I got to see .......

Baby Graham no middle name today!!! They were rechecking the placenta to make sure it had moved up and out of the way for delivery. It has moved up and I am officially cleared for a normal delivery. He is still a boy and weighed approximately 3 lbs 3 oz. I have some pictures but I don't know if I can post them from my phone. That's right, I'm all high tech with an iPhone now. Brent surprised me with one Christmas eve morning. I don't remember the last time I didn't pick out or buy my own present so it was a nice surprise! More on Christmas later. Pregnancy is going pretty good. I get some bad back and hip pain some evenings but that's the worst of it right now. The 10 week countdown starts next week! I have so much to do!

Christmas Photos

Another Month...

Has gone by since I blogged?! There's been a lot going on it seems and a lot of the same ol', same ol' too.

Pregnancy is going great. I feel a lot better than I did last time I blogged. Definitely tired but I'm not nearly as sore as I was. I'm pretty much par for the course compared to Logan and Nate. I had my doctors appointment yesterday. All is well. Baby's heart beat was 147. My blood pressure and measurements were fine. I passed my gestational diabetes glucose test. I finally gained back what I lost in the beginning. I am 25 weeks today. We have finally decided that Graham will be his first name. We are still stuck on a middle name, but it will probably be Chambers or some derivative of Johnson. We always use at least one family name, we just have to figure out which one.

We had a busy month of November. We had a football party towards the beginning of the month. We are slowly but surely starting to at least make acquaintances with other families. It went over really well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We went home the weekend before Thanksgiving. Laura flew in and while she was in we had her baby shower. It was a huge success and a lot of fun, and of course a little chaos and a crisis or two thrown in. We also had Thanksgiving dinner with Brent's family and my family. The next weekend was Black Friday. I truly felt the meaning of shop til you drop. I started at Fred's of all places at 5 a.m. and scored some rockers for our front porch. I can't believe that of all the deals, I was at Fred's when the doors opened. I went to Walmart Thanksgiving night trying to get some sheets and a picture frame set but after walking around, weaving in and out of people for nearly 2 hrs without finding the first thing I called it quits. I drove by Target to see if it was open yet. The line to get in was so long that I didn't even park, I just turned around and went back home. Friday I got to Joann's by 6:30 and I spent hours there. It was not crowded at all, surprisingly, and I dreamed and designed quilts in my head, got fabric cut for several other quilts for upcoming babies and for homemade holiday gifts. I had so much fun at Joann's. I think I ended up with 30 yards of fabric. Good thing it was only $1.49/yd before my coupon! I got one rag quilt done for one of Brent's grandmothers and another one half way done. I need more backing. I guess it's harder than I thought to calculate how much fabric I needed at 6:30 a.m., haha.

December is looking just as busy. This weekend we're going to Atlanta to visit Josh and Taylor. Saturday at noon we have tickets to have lunch, hayride and a train ride all with Santa at the Duluth railroad. Logan has been talking about riding Santa's train since we rode Thomas back in the Spring, so I'm sure he'll love it! Next weekend we are getting our family pictures taken. I always wait til the last minute and can never find a photographer, so we're just going back to Portrait Innovations to have them done. We're going early in the morning so hopefully everyone is still in a good mood and awake. The third weekend we're headed to Chattanooga to stay with Julie and go to Mama O's Christmas dinner. The next weekend is Christmas Eve. Brent may have to work just a little that morning, but then he's off the rest of the day, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas. Laura and Ben are flying in sometime Saturday, Brent's Mimi's Christmas Dinner is at 6:00 Christmas Eve night and then we have to get ready for Santa to come. Logan is all about Santa this year. It's so exciting to see the magic of Santa through his eyes. Santa even called him on the phone yesterday to see if he was being a good boy and told him he was sending reindeer to watch him. I've never seen such excitement on his face. He even talked to him too, I was surprised. He has asked for a big tractor that he can put keys in and drive, and that is exactly what Santa is bringing...although I'm not sure it requires keys. He's going to love it!

Update

I went to the OB last Wednesday. The placenta is just low lying and not considered previa. There's more than 90% chance that it will move up and out of the way for delivery as I stretch and get bigger. No restrictions or anything like that, luckily. We have an ultrasound Dec. 16 with the Cardiologist, then we have an ultrasound Dec 29th to recheck the placenta, then another ultrasound the first week of February to check baby's size and position. Whew, that's a lot of ultrasounds! Pregnancy is still going good but I'm definitely slowing down a lot faster than I did with the boys. Nate's pregnancy was easier than Logan's so I hoped I'd get lucky again, but my back and feet are already giving me trouble. It's nothing major at all, just more uncomfortable than I was with Logan and Nate by this point. We're still stuck on a name. I know what I want, but Brent is not sold yet. Maybe soon we'll be able to announce something.

In other news, Christmas music has made it's appearance in our house, via a little 3 year old. They have been learning Christmas songs at school for their Christmas program and apparently he's picking them up quickly! I'm excited about his program, it should be super cute! His program is Thursday, Dec 15 during school hours if anyone is interested in coming down for it. I took Logan to his first birthday party (other than his or Nate's). His buddies Frank and Jackson, who are twins, had their birthday party at Jumpin' Jax, which is a bounce house type place. He had an absolute blast with all his little classmates.

I'm starting to make a small dent in my "Homemade Holiday". Not near where I need to be, but something none-the-less. We really have way too many people that we buy for, but I guess that's just how it is! Logan is really excited about Christmas and Santa this year. He specifically want a big tractor. We're planning on getting him a John Deere tractor or gator. He is super duper excited to ride on Santa's train. I mentioned to him that Santa would be at the Railroad Museum with his train when we saw Thomas the Train back in the Spring and he remembers and asks about it all the time. There's not a time we can make the Polar Express in Chattanooga but I found a train ride with Santa in Duluth that happens to be on a weekend that we are visiting some friends in that area, so we're going to do that on our way there. He is going to love it!! Even better, it's not $30/ticket like the Polar Express train in Chattanooga! Whoohoo!

Nate is talking so much and if he can't say it he figures out how to communicate it. He goes to his high chair when he's hungry or to the fridge and points at it when he's thirsty. He drags me all over the house pointing at stuff he wants. He figured out a couple weeks ago how to stand on his own without pulling up on something. He walks 100% of the time now. He is a pro at crawling up the steps. His hair still sticks up on end unless I keep it girly long. He absolutely hates having his clothes or diaper changed. I thought Logan was bad about fighting for diaper changes, but I was wrong. There's absolutely nothing to use to distract him. Nothing works. I literally have to hold his shoulders down with my legs. It's horrible.

