So much has happened...

It's been a long time since my last update - 2 months! Well, it's not because I've been lazy that's for sure. I have about 5 minutes to myself during the day so I must decide how I need to spend that. Unfortunately, it's been spent cleaning or just checking emails, or if I'm lucky - just sitting and trying to destress. I suppose night time should be when I think to update, but by that time of day it really just slips my mind. So my apologies to anyone who's been checking this and waiting for my update (including Uncle Charles, since I've been told you check this often ;-)) My New Year's resolution - get better with updating the blog in a timely fashion!

So, here we go! This will by far be my longest post yet, so maybe grab a cup of coffee first... ha! Since my last post we have moved and settled into our new house! I was sad to leave our old house, but honestly I didn't have too much time to think about it. My memories of that house are of a simpler time. We've just been so busy since we've been here, but it's all good busy. We've been working hard to get settled in the new place, but that took a while. Our closing process was a bit of a nightmare, but we did finally close and made out a little better than expected. Our agents were just as determined and happy to close as we were. We got to the office at 4pm on a Thursday and swore we wouldn't leave without being the rightful owners of the house. Of course, it was still not a smooth process as things were popping up last minute, but while we waited our agents broker went and bought us all a 6 pack of beer to have while we signed the papers... finally! I mention all this because I have pictures included below of how we turned the closing office into a pseudo-daycare. The broker was reading to William on the floor while we signed papers drinking a Blue Moon! It was a good day that was long overdue. The next thing we did after closing was to buy a refrigerator! We had been living out of a cooler and a 2-ft fridge for about 3 weeks. The day the truck pulled up, I nearly had tears in my eyes. It felt like Christmas and I was giddy! I had to laugh at myself for being so excited about a fridge, but when you're living without one for that long and trying not to eat out all the time it proves very difficult. I think the delivery guys thought I was a bit silly too - but I don't care! We have a fridge! So now, we have a house, a fridge, new family room furniture and are settled in for the most part. We have lots of updating and fixing up we'd like to do, but that will come in time. We can finally relax in here now and that's what's important to us.

What next? Then came the housewarming party. It was a combo housewarming - AJ's birthday party which was a surprise to him. His parents along with Debbie (my sister,) Kevin and Steve Gore (our best man at the wedding and his dad) came up to surprise AJ. I was so happy to be able to arrange this since we couldn't really celebrate his birthday on the actual day due to school. I felt terrible (more upset than him I think) since it was 30! That's a big birthday and we had such a low key evening. But the party was a great success! He had no idea what was in store. We had a beautiful poker themed cake for him (delicious too) and friends and family to 'warm our house' and celebrate his birthday.

Now, that about catches us up to date on the big events. Christmas is this week and we made a last minute decision to go to NY for Christmas and spend it with my family. We were reluctant since we had really been looking forward to spending Christmas in our new home with our boys, but this is probably going to be the last Christmas we will all be together for a long time. My mom is expecting to move here next year and it's unlikely that my brothers/dad will be able to come down for all the holidays. It means a lot to her to have us all together for a last Christmas in the house we've been in for 20 years so I'm doing my good daughter duty. I'm expecting that this will bring me good karma and when my boys grow up and have their families, they will come to see me on holidays (wink, wink.) It should be fun though. Well... the drive up, probably not so much, but the time there should be. I understand they've gotten a lot of snow and William will have a blast playing in it. AJ and I will too!

Now the individual updates. William is still the sweetest boy on the planet. He has a great sense of humor and I crack up at him daily. However, he's going through a screaming and hitting the dog phase which has me at my witt's end some days. His vocabulary is strong and he's becoming such an athlete. He was attending a mother's day out program, but he stopped last week since it's too far to drive now and defeats the purpose of me getting some time. It was sad to me because he really loves it there and they love him. He talks about it all them time and when he does something or sings a song he'll say "do THAT school," meaning, I do that in school. It's precious! I had him go through December because they do a great Chrismtas program with the kids. I have pictures below and I will try to post the video I took as well. It was so adorable and I only teared up a little. Caleb is doing wonderful also. He's getting so big! 75/80 percentile for his weight/height. He's giggling a lot now and is so close to sitting up on his own. He's a very touchy feely baby as he loves grabbing for his toys and touching everything. William was like that a little, but never seemed to grab at toys as much... at least at this age. But once he could crawl, watch out! Anyway, back to Caleb. He loves being in his jumper and being held. Those are his favorite things. He's such a cuddle bug with a happy disposition. I'm so blessed to have such happy babies! He's begun eating baby food and is slowly becoming a pro at it. I did have to take him to an opthamologist because he has some eye "hopping" that his ped. noticed. The eye doctor diagnosed that as nystagmus cause by ocular albinism. Basically meaning his eyes hop because he has only slight pigment in his retina. I have since learned there are 2 types of albinism, 1) ocular and 2)oculocutaneous. The latter is the kind you hear of most often with the albinos that have white hair and real pale skin. Luckily Caleb doesn't have that! So the doc said that its a real mild and that he's at the high end of the vision scale, but will need to do more tests to check how it's affecting his vision. He seems to be seeing very well to me (hence the reason I pointed out how much he grabs for toys, etc.) so hopefully it truly is mild. We will know more at the end of January.

AJ is still in school and just finished his most intense class of the program. Although he's thinking January's class is pretty intense too... we'll see. But he only has 4 more classes left! Yay!!!! I can't wait to have my husband back! Being an MBA widow is taking it's toll and I know the kids will be happier when Daddy's around more. And I'm quite sure AJ will be more than happy to have free time once again. He's been working so hard and has gotten an A in every class thus far. I'm truly so proud of him! I've just been doing mommy things. Cooking, cleaning (well - maintaining I should say,) and trying to keep my hair in. I feel so busy, but I can't really tell you what I've been doing.. ha! Is that normal? I will admit that things were more than stressful when we first moved in. The boys were resisting schedules and being out of sorts with the new house. I think we're all on track now and doing ok. I've found time to start sewing again so I'm working on a few special projects then I'll start making some inventory to sell. I've also started running again. At our local rec center they have a sitting service (truly a Godsend) so I've been able to drop the boys off and run a few miles. It has been a HUGE help in regaining sanity and I feel so much better now that I get some exercise. Although, I'm having some serious foot pain that's preventing me from running anymore this week, so hopefully that goes away!

So while I've slacked on updating the blog, I have not slacked in the picture taking department. I have a lot of different shots in the slideshow below... Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!!!!

P.S. I just saw that I had a post in my drafts and never published it when we first moved in. I wrote it on 11/02/09. I put some pictures with that one so see the post below this.

P.P.S It's been over 2 months and William is still calling it "New House."


William is in the front row 3rd from the right. They 'sing' 3 songs.



Go to this link for more pictures from William's Christmas Program.
http://picasaweb.google.com/isabeljohannes/EmmaSChristmasPagentDecember2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOxxYKik4j7zQE&feat=email#

"New House"

I put the title in quotes because although we've been living here for a week and a half, William still calls this "new house." It's been one thing after another and we still have not yet closed on our loan for this place. We are 4 days past our contractual closing date (11 days past the date we had planned on closing) and it's really very frustrating for us. We're all moved in and only about 3/4 unpacked. We're waiting to close to finish the rest... you know... just in case. We've been living out of a 2 ft. tall fridge and a big cooler to keep our food cold. We need to buy a standard size fridge, but that's just another thing on hold until we close.

All frustrations aside, we really love this house. It needs new carpet and paint and few maintenance items taken care of, but we love the floor plan and the location. The neighborhood is great and our neighbors seem to be really nice. Everyone has kids, although ours seem to be the youngest. It's pretty far out into the country though. I didn't realize it until I would wake up to the smell of skunk every morning. And the other day, I took the kids to Wendy's for a little quick meal. It was pretty empty in there until about 7 kids and parents walked in. Well the previously empty table right across from me was soon to occupied by a big plastic bag of LIVE crickets!!! Oh yes, that made me lose my appetite rather quickly. Guess I'm more of a city girl than I thought. But nonetheless, we are really enjoying ourselves here and hope that we close and actually own this place soon.

