So busy

It's a busy time of year and with me helping out Matt's basketball team as the team's unofficial sports information director, I have been going non-stop for a while now. I enjoy it though. I don't think I remember what being bored is and I am pretty sure I wouldn't like it.
I don't have any pictures to share but I wanted to let everyone know of the Christmas present that Matt bought us ... a new mini-van! He bought it last Friday, a Toyota Sienna. It's burgandy (though I am sure that the official color is something much fancier) and has a DVD player in it. Diana loves it because she has her own princess seat.
Our driveway is much smaller now, but everyone has room now to stretch their legs out in both our cars! :)

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am Frankie Heck

One of our favorite TV shows this season is The Middle on ABC. It stars Patricia Heaton as a working mom (she's a car saleswoman) in Indiana. Her family is a little crazy.
Last week's episode saw Frankie earn a solo in the church choir. Because of all the rehearsing that was necessary, she passed the duties of Christmas on to her husband. Frankie is a list maker (so am I) and at Christmas she makes lists of everything that needs to get done and everything that needs to be purchased.
Christmas, she claims, is very stressful and she had a hard time convincing her husband of this. She passed her list on to him and he handled all the duties that Frankie always took care of. Long story short, though he was OK at first, he got a little flustered at the end and realized that, yes, Christmas is a crazy time of year.
I never believed that Christmas was stressful. I am a planner. I do my Christmas shopping online and weeks before Christmas. I didn't bake cookies or anything because Matt enjoys that and that's his thing. We only travel every other year a great distance so that was no biggie. There was always plenty of time to take care of everything.
Until we became a family of four.
Now there's all kinds of stuff to do. I want to bake cookies, take Diana to Candy Cane and Lolly Pop lanes to see the awesome Christmas lights, write (and send) our annual Christmas letter, decorate the tree, buy and wrap Christmas presents for the family under my roof, my immediate family and my extended family and all while being a working mom and a Coach's wife.
Last night, I got off work, rushed home to pick up Diana (who was eating dinner in her ballet outfit)and we headed off to her final ballet class of the season. After, I wanted to take her to Candy Cane Lane. It was 6:30 by the time we left ballet and it's always a gamble to keep Miss D up after her bedtime on a school night. I knew that taking her to Candy Cane Lane was worth it though. It was...she loved the lights and had a great time. I was beaming at my awesome parenting decision!
She went to bed a little later that night and with no tantrum. Score!
I finally had something for dinner at around 8 p.m. and I am hoping that the Christmas presents that I purchased on my lunch break yesterday get wrapped eventually. They are in the trunk of my car right now and if I forget about them a week from now, God help me!
I admit, there's a lot going on this time of year. I am not complaining by any stretch of the imagination. I have embraced the chaos that is now my life. I can relate though to Frankie Heck and appreciate her every day!

Our brave girls

Diana hasn't visited Santa since she was six months old. I don't know how she knew that Santa was a "scary" guy then, but she screamed the entire time. I, of course, purchased the two-keychain set of the picture of Diana screaming while sitting on Santa's lap and showed them off to everyone. Most people thought I was wrong for making that purchase, but it's memories. I am going to have to find that keychain because I know it's in the house somewhere.
For the past three Christmases Diana has taken a pass on visiting Santa. She wanted nothing to do with the Jolly Man. But this year, she was all about it. So on Wednesday, we headed to the mall after work with the little gals in tow and hoped that she didn't have second thoughts.
While waiting for the kids in front of her to finish, Diana kept saying "Hi Santa! Hi!" Cute.
When the kids went away and I told Diana to go up, she got a little nervous. I told her it was her turn and to go up and sit on the bench with Santa. Still nothing. Now, this wasn't a total refusal. She was thinking about it, but just needed some convincing.
"Mommy, I want Amy to go first," she said.
Sure, Diana, sacrifice the baby! In her mind, Diana's thinking, this guy might eat me, take me back to the North Pole and I will never see Mommy, Daddy and Amy again or worse! So, let's put the baby up there and see what happens.
I put Amy on Santa's lap and sure enough, he did not eat her or run as fast as he could out of the mall with her.
So, Diana jumped up on the bench with Santa and told him all the things she wanted for Christmas. It helped that Santa knew that a little girl wearing pink is probably a princess lover. Diana rattled on for 3 minutes about all the princess stuff she wanted. I was so proud of her!
The girls took the picture and it was time to get down. I collected the baby - with no teeth marks on her - and turned around to leave. Only, there was no 4-year-old with me.
"Oh, I want a princess castle too," I hear Diana say. She's STILL talking to Santa!
"D, time to go, hun!"
She got her Candy Cane and we headed out. She was beaming and I am sure that her teacher at school is hearing all about it today!
Later that night, day two of Christmas tree decorating took place. We are doing it in segments this year. Sunday was Day One: Tree Purchase and put the lights on. Oh the life of a family of four!

Party Pooper

When Diana came home from school one day last week, she came home with an envelope with the words "Princess Diana Borchert" written on the front. Curious, I thought.
I opened it to find an invitation to a princess-themed birthday party for a girl who used to be in her same class at school. The girl has since moved to another classroom, but I think they play together every now and again when the classes join together.
Diana was obviously very excited and carried it around the house the rest of the night telling us which of her princess dresses she was going to wear to the party.
Sunday came and I finally got around to calling the mom to RSVP to the party. (I am way old-fashioned that way).
The mom informs me that this is a kid-only party (no parents allowed) because the little girl's grandmother has terminal cancer and can't have a lot of people around. The mom is videotaping the party as a keepsake for the little girl so she has something to remember her grandmother by.
Well, I don't know these people. I was flattered that they invited Diana but I can't send my four-year-old to someone's house that we don't know. Who knows if they are telling the truth about this grandmother? What kind of food are they going to serve my kid when I am not there?
The mom explained that she understood if we didn't want to send Diana to a stranger's house. Damn straight. I wish this would have been explained in the invite so we didn't get Diana's hopes up.
My plan was to explain about the party to Diana when she brought it up later in the week.
Well, she brought it up tonight. I explained to her about the parents not being able to be there and she said "Well, I guess I will just have to go by myself." She said it in the most serious voice ever. I said "Well, not quite D. I will talk to Daddy."
There's no way D can go to this party. I hate to be the party pooper but being a good mommy is way more important.

A growing girl

Amy had her four-month well check and shots yesterday and despite spending 2 1/2 hours at the doctor's office yesterday, I left a very happy Momma!
Amy is now 12 pounds which is great because you can actually see the chubs on this girl. It's so fun to just kiss her big ole tummy and grab her big ole thighs. I know some babies are born at 12 pounds and mine is four months and 12 pounds, but a healthy, happy girl is all I need!
She's also a whopping 24 inches. The doctor said that if she was a term baby (meaning if she was born at 40 weeks) she would be in the 90th percentile for height. Well, that's awesome! He suggested that she might be out of point guard status and possibly might be a power forward. That's great!
Now, I am not naive. I am a realist. I know that all that "percentile" talk is all just silliness. A kid's weight and height can't be determined or predicted from the time they are a baby. It's just silly. But...BUT...it's exciting to know that Amy might have inherited the tall gene. Especially considering how early she was born. I mean, she was three pounds at birth, but still 16 inches so that's a pretty long preemie.
All that really matters is that she is healthy. Amy isn't quite holding her head up all by herself all the time and she's certainly no where close to sitting up on her own so we can't quite start rice cereal yet. That's OK. The doctor said that we are doing everything right by talking to her, giving her things to play with and having her do tummy time, etc. That was definitely good news because as a mom of two, sometimes I feel like the little one doesn't quite get the attention she needs except when it's time to eat.
I really do miss my cuddle time with Amy and as week two at work comes to an end, I look forward to four days with my girls all to myself!

On a side note: Go Falcons this weekend! Please come home with three wins and a trophy!

