Take Two...

After a rough night of Leland being up nearly all night {not sure why, but he was up every half hour between 11:30 and 4:00, just wanting to snuggle...weird for him}, Friday morning, our little family got up ridiculously early for what I like to call "Take Two" of tubes surgery. You know, since we were supposed to do this whole thing two weeks ago, but due to a slight temp, slight cough, and a rash, we had to reschedule. Well, today was the day.

I got up at 5:00am, woke up Leland and Dave at 5:30, and we left the house at 5:45. We checked in at the surgery center at 6:00, did some paper work, and waited to be called back to the pre-op room.

Leland had fun playing in the waiting room with the kitchen toys. Those are always his favorite. Then, in the pre-op room, it became quite apparent how little sleep he had gotten the night before. In typical Leland fashion, he wanted to play with everything that isn't a toy, and threw a little tantrum when he didn't get his way.

Rolling on the floor, mid-tantrum

But they didn't last long, and he would get distracted by something else.

Playing with the blood pressure cuff

Rolling around with his blankie. He was seconds away from falling asleep.

The anesthesiologist and the doctor came in to talk to us before the procedure, and then we just waited for the nurse to come get him.

The nurse came in at about 7:00 and introduced herself. She was super nice, and when she held out her arms for Leland, he went to her without a problem {I think it helped that she had a stethoscope...the kid likes stethoscopes}. They left the pre-op room and we waited for a minute to make sure he was out of sight before we went to the waiting room. We didn't want him to cry for us, since he went with her so easily. And he didn't cry at all. I peeked out the door and watched them walk away and he was perfectly content. I wasn't though. I was crying. Then I looked back at Dave and he was tearing up too.

We went to the waiting room, and I was starving so I bought a muffin and a juice. I had barely eaten any of it when our little buzzer went off saying that his surgery was done. So we went to conference room to meet with the doctor and he told us that everything went fine. He gave us some post-op instructions and answered our questions. And then we went back to the waiting room to...well...wait for Leland to wake up. This took approximately five minutes. 

So we went to recovery and our boy was awake, just chatting away with the nurses. He was a little grumpy, but was doing well. He ate a small snack and had some water, and then we left. We went home and had some breakfast and just resumed our day as if nothing had happened.

We left the surgery center shortly before 8:00. So, the pre-op stuff took about an hour, the surgery took 5-10 minutes, the wake up from surgery took about 5-10 minutes, and the post-op recovery took about 20 minutes. Lots of waiting before the surgery, but I was amazed at how quickly the actual surgery went.

I was told that Leland may be groggy throughout the day, but that was not the case. He was full of energy and wanted to PLAY! He was a little grumpier than usual, but overall was fine. He really wanted to play in his pool, but we didn't have his ear plugs yet {he has to wear ear plugs now for all water play and baths}. So after his morning nap, we went back into town to get some from the doctor's office and then visited the park.

I am amazed at how well he recovered, and so thankful it was fast and easy! Now, I look forward to moving on and enjoying our summer, with hopefully no more ear fluid or infection issues from now on.

Do the Math, Renee...

Last week, my co-worker's twelve year old daughter was at the coffee shop for a bit helping out. She would help make smoothies or hand people their orders, she swept and helped clean up, just because she wanted to. Some of the customers commented on how cute and sweet it was and I agreed completely. I love seeing kids with willingness and ambition to do something other than watch TV or play video games.

Several customers asked me if she was MY daughter, and I was completely surprised. I was all, Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous. But I just smiled and said no, and that her mom was in the back making food.

But the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous I thought it was. Until I really thought about it. Here's my thought process.

How crazy is that? A twelve year old daughter.

Pshhhh...I'm not old enough to have a twelve year old!

Do I look old enough to have a twelve year old?!

I'm only 29, for crying out loud!

I mean, that would mean I had her when was...seven...seven-t-t-een.

Oh, I guess I am old enough to have twelve year old daughter. Weird.

And that's when I realized that I am not as young as I thought I was. And that I apparently don't look as young as I thought I did either.

18 months...

Dear Leland,

Tomorrow is June 28, 2013, which means tomorrow you will be 18 months old! When you turned one, I stopped writing monthly letters to you, but I started doing monthly updates up to 15 months on my blog so I would remember what you were like at each stage. But now, since you're a year and a half, I think it's time for another letter.

