Salt Flats 2010

Here I am at 22 weeks pregnant.

She was not in a smiling mood that day. It took everything we had to get her to even look at the camera. Apparently miles of salt is pretty fascinating for a one year-old.

This one reminds me of a picture my parents have of me. I think she's finally starting to look like her Mommy!

These are just a few of my favorites from our recent family photo session at the salt flats. Daniel's sister took them, and we are so appreciative! I tried my hand at editing for the first time, and these are the ones I've gotten to so far. Not great, definitely no consistent, but not the worst either. The bottom one is my favorite, but I also love the one with me and Daniel in the distance and Lynny in the foreground. We're thinking Christmas cards.

What do you guys think?

We're looking for a bed to put in the kids' room when we finally move Baby George into the crib. (Understand, this is still several months away.) We think we'll just go ahead and get a regular-sized bed for Lynny, cus she's not getting any smaller.

We also understand that Daniel still has 4+ years of school left and we'll probably be in our two-bedroom apartment for awhile. This means we'll probably be having baby #3 here as well. So we're considering getting a bunkbed, for when the time comes. If we're going to make an investment it might as well be a long-term one, right?

With that said, this is what we're looking at: The Kura reversible bed from Ikea. It can start out with a bed on the bottom and even a place to put a canopy on the top (or a tent, like they had on display in the store.) Then, later, it can be flipped to have a bed on the top and a futon on the floor, on the bottom. Room for two kids, right?

We like the idea of this bed because it's not a typical bunk bed that goes up extremely high. When the bed is on top it only comes up to my chest. And for a mom who is extremely wary of heights, this is a comfort. It won't seem to take up as much space in the room, either.

We've also decided that if we do get this bed, we'll paint over the blue (it was actually white in the store) with some of that chalkboard paint and make it into a chalkboard for the kids to write on. Or maybe get some of that metal sheeting and make it into a magnet board. The jury's still out on that, but it will NOT be blue, that's for sure. And we'll stain the pine to match the changing table and crib/toddler bed already in the room.

So here's what I'm asking: what do you think? Should we just go ahead and get a cheaper bunkbed? Or should we just get a small twin bed and bag the whole bunkbed idea? Any of you out there ever had two, potentially three, kids in one bedroom?

Day One: Potty Training

Well, our first day of potty training didn't go quite like we planned. When planning to start yesterday, I had forgotten I also had my midwife appointment that day. That meant I would have to take Daniel to work (he actually ended up catching a ride with our neighbor--thanks Randy!), and then go back and pick him up and take him to class in Salt Lake. And then I would have to find a way to spend two and half hours while he was in class, so I could pick him up and take him to his other class in Taylorsville. All so I could have the car to take to my appoinment. None of this was really considered until the night before, obviously. So much for my plans to stay home for a few weeks until she's got a good foundation!
So Daniel suggested we do a "soft start" to potty training. We would have Lynny in undies while we were home, but put a diaper back on her for the out and about part. Sounded ok to me. And it worked. We only had one accident the whole day, but a large part of the day was spent in diapers, I'll admit.

Because we happened to be out and about yesterday, though, Daniel invited us to join him at the Utah Stat Fair, where he was driving a group of students for a field trip. I caved, and rather than run home after my appointment to work on potty training, we went. And I'm glad we did. Lynny had SO much fun. She loves animals, more than she loves Mommy and Daddy I think. The whole time she was waving and giggling, and saying "What's that?!" or "Hiiii." She was in heaven. It made me so happy to see her having so much fun.

My midwife appointment was pretty exciting too. I'm at the point where they can measure me with a tape measurer to see how far along I am. When my midwife measured me yesterday, we were both a little surprised. I'm measuring at 27 weeks! That's almost a month ahead of where my due date puts me. We double checked my weight to make sure I hadn't packed on some extra pounds during my vacation, which could influence the measurement a little, but I've only gained seven pounds during my entire pregnancy. The only other contributing factor could be that I'm carrying extra high, or something. But even with that detail, my midwife still said she wouldn't be surprised if I deliver sooner than we thought. We didn't adjust my due date--just in case--but we'll see. Maybe we'll make the tax cutoff date after all!

And one more tiny piece of news: I finally have a calling. I am the second counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. I am SO, SO, SO excited. This is honestly the calling I've wanted since I got married. I love working with young women, and being over the beehives is my favorite. I'm so pumped. I really hope I can contribute, and I really hope they like me. Honestly, though, I'll miss being in Relief Society.

Potty Training

Next week marks the beginning of Lynny's potty training. We're going to introduce her new potty seat, let her flush the toilet, practice going pee pee in the potty some more (she's already done it a few times), and then work into "big-girl" panties. I've done a lot of research on potty training, and starting early sounds like it will probably work for us. (Hopefully! If we can have Lynny out of diapers by the time Baby George comes along, the better for us!)
What I'm looking for is any advice from you potty training veteran moms and dads. Any tried-and-true methods or tricks you've found? How about supplies? How many pairs of panties should I get? What about potty training when you're out and about, with public restrooms and such? Share your knowledge!