Updates

I guess I should update everyone on what's been going on with us. The biggest thing is that Gideon turned 2. I can't believe it!! How did 2 years go by so quickly? Gideon had a wonderful time on his birthday. He got to go to lunch with Daddy at Denny's (They give a free grand slam on your birthday). We made homemade calzones, opened presents and had some cake. My cake did not turn out like I wanted so there will be no pictures. Gideon was also scared of the candle and had to have daddy hold him while he blew it out. It's funny to me that the same boy that will jump and throw himself off of anything would be scared of a little candle. Gideon loved all of his presents and I'm glad that nothing was too loud or obnoxious.

Gideon is definitely a 2 year old. He is very stubborn and likes things done his way and on his own. He's still not talking a whole lot so he gets really mad when we don't know what he wants. That's a lot of the time. We've been trying to get him to sleep in his big boy bed and he does OK as long as someone falls asleep with him. If we just lay him down and walk out then he's right there behind us. He usually ends up in his crib for the night after we've fought him for a while. I would like him to be done with the crib so we can use it for Hazel and get her out of the pack n'play. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. We've tried the child door handle thing on the inside of the door and he DID NOT like that at all. 

We also celebrated Halloween. Gideon was Tigger and Hazel was a ballerina. They both looked so cute. Thank you to my friend, LeeAnne for letting us borrow the costumes. I was going to make a Tu-Tu for Hazel but couldn't resist using the one already made. We had a great time at the ward Trunk or Treat and Gideon had fun asking for candy. He's also enjoyed eating way too much of it. I'm glad Nathan took it to work. Natalie and Grandma D were able to come out for Halloween weekend and have some fun with us.

Hazel is growing like a weed. She is up to about 15 pounds and is wearing 6 month clothes. She is just so long she won't fit in to any 3 month anymore. She is sleeping great at night. She goes to bed between 8 and 9 and I usually get 6-8 hours of sleep before she wakes up. Gideon never slept like that. He always wanted to be held and Hazel likes sleeping in her bed. She "talks" a LOT and is always blowing bubbles and spitting. She loves sucking on her fingers and pulling things to her mouth. She is starting to roll to her side and has almost made it to her tummy a couple of times. I love that she is always happy and always has a smile. She is very easy going and has a lot of patience with Gideon when he tries to play with her and gets too rough. She just smiles and laughs at him. They are going to be great friends and it's fun to see their relationship develop.

Here are a few pictures of our fun adventures over that last little bit. Enjoy!

I found a few more minutes

Daddy just got home so I have a few more minutes to type. I just wanted to show a few pictures of Gideon from the Clifford exhibit. Crown Center Mall has the exhibit right now and Gideon would always get excited during the commercial so Nathan and I decided to take him for a Family Home Evening. We got to the mall at about 5:45 and thought we had plenty of time. Little did we know the mall closes at 6 on Mondays. Can you believe that? 6 PM!! Gideon had a great 15 minutes and didn't have to worry about other kids. Their parents were responsible and looked up the times, I guess. After the exhibit closed we took him across the street to the fountains. You can play in them but Gideon didn't want to. He was mad when we tried to leave but he wouldn't get in the water. What a silly boy. Maybe next year.

Captain Gideon

Sliding down Clifford's tail

At the fountain. That's about as close as he would get.

Fun with Daddy

Not much time

I know as I start to write this that it's not going to be very long. Hazel is content right now in her bouncy but it probably won't last too long. This is her "fussy" hour right now. Yes, all day is her fussy hour but now that we've diagnosed her acid reflux and the medicine is kicking in she is a very happy little girl. She smiles most of the day and mommy is staying sane. At least for the moment. Hazel is growing well. She is up to 10 lbs. 14 oz and is outgrowing her newborn stuff. We've moved up to 0-3 month size. She's growing slower than Gideon did but I'm OK with that. I'm enjoying having a "small" baby for a while longer. She is sleeping well at night and usually gives me about 4-5 hours of sleep at a time. Although, every morning at about 4 she starts to grunt like she's constipated and it lasts for about 2 hours. I'm hoping it's due to reflux and will fade with the taking of medicine. If not she will be in her own room sooner than later. :) We're adjusting to life with multiple children without going too crazy here. Gideon loves his sister and shows her frequently by talking to her and hitting her. He still gets a little jealous.