You are growing and changing so fast, sweet one. Every time I turn around, you are learning or doing something new and turning into quite a big boy. I guess that's a good thing, since you're going to be a big brother in roughly four months. That's right, you have a baby brother on the way! I can't wait to see you interact with him and watch the two of you {and any future siblings} grow up together.

You weigh just under 25 pounds and are about 32 inches tall. You are wearing mostly 18 month clothes, size 6 shoes, and size 5 diapers.

You are quite the curious little guy. You love anything that you're not supposed to have and can be quite mischievous. I'm okay with it - it means you want to know what's going on and how things work. But it sure is tough making sure you stay safe and out of yucky stuff - like the toilet brush...why, oh, why do you love the toilet brush? Gross.

Your current favorite thing to do is climb onto our kitchen chairs, and then onto the table where you dance and play. Ummm...not safe, little man. To avoid this, we have to put the chairs up on the table. I do love your dancing, but prefer that you do it on the floor.

You love to play outside. When we get your shoes on, you cheer and get so excited. Sometimes, we just play in the backyard, which you enjoy because there is lots of room to run. Sometimes we take a walk in your stroller, and sometimes we head to the park. Wherever we are, you're having fun as long as you're outside. You also LOVE water. Earlier this week, we went to get some pictures at the beach. This time of year, the water in Lake Michigan is still pretty cold, but you didn't care. You dipped your toes in and were ready to go all the way in. You're totally my kid. I am so excited that it is summer and we can enjoy some beach days once the water warms up {we'll give it just a couple more weeks}. And now your pool is set up on the deck, so you have lots of fun with that - climbing in and out, over and over.

You still love to eat, but some of your favorite foods have changed. You still love peas and pretty much any fruit, but you're on a bit of a veggie and protein strike. Thankfully, you usually will eat whatever we give you if we feed it to you with a fork or spoon, but when it's not your favorite, you won't eat it yourself. You're goofy like that. You do enjoy the occasional popsicle or ice cream with daddy and me. In fact, you pretty much want whatever we are eating most of the time, even though you usually have the same thing on your plate. Ours must taste better for some reason.

Speaking of eating, you do pretty well with silverware these days. You spooned your whole bowl of yogurt a few days ago all by yourself {and I think you might be a lefty because you did it all left-handed}. You like to use a fork too, but sometimes have trouble getting food to stick on it.

You love music. You have learned how to turn my alarm clock radio on, and you do every time you're in our room. Then you proceed to dance around. Dancing is your favorite. You dance in the car, in the living room, everywhere. I hope you always like to dance, not like your daddy, who I have to beg to dance at wedding receptions.

You can whistle! Daddy was whistling one day and you started to mimick him and you actually whistled - when you inhaled, instead of when you exhaled, but it's whistling nonetheless. You do this a lot now, but I have been unsuccessful at getting this on video. That's okay though - Daddy and I know you do it and that's all that matters.

You talk all the time! You talk and talk and talk and with so much expression! However, we don't often understand what you're saying. You're talking in complete sentences, I'm sure, but I have no idea what you're talking about. There are some words that come out loud and clear though. You say mama, baby, cracker, uh huh, night-night, belly (sounds like "bow-eh"), bob-bow (bottle), bye, gucky (yucky), more (sounds like "me," but you sign it as well, so I know what you're saying), and a few others. You say kitty and puppy, but they don't really sound like kitty and puppy. You also say banana, which sounds like "bee-uh."

You are not afraid to tell us when you're unhappy. You tell us exactly how much you don't like things sometimes. You do not like getting in your car seat or coming inside from playing. You hate diaper changes, especially poopy ones, which makes said diaper changes somewhat adventurous. You don't like when I have to make dinner or lunch and can't hold you at the same time. You'll be perfectly content playing and then you see me in the kitchen and immediately have to be held. Not the easiest thing for me to do all the time, so many meals are prepared with you clinging to my leg and yelling at me. Sorry, bub, but we have to eat, you know.

You often take two naps a day still. If we're busy in the morning, you may miss your first nap and be fine, but  when we're home, you let us know that you're tired usually by 9:00. You will get your blankie from your bedroom and come sit by me and lay your head on it. Sometimes you also go to the kitchen and point to the counter, saying you want a bottle, but we're working on weaning you off of those {you only get them at afternoon nap and bed time}. You still go to bed at around 7:00pm and if the house is quiet, you will sleep until about 6:45-7:00am, but if I'm up and getting ready, you wake up closer to 6:15-6:30. Sometimes you wake up once in the night, and if I give you your paci or cover you up with your blankie, you go right back to sleep. Lately, you haven't been feeling well {another ear infection}, so you like to snuggle for a minute before you go back to sleep.

