Introducing...

Kellan Xavier, born November 9, 2008, 2:23 am. 10 lbs. 4 oz., 23 inches. I haven't been too quick to update the blog; I think almost everyone who reads my blog already knows. I will update more as soon as I have a chance.

35 months and last day as a family of three

Logan is 35 months old today. And unless our induction goes very slowly tomorrow (we're so hoping it goes quickly), then today was our last day as a family of three. Kind of a strange feeling, even though we were due on the 4th and of course knew this was coming. Logan has been kissing and hugging baby brother for the past few months (Mommy's tummy); we tried to get some pics of this tonight, but of course it's even cuter when it's more spontaneous.

Since I'm past my due date, my doctor had me go in today for a non-stress test. The nurse hooked me up to monitors to monitor the baby's heartbeat/activity and any contractions. Everything was fine; in fact, baby was too active and they kept losing contact, so what should have taken 20 minutes took about four times as long. I was having contractions every 8-10 minutes while I laid there, but once I walked back to my office, they weren't so regular. My furniture was moved to a window office this morning (no promotion, just an empty office), so I spent the rest of the day unpacking and wrapping up what I could get done. I took bagels for my coworkers this morning and I know they appreciated it, although it will not really make up for my work they'll have to pick up over the next two months.

I left work early to pick up Logan from Mother's Day Out. We stopped at Sonic for drinks and came home. Justin came home a little while later and we took Logan to see a movie, "Madasc*r -- Escape 2 Africa." It wasn't a stellar movie by any means, but he sat through it and seemed to enjoy it. We wanted to do a special activity with just the three of us since we had the chance.

We're supposed to report tomorrow morning (Saturday, Nov. 8) at 8:00 am for the induction. But, if things happen on their own before that, we'll be happy. Please pray for all to go well and for me to accept whatever happens, even if we end up with a C-section.

Predictions

Last night (Thursday) in my prenatal yoga class, my yoga teacher said I looked way more flexible and so she was going to make a prediction. She said that women are the most flexible the day before they go into labor. Very interesting... She also seemed very excited that I was dilated to 3 cm and 50% effaced at my appointment on Tuesday. She said it can take some women weeks to get to that point. One more thing she mentioned -- first-time moms push for 2 hours on average. Second-time moms push for 15 minutes on average.

My coworkers are all guessing that I won't make it through the weekend. Tomorrow is the big Oklahoma State vs. Texas football game, so it will probably happen during that.

If you have any predictions, now is the time to make them!

37 weeks

I look even bigger in "real life," if you can imagine. :-)

It's hard to believe we're almost there. I think I'm more apprehensive about this baby than I was with the first. Not necessarily the labor and all that (although that is a major concern), but more so about caring for another life and disrupting the current family balance. I know everything will be fine, but I just don't know what to expect.

My checkup yesterday went fine. Gained two more pounds and I'm approaching my previous pregnancy weight (even though I started out at least 10 pounds lighter this time). But my blood pressure and protein levels are still just fine. Blood pressure was 118/64. I'm hoping the weight gain is mostly fluids like it was the first time.

I've been going to a prenatal yoga class once a week, and I think that is helping me feel a bit better this pregnancy; I really hope it will prove most beneficial during labor.

There are several other pregnant women in our lives right now...I have never really been pregnant by myself, whether it was someone at work (first time) or friends/family (this time). Here are pics of me with my pregnant cousin-by-marriage (2 weeks behind me) and pregnant friend (1 week ahead). I hope they're okay with me sharing their pics...

Blue oval certified

We were on our way downtown for a wedding at the State Capitol last Thursday (10/09/08) and Logan was in the back seat. We drove by the F*rd Center and Logan said, "That Daddy's work?" We were confused for a minute until we realized he must have recognized the F*rd blue oval logo.

Yesterday, we were at the new T*rget store in Yukon (I'm soooo excited about that, by the way), and there's a F*rd dealership next door (not affiliated with Justin's). Logan again asked, "That Daddy's work?"

He sure does pay close attention to things.

35 weeks -- caution, bare belly pic!

I've gotten behind and these pics were actually taken almost two weeks ago (September 30).

I thought I would provide answers to some of the most common questions I get these days:

1) Yes, I've had several ultrasounds and we're sure it's just one baby. Not twins. But gee, thanks for asking. Ha-ha.
2) Yes, my due date really is November 4. But again, thanks for asking and please wipe that shocked look off your face.
3) Yes, I'm ready to have this baby...physically, at least.
4) No, I'm not completely miserable. Uncomfortable, yes, but I know others who have many more pregnancy discomforts, so I consider myself lucky.
5) Yes, I am here at work today (I'll probably get this one every day from now until I deliver).

I know I sound sarcastic...I really do get these questions a lot, but I know people just ask because they care.

Me -- 32 weeks!?!

