Nesting

I'm assuming everyone has heard of the nesting phase in pregnancy. It's supposedly when a woman tries to get her home ready for the baby.
I kind of scoff at this idea, except I am totally guilty of it, especially this time around. My normal organizational and cleanliness traits kick into overdrive and I find myself making lists that look like this:
1. Vacuum my headboard
2. Clean out the washing machine
3. Organize and label all files in the house
4. Wipe down all the doors

And other crazy stuff that I normally wouldn't care about. Now it NEEDS TO GET DONE IMMEDIATELY. It's driving me nuts. I want to clean out all of our closets too but I'm afraid I might not get to it before the baby comes. (I added it to my list anyway.)

The problem is that this phase kicks in right when I am at my most unwieldy and tired stage of pregnancy. The other impediment is that I have round ligament pain pretty bad this time around, which is sharp, stabbing pains where my leg connects to my torso. This means it hurts to sit, stand, walk, and roll over in bed. Basically anytime I move. This has made it doubly difficult to check things off on my nesting to-do list.
But it has to be done, or I will go crazy.
Well, crazier than I already am.

Here is Seth checking off yet another thing on my list, cleaning and fixing the vacuum. The retractable cord kept retracting while vacuuming. I was quite pleased he had to take it almost all apart to do so because that meant I could clean every nook and cranny! It was really an inappropriate amount of excitement. For cleaning a vacuum.

Only four more weeks of this madness. Please tell me to stop adding things to my list.

Five on ...Saturday

1. We finally bought a minivan. Cue the huge sigh of relief, as we've been looking for a reasonably priced one all summer long and there are only two months left until baby #3 comes along. The girls think the automatic open doors are the most amazing feature ever, and I have to say I agree.

2. Seth didn't get home until eight o'clock last night because some crazy man called the office and threatened to come and shoot his girlfriend (an employee there) and everyone else she works with. They put everyone in lockdown until his whereabouts could be confirmed. It was a long night for both of us.

3. Tessa started preschool! It is three days a week for just a few hours in the afternoon. The only person sad about this is Hailey, who has burst into tears the two times we've dropped her off. I'm hoping this wears off soon.

4. Hailey's new favorite joke is to say "I'm walking like mommy!" and then waddle in exaggerated fashion across the floor. Seth thinks it's real hilarious. I do not.

5. Our grocery store just added these little mini shopping carts for kids. The girls love it and I hate it. If I don't let them use it, I get to deal with the tears and the whining. If I do, I get to deal with being smacked in the face with the little flag (happened yesterday), getting my ankles run into, and yelling at them the entire time "Look out! Watch where you're going! Don't run with that!"

Seriously, grocery stores. This idea is THE WORST.

Arizona Vacation

Here is a mundane hodgepodge of photos and stories from our vacation to Arizona last month.

I flew out by myself with the girls a week early. They were surprisingly very good. Much better behaved than they were for Seth AND I on the way home. Figures.

Finally got to meet baby Jack! The only boy cousin on my side of the family so far. We've only got two on the Winsor side as well, so I think it's safe to say that for this generation, girls rule and boys drool.

If my girls are as loving and attentive to the new baby as they were to baby Jack, I should have no problem come October. Hailey, for some unknown reason, referred to him as "big guy" all week. 

Ah, TV time. The great babysitter.

Tessa and Brooklyn out on a walk. They got along splendidly.

Hailey and Eleanor got along, but not as splendidly. They strictly follow the toddler rules of life: what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine.

In true family tradition, Hailey and I got sick upon first arriving in Arizona. Here we are skipping out after Sacrament so we can go home and go to bed. My mom wanted pictures of the girls in their cute dresses before we left.

Sleepover! Amanda had to drive out to pick up Stuart from the airport during bedtime so Brooklyn and Eleanor came and had a sleepover with us. They stayed up late talking and giggling until Brooklyn decided she'd had enough and wanted to go sleep in her own bed, so I don't think the concept of a sleepover quite sunk in.

Accidental matching. I thought this was hilarious, but I was also sick and tired, so everything was funny.

I can't remember half the stuff we did. It was mostly just hanging out watching the kids play and fight. So exciting! But also kind of what family vacations are for.

This is how most of our attempts to get pictures of all four girls went. Not very well.

On the way home.
(Actually not, since we flew straight to the Winsor Family Reunion at Myrtle Beach. I'll be putting up another photo dump of that vacation too. It should be as exciting as this one.)

Katie's Wedding

When Seth and I got married in Arizona in August, everyone decided it was probably not the best idea and warned single family members not to follow in our footsteps.

So my sister Katie just got married in Arizona on August 1st.
(She never listens to me.)

Everything was beautiful though and it was a great day. It helped that I wasn't the bride this time around and didn't have to be outside in the heat for nearly as many pictures.

The girls thought the "party" (as they called it) was awesome.

They stayed up way too late and had way too much sugar and were totally wiped out by the end of the night.

Congrats Katie and Alex!
But for reals everyone: no more weddings in Arizona in August.