Sunday, August 30, 2009

Max is having a hard time comprehending that he is going to be a big brother. He likes to run around the house saying "puppy" and I'm always correcting him and telling him that we aren't getting a puppy we're getting a baby. Well he's finally had enough of that and has decided to rebel. Or Daddy thought it would be cool to give Max a Mohawk. You can decide which story you believe.
Either way, he is pretty gosh darn cute with his new hairstyle and he was certainly hamming up all the attention he was getting with it.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bedrest is almost over! I'm 35 weeks along and I visited with my doctor today to find out if anything has changed and what if any restrictions are needed at this point. He checked me out and decided that he wants me to continue the bedrest and medication through Friday and then I can start to increase my activity over the weekend, returning to normal on Monday. I was very happy with that news and I think I can handle 3 more days sitting on my butt. I mean, don't I look comfortable? Ha Ha, I'm in love with this picture. Dusty took it unbeknownst to me. He was supposed to get Max using my belly as a seat to look out the window but naturally Max took off when the camera came out so Dusty was just taking pictures of Max playing on the coffee table, or so I thought until looking at them this morning and stumbling across this. Yeah, I spend most days in my pajamas, why not?

My next appointment is in a week and they will be doing an ultrasound to check the baby out since I'm measuring a little small. But the Dr wasn't extremely worried about this as he told me to make the appointment for a week out and we'll see if the baby doesn't show up before then. So I guess the baby betting can start!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Last night Dusty and I continued on with our discussion of baby #2's name. No, I'm not about to share the contenders, but we certainly haven't picked any official names yet. This is just another reason why knowing the sex of the baby would make things so much easier. Last time we had a girl's name as a backup but we never really debated that as it didn't matter as much since we were told we were having a boy. So we only had to debate one sex and Maxwell's name was pretty much decided a lot earlier in the pregnancy. Not this time! I do have to admit that I am getting more excited to find out the sex then I previously had been.

I decided to add a poll to my blog for the time being as I'm curious what everyone thinks I'm going to have. Plus, it is just something fun to watch while I sit on bedrest. So make sure to check it out on the right and take your guess. Here's a recent picture of me pregnant to assist you in your guess.
The prize if you guess correctly? Bragging rights. Hey, what did you expect?

Monday, August 17, 2009

My first weekend of bedrest was about as boring as you would expect bedrest to be. Luckily, everyone else had exciting plans so I can at least blog about that!

Friday evening Dusty took Max to Grandma's for the weekend and he and Chris picked up the first load of trees that they would be planting between our two yards all weekend. I did get a cute picture from the window of Dusty driving Andrea, Peanut and Chris over to our house to have some lunch.

They worked pretty much all weekend on this but now we have some really nice trees to both provide shade and some privacy. I'm excited to go outside and see them, I've only taken looks out the windows and I'm already really happy.

Thankfully Andrea was around to help. I know she helped a lot with the trees, but she also brought lunches and ordered dinner for all of us throughout the weekend. If it wasn't for her I may have starved to death! OK, maybe not, but I do appreciate all the help she has given Dusty and I over the last few days. She is an amazing sister!

Sunday, Dusty finished up and it was time for Lyla's 1st birthday party. She was such the party girl with lots of smiles, squeals, and giggles for everyone. She was scooting all over the place and really enjoys trying to get her cousin Max. They are so cute together! Max also was really into helping Lyla play with her new gifts. Here's a picture of Katie and Lyla opening a gift and Max on the other side playing with one of the newly opened ones. He doesn't mind if it is pink and purple, he's comfortable with his manhood!

Then of course we need a cake picture. Sorry this isn't straight on but you can tell that Lyla was really into her cake. She got so much frosting on her face that twice they had to swipe her nose to make sure she could breathe. Such a cutie pie!Dusty, Max and I got Lyla a push walker so that she can chase after her cousin Max more easily. I can't wait to get these two back together and have the walker to see if she really will use it for that. I'm so glad that Max and Lyla are so close in age, it just makes it so fun to watch them together!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bedrest - it really is such a dreadful word! Yes, I am officially on bedrest starting today. This baby is just too excited about playing with its big brother Max it doesn't want to wait for a good time to come. And I know it is Max too, because whenever I hold Max against me the baby goes nuts. Picking up Max from daycare yesterday? I get a contraction. I'm telling you, Max better be ready because this kid wants to play.

I'm not going to share all the gory details here - I believe in TMI for a public forum. Today's Dr visit was really interesting though. I got in at 8am and didn't leave until almost 10am. While there weren't many physical changes with my body or the baby, they did hook me up to check for contractions and I am having them. So I got to have a steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop just in case and I'm also on some blood pressure medication that may or may not help stop the contractions. Either way, I'm not contracting to the point that they are leading to labor but there are enough other signs that they want to be proactive and prevent me from getting to that stage for at least 2 more weeks.

What does all that mumble jumble mean? It means bedrest, plain and simple. It also means Dusty is officially in charge of the house and Max. I feel bad for him but I know he'll handle it just fine. It helps that we have such amazing friends and family already offering to help with all sorts of things. I love you all!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Max and I both had Doctor appointments these last 2 days so we've been a bit busier than usual. OK, maybe not usual, but busier.

