4 Months Old

Carlee is 4 months old and had her check-up today! Everything checked out beautifully, as always, and she is growing and developing just as she should.

She weighed exactly 14 pounds, which is in the 50th percentile. She was an enormous 26 inches long - the 97th percentile!! This was a huge jump from her last check-up!

The only issue Carlee has been having is sleep! She sleeps great at night, but naps during the day are almost non-existent. The doctor confirmed my thoughts that she should be sleeping her 12-13 hours at night AND taking 2 long naps during the day. SO, the plan is to put her on a nap schedule and force the issue. She is to go down for a morning nap 2-3 hours after she wakes up, and go down for an afternoon nap around 3 or 4 o'clock. I'm supposed to let her cry it out for up to an hour. I'm sure it will be tough at the beginning, but in the end she will learn to sleep and we will all be happier and more rested!!

I'm so proud of my beautiful little peanut and love her laid back, happy disposition!! She is such a trooper and puts up with a lot of jostling from her big brother!! She loves him though and is always smiling at him. In fact, when she is crying and I can't get to her right away, Joey walks over to her and she usually stops crying immediately! It is just too cute!

Here are a few recent pictures of our little beauty queen!!

Lovin that Big Brother!!


So cute with her blankie!


Big Girl!!


She's a Pretty Big Deal!


Happy as can be!


Trying her first bite of cereal!


I don't think she liked it!!

"Punkees!"

I took Joey and Carlee to Shadybrook Farm the other day to buy pumpkins. Joey has been SO EXCITED about "punkees." Every time he sees one he yells out "Punkees!!!!"

When we got to the farm, there was a wagon sitting out and Joey was all over it! He began to pull the empty wagon all around and pointed out every pile of pumpkins he saw. As we added pumpkin after pumpkin to the wagon, Joey continued to pull despite the heavy load. If I even spoke the words that I could help him when the wagon got stuck he immediately put his hand up and said "I do it!"



The only way I could get him to let me pull it was to suggest he ride on the wagon. So as we walked around looking at the Halloween/Fall items in the store, I used one hand to push Carlee in the stroller and the other to pull 4 pumpkins and Joey in the wagon! We purchased the pumpkins and some pumpkin paint so Joey could paint the little pumpkins. Then, as a way to transition from the beloved wagon onto something just as cool, we sat outside and drank apple cider.

Here's Joey drinking from a big boy cup (a recent skill that he has learned) and smiling his big "cheeeeeese" at the table.




While we were drinking our "aabull cider" Carlee decided to take a little snooze, so we even had time for Joey to play on the playground.



Once we got home, the fun continued as Joey painted his little pumpkins - one for him and one for Carlee. As he was painting he would say "green Caree's punkee," "green Joey's punkee." He's very good about sharing and making everything equal!!



After we painted the little pumpkins it was time to decorate the big pumpkins with the character's Aunt Coleen gave the kids. We made Dracula for Joey and a witch for Carlee.




We had such a great time getting ready for Halloween. Our punkees are out on the front porch and ready for the trick-or-treaters! It is so much fun this year with Joey understanding more and able to participate in holidays!!

Baby Caree Trucks!!

I left Carlee and Joey in the play room for a few minutes while I cleaned up from lunch. Joey came running in the kitchen yelling "baby Caree trucks!!". This is how I found her!

School!

Joey started his first day of "school" today. Okay, well it isn't really preschool, but it sort of is.

It's called Creative Parenting. It's a one hour per week class that you go to with your mom - in other words, I don't drop him off ~ I actually have to stay and play with him! :)

Other than the part about me staying there and it only being an hour, it's basically preschool. There's a craft, play time, circle time, and then snack and story.

So, like I said ~ today was the first day.

Joey did AWESOME and had so much fun! He loved doing the craft, although he had no interest in using the dot paints and markers. All he wanted to do was "shake sprinkles" (glitter) and glue pieces of streamer.

After his craft, he walk into the room of toys and said "TRUCKS!!!!!" as the first thing he saw was a huge truck ramp and lots of cool trucks. He played with the trucks for a while and EVEN played with the teacher by putting people in a bus with her. This part is huge people! Joey doesn't like other adults. Just Mommy and Daddy (and other family members too), but not teachers! I was very proud of him and then he amazed me even more by TOTALLY LEAVING ME and following the teacher to another area of toys!!! He played with the teacher and then by himself for at least 5 minutes before looking to see where I was! He is definitely growing up and starting to venture away from my side more and more!

After toys, where he cleaned up like a pro, it was circle time. This part Joey was not super impressed with. We sang about 15 songs and he basically just watched everyone else. He was too cool to do the motions today.

