On the Flip Side

Christmas has officially ended, but I have to say that this particular Christmas will go down on record as one of the best ever. The snow started Christmas Eve and we spent several hours over the next couple days exploring the snow, sledding the slopes, and building a snowman. I hadn't had that much fun in the snow since I was a kid! Carter really enjoyed the sledding part, and Nora seemed happy to observe from the backpack carrier. Opening presents, lots of good food, and spending time with each other really made the entire holiday memorable.

Some new milestones to share...
- Nora can push herself up onto all fours now. She's not crawling yet, but we consider this a major accomplishment considering how...er...round she is in the middle. Crawling will come soon though! She already rocks back and forth on her hands and knees.
- Nora's also quite the chatterbox. A near-constant stream of BAs, DAs, YAs, MAs, all come out of her mouth.
- Carter's not near the chatterbox Nora is, but his vocabulary finally seems to be catching up with his age. Every day he says a new word. It's amazing to watch him...he's known what these words mean for ages having heard them from me and Mike, but to hear it from his own mouth is so thrilling...hard to put into words.

Hope everyone had a great holiday! Have a safe New Year! Couple new videos below, and click the link for pictures on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=245105&id=1012296258&l=abd5b6bafb

The Weeks In Between

Normally this time of year is totally crazy for everyone. We are no exception! Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's a nonstop frenzy of shopping, Santa photos, tree decorating, present wrapping, package shipping, and card making all packed into a few short weeks. Amazingly, I actually have a moment to update the blog again! Twice in one month! Nora is happily bouncing in her jumper (i.e. The Mother's Godsend) and Carter just went down for a nap.

So, now that our traveling is out of the way, I can share some things the kids have been up to. Nora has mastered the art of sitting up. It's such a huge relief for us because she will quietly sit and play with her toys for 10-15 minutes at a time, giving us chances to tend to Carter or whatever else needs attention. I think there's less screaming because of it, but I'll have to get back to you on that. Nora's also progressed to 3 square meals a day. So far she has yet to totally reject anything I've given her. When Carter was her age, he ate mostly homemade baby food. And now he's a great eating toddler who will try almost anything. Hopefully Nora will follow in his footsteps.

Carter seems to have resigned himself to the fact that Nora is a permanent addition to the family. He still gets a bit jealous sometimes but I think it's getting better. The next few months will be a challenge since we won't be able to spend as much time outside. He absolutely loves the outdoors! He's always ready to plop himself in the nearest pile of dirt and begin sifting for treasures. I think we'll need a bigger sandbox come spring.

Around the house, I've been doing a little sprucing up. The family room area in the basement was painted with colored we had leftover from upstairs rooms. I like those colors in the upstairs rooms but hated them in the family room. The lighting was completely different. Over the course of a week, I repainted the entire family room area (6 walls!), one wall at a time every night. I love the way it turned out. I also added a few extras...a hand-painted wall quote, new painted bookshelf, framed pictures and family decor. Come visit to see the changes, or scroll down for pictures!

This weekend we'll get the Christmas tree up with all the decorations. Who knows? There might even be ANOTHER blog update with more photos!

New pics on Facebook here and also below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=245105&id=1012296258&l=abd5b6bafb

Wall quote: "The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! As usual, we ate way too much...but how can you turn down such good food? We visited Mike's family in Arkansas for a nice, laid-back vacation. The driving was mainly uneventful, except for on the trip down, Nora exploded in her pants TWICE, leaving her down to her diaper for the last 2 hours of the drive. The kids slept through the night mostly, lots of food and leftovers, the Hogs won, Mike got his fix of Rocky's and McClard's, and Clay shot a huge buck went deer hunting. Who could ask for a better trip?

I've been getting several queries about Christmas gifts for the kids. Please don't think that we expect gifts from everyone for the kids, but I'm going to post some ideas for those who plan to play Santa.

Carter
- Wears a size 2T in pants and shirts.
- Clothing ideas include Razorback apparel, pajamas, sweatpants and hoodies
- Toy ideas, pretty much anything with wheels: trucks, tractors, trains, cars
- Also some art supply stuff would be good for winter indoor play: fingerpaint, coloring books, etc.

Nora
- Currently wearing 12-month clothes, but will likely be in 18-month stuff this spring.
- Clothing ideas: pajamas, knit pants and leggings, hoodies, socks
- My mind is blank for toys for Nora...she's happy playing with Carter's old toys for now.