The no-cavity club

Diana had her third visit to the dentist today. I wasn't sure how she was going to do considering she threw a monster tantrum this morning. I actually walked into the dentist and told them that I didn't think she would be sitting for them today. I had accepted that it just wasn't going to happen. And this was after she had completely settled down and was playing in the lobby of the dentist office.
she sat and colored and played in my purse while I had my teeth cleaned and when it was her turn, she eagerly went with the hygenist, Eve, to her chair. She still had to sit on my lap, but she opened her mouth and let Eve clean her teeth with the same automatic toothbrush they use on adults (I later found out that they used cookie dough-flavored toothpaste on her..jealous!). Diana then let Eve floss her teeth. I was amazed!
The dentist then came over and Eve explained that he wanted to count her teeth. I said, "Diana, you know how many teeth you have!" Last time we were at the dentist, he told her how many and my kid has this great memory.
"Twenty," she said confidently.
The dentist just about fell out of his chair. He stopped what he was doing and just looked at me in a state of shock. He couldn't believe that a four-year-old would remember such a thing.
I was so proud!
He looked at her teeth, praised her for taking such great care of them and rewarded her with a purple toothbrush, stickers and a ribbon that inducted her into the No Cavity Club. Me proud once again!
Later in the day, Diana told me: "Mommy, I had so much fun at the dentist!"
Yeah, if I got four stickers, a ribbon, a new purple toothbrush and all the attention in the world...I would be loving it too!
All I got was a stinkin' box of travel-sized toothpaste and a reminder to go visit the periodonist!

First week is almost over

Re-entry is not easy. It's difficult to take four months off work - four months away from adult conversation, four months away from friends, four months away from a rewarding job that is really fun.
But this week, I had to go back. I was looking forward to it though. I enjoyed the last three and a half months though. I accomplished a lot. I bonded with with Amy and gave her a great start in life. I experimented in the kitchen and became a more confident chef. I began to teach Diana how to read and she's very confident now with her sight words and feels that no book is too hard to read.
It was a great four months.
Monday was hard though. Diana spent Sunday night at Gramma V's in order to give Matt and me a chance to get a routine down with Amy. I woke up and fed her a bottle at around 5 a.m., brought her upstairs and took a shower while she chilled in her chair, packed up all her goodies for the day and we were out of the house by 6:30 a.m.
I learned that pre-planning is crucial. Sunday afternoon I made scones (thanks, Mama Parker for the recipe)and planned on making fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast this week with our Magic Bullet. I put the scones in Ziploc baggies so they were easy to grab on the way out of the house. I also packed my lunch the night before. All that I had to do each morning was take a shower, do my hair and makeup and the rest of the morning was dedicated to getting Amy ready for her day at daycare.
The pre-planning definitely cut down on any stress that could've happened and made the mornings much more pleasant. I arrived at work at 7:30 a.m. each morning a very happy momma.
It wasn't totally easy leaving Amy at daycare, but since Diana has been at the same place for over two years now, I totally trust the people there. I know my girls are taken care of every day and will be happy all day.
And they were. When I called to check on Amy, she was happy, eating well and sleeping in her crib. When I picked her up in the afternoon, she was smiling and happy.
She even has her own "happy place" as we discovered after the first day on Monday - they have swings. She sat in that thing wrapped up in her fluffy blanket and fell right asleep. She did so well that I sent Matt to Target Monday night to go get a swing. Though we still haven't put it together (I didn't say that nights were easy) I know that Amy's going to be swinging away in the living room in no time.
Nights this week were another story. I was not naive to the fact that my needs for the rest of my life will come third to Diana and Amy's. But the craziness of mornings, work, picking the girls up, coming home and fixing dinner, feeding Amy, doing bathtime and bedtime and cleaning up around the house leave me in my work clothes until about 7:30 or 8. That's a long time. I fell asleep on the chair downstairs twice this week before 9 p.m. I know that once I start working out and not neglecting my treadmill anymore I will have more energy so I can't wait for that day.
Diana's teacher did make an observation on Tuesday that made me laugh. She asked me if I was glad to be back at work and I said, "Yes, I really like my job." She said, "You just seem so much more energized now!" It may sound bad written here, but she meant it as a compliment.
It's very rewarding to be a working mother. I feel a huge sense of pride knowing that I am being such a great role model for my girls and doing something so important to contribute to my household. I hated being on bed rest for three weeks. I really felt like I couldn't contribute to my family's well being during that time and to be able to be back to a normal routine is wonderful!

General Mills is the devil

Who does General Mills (you know, the cereal company) think they are fooling? They try to tell us parents that by eating Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and their other line of sugary cereals that my kid will be getting a ton of fiber and Vitamin D. Well, they fail to mention the high amounts of sugar in all those cereals. It infuriates me!
Cheerios and Kix are the only cereals my kid eats and she's getting plenty of healthy intake. We give her Special K with strawberries every now and then and Miss D also likes the cereals that Fiber One makes so she's getting all the good taste and fiber she needs.
General Mills isn't going to suck me into their sugary trap!

So close, yet so far away

Amy has been sleeping in her crib at night for about a week now. She does pretty well and even if she wakes up and fusses, we stumble across the hallway, give her Soothie and she falls back asleep. I have only had to pick her up and snuggle with her twice in the last week.
The first night she was in there, I think I checked on her five times during the night. And last night, she slept from 12:30 a.m. till her next feeding at 5 a.m. I woke up a couple times during the night and didn't hear a peep from her on the monitor and nearly freaked out.
But Matt and I have taken back our room! No more tip-toeing around the room avoiding the creaky spots on the floor, no more brushing our teeth in another bathroom in the house. I don't have to worry about Amy waking up because Matt is snoring. :)
It's kinda weird though when I peep in on Amy and she's all swaddled, just her little head popping out of the blanket. We also have two blankets on top of her so all you see is a little teeny tiny head lying on this huge mattress.
Then I go next door and check on Miss D and there she is in her big ole bed snoring away. My girls, though four years apart, are getting older every day!

Halloween 2009

This may have been the best Halloween yet. I was very excited when our neighbors, Heather, Clint and their kids Kezia, 2 1/2, and Keegan, 2 weeks, accepted our offer to come over for pizza and trick or treating. They usually go to their church and participate in the festival there, but opted out this year because of the H1N1 scare. With a new baby, I can understand their fears.
Our Halloween actually started with the construction of Diana's costume. Aunt Debbie got the ball rolling by making the dress and ears but I had to put the finishing touches on:


Next, we spent Halloween Eve at Diana's school at the Fall Festival. It made for a late night, but it's something we like to do. Diana made a cookie and participated in some games the teachers had set up:


Halloween was so much fun! The day started out with the Borchert girls traveling up the road to Dixon to visit the Daggetts as they moved into their new home. Of course, Diana had to wear her costume and trick or treat at their house.


And Amy even had a good time at the Daggetts!


Diana was a big help to me as we made all kinds of goodies in preparation for our Halloween party!


Once Matt got home from the Solano football game, we all carved pumpkins!


Diana drew a face on Amy's:



We had a great time trick or treating in our neighborhood and it looked as though Heather and Clint weren't the only ones with fears of festivals. Our neighborhood was packed with kids and families - in years past, our neighborhood has been like a ghost town on Halloween...very scary!
And, as is tradition, the Borcherts got dressed up. Contrary to popular belief, I did not lose a bet and have to wear the ridiculously oversized costume....it was chosen for me by Diana. I was actually quite popular in the neighborhood and became somewhat of a celebrity. Gramma V even offered to buy the costume off me so she could wear it to school next Halloween. Gramma V, you can have it!


Diana scored big time on the candy, even though she only got to keep one bag of M&Ms.


I personally think that Diana was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever...thanks to Aunt Debbie!



And of course, our newest little pumpkin did quite well despite sleeping through most of Halloween!

