Hallelujah! My Blog is Currently Fixed!!

I don't know if it fixed itself or if that email I sent Blogger worked or what...but yay! Let's hope it lasts, right? Watch, now I'll probably have other "issues" as a result.

Okay, so the OB visit today? Went well, actually, and this time we gave them a taste of their own medicine when we were the ones that were late! Since the appointment was at 8:30 Jason opted to head up to Boulder when we did rather than leaving work 20 minutes after getting there. We got us all out of the house relatively close to our goal time (5 minutes late) but guess what...it's snowing again! And people are afraid to drive around here if there's anything falling from the sky. So I called when I realized we'd be late and it was all okay anyway.

We got there and went back for the ultrasound. Yup, this little guy is still gigantic. Wanna know what the ultrasound estimated his weight to be this time? At a mere 35 and a half weeks the machine put him at 7 pounds 1 ounce!! He grew perfectly on track since the ultrasound 4 weeks ago and continues to measure 18 days ahead of his due date. CA-RAY-ZEE! His head of all things measures at 39 weeks, belly at 37, and the rest of him rather normal. So the machine does it's fancy formulas and averages him out at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 18 days ahead.

Easton is not as afraid of the images as he once was. We saw that Decue is still a boy when he revealed his testicles. Easton said, "Bubbles". Ha! We did learn today that the placenta is starting to show some aging with what they call "calcifications". They say they're not worried and this is not that uncommon at this point in a pregnancy but that I really need to pay attention to his movement and be certain that he's still active when he's normally been active and such. If there's a large decrease in fetal movement I'm to call...or go in...I forget. As far as what might be causing these calcifications (other than the placenta's "age") I know that hypertension (which I DO NOT HAVE! Yay!) can do it as well as smoking (another big fat NO!!). Well, since neither of those are the case I'm going to blame it on my daily coke habit...as in Coca Cola, people...calm down. Anyway, if they're not worried I'm going to try not to be either. Obviously Deuce's growth isn't suffering in any way. They say the amount of amniotic fluid I have is a good indicator of overall placental health and function and that I'm doing great for fluid. So there.

After the ultrasound we saw the doctor. I didn't gain any weight since my visit 2 weeks ago. I was the exact same. Interesting, but I'll take it! So, I'm still at a net gain of 18 pounds for this pregnancy so far. My blood pressure was 98/50. No protein in the urine (something they look for as a sign of preeclampsia). My fundal height (basically measuring the uterus externally) is still right on track: 35 cm for 35 weeks. How is that possible with such a large child? I'll tell you how...he is SOOOO low and yet so high. The doctor explained to us that the weight guesstimate comes mostly from head size, but that at this later stage in pregnancy when his head is so low in my pelvis it can be hard to get an accurate measurement of his head on an ultrasound. So, in all likelihood his head is probably not that big and he probably doesn't weigh that much. Anyway, his head is down very low (explains getting up every hour at night to pee!) and his butt is up in my ribs (quite high!). Seriously. His little legs stick out of my right side where they have resided for most of the last few months.

The doctor said she was very very pleased with how things were progressing for me. She asked if I had any questions or concerns and I told her about these sharp shooting pains I get in my thighs from time to time. I told her I'd heard they were normal but no one knew what they were. She agreed. She knew just what I was talking about (even though she's never had a kid) and said, "We don't know what causes them but it's common and normal." Fine with me. I didn't need a better answer than that. I told her that I contract a lot too which is weird to me since I didn't have them with Easton at all. She said, "Are they Braxton Hicks?" and I had to tell her "I assume so. I don't think they're doing anything [to my cervix]". Then she said, "Do you want me to check your cervix?" and I said, "Sure...since you're already going to be in there." Why was she going to be "in there"? I had to get swabbed for GBS. Pretty much all pregnant women get cultured for group beta strep at this point in pregnancy. It's a potentially dangerous infection to the baby but if you get antibiotics in labor then there's no worries. Assuming I go into my scheduled C-section without my water having broken beforehand--if I'm GBS postitive or not I won't need treatment anyway. So, then she checked my cervix: tightly closed...the contractions aren't doing anything as far as dialation. Good to know, I guess. Most people probably wouldn't opt to have the whole cervix check just for fun but I like to get my money's worth out of this pregnancy experience. Ya know? Getting this far into a pregnancy and still being healthy is just so different than before. I never had my cervix checked with Easton's pregnancy...there was no need. So I did this time (probably the only time, just so I can said I did it). I love it all.

When Easton and I got home we packed my hospital bag...here he is buckling himself into it:

And giving me what appears to be the evil eye as he plays with some travel size bottles:


He was so good at the appointment (Daddy was there so that really helps) and then good when we were packing my bag. He ended up getting some hair product of J's on his face--he tried to rub it on like lotion. Oops! He had a reaction and he got all red where he had put it. I washed it off with water but.....instead of putting him down for his nap I had to keep him up a little longer to make sure the rash got better instead of worse. Sooooo he was going to have some lunch. He wanted milk and cereal. I put him in his booster chair but he apparently didn't want to sit there and he hit me! How unlike him! He got a warning and I backed up so he couldn't do it again...as soon as I got close enough he hit me again. Not cool, kiddo. So...it was a minute and a half in his naughty corner. He did great again by just sitting there and being sad. He was talking to Blitz at one point but that's allowed, I guess. When he was done we were all better again and he had crackers for his "lunch" so that he didn't have to sit in his seat.

His rash improved so he went down for his nap. I think we're gonna stick close to home this afternoon. We've got nowhere to go. Maybe we'll try some Play-Doh? Anyway, hope you are enjoying this last day of January. Toodaloo!

New Phase or Another "Off" Day?

Easton was a big, fat Stinker-Pie at Gymsters today. He's never behaved that way before--at Gym. Ugh! He was his usual self for most of it and then during some "free play" he decided he didn't want to share a piece of equipment and take turns. He started yelling at me saying, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Of course at first I calmly explained, "Leisel is on this right now, we need to wait till she's done." More yelling so I removed him altogether. Then, Mr. Ken decided to come have some words with him, "Easton, we need to SHARE with our My-Gym friends." That shut him up quick. He was a little shy and embarassed and clingy that he got "a talking to" from someone other than me or J. Normally I think it might bother me if I was in the middle of disciplining my own child and someone else jumped in like that but for some reason today it did not. Go figure. Anyhoo...shortly after that whole incident it was "separation time". Easton cried the whole entire few minutes. I have no idea why he started with all that a few weeks ago when previously he'd been just fine. Mr. Ken carried him around and tried to entertain him while helping to watch the other kids. Once seperation time was over and we were reunited Easton yelled again. They were cleaning up toys (as they always do after sep. time) and Easton wanted, "more play". Sorry, dude...you had your chance but chose to spend it crying instead. THEN (yes, there's more)...towards the end they were doing a version of "Old MacDonald" with some puppets. Most of the children sit on the floor in front of Miss Stephanie doing the puppet show. Easton (and a few others) sit on parent's laps. At one point during the song he got up and I thought he was going to go sit by the other kids where he could see better but he took off running to play again. I had to go snag him and bring him back. So. Not. Cool.

He was good all morning before Gym and he was good when we got home. Crazy boy. We stopped for some Noodles on our way home so I knew he'd eat a good lunch. I had broccoli added to our mac and cheese and Easton went to town. "More bocki?" he'd say. Or, "Mama stab bocki" as he'd hand me his fork. And if I'd notice his fork was empty and did he want more? he'd just say, "Please" (well, "peeze"). He had water and not milk with his lunch which is great. I never did realize just how much milk he probably drank until we started having to limit it for the anemia. He's only allowed two and a half sippies full per day. He can easily chug one before breakfast. The downside I'm noticing with him taking this iron is that his teeth are getting a little gray. I knew this was a side effect and supposedly it goes away when you stop supplementing. I give the iron with juice to help (like they suggested) but it's still turning his pearly whites to a dull gray.