We're counting down the days to Christmas now! I love this time of year. Hopefully we'll be able to get our Christmas tree next weekend, and maybe we'll hang some lights up outside this year. Another post will be coming soon...I've got some photos to share.

Adventures in Travel

There's always a moment shortly after becoming a parent when you realize you've become THAT mom. The mom you said you would never become. Those moments have come more frequently for me since we had Nora. For example, recently I was unsuccessfully trying to navigate a double stroller through the narrow aisles of the Eddie Bauer store in the mall. The salespeople were giving me dirty looks as I bumped into their displays and knocked things to the floor. Even though I realized it was hardly my fault they designed their store for people of supermodel thinness, I couldn't help feeling self-conscious. To my chagrin, I had become THAT mom...wielding her diaper bag and snack container with multiple babies in a monster truck of a stroller. *sigh* Other moments like these have followed...giving my child a meal consisting entirely of Teddy Grahams because that's all he will eat, looking with longing and envy at the moms driving the new Honda Odyssey, and now...being the parent of the two extremely loud, crying, screaming, kicking kids on a 1.5-hour flight.

This weekend, Mike and I took the kids up to Minnesota for a big family reunion. My Grandmother's 85th birthday is coming up and everyone met in the North Star state to surprise her. We debated on driving versus flying up there for the long weekend. After finding some low fares online, we chose to fly. I spent weeks planning for every possible need and situation we might encounter on the plane, and I thought we'd have a fighting chance of making it through the flight without incident. Ha! Oh the luxury of naivety!

The trip actually started out surprisingly well. We made it from remote parking to ticket counter through security and to the gate without much trouble. Carter was thrilled to look out the windows and see airplanes up close and Nora was on her way to falling asleep. The dream came crashing down when we boarded the plane. Carter panicked after seeing a hundred pairs of eyes on him while walking down the aisle. The well-meaning flight attendant made things worse when she tried to talk to him about his first flight. Nora woke up as soon as we sat down and proceeded to scream in Mike's arms. Carter didn't want to sit in his seat and he kept trying to escape into the aisle. The flight attendant got on the airplane speaker and invited everyone to welcome Carter and Nora on their first flight. The passengers repeated the welcome in monotone voices like school kids forced to greet their teacher. Mike and I tried to look like she wasn't talking about us.

After takeoff, I held Carter on my lap and tried my best to keep his legs from kicking. But my two arms were no match for his four flailing limbs. I felt awful for the guy sitting in front of me. Even Carter's favorite snack, applesauce in a pouch, didn't come through for us. Carter gave it a hard squeeze and an applesauce volcano erupted in my lap. Mike wasn't having much luck with Nora either. While she cried, he shushed and rocked as best he could in his cramped window seat. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tray table of the woman sitting behind him. She had to hold her drink to keep it from spilling. We decided to switch kids...Mike took Carter and I took Nora. Things calmed down a little after that. Carter was more comfortable away from the aisle with his DVD player and favorite movie. Nora seemed happier with me as well. She actually fell asleep just as we landed. Whew! We were exhausted and the trip had hardly begun!

My whole immediate family stayed at my sister's house. It worked out really well since they have lots of room and tons of toys! Carter loved playing with his cousin Dalton's trains and cars. He also seemed to get a big kick out of chasing their cats around the house. He would laugh anytime they came into the room and say "Kitty cat!" Nora's experience wasn't so positive. She had a hard time sleeping in a new place, waking up every two hours. Over the course of the trip, she developed a fail-safe, guaranteed pick-me-up-NOW noise. This noise isn't crying or wailing, but it is by far the most annoying sound in the world! I am not exaggerating! Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber has nothing on Nora! Mike and I took turns getting up with her, but we still felt it in the morning. I surpassed my normal weekly caffeine intake within the first day!

The best part, the whole point of the trip, was Grandma's party. Her face was priceless when we walked in the door. She seemed to be in shock. I loved being able to see so many family members that I hadn't seen in so long. I think I might have been 9 when Uncle Dwight last saw me! Carter and Nora lasted longer than I thought they would at the party. However we still had to leave after a couple hours. I wished we could have stayed longer to visit with everyone and take more pictures. I feel like I missed some opportunities there, having everyone in the same room for the first time in so long.