Halloween was fun. We went trick or treating around our street and one other cul-de-sac off ours. That was more than enough for our little ones. William was Mickey Mouse and Caleb was a Hot Dog. They were the cutest ever! On our journey, we met some neighbors who invited us to a little cookout at their place afterwards. It was really nice to be welcomed to the neighborhood like that. Our previous neighborhood never really did that. That wraps up this post since I just updated above and forgot I had this one in the drafts... oops!

Adiós Primera Casa

So it's 1 week and 1 day before our big move. I am supposed to be packing right now, but I couldn't help myself. As I'm walking around this place, no pictures on the walls and packed boxes on the floor, I can't stop thinking about how far we've come. Nearly 4 years ago, we moved into this house as a newlywed couple. We had our kitty Gizmo and 2 spare rooms. The walls were much the same since it took a while for us to hang stuff up. A few months passed by and we added our dog, Chewie, to the mix. His job was to keep life interesting for us and he continues to do a great job of that. Almost 2 years had passed and we no longer had 2 spare rooms. One of those was now to be William's nursery. So we crammed the guest bed and into the office and so began our "family." As William grew, our house seemed to shrink and with less than 2 more years passing, it became smaller. Our guestroom/office was now to be Caleb's nursery ( /office/guestroom.) More toys, baby seats, swings, and highchairs began filling up the house, leaving not much room for anything else. We are fortunate enough to be able to move into a roomier house in a great neighborhood, but that's not to say I won't miss this place. This house became our home and the place where we began our beautiful family. In this house, we became grown-ups with real responsibilities. We've been through career achievements and career changes. This place holds so many wonderful and happy memories. We always said that this was a good 'starter' home, and that it was. It's hard to imagine anyone else living here, since we built this place. We are the original owners and that is something we will always have. I hope the new owners will be as happy as we were here. And although I'm so elated and grateful to be able to move on, I will miss our first home.

Birthday Week

In 1 busy week, William turned 2 and we flew to Houston to celebrate (Uncle) Richard's 21st birthday. William's party was low key, but really fun. Ma Mere (Annette) came up to visit for his birthday and to help me while AJ was in Spain. We also had William's friends Cailin, Hudson, Owen, Addyson, and Makinley over to celebrate with a Mickey Mouse themed party. Samantha made the Mickey Mouse cake and it was beautiful! And tasty! Ok enough about the party - my baby just turned 2!!! How in the heck did that happen??? I am pretty sure I just had his 1st birthday a minute ago! As time flies by, I'm forced to remember his baby days and reminisce, but I am enjoying these days as well. He's the smartest, most polite 2 year old I've ever met in my life (maybe I'm biased, but I don't think so...) His vocabulary has just exploded and he's got an amazing memory already. It's truly amazing to watch William learn new words and what they mean. There's not one word he does not attempt to say - although many times it doesn't sound anything like it. ("Ja Ma Pel Claude" a funny reference for any "Friends" fans reading this) (And I'm sorry to the French speaking readers for butchering the spelling of that.) He has his tantrums, but the seem to be coming less frequently. He's really just an amazing little boy and I am truly blessed to be his mommy... And I can't believe he's 2 now!!!

Later that week, we all flew to Houston. I will say that I was quite scared to travel with both boys, but it was actually (dare I say it) pretty easy. Annette was with us on the way down and I think we were all prepared for the worst. The worst never came so I decided it would happen on our way back home... Once in Houston, we had a great time. William loved hanging out with his cousins and Caleb was able to meet all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. AJ was so happy to be there with all his family, especially during football season, and I had a great time as well. Richard's 21st was a success! We went to a bar that I don't remember the name of, and after several shots and drinks... well let's just say he seemed to have a good time. It was a short visit and before we knew it, we were back at the airport. Much earlier than we needed to be, but that's ok. I had my bag of tricks for the kids and several ideas to keep William occupied on the plane. Since it was just 2 adults this time I was prepared. Well about 2 seconds after the plane left the ground, they both fell asleep! What?! What about my bag of tricks? What about the toys I brought? I hadn't planned on them sleeping! I had only prepared stuff for the kids, and nothing for myselfto do. We both sat there, kind of bored, but it was nice to have peace and quiet.

And.... Just a short while ago, at 11am this morning, Caleb rolled over!!!! Yay Caleb! He was on his tummy and just a few seconds later said, "I'm done with this tummy time business, I'm rollin' over!" Yep, he really said that too. (hee hee) He's just 3 months old! I thought it might have been a fluke so I put him back on his tummy to see what he'd do. Sure enough, woop, he rolled over again! I have two genius boys! I'm a lucky Mama!

Slideshows are below.

Single Mom For A Week

So here we are on your average Monday, day 3 of being a single mom for a week. The only difference is that most single moms work outside the home and get a change of scenery. I've been home alone with the boys since Saturday morning, while my husband is off "studying" in Barcelona... yes the one in SPAIN! I've heard from him a couple times already and he says it's just beautiful there. I bet! I promise I won't go on about how jealous I am, how much I miss him, or how bored I've been. I also won't go on and on talking about how lonely it is to be here without family or friends around to keep me company.

But, I will say that the boys have been really well behaved (so far) and we've had a lot of fun. William is cracking me up with his new speaking abilities. He repeats EVERYTHING I say and is talking in 2 and 3 word sentences. This morning I sneezed and he said "Bwess you Mama" completely unprompted! So cute! And the other night as we were saying prayers, we were praying for all the babies of friends and family that are in the hospital. We were naming them off and I got to Baby Jake (Cathy and Wirt's baby) and William has just been saying his name ever since. I think he's really excited to have another little cousin and can't wait to meet him. William also took his first big boy shower today. I decided it was the only way I too, could get in a shower so he came along with me. He brought his little foam letters and played with the water. He had a blast and I could tell he felt so grown up! Caleb is growing like a weed and continues to grow in cuteness too! At his Dr visit last week, he weighed 13 lbs 13 oz and is 24" tall at 11 weeks! Big boy! He's so close to laughing and just loves to smile all the time. It's so beautiful and melts my heart when I see that toothless grin and those little eyes light up when he sees me.

Nothing new is going on with the house search. We've decided to hold out on our 1st choice and resubmit another offer as our close date gets closer. We have a #2 house just in case #1 doesn't work out, so I'm just praying they both don't get sold before we get to them. I've finally posted some of my sewn items on Etsy.com. The website to my store is www.bipobaby.etsy.com. I only have two items up right now of things I have in stock and will soon post a listing for special orders. However, if anyone would like something custom made, please just contact me and I can get it done.

Well, just 2 more days until Annette comes up to visit and keep me company! I am very much looking forward to her stay! I'm supposed to be coming up with a list of things for her to do, but I have not done that yet. Maybe AJ can send me a list for her since I'm just not comfortable with giving a list of 'chores' to someone (well besides the "Honey-do List" ha ha.) He has no problem doing that. :-) Well, he comes home on Saturday and the next day we are having Williams 2nd birthday party!!! I can't believe it - I feel like we just did his 1st birthday party! My how time flies!

No pictures this time, but I'll have some up soon. Ciao!

Hmmm... not sure what to call this one.

Good Afternoon! It seems as I'm on a once a month blogging schedule now. Things are just getting busier and busier it seems. The big news for now is that we have a contract on our house!!!!! After our last viewing on Aug. 30th, the buyers wrote an offer and we accepted (after a little countering, of course!) Yay!!! So we've already had the inspection and the appraisal is scheduled for tomorrow. Things are going smoothly so far and we're scheduled to close on Oct. 30th. Well we've been on the hunt for our next home and on Labor Day found the PERFECT house and the first one that AJ and I BOTH love... so much so that we put in an offer! However, the house is bank owned and is not accepting any offers with home to sell contingencies. BUMMER! Even though we mentioned ours has a contract and set to close, they wouldn't take it. We were pretty heartbroken for a day (well not sure if I can speak for AJ on that) but now it's back to the grind. There's still a chance we can get that house, but it's a great house at a great price so we'd be very lucky if it's still on the market once ours closes. I'm just keeping the faith and I know that everything happens for a reason and it will all work out - it's just a stressful process.

