Baby Boy - 5 Months and a snow trip!

Late on this post but not too late!  5 months, halfway there!  I can't believe it, this pregnancy is flying by!

I am feeling tons of kicks, turns and jabs, daily, and am convinced that this guy doesn't stop moving.  I don't remember this much movement with Lemon so I hope this doesn't indicate how much energy this little man will have - if so I'm nervous!!  Still feeling great and oh so happy that FINALLY these giant knockers of mine have stopped being sore.  Thank goodness.  Ha!

We headed back to school this week and it was rough on everyone.  Lemon didn't want to go to bed each night and when she finally did, it was super late.  There were tears, I yelled and everyone was tired - thank goodness we only worked 4 days before we took off for a mini snow adventure up north!  But, the day before we left, Lemon had her first major injury and it was just the weirdest end to the strangest week - transitions are HARD.

Glitter seems like fun to play with, but once you stick your hands in it, it's not.  Hahahaha.

Ready for Valentine's Day!

Her first picture of faces, and our family.  Baby, Daddy, Mommy, Lemon.  My heart melted.

Lemon was running towards Brittany, tripped and narrowly missed her eyeball but hit just to the side of it on a bench.  There was a lot of blood, she couldn't do her swimming lesson and Ian left school to meet them at Urgent Care to see if she needed stitches.  She didn't and after two trips to two different Urgent Care centers (one after we got home) she had skin glue on her eye and was back to her old self.  It was so sad and she was so upset when she saw herself in the mirror, it broke my heart.  We kept telling her how pretty she looked still but you could tell she was a bit depressed about it.

The next day her eye was so swollen she could barely open it and the day after it was all red and purple, the whole eyelid and underneath as well.  It seemed really painful, but she said it didn't hurt.  She is such a trooper and even at both Urgent Care centers she didn't cry, I was so proud of her.  It was just such a bummer but I'm SO happy she missed her eye and didn't need stitches - she's a lucky girl for sure!

Since Lemon was ok, we packed and headed up to one of our fave Arizona spots, Sedona, to stay the night.  It had been snowing up north all week so we expected some snow in Sedona, but didn't find any when we got there.  Then - it started to snow!  We got out to each lunch upstairs at Oak Creek Brewery and small flakes were starting, and then while we ate next to a BIG window - big flakes started falling and it was so magical!  Such a lovely place for lunch (with gluten free hamburger buns!) and an amazing view!

In Heaven, stomping in puddles!

Watching the flakes fall outside the window was so magical, as I said above.  The snow is like a balm to the soul for me, just like the beach.  I love it so much and appreciate it, definitely because I don't experience it except for a few days once a year.  We are so lucky it's less than 2 hours away during the winter months!

After lunch, we headed to our hotel (none of the snow really stuck) and then decided to drive up highway 89A (towards Flagstaff) to see if we could find some snow on the ground.  It was a winter wonderland - SO MUCH SNOW!  Lemon couldn't even walk in it - there was more than 2 feet on the ground - so fun!!

Our attempt at a "snow man" before it got dark!

It started to get dark and really cold so we headed back, ordered Picazzo's to the hotel and went to bed.  The next morning we went in search of gluten free goodies at Whole Foods (and found a delicious strawberry muffin) and then packed up to head back up towards Flagstaff to see if we could find some sledding spots.

Loves hotels, loves them.

One of my necessary pregnancy tricks - if your legs get tired or restless, put them up above your head until they fall asleep.  Works wonders.

We turned a corner on the I-17 and saw this, an even crazier winter wonderland!  There was two feet of snow on every tree, the land was covered in snow and people (from Phoenix, I'm sure) were stopped along the road playing and sledding all along the road.  I have never seen Flagstaff covered in so much snow, it was beautiful!

We were supposed to meet our friends at a secret sledding spot but the Sheriff came so we were on our own (they went 40 more minutes north past Flagstaff to find another spot).  So, we tried an exit off the 17 that I read about online, exit 333 "suicide hill."  There were a lot of families there, but it was a HUGE space so we had a giant area all to ourselves.  We made a little sledding spot and just kind of stayed in the same place for a couple of hours, just eating snow (Lemon!) and playing around.  It was so much fun and the time flew by, when we got in the car we realized it was 2 hours past lunch time so we headed in to Flagstaff to find a place to eat.

This day was so warm, and the snow was so deep, I just laid on Lemon's sled and relaxed.  I could have been in a bikini, that's how comfy and warm I was.  I could have stayed there forever.  I love the snow!

I found Criollo Latin Kitchen on Yelp and it did not disappoint.  I had the best tacos of my life, they had amazing homemade hot sauce and salsa and there was hardly anyone there.  They made Lemon a quesadilla out of corn tortillas and were super accommodating, and all gluten free items were marked on the menu - I want to go back!

Lemon didn't want to leave but it was time to head home, after we let her play for a bit in the snow before we got in the car.

 I am a terrible mother and packed not one toy for Lemon for this trip, not one.  This girl played with 4 crayons for the 2.5 hour ride home.  I've never met someone who could entertain themselves with basically nothing, but she does it all the time.  She is amazing and has such an incredible imagination.  She didn't want to go home, told us the whole time in the car that she wanted to go back to the hotel, but we had to get home to finish her big girl room (reveal coming soon)!

Goodbye snow, you were so much fun!!

A relaxing day and dinner on Sunday at Chipotle called for some dancing: