2 Yr/6 Mo Stats

HEIGHT/WEIGHT/TOOTH COUNT:
37 1/2 inches, 30 lbs, 18 teeth (waiting on A and J). Still doing daily breathing treatment in the morning of Pulmicort to prevent his "reactive airway disease" from flaring up during viral season. So far, so good! Just this week he got his first cold since we started this regimen. In the past, it wouldn't take long for the congestion to travel from his nose to his chest and cause him to wheeze and retract, but this time it's still just a yucky head cold! Annoying to him, but much less dangerous than pneumonia!!!

NEW TRICKS:

• Drinks out of a straw!!!! Finally!
• Pretty consistent on picking up one bunch of toys before dragging out another without being told.
• Pedals trikes like a mad man at play-gym.
• Uses his Sonicare electric toothbrush.
• Starting to understand the concept of counting things.
• Pretty consistent on manners--saying please, no thank you, thank you, you're welcome, I'm sorry.
• Gives himself hugs.
• Can navigate through my iPhone to find his games!
  

FAVORITE FOODS:
Still cheese, cheese, cheese. Will most always eat whatever we're eating, but if you give him a choice, it's CHEESE.

FAVORITE BOOKS:
His Thomas books, The Giving Tree, Is Your Mama a Llama, Old Hat/New Hat

FAVORITE TOYS/ACTIVITIES:

• Play-Doh
• Race cars-especially the ones from the movie "Cars" (they seem to be taking priority over Thomas even!!!) I love the way he says "Lighting Da'Queen" (Lightning McQueen).
  
• Reading "by himself" (we often find him "reading" books in the dark after he wakes up from his nap)
• Mr. Potato Head
• Playing in the dark-always wants the lights off!
• Pretending--he will run around pretending to be an airplane, holding his arms out and making noise, or he'll swing his sword around saying, "Aargghh, I'm a pirate!"
• "Writing a message" with his new colored pencils.
• Sucking and squirting with old medicine droppers or the turkey baster in the bathtub.
  

DAILY ROUTINE:
Up at 7 or 7:30, nap at 1 (about an hour, seems to get shorter and shorter), to bath/books/to bed by 8pm.

FAVORITE SONGS:
He has been singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to me in full at night, and is also proficient at the ABC's now!

DISLIKES:
Time out, which is great because that means it works. When I give him the choice between time out and whatever it is I want him to do, he ALWAYS makes the right choice and acts on it!

MOMENTS I DON'T WANT TO FORGET:

• When I put him to bed one nite, he said, "I will wub yo face and sing you a song. How 'bout Tinkle Tinkle Lil Sar?" And he did just that. It was precious.
• When he's crying for whatever reason, he will say to me, "Say 'It's allright,' Momma. Say 'It's allright!'" And amazingly, when I say "It's allright," he believes me and stops crying shortly thereafter. I wonder how long that will work...
• When we went to my friend Abbey's to see her little boy and new baby girl, Brax was so gentle with her and really seemed to understand that she used to be in Abbey's belly like Harper is in mine. I think that helped him get the concept of having a baby sister.
• In the car, he picked up on a song on Christian radio. B-"They're talking about JESUS!" Me-"Yes, they are. How about I play another song about Jesus... This one talks about God... They are the same. God is our Heavenly Father." (I put on some music that was on my iPod) B-"God is nice like Daddy!" Me-"Yes, he is." B-"I love God." Me-(smiling!) "He loves you, too, baby." B-"Is God at his house?" Me-"God lives in Heaven, with Jesus. It's wayyy up in the sky." B-"Can I see Him?" Me-"No, not yet. We can see Him when we die." (Now I'm wishing I hadn't opened that can of worms...) B-"Are we dying?" Me-"No, not till God says it's time." After a few moments of silence... when we got home... B-"Is God here?" Me-"Yes, but we can't see Him. He watches over us." And with that, Brax went on about his business.

