Happy Holidays

Yay for Christmas.  We had such a good time this year and I'm finally in a house that is more suitable for company!  We had a bunch of my family over Christmas Eve for dinner and presents.  Luke was in rare form all weekend, all stemming from being really sick last Friday, but managed to save all the meltdowns/crankiness for Mommy and Daddy so no complaints.  The boy knows when to behave ;) 

Sunday we did presents at our house, presents at my in laws, home for a nap - for Luke only unfortunately - then back to my in laws for their family Christmas gathering.  It was a crazy, awesome, fun two days.  Our house is a mess now - toys everywhere!  We even hid a few in the garage after Luke opened them since he has so many new ones to choose from.  It'll be like Christmas all over again a month! 

One main theme to my holidays - Thomas!  Every time Luke started to open a present he would say "tommy? tommy?" thinking every single present had something to do with Thomas the Tank Engine.  He was right about 75% of the time.  He is currently living in choo choo heaven here.  Everywhere I turn there is something train related and he loves it!  So thank you to all of our family and friends - he is one happy boy.  I just bought a new camera yesterday so I don't have many pictures from last weekend but do have a lot of video.  I need to go through some from family and hopefully eventually post a few on here.  This one I did take on Monday night at the dinner table when Christmas finally caught up to him.

Hope you had a good holiday too!

Just About

So I'm just about 21 weeks pregnant and I'm just about ready for this weekend.

21 Weeks:

How much does baby weigh: Little lady T is the size of a banana this week. Roughly 12 ounces.

Maternity clothes:  Only maternity pants, half and half on tops.

Sleep:  ohmygosh there is not enough time in the day for sleep right now.  Completely not pregnancy related though.

Movement:  every day

Food cravings: I'm hungry. Always. Especially for Cheddar Jack Cheez-Its....mmm.

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly.

Thoughts:  I'm so busy pregnancy is not top on my mind right now, is that a bad thing?  I feel like I'm missing out on all the little things I so looked forward to the first time and don't really want to miss any of it seeing as this will most likely be the last time I'm pregnant. 

This weekend - Christmas!
So most of the house looks fairly presentable - garage was cleaned up and organized with the hopes that we could get a car in there this weekend.  However, the radon guy came today, made Zach move all sorts of stuff, sealed all the cracks in the garage, and said they need two days to dry.  That may dampen our plans of putting a car in the garage this weekend.  The nursery and office are full of junk and all the rooms are mostly unpacked.  For 5 days since we've moved I'm pretty freaking happy with the amount we got done.

As for Saturday and Sunday, the tree is decorated, stockings are hung, food shopping is half done, cleaning is half done, presents are under the tree.  I still have a list that is mega long to do but we're plugging away here.  I don't think I've sat for more than 15 minutes straight all week but next week it'll be worth it when I can take naps, maybe sleep in, and do the last bit of unpacking and organizing.

And just about on winter vacation - tomorrow at 1 pm will be glorious!

Happy

Our new house makes me happy.  We have all of our belongings under one roof again, and even though its still really messy and a bit nuts, I'm loving it.

The smell of Christmas trees makes me happy.  We bought a tree tonight.  It standing about 10 feet away from me, looking all fine, and smelling wonderful.  I'm totally put off by the fact of unpacking decorations before I have the house unpacked but a decoration-less wonderful smelling tree is good enough for me for a little while. 

Being with my family makes me happy.  We've only had a few days in the new place but just hanging out with my boys, unpacking, laying in bed together, dancing together in the kitchen, and watching Luke run like a mad man with his "new" toys all around the downstairs makes me really really happy.

BIG Day!

We are homeowners once again AND we're having a girl! 

Our ultrasound was labeled as "difficult" due to Little Lady T moving pretty much nonstop.  This time I didn't even eat a sugary snack on the way there.  All I had was some Total cereal for breakfast but this girl was on the move.  Regardless of how hard it was for the tech we got a few good mugshots and got to see all the important parts, even if some of them were for a split second.  She did do a good enough job to show us the right parts so we could see she was in fact a she.  Besides that, the tech can't really tell you anything.  So as long as I don't get a call from my doctor tomorrow then it should be all good.  Luke moved constantly when I was pregnant with him and he is a man on the go now so this could mean my hands will doubly full in the near future ;)  I would scan the one good picture to show you but we have no scanner right now. 