Tomorrow, you will have surgery to get tubes in your ears. It was supposed to be two weeks ago, but you were not feeling well, so it has been rescheduled for tomorrow. We decided it was time for tubes because you had fluid in your ears for several months, and this can be part of the reason you've had so many ear infections, and it can also impact your hearing and speech. I feel so bad that you've had fluid in your ears for so long - you must feel like you're hearing everything underwater. Tubes should help with this though.

You have such a fun personality. You love to play hide and seek, and you like to have me chase you around the house. You are a true joy to be around and such a sweetheart. I love you so much, my big boy. To the moon and back a bazillion times.

Love,
Mom

22 weeks...

How far along: 22 weeks

Pardon my wet hair and the pile of laundry on the floor behind me. I didn't take a picture yesterday and was too lazy to do my hair and get my tripod out for a pic. :)

Total Weight Gain: +12 lbs.

Size of Baby: papaya

Maternity Clothes?: I’ve been wearing my stretchy skirts, and I have one pair of shorts that are big enough (from when I was pregnant with Leland). I think I’ll have to invest in a pair or two of maternity shorts/capris.

Sleep: Besides terrible dreams keeping me up (from watching Lifetime movies and reading the news reports about drownings and such), sleep is great.

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular. I guess I’m really liking fruit these days.

Food Aversions: Meat. Still.

Gender: A brother for Leland.

Emotions: So happy. Just wanting to get everything ready for him. Remember, with Leland, I was waiting until Christmas break to get things done, and my water broke the day after Christmas. With this one, I am hoping to have things bought/done before school starts. Should be easier this time, since we have most things and it’s another boy.

Symptoms: Had some low blood pressure this morning, but not too bad. And at least I was at home, so I could kind of relax until it went back up. Nothing worse than trying to teach/work with low blood pressure.

Milestones: Another wonderful week down. 18-ish more to go.

Movement: He’s a mover and a shaker! I mostly feel him at night, starting at about 8:00pm and continuing all through the night. Sometimes during the day too.

Best moment this week: Seeing Leland play in his pool. I hopped in as well, and he was so excited to see me in there with him!

Looking forward to: Picking a name, getting Leland’s surgery done this Friday, and picking out some décor for our sweet one’s room. I’m going with an elephant theme this time. Leland’s was frogs and turtles, which I love, but I want something different this time.

Extra Notes: Still debating the name. I still love Cohen Henry. And I also adore the name Bennett, but not sure about a middle name for it {I don't think Henry quite fits}. Dave hasn’t been throwing out any suggestions lately, so maybe these two are growing on him. 

Tipping is not a city in China...

I've spent the last 15 years of my life working various jobs. I've worked in two pizza places, an ice cream place, several retail stores, a resale store, a department store, a Subway {the sandwich place, not the train place}, a few schools, daycare centers, and preschools, and of course a few nannying gigs. And there may be a job or two that I have forgotten about. I started working when I was 14 {at Subway in the mall}, and have always had at least one job since then. But usually, I've had more than one at a time. I've had a lot of jobs in the last 15 years!

In all of these jobs, Dairyville was the only one where I ever earned tips regularly, and that was only the last summer I worked there. We weren't allowed to have a tip jar for my first nine years there, but then my last summer there, we had a tip jar.

There were days/nights when I would walk away with about $5 in tips, and there were also times when I left with upwards of $40 in tips, but most of the time it was somewhere in the middle. Usually, I could count on about $15-20.

During this time, my tip money was my spending money. I put my payroll money in our bank account {actually, I think that summer, most of it went to one grad class}, but I was free to spend my tips however I wanted. I chose to save it. I saved my tips for those few months to help purchase my DSLR camera. I found that it was a pretty easy way to save money, and it didn't take me too long to get my camera.

Now that I work at The Coffee Bean, I am earning tips once more. I make an hourly wage, which is pretty much mine to spend how I want. I still get paid from school in the summer, so the money I make at the coffee shop is extra, and Dave doesn't really care what I do with it. I have been saving some for grad school, and some for baby stuff {decorating the nursery, newborn photos, etc.}. But then, on top of my hourly pay, I get tips. Each day I have worked, I have made about $10-15 in tips. I thought about using this money toward grad school and baby stuff, but then I decided to give it to Leland.

Leland has a piggy bank - or a "froggy" bank, really - in his room. I attempted to do the "$5 bill savings plan" {whenever you have a $5 bill, you put it in the bank, no matter what}, but the problem with that is that I never have cash on me. I depend on my debit card, so Leland's piggy bank wasn't filling up, like, AT ALL. I have been just putting money in randomly. Whenever I have a few extra dollars or some change, or even a $10 or $20 bill, I put it in there, so his little bank is off to a decent start. But I decided the other day to just give Leland my tips.

I only work 2-3 days a week, but if I make $10 in tips each day, that could be $20-30 or more in one week for Leland's college fund! Or first car fund. Or trip-to-Australia-with-his-mama fund, because he knows that's her dream. But, really, I hope he uses it for college, and I hope he can get through college without having to take out student loans.

I'm not incredibly strict about it. I mean, if I'm on my way home and need to pick up some milk or something, I will use it. Or if I'm going to lunch with a friend, I might use it instead of my debit card. But mostly, I give my tips to Leland.

Eventually, we will move this money to a savings account or something, but for now, I'm enjoying filling up his froggy bank. Also, I plan to get an "elephant bank" for our new little one, and I look forward to filling his up as well. Have to keep things fair, you know.

I'm pretty excited about this plan and I'm kind of curious to know how much is in there. I've never counted.

Sweet Summer Time...

Today marks the end to our first full week of summer vacation.

We haven't done a whole lot this week. With the weather not quite "summery" and Leland having an ear infection earlier in the week, we've laid pretty low. But it's still been pretty enjoyable. We took a walk down by the marina, had lunch at Grand Traverse Pie Co., had a play date, played in the yard, and Leland got a hair cut.

I'm enjoying the whole not having an alarm clock thing, with the exception of Mondays and Thursdays when I have to work at the coffee shop, but even those days it's not nearly as early as school days.

This morning, Leland and I got up bright and early {well, not so much "bright," as it was overcast this morning} to try to get some 18 month photos at the beach - just me practicing my photography skills. Then we went to the farmer's market, which is just a quick stroller ride from the beach, and snatched up some yummy, local strawberries and asparagus. And we can't make a trip downtown without visiting our favorite bakery for some doughnuts. It was a nice morning of playing in the sand, strolling along downtown and stuffing our bellies with treats.

The weather forecast is showing some much warmer days next week, so as long as that 30% chance of thunderstorms every day doesn't actually happen, we may actually make it to the beach for swimming.

Leland's surgery has been rescheduled for next Friday, the 28th {on his 18 month birthday}. Once that is done, I anticipate lots more summer fun for us over the next two months, including the National Cherry Festival, right here in Traverse City which starts next Saturday. I am loving sweet summer time!

Here is a sneak peak of our photo session this morning. You can see the rest later this week when I post his 18 month update.

He enjoyed climbing up and down these steps over and over.

Walking in the grass.

My favorite hand to hold. Okay, I like holding his daddy's hand too.

Brave little soul dipped his toes in Lake Michigan. Brrrr! He was totally prepared to go further, but I was not prepared to go in after him!

{Though I did bring a towel and change of clothes in case he did go all the way before I could catch him.}

Things I Have Learned from Working at a Coffee Shop...

I am not a coffee drinker. I love the smell of coffee, but not so much the taste. Before being pregnant with Leland, I would get an espresso once in a while - like once every six months. But I haven't had any since then. And I can't stand regular coffee...gag me.

But I'm working 2-3 days a week at a coffee shop this summer, and I have learned a lot about coffee drinkers already. For example...

A surprising amount of people order just plain old regular coffee. I don't really understand this because (1) plain coffee is disgusting, and (2) can't they just make it at home and save time and money? I don't know...maybe it's just me.

Some people have pretty complicated drinks. When I used to get my espresso, I thought my drink - a hazelnut mocha - was complicated. Pshhh...that drink is a cake walk. It's when people order a non-fat, decaff, crazy flavored espresso that I get confused. I think that if I were a coffee drinker, it probably wouldn't confuse me, but it's kind of a different world to me. I'm getting the hang of it, but there are definitely times that people confuse me with their orders and I have to repeat it to myself over and over so I don't forget.

