Hello, Hello

Happy Sunday to all. Ruth and I are staying home today because we don't feel well... I'm feeling stuffed up and have a sore throat, and Ruth has a cough and a very runny nose. She's been playing just fine, but I think she has a bug that's being passed around some of the nursery kids at church and I'd rather we just kept our germs to ourselves today. It's a bummer because we had planned to go have dinner with some good friends tonight. We will have to invite them all over another time.

The Elders Quorum hosted a camping activity on Friday night at Memphis State Recreation Area, and we went with the intention of staying all night. We really enjoy camping as a family, although we haven't been in about a year. We took our little brother (through Big Brothers Big Sisters) because he had said he wanted to go camping with us, and since there would be fishing and lots of other kids there, we thought this would be a good opportunity. Unfortunately, we ended up breaking camp during the late evening. Our little brother wasn't having fun and had a disagreement with Tony about going on a walk around the lake (alone, in the dark). Ruth was still awake and playing in the tent at 11 p.m. It was way hotter and more humid than I expected. And we were being eaten alive by mosquitoes, even after reapplying bug spray every 15 minutes. So we headed home, took a shower and enjoyed the air conditioning. We had a lazy Saturday afternoon and then took Ruth to see Toy Story 3 at the movie theater. This was her second movie in a theater, but I doubt she remembers the first -- I think she was only 10 months old, and she didn't watch the whole thing. She really enjoyed the movie and didn't have any accidents while watching it, thankfully! I would recommend Toy Story 3, by the way. It's just as good as the first two.

Potty training is continuing to go well. We have been reminding Ruth to go to the potty throughout the day, and I was starting to get worried that maybe we started potty training her a little too soon because she wasn't going to the potty on her own. But this morning she announced "potty" and headed there herself, so I'm feeling better about things. :) She had a couple of accidents on Friday, but none Saturday or today so far. Accidents happen, as they say, but it's nice to see the progress she is making.

This morning I've been reading a book by Penny Simkin (a fairly well-known childbirth educator) called The Birth Partner. I read it before I had Ruth and then gave my copy to a friend, so I just bought another copy and was glad I did. I feel this birth experience creeping up on me and I have been feeling unprepared for it, and reading this book is making me feel better. It has lots of very specific descriptions of labor and delivery as well as coping methods. It's actually written for people who "coach" during labor and delivery, such as dads. Tony found the book very helpful last time around and is going to read it again within the next couple of weeks.

Here is a list of all the things I need to do before baby arrives in 9-11 weeks!
-Paint and move into upstairs bedroom
-Set up nursery
-Set up office
-Freeze some dinners
-Buy a couple packs of disposable diapers, nursing pads, milk storage bags, etc.
-Go through baby clothes
-Buy any necessary baby clothes (since Ruth was born in the summer, I think we might just need some pants)
-Find my breast pump and clean it out again
-Sew nursing cover, make sling wrap and sew swaddling blankets
-Clean out basement (hopefully)
-Start buying Christmas presents, or at least start generating ideas of what I want to buy/make. This might seem a little crazy, but I have a feeling I'm not going to want to do much Christmas shopping during the two months after I give birth.

Speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite blogs, TipJunkie, is hosting Christmas in July giveaways. You should check it out. The author will also be posting tons of gift ideas throughout the month -- nice for those are crafty [or aspire to be crafty -- like me :) ].



Happy Sunday!

Summer update #2

I finally found the camera cord! Woohoo! So here is the summer update continued:

Shortly after the Pioneer Trek was Girls Camp. I went up for a day and got to watch the girls have a shaving cream fight, go down the slip-n-slide and race in their canoes. It was a ton of fun, and I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time at Girls Camp some summer in the future.
After Girls Camp was hanging out with our friends in North Platte, the Olbrichts. Tony and Josh had an "Iron Chef"-style cooking battle and a spending limit of $20 apiece.
Both dishes were good, but Josh's use of bacon pushed his food to the top. We're looking forward to having more "Iron Chef" battles in the future.

