Big Boy Room!

We got Brady's big boy room all put together this last weekend, but I am just now getting around to posting it. Brady loves it, He says, "I be so happy!"

(Side note, I am starting to hate my camera. Anyone know how to take good pictures on a not so good camera? I know that you get what you pay for, but the blurryness is starting to depress me. And how can I do my precious children justice with blurry pictures? I am going to start saving my pennies for a good camera!)

Putting together his bunk beds

 Acting silly

Beds all put together. I should be done with the quilts for his bed in the next two weeks.  

 He loves the top, and sneaks up there to sleep at night.

 He has a new dresser, and a spot for some of his toys.

 Under the window, next to the bed are his books

It is such a small room, we really did not think about how much space kid's things take up when we bought our house.  It is hard to do much with, but he likes it, and I think it looks good also. So relieved that he loves to sleep in his bed, and he no longer sleeps on the floor. Grandma you were right, I guess we should have bought him a big boy bed a long time ago!  

baby update - 32 weeks

I have not given a baby update in awhile, and I had a doctors appointment today, so I thought it was time to let you all know how baby is doing. Only 7 weeks 6 days or 55 days left!

Here is a pic of a baby at 32 weeks

 

Baby is great! Heart rate was 137 beats per minute which is strong and perfect. Baby is head down and in good position. Still high and not dropping down yet, which is great with me, even though my ribs would disagree. I am definitely not ready for baby, so it can stay up there for awhile. My blood pressure is low as always, and my glucose test came back perfectly. Perfect pregnant lady lately!

I have been feeling great! A few weeks ago I was feeling super run down and tired, but the past few days I have felt great and energized. I am getting a lot of stuff done, and each thing off my list is just better and better. Tonight my back hurts, but it always does after mopping, even when I am not pregnant.

The only thing I am not completely happy with is my weight gain. I kind of obsess over it a bit, but it is important to me that both baby and I are healthy. So far I have gained 22.5 pounds. This morning the doctors scale was 6 pounds higher than our scale! I have chosen to ignore their scale. (Funny story: When pregnant with Brady I got on the doctors scale and the number seemed way high. I freaked a little and told the girl there was no way that was right. I made her take me to another scale, and of course it was the same! I am sure she thought I was crazy, but thankfully she was a sub for the regular MA who was on maternity leave, and I never saw her again.)  I really only wanted to gain 25 pounds this pregnancy, but it looks like I may gain a bit more. With Brady I was about 32 pounds, so if I can keep it under 30 that would be great.

Two weeks until my next appointment, which is a quick one like today. Then two more weeks, and I start getting checked to see if I am dialating. After that I have an appointment each week until baby comes, only 3 or 4 times! The next two weeks will be busy, and fly by, and after that we will be super close! Very exciting. Cannot wait to meet this sweet baby, and get to know everything about it!

Smarty Pants

Brady has shown us how smart he is recently and I thought I would share some videos with you. Here are a few things he can do.

- He can say his ABC's, and is quite good at it. Sometimes he likes to sing them super fast.
- He can identify most of his letters. If you give him a choice of 2 letters and tell him to point to one, and then the other he gets it every time. Asking him what a letter is, and then he has to think of it out of thin air is much harder for him.
- He can count to 15, sometimes he can go higher.
- He can identify most numbers
- He knows all of his colors
- He knows most shapes, but all basic shapes
- He knows all animals, and thier noises. He even corrected his Nana the other day when she said something was a bird, he said, "No, that's a parrot."

We are so proud of our smart little boy. He does many things to impress us each day. One is his ability to climb anything, even the highest park rope ladder. Another is the fact that he can legitimately beat me at the memory card games. I am convinced that you lose your short term memory as you age, or maybe while you are pregnant. He always remembers where the cards are when I have long forgotten. Also, Brady does lessons on how to use your ipad if needed. Seriously, he can work Jeremy's ipad better than I can!

In this first video Brady puts on quite a show, but gets a little shy toward the end.

Brady's ABC's from Melissa Yeats on Vimeo.
In the second video Brady is getting tired of performing, and a bit ornery.

Brady's ABC's 2 from Melissa Yeats on Vimeo.

Baby Needs

I have been asked a few times what else the baby needs. And I seriously had to think hard to come up with a few things. Because we were so blessed with Brady, and we got so much, we have pretty much everything already. We got pretty gender neutral things with Brady so that boy or girl this time we are set. Of course there are some things I would love to have, but we can certainly live without. Here is a little list I have gathered of things we want or need

• Diapers - I try to buy a pack each time I have a coupon, but I have so many pregnant friends that I give them all away as part of their presents. I love Pampers swaddle diapers. They even smell like new baby.
• Double stroller - This is a need. Brady still needs a stroller at the zoo or mall, but he likes to walk a lot too. We have decided on the sit and stand because Brady barely sits in his stroller as it is. Generous Grandma has promised us this as a gift, and I am so very thankful.  

