Under the Weather

Little Man isn't feeling so good, poor guy. He had a fever off and on all day/night yesterday. Jackson fell asleep in the car around 3:30 in the afternoon, slept until 8:30pm. Got up for an hour to eat a little bit and for medicine and went back to sleep until 7:00 this morning! Nothing is worse then a summer cold, so hopefully it will pass soon!

Last night after his 5 hour nap, snuggling on the couch watching Cars before going back to bed for the night!

Guess what?! We are Halfway Done!!!

 Source

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana or the size of a cantaloupe. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to keep up with your expanding blood volume, as well as for your growing baby and the placenta. Red meat is one of the best sources of iron for pregnant women. Poultry (especially the dark meat) and shellfish also contain iron. Some common non-meat sources of iron include legumes, soy-based products, spinach, prune juice, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals.

Little Gazes and Side Looks

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to forget to post my most favorite picture from our trip!  Oops!  This was taken in our car, while we were on the Ferry Boat on our exciting ride over Friday night.  Jackson thought he was so cool because we let him sit on my lap in the front seat while we were parked on the boat.  He discovered the side mirror and kept himself busy looking at himself, making faces, and watching what was going on behind us.  This was one of those moments I was lucky enough to capture on film.

Kelleys Island or Bust!

We were lucky enough this past weekend to have an impromptu vacation on Kelley's Island when Bonnie and Neil's renter's canceled last minute at Cedar Cottage.  They asked if we would like to use it and, with nothing else really on the agenda we snagged it up!  And what a wonderful mini break it was!

*if you click on the pictures it will enlarge them

This trip was worth it, if only for the ferry ride alone.  Jackson was sooooooooo excited!  He could hardly contain himself!  The picture of Scott holding him captures the energy perfectly.  Look at that smile!

The next morning Little Man and I woke up for a nice quite time, letting Daddy sleep in a bit.  Jackson loved walking behind the big curtains and I captured some cool pictures of his shadow.  They remind me of illustrations from the book The Little Prince or Peter Pan listening to Wendy's stories.

Then I had to take the boys to see the Glacial Grooves.  These amazing cuts and "grooves" in the stone were created by the Glaciers 10,000 years ago!  They are the most famous glacial grooves in the world.

Off to the beach.  The sand here is so soft and the water is super shallow.  I can actually walk all the way out to the buoys and have the water be right under my waist.  Jackson prefers to play in the sand.

Hi!  I'm just playing around with the camera, waiting for the boys to finish getting ready for the evening....

After the beach and a nice long family nap, we got ourselves cleaned up for a night out on the town.  Dinner at the Village Pump of course, then a game of Mini Golf, dancing to the fun live music, and watching the boats come in.

It was very cute watching Scottie teach Jackson how to play Put-Put.  He'll get it in time- he's got a great teacher!  We got a kick out of how when we "weren't watching" Jackson would pick up his ball and move it next to the hole so he cold hit it right in.

Then of course we had to have ice cream!  

It was such a great day.  Unfortunately Scott was feeling a little under the weather, but considering it was so relaxing and laid back he was still able to enjoy himself.  Gotta love Island life.

The next morning after breakfast we just had to let Little Man get wild at the playground.  He was just dying to check it out!

He had such fun and has gotten so brave.  He will try out everything now, with no hesitation.  He has become a PRO at climbing!  Anything there to climb up, he scurries up it nothing flat.  Jackson is getting way too big!

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.  But at least we get to end our fun trip with another fun ferry ride!  We were so hot and sweaty!  It was a scorcher on Sunday- *phew*  Thank goodness we got splashed a little bit by the waves.  It felt great!

Thank you Bonnie and Neil for giving us a vacation at your beautiful cabin!  It was a wonderful time- can't wait to go back!

To Infinity and Beyond!!!!

We had such a fun and exciting morning on Saturday!  Scott's work had a sneak preview event for Nestle employees to go see Toy Story 3 at the theater.  Oh how we love the other Toy Story movies!  We watch them all the time, and probably each one of us could almost recite the movies word for word.  Including Jackson!  They are just so smartly written, and just plain FUN!  So when we heard about a new one coming out we decided right away that this would be Jackson's 1st movie in the movie theater.