Cool Patch

Though just six days before Halloween, we finally made it out to Cool Patch Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. We called the family at 10 minutes to nine and said we would be leaving at 9:30 and everyone made it there by 10...thanks to my entire family for understanding that the Borcherts work at the last minute these days!
It was really windy so Amy rode in the Snugli the whole time - hence the lack of Amy pictures in this post. I am thankful though that Au Bob and Grandpa D got some pictures of Amy riding in the Snugli so that 20 years from now we don't have this conversation:

Amy: Mom, why aren't there any pictures of ME and my first trip to Cool Patch?
Me: It was really windy that day, Amy and you rode in the Snugli the whole time.
Amy: But Diana was screaming her lungs out in the pictures of her first trip to Cool Patch, why?
Me: Because it was really windy that day.
Amy: Um, and there are no pictures of me because....
Me: We didn't want you to be as miserable as Diana!

So, again, thanks to Au Bob and Grandpa D for hopefully helping me avoid the above conversation someday.

Diana tackling Matt in the Corn Bath, her favorite thing at Cool Patch:



Diana driving with Gramma V:



Diana running through the mini-maze:

Milestones

There are a few major milestones in the first four years of a child's life - walking, talking, getting potty trained, the first day of preschool/daycare. Though every day is a new adventure in a toddler's life and thus very rewarding for parents, the big ones are the ones that stand out and leave lasting impressions.
Over the last couple weeks, reading has been this major accomplishment in Miss D's life. Tonight, she finished the last book in the first group of her "I Can Read" series that Gramma V bought her. She breezed right through it.
When I was playing basketball growing up, my mom always said that she was proud for me--not proud of me. She explained to me that I should be proud of myself and that she was excited for me. I tried to understand this theory for the longest time and it never sunk in until this week. I am so proud for Diana because reading is such a huge accomplishment and she's done it with such ease. It's come so natural for her. I am excited for her because of all the fun that comes with reading. Her imagination is going to grow, she's going to learn about new places and things and really start to expand her vocabulary.
On Friday, Matt took Miss D to McDonald's for breakfast before school and there was a sign in the restaurant. Matt asked Diana to read it and she instantly said "Wet Floor." It was great!
I have probably been blogging a lot about the adventures in reading of Miss D, but to me, this is one of the biggest accomplishments of her young life so far!

November 16

For the past three and a half months, it's been my choice whether or not I want to take a shower in the morning. I could skip breakfast if I wanted to because I was either too busy or just didn't need to have anything. The couch started out as my BFF then turned into my worst enemy. The same can be said for our chair. I have learned that many women I know are stay-at-home moms and I am very jealous of them. But I know that I can't join their company because I have to work.
So...on November 16, I will return to the workforce. I officially gave that date to my boss and the HR department the other day. I am looking forward to being around adults every day because I miss all the people I work with. I really love my job and look forward to writing stories about all the wonderful people who work at our company. (I can say "our" company because I own stock).
It's gonna be real hard to be away from Amy and put her in daycare because Diana wasn't in daycare until she was almost 2 1/2 years old and I loved the time we spent together in the mornings before work.
I will try not to think about someone else feeding Amy, putting her down for a nap, reading to her and cuddling with her. As long as I can provide for my family financially that's the most important thing. And since I am going to be getting out of the house and into a normal routine, that will keep me a little more mentally healthy and energized for the end of the day and weekends with my family.
So, the countdown to November 16 begins. I will take advantage of every moment I have left in this house during the day and appreciate every moment I have with Miss Amy in the day time.

Pillowcase Hair

Diana has naturally wavy hair (she got that from Matt)and I have played with it every now and then on a special occasion - curling it with a curling iron or trying to straighten it with my straightener. But Miss D doesn't like to stand still and I am always afraid that I am going to burn her. She loves the look of her hair after it's curled or straightened (what princess wouldn't?).
My awesome hairdresser, Kim, suggested that I try pillowcase curls. She explained what it was and I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do it. A couple weeks later, I looked it up on the internet and was positive that I couldn't do it. It was worth the try though and I told Diana that it was a "Hair craft" and she got all excited.
So, pillowcase hair requires the parent to cut up an old pillowcase into strips and tie them into the child's hair. I put some mousse into D's nearly dried hair after bathtime and the "hair craft" began.
Here are the before pics right before Diana went to bed. Oh, pillowcase hair requires the pillowcase strips to stay in overnight to assure maximum curlage.



It's actually very simple. I used the instructions found here. Some of the strips fell out at night, but it's no big deal. I plan to get some more practice both on myself and Diana. She didn't complain about the pillowcase strips in her hair at night. She was mostly bummed when they fell out.



I forgot to take an after picture. Mostly because Diana woke up at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and asked me to take them out because she wanted to see the curls. It was a little too early for me (yes, even me) to operate the camera. Trust me though, the hair was extremely curly. It was like I had used an extremely small curling iron on it. I had no idea that this hair craft would work as well as it did. I saved all the pillowcase strips and will definitely do this again!

Book Worm

It's a good thing we own a lot of books. Diana is going through a phase now where she just can't be read to enough. You know how you are supposed to read to your child at least 15 minutes a day? Well, I surpass that by about an hour. I know that's probably going to change when I go back to work (although I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't change), but right now, I can't read to Diana enough.
This is a good thing for Amy too because while it's hard to read to a baby that's asleep most of the day, when I read to Diana, I am holding Amy most of the time so Amy hears the words.
Diana gets home from school and wants to be read to. She especially likes her Miss Spider and Her Sunny Patch Friends books right now. There are 25 of them and they came in a big box. I think Aunt Barbara got them for D a couple years ago. Well, turns out, there is a cartoon on television so I have been recording it for Diana in the morning and she watches it in the afternoon when she gets home. In addition to reading the Miss Spider books, she is working her way through the Now I'm Reading books that Gramma V got her. She is on book 4 or 5 now. I lost count. We go back and review the previous books to keep all the words fresh in her memory and I can't believe how well she does even though she hasn't read one in a couple weeks. I think she's a reader now.
Tonight, I read one of her Disney Princess stories to her and saw so many words that she knows. She can probably read that whole story to me now. When we are driving, I find myself looking for signs that have words on them that she is familiar with.
We have read to Diana since she was a baby and it's truly paid off now! It's such a great accomplishment for all of us!
BY the way, I mentioned to Diana's doctor that she was very close to reading and he thought that was great. I told him that we are prepping her for Stanford so I hope this means good things. He pointed out that many Nobel Prize winners come from schools other than Ivy League schools or Stanford. Whatever. I'm not trying to win her a Nobel Prize, I just want her to go to Stanford!

It's that time of year

Diana, Amy and I attended our first fall festival of the season on Saturday - the art, wine and chocoloate festival in Suisun. I really enjoy this one because one of my favorite local bands - Inner Soul - was playing and it's right on the waterfront. We packed a picnic, a blanket and had a really good time. Diana got to play in one of the jumphouses, tried some Russian chocolate (I have the wrapper, Dad, remind me to have you translate) and even purchased some jewelry (a plastic pink bracelet).
We have a lot of festivals planned in the area in the coming months and I am really looking forward to taking the girls out on the weekend and enjoying some of the culture that our area has to offer.
Here are some pictures of Diana at the Suisun festival:

"This is so much fun, Mommy!"

