The Bunk Bed

The anticipated arrival of the soon to be newest member of our family who remains completely nameless has brought lots of room changes for our home. Taylor and Ashlyn decided they wanted to share a room. For the last week we have painted and transformed a room into "The Girl's Room." I'm sure you will find a No Boys Allowed sign on the door but that doesn't include Dad and I remind them that is doesn't include Andy either =) The new room is now complete with a bunk bed which the kids think is simply awesome!

Impatiently (putting it lightly) waiting for Dad to finish putting the thing together.

Taylor excited to be the 1st one up.
Side note: Yes the room is GREEN! Yes it looks almost florescent and might possibly light up the hallway. Yes I debated and DEBATED about repainting. Surprisingly once all the furniture and decor went in, I really liked it!

With this transition we were worried about how Andy would handle being alone in his room for the first time in 3 years without his little sidekick. At first he was convinced he would be sleeping in Ashlyn's bed with her. I got a little nervous but it didn't take too long and he retreated back to his own room.

We are on Day 4 of no crib for Ash. The transition hasn't gone as smoothly as Andy's but definitely not as bad as when Taylor made the switch and everyday gets a little better.

More pictures of the new rooms to follow once they are officially complete. I have high hopes to have all 3 rooms completed this week. Here's to high expectations!

Update: I wrote this post a couple days ago, my high expectations have been shattered by end of pregnancy EXHAUSTION! Maybe next week......

Surprise Trip to Disneyland

Last Thursday as I was packing lunches Taylor asked where we were going and I told her it was a surprise. She began throwing out guesses of where we were going. The guesses included Paige's house, a bounce house place (random), Grandma's house, and a movie theater because I made popcorn. Throughout the morning she wanted more and more clues. I finally told her we were going to Walt's House. She was actually a little disappointed when the secret was revealed. The sadness lasted a good 2 seconds. Poor Ashlyn has another 4 inches to grow before she can join the big kids on Star Tours. She was pretty devastated because she is convinced that she is "REALLY bigger." She gave it a good cry and then said to me, "I didn't want to go on that ride, I want to go on the rockets" as if it was her choice she didn't get to go on Star Tours. She is such a funny girl. Are we loving Taylor's outfit??? She gains some fashion freedom while off track.

Here is documentation that Ashlyn was there that day. She was too busy eating her lollipop and popcorn to care about taking pictures. She simply enjoyed just being a passenger on all the rides...didn't care to shoot on Buzz Lightyear or Toy Story or drive the Autopia car. Give her some sugar and the girl is happy!

Autopia may be Andy's new favorite ride. I, on the other hand, now know why the sign says "Expectant Mothers should not ride" with a child driver.

5 weeks left!!!!!!!!!

Today it hit me that I am due in 5 weeks and my last 2 pregnancies have ended early so there is a possibility that I have less than 5 weeks left of this pregnancy, possibly 3 weeks left. I think that is why the rest of my day was full of anxiety and contractions. I am SO not ready!

However some super talented and sweet friends gave Sara and I a joint baby shower last week which definitely helped get us a little more ready for this little man's arrival.

I cringe at posting this picture. 35 weeks pregnant is not my most attractive time of life HOWEVER there needs to be some documentation that Sara and I were in fact pregnant at the same time (we have tried pictures together before...not pretty) and that I was actually in attendance at the shower.
The tiny tarts on the far right....so good!!!!

Some fun girls!

Sara and I opened our gifts simultaneously which produced lots of jokes about being at the hospital at the same time, that our boys now have lots of matching outfits, and....

that she was stealing my gifts. I believe this shirt was supposed to be mine but someone was a little eager to open ALL the gifts. I did get the shirt back, though =)

The kids were super excited to tear through all the presents the next morning.

They loved the tiny diapers.

Thank you to Tonya, Kristina, and Diane for the fun, cute shower. Thanks to all those who came and were so generous. I feel very blessed to have such great people surrounding me.

Mini Vacation

I have decided I am a fan of year round school. You go to school for a couple months and right when you need a break, you are off for a month AND right when you are ready for the school routine to return (AKA kids are driving you nuts), school starts again..... I LOVE it! Taylor is off this month and with not too much longer before our baby is born I have declared the month of March mini vacation month. Thanks goodness for Timeshare points!

1st stop: Palm Springs.

It wasn't really warm outside but the pool was heated and that made it plenty enjoyable for the kids. The resort has a great pool area for kids including a waterslide.

Not pictured but Taylor did go down the adult water slide 1 time. Tyler and I were pretty impressed.
She has certainly turned into a brave girl.

Taylor wanted swirl ice cream after seeing it on the pool side menu after the pool side restaurant had closed. Luckily we found Golden Spoon.

We went to a Discovery Children's Museum which I have decided are the best places to go while on vacation with kids. Most cities have them and the kids love them.

Andy loved the ball track thing.

Just in case the swimming and running around a museum were not enough to wear out the kids before bed, we took advantage of the sport court to suck out the last bit of energy they had so that bed time would be a breeze. It worked!

Everyone was a fan of playing basketball except Ashlyn. I'm not sure what she would rather have been doing but obviously playing basketball is not her thing.

We had a great little getaway and are looking forward to another one in a couple weeks.

She made it to the top.

One of our favorite places to go as a family is Balboa. We go there at least once a month. Every time we go Taylor climbs this rope thing and every time gets a little closer to the top. On President's Day we honored our past Presidents by going to Balboa (I'm sure they appreciated it) and this time SHE MADE IT TO TOP! She was so proud of herself. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to get down and climb it again and again.

Of course I am going to get all sentimental for a minute but seriously everyday I am blown away with how fast she is growing up. Everyday she says something or does something that reminds me that she is not my baby girl anymore. We have been going to this beach since she born and now she is climbing to the top of the rope.

Andy tried really hard to follow her up. Pretty soon I will be posting that he made it to the top.
Time, slow. down. please!!!

Taylor is a super big sister. Ashlyn adores her and wants to follow her around all day and be just like her.

Big Boy Bed!

It's about time! After all the kid is 3 years old. Not only did we still have him in a crib but a crib with a tent where he was firmly locked in. I'm sure that is a violation of some sort of Fire Safety Code but in my world, it was called Maintaining Mom's Sanity. With 7 weeks left until our newest little man arrives the time has come to make some transitions.
Andy was the first to receive a new room which is not quite ready for a complete unveiling yet but it is looking really good! We transitioned him into a cool race car toddler bed almost 2 weeks ago and it has been nothing but smooth sailing. He was super excited about it and has gone to bed perfectly, has not woken up before the sun (my main concern), and is doing fabulous.

Love LOVE my big boy!