end of the month I was lucky enough to go on a girl's weekend to Lake Chelan. There were 14 of us and we spent the weekend laying in the sun, wine tasting and most of all relaxing!

Sisters!

Me and my good friend Anna

wine tasting

Enjoying the pool in our backyard.

Have a Seat

We decided it was time to buy Jenna a potty. In the last month she has started to show interest in the potty (especially while we are in there...that is another story). She has even started patting her bottom and saying diaper sometimes after she goes. There are a few toddlers in my mom's group that have used the potty, so we figured why not get one and have it present in the bathroom. She has shown some interest, but mostly wants to lift the lid up and look inside. We really have no plans to start potty training soon, but we figured we would have one just in case. Until then she can use it to sit down on when she decides to visit us while we are in there!

Finally!

Sorry for the delay of blog posts. I was taking a blog break.
A major milestone occurred while on a break....Jenna started walking on her own on 5/14/12! She had been taking steps on her own but wouldn't walk by herself. She is still toddling around and will fall occasionally. She would rather walk indoors where she knows she can grab onto something but will walk outdoors as long as we are close by. Here is a video from my cell phone when the first steps were taken:

 She also has been talking a lot lately and says several words or they sound like words: Up, Oh, Whoa, Oskar--"ah-kar" (my parent's dog), Mama, Dada, Tuse (my sister's nickname), Yes, Bird, Diaper--"da-per" and then pats her bottom, Papa, Hi, Woof, GG, Cracker--"ka-ker", Apple, and Yah. This stage has been so fun and I love how she is trying to communicate with us now. She still gets frustrated if I can't figure it out but I'm trying :)
Here is a video from the end of April talking to my mom:

And another video taken a few weeks ago saying "Oskar" (his picture is on the fridge):

She is a full blown toddler now (9 teeth), around 23 lbs, likes to chat with us, "talks" on the phone, snuggle, read books, play with her new kitchen, listen and watch music being played, playing with friends, loves her baby doll, loves wearing sunglasses and eats basically anything we give her! Love her more everyday, such a joy!!

Guatemala--Day 9

Guatemala Day 9

I woke up at 5:30am to see the group off.  It was bittersweet as I made a bunch of new friends and hope I am able to stay in contact with them in the future.  They headed off on the to bus Guatemala City and I went back to bed.  The 3 of us remaining left Santiago at 10am for another winding trip back towards the city. We stopped in a town called Antigua, which is a beautiful little place and very touristy.  The city has strong Spanish architectural  influence and gorgeous buildings with cobblestone streets and a central city park.  The area was ruined by an earthquake, so there are many buildings partially destroyed, some restored. We just spent the day seeing the city and eating great food, and we are heading to bed early as we head out on an early flight to Tikal.

Here are some more pictures:

 

Guatemala--Day 8

Guatemala Day 8

Today was our final day operating, we took care of six kiddos and hopefully made a big change in their life.  They all have been so cute and fun to take care of , I wish we had a good way to see follow-up pictures of them once they heal from surgery.  The hospital has been very gracious and friendly to us, and today they cooked us lunch (although my stomach wasn't feeling up to eating...maybe Come Tacos is coming back to haunt me).  

After the last case we cleaned up the OR and it looked like our team had never even been there.  We headed out to a fancy restaurant for dinner and drinks, and got the medical student  shot of tequila to celebrate the fact that with the completion of the last kiddo his medical school was done ( he officially graduates next month).  

From a team standpoint I couldn't have been more fortunate to work with a great bunch of people.  We got along great as a team and had an enjoyable time both working together and spending our evenings together outside of the hospital.  I have made new friends that I will hopefully remain in close contact with, and maybe even travel on a mission trip again with in the future.  It was great to get to spend a little extra time with them before we parted ways.  In the morning most will leave back to Guatemala, while a handful of us will stay and do some tourism first.