for fun

Just a few special moments captured with the camera.

I think we may need to get him a potty seat so he doesn't start using my mixing bowls.

Loving his blocks all over himself!

happy birthday

Happy birthday to my incredible sister, Emma! We are so lucky to have you in our lives. And you're a wonderful aunt to E. We love you!

exciting

I didn't think it would happen this spon, but Paul felt the baby move this evening. I have been feeling the little guy for about a week and a bit. It must be that he's already on track to be strong!

In addition, my weekly update say that he should weigh about 8.5oz. Well, at my ultrasound last week he weighed in at 10oz. I think he's trying to beat his brother's birth weight.

I have signed up to take a Hypnobirthing class with Paul. We shall see how that goes. The woman holding the classes may also serve as my doula.

E has fallen in love with trains. He can't get enough of real ones and Thomas the train. He doesn't say "choose chop", but instead says "hhhh, hhh" as though he's out breath.

Trucks and motorcycles on the road are another big hit. He will see them and very loudly say "oooohhh" while pointing at them. He cracks me up.

He has become quite fond of playing with my belly button while nursing. He loves to cuddle a blanket as he goes to sleep that my friend, Kerri, gave him over a year ago. In the mornings, E will climb, then stand, on our bathtub and turn the lights on and off.

So many good things are happening. I can't get enough!

17 weeks, well, almost 18

I had another ultrasound today to check baby #2's growth. Everything seemed to go well, except the tech had a difficult time getting baby's heart measurements because he was being stubborn. (Yes, we made sure that he was still a HE.) It seems as this little one likes to face my spine which makes it difficult to get a look at his heart. (In a previous post I mentioned that at my last appointment my doctor couldn't hear his heartbeat using a Doppler for the same reason.) I am hoping that his little boy isn't going to make stubbornness a habit.

We were able to see his head, brain, kidney's, stomach, "boy parts", hands, feet, spine, face, and some other good stuff. His heart was beating at about 140 beats per minute and weighs in at about 10 ounces. He has a way to go before catching up to his brother's birth weight of 8 lbs., 10 oz. Then again, he still his about 22 weeks to go!

I'm feeling much better although I do go through spats of gagging and feeling queasy. I am no longer taking medication to ease the nausea, but do try to eat more often so that I don't feel sick because of hunger. All of my non-maternity close are no longer able to be worn. I still have some searching to do for clothes in my maternity buckets, but for the most part I have it all out.

It's funny how different I look at pregnancy now that I've been through it before. Yes, it's still amazing and a miracle. I do my best to eat well and take my vitamins everyday, but haven't been as "strict" about it as I was with E. I have yet to read a pregnancy book or birthing book. I have thought about how differently I want my labor and deliver to be. I want a natural birth and may even take a Hypnobirthing class. I'm considering having a doula and delivering at Good Sam where they have birthing tubs available. I know that if I end up needing a c-section again, I want our baby to be placed on my chest if neither of us have any medical complications. We haven't looked or even considered names. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the nursery. I get weekly Baby Center updates and I just skim them.

What I think about now is how (and when) are we going to transition E into a toddler bed, what are we going to do for E's birthday, will E ever stop nursing, is his language developing properly, how will he react to this new little person?

Maybe it's because I've "been through it before" or that I don't have all the time in the world to sit and read and prepare. Whatever it is, I know that this little boy will be cared for and loved, just like his brother.

school

E had his third class at "school" today and my mom brought home his artwork. It's adorable!! Here are some photos of his work and him at school.

21 months

Our little boy is now 21 months old and I'm a few days late writing this post. We have had quite a rough week this past week. I've been on spring break, but we've both been sick the whole time. I tool E to the doctor and has caught whatever nasty virus I had. He has a terrible cough (which leads to coughing up phlegm - yuck), runny/stuffy nose (but seems to love baby Vick's on his chest), lack of appetite, and an increased need for Mama. Luckily, since I've been home we've had a lot of Mama and E time. We cuddled, nursed a ton, and napped together. We visited with Grandma and Grandpa all week and they were a lot of help. Over the weekend, all E wanted was to be with Dada. I love watching my two boys together.

At 21 months E:

-loves to say "mama" and "dada". Everything still comes out as "bah", "dah", or "tss". Although he doesn't say much, he definitely understand what you say and tries his hardest to communicate back with pointing, grunting, motioning, etc.

-enjoys making animal sounds, especially elephant, bear, bird, and dog. In fact today while at Trader Joe's, he decided to be a very LOUD bear.

-likes to count things by pointing or using his fingers, although he doesn't quite yet understand the finger to number correspondence.

-loves to build tall towers, clean the house, water the plants (or anything involving water), and swing on his swing outside.

-wants to do everything for himself. He will tap his fingers to his chest to say "me" and then motion to what he wants to do. For example, he wants to get his own food, pour his own drinks, make coffee (for Paul), and even trying to put on his own pants, shoes, and socks. He can already pull up his own pants, except for in the back. He has been wanting to zip his own pajamas the past few nights and tonight he was able to do it a few short times.

-really enjoys music, whether you're singing or dancing. His favorites include a Raffi cd, Wheels on the Bus, If You're Happy and You Know It, Roly Poly, and Skidamarink. My favorite song he does is Skidamarink because of the fact that he does the hand gestures. It warms my heart and puts a smile to my face every time. He also sings along to Fiest's 1,2,3,4 from Sesame Street when it gets to the "ba, ba, ba-dah" part.

-has recently decided to stop nursing after a bit at bedtime and point to his crib. When I ask him if he wants to go in his crib he says "tss". I'm wondering if soon he won't want to nurse at all, which makes me sad.

-loves to go on the swings at least once a day for 30 minutes (minimum). Or be outside at all.

-loves eating fruit, yogurt, and cereal; doesn't like eating chicken.

-only enjoys reading a certain handful of books which include (but not limited to) Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, a book about the story of Jesus, Where is Baby's Belly Button?

-loves to take baths, brush his teeth, and take his temperature (as well as mine).

-likes to crawl under things, especially legs and his high chair. Usually after he finishes eating he will play under his high chair for a few minutes.

-enjoys wearing Daddy's belt and either of our shoes.

-loves to do anything he sees Daddy do like clean the pool and take out the trash!

-really knows and looks forward to our bedtime routine. He will get the close the baby gate, get the monitor out of our room, put it by the gate, get a "little towel" out of his dresser, and then head to the bathroom. Smart kid.

Paul and I talk all the time about what a great kid E is. We really have been quite lucky with how easy going he is. We have noticed lately that when he becomes frustrated with something he will destroy it, shuffle it around, or find something to his his hand on. I'm thinking this might be a sign of what's to come in the next year or two. But still, we've been blessed with a sweetie pie of a kid.

what a start to Spring Break!

Day 1: Went on a walk with my boy. Took him to the library for story time (so fun). Went to visit my folks. Went for a ride. Evan threw up.

Day 2: Evan ate barely anything. Couple bites of toast, jello, graham crackers, raisins. Drank normal amounts of milk/water. Started coughing (and sounding like mine).

Day 3: E ate some breakfast. Still didn't eat much the rest of the day. Still coughing, bit of a runny nose. Very needy. Mama! Mama! Mama!

Amazing how he doesn't feel all that well, but still manages to play like nothing is wrong! But the best part thus far, even though neither of us feel that well, is being with him all day long!

the vegetables of our labor

We've been patiently waiting for our garden to produce veggies and have been waiting impatiently to eat them. After getting home from work today, Evan was very excited to show me the garden. The broccoli and cauliflower have really grown. E wanted to try some broccoli, so my mom pulled a small piece off and let him eat it. (First off, how AMAZING is it that my child loves broccoli? Secondly, how even MORE AMAZING is it to be able to pull some off out of your backyard garden!?) Well, he couldn't get enough. I even had to taste it. I must say, it is the most delicious broccoli I have ever tasted.

Tonight for dinner, Paul and I went out back, cut off the largest head of broccoli and pulled out one (yes, just one) carrot. We washed, trimmed, and then steamed out first harvested vegetables from our very own garden. YUMMY!

batter up!

Someday, this rookie card will be worth millions. It's already priceless to me.

*love*

I just *LOVE* these two.

pregnancy #2, 15 weeks

So here I am, growing another little baby in my ever growing belly. I'm now 15 weeks and suffering from a rather continuous feeling of gagging. E's pregnancy was rather "easy", but this little one is letting me have it.

On a whim, I decided to take a pregnancy test on Dec. 23. Christmas was so close, and I just wanted to make sure that I could drink some wine and Bailey's over the holiday. I went into the bathroom, took out the last pregnancy test I had, and contemplated whether or not to take it. I knew it'd be negative and I didn't want to waste it. After a bit of thought, I took it anyway. As I watched the stick get more and more moist, that first "pregnant" line appeared within milliseconds. I called E over (and yes, I was still sitting on the toilet) and told him to take it to Daddy. He ever so sweetly took it from me, walked over to Paul, and handed it to him. If I remember correctly, Paul must have said something like, "Hey E, what's this?" and followed it by "Is this real?!"

We were so excited and went to my doctor that afternoon to confirm. They received a positive test too. On Dec. 28, I had my first prenatal appointment and ultrasound.

I started feeling sick pretty soon afterwords. At my next appointment in January, my doctor gave me a prescription for some anti-nausea medication. It works most of the time, but there are days when it seems like it doesn't work at all.

My past appointment went pretty well. The doctor couldn't find a heartbeat using doppler, so he told a nurse to get me in the ultrasound room. I had to do my best to not start worrying, but I was panicked. My doctor informed me that sometimes the heartbeat couldn't be heard depending on the way the baby is lying when they're this small. As soon as the image of the sonogram came up, there was baby. Heart beating like mad. And dancing around like a party animal.

My doctor asked me if I wanted to know the gender and I replied with a yes. Just as he was about to tell me, I told (well, more like shouted at) him that I didn't want to know without Paul. I closed my eyes and he wrote down the gender on the sonogram. When the "coast was clear", I was allowed to open my eyes. As my doctor left to seal the baby's gender in an envelope, I looked up at the screen where the image of my baby had been. The image was no longer there, but staring at me was the word BOY. In that second, I was ecstatic and disappointed at the same time. Of course I was thrilled that we were having another boy, but at the same time, I was wishing that I had shared that moment with Paul.

As much as I wanted to call him immediately, I couldn't because of the fact that I had lost my phone a few days prior and my replacement hadn't been received. However, he was able to open the envelope and discover what our baby was going to be. He was so excited!

*I must say, I've had some pretty poor ultrasound photos. I have no idea how this is a boy.

We can't wait to meet our new little boy. I ask E where the baby is and he points to himself, so I'm guessing that we need to work on that one!

Day #1 at school

I just got off the phone with my mom. She said E had a blast! The school was nice enough to send me some photos of his first day. They just make me smile and laugh!!!