BRAXISMS:

• Woke up from a bad dream one nite, when I went in he said, "There's a monster in here! I need a hug and kiss." (Jace told him about monsters. Thank you very little, Jace.)
• Yelled into my belly, "I LOVE YOU, BABY HARPER!"
• Randomly to me-"I wish your back feels better."
• "Does he have ear muffins on?"
• "What is a cylinder?"
• "Start your engines!"
• "I'm back on the track!"
• When I leave his room after tucking him in at nite, he always asks, "Are you going to stretch your back and take a shower?"
• We were reading a book called "Baby Cakes" one nite. He noticed that in one of the illustrations, the little boy's face looked bumpy. He said, "He has bumps on his face. His mommy didn't put lotion on him very good." (Brax has very dry skin, so I slather him with Aquaphor and Cetaphil every day to prevent dry-skin bumps!)
• One day he kept asking me, "What time is it?"
• He was doing a little jig, I asked him if he was dancing. He said, "With my poop!" (Yes, he had pooped.)
• "I want animal crackers for snack! That'll be YUMMY! Get them out, Mommy!"
• B-"Can I say 'Oh my goodness?'" Me-"Yes, you can say that." B-"OH MY GOODNESS!....... That'll make Jesus smile." (This was a few days after he said "Oh my God" and I explained that we don't say God's name like that, it makes Jesus very sad.)
• In the car, he said to me, "Slow down, sweetie!"
  

Please Pray for Jackson

I posted awhile back about our friends' little boy, Jackson. He is now 4 months old and has spent all but one week of his short life in the hospital for intestinal problems.
He is having a very hard time right now,
and I know his family would appreciate any prayers you may send their way.
Please click HERE to read their CaringBridge journal and learn more about Jackson.

My Favorite Belly Pics

Well, my dad says I'm "the only person he knows that would get dolled up and have pictures taken of her belly." But like I said before, I am so glad I did! (Dad obviously didn't get the memo that it's stylish to be pregnant!!! HA HA.) This may be the last time I ever have a baby in my belly (at least that is how I feel NOW) so I want to remember it! Once again, a HUGE thank you to my friend Jen who took these for me! I'll post her website link once it's ready!

Belly Pic Preview

My oh-so-talented friend Jen came to our house last Friday and did a maternity photo session for me! I wasn't even going to do belly pics this time, but now I am SOOOOO glad I did. Jen is such a great photographer to work with and I am lucky to have her for a friend! Here is a preview.... 2 of the 100+ pics she is working on (out of the 500+ she shot!!!).

THANK YOU SO MUCH JEN!!!

A Night Out!

Nana Star came in town this weekend to help me
finish up getting ready for Harper--

thanks to her, my house is spotless!
Not only that, but Mike and I got to have a real date night!

We had been invited to attend a Royals charity event at Union Station with some good friends that included dinner, a fashion show, and dancing (which I did not partake in...) and we stayed the night at the Westin at Crown Center. It was so nice to crash in a KING size bed, and not have to do anything in the morning! Of course, we were awake by 7:30, but we didn't HAVE to get up! We met our friends for breakfast on The Plaza, then headed home.

The view from our room... overlooking the ice skating rink at Crown Center.


I am so bad about taking pics when it's just Mike and I!
We did snap a couple of self-portraits...

Brax was having a blast w/ Nana!
He taught her ALL about Thomas and his friends!

Brax's First Dental Visit!!!!

I took Brax to a his first visit to the dentist last week! It really wasn't necessary, as I can obviously identify any problems he may have, and I'm pretty sure we are adequately cleaning them at home (I even scale them with my instruments!), but I wanted to get him used to going. We went to a pediatric dentist just because they are so FUN!

He jumped right in the chair to watch Nemo.

They didn't take any xrays of course, but he was great for his exam. I REALLY wanted them to polish his teeth (and he was all excited for that part) but they said they usually wait until they are 3 to do that. So I didn't push it... I didn't want to be the annoying hygienist mom.

He DID get some great prizes though--

They gave us one of the new Sonicare electric brushes for kids, and Brax LOVES it!!

Week in Review

Last week (my second week home with my little man!) was a busy one!

I got to take him to preschool for the first time (usually Aunt Laura took him) and it was so fun to see how excited he was to show me his "playschool." He runs in so confidently, and was SO eager to tell me what he did while he was there when he saw me walk in to pick him up. I may have to take pictures of that tomorrow... even if his teachers think I'm a dork.