William and Caleb are doing great! Caleb is such a happy baby and loves to smile and he's so close to laughing. He's still sleeping great, but getting up at 5:30am to feed every morning. After 10 weeks it's time to nip this in the bud, so we're cracking the whip and training him to sleep longer. Right away it started working with him sleeping 1 hour later the last 2 mornings and I just started 2 nights ago! William's back in school and loves it! He was so excited to go back and barely even notices me leaving now. I'm kind of sad that he won't be able to continue going there once we move. I'm really hoping we can find something near our new house for him. Potty training isn't progressing much. He will go every so often when he tells us, but he's not so excited as he was. I am waiting until we move and things settle down to enforce the potty issue with him. Oh, and he got his first haircut! He was a wild child before and after, but in the chair he was a perfect angel and did great! He looks like such a big boy now!

AJ continues to be busy with more opportunities happening for him with work and school. He just got an invitation to a prestigious Chamber of Commerce dinner from the Dean of his school - so that's pretty neat. He also leaves for Spain next weekend :-( ( I can't make a sad face big enough) However, I am so excited for him that he has this opportunity. It's going to be a great experience and I truly hope he has a great time. (But don't tell him I said that) I'm really going to miss him (not to mention a wee bit jealous) and I know William will be lost without him for a whole week.

And finally, I'll mention that I have been super busy with BiPo orders. It's been a bit hectic with that, but I'm really excited about it. I even have set up a store on Etsy.com. I will be listing more items soon and will post the link to my 'store' when I do. In the meantime, enjoy the slideshows below of a smorgasborg of pictures of William, Caleb, and things I've sewn.

Potties, Big Boy Beds, and Smiles - Oh My!

With 2 kids now, there's so much to write about, but so much less time to do it! Where do I begin? Well, I had never updated William's progress with the toddler bed. He had been sleeping in it during nap time for a while, but was sleeping in his crib at night. Well just a few days after my mom left, and just before Annette and Vance arrived (I believe it was around July 16 - 21 mo,) William slept in his big bed at night... for the whole night! No way did I think it would stick, but it did and he's never looked back. We left the crib in there just in case but there was no need. We actually moved it into Caleb's (/guestroom/sewing room/office) room this past weekend. So Yay William!

In other "Yay William" news, he has begun to use the big boy potty!!!!!!!!!!!!! On August 6th, before bedtime AJ asked him if he wanted to go (as he usually did) and William finally said yes. He sat right down and went! The next day he did it again (about 12x in a row - drop at a time - for an hour and a half straight) but he did it nonetheless. AND, he's gone at least once every day since!!! It started with us asking if he had to go and he would, but now he tells us when he has to go and is almost always successful. He's still in diapers at this point, but since he's going in the potty 2 or more times a day. I may switch him over to training pants during the daytime. I'm not trying to rush him into this at all, but if he's trained by 2 I will be so excited! I think it's good for him too since it's keeping his mind active (as weird as that sounds) and we've had less tantrums during the day now. Or maybe it's because he gets exclusive time with us while he's in the potty... hmmmm...?

And our Little Caleb... what a peanut he is! At 7 weeks old he is smiling away now and cooing and being playful. He started truly smiling around 5 weeks of age - although I believe he was smiling at me sooner. ;-) No potties or big beds for him at this time, but he's doing great on tummy time and helping me out with pilates. The other day he just watched me exercise with smiles as if to say "Ha ha Mommy, now that I'm out you have to get to work on that tummy... but ain't I so cute?" And oh, yes he was! He continues to be an excellent sleeper and he's on a predictable nighttime schedule. He goes down between 8-9pm and will wake up at 5-6a for a feeding and then back to sleep until 7 or 8. This has been his schedule for a few weeks now and he's always been such a great sleeper at night. I remember sitting up with William as a newborn, for what seemed like forever, while he was wide awake at 3 am and wouldn't fall asleep... that was rough. However, Caleb doesn't have such a predictable day time schedule and he doesn't sleep that much at one period of time. I'm still working on that, but at least we get sleep at night. OH, and because of Caleb's great nighttime routine, I had my first night out with a friend in over 10 months! Oh yes, that's not a typo... 10 months. I have been pregnant, boring, and bound to my house it seems, but I was able to escape for a night with a great friend, a great bottle of wine, and the fresh air of a warm summer night on the patio of a great restaurant... Ahhh, I didn't want it to end.

So what else? Our house is still on the market which is not what I want to be saying. I would love it to sell already since I feel so unsettled here now. Half of Caleb's clothes and baby gear are not even out because I'm worried about showings... grrr! It will be a great day when we have a contract... Correction: It will be a great day when we close on the house and move into our new, bigger, better house! AJ is doing great - he continues to chug along on his school work, which seems to be going well. He's kicking butt at work and he may have some great new opportunities coming his way there. On top of that, he continues to be an excellent father to these boys. He comes home from a long day of work and jumps right into Daddy mode. He'll play with William, even while he's making dinner on some nights. Then after feedings, it's Caleb's turn with Daddy and lately, the 3 of them have been playing hallway soccer together. It's adorable! And, it's August, so he's got haunted houses on the brain. He usually does a haunted house in our garage for Halloween, but since we're trying to sell and really have no extra time, we're probably just going host a party with all his decorations instead.

Tomorrow is my Mom's 60th Birthday, so I'd like to make mention of that here and wish you a Super Happy Birthday Mom (Baba)!!!! I love you so much and wish so badly that I could be there to celebrate it with you. I know you'll have a great day and I'll be thinking about you.

Ok, below are the recent slideshows. I have 2 videos of cutie Caleb smiling and playing, but they are not loading so I'll try to post them later... Enjoy!

Last Day of School and 2 Cutie Boys

Well, Family has officially left along with all the help they provided us. Thank you so much to Baba, Ma Mere, and Grampy for staying with us and helping out with the kiddos. We loved having you all here. William especially misses you all in his own way. When he sees a glass of Orange juice or he hears a noise upstairs (when usually it's just the cat) he says "Baba." And he still says "oh Darn" when he's playing with the soccer ball - a little something she taught him by accident. The morning after Vance and Annette left, I was sitting with William during breakfast. He pointed at the chair where Vance had sat for meals and said "BeDay" (his version of "Grampy." Not to be confused with "Auh BeDay" which is Auntie Debbie.) When I asked him to say Ma Mere, he looked at the stairs and said "Sleep!" It was adorable!!! Also, it was Williams last day of school last week. The summer program for mother's day out has come to an end and does not resume until September. I was almost as sad on the last day as I was on the first day! He absolutely loved his teacher and his friends and had a real good time there. He made some crafts that I've photographed and put in a slideshow below.

Caleb is doing wonderful as well. He is growing like a little weed right before my very eyes. I don't like that it happens so fast - I just want him to stay little for a bit longer. He's still sleeping pretty good at night, but not so much during the day. He wants to eat just about every hour from 6am until about 3pm, which is pretty demanding and difficult to do with a toddler, but we're making it work pretty well. He's starting to become more social and is starting to smile more these days. William still loves his little brother. He always wants to give him kisses and now he's even wanting to hold him and hug him more. He shows concern when Caleb loses his paci or kicks off his blanket and William is always there to help him out. He is showing some signs of jealousy, especially with AJ, but it's not really too bad at this point. He just wants to make sure that he's in on the action and gets the same attention that Caleb gets. It's so funny - when I'm playing with Caleb and 'boop' his nose, William wants me to do that to him too. Then he'll say 'boop' and point to Caleb because he wants me to take turns 'booping.' It's so cute!

