Pregnancy Comments

Above: I took this picture on Sunday. I am now 37 weeks along (due exactly 3 weeks from today!) I like this picture because it shows Peter's first reaction to picture-taking...to get in on the action.
Above: I like this picture because it shows Peter's second reaction to picture-taking...to make a grab for the camera.

My sister (who is pregnant and due five days before me) recently posted on her blog regarding the things people say to you when you're pregnant.

It really is true that you get a lot of interesting comments and unasked for advice when you're pregnant.

I got a lot more comments the last time around (perhaps it was because I gained more weight or the fact that because I was still working, I was out in public a lot more). But I thought I'd share a few comments with you now!

1. "Wow! You're belly is HUGE!" comment by a co-worker when I was pregnant with Peter.
2. Some random guy in an elevator: "Are you having twins?" My answer: "No." His 100% serious and somewhat concerned response: "Are you sure?" What I thought, but didn't say: "Yeah, pretty sure! Thanks a lot, jerk!" This comment also happened when I was pregnant with Peter.
   
3. "You're going to have so many days where you wish your baby was right back inside of you." I had so many people say this to me when I was pregnant with Peter that I lost count. For the record, I HATE being pregnant and I never ONCE wished that Peter was back inside of me...even on my roughest, most emotional baby-blues days did I ever wish I was pregnant again! Besides, even though the first six weeks with Peter were an emotional baby boot camp rollercoaster (mostly due to the disappointment of failed breastfeeding, despite meeting with 3 lactation consultants), I absolutely loved holding him in my arms and marveling at what a precious little guy he was! I have always felt so blessed to have him in my life. He is a miracle and I am so grateful that I was able to participate in that miracle by helping to give him life!
   
4. The time when someone asked me how far along I was with Peter (fourteen weeks, at the time) and then proceeded to tell me how their wife miscarried at exactly that same time and they kept the fetus in a jar in their fridge for awhile. For the whole story, click here.
5. A conversation I had at the store today with a very well-meaning woman went as follows: Her: "When are you due?" Me: "Three weeks. Hopefully the little guy comes on time or even a little bit early!" Her (in a teaching me a lesson kind of tone): "Well, the important thing is that the baby is healthy--even if that means you have to come late." Here's why this conversation bugged me: of course I don't want to put the health of my baby in jeopardy by having the baby early! I would never put my own short-term, selfish wants before the well-being of my child! Why would a total stranger feel that it is their place to give me such unwarranted advice? Especially when it is unnecessary. I happen to know that I am already dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced and that my doctor said everything looks a-ok and if the baby were to come tomorrow, he'd be cool with it and the baby would be fine.
6. My favorite response of all proves that sometimes actions speak louder than words. Peter has become increasingly concerned by the state of my belly button. It's funny because, as I mentioned, I gained a lot more weight last time, but my belly button didn't pop out as much as it has this time. It kind of flattened out last time. But this time, it is definitely protruding. I'm at the point where (especially when I'm wearing pajamas and sitting on the couch) my shirt will sometimes roll up before I realize it and my belly will be bared. If Peter catches this happening, he will give my belly a disgusted look and pull my shirt back down. But my all-time favorite response? Today, Peter found a box of band-aids that had somehow fallen under our bed. He took out a band-aid, insisted that I open it, and then directed me to put it over my belly button. When he wasn't looking, I pulled it off, but later, he wanted to make sure that the band-aid was still in place. When he discovered it wasn't, he insisted that I put another band-aid over my belly button. I only just realized that the band-aid is still covering my offending belly button. It looks even sillier because the box of band-aids that Peter found are specifically for knuckles and finger-tips. So, it kind of looks like an "X" marking the spot! What a cute, silly guy I have! Also, since I've been pregnant before, I have the consolation of knowing that my belly button and stomach will go back to normal (after a lot of exercise, but nonetheless, my former belly button glory will be regained!).
   

Lunch Ideas for Toddlers?

