Today is Bear's 2nd birthday. I have been solo parenting for the past few days since my husband is out of town for work. So there was nothing planned for today. Which was probably good because apparently Bear got the memo that Two means Terrible Twos. He refused to nap today. AT.ALL. After I finally gave up on the nap and decided to give him a bath before daddy got home. I got him all scrubbed down and was peacefully reading a magazine beside the tub while he played with his bath toys. He started saying Uh oh and I looked into the tub to discover a blizzard of poop. At least that is what it looked like.
I hauled him out of the tub and stuck a diaper on him to contain any future messes. Then I got to scrub down the tub and all of his toys. Once those were all clean I got to give Bear a second bath with a good scrubbing. Fun times. These are the things they never show you in the Gerber commercials. My husband called shortly after that to let me know he was still not done with his job and didn't know when he would be. At this time it was 4:30 so I got Bear dressed and threw him in the car and we headed to the mall for a little theraputic shopping/pretzel eating. The mall was packed but I did get him a cute pair of sandals and of course a pair for me. We shared pizza and a pretzel and decided to head to the grocery store to get the stuff I need for tomorrow's birthday/Superbowl party. I had planned on doing that this afternoon with my hubby but since it was 6:00 and he was still not done at work and was still 2 1/2 hours from home I realized that was not going to happen.
Of course the store was packed and they didn't have balloons (normally they had these out at the door for the little kids) which did not help me with Bear. I get over to the meat department and discover they have 2 briskets left. TWO. One is a ginormous slab that costs 30+ dollars and the other is a dinky, fatty looking one for about $17.00. I'm trying to keep Bear in the cart and call my husband to see what he wants me to do and of course he doesn't have time to talk to me. I grab the smaller brisket because at this point I still have NO CLUE how many people might show up tomorrow since half of the invited guests did not respond at all and 2 families told us maybe. I have already spent money on beer, chips, sides, cake, ice cream, goody bags, etc I don't want to waste more money on meat no one might eat. Luckily we have a bunch of sausage in the freezer so I can throw some on the smoker if more people show up. I managed to get out of the store without too much drama except that I forgot to hand over the cheese until after I paid so I had to pay for that separately.
I got home around 7 and got all the stuff unloaded and of course Bear fell asleep in the car since he didn't nap today. I got him inside and in his jammies and put him promptly to bed an hour before bedtime. My husband called and said he will be home between 9:30-10. At least he will be home for the party tomorrow, which is good because I have no clue how to smoke a brisket. I hope tomorrow goes well and some people show up or I am going to be a little peeved that I did all that shopping and preparing for nothing.
So much for a sappy post about Bear's birthday with a video montage and a tear jerker song. Oh well the day he was born was less than idyllic so why should the anniversary of that day be anything more? I was talking to my Mom today about how crazy Bear's birth was and she told me that it would definitely not be a day she would choose to be her Groundhog Day. I thought that was funny. I think we should celebrate the day we brought him home from the hospital instead. So Feb 15th I'll try to be more upbeat on the anniversary of that joyous occasion.
Happy Birthday, Bear.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Nickname suggestions welcome...
And we're back...My husband was able to fix our new hot water heater with minimal effort on Monday night. Luckily he was able to get the pilot light lit once a day during the weekend so we were able to take quick showers before the hot water ran out. I am so blessed to be married to such a handy guy with lots of tools. Plumbers are seriously expensive not to mention having to schedule them to come out to your house. I am one of those who never knows what to do with myself while someone is at my house repairing something. Do I hover and watch? Ignore them? Make small talk? Offer a coke perhaps? It all just makes me nervous. Plus I worry about the bill the whole time. What if it ends up being more or if they can't fix it? It is just so much easier to have my husband fix it not to mention cheaper.
I wanted to give y'all an update on Bear's sleeping situation since I kind of left it hanging after his great escape attempt a few weeks ago. We ended up putting up a baby gate on his door and getting a video baby monitor so we could see if he tried to escape. So far he has not escaped the crib again and when I try to lay him in his big boy bed for naps he just tries to play and jump on the bed. I really don't think he is ready to move up to a real bed yet. He sleeps great in his crib so I think that one escape was a fluke for now. I'll give him a few months and see if he is ready to move over to the big bed when he is a little older.