So, after lunch when he wanted to brush his teeth ('cause of a stuck M&M shell) I was all for it. I was getting his room ready for his nap and came back to find he had created another step stool for himself:


I have been wanting a step stool for him for the bathroom but he's so short that it needs to be REALLY high and we haven't found one yet. Plus, we keep the door to the bathroom closed (so Blitz can't lick the tub and sinks) and there's just not a lot of clearance for a stool to be permanently in front of the sink. Who knows what we'll do? I liked his improvising though, yet it was still not tall enough.


He's down for his nap and I'm going to try to figure out some more Blogger crap. Tomorrow we have close to one of the first OB appointments of the day so hopefully they won't have us all waiting toooooo long. The ultrasound is first. I'll update after that. My belly has been soooo itchy today and unfortunately I think I know what that means...stretch marks on the way. Grrrrrreat! Bye bye!

Lazy Day

Easton woke up at 5:15 this morning. I awoke to J nudging me with his knee and the sounds of "Mama...mama..." Great! I couldn't believe J heard him before I did, must tell you how tired I've been. Anyway, I gave him a few minutes of "Mama-ing" before I went in. Then I went in and he seemed WIDE awake. Not cool. He told me, "Ohhh (his Cuddles burp cloth) stuck". So I "unstuck" it which meant I gave it a wiggle and that seemed to do the trick. I heard him sigh and moan a few times but didn't hear from him again till 7:30 so that was good. He's been a little more restless lately and I attribute it to teething. His 2nd of the two year molars is working it's way through right now. Plus, the first one hasn't poked all the way out yet either. No fun.

We didn't leave the house at all today, and it wasn't for snow. Just laziness. I'm still tired. Getting up 15 times a night to pee is a lot. Plus it's just harder to get comfortable and J and I have been turning in a little late (for me) and E woke a little early this weekend. Oh well. I took a short nap today. I needed to do SOMETHING.

Easton got put in "the naughty spot" for the first *real* time today. In the past we've given him a "time out" but didn't really make him sit in the spot for any length of time, and just sitting him there briefly always modified his behavior real quick. However, now that he's 2 we decided that the rare times he needs that kind of discipline we'd start the naughty spot (a la Supernanny) and make him sit there. She suggests a minute per year of age, so 2 minutes...but since this is a new thing we're starting at 1 minute and working up by 15 second increments. So, his first offense today was him laying under our glass coffee table and pushing up on it with his feet. Glass can break, right? He knows he's not allowed to do this. I gave him his warning and he did it again soooooo...off to the naughty corner. I told him he needed to sit there for 1 minute and told him why and then I walked away. He got right up crying to come find me. I walked him back and told him again he needed to stay there for 1 minute (time started over). He stayed put! It was so cute yet sad. He just sat there in the corner and cried but he stayed there like he was supposed to. After the minute was up (hard on me too!) I went to him and just like Supernanny does I got down on his level and told him why he was there and asked him to say sorry. He said, "no" and tried to leave. I said, "Buddy, you need to stay here till you can tell me you're sorry." He said, "Sorry" and we had a hug and were all better. Here is a picture of him in his corner AFTER the first trip...I'm crazy and like to document things so I made him go back in for a picture. He knew he wasn't in trouble though, don't worry.

At dinner he was "naughty" again, throwing pieces of biscuit after he'd been told not to. He got his warning but didn't listen so then it was off to the naughty spot. No getting up this time. He just sat there like a good boy thinking about what he'd done...okay he was fiddling with the baseboard of the wall but I can pretend he was feeling remorseful if I want. Again, a sorry and a hug after his minute fifteen was up and he got to come back to the table. I was surprised that he had to visit the corner twice in one day, he hasn't even had a time out in ages. Oh well. Jason pointed out he's glad we're starting this before new baby comes. Makes sense.

This afternoon Easton was having a Cheerios snack. He spilled them all over the floor so he got up from his chair, put the empty container on the coffee table and took off running!!...I was like, what the....??? But he was running for his vaccuum! Too bad the thing doesn't really work...but he did a great job pushing them around the carpet with his little muckah. What a good boy.

Gosh, I just love him. Even when he is being "naughty" and testing us (which is SOOOOOO rare). We're either very lucky or very good parents. Of course, I like to think it's both. We seriously have it better than a lot of parents with toddlers, but he certainly has his moments too. Boy does he! But he seems to go through phases as he develops where he needs lot of correction and direction and then he's pretty good to go for a few months. When I was newly pregnant and laying around much of the day his behavior suffered....that's when he got put in a lot of time outs and had lots of tantrums. Then it kind of ended. He'd have an occasional tantrum but it was like we'd learned from each other. Now I had a lazy day today and he had to go in the naughty corner twice...think it's related? I do. Good thing we have Gym tomorrow. And Wal-Marting.

It's getting late and I want to try to figure out some of my blog issues...I apologize if my "look" changes unannounced. I know I have, like, totally, the coolest blog on the block ;) but I really must figure it out before all these stupid issues end my blogging career for good. Anyway...hope you're enjoying your days! Adios!

My Belly

Well, we did end up doing a few fancy schmancy belly pictures during Easton's 3 hour nap today (which we had to wake him up from!). Wanna see?



And just a regular ol' smiley belly pic:


Now we're at 35 weeks, 1 day...you might remember that waaaaay back at one of my perinatologist visits (18 weeks) the doctor mentioned that women with my history undergoing my particular treatments often go further than they did in a previous pregnancy, but that it's only 2 weeks further. While I don't think I'm going to have this baby today, it has encouraged me to go ahead and pack my hosptial bag. I think even if it was my first pregnancy I'd pack my bag around 36 weeks...so I'm not too far ahead of myself. But, right now I'm only gonna pack my bags. I have more of a "To Do" list for a little closer to term. Wanna see it? I've asked others for help since I don't really know what to do on my own...

- Set up guest bed in nursery for our E-sitter (Gramoo) and future out of town visitors
- Pack Easton's special "big brother backpack" to entertain him when he visits the hospital
- Wash car seat cover and install infant car seat (a little early so Easton is better prepared)
- Set up Pack & Play (where Baby #2 will sleep at first) next to our bed
- Get little supplies ready: pacifiers, diapering stuff, etc.
- Wash little tiny clothes, blankets, etc. to have ready
- Make and freeze some meals for when J and my mom go back to work :)
- Read the "newborn" section of "No Cry Sleep Solution" to start out on the best foot
- Cross all appendages that HP gets our fixed laptop back to us before we head to the hospital
- Re-read Dr. Sears' suggestions for "fostering healthy sibling relationships" after J finishes reading 'em

Happy stuff, huh? Yay! I love that we're still going strong. We have another OB visit on Wednesday with (most likely) our last ultrasound. I'm anxious to see how big they're predicting Deuce is now...and then anxious to see if they were even close once he's born.

We had a great family weekend. Snow again on Saturday...no football on Sunday. Easton woke up a little, well, a LOT too early for our tastes but made up for it with his loooooong nap. Today we headed out to Sam's Club to stock up on a few things. Easton enjoyed the Sam's size kitty litter:

And a glimpse into the teenage days: Easton in a black hoodie with cell phone at the table:

Not that we would actually allow that at our home and of course our kids will savor every family meal...yeah, right.

On to some things now that make me NOT so happy: I switched my blog over to Blogger's new version and I HATE IT!!! I'm so bummed and want to switch back. They tricked me and this change is not for the better. I wonder if I can switch back. I'm trying to get help but of course this blog is a free service and no one cares if I'm happy or not. Blech!

