Strange Occurrences, and Sisters!

Something happened last week for the first time this pregnancy: I threw up! (I did catch the stomach flu early on and puked 11 times in one night, but that wasn't preggo related.) At first I thought I must have caught a bug, because 20 weeks seems like a strange time to start hurling. It was getting late for lunch, but I'd been cleaning up the place and making cookies. I even ate a cookie, but then felt really dizzy. I decided I needed to have lunch fast, so I poured a bowl of cereal, took one bite, and realized I'd waited too long. I ran to the bathroom and did the aforementioned. But I soon knew I wasn't really sick because I was hungry and really wanted another cookie. Normally after puking I wouldn't want one ever again! I waited a while and then ate some Saltines and sipped pop. But I started chowing the crackers because they tasted so good. I took a long nap, and besides feeling a little weak, I was back to normal. I guess it was an anomaly. I must have been on my feet for too long without eating.

Besides that little incident, this pregnancy has been going really well. I've felt great and the baby seems to be healthy and growing. I felt her move for the first time around 16 1/2 weeks, and for the last few weeks I've been feeling her every day (and Tyler has felt her too!). It's such a weird feeling.

Ada still doesn't quite get what's going on, but she is only 19 months old. I was torn when I was thinking about having another baby because I wasn't sure if I was ready, but I wanted Ada to have a sibling close to her in age. They'll be almost exactly two years apart (my due date is now July 11). I do want a boy eventually, but I'm really glad this one is a girl. I'll never have to worry about Ada not having a sister. I'm glad they'll be able to go to a year of high school together and hopefully they'll be close. My sister Emily is less than two years younger than me, and we were the best of friends growing up (even though I wasn't always nice). Now I'm the best of friends with all my sisters. I hardly ever get to see them though. There must be something about the Midwest that I'm missing out on, because Angie is a lawyer in Chicago, Emily lives in Kansas City while her hubby's in med school, and Abby is on a mission in Cleveland. I really miss them, but we do a pretty good job of keeping in touch. I can't imagine life without sisters! They're just the best (and so are brothers, Dude!).

Bad Habits

For the longest time, I've had the notion to keep Ada away from TV until she's two (except for one Baby Einstein show a day while I shower). Well, for the last month or so I've done very poorly at following my own rules. It all started with Ada throwing tantrums while I tried to dress her, change her diaper, or fix her hair. The only way I could distract her enough to let me do it was to turn on PBS or Disney Channel. She's now practically addicted (and still won't let me do anything without the TV on). She'll turn the TV on herself and ask for shows. Her favorites are Sesame Street, Super Why (she calls it "Super White"), and Curious George. But she likes lots of others too. I try not to let her watch too much in a day, but it's so easy to get stuff done while she's mesmerized by the television!

She's also become addicted to sweets. I can't blame the girl, since I am as well. I can't go a day without something sweet (and usually several things). Lately she's been taking long naps, and she's really upset when she wakes up. The only way I can get her to settle down is to give her candy! I'll have to come up with a substitution for that one too, but nothing else seems to make her happy. Conversation Hearts are keeping me sane right now.

Well, getting dressed, etc. isn't the only thing that makes her throw tantrums. The littlest things set her off lately, and she throws several every day. She used to be really good away from home, but she now throws tantrums anywhere and everywhere. She's so dramatic too. She'll throw herself to the ground and fling her head back (sometimes hurting herself) and kick her legs. It's actually kind of funny sometimes. I try to ignore her most of the time. I've decided that she's already started the Terrible Twos. I had my suspicions, and they were confirmed when Tyler's sisters said that their kids started at around 18 months. Hopefully they don't last too long!

On a more positive note, Ada continues to amaze us every day. In the last three or so weeks her vocabulary skills have really taken off. She now regularly puts two and three words together and can say a few short sentences. Before too long I'm sure she'll be saying many more! We can't even count the number of words she can say. She's a little chatterbox. She just knows and remembers so much! She knows most major colors, the names of all 10 of her cousins and her aunts & uncles, most animals and the sounds they make, most of the characters on Sesame Street, the difference between Grandma & Grandpa Dickson and Grandma & Grandpa Squire, the names of some of her friends...I could go on and on. We love watching her learn. She's very entertaining!

The verdict is in

We had our official ultrasound yesterday. I don't think I could have waited much longer! But we had to wait a half-hour before even getting in, and then the technician (or whatever they're called) couldn't determine the sex! She said the baby either kept its legs together or would put its hand in the way. Tyler was anxious to leave to try and make a job interview. Finally, after several tries and lots of shaking, she could tell! Most people thought we'd be having a boy, and they were...WRONG! It's another girl. I'm excited for Ada to have a sister to play with who will close in age to her. We won't have to buy too much stuff either. Now on to the next step--NAMES!

So, what do you like to do?

Saturday was a busy day. Tyler and I switched off going to the Worldwide Leadership Training meeting (our stake did two sessions) so neither of us had to bring Ada. It was excellent! At night we had lots of errands to run, but we decided to stop and get ice cream for fun. We found a coupon to Letherby's, so we went to the one on North Temple. That place is so good! (My siblings will be interested to know that I got the Black and Tan. It didn't seem as good as I remembered it, but it was still delicious.) There was a couple sitting next to us who were obviously on their first date. I missed the first part of the conversation, but the guy was telling the girl about his mom, and I heard, "She thought it was coconut milk coming out of his mouth, but I guess he had a lot of mucus built up..." WHAT? Oh, how I don't miss the days of dating! First dates are always awkward, even if you know the person really well. There's something about the word 'date' that somehow makes people act differently. Blind dates are even worse. I'm glad I'll never have to go through any of those fiascoes again (heaven forbid something happens to Tyler)!

Sunday was pretty crazy too. I had to do laundry in the morning because Ada peed in her bed. Then when I gave her a bath she pooped in the tub. Bad start. She was awful at church and Tyler had to take her home in the middle of Sacrament Meeting. She calmed down a bit after a good nap, but that child can be OOC sometimes!

Frightful

I'm officially SICK of the snow. I do prefer snow on the ground when the temperatures are so cold, and a fresh blanket of snow is much prettier than ugly, brown crap everywhere, but ENOUGH ALREADY! We've had so many bad snowstorms this year. I'm lucky that I don't have to drive to work every day, but lately the storms have fallen on the mornings I have to go somewhere. The weather people have projected lots of major storms this season that "will mess up the morning commute", but the roads haven't seemed too bad overall. Then last night they projected a weak storm that "may affect the commute", and the roads were awful! I saw lots of cars off the road, and heard about tons of accidents on the radio.

I had to be at a doctor's appointment in Murray at 9:30 this morning and Tyler warned me that that the roads were bad, so I left 15 minutes early. Well, I've never seen Sunnyside Ave. so bad in my life! Cars traveling eastbound were backed up for several blocks. Luckily I had to go west, but the roads were still treacherous. Now, I've been known to drive like a grandma now and again in a snowstorm, but does the lady in front of me really have to go 10 mph, especially after turning onto a newly-plowed 1300 E? Anyway, the rest of the commute was slow but not too bad and I was 10 minutes late to my appointment. Luckily my mom lives close to the hospital, so I hung out at her place for a while, and the roads were completely clear on the drive home.

Yesterday was nice and sunny, and even though it was cold I walked several blocks to go vote. It felt so nice and was the first walk I've taken in ages. I can't wait to commence with my daily walks. 40s this week actually sound delightful...