Everything is ready!

June 23, 2011

38 weeks and 4 days pregnant! No baby yet but we are keeping our fingers crossed! At least I am...it's way to hot outside to be this pregnant. Not much new to report yet. I'm just getting bigger and bigger but I have a feeling it will be really soon. I go to the doctor again tomorrow so we will see how much I'm progressing. I finally got all of the room stuff done (with pictures to prove it) so enjoy! They turned out really cute but they do look much better in person. The pictures never quite capture it right. Maybe I should take some photography lessons...

Jakob's Room -- everything washed and ready!

Noah's Room -- everything is usually a complete mess! Too many toys!

Noah at 2

June 23, 2011

Well, this will probably be my last blog totally devoted to Noah. After this I won't be able to be obsessed with him alone anymore, which is probably a good thing for him. We are very ready for Jakob to get here but I will miss all the time I get with Noah now. I hope he doesn't have too hard of a time adjusting. Right now, he is having a bit of a sleeping issue. He refuses to lay down in his room without either Matt or I laying next to him. He's also been waking up every night starting at about 4 or 5 crying so I have to go lay down with him again until he falls back asleep. Then we do that about every hour until he's ready for the day around 7. It's pretty exhausting and I'd REALLY like to be able to get some sleep before the baby gets here but that may not happen. I'm not sure what the deal is, just a weird attachment phase I guess. Maybe he senses that things are about to change so he's getting extra clingy. Who knows? I just hope it stops once we have the baby. Dealing with two crying kids in the middle of the night doesn't really sound like fun...

Anyway, aside from that he is doing really great! He talks up a storm about anything and everything. There's still a lot that I can't understand and he gets really frustrated with me when I don't know what he's telling me but he doesn't mind repeating it over and over and over until I finally get it. He just never gives up! He's always been that way with everything and now it's carried over to the talking. He fixates on something and doesn't let it go until I give him what he wants or he finally gets into trouble because it's usually followed by a fit. BUT, I'm really proud of his improvement in the talking area. Some of his favorite things to say right now are, "Where's Daddy?" or "Where's (insert any random thing here)?" If something pops into his head, he wants to know where it is immediately. He loves hay and cows so if he sees hay in a field he always points it out to me. Then follows with a "where's the moos (his word for cows)?" He still loves buses, trains, cars, trucks, and planes. His favorite thing to do while we drive is to name them all as he sees them. He got a couple of buses for his birthday and he drags them around with him everywhere he goes. He also got a cool slide (which is currently in our living room since it's too hot for me outside) which he LOVES! He's on it constantly and loves rolling the buses down it. He can also name most of the shapes he sees and his favorite are stars, circles, ovals, and triangles. He usually gets those right. He is also getting more interested in books and kind of likes to sit down and read a few at night. He will go through the book himself and "read" it. He likes to jabber at the words, then he points to all of the pictures and tells me what they are. He can also now recognize his name when he sees it. If we are in his room, I can point to his name on the wall and say "What does that say" and he says "NOAH!" He gets very excited about it.

We have also been trying to get him together with his little friend from Mother's Day Out since he's not going for the summer and I know he gets restless in the house with me all day. She came to his party and we've hung out with them at Chick Fil A a couple of times. They really play well together so it's fun to watch them. He's a little rough though and spends most of the time hugging/tackling her so she's learned to push him away if it's too much. I always knew he was all boy but seeing him play with a girl really makes it obvious how much different they are. He is bigger, louder, braver, crazier, and rougher. She's pretty good about hanging in there with him but mostly she just likes to laugh at him and watch him go nuts.

So that's about it. No more just the two of us...but we can't wait to meet Jakob!!

Eating butter while hanging out on the slide (the only reason I let him do this is to get a funny picture --- but he does love butter!)

Mowing with Daddy

This time around...

