Vincey at almost 2 yrs 7 months

So many posts to post...

Vince needs some time in the lime-light. Classic 2nd child syndrome.

He is one handsome little dude with his beach blonde curls and bright blue eyes! I confess that at times it is hard for me to discipline him because he gives me this flirtatious smile that melts my heart and almost makes me forget what wrong he had just done. I've gotta find a way to remedy this or he's gonna get away with murder. I don't want to be one of those naive moms who thinks that their "momma's boy" can do no wrong. And he most definitely is a momma's boy.

can't help but post this pic again

He is talking like crazy these days! His sentence structure is fantastic. Though, he is mostly reserved around others so when he starts talking so well most people are surprised b/c he is usually a quiet observer- like his Daddy. Though the both of them are rarely quiet around us :)

A couple weeks ago as I was getting him dressed on the changing table so that he was a little taller than me (he was standing) he stroked my hair and said, "Mommy?" I, anticipating a tender moment, looked into his eyes and answered, "Yes?" "I love yours hair." Then he stroked his hair and said, "I love my hair." What a silly boy!

He can't say words that end with a K. He says "duht" for "duck" and "dootee" for "cookie."

My favorite things he says right now:

"Mommy, where's Azure? (I don't know) Uh, mayme she's gone forever."

"Wow, Mommy. That's amazing!"

"No wanna go sleepy. Never!"

"So...Mommy...." (when he's bored and doesn't know what he wants or even what to say) 

Unfavorites:

"I can't!" (learned from Azure)

"Oh, crap." (I have no idea where he learned this one ;)

"I hate that song." (or anything we're doing or saying that he doesn't like)

He only naps now about once or twice a week for about 2 hrs. I am surprised that it's lasted this long. Azure stopped right after turning 2. I'm grateful to have had these last 6 months of continued napping. He still sleeps about 12 hrs every night. 13 if he didn't nap the day before.

running around in the Washington DC temple visitor's center

Still kind of a picky eater. Won't eat the crust. I have to cut it off of sandwiches. He recently started throwing up randomly without having a fever so I don't know if it's a food allergy or a sudden weak stomach or he is just eating something bad every once in awhile.

He finally went pee in the potty last Saturday! I bought him underwear last month but, haven't put them on him because he had yet to go. It was Charles that prompted him to do it, so he is now in charge of potty training :) I'll do the girls, he'll do the boys. After the victory pee, we busted out the undies. But, he hasn't worn them since. I still don't feel he's quite ready to hit it hard.

We unplugged and hid our TV last week due to an outburst from Azure and since then Vince has learned how to play much more independently. While Azure and I have been working on school stuff downstairs, Vince has been upstairs alone playing with his cars or balls. That is a big deal for him as he usually follows Azure around and lets her direct their play. 

He really isn't a baby anymore and that will be even more apparent once Zeke is born (that's the name we're considering so I use it to get used to it :) and takes his place as "the baby". I imagine it's going to be hard for him to see me carrying around someone else all the time. I guess in some ways he'll always be my baby.

Wilmington River- 1 mile from our house. We can hear the ship's horns :)

Sweet and spirited

The other day a friend of mine said, "You know what I really like about Azure? She is so kind and sweet yet, she's not a push-over. She doesn't allow herself to be taken advantage of."

I just laughed. Knowing that she gets this from me (the not allowing herself to be taken advantage of, not so much the sweetness perhaps ;) and that it is most often displayed as a weakness (in myself) and NOT a strength made me realize how closely related our strengths and weaknesses are.

Last Friday night Charles and I had a "stay-at-home date". He made cookies and we rented a movie. Charles has some mad baking skills by the way. We watched Sarah's Key. It's about the Holocaust and not a light movie. For some reason I was in the mood for a deep, heart-wrenching movie? I liked it but, it was hard to watch. Bawled through parts of it. I know my husband loves me because he gets up to get me tissue whenever I sob uncontrollably :)

I am deeply affected by movies (which is why I am very selective about what I watch including violence and horror) and I couldn't sleep that night. I kept crying thinking about this poor little boy in the movie that looked and acted much like Vince (which made it all the more real for me). I also thought about Sarah, the main character. She was so spirited and determined and escaped a Nazi camp. I thought of Azure and that she probably would have done the same.

