Moving On

Farm vacation pictures to come, but I wanted to update Baby happenings (The above belly picture was taken on vacation near a river M loved splashing and throwing rocks into!). The day before our little getaway, I was scheduled for my ultrasound. Mom came with me and brought M along since I thought he'd get a kick out of seeing Baby. And he did. For about six minutes. Then he popped off of Mom's lap and waved bye-bye to the baby and the ultrasound tech and started towards the door. Oh well. He was concerned, at first, about the jelly on my belly, but when I told him that it felt like glue (which he likes), he called it "ooey gooey" and was fine with it. Anytime you ask him about seeing the baby, he'll inevitably tell you about the ooey-gooey. Mom took him across the street to a local library and I stayed for my actual appointment.

In short, Baby is not huge, but not tiny, either. S/he is in the 67th percentile for a 31.5 week in utero baby and weighing in at over four pounds. My amniotic fluid is average and everything else is fine, so we just make big babies and I just get big bellies when I'm pregnant. I'm definitely more swollen this pregnancy than with M, when I just swelled my last week. I'm sure the too-many-to-count 90+ degree days have a lot to do with that, which is why I will never plan on being pregnant in the summer again. January sounds nice, even February.

Anyway, these last eight weeks, Baby is supposed to gain about a half a pound per week, which puts us over eight pounds...which is awful close to M's 9 lb 1.4 oz birth weight. We'll just have to see, my doctor keeps telling me he's going to do all the work anyway, so who cares if I have a big baby! Uh, does he see the belly I have to haul around everywhere for the next two months?! I saw a different doctor while my doctor was on vacation and he was the one who ordered the ultrasound, so when I saw my doctor this time I told him I knew he wouldn't have ordered it, but I didn't want to cancel it just in case of something. He told me I was right, but it's nice to know that the baby is doing well.

The one thing that the technician seemed impressed by was the size of Baby's cheeks. She must have gotten 10-12 pictures of the cheeks because she couldn't get over how big they were and how cute it was. All the while I was thinking, the baby is under five pounds, how can she possibly have cheeks?!? Aren't there other, more vital areas to fill in first?? Baby was also blinking, which was cool to see. We could see the general outline of the iris at all times because the eyelids are almost see-through, but we were able to faintly see them in action. She, however, didn't cooperate for a good 3D picture this time because she was smushed up against the placenta and was very comfy there. She even turned her head away a few times. Stinker. She did manage to hold relatively still (which is quite a feat for this one...) for a very cute profile picture. D so kindly scanned the ultrasound pics for me to post:

I've never really officially heard of a farm vacation, but I guess I assumed they existed. I mean, why not? There are dude ranches and just about any other type of vacation for something you want to experience at least once in your lifetime. D actually had the idea, I had more of a beach/ocean vacation in mind when we sat down to search out our options for a mini vacation. However, when we found this place,

Liberty Hill Farm

I was totally hooked. M will absolutely love interacting so closely with the farm animals and he'll get to see what they actually do (and help out with some of the chores). This kid remembers things I wouldn't expect him to, so he'll probably be talking about it for a long time! There seems to be a ton of things to do on the farm and in the surrounding area...and it's about three hours north of us so it has to be cooler than here, I'm assuming! The river rafting would have been fun, but I'm sure not going to attempt it in my present state. And we'll stay away from all the hiking, but other than that, we can't wait to experience life on a farm (in it's most basic and simplistic form...).

We've booked two nights for the middle of August, so technically we'll be there for about three days and two nights. It's a bed and breakfast of sorts, so it includes breakfast along with a family-style sit down dinner with fresh, homemade food from the farm. Outdoors, eating good-for-you food, spending time with my men...not sure life could get any better than that :)

D was working nights all last week, so we wanted to spend some quality family time together before we only got to see him for less than three hours a day. I picked up the State Park library pass, which made it free to enter the park, and we stayed for a few hours before M's naptime. I'm considering getting a season pass for there next year because I know M will love it and I'm assuming Baby will, too. I like the fact that you have plenty of opportunities to interact with nature versus just swimming at a local swimming pool. Nice, too, is the short twenty-minute ride. Dressed in his bathing suit, shirt, hat, and water shoes (aka Outdoor Gear), M had a great time playing in the little stream and then the big river...and playing with all the other little kids that were there that he couldn't stop staring at!