June 15, 2011

I've been wanting to devote a blog totally to this pregnancy and what it's been like because I know that here in a few weeks things are going to get really crazy then I won't be able to remember anything that happened, so here goes:

At this point I am exactly 37 weeks and 3 days along. With just over 2 weeks officially left in this pregnancy, I am started to get a little sentimental about it. This one will probably be my last (never say never but we have no plans for more at this point), so I'm a little sad that it's almost over. Not that I will really mind not being pregnant anymore, but I love feeling the baby move and I'll miss that. And it also means that he is almost here and will start growing up so fast that I won't even be able to believe it. I already can't believe that he is almost here. Why does everything have to go by so quickly??

I didn't really have any expectations this time around since I've never been pregnant and had a toddler to take care of, but it was a bit of a challenge. Especially in the beginning when I didn't feel good and now when I'm so big that I can't do much with Noah. But, I think that this one was even more exciting for me since I have Noah now and I know how much fun we are going to have with Jakob, especially watching him and Noah play together. Plus I haven't been NEAR as crazy with this one and was able to just relax and enjoy it a little more. For some reason, with Noah, I worried so much about everything and this time I've really tried not to do that. There are still things that you think about, and you pray for a healthy baby and problem free pregnancy (which we have had so far thankfully) but I've been able to not dwell on it so much this time. Probably because I just don't have the time for that like with Noah.

We are so glad that we are having another little boy and couldn't be happier about that. We love having boys and Matt and I both just have so much fun with Noah that I know Jakob will just add so much more joy to our lives. I think that before I found out what we were having I may have sort of wanted a girl just to get to experience both sides, but I'm really thankful now that it's a boy. It just fits us better and I know Noah will LOVE having a little brother.

This pregnancy has been freakishly similar to the first time. Nothing has been different at all, except that everything is exactly one month later than with Noah. I was sick for exactly the same amount of time, I felt great for the same amount of time, and now I'm extremely uncomfortable all of the time because his head is SO low (which is exactly how Noah was). The only big difference is that I was bigger this time. I actually haven't gained as much weight (close but a little less) but my stomach is so huge! I even got my first stretch mark right on top of my belly button. I was hoping to make it without them but oh well! It will always remind me of Jakob! I have also had worse heart burn this time, more swollen feet, and less stomach side stretching pain (which means I can actually sleep without 10 pillows). I contribute the first two to chasing Noah around all day and not eating as good as I did with Noah. I contribute the last one to having absolutely NO stomach muscles anymore...getting those back is high on my list of to-do's once I have the baby.

Everything else is pretty much ready for Jakob once he gets here. We are stocked up on diapers, monitors, strollers, wipes, gas drops, and clothes. I just need to wash everything again and dig out the ole' breast pump. I haven't really missed that thing but I'm kind of excited about starting that process again since I actually know what I'm doing this time.

So, anyway, we are really ready to meet him and see who he looks like. I had my first weekly appointment this week and I'm already dilated to a 2, 90% effaced, and the baby's head is at plus one station. For those of you who have no idea what any of that means, it means that basically I could go at anytime. The baby is very very low and in a great position for coming out soon! I also asked the doctor what she thought about his size since his heart rate has been a little lower than Noah's was at this point (around 120-130) and I'm so huge (I was kind of thinking that I had an 8 to 10 pounder in there) but she said he was still pretty small, around 6 to 7 pounds. She thought he may get up to 8 by the time he's born but he will probably be around the same size as Noah was when he was born (7 pounds 6 oz).

We will keep you posted! Keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby and problem free labor!

35 weeks pregnant (ignore the crap all over me -- Kelsey and I were in the middle of baking a cake)

35 weeks and just spent two sleepless days making a HUGE wedding cake and grooms cake

37 weeks and about to suffocate at Noah's birthday party! I was literally drenched in sweat!

Noah's Ice Cream Party!

June 12, 2011

I decided that the theme for Noah's party would be Ice Cream this year since he does really love ice cream even though he doesn't really eat it that much. Anyway, it was a fun theme and he loved it! Hunter and I spent 2 days making all the decorations, whipping up several batches of homemade ice cream, baking cupcakes, making cake pops, cleaning up the backyard, and cleaning house. Hunter even made an Ice Cream Cone pinata all by herself! It was a little exhausting for me...probably too much for being 37 weeks pregnant. I kept saying I was going to keep it simple but somehow that never works out for me. I get too carried away because I REALLY like to plan the parties and decorate!

