4/28/12: 10 Weeks!

So today I am 10 weeks pregnant...1/4 of the way there already! It's going really fast! When I was pregnant with Ashley, we didn't have any "distractions" so it seemed to drag. But now chasing after a little one keeps me pretty busy, so the time goes by a little quicker. I am (finally) starting to feel a little better...instead of feeling nauseas and exhausted ALL the time, it's now only about 50% of the time. And in the next few weeks it should continue to improve thank goodness.

I am already having some cravings. I crave fast food/rich foods a lot--I try to eat it in a moderate balance. I also find myself craving candy as I did with Ashley, but I am trying to keep that limited since I had gestational diabetes last time (but still have a tiny bit here and there). But in general, my eating habits are probably better this time around. I ate well with Ashley and was conscious about getting a variety of things I needed, but this time I do def eat more fresh fruits and veggies since I make a lot of stuff for Ashley. On the down side, I am a little more lax with some things like caffeine. With Ashley, I had completely weened off of it before I even got pregnant. This time, I decided to wait until I found out I was pregnant to ween off. And I did, however I have had a couple cups of coffee and a few caffeinated sodas. The pediatrician said you're allowed to have a certain amount a day, so I figure a little here and there is ok. I am just SOOO tired and need a little boost some days to function as I need.

Since I am starting to feel more human, we made a small trip to Wilmington, NC last weekend. Matt's friend, Mike, had a baby 8 months ago, and we still hadn't met him yet so figured it was time! We had a nice time. Holden (the baby) was such a cutie! It was funny trying to schedule anything around the kids though. Ashley is down to one nap mid day, but Holden is still on a 3 nap schedule, so it made it challenging. One day we went to the beach, but we didn't end up getting there until after 3, and then we were only able to stay about an hour because it was about to rain.

The next day before we left we went to the Wilmington Aquarium. It was small but very cute. Perfect size for two little ones. It was funny, there was someone dressed as a shark, and Ashley absolutely LOVED it! When she saw the Easter Bunny, she could take or leave him, but a big "scary" shark she was in love with. She kept hugging and patting him, and reaching for his teeth. Lol. Cracked us up.

Ashley is really walking a lot these days. I was right--I had said that I had a feeling that Ashley was waiting until she had perfected the task before she really took off, and she has. Some babies start walking early, but are constantly falling in the beginning. Ashley waited a little bit, however she didn't seem overly cautious or nervous. I think she was just waiting till she had it down. Now that she's walking she's only had a few rare falls, but does great overall. And she is getting really fast already too.

Her vocabulary has really picked up a lot too. She tries to copy almost every word we say. A lot of them sound pretty accurate too. She also points to and recognizes a lot of things in her books. We'll ask her, "where's such and such?" and she'll point to it.

She is also fascinated with body parts--ours now. When Matt is laying on the floor, she loves to lift up his shirt and point to his belly button. Or she'll point to our nose or mouth. If you ask her where her ____ body part is, she will point to it.

In the past week, she has changed her waking up routine. In the past she would play happily and occupy herself in the crib for a few minutes before I came in. Now she wakes up and immediately starts to scream. The first day it scared me because it sounded like she was hurt. Thankfully we have the video monitor so that I could see she was ok.

Well that's about all I can think of. Here's a few pics from the trip last weekend. They are backwards...The blog just changed it's settings--before you had to start with the last ones first, then work your way to the beginning. Apparently now they're loading in the correct order, but I don't want to go and redo it. Lol. So the bottom pic is the beginning of the trip up to the top which is last. Sorry for the confusion.

Your Children Want YOU

There’s this crazy phenomenon going on right now. Good, devoted mothers get on Pinterest . . . and blogs . . . and Facebook . . . and Twitter . . . and then they flip through parenting magazines and TV channels (full of advertisements and media hype) . . . and they’re convinced they’re not enough.

They’re convinced that everyone else has magnetic, alphabetized spice containers,

Photo source: Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/274086327292186801/)

and unless their garden parties are thematically accessorized with butterfly lanterns,

Photo source: Pinterest, http://tinyurl.com/6lsuurc

and they’re wearing the latest fashions (in a size two, of course), there’s no point in even showing up for the day.

Last Saturday, this happened to me.

I came home from a lovely day out with my extended family and had serious intentions to spend the evening dyeing Easter eggs and making bunny buns.

By the time I got everyone settled and fed, however, I was so tired that I just laid on the couch and dozed while my children played and got themselves to bed.

Around 8:30, when I finally had the energy to sit up, I decided to try out Pinterest for a few minutes until my husband got home. There it was–1,000 reasons why I’m failing at all things domestic.

I don’t make grilled cheese sandwiches look like ice cream.

Photo source: Pinterest, http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com

I don’t even have seasonal throw pillows on my couches or live plants anywhere in the house.