To wrap up the weekend, Mike and I took Carter to a Halloween trunk or treat with Dalton. Dalton was a cowboy, complete with leather chaps. Carter was a Star Wars jedi, though he shed most of his costume by the end of the event. He seemed to enjoy running around and looking at the sights. Since he didn't collect any candy, I had to steal some of Dalton's (shhh!).

The flight home was the complete opposite of the flight up. Nora slept the entire time. Carter sat in his own seat, quietly watching a movie and eating a snack. After the halfway point of the flight, he sat in Mike's lap and fell asleep. It was kinda peaceful sitting there, looking over at my two guys and down at my baby girl, all sleeping on the plane.

Now we're home with piles of clothes threatening to suffocate us. I hope to kids adjust to the normal schedule without much effort on our part. Click the link below for photos from the trip on Facebook.

Favorite quotes from the trip.
"What is on my leg?" - Mike wondering out loud on the airplane while he held Nora.
"Did you want sauce and cheese in the 2nd layer of lasagna? Or meat and sauce?" - Me getting confused about how Mom wanted me to help make the 4 giant lasagnas for the party.
"Look at the cute cowgirl!" - Random person at trunk or treat admiring Dalton's costume. Is it time for a haircut?

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238678&id=1012296258&l=5f0cc90b62

Cross Your Fingers...

Apparently I'm lapsing in my blogging responsibilities...at least according to various friends and family. I swear it's not intentional! These days, it seems like I blink my eyes and a whole week passes. In fact, today I actually put a dirty diaper in the mailbox instead of the trash bin. Thankfully the mail had already run today, but at least you see where my head is (or isn't) these days. :-)

The last couple months have been as uneventful as a household can be with two babies in it. But this last week or so has seen a lot of changes. Nora has been eating solid food for her dinner. Between Carter and her, Mike and I are lucky if we actually get to eat hot food at the same time together. Sometimes we postpone our dinner until after the kids go to bed just so we can enjoy the meal! But it's fun to see Nora figure out how to swallow rice cereal, and Carter finally eat some of his food with a fork.

As far as sleeping goes, we've been pretty lucky as parents...both of ours are sleeping through the night. I almost dread the day we introduce Carter to a toddler bed on the likely chance that he will wake everyone up during the night when he falls out of the bed. In his crib, he hardly ever sleeps in a normal position...usually I check on him to find his feet sticking out through the slats.

Couple of other firsts this month...I took Carter to the movie theater to see a Thomas the Train movie. It was a complete failure! Oh well, maybe next time.

In a few days, my fingers will be crossed for a more successful "first". Mike and I are taking the kids on a plane to Minnesota for a long weekend. I'm really excited about the actual time in Minnesota, but also dreading the travel part. I'm sure the next blog entry will have lots of interesting stories from the trip. Until then, check out the new pics on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238678&id=1012296258&l=5f0cc90b62

Photos and Videos Finally!

Time to catch up on my photo and video posts. Here is a link to a bunch of new pics on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238678&id=1012296258&l=5f0cc90b62

Scroll down to see a couple new videos too.

News bits from the Bunn's in St. Louis...

• At least two teeth have sprouted in Nora's mouth. She's taking the change well, not a lot of crying but definitely a LOT of drooling.
• Both kids sleep through the night...Woohoo! (doing a little celebration jig)
• Carter is one of the best behaved kids I've ever seen, but he does occasionally test my limits. The other day I stepped into Nora's room for a few seconds to change her diaper. When I came back into the living room, Carter was sitting cross-legged on top of the dining table playing with the train I had set there earlier.
• We're looking forward to some upcoming holiday travel...though we are a little nervous. First flights for the kids in October and first road trip for Nora in November. We may need to be institutionalized come Christmas!

Happy Birthday Carter!

It's official! Carter is 2 years old! The birthday party was a big success, thanks in part to good weather. We invited a ton of people and being able to go outside made all the difference. We were so happy to share the event with all our friends and family, but for those of your who couldn't make it (or if you're just interested in the party details), here's the low-down...

Decorations

The theme was transportation. Planes, trains, and automobiles are all favorite toys for Carter so I tried to incorporate all of them into the party. I hung sky blue and white balloons (no helium) from the ceiling to make it look like the sky. Then I put my grade school skill of folding paper airplanes to use and hung some of those from the ceiling too. For a tablecloth, I ordered a bunch of transportation die-cuts from Little Extras, and arranged them randomly on top of a sky blue tablecloth. Then on top of all, I laid a huge piece of vinyl (available at fabric stores) to hold the die-cuts in place and make for easy cleanup.