Movin' On Up

About 10 years ago, my dad bought my sister and me this cool alarm clock from Sharper Image for Christmas. It's a CD player and also has soothing sounds and a radio. You can wake up to any of them and you can unplug it and take it with you anywhere. It's pretty neat. And the fact that I have had it for 10 years speaks volumes about the quality of product that Sharper Image offers...even though I am pretty sure they are out of business now.
Amy and I moved upstairs yesterday. Yes, I said, "and I." It's been too hot for her to sleep upstairs in our room so I have been sleeping downstairs with her for the past month and a half. The temperature in Vacaville has gone down quite a bit which is great because my body aches and I was glad to get somewhat of a good night's sleep last night. We put Amy down at around 8 p.m. and though I felt horrible, I went back downstairs to have some husband time with Matt. Not long after she was down, she started fussing and then crying. I went up to see if she was OK and she had escaped her swaddle. I re-swaddled her, gave her the Soothie and glanced over at my nightstand. I pushed "Soothing Sounds" (which plays ocean waves) on my alarm clock and it took all of two minutes for the little one to fall right asleep. We kept it on for another couple hours before she ate but will definitely use it again. The white noise was very helpful in getting her to sleep.
Hat's off to Grandpa D for that one!

Swaddling back on

Amy is being swaddled again. As I was doing a massive cleaning of the house yesterday (both upstairs and down) she woke up from her nap after only 30 minutes, but then napped perfectly on me for two hours during 90210. Well, not that I mind cuddling with my favorite little 2-month old, but this can't become a habit. Diana took naps on me all the time when she was a baby and I never, and I mean never, got anything done around the house.
Matt fed Amy last night and she was still wide awake. We took turns getting her back to sleep and when she finally closed her eyes, I put her back in her bassinette and after 30 minutes, she woke up screaming. Well, she was up all day playing with me so I thought for sure she would sleep well during the night. Matt walked her around the house and put her back down in the bassinette...30 minutes later, more screaming. Forget it, I said. So, I swaddled the little one, rocked her on the Boppy a little and put her to bed. Four hours later, she woke up. This morning, she's still sleeping and even cooing a little in her sleep. Thank goodness! Who was that crazy mom that said swaddling was overrated?

Another weigh-in

Amy had her two-month well check today and yes, she is well!
She weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 22 inches long. She's healthy and happy. She also had to get shots and this was the first time that I had to go at it alone. With Diana, Matt was there to hold her down and I just sat across the room and looked away but today I had to hold Amy while the meanie vaccination man poked my kid's chubby little legs. He didn't even offer her a sticker! He suggested I go to the pharmacy and buy some infant Tylenol and give it to her when we got home so she doesn't get a fever. I did...that went over real well. Poor thing had this thick red syrup all over her face. She feels fine, ate lunch well and is now fast asleep.
Meanwhile, this weekend we got the first look at Au Bob and Uncle Chris' new house. Very exciting stuff and Diana found herself a new playground. She cried when it was time to leave. I don't know that she's going to have this much fun in the house once the newlyweds get furniture in the house.
Here's a picture of her reading a book that Gramma V bought her.

Comcast Rocks

Last weekend, Comcast installed a new feature -- caller ID on the television. If your television is on and the phone rings, a little screen pops up on the television to tell you who it is. This is great because even though I am on the Do Not Call list, I still get 10 calls a day from telemarketers and survey companies. Comcast is promoting this feature as good for men who don't want to be interrupted during ballgames, but this is a great feature for moms who don't want to be interrupted during the day when they are feeding their newborn. I like to have the television on all the time - to watch, yes. But for background noise. With Matt gone a lot of nights during basketball season, it blocks out the neighborhood noises and wind which sometime freaks me out. So during the day, the television is on - usually with some re-run of Golden Girls or Beverly Hills, 90210.
Comcast's new feature gives me just one more reason to have the television on all the time.
I can sit in the chair, feeding Amy or rocking her back to sleep and see who called. If it is a telemarketer, I don't have to worry about checking the voice mail later. if it's a family member, I will either get up and answer it, check the voice mail later or call them back when my hands are free. We don't have that many family members who call at home right now anyway, but the feature is great and it's just another reason that I love Comcast!

The Last Seven Days

Upon talking to my father in law last night, I realized there's been a lot going on that I haven't written about. So, here goes:

Me: I ran two miles last week on the treadmill. One mile at a time and at a very slow 15-minute pace. Matt insisted that I take it easy so I did. It was a very slow jog but I was sweating and my heart rate was up so that's good. It's kinda nice to be able to run at any hour of the night (I run while Matt is feeding Amy at around 9 p.m.). I always tell myself that once Amy eats in the morning, I am going to go back to bed for a little bit but that never happens. I get hungry then find a million things that can make my day a more productive one. I am also doing some abs, but not 400. I made that mistake once. Just 50-100 crunches a day. Baby steps!

Diana: She is working her way through Hop on Pop. She has memorized the book but when we read it out of order, she still reads the words right so I know there is some reading going on. When we read other books, I ask her to read the words she knows and she does a great job. I am so proud of her! We also did a craft project. We cut out words that she knows from old magazines and glued them on some blank pages and created her "Diana Book." Diana's constant reminders to me to sign her up for ballet and soccer finally sank in and she will be starting those again in October.

Amy: Where do I start with this one? We aren't swaddling her anymore, for starters. She was fighting it every step of the way and it wasn't worth the restless nights. So we put her in feetsie PJs and cover her with a somewhat heavy blanket and she's getting much better sleep. Her home health nurse came for the final visit last week and weighed Amy at 7 lbs. 3 oz. It was a great visit. Then, on Monday, we went to the pediatrician where she was seen by her regular pediatrician (Diana's pedi, who we love!). Amy weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs. 10 oz. The doctor said we can stop giving her the vitamins and iron drops, which was great because they made her spit up more. We can also switch to regular formula soon and not give her the preemie formula she's been on. It's very exciting!

Matt: Daddy has been very busy with football games, meetings and practice but he still makes time to color, take trips to the park and pay us all lots of attention.

We are one happy family and adjusting to our new routines quite well!

Need a laugh? Look no further

I had to make a trip to the grocery store today - not just for one or two things, for a big shop. I was gonna be there a while. Matt suggested that Amy would be fine if I just kept her in the car seat and put the car seat in the shopping cart. I have seen people do this before and I am not a big fan. It seems like it's not very secure in there. I thought about bringing the Snugli baby carrier, but thought "The husband is usually right, I will give it a try." Plus, I wasn't totally sure that Amy would fit in the Snugli yet. I hadn't had a chance to test her out in it yet.
So, off I went to the grocery store. Once there, Amy and I walked in (with her in the car seat) and I attempted to fit her car seat in the shopping cart. Now, keep in mind that I tend to talk to myself...a lot. I am standing in the lobby at Raley's trying to fit the car seat in the cart and it's just not working. It's way too wobbly. I am narrating this outloud as all this is happening. After a couple minutes, I decide that this is not going to happen.
"Amy, we are going back home to get the Snugli," I tell my one-month-old.
I go back out to the car, put Amy in and drive home. (Luckily, we only live across the street.)
Once home, I get Amy out of the car, place her (in her car seat) in the foyer, run upstairs to get the Snugli and attempt to put it together. There are ties, buckles and padding all over this thing. It's about 11:30 in the morning, I have the front door open and it's starting to get hot. I am breaking out into a sweat trying to put this Snugli back together. It's comedy. If I was on hidden camera, I am sure to have gotten thousands of hits on YouTube. (Keep in mind, that I am still talking to myself.)
After about five minutes, I finally figure it out and I have it tightened everywhere it's supposed to be tightened.
"I am not taking this thing off and putting it back together in the Raley's parking lot," I tell myself.
So, I grab my child and we get back into the car - with the Snugli attached to my chest.
We get to Raley's and life is good because I can do some worry-free shopping! It was hilarious, but well worth every laugh!
Thank you Snugli!

(Child) Labor Day

Diana knows the meaning of hard work. Well, as much as a four-year-old can know what it means. She loves to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed, no matter who needs help. Grandpa D took full advantage of her services on Labor Day, the day we Americans get to take off from work to celebrate work.