Which brings me to the rest of our day, settlement!  I have never been so excited to sign my name a million times and hand over a big ol' check.  But today I was thrilled, that means we own our own home again and this time its not even attached to the neighbors, has a nice big yard, and a pink room for our new little lady along with a manly blue one for Luke.  The walk through looked great and luckily the previous owners left it clean and ready to go for us.  Zach is ready to move now so he took a car full over tonight, we'll do the same tomorrow, unload the storage unit Friday, then get everything else with the truck on Saturday!  Yaaaay! 

Sweet Dreams

Sleep is rough lately.  I think there is too much on my mind.  The next two weeks for us are super exciting and super crazy so its kind of understandable that my mind is going at all hours of the day and night.  Today I did happen to pass out for about 45 minutes while Luke was napping and I had the worst dream ever!  We went for our final walk through in the house and it was NOTHING like we saw before.  Like completely remodeled, walls removed, only 2 bedrooms.  Oh my goodness, it was horrible.  And then we were stuck either just signing the papers or being homeless.  I woke up and knew it was all dream but its making me awfully anxious for Wednesday.  It has been a while since I was actually in the house....  blah. 

Regardless, for some strange reason, I am so super dooper oober goober woo hoo woot woot excited for next weekend.  We are going to be moving into our new HOME!  So even if its a nightmare, which I'm sure it won't be, it will be OURS!  Since we are moving exactly 8 days before Christmas, it adds a little bit more stress but all of our presents are bought, wrapped, and ready to go.  Christmas cards are finished, not baking any cookies this year, and all we have to do is a bit of decorating, buy a tree, and waaalaaa, we'll be set for Christmas morning.  It sounds easy enough, right? 

And stay posted, hopefully our little Baby T will cooperate on Wednesday for our ultrasound and help us find out if we have a he or a she?  Anyone want to take guesses, last chance! 

18ish Weeks

How far along: 18 weeks and a few days

Total weight gain: 9 pounds

How much does baby weigh: Baby T is about 6.5 ounces this week, the size of a sweet potato.

Maternity clothes:  Maternity pants pretty much all the time now.  I need to find a few more work pairs and then I'll be in them for good.  Shirts still not so much.

Stretch marks:  nope

Sleep:  I'm tired a lot but am just sleeping okay.

Best moment this week:  Scheduling our big ultrasound - December 14th, woo!

Movement:  Feeling a bunch, especially on my drive home from work or sitting on the couch at night.  Not strong enough for Zach to feel yet though.

Food cravings: yogurt, ice cream, spicy trail mix

Belly button in or out: in

What I miss: I really wanted a margarita this week - Zach got one and it looked oh so good.

What I'm looking forward to: ultrasound in about a week!

Milestone: frequent movement

Thoughts:  wow, I'm almost half way there!   

Hello Belly

Here's my first belly shot, finally. 

Baby T #2 had a nice strong heartbeat yesterday at my monthly appointment.  I also scheduled our next ultrasound in 2 weeks, the same day we settle on our new home!   My excitement for December 14th is almost unbearable......oh.my.goodness. hurry up already!!! 

Oh Christmas Card, Oh Christmas Card

Yesterday Zach took a ton of pictures in hopes of finding the perfect one for our Christmas card this year.  Luke is completely uninterested in sitting or even standing still.  We did get some pretty entertaining shots though.

I said give Santa a hug, he pushed him as far away as possible.

And he's gone, the Santa's look good though.

He started dancing because cookies appeared.

Yummy.

A forced hug.

He found a school bus, completely distracted.

 And a few good ones also!

Choo Choo Trains

Luke LOVES trains.  My current competition - Tommy Choo Choo.

He would watch that show all day long if we let him.  I don't really get it, it's actually pretty boring to watch and the old ones are just actual model trains moving around with George Carlin narrating and doing every voice of the trains.  And even though they all look almost the same, they all have different names and do different jobs as part of the "Very Useful Crew"  Craziness people, craziness.