Then it was snack time. Joey was delighted to get his own carpet square to sit on and then came the best part: He was snack helper today! This meant he got to pass out napkins to everyone. A task right up his ally and he was so pumped!!



While eating snack, the teacher read a story, which Joey attended to wonderfully!



When it was all over, Joey walked out singing one of the songs from circle time (he WAS paying attention, just not participating at the time), bopping along happily to the car. He was so happy and ADORABLE!

Here he is after class showing off his craft with his big happy grin!

Go Phils!

Last night Chris and I had a date with Joey at the Phillies game.

Carlee, being the little sister, had to stay home with a babysitter. She said she was a little mad, but that she knew once Joey started going to school she would have lots of alone time with Mommy, so it was cool. Besides, she said she was really tired last night and that baseball is a boys sport! :)

On the serious side ~ Joey had a total blast. First of all, I think he was SUPER pumped to have me and Chris all to himself!

The whole way down to the stadium he kept yelling "ball ball!" Then when we strolled (as in, he was riding in his stroller) up to the stadium he got a huge smile on his face and looked back at me to make sure I also saw how cool the stadium was!

The look of excitement on his face was so adorable and made me just as excited to be there!

Once we got to our seats he settled right in and immediately asked for something to eat! After having a hot dog, he decided that sitting in a seat wasn't so cool anymore and proceded to stand up and make his seat go up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down... You get the point!

After 2 innings, I took him up to play on the playground for a little while and then we rode 2 escalators and one elevator. After that, he asked to go back and "it daddy." For those of you who don't speak toddler, that means "sit with daddy."

On the way down to "it daddy" we stopped to buy some ice cream in a hat. Boy was he excited about that! The whole time he ate the ice cream he kept saying "hat, hat, hat!"

The highlights of his night, in my opinion, were dancing to the music that came on for each batter, "marching" when the clapping song came on, and watching the Philly Phanatic shoot t-shirts out of his hot dog truck. After the Phanatic came out he kept saying "more truck, more truck, pshoooooo," while making a motion with his arm like the t-shirt shooter!

He made it happily through 8 innings, and even got a REALLY bumpy, super fast stroller ride from Daddy back to the car.

Seeing the joy on his face the whole night was such an amazing experience! It's so incredible to be able to live through a child's eyes and enjoy things in a whole new way. Joey is THE COOLEST KID I know and I am SO BLESSED to have him in my life!!

Here's a picture of him acting crazy with his ice cream hat! Notice the crooked bangs from his terrible haircut! :)

Trains, Trucks, ...... and Dolls?

Today Joey, Carlee, and I went to Barnes and Noble to kill some time and let Joey play with the train set.

Joey was in his glory as he played with the very manly train set. After some traintime, he ventured over to the books where he found a WHOLE SECTION of manly books on TRUCKS and TRAINS!! It was like he won the lottery! He was so excited and read them all - stacking them to the side as he finished each one.



And after he was tired of reading books, he went to the collection of stuffed animals and transitioned to a slightly less manly toy - a unicorn. However, he manned it up by screaming "neigh, neigh" as he made it run around the table.

And finally, when it was time to go, I looked over and found him playing with a not so manly Madeline doll.

Joey has never asked to buy something at a store before, but this doll he HAD to have. He actually started crying when I tried to persuade him to buy the very masculine looking dog instead.

So home we went, with a Madeline Doll!! Maybe he wanted it for Carlee?!

Bob the Barber

What is it about a child's haircut that is so hard?? Chris and I are constantly in a battle about Joey's hair because Chris wants it surfer long and I want it TRIMMED.

Trimmed, people, not chopped! After much debate between Mommy and Daddy, I decided to take Joey for a TRIM and let Chris leave Joey's hair a little longer. After all ~ it looks cute long, it just needed to get out of his eyes and away from his ears.

So off we go yesterday to see Bob - the same guy who cuts Chris' hair. Joey sits in the chair and like always I say to Bob "just like last time. Keep it long but just trim it up so that it is out of his face and off his ears."

Out come the clippers and CHOP. All his beautiful hair was gone!

I don't get it. It happens every time. Not to mention that his bangs are TOTALLY sideways. I can't win!

3 Strikes

So far this week I have 2 strikes against me! If I get one more - I'm out!

It started on Sunday when I locked both kids in the car. Stttttrrrrike ONE!!

