Hi Honey!

I blog about our sweet daughter often, and that's because she is so sweet and cute and when you have kids, they seem to be the most exciting thing to report on anyway. Now that she is in the toddler stages, there seems to be new things to report everyday.

These days she is really into babies. Babies don't have to be dolls though. She treats many things like babies. Dolls, elmo, small plastic horses, Rapunzel barbie, trolls and stuffed animals are all babies from time to time. Her favorite things to do are to feed them, and tuck them into bed. Right now she is tucking herself into bed with them. She uses all sorts of things for blankets. Actual blankets, towels, arm protectors from the couch, and bits of fabric laying around the house. She tucks them in sweetly and says "night night" while smothering them in long kisses. It's great seeing her be so sweet with these inanimate objects.

Repeat and mimic. She has entered the sponge years. Trent and I both really need to watch our actions and words carefully these days, because Ila likes to act just like us, and she sure as heck wants to say whatever we're saying. Thankfully nothing terrible has come out of her mouth and that could be because 1. we never say anything we wouldn't want our kids to say or 2. she can't enunciate well enough to make clear what she is saying. We all know that the first couldn't be right, so the second it is. We stomp, she stomps, we raise our voices, she raises her voice, we say something sweetly, she says something sweetly, we hug, she hugs, we kiss, she kisses. On and on it goes.

A few days ago I said something to Trent, and I said "honey" instead of "Trent" or "daddy." Ila then walked up to him and said "hi honey." It is so cute, because she says it PERFECTLY. She's also shown me that I call Trent "honey" quite often, because if I say it, she does too.

Ila also likes to "help mommy." Her favorite ways to help mommy are unloading the dishwasher and putting the clothes in the dryer. I was surprised to find that her help is actually helpful and she gets so much satisfaction from it. It's also a time of learning. She knows all of the dishes names now and reminds me it's time to do laundry by dragging the dirty clothes baskets from the bedrooms. She wants to help mommy with a lot of other things that mommy does not want help with (like sewing and cooking on the hot stove) yet, but we'll get there in due time!

In some ways she is growing up too fast. She asks for beer from time to time and is interested in watching movies and going to town. She has a love for shoes, getting her picture taken, lemon drops, and being chased by boys (well, just her daddy, but still!). We certainly cherish this time with Ila.

RLW. Thoughts for a sunny winter day.

RLW this week brings you a list of random thoughts and updates from yours truly.

1. Does anyone else wish that during the State of the Union address, the President would give his speech without all the clapping? I wanted to watch it last night (and I did watch some of it) but when I asked Trent if he wanted to he responded "it's just a bunch of clapping." Ila sat down and watched about 10 minutes of it and was actually entertained because when the people started clapping, she clapped too and thought it was some fun game. I wonder if it's always been that way...with the clapping.

2. It's been a sad week in our house. My friend (Sara) and roommate of 2 years in college lost her mom this week. I knew Jan (the mom) really well as I spent many summer nights at her house. She was an incredible woman and only one year older then Trent's dad, so it's been a pretty sad and emotional time in my life. My heart is absolutely broken for Sara. She really was best friends with her mom, and I know this is just an incredibly sad time for her. It's also been a reminder about spending time with loved ones.

3. Ila has been talking so much lately. It's exciting and cute and frustrating and all those things. She can get a little frustrated about us not understanding her, but she doesn't make too much of a fuss over it, which is really nice. She is generally easy to please, so I think if she is asking for one thing, and we can't figure it out, she just settles for one of the things we've asked about (or maybe we're getting her babbled requests right?!!??!).

4. Job and living place and everything like that are still a bit up in the air. It's been a good time of thinking about what we really want out of life, and then realization of what is currently possible. Some things can really hold you back from living where you want, and how you want and that's been pretty difficult to figure out these last few weeks. It's not really about what we want either, but where and how we feel led to live. But the Lord is directing our steps, and we'll figure it out soon enough....right?!

Pregnancy update!

My sister, who is pregnant has done these little diddies a few times with her current pregnancy, and I like them, and figured you would too. So, here you are!

Is this your first pregnancy? Nope, sure isn't.

How did you find out you were pregnant?: I figured I was, then I took a test, and sure enough, I was.

What kind of pregnancy test did you take?: First Response.

How many?: 1

What were your first symptoms?: Sore chest (like you all wanted to know that!).

Who did you tell first? Trent, of course!

Who was with you when you found out? Trent.

Was baby planned?: Hoped for, tried for.

When was baby conceived?: August, 2011.

How far were you when you found out?: about 2 days shy of 4 weeks (like 2 days before my period was due).

Due date: April 23, 2012

Do you know the sex?: yes

If so, boy or girl? girl

Any names?: she will have one, once we see her face!

Any ultrasounds?: yep, 2.