Well, everyone says I'm not going to make it to my due date. My belly button has almost popped out completely, and I still have 7 weeks to go (I'm writing this at 33 weeks). You might be able to tell from this picture that baby is all out front -- you can really see him move, too. I know I got big with Logan, but I seem to be even bigger this time. So I guess now is the time when we start taking bets on the delivery date. Did I write about the Celtics yet? They're Justin's favorite basketball team. He had tickets to see them play the Hornets when they were in OKC in 2005 -- but he missed it because Logan decided to arrive that same night. So, when are the Celtics playing the OKC Thunder this year? November 5 -- the day after my due date. Hmmmm...

We're also trying to work on names. We have some ideas but haven't really settled on anything just yet. We have lots of things to do still to prepare the nursery. We need to get curtains and a crib mattress (both went to Logan's new room when he moved), plus bedding and some other things. We recently bought a "sit n stand" double stroller so we can fit both boys in one stroller. We didn't think it would be a good idea to put the baby in the wagon just yet. :-)

LB -- 33 months!

It's hard to believe that it's time to start planning Logan's 3rd birthday party -- less than three months away now! He says he wants a dump truck cake. I found a really easy and cute way to do that; I think it will be TONS of fun (pardon the pun)! We're also considering having the party at the "golden arches" instead of at our house like we've done the past two years. We haven't decided about that yet, but the idea of easy cleanup and entertainment for all the kids is very appealing.

Cousins, cousins, cousins!

I just realized that I never posted photos from my brother's family's visit this spring. Shame on me! Of course there were many photos taken over the visit, but for now I'll just include one of the whole "gang." It's not easy getting five boys to look at the camera at one time -- not to mention getting their Grandma to keep her eyes open! :-)

L-R: Logan, Grandpa Tim, Holden, Mark, David, Grandma Georgia, Brian



We also got some pictures at Logan's other cousins' house a couple of weeks ago at Jared's 5th birthday party. And soon we'll be adding yet another boy to this mixture!

L-R: Logan, Justin, Tyler, Kevin, Jared

Hot air balloon in our "backyard"

Sunday night I looked out the window while Justin was reading Logan's bedtime stories and saw a hot air balloon. It landed in the field behind our house, probably a mile or two away. My boss said she used to volunteer to help with a hot air balloon team (never went in one because she's afraid of heights) -- since they can't really control where they land, they can't get permission ahead of time to land on someone's property. Sounds like a true daredevil sport to me, especially in this state! It was a hazy day so the pics didn't turn out that great.

Friends

My high school friends Laura and Greg were driving through town a couple of weeks ago, and called to meet us for dinner. We had a nice visit even though it was just for a couple of hours. Logan behaved pretty well.


Logan has made several friends at church/Mother's Day Out. Here's a cute picture of him with Sam at Sam's 3rd birthday party at the zoo.

27 weeks

I reached 27 weeks of pregnancy today. Last Thursday, July 31, I had a checkup. I had gained two pounds in the last month (according to their scales). The previous month I had gained 8 pounds and the doctor said, "30 pounds...okay, you're done." She was joking, but she did say to try to steer clear of the snacks. This time she said she would have liked to have seen a little more weight gain. I just can't win! I really think their scales are wacky, though. I think it was more like 6 pounds last time and 4 this time. But in the end, does it really matter? I gained 45 pounds with Logan and it looks like I'm on the same track this time. Maybe another 9-1/2 pounder? 10 pounds? It's anyone's guess.

Growing up

Our little boy (hmmm, another LB) Logan amazes us every day. He's now 37 inches tall (by our measurement at home). For over a week he had pooped every time in his potty and not in his pull-up. So this weekend, we began the transition to underwear (training pants). He didn't seem to get it at first -- he peed in the first three pairs. But over the weekend, he did pretty well. We tried to get him to the potty every half hour or so, and he managed to keep dry for some long stretches. Daddy has done a great job of getting him to use the potty at all sorts of places -- church, restaurants, other people's houses, etc. (although he sometimes meets with resistance from Logan). We're really proud of his progress.

1/2 birthday!

Today, June 7, is Logan's "1/2 birthday." He's 2-1/2 years old today! Unbelievable. Here are some pics I took of him in his pajamas this evening. He looks so grown up lately, especially with his haircut this week. (This brand of pj's fits small, but they're 4T!)







He has said several cute things this week. Last Sunday we were eating spaghetti; he took a noodle and put it to his lips and said, "I make a smile." Very creative. Last night we told him that his Daddy was going to our church today to work (they're working on the ceiling in the MDO rooms), and Logan said, "Daddy help Jesus?" It's neat to hear that he's beginning to realize the meaning of going to church. Of course, today he also said, "Daddy eat popcorn? Get out of closet?" They must have popcorn from the closet at MDO. So Jesus and popcorn are the messages he takes from church.

And, the biggest accomplishment for our 2-1/2-year-old -- he peed AND POOPED in the potty for the first time today!! I was the only one around so we made sure to call Daddy and both grandmas. We also had a poop parade (paraded around to congratulate him for pooping), but he seemed to think parade meant something to eat for some reason. I never did figure that one out.

