Gah! Why does it take so much effort to get motivated to blog lately? Oh yes, the pregnancy thing. ;) Third trimester is apparently sucking my energy out of my body. Thus it makes it hard to do things, like think. But, I digress... let me update you on things going on in our household.
When H1N1 Attacks: About the 15th of October, I came down with a funny cough. I call it a funny cough, because if you know me, when I get sick, it ALWAYS starts in my throat. I have enlarged, scarred tonsils, and I like to joke that they'd swab me for strep if I went in with a broken leg. So it was very unusual to have a cough & no sore throat. This progressed to what I though was just a semi-nasty cold. By that Saturday, Doug was sick, too. We skipped church on Sunday, and by then Sariah was just starting to cough. We didn't think much about it until Doug spiked a 104 degree temperature. So we called our clinic. By the time they called us back, Doug's fever had gone down with tylenol, but they prescribed me Tamiflu since I'm in a high risk category. We also scheduled an appointment for Sariah and she was also given the Tamiflu. By Monday, I felt like a million dollars, so I went to de-germing our entire house. Sariah also felt fine, her worst symptom ended up being a mild temperature. Poor Doug was still down for the count. By Monday night, he was having a hard time breathing. When I woke up Tuesday, it was so bad, he could barely catch his breath, so it was off to urgent care for him.
Long story short, Doug missed a whole week of work, had an X-ray of his lungs, was prescribed some inhaler meds & a cough suppressant, followed by an antibiotic & a steroid on Friday for bloodied mucus in his nose. We also ended up buying a humidifier & a neti pot, which was oh so fun. Poor Doug! He's feeling much better now & can say he survived the "epidemic." And I'll just add that I hope none of you come down with H1N1, but if you do, I hope you can get the Tamiflu, because that stuff rocks!
Halloween: Oh how thankful that the sickness drama was the week before all our Halloween festivities. We had at least 5 parties to attend that week, making Sariah's costume totally worth the time & effort I put into it. And here she is!
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I made the dress myself. I found all the materials at Walmart, and I even let Sariah choose the fabric & lace. We found her hat at Walmart, too, just in the toy section, not the Halloween stuff. The horse was a find at Target & her boots came from Target.com.
Monday we went to a party hosted by one of our friends from the Library. This is year 3 of having all the kids from our former baby story time get together at Halloween. I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera! There were tons of fun crafts for the kids to do. Sariah enjoyed stringing beads onto piper cleaners & making bracelets the best.
Wednesday we headed to our ward playgroup. Thursday at dance class the girls got to wear their costumes.
They learned a fun dance to the Purple People Eater song. I got a video, so we'll see if it ever gets onto the internet, it depends on how agreeable the dying laptop will be.
Friday morning was the annual library costume pageant. Several of our friends were there, and we had fun singing songs & eating treats. Friday night was our ward Trunk or Treat. We enjoyed the yummy soups & bread.
This year was the first year that we took Sariah out to the trunk or treat part of the evening. Doug took her out & unfortunately, there aren't any good pictures. It was very dark, very cold & very windy! Doug tells me that Sariah seemed very confused, but I know she enjoyed the candy we let her eat afterward.
Saturday night we did our first official Trick or Treating. We didn't go very many places, just to some of our neighbor houses & then over to Richard & Chrissie's house.
There's a nice older couple across the street that we went to first, who weren't planning on handing out candy, but had bought a big box of M&Ms just for Sariah. After that, she wouldn't really hold her pumpkin herself, in the hopes more big boxes of candy would be given that don't fit in her little pumpkin. No such luck, though. She did enjoy visiting Richard & Chrissie because they gave her several pieces of candy & pumpkin seed (which she surprisingly loved!) We had to dash home early because we had Stake Conference that night, but I'd say our first foray into Halloween was a success!
First salon visit: The Monday after Halloween we decided we'd go get Sariah's hair cut. It was flipping out funny in the back, getting long enough to start getting really tangled again, and we're doing 3 year portraits on the 19th, so I wanted her to have a good cut. Here's the finished product.
She did such a good job in the chair! She sat very still in the chair & held her head exactly like the lady asked her to. I was very proud. (I can't believe she'll be 3 in just over a week!)
Other tidbits: I survived my first Sunday as Primary Chorister. We're working on singing songs off my "fall singing tree" right now. Two weeks ago, Sariah helped me collect pretty fall colored leaves. Then I laminated them, wrote songs on the back & attached them to a poster of a tree I colored. I'm doing my best to learn the kids names & attitudes, but I'll admit to being still very nervous.
Sariah loves swim lessons. She's doing so good, too. Saturday they gave the kids all diving rings and had them blowing bubbles through them. Sariah loved this. Its the first time I've really seen her blow bubbles. Soon she'll be old enough to move up to the kids only classes & while she's definitely ready skill wise, she'll have to be potty trained first. We've marked Thanksgiving weekend for the next big potty push. Wish us luck!