Max is now coming in at 50% for his height at 31" and 50% for his weight at 25lbs. So he has averaged out there. He still has a big head though that puts him at 75% for his age. Just proves how much more brains he has in there, or as Daddy and I like to reassure him. He also had to have a finger prick to check his blood. He did really well during the whole prick and pinching out the drops with just some sporadic whining as he didn't like being held down. Unfortunately when it was over and the nurse had to bandage him up she pushed his finger too far back and that is when the crying started so we didn't escape it, but Max was quickly cheered up when he got to walk away and go back outside and away from the nurses. We spoiled him with a little Acapulco's for dinner.

I went in for my scheduled checkup this morning and was surprised to find out that based on some checks they are concerned this baby may show up before 35 weeks. I have to take it really easy for the next 2 weeks but was still able to continue to work for the time being. It helps that I have had a pregnancy already and know what to watch for, otherwise I think it would be handled differently. My biggest concern is having a healthy baby. Max was 35 weeks and 5 days, so if we can get to 35 weeks I think I will be just fine as Max was a healthy 6 lbs 8 oz even though he was early.

Here's to 2 weeks of laziness!

Monday, August 10, 2009

It was another wedding for Dusty and I. Yeah, we really are at the age where every weekend consists of weddings or babies. It does get overwhelming at times but we are always so happy for the couple that it trumps those emotions when we're there. Well Brooke and Dana's wedding was no exception to that rule. I am so happy they are finally married!

Many of you know that Brooke has always been a special cousin to me and my sisters. She spent about a month every summer with us growing up. My mom would plan all sorts of fun activities for us that almost always resulted in ValleyFair for the last week she would stay with us. Outside of the summer months Brooke was a pen pal too; she lived in Ashland which was a 4 hour drive away! She would take her time to write her cousins that were 2-5 years younger than her and make us magazines and all sorts of fun things. We loved her so much and it continues to this day. Needless to say we all wish her nothing but happiness and I think this picture shows how much Dana = happiness for Brookey!
Of course we had to get a group shot of the "sisters". Did I mention Brooke designed her own wedding dress? She is a fashion designer, you can always check out her designs and the designs of her designer friends at bcatthreads.com!
I also have to give my parents and Grandma some love here as they were kind enough to take charge of Max and leave early to get him to bed so Dusty and I could stay out and celebrate. I love having such generous parents and will brag about them all night if I need too; as many people found out! Thank you Mom, Dad and Grandma!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Max is always trying to pick my tomatoes and gets upset with me every time I pick the tomatoes and don't give them to him. So I finally decided to just give him one and see what he does.
Needless to say he ate pretty much the whole thing. He never really looked like he liked it all that much so I'm pretty sure that this just shows Max is as stubborn as Dusty and I and wasn't going to let me think he didn't want it after all his whining.
He is turning into his uncle uncle Jeff. Yes, you read that right, we call him "uncle uncle" because "great uncle" just wasn't right according to Dusty. Ha ha - love you uncle Jeff!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Welcome!

For my regular blog readers I'm sure you were surprised to see this new web page. I have decided to no longer maintain my own website and instead use blogger as it is much easier to update and add photos, plus I can do it from any computer instead of needing just my computer that has specialized software for updating my website.

For those of you visiting me for the first time, hello! I've been keeping a blog since 2006 and do my best to update it at least once a week if not more. One of the great perks about using blogger is that you can choose to follow my blog and it will let you know when I make a new post.

I hope you enjoy my new blog. I've been updating and learning blogger for a little over a week and have put the same blog information from my website on here but have added a couple surprise entries for my regular readers to enjoy!

Monday, August 3, 2009

We had a very exciting, family filled weekend. It started Friday evening, after Dusty and Chris worked in our garage, we all headed out for a bonfire. Randy and his girlfriend Ashley also joined us and Andrea showed up just as we had to take cover from the oncoming storm. It was a nice relaxing evening before a bunch of festivities.

Saturday morning we loaded up and headed over to Dusty's parents where everyone had breakfast before heading out for the family golf outing. Ed and I don't golf so I volunteered to watch Lyla and Ed helped me take the kids to the county fair. Don't we make such a cute family in our matching pink and John Deere outfits?
Ed was such a great help with the kids and we all had a really great time checking out all the adorable little animals. Here is a very cute picture of Uncle Ed helping the kids see the ducks.
After the fair the kids and I went home for some lunch and naps and then we were off to celebrate Adam's 30th birthday at Nick and Theresa's. Apparently Max and Lyla got a little too comfortable as they had their first fight - over the volleyball. Uncle Andrew/Daddy and Uncle Randy certainly didn't help the situation by cheering them on.
Now as if this wasn't enough fun for one weekend. The following morning we were all off for the Young Family Picnic at Lake Elmo Park Reserve. Max developed a little fever so he wasn't his normal cheery self so I spent most of that time taking care of him and didn't get any pictures, but we still had a great time. Afterwards we dropped Max off with my parents and Dusty and I went to Melanie Anderson's CD Release Concert at the Varsity Theatre that evening. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got home last night.

Max is still recovering and spent a good chunk of the night unhappily awake, which means I was also awake. But he is getting some R&R with Grandma today so hopefully he is feeling better tomorrow since his field trip to a farm with daycare is tomorrow!