The pregnancy is still going good. Knock on wood. I feel huge but my weight gain is still great. Not too much, not too little. I am ready to be back in normal clothes again though. I have been shopping the great sales at Old Navy, Ann Taylor Loft and Francesca's collections lately and I am so eager to wear something without a stretchy waistband. I picked up quite a few empire waisted things which will hide the post baby pooch nicely. I am really enjoying that most of the fashions lately are really post pregnancy friendly. I am also so ready to meet the new baby. I really need to come up with a nickname for him here so I can call him something other than the new baby. My husband is the nicknamer in the family. I told him the other day that I name the babies and he nicknames them. I came up with the names for both of our sons but he is the one who started calling Bear by his nickname.
I wanted to give y'all an update on Bear's sleeping situation since I kind of left it hanging after his great escape attempt a few weeks ago. We ended up putting up a baby gate on his door and getting a video baby monitor so we could see if he tried to escape. So far he has not escaped the crib again and when I try to lay him in his big boy bed for naps he just tries to play and jump on the bed. I really don't think he is ready to move up to a real bed yet. He sleeps great in his crib so I think that one escape was a fluke for now. I'll give him a few months and see if he is ready to move over to the big bed when he is a little older.
The pregnancy is still going good. Knock on wood. I feel huge but my weight gain is still great. Not too much, not too little. I am ready to be back in normal clothes again though. I have been shopping the great sales at Old Navy, Ann Taylor Loft and Francesca's collections lately and I am so eager to wear something without a stretchy waistband. I picked up quite a few empire waisted things which will hide the post baby pooch nicely. I am really enjoying that most of the fashions lately are really post pregnancy friendly. I am also so ready to meet the new baby. I really need to come up with a nickname for him here so I can call him something other than the new baby. My husband is the nicknamer in the family. I told him the other day that I name the babies and he nicknames them. I came up with the names for both of our sons but he is the one who started calling Bear by his nickname.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Updates and cold showers
Bear had his 2 year checkup yesterday. I can't believe he is going to be 2 next week. It seems like just yesterday that I was carrying in my 5lb 18 inch baby for his 1st checkup outside the hospital and now he is 28lb and 34 inches tall. The doctor said he looks great except they did detect a heart murmur he wants to get looked at. I'm not particularly concerned as this runs in both mine and my husband's families. They are going to call us to schedule an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist but they said it would probably take a couple of months to get in.
I am stressing a wee bit about his birthday party. After last year's big party I decided to just have a few friends over to watch the Superbowl and eat BBQ next Sunday. Unfortunately only one couple has committed to come at this point. 2 families have replied as undecided and the rest haven't even responded. This is a little frustrating as I had to order his cake and the party favors in advance without knowing if any kids would even show. Plus I need to go buy the food this week and I don't know how many people I am feeding. Grrr...
The pregnancy is still going pretty well. I am starting to feel some of the pains of getting bigger but I am not to the miserable big point yet. The anemia is still kicking my butt. I am taking the iron supplement the doctor recommended and eating red meat every day but I am still exhausted. I scored some awesome deals on baby stuff at Target this week while they were doing clearance so that was fun. I picked up some new crib sheets, blankets, changing table pad covers, a video monitor, a baby book, and a few other things for a really good discount. I want the new baby to have at least a few new things.
In other news our new hot water heater that we bought less than a year ago is now refusing to work. We called the manufacturer and they said that it is just a defect on that model and they will send us a new part. Ugh. Seriously? It isn't even a year old. Plus they only cover parts under warranty not service and anyone who has ever hired a plumber knows that they are the most expensive part of the repair. So I am praying my handy man husband can fix this and we don't have to call a plumber.
I am stressing a wee bit about his birthday party. After last year's big party I decided to just have a few friends over to watch the Superbowl and eat BBQ next Sunday. Unfortunately only one couple has committed to come at this point. 2 families have replied as undecided and the rest haven't even responded. This is a little frustrating as I had to order his cake and the party favors in advance without knowing if any kids would even show. Plus I need to go buy the food this week and I don't know how many people I am feeding. Grrr...
The pregnancy is still going pretty well. I am starting to feel some of the pains of getting bigger but I am not to the miserable big point yet. The anemia is still kicking my butt. I am taking the iron supplement the doctor recommended and eating red meat every day but I am still exhausted. I scored some awesome deals on baby stuff at Target this week while they were doing clearance so that was fun. I picked up some new crib sheets, blankets, changing table pad covers, a video monitor, a baby book, and a few other things for a really good discount. I want the new baby to have at least a few new things.
