They said "heaven!"

 After a whale of a day with Michael and Nicholas, we headed a half an hour away from home to the groomer's to pick up Duncan.  That's always quite the ordeal for some reason: picking up the dog.  I can never seem to make it out the door in time to pick him up, it must be my subconscious working or something.  (Just kidding, of course!)  We managed to get to Duncan with ten minutes to spare.  

On the way home, I played a Christmas CD with the song "Silent Night".  Michael was listening intently and said, "MOM!  They just said HEAVEN, MOM! Baby Jesus lives in heaven, MOM!"  I got a little teary and answered back with a," Yes, he does, Michael!"  We talked a bit more about baby Jesus and why we celebrate Christmas, which was just so incredibly sweet.  

He then thought a bit more about the conversation and in an excited voice said, "

MOM!!  What do you think they do there?!  Who's with baby Jesus, MOM?!"  

The past few weeks have been really interesting with Michael and all this Christmas business.  He is completely intrigued by God and Jesus, and not so much by Santa.  The other night while saying a goodnight prayer, we asked God to help Michael B feel better since he has been so sick.  I explained to Michael that when we are sick, God can help make us better.  He really thought about what I was saying and asked, "Will He come see me tonight, Mom?"  I told him that God is with us all the time, when we are awake AND when we are sleeping.  Totally intrigued again

, he stated, "But, I can't see Him, Mom."  

I'm bracing myself for the Christmas Eve getting dressed in fancy clothes fight that will likely ensue.  So, we are going to explain to Michael over and over in the time being that we are dressing up for Jesus and his birthday party.  If it's for Jesus, I think he'll comply.  

Check out Mr. Nick--he's quite a flirt, isn't he???  : ) He is now ELEVEN weeks!!  And, the little rascal is sleeping through the night, which translates to uninterrupted sleep from 10:45pm to 6:00 am.  He refuses to sleep in his crib, so I'm giving him just a few more weeks in the bouncy seat.  Then it's to the crib he goes!!  Nicholas also rubs his eyes when he is tired,  those chubby wrists melt my heart.  

Santa Baby.

Why are you making me sleep in my crib, Mommy?!?!?

Nicholas began sleep training in the crib today!  What a week to start with the crib, Michael can no longer talk, he chooses to moan and groan instead.  I kid you not, he is not handling the bronchitis very well! (And, at this point, neither am I!  It's time for a break for Mom!) Back to the baby, Nicholas did pretty well with sleeping in his crib.  I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own, so I left him in the crib when he was content and then went back into his room when he cried.  He seemed to get the hang of it by this evening. Tonight will be tough, though. I like to snuggle with him in bed during the night, which is quickly turning into a really bad, cozy habit!  Hence, the sleep training today.  

Let's Hope it's a Growth Spurt!

Mommy says that I've been awfully fussy over the past 24 hours. The whole family, especially my Mom, is hoping that I'm going through a growth spurt. Thank goodness for my dad, he got less sleep than my mom last night! Mom was used to the four hour stretches of sleep, I've decided that two and a half to three hour stretches are much better because I get to eat more. Tomorrow I will be six weeks, which is a classic spurt age, according to the baby books.

While I've been on the challenging side for my parents, my big brother has been a dream kid! Check out the turkey that he made yesterday in the above post. We are all ready for the Thanksgiving holiday!!

A Week of Firsts for Nicholas...

1. First bball game- went to watch the boys' hero, Jacob, play ball against Josh's kids.
2. First trip to the library to play with the awesome Bartlett girls.
3. First time sleeping for FIVE hours straight.  Mom was SO, SO, SO happy.
4. First trip to mom and dad's alma mater, with Granddad and Mango.
5. First stay at an indoor water park, maybe that's why he slept so well last night...
6. First time pooping on mom.  Such a sweet moment...

We're extending the weekend by hanging out at the water park until late afternoon.  I wish we could stay another night, or two!

Picking out a "team name"

Last evening, as Josh and I were getting ready for bed, I brought up the topic of baby names.  His response was, "Yeah.  We do need to decide on a "team name", I guess."  Then he caught himself, and started cracking up with laughter.  If you know my husband, you know that

 he is a HUGE Fantasy Football fanatic.  (HUGE!)  So,  for the past two weeks, he's been throwing out "team names" for the two FF leagues that he will be participating in this fall.   I told him that he needs to change his focus to the

  baby, not fantasy league.  

This morning I had a doctor's appointment.  Everything is going well, according to the doctor.  I've gained two pounds over the last two weeks. (Supposedly the baby gains like a half a pound a week from now until the delivery.) My blood pressure is great and the belly measurement is right on.  The baby's heart rate today today was 128, its lowest measure to date!  The doctor said that the baby is now head down, which is great news.  I'm still thinking we're having a boy, and Josh is CONVINCED the baby is girl!  

We discussed the VBAC plan in more detail today, which was helpful.  I asked the doctor if I would be able to go two weeks past the due date before scheduling me for a cesarean.  He clearly and unmistakably said, "No."  : ) Apparently, if I don't have the baby around the due date then I will be scheduled for a section just a few days past the due date.  As it stands, I really only have six weeks left!  Due to my experience with Michael, I was banking on six to EIGHT weeks. (I'm a procrastinator, this on time delivery, or even early(?) delivery, has thrown me waaaay off! )One of the main reasons for scheduling the section so close to the due date pertains to the size of the baby.  If the baby is "big", there is a greater risk of uterine rupture and extra pressure placed on the scar during the delivery.  When I learned that I would not be given an extra week or two, I made a mental note to run/walk as much as possible once I hit 38 weeks.  Maybe that will help move things along, I'm going to run this baby out!  (Inductions are not done on women who have had cesareans (at this practice), due to the risk of a uterine rupture. So, no pitocin for me and the babe this time around.)  

