Swiss Family Harrisses

Maddie got to go to Midway with her cousins and grandparents for the big annual Swiss Days. Of course, she wore her dirndl that we bought in Switzerland a few years ago. Josh and I both have Swiss ancestry, so Maddie is very proud of her Swiss blood.

Gosh, she is a cute little Swiss artist. 

Ode to the Little Guy

I figure my cute Little Guy needed at least one more blog post dedicated to him before a new, human little man comes and takes all the attention away from him. Angus has been doing significantly better. He was mostly being naughty because I got more pregnant, tired, and put on bed rest, until eventually Angus forgot that I am the alpha dog, not him. So I was taught to bark and growl at him, always keep good posture and be taller than him, and use a strong squirt bottle on him when he is being particularly naughty. As you can see, the squirt bottle didn't survive very long.

Angus feeling particularly ignored during dinner. He is getting much better at playing catch.

Angus reverting back to baby? He somehow sneaks into the nursery and gets his new favorite chew toys - pacifiers!

Angus does NOT like Josh in a hat. If he is wearing his hat, Angus will do everything in his power to take it away from him. 

We sure do love this little guy.

No longer a little girl - but a cute big kid!

First day of 2nd grade. I told her to give me a little sass.

She also wanted to take a picture of her Pinkalicious backpack. She was so excited about this backpack. She showed it to everyone and took a really long time picking it out. I was pleasantly surprised that she picked a "little girl" backpack because I know that at some point girls get pressured to hate pink girly things and suddenly have to have blue as their favorite color. 

Unfortunately, when she came home from her first day of school, she said she needed a new backpack. My mama bear came out and I was going to fight whatever kid said something about her adorable backpack. But she said nobody said anything, she just noticed that she was the only one that had a little girl backpack and she wanted a big kid backpack. It makes me sad. Pretty soon she won't let me do pigtails or hairbows anymore either.  :o(

Neither expressed or implied

It's no secret that I hate being pregnant. Josh had to really, really beg and plead for me to do this again. When he was cleaning out his drawers the other day, he found the pregnancy contract that I wrote up for him to sign a long time ago. I wrote it while I was studying contracts in law school. Oh man, it made me laugh. The good thing is that he is actually doing all of these except the nightly foot massages. (WHICH I NEED JOSH! Get to it!) Here are a few of my favorite demands.....uh.....I mean conditions that are on there:

Rachel Harris (hereafter referred to as “I”) promises to Joshua Harris (hereafter referred to as “you”), the following:

·      I will birth one more baby. (The hair color, eye color, mental or health condition, gender, or mortal outcome of said baby is irrelevant.)

Under the following conditions:

·      I get pregnant when I say I’m ready. Absolutely no pressure, expressed or implied.

·      Absolutely nothing is expected of me during the pregnancy (such as showers, doing my hair, getting dressed, getting out of bed, travelling, going to church, getting the mail, being nice, etc.). If I choose to do any of these activities, I am to be showered with praise and accomplishment.

·      When I want to be able to sleep in, accomodations will be met. For example, at any time in the pregnancy that I ask, you have to use the bathroom downstairs so I can sleep in as late as I want. This could also require you to do Maddie’s hair, which means you need to practice parting, braiding, pony tailing, etc.

·      If what I am craving doesn’t deliver (such as Golden Spoon), than you will go and pick it up and deliver it to me on demand.

·      There is no mention that I am irrational, hormonal, unbalanced, or crazy while pregnant. You hold my hand and tell me I am amazing regardless of how irrational, hormonal, unbalanced, or crazy I am.

·      I will receive nightly foot massages, done out of love, from you.

·      All pillows in the house are my territory, and if you are allowed any for use at night, it is from my good graces.

·      During and after the pregnancy, you tell me I am beautiful and that you appreciate the physical sacrifice I make for your beautiful babies. You never mention or act like new stretch marks, pimples, breakouts and/or rashes, rolls, or any other nasty thing that occurs, exists.

·      You accept that the horrible process of pregnancy affects and includes different stages of sexual desire for about a year. There will be complete understanding of this issue and there will be absolutely no pressure or comments, expressed or implied, regarding this issue.

·      There is no mention, expressed or implied, from you, ever again, of me getting pregnant. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

·      Additional conditions, regardless of how much they seem like they are from a hormonal, irrational, pregnant wife, can be added at any time, during the pregnancy.

Daddy Daughter Summer Trip 2012

Every summer, Josh and Maddie do a daddy daughter trip to bond and make fun memories. This year they went to San Francisco, which made me extremely jealous.

Josh wanted to take Maddie to see Les Miserables. I wasn't so sure....she is just a little girl! But Josh invested hours into teaching Maddie the history of French politics and the revolution, explained the stories of all of the characters in the play, and taught her all of the songs and played them for her on YouTube. Josh said that Maddie sat up with perfect posture, clapped enthusiastically, and was enthralled for the entire time. She begged him to buy her a soundtrack and now sings all of the songs all day around the house. Her plan is to play Little Cossette on Broadway someday. I have no doubt that she would be perfectly capable.  :o)

They also had chili in a breadbowl at the Wharf....

and a scoop of ice cream at Haight Ashbury. Josh said it was the coldest he had ever felt in that city. But then he fed Maddie ice cream outside. That's what happens when Mom isn't around.  :o)   Doesn't she look freezing here?!

Of course they fit in a Giants game, where Maddie very precisely filled out her score card.

