After hearing that we're expecting baby #2, one of the first questions that's usually asked is "what does Jake think about that?" It's an interesting question and one that is difficult to answer, as I struggle on a daily basis trying to understand the mind of my 3 year old.
I can say this-he seems excited, and he definitely has an understanding that there is a baby in my belly. He points to it, pats my belly & acknowledges that it's a baby. But I'm not sure how much he really gets what it is going to mean to have a baby IN our house, all of the time in a few months.
Here are some of the things he's had to say about the baby so far:
*After patting my belly for a few minutes one day while reading a book, he pulled up my shirt and excitedly suggested, "Let's take it out!".
*He has contributed 2 name suggestions so far: Diego, and "Ben, like Big Ben and my best fwiend Ben" Neither of those have made the short list so far....
*One day we were talking about what the baby would do when he came home. Jake said that he would play with him and help me feed him. I asked him if he was going to help me change his diapers; his face turned very serious all of a sudden & he said "Your baby smells like poop".
So, that's really all that he's had to say about his baby brother so far. The next big step for him is going to be moving into his big boy bed (we need his crib!), which we'll probably do sometime around March. We've talked about this with him & he's excited for his new bed; I also told him we were going to give him a whole new special big-boy room makeover, so he's pretty pumped for that, too.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
3 year check up
Jake had his 3 year check up last night & everything is right on track. As I suspected (based on the fact that he's outgrown pants that fit in October!) he's growing like a little weed (at least height-wise):
30 lbs (35th percentile)
37.5 inches (40th percentile)
For comparison, he was the same weight at his 2.5 year check up, but was 36 inches, so he's grown an inch & a half in 6 months. At his 2 year check up, he was 27 lbs and 33 inches, so in a year, he's gained 3 pounds and grown by 4.5 inches!!
He was like a little comedy act for the nurse; she went to take his blood pressure & told him that it was going to give his arm a big hug and he said "No. That's a blood pressure. My mommy does that". It was said in a "don't lie to me lady, I know what I'm talking about!" She had him look at some pictures from across the room to test his vision & the first one was a house; when she asked him what it was, he said very matter-of-factly, "That's a barnyard dance". (if you have kids who are fans of Sandra Boynton books, you'll know what he was referring to!)
Here's a shot of him from this morning before school....this is his new "cookie face" as he calls it. He asked me for something one day & I told him no, so he did this face to try and sway my answer. I told him that his cutesy face won't work on me; I said cutesy, he heard cookie. Yep, that's my kid! So he now refers to it as his cookie face & totally tries to use it to his advantage.
30 lbs (35th percentile)
37.5 inches (40th percentile)
For comparison, he was the same weight at his 2.5 year check up, but was 36 inches, so he's grown an inch & a half in 6 months. At his 2 year check up, he was 27 lbs and 33 inches, so in a year, he's gained 3 pounds and grown by 4.5 inches!!
He was like a little comedy act for the nurse; she went to take his blood pressure & told him that it was going to give his arm a big hug and he said "No. That's a blood pressure. My mommy does that". It was said in a "don't lie to me lady, I know what I'm talking about!" She had him look at some pictures from across the room to test his vision & the first one was a house; when she asked him what it was, he said very matter-of-factly, "That's a barnyard dance". (if you have kids who are fans of Sandra Boynton books, you'll know what he was referring to!)
Here's a shot of him from this morning before school....this is his new "cookie face" as he calls it. He asked me for something one day & I told him no, so he did this face to try and sway my answer. I told him that his cutesy face won't work on me; I said cutesy, he heard cookie. Yep, that's my kid! So he now refers to it as his cookie face & totally tries to use it to his advantage.
Halfway there!
Well, the baby is half baked at this point, I was 20 weeks on Wednesday! (bare belly shot ahead, watch out! Also, note to self: STOP TAKING THESE SHOTS IN THE MORNING! You'd think I would learn....)
Here was my 20 week shot with Jake:
I think I mentioned in another post that my blood pressure had started to creep up again already, so they doubled medication last week. It wasn't really working for the first few days, but thankfully, it seems to have come down at this point, so the doctor is happy with it for now, I just have to continue to monitor it twice a day.
On a lighter note, he moves around in there like crazy...I feel him some during the day, but from about 8:30-whenever I drag myself to bed, it's like a party in there! He can be felt from the outside & on a few occasions, I've even seen my belly move/twitch. :)
Here was my 20 week shot with Jake:
I think I mentioned in another post that my blood pressure had started to creep up again already, so they doubled medication last week. It wasn't really working for the first few days, but thankfully, it seems to have come down at this point, so the doctor is happy with it for now, I just have to continue to monitor it twice a day.