Have you heard the heartbeat?: yes, and what a beautiful sound it is.

Who do you think baby will look like? Her sister, Ila.

Will baby have any siblings?: see above.

Have you and dad felt baby move? heck yes.

When did you start to show?: I noticed about 13 weeks. But to others, probably about 17ish weeks.

How long could you wear your regular clothes? not very long this time around, I was super sensitive where normal pants sit.

Did you have morning sickness?: yes, so very much.

Do you have any cravings?: yes. Chocolate, coffee, chips, salad with ranch are the most common.

Do you have any mood swings?: oh yes.

Are you a high risk pregnancy?: no.

Any complications?: not really

Formula or breastfeeding? breast is best!

Have you bought anything for baby yet?: some fabric to make a few receiving blankets.

Who will help with baby after their born? Trent

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant? The joy of having life inside me of course!

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? Sciatic pain, and this terrible rash I've developed on my tummy.

What one thing do you miss doing since being pregnant? sleeping through the night without having to get up and pee!

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant?: no

Are you ready for baby? sure.

How many kids do you want?: undecided.

Do you talk to your baby?: yes.

Do you still feel attractive?: yes. more so then when I'm not pregnant in fact. I think pregnant women are so beautiful!

Have you had your baby shower yet?: Well, i had one for Ila, so I'm thinking we wont have one this time around.

Do you like kids? Of course.

How far along are you now?: 26 going on 27 weeks.

Total weight gain: about 3 pounds (but only because I lost so much weight in the first trimester, which was not a terrible thing.) So really I'm up 11 pounds.

Maternity clothes? oh yes.

Stretch marks? yes, new and old ones, and they ITCH!

Best moment this week: the baby started moving so mush my belly moves like crazy!

Anything making you queasy or sick: eating ice cream after any meal. Well, it did a few times about 8 weeks ago but I have not been brave enough to try it since!

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? in, but really strange looking.

Wedding rings on or off? on. I didn't have to take it off with ila, and I'm hoping that is the same this time too!

Looking forward to: meeting our baby and seeing Ila be a sister and Trent having 2 girls to love!

RLW, Favorite Fictional Characters.

Welcome back to RLW! Today I have a special treat for you in the list of randomness. I'm hoping that it will inspire you to read more and that you respond and introduce me to some books I must read!

Favorite Fictional Characters from Literature

*Of course these are not in any particular order, because I just couldn't do that to them!

1. Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games Trilogy. Suzanne Collins

Trent and I just finished re-reading these books and I didn't know I could love Peeta more then I did after I read it the first time. He sees the good in situations and people that seem full of only evil. He loves passionately and deeply and is full of what is good in the world of Panem.

2. Adam Trask, East of Eden. John Steinbeck

Adam is so flawed, just like a normal human. He has been severely damaged emotionally, and does not handle it in the best way possible, but I always find myself rooting for him, and by the end I'm not disappointed!

3. Danny Saunders, The Chosen and The Promise. Chaim Potok

Torn between the need to fulfill his fathers wished and the desire to go his own way, Danny (with the help of his good friend Reuven) is forced to make difficult decision at a young age. Faith, passion, intelligence, friendship. Great story, great character(s).

4. Aliena and Jack Builder, Pillars of the Earth. Ken Follett.

How can you chose between Aliena and Jack? You can't. They are both incredible characters. You really MUST read this book.

5. Ron Weasley, Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling

It almost hurts to pick a favorite character from HP, but alas, I must. Ron really is my favorite. Ginny is probably right behind him. Then all the others are tied for a close third. I'd go with Snape, but I spent way too many years conflicted about him, I just can't do it.

6. Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger

Cliche'? Perhaps, but I've read this book 7-10 times, and I can't deny he is one of the greatest characters ever written. Enough said.

7. Aragorn/Strider, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien

Strong, sensitive, and knows his own limits. Can turn down power that is so tempting it's almost impossible to turn away from. Puts his life at risk again and again and again for others. Plus he speaks Elvish, which is kind of sexy...right?!

8. Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas.

This is a new favorite. Trent and I read this book at the end of last year together. Good ol' Edmond Dantes grows more than most characters, which is why he makes my favorites list. Growth, and facing trials of many kinds in clever ways.

9. The Giver, The Giver. Lois Lowry

The one person in his entire society who holds the memories of love, hate, warmth, pain, beauty, loss and so on. Forced to give his memories to a 12 year old boy. This character makes me hurt for his own pain and loneliness.

I had a few more to add to the list but someone (who will remain nameless) thinks I've spent enough time writing this blog already!

So let's have it people. Who are some of YOUR favorite characters?

Random List Wednesday! Ila's Latest and Greatest

I meant to post this yesterday but I spaced writing it. I did get around to it this evening though, so here you go!