How does a mother manage to lock her 2 month old daughter and 2 year old son in the car? It's actually quite easy! All you have to do is put the 2 year old in his car seat and then hand him your keys so he can play with them. Then, walk around to the other side of the car and put your baby in her car seat. Come back around and take the keys from your son (but don't notice that he has used the keys to lock the doors). Get in and start the car. Last, get out of the car and close your door so that you can pull your husband's car (which is parked behind your car in the driveway) next to yours. When you are finished moving your husband's car - attempt to get back in your car and - VOILA! - 2 kids locked in the car!

It was a nightmare experience and it took 20 minutes and 3 police cars later to get them out. Carlee was crying her eyes out the entire time and I was crying as well. Joey was actually totally fine until the last 10 minutes - when he dropped his binky on the floor - and then he cried too.

Now, for my next strike. Tuesday night. Chris has now been out of town for 2 nights and Monday was a VERY HAIRY day with both kids crying almost without pause for the entire day. So I'm a little tired by dinner time - and almost feed Joey mold!!

Sttttttrrrrrrike TWO!

So here's the mold story ~ I decided to make Joey little pizzas on flat bread for dinner. There was a jar of pizza sauce in the fridge. Granted, it was about a month old, but it was in the fridge - and sauce doesn't go bad, right? Wrong. I made the whole pizza using the sauce and even cooked it. When I took it out of the oven and put it on his plate, I happened to look next to the plate and notice the giant white puff of MOLD growing on the lid of the sauce jar!!! GROSS!!! Thank God I noticed it before I fed it to him!!

It's only Tuesday - the third day of the week - and I already have 2 huge strikes against me! The odds aren't looking that good for me right now! And I definitely don't think I will be winning any mother-of-the year awards this week!!

Whirlwind

It has been a crazy 5 weeks! So crazy that I have not even had time to blog!!

Some family knows the story, most friends don't yet - but as I am sitting in my bed on ordered rest - I figured I'd FINALLY update my blog!!

To make a long story short, during Carlee's delivery my placenta did not detach on it's own. The doctor had to detach it and I ended up hemorrhaging and passing out from that about 2 hours after delivery.

1 week into Carlee's life, I got a sinus infection and bad head cold for a few days.

Fast forward to Carlee being 4 weeks old and I randomly hemorrhaged again at home. I had to be taken to the ER via ambulance and spent about 5 hours there. I was sent home for the weekend and followed up with the doctor that Monday.

After a few ultrasounds and exams, it was determined that I had placental tissue still in my uterus that was causing the bleeding. I was told I needed to have a D&C to have the tissue removed. I also was diagnosed with a slight uterine infection and given an antibiotic for that.

I had the D&C this past Tuesday. Surgery went well and the doctor said everything looked great.

Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon I spiked a high fever (103.8 at it's highest). I was convulsing, teeth chattering, vomiting, dizzy. It was a mess.

Here's the best part. Apparently the 4 doctors at my OB practice don't communicate or read charts. The doctor who did my D&C "didn't know I had a previous uterine infection before she did the surgery." Also, "the medicine the other doctor gave me for the infection was the wrong medicine and is not used to treat uterine infections."

SO - during the D&C all the bacteria was moved around and my uterine infection skyrocketed.

I've been on an antibiotic for about 12 hours now and my fever is finally down. Still dizzy and having stomach pains, but MUCH better than last night. I've been ordered by the doctor to rest for the next 48 hours and not take care of my kids.

That's the hardest part right now!! I wish I could take care of my babies!! Luckily, my in laws have taken Joey for the rest of this week and weekend, and Chris is in charge of Carlee and I! I'm hoping to finally get completely better this weekend and be able to go back to being super mom as of Monday! :)

Our First Few Days at Home

We've been home with Carlee for 3 days now and I think it is fair to say that both Chris and I are completely exhausted! :) We are very excited that Chris' mom will be here tomorrow morning for another day of helping out!!

Carlee is doing great! She is eating so well and is basically still just sleeping. She's been very easy so far and for that I am so grateful!!

Joey has been SO SWEET with Carlee. I really do think he loves her already. He wants her to be with us and goes over to her often to check out all her body parts, try to give her a binky, and offer her his toys!

The binky is his main obsession for her. He doesn't want hers, which is a big surprise to me - but he thinks she should have one all the time! She'll be sound asleep and if there isn't one next to her he'll ask me where it is; if there is one next to her he tries to shove it in her mouth!

When he gives us kisses before his nap and bedtime he always asks to give the baby a kiss too - and he sometimes asks to hold her.

There are, of course, times when he is too rough with her - but for the most part he's being very gentle and sweet. My favorite thing he did was try to power drill her head while I was nursing her! He likes to use his toy power drill on everything and decided it would be a good idea to drill her head. In the midst of making sure he didn't hurt her I had to try really hard not to laugh!

