Pure cuteness

Since being on maternity leave, I have had a lot of time to spend with Annaliese. It's been both good and bad- I absolutely love spending time and hanging out with her; but, she has an endless amount of energy that leaves me absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. And she is content to do the same thing multiple times each day...like walk to see the horses. And I just don't really find that all that stimulating. However, she also does some incredibly cute and adorable things that make me SO glad that I have the opportunity to spend all this one-on-one time with her. 

Yes, her pants are on inside out and backwards...but she did it herself!

 This is the crazy hair she wakes up with on a daily basis!!

Baby Girl #2

Here we are, 35 weeks (ok, almost 36 now... it's taken me almost a week to finish writing this!) into this pregnancy, and I thought I would take a few moments to reflect on how the past nine months have been. This time around has definitely been different, both in how I've felt and how much it has influenced our lives and conversation. While we were definitely excited from day 1, Kyle and I were busy with life: with Annaliese, with selling a house and searching for a new one, with a less-than-ideal work situation. It sort of felt like this pregnancy was just happening. I had more nausea in the first trimester; it usually hit around dinnertime, just about when Kyle came home from work. I also found it to be very uncomfortable to run and even walk throughout the entire time. I don't know if that was because I was trying to run while pushing a stroller and keeping an unruly dog under control or if it was just because the baby was positioned differently, but the amount of exercise I've been able to do has been next to nothing. And we still don't have a name picked out. But at least we have an idea now.

Regardless, here we are. Just a few weeks away from welcoming this new little life into the world. We spent last weekend shopping for a few new items. Kyle will be painting a new dresser/changing table this weekend and I have pulled out the newborn clothes and sorted through them. It is becoming a reality and I am ready! Ready for this next stage in life. Ready to see how Annaliese adjusts to being a big sister. Ready to watch Kyle be the daddy to two little girls!

From fairly early on, Annaliese knew that there was a baby in my belly, not that she really knew what it meant. Now she asks to touch her, and when she feels the baby move, she giggles and says "It tickles." She will give it kisses and even wanted to read her a story the other day! She also knows that there are clothes for the baby, the baby has a bed, and a carseat. Again we will see how it all plays out once Baby Girl is actually here!

36 weeks (tomorrow)

 about 32 weeks

 about 27 weeks

 21 weeks

about 14 weeks

I had good intentions of documenting the baby bump during this pregnancy. I even have a folder in the "Pictures" category on my computer labeled "Baby Bump #2" but it only has one picture in it! Oh well!! 

The Barn

As mentioned earlier, we are currently renting an apartment in a barn, on some property that comes complete with horses, chickens, and a few ducks. While my parents were here for Christmas, they helped us organize it a bit and make room for Baby Gillette #2 who will be joining us in less than 6 weeks. I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of the place, just so we will be able to remember this stage in life, since we have no idea how long we are going to be here! So without further adieu, here is a tour of our home.

From the outside...the door to the right of my car is the 'back door.'

 Entering through the back door and up the stairs will bring you into the living room. It may be small, but we still made room for a Christmas tree!

Walking through the living room, you enter our bedroom. And yes, the only bathroom is in our room!

As you continue out of our room, you will enter the dining room and kitchen area. While there isn't much in the way of cupboard space, there was plenty of room to open up our table and accommodate 8 adults and 2 kiddos!

The door on the right side of this picture leads outside, onto our little landing. 

Also leading out of the dining room, to the right of the black bookshelf in the above picture, you enter into what has recently become Baby Gillette #2's room. The door in this room leads into Annaliese's room...pictures of that to come:)

 And here is Annaliese in her big girl bed...yes, she sleeps in a queen-sized bed, along with Tigger, Doggie, the cat, the penguin, her baby, and two blankies!

And that is our apartment! There is also a space downstairs where we have lots and lots of boxes stored, as well as our desk that is set up to be my 'craft-table.' I will start scrapbooking Annaliese's life before Baby #2 arrives!

 Up the stairs and to the right is the door that leads into the kitchen. 

Outside on the swingset with Grandma

I think I've mentioned before that there are horses, chickens, and ducks here on the property. Every day we take several walks outside to see the horses and to check if there are any eggs to collect. 

The horses...the black one is Armani and the brown one is Z.

Annaliese, checking out the chickens.

While I don't think we will be here long-term (there are just too many cats...Brodie has to stay locked up most of the time,) it is nice for the time being. It's definitely a bit of an adventure, but has been working out quite nicely while we figure out where we will be living next!

