it's time for another update

here we go again with a massive photo overload.
i'm really going to try to upload one pic a day.
but i am just oh so tired and any spare time/energy is spent attempting to fluff my nest before the baby arrives [something i am not good at]

enjoy the pics!

oh that deadpan expression!
how it makes me laugh.

i love when i come home from work in the morning and find kate curled up with her blankies and books on the bathroom floor.
it's the perfect spot to lay since the heat from jank's shower warms the room up nicely.
i love that she's always excited to see me-
it makes my day.

yuma weather was a little cold these last few weeks.
i even busted out my rainboots once.
lots of comfort foods were consumed.
and lots of snuggling and hanging out in our jammies occurred.
we also got hit with a case of pink eye- thank heavens it cleared up quickly.
one day of not sleeping after a shift was enough to throw me off for a week.

that hair!
maybe someday it'll be not so crazy.
and you gotta love that jank can come home on lunch breaks and check our ears for signs of infection.
love the perks of his job.

and of course there was christmas.

we had a great time this year playing santa.

our work was rewarded christmas morning with shouts of 'a bike!' 'a basketball!' a BIG slide!!!'

why are kids so awesome?

we had the saunders family over for christmas eve dinner and i didn't take a single picture. boo.

our last- minute meal [our christmas hosts ended up getting sick and canceling] turned out delicious and perfect.

it's so nice to have friends close by.

[ty, can you make me more potatoes please??]

getting ready for church on christmas day. 

kinda loved christmas being on a sunday this year. 

also loved not having to work at all-- 

although i'll pay the price this new year's weekend with firework accidents and drunks.

yippee!!

yuma weather is starting to perk up.
the highs this week are 75-78.
my kind of perfect.
the trees are growing heavy with oranges and lemons.
and we spend our afternoons outside playing in the sunshine on the new slide.

two of my favorite presents this year-

a rubber duckie that lights up in the bath.

and super soft blankies for the baby.

both seem a bit magical to me.

and two of my favorite pics from this last week-

jank reading to kate, havyn, krew and jett [the saunders clan]

[who all sat still and actually listened... until baby jett touched kate's hair and she had a meltdown. drama. drama.]

and miss kate getting ready for school-

all i hear from her is 'i do! kate do!' 

someone is gaining her independence and it's a little sad for me.

one part of growing up that is a-ok with me is her new skill of pooping in the toilet.

we told her one day that she needed to go in the toilet and not her diaper and whaddya know?

it worked.

she's been going consistently for about 10 days now and what a joy it is to not change those poopy diapers anymore.

we're still working on the peeing in the toilet part.

jank says that his goal for the weekend is to have her fully potty-trained.

good luck my love!

and i'll conclude this novel with pics of gorgeous blue skies, happy kids running around and one adorably loud toddler yelling 'CHEESE' at me. 

apparently she thinks this face is what i'm looking for when i say 'smile'. 

ah the joys of life!

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just popping in

hope everyone had a great Christmas.

ours was wonderful [and over too quickly]

this is kate Christmas morning as we headed outside to check out what santa brought her.

someone was a little spoiled by santa this year-

i fully blame jank. 

he has no self-control when it comes to his little girl.

massively huge blog update coming shortly....

overstuffed with pics of our katers.

because, well, she's just too darn cute.

until then...

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christmas goodies that require the assistance of a 2 yr old

mom:

thanks for helping me decided which christmas treats to make.
when given the assignment of 6 dozen goodies, i was slightly overwhelmed.
add in a 2.5 yr old who loves to 'help' and i thought i was doomed.
but your suggestions were perfect and kate and i had fun baking together.

the rolo pretzels were the biggest hit.
kate loved unwrapping each rolo [and sampling a few].
the peppermint bark was super easy and kate loved smashing the candy canes.

and the chocolate mint cookies were divine [i made these after kate went to bed]

so thanks again for the help.

can't wait for you to come play in yuma with us!

links for the goodies:

peppermint bark

rolo pretzels aka 'turtles'

chocoalte mint cookies

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hey there torpedo! and other such compliments

hi baby girl,

32 weeks.
just a few more to go.
you think we could make a deal and you come no later than 39 weeks?
i'm dying to see you...
but not so excited about the labor/delivery part so maybe we'll hold off until 50 weeks?
yeah, that sounds good.

also we think we have your first name picked out but we are stumped as ever on your middle name.
a little inspiration would be appreciated.

i'm working on your nursery,
and by 'working' i mean i'm staring at images online and hoping they miraculously come to be in this here yuma house.
maybe after the holiday craziness i'll get serious about decorating.

you made me crave OJ the other day- so weird.
i usually HATE orange juice.
but it was delicious [from macdo's no less] and i just went with it because what else am i to do these days?

your big sis has started to warm up to the idea of a baby invading her space.
she calls you by name and gives kisses when she's not busy kicking you.
[sorry about the abuse, she's still learning that mama can't wrestle like dad]

you have a new cousin.
his name is steele.
i'm gigantically jealous that brother brandon and kiki get to hold and snuggle him.
he gave his mom a quick labor, how about you do the same?

ok, little one.
keep up the good work-
pack on those ounces and we'll see you soon.

love,
your mama



ps. in related news these are things that have been said to me in the last week:

::hey mama! [pretty much how anyone who doesn't know my name greets me at work- including but not limited to doc's, housekeepers, transporters, radiology techs and a few ER techs who do know my name but decide to call me mama instead.]

