Nice moves!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Jack must have had a great time in the Church Nursery today, because he didn't even acknowledge me when I came to pick him up. He was too busy sharing Cheerios with one of the nursery workers. The ladies always tell me how good and sweet Jack is, which would make any mom feel good, but then I always wonder if maybe they're just being nice. Today, they told me how much fun Jack had in the pink Jeep walker. The one lady almost took a picture, but didn't know what Jack's dad would think if he saw him cruisin' around in a pink car. :) I told Jon the story as we were leaving church and we both thought maybe a walker would be a good thing to keep Jack occupied and out of trouble.
Jon had wanted to go gate shopping anyway. Jack had breached my frugal attempt at a stair blockade on more than one occasion.

Instead of a door gate, Dad was pretty intent on purchasing this gray, plastic corral thing that I really did not want in my house. So we decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Babies R Us and Target, with a stop for lunch on the way.

The interesting part of this decision is that this is something we never could have done in the past few months. Since I thought we were going home right after chuch I hadn't packed any lunch for Jack. But, as we've been transitioning away from baby food recently, I figured we could make it work. And we did! We went to one of our favorite lunch stops - Jason's Deli. Besides the great food, I love this place because they have free mufins, crackers and frozen yogurt. I'm a sucker for free stuff! They were also recently rated as a top kid-friendly restaurant in Parents magazine. So, while Jon and I dined on a Taco Salad and a Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich, Jack chowed down on a gourmet hot dog, organic apples, organic whole milk, cornbread and gingerbread muffins, half of Daddy's pickle, graham crackers, and a few licks of Mommy's frozen yogurt. I also ended up picking a large portion of this food up off the floor before we left, but all in all it went well. It seems so simple, but this is a new freedom for us. I think we're going to enjoy it!

After an extra-long lunch, we explored our options at Babies R Us. We found a few walkers and let Jack test drive one down the aisle. He then proceeded to go backwards throughout the store (he never figured out forward motion), laughing all the way. Jon and I were getting a good laugh too. Too bad for Tank, his current weight exceeded the limit on all 3 walker options. :(

While Jon studied the ugly, gray, plastic corral. I inspected double-strollers. Man those are big! And we also checked out toddler beds. (Will Jack every lie still enough to sleep in one of those?)

Anyway, I'm proud to say that by the end of the day we finally came home with a gate! And also a small car/push thinger on wheels. Jack's not crazy about sitting on the car, he usually takes a nosedive off the side. And as for the pushing option, he hasn't yet realized he's supposed to move his feet at the same time, resulting in more than one face plant. I wish toys came with average attention spans listed on the box, along with weight recommendations. This new toy was good for about, eh, 7 minutes of fun. And then he was off to some new adventure. But not upstairs. Surprisingly, now that we have a gate, he doesn't even attempt to climb the steps. It's like they don't even exist. In fact, it's worked out so well, that I think we may need to get another one for the kitchen.

A little basil anyone?

Oh Baby!

Yay, appointment day finally arrived! This afternoon we got to see our little baby on the big screen!
Everything looked great! Only one baby (phew!), and despite the location of my recent weight gain, the baby is really in my belly, not my rear. Speaking of weight gain, I'm up 3 lbs. I think that's normal. ?? Which means I'm only allowed to gain 22 more. Haha, yeah right!
Anyway, we saw #2 right away, and his/her heart was beating away at 154 bpm. Which is what Jack's was early on. So I'm thinkin' (and www.babybpm.com agrees), this might be another boy.

And the Chinese Gender Predictor is saying the same thing:


*sigh* I love ultrasounds. Despite the minute-by-minute, gag-inducing reminders that there is definitely a baby in there, it's always good to see the little one and know everything is right on track. Unfortunately, our pictures didn't turn out that well. But we could see its hands and feet moving around. And even some of the facial structure. Although it was a little harder to concentrate this time around because Jack wouldn't sit still. What else is new? I didn't think it was worth it to get a babysitter for a 15 minute appointment, and Jon didn't want to miss out on the photo op. So he held Jack, and tried to make whatever was happening on the screen seem exciting, but Tank was more interested in playing with the lamp.



