Three is the new Two

Will is three. Actually, he'll be four in November, although sometimes it feels like he's three going on sixteen. This three-year-old thing is not for the faint of heart, my friends. It is a mixed bag of really incredible, awesome times watching your child's humour, intellect and wonder and understanding about the world grow and really not fun, frustrating times watching your child throw tantrums, huff and roll eyes like a teenager and not listen to anything you have to say. I've had so many parents tell me that two was not so terrible, it was three. And I have to say, three has definitely kept me on my toes.

Will is so smart, ya'll. I know all parents say that and perhaps it's just this age when they really start to comprehend things and think about things on a different level. I mean, this kid knows all his letters and numbers, spells out words when he sees them, loves to learn about outer space and can tell you all the planets in order (seriously, he knows more about outer space than I do. Did you know Jupiter is so big that 1000 earths could fit inside it? Yeah, me neither.), speaks very clearly and with a big vocabulary (the other day he used the word "debonair") and just is a very thoughtful, little boy with a lot going on in that noggin. Mind you, I don't take a lot of credit for this--I think most of this he learned at school (shout out to the Children's Center of Austin--holla!), but the way he thinks about things amazes me. And It's so fun to have conversations with him and watch his little world open up.

But sometimes he's too smart for his own good. We have lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth when he doesn't want to do something we ask him to do (and it usually takes asking at LEAST five times before he'll do it, generally with me yelling "WILL!" to finally get him to listen. Great parenting, I know). And he'll bargain and reason with the best of them until he wears me down to a little nub. Oh, and the hyperactivity. Will has always been a relatively calm and sweet boy, and for the most part, he still is. But when he gets excited he becomes a little spaz and cannot calm down and well, becomes slightly annoying (mainly this happens when we have company at our house and he keeps insisting they come play with him over and over).

This parenting thing has become a game of chess. I make one move and he makes another in a completely different direction. Babyhood was so much easier for this very reason. Yes it was exhausting physically, but now it's exhausting mentally. I love my little boy oh so very much and I love watching him become the person he will be as an adult. But I hadn't anticipated three being so challenging. I guess I need to keep my guard up, because me thinks it won't necessarily get easier--just different with each age.

Oh, and to prove that I'm not all up on my high horse about my son being SO smart, yesterday we were driving to Panera for lunch. I looked in the rear view mirror and Will had a very thoughtful and pensive look on his face, like he was contemplating something very important. When I asked him what he was thinking about, he told me "hot dogs and cinnamon rolls". Obvs, we have a genius on our hands....ha!

Communion: A fun game for a rainy day!

Friday when Evelyn was napping, Will told me he wanted to play "church" (which is funny b/c I've been bad about taking him to church lately because, well, have you ever taken a three year old to mass? If you have, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, stop judging). He then proceeded to put pieces of gum into a tupperware bowl and told me I had to line up so he could give me the "bread". Then he took one of his lego towers that he built and told me it was the wine and that I couldn't drink it, but needed to give it to the people who were lined up.

Brings back memories of the days when my sisters and I would do the whole pretend communion thing w/ Necco Wafers. Ah, the circle of life.

Houston, we have contact...

Well folks, 2 1/2 months have passed since my last blog post. How did that happen? I would like to say that it's because of work craziness (mine and my husband's), or the trip to Minnesota for my uncle's funeral, or the week-long visit from my two sisters in May, or the hectic life of a mom with two kids, or our neighbors and dear friends moving back to Boston and the going away parties that ensued, or getting ready for Evelyn's baptism, or hanging out with friends, or Evelyn starting daycare two days a week and catching two colds already, or the lack of sleep that has put the kibosh on my blog posts. And that would be partly true. Partly. But mostly it's because I've been lazy. Yep. Just haven't felt like it. So there you have it.

To get us caught up, I thought I would start with Evelyn's 4 & 5 month photos. She's now 5.5 months old, and here's what she's up to these days:

-Sleep: No bueno, folks. Her brother was a much better sleeper by this age. She is (mostly) on a regular nap schedule at home: one short one in the morning, and a longer one in the afternoon (w/ a short cat nap sometimes in the evenings). At school she takes small catnaps throughout the day (I guess being in a room w/ five other babies makes it difficult to snooze for long). She's going to bed earlier (usually somewhere between 8:30-9:30, which is a big improvement over the 10:30-11:30 bedtime we used to have), but still wakes up at least once a night to eat. Sometimes twice. I think a little sleep training a la Ferber is in order mighty soon, but I'm not sure how to do that w/ another kid in the house that might be woken up by said sleep training. We shall see. Mama needs more sleep. (Although I have to say I'm surprised at how well I function on less sleep this time around, especially since I'm working, even if it is only part-time.)

-Eating: We are still breastfeeding and it's going well. She does get some formula because I can't pump enough to give her all breast milk while I'm at work. When we're home, though, it's Boobie Fest 2011. I still haven't started her on solids, although I did try to give her some cereal a few weeks ago. She wanted none of it. None. of. it.

-Growth and such: She's got a big head like her brother did--95 percentile at her 3 month appointment. Oh, and her weight was in the 75 percentile, so big there too. Her height? Not so much. 25 percentile. My 6'7" husband was shocked. I think he assumed our kids would automatically be amazons like him.

She's also getting two teeth on the bottom. I noticed them for the first time last week. Will had two teeth by four months, so I wasn't surprised that she was getting them already. I just had no idea because she didn't get fussy or complain about them at all. She is one happy (albeit drooly) baby.

She's rolling all over the place, is starting to sit up on her own, can scoot forward a little bit and grabs things and puts them directly into her mouth. It seems like her development has been on warp speed, probably because I want her to stay little longer.

-Disposition: Happy, smiley. All the time. She is one chill baby.

Also, she and Will are pals. She thinks he is hilarious and lights up when he's around. He thinks she's hilarious and like to make her laugh by doing things like rocking her too hard, pushing toys into her face and screaming loudly. Gentle is not in his vocabulary (although it's in mine. Constantly. I think I say that to him at least 504 times a day when it comes to the baby. I'm tired of hearing myself say it, really. Maybe that's why he's tuned me out...hmmm...)

So here are her 4 & 5 month photos, and one of her and her brother cuddling together. Now let's consider ourselves caught up, mkay?


As you can see, she discovered her feet. And made taking these pictures even harder...

Sweet siblings.

Evelyn: Three Months

Evelyn turned three months old last Friday (oops, late again). Time sure does fly with the second baby. I remember with Will it seemed like those early months moved at a slow, sleep-deprived crawl, but with Evelyn it's like time is on fast forward. Since I know she's my last baby, I'm really trying to enjoy each moment.

