Happy Halloween!

Hope you have had a fantastically spooky Halloween! We went back and forth about what Logan was going to be, and were sure for a while he was going to be Elmo. Then we found a Thomas candy collecting bucket that he really liked, but no Thomas costume in his size, so instead he became a train conductor. The favors from his party (a train whistle and hat) helped a lot! I really am a fan of homemade costumes, so while this wasn’t really “made”, I’m on the right track!

We didn’t really want to go trick or treating exactly, but we had 2 invites from friends to bring him by, Bestie and the R’s…and we had a great time! Of course Peter’s camera broke (really BROKE) right when we got to the R’s, but M managed to get some adorable pics for us!

This face he is giving me is priceless…okay, okay, pictures, I get it!

The hat was an interesting battle. He wanted NOTHING to do with it on his birthday. Yesterday I tried getting him to put it on, again, nothing. I was like, well, your costume is really nothing without that, oh well. They had a little Halloween celebration at school today and I had to bring his costume. I told Mrs. C “He won’t wear the hat” and when I picked him up today, what do you know, he had the hat on! She works magic I tell you!

Just cheezin’ it up for the camera!

The R’s do not get a lot of trick or treaters, so they may have given Logan ALL their candy. Ahem, we know who the center of attention is around here!

The stop at the Bestie’s was fun too, they however get bombarded with kiddos!  Enough that Mr. Bestie was actually using a ticker to keep track of how many they had. She took what I’m sure is an adorable picture, but is no doubt still answering her door! Logan was sad to leave until Bestie opened the door and there were tons of kids there and Logan was mesmerized! I can’t wait until we’re in our new neighborhood next year for him to do some more trick or treating, when he’ll understand even more.

But, you know, we may need to still do a practice run at the R’s and A’s the night before!

Thanks for a great night guys!

PS – 2 year appointment today, post to follow tomorrow!

Birthday Fun, Part 2!

Yesterday we had Logan’s second birthday party. When it was time to plan his party I was at a loss for what we were going to do. Cue the most fabulous bestie, who was like you can have it at my house! And when I asked her about a month later, thinking she would really want to forget she ever offered that..she said, of course! Yep, she’s wonderful. Because I know for certain, even with a smallish party, this apartment would not have worked!

I’ll be honest, I had a mini-breakdown around noon (the party was at 4). It was sleeting outside, I had nearly just passed out at the grocery store, and Logan had woken up with his first major cold of the season. WHAT?!?!? But, it all turned out just wonderfully and we had a fabulous time!

Before I show you any pictures I have to also say a big thank you to my parents who did a TON of work and supplied nearly all the food. They are, as always, amazing.

My mom made this adorable banner. It was hard to get a picture, but it says, “Happy Birthday Logan”. Too cute!

There was, of course, Costco Cake.

He was SO excited to get his big present from Peter and I – a train set. We had it all set up at Bestie’s, and he was hooked for the rest of the party!

He was also quite happy about cake.

And of course, presents…a truck, fire truck, vacuum, blocks, doctor kit, Thomas DVD, shopping cart and food – you know, Logan’s dream world…

Credit for most of these photos goes to the bestie. She also managed to get a great one of the three of us!

There were guests at the party, I promise, but just not a lot of pictures of anybody except the star of the show, as usual!

I really think all of these new toys could not have come at a better time. Logan was really outgrowing some of his other things. Today he has been in toy heaven – and it really wasn’t that many things, just enough different things to make him SO happy! I didn’t pick up the camera much today (shocking!) but I did get this really cute one after Peter put his shopping cart together. It is pure happiness!

The only sad part about our whole birthday celebration was that Grandma and Grandpa K are sick and couldn’t come to the party. We hope they feel better soon, and we are excited to get to see them next weekend!

Today we did nothing but relax and stay in our pjs all morning, it was perfect! Logan’s cold was pretty yucky and he is just so sweet that he gave it to me too. We like to be the same. We did manage to do our Sunday laundry and grocery chores, and even buy the poor kid a winter coat too!

Hope you had a great weekend!

17 Weeks

Why does 17 seem like so much more than 16? We had a great birthday party today, snowflakes and all, but I’m too tired to give that post all it deserves, so we’ll just do the weekly survey today, okay? Tomorrow, birthday.

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: According to the docs scale, 3 pounds. Sounds good to me.

Stretch marks? No new ones!