Alrighty...so I think that's all. Jason's back to work tomorrow :( and E and I are on our own again for the week. We have fun, though. Okay peeps...gonna go now. Night!

Now It's Down to 4 Weeks...

The next step in the countdown to Baby #2. And, also a demonstration of how there are more than 4 weeks in a month as there was "one month to go" back on Tuesday. Ready for another one of my random rants? No??...too bad!! This is my blog so I can do what I want. ;)

Okay, the way a lot of people figure out "how far along they are" regarding pregnancy has always made me slightly irritated. And I really do mean slightly. Anyway, I wish everyone would just adopt my system if they can't go by weeks like the medical community does. I have to cringe just a bit when I hear someone say, "You're actually pregnant for 10 months since pregnancy is 40 weeks." Ummmmmm...no. First of all, there is more than 4 weeks per month in all but February (agreed?)...more like 4 1/2 weeks. Second of all, the "average" gestation is actually not 40 weeks. The first 2 weeks "they" include in a pregnancy are the 2 weeks from your last period. When you haven't even conceived yet! Most "textbook" women conceive their little ones 2 weeks from the start of their last period. Granted, everyone is different but I'm going by what the doctors seem to believe. Anyhoo...that means you really only have a "baby" in there for 38 weeks NOT 40. Still with me? So, again the doctor books all say that the average time you're actually "with child" (from conception (at 2 weeks) to due date (at 40 weeks)) is 266 days. Let's now do some simple math:

30 days in a month (yes, sometimes there's 31)
x
9 months (not 10 like so many "crazy" people like to say)
=
270 days (not too far from the 266 number I just told you)

There...you can knock a couple days off that 270 number to account for the 31 day months and BAM! You get 9 months of actually being pregnant with a baby...not 10. :) Now everyone should just please adopt my system and tell your friends. Tee hee! Or just go by weeks so no one is confused.

If I have to go by months (for the old school types) I like to think of my due date: March 3rd...and count backwards...so on February 3rd I'll hit 8 months, on Janurary 3rd I was 7 months. Got it? Not too hard, eh?

Now that I've just gone on and on about my own smarts...let me tell you how much of a dodo head I can be too: Yesterday was supposed to be Sweet and Sour Meatball night (J's request). After nap Easton and I head up to the store for all the ingredients plus a few other things. I get home to start cooking and...I FORGOT THE MEAT!!! You can't have a meatball without the meat. D'oh! J was very understanding and had cereal for dinner. I had PB on toast. We'll try to remember to buy some meat today and try again.

Speaking of that cereal dinner, Easton was counting!!! Jason would get a small spoonful to share with Easton and had Easton count the Cheerios. He could go up to 4 all by himself. He was on such a roll and we were so proud. We're getting there! Today I had him try again and he said, "One, two, fee, four, two". Not quite, bud, but yay!!! Counting!!! He's already such a color whiz. I don't know at what point I should start to get fancy with "turquoise" or "magenta" but he knows without fail: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, and white. Sometimes he knows gray and silver. We haven't worked much on brown. Probably should. Maybe tonight...he has a brown bath crayon and I'll use it to draw him a Snuffleupagus. Speaking of baths...last night he got bubbles again...since he asked:



And today he was being very cute with his own "pretend" play:

First he got those out of the cabinet. Then he brought them to his toybox, then to the coffee table, then to the regular kitchen table where he would make believe he was "pour milk" and other such cuteness. He entertained himself for such a long time with all that. It was great and I love seeing his imagination emerge even more.

After that we met up with Max and Susannah for a late breakfast again. She had a big box of clothes for us: Deuce AND Easton stuff. After our Cracker Barrel they came to play at our house for a little bit. It's cute to watch them interact as they get older. Easton really likes to copy things Max does. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not ;) Max was crawling so Easton started crawling...Easton thought it was very funny to crawl. They even played a little game of chase. I'm excited that someday Easton and Deuceton (NOT!) can play together too.

Once I got Big E down for his nap I went through tons and tons of clothes and separated them into sizes and seasons. I've got out all the seasonally appropriate stuff for Deuce up to the 3-6 month size. Of course I won't wash it all right away but he's got more stuff than I thought. I'll be glad to see some of my favorite outfits of Easton's get more use. What cute boys I have!

Alrighty then, that should fill you in for Friday. Until next time!

You Know What Today Is?

Today is my half birthday. Isn't that exciting? I don't know why I think about that nearly every January 25th but I do. So now I'm 28 1/2. 30 is getting closer every day. Eek!

Good thing I gave Easton that flaxseed meal yesterday. Poor dude was experiencing a bit of a "log jam". Stupid iron. He worked real hard to take care of his business yesterday and today's "movement" seemed much easier for him. I'd better keep adding that flax to his yogurts, though. Ouch!

And in other "Easton pain" news...I forgot to mention the first of his 2 year molars broke through a while ago. 3 more to go. Teething sure seems painful if you think about it but we've been lucky that he handles it all rather well...molars have been a little worse than other teeth, naturally. But still...

Easton was a crab when he woke up from yesterday's nap. It doesn't usually take him too long to come around but I still prefer the days that he wakes up happy. I let him moan in his bed for awhile since he didn't want me in there and went about my own business. After awhile I took a peek in at him:

That little scoundrel! He's not supposed to be up there (on his little table in his room). He got right down though, after my picture, of course.

When he cheered up we moved on to a Valentiney art project:


And Daddy came home not too much later for some fun:


He went right to bed on time again last night! Yay! And this morning he woke up calling for, "Dada!" He usually calls for me...or if I take too long he'll move on to dada. But today that's what he started with. Very sweet. He was in a good mood and when I told him, "Daddy went to work" he just asked, "See?" So I showed him there was no Daddy anywhere in the house and he was fine with it. I had to call Jason right away to share the story though. Pretty cute.

Then we went to our last Kindermusik class today. I really enjoyed the class and Easton seemed to as well. It was very expensive though. But we still listen to the CDs in the car and do the hand motions to the rhymes and songs. I'll miss going but oh well. We hit up Babies R Us after class to return a couple of things and to pick up more stuff but we're getting closer to being ready for this next little guy.

Easton is having his nap and went right down for it too. I'm glad he seems to be getting back on track...hope I'm not speaking too soon or jinxing myself. Oh well. We read a couple of stories in his bed before he went to sleep so I'm hoping that might've helped him switch gears. Previously he had been running around like a mad man. I found him here:

Goober. He loves to flush the potty and lately I've found him putting a stuffed animal on the lid to have a seat too. Cute. He's still not real interested in the potty himself, though. He'll get there one day...I hope.

Anyway, while he naps I'm off to order some Avon and get a few other things done. Catch up with y'all later!

Great and Regular Days

Yesterday ended up being a great day for Easton and I...not just a "regular" day but one of the stand out good ones. He woke up sweet and snuggly. I had to wake him from his 3 hour nap and then he went right to bed at bedtime without me having to ever go back in. Plus all the fun and cute stuff that filled his awake times. Today is more along the lines of a "regular" day but hey, that's fine. That's expected. And that's certainly better than a bad, cranky day.

He slept until just after 8 this morning and so did I! We took our time getting up and ready for the day. I decided to bust out my maternity jeans today. My regular jeans (although they fit) have a hole in the crotch that was there even before pregnancy. However, with regular washings and such the hole is growing to an inappropriate size. Not cool. Anyway, even with my burgeoning belly I still detest those blasted elastic waist jeans. I call this photo, "Why I Hate Maternity Pants"...

Small belly or large belly those things will just NOT stay up. Arrrgh! So, it's really quite attractive to have 4 inches of elastic hanging out and your maternity shirt not even able to cover up the gap. Flattering, no? No.

