It All Started at Costco

I don't want anyone to worry while I tell my {doubtlessly long-winded} story: Baby Girl and I are both just fine.  

And now, for our last few days: It all started at Costco, where I was collecting beautiful, inexpensive {beautifully inexpensive?} berries and cases of yogurt cups for the tiny mouths I feed.  I'd made my purchases and I'd made my second trip to the ladies' room, for I go nowhere these days without visiting the facilities at least twice. I had reached the front of the exit line and handed my receipt to the clerk, who was scanning my cart for the possibility of stolen goods, when a woman ran her full cart into me from behind.  It hurt a good bit, enough to make me the tears well up, but I really wasn't worried about the baby, since the hit was from behind.  

That night, though, I had a bit of spotting, so I immediately called the doctor, who asked whether I had felt the baby moving around.  I just did not know.  The boys and I had taken an evening stroll and visited the library and come home to get them ready for bed.  I had been so busy for the last few hours that I just couldn't recall any particular movements, which, quite frankly, horrified me.  How could I not know?  And why could I not feel her now?  The doctor told me to come into the hospital to get checked out, so the Mister and I and two sleepy children loaded up for Labor and Delivery.  On the way to the hospital, my mind was racing, and I kept thinking, please let our baby be okay, please don't let this be our time to go through that terrible grief.  And if it is, please guard me, Lord.  About halfway to the hospital, I felt Baby Girl shift and then kick.  I was so thankful for her movement, for her life.

At the hospital, I was hooked up to fetal monitors and Baby Girl's heartbeat looked good.  I was sent for an ultrasound.  I got to see my sweet Baby Girl opening her mouth and clutching her hand to her face, a face which looks remarkably like Buddy Boy's.  However, they made a probably unrelated discovery that my amniotic fluid was low, so the doctor admitted me for the night to receive IV fluids.  My amniotic fluid level doubled overnight and two tests for leaking came back negative, so these were good signs.  During one contraction, though, Baby Girl had a "stubborn" heart rate deceleration, so the doctor decided to keep me for further observation.  The rest of my stay, her heart rate looked great and she bounced around my tummy.

I was released last night and am following doctor's orders for bed rest and lots of fluids.  I'll go in again on Monday to have the amniotic fluid level re-checked.  There's still a possibility of a leak, but, thankfully, it seems unlikely.

Last night, I had dinner in bed, prepared by my sweet Mister, who had juggled work demands and childcare all day long.  Buddy Boy snuggled peacefully with me while he had his nighttime sippy of milk.  Little Guy brought me my Kindle and two of his favorite stuffed animals, and tucked me in with a fuzzy blue blanket.  This morning, the boys pulled out their toolbox and set to work on me with chainsaws, hammers, and a screwdriver to make me "alllllll bedder."  I'm currently sporting a Cowboy Woody Band-Aid on my IV site, applied by Dr. Little Guy.  These three are taking wonderful care of me, and I'm doing my best to take care of our Baby Girl.

Play Ball

So.  Is it too early to wish that the pool were open?

We're having a little taste of spring this week, and it is so very, very lovely.

 The warm weather and the later light meant a return to the courtyard for post-nap ball.

 Little Guy put his game face on.

 And Buddy Boy brought his usual chuckles.

There was a good time to be had.

 A little jumping.

 A little contemplating the copycat move and deciding against.

These little boys...there is very little that pleases them as much as being outside with a good ball to throw.

 Or four.

This is Little Guy's baby bump picture.  Looks like he's coming along nicely.

 And this was one of those moments when it feels like all is right.

This one, too.

Stick around, sunny days.

Slow, Full Days

Life has been chuggin' along.  Our big adventures have slowed down, mainly because I just can't keep up at this point, but our days feel so very full.  The Mister has been working a lot.  We've been trying to prepare our home for Baby Girl's arrival (5 people...2 bedrooms...next month...whew!...and yay!).  And we've been hibernating on cold days and running for the great outdoors on the pretty ones.

