The Barber Bunch: September 2010

I feel like I should blog, but have nothing in mind as to what to write about! I also feel like I have read that on a few people's blogs lately. I guess with school starting and summer closing, we've all finished up with our fun adventures! As for me, I just don't feel up to as many adventures as I used to! I'm now more than 7 months along and am definitely feeling it! This time around, I have "felt" more pregnant than with Cailen. Meaning - I'm a boring person to be around because I sit a lot and can't do crazy things. Looking back, I went boating right around Cailen's due date (partly to try to convince Cailen to be born in May...didn't work). I can't even fathom that right now and I still have 2 months to go! My muscles just don't like stretching and expanding this time around. It's a bit uncomfortable. Despite me being a boring stick in the mud, life has been chugging along and there are still fun things happening. Cailen is a cutie pie, still loving his little brother-to-be. He likes to hug, kiss, and touch my tummy. He seems to think he can only "see" the baby when he can see my skin. It makes for awkward moments when he wants to pull my shirt up at other people's house, stores, or when I have a dress on. I have tried to explain, but he doesn't listen :) I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but he thinks we should name the baby Grandma Davis. We're not taking his suggestions...at all. He says the silliest things, as many 3 year olds do, as well as some of the smartest things! It is so fun to listen to what a little boy he has become. Here's a little snipit of Cailen charm: I, having sneezed, explained to Cailen that my nose itched, so I sneezed. He thinks about that and, obviously reflecting on earlier when his underwear tag was bothering him, says "my bum itched, so it needs to sneeze." Lovely Cailen...lovely. I laughed for quite a while about that one.

Since posting last, I think I've had two doctor appointments and both have gone well and boring. Which is just fine with me. I'm gaining weight and growing as I should and the baby moves as he should. We have two friends that are expecting babies as well (both due in Feb) and so it's fun that we're going to have some little friends for our guy. One friend is having a boy and one is having a girl (arranged marriage? perhaps). Other than that, Mark's still chugging along with school and looking longingly towards his approaching graduation. He knows this is his last Fall semester! YAY! I'm quite excited as well. I've been working on getting Christmas presesnts ready which sounds funny seeing as it's September. But like I said before, I'm a slow mover and since I'm due before Thanksgiving, the last thing I want to deal with after the baby is born is insane Christmas shopping. So I'm trying to have that done before I have the baby. I'm also working on making our Halloween costumes - I'm going to be Mrs. Potato Head (figured I'd put that belly to good use), Mark will be Slinky Dog and Cailen will be Buzz (yes, we have a theme going, every year!) Luckily, the little one won't be here yet, so I only have the three. I think I'd make him Hamm...or maybe an army guy...anywho, that's what I've been up to. Oh, also, I'm working on making a new car seat cover because my lovely aunt Alison gave me her old carseat to take care of my dilemma that I posted about before. Yay!! I'm excited to have that stress over. Granted, now I have to sew something I have no clue how to do, but I think I can figure it out. Anyone that has tips, let me know!

On a random note (ok this is all random, who am I kidding), Cailen has a weird bedtime routine. I just got back from putting him to bed and thought I'd finish this post. He ALWAYS wants people to lay with him. He doesn't like to go to sleep alone. But he does fine at it when he finally lets you leave. In order to speed up that process, we've compromised that I will stop at the door and we'll blow each other kisses. He gets to pick how many kisses so he gets excited about that. Luckily, he doesn't really pay attention to how many are actually given so I'm not stuck there forever. But he has taken to saying bye once I close the door. He used to say thank you and then bye, but he has since dropped the thank you (don't know where either came from!). Since dropping the thank you, he has added more and more "byes." He says bye to the most random things. Things in his room, animals, made up words, you name it. I have started to limit how many byes he can say. Tonight he wanted me to pretend he was a monkey so I had to say goodnight monkey and then he thought for about 60 seconds on who his last goodbye was going to be. I had to sit there outside his door while he decided. Yeesh. But at least I don't have trouble with him staying in his room or anything once he finally lets me leave. I'll say goodbye to all the monkey's pillows, trains, lamps, and gooblykonks as he wants (that's my made up word, not his). Hmm, I set out to post just a little about how boring our lives have been, but this has become a surprisingly long post. Hmm. I'll throw in a few pictures to make it visually appealing, plus, if you stuck it out this long to read all of this, you deserve a few pictures :)

Cailen enjoying bubble baths

Cailen and me with our clown noses at the Elephant Parade at Gateway Mall a few days before the Circus started in SLC.

We did go to the circus the other day, that is a fun thing, right? It was me, Cailen, and Mark with my dad and brother Ryan and two of my younger cousins, Parker and Ryann. We all had a blast! Cailen kept saying "why are the lights off? Oh, because it's pretty cool, right?" or something along those lines. He loved all the animals and the motorcycles and fun lights.

Cailen loves all things baby for some reason. When I go into Kid to Kid (local consignment store), he always wants to climb into the baby swings, bouncers, etc. I try to explain to him that he is not a baby and that he will BREAK these things! However, I let him climb into our "new" carseat that my aunt gave me. I had taken the cover off so it couldn't have been very comfy, but whatever. Mark propped him in the laundry basket in front of the TV to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse....I HAD to take a picture because it was just weird. And cute. And silly.

Me at 7(ish) months! Wow, I didn't realize that I am actually getting BIG. No wonder I feel stretching and discomfort, ha!

Ok, another post for Mom's out there. I previously posted about needing to replace my carseat and and for those of you out there who didn't know that carseats expire, they do.It is 6 years after the date of manufacture. Granted, it's a safety thing so you could always keep using yours but I figure I should replace it and then I could use it for the third kid and not worry. By the way, I've decided to get a whole new travel system because it makes sense for the money I'd be plunking down. Anywho, I've done a little online shopping/research and even done a little footwork around to some stores. I have made my list of the ones I like by price and then by brand/look. They are not the same (SHOCKER). So here is my next question. Do you guys have a preferred brand? Know of a brand that is NOT good, one I should avoid? I had Graco before and I loved it. Really sturdy stroller, knew it was a good brand, etc. Problem is, Graco is more expensive than say, Cosco or Safety 1st. The cheapest one I found (and therefore Mark's favorite) is a Cosco Sprinter Travel System. It looks slimmer and not as sturdy as my Graco. I don't really want to give up my Graco stroller for a lame one if Cosco isn't good. Is it good? Is it not? Sigh. Dilemmas. I'm sick of doing "research." I just want one and to be done. Then my top one that I like the look/brand is Graco, but there is almost a $70 difference in price! Yikes! So please tell me your thoughts on Graco, Evenflo, Baby Trend, Safety 1st and Cosco. Those are my top faves for look/brand and then for price too. Hopefully I can figure this out soon and give a sigh of relief!!