my lovely baby bump

here she is at 29 weeks!

29 weeks

Zoe & I had our 29 week check-up today.  All is smooth sailing with a normal gestational diabetes test and normal blood pressure.  Overall weight gain is right on track, although the milkshakes and fancy chocolates from Brugge, Belgium are probably contributing as well.  :)  Zoe's heartbeat was at a strong 150/160, and Ava was there to hear it too.. which was super sweet.  The OB said she is head down, and her size is right on track.  Now time to go get a flu shot!  It was a great appointment, and we will have our next one in 3 weeks.

In other news, I will be on the Arizona Midday News next Tuesday, September 20th for a prenatal yoga segment.  They will be featuring Desert Song Yoga & Massage, and long-time prenatal yoga instructor, Evon Hart.  It will be myself & another expecting mom to demo 5 different prenatal yoga poses during the segment.  I am excited to be a part of this since I also practiced prenatal yoga with Evon back when I was pregnant with Ava.  The segment will air on NBC Arizona Midday at 1pm.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

We are in the final 90 days until my due date, November 28, 2011!  

It is starting to look like fall in the stores, but no such luck with the weather.  We are just hoping temperatures drop below 110 for a little relief.  Today we finally got some overcast skies with a little sprinkle of rain which was refreshing in comparison. 

I went to an Ultrasound Institute to get some free shots of Baby Zoe completed by medical students.  It was so facsinating to see how she is laying, and what she was up to in there.  During the ultrasound, she had her head on my right side, right up against the placenta.  She was curled up in fetal position with her legs crossed.  She had her foot up by her mouth at one point, and her hand was up by her face.  Her lips where moving really fast breathing in and out fluid.  It was amazing to see her this far along, and her little antics were so sweet.  We got some new shots of her while I was there, and they even offered for me to come back in another couple of weeks to get some more!

 

In other news, daddy decided to take today off so he can have a 4-day weekend!  We spent the nice overcast morning at the zoo.  We saw lots of animals, and Ava went on her 1st camel ride with daddy!  We finished the day with 3 carousel rides in a row!  It was a nice family outing.

Ava's Cheeto Dance

   After school, we came home to
    have lunch like always.

   Ava didn't eat much, and it was
   almost time to lay down.

   She found the bag of Cheetos
   Puffs that I mistakenly left 
   in the family room from last
   night.

   Of course she started
   chowing down on them..
and did a special little dance
too.
  
I think this is my favorite
video of her since the
infamous "If You're Happy
and You Know It" video.

Pre-school, nesting & activities

Ava's first two weeks in Ms. Rhonda's 3's class have been great.  She seems to be adjusting no problem.  We have been encountering some more challenging behavior at home; including a regression in potty training, defiance, and more tantrums.  I think some of it could be linked to my baby nesting mode.  I noticed when I wasn't as focused on the baby stuff, or talking about it as much, Ava's behavior improved.

We should be getting the girl's bedroom furniture in the next couple of weeks.  Just a tiny bit trim work for me to do in their room, and we are officially done with the home improvement checklist before Zoe arrives.  I have been sorting and organizing baby clothes, drawers, etc.  When Ava saw me unpack the Baby Einstein videos, she insisted on watching them.  Luckily, this only lasted for two days and I think she got it out of her system.  She will be quite the big sister, I'm sure.

Otherwise, we have officially wrapped up swim lessons for the summer.  Ava loved them, and made huge strides in her development since May.  She is now taking a weekly preschool ballet class with a couple of her friends.  She has been doing well.. still practicing on the listening.  We just started a new Saturday activity.. tap and acrobatics.  She did really well for her first time, and I think this will be a fun fall activity for her.  I have attached several videos of Ava in action.  Enjoy!

 

A week until preschool starts

Ava's school is closed for two weeks (last week, and this week) for teacher training and renovation.  Next week she will be starting in the 3's room at her preschool with a new teacher, Ms. Rhonda.  Ava will go to preschool 3 mornings per week, and I'm looking forward to some down time!

We have been enjoying the free time scheduling fun activities with friends & family.  We have been continuing swim lessons, and this will be our second week of dance lessons (see previous blog for video!).  We enjoyed some mall shopping & playtime with Grammy & Grandad last week, and Ava rode the mall train with grammy.  Last Friday Ava & her friend Spencer enjoyed a morning of open gym playtime together.  We stayed busy over the weekend with swim lessons, a birthday party, and The Smurf Movie.  This morning we met up with friends Maggie & Spencer for the playtime at the mall in the A/C.  Ava has also been very busy at home with all her new toys from friends & family for her 3rd birthday!  Here are some pictures of our additional time off together:

 

 

 

 

summer dance class

We signed up Ava and her friends Eloise & Maggie for a summer dance class together.  They all did great in their 1st class, and we are looking forward to the next!  Click on the link below for photos & video from class:

Customize your own free picture slideshow

A Very Merry 3rd Birthday

If you are wondering why I haven't blogged in a while, it's because I was in major party planning mode.  The week before the party I made home made strawberry lemonade, tissue paper flowers, and about 90 cupcakes complete with home made cream cheese icing.  Plus more.