The odd child that we have loved the big river, didn't care so much for the little stream, as evidenced by the different levels of enthusiasm in the videos below!

I wanted to document M’s potty training process so I can refer back to it with each successive child being fully aware that the same method doesn’t necessarily work with each child, but wanting to at least try it.

I think I started getting books and DVDs about potty training back in April or May. We’d read and watch and read and watch, poor guy. Then I officially brought the potty chair out of storage, but didn’t pressure him or insist he use it. I let him run around without a diaper on so he could see and pay attention to what actually happens when he goes potty, since, up to this point, he did it without thinking. He didn’t really go potty on the potty, at this point, but he was definitely starting to associate the words peepee and poop-poop with what was going on and that was a big step. Then he kind of just lost interest, or I wasn’t pursing it at much, or whatever it was, we didn’t make anything of it for a few weeks. During that time, though, I kept repeating to him, “Peepee and poop-poop go on the potty” or ask, “Where do peepee and poop-poop go?” and he’s say, “Potty!” Then one night as my very-hard-working husband and I were spending our Couple Time together, he pops out with (ever so romantically…), “I really think M is ready to be potty trained. I’d like you to really help him with it because I think he’d learn quickly.” I think I knew he was right, but I wasn’t really looking forward to cleaning up all the messes and I had the great excuse of being pregnant and just putting it off until after Baby was born. But D was right. So the next day I began to resume the diaperlessness and I have to say it hasn’t been bad at all. Sure he’s had some accidents, but nothing that wasn’t easy to clean up and those times were used as a great learning opportunity to redirect him to the potty. We moved the potty chair out of the bathroom and into the living room at this point because I found that his biggest obstacle was stopping what he was doing. So I had to come up with another campaign slogan, “Stop what you’re doing, go potty, and then go right back to what you were doing!” That seemed to work well and there were a lot less accidents when the potty was moved and he was reassured that he could resume playing as normal.

It was last week, though, that I decided that the only time M would wear diapers was during nap and bedtime. Now it was D’s turn to be a bit hesitant. I tried it out and it worked surprisingly well. I’d bring his potty with us on errands, but we never had to use it and we’d be out for two hours at a time. His MO is a bit different from what I expected, but then that’s usual for him, he doesn’t do anything by the book. He will stop what he’s doing, go to his potty, go peepee, put the potty seat back down (it always has to be down when not in use, according to M. These OCD tendencies come from his father…fyi), and continue on with his play. He will say, “Poop-poop!!” if he needs to go and then we’ll meet him at the potty, but he’ll never come up to us to ask to use it, he’ll just go straight there and sometimes the only reason I know that he has gone pee is because I hear the top slam down. I had chocolate-covered raisins at the ready as an incentive, and I did use them a couple of times, but he didn’t care and so I stopped that (never really felt comfortable with that whole getting a treat for pottying thing anyway, so it worked out). If you make a big deal out of it (which most kids like…), he just gets annoyed and says, “All done,” as in, “Ok you can stop now, it’s over and I’m already playing again.” Odd child. However if you do make a big deal about it when he is running to the potty saying, “Peepee! Peepee!” he won’t go (says, “all done”) and then he’ll go elsewhere (as in not on the potty) a few minutes later. We caught on rather quickly to that and just help him pull down his underwear, if he needs it, and let him run off to the potty. It’s just a funny scene to behold. Him running. Us trying to follow at a distance. The room getting awkwardly quiet as we try not to notice him, but are wrapped up in observing this new behavior of his. Him shutting the lid and running off to continue whatever he was doing… Another thing that has helped him is the, “Quick! Run! Run! Quick!” You’ll see him all of the sudden pop up and start running while saying, “Quick! Run! Run! Quick!” Then he’ll stop at the potty and start doing his business. I think he likes the raised voice (he doesn’t ever shout, though, because he probably doesn’t want to alert us to anything!) and the running part, which is his custom-made incentive, I suppose.

