Falling asleep

I never thought this child would ever do this... Last night, Beth just couldn't stay awake during dinner. It was so funny we grabbed our video camera and I filmed 2 minutes of it before we couldn't take it anymore and put her to bed. This was at 6pm last night, and she slept until 7 this morning!

(Thank goodness Ryan was bit by the organizing bug last night because we found a USB cord for our digital camcorder I thought we had broken. I now have all sorts of pictures and videos ranging back to Beth's baptism!)

New Camera (again)

We've gotten a new camera. Again. Hopefully this one will last longer than a year! We shopped till we dropped today finding the perfect camera, and we decided on the Kodak EasyShare z1085. I am REALLY excited about this camera because our in-store trails were really awesome, and the EasyShare line came highly recommended to me. Incredibly clear zoom, fast recover time, crisp pictures. I hope you will be able to notice a difference once we get it! I found it on sale online so it will be a few days before it gets here!

Meanwhile, we haven't had a camera to capture the shenanigans all week. My mom and two youngest brothers have been visiting, and my dad came in on Wednesday evening. They weren't staying here but Beth and I pretty much spent every day with them since we don't get to see them very often. There were multiple opportunities for photos but unfortunately no working camera! So just imagine 8-yr-old and 6-yr-old boys entertaining an 18-month-old. They all left to go home today so it's back to life as usual!

18 months!

Happy half-birthday to my sweet girl! Today she is 18-months-old, that means every day forward she will be closer to two years than one year. I had some professional pictures taken today and of course they're incredibly cute! I love you my big toddler girl!

Broken camera...again!

I've broken my camera. This is not as bad as last time though, I hope not at least. The lens won't close and so it gives me an error and won't let me take photos. What am I going to post now??? Hopefully I'll get it fixed soon- I don't know where to take it! Suggestions? I really don't like Best Buy, I feel like they're always ripping me off.

Here are two photos that I stole from a friend's blog. :-) It's of Beth and family friend Hannah. They are 7 months apart and just now starting to really interact when they play together. Unfortunately we don't get to see them enough but it's cute to see the way their play changes each time we meet up! What's fun is our next 2 kids will be only 2 months apart so they'll get to grow up together too!

Saturday

Today we had a family reunion of sorts at my grandparent's house. Beth was a little shy at first but she warms up quickly! I don't have any pictures because I completely forgot to bring out my camera, I will make sure to take some this week while my mom and brothers are in town. My youngest 2 brothers are 6 and 8 years old, and Beth has so much fun with them!

Tomorrow I'll be 23 weeks pregnant. Time is flying! I'm watching A Baby Story and some of those other TLC tv shows to remind myself of birth and labor, to try to get pumped up. I cry every time a baby is born, it's really sort of sad how fragile my emotions are right now! It is bringing up memories, mostly good, from Beth's birth. There are a few things I want to do differently so I'm making a huge list of questions for my OB at my next appointment. I am going to be trying for a med-free birth again, hopefully my labor will be shorter than 2 days and I'll be able to get some rest naturally this time!

Playing with baby Eric

I finally caught her "silly noise" on camera!!! It's at the very end, you may need your sound higher to hear it. She's been making this noise for months now and I don't know how she does it, but we can ask her to make her "silly noise" and this is what she does. I crack up every time she does it!

Notice he's swaddled.

Father's Day

Sorry this post is delayed, I had to wait for the video to process on YouTube. ;-)

Happy Father's Day honey!!! How does it feel to be a father of TWO (plus a stinky dog)? I know I will always be safe from wasps with you around, and that makes me feel like a better mom. I owe you a breakfast in bed!

Ryan and his brother Josh, killing wasps.

"Helping" Finley eat

We have an odd couple of kids around here. Finley prefers not to eat his food from the bowl, so Beth "helps" him eat. He is not the type of dog that immediately goes to his food bowl once I fill it up, his food will literally sit there all day until Beth intervenes. So it goes something like this: Beth notices food in the bowl, picks up the bowl and carries it to wherever Finley is and gives it to him, hand-fed, piece by piece. But eventually she'll get bored with that and start putting it somewhere else, like a windowsill or on the carpet. He doesn't mind, as long as it's not in the bowl. She might get bored with that so she might dump it on the carpet and he'll continue eating. However it happens, it's a process that usually entertains them both for 20 minutes. It's rather disgusting to me because she smells like stinky fish-dog slobber and dog food by the time it's all over, and the windowsills have looked better, but it's a battle I've decided not to fight. It's a weird, symbiotic relationship that makes them both happy- Finley eats and Beth is entertained. What more could a mom ask for?

