low baby! preparing - and please try these cookies!

wow this baby girl is a low-rider.  i find myself reaching down to hoist up my belly and with 13 weeks til the due date, my belly will probably be down to my knees oh dear. petey was low but she is  really really low!  wonder if that means she'll be early. please-oh-please be early so daddy can meet you, sweet lady bug!  anyway, other than riding low in my belly, she is quite busy. i feel her moving so much more often than i felt petey. i'm not sure if its because she is more active or because my core isn't as strong as it was with petey or what - but it sure is fun. nothing painful, no jabs, no taking away my breath- just business that makes me smile.  i'm really excited to shift gears in a week or so and get her room all dolled up!  going to take care of all the bedding at home with the help of my mom and grandma - i am all about team projects when it comes to sewing!  its only mid-february but may is going to be here in the blink of an eye. its hard for me to fathom really, if i'm honest with myself, that she'll be here SO wonderfully soon. i'll be cuddling her close to me in no time at all! how lucky i am.

we've been lucky to enjoy perfect weather since the weekend, shorts and t-shirts and as much outside time as we can handle.  its heavenly - not sure how we feel about voluntarily going to the midwest next week but are very excited to see our families!  daddy is busy packing tonight for his training trip so its nice to have our trip home on the horizon, it'll make his month-long trip to the desert go by much more quickly.

some new things petey is loving lately:
grapes
corndogs
feeding himself
using a fork sometimes
dipping everything he can in some sort of sauce
going down slides
walking barefoot outside
giving kisses
hearing mommy sing the itsy bitsy spider and adding his version of hand motions
being tickled 
brushing his teeth
putting his shapes into the correct holes of the box lid (with help)
putting his stacking rings back on the pole (unassisted)
riding in the wagon
climbing up into big people chairs and his high chair all by himself and then looking at at the world with a big grin on his face
banging things into other things to make a glorious noise
putting laundry into the laundry basket. no matter if its clean or dirty
pushing the garage door button when we come back from walking the dog
immitating: dogs, crows, morning doves, leaf blowers, baxter's wierd growling cough and most any noise i make
lifting up my shirt to show me where my belly button is and pushing it in like a doorbell
waving bye-bye and waving hello
going to great lengths to appropriately greet any dog he spies
playing with water - even if its 1 cm in the bottom of the watering can
running
dancing, but only to music with a really good beat - waving his arms around and stomping his feet!
he's been kissing/licking the ground in the backyard, whether its dirt, cement, mulch - its gross but he thinks its funny and he's learning about his environment. eek!
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i have to tell you about these amazing oatmeal raisin cookies......oh man are they wonderful.  i made them last night in my pre-reid-is-leaving-so-i-can't-sit-still-or-i'll-think-too-much-and-get-sad frenzy.  somehow after dinner i managed to make cookies, make a lasagna and work on taxes with reid's help. we both fell into bed in a big heap. but it kept my mind off of his departure and definitely helped whittle away at my to-do lists which are so wonderfully short now. anyway, the cookies are great - you must make them asap. i made them with raisins but the blog link above makes them with craisins. either way, the perfect amount of thick and wholesome and chewy and soft and sweet and the raisins and oatmeal make it feel like you are nibbling away with out a nutritional care in the world. :)