Anyway, my aunt told me about this train room set up at my grandmothers retirement village.  There are two full rooms of model trains galore and cars running all over the place.  I'm not a huge train fanatic but it was really neat.  Zach, Luke, and I met my aunt and grandmother there Saturday for a little look thinking Luke would be in 7th heaven with all the choo choos.  I think he was so overwhelmed by the amount of trains going here and there that this is the face we got the entire time. 

They even had a Tommy Choo Choo going round and round and one of the men talking as Thomas to all of the kids.  Luke was in shock and didn't say a word.  I thought he'd be all about it but I think he was just trying to soak it all in.  After we spent about 30 minutes watching the trains we went into a third room and they had a Thomas engine the kids could sit on and take pictures.  Oh. My. Word.  A real life size Tommy Choo Choo....no way!  However, Luke was still in shock I guess and wouldn't sit on Tommy at all. 

So at this point I was thinking he wasn't really into to it, until we tried to leave and a meltdown ensued.  So apparently he loved it and just didn't know how to react.  Luckily I travel with at least 2 trains at all times and Percy and James came to the rescue.  Along with the fascination of riding in an elevator. 

Once we went back up to my grandmothers apartment Luke was back to himself and had really good time just hanging out. 

Oh yeah, we also tried to see Santa while we there....not thinking we are going to get our picture with him this year.  This was as close as Luke would get.  He was like bubblegum on my shoe. 

Maybe next year!

17 Weeks

My first real pregnancy post now that the cat (and stomach) are out of the bag.

How far along: 17 weeks

Total weight gain: about 8 pounds so far

How much does baby weigh: This week the baby is about the size of an onion and a whopping 5 1/2 ounces. 

Maternity clothes:  I haven't buttoned a pair of pants in about 2 weeks.  I'm using the bella band most days but am thinking of breaking out the maternity pants this week.  Maternity tops are still a bit too big but my normal ones aren't looking too hot right now.  I'm all about big flowy sweaters right about now.

Stretch marks:  nothing yet. I'm gaining weight all different this time though.  I really thought at the start it was going to be another boy but now that I'm carrying the weight differently already I'm questioning if it is a girl.  I also started this pregnancy with a different shape so that could be the culprit as well ;)

Sleep:  I have been sleeping okay.  To be honest, until I'm back in my normal bed (3 more weeks!) I don't think I will sleep great.  So I can't blame it all on pregnancy.  Luke is still getting up during the night about 3-4 nights a week also, so I can't say sleep is ever good around here - pregnant or not.

Best moment this week:  Asking Luke what's in mommys belly and him responding "baby!" and giving his new sibling little "love pats" on my belly.

Movement:  I could be crazy but I'm pretty sure I can feel the baby move every so often.  It's very subtle but there.

Food cravings:  I'm just hungry all of the time right now.  I eat a lot of cereal and yogurt.

Belly button in or out: still an innie and don't expect a change, never popped with Luke

What I miss: sleeping comfortably on my stomach

What I'm looking forward to: my next appointment is Tuesday and we'll schedule our big ultrasound then

Milestone: no nausea for over 2 weeks now, woot!

Thoughts:  I can't wait to get settled in the new house so I can actually focus more on this baby and preparing for his/her arrival.  Life is nuts right now and these first 17 weeks have actually flown by. 

Big Brother

Luke is going to be one in May!  I'm 15 weeks and due May 5th.  Well it was May 5th, then May 7th, then the 5th, then maybe the 7th.  I like the 5th so I'm sticking with it.  Baby T #2 has made this quite the pregnancy so far.  I was sick with Luke but not like this.  It probably didn't help that I was selling my house, looking for a new one, packing, working, and taking care of a toddler.  Last time I was pregnant everything was so simple, the only thing I did have to think about what the pregnancy.  Not quite the same this time.  I feel like things are moving really fast and I'm hoping it slows down at some point so I can enjoy it.  (This should be the last one folks.)  Now that I'm out of the first trimester (happy dance, happy dance) I'm starting to feel like my old self again.  This is when the fun begins, starting to have a bump, feeling the baby, our next ultrasound.  I just can't wait!  We've started to tell Luke there is a baby in mommys belly - he has no clue what that means but likes to put his hands on my stomach and say 'baby baby'.  Let's hope thats a good sign :) 

As for our big brother photo shoot.  Let's just say it took a while to get that awesome shot up top.  Here were some of the others...