Here's what she's up to these days:
-Cooing galore. This girl loves to talk. Sometimes after I'm done feeding her she'll just sit in my lap and we'll have a chat for about 10 minutes. Oh, and speaking of feeding, she's very aware of her environment now. So instead of eating, she wants to look around or look up at me and "talk". I've tried throwing blankets over her head (sort of like a bird in a cage) to get her to focus and eat, but it doesn't work. She just wants to look at the blanket instead.
-Giggling. That just started last week--really might be the cutest sound around. No really.
-Holding her head up. No more bobble head.
-Trying desperately to sit up, but still has a few more months before that happens. I think.
-Drooling and gnawing on her hand. That just started. Please don't let it be a tooth already (Will had two teeth at four months and six teeth by six months. This breastfeeding mama would really appreciate it if that didn't happen this time around, mmmmkay?)
-Sleep. Sort of. She's now doing about a six hour stretch at the beginning of the night and then another 3-4 hours afterwards (then eats again and goes back to sleep until 9:00am). Sometimes she'll even give me an eight or nine hour stretch. Those are lovely nights. She's still a total nightowl (goes to bed around 10:00) and then likes to sleep in...must reverse this.
-Naps. We're starting to get a little more normal here, but still need to work on it. She usually takes one around 11:00, then another around 2:30 and then maybe a shorter one around 4:30. Can't wait until we really have this nailed down.

Happy three months, Evelyn!

Heartfelt

Good Lord things are crazy busy between work, company all last week (Billy's bro and his family were in town--good times with an update to come soon), packing for Illinois where we are headed tomorrow for my mother-in-law's 60th birthday (happy birthday Pam!) and caring for two kids all at the same time. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed and overextended and over-tired. But then I take a deep breath and think about how oh, so lucky, how very blessed I am. These two kids, ya'll, man do I love them (tantrums and poopie diapers and all). Sometimes so much it makes my heart ache. So in lieu of bitching about all the "stuff" going on in my life, I wanted to leave you with these songs that seem to say it better than I can.

This one makes me think of my sweet boy. And this one and this one make me think of my sweet girl.

So very lucky, indeed.

Hi ho, hi ho...

I started back to work this past week. Granted, I'm working from home for the month of April, but it's work nonetheless. I had my misgivings about going back because, if you remember, this job--while a great opportunity--was sort of driving me nutso before I went on maternity leave. I was working part-time but they really needed a full-time person. Or three. So the thought of jumping back into that craziness was not appealing. Don't get me wrong: I want to work (part-time), think this company is very cool and has amazing potential, but coming home stressed and in tears was not something I could continue to do, particularly with a new baby on board.

I have a new boss who started the same day I went back to work (last Monday). Turns out he's great. He is a true marketer at heart. Not just a sales person or ops person doing marketing on the side. He gets it. He wants to hire two more people. Love.

I am excited to be back. It's nice to be in the mix of things again, using my brain in a non-mom capacity and having the flexibility to work part-time and be home part-time. And like I said, the company is way cool (check out tabbedout.com if you want to see where I spend these 20 hours a week). But, ask me how I feel in another month when I have to go into the office and leave Evelyn in someone else's care. NOT looking forward to that.

Summer Haircut

Apparently someone came and took my baby boy and replaced him with this big boy. Can you please bring the baby boy back, even just for a little bit? Mmmkay? Thanks.

A Close Call or "Mommy's Just Not Ready for this Yet"

Today I was driving to the lab to get my blood drawn (have to do that once a week since I'm on still on blood thinner) with Evelyn and Will in the back seat. Will is a very inquisitive three year old. We get the typical "why" questions all the time and it's amazing what his little brain contemplates. On the way to the lab we saw all sorts of bluebonnets growing along the side of the road. I pointed them out to Will and he asked me his usual "where does XX come from?" question (he asks this about everything: "mommy, where do strawberries come from? Where do cars come from? Where does cereal come from?") So today it was "mommy, where do bluebonnets come from?"

After I explained to him they come from a seed that grows in the ground, his next question caught me off guard.

"Mommy, where do people come from?". Uh, um, whaa? I was afraid of where this line of questioning was going.

"They come from mommies and daddies," I responded, hoping that would be enough.

"They come from mommies and daddies?"

"Yes. Remember your baby sister grew in mommy's uterus?" (if you remember, Will was fascinated with the uterus while I was pregnant).

"Does daddy have a uterus?"

"Um, no. Only mommies have a uterus."

Pause.
Pause.
Me sweating it wondering what the next question would be.....

"Mommy, can I have a lollipop at the doctor?"

Relief.

Thank God my three year old is still satisfied with basic answers. I have a feeling as he gets a little older, I won't get off so easy. My sister told me my now 15-year-old niece started asking similar questions at a very young age and by the time she was five and started asking very pointed questions, my sister finally broke down and had to give her a g-rated explanation. I sure hope my husband is prepared with his response when that day comes... ;)

Evelyn: Two Months

Evelyn turned two months last Tuesday (so I'm a little late getting this one out there). She is just a sweet, sweet baby. All smiles (unless she's hungry or tired) and pretty laid back. She still doesn't sleep great, but we are starting to get longer stetches for the first part of the night (usually around five hours, but sometimes only four and one time six--that was heaven) and then she eats and goes back to sleep for about another three hours. The only problem is she goes to bed so late--around 10:30 or 11:00! We've tried putting her down earlier, shortening naps, etc., but she just likes to be up late and sleep until 8:00am. This will have to change when I start work again. And, we are starting to get some semblance of a routine. Her naps are getting more regular and predictable which is great. I never thought I'd say it, but I love predictability. It makes me a happy, happy woman.

We are so glad to have this little girl in our lives. Can't wait to watch her grow!

Randoms

Germs: We are still sick over here. Will now has a flu-like virus. Joy. Billy's been traveling for work, so between the baby being up at night and Will hacking up a lung every five minutes,well, let's just say mama has some major black circles under her eyes.
Milestones: I forgot to mention this when it happened, but Evelyn started REALLY smiling at three weeks and cooing at four weeks. So cute! Makes the aforementioned black circles worthwhile.
Guilt: I've been letting Will watch WAY too much tv lately. Why? Husband out of town, baby not sleeping and sickness. The baby sleeps until 8:00, Will wakes up at 6:30. Enter tv so mama can doze a little longer. I'm pretty sure he knows the songs to every show on Nick Jr and Disney Jr. And maybe even some on BBC Kids. Bad, bad mommy.
Big boy: Will looks so grown up to me. He's just getting taller and more boyish every day. He loves to play with big kids. We went to the park the other day and he was following around a group of kids that were probably five or six. It sort of breaks my heart to see him try so hard to play with them. Granted, he could care less at this point, but I know the day will come when he'll feel left out of something or some kid will be mean to him, etc. It happens to all of us at some point. And it kills me to think about it. PS: Note to self: Buy your big boy some new pants. It doesn't help his cause when he's running around the playground wearing pants that look like he's waiting for the next great flood to come.