Logan apparently had a growth spurt last week. Last week his jeans fit. This week, they are high waters. I'm so glad I bought NEW jeans...from Children's Place....for him to grow out of in 4 weeks. Seriously. Good thing they were buy one get one free....bet I never find that sale again now that he needs them again. I expected him to wear holes in the knees and get grass stains. I did not expect him to outgrown them in a month. Maybe Santa will bring jeans too, haha.

Baby Bump

14 weeks


20 weeks

Ultrasound Pictures

Well...

Apparently, we're suppose to have a house full of boys. Baby #3 is definitely a boy. He weighs 12 ounces. I didn't see the Dr today but I did receive a call saying there were no abnormalities noted but I don't have a lot of other info. She didn't even let me watch while she was doing the scan and only went back when she was done to show me the face and boy parts and to get a couple pictures. The ultrasound tech did mention that I have some placenta previa. I don't know the exact degree yet but I have my regular OB appointment next week and hope to get more information then. Placenta previa means the placenta is touching or covering the cervix. I asked her if it was completely covering the cervix and she sort of hesitated and said "it's pretty darn close". I don't know if that means it's pretty darn close to covering it or it's just pretty darn close to my cervix. She did say she sees it a lot and they usually recheck it in 4-6 weeks and usually the placenta has moved. If it doesn't move I will have to have a c-section.

I just can't do a c-section. Not only will I feel completely ripped off of the birth experience but I'm down here by myself. From what I've read, the latest they will do a c-section with previa is 38 weeks. That's 10 days after Laura's baby is due if I'm able to wait that long. The goal is to make it to 36 weeks and usually includes a lot of bed rest. How am I suppose to recover from a c-section and take care of 3 babies down here all by myself or be on bedrest before baby comes? So let's hope this sucker moves....cause I don't really have the means to deal with the other option.

Why can't I ever go into a 20 week ultrasound and everything be completely normal? With Logan is was Down's markers, Nate possibly had a hole in his heart and now this. At least the baby is healthy so far.

Speaking of heart defects, they will send me to a pediatric cardiologist at 28 weeks to do an ECHO on the baby to make sure everything is ok.

We have absolutely no names in mind. There's hardly any other male family names we haven't used yet. Guess we better get to work!

As soon as I get Brent's phone to cooperate, I'll post pictures.

Belly Button

My belly button is about to pop. Dang it. That's the only thing I don't like about being pregnant. Haha. It seems to happen earlier and earlier each time. Otherwise I feel fantastic. I'm tired still, but otherwise I'm to the point where I feel better than I ever have, even not pregnant. Usually from here to 35 weeks I love every minute of it! Yay!! We go Thursday for our ultrasound and hopefully to confirm baby is a baby girl!! In the back of my head I keep thinking about how I'm going to feel or react if she turns out to be a he. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Logan's Well Check

Logan had his 3 year old well check today. He weighed a whopping 34 lbs, which is 73%. That is up from 24 lbs and only 17% last year. You have absolutely no idea how happy that makes me! He was 39 inches tall, but I feel that's not accurate because he wouldn't be still at all. That is 79%, down from mid 90's last year. The doctor said we couldn't ask for better growth and he's right on track. This is the first time Logan absolutely flipped out at the doctor. It started as soon as we walked in. Logan kept asking me if he was going to do the throat thing. He had a strep test recently and I guess it traumatized him. Then he wanted to look in his ears and that's when all hell broke loose. They pricked his finger, which took me and two nurses to hold him down and then came the shots. I thought there were no shots at 3, but they've started a new protocol with 2 boosters at age 3 to reduce the number of shots at age 4. I also got him the flu shot since we'll be having the new baby in the peak of flu season. I'm undecided on whether or not to get it for Nate. No flu vaccine has been tested or approved for under age 3, which kind of irritates me. Logan did manage to pee in a cup, which really surprised me!

Maybe baby girl?

So they are 95% sure we're having a girl!! I'm really excited and anxiously awaiting our next ultrasound next week but for some reason I just can't accept the fact that I might be able to have a girl too! I know it sounds crazy but I thought I was for sure made to only have boys. After all, I was never a girly girl growing up. I was a tom boy through and through. I played ball, fished with my daddy, worked with him in his work shop, had my own tool box and tackle box, rummaged around at the dump looking for things to take apart (I can't believe they let me do that!). But regardless, I so hope they are right and we get confirmation next week. I think having a girl will make our family so completely complete. Although I do have thoughts of a fourth already swimming through my head....Brent would surely kill me if I ever murmured it aloud.

Anyways, if baby girl truly is a baby girl her name will be Adeline Elizabeth. Probably Addie for short but Mom called her Addie Beth the other day and I can't seem to get it out of my head.

Pregnancy has been going great. I'm in the honeymoon stage where I'm not yet uncomfortable but over the initial morning sickness and most of my food aversions. The only complaint I have is occasional twinges in my sides from my muscles stretching out. I have a 14 week pic and I'm 18w5d today so I need to take another so I at least have one every month. After 24 or 25 weeks I usually start doing them more often.

Blog: In Bullet Form

I have so many things to blog about that if I made a different post about each, I'd be writing all night. My list of blog posts on my notepad keeps getting longer and longer, so I decided I'd just do this blog in list form, too. Hopefully soon I'll have enough time to sit and write about each of these things individually.

So, in random order...

1) Nate is walking! He started about 3 weeks ago, around 13.5 months and in the last week has mostly been walking full time.

2) We had a great time in FL. It rained mostly but we still got to sleep late, stay up even later and do adult things (although we couldn't help but automatically look for things the kids would enjoy!).

3)Logan has been on 2 field trips with school (pictures to follow in next post). They went to the pumpkin patch last week and to the fire station today. I went along to the pumpkin patch and Brent went to the fire station.

4) We went to Zoo Atlanta last week while Brent was off. Later Logan said his favorite thing at the zoo was the sheep in the petting zoo. We probably could have spent a lot less to pet a sheep somewhere else, haha. Pictures to follow.

5) We also went to Madisonville, TN to see Brent's grandmother. She was in good spirits and I think we made her year by visiting. She was so excited to see the boys.

6) We went to the GA National Fair last Friday. What an experience. Although Mom says I have, I don't remember ever going to a real fair before. This was the kind you see in movies with carnies, "the worlds largest rat" and "two headed snake" attraction, rides, animals, livestock shows, circus, etc. You name it, it was there. Again, pics to follow.

7) We had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and they are 95% sure baby is a GIRL!!! We go back next Thursday for our big ultrasound and hopefully to confirm.

8) Logan turned 3 today!! We went to Chuck E Cheese's Sunday, we went to Monkey Joes today, cupcakes, decorations and presents at home after dinner. Very laid back, special day for him. Pics to follow.

