Here We Go Again!!!!

This was written on our road trip to Lake Tahoe and CA in December 2013 - right in the middle of December (between the 12th and 23rd). Well, G and I knew we wanted our kids to be around 2 ½ years apart, and I kindof wanted them to be 2 years apart in school, which meant we needed to have our second by September 15th of 2013 (to make the cut-off) – yes, this is me, Mrs. Thorough, and I thought it through a lot! I loosened up a little about the school thing when I found out a lot of people will hold their kid back another year if their birthday is close to the cut-off date, so they can gain a little more maturity (and would be the oldest of their class rather than the youngest). I realized that have the second child close to that September date would make it very young for its age, and so decided I wouldn't be so anal about having it before September, and we'll 'cross that bridge when we come to it'. So ANYWAY, we were going to start trying in fall of 2012. As it approached we started talking more seriously and made sure we were on the same page and I did more accurate calculations based on my cycle. I realized that I actually wouldn't need to get pregnant until January, to be due in September, and if we at all wanted to beat that September cut-off (which I wasn't ENTIRELY worried about, but we still wanted them to be around 2 ½ years apart), that we probably should start trying in October, to give us a few months (in case it didn't happen the first time). I decided I'd rather be due SOONER than September than LATER. But as we realized that a baby conceived in October would put us due in July (Janae's birthday month), I decided I wanted it to have its own birthday month! Plus, I had my heart set on more of a 'fall' baby, than summer. I thought it would make sleep training a little easier, and it would be several months after Georgie's birthday so there's enough time for us to 'save up' (and there's no other major holiday around that time that we have to buy gifts for – thinking financially!). So anyway, we decided to officially start trying in November. I actually thought it might take us longer to conceive this time, because we were actually going to use some 'techniques' to try for a girl (among them, timing sex to three days before I ovulate because the female sperm live longer than male sperm). So we did it exactly as planned in November! As the days after that went on, I was waiting for the ONLY symptom I felt with Georgie's pregnancy, which was really tender breasts. I couldn't remember exactly when that kicked in, and they were a LITTLE tender, but I didn't think it was enough (in retrospect, I think that I had sort of 'adjusted' to the tenderness because it seemed like for the last few months I experienced that quite often around my period and ovulation). We went to G's parents for Thanksgiving, and I almost forgot that there was a POSSIBILITY that I was pregnant, and I actually got in their hot tub! As the days went on, I just didn't feel ANYTHING different, and I pretty much concluded that I wasn't pregnant – it didn't work the first time again because we had sex three days before ovulation (not the day OF ovulation like we had with Georgie) – I was already thinking about what we should do different next month, if anything! I took a text that said it COULD occasionally detect pregnancy 6 days before your missed period, because that 6th day was the day we left G's parents (and we thought it would be awesome to tell them in person). But it alas it came back negative, and so I thought - “Tara, just face it – you're not pregnant!” We then headed to my grandpa's to see him for a couple days. I had another test, and I thought about taking it the morning we left (so 4 days out), but I just decided that I probably wasn't pregnant and didn't want to waste the (expensive!) pregnancy test!!! I decided at that point that to find out, I just needed to do it the old-fashioned way – HAVE PATIENCE and wait until my period was supposed to come. Those were some very LONG days! I really didn't think I was pregnant, especially since my breast tenderness was very mild and normal, and I just didn't feel ANY different! I felt mentrually a couple days before I was to start, so I again assumed I was about to (although that happened with Georgie too). I of course wasn't POSITIVE, but I think I just like to prepare myself mentally for the 'worst' (which wasn't even that bad!). So the day that my period was supposed to start and didn't, I just thought “why don't I just take a text to rule it out, so I stop wondering”. I remembered I had a 'cheaper' test (not the high-tech expensive one) that I could use. So I went in the bathroom when G went to get g up (I am always embarrassed to take the test for some reason – like I don't want G to think I got my hopes up!). I peed on the stick and set it on the counter, COMPLETELY expecting it to confirm my belief that I wasn't pregnant, and also thinking it would take a minute. I got up to wash my hands and the pregnant 'line' was already darkly forming!!!! I said out loud in a whisper to myself - “SHUT UP!!! WHAT? Seriously? Three days before and I STILL got pregnant on our first try?!!!!” I was shaking and looking at the directions making sure I wasn't reading the wrong line. I was thinking “how should I tell George?” I had thought of all these different ways I could tell him that were more 'creative' or 'sentimental' than how I told him with the first pregnancy, but all those things required waiting. And there was no way I could go back in our bedroom and NOT share this wonderful news with him RIGHT NOW!!! I couldn't believe it! So I gathered my composure and went in to the bedroom where Georgie was laying next to George, drinking his bottle (as he did every morning), went into the family room for a minute to get my phone's 'voice memo' recording so I could record myself telling G, went back in, laid down, and said something like “well Georgie, you're going to be a big brother!!!!” G said “I knew it!” or something like that. I have it on a voice memo – it's pretty funny! We laid there and talked about how fertile we were, and the future, and kept telling Georgie that mommy has a baby in her belly. We took pictures of each other holding the pregnancy test (well, I MADE George do it!). It was a Friday (November 30th), so I had Ben that day. I asked G if I could tell Rebecca (Anderson) because I just needed to tell someone! So I told her when she got Ben around 1:00 that day. She was really surprised! Since then, I've told quite a few people, though we're waiting to make it 'official' (ie: put it on facebook!) until the end of January, after we return from all our travels (we're currently on a road trip to Lake Tahoe and CA, ending in Disneyland, then go to Phoenix in January). I'll be about finished with my first trimester around then. To tell my family (mom, Ted, J, and K), we went to Bin 707 for George's birthday and had Georgie's 'big brother George' t-shirt (that I ordered online) on underneath his outfit. We gradually 'stripped' him because “he was probably hot”, until he was wearing just the t-shirt, sitting in his high chair at the head of the table. It took them like probably 8 minutes to notices – the LONGEST 8 minutes ever! Janae finally looked over and I watched her eyes inquisitively reading and then the 'light going on' – got her reaction on video – sooo funny! She stood up and was pointing - “I knew it! Mom – READ HIS SHIRT, READ HIS SHIRT!!!” My mom cried again (like the first time). So fun! We used the t-shirt with a couple other friends (Emily Osburn, Bethany Schaeffer), the Robinsons (via Skype), and Pat and Jack and my mom's cousins (in CA). Grandpa had a great reaction, and so did Krystal Von Der Lieth. We've told others on the phone. A lot of “I knew it”s! And “I knew it would be soon”! Guess people know us well! :) On this trip (I've been working on this blog entry throughout – we're on our way home today), it's been a little hard because I've actually been feeling a little more sick with this pregnancy. Not bad at all (especially compared to a lot of women I know), but I've been very mildly nauseous almost every day, up until the late afternoon/early evening. I wonder how much of it is actually the pregnancy, because the long car rides (and we've had many) don't help at all with the nausea. And I've been REALLY tired a lot, but I know some of it is the time change, and just not sleeping well because of the constantly changing beds and environments. Probably not the greatest timing for a road trip. But I DO think a lot of it is the pregnancy because I notice that when the nausea kicks in, usually my breast tenderness kicks in simultaneously. The breast tenderness has been fairly bad this pregnancy. I know I had it with my first, but I don't think it lasted this long, and they've been pretty darn achy. The nausea hasn't been bad enough to make me vomit, though I've felt pretty close a couple times (mostly after a long car ride). That's about where I'm at! I'll keep you updated!