Post- meal wrestling

He's such a good dog to put up with her!

22 weeks pregnant

from here.

"Bye bye Luke"

People keep asking me if Beth knows I'm pregnant. I think she understands minimally- Beth knows where baby Luke is for the most part (in my belly). Although sometimes she'll point to her belly and say "baby!" and we giggle. We'll talk about Luke periodically throughout the day, I'll ask Beth to say hello to Luke, ask her to say his name, we'll talk about being a big sister and sharing her room, today we looked at clothes for baby brother. I think at her age it's impossible for her to completely understand what is going on. When she wants to "see" Luke, she'll lift up my shirt and say hi, or give him a kiss, then will say, "Bye bye!" and pull my shirt down. It's really cute!

Today I saw this on sale for $10, and I probably would have bought it with store credit had Beth not started screaming right exactly then. I took it as a sign to leave before I got myself into trouble!

How cute for a second baby, lol. They had several other super-cute Dr. Seuss onesies, I probably would have left with a couple if Beth hadn't "saved" me!

Have I mentioned we're having a boy? LOL!

NO!

Well guess who is officially a little toddler stinker? No, certainly not the precious, darling, polite little Beth! :-b We're hearing a lot of her new favorite word- no! The good news is I don't think she totally understands what she's saying, because sometimes she'll say no but still want what you're offering. She will add the head shake though, as if to emphasize her point. And she'll still nod yes, but she doesn't really speak the word yes. "Yeah," sometimes. Yes ma'am? Definitely not. But I'm not giving up on her yet! She's also added "me" into her rotation, but it's not used correctly. It's just another syllable to pronounce when she doesn't know what else to say! She doesn't say the cute "manaa" anymore when asked "What sound does a kitty make?" Now she says "me." It's sort of sad, her kitty meow ("manaa") was just the sweetest sound on earth- and if you had the chance to hear it you'd know what I was talking about. But she doesn't say it anymore. I guess growing up is part of life!

My goal this week is to update Beth's baby book. Hold me accountable!!!

Making a mess is more fun when there are two involved!

I love this doggy look, lol.

Sunday we went to a professional baseball game, Beth's second game. We went with some friends and had a really nice time- it was nothing fancy but a good time to catch up and talk. :-)

Laying low

We've been home all week since Beth has had a runny nose and since I'm trying to save on gas. So not much to update- Ryan's been busy with work and his summer school started this week, and Beth is fine other than the nose issue (but it's been enough to keep us home from the pool). We've been out for daily walks which is good for all of us (including Finley) but we're trying to keep Beth inside as much as possible because of those darned mosquitoes. She has 4 bites on her legs that won't go away, they've been scratched and are sort of scabbing over. Sort of gross but there's really not much I can do since she pulls off band-aids, so I keep lightweight pants on her as much as possible. She's continued to love the chocolate milk we're giving her but it's taken a toll on some of her cute clothes, so chocolate milk is now only given in her high chair with either her shirt off or a huge plastic bib on!

In addition to labor I'm also making a mental list of things we'll NEED to have before Luke is born. First on my mind is his car seat. I think this time we'll put him in an infant seat (whereas Beth went straight to her convertible) because I am imagining that it might be easier since he'll be our second child. So I have to find something that is safe but that will fit into my stroller so I can make it into a "travel system" if I want. Right now I'm looking at the Graco Safe Seat and the Chicco Keyfit. Both have been recommended to me as extremely safe yet comfortable. I still need to drive to a Babies R Us with my stroller and see if they'll both sit in the stroller safely enough. I'd also like to get a new sling, probably a pouch like I had with Beth since I loved it. Something in a manly color. ;-) We can't have him in Beth's fall-colored girly pouch now can we? That's more of a want though, not a need!

