Thursday, May 29, 2014

Five on Friday- tired boys and poop


Happy Friday friends!  Can you BELIEVE that this Sunday is JUNE!?!??!? Where is the time going?!!!  We are on the 6 week countdown until Baby girl Carter is due to make her debut!

As I was scrolling through my pictures in my phone- I found a common theme that I thought would make a good portion of my five on Friday this week:  SLEEP.

Apparently people were tired this week!! Plus talking about Charlie's obsession with poop.  ha. Happy weekend!!



 
Join the link up too with DarciAprilNatasha and Christina.

{ONE}

School's out for my dad!!! 

My dad came over to our house Friday afternoon when school got out in hopes to play with Charlie.  Little man was still snoozing trying to fight off his ear infection...so my dad and Willy plopped on the couch And took a nap too.

I think his summertime is well deserved!!


 

{TWO}

Here are my two babes.  Poor Charlie battled another stinkin ear infection rolling into the holiday weekend.  Poor guy just wanted to snuggle on Thursday night with his sister and I had no objections.  

However- I have every line of Toy Story 1 and 2 memorized now!



{THREE}

Jimmy and his wiener dog took a nice little snooze on Monday afternoon, while Charlie destroyed the Sunday paper and I sat there.

#mommaispregnant




{FOUR}

Charlie snoozing in the car on the way home from Iowa last weekend.  He actually slept some on the way home- the way there was another story!!



{FIVE}

So {luckily} there are no pictures with this one.  But I just have to document this. 

My kid is obsessed with poop.  Not his- but the dog's poop and poop in the toilet (no, not his).  

Every time he's out in the backyard and sees dog poop he literally screams "POOOOOOOP" at the top of his lungs and points to it until you get there with the pooper scooper to pick it up.  If you don't get there fast enough, he will sometimes pick it up with his hands and attempt to throw it. Gross.  This boy likes a clean yard.  

And then every time he finds me going to the bathroom and waltzes in to see me sitting there, he always points at me and yells "POOOOOP".  I have explained to him, not every time mommy goes to the bathroom means poop, but he doesn't quite get it.  It's fine, except when we are in a public restroom together - I can only imagine what the other patrons think!! But then he always wants to put down the lid and flush.  So I keep telling myself, that is a habit I want him to keep up when he finally does get potty trained!!!

Anyone else's kid have weird obsessions like that?!  

Ha! Good way to end this one right?! Happy Friday friends!






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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

33 weeks along baby!

 
 
 
How Far Along?  33 weeks 

Size of Baby: about the size of a pineapple (4lbs)

Gender: Little baby GIRL 

Weight Gain: 31 lbs 

Maternity Clothes: oh yes!  I need another pair of maternity leggings too because pants are just getting so uncomfortable.  And I kind of have to wear pants.

Nursery: Wahoo!!  I actually got more done last week than I thought I would - so I was very excited!  The rug looks great and brings out the orange in the room, which is a fun color.  And I started and finished a fabric garland to hang above her crib too!!!  So excited things are coming along in there and I am just loving the way the room is coming together!  I need to figure out what exactly is going in the reading nook and on the wall over the dresser/changing pad. 

Movement: Lots of movement.  Big moves too and a little rough - but still loving it.
 
Symptoms: Still a little swollen, but not too horrible.  My shoes still fit.  Heartburn is still pretty bad and I feel like when I stand up my whole bottom half is going to fall out.   
 
Sleep:  Still doing ok on this one - which I'm taking advantage of.

Cravings: Hmmm....we went to Iowa this weekend and shaved ice was SO good!!!!!


What I Miss: This might sound odd, but I literally was secretly so jealous watching Jimmy roll around (literally) on the floor so easily from back to front when playing with Charlie.  It made me jealous that he could just roll around and do whatever he wants!

 

Best Moment This Week: Even though Charlie had an ear infection on Friday, I did love the snuggles that he gave me when he just wanted to be together.  So freaking sweet and made me more excited for baby snuggles too!

Panic Moment This Week: I'm having a GIRL and I have no headbands.  I need to get on that ASAP.

Looking Forward To:  OMG it's almost June.  Are you serious?  The count down is ONNNNNN!!!
 
My little stinker with his toothbrush that he loves.
 
 
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

32 weeks - only 8 to go!