Gideon is doing well. He is very much a two yer old with a two year old personality. He's in to everything and wants to be very independent. We are getting ready to move him up to a big boy bed and he's excited. Grandma T got him some Thomas the Train sheets for his new bed and he already sleeps with the pillowcase.  I'm a little nervous about it but I'm sure he'll do great. Plus, I really want Hazel to get used to the crib and Gideon won't leave her alone in it right now. That's still HIS bed.

Now that Hazel is awake and I'm forced to type with one hand I'll continue stories later and just show a couple pictures. Enjoy!

My pacifier babies

Hazel before reflux medicine

 

 

Hazel after the medicine. Much better.

Gideon on the big boy swing.

Need more patience

So lately I've been a little on edge. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm having a baby in 2 days and I have a toddler going through the terrible two's.  I've worked hard to make sure that I have everything lined up for when I go to the hospital and that the house won't be a total disaster when I get back. I think I have just about everything done there and I'm ready for this little one to join our family. One thing I wasn't expecting was the many opinions on how we're having this baby. Nathan and I elected for another C-section instead of a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). We did not take our decision lightly and put much thought and prayer into it. I also talked to my Dr. quite a bit about it for a couple of months as I went back and forth. She never pushed me one way or the other, for which I am very grateful. She gave me all the facts, risks, etc. and would tell me it was a personal choice and she would stand by either decision. My decision was based on my pregnancy with Gideon and the answers I received when I prayed. I had a lot of health issues with him and had to be induced early. After 14 hours of labor he ended up being an emergency C-section. I wasn't sure if I would have to go through the same thing with this one and decided on the choice that worked best for us. I know everyone has their own opinion on childbirth, epidurals, C-sections, etc. What I don't understand is why it's anyone's matter but the parents actually having the child. I've had people tell me I'm taking the easy way out for having a C-section. They have evidently never had a C-section or major surgery. I may not have to go through contractions and pushing but the recovery time is much harder and longer. Believe me, I would have loved to have Gideon normally but I was not about to risk his health or life when it was not necessary. Gideon was on his cord and his heart rate would drop each time I pushed. Dr. White told me I could keep pushing but because we didn't know how the cord was getting pinched we couldn't be sure he would get all the oxygen he needed during each contraction or if the cord would even be long enough during birth. That's all I needed to hear. My child's life was more important than a silly scar and healing time. How would I feel if something would have happened to my child when I could have prevented it? I'm grateful for knowledgeable doctors and modern hospitals that were able to ensure the safety of my child.

I'm sure everyone wants what's best for their children and they do what they feel is right. There are many things I see others do that I may think are different or silly but it's not my family or decision on how they raise their children.  I'm not meaning to offend or upset anyone. I just needed my little rant time. I welcome any comments and opinions on the matter but please don't make me feel bad for opting for another C-section.

Pictures

Here are a few belly pictures that Natalie took for me while she was here this past weekend. I'm 37 weeks here.

 

Not quite sure what I was looking at. Probably Gideon doing something silly.

He likes being in pictures, too.

Our little stud. He loves wearing his glasses.

This is what Gideon does when we tell him to smile. I don't know where he got it but I love it. Usually he shows his teeth but I think he had food in his mouth here. He is such a nut.

We had a lot of fun with Natalie over the 4th of July weekend. Thanks for coming out, Nat. Gideon loved showing you everything and having you read to him. He even tried to find you Tuesday morning and was so upset when he opened the door and you weren't there. You'll have to come back out and play with us soon.

