Rough Night

Last night Josh and I stayed up past our bedtime to watch a movie. And seriously we like never do this, or at least we'll only do it on a Friday, since we've got Saturday to sleep in and take naps and all. So yeah, we picked the wrong night to do that, cause for one, Josh had trouble sleeping, and was up for a while. But then the "fun" started at 1:30am. We hear Matthew, and we groan. We gave him time to fall back asleep, which we thought he did, but for an hour we'd hear him cry out and then be silent for a while. But it got more consistent with being awake and not being asleep, so we went in there. We checked his diaper, checked his temperature, we even turned on the heat in case his room felt cold. We rocked him and put him back down, but he would only end up crying again, and then we'd repeat the whole process. Josh was the last one to rock him, and he came back in our room around 4:15am. Matthew was crying, but we couldn't keep doing this. It was at a point where he just had to cry himself to sleep, cause we knew he had to be tired by now. We certainly were. And he did go to sleep, but Josh and I are definitely dragging our feet today. I don't know what Matthew's issue was. It's like his internal clock got reset to an overseas time or something. We're praying this doesn't happen again tonight.

In another Matthew report, he saw his pediatrician yesterday for his 18-month check up. He's 27 lbs. 5 oz. and 35 inches tall. This boy is growing for sure. He said by this point that most kids can say 6 words, and I'm like, yeah, he's got way more words than that, so we're good. He did voice concern about Matthew not walking, so he's gonna have a PT (physical trainer) call us to set up an appointment. Josh and I don't really think it's necessary, since he's been improving and walking between us and everything, but at the same time, I guess one meeting wouldn't hurt anything. Maybe he/she'll have and idea we haven't thought of?

Cute story alert: Last weekend I had been working hard with the dishes and laundry and making cookies for our Sunday School get together, and I was wiped out by late afternoon. My feet were also a little puffy from being on them for a while. So I asked Josh to rub my feet, and he did, but then Matthew was so curious about it, that he got in on the action too. Josh showed him how to do it, and there I was, relaxing, while both my boys rubbed my feet. Yeah, it felt as nice as it sounds :)

We bought a new kitchen table several weeks back.



Why? Cause the one we had is an apartment size table, and we needed something to accommodate guests and our growing family. It looks pretty much like our other one (both are from Ikea).

So where's our original table?



Right here.

But where's here? Ok, I'll show you.



It's in our laundry room! It was Josh's idea to put it there, and I'm so glad he thought of it. Now I have a laundry table where I can separate and fold clothes. This is especially helpful being pregnant, cause it's at waist-level and I can stand by it. Sitting on the couch and bending over is much harder. So yes, it's a small blessing, but I love it nonetheless. I think eventually I need to put a laundry sign on the wall over the table. I told Josh that down the road we need to tile the floor and make it look homier. It would be fun, but first we've got more imoportant rooms to set up.

10 More Weeks!

Yeah, for real, can you believe it? Only 10 more weeks until my due date. I feel like we haven't done much to prepare for Jellybean's arrival, but then again, we've got the major bigger things bought because we already have Matthew. We actually have to focus on getting some items for Matthew, like a new bed and dresser and other things for his new room. Personally, I'd like him moved out of the nursery before the baby comes, so he'll be comfortable with it before the baby comes into the house. I know we can always move him afterwards because the baby will be in our room for the first 2 months or so. But the whole dynamic of the house will change, and Matthew will have to share his mommy for the first time. I just don't want too many new things to freak him out, you know? Especially if we "kick" him out of his room for his new little sister.

Last night we were watching TV and I was laying on the couch (my usual spot). Jellybean was going crazy and kicking all over the place, so I had Josh grab the camera so I could film it. Of course once I started filming, she didn't kick as much, but I managed to get a video or two. I just put up one for you guys, the shortest one. I didn't think you really wanted to see 2 videos of my belly :) Anyways, you'll see the remote go up and down because I'm breathing, but then you'll see it wobble from side to side. And that is Jellybean doing aerobics.

Last week we had a Sunday School class fellowship, and my two pregnant friends were there, so we just had to stand in order and get a picture of our different sized bellies. I'm due December 5, Christi is due February 5, and Janelle is due March 5.

And then I can't post without a picture of Matthew, so here's my cute little boy.

Random Pictures and Videos

This is how I found him watching TV one afternoon. Silly guy.

I was able to get a picture before he charged me. Whenever I whip out the camera, not a second goes by until he's crawling to me and trying to see what I'm seeing from the other side of the camera.


I don't remember why he was only in his diaper. I think we had just changed a dirty one, and he was gonna take a bath soon, or something like that.


Doesn't he look tall?

Josh found a way to get Matthew to practice walking. He loves to tackle Daddy, so Josh stands him up farther away from him so he has to walk towards him. It works pretty well.



And some more animal sounds. We forgot some of his other new ones (like a snake and a bird), but you'll hear a bunny ("hop hop") and a cat (my absolute favorite). Enjoy!

