Lukeless in San Antonio

Starting on Mother's Day, Luke left me for two weeks. Technically, 13ish days, but still. It was far, far too long. Living by Fort Sam Houston, I have met lots of military families and I know that almost all of them have been split up for months on end with deployments and trainings and are much cooler about it than I was. I have no excuse. I'm a lame-o. Two weeks without Luke and without a job would have meant nonstop Netflix and Harry Potter were it not for Ivy. She is an easygoing little fellow (?) but I don't think I could really just pour some cheerios in her crib and expect to be able to be completely self indulgent in peace.

So I decided that we would spend the first week of our girl time in Dallas where my brother and his family live. What a great choice. Seriously. We dropped Luke off at the airport at around noon and then headed straight out. It's a four hour drive and I'll be honest, I was pretty nervous. It's a straight shot, which is good, but babies make for unpredictable carfellows (??) Happily, Ivy slept for about two hours and then woke up mostly too disoriented to be sad. 

We had such a fun week! We went to the park, to the Perot Museum of Science and Nature (twice!), to the zoo, to Ikea (which I have been sorely missing, since the nearest one to us is outside of Austin), and even hit up some awesome yard sales before we headed back to San Antonio. 

 Julia loved Ivy so much. She would follow her around saying "No, no, no Ibee" in this sweet little voice. 

The Perot Museum had a section just for little kids, and Ivy loved it. Especially drinking the water out of the activity pool.

Look at those cute sweaters from the yard sale! If only it weren't 90 degrees here...

And that happy face is Ivy eating a french fry at Wendy's on our way home. I was so glad we made it. 

But wait! There's more! Returning to San Antone (as we locals call it, maybe) we still had a week to kill. So we made some fun plans with our friends and watched lots of shows. 

Ivy's first splash pad. She loved it. 

Not as much love for her sun hat. Oh well. 

Story time at the library was cancelled, which meant a significantly ritzier story time at Barnes & Noble. 

We swam at our apartment complex and took quite a few walks. Ivy is never without a rock or two during these jaunts. Because you never know. 

We visited the San Antonio Children's Museum, which involved driving and parking downtown, which involved me hyperventilating a little bit. But totally worth it. 

This picture is lame. I just took it to show my mom our new comforter, but I'm pretty happy with the whole ensemble. I got a down comforter and duvet cover and that reddish pillow at Ikea and the wall decor and yellow blanket at Target. I make my bed every day now because I like to see it looking so cheery. 

Luke got home on Friday night late and all was right in the world. I missed him like crazy. All of those things would have been so much more fun if he were there (well, except the yard sales. My brother, Nick, was a much better yard sale companion.) Our awesome friends watched Ivy for us and we saw a movie yesterday and felt all giddy, like we were dating again, but with more making out. Just kidding. Ha. 

ALSO: I am 25 weeks along!  Which means that new baby Bangerter will be here in just 15 weeks or so. Can you even wait to see what our little Ivy 2.0 will look like? We can't either.

For Those Days When Your Newsfeed Just Doesn't Give You Enough Ivy

I probably post about 1/8th (I'm not sure if that "th" was superfluous) as many pictures of Ivy as I want to on Facebook. I'll be honest, I'm glad that I have people who post too many pictures of their babies because I feel like I have a firm grasp on what that is. Which is not to say that I am not sometimes guilty. Like when a holiday happens to occur right before Ivy does something cute and then I'm like "post two days in a row or...what?" This never happened to me pre-baby. I have never created anything nearly as impressive.

And once babies become real people, they move around all the time. I can't capture stuff like I want to and Ivy is always more interested in grabbing my phone or camera than she is in doing whatever cute thing she was doing in the first place.

So last week, I decided to take our camera along on one of our bi-weekly trips to the library. One of my favorite things about our apartment, which I'm sure I already mentioned, is its proximity to the library. I have been consuming books for the last 6 months and I don't plan on that letting up any time soon. If you have any good recommendations, I would love to hear them.

So here's a slew of pictures from a day in the life of me and the Ives:

Even though she doesn't look like me, people have stopped asking me if she's my baby. Which is a relief, because it was weird when they did that. I have decided that it's because we are very companionable. She looks at me and I look at her and we have a pretty good idea of just how much we need each other.

But with everything I have given her - food, clothes, attention, way too many library books per visit - I know that we are a mere 18ish weeks from giving her the best thing in the world. A sister. A companion. A confidante, friend, and ally. Someday when we are not the best of friends, I am comforted by the idea that she might still confide in her sister, who loves her just as much. If we can't live close to each other, maybe they will be roommates.