Anyway, Circle Time was today. Last week Miss Jenny told us she'd be doing a teddy bear theme today and to bring a stuffed friend if we wanted. Would you believe Easton doesn't have a teddy bear? He has a plethora of stuffed dogs, some ducks, a lamb and an elephant...not to mention a couple Elmos and Pablos...anyway...No teddy bear but that was fine. I had him bring Lilyspout the Elephant because she wears an outfit and I thought that might entertain him a bit if he got restless during the stories as he tends to do. This outfit that we lovingly call the "green goblin" was too big for Easton when he was born! Look at him now:

Here he is wearing it about a month after he was born...when he was finally home and weighing just over 5 pounds:


Anyway back to Circle Time...it was particularly enjoyable today. We arrived just in time for the patting song...I made elephant pat along which Easton found quite amusing and then wanted to be the one to make elephant do that. He didn't pay much attention to the first story but was very quiet and well behaved as he sat 2 people away from me. He stayed there when we "went on a Bear Hunt"...remember those? Well, after we found the "bear" and had to quickly go through the journey in reverse he came and climbed onto my lap. Guess he was scared. He stayed on my lap and payed great attention to the second book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" because he has that book and loves it. He told me that Daddy reads it to Eastie. After that story she handed out Teddy Graham snacks to each kid and a teddy bear color page. Easton told Miss Jenny "thank you" for both things without any prompting from me. So I was having some proud mommy moments. He says, "please" unprompted all the time now. What a good boy. Athough a few times he's begged "pleeeeeeease" without telling me what he's wanting. That's hard, "Please what, Easton?" Then he'll just say please again. So I have to start guessing...then he gets it. Anyhoo...we ate the snacks and scribbled on the color page and checked out some new books for me (see side bar)...Easton didn't get any today. Then we were off!

We got ourselves some gas...can you believe 2 reputable places in our 'hood have regular gas for $1.99 a gallon right now?!?! We never thought we'd see it under two bucks again. When I first saw it last week I called Jason right away...he even made a plan to fuel up on the way home. It was very exciting. So we got the gas and then drove to a different gas station to give the car a "shower". Our poor car was beyond filthy but it's hard to make myself spend money to wash it when there's still plenty of snow melting all over the dirty roads. Oh well...it was in desperate need...we drove through the wash and there's still spots that are dirty.

Once we came home E did his now regular yogurt-in-front-of-Little-Einsteins lunch. I had to add some flaxseed meal to it today. He's had 4-5 doses of his iron now (not even the full dose I'm supposed to be giving) and so far no "movements" from him. Unlike him these days. Hopefully the flax will help...it certainly used to but I'm out of the habit of putting it in his stuff lately. I don't want him getting too backed up...I always feel horrible when he's having troubles in that area. :(

He's napping with his elephant now. It's quite cute. He made me pat the elephant before their naps. Gosh I just love that little guy...

We don't have much planned for this afternoon but if we go out again I might think about putting on my holey-crotch pants. It's too cold to have my belly flapping in the breeze a la Britney Spears. Stupid pants. I can't make myself buy more with less than a month to go either...that would be foolish. Okey dokey...I'm done rambling. Enjoy your Wednesdays!

1 Month (or Less) to Go!!!

Are you getting tired of all the "how much longer" updates? 'Cause I'm not! :) Our C-section is scheduled for a month from today! I think that calls for a new belly shot--here ya go!

Getting big, I know. Not much I can do about it folks, sorry.

Easton finally woke up in a good mood this morning. Lately he's been so cranky immediately after waking (naps or mornings) to the point I'm almost afraid to go in. But this morning he was super and snuggly to boot. Gotta love that. He was good all morning...no puking. Although I took my shower and came out to find him eating my Chapstick. Lovely. Thought I hid that...oops!

We made our way over to Gymsters this morning. I'm so glad we were able to do yet another session. He did great at class although the teacher borrowed him to demonstrate the skill of the day: somersaults. Well, super star Easton taught himself how to do those last summer so he was not too agreeable or bendy when the teacher was trying to spot him for something so "simple". She finally got him to do his forward roll but his pants came down! Good thing they're only 2 otherwise that would've been super embarassing! Once she let go of him he did somersault after somersault all on his own. He is such a show off though, at one point Mr. Ken saw him doing some climbing and Ken said, "Wow, Easton...great climbing!" so Easton of course wanted Mr. Ken to keep watching him and stopped watching what he was doing till Mr. Ken reminded him to pay attention to where he was going. Goober. He loves Gymsters though. The last 3 classes they didn't even attempt separation time so of course he's loving that too.


We came home and had some lunch then Easton went down for his nap and I took my belly shot. I wish I could do something really cool and artistic. Maybe Jason is feeling inspired?

Dang it...I gotta go...cat just yakked and is trying to eat it. Ick.

Baby Name Rant

Ha ha ha! I'm laughing that ~aj~ is relieved we're not naming the baby "Deuce" (see the previous post's comment from her). Although, I believe Jason and more than one of the grandparents thinks that's a suitable nickname--not just suitable but a good nickname--which I hate. We named just the generic "baby" Deuce because it's the second kid. We named it that before we knew if it was a boy or a girl. Heck, when I was pregnant with Easton we called the baby "Appo" (for apple) since it was the size of an apple seed or something at the time we came up with it. Never ever ever did we call him that after he was born. Never. I thought it would be the same with this kid. If I thought "Deuce" would stick I would've referred to the bean as something else. Blech! What I hate most about it is that it implies "second". It's fine for a pregnancy but not for an actual person. Second of all, or should I say "deuce of all"...I also think it is sooooo unfit for a newborn baby to be called that. I have agreed to let Jason nickname the baby Deuce if I can name him whatever I want. Heh heh. He's not going for it though and I still think he'll call the kid, "Number Two"...oh, I mean, "Deuce". Poo. I don't even think I like the idea of calling the new baby "Deucie". But, as Jason pointed out we would never have predicted one of Easton's nicknames would be "Eastie" but alas it is. I guess we'll see but I'm going on record as saying I don't want people calling him that after he arrives. Jason has even tried to think of ways to get the nickname to fit into my naming requirements (2 syllable name ending in "n") by coming up with such names as "Deuceton". Holy moly, people. And no, he's not really serious...I don't think.

I thought I wanted to find out the sex of this babe so we could pick a name already and help me bond with the baby. But, the more I thought about it the weirder that seemed...to name a kid I've never seen. Although, I do admit we've already named a potential future daughter so I don't know why I've got the double standard. If J and I both agreed whole-heartedly on a boy name (like we do with the girl name) I might be all for naming the little dude sight unseen, but we don't agree so that's moo. I mean moot. :)

Well, my logging on again today to post was mostly to conduct an experiment to see if the laptop issues have been resolved yet. Nope...they haven't. Grrrr.

Thanks to ~aj~ for the excuse to ramble about baby names. And for the compliment on Big E's pictures. And for the comment on Baby #2's new outfit. It's 0-3 month size (it says) and chances are he'll be on the large side so we'll see. I definitely like the idea of him wearing something more than once. Even if it only cost eight bucks.

Easton is finally asleep for the night an hour after his bedtime. Arrrrgh! This time he was sad and crying, not just saying, "Mama...mama....mama..." The first time I went in I said, "Easton what's wrong? Did you need another kiss?" and he told me "song". So I sang our "rock rock" song and as I hummed it after I sang it he told me, "Loud". Hey, little man, beggars can't be choosers (and it wasn't even loud, by the way). I thought that did the trick...10 minutes later crying again. This time I sent J. Made it worse. When I went back in he told me about Legos. Dude, we can do Legos tomorrow--just go to sleep! Now I think he truly is asleep. Although last night he woke up crying at 10:30 for reasons I do not know. I hate being in this pattern but it's so hard when he's sick and the room must still feel pretty new to him so I'm trying to be understanding I just feel like we're regressing. I don't like that.