18 weeks

We had an ultrasound at 18 weeks, June 3, and found out we're having another boy! We're so excited. And not surprised, really. We took Logan along to the ultrasound. He was interested for a few minutes, but he got bored by the time they finally got around to determining the gender. But we will remember that he was there. I don't blame him for getting bored because the office was running almost two hours late. We were pretty angray about that, especially since that also made us over an hour late for my OB appointment next door. I'll have another ultrasound at 22-24 weeks because they said it was too early to get some of the measurements they need.

And, here's a picture of me taken a couple of days after the ultrasound. I'm not quite halfway through yet, so I can't imagine what I'll look like at full term!

Baby sibling due November 4

We went to the OB last week and found out our due date is November 4, 2008. Everything is going fine. The heartbeat was 163, same as the prior visit.

Our next ultrasound is scheduled for June 3. If baby cooperates, we will find out the gender. Logan made it very obvious he was a boy at his ultrasound.

I'll be attending a conference this week, in town, but I'll still be home after Logan's bedtime the next two nights. That means it will be Wednesday evening before I see him this week. :-( At least he can talk on the phone now. That's pretty fun.

12-1/2 weeks

12 week ultrasound

Today we had our first ultrasound for little sibling. I'll be 36 when this baby is born which makes me a bit higher risk, so this was technically a first trimester screening for birth defects like Down syndrome. Everything looked great and baby moved around a lot, waved its left arm, and showed off for the "camera." We were really anxious for this first ultrasound, at least I was. I don't know how our parents waited until delivery to see their babies, except that they really didn't know of anything other than waiting.

Oklahoma Whirlwind

Oops -- just found this post I never finished. But for prosperity's sake, I will go ahead and publish it. This was from April 2007.

__________________
Two weeks ago, my brother's family was visiting from Florida. I wanted to log what we did during their visit because it was pretty action-packed (at least compared to normal).



-Saturday, April 5 -- Family arrived around 11:00 pm. Said they didn't get to bed until about 1:00 the next morning. That's pretty late for 1-1/2 and 6-1/2 -year-olds.


-Sunday, April 6 -- We went to Sunday school only then headed to my parents' house to greet them. Logan played with the other boys outside. Lunch was much later than usual for us; but we put him down for a short nap afterward, in the same room with the younger boys, and he actually slept! After the nap, the three of us, brother, SIL, and older twin boys got in the 15-passenger van that had been rented for the visit and headed to the Bricktown Ballpark for the Redhawks baseball game. My SIL's father used to take her to games all the time when she was younger; we met her parents, uncle and brother there. Our seats were in the shade and the wind made it pretty cool where we were sitting. Luckily we had a jacket for Logan and I had a lightweight hoodie. It was quite chilly though, especially for the Florida visitors. We left the game before it ended and went to the 2nd Mexican restaurant we thought of (the first was far too crowded). So it was pretty late by the time we dropped off SIL's family, went back to my parents' house, and drove home. Logan didn't get to bed until almost 10:00 that night -- almost two hours late! But this was vacation and we were expecting some disruption of our schedule and his.



- Monday, April 7 -- Today we took a trip to the zoo. It was my parents, the three of us, and my brother's "6-pack." We went the long way around and saw the elephants, rhinos, giraffes, etc., then went to the Oklahoma Trails exhibit before we left while my SIL took the older boys to ride the train. We had some behavior problems with Logan this day, probably due to his late night the previous night. The three of us got a head start on the others and went to lunch first at McD's. We think this helped because he was able to eat most of his lunch before the others arrived.

From the mouths of babes.

I have a habit of calling for Justin by yelling, "Babe, Baaa-abe!" when he's on the other side of the house or something. A few weeks ago, Logan started doing it, too. Instead of calling, "Daddy!", occasionally he'll say "Baaa-abe!" We just thought it was hilarious when he started doing that.

As you know by now, my brother's family from Florida has been visiting this past week. So there have been a lot more people than usual calling me Adrienne or Aunt Adrienne when Logan is around. The past couple of days, Logan has called me "Adrinn." He did that at dinner tonight. He looked at me and said, "Adrinn. Adrinn." I explained to him, yes, Adrienne is Mommy's name, but he gets to call me a special name, Mommy. Then I said, "What's Daddy's name?" Logan looked at him and said, "Babe." Too funny! Of course I explained that Daddy's name is Justin.

Ear doctor follow-up

Logan had his three-week follow-up appointment from his ear surgery this morning. First was his hearing test. For the test, he sits in my lap and they have a panda bear in a box to the left and right that lights up when he looks toward the sound. He had the technician and me laughing because he started saying "that funny" and "do again" whenever the bears would light up. She was able to do the test with warbly sounds that she was not able to do the first time (pre-surgery). I think the first time he either couldn't hear the warbly sounds or he was getting restless.

Next we went to see the ENT. He said the tubes look great, completely clear, and the membrane behind the tubes looks great, too. His hearing tests were all in the normal range. This is all great, especially considering that Logan has had a lot of nasal drainage the past few days...it means it doesn't seem to be affecting his ears, which is wonderful. If he does have any infectious drainage from the ears, we're supposed to treat it with the ear drops they gave us and call the ENT if it last longer than five days. If no problems, he won't need to see him again for a year. We're thrilled that the surgery was so successful.