We're also excited that we'll be seeing our newest addition soon. We only have about 9 days left and the time is just flying by. I've been a little uncomfortable but nothing to really complain about. Everything has been great with this pregnancy and it's been nice not having to do NST's and worry about my blood pressure like with Gideon. It's hard to believe that by this stage in his pregnancy he was here. I'm curious to see how close she is to his size. Gideon was 7.8 lbs and 19 3/4" when he was born at 37 1/2 weeks. This little one is getting an additional week and a half to outgrow him. I wouldn't mind her staying smaller for longer than he did. He outgrew his clothes so fast and got so heavy. I am a little nervous about the C-section but my Dr. has been great at answering all my questions and putting me at ease. Now I'll just have to worry about the 6 weeks postpartum when I can't lift more than 10 lbs. Gideon is not going to like that at all. He loves having Mommy cuddle him and put him to bed. I'll miss doing that for a while. I'm grateful for family and good friends who have offered to be there to help where they can. So until July 16th I'll just be cleaning my house over and over and finding silly jobs that need to be done. It's funny how crazy your brain gets at the end of pregnancy. I have so many lists of things that I think need to be done before I go to the hospital and I'm sure none of them are really that important. Do the windows really need to be clean before I have this little one? Probably not! But I'm sure they will be.  :)

Edit on my previous post

It's been brought to my attention that I left someone off the list of visitors to Indiana. I wanted to correct my mistake and let everyone know that Gideon and I were very excited that Katie could also come in from Utah and spend some time with us. I thought I would also list everyone else we were able to see, in addition to those already mentioned in the previous post, just in case anyone else was feeling left out.

Carlos and Jennifer
Benji, Nicky, Alex and Camille
Andrew and Laura
Haley, Jerod and Emily
Natalie
Shane
Kayla and John
Great-Grandma "Plain"
All of the people Grandma D works with
Everyone in the Reynolds' ward on Sunday

We had a great time with everyone and can't wait to see you all again. Love you all!

Updates

I thought it was about time I updated a bit. It's amazing how fast this pregnancy is going. I'm down to only about 6 weeks left and I feel like I still have so much to do. A few weeks ago we found out Gideon's crib had been recalled (thank you, Laura) so that was one of the first things on our list to fix. Luckily we've been out of town so I haven't had to worry about him sleeping in a potentially defective crib. Today I had enough energy to take apart the crib, pack it up in my small car and take it back to Target. They were great about taking it back and we were able to purchase a new crib and get it all put together before Gideon's nap time. He doesn't like his pack and play much. Thanks so much to my friend Eliza for letting us use her van to get the huge box back to the house. It's hard for me to ask for help sometimes so I'm grateful for good friends that are able to help out. I don't like this crib as much as my old one but I guess it's the safety that counts. Plus Gideon could care less what his crib looks like as long as he has Bo the Bear and his blankie with him. I'm just glad that job is done. We still have some credit left over from Target and we'll probably order another crib for Hazel when it gets closer to her arrival.
This pregnancy is going well. I've had a bit of pain the last couple of months and I just thought it was ligaments stretching but my doctor thinks I may have a hernia. Sarcastic YEA!!!  With Gideon I had high blood pressure and preeclampsia and I guess this baby wants something big of her own. It's pretty painful and there's not much they can do about it until Hazel is born. At least my blood pressure is normal and I'm not swelling up with this one.
We've had some exciting trips the last couple of weeks. Gideon and I were able to go back to Indianapolis for a week to visit family. Anthony and Laura were in town from Alaska and we were able to see them, Will and Ethan. Gideon had a good time visiting his cousins and seeing Grandma T and Grandma D. We had a great time seeing everyone. We were able to visit the zoo with Grandma D and Gideon loved seeing the sea lions, walrus and dolphins. We only lasted an hour until we were all tired and overheated. We had a great week visiting with everyone but were very excited to see Daddy once we got home.

What?!? Another post already?