Okay, enough from me as this was really only supposed to be an experiment, like I said. I'm off to eat some strawberry shortcake. Mmmmm.

Monday Ramblings

Well, now we know who is going to the Superbowl. Much to our household's dismay, it is not the Saints. Oh well...they had a great season. Two weeks from yesterday the Superbowl will feature the Bears (who beat the Saints) and the Colts. I'm now going to pull for the Colts but it's not like I really care. None of you blog fans really tuned in for any of that, did you? Sorry...like I've said before, this blog is sort of like a family journal too.

Here's a tidbit more along the lines of what you probably stopped by for...Easton and sleeping. 3 of the last 4 nights he has not gone to bed as easily as before. He's still not getting up from his bed or anything. (YAY!) However, after we tell him goodnight he'll be quiet for, like, 10 minutes and we think he's gone to sleep and then he'll start going, "Mama....mama....mama..." until I go in. Those 3 nights he did that I've had to go in twice. And he's not sad, he's just not ready to sleep yet. I think he's missing the rocking and talking we used to do a little bit so I'm going to try to do a little more along those lines (sans actually rocking in a chair) to see if it helps. Last night he was up for 45 minutes past his bedtime just basically wide awake in his room. The last time I went in it was like he just wanted to talk...he said, "Dada...juice. Apple...red...cold." I then told him he could have juice and an apple tomorrow. Then he just started going off, "Blue...yellow...yep! Guhbah (don't know if it was Grover or Gramoo that time...I think Grover--sorry Mom)...Sahsah (no clue what this means yet), yep, Mmmm hmmmm!" Crazy goober. There was much more but I couldn't keep up with him. I finally told him he had to stop talking so he could go to sleep and we never heard from him again. Whew!

On to pregnancy related things...boy is my belly big these days. But no one else is "allowed" to agree with that statement out loud. :) My belly doesn't squish out of the way like it used to earlier on. It is one big solid mass. And now my feet have disappeared under it. If I want to see my toes anymore I have to lean forward. It is fun to be going through all this, though.

This is one big and active baby in there. It is quite different from Easton's in-the-belly days. I'm kind of anxious to see how much he really does weigh...I know ultrasounds can be waaaaay off. I already warned Jason that Baby D was likely going to be what the hosptial calls "LGA" (large for gestational age--Easton was SGA: small for gestational age). What that means for us and Deucie is lots of heel sticks to check his blood sugars. :( Oh well...Easton had those too--among every other friggin' intervention--so it'll be a piece of cake this time.

Even though I expect him to be big if he's born right around my C-section date I'm still worried that his new "going home" outfit might be too big. Wanna see it?

Awwwww...see the little train stitched on the chest. He's going to be so soft and sweet. I'm looking foward to meeting him...but not too soon. And, since I know some of you wonder but are too afraid to ask...still no name. I have decided we won't decide until after he is born. And, no, we haven't narrowed it down to anything either. Don't worry...he'll be named...it took us over 24 hours to name Easton.

And, going back to dear Easton...still sick. He's got so much mucus that it made him yak again this morning at breakfast. Yuck! This time he got a fabric covered chair and the non-removable straps of his booster. Not sure how I'm going to deal with those just yet. But, I did get my boy cleaned up. He got to enjoy another daytime bubble bath. He's been in a good mood though. We haven't left the house yet but we are both cleaned and dressed.

Much of Easton's time today has been spent with Hokey Pokey Elmo which he seemed to have forgotten about. I reunited them:


And Easton took good care of him. "Sip milk Elmo"

And relaxing pre-nap in front of Little Einsteins:

I often spoon Easton's yogurt lunches into his mouth whilst he sits in that chair and watches Little Einsteins...if he's having yogurt it always has to be Little Einsteins, but whatever works, right? Today I had to share the yogurt with Elmo too. I like that he's looking out for his buddy.

Now Eastie's having his nap while I blab to you lovely people but now I think I should move on to other computing today. Hope you're enjoying your Mondays!

My Tag Responses...finally

Kirsty got me awhile ago so here are my lame answers, finally.

5 Secret or Shocking Things About Myself:

Hmmmmm...as you have probably noticed I don't keep too much hidden, you blog readers get quite a peek into the "real" me just about every day so we'll see what I can come up with for this tag.

1. My arms don't straighten completely. Seriously, my elbows can't go to 180 degrees like normal people. I like to think that's why I didn't make the cheerleading squad in high school but sadly I doubt that's it.

2. I've never done anything with my college degree and probably never will. I was intending to be Pre-Med way back when I started college. Then I took college chemistry and had to re-think that previous plan. My bachelor's is in Kinesiology and as many of you know, I worked as a nurse's assistant at the hospital (using my EMT certification) since my junior year of college up until Easton's birth. My current plan is to go to nursing school one day...see, that Kines degree was an expensive way to pass some time. But, I don't regret it either.

3. I have been known to get very annoyed with "food noises". Sometimes I can't sit near Jason if he is eating and I'm not. Particularly bad offenders are the regular crunchy foods that are obviously going to make noise. His nightly popsicles in the summer have been known to bother me as well. Don't even get me started on poor table manners like talking with your mouth full or even chewing with your mouth open.

4. I have to pee right before I go to sleep. Even not pregnant that has to be the last thing I do at night. Sometimes I make my "last" potty run but then J and I talk for 10 minutes so I'll have to get up to go again. How's that for something you didn't know?

5. I am very food safety conscious. I'm a big handwasher when cooking. I'm afraid to thaw foods on the counter or heaven-forbid in the microwave. I wash the spatula after the ground beef is browned if I'm going to use it some more...like stirring in a sauce. I'm slightly afraid of eating at other people's homes (some more than others if I've seen their "practices"). I learned too much about this kind of stuff through school so I'm a food germ freak. Then again I've never given anyone food poisioning.

Okay, that was kinda boring...sorry. That's why it's a "second post" and not your only reading from me for the day. Now I'm going to tag Britten (if you're up to it) and McLaughlin (since you're a Blogger now too). Have fun...this one was tough for me.

Go Saints Go!

We're just sitting here enjoying our Sunday with the Saints/Bears game on. Snow is falling outside (yes, again!) and we're listening to the wee one cough and moan his way through his nap. Poor dude. He was coughing so bad during the night. Hopefully getting his "anemia" under control will help him not be sick so often anymore.

I finally found some liquid iron drops after searching a few stores and making a few phone calls. The doctor told me the specific strength she wanted me to get. So I got it. But then the pharmacist almost wouldn't let me get the bottle because she said the dose seemed like too much. She let me buy it but made me promise to double check the dose with the doctor. The doc told me 1/2 teaspoon twice a day...so basically 1 teaspoon a day, right? Well, 1 tsp a day is the dose for an adult! Eek! Iron overdoses can be fatal...that's why there's no iron in his tot vitamin. So, I'm going to call tomorrow and tell the doc her dosage scares me. Especially if his "anemia" isn't bad enough to affect his hematocrit or hemaglobin...yet.

Anyhoo...not much else to report around here. Here's a few pictures from yesterday: Easton and daddy watching movies on the laptop:

Then, Easton imitating himself in the couch Hokey Pokey movie:


And, finally from this morning...that's Blitz's kitty door to the basement...and Daddy was in the basement...


