it took me down. way down.

Last Saturday around lunchtime I just started not feeling very well. By that evening I was feverish and achy. By Sunday night I was miserable, crying because I was just in so much pain from the fever, vomiting, coughing, I've had every symptom on the list. It is now Wednesday and I am able to get around the house for a few hours before the nausea comes back. I got the regular flu shot this year so we can only assume that this was the dreaded swine flu, and it hit me hard. Somewhere between all of my symptoms and delirium Gene was also hit with something, we're not sure if it was a milder form of the flu or if he just had a stomach bug but thankfully his peaked at its worst before mine did so someone was always well enough to take care of Luke. Gene's was also much shorter. While he is still not at 100% yet, he has been going to work and running the household and stuff. My doctor called in some Tamiflu for me on Monday and after about three doses my fever finally broke. Having the flu is awful, having it and being uncomfortably pregnant is a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. Plus with all those scary "Pregnant woman dies of swine flu" stories out there I found myself praying more than once that this wouldn't kill me. I think I am over the worst part of it and am hoping to be back at work by Sunday. I am thankful that Luke hasn't gotten it yet and hope it is not on the horizon for us. Just staying at home now and taking it easy for a few more days.

Baby steps

So I have been trying and trying to finish this post and I just can't seem to do it. Every time I get back to finish it, I have more I want to write and don't get to the next part. So I have decided today that I am just going to break it down into smaller sections and get it done, otherwise I may never get back to my blog. Forgive me as my blog may be out of sequential order, but you'll get the picture.

Part I:

Baby Numero Dos Update--Where did I leave off last? Oh right, gaining too much weight... story of my life. Well, my weight checks have been fine at my last few appointments. I did, however, fail my first glucose test so I had to go in for the three hour test--which I passed with flying colors. Also that week, I developed a pregnancy-induced arrhythmia which was so severe initially, that after 72 hours of my heart literally bouncing around at will, it sent me crashing into my doctor's office without an appointment, ugly-crying to my poor doctor because I just wanted it to stop. I had been told by numerous Dr's and CRNA's at work it was a "normal" arrhythmia and pregnant people's hearts just do funny things. Don't worry--they say. You've probably had this too. Ever feel like your heart has skipped a beat? Medically, it was a PAC or a PVC. Well my heart was skipping about 10-15 times a minute constantly for days. At times I felt weak and light-headed, but overall I just felt awful. After I got a few days off work and relaxed a bit, they just dwindled off to where we are now which is that I maybe have a few a day--and often don't even notice any. I went to a cardiologist anyway just to get everything checked and they found no problems. For now, we are not going to do anything about them. I can easily live with a few a day. If I get bad again, they may do some more studies just to evaluate me while the arrhythmia is active, put me on restricted activity, or give me some drugs to take. I'm hoping it is not an issue again.

Baby is growing right on target for now, not too big, not too small. I am not as big as I was with Luke, which has been a blessing because I am not nearly as uncomfortable yet. I just started having some slight swelling in my hands and feet this past week. With Luke, I think I started swelling somewhere around 26 or 27 weeks. I am pretty pathetic to watch roll over in bed though. And poor Luke, no matter how much he adjusts himself, he just can't get comfortable on my lap the way he used to.

We've pretty much settled on Will for his name and Luke has learned it. He can now tell us that "baby Will is in mommy's tummy." I don't think that he actually understands what is going to be happening at our house in a few months--well, weeks, really. We are continuing to transition all the baby things from Luke's room to Will's room. Gene & I got his room painted this past week and Gene is planning on putting up a chair rail this weekend. Then the work will really begin as we start to pull all the baby things out of the attic and clean them up.

I have been working on getting my Christmas shopping done as I have no desire to do it all with a newborn and a two year old in tow. I am doing great but running out of hiding spaces. Guess we'll have to start putting out Christmas stuff early!

We've been trying to help Luke prepare for having a baby around. I bought Luke his own baby to play with and he has been practicing feeding and diapering the baby. Don't worry about what effects the baby doll might have on my son, he is still all boy--he spent the first two days "fixing" his baby by smashing it on the head with his hammer. While I got these cute pictures of him being sweet and nurturing to his baby, well, we haven't seen too much more of that around here. He really still prefers his cars over any other toy right now.