Yes, I know this is a rare treat. Two posts within a matter of days but we've actually have things going on. I know, I can't believe it either. Usually I'm just home sitting on the couch, playing with Gideon and thinking about cleaning up. Sometimes the cleaning actually happens.

Saturday was a crazy day for us. Both of our cars needed oil changes so we decided to drop off my car first and go back later that day to pick it up. We got up early, took our $15 oil change coupon and came home to relax and wait for the car. Well, let's just say it ended up being a little more than $15. We found out I needed new tires. Ouch. So our cheap oil change turning into a big chunk of cash fix up. At least I now have safe tires. I guess the threads were even showing through on the back tires. Whoops, didn't even know it. At least Nathan's car turned out to only be $15. I was nervous they were going to tell us he needed something major, too.

On to baby news. I had a Dr. appt. today and the baby sounds great. Her heartbeat is really strong and she even kicked the doppler thing. She doesn't like when things are on my stomach, just like Gideon. Poor Gideon is the one who gets all the abuse from her right now. He likes to cuddle with me and she lets him know she does not appreciate his 28 lbs laying on her. I guess I'm getting some of the abuse, too. The Dr. did find that I have a bladder infection and gave me some antibiotics for that. They try to stop it early since that can lead to a UTI and that can cause preterm labor. We're only about 26 weeks so I think we'll wait on the labor. I've also had some pain in my right leg from my knee to my thigh so I was sent to have a sonogram on my leg to make sure there were no clots. Luckily nothing was found and Gideon enjoyed watching the monitor and hearing the sounds of them squeezing my leg to hear the blood flow.

We were also able to schedule the C-section. We scheduled to meet our little girl on July 16. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM. Sounds early, right? IT IS!! The surgery will be at 7:30. It's weird to think that we know the exact day and time we'll be having our little girl. I don't know that Gideon will even be up yet. Good thing Grandma D will be coming in to stay with him and Nathan those few days I'm in the hospital. I asked Nathan the other day what he was going to make for dinner those nights I was gone and he said whatever his mom made. Good to see he has everything covered. I hope Grandma Diana realizes she'll be taking care of 2 boys. :)

Well, that pretty much catches you up for now. I'm down to seeing the Dr. every 2 weeks now. Yea!!! 3 months to go and counting.

3 months and this?!

Alright, I know it's been a while and I'm sorry to all those who have been giving me a hard time lately. I sit down with the intention of writing and then feel like my post will be so boring. So, I don't write anything and I let another month slide by. Again, sorry.

So by now most of you should know that we are having a girl. Little Hazel Grace should be joining us in mid-July. My official due date is July 24th but we'll be scheduled for a c-section about a week or so before that. My next Dr. appointment is the 20th and I'll be talking with my Dr. then. Since we'll be scheduled does anyone want to make predictions about what day we'll schedule it for?

I've been feeling OK. I've been a lot more sick with this pregnancy, have had Braxton-Hicks which I never had with Gideon and can't breath already since this little one wants to sit so high. Other than being uncomfortable I've been pretty good. My blood pressure is still low and I'm hoping it will stay that way, otherwise we'll be even earlier than 39 weeks.

See, this post is boring already. Let's get on to more exciting things: Gideon.  He's growing like a weed. He's eating all day long and can't seem to get enough. I think he's going through a growth spurt since all of his clothes have suddenly become a bit shorter. He's still a bit picky with what he eats but I've learned that he loves fruit. He'll eat any type of fruit but no veggies. He did try cucumber and carrots and seems to be OK with those. He won't eat bread, cake, chicken nuggets, fish sticks or anything else that seems foreign. He loves broccoli, pizza rolls and hot dogs. I know, well rounded meals.