I am not sure who was more excited- us or him :)  OK, probably him.... he woke us up at 6:00 am, climbed in bed with us whispering.. "Mommy, Woody is going to be bigger then Daddy!"  "That's right Jackson, Woody is going to be huge!  Now let's go back to sleep for a little while."  "Ok, Mommy."...... "Mommy.... are we going to see Zerg today?" ....."We'll see sweetie.".... "Mommy"....

Jackson did a great job!  He loved having popcorn and also picked out a box of gummie bears for his movie snack.  He rotated between sitting on my lap or sitting on Scott's, and didn't start getting antsy until 3/4 of the way through.  And guess what- little man even remembered to tell us when he had to go potty!  We were all able to enjoy the entire movie, and he has been talking about it every single day since.  It was definitely a hit!

I may or may not have cried at the end.... what can I say- it was incredibly touching!  Go and see this movie!  It is wonderful, and worth every penny.  What a fun time!

This is day number 136 and you're 19 weeks pregnant!

The other night while rocking Jackson, he was hugging and kissing my tummy.  He does this all the time, which I find so heart warming and sweet.  But tonight he decided to lift up my shirt "Mommy, I want to snuggle with my baby brother.  Can you keep your shirt like this?"  So with my shirt pulled up over my belly, Jackson cuddled right on up and gave baby a big kiss and said "I love you baby."

Talk about a tear jerker! This hormonal pregnant woman was a water-works.  Oh how I love my two little boys already!

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You have 144 days or 21 weeks left, and are 48.6% of the way there.
Baby's age since conception is 122 days or 17 weeks. You are due on 11/13/2010.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom, about the size of a large heirloom tomato. The hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, taking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

A Test of Wills....

Jackson washing the wall after he colored all over it in crayon

A while back Jackson and I had a test of wills- who was going to give in first.  It was a quiet afternoon, filled with coloring, Wizard of Oz and just enjoying each other's company.  I started getting dinner ready since little man was happy and occupied.  About 10 minutes later I realize it is awfully quiet.  Too quiet.  I call to Jackson and he yells that he is upstairs (in my bedroom).  I ask what he is doing, and again I am met by quiet.  Not usually a good sign.

Of course I am elbow deep in raw chicken so I figure he is probably jumping on the bed like he usually does, and let it go for a few more minutes.  I know what you are thinking.

All of a sudden Jackson comes running down the stairs and says......

 Jackson: "Mommy, I need some paper towels."

 Mommy: "What do you need paper towels for, buddy?"

Jackson: "Nothing, it is nothing."  long pause... "Can I have a paper towel now?"

Mommy: "Jackson what do you need the paper towels for?  Did you do something upstairs that you shouldn't have?"

Jackson: "I said NOOO!   It's fine!  Nevermind!!!" 

Mommy:  "Jackson, I need to know what happened upstairs."

Jackson: "I just need a paper towel!  It is nothing!" 

At this point I tell him to wait there and I go upstairs to check things out.  Over on the side of my bed I see the chair is moved away from the wall a little bit and on the cushion of the chair, on the floor and smeared on the carpet is chap-stick.  I come back down stairs for some more conversation....

Mommy: Jackson I need you to be honest and tell me what you did upstairs.

Jackson: "I SAID I DID NOTHING!" 

Mommy: "Now I just went upstairs and know that you aren't telling me the truth.  I need you to go in the corner until you can be honest and tell me what happened."

Jackson: "Mommy, I didn't do anything!" 

Mommy: Jackson you can stand there as long or as short as you want.  The sooner you are honest the sooner you can get out of the corner.   Uh Oh!  You don't want your nose to grow like Pinocchio's nose!  I think I see it starting to grow!"

Jackson: (throwing his hands over his nose) "No!  It isn't growing!  Mommy, NO!"

Mommy: "Well are you being honest or are you telling a lie like Pinocchio did?  Tell me what you need the paper towels for and your nose will go back to normal and you can come out of the corner." 

Jackson: "I don't want to" 

Mommy: "OK, then you get to stay there in time out until you can tell me the truth." 

TWENTY minutes later!.....

Jackson: "Mommy....."

Mommy: "Yes Jackson?  Are you ready to tell me what happened and tell the truth?"

Jackson: "Yes...." 

Mommy: "Ok, then let's go upstairs and you can show me and then tell me what you did." 

Jackson: (in a whisper) "I spilled your chapstick...."

Mommy: "OK, I need you to show me.  Let's take the paper towels and you can clean it all up." 