 
Wahoo BABY - Ummmm...I think I/we grew from last week a lot!
 
Charlie acted like he wanted to join the picture - however he didn't smile.
 
And look at how LARGE she looks.  And low.  Sheesh!  No wonder my pelvic area hurts carrying that around all day long!

 
I finally got him to change his SMUG impression a bit. What a cutie.
  
How Far Along?  32 weeks 

Size of Baby: size of bok choy (?)

Gender: Little baby GIRL 

Weight Gain: 29 lbs 

Maternity Clothes: yes- and it's getting HOT.  However, I wish my arms were toned to make up for my huge belly!

Nursery: Ordered the rug and going to order a few more things that we still need- like a second camera, changing pad cover.  I rearranged the room last week though...and I'm excited because I'm going to put a little "reading nook" on there with pillows, books and quiet toys.  Eventually for her, but in the mean time for her brother to make him feel welcome in her room but encourage quiet play.  Yes, I know that won't probably happen- but it's worth a shot, right??

Movement: She's still moving and shaking and I am thinking she's head down because most kicks are up in my ribs. 

Symptoms: Well folks- it's official.  The swelling has started.  And the water weight has started.  I am happy for my week by week with Charlie because I went back to the 32 and 33 week posts with him and this is when it started last time.  Just so not a fun part of pregnancy that I like so much.  With the heat, water and walking don't seem to help.  No where NEAR how swollen I was at the end but had to pull out the fake wedding ring this week in fear mine would get stuck!!
 
Sleep:  Surprisingly still ok on this!!

Cravings: Still loving on that watermelon and Charlie is too!  I'm also loving frozen lemonade at night.  Very refreshing!


What I Miss: Being able to tie my shoes! 

Best Moment This Week: With the nursery coming together, I love just going in there to sit and think about what all will happen in this room.  Even when crazy Charlie is in there, it's so fun to think about the two of them!!

Panic Moment This Week: Walking the swelling starting really got me down.  It was just not fun last time and I was hoping to somewhat avoid it but may

Looking Forward To:   A long weekend with family in Iowa.  My grandma hasn't even seen me pregnant and Charlie has changed so much so it will be good to see her, my aunts and uncles and cousins!
 
 
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Monday, May 19, 2014

The almost 2 year/family/maternity pictures

 
 
SO remember WAY back in August when Charlie was supposed to get his one year pictures taken with Amanda and then he fell flat on his face on the driveway and we had to reschedule.  Then she broke her arm?  Oh yeah, you probably don't because it was so long ago!
 
Well here we were in spring of 2014 with an almost 2 year old, a baby on the way and lots of time that had passed since we last had any pictures taken.  I emailed Amanda and decided it was time to see if we could cash in our last session in the package. 

You know, the almost 2 year/family/maternity session? Yeah, that's the one!
 
We headed out to Lake Lenexa on a windy day with a crazy toddler in hand.
 
He was obsessed with the playground and running away from all of us.  So I was SO pleasantly surprised when she sent me the pictures.  You would have never known.  She got some fabulous shots and some fabulous Charlie smiles and personality.  Just perfect! 
 
Here are some of my favorites!
 













 
Cannot wait to hang some of these of just me and my baby girl in her nursery!  And I already have some of the others hanging in our house. 

Love love love.  Charlie's curly hair and all.
 
Thank you again, so much Amanda!
 
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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Mother's Day reflections - a week late

  
Yes, yes, I do realize that Mother's Day was actually LAST Sunday - however, we had quite the busy day celebrating all the special mom's in our  life. 
 
It started off with a delicious breakfast, cooked by my husband.  But that is a regular occurrence on the weekends because he's just that nice.  As usual, he also had a beautiful corsage ready for me to wear to church.  Such a sweet tradition that his own dad started and the first year I received on when I was a mom-to-be...I cried. 
 
After church we went to Red Lobster with my mom's side of the family because it's a favorite of my grandmother.  Ha.  Well, Charlie liked the cheddar biscuits (I mean who wouldn't), but didn't like the whole sitting down thing. 

Needless to say - he was not on his best behavior.  But that's everyday life, right?
 
My poor mom was REALLY sick though and didn't get to come enjoy a meal with the family.  Poor thing.  She spent the afternoon in the ER actually - doing better now, but just had a killer virus!
 