The doctors say I'm 11 weeks, 1 day today. I think I'm only 10 weeks. #2 measured right in the middle at 10 weeks, 4 days at the ultrasound. Which to me, considering my first kid was slightly on the larger side, means my date is probably more accurate. But the doctor's always win. They're sticking with my April 14 due date. Now don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be 1 week closer to the glorious second trimester. But I'd hate to end up overdue, and have a doctor threatening to evict my child at 42 weeks when I'm really only 41. I guess that's still a ways off, and if things go the way they did with Jack it won't be an issue anyway. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go pull my cranky didn't-get-a-good-nap-this-afternoon little boy out of the trash can.

1st trimester woes and whines

Tomorrow I'll be 11 weeks! Only 1 more week (or 2 or 3 depending on who you're talking to) until I'm in the second trimester. Wow, it's went fast! Speaking of going fast, my belly popped out right around 6 weeks. But worse than that, my hips and thighs seem to have reverted right back to where they left off with Jack in October. Yikes! So at this point, I can barely fit into my old jeans even if I'm wearing a BellaBand. Yes, I will freely admit that I've already donned the maternity jeans, but c'mon, they're so comfortable!!

One of the first questions I get asked when people find out I'm expecting is how I'm feeling.
"Ugh, sick. But not as bad as with Jack."
To which everyone usually responds, "Ohhh, that must mean it's a girl!"
I've heard too many stories that do not affirm that tale, so we shall have to wait and see!
Anyway, I don't have any food aversions this time around, but am definitely feeling some cravings. Then again, that could just be me taking advantage of this IMMENSE HUNGER I've been feeling for the past 5 weeks. All I can say is, I can't get enough chocolate milkshakes, Chick-Fil-A and by-golly if I could find a place that sells sticky buns around here I'd be eating one of those a day too. (And thank you Facebook friends for all the great sticky bun recipes, I plan on making them but I'm afraid I'll ruin my husband's strict diet.)

Also, my acute sense of smells is back! Twice now I've driven through a particular part of our neighborhod and was overwhelmed with the scent of smoked bologna. Which only meant I HAD to have some. I didn't know what the stuff was really called, so it took a while for the grocer man and I to find me the biggest hunk of summer sausage. We had a party at our house that day, I ate about half of it with some crackers and cheese, just like I had dreamed about...

Of course, a keen sniffer definitely has it's drawbacks. Especially when it comes to the foulest smelling 11 month old poop I have EVER SEEN! I don't know what's going on with Jack's GI track this week, but it's been almost unbearable. And to top it all of, he's suddenly decided he no longer likes getting his diaper changed. So now he yells, wiggles, rolls over, puts his hands "down there", kicks his feet into the dirty diaper, and then grabs it and swings it over his head. Needless to say, this job has gotten extremely messy.

This morning was no exception. After wiping down Jack's diaper area, feet, hands, and anything else that obstructed my diaper changing efforts, I went to deposit a full-to-capacity diaper into the diaper pail. Only to discover the bag had run out. Now don't get me wrong, I love my Diaper Genie. That thing is a lifesaver for people with touchy gag reflexes. Except when the bag runs out. So not only did I have to put the steaming object into the bag MYSELF but I also had to open the bag of old, reeking diapers to do so. And then close it back out, with a puff of stale air, to tie it shut. I was dry-heaving the entire time. Jack thought this was the most hilarious thing ever. And, no lie, 5 minutes later he pooped again. Geesh Jack, a little recovery time would be nice!

After our morning walk he and I were playing on the couch. Sometimes we get a little wild. But with a spirited baby I don't think I'm in danger of "over activity." Anything to wear the kid out a little. Anyway, all the jiggling and laughing must have stirred something up because mid-laugh he burped-spit all over my shirt. It smelled like rotten Kix, which is what he had been snacking on after breakfast (plain Kix, not rotten ones). I immediately commenced to dry-heaving again. And Jack got in another good laugh.

Aside from the cravings and smells, there are some days when I just feel like crap. Days when I don't feel like changing out of my pajamas and just want to lay on the couch and watch girly movies. But fortunately, these days are few and far between, although I have managed to get through both Anne of Green Gables movies recently. [These are the perfect not-feeling-so-hot movies, except when you're a hormonal preggo. I pretty much bawled through the majority of "The Sequel."]