Peter can be kind of a picky eater. He likes a lot of different kinds of foods, but he likes variety. For instance, he loves corn dogs, but if you serve it to him again too soon, he won't even look at it, let alone touch it.

I'm going to give you guys a list of foods I serve Peter for lunch. If you have any additional ideas, I would be so grateful to hear them!

Corn dogs
Hot dogs
Quesadillas
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Chicken nuggets
Tamales
PB&J's
Macaroni and cheese
Ramen noodles
Chef Boyardee stuff
Toaster oven pizzas (made on either English muffins or pita bread)

I'll give him dinner leftovers from the night before with varying levels of success too.

But does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas?

The Evolution of Peter--The First Two Years

I was just taking a look at some of the professional pictures we have had of Peter and it's crazy how much he has changed. You don't notice the change in person because you see him every day. I thought it would be fun to do a quick blog post of Peter's pictures so that they are all side by side for comparison. I'll have to do another post of the pictures that I have taken personally later on.

The picture at the top is obviously not professionally done. I thought the prices they offered at the hospital for the professional pictures were outrageous...and they always tend to look a little like mug shots to me, you know?


Above: Peter in April of 2009 when he was only three months old.


Above: Peter in August of 2009 when he was seven months old.


Above: Same photo shoot...just the whole family!


Above: November of 2009 when Peter was about 10 months old.


Above: May of 2010 when Peter was sixteen months old.


Above: Same time, just the family picture.


Above: November of 2010 when Peter was 22 months old. Showcasing Peter's sweet n' shy side.


Above: Same time, showcasing Peter's sweet n' sassy side!

I can't believe how much he has grown in the past two years! He is going to look HUGE next to Jonathan!

Peter's Second Birthday!

I just love my little guy so much. It's hard to believe that he's already two years old! It's hard to believe that I've been a mom for that long...and then again, it's hard to believe that Peter hasn't been here with me forever. Plus, throw in the fact that I'm going to have ANOTHER baby next month? Oh my goodness! Life is just crazy!

We celebrated Peter's birthday with my side of the family at our weekly Sunday dinner. Peter was just so sweet (that is...until it was time to go...he was NOT ready to leave the fun behind!).

Last year, Peter cried and cried when we sang the happy birthday song to him. I was worried that it might happen again this year, because he cried only last week when we sang the song to his cousin Mckinlie on her birthday. But for his time to shine, he was in a lovely mood and enjoyed it immensely.


Above: Peter looking sweet while we sing to him. We put a candle on a cupcake for him. His cake is on the table in front of him too. Peter blew the candle out all by himself (Daddy helped blow out the candle too).


Above: Peter happily preparing to eat his cupcake. He ate most of it, until he became distracted by a ring pop from his birthday cake. The ring pop took the honors (very messy honors) for the remainder of the evening.

Above: Peter's birthday cake. How am I ever going to top this cake next year? Seriously though, I am dang proud of this cake!


Above: Peter preparing to tackle...er...open his present from Nammy Joey. Notice the ring pop in his mouth...yup, that's not a binkie. This large box contained some train accessories that went along with the train set that Peter got from Mom and Dad at Christmas.


Above: Peter wearing his little hard hat from the Black and Decker tool set that Nammy Joey gave to him...it went along with the gift that Mom and Dad later gave him on his actual birthday. More on that to follow!


Above: The hard hat doesn't fit Uncle Clayton quite as well as it fit Peter. Peter still needs to grow into the hat a little, but Uncle Clayton has definitely grown out of it!


Above: Aunt Kim, however, looks fantastic!


Above: Peter mixing his train and construction fashion with a little baseball and Pampers chic thrown in for good measure.


Above: Peter definitely needed a bath after enjoying one of his pirate cupcakes the following night!

Today (January 19th--Peter's actual birthday) was a great day. I decided that Peter needed to have a really mellow day and that I would just let him set the pace.

I got up and exercised, threw dinner in the slow cooker, and baked Peter's birthday cake before he woke up. He slept in a little and woke up around 8:20 a.m. Then, I got to cuddle my little guy while we watched Sesame Street and he was treated to breakfast in bed (he promptly dropped a wedge of cinnamon toast and made my bed all crumby...oh well!).

