Flower Middle Names

Ok, so for those of you who haven't noticed I sort of have a theme going on for the middle names of my girls... they're flowers! lol. Charity's middle name is Rose and Danielle's is Lilian (for the Lily). Well, I'm trying to come up with a good flower middle name for this little girl but I just can't seem to find the best one. Here is the list I've come up with so far:

Iris
Jasmine
Azalia
Celandine
Clover
Daffodil
Daisy
Fern
Gardenia
Lala - Bulgarian name meaning Tulip
Laleh - Persian name meaning Tulip
Dahlia
Nasrin - Persian name meaning Wild Rose
Marigold
Poppy
Larkin, for Larkspur...
Violet
Zinnia
Wisteria

Ok, so I know some of these are really out there but I think they're the best ones I've found. There are a LOT of names that are variations or names from another language that mean Rose or Lily but I don't need another Rose or Lily! lol, If you've got any suggestions, feel free to share!

I just have to add, that on one of the sites I just saw it mentioned that Rose was the flower for June so I figured I'd look up the flowers for their months and as odd as this worked out, though Charity was born in May, she was due in June. And then the flowers for May are Hawthorn or Lily of the Valley! I never realized before that their names match the months a bit. lol.... Hmmm.... for this baby though, October's flowers are Calendula or Cosmos, and September's flowers (if baby came early) are Aster or Morning Glory. I'm not sure if I care for any of those but we will have to see, that could be cute to keep it going that way...

A Busy Busy Day Yesterday!

So, Laura and family came up early for the family vacation so they could help Dad out with the house some. Yesterday on their way through they wanted to get together for lunch so the kids could get a chance to see each other. Aurora and Spencer were both super excited to get to see Charity.

So, we drove into Salt Lake and met up with them at Chuck E Cheese. Gave her kids a much needed play break! And of course Charity and Danielle LOVE Chuck E Cheese so they got double the fun with cousins! My friend Tiffany went with me and her two kids. I didn't manage to take any pictures this time though. :(

Danielle threw a fit at the beginning while everyone was playing before the pizza got there, and then wanted to play as soon as the pizza arrived! Tiffany ended up offering to take her off my hands after a little while so I could go eat pizza. (Thanks Tiff!) But at that point Danielle decided she wanted to eat so I got a few moments of peace and got to sit down and eat! The kids had lots and lots of fun and we got to leave with a lot of suckers! (Seriously, it's the number one prize my kids pick and since they're the "cheapest" prize we can get them each atleast a few! lol) Charity had so much fun running around with Aurora too.

The problem with meeting up at Chuck E Cheese? It's great for the kids to play, but is terrible at adults getting to visit with each other, especially when we've all got small kids we have to chase around! So I didn't get to talk to Laura or Tiffany as much as I'd have liked!

Then I had to race home to go to my 24-week Prenatal Appointment. Yup, can you believe that I'm 24 weeks already! I've got 3 1/2 months or less to go! WOW, how the time flies! Everything looks good, which is always great to hear! But especially right before you're planning on travelling! lol. I was surprised, she was going to have me back in 2 weeks, but was going to be out of town that week so is having me come in 3 weeks. But I didn't think I was quite that far yet! I thought the every 2 weeks would start around 30-32 weeks or so. That's fine with me though. So, I got a doctor's appointment about a week before we leave for our trip, and I'll have another one the week after we get back! lol. Funny that I'm going out of town the same time as my OB!

And then, as if that wasn't enough for me to do in one day, right? there was a Relief Society Activity last night. It was a service project one and I have to admit I was really bad and just sat and visited instead of helping but I soooo needed the adult interaction away from the girls! It's been a long long week with Dennis working so late each night. Then I got to come home and go to bed early! Ok, so I actually just crashed early but that was needed to, lol. Except I'm still exhausted this morning so I might have to crash early tonight as well. Dennis had to work today and I still have lots of stuff to do to get ready for our trip! More on that later!