Activity

You gotta have something for a bunch of kids to DO at a party, right? Since we had kids of various ages attending, I thought long about an activity that everyone could do. Something easy for little kids, but also fun for the older ones. I decided on The Great Paper Airplane Contest, with prizes for the best decorated and the best in flight. I gave the kids prefolded planes which they covered with stickers and decorated with crayons. Then they threw them off the top of the deck outside to test their flight skills. I designed the prize boxes in Adobe Illustrator.

Cake

I was inspired by Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. For the middle cupcakes, I made red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Then I used royal icing to make the letters. On the outside, I had chocolate chip cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting. I added a yellow dashed line and gummie cars to make it look like a road. The cupcakes turned out okay...maybe a little dry. But I had baked them the day before the party so maybe that had something to do with it. Both frostings were very tasty though!

Goodie Bags

I received many compliments on the goodie bags, but I have to come clean here. The idea was not mine to claim. I found the idea here and made mine to be pretty similar. The suitcases were made from cereal boxes, spray painted brown and embellished with yellow bands and travel stickers. The luggage tags were my own creation (Illustrator again) though. They turned out great and tied in nicely with the theme. The guests picked them up from the "Baggage Claim" table as they left.

More photos can be seen on Facebook. Click this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=225952&id=1012296258&l=68d16c6c42

Month of Milestones

This has definitely been a month of highs and lows...and it's only half over!

Highs
Nora has mastered the skill of rolling over. It's practically an automatic response if you lay her flat on her back. She seems to like the view of the world from there since she'll sit there for a while before getting frustrated. Unlike Carter who cried immediately after roll over.

Carter has finally talked! I was beginning to worry a little. Within a 24 hour period, he said "Ma-ma", "Da-da", and he sort of counted to three. He still mainly jabbers in his nonsensical language, but if I say, "Can you say Ma-ma?" he nearly always replies with a smile. It's so cute and also weird...before my eyes, he's becoming a different little boy than the one I've known.

Carter's birthday party is in a couple weeks! It's been fun planning and getting things ready for the big celebration. We're going with a transportation theme since Carter is obsessed with all things vehicular. We've been practicing blowing out candles, but he's too interested in the flame to actually blow it out. Typical boy I guess. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to post later.

Nora had her 4-month checkup and she is the picture of a healthy baby. She weighs 15 lbs 14 oz (92%) and measures 25.5 inches (91%). She's a chunk. I continuously hear phrases like "She's a good eater, isn't she?" from complete strangers.

Lows
The last couples days have been rough since Carter contracted a case of croup. It was a bit scary at first when he had such a high fever (104F!), but after a couple days he is mostly back to his normal self. We did go to the emergency room when the fever spiked just to be safe. It was the first time to the ER for one of our kids...really tough to see my little guy listless in a huge hospital bed. But the news was good and he's on the mend now.

We think Nora might be teething. After several weeks of blissful sleeping through the night, she now wakes 1-2 times and also seems crankier than her normal self. We can just barely see the whites of her teeth beneath the surface so we might be in for a few more sleepless nights.

Couple new pictures posted on facebook. See the link in the previous posts.

The Summer of Trains

Time seems to be flying even faster than ever these days. Nora is already 3 months old and next month my little boy will be 2 years old. They are both growing so fast!

It pains me to say that I am no longer the love of Carter's life. He has found a new passion and it comes in the form of a little blue steam engine. Thomas the train has taken over Carter's world. He absolutely loves playing with the wooden train sets that are covering the family room floor. If we didn't make him stop to eat, Carter would probably play with those trains all day long. We even got him a new tricycle, but nothing tops the trains...he's happy pushing them around and around (and around again). A couple weeks ago, Grandma and I took the kids to the Museum of Transportation. Carter was in heaven...real trains everywhere! It was actually one of the best museums I've ever been to.

Nora seems to be the opposite of Carter in nearly every way. Where Carter was long and lean as an infant, Nora is a chubby butterball. Her cheeks literally hang off her face. She so cute and cuddly though and she always has a smile for me. No signs of rolling over yet, but she has slept through the night several times, for which Mike and I are especially grateful.

