7 months and counting....

The anticipation has really started to grow now that we are in the 3^rd trimester. We can’t believe how fast it is going. Ethan felt like the longest pregnancy ever but I think it was maybe due to him being our first. Now that I am so busy with him and other things, I often forget that I am even pregnant until my belly gets in the way. I feel more excited this second time around because I think bringing home a second child will be much easier than the first. I am not talking about it not being hectic because I know it will be. What I am talking about is that the first time you have a baby you are more nervous and tend to worry about things that are really out of your control. Partially it is because of it being a completely new world and you are inexperienced. I feel more prepared because this time I know how severe the sleep depravation gets, or what things to freak out about and what things are normal, and finally the enlightening experience of transforming from a woman to a darn cow. However, with all that being said I also remember how fast it does really go by. At first, those first weeks feel like months but before you know it, months have gone by and your baby is rolling over. I don’t think you even sleep as much as you did before kids even when they are sleeping thru the night. I just think your body adjusts to being a mom. Even before, I was pregnant, waking up at night felt normal and I always took it as a sign to go check on the Ethan. Now it just happens because of all the bathroom breaks. Overall, I feel more confident about what I can handle when I have done it before. I know there will be times when I will be pulling my hair out but like any other mother; you just remember that it is so small in the grand scheme of things and like all of the craziness before, it too will pass.

I am thankful for my buddy!

This Thanksgiving we did not get to enjoy the company of our family, but instead celebrated the holiday with our military family. Our block got together and celebrated with TONS of food and games. Of course we all ate too much, but we still didn’t seem to put a dent into all the food that was brought. It was a classic case of our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. This rang true for myself because this little girl is not leaving any room for me to really indulge. However, all the food made for great leftovers! We had so much fun and Ethan especially enjoys playing with all of the kids. I think it is because some are older and he wants to act like a big boy too. While the kids were occupied with each other, we adults enjoyed playing games one including Guesstures. Unfortunately due to a certain competitive person who shall remain nameless ~Eric~, the boy’s team beat us by 3 points. We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

Terrible Two's

Ethan is exactly 2 months away from turning two but I think he has developed the wonderful habits of a two year old. We are at the stage where he is testing us on how much he can get away with. I love it when I tell him it is time to put something away or not to do something and he just ignores me by acting like he doesn't hear me, walks away and continues with the behavior. We have been using the time out technique, sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't. I know it takes being consistent and it is partly my fault because I am a little more lenient being prego and all. I do know that he understands his actions because when we eat out he knows there is only one time out allowed. If the behavior continues, we have no problem taking our food to go and leaving. He understood that real quick. He gets super upset when we go home and he has to sit in his highchair instead of being at the restaurant. By using that technique, eating out doesn't feel like a chore anymore. I really hope we can overcome this stage. We just can't underestimate his willingness to get his way.

Besides the temper tantrums, Ethan has done really well in his new bed. After telling him 20 or so times to get back in bed at naptime, I thought he was going to never get it but it paid off and I only have to go in there maybe three times. He knows if we hear noises, we will check on him so he has become super sneaky. We can hear him running to get in his bed before we have a chance to open the door, little stinker! Instead of it taking him an hour before he would fall asleep we have gotten it down to 10-15 minutes. I don’t expect him to fall asleep in a minute but I know if he is out of that bed there is no chance of him ever going to sleep. Some people have suggested that when their kids switched to beds, naptime became quiet time. I have no problem with quiet time but Ethan is still at that place that if he doesn’t get a nap, he turns into a little gremlin. Thankfully, bed times have been great and there were only 2 nights where he woke up and walked into our room but once I walked him back to his room and told him it wasn't time to wake up yet, he feel back asleep. Here are a few pics that I promised of his new room.

If you notice at the above picture Ethan has that pencil in his left hand. Lately he has only been using that hand to write with. If we place it in his right hand he will try it out for a second then moves it to his left hand. I think we may have a lefty.

Explore!

Today for our playgroup, we met at a local museum. There was so much to look at and do that Ethan just kept busy racing from one exhibit to another. It was all hands on so I didn't have to worry about him breaking anything. Among all of the things to do, his favorites were the grocery center and the giant play box that didn't have sand (thankfully) but instead had tiny pieces of a rubber material like tires. I loved it because it didn't create a mess and he wasn't going to be itching all day. He did however get quite upset when we got to the Lego portion and realized that some of the huge detailed models were enclosed in glass. He tried his hardest to move the glass but it just wouldn't budge. Poor guy, it was such a huge tease.




I have been a very bad boy
"Freeze!" He was caught getting into the audio cabinet.

Not a baby anymore!

This Saturday Eric took down the crib and we introduced Ethan to his new bed. While Eric was taking the crib apart Ethan enjoyed it by jumping on the bed and even waved goodbye to his crib. He was enjoying the transition a little too much and more than I expected. I was ready for the tears of confusion to come but he seemed like he didn't care. Ethan has always put himself to sleep but I was worried that without him being caged in he was going to run wild. Well our first test came when it was time for a nap. He went and got in the bed and we walked out. However, within a couple of minutes we heard noises. Next step, remove all toys and put him back in bed. It took a couple more times before he was tired and crashed out. Well night came and we got to try it out again. I don't know if it being dark helped him stay in his bed but after 5 minutes he was knocked out. It was the exact same way Sunday. We had more trouble with nap times than we did with bedtimes. I hope that he will get the hang of it but I must say that I am quite proud of how good he has handled it so far. I have been having back pain so not getting him in and out of the crib has become such a blessing. His big boy bedroom looks so cute and makes me realize how much he has grown. Such a big boy!

Crazy over Blues Clues

I don’t know what this cartoon does to Ethan but he is obsessed with Blues Clues. He will run around the house yelling “Blues Clues” till we turn it to the right channel or when Eric made the mistake of showing Ethan that Blues Clues is available on the laptop 24/7. So if we can’t find it on the TV he walks over and points to the laptop saying “Blues Clues”. He loves watching it and just goes into a trance when he watches it. He will watch it from the beginning to the end without taking his eyes off of the TV. I am just glad that it is educational and I really like the fact that they ask the kids questions to include them in it. He loves saying “notebook” after Steve will find and a clue and say “what do we need? Our handy dandy….?” It is so cute. He also likes Dora especially when Swiper says “oh man”. I think he can relate it to him because seeing how that is what we say when something doesn’t go our way. I guess the addiction to TV starts now but he looks so cute dancing to “We did it, We did it.” Well it is getting late here so as Ethan says before bedtime, “night night… luv you… by by”