Goodbye cute clothes

For a couple weeks now, my closet has been exploding everytime I open it. Maternity clothes fly off hangers and off the shelves in the closet. OK, I get it, you want out! I must admit that I really don't need to wear them anymore. I was weighed at my six-week checkup the other day and am just eight pounds heavier than when I first found out I was pregnant. Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, I have been telling myself for weeks now that one of the things on my to-do list was to get rid of the awesome maternity clothes that I have and re-organize my closet - giving my regular clothes their hangers back.
I did it today. I got an extra large Space Bag and put them all away. I also just sent an email to every woman in my email address book asking if they knew what I could do with these clothes. I don't want to donate them to Goodwill because I don't know that they will do anything with them. Does Goodwill have a maternity section? I was only pregnant for 7 1/2 months so the clothes weren't even worn that much. And I have to dress nice for work so they are really nice clothes.
I am excited to get back to my normal clothes (even though I won't wear them until I get back to work).
During my pregnancy I threw away all the sale postcards I got from New York and Company - didn't need them, right? Well, they are still coming...as are the emails. I hate New York and Company now. I want to shop there oh so badly, but can't. I have to wait till I start working again. Luckily, they don't really have anything that jumps out at me, but the offers of free shipping are really hard to pass up. I have good will power though!
If anyone knows what I can do with these maternity clothes, please advise!

Grow, Amy, Grow!

Amy's home health nurse came by this afternoon to check up on the little one - well, turns out Amy is not such a little one anymore. The biggest thing we like about the home health nurse (besides being very encouraging and offering great tips and advice) is that she weighs Amy. Otherwise, we would have to wait until doctor appointments to find out how much she's growing. Amy's home health nurse is a woman in her 50s and she's super nice. She genuinely cares about Amy and our family so when the scale read what it did today, she was thrilled just as much as I was. That was something that wouldn't happen at the doctor appointment with a nurse there.
Anyway, on to the good news. The last time Amy was weighed by this nurse, Amy was just home from the hospital and weighed 4 lbs 5 oz. Two days later, she had a doctor appointment and weighed 4 lbs 8 oz.
Today, she weighed 6 lbs 5 oz! So exciting. I called Matt right away and he couldn't believe it. I texted my mom and she called me immediately and was thrilled. The girl is growing so fast!
To put it all in perspective, remember that Amy was born almost six weeks ago and was just 2 lbs 15 oz. Technically, she is still supposed to be in my tummy for one more week. It's just amazing and truly a blessing that we have such a (ahem, TWO) healthy girls under our roof!

Fun Family Farm Days

Sunday gave Diana and me a chance to get out of the house and do something together. Luckily, Suisun Valley was hosting its annual Fun Family Farm Days. This is something we all usually do as a family, but we decided to make it a girls outing this year. We try to visit a different place every year when we do the farm days - last year we did the Clay Station out at Mankas Corner and Diana made a craft, we have also gone around to several of the stands. This year, I heard The Hipwaders (a local band that sings children's songs) were going to be at Erickson Ranch so we ventured out there...great decision! They had a U-pick flower garden, had lots of fresh fruit and a great atmosphere.
Even though it was really windy when we got out there, Diana had a great time picking flowers with Gramma V and listening to The Hipwaders in the patio. I even bought one of The Hipwaders CD's so we can listen to it in the car.
After Erickson Ranch, we had lunch at Valley Cafe and then went to Larry's Produce to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Now, this is something that Matt usually does as it's right on the way home from Solano. It tends to be a little busy out there and he has a method when he goes there. As for me, I have never gone there by myself and with me still adjusting to large crowds of people, it was a nightmare. I grabbed a few things (not nearly everything we needed) and got outta there in a jif. Matt can go back and attack that place later in the week. I'n done!


Amy update: Amy did a great job at physical therapy on Friday. The physical therapist did a series of tests on her to see where she's at developmentally and she passed with flying colors. She also asked me if Amy makes eye contact with us and responds to our voices, etc. We will go back in six weeks for another exam. It was one of the more fun appointments we have had. She will go to physical therapy until she can walk, the PT lady said, but if she's advancing along at six months, we won't have to go anymore. The physical therapist also said that Amy will be considered a preemie until she's three - very interesting. I really like her physical therapist. She's a young lady (OK, she's probably in her late 20s, early 30s) which is quite different than the other doctors Amy's been seeing.
Amy will most likely see her home health nurse this week so I will post a weight update when we get it.

Ang update: I tried to start getting back into some sort of shape this week. Silly me. I got the fit ball out and did some ab exercises. OW! I think I did about 400 and three days later I will still hurting. What kind of nonsense is that? I have a doctor appointment this week as well and I am going to ask him what is the matter with me. Granted, I realize that it's going to take some time to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I have to be able to at least do some ab exercises. It's been way too hot to walk - even on the treadmill in the garage - so I am weeks away from doing any cardio. My sister asked me to be part of a relay for the California International Marathon. We'll see, I told her.

Running? Oi vay!

Hop on Pop

We chose to enroll Diana in KinderCare because of the curriculm. It's never been just daycare to us. They teach a lot and she's involved in a great Phonics program on the side at the school that has taught her a ton about her letters. She's come a long way, including being able to spell and write her name as well as Mommy, Daddy and Amy. She's always asking us how to spell something and she writes it really well.
My big task right now is teaching Diana how to read. I know, she's only 4 and a long ways from kindergarten, but why not? We are working out of Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss right now because my mom said that's how I learned to read. She's pretty much got the book memorized so I never know if she's reading the words or just remembering them. It's all the same though, right? She knows all her letter sounds, which she's learned at KinderCare so that's half the battle. I really want her to be able to read long before she goes to kindergarten so better to start now than later!

It's Never Too Soon for Tummy Time

When Diana was one week old, she came home from the hospital and Matt immediately had her on the ground doing tummy time. It was an exercise she took part in frequently.
Well, since Amy was in the hospital for three weeks, she got a little behind on her tummy time. But have no fear, Mommy won't let her get too far behind!
Here is Amy's first session of Tummy Time. She has been doing it at least once a day for ten minutes at a time. She's doing really well and doesn't seem to get frustrated very easily - that's my girl!
She has her first physical therapy appointment next Friday and I think it consists of her doing some tummy time as part of the evaluation so I want to make sure she is ready to impress!

Patriotic Songs

While it was very hard to leave Amy in the hospital three weeks ago as she continued to grow and learn how to eat from a bottle, I was glad to get home and get back to the routine that I've been used to for the past two years.
During the last month of my pregnancy, it became increasingly harder to give Diana a bath so Matt took over those duties. I still read and sang to Diana afterward but being able to do the whole nighttime routine once I recovered fully from my c-section was quite a thrill!
Lately we have added some new songs to our nighttime singing routine - America the Beautiful (we sang this one before but now it's every night) and The Star Spangled Banner. Diana does a great job with both of these songs and I was very impressed to hear her sing both songs in their entirety last night when Matt took over nighttime duties as I fed Amy. (Yes, Amy is home now).
I do hope that Diana continues to embrace both these songs, understand their meaning and have a deep love for everything this wonderful country offers us!

So proud of my girls

Matt and I are very lucky to have such great daughters. Last week, I got to see Diana in her ballet/tap class for just the second time. I took her the first day and then was placed on bed rest so Matt or Gramma V took her. They also took her when I was in the hospital. Her improvement was amazing but the best thing is how well she pays attention to her teacher. The class is 45 minutes - 30 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap. It can be a little long for some 4 and 5 year olds, but I am amazed at Diana's ability to stay focused and do what the teacher tells her. The ballet experience has been really great for her - she's gaining so much confidence and really developing tremendous balance. I was filled with pride watching her last week. Her last class is on Tuesday but I am definitely going to sign her up again (and I am sure she will make sure that I do!)
Meanwhile, Miss Amy is making strides of her own. She's up to 3 lbs. 10 oz. and will be moved to Vallejo Kaiser on Friday morning. That's right, she's being evicted from The Creek. The doctors are increasing her feedings to a bottle every feeding (up from every other feeding). She's making such great progress and I am so excited for her growth. I can't wait till she can come home and our awesome family can be under one roof!