Brax also had his first dentist appointment last week (separate post!) and he had a lunch date at the mall with me and one of my long-time friends. I let him play in the play area first to burn off energy, then we ate at the little cafe inside Nordstrom's. He was SO good!

Here are some pics of us making cupcakes for my friend and my mom's birthdays.

Such a big helper!

Just playing.

This is random, but I had Daddy take a picture of our nite-time ritual...

my favorite part of the day!

We also went to a movie last week--Alvin and the Chipmunks.
I am so lucky to have a great movie buddy!

Playdate with Ava

My friend Jen and her little girl Ava came over to play the other day...

They had the most fun pretending to be "monkeys in a cage" under the barstools!

This was just a close-up I liked!

Brax and Thomas

As much as Mike would prefer him to be playing with some type of ball, Brax LOVES playing with his Thomas trains. I am just happy that something holds his attention this long! The other day the lighting was just right around his train table and I really liked these pics...

The Finished Product

I realized I hadn't put up pictures of Harper's room in all it's completed glory!

I just love it... I wish you could smell it, too. It smells like lavender, like baby girl! While Mike bathes Brax at night, I just go and sit in the glider and enjoy the girliness!

The view as you go in the door.

My grandpa made that doll cradle for me in 1987!
I need to post a pic of the shadow box... It is going to be so cute when I'm done! I just now covered the backing w/ some fabric leftover from the bedding, and will add more to it once Harper is here of course.

And here is Brax, practicing his big brother skills!

34 Weeks... It's Becoming Real Now

I went for my 34 week check up today... all is well. I go again in 2 weeks, then every week from there on out. With Brax, I was 1 cm and 50% effaced at 36 weeks, then 3 cm and 80% effaced at my 37 week check up the next Friday. I went in to labor the next day!

So it's sort of hitting me that I could potentially have this baby in like 3 weeks. Which I'm now realizing is not much time!!!! I have everything ready for Harper--her room is ready, clothes are washed... we just need to put the swing back together and put the car seat in the car. I have most everything I need set out to pack in my hospital bag (MUCH less stuff than the first time around!!!!!). But for some reason, I just don't feel ready. I am ready for her, just not ready for two. How does it work????

When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Brax, I had everything checked off my "list." I felt like I had everything under control. Now I feel anything but. Having a child has turned my once manageable "list" into a revolving catalog of things that need to be taken care of. I have established a routine that keeps the chaos controlled, but the thought of adding a new baby to the mix makes me wonder how it's at all possible to ever regain a handle on things. And I don't just mean everyday life and the "chores" that go along with it... I mean the BIGGER things, like being a friend to my husband and meeting his needs (which thankfully, he insists are few) so that he doesn't feel like he's only here to follow my "orders," and being a patient mom who savors these fleeting moments of my kids' early years instead of getting caught up in the aforementioned chaos.

The logistics of two children seem so much more complicated with one. I know people do it all the time, but HOW? How is does it work when they BOTH need you at the same time? How do you give them BOTH enough love and attention? How do you play with your toddler and still rest and snuggle with your newborn? How do you get a toddler in his carseat and the infant carrier in the base both from the same side of the car? How do you perfect the timing of naps and outings? How do you get anything else done besides the meeting the basic needs of these two small humans? I realize that one major change will be that Brax will no longer be the center of attention (which is a great life lesson in and of itself), but how does that happen without making him feel like he's being pushed aside... rejected... replaced?? How will I have the patience to discipline him and teach him what our new "normal" is going to be when I'm sleep deprived? I feel guilty already...

MORE Snow

Here are some shots of Brax playing in the second round of snow we got last week.

We are in for 3-5 more inches tomorrow, with 40 mph winds and -20 wind chill.

AWESOME!

This is not my most flattering photo (although it is a pretty accurate depiction of how I look these days... no make-up, hair on top of my head, sweats....) but I love it! Brax was standing on the chair behind me smothering me with hugs and kisses while I was on the computer. And I also like how I got Mike in the background smiling-bonus! (He usually runs when I point the camera his way.)