Sleep: I think I really am getting a little better at getting back to sleep at night. Better, 6 hours a night is about the best I can hope for I think.

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat on Monday. That never gets old. There is also a new OB at my practice since I delivered Logan, and she was my doc on Monday. Liked her a lot, so that’s good!

Movement: Little twinges here and there.

Food cravings: I’m still on that whole COLD thing. I could have a Slurpee 3 times a day I think. Perhaps it’s a good thing there is not a 7-11 too close.

Gender: Oh, let’s be honest, I have no idea.

Labor Signs: Nada.

Size of baby: Onion

What I miss: Today I really wanted a Diet Coke. Oh well.

What I am looking forward to: 2 weeks until the big u/s!

Milestones: No big ones this week…I’ll take it!

This pic was taken after a LONG day – and my stomach is always bigger at night. But anyway, for the sake of the blog, here it is…

Friday Night Leftovers

• It’s October 28. And it is 45 degrees outside. REALLY? I’m all for cold, but it’s a little early.
• In a supreme mommy fail, my child does not yet have a winter coat. He has his hoodie he wears, but that’s it. I need to get on that it seems.
• Logan’s party is tomorrow and there is a weather advisory for 1 – 4 inches of snow. WHAT?!?! Perhaps it’s a good thing this party is small and I don’t have to worry about many people traveling.
• PS, the likelihood that it is going to snow at all is pretty much 1%, just so you know.
• It is just cruel to get teachers thinking about snow this early.
• I made applesauce with my class today, in the crock pot with just apples, sugar, cinnamon, and water. They declared it the best food they had ever eaten and told me I should have my own cooking show. Now that, is awesomesauce for sure.
• We have one more week of school and then a 2 day teaching week! It’s not really as great as it sounds – 1 teacher workday, 1 parent conference day, and 1 holiday, but hey, we’ll take it!
• Someone I’m related to is trying out for America’s Got Talent in February (and now bestie is so excited she might not be able to sleep tonight in anticipation…hehe!).

That’s all my randomness! For more leftovers, visit Danifred! She may or may not be doing leftovers this week, but you should go see her anyway because she is just cool like that. And she has some really cute kids.

Thankful on Thursday

Oh Friday, you are so close! Here we go…

• Everyone who is lifting EVERYTHING for me. Seriously, I have to ask at least 10 times a day but people are so nice about it. Even when it means they have to stand up from their lunch to get a chair down from a stack for me.
• Rain today – Just occasionally (NOT everyday, thank you September) it is nice to have indoor recess.
• My class has been working really hard on their hallway behavior and making me pretty proud.  This is such a silly thankful, but they are trying so hard!
• The bestie, who is the best because she is letting us have Logan’s little get together at her house. Now that’s a best friend.
• Logan for waking up when the clock at least started with a 5 today, not a 3 or 4. We’ll just keep moving forward, okay?
• Some “new” clothes a friend lent me – my wardrobe doubled, but I still am very anxious to return them!
• Lower blood pressure! Woo Hoo! Good job Baby Z, good job.
• A fabulously healthy baby for a teacher at school…born on Logan’s birthday!
• Jeans tomorrow!
• The hubby, for taking care of SO many things for us.
• All of the birthday wishes for Logan. He got a special card in the mail today too, all the way from NYC! It was a hit!

Happy Friday!

Birthday Fun, Part 1

What? It’s 6am? And it’s my birthday? Come on people, I’ve already been up for an hour, you are behind on the party…

What was that? My hair is long? No problem, time for a birthday haircut!

Now that I’m looking all spiffy, let’s head out to a fancy dinner!

Plastic cups and neon lights, high class people!

This one mommy, I want this one!

Yes, macaroni is coming!

Oh, and after macaroni, a real treat…ice cream!

And guess what I got when we left? A BALLOON!!!

Then there were…presents!!!

Um, do you see all the mess? Mommy didn’t get pictures of all of it, but so I got some books, a robot, the tool kit, and a music kit…and that’s just from today! Whew, lucky boy!

Eventually the night came to an end…and there were the nightly snuggles with mommy…can we hold on to those for another year?

Happy birthday Buggie! Love you!

