October

We went to a conservation kids fair in early October.  Sierra was not really interested in petting

the bunnies or the sheep, but was sooo excited to get to hold this snake!

Fun times! 

The first rains came and Sierra celebrated by a doing some serious puddle stomping! 

And some more...... 

October is a great month for apples straight off of the tree! 

We went to Washington for a wedding this month.  Sierra talked through pretty

much the whole thing.  Saying things like who is going to sing, are we going to

pray now, I not want to get married, can we play now, etc.

Her highlight of the wedding was finding a fuzzy wuzzy to hold! 

Helping daddy prepare for the garage foundation 

It's fall! 

Pouting because she did not want to have to wear her new "big coat" outside. 

Reading her "treasure map" 

"This one is little like me!" 

Almost ready for cement.

Sierra is quite excited about carving her first pumpkin;) 

Her curiosity took over her disgust VERY quickly. 

Since she wasn't actually able to help with the carving part, we let her color her own pumpkin

while daddy did the carving. 

She was quite attached to her pumpkin! 

We have moments of girlyness! 

And some hula dancing.... 

Happy Halloween! 

She was trying to wiggle her nose.... 

We took her trick-or-treating in downtown Corvallis.  First stop was daddy's work! 

Fall is here.  Bleh.  I'm not a fan of fall or winter.  I like to be outside and I like to be warm.  But we live in Oregon, so I do my best.  I do enjoy a nice warm cup of cider and I also enjoy the Christmas season.  So in late October I turn on the Christmas music and start some online shopping with my cider in hand.  This October has actually been pretty beautiful weather-wise.  I'm glad for this considering our summer did not start until August this year.  Enough about the weather right - you are here to read about Miss Sierra.

She is slowly coming to terms with being a big sister.  We pray for little brother every night and talk about him someday being able to play with her and be her friend.  This has made quite a difference in her attitude, though she will probably be very confused when we bring home a baby that cries and poops a lot and can in no way play a game of chasey chase.  I struggle with a mix of emotions daily when I realize how attached she is to me and that she is so used to me being her playmate.  I worry that when I am nursing and caring for a new baby - that she will have a serious adjustment period.  Some parts of me are saying to start the weaning process now and encourage her to play more on her own and not depend on me so much while the other part of me is saying give her as much attention as you can before #2 gets here and you never have her to yourself again. 

Basically I'm realizing she is a total mommy's girl and a little bit spoiled when it comes to my time and affection.  I'm not meaning to say that she isn't disciplined and always gets her way by any means.  But I really do devote my day to her.  The house generally gets cleaned after daddy gets home or on weekends, I do not watch adult tv or even listen to adult radio, I have very few crafts that I attempt because I'm otherwise occupied, really the computer is my only vice and generally I use it when she is taking her nap.  So what does this mean?  I play with play dough, dance to children's music, take a 3 minute shower, color, sit on the floor and play blocks, sit by her while she eats her lunch, read Disney books 1000 times while she sits in my lap, play with puzzles, lay down on her floor and sing to her before her nap, walk down the driveway inspecting every single rock that she picks up even though I just want to make it to the mail box before the mailman picks up the mail.  Yep I'm the average stay at home mom that loves her child and yet still worries every second that maybe I should be doing something a little differently.  Days of play sound like fun right?  And they are.  And I am blessed.  But sometimes I also go a little bit insane:)

When I go a little too batty for my own good I plan a trip to town in the evening without my Sierra in tow or I plan a trip to visit my sister in Portland.  I did that this month, an over-nighter even!  I kissed my child, wished my husband good luck, and I ran for the hills:)  Amy and I had a wonderful time shopping and she treated me to a facial for my birthday.  Jesse and Sierra had a wonderful time as well.  She went down for her nap and bed just fine without me (maybe I'm not as important as I think I am).  I came home to a happy child and daddy.  Sierra actually insisted on Jesse doing several things for her instead of me after I got home (it's usually mommy that is supposed to take her potty, get her dressed, or get her snack etc.)  This honestly did not hurt my feelings one little bit.  I was so excited that she was having a moment realizing someone besides myself could take good care of her.  It only lasted a day, but I was overjoyed.  Good job daddy!

By the end of October most of my nausea has faded.  It lasted until 22 weeks just exactly like it did with Sierra.  I still battle random bouts of it, but not ALL day like I have been.  Hallelujah!  I move slowly, think slowly, and still wish I could sleep every second of the day, but am no longer hugging the toilet on a regular basis. Yay!  Sierra still does not understand my lack of motivation for anything physical - and when she is running down the driveway she looks at me like I'm broken as I hobble along behind her (I'm having serious back problems with this pregnancy).  But she is glad to have me back at moments, and glad that I don't spend most of my day laying in a daze beside her. 

One of her new favorite games right now is catch.  We sit about 5 feet apart and either roll a ball or throw one back and forth.  She is finally getting the hang of actually catching the ball and really enjoys it.  But - it is mandatory that you sit on the floor for this game.  When I try to have her toss me the ball while I'm sitting in a chair or on the couch, I get a serious reprimand.  We've also reached a new level of music.  She's heard songs a million times by this point in her 2 year old life, so she has decided that I need to randomly make up songs and sing them in the car, before nap or bed.  I get to sing about her light, Thomas, trees, boogers, I'm serious any random thing she comes up with.  They usually only have to have 2 or 3 verses but I am telling you that I sort of miss Wheels on the Bus and Old MacDonald.  Being a songwriter takes a lot of thought - and my brain seems to be extra empty these days.  Luckily any silly thing goes.  The bad thing is - sometimes she expects me to repeat the good ones later - and if I've forgotten I'm in big trouble.  Usually she remembers though and will say, "No Mommy, it goes like this." 

I know I talk about it all the time but this child has a crazy memory.  She can see something just once and remember it vividly.  If we go to the store she remember what we got at that particular store the last time.  She has an amazing sense of where she is.  She knows if we are close to home, close to GG's house, etc.  When we turn onto a road on the way to our house she'll say, "This is Decker Road Mommy."  There are so many examples that I could give it would literally fill pages.  Maybe this is normal for a two year old; I'm not around very many.  But all I know is that when she starts spouting off exactly what I put in my shopping cart last time I was at Market of Choice - it actually scares me a little.  I used to be really good at remembering things - until I gave birth.  Somehow I think my memory left my body at the moment she was born.  So maybe she is now living with her 2 year old memory as well as my former one.

Sierra was a bunny for Halloween this year and she had a lot of fun walking around downtown Corvallis collecting candy in her bucket.  She loved putting it in there but never really tried to eat any of it.  She rarely has candy, so it was just not too tempting to her.  After her trick-or-treating we did let her try a few different kinds.  Mostly she just got annoyed because the candy stuck to her teeth.  She did enjoy the smarties though.  It's crazy to think that next year I will have two little ones to dress up for Halloween!