Finding Our Groove

In the past month or so, we have really gotten into a good little groove around here. I think it's safe to say we sailed through the hostile waters of the 16-20 month stretch that were filled with tantrums and frustration for both of us and finally moved into a peaceful stage. 

We still have our moments but they are usually pretty predictable now. I can almost guarantee a meltdown around 11:30-12ish (pre-lunch and pre-nap time) and another one around 5ish (again, pre-dinner and pre-bed time).  However, we've even learned how to navigate those a little better. Overall, this girl is making us laugh more and more on a daily basis. I am loving how chatty she is and how she attempts to repeat almost anything we say. 

She's got friends now that she talks about all of the time. She asks about her friend "Elno" (Eleanor) almost on a daily basis as well as "Books, beebee, and meow" (Brooks, baby Clayton and their cat). We often talk about "Nana, Gare, and Bacey" (Nana, Grandpa Gary, and their dog Macy). It's so fun to have small conversations about other people and to see her get excited about friends. 

 We both like to get out of the house in the mornings. This usually involves either a trip to the gym, Seeds of Promise at our church, a play date, a walk, a trip to the mall, the library, or another random activity that may come up. We come back for lunch, both take a nap, watch some type of show in the late afternoon, and then play with daddy when he gets home. We are pretty predictable these days but I love it.

Just when we've gotten into this great little routine, we are about to add a new-born baby brother and mess up this toddler's predictable world. I fully anticipate a few weeks of adjusting but I imagine we will find a new normal. Luckily the weather is turning nice so I anticipate a lot of outside time and walks around the neighborhood. Adelyn has also recently grown in her affection for babies so hopefully she'll be excited to have one around.

I'm 8.5 months pregnant and feeling every day of it. It seems as though time slows down in these last few weeks. Days seem a little longer and weeks seem longer than they should. Either way, little man Tyler will be joining us no later than April 30th. I hope to go into labor before then but in case I don't, April 30th will be our date!

Lastly, Adelyn has entered into a stage of wanting to do things without help. The picture below can give you an idea of how that is going.

OK, so it's really not that bad. She had a series of falls within 2 days that all left their marks on poor little lady's face. Just in time for Easter too. 

18 days until our lives change forever. I want to try to soak up all that I can with this little lady during that time. Now only if my body would keep up with what I want to do!

Waiting for Nana

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was great. The whole family came in town so we were busy around here. 

My brother Will or "Uncle whoa" as he was named my Adelyn was the first to arrive on Friday night. He and Adelyn became buddies fast. 

Saturday morning my parents got in. The day filled up fast with gardening, playing outside, a trip to Sams, and dinner at Shakespeares. 

I was really glad to finally get our garden planted. Since I am 8 months pregnant, I don't have the ability to get down and dirty with the compost, soil and planting. Every time Austin had some time to do it, it snowed! So I was relieved to finally find a day where we could get the cold-weather seeds in. 

As you can imagine, Adelyn was a huge help through the process. 

At the end of the day, Uncle Will revealed a surprise for Adelyn that I am not sure how I feel about...

Yep, she's got her own little four-wheeler. Luckily she doesn't quite understand how to work it yet but you can see by the joy on her face that this is going to be a fun thing for her. My mom told me that MY reaction to the gift was almost as entertaining as Adelyn's.

Sunday we all went to church and then out to Sophia's for brunch. It was there that my sister and brother-in-law met up with us. Afterwards we went back to our house for a little Easter egg hunt and spending time outside in the beautiful sunshine!

Looks like they were both eating the same kind of candy in this picture. 

This is one of my personal favorites. Both Adelyn and Sophie are chasing the bubbles and have pretty much a similar expression.

Like I said before, the weekend was great. Adelyn was so wound up from it all (and probably the candy) that it took her almost an hour to go to bed. She finally gave in but it took some work!

Happy Easter everyone.

35 Weeks

What's up week 35?

I'll be honest, you haven't been too kind to me but I'm taking it in stride. I've upgraded to Pepsid AC and that has changed my life. That might be a bit of an exaggeration but it really has helped a lot. 

What's interesting about this second pregnancy is that I'm not as phased by discomfort. I don't freak out when I'm not sleeping at night. I don't throw (as many) pity parties over my body not cooperating with all I want to do, etc. Having kids changes you for the better in a lot of ways and I really do see the fruit of that in this pregnancy. Hopefully it will be the same when baby boy decides to show up. 

Today was a good day. We are FINALLY getting some Spring weather and we have been enjoyed every minute of it. Adelyn loves to play outside so I love just leaving our backdoor open for her to roam in and out. After a walk today, Adelyn wanted to take her baby for a walk in the stroller around the yard. We found a way that made her feel like she was walking her baby...

Poor little lady has taken 3 big falls in the past 2 days. Every fall has left it's mark on her face too so it looks like she's been through a war zone.

This Easter weekend is going to be great. My family is coming in town and the weather is supposed to be great.

More pictures to come.

Stream of Thought about My 6 Weeks Left in Pregnancy

Women love to talk about their pregnancies.

We all have our advice, horror stories, strange symptoms, remedies, and complaints. I'm no different. Even when I was not pregnant I always had my nuggets of wisdom to offer. In fact, one of those is that you need to prepare to soldier through those last six weeks.