• Girl Clothes- This one is obvious. At this point I have 2 baby girl sleepers, and one outfit that I bought today at Costco, because it was just too cute. If this little one is a girl we will be needing to do some serious shopping.
• Moby wrap - I always wanted one of these for Brady, but I mostly used the baby bjion, so I never got one. With this baby, I will need more hands free baby wearing options, so I really want this. I loved being a baby wearer with Brady, but it was not a necessity like it will be with this one.  

• Car Mirror - Brady had a super fun car mirror that we over used, it is still in the car on his side. I really liked how I could see him, even though he was rear facing, with the mirror. So I really hope to get another one of these.  

• Hangers - Brady's are all being used at the moment, so we will be needing a few more baby sized hangers.
• Night Light - Brady still sleeps with his night light, and has been through a few. Middle of the night feedings were perfect because I could have enough light to see, and I would not need to turn on bright lights and then fully wake up.  
• Wash cloths - After 3 years it may be time to retire Brady's washcloths and get baby some new ones.
• Hooded Towels - This is actually for Brady. He still likes the hooded towels, but the baby ones are too small. I plan on  making some for both the kiddos.... someday.  
• Bumbo seat - By the time we tried one of these out at someone else's house with Brady, he could practically sit up by himself, so we never got one. I think Baby will really like to sit up and watch crazy big brother run around.

• Nursing pads - They should really sell these at Costco
• Girl swaddling blankets - Another thing that we may need. I hope to make a few, but currently we only have blue ones. No little girl wants to snuggle up in a blue blanket!
• Nursing Pjs - I loved my nursing night gowns. Because I had to wear nursing pads 24/7 these were the most comfortable for me to sleep in.

• Bottles - We use very few bottles, and who knows what kind baby will like. Hopefully baby will like the kind Brady liked, and we can just buy new nipples. I am so excited to see Daddy and Brady give baby a bottle, so hopefully baby will take some kind of bottle. 

So that's all I have. I guess it is kind of long, but not too bad. What about everyone else? Anyone think of anything else that we need or is just really cool, and we should add to the list?

House Overhaul

Bye- bye baby boy room. It is soon changing to a big boy room!

This weekend, (hopefully) we will be getting Brady's new big boy furniture! So exciting, because hopefully with new furniture he will stop sleeping on the floor. New furniture for him means, baby will finally have furniture and I can finish the baby's room!
Also Brady's room will have a space for just "his" toys, that will be too small for baby, or ones that he does not want to share. Then more space in the everything/playroom will be freed up for toys that have been temporarily in the living room. More space in the living room means that soon baby swing and other baby essentials can be brought up and ready for baby. Big changes happening to everything in this house.
I figured out that I have something in the works to change for almost every room in this house!

1. Brady's room- new furniture, new quilts, move some toys into his room.
2. Baby's room- Furniture, curtains, bedding and decor
3. Kid's bathroom- new shower curtain and "kiddie decor"
4. Our room- bedding, curtains, and decor to put up ( I have had since December)
5. Our bathroom- new shower curtain and decor to put up
6. Everything room (office, playroom)- move toys in and out of room to make it more functional
7. Living room - move toys out, baby stuff in. New pillow covers for couch pillows
8. Kitchen- Curtains for windows
9. Downstairs bathroom- Paint and bead board wall paper

Crazy huh? I can guarantee everything for baby and Brady will get done before baby gets here. Everything else is wishful thinking. It just stinks that I have pretty much everything, I just need to do it!

Oh well, I will be so relieved to get Brady and baby's room together. That is #1 on my to-do list. Hope to have a post soon on how everything is coming together.

Changes

I wanted to put this out there so I do not feel guilty for not blogging as much anymore. If I let you know what to expect I hope I will not disappoint. I am cutting back, as if you can't tell already. I enjoy blogging, but it takes time, and the extra time I have right now is spent doing other important things.

(A side note, somehow, stay at home moms stay very busy. I thought that I would be bored, and I know other people think that as well. But somehow, I promise, almost all of my day is filled with things to do. And my to-do list is always lengthy. And I never sit and eat bonbons and watch tv. I love staying home, and would not change it, for anything, but it is honestly very tiring. Maybe one day I will share my views on this.)

I mentioned this on my other blog, but my new goal for blogging is twice per week, per blog, or four times a week. Then once the baby comes, it will probably be once a week per blog for awhile. And even then , at first I am not making any promises.

I hope you understand, and can be patient with me. Thanks for reading!

