Josie Grace, three years old

Her birthday came and went, and this post got left behind. I can't miss the chance to talk about my girl, Josie, so better late than never.

Josie is three years old. 

She's still bossy, assertive, and loud. She loves to yell or scream, especially when she's in a room that echoes loudly. More times than not, she's shouting out commands or suggestions to her sister, me or nobody in particular. 

But there is a new side to her that has crept up this past year. She is no longer loud and out spoken when we are in public. She's become a bit shy and unsure of new situations. It took some major adjusting for me and the hubby because we were so used to her just jumping right in. We have learned to step back, let her say no if she isn't feeling something, and giving her the chance to try it when she is ready. Once she feels ready, she's back to her old ways, jumping right in with no problems. 

One example: swimming. She used to just march right into the lake, throwing caution to the wind, fully dressed and everything. Now, she is the first to say that you must be "cay-er-ful" near the water and especially when you are on the dock. She's so cautious around the water that I'm hardly even worried about her "alone" (not holding my hand makes me feel like she's alone) when she's on the dock. Of course, she's three, not thirteen, so she's still not trusted by open water by herself, but it's interesting how much it's changed in just a year. (Her sister, on the other hand, has zero fear of water and has taken a fall into the water fully dressed already once this year.)

Josie physically grew up this year without gaining any major weight or growing "out" at all. She's still wearing the same size clothing (3T) but dresses, shorts, and pants are suddenly getting close to "too short" status and we'll have to move up a size soon because of it. All of her current 4T clothing are hugely baggy on her, so I'm not sure how this will go. She's completely grown into her "preschool" age as far as her physical appearance. No longer are there chubby baby legs, cheeks, or arms. She's suddenly so big. Throw in a major haircut, and both mommy and daddy feel we've been left in the dust here. 

 If anyone feels like they need some attitude, Jo's got plenty to share. I've heard distant rumors about three year old girls and emotions but I had hoped she'd skip that stage. Let me just tell you, she hasn't. Between throwing herself on the floor, giving herself "room time outs" to collect herself, and screaming uncontrollably for what feels like hours and hours, she's on a whole new level of exhausting us. There are some days where we look at each other after the girls are in bed and can't believe how quiet it is. 

I feel for her, though. I know that she isn't trying to purposefully upset us. She truly feels those emotions with all of her heart and hasn't figured out how to express them. It's a hard thing to watch and there really isn't much I can do except model the appropriate responses to things that go wrong in my life. 

With those extreme lows come the extreme highs. She is full of life. I swear that she is silly like 80% of the time. She's quick to say "Okay, mama, I will do that!" and is happy to help her sister or friend if the situation arises. I love watching her heart shine through with silly songs that she makes up (she just started doing this, and it's hilarious), changing words around, making the most ridiculous faces, and dancing to her "ballet music" station on Pandora. She's all about the colors purple and pink, loves ballet (or what she knows of it), loves to watch people dance at weddings (although participating is still a bit much at this point), and loves to explore new places (hello, aisles of Walmart and Target). 

She loves dress up. She recently discovered a bunch of dresses from when my sister and I were young, and she has one on almost all day every day. She often tries to dress her sister, although Audrey only goes along with it for a few minutes. Josie, on the other hand, loves to be fancy all day long. She loves to play with her kitchen, making tea, sandwiches, and fruit baskets all the time. She seems to never tire of it...  

While she loves to learn in a natural setting, she doesn't quite seem ready for the school setting. This summer I tried to do a ten minute school session with her each day, but she would get frustrated and silly (defense mechanism this time) and I could just tell she wasn't ready. The last thing I want to do is create a hostile environment around learning, so we've backed off with that and I've tried to continue teaching her little things with whatever we are doing or what is around us. This lesson was more for me than her. She is already teaching me how she learns and where I need to relax.

Big trip to Denver

Day 1--------------------

We flew in bright and early at 7:30 AM. Lucky me, I had set up our rental car under my name so I got to drive the whole time. Let's just say that it took a little while for me to get used to city driving again. It's been a while. Also, hubby hasn't had to be the navigator...ever... so that provided for some humorous moments. We definitely had some kinks to work out.

