Making The Switch.

We've been thinking about switching to cloth diapers for a while now. After we went over our budget, we realized we've been spending $100+ a month on diapers. With another gal on the way, likely to make her debut sooner than anticipated, I couldn't imagine buying THREE different sizes of diapers. Of course Claire will be potty training soon, but I'm waiting for her to take the lead on this one.

There were lots of things that appealed to me about cloth diapers aside from the financial benefit. They're natural with no chemicals, they're adorable, I can use one size for both (or all 3) girls, and my trash loads will be smaller.

The thing that held us back was the poo. Luckily I have a good girl friend who has been cloth diapering both of her kiddos. After researching, grilling her about it, and researching some more, we found tons of options and decided to give it a go!

The girls had fun picking out diapers as I ordered them and they've loved getting to pick out which ones they want to wear. So far, so good! I was shocked at how soft they are. I'd want them against my nether regions, too! The girls seem to love them and are as happy as can be! I couldn't have hoped for a smoother transition from them. Hopefully it's equally smooth for the parents!

Claire's partial to the zebra print. If it were up to her, they would ALL be zebra.

The Stash.

Aoife's latest obsession is dogs.

All put away and ready to go.

It took a couple drawers to hold them all.

24/25 Weeks.

Lately things have been ...weird. I've been sicker and more exhausted than I was in the beginning of this pregnancy. I've chomped on ice, snacked on frozen corn, and guzzled more Diet Coke than I'd like to admit. Recently I've found a temporary antidote: Turkey Dogs. A couple of those grilled up on the stove complete with every condiment known to mankind and I'm good to go. 

Yesterday I had my appointment. The good news: I finally gained a couple pounds. Normally that'd be enough to make any gal cry, but I have a hard time gaining weight while preggo. The better news: This little lady looked and sounded great. She's ridiculously active and you can even see body parts sliding around my stomach when she moves. She kept kicking the doppler and wiggling around. She's a feisty thing.

Now for the not so great news: Because I dilated so early with both girls and how crummy I've been feeling, the doctor wanted to check and make sure nothing was progressing. She ended up calling a second doctor in. I'm already funneling pretty wide and dilating. At this point with Claire I was dilated to a 4.5, and with Aoife I was at a 2. The doctors were shocked to hear that the midwives continued to treat me without any kind of intervention other than the medication to stop preterm labor with Claire.

I guess Wisconsin takes thing like this extremely seriously. Which is a good thing. 

So I'm being sent to a specialist and they will most likely be taking over this pregnancy. I go in for my first appointment in a couple weeks and will discuss options and plans. In the meantime I'll be kicking back and taking it easy to keep this gal cooking for as long as possible.Thank goodness for all of the Disney movies on Netflix so the girls and I can just cuddle all day. When I told the doctor my goal was to make it until December, she laughed and said that might not be reasonable anymore. My new goal: Thanksgiving.

The Start to Fall.

The last couple weeks have been stressful, overwhelming, and we were really looking forward to the weekend. Every six weeks I get one Saturday off from class. It was very much needed.

We spent the weekend finding a cute apple farm, discovering our new favorite park, getting Slurpees, The Great Pumpkin Run and Fall Festival, going on a hot date, and making new friends. It was just what we needed.

Our run Saturday morning was a blast. When we woke up, the temperature was below 40, which had us nervous, but it turned out to be a gorgeous, fantastic day. With less than 80 people, it was the smallest run I've ever done, but I really enjoyed it. Ross was amazing and ran with the stroller the entire way. Claire giggled with delight and whenever Ross had to slow down and wait up for me, she'd say she wanted to run again. Even with 100 pounds of stroller Ross could have smoked me. Darn those long legs and bless his heart for keeping with the preggo wife.

 The course was a trail run through fields, forest, and the last mile and a half was though a twisty corn maze. Ross felt like he was playing Mario Kart, and luckily only two stalks of corn were sacrificed to the stroller.We're planning on doing it again next year. Each of us will have a stroller and kiddos to decorate like Mario Kart.

After the race we got a glass of apple cider, a pumpkin, and we got to go enjoy the fall festival. We didn't make it past the slides, but it was a blast. It was the perfect way to start the Fall season.

And Ross' sweater. Ross didn't notice till halfway through his lesson.

Claire decorated herself at church with stickers.

Sunday Evening Walks.