The best mother's day present?  A LONG nap during Charlie's nap.  It was heaven.  I am going to do it again this Sunday too...
 
After naps, it was off to Grana and Pops to celebrate with the Carter's.  And boy did we have fun.  It was beautiful outside - so we had lots of fun time playing with cousins, dancing and
 just running around (of course, this was all what Charlie did.  I attempted to sit there and relax and Jimmy drank beer). 
 
Charlie even helped carry the cooler to the car when the day ended.
 


So as you can see, while it as a "holiday", it really was just a normal day.  Which was actually pretty amazing. I spent lots of the day just staring at Charlie (in a non-creepy, mom way).  Thinking about how much my life has changed in the last 2 years.  But really about how much heart has changed and how this love that I feel for him is just so unreal.  At times it is just overwhelming to me because I just love him so much and cannot imagine something bad happening to him.  I want to keep him in this bubble to ensure that it doesn't - but know that is not what he needs from me or practical.  It amazes me that as a mom I rarely think twice about how different my life is.  That we rarely go out to dinner, rarely go out at night and really just sit at home playing with Charlie.  But that fulfills me. 
 
Everything changes as a mom.  And I'm so blessed to be one and cannot wait for this sweet girl to make me a mom X 2.  I'm sure there is a whole other craziness that comes to that.
 
But I'm also thankful for the love of all the mom's in our lives and the sacrifices that they made to help me grow as a woman and become the mom I am.  Thinking about my mom when she and my dad were raising my sister and I and how there were probably so many good times and bad and sacrifices and fun times - I'm thankful for all those.  And I'm thankful for the love that she has shown to me and now shows to Charlie.  And I'm thankful for Sue, Jimmy's mom.  Oh man - raising FIVE boys.  I cannot imagine.  But it's so fun to see how it's really all worth it when the Carter family is all together.  Five great boys and five great families.  What a blessing and even with all the sacrifices she and Red made, I'm thankful for being a part of their family and that my kids get to experience their love and support...and it makes me want a big family.
 
So enough reflections from me.  I saw this again on facebook on Mother's Day and just love it.  It makes me tear up every time I read it because it's just so true.  And worth every single bit of it.
 
With that, happy mother's day EVERYDAY to all those mommas out there.  You deserve a huge hug and pat on the back for all you do and all the love you give!
 
 
 
To mothers, daughters, aunts, grandmothers & girlfriends
I wanted to share this again this Mother's Day:

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family."

"We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know...," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations..."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every Ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years-not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop War, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say.

Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

This blessed gift...that of being a Mother.
-Annonymous
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Friday, May 16, 2014

5 random things

 
HAPPY Friday!  I'm a little late posting this, see as it's Friday night - but let's just go with it.  I went to bed at 8:30 last night because hanging out with my friends and watching the Nashville season finale (OMG) kept me up way too late on Wednesday night.  However, I would give up some sleep for hanging out with Vanessa and Emily any night!!  Especially since Vanessa is finally back in KANSAS!! Wahoo.
 
Anyway, here are a few random things for you.




Join the link up too with DarciAprilNatasha and Christina.

{ONE}

Remember how Mother's Day was just this last Sunday? Yes - I actually do have a post that I am going to write on Mother's Day in general - but wanted to share the neat and Charlie made gifts that we gave Charlie's Grana and Nana.  I took some painter's tape in the letters of their name and then let Charlie have at it with paint.  I probably should have limited colors that look good mixed - as they are not the prettiest thing - but it's the thought that counts!!!  Thank you Pinterest!

 


And it makes me happy we get to play/eat outside lately too!  Hopefully it doesn't get TOO hot TOO fast.

 

{TWO}

More of these to share (she got a LOT of cute ones of Charlie!!), but a few weeks ago we went out to Lake Lenexa and got some family/Charlie/maternity pictures taken by the talented Amanda Malone Photography.  It was technically the make up for Charlie's one year shoot because we had to cancel that due to him falling down the driveway and then when we tried to reschedule in August, poor Amanda had broken her arm.  So here we are, April 2014 with another one on the way, getting the pictures taken.  I LOVE this one.

We got the CD this week and I can't wait to scatter new photos all over our house!

{THREE}

Toga party.

I swear this kid and his dad are always up to something.  I posted this on instagram, but wanted to say it here as well for a funny memory. 