I think that should do it. Tonight we'll be enjoying chicken enchiladas for dinner. Jason is finally in the mood for some real food...he's been eating toast for dinner for most nights since his tummy bug. I'm making several pans to freeze for our post-C-section needs. I think it might take me awhile to get a routine in place with 2 kids so I'm planning ahead with meals picky me and picky J will eat. I don't know where Easton gets it from. :)

Okay, that really should do it now. Go Saints!

34 Weeks Today

This was a goal of ours...to make it to 34 weeks...then we think we'd feel comfortable going to our planned hospital for delivery from this point onwards. Yay for us!

Remember how I was longing for the experience to feel big and pregnant like other "normal" moms get to do? Well, I'm getting there. Things are starting to get more uncomfortable. I feel like my belly grew exponentially overnight (but I'm still in my regular jeans today!). For the last 2 nights I've been having bunches of contractions. Again...nothing to worry about but they're still not the most comfortable of experiences. My tailbone is starting to hurt (it did last pregnancy too) and my back hurts when I get up 15 times a night to pee. I'm so glad I'm getting to experience all this! Truly, I am.

Mr. E is still not quite feeling his best. Here is the little prince yesterday after he "made" me bring him his milk in bed:

In return I at least made him sit up to drink it. The little stinker was calling for me so I went in to get him but he told me "no" and wanted me to leave so I did. Then he called me again...I went back...he wanted milk and then for me to leave again. So demanding! I gave in though to avoid a tantrum because he's a little sick. I know I get weird and moody when I'm sick so I try to be somewhat understanding. Excuses excuses.

He's still not in peak condition today. He was rather cranky this morning but we took him to the mall (where he was happy). Our mission was to find Baby Deuce's "coming home" outfit. We looked all over but nothing seemed "special" enough. Finally our last stop was going to be Macy's and we found what we wanted there...only not in a tiny size. :( So we settled on something else which I personally like better. And it was on humongo sale for just $8! Yay! One more "getting ready for baby" thing to check off the list. Now we just need little fancy socks or booties to go with it...it came with a hat.

Anyway, as we were leaving Macy's (right around naptime) Easton started having a meltdown. It got worse the closer we got to the car. He threw a fit for most of the long drive home. Quite exhausting for everyone present (and he woke up Deuce!) Now he's finally napping in his little bed but what an ordeal. Guess we could've cut the mall trip a little shorter but then we wouldn't have found the outfit and we'd have to go back some other time. Ick. Shopping isn't my favorite pastime.

We did take Easton to play at the very busy play area where his toenail finally fell off. Jason noticed and was like, "You watch him and I'll pick up the toenail". Eeeeew, huh? But I wanted to see it since I'm gross (and kind of medical) like that. Then I said, "Let's show it to Easton and see if he knows what it is." He did. But he didn't freak out at all so that was good. Guess losing a body part like that wasn't as traumatic as he thought it'd be. Whew!

I need to take this time while E is sleeping to go through the few old clothes we have from Easton's newborn days. Most everything he wore was borrowed from someone and we since gave it back. It's kinda weird needing to buy clothes for our second son when we didn't have to buy things for the first. Oh well. I've got to go sort out what we can use again and what we'll still need.

Kirsty tagged me again but that'll have to wait till maybe tomorrow's post. Till then...

In 5 Weeks from Today...

Baby Deuce will be here...whether he comes before the scheduled C-section or in exactly 5 weeks he'll be here. Wow, huh? Last night I was having a bunch of random, non-productive contractions but it was weird. Like my body is getting ready for him to come out. I guess I'm supposed to be getting stuff ready for him, something we didn't get to do with Easton, but aside from buying a pack or two of diapers to have I'm not sure what I need to do. He's got a room but he'll be staying in ours for awhile. I guess he'll need some clean clothes at some point too. It seems strange to actually prepare for his arrival.

Easton woke up with another round of the sniffles this morning. I guess "frequent illness" goes along with this whole anemia thing, at least according to my online research. I still need to get him some iron drops...probably after his nap today. Poor guy threw up while I was showering this morning. I assume it was from a coughing too hard attack. I felt bad I wasn't there for him as he often gets a little clingy post-yak. Good thing today was "sheet changing day" anyway.

Despite the cold, we met up with Max and Susannah for breakfast. Easton even tried a bite of Max's sausage but only wanted the one bite. We were all very proud of him for trying. Max continued to "share" food with Easton by pitching bits of sausage or pancake across the table at him. Once he threw a crayon but Easton rolled it back. Then they turned that into a "roll the crayons" game. Toddler fun.

After breakfast I took just Easton to a mall to play. It seemed that their play area was geared to a younger, less adventerous crowd. That is until E saw the 25 cent rides. He took off running despite my shouts of him to stop so I actually hid out of view to see if he'd ever get scared or notice. He noticed and would look around for me every once in awhile but was mostly interested in sitting on all the rides. He was on a Bob the Builder one and looked around for me to tell me "Bob" but since he couldn't see me he just told the air it was "Bob". Kinda sad. He would've continued playing without me for awhile, I'm sure, but it seemed to bother other people that I wasn't right there with him. (I could see and hear him the whole time, he just couldn't see me). Anyway, one man shouted, "Are you his mother?" and I was like, "Way to give away my hiding spot, dude." Not really. He understood once he saw me. Another older mall-walking gal was like, "Is he yours?" So, I gave up on my experimental lesson and made him shop with me. In the store he threw one of his very rare public tantrums so we left. Good times.

I hope he takes a good long nap today since he's sick and sorta cranky. Then we'll hit up Wal-Mart and I really hope they have his iron drops. Better start those soon. Here's a few quick pics from yesterday:


And checking out a new TV show that some other moms told me was funny (I usually watch his programs with him so I might as well enjoy it too, right?) It's called the "Upside-Down Show":


Finally, playing "doink" the balloon while wearing one of Daddy's slippers. Such talent:


That's it, hope you all have a good weekend!

If yesterday's blog had lots of movies, today's has certainly got lots of photos. Lucky you! Do you think I'll be taking more or less pictures when #2 gets here? Many people predict less but we shall see. If he's half as fun as Easton was/is then I'm sure we'll have plenty of pictures still.

Backtracking to yesterday for a mo'...when I went to wake Li'l E up from his nap he was OUT. I turned off his humidifier and his white noise and that didn't wake him. I rubbed his head but that didn't do it either. Talking to him and picking him up did. He must've been in the midst of a dream because he said, "Glasses" to me (there were no glasses in sight) and put his head right down on my shoulder. I loaded my drowsy guy in the car with no shoes or coat thinking he might snooze again on the drive. He didn't but he was so quiet and still. Just looking out the window. After about 5-10 minutes of silence he told me, "Pete". I don't know what that meant. He slowly woke back up to his full Easton potential and was excited for the toys in the waiting room at the OB's as usual. He kept expecting to see Daddy there but I had to tell him Daddy wasn't coming.

We waited for a half an hour to be seen. It didn't seem so bad without Jason there needing to get back to work. It was actually kinda fun watching E enjoy the train table. When another older kid came in to play too it got even better. But, we were called back and the first stop was the scale. First me, then Easton wanted on! I gained maybe 2.5 pounds in the last 2 weeks (eek!) but my total gain is at 18 pounds. I like to blame some of that weight on my full bladder but deep down I realize I can't as "full" at this stage of pregnancy is, like, a mere 2 ounces. Oh well. It's nearing the end and I can expect to gain a pound a week or so. Guess that's what's happening? Anyway...my blood pressure was only 96/58 and then we waited for the doc to come in. She spent literally 3 minutes with me. She asked if I had any questions and then listened to Deucie (yup, heart was still beating) and then measured my uterus (34 and I'm 33.5 weeks). She had the nurse come back to check my hematocrit and they said it was 36 which they were all happy about. I looked at them like they were crazy (for being so happy) and she was like, "Why, have you been feeling run down?" and I said, "Well, no...but y'all said I'm anemic and I'm on iron." "Oh, well, the iron's working!" If you say so...my hematocrit was 35.5 when they diagnosed my "anemia". When I had my blood drawn just before Christmas (after I'd been on the iron awhile) my 'crit was up to 36.7. Now it's down to 36 yet they're excited it's "perfect". I can't wait to be done with those fools. Good grief.