So between 2 little ones, AJ's work, grad school, selling our house, finding a new one, keeping the house clean so we can sell it, and working on a semi-sewing business, we are pretty busy to say the least. And I value my sleep, so unfortnately my blog entries have become a little less frequent. Speaking of which, it's late and I must get to sleep before the littlest man wants to eat again. Until next time...

Welcome to the World, Caleb Ryder!!!

Caleb Ryder was born on June 29th, 2009 at 7:59 a.m!!! He weighed 7lbs and .5oz and was 19 1/4 in. long. It was a perfect labor and delivery and we're both doing great.

I was scheduled to be induced and the doctor wanted me to come in at midnight on the 29th. The plan was they'd hook me up to the monitors, start pitocin gradually, then break my water and have a baby by late morning/early afternoon. Well, it turns out, after much prayer and special labor foods, I started going into labor on my own. As I was sitting on the couch ready to go to the hospital, I was having cramps that I just chocked up to nerves. Then, since we got to the hospital a bit early, we had time to go to the store. As we were walking back to the car I felt a lot of pressure and felt extra waddly and mentioned it to AJ. I said it would be funny if I was going into labor now, but never gave it another thought. Well after checking in and getting into my room it was about 1 a.m. I was hooked up to the fetal monitor and the contractions monitor and was started on a very low dose of pitocin. About an hour later I was having some contractions and they gradually became pretty painful. At about 3 a.m. my water broke and my contractions really became strong. The nurse said that I must have been going into labor on my own, because the amount of pitocin I was given wouldn't do this. Well, they stopped my pitocin and my labor progressed on it's own for the rest of the way. About 5 in the morning my doctor came in and broke my water (the rest of it) and then started me back on pitocin (not sure why) for about an hour. Well just before 7, the nurse said I was ready to push soon and since she knew I was waiting for my mom to arrive (after dropping William off with our neighbor,) we were just going to do some practice pushes. Well after 1 push the nurse said that I was a "good pusher" and if we do any more the baby will be here. So, we just hung out for about 30 minutes and gave my mom a chance to get there. Four pushes later Caleb came into the world!!! My apologies if that was all too much information, but after a long labor with William and 2 hours of pushing I want to make sure I remember these details too.

Right away Caleb started exercising his lungs and for the second time in my life, it was the most beautiful cry I'd ever heard. I don't know what it is, but it seems as though from the moment the baby is born I just hold my own breath and wait anxiously as the doctor clears the airways until I hear the first cries. It's like music to my ears and then I can breath again. Once the baby is home I'm not loving the cries so much though (wink, wink.) Caleb looked just like AJ, just as I suspected. I could tell from the latest ultrasound pictures that he had AJ's chin and mouth. Although, I think he does have my eyes. And like William, he has blonde hair and not much of it. My hospital stay was really great and I enjoyed that time getting to know my new son. I remember just trying to comprehend having two children and feeling my heart just grow with more love by the second.

Later that morning, AJ went to get William and bring him to meet his new brother. I was so excited and couldn't wait to see him. I was looking forward to holding both of my babies. William thought Caleb was fun to look at and he said "Baby" a few times, but he was much more interested in the buttons on my bed and the doors in the room. The next few days went by pretty quickly and on Wednesday I was able to go home. William didn't seem to mind that the baby was there, but it was clear that he did not like that I wasn't home for 2 days. He acted out a bit and didn't want AJ or I to leave his side. That initial clinginess has gone away some over the weeks, but William is still getting used to things. He absolutely loves Caleb - that is one thing I am sure of. However, he is absolutely testing his limits with me and I'm not sure if that's jealousy or his age since he is approaching 2 in September. When William wakes up from a nap, he always goes to the pack n' play and looks for "Baby." When I'm holding Caleb he likes to come over and kiss his head and point out his body parts.

It has definitely been quite the adjustment for me, having 2 little ones. I can't speak for AJ, but I know that he's been very busy with work, school, and kids. BUT I must say that my mom was here for a month and that was a HUGE help in getting adjusted. She played with William and gave him much needed attention and then held Caleb when William needed "Mommy time." Debbie also came down for a few days and was helpful in keeping William busy. After my mom left, I had about a week of doing it on my own before Vance and Annette came into town. They are here right now and both are also a HUGE help! We've also had some friends come by and bring dinners for us during the week no parents were here which was amazingly wonderful. I must say we've been really lucky too, because Caleb is a great sleeper. He quickly got on board with the whole sleeping longer at night and waking more in the day routine. Afer 1 week he slept 5 hours at night. I had to check with the doctor to make sure that it was ok and he assured me it was. The next night, he slept 8 hours! That's not typical, but he does sleep about 5-7 hours at night now. I was just hoping that he'd sleep that long by 7 weeks like William! He's defintiely spoiling us in that regard.

OK, well that's all for now. Below is a slideshow of our newest addition. If you click on the slideshow and view it on the separate page, you'll be able to see some captions I've added. Love to All!!!

June Pictures

Here are some pictures from the month of June. You'll see that William had a busy month. He helped Daddy put stepping stones in the backyard, went to Monkey Joe's, and even was goofing around in Daddy's socks and posing for the camera. There are also some photos of my belly leading up to Caleb's arrival. Enjoy!

Any day now...

I am 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant, so little new baby will be making his debut any day now. I think I'm finally ready for him. I sewed a nursing cover and burp cloth for him, got most of his clothes washed, cleaned the carseat and swing seat, bought little bity diapers and wipes, and packed my bag for the hospital. I just need to (well AJ needs to) bring the bassinett up to our room and install the carseat bases in our cars. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I always feel that way so it's no surprise. Well, I feel good overall. I'm pretty uncomfortable and I can't walk 10 ft. without having to pee.... even after going immediately before. Also, (here's the memory thing again) I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last post, but I have acquired carpal tunnel syndrome late in this pregnancy. My right hand goes numb after just minutes of typing, holding the phone, and even shampooing my hair. Oh, and my hips are sore and my joints are achy. BUT, all that aside I feel great! My mom got into town earlier today so we're ready. I will admit that I'm a little scared of going through labor again. Not that it was bad the last time, but a person is about to come out of me and that's a little nerve wracking, don't you think? I just keep praying for a healthy delivery for the both of us and I'm sure God will take good care.

William is doing good. He's teething again and is just getting over a VERY bad diaper rash and a super runny nose. He seems to be somewhat understanding that a baby is coming. He's been playing with the carseat and pushing it around the house and kissing my belly a lot - unprompted. When we talk about the baby he always is more agreeable by saying yes to questions about him being a helper and getting excited to meet his brother. So I guess we'll see how well he really takes it. William has been in a mother's day out program 2 days a week for 3 weeks now. The first day he ran off and played like it was no big deal. He barely even said goodbye to me. Then, the second day came and he did NOT want me to go. He realized I left last time and was not a fan of that. It has been tough on me too since I have not spent this much time away from him since January, but it's been such a Godsend to have some free time this last month of my pregnancy. Tuesday, there were no tears so it looks as though William is getting used to it. I know he has a fun when he's there. He likes his teacher and they do great activities like arts/crafts, playground, and even have water/swim days.

AJ started school this month too. He's already received some grades which have been very good - not that I would suspect otherwise. It seems to be going well so far and he is really enjoying it, which is what matters. We've also put our house on the market. In 2 weeks we've had 7 buyers come through. No offers yet, but feedback has all been good so far. It's a bit challenging keeping the house in 'showing' condition with a toddler and pets, but we're making it work. I've been out a couple times looking at houses and have found some great homes in great neighborhoods. I haven't found our dream house yet, but that's a good thing since we need to sell our house first anyway. Well I will add some new pictures soon. I have to upload them on the computer so once I do that, I will put them up here... so keep checking back. I'm sleepy now so it's time to stop typing before I ramble on forever. Good night!

Lots To Write About...