Who's that guy?

I have been visiting Amy in the hospital every weekday since I left the hospital last Wednesday. My mom (the angel) has been driving me up to Walnut Creek and back. It's been nice to have the bonding time with my daughter. She's graduated to a bottle so I have been able to feed her. Today, she did great with the bottle for me so I left there a very happy Momma. My mom is busy at work this week so I had a new chauffer - Matt! Because he had basketball camp last week, he hasn't seen Amy in over a week. Amy was definitely interested in the new, male voice that was talking to her this morning when we went down to visit. She opened her eyes a ton more than normal (she loves to sleep) and was trying to figure out who the person with the short hair was sitting with us when we were cuddling. It was pretty funny.
I talked to one of the doctors/nurses about two hours ago about Amy and she was telling me what great progress Amy is making there. She told me that she is ready to be transferred to Vallejo whenever we give the OK. I told her that we would like to keep her in The Creek for as long as we can till she comes home. I don't want to have to get used to a whole new set of doctors and nurses, especially if Amy is only going to be in the hospital for a little while longer (which is what one NP has told us). Amy is eating really good and once she becomes more consistent with her feedings, she will be able to come home. Here is the first picture of our new little girl sitting with Matt this morning. She's 11 days old!

Dedicated to the Ones I Love

I have never taken my family for granted. I have a great support system around me and am very lucky to live close to all my family and friends. This was never more evident than last week when my second daughter decided she was ready to come into the world. Since it was a week ago and I really don't want to blog about the details of her being born (since I have recapped it so much over the last week), I will just send a shout out to everyone in my family for being great.
My husband, of course, is the most awesome. By my side during the c-section and then at home with Diana, making sure that she had normalcy in her life over the past week. He took her to school and soccer and made sure that she knew she wasn't forgotten or out of our minds when Amy came. He's a rock. He had basketball camp this week and with me staying with Amy in the hospital all the way in Walnut Creek, he was basically a single dad for a few days. He was tired, I'm sure, but didn't show it. I can never repay him for being so awesome.
My mom, dad and sister provided overwhelming amounts of love and support over the past week. They drove me to the hospital at 4 a.m. (mom) and then drove to visit without even a second thought throughout the weekend (all three). There's not a greater family in the world and I love them all so much.
I have to also give a shout out to my BIL who got to knock fists with his new niece. I'm sure in no time he will have her turned upside down and laughing hysterically just like he does with Miss Diana.
I was also overwhelmed by the support sent out by my co-workers. Four years ago, when Diana was born, I got lots of support from work types. But now I work with all women and I have gotten flowers, text messages, phone calls and lots of prayers sent my way from moms who know what we as a family are going through. I am truly blessed.
I am truly a very lucky Momma. Not only do I have two great daughters who continue to surprise me every day, I have the greatest family and friends in the world.
I am back at home now, but visiting Amy every day in Walnut Creek. She's doing wonderfully! Like I said, she continues to surprise me every day and is eating like a horse - or a Borchert! :)

Oops..Suprise!

I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby until the day the baby arrived. I don't like taking advantage of modern technology, I love surprises and it's just more fun to find out when the baby actually comes. There's really nothing you can do to prepare if you know the sex in advance. OK, so you go out and buy girl clothes (all pink) or boy clothes (all sports and dinosaurs). But then later on, you find out that the baby doesn't fit into any of them because they are either a) too small; b) too big. We didn't find out what Diana was when she was born and it was the best surprise ever.
Matt wanted to find out from Day one with this baby. I was vehemently opposed and since he was unable to come to the ultrasounds, it was my decision. A couple weeks ago, my perinatologist breathed a sigh of relief when I told her just before she placed the monitor on my belly that we didn't want to know the sex.
"Oh, you have to tell me these things!" We both laughed.
One week, and I'm sure thousands of patients later, she forgot.
As she was looking at the ultrasound, she casually said "She's asleep."
HUH? WHAT?
"Uh, what did you say?" I asked.
"Oh my gosh, you didn't want to know did you?" she said as she looked over at me with a look of horror on her face.
"It's a girl?" I nearly screamed.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
"Oh my god, I can't believe we are having another girl!"
Tears start streaming down my face and I look over at Matt (hmmm, ironic that he made it to this appointment) and he's crying too.
"That's OK," he said. "In the back of her mind, she really wanted to know."
Well, no I didn't, but I did need a big smile and a nice surprise after all I have been through in the last two weeks (well, after all that WE have been through in the last two weeks) and this was definitely a good surprise.
So, a girl. More pink and purple and princesses. So exciting!
The first person we told was Diana and she and Gramma V went back to Babies R Us and purchased about five pink outfits for the baby and a pink and purple butterfly lamp for the room. No, the room is not pink and purple butterfly theme (far from it actually) but Diana just HAD to have it. Diana and her sister also have matching Big Sister, Little Sister t-shirts.
Geez, I hope my doctor was right.

Diana's Four-Year Checkup

Getting out of the house is a rarity these days so I was really excited to take Diana to her four-year check up on Tuesday. Gramma V came with us because Camp Gramma V started Tuesday and Diana is spending three days in Fairfield with her.
This appointment was the big one before she starts kindergarten. Matt and I have been talking about what kindergarten Diana is going to be enrolled in next year and we have to get that process started because it's likely she will need an inter-district transfer to have her go to school in Fairfield closer to where we both work.
Diana did great at the usual checkup stuff - weight, height, etc. Then, she had to get her blood pressure checked. She was a little skeptical at first but the medical assistant said that it would be like a grizzly bear hug on her arm. Diana thought that was hilarious. I told her it was just like when I have been taking my blood pressure at home and that eased her mind a ton. She put the little cuff on her arm and her expression immediately changed. She did great though.
Next, she had to have a vision test. The medical assistant put the "E" slide up on the board and gave Diana a cardboard E. She had Diana practice a little and asked her what way the Es were pointing. Again, Diana did great. Then it was time to put a little Band-Aid patch on her eye on do the test with one eye. Diana wasn't having it. There was nothing I could say to make it happen either. We decided to try later. next was the audio test.
Diana has to do all these tests to get into kindergarten and I explained that to her. She stepped into the booth in the audio room, seemed excited about it actually, but wasn't thrilled about putting on the headphones circa 1952. We had to pass on that one as well.
we proceeded to the exam room where I once again explained to Diana that she couldn't get into kindergarten unless she did those tests. I know she knew what I was talking about because lately everytime she sees the number 5, she says "when i am 5, I get to go to kindergarten!"
The rest of the appointment went well. We love her doctor and were pleased to find out that the new baby will get to go to him as well. He's very hard to book an appointment with these days so I was glad to hear we wouldn't have to get another pediatrician.
Diana is doing really well. At the end of the appointment, the doctor asked us if Diana knew MOST of her colors and shapes. Uh, MOST? Yeah, doc. She knows MOST of her colors...and then some! He laughed at my sarcasm and retorted that she was ready for kindergarten. I said no, we aren't gonna be like that.
Diana had to get three shots. This was hard because I couldn't pin her down to get the shots and Gramma V had never had to do that before. Gramma V is pretty strong, but I felt bad because I don't think she realized how strong Diana is when a needle is being thrust into her leg. Diana (and Gramma V) both survived.
I can't believe Diana is going to start kindergarten in a little over a year. It's crazy to think about it. I am going to drop her off at a school with 11 year olds? That doesn't seem right! I have some time to get over it, I guess.
Time flies.