Sick babies and itchy bums

I had one of *those* mornings today. The kind when having two young kids sort of knocks you on your arse. Billy's out of town for work (and will be traveling for a day or two most weeks--whaa!) So, I was on baby duty all last night (usually he'll take the baby for me in the late evening so I can go to bed and get SOME sleep before she wakes up again). Then I got the 6:30am wake up call from Mr. Will (again, usually Billy manages Will in the morning so I can sleep in for another hour or so) and the day began. I noticed Evelyn was pretty congested again, so I called the pediatrician and got an appointment for 9:15 this morning. The rush began to get her fed, Will fed, me dressed (no shower mind you--greasy hair and face for me), and baby's diaper changed all the while asking Will 108 times to put on his shoes and socks.

So we get the doctor's office and while the pediatrician is examining Evelyn, Will shouts out "I need to go poopy!" Perfect. The doctor was sweet enough to watch Evelyn while I took Will to the bathroom. Since I was in a rush to get back, I didn't, um, wipe him as well as I normally would. We get back to the exam room and find out Evelyn does indeed have some sort of cold and an ear infection (for those of you keeping score, this makes two bouts of sickness in her short little six-week life).

We finally get loaded back into the car. Evelyn was screaming at the top of her lungs, wanting to be fed, while Will was screaming, "My booty itches! My booty itches!" all the way home.

I just had to laugh. Yes, the laugh of a crazy person, but laugh nonetheless....

Evelyn: One Month Update

Evelyn, one month and two days. (I did buy those cute sticker things for subsequent months, but didn't have them in time for this picture, hence the homemade sign. Cut me some slack.)


Big girl in a rare moment of wide-eyed alertness

Dear interweb friends (all three of you)--thank you for sticking around while I get my act together long enough to write a blog post. Sheesh. You would think I have two kids or am running on very little sleep or dealing with a baby with reflux or something like that. Anyway, our little Evelyn Jane is now five weeks old as of this past Saturday (cue in the "where does the time go" line of thinking). Fortunately, her bout with RSV was pretty mild. She still has some congestion and we still do breathing treatments w/ the nebulizer as needed, but no fever, no secondary infections, no hospitalization. We feel very fortunate because my husband's boss and his wife had a son a few days after we had Evelyn and their baby ended up in the hospital due to RSV. He has been on life support for three weeks, but the good news is he seems to have turned the corner and is starting to recover--it was looking sort of dicey for a while there. So, needless to say, we are so blessed and lucky it didn't go down that path for us.

Here in bullet points are a few things, thoughts and learnings from the last month:

1) Managing baby the second time around is not so hard as the first time, but having two kids is hard. Duh, brilliant revelation huh? The first time around going from no kids to one kid is pretty life altering and scary. The second time around you are much more relaxed and know what you are getting into. But, the second time around you have another kid to take care of. The whole "take a nap when the baby naps" thing? Yeah, that's pretty much impossible when you have a preschooler running around all day long. Or waking you up at 6:30am after you've been up with the baby all night. The sleep deprivation is definitely more acute.

2) Having a three year age difference between the kids is a blessing and a curse. It's great because Will is potty trained, can do things on his own, can help me with basic things as needed (can you go get mommy a diaper?), etc. The downside is that he is old enough to want to go, go, go all the time. Sitting in the house all day while mommy nurses is boring and causes said three year old to be cranky. Thank God he goes to preschool two days a week for his sanity and mine. Also, since Will is almost three and a half, he's starting to drop his nap. He used to be a regular 2-3 hour an afternoon sleeper, but now I'm lucky if it's an hour or so. Again, this leaves no time to "nap while the baby naps" or get much done during the day.

3) Speaking of Will, he's been great with the baby. I mean, there's not a ton of interaction yet, but he always tells me, "mommy, I love my baby" and loves to give her kisses. Of course there are those moments when he says, "daddy, give that baby to mommy and let's go play", but overall he's adjusted pretty well.

4) Evelyn is a sweet baby. She pretty much only cries when she's hungry. She's still not a great sleeper, but it's getting better. At first she would only do two hour stretches at night, but now her first stretch is about four hours. Then she's up to eat and goes back to sleep for another two hours. I'm still exhausted, but at least I'm getting SOME sleep, even if it is broken sleep.

5) She has reflux like her brother did. She's gotten to the point where she cries when she tries to eat and breastfeeding is getting challenging b/c the position she's in hurts vs. being upright for a bottle. She started out on Zantac and that didn't work so we're moving on up to Prevacid. Let's hope it works!

6) I've become a veritable germaphobe. I became one when I had Will but now it's even more protracted. Because Will brings home germs from daycare, I am paranoid about what she's being exposed to. I make Will take a bath right when he gets home from school in hopes of scrubbing away some of those germs. It's clear that keeping baby #2 germ-free is going to be much more challenging than baby #1 (case in point, RSV at two weeks of age).

7) I'm trying to learn how to juggle two kids by myself and manage to get at least a few things accomplished each day (the never-ending laundry, dinner prep, keeping house picked up). It feels like an unending battle to keep up w/ the simplest of home-related tasks, which means I never get around to other tasks I want to do (i.e, blogging). I'm sure this will always be a struggle, but hopefully I'll get better at it over time.

8) Nursing is going much better this time around. I didn't have a very good experience with Will. He never latched on well and I didn't produce much milk despite help from lactation consultants, taking fenugreek and drinking Mother's Milk tea, pumping around the clock, etc. It was stressful and upsetting for the six months I managed to keep at it (all the while needing to supplement with formula). Evelyn latches on well (although she's not a great "sucker" and eats very slowly) and my milk production is better. I still end up having to supplement a bit (I can feed her for more than an hour and she's still hungry), but not nearly as much as I did with Will. I'm nervous about going back to work and having to pump. I don't get much milk when I pump (maybe an ounce total), so I hate to see her consumption of breast milk go down. I need to start stockpiling now (but did I mention how much I HATE pumping?).

9) I don't know how single parents do it. On the days when I'm home with both kids, I'm ready to let my husband immediately take over by the end of the day. And he helps me with all the household chores and takes over the late evening feeding so I can get some sleep. I honestly don't know how I'd do it without him and I would definitely be in the loony bin if I was doing this alone. Like I said, huge props to single parents.

10) Losing the baby weight is going to be harder this time around, I can tell. Despite the breastfeeding, the weight is not dropping off the way it did the first time and my stomach seems much squishier (I guess being stretched to the gills twice really does a number on the old abdominals). Yes, I've lost a little more than half the weight, but I now seem to be stuck. I lost most of the weight the first two weeks and that's it. I'm going to have to really step up my exercise and eating right game if I ever hope to fit into my old clothes again.