Coffee house hot chocolate is THE BEST! I may not drink coffee, but I do enjoy a treat every so often. I usually make myself a cup of hot chocolate when I work, and it is delicious! I like that, since I make it myself, I can make it not too hot {I hate burning my mouth on hot chocolate!}, and I can put all the whipped cream I want in it. And I totally put a lot in it. The whipped cream is homemade and delicious! I could just eat it by itself with a spoon.

I love bacon! I knew this before, but at the place where I work, we sell breakfast sandwiches {and lunch sandwiches too} so I often have to cook bacon. Oh man, it smells so good. I could totally be a vegetarian if it weren't for bacon.

My boss is an amazing cook/baker and it's going to cause me to gain a million pounds. She bakes muffins, scones, and cookies from scratch, which are the bomb. She makes soup from scratch, and it's to die for! It's all delicious and I am going to get huge...and not from the baby.

That's all for now.

21 weeks...

How far along: 21 weeks

Total Weight Gain: +10 lbs.

Size of Baby: Pomegranate

Maternity Clothes?: My maternity jeans are still baggy, so I’m rocking the bella band, which I find incredibly annoying and uncomfortable.

Sleep: Wonderful.

Food Cravings: Ice cream. And anything with sugar.

Food Aversions: Meat

Gender: Sweet baby boy.

Emotions: Ecstatic. Every second.

Symptoms: No more blood pressure issues lately. Yay!

Milestones: Over halfway there!

Movement: Lots and lots of movement all day long. This baby is a tumbler!

Best moment this week: Every morning, being on summer vacation. No alarm clocks for this girl.

Looking forward to: Getting Leland’s surgery over with in the next few weeks

Extra Notes: The name debate continues. I am still in love with Cohen Henry. Dave only likes the Henry part. I also love the name Bennett, which Dave isn’t completely against, but I don’t think it goes with Henry, so we’ll need a different middle name if we go that route. Also, I have a nephew named Benjamin, and am a little worried that Bennett is too similar.

About Mrs. Nowak...

On the last day of school, one of my second graders handed me an envelope and instructed me to open it right away. He was so excited for me to see what was inside. When I opened the envelope, I found a note with a survey about me. Here is what it said:

I know Mrs. Nowak cares about me because: She helps me on really hard assignments.

The most fun thing about Mrs. Nowak is: She does fun expression with her face when she reads to us.

My favorite memory this year was: Doing the Solar System play.

My favorite project this year was: The book I made, "The Power of Four."

What one word would you use to describe Mrs. Nowak? Awesome.

Why do you think Mrs. Nowak became a teacher? Because she is good at Social Studies.

What do you think Mrs. Nowak does all summer? She works at Dairy Queen. {Ha. I used to work at Dairyville, so he's close.}

What character trait would you use to describe Mrs. Nowak? Optimistic.

Where do you think Mrs. Nowak would like to go on vacation? Florida.

What color reminds you of Mrs. Nowak? Brown. {I'm not sure why brown...maybe my hair color?}

What animal reminds you of Mrs. Nowak? Owls, because they are very smart.

What do you think is the easiest part of Mrs. Nowak's job? Social Studies.

What do you think is the hardest part of Mrs. Nowak's job? Language Arts. {Ummm, not really, seeing as I am an English major. But he said that he thought this because he likes Social Studies better than Language Arts.}

What do you like best about Mrs. Nowak? She is optimistic and smiles every day.

I thought this was really cute and creative. I would love to see how other students would respond to these questions.

Change of Plans...

Friday morning, we woke up bright dark and early so that we could be at the surgery center {for Leland's tubes} by 6:15am. Leland had a little rash on his tummy the day before, but it didn't seem like a big deal. I had a cold last week and had a rash a few days later. Since Leland was getting over his cold, I thought he must be getting the same thing. His ENT said that he would still do the surgery unless he had a fever, so we headed there ready to get this thing done and over with.

We checked in and got our little buzzer that would let us know when we would head back to surgery. Leland wore his brand new turtle jammies for the occasion.

We changed Leland into his surgery gown thing and got some pretty sweet matching bracelets put on.

But while we were changing him, we noticed that his rash was getting worse. 

This picture was actually taken later in the day, after his rash started to clear up.