Is it really so hard? Can’t I pull myself together and wrap some candles in green foliage and bring happiness to our decor with bright fabrics and hand-crafted photo frames?

As I was trying to calm my frenzied state of mind, my husband came home and held me tight. We talked about our day, and he told me how much he loves me and that he wants our boys to marry someone like me. I fell asleep snuggled under his arm.

The following morning, our children enthusiastically bounded into our bedroom and tucked themselves into our covers. My four-year-old gave me an arm massage, and we all sat there together–joking, laughing, planning the day ahead, and enjoying that special feeling of family. Reflecting on the discouragement I’d felt the night before, I realized that my family doesn’t care about what I see on Pinterest. They care about me.

My daughter Grace loves me to sing “Baby Mine” to her each night before bed. When I go to ourPower of Moms Retreats, she misses that special ritual. We have recordings of Michael Crawford and Allison Krauss singing their versions, but Grace doesn’t want those. She wants me. So I recorded myself singing “Baby Mine” and emailed the audio file to her and to my husband so Grace can hear “her song” before she sleeps. As far as she’s concerned, my untrained voice belongs at the top of the charts.

My daughter Grace is my “snuggliest” child. Back tickles and “Baby Mine” each night are how I show that I love her.

A few months ago, I was practicing sideways dutch braids on my two daughters. They had found these great “how-to” videos online, and we set up our comb, brush, and hair bands in front of the computer so I could become an expert.

Photo source: www.cutegirlshairstyles.com

Half-way through the braid, my fingers got all tangled up, the hair was too loose, and one of my daughters had been sitting with her head to the side for several minutes.

Feeling extremely frustrated, I said, “That little girl in the video is so lucky to have a mom who knows how to do hair.”

My daughter stopped me in my tracks when she responded, “But I have a mom who is trying.”

These are my two girls with the braids that took me FOREVER to do. (But I’m getting faster now, and they appreciate the fact that I’m trying.)

My mom is in her 70s, and her memory is starting to go. Her sweetness and love are as strong as ever, but when we talk on the phone, she can’t remember the last time we spoke or the last time we saw each other.

At the end of one phone call a few weeks ago, I whispered, “I miss you, Mom.”

She said, “Oh, I miss you, too! But we’ll get together soon. You can come down to the park, and we’ll get an ice cream cone at McDonald’s.”

I replied, “Yes, that will be fun.” But then the tears started, and I had to use every ounce of control to keep my voice even so she wouldn’t know I was crying.

What I really meant was, “I miss being able to talk to you, Mom. I miss laying on the grass while my children make a hopscotch and savoring our long phone conversations. I miss you remembering all those secrets I used to tell you. I miss you asking me if I’m okay. I miss seeing you read books and hearing you sing while you do the dishes and having you drive out to my house without getting lost. I miss you remembering how much I need you.”

My mother didn’t specialize in home decor or gourmet cooking, and she didn’t lift weights or run marathons. But she makes me feel like I am the most important, wonderful person ever born. If I could pick any mother in the whole world, it would be my mom.

There’s something deeper going on in family life than can ever be expressed on a social network. Whatever it is we feel we are lacking, can we collectively decide–as deliberate mothers–that we are not going to sit around feeling discouraged about all the things we’re not?

Can we remind each other that it is our uniqueness and love that our children long for? It is our voices. Our smiles. Our jiggly tummies. Of course we want to learn, improve, exercise, cook better, make our homes lovelier, and provide beautiful experiences for our children, but at the end of the day, our children don’t want a discouraged, stressed-out mom who is wishing she were someone else.

If you ever find yourself looking in the mirror at a woman who feels badly that she hasn’t yet made flower-shaped soap,

Photo source: Pinterest, http://tinyurl.com/82k5vow

please offer her this helpful reminder: “Your children want you!”

QUESTION: How do you keep the right perspective on your importance to your family–in the midst of so many ideas and temptations to compare yourself with others?

CHALLENGE: Recognize any tendencies you might have to get wrapped up in discouragement, and set up a regular way to remind yourself that your children want you.

Walking pics

Ashley has been taking steps for a while now, and even walking across the room....but yesterday she really started to take off...she walked from the kitchen to the dining room. I was able to capture it. Here are some pics of Ashley walking.

More updates

So, Ashley has been taking more steps on her own. She has been walking around the whole length of a room. Yay!

She also has been saying her own name. I have her name hanging above her crib, and it's also on her chair. Sometimes she'll point to it, and I'll spell it out saying, "A S H L E Y, Ashley" and she repeats it. It sounds more like aah-lee. I think I mentioned she also has been saying "thank you".

She also recognizes objects in her book. We have a few of those "baby's first words" books with lots of diff items, and when you ask her where such and such is, she will point to it. She is such a smart little girl!