Then we came home and decided it was time to get Ruth in her big-girl bed, especially since she's outgrowing her Pack N Play (which would make it tough to travel). We got the bed all painted and set up, and it is lovely!
Tony did a great job building it, and it's so sturdy that it'll last forever. Ruth fell out of it a few times, so Tony had to make another side rail to keep her inside. I'm just using the fitted sheet and her baby quilt right now because that's what she's used to, but eventually she'll start using regular bedding. She loves her big-girl bed, although after a couple of weeks she still won't get out of it on her own. I don't know why, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

On July 2, we celebrated Tony's birthday! He's a whole quarter of a century old now! We went on a fun date in the evening to the Greek Islands, followed by the Shakespeare on the Green performance of Romeo and Juliet. The fireworks at Memorial Park were on the same night, so we got to view a great show while walking to our car. It was great fun!

On Independence Day, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house and enjoyed a wonderful cookout and some fireworks. Tony's inner pyro definitely came out that night -- I think he had more fun with the fireworks than a lot of the kids did. :) I forgot my camera, so no pics!

This week we decided to start potty training Ruth.
I thought she might be ready because on Sunday morning she announced she had to go to the bathroom but wouldn't go in her potty chair. Of course, a couple of minutes after getting her diaper back on, she was stinky. So on Monday morning Ruth and I went to Target and I let her pick out some big-girl underpants. She chose ones with Minnie Mouse and the Princess on the Frog patterns, and when we got home she went on and on about how "cute" they were. She loves wearing them, although she doesn't get to wear them often yet because the only time she has accidents is while she's wearing them. I've been using the bare-butt method (meaning she runs around naked while at home), and she's learning to tell me when she has to go to the bathroom. She doesn't like wearing a diaper anymore, although I told her she has to wear one during nap and bedtime until she wakes up and the diaper is still dry. She had no accidents yesterday and even went to the bathroom for a friend who babysat her for a little while for me. She's had no accidents so far today. She also started going on the big toilet today using a potty seat. Yahooie!

As for baby Numero Dos, I'm starting on going to my doctor's appointments every 2 weeks now because I'm 28 weeks along. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going! I only have 2 1/2 months to get ready for this baby's arrival and I feel like I have a ton to do - painting, shopping, sewing, etc. I'm going to make a couple of big swaddling blankets, a nursing cover-up and a sling wrap. Tony and I are going to finish painting the upstairs during the next couple of weeks, and then I will feel better about our baby preparations.

We LOVE our cat! He is wonderful and perfect for our family! Ruth and her friend, Jack, thoroughly enjoy playing with him, and he endures their screams and prods very well. Here is Ruth being naughty and sitting on top of the cat condo:
Unfortunately, Justin got sick last week. He threw up at least once a day for about five days, and so we took him into the vet on Tuesday. Turns out he has a bowel obstruction, so he gets Metamucil mixed in with his food now and seems to be feeling much better.

Lastly, I'm a new Mary Kay consultant! It's great fun! Check out my website sometime, and let me know if you need anything! www.marykay.com/meredithgardner

I think I'm all caught up now! :) Here is a picture I just thought was funny. Ruth loves wearing gloves and other people's shoes!

Summer update #1

It has been way too long since I last updated. I'm sorry! Things have been busy. This will be a quick recap of the major happenings of the last month. I can't post everything I want to right now because I'm not sure where the cord is for the digital camera, so I can't upload our most recent pics.

In early June, Tony and I were a "Ma and Pa" couple for the stake's Pioneer Trek Youth Conference. From what I understand, the stake sponsors a handcart trek about every 4 years. They divide the youth into "families" for the trek, headed by two adult leaders. Tony and I had a wonderful experience walking the 18 miles with our "children" and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Not long after, my little Ruthie turned 2! We had a fun little party in our back yard with some friends and family. Ruth got all sorts of fun things, including a very nice kids picnic table, a turtle sandbox, sandbox toys, Mrs. Potato Head, Buzz Lightyear action figure and I'm sure there's more than I'm forgetting. She loved her balloons and carried them around for two days after the party (until they mysteriously disappeared).


Ruthie has also been showing some interest in using the potty. The first time she went in the potty it was her idea, and I made a huge deal of what a great job she did. We are probably going to start seriously potty training her within the next week. This morning she announced she had to go poop and went and sat on the potty for a while but wouldn't go in the potty. Shortly after getting her diaper back on, she was stinky! I think she's ready.

Also, today Tony was sustained as the second counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency in our ward. He was previously the Sunday school teacher for one of the teenage classes. He's going to be a busy dude!

That's all for update #1! Update #2 is soon to follow! Promise. :)