Entertained in the kitchen for the day

This is my little helper. He had taken a break from cooking in between our Chicken Barley Soup and our (after nap) Dessert making. While I was de-boning my chicken, I had spotted him laying on the floor in the living room. He had taken this pillow off of the bench and was covering himself up with the non-slip rubber pad as if it was a blanket (indicating that he was getting ready for his nap). He was busy talking to his toy cow (from his Old McDonald tractor set). I grabbed the camera and laid on my belly in the dining room to capture a few photos. Of course, as soon as he saw me - he charged the camera - crawling as fast as he possibly could because he likes to see the pictures that we take. With our fast-shooting new fancy camera, I was able to get a few shots of him coming towards me. This one was the cutest expression though. He is a funny little guy!

While I was busy in the corner by the garbage can - pulling the outer layer of onion skin off - I suddenly heard a strange noise, followed by an immediate "UH-OH!" THIS is what I found...

 somehow, the entire container of chopped vegetables has "tipped itself over" on our kitchen counter. Sydney thought it was a perfect time to sample the celery since he had only helped taste-test carrots up until that point. 

While I was chopping the carrots and celery, Sydney was busy making a SPICE TOWER out of chicken bouillon cubes, poultry seasoning, bay leaves, dried sage, and black pepper. He was having a GREAT TIME! (He kept sampling the carrots, too.)

After nap, we decided to make a dessert. I would measure and hand it to Sydney to dump into the bowl. Then, I would give him his own bowl of all of the same ingredients. He thought it was fun to eat flour and had it all over his face and fingers. (YUCK!) He liked it a little better when I tossed some old fashioned oats in. He liked it A LOT when I threw in some brown sugar!!! As he was playing in (and eating) his mixture, he kept announcing "Yum, Yum, Yum!" He stayed entertained - playing with his bowl of dry goods and an assortment of measuring spoons and measuring cups. He would scoop and pour and sometimes play in the flour mess on the counter. He was having A GREAT TIME!

 

Sydney had been baking in navy blue pants and his winter boots. His blue pants were covered in flour handprints. His boots and chair were dusted with flour. His thermal long-sleeved shirt - with animal print - had a completely WHITE front with NO VISIBLE PROOF OF ANIMALS. It took a few minutes of patting and dusting his chest (with A LOT of giggles) before we could see the animals again. The kitchen was a mess, but we had TONS of fun together... we are busy making WONDERFUL MEMORIES!

Baby 2 at 23 weeks (belly pic)

Today, we're celebrating our pregnancy for Number 2:

161 days down. (23 weeks)

119 days to go. (17 weeks)

Seriously, the time has passed SO QUICKY, but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that we live busy lives.

Number 2 has been QUITE ACTIVE and Mike has enjoyed feeling his kicks & punches as we lie in bed at night. This week, I did notice that I could visually WATCH my stomach move as Number 2 threw punches near my belly button. It was kind of funny.

Sydney has taken a new liking to poking at my belly button. Perhaps, it is because he has noticed that it is starting to poke out a little bit.

One thing is for sure... "the girls" have grown - especially the right one! The sports bra that I had been wearing for belly photos is starting to be ill-fitting. Will most likely have to move back into my old nursing bras - for comfort moreso than style.

Under the bed and other new tricks

Yesterday, we used some non-scented dryer sheets on our couch and recliner to see if we could remove some of the static cling that causes Sydney's hair to do this:

In the process, I was attempting to wipe cat hair off the back of the couch and my dryer sheet accidently fell behind. Ordinarily, I would not worry about this sort of thing, BUT... I have a cat who EATS dryer sheets (and will eventually throw them up more than a week later, along with a bunch of other gross stuff that isn't passing through his system properly. Trust me, this has happened more than once - so that we had previously banned dryer sheets and switched to liquid fabric softener instead.)

Mike retrieved my dryer sheet, but Sydney thought it was a HILARIOUS new game. He ran to his basket of books and made a selection - the heaviest book he could find - to throw behind the couch. (Needless to say, that book is STILL THERE!)

