The Beach . . . brrr

A few weeks ago, I think in the month of June sometime (but who really knows because its all a cloudy blur) I took Briz to the beach. Sierra was back in town from Africa, and I wanted to show her a good time so I brought her along and let her freeze at the beach. It's no secret that I really like to complain about the Oregon weather this year, and just a forewarnng: I am going to continue to do so as long as it continues to suck this bad!

We met up with my aunt, Yah yah, cousin Madisen, and the twins she nannies, Cole and Ty. Or as Brizzy calls them, just CoTy.

Here they are all playing together. We are constantly working on our sharing skills because Brizzy still has a tendency to be a bully.

She is crazy and loved walking in the water. I thought she would freak out when she felt how cold it is, but her feet must have gotten numb instantly cause she thought it was the greatest thing.

More marching.

With YahYah (who is also my doula). This is right before Briz fell flat on her face. Even though she was sad, it was pretty funny and like the negligent mother that I am, I spent a lot of time laughing at her.

Mads with one of the twins.

For some reason, I have a lot of kissing action shots between Sierra and Briz. Maybe one day I'll make a book out of them.

Even though it wasn't good weather, it's always good to go. The Oregon coast is absolutely beautiful even in the cold, wind, and rain. And I'm glad Briz still likes the beach. Don't know what I would do with her if she didn't.

Seattle

In June sometime, Nick had to go up to Seattle to get his new passport expedited. Did I mention why? Oh yeah, because his company decided to fly him to London last minute. He's got a rough life! Luckily, I had been sort of prepared for this. He had mentioned about a month earlier that they wanted to send him to London, and the first time he told me I almost cried. I started going into convulsions and tried to get over my rage/depression by immediately writing down lists of things he needed to see and do. It got postponed a few times so by the time it actually happened, I was composed (for the most part).

Anyhoo, this summer has been nuts. Not just because the weather is probably the worst of all time in Oregon, but because Nick and I have seen very little of each other. Sometimes when people mention him, I respond with, "Nick who?" He was trying to be very nice and invited Briz and I to come to Seattle with him, so we had a quick over the night staycation. It didn't go exactly as planned as Briz got sick. But hey, it was something.

We took Briz to the children's museum (its free the last hour of the day by the way, free being one of my favorite words) and she wasn't that excited, since most of her time was spent in the bathroom. The word of the weekend was "isgusting!" She's good at copying what I say.

Nick was trying really hard to force her to have fun, but it just didn't work too well.

At Seattle City Center at the big water fountain with Briz. The good old days when picking her up didn't make me feel like my back was going to give out.

Trying to be as enthusiastic as possible about the ginormous water fountain.

Just scoping things out with Dad.

Possibly my favorite part of the trip was discovering this tiny little pancake place in Bellevue. The food was awesome! Holy crap, I didn't know pancakes could taste that good (I may be bias as a really hungry pregnant woman). Here is Briz waiting to be seated.

And the flowers outside the pancake house didn't make me hate it either, if you know what I mean. Okay maybe you don't, but I love flowers.

Memorial Day Weekend . . .

sorta sucked. Nick and I spent about three days trying to figure out something fun to do for our three days, but the weather definitely limited our options. We ended up not doing much, but our big outing was going over to the Nike pool.

After swimming. Briz does not look like my daughter at all, but look at our mouths in this picture. That's the only way you know we are genetically linked.

She is much more her Dad. Nick and her have all of these special little things they do. He always gives her piggyback rides and lets her ride on his shoulders. She grabs onto his chin and always plays with his facial hair. Briz loves the scruff.

Nick doesn't really like his daughter very much as you can tell from this picture.

Sleepy and Sweaty

Yes, I have not posted in a long time. And yes, I don't really care. Why? Because I am pregnant, large, tired, and itchy. I also hadn't taken many pictures, and I can only post so many times without pictures.

However, in the recent months, I have taken some, so you can expect me to catch up a little.

Below is a picture of a Sunday afternoon at our house. I came home from a meeting one day and found Nick and Briz lying in bed, both snoring, both sweaty. I was laughing to myself, so I had to take a picture. I think they might be related :)

Copycat

I am copying my good friend Mander, who has a running post about things she wants to punch on any given day.

This morning while driving to work, I just had a lot of things come up on my list, and I thought I would share it, so here it is:

- My alarm clock - when it goes off at 5:10 a.m. I don't want to punch it other times.

- Rob Thomas, Katy Perry, and the Black Eyed Peas. When I hear their music, it literally makes me sick to my stomach.

- People Chanting that USA is #1. What is that all about? I get it, it's very exciting that Bin Laden is dead. I'm just as elated as the next guy, but we're not at a football game.

- NBA Referees. I would punch them and kick them. Maybe not all of them, but definitely the ones that are stupid and kick Paul Pierce out of the game for setting nothing but an excellent screen.

- Dancing with the Stars. I have tried to watch it, really I have. I just can't do it.

- Stake Conference with a little kid. Really? Let's be honest, it's just 2 hours of trying to keep my kid quiet and entertained at the same time. I can't wait until it is put online and I can watch it during Briz' nap time. That will happen sometime soon right?

- People who tail me. It makes my adrenaline skyrocket and I start thinking about doing some crazy and stupid things all to make the said tailgater (is that a word) suffer.

I'm a Terrible Mother

I have a few reasons for this:

1. I took a ton of pictures over the weekend we celebrated Brizzy's b-day. We celebrated it a week early because the in-laws were in town and we wanted them to be there. Not only did I take her b-day pictures but Easter ones, and some great ones of her with "Grandpa Juwey" (her joint name for Grandpa and Grandma). I lost the card that has all of the pictures on it. In one of my stupid pregnancy moments, I was in the middle of looking for my lost glasses, and lost another item. The card is ridiculously small, so I have almost no hope it will show up. So yes, I have no pictures of my daughter's 2nd birthday.

2. Since we celebrated her b-day a week early, we decided to not really do anything on her actual birthday (this last Saturday the 30th). My Dad called to sing her Happy B-day the morning of her big day, and when he called, I realized I had actually forgotten it was her b-day. I really didn't remember at all, and probably wouldn't have if someone hadn't called and reminded me! I'm a terrible mother!

Isn't She Cute?

Okay, so maybe you can't tell if she's cute and I'm just a little bias, but I think she's already cute. One thing I know for sure is she is very different from Briz. During the ultrasound she was all stretched out and CONSTANTLY moving. Briz moved a lot too, but she was all balled up and would kick and punch. This baby is just always rolling and stretching out.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about having two hyperactive, strong girls. Yikes. Whoever said Karma exists? Nick and I were the easiest kids ever!

But regardless I love her already and can't wait to see her in real life. I can't wait to see her face and get to know her personality.

I have been very nervous about being able to handle two, and all the changes that will bring. One kid is easy. I just cart her around everywhere I go. But two kids, that means I'm like a REAL mom. However, after seeing her ultrasound, it makes those feelings just all go away (at least temporarily) and I can't wait to be able to watch her all the time.