So I'll just get started. First of all, after 6 interesting months, this is the last week that I'll be watching Addyson. As I mentioned before (I think) it's bittersweet because William and Addy have been together just about every day since William was 3 months old. This is the first time they'll be separated, but at least they're only down the street so we can have playdates still. Well... for the time being I guess. AJ and I have decided to bite the bullet and make the move on up to a new house that is more accommodating for our expanding family. After interviewing several realtors, we found a great company that we'll be working with and we will be putting our house on the market THIS WEEK! This is so crazy since AJ starts grad school next week and I'm due with new baby in 4 1/2 weeks. I just pray that the timing on all of this works out well with the least amount of stress... if that's possible. I was looking forward to June so I could do some 'nesting' but now I'll be 'un-nesting' my house, which is very confusing to my new mothering hormones. All the time and energy I spent planning the new baby's room and now I don't know if he'll even be in his new room here or the new house. But, if all goes according to plan, we'll be in a house with much more space and a yard. And we may even have some grandparents in town to help, depending on when we sell (wink wink.) I must also add that this whole process has lit quite a fire under AJ to clean. Yep, it's true. I've never seen him so motivated to clean anything! I mean scrubbing walls, washing windows, cleaning closets and floors... and bathrooms! It's amazing!!! I must say I'm enjoying this side of him... it's very sexy ;-)I think I should tell him we're selling at least once a year! Ha ha!

(Side Story: Ok, so just now as I'm writing this, the door bell rang. I answered the door, and it was a sales girl for ADT. She said the best thing she could have ever said to me... "Hi, Is your mom or dad home?" HAAAA HA HA HAHA! That was great! I said, "Um... this is my house, but I'll take the compliment." She felt so silly, but I was quite happy. If we weren't selling, I would have bought whatever she was offering! And, in her defense, I couldn't open the door all the way because Chewie was spazzing out, so she couldn't see my large protruding belly. Aahhh... how funny.)

OK, so what else? Oh, I mentioned a few posts ago that I was having sugar issues. Well, it continued so my Dr. did another glucose blood test. It was elevated (130) for the first time so she had me go to a diabetes class. As part of the 'treatment' I have to eat a certain meal plan, write down everything I eat, and test my blood sugar 4x a day. Yuck! It has not been fun, since I never paid attention to what I eat EVER in my life and who likes poking themselves 4x a day? Not me. The good news is that I don't actually have gestational diabetes and this was just a precaution. They said to do this meal plan/blood testing for a week then we meet for an evaluation. I'm hoping that they'll tell me just to pay attention to what I eat and that I don't have to write everything down or poke myself still... because honestly, who has time for that? But, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure this baby is healthy and has a great start to his life. As much as I tried to make this pregnancy the same as the last one, I'm finding I just couldn't do it. For starters I'm home all the time and I honestly ate better when I worked and ate out for lunches. It's so hard to cook every meal. And as I'm approaching the last month I am SO uncomfortable, sore, and tired! Maybe I was with William too, but I didn't have to bend over and pick up after anyone and lift a 25lb kid several times a day, so it was a bit different. Oh yeah, I got to take naps whenever I felt like it back then too... that's not an option anymore. I don't mean to complain... I know all this will be worth it once I get to see my precious little bundle in just a few weeks. I can't wait to meet him!

Below is a video I took of William and Addyson today playing out in the yard and below that is a slideshow of recent pictures I took of my precious little boy. The first ones are from Debbie's visit and the Rennaissance Festival that we took William to for the first time. Enjoy!

The Toddler Bed

(I wrote this one a few weeks ago, but never published it - oops!) This past weekend we (mostly AJ) nearly finished the new baby's room/guest room. It's painted and the chair rail is up, thanks to our dear friend Jon, who has all the nifty tools to do it. Saturday was the day they completed it and while the boys were at work in the room, William got to play with his friend Owen (Jon and Brandi's little peanut) who is nearly 6 months old now. William really liked playing with him and all his old baby toys. I wonder if this means he'll have lots of fun when his little brother arrives? So anyway, once they finished with the walls the boys brought up the new furntiture for the room along with William's toddler bed. The plan was to keep the bed in the room along with the crib and give him time to get used to it. That night, before bed, we read stories in the bed (since we moved out the chair)and then he slept in the crib. The next day, when it came time for nap time we started off just planning on using the crib. William was getting settled when he saw AJ walk by the room and quickly became unsettled and wanted 'Daddy.' I left the room only to see that a few minutes later, AJ had put William to sleep in the toddler bed. I thought it was going to be a disaster, but after 2 times of putting William back in the bed, he stayed there and took a full 2 hour nap - YAY! At the end of the nap, I went to just check on him and to my additional surprise, he was just sitting in his bed waiting for someone to get him. Can he be any cuter??? He spent last night in his crib, but I thought I'd try for nap time in the bed again today. It didn't work so well in the morning, but that's probably because he hasn't been taking morning naps lately. When the afternoon naptime came around, I gave him the choice again and he wanted the toddler bed. Success again! He slept for nearly 3 hours this time! And below are some random pictures, but the last few are how AJ found William the first time sleeping in his bed. So cute!

New Baby Update

I am 30 weeks and 3 days pregnant and had my checkup this morning. They did the ultrasound to make sure that our new peanut is growing the way he should since my belly measured small last time. Well, it's looking pretty good at this time. He's proportional (which is great news) but only the 35% percentile for this stage. He weighs 2 lbs 11 oz. I still have 10 weeks to go and I'm sure if my annual summer ice cream craving kicks in that will surely contribute to his growth. He was an active little stinker today and it was really neat to see him on the ultrasound at this stage. He's much bigger than at 20 weeks - and yes, he's still a he and not afraid to show it. Also, as mentioned from my last update I had the diabetes test and it came back negative (although this morning I had extra sugar in my system so I may need to take the test again) and another issue I had just disappeared on its own - so overall it was a good visit. I go back for another ultrasound in 4 weeks just to be on the safe side with his growth and development, but it's seeming like I'm just going to have a bit smaller baby.

And William, oh what a cute and lovable little boy! I could just gush over him all day. He's saying new words and communicating pretty well now. He still doesn't have very many teeth yet (8 total,) but they're slowly making their way through. So some of you may have heard this story, but a couple weeks ago William and I were stacking blocks. They kept on tipping over on the carpet so we stacked them on a book. Well, I was preoccuppied with something and when I looked back William had covered the book with blocks (stacking them side by side) instead of stacking on top of each other. I told him "Good Job! That is so Neat!" Well he was so proud of himself and now anytime he stacks blocks or makes something he's proud of he says "Meat, Meat!" It's so cute. Well, the kiddos are napping now and I'd like to take advantage and lay down for a bit myself. :-) Here are just a couple of recent photos of William playing... Enjoy!

Easter Bunny Fun

Hello! I hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours was very low key, but we had a great day! It started with Church and that's where William gave us our Easter present. He sat like such a great good boy during the whole mass. Toward the end he was getting a little playful, but he was so well behaved still. AJ and I kinda looked at each other wondering what was happening, but we did enjoy it and didn't question it! The Easter Bunny brought William a little climber/slide that he just loves! He spent the whole day on it and we could notice him getting braver with it as time went on. Baba and Grampa got him his first tricycle and he got a bubble lawn mower too. Needless to say, William was kept very busy with his new toys and we just adored watching him go. Somewhere in there we found time to hunt for the Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny left. William caught on quick that there were treats in them. He also got the hang of the concept fast and he was so cute walking around with his little basket and finding those eggs to fill it. We took some video of that that I may put on here, but it's a bit long. I made dinner as close to our 'traditional' dinner as possible, but it was just the 3 of us so I didn't make nearly as much. Overall it was a fantastic holiday and William just made it so special for us.