Nate's First Birthday Pics

Baby Nate

Baby Nate is growing up on me and I don't like it one bit!! He finally had his 12 month well check today. He weighs 22 lbs 13 oz, 67% and was somewhere between 31.5 and 32.25 inches. 31.5 inches is 80 %. The nurse measured him first with my help. He laid completely still and I helped her, so I felt confident that she got a good measurement. The doctor didn't want to believe that he'd grown that much in 3 months so he measured again and got 31.5 but Nate was squirmy and the doctor didn't let me help. I need to measure him on my own just to see. Regardless, it looks like he's going to be tall too. He's started letting go of the furniture the past couple days a lot more. He'll also let go and take a step before he sits down to crawl so it seems like walking will be here before we know it. I'm so surprised that he's not already walking so he can keep up with Logan but the doctor said most babies are just letting go for a couple seconds by 13 months and he's completely on track. He's started talking a lot more the past couple weeks too. He's starting pointing to stuff and saying "that", like what's that?. He waves and says bye bye. He is finally saying dada and he knows exactly who dada is. He also gets squeal happy when Brent comes home and can't get to him fast enough. It's so sweet to see how much they've bonded, especially since I stopped breastfeeding. He says Jade, hey, hello (while holding a phone or something the size of a cell phone to his ear), Mama, and the others I mentioned. He likes to wrestle Logan in the floor, be turned upside down, and be chased. He also likes to be attached to Mommy's hip so she can't get anything done around the house. He eats like a pig still and hopefully that will stick around. I did find out today that he doesn't care too much for fish sticks but in his defense they were pretty fishy tasting. He's getting pretty good with a spoon and not making nearly as much of a mess. He refused to let either of us feed him with a spoon anymore, so I save anything that can't be eaten with his fingers for dinner time so he can go straight in the bath tub and straight to bed. He is consistently sleeping through the night now, which is amazing. I just wish his big brother would catch on and do the same. During infancy I absolutely hated the fact that he wouldn't take a passy or a bottle but now that he can self soothe I'm so happy that I don't have to break him of those habits and maybe have the same issues I'm having with Logan. I want to blame the night terrors and frequent waking that Logan has on taking sassy away, since that's when it started, but who knows. Logan has had a couple good nights here lately so maybe it's slowing down.

My Little Cowboy

Logan's school had "Western Day" today so of course I had to make a costume. I used the excuse that he could also use it for Halloween so I didn't feel bad spending money on supplies for a costume for 3 hrs worth of fun. I still have to find a hopefully black or plaid button up shirt to wear under his vest and cowboy boots. Nate is going to be a little Indian for Halloween. I haven't even started on his yet. Brent gives me grief, but I'm going to make and coordinate their Halloween costumes as long as they let me. I hope to at least get one year in with all three of them coordinating.

He is doing so good in school and apparently is a popular little boy. Everyday in the hall another mom tells me that their child talks about Logan all the time. His bestest bud is Lauren. Her mom is the 3 year old teacher so she tells me almost everyday what Lauren said about Logan the day before. It's cute to hear about his friends and what they did that day. A couple of the moms have set up a play date for next Thursday after school at Burger King, so hopefully that goes well! Most of the moms seem like real moms and not the "always put together, perfect hair, makeup and clothes moms" so that's nice to see.

15 weeks

I'm 15 weeks today. Crazy, huh? Seems to be flying by! I've been feeling the baby move consistently for the last couple of days. I'm pretty much to the stage where I forget I'm pregnant. Taking Logan back and forth to school is keeping me busier than I thought it would and before I know it another week has gone by. I'm still pretty tired but I seem to be getting more and more energy as the days go on. We have a long list of possible baby names but have yet to narrow it down even just a little bit. I keep thinking I need to find a boys name and I completely disregard the girl list when I try to weed through them. When I was pregnant with the boys we always were settled on a girl name but not a boy when we found out the sex, so maybe since I really feel the urge to settle on a boys name that means it's a girl? I know, I know... that's really stretching it. In the beginning of the pregnancy I would have told you it was completely different, but now that i'm farther along it feels like both the others. Maybe I'm blessed with fairly easy pregnancies no matter what, or that means I'm having another boy? Gosh, I'm just tired of guessing. I just want to know. If we still lived in Athens I would go get a gender ultrasound now at one of the elective places because it was only around $40, but here it's $160, which just seems ridiculous.

I have a feeling being pregnant during the holiday season is going to make the pregnancy fly by. I have a schedule of my Homemade Holiday gifts that I have to complete each week in order to be done by Christmas which is already keeping me busier than I want to be. I should have started a long time ago. I had planned on it, it just never happened. But it's going to make time fly, I think. After Christmas I have to get the baby room ready and sew HER quilt, crib skirt and curtians. You know, all the stuff I never got done for Nate. I also want to make Elsie Ann a quilt (that's Laura's baby, by the way. She's having a GIRL!) and I want to sew for a good friend that is due two weeks before me as well. Brent agreed to get double doors for the office so I can turn it into my craft room. So I'll also be working on converting it after Christmas as well. Yay, I'll still have my sewing room!! Turns out I have a lot to get done before baby comes!

Well, well, well

I had my second OB appointment Wednesday. All my bloodwork came back fine and baby's heart beat was 162. My blood pressure was fine and they didn't mention my weight loss, other than to say "oh, you lost weight". I'm 13 weeks 1 day today. I feel fine most of the time. I'm still tired but it seems I'm starting to have more energy some days.

Logan has been wearing big boy underwear during the day for a week now. He's only had 2 accidents since last Friday and no accidents at school. He's gotten up a couple times at night to tell me he needs to potty but has only ended up completely dry once. I guess it just took him being ready to potty train and not on anyone elses time. I kind of felt like everyone thought I was slacking since he wasn't trained yet, but he just wasn't having it. He's doing good at school. I almost feel he needs to be in the next level up, but birthday/age wise he can't. He's just so much bigger and advanced than everyone else. This month their topics are apples, the color red and the nursery rhyme "1, 2, buckle my shoe". The only one of those he doesn't know is the nursery rhyme, but he knows how to count to 10, which is what that promotes. Even physically most of the other kids still look, talk and act like a baby. Maybe he does too and I don't see it or maybe i expect too much out of him....or maybe he's just a little ahead. His daddy was always smart, so who knows. He was super excited to bring Hoot (the class mascot) home with him this weekend. There's a little notebook with Hoot and the mom's have wrote about Hoot's adventures and even taken pictures. Poor Hoot won't have any pictures this week though. We went to feed the ducks and ride the tractors at the orchard and take pictures, but apparently my camera has decided to not work. I have the worst luck with electronics. He asked me last night to say the "God the Father" prayer, so if anyone knows of a children's prayer that says "God the Father" let me know. I have no idea what he's talking about other than the Apostles Creed, which says "I believe in God the Father" but I doubt they are teaching that to two year old.

