31.5 weeks and counting

It feels like summer is flying by.  We've been trying to do some prep work around the house but honestly, a summer pregnancy while working has been so much harder than the first time around I haven't been able to do much but be with C, take C to swim class, plan, and troll eBay for used baby boy clothes.  I'm picking through C's old girly stuff to pass to friends and we've gotten some hand me downs from other friends with boys.  

C's just come off 6 weeks of some sort of growth or developmental spurt that sent her back into her baby pattern of being wide awake from 3:30-5am every night like clockwork.  Night times sucked, and daytimes did too as she was acting like a "Three-nager" - she used to love helping and suddenly anything you asked for help with she would literally do the opposite of.  There was not a boundary in sight she did not test. Hand washing?  How could I even think of asking her to do that??  Dressing herself (which she used to love) - how could I?!  Yeah, 3 going on 13.  I'll take the "Terrible" Twos any day, they were practically a cakewalk compared to this.  She managed to finally come out the other side and she's a different kid... (like the rainbow after the storm, and every other time she's gone through these periods) she talks a bit more like an adult now, her facial expressions are animated and hilarious, her swimming is surprisingly fluid, and she suddenly loves helping again and is fairly adept at it.  

We've also been getting comments from her teachers at school about how incredibly empathetic, helpful, confident, and delightful she is at school which was wonderful to hear since we've been feeling a bit beat down at home.  She's even been using parenting techniques and language we use on her with other kids in class!  Her lead teachers this past May told us she was like their assistant teacher and they were really going to miss her, which really cracked us up.  Good to know that what we're doing is sinking in, even if we aren't always seeing it at home.  She's transitioning to the big kids class this summer (in Montessori, they group ages 3-6 who stay with the same teacher the whole time), and will get her permanent teacher the second week of August when summer camp ends.  She'll also start going for a full school day (8:30-2:45) in hopes she'll nap at school and we can carpool with other families.  Currently, our 8-12:30p schedule works for my work schedule, but it makes her naps suck and we're isolated from being able to carpool.  Plus that extra half hour in the morning costs so much extra we realized it's just a tiny bit more a month to send her to a full school day and save the nap headache.  It'll also give me a little extra time with the Little Dude when he arrives and give us all an extra half hour to get moving in the morning.


We did finally sort out our car dilemma.  Wade's lease was up on the Prius, so we turned that in last month after we decided to lease a new 2017 Honda Civic hatchback.  Yeah, you read that right.  We were originally going to buy a 10 year old used Honda SUV, but the process was taking forever (and not a lot of luck) and after doing some additional research I realized we could actually lease a new small car for the same amount as buying the used SUV.  We need the extra space and had hoped to have it for our road trip this summer, but after doing the math realized that if we could lease a safe, small, fuel-efficient car for my commuting to work/school (I'm driving about 40mi a day right now) that might be the best way to go since my CRV will be paid off next summer (it's 4 years old and only has 28k miles, so here's to hoping we get another 5 or 6 years out of it).  That would buy us a few years of low lease payments and no other car payment to save up for a bigger SUV.  So after comparing lots of models, it seemed the new version of a Civic hatchback might do just the trick: excellent safety ratings, good gas mileage, space for two carseats in the back (with still enough space for the driver and passenger upfront), a back up camera, and most importantly - a hatchback with trunk space to change a poopy baby diaper and for the travel potty to be used. (Insert hysterical laughter here).  This is all even funnier, because the new Civics look nothing like my old Civic from college - they are downright sporty now, and my "mom-mobile" with tinted windows makes me look like I should be a hoodlum, not someone toting around two kids in the back seat.  The salesman didn't really know what to do with me because I flat out told him I didn't care how the car looked or what new tech was in it, I just wanted the cheapest base model because it was a commuter car - and it was clear I was not their target demographic.  I managed to pit two dealers against each other and get a great deal with no cash down (need that to pay for the birth!), which was great.  After we got it home, I got the windows tinted on it to keep the heat down since the kids will be next to the windows now, which only made it look even sportier.  The tint guy kept saying, "Man, this is one sharp looking car... I just love this car!" lol.  The tint also helps keep the car cooler while C's napping in there after school (she falls asleep on the way home and she's too big and I'm too preggo now to lift and carry her out).  The car handles well and the visibility is good, so I'm happy with it, but do miss the luxuries of our upgrades on my old CRV.  I've tricked the car out with seat back organizers and waterproof floor mats to keep it clean and organized and the other day a mom at school asked to take a peek inside because they needed a new commuter car soon and hers was getting too small.  When car line starts back up in a few weeks it's going to be hilarious with everyone in their SUVs and Minivans and I'll be there in the tiny sporty Civic.  I actually feel a bit silly in it.  Wade joked it's sporty enough to be a decent mid-life-crisis kind of car.  Haha!

We just got back from a 10 day road trip to NC and GA to visit family and go camping in the Smokies.  And C was a surprisingly easy kid in the car (if you go back in the blog you'll see she was the kind of baby that HATED being in the car and literally screamed the entire way to NC the first time we tried this.  She literally hated even more than 10 minutes in the car which resulted in purple-faced screaming/choking and the inability to calm down unless someone was constantly singing or reading to her while sitting next to her, and even then that only worked for about 20 minutes (and nursing was the only ultimate soother).  So it was a relief how easy she was to entertain with stickers, books, coloring, snacks, some music, and the scenery outside.  Once we got there, she was the more difficult version of herself which was the tradeoff I guess - a delight in the car, but a handful during the rest of the time.  She was a bit overwhelmed by the change in routine and seeing so many people, but it was nice for her to see so much family.  Taking a car trip while 7.5mo pregnant was not the most fun I've ever had, but it was nice to have our own car and a cooler of our favorite snacks for the trip.  Camping for the Fourth was a lot of fun with all the kids, and a real adventure.  We got a lovely site in GRSM's Cataloochee campground complete with a fun creek for exploring, wildlife (elk, turkeys, bears) in the valleys, and fireflies at night.  After NC, we headed to see my Dad and Susie in GA where there was a big family party - we haven't been able to see the whole family since C's first Christmas, so that was a fun treat.  C also loved exploring the woods and lake behind their house and actually slept in her own little bed while we were there which was a nice surprise!  She's in her own bed at home, but with all the night waking weren't sure how it would go while traveling.  You can almost set an alarm by her 5:45/6am wake ups.  If you want to see all the pictures from our adventures this summer, I've started a new Summer pictures folder on the Google photos site.

When we finally got home, I was happy to be able to swim in the pool again since it's magical for taking all the weight off the belly and my back right now.  The heat makes me feel like I'm moving through molasses while pregnant so it's been tough having to slow down and limit how much I can do.  I plan on working until I literally go into labor (delay that unpaid leave as long as possible), so I wonder if by the final weeks I'll feel so slow that I'll just work from home more.  The little man is moving around a lot more now and C is having fun feeling him when he's bumping around in there.

We're getting into prep mode now though.  This weekend we start moving furniture around in the house to clear out the nursery, but also to make room for the "new" old upright piano we're getting from a friend.  Wade's always wanted one so it's a 40th birthday present of sorts.  We have to rearrange 4 rooms of the house to make it fit, but it'll be worth it!  Haha!  Once the furniture is moved we'll start switching the closets between the office and guest bedroom too so the nursery can begin taking shape.  Our goal is to have everything done by mid-August.  Feels like early September will be here before we know it!