Aside from his sweetness with Carlee - he is having a tough time with the adjustment of not getting our full attention and not getting what he wants immediately. This morning was definitely the worst so far as he spent an hour and a half having tantrums about everything from wanting to eat mine and Chris' bagel instead of his, to being mad that we wouldn't let him chew on his shoes.

His feisty side is coming out and when we tell him no he is throwing things across the room to see what we'll do. To say he is testing out his "naughtiness" might be an understatement. We knew that this would happen and we know that it is normal - so we're dealing it with it as calmly as we can and trying to spend as much individual time with him as possible. It's very tiring though - and I hope it doesn't last TOO long!

Chris starts back at work tomorrow - so this week should be interesting for me! I'll have Chris' mom for Monday and half of Tuesday and then I'm on my own for the rest of the week! I think by the time my sister gets here on Saturday I will be more than ready!!

A Perfect Ending

Our last weekend as a family of three.

It couldn't have been better.

Chris finished work early on Friday and our weekend began! I was happy to have the extra pair of hands in these last few days of pregnancy, and Joey was happy to have both Mommy AND Daddy all to himself for a whole weekend!!

Friday night we went out to dinner and had one of the best restaurant experiences yet. Joey was a perfect angel, stayed in his high chair the whole time, didn't yell or scream, and as an added bonus - even ate his dinner! After dinner we went to the little toddler park on Main Street and Joey got to show Chris all his favorite things to do there!

Saturday morning was filled with me racing around like a lunatic trying to get all the last minute things done. I vacuumed, HAND MOPPED all the floors, did some laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, sent Chris and Joey out for diapers and wipes, Chris moved his office stuff out of the baby's closet, I moved all of the baby's things into her closet, and Joey - thankfully took a 3 hour nap that day so we could get all of these things done! Then we cooked out on the grill and went for a family walk before bed. Joey had fun pushing his lawn mower all around during our walk and ended by holding Charlie's leash!

Sunday was a true "family day." We went to Shady Brook Farm where Joey played on the playground. Then we went into the store and bought some fresh milk and veggies, plus an apple and hot dog for Joey to have for lunch. We sat on the picnic tables while Joey ate his lunch and then finished up the morning on the BOUNCE BOUNCE!! Yes, that's right - Joey finally got to go in a bounce house!! The farm was having a strawberry picking festival and during Joey's lunch they set up a bounce house! He was SO EXCITED!!

Later that night, we cooked out on the grill again, and then as I cleaned up, the "boys" vacuumed out my car. As I was washing dishes and looking out at Joey and Chris on the driveway I was overcome with gratitude for my wonderful family.

I felt so at peace knowing that we had this last weekend to spend together and that Joey was so happy all weekend. Over the past 21 months, he has grown up so much and he's just the most precious thing to Chris and I. I feel SO fortunate to have such a beautiful family that includes an amazing husband and the best little boy ever! And now - we are adding a new addition. Not only a daughter for Chris and I, but a little sister for Joey! My world could not be more perfect right now!

So today, Memorial Day, we topped off the weekend by taking Joey to the town parade. He had a BLAST!! He was so excited to see all the cars go by! His favorite things were the marching band, the fire trucks, the cars that went "beep beep," and the real horse! After each thing passed he would say "More More!"

It really was the best weekend! Not that we did anything super fabulous, but just that we spent it together and really enjoyed each other!

Now, we close one chapter of our life - "A Family of 3," and open the next - "A Family of 4." I can't wait to see what this chapter brings!

Patience

Patience.

During my professional career, when people learned what I did for a living, they would always say, "You must have a lot of patience."

When describing me to others my dad would say, "she has a lot of patience."

Parents of kids that I worked with would tell me, "you are so patient."

And now, when I am taking care of Joey or helping out with my mom, I do still think I posses that quality of patience. However, I don't know that I would describe myself as a patient person.

Sure, I don't get easily frustrated when teaching a child a new skill, or when waiting out a tantrum during a time-out. But when it comes to driving behind someone who is going way to slow, or waiting for some lady to to find all her coupons and then write a check for her groceries while my child is quickly counting down the minutes until he can no longer sit in the grocery cart - patience is NOT what I have!

And while waiting and waiting and waiting for the day my baby will be born - I have NO PATIENCE!!

Since I expected Joey to be born close to his due date and then was unexpectedly diagnosed with pre-eclampsia right at 38 weeks - I never had to wait for him. One day I thought I had two weeks left, and the next I was in the hospital in labor!

So this whole waiting and wondering when the baby is going to come is TORTURE!! I wish someone could knock on my front door and say, "Hey, your baby is going to be born on such and such a day."