Nate is doing great. He sleeps through the night most nights. His molars still haven't came through, but he seems to be dealing with it better. He's still eating like a little pig and even ate a couple boiled peanuts at the orchard today. He's added a couple more words. He'll point to the stove when I'm cooking and say "hot". And of course now that I'm trying to document it, I can't remember what else it is that he's saying.

Our friends, Josh and Taylor, came down last weekend to visit. We watched the UGA game here Saturday night. I cooked low country boil, sausage balls and fried pickles for us to pig out on. Sunday afternoon we went to lunch and to the Aviation Museum. For the first time ever, we completed the whole museum. Of course Logan and Jackson wanted to run through it so we didn't, and probably won't ever, get to read all the signs. We had a great time with our friends and miss them so much!

We're headed to Chickamauga next Saturday for a wedding. Laura is a bridesmaid, so she'll be in town. Excited to see her and her baby belly!! They found out today what they're having but it hasn't been officially announced to the whole family so I can't post it here yet. I can't wait for the news to be out!!

Oh Poor Blog

Oh poor blog, how I've deserted you for the last month.

I had my first OB appointment August 9th. Everything was perfect. We got to see #3 for the first time and her heart was just a fluttering away. Such a comforting sight to see....and scary at the same time, having a life live inside of me (AGAIN!!). I'm 12 weeks today. I've lost a lot of weight. In the two weeks before I found out I was pregnant I had lost somewhere around 8-10 lbs (I can't remember exactly). Once I found out I was pregnant, I stopped my diet and gained back a couple pounds. Since then I've lost an additional 9 lbs. I'm down 15 lbs total. I'm smaller right now than I was when I got pregnant with Logan. Sadly, I know that will not stick around for too much longer, haha. I'm feeling ok. I have a ton of food aversions. I can't stand the look of meat, much less cook with it. Poor Brent has been having many meatless meals, like corn chowder or pinto beans and cornbread. I can cook bacon and sausage this time around so we've had several breakfast for supper days. I absolutely want nothing to do with meat. I don't really have any nausea unless I've not eaten. I have to eat before I get hungry or I feel sick.

My main complaint is that I'm exhausted. Exhausted doesn't even describe how tired I am, not even remotely. Nate's molars are giving him a hard time so he's been waking up once a night where I have to go in an comfort him and he usually wakes up 1-2 more times and whines himself back to sleep. I don't have to get up those times but I still hear him in the monitor. Logan has had some sort of sleep issue since we took passy away back in February. Currently I believe he is having nightmares/night terrors. I also think he sleep walks and sleep talks. Sometimes he's sitting up in bed crying and seems awake but definitely isn't. Last night he fell asleep on the couch, I left him there so Brent could carry him up when he got home from work. Logan seemed to wake up, he even agreed to lay down so I could change his diaper and take him to bed. He looked a little wide eyed, but so does Brent when he wakes up from a dead sleep so I thought he was just tired. Apparently, he wasn't really awake because he jumped up as I was changing him, ran into the playroom (which is somewhat the path to our bedroom had he been in his bed) and was screaming for me. He kept saying his legs were hurting (I later figured out they had fallen asleep). He finally woke up and realized where he was and then was all confused and questioning why he was downstairs and not in bed. Gah. It was a 30 minute ordeal. At least I wasn't already in bed. A couple nights before that he woke up in the middle of the night and was beating on the gate on the stairs and yelling for me to open it for him and was very upset that I wouldn't. I'm not sure if he was awake or not that night. During nap time I hear him talking a lot, several times he's been crying. I go in to check on him and he's passed out. It's something every night. Most of the time I just have to carry him back to bed, but then he's up again in another hour or so. Several nights he's ended up in bed with us. I don't know what to do. I've tried a night light, door open, door closed, curtains open, curtains closed, fan on, fan off. Comfort items like his monkey pillow pet or dinosaur. His Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys. Letting Jade sleep with him (he wouldn't stop playing with her so she had to come out). I read somewhere that sometimes sleep apnea causes kids to wake often through the night. He doesn't snore though, which is a sign of sleep apnea. I'm going to ask the pediatrician about it at his well check, but that's another 6 weeks away. Oh my goodness, he's going to be 3 years old in 6 weeks!!

Nate is growing so fast. He's really starting to show his personality and be a little demanding. He gets super jealous if Logan is sitting in my lap and will literally try to push Logan off of me. Neither of them like sharing me at all. He eats pretty much anything except veggies. He ate a hard boiled egg off a salad I got at Applebee's the other day. He ate cottage cheese a couple days before that. He's a big fan of dairy and I'm having to give him apple juice every day to keep him from getting stopped up. He switched over to whole milk just fine. I didn't even have to mix it with formula. He doesn't care as long as it's in a specific cup. He's talking a lot more, but has only added "Jade" to his vocabulary. He repeats almost anything I try to get him to repeat. He follows commands really well. He pulled a toy out of the toy box while I was cleaning and getting ready for nap time. I told him to put it back...and he did!! I thought it was just coincidence so I tried it again with something else later in the day and he did it again. He's done it most every time since then too. He's not walking yet, but as soon as he does he's going to take off running. He's really fast when crawling and can run in his walker. He chases Logan around the house in his walker and it's quite hilarious. Logan is afraid he's going to run over his toes, which doesn't feel good at all, and Nate thinks it's so fun to torture his brother. Nate is starting to pay Logan back for all the torture over the last year. Logan will be sitting in the floor watching TV or playing with a car and Nate will crawl over as fast as he can and tackle him. Nate growls when he wrestles in the floor with Logan or when he attacks a pillow. It's so cute.

The boys both started "school" the first week of August. Nate goes 1 day a week from 9-12 and Logan goes 3 days a week from 9-12. Logan loves it. Nate couldn't care less. He's such a laid back baby. A lot of the kids are crying at the door or hanging onto their mom's leg but Logan runs right in and doesn't even look back or wave bye. Next week he gets to be the class helper, which means we provide snacks for the week and he gets to be the line leader and gets to bring the class mascot (an owl) home with him and record the owls adventures in a journal.

Logan is doing really well with potty training and I think we are almost there. He has been wearing underwear (which he calls panties, hahahahaha) and shorts for the past two days and hasn't had an accident....but he's been holding his BM for those days too, so we'll see where that takes us. I plan on taking him out of the house this weekend in just his "panties" and see how he does and hopefully start going to school on Tuesday without diapers!!