Today we went to check out a potential Mother's Day Out program for William to start attending. It's a great facility and William seemed to enjoy it. While we were getting the tour he just wanted to run around and play with the other kids. It is for 2 days a week and he'll start in June. Based on his reaction to it, I think he's really going to like it (I hope!!!) It makes me feel anxious just thinking about bringing him to a daycare situation again. Not that it's ever been bad, but I just worry about him. I think that it's the best thing for him right now anyway. It will give him more social interaction while teaching him things along the way. It will be something that is 'his' when the new baby comes and it will help me out once the moms leave and all our help is gone. So let's cross our fingers that he likes it!

There's a slideshow below from Easter - Enjoy the pictures!

William Laughing - Video

Happy Easter! Well, it's actually Easter Eve right now, but I wanted to go ahead and post another video of William. This one is a bit long (6 minutes) but it's so funny. He's just laughing the whole time! I'll be sure to update how Easter goes... I got a tip that the Easter Bunny got some really cool gifts for William. I can't wait to see his surprise! Good night for now.

Three Months To Go!

Well, I am 28 weeks along (7 months) and I must admit that I feel like I've been pregnant for a year! Little new baby is moving and shaking around and it feels more intense than it did with William. I'm guessing that's mainly because I have no abdominal muscles anymore so my tummy is more sensitive. :-) Today I had my check-up and William came with me. I will say that I was nervous, but he was very well behaved. He got to see mommy get stuck with a needle twice and he didn't seem to mind. He was thinking "Better you than me, Lady!" I had my rhogam shot (since my blood type requires it) and I had a glucose test done to check for gestational diabetes. The heart rate sounded good, but when she went to measure my belly she was kind of surprised about how small it was for 28 wks. I don't feel small, but he did seem rather flat this morning so I hope it was just his positioning. Although, I now need another ultrasound to check his growth and I get to see the little guy again so that will be fun.

This past weekend we attempted to clear out the guest room and start getting ready for baby. If any of you have been graced with the opportunity to stay in our guestroom, I'm sure you can imagine the amount of work that is required for this undertaking. And after about 7 years, I finally organized my CDs in a CD book. Working in the music biz, you aquire a lot of CDs so I felt like it was quite the accomplishment. Although, I have 2 more groups of CDs to do, but at least the ones are out of the guest room - hee hee. AJ's been moving around the big boxes and we finally got that bed out of there. Don't worry visitors, we'll still have a twin bed for you and it's a LOT newer. We also purchased a toddler bed for William since we decided (after much mental anguish on my part trying to figure this out) that we're going to attempt to give William the big boy bed and use the same crib for the baby. I'll keep you posted on that transition. And speaking of transition, we started getting William off his paci for nap and bed times. He's actually doing well with it, but he's sleeping much less now and that's a little harder on me. He's trying to only do one nap a day, but I'm still fighting for 2. I'm hoping that once he's really used to no paci he'll go back to 2 naps, but probably not. He is getting older as much as I hate to admit it.

And finally, this weekend I got a taste of how tough this is going to be with 2 babies, AJ in school and work, and no help. It was pretty tough since I had so many errands to run, but had to time them around AJ and William's schedule. AJ was finishing up the first two of his leveling courses and he had to work this weekend. So I could only leave while William was sleeping or bring him with me. And maybe I'm crazy, but even with a list, I feel like I never get all I need or can even think straight when I'm at the store. It's going to be even crazier when I have 2 kids! I know that God does not give you more than you can handle, so we'll be fine, but I'm a bit nervous. It makes me miss family that much more.

Before I wrap up, I want to wish Miss Lorelei Friedel a happy 1st birthday coming up! (There is a link to their blog below) I can't believe it's already been a year. She had a bumpy start with heart problems immediately following birth, but she's healthy and beautiful and I can't wait to meet her. And her mommy (my BFF) is becoming a Catholic this Easter weekend, so Congratulations Jess! Ok, Happy Easter everyone and safe travels for those who are traveling!

Family Visit and Videos of William

Hello! I thought I'd update tonight with some pictures and videos from last week. William was so excited to see that his Porfirio uncles, aunt, and cousin all came up to visit us from Texas. They were scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon, but had instead surprised us at 5:30 A.M! Instead of staying overnight along the way, they drove straight through. We've done that several times, so I know how tired they were. Anyway, it was a great visit and I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. It is always great to see Paul and Richard and it was especially nice to spend time with Tara and Dysen since everytime I have seen them, it's always in a rushed visit and we've never had time to just hang out and chat. William LOVED playing with his uncles and Chewie was loving all the attention from them as well. And of course, AJ had a great time and really enjoyed having his brothers here, especially since this was Paul's first visit to Nashville. I forgot to take pictures until the last day or so, but I've included them below in a slide show. (And William is wearing the outfit I made, just FYI.) I also took some video of William last weekend that I've added as well.

For the baby updates... William is doing well for the most part, but he's teething like a madman. He's got 3 coming up that I can see, but he's been chewing on his hand in a way that makes me think maybe some of the back teeth are coming in - ouch! Not to mention, he's not been sleeping well the last few nights and has had random fevers. He turns 18 months old in a few days - I can't believe it. I'm sure there's more news to mention for him, but I'm sleepy and not thinking straight right now. New baby seems to be doing well. At last week's appointment (25 wks) I had gained 10 lbs (eek!) and the baby's heartrate was right on track. The next appointment I get to do the glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. I feel huge and my back has been real sore lately, but I can really feel the little peanut moving around which is so amazing to me still. OK, well I think I'm rambling so that's it for now.

This is a video from Monkey Joe's indoor play place in early March. William had a blast here! You can even catch a glimpse of baby #2 in this clip.

My First Outfit!

Hi All,
I just wanted to update a quick post with photos of my first little boy outfit! I also made a bib for St. Patty's Day as well. Enjoy!



Today, I'm getting ready for our out of town guests who are arriving tomorrow. Paul, Tara, Richard, and Dysen (AJ's family) are all coming to stay with us for a few days. It will be a packed house for sure, but we're looking forward to seeing them and showing them around Nashville. It should be a fun filled week. I'll update more later. Have a good week!

Oh, the simple things... and the not so simple

Hello! Well, although it hasn't been too long since my last post, we've had a bit of action going on here since then. First, last Thursday (March 5th) we had a garage door opener installed. Right after the nice man from Lowe's showed me all the bells and whistles I came inside and typed up the following paragraph.
"Ok, so call me silly, but we just had a garage door opener installed and I'm so excited! I've always wanted one. Growing up, most of my friends had them and I always thought they were so neat. We built this house so it didn't already come with one and after 3 years we finally took the leap. The door was becoming so hard to open and with taking 2 kids and a dog for a walk and such, it just makes life easier. Not only that, but for resale value... who wants to buy a house now that doesn't have a garage door opener? I know they are so commonplace now, but I am still so happy to have one and I feel so grown up. I know it's dumb, but I'm enjoying the moment still :-)"
I thought about editing that, but that's how I felt at the moment and since I'm keeping this blog to share with family and to have for memory's sake I felt it was best to leave it. Looking back though - I realize how silly it is to be that excited. I mean, never mind that I'm married, own a home and have 1.5 children... it's the garage door opener that made me feel grown up! Ha ha!

In other news, Monday was a bit of a scary day for me. It was right around 5pm and Whitney was here to pick up Addyson. I had Chewie in the back and heard him kind of "flopping" around a bit. I went out there to check on him and he was having a seizure! He's never had one before and I didn't know what to do. He kept trying to stand up, but his legs were giving out from under him and he was shaking profusely. I called the vet (thank God they were still open) and the nurse talked me through it. Even though his eyes were fine and he seemed pretty aware, she said it was still a seizure. The only thing to do was comfort him until he came out of it. About 3-5 minutes later (seemed like forever though) he came out of it and was just panting heavily. Once he could stand up, he just stood there drooling for a long time until I finally convinced him to come inside for some water. Apparently, this is not that uncommon for dogs. She said it could be a one time deal, but if it happens again they'll have to give him some meds. There's not much they can do for just one incident though. Poor Chewie! He seems to be fine now, but say a little doggie prayer that it's nothing serious and hopefully that it never happens again.