Random List Wednesday (just pretend it's Wednesday still):

Ila's latest developments and happenings

1. This week Ila started calling us Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Dada. I LOVE this new development! I've always been a fan of Mommy, but it's harder to say then Mama, so of course we happily answered to her endearing names for us over the past 2 years. But it is so sweet to hear her voice say "mommy" and "daddy" when she is talking to us!

2. Ila is getting better at telling us when she needs to go potty (instead of us just always taking her when we think it's been long enough). She gets rewards when she initiates the potty time, and I think that must help her remember more often! Oh, and when I say potty, I mean peepee. We are not having much success with the poopoo factor. Blurg.

3. Coloring. She's liked it for a few months now, but these last few weeks she has REALLY started LOVING it! She can even draw circles if you draw one on the page first. Yesterday her and Daddy worked on squares and triangles too. She colors at least twice a day and holds the paper up and says "look Daddy, circles!" until he looks and praises her. It's super cute.

4. Communicating. She has really started to talk and to ask for things and tell stories. Of course we're in the "can't understand lots of things she says" stage, but we're working on it. Today she was asking for something over and over again, and I could tell there was a little frustration when I kept asking her what she wanted. I asked her to show me what she wanted, but it didn't help. She finally settled for coloring, but I'm still not sure that's what she was asking for. This part of parenting can be difficult for the toddler and parents, so I'm praying and working on lots of patience and understanding for both parties!

5. Picking up after herself. This week Trent has spent lots of time reminding Ila to put her toys away when she is done with them. She has always enjoyed cleaning and picking things up (something she inherited from her father, for sure!) but this week there has been lots of growth. It's really exciting to watch her respond so well to our little reminders of "put it away." It's great to see her understand so much!

6. Hair! Ila's hair is going crazy and wild! I love it. She loves to rub food in it, right after it gets washed. I don't love that part. It's nice to see it getting longer and longer, but it could grow more uniformly, I wouldn't mind that!

7. Jumping. We've been working on jumping for months. Ila LOVES to jump, but it's more of a gallop, since she only has one foot off the ground at a time. Just yesterday, she finally did it. A full out JUMP! And then she kept doing it. It was super exciting in this house for sure!

8. I have to talk about her laps. Ila runs laps around the house at LEAST once a day, but usually 3-4 times. She just takes off running. Often times it's to get chased, or to chase, but almost every night, around 7, she just starts running. Sometimes we count her laps out loud, which she really loves, and sometimes we chase and hide and scare her, which she also loves and sometimes she just runs and runs. It's really cute and a great energy burner at the end of the day.

Finding what is right for us.

I'm feeling a bit stressed about our baby delivery. We've had a bit of a difficult time finding the right Doctor/Midwife in the past and it seems we are there once again! I've really liked the care we've had at our current OB office, but yesterday we had a nice long chat with the doctor there about delivery and his practices. We left feeling a bit disappointed but totally not surprised about what he said.

We are all about natural birth. We did it with Ila, and we would like to continue that lovely trend. We are totally not against interventions if they are necessary for the safety of baby or me, but we would like those interventions to actually be necessary (read all about Ila's birth if you would like to see what I'm talking about).

When we asked our Dr. yesterday if he would support natural birth he didn't bat an eye before saying "yes, as long as you don't kick me." We laughed about it, but then he went on to say "of course, I may tell you I think you should have an epidural, and if I say that, you need to listen." Then he went on to give us the talk (moms out there probably know what I'm talking about) about how he is the doctor and needs to make the calls, and we need to listen to him, even if it's against our birth plan. Now I'm well aware that the doctor has a lot more education, experience and knowledge then I do, but I sure don't like being told that what I think does not matter (but at least he did it in a nice way!).

I don't want to communicate that I dislike this doctor now. He is fine. Trent and I were just hoping to have a doctor who would support, even be excited about assisting us in a natural birth. I know it's a long shot, but there are doctors out there who do (I've even met one, and would totally go to her if I lived in Boise!). The appointment yesterday was just eye opening for us, and has reminded us that exploring other options would be best. So, the search begins (again, for what feels like the 100 time) for a CNM or Doctor who will support us!

I made an appointment to meet a Certified Nurse Midwife who delivers at a hospital in Kennewick, and I'm looking into midwives who do home births. We currently have no idea which way we will go, but we'll make a decision soon enough. We may stick with this doctor, and just fight for what we want, and pray for the best. Or we may switch to the CNM who delivers at the hospital or we may go in the direction of a home birth. There isn't a birth center in our area, and that is a bummer because I think that would be a great option.

The best part of this all is that we may not even live here when the baby is born. We're praying for a job to work out SOON for Trent, and we need it too, so it will....right?! That job may not be around here, so we might get to do it all over again. But for now I'm going to act like we will be here, and trust that it will all work out!

