Still Pregnant

I'm now 34 weeks along and I don't think I've recorded anything about this pregnancy since I first recorded that the little guy existed. I figured I'd better get on that before it's all over and I forget everything!

This pregnancy has been different from the first one. Either I forgot how sick I was last time, or I was just more sick this time. It was pretty bad for a long time and every once in a while there's still a bad day or a bad smell that just kicks up the contents of my stomach. Good stuff. Even so, it was still not too miserable. I'm grateful I'm not one of those people who is throwing up constantly through all 9 months, or who has to be hospitalized because literally nothing stays down. It's not that terrible for me, and for that I'm very grateful.

This time I was having crazy sciatic pain until about 6 months...when I finally stopped jogging. Turns out that was the instigator and since trading my morning jog for a longer morning walk, that pain has almost completely vanished. While I miss being really sweaty after a little run and all of the good mental health and confidence boost advantages that come with it, I'm glad to not be in terrible pain most of the time! Fair trade I suppose. This whole loss of the control over the way my body is going to grow and change during pregnancy is not my favorite. Wouldn't it be nice if you could decide where and how much pregnancy weight you were going to gain? Mmmm, I would really like that. I just keep telling myself that I got back into shape once and I can do it again. It's part of the process. And if this process results in another sweet little baby boy...I'll take it.

While the beginning of my pregnancy was rather rocky (Glenn was a sweet, patient angel), the last month or so has been great. I'm enormous. I hear that it's normal to be more enormous with #2 but it's still kind of unsettling. How on earth is there room for 6 more weeks of growth in there? How enormous is this little boy going to be? Does he know that he's welcome to come out a little earlier if he's ready so that he doesn't surpass his big brother's birth weight? Tate was quite big enough, thank you. While I feel like I look like...something huge...I still feel great at this point. I know that the really uncomfortable last few weeks are coming, so I'm just trying to savor this time of not feeling claustrophobic in my own body. It's nice right now.

I'm amazed with how fast this pregnancy has gone. These last six weeks look rather long from this end, but the fact that I only have six weeks left and that over 7 months have passed is crazy too. Just six more weeks of being a family of three. Six more weeks of being able to give 100% to Glenn and Tate. I'm just planning on the adjustment period after babe is born being pretty rough. Then if it's not so terrible I'll be pleasantly surprised. I hope Tate handles it well and knows I'm still crazy about him. I wanted him to have a sibling for so long. There were times I wondered if that would ever happen. I know it's the right thing for our family. I know he'll adjust eventually if not right at first. And I know that in order to be a well-rounded person he has to learn that he isn't the center of the universe. He can't have everything he wants in life and he can't have everything right now. He needs to learn to be patient, to share, and to take turns. What better place for him to learn those things than in a home where he is loved so very much? This will be good for him and his little brother will just adore him...and hopefully be just like him.

Messy Job

Yesterday there was a very wet accident at church. It was gross. Will there ever come a time when potty training is 100%? Will it be years from now?

This morning I was lucky enough to have Glenn home for a few hours. He's playing in a company golf tournament today and he didn't have to be there very early so he had breakfast with us and then went for our morning walk with us. On the way home Tate threw up. A lot. He was soaked, huge puddles in the stroller, and he kept unloading in the woods. Excellent. I was SO grateful that Glenn was there! My poor sense of smell has been pretty sensitive lately and we would have had to take several barf breaks on the way home if I had had to carry little soaked boy and push the stroller by myself. Oh yes, and our washing machine isn't working so all the vomit laundry will have to just pile up for a bit until the guy comes to (hopefully) fix it tomorrow...or I make a run down the street to a neighbor's house.

All in all, today could have started out much worse than it did! Glenn helped hose things down before he left for golfing, we don't have anywhere we have to be today and kiddo is acting quite happy in between barfing sessions so hopefully it will pass quickly. It's funny how your perspective on mess changes when it's a sweet little boy who you adore making the messes and he's saying things like, "I'm not very sick mom (as he's crying and vomiting). I'm very happy!" Or, "Mom, hug me and make me feel better!" It's one of those things that are hard to imagine being possible before you have a kid of your own and you love them enough to just keep cleaning up after them. Sure, it gets tiring and there are times I get fed up, but he's a very sweet boy and the snugs and sweet paybacks are frequent with this job too.