Father's Day Weekend

We'd promised Dennis' family we would visit during June and I figured that camping would be a lot of fun when we went down. We thought about going the weekend of the 12th since our Ward was having an activity on the 18th and this next weekend would be our last weekend before our big trip but that weekend ended up to have terrible weather so we put it off to Father's Day Weekend. I was a bit sad to miss the ward party (I heard it was a LOT of fun!) but we had a good time and the girls really enjoyed it. Though I think Dusty might have had more fun then the rest of us! I don't think he knew what to do with nature, lol.

Dennis' dad went camping with us and though we had bought him a game for Father's Day he said the best Father's Day present he got was to get to go camping :) The only problem for us, it didn't last nearly long enough! We'd have liked to stay one more day but needed to get back for church. We figure that since we're going to need a sub for 2 weeks we should be there that Sunday. Which reminds me, I really need to get on that whole finding a sub thing...

But as for the camping trip. It was lots of fun! The girls got extremely dirty, loved roasting marshmellows (and eating them too!) and going for walks in the woods. It really was an enjoyable weekend and I look forward to getting to go again in the near future! We're hoping to go camping at least once a month this summer!

Baby Bedding

So, I can't believe I never posted this before now! But we ended up going with the Pink Teddy Bear bedding by JoJo Designs. We found a great deal on ebay and it was much cheaper than if we'd bought the material and sewed it! And with the chocolate brown and the pink I think it's going to look so cute in that room! Yay! It came in the mail on Monday I'm so excited! Except, it's way too early to put the crib up, lol. Hopefully after our trip we'll atleast get some wall hangings and the curtains up. I doubt there will be time before then to do any of that. Here's a picture of the bedding:

The set we got includes the bed skirt, sheet, bumpers, blanket, pillow, wall hanging/pocket thing, diaper stacker, and 2 valances. I'm considering get the 3 square wall hangings and the curtains but don't know yet since the cheapest I've found the wall hangins is $25 and the curtains for $45. Ouch... So, we'll see. But I LOVE it. It's even cuter than it looks in the picture!

To Buy or to Sew

Ok, So I've already posted about the bedding sets that I've found and liked. But do I really want to spend that much money? Or should I just buy some material and sew it all myself? (Or have Mom sew it, though I may help this time :) I just don't know! But here is what I'm thinking of if I decided to sew a bedding set for this baby:

Either do something like the Classics Collection one from JC Penny (that is really pretty) with just Pinks and Browns

or

Use this material: It's Blossom Bear, Blue Jean Teddy's sister. A very popular material from several, several years ago (I spent all morning looking for it, got frustrated, posted about it on facebook, gave up, and then had a friend find the material within minutes! lol)



And then include some dark brown (remember the room is paintd with a tan and a dark brown) and then some pink gingham that matches the checkerboard pattern. Would brown really match though? Laura says it woul since Brown is a neutral color but I'm not convinced yet.

My friend has a little bit of this material that she's using to make me a car seat cover for winter time (goes over the car seat to keep the wind out) and I might have to see if I can borrow it to take it to the store or something to hold it next to a chocolatey brown color to see if it really would work. I think it might clash with the brown on the bear but I'm not sure.... Thoughts?

Oh, and I figured I'd mention I can find the JoJo Pink Bears one on ebay for the same or less than what it would cost me to buy the material to make my own of either of the others...

Bedding Sets I Like!

So, the baby's room is painted a tan and a dark brown/chocolate color. So, I figured if it was a boy we'd add some blue and if it was a girl we'd add some pink. It helps that brown and pink are really in right now :) In addition to the colors, we've been given a lot of bear decoration stuff the last few years so that room also has bear stuff in it. So, her theme is bears with the main colors brown and pink :)

There are a LOT of cute bear bedding sets and pink and brown bedding sets but here are some of my favorites from what I've found!

Nursery To-Go Pretty in Pink

Classics Collection

Nursery To-Go Chocolate Delight Pink

Madison Avenue Baby Bedding

Jo Jo Designs Pink Teddy Bear Collection (probably my favorite!)

Pam Grace Creations, Baby Bear

Sugar Cookie Baby Crib Bedding Set

So, what ones do you like?