I found a great deal on underwear at Target: 7 pair for $4.48 on clearance. They are Sesame Street, which we don’t watch, so we just describe what’s going on in the picture on each underwear and how not to pee on the nice puppets. They’re cute, but totally look like underwear, so Mom got him boxer briefs (lol!!) that look more like shorts than underwear for her high-traffic-area house. He still hasn’t completely mastered the pulling down underwear and/or shorts part, so I let him run around in just the underwear and these boxer briefs are a bit more modest and look oh-so-adorable on him!

Since this week is the first real week of just briefs (and we’ve been staying with Mom and Dad since D is on ovenights all week), I didn’t really know what to expect, but he started off with a bang. The first night we slept here, he woke me up at 1am to go peepee and then woke up in the morning with a dry diaper! Completely shocked me. He woke up the next morning around 5:50am to go peepee, even though he had gone some in his diaper, and went back to bed until 7:30am. He hasn’t woken me up the past few nights, but will go pee right before I put him to bed. He awakes up with a wet diaper, but definitely not soaked like he usually was. All in all, I’m completely and utterly impressed with how he is doing with this whole potty training thing.

How is he out and about? Well he had an accident early on in church on Sunday, but then went potty on the potty two other times in church before we left (aside: he went to the big boy Sunday School class upstairs and colored a picture that is now on our fridge!!). I usually have to see if he’s displaying any signs of needing to go because he won’t tell anyone when he has to go and that can be a problem when his faithful little potty friend is not nearby. So I have been spotting these signs and we rush to any available potty before an accident can occur. Today we were coming out of Whole Foods after having eaten lunch there, shopped a bit, and before that having played for an hour and a half at the library. All of the sudden, near the cart return of all places, he stops, pulls down his shorts and says, “Peepee” as a seemingly never-ending stream of pee lands itself in a puddle under a cart. I was trying to shield him as much as possible, but of course he had to pick the busiest area of the parking lot to go to the bathroom. I was mostly proud and only somewhat embarrassed : ). Oh and the only other incident of note was on the way home from the lake D, M, and I visited on Saturday. He insisted he didn’t have to go before we left (he NEVER has said yes when we ask him if he has to go), so sure enough, three minutes down the road we hear, “Peepee! Poop-poop!!” Poor David quickly found a patch of grass to pull over on and I whipped M out of his carseat and onto his potty that was stashed in the back next to him. Sure enough, he told us the truth! If that’s the worst of it, we’re golden, but who knows. We just take one day at a time and enjoy what is turning out to be a relatively easy potty-training experience. I’d say he’s fully day-trained because he can hold it for a few hours if it’s not an emergency and partially night-trained. I think we can have this wrapped up by the time Baby makes her appearance, if things keep on this track. What a nice thought: only one child in diapers!

This neat little flotation device was recommended to me by a lady at a pool store. I didn't know how well M would take to it, but I hadn't tried anything else with him yet, so he didn't know any different. It's called a Puddle Jumper and they are the neatest invention. I looked them up on Amazon just to learn more about them and they had a five-star rating from parents of kids in the 30-50 pound range (what they're recommended for). So I went to the pool store (because I had a coupon and because I could get it and have M use it that oh-so-hot day) and tried it on the little man and he happily walked around the store with it until he spotted a ball that he'd rather play with (which he wasn't allowed to because I'm no fun like that). This kid has been jumping and floating and swimming in the pool ever since. Everyone is amazed at how well the thing works, how much M loves it, and are even wondering if they make them in bigger (adult) sizes! Anyway, here is a little clip of it in action. They have different colors, the red one is a ladybug and the green one looks like a monster. I liked the orange face best...and it's gender neutral :).

