Prenatal appointment and getting nervous

I had a DR appointment on Wednesday and it was pretty much uneventful - except for the 5 LBS I GAINED....ugh. The nurse said I was fine since I've only gained 19 lbs so far but still. I think that's a lot in one month; especially since I've got 9 weeks left to go. Anyway...I've graduated to appointments every two weeks and that's got me super duper nervous.

I've been slowly getting things ready but now I feel the time crunch :) I've ordered new tubing, valves, etc for my breast pump, the baby's bedding came in today (YIPPEE) and we're going to order the baby furniture on Sunday and paint during Labor Day weekend. The swing and bouncy seat are out; we just need to bring them downstairs. I still don't know if I'm going to put up the Pack N Play to change the baby's diaper. Bret's toy box / toys have kind of taken over that space. I still need to wash the carseat positioner / Bundle Me-thingy and wipe down the carseat itself. Which reminds me....I need to look for the base.

Nesting has started. I've been itching to wash all the baby's 0-3 months clothes and start hanging stuff up. I'm pretty proud of the diaper supply we've got going. I would buy a pack of diapers for baby #2 every other time I had to buy some for Bret. So far, we're in good shape. I keep reminding myself to make appointments to have our duct work and carpet cleaned before October 15th. I HAVE TO MAKE THOSE APPOINTMENTS NEXT WEEK. I've contacted the lady who did Bret's birth announcement and hopefully she'll do baby #2's also.

After going through everything, this baby is going to need more burp clothes and a cool-mist humidifier (since we only have one for Bret). I need to stack up on breast pads, milk storage bags, comfy pj's and cotton grandma-ish undies for the first few weeks of recovery (I know, TMI). What I am PRAYING for is patience - and lots of it - after the baby is born. I just don't want to be too tired and overwhelmed at first and then take it out on Bret by having a short temper with him. He won't understand and I don't want to hurt his feelings :( I think that's my biggest worry right now. I hope baby #2 isn't jaundice like Bret was because I'd like to spend only one night in the hospital. I remember really disliking the food and not sleeping in my own bed. Plus it's annoying when you're trying to sleep and the nurses wake you up to check on you. Labor and delivery doesn't have me too nervous. I had a WONDERFUL experience with Bret and am hoping to repeat that this time around.

Jason and I were talking today about how excited/nervous we are to see baby #2. I just can't wait to know what he looks like!! Bret has been kissing my belly a lot. I've been trying to put his hand on my belly whenever I feel movement. He just rubs my belly and then plays w/ his toys. It's so adorable. I hope that Bret and baby #2 are close and loving brothers. *sniff sniff*

21 months old!!

I can not believe how much Bret's vocabulary has exploded in the past 2 months. He went from saying 'mama', 'dada', 'this' and 'that' to saying:

-ball
-yes
-no
-elbow (Jason always teaches him crazy, off-the-wall stuff)
-elmo
-more
-go
-yellow
-fish
-juice
-hot dog
-Gigi (my grandma)
-auntie

Words he tries to say:
-truck (sounds like he says "duck")
-I do it ( I doot)
-please (leeeese)
-tractor (dat - dat)
-cheese (eeeese)
-water (wa-wa)
-yellow (lellow)

It's amazing how much I understand him now. He's becoming VERY independent. He wants to buckle his seat at the table, his carseat and any cart buckle.....he wants to drink out of a cup - not a baby sippy cup - and he eats with 'real' utensils. It's so cute but sometimes very frustrating because he wants to do EVERYTHING. Bret is such a great kid and a huge blessing. Jason and I still can not believe how fast the time has gone by....he's going to be 2 years old in 3 months!!!

The haps

SIL, Ashlee, and me at Fricker's before the reception. Don't we look HOT?!


Justin, Jason's bro, and him at Fricker's....Yeah, we're married to these guys. So sexy :)

My baby's WT moment.

This weekend was full of ups and downs.....we had a wedding on Saturday, which was fun, and some bad news on Sunday.

First - the wedding. The ceremony was at Toledo Botanical Gardens and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. It was sunny with a little breeze; just gorgeous. My SIL sang at the ceremony and sounded great (as always). Reception festivities were held at a hall downtown Toledo and was decorated beautifully. The food was good but the DJ left something a little to be desired. Don't get me wrong - he wasn't AWFUL but he definitely wasn't the best I've ever heard either. It was a lot of fun and it was the first time I felt really pretty in a while :)

Sunday AM we got news that Jason's uncle had a massive heart attack while up north and he's not doing very well. No brain activity. Bummer. God will take care of him if the doctors can't. So, we're preparing ourselves to attend a funeral some time this week.