Overall, we are doing well. We have our good days and we have our "challenging" days, but I know how fast this will all go and I'm trying to really enjoy this phase. With Will I dealt with some post-partum depression and really didn't get to enjoy his newborn phase as much as I wish I had. I've still had a bit of the baby blues this time around, but not as badly. I know how lucky and blessed we are to have two beautiful, healthy kids. What's there to be sad about--other than the loss of sleep?

Jumping Ahead: Sick Baby

So it's been a month since I've posted and most of you know by now that sweet baby Evelyn Jane Fanning made her appearance into this world two weeks early, which meant no pain meds for me during delivery (major, major ouchie). She'll be three weeks old on Saturday and I've been meaning to finish drafting her birth story and write posts about the lack of sleep, challenges of rearing two children, breastfeeding woes and triumphs, etc. But all of that will have to wait because it turns out baby E has RSV. RSV. I can't believe it. I've been so paranoid about her getting sick (with an older child in the house, it's almost impossible to stop the onslaught of germs that aren't there when you only have one baby), and now she gets the big whammy of baby illnesses. At less than three weeks old.

If you aren't familiar w/ RSV, it's basically a respiratory infection that kids under three are very suseptible to. In adults, it's generallly just a cold, but in babies, especially babies this young, it can be bad. It can turn into pneumonia and if accompanied by a fever, it generally means hospitalization in an infant this young. I noticed baby E was having a hard time nursing last night (sounded congested, was making snorting sounds out of her mouth) and again this morning, so I took her to the doctor. I was shocked when the RSV test came back positive. Her pediatrician wants us to come back tomorrow and monitor her very closely and if anything changes (more congestion or difficulty breathing, difficulty eating, appearance of a fever), Evelyn will be the winner of a trip to the Dell Children's Hospital. We will be doing breathing treatments every three hours to help her little lungs. Hopefully this will go away on it's own in one to two weeks.

So there you have it. Not quite three weeks old and already sick. I feel like a horrible parent. And I hate this time of year (flu and cold season). People, have your babies in the summer when there are less germs. Makes life easier.

37 weeks

Wow. How did I get to 37 weeks already? Technically I still have three weeks until my due date, but I found out yesterday that if baby girl doesn't come by January 28th (which is two weeks from tomorrow for those of you counting), I'm being induced at 39 weeks. Why am I being induced early? So the doctors can control my labor since I'm on blood thinner. The goal is to take me off the blood thinner for 24 hours and then bring me in the next day for the induction. It's not a good thing to have blood thinner in your system during delivery because of the risk of heavy bleeding or worse. But what REALLY scares me about the potential of being on blood thinner when I go into labor? The fact that when you have blood thinner in your system, you CAN'T get an epidural. Yep. I would have no choice but to go au natural. And folks, I love me some epidural. I am no super woman. In fact, I am a total, utter wienie. With Will I lasted all of about one hour without an epidural before crying for one and professing my love to the anesthesiologist as he was poking a huge needle in my spine which offered immediate relief. I was able to enjoy the birth process after that. So yes, I have huge respect for women who do it without meds, but I do not want to be one of them. Thus, I hope I make it to the planned induction date so I can get off the blood thinner and get me some drugs.

There has been so much going on last few weeks, hell, months. This pregnancy has been so different in so many ways. First, I didn't go into pre-term labor with baby girl like I did with Will, so that's good. But I have had the DVT (blood clot) issue, which has been new. And a royal pain in my arse. I have four different doctors I have to see each week plus weekly sonograms to check on baby girl (since I'm on meds) and every-other-day blood draws to make sure my blood isn't too thin or thick. This week alone I had 11--ELEVEN!!!--doctors appointments. So basically I spend my time at work, frantically trying to wrap things up before I go on maternity leave or else at some doctors office. I'm sad that I'm not getting to spend as much time as I'd like with Will before it's no longer just the two of us on my days off. He's been pawned off on babysitters and daycare as I run around from appointment to appointment and I really want to just be home with him and relish his last few weeks as an only. Alas, it's not to be.

Also, when I was pregnant with Will, I wasn't working at the end and obviously, I didn't have another child to run after. So the end of my pregnancy last time was a lot more restful. This time I feel frazzled and tired. And besides work and doctors, I still have a mile-long to do list that needs (okay, that I want) to get done before the baby comes. That means I have two weeks to do all this, people. I'm torn between my nesting urges and wanting to get it all done and just wanting to, well, lie down and sleep. And spend time with Will. And my husband. Because once the baby comes a whole new set of craziness will descend upon our sweet little family of three, making it an even sweeter family of four, but a different family, nonetheless (and a sleep-deprived one at that). So I want to enjoy what we have right now for these last two weeks. And to get off this crazy merry-go-round I feel like I've been on the last few months.

PS: Did I mention baby girl will be here in two weeks? TWO WEEKS! (or at least, please don't come for two more weeks, baby girl, okay? Mommy would appreciate it very much.)

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a montage of pics showing my ever-expanding waistline throughout this pregnancy (looking forward to seeing my toes again in a few weeks):

24 weeks, 5 days

26 weeks, 5 days

30 weeks, 2 days

32 weeks, 3 days


somewhere between 33-34 weeks (um, can you tell I just woke up in this one?)


36 weeks, 5 days (taken two days ago)

The Holidays in Pictures

So after I spent three days in the hospital for the blood clots, I got out of the hospital two days before Christmas and then spent the next week with my family for the holidays (I'm still giving myself shots of blood thinner in the stomach twice a day. Picture a large, vein-laden eight month pregnant belly with track marks down each side--HOT.) Anyway, We spent the holiday with my family this year (which was nice, since my parents live in Georgetown--no way I would be traveling far at eight months pregnant anyway). We had 13 people under one roof at my parent's house. Tight quarters, but fun to spend the time together, especially with my sister and her family from Oregon (we don't get to see them much, as you can imagine).

To risk being THAT person that traps you in their living room and makes you watch videos of their vacations, here is an amazingly long string of pictures from Thanksgiving, Will's birthday, Christmas and New Year's (namely because I'm too lazy to write about all of it.) Happy New Year, all!

Will and his Fanning second cousins at Thanksgiving in Dallas

More second cousins...

On our way home from Dallas with Billy's parents and granny. We stopped at Babe's Chicken (DELISH!) and gorged on fried chicken because we hadn't eaten enough the day before on Thanksgiving....


Will's birthday with both sets of grandparents and granny



Will and granny at the County Line (his birthday dinner)
Family pic...


Walkway of lights in Marble Falls after which we ate at the infamous Bluebonnet Cafe (DELISH!) and gorged on chicken fried steak and pie because apparently we hadn't eaten enough on Thanksgiving or the ensuing two weeks afterward...



Decorating the tree...


