Cabin Trip- Memorial Day Weekend

We went to our trusty Thundering Waters cabin over the long holiday weekend with our friends. It's been a while since the guys had been there, but only a few months for us girls since we took our Girl's Trip there in January. This was Jonah's first time to the cabin, and the first time in a while we've been when it was warm out! We played a lot of cards, watched movies, tubed in the Chattahoochee River, picked ticks off each other and the dogs, grilled out both nights (DELICIOUS FOOD), enjoyed getting to know Mr. Joe who came with Jennifer, gave first aid to Ryan who got stung by a wasp, and managed to somehow fight some sort of bug Ben picked up Saturday morning that caused him to throw up until he took a good long nap that made him feel better. He had been fighting a cold earlier in the week, and over night the cabin in general got a tad bit cold and I think his body was retaliating. He came up to me in the morning pale and weak and said "My tummy hurts. I'm FREEZING" in a very pitiful sad voice. I think he secretly enjoyed the pampering after his puking bit because we quarantined him downstairs away from everyone with his DVD player and my old iPhone to play games on, I don't blame him! It's always nice to get a little extra love and attention, right? As soon as he felt better he went with all the grown ups & Savannah down to play in the river. Poor little Savannah was also fighting a battle of her own with teething AND we also celebrated (I wish we would've done more) Ashley's 30th birthday! Unfortunately we had to leave on her birthday, and also a lot earlier than a lot of us planned because the septic system backed up and we couldn't do much after that point. So we didn't get to do anything particularly fun for her, and for that I am sad. :(

I just have to say, again, how very grateful I am to have such wonderful friends in our lives. I am obviously grateful for my family whom I love very much- but our friends are tried and true and are always there for us. We love taking these trips with them. We are all like a family of our own and we just love each other and each others company. Everyone is always so helpful with our kids, and I know Ben loves each and every one of them as if they are his family. He doesn't know any different, because they've always been in his life. That is so special to me, and I hope he remembers them always and how special they are to him. We have a plaque in our family room that says "Friends are the Family you choose" and that couldn't be more true! We are so blessed!

Playing Phase10

Cute Savannah

 

Keeping it real

 

Mustachio!

 

I swear this is not an advertisement...

 

 

 

I feel horrible that I haven't posted more about Jonah and his development, and also Ben too. Both change everyday. Jonah is 2 months this week and he's my little hunk. There are so many things to notate about him I don't know if I'll be able to remember it all.

Our days typically consist of a feeding somewhere between the hours of 4-6am and then another 2 hours later. We sleep between those two feedings, but Ben usually wakes up and for some reason feels the need to wake me to tell me he needs to go potty instead of just going. Sigh. I usually turn the TV to the channel he likes to watch before I go to bed at night so he can turn it on while I rest and feed Jonah. The days seem to fly by, like even now- it's 2pm and I haven't eaten my lunch but both boys are fed and (supposedly) taking a nap! Ben's starting to not sleep but he still has to have quiet time in his room, mostly for mommy's sanity. Before I know it it's 5pm and Ryan's on the way, and I feel guilty more days than not that I don't have dinner planned and beginning to cook for him when he gets home. So far, I'm not a good pretend stay at home mom (since I will be returning to work in a month, I don't count as a real one! haha), although I really wish I could be one still. Jonah eats right around the time we eat dinner, then I eat, then it's bath and bed time for Ben and then I usually feed Jonah and get to bed between 10:30-12am. So far the last few nights, he's slept on average of about 5 hours which is awesome... but that could change, tonight. I've been trying to take an outing about every other day to help keep us all sane. Jonah doesn't particularly like being in the car seat... so that makes it kind of difficult. He usually calms down after a little while, and it's getting better the older he gets. Ben is the look out for me and alerts me if he's crying (like I can't hear him), or if he's sleeping, or looking at him or outside... it's very helpful. tee-hee It's a little bit of a challenge to get both kids out the door and to maneuver it all on my own, but it's getting easier and easier and I'll be a pro before I know it. :)

Jonah for a while, a very short while, liked to be swaddled but then he realized his hands were constricted and then decided he didn't like being swaddled at all. Ben was the exact same way. Jonah has the most kissable cheeks, I've mentioned that before, but I can't get enough of them. Jonah has now started to smile! It's awesome and he's starting to make sounds and coo and he even laughed at his daddy the other night when he said "chi-chi" to him! I suppose he thought it sounded funny! I am so glad he's out of that zombie newborn stage and is showing some personality. I can tell he has got a lot to say and is going nuts because he can't say it. We swear he wants to be a big kid already and is not happy about being a newborn! He tells me a lot with those beautiful eyes of his. 