I was sitting downstairs studying for my Series 7 and all I could hear was Jimmy yelling "toga, toga" upstairs and Charlie hysterically laughing.  Then the little man came running down the stairs to show me this.  Oh my goodness.  Already ready to party.




{FOUR}

Swim lessons!!  We are 2 weeks in to our session that we had to reschedule after Charlie was puking the first day of the originally scheduled one.  Let's just say that this week went better than last.

But he seems to be having fun and this week he screamed when it was time to get out of the water.  I take that as a good thing and that he enjoyed his time!!!


{FIVE}

Oh the Royal's game.  So we have a little date night on Saturday night.  It's pretty much the highlight of Jimmy's life up to this point - I've decided.  All based on how he is SO excited and literally wakes up every morning asking me more questions about these awesome seats we have.  All questions which I have no answers too. 

I won these awesome tickets from my company and am going with some co-workers tomorrow night and Jimmy.  We will sit right behind home plate!!  Like I said, every boy's dream, right?

I can't wait to get their 2 hours before the game either and watch batting practice.  Ha.  Do you sense my sarcasm?  Hopefully we will be done in time to meet my high school friends out after Jen's engagement party!!!!  I sent him this picture on Monday when I finally had the tickets in hand.

 
 
 
 

 
And this is kind of number six - but the weather has been cooler in KC lately, so it sure doesn't feel like mid-May and that Memorial Day weekend is just next weekend (crazy!), but the sunsets have been HEAVENLY from our front porch.  Even looking over the big trucks (which by the way, is fantastic entertainment for a toddler to stare at them when they are working), that beautiful setting doesn't get old.  So much to be thankful for!  Happy weekending!

 
 
 
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Baby Girl Carter: nursery update

 
Well, baby girl Carter’s (BGC) nursery (nope – still not even close to having a name) is coming right along.  I’m happy to say that most all the “big” things are done, now it’s (hopefully) the more fun part of deciding and finding things for the walls.   Here is a round up of the projects/items:
  • Crib – My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were SO sweet to let us have my nephew’s crib and dresser.  Our nephew was getting his big boy bed at the perfect time, so we are so excited to use their beautiful crib and dresser for BGC. 
 
  • Crib bedding – this is DONE.  Well, I still have 2 crib sheets that I’m going to make out of the left over orange fabric, but making the coral one took less than an hour and that was my first time doing it, so I’m confident, those will be fast and easy.  But the big deal is that the crib skirt is done.  Yes, the 4 tiered, ruffled crib skirt that I made myself – it’s done.  It was quite the relief when I finally tied all the layers up and it looked great.  I love the final look and the ruffles, but man, that was time consuming…mainly because my thread kept coming out of my needle for some reason – but hopefully a new needle that I got this weekend will fix that.  Check it out! (I also ordered a cream bumper that we’ll use later that is super soft from Amazon – instead of having my mom make it like we did with Charlie)
 
  • Curtains – I have had the cornice done for a while that goes over the arched window in the room.  I was so sad to cover up that beautiful window, but if BGC is anything like her brother, she will appreciate that the light is blocked during those day time naps.  But Jimmy and I finally hung it up on Saturday night – which was not lacking any martial arguments while we hung them up – and then got to put up the awesome panels that my aunt whipped up for us.  It’s amazing that these are just sheets from Target that she attached black out panels to, pleated and ta-da.  She’s an awesome curtain maker and I was so pleased with them!
 
(the dresser and changing pad is on the opposite wall from the crib)
  • Chair/rocker – so the chair/rocker has been in the room for a while and was another item that was gifted to us from family.  My sister didn’t have room in her house and this rocker was perfect.  She had a black slipcover over it and I took it off to find this color underneath and attempted to make this color work with the fabric and the gray walls, and I think it looks just fine. 
  • Side Table – So I was going to make a side table from my favorite website, Ana White, but then realized we had this cute little circle table just sitting downstairs and it was the same one we used in Charlie’s room and worked just fine – so I cut out the fabric from the coral sheets, hemmed it up and ta da.  A nice little coral table cloth.   I really like the lamp too, which was a 50% off find at Hobby Lobby.  The burlap orange is perfect!
  • Ottoman – this isn’t done, but I finally just bit the bullet and went to buy some of the fabric I found that matched the piping on the chair.  So we’ll see how that looks.  I’m making a slip cover (my last sewing project!!!!) for it that I can take off and wash and will likely be adding ruffles to it, so we’ll see how it turns out.  That is still a to do.
  • Shelves - those will go in between the chair and the crib and I'm building those.  But "building" is a loose term because really you just cut three boards, screw them together and paint and then you're done.  Super easy and super cute and super accessible for her when she gets older
 

And then there was the rug.  And the moment I knew I lost it.
 