On a lighter note, he moves around in there like crazy...I feel him some during the day, but from about 8:30-whenever I drag myself to bed, it's like a party in there! He can be felt from the outside & on a few occasions, I've even seen my belly move/twitch. :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Birthday weekend fun
I think it's safe to say that Jake really enjoyed his birthday this year. He started things off on Friday by bringing Steelers cupcakes into school. When I picked him up & asked if he had fun, his answer was "It was my birthday, I stood on a chair and my fwiends sang a song. The chair wobbled! I ate a cupcake and shared with my fwiends. Then, I save the cupcakes in my tubby (cubby)". He said that paragraph in one big, excited breath :)
Nana & PopPop came in Friday evening and enjoyed some outdoor activities with us on Saturday. We still have tons of snow, and it was the perfect day for some sled riding.
He opened his presents from us and Nana & PopPop that afternoon, then we settled in for the Steelers game. Poor kid is always going to have to compete with the Steelers during the playoffs anytime they're having a good season, but he enjoyed watching the game and telling the men who were yelling loudly sometimes "You need to use your inside voice!" :)
Sunday was his official birthday party, and we were happy to have GG & Pappy, Uncle Nate & Aunt Katie, Aunt Missa, Uncle Dennis, Ben and my Uncle Kip & his fiancee Gena join us for the day!! Jake is a very lucky boy & received lots of fun new toys.
As always, the highlight of his day was seeing his BFF, Ben. The two of them are just little giggle monsters when they get together. And obviously, they both share a love of cupcakes.
Nana & PopPop came in Friday evening and enjoyed some outdoor activities with us on Saturday. We still have tons of snow, and it was the perfect day for some sled riding.
He opened his presents from us and Nana & PopPop that afternoon, then we settled in for the Steelers game. Poor kid is always going to have to compete with the Steelers during the playoffs anytime they're having a good season, but he enjoyed watching the game and telling the men who were yelling loudly sometimes "You need to use your inside voice!" :)
Sunday was his official birthday party, and we were happy to have GG & Pappy, Uncle Nate & Aunt Katie, Aunt Missa, Uncle Dennis, Ben and my Uncle Kip & his fiancee Gena join us for the day!! Jake is a very lucky boy & received lots of fun new toys.
As always, the highlight of his day was seeing his BFF, Ben. The two of them are just little giggle monsters when they get together. And obviously, they both share a love of cupcakes.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Happy birthday to my (*GASP*!) 3 year old!!
On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered "Life will never be the same". Because there had never been anyone like you, ever in the world.
~Nancy Tillman, On the Night You Were Born
It's hard for my to wrap my brain around the fact that I'm writing a happy birthday post to my three year old. I feel like I was pregnant, then I blinked and now I have a handsome, smart and funny little man who brings such joy to our lives every day that I can't picture what our life was like before him.
Perfect from the beginning (1 day old):
6 months old (sitting up by himself for the first time):
1 year old (getting his party on!):
18 months (the kid has always loved his food):
2 years
2.5 years:
And now at 3...he still knows how to have a good time! :)
~Nancy Tillman, On the Night You Were Born
It's hard for my to wrap my brain around the fact that I'm writing a happy birthday post to my three year old. I feel like I was pregnant, then I blinked and now I have a handsome, smart and funny little man who brings such joy to our lives every day that I can't picture what our life was like before him.
Perfect from the beginning (1 day old):
6 months old (sitting up by himself for the first time):
1 year old (getting his party on!):
18 months (the kid has always loved his food):
2 years
2.5 years:
And now at 3...he still knows how to have a good time! :)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Really, universe? Really??
I don't really have too many bad weeks, or even bad days. This week; however, has been an exception to that rule. Let's look at a little historical timeline of this week, shall we?
Monday morning: wake up to find out that our furnace had stopped working at some point in the middle of the night. I believe it was around 9 degrees outside that morning.
Monday at work: make frantic phone calls to home warranty company to get someone to come and fix it (thank God for home warranties!). Originally told that no one could come until Tuesday. Had to call back & tell warranty company that I have a small child in the home, that got us bumped up to an emergency situation. (thanks, Jake!) Scheduled someone to come at 4:15.
I have to race home, catching 2 different buses, to meet the guy. I pick up Jake at daycare on my way & his teacher says he's been miserable all day, not himself, didn't want to play or eat. but no fever. Great. Stuff my poor miserable kid in the car & go home. Repairman calls to say he's running late, will be there at 5:30.
