21 Months!

Hi Family and Friends!

How has it already been a month since my last update? My oh my, how time is flying! I've pretty much spent the last month outside playing in the sunshine. Mommy and I love going to the park and going on walks in the morning before it gets too hot. I don't have too much new stuff to update you on, but let me tell you about my life as a 21-month old:

• I love airplanes. I hear them all the time and always point to the sky looking for them. Mommy and daddy said they will take me to the airport sometime soon so I can see a bunch of planes all in one place.
• I'm also really into big buses, trucks, and especially lawnmowers. I hear or see them every day and get very, very excited!
  
• I've made big strides at the playground in the last month. I used to not be interested in the playground equipment at all. I more so prefer to play in the dirt and look for sticks. While that is still mostly the case, I have discovered this colorful plastic thing called a slide. It is slippery and fun to go down. My favorite slide is the one at Bryan Park. This past weekend, I even went down the slide head first!! It's so much fun to feel the wind (aka static) in my hair!
  
• My daddy has quite the green thumb and I want to be just like him. We went to the nursery last weekend and I helped daddy pick out all our flowers for this year. I helped push the wagon too. I even have my own watering can that I use to help daddy water the flowers.
• I had to make a quick appearance at the doctor this month and my official stats are: 21 lbs. and 33" tall!
  
• I had my first major boo-boo this month. You can read about it here. Mommy and daddy were giving me extra love that day and gave me some Puffs. Instead of picking them out one-by-one, I thought it would be easier to dump the whole can out on the floor! That way it's easier to stuff them all in my mouth at once!
  
  
  
  
   
• Now that it's getting warmer out, I've started to eat fruit again. I started eating grapes for the first time this month. I'm also on a big strawberry and cantaloupe kick.
• I am slowly starting to say the first syllables of certain words. For example, when mommy and daddy ask for me to say "choo-choo," I can say "cha." Or when mommy says "bye-bye," I say "bah." I'll get the hang of this talking thing at some point - there are so many words to learn!
  
  
  
  
• I celebrated Mother's Day and my cousin Kaleb's first birthday this month!
  

By the time my next monthly update rolls around, I could be a BIG BROTHER!!! I like to hang out in my baby sister's room. When mommy asks me where baby sister is going to sleep, I point to her crib. I also know where her diapers are going to be so I can help mommy and daddy when changing her. My favorite thing is the swing that plays music. I used to be in that swing all the time. I can press the buttons and play music for baby sister because it's soothing. I'm excited for her to get here.

That's all I got folks! Thanks for checking out my blog and hope you will continue to check back in for updates on mommy's final weeks being pregnant and updates on me being CUTE!

8 1/2 Months!

Five more weeks! I just got done reading my blog post when I had five weeks left with Ethan...sounds pretty familiar as I was talking about how the baby's movements are so much more intense and sleep is a thing of the past! I don't think there's enough room in our queen size bed for me, Eric, and all my pillows =) Here is a quick 34 week update:

How Far Along: 34 weeks!

Size of Baby: baby should weigh around 4.75-5 pounds and is almost 18 inches long - about the size of a cantaloupe (which we've been eating a lot of lately)!

Development: Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.

How I'm Feeling: Well according to the baby websites, the fatigue should be setting in right about now. I was just telling people over the weekend that I feel like a million bucks - feel like my energy level is eerily high for being this pregnant. And then Monday came. I feel like all of a sudden I am carrying around 90 extra pounds of weight and the contractions/spasms seem to be continuing almost every day. Ethan and I have been able to get a two-mile walk in every day this week which is great, but there have been times throughout this week where my energy is completely zapped. And I hate that feeling! Because I'm not getting replenished at night with sleep so I just feel like I'm running on empty some days. I did start packing a hospital bag this week...you just never know! =) Considering Ethan was early and my water broke at night, I pretty much go to bed every night thinking "tonight's the night"! Haha.

Cravings/Aversions: Orange juice and grapes are must haves right now. Oh, and I randomly "treated" myself to two things very out of the ordinary for me...one day I got a small order of french fries at McDonald's and today I got a mocha cookie crumble frappuccino from Starbucks...because why not?!

What I Miss: Being able to breathe without feeling like I need an oxygen tank at all times; putting socks and tennis shoes on comfortably; sleeping longer than 45 minutes at a time =)))

34 Weeks w/Ethan and Baby #2 - can you tell we got a new camera?!

 

My First Major Boo-Boo!

Many people are surprised it took me this long, but I had my first major fall and injury last week at the library. Mommy and I went to the library to play in the children's section. They have so many books and toys to play with and we thought it would be a great way to spend a rainy day. Mommy was trying to get me to read books, but the heck with that...I have books at home! I wanted to play with all the cool toys! This is me playing at the big train table...