Most days, I just feel like I'm about to throw up at any time, and then I get really tired between 1-5pm. I've only actually thrown up once, which is why I don't think this is as bad as last time. If I remember correctly I was sick at least once in morning and often in the afternoon or after dinner, for about weeks 9-14. I want to say I'm more tired this time around, but I think it's just the fact that I have an energetic little boy who likes to crawl up the stairs 20 times a day and throw things into the toilet and bathtub. (Did I mention I WILL be buying a gate this week!)

The truth is, I think my 11 month old baby and my 11 week old fetus have been conniving behind my back. I can tell they're already going to be best buds:

#2: "Hey big bro, I'm going to be going through a growth spurt the next three days and am really laying the hormones on Mom. This would be a good time for you to learn how to wipe all the pictures off the fridge and fulfill your dream of dumping the dirt out of Mom's plants."

Jack: "Great idea sib. How 'bout I wear Mom out so much with chasing me up and down the stairs that she's too tired to make lunch and NEEDS her Chick-Fil-A. I know how much you love a #1 combo with no pickle!"

#2: "Deal bro, you got it!"

And so it goes. Suffice it to say, after the morning I've had, I will be taking Jack gate-shopping this afternoon and buying myself a chicken sandwich on the way!

Time in terms of a bookshelf

This is our Ikea bookshelf. I love, love, love this thing. And so do many people we know. I think I could name at least 10 of our friends and family members who own the exact same one. Jon and I are avid readers, it's my favorite hobby! So we use this shelf to hold our dearest, most-used literature. And since the shelves are so deep there is plenty of space in front to display other things. (My husband is a total knick-knacker, if that's a word). I counted the other day - of the 16 boxes, 7 hold Jon's books, 7 hold my books, and 2 are neutral. :) It is obvious which boxes belong to which family member. Jon's shelves hold titles like "The Holy Qur'an," "The 9/11 Commission Report," and "Understanding Terror Networks." I, on the other hand, have one shelf entirely devoted to my current baby/pregnancy reads, another shelf composed of my favorite authoresses - Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontes. And then a number of classic American titles, including the entire "Anne of Green Gables" collection which Jon prefers to keep hidden behind a large picture because "they're ugly."

So what does this bookshelf have to do with time and being a Mama? Well today, I was sitting in the living room, watching my son make his rounds clearing the shelves/CD case/coffee table of any "clutter" when he pulled himself up to the bookshelf, as usual, and then proceeded to reach for the third shelf. It suddenly hit me, how quickly time flies, in terms of the bookshelf.

When Jack was just a wee babe, he'd sit quietly in his bouncy seat, contentedly staring at the rows and rows of colorful book spines. Several months ago, when he started rolling, his favorite rest stop was the bookshelf, where he'd rest his little legs on the edge until he could catch his breath and get back to rolling again. Then he started crawling, tearing books off the shelf and anything else that stood in the way. So we moved all the items (other than books) on the bottom shelf to the top 3 shelves. The next week he was pulling himself up to Shelf 2. We then cleared most of those items and moved them to the top 2 shelves. I left behind a few items that I thought were "baby safe" like my wooden animals from Africa (I was wrong, Jack managed to break an ear off the zebra) and the framed picture of Grammie and Grandpa (for some reason he loves to play with it). I figured at just over 2 feet tall and new to the whole pulling-himself-up routine, we would be able to continue on with two vacant shelves on the bottom, even if it made the whole bookshelf look a little "off." That was yesterday. And then it happened. Today he pulled himself up to the second shelf, reached up his chubby little paddy, and pulled down the candles on the third shelf. I watched in disbelief. For heaven's sake, last week he could barely keep himself on two feet, and now he can not only maintain his balance but also reach his hands over his head?! It has me wondering, how much longer before he's reaching the top shelf? And how much longer until he starts pulling books off the shelf to read to himself? Maybe Ikea makes a taller shelf ...

Get to know Jack

So I'm a big fan of Tracy Hogg a.k.a. The Baby Whisperer, which I think is a froofy name and book title, but once I got past that I found her insight really helpful. A friend recommended her book to me before Jack was born, and I've found it to be a great compliment to "Babywise." Since reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" during my pregnancy and early on in Jack's newbornhood, I've also picked up "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" and am in the midst of reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers." Wow. Toddler literature already!