Last night, my mischievous 19-month old thought he would attempt to fit UNDER his crib. He backed himself in and kept backing up - until he discovered that his noggin is too big. (Phew! What a relief THAT was to see!) I'm sure he will attempt to hide things under his bed now that he knows there is space there. (YAY!)

Earlier today, he discovered that he can stand ON TOP of the seat to his Sesame Street rider toy. Of course, he is looking for a BIG REACTION out of us, which he did NOT get. (I don't like to make a game out of EVERYTHING because sometimes, it just isn't so fun to play his games.) Naturally, he will learn it is best NOT to stand on top of toys like this. (He did have an incident earlier in the day where he was sitting on it and fell off, bumping his cheek. Reminder: Boys get bumps!)

At lunch, he learned to clean his plate. Naturally, he had thrown all of his food into his cup of milk and was busy stirring it when I took it away from him.

Ah, yes... he's FULL of new tricks! What a kid!

Baby 2 at 22 weeks (belly pic)

Number 2 was VERY ACTIVE last night while I was sleeping! (He woke me up with some MAJOR ACROBATICS!)

I'm pretty sure that he did a somersault because most of my movement had been felt on my lower abdomen - near my left hip, but NOW... I feel a lot of movement near my right ribcage. Late this morning, as Mike was getting ready for work, I was sitting on the couch and was able to watch my belly move (popping out with kicks or punches) in a few different locations. I found it entertaining to watch.

My latest pregnancy email updates indicate that Number 2 will DOUBLE HIS WEIGHT within the next few weeks so, I am anticipating another upcoming round of extreme hunger. Our next doctor's appointment is scheduled for January 19th (and I am secretly fearing the weight-gain from the holidays).

Here is the most recent belly pic, taken at 22 weeks. (Perhaps, we should have taken it BEFORE I ate dinner, but either way, it is a GROWING BELLY and I think it has FINALLY started to look like a baby belly and not a beer belly. I also think that I need Mike to stand up when taking pics because by him sitting in a chair, below me, gives a slightly awkward angle.)

Knocked the wind out of his sails

This afternoon, during a round of playtime and excessive running, Sydney tripped on the living room floor - landing flat on his stomach - and knocked the wind out of himself. 

You could immediately read FEAR all over his face. He tried to cry, but couldn't.

When all else fails, run to mom... then, give her a GREAT BIG HUG and pat her shoulders (for comfort). I assured him that he would be OK, rubbed his belly and convinced him to hold his arms high above his head (to stretch things out again and open some airflow into his lungs).

About 12 seconds later, he seems to have recovered fully and started running all over the place again. (What a kid!)

Sleeping in Sydney's room

Last night, Sydney slept for close to 3 hours before waking up. Mike had politely offered to go sleep in Sydney's room, but then suggested that I could go there if I wanted to. (It seems that most of his attempts to console Sydney end in Sydney sleeping in our bed until I move him back into the crib a while later so, I decided that "I" would just go. I think Mike was relieved  - since he had informed me that I've been snoring a lot lately.)

I went to the bathroom, while he fussed, hearing my footsteps in our creaky hallway. I offered him a drink of water from his bedroom sippy cup and held Sydney for a few minutes in the recliner before telling him that it was time for him to go back into his bed now.

He fussed.

I laid on the mattress on the floor and SSsssshhhh'd him whenever needed. (He woke a few times in the night briefly, but the Sshhh seemed to work wonders, with the simple fact that he KNEW I was in the room with him.)

I slept reasonably well... except for the random Charlie Horses in my legs that have been becoming more common this past week or so. THAT, actually, is what woke me up this morning for good.

Hoping for a good day... there's been a few whimpers and whines from the bedroom on & off for the past 20 minutes, but he seems to be a rather slow waker-upper. (I like to wait until I "know" he's awake and ready to tackle the day, hoping by then that he'll be chipper and happy - like his mom.)

You'd think it was the end of the world...