Okay, so I finished the first part. I feel accomplished for now. I plan to head back for part two later this week. Hopefully I'll get to it. xoxo

Wrapping up summer

Its been about a month since I last posted so I wanted to do a quick update. Luke & I spent the first two weeks of August in mommy & me swimming lessons. Luke is now very good at blowing bubbles in the water and kicking his feet. We went to Namy & Poppop's pool for Labor day and with all the floaties on he has turned into quite a little swimmer. It was the first time he has allowed me to let go of him while we are in the water where he can't touch the bottom. He was a bit nervous at first but once he figured out how to move himself around, there was no stopping him. Then he didn't want me to hold him at all! It was fun to watch him swimming all around.

At the end of August we took a quick family trip to San Antonio. We only spent two nights there but it was crammed packed full of things to do. I haven't loaded my pictures yet but I am looking forward to sharing them. The highlight of Luke's trip was riding the bus. Luke loves buses--school buses, city buses, rv's. We kept seeing them around town and he would beg to the point of crying to just go ride on the bus. How could we say no? It was the cheapest thing we did there.

Luke started school today. Last week we went to meet the teachers and he was a bit hesitant and shy. Later that day I figured out why as he seemed to be having some *ahem* "tummy troubles" that landed us on house arrest for a few days. Thankfully he was all better by the weekend and back into full-force toddler mode. Holy moly, this kid is two--and he knows it. Anyway, I was a little worried that this first morning wouldn't go quite smoothly, but luckily he went in with a smile on his face and was sitting on his sleep mat by the door smiling when I got there.

As for the baby update, I am now in my third trimester. The baby is growing well--a little too well, but so did Luke at this stage. At my last doctor's appointment I had gained a little more weight than my doctor was happy with, so I have been on strict diet control since then. I knew going into that appointment that I was going to get into trouble. I just make big babies! I didn't feel like I had been snacking a ton or making poor food choices. Gimme a break, food was finally starting to taste good again. I was doing great until this weekend. Darn holiday weekends! Why do holidays have to be celebrated by making deliciously hypercaloric food perfectly sized for endless grazing? I hadn't gained one pound since my last visit until this weekend and now I have to go and get weighed TOMORROW!! Hope I don't get in trouble again.

We are starting to make some progress on getting the house ready for numero dos. We've started by swapping some furniture with my parents and rearranging the office furniture as our office is now going to be our guest room/office and our guest room will be our nursery. Next we plan to get Luke's new furniture ordered so that his baby furniture can be passed down to little bro. We still need to paint the guest room and get all the baby stuff down from the attic to see what is still good and what we need to replace. Luckily they are both born in the cold season so I am hoping a lot of Luke's baby clothes will be appropriate for this one.

As for names, we have yet to definitely pick one. At first we were looking at Owen, but after using it a few weeks it just didn't feel right and we moved on. Currently we are using William, and calling him Will. It seems to suit us better. We are still not 100% yet. There are a few other names we have tossed around. We keep testing names on Luke to see which ones he will pick up on. Gene can get him to answer "What is you baby brother's name?" "Will." But when I ask him he just tells me "baby sister."

Since I haven't uploaded any new pictures lately, I'll just end with one of my new favorites. I like to call it "Drilling for Gold."

The verdict is in. . .

That's right!! Another boy for us!

We've got a few names we like but haven't decided for sure yet. We will spread the word as soon as we decide!

Not as exciting as the next installment.

Luke has been a very busy, very rambunctious two year old boy this summer. He and cousins Zoe & Maya have been spending many days together at Nammy & Pop Pop's house and they have been having a ball. Learning to share has been hard for Luke but it a lesson he needs to learn anyway. He has been learning not only how to share toys, but also how to share his Nammy and his Pop Pop too. Father's day was spent doing many things out at my parents house. As usual, Luke spent a lot of time in the car just looking cool.

Then he and Zoe decided to jump in the little pool. Luke has learned how to work the spray nozzle on the hose and was giving Zoe a shower. She surely needed it as she was trying to turn the pool into a mud puddle.

I guess Daddy didn't get the memo that Luke knows how to use a spray nozzle. This past weekend, Gene's office held a carwash to raise money for a chairity walk the guys are doing in a few months. I took Luke and Aunt Bea (that's the camry) up for a scrubbing. I was standing off to the side while Daddy and Luke were sudsing up the car. I noticed Luke pointing the sprayer at me and I said to Gene "Don't you let him spray me." "Oh, I won't" was Gene's reply as he turned back to chatting with the boys and absentmindedly turned the hose away from me. No less than 30 seconds later Luke, with a twinkle in his eye, had turned it right back towards me and before I could get any words out of my mouth I was soaked. Typical boy, getting into trouble--he got both of them into trouble. Don't worry, I forgave them quickly.