Words, Teeth, Updates

He's soooooo much fun and George and I are absolutely loving this age. Becoming such a little smartie! Loves wheels on anything and learning how things work. So proud of himself when he fugures things out. He's a VERY busy boy - must be do, do, doing things all the time! Loves playing with US best! Loves peek a boo and hide and seek around the house. Words he says (and he's picking up more so fast, especially when we take the time to TEACH him the words and how to say them):
Down (daa)
More (moh)
Banana (nanuh)
Bye-bye (bah bah)
Night night (nahee nahee)
Eat (eee)
Car (cah)
Up (uh)
Dog (dah)
Hi (ai)
Me
Baby (beebee)
Sometimes Gram (mam)
No
Ball (bah)
Mama
Dada
Tee tee (t't) for auntie
He just blabbers nonsense ALL the time - he's constantly talking in his own language!
He just got his lower front molars and we are SO excited bc he's been sleeping worse (less and sleep crying again when he hasn't done that in months), runny nose, and just grumpy, and that explains it!
We think he's SO smart and learns so quickly! Such a sweet boy who's ALWAYS getting into mischief!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saying 'Ball'

So last night at Carrie's bday/going away party, Georgie said 'baw' (the way he attempts to say 'ball') in reference to a ball! This was the first time he'd said an actual word in reference to it's respective 'thing'. I was soooooo excited! He does also say mama and dadda, but only when we say "Say mama" or "Say dadda" - he doesn't look at us and say "mamma" or "dadda" (even though he definitely knows who we are and who is who). Anyway, just thought I'd share that adorableness! Also, he is FINALLY breaking his two top teeth - sooooooooooo excited and relieved (though last night was hell because of it!). Love him!