Sorry this got so long! Hopefully I won't neglect blogging as much once I get some energy back. As soon as my computer is fixed, I'll post pics from Nate's birthday party.

Oh.My.Gosh.

While I was talking to Laura on the phone I noticed Logan was filling up cups of ice and putting it in a pot in the kitchen floor. I assumed he was "cooking" something like he normally does. But instead......he peed in the pot! OMG! I guess that's officially his first "accident" although it was no accident at all.

He's doing really good with peeing in the potty but he's yet to poop. He either holds it til he gets his night time diaper on or he poops outside. He has absolutely no shame in pooping outside and letting Jade eat it, but he acts like sitting on the potty is the worst possible thing. At least his aim is good and I'm not having to clean the bathroom everytime he goes...

Update

I'm 7.5 weeks today. No nausea for two days now, so maybe it's starting to get better. I am extremely tired though. Taking care of two kids, one of which is still an infant, is exhausting in itself....then add in pregnancy tiredness. It's a whole new level of tired I've never experienced before. Nate has decided to sleep at night now, but now Logan is getting up every couple of hours. I swear...if it's not one, it's the other! Logan has a little bit of a cold and the rest of a 2 year molar trying to come in, so I'm hoping that is whats wrong.

Brent and I are headed to Minnesota, along with Nate, on Thursday morning to see Laura and Ben. The boys are going to have man time while me, Laura and baby Nate shop til we drop....and since we're both pregnant that probably won't last more than a couple hours before we need a nap! haha.

Did ya'll know Laura is PREGNANT!?!?!?!? She is due February 20th. The day before my birthday and 3.5 weeks before #3. Soooo excited for her and Ben!!

Ahhhh...

This nausea has got to go away!!! I was never this nauseous with the boys. I have been constantly nauseous for at least a week now. I'm not throwing up but I feel like I could any minute. Maybe that means it's a girl?? Hopefully it doesn't mean twins, like Logan keeps insinuating. A couple days ago he was talking about the babIES in Momma's belly and he pointed to one side and said "there's a girl here" and then he pointed to the other side and said "and there's a girl here, too". He's referred to the baby in my belly as "babies" several times. I hope he doesn't have some kind of intuition! I don't need a psychic almost 3 year old on top of twins, haha.

My morning sickness ended with Logan at 7w2d and with Nate at 8 weeks. So hopefully I'm almost over this phase. I'm 6w3d today. I feel so worthless and like the worse mom and wife on the planet. The house is definitely suffering and so is meal time. I can't even cut up Logan a hot dog without gagging. Poor kids and Brent.

Momma's Boy

Nate is a Momma's boy, through and through. I thought now that he's taking formula I might just get a full nights sleep once every couple of weeks. Brent has tried and tried to get up with him but Nate absolutely REFUSES to take his sippy from him. He pitches the biggest fit. Last night it went on for 30 minutes before I had to go in there. As soon as I sat down with him, he chugged it down. He also absolutely refuses to hold his sippy and feed himself if I'm anywhere around. If I'm on the floor or sitting on the couch and he wants a drink, he brings it over, throws it in my lap, climbs or pulls up in my lap and puts the sippy in my hand. He can hold it by himself if he thinks I'm not looking. Silly boy. I love that he loves me that much, but I wish he'd let Daddy do something for him every now and then! Logan was always very independent and wanted to do everything himself. Nate is the complete opposite. Funny how different their personalities vary.

My Boys

Nate is learning so much, oh so fast these days! He is pointing to everything he wants. I didn't think babies started pointing til around 15 months? But maybe I'm wrong. He is surfing the furniture with ease these days. He took one step to Brent the other day but hasn't attempted it again. He occasionally accidentally lets go of the furniture and stands on his own, but when he realizes what he's done he falls down. He likes to play rough with Brother and Daddy. He says Mama, hey and ut oh and knows what they mean. He started saying bye bye the last couple days but I don't think he understands what it means yet. We can tell him to wave bye bye or hi at someone and he usually does it without us having to show him to wave. At restaurants, stores or where ever he waves and says hi to everyone that walks by. I thought he was going to be my shy, reserved one! He is taking formula so much better. I was really curious as to why my milk disappeared, but I guess we have that figured out now! Apparently pregnancy dried me up. It was a rough struggle that usually ended up with me in tears every night trying to get him to sleep without boob, but it's over now. I hate that he had to go through that. It's amazing how dependent babies can become on certain routines and things. It was like he was a newborn again and we were both trying to figure everything out. He is sleeping so much better on formula, go figure, but I'm not necessarily upset about that!!

Logan is officially in the "terrible twos". He has one heck of an attitude that we're trying to curb. Hopefully we can get a handle on it soon. I'm about to start some hardcore potty training (again). The treasure box is/was a massive fail. Reward systems just do not work for him, for anything not just potty training. Consequences don't seem to work either. He couldn't care less if I "throw away" his toys for not picking them up. He even tells me to throw them away because he doesn't want to pick them up. Before too long all his toys are going to be hidden in garbage bags in the garage! If I threaten a spanking, he tells me to go ahead and spank him. I just don't get it! He is definitely asserting his independent about a lot of things and usually wants to do everything himself....from putting on his clothes to buckling his carseat. He is finally using pronouns and is not referring to himself in the third person quite as much. Yesterday he hurt his leg and said "I hurt myself" instead of "hurt Logan" or "hurt Logan's leg". He does stutter a lot. I don't know if that's part of the toddler stage or not. It's like he's trying to think of what to say and put the words together in his head, but instead of doing it mentally in his mind, he's also saying it aloud. He's proven to be quite the little athlete hitting the ball off the tee. Brent has been showing him how to hold the bat and how to stand. He makes contact every time left handed but his instinct is to hit right handed. He's not nearly as coordinated on the right. He always colors with his left hand but we'll see if he changes that up. I think it's pretty common for toddlers to use both hands equally. I'm sure he'll get it all straightened out soon.

Surprise, Surprise

Baby #3 is on HER way!! We weren't expecting to have a third quite this soon, but apparently there are other plans for us! I'm kind of relieve that making the decision to have 3 was taken out of my hands! After getting over the initial shock, I'm actually really excited. Maybe third time is a charm to get a baby girl!!

I seem to be a little more nauseous earlier than with the other two. I got pretty car sick yesterday too. I already have to unbutton my pants when I'm sitting down because they cut into me too much although I haven't gained weight and I already feel like I'm sleeping on a rock if I lay on my stomach. I hear it comes with the territory of having 3 and I'm guessing it also comes with being pregnant more than not for 3 years or so. I felt all this early with Nate, too, but it was more around 8-9 weeks. I'm 5w3d, by the way. Tiredness has not kicked in yet, but I'm already experiencing my insomnia that I had with both boys.

