Halloween!

Halloween was amazing, the kiddo was amazing, the whole experience: amazing. I had no idea Halloween could feel like this again, like being a kid. This year truly was a completely new experience, especially compared to the nonevent that it was last year. The MR was totally enthused by the whole energy of the day. We had family (and a few friends) over for the night and the mister took a while to warm up to so many people in his space. After a bit, and really once the trick or treaters started showing up, he just came alive. He was so excited to see all the kids! We didn't take him trick or treating this year because frankly we didn't think the experience would count for much in his book. He might have just enjoyed the opportunity to ring doorbells. However, we definitely are beyond pleased with how things turned out the way we went. He stood sentry by the door waiting for more new faces to show up. He would screech 'Hi Guys!' and 'Bye guys!' when someone would come up, and he even managed to say trick or treat a few times by the end of the night. He also figured out how to say candy, he's a quick learner when properly motivated. BL and I were just enthralled by the gregarious and enchanting little creature we had on our hands. The night really was wonderful. See for yourself (don't miss the video at the end).

Making a Jack-O-Lantern

It suddenly occurred to us, on the eve of Halloween no less, that we needed to actually carve our pumpkin. It was getting on towards the mister's bedtime, but we figured that such an occasion is worthy of staying up just a little bit longer. We were right, that extra half hour was so worth it. It is incredible just how different the experience of Halloween is this year is compared to last. For one thing, the kiddo was SO much more interactive with the different elements of it all. This included the pumpkin carving. He wanted to touch, smell, and really process what the pumpkin was. And he certainly wanted to be a part of the carving process, though he was good enough to stand back while mommy did the actual cutting.

Too lazy for a title

Some random things. I wanted to thank everyone for their responses to my Two and Through post, it was really insightful to hear your different opinions especially coming from so many varied backgrounds. BL and I have come to the conclusion that even we won't know for sure what we want until we get there. We will go through this (hopefully healthy) pregnancy and then wait, a year and a half maybe two years, and see how we feel then. I have always used pills for birth control, something I really dislike and honestly was never very good at maintaining. So following this pregnancy I will likely look into something a little lower maintenance such as an IUD. I think we are both leaning towards the comfort of having only two, but then who knows how we will feel several years down the line. I agree with what many of you voiced, that a tubal ligation or vasectomy seems scarily permanent so early in the game. So we will bide our time and wait to see if those measures are truly warranted for us.

One other random item that made my day, I filled my tank for only $40.00 today! It's usually $60.00. I kept watching the dollars move up while pumping thinking that this was the slowest tank of gas ever, since I had been sitting there a while and it had only reached $35.00. Then *click*, all done at 40! I knew prices had declined, but seeing $2.67 on the pump and feeling twenty bucks richer sure felt good. How much is gas in your neck of the woods?

So is it sad that three days away from the internets can make me feel like I have dropped off the side of the earth? I am thinking it's probably a bad sign. However, I am glad to be back and see that I have missed some wonderful news in my absence. Ann(ie) decided to jump on the baby number two bandwagon, she wasn't kidding about that blog water ;). Go over and wish her well on this exciting news!

The reason for my absence, and lack of blogging, these past few days was a beach trip. One would think that going to the beach in late October wouldn't make sense, but then that would show just how un-Northwest you are. The beaches around here are always cold, so really a late year beach trip doesn't vary a whole lot from one done earlier in the spring or summer. You still wouldn't want to get in the water. We went out with the extended family to Lincoln City this past weekend to rest and recuperate- and to give the kiddo his first beach experience. He loved it! All of that open expanse, and the wa-wa, oh the wa-wa. That's water, for the un-initiated. He ran like the wild man he is, up and down the beach. Then up to the water, and away from the water when it came crashing back in. We also took him to the Oregon Coast aquarium, another thing he loves. MR loves feesh, he really enjoyed looking in all the tanks though he wasn't quite brave enough to try touching any of them yet. We had a great time, mostly just from watching our little mister experience all these new sensations and wonder at the little (and big) things this world has to offer. The blonde people in the following photos are BL's older siblings, fyi.

*The early preggs tiredness has caught me up, can you tell?

Two and through?

So with this new development of ours, the little bean, BL and I have come upon a new topic of discussion: will we be done after two? Way back before marriage and especially before babies we both agreed that we wanted three kids. Of course it is easy to throw out a number before you truly enter the reality of parenthood and experience all that follows. BL comes from a family with three kids, I come from one with just two. From my own personal experience, I thought I wanted three because between just me and my brother there didn't seem to be enough. So I thought about the concept of three, and when BL deemed this his ideal number I assumed that this must just be how it was meant to be. After having the mister I knew that I wanted another one. True, there were some days where I wondered if I could truly embrace the concept of another child (and starting it all over again), but I knew deep down that I wanted him to at least have one sibling. I wanted him to have more to his family than just me and his dad. So here we are, things willing, beginning down the road to give him that. Which has brought us back to revisit this topic. I had started to think it over inside my own head this past week, and apparently so too had BL as he brought it up last night. Frankly, I think I could be content with two. We really will need to reconsider what, if any, deep reasons we had for wanting three in the first place.