Speaking of kids only classes. Tomorrow is Sariah's very first Pre-school story time. Its the first time she'll go into story time without me. I think she's excited, there's at least 4 or 5 of her friends in the same class. Mommy is understandably upset that her baby has grown up & doesn't need her anymore, but she's blaming it on pregnancy hormones... ;)
Finally, speaking of pregnancy, its still going well. All doctor's appointments are looking good. We're finally in the phase where we go to the doctor every 2 weeks. That, combined with the sisters-in-law that will be having babies soon has got me excited for the end of this pregnancy, even though we have a ways to go still. My hips are still holding out (thanks to my body pillow,) but I'm still sore in other places & I'm moving slower. I've had to stop picking Sariah up, because carrying her 31 lbs. disagrees with my uterus. Sariah is understandably upset by this development. She is excited about having a brother. She loves to go in "brother's room" and point out that baby brother is in my tummy. She tells me she's going to be very nice to brother & very helpful for mommy. We're all very excited.
So there it is, our lives caught up to date. Don't be surprised if I don't get another post out until Sariah's birthday, I've got such a mushy brain! :)
Sariah did so well at her photo shoot today! These are the photos I got prints of, Grandparents should let me know which ones you'd like me to send you... :)
Daddy attended story time with her while Mommy spent some time talking with the other moms. They made these cool owl masks.
After lunch, we went over to the cheap theatre to see Pixar's Up. It was the first time Sariah's been in a movie theatre (not counting the time Doug and I took her with us to see a movie when she was a baby, & she slept through it.) She did really good! She was, admittedly, more interested in the projector than the movie, but she watched most of it. We shared a huge bucket of popcorn. 
I didn't have high expectations for the movie, since I didn't really know much about it, but I loved it! I seriously laughed & cried several times, and I think it'll rank as one of my more favorite Pixar movies. I've already bought it for Sariah's Christmas stocking. 
We were all exhausted by Monday evening, so Sariah helped me bake her cake, we had a short FHE & headed to bed.
After the cake was decorated, we headed out to the Children's Museum. Doug and I had never been to a Children's Museum before, so I'm not sure what we expected. Sariah had a great time, though! Best off, admission was free that day, so we didn't have to pay the $15 I though we would (I did make a donation though.) We kind of followed Sariah's lead through the museum & let her do her thing. We took at least 100 pictures, and they're all posted on my facebook if you want to see them. (If we're not facebook friends & you'd like to be, let me know, my security settings are super high, so I'd probably have to find you.)
Doug insisted on dressing Sariah up at almost every station. She enjoyed it, so it was okay. 
She actually built this brick "arch" thing by herself, I was pretty impressed.
This "boat" was called the dream machine & I think it was Sariah's favorite spot, we spent a lot of time here.
The kids could "fish" off the side. She got pretty good at it!
Look, its Doug the dinosaur!
Here you could pretend to milk cows, I think Sariah would make a pretty cute cow milker.
It was well worth the trip, even if the museum is downtown, & I hate downtown! After the museum, we headed home, had lunch (Sariah finally got a small bit of cake with her lunch.) Then we opened presents. Sariah got a pretty good haul again this year.
A book from Grandma Diana & Poppee James.
Sariah loved this outfit from Grandpa Steve & Jackie.
She also played her Candy Land game from Doug's parents afterwards, but I hear from Daddy that she cheated a little. She really loves the My Little Pony that Grandma bought her, too. She used the money that her Great-Grandparents gave her to buy 2 more today. She likes to brush their hair. Ponies also travel well to scary places like the doctor's office. 
Later that evening we went out to Outback Steakhouse for birthday dinner since we had a coupon for a free Awesome Blossom. Sariah enjoyed some birthday Mac & Cheese. Then we headed home after a long day. Here she is in her new Curious George pajamas that I made her. The pajamas are huge on her, but she can grow into them. 
We were exhausted after several days of family fun, but it was totally worth it. I love having a 3 year old! She's been so much fun & so good today at both my & her doctor's appointment. In case you're wondering, she 30 lbs & 35 inches. She's perfect & healthy in every way. We are looking forward to her portraits tomorrow! Happy Birthday big girl!
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I made the dress myself. I found all the materials at Walmart, and I even let Sariah choose the fabric & lace. We found her hat at Walmart, too, just in the toy section, not the Halloween stuff. The horse was a find at Target & her boots came from Target.com.
They learned a fun dance to the Purple People Eater song. I got a video, so we'll see if it ever gets onto the internet, it depends on how agreeable the dying laptop will be.
This year was the first year that we took Sariah out to the trunk or treat part of the evening. Doug took her out & unfortunately, there aren't any good pictures. It was very dark, very cold & very windy! Doug tells me that Sariah seemed very confused, but I know she enjoyed the candy we let her eat afterward.
There's a nice older couple across the street that we went to first, who weren't planning on handing out candy, but had bought a big box of M&Ms just for Sariah. After that, she wouldn't really hold her pumpkin herself, in the hopes more big boxes of candy would be given that don't fit in her little pumpkin. No such luck, though. She did enjoy visiting Richard & Chrissie because they gave her several pieces of candy & pumpkin seed (which she surprisingly loved!) We had to dash home early because we had Stake Conference that night, but I'd say our first foray into Halloween was a success!
She did such a good job in the chair! She sat very still in the chair & held her head exactly like the lady asked her to. I was very proud. (I can't believe she'll be 3 in just over a week!)