Another first -- the movie theater

Justin and I have the week off while my brother's family is visiting from Florida. This afternoon, my SIL, Justin and I took the older twins and Logan to the movies. This was Logan's first visit to a movie theater. We went to see "Dr. S's H0rt0n Hears a Wh0." We went to the theater where I worked during high school and college (15+ years ago). I think I saw a lady working there who was asst. mgr. when I worked there. She must really like free popcorn.

Anyway, Logan seemed to really like the movie. He laughed out loud several times during the movie. We love that laugh! So cute. The older boys seemed to like it, too. They have little booster seats so Logan was able to sit in a seat all by himself. He's such a big boy!

The mayor is following us...

My brother's family with twin boys X 2 arrived last Saturday for a week-long visit (from Florida). The last time they visited was in January 2006, right after Logan was born and while my SIL was pregnant with the second set of boys. We went to a Hornets professional basketball game when they were here in 2006 (the twins did not go). Logan was only about three weeks old and slept through all but the last couple of minutes of the game. Toward the end of the game I happened to look at the seats behind us and saw OKC's mayor sitting a few rows behind us.

Last Sunday during this visit, we went to a Redhawks baseball game (brother; SIL & her parents, uncle, and brother; older twin boys, Logan; Justin and me). I got up in probably the 3rd inning to get some drinks and snacks. Again, a few rows up in our section, there's the mayor. I just thought it was really weird that the only two times I have seen the OKC mayor up close in person have been while my brother's family is visiting from half a continent away.

9 week appointment

We went to the OB today for the first visit this go 'round. I was really hoping for a first ultrasound, but she wouldn't do one. We did get to hear the heartbeat though -- it was 163. It was really neat and very reassuring. The doc can tell me everything's fine, but hearing that evidence is more reassuring than any of the tests. We go for an ultrasound on April 21, in about three weeks.

I've been really tired today. Sunday night I was up late (almost 1:00 am) waiting on thunderstorms to pass through. We had hail from dime-size to bigger than golf ball-size. There were also small tornadoes a mile or so from my parents' house. Then last night I couldn't get to sleep, thinking about my appointment today and some others in my life who need prayers.

Justin is working behind me to put some of his toys/action figures in plastic containers for the attic. We had several nice shelves installed when we built the house, but there's still not enough room to properly display all of his figures.

Logan seems to be recovering well from his surgery, with some minor setbacks. We think he still has some pain occasionally, and coupled with the terrible two's, that makes for some unpleasant interactions. But at least his poop is closer to normal now that he has been off the codeine for a week or so (it constipated him). His breath is much better, also. We're anxious for his hearing test and checkup next week to measure his improvement.

I'm doing the standard pre-vacation rush at work this week, trying to get as much done as possible before vacation next week. My brother's family will be visiting from Florida.

Post-surgery

Here is how Logan looks two days after the surgery. The scratch by his mouth we think happened either during the surgery (they went in through his mouth), or else he bit his lip or something Friday night. We're guessing that the scratch under his eye was made by his plastic hospital bracelet as he rubbed his eye in recovery -- I noticed it the moment that they handed him to me. Oh, yes, and the drool has been pretty bad, also. I didn't notice it in the pic until I uploaded it to the computer. Hopefully it will all clear up soon. We still think he's cute, of course. Just looks like he was in a fight or something.

Time change -- round 2 and 3

Yesterday (Friday), the morning of Logan's surgery, we needed to leave the house by 6:15 to get to the hospital for our 6:45 report time. It was difficult to get up an hour earlier, but I managed to get up at 5:10 after just two snoozes. But man, it felt sooo early. I took a shower, put in my contacts, brushed my teeth, then looked at the clock in the bathroom to see how much time I had. It said 3:33. Huh? Checked the bedroom clock -- 5:30. Went to the living room and the cable box said 3:31. Somehow, we don't know when or how, Justin had set the alarm clock two hours ahead. I was sooo po'd. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but I was an angry pregnant woman with just 4-1/2 hours of sleep. And now I still had to dry my hair before I could go back to bed. It was probably 4:15 or so before I was able to get back to sleep, so I got maybe another hour of sleep. Needless to say, I took a nap while Logan was napping that afternoon.

Ear surgery

On Friday, March 21st, Logan had ear surgery. He had ear tubes placed in his ears, and removal of his adenoids (adenoidectomy). Like his surgery last December on his "boy parts," we were somewhat hesistant to go through with the surgery. Even in the last week, Logan seemed to be talking even more, and we were starting to have second thoughts. The ENT and his pediatrician both said he was on the fence. But we had talked with so many people who told us that it would be a good thing and not to put it off too long. And the ENT was slightly leaning more toward the surgery than just observation (of course, he's also the one who gets paid for it). So we showed up at the hospital at 6:45 am yesterday. Logan once again surprised us by being in a good mood when we woke him and even wanted to get dressed rather than staying in his pajamas. He didn't really ask for food or drink (he couldn't have any after midnight), and happily played with us and watched TV in the check-in area. This day was yet another day where every person who saw him went on and on about how cute he is! The first nurse or intern who took us back, a male, had Logan step on the scale. Logan grunted like he was climbing up a mountain or something; the guy said "that was so cute!", then as we walked down the hall, he saw another intern and said, "Did you see what he did? That was the cutest thing!" Then every nurse who came in said several times how cute he is. But we knew that already. :-)