Mom said that this picture doesn't do me justice, in that I look smaller than I actually am. I believe the doctor that I saw today (not my usual one) would agree, who, after measuring my belly and poking around the same area, declared, "My, I think you have a big baby!" It's the most excitement I've had all pregnancy, and I'm not complaining. He went on to explain that while I'm 28 1/2 weeks, my fundal height is measuring 30 1/2 weeks. It's not the most accurate measurement, but that coupled with the hugeness that is my belly put him over the edge, I guess. So he signed me up for an ultrasound at my next appointment in two weeks. I'm already in my third trimester, which means I go to the doctor every two weeks for a bit then it changes to a standing weekly appointment. I tried not to act too excited when I asked if he thinks that they might move up my C-section date. I got the obligatory, "Just because the baby is big doesn't mean all the organs are fully developed" answer, but we'll see what answers the ultrasound produce.

Other info I found out: I passed my glucose test so I don't have to do the three-hour one like I had to do with Micah. They didn't tell me last time to eat a light meal, wait two hours, and then get my blood tested, so my sugar was one point over the cutoff. I was not a happy camper about that, so this time I adjusted: ate an egg, waited a few hours, and then went for the test. It worked out much better!

One other conversation of interest that took place between the doctor and me: I had mentioned I had a son and that he was born a big boy, so a few minutes later he asked what I had said I had, a boy or girl. So I told him and he said, "So this one is a girl?" I replied that I didn't know and he commented on being old fashion and how it's coming back in style because more and more people aren't finding out these days. It was just the way he said it that made me think that he had slipped up and said something he shouldn't have, but I can't be positive and I didn't ask him to confirm anything. D said I'm probably reading more into it than I should and he's probably right, however we'll find out in October! The baby's gender is in my file, but they probably have a warning posted on it that I don't want to know. Anyway, just an interesting conversation to note...possibly. D said I just should have asked if she is a girl, but where's the fun in that?! My standard answer to people's, "What are you having?" question is still, "A baby" :).

If this baby is anywhere near as cute-cute as our firstborn, then we're in for some really adorable sibling pictures:

Mom had a going-away-to-Germany party for Nick on Friday and during the party we had another family photo shoot (we had one a few weeks ago at Grandpa's 80th birthday party with the entire extended family). Since I don't have the time to put a caption with each picture, I'll just generally tell you about them! We did a mix of family members, generational pictures, family pictures (D was moonlighting, so our family pics consisted of M and me...and Baby who has quite the personality already. Ugh?), and you'll see M there at the end taking over Auntie Karen's camera and doing his best to capture the surrounding activity. I told Auntie to email me the pictures he ended up taking (a lot with his chubby-chubby finger(s) in view), so I'll post those when I get them. He is now into photography (not to be confused with his on-going and simultaneous interest in animals, tools, trucks, kids' songs on YouTube, swimming, Richard Scarry books, and LEGOs...), so Auntie said she'd give him the digital camera Dad gave her to give to Ana many years ago that is still in working order! He'll have a blast with that. And so will anyone who can stand his repetitive orders of "Mimle" (as in "Smile") and "Cheeeeeese." It was a fun time, per usual, and the pictures seemed to have come out great. We'll have to schedule a photo shoot when D can be there, too. It's hard to keep track of him these days...M didn't see him for two and a half days last week because of his busy schedule. Granted the pool was great compensation, but he was so glad to have Daddy back on Saturday. Now for the photos, get ready to see the cutest 22 month old ever...