In other news our new hot water heater that we bought less than a year ago is now refusing to work. We called the manufacturer and they said that it is just a defect on that model and they will send us a new part. Ugh. Seriously? It isn't even a year old. Plus they only cover parts under warranty not service and anyone who has ever hired a plumber knows that they are the most expensive part of the repair. So I am praying my handy man husband can fix this and we don't have to call a plumber.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
26 weeks and counting
Yesterday I was 26 weeks pregnant. I got to celebrate by having another sonogram. My husband wasn't able to come due to work so my best friend came along instead. It was fun. The sonogram tech actually used to work at my last doctor's office and she had done all my sonograms with Bear. She spent a lot of time showing me everything and making me a DVD to take home to my husband. There is definitely no doubt that this one is all boy so it was a relief to get that confirmed. My friend was all excited and was a little teary so it was good to have her there.
Then we went to lunch and stopped at Ulta to look at makeup. After I dropped her off I got to go get my hair done and do a little Target shopping before I picked up Bear from MDO. All in all it was a great day. I also got the results from my glucose test from last week and my glucose was good so no 3 hour test. Yippee! I did turn up anemic but I will just need to take some iron and I'll be all good.
It just feels so much more real now. It's hard to believe he will be here in 3 short months. I measured 26 weeks 6 days but they are going to stick with the original April 21st due date for now. He was 2lb 3 oz so it looks like I am on target for another big baby (Bear was the biggest preemie in the NICU).
Then we went to lunch and stopped at Ulta to look at makeup. After I dropped her off I got to go get my hair done and do a little Target shopping before I picked up Bear from MDO. All in all it was a great day. I also got the results from my glucose test from last week and my glucose was good so no 3 hour test. Yippee! I did turn up anemic but I will just need to take some iron and I'll be all good.
It just feels so much more real now. It's hard to believe he will be here in 3 short months. I measured 26 weeks 6 days but they are going to stick with the original April 21st due date for now. He was 2lb 3 oz so it looks like I am on target for another big baby (Bear was the biggest preemie in the NICU).
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Escaping Babies
This morning I awoke a little later than usual. Typically I wake up to Bear moving around in his crib and talking to himself. I laid in bed for a few minutes and listened for him. Hearing nothing through the baby monitor I assumed he was also oversleeping. I got up and started to make my way across the living room to check on him. Something caught my eye as I was walking through. Bear was sitting in my recliner pulling keys off my laptop that was sitting on the table next to the chair.
So Bear has officially learned how to break out of his crib. He figured out the pack and play a few months ago when we were traveling but this morning was his first official escape from the crib. Unfortunately the crib is at its lowest setting so there really isn't much we can do to keep him in short of a crib tent which just seems weird to me.
What really freaked me out was how quiet he was. I never heard him get out of the crib or anything. Usually when I get him up he will head immediately for his toys which make noise. Instead he woke up, realized Momma was sleeping and quietly headed for the sweet siren song of the laptop.
I am just so glad that he didn't get into anything else. All the kitchen cabinets, outside doors, and the bathroom doors are baby proofed so there is nothing dangerously accessible but it was still unnerving. So tonight we headed over to Toys R Us and picked up a baby gate for his door. That way if he escapes from the bed we will at least keep him in his room.
We have his new room set up with a twin sized bed with a bed rail but I really don't feel he is ready for that yet. I guess we will have to give it a try now that the crib isn't keeping him in. I've been looking it up today and some people say they are ready to go to the big bed once they crawl out of the crib and others say they aren't necessarily. He still goes down great in his crib and napped there for 3 hours today no problem. We have never had luck getting him to sleep in a regular bed with us so if you guys have any suggestions or hints I am all ears. I want to keep him safe but I also want him to sleep.
*BTW, my keyboard is fine. I was able to get all the keys put back on that he pulled off.
So Bear has officially learned how to break out of his crib. He figured out the pack and play a few months ago when we were traveling but this morning was his first official escape from the crib. Unfortunately the crib is at its lowest setting so there really isn't much we can do to keep him in short of a crib tent which just seems weird to me.
What really freaked me out was how quiet he was. I never heard him get out of the crib or anything. Usually when I get him up he will head immediately for his toys which make noise. Instead he woke up, realized Momma was sleeping and quietly headed for the sweet siren song of the laptop.
I am just so glad that he didn't get into anything else. All the kitchen cabinets, outside doors, and the bathroom doors are baby proofed so there is nothing dangerously accessible but it was still unnerving. So tonight we headed over to Toys R Us and picked up a baby gate for his door. That way if he escapes from the bed we will at least keep him in his room.