Lots of stuff in between (including the fact that the guy walked all over my house with dirty shoes, but that's another story)...at 8:30, the guy says he temporarily fixed it, but has to come back with more parts tomorrow.
Also discover this same evening (while guy is working on furnace) that our ice maker in the bar is leaking all over the floor. Of course it is!! Why wouldn't it start that right now??
Tuesday: too much to write here, but heat went out again that morning, Brian had to fight with HVAC company to get them to come that day as promised. We get blasted with a bunch of snow in the afternoon, I left work at 4:05pm and walked into my house at 7:30...I was tired, cranky, starving, had a sore back, and had a bladder that was about to burst. Jake still not feeling 100%. The good news of this day was that our furnace was finally fixed and has been working fine since then.
Wednesday evening: find out that my bus route is being eliminated altogether at the end of March. Thanks a lot, Port Authority. Can't even fully process this information right now, as my head is already overloaded with other things from earlier in the week. Fill with anger toward Port Authority. Positive point of the day: Jake is feeling better & ate a full lunch at school.
Thursday: still stewing over the loss of my bus, feel nauseous in the morning. Assume I'm just hungry, eat breakfast at work, still feel sick. Still feeling sick now and really, really hoping it's just the pregnancy & not something else. This weekend is Jake's party, there's no time for illness!!
It can only get better from here, right? I just needed to vent, it feels good to have a little pity party for myself & get that off of my chest. I just keep reminding myself of the good things of this week...a healthy baby at the appointment, a little boy who is turning 3 on Saturday and the fact that our house is now safe and has heat. I guess the rest will pass & we'll deal with it however we need to.
Monthly check up
I had my monthly check up with my doctor yesterday (19 weeks). After a brief scare from the tech trying to find the heartbeat on the doppler (turns out the little bugger just doesn't like to cooperate for medical personnel-he was burrowed waaaaaay down deep), everything with him was fine, heart rate was 155. The doctor had reviewed my ultrasound from last week and said everything looked great there, too, so that was a relief.
The only downside to the appointment was that my blood pressure had gone up. I already knew that going into the appointment (I had started to be able to feel it over the weekend & started taking it with my cuff at home, it was running around 140/90). At the office that morning, it was 137/100. :( Boo!! I was pretty upset over the weekend, considering that even though it spiked with Jake, I wasn't on meds then so it was to be expected, AND it happened much later (I think I was around 7 or 8 months along at that time).
But, the doctor said there's no need to panic yet...she wants me to go from taking my medicine once/day to twice/day and she feels confident that it will help it for the time being. I'm supposed to take my blood pressure at home everyday and call in immediately if the bottom number goes over 100. Otherwise, I'm to call in all of the readings on Monday so that she can make sure that's going to be a good solution.
So crisis averted for now....main goal for me is to keep my blood pressure under control, stay OFF of bedrest if at all possible and avoid the dreaded pre-e this time around. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
The only downside to the appointment was that my blood pressure had gone up. I already knew that going into the appointment (I had started to be able to feel it over the weekend & started taking it with my cuff at home, it was running around 140/90). At the office that morning, it was 137/100. :( Boo!! I was pretty upset over the weekend, considering that even though it spiked with Jake, I wasn't on meds then so it was to be expected, AND it happened much later (I think I was around 7 or 8 months along at that time).
But, the doctor said there's no need to panic yet...she wants me to go from taking my medicine once/day to twice/day and she feels confident that it will help it for the time being. I'm supposed to take my blood pressure at home everyday and call in immediately if the bottom number goes over 100. Otherwise, I'm to call in all of the readings on Monday so that she can make sure that's going to be a good solution.
So crisis averted for now....main goal for me is to keep my blood pressure under control, stay OFF of bedrest if at all possible and avoid the dreaded pre-e this time around. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How we spent Christmas vacation
Christmas vacation is long over (*sob*), but here's a quick recap of how we spent our time off from work & school....
We had a pajama party and played restaurant and "shopping mall". While pushing the Grinch around in the cart, Jake said to him, "I have to go to the mall. If you sit in your seat, we go to play area when I'm done, OK?" haha, I guess I do say that to him pretty frequently!!
Jake rediscovered his love of the TAG Junior Reader thanks to his new Toy Story book (we also watched Toy Story 3-it was his first movie, and he LOVED it. I cried. Good times were had by all)
We did some art work:
And went to the Children's Museum:
Christmas vacation-we miss you already!
We had a pajama party and played restaurant and "shopping mall". While pushing the Grinch around in the cart, Jake said to him, "I have to go to the mall. If you sit in your seat, we go to play area when I'm done, OK?" haha, I guess I do say that to him pretty frequently!!
