I saw a friend of mine on Facebook have a day of fun just for her daughter before she started preschool… I loved that idea and decided to do the same. So, on Tuesday the 18th, we did a couple extra fun things for Eva such as getting an ice cream cone at JCWs and letting her wear her mermaid dress out. I think the best part for Eva was just being able to say it was Eva day! She kept saying, “Oh, I LOVEEEE Eva days!” And then in her prayer before bedtime, she said, “Thank you for Eva day!” It helped cheer me up a little bit because I think I was the one who was having the hardest time with Eva starting school.
Here she is on Eva day:
And here are some more cute photos of her recently that I need to document. I sure can’t believe this cutie will be four in a few short months.
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2015-09-01 12:54:252015-08-28 17:05:01Eva Day
In about one month I will have a baby boy and officially be a mother of two… Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
I blogged only once in July… all-time record low. I don’t know why I’m in a blogging funk but I plan on getting back into it and really want to get out my other camera so it’s not just instagrams on here all the time.
I finished decorating Eva’s and Baby Boy’s rooms for the most part! Next step for our town home is to get a washer and dryer and a bed frame. Can I tell you how hard it is to get in and out of a mattress on the ground over and over again through the night when you’re eight months pregnant? It is terrible.
Eva is obsessed with mermaids… specifically blue mermaids. I need to write a post about her soon because she is so funny right now and she is starting preschool next week! What will I do when she’s in school three times a week?? Probably cry a lot at first, then treat myself to naps and matinee movies. Okay… and get caught up on all of my work, Dad!
I thought we had settled on a baby name. I seriously felt like I just KNEW his name last week. Yeah…. that has passed. I mean I still like the name. But I definitely don’t feel passionate about it anymore. Can someone just convince TJ to like the name Lee, short for Leland? Lee and Leland are family names and I really love the name Lee… but he won’t do it!
We are now primary teachers for 4-5 year olds. I don’t mind the calling but now I feel like I won’t ever get to know anyone in our new ward. I definitely am so happy we moved back to Utah and to where we lived, but I really miss the Jersey City 2nd Ward so much. They were like family. A crazy, diverse, intense, funny, welcoming family.
How is it already almost halfway through August? I swear we were just wearing our Winter coats in NYC complaining the cold would never end and now I find myself aching to wear my Fall clothes and boots… but I think most of that is because I’m ginormous and want this baby out.
Well, that’s about it for now… my daughter is currently wearing her ariel dress and running (well, pretending to swim) all over the house and I need to control the situation before she kills herself/drives me nuts! Here’s a bump picture from 33 weeks… I’ll be 35 weeks Thursday! Final stretch!
Eva is now three and a half and so I thought I’d write a little post about her. She is still our spunky, energetic, and friendly little girl obsessed with all things princesses and the color blue. She likes to joke with me, say the same joke over and over if she knows it was a hit the first time, and wear dresses nonstop. If she’s wearing shorts, a bribe or threat most likely was made… I don’t know what it is with that girl, but she just HAS to wear a dress/skirt nonstop.
Eva has done well with the move. She has only said she misses her old place in the city two or three times and each time it was when she was really tired or already upset about something else. Eva loves Ariel from Little Mermaid and Elsa, and wants to listen to the song Popular from Wicked on repeat whenever we are in the car. I love the Wicked soundtrack more than the next person, but listening to Popular twenty times a day is getting pretty old. She also likes the Muppets right now and calls them “muffits” which is pretty much adorable. Going to church is another favorite of Eva’s. She has loved Primary this year and has done so well. Because she loves making friends and playing with lots of kids, I thought she’d enjoy soccer and so I took her to a free soccer practice and game meet up in the city a couple times but she wouldn’t do it. She was acting so shy, which was so weird. We will put her in dance this fall, hopefully that one will be more enjoyable!
We potty trained Eva back in January and it went relatively well, except that she wouldn’t go number two on the potty, meaning everyday she’d insist on using a pull-up for when she needed to go. I tried everything that I could think of (seriously, I even cut a hole in a pull-up and sat her on the potty) and read every mommy blog idea but nothing seemed to stick. So, I just stopped caring for a couple of months but once we moved, we decided to get it done and cut out pull ups all together (even at night). It definitely hasn’t been easy. The first couple of days were lots of unsuccessful trips to the bathroom, tears, tantrums, and prayers. Then once she was doing so great and even going if we were out and about, she randomly would have a couple days where she didn’t want to do it again. Some days have been such a pain and honestly makes me so exhausted. But overall, I am SO glad we did it and that by the time fall comes around when she is in preschool it will be in the past! Oh and on the plus side, I was extremely worried about stopping the pull-ups at night, but that part has been a breeze!!! She has woken up dry almost every single night!!! It was amazing, I don’t even understand it because her pull-up used to be wet each morning.