THEN, I could be patient. But now? No, not now.

Tumbles

I wanted to blog about Tumbles (Joey's gym class) because I'm always talking about it and no one really gets to see it!

It's a 1 hour and 15 minute class once a week and Joey LOVES it!! He gets so excited when it's time to go. Usually, he's the star of the show - but occasionally he'll let a few of the other kids shine! :)

The class always starts with a circle time where they do a warm up/stretch routine. Joey can now do most of the stretches by following the teacher, so I don't help him with these anymore. Sometimes, he opts out of the stretching and stands in the middle of the circle dancing instead! Like I said - he likes to be the star!

After warm-up, the go around and say their names. At this point, I still have to prompt Joey to say his name and he always says "Joe" while nodding his head. Then he claps for himself!

The introductions lead into a weekly practice skill which is always different and then they do a song with motions.

After that, they have "adventure time" where they can play on any of the equipment, plus each week a few different things are set up for them to do with the teachers.

When adventure time is over they bring out a bubble machine and swings. The swings are one of Joey's favorite parts. There are 4 regular swings and two red car swings. Joey ALWAYS waits until the "truck" comes out - he won't swing on the regular ones!!

Then, when swings are done they come back to the circle and have some sort of "parent share" which is usually a glitter wand, little footballs, colored mats - anything you can manipulate and talk about. Then they bring out a ball pit and the kids play in that.

To end, they do one more song and then sing a good bye song while using shakers.

Joey has been doing this for so long that he knows when shakers are over the class is over and he runs immediately to the bench to put on his shoes. Then he waits in line for a stamp on his hand - he always gets one on each hand. He talks about the stamp all day long and then for the rest of the week he points to his hand and asks where the stamp is!

I really love this class because Joey has a great time, he's learning to follow instructions from a teacher and separate from me, and I also have met some good friends there. There are two moms in particular that I really like and Joey has play dates with their kids.

Here are some recent photos of him during class!

The Life of a Stay at Home Mom

Sometimes people think that they go to work all day and us stay at home moms just stay at home.

So today, I decided to write down all the things I did today.

Woke up at 7:30
Fed Joey breakfast
Cleaned and disinfected Joey's high chair
Fed and let out the dog and cat
Showered myself and Joey
Made the beds
Straightened the bedrooms
Did a load of laundry
Took Joey to the park
Went to CVS to buy Mother's Day cards
Fed Joey lunch
Called the babysitter to set up babysitting for my birthday
Rested on the couch for 1.5 hours (after all, I am 36 weeks pregnant)
Fed Joey a snack
Took packages to the post office to be mailed
Went to the hair salon to buy Chris gel
Took Joey out to dinner at Cheesburger Cheesburger
Went to the mall (with Joey) to buy Joey summer clothes
Put Joey to bed
Fed the dog
Did a 2nd load of laundry
Paid the bills
Unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher
Put away Joey's toys from the day
Straightened the kitchen
Cleaned the cat fur from the baby's crib (after realizing he had been sleeping in there)
Packed the baby's hospital bag
Sat down on the couch at 10:30 pm to write this blog

Big Daddy

Upon waking up on Saturday morning, Joey immediately asked for his slippers and then for a hat. After digging through his hat drawer he decided on a sun hat from last year that doesn't even fit his head anymore. Whenever he picks out his "accessories" I always think of the movie Big Daddy when Adam Sandler let the little boy where whatever he wanted to!



(He also carried those 3 straws around all morning ~ it was part of the outfit!)

18 month check-up

Joey had his 18 month check-up today. He's really 20 months now, but we just switched pediatricians and to get the one I wanted we had to wait.

I'm so happy that we switched! I LOVE LOVE LOVE his new pediatrician and he was SO GOOD with Joey!

Joey hates the doctor and cries as soon as a nurse walks in the door or even measures his head. The doctor had him calmed down in 10 seconds and the check up was the least painful one we've ever had.

It also helped that the pediatrician complimented Joey and my parenting numerous times! :) My favorite line was "Wow, Joey! How do you have all these words? Your mom must spend a lot of time teaching you!" And let's see ~ after being in the room with us for all of 1 minute Joey had totally charmed him into saying, "your such a cool kid - I just met you and I already like you!"

Anyway ~ the check up was great and Joey is making progress like he should be. He weighed in at 26 lbs. 9 oz. which is the 50th percentile and was 34 inches which is the 90th percentile. No wonder he looks like a string bean in his once piece pajamas!!

He has to start taking a vitamin since he does not eat a single vegetable and I need to work on getting him to eat more meat and of course veggies. However, he's gaining weight and growing fine, so nothing major to worry about!