One of the cats...Kyle took the trash outside and Annaliese and I were in the living room. She walked to the kitchen and came back talking about the kitty. I told her she would need to wait until Daddy came back inside and then they could go look for the cat. She just kept saying, "kitty...meow. kitty meow." And then the cat walked into the living room! Apparently it snuck inside when Kyle walked out!

Merry Christmas...Part 2

The day after we got home from Grandpa and Grandma Gillette's house, Grandpa and Grandma H., Uncle Thane, Auntie Kim and Elias, and Uncle Ben and Auntie Kelsey showed up! Unfortunately, our current living situation doesn't have enough room for them to stay here with us, but Kyle's boss Jack graciously offered their guest house to my family and they were all able to stay there for several days. We were fortunate enough to have gorgeous weather (by that I mean temps in the 70's!) so there were lots of outdoor activities and hanging out at the beach!

On Friday, I dropped Annaliese off at the guest house and made a quick trip to the chiropractor. It's amazing how easy errands become without a toddler along!

 Grandpa and Annaliese playing outside

 Auntie Kim was braiding hair and Annaliese wouldn't do anything else until her hair was done too! I've never seen her sit so still:) 

 Auntie Kim carried Annaliese around to look at bugs and flowers

 Uncle Ben, soaking up the sun!

Snack time!

Friday evening we were back at our house and after dinner opened stockings. 

 Annaliese giving Auntie Kelsey a backrub

 Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Ben in the kitchen getting dinner ready...Thank you Grandpa Jay for the tamales!

Saturday morning, Kyle, Annaliese and I met up with Adam and Ashlie Feffer and their girls, and Russ, Jenn, and Holden for breakfast at the Custom House in Avila. I don't think I have any pictures, but it is becoming increasing more entertaining as the number of kids increases! It was good to catch up with everyone and after eating, we headed outside for some beach time. The rest of my family met us there and we played cornhole, chased the waves, and played with cups and spoons in the sand.

 Russ is holding Elea Feffer (4 months old) and Kyle is talking with Josephine (2 yrs old)

 Grandma, Elias, Annaliese, and Grandpa heading for the water!

 Holden (11 mon) just chillin' in the sand

After short naps for Elias and Annaliese, we had our Christmas celebration. There were lots of gifts for everyone and we again felt very blessed! Baking turned out to be a theme for the munchkins and Annaliese and Elias were both very excited to receive things like pots and pans, spatulas, and even a little mixer! Between Kim, Kelsey, and I, we picked the theme "On the Wall" so whatever gift we gave had to be something that could be hung up. Kim and Thane got us a really nice Christmas display; we gave Kelsey and Ben a fun new clock, and Kels and Ben had a pretty picture printed out for Kim and Thane.

Family photos by the Christmas tree

Sunday we opted to stay home from church, as Kyle, Annaliese and I have all been fighting a pretty nasty cold. The plan was to play some games, but the nice weather drew the guys outside for cornhole, Annaliese opted for a morning nap, and the girls headed to Michael's to see if we could find any good after-Christmas deals.

Annaliese wanted to take her picture on Grandma's phone, but when Grandma got it all ready, this is the face Annaliese gave her!

By Monday, Kyle was starting to feel better and headed to work; allergy medicine was helping Annaliese, and I was just miserable. Thankfully, I was able to get a hold of my OB and find a few cold/allergy meds that I could take. However, the morning was very rough and I sent Annaliese off to Avila Barn and the beach with the others while I stayed home and rested. I was able to make it off the couch for a bit of fresh air at the beach for a short time!

Kim, Thane, Ben, and Kelsey decided to head back to Washington Tuesday morning. It's about 19 hours of driving and they wanted to allow themselves plenty of time. Ben has to be back at work on Thursday so this way they can spend the night somewhere along the way. Mom and Dad stayed through the day though, and were so helpful around the apartment! Mom continued to clean and rearrange so that when Baby Gillette arrives in several weeks, she will have a place to go! Annaliese kept Grandpa busy watching the deer, feeding the horses, and checking to see if the chickens had laid eggs! She was worn out by the end of the day, so after she went to bed, we were able to hang out and play a few rounds of Qwirkle, which is the game I received from the Gillette Family Game Exchange.

 Waiting for Grandpa and Grandma to arrive...and doing somersaults over her toys:)

 She couldn't wait to go for a walk to see the 'goats' (which are really horses!)

 Dad, playing ball, with the neighbors dog

 Qwirkle...it was definitely a good pick...we've enjoyed playing it multiple times already!