Anyway, one of my favorite aspects of Hoggs books is her focus on getting to know your baby as a person, a person with individual thoughts, feelings and personality. In fact, she even has a personality quiz for your baby. She groups babies into 5 types: Angel, Textbook, Touchy, Spirited, and Grumpy. I remember reading this before Jack was born thinking, "Gosh, I hope this kid is an Angel Baby!" Ehhhh, not so much. In fact, I had a hard time figuring him out even after he was born. In those early weeks he seemed to fall somewhere between Touchy, Grumpy and a tad Spirited. But definitely not an Angel or Textbook baby. (Oh well, maybe next time.)

In the toddler book she has another quiz, which I took again on behalf of Jack and low and behold the results were loud and clear. I am the proud mother of a Spirited Baby. I read the following (paraphrased) to Jon and he announced, "That's our boy!":

• Our most active toddler, he's very physical, often willful, and may be prone to temper tantrums. He is very social and curious and will point to objects and reach out for them and for other kids early on. This child is the consummate adventurer; he will have a go at anything and is very determined. He displays a great sense of achievement when he accomplishes something. At the same time, he needs very clear boundaries so that he doesn't act like a steamroller, trampling anyone or anything in his path. Once they start crying, these toddlers have stamina and styaing power, so you're in for a long haul if you don't have a good routine going at night. They're also keen observers of their caretakers. Spirited toddlers have a mind of their own. If he's with Mum [Hogg is British], and Dad tries to pick him up, he'll push him off.
  
• Given good guidance and an outlet for his energy, however, a Spirited toddler can become a leader and very accomplished in whatever area interests him.


• Socially, a Spirited toddler has a hard time with sharing. He tends to change focus quickly, tear around the room, and flit about, playing with lots of toys.


• This baby, who has a mind of his own, may seem to resist your schedule. Or just when you think you have him on a good routine, he decides it's not working for him... Spirited babies show you what works for them and what doesn't... It takes a Spirited baby about 12 weeks to start sleeping through the night. They act as though they don't want to stay asleep for fear of missing something. They also have a hard time winding down.


• Spirited babies are typically good eaters.


• At sleep time, a Spirited baby tends to fidget a lot; you may have to block out his visual stimulation. He sometimes gets a wild, wide-eyed look when she's tired, as if there are little matchsticks propping his eyelids open.

Both Jon and I had a good laugh about how well Hogg described our son, without ever meeting him. She also has great advice on how to handle particular situations - eating, sleeping, playing, changing, etc. - based on your child's type, which I find really helpful. It also appears that I have my work cut out for me these next few years. Jack really needs some serious boundaries, but at this point my exhausted, morning-sickened self is having a hard time enforcing them. I know he understands "No," he's just having a hard time proving it. But we're making progress. I'm just wondering how many times I'll have to pull him off the stairs, steer him away from the CD rack, and shut the bathroom door in his face before we get there.

The best part about Wednesdays ...

is watching the garbage man come around!

Now Jack, in THE COUNTRY, where Mommy and Daddy grew up, the garbage man had to get out of his truck, walk around to the gargabe can, pick it up, and throw it in to the truck by himself. Here, in THE CITY, the truck has this awesome arm-thinger that can pick the can up, dump it and put it back down, all without the garbage man (or waste collector) leaving his seat. It is SO COOL!

First appointments are never that exciting

Remembering my much-anticipated first appointment last time, I knew not to expect much this time around. I had to wait a week for my referral to go through, which sent me back to the MTF (military lingo for Military Treatment Facility). And I'm okay with that. We do have an option where we could see a civilian doctor and pay deductibles/co-pays out of pocket. But we're going to give the Naval hospital another shot. Although Jack's birth wasn't my ideal experience, it really wasn't that bad. And since I'm familiar with the clinics and doctors now I'm a lot less anxious about the whole process.

I've had a few people ask me if I'd ever want to have a homebirth. I've thought about it, and it would be an amazing experience, but in the end I just don't think it's for me. (And I don't think my husband would ever go for that). We've had several friends give birth at a local midwifery center here, which would be my first choice, but for Baby #2 it's the hospital again. So we're praying for another natural childbirth, hopefully without an induction this time. I guess in some small measure it's my way of redeeming the hospital birth. My chance to show the doctors that there are people like me who want to give birth in the hospital, and want to do it as naturally as possible, and are absolutley thrilled with the experience. And now that I've said all that, back to the first "appointment"...