Last night we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Old Testament. Afterwards we acted it out and Azure said, "Mom, I really loved this story! I think it's my favorite."

I asked her what she would do if someone told her she had to either worship an idol or by burned in a furnace. She said, "I would try to burn them!" Again, I just laughed thinking about the comment from my friend about not being a push-over.

We are about to start homeschool for Kindergarten on Monday! We're really excited about it. I have done a complete 180- going from being opposed to wanting nothing else than homeschooling her (for this year). Originally, we thought homeschool was the only option since she was not able to get into a good school here. Monday I found out that she could in fact, get into the school we wanted her to. But, in that moment I knew homeschool was the best thing for all of us this year. A lot for her, but mostly for me I think.

We love our sweet and feisty 5 year old!

 

 And this little 2.5 yr old, of course!

Almost 21 weeks

I guess it's time for an update on this pregnancy.

I'm completely over the nausea and vomiting. The last time I threw up was on July 5th, at 16 wks. Ironically after I posted about how much better I was feeling :) I felt the baby move at 17 wks. I felt Vince move at 18 wks and Azure at 20 wks. So, I guess it's true that you feel them earlier with each pregnancy.

I haven't exercised since before the nausea hit so that has been hard. It is too hot to run, even at 8am. And currently I'm not a member of any gym. The heat,combined with lack of exercise, and pregnancy in general has left me feeling fatigued. I don't like the way I feel when I'm not exercising consistently so I know this has to change. I'm waiting for cooler temps. Unfortunately, at-home exercise videos have never motivated me. I've always been a gym-goer. Or amateur runner.

I've been eating a little bit healthier now that I have zero food aversions. I can't tell you how nice it is to not have food aversions! I can eat and digest food like a normal person. Such a huge blessing that I don't take for granted during pregnancy!

Some things I like to snack on are:

Almonds- raw and roasted
Cottage cheese or Greek yogurt w/ blueberries and/or strawberries (drizzled w/ honey if berries aren't quite ripe)
Grape tomatoes (surprisingly good just by themselves)
PB & bananas
Cheese & crackers (Ritz)
Turkey & avocado sandwiches (my obsession as of late)
Cake (shhh!)
Ben & Jerry's (we buy 10 pints when they're BOGO free @ Publix- this is why I need to exercise again)

I found this super yummy recipe on Pinterest for raw cookie dough bites with almonds and oatmeal. Pretty healthy, tons of protein, great for snacking. Did you know you should shoot for 100 grams of protein a day when pregnant?! {I used honey instead of agave nectar, b/c I didn't have any}

Braxton Hicks! Never had these w/ the first 2 pregnancies. This time around I get them a few times a week. To be honest, it makes me kinda excited to think that maybe my body has finally figured out this whole pregnancy/birth thing and perhaps I can actually dilate with each contraction, labor for less than 24 hrs, and push for less than 3 this time! That would be awesome!

Other than the sweltering heat and humidity, clothes that don't really fit thus having to layer which only increases the stickiness, things with this pregnancy are going great now. Sometimes I think about the months we tried with no success (if we conceived when we had first tired we'd have a 3 month old right now), and the miscarriage (my due date was Aug. 31), and I am extremely grateful and humbled that I am pregnant with a healthy baby BOY!

I feel so much huger than I really look!

I really thought it was a girl so I'm still recovering from shock. When Vince was 2 months old (April 17, 2010) I felt the presence of our unborn daughter while I was in the temple. Since then, I wondered if she was going to come next or not. And when we found out last Christmas we were pregnant, I really thought it was a girl. When we lost her in January, I knew that she would come back to me and I guess I just assumed it would be this time. But, apparently her brother beat her in line and she's still not ready to come yet :)

As soon as we can decide on a name, I know I will start feeling even more bonded to this sweet, little son of ours.

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

Back in May Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. (For the record the kids call my parents Nana & Papa so there's no confusion). We took a trip down to Orlando for a Pharmacy conference and decided to go to Disney World! Having grown up 30 mins from Disneyland I went quite a bit and always wanted to see how Disney World compared. So, it was a childhood dream come true for me too.

