Summertime and the livings easy

Wow can you believe it's already August? Seriously, how did that happen. There was a huge fire in the town next to us here yesterday and I thought "why am I all the sudden thinking of back to school, fall leaves, Halloween". Well that's because we live in California and the smell of brush fire reminds me of Fall and the fires that come with it. Ok so maybe I'm jumping the gun because it is still definitely summer, but being that Fall is my very most favorite season, I can't help but be excited. My mom and I are already brainstorming Oliver's costume. Ahhh trick-or-treating in La Canada. Can't get any better for a two year old. How I envy him:)

Things here are better than great. Ryan is loving his job which has recently struck me more what a blessing that is. We've entered this world of full time employment when pretty much I get to see my husband at night and then over the weekend, which is way too short. He gets to see our son for probably 2 hours of the day. For Dad's that are lame, that is probably not the biggest deal, but for Ryan, it's pretty devastating. I think it's also been pretty hard on Ollie too. And I know I should not complain because he has this amazing job but it has been really hard for us both to adjust to being apart all day. Ryan's days are 6-6 at this point, which is a long day. Imagine if he didn't love it. He would be asking what have I gotten myself into. I can imagine that for a lot of guys, this is the case. I know it would be for me. Knowing you've entered the working world and that really won't change much until retirement, that can be quite the life sentence. It's so wonderful that he gets to work on a project that is amazing, with colleagues that are experienced. They are ahead of schedule and super busy which explains the long hours. Ryan is definitely getting broken in.

I am feeling much more pregnant these past few weeks. Back pain has finally turned it's ugly head which I was hoping wouldn't happen. I had already made it this far without it, I thought I might get really lucky. Does this mean I'll have crazy back labor again? I sure hope not. We finally got our insurance all figured out (another HUGE blessing), and my first appointment with my new doctor is today. He got a good referral from Dr. Devore so that should mean something. I am so excited to have a doctor and a hospital to deliver at. It's all getting close!

Oliver has been potty training these days. It's actually been going pretty well, as long as he's naked. The minute I put underpants on him, he associates them with diapers and just goes. When he's at home with my naked though, he goes over to his potty, does his business, reports it to me, and then takes it over to the big potty to flush and farewell. So I'm not sure if he's completely ready yet but we will keep working on it. The hard part is being at home all day, asking "do you need to go potty" every half hour. That's enough to drive us both crazy. So I'm trying to work on it when I can. I've heard pull-ups are a step backwards but it makes sense to me. Any suggestions?

Our little Oliver has entered the trouble making 2's (terrible just sounds so...terrible). He has had a few major tantrums and there is no turning back. In those cases I've simply walked him to our room and put him on our bed and walked out and shut the door. Usually after about 5 minutes of hysteria, he is willing to reason. He has also picked up the wonderful habit of telling Ryan and I "no" or "mine" which are both of my faves. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is very hard being 2. And sometimes I wish I could remind Oliver that it is very hard being 8 months pregnant with a 2 year old, in the dead of summer. Overall though, I'll have to say that I'm still pretty much in love with him and his sweetness. He entertains me all day, everyday and I wouldn't change anything. He is still obsessed with anything skating, surfing, or flying. We were at Target today buying baby girl items and I saw a pack of really cool mini skateboards and just couldn't resist. You'd think it was Christmas morning for that kid. Oh I love him.

We are all getting excited for Amelie to come. My family will be in and out of town the next few months so hopefully she is planning her arrival when it works best for everyone. That's happens right? Oh and a note about her name. I know it looks very confusing to say but it's basically Emily with a twist, Ah-melie. The French version of Emily actually. Her middle name will be Jane after Ryan's mom Nita Jane. Truth be told, the name doesn't have any crazy significance, we just both really love it. It does always make me a little nervous naming a baby before it comes out. So if she happens to come out and Amelie doesn't fit, it's back to the drawing board. My mom is working up some darling blankets and quilts for her and I've finally gotten started on some shopping.

I did have a few pictures from the beach yesterday but I can never get my pictures to work on my parents computer. I'll see if I can get some up later. Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine!