Big Helper

Lately if Teya sees me or Taber doing something she comes running to help. She loves to help me cook, clean, and carry groceries. She loves to help Taber spray weeds, pick up trash, work on the lawn, and most recently, work on the car. Yesterday I got a flat tire and when Taber got home she quickly told him, "I help Daddy pump the air tire!" So Taber got out the car jack and the two of them got to work changing the tire. Teya was fascinated by the whole process and was especially proud to be able to hold onto the bolts and pass them to Daddy when they were needed. She was also thrilled to see that her hands were filthy just like Daddy's by the time they were through. I'm definitely loving this stage where she is so excited about doing big girl things and becoming such a big helper. Hopefully she'll keep it up when baby gets here!

Proudly posing with the new tire

Showing us what a big girl she is

Dirty hands like Daddy!

Tantrums in public...HELP!

Help please!!! Teya is going through a serious rough patch with tantrums. She doesn't have them all the time, but when she does they're MAJOR! Little things will set her off, like we told her she couldn't take her stuffed piglet into nursery and she flipped out BIG time! Screaming, crying, kicking, totally inconsolable until she finally got her piglet back. The other day when we had to leave the pool and she didn't want to go, total meltdown. Then today we pulled into Wal-Mart and she didn't want to get out of the car and screamed and kicked all the way through the parking lot. Once inside Wal-Mart she continued to scream at the top of her lungs, refusing to get into the basket, refusing bribes of any sort, she wouldn't even let me put her down. At this point in my pregancy it's really hard to hold her for long periods of time, especially when she's kicking and screaming. So yeah, very rough situation that was finally overcome with a chocolate donut, not my ideal solution.

At home we just put her in her room and she usually lays down in her bed and calms herself down. But I have no idea what to do with her when we're not at home. She even asked to go 'night night" through her screams when we were at Wal-Mart but obviously that wasn't an option. So I guess my question is, how do you deal with tantrums in public? Do you attempt your regular discpline routine? Do you give in to bribes just to stop people from staring? Do you turn around and drive back home and try to do your errands another time? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Teya the Learning Sponge

I put a short video together of some of the new things Teya is doing. The first part is of her reciting the 1st article of faith. Now keep in mind, she is two, and speaks like a two year old, which for many people takes some translating. You really have to listen creatively to make out exactly what she is saying. I'll post the words to the article of faith below the video so you can read along if you're not familiar with it. Anyway, it's pretty cute because we do a little devotional before bed every night where we sing a song, recite the 1st article of faith, read a scripture, and say a prayer. After about 2 weeks of doing this she started saying the article of faith by memory. Kids are little sponges!

The next part is of her saying a couple Spanish words she's picked up from Dora. Whenever someone is going too fast she'll shout "ESPERA!" which means "Wait!" in Spanish. She also has started correcting me when I say that something is red by telling me that it's actually "rojo"

The last part is of her doing her version of "push ups". She likes doing exercises with mommy in the mornings and this is one of the things she's picked up. It's funny because she pushes up with her legs more than her arms, but I still think it's pretty adorable! Hope you enjoy!

Words to the 1st article of faith: "We believe in God the eternal father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

Boyfriends and Motorcycles

Ever since we moved to Tennessee Teya has been good friends with our little neighbor, Layne, who lives down the street. They are just one month apart and play really well together. They've always just seemed like two little kids playing, but lately I've noticed that their gender differences are really starting to show. Layne is really into sports and loves T-ball, golf, and basketball. He also rides a little four wheeler and can steer like a champ. Teya on the other hand likes bubbles, baby dolls, twirling like a princess, and playing make believe like she's cooking. It's funny because now when I see them playing together I feel like Teya has a little boyfriend. The other day he took her for a spin on the back of his four wheeler and images of teenage Teya on some boys motorcycle popped into my head! YIKES! Thank goodness there are still many years before she reaches the dating scene! In the mean time, I'm happy with the sweet little "boyfriend" she has right now. Cruising on the four wheeler
Isn't it so cute how she's holding on to him?

Husband Tag

1. What is his name? Taber James Rigg

2. Who eats more? He did before I got pregnant, but now I give him a run for his money

3. Who said I love you first? I'm sure I wanted to say it first, but I waited till he said it because I didn't want to feel lame if he didn't say it back.

4. Who is taller? Taber by quite a bit, I'm a shrimp

5. Who is smarter? haha! Oooo, that's a hard one. Well he's definitely one up on me with his MBA, but I've gotta say, Master's degree or not, I try to stay up on things and I think we're a pretty good match intellectually.

6. Who is more sensitive? Me totally! I cry watching life insurance commercials! (of course, it could just be the pregnancy hormones : )

7. Who does the laundry? Definitely me! He tried doing it once when we were first married and shrunk a bunch of my clothes. I haven't let him touch the laundry since.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Taber

9. Who pays the bills? Mostly me but he has a few that he's in charge of.

10. Who cooks more? I do, otherwise we'd be eating hamburger helper 7 times a week!

11. What meals do you cook together? We like to make breakfast stuff like pancakes and eggs.

12. Who is more stubborn? neither of us are really stubborn, but if I had to pick one of us I'd say Taber, just because he's being stubborn right now about picking a name for our baby.

13. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Both of us. We can't stand to be mad at each other so we're both really quick to say sorry.

14. Who is more clean? Depends on what sense of clean. I'm cleaner as far as keeping the house tidy, but he's way more diligent about washing his hands 30 times a day and stuff like that.