We have some great trails around the corner from our house. Some of it's paved, some of it's dirt, some are narrow trails through the woods, and some of it is boardwalk. A few months ago we were invited to dinner at a friend's house. After we ate as much as our stomachs would hold, we walked around their neighborhood. I got hooked. When our Sunday evenings aren't busy, I love to go for an evening walk with the girls. Sometimes we just walk through the neighborhoods, and sometimes we go on the trails.

The trails are  my favorite. Just a couple steps off the street and you feel like you're miles and miles away. It's dense and quiet, and reminds me of the Northwest, minus the doug firs. Last night the girls were restless, so I decided to take them out on a walk and give Ross some quiet time to do his food prep for the week. Each of the girls found a pine-cone which never left their hands for the rest of the walk. It's the simple joys, people. Then Claire started collecting yellow leaves. She'd squeal and laugh every time the wind blew and some leaves fell from the trees.

Not long after we started on the trail we saw 5 deer. A mama and her babies. They were just as curious as the girls were and bravely crept closer. Claire kept saying we had to be quiet so we wouldn't scare them while Aoife shrieked with delight and yelled "DOG!" (Lately, anything with four legs and a head is a dog.) We spent a while watching the deer. The girls thought they were pretty cool. The trails have deer signs, but I hadn't actually seen any before.

I have no idea where the trails actually go, we have yet to reach the end of them, but we explored further out this time, loading up the stroller with yellow leaves before deciding to head home. What was meant to be a quick walk turned out to be just under an hour. We had a blast. The girls wanted to show Ross their treasures, so I had him come down and meet us. When Claire saw him, she jumped out of the stroller and ran to him, screaming, "Hey cute guy! Whatcha doin out here?!"

I've never called Ross that. It was hysterical. We think she came up with it because sometimes I call her cute girl. Man she cracks me up. We topped off the night with some berries and yogurt. And it doesn't get much better than that.

End of Summer.

A couple of weeks ago I was so excited and ready for Fall. At least I thought I was. It felt like Fall would never arrive and yet here we are! I've been thinking about all of our fun adventures and I'm a little sad that summer is over. Though I won't be missing the sticky humidity. We had a fun last few hoorahs as a family.

Last weekend Middleton had a Good Neighbor Festival. There were rides and booths and local companies showing off what they did. I loved it. The booths were reminiscent of Portland's Saturday Market. We could have spent hours wandering checking everything out. And just like the Saturday Market, everything was homemade. We made the mistake of wandering over to the rides where tickets were an arm and a leg and not really worth it for our little family, but Claire was disappointed. Luckily she recovered quickly as we went back to the booths with the promise of a slush.

 

Tuesdays Ross usually plays basketball after work with his work friends. I still have class, so I drop the girls off with a blanket and an assortment of distractions. We weren't really  sure how they'd do and the first couple times were learning experiences, but they love going. And I'm really grateful everyone is so kind and patient and helps out with the girls so Ross can play.

 

This last Sunday was Aoife's first time in nursery. I've been counting down the weeks for the last couple months. The poor thing gets so tired and I end up spending most of church either sitting in an empty dark room trying to get her to sleep or walking the halls with her. Every now and then we'd peek at Claire in nursery and Aoife would get so excited. Claire was a great big sister and showed Aoife where to go. Aoife waltzed right in, started playing with toys, and didn't even glance back. After church, the leaders said Claire was a great big sister and sat by Aoife during snack and lesson time. On the way home, we asked Claire if she helped Aoife in nursery. She replied, "Yeah, I helped her be sad!" We're assuming she meant she helped Aoife when she was sad.

 

 

That evening Madison had something called Lights on the Lake. It's a boat parade at night followed by fireworks. The boats are all lit up and one even had UW Alumni's band. We got to the park fairly early and the girls had fun watching the water, chasing ducks, kicking a ball around with dad, playing on the iPad, and eating snacks. Honestly, It was such a fun family evening and just what I needed. The boats were fun, but I thought there would be more. It was too windy so the sheriff cancelled the fireworks. Claire was pretty disappointed and is still asking if we're going to see fireworks yet.

 

 Labor Day we took another family day, starting with a family workout. After we cleaned and got some work done around the house we took the girls to see Monster's University. Claire loved it but Aoife really struggled. Ross and I took turns walking around with her, but at least Claire had a great time!

As all of my mom friends are sending their kids back to school today, I'm really grateful I still have a couple more years with these gals at home. I'm looking forward to finding Madison's Fall adventures an exploring with my two best gals.