Thankfully, Sydney slept through the night last night for the first time in most of the week. (The dose of infant ibuprofen before bed probably helped, too.) It was a good night for everyone; although, when I announced that I had slept REALLY GOOD, Mike informed me "Yeah, no kidding!"

"Was I snoring or something?" I asked. (Thank you pregnancy hormones for relaxing all sorts of things in my body.)

"Oh, my...." he replied sarcastically. (It didn't surprise me at all since I woke with a lot of drainage in my head and throat, but the fact of the matter was... I slept GREAT!)

Being that Sydney slept through the night, I expected him to wake up feeling great and being his normal chipper self. Um, no dice. He woke with dried boogers stuck all over his face and was SUPER CRABBY! He refused to go near Daddy for much of the morning and kept whining "Mama, mama, mama..."

We used some Boogie Wipes to clean the dried snot from his face. (He had started sneezing yesterday afternoon and woke with some minor congestion today.... poor little guy.... as if teething wasn't bad enough on it's own... or maybe it is from teething!)

 

He SCREAMED and threw a fit when I set him down so that I could go to the bathroom. Afterwards, the wait while I washed my hands must have been UNBEARABLE to an incredibly impatient 19-month-old who OBVIOUSLY doesn't feel well. A dose of ibuprofen worked like clockwork... 30 minutes until RELIEF was in sight. While waiting for THAT to happen, there was A LOT of fussing:

Sydney SCREAMED and threw another fit when he had his mind made up that he was thirsty, but ONLY WANTED JUICE! (We offered him milk or water since we were informed at his 18-month well child appointment that we let him drink too much juice and I recently read in the What to Expect Toddler book that he SHOULD drink 3 CUPS of milk daily and we come NOWHERE NEAR THAT!) 

Sydney SCREAMED and threw another fit after we re-heated some Buttermilk Pancakes in the toaster. The traumatic part was that I had cut the pancake into bite-sized pieces for him. I guess at 19-months old, you suddenly give up bite-sized pieces and want to hold an entire pancake in your hands and take bites out of it, like a cookie. (Gosh, you'd think it was the end of the world or something...)

Later in the day, he ate very little for lunch and went down for his nap shortly thereafter, sleeping just minutes over an hour. (Let me tell you, that is NOT a lot of "down time" for me!) Woke in better spirits than the morning so, we decided to have a snack and get out of the house to run some errands.

Our local Culver's has Happy Hour from 2-4pm where shakes, malts & concrete mixers are buy one, get one free. Picked up a treat and took it to Mike at work.  (He also gets angry at the bank's drive-thru because he thinks that all drive-thru's offer french fries; today, we got NO FRIES, but I had to listen to him desperately say "Ahhhh..." over and over, announcing his newly-acquired thirst. Once there, Sydney did NOT want to share with Mike - even though I bought it for Mike.

Sydney started to throw a fit at the grocery store when I expected him to sit in the child seat with a seatbelt on (because he has discovered that he likes to ride in the back like a big kid, but refuses to sit or hold on - making it dangerous.) I side-tracked him by asking him to wipe off the cart handle with a disinfecting wipe and he soon forgot about riding in the back.

At home, he threw a fit when I set the grocery bags onto the sunporch, leaving him strapped in the car for a minute longer. Once inside, he threw a fit that I wouldn't let him play in the pantry (where he likes to stack canned goods into towers.) 

He SCREAMED and threw a fit when I placed the new infant forks & spoons from the grocery store into the dishwasher. 

He SCREAMED and threw another fit when he insisted that he play with more of our kitchen utensils, but I refused because he already had FOUR OF THEM laying on the floor in the kitchen and dining room; somehow, he was convinced that he NEEDED MORE!

He SCREAMED and threw a fit because he decided that he wanted to eat some of Grandma Carol's Christmas cookies for dinner and I denied him, saying "No, we don't eat cookies for supper." I got the leftover piece of pizza from the fridge and cut it into pieces for him, thinking that the excessive fussing was because he was hungry. 