Jake rediscovered his love of the TAG Junior Reader thanks to his new Toy Story book (we also watched Toy Story 3-it was his first movie, and he LOVED it. I cried. Good times were had by all)
We did some art work:
And went to the Children's Museum:
Christmas vacation-we miss you already!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Bathroom Update: Final Touches
You may remember we did a partial update to our downstairs bathroom shortly after we moved in (new mirror, new paint), but we still needed to update the fixtures from the gold that was there to silver. Mission accomplished!!
We replaced the knobs and got a great deal on the faucet ($24.99 at Home Depot!) for a whole new look to the bathroom.
We replaced the knobs and got a great deal on the faucet ($24.99 at Home Depot!) for a whole new look to the bathroom.
My precious.
Ooooohhhh---ahhhhh!!!!
We found a great deal on this HE washer/dryer set (LG brand) on Cyber Monday from homedepot.com and decided to take the plunge into something we had been thinking about doing since we moved in. We had 2 sets of washers & dryers at this house (one came with the house, the other we had brought with us from the old house); I put both of them up on craigslist Friday night & they were both gone by yesterday. Yay for craigslist & extra cash!!
Here I am, doing the very first load of laundry...yes, I am this big of a dork that I insisted my husband capture this moment.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Quote me on that.
I know I'm biased as his mom, but I think Jake is downright hilarious sometimes. I should really start writing down some of his quotes because I can never remember them all. Here are some recent ones that had us cracking up:
*We were in Hallmark & he saw a display of Jelly Bellies and of course, wanted some. I told him no; he asked again, I said no. A few minutes go by & he pulls on my shirt & says very sweetly, "Mommy...can we please just give them a chance?" Miraculously, I still didn't cave in; the poor jelly beans stood no chance.
*I told him it was time for dinner & he said "Let me check... (pulls his shirt sleeve up to glance at imaginary watch on his wrist) Nope. Not time for dinner. Time to play!"
*We heard a random noise on the roof a few days before Christmas; I told Jake that maybe it was Santa coming to check on him. His response? "Oh. That dangerous. Santa not a worker-man, he should come down from there!"
*We were in the car and I heard him singing something but couldn't tell what it was. I turned down the radio & asked him to sing again. He started to sing "Feeling so fly like a cheesestick". It took me a minute to figure out what he was doing, then I realized that he was singing to the tune of "Like a G6" (I was going to link the song to the lyrics, but I'm embarrassed to even post them knowing that my toddler was picking up on the words) So, while it was hilarious to hear him singing about his love for cheese sticks, I have also started to immediately flip the stations when questionable songs come on the radio!! (Though I'll never deprive the kid of Lady Gaga or Enrique Inglesias, he just loves those songs too much)
*We were in Hallmark & he saw a display of Jelly Bellies and of course, wanted some. I told him no; he asked again, I said no. A few minutes go by & he pulls on my shirt & says very sweetly, "Mommy...can we please just give them a chance?" Miraculously, I still didn't cave in; the poor jelly beans stood no chance.
*I told him it was time for dinner & he said "Let me check... (pulls his shirt sleeve up to glance at imaginary watch on his wrist) Nope. Not time for dinner. Time to play!"
*We heard a random noise on the roof a few days before Christmas; I told Jake that maybe it was Santa coming to check on him. His response? "Oh. That dangerous. Santa not a worker-man, he should come down from there!"
*We were in the car and I heard him singing something but couldn't tell what it was. I turned down the radio & asked him to sing again. He started to sing "Feeling so fly like a cheesestick". It took me a minute to figure out what he was doing, then I realized that he was singing to the tune of "Like a G6" (I was going to link the song to the lyrics, but I'm embarrassed to even post them knowing that my toddler was picking up on the words) So, while it was hilarious to hear him singing about his love for cheese sticks, I have also started to immediately flip the stations when questionable songs come on the radio!! (Though I'll never deprive the kid of Lady Gaga or Enrique Inglesias, he just loves those songs too much)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Potty Training: 101
I had decided awhile ago that the week after Christmas was IT. The final deadline. The week that diapers would leave our house & not come back until baby #2 arrives. To be honest, I was kind of dreading the potty training...I had the week off from work & I really just had visions of cleaning up accidents and being frustrated for the majority of the time.