Then, Peter got into a fort-building mood. So, I made him a fort using our smaller couch, blankets, and pillows.

Above: Peter playing in his pillow fort. We basically spent the majority of the day playing with forts, pillows, and blankets in one form or another. It wasn't until about 6 p.m. that Peter allowed me to put the cushions back on the couch!


Above: Daddy came home to visit during his lunch break and we unveiled Peter's birthday present then. He got a cool Black & Decker work bench and some fun tools. Here, Peter and Daddy are sporting their protective goggles.



Above: Peter was VERY excited about his goggles! Maybe that's because he's always trying to play with Mommy and Daddy's glasses and can't!


Above: Peter's business is already booming. He's taking calls and scheduling appointments!



Above: Daddy helped Peter to utilize his tool belt.


Above: Part of creating a mellow day for my guy was letting him call the shots on a few things. This little guy of mine is kind of "clothing optional." Now, I wouldn't go so far as to call him a nudist because he doesn't like to be without his diaper (though he does think it's funny). But I tried a couple of times and he was NOT in the mood to get dressed today. But tell me, have you ever seen a sweeter half-naked little carpenter?


Above: Here is the simplified treasure chest cake I made for Peter's actual birthday. It is basically just a cake mix, canned frosting, generic vanilla wafers (pulverized into "sand" in the blender), topped with a tin treasure chest, plastic gold coins, and beads from a party store (Zurchers). Not anywhere near as cool as the other treasure chest cake, but still super cute and a whole lot easier! Tasty too!


Above: Peter checking out his new Elmo DVD from Mimi and Papa after successfully making it through another rendition of the happy birthday song! While we were singing, Peter had the cutest little "hide-a-smile" expression on his face. It was a combination of him being very shy and very pleased to know that he was the center of attention and the song was all for him. It was so cute. I recorded it on our camcorder. I'll have to upload the video later. I don't know that his sweet expression could fully be captured on a computer screen video player, but it is definitely sweet to watch on our TV! Peter was too shy to blow out the candle, so Daddy helped. But after Daddy did it once, Peter wanted a shot at it, so we lit the candles again and Peter blew them out all by himself that time. What a big boy!

Peter has even started sleeping in his toddler bed over the past week. This wasn't really planned. We set the bed up to get Peter used to it. I planned to sneak him into his toddler bed on the days that he fell asleep on me prior to his nap. But one night last week, Peter just really wanted to sleep in his bed. That was a super rough night on Mommy, let me tell you! But eventually, Peter did sleep in his bed and he hasn't turned back since! He loves his little bed.


Above: Being held by Uncle Bri and showing off my Elmo DVD. Mimi and Papa also gave Peter a cool little Leap Frog book reader with three books. You put this little doohickey over the pictures on the book and it says out loud what the pictures are. It also alternates the songs and sometimes makes animal noises or sings a song. Way cool.

Peter then showed Mimi and Papa his new workbench and tools. After a nice visit with Mimi and Papa, it was time to get Peter settled down for the night (not an easy task after such a momentous day!). Even though Peter went to bed at about 9 p.m., he didn't actually fall asleep until almost 10 p.m. So, who knows what tomorrow will bring!

But I'll tell you this, I know that tomorrow will bring me a lot of happiness. I love being a mom. I love building forts for my little guy. I love to see how excited he gets when we do little things for him. I love his personality, energy, and zest for life. I even love those blasted crumbs in the bed...because it means I have my little guy snuggled up next to me. And now I get the blessing and opportunity to bring another little guy into the world next month. I'm going to be tired and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage it...but I'm going to love it! That part is for sure.

Arrrrrr, Mateys! It be a Birthday Cake!

My son's birthday is this Wednesday. I decided to go for a pirate theme. I found this cake idea on the Betty Crocker website when I was searching for birthday cake ideas for my son last year. However, since he was only turning one year old last year, I didn't think he'd really appreciate the cake then. This year, on the other hand, he's all about the pirates and whenever you ask him what a pirate says, he will answer "Arrrrrrrrr!"