And I have zero belly shots up to this point, I need to get on that.  Yay for #2!

Magic Powers?

You mean once you become a parent you aren't magically protected from crazy sickness?  Because its straight up impossible to be a mom and have the flu.  Impossible. 

This weekend was the first time I was really sick in years, like really sick.  At one point Zach told me I must be dying because the cats were sitting all around me as I was a useless blob on the sofa.  Animals can sense those things you know.  Fortunately he was wrong.  I'm still alive, not back to normal, but alive. 

Luke didn't seemed phased that mommy looked like, sounded like, and acted like crud this weekend.  I was still his same old mommy - kids are awesome in that respect.  But I had to stay away, didn't have the energy to play, and just felt awful like I was neglecting him.  The last thing I would want was him to get it too. 

So someone out there, work on these magic powers please.  You're the best, thanks.

Trick or Treat!

Better late than never, right?   Here's a few shots of our little blue monster on his first trick or treat.

On our way out for his first trick or treat.

"Um Mom, lets go already - no time for pictures."

And we're off!

After getting a few pieces of candy he realized this was a good deal.

So proud. We went to 10-11 houses and he was ready for more.

And after we got home he thoroughly enjoyed a Twix bar. 

Upside Down

Not sure what exactly I need to do to feel like my life is right side up again.  Since my last post things have been busy to say the least. 

Our townhouse is no longer ours.  We managed to get everything packed and out by last Monday.  Thanks to a ton of help from family and friends it went pretty smoothly.  As much planning as I did though, it didn't go exactly as I imagined but do things ever go that way?  I had all the boxes marked as either storage or Nans.  If they went to storage they are either in a storage unit, in my in laws garage, or in Zach's grandmothers garage.  As far as what is in what spot, I have no freaking clue.  At one point I thought there was no way everything would fit but the guys did some excellent packing, the garages are stuffed to the roof, and the doors close!  Success!  I'm slowly realizing everything I thought I needed and marked Nans wasn't really everything.  Me being pretty organized and anal is having a slight breakdown every time I can't find things.  But eventually (in 5-6 weeks to be exact!) it'll all go to our NEW HOUSE!

That's right folks, in the chaos that was the big move we also found a house, put in an offer, got a counteroffer, responded with our original offer (it was a damn good offer in our eyes) and got the house!  WOOOO!  All of this happened on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week - the same Saturday that we were moving all of our belongings to the various storage spaces and my life was strewn all over Lancaster.  So it helped make the day a bit better, but no less stressful.  Everything worked out in the end though and I'm one happy girl. 

Our settlement is currently set for December 15th so we'll be in our own new home for Christmas!  That means a Christmas tree, Christmas breakfast as a family, presents at our house, and maybe if I'm really on top of things, baking Christmas cookies in my new kitchen!  Until then Nan is letting us live with her and practically take over her house for a month and a half.  Which is pretty awesome because we came with tons of stuff and have turned her house upside down. 

Everyone is adjusting fairly well to the move - Luke doesn't seem to care at all, the cats struggled the most.  Luke had a few restless nights but all in all he's acting like hes right back at home.  Knuckles is almost adjusted and is getting his nose into everything and Scooter hides under the bed most of the day.  As soon as they adjust it'll be time to shove them, literally, back in the carriers and head to the new house.  Wish us luck with that. 

Pumpkins!

On the hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Looking for the perfect one.

I found it!

The one.

Waiting for the hayride back.

Luke and his pumpkin!

After finding out he could play with the hay.