In what can only be labeled as a Christmas miracle, potty training was about as easy as I could have dreamed. I hope I don't jinx anything by posting this, but we told him last Monday (12/27) that the diapers were all gone & that he was going to wear big boy underwear all the time. He was excited about wearing the underwear he had picked out, but I was still nervous. However, he totally proved me wrong...I am happy to report that he has only had ONE single accident, and that was overnight. He's even in underwear overnight & for naps! I really wasn't expecting that & even offered a diaper for night time only, but he said he wanted underwear, so we went with it & I'm glad that we did.
He'll probably kill me for posting this later on in life, but here he is showing off his big boy underwear, so proud of himself!
The only slight issue we've come across so far is school. He hasn't had any accidents, but he doesn't want to go there. So, he just holds it. Not good at all!! He's finally going there, but only after nap, which means he's holding it from around 7am when he goes at home to around 3:30 or so when he wakes up. They've tried a number of techniques there...letting him go by himself, sitting with him, standing on the other side of the room, bribery with food/stickers, you name it. Soooo....we'll see what they say today, I really hope that he was able to go before nap :(
In what can only be labeled as a Christmas miracle, potty training was about as easy as I could have dreamed. I hope I don't jinx anything by posting this, but we told him last Monday (12/27) that the diapers were all gone & that he was going to wear big boy underwear all the time. He was excited about wearing the underwear he had picked out, but I was still nervous. However, he totally proved me wrong...I am happy to report that he has only had ONE single accident, and that was overnight. He's even in underwear overnight & for naps! I really wasn't expecting that & even offered a diaper for night time only, but he said he wanted underwear, so we went with it & I'm glad that we did.
He'll probably kill me for posting this later on in life, but here he is showing off his big boy underwear, so proud of himself!
The only slight issue we've come across so far is school. He hasn't had any accidents, but he doesn't want to go there. So, he just holds it. Not good at all!! He's finally going there, but only after nap, which means he's holding it from around 7am when he goes at home to around 3:30 or so when he wakes up. They've tried a number of techniques there...letting him go by himself, sitting with him, standing on the other side of the room, bribery with food/stickers, you name it. Soooo....we'll see what they say today, I really hope that he was able to go before nap :(
Survey says...
BOY!!
We had our 18 week ultrasound this morning, and we were thrilled to find out that there is a healthy baby boy in there! :) I had a dream last night that it was a boy, which is the first time I've really had any type of feeling one way or the other, but I still wasn't about to commit to a prediction (you know, because I'm never wrong).
I could hardly sleep last night, I was so excited...hence, the exhausted look on my face here, at 6am (18 weeks, 1 day):
When we first arrived, he was snoozing peacefully on his belly, all curled up in a tiny adorable ball. The tech took what measurements she could that way, but then had to poke him to get him to move around to get the rest. He was wide awake then!! Soon, she was struggling to get the measurements & shots, he was moving alllllllll over the place. At one point, he was kicking his little legs everywhere & kept covering his face with his hands. The ultrasound took a long time and a few tries to get everything, but she finally got all of the measurements she needed and everything looked perfect & right on track.
When it was time for the big announcement, there was no denying that it was a boy, so at least I don't have to worry about whether or not they got it right. Of course, we would have been excited no matter what the sex was, but there is something about the thought of having two little boys to grow up together, play together, push each other around, etc....that just makes my heart smile.
So, the moment you've all been waiting for....I present to you, baby boy #2!! :)
Look at the tiny arm!
Baby foot!
Profile shots (he had his mouth open in the first one):
We had our 18 week ultrasound this morning, and we were thrilled to find out that there is a healthy baby boy in there! :) I had a dream last night that it was a boy, which is the first time I've really had any type of feeling one way or the other, but I still wasn't about to commit to a prediction (you know, because I'm never wrong).
I could hardly sleep last night, I was so excited...hence, the exhausted look on my face here, at 6am (18 weeks, 1 day):
When we first arrived, he was snoozing peacefully on his belly, all curled up in a tiny adorable ball. The tech took what measurements she could that way, but then had to poke him to get him to move around to get the rest. He was wide awake then!! Soon, she was struggling to get the measurements & shots, he was moving alllllllll over the place. At one point, he was kicking his little legs everywhere & kept covering his face with his hands. The ultrasound took a long time and a few tries to get everything, but she finally got all of the measurements she needed and everything looked perfect & right on track.
When it was time for the big announcement, there was no denying that it was a boy, so at least I don't have to worry about whether or not they got it right. Of course, we would have been excited no matter what the sex was, but there is something about the thought of having two little boys to grow up together, play together, push each other around, etc....that just makes my heart smile.
So, the moment you've all been waiting for....I present to you, baby boy #2!! :)
Look at the tiny arm!
Baby foot!
Profile shots (he had his mouth open in the first one):
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