I recognized the nurse's voice as soon as she picked up the phone. She was there for almost every one of my appointments with Jack. She also recognized my name right away. "Haven't we seen you here before?" "Uh, yeah. I just had a baby 10 months ago." "Ohhh yeah, WOW, well ..., congratulations." We've kind of been getting that response a lot lately. It's okay people. We're really excited about being pregnant again. You can be happy for us too. :)

The doctor doesn't want to see me until 11 weeks, or somewhere around there since I'm still not sure what my actual due date is. I was just a tad disappointed. I LOVE that first ultrasound. The one that shows you a little teddy bear with a beating heart. *sigh* Eleven weeks just seems so long to wait. Oh well, I have my morning sickness and extreme exhaustion to tide me over right?

So anyway, instead of meeting with a nurse first she just asked me to stop by the clinic some time and fill out some paperwork and get my bloodwork done. So I did. In addition to peeing in a cup I also had to give 7 vials of blood. 7 VIALS! I was a little nervous about this because last time I almost fainted and the nurse had to rush me some juice and a candy bar. Well, ... it happened again! Except this time I had a man and he did not get me juice and a candy bar. :( I'm so embarrassed. I'm pretty good with needles and pain. I think it's just a mixture of being pregnant and nauseous, and losing a bucket of blood all at one time. From the moment he put the needle in I knew it was going to be bad, the blood was barely trickling through. By the second vial the corners of my eyes were starting to get black. By the third vial I had to ask him to stop. Then he made me put my head down for a little.

"Are you feeling better?" he said.

"Not really."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah ... but I can't really hear anything, is that normal?"

Apparently it is. He gave me another few seconds to recoop (which wasn't really long enough but there was a crowd of sailors outside the door and I just wanted to get out of there) and then stabbed the other arm. I don't think my blood has ever flowed so slowly before. I was tapping my foot to try to stay alert, counting down each vial as it finished. I always think it's funny how they band-aid a cotton ball to your arm. Really? It's a needle hole, I don't think I'm going to start gushing blood anytime soon. Especially since you pretty much just took it all. The band-aid on my second arm wouldn't stick. So Nurse Man proceeds to pull out 3 inch wide wrap, to hold the band-aid, which holds the cotton ball, which covers the tiniest prick in my arm. Completely unnecessary.

I ski-daddled right out of there as fast as my faint little heart could take me and immediately took myself to Chick-Fil-A for a high-carb meal complete with sugar infested Sweet Tea. I wouldn't normally fuel my little zygote with caffeine this early in the game, but he/she is lucky if she got any of that sweet tea by the time it got through my starving system.

And that was the first apointment. Phew, so glad that's behind us. Bring on the ultrasounds and dopplers please. Those appointments are so much more fun!

Hanging out with the in-laws

A few hours after Jon got home last week my in-laws pulled in to join us for the long weekend. We had a fantastic time together! I was hoping for a small break from 'round the clock mommyhood and I wasn't disappointed! Just to illustrate the extent of my break, in addition to all the fun stuff we did I still had time to start and finish an entire book! Bliss! And you want to know what was one of my favorite parts of the weekend? Waking up at 8:00 on Saturday morning, shocked that Jack was sleeping in so late, only to find that he was already in the kitchen with Nonnie, enjoying his breakfast. I think the last time I slept until 8am was when Jack was a newborn ... and waking up at 1, 3, 4:30 and 6. *Sigh*, my preggo-self thinks extra sleep is so fantastic!

But enough about how much fun I had, Jack had a great weekend too! He found Nonnie to be highly entertaining, I don't think he stopped giggling the whole weekend! On Thursday night we had shish-kabobs on the grill and I ate about half of my special treat - a bag Middleswarth BBQ chips that you can only find in Central PA. I polished off the other half the next day (don't worry, Jon got a few chips himself.) :) During dinner Jon leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Should we tell them?" I thought we had already agreed not to tell anyone this early so I quickly shushed him up and tried to go on with the meal despite that awkwardness that always follows whispering at dinner tables. The next night we ate out at Dockside. I was sitting there, enjoying my blackened salmon and steamed vegetables when I suddenly got slammed with a wave of nauseau. I spent the next five seconds figuring out how I would explain myself if I suddenly got up and got sick over the side of the dock. That was right about the time when Jon leaned over and whispered in my ear AGAIN, "Should we tell them tonight??" I was starting to feel bad, that was two awkward dinner table whisperings in two nights, what did my in-laws think of us? And so, I suppose to help alleviate the uncomfortable silence, Jon went ahead and told them anyway. The one advantage about people knowing you are pregnant is that I now feel free to whine about how sick and tired I am. And in turn, everyone is concerned with how I'm eating and suggest that I be first in line for dinner.

