How to make a Party Hat

I'm a total DIY freak.

Ask Josh, our bank account, and our local Michael's cashiers. I'm actually shocked they don't know my name yet.
Anyway, as Ab's birthday approached, I totally wanted to make a birthday hat for her. And not because store-bought ones are bad, I just love making things! So i found a few sites on Pinterest showing how to make a party hat. AND I had some coupons to Joann's Fabric and Michael's....it was basically the glory of God speaking to me, "Go spend money."
It was that pesky little devil on my shoulder.
So I did!

STEP 1:

Stapler
Rope for the bottom (optional)
Elastic to hold the hat up
Glue gun
Elmer's Adhesive Spray ($4 @ Michael's)
Scissors
Fabric
Party Hat Template
Cardboard (I used a cereal box)
Yarn
a silly baby (must-have)

click here for template! 

STEP 2: 

Use the template to cut out a cardboard template.
Use adhesive spray to stick the new template on the fabric. This spray is VERY sticky! So do it on top of something you don't mind getting ruined.
Hot glue the extra fabric around the template onto the back. (You'll see in next picture)

STEP 3:

Roll the cardboard so it forms a hat.
Use the glue gun to let it stick.
Take the elastic and measure how long you want it.
Use stapler to get it to stay in the hat. I also tie a knot at the end and hot glued it so that puppy wasn't going anywhere!
I used a little rope with pom poms to glue around the hat. Do whateva ya wanna do!


STEP 4:

I made a little pom-pom on top. Do whatever you like though :)

So while this is all going on, Abigail is playing in her room around me....and doing whatever she can to get to the hot glue gun. Seriously, how do children know what NOT to grab? She's brilliant.

I go grab some gold fish to manipulate her, because that's what mommy's do, ya know?

Okay great, it's working! She's staying away from the hot glue. I'll just carry on with my business.

5 seconds of not looking at her and I find this:

So I look at her and ask her why she's gone fishin'? 

And she looks at me with this:

She makes life so much more enjoyable.

Happy DIY'ing.

21 Weeks

Yesterday marks 21 whole weeks of havin a babe in my bell. Cool, huh :)

Look at this little guy! And that round belly is killing me.His profile looks so much like Abigail's when we had her ultrasound! I guess it's pretty easy for me to remember what hers looked like considering it was just a year ago...

Oh how life seems to keep us on our toes. :) 

So his ultrasound was so awesome! Pause: saying "his" is so neat! And of course they warn you "Don't go out buying al kinds of boy stuff, because I could be wrong..." Yeah, okay woman. Mama already got 8 outfits for the little guy. Anyway, we got to the hospital so eager to see him. Josh and I were so excited, because we hadn't got an ultrasound yet. So as the technician was thoroughly examining our baby boy (which we didn't know was a boy yet), I'm laying on the bed like a baby whale (I'll be a full-blown whale in just weeks to come, believe me) looking at one screen while Josh is behind the technician looking at her screen. She's making measurements and not saying a word to us. Josh and I are basically drooling over this baby that's growing in me and fascinated by the development already. So you hear Josh saying, "Oh I see an arm!" And a few seconds later I'm all, "Oh my gosh, is that the belly?!" And technician is all, "Hold on. I have to make accurate measurements and have a lot to look at, Amanda." 

OH NO SHE DIDN'T.

Maybe you didn't catch that.

"......Amanda."

She just used my full name. Granted she doesn't even know me, so she has no idea that I despise that name. (And to those of you reading this named Amanda, I still like you. I really do. I just don't like your name for me. But it sounds great for you!) 

So immediately my stomach sank....as much as a 20 week pregnant belly could sink....and josh and I made eye contact and basically shut our traps until she spoke to us. It made it a little less exciting. So at this point, I was really happy we decided to wait to find out the gender until after the appointment. I feel like if we were to have found out in the room, it would have been extremely awkward with no celebration at all.