I asked the doc for any advice he had on helping Joey to adjust to the new baby and he said the best thing I can do is let Joey be as helpful in taking care of the baby as possible to make him feel a part of taking care of the baby and to make him feel like the baby is his too. I was happy with this advice because doing "chores" is right up Joey's alley!! I can see the excitement in his eyes already when I ask him to bring the baby a diaper or shake the baby's bottle!! He's going to be a great helper!

I'm so happy that he checked out with a clean bill of health and a dinosaur sticker in his hand! He's the best ever and he makes Chris and I so happy and so proud every day!!

Morning Cuteness

It's only 9:00 in the morning and Joey has already done so many cute things!

He heard the trash truck when I was getting his breakfast ready and knew that meant the school bus wouldn't be far behind. So after asking for the bus a zillion times, we settled on parking his high chair right in front of the window so he could eat his cereal and watch for the bus to go by. When it finally went by his face lit up so much that he could have been the sunshine for the day!

After breakfast, he started walking around the house looking for his police car cozy coupe. (It's been inside the past few days to keep him busy). The way he asks for it is by flashing his hand back and forth as if it's the blinking siren and saying "whoo whoo whoo." Totally cute!

Then, when I let Bill (Joey pronounces it "blah") and Charlie ("woof") up from the basement, Joey took charge of letting them outside. Bill came up first - Joey opened the back door and said "out." Then Charlie came up the steps and he opened the door for Charlie and said "pe pe." (I always say to Charlie - go pee - as I let her out the door).

He's becoming such a big boy and really communicating a lot more about everything! I hope this super cute morning turns into a super cute day!

35 Weeks

Because of all the contractions I've been having with this pregnancy and because they have been going on since about 20 weeks - I'm constantly second guessing whether they are significant or not.

But after last week and this weekend - I began to think that just maybe these contractions had me heading toward an early labor. I had contractions 10 minutes apart again on Saturday morning for about 2 hours, but then was fine the rest of the day. Then last night I was up every hour because of cramping/contractions. I was too worried about having a premature baby to wait until my 36 week appointment next week - so I decided to go in today and see the doctor.

And I guess I didn't need to go in. The doctor said the baby is down in the birth canal but at the very top. I am just starting to dilate - not even a full centimeter yet. AND - if I do go into full labor then they won't stop it. AND - there is nothing they do at this point to PREVENT me from going in to labor (I guess meaning no bed rest).

After telling me that I don't need to call or come in (except for regular appointments) until my contractions are 5 minutes apart for at least an hour - the doctor makes a side comment on his way out - "just try to keep the baby in there a little longer if possible."

I didn't really ask a lot of questions because I kind of felt dumb for going in worried in the first place.

But now that I am sitting here thinking about it - if it's okay to have the baby at 35 weeks, then why tell me to try to keep the baby in a little longer? And what exactly do I do in order to keep the baby in??

I'm a little frustrated at how whimsical the doctor was because I am very detail oriented and I like to know all the possible ways this thing could play out - even if there are 37 different scenarios!

Speaking of 37 - I am hoping that the baby waits until at least that many weeks before joining us!

As grouchy as I am - and I'm REALLY grouchy - and as much uncomfortable pain as I am in, I want to have a healthy, strong baby.

So next Monday, when I go in, I will be prepared with my list of questions - #1 being "if the baby is born this week, are there any potential complications she will be facing?"

Until then, I'll just google it! And end up thinking I am going to give birth to a 3 headed alien like figure with a tail! :)

I'm sure everything will be fine. I know I had a lot of the same issues with Joey and he was born at 38 weeks - so I'm probably worried about nothing. But I guess if I wasn't already worrying about her now, then I wouldn't be a parent!!

Bow Bow!

Yesterday we went to a birthday party that had a moon bounce. After 3 hours neither Chris nor I had taken Joey to the area of the yard where the moon bounce was.

After helping Joey play with the birthday boy's new power wheels Escalade and watching him take a million turns on the new roller coaster - I asked him if he wanted to go in the bounce house.

He started bending his knees up and down and saying "bow, bow!" So I carried him over to the Moon Bounce ~ Just in time for the guy to show up and tell all the kids to get out because he needed to deflate it.

So for the next 20 minutes, Joey stood in front of the Moon Bounce,watching it deflate and bending up and down while saying "bow, bow??!!" To which I had to answer a zillion times that the bounce bounce had to go bye bye.

I tried everything to distract him - how bout another ride on the coaster? "Bow Bow?" Do you want to go see Daddy? "Bow Bow?" Let's go get some ice cream! "Bow Bow?"

I felt so bad for him because he just couldn't let the bounce bounce go!