We happened upon a restaurant called "Snooze" and thought it looked pretty good. The atmosphere was awesome. It had a "morning bar" feel since they served mojitos, screwdrivers and other alcoholic beverages right along with their coffee, tea, eggs, and toast. We sat at the bar since it was pretty busy. It probably just enhanced the experience because we had a full view of what was going on around us. I ordered an amazing eggs benedict where the eggs were poached (why haven't I had poached eggs before? amazing.) on an english muffin with avocado, tomatoes, and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing over all of it. Did I say amazing? Because it was. Also, in spite of my coffee aversion, I ordered it with fresh cold cream on the side and it also did not disappoint. Apparently, my aversion is only an on and off thing at home. In Denver, I'm all about the coffee.

Side note: while we were at "Snooze" I was told by two separate people that I just had to go there before we left town via social media. What are the odds that we would find the one place that was highly recommended within hours of arriving? It was destiny.

We drove around checking things out after that and ended up at the Molly Brown museum (remember her, from the Titanic?). At this point, I think you should know that hubby and I are extremely nerdy when it comes to two things: Educational museum-like places and old buildings/houses. You can imagine that this museum, which was really in the house that she lived in most of her life, was right up our alley. The museum did not disappoint, although we probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if the kids had been with. It wasn't exactly kids friendly. 

Lunch was at a fantastic Mexican restaurant. We really lucked out with our first two meals in the city. It was relatively quick without feeling rushed, we got to eat on the patio (my favorite) and we both had amazing pork tacos with different seasonings than we are used to. 

We headed to the hotel to check in, met up with friends that were also in town for the wedding, headed over to Golden, CO to check out the Coors brewery tour and Red Rocks amphitheatre (both were unsuccessful... too late in the day... but lots of scenic driving!) and then eventually we split up so that I could go to the bride's bachelorette party and hubby could hang out with the other married men. Overall, busy but great day.

View from our hotel room:

Day 2--------------------

Hubby and I decided to try out the Red Rocks amphitheatre again. My beloved band, the Avett Brothers, were there the week before so my head was spinning imagining them playing there along with just taking in how cool it is that there is a concert venue right in the middle of the mountains, made mostly of the mountains/rocks. 

We headed to the Coors brewery to get that elusive free tour (elusive because we tried and failed and then waited in the longest line ever...but it was worth it in the end). Again, we geeked out with all the information they provided and hubby got a few samples at the end. My Sierra Mist was pretty good, but it's no fun to be around all the beer and not be able to try it. I really need to work on my timing because so far I'm two for two with beer breweries and being pregnant...

Afterwards, we headed over to yet another Mexican restaurant (what can I say, a craving is a craving that must be satisfied). It was also pretty good, but man, I was so tired and getting a little sick. I handed the keys to hubby and promised him I'd wake up in a bit if he would just drive towards the mountains, so that's what he did.

I woke up about 45 minutes later and we had gone... six miles. Rush hour traffic at 3:00 on a Friday is no joke in Denver. We thought the day was a lost cause at this point, but we finally were able to exit off the terrible highway that was inching along and suddenly we could go the speed limit towards Mt Evans. We found ourselves driving up the mountain and ohmydearlord was what was going through my head the whole time. It was -skinny lane, skinny lane, drop off, sharp turns- the whole way up and completely thrilling yet terrifying. The views were amazing but I could hardly enjoy it for fear of causing our car to flip over the edge if I leaned too far. My irrational fears aside, it was definitely worth it and we both agreed that we would do it again in a heartbeat. 

Mt Evans is over 14000 ft tall, and there aren't all that many mountains that high in the world. We saw mountain goats near the top and at one point I looked down (I know, who did that, me?? but I had more courage going down) and saw a herd of elk, at least 50-100 of them way down there just hanging out in their secluded little area on the side of the mountain. It was kind of breathtaking. The temps dropped to 45 degrees at the top and the air was incredibly thin. What an experience!

We got back to Denver and the sickness had hit again. We ended up just ordering in Chinese and I slept through the whole evening. Traveling and exploring all day really takes it out of a pregnant lady.

Day 3--------------------

Saturday morning, we headed down to the historic area of Denver and ended up eating at a small diner. It was fine and had character (although I can't remember the name of it). Afterwards, we headed over to the 16th Street Mall, which is basically just a street blocked off for shopping in the older part of town. It ended up being a ton of restaurants (remember, we just ate) and homeless people mixed in with other tourists. Some of the homeless people played pianos that were located here and there outside, but even that was not fun to listen to because it was not quality music at all. I try not to be snobby, but if you are going to play publicly, at least play the piece correctly if you are going to play a song that everyone has heard before (ah-hem, Fur Elise).