One important reason for us to really be having this discussion is because the way that this current pregnancy culminates will have a lot to do with our future family planning. MR was a c-section baby, due to my gestational diabetes and his large size. I am already actively working to try and avoid another round with the diabetes, though my genetics may have more to say about it than I do. Having a big baby will probably be inevitable, BL himself was 11 lbs and his siblings were all no less than 10 themselves. I was a puny 7 lbs, but considering that MR was nine it seems our children are destined to fall somewhere in the middle ground. I am not gunning for a VBAC, if it happens it does, but I won't cling to the hope of one. I will wait to see where we are at as things progress and we will make a decision based on what is best for the baby. If things end in another c-section and we are certain that we will only want two children, then there is nothing barring my getting my tubes tied while they are in there. This, however, is a very permanent decision. Surprisingly, considering his prior vociferous objections, BL has willing volunteered to get snipped himself if we come to that decision, seeing as his could always possibly be reversed. This is a lot to think about.

What is everyone else's opinion? Are you one and done, or do you hope to add one or more to the family? I know how I am feeling, I am just wondering what other people's reasoning for adding, or not, to their numbers. Thoughts?

Pumpkin patch, the marathon

We went to the pumpkin patch with some friends on Saturday and had a lot of fun, and a lot of exercise. This was our first true experience with a highly mobile toddler in a busy public space. It was exhausting. There was so much to see and do, the MR was just buzzing with energy as he moved from the goats to the haystacks to the pumpkins- and back to the goats. He loves goats apparently. It was definitely a fun trip and we really enjoyed getting together with our friends and our kiddos, but we are really coming to recognize the full force that is The Toddler. BL and I had to tag team who would follow/chase the kiddo as he bounced around the wide open spaces. We are starting to work on having him hold our hands in public, but with the combination of fresh air and livestock- it hasn't exactly stuck yet. By the end of it I was really dragging because it had been far too long between snacks, I forgot just how quickly I become unpleasant if not regularly dosed with food when pregnant. We finally wrangled MR and our oversized pumpkin into the car and no sooner were we out of the parking lot the little guy zonked. He had a full day, and I couldn't blame him. Here's the pictures from the day.

Some clarity

That definitely looks positive to me, right?! So I am so excited, and scared, and excited by this new development. We were trying for this, so it really didn't come as any surprise, but it is still just so shocking. I remember being unable to comprehend that my body was actually capable of such a thing the first time around, the disbelief apparently doesn't lessen the second time .

I really knew that I was for about the past two weeks. The signs have hit me early and many this time. I am soooo much hungrier lately, mah boobs have definitely gotten bigger (they aren't much to start with, so it's noticeable), and I have had a touch of nausea here and there. Luckily no major sickness yet, but then with MR I didn't really start getting morning sickness until about 11-12 weeks. By my estimate I am not quite a month along right now. Funny thing about having a c-section, it has left me incredibly aware of when my body is entering it's monthly progress. I start to feel crampy and bloated about a two weeks prior to my period, after so many months of this new activity I realized it must be when I am ovulating. This never happened prior to the section, I think it is just a result of my scar tissue flaring up with all the extra hormones when that happens.

I do still need to go to a doctor for actual medical confirmation, but I am thinking the sticks (and my body) don't lie. I know that all the emotions I am feeling now are only going to play out more and more so through these next nine months, but right now I am just going to grab onto the strongest one and be excited. Excited for me and my family adding another little one, for MR having a baby brother or sister, and for all the things that I know are to come in this process. Hooray for little bean!

P.S. Please ignore the dirtiness of my bathroom mirror and my bralessness. It's a picture for posterity, not a demonstration of hygiene.

Do you see what I see?

It's very faint, but then I am also very impatient and took these today which is still about four days or so prior to when I should be expecting the monthly visitor. I was right, I knew this time around too. I just was waiting for some sticks to confirm it. Making a doctor's appointment tomorrow to check up and make it official. Number two just might be on the way!

In the meantime

We have been continuing to move at a pretty frenetic pace around here with the house stuff, having a housewarming in the wings just a few weeks from now we are back to working on projects in an attempt to pull even more together before everyone sees it. We have already accomplished a lot, so it doesn't seem as pressing to finish these few more tasks- it would really just be the icing on the cake.

This past weekend we had some really exciting tasks, organizing the garage and cleaning out the spare bedroom which had quickly become the junk room. Though it wasn't as fun as decorating or painting a room, the results were definitely rewarding. Having a functional and organized garage space really helps life feel more manageable. I am not reminded of the mess that waits everytime I take the trash out, and now all of MR's old baby stuff is tidily organized in tupperware containers just awaiting it's future use.

Unfortunately having chosen so many of our paint colors already, as well as having painted so many rooms, we are now really starting to get down to the nitty gritty with filling in the remaining spaces. BL has been kind enough to give a pretty liberal amount of leeway in directing this process, but now that the spaces are fewer it seems that the decision process is a little more heated. I am trying to come to terms with this, in my realization that he has a say too... I just haven't been very good at it just yet. Ultimately we will figure something out, at the moment we just need to take a step back and try to find some common ground.