When it was time to leave he talked about the bounce bounce for the entire 1 hour ride home. I don't know how many times Chris and I had to say "the bounce bounce is all done."

When we got home and got Joey in his pj's and off for story time, I thought we were finally done with the bounce bounce. I read him his stories, we said his prayers, and then I rocked him and started our nightly chat. Instead of talking about his day like I usually do, I wanted to avoid the bounce bounce, I talked to him about the baby.

When we were done with out little chat and he put his head down on me, we rocked in silence for a few minutes. Then I picked him up and put him in his crib. We said our good nights and just as I was about to walk out the door he goes: "Bow Bow??!!"

I had to go through the whole explanation again and finally just left him in his crib repeating, "bow bow," over and over again!

I bet I know what he dreamed about last night!! :)

Stickers!!

Joey has been really attached to Chris lately. As soon as I go in to get him from the crib in the morning, he points toward our bedroom and says "Dad?" If Chris hasn't left for work yet, then he busts into the bathroom to "help" him shower and shave, or runs into the bedroom to get him out of bed.

On the days when Chris has already left for work, he spends the first 20 minutes of his day checking all the usual hiding spots to find him, all while calling "dad!" The "usual hiding spots" include his office in the basement, under his desk - Chris will sometimes hide there and surprise Joey as he walks into the room, in the back cellar, the downstairs bathroom, and outside in the yard. Eventually, he realizes that he is not home and goes on with his day.

When Chris comes home from work at night Joey runs to the back door, yells as loud as he can, and claps his hands! It's really quite adorable.

So yesterday, when Chris finished work early and went outside to mow the lawn, Joey couldn't have been happier. The only problem is, he wanted to help mow the lawn. Obviously, this was a safety issue, so I had to lock the gate surrounding the yard and keep Joey out. This did not make Joey happy at all and he spent a good 20 minutes yelling/screeching to get in. Eventually I figured I should spare the neighbors and brought Joey inside. BIG MISTAKE!!

He stood at the door hysterically crying and yelling "Daaaaaaaad!" for 30 minutes! Needless to say, when Chris came back inside, Joey was delighted. And determined not to let Daddy out of his sight again.

After dinner and pajamas, there was a good half hour left to play before bedtime. Chris was cleaning the kitchen for me so I could rest, and I tried to settle Joey in at the coffee table to play with stickers. Well, Joey was all about the stickers, but he didn't want to play with ME. The whole time Chris was cleaning the kitchen, Joey was running back and forth between the living room and the kitchen - in the living room to get 2 stickers, then to the kitchen to put them on Chris! It was totally cute and he was super excited about his little "project." When Chris finished and walked into the living room, the sight of him made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants (for the third time that day)!!

Here's a look at Joey's finished art project!:

Fill Her Up!

A cranky toddler is bad enough. But add on a tired, cranky mother who is going on 34 weeks pregnant and you have one disastrous day! Or should I say week.

I'm not sure what has gotten into Joey these days - maybe a tooth on the way? - but his frustration tolerance has been in the negative range for SEVERAL days now!

Everything is making him mad. He wants to drive my car, but it's time to go in. Tantrum. He wants to eat a meal, but he doesn't want to sit in the high chair. Tantrum. He wants to put the keys in the door and unlock it himself, but he can't reach. Tantrum. He wants his little car to go straight, but it vears to the left. Tantrum.

I am trying my best to redirect the screaming and whining - prompting him to say "help," or "stuck," or any of the other 40 words or so he could use, rather than just melting down. But because I am so tired and uncomfortable myself, I seem to be finding MY frustration tolerance reaching the dangerously low range as well.

I sometimes find myself wondering "What was I THINKING? ANOTHER baby? How am I going to do this?" But then I tell myself "When the baby is born, ALL you will have to deal with is being tired. You won't be carrying around a bowling ball in your stomach. Your nose will not be stuffy anymore and you will actually be able to breathe! When you sneeze or cough, you won't pee your pants!! Rather than waddling like a duck, you'll actually be able to walk straight! You'll see your feet again - and they won't hurt anymore!"

So in these last few weeks, I am going to try my very best to manage my frustration and help Joey to overcome his. Because as positive as I am trying to be - I know that a whole new can of worms is about to be opened when this baby finally arrives! And when that happens, I need to make sure that Joey and I BOTH have full tanks in the frustration tolerance department.

My Little Helper

(These pictures are a few months old because I meant to write this blog a while ago but am just now getting to it!)

Joey is a chore-a-holic! He loves to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that Chris and I do. To Chris' disappointment, some of the things he enjoys doing (because he sees me do them every day) is put on rings, bracelets, and necklaces, put on his "make-up" with my extra make-up brushes, put moisturizer on his face, and brush his hair with my round brush!