OR maybe I'm just being a ridiculous sentimental pregnant mess. You be the judge.

Two Little Girls

 On Tuesday, Luke and I went in for my 20 week ultrasound. I am so proud of myself for waiting until 20 weeks to find out what we were having. I found an ultrasound studio here in San Antonio that does it at 14 weeks for $75, and for a while I wouldn't stop suggesting that we do that every time Luke asked what I wanted to do for date night. But the reality is that this pregnancy had gone much faster than my first one and I kind of forgot about it. Is that terrible to admit?

The lady who did our ultrasound was so nice and thorough. She did the gender first, and I was thrilled to learn that we are having ANOTHER GIRL! As soon as it really hit me, I just thought, "Yes. Of course we are." I can't explain it, but I could see it. Two little sisters sitting in a double stroller, two little girls sitting up on the bathroom counter while I do their hair for church, Ivy and her sister laughing and screaming as Luke chases them up to bed. I don't know what this new little girl will be like, but I know she belongs with us.

Among other things I have neglected to blog about, Ivy turned one last month.

She is such a lively, scrawny little one year old. Here are her stats (but none of that weight and length nonsense. Ivy hasn't found it necessary to grace the charts with her presence):

-She loves mandarin oranges, blueberries, blackberries, and (I admit it) top ramen.

-She's a slow, meticulous eater.

-She is very vocal in some language that we are unable to decipher and she loves to mimic and to laugh with us.

-She can say "dog" and makes an "ah ah ah" sound whenever she sees one, which is supposed to be barking.

-She has three teeth, two on the bottom and one on top.

-When I tell her no, she smiles and shakes her finger at me.

-She had thick, ridiculous hair that she lets me play with on a limited basis.

-She loves to do FaceTime with her aunt Kristen, who sometimes plays special songs just for her.

-She loves stupid Yo Gabba Gabba and likes Baby Einstein

In the last few days, I have found myself cuddling with her for just a little longer than I need to before putting her in bed, or in the mornings, bringing her into my bed with me so we can wake up near each other. She doesn't know how much her life is about to change, and I am simultaneously thrilled and a little sad for her. She is probably too young to care about not being the youngest at home (they will be about 17 months apart) but she will never be the youngest again. I wonder if I will feel this way with all of my kids - mourn a little for their displacement.

This is me right before my 20 week appointment. Halfway through!

We went to the zoo yesterday. Can you believe this hippo?!

Waiting for Dad to get home. 

And that's pretty much it. Ivy is taking little, cautious steps on her tiny legs, but we haven't been able to capture it on video. I told Luke that I don't mind that she isn't walking yet, but if she doesn't learn by the time the new baby comes, I'm putting wheels on her. I will not carry two babies. Unless I want to. And let's be honest - I'll probably want to. 

The Best Family Pictures

There are two elements that make these pictures especially important to me, beyond the obvious fact that they are pictures of me with my two favorite people. The first is that this place is beautiful beyond words and I spent a good portion of my younger childhood here. It is the home of my friend Gretha, who I first met in her capacity as my nursery leader at church, and who I rekindled my friendship with when I came down to BYU for school.

Imagine as a child having a neighbor who had a pool, a pony and cart, a cottage filled with vintage toys and tea sets that you were ALLOWED TO TOUCH, a flower garden that rivals anything that Mary Lennox ever found, and the biggest hammock you've ever seen. Now imagine that that neighbor was like quintessential grandmother - making delicious things, taking the time to appreciate any specimen you wanted to show her, and letting you play dress up and have tea parties any old time you wanted.

That is who Gretha was, and who she still is, though Peppy the pony has since passed on. In the months before I left Utah, I went to her house almost weekly. We made applesauce, canned pears, picked blackberries, made fresh spearmint tea, watched Christmas movies, and sometimes we did nothing at all.

So that is the first thing. The second reason that these pictures are the best is the photographer. When I got married, I had arranged for a guy in my ward with a knack for photography to take my pictures. About a month before my wedding, he got a great job in New York and was no longer available. I was pretty worried about it, especially because my photography budget was pretty much set in stone by that point, and it was tiny. Then I remembered a guy my friends had recommended, and I wrote him an email a desperate plea for help. And guys. He saved the day. Not only did he take all of our temple and reception pictures for a mere pittance, he did an amazing job. And he's such a nice person and great to work with. So I instantly thought of him when I decided to get some family pictures taken before our move.

So, here are just a few of our favorites. For the setting, all the credit goes to a dear lady who loves to beautify her house and yard. For the shots, there is no one better than Chad Keyes.