We had to wait over an hour and Logan did great until it was time for the nurse to take him to surgery. He did not want to go with her. It's so hard to leave your crying child with a stranger taking him away. I wonder if he remembered the December surgery and what was going to happen. I think that was the worst part -- not being able to be with him during that scary time. Justin and I went to grab some breakfast in the cafeteria and took it to a bench just outside the waiting room to eat. The surgery went much quicker than we realized it would, because the waiting room receptionist/relative finder person came out looking for us; we had missed the doctor's consultation but she said he would find us later. It had only been 20-25 minutes since we left him. We went back to the recovery room and they brought him to us; he was sobbing-crying. They said he wanted the I.V. out (I would, too), but they couldn't take it out just yet. The nurse handed him to me and I immediately noticed he had a big scratch under his eye. I asked if they knew what it was but nobody did. I sat with him in the recliner they had and he was squirming, crying, trying to get the I.V. out (which by now was all tangled around us). He kept repeating something which we thought was "no water" but we finally figured out he was saying "no water bag," referring to the I.V. They brought us a cup of water (we requested water instead of juice -- we think juice made him vomit after his last surgery) but it was in a styrofoam cup without a lid, just with a straw. Really smart. That ended up all over him, so I started taking his gown off and the nurse questioned why, did he ask to take it off? I told her it was wet from the water. At least three different nurses kept coming in trying to see how they could help or to give him his pain medicine; finally one came back to take out his I.V. That seemed to help a little, but I quickly realized that the reason he wouldn't calm down was because of all the activity and possibly the noise level. Once one of the nurses turned off the light, he laid his head on my shoulder and drifted in and out of sleep. We were also able to finally get his pain medicine to him and we put the water in a sippy cup I had brought with us.

Somewhere during the recover the doctor came in to tell us how it went. He said the surgery went great. He found a lot of "thick, gelatinous fluid" in Logan's ears; in fact, he said he had to use the largest suction they had to get it all out. And his adenoids were quite enlarged. He said he thinks it will be a very successful procedure for Logan. That all helped to justify the surgery for us. It should be interesting to see how his next hearing test turns out (in about three weeks).

Thirty minutes after he took the pain meds, they told us we were free to go. So we got him dressed and into the wheelchair with daddy, and home we went. He was groggy on the way home but the ride was otherwise uneventful. As soon as he walked in the door at home, he said "eat." So I quickly made him a PBJ sandwich and chips and he ate his entire lunch, then two popsicles. He played for a couple of minutes then we read stories and I put him to bed (Justin was out getting his prescriptions filled). He took a nap for about 3-1/2 hours. I took a nap, also (more about my sleep that day will be in the next post). After he woke up from his nap, I think he was in pain again, but I gave him his medicines and we finally decided on a snack that he wanted. After the snack we watched the "Bee Movie" that Justin had rented (just okay). The rest of the evening went pretty well and he slept all night, just maybe a little restless. This morning when he woke up he said "hurt" and his voice was pretty raspy; he also had a new spot by his lip that he must have bitten or something. So we had a bit of a rough start to the morning, but it ended up being fine. (Justin had to work today.) He's taking a good nap this afternoon and we plan to color Easter eggs after Justin gets home. We're trying to take it easy today and hopefully go to church tomorrow morning for Easter Sunday. We'll just have to see how things go between now and then.

Workin for the weekend

Last weekend was yet another busy weekend. Saturday morning we went to a charity pancake breakfast with my parents, then to Baptist for a blood test (I'm fine, everything is normal), to the mall for a quick shopping trip for Easter clothes for LB (another story about the mall to come in another post), home for lunch and a nap, then to the Auto Show after Logan's nap, and Mexican food for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately and sadly, the restaurant recently closed our town's location after the father and main owner of the restaurant was killed in a car accident. But the family kept their original location near our old neighborhood, and the food was as great as we remembered. We made sure to tell them so before we left.

Here is "pawpaw" Tim with Logan at the pancake breakfast:



Saturday night was the change to daylight saving time, so we "lost" an hour. Then Sunday we had Sunday School and church, home for lunch and naps for all, then to Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up, then out to dinner again. I didn't get a very good picture of Logan at the show; I think it was difficult for him to understand what I was trying to do. He seemed to have a good time and loves to read his program that we got for him.

Daddy's Boston boy

This was too cute, just had to share.

4 weeks

I asked Justin to start taking prego photos of me to show my growth along the way. I'm mainly doing this for my mother, but it was kind of interesting to see with Logan. This shot is probably not too fair because Justin was sitting on the floor when he took it.