My new BFF

I guess I am obligated by the title of the blog to keep family and friends updated on the status of our entire family...not just Matt and Diana. Therefore, this will be a post about my new best friend, our couch.
I was placed on moderate bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. My numbers (blood pressure and urinalysis) were really good over the weekend in rest mode so the doctor decided to keep me here...on the couch. Granted, I have to work. I love my job. But I love living and I love my family more so this was the right move. Some of my friends don't seem to understand that bed rest, even the moderate type that I am on, means that no, I can't go to work. I have to sit here and rest as much as possible. About the only time I can leave the house is to go grocery shopping and take Diana to one of her many activities this summer (she started swimming on Monday and will start soccer on Saturday).
Bed rest is not fun, but necessary. So the couch and I will bond over the next two months until the baby is ready to come. I went to the doctor on Monday and have an appointment with a perinatologist on Friday. I think they are going to want to do another ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing OK. Fine, do what you have to do, I say. The baby is moving well so I am not too concerned. Honestly, I would rather have overconcerned doctors and overprotective doctors than have doctors who say "eh, you're fine, just take it easy."
I truly believe that all this is going to make us stronger as a family. And that's never a bad thing, right? There are a lot of people out there who are a lot sicker than I am.
The night after my appointment, I had a hard time sleeping so I came down to watch SportsCenter at 2 a.m. There was a story of a 6-year-old kid who had cancer, but it was being treated successfully with chemo, etc. He had a wish to practice with the Dallas Cowboys (Matt's favorite team). I thought, "you know, this kid is going through a lot more than I am and he's 6!" I fell asleep a short time later.
I am monitoring my bp and doing urinalysis at home and all has been good for the most part. I am reading "The Associate" by John Grisham (so good!) and if anyone has any good books they want to pass on, please do. I can get through a book quick style these days!

Time of Her (our) Life

Diana made her first trip to AT&T Park on Friday night for her first Giants game. I am not going to leave out a single detail because that's what I usually do and this experience deserves all the space the internet will allow.
We took the ferry from Vallejo to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We arrived at the building at about 4 p.m. and had lunch at Taylor's, this awesome little diner. Matt had been planning this trip for a few weeks now, doing a lot of research on how to get to the park from the Ferry Building without using the mode of transportation that we would normally use - our legs.
It turns out that the Muni station that could take us to the park was quite a walk from the Ferry Building. By the time we would have gotten to the station, we would be halfway to the ballpark. So, we just started walking - very slowly, as we had two hours until the start of the game.
(Also, in an act of rebellion, I wasn't supposed to even go to the game. I was placed on modified bed rest for the weekend on Wednesday afternoon at my doctor appt. I didn't go to work on Thursday and didn't do much of anything Friday morning before we left.)
Anyway, I am so glad that we walked. Diana had a great time walking downtown ("Look at the big buildings, Mommy!") and I got some exercise. The weather was perfect as we were walking...about 68 degrees or so.
There was a small park right next to the ballpark so we stopped there for a couple minutes and let Diana run around and play. She had a great time. We proceeded to the ballpark after that and Diana was in awe! I can only imagine how big the place looked in her eyes.
After our long walk, I was sequestered to my seat for the rest of the night. We found our seats and Diana got to watch a little batting practice. Matt took her to the Coke slide, the Build a Bear workshop store and the Fan Lot where she got to hit a few balls and run around the bases of this little makeshift field they have out in left field. Apparently, she had a blast and nearly brought Matt to tears!
When the game started, the Giants dominated from the start. Pablo Sandoval (our favorite player now because Papa John bought Diana a panda bear for her birthday and we named him Pablo because Pablo Sandoval is named Baby Panda or something) hit a home run in the first inning and the crowd went absolutely berzerk. It scared the bee jeezus out of Diana and she started crying. She was OK a minute later and danced the rest of the night whenever music played. She was in heaven and really, Matt and I were too. Who would have imagined that a 4-year-old would sit as still as she was the whole time, never complain once, never cry that she wanted to leave and just go with the flow?
Diana continues to amaze us. The game got out of hand fast...the Giants went up 13-0 right away and the Astros never came close to threatening to score. It was fun! Matt got the chance to take Diana back up to the Fan Lot and went down the Coke slide a few more times. He even let her pick out her own baseball hat...pink with a magenta "SF" on it...and the best part...it has a fairy on it. Seriously? Pink, magenta AND a fairy? That hat has Diana's name all over it! She wore it the rest of the night!
In the top of the eighth inning, after Diana and I returned from the bathroom, we made our way around the ballpark to where the ferry would pick us up after the fireworks show. Now, keep in mind that Diana has never seen fireworks. Matt and I usually fall asleep before they go off and we don't like big crowds anyway so we have stayed away from all that for the past seven or so years. But this was a great chance for Diana to see them for the first time. Across the bay, while we were waiting for the Giants' fireworks to start, there were some fireworks (green and gold). We couldn't hear them, but Diana could see them. She loved them!
Then, the lights went off in McCovey Cove and the fireworks started blasting overhead...very loud. The tears and screaming started. It only lasted a couple minutes and once she realized all the pretty colors (magenta, especially)she liked them. If you ask her now what her favorite part of the night was, she will tell you it was the fireworks. Go figure.
By the time we got on the ferry, it was nearly 11 p.m. and Diana was still going strong. She didn't need to be held, was still dancing around with a big ole smile on her face. It was three hours past her bedtime and she only took a 45 minute nap earlier in the day because of all the excitement of going to the game.
We got on the ferry finally and headed out. And that's when Diana crashed out...like a light. She crawled up in my lap and fell asleep. She stayed asleep for the most part until we got home at 12:30 a.m. and stayed in bed this morning till 9.
It was quite a night. Matt and I were beaming with pride. It was so great and something the three of us will never forget.

A new chapter

We all go through different stages in our lives. We’re one person when we are in high school; college usually brings out another person and then adult life usually changes us a couple more times.
I have been through many stages in my life – from a girl in high school who was a total jock to someone who slowly realized throughout college that basketball wasn’t the end all be all.
Becoming a mother changed me completely – for the good, of course. I never knew that I could love someone so much yet go through so many emotions on so many different levels every day.
A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a party for someone who I have known for a very long time. She was a very influential person in my life and someone who was even more obsessed with basketball as I was.
Recently, she decided to become a mother. She can’t have kids herself so she and her significant other are having a baby boy thanks to a surrogate.
After seeing her at this party, I noticed a huge change in her attitude. I hadn’t seen her in a couple years because our schedules conflicted and we just couldn’t get together. In that time, she’s become a totally different person who is thrilled with this new direction in her life.
She was always a career-focused woman, though having kids was something she always wanted. Now that it’s happening, she’s beaming with excitement – more than she ever did even after the best basketball game.
It was fun to just sit back at this party and watch her practically float around the room, mingling with friends and family. For the first time in the 15 years that I have known her, I looked at her as a friend – not a mentor.
I am supremely happy for my friend as she ventures into this new chapter in her life and know that she is going to cherish and enjoy every minute with her son.

Father's Day

Father's Day always falls during the U.S. Open golf tournament. So Matt pretty much requests that we stay out of his way. No, those aren't his words, but Diana and I do our best to keep things quiet around the house so Matt can cheer for Tiger Woods very loudly during the day.
We gave Matt his present on Saturday (we were very excited), went to a baby shower and went swimming and played the rest of the weekend. Matt had quite an extensive dinner menu that he wanted and it required three trips to the store because I kept a)forgetting something; b) inviting people over the house and c)running out of supplies.
For Father's Day, Diana and I got Matt a 9-burger slider maker. It's from Cost Plus so you can go online and check it out. It's awesome and makes great little burgers (especially for little Diana fingers) but it's a bee-atch (excuse the harsh language) to clean up. Matt actually injured himself cleaning it for the third time in one night. (Totally not kidding).
It was a great Father's Day that I got to celebrate with my dad and my wonderful husband. We even got to eat outside in the backyard and watch Diana score many a soccer goal around Grandpa D! Good times!