Anyway, as she was accurately examining the babe, she asks if it's okay to jiggle my belly with the little ultrasound-doohicky in her hand to get [him] to stop moving so much. She was trying to get a picture of the profile of [his!!!] face. HE would not stop moving! I couldn't even feel anything in my belly though which was so weird! 

She made me get up off of the bed and dance around. Talk about shake-whatcha-momma-gave-ya. I had to wiggle so much to show him who's boss. Thank God cameras weren't allowed in the room. That would not have been a pretty site to get on video.

Ahhhhh, finally. a relaxed baby. It only took the Macarena to get him to settle down.

Then as we were walking out the door she said, "Oh, by the way. Your placenta is very low. Do you guys have all afternoon, or are you busy? I'd like for you to stay and talk with a doctor." So immediately I get nervous. So many things are running through my head.

We wait for about 10 minutes and I actually had to force myself not to think about what this could mean or I'd cry. I texted a few people to let them know what was going on, just so they would pray for us and our baby. We finally got called back and then had to wait in the room for about 5 more minutes for the doctor to actually talk with us. I had to throw my phone on the ground and not respond to any texts just because thinking about it scared me.

Good news is that the placenta usually fixes itself. Right now it's very low and on the edge of my cervix. If it doesn't pull itself away and ends up covering my cervix, I'll have to have a C-section. Which is fine! Whatever is best for our baby. I'm only allowed to walk, no other form of exercise until my check-up at 28 weeks. Soooo seven more long weeks to go! Good news again is that we get another ultrasound! 

"The baby looks great," she said so many times. So all in all, we're so happy! It's just a matter of being careful in what I do. 

We went home from the hospital and dropped our envelope off with our friend, Jenni who was making a piñata for us to reveal the gender. So only the doctor, Jenni, and her husband knew we were having a little boy...for like 20 hours! We found out the next day and I will admit, I got emotional when I saw the blue confetti flying out! 

Don't look at me. Look at Josh's face! He practically threw himself to the ground with a fist pump in the air once he realized he was getting a son.

So now we know, it's a boy! 

We finally decided on a name for Abigail's little brother. It was really fun choosing :) Now that we have his name picked out, we practice using it in sentences.

"_______, go clean your room!"
"_______, What did you just say to me?"
"Eat your vegetables, ________!"
"Stop hitting your sister, ________!"

:)

And that my friends, is the beauty of having a name picked out. Repeating it in sentences that you know you'll use.

How far along? 21 weeks

Symptoms: Migraines

Total weight gain/loss: +2.5 lbs as of a week ago

Sleep: I've been waking up to roll over 3 times a night. 

Food cravings:  I love making chicken-bacon-ranch pita sandwiches! And chips and hot salsa from Chipotle...of course.

Best moment of this week: seeing my belly move on the outside for the first time 

Movement: Every now and then. I can't wait for the more frequent kicks!

Labor signs: Naw, dawg.

Gender: BOYYYYYYY!

Belly button in or out?: In-a-button

What I miss: sleeping on my belly

What I am looking forward to: feeling him move more 

Milestones: He's the size of a carrot. He's progressed from bell pepper. :) Movin' his way up the veggie chart.

Weekly wisdom: Don't eat Burger King. 

Being pregnant with a toddler is so fun too. 

Abigail is so sweet too! I say, "Where's your brother?" and she crawls over and lifts my shirt up and kisses my belly. Every. Single. time.

 I get so thirsty during the day that I am absolutely desperate. I crave water all day. We were driving to lunch the other day and I just couldn't wait to get there. Josh looks over and says, "You've gotta be kidding me! You couldn't wait?!" Then he starts laughing.... I'm sure you're wondering why.

That's right people. I took Abigail's sippy cup and started drinking out of it. Now I say "started" because I sure as heck didn't finish. I wanted to spit it out. I asked Josh before we left to fill her cup up with water....He definitely did. But he also added a touch of apple juice.

was. not. what. I. expected. I guess that's what I get for stealing my one year old's drink. 

Ok, longest blog post eva.

Pool, out.