Halloween Festivities

We had a whole weekend of Halloween this year. Friday night we had our ward trunk-or-treat. Tate was so excited to wear his Peter Pan costume. He still hasn't seen the Disney version, but he LOVES the musical and kept wandering around the house us as Glenn and I got ready saying to himself, "I look just like Peter Pan" and smiling.

Glenn decided last minute that we should dress up for the trunk-or-treat too. His idea was that we should dress up as each other. So there we went, to our ward function, Glenn dressed in my maternity clothes stuffed with a pillow, and he suited me up in his lacrosse gear. The stake president is in our ward. I'm pretty sure he didn't approve...oh well. We thought we were funny.

Tate got lots of lollipops. He would have been just as thrilled with just one. Kiddo loves lollipops.

On Monday morning I wrestled Tate into his costume again (for some reason he was very anti-costume that morning) and we went to visit Glenn at work. We brought him some Halloween treats, Daddy got to show off his cute little boy at work, and Tate got to watch Daddy fly his toy helicopters in his office. Tate knows that Glenn's toy helicopters live in Glenn's office and always asks to see them when we visit.

Finally, last night we got kiddo in his costume one last time and took a few pictures out front.

Here he is showing off his flying skills.

Then we walked down the street to a little neighborhood partywhere we shared pizza, conversation, and toys with neighbors before heading out for some trick-or-treating. Tate was quite happy borrowing other kids' toys. He needs a bike in a bad way.

Then he and Glenn went around the neighborhood while I manned the door. It was so cute watching little Tate walk down the street in his costume holding his pumpkin bucket and his daddy's hand. This year he "got" Halloween and was thrilled every time he said the magic words and people put candy in his bucket. He thought it was so cool. It was a very fun weekend. I've never been a huge Halloween fan. But this year, with Tate having so much fun, I quite enjoyed it. Happy Halloween!

Grampa

A couple weeks ago my dad flew in for a very quick and unexpected business trip. He stayed pretty busy, but we were able to steal him for a bit of play time too. The night he got here Tate went absolutely nuts. He brought Grampa up to the toy room before we could even show him the house and started showing him all of his toys, climbing all over him, and got upset when Glenn and I wanted to join in the fun. He pushed us out of the room and said, "Could you two please just go out?" He wanted time alone with just he and Grampa. It was sweet see him that excited about his special visitor.

That night our neighborhood was having a little shindig so we went to check it out. A little train ride, real horses, lots of free toys and a bounce house. Little Tate, who was already incredibly hyper, was in heaven.The last fun outing we had with Grampa was a few days later. He went with us to the zoo. When the idea was proposed Tate said, "Mom, Grampa and Tate will go to the zoo and you can just stay home." Ah, thanks buddy. But I ended up going as well. Tate was a bit grumpy that day and not super enthused about anything, but he did get to show Grampa the drums. Oddly enough, still his favorite part of the zoo.Tate thought Grampa was just the coolest. They played hide and seek every day. That never got old, even though Tate clearly doesn't quite understand all of the "rules" yet.

Little man also had a lot of special bed time stories from Grampa, including one interesting story he had to make up because it was all pictures and no words. Then there was a lot of snuggling time on the couch and a few tears when he learned Grampa wasn't going to be around in the morning. It was precious. I haven't been able to watch these two play together for a really long time. The last few visits we've made to Utah have been at times when Grampa was either super busy or out of town so they haven't played much for...a really long time. It was heaven to see my little guy absolutely adore and play with his Grampa. Thanks for the visit Grampa. We love you.

A little Chaplin

My thoughtful husband came home from work last Friday with a great plan. He'd heard about a showing of some Charlie Chaplin shorts at a cool park downtown with live piano accompaniment. "Yes, please!" I said. And right after piano lessons, we packed some sandwiches and drove down. We got there early, staked out a spot and walked around a little bit. Tate loved walking by the little pond with huge fish in it, running up and down the grassy hill, and having dad swing him around.

Discovery Green is a great park right in the middle of downtown. They had a stage set up with a grand piano next to a big screen. A fun atmosphere for a good outside movie. Luckily the weather was perfect! Starting to cool off just enough to be refreshing.