When it's all said and done, we want a healthy baby and a healthy me. Having a nice birth experience to go along with it would be a great blessing, and one I hope we get! Oh, and I hope we make it to the hospital (or the midwife makes it to us) in time. Trent has researched what he should do if he has to deliver the baby though, and feels confident he could do it just fine. I just hope that doesn't happen on the side of the road!

December, Part 2: Christmas

After vacation with my parents, and recovering from the flu, we took off to Twin Falls where we spent 11 days with Trent's family. The whole family was only together for about 28 hours, but it was a GREAT time nonetheless.

You can enjoy it in picture form too, since that is so much better then my writing.

The Becker Cousins playing together.

Watching a movie together.

Uncle Trent and Isaac.

Uncle Trent, Annie and Ila having fun and flying!

Brothers taking a little nap together on a break from a tree job.

Christmas morning breakfast.

Marma, in all her beauty!

The tree!

Trent with his new Djimbe

Uncle Jon and Aunt Telcia

Uncle Trent playing red light/ green light with the kiddos

Tawna and me in our babies in utero bibs!

Uncle Jon helping Ila and Haro out!

Uncle Troy with Isaac, Ila and Annie.

The girls watching Tangled together.

Pedicures.

Ila with Ryan, one of Trent's strangest and most awesome of friends.

December, Part 1: Arizona Vacation

In the beginning of December we took off on an adventure to Arizona. We had planned this trip with my parents last year, and even though our job situation had changed, we went ahead and took a vacation from unemployment (as my husband liked to call it).

We had a great time with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend. We did lots of eating of good food, some shopping, a bit of exploring, game playing, swimming and movie watching. I'll go ahead and let the pictures finish telling the story of our vacation!

Ila, in all her travel cuteness!

Ila napping on Daddy on the plane.

Dinner at Roy's. So delicious!

Trent and Chris can't be serious.

The group!

Lemons are tasty!

Ila totally fits in with this tribe.

At some lookout point. It was cold and I was tired and hungry.

Trent after finishing one of the spiciest meals he's ever had.

When I was 2 my parents took me golfing here and I threw a fit the entire time. My dad pushed me along the whole course nudging me with his putter. Ila decided to get back at me by not enjoying herself. Grandma thankfully helped out by getting Ila some chips and water, making the back 9 much more enjoyable for us!

Canes!

Park at the condo.

The last 3 pictures are so awesome, I'm not even going to tell you what is going on!

Maybe someday soon, Trent will post the pictures from the man hike he took with my dad and brother and tell you all about it.

Next up, Christmas with the Becker clan!

Thoughts on the New Year.

My paternal Grandma has a few traditions that come about on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving we have to give our Attitude Reports which is a sharing of how our attitude was/improved/worsened over the year. Usually I look forward to sharing my attitude report and to hearing others. This year I was not so excited about sharing my report.

2011 has been the hardest year of my life. I'm more then happy to see it go. I was talking to some family friends last night and they said "well, you've got no where to go but up!" I sure wish that were true! I mean, I really do think this year is going to be great. We'll be having our second child, and there are possibilities for great jobs for Trent, and finding a new place to settle down in, for hopefully a few years. But the fact of the matter is, we don't know what is going to happen, and there is the chance that 2012 could be the worst year of our lives.

My Grandma's Christmas tradition is called "The Gift of Giving." On Thanksgiving, my Grams gives everyone $30. We're supposed to take that $30 and go and do something for someone who needs it for Christmas. We are all surrounded by people around us who have more needs then ourselves. This year Trent and I gave gifts and money to someone we saw needed some extra love this holiday season. Trent had a good friend from high school pass away in May from cancer. His friend had a wife and an 8 month daughter when he died at 31 years old. We took the widow out for coffee and gave her gifts for her daughter and money to help her out with bills and she seemed really blessed by it. I kept thinking, while we were with her for 2 hours that she is having the worst time of her life. My year seemed not so bad as I listened to her talk of her heart break, and depression and the bittersweet feelings she has when her now 15 month old does something new. I cannot fully understand the depth of her pain.

The reality of life is that everyday is an unknown. I'm thankful that God tells us not to fret about tomorrow, because there are a whole lot of things to fret about. How distracting that would be from us living our lives to the fullest.

I'm not actually sure what 2012 will hold for us. I know what I hope for and I trust in the Lord that some of those things will come to fruition. I know that God has our best interests at hand, and that He is the best driver we could ask for. I also know that some of my hopes wont come to fruition, and that is because they were not what was best for us. I really do think and hope that the year will be better though.

I ended my attitude report this year by saying "We've got the Lord and that is really all we need." I'm going to hang on to that this year, nice and tight, because it really is the truth. So here is to hoping that 2012 has amazing things in store for us, and for you.

Happy New Year!