::you're getting fat.

::your stomach looks much bigger than last night, maybe you're bloated??


sure makes a lady feel sexy!!


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tales from yuma

how you know you live near the border:

when driving your husband to work in the morning,

[because it's extremo foggy and cold and the scooter isn't an option]

and you see the 'special forces' hummer/tank driving past with an entire team of people hanging onto it. and said people are wearing all black, have impressive-looking guns strapped onto their backs and have bullet-proof vests on.

that's when you know you live in a border town.

[but at least my zantac is only $2!]

also, when your husband reports that 18[!!!] patients 'no-showed' to their appointments yesterday and the office staff says it's due to the rain..... that's how you know you live in the desert. 

also, also, we won't even get started on a little something we like to call 'hispanic-panic' because then i'll have to spend hours telling you all about the multitude of people who clog up our ER with complaints of 'my baby woke up crying so i brought her in even though now she's perfectly fine and probably just needed to be fed' or 'i've had this pain in my arm muscle for 3 years and am too lazy/cheap to see a primary care physician about it so i'm checking into the ER because you are required by law to see me and i don't have to pay my bill' and my favorite, favorite, favorite- 'i need you guys to give my kid his immunizations and well-child exam'. 

God bless Yuma.

and God bless me with more patience because after 4 nights of that ridiculousness... i was ready to explode. and that's putting it nicely. 

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another overload of pics

and now a series of mini-letters:

dear pregnant body of mine:
we're almost there.
only 8 weeks to go.
we're doing well; gaining some weight and growing a healthy little girl.
she's measuring 2 weeks behind schedule but that's not surprising.
[i just don't think this body is engineered to make big babies]
i'll just have to keep eating cookie dough every night and drinking hot cocoa every morning while peanut watches monsters inc.

dear yuma weather:
i think i love you [now that it's not 115 degrees]
we decked the halls this past week and didn't once have to worry about mittens or boots.
our christmas tree is up and sparkly.
the palm trees outside are full of white twinkle lights.
it was wonderful to decorate outside without freezing our hands.

dear christmastime:
thanks for bringing me one of my favorite things- twinkly trees.
and for kate's favorite book right now- the night before christmas.
oh how i love snuggling her tight and reading books with her by the light of her little christmas tree.

our elf on the shelf finally came and has been named 'elfie'.
[that's what you get when you let a 2 yr old name the keepsake]
kate talks to elfie all day, every day and tells him if she's been naughty or nice-
it's hilarious to watch [i'll have to video it]
our advent calendar is finally done-
kate unwraps a christmas book each night which we read all snuggled in on her huge bed.
smelling kate's freshly washed hair and rubbing her back and face while jank reads to us is my idea of heaven.

dear kate:
i'm so glad i get to teach you important things like how to dip your french fries in your ice cream.
our lunch dates make me smile.
on the flip side, your ability to cause chaos makes me insaaaaane.
you were so proud of this mess and got mad at me when i cleaned it up.
but it did give me the opportunity to weed out some of your toys-
how did you get so many??

regardless of your actions, i love you completely.
you make me smile everyday and that is enough.

dear jank:
thanks for all you do [laundry, dishes, diapers....]
thanks for all the foot massages.
thanks for not playing racquetball tonight so we could spend time together before i have to work 4 in a row.
and thanks for taking kate on night-time scooter rides to see the christmas lights-
you are her absolute favorite person and mine too.
i love you.
thanks for loving me.

.

a very spoiled little girl.

so as it happened, we ventured out into the gorgeous 70 degree weather on black friday.

[at a normal time- no 4 am stuff for the jancers].

we were on the hunt for a twin bed for peanut.

the store we visited was having a ridiculous deal on this queen and we just couldn't say no.

it was the same price as a twin and after much debating-

[i don't do spur of the moment decisions well- it took me a while to shift my thinking from twin to queen]

we bought it.

now our little peanut sleeps like a queen.

seeing her buried under pillows and blankets in that gigantic bed makes me smile.

she loves it and it sure is nice to have a place to snuggle and read books-

[the toddler bed just wasn't cutting it anymore for us]

now on to the stressful stuff like decorating her room.

where's my sister when i need her?

my head spins in circles when i think about decorating decisions.

give me a someone with a broken leg and i know what to do.

but decide on a lamp... that'll take me a year.