A Bucket List

A friend of mine gave birth to twins recently and I finally got around to reading their birth story on her blog. Reading about it really helped me to remember that rush of love I felt when William was born. I went back and read his birth story and while a lot of it was unpleasant the end result was worth it.
As I'm nearing my third trimester (I'm currently at 26 weeks) I'm starting to feel a looming panic. Luckily it's been easy to push away thanks to church activities, Halloween, and now Thanksgiving and Christmas will help me until the end of December. But then suddenly it'll be January, I'll be taking three classes and I'll only have one month until the baby's due date. I feel like I have so much to accomplish before he comes which makes February feel so far away. But then I think "There's only 51 days until Christmas" and "There's only 95 days left until the due date" and I freak out a bit. Okay, a lot.
The good news is that before January I'll have lots of positive things to do with Tyson and William to keep me from freaking out too much. We're taking a trip to visit my mom's family for Thanksgiving and I cannot WAIT. The ladies at my work are throwing a joint baby shower for a professor who is also expecting a boy and for me. Then, December. And we all know how busy December is with parties and holiday traditions and merry-making.
In order to get the most out of my 95 days, I've made a little bucket list. Maybe to-do list is a better term.

Before Baby Boy Remy #2 Gets Here
1. Get the office put together so we have a designated work space.
2. Replace all the doorknobs in the house so we stop getting locked out of our rooms.
3. Get the boys' room organized.
4. Pull out all of William's old infant clothes, wash them, and sort them so I know what I actually need. I might have to start over since this baby is coming in the dead of Winter, not the end of Summer like William.
5. Make sure to do lots of fun activities with William including taking him to Temple Square to see the lights.
6. Also, get William potty-trained.
7. Go to the temple at least twice.
8. Make baby blankets for the new baby. (I already have the fabric!)
9. Get the master bedroom organized and set-up for the baby (including getting a small nightstand, setting up the bassinet, and getting all my night-time feeding supplies set-up).
10. Keep working with William to understand the concept of a new baby. He already knows he's going to have a little brother and he knows that little brother is currently in my tummy. We're getting him some "big brother" books for Christmas and I am considering getting him a little doll or something to practice holding and being gentle.

Not a super exciting list to be sure. But there you have it.

Halloween 2014

I've always enjoyed Halloween. My family had some simple traditions that I've carried into my own family but I think my favorite part is dressing up. This probably goes back to a basic part of my personality: I've always been a bit dramatic. 

What can I say? I like to get dressed up in a costume and wear crazy red lipstick and fun eye shadow.

This year was the first time William knew what was going on. He was Scooby-Doo for Halloween and he loved wearing his little costume. We bought it before he broke his leg and I was glad it fit over the cast.

We carved pumpkins but we couldn't get William to reach in and help pull out the guts. Maybe next year.

 (William's "happy face" pumpkin)

(My pumpkin) 

(Tyson's pumpkin eating William's painted pumpkin)

Tyson's family has a party on Halloween every year so after work we headed up to do trunk-or-treat at the church with Tyson's parents, sister, and her three girls. Then we went to the house for chicken noodle soup in bread bowls (SO GOOD) and our party. My brother-in-law Josh couldn't come to the party but he made two pinatas for us: one for the kids and one for the adults. The little kids took turns hitting the pinata but they needed some help to bust it open. The adult pinata was reinforced with wood and HEAVY. We strung it up in the garage and took turns whacking it with a metal baseball bat. It was therapeutic. And fun :) Instead of candy, the adult pinata had numbered wood blocks inside which corresponded with dollar-store prizes. It was awesome!

On Saturday we did some clothes shopping for William and the new baby. Then my sister-in-law brought her girls over and we made molasses cookies and the kids helped to decorate them. It was so cute! They took it so seriously. These "pumpkin-face cookies" are a family tradition of mine. It was fun to share that tradition with Tyson's family. And they were a hit!

 We'll definitely have to do this again next year. We came back home tonight and it was freezing cold here. Brrr!! Guess winter is ready to come on in after the really warm October we've been enjoying. Only a few weeks until our Thanksgiving trip and then a few more weeks until Christmas. By the time Christmas gets here I will only have 6 weeks left until my due date. YIKES! So much to do!