He SCREAMED and threw a fit - still focused on the cookies and kitchen utensils. He kept it up for at least 5 minutes straight while I pretended not to notice. Finally, I went into the living room and sat in the recliner. He attempted to drag me by the hand into the kitchen. Calmly, I said "Please stop screaming. Let's talk."

He quieted briefly.

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" (Screaming resumes, shaking his head NO violently.)

"Are you thirsty? Do you need a drink?" (Screaming continues.)

"Do you want to go into the kitchen and help Mommy make dinner?" (Sydney shakes his head NO violently and again, attempts to drag me out of the recliner.)

"Well, then, I don't think I want to go into the kitchen." (He stops screaming and looks at me - puzzled.)

Again, I ask if he wants to go help me make something to eat; this time, he acts like it is THE BEST IDEA IN THE WORLD! We walk, hand-in-hand to the kitchen and he points to the new loaf of bread on the counter.

"You want to make a sandwich?" I ask. (He nods YES and points to the cabinet where we keep peanut butter.) "With peanut butter?" (Nodding YES!)

"OK, well, I think you need a chair to help in the kitchen. Can you show me which chair you want?" (He runs to the dining room and picks out a chair.)

"OK, now I need you to show me where to put it." (He runs ahead of me, into the kitchen, and points to a cabinet door, as if saying RIGHT HERE, MOM!)

While standing on the kitchen chair, he watched me make his PB sandwich and was happy that I offered him some raspberry jelly on it, too. He seemed happy while I cut it into strips for him to eat and set it on his plate, next to the pizza bites. Then, he started to fuss and scream again. (He was upset that the pizza was cut into bites and would only eat the part that I had left un-cut. Again, you'd think it was the end of the world that I offered him bite-sized pieces. What the heck was I thinking?) 

So, he nibbled off of the un-cut portion of pizza. Then, he had some of his PB&J, but soon started throwing YET ANOTHER FIT. This time, he insisted that he eat PICKLES! So, while I cut a pickle spear into bite-sized pieces, he started eating his bite-sized pieces of pizza. He quickly ate all of the pickle and started to throw a fit that he wanted MORE PICKLE, but I firmly said that ONE was enough so, he went on to eat his pizza bites & PB&J.

Now, I wonder: Is PB&J, pizza and pickles an odd craving combination? 

(Gosh, you'd think that SYDNEY was the one who was pregnant; thankfully, I had NO SUCH CRAVING and found the combination rather gross.) And to top it off, he insisted on having some ORANGE JUICE to rinse it all down. (Shiver. Gross.) Needless to say, a little while later, when he let out a BIG BURP, it smelled.... well, pretty darned gross!

After watching Aunt Sue, Rachel & Kristen eat ice cream (on Skype) - he decided that he wanted some ice cream so, I gave him a few bites worth in a small dish. (He really did NOT need more ice cream since he had Culvers, but I had truly had enough screaming by now.) 

He's starting to demonstrate QUITE A TEMPER, which I read has A LOT to do with the age. (Lucky me/us!) I'm sure that it doesn't help that he's teething, too.

After we took a shower together and got into our jammies, I gave him a dose of ibuprofen and we went through our normal bedtime routine. I was VERY RELIEVED when he settled down to go to sleep.

Yep, breathing a sigh of relief. Ahhh, much better!

Rough night, teething - we think

Last night, we had a VERY ROUGH NIGHT! Despite medicine, Sydney was UP A LOT! And despite Mike's attempts to console him, he SCREAMED for his Mama.

I ended up sleeping on the mattress (on the floor) in his bedroom from 3-7:30am with a few more outbursts and him checking to make sure that I was still sleeping in his room. Overall, the night was EXHAUSTING!

Going to bed early tonight. Hoping to catch up on sleep!

Victory is Mike's

Mike screened a call the other day from the clinic because 1) he didn't want to talk to them right now, 2) he had to leave for work very soon and 3) he didn't want their (potential) news to put him in a bad mood all day long.

HOWEVER, when he did return their phone call the next day, he discovered that:

VICTORY WAS HIS!!!