And don't forget that when you travel to big cities with little kids, you find out that they have these amazing city parks that you never would have known about otherwise. This is Maddie's favorite thing in the whole city.

When they came home, we found out that our pet turtle loves pears.

And then we did our school shopping at Target. I know I'm on bedrest, but I wasn't about to miss this. School shopping is my most favorite thing to do and is definitely a highlight of my year. Of course, since it's Target, we ended up filling up my entire electric scooter wheelchair so that I could look super cool. Yes, a whiffle ball bat was a must have.

And the ax has fallen....

The inevitable finally occurred. The fun is over. I once again started preterm labor at 6 months and am once again put on bedrest. (3rd and last time. Because this is the last pregnancy ever. Ever! Let's have a party to celebrate THAT!)  

I knew it was coming, which is why I lived up the first two trimesters. You can tell that I'm a pro at this pregnancy crap because I calmly stroll into the hospital, remember to bring a sweater, and read my "Time" magazine while the nurses are trying to stop the contractions. They told me it was real contractions and I have started dilating, and I'm like, "Yeah yeah, give me the drugs and send me home." All the other ladies in the triage were first pregnancy amateurs because they were trying to argue with the nurses that they were in labor and the nurses are like, "No you're not, come back when you're in real pain." I just smirked in my corner and felt so superior.   :o)

Thank goodness for powerful drugs, right? Don't worry, I don't take the strict bedrest rule lightly. I don't mess around when it comes to the health of my babies. But if you see me sneaking out of the house on occasion don't lecture or judge me. Bedrest is the most horrifically boring and isolating thing I have ever had to do. It sucks big time. So when someone you know gets put on it, never say "What are you doing out of bed?" or "You are so lucky. Enjoy the downtime before the baby comes," because you will likely get punched in the face. We're just trying to keep our sanity. Especially when there is nothing on TV during the summer.

All I'm saying is thank goodness for Apple TV and TiVo and Netflix. And thank goodness for my body pillow. And thank goodness that Maddie is old enough to do a decent enough job at cleaning up dog pee now.

When Animals Go Wild.

My dog is absolutely crazy. Every night he "wrestles" with Josh, which basically consists of Josh sitting on the floor and Angus running around like a mad man. I know he is completely insane, but look how much laughter and life he brings to my home! And he is cute. So I forgive him for all the naughty things he does every day. But that trainer is still scheduled to come next week.   :o)

Summer Lovin.....Had Me a Blast!

We have been staying up way too late watching the Olympics. Maddie is obsessed with gymnastics. Josh started running again. I've been enjoying the company on the couch.   :o)

Maddie got to spend some time with her sister-cousin.

One of their favorite things to do was torture.....uh....I mean play with Angus. They liked to dress him up and prance him around. You can see by the picture how much he loved that.

We got to spend some time at the beach and baseball games with some buddies. Always a good time.

We had to fit in some more cousin time. This is the bicycle gang that hangs out at Grandma Linda's house for Grandma Day. Pretty intimidating, huh?

And Maddie had to clean out her room and closets. She looks sad here, but really she turned on her Chipmunks album and danced around while she sorted out her "can't live without this" pile from her "I am too old for this now" pile. Somehow, every single one of her stuffed animals made it to the "can't live without" pile. Call me crazy, but there is nothing more fun to me than cleaning and organizing closets.

Aint No Sunshine When She's Gone....

All in all, Maddie was gone for almost three weeks. How did Angus feel about his missing best friend? He made a music video to express himself. 

Angus also doesn't know that a new puppy trainer has been hired to come and teach him some manners. The plan is to have him 100% potty trained and well behaved before the baby comes. Is it possible? I don't know. Because he is just plain bad.  :o)

3rd Time's a Charm?

I met Madster in Salt Lake on her way back from Yellowstone and we got to stay and play with cousins. Maddie got her ears pierced for the THIRD time. She promised me that this time she wouldn't take out the studs until I told her she could. We shall see. In the past the temptation of trying on Mom's dangly earrings (when Mom wasn't looking) was just too much, resulting in her ears getting infected and closing up. 

I lived out my childhood fantasy and bought these gorgeous girl cousins matching princess jammies. 

And we played in Park City on the alpine slide and at the Olympic park. We had an awesome time. See that little Spongebob kid? He is my buddy. 

Jackson Hole and Yellowstone

Maddie got to go on a motorhome adventure with Grandma Karen. She had so much fun! Josh and I first met up with them at Jackson Hole and did some cool stuff.

Now she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.

We got in some good naps.

And everyone (except the pregnant lady) did the alpine slide. (And the white water rafting - see previous post!)

 Then Maddie continued on her own to Yellowstone to have some adventures without mom and dad.

Where she did all her homework and attended the required classes to become a Junior Ranger! Thanks for the fun memories Grandma Karen!

Are You Ready to do the Ugly Laugh?

Every time I look at these pictures I laugh the ugly laugh until my stomach hurts. You have to look at them in order, up close. Look at Maddie's faces that range from "This is awesome!" to "Who the heck told me to sit up here?" to "I'm going to die!" Josh's faces range from "I'm going to be the best paddler ever!" to "Where the heck is my daughter?" to "Thank goodness I don't have to dive in after her!" The three terrified little boys' faces behind Maddie are priceless. And thank goodness for Uncle Adam the Hero, who noticed immediately that my poor little daughter fell out of the raft, and who has lightening fast reflexes!

Classic Maddie

When Maddie is sleepy, she will fall asleep no matter where she is or what is going on around her. How weird is this position? What a weirdo.