15. Who has more siblings? Me. I have 6 he has 2

16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Pretty Equal, but he might have a little edge on me

17. What do you like to do together? Play with Teya, go on walks, go sight seeing, talk about books we're reading, just talk in general, watch Lost and eat ice cream.

18. Who eats more sweets? Me, I'm a sugar addict

19. Guilty pleasures? Taber: espn.com, the NBA playoffs, Man vs. Wild: Becca:people.com, So you think you can dance, sugar babies and boston baked beans.

20. How did you meet? Study Abroad in Guadalajara Mexico.

21. Who asked who out first? He asked me

22. Who kissed who first? He kissed me on the roof of my house in Mexico, it was muy romantico!

23. Who proposed? Taber, of course.

24. His best features? He has the most amazing chocolate brown eyes, a great jawline, sexy lips, and pretty much looks good from any angle. : )

25. What is his greatest quality? He's so unselfish, he always thinks of others first. He also has a great work ethic, awesome values, and is an amazing husband and father.

If you want to do this consider yourself tagged!

Water Park!

On Memorial Day we took Teya to a little water park up in Nashville. When we first walked in and she saw the wave pool she yelled "Beach!!!" She's never actually been to a beach, but I think she's seen them on TV so she was pretty excited to see one in person. She only went on one waterslide, I think it was a little overwhelming, and she preferred the wave pool when the waves weren't running. : ) Needless to say we spent most of our time at the kiddie pool where she happily played with her shoes in the water. It's so fun to see how easily small children are entertained. Anyway, all the pics are of Teya because I think there's an unspoken rule that you don't post pictures of yourself 8 months pregnant in a swimming suit, it could be scary! : )

Shoes make great pool toys

Cheeser smile at the kiddie pool

Taking a snack break (and a break from the sun)

Big Sister in Training

With the new baby on it's way we've been trying to get Teya excited about being a big sister and doing more "big girl" things. We've kind of let her be the baby for a little too long and as a result she has some pretty entrenched baby habits that we've been trying to break. The biggest one being her binky. I always said that when she turned two I would take away her binky, but her birthday came and went, and we still hadn't gotten rid of it. She was a super binky addict (as you can see for her double binky picture below), she had to have it at all times, in bed, in the car, at church, at friend's houses, in the store, playing at home, etc.. Whenever we forgot it she would have a major meltdown, so I was terrified of taking it away. Finally though we decided that enough was enough so I began operation "bye bye binky."

I wanted to kind of ease her into it, so I decided that she could still have it in bed only. The first day was hard, when she woke up I told her she had to leave her binky in bed because she was a big girl and big girls didn't need a binky. She cried when I made her leave it behind but I quickly distracted her with her favorite breakfast and the binky was forgotten. Throughout the day she would suddenly realize she didn't have it and say, "Hey! Where my binky go?" I would then remind her that it was in her bed because she was a big girl and that she could have it when she went night night. Most of the day was okay, but the hardest part was being in the car. She cried and cried and I almost caved in, but after that first car ride without it, she has been fine.

So far it's been about 2 weeks and she has been really good about not having her binky during the day. When I go to get her in the mornings, she pops her binky out of her mouth, throws it on her bed and says, "bye bye binky!" She also gets really excited for naps and bedtime because as soon as I say it's time for bed her eyes light up and she says, "Yay! my binky!!!" So it's kind of nice because it gives her something to look forward to. I have no idea how we'll get rid of it at night time, but for now I'm just happy that I don't have to be scorned in public anymore when people see my two year old daughter noshing on a binky.

Next up: Potty Training and moving into a big girl bed. Wish us luck!

Adventures With Daddy

With the weather getting warmer, Taber has started a new tradition where he takes Teya on daddy/daughter "adventures" as soon as he gets home from work. It's a great arrangement because it gives me a chance to cook dinner without a toddler hanging on my leg, and it gives Teya and Taber some very nice bonding time. Teya has learned the routine now and when she hears Taber's car pull into garage she gets all excited, grabs her shoes, and says, "bye mommy!"

Usually their adventures involve walks around the neighborhood, picking flowers,(dandilions and weeds) throwing rocks into the "waterfall" (fountain by the model home) climbing "moutains" (the giant dirt mound by the pool construction site) and best of all, looking for ants (she is obsessed with bugs!) She comes home and hands me her treasures (usually dandilions or small rocks) and enthusiastically proclaims, " Mommy I go on a venture!!!"

(The follwing pics aren't actually from her neighborhood adventures with Daddy, we took them at a local park today, but I thought they give a pretty good idea of her bonding time with Dad)

Feeding the ducks at the Discovery Center

Investigating a spider web

Posing at the waterfall

Daddy is so much fun!!

Epidural or Natural Delivery?

With D-day exactly 2 months from today I've been thinking more about how I want to do labor this time around. With Teya I had an epidural after I got to a 5, and believe me, I thought I was dying at that point! Problem was, the epidural slowed down my labor, I fell asleep, and by the time I was ready to push it had worn off. I asked for another one and they gave it to me but then my leg was numb for weeks afterward and I had to see a neurologist to figure out what was up.

Anyway, so I guess the epidural, though wonderful and a huge relief, still wasn't the greatest experience because I just hated not being able to walk, feel my legs, know if I was even pushing, etc...Also Teya was super groggy when she was born from being so drugged up.

So I've been considering doing it natural this time but still need to do a lot of research and don't really know all the pros and cons. Plus, I honestly don't know if I'm up for that, though I guess if I was born 150 years ago it wouldn't be an option, whether I thought I was up to it or not! If anyone has researched this subject, gone through a natural delivery, or has any advice to offer up I'd greatly appreciate any insights I can get. Knowledge is power right?