Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for 2009 May

We spent last night at the cabin. Maggie was an angel, other than having a hard time going to sleep - both at bedtime and when she woke up at 4 AM. We went for some walks (sticking to the pavement mostly, because it was quite wet) and tried out our new backpack carrier (thanks Leonard!). Maggie was quickly convinced that riding on Daddy's shoulders has the best view. She was adorable and giggly and happy to get in and play peek-a-boo. We played some games and some "beep beep" and watched a few shows and read a lot. The whole drive home Maggie was asking for "ah-mos" - I pointed out some animal noises (chipmunks and birds), and she wanted to see the animals.

We took Maggie to the dentist for the first time today - just to see what the haps is, since she isn't on our insurance yet and only has 10 teeth. She watched John for a while, then went in her own chair and let the dentist look in her mouth. Sort of. She thinks her tongue is a tooth so she kept sticking it out. She got a pink bug, a crayon toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. Overall a good experience. At this rate we will never have to buy toothbrushes or toothpaste, because our dentist gives us a full-size one!

Also, I've never had to sit down in the waiting room. If you're looking for a dentist in the Draper area, we've got the guy for you.

On the way to the Lehi Cemetery I insisted on being let out so I could show Maggie some lambs. We fed them grass through the fence and walked the rest of the way to the cemetery (like 100 yards). Lambs! So cute! The only thing cuter is watching Maggie feed them grass. I just asked Maggie to say "lambs". She said, "pams. Where Ma go?" Just like she did when we were feeding the lambs and Grandma drove off.

Mom got a $900 check in the mail today, the third anniversary of her death. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately considering our luck cashing previous checks) it was one of those fake checks that's really a discount, for Lasik in this case. Ironic, nevertheless.

Here's what I own as far as maternity clothes go: 9 shirts (4 of which are too hot to wear this summer), 1 pair of nice pants, 1 pair of jeans, and 1 dress. I also have some undershirts, two of which are tooooo small. Maternity shirts can be really sleazy so these are a must.

Going to DI today to drop off the three bags of stuff we've collected over the past 6 months, and to scout out jeans/fabric I can use to make maternity clothes. I was going to use a pair of jeans I already had (1 size too big, and 2 sizes too big) but I spent several weeks relying on each. So I think I'd better keep them as is. I already have some fabric to make a skirt, and fabric and elastic to alter the jeans.

Hopefully, Tasha's baby will be safely out in a few weeks and I can borrow some of her clothes, too. I'm getting quite the tummy.

UPDATE: I found a pair of maternity capris, which I actually considered paying $40 for at a maternity store, for $4. I also got two pairs of jeans. One is 2 sizes too big and really low cut so they fit great right now. The other pair I couldn't zip up all the way, so they will be perfect for making maternity jeans. The great thing was, since I didn't have to be picky about size I could pick out the cutest jeans.

Friday morning I was doing laundry when I noticed that the bottoms of the baseboards in the basement were gray. As in wet! I called John over and he noticed several inches of standing water in our window well. Eventually, we figured out the neighbor's sprinkler pipe was leaking, flooding our side yard. The water was getting into our house through our sprinkler turn-off, which is inside. Brook was the hero of the weekend; he came over and spent all day helping us clean up and fix the mess.

We called a restoration company. They got us set up drying the place out (we have to replace about 110 square feet of carpet padding), but I called them the next day to come get their fans, because they hadn't told us it would be another $350 to put everything back together - even when I said we'd rather do new carpet if it'd be cheaper. So now we get to learn how to put the carpet back ourselves.

Also, our garbage disposal broke. Must be replaced. Joy.

Needless to say, we didn't get much done that we wanted to this weekend. We were able to go on a 2 hour hike in Corner Canyon, and we had Tyler and Tasha over for dinner (so Tyler could look at our basement). We also went to a big Mother's Day get-together at Grandma June's last night.

I went shopping this afternoon wearing Rainbow flipflops in two different sizes.

Maggie is taking a nap for the first time since she fell asleep in the car 6 days ago. She is obviously not ready to give up naps, but we made her miss it one too many days in a row and then she had some trouble. Hopefully, she will go back to normal now.

Can count to twenty. Has gone from saying "okay" to "mm-hmm" to nodding her head emphatically. Calls blankets "eepies", as in "sleepy". Doesn't like to wear pants. Calls cars "beep beeps". Says "Oh Nooo!" instead of uh-oh now. Holds the camera up to her face and says "one two three". Is obsessed with bugs. Likes to lie in bed, possibly due to teething. She's had her hand in her mouth for the past three or four days.

I've been super crafty this week. I sewed some maternity clothes and some snack bags for Maggie. I also did some scrapbooking, and planted our garden. Right now I am working on some felt play mail for Colette as a big sister present. It is turning out really cute.

I love being pregnant right now. I am *almost* back to my normal energy level, so long as I don't have to carry anything (or anyone). No sickness. Only a little bit of an achy back. I have clothes to wear. And little baby is kicking away, but not getting stuck in uncomfortable positions or waking me up with karate chops.

We are having a boy. I had an ultrasound at 12 weeks, and as soon as I saw him kicking around in there I thought it was a boy. I've been referring to him as a "him" ever since. Today's ultrasound proved me right. Maggie is getting a little brother.

We went to Provo today to celebrate Memorial Day a little early. We bought some flowers at Home Depot - African Daisies - and John made a cute card with an announcement on it. We picked up some burritos to eat on the grave, which Mom approves of, but I think may have earned us some dirty looks.

Afterward, we went to BYU and walked around. Maggie was pretty obsessed with the Y on the mountain. I think her favorite part was playing with the physics exhibits in the Eyring Science Center. We shot the air cannon at her, and let her watch the pendulum, and try to touch the mirror dollar. She also got to splash in the Tanner Building fountain.

We also bought a light fixture and some pruning shears at Home Depot. It's about time; we have needed those things since we bought our house.

John told his nephew James we were having a boy and he said, "Oh. What's Maggie?"

Logan: I made white trash quesadillas. We were out of shredded cheese so I had to use sliced.

John's variation of Sesame Street: Poppy Lane.

Grandma, on dying: I think I'll make it through Lawrence Welk tonight, but I definitely won't make it to dinner at Scott's tomorrow (she did, of course).

We had a good time at the cabin. We went for a muddy but fun hike. Maggie sat happily in her carrier the entire time without a single fruit snack. I sang "Give, Said the Little Stream" to her when we saw a stream, and she sang along! That is her latest favorite song. We saw a snake and a deer and cleaned the place up. Best of all, Maggie slept the whole night in her own "bed", a blanket and pillow I brought from home and set up on the floor of our room for her. This is the preferred sleeping arrangement (all night, and not in our bed) for our Yellowstone trip, so I was glad to see it work out last night.

Tasha was induced this morning. I feel like I'm becoming an aunt. Or a mom of twins. I've got two toddlers following me around (actually, Maggie miraculously took a nap). I took them to the aquarium (brave me), and we played outside. Really, that's about it because we had the carpets cleaned this morning, and all the rooms with toys are carpeted. Fun.

Maggie is starting to remember her Auntie Rachel. Yesterday when the computer signaled an incoming call, she ran into the room saying "Rachel, Rachel!" which sounds a lot like "baseball". Then, in the middle of our video chat/peek-a-boo game, she started Meow-ing. Rachel went to get Nimbus, who turned up his nose and stalked out to the windowsill.

Perhaps the gifts are helping.

Today (after cleaning the church again) we took Maggie downtown for sight-seeing. First we hiked Ensign Peak. That was really cool. You can see the entire valley, including the Salt Lake, and all the way into Utah Valley. I'd never been up there before. It is a steep hike, although not long, but I was breathing for two, and forgot to change out of my flip flops.

After that we went to The Gateway. We watched the water fountains, and met my cousin Alyssa for lunch at CPK. Then we road TRAX to Temple Square. Maggie loves trains, but as soon as it started to move she said, "no train!" She got over it though. We walked around Temple Square, and went to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I think that was Maggie's favorite part, just pressing her nose up against the glass on the Observation Deck.

We went to the visitor's center and took Maggie up to see The Christus. I'm afraid we don't have one of those cute stories to share in Sacrament Meeting about how Maggie loved it. She was more interested in the escalator ("up-up"), and in peering down in between the ramp railings. And in pointing to the Earth and saying "Earth ball!" (Grandma June gave her an Earth stress ball.) She did seem intrigued by Jesus' "owies".

We took the train back to the Gateway and went to the Planetarium (free, except for the IMAX). Maggie was pretty fascinated by some of the exhibits. Mostly the little balls in perpetual motion.

Maggie and I crashed when we got home. Maggie is still crashed.

UPDATE: Now every time we mention Jesus she says, "Jesus Owies" several times. Maybe we have a story to tell in Sacrament Meeting after all.