The Mad Tea Party took place on Saturday afternoon.  Ava & her dear friend Courtney were born on the same day.  This was our 2nd year doing a joint birthday party with the two girls.  Courtney's parents hosted the party at their new house in Central Phoenix.  The girls wore matching Alice In Wonderland 'Alice' retro dresses from an Etsy shop.

The party decor included vibrant tissue paper flowers & chair backers, edible tea cups filled with rainbow goldfish & pretzel sticks labeled "try me".  The cupcakes were in 4 different favors and had four different colors of icing & sprinkles topped with "eat me".  For our party guests we had Mad Hatter Hats for the boys (although I saw quite a few boys leaving the party with the tiara's on their head!!) and glittery tiara's for the girls.  Our favor bags labeled "take me" included a Slinky Jr. and Alice In Wonderland book.

For entertainment we had a Balloon Artist make each party guest twisted balloons of their choice.  She brought two large tea pot balloons to add to our party decor which turned out great.  She made some really unique balloons for the kids including a giraffe, butterfly & fishing rod with a suspended fish.  She was great, and added a definite fun factor to the party.

Ava & Courtney seemed to have a great time with both each other and their friends & family.  They played in bubbles together, and played a wild game of "Ring Around The Rosy" after eating their birthday cupcakes.  We are so thankful for our wonderful friends & family for joining us to celebrate this milestone in our girls' lives.  Thank you for making the party so much fun for all!

Little Ballerina Princess

After her friend Olivia's dance birthday party on Saturday, Ava wanted to play dress-up as a princess / ballerina.  She said she wanted to look like Snow White.  I dressed her in some of my old costumes from my ballet recitals.  I showed her how to curtsy, and she was twirling around in her skirt.  She also had to have a tiara, of course!  I think some dance classes are definitely in order for Ava!

Super Saturday!

Talk about a busy day, including two birthday parties and a movie night!  We celebrated Mateo's 1st Birthday in the morning, and Olivia's 3rd Birthday in the afternoon!  Olivia's party was a dance party at a dance studio.. Ava came prepared in her strawberry tutu.  She had a blast, and here are some videos of the action!!  We then went to see the Winnie The Pooh Movie after the party with Maggie, Courtney & Eloise.  Ava had such a fun day, and was more than ready for bedtime!!

and some photos from our big movie night with the four girls...

projects & playtime

The painting in the playroom is complete!

Now I can move onto getting their bedroom complete!

Here are some photos:

Halfway there!

 Today is the 20 week mark for my pregnancy!  Things have been very busy in the Petri Household.  After finding out we are having another girl, we wen't on a shopping mission last week for bedding.  We found the perfect matching set on sale at Pottery Barn Kids.  It is purple and green.. and since Ava loves purple, it was a great find.  We just need to wait for the full size matress and crib to arrive before assembly begins.  Ava also wants the wall behind their beds to be purple, so I will have more painting to do in their room too! Here's a photo of the bedding for each of the girls:

Ava's full size bed

Zoe's crib bedding

Ava breaking in her sister's quilt

The playroom is almost complete!

Yay!!  Halfway there!!

Big sister kisses  :)

Petri sisters!

Yes, after all the little boy hype and predictions.. it is another little girl!  We are thrilled that Ava is going to have a little sister, Zoe.  The 19 week appointment went really well, and our OB said everything is looking really good.  She was moving around so much while he was trying to do the ultrasound that we weren't sure if we were going to leave knowing the gender.  Luckily he got a pretty clear shot towards the end!  We couldn't be happier to welcome another little girl into our family.

Her middle name, Vernetta is after Papa Petri's (Shawn's dad) mother.. who we will always love & cherish!

Ava & Daddy's crazy game of chase

This is the game Ava always wants to play with daddy. 
She taps him on the shoulder and says "come get me!". 
It's extremely wild and out-of-control, but very entertaining!

Hello Holiday weekend!

It was a pretty normal week of routine, but it certainly kept me busy.  I am continuing to paint the playroom, and I am finally organizing our Arizona Room.  Hopefully I will have a home office that is picture worthy soon!

We did our weekly Wednesday morning at The Children's Museum.  This week it was Ava, Hadley, Maggie & Miles (plus Miles' two twin sisters Madeleine & Marisa!).. they had lots of fun like always.

 

This morning we headed to the Tempe Beach Park for some time at the splash pad.  We got there a little early, so Ava waited patiently for the water to turn on.  There was a new circular froggie splash sculpture that Ava was having fun running through and cooling off.  The slide is always a big hit (she landed on her belly towards the end and that pretty much ended playtime, she was a tough cookie though)!  :(