Jackson: "OK.  I'm sorry Mommy" 

Mommy: "Thank you for being honest.  It is soooo important to tell the truth!  Nobody likes a friend that tells lies.  Now I need you to clean all of this mess up.  And no more touching Mommies chapstick."

Jackson:  "I don't want to be like Pinocchio, Mommy."  

Mommy: "I know, buddy."

Jackson: "I love you, Mommy." 

Mommy: I love you too, Buddy. 

Now, ever since this day if Little Man tries to tell a lie all we need to say is "Is your nose going to grow like Pinocchio's?"  And he changes his mind and tells the truth.  Thank you very much Walt Disney!

Was that the baby or just a spasm?

Yesterday after eating lunch I was sitting quietly on the couch relaxing.  All of a sudden I felt a hard kick on the inside.  "Hello Baby!"  I instinctively placed my hand in that spot and there it went again, only this time I even felt it on the outside! Wow!  I didn't expect to feel it this soon, but maybe!

So either baby is kicking harder these days, or I am having belly muscle spasms.  Hmmmm......

Kelly's Baby Shower

Me, Andrea and Kelly

Over the weekend I attended my friend Kelly's baby shower.  In college me, Andrea and Kelly were inseparable, and I am so grateful that we have remained close friends after all these years.  It was a beautiful shower, with delicious food, wonderful company and best of all I got to spend lots of quality time with my girls!  Oh how I have missed them!

Kelly and I thought we would be silly and squish little Andrea with our big bellies. lol

Us ladies giving the baby some loving!

There were four of us pregnant women here!  Brittany (farthest to the left) actually went into labor that night and had a baby girl!  Guess all that baby excitement got her little one moving!  

Our pregnant congo line. hahaha

Brittany: 39 weeks, Kelly: 32 weeks, Heather: about 23 weeks, and Me: 18 weeks

Andrea was trying very hard to feel Kelly's baby kick throughout the day. Baby didn't want to perform on command for a while there, but she finally gave in and showed off some acrobatics.   

It is so special to share pregnancy with a close girlfriend.  Now if I could just get Kelly and her husband to move closer (they currently live in Arlington, VA), it would be perfect! 

Instead of driving straight back to Columbus, Andrea stayed the night.  I think our Jackson fell in love.  He thought she was just the coolest.

Kelly, thank you so much for inviting me to celebrate with you on your special day!  I am so proud of you honey and you make the most beautiful pregnant woman ever!  I can't wait to meet your little princess- let the countdown begin!

Leaving Comments....

I have gotten a few emails that people weren't sure how to leave comments on here.  It is actually quite simple.  Instead of having a "Guest Book" like on my old site, you get to leave comments after each post.  If you look right under this entry it will say something like......

POSTED BY AMIE AT 8:44 PM 0 COMMENTS

Click on the word "Comments" and it will give you a pop up to leave your comment in.   It will give you a few options to sign in, but if you do not have a google/gmail, AIM, wordpress, etc profile you will have to leave it as "Anonymous".  Just be sure to leave your name so I know who you are (that is unless you like to remain incognito)!!

Looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Names from a three year old....

I forgot to tell you about this!  After we found out our news I called my sister right away to tell her.  After hearing all of the excitement, Sophie wanted to get on the phone and talk to me. This was our conversation....

Sophie: Hi Auntie Amie

Me: Hi Sophie!

Sophie: So you are having a baby boy?!  What are you naming him?

Me: Yes!  Isn't that exciting?!  I am not sure what we want to name him.  Can you help us think of baby boy names?

Sophie: Yeah!  You can call him Sprinkles!

(back ground noise: hysterical laughter from Anna and Bonnie.  They were both dying....)

Me: Wow!  Sprinkles?!  That is a cool name.  Thanks Sophie!  

Sophie: welcome!  Well I have to go now.  I love you Auntie Amie! 

I will have to make sure to ask Sophie next time we have to name a pet rabbit or puppy dog ;)  I love that girl.  Too cute!

Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog Tales......

That's what little boys are made of!  Yep, that's right!  We are having another boy!!!  Jackson is going to have a baby brother!  How cool is that?!  

Our appointment today went just amazing.  Our Ultrasound Tech was wonderful and talked us through the whole thing, telling us what all the different parts of baby were.  And goodness was he active!  He was wiggling and moving all over the place.  And if we wouldn't have wanted to know if he was a boy or a girl we would have found out anyways- this little guy was so proud to show his stuff!  Scott and I noticed it right away in the first minute or so!!