My friends at work with more than one child have told me that the second pregnancy seems to go MUCH faster. I hope so because it seemed like we waited forever for Logan to arrive. The last 24 hours especially. :-)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes -- "new room"

It seems like whenever we make what we think is a major change with Logan, he handles it like it was old hat. For example, when he was about a year old, we took away all his binkies (pacifiers). We thought we would face nights on end of crying, but he hardly seemed to notice. The latest change was to move him to a big boy toddler bed and even to a new bedroom on the opposite side of the house. We took him to the store to help us pick out his bed and bedding. It was a couple weeks after that (last weekend) before we were able to get his new bedroom set up. Here is a pic of us introducing him to his "new room" on Sunday. ("Play, new room" is what he says.)

Sunday night we put him to bed in his new bed and new room for the first time. He climbed right in, laid down, and went to sleep. This is the same child who in recent weeks would usually bang his cup on the crib (not hard, just making noise) and jabber for 15-45 minutes before going to sleep. My mother said naps the past two days have gone just as well. Last night and tonight went great, too. Logan constantly amazes us.

Of course, one of the reasons for moving Logan was to make room for the new baby we were planning. We wanted Logan to be comfortable in his new room long before the baby comes, so he doesn't feel like the baby kicked him out of his room. It just so happened that we found out we were pregnant on the Friday before we moved him.

Next is potty training and we plan to try to start that this weekend...can we be so lucky again?

Red candy peanuts and corn

No, it's not a new recipe. It's relating something I did as a child to something Logan did tonight. My parents and probably my brother (if he remembers) will immediately know what I'm talking about.

BTW, if snot grosses you out, read no further.

When I was about three years old, as my mother tells me, I was eating red candy peanuts from a vending machine. She noticed red liquid coming out of my nose...turned out it wasn't a nosebleed; I had put one of the candy-coatede peanuts up my nose and the red coating was melting off. She had to take me either to the doctor or to the hospital to have it removed with big tweezers.

Tonight we were eating dinner...tacos/burritos and, yes, corn. Logan kept sticking his finger in his nose, which unfortunately is not an unusual thing, especially at his age. But he seemed more bothered about whatever was in his nose than he normally is. For some reason I thought to ask him if he had put a piece of corn in his nose, and he told me yes. Knowing that yes and/or nodding is his standard answer to most questions, I changed it up and asked if he had put taco meat in his nose. "No, corn, nose." So after he finished eating, I looked in his nose and thought I saw a piece of corn. Justin didn't fully believe me, but I got out the bulb syringe and tried to suck it out using that. Nothing but snot, and he really hates the bulb syringe, got really upset and started to cough like he was going to puke (he has done that before when he was really upset). So we went about our normal routine and gave him his bath. After his bath, I tried again with the bulb syringe on his changing table, but still no results. So while his Daddy was reading his bedtime stories, I called the doctor's answering service. They said to call back if I hadn't heard from the doc in 30 minutes. In the meantime, we put Logan to bed at his normal time. After 45 minutes, I called back because the doc hadn't called. She called soon after that; she suggested what has worked for some parents, which is to blow really hard in his mouth to try to blow it out. If that didn't work, she said if we could see it and hold him down, we could also try to get it out with tweezers. Failing that, we needed to take him to the emergency room because if we didn't get it out, he could get a sinus infection or some other bad problems. So I got dressed and ready to go to the ER, just in case. Justin and I went into his room; of course Logan had just gotten to sleep at that point (he usually takes 15-45 minutes to get to sleep at night). He sat in Justin's lap and I covered his mouth with mine and blew several times. No success, but Logan thought it was hilarious, so at least he wasn't freaking out. After several blows, the corn had appeared to make some momentum, but it wouldn't come all the way out. So we laid him on the floor and Justin held him down. I got the tweezers and tried to get ahold of the corn, but it was slippery and more snot had built up. Some tiny pieces of corn came out; I got the bulb syringe and did a couple more tries with that. Then I blew in his mouth again -- and the corn finally flew out! We think the tweezers must have dislodged it from where it had been stuck. Yeah! No ER trip. I was soooo dreading that...I just couldn't imagine how late it would have been when Logan got to bed after that.

So, needless to say, we'll be watching a little more closely for food (or whatever) being put where it doesn't belong. And hopefully Logan learned from it, too.

Happy Anniversary!

I think I neglected to write about our recent anniversary getaway. My mother offered to watch Logan while Justin and I went out of town to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I found a B&B in Sulphur, Oklahoma, that seemed to be a nice setting and had good reviews. Why Sulphur, OK? We (mostly Justin) wanted to visit the Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, which was on the way. So we left on a Saturday morning and got to Pauls Valley for lunch; we found a great little hometown pizza joint and shared a small pizza and fried mushrooms (we were trying to save some appetite for dinner at the B&B). On to the museum. It was pretty neat; one of those places where you would probably notice something different if you went back another time. There were a lot of toys and figures! We spent close to an hour there; unfortunately, they were out of postcards. On to Sulphur, and we arrived at the B&B earlier than anticipated. They didn't seem to mind and actually upgraded us to a better room for the same price. What a nice surprise! It was a chilly but beautiful day, so we went to the National Park that is located there and took a long walking tour of the springs, all by ourselves. On the way back, we even saw a deer run by! It was very pretty.