In kiddo related news, following his little stomach bug he had a little relapse in his eating habits. He generally would try anything we would give him, at least once. After he was sick he staunchly refused anything that wasn't in puree form, and even that was a battle. We finally put our foot down and left it at, he will eat when he is hungry. So we went through a week long process of putting food in front of him and then waiting. And often being rejected. Finally, in the last few days, our happy eater seems to have returned. BL made a yummy lemmongrass chicken soup the other night and MR slurped that right up. He has continued to resume his willingness to consume since then (knock on wood). I am beginning to understand how some toddler's palates become so limited, they are picky little buggers sometimes.

Finally, and most exciting, there's some good news over in the Soupbowl household! Go over and congratulate Carrie and family on their exciting development(s).

Uno y medio

One and a half! MR is eighteen months old today, meaning six months ago he was just turning one year old and in six months from now he will turning two. Every day his little boy body reminds me that he is getting bigger, smarter, and grander in every proportion. He runs with gleeful abandonment of one who has yet to learn that running can be tiresome, he uses two word sentences regularly, he works to figure out how things work and is a credit and a joy to us.

He is a strong willed and determined little boy, BL says he is very particular like his mother. He likes to put things where they belong and use items as he knows they are supposed to be used. This doesn't mean that he doesn't enjoy tossing things and making a mess too. He is really starting to understand the art of conversation, especially the correct context of words. He frequently says thank you (day too) when we give him something he wanted, or take away something he didn't. He recognizes so many objects, and likes to point them out to us with relish. He dances like a fiend, climbs like a little monkey, and sings like an out of tune jukebox. Another thing inherited from me, but definitely from BL as well.

We are so proud and amazed at what a little person he has become. He is sweet and thoughtful, and unfailingly personable. We are so lucky to have such a healthy and happy boy. He gives us kisses at night and always welcomes each day with open arms. Happy one and a half bug bear.

Wordless Wednesday: Hershey kisses

I'm it!

It's been a while since I did one of these, AND I finally-finally figured out my wireless. So what better way to celebrate than to kill time with a time honored internet tradition!? Kristine asked, so here we go, 7 random facts about me:

1-When I was first pregnant with MR I knew. We had gone through a couple of negative pregnancy tests, shows what they know, and BL began to think that I really wasn't pregnant. But I let a few weeks pass, knowing all along, and sure enough- Pregnant! I am wondering if it will be the same next time around...

2-I hate the numbers 4 and 34, and will do what I can to avoid them. I can't tell you why I dislike them so much, but I most definitely do.

3-I am really apathetic towards food. I truly enjoy a good meal, when it is prepared for me. If BL wasn't such a wonderful cook and I was largely responsible for my own consumption I would likely be living off of quick fix meals and boxes.

4-When I was in high school my aerobics teacher was an overzealous advocate of women's safety and preparedness for every possible terrible situation we might ever find ourselves in. She was always telling us the latest awful story that had been passed around in an e-mail forward. One story she told us was about a man who would hide under parked cars and wait for women to pass close enough for him to slash their Achilles tendon- then to take advantage of them. I have since never walked up to my parked car without glancing underneath the adjacent cars, just to make sure.

5-My bad for me but oh so good treat of choice is a Hostess apple pie. I know that those things are entirely artificial, but they are so damn delicious.

6-The current tally of pictures I have taken of MR since his birth (according to Picasa) is a little over 2,000. I have a problem.

7-BL and I are high school sweethearts. We started dating half way through senior year of high school and we continued dating through our college years to get married a year after graduation.

Now for the tags, and you're it:
-Soon to be mother of three, Kristi
-Almost mother of two, Jessica
-Mama to mini-Hunk, The Burp Cloth Babe
-My go-to source for new goodie recipes, Jamie
-Newly mother to three, Mary
-My fellow Northwester, Ann(ie)
-Little Elvis' mama, Meredith

Why I hate the stomach flu

I don't suppose the title really requires more explanation, I am pretty sure nobody really likes the stomach flu. Nobody in my household does, especially after this past weekend. It started out fairly innocuous this last Thursday. We had noticed that the MR had started grabbing at his little tummy and making sounds of discomfort, we had an inkling then that things might be going downhill from there. You never know though, the kiddo has started practicing some pretty strange new skills lately- running around with his hands held back like he thinks he might take off, trying to walk around on his knees, etcetera. I hoped, in vain, that this might just be another new quirk. Not so. By the end of the day he had entered full fledged tummy bug status, all unpleasantness that that entails included. I don't need to go into details, you all know what a stomach virus does to a little intestinal tract. Unpleasant. Noises that I never thought possible came out of my poor little bug, and to make it even better he shared the sickness with his father. So that was my weekend, taking care of my little man and my big man, both felled by a highly uncomfortable griping of the bowels, incorporated with a fever to boot. They are both now on the mend and seem to be feeling much better. I can only hope that this doesn't signal the beginning of flu season in our house. Blech.

Wordless Wednesday: Home repairs