The tech said that baby boy is perfectly healthy and active. His heart-rate was 158, and has all his fingers and toes :)  Oh and our due date was moved up slightly. It shows that I am now due November 13th (instead of the 16th) so we will meet him somewhere in there!

This was such a special morning- I could have watched the little guy forever. *sigh*

Swagger Wagon

I just saw this yesterday and had to share it with all of you- it is absolutely hilarious! Enjoy:)

Your Pregnancy: Week 18

Big news- we go tomorrow morning for the BIG ULTRASOUND!!!! Please pray for full cooperation- spread those legs baby! No modesty allowed :)

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Your Pregnancy: Week 18
Average size: 5.6 in, 6.7 oz
As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this would be your first week for a sneak peek.

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!
Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll be able to feel her movements.

Now that baby can hear what's going on outside the womb, it's time to get out the tunes. Her faves? Classical, lullabies, new age...and anything else that resembles your own thumping heart (about 60 beats per minute).

One Proud Mommy!

Disclaimer: There is a lot of Potty Talk in the following post so be fair warned.  Do not read if you are the least bit upset by the use of the words pee-pee and poo-poo....

This is a knight in shining armor any girl would love!

I have been dreading potty training.  Dreading it with all that is in me.  I thought it was an impossible feat- something that I could never actually get Jackson to do.  As ridicules as it sounds, I was so afraid Jackson would be in diapers forever.  But I listened to all other mom's that have already done it, and the one big piece of advice I decided to run with was this "Don't Rush Them".  Turns out they were right!  The first time we started thinking about potty training was March of last year.  He went in the potty for the first time March 6th, 2009 and then promptly wanted nothing do with it.  Every now and then we would talk about it.  He liked reading books about it, and see his friends do it.  But him doing it- no way.  So I relaxed, didn't push it.  Left the potty in the bathroom for him to see every day and just waited.  It is now June 2010- 16 months later and he is finally ready!  It's amazing how patience and truly watching the cues of readiness pays off.

Yesterday Jackson spent the day with and had a sleep over party at Auntie Bon Bon's house so that Scott and I could go on a fun date night.  I knew he would have an awesome time- but a part of me was so worried that being away from home only 3 days into potty training would give us a huge setback.  But Bonnie assured me that things were going to be fine (and of course I trusted her!  She successfully potty trained Anna.  She is a veteran. lol)  The brave woman she is took the two 3 year olds (both in clad in underpants) plus Anna as her little helper, to the zoo.  Bless her soul she said she saw more bathrooms then animals, Jackson and Sophie had to check out every single one!  But with only one mutual accident at lunchtime they did great.

Jackson, the "Super Spy"

The rest of the time at the Stenger house, Jackson was sure to go in the potty each time.  Only one accident while playing outside (too busy to take a break I am sure!) otherwise he was super careful to use the potty.  I am even more proud to admit he did a poo-poo this morning (on his own even, not even needing to tell Bonnie about it first) and then another one when I came to pick him up in the afternoon.  He was very proud to show me that he did "a really, reallllly long one!"  I am sure he will loooooove this story when he is older... haha.  The first two days he refused to go poopie in the potty, we had to put a diaper on until he was finished and then put his underpants back on after.  I know this is very common, so I took it in stride.  Never did I expect him to do it on his own this quickly.  But then again Jackson has done everything on his own, in his own time.  Weaned himself off of nursing, stopped the bottle, stopped the pacifier, moved into a big boy bed.... this kid does what he needs to do when the time is right for him.  And no sooner.  And you know what, the more we realize this the easier the big stuff has become. The dreaded potty training has really turned into not that big of a deal.  I am sure we will have plenty of ups and downs along the way, but so far I am one proud Mommy.

Captain Underpants

OK, so here it is-  Real Deal potty training has begun!  I have finally decided that it is just time to start up again.  Only this time we are really doing it!  No more messing around, no more doing it half way.  We've tried Pull-Ups, and for Jackson they just don't work.  They are the same as diapers as far as he is concerned, and uses them as such.  So we needed to pull out the real guns.  Big Boy Underpants time!  We have decided that there are going to be no more diapers except at bedtime- and here is where my job comes in for I know that consistency is key.  As hard and difficult as this is I need to stick with it and not give in.  It will only hurt him, not help him in the long run.

