tutus & bows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that's right folks,
it's TUTUS & OBSCENELY LARGE HEAD BOWS for us!!!!!!
jenn, you KNOW i want one of those white hats with the gigantuous bow that lily has!
everything was happy, healthy, and wealthy inside my belly button.
we couldn't be MORE excited:-)
the ultrasound tech said she didn't get the 100% shot b/c miss modest in there kept her legs shut tightly, but the 99% shot showed us what we needed to know.
i told the tech i wasn't going to be the happiest camper if this baby came out with a penis after thinking it was a girl the entire time!
she laughed and said, don't worry, it's a girl.
we got to see a little 3-D face.
dainty and girly.
maybe someone will look like me now??!!
oh happy day, i couldn't be more excited!

trucks or tutus?

today is the BIG day.
we get to find out how everything is doing inside my belly button.
here's a WACKO theory i'm putting to the test on how to predict the gender of your next child....
are you ready for this??
you are supposed to look at your "previously born" child's head.
if the calic is dead center?
you will have a girl.
if it is off to the side at all...boy.
that calic is a little to the right if you ask me, but 3pm will tell.
will it be trucks?
or tutus?
click here to see a real live mama who swears by this theory!

SANTA!!! EMERGENCY!!!

DEAR SANTA,
i really want the BOB Revolution Duallie stroller, with the infant car seat accessory. in navy. please no gifts for birthday and christmas this year. CASH ONLY. so i can get it:-) i would be willing to forfeit future birthday and christmas gifts, if needed. please feel free to let my family and friends know.
with love,
emily
(your favorite little helper elf)
**yes, santa does december birthday shopping b/c we are EXTRA special birthdays.**
p.s.
i was the one who birthed a 9.4lb baby 19 months ago, and am currently gestating a possible 9 pounder again. have mercy on me for this, if nothing else. also, i breastfed that 9.4lb baby for an entire 13 months. oh, and i've been REALLY patient and loving lately. AND i cleaned my bathroom tub until it sparkled.

PHO and TEA.

i woke up this morning, still arguing with my throat about the condition it has allowed itself to be in for over a week now.
sore.
hurt.
i don't want anything rough going down these tubes.
i do, but my throat doesn't.
it wants tea.
so i'm drinking tea.
mint green tea, with honey to be exact.
how much tea is too much tea?
i may find out today.
BE GONE SORE THROAT!!!
be gone.
Vietnamese "pho" is on the menu for tonight (pronounced "fuh").
it cures all of life's woes.
and no, i'm not making it.
i'm buying it.
cooking is not fun with a sore throat either.
see what i mean?
it's almost oct 1st and my pumpkin puree sits lonely and in cellophane.
this must change.
tea.
i'll just drink tea.

bisquick

over some unusually thick pancakes this morning, we discussed a serious topic.
why is manny not married?
handy manny.
it's been sean's favorite show for a good 6 months now.
he's a single, attractive young man, with integrity, a positive attitude, and a thriving business.
and yet, there seem to be no callers.
TAMN should be notified immediately for her next MO' Matchelor.
i think brennan just said "alligator."
i have witnesses.
and what is up with the bisquick mix?
thick like biscuits i say.
very filling and quite tasty, but they claim one batch makes 14.
we got 6 out of our batch.
does that mean i ate 2?
the things wouldn't spread out.
we laid 'em out on the flapjack flipper
(the big long black thing we got from our wedding. did you get one too? we love ours.)
and they laid there like big tasty biscuits.
which would be fine, except we thought we were making pancakes.
i've scoured the box at least 3 times with only a few distractions.
no luck.
we seem to have followed the directions for "pancakes."
i still feel like i ate butter smeared, syrup covered, biscuits for breakfast...
and they were really good.