Will, his DeWenter cousins (a.k.a. babysitters--it was glorious to have them around for a week) and grandma and grandpa on Christmas Eve....

Opening presents Christmas morning

New Year's Eve at the Hoseks (along with the Carls, Keathleys and Knebels): Kids partying in one room
Adults partying in the other room

There's no place like the hospital for the holidays...

Good Lord, ya'll. I no sooner finish my last post about Billy's medical issues and hospital visit than I wind up here myself. Yep. I am in the hospital as we speak (type?). I've had some swelling in my left leg/ankle over the last month and my OB/GYN had me undergo a Doppler sonogram last month to make sure there were no blood clots causing the swelling. At the time, the answer was no. Well, fast forward to this morning. I woke up to get ready for work and noticed that my leg felt tighter than usual and that there were two actual lumps on my calf. I called my doctor and she told me to go to the ER. So, this time Billy and Will got to take me to the hospital. Once here, they did another Doppler sonogram and this time the news wasn't so good: two deep-vein blood clots in my left calf. This can happen more commonly during pregnancy and my mom had a pulmonary embolism after she had my older sister, so I am being admitted at least for the night to start taking anticoagulants and monitoring to be sure the clots don't travel to my heart or lungs.

Obviously there are all sorts of medications you can't take during pregnancy, and it turns out there's only one anticoagulant I can take, which can only be administered via a shot in the stomach. So, for the rest of the pregnancy and 6-8 weeks post-partum, I'll have to give myself a shot in the belly two times a day. Um, did I mention I don't particularly care for needles? I guess this will get me over that phobia pretty quickly.

So now my OB/GYN will be working closely w/ a hematologist during the rest of my pregnancy and delivery to make sure the clots don't cause a problem and also to make sure that during delivery I don't hemorrhage (due to being on anticoagulants). The good news is at least we know and we can be proactive about it. And my doctor is VERY thorough, so I feel like I'm in good hands.

Remember how I said I was unfazed by all the Christmas busy-ness this year in my last post? Well it's a good thing because I still have some shopping and other things to do, but being in the hospital the next couple days means that's not going to happen. Now if only I could be as blase about getting so behind on work...

Where to begin...

Guys, I don't even know where to begin. The last month so much has happened--good and bad. Let's just do some bullet points, shall we?

--Thanksgiving. We had Billy's parents and 88-year-old granny in town from Illinois. They came on Tuesday night and Thursday morning (Thanksigiving day) we drove to Dallas to spend the holiday and night at Billy's cousin Ellie's house. There were other cousins and aunts there, so it was a fun time and so cute to see Will playing with all his second cousins (all around his age).

--Will's birthday. Will technically turned three on November 20th, but we celebrated his big day after Thanksgiving. Billy was in a wedding the weekend of Will's birthday, so we had rehearsal dinners and wedding festivities to tend to instead. So, the weekend after Thanksgiving we did a family birthday celebration while Billy's parents and granny were in town and my parents came over and helped celebrate too. We basically opened gifts, went to dinner and ate a really bad strawberry cake that I made (Will insisted he wanted a strawberry cake--let it be known that the strawberry cake mix that you buy in a box is NOT good. Trust me on this one). Separate posts w/ birthday and Thanksgiving pics to come soon.

--Project Santa. I think I mentioned I am chairing Project Santa for the Austin Children's Shelter this year. This is the big week of all the activity (donation drop off days, shopping and wrapping, etc.), so I have been up to my eyeballs in coordinating all of this.

--Work. Insanity ensues at my new "part-time" job. It's great and crazy all at the same time. Can I keep up the pace after baby comes? Remains to be seen. But most imporantly on the job front, Billy got a new job. He starts in the New Year w/ a really great position at a really cool company. It's going to involve quite a bit of traveling, but most of his jobs have. The difference this time? I'll have a newborn AND a three-year-old. Yikes!

--Hospital visit. So the one downer we had was Billy ended up in the hospital for three days a few weeks ago. Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when he mysteriously had one of his carotid arteries(the major ones in your neck) tear (he was lucky to not have a major stroke or worse) and then they discovered he also had a torn celiac artery (it's in your abdomen). Doctors were stumped, all sorts of tests ensued but no answers (it's almost impossible to diagnose an aterial/connective tissue disorder...there's so little known about them and no real tests/treatments). Anyway, fast forward two years to three weeks ago. Billy woke up w/ pain in his lower abdomen and back that got worse. Off to the hospital we went and it turned out that another artery had torn (this time in one leading into his kidney, causing part of his kidney--a very small part--to die). Now we are really in "what the hell is this" land. The good news is we have been referred to a very well reputed vascular surgeon in Virginia who has taken an interest in Billy's case and who is at least helping us try and find some answers (even if those answers may only be in the form of ruling out other rare disorders--we may never know exactly why this is happening). It would be great to get some answers and if it is genetic, figure out if our kids will be affected. So, we feel very lucky to have someone guiding us through this process. And, we've also been referred to a rheumatologist here in Austin, so again, at least we are headed down a path of hopefully finding some answers.

You know, it's funny, but normally I find this time of year stressful with all the holiday busy-ness (cards, decorations, gift buying, etc.), but not this year. It hasn't phased me at all. I guess with being so busy and so many things happening all at once, the Christmas "to-dos" seem minute and a source of joy, not stress. Seeing Will really "get" Christmas this year and making cookies with him and decorating the tree as a family--how could I possibly let myself get stressed about that? This is the good stuff.

Church fall festival, complete with a crazy man...

One of the greatest things about being a parent is getting to do all sorts of fun activities with your kid like going to carnivals, pumpkin patches, Santa visits, zoos, etc. I seriously enjoy doing these things with Will and Billy more than I enjoy a night on the town these days. It's like reliving childhood all over again, only it's better because you get to watch your kid have fun.

We took Will to our church's Fall Festival this past weekend which included things like bounce houses, cake walks, bean bag tosses, train rides and a petting zoo. Now that Will is almost three, he can really get in there and participate in all of these things, which makes it even more fun.

Despite the weather being a little cold (and my husband being out until 3:00am at a bachelor party the night before--what a trooper), we all had a blast:

Wheee! Going down the big slide...

Aww, look at the sweet bunny, Will...

Oh, um, I don't think the sweet bunny likes to be held by his intestines, bud...

Let's spare Mr. Bunny's entrails and let mommy help you hold him...

Um, am I really riding in this thing by myself?

The guy driving this train was either a little drunk or crazy, but probably both. He was whipping the kids around side to side and in very tight circles, all while laughing maniacally (okay, maybe chuckling a bit). He was "replaced" after this little joy ride. Fortunately, Will thought it was fun.

Why do I do this to myself (or, things that keep me up at night).