Yesterday was day one, and I think it was a pretty good day overall.  We had three in the potty and three accidents outside of the potty.  It is definitely a start.  The one thing that I was most nervous about was could I possibly be doing this a tad too soon.  Age-wise he is right around where he should be, he has all of the other signs like waking up from naps dry, very few wet diapers over the course of a day, not liking being in a dirty diaper, telling me when he is going to go potty.... but we encountered a new thing when we started potty training.  And that was as soon as he told me he had to go potty, he had a hard time controlling himself until he got to a potty to actually go.  The moment he told me he had to pee, he already had an accident.  We just couldn't get there fast enough.  But we are working through it, and I am determined that he can do this.  He just needs to learn some new tools he didn't have to know before.

The best news is he looooves his big boy underpants.  The first hour, he tried on every single pair he had to see which ones he liked best.  And he is thrilled that we are going to the store to be able to pick out the coolest ones he can find.  We have six pairs, and that clearly isn't going to be enough!!  I was a little nervous he wouldn't want to do it again and it would be a bit of a fight, but he woke up today excited and ready to put them on again.  We had one accident this morning.  But we kept trying and he was a great sport, constantly sitting on the potty and giving it a "go".  But unfortunately no go.  For some reason today he was ready and willing to sit on the potty but he had a fear of actually peeing in it.

Then this afternoon he had the beginning of another accident but was able to stop himself in the middle.  We sat on the potty for a reeeeaaaallllyyyyy long time, but he refused to go.  I decided to just take a little break and get some lunch going.  I didn't want to stress him out too much.  Well all of a sudden he jumped up, stated he had to go potty and ran to the bathroom.  "Stay there Mommy!" he yelled from the bathroom.  Two minutes later he comes running back into the kitchen screaming "I did it, I did it!!  Mommy I went pee-pee in the potty come look!"  And sure enough, this time it was for real, empty the bladder pee-pee!  Yay!!  He was soooooo excited, I got a huge hug and he was full smiles.  It was awesome.  He right away wanted to dump the potty into the big toilet and give it a flush.  We washed hands and then he just had to call Anna to tell her the exciting news.  And she was so awesome!  She was so excited for him, and by the end of the call he was walking on air.

Isn't this the cutest dupa you have ever seen?!  

This is exactly what we both needed to know that he indeed was ready to do this.  I know this is only the beginning- but it is a great start and I am so proud of my Little Man.

First Gender Dream and Big Ultrasound Scheduled!!

So for the last two weeks or so I have been suffering with what I thought was just bad allergies, just to find out on Tuesday that was indeed a sinus infection- ugh!  I have been so congested and miserable.  Definitely not fun.  Thank goodness I was able to get some antibiotics from my doctor and today I am starting to finally feel like a real person again.  On Saturday night I went to bed feeling really bad. I popped two Benedryl and off to snoozeland I went.  And on came the wild dreams!

I had a dream that I was so sick I needed to go to the ER so I could have a chest x-ray.  While I was laying on the x-ray table, the technician told me, well since you are here do you want to see if we can tell the sex of your baby?  I of course said sure, and immediately the x-ray table became an ultrasound room.  She put the goop on my belly and started looking around.  All of a sudden she shrieks and says "Congratulations Mommy, you are having a little boy!".  And then i woke up.  It was such a vivid dream.... almost seemed real, aside from the magical changing of rooms and stuff. hahaha.

Well the great news is that we won't have long to wait!  I made the BIG APPOINTMENT to determine the sex of our little avocado.  We go in at 9:45 on Monday, June 14th! Only 10 days away!!!!  Yayyayayayay!   So what are all of your guesses?!!

Jackson is very excited about becoming a big brother.  Every day it changes as to which he would rather have, a baby sister or a baby brother.  Last night at the library he picked out a Berenstein Bears book,The New Baby and we have already read it 4 times today.  He loves how Mama Bear's tummy is big like mine.  And also how Small Bear loves becoming Brother Bear.  He said that Sister Bear was cute when she was a baby.

Jackson loves to tell us what he is going to teach the baby how to do when it is born.  At first it starts out serious and sweet.  Like "I am going to teach the baby not to spit out food." or "I am going to teach the baby how to line up cars and play with swords."  And then he starts to get silly...."Mommy, I am going to teach the baby not to eat hairdryers!"  And then he laughs and laughs.  Always the comedian. So far no real jealousy yet.  Wait and see Little Man, your life is going to change unlike you could ever believe!!!