The return to scrapbooking

Yes, you read right. I have returned to scrapbooking. In all the reorganization of the office/scrapbooking area/baby's room, I realized that I have a TON of really good scrapbooking stuff. Lots of tools, lots of product. It's all gone unused for the better part of 2 years. Sad, really.
And though I know I will be one of those moms who scrapbooks the heck out of her first kid and not the second, I am going to do my darndest to make this second kid a scrapbook for its first year of life.
I took more than 100 pictures of our family trip to Carlsbad and I figured, heck, why not make a scrapbook for Diana for her birthday? In the last year or so, a couple local scrapbooking stores have closed. Sad, really. So, I grabbed my coupon from Joann Fabric and headed to the store for some supplies. I realize now how those local scrapbooking places have gone out of business. The craft stores have taken over the scrapbook market! They have absolutely everything. Crazy. I decided not to go to Michaels because a)they didn't have a coupon that weekend; b) it's always swamped in there and you wait in line forever; c)I wanted to avoid the Martha Stewart scrapbooking collection.
When I got all my products and album (I decided to make an 8x8 album for D)I sat down immediately during naptime one day and got a ton done. I still have the touch and finished it in three sittings. It's awesome and she actually opened it tonight. Matt looked at the finished product the other night and said "This is great! She's gonna wanna sleep with it ya know?" Well, thanks for the ego boost, but that wasn't quite her reaction. While she did love it and carefully flipped through each page, it wasn't the choice to bring to bed.
I hope she shows it off to family that comes over and remembers our great trip to San Diego for a long time to come!

Hide N Seek

We play games with Diana all the time - Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Connect 4 (sorta). They're fun and she's good at strategy for the most part (she gets that from Matt).
All of a sudden on Sunday (after an hour of swimming) she decided she wanted to play Hide N Seek. Well, first of all, I didn't even know she knew how to play Hide N Seek; Second, I was a little tired from swimming/playing all morning, etc. It was 15 minutes until nap time and I was getting into chill out mode. When I told Diana that maybe we could play another day, she threw herself into the fetal position on the ground and started crying. Whoa! Whoa! I didn't realize it was going to cause all that drama. Again, I didn't even know she knew how to play.
She went over and asked Matt if he wanted to play and he said sure. All right, if this is a family game, I am up for it.
I am so glad I gave in to the tantrum! Have you ever played Hide N Seek with a four-year-old for the first time? OMG! Oh the giggling that ensues!
I counted and Diana and Matt hid. We played several times so I am not going to recap the entire game. But for the first few times that I was "it", Diana either proceeded to tell me where she was going to hide or giggled the entire time she was hiding and then while she was in her hiding place. Matt and I just laughed hysterically.
While she counted and I hid, it took her all of two minutes to look for me and then she gave up and asked Matt for help. He helped at first, but what good is that going to do. I hid in a different spot each time, with each hiding spot getting more difficult as the game wore on. The last hiding spot was in her bathtub and I just couldn't keep my laughter in as I heard her run up and down the stairs and around the upstairs frantically searching for me. She yelled down to Matt and he yelled back some places where I might be. It was so hard not to just bust up laughing at her poor little lost self. She eventually found me and we laughed.
The very last time before naptime, I was "it". I counted to 20, heard her little feet pitter patter into the foyer and run up the stairs and into her bathtub. I "searched" all around the house yelling "Diana, where are you?" She didn't answer as she had previously in the game and I didn't hear so much as a squeak come out of her mouth. (she was getting pretty good at this game).
I finally checked her bathtub and there she was, peeking around the shower curtain. We laughed.
Hide N Seek is going to be a new weekend ritual at the Borchert house!

It's a Mickey Birthday Party

Though you can't tell from these pictures, we had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party for Miss D today. Her actual birthday isn't for 10 more days, but we are busy the next two weekends with other things so this was the date it had to be.
What a great party! We had a good mix of family, friends, different ages of kids and of course, simple food. Matt barbecued hot dogs (because of the Hot Dog dance in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and Mac and Cheese (because mice love cheese). We also had cake and ice cream and some small activities. It was really nice and a beautiful day in Vacaville for a party. A little breezy, but that's so unusual for this time of year so it was refreshing...especially for a pregnant lady.
Diana had a lot of fun playing with Uncle Chris, Adrienne, Au Bob, and Samantha and Cailin. There were others in attendance and we loved that they came by to share Diana's big party.



I printed off some coloring pages from Disney.com and we created an art wall (just like would be at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) for everyone to hang up their awesome art work!

27 weeks

I can't believe I only have three months to go in this pregnancy. The first thing people ask me when they notice that yes, I am pregnant and not just fat is "When is your due date?" When I tell them September...they say, "Oh, you are going to be pregnant all summer!" No! Really? It's not like I hadn't thought of that. While we did plan to get pregnant, sometimes the weather is not the first thing on your mind when you are in baby-making mode....well, at least not with me. I have a much cuter wardrobe this pregnancy than I did when I was pregnant with Diana and I think a lot of that is due to me being pregnant in a warmer season. I will drink more water, stay cool and put my hair in a ponytail a lot. I will deal, just like a lot of women do. No biggie!
So far, I am feeling great! Everyone tells me I look good and I am very proud that I have only put on a pound a week since I found out I was pregnant. I am still walking on the treadmill (on an incline) 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes and eating relatively good. I do have some not so great for me food cravings every now and then, but I still haven't been to Taco Bell (the Devil) and a little ice cream never really hurt a pregnant lady, right?
The biggest issue I have now is the growing belly and doing my every day activities without much of a core. It's harder for me to give Diana a bath at night, harder for me to stretch after walking, very uncomfortable to sleep on nights when I don't work out and sometimes hard to find a comfortable position to sit in on my chair in the living room. I am figuring it out though.
Oh and the baby kicks a lot at night. Around 9:30 p.m. it tells me to go to bed and then gives me a nice baby massage on my belly as I try to fall asleep. It also wakes me up in the morning with another belly massage. Thanks, kid!
My feet are starting to swell a little too. I am not too worried yet about a recurrance of pre-eclampsia (which I had with Diana) because my blood pressure has been real good (even on the low side) at my doctor appts and the swelling is normal (so says the book) for someone who is sitting at a desk all day.
I tried to go for a walk inside my office the other day to get some blood circulating in my feet and get some exercise. I walked down to the mailroom on the first floor and then back up three flights of stairs to deliver a thank you card to one of the VPs up there. I was out of breath when I got to her office. It was real embarassing. I said "I swear, I am not out of shape!" I don't think she believed me. I went back to my office on the second floor and caught my breath.
I feel real bad when I get home though and I just want to put my feet up and Diana is used to me playing with her or doing chores around the house. We have been sitting still a lot lately and coloring in her coloring books so hopefully she can stick with that activity for the next three months.
She also invented a game that requires me to watch called "The Jumping Pillow Game" where she takes all the pillows from the couches, sets them up around the living room, runs around and touches each one with her feet and then vaults herself into our big chair. I am sitting on the couch during this game with my feet up and as long as I critique her jumps, she's happy. Piece of cake!
I hope I am not jinxing the odds of me finishing this pregnancy on a healthy note, but I am very proud of my progress so far and excited to deliver this baby without the help of drugs or surgery.
Keep me in your thoughts!

Legoland...in photos

As promised, here are (some) photos from the trip. I am going to post all the photos to my SmugMug later tonight. It took me over an hour and a half to go through all these and crop, etc. in Photoshop and now we have two grad parties to go to.

Here are some of my faves:

Diana getting ready to take her first airplane ride:



Diana chowing down on a chocolate covered strawberry at the Badillas house:




Matt showing Diana how awesome water slides are. It didn't work, she wasn't convinced and decided to stick with the kiddie park instead. But this had me in hysterical laughter for days!




Until she got the bravery to ride the roller coaster, this horse ride was her favorite. This was taken at the end of Day One. Can you see how tired my poor daughter is?



And a photo that proves I need to show Matt how to use my camera:




Photos have been posted to my SmugMug, check them out here. Hope you enjoy!