We celebrated his birthday at my mom's house tonight. I will be making another (much simpler) cake for our own small family celebration on Wednesday night).

I'll blog in full about the birthday celebrations after we celebrate Peter's actual birthday on Wednesday.

But I wanted to share a picture of this cake because I'm so darned proud of how it turned out!

If you want to see the recipe and instructions, check out our family food blog here.

This really was so fun to make. I had a blast doing it...and when I finished...I just stared and stared. I was so proud of myself! Besides, don't we all have a fixation with pirate treasure?

Happy Holidays!

Yes, I realize that I am posting about Christmas almost a month after the fact. So, sue me! We had a lovely holiday season this year. Let me tell you a little about it!


Above: This is Christmas Eve morning and Peter is snuggling his new stuffed animal (It's a pillow...it's a pet...it's a Pillow Pet! You moms out there will now have that jingle stuck in your head). I'm continuing a tradition that my mom created for us. Until this year, I had no idea how this tradition had come to be. But while I was out shopping for this particular stuffed animal, I was also talking on my cell phone to my mom. She shared the story with me.

It seems that when she was in the hospital with my sister, Emily (whose birthday is December 12th), we coerced our sweet babysitter (now aunt) into buying us McDonald's Happy Meals just so we could have the stuffed animal toy that came with them. When my mom heard about this, she made Denise put them away because we had gained them by unlawful means. My mom was going to give them to us on Christmas Day, but instead decided to surprise us on Christmas Eve. We all found them on our pillows when we woke up that morning. We were so excited about it and played with the stuffed animals all day long. She thought we were so darned cute with our stuffed animals that as a result, she decided to make it a yearly tradition for us. I have to admit, that was always one of the most magical things about Christmas to me. Going to sleep the night before and knowing that there was going to be a cool new stuffed animal waiting for me in the morning. And what would it be? It was always a surprise.

Some years, all of us had a stuffed animal theme that tied all of our animals together and some years, our stuffed animal was completely unique to us. My brother, Clayton, loved monkeys/apes and he got those in the form of stuffed animals for years. My brother, Sean, loved mom and baby combos when he was really little and got many stuffed animal mothers with sons. One year, my sister Laurie and I got unicorns. Those were so cool. Another year, we all got beanie babies. I still have most of my stuffed animals...and I have passed them on to my son, Peter. I even gave one to my cousin's daughter, Emma, because she loved piggies so much and I had the cutest stuffed pig from one Christmas long ago. Thanks for adding that little touch of magic to our Christmas Eves, Mom!


Above: We spent Christmas Eve with the Washburn side of the family. It was fun, but I've got to admit that it was also a little out of control. There are now six grandchildren on the Washburn side and five of them are 3 and under. The oldest 3 year old is also a little rambunctious and aggressive and it creates many adventures for children and adults alike! The wild atmosphere became a little too much for Peter, and I had to take him downstairs (remember, we're living in the basement of my in-laws) about an hour before everyone left. Debra (my mother-in-law) made it a lot more kid friendly this year and she set out a nativity for the kids to play with and then she talked about the story of Jesus' birth. Then, we sang primary and hymn Christmas songs while I played. Peter didn't like me being at the piano too much, so I had to relinquish my position to my sister-in-law, Angie. But he still didn't enjoy the music too much. You can see his reaction to our singing above. This doesn't bode well for me considering I am a singer. He reacts this way most of the time when people sing the Happy Birthday song too. So, I'm not sure how he'll like us singing to him for his birthday next week!


Above: This is Christmas morning and Peter is happily enjoying his new train set. He is also wearing a brand new set of pajamas. My mom always got us new pajamas on Christmas Eve and I remember being so excited to wear a new pair of pajamas every year (though, I'm afraid that as a moody teenager, I gave her a hard and/or tearful time at least one year because I thought the pajamas she chose for me didn't fit right. Sorry, Mom!). Honestly though, when I got older, that was the only time I ever got new pajamas. I still wear some of my Christmas Eve pajamas too!