Before the movies started they had a "walk like the tramp" contest where the pianist played music and kids tried to walk around the stage in big shoes with a hat and a cane. A fun idea...it just went on a bit too long.

We weren't sure how Tate would like the silent films, but he loved it. As soon as the movies started he was absolutely riveted. The live accompaniment was very cool. I was fascinated with how she could play music that matched the mood and action of the movie exactly in time. What if she took certain parts too fast or too slow? The whole rest of the score would be off and she wouldn't end with the film. It was really impressive. We watched "The Tramp" and "The Immigrant", and by then it was late and time to go. Tate was very sad. He kept saying, "I want to stay! I want to stay!"

A very fun, and free evening out! Thanks honey!

I have a friend...

This past week we stayed with some friends in Austin for 5 days. It was wonderful. They were so accommodating and fun to play with. We even fit in a double date! Glenn had to do some recruiting at UT for work, so my friend and I played for days and I learned/was reminded of a couple of things:

- I remembered what it feels like to be around my dear friend. The almost feels like family kind of friend. The kind of friend who would drop everything to help you if you needed it, AND you wouldn't feel the least bit guilty about it because she'd be entirely willing and genuinely grateful for the chance to be of help. I miss that. I have a hard time feeling that close to people for some reason. A lot of it probably has to do with feeling guilty when I need help. I feel like I need to be able to return favors and feel needed in return in order to somehow justify the times when I need help. Some people just don't need me like that. They have other good friends, or family close by, or they're just really independent. The guilt is a big part of it. I know it's dumb. I'm working on that. But I realized how much I miss having her close by.

- This friend makes me want to be better. I left her home with my mind (and planner) filled with ideas about how to be a better neighbor, friend, member of the church. She struggles with feeling lonely sometimes as well, and yet, she's determined to make the most of every opportunity to serve and fellowship. Something as simple as a Halloween treat swap becomes an opportunity to fellowship and reach out to those in the ward who might get left out because they're not in any "group". She's pretty cool that way.

Basically, I feel refreshed from the break and inspired to do better and try harder. And at the same time, I miss her today.

So thanks for the reminders, my friend.

Conference Sunday

Glenn's out of town this weekend. It's a real bummer being without him, but we try to stay busy and make the most of it. Sunday morning we went to the park. It was a beautiful morning. It's started to cool off a little in the mornings and I just keep holding my breath and soaking it in, sure that it's a joke and the heat will return tomorrow or next week.
Tate had a blast and I took a lot of pictures. Little man is so much fun right now. I'm loving every minute of him. He has very few grouchy days. He has grouchy mornings or afternoons occasionally, but for the most part he's been very pleasant lately and just plain fun to be around. He's constantly pretending to be different animals, talking all the time, and says the sweetest things. He does a lot of narrating what he's doing and it's pretty funny.

Tate calls these "music notes". I guess they look a little like music notes."Mom, I'm standing on this music note. I'm being VERY careful."

"Mom, look at me! I'm a rangatang! Oo oo oo ah ah ah"

"Mom, can you find me two drum sticks to play these drums?"

Sometimes being a mom is tiring and I worry about little boy #2. Okay, so fairly often I wonder and worry what having 2 will be like. Am I ready? Is there any way to be ready? Will Tate adjust well? Will he still know that I love him to pieces? Am I going to feel like a terrible mom while trying to pull it together and figure it all out, knowing full well that the process took a good long time last time? Then he smiles and laughs like this

And I'm reminded that worrying will only get me so far...no where, that is. And I just enjoy this time with this little face.

Tate has a Nanna who loves (read: spoils) him and sent him a few instruments as potty training motivation. The drums are a big hit. They all are, actually. There should be videos. I'll get on that. He spent a good deal of conference giving the prophet, apostles, and the MoTab some accompaniment on the drums.

"Mom, look at me, I'm a walrus!"

"I'm giving my drum set a BIG hug!"

And for those who requested an underpants picture, here you are. Seriously, how darling are tiny little underpants buns? Love it. Potty training is still going strong. Most days if I pay close attention and keep reminding him he can be dry all day. He lasts most nights and naps too. Every once in a while we have a bad day but he is really trying. Sweet little guy.