Following my worthless August medical appointment with the eye doctor, Mike had written a letter of complaint and has subsequently refused to pay (our) $20 charge from that bill. Recently, he wrote another letter; this time, requesting that they "respectfully remove the charge from our bill" and reminding them of the rude doctor's remark: "What do you care? Your insurance will be billed for a medical appointment and you will not be billed."

After the patient account's department spoke to the head of the Ophthalmology department, they had not only agreed to remove our $20 charge from our outstanding bill, but they had reversed all claims from this appointment from our medical insurance as well. 

Needless to say, we do NOT plan on seeing this particular doctor EVER AGAIN (and have hopes that he will soon retire from the medical profession).

Happy New Year 2011

You know you're getting old when you have NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in attempting to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. Or when your idea of going out to celebrate New Year's is to grab a burger from Champps Americana with your growing family and the rest of the 5:30 dinner crowd and ending with a drive through the "Reflections in the Park" holiday light display just days before it ends for the season.

Sydney wasn't sleeping well (again) last night. We're pretty sure that he's teething because his face looks a little puffy, his cheeks are rosy and he keeps putting his hands on his face - much like the Home Alone movie poster (but without the open mouth and look of worry).

HAPPY NEW YEAR: We were awakened to a 5:08am phone call from the alarm company, reporting an error at work so, Mike had to go in to check on it (on his day off). Sydney heard Mike talking and kept crying "DaDa, daDa, daDa, daDa...." Mike rescued him from his crib and brought him into bed to snuggle with mommy. Sydney patted Mike's empty pillow and cried "DaDa, daDa..." (Mike wished that he COULD climb back into bed to snuggle with his family, but duty called...)

Sadly, I didn't sleep much past that first alarm call. Sydney is pretty restless when attempting to fall back asleep, especially when he's not feeling well. Then, TWO MORE CALLS from the alarm company didn't help my cause much either, but they were trying to reach Mike by cell phone to let him know that ANOTHER alarm was going off and he wasn't picking up. (I gave him the message once he got home, around 7:40am.)

Sydney woke up VERY CRABBY once he finally woke! (That's not like him at all.) It took TIME (almost 30 minutes exactly) and a dose of infant ibuprofen to coax him back into his normal (overly-happy) self. For a while, we were VERY TEMPTED to offer Grandpa Lowell an opportunity for a sleepover at HIS HOUSE, but figured that he'd have to bring him back home in the middle of the night because he was too fussy for EVEN Grandpa! (Mike had even threatened to go back into work on his day off... while we waited for the medicine to kick in!)

As for New Year's Resolutions... 

I'm really NOT good at keeping these, but here goes... 

In the year 2011, I resolve to:

• find "the perfect baby name" for Number 2.

• wear my support hose regularly (at least during the non-shorts season) as recommended by my doctor for my increasingly bad varicose veins.

• drink more fluids.

• take more photographs (because I've gotten out of the habit) and to organize them better on my computer. (Archiving them onto a disk SHOULD be a goal that is HIGH on my list because I would hate to lose all of our early memories of Sydney's life.)

• take 30 minutes daily of "ME-time" - even if it IS at the end of the day when the house is FINALLY quiet.

• finish reading the book "The Happiness Project" so that I can apply it to my daily life.

• keep the clothes hamper IN THE CLOSET so that we can always put dirty clothes where they belong, instead of on the floor in the bedroom.

• organize the office (including sorting/tossing those last few boxes of junk that are tossed into the closet) and make an attempt to keep it clean. I hope to have LESS piles of stuff laying around and a home for things so that I can put (said things) away when I am done using them.

• continue my quest for making (at least) ONE NEW RECIPE per week to keep life interesting.

I have HOPE for the year 2011... 

• hoping that my MS will remain at-bay.

• hoping that Number 2 is healthy and happy.

• hoping that I will be able to breast-feed Number 2.

• hoping to lose my pregnancy weight (it took 10 months last time!)

and as always, hoping to win the Powerball jackpot :)