On a side note, anyone need a duck/animal bedding set? I've got the one that Mom made when I was pregnant with Charity and while I still LOVE it. It's not getting any use right now and who knows if we'd get the chance again or when. So, if someone is interested, let me know. Hmmmm, maybe I'd better check with Dennis first though :) lol.

Baby Shopping Fun!

So this morning we went yard saling and one of the main things I was looking for was stuff for baby girl! Dennis wanted to know why I kept looking at baby clothes since we should have plenty and I had to tell him that since we had 2 May babies, an October baby requires a little bit of warmer clothes! The girls practically lived in onesies where that won't be quite enough for this baby! So, I got inspired tonight to get on babies r us to create a registry. Just for the fun of it and to keep track of what it is we actually need. (Plus I heard that they give you a 10% discount off anything on your registry after the baby's born that no one bought for you)

So, I figured I'd include my list here. I'm not going to post my registry information simply because it includes our full name and address and such. But here's a list of the things we need for this baby girl:

Swing, we did have one but loaned it out
Baby Monitor, I'd like one with dual receivers, the one we had got worn out so we need a new one.
Activity Gym/Playmat, we didn't have one with either of the girls but I thought they looked fun
Pink/Brown crib sheets, the bedroom is painted tan and a dark/chocolate brown so I'm adding some pink to make it girly :)
Carseat, I realized the one we bought when we had Charity will hit it's expiration next May, the baby will only be 6 months old, so looking for a new infat carseat
Bedding Set, Something brown and pink. I've found several I really like, but ofcourse even the cheap ones cost a bit of money but I don't think I want to put Mom through making everything for me this time since she's got so much going on. I don't know what we'll do, though!
Moby Wrap, I love my ring sling but I'd love to try out one of these this time!
Bathtime stuff like Johnson's Baby Wash and such, I just love that stuff!
Hooded Bath Towels, I have 2 but it never seems like that's enough (especially when the girls are fighting over them! Although really, those are getting way to small for Charity! My tiny Danielle can still use them but I prefer a more substantial towel for even her, lol.
Baby Gate, one with a built in gate so you don't have to try to climb over it
Winter Clothes, after 2 spring baby girls, we're having a fall baby girl, requires a different wardrobe!
Moses Basket, I would LOVE to have one of those!
Crib Pads, I never got these before but I think they could be useful!
Diaper Bag, I don't really NEED a new diaper bag, but I've had the current one since around the time Danielle was born and I'm ready for a change!

Broken down into a list, it doesn't seem like that much stuff but why on earth does it feel so daunting! lol. I'm not sure of what else we actually need (and I know, some of those are wishes and not a need!) but I figure it's good to keep track of those things. I'm all about lists lately, lol. I'll probably do another post later tonight or tomorrow or sometime soon with some links to some of the beddng sets I found that I like. There is a lot of cute stuff out there!

Fun Memorial Day Weekend

Our weekend started out with Grandma and Grandpa H coming to visit. Then on Saturday we headed out to A Day Out With Thomas. The girls had so much fun! They had a lot of extra stuff set up so in addition to the train ride, they got to play with some wooden trains, watch a Thomas movie, meet Sir Topham Hat, play with musical instruments, and win prizes. Overall, it was a really fun day! If not a long one!

Dad got steaks for us to have after church on Sunday, and they were yummy! Then that night, Dennis and I ran away for a night alone! We went into Salt Lake and stayed at the Anniversary Inn (we love their rooms!). It was really nice to be able to get out for a night by ourselves. Then on Monday (Memorial Day!) we went to lunch at Tucanos (Yay for another free birthday meal!). It was yummy of course. And then we stopped at a chocolate shop for a treat! Yay!

Spent the rest of Monday night with the girls just hanging out and having fun. Though, Danielle didn't have a nap that day and crashed around 6:30. Luckily she was out for the night! And then after dinner Charity went shopping with Daddy so I got a little bit of free time to do laundry and finsh watching Sherlock Holmes (I fell asleep Sunday night while we were watching it, lol). Fun Fun! Now back on to normal life for another month until our next big adventure is planned! I can't wait!

Oh, and we're going to try to go camping sometime this month but when June starts out in the 50s, is there much hope? lol.