"It's getting to the point where I'm no fun anymore..."
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes; Crosby, Stills & Nash

I am a grump. No, not normally, but just lately. Why? Because I have been completely overwhelmed. I started my new job last month (which, starting a new job when you're five 1/2 months pregnant is sort of crazy unto itself), and it's been a lot of fun. And a lot of work. A lot. This is definitely a job that requires a full-time person...or three. I love the start-up environment and I really enjoy what I'm doing, but it's going to be hard to keep up with it in only 20 hours a week. In fact, I haven't. I've been working more than that, including on my days off (have to just to keep up). And thinking and worrying about it a lot. Like at 3:00 in the morning. If I were to work full-time, this would be as close to a dream job as it would get. But it remains to be seen how I do part-time...the jury is still out.

And for some reason, I thought it would be in my best interest to sign on as the Chair of Project Santa for the Austin Children's Shelter. Project Santa is their major holiday toy drive and I'm in charge of organizing it and coordinating volunteers to work the four days of donation collecting, sorting, wrapping and packing. All taking place at the end of December. Days before Christmas. While I'll be almost eight months pregnant. I have been volunteering with the Shelter for a couple of years now and I love it and hold it dear to my heart, but I'm thinking I may have had a major case of pregnancy brain when I agreed to this a few months ago.

Of course, there's also the baby coming to plan for and think about. We continue to work furiously to get the house in order, dismantle the former guest bedroom, turn it into Will's new bedroom, buy his new "big boy" furniture, turn Will's current room into the baby's room, etc. etc. Besides spending countless hours on house projects, we're also spending a small fortune. And I think about that a lot at 3:00 in the morning.

Will's birthday is next week, Billy's parents and granny are coming in for Thanksgiving and my family is coming into town for Christmas. And of course there are all the usual holiday things like cards, decorating, gift buying and whatnot to contend with. All wonderful and happy things for sure, but things to plan for nonetheless. Sometimes at 3:00 in the morning.

So, you see, I've turned into a grump. Folks, don't get me wrong. I know I have so much to be thankful for, and I am. I have a dear friend who's husband was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer, so believe me, I know things could be much worse and I know I am lucky. I'm just a little grumpy. And tired. Because 3:00 in the morning seems to be a very busy time for my brain.

Finally, Halloween.

Cut me some slack, folks. I realize it's three days after Halloween and every other mom on the interweb has already posted all the adorable pics of their kids from that night, but not me. I have a crazy busy (but good) new job that is part-time but also oh-so full time in so many ways. And a house that I'm trying to get in order for baby and whatnot. Okay, I'm done making excuses. It's time for the cuteness.

Halloween has always been a blast since Will entered our lives nearly three years ago, but this year was THE BEST. The first year, we just pulled him around in a wagon for a bit and gave out candy. Last year we did trick or treat, but he only lasted a few houses and couldn't keep up with the big kids for too long. This year, he lasted an hour and a half, running around with the big kids the entire time (namely, Parker Anne, our five-year-old next door neighbor who he LOVES and Sean, our six-year-old neighbor, who he idolizes. And we also had little Samantha, Sean's 18-month-old sister, join us this year for a bit). He really got the whole trick or treating thing and had a blast. And, I didn't have to walk him to each door like last year. The other neighbor moms and I would stand at the end of each driveway while our kids ran up to the door together. Such a big boy! And after each treat he got, he would yell "Thanks! Happy Halloween!" Really cute coming from a miniature Bat Man.

Unfortunately, he is also acutely aware of the candy stash he collected this year and is always wondering where his candy is and if he can have a piece. It's a good thing his mom eats about 10 pieces a day so he doesn't have to. That's just the way I roll.

Here are a few shots from Halloween 2010:

Will and Parker Anne

The neighbors

Will, Sean, Parker Anne and Samantha posing near a Ghostbusters gargoyle look alike. This thing actually moved and sort of creeped me out (I think Will felt the same way--note he's keeping a close eye on it and staying as far to the right as possible).

You know you have a bad case of pregnancy brain when...

...you open up the washing machine (after the load is complete) and realize that you somehow washed a book--a BOOK--with your load of towels. A James Patterson mystery novel, to be precise. Oh, and also a plastic Easter egg filled with small toys. 3 1/2 more months to go. Let's hope this is the worst offense I'll have.

Off to go clean up the shredded, wet pages lining the sides of the machine...

24 Weeks: What a week

Well, it's been a whirlwind week, and I don't really see it calming down anytime soon. Probably the biggest decision made was to take a new job. I know--crazy to be starting a new gig at 5 1/2 months pregnant, no? About a month ago I got a call from a guy I used to work with asking me if I wanted to come work at a local start-up to run Marketing (he was hired to be the VP of Sales and Marketing and needed a Director of Marketing). Long story short: I told him I wasn't looking, that I'm only working 20hrs a week in my current job and I'm about to have a baby. He didn't care. After some negotiation, I decided to take the plunge and give it a shot (still working only 20hrs a week). The company I had been working for (major mega corporation) was a good place to work, but it taught me that I much prefer working in a smaller, start-up environment. I like the pace, I like the opportunity. The hard part will be getting used to going into the office again (with my former job, I could work from home). Also, it will be a little like working in a frat house since I'm the only female employee out of ten total employees (think dirty dishes in the sink and kegerator in the kitchen...truly a start-up environment). Regardless, I'm excited to start the journey (which begins on Monday).

Also, we've had the general stress of getting ready for baby. We are in the process of getting Will's "big boy" bedroom furniture, moving him into the (former) guest bedroom, getting the baby's room set up (have to re-do the decor since we're having a girl), organizing the house (trying to figure out what to do w/ all the stuff that was stored in our guest bedroom now that it will be Will's room), etc. Oh, and just the general nesting craziness that I have in wanting everything organized and feeling like I don't have enough time to get everything done.

Complicating matters is my body. While I generally have easy early pregnancies (and I am so thankful for that), my pregnancies get more challenging right at about this point. With Will, I went into early labor at about 30 weeks. I ended up in the hospital for a week as they tried to stop the contractions, etc. I was on bed rest for about a month (which is not as fun as it sounds--sort of like being a prisoner in your bed), had contractions throughout the rest of my pregnancy and he ended up coming late and I had to be induced (ah, mother nature, what a little kidder you are). Anyway, for the last week I've noticed the contractions starting (Braxton Hicks, I'm hoping) and the pain and pressure. If I'm up standing or walking around for too long it gets worse and I have to lie down. My doctor wants me lying down for two hours a day in hopes of avoiding a hospital visit (um, sort of hard to do between a job and watching Will. At least he still naps). So, you can see my dilemma of not being able to get done all of the things that need to get done (and that I want to get done). My husband is a huge help, but the poor guy can't do everything. So I'm trying to let go of some of the things that are a want vs. a need, and realize that just because I have a due date of February 3rd, it doesn't mean everything HAS to get done by that date...or else. Note that the operative word here is "trying" to let go. For now that's the best I can do.