And finally, today's incident. We had a leak in our garage because the little holding tank above our water heater exploded (sounds dramatic, but it was really just a little hole in it) and was spewing water all over. As luck would have it, we just started cleaning out an area for some play space for the kids with a little carpet and all, which became the victim of this water explosion. It's funny too, because yesterday as I was sweeping the garage and looking around, I just noticed for the first time ever that there was a little tank above the water heater. I kept staring at it thinking it looked like a gallon milk jug and wondering why I never noticed it before. I guess I burned a hole it with my eyes... or maybe I'm psychic and new something wasn't right with it. Well, it could have been a lot worse, but that was some serious money that I was not happy to give away this morning.

Other than that, we are all doing well. AJ is starting school soon. He needs to take some leveling courses before he can start the master's program, so he's hoping to get those over with ASAP. I think it will be good to take those classes too, since it will kind of ease him back into 'school mode' and not make the transition so dramatic. William is doing great! He's learning more sign language and talking more every day. He has a tantrum here and there, but I can't complain. He just makes me smile and laugh all the time and it is so fun to watch him play and learn. Me and new baby are doing well. My next appointment is next week so we'll find out how big we're getting. I feel huge and he must be getting big in there since I'm feeling the kicks a lot more. We're still... or at least I am... trying to come up with names. Caleb or Kaleb will be in it somewhere, but I'm up for any suggestions for a first or middle name. I'm also working on a theme/design for the new nursery. I've only got 3 months so I need to get moving! Until next time... Ciao!

It's A BOY!!!

As if I wasn't already blessed with the most perfect angel of a baby boy, now I get another one. We are very excited about this baby and feel very blessed. The baby was moving around a lot during the ultrasound and it was such a joy to see. He's a very active little one and was flipping all around. I am including some of the pictures and going to attempt to add video of it too. So, now that I'm surrounded by boys, inside and out - including my pets - I feel as though I need to girly myself up more. Although, I haven't come up with any good ideas except an impractical new leather diaper bag, so I'm up for suggestions! We've actually known since February 9th, but wanted to wait to announce here since I was looking forward to telling my family in person last weekend, while home for Braedan's Baptism. It was last weekend, Feb. 21st. It was nice to be able to tell them the news in person. They all seemed happy for us and excited for the new little one.

Well, speaking of our trip to NY, it was quite an adventure. For starters, EVERYONE got sick while we were there. They all had the stomach bug and we almost managed to escape it, but William caught it the last day we were there. He seemed fine later that day as we got to the airport, but he was pretty sleepy. He actually fell asleep on the plane before we even backed from the gate. However, due to mechanical issues,we had to go back, get off the plane and catch a flight back home the next morning. We were bummed, but were glad they caught the error before the plane was in the air. The second we got back to my mom's and sat down William got sick again - guess he wanted to just be home too. It wasn't all bad though. All my family was around during this trip and we got to have dinner together again...with the addition of two little boys. Braedan's Baptism was nice also. As I mentioned before, I am his godmother and Kevin is the godfather. He was very well behaved and seemed to not be bothered by the water at all.

So I have to come up with a new poll now. Sorry everyone who guessed a girl, but Kevin got it right - the only boy vote! When we come up with some names for this little guy I'll need some opinions so that will probably be next. Have a great week! P.S. The video is not uploading right for the ultrasound, but here's a slideshow of NY and a cute (short) video of William eating lunch.

BiPo's Baby Boutique

Good Afternoon! I am now officially selling my bibs and burp cloths and taking special orders. I even put my first item on ebay, so let's hope it sells. I've updated my "recent sewing projects" album with the most recent items toward the end of the slideshow, and attached it below. You'll see I've made a dress and a burp cloth set for a girl. I've got some friends with buns in the ovens now so I'll be making more as gifts and will post all items I've made on the blog. Please let me know if you'd like to order a set or if you just have a clever idea that you'd like to suggest. It's just one more week until I know if I'm making pink or blue bibs for my own little one!

A New Week

Well I just re-read my last post and man am I glad that day was over. I do think a lot had to do with hormones, but whatever it was, everyone is entitled to a bad day. Also, on Thursday William's 5th tooth broke through. It's the lower right one - which could explain his severe crankiness in the week. Well 2 days later, Friday, was my birthday. It was a great birthday. William and I spent the day together since Addy and family went to Louisville for the weekend. We traveled on to Opry Mills and did a little shopping. I found some great deals and bought William a couple sweaters. He was such a dream in the stroller. He just chilled out and sang and watched the people go by. He took his naps on time and was just a well behaved perfect little angel! When AJ came home, William gave me my birthday present - a Snoogle! It's a maternity body pillow. William loved jumping on the pillow in it's package and I felt a little guilty taking it out for bed that night - but I did replace it by putting my old body pillow in the bag so we're good. Back to the Snoogle. Ok, so I didn't think it was that great before I had one. But boy was I wrong! I almost feel guilty being so comfortable in bed. I would like to let AJ use it one night, but I don't think I can give it up. I call it my boyfriend, since it's so cuddly and always has me wrapped up and is "snoogled" around me.

The rest of my birthday was great as well. We went to dinner at a place near the airport and the name has completely escaped me right now - Prego Brain! (I'll fill it in later when I remember it) After dinner we went to Kroger and got a yummy red velvet cake. We returned home to flowers awaiting me at the doorstep. They were from my boyfriend. Just kidding! Hee hee! AJ had sent me 2 dozen roses for my birthday. He was a little miffed because he wanted them to come during the day while I was at home with the kids, to surprise me, but they didn't get there until 7:20pm. Isn't he just the sweetest husband? The flowers are just gorgeous! I also got a gift of a professional prenatal massage. I love you AJ!


The weekend was great as well. I went to lunch with Samantha on Saturday with no kiddies and it was nice. It must have been awhile since we've gotten together like that because we were at lunch for 3 hours! Sunday, William and I went to Samantha's for a playdate with our little playdate group. And then we just chilled out at home and watched the Super Bowl. Now it's Tuesday and this week is off to a great start (crossing fingers.) Hope you are all having a nice week too!

It Can't Always Be Peaches and Cream...

So I always write about the good days and the milestones, so I suppose I should also write about the not-so-good days... today! For starters, the first thing I did this morning when I woke up was slice my finger with a pair of scissors. I should have known by how stupid I was to do that, that I should have just turned around and gone back to bed. But, I have a job to do so I couldn't. The rest of the morning was ok - our TV is out so I had to entertain the young'ins in other ways. Then nap time was over - this is where it turned on me. Snack time was a blood bath to see who could hoard the most Kix. So I took the hungriest seeming child and sat him/her down for lunch (I'm not giving specifics as to which child - as to protect the minors.) Well this little person decided that he/she wasn't going to eat lunch and spit it out. To which immediately after getting out of the high chair was fussing for snacks - go figure! Then while the other was eating, first lunched child was making great attempts at pulling the blinds off the windows. Ok lunch is over, So then came more poopy diapers than I've ever seen from 2 babies in such a short time frame. Poop got on the floor, and not to mention I got kicked in the face and a broken necklace all in the midst of just one of the diaper changes. OK change of scenery, we went upstairs to play. Well books were getting thrown (mainly landing on my feet - and these are the nice hard board books - not soft, plush books,) and then William (yeah, he gets the credit for this one) broke the light in his room. It is a floor tree lamp and three good bangs against the wall was enough to keep them from working anymore. Forget the fact that I tried to fold laundry in there too - HA! That was a joke. And it wasn't just the kids - Chewie is acting belligerent today as well and he won't stop barking!
So now thet're down for a nap - well they are in their beds, but certainly not napping yet. I had to vent and since I'm alone and don't feel like talking on the phone, I'm venting to the blog. I'm sitting in my kitchen, listening to William singing/whining, Chewie barking, and eating a Belly Bar. For those of you who have never had one - count your blessings. This is the nastiest snack bar I've ever had. I am waiting for my prenatal vitamins to come in and in the meantime thought I'd try these since it has all the nutrients a prego lady might need. However, it is close to the equivalent of chomping on a multi-vitamin and if you've ever had the misfortune of accidentally tasting one you know what I mean.
Today will get better and tomorrow's a new day. I hate complaining, but it would be silly to expect every day to be perfect, right? I really love my new job, but every one has its moments I suppose (then add prego hormones to the mix.)I look forward to AJ coming home - I miss him a lot today. I think it's time to put my feet up and relax for a bit before my laundry needs attention. Aahhhhh - relaxation!