Hopefully none of my symptoms get any worse and I'll start feeling better soon!!

End in Sight

At least I think it is!! I stopped breastfeeding Nate throughout the day on Friday. He is still nursing before bed and if he wakes through the night. I was somewhat sensing there may be an issue with my supply since the bout of mastitis I had a couple months ago. He always seemed hungry and his diapers weren't as wet. I blew it off as him starting his clingy/separation anxiety phase and the diapers on it being summer and me needing to up his water. But I kind of think my supply never really recovered. I've not had any problems with feeling full or engorgement, which I should have seeing as I dropped at least 4 feeding at once. He is sleeping SOOOOOOOOOOO much better. The first night he cried for a few minutes around 2:00 a.m. but went right back to sleep and didn't wake up til Logan got up. Every night since then it seems like he's been up once. There is definitely a huge gap between wakings now and I'm feeling so much more rested. He's been resisting his sippy before bed, so I'm giving him time to adjust and hoping he'll want his sippy over the boob soon like Logan did. He did take a little from his sippy before bed tonight though, so maybe we're heading in the right direction. I don't want to be completely weaned before 12 months, but at this point it's kind of up to him.

I tried giving him whole milk a couple days before, but it gave him diarrhea. He got hold of Logan's milk today and has had more diarrhea, so apparently he's not ready for cow milk yet. I've been using formula instead which he seems to take well and has no GI issues from. I don't remember the transition from formula to milk being too difficult with Logan, so hopefully Nate will be just as easy.

So now, on the off chance that I get to do something without the kids, I don't have to take Nate with me or time my outing to a 2 hr window! Hip hip hooray for a tiny bit of freedom!!!

I'm so proud of you Mommy!!!

A couple weeks ago, when I met Mom in Atlanta to get Laura, I was just getting over a stomach bug. Just south of Atlanta, it hit. I had to go to the bathroom RIGHT THEN! So I pulled off at the first exit I see. Once I'm off the interstate, I see a sign letting me know that I had taken the MLK exit. Now, I don't know about ya'll, but to me MLK is the absolute worst place to stop and use the bathroom. Luckily there was a mall area nearby and the first place I see is a Subway. Logan is asleep, Nate had just woke up. I park and hurry to unload both boys. Logan, of course, has taken his shoes off, so I have to wrestle with him to get his shoes on. I scoop up Nate and drag Logan as fast as I can to the restroom in the back of the restaurant. I have to hold Nate while I use the bathroom, because there's no way in hell I'm sitting him on a public bathroom floor. I give Logan all the usual instructions of DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, even the sink. It was very difficult to get my pants up and fastened holding Nate, so the only possible solution is to open up my purse as far as I can and sit him in it. I then wrap my legs around him as tight as I can so he can't escape, just so I can pull my pants up. Finally, we're done. Success. No injuries, no dirty pants, etc. Just as we're leaving the restroom and shutting the door. Logan proceeds to tell me in his loudest, happiest voice "I'm so proud of you mommy, you pooped! Good job, you pooped in the potty". THE WHOLE WAY OUT OF THE RESTAURANT!!! Talk about embarrassing!! I just lowered my head, didn't look anyone in the eye and hightailed it out of there as fast as I could, all while trying to get Logan to stop talking.

Oh, the things toddlers will say....

Cape San Blas, FL

Almost 2 weeks back from vacation and I'm just now posting about it. Oops!!

We had a great time at the Cape. It is extremely laid back and seriously in the middle of nowhere. We didn't even have cell phone service most of the time. This is the kind of place where you go if you want to spend all day, every day, at the beach....because there is NOTHING else to do. So, that's what we did. We spent most of everyday at the beach. One day we went exploring down to Mexico Beach and the small towns in between, but that was about it. All in all, we had a great time, but I don't think it's a place we will go to again. At least not for a whole week. I think we need a little more civilization and something else to do. Even a putt putt coarse or something would have been welcome. We didn't find any good seafood, but on the last night a local walking down the beach started talking to Brent and we learned we should have been going into Appalachicola instead of Port St. Joe to eat. On Wednesday we broke out the fishing pole and caught a bunch of fish. Mostly catfish, but also some other small fish (no idea what they were). We night fished a couple times while Laura listened for the kids to wake up, which was a lot of fun. I think just getting adult time was fun, even if the fish weren't biting...but they were, so that made it even better! At night we enjoyed the company of our friends, Josh and Taylor, with some cold beverages and a deck of cards. I really enjoyed the evenings after the kids went to bed; laughing, telling stories, etc. Nate was sick for several days. He had a fever for 3 days and then a rash for 2 days following the fever. He was just not himself at all. He absolutely hated the sand and wasn't really a fan of the water either. He did fine in Hilton Head, so I guess being sick is what made him dislike it this time around. Laura was a huge help and I swear I'm never going on vacation without her again!

Here's some pics. Enjoy!! Sorry there's so many!

Well Check

Nate had his 9 month well check today (1 mth and 1 wk late). Just as I suspected, he's perfect ;) He weighed 19 lbs even (25%) and 29 inches long (50%). My chunky long baby is now skinny and average height. The only surprise we got is that he has thrush in the back of his mouth. He had a fever and rash for a couple days on vacation and the Dr said that probably upset the balance in his system. She prescribed us both stuff to get rid of it. Luckily I have no signs, but it spreads easily so they treat both baby and mom just in case. 7 weeks left of breastfeeding! Yay!

In other news, Nate now waves and claps. Laura and I stopped at the outlet malls on the way back from meeting mom to get her. A cashier waved at Nate and he waved back. Seriously, Baby Nate?? You wave at a cashier when I've been trying to get you to wave at me for MONTHS now??

We had a great time on vacation! I'll be posting about it soon.

It's working!!!

Nate only woke up once last night. He didn't stir or whine at any other time! Problem is, I seem to not be adjusting to his new schedule as easily. I laid awake for a while last night, I guess in anticipation of him waking at his normal times. I hope I adjust soon!!

