36 weeks/La Canada's on fire

Here are my 36 week shots. Pretty impressive I should say. It's funny because when you're not pregnant you think "How did I ever get that big? I couldn't have actually been THAT big". So you have to document it to prove that it really did happen. One of my favorite moments this week was at church. My sisters Annie and Laura got ahead of me and then stopped to wait and just burst into laughter. They were like, "all we can do is laugh, it's not personal". I agree, the belly is in charge. And as much as it's making me uncomfortable and giving me no sleep, I know I'll miss it and being pregnant so might as well enjoy it. I also forgot to mention that I took Oliver to a sibling class the hospital was putting on and I tell you, that kid is a natural. He went right over to the baby dolls, picked one up and a bottle, and sat down to feed it. Of course towards the end the baby was getting dropped on it's head big time, but these things take time. The instructors were shocked that he didn't have a baby doll at home he had been practicing with. What can I say. I'm just so maternal that it leaks into my 2 and a half year old boy's behavior. It's only natural. As much as I told myself not to get psyched out about wanting her to come early, I totally am. It's just that right around my due date we have a million things going on with my sister's farewell and my entire family being here. So I either want her two weeks early or a week late. Hmmmm, I opt for two weeks early. You can't blame a girl. It's funny how I actually feel like I'll have more energy after she gets here cause at least then I won't be pregnant:)

And La Canada's on fire...

I think the last stats were that 1500 acres had burned and it was 5% contained. The view from Foothill Blvd. looks straight out of a movie, it's crazy. Ryan and I went outside yesterday to watch it around 6 just as the fire was coming over the mountain. In a matter of minutes, it came over the top and huge flames had taken over. It was crazy. So of course that night we had to drive up and get as close as possible. Why do I have a total fascination over fires? I know they are sad and destroy things, but sometimes it's just so cool to watch. So since just coming over the mountain last night, it is now all over the whole face of the mountain, threatening all the homes in Greenridge. My mom said she saw helicopters going into people's backyards and taking water from their pools. All yesterday and today, I'm just hearing this continuous drone of air crafts hard at work. It really makes me choked up to see firefighters and planes and helicopters fighting something so huge and powerful. It seems they are understaffed because we just kept saying, there's no way it will come down to there or there, and then it does. It is very scary. Thank heavens there are no winds because if there were, we would all be in huge trouble. For documenting purposes I'll put a few pics up I found online. Keep La Canada in your prayers...

Here is JPL and the view of the mountains behind. JPL is literally right next to my house although we are in no danger here. I think we're about as far down as you can get from the fires. Plus I know they would never let this thing get near JPL.

Trains and ponies

Today we went on an adventure to Griffith Park to check out the train and pony rides. I knew Ollie would be excited about the train but I didn't know he'd actually be more excited about riding the ponies. He had to go in the slow line because he's just a little guy but still had so much fun. He pretty much wanted to do ride after ride all afternoon. But 3 dollars a ride can add up so after one ride I bribbed him with the prospect of a popscile at home to get him in the car to leave. I secretely want one of those miniature horses in my backyard. Apparently, a young girls pony fantasy never really goes away.

Ps- I absolutely got a new camera and I cannot explain how excited I am about this prospect. No more grainy, washed out, unfocused shots. Just pure joy, caught in the moment, as it should be. So this might be the last you see of these sad shots. I won't miss it. Please get here soon new, wonderful camera.

Laura's birthday!

I must mention that is was my beautiful sister Laura's birthday on Sunday and we had a great time celebrating in her honor. Laura is getting ready to leave on her mission to South Korea on Sept. 23 (ahem, ONE day before my due date) so I get to have here her for a little longer. I love this girl and I desperately want her niece to meet her before she leaves. Prayers have been said.

We had a little jam session in the yard while everyone ate their cake. You would have thought Ollie was 17, just strolling around the place making friends. When he saw Dad was playing his guitar he had to run back inside and grab his to go play.
A few of the excited faces of Ollie at the party.
For some reason, birthdays and in particular the birthday song happen to be one of Oliver's favorite things. He was singing Laura happy birthday throughout the day.

"UP"

Oliver had his first real theater experience the other night when Ryan and I took him to see "UP" and of course we had to document the whole adventure. First off let me say how grateful I am to have a theater in Pasadena that costs $3. I almost kissed the guy behind the window. I mean seriously, who can afford to go to movies for 12 bucks a pop, ridiculous. Anyways, Oliver LOVED the movie and we went equipped with all the best movie treats money can buy. We had to take a few pictures of his excitement. He was really excited. The movie had a few intense moments and a few parts I wasn't thrilled about, but overall it was just precious. Hopefully they'll have some more kids movies coming through there soon.

I LOVE YOU SO...

I just had to put a little something up about how much I love this book. I found it at the goodwill and it is seriously such a treasure. It is the sweetest, most tender book to read your little ones. I had to fight back tears the first time I read it because it is just exactly the way I feel as a mom. A few of my favorite pages say:

"From my head to my toes, I was feeling inside a devotion for you SO DEEP and SO WIDE. And now it's ENORMOUS and wonderfully real and hard to describe HOW MUCH I feel!"

"I love you being NICE, and when you're CRANKY , too. I love you without liking the NAUGHTY things you do. My 'love you' DOESN'T change like the temper of the days. It's a CERTAIN kind of thing in many DIFFERENT ways".

Highly Recommended. By Marianne Richmond

La Playa

Living near the beach is just something you can't get away from if you've grown up with it. Ryan and I have often said that we almost wish (but not really) that we didn't grow up by it so we wouldn't need it as much. In California it is expensive, but in California by the beach, it is almost painful. But what's been done has been done and we will hit our beach destination at some point. I've had some incredible days at the beach so far this summer. I have to admit that back in high school one of my favorite things to do was to go to the beach all be myself and listen to music and bask in the warm sun. Once I hit 18 I signed myself out at least once a week to go to the beach (Oliver, mom was very irresponsible and you will know better, right?:) It has been fun going to the beach with Ollie now and my baby girl who is so conveniently located in the best SPF protection zone there is. I can't wait to take her for the first time. You've got to get it in their blood early on you see, then the love never dies. Although trekking down to the beach is becoming an obstacle, we will be there as often as possible. Hey, maybe I'll even go into labor at the beach. That would be a good omen. That is until I hit the traffic through LA on the way back. That part would NOT be so much fun:)

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!