Saturdays

I love them!  They are filled with pancake breakfasts, staying in your pjs extra long, and lots of family time.  Oh yeah, and lots and lots of packing!  One week until move #1 - no time for real blogging :)

Toddlers Can't be Trusted

Luke had a busy fun day at daycare Thursday, they painted tiny pumpkins!  He was so proud of his pumpkin when I picked him up and has started saying "pumkin, pumkin"  I'm sure he worked so hard painting a little bit of blue, green, and white on the top of the pumpkin.  It actually looked pretty cute and I was excited to take it home to put on display. 

We got to the car and he had to hold his pumpkin while I drove home, okay whatever, no big deal.  I get in the car and drive about a mile down the road to the gas station, I look back and Luke is licking the paint off of his pumpkin!  His face was covered in paint and as I got out at the gas station and went into the back seat he was so proud of himself, he smiled real big and showed me his bright blue tongue.  I'm the foolish mama wiping paint off my child's tongue in the parking lot. 

Lesson learned, toddlers can't be trusted with pumpkins on the car ride home.  His half painted, half licked pumpkin is still proudly on display on the windowsill above the sink, makes me smile :)

Busy weekend ahead for us, wedding, packing, more packing, and maybe a trip to the actual 'pumkin' patch.  Happy weekend!

Has it really been 2 weeks?

Oh, hi!  We're all still alive and well, no worries.  So much has happened in the past two weeks.

Our house is officially sold and the only reason its more official than before, the SOLD sign in the front of our house!  Woot woot!  That was the highlight of my week.  We looked at 4 houses this past week, put an offer in on one, were rejected, and we're back to where we started.  We're moving out of our current house 3 weeks from today.  I've been slacking on packing but it will get done.

Last weekend 'Mommy' got a much needed night away with the ladies.  I had about 24 hours of toddler free time and it was glorious.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kid more than anything else, but I also enjoyed every minute of adult time as well.   The boys had their first night together also, good for everyone.  We ended up right near my brother and got to see him as well, great weekend.

Luke has been fighting all sorts of stuff lately.  We're stuck in the "anytime I don't get exactly what I want when I want it I will flip out" stage.  It's awesome.  Other than those meltdowns, hes the most awesome kid ever.  He and I survived a two hour wait at doctors office this past week, so he gets a gold star for that!  It was a close call for me though, almost didn't make it. He also fought this crazy virus this week and is still fighting ear infections for the past month and a half.  If this last mega antibiotic doesn't work then we're off to the ENT doctor. 

Potty training has been a hot topic lately.  I don't know when is a good or bad time.  I would have thought it is way to early but he now is proud to say "I go poopy" every time he does.  At first it was just "poopy" but then he started saying that all the time and tricking me.  But if he says the whole sentence its the real deal.  Not sure if thats a sign he's ready?

And today our whole family was decked out because it's October folks!  Playoff baseball!!!  LOVE it! 

Hi Reality

We started packing for real this weekend.  Now I have empty shelves, empty cabinets, missing decorations, no movies to watch.  I'm really starting to realize that this is for real and we will be out of our house in 5 short weeks.  I'm starting to get sad, I'm starting to panic slightly, and I'm really really tired.

Yesterday I packed a couple of boxes of books, all of our movies, and little things like that.  No biggie but a start.  Today my mom came to help me pack and we got through all of the dining room, almost half of the kitchen, and a few odds and ends around the first floor.  Our house is no longer "show" ready but we got the word on Friday night (while looking at yet another house....) that our inspection went through fine and now assuming appraisal goes through tomorrow or the next day our house is pretty much sold for good.  So I'm done cleaning, straightening up, and making it look all roomy.  Instead, this is what my dining room looks like now.

For as much as we got accomplished today, there is still SO much left to pack.  And I'm getting a little sad.  I was rocking Luke to sleep tonight (and no that is not an every night occurrence but he is getting more teeth in and these are killer, poor kid, which makes bedtime a nightmare the past few nights) and I was just thinking about his room, his nursery, and when he was a tiny little baby, and all the things he did in this house.

This is where I may turn in to an emotional mess...stop reading if you wish.

There are so many firsts that happened in this house, not only with Luke but with Zach and I.  I think I'm also a little blah by it all because we have no clue where we are moving to so I feel like I don't have really anything exciting to look forward to yet.  I know it will all work out, but we're up to almost 30 houses we've seen.  I don't know what is left.  And I'm hoping and praying some new awesome wonderful perfect house will suddenly appear on the market soon.  If not I may need to go door to door asking people if they are interested in selling.