He doesn't really have a "pattern" of being awake/sleeping... other than at night. He usually takes about 2-3 naps during the day but also enjoys playing on the activity mat a lot. He likes to see what his brother is doing and the tv and to flail his arms and legs about. He's very alert and active for a 2 month old! This morning both Ben and I weren't in the room and we came back to find him laying on his side! Ben sat next to him and he rolled back over to his back! He's too little for that! He's also found his hands, and when he's hungry he desperately tries to suck on them, thus leaving them stinky on occasion! I wash them, I swear. He's eating 3 1/2-4 oz now, and we've had to put him on Zantac for reflux and have started to add rice to his milk. I was giving it to him in all his bottles but have just cut down to his night time ones to keep him sleeping longer at night due to a little bit of a problem with being backed up. He has started to use the pacifier more, mostly when he's going to sleep. He will not take it if he's hungry though, he will not be tricked! haha

He doesn't care for the bath still, unless Ben is in there with him. It seems much more tolerable to him when his big brother is in there with him. Which, I think it's pretty adorable! I love having my two little nakey boys in the bath together! 

Jonah does NOT like to be burped at the beginning of his feedings. He does this start up cry as soon as I take the bottle from his mouth and sit him up and then screams out all while pushing back as to get to be in the laying position again! He's a stubborn little one. 

Ben has had a bit of a difficult time now this second month. He's really seeking for a lot of attention now, and has been acting out. Not towards Jonah at all, but to me particularly and just in general. He all of a sudden doesn't ever want to be alone, and thinks his room is spooky at night. He's afraid of us deserting him at home whenever we need to go out or even if we're at the store and we're slightly ahead of him. He and I are a lot alike so I think we drive each other a little crazy. He loves his brother though, and he loves to feed him. He feels super important and in charge when he does. I'm trying to get him to be my helper so that he focuses more on that, than how his life has changed. His favorite song right now is Party Rock Anthem from LMFAO. He loves to dance to it and almost knows all the words, but his favorite part is the "every day I'm shufflin". We've even gotten him to do his rendition of a robot dance. Ben does NOT like it when drawers or closet doors are open. He needs to close them when they are. I think it's pretty funny that something like that would bother a 4 year old. His favorite thing to say lately is "That's a GREAT idea!" and tells us we're "full of bologna" (bologna just doesn't look like how it sounds does it?) often. He has been doing a lot of his homework while at home with me. We have some print outs that have very short sentences on them that the kids are supposed to trace below and Ben is really good at it. At times he runs out of room, but he can do it. He doesn't know how to read it, but he knows the letters and how to write them together. The poor kid is getting lonely, but I try to do something with people who have kids often. Some ladies from church usually try to do a playgroup once a week, and we went this week and had a lot of fun. We went to a park that is located right next to some train tracks so the kids can watch as the train goes by, and just down the road is a free spray park that they played in. He was pretty upset when we had to leave, and didn't believe me that everyone else was too! Ben loves his daddy, and loves when he comes home. They get all sorts of rowdy, which I still don't understand, but have a lot of fun doing it. Ben can buckle himself in the car now. We still struggle with him eating in a timely manner, and still struggle with certain foods and textures. He likes to help water the yard, and to play in the water. And is really excited to start swimming this summer which I hope to do this weekend. I feel like he goes through these crazy growth spurts that make him just look so much more like a little kid instead of my toddler and it's scary sometimes. He drives me batty, but I sure love that kid. He loves his family very much and I hope that never changes. 

Ally Doggy

Happy 5th Birthday to our little doggy, pal, and the other girl in the house Ally! 

Jonah's Blessing

Jonah is named after my dad, the Grant part. So while my parents were still here we asked my dad if he would be willing to give Jonah's baby blessing. We did it at home since he was still so tiny and had a member of the bishopric come to participate, as well as our friends Geoff Davies, Jacob Terry and Jared Markham... and obviously Ryan too. :) It was a beautiful blessing. What stood out to me was the fact that Jonah came at a special time and his purpose and influence on this earth was so important and that his parents loved him SO much would guide him in the right direction (no pressure or anything!).  He didn't cry at all, and the blessing was special and sacred and I'm so glad my daddy got to do it!

 

 

 

For those of my friends who are not LDS, we bless baby's in our church and give them a name for the records of the church and sort of a prayer for guidance and direction and of good things to come for them in their life.

Jonah continued...

Motherhood and the creation of life is such a miracle. I feel pretty blessed to be a mom... it's not easy and sometimes pretty stressful. Well OK, a lot of the time it is. But that doesn't make me love it any less. I am so grateful for these two beautiful boys I have. 

Here are some of the deets on Jonah's birth. Well, on April 4^th I was doing laundry… had Ben home because he was feeling under the weather and I wanted to take him to the doc because I was afraid he had a cold and I didn’t want him to get his baby brother sick when he arrived. Our appt was at 12:15 so it was just he and I at home. After getting some stuff from the dryer I came in to use the restroom and that's when my water broke. I called Ryan and the nurse, Ryan asked if he should come home to which I responded quickly and loudly (not yelling though, hehe) "YES! NOW!" and the nurse confirmed my water had broken and that as soon as Ryan came home I needed to get to the hospital. A couple of things about this, I was set to be induced the 6th had he not come on his own- but I REALLY wanted to go in to labor on my own. In fact, I prayed about it a lot. It was REALLY important to me because I was totally induced with Ben and really wanted to experience the whole going in to labor thing naturally.  And sadly, my normal doctor wasn't on call yet- he was going to be that Friday but Dr. Hirsch was on call. The nurse assured me that he was a really nice guy and would be wonderful, which was comforting. 