Gideon is starting to attempt more words. He'll repeat things after me and he'll get the syllables but not always the sound. He loves to jibber-jabber. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he has something to say. It's always in his own language but he really thinks he's saying something. Sometimes during the day, if he thinks I'm not paying enough attention, he'll come up and turn my face toward him to make sure I'm listening. He uses so much intonation and emotions I can't help but think he's really talking to me. I especially love when he cracks himself up with what he's telling me. He'll start laughing and then cover his mouth with his hands and double over. It's the best.

We've also discoverd that he likes Big, Big World and Barney on PBS. He dances to the them songs and gives Snook the sloth a high five at the end of the show when he tells him to. Today he was busy in the other room when Snook said to give him 5 and Gideon went running over to the TV so he wouldn't miss him. He then waves to Snook and waits for Barney. Also, thank you, mom, for the Barney DVD for Easter. Gideon brings it to me about 20 times a day. That song is forever stuck in my head.  I do have video of all this but I'll have to figure out how to put it on here.

Nathan is doing well. Work and his calling are keeping him busy. He's also had to start mowing the grass which he isn't too thrilled with. Other than that he's just waiting for Purdue football to start up again.

Oh, before I go, let me know of some of the foods you feed your kids. Give me some ideas of things to try and tempt Gideon with. He's good on snacks, I need meals.

Our News

So since I put the pregnancy ticker on the blog I guess I should announce that we're pregnant. Yup, baby #2 will be joining our family in July 2010. Right now we're about 13 weeks along and just about out of the scary first trimester. We've had our first ultrasound and got to see the little one moving around a little and hear the heartbeat. It's amazing how emotional you get even when you've been through it before. Knowing that it's real and seeing that little person just brings out those tears. Even Nathan was excited. We weren't able to tell what the gender was yet but that will come in just a few weeks.

I'm excited to be getting out of the sickly stage and I can actually stand the thought of some foods now. It's terrible when you're hungry and want to eat but everything you think of makes you want to throw up. I've been craving a Gyro sandwich like no other but the closest place is about 16 miles away and we have about 20 feet of snow around here. It amazes me that a craving can make you think of braving the elements just to satisfy itself. Nathan says we can go when the weather gets better. Until then I will continue to dream of pita bread, cucumber sauce, tomatoes and lamb meat all combining into a little piece of heaven. If I were in Indy I'd know exactly where to go.

Nathan has been really great and helping me around the house. He's done the dishes a few times and understands when I need that little nap during the day. I'm not lazy, just pregnant. He's also understood that dinners haven't been that great because nothing sounds good to me and it's hard to cook when you don't like food. I'm thankful for my non-picky husband.

On to a quick update of Gideon. He's a little monkey. He's loves climbing on everything and being a little stinker. Yesterday I found him trying to climb up the kitchen cabinets to get a banana. I don't know where he learns these things. I'm glad he's so inventive and likes to figure things out but sometimes he's a little too daring. Aunt Kathy gave us a Little People Garage for his birthday and it has been hidden because he uses it as a ladder. I don't know how many times we look over and he's standing on the top of it holding the car that should be on it. What a nut.

He's also saying about 4-5 words now. Light (sounds like Lie), Bear (minus the R), bath (sometimes with the th), splash (minus the spl) and, of course, mama and dada. The first words are his most consistent but he likes to imitate sounds. The other day I couldn't find something and in frustration said, "Crap!" Next thing I hear was ,"Ap." That made me realize I need to start watching what I say. I don't use that word very often but I guess it only takes 1 time for them to pick it up.

We're about sick of snow here in MO. We've gotten so much since Christmas that school kids haven't even made it back to school after Christmas break. I feel for those parents with children still at home battling cabin fever. The snow is pretty but I would like for it to fall anywhere but the driveway and roadways. That would make things a lot easier. Anthony and Laura, I know you're laughing right now since Missouri is nothing compared to Alaska but I don't live in Alaska and I don't want to be able to pretend I do.

Other than snow we're great. I'll try to update a little more often but I'm not making it a resolution because I know it won't stick. Why set myself up for failure? I'll post pictures soon.