good times at the covey's

thought i would catch up on some presley pictures since over the next few months they will probably all be of her new little brother. so, here goes. here we are at toys r us picking up the world's largest play house from mimi and while we were waiting for them to bring it up from the back pres found this dinosaur (which she said over and over and over and over and over). so, we had to go and take a peek at it. the dinosaur is actually pretty cool. you can sit on top of him and hold on to a bar while he makes dino noises and eats leaves. his eyes open and close and his head moves. pres was okay with him while i was right next to her but as soon as i backed up to take her picture she freaked out thinking he was going to eat her? it was kind of sweet in a twisted way b/c she "needed" me and i have never really seen her be scared of something like that before. so, no we did not purchase the 300$ dino and take him home with us.

a few days ago we went for a walk around our block and one of the kids in the front of the neighborhood was playing with an umbrella. OF COURSE, we had to throw a fit and come home b/c she couldn't play with the little girl's umbrella all day so i found her this one in the laundry room. *notice there are no dogs around b/c she already scared the shit out of them by chasing them with it as soon as i showed her how to open it.
for the next hour we played "where is presley? peek a boo" while i made dinner. it really was a good time except for the running after the dogs thing. poor guys, i haven't told them i am bringing another one home next month. i wonder if allie will cry each time he does like she did with presley? 
i guess i will have to find her an umbrella more her size for christmas so she may be able to control it a little better. hopefully she won't chase the dogs anymore with it but i guess i have to start worrying about her poking her brother in the eye. maybe a new umbrella isn't such a good idea after all. maybe next year.....

presley at the pumpkin patch

this year at the pumpkin patch was so much more fun because presley was old enough to walk and say pumpkin (over and over again) and just really is now able to realize what pumpkins are. here are a few snapshots of us picking out our pumpkins and having a great time together on a gorgeous sunday afternoon. pics of what the pumpkins actually turned out to look like are to come...

stupid swing

this is the swing that we got for presley 2 years ago. i am not sure how many hours/days she spent in it but it was our saving grace so many times. now, it has been cleaned and pulled out of the attic for the next covey coming any day now.  you would think that since we just put it together less than 2 years ago we would remember how it went back together and yet here i am sitting and staring at all of these pieces wondering how they come together. this may be easier if i waited for my 18 month old to be asleep when i start this adventure. it's kind of difficult putting things together (doing dishes, folding clothes, making dinner, anyway....) while she is around. to be continued.....

bath time= fun time!

i know she is going to hate me when she is older and sees that i posted this picture of her on here but ISN'T SHE ADORABLE!! 

most nights presley gets her bath right after dinner because she has made such a mess. we don't dare even mention the word "bath" unless we are ready right then to go upstairs and start one. the freak out if we tell her to wait for a minute is insane! she loves bathtime:) (and well who wouldn't with all the toys she has in there to play with)

when she was born and for probably about the first 3 months or so (maybe even longer) she would scream and scream when she was in the bathtub, getting out of the bathtub and about 20 minutes after that for good measure. now, she races to the tub, is trying to jump in with her clothes on and rarely wants to get out before the water turns cold. my favorite part is after when i let her run around nakey for a minute or two and she ALWAYS pees. brian gets so upset and runs after her trying to clean her up and put a diaper on her. kill joy:)

whenever he gives her a bath though she usually ends up with some crazy shampoo hair do and he makes me run and get the camera, hence the picture above. 

hope you enjoy seeing the cutest kid ever as much as we do. did i mention she is the sweetest too?

cake lady

how freaking good does that look??? 

i absolutely love making cakes and cupcakes. i just can't decide if i like licking the bowl more than eating the finished product. what a problem to have:(

this cake was so easy to make and i was so excited to have it for dessert when brian got home from work. what you don't know is that after making this cake and leaving it in the middle of the counter, presley and i went to lowe's for something and when we got back found 1/2 of it licked off. you should have seen it!! i was so stunned i could barely get the bad words out of my mouth to express how upset i was. damn dogs! the thing to is that i had mail sitting around it and a few magazines and none of it was moved. not one piece! i still don't understand how they did that. 

so, we did the only next logical thing (don't even think i threw that cake away). we cut it in half and ate the part that was unscathed by the dogs. it was still delicious and i enjoyed every bite. ever since taking the wilton's cake decorating class back in the beginning of the year i think my dessert making has vastly improved and i love sharing my masterpieces. even though this one didn't leave the house we still enjoyed all it's yummy goodness. 

so much for brian's eternal diet. i have just a little bit longer to indulge myself in these sugary confections and i am going to enjoy every minute:). 

don't be scared!!

well, here ya go! this is me preggers at 35 weeks. i still have 5 more weeks to go if you can believe it.  hardly any of my maternity pants fit (which i don't quite understand if they are elastic~ shouldn't they fit any size?). also, my belly is hanging out of the bottom of most of my shirts. 

i think brian is starting to get worried about me. he is always asking:

 1. will i ever get back to my pre-maternity size?