It's been especially hot here lately, which I both love and hate. Hate it because it's hard to really enjoy any outside time with the kids. Within 10 min of playing at the park, Carter is covered in sweat and Nora's face has turned pink. But with the heat comes the bounty of fruit at the farmers' markets. We have been gorging ourselves on peaches and watermelons. Carter's face might be stained red permanently with all the watermelon he eats. Sadly, our garden never really had a chance this year. We just haven't had the time to take care of it. Instead we've provided the local deer and rabbits with a steady diet of greens and I can no longer differentiate the vegetables from the weeds. Oh well, we'll do better next year.

Hope everyone's doing well and staying cool. More pictures are up on my Facebook page so click here to see them:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214942&id=1012296258&l=c0623b2cda

Forehead "Kisses"

Thought I would try a new blog design on for size.

I am typing this in a hurry while both kids are napping. I consider it a miracle when these moments happen and I try to make the most of the time. I really should be napping myself, but there's so much stuff that needs to be done all the time!

Nora just had her 2-month checkup with the pediatrician. She's doing really well! She weighs 12 lbs, 6 oz (87%) and measures 23.5 in long (89%). I can't believe how fast she's growing. Soon I'll have to swap out the newborn clothes for the next size up. Every time I look at her, I marvel at how perfect she is. When she's awake, she will follow me with her eyes. She even smiles and coos when I talk to her. She still lacking in the hair department, but her little eyes have sprouted some eyelashes (although she's got nothing on Carter's lashes).

Carter is adjusting well to being a big brother. He still needs to learn some patience at times but he really loves his baby sister. Whenever I ask Carter for a kiss, instead of puckering up, he leans forward and presents his forehead to me. I guess this is because when I hug him and say I wanna give him kisses, I always smother his forehead with smooches. So if I ask him to give Nora a "kiss", he bends down and touches his forehead to hers. It's too cute!

No new pictures just yet. But soon! Hope you all are well.

Summer Fun Begins

Lazy blog post again

Things we've done in the past couple weeks...
1) Lunch and ice cream at the historic Bob's Drive-In. Loving their chocolate & banana milkshakes.
2) Missouri Botanical Garden. Carter LOVES the children's garden there and I got to play with my new camera snapping shots of the flowers in bloom.
3) Date night for the parents! Yay! Mike and I tried the deep dish pizza at the Blackthorn Pub. Top notch! We'll be going there again.
4) Hike at Babler State Park. While it was great to stretch our legs, I had forgotten how miserable mosquitoes can make a walk in the woods.

New pictures added to the Summer 2010 album on Facebook. Click the link below to see them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214942&id=1012296258&l=c0623b2cda

Photo Switcheroo

Wow...time seems to be going by so fast these days. I can't believe how far behind I am in blog posts and picture uploads. It took me a couple days but I think I am finally caught up for the moment. I recently bought a new camera and I've been happily snapping away, but I've been a bit lax in getting the pictures off the camera and onto the computer. I've decided to simplify things as far as picture posting goes. You may have noticed that the clever-looking photo album thingy on the left is gone. I will no longer be putting photos on the Flickr website. Since I am (and some of you) are active on Facebook, I will only be posting photos there from now on. I was trying to post photos on both Facebook and Flickr but I had trouble finding the time to keep up with both sites. Those of you who do not have a Facebook account, don't worry! Each time I post new photos, I will put a direct link in the blog here for you to see them. Here are the newest additions to my photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214942&id=1012296258&l=c0623b2cda

Nora is growing so fast these past couple weeks. I am trying to make sure she wears all of her cute little outfits at least once before she outgrows them. Every day I try a new one on her and take some photos...it's like our own little fashion show.

Carter is adjusting to life as a big brother. He often whines with impatience when I can't do whatever he wants me to do when I'm feeding Nora. But he gets the biggest smile on his face when he gets a chance to touch her little toes or pat her on the head. He loves to hold his foot up against hers to compare sizes. It melts my heart (and almost makes up for the constant whining).

Mike and I are hanging in there...most days we're half zombies after waking up with Nora in the night, but things are sort of falling into a regular schedule. We are definitely looking forward to sleeping through the night again, but until then, we'll keep rocking in the rocking chair with a warm, snuggly baby girl.

