Jammie's 30th Birthday

Last weekend was one of the Hoover's best pal's Jammie's 30th Birthday. Eric and I offered to host a party at our house for the big celebration. Jammie wanted a wine and cheese themed party so that's what we did. Eric, Greg, and I worked on planning it for a few months. We set up a "wine bar" outside with bartender Eric filling up the glasses. Eric insisted on buying a gazebo and we put lights around it to make a more "Tuscan" feel. We had a variety of yummy food: cheese, wine, bruschetta, olive tapanade, stuffed mushrooms,a chocolate fountain, and more. It was a small group of us, as that's the way Jammie wanted it. Bella stayed awake until about 9, and she was ready to go to bed. Like always, she slept through the party. I had a lot of fun planning the little details and we all had a great time and so did Jammie :)

Spring Break 2010

For this Spring Break, we had some fun things planned. However, the weekend Spring Break started, Bella came down with a pretty nasty cold. She was pretty cranky because of it, and also because she is getting really close to 2 years old, so her and I were stuck in the house for the 1st week. It was cold and rainy some of the week, so it was a good week to just be indoors. That week was rough! Not only was it crappy weather, but being that she was sick and was super moody, I was ready to get out of the house! I have said it a hundred times, it sure is rough being a stay at home Mom! I have much respect to those Moms that seem to get everything done while taking care of their babies. Anyway, the 2nd week was great and she was feeling good. Eric took off the last part of the week so we could do family things. We walked to the park by our house, met Simone(her last sitter) and the boys for a picnic, went to a girls lunch, went to the train park, went to Encanto park, and had some at home time as a family. It was a great 2 weeks and loved spending time with Bella all alone, especially since soon enough it won't be just her to soak up all the attention.
Our favorite day was when the 3 of us went to Encanto park. We started the day by having lunch at Olive Garden (yummm) and then headed to the park. The park has rides, boats, a train, a duck pond, playground, and much more. We decided to go on the paddle boats first. Bella did great, she wanted to help Daddy steer the whole time. It was a beautiful day out, so it was nice to just cruise around the lake. Next we rode the train. Like the last train ride,she did not want to sit on my lap, she wanted to sit all by herself. Next was time for ice cream and sit and feed the ducks. She loved it! Next, Eric took her on the carousel. Last time she was on, she was not too sure. She did not cry, but was not loving it. This time, TOTALLY different. she loved it! In fact, when it stopped, she cried. So the nice man running the carousel, let her ride again all by herself with no other kids on. What a stinker! Next, she rode the cars. We did not know until it was our turn that no parents were allowed. We figured we'd test her out, if she hated it we'd get her off, but she ended up loving it. She rode all by herself and loved every second of it. Eric and I just kept saying what a big girl she is. She amazes us at how independent she is. Awww our "baby" is turning in to a "big girl". The day was awesome and we really enjoyed our family day.




Steering the boat

videos of Bella

As I have said before, in the last few months, Bella has taken off with her language and almost every day she says something that cracks me up or amazes me. I have been unable to tape her saying these awesome things because as soon as the camera is on, she will either turn quiet, or act silly. However, she is now correcting me if I say something silly or wrong. For instance, if I call her stuffed dog a cat, she will say "no it's a dog!!" or if I call the letter "B" a "R", she will correct me. She is every bit of her Mommy in that sense :) I can't believe that she is only 22 months old, she is so mature for her age. When Baby Delia came to play the other day, she kept trying to feed her her bottle and if Delia's binky fell out of her mouth, Bella ran over to her and said "here Delia" and would put it back in her mouth. She was being such a big sister/Mommy to her. She was very affectionate to her and never once got jealous of me holding and feeding or kissing Delia. It makes me think B will be an awesome big sister!
Here a few cute videos of her chatting and having fun. I taped her playing with her doll because she was carrying it around talking to her and patting her back and being a little Mommy to the baby. I just thought it was so cute so I had to tape it. Obviously she has picked up on the things I do to "Mommy" her.The other video is of her in the bath tub doing her letters and numbers. she cracks me up this daughter of mine :)

24 weeks

2 weeks ago, I had my 24 week visit. I have gained 6 lbs total (though it feels like 25) and things look good. Blood pressure has remained good and like last time, the baby is measuring a little big. My little man is very very active. I'm not sure if he's more active than Bella was, but he is non-stop! I can feel him move every time I move, and he sure likes to kick me :) On my visit to the Dr., when the nurse put the doppler on my tummy to listen to his heart beat, he kicked so hard that the doppler jumped up. The nurse was laughing because his heart rate shot right up because he got so active when she did that. If I lie down on my side, he is kicking at the side I'm lying on. If I have my hand on tummy or any other object, he will kick and kick. Isabella loves to touch my tummy and he will kick her hand and she laughs hysterically. Super cute :D If there is loud music or any noise, he goes crazy. It makes me laugh at how much personality this kid already has. Although I am worried about how much it s going to hurt when I am 9 months pregnant and he's kicking me like that :) I am getting very excited to have a son since it has always been a dream of mine to have a Mama's boy. I hope that he is as awesome of a child as our Bella, but I'm not worried about it. Eric and I have vowed to stick to the same parenting as we did with Bella so that he can be equally as awesome as her. We are getting so excited to have a son! Our family is now complete :)


23 weeks pregnant

Train Park

On Friday we took Bella to the train park. She had just been getting over her sickness so was in quite the mood! We figured being outdoors would make it better. We had a picnic, rode the train, and played on the playground. Lil Ms. Independent didn't want us to hold her on the train or go with her down the slide. She went on the big slides all by herself and wanted no help doing it. She has grown in to such a little girl, no longer a baby. She does not want help eating, in fact if you offer to help her she yells "NO!' and wants to use her own fork or spoon. She is quite the stinker, but I am glad she is so independent at the same time. Here are some photos from our day at the park...