In the future we'll need another bed (he'll be with us for at least 6 months so we have awhile to decide whether we'll move Beth to a toddler bed or straight to a twin mattress), and maybe another high chair? I don't know, do 28-month-olds use high chairs or booster seats? We're also considering painting Beth's room since they'll eventually be sharing, something a little more gender-neutral (right now it's pale pink and green). Safari animals, baby animals, sea animals? I don't really want to do Winnie the Pooh or anything that's a passing fad. We have plenty of time to figure that out though!

20 week belly shot

How it went/20 weeks

Well I know you're all dying to know how our test-driving experience went! LOL. First off, the two salesmen we talked to were both very nice, neither were pushy at all. Totally not what I was expecting! I would say the dealerships we went to were medium-sized to small even.

First we went to Toyota and found out that the Rav4 only comes with a 3rd-row seat in the Limited model. Bummer because that makes it more expensive. Also, no rear air vents. And small steering wheel. Other than that, it drove a little bumpy for me, more like a truck. I liked the interior.

Second was the Mazda dealership. They had only 1 Mazda5 on their lot because apparently they are sold very quickly. The salesman said last year they couldn't give them away and now they're flying off the lot! We test drove their only one and let me tell you- this is my future car. It drove like a car- which I like- but was higher up than a car. Not too high though, the ride was smooth. The interior space in the 3rd row is incredibly tight, but we plan to have this car through our 4th child which means there shouldn't be too many times when an adult would have to fit back there. Although the back doors are sliding like a van, the windows roll down (neat!) and there are vents in the back. Not where I'd like them to be (on the ceiling) but they're back there. The seats are easy to move, the front console was easy to figure out, and generally we were impressed with the car overall. It's kind of in a class of its own- not technically a minivan, a crossover, wagon, or an SUV. It's a car with 3 rows and sliding doors/hatchback with awesome gas mileage and priced at a steal. I am definitely motivated to start saving money now! It's going to be a very cheap summer here at our house! Not only will we continue with our standard "leftover Fridays," but we are planning implementing "grilled cheese Wednesdays" and maybe 1 other meatless meals. And we're going to cut out eating out to once every two weeks. Yikes!

Anyone have any other money savers? Our summer entertainment- which has already been paid for- is our community pool. I canNOT go to the mall or Target to cure boredom- that's how the little purchases start adding up! If we cut back on eating out and our grocery bill, we will easily have enough to put a decent amount down on the new car toward the end of September. Wish us luck!

And by the way, today marks my halfway point through my pregnancy. This makes me incredibly excited and anxious at the same time. I realized today that my hunch of being "smaller" this pregnancy is based on fact- my waist is 2 inches smaller and I am 10 lbs lighter right now than I was at this point in my pregnancy with Beth. I blame it on the fact that I started 8 lbs lighter in this pregnancy! Thank you 10k! (Also, I'm not sure if I've previously mentioned this, but I plan on running a 10k after every child. At least this time it proved to be an excellent move on my part to get back into shape post-baby.) I am feeling little Luke kicking a lot now- in fact he's definitely awake right now. Ryan is able to feel kicks also which is really neat for him. My legs are feeling "full" after standing for awhile and my belly is itchy. Other than that I really have no complaints! Thank you Jesus for the ability to carry this child with such ease! (Are you prepping me for something painful in the future?)

I am thinking a lot about labor and delivery already. I have decided to investigate the program Hypnobabies at the recommendation of a friend. I am intrigued and interested in learning more, and am kind of at the point where I think anything to help me cope with labor is worth looking into. I want to try again for a med-free birth. Hopefully this time my labor will be much shorter- I feel like I chose the epidural last time not because of the pain but to let me get some sleep! It was hard for me to imagine having the strength to deliver after being awake and laboring for over 30 hours, so that's why I chose the epi. And boy did it work- it knocked me out for a couple of hours if I remember correctly! My OB assured me that my labor will *most likely* be much shorter this time, and that my pushing phase should be shorter too. Since I pushed without the epi with Beth, that part won't be new! We also have a new book, Husband-Coached Childbirth, which will help us prepare with new methods of coping. I don't know if we'll take a Bradley class this time, only because I can't imagine being able to do it with Beth since they're in the evenings. I hope that if we do a lot of reading and practicing at home that it will suffice.

Anyone with thoughts on natural childbirth? Mandi?