Latest Update

Well it's Monday morning, the kiddies are napping and I decided that since I work so hard every week day to maintain a tidy house, that I'm just going to relax during this nap and update the blog with some pictures. There's not a whole lot of news to report as of now, but here are a few things. I've started teaching William some sign language and he seems to be responding really well. He's got the sign for "more" down perfect since he's always asking for "more" snacks! Thursday he officially turns 16 months old. I can't believe how fast he's growing and learning. I'm 18 weeks pregnant now and feel great. Not too tired anymore, but still get pretty sleepy. And of course I'm always hungry! Little New Baby is still moving around well as I'm consistently feeling faint little pops in my belly. So as my belly is getting bigger, I'm noticing that so far I am carrying higher than I was with William. Last time I had to use rubber bands to fasten my jeans at this point, but I can still button my regular jeans now (thanks to the low rise style.) And as the old wives tale goes - carry high and it's a girl, low is a boy. However, none of the other wives tales applied to me so we'll find out in 2 1/2 weeks. Ok well here's a slideshow of recent pics of William and Addyson playing. Have a great week!

Quickening

Just a quick blog note to say that I now feel little New Baby, PoBi, and his/her little kicks (or "quickening" as we like to say in the medical world ;-)) It started last week at 16 weeks, when I bent over to pick something up and it felt like someone brushed their hand across my tummy - from the inside. It happened twice in 2 days. Then earlier this week I was feeling little tapping bubbles in the same place over and over. It's pretty neat since I didn't feel William's little kicks until about 18 weeks or so.
Well, as the title of this suggests, I will make this quick since time got away from me and I have to put dinner in the oven since it takes an hour.... woops!

Our Boy is a Genius! (And new baby dr. appt.)

Well, I had to write tonight to brag on my son. He's the smartest 15 month old ever! Just moments ago (before I put him to bed) he was reading/looking at a book that he received from Meghan and the boys for Christmas. It's a neat book with each page being a color and there's different things to smell and feel in that color on each page. Well, AJ pointed out a baby girl on one page and William said "girl" (sounding more like "goool")So then, AJ pointed at a boy and William said "Boy." Okay so that's impressive in itself, but when AJ said "Where's the girl?" on a separate page, William pointed to the girl and said "Girl!" Then, he did the same with the boy on the new page. We couldn't believe that he could tell the difference already. He's been saying new words daily. He said "purple" the other day, and yesterday he said "blankie." He still mostly says words when prompted, but he's doing so great. It came out of nowhere, since just last week at his doctor appointment we mentioned that he was only saying "b" words.

Yesterday I had my 16 week appointment. It went pretty well. We heard the heartbeat and had the triple screen testing done. I should have the results back from my bloodwork in a few days, so let's all say a prayer that this baby is perfect and healthy. For additional testing, and to find out the gender, we will have the ultrasound in 4 weeks... Feb 11, so mark your calendars! Just kidding. I'll be sure to keep you all posted for sure. Well, I have to go now. AJ needs the computer so he can go play Left 4 Dead with the Gore brothers. I guess I'll do yoga or something now... Ciao!

Titan's Playoff Game

Wow, twice in one week! I'm on a roll with this blog now. So today, AJ and I went to the Titans playoff game. It was a real fun time, despite the cold and the misty rain. We had great seats in the lower section and you could feel the energy of the crowd. However, the Titans lost to the Ravens so it was a bit of a heartbreaker to watch. William went to play with Addyson and Whitney says that they kept giving each other sugars (kisses.) Guess we're gonna have to watch out for those too, eh? She showed me a picture she took of them smoochin', so I'll add it if she emails it to me soon.

Since I just wrote 2 days ago, there's not much else to add. I've put some pictures up of the little ones playing and of us from the game. Have a good weekend!

The Ketchup Swan

I had to post this picture. After the Titan's playoff game, AJ and I went to McDonald's to grab some food. I was about to dip a fry in my ketchup only to notice the interesting shape my ketchup made. I was thinking about saving it and selling it on ebay, but decided it would be better off going on my fries. :-)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! My new year's resolution is to update this more frequently than I have been lately. Well, once PoBi is here that will probably stop, but anyway... So Christmas was great! Debbie and I made authentic Ukrainian Pyrohi (pierogies) for the first time without our mother's supervision. Don't get me wrong, it was great that she was only a phone call away, because we had to take advantage of that a couple times. But nonetheless, we did it and they tasted great! I also made Kutya, which was a first for me, and that came out great too. Christmas Eve dinner was in line with the traditions I was brought up with. Twelve dishes at the table, no meat, and as many people as we could fit around the table. Our friends, Whitney, Jay, and Addyson (William's buddy) joined us for dinner and that was nice! I loved hosting the holiday meal and I must say I felt proud that we made a meal that was so close to my mom's cooking. Christmas Day was great too. We incorporated both mine and AJ's family traditions for the day. We opened gifts one at a time so that everyone could watch and enjoy the gift. Also, some of the presents that Santa brought were unwrapped, which was hard for me to get used to but it worked out nice. Also, William did open one gift on Christmas Eve, and surprisingly they were pajamas! Debbie helped me with Christmas lunch and it was a bit more low key than the previous meal. I made a ham and we reheated some of the pyrohi for this meal too. We had more guests join us so we had to show off our hard work again and share the culture with these southerners (wink wink!) Samantha, Heath, Cailin, and Hudson all joined us for Christmas Day. It was awesome to have them here and share the holiday with them. Debbie stayed for a few more days and it was nice to visit with her. We went to Opryland Hotel to check out their holiday decorations, which were just beautiful. Also, Debbie babysat William one night so AJ and I could have a date. It was much needed and we had a great time with dinner at the Melting Pot and a movie (Marley & Me.) New Year's Eve was spent at Whitney and Jay's for a small gathering of friends and a competive game of Catch Phrase. It was our first New Year's out of the house in a couple years so it was fun.

Now, to the present day. It is officially 4 days into my new career as a stay at home mom. I would have gone back to work Monday the 5th, so that's why I'm counting this as my first week. So far, I love it! It is surely tiring since I'm watching Addyson too, but we're starting to get on a pretty good schedule. I haven't left the house much, but I don't really mind because it's so cold out! Although, yesterday was William's 15 month checkup. He had 3 shots and as always, they were awful. I hate watching him go through that. He cries so hard that it doesn't even make a sound at first. The poor baby is so unsuspecting and they just poke him with that needle. I'll get tougher one day, but I am happy to know that he's got 2 more rounds of shots then he's done until he's 5. Yay! Well, our big boy now weighs 23 lbs 9 oz and is 31 1/2 in. long. He gained 2 lbs and 2 in. since last appointment, which I was sure it was more since he feels so heavy to me. The doctor says he looks great so we're all happy. I go for my 16 week check up for new baby (PoBi) next Monday. I'm looking forward to that check up and then just a few more weeks until we find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Well, I have 2 slideshows I'm including. The first one is from the holidays and the second is of some more things I've sewn recently. I will be selling bibs and burp cloths that I make, to pull in a little extra income. I'm working my way up to baby pants and dresses! I'm very open to suggestions although I'd really like to stick to baby clothes for now. So tell your friends! These make great gifts for baby showers and new arrivals! I just bought a bunch of fabric that can work for boys, girls, or neutral colors for either one. Feel free to check out my other slide shows of things I made in November and October too. I hope everyone is doing great!