The last day of January.

Which is exciting because then it's February and then it's March, and we all know that Pondegore comes in March. Maybe before?

Anyway I've been finishing Owen Meany this week, but we did have ourselves a cuddly afternoon of books yesterday, and also I'm pretty proud of Ron's handiwork putting up those photos over our bed (four altogether), so I thought I'd mention that publicly. Our room is complete!

I love the late afternoon sunshine just pouring in unfiltered and making our cheeks all rosy in the middle of winter.

Alla brought me the bag of library books we got on Saturday and this was the last one, a Diego book. Boy does she love her some animal rescuing. She's been telling me since we read that one, 'ah-ruf ah-ruf!' And I ask what's that and she says, it's a maned wolf pup. Of course.

By the way, the return of Kevin went well. Meaning that there didn't appear to be any problems returning him at the time. Then we went to leave and she wanted to ask Leigha's mama if she could borrow Lauren, Kevin's sister. And then her nap went horribly wrong, crying I miss Leigha which I took to also mean I miss Kevin. But today was all good. She slept alone for nap and at bedtime Daddy wimped out and let her sleep with two friends, two Shrek babies. She has already decided that she wants a bigger babydoll for her birthday, and will call her Lauren, same as Leigha's baby. So we hope Pondegore brings one to her. She may not be able to wait three months.

Thirty-three months.

Yesterday she turned thirty-three months old. Yep that means three more months 'til the big third birthday. At which she wants all the neighborhood kids and their parents to sleepover. Mmm-hmmmm. I'm still wondering how to pull off a party with a six-ish week old, let alone find sleeping bags for the entire neighborhood.

So, since I'm still keeping track month to month, here are a few of the things that made this month special:

-her reading The Little Mouse, The Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear to us

-having her first overnight here with Nana and Pappi

-falling in love with chocolate and oranges (not together)

-starting one day a week preschool

-starting to get out of bed by herself to wake us up most mornings

-Kevin came to visit

Now here's where I share a little about Kevin, the above-pictured babydoll. Kevin belongs to Alla's friend, Leigha, who most generously let Alla borrow him for her big sister class this past week. Leigha's mom reports that Leigha hasn't noticed Kevin's absence, however, Alla and Kevin have been best of friends since they made their acquaintance two weeks ago. He goes everywhere with us, he sleeps with her for every nap and every night. Baby Rolla has swiftly been replaced. This week Kevin will go home and I am on pins and needles as to whether Baby Rolla will once again move into the top spot. I am almost sad to see Kevin go, simply because of the true true love Alla has for him. And of course, we all know that "Kevin" is the name (or one of the many) given to him by Leigha, because it is far too normal a name for my child to have come up with.

Anyway, happy thirty-three months, little girl. I love you.

Flashback Friday.

Tummy time in her crib, 8 July 2005...she was two and a half months old. Look at her bouffant!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Said the little girl to me this afternoon whilst she was all suited up in her fancy dress and ballet shoes (over her pants and shirt for warmth, mind you, we do not turn up the heat just so little girls can wear pretty but weather inappropriate dresses): "Do you know what ballerinas like to show to their mothers?" And then a silly smile before the response: "Dolly houses."

2. The to-do list has officially become one page instead of two, and that's with a 19-pt font, so really there can't be that much left, right?

3. Today's photo-of-the-day. Just waking up from nap.

4. Just playing with her toy choice from the library today, a collection of My Little Ponies to play with the one she actually owns, meaning for her pony to play with the borrowed ponies cause hers was lonely. Boy does the child love imaginary play. And making up names. You'd think we don't know anyone with normal names, like Leigha, Lauren, Marie, Celine, etc. Instead she gives these ponies (and anyone else she names) strange names that I can hardly remember they are so odd, like Aresha and Pot or Pot-chuk. Oh, and Pondegore. Of course there's that. Yes, and the period she went through where everyone was named Kunger.

5. Alla is officially ready to be a big sister, as per the certificate received in her Big Sister class last night, which was also officially not worth twenty-five dollars. I believe that Alla will be teaching Pondegore how to be a big sibling when we have another. We might even print out certificates. She did, however, get to see a real live newborn who was hanging out in the hallway with some visitors. She politely asked to see the swaddled babe, and that probably made the night for her.

6. Our room is coming together. That may sound odd, coming from someone who's lived in her house now for over a year and a half. But for some reason we never get around to putting stuff on the walls in our room. Like in four whole years of living in California, and three living in Ohio. Never put stuff on our bedroom walls. But times they are-a-changin', and we are one weekend away from having a 'finished' bedroom. That is, until our very own newborn invades our space in 6 and a half weeks with all of his or her crap. Photos to come, of finished bedroom, aforementioned newborn crap, and, of course, the newborn.