Bugs

Raising a toddler is an interesting study of learned versus instinctual behaviors. Like dancing. Totally instinctual, lol. This girl just started moving one day without any coaxing on our part and hasn't stopped! Personally, I always thought that a fear of bugs was mostly a learned behavior. It seems that way at least- some families are scared of dogs, bugs, mice, etc., and others could care less. Well, Beth's fear of bugs has developed all on her own. And boy, does she hate bugs!

She will call me from across the room to let me know if there's a bug- dead or alive- and won't stop squealing about it until I pick it up and throw it away. Not only bugs though (it's not like we live in a barn!) but pieces of leaves or dirt that have been tracked inside. Anything that resembles a bug must be quickly removed by me. While playing outside, I'll pick up a rolly-polly bug (doodle bug?) and let it crawl over my hand while she says she wants to touch it but won't. On the bright side, it's helping me keep the floors very clean!

She also has become very nit-picky about things that are in the wrong place. Not toys (I wish) but something like a tiny speck of food or goodness knows what, she'll pick it up and bring it to me. Luckily it hasn't been anything disgusting yet, but even Ryan's aunt noticed this "quirk" last week when we were visiting their house. Again, I have to get up and throw whatever it is away (placing it on my plate or in a napkin won't do).

Tomorrow is an incredibly exciting day for me- we're going test driving for a new car!!! This will be my first time to do anything like this since my first two cars sort of just happened. Ryan and I are going to test drive a Mazda 5 and a Toyota Rav4. Depending on how that goes, we may try some other vehicles but right now we're leaning toward one of those two based on our research from Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com. For us, with a growing family plus a dog, the interior room seems acceptable (on paper- haven't seen them in real life!) up against the better gas mileage than some bigger SUVs. Initially we were going to check out a Honda Pilot, Saturn Outlook, Toyota Highlander, and Ford Taurus X, but with gas prices we just can't convince ourselves that 17 or 18 mpg is acceptable right now. We don't plan on buying until late September or early October, so I suppose something *could* change by then, but I doubt it! We're still not sure if we'll buy new or used, but we've generally been happy with my little Mazda Protege. We still may keep it also, as well as Ryan's truck. I can't imagine being a 3-car family but my Protege gets better mileage than his truck, so he might start driving that to work eventually. But it's really nice to have a truck bed to haul stuff when we need it! Lots of things for us to think about!

Here are some pictures of my little ham. Yesterday we were listening to some music, she was dancing and in a great mood so I grabbed the camera. I took a TON of pictures because she was being so stinkin' cute but unfortunately she likes to put her face right up against the camera so some are a little too close!

And finally...

We have a BOY!!! His name is Luke Michael. :-)

I went to pick up Ryan from work and while I was waiting I felt some serious kicks from the outside- he definitely knew we were on our way to see him! I haven't really felt kicks like that yet, only once about 2 weeks ago and Ryan was able to feel him move also (pretty cool). So we went to the OB, appointment as usual, we start the ultrasound and see the little face and then she moved the wand around and all of the sudden OH YEAH IT'S DEFINITELY A BOY! LOL, he wasn't shy at all. ;-) In fact we have a picture that proves it all, but I will save him future humiliation and not post it. Everything else looks great- he's measuring right on date and everything is developing as it should. I am so thankful! He was incredibly active during the ultrasound, he definitely flashed us a "Gig 'em" at one point though!

I will post some ultrasound pictures soon. I have to get them scanned (I don't have a scanner) so hopefully that will happen soon!


My next visit is in 5 weeks, when I will have the gestational diabetes test. I can't believe I almost just about halfway done with this pregnancy! Now comes the fun part- shopping for boys clothes!!! Wohoo!

Pool day

Today Beth and I went to the pool for the second time. Today was a much better pool day since it was hot, mostly sunny, and the water was a great temperature. Beth actually got into the baby pool today and started walking around- she really took off! She wasn't interested in holding my hand at all, and I think she walked rather well in the water considering it was up to her chest in certain parts of the baby pool. She even "jumped" into the water- I was holding her as she jumped in- but she wanted to do it over and over again. After awhile I got pretty hot so we went to the big pool and I held her close to me until she got used to the big kids and adults. Then I extended my arms, holding her underarms, and told her to kick her legs- she went to town!!! She didn't want to stop kicking, even when I brought her back to me. Next I tried to let her "float" on her back- she wasn't really comfortable with that but we'll get there soon.