First dental exam....featuring Mickey Mouse

I finally took Will to the dentist for the first time a couple of Fridays ago. He was an early tooth getter--first two teeth popped in at four months, he had six teeth by six months and a full set of teeth by one year. We brush his teeth (while we do it daily, we are bad about doing it multiple times a day) and he's always had a good set of chompers, but I noticed he had a brownish film on his front teeth about a month ago (eww, I know), so I set the appointment--something I'd been meaning to do anyway.

I HIGHLY recommend taking your child to a pediatric dentist vs. your usual dentist. I took him to a place right by our house called Hill Country Pediatric Dentistry and it was AWESOME. I'm talking bright, toy-filled waiting room w/ flat screen TVs playing the Disney Channel, toys/Lego tables in the exam rooms, flat screen TVs above the exam table so when your kid is lying flat, there's a TV right above them playing cartoons, goodie bags galore and prizes at the end. It's a veritable carnival complete with a tooth cleaning (not to mention the dentists are all specially trained in dealing with children and they do a fantastic job of putting the little ones at ease).

Since it was Will's first trip, they just did a basic cleaning (no x-rays). The dentist started cleaning his teeth with just a regular toothbrush (which they let him pick out) and once she determined he was comfortable with that, she moved on to using the real-deal tooth cleaner (the electric rotating one). Once she determined he was cool with that (and he was--the kid was a champ the entire time), she tried the water pick and suction thingy. He did great with both. The dentist finished up with some floss and told us we were doing a great job w/ his dental hygiene (apparently the brown film came right off--just needed some toothpaste with a little grit).

Here are some pics of the big day:

Playing with Legos before the dentist arrived

The dentist starting out with the toothbrush while Will watches Handy Manny

Graduating to the electric tooth cleaner....while continuing to watch Handy Manny...

Blue or Pink? It's....

...pink! Yes, we found out at my 20-week ultrasound on Thursday that we are having a girl. We were totally shocked. For some reason, we were both convinced that we were having another boy. Thoughts of two brothers, best of friends, was what we had in our minds, especially because Will is the ONLY boy on both sides of the family (he is going to be outnumbered at holiday gatherings to say the least.) So when the ultrasound tech said it was a girl (and reconfirmed it three times), we were a bit stunned.

I think that entire first day we were in a bit of a haze. Not so much because we don't want a girl, but because we had to change our vision of what we thought our family would be. Other reasons that having a girl left me feeling a little nervous:

-Boys are very non-fussy. No hair bows, pony tails, pink frilly dresses or make-up to deal with. Most mornings Will is lucky to get a comb pulled through his hair and even then he still looks like he has a bird's nest on top of his head. And it's okay. Because he's a boy. Oh, and outfits? T-shirt and shorts/jeans. Not much thought to it. I am not a girly girl AT ALL, so I am obviously going to have to step up my game here. And wake up 30 minutes earlier every morning.

-Drama. From what I hear from my friends with girls (and from being one myself) is that the drama starts at an early age. Boys definitely have their share of tantrums and whatnot, but if they fall and hurt themselves, they generally pop right back up and keep on running. And when boys argue, they punch each other in the arm and then get over it. Girls cry, carry grudges and have a general gnashing and wailing of teeth.

-Pre-teen and teenage years. Let's just say I remember how I acted around the ages of 11-13. I wasn't so pleasant. Especially to my poor mother (sorry mom!). Karma is going to be a bitch, ya'll.

-Periods, body issues, boobs. Enough said.

So after having those thoughts reeling in my head when I heard the words "it's a girl!", and after mulling it over for a day or two, I've come to the conclusion that I'm excited. I think Will is going to be a great protective big brother and I look forward to doing mother/daughter things with my girl that I wouldn't get to do as a mom to only boys. We will be blessed to have one of each. And we all know girls are the ones who take care of their parents in old age, right?

Looking forward to meeting my little, feisty--she already kicks up a storm in there--girl in Feb!

DFW

We had a fun but busy time in Dallas last weekend. I went to high school in Fort Worth, so I still have some close friends in the area. And, my sister Pam lives in Lewisville and Billy has a close cousin who lives in Flower Mound (both Dallas suburbs). So every time we head up that way, it's always a whirlwind of activity to try and see as many people as possible.

We drove up Friday afternoon and spent the night at my sister's house. It had been almost NINE months since I last saw her and her family (my two nieces, Kara and Hayley, and my brother-in-law Eric). Scandalous, I know. How is it possible we live in the same state and go that long without seeing each other? I could have gotten pregnant and had a baby in that amount of time.

Saturday we met a long-time friend of mine, Ryan, and his family for lunch and then drove back to my sister's in time for Kara's soccer game. We spent the rest of Saturday with Pam's family and then got up bright and early Sunday to visit Billy's cousin, Ellie, and her husband and daughter, Riley (age 5). After that we headed to Fort Worth to visit my best friend from high school, Kendra, and her family (she has two little girls, 4 and 3, and Will loves them). After lunch with them, we made our way back to Austin.

Will spent all weekend in the company of the ladies. My two nieces, my friend Ryan's daughter (age 5), Ellie's daughter Riley and Kendra's girls Hannah and Gwen. He was in hog heaven. The kid loves the ladies, especially if they are slightly older. Note in the picture below that he is tightly holding Gwen's hand. He had a vice grip on her and was upset when she tried to let go (note his sightly forelorn face).

Kara and Will cutting up at the piano (doesn't Will sort of look like Ralphie from A Christmas Story in those glasses?)

A Few Things

Just a few things going on lately:

1) Will is in a really cool stage right now. Well, yes, I've thought that about most stages, but this is the first time I'm seeing these moments of big boyness which makes me excited, proud and a little sad all at once. He's at this point where we can sit and have real conversations. Or he'll crack a joke just to make me laugh...and the joke is actually funny. The other night before bed we were sitting on the couch listening to the radio just having a nice little conversation about the day. We sat like that for about 20 minutes (which in almost-three-year old land is an eternity..sitting like that for stretches of time just doesn't happen). It was a really sweet moment...gave me a glimpse of things to come.

2) Will is also fascinated by the baby in my belly in a pretty scientific way. I would imagine little girls are excited about their mommies having a baby in a different way--wanting to talk about the baby, wanting to help take care of the baby, picking out names, etc. Not Will. He wants to know the details. This probably started because I read in some book that you should tell your older child that the baby is growing in your uterus, not your belly (b/c if you say belly they might think you ate your baby or something like that). Anyway, so I had to give a brief definition of a uterus, explain that's where the baby lived and since then he loves to proclaim, "there's a baby in your uterus, mommy!". Anyway, that led to a question about belly buttons and umbilical cords and good God I'm afraid of what's next. Please, please don't let him ask how the baby got there in the first place...not prepared for that conversation for another, oh, 25 years or so.