Birthday Eve

Well, I just went to see what I posted on this day last year and now I’m all teary. Oh my word, where did the year go? The past few months have been slightly trying ones around here – but I still am overwhelmed with how blessed we are. I worry so often that I am going to forget it all – that I’m not taking enough pictures, videos, notes…that one day I’ll look back and wonder what happened. I just cannot believe how quickly time is flying by.

Tomorrow morning we get to greet our little boy by singing Happy Birthday (of course, if it’s 3am as it was today, I’ll be saving the song for a few hours...). For now, here’s his letter for this year. I always hope one day he’ll read it and know just how incredible he has always been.

*******************

Dear Logan,

You are TWO! I’m not quite sure how it happened, but you’ve turned into a little boy on me in the past few months. You are such a sweetie and tonight I was reminded of that as I was putting you to sleep. I put you in your crib and you asked me to lay down beside you. I did for “2 minutes” as you say, and then I sat up and told you good night. You put your little face right up to the bars of the crib and I got close and you gave me a kiss, patted my face, and said “night night mommy.” A perfect end to a perfect second year.

You have changed so much this year. You don’t just walk or run, but gallop. You’re latest trick is to try to gallop up the stairs – and I’m sure somehow you’ll figure it out! You love to have your daddy chase you and then tell him “away daddy!” and watch him go so you can chase him instead. You LOVE all things that move:  trains, buses, cars – and play with them constantly. When we go on walks and you’re in the stroller you wave to everyone and when we’re at the grocery store you tell the cashier to “have a good day!”

Every morning we have quite a haul to get to school, and during that time you always take one shoe and sock off – just one! I get it on and when we go up to the door at school you are so excited to go in, but usually remember to turn around and say bye bye and I love you.

There have been plenty of nights lately when you’ve needed your daddy or I in the middle of the night. We’re glad we can be there for you to help make it better, whatever it might be.

You are so independent and want to do everything on your own. You’ll still hold our hands very willingly though when we’re outside and you are still such a snuggle bug at night and when you’re not sure of the people around you.

A lot’s going to change in the next year, but one thing that won’t is how much your daddy and I love you. You have taught me all about being a mommy, and made me such a better person. Even when you have those few temper moments I try to remember that you’re just trying to learn to be 2 and the world is a big place. I’ll always be here to help you through it.

Thank you for making me smile and for helping me keep everything in perspective. You are, simply, incredible. I love you!

Mommy

Birthday Week!

Guess who turns TWO this week? I’m in denial. See? He’s just so cute and snuggly…

Daddy and Logan took a nap together on Saturday, and this was what happened when I started trying to wake both of them up…I love that bedhead!

Anyway, yes, look for lots of sap around here this week. I mean, TWO? I thought one was rough, but two is, well, a boy. Not a baby.

Right now on the agenda for his actual birthday is a haircut (because who doesn’t need a birthday haircut?) dinner with mommy and daddy, and presents from mommy and daddy. Then on Saturday we’ll have a small party. Nothing big this year, we’re taking a one year hiatus on the big parties until we’re in the house (Well, let’s face it, we have no space and have been told to relax and destress. So low key it is). There will be cake and perhaps even a train or two, so I don’t think Logan will be too distraught.

One of the other teachers at school is pregnant and is due Nov. 1. Which, in pregnancy language, means she is DONE right now. You know, as in, okay baby, let’s do this, now! And as ready as I know she is, I also remember how ready I was and how I did everything possible to help a certain little boy decide to come out (walks, walks, walks). It’s funny how I was so ready to speed that up – and now I just want him to slow down!

Speaking of pregnancy, I had my doctor’s appointment today. Baby’s heartbeat was great (ahem, he/she is a mover and it took a while to find. Cue anxiety attack). My blood pressure was actually really good – 128/74 (clearly they took that before they took their time to find the heartbeat…)! That is still higher than it usually was with Logan, but considering I’ve been at 150/84 or so with this one, it was great! I have really been working to destress and let some things go, and hopefully it will keep working! No new placenta news, and they really don’t expect it to move until around 26 or 27 weeks…so I’ll stay on pelvic rest until then, unless an ultrasound shows something different. Our big anatomy ultrasound is November 14!

Hope you made it through Monday!