Luke loves wearing other people's shoes. I just like to take these pictures so that I have blackmail for the future.

We spent the 4th of July at home, just the three & 1/2 of us. In the late afternoon we filled up Luke's pool and fired up the grill. We tried to get a shot of all of us, but Luke only cooperated once.

One day he talked Nammy into taking him to Wal-Mart to buy him some new cars. Hot wheels are his thing right now--borderline obsession. After talking Nammy into a five pack of new cars it was even worse. Rarely do we go anywhere without at least two. Two is our magic number. I figure he has two hands, two pockets, less likely to lose one. They go to the bathtub, the bed, the car, the grocery store, the ER. . .

Later that day, Luke took a spill in the bathtub that led to a trip to the ER. He busted open his chin while getting out of the tub. He was a super kid while we were there though. Through the whole ordeal, he only cried when he actually fell and then again when they held him down to put the sutures in. One baseball game, five stitches, two popsicles, and a new Corvette hotwheel later we left Cook's ER and headed home.

Here he is playing cars in bed. He parks them in a line and then one-by-one drives them around and back to their original parking spot. Don't mess it up or you'll pay.


Since we got us a zoo pass this year, we have been going to the zoo a lot. This particular day, Luke got spooked by a monkey right after we got there. He was standing right next to the glass when this monkey came and sat directly in front of him. There was maybe an inch of glass between them. Anyway, Luke was in silent shock for a minute, not long enough for me to grab the camera, before he burst out in tears. He calmed quickly but was not up for many more animals that day. That's okay, we spent the rest of the day with the non-animal attractions.

We rode the train twice. (His favorite.)

We tried the carousel again, but again he was too scared to get on the horse. We rode in the sleigh? benches? car? part of the carousel. Going round and round is not something mommy is too fond of. Of course after our turn was over he was upset that he didn't get to ride the horse. Maybe we'll try again next time.

Next, he climbed all over this western-style carriage.

Luke has been real into Hank lately. OCD Hank is doing his best to be good but has to take time-outs for himself occasionally. Here is Luke and Hank learning to be friends. What a good dog!

And lastly, I just like to close with a super-cute boy picture.

The stitches are out now, the band-aids are off. It is all just a memory of when Luke "fell in bathtub. Hurt chin." We have a sono this week to see how number two is cooking along and hopefully we will be able to see if it is going to be a boy or a girl. Once we know, we have a ton of work to do--starting with cleaning all the junk out of the spare bedroom and buying some new furniture for Luke. We'll update the blog as soon as we know.

My Favorite Picture

This is my favorite picture so far from this summer. I don't know why. I guess its just one of those Mommy things. It is right after a huge fit and he has forgiven me but is still a bit pouty. I, however, have not yet forgiven the two ladies who walked about 1 1/2 feet behind us and LOUDLY, OBVIOUSLY, stated "Ooooh. He is mad at his momma. Oh yeah, he is mad at his momma. Oh boy, he is mad at his momma." (etc. until the crying was over.) Yes. I know he is pissed off at me. I am clearly ignoring it. I am not giving in to it. I am going to win because I am MOMMY. I don't need your observations. If you were trying to be funny, then, ha ha. I get it. In fact, I got it the first time. I can even laugh at a good fit now and then. What I do NOT need is you stepping on my heels and talking about us like we are fifty yards away from you. Did you want me to stop and say "Yes. He is mad at his momma. He is mad at me because I made him sit in a stroller because it is too far and too hot to allow him to walk. I am intentionally letting him cry. Thank you."

Anyway, this is after all that. Things had calmed down. I just love this pouty little face. I even said "Smile for mommy! Say cheese!" which he usually complys with but this time he just said "no."

Food Lessons From Luke

Here Luke would like to present his food lessons:

1. It is always nice to share your food.

2. Its okay to get messy. Getting messy can be fun and yummy, but the fun stops when you throw food. Especally at mommy. . . then the fun is REALLY over.

3. When you have a big plate of good food, it is best to find a nice secluded place so that you won't be bothered. Then you should start by licking all the dip off the plate first.

4. Cool kids always act uninterested in food. The thumb is way better anyway.

5. Eating a taco can be tricky. First you have to pick it up an bite it without spilling out all the good stuff.

Then you have to put it down without spilling out all the good stuff.

But that taco always breaks!!!

6. Dirt is NOT food.

7. Milk. . . it does a body good.

8. Cake should be closely guarