23 Months!!

I can’t believe Ryder is 1 month away from being 2 years old!  He can believe it though, he has started answering people for me when they ask how old he is.  “Two in MARCH!” he says!  We get that question a lot and I guess he has heard my answer enough times to be able to answer himself.

At almost 2 years old, this little guy is busy:

• Growing: He has finally gained a little weight!  He’s almost 23 pounds now and is finally in 18 month clothes which I think are going to last him through the Spring into the Summer.
• Learning: He pays attention to EVERY thing around him, and it seems like each day things make more and more sense in his little head.  One way I know this is how he takes the words right out of mouth throughout the day.  He literally narrates his whole day, including what people’s responses should be.  When he’s crying he’ll walk up to me and say “What’s da matter???  Why is you crying??” or when we get in the car at the end of the day he’ll say “did you have fun at Nana’s?”  And at bed time when I lay him down he says “Mama’s NOT coming back in here”.  That’s right buddy, you got it! 
• Laughing: He’s very silly these days and constantly finds ways to make us (and himself) laugh!  He has the best laugh ever, especially when he’s laughing so hard that no noise comes out.  Those are my favorite times!
• Loving: This child’s heart is SO full of love.  Especially at night time right before bed, it is a long process of kisses and hugs and “luzzz you’s” before he feels fulfilled and ready for bed (I realize this is his way of delaying bed time but we still eat it up!)  He’ll ask for my drivers license and when I give it to him he kisses my picture “MAH – I luzz you mama! MAH – all better mama!”  Sweet boy.
• Talking: Obviously this is what our days are filled with.  He rarely has a moment where something isn’t coming out of his mouth.  It works out well though because I always know what he’s going to do before he does it, I just have to listen!
• Playing: He’s playing a lot with blocks lately, still with cars & monster trucks, and he carries his notepad around with him incase he finds “a clue”!  Yes our life has turned into one big episode of Blues Clues!

Well, I guess this will be my last monthly update, 2 years was long enough.  Obviously you’ll still know what he’s up to through the regular posts so I won’t need to summarize anymore.  I have to stop somewhere or else it’s going to turn into “192 months…just got his drivers license!”

21 Weeks!

Here’s what Alpha Mom says about this week:

Your Baby:

• Is about 10 1/2 inches long, head to toe.
• Passes time by sucking his or her thumb and even opening and closing his or her eyes. And you know, elbowing you in the vital organs.
• Is like, kicking for serious now, and the movements cannot only be felt from the outside, they can often be seen. Lie on your back and watch the weird ripples and dips of baby limbs. (For the full Jurassic Park effect, do this in the tub and watch the water rings vibrate out from your belly.)

You:

• Are possibly getting accosted in public with unsolicited belly rubs and unsolicited pregnancy advice. I’m not sure which is more annoying.
• Oh, so THREE of the pregnancy books I use to compile these bullet thingies mentioned that we should all be feeling downright awesome and fabulous right now. Not too big and uncomfortable, lots of energy, able to sleep through the night without peeing, etc. If that describes you, well…LA DEE FRICKING DA. HOW LOVELY THAT MUST BE FOR YOU.

She’s right about the baby passing the time in there sucking her thumb!  That’s exactly what Maisy was doing the whole time we watched her on the sonogram this week.  How sweet!

I had my 4 week check-up on Wednesday and everything is going really well with this pregnancy.  Maisy is growing right on target, and I’m feeling pretty good these days.  It’s nice to finally have some energy back, but I know in a few weeks that will be a thing of the past!  I gained 5 pounds in the past 4 weeks, which brings my total weight gain to 2 pounds.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I must just be losing weight other places from carrying around this big belly!  My belly feels so big and stretched out these days, I don’t know how it’s going to handle 18 more weeks.

Maisy has a birth date!  They scheduled my C-Section for June 24th!!  Having an exact date makes things even more real, and makes them seem VERY close!  The only other thing going on is that I have to go get tested for diabetes again sometime before my next appointment.  Fun, fun!

No picture this week, sorry!  I totally forgot to take one and don’t have the energy to go fix that.

New Trix!

The other night when Kristen was over she said to Ryder “Show me all your new tricks!  What can you do these days??”  He looked around the kitchen for a minute and said “Dere Dey Are!” as he pointed at the box of Trix cereal on the counter!

So, here you go…some of Ryder’s new Trix!

We knew that he knew the difference between his left hand and right hand, but as Uncle G discovered the other night, he knows all about left & right!

He can also give lessons on how to tie shoes:

Working on counting & spelling:

He’s getting really good at doing his puzzles!  And learning lots about the whole potty training thing (how adorable is he in boxer briefs?!)

Meet Maisy!

Yes, we have officially named our baby girl!!  Her name is going to be Maisy Liza and we are already in love with her and her adorable name.  Maisy is a name I heard one day before I was even pregnant and when I mentioned it to Alan he immediately fell in love with it too.  When we found out we were pregnant, we just knew that if it was a girl this would be the name.  We asked Ryder early on if he liked it, and that’s what he has called this baby from the moment we mentioned it.  He will kiss my belly and say “mmmaaahhhh….I luzz you Maisy!” and when I get home he tells me “Mama take you coat off, Maisy is hot!” and if he finds anything baby related in his room or closet like a pacifier he will say “Mommy we save dis for Maisy??”.  My favorite is when he lifts my shirt up and says “WUSSS Maisy doin’ in dere???”  It’s like he knew from day 1 that this was a girl and she was going to be Maisy and they were going to be best friends.  Alan’s Moms middle name was Elizabeth so we decided to shorten that and use Liza for her middle name.  And yes, Ryder knows her middle name already too.  When he’s in the bathtub he likes to pretend like he’s writing people’s names with his tub crayons so he’ll be scribbling saying “MAISY LYYYYYZA”.  He is READY for her to get here!

