Scharrer Life Update

I have been a very boring blogger lately! As we get more and more into this semester, the days get busier and busier, and I feel that there is just not enough time to get on the computer. This is nice because it means that we're out having fun, but it's also unfortunate because I'm not able to record all the new and amazing things Maida is doing. Every time she does something new or we do something cool, Erik will remind me to put it on the blog, but as time goes on (and the pregnancy shrinks more of my brain cells) I forget what I was supposed to blog about! So, here's a poor attempt at catching you all up (and as you can see, I had to stay up until 12:30am to get some computer time!)...

- I started a "playgroup" at my house on Fridays. We've actually only met one Friday so far, but I love having other moms and their babies over for some good girl time while the babies play! I feel blessed to have so many good friends here that are in the same stage of life as me.
- I was able to attend a "Pregnancy Information Night" held at one of the churches here in Duluth. It was nice to go and meet other expectant mothers while gaining great insight and collecting important information for pregnancy and birth. I sat in on a panel discussion between an OB, family doctor, midwife, labor & delivery nurse, pediatrician, and doula. That was really helpful to me, especially for learning about the two different hospitals here, since I'm still undecided which one I will deliver at.
- Maida started saying two syllable words. She can say things like, "baby," "nana," "papa," "baba" for Barkley, "rara" for rash, "fla fla" for flower, and "pa per" for paper. I'm sure that I'm forgetting some others that she's mastered also. It's so hard to keep track at this point!
- Maida took care of herself while I took a shower the other day. She usually just showers with me and plays with her bath toys on the shower floor while I wash up, but the other day I decided to try just leaving her out of the shower to see what would happen. She played in the living room with her toys the entire time and didn't seem to miss me at all!
- Erik took Maida to one of his soccer games the other night while I was at yoga. He didn't have a babysitter, so she stayed on the sidelines by herself and just stood with whoever was not playing at that moment. I hear that teammate Uncle Jake (med school student with Erik) did a pretty good job of keeping an eye on her! Erik said she did awesome, however didn't want Daddy to go back into the game after halftime, so he sat out the last half with her. This was actually a playoff game and they lost. Bummer!
- Erik's parents were in town, along with his brother Brandon and wife Karlie. I posted the picture website from the weekend yesterday. Go check out the pictures! We had a great time with them and were sad to see them leave. We wish that we lived closer! When they were here we got our family pictures professionally taken (and we all wore matching shirts!), we walked along the Lakewalk on Lake Superior, got drinks at Dunns Brothers Coffee and Caribou Coffee, Nana bought new clothes for Skogen, we hiked around Jay Cooke State Park, and ate lots of good ham and Oklahoma brisket!
- Erik went to a couples' prenatal yoga class with me! We had a ton of fun talking with other expecting couples and Erik even admitted he liked the yoga! However, him and I got a laughing attack and almost had to leave right in the middle of it. It was super embarrassing as everyone else was focusing and taking it seriously. I have no idea what got into us, but I was glad that we were able to pull it together before getting kicked out of class! We learned some helpful relaxation techniques for when I'm in labor.
- Maida went poop on the potty for the first time! She's been doing awesome at peeing in the potty - she will go every time, all day long, as long as I don't have a diaper on her. She just walks over to her potty chair and goes when she has to, or tells me "pa" and then I put her on the toilet. She'll even get out of the bath or shower (or leave swimming lessons!) to go to the bathroom! The only problem we've had is the pooping on the toilet because she gets too impatient with sitting there. But the other morning she told me "poo" and then went on the toilet! Yay! My favorite thing is after she's gone, she'll hold up her hand and say, "fiii," which means that she wants a high-five for going! Soooo cute!
- I had my first doctor appointment with our family practice doctor and it went great. My next ultrasound is on Monday and then on Tuesday I have my blood glucose test done.
- Erik goes to guards this weekend and my mom is coming to stay with me while he's away. It should be a great weekend with mom here, catching up on all of my laundry and housework while she plays with the monster! I'm sure there will also be a trip to the mall and maybe thrift store or two!

I hope that I hit most of the important things that we'll want to remember about this time when we look back several years down the road. If not, then maybe Erik will leave a comment and add whatever he wants to the list. :) Overall, we're doing well and really enjoying the fall colors. I can't believe that Halloween is almost here, followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas! Wow!