2 Under 2

I can't believe Nora is almost a month old already. The time has really flown by! We've had so much help in the way of grandparents and neighbors (thanks!). I've only actually been on my own with both kids for one day, mind you it was a very challenging day!

Nora is doing really well. Her face and body are starting to fill out and look chubby. She seems to be going through a growth spurt right now as she powers through bottle after bottle. So far she's been fairly predictable with her sleep/eat patterns. While we feel sleep-deprived after getting up with her in the middle of the night, at least we know what's coming most every night.

Carter has taken to Nora like a good big brother. He's tries to "help" when I change her diaper and he seems concerned when she cries. I think he's most interested in her little features like her tiny hands and feet. He pats her head and tickles her feet, all with a big smile on his face.

Pictures will be up on Flickr soon!

She's here!

Welcome to the world Nora Elizabeth Bunn! Our new little girl entered the world on Thursday April 8, 2010 at 12:03 pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Everyone is healthy and happy.

We returned home from the hospital yesterday and our family is still adjusting to life as a foursome. Carter, while happy to have mom and dad home again, isn't sure what to make of this new addition. But he's curious about the bundle of blankets we carry around and hopefully he'll show some signs of affection soon.

Some photos were taken at the hospital and are now available online for purchase if you are interested. Visit http://www.bellababyphotography.com/ and click on View Photos. Enter the password "0408norabunn" to see a small slideshow. We will be posting more photos of our own in the coming days. But for now, we are exhausted and will be going to bed!

3 Weeks to Go!

Today I received a bit of a shock when I looked at the calendar. My C-section is scheduled for 3 weeks from today! 3 WEEKS!! Yikes! For some reason I had it in my head that the big event was 4 weeks away. I can't believe there's only 3 weeks before our new little girl will be in our arms.

Sometimes it seems this last trimester has gone by fast and sometimes slow. The signs of early spring have definitely made things go by faster. We've had some really nice weather here and it's been wonderful to take Carter outside for a change. He never seems to tire of stomping around the yard. I even took him to watch a bit of the baseball game at the community college by our house. He looked so cute in his baseball hat watching the big boys play.

The warmer weather has inspired me to finally fill the birdfeeders on our deck. I always love watching the variety of birds that visit, especially in the spring. Our deck has had more traffic than a social networking site the last two days and the feeders already need to be refilled. Hmm. Too bad Carter isn't old enough to have that job as a household chore. In addition to the birds, we've got some greener grass cropping up and new buds on the trees. Daffodils are blooming everywhere. Mole activity has increased 100-fold. While Carter is quite good at smashing their tunnels with his feet, it's really getting out of hand. I'm afraid we may not have much green grass in the backyard this year.

The new baby's room (formally our guest room) is nearly finished. My mom made all of the bedding for the new crib and it looks great! Pictures to come soon as I am still waiting to put a few finishing touches in the room. I love the way everything came together though. I smile every time I walk in there, which I do frequently to admire it all.

Hope everyone is well! It's likely the next post will be after the "birth" day so stay tuned!

Carter Cracked Corn!

We're experiencing a real heat wave (ha!) here this weekend...highs in the low 40s! Yay! Mike and Carter are outside exploring the yard as I type this update. I hope this is a sign of things to come. We are definitely ready for spring.

I'm counting down the weeks to the end of this pregnancy and I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Despite our best efforts, Carter's entry into the world required a C-section. For baby #2, we've opted to follow our doctor's advice and perform another C-section. The official date has been set...April 15! This ends up being 6 days before the actual due date. However, I have a feeling that this baby, like Carter, will make her entrance before then (Carter was 10 days early).

I'm hoping tomorrow we will finally be able to assemble the new crib. We've finished phase one of the furniture makeover...the dresser is complete (well, except for the new knobs)! See pictures below. Work will begin on the matching chest soon. It still seems like we have a ton of things left to buy and do before the baby comes, but one way or another, we'll get it done.

Carter's latest milestone happened yesterday. I was beginning to think this kids might forever eat his food with his fingers. In his opinion, utensils simply get in the way. We've had a breakthrough though! I put a piece of corn on a spoon and he picked up the spoon and ate the corn. I nearly threw our own parade in the kitchen. It seems silly to get so excited about one piece of corn, but after bending down to pick up thousands of pieces of corn on the floor over the last few months, that one piece that made it from spoon to mouth really IS worth celebrating. Yay for Carter!