I’m not sure how I found out about library passes, but I’m sure glad I did because we used one to get into the Beardsley Zoo for free yesterday. Since you have to reserve the pass and then pick it up the day before you go and because D took the day off, the date we were going was pretty much set in stone, unless we just cancelled the entire trip. I say that because it was one of those hot, hot days that should be spent in or by the pool, but we went early enough and left early enough that the heat wasn’t a big issue for us. I even packed a spray bottle at Mom’s suggestion to cool us down throughout our adventure. It worked quite nicely!

The zoo itself was perfect for doing in the three hours we were there. It was hot, so a lot of the animals were just lying in the shade (can’t blame them), but they had roaming peacocks and chickens that fascinated M. And he was able to feed the goats. If that was all that the zoo entailed, he would have left a happy little boy. He could name just about every animal we saw, even the vulture, to D’s surprise. The number of animal books we read in any given week should qualify him as an expert in the field. We meandered our way around the zoo at a good pace, ate lunch, and left so we could get home for M’s naptime : ). Since the ride was just about an hour long, I borrowed two zoo/animal DVDs and a few zoo books from the library and he was fascinated by all. One of the DVDs was by Brainy Baby, not to be confused with Baby Einstein or baby genius or however how many other companies trying to get in on the act, but I was totally impressed by Brainy Baby and checked more of them out of the library to review.

We made it home for M’s nap, which ended up being over three hours, and since it was technically a vacation day, D said we could go to my favorite pizza restaurant in CT (Naples) for dinner. That made Mama and Baby…and Micah…three very happy people. And D is never disappointed with food, so he enjoyed himself very much, too. To round out our perfectly enjoyable day, we went to Mom and Dad’s for a swim and some watermelon before heading home. My grandma from Florida is visiting, so M had lots of fun following her around and Grams had lots of fun going on and on about his “curls like Donald.” When we left, M kept saying, “Nana, Nana, Nana…” Good thing she’ll be here for a while!

I have a few more outings planned for us this summer and it would be fun to get to do them all, but with this heat and with my growing-by-the-minute belly, I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing. There’s a petting farm nearby that I have a coupon to, I’d like to pick-your-own fruit at a local farm, go to the man made lake we went to as kids, and definitely a day (or afternoon/evening) at the beach. We’ve already been to a few libraries and parks and I’m sure that’ll keep up as the summer wears on because we both enjoy those outings. M is just as content to stay home and play with his toys or visit Grammy and Grpa and BreaBrea, it’s me that likes being out and about and I’m trying to get it all in before I’m housebound for at least six weeks with Baby (who is still quite active with boney heels and elbows and fists!).

Speaking of out and about, we were at a local library today that offers a summer reading program for which I signed M up and his first prize for reading twenty minutes for 10 days was a very nice goody bag filled with coupons to local restaurants for free kids’ meals and free tickets to sports events. It was crazy! The program is neat, though, in that you log your minutes online and you can even enter the book’s ISBN number and it’ll list all the books you’ve read. We snuggle and read for twenty minutes in our bed as soon as M gets up, so it’s only ten more days until prize #2 (which is a free book or two, I think)!

I'm completely into another book (Stones into Schools, a follow up to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson), so if you don't hear from me for a bit, that's what I'm doing!

D's mom got Micah this Lego starter set for Christmas last year and he hasn't been too interested in it...until now. Until his interest in all things trucks and cars and transportation has been sparked. He especially loves construction trucks, and they're usually on building sites, so I think building things (instead of knocking them down) is more appealing to him now.

Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably clarify: this is M's first Lego creation he build all on his own. The first one he build was also a car, but copied it off of the side of the box. He brought me the box and pointed to the picture of the car, so I handed him the four or five pieces it took to make it and let him at it. He put all the pieces in the right spots, but some needed to be turned around to make it look exactly like the picture. Nonetheless, I was very, very impressed with his building skills.