We have his new room set up with a twin sized bed with a bed rail but I really don't feel he is ready for that yet. I guess we will have to give it a try now that the crib isn't keeping him in. I've been looking it up today and some people say they are ready to go to the big bed once they crawl out of the crib and others say they aren't necessarily. He still goes down great in his crib and napped there for 3 hours today no problem. We have never had luck getting him to sleep in a regular bed with us so if you guys have any suggestions or hints I am all ears. I want to keep him safe but I also want him to sleep.
*BTW, my keyboard is fine. I was able to get all the keys put back on that he pulled off.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Spring cleaning and breathing easier
I am slowly, slowly recovering from my cold/sinus infection. I am still a little stuffy and blowing my nose every 5 minutes but it is markedly better than I was on NYE. I ended up crashing early on NYE and not even seeing the ball drop. My husband swears he came in and kissed me at midnight but I do not recall that.
Usually I am sad to see the Christmas season go and I get a little sappy as I put up my tree and decorations but not this year. Friday evening as soon as we got Bear to bed I got to work on packing up all the ornaments and decor while my husband dutifully hauled Rubbermaid containers up and down from the attic. I even got to use my label maker to label all my pretty red and green containers I bought at Target with the appropriate contents. So next Christmas I will know which box has the net lights and which has the stockings.
I can't tell you what a relief it was to get up Saturday morning and see my living room back to normal. It just seemed so crowded and cluttered with the Christmas decor. Not to mention my glee at not having to keep Bear out of the tree anymore. I am ready to move forward into this spring. It helped that the weather was gorgeous Saturday and it just felt springy. Of course it was cold and wet today but Saturday gave me that glimpse of spring I needed to get me out of my post-holiday funk.
I think a big part of it is now that Christmas is out of the way I can start focusing on getting ready for the baby to come this spring. He is still a little over 3 1/2 months away but it seems closer now that Christmas is over. I am really excited to meet him. My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about whether this is our last baby or if we might want a 3rd. And for now it looks like this will be our last and I am OK with that. I am a little sad to give up my dream of having my own little girl but yet I am glad to have the decision made and just enjoy this as my last pregnancy and see our family as complete when he gets here. I just think a family of 4 works for us for a lot of different reasons.
I went through Bear's toy chest tonight and cleared out all the little baby toys and stored them away for the new baby. This made room for his Christmas loot and upcoming birthday loot. Now I can actually close the toy chest. He loves his new big boy room although he still sleeps in his crib in the nursery. He spends almost all of his waking hours in his new room playing and sitting at his little table. I'm glad that he loves it so much. I think that will make it a lot easier to transition him when the baby gets here.
Usually I am sad to see the Christmas season go and I get a little sappy as I put up my tree and decorations but not this year. Friday evening as soon as we got Bear to bed I got to work on packing up all the ornaments and decor while my husband dutifully hauled Rubbermaid containers up and down from the attic. I even got to use my label maker to label all my pretty red and green containers I bought at Target with the appropriate contents. So next Christmas I will know which box has the net lights and which has the stockings.
I can't tell you what a relief it was to get up Saturday morning and see my living room back to normal. It just seemed so crowded and cluttered with the Christmas decor. Not to mention my glee at not having to keep Bear out of the tree anymore. I am ready to move forward into this spring. It helped that the weather was gorgeous Saturday and it just felt springy. Of course it was cold and wet today but Saturday gave me that glimpse of spring I needed to get me out of my post-holiday funk.
I think a big part of it is now that Christmas is out of the way I can start focusing on getting ready for the baby to come this spring. He is still a little over 3 1/2 months away but it seems closer now that Christmas is over. I am really excited to meet him. My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about whether this is our last baby or if we might want a 3rd. And for now it looks like this will be our last and I am OK with that. I am a little sad to give up my dream of having my own little girl but yet I am glad to have the decision made and just enjoy this as my last pregnancy and see our family as complete when he gets here. I just think a family of 4 works for us for a lot of different reasons.
I went through Bear's toy chest tonight and cleared out all the little baby toys and stored them away for the new baby. This made room for his Christmas loot and upcoming birthday loot. Now I can actually close the toy chest. He loves his new big boy room although he still sleeps in his crib in the nursery. He spends almost all of his waking hours in his new room playing and sitting at his little table. I'm glad that he loves it so much. I think that will make it a lot easier to transition him when the baby gets here.
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