While we were alone, Ben came in to see what was wrong with me in the bathroom and I told him “The baby is going to come, I need you to get your clothes on RIGHT NOW” and he kind of started to whimper like he was worried and I said “mommy’s ok, don’t freak out”. So when I came out of the bathroom he said to me “mommy, I got dressed and I’m NOT freaking out”. Hahaha… he’s  a funny kid. Hillary arrived and helped keep Ben distracted (and me a little bit calmer than I would’ve been) and helped grab a few things for me to take with to the hospital (all the while she is about 9 months pregnant as well!). Ryan zoomed on home, and his dad (who was luckily off work for the day) drove over to pick Ben up and they got here at the same time as each other. So my water broke at about 9:50am and we got the hospital by 10:45. Ryan’s mom met us there. Unfortunately, this was all the day before my parents were to arrive! I called my momma on the way and we cried together because I really had wanted her there with me during all of it. She was mad at Jonah for not waiting just ONE MORE DAY! I called Ben's doctor on the way to the hospital to see what we could do for him, in case he had something contagious since I obviously couldn't make it to his appt. The nurse was kind of laughing at me because I was calling during all of this. She said "um so you're on the way to the hospital? are you like... having any... you know, contractions?" haha! I told her not yet, just slight discomfort. (BTW- Ben just had allergies, thank goodness!)

So we got to the hospital and then in to our room and that's about when I started having contractions.  So basically, to make a long (and otherwise boring) story short, they gave me the epidural when the contractions started getting more frequent and painful and then after that- they slowed way down. This epidural experience was A LOT different than when I had Ben. I didn't believe people when they said they had their epidural and didn't feel a thing because I TOTALLY did feel EVERYTHING with Ben, but this time... I understood! I did have to have a second dose of it because I could still feel some discomfort on my left side, which was weird since I was laying on my left side practically the WHOLE time I was in labor. The epidural relaxed me a lot and so my contractions slowed way down- so they gave me a little pitocin to speed things up. This eventually made little Dude Jonah's heart rate drop and so they turned the pitocin off and gave me something to actually completely stop the contractions. That was TERRIFYING for us. All the nurses rushed in frantically pushing buttons, watching the monitors, turning me from side to side, rubbing my belly to get him to react, etc... it was really scary. Our nurse was awesome and so comforting and let me cry after he was stable again and reassured me that he was fine... the contractions were just too much for him.  I progressed quite nicely after that, and started having the contractions again and a MUCH smaller dose of pitocin to keep them going. I even took a nap! At about 7pm Jonah's heart starting giving us issues again, so Dr. Hirsch decided to go ahead and deliver, we were close enough and it was that or have a possible c-section, which again terrified me. He also mentioned forceps which I was totally against, but he assured me that all would be well and to trust him. Jonah's head is pretty large... so there was really no other option unless we did c-section and I was bound and determined to not have to do that. So we did one practice push- which I could barely feel because of the epidural. Then a few mins later once everything was set for me to go, I pushed once... then twice and about half way through that push the Doc told me to stop and he would do the rest and out came our Sunshine! I was hysterical... LOL I was so happy to see him, and to hold him and hear him. It was amazing. As they took him away to clean him up and do all his measurements and stitch me up- thunder rolled in! Not sure what that's symbolic of, but it was still pretty neat! He came in with a vengeance I suppose! Both of us were healthy and we were able to come home two days later with both our boys in tow. It was a surreal experience having two kids in the back of the car!

So now it's almost a month later, can you believe it? We had to put Jonah on sensitive formula because he's had some stomach issues with just the regular kind, and no I'm not breastfeeding. He likes to be held, but luckily not ALL the time. He doesn't like his pacifier like his big brother did... it just kind of soothes him, once in a while. He's got a temper just like his big brother did. He's been pretty darn alert ever since he was born. Recently his eye sight has started to clear up and he can see things pretty well and will follow a hand or object if in front of him. One of my favorite things ever is when I'm feeding him and he's staring at me and we lock eyes... melts my heart. And even with that huge noggin of his, he's got a lot of strength in his neck and back and can hold his head up really well. He's taking 3oz and at times wants more after that. He eats about every 2 hours, sometimes 3. And there have been a few nights that he will do 4 hour stretches, even a couple of 5-6 hour ones between feedings. He has started to enjoy laying on the floor on a blanket or his activity mat and "play". Kicking, waving arms, wiggling the body, swatting... He hasn't quite started to coo or make big noises but he's getting close to. He acts like he could roll over any minute, so maybe he'll do that earlier than Ben did! He's growing pretty fast, and is now starting to be too long for his newborn clothes. His hair is lightening up A LOT, his eyebrows and lashes are a lot lighter than Ben's were and it looks like he'll be pretty blonde, or at least that's my prediction. He doesn't have as much hair as Ben did, we could do a little mohawk with Ben but no go with Jonah. He's got the cute little notch on his right ear, just like his big brother and daddy have.

