Swim Party

Bella attended her cousins swim party this past weekend.  It was a nice hot day outside.

 Jesse pulled Bella down the Slip N Slide, we weren't quite sure if she liked it or not.  She would look a little scared as she was being pulled down, but then you would get a big smile after you picked her back up.

 So she either liked the ride down, or was just happy it was over.

Because the party started at 1pm and we didn't make it home until 4pm, we decided to try a day without a nap and see how sleeping would go through the night.  There have been some suggestions that maybe she doesn't sleep through the night because she is getting too much sleep during the day in the form of a nap.  Well experiment tried, and failed.  That night we were up crying at 11pm and stayed awake until sometime after 3am.  Needless to say on Monday we got a nap, and on Monday night we slept through the night.  So I'm going to say the reason we don't always sleep through the night has nothing to do with the fact we still take a nap.

Feet torture

Bella really likes to put her feet on my belly.  This happens when she is laying down next to me, or when she is sitting in her chair eating.  Sometimes she is lucky and the baby will kick her back.  It's a fun little game for the two of them, too bad it's not always comfortable for me!

Craigslist

I love the idea of craigslist.  In fact I have vowed to not buy new furniture again.....for the most part.  It all started when I bought this buffet table and refinished it.

We have also had good luck selling things on craigslist, which I feel good about not sending items to the landfills.  Granted you meet some interesting people when buying and selling.

This recent purchase we made for the nursery might be a little bit of a bust.  I overpaid for it in the first place, $50 for something that I needed to restain or paint seems a little pricey as it's a pretty small dresser/changing table.  Then when I got it home and learned one of the drawers was busted and now we are going to have to figure out how to fix it, I really overpaid for it.

I like how people will post "great condition, everything works well", "solid wood", etc and it's not true.  

I know it's partly my fault which is the reason I am writing this post.  If you are like me and buy things off craigslist, make sure you try them, all the pieces and parts before you hand over money.

Some other more successful items we have purchased include this entry table.  Which is the next goal to get organized after the nursery is finished.  Can't believe how much mail and junk piles up so quickly!

This desk which I use as my sewing table and provides plenty of storage for all my sewing related items.

I bought an antique bedside table for Bella's room.  This one was a little pricey at $30, but it is antique, the correct color for the room, and the drawer functions, so I still call it a success.

We bought a new swing for the baby, as the one we had bought previously got torn apart to use in the bike cart for Bella.  This was another pricier item, but at less than half the price of a new one and in good shape, as long as it works for as long as we need it, it was still a good deal.

The bargain buy had to be this end table for our sitting room, which cost only $5.  I want to refinish it someday, as it's a little too varnished for my taste.  But it still looks good enough as is, that it can be in the room before I get around to it.

And about that changing table.  After all is said and done, it should still be an alright deal.  If you went to the store and spent $50 you would get something like this (actually price of this item is $70):

And if you wanted something similar to the changing table we purchased it's cost new would have been $150 or more.  So in the end, we didn't do too bad, but we could have done a lot better.

**The changing table is currently being refinished, final picture to come shortly.

It's the end of the school year

Bella's last day of regular school is today.  A couple of weeks ago I observed in her classroom to see if any noticeable changes had occurred.  I could tell that Bella did a better job paying attention to the activities around her and the kids in her class.  As mentioned in previous posts she is doing a better job grabbing and holding onto objects.  And while we still have to feed her and puree her foods, she is doing a better job at controlling them.  She hardly ever coughs/chokes while eating.  Although frustrating to us, she will still sometimes lean her head to the side while eating.  Because we know she can hold her head up, it must be a preference for her, especially when she isn't feeling well.

And most importantly Bella really enjoys going to school.  Even when she doesn't sleep well at home and I know she is teething, I am told she does great at school.  It has made a big difference these past couple of months to have a happy child at home.

We have really enjoyed the teachers and therapists that work with Bella.  And we thank them very much for all of their hard work!

I was able to make little clutches/wallets again for the teachers as a thank you.

It reads "Thank you to all who have impacted, taught, loved, and pushed Bella to achieve all that she can.  Bella has really loved going to school this year and we have been delighted to see progress."

Repeat

Colby had knee surgery on Friday.  This is Colby's third surgery.  Her last surgery was 1 month prior to Bella being born.....anyone see a pattern here?  While we may have repeated the knee surgery, really hoping to not repeat the "Bella experience".

It also makes for an interesting time around here.  You have one dog that can barely hobble around on three legs, a pregnant lady who can barely hobble around with a huge belly, and one child that refuses to move around on her own.  Oh and a scrambling dad trying to get a million things done before the second child arrives.

Concert

We went to the Josh Groban concert last night.  We very much enjoyed it, more laid back with a great orchestra behind him and of course a voice that can change octaves with such ease it's amazing.


Apparently the new baby also very much enjoyed the concert as we had constant movement for the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there.


As I was listening to the lyrics of one of his songs, it reminded me of Bella.  I thought this could be her theme song, "You are Loved".


Don't give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you
I...I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved

Progress

Slow progress is happening around here.  After moving Bella into her bedroom last September, we finally have a functioning closet and her clothes have been moved into the new room.  Hmmm......9 months to finish one closet, that's pretty sad.  Especially if you notice the closet doors are not installed yet, that's because they are not finished being painted.

 Onto the nursery.  We are 1 month out from the due date and the nursery still looks like a construction zone. 

I am generally a procrastinator, but this is kind of bad.

The good thing about this being the second child, the number of things you need to buy is considerably reduced.  We did finally purchase a new double jogging stroller.  We have been trying it out and trying to get Bella used to staying on her side.

 I'm thinking a stray arm might end up on the babies side once in awhile.

 And this has been my personal nightmare for the past week, shop drawings for work.  I am lucky enough that they are allowing me to work from home (this allows me to put up my feet and rest my back when needed, because this current checking of papers and being in one position for hours on end has actually been pretty painful for an 8 month pregnant lady).

At least I only have a couple more days of this, and then we can really start tackling the nursery, or else the baby is going to be "done" first.