Also, as far as baby news, I am 8 weeks pregnant today! Yay!!! I am not wanting to rush things, but I am soooo looking forward to moving into 2nd trimester. This nausea and fatigue is kicking my behind!

When we were pregnant with Ashley, we had names picked out early on. We just agreed on it right away. This time around, daddy is dragging his feet. Lol. I have a list of names that I like, but we haven't decided yet.

Girls names I like:

My favorite was Caylee/Cayleigh, but Matt shot that one down :(

so my other favorites are:

Emily

Emma

Hannah

Reagan?

Taylor?

Addison?

Megan?

Morgan?

Caroline?

Boys names I like:

We originally had picked out Jacob, but since it's such a popular name, Matt's not sure if he wants to use it anymore...but there's:

Jacob

Christian (which Matt shot down too)

Justin (Matt doesn't like that either)

Adam

Landon

Holden

Colin/Collin

Christopher

Carter

Parker?

Grant?

Cameron ?

So as you can see, we still have lots of narrowing down to do. Then once we pick a name we still need to figure out a middle name...sigh...

Although this is the fun part :)

Feel free to leave your vote in the comment section. We could use help. Haha

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter! We had a fun celebration. The day before we went to an Easter Egg hunt with our friends the Wagner's and the Heatley's. Ashley got to pet real rabbits and see the Easter Bunny. Later that day Grandma flew into town to visit and to celebrate with us. Poor Ashley ended up coming down with a fever of 103 (the doctors suspect it's a result of getting her shots on Wednesday). As a result of Ashley being sick, our holiday was readjusted a little. Daddy stayed home with her while grandma and I went to church. We didn't get to dye easter eggs they day before, so our egg hunt was a lot of fun. We had one plastic egg from the day before, and then we used some of the plastic food items that Ashley had gotten for her kitchen set in her Easter basket to "search for eggs". We were all cracking up over our make shift attempt. It was quite funny, but you had to be there I guess. Then we ended up dying eggs after dinner and before bath time since Ashley was seeming better as the day progressed. Ashley had fun plunking the eggs into the mugs. Also, our traditional Easter dinner was done outside on the deck since it was so gorgeous out. Here are a few pics.

Also, to add to Ashley's vocabulary, she has started saying "thank you"--it is sooo adorable. She also says please, and she attempts to say yogurt.

As far as baby Shohen, I continue to feel so sick and tired a lot. This kid owes me!!! Just kidding ;) It is rough though. Just very different than my pregnancy with Ashley. I also go from feeling pukey to starving in about 5 seconds. I also seem to crave more meaty or fried things, which I never did with Ashley. Makes me wonder if I'm having a boy this time around since it's so different, although a few people have said that the second time around the symptoms are a little more intense and worse. So who knows.

The News Is Out.....

Well, the news is officially out....Ashley is going to be a big sister. We are expecting another baby!!! Yay!!!

We found out on Sunday, March 18th. Matt and I both suspected that I was pregnant. I was feeling symptoms pretty early this time. I was very tired and took a couple of naps during the day which I haven't done since Ashley was a newborn, my smells were heightened, and I was cranky/irritable which I usually never am. Although I could play devil's advocate--our mattress is going, and both Matt and I hadn't been sleeping well and were waking up with back pain, which could be the reason I was tired. And with the heightened smells, I first noticed when I went to the gym with my friend Christi, and well, I was at the gym....And the crankiness comes from lack of sleep...so I wasn't completely sure.

I took an early pregnancy test on March 12th, which was my grandmother's birthday. I thought that would be a nice day to find out good news. However, it was a little too early and the test came back negative. I was a little surprised and a little disappointed, but I didn't rule it out since it was still early.

Then we went on the trip for Nicole's wedding. On the ride back I said something to Matt, and he joked and said "you better take a pregnancy test, you are bossy". Lol. So shortly after getting in that night I took one and it came back positive. I showed it to him and said, "this explains it!" Lol.

Matt and I are both very happy and excited. I am a little nervous having kids so close together...I originally wanted to spread them apart a little more like my sisters and I are, and Matt wanted them real close like he and his brother are, so it's a good compromise. With my past issues and endometreosis, we didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to have another baby. So we will be very happy to welcome baby Shohen into the family sometime around November 24, 2012.

This time around, pregnancy has been a little rougher. With Ashley, I remember occasionally being tired, and getting nauseous whenever I'd brush my teeth, but this time around it's 24/7 for both. It's challenging feeling so crummy and chasing after an active toddler, but I'm managing. Naps are a must!

We went today for our first ultrasound at 6 weeks, 3 days and everything looked great with the baby. We even got to see his or her heart beating. So cool! We figured since everything looked ok, we would let people know since some people knew we were trying and were asking questions :)

Will keep you posted along the journey....