After we left Dockside and bought the materials needed to make Jack's shirt, we decided a round of mini-golf was necessary. We hadn't planned this ahead of time so we didn't have any arrangements for Jack. The mini-golf place is on a hill, and involves a number of steps, rocks, bridges and streams ... not really conducive to a stroller. So we decided to take turns holding Tank. Surprisingly, it worked out quite well. So well, in fact, that we had a tough time prying Jack off Nonnie when it was her turn to putt!

The next day we spent at the beach ... well, the ladies spent the day at the beach, the guys joined us after the football game, and brought Jack down after his nap. He loved splashing in the waves and playing in the sand. He has changed so much since we first started bringing him to the beach this year. He doesn't eat sand as much (although I do have to watch for seaweed and seashells) and he loves the waves and water. In fact, he will crawl across the sand and right up to where the waves meet the shore, completely unphased by the crashing water. I haven't yet decided if this is a good or a bad thing...

That night we went out for a sunset/dolphin cruise. It was a beautiful evening! The dolphins weren't as "playful" as I was imagining but it was cool to see them jumping right alongside the boat. And of course, the sunset was impressive! Poor Jack succumbed to the motion of the ocean before the boat even left the dock. But awoke just in time to see the dolphins.

On Sunday we went for a 13-or-so-mile bike ride at the State Park. This is the bike path that we used to live next to at our old apartment, and the path that I spent many, many hours on during our first year of marriage when Jon was out to sea. It was a splendid bike ride, and some much-needed exercise after all that good eatin'. Jack missed his morning nap because of church that day, and didn't take a great nap in the afternoon, so he began to get a little cranky during the second half of the trip. I was starting to worry that he would cry the entire hour it took to get back, but it soon stopped. And then I realized he had fallen asleep, his helmeted-head bouncing from side to side everytime Jon hit a bump or root in the path. Do not ask me how he managed to catch a nap while riding a bike in the woods. All I know is that I was very thankful, and that he woke up a little later in a much better mood.

Monday ended up being overcast and rainy, the perfect compliment to our mood as we waved goodbye to Nonnie and Poppy. Jack had a hard time letting go for the last hug, but we'll be seeing each other again soon when we make our next trip to Pennsylvania!

The day we found out about #2

We had just gotten back from our vacation and had a small hunch that change was in the air. Jon had just been invited to apply for a temporary position overseas which involved 3 months of training (starting in Sept.) and 6 months of work (time which we would be apart). Although not ideal, we both knew it was a great opportunity for his career. Since we're planning on being married another 70-80 years, 6 months didn't seem like too much of a sacrifice. So although not crazy about being a single mom for 6 months, I was supportive of his decision. ...And then I saw the second little line on the pregnancy test.
Now you may be wondering what cute little way I had cooked up to tell Jon. Especially after my awesome Dad pancakes last year. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as well as I had envisioned. It was August 12 and Jon had just gotten home from work (hours later than usual I might add). He immediately started talking about his application for the new job. We started to sit down to dinner and I asked him to get a "special treat" out of the oven. He opened it up and there was one lonely bun. He didn't get. "It's just a bun ... and the oven's not even warm." Then I said, "Yes, I know ... there's a BUN in the OVEN." Then it hit him. That made our decision about the overseas job much easier and I'm happy to report that my husband will be by my side throughout this whole prenancy and delivery.

