Lately.

With my serious lack of blogging lately, there is so, so, so much to catch up on. There is no way I can put it all here, in one post, but I'll share a few of the ones for now.

Meredith turned two. It was wonderful. My mom and sister were here and she enjoyed a day of Mickey pancakes and Mickey cupcakes as well as a trip to the farm and park. The best part was the song my dad wrote for her. He made a video to go with it and I just know it's something she'll treasure forever.

My sister got engaged! I am so excited for her. I can't believe that I got to witness the event. I was sure it would happen far away in Texas, so I couldn't believe it when her boyfriend showed up in San Francisco to surprise her. So special.

Chris and I got a night away in San Francisco. While my mom was here, she watched Meredith for us so we could do a quick getaway. It was so nice. We've left Meredith for two other nights, but once was so we could rush ourselves across the country to find out if we wanted to move and the other was a shorter night out. This was the first time with two full days, doing what we wanted and ignoring schedules. We had such a fun time.

Meredith knows how to count to 10. What?? I honestly don't know how she learned this. I'm 99% sure it's from an app or video from the iPad because I don't count with her much at all. I've been trying to record it, but she's very particular about when and where she'll count. So this is the bst I have. Pardon the paci and the fact that it's missing the first few numbers.

IMG 4358 from Beaktweets on Vimeo.

Another favorite Meredith thing right now is her love of "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." She clearly doesn't understand the true message of the song, but instead loves to sing and jump at the same time :) Also? This video just has a whole bunch of cute.

No More Monkeys from Beaktweets on Vimeo.

Avoiding a 12 lb. baby. I'm trying really hard to make healthy decisions about what I'm eating. Until the last month I was kind of just enjoying eating whatever I felt like since when else do you get to do that? But the weight talk from the doctor seriously burst my bubble so I'm determined to get walking and eating better. I've never felt so motivated. Normally, if I try to diet I just want to eat all the sweets in the world, but for some reason this reason feels so much more important so I can handle the cravings much better. Some things I've been loving: Caprese salad, brussel sprout salad, fresh fruit, spinach salad with goat cheese and raspberries, fish tacos (made mango salsa for the first time. yum!)

Related: Pregnancy pain. Any advice on pregnancy groin pain? I have so much pain in my legs and inner thighs, especially by the end of the day. Turning over in bed at night is excruciating. Any stretches/exercises I can do?

Nursery fun! While my mom was here, we got so much done in the nursery. She made new curtains, two crib sheets, a crib skirt and two changing pad covers. She also helped me tackle the disaster that was the closet and brainstorm some storage solutions. I am in love with how it's coming out. I am not usually very good at coming up with a decorating idea and executing it, but it is really coming together. I ordered some prints from Etsy, am on the hunt for a tall, think bookshelf and may attempt recovering a crib bumper and then it'll be all done!

Baby boy. I cannot, cannot, cannot wait until baby boy is here. We are now in single digit weeks. What?? I'm 31 weeks now and just so ready for him to be here. I want him to keep growing and developing until it's safe, but I also want that time to go by pretty quickly. I think we have a name. And yes, we're waiting until he's born to share (just like with Meredith). We have to see his face first :) He is so active now- and bony! Lots of his stretches and movements really hurt. I'm hoping maybe he'll get more squished so it won't hurt so bad :) Doubt it!

Bringing Up Bebe. Honestly, I wasn't going to read this book. I have enough voices in my telling me the ways I'm failing as a mother- I didn't want to read something else to add to it.  But then I wanted to join a book club and this was the book for the first time I was invited. It was actually an interesting read. I've been attempting some of the things like less snacking and giving her more freedom at the park. The park thing has been life-changing. That sounds dramatic, but I'm serious. It would be coincidental timing, but for the past week I've been trying to give her more space and the park and not hover around her. She has been playing so much better- entertaining herself and even taking more risks, while I can actually rest my legs and even attempt some reading. It's amazing! Have you read it? Thoughts?

Thoughts and prayers. Two friends, Elizabeth and Kate, have stories on their blogs this week that have left me heart-broken praying for them whenever I think of them. Hopefully you can do the same.

I think that's all for now. As I was looking through pictures for this post, I realized there is so much more I'd like to share. Hopefully soon!