We designated these as our life verses more than six years ago and am still amazed that we are already six years into forever. Six years makes us seems old, but it feels like we just got married and moved to PA. The Lord has been so gracious to us through three (well, technically 4) moves, four years of med school, one year of internship with a newborn (not sure if anyone can truly appreciate that unless you've been through it. Four words: Thanks Mom and Dad!), purchase of our first home, and the welcoming of our second child, Lord willing, in about 99 days. That being a very general summary of God's goodness, we are thankful for all the days and hours and minutes we get to spend together; those little memories are probably the most precious.

I was reminiscing last night on the difference between how we spent our first anniversary and how we're spending our sixth: D's parents sent us on an overnight to a resort in the Poconos for Year One. Tonight, D is going on his first moonlighting experience until 9pm while I care for our babies. We had a good laugh. We were planning on making dinner together and possibly renting a good movie tonight, but this moonlighting shift came up last minute and since I knew D was anxious about starting, I told him to go ahead and take it and we'd just move dinner to Saturday night. Poor guy triple checked throughout the day yesterday to make sure I was really okay with it (which I was) and went ahead and accepted it. We weren't planning on really celebrating until August this year because of busy schedules, so this way D can make an easy couple hundred bucks and we can spend some of that on our overnight :).

Dinner tomorrow promises to be yummy, though. I planned the dinner portion and D planned the dessert part and we don't know what the other one is planning. I do know that D said he ordered the dessert from Whole Foods so it promises to be very, very yummy and as healthy as dessert can get. I'll do some prep work for the dinner and we'll make it together (probably with M's help...) after our busy Saturday. Can't get more perfect than that!

Our Anniversary Week (not to be confused with our Anniversary Month ;) started with D doing his first overnight call for Radiology. Since he’s now a second year, he has been welcomed into the 8pm-8am Call Club. By all accounts it went very well and he not only survived, but said it was a bit slow! He had to come home and sleep, obviously, but he didn’t sleep as long as I expected him to because he wanted to go check out a van we were interested in. Meanwhile, M and I went in my parents’ pool and M actually went it and had a great time. He had been wary of it until this point, probably because he only saw people standing around in it and assumed that since he couldn’t stand in it, it wasn’t for him. I didn’t force him in and he played on the deck as I swam around making up a little song on how to swim. He was definitely more interested at this point and kept staring at me swimming until he finally called, “Mitah mim” translated, “Micah swim.” He willingly came to me and we did a lap before he wanted to get back on the deck. By the end of the hour we were in/around the pool, he (his idea…) was holding my hands and jumping ("Mitah nump," meaning "Micah jump") in the pool. He was also moving his arms and kicking his legs like he saw me doing earlier (which launched a conversation about how we only kick the water in the pool and not anybody at anytime!). They learn so much by observation, it’s incredible. And by Tuesday night, he was doing this:

The three of us had such a fun evening together. The pool water was 88 degrees and not even refreshing. D pulled the hose up onto the pool deck for the water balloons, but we ended up putting it in the pool in hopes of cooling it down (and raising the water level, D said). M really enjoyed the “wata booms” (aka water balloons) and kept asking for “Mo, mo” (more, more). I got the hose attachment and a hundred water balloons in a package for a dollar at the Dollar Store. Can’t beat that cheap fun! The entire night was so enjoyable; summer nights are my favorite and summer nights by the pool with my two (maybe three?) men just can’t be beat.

An aside or two:
Summer Reading Book I’m Thoroughly Enjoying: The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. I have her second one, The Ministry of Motherhood, and can’t wait to read that, too.

Best Pizza Ever Tips:
* Use this dough recipe and directions: YouTube Video Link
* Use at least two cheeses (I used three: parm, mozz, and sharp cheddar)
* Cook at 425 degrees for 9-10 minutes

First, David has officially received his CT physician’s license and is able to moonlight whenever his schedule allows. It’s one less hoop he has to jump through now, although he’s not board certified yet and won’t be for a few more years (aka a lot more tests and money to go!). Moonlighting is a good thing, even though it means more time away from us, because he can rake in some cash for med school bills…and some fun things too : ). Needless to say, he’s awesome and everyone is very proud of this accomplishment…poor guys is slightly embarrassed that Mom keeps telling everyone and making a big deal of it!