7. She puts all the 'friends' to sleep. Big or small, she lines them up at the head of her bed, on their bellies, then covers them with her quilt. Then like a minute later, wakes them up and one by one takes them out and lines them up somewhere else on the bed.

8. She is only counting in Spanish nowadays. And she must get to ten. So if there are only, for example, three marshmallows in her cup for dessert, then she just goes around again and again until she reaches the 'tenth' one.

9. Three Target-brand items to avoid: band-aids (they don't actually stick for more than five minutes, which is sort of the point of a band-aid), packing tape (considerably cheaper, but it is so thin that it really only sticks to itself and does not stay in the little holder thingy, so that you are forever trying to unstick it from the roll), and cheez-its (Ron says they taste like Zestas with a slight hint of cheese flavoring). Other than that, we are big Target-brand buyers. On sale this week: multi-grain waffles for $1.10.

10. Looking for a good Pondegore to Alla gift that she'll receive at the hospital...any ideas?

Sunday ramblings.

33 weeks today. According to the babycenter email I got this evening, Pondegore is a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. So only about 5-6 pounds to grow, then, right, little one?

We are mad list-crosser-offers. This weekend: carseat for Alla, baby toiletries, new closet installed, diapers ordered.

It has been below zero since Friday. Twelve below when we woke up yesterday and today.

Tomorrow is a big IKEA trip. Love IKEA. On tap: a nightstand for Alla, a bookcase for the playroom, a rug, some wall mounts for all her artwork, etc. etc. etc.

I am having some random craving for BEER. Anyone who knows me knows I do NOT drink beer. But Ron grabs a cold one and I simply must have a sip and there's something about the biting crisp cold that makes me want to down it. Luckily I'm pregnant and therefore do not. Any bets on whether the craving goes away once I'm home from the hospital?

I got nothin' else. Not a whole lot of picture-taking going on here with us being cooped up from the cold.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. It was a day of tours. First, a potential preschool observation this morning. Then, this evening, a tour of the maternity ward at our hospital-to-be.

2. Twice last night Alla woke us up to tell us she farted. Told Dada once, and Mama the next time. A real exciting night at the Killins home.

3. This morning Alla rediscovered Charlie Brown and played a rousing game of Hide and Seek with him. She says it like, "Trolley Browned," and then tells me, "Trolley Browned is the best!"

4. I'm down to 4-5 shirts that are long enough for this belly, one pair of jeans that I can actually say is comfy, and 2 sweatsuits that fit. Good thing I got some great stripey socks for my birthday so at least one part of me will be jazzed up. Another good thing - Ron found the hoodie of my dreams and it was delivered today.

5. I love Alla's can-do spirit. She says, "I can give it a try."

6. Here's an idea for your next playdate: host a pizza-making party. Do it after nap, like around 4 in the afternoon. The hostess provides the sauce and cheese. Each mama brings a crust and a topping to share. Everyone makes a pizza and goes home with dinner! We've done this twice in our MOMs Club and I think it is so fantastic.

7. Alla is obsessed with the show Birth Day. She says, "Look at the cutie!" when the baby comes out. I think she might qualify to be my birth coach with all the knowledge she's acquired from this show. Today she told me she was going to catch a baby when we went to the hospital for our tour.

8. I am making a valiant effort at Owen Meany with an old high school trick of assigning myself a certain number of pages per day.

9. We woke up to ZERO this morning. Zero and sunshine.

10. I stocked up at the Old Navy sale on Friday. Everything was 50% off the clearance price. Got some stuff for Pondegore, a sweater for Ron, some 4T jammies for Alla for next winter, and a whole slew of post-baby clothes for me that I can't WAIT to wear, even if they are just tees and sweats and a really comfy grey hoodie. I'm starting to look forward to warmer weather where I can wear a hoodie, a t-shirt, khakis, and flip-flops. And, yes, I realize the price of such comfy clothes: the hoodie will be hiding the spit-up on the tee. Until it gets spit-up on, too. I'm also aware of my hoodie obsession, thankyouverymuch.

They say it's your birthday.

Today was a perfect day. No, really, it was. Absolutely from start to finish. Except, maybe, that I am so overly stuffed with Luau Salad and Vanilla Bean Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, if you can even say that calls for an exception.