We talked to the nurse and the doctor and they didn't really know what to say, so we asked the anesthesiologist. She said that since he had a temp 99.5, was getting over a cold, and had the rash, it would be best to reschedule. Dave and I completely agreed, and Leland was thrilled to finally be able to eat something.

We headed home and just hung out the rest of the day. Leland's temp went back to normal, and his rash completely cleared up the next day. All was well...

...Until the middle of Saturday night when Leland woke up several times with a fever. It got up to 101.4, which is pretty high for him - he has never had a temp that high except when he had RSV at 4 months old. I stripped him down to his diaper, gave him some water and tylenol, and waited until morning when I could call his pediatrician. In the morning, I also noticed that, while his rash was gone from his tummy and back, it was now on his arms and legs. We got an appointment with our doctor {yay for weekend hours at our ped's office!}, and they confirmed what I already knew - an ear infection. 

Today has been the worst. Even though his ear infection is supposedly just beginning and not too bad, he is miserable. I haven't seen him like this in forever, and it breaks my heart.

Our ENT office will call us this week to reschedule. I'm hoping that we can get in this week or next, but we'll see.

Last Day...

Today was the last day of school. Teachers still have to go back tomorrow to clean up classrooms and file report cards and such, but today was it for students.

Even though I always look forward to summer days at home, especially now that I get to spend them with Leland, I am sad to say goodbye to my third graders. I teach a multi-age classroom of first, second, and third graders, so I have students for three years, and after third grade, they move on to upper elementary. It is hard to see them move on after three years together.

I am always a little emotional about the end of the school year, but this year is different. I have a super close relationship with my students and we have been through a lot together. When they were in first grade, I announced that I was pregnant, and then I miscarried. They were so happy with me about the pregnancy, and they were heartbroken with me about the miscarriage. And they are really the ones who helped me through it; without my sweet students, I wouldn't have had a reason to get out of bed in the mornings. I was so depressed, but they helped me smile and be happy.

When they were in second, they celebrated my new pregnancy and Leland's arrival with me. They talked about Leland all the time and they were so excited when I took him to visit.

And this year, as third graders, I had another pregnancy announcement and they are just so excited for this baby. One girl actually spends much of her recess time talking to me about the baby and hugging me and rubbing my belly.

So, basically, my biggest life events, aside from my wedding, were experienced with these kiddos. And that's  kind of a big deal, you know?

I think I could have made it through today with minimal tears, but there was one girl who just looked so sad all day. She was holding back tears all morning, and finally when it was time to say goodbye, she couldn't hold them back anymore. Naturally, I couldn't either, and we both bawled like little babies. Which then caused a chain reaction and we were all a bunch of cry babies.

But now the day is over and I am settled down a little. I am sad to say goodbye, but I look forward to summer fun with Leland. And we have plans to meet my school kiddos at the beach this summer too.

20 weeks...

How far along: 20 weeks

Total Weight Gain: +10 lbs.

Size of Baby: Banana

Maternity Clothes?: I definitely should be wearing maternity pants, but mine are so baggy! It must just be because I am smaller this time than with Leland.

Sleep: Awesome. And my best friend. And after this week, I won’t have to get up at 5:15am anymore {until late August}. Aaaahhhh…so nice to think about.

Food Cravings: Fruit snacks still. And watermelon. It’s weird to me that my cravings change so much from week to week this time. With Leland, I wanted the same few things my whole pregnancy – salad, potato chips, and fruit.

Food Aversions: Still meat.

Gender: Sweet baby boy. We are so thrilled!

Emotions: Happy, but worried all the time. I try not to, but I am so freaked out about having another pre-term birth {only earlier this time, which would not be good}.

Symptoms: My blood pressure hasn’t been a big issue lately, thankfully.

Milestones: 20 weeks – halfway {hopefully}!

Movement: Feeling him more the last few days, usually at night when I’m sitting on the couch doing school stuff.

Best moment this week: Telling everyone our big gender news.

Looking forward to: Next week, when school is out, and Leland is done with his surgery, and we can relax and enjoy our summer together.

Extra Notes: The name debate has begun! Dave is, once again, a name-hater. I threw out a few names and he hates them all. Right now, I am in love with the name Cohen. There are other names I like, but none more than Cohen right now. And I like Henry for a middle name. Dave’s not on board, so we just have to wait and see if he decides he likes the name or if we come up with something else. I think I also like Walker, but not in love with it.

Products We Love

I think that I have posted before about some baby products we love, but it's been a while, so here are a couple of things we love for Leland.

As I was rocking Leland before bed last night, I remembered one BIG thing that I am so glad we have - a recliner in his room. When I was pregnant with Leland, I knew I wanted an actual recliner instead of a glider. Gliders are just not comfortable to me, and I knew I would be spending many hours in this chair, so I wanted it to be comfortable. However, funds and space were somewhat limited. I looked into the recliner sections at the furniture stores, but spending upwards of $400 was not an option for us.

So I checked out the Art Van Clearance Center and found a great one. It was small enough to fit in his room, very comfortable, and super affordable! It rocks and reclines. I think I got it for around $170. And it has been the best baby item we purchased. All those nights up with Leland, nursing or just snuggling, and rocking every night before bed were so comfortable! It was also a great spot to take Leland's monthly photos.

And Leland loves to play on the chair too.

Another baby item we love are Target Up & Up diapers.


We started out using Pampers, which I liked, but MAN are they expensive! We were spending, like, $25 a week on diapers. We also tried Huggies, but I hated them. They leaked every time! But I had heard a few friends talk about the Target brand diapers, so we gave them a try. I first fell in love with the price - they are half the price of Pampers {Dave calculated that Pampers were about 25 cents each, while Up & Ups are around 11.9 cents each}. Then I fell in love with the look and feel. They have cute little polka dots on them, which I prefer over characters {I get tired of looking at Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh all over everything}, and they felt a lot like Pampers. Then I fell in love with how well they work! They work just as well as Pampers. We have been using these since Leland was in size 2 diapers, and haven't looked back.

Lastly {for this post anyway}, we love the Trend Lab blanket that came with Leland's bedding set.

Image is from the Trend Lab web site.

I picked it out because I liked the pattern, never expecting that Leland would love the blanket so much. I thought it would be more decorative than anything else. But the kid is obsessed with this blanket! Leland has many blankets, but this is by far his favorite. He likes to rub his hands and face on it when we rock, and whenever I pick him up, if I drape the blanket over my shoulder, he immediately snuggles into it. He has to have it to sleep with, and he loves to carry it around the house {though it's kind of big, so he tends to trip on it}. The back of it is kind of like fleece, so it's super soft and cozy.

Since Leland loves it so much, I have already picked one out for Baby Boy #2.

The set comes with a blanket, sheet, crib skirt, and bumper and you can get matching accessories with it too, like a lamp, window valence, hamper, baskets, etc. We got the matching valence for Leland's room, and we'll probably do that again with the new set.

So there you have it - my latest list of Mommy favorites.

It's a(nother) Boy!!!

Today was our ultrasound, so I thought instead of a pregnancy update this week, I will share about that.

When we got to the ultrasound, I had my first real "feeling" about the gender. I walked in thinking, I bet it's a girl. Then, pretty much as soon as I saw my baby on the screen, I couldn't imagine it being anything other than a boy. I started saying things like, "He's an active little guy today," and, "Oh, he's sucking his thumb!"

The US tech did all the usual measurements, which takes forever, but is pretty cool to see. I was nervous to see all of the baby's organs, especially the heart, because I have heard of a few acquaintances lately whose babies have heart defects that they notice during the 20 week scan {like only having one chamber}. I was terrified of this, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw all four chambers for myself.

After all the measurements were taken - which actually took a while because Baby was a mover and a shaker - he showed us his manhood.

Unfortunately, at this point, our little man decided to take a nap, and we didn't get any pictures except for profile pics.

We did get a couple of videos too, but he was pretty much just breathing, so not much to see really.

I am so excited to be having another boy. I know that he and Leland will be best buds {most of the time}, especially when they're older. I am anxious to see what he looks like - will he look like Leland or will he have a look all his own? I can't wait to see him in all of Leland's preppy boy clothes. And I can't wait to see Leland teach him all of his naughty ways, though I know I will regret that later.

The only thing I'm a little worried about is...the name. We had the hardest time agreeing on a name for Leland, but eventually it just came to us and we both loved it. I'm hoping we can agree on a name easily this time. My students have all kinds of ideas for me, such as Leland Jr., Liam, Lee, and anything else similar to Leland. Ha ha. And so the Great Name Debate of 2013 begins!