Last day of Soccer

Sadly, this past week, was the last week of soccer. We are pretty sad. We could sign up for the next session, but baby is due in the middle of that session, and I don't want any strict commitments during that time. Also it is expensive without the groupon we used, which is only for new families. And it is indoors, and in spring and summer, we can do so many fun things outside, that we don't need to be stuck inside playing soccer.

This summer we hope to do tee-ball. In the fall maybe outdoor soccer, and in the winter indoor soccer again. We will see how things go.

The most missed thing about soccer for Brady, will be his coach. Coach Matt. He adores coach Matt. At home he makes us play like we are at soccer, and he is coach Matt. When I mentioned maybe in the summer he could play tee-ball, he said, "oh ya, with coach Matt." He loves that guy. He is a really good coach. He knows all the kids names, and shows each one special attention.

 On the last day, Coach Matt was watching the other coaches to do an evaluation of the class. Brady was clearly upset about these new coaches. Thankfully, Coach Matt took over about half way through. It would have been quite devastating if on his last day of soccer Brady did not get to play with coach Matt. But he did, and all was well. We are thinking about having Brady's birthday there, and will of course request coach Matt.

I loved lil' kickers program for this age. He learned listening skills, following directions, sharing, shapes, colors, pretend and imaginative thinking, as well as soccer skills. If you are looking for something for your little one, give this a try. I know they have many locations all around the country. Can't wait to see our little athlete in his next activity!

Disneyland

I mentioned it in my previous post, but we are going to Disneyland! I thought I might give you a few details. Jeremy went as a young boy, but he does not really remember, and Brady and I have never done anything Disney. We are all very excited! I am not sure who is more excited, Brady or myself! We have not been on a out of Colorado or non-Texas vacation yet as a family, so I am thrilled at this memory we get to have of just us three. Even if Brady won't remember.

We leave in early April, and stay for 4 nights. We are going on slow Disney days, so we are hoping to avoid some crowds. Jeremy also will have off the weekend before and after, so we will be having 9 days of pure family time!

One amazing thing about our trip is the cost. Here are a few perks we found:

• 3 round trip plane tickets from Colorado Springs to Long Beach for $278! (This includes taxes. Amazing price. This favorite blogger calls it sketchy air, but we have flown on it twice before, and it is just no thrills but cheap. Perfect for us. Also only airline that flys direct from Colorado Springs to LA or Long Beach.)
• $111 a night hotel suite. Good price, and nice doubletree suite so that we can stay up after Brady goes to bed. 
• Brady is still free at Disneyland until he turns 3, and they are running a special on other tickets right now as well. 

There are a few concerns about the trip:

• I will be 33 weeks pregnant. Waddling my way through Disneyland is not as bad as Disneyworld would be, but we are still going to take it slow, and just enjoy as much as we can.    
• Brady is limited to what he can ride due to his age and size. I am limited on what I can ride due to my pregnancy. This is a bit of a bummer, but there is still sooo much we can do.

As long as I can do this with my boy, I am a happy momma. (seriously riding the dumbos is on my bucket list)

And of course we are going to have breakfast with the characters one morning, which Brady will love!

Overall, we are going to have the best time! Of course I will take many pictures and share them all. Has anyone ever been to Disneyland, or this area? Any good tips for us?

Wish List

My Birthday is next week, and the question always comes up... What do you want? This year is harder. I want a ton of things, but not too much that is specific. And almost everything is hard for others to get for me. I always love everything, and really the best part is spending time with others, not gifts. This year I am also REALLY looking forward to cake, and my birthday dinner. Here are the few other things I have wanted, if you are curious. 

• A trip to Disneyland! That was/is my biggest gift. I am so excited, and cannot wait to head on a trip in a few weeks with my little family. We are going to have so much fun, and I am definitely counting this as a present for myself.

• A book called Craft Hope. I have wanted this book for awhile. It is a book that shares patterns and ideas of things that can be made for yourself, or more importantly they are great things to donate to charities and other organizations in need. I want to use a few ideas in this book for myself, but I would love to have a life group at church that makes things for others out of this book.

• A Pedicure. Preferably two. One for before our California trip, and one for after, but before baby is due. Reaching my toes just is not as fun as it used to be.

• A book called, Creative Correction. I am hoping to get some great ideas on raising Brady out of this book. I have heard great things about it, and hope it can be useful for our family.

• Some Craft Stuff. This is the difficult one. There are so many things, I want to do, but most cost $$. I love all things crafty but one day I hope to have a fabric shopping spree on this site.

One thing, I did not know I wanted was this magazine. It was a present from my mom, and I love it. Almost like a christian Better homes and Gardens. Definitely loving this magazine, Thanks mom! 

I can't believe another year has flown by. Each year gets better, and better, and I am so excited to see what 28 will bring!