On the train in the tunnel..

4D ultrasound take TWO!

Today was our retry of a 4D ultrasound and this time Jen joined Eric and I. I had half a cup of coffee in hopes he would be awake. He was wide awake, however he still was lying in the same position with his face pushed up against the placenta. After some more coaxing, we were able to get a few shots of his face. He kicked me through the whole thing as if to tell us to "leave him alone!!". However, when I finally got Eric to talk to him (after about 30 mins of trying myself), he finally turned his face half way around!! He must love the sound of Daddy's voice :D I was so happy to finally see his face and make sure his lip, mouth, ears, and nose were all good. Of course to me all baby's look pretty much the same in 4D, but it was still really cool to see him. I have looked at these photos all day because they make me feel even more connected to my little man. I keep thinking, he better be a Mama's boy !! I love him so much and can't wait to meet him! Here are some photos to enjoy.....

HIS FACE

IT'S LIKE HE IS SAYING "LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

FACE SHOT


HIS EAR

HIS HAND IN FRONT OF FACE

LEG

4D ultrasound

Last Friday, Eric, Kyra, and I went to go see our little man in 4D. I was so excited because I had not done this with Bella and I had heard of a place that would do them at a cheaper price. Plus, in reality, I still was not 100% positive that we were having a boy. Yes, at our last ultrasound we were told 3 times it was for sure a boy, and in the photos you can clearly see his boy parts. I think I just could not picture us with a boy after having a girl. Plus, because he did not show his face last time, I wanted reassurance that everything was ok. So Friday afternoon we all headed to see him on the big screen. What was even more cool, this place allows family and friends log in from their computers to watch AND hear the ultrasound live as if they were in the room with us. The first thing the tech said was "definitely a boy" which was so awesome! Next, she switched in to 4 d mode to get pictures of his face. Wouldn't you know.. he was mostly face down and with his hands in front of his face. He was napping! Everytime the tech would try and wake him and get him to turn over, he'd kick me really hard and shift around but put his hands right back in his face! We again tried everything! I drank a little caffeine, had ice water, moved on my side, and nothing worked. The tech was awesome and she did her best to try and capture what she could. I realized that this was the same exact time as my last ultrasound that he wouldn't let us see his face. It has to be his nap time! So, we have another appointment next week first thing in the morning. Let's hope we have awesome pictures to share with everyone this time!!

My bragging rights as her mother :)

I must use this entry to brag about Bella a little. After having picked up Bella from Bernie's (the sitter) yesterday, we were driving home and I decided I would call Eric at work. He was on a conference call so was unable to talk. As soon as I hung up, Bella put her cute little hand up to her ear(as a makeshift phone) and said the following " Hi Eric, where are you?I miss you.Bye Bye Bernie.love you".As soon as she said it, I had to write it down so I wouldnt forget and knew that I wanted to journal it.
The things that amazed me most about her conversation was that she knows Daddy's name is Eric. She will often refer to him at home as "Eric" and of course he corrects her and says "DADDY!!" The 2nd part that amazed me is that she used the word "I". She has recently begun to use "I", and "me", which is awesome. Next, she used all 3 words in "where are you", she said what she had to say in one long sentence without any jargoning in between, and lastly that she is using her imagination while showing great imaginative play skills. It was one of those moments that as a Mom you wish someone had been there to witness it, or that you had a video camera on. She has taken such leaps and bounds in the last month. It seems like everyday Eric and I are amazed at the words she will say. She has started saying "wow, amazing!!" when she sees something she likes, which I just think is the cutest thing she says. She is putting 3 words together and just talking at every chance she gets. In fact, if it's quiet at dinner or during snuggle time, she will scream "MOMMY!!" or "DADDY!! " and then when we say "what?" she will respond with "I love you" or something else just to say something. She just has to make sure that there is no quiet time, she wants conversation at all times. She has also started saying "WHAT???" when I am calling for her. It's the funniest thing because she will sometimes say it with an attitude as if she is thinking "what do you want now Mom???". This little girl never seizes to amaze me, she is learning every day and loves doing it. I just can't believe how independent she is and if Eric and I try and do something for her she will often say "No I do it". She wants to do things for herself first and then if she needs help she says "need help". I have to constantly remind myself that she is only 21 months old because she is so mature. I have to come up with new and teacher-like creative ways to teach her things because she loves to learn. I am so proud of my baby girl, she has made Eric and I so happy. She makes us laugh so much that I can't even remember what my life was like without her. Bella when you read this when you are older, know that you make Daddy and I so happy. You are such a happy girl and in turn have made us so happy. We love you baby ! Ok that's all my bragging for now....

Mary Poppins

I know that we use this blog to write about our Hoover family , however, I had to share my experience that I had while at the musical "Mary Poppins" on Saturday. Besides, Jen is like part of our Hoover family! Jen and I both love the musical "Mary Poppins" and when we saw it was coming to Phoenix, we knew we had to go. So Saturday night, I picked up Jen and when we saw each other, we started laughing hysterically. Somehow, we ended up wearing almost the exact same shirt! Except mine was a maternity shirt ! It was so funny because Jen and I spend every single day together because we not only work together, but we are best friends who spend a lot of time together. Great minds think alike I guess :) Anyway, we had dinner and headed to the show. The show was absolutely amazing! I had such a great time! The main reason I am blogging about this is because baby boy was going CRAZY in my tummy the entire time we were there. He kicked so much I had to unbutton my pants to let him kick around more comfortably. Every time there was singing involved he would go nuts! I'm not sure if he was kicking because he loved it, or hated it. Either way, it was hilarious! I thought that once he is older and reads this blog, I can embarrass him and say " you loved Mary Poppins!!"