I hate my own advice because it's so true. I have five weeks and four days left until my due date and it is taking all I have to get through the day.

My champ husband is sensing the weakness and has stepped up his game in the kid-care and house duties. In fact, he is running an errand with Adelyn right now at Sams - pretty much for the purpose of giving me some down time. Bless him.

Looking back, I didn't realize how easy I had it being pregnant with no kids. It's a whole different ball game with an early to rise, short napping, on-the-go, 22 month old, mommy's girl.

All that being said, I know full well how quickly I will forget the unpleasantries of pregnancy and miss the little kicks and squirms I feel all day long. I also want to cherish the little time I have left with just Adelyn. Never again will she be the only child and I want to not wish this time away or deprive her of some daughter dates we could be taking.

I'm also well aware that not being pregnant doesn't mean things will get all that easier. It's trading one kind of discomfort for another (hello, sleep deprivation). However, I think I will be a little less grumpy about waking up to a baby who needs me rather than acid reflux burning away at my esophagus.

One thing I was very encouraged by today was when my friend Jen brought over her infant, Adelyn was ALL ABOUT THE BABY. She brought him toys, bounced him in his seat, covered him up with a blanket, and talked about the "bee-bee" for a while. Lets hope the affection for babies continues!

Lastly, here are a few random pictures taken with my phone over the past few days.

Shakespeare's lunch with some lady friends:

Adelyn testing the boundaries of Time Out:

Boxes provide so much entertainment:

32 Week Update

I'm a bit overdue for a pregnancy update.
The poor middle child is already getting lost in shadow of his big sister.

"Baby Ty"
Tyler William is currently the size of a honeydew. He is approximately 4.5 pounds and 19 inches tall. His nursery is 90% ready for him minus a few odds and ends that I still need to get (changing pad, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, and other miscellaneous things.)

My Body
I'm at 32 weeks and am feeling every part of it. At the end of the day my body is DONE. Every part of my body seems to be threatening me in some way. The Braxton Hicks contractions yell, "Chill out woman. Too much lifting, bending, and walking." My lower back chimes in, "No more! Please no more! Sit down! No, not the toddler again! Laundry day? Shoot me now!" Not to mention the pitiful cries from my bladder, "No room! Don't sneeze! Whoops."

Anxieties
I've been talking to my doctor a lot about avoiding a 2nd C-section. I'm a good candidate for a vbac even though I had a c-section with Adelyn but there are a lot of unpredictables beyond my control. I'll say this, I REALLY don't want to have another c-section. Healing up from that while taking care of a toddler will be next to impossible without daily help for a few weeks. Gosh that would be hard. After having a c-section, being induced is out of the question so I simply have to hope and pray that my body goes into labor naturally and on time. At around 39 weeks, I'll be trying out about every home remedy and suggested method of putting myself into labor. It should be humorous.

One thing that I am growing increasingly worried about are the post-baby weeks. Adelyn and I have gotten into a great little routine that seems to work for us. This always involves getting out of the house in the morning. The days that we don't go do something in the morning result in a cranky child, a frazzled mama, and a rough day. Add some sleep deprivation and some post-partum hormones to that and it is a recipe for disaster. I'm worried.

Symptoms
I had forgotten how much the 3rd trimester starts to resemble the 1st (minus the sickness thank goodness). The cravings, fatigue, hormones, and other strange symtoms make one final visit on their way out. I have been LOVING milk lately. I want it with every meal. It is so freaking good. I also crave popcycles frequently. A simple, fruity popcycle makes my day. I'm also tired. Probably because I'm not sleeping as well thanks to the extra 20 pounds strapped to my midsection. The body pillow has helped but nothing can keep the acid reflux from making a midnight visit. Overall though, this pregnancy has been easier than my first- just more tiring. Especially now that I'm in the home stretch.

Anticipation
While most of this post may come off with a negative tone, I do want to clarify that I am growing increasingly excited to have Tyler join our family. I look forward to having a swaddled little baby in my arms. I look forward to seeing Adelyn meet her new brother. I love my brother and sister dearly and am so excited for Adelyn and Tyler to have that with each other. I anticipate many tears when seeing them meet one another. I look forward to the sweet baby noises, cuddles, and sweetness that comes with a newborn. I also look forward to ENJOYING this child and not stressing about naps, eating, and a schedule like I did with Adelyn. I want to be more go with the flow and not get so stressed about bad habits or how much sleep he should be getting. I just look forward to doing this all again now that I have some experience. Not that I know what I'm doing but I won't be freaking out at the fact that I DON'T know what I'm doing.

Seven weeks and 5 days left. But who's counting, right?

Puddle Play

Sometimes a little gal just needs to play in some mud puddles.

As the massive amount of snow FINALLY melts away, we are left with a swampy back yard. My outdoor loving gal has been cooped up too long inside and was in need of some outside time.

 She of course immediately found the muddy puddles that have formed and spent most of her time stomping around in them.

At first I cringed at how wet and muddy she was getting and pleaded with her to play in the snow, not the mud. However, I quickly learned that I was wasting my breath and let her have her way with the mud puddles. 

Somebody else was glad to have some quality outside time as well...

I'm thinking some rain boots will be necessary for the Spring.