Next to the train table, they had this neat wooden pyramid with activities on each side of it so I could walk around and play with the different wheels, balls, and pegs. It looks like this...

I was having such a fun time playing. Until I tripped over my feet, fell face-first into the wooden pyramid, and saw blood. Mommy came rushing over and scooped me up in her arms. We went straight to the bathroom where she applied a wet paper towel to my lip which was busted and bleeding. The nice librarian went and got some ice. I only cried for about 45 seconds. Mommy, on the other hand, cried for about five minutes and was worried sick about me. She kept trying to apply the ice to my lip, but all I wanted to do was get down and play! We cut our play time short and headed home where mommy gave me a popsicle. I could tell mommy was worried, but I was fine - I was such a happy boy and acted as if nothing ever happened. When I woke up from my nap, my lip looked way worse. It was all different colors...white, black, red, and purple. My lip was so big and felt funny in my mouth. I kept licking it and drooling because I couldn't really keep my mouth closed. I also had a bruise on my forehead, a small mark on my nose, and a red streak on my chin. If you look closely in this picture, you can see all the boo-boos are in a straight line...my entire face must've slid down the side of the pyramid!

My lip didn't hurt though. I ate a yummy dinner that night, drank my bottle just fine, and even let daddy brush my teeth. My first injury was way harder on mommy than me. She kept telling me how brave and proud of me she was. She knows I'm a boy and this will happen plenty more in my life. Hopefully I'll handle all of my injuries like this one...like a champ!

33 Week Ultrasound

We had a great appointment yesterday with Dr. Stowell - even he can't believe how close we're getting! Because I was measuring small, they wanted to do an ultrasound to check the baby's weight. While the weight is never 100% accurate using this method, they currently have her at 4 lbs. 10 oz. (plus or minus 11 oz.) which puts her in the 40th percentile. When we did a final ultrasound with Ethan, they were off about two pounds from his actual birth weight (a week later) and I just had a friend who was told to expect a 9 lb. baby and she came out 6 1/2 so you never really know. But, all that matters is she looks good and is measuring normal and healthy so we were very happy. I tried to label the ultrasound picture (nose, upper lip, chin) because if you don't know what you're looking at it can be hard to make out baby's profile! She has her little mouth open too and we could see her swallowing during the ultrasound.

Earlier in the week, I started having early or "false" labor pains - basically irregular contractions or cramping in my groin area and back. These are completely normal and can often happen more with the second baby since your body isn't the same after already having your first child =) Since I already had an appointment scheduled for this week they encouraged me to just keep an eye on them and we would check to see how they were doing by Thursday. Dr. Stowell went ahead and checked me and confirmed my body is doing exactly what it should be doing - absolutely nothing! The cramping can often signal your body starting to efface and dilate and I was very relieved when he said everything's fine. We would prefer if baby girl would stay in just a little bit longer!!

My next appointment is in two weeks and then the weekly checkups start! We are getting so excited!

8 Months!

8 months!

Hit the eight month mark last week with baby girl and the official countdown is on - seven more weeks to go! We are excited to have an ultrasound on Thursday to see how she's doing. I am measuring small (which is fine), but because Ethan was early and so small they want to go ahead and check her weight now. Maybe...just maybe the third time will be a charm and she'll be awake and we can get a cute picture!! Here's a quick update:

How Far Along: 32 1/2 weeks!

Size of Baby: baby weighs approximately 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a squash) and is about 16.7 inches long.

Development: You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How I'm Feeling: This past week I felt amazing - I went on a 2-2.5 mile walk every single day! This warm weather is such motivation! During the days I usually feel really good, but it's early evening/nighttime when I really start to slow down and hit the wall. My back definitely starts to tighten up and get sore around dinner time - all the playing and picking up Ethan catches up with me! After Ethan goes to bed you can find me on the couch for the rest of the night. The last couple weeks I've noticed some acid reflux problems which is normal for the third trimester. I went back and read the blog when I was 30 weeks with Ethan and that's right when I went on medicine for reflux. It normally doesn't hit me until after 11pm and I just get a huge wave of nausea. It's caused me to throw up a couple times, but I picked up some over-the-counter medicine and try to take a pill if I notice I'm starting to feel queasy. Did some more decorating in the nursery this past week and it feels like it's finally start to take shape. Our "to buy" list is getting shorter and shorter which means the time is getting closer!

Cravings/Aversions: Grapes and all the normal stuff I've been eating throughout the pregnancy.

I will try and update the blog by week's end after our ultrasound on Thursday...make sure to check back!

32 Weeks with Ethan & Baby #2!

Two weeks apart (30 wks. on left, 32 on right), but same dress! =)