I did get enough sleep that I'm skipping nap time today to sew. I'm making the kids a "Bag-o-Tricks" for the car ride to the beach. Just a cinch bag with their favorite things. For Logan I made sock puppets, a lap board covered with felt and I redneck laminated some stickers with layers of packaging tape and am adding velcro so he can make little scenes or whatever on the felt. Also some letters with velcro. I've also made him a crayon roll and adding a note book so he can draw. For Nate I'm going to add his favorite hand toys and hoping to make some felt and crunchy toys for him to explore. I'm also adding their favorite snacks and sippy. I'm trying to hide it all from Logan beforehand so it's all new and undiscovered so he's more interested in them. It's only a 5 hr trip, but if our 4 hr car ride home is any indication, it will probably take more like 7 hrs with stops for the boys to get out and stretch. I'm hoping my "Bag-o-Tricks" makes the stops a little less frequent. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm making it instead of buying? Well, I just wanted to see if I could...and use up some of my stockpile of craft supplies.

SLEEP!!

Seems like there *might* be a little sleep in my future!! I've been a mean mommy and have been letting Nate cry it out at night. I'm SOOOO over getting up and nursing every 1-2 hrs. Yes, no exaggeration...EVERY ONE TO TWO HOURS!!! Two nights ago is when I started it. He got up at his usual 9:00, 10:00 AND 11:00. When he got up at midnight I was officially done and let him cry. I went in after 10 minutes and talked to him but didn't pick him up and walked out. I planned on going back in 20 minutes but he was calming down by then and I was afraid I'd rile him up by going in, so I waited. By 30 minutes he was asleep!!! But he got up at 2 am and I didn't feel like fighting so I fed him. 2:00, 4:00 and again at 6:00. Ugh. So last night I said NO MORE! He stirred at 12 but went right back to sleep. He woke up again at 2 and 3 but went right back to sleep. At 4:00, it wasn't happening so I finally gave in a fed him. He slept all the way to 7:15 without waking. So I'm hoping tonight he either sleeps to 4 or only stirs and puts himself back to sleep all night. I'll wean him off the 4:00 feed in the next couple weeks as he adapts more to soothing himself to sleep and doesn't need his "pacifier" anymore. He can go 4+ hrs during the day, so there's no way he's hungry that much! He's also been putting himself to sleep for nap and at bed time for a while now, so that's been a stress relief too. Cross your fingers this works!!!

Priceless Moments #1

So I keep forgetting to write down the funny things that are said in the house, but here's a couple that I did manage to document.

"Don't squeeze it and stretch it like that, the pee pee won't come out" Oh potty training, how I HATE you. Brent was trying to help Logan potty and this is what I hear come out of the bathroom. hahaha

"I got boogers momma". Logan is getting increasingly difficult to put down at night. I'm not sure what's going on, but on this particular night, he'd used every ploy in the book to get me to come back to his room. On the final trip I told him no more, he needs to go to sleep by himself like a big boy. As soon as I shut the door he starts screaming that he has boogers. Turns out he really did, but that's definitely one he's never used before.

"Amens" "Now I lay me down to sleep, amen". When we first started praying before bed with Logan, Logan called prayers "amens". The day after we first started I heard him at nap time repeating "now I lay me down to sleep, amen" over and over and over. Now he won't say the prayer with us, but he says AMEN at the end like he's so proud of himself. He melts my heart.

Sippies!!!

All this time I've been buying bottles and soft spout sippies for Nate....and you know what it took to get him to take something? A hard spout. Are you kidding me?! Really? Do you know how hard it was to get Logan to take a hard spout? And Nate took one like it was nobodies business.

So, I've been hoping and wishing and praying he'd take something so I could wean, but now that he can, I'm thinking....Holy crap noooo! I have about 8-10 weeks left. He'll be one in 10 weeks. Gosh, time flies. So, I'm thinking I'll use it for convenience now and maybe after vacation (2 weeks) start dropping feeds over the next 8 weeks so he's fully weaned around his birthday. I can still say I breastfed for a year and he can wean onto whole milk, then I won't have to deal with that whole transition in just a few months too.

Speaking of my maybe last baby growing up. He got a new car seat the other day. He looks like such a big boy in it :( He seems to have adjusted just fine and really couldn't care less. We went to Steak N Shake yesterday after church. Kids eat free on weekends, so I went ahead and ordered Nate a meal. Why not, it's free, right? He got mac-n-cheese and applesauce. He ate 99% of it. I couldn't believe it! He also ate a couple bites of Logan's grilled cheese and part of a pack of oyster crackers. Boy can EAT! He's definitely going to be the eater of the family. He can already put away more than Logan.

Did you see where I said "maybe last baby"? Yeah, I know I've said I want a house full...but right now I'm done. We may revisit it in a year or so. At this point with Logan we already knew when we were going to start trying again. You know what my reservation is? It's not being pregnant or birth, I love, love, love those things and would be pregnant or having a baby all the time if I could...It's the first year. And more specifically about the first year, breastfeeding. It is sooooo demanding. If I didn't feel that I must breastfeed, I think I'd be pregnant again already. It seems like all my struggles and stress revert back to it. Sucks right? I need to stop being so hard on myself and having such standards set in my mind. Oh and the thought of 3 under 4. Wow.

Almost there....

We're almost there...to a year of breastfeeding!! I can't believe it. Did I actually do it? Almost, at least. Don't get me wrong, if he'd let me quit anytime in the last 3.5 months I gladly would have. But I'm also really proud of myself for not officially losing my mind in the process. There's still time for that to happen and I teetering on the edge, but so far so good!!

Neighbor

The neighbor's husband is back!! And she hasn't had the baby yet. Bless her, I'm sure that was a rough time with him gone. It looks like it's time for several military families to be transfered. At least two families are packing up on our street. I'm anxious to see who moves in across the street. Hopefully someone with small children!

Day Out With Thomas

Did I Just Say That?

So, I'm sure this will come as a monthly installment as I'm going to start writing down the funny things I say to the boys and/or the funny things they say.

There's only two that I can think of for now, but I'm sure they will get funnier and more interesting the older they get.

1. "No, no. We don't tickle pee pees." The boys had just got out of the tub. Nate always tries to roll all over when I'm getting his diaper on and/or dressed. He was getting upset so I asked Logan to help me keep him content by tickling him. Logan was saying "tickle belly, tickle belly" while tickling Nate's belly, making him laugh. Then out of no where he says "tickle pee pee" and tries to tickle Nate's pee pee. Boys and their obsession with their wieners.

2. "No, only mommy can feed baby Nate with her boobies." Logan and I were in the shower. He gets a big glob of shaving cream (he thinks it's soap) and says he's going to wash his boobies. Then he proceeds to tell me that he wants to feed Nate with his boobies. HAHAHA.

And one from Logan. Brent was singing a song. Logan starts yelling "enough daddy". When Brent asks him why, Logan said "that's terrible daddy".

Our Babies

Our babies are growing way too fast!!

Nate is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything now. For a few weeks he would army crawl on hard surfaces, like the tile and hardwood, but crawl on his knees on the carpet and rug, but now he's on all fours all the time. He's a fast little booger too! A couple days ago I had him upstairs doing laundry. I lost sight of him and started searching. I found him in their bathroom, pulled up on the side of the tub trying to reach a bar of soap that he dropped in the bottom. Before I could get to him he toppled over head first in the tub. After I got him out and calmed down, I realized that he not only got hold of the soap but had bit a chunk out of it too. He was making the worst faces while trying to spit it out! No wonder that worked for kids with smart mouths! Today he followed me in the bathroom (cause we all know that peeing alone is out of the question), pulled up on the tub and was trying to hike his leg over to get in. Obviously, he loves bath time. Needless to say, I'm having to keep the bathroom doors shut and the toilet lids down. Ahhh, child proofing...gotta love it! Another one of his favorite things is to crawl over and try to eat the rocks in the fireplace. For now I have the couch pillows stacked in front of it, but I'm sure that won't last for long. The poor dog has to be fed outside now so he doesn't get her food and bless her heart, her favorite water bowl (the toilet) has also been cut off from her.

Nate has finally started babbling and making different sounds and words. He says mama a lot. He copies me saying boo when we play peak a boo. He's also pulling my hands (or whatever we're using) away when we play peak a boo. We're still working on clapping and waving. He'll watch me forever with a look on his face like I'm crazy but has yet to wave or clap. Silly boy. He follows Logan around everywhere and tries to play with all his toys, much to Logan's demise. Nate seems to be growing into his chunkiness and is slimming down quite a bit. He really long, too. He goes for his well check in a couple weeks, so I'll update with his stats then.

Logan is growing like a weed. I swear he grows an inch a week. He's using more connective words in his sentences (I have no idea if that's the right term, I should probably ask Callie or Laura J). Instead of saying "hurt knee", he says "I hurt my knee". He's the sweetest, loving little boy and has learned how to use it to his advantage. He'll say "I love you this much mommy (with his arms stretched out), can I have cookie??". He loves playing outside in the sprinklers and the mud they create. He gets 3-4 showers a day, and no I'm not exaggerating. He has to go in the tub every time he comes inside because he's covered with one thing or another. Most days he goes out after breakfast, I have to fight him to come in for nap, then out again after lunch and sometimes stays out til dinner time or Brent gets home, and then he sometimes goes out again after that. He loves it out there, and quite honestly, I love it too! He's using his imagination a lot and it's the funniest thing to watch. He pets imaginary cats, catches and eats (don't ask me!) imaginary birds, cows live in our downstairs bathroom. He has a baby doll that mom got him when Nate was born. The baby's name is either Nate, Ryker or Jake depending on the day. (Ryker is Brent's coworkers son that I watched for a couple hours once, Jake is my friend Taylor's baby who is just a little older than Nate). The baby sometimes gets diapers and he rocks him to sleep and pretends to feed him crackers or whatever crumb he finds laying around. He sometimes takes baby on car rides in his cozy coupe, down the slide and gives him a bath. He also does all this with his stuff animals, particularly the laughing stuffed monkey, but the monkey doesn't have a name...he's just "monkey". He's become Mommy's little helper and insists on helping put clothes in the washer, folding the wash clothes (which he's really good at), dish towels and anything else square-ish in the laundry. He helps me clean the windows and the tables, sometimes a little too much. I gave him an empty spray bottle with water in it and he's been cleaning his outside toys all day. He's getting better with Nate, although he does get pretty angry when Nate wants to play with something Logan is playing with. He helps me keep up with him and tells me when he's getting into something he shouldn't.

I cut out a lot of sugar in his diet and I can see an improvement in his behavior. He's still extremely hyper and busy but he has fewer temper tantrums and isn't literally bouncing off the walls. He's a lot easier to reason with and easier to calm down. In particular, I stopped buying fruit snacks. Not only are they absolutely nothing nutritionally, they are pure sugar. A couple weeks ago I bought a box after not having any for a while. He ate a pack and was literally running and bouncing off the wall, then to the couch, back and forth. It was amazing the difference in his behavior after just one pack of fruit snacks. I also started using sugar free syrup on his pancakes and generally get any sugar free version of anything he eats if it's available. Natural sugar, like the sugar in 100% apple juice, doesn't seem to make a difference, but refined sugar, like in apple juice cocktail, sugary drinks, I can definitely tell a difference. I'm still in the process of finding options, so he does get some sugar, but he's definitely doing better. He loves animal crackers, pop tarts, etc. which all have sugar but even the small amount I cut out has made drastic changes. I'm really glad the temper tantrums are not as frequent.

Mother's Day Out ended a couple weeks ago. The director and his teacher always praised the boys for being so happy and Logan for minding and listening. It's nice to have someone else compliment the boys. Makes me feel like I'm doing something right! Logan starts their pre-K2 program in August and Nate will continue Mother's Day Out in August as well.

Hilton Head Weekend

We decided to take a short trip to Hilton Head this weekend. Our good friends, The Bottoms, were also able to make it down.

We arrived on the island around 1:00 Saturday. The sun was out in full force while we ate lunch, but once we headed to the beach it was windy and cold. We packed up soon after we made it to the beach and went back to our room to get ready for dinner. We ate at a place called Skull Island Boathouse. My cousin, Carrie, recommended it to us and she was spot on. Great food and a fantastic atmosphere and really kid friendly. We ate on a huge picnic table right next to the water and the kids had enough room to run around and play while we waited on our food. They even had corn hole, sidewalk chaulk and hoolahoops. That evening we headed back to our hotel for some pool side fun. Logan, Tristyn and Jackson seemed to really enjoy the pool. Logan was even brave enough to jump off the side, as long as Daddy was there to catch him.

The next morning we headed to the beach for a fun filled day of sun and sand! The weather was perfect. Mid 80's, good breeze (so good we couldn't get our tent to stay up) and of course good friends! The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, looking for starfish and playing in the water. Logan was terrified of the water. I hope he gets over it when we go on vacation. Both the boys did great on the beach. Nate even enjoyed splashing in the water. When it was nap time for Nate and Jake we just loaded them up in the stroller and went for a walk and it did the trick. Nate only had 1 nap and Logan didn't nap at all and they were both still decent at dinner. Logan needed some special attention and wasn't being as good as usual, but considering he hadn't napped he was great. Brent and I are both fried. I lathered up with 30 spf at least 3 times and I'm still burnt to a crisp. It always happens, so I don't know why I'm surprised. Luckily Nate is not burnt at all and Logan just has a little bit of sun on his arms. We headed back home around 8:00 and arrived back around 11:30. We are worn out today, but it was so worth it.