So I’ve been pinteresting the heck out of this nursery.  Trying to piece everything together in my head as the days progress and her arrival gets closer and closer.  When it came to a rug, I wasn’t sure what to do because I wanted a fun rug in there and a 5X7 would fit perfectly in between the crib and the dresser…however, I wasn’t about ready to shell over $300 for a rug, which was what I was finding most of the ones that I liked that matched for.  I would say so far, we have spent maybe $150 on the nursery and look how far we’ve gotten – I wasn’t about ready to spend double the entire spend so far on a rug – that will likely be spit up on several times.  My solution?  I would just use all the extra fabric and make my own.  You know, get a rug mat, cut all the fabric into 1X5 strips and in my free time just sit and watch TV and string the fabric through the holes and tie…over and over again.  I knew it was going to take a while, especially since I knew I wanted the 5X7 size.  But I was ok with that – I have all the time in the world, right?  (HA)  I told Jimmy about my plan and he literally laughed in my face.  Asking me when exactly I was going to have time to just sit down and leisurely do that.  I work full time, am 8 months pregnant (aka tired so I go to bed early), have a household to keep up with, a family to cook for, friends to hang out with and a charming, yet wild almost 2 year old boy to chase after.  Again, he just laughed.  I told him “whatever” and that I was just doing us a favor by not spending all that money on a rug. 
 
And then I randomly googled “cheap 5X7 area rugs” and just like that, the Urban Outfitters website popped up with an orange 5X7 rug with some square design on it for $49.  They were offering $50 free shipping and free returns if I wasn’t happy.  And I sat there staring at it – thinking for $50 I could save myself HOURS of my life.  And so I did it.  I ordered it and it will soon be on its way to the Carter house.  After ordering it, I sent it to my mom and sister via email to show them the latest nursery purchase.  My sister emailed back right away the following:
 
“I’m confused.  Weren’t you going to weave your own rug?”
 
And then it hit me.  I had lost it.  Yes, I was going to do that.  A 5X7 rug.  I thought I was going to have time to "weave" it myself.  With less than 2 months to go before BGC’s due date and all the other things on my plate, I literally had convinced myself and told others I was going to weave a rug.  Even with all the warnings at how time consuming it was, etc.  I had just spent HOURS of my life sewing a ruffled crib skirt for heaven’s sake – who do I think I am, Martha Stewart?  A craft blogger where this is my job?  Or just some mom trying to live up to all those crazy expectations of making the perfect handcrafted nursery for their sweet baby?  OMG.  My husband was right – he was so right to laugh in my face.  And the worst part is that this is baby #2 so I really should be more sensible right?  I mean I look at how much time effort and energy I spent on Charlie's nursery at our old house and then yep, we just picked right up and moved and left the paint and curtains and closet there.  And guess what - he was JUST FINE.  Yep, I should be well aware that a kid will survive just find without a picture perfect nursery - and this girl will live without the "perfect" rug. 
 
Then I saw this article posted on facebook by a fellow mom friend.  I read it (and you should too).
 
Transient
This is the pic posted in the article and I died laughing because these are so things Jimmy and I would say.
 
And then I realized that buying that rug was the best thing I could have done for myself and BGC’s nursery.  Now let’s just hope that it matches (but if it's not the perfect orange - I might just keep it purely because I'm sick of looking….to be continued…
 
 
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

31 weeks along



How Far Along?  31 weeks 

Size of Baby: size of a bunch of asparagus


Gender: Little baby GIRL 

Weight Gain: 26.5 lbs - so nice that according to baby center this is "above normal" and the fact that someone told me that I had the "pregnancy" walk going on.  People are just so nice, aren't they?


Maternity Clothes: oh yes - getting more into summer dresses now too.

