Lesson learned every day

Today's lesson learned is: Don't leave breakable a glass (or anything for that matter) on top of a table cloth that can be pulled down by a curious toddler. It went something like this: I had my back turned for like half a second; Addie pulled the cloth; the glass fell and shattered at her feet; I screamed; she screamed; I swooped her up in my arms before she could move, and we went to inspect her flesh for wounds. Luckily a CareBear Band Aid was only needed for a tiny little cut on her ankle. And just like that the new word, "boo boo" was learned. It took a lot of patience for Addie to stand next to the refrigerator, and no closer, as she watched me meticulously sweep up the glass shards on the kitchen floor; but we both made it. The brownies in the oven weren't even burnt in the ordeal. Crisis one without Daddy averted rather smoothly. Justin left this evening for a week in Australia. We had a mushy farewell and then Addie and I wrapped up the evening (after our brush with danger) like any Saturday evening should be; with picture books and a glass of milk, snuggled up in bed.

Just for fun, here is a picture of Adelaide during her first finger painting session (thank you Aunt Rachel, Uncle Trey, and Riley).

sushi at home

I am a very happy pregnant lady at this very moment. I just ate a delicious sushi roll made by our helper/chef extraordinaire. My friend Sunny brought over sushi rolls the other day for our playdate made by her cook and I NEEDED more the moment I swallowed the last bite. I sent Cora to get the supplies to make our own sushi at home. Today she tried for her first time at making sushi. I am only eating vegetarian sushi right now which is fine with me. Cora made two rolls one with avocado, cucumber, and mango; the other with avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese (this one was for me since Justin hates cream cheese. He's weird, I know this. Anyway, by the time I thought to take a picture of our homemade sushi I had eaten all my roll!). I scarfed the cream cheese roll with wasabi and soy sauce. It is officially my new favorite pregnant craving. It's healthy and delicious. It's better than Ben and Jerry's ice cream cravings I guess (I have those too but they can't be fulfilled here in the Philippines). Can I tell you how much I love Cora right now (not only for the sushi but for helping me strip and clean crib bedding/clothes/lovies that were covered in diarrhea from my little girl this afternoon-but that's another post entirely)

27 weeks pregnant

I'm not sure how I'm already at the 27 week mark. The second trimester flew by and now I'm officially in the home stretch of the last 13 weeks. Our new baby girl is growing fast and moving around all the time. I'm carrying her exactly like I carried Addie: low and out. My doctor looked at me yesterday and recommended I get a support belt. We have also started the count-down for Addie and I flying back to Washington at 34 weeks. We leave March 18th so that leaves us about 7 weeks here in the P.I. before we leave Justin for a month. We aren't looking forward to that part of the adventure but the new baby's birth keeps us thinking positively. We can't wait. Overall, I am feeling good (if not big) and the baby is in great health.

winter, what winter?

Wednesday, Jan 28 weather forecast

Portland, OR: Cloudy,41 degrees, feels like 35
Arlington, VA: Rain and sleet, 28 degrees, feels like 22

Baltimore, MD: Light freezing rain, 27 degrees, feels like 19

Manila: Partly sunny, 84 degrees, feels like 95

Bet you wish you were in my shoes for a day!

stickers and shoes

Right now a few of Adelaide's obsessions are stickers and shoes. Kiki bought Addie a book of Dora the Explorer stickers and they covered most surfaces in Kiki's house. Now that we are home they are all over our house (and Lucy too)! She's loving putting on our shoes and clodding around the house with them. Aunt Emily bought Addie a cute pair of fancy dress-up shoes for Christmas which have become apart of our daily play-time. Every time she puts them on she click-clacks around the house saying "pretty, pretty".

One last visit

It was hard the Saturday before we left to say our goodbyes to all our family and friends. We made one last visit to Grandpa Ray, Grandma Kathy, and Uncle Tyler's house. Addie fell in love with big Jackson (the 100+ pound black lab) and Gabby (the little fluffy white mix). She also spent plenty of time playing with her Uncle Tyler and her Grandparents. We were all so sad to say goodbye but were so thankful for all the quality time we had with them over the three weeks. Thanks Grandpa for the zucchini bread-it saved us on our flights home! We miss you all already.

girl time

We popped in to visit our favorite neighbors and their girls while we were in VA. The girls have gotten so big and amazed us with how grown-up they seem. Addie immediately picked up on the girl vibe and Lydia and Emma were her new best friends. With all their wonderfull girl toys and dolls how could any little girl resist. The three girls played while the parents all watched and reminisced about how Lydia was only one when we first moved in next door to them. Time flies and we decided if we still lived close by the three girls would have lots of fun playing together.