Overview of the Last Three Months!

So instead of not blogging at all (from being overwhelmed), I'm going to at least just write an overview of some 'things of note'! Georgie is becoming so fun! He is watching our every move now, and imitates us - soooo cute. Does this with the play phone (holds up to his ear), chews like us, sticks his tongue out, tries to put my sunglasses on, tries to brush his own hair with the brush, and now he can wave (doesn't raise his hand, but opens and closes his fingers), and does the signing for 'more' (clapping, but recently it's been a fist with one hand and a flat hand with the other!), 'please' (learned this in MN when me and him visited the Robinsons - Jeanne had him doing it the first day we were there!), and at first he would scratch his tummy with both hands for this (soooo cute!), but now he scratches his chest with one hand (still soooo cute), 'all done' (learned this in MN too, thanks to Jeanne who is more persistent than I!) - at first he would just raise his arms up like 'what did I do?', but then he started doing the shaking his hands - now he kindof does both - it's realllly cute! It's been cool bc he can communicate with us a little now, through signing. He's still at the point though where he doesn't totally understand what he's saying - he knows the sign that goes with each word, but he's not always sure what they mean. For example, even if he just started eating dinner, and is obviously not full, if we say "All done?" he'll do the sign (instead of signing to us when he really is all done). If we say the word, he'll do the sign. And 'more' was the first one he learned and did it for awhile and he would do it for lots of things like "give me that", "I want that" - pretty much for anything he wanted he would sign 'more'! So cute! Anyway, the wheels are REALLY turning all the time now - it's the most AWESOME thing to see him learning life. He's such a blank slate with no knowledge, that is literally learning 100's of things a day. It's awesome. And again, scary, bc we realize what an impact we have on who he becomes. BIG responsibility! MN was great - I learned some parenting strategies from Jeanne and Matt who are awesome parents. They made me realize how I should have a plan for his life (not be controlling, but just goals we want our kids to achieve, and when and how they can achieve them). Just watching them parent taught me not to discipline in anger, but calm and love. And spanking works. And having quiet time, even after they're too old for naps. Their house was such a 'home' - so inviting and comfortable. Not perfect, but truly a home where family and God takes precedence over everything else. Jeanne gave me a book to read, which I'm going to try to read even though I'm not much of a reader! And I still want to read 'Premeditated Parenting' - one they read and recommend as well. They taught me how to emphasize teaching their kids to be like Jesus, and constantly working on their 'heart'. That's what kind of family I want. It was pretty crazy with Ben and Virginia AND Georgie running around - so fun though. I absolutely LOVE the energy that kids bring to a house. It made me want more. :) I really would like 4, but George only wants 2, MAYBE three if we have a boy next. We'll see...it's up to God! Jeanne was doing really well considering she was 23 weeks pregnant with twins! This is probably the best part of her pregnancy (over sickness, not too big that she's too uncomfortable!) Georgie walked in MN - I got it one video once, but then my photo memory ran out! I got a few steps! It was pretty sudden, as I just set him down on his feet and handed him a book, then he started walking!!! He did it right then and there 3 times in a row, but then he hasn't done it since! So he CAN walk, and I got it on video, but he just doesn't have the confidence yet! I haven't really hounded him that much since, just knowing that he'll find the confidence when he's ready! It was funny bc I'm pretty sure he only walked bc he THOUGHT he was pushing something (the book) - he thought he was holding on to something! So funny! He's so cute when he drinks his water bottle (camelback that auntie got him for his birthday!). His hair is growing a lot - I had to cut the back a couple months ago (just trim the bottom). Still no more teeth! Cruising EVERYWHERE and LOVES pushing anything around that can be pushed (to walk). Can say 'nana' now - so I say "say banana, nana", and he'll say 'nana' Just today he was saying "ba", so I really emphasized it and encouraged it and have been making him say it all day, so he won't forget! I've been waiting for him to get his b's bc then he can get 'ball', 'binky', and others. Mom and Ted have kept him overnight a few times now. He never sleeps enough, but it's okay. :) They LOVE him! Baby Steward is due in 2 1/2 weeks and we're sooooo excited. I try to explain it to him but he's too young. But he does get some experience not being the center of attention when Ben, Rebecca and Wes' son that I babysit, comes over. He definitely gives me a look like 'mom - why are you holding/feeding HIM?', but he really does do good at not getting too jealous. I'm hoping he'll do well with baby Steward, then when he have another one it won't be too difficult of a transition! He consistently takes two naps now - YAAAYYY! His first one is almost always one hour 15 min, and starts AROUND 10:00am, and his second one is often the same amount of time at around 3:00 or 3:30ish. Then we TRY to do bedtime at 8:00, though we're not always great about that. We try really hard to find a balance of protecting his sleep schedule, while still having a life! He sleeps usually until about 7:00 or 7:30 if we're lucky (sometimes a little earlier). But has been sleeping the the night consistently for the last probably 5 weeks - he would've before that too but... He got sick right around his first bday (that DAY, actually!) - he held up for his party, but definitely wasn't at his best! :( We had ALL (me, Janae, Kevin, George, Mom, Ted, and Georgie!) gotten sick the week of March 12th, after Kevin brought it home from his work trip to FL - vomiting, the 'other' end, laid up on the couch with nauseau for 2-3 days. Georgie got it first (after Kevin), then the rest of us. It was really sad to see him vomiting and not holding down liquids, and this made it difficult to get any milk down him for awhile. He didn't like to drink anything bc he knew he'd throw it up! :( Anyway, after he was FINALLY getting better after that (it takes a lot longer for babies to kick any sickness), he got a cold on his birthday, and then it seemed like he was coughing for a month. The cold went away within a few days, but then the cough lasted FOREVER!!! It would wake him up so he wasn't sleeping as good and it was SO sad! So, needless to say, I'm so happy he's been better for over a month now, FINALLY, and we're in a good routine! He doesn't like cold milk. I've tried everything. The only way we can get milk in him (which is important), is in the morning (when he's hungry), warm, and in a bottle. No other way! So we've been doing that. He is good about drinking water though, and we try to supplement what they need in milk with other foods like avocado and yogurt (loves those!). Anyway, I'm going to stop for now, but there's a few tidbits!