Nursery: Wahoo!!!!!  The ruffled crib skirt is DONE and the curtains are up.  They look perfect.  I did get some fabric for the ottoman as well.  Just need to get going on the slipcover.  It doesn't match perfectly, but does match the piping a little bit better.  Now it's time for 


Movement: She's been a mover and shaker this week- not sure if it was all the walking I did last weekend or not.  Interested to see if my doctor thinks she's moved at all because I thought she was kicking me on the side instead of my bladder...but who knows!!


Symptoms: Need to keep up walking!  Maybe I should go back to early morning walks with the dogs while it's still cool.  But my heartburn is still keeping up with it!

Sleep:  Doing ok on this - not peeing that much at night, but I'm afraid this will stop.

Cravings: Hmmmm...nothing in particular this week.


What I Miss: Being able to run and chase Charlie and pick him up whenever I want and not feeling tired and sore from this big baby belly!



Best Moment This Week: She is still moving and shaking and I'm loving that.  I can just sit there at night and watch her move around.  Mother's Day was pretty special and just a good day to treasure special women in my life that are my mom or a mom that I love and look up to.  Motherhood is a crazy journey and it's so nice to have so many women to celebrate and build up AND get a few fun treats from my own boys.  AND guess what?  Apparently she turned and is head down according to my doctor. I can for sure feel her kick in the upper portion of my stomach now versus the bottom of my stomach...so YEAH!!!  That's such great news!

Panic Moment This Week: Walking out of mother's day lunch with my mom's side of the family completely defeated from dealing with crazy man who wouldn't sit down, wouldn't eat and forced everyone to entertain him and take him outside...and thinking HOW in the world will we do this with a baby as well.

Looking Forward To:  picking out some nursery wall hangings and finishing up the room.  Cannot believe there are only 2 more months!!!


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Monday, May 12, 2014

He's 21 months folks!




Here is my sweet boy helping me water outside.  He's so cute and loves to help so much!!!


Height: I'm going to go with 34 inches
Weight: 27lb ish
Clothing Size: 24 month and 2T
Shoe Size: Size 7
Number of Teeth: I think we are getting 2 year molars.  So fun!

So I’m a little late – ok, 12 days (at least not a full 2 weeks) – posting this monthly update, but better late than never, right?  I think so – that’s what I’m going with these days.  Where the days seem to fly by and you, Charlie Carter are getting bigger and older and changing every day.  It’s pretty amazing to me how you continue to grow up.  You are a little person – with your own opinions, own thoughts and own agenda at times.  This can obviously be very frustrating sometimes for us as parents, as sometimes your agenda does not quite align with ours – or really safety in general (you know, how you have started lifting up the lock on the gate in the backyard and “escaping”).  But such is life and that is what for those child proof locks are for, right?  Yes, those are going on both of the gates in the backyard…

Let’s first talk about your hair.  At first I was too cheap to go get it cut – mainly because paying $20 to listen to you scream and cry for 10 minutes wasn’t what I wanted to do on our day off work/school, but now it’s emerged into this cute cute curly hair do.  And I feel like it defines you.  Wild and crazy.  Yep, that’s you.  It will need to be trimmed eventually (well, soon), but for now, you are rocking it and we are loving it.

You are not the best eater these days.  It’s not necessarily pickiness quite yet, because it seems as though you’ll try anything, but you like to chew something for a while, then you decide you don’t like it and you take it out of your mouth.  Ha. It’s gross.  But you do it.  That habit seems to cause your waist to shrink.  Either that or all the food you DO decide to swallow that you enjoy is just attributing to your height.  Because you are getting taller and skinnier.  You have to wear 2T shirts, but can still fit into 12 month shorts.  Just like your dad I guess with your long torso and skinny waist.  What I would give for a skinny waist like you boys!!