Lastly - I have to share a secret......Bret is a nudist-in-training. This is how he wanted to play outside a couple of days ago....He wouldn't step foot outside until I put on his socks and shoes. I was slightly embarrassed but it was HILARIOUS at the same time.

'Bout to go ghetto on yo' a$$

You know how you become super protective of your kid(s)?
You know how you try to teach your kid(s) manners?
You know how you expect other kids to treat yours with the same type of manners?

Well, sometimes that doesn't happen and you almost go ghetto.....

Bret and I went to the zoo today to check out the newly opened Nature's Neighborhood. *Very cool, by the way* There was a big steam with rocks and fake sticks and plastic fish and colanders for the kids to wade in and play around. This little boy (about 3 or 4) walked up to Bret and threw a rock at him and hit him in the chest! At first I was shocked because I couldn't believe that boy did it. Thankfully Bret didn't freak out and start crying but he put his head down and gave me this look like "that kind of hurt but I don't know if I should cry or not". I turned around to the kid's mom and she had the nerve to say "Oh he's fine, it just hit him in the chest." OH NO YOU DI-INT JUST SAY THAT TO ME!!! I was pretty much close to decking her. So I did the next best thing. I asked the woman if it would be alright for me to throw a rock and hit her son in the chest. She didn't like that very much because she grabbed her son's hand and said "c'mon Caleb, let's go". I looked at her and smiled. Unfortunately, that pretty much ended our zoo trip. Bret thought it was now ok to throw rocks in the water. So after asking him three times to stop and not listening, I had to do the mean mom thing by taking him out of the water kicking and screaming and we left.

We had a great time though...the weather was BEAUTIFUL!! Pictures to follow :)

New recipe and weekend plans

Baked pasta w/ summer veggies - Parenting Magazine

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced (or summer squash or eggplant)
olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
1 lb of ziti or penne pasta
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
pinch of nutmeg
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 Tb fresh oregano
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, small cubes
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss first six ingredients together in bowl and roast on a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Cook pasta 2 minutes short of package directions. Drain. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan and nutmeg. Add pasta, veggies, tomatoes, oregano and mozzarella to bowl. Pour mixture in to baking dish and sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining parmesan cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Jason's not a pasta person and he even said that it was really good! Plus I got him to eat vegetables other than corn. HALLELUIA!!

We plan on spending the weekend with family.....Going to Jason's aunt and uncle's place either on Friday or Sunday and spending the 4th w/ my family in D-town! Can't wait!!

It's coming down to the wire

I have a ton of thoughts today and I don't know why....

I'm approaching my last trimester and I'm wondering where the heck the time has gone with this pregnancy!! I can't believe I have only 3.5 months to go. I think/worry a lot about how I'm going to do with two kids by myself after Jason goes back to work. My biggest concern is not letting Bret feel left out or ignored. I know he won't understand at first but I still don't want him to feel like I don't love him or that Baby #2 has taken his place. At the same time, I want to be able to hold and cuddle Baby #2 and have Bret understand that this baby needs me too. Moms put too much pressure on themselves!! Most importantly, I want Jason to know that I still love him and want to be a loving and doting wife even though he may feel ignored and unwanted.

I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to the sleepless nights. I get very emotional and crabby when I don't sleep. For the past month, I've been begging God for patience because the last thing I want to do is to be cranky with a newborn and take it out on Bret and Jason - especially Bret because he won't understand why I'm acting like an idiot. I'll admit it...I'm so nervous.

On the other hand, I am so excited to hold Baby #2 and look at him and give him nose kisses like I did to Bret! To know what it feels like to have our family complete with all my boys :)

I am so very lucky!!

20 Months Old

Bret is turning out to be a very loving, energetic and stubborn child! He's definitely got a soft side - if you get hurt, he'll hug and kiss your boo-boo :), but underneath that softie there's a toughie. He grabs things out of my hand, yells at me when he's not happy and gives me some rotten faces. It's actually kind of funny sometimes. I try not to laugh but you know how that goes.....He's got some new words - mine, wow and yellow (sort of - he says "lellow"). I love when he says wow. Whenever he sees something big or interesting he shouts wow!!! It's hilarious.


*Disclaimer* - this is the part where I am going to get mushy and brag about my kid.

Jason and I are so extremely lucky and grateful to have such a wonderful child. We get so many compliments about Bret's good behavior in public (obviously he's a kid and he has his devilish moments) and his overall disposition. I don't know what we did but Bret is an awesome kid. There are some days when I look at him I just want to kiss him until I stop breathing, hold him like he's 2 months old again and cry because my baby is getting so big. He's my big boy *sniff sniff* :) I want him to be this age forever.