After that disappointing morning, we spent a solid half hour trying to figure out a way to enjoy more of the city without sucking up time to get ready before the wedding. One of the problems of not planning ahead is that you have to plan during the trip, which can get frustrating. Sure, we loved being spontaneous, but we did waste a lot of time planning out the next few activities.

We ended up going to Hammond's Candy factory for their free tour. Great idea! We bought our souvenirs for the kids and family here and again, geeked out on all the information we were given. I would definitely recommend this activity for families with kids. The tour was short but kept our attention and we got a sample at the end of one of their candy canes that didn't make the cut (ours happened to be the wrong color, although they tasted exactly the same).

The wedding started at 5 PM, so after heading back to the hotel to get ready and pick up the other married men (wives were in the wedding party), we were ready to celebrate. It was a wicked hot day, but the wedding was short and sweet and the reception was indoors. Here's the deal. They decided to end the dance at 9:30. I recommend that everybody does this. The evening didn't go on forever, and by the time the dance came around, everyone knew that it would only be for an hour and a half or so, so everybody actually danced right from the beginning. It didn't drag on and on and even though there was plenty of drinking, nobody was over the top drunk since it was relatively early. Plus, when the bride and groom left, they actually had people there to see and cheer them off. When the dance goes a lot later, that never seems to happen (or I'm not awake to see it).

The happy couple! Doesn't she look gorgeous?

Most of the roommates from when we all lived under one roof, now all married women:

 

It was so fun to see this lady, my old roommate and dear friend from college, marry her love and celebrate with her family and friends. Also, thank you, Aris, for getting married in a city that works great for vacationing. We don't do it often, so I jumped on this chance to take a few days off around the wedding. Peerrrrfffeeeeccctttt.

Day 4--------------------
(for some reason, we didn't take a lot of picture the next two days... and the few we took are gone or lost... so sorry for not providing a visual.)

We went to the "Original House of Pancakes" with friends for brunch and then headed over to the Denver Nature and Science Museum. It just so happened to be a free day and we jumped on that. We spent a total of five exhausting hours there and left feeling like our heads were going to explode. So.much.information. It was a great museum, though, and even with all the kids running around (hello, free day!) we still felt like it was fun and worth it.

Dinner that night was at a pub near our hotel, and we enjoyed it quietly before heading back to our hotel. Evenings always ended up being low key with this preggo lady getting sick every single time. Thankfully, Duck Dynasty was on multiple times so hubby thoroughly enjoyed his relaxing "hotel time" each night.

Day 5--------------------

Last day! We checked out of the hotel and headed down to Colorado Springs, about an hour south of Denver. This city. It's located right at the bottom of a few different mountains so every corner has an amazing view and they've done an awesome job of keeping character strong all over the city. 

First up was the Garden of the Gods. It was similar to Red Rocks, with literal red rocks all over the place, some super high, some just cool to look at because of how they were laying or shaped. We mostly just drove through it since we never seemed to be near a free parking spot. The views were amazing, of course, and it was also neat to see people riding horse on the trails through the park.

 We also ended up in Manitou Springs which literally felt like a sweet mining town frozen in time. Their downtown was sweet and would have been so fun to walk through. We only drove through it, but if we ever come back, we'll come back here for sure.

We randomly came across an old mansion that "gave tours" (I say that loosely because really they hand you piece of paper to read while you walk around) and of course we both loved it. Amazing views through every window, European architecture, interesting history, right up our alley.

Lunch was downtown Colorado Springs at a burger place. We were a little over eating out at this point so even though the food was great, we just couldn't eat the large quantities that were served to us. 

We had a lot of free time but were worried about getting to the airport on time. To avoid traffic, we headed back to Denver and found Washington Park, a sweet park on two man made lakes that had a bunch of walking/biking paths, flower gardens, a neat wooden playground, and a great view. It was ridiculously hot, but fun to sit and just enjoy the day. 

We headed to the airport earlier than originally planned, but that ended up being the perfect plan because traffic was awful, and even after taking the back roads, we still ended up getting there and checked in with only a half hour to spare. That was just enough time for a fatty chinese meal, but we were fine with that. It was an 8:00 PM flight so we were already tired and ready to be home with the girls. Even with the stormy weather, we had no problem getting home on time and going right to bed!

It was a great vacation and I'm so glad we went. It'd be fun to go again when the girls are bigger and we can all go hiking or biking together. We both weren't all that impressed with the actual city of Denver, but the surrounding areas were definitely stunning and worth seeing again. 