Weekend in Review

• Friday night: I already talked about this yesterday, but I had the MOST fun with some fabulous friends! It even made the big traffic jam on the way back so worth it (only in NoVA would you sit in a 6 mile back up at 10:30 at night…). And, I got some cute new accessories as a bonus!
• Saturday morning: We had a ROUGH night with the boy, sleep was not good…but, he then slept until 7:30 on Saturday morning!
• Saturday afternoon: Both boys (hehe) took a nap and I got to do nothing but relax…ahhhh…
• Saturday night: We took Logan to my parents for the night and enjoyed a date! We went to dinner at Sweetwater (yum, yum!) and then we capped off our big night out by buying Logan’s birthday presents. I think he’s going to be pretty excited!
• Sunday morning: We went to the park to play with the J’s! They were visiting from NC for a work conference, and we were glad they had some time to play too. We also got to have a yummy lunch at Moe’s!

Do you know how hard it is to get a 2 and 4 year old to both smile? Ah, 1 out of 2 isn’t too bad – and Logan’s look is cute, whatever you call it!

We also got several looks at the house this weekend! Here it is, can you believe it???

Hope you had a great weekend too!

16 Weeks

How far along? 16 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: According to my bathroom scale I’m still the same, we’ll see on Monday at my official 16 week appointment.
Stretch marks? No new ones!
Sleep: Well, Logan isn’t sleeping great, but when he does I think I MAY be sleeping a little better!
Best moment this week: I had the MOST fun with friends last night, and I SO needed it. I think it was a big help for the blood pressure, so much laughter has to be a good thing!
 Movement: Occasionally I feel a little something, but who knows.
Food cravings: COLD. But not like ice cream, like Sprite with ice and slurpees. I haven’t actually had a slurpee lately, but maybe this afternoon.
Gender: I called the baby a girl in my head this week. I’m still convinced it’s a boy, but it was an interesting moment.
Labor Signs: Nada.                 
Size of baby: Avacado
What I miss: This week I’ve missed carrying Logan without worrying that I’ve carried him too much (per the doc’s orders I’m not supposed to carry him places, but can pick him up – just not for extended periods of time).
What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat on Monday – I always need that.
Milestones: Oh, an ER visit! Now we’re the same as Logan, so let’s call it even and behave Baby Z! 
Here I am…

Thankful on Thursday

• Tomorrow night I get to have a total girls night and hang out with some of my favorite people. I am so excited!
• Grandma F for watching Logan tomorrow! Daycare is closed and she took the day off to take care of Logan – I don’t think she’s too sad about it!
• One of my teammates for helping me with a situation at school today – there is a reason we don’t do this job in isolation!
• Yummy calzones that we had for dinner – and I still have half for lunch tomorrow.
• We get to see the J’s this weekend! We are just hitting the jackpot for seeing friends lately, we are so lucky!
• My very thoughtful sister-in-law for giving me a call to check in today. Hard to believe I am going to have my first niece in 2.5 months!
• Knock on wood, the new sleep routine is working at the moment for Mr. Logan, for getting to sleep at least.
• Baby Z has been behaving quite well since Sunday, no issues at all (eh, minus the worry of course).
• Jeans tomorrow! WAHOO!

Wordless Wednesday–All Smiles

Just Some Random Thoughts…

• I officially got put on pelvic rest today. Apparently the OB looked at my ultrasound, not just the ER doc, and decided to do that. All righty then. Bake away baby, bake away. And move placenta, move!
• I am quite confused about my child and sleep. So for a full month in the apartment Logan was going down just like he always did since about 15 months – without fuss at all. The in the past 5 days it has been like the world is ENDING when I try to put him in his crib. Last night he cried it out for a little while and crashed eventually. Being in an apartment we don’t feel like we can do that for an extended period of time, so tonight I just went and laid by his crib. I have to leave the door open because it is ridiculously squeaky and if he goes to sleep then he wakes up when I leave. So I left the door open, laid down for 5 minutes…and he was still awake. So then I said, “Logan I’m going to leave the door open but I’m going to go out.” And he said, “Okay.” And um, that’s where he is now. No more crying, and I do believe he is asleep. The door is still open. Maybe he developed some fear of it being closed? I dunno. But I’ll go with it, that’s easy enough to be okay with.
• Logan is really into imaginary play now, including driving his cars everywhere. The funniest part is that he likes to use our legs as roads, and he insists that we put them certain places. Yesterday he held Peter’s leg up when he was lying down and said “up, stay up.” I figure he’s just our personal trainer, giving us some strength training.
• Oh, my boys reading, I just can’t get enough of that!

• But wait, the best picture of the day! A ROOF!