Speaking of his big brother, Ben has done remarkably well with Jonah and having him around. I'm kind of surprised really. He acts as if Jonah has always been here. He loves to gently kiss him and rub his soft head. He likes to see if he's awake, and always lets me know if he is! The first time he met him, I think that he finally understood that there WAS a baby in mommy's tummy (we weren't just making it up) and here he was! Just like that first day he was around him, he still loves to see him and check on him and see what he's doing. He's had his own little 4 year old issues... but I don't really think they have to do with Jonah. He's lonely for his friends and daycare routine, we have him out now since I'm on maternity leave and it's so expensive to keep him there. I took him for a couple hours last week so he could play and his little buddies were ECSTATIC to see him and he was so happy to have his groupies around him. He keeps telling me he misses them. He was entertained for the 2 1/2 weeks my parents were here, but now that they're gone- he's a little bit lonely. Luckily we have a full week this week so he should get a little more interaction with kids his age and the outside world. 

I again, am so in love with this new little person we get to take care of. His cheeks are just as kissable as I hoped they would be, and I can't believe how lucky I am to have two handsome boys. And just like Dr. Hirsch said when we told him this was our #2 boy, "you're going to have a house full of penises!". I'm out numbered! hahaha

My contractions were a lot prettier and more mellow than last time.

On Jonah's birthday... tired mommy

Daddy and Jonah

Meeting Jonah

All 4 grandparents and our boys

Leaving the hospital with our two boys!

First family photo of all 4 of us!

Jonah's first Doctor's visit

Jonah Grant

He made it! My water broke last Wednesday the 4th, exactly 39 weeks here at home. Me and Ben were home together, I decided to keep him home from daycare because I was going to take him in to the doc. Plans quickly changed when my water broke, and with some help from our friend Hillary and Poppy and Ryan speeding home from work we were able to get to the hospital and start labor! I got there around 10:45am and had little Jonah at 7:45pm. I will give some more details later, it's late and he's getting hungry. (Let me just say... woo-wee that big head of his... ouch.)

Jonah Grant

7lbs 10oz 20 inches long

born on April 4, 2012 at 7:45pm

 

 

Michael

Yesterday we discovered Ben has an imaginary friend, named Michael. I think it's pretty stinkin' cute personally. (I had one when I was little named Sarah.) He's got a place-mat I bought him at IKEA to use just for play dough, and on the back it's reflective like a mirror. And I guess that is where he discovered Michael, and that's the only place he can see him too. I have learned a little each day about Michael... he apparently is from next to DJ's (my sister) house in Chicago. And he has a red shirt, red pants and pink hair. And his daddy has rainbow hair. I can't wait to find out more about Michael. :) I love this stage of imagination!

Every day, I am baffled at how much my little guy is growing and at times it kind of makes me sad... but it's also exciting to see him turn in to a boy... well I mean he's always been a boy, but you get what I mean. A big kid. I just love him to pieces.

Pregnancy #2

I promised myself that I wouldn't post a lot about the pregnancy this time, because it's kind of boring. I did that enough when I was pregnant with Ben. But, I figure SOME is okay. Otherwise this little guy might feel gypped. Plus, I don't remember anything anymore so why not.
I'll be 37 weeks Wednesday... which brings me to "full term". We're hoping, and praying, and crossing our fingers that he'll make it to AT LEAST 39 weeks. BUT, honestly... I'm not sure if he will. The doc seems to think that he's going to need to take him before then. I had some contraction activity but nothing abnormal. It's not like labor contractions, but definitely not braxton hicks. I've had those too, but this is different. I called the nurse at the doc's office last Friday because I was so uncomfortable and it had lasted quite some time. Turns out I was probably just dehydrated because I drank a boat load of water, and when I got home took a bath and Tylenol and seemed to feel a lot better. My wonderful man surprised me and left his work (Early) the same time I did and didn't even tell me and surprised me when we both got home about the same time as each other. He wanted to make sure I was okay and to take care of me. :-) He also took care of and paid attention to Ben while I bathed.  I didn't have them again until Sunday night... it starts in my back and works around my sides. I didn't feel contractions like this with Ben because I was induced. I'm not really sure why I keep having them though, other than I guess my body is ready to get going.
This little boy is VERY active. I remember Ben being active... but I feel like he's either bigger or closer to the surface or just more wiggly than Ben was. What IS similar is his little tush sticks right out just like Ben's did, only Ben hung out on my right side and this guy hangs out on the left. I guess he didn't want a "used" space. hehe I just get the feeling sometimes he wants to get out.
I have some blood pressure concerns, again. Had them with Ben too. I had to take a couple tests to see if I had preeclampsia but don't apparently. I went to the doc on Friday for my 36 week appointment and he told me my liver enzyme levels were slightly elevated. I guess "normal" is 40 and mine were at 43 the first time and 41 the second. Which is fine- except for that most people's are in the 30's. So he's a little concerned... but my blood pressure looks fine. He just thinks something is going to act up soon. So he said he probably wants to induce in 2 weeks or on Good Friday... I need to clarify that with him because Good Friday is in 3 weeks. I'd prefer that day because that's the day after my parents will be here. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to be induced again this time- but I guess it comes down to mine and Little Baby's health. I'm having a blessing tonight to just be sure that we'll both be okay.
So... being pregnant is just about over, it's gone by quite quick but also very slow- especially now. I'm so super uncomfortable and ready to meet this little person. I can't wait to see how he contributes to our family and what he looks like and how he and Ben will be together. It's going to be weird having an infant in the house again- especially with a pretty self-sufficient 4 year old around. We've got just about everything ready. Just need to wash bottles.
My coworkers are super sweet and threw me a surprise baby shower... was not expecting one at all. We didn't really need one because we really have everything we need. But they still managed to get us a sit and stand stroller which will be handy and some diapers and other fun little things. It was so sweet and I'm so glad I made it to this shower this time! (I was in the hospital the day they threw me my shower for Ben!)
My mom and dad arrive on April 5th, so I'm hoping we can hang on until then We have an ultrasound Tuesday and will know a little more then I guess!