2. will the stretch marks fade?

3. will this be the last baby?

i would feel bad for him but i don't know the answers to the questions either. i know i am tired of peeing on myself, constantly being hungry and having indigestion at the same time and i miss laying on my stomach to sleep. 

dealing with fertility for so long before presley was born though makes me grateful to even have these problems to deal with. i remember sitting in cordova "dirty dova" praying for these problems and worries. i am so grateful to even be able to carry our child (especially after having a miscarriage) but does that mean i can't have concerns now about what will happen or voice my struggles when presley is having a bad day?

 i hope things are able to go back to the way they were before (with my belly) and i know there is a lot of work ahead. no more fast food and chocolate donuts every day. i have even bought a bunch of fruit for the house b/c if presley sees me eating it then she wants it too. i will use presley as my focus when eating better. that should do the trick?????

35

35......

only 35 more days until my due date. woo hooo!! i can't believe he is almost here and presley will no longer be our only child. she will never remember what it is like to have all of my attention and energy completely focused on her. she will have to share and watch over him like all good big sisters do.

i feel sorry for her but i know what it's like to have a sister and a brother and i wouldn't change that for anything.  

so, will she be the big sis that is nurturing and loving and gives constant kisses and hugs to her little brother or will she be the hitting over the head and throwing toys at him in his swing kind of sister? i am betting the latter. 

only a little over a month and i will have no more restful nights, consistent nap times each day and quiet times reading books with presley. however, i will be able to wear pants that have zippers, no more heartburn and i can tie my shoes without losing my breath. 

i will try to download a picture of the largest belly ever soon and post it on here. try not to gasp when you see it. you've been warned.:)

why so fast?

the picture at the top is of presley on her 1st birthday and the picture below that is of her at 17 months. when i look at them it looks like 2 completely different kids. it's amazing how much a difference only 5 months makes. she is so vocal now and picks up on everything. some times that's good and some times that's bad. 

her hair is so much longer now and goes back in pigtails so easily. i love having a little girl. (have i said that before?) i am getting really excited about her having a little brother soon. next month will come so soon. i love teaching her new words and she can figure out so much on her own now. parenting is so much easier at this stage it seems like~ or maybe it's just because i am getting a full night's rest and a nap every day. whatever it is~ i love it!

another fun filled day at busch gardens:)

here is brian and presley waiting for the critter castaway show to begin. she is so tired but i wanted brian to see it as much as her because she loves it so. we got to sit in the perfect spot~ right where the birds fly over your head and scare the crap out of you.

presley loved it of course~ the kid has no fear. 

doesn't my husband look like such a stud in this picture? i wish i could have gotten a picture of him freaking out over the bird flying right over his head. pres took a 3 hour nap after this adventure. i think we did too:) i don't know what we will do when her little brother gets here. i hope i am still able to take her out and have as much fun. 

don't wash cardboard!

i have washed money, loose change, golf pegs, business cards and even gum. but this was a first for me. my wonderful mother in law bought presley an anywhere chair for christmas last year and presley loves it. she sits in it every day. she eats and drinks and climbs all over it. it has her name on it. it is hers. any other kids that come over that sit in her chair are immediately removed by the princess herself.

so, being the great and powerful mom/wizard  that i am i thought it was time to wash it. i could only look at the stains for sooo long. anyway, i took out all the cushions from the chair and unzipped the zippers and coverings and put the chair cover in the wash with my cheer colorguard so it wouldn't fade. apparently, i didn't see a piece of cardboard that was in the back of the chair cover and this is what happens when you wash cardboard. 

ughh!!! imagine being 8 months pregnant and bending over for what seemed like an eternity getting all the pieces of cardboard out of the washing machine. it took me 3 more washes to get all of the pieces out finally. lesson learned. no more cardboard in the washing machine. i still have pieces stuck to some of brian's socks and our towels. let's just say it will be a long time before that chair gets washed again unless stains take over and well, at least the cardboard is gone already:)