But until then, we'll just keep looking, keep packing, and keep on keeping on.  

Packing

Luke and Knuckles are ready to go!

Never a Dull Moment

Life with Luke is always interesting.  He has a new trick - taking off his diaper.  Yeah, I know, gross trick and I'm completely not impressed. 

The past few days when Zach was away Luke started undoing his diaper as soon as I would put it on him.  No biggie because I'd put it back on and quickly pull his pants up.  As long as there are pants there is a diaper still on my child.  I forgot to mention this new trick to Zach upon his return.

Last night Zach was in charge of putting Luke to bed (I was super excited to have help again but Luke and I did survive those 5 days without incident, just exhaustion).  I had no idea but Zach decided to put him to bed with a t-shirt and no shorts.

This morning I got woken up with "Um, we have a problem."  This is being said as Zach is walking into the bedroom holding a diaper in his hand.  I'm half awake thinking, what heck is he doing holding a diaper with 2 fingers and it dangling from his hands.

He proceeds to explain the diaper was laying like that in Luke's crib, Luke is naked, and there is pee everywhere!  GROSS!  And instead of cleaning it up, he cleans up Luke and goes downstairs for breakfast.  I go in and find the entire crib and part of floor in need of cleaning.  Ugh. Good thing he's cute ;)

Who me?  What'd I do?!?

Exhausted

I give any single parent out there major credit.  I have been on my own for 3 days now and I am beat!  Even with all of the wonderful help from my inlaws (thank you!!!).  Between working, having a toddler, and just the everyday stuff that has to get done, whew! I'm ready for bed at like 6.  I can't wait for Zach to get back on Sunday and I'm pretty sure Luke feels the same way. 

This week did have a few extra awesome points though.  After almost 4 weeks of daycare, Zach dropped off Luke Tuesday morning and he didn't cry as Dada left!  I can't even explain to you how excited I am!  There was a little lip quiver, then a high five, and everything was fine.  Way to go Luke! 

The week before when I picked him up they would tell me how he would forcefully tell them "mama come!" or "dada come!"  This week he was all smiles, dancing, laughing.  Apparently before I picked him up the other day he stopped playing, walked over to the door, and said "mama."  His teacher said he knew it was just about the time I usually come.  So he's finally understanding that we will come back, every day.

As far as the house goes, no more progress.  Our house is still pretty much "show ready" all the time still, which for as much of a pain in the butt that it actually is at night, when I come home from work completely beat its so refreshing to have a clean house.  I should probably start packing soon, October will be here before I know it.  However I feel like I just finished prepping it and I want a little break....hahahaha. Yeah right. 

And now it is 8:15 on a Friday night and I'm headed to bed.  That's right, to bed! 

Um, wow.

Thats all I can do to explain the past 12 days.  Wednesday the 17th we listed our house.  Thursday the 18th we started hunting.  Since then it has been a whirlwind.  Back to work for me, Luke fought another cold and ear infection, trip to the shore, house showings, house visits.  Oh. my. god.  I don't think I've sat down for more than 20 minutes at a time. 

However, our house is sold, yay!  To be completely honest, I'm excited but also terrified because it happened way quicker than I expected and I feel completely unprepared and anxious about it all.  We've seen over 15 houses and not found "the one."  And we have to be out of our house in less than 2 months.  Maybe I've lost my mind. 

Keep your "you'll find the perfect house soon" fingers crossed. 

Sun and Sand

We spent last weekend at the shore.  Here's our weekend in pictures.

Luke was holding on so tight at first - a little taken back by the waves.

He loved playing in the sand though.

Just relaxing.

He warmed up to the idea of the water eventually.

Busy, busy, busy.

Luke and PopPop

Waiting in line for the carousel.

 

Going for a ride.

He wasn't really a fan of this one - eventually his head was down on daddy's lap.

MomMom, Mommy, and Luke riding the choo choo.

MomMom, Luke, and PopPop