Speaking of anemia though, it turns out Easton IS anemic. Yup, I heard from the doctor today. Why all the confusion? When I called for his lab results that day (8 days ago!!!) I only asked for his hemoglobin and hematocrit values since that's the way I know to check for anemia. Those two values were perfectly normal and that's what I updated y'all on. However, the doctor also checked some other values like ferretin and the amount of actual iron in his blood and those are indeed low. She said she couldn't believe his H&H were normal with the other values as low as they were. Anyway...the plan is to start him on liquid iron supplements (his daily vitamin does not contain iron which I had suspected was the case). Then, we have to have him checked again in 2-3 weeks to see if it's improving. Sooooo not looking forward to that for him. Another blood draw? Ouch!

Anyway, I'm feeling a little frustrated about this right now. He hasn't had his iron checked since he was in the NICU. Most healthy kids have had it checked at least once or twice by now, I think. As you can see, I'm a litte confused why his was never checked before at all. The other thing is, Easton hasn't been on the charts for weight since he was 6 months old. If anemia can affect a child's appetite (and therefore weight) I'm a little puzzled why our previous doctor didn't want to just check it out. Even just with a simple finger stick--although that would've been normal since his H&H are fine. It's just if he's been anemic for quite some time that's not good. And if he's been missing out on valuable eating and growing because of it then that sucks even more. I hope this does the trick and he can catch up, but can't you see why this might bother me? Blah.

Okay, back to me and the OB...in the waiting room on our way out we ran into 4 nurses I used to work with. They were all happy and excited to see us as a couple of them were directly involved in caring for either me or Easton at some point. One of the first things out of one of their mouths was, "Have you been seen yet? What was your BP?" And then they politely raved about how much better I'm looking with this pregnancy and how Easton is a complete clone of his daddy. As they left I could hear them saying, "Gosh, doesn't she look great?" and "That's one cute kid". I'm sure they were saying it for my benefit knowing I could still "overhear" them but it was still nice. That's the kind of stuff a pregster like me wants to hear.

And, just to nit pick, Easton is not a complete clone of his daddy but I know that's just what people say sometimes. Jason and I agree that he's a pretty good mix of the both of us. And sometimes we look at him and think he looks a lot like my dad-- which wigs me out as he's not a part of our lives. But, even if you can shut a person out of your life the genes are still there, aren't they? Grrrrr.

Okay, moving on...last night when Jason got home he was sort of low energy from still not eating much and from a long day at work. And he's cold all the time now. Easton was the sweetest boy ever though and seemed to "understand" that Daddy needed a break from their usual evening play.

This morning we went to Kindermusik and had a nice time. Easton kept saying, "See Ellis" (a class pal) but Ellis wasn't there. So, after class he played chase with another tot and called him Ellis instead. They were too cute playing chase. Easton was always the "chasee" and LOVED it. Then Xander (21 months) would tag him and they'd do it again. Soooo cute. When we left the boys hugged. Awwwww!

Anyway, on to all the pictures I previously spoke of:
Still freaking out about the dangly toenail...it's still hanging on but we're not longer putting a Band-Aid on it:


Fresh from yesterday's Circle Time with a new book or 3:


Then we did some coloring for the first time at the table in his room:



And posing on another room addition from The Alabamaws:


Blitz then decided to spice things up by jumping allllll the way up onto Easton's dresser, Blitz:

Easton's reaction:

It seems the best smiles I can get out of him lately are when he's wearing that shirt or another shirt from The Maws. Strange.

Then once Daddy got home:


Bedtime stories in the new room:

And another great smile to wrap things up:


Well, now my Photobucket account is full so I must go figure out what to do next. Oh, and get my daily dose of caffiene. Toodaloo!

This is Gonna Have to Be Brief...

Brief for me anyway ;) I finally made it into the basement to the desktop so I could do these videos for you. (And change the Same Time Last Year) picture and video so check 'em out).

Here is Easton bustin' some moves while watching Backyardigans (and some say TV is bad for kids?!?! Look what he's picked up!)

Here is Easton doing a couch version of the Hokey Pokey with one of his party gifts.

Here is that one I claimed was SOOOO precious from his last bedtime routine in the nursery. Listen to how happy our little guy is. Love this vid.

And here is a montage from Gymsters on the day of his birthday.

Jason is feeling better and is back at work today. Poor guy lost 8 pounds from the ordeal. I'm just glad he's doing better and that E and I seem to be in the clear. Although Easton did puke up some waffle this morning y'all know how he is...no biggie. He's fine otherwise and ate a TON of lunch plus a whole sippy of milk.

And, Circle Times at the 'brary have finally resumed so we were excited to go back today. Easton did well and sat pretty still and was fairly quiet except for when he sneakily scooched over to another mom and said, "Hello!" At the end of Circle Time Miss Jenny (the librarian) put the patting song on the CD player whist everyone checked out books and stuff. Easton totally stopped what he was doing, went and sat back on the story steps and started patting again all alone. Cute and kinda sad. That's his most favorite part of Circle Time as you might recall.

In a minute here I've got to wake Easton up from his nap so we can go up to my OB appointment. It's at 3:30...I'm sure I'll be seen sometime around 5. Unless there's anything truly noteworthy to report don't expect to hear from me again until tomorrow.

Oh, and that reminds me...Easton's hernia appointment. Well, this doctor was impressed with how much better the umbilical hernia has gotten on it's own. If the hernia was his only potential surgery he'd recommend waiting another year or two to see if it closes completely on it's own (something he feels is entirely possible). However, since he's got the eye thing that will likely require surgery in a few months he says he can go in and just fix it then to save Easton (and Mommy and Daddy!) from another surgery (and anesthesia). Ugh...I'm pretty sure they're going to want to do his eye, and soon so we might just have to go with both procedures at once even though the hernia MIGHT be unneccesary. I s'pose things could be worse but since we have to pay so much out of pocket I wish we didn't have to make some of these decisions. I guess I'll wait to really start fretting until after we've seen the opthalmologist (not till April, remember?)

Okay, gotta go wake up the little dude. Till tomorrow...hopefully...

I've Got a Sick Boy Here Today...

Only it's my biggest boy. Poor J got food poisoning or something and spent most of the night in the bathroom. He's home from work today and just looks wiped out. At about 4 this morning I got him to take one of my leftover Zofrans from my morning sickness days but even that didn't stop it. He was so thirsty but nothing would stay down. I finally asked him if I could turn off his alarm and he could decide about work once he woke up. I just didn't want the alarm going off and waking ME up too like it usually does. I didn't get much sleep last night either so it was for selfish reasons. Poor hubby. Easton had shared a few bites off J's plate last night: he loved the "bed of fried onions" Daddy's dinner came with and he even tried one bite of shrimp. I'm glad Easton seems just fine for now, though. If it's a virus that might be contagious I'm a little worried about the rest of us. I'm trying to be a good disinfecter and hoping for the best. I just really hope J feels better soon.

It's weird having Jason home yet out of commission. Easton doesn't get it for one thing. And it's harder going about E and I's regular routines while trying to stay quiet for J to rest. Getting Eastie down for his nap just now was kinda rough, complicated by the fact that we have his hernia consult soon and I'll have to wake him up so we can leave. I kinda forced him to go down earlier than he normally would have so I guess I should have expected the fight. Oh well.