Welcome February

Well, so much for New Year's resolutions. I'm still not updating this blog as often as I would like.

After a busy December, we've been taking it easy this month. The time at home has given us a chance to get odds and ends done around the house. And while I'm still recovering from the Vikings loss, we are excited to watch the Superbowl this weekend with Mamaw and Papaw.

Carter continues to amaze us every day. He's learning things so fast! Ask him to point out his belly, mouth, ears, feet, or hair, and he will do it most times. He'll even stick out his tongue if you ask him. It's so rewarding to see these new levels of understanding unfold. Our one-way conversations are finally starting to feel more like two-way ones. He still doesn't talk much in the way of recognizable words, but that's not to say he isn't vocal! He loves playing with blocks and trucks and trains...a classic boy. I can't wait for the warm weather so he can get outside and play more.

My pregnancy is going well. I just found out I passed my gestational diabetes test. Horray! The little girl seems to be constantly on the move. I think it might be getting crowded in there. Not only are her kicks becoming quite hard, but my clothes are getting a lot tighter across the belly. I've had to start rolling myself out of bed (literally) in the mornings just to get upright. Starting in a couple weeks, my doctor appointments will increase in frequency until the big day. We're finally making some progress in the baby's room...we bought a crib and I've been working on painting a dresser and chest (thanks Grandma!) to match it.

Hope everyone is well! We miss you all.

Happy Twenty-Ten!

New Year's resolution number 1: update this blog more frequently.


Well, it may be a losing battle, but it's good to have goals, right? Since it's been so long since my last post, this one will be good and long. In fact, I'm certain it will take multiple typing sessions for me to finally get it all done. So, here we go...

I had to go back and re-read the last post to remember where our lives left off in this cyber-soap opera. Thanksgiving weekend was full of Carter's illness. Thankfully, that finally resolved itself. Just when his intestinal problems cleared up, he got a cold on top of that. At least it wasn't severe and he seemed to get over the worst of it fairly quickly. It took him a couple weeks to finally kick the cough and only now do we feel like his sleep/wake behavior is back to normal.

As far as Carter's wellness would allow, we've been pretty busy this December. Carter got to visit Santa for the first time. He seemed a little nervous about sitting on a stranger's lap, but he sat still long enough for a photo. We also got a good photo of the three of us picking out our Christmas tree. I love the smell of Frasier firs!

Carter had an early Christmas with Grandma and Pop. As much as Carter likes playing with paper, I really thought he'd get into tearing off the wrapping of his gifts. But in the end he was more interested in the toys themselves or the boxes they came in. I think his favorite gift from that weekend was the Tonka dump truck. He pushes it around all over upstairs. Puts things in it. And he loves it when we push him around in it too.

The cold weather has really limited our time outside with Carter. I've had to get creative with indoor activities to keep him (and me) from getting bored. With Mike's holiday vacation, we've really been able to get out and about the city. We've bundled up and visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Even on a cold day, we could still walk through the tropical Climatron and some of the other historical buildings there. One night, we drove through the Way of Lights holiday light display in Illinois. The light tunnels impressed us the most. We've also taken Carter swimming at the local indoor pool, braved the shopping malls, and even visited the super-crowded Magic House (children's museum). Carter seemed to like the Magic House for the first 40 minutes or so, but after a while he grew tired of trying to find our legs among the throngs of other parents there with their kids.

Finally, we had a quite Christmas morning at our house. We made a big breakfast and opened presents. Carter really enjoys everything he got (thanks everyone!), except now our house looks like a toy store explosion. Tomorrow we go back to our routine though. I'm a little sad...it's been great having Mike home so much.

My pregnancy is moving along. I'm nearly into the last trimester now. If you haven't heard already, we found out we're having a GIRL! She's very active, and I feel kicks and nudges all the time. As I enter the final stretch, I'm really starting to feel the physical limitations of being pregnant. Ugh. I don't think I've been comfortable for a couple weeks now. There's still so much to do too! My nesting instinct seems to have kicked in this past week. I've been cleaning and organizing whenever I had a spare moment. At least some areas of our house look orderly. The new baby's room still needs a lot of work. But it's the beginning of a new year, and combine that with my nesting instinct, hopefully it will spark us to kick it in gear and get it together before the baby arrives in April.

Pictures will be up on Flickr soon!