Everything turned out really great! Kelsey made the cake and the most amazing sugar cookies I have ever had! I'm still getting messages from people about those cookies. I had them wrapped up as favors (which usually people ignore) but not this time! No one would leave without their cookie! I'd be trying to tell people bye and all they would say is "Where are the cookies?" I only had about 3 left out of a huge batch. The ice cream was also a huge hit with everyone. I made vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry-raspberry flavors. We also set up a toppings bar which made the kids all crazy. I don't think I had any ice cream left over at all. The cake was awesome too but unfortunately it completely melted on the table. It was like over a hundred degrees in that house with all of the people and kids running in and out. It really didn't have a chance. We saved what we could but Noah didn't get to blow out candles this year since the cake didn't make it. Not that he cared in the slightest. He had an absolute blast playing with all of the kids and stayed outside the entire time except when he came to eat ice cream and open presents. He was so tired that he even laid down on the slip n slide at one point and wouldn't move. Then he finally got up again after 10 minutes or so and kept right on playing. He went through about 3 outfits during the party. All of the kids were filthy because they would go from the water to the sand box then to ice cream, cupcakes, cookies, then back to the water, and so on. They all had a blast but I'm sure their parents weren't too thrilled. We had so many little kids and people there that the entire day was just a blur for me but it was a total success and probably one of the better parties that we've had. Just watching Noah have so much fun was more than worth all of the effort and I'd do it again it a second. Just gotta top it next year....hmmm....

Happy 2nd Birthday!

June 8, 2011

Noah is now officially the big 2! And big he is! Or at least he thinks so... He had a great birthday week! We started celebrating on the 8th and didn't stop until the 12th after the party was over. He ate horribly. Opened TONS of presents. Slept little. Played a LOT! Perfect week for a 2 year old.

We started off his birthday on Wednesday by getting up early and fighting at breakfast (usual routine) since he didn't want to eat anything, then I let him go outside and play with Zoe for awhile. That's pretty much all he ever wants to do these days which is a little hard for me since it is SO hot. But I made an exception for his birthday and let him do what he wanted. Then we moved onto his room and destroyed that for a awhile. He spent a lot of time trying to ride around on his tiny little toy motorcycle. It was pretty funny! Here are some pics:

Matt wasn't able to be home on his actual birthday so Hunter and I took him to Jump Zone and out for ice cream. I wasn't too sure he would be able to handle Jump Zone yet since the bouncers are really big but he loved every second of it. We took him on a regular slide first to get him started but I think they must grease down everything a few times a day there because that was the fastest slide I've ever seen! Noah flew down that thing and bounced off the ground before I even knew what had happened! I couldn't catch him because I'm so big, so he wasn't too thrilled about that incident but after that he warmed up to the bouncers and the inflatable slides. Once he finally made it down the huge slide (30 foot and VERY fast!) he was hooked! He just kept saying "more slide" and running off to go climb up the thing again. The fact that there were a lot of rowdy big kids around didn't bother him in the slightest. He was a little dare devil! Here are a few pics (my camera battery went dead so I didn't get any good pictures of him on the really big slide).

Then we took him to Cold Stone for ice cream thinking he would be really excited after working up such a sweat in Jump Zone but he really couldn't have cared less. He took about 2 bites then made friends with another little boy in there and they spent a half hour running around the store and screaming. I'm sure the workers were ready for us to leave.

Matt finally got to see Noah a couple of days later so we had another little birthday celebration at home. He got to open all of his cards and presents. He was really into opening things this year but he really liked opening the cards. I'm not sure why but he got really excited about that. His favorite thing was a train track set and he played with it until he went to bed which was when I finally pried it out of his hands and put him down still screaming for his "choo-choo".

Happy Birthday Noah! We love you SOOO much!