We made some green gakish slime while they were here with Borax.

Azure wondered what would happen if she put it in her hair. I didn't get a pic of that. I was too mad :) I ended up having to cut some of her hair off. Luckily she got a real haircut a week later to even it all out.

It was the first time Bill had come to visit us and the first time he had ever seen Vince, so we were extremely glad for their visit. Hope it won't be another 3 yrs till we see you again!

Vote on our poll!

Over to the right we have a poll. So, indulge us and guess if baby #3 is a boy or a girl. We find out Monday!

Real quick

I'm working on updating the blog. It's taking forever. Disneyworld, our cruise, DC, Outer Banks camping..
But, just real quick I wanted to write how grateful I am for Azure. She has done the dishes every day this week without being asked. She genuinely likes doing it. Crazy! 80% of the time the dishes are spotless. I rarely have to re-wash. For someone who doesn't like doing the dishes this is a HUGE blessing!

I love age 5! Love! I really feel like I've hit the jackpot with Azure. I feel undeserving of her a lot of times. I hate that I lose my temper with her sometimes for just being a child. She acts so much like a mature adult sometimes that I forget how old she really is.

Saturday while Charles and Vince were napping I took Azure grocery shopping with me. I debated just going alone but, wanted her company. Usually I am all for going grocery shopping alone, I can get more done, quicker. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that taking her with me proved to be an enormous help and I was actually faster than had I gone alone! What?!

In the produce section Azure read my list to me and I ran around bagging all the fruits and vegetables she called out. As I placed them in the cart, she crossed off the items. What a time saver!

My journey through motherhood so far has been dealing with small children. We've just hit a new stage of life. She is no longer a small child- at least not mentally. I really like this new stage!

I was overcome with gratitude for her as I reflected on this experience later on. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, but really I am always emotional let's be honest. She is truly one of my best friends and I can only hope and pray that I can be as good to her as she is to me.

We're done!

Today I am 16 wks and I'm feeling TONS better! Haven't thrown up in over a week! Woot!

15 wks

Still super tired and not back to eating healthy like I was before this sickness started (minimal food aversions). I'm not as bothered by strong smells anymore that send me sprinting to the nearest toilet or trash can. Such a blessing to feel semi-normal again! I know the fatigue and *ahem* lack of fiber are correlated. I figured that out sometime in 2005. I think I mentioned some of that in this post.

Charles is done with his residency! *cue Hallelujah chorus* Things should become more normal again and we can actually work on all our family goals we've had on the back-burner this last year. Last Friday was his end of residency dinner- semi-formal. You know I love me a chance to get fancy schmancy so everyone can whisper, "Wow, that's Charles' wife?" I kid...kinda.

Back to Charles- I don't fully understand everything he does at work, obviously. Sometimes he comes home and says things like, "If you saw what I did at work today you would have died." Some of those things have included: assisting a patient with an impacted bowel, a large obese woman with gangrene who had maggots in her hospital bed, crazy surgeries with blood squirting all over the operating room, etc. I'm not one of those people that likes gross things so I don't ask for details unless my curiosity is really piqued, which rarely happens on the topic of maggots and the like. Hey, that's why I didn't go into the medical field. Because he's right, I would die.

He's all grown-up :)

So, it was really meaningful to have his co-workers come up to me at the dinner and say things like, "Charles is an outstanding pharmacist. He's a really hard-worker. We're so glad he's staying on. He's our favorite resident." And then to hear them talk about the research projects they've worked on all year and how much his research benefited the hospital and their protocol. I am one proud wife.

Sadly, we didn't have anyone take pics of us. But, Charles snapped this one of me when we got home.

To celebrate his 2 weeks off (his first vacation in over a year) he went with the scouts on a 50 mile hike up the Applachian trail. He loves backpacking and hasn't done it for years so it was perfect timing for him. I'm happy he got to go.

Tomorrow the kids and I leave to meet up with him in Asheville, NC and then we're off to DC to sight-see and visit Cath AND eat Cafe Rio. Can not tell you how excited I am for that!!! Then down to camp on the beach on the Outer Banks. Yay for beach camping- one of my fave things I haven't done since 1999? And then we'll visit Ev and Mike in Raleigh and then back home.