And this is me at week 24 (first picture), even though I look bigger at week 20, the second picture. I had my monthly doctor’s appointment yesterday (and am thoroughly enjoying my doctor, he reminds me so much of David in his speech and mannerisms) At my twenty-four week mark, in which I’m supposed to measure 24cm across the belly, I am already measuring 26cm. I don’t mind if this baby is big a) because I’m not pushing her (or him) out and b) M’s “love and affection” will probably be more than any average baby can withstand on a constant basis. And to be completely honest, I don’t mind big babies, I probably actually prefer them, if I had a choice in the matter. I probably wouldn’t prefer a ten-pounder like David, but he was way too late in making his appearance, so I guess 10 lbs to be expected when you’re gestating a month longer than the average baby! I think if M was that late, he’d have been 12 pounds by then! Ok, enough of those kinds of thoughts…

Baby, dare I say, is more active than I remember M being. And he was active. This little one has quite the personality already and is always ready to play. If I lay a certain way, the kicking starts; if I go a bit longer in between eating, I hear about (or feel) it; if I poke and prod where she’s at, the punching will begin. I’m thinking that if I think about her, she starts…. All this movement doesn’t wake me up at night, but I am enjoying every second of it during the day. At least now I know what I can possibly expect (and the tricks that go along with having an active one!), since M was so active in utero and has continued to be to this day. However, I am still praying for a quiet, sleepy little person if that’s what the Lord can spare (I’m sure they’re in high demand : ). I play Mozart daily as part of our morning routine, so that could possibly have the calming effect it’s supposed to one day. But I know that she does in fact sleep because the doctor woke her up yesterday when he was checking for a heartbeat. The heartbeat went from a calm low-140s to a very active mid-160s during the twenty seconds we listened to it. I’m sure she didn’t want to miss anything and just had to remind us that she was there. Anyway, all that to say this pregnancy is flying by, even though I still have three and a half more months, and I am thoroughly enjoying this part of the process.

I should mention, too, that I am enjoying M at his age. I’m not sure how he got so incredibly cute and smart, but I’m thinking it had something to do with his daddy! He’s so much fun: talking, repeating, randomly saying things I didn’t know he knew, fixing things with his ever-present tools, figuring out how things go together or come apart,. The world is his playground and he’s taking full advantage of it. And it’s great entertainment for me and anyone else watching. He’s very easy to be around and loves routine and order…and for his hands to be dirt-free. You can’t get any more boy than this one, but if his hands are messy, he’ll instantly show you and say, “dirty” meaning, can you please wipe this off? His daddy is neat like that, so he comes by it honestly. He still loves to read and that’s the only time he will be any kind of still. We read throughout the day, everyday and I noticed recently that he is more interested in and more capable of sitting through longer books. I made a list of some read aloud books that kids his age have enjoyed and plan on taking him to the library tomorrow to check some out. He won’t stay still enough to read in the library, with its toys and other kids, but I’ll test them out when we get home!





And that’s about it as of recent. I’ve been starting to do our Christmas shopping and have bought for everyone under the age of 5 at this point. I’m also putting together a few activity bins for M that I’ll rotate on a daily basis and then change them around each month or two (one bin for Mondays, one for Tuesdays, etc). Along with gathering the few items I’ll need for the hospital, I’m collecting a few things for M to open each day while I’m in the hospital. I think it’ll end up being a few new things and few favorites from home, along with a bible story, but it’s still in the works. I’m also on the lookout for a girl and a boy coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit. Like last time, I don’t mind everything else in his/her little life (for the few weeks at least) being neutral, but I want something gender-specific for coming home and for keepsake purposes. Oh, and then shopping for a few items to replace those which were in our stolen van. I’m working on that story…it’s a good one…