4th Birthday Celebration

I know I say this every year... but every year I can't believe my kid is growing so fast. He's like a bonafied little boy now. Ben turned 4 this weekend. It's Wednesday and I'm still worn out from how eventful the weekend was! Fri night we had a line of really horrible tornadoes come through. It was pretty scary because it started where a few of our good friends live in Marietta and then it was on track to come RIGHT over our house. We said a prayer and decided because we don't have a basement we should go to Ryan's parents house mainly because they do have one and also because they seemed to be out of the path of the storm. We prayed again on the way there, that our house would stand protected as well as our loved ones and friends. We had JUST put Ben to bed and he was already about asleep when we got him up and so the poor kid was pretty tired. He had a busy day at daycare, they had a circus, so he hadn't napped and wanted to go to sleep but was also kind of freaked out by the storms. Me, Ben and Ally all sat on the couch together at Nana's and Ben fell asleep while Ally had to be RIGHT next to me. haha Luckily all was well, no one was hurt and even though the tornado literally went over our neighborhood and area, nothing was even touched. No debris in the road, no touchdown. We were so grateful for answered prayers. We would've probably been fine if we stayed home, but I was glad we thought to get over to their house quickly.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and picked Nana up and headed to the GA Aquarium. We wanted to do something with Ben that made him feel special and to have one on one time and not to have a big party. Plus I'm kind of glad we didn't anyway because it was cold and rainy that day so the aquarium was perfect for that kind of day. He had never been and I'm honestly glad because the experience I think was a lot cooler for him. He is old enough to know about all the things he was looking at or to learn about them. He didn't want to touch anything in the touching pools, but that's okay. We watched a 3D movie about fish that he liked. He kept reaching out to touch all the stuff in 3D it was cute. And then we stuck around to watch the Dolphin show, which  in my opinion was cheesy- but I LOVED the dolphins. I've always had a little tender spot in my heart for dolphins (huh mom?). I had a slight obsession with them in high school. I wanted to be a Marine Biologist until I figured out I was no good at Science! HA! But me and Nana got all emotional watching them swim and do their tricks and despite the cheesy music and lacking story line it was fun. We left after that. I was a WORN OUT pregnant lady and my poor mother in-law was apparently walking around on a broken bone spur, poor thing... we were there from about 10-4!  We did a couple of errands that night and went to bed early.

Sunday was church, Ben had been asked to say the opening prayer in Primary so we practiced all week what he would say. He was very quiet like I assumed he would be, but he did it- and I was SO proud. He also got sung Happy, Happy Birthday to him and another boy in primary and he was a happy camper! I am so proud of my dude! Can't believe how fast he has grown.

Sunday night we had friends over for spaghetti dinner and cake and ice cream. Ben got presents and to hang out with his buddies, he especially enjoys Aubrey. :) He had a very fun birthday.

OH! The best part! Saturday, his daddy surprised him with A NEW BIG BOY BIKE! I have video of how we surprised him with it and it's super cute.

I took Ben to his first Dentist appointment this week and he did GREAT! We have to work on making sure he doesn't get any cavities but he didn't cry, got his fluoride treatment and even x-rays! I was super proud of him. Later that day we went for his well child checkup and well, he's so small. I mean we all knew that right? He's 4 and will have to stay in either his current car seat he's sat in since he was ONE or we'll have to get him a booster with a back. He's in the 3rd percentile for weight right now, and 10th for height! I mean, we don't expect much- he's always been small and it's not like either of us are tall, especially me. 

But I'm so happy we had a good weekend for the dude. I hope he has good memories of it all and that he had a good time! Happy Birthday to my munchkin!