Behind!

So behind on blogging! Here are some things I want to eventually blog about!

Sitting, then standing up in crib (on our trip), and having to lower the crib the night we got back in town!
Saying mamamam and dadadadada
Blood tests for his possible growth hormone issue
Pulling himself up on everything!
Getting a little clingy-er, yet still not cuddly
Hair growth - big forehead and hair growing funny!
Sleeping through the night since we got back from our trip (6:00 or even 7:00 or 7:30 sometimes)
Cry it out success (and hardly having to let him cry it out) and putting him down awake success (wasn't a difficult transition at all!)
Nap schedule and stretching wake times to make him nap longer
Liking almost any solid until he started eating OUR food :) - then got pickier and we have to 'doctor' things up now!

So at the very least, if I don't get around to blogging about these things in depth - hopefully these notes will jar my memory to remember these things about Georgie!

Missing my Babe...

Sometimes when Georgie goes to bed at night, I miss him. I just want to hold, squeeze, and play with him! Sometimes I wish I could go in and wake him up to play with me, and to kiss him. I love him SO much that I just well up with tears sometimes imagining my life without him. He's my little peanut butter. His smiles and laughs melt me like nothing else can. And he does that all the time (he's very smiley!). LOVE LOVE LOVE him so much.

Crawling!

Georgie started officially crawling on New Years Eve! Went about 3 feetish. A few days before that he had done a couple 'crawling steps', but nothing substantial. But then New Years Eve he kept going – about 3 feet! On New Years Day he got a little more brave (and less wobbly) and went maybe 4 or 5 feet, with lots of coaxing and a 'reward' (a toy or his binky) that he would 'chase' (we would put it just a couple feet in front of him – not too far – and then he would go for it and we would pull it a little further away as he got close to it – sounds mean but it really worked and I think it distracted him!). The day after that and after that we just kept practicing with that same method, and he got stronger and more confident. And the last few days he's been full on crawling several feet at a time – even entering the bathroom from the nursery and the family room to the pantry. The lip transitions from room to room tripped him up a little a few times, but now they don't stop him. We have to be much more cognoscente of how fast he can move locations (be a few feet away and then we turn our back for 20 seconds and he's at our feet!). We officially need to completely child proof our home now too since he can, and is, getting into about everything! Trying to open and close the bathroom door, knocked a plant over, and has put lots of little things in his mouth!

Now we're at the vacation rental in Sedona and I spent an hour 'babyproofing' our bedroom here the best I could! There's so much to think about, and it's hard to be in a completely different house and trying to babyproof the best I can! And make sure he stays clear of other people's feet since he's crawling and most of these people aren't used to watching for little people on the ground!