Outside is where you love to be.  Rain or shine, you go to the door and beg to go outside.  You run and run around the backyard.  You let us know where the dog poop is and refuse to let it go until we shovel it up.  You might have eaten some too.  I know, it’s disgusting, but something I must note because I don’t want to forget it (I’m not sure how I can).  But you were a little TOO quiet “playing” in the playroom by yourself one evening when your dad and I were in the kitchen.  I went to check out what was up and when you saw me – you yelled “POOP” and picked up the small piece of dog poop that Milly or Willy so graciously left on the floor in there.  First of all – gross that you picked it up and second of all – yes, I’m aware that is poop, Charlie.  I swooped you up and washed your hands immediately while your dad disposed of the poop – but don’t think I didn’t smell your breath over and over again to see if you ate it.  It’s still up in the air.  I guess we will never know.  I was mortified as a mother.  I texted my mom and sister telling them in panic and asking them if there was anything I should do!! Please know that Nana responded with the fact that I ate dog poop because I was told it was a tootsie roll by some mean neighborhood boys when I was around your age – and I’m alive and well.  So rest assured, I think you will be ok if it was ingested.  Let’s just not make that a habit. 

Your you tube watching preferences have changed.  You used to love Elmo videos, but now apparently those are a thing of the past because when we put those on (mainly because you are asking specifically for “Elmo”), you shake your head and say “No, no, no”.  You love the Frozen songs and videos and Toy Story.  Yep, much to your dad’s excitement because it is his favorite Disney movie, you are obsessed with Woody and Buzz Lightyear.  You point to the TV and ask for “Woody” constantly.  Luckily, your dad had all 3 on hand.  But it is fun that you will finally sit down for like 10 minutes and watch something on TV.  Ten minutes is usually your max.

Dancing.  You are still a little dancing machine.  Not as much in public because you get shy, but you will still do your little Spanish dancing by throwing up your arms one at a time and shashing (sp?) across the floor.  Now you have started to squat and stomp your feet and almost booty dance as well.  Let’s just say, your dance skills are on par with your mom and dad’s because that is neither of our fortes.  However, you rock it with confidence and it always makes us laugh!

Speaking of confidence, we got your spring report card back for parent teacher conferences and you are progressing quite nicely.  It’s so fun to see the specific skills that they would like you to learn this year and how you have progressed since October.  We are so proud of you!!  From eating with silverware, to recognizing your name and showing preference to your right or left hand, to helping adults and greeting your friends – it’s fun that we can see that progress as well at home.  The comments were what made us smile the most.  They said you exhibit wonderful classroom leadership skills and that you often are the one that starts singing or dancing in the group and then your friends follow.  So proud of you young man for not being afraid to be a leader already.  Your dad laughed when he read that and said “I wonder where he gets that from?”.  Yep, we think you’re pretty special and we are proud!

Finally – you repeat EVERYTHING we say and do.  I mean you are like a little mini me.  Whether it’s you wanting to sit up with me on my vanity stool in the mornings when I’m getting ready and pretend to use my makeup brushes and put lotion on your hands or it’s getting a wet wipe out yourself and walking around “cleaning” things (you know, like Toby, the walls, the carpet – all things that are cleaned with a wet wipe).   No matter what it is you do like us or say like us (which sometimes is scary), it’s so adorable and just is so cool to see you learn and process these things. 

While you continue to be quite the handful and make me question just how we are ever going to make it in 2 months with a newborn and your wild self, I am confident that you will make an amazing  big brother.  You love hugging and kissing my belly and saying "baby" while pointing to my stomach.  It's pretty cute and I can't wait to see you as a big brother.  We are looking forward to loving you more and more the next few months as you continue to grow into a little man!

We love you,
Mom and Dad



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Friday, May 9, 2014

Five on Friday: Happy things

While I'm feeling a little under the weather today, I'm going to focus on the things that make me HAPPY.  You should too!!



Join the link up too with DarciAprilNatasha and Christina.

{ONE}

Watering the flowers (ok, really just the ONE hanging basket that my mom got me for Easter) with this kid.  He loves helping spray the water hose!!




And it makes me happy we get to play/eat outside lately too!  Hopefully it doesn't get TOO hot TOO fast.


{TWO}

This kid's curly HAIR.  I die.  Maybe little sister will get these genes too!



{THREE}

While it seems to be a little more strong lately, I love feeling this little girl inside me kick and move around.  Being pregnant is not easy sometimes, especially with a toddler to chase around, but those moments between just me and her - they are priceless and make me happy and thankful.


{FOUR}

School pictures that are hilarious.  Oh Charlie.


{FIVE}

  And I cannot forget about this guy and his sweet relationship with Charlie.  He's just the sweetest dad.  I love them.





Hope you have a great weekend and choose to focus on what really makes you HAPPY!!!

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