I had a moment

I often get frustrated with how many people are really just so inconsiderate and rude. It's probably partially because I'm a super hormonal pregnant lady... but this morning I had just had enough. I guess I kind of felt a little bit of despair and kind of like "I give up...". All this because of #1 traffic, which I've come to despise but it's just a necessary evil in my life. In order to get to and from work, I have to drive in traffic. Period. #2 when I got to the parking garage at work, I parked for a second before getting out to get my stuff all together to go inside. This woman who drives a pretty large SUV that I've noticed doesn't park the greatest pulled up in the spot next to me, not leaving me very much room to get out. She and I happened to be getting out of our cars at the same time and she carelessly banged her door open in to the car next to hers. Didn't pay any attention (or pretended not to) to the little space she left for me- mega preggo lady and walked on. I honestly could barely fit out of my car. It took everything I had not to go ahead and slam HER door like she did the car next to her so I could get out. For some reason that frustrated me. And I was walking in to the building said a prayer to Heavenly Father and said "I don't understand why people are SO inconsiderate of those who surround them. Why people can't respect other people's spaces and things. Why do some people think they are SO much better than others and are so careless with other people's property. They wouldn't want their property to be treated that way right? I'm so done Heavenly Father... I am so tired of people being greedy and rude." There were two younger gentlemen walking and talking with each other in front of me. A good few steps ahead. They reached the front door of the building before me and I didn't even think twice until one of them stopped after he'd gotten inside, turned around, walked back out the door and held it open for little ol' pregnant me who was going a lot slower than they were. He stood and waited for me and held the door open. I thought of just how THOUGHTFUL that was and I thanked him "very much" because at that moment the Lord gave me faith in humanity again. He answered my complaint with just that simple little selfless gesture from a random person and reminded that ALL people are NOT bad. That all people are NOT selfish and rude. It was a good reminder to me to not be so down on the world, to look at the bright side of things, to see the good in people. And even though it was a quick 4 min walk in to the building, I feel like I was taught a pretty good lesson in that time. I think with all the media and attention on a lot of negative things in the world, we forget there is also A LOT of good out there. So that's my goal to remember that, again, that all people are not bad. But that we're all God's children. And he loves ALL of us... good and bad. That is so cool.

5 years and counting...

5 years ago from today, I was engaged. A month away from getting married to the greatest guy I'd ever met. I was so giddy and excited and could think of nothing else! Fast forward, and I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant with our second boy. Giddy and excited to (GET HIM OUT) be a mommy to another boy to fall in love with and to the 3rd greatest guy I've ever met.

 

Our anniversary is March 24, but because I am 8 1/2 months pregnant we decided to celebrate it a little early. We (mostly me...) decided to do a get away trip. Just a quick one, over night, alone and far enough away to feel like we'd gone somewhere but not TOO far that the car trip was unbearable. So we FINALLY agreed on Chattanooga, TN (2 hours away) and booked a room at a nice hotel. I got us a King suite with a whirlpool tub. When we arrived we checked in and instantly started our veg out evening! We spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Not because either of us were sick, but because that tub was a dream come true. Both Ryan and I enjoy baths... so we took FULL advantage of it and took a bath almost right when we got there then after walked across the street to one of our fav BBQ places Sticky Fingers (they don't have them here in Atlanta). It was delicious and quick and just what the doctor ordered. We were still like jello from our relaxing bath so eating was the cherry on top! After we got back and vegged out some more... ate dessert - we took another bath! That was followed up with going straight to bed in the giant King bed that was SO comfortable. Unfortunately for me... despite it's comfiness I did not sleep well. Mostly due to the small living resident in my womb. And as predicted... I woke up with the sun. Right at 7am. sigh.... the one time I COULD sleep in, I couldn't. Stupid achey back... We spent some time in bed watching tv, and my belly moving around with little guy doing his ninja tricks. Then got ready for breakfast at the hotel. And then before our shower, just in case... we took another bath! HEY! We were getting our money's worth right? 

So... that sounds pretty boring but let me tell you what. I haven't seen my love relaxed like that in a LONG time. He needed those baths. He needed that good sleep. WE need that alone time. We held hands, he helped my little waddling self across the street, we talked about whatever we wanted to... it was perfect. We of course missed Ben, but knew he was in good hands with his Nana and Poppy. Which lessened the stress levels even more. It was a little hard for Ryan to agree on splurging on a nice room like that, because we NEVER do this... ever. But I think he realized just how badly we BOTH needed it. We are about to become a family of 4 and knew that we needed this alone time with each other. And I'm SO glad we did it. Not that we weren't already, but it was like a whole new falling in love happened or something. So for that... it was NOT boring, but wonderful!