"jest" jinxed me

score
scout master: 198
em: 168
...
please direct your attention to the upper right hand corner.
specifically the word "jest."

i put that "J" down, secretly hoping i would draw an "N."
5 plays i waited.
i even gave up a turn to trade in some letters in the hopes of getting my beloved letter "N."
finally, my moment of glory came!
two "N's"!!!
just in time for the scout master to say,
"is 'jest' a word?"
"no, of course it's not," i replied.
guilt looming in my chest, "look it up to be sure though."
"3 results!" he said.
sigh.
"please, please don't use it babe," i beg.
"why not?" he replies.
"b/c i don't want you to. i didn't even think you new my little 'J' was up there."
"how many points is your word worth?" says the scout master.
"a lot."
"more than my 'quasi'?" he asks.
guilt is mounting more, realizing that if he does give in i won't have full bragging rights to the
78 point word "jinx"
i'd been waiting to play.
did i mention i had been waiting for 5 rounds for the letter "N"?
so i told him to play his measly "jest."
"jest"-noun; a joke or witty remark.
his 57 point "jest," along with his 48 point "quasi" led him to victory.
and me to the land of sore loser ville.
yup, i whined and moaned for a good 10 minutes over the entire ordeal.
78 points!
have you ever heard of a word worth 78 points?!
me neither.
and i still haven't.
but i've never seen the scout master so proud of himself for winning a game.
that's worth way more than 78 points.
did i mention it was his first time playing?
ever?!
i know. amazing.
just like him.

for holiday spirit only

any excuse to be festive.
ok, pull my arm, i'll eat them.
for holiday spirit only of course;-)

flawed

me, age 3?

when i had brennan i told my dad i never knew i could love something so much.
he smiled and said, "and now he's going to break your heart."
i didn't like the sound of that.
i read this post this morning.
it reminded me of all of the pregnant nostalgia i had while carrying brennan.
he was going to be the perfect little person.
my quest to become unperfect is for another day.
he would have NONE of my flaws b/c i was going to teach him how to avoid all of them;-)
yesterday he played with his girlfriend down the street.
she brought out her baby stroller with a big smile on her face.
brennan walked right up, grabbed the stroller, and took off.
i looked at my friend, "he's a dominant little one."
she said, "she's not."
we smiled.
"oh no," i thought. "is he going to be the bossy, controlling kid like i was?"
i think i said the last part out loud b/c my friend said,
"you had to have the friends that were the followers didn't you?"
"yes, i liked those kind the best."
i thought i'd hidden this so well!
from everyone.
from brennan.
guess not.
oh, how i wish i could have been the follower as a child!
but then i'm wishing i'm something i'm not, and that can't be good.
so here's my question.
do i keep trying to fix this part of me that i don't particularly enjoy, or do i just accept it b/c trying to fix it has obviously not made much progress?

babies.

babies.
there are new babies at our zoo.
we went yesterday.
the elephant was the cutest.
romping around his mommy and rolling in the mud.
i'm getting so excited for our new baby.
and scared to death, but that's for another day.
i had a dream last night that we were having a boy.
the night before my ultrasound with brennan i dreamt i was having a boy.
we'll see one week from today if i have some sort of futuristic vision;-).
i looked at my baby yesterday and realized that he is a full blown toddler.
a really darling one too.
and then i looked at my sister in law and told her it was a good thing i was pregnant.
we needed babies around.
and toddlers too;-)
teenagers...i'm not so sure yet...
giraffes, tigers, meercats.
and a monkey i didn't snap a picture of.
is that some kind of record for babies at a zoo?

scout master's wife

we've been getting ready for our primary singing program at church for months.
they children are singing a version of "follow the prophet" that they helped make up the words to.
there's one line that says, "he's a loyal scout."
being the scout master's wife, i thought it would be "oh so cute" to have them hold up 2 fingers, like the scouts do at their meetings when they say their "stuff."
except it's supposed to be 3 fingers.
3.
so all of the primary children have practiced with 2 fingers.
won't that be so cute?!
sigh.
now i want to know what the other 15 adults were thinking when i was teaching this 2 finger thing?
someone had to know i was doing it wrong.
so embarrassing...
sigh.
guess i'll try to teach them 3 fingers before the big show this sunday.
the scout master had a grand old laugh over this entire thing...