Above: Playing and playing with the new train. In fact, we had a really hard time getting him to open any other presents because we couldn't drag him away from this train set.


Above: Ooooh! A stocking too? Peter's breakfast that morning consisted mostly of stocking candy. I couldn't get him to eat anything else!


Above: We went over to my Dad's house on Christmas morning after opening our gifts. Here, Peter is hugging a Buzz Lightyear figurine. He loves that little spaceship and loves to pack his Toy Story figurines in there too.


Above: We opened present with Mimi and Papa Washburn in the afternoon. Due to a leaky diaper and an approaching nap time, Peter became clothing optional for the afternoon. It's hard to tell, but he is actually wearing a diaper in this picture. "No one sleeps naked in this house!"--Raising Arizona. Due to the excitement of the day, we had an almost impossible time getting Peter to go down for a nap. He cried as if his heart was breaking when I put him in his crib. He continued to cry and I knew he wouldn't go to sleep. So, I brought him to our bed and cuddled him there. He eventually fell asleep and the three of us took a nap for about an hour and a half.


Above: My brother, Clayton, got a "Puffy Shirt" of Seinfeld fame. Here he is posing in his shirt with his beautiful wife, Kim. "But I don't want to be a pirate!" Apparently, it's a pretty uncomfortable shirt, so it doesn't make for everyday wear, but it will make for a great Halloween costume next year! My brother, Nephi, got one too. When he put it on, his three year old little girl said "Daddy, why do you look like a pirate?"


Above: This picture was taken the week after Christmas. We went over and visited my Dad and Peter was nothing but sweet to him. His cousin, Ethan, was there too and the three of them played and played and played! Smiles all around!


Above: New Year's Eve was so nice and mellow. Here, Peter and Daddy just hang out together in the morning.


Above: New Year's Eve was pretty snowy and Peter is showing what a big boy he is by helping Daddy shovel the driveway.

Above: We went sledding on an old garbage can lid in the back yard on New Year's Eve after Peter's nap. It was dark and cold, and our breath obscured all of the pictures, but Peter was as happy as happy could be! We broke the garbage can lid in our adventures and bought a sledding disc the following week.


Above: After sledding, we got Peter inside for a warm bath and then he had some valuable down time with Elmo.


Above: New Year's Day was a little on the rocky side. Everyone seemed to be cranky...which made ME cranky! We went over to my Mom's house to celebrate the New Year by having a Chinese food dinner (another tradition) and Jeremiah and I fought the whole way. Pregnancy hormones were involved, but weren't completely to blame (I have to say that in my defense!).

But when we got to my mom's house, everyone had cheered up considerably and by the end of the evening, everyone was being downright silly! Peter had a great time playing in Mom's toy room and my brothers, sister, and sister-in-law played Tabloid Teasers (one of our favorite board games. You fill in the blank to a tabloid headline and try to guess what the real headline is). My family gets ridiculous when they play this. Basically, Clayton and Sean use code headlines so that the other knows which headline is his and then they just vote for each other. The headlines get sillier and sillier as the game goes on. I won't go into details, but dolphins and playful dolphin videos seemed to be the theme of the game that night and it was absolutely hilarious.

Plus, if I'm not too much mistaken, that was the same night that Clayton decided to create an Elmo voice which Peter found to be super hilarious and we all laughed until our cheeks hurt.

So, the New Year was off to a bumpy start in the morning, but by the evening, everything was right with the world. I sure love my sweet, silly family! Peter was tuckered out by the end of the holidays though. But look at how sweet he is all passed out in his car seat!

100% All Boy

I'll tell you, Peter didn't get any of this from me!

Jeremiah was watching some of a Bruce Lee movie on TV and this was Peter's natural reaction to it.

Peter was doing this for a lot longer, and I ran for the camera as quickly and stealthily as I could. I wish I had gotten it on video longer, but this was all he would give me once he realized I was videotaping his action sequence.

Enjoy!