Our room

 

 

I love my husband. I love how he loves me... and how he knows me. It's taken us this whole 5 years to get to that point, but worth every minute. So here's to an eternity more!  Love you baby. :)

Cookie Monster

So we've gotten out most or all of the stuff out to get the baby's room ready. We have the crib set up and the changing table, that was never taken down, but I've cleaned it up and got out the burp cloths and all that stuff to put back on it. One of the things we got out was the baby monitor. Ryan plugged the speaker in out in the hallway to charge the battery, I had the receiver in the baby's room and was playing around with it and whispering in it and Ben heard and thought it was Cookie Monster. He was CRACKING UP, the most genuine bursts of laughter. He thought it was the funniest and coolest thing EVER. So I pretended and so did Ryan that it was him and then Cookie had to "go". That was Saturday, he's been asking ever since then if he can call Cookie again. So tonight we did it again. I sat in the baby's room and whispered to make it not only quiet but I guess my Cookie impression is done best through whispering! haha Again, he CRACKED UP... thought it was the funniest thing when he told Cookie "noodles". He asked Cookie if he liked cupcakes and just giggled tons. Ryan sat and laughed with him and asked Cookie (me) questions too, and asked what color Cookie was, I said "uuhhhhhhhhh... BLUE" and they both busted up. Ryan mostly because Ben was so tickled. I can't believe he believes it, first but how adorable it is that he thinks it's so funny! Ryan wants to record it next time, so if he does we'll post it. We'll see how long this lasts, and how many more calls to Cookie we'll be making! Maybe when he hears the baby crying through it soon he'll change his mind! haha I love that little guy of ours.
Tonight before bed he wrote mom and dad. We only had to show him once and he could write it all by himself. He tends to write things backwards, which is kind of weird, but we're working on that. He also wrote Hat, Cat, Bat and Mat for me. He also told me that he showed his friend Mia in class how to write her M right. He's a smarty pants! My little baby is going to be 4 in less than two weeks! ACK! He's so grown!

I've been thinking of doing this, and keep forgetting. But saw a friend do it on her blog and it reminded that it's a good idea! I do a lot of status updates on Facebook that are about the silly things Ben does or says and other parts of our lives, and want to copy and paste some of them in from there in to a blog post! 

-so, at 4am Ryan rolled over which woke me up for some reason. I briefly opened my eyes to see flashing lights out in the family room... it was the TV and Ben was watching it... We told him before bed that when he woke up IN THE MORNING he could go potty and turn the tv on (so we could sleep in). Apparently that really excited him all night (not even sure if he even slept), because he did that... and didn't understand why we were sending him back to bed! "I went potty! It was day time!" oi vey... that backfired. February 4 at 10:15am  

-Jeesh... This has been a busy morning for this little baby boy! He's been going non-stop for about 3 hours! Pushing, moving, hiccups, more pushing, occasional punches or kicks.... My tummy is tired!  January 31 at 12:26pm 

-favorite part of my day off so far, snuggling with my little cutie Benny. I don't get to do that very often, so it was nice. 2nd favorite part of my day- hearing baby boy's strong and healthy heart beating!!! January 26 at 7:37am 

-Ben just said "hey mommy I'm a bird so I eat snails"January 22 at 12:56pm 

-I just told Ben it was getting harder to bend and he said "when the baby comes out you can bend" January 10 at 7:10am 

-And he's off! My nephew is officially at the MTC to start his 2 year long mission for the LDS church! So proud of him and feeling SO old! December 28, 2011 at 2:58pm
Well, that's good for now. I'll have to do that again soon- from further back.
Ben's been a little bit of a stinker boy lately. We've been having a lot of fights with him over dinner and him actually eating it, we know he is hungry... but I don't know what he's out to achieve during these protests and arguments with us. To annoy me? Probably, because at the same time he's been very naughty to his mama. He'll listen to dad, but a lot of the time will do the complete OPPOSITE of what I've just instructed him to do. One night I had had just about enough of it and it made me cry- I think he felt bad that he hurt my feelings and hasn't really done it since then- but it's starting to happen again. I know, it's the age- and I'm his mommy, but that doesn't mean I have to like this behavior. We'll just keep plugging on, guessing what we need to do next!
I'll be 32 weeks this week, which means we've got 2 months to go. On one hand it feels like it's going by fast, but on the other- I am SO tired and sore lately that it feels like it will take forever. We finally got Ben moved in to his "new" room this weekend. We even set up the crib, however- the baby's room is in disarray but that is one of my goals/chores to complete with in this week. Ben LOVES his room, we just need to come up with a "theme" of sorts, or at least good decor. Any ideas? For an almost 4 year old? I don't really want anything super commercial or like Disney themed or anything... but I'm kind of sticking with some brighter primary color accents. He's got two throw pillows in there that are bright green, almost lime, and orange circles and I want to play off that. He has an "I Am a Child of God" poster too that has lighter blues, but then primary colors in it as well. We'll see. Ryan thought it would be cool to find an old skateboard and screw up on the wall as decoration, or even make it a shelf. He might be too young for that though. We're getting him a new bed as well and it will be black. ANYWAY... we're getting there. I'm wearing down quicker towards the end of the day. It's getting harder to move, bend over, get out of chairs/couches/bed, it's getting more and more uncomfortable to sleep... overall I am just SO excited to see what this little guy looks like and what kind of personality he adds to our home! I know he already loves his brother and daddy, because whenever they're around and he can hear them- he wiggles and moves a lot! As soon as he hears Ben's voice in the morning, he wakes up too. It's adorable.
We got a bit of really good news, in about the past 3 years we've not been able to file our taxes electronically because someone else has been using Ben's SSN# to claim him on their taxes as well as us. They usually beat us to it. We got audited for 2009, won the audit (obviously, he's OUR kid...) and when we filed this year we were able to file electronically! Which hopefully means (crossing fingers) that they got the jerk that stole it! Relief. I just kind of wish we knew who it was.
Okay, tomorrow is work and I need to prepare and go to bed. I've got a little case of the sniffles. Until next time...
I leave you with this HILARIOUS picture of Ben I took last night at IKEA while he was waiting for me to use the restroom. No he wasn't mad, he was being silly because I told him his staticky (sp?) hair looked funny, so he made a funny face! I can't get over how funny it is!!! He's such a character!