"How can you read this? There's no pictures!"

(That title is not original, folks. What movie did I get it from?)

Confessions of a pregnant drama queen:

--I polished off a bag of chocolate chip cookies in 2 days, and I didn't even share with Matthew or Josh. I have a dr.'s appt. tomorrow, and I hope the scale won't reflect my indiscretion.

--I think about food after I've just had a meal, and when I go to bed, and when I get up at night to pee, and when I wake up in the morning.

--I am totally breaking out this week. Hmm, could it be the cookies? Nah, I'll blame it on wacky pregnancy hormones.

--I can pretty much fall asleep at any time of the day, except of course after the middle of the night bathroom run. For some reason, I'm wide awake after that.

--I've officially got "the waddle."

--I registered with Babies R Us simply so I could use my coupon and get a $10 gift card. We bought Matthew a new toy that day.

--It's getting really hard to grocery shop with Matthew or do laundry or pretty much anything that involves semi-strenuous labor.

--Maybe I shouldn't mention labor at this stage. I don't want Jellybean getting any ideas and coming too early. Though a little early would be nice. Giving birth to Matthew was a chore, to say the least (and fyi, he came a week before my due date, all 9 lbs. 5 oz. of him). I should start praying that Jellybean will be sized more like a jellybean and less like a butterball turkey.


Confessions of a pregnant mommy:

--Sometimes I get annoyed when Matthew is messy at meal times. But he's 17 months old; really what more can I expect?

--I get weary of playing with him. And that's probably because sitting on the floor too long makes me sore.

--I am so happy that he doesn't follow me to the bathroom every time I go. I shut the door and all, but really, a girl needs her privacy, and that includes no toddlers knocking on the door and calling for me.

--Prune juice is not always solving his bowel movement problems. Note to self: must discuss this with pediatrician at end of month.

--So proud that he's become a pro at drinking from a straw. So proud that he now loves getting his teeth brushed. He stands on a stool in the bathroom as part of the bedtime routine. And now in the mornings, when I tell him we need to go upstairs so I can brush my teeth, he leads the way and we wind up in his bathroom as he says the word teeth.

--Matthew is now wary of unknown noises. We had a thunderstorm yesterday evening, and on the first rumble he crawls right over to me and holds onto my shoulders. So Josh and I opened the garage door and let him hear it better and see the rain and see that we weren't afraid and that he shouldn't be either. He even tried to say the word thunder a few times.

--Whew! Matthew stinks. I better go change him before the smell permeates the entire house.

6 months down, 3 to go!

The first buckeye game of the season was Saturday, so of course we had to put Matthew in his jersey. His Aunt Laura gave it to him before she went back to school. And she was smart too--it's size 3T, so he can wear it for a few years.

And my 6-month belly...

I'm looking pretty big, right? Yeah, well, I feel it too. Jellybean is pretty active. I couldn't sleep last night because of her movements, so I got up to read for a little while. But she's a little stinker. As soon as Josh tries to feel my belly for her kicks, she stops. And once he pulls away, she starts up again. I think they are going to have an interesting relationship :) I am feeling well, except for the typical pregnancy complaints. Swelling once in a while, fatigue, soreness.

I've got a prayer request for you all to consider. When you think of it, could you pray that Matthew would walk on his own soon? 17 months old, and still not walking yet. He uses his walker all over the house, and he's down to holding one of our hands instead of both, but it is discouraging at times. And for a more physical reason, it's getting harder for me to lift him up and carry him places. I think that's part of the reason why I've been so sore. There's really nothing you can do to make your child walk. They have to decide to try it on his own, but he doesn't want to try. As soon as he figures out our tactics, he sinks to the floor and crawls. He doesn't even want to try balancing. I swear, I've never seen a kid so set in his ways. It's not that he's a stubborn brat about it. He's just content to be doing what he's doing, and I don't think he sees a need to try anything new.

And speaking of his development, he seems to be saying more words now, or at least trying to say the things we say. It's not all understandable, but a lot of times he can get the first syllable out. And like I've said before, he understands so much of what we say to him. He's become quite the ham, too. He knows when he's being funny and how to make Mommy and Daddy laugh, and he'll turn on the charm when he needs to. He's been much better about playing on his own (he went through a very needy stage after our vacation), and he "talks" so much. He comes up with new consonant/vowel combinations and has fun repeating it over and over in the car. He's been sleeping longer stretches at night--averaging 11 or 11 1/2 hrs, and sometimes 12 hours. Nap lengths are not consistent. Some days it's two hours; some days it's half an hour, and he always wakes up grumpy from his nap. But after 10 or 15 minutes, he's usually in a better mood.

He's a crazy, energetic toddler that likes to have fun and climb on everything. He climbs up and down stairs really well, though we are working on teaching him that he can't do it unless we are with him. And as you'll see in these videos, not walking doesn't seem to be holding him back. He's still a goofball and a nutcase, and any other crazy words you can think of.