Thank you to my parents for watching the girls all six days! They picked them up the night before we left and brought them back the day after we got back. We ended up with enough time to pack and unpack without feeling the stress of getting them ready to go. It was so helpful. The girls had fun but did show a few signs of missing us. The day before we got back, my parents overheard Josie on her pretend phone saying something like, "Why did you leave us? We'll be good. We love you and miss you!" over and over... so sweet and yet a little heartbreaking. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that we went to a wedding and flew back to be with them again. We are happy to be back together. :)

Baby #3 update - 14 weeks

How far along: 14 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a lemon

Weight gain/loss: Not entirely sure, although I would say it's more than previous pregnancies this early this time around. I've really been all about the carbs (why. always this happens and always I fight it. arggh) and I am eating fruits and veggies but you can't out-eat the bad stuff.

Maternity clothes: Out of necessity because my wardrobe is pretty pathetic these days, I've been wearing maternity capris that barely stay on and a few shirts that are summery (I want to get my use out of them). I just bought maternity yoga pants for the very first time EVER and they are amazing. I also got two tunic-like shirts (been looking forever, so thankful to find them) and a new bra that is a bigger size but smaller cup. So strange how those sister sizes work. I feel spoiled to have a few new items but also so thankful that my wardrobe is coming along and won't be so desperate as the weather changes.

Stretch marks: No new ones yet.

Sleep: It's been pretty great lately! I do take a nap probably every other day, and without it I'd be dragging. The girls keep me busy (although not as busy as you'd expect two little girls to be since they are so good at sticking close/not getting into what they shouldn't be in/entertaining themselves). I still haven't felt awesome at nights so sometimes I'm crashing as early as the girls do (8 or 9 and then get up and just go right to bed). 

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: My coffee aversion has thankfully passed! No other major aversions that are predictable or regular. I was craving twizzlers but have gotten that out of my system. I've also been loving apples and peaches along with ice water. Once a day, a cold glass of milk is great which is so funny since I rarely drink milk when I'm not pregnant. My body just craves the calcium during pregnancy I guess!

Exercise: Not really happening, but I do have plans to change that now that I'm feeling better. I brought up my beloved prenatal pilates video and plan to start today if all goes well at nap time. I'd love to do it when Josie wakes up before Audrey is up because I think it'd be fun to do it with her, but she might also be totally not into it so we shall see how that goes.

Gender: We will hopefully be finding out in about six weeks.

Movement: None yet, but I'm hoping to feel some in the next three weeks like I did with Audrey.

The belly: The bump is very real and present. I don't feel like it's that much bigger than it was with Audrey since I can hide it with loose clothes, but man, catch me sitting down just right or not holding my belly in like normal and I suddenly look 20 weeks instead of 14. :) I'm afraid I'm in denial with it, too, because looking at my weekly picture (at the bottom of this post) makes me think that I'm a lot bigger than I imagine in my head.

What I'm loving: Feeling better, obviously. Also, the sporadic kisses and hugs I get for the baby from the girls. They are already loving the baby and he/she is not even here.

What I miss: A good summer beer is about the only thing right now. I'm not a huge drinker anyways, so other drinks are no big deal to miss. I do hate the caffeine restriction but at this point I'm used to it. I also miss not being overheated 80% of the time. For this reason alone I cannot wait for Fall to come.

Symptoms: Evening sickness, extreme fatigue randomly throughout the day, random muscle pain in those inner ligaments (all the more reason to get going on that pilates workout), feeling bloated and chubby since the bump just looks like a food baby most of the time.

The nursery: Not even close to started. Not even close! Still fully a guest room, and probably will be for months and months. Our basement is not ready for the guest room move, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with the nursery. Maybe the fire will be lit under me after we find out the gender, but for now, it's nice as a guest room (especially when we get to use it as a guest room. :)

What's different/the same this time: Biggest difference, my hair is greasy faster and I am shedding a ton. Other than that, now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, things are pretty much the same. Feeling great and loving it. :)

Best moment of the week: Not baby related, but watching Josie love life at the wedding this weekend, taking pictures with new "friends" and being so happy to be able to play with the props at the photo booth area... it was so cute. Also, Audrey was an absolute gem while we shopped all day. She totally exceeded any and all expectations we had. These girls are just killing me with their sweetness.

Last appointment details: It was a couple of weeks ago, but the news was great. No more partial bed rest, strong heartbeat, pretty boring report which is always great.

Next appointment: two weeks from now