We had our last session of Gymsters today but I think I'm going to sign up again with the money The Maws "found" for us to do something fun with. Easton just does so well and really likes it there. I'll keep going with him until I deliver and then J can take him during his two weeks off and then we'll figure something else out. I'm not worried and I want for Easton to still have some of his special one-on-one, "just for E" time...you know?

Speaking of special E time, here's some fun from yesterday:
Having a snack at his new lap desk:

And using it for a coloring project, Easton's never had markers before so this was fun:


"Mama, can we do this next?"

And we did...


I still have some videos I need to shrink/put together for y'all to enjoy but I can't seem to find the time to get myself down to the ol' desktop in the basement. I'll do it soon. There's some great new ones from yesterday too that have J and I cracking up.

Anyhoo...that should wrap it up for today. Buh bye!

Have I mentioned how annoyed our OB's office makes me? Ugh...they're at it again. They just called to say, "Yeah, you have an appointment on Wednesday morning but the doctor is going to be in surgery." Oh that's nice, what's the point of an appointment again? "You can come tomorrow at 2:15 to see someone else" (nope, E's got his surgeon consult at that time) "or on Wednesday afternoon to see the on-call doctor." Great, "on-call" means the one doing deliveries so even though I have a friggin' appointment she might not be there. I don't even want to go. Some damn nurse can dip my urine, take my BP, weigh me, listen to the heartbeat, and measure my belly and a doc can call me if she has any questions. Hell, I can do all of that myself. Seriously. This place just sucks. I'm telling you now, if we ever end up having another baby we are finding another doctor or even another hospital! There is no point in Jason even coming to this appointment. I hate this! I can't wait till I have to start going every blasted week. Arrrrrrrgh!

Well, onto happier and more relaxed topics...I had my lovely massage this morning. The fact that he was a guy wasn't weird after all. I was hoping he might have stronger hands or something but he was just like all the other massages I've had recently which is still just dandy. The bummer was he totally jipped me on my time! He brought me back a little late and then stopped on time. No fair! My gift card was for "55 minutes plus tip" and I did not quite get 55 minutes. Oh well. My mom and Lauren needed to bring Easton back to me so they could make it to the dentist on time. Still... Easton did well at Gramoo's. Apparently he was sad for about 5 minutes after I left which is weird because he was "driving" in the car with Gramoo in the driveway. He got over it and had fun it seems. Lauren has a ballet bar that he got to practice hanging on and bringing his feet up like he enjoys. Did y'all watch that video from yesterday? Can you believe how controlled his movements are?! Such strong abs!

Anyway, sorry I have no pictures right now. That part seems to be where some of the "computer issues" lie (still not fixed). So, I'll do some another time soon but for now I'll leave you. Adios!

I've Never Been This Pregnant Before!!!

I made it to 33 weeks and 2 days!!! This is the most pregnant I've ever been in my whole life! I'm so excited to have reached this goal...we have goals to go much further, but still! Woo hoo! I'm still pregnant, I have no signs of an impending premature delivery, I'm not on bedrest, and the only "issue" is the swelling I've had but it's stayed confined to my cankles (yes, cankles)! Can you feel the excitement, people? Can you?

Since about 8:09 a.m. yesterday I couldn't get over how I'd made it further than I did with Easton. I can't believe E was born by now...it's so soon! But indeed he came at 33 weeks 1 day at 8:08 a.m. and he was clearly not ready. Most kiddos at that gestation do much better than he did. But, that's all in the past and we're focusing on the fact that I'm still pregnant this time around. Yippee!

To celebrate I'm getting a massage today. Okay, it's not really to celebrate as much as it's a coincidince that my mom is off but it will certainly help it feel special--I hope--the massage today will be from a dude. I've never had a professional massage by a man before but I'm willing to give it a shot. This is from the gift certificate that my sister Jessica gave me back in July (for my birthday) when they just found out I was preggers. I was waiting to use it till about now. I'm really looking forward to it so I hope this guy is a winner. I'm doing the massage today so Gramoo (who is off for MLK day) can watch Easton for me. I'm just glad it's going to be a true "prenatal massage". During Easton's pregnancy Jason gave me a prenatal massage certificate too and I hung onto it for when I got really uncomfortable late in the pregnancy...only I never made it that far and had to do a "post natal" instead. :) Not this time! Yay!

Anyhoo...given my recent lack of posting, "other Kristin" left me a comment that asked how you all out in blog land might know if things were okay or needing prayers and such and I think Jason would be able to pop on for a "guest blog" appearance if something were up. Our hospital has kiosks with internet access and if we plan ahead we can also use our own laptop there...so no worries...you'll be kept up to date on a "need to know" basis. Ha ha ha.

Okay, well, that's enough from me for this morning. Gotta get down to A-town (Aurora--where my mom lives) for the manly rub down. YAY! I'm still pregnant! Bye!

The Elmo Party

I told you I'd be back with the update soon...didn't I? Well, the 'puter prob was indeed not fixed before...now Jason thinks it might be so he (and I) was anxious for me to try again. Anyhoo...the party was set to kick off at 10:30, given the snow I figured everyone would be late but we had some early arrivers. Despite Easton's awesome memory he did not seem to remember Baby John. But, Baby John has changed a lot since we last saw him too...

Sadly we were not our best picture takers today...the camera is making me very mad lately with taking sub-par shots that we can't figure out why it's so poopy. Oh well. We still took plenty (with Auntie Lauren's help) but didn't start until gift opening time...like, an hour and a half into the fiesta. Here's the birthday (sort of) boy politely reading a card from Gramoo:

And the super cool drum toy she got him...

Crazy Guhbah...she wasn't supposed to get him anything as she paid his Gymsters tuition AND she's getting that cool sports ball humidifier for his room that I was wanting. Thanks Gramoo!

Anyway, the other tots (who had birthdays last month) were both very interested in present opening so they were more than willing to lend a hand when needed. Here they all are opening another one:

And Easton's face seeing if we're watching what the cool new toy can do:

Looking like he feels slightly left out of the Hokey Pokey fun:


Soon we all sang "Happy Birthday" to the big guy and he got to blow out 2 candles like he loves to do:


Sampling a little frosting while I left to grab a fork:

And finally enjoying a real bite:


Quick cuddles with mama and brother in between bites:


And then everyone went home. Easton "made out like a bandit" said Rachel's dad. He did. He also got a nifty Aqua Doodle like all the other cool kids have and a Playdoh "diner" and a neat-o lap desk for his projects and snacks. I felt kinda bad that everyone brought him such cool stuff. We just really wanted people to share in our day but all the great loot was a real bonus.

After the guests had gone we played around for a bit more. Easton has a new trick that he did for the first time at the party. He did it with Jason but the smallest video we have (easier to upload, etc) is with me in it. Click here. He's been able to hang and lift his legs up to his hands for quite some time now, the flipping all the way over is the added part of the "trick". What fun! And he (and we!) loved showing it off for the party pals.

Daddy also helped Easton to look like Mama by blowing up a balloon in his belly:



Then it was off for a nap which went surprisingly well despite the sugar high I'm sure he had going on. We played some more after his nap, watched some football and then back to bed tonight. He is currently freaking out about losing a body part: his toenail he smashed months ago is finally about to fall off. It's a dangler right now and he's really put out by it. But, if a part of my body was falling off I might feel afraid too:

We kept a Pablo band-aid on it to distract him and to keep it from getting snagged and falling off prematurely. Hopefully it'll fall off soon so we can move on with our lives and away from the "Pablo toe sticker" obsession:

Goober.

Well, it's been a fairly long day...just look at my ankles and you'll see how busy we've been. Jason had said he'd rub them for me so I must go hunt him down. Chat you up later!