And after seeing her sweetness at the sonogram today I am more than ready for her to get here too!!  I got to watch her in 3d/4d for a while and she was just sucking her thumb, being so cute.  She even gave us the #1 sign!

The appointment went good, she’s measuring right on target!  She weighs 14 ounces and her heartrate was 150bpm.  They did a blood flow study on her and the Doctor spent some time looking for all of the major artery’s that run through the brain.  He was able to locate all except for one, but didn’t seem concerned because he said it could have just been her position.  When I go back in 4 weeks they will look again.  He was able to review Ryder’s MRI report and confirmed that the stroke did happen in-utero, so based on that he wants me to start taking a baby aspirin a day.  Aspirin crosses the placenta and will thin her blood.  The chances of something similar happening to her are very slim, but I guess he just feels like it’s worth taking the extra precautions.  Fine with me, I’ll do anything I can to keep my sweet little Maisy safe!

You all know I was going to make sure I got a re-check, so just for peace of mind…she’s definitely still a GIRL!!  There’s nothing hanging between these legs and there are definitely the 3 white lines they say to look for.

So with that said, time to start decorating the room!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I don’t have any compelling material today, just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day.  Me & my 2 Valentine’s have just been enjoying eachother’s company (and all of our yummy chocolate and valentine’s candy) this evening. 

All weekend Ryder has been telling me that his ears hurt and that he “need ta see da docta!”  So I took his word for it, even though he didn’t have a fever or anything and took him to the Doctor this morning.  Sure enough, he had fluid on both of his ears…the craziest part though is that he was already over the infection part.  So our boy toughed it out through a double ear infection and his body was able to fight it off!  Hopefully the fluid will go away soon because it seems like it’s uncomfortable for him.    Is it weird that I get excited to go to Ryder’s Doctor??  They’re all so sweet and we’ve definitely developed relationships over the past 2 years of going there.  Ryder’s Pediatrician and the Nurse Practitioner are both pregnant too and we’re all due around the same time, so it was nice to see them today and get an update!

So, besides a trip to the Doctor, our day and evening has been pretty low key.  This is mine & Alan’s 10th Valentine’s Day together, and our 2nd one with Ryder…every year I can’t imagine loving my Valentine more than I do at that moment, and then somehow another year comes and it’s amazing how much our love has grown.  I hope and pray that we will always stay on that path!

Play Day

Today, Daddy went out for a motorcycle ride since the weather was nice, and me & Ryder decided to go out and play too!  We headed over to visit with Angela & Carter for a play day :)

 

 

The boys had a great time being outside, exploring, digging, running, doing what boys do best!  Ryder didn’t know what to do with himself with so much open space.  And of course it gave us girls a chance to do what we do best…TALK!

I hope the nicer weather is here to stay!

20 Weeks!

Halfway there!!!  Here is what Alpha Mom says about this week:

Your Baby:

• Is as big as (depending on which measurements from which pregnancy book you use and of course, Your Produce May Vary) a butternut squash, or as long as a banana, or possibly a carrot. I am getting the sense these comparisons are not really an exact science.
• Will be measured head-to-toe from this point on, instead of the head-to-rump measurements we’ve used so far. I remember choking on a bagel at 21 weeks last time because HOLY CRAP, MY CHILD JUST GREW FIVE INCHES IN A WEEK.
• Has a heartbeat that can be heard with just a regular old stethoscope now and not just the fancy doppler.
• Is swallowing and practicing other digestive skills, and can now produce meconium, which is essentially prenatal poop that sits in the bowels during pregnancy. You’ll see this awesome goopy stuff in person during your baby’s very first diaper change, or possibly even during labor like I did, as some babies like to take their first crap in the womb. Meconium in the fluid in considered a delivery complication, but it’s very common and not terribly dangerous — your doctor will just need to suction your baby’s nose and mouth immediately after delivery to prevent any meconium going into your baby’s lungs with their first breath.

You:

• Are HALFWAY THERE HALFWAY THERE HALFWAY THERE!
• Seriously. You are halfway through this pregnancy, which may bring to mind such deep thoughts like: “Yay!” or “Uh-oh” or “Whoa” or “Must. Organize. Kitchen. Cabinets.”

Did I mention that I was halfway there?!  I’m pretty excited about that!  I’m also excited to see baby girl again on Tuesday at my next sonogram.  Then Wednesday I have my next appointment with my OB.  So next week should be full of excitement.  As for this week, things have been pretty laid back.  My stomach feels HUGE and like it is stretched to the max….not sure what that means for the next 20 weeks!  I broke out the maternity jeans today.  Baby girls movements seem to get a little stronger with each week that passes so I’m thoroughly enjoying pressing on my stomach and trying to see if just maybe she’ll kick me back.  I’m so annoying, my poor children.

Here we are at 20 weeks (yes I took self photo’s at Ryder’s therapy yesterday, hope no one saw!)