In other news, I have not felt well all day.  I'm not sure if it's because I got up so early this morning to meet the running group or if it was just an off day.  (It is still absolutely fine for me to be running at this point, though I'd hardly call it running!)  After the appointment, I made a quick lunch and went right to sleep.  I stayed in bed until it was time to pick up Michael from the sitter.  I've been feeling crampy all day, with lots of pressure in my belly.  I discussed these feelings with the doctor this morning, and everything I'm feeling is normal.  He said that I will start to have more braxton hicks contractions earlier than I did with Michael.  And that the best medicine is rest and water--no problem there!  After learning more about the VBAC today, I am welcoming the contractions.  

This little one is encouraged to start moving things along!

Those CRAZY Running Parties!

I'm a tired gal!  The running girls have these amazing little running birthday parties, which begin at 5:30 am!!  Crazy, right?  We run a few miles, sing to the birthday girl, eat cake, and open presents--all before 6:30, or so!! Sometimes we run a little late...with the eating and chatting, not the actual running part.  

In order to make it to the party, I had to get up at 4:45 this morning.  That's very early! However,  it is completely worth the loss of about fifteen minutes of sleep.  Absolutely worth it.  I love my running friends and would do anything for them...so waking a little extra early is fine by me. The girls make me laugh and laugh, I'm on a little birthday party high for the rest of the day.  However,  I'm now very tired now and ready for bed.  

Michael, it seems, does NOT like the running parties!  I didn't come home between the party and school today, so I was not around for the good morning routine.  Each morning we hug, sometimes we rock, and sometimes I just hold him.  We really like our morning snuggle time.  Michael actually refused to go to the sitter's today, I think, because he did not understand why I wasn't back from running!  He knows I run in the morning, but I always come home and we have our routine.  Josh said he cried and made numerous excuses about why he shouldn't leave.  He has never, ever, ever done this before!  He never made mention of the fact that I wasn't home, but he knew that something wasn't right.  Once he got to the sitter's he was quite happy and was ready to play cars. 

So intuitive...and such a sweetheart of a son....

Good Night!  

A little of this, a little of that.

****** Little Sugar is really sick. : ( . And, I do mean really sick. 101.5. : (
I don't think he's ever had a fever this high. He'll be spending the day with his Nina and Granddad tomorrow, so hopefully he'll recover a little bit faster. He didn't move from the couch this evening and watched almost the whole second half of the Skins game on his Dad's lap. Poor baby. ******





We've had one of those weekends where you don't get out of your P.J.'s until 5 pm because you've been scouring the house all day. Which, really, let's be honest, here~these kind of weekends are heavenly every once in awhile! My parents took Michael B to story-time and to the puppet show at a local library so that Josh and I could get some things done around the house yesterday morning. We really, really needed that time to clean the bathrooms, to get laundry caught up, and to organize fall/summer clothes. Now, naturally we didn't get EVERYTHING done, but we've at least made a dent. And, that, feels really good.

Last evening, we had a date with Mary Jane and Michael. The five of us went out to dinner, and then headed over to Baskin Robbins. Michael did very well with going to eat, much to our surprise. He ate his dinner--normally, when I order something from the children's menu he doesn't eat. It's almost like he enjoys the money being flushed down the toilet. : )

This morning, Michael and I went to church, where we sat with Michael and Mary Jane. His girlfriends, Lauren and Audrey, greeted him with hugs after mass. They tried to hold hands with him, but he refused. (He wanted his Mommy's hand!) After church, the little one and I headed over to a park. He played for a little bit, but was very tired.

The time change and the late night have thrown him off a little. We'll see how bedtime goes tonight, as he took his nap about two hours earlier than normal. I have a feeling this time change is going to affect him much more than previous time changes. (The other time changes have never seemed to affect his sleep...We shall see.)


We've got a big week ahead-ELECTION DAY (Go, Granddad!) and a Wiggles concert! Stay tuned.

If you would have told me that we would be re-visiting crying it out, I would not have believed you.

You can see where I'm heading with this...getting Michael to sleep has been a huge, huge, HUGE!! pain in the derriere for the past week. I'd love to use another word, actually...But, I'm working on the foul mouth that I used to have, so I won't.

It's taken about thirty minutes for Michael to settle himself this evening. Thirty minutes of whining, which then escalated into crying. Awesome.

So fun, right? And, we used our date night for politics last week? Seriously? What's wrong with us?

*******************

Okay, so changing moods, now...

Today was just wonderful! Really, aside from thirty minutes of whining when my nerves are shot; we've had an awesome day!

This morning we packed up and went on a train ride with our friends. Michael had a ball with his buddies.

We were home for about an hour, and then we headed out for a wedding. (Yes, Michael was invited.) We foolishly turned down my parent's offer to babysit.

The wedding was beautiful. Relaxed, elegant, and on the most beautiful farm...ever. Seriously. We're talking Southern Living beautiful.

I have lots of precious photos to share, so I'll probably make a montage or something. Stay tuned for a review of today's events.

Oh. And, there's a race tomorrow. Ten miles. I can do ten...