I went to the clinic for a blood test that night. I was disappointed to find that I would be seeing the weird doctor that I did not like, the one that had offered me a perscription for birth control less than 2 monthes before. A perscription that I had obviously never filled. :) He walked into the room and the first thing he said was, "I take it the pills didn't work." Blah to awkward doctors!
So I'm sure some people think we're crazy for having children only 18 months apart. But we're very excited about Baby #2 and can't wait to go through the whole pregnancy, childbirth and (my not-so-favorite part) the newborn months all over again! We hated keeping it a secret but, for several reasons, originally decided to wait until the second trimester to make the big announcement. We also thought it would be more fun to tell everyone in person when we came home in October.
Well, it didn't work out that way. As many of you may know, my husband is not known for his secret-keeping-skills. The fact that he had kept this news under wraps for over 3 weeks was pretty impressive! So I wasn't too upset when he caved this weekend and alerted my in-laws to their 8th grandchild's existence over a lovely outdoor seafood dinner. We didn't want to leave my parents and the rest of our family out so we dashed over to Michael's for some iron-on letters that spelled out B-I-G B-R-O and made Jack a t-shirt to wear. The next night we sent a text message with the picture to my parents, then our siblings, and then to a few of our friends. Within a few hours the news had leaked onto good ole' Facebook and when we decided to make an "official" announcement. And that brings us to the present. Me sitting on the couch, exhausted before the day even starts, chugging water and munching on saltines. Other than some blood tests and paperwork, I haven't been to the doctor yet. I think I'm somewhere between 8-9 weeks. As of right now, my due date is April 14 but I think that will change once we have our first ultrasound in two weeks. I'm pretty sure these next 2 weeks can't go by fast enough. I hate first-trimester anxiety!! In the meantime, I'll be sure to keep you updated on all the details of second-time mommyhood!

Big News!

Jack's going to be a big brother! He doesn't quite know what it means, but he's very excited. High five big bro!

When Daddy's away, Mom and Baby play!

Jon just returned from 12 days in Detroit. It was NOT FUN being the only parent in this house! Keeping up with Jack solo wears me out. So we shifted into survival mode. Translated, I eat lots of Chick-Fil-A and completely let the house go until the day before he gets back. Without a man to impress I also occasionally go 3 days without washing my hair, and I wear my retainer to bed at night. Yeah, it's rough around here.

Like I alluded to in a previous post, the key to keeping sane with an active pre-toddler, especially without my back-up caretaker, is lots of outings. It was good to keep us both occupied. So we took numerous morning walks ... and afternoon walks. Met a few friends for lunch. Went to the beach every other evening (which also happened to be tubby nights) to splash in the waves and frolic in the sand. And went out shopping probably a little bit more than we should have. :)

It's funny how much more difficult it is, normally Jon's so busy with work and school that I tend to manage Jack-stuff on my own anyway, so you think his absence wouldn't make a big difference. But for some reason it does. I miss the 20 minutes of freedom I get when Jon comes home from work and entertains baby. I miss the one diaper change a day that somehow has fallen to one diaper change a week. I miss having someone else load up the car on Sunday nights so I only have to make 2 trips instead of 4 when I go to work on Monday. I miss having someone empty the trash and recycle bins (that's gross!). And I really miss having someone to double-team Jack with on Sunday mornings for church. That's a lot of work to accomplish by 8:15am, and even more work once we get to church. Usually we take turns holding him during praise and worship, and then I drop him off at the nursery for the sermon. But he's officially too heavy for me to hold that long and when I put him down he's off crawling under the seats. So this week the nursery staff was quite happy to see one of their favorite little boys arrive 30 minutes early. (Should it bother me that he doesn't even notice when I leave? Because he doesn't.)

But all that is passed, for now, because Jon is home and re-inforcements are on the way! My in-laws are coming for the long weekend and I'm looking forward to taking a few days off to recooperate. Someone else can keep the child out of the CDs, and would someone please teach him how to get back down the steps? Oh, and watch out for flailing arms during meal times! If you need me I'll be on the deck reading or on the couch watching Pride and Prejudice.

Sometimes I crack myself up

June 20, 1995

Dear Future Husband,
Today is my 12th birthday party, Melody, Megan D., Anna & Jill are up here with me in our upstairs cabin. That's why I'm writing on this Funky paper. I have no Idea who you are. NO OFFENSE but lately I've been thinking of [insert name of popular boy in 1995]. I don't know if you are him or not but Rebecca K. likes him to and lots of other. I practically have no hope. I really hope I can keep this vow to present to you I hope to never kiss anybody (not including brotehrs, Dads) except at the pulpit with you.

I love you,
Janine Sheree

P.S. (March 16 1996, Maybe I will when you ask me to marry you

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1.) Last names have been removed to protect the innocent.

2.) Popular boy's name was not husband's.

3.) Who kisses at the "pulpit" anyway?

4.) Good thing I added that amendment.