Mommy and Me Monday

And Henry, at 17 months old!


Oh, my little monkey Henry - you do the funniest things right now!


~ You love to hit and throw things. We are working on not hitting or throwing at people, but you don't always listen. You're just so excited.

~ When you're over excited - you like to spin in circles.

~ You have a few favorite books, and when you read them, you like to kiss the characters. This started with an ABC book, where you always kissed the melon and the monkey. Then you started kissing all the babies in another ABC book. And now you love to kiss every page of your Dinosaur counting book.

~ You are such a helper! In fact, you get very angry if you can't help unload the dishwasher or throw your own diaper away. Please remember this when I'm begging you to do your chores in 10 years.

~ Mommy's tummy is too big to pick you up from your crib unless you're standing up. So you only stay standing until I get there - then you flop back down and laugh at me.

~ If I ask you where Owen is, you rub my belly. If someone else asks you where Owen is, you rub their bellies :)


I love to kiss dinosaurs!!

I can't believe my little boy is almost a year and a half -- and he's going to be a big brother very, very soon!!

Mommy and Me Monday (one day late!)

And watch for an upcoming post about nearly 17 month old Henry and a list of his favorites and quirks :)

32 weeks and 3 days...

Dear Owen,

Please get your big head off of my cervix. You're hurting mommy.


But I still love you,

Mom.

32 Week Belly Pic:

Spring Break and Breaking Points...

Oh bloggy world - how I neglect you.

Following the trend (is it a trend if only one other bloggy friend has done this? Or is it now a trend because I'm copying her and it's been done twice?) - I am going to update in bullet point form.

• Spring Break has been awesome. For the most part. Henry is so much fun right now, but also a little feisty and is learning to throw tantrums like the best of 'em. I am sad vacation is almost over.
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• We've finished the painting of Henry's big boy room. All the big furniture is in, now we just need to do a little more decorating.

• He took a nap in his big boy bed yesterday, but not bedtime. Not sure how this transition is going to go - but I'm fine with waiting for summer vacation.
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• Here's his 16 month photo ... which was like 2-3 weeks ago. Since then, he's gotten a hair cut and 4 more teeth poking through.

And now Owen/Pregnancy Updates:

• Last Friday I went into the ER because of major cramping, that was coming at fairly regular intervals. As I had never had a contraction before - I thought that maybe those were it. They weren't - just little "bumps" on the lined paper from the monitor. Apparently they thought my uterus was aggravated because of a UTI and Yeast Infection.
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• Went to OB appointment yesterday - done with all meds but still having terrible cramping (so strong I have to breathe slowly through them) - and tons of pressure "down there". This doctor (not my regular OB) thinks it's because Owen's head is down super low, that's the cause of all of this. Since there are no contractions or dilation, I'm not on bed rest. But she did recommend staying off my feet with legs elevated as much as possible. Awesome.
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• Makes me nervous for going back to work on Monday -- we'll see how it goes.
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• Yesterday - I cried about 5 times over stupid things - like not having the Tupperware top I needed. I have reached my emotional breaking point.
  

"Don't worry about anything;instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

28 weeks and 3 days...

Let's do a little comparing, shall we?

28 weeks preggo with Henry:


And now 28 weeks preggo with Owen:


I'm terrified of how big my final pictures will be!!

Henry Mercer - 15 months and 4 days...

We had Henry's 15 month check up today, here's the giant's stats:

• Height: 33.25'' - 95 percentile
• Weight: 26 lbs 9 oz - 77 percentile (a big jump, he hasn't been in this percentile for weight since he was 4 months old!)
• Head: 48.3 cm - 79 percentile

Eating: Things are going pretty steady with this - he's picky like his mom, and it probably doesn't help that we eat the same things over and over due to our budget. He does have meals where he hardly eats anyways, and then others where he eats a ton - which is normal for his age. His favorites right now are grilled cheese, lunch meat ham, and cherry tomatoes (not regular tomatoes cut up, he won't eat those)

Milk: He gets 3 sippy cups of milk a day, one right when he wakes up, one after we pick him up for daycare (like an afterschool/predinner snack), and one right before bed. The doctor said this is all normal, but not to stress if he starts not wanting quite as much.

Waketime Length: Henry can stay awake much longer now - so I think this category will be deleted next time.

Naps: Henry has dropped his morning nap! He just wasn't going down for it. I was hoping he'd do a better afternoon nap now, but it's still averaging about an hour and a half.

Nighttime sleep: Henry usually falls asleep around 8pm - though we start routine at 7:15 or 7:30 depending on if it's a bath night or not. I do not let him get out of the crib until 7:00am, so if he wakes up earlier, he just plays and chats. If he cries, we give him his pacifier back - though sometimes he looks for it himself. Our clever boy learned how to turn on his sound machine all by himself - so I made Nick take it out in the middle of the night last night because Henry was just up playing with it at 2am. He cried - then went right back to sleep. Silly boy.

We've been experimenting with Nick's morning routine, because Henry was waking up whenever his dad was up for a while. I think dad was getting a little too comfortable and making too much noise with his breakfast and trying to help with the dishes - our walls are paper thin! Also - I think the smell of coffee was keeping him from falling back asleep at those times. Since Nick's been quieter, Henry will now usually go back to sleep until 6:45-7:15ish, but still wakes up at the sound of the car starting and door closing (we do have to slam our front door or else it doesn't shut all the way!)



Milestones: Oh, this is such a fun time in this little boy's life!! He is so interactive now - playing games, talking his mostly gibberish language - it's adorable! He still only has 5 teeth - but has been 'teething' for months now! And he gives high five's now - which is awesome.

Daycare: Things are still great at daycare - he seems to be interacting with the other kiddos more now.
Other: Henry is such a daddy's boy. When Nick's home - he has to be with him, cries if he leaves the room or even just goes to the bathroom! This doesn't make me feel sad, because I know it's because Nick is gone more with work and other stuff - and he's more fun than me right now! Plus - it'll be a huge help once baby brother is here!

Caught behind the couch - where he's not supposed to be!

24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks and 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: about 10 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes, all the way now!
Stretch marks? No new ones yet
Sleep: I haven't been waking up more than once to pee, which is weird - but I do wake up and now feel very awake ... a mild case of insomnia I guess?
Best moment this week: Owen's moving and kicking is so much stronger now, I feel him all day long!
Movement: So reassuring to feel tons of movement!
Food cravings: Last week I really needed a vanilla milkshake, it took me two days, but eventually I got it!
Gender: Another boy!
Labor Signs: N/A
Belly Button in or out? Way out - not sure how much more out it can go!
What I miss: Not feeling out of breath just from moving ... he's already pressing so much on my lungs!
What I am looking forward to: Enjoying the summer home together! I love being a teacher!
Weekly Wisdom: Just trying not to feel guilty about being such a lazy mommy and wife right now!
Milestones: Henry now loves to rub my belly, and last weekend he even gave it some kisses! So cute!
Realization of the week: 16 weeks to go sounds so much better than 17! :)

24 Week Belly Pic


Me and my little man - he's getting so big!!


We have the most beautiful sunsets in our backyard - a constant reminder that God is good!!