Alla has this new thing where she gets up on her own. It's like after four months of having the ability to climb out of bed on her own, she's finally gotten up the guts to actually do it herself. She turns on her light, then steps out into the dark hallway. We sort of have to call to her for her to come into our room. I am so glad our rooms are right next to each other so I can hear her when she then closes her door and appears disoriented there in the dark for a few moments.

So that's how the birthday started, lots of snuggling in our bed. This is how we start every morning. Since like her birth or something.

We had a lazy day. Ron made me breakfast, and while he made it, I got to lie in bed and read a book. Alla helped me finish the frosting for my White Chocolate Raspberry Cake. Yep, it's my own special cake from Terry that she used to make me and now that she's too far away I make myself. It is very labor-intensive! So I don't get to make it every year, and I'm very stingy with it as a result. Because it's divine. That cake is pictured above.

We had lunch and presents and cake. Yes I agreed to open presents at lunch. This is big for me. I like to savor. Meaning the presents can wait til right before bed. But Alla begged and begged and could not contain her excitement to see what was inside of the wrapping paper, so I caved. And so glad I did, cause what wonderful things to bring me joy!

Ron took a few 32 week photos during nap. Can't believe there's only two of these little photo sessions left, and then I'll be photographing my newborn! So unsure of why I have a giant watermelon for a belly, but apparently there's a baby in there that has decided upon needing that much room. Here's a nice one, followed by one that is clearly intended to show you exactly how giant of a belly I am growing.

After the little one's nap we ventured to The Cheesecake Factory, where the above-mentioned indulging occurred. Yum.

My family is amazing. My husband is super generous and giving and goes out of his way to make me happy. My daughter is just the sweetest, smartest, pluckiest little thing a mama could ask for. Do you know that when the waitress came to leave us a dessert menu, Alla called after her, "Excuse me!" We told her the waitress would be back and she could ask her then. So of course she came back a few minutes later for our dessert order, and Ron ordered his oreo slice and my vanilla bean slice, and Alla wanted so badly to tell her what she wanted but her mouth was full, so she asked her to wait til she finished her food. Then she said, "Excuse me, I want some ice cream." So outgoing, this one. We were really proud of (and impressed with) her.

Are you getting the picture of a full, relaxing day in which I have felt truly loved and appreciated?

Here's the best part, if I may go back to how the day began. We're all three in bed snuggling, it's kind of dark, we haven't opened the curtains yet (kind of wished we had, looking back), and Alla decides that our bed is an ocean and she has to go swimming, and furthermore, she cannot do this with her jammies on, so Ron must take them off. She also decides that she cannot swim with her underwear on either, so she removes those and just starts 'swimming' 'through' our bed. And then she's done and comes back and asks for her jammies again.

Yes, folks, that's the kind of kid we have. The kind where you just don't know what you're gonna get, but you know it's going to be pretty darn good.

Flashback Friday.

We sat down at lunchtime today with two photo albums from Alla's first few months, and she thoroughly enjoyed this trip down Mama's Memory Lane, asking who's holding me there, and what's Alla doing in that picture? Uh, that's you sucking on my chin, honey. Well here she's four days shy of a month old. Already full of personality.

More talent on display.

If you thought the first Jody Wenner Original was stunning, wait til you see the second.

I Heart Thursdays.

Oh so you thought you were going to get the post about how the mama was just beside herself leaving her little girl on the first day of presschol.

I nearly skipped back to the car.

You thought I'd just weep in the parking lot for two and a half hours?

I sped to Target and Marshall's. OK, so I did buy the little girl a Valentine's present. Yeah I was thinking about her.

But seriously, Thursdays are the best. I'm running all over town crossing things off my list, unencumbered. Next week: massage. Check.

And, yes, the girl did fine. Great, even. She actually did gallop all the way to her classroom, quickly found something to play with, had to be reminded to wash her hands first, and then barely kissed me before she got busy again. That's how it went, honestly. She did not even see me walk out. Oh that might have been cause I was skipping.

But of course I had to capture her expression when she saw I was there to pick her up. Note to self: these things happen very very fast, just flip to auto mode next time. OK I had about five whole seconds to capture this because once she saw me she came BOLTING and that's really where a mama almost loses it, when she sees how the little girl is overjoyed to see her she becomes completely overtaken. So between that and her running to me, we definitely don't have a perfect picture, but what we do have is what I felt as she came at me. The hurriedness, the happiness, the excitement of her first day that she did all.by.herself.

A Jody Wenner Original.

You will all be quite jealous when you see what Jody made for Alla.

Isn't it just perfect? Thanks a million, Jody, you are super talented.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Only four weeks til a new Jack.