• Um, I do not do reality TV with real people, well, besides Biggest Loser. BUT – bestie got me watching X-Factor and now I just randomly watch it and good grief, I won’t spoil anything for her, but whew, that show is a tear jerker!
• I am reading the best book I’ve read in a while – The Mill River Recluse. It’s a little predictable, but I like it. I’m pretty sure I’ll finish it tonight and that’s kind of sad, I hate to finish a good book!

All right, that’s all our randomness for today. Here’s to us actually doing something one of these days so you poor people get a decent blog…

Real Men Wear Eggplant

Last year Logan had a purple (eggplant) rugby shirt that I loved…

Peter was really unsure about it because he doesn’t wear a lot of purple himself. But I thought it was the handsomest thing. It was from Old Navy, size 12 – 18 months.

Well, I went shopping a few weeks ago and found a great shirt! It wasn’t until I was looking at pictures from this weekend that I got some serious déjà vu…

Old Navy, size 18 – 24 months. The stripes are clearly SO much thicker, so obviously I didn’t buy the same shirt twice or anything, that would be just crazy. Who, me?

I still think it’s hysterical that people say the fun thing about girls is all the outfits. I happen to have a blast dressing this little boy…I mean, it’s not dresses, but I still get to dress somebody up everyday. I enjoy the clothes once they are bought, fit, and then we can wear them. Right now we’re in this in between stage where everything is too big or too small. Grandma F has been doing lots of tucking and hemming for us (note to self…I should do this myself).

Anyway, today was nice and BORING! That is good stuff around here! There was lots of everybody checking on everybody and I’m trying to take it relatively easy (first graders love to be helpful, that helps!). I appreciate everybody’s good thoughts so much, we are so loved!

Well, Then.

I need to go to sleep, but let’s write this down quickly for the memory books, shall we?

I was minding my own business at Target today, had to go to the bathroom, and BAM. The most dreaded thing of all during pregnancy. Blood. Bright red, ugh, what is happening, seriously, what the heck, all of that. I was by myself, so I came home quickly and told Peter. I had spotting with Logan and have had some spotting here and there with this pregnancy too. But this was beyond my comfort zone. So, we called the doc and Grandma and Grandpa F. And once they got here, off to the ER we went.

4 VERY long hours later, with one of the longest and quietest ultrasounds I have ever had, we got the news that the baby is fine, and I have a mild case of placenta previa. It is still early enough that it will hopefully correct itself in the next few weeks, but they will have to watch it for a little while. I go back to the doctor in a week to see how it’s all going.

So, now I wait. And I try to stay calm with any slight bleeding and know that all is okay. A huge thank you to my parents for coming over quickly and watching Logan. No instructions necessary, out the door we went, and it was so nice to be at the hospital and not have to worry about how he was doing.

I think after all that we need a little pick me up, okay? Here ya go…a little boy laughing so hard he put his hands up to cover his face. He thought these goggles were the best things ever.

I’m off to be calm.

15 Weeks

How far along?15 Weeks                                                                                    
Total weight gain/loss: When I had to go to the doc this week she was quite happy with my weight, and based on this week I’ve gained one pound overall. Stretch marks? No new ones!                                                                      Sleep: I fall asleep fine, it’s the waking up and not being able to get back to sleep that’s killing me. I had a good nap today!                                                Best moment this week: Hearing that beautiful heartbeat at my surprise doctor’s appointment. Big bonus and I needed it.                                   Movement: I *might* be feeling a few little twinges here and there. We found out at our NT Scan that I have an anterior placenta again, which is not a big deal but means that my placenta is in the front instead of the back, so it’s like a pillow that prevents me from feeling the movement as strongly. So, I’m not really willing to admit that’s what it is, but I think it might be. I first felt Logan around 18 weeks, so this would be fairly normal for a 2nd pregnancy I think. Food cravings: None really?!?!                                                                 Gender: Oh, I have no idea.
Labor Signs: Nada.                                                                                                                        Size of baby: Naval Orange
What I miss: Not being itchy.                                                                           What I am looking forward to: Starting to think about some purchases…Milestones: My first unplanned doctor’s appointment of either pregnancy! I went to the ER with Logan, but never an unscheduled trip to the doc. Let’s just keep it at that one time, mmmkay?

Here I am at my parents house this afternoon!

Happy Weekend!