3) Speaking of the baby, I'll be 17 weeks as of Thursday and have my next doctor appointment that same day. I'm anxious to make sure everything is alright and going along as planned. I think I felt the first inklings of baby jabs today in the vicinity of my right ovary. Sort of made me relieved that he/she is still moving around in there. But then I proceeded to continue poking my belly to make it happen again and of course now I'm concerned that I somehow damaged the baby by poking too hard. Sigh.

That's about all for now. Billy's out of town all this week for work. Just got Will to bed so I'm heading off to take a bath and read "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". I'm currently obsessed with this series...sad to already be on the third and last book....

The Big Catch

Today Billy and Will had a father/son excursion (of which I'm sure there will be many more to come over the years--activities which don't include mom. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love seeing the bond between my husband and son). Some good friends of ours (Ryan and Ryan David Keathley) invited them to a father/son event through their church. It was a day at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch that included a bus tour to see all the animals like giraffes, zebras, rhinos, etc, clay pigeon shooting, barbecue and of course, fishing.

Billy made sure and packed all of their fishing gear and off they want this morning to the ranch. After the bus tour, they hit the pond to fish. Will has his own fishing pole, and as I've mentioned before, we have taken him fishing without any luck catching anything in the past. Today was different. After several nibbles on his line, he finally landed a small blue gill. Billy said Will was so excited and apparently several of the other fathers and sons that were fishing stopped and congratulated Will on his first catch.

Later at the barbecue lunch, there was a brief awards ceremony. Billy, Will, Ryan and Ryan David were eating their lunch when they heard the emcee say "And where is Will Fanning?" Apparently the event organizers had gotten wind of the fact that Will caught his very first fish that morning, and they gave him an award (along with a $15 i-Tunes gift card). They asked Will to stand up, so Billy held him up on his lap and everyone in the room clapped and cheered for Will (and mind you, there were about 200 people there). Billy said the look on Will's face was priceless when he realized everyone was clapping for him--grinning ear to ear--and then he got a little bashful (nothing like a roomful of 200 strangers staring at you when you're two to make you a little timid).

Needless to say, I'm proud of my little angler. Here's a pic of Will and his proud pops--and the famed fish:

It's Official

We are expecting baby Fanning #2 in February! Yes folks, I am finally pregnant--about 13 weeks so. After having surgery and an IUI (basically, insemination in the doctor's office) it happened. I feel very blessed that after more than a year of trying, things have worked out. I have several friends for whom it was not so easy and their journey was much longer, and after dealing with the whole infertility racket (I have a whole new level of sensitivity now and will never ask a couple again when they are going to have kids and to hurry it on up already...you just never know what they are going through), I know how stressful it can be. We are very lucky indeed.

So far I've been feeling pretty good. I've definitely had more "morning sickness" this time around (which actually strikes at any point of the day), but nothing horrible. Just some slight queasiness or general "blah" feelings here or there (and for a few weeks the thought of eating a vegetable or salad made me want to hurl). I didn't have any of that with Will, so that was a new phenomenon.

I did have a blood clot in my uterus a few weeks ago that caused some bleeding, but luckily it seems to have resolved itself and it's gone now. Apparently this is pretty normal and most blood clots get reabsorbed into the uterus.

So now I alternate between being very excited and thinking "oh, sh*#. I'm going to have two kids. How will I manage it all?". I suppose I will figure it out just like everyone else does, one step--and sometimes mis-step--at a time.

Mission Accomplished: Potty Training

Will is officially potty trained. How did we do it, you might ask? Well, quite honestly, we didn't really do anything at all. Will turned 2 1/2 in May, and for the last few months he's been using the toilet on and off on his own without much consistency. He had pooped a couple of times, but then never did it again. Until about a month ago. He pooped in the potty and never looked back, so to speak. We have not had a poopy diaper since---it's been all toilet, all the time. Same for pee-pee. Now, that's not to say we haven't had an accident here or there (when he gets busy playing, he doesn't want to stop go to the bathroom, so we've realized we just have to stop him and make him go). So that's it. It just sort of happened on it's own without us really doing anything. No fighting, bribing, weekends of running around naked. It just happened.

So while I'm very happy about this milestone (good Lord, it will save us some dough. I'm done paying nearly $20/week for diapers and wipes), it's also a little more challenging in some regards. Now when we are out and about, I have to make sure we make pit stops every so often (when he was in diapers, this wasn't a concern) and it's inevitable that we'll be driving down the highway, in a hurry and I'll hear his tiny voice shout "mommy, I have to go potty!", which leaves me frantically looking for a gas station or convenience store or nice patch of grass somewhere. And then there's the issue of unhygienic public bathrooms and the filth that comes with that.

But overall, I'm glad we made it here. Pretty easily and seamlessly. If only all of parenting were this easy...

Finally, a post. Oh, and Hilton Head.

Wow, have I ever been neglecting this blog. Well, to recap, we went to Hilton Head, South Carolina two weeks ago with Billy's family. To celebrate Billy's parent's 40th wedding anniversary, we all got together, rented a house near the beach and spent a week hanging out enjoying each other's company. The house his parents rented was incredible--4 bedrooms each with their own bathroom, a huge playroom with beds for the kids and a pool out back. It really couldn't have been a better set up. We spent mornings on the beach, afternoons in the pool. We took a dolphin watching trip one morning, watched fireworks by the water one evening and spent a day in nearby Savannah, GA touring that very cool, historic southern town.

It was great spending time with family and getting to meet our new niece, Ally. She's only a couple of months old and it was so nice to hold such a tiny baby again--I forgot how small they are! And she is a dream--she's basically been sleeping through the night since day one. We should all be so lucky, eh? And best of all, watching Will and Kiley play together was so much fun. At 2 1/2 and 3, they are at the ages where they actually play together, on their own, and they were the best of friends. I just wish we lived closer to them so they could spend more time together (they live in Atlanta, GA).

Last week I had to go to NY for work for three days. Two of them were spent in the city and one was in Long Island. I'm glad I went and got some face-to-face time with my co-workers and boss, but boy was I glad to get home (albeit on a delayed flight last Thursday that didn't land in Austin until nearly 2:00am, but home nonetheless). Oh, and it was 102 degrees up there--hotter than Texas. So much for escaping the heat. (And it was all over the news about the "heat wave" in the East. I had to laugh at a news clip where they were trying to see if they could fry an egg on the sidewalk...silly Yankees.)

So I'm happy to be home this week after traveling the last couple of weeks. Here are a few pics from our South Carolina beach trip (the second to last photo is a shot of Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, for all you Food Network lovers):