The boys have each been through a few different illnesses...three rounds of croup in the last month, our very first ear infection, and the usual colds.  This week, I took Little Guy into the doctor for a weeklong fever and stomach pain.  The combo worried the pediatrician as much as it did me, and she sent us up for a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia.  Since I couldn't be in the X-ray room, the Mister had to cab over from work to be his in-room guardian.  It was quite the production.  And the X-ray revealed...a really bad case of gas.  Nothing a little Mylicon couldn't handle, thankfully.

They've learned to play computer games on pbs.org.  For some reason, I feel like this ages them a good three years or so.  It's very funny to hear my baby talking about a cursor.  I've been thrilled at how willing they are to share the chair and the mouse and the clicking.  And how willing they are to "do the red X" when the timer beeps. 

We had a nice visit from the Mister's brother, while he was in town on business.  Little Guy adores his uncle.  Can't you feel the (blurry) love?

With all the little sicknesses, we've spent a lot of time at home.  Sprite through a curly straw proves a good remedy for sore throat.

Has anyone else found this citrus season to be particularly wonderful?  We are plowing through Costco-size bags of grapefruits at a shocking rate!

I wish y'all could witness the speed at which Buddy Boy puts away an entire grapefruit, but even more, I wish y'all could hear the enormous slurping sound he makes every time his spoon touches his little lips.  We have a major grapefruit fan in the house.

Happy weekend!  For all you parents out there, this is the good time change weekend, where the kiddos think it's earlier than it really is.  Woohoo!  I'm hoping to sleep 'til 7 AM!

My Buddy

Buddy Boy and I had some very rare one-on-one time together this weekend.  It was sweet.

He went to Target in his 'jamas.

He brushed his teeth repeatedly.

He rode my hip.

He loved on his baby sister.

And I soaked up a little time with baby before he becomes my middle child.

The Mister Baked Me a Cake!

he

my sweet husband

who works many, many hours of each day

seven days of many weeks

who spends every moment he's not at work

making life easier for me

baked me a cake

a yellow cake with chocolate frosting

in the middle of the night

while i slept

with ingredients he'd bought earlier in the week

also while i was sleeping

 {i sleep a lot these days}

 he waited for the dishwasher to finish washing its load

unloaded the clean dishes

and loaded up the ones he'd dirtied

just so i wouldn't suspect anything

should i visit the kitchen in the night

which i did

to fetch a cup of water for a feverish boy

 he lit the candles as i walked out this morning

while he and little guy sang happy birthday

and buddy boy buried his head in a chair, all embarrassed like

{i think he thought the singing was for him}

 and we all had cake for breakfast

18 Feats at 18 Months

At the ripe old age of eighteen months, Buddy Boy can...

Jump on the trampoline.

Use a fork and spoon very well, and manipulate a dinner knife two-handedly.

Pantomime like nobody's business.  He's still not talking, but he sure can tell a story.

Sign his way through whatever he can't pantomime.  World's most communicative non-talker ever.

Make animal noises for dogs, lions, cows, and cats.

Drain a yogurt smoothie in 3 seconds flat.

Sit in a big boy chair at the dinner table.  After weeks of vehement protests (on his part), I finally let him move to a booster seat.  After two days of vehement protests of the booster seat, I let him sit in a big chair.  He's just not happy, unless it's just like brother.

Brush his teeth.

Navigate almost all playground equipment by himself.

Ride a small tricycle.

Throw, catch, and kick balls pretty decently.

Follow multi-step commands.

Take out the bathroom trash on the daily trash trip by the Snodgrass men.

Knock on a door and wait until given permission to open it.  He could teach his brother a thing or two about that!

Fetch a wipe or towel to clean up his spills, without being prompted, and then take the wipe to the trash or the towel to the laundry.

Build with Legos.

Yes, he had some help here, silly.

Climb.  Climb.  Climb.

Play Hide and Seek.  He's a very good Seeker, but as the Hider, he's got room for improvement.  His chuckles give him away every last time.

He's our Buddy Boy, and we love him so!


Want to see what Little Guy was up to at 18 months?  Click here.

"I lub you the whole world, Mommy."

I love you the whole world, too, baby.  The whole, whole world.