When God Knows Best...We're Expecting!

G will be getting a little brother or sister for Christmas this year! They will be 22 months apart, which is a bit closer than I'd prefer, but it's really something God had his hand in.

The long and short of it is that this baby was neither planned nor unplanned. We left it up to God and we couldn't be more excited now. We'd like 3 kids and are glad to be young parents. G loves babies and other kids, I know she will be a great big sister. She's nearly weaned (just went down to 1 feeding--before bed--today) and will probably be potty trained by the end of the summer. She really doesn't seem like a baby at all. Her lack of real-word-talking is really the only thing that reminds us just how young she is at 15 months.

Fifteen Months old

Many times moms will reflect on how old their kid is and say.... 'where did the time go?'
Not me, not this month. It seems like G should be a lot older than 15 months--it seems she's been around a lot longer than a year + 3 months.

She's a regular part of the family, and only if I try very hard can I imagine life before her. Because I stay home with her every day, she feels like an extension of myself. I don't often worry about her, because it seems like I've developed a sixth sense. I can almost always tell what's wrong with her, even though she's not great at talking. I can hear the difference in her words, even though they probably all sound like 'da-da' to anyone else. I guess it's just a mom thing.

Anyways, she's growing right along and the official measurements from her well-child check-up are:
Height: 30.5"
Weight: 21.5 lbs

Tooth Count: 4 top, 2 bottom, 1/2 of a top molar (the outer half is clear of her gums, but the inner half is still covered), & G has been cutting a bottom tooth for a few days now. I'm not sure if it's sharp (and clear of the gums) yet, because I don't want to get bit! She also has bulging gums at the site of the other 3 molars.

She still wears a size 4W shoe (regular fours DO NOT fit her) and size 18 month clothes. The doctor, whom I do not like (I miss our KS doctor so much), said her numbers are very average, despite many peoples' comments that she is very small.

Here are some facts about 15 month old G---

Mother's Day 2012 Adventures

This Mother's Day was my best one yet (though only my second one ever). My husband was off work on Saturday, so that was a nice treat in itself. We went for a long bike ride, played at a new park (and met another toddler family), went to the Farmer's Market, and went to mass in the evening. Sunday we went to Stockton (apparently the Foreclosure Capital of the country) to check out what the medium-size city in the central valley had to offer. We went for a nature walk and chased geese at a regional park, ate a delicious patio lunch, saw some nice yachts at the downtown marina, and {my personal reason for heading to Stockton} got Sonic happy hour drinks.

Thirsties Duo AIO winner

Another successful cloth diaper giveaway has ended. Thanks to the 187 people (3099 total entries) who entered, it is great to see so many people entered in the new all-in-one offered by Thirsties.

The winner is:

Surprise Visitors {photos}

We has surprise visitors last week--thus my lack of pre-scheduled blog posts to cover my absence while playing hostess.

My grandpa, his wife, and daughter (my half-aunt who is several years younger than me) have been on a cross-country road trip for well over a week now. Last Wednesday they called me from 3 hours away, wondering if they could stop by for a visit. Thankfully, my mom had given me some clue that this might happen...so I wasn't completely thrown off guard. I also have a clean-house complex that kept me from having to run around making my house presentable right before they walked in.

It was lovely to spend time with family, and G reallllllyyyy enjoyed hamming it up for her new friends. She's met them a few times before, but not in her recent memory. My husband didn't get any time off work, but he did spend the evenings with us. I took them into the city on Friday and we saw the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf.
Here are the highlight photos (taken with my new camera):

Dirt: Wordless Wednesday #linky

Until recently, G wasn't interested in mud or dirt. She seemed pretty content to play in the grass and pick up leaves or smell flowers. All of a sudden, dirt is her new favorite exploration site. There's not much I can do to stop it, aside from keeping her indoors...so I just let her go......

Potato Salad with Bacon Recipe

I recently made a new recipe for potato salad to go with the grilled burgers my husband requested last week. I searched around on the Internet for a different recipe, because while I love my mom's potato salad, I was interested to try something new.


I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker (love her stuff), and altered it to fit our tastes.

Potato Salad with Bacon

adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

8 medium red potatoes, washed well and cubed (leave the skin on, unless you prefer not to)
5 thick cut slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup mayonnaise
1.5 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
Dill for seasoning and garnish, use fresh or dried

Seven Quick Takes 22

1. 

My husband is off work tomorrow. I might be OVERLY excited. It makes Mother's Day weekend even more special when we have TWO days in a row together. We have plans to hit up the lovely Farmer's Market that G and I have been going to the past few weeks. We will eat lovely grilled food, I'm sure; and relax in the glorious California Sun. Being so far from family sucks, but it sure is a lot easier to handle when my husband is home with us.

2.

My husband basically told me what my Mother's Day present is going to be...and I have to say it's pretty BIG! I can't believe I'm getting it, but I think it's really sweet he's using money we should/could be saving on a super awesome present for me. No offense to him but he usually goes down the cheap/frugal path for my presents. I don't mind, because I know it's the thought that counts--but this particular thought is very sweet :-) Yeah, we are on a budget, and I complain about money more than I should...but the truth is he's making a bit more than when we were in Kansas. We aren't able to go on a fancy vacation, or buy a house...but he is buying me a new camera for Mother's Day!!!
I.AM.SO.EXCITED. Taking pictures is one of my favorite things to do, because I love preserving memories. I never want to forget anything and I truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words...especially with a kiddo. My current camera was my birthday present a few weeks after we got married (so it is 3.5 years old and is a simple Kodak point and shoot).

FuzziBunz Perfect Size Diaper Review

FuzziBunz was one of the first brands I read about when decided to cloth diaper. When starting our stash, I bought a few prefolds and covers, a few fitteds, a couple newborn size diapers, and two FuzziBunz. I bought one small and one medium, because as is common advice, I wanted to figure out what worked best for us before preferring one brand over another. My dear friend bought an entire stash of the FuzziBunz one size diapers and they've worked really well for her. I also really like FuzziBunz diapers because they are cute, easy to use, and moderately affordable. I have two of the new elite style diapers, 1 small perfect size and 2 medium perfect size. Check out my review of the perfect size below!

Contra Loma Reservoir Regional Park #WW #linky

On Sunday, we headed out for a little walk in nature. There's a great hiking area near us called Black Diamond Mines Regional Park, but we opted for the less-intimidating-sounding-but-also-nearby park that features a trail around a public water supply reservoir. Contra means opposite and Loma means hill...so as you might imagine, there were some beautiful rolling hills around us.

very peaceful