Eva finally is becoming a better eater. She still won’t eat everything we give her, but usually will try everything and even eat meat! I know that probably sounds so silly to you, but for so long, getting Eva to eat anything was a huge struggle. She wouldn’t even eat chicken nuggets… what kid doesn’t like chicken nuggets? Haha! So i’m glad we’re hurdling over that struggle. Plus a dessert bribe if you eat all your dinner definitely helps!
In the Winter, Eva stopped taking naps regularly. I would still put her in her crib everyday with books because she definitely needs quiet time. Then once Spring came around it was too nice to be inside, so we just would put Eva to bed earlier and she’d sleep in later, making up for the nap. But let’s face it, three year olds are just more pleasant to be around at the end of the day if they get a nap, and so, since moving here and getting a car, she finally has been taking some naps here and there in the car! It has been amazing. Going along with sleep habits… now that we have moved, she slept her last night in the crib back in Jersey. I cried after putting her to bed realizing she would sleep in a big bed from now on! Our little Eva is growing up, so it’s a good thing there’s another baby on the way to distract me!
I think that’s enough rambling! Now on to a couple funny Eva sayings:
Eva loves being here with her grandparents and always wants to go with Grandma/sit with Grandma. One day she said to TJ, “I want Grandma to take me, Dad, but I don’t worry, I love you still.”
TJ asked Eva what animal says, “Squeak squeak?” She said, “A bath toy!”
I told Eva it was time to leave the park and she said, “Mom, nooooo, there’s nothing to worry about! We can stay!”
One particular weekend, Eva was being extremely blunt about our appearances. She asked TJ, “Oh do you have owies under your eyes?” Then she gets closer, “Oh, no those are just circles.”
That same weekend she said, “I’m just gonna get a small toy, mom. Small like your head.”
TJ got a new messenger bag for his birthday and she said, “Ooooh, I liked daddy’s new purse!”
“Mom, I want to keep my body. I don’t want to put it underground with a rock on top.”
And to wrap up the weekend with subtle insults, she said to TJ, “Daddy, you have a gold tooth!”
“I have a belly ache, mom, in my mouth. Just like you.”
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2015-06-17 11:32:442015-06-17 12:01:323 1/2 Years Old + Funny Eva Sayings
On May 16th, two good friends in my ward threw a baby shower/goodbye party for me. I am still kind of floored at their kindness… one of them just moved into the area a couple months ago, so to think she’d throw such a beautiful shower for me was so sweet!
Halfway?? I’m actually 21 weeks now, but it’s all pretty much the same. I’m to the point now where I really don’t physically notice I’m pregnant at all, which is great. No more nausea, not really any tiredness, not many aches or pains unless I’ve walked all day then I’m a little sore at night… but hey, overall I’m feeling great and doing well.
I feel baby boy move ALL THE TIME. It’s kind of driving me nuts. But it is also fun to have a constant reminded that he’s there and slowly becoming a part of this family. We talk about him often with Eva and she keeps asking more and more questions about him and the pregnancy. I need to buy a book on how to answer these questions because I want to be open and honest with her but don’t want to give her too many details since she’s only three.
We were talking about the bump and I asked her how she thought the baby got there. She said, “Uhhhh Grandma put it there probably.”
And yesterday she asked how the baby is going to come out… then answered her own question by asking, “Does it come out your belly? That’s going to break you mom!” I thought for a second and said something like uhhhh, it comes out kind of near my bottom (ah! sorry!) and she looked at me for a second and said, “EWWWW, no! It doesn’t come out your BOTTOM!” Then she laughed hysterically. Oh gosh.
We have a couple names we have in mind. The biggest and loudest contender is WATERMELON. You can guess who put that one into the running. They’re not secret, so if you ask, I’ll tell you the names but I don’t want to put them on the blog for the world to see, mostly because I know my mom hates most of them haha! But after he is named y’all better embrace it.
I’ve had more crazy pregnancy emotions and dreams. Commercials and random youtube videos online make me cry constantly. If it has a mother in it… I will definitely break down in tears. If there are dogs, children, deaths, births, I’ll lose it. I also wake up in the night to go the bathroom every night. First trimester I didn’t have that at all so I thought maybe it wouldn’t happen to me like last time. But turns out I just forgot when it started, I guess. Sometimes I can’t get back to sleep afterwards, which is difficult. But oh well. It’s getting me prepared to wake up in the night again. Eva has been a great sleeper since she was about 5 or 6 months old so I just don’t know how I’m going to handle it again!