I'm going to get better at this

I'm really going to try and be better about updating the blog this year, especially because we'll have two little boys to talk about. Not much has happened lately. Oh wait, yeah I guess there has! Duh... pregnancy brain!
We found out I have Gestational Diabetes again, I must confess in my hormonal state I was a little... distraught. I hoped that I had avoided that this time, but knew when I found out that it wasn't the end of the world either, especially since I had it last time and knew what to expect. They tried to get me in to another "educational" class about it all but I was able to avoid that because I remembered how to handle things from before. So my blood sugar testing began and so far things are fine. I had my 29 week check up yesterday, mostly for Dr. Graham to check my sugar levels and he said all was good, and reduced me from checking 4 times a day during the week to 2 times a day. There are days during the weekend especially I still have to check it 4 times, which sucks, but... it's all good. Baby's heart sounded good, I love hearing that crazy little wooshing sound, and he's measuring perfect which is always something you have to watch with diabetes. So we're good, getting to the home stretch- only 11 weeks until my due date! I'm wondering if he'll come early. Who knows. My parents are flying out April 5th, and his due date is the 11th- so I'm hoping he'll come sometime between those two dates!

Us about to leave the cabin with the only boy allowed besides the one residing in my tummy, Martha's dog Gobo!

 A couple weekends ago, me and the girls (Jennifer, Ashley and Martha) had a girl's weekend up at the cabin! It was JUST what the doctor ordered for all of us. Even the boys got together and had fun! I had a photo shoot Saturday morning and Ryan took Ben to little Aubrey K's birthday party and after we were done with both- Ryan and Ben drove me up to the cabin. (It's only about an hour away.) Pretty much as soon as they left- us girls drove to Helen, GA (the crazy Bavarian looking tourist town) to walk around and get some dinner. Jennifer had never been there so it was fun to experience it's newness with her again. It's kind of one of those places where you've been once... that's good enough. hehe We found an old timey photo studio and all of us decided we wanted to do it because we'd never done it before and always wanted to. We had fun! The wait was a little... annoying, but the group of girls that went before us were something to see... the outfits that people normally wear for those things are... um... a little, "revealing"? We decided that three of us would be chick bandits and Martha wanted to be a Southern Belle, with the hat and parasol and everything! I had to find something to cover up that belly of mine and none of his dresses could've done it I'm sure!

We look tough huh?

After our photo shoot, we went to the Troll Tavern who's food left much to be desired but all of us were STARVING so it didn't matter to us really. Any other time and it probably would've! We went to a cute little market there in Helen for some groceries and then headed back to the cabin to start watching our pile of movies. And that's basically all we did Sunday... and maybe some of Monday morning. I made a delicious quiche for breakfast one morning and Martha made chicken parmesan for dinner one night. We left to come home Monday afternoon. Ryan didn't have the day off so he dropped Ben off at daycare and I picked him up as soon as I got home, I missed him lots. The boys also went to the Vortex (an awesome bar/restaurant in Atlanta that's pretty popular, was even on Man vs. Food) on Saturday night (Ben had a sleep over at Nana and Poppy's), and then watched football with each other Sunday. It was a good refreshing weekend for all. (and so cheap! We love that cabin! we only each paid $33 for two nights!) I slept in on Sunday which was AWE-SOME... seriously so needed that.

We love this little Corner Store with the purple pumps. Pay not mind to the bit of tummy sticking out behind the pole!

We've started the process of changing all the rooms around to get ready for our next little dude. It's definitely a "process" because we've really used what will be Ben's new room as storage for SO long. I don't even know what to do with all the stuff in there, we don't have a lot of storage space in our house. I took yesterday and today off to work on it. I started last night, and need to get going on it now. I burnt 3 of my left hand fingers pretty bad last night, luckily I prayed enough I think that they'll be fine- and they don't hurt too bad this morning... but they're still tender. That was probably some of the worst pain I've felt in a while and I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I'm just glad a trip to the hospital wasn't in order.
Oh yah, we were audited for our 2009 taxes because pretty much ever since we started claiming our own son on our taxes someone else has been too. So basically someone stole his SSN# and has been using it to claim him like we have. So... we got audited, which believe it or not I was glad about. We won, which duh... we should, he's ours- I guess a copy of his SSN card and birth certificate were proof enough... but what kind of sucks is that we'll probably be audited for all the other years we claimed him and the other person did too. My hope though, is that they'll see that this person is NOT the rightful person to claim Ben and will be punished or fined. I hope... I guess we will never know.
Okay, better get to it... I can't think of anything else.