Change of plans...

A few weeks ago, I got a great idea to take Ursula to the mall to the Build A Bear Workshop. When we got to the mall, however, they were having a Read Across America night with lots of local news achors reading to kids in the middle of the mall and there were some fun characters there as well. The Cat in the Hat was there and Ursula's personal favorite, the Auntie Anne Pretzel guy was also circling around. Much to my surprise, Ursula soooo preferred the pretzel man to making any type of bear, cat, dog, whatever...even after I went through the entire stock with her 3 or 10 times (I guess I'm the one who really wants to make a bear). Ursula did make out with a little heart (the ones that go inside the bears) and some stickers from the bear shop, a few books, a group of balloons and plenty of stalking time, of the pretzel man, I mean, and after a few hours, she was pooped and ready for bed....and we didn't even spend any money! I guess I still have to learn a few things about what an almost 2 year old is really interested in :)

The first meeting....
Hey, where are you going???
Sneaking up behind him...
A high-five for the Cat in the Hat...
Ursula is now starting to be very opinionated about certain things...she likes to tell me things she'd like to wear, like, hats, bows, sunglasses, etc. As soon as we put one of these things on her, she says, with a wave of her finger... "doh, doh, doh" which stands for don't touch, or don't take off. She would always have a habit of leaving these types of items on for about a nanosecond, which does not make Mommy very happy.
Another thing she likes to do now is help with anything and everything. She empties her garbage can in her bedroom about 3 times a day (even if there is only one small thing in there) and loves to pick up "yuck, yuck", which is anything that goes in the garbage like dust bunnies (and with 6 pets, this keeps her very busy!). She is starting to want to help me with anything in the kitchen, such as making meals, putting dishes away, groceries, you name it. I actually love the help, she's really quite organized, but right now, it is wearing on my back to constantly pick up a 20 pounder just to press the buttons on the microwave. I might have to invest in a step stool :)
She has recently begun to climb on everything...she can scale the dining chairs in less than a second and for awhile I was moving any item she wasn't supposed to have to the middle of the table until the other day I found her on all fours crawling across the table to get to them :( She is totally fearless and is very trusting which that combination, I'm afraid, is going to lead to many bumps and bruises.
Anyway, here is a pic of her in her pretty headband that we bought for her in Guatemala, made from worry dolls. She wanted to wear it the other day and was so proud to show it off...(Doesn't she look so big? Where did my little girl go???)

So onto baby sister's update...Not much to mention, everything is going well, I have another check up next week and this Friday will mark the start of my 30th week...can you believe how fast it's going??? I know I can't! I was thinking the other day the we are into March already and that May comes right after April (I know, I have been called a genius!) but seriously, it's only two months away!!!
Steve has decided now that he really likes one of the names I had picked originally (perfect timing, I know), so we are still considering that one also. We are keeping both in the running and might wait until we see her to see which one suits her more.
I have been shopping quite a lot, now that I have the time to, and have been picking up a lot of the things I need for a newborn, since we never needed these items previously. I think I'm pretty prepared, I guess I'll see how it goes after she's here :)
Last week we started our Prepared Childbirth classes and have 5 more to go. Steve really enjoyed it and is looking forward to taking the rest....I'll give a status update after we get into the graphic parts, I believe his enthusiasm will change :) Steve is going to be in the room with me, of course, and my friend Tina along with my doula will be my support system throughout the labor and delivery. My only apprehension right now is the fact that I am having some major back issues lately...the baby has been putting pressure on my sciatic nerve and there are times that I can barely walk :( I am feeling pretty good otherwise, but that really can make a good day turn bad very quickly. I'm a little concerned how that might affect labor, but I am keeping all of my options open in case things don't go the way I'd like.
That's about it for now...I'll update this weekend with a fun little surprise post! Stay tuned!