Dinner at the B&B was fairly pricey, but it included quite a bit. We had a drink that was champagne mixed with homemade peach nectar from home-grown peaches; garlic bread with homemade pesto; a three-course meal of shrimp scampi, filet mignon and fish (I've forgotten the exact type); and dessert, which was some kind of French dessert that tasted a lot like yellow cake with raspberry sauce and ice cream and a little chocolate sauce. I liked it but Justin doesn't usually do desserts and didn't have much of it.

Our room was elegant and cozy, but we could hear a lot of the activities of the couple upstairs (like getting into their jacuzzi tub). We just tried to ignore it. The view of the night sky from our balcony and all of the stars was incredible! I miss going to summer camp and seeing so many stars.

Breakfast was almost as good as dinner -- fresh fruit, choice of pancakes or waffles with homemade jams, Starbucks coffee, vegetarian chutney, and potatoes. Next time we visit, we plan to set up a spa treatment at the spa they have onsite. It looked like a nice place, too.

DH, DS, HT, BS?

I'm not sure I like all of these abbreviations to try to protect my privacy. Surely no strangers will stumble upon my blog, right? So are they really necessary? I've seen other blogs that have people's last names, hometowns, etc. It sure would make blogging a lot easier without having to remember to be generic.

Speaking of other bloggers, my sister-in-law pointed me toward a blogger who was in our high school band with her and my brother (they were four years ahead of me). She was diagnosed about 9 months ago with terminal cancer; she had started a blog to discuss mortality. Recently a scan showed the tumor was gone! A miracle, really! I'm glad the blog was shared with me and I will check in with it to read for her updates.

Which brings me to this...hopefully it's not a requirement to have a "cause" in order to be a blogger. I don't really have one specifically. And don't get me wrong -- I'm not asking for anything to happen just for writing material. Although blogging about winning the Powerball would be my choice, if anyone is listening...hint, hint.

We're late, we're late!

This morning did not go so well for DS and me. My dad was having oral surgery today, and he needed my mother to be there with him. So I had planned ahead to take DS to DH's aunt's home daycare here in town. I told DS several times yesterday evening that he would be going to Aunt B's house the next day. Unfortunately, he usually sleeps as late as 8:00 or 8:30 at home, but I had to wake him up at 7:00 to get ready to go. It was very cold this morning and he did NOT want to get up. I had to lift him out of his crib. Then he kicked, screamed, pulled, and fought me on everything -- changing his diaper, getting dressed, brushing teeth, walking out of his room, putting on his coat. And the worst part -- it took probably 15 minutes for me to get him buckled in to his carseat. He was stiffened up like a board and had the strongest grip on the straps! I finally loosened the straps and was able to buckle him in then tighten them again. He stopped crying but was still sniffling and had worked himself up quite a bit by then (it was after 7:30 by the time we left the house). I called my boss on the way to daycare to tell her I would be late. He walked in to daycare but started crying again (apparently he stopped crying within five minutes of my leaving). I was about 15 minutes late to work. My boss was okay with it, but it was still a pretty humiliating excuse -- a grown woman overpowered by a toddler. Looking back on it, I think I should have kept my calm more instead of getting worked up and angry myself. I was just worried about getting to work on time, but that might have just made the situation worse. This tantrum stuff is no fun, and I've heard that 3 is worse than 2! Hoooh-boy.

Toddler talk

DS did a couple of neat things at bathtime tonight. First he counted the bubbles, very quickly -- 123456!
Then as I was drying him off, he said, "Mommy, share Mommy, share Mommy." I said, "Who do you share Mommy with?" He said, "A baby!" I hope he feels the same way when he DOES have to share Mommy with a baby.

But after the bath and bedtime stories, we struggled again with brushing teeth. I guess he has made that his latest power struggle or stall tactic or whatever. Hopefully we get past it soon.

Also today, I took DS to DH's work for lunch (holiday for me but not for him). We went to a noodle soup place. I got DS chicken fried rice thinking it was something he might eat. He didn't eat much and really only ate his fruit cup that I brought with us, and a few noodles. Both there and back he kept saying, "Tummy hurt." Finally after we got home and before his nap, he pooped and filled the diaper. I didn't hear "tummy hurt" again today, after that. He took a good nap and I gave him a PBJ sandwich afterward for a snack, which he devoured along with some goldfish crackers. Which probably explains why he didn't eat dinner, either. Dinner was white chicken chili. When will I learn? Just somewhat of an off day, I suppose.

December 2007 - What a month!

I can tell you now that this is going to be a long blog and that I will have to come back to it to complete it. So much happened last month (December 2007), good and not-as-good, that I felt like I was going to lose my mind if one more thing fell into our laps. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

Most areas of our lives were affected in some way in December. I'll touch on all of these, some briefly, others in detail.

• Home: weather/power outages, dog destructiveness, organization, almost-lost computer files.


• Work: DH's promotion, my workload.


• Family: DS's birthday, Christmas, travel, DS's surgery.