2. Made these cupcakes for a new mama friend yesterday. Yum.

3. I know you're not supposed to stay in the devil-hot shower for forever in the dry winter weather, but my aching pregnant body cannot deny itself this joy, dry skin or not.

4. What does a pregnant mama have to do to get herself a hoodie that fits? I don't mean the top to my velour sweatsuit. I do not mean Ron's UCLA sweatshirt. I mean a genuine, sweatshirt material, zip up right when you get out of bed and live in the rest of the day, but fit over my big belly (read: maternity) hoodie. It does not exist. But I want it.

5. It was back to school today for us, and that means that on Thursday Alla gets to go by herself. She seems pretty excited, but did ask a little tentatively when we arrived this morning if I was going in with her or not. I'm sure she'll be ok. As for me...must schedule a massage...

6. Susie was right. This IS the best ham and potato soup recipe ever.

7. I am in desperate need of some warm stripey socks that do not slouch, that are high enough for my winter boots, and that do not get holes after a few washings and all-day wearings. I'm really hard on my socks. There must be some brand that can stand up to me.

8. Finished A Thousand Splendid Suns. Great, fast read. Now it's back to Owen Meany. Not as fast. Need some motivation to finish. Want to read Eat, Pray, Love. And look at my hypnobirthing book before, well, the birth.

9. Sleep is the devil.

10. We watched a great movie on Sunday night. Oh, go rent it. And make sure your volume is up when you click on the link so you can hear Falling Slowly. I so need the music. It is delightful. Stunning.

Flashback Friday.

Well since we're in the home stretch before Pondegore's arrival, I thought I'd dig deep into the archives for some never-before-seen shots of the little girl. I didn't start the blog til she was nearly eight months, so there's lots of good stuff to show off.

This was her official poop face. I kid you not. She literally made this face every time she pooped, which was a lot, so it was not hard to capture. I know I have others. But for some reason when I woke up this morning with the idea of dedicating Flashback Fridays to these almost three year old images of my daughter, this one popped into my head. Love it.

Round Two.

Found a few favorites from Christmas with Nana and Pappi. It was a much better idea to divide the gift opening into groups this year, wasn't so overwhelming for Alla.

She is now the proud owner of this just-her-size table and two chairs (other chair reserved for Shrek and his three babies, of course), which we hope will be a permanent fixture in the guest/playroom in the next couple months. A perfect place for her to Color Wonder.This might have been her favorite gift. A real-life preemie diaper in her stocking, just for Baby Rolla. Now if only Jody will show me how to make some real life clothes for this poor baby, we will be in good shape.The annual ornament from Nana & Pappi never disappoints. This year she got a big sister ornament! Oh how true that will be soon.

And lucky me to have captured this one. Alla not quite ready to be social after her nap, and lucky Dada to have gotten the snuggles. Ah it was so nice to have him home for a whole week. Next time he's home that long there will be a new one and the little girl love to figure out. But for now, it's just her. She's our very own love. And those are her words.

Happy 2008!

Wow. Is it really 2008? I remember waking up to 2005 and thinking that it was our baby's birth year. And now it's three years later and our 'baby' is almost three, and the one in my belly has less than ten weeks to grow in there.

If you haven't made a resolution yet, it's not too late. I will even suggest one to you: make sure to check slickdeals every.single.day. Because yesterday I scored the slickest deal EVER: a 3+ pound box of See's chocolates for $1, with free shipping. It will be mine on January 7th.

A dear friend had her second baby boy on Monday, and is already blogging. (Do not expect the same from me.) Congrats Cathy and Rick! And welcome to the world, little Joey.

I got all sorts of scrapbook-reading goodness for Christmas: this and this. Such inspiration!

I'm also glued to A Thousand Splendid Suns. Ron got it 10 days ago at the library, so it's due on Saturday. But since he finished it early, and there's a ginormous wait for it, I'm determined to finish it.

Alla has become quite the little chocoholic.

And lover of oranges. Love.

Wish Ron didn't have to go back to work today. We miss him here.

My back officially aches. Driving sucks, sleeping sucks, sitting here blogging sucks. There must be SOME position that will feel normal.

I'm doing Photo-a-Day for the month of January again. Did that last year, included journaling with each 4x4 photo in an album (ok so the album hasn't been bound yet but I'll put it on my list), so I have a little description of each day/photo. Very fun look at your life when you take a shot a day. There is NO way I could ever commit to one a day for an entire year. But a month is do-able. Here's my shot for today, taking Nana & Pappi to the airport. Our house is awfully quiet now.

Round Two of Christmas is still to come. But for now, Happy New Year!