I would love to make sure I'm teaching her the right things regarding water safety and baby swimming. I know not to expect her to swim to me from the side or anything but it would seem to me that there are certain things she should know or be learning right now. I searched our library database and couldn't turn up anything on teaching babies to swim, so do y'all have any advice?

Also, overheard today while in the big pool-

Mom, to kid dunking brother underwater: "Tyler, don't drown your brother please."
Kid: "But mom, I'm baptizing him!" Both boys giggle.

I almost died of laughter!

19 weeks pregnant

Just a couple more days until we find out! Yikes! I dreamed last night about it, but my appointment was delayed and they were going to make me come back on Friday. I'm so anxious and excited!!! We have our boy name picked out but not our girl name yet. I'll tell you later. ;-)

a picture from pregnancy.org, a baby at 19 weeks.

And about my comment last week about the big sis or big brother thing... Our former neighbor had said that when her mom was expecting, about being a big sister or a big brother. It was so cute and it's stuck in my mind, so I thought I'd share. I didn't come up with it on my own, lol.

St. Louis, part 2

Tuesday morning we packed up and hit the road early. First stop was Louisiana, where Ryan's mom and grandma grew up. It was a beautiful little town on the border of Illinois, and we drove around to see all the sights.

This is the cemetery where Ryan's grandparents and cousin are buried. It has an incredible view of the Mississippi river, and we crossed over the river just to say that Beth and I had been to Illinois. ;-)

Next stop was the Henry Lay Sculpture Park, where we had lunch and walked around to see some of the sculptures. Of course, what would the day be without a picture of Ryan talking smack to a piece of art? The park was beautiful and I wish we would have had more time to hang out there, unfortunately we were on a schedule and the day was rather overcast.

After Louisiana, we headed south to Mexico, MO, where Ryan's great aunt lives. We visited with her just for a little bit, but Beth wasn't really cooperating in the nursing home so we took her outside to play. I took these pictures of her dancing and running around in the grass to stretch her legs before our final bit of time in the car!

Once we arrived in Lake of the Ozarks, Beth (and her daddy) were more than ready to be out of the car! It was a long day! We stayed in that evening and enjoyed the beautiful night by grilling and hanging out on Ryan's uncle's deck and screened-in porch. Beth slept beautifully that night (like all the other nights) and the next morning was completely energized and ready to go!

Beth's first boat ride- look how cute she is! The day was sunny but cool so we had a wonderful time cruising around the lake. Ryan and I both got a little much-needed sun, and Beth had quite a time trying to walk on a moving pontoon boat. That's Uncle Jimmy's house in the background-wonderful accommodations! Sometime over the trip, Beth learned how to "show us your teeth!" and it's made smiling for pictures soooo much easier! She also learned how to say "baby" and has added that into her rotation of mama, dada, ma! (more), hiya, and die (diaper).

Self-portrait on the boat.

Everyone has to learn to drive a boat eventually, right?

Thursday after lunch we drove straight back to St. Louis, a much shorter trip than the way there on Tuesday. We didn't do much that evening except hang out with everyone. I don't know why driving in a car makes you so tired but we were wiped out that night!

Friday was an exciting day for me! Ryan's uncle is a helicopter pilot and instructor, and he was able to figure out a way to take us up and give us an aerial tour of the outskirts of St. Louis. I had never been in a helicopter before and it was really cool! I was worried that I'd get motion sickness, being preggo and all, but I didn't! Actually it was pretty much what I'd expected it would be, except the motion was bumpier. But it wasn't bad- he said it was a good day for flying! Ryan stayed down with Beth while I went up, then we switched places and he went up while I stayed down.

It was a 4-seater copter so I went up with Ryan's mom and cousin.

I was in the backseat, this was my view straight ahead.

And here is Ryan practicing his hovering technique! A born pilot if I've ever seen one!

Our last night so we had another family dinner. Here's a picture of us with Ryan's grandpa. Look at Beth smiling for the camera!

That night was our last night, so what better way to spend it then out gambling? Since we don't have casinos, and since it's a secret addiction for Ryan, we went out with his cousin to the Ameristar casino. I wasted some money feeding the slots (I'm no good at gambling) but Ryan did pretty well at the black jack table. We went out for some drinks first (I was designated driver, of course) then stayed out too late!

The next morning we had just enough time to pack up and head off to say goodbye to everyone. It was a rainy day but our flight was delayed only about 15 minutes, wonderfully enough! On the flight home, Beth didn't start off so well but eventually fell asleep and slept until we pulled up to the gate!

(Not too flattering of me but I'm willing to suck it up because Beth looks too darn adorable!)

Needless to say we were exhausted when we pulled up to our house! It was nice that Ryan didn't have to work today so we could play catch-up on sleep and just hanging out around the house. We had such a great trip, I can't imagine ever duplicating the memories and the fun!

St. Louis, part 1

We left on May 17 to fly to St. Louis, Missouri for some vacation! We stayed with and saw Ryan's side of the family, attended a high school graduation for his cousin, sight-saw in St. Louis, took a road trip down to Lake of the Ozarks for a couple of days, and flew in a helicopter (well, Ryan and I did-not Beth!). We had a wonderful time, and are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped us out on our trip!!! Beth met her great-grandfather and great Uncles and Aunts for the first time, flew on a plane for the first time, slept through the entire night on vacation for the first time... Well, there were a lot of firsts! I think I will let the pictures do the talking. We have over 300 so it was hard to narrow them down!

Beth did so well on the plane-there and back! We had packed a special purse just for her equipped with toys and books she'd never seen before that I'd bought especially for this trip. Awesome idea if I don't say so myself. ;-) She played just about the entire time with her new toys (little things- like her own wallet with photos, a travel-sized Magna-Doodle, some Mardi-Gras beads, 3 new books, some snacks) and barely realized we were on a plane. We had numbed her ears with some stuff from the pediatrician so there was no pain for her. She wasn't so interested in the people around us or even looking out the window, so we just played the whole time. This photo was taken right as we got on the plane, by the way, before the people in front of us sat down!

We arrived on Saturday and headed to the house to see everyone and all had dinner together. That night (all nights we were in St. Louis actually) we stayed with Ryan's uncle and aunt, who let us stay in their basement "suite". It was really nice to have all that space to let Beth play, and of course it was super-dark so putting Beth to sleep was a cinch! On Sunday we went to mass with Ryan's grandfather, who showed off his little great-granddaughter to his friends after mass. We had another huge family dinner that night, then Monday Ryan, Beth and I hit the road to sight-see in St. Louis. We went to the Arch then to the zoo, then had to make it back to the house in time to get ready for Ryan's cousin's graduation. She graduated at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, which from what I heard was absolutely breathtaking. I stayed home with Beth since the ceremony was in the evening, and we'd hoped to attend a tour of the Cathedral Basilica later that week but we just ran out of time. So it's on my list to see next time I visit!

On our way there- it was chilly! In fact, our whole trip was pretty cool, a wonderful escape from our usual hot and humid climate.

The view looking straight down from the Arch. Pretty intimidating!

Up inside the Arch

Beth had fun looking out the windows!

Ryan and Thomas Jefferson having a staring contest.

Our little family outside the Arch. We survived the trip up there in those tiny little pods!

At the St. Louis zoo. It was free to enter but we had to pay for parking. This was Beth's second time to the zoo and I think she enjoyed it more than the first time. We we able to get a little closer to the animals- in fact I was taking a video when one of the giraffes you see behind them came up to us and stuck his head over the rocks, inches from Beth. Some punk kid touched the giraffe's head and the giraffe sort of ran away- oddly the ostrich chased him away from us.

I have video of this encounter also- that's Beth's head in the corner. He was really checking her out! Yes, there was a thick wall of plexi-glass or something there, but it was really cool. Actually there was a boy (another boy, less of a punk) who was making faces at the gorilla and the gorilla made faces back!

This picture is at the hippo exhibit, where you can see underwater as the hippos swim by. Beth was more interested in the fish swimming right by the glass than the huge hippo that would swim by every minute or so, but it was really interesting for me and Ryan. The hippos are so graceful underwater, but their eyes sort of bug out funny.

Monday night we had the graduation party (Congrats Annie!) and hit the sack pretty late. Tuesday morning we were up early to leave for our road trip... Which will be continued in another post on another day!

Picture of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, courtesy of Wikipedia. ;-) The picture is cut off significantly, so I suggest you visit the site to see the whole photo!