These are all quite girly things, but there are lots of other things he enjoys doing as well - chores!

First up ~ he loves to help clean anything with a wet rag. Windows, the high chair, furniture. While I dust and clean - he dusts and cleans!





He even gives Elmo a bath when he's all done dusting the furniture!!



A daily task that Joey really enjoys is helping me to unload the dishwasher. He is in charge of all the silverware. He takes out each utensil and throws them up in the drawer - then I organize them in to their proper spots later!



On to his FAVORITE: Trash Night!! Luckily for Joey, we have two trash nights!! He shakes the bag out and everything! It's hysterical to watch!





Last, but not least, in the photographed chores is laundry. He does it all. Put the clothes in, take them out, close the detergent drawer, and push the buttons to turn everything on!






There are lots of other chores Joey likes to do, but not all made it on photograph! The first job he ever got excited about was feeding the dog. He used to scoop the food, poor it in the bowl, and then clap when Charlie would come over to eat it. After about a month though, he discovered how much fun it was to take the food out of her bowl and throw it in the water bowl. So this was the end of feeding the dog! I don't let him do it anymore because after numerous "time-outs" for throwing the dog food, the throwing didn't stop. It was just too much fun and so the time out was worth it!

Just recently Joey has gotten really into cleaning up toys after he is finished playing with them! Shocking to me, but he loves it! When we are outside and I tell him it's time to clean up, he pushes each and every car and toy up the driveway and into the shed. Also, when I turn off the water in the shower, without direction, he begins putting all the toys into the bucket! He likes everything to be neat and orderly - something Chris is happy about!

As Joey gets more and more independent, he finds more things he wants to do all by himself. Some are chore related, but now it is expanding on to other things - like putting on his own shoes. It is so neat to be able to watch him grow, learn, and develop every day! You can almost see his little brains working away as he figures new things out! What a blessing he is ~ my little helper ~ my little life!

Joey Makes a Discovery!

Chris was able to pick up and set up the baby's crib last night! So this morning, after breakfast, Joey noticed through the open door that something NEW and AMAZING had been added to the baby's room!

He got a big smile on his face when he saw it from the kitchen, pointed to it and said, "ahhhhh???" (his way of asking if he can go look)

I told him to go check it out - and here's what happened!

Looking at me to see if this is for REAL!:


Trying to climb in and contain his excitement at the same time:


AMAZED at the mobile:


And finally, testing out its sleepability:


He had so much fun playing with the mobile, reaching for the blinds on the window next to the crib (we'll have to figure something out when the baby learns to do this), and alternating between jumping on the mattress and laying on it while snoring!

Finally, after about 20 minutes, I had to end the fun and to get Joey and I dressed and off to my OB appointment.

He COMPLETELY flipped when I took him out! He cried like you would imagine a boy crying after seeing his dog get run over by a bus! :) He was so upset.

So this has left me thinking. Does he think I built him and extra room - complete with a crib? Is he going to be even MORE upset when the new baby comes home and he realizes that SHE gets to sleep in this wonderful new crib? Only time will tell - but I'm starting to get really nervous for how he is going to take the arrival of the baby who is going to zap away 50% of his daily attention!

Getting Ready for Baby

The nursery for the NEW baby (I still feel like Joey is my baby) is starting to come together! Last night Chris finished rebuilding the entertainment center that is going to be her armoire. It's painted a beautiful white and when you open the cabinet doors there is a bead board backing and a rod with all of her cute clothes hanging up! It looks fantastic!

The finished armoire got me motivated to work on her dresser/changing station and finish buying the things I need for her crib. Joey and I made a trip to Babies R Us today and bought all the mattress pads, extra crib sheets, changing pad, changing pad covers, burp clothes, a pretty pink blanket, and a whole host of other things!

I'm so excited for Chris to come home and see her dresser all set up and decorated. My favorite part is the home made frames I crafted last night to match her bedding!



Her crib came in the other day and Chris is going to pick it up on Wednesday night and hopefully assemble it too! :)

Still on the to-do list for the nursery is to buy a rug, move the glider from Joey's room to the baby's room, buy a small side table to go next to the chair, paint some picture frames, finish making her bow holder (another craft of mine), buy a camera for the baby monitor.... The list goes on and on! But at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!

Once the nursery is done I can move on to other things we need - such as a double stroller!! All these things to buy!! So much fun - I couldn't be happier to shop! Just hope Chris is happy when he sees all the bills - oh wait, I pay the bills - we're safe!! :)