That’s enough rambling for one day, I think. I am very excited and can’t wait for baby boy to come!
Not much has changed since my last bump update, but my belly definitely is getting bigger and starting to get harder (which I like because then I don’t feel as flabby). I’m mostly still wearing my normal clothes, but occasionally using little elastics to extend my jeans button, and definitely wearing shirts/sweaters that are looser fit to hide the bump.
I got off my nausea medicine and two days later I threw up all day. I think it was also from getting car sick, but it made me get right back on the medicine and I’m feeling back to normal finally! In the evenings I was feeling sick and realized it was probably caused by heartburn, so I’ve been taking some heartburn medicine in the evenings after dinner and I’ve had two days feeling great at night again! I’m so happy I figured that one out.
My energy is pretty much back to normal! I can explore the city, spend the day at the park, go on long walks again, and not feel like I’m going to crash right after. I still can’t stay up as late as I used to, but thats probably a good thing. Since I don’t really go to the gym much (or ever? even though it’s in my building… how pitiful!) I do make myself get out for a long walk every day. I figure if I can keep walking two-three miles everyday, I’ll continue to stay pretty healthy for this pregnancy. I did notice some sciatic pain a month ago when I first started going on walks when it got warmer, but now that I’m walking more and consistently, I haven’t gotten the sciatic pain back thankfully… that is the WORST symptom to me! I got some new walking shoes (Sketchers… not the cutest but definitely the comfiest) because I need more support walking around, and they have really made a difference!
I still have crazy emotions. I actually cried at the end of The Amazing Race on Friday when the couple I liked got sent home. I tell TJ to be sensitive all the time, poor guy… I know I’m the crazy one, but sometimes these pregnancy emotions get the best of me.
Last week I felt the baby move (and have felt it a couple times sense then). It is such a bizarre feeling to me when they’re that small. Like an alien inside my body (I’ve seen too many x-files, can you tell?). But it is exciting to think there’s a healthy baby boy growing inside of me!
I can’t believe I’m almost halfway finished with this pregnancy! Crazy!
I posted some exciting news this week revealing that our little baby will be a boy. I was (and still am) in shock. We actually found out a little strangely. I did lots of blood work about two weeks ago and one of the tests would show the gender. Since our 20 week ultrasound isn’t until May (I thought we were having one a week ago at 16 weeks, like my first pregnancy… but I was confused), the doctor said I could call her for the results so we didn’t have to wait until the ultrasound appointment or next doctor visit end of April. So, I had the nurse tell my doctor to call me on Tuesday if the results were back and lo and behold, I got a call!
It was bizarre to just hear over the phone, “The results are back and you are having a boy.” I felt like I needed a drumroll or something! I wasn’t prepared, and it was a little less dramatic than finding out at an ultrasound-definitely not as fun-but oh well. She also let us know the blood work came out great so me and the baby boy are healthy, which I am extremely grateful for.
I have to admit I did cry when I found out it was a boy. I called TJ on the phone in tears to tell him the news. I’m ashamed that I didn’t think of something cute to do to tell him, but I was in such shock and needed to tell him right away! I thought I’d have a little girl to wear all of Eva’s cute hand-me-downs. Like this Easter dress? I NEED ANOTHER GIRL TO WEAR THIS PRECIOUS DRESS! Plus, my mom hand two girls, then a boy, so did my sister. I figured I’d be the same. I know girls, I love the drama (most of the time), we have all the stuff. So, when the doctor said a boy, my world was a little rocked. But after it set in, of course I got excited because a boy is just as good and just as exciting! I’m happy. TJ’s ecstatic, and Eva will get there. Haha!
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2015-04-09 12:18:532015-04-08 12:34:20My Feelings on Having a Boy
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2015-04-07 16:22:472015-04-07 16:22:47Boy or Girl?
Well, here I am. A blurry, out of focus iPhone pic of me. I don’t have a huge bump yet, I just feel like a disproportioned bloated woman. I hate this in-between stage. I just want a real bump because my clothes just look awkward on me right now. But I am sure in a couple months I’ll be begging for this smaller bump phase, especially when I’m out in a swimsuit.
I’m still taking my nausea medicine because I’m too scared to get off of it, but it’s almost out so I think in the next week I’ll try and go off of it to see if I feel normal without it.