This is the cottage, full of tiny, special things. Not the least of which is Ivy.

The entrance to the garden, which was sadly not in bloom, it being November and all.

These are from her pear orchard, where we picked pears and canned them last year.

This is by the stable where Peppy used to live. 

Camping on The Beach

In much the same way that Girl's Camp inspired me to write in my journal for that one week out of the year, trips inspire me to blog. I guess it's because I find it hard to believe that anyone wants to read about my normal life and would rather hear about my adventures and my great tan. The other day, I announced on Facebook that we are expecting again, somewhere around September 5th. I am really excited. I get to find out the gender next month.

It feels very different this time around, in every way. I am not nearly as sick, no gallstones, heartburn, less emotional. Which is why I was sure it had to be a boy this time. But a lady at story time at the library told me her second pregnancy was the same way and it was another girl. I would love another girl. Two little girls. But I still have this feeling like it's a boy, and so does Luke. We were right last time. So who knows.

We just got back from camping in Saint Joseph's Peninsula State Park in Florida. It was so much fun! I took Ivy to the beach for the first time and enjoyed the hot showers, real toilets, and electricity provided. I'm not a hardcore camper, and this vacation had all the essentials. I haven't been to Florida since I was little, living in Georgia, and it's beautiful. Nadine and I were brave and drove the 13+ hours by ourselves with 5 little kids, giving us a couple of extra days before the menfolk could come. It went pretty well, but all 7 of us were so ready to hit the beach by the end of that drive.

So Eric and Andy arrived Monday afternoon, Nadine and I on Tuesday, Kristen and Gavin on Wednesday, and Nick and Luke pulled in on Thursday morning. Tragedy struck on Thursday, though, when Eric and Andy's adorable little May (three years old) tripped and fell into the fire pit, badly burning her left palm. They rushed her to the nearest hospital, which wasn't far at all, but we were shocked to learn that they were not equipped to handle burns and recommended that she be taken as soon as possible to the nearest burn center in Augusta, GA - 7 hours away. We had just barely completed our numbers, and now it looked like Eric and Andy would have to leave. Eric decided to rent a car and take May to Augusta, giving Andy and the girls more time with us. It was so sad for May and for Eric, but I am so so glad thee rest of the girls stayed. Friday was the perfect beach day, the best by far, and we spent all day in the ocean.

Driving home, Luke and I couldn't stop talking about how much we loved taking a vacation just for vacations sake. Since we've been married, all our trips have been about weddings, holidays, reunions, or other things, but this was much more informal and unstructured and it also hit that sweet spot of being camping but not camping, appealing to both of us.

Ivy slept in her pack and play, but ended up with us most mornings. 

She loved to run into the waves and then back out again. She also loved to eat sand.

We walked down to the beach every night to see the sunset. It was incredible. Like a postcard, but way less lame. We want to go next year, but Eric and Andy will be moving to WA this spring. Who wants to come?!

Leg Warmers and Hairclips

I am definitely not a crafty person. Crafty in the fox sense of the word, maybe, but not in the Pinterest/Etsy sense of the word. I do, however, have an appreciation for people who make great things out of normal things. Two projects landed in my lap this weekend, though, which also coincided with the borrowing of the BBC Pride & Prejudice from the library. Luke was such a good sport - going to JoAnn's with me and kind of watching some of the marathon. I decided to make clips for Ivy and whoever else wanted to wear them for Mikelle's wedding, and I also somehow decided that I needed to made Ivy some leg warmers.

This is not a tutorial for anything, since I didn't make anything original. Plus, there are good ones here and here. Ivy's thighs are, like the rest of her, scrawny, but these still stay on pretty well. And I love how she looks like a little 80's person. 

Here is the finished product. A little uneven, but you can't tell when they are on. At least not on Ivy's thighs, on which they have the saggy baggy elephant look.

But she got lots of compliments at Target. 

And I got a ton of new socks on clearance! You should all come over and watch Sense and Sensibility with me while we pretend to be crafty. 

In other news, I am very excited to go to Utah next week for the wedding. I also decided last week that Ives and I will go to Washington for the second reception and stay a few days extra. I am longing for home. So if you are in the area and want to get together, we probably should. 

 

Oh, and here are the clips that I have made so far. Ivy is going to wear a little cream colored dress, and Mikelle's colors are shades of coral, so I thought this would be a good way to tie it all together.

That is all for now! We are getting ready to live in Sierra Vista, AZ for 5.5 month starting in April, and are finding more things to like about San Antonio every day. The true test will be if it has good yard sales, and I will keep you posted on that.