On the home front, one of the first issues is our two dogs. They tend to take outside and destroy anything that is not tied down -- their history includes a couch, DVDs, DS's toys, books, magazines, newspapers, you name it. Unfortunately, their latest chew toy was my mother's notebook of treasured notes, mostly things that our son does during the days when she watches him. On top of that, my mother injured her leg "diving" into our drainage ditch to try to recover some of the pages from the notebook. Because of this, she was not able to make her homemade pies for Thanksgiving (the incident was a couple days before). This turned into a major family discussion, the result being that we will try to get training for the dogs/me/my mother, and in the meantime, use baby gates as barriers so the dogs can't get to stuff.

Also relating to house/home, we lost power on December 10 due to ice storms in the area. Our power lines are all underground, so there must have been transformer problems somewhere. We were among the more than 600,000 Oklahoma households without power, so we were definitely not alone. Unfortunately, DS had outpatient surgery scheduled for the 11th of December. DH's aunt and uncle live about two miles away, so we packed up our stuff (in the dark; the power went out about 5:00) and after we ate the dinner of chili I had prepared, again, in the dark, we "moved in" to their house. We felt very fortunate to have family in town who still had power, even though we had to wake up very early to get DS to the hospital by 6:00 am for the surgery.

Another home matter: we had purchased (a few months ago) an external hard drive because our 80-gig computer had run out of space due to the amount of pics and videos we had put on the hard drive. We transferred the majority of these items to the external hard drive. Well, after 2-3 months, we started experiencing problems with the external drive. Turns out (from my research on the internet), this seems to be a fairly common problem. We went to the company's website and ordered a replacement; fortunately, they had a deal where they'll send you the replacement drive and you have 30 days to then return the defective drive. So we limped the defective drive through and luckily were able to recover the majority of the data from the defective drive and put it on the new drive. I can't begin to comprehend how distraught I was and would have been had we not been able to recover the data -- pics and video of DS from birth to two years. Thank goodness we were able to recover most if not all of it. Since then we have used BB's 18-month financing to purchase a new computer with way more memory, so eventually we'll use the external drive just for backup.

Okay, on to the "work" world. DH was urged to apply for and after a couple of weeks of hem-hawing, finallly received a promotion to Parts Manager for one of the dealership's stores. He will receive a decent raise and commission, plus the use of a truck. We're currently upside-down in his truck so we can't really sell it yet, so we kind of have an extra vehicle for the time being. DH is hoping that he won't get "screwed" on the deal as there are still some bugs to be worked out. So we're praying quite a bit on this issue.

For me at work, I've had extra work lately due to the resignation of a coworker and surgery for another coworker. Another coworker was promoted to fill the resigned worker's position, but she has not yet been fully trained. Because of the coworker's surgery and another coworker's vacation, for the week before Christmas break, I was the only fully trained person with my job responsibilities. I guess it means job security, but I will be glad when the replacement person is somewhat trained so I can be relieved of some of the additional responsibilities.

DS's birthday was December 7, party on the 8th. I had chosen a car theme but decided at the last minute to narrow that down to Noddy's car. Turns out Noddy is a British cartoon character so it's nearly impossible to find Noddy stuff in the U.S. If only I had decided on this earlier, I could have asked my cousin to send some things from Germany. But I used some pics/art from the internet and made my own decorations, and I made the cake. I considered it somewhat sloppy, like his dragon cake last year, but it was fun and DS actually got it -- he saw it and said, "Noddy car." So I was pleased. He "got" the present thing this year, too, which carried over into Christmas, and for awhile it seemed like presents showed up out of nowhere almost on a daily basis. It got to the point that he would see an empty box and say, "present -- mine." We created a monster. I'll try to post other memories as I think of them.

Over Christmas, my parents went to Germany to visit my cousin's family. My mother is DS's caretaker during the week, so he had to go to daycare (DH's aunt has a home daycare about two miles from our house). That was only for three days; one of the great things about working for a university is we're closed for about a week-and-a-half over Christmas. We have to take 2-3 personal days, but it's worth it since work doesn't really pile up because we're closed.

On health -- DS had been seeing the urologist about every 6 months due to his undescended testicle. (By the way, can you believe an insurance company turned him down because of this?) At his 2-year visit, the doc said he would be leaving CHildren's Hospital later in the month. We had been putting off the surgery to see what happened naturally, but DS had grown so accustomed to this doctor (when he sat down at the 2-year visit, Logan put his head in the doc's lap), we decided to go ahead with the surgery while the doc was still around to do it. So we scheduled it for Dec. 11; this was less than a week after the visit, which was probably good since it left little time to think about it. Dec. 11 was a Tuesday. On Sunday the 9th, a major ice storm hit the area, and on the night of the 10th, we lost power at our house. We packed up and went to stay at DH's aunt's house in town. Woke up around 4:30 am the next morning so we could take DS to the hospital for the 6:00 "call time" for the surgery. Being at Children's really put everything in perspective. Nobody wants to see their child go through surgery no matter how minor, but there were so many sick children -- one boy was having his 10th heart surgery at the age of 12; we really are truly blessed.