I’m getting blood work taken this week and then next week, the 31st, we find out the gender. So, that exciting. I’m hoping that will make all of this seem a little more real. T.J. thinks it’ll be a boy, I think it’ll be a girl, and Eva thinks SHE is having a girl in her belly and I’m having a boy, although she wants a sister. So… lots of different opinions around here. I keep referring to the baby as a “he” accidentally, so I don’t know what that means. We will be excited for whatever, we just already have tons of baby girl clothes that I want to get out again!
As of today, I still haven’t gained any weight which is really quite a miracle. I have been wanting candy all the time, so I was surprised when I stepped on the scale. I guess all the walking around here really makes a difference. I’m hoping it continues to make a difference since my starting weight was heaving with this pregnancy compared to where I was at the beginning of my pregnancy with Eva.
Other than my candy craving (especially nerd robes or chewy sprees… same as my first pregnancy), I have wanted Orange Dream Machine smoothies, chips, Chipotle/Qdoba burritos, and weirdly enough (because I generally dislike pickles)… last night I thought, I really want a fresh pickle! The other night on my burger, there were some fresh crunchy pickles and I can’t stop thinking about them. If that’s not a classic pregnancy craving, I don’t know what is!
I’ve been really emotional lately. Crying in commercials, McDonalds commercials, animal commercials, car commercials… you name it. Last night I cried to T.J. and said, “I just feeeeelllll sooooo emotionallllllll!” He couldn’t help but to laugh. Pregnancy is just weird. So many emotions all the time. I can’t handle it, apparently!
That’s all I can think about right now. Stay tuned for a post next week to find out if we’re having a boy or girl! What do you think it’ll be?
Backing up a bit to write down some things about the first couple months of pregnancy.
I think we found out around week 3 or 4 and then exactly on week 5, I started feeling sick. I don’t throw up during my pregnancies, so I feel like I can’t complain too much. But I do feel nauseous all the time and SO tired. But I got on some medicine right away and to my surprise, it actually has helped quite a bit for the nausea. My doctor tried to have me take this with my first pregnancy, but I never took it regularly… why was I so stupid? It makes a big difference. Unfortunately, it also has a side effect of making me even more tired. But I’d rather feel a little better and really tired, than sick and tired. The medicine has also helped with food aversions and smells. With Eva, so many foods turned me off and smells were a HUGE issue. It’s still not completely normal, but it’s much better than I know it could be. The only thing that makes me want to throw up is lettuce… I had a bad batch of lettuce (ahhh I can’t talk about it) in week 5 and now just the sight of it (or thought) makes me sick… so let’s move on and talk about something else. Oh and Diet Coke. All of a sudden I didn’t like it, or even crave it. I’ve had it a couple times then, just because I need it for energy, it just doesn’t taste the same to me. I should just stop drinking it completely, and not keep trying to see if I like it again, but as a mom, it used to be the magic potion to get me through each day. Haha!
The tiredness. Oh gosh. There were times where I hardly knew how I was going to make it through the day, let alone get off the couch to play with or help Eva. I still feel tired often, but I’m getting more bursts of energy regularly which gives me hope the first trimester really is ending.
I like my doctor and the practice well enough. I don’t love the hospital where I am supposed to deliver at, but for now, it’s the closest one and that just makes the most sense to me since we don’t have a car. I was so spoiled at the Orem Community hospital, so pretty much any hospital out here will be a huge downgrade. Things may change as the year goes by, though.
I haven’t gained weight yet, but I have definitely gotten bigger. I know the bump is going to pop out really early since it’s my second one and I’m already heavier to start this second time around… but I’m trying not to worry about it and just be healthy. I do love how in the mornings while in bed, I can feel the little peach pop out a little bit. That was always my favorite thing with Eva.
I haven’t liked cooking at all these past couple months, so we have eaten a lot of frozen foods and sandwiches. It was rough. I’m hoping it wears off soon.
Oh, as for telling family, and telling TJ we were expecting, it all went really well and so cute. I wrote a little card for TJ to find when he came home from work on the 9th and he couldn’t believe it. He was so sweet. I told my parents over FaceTime asking them to send Eva some Bernstein Bear Books (we used to read them as kids all the time), specifically the New Baby story. It took just a second and then it clicked with both of them and they cried and laughed. Perfection. And then to tell TJ’s parents, Eva repeated a poem after me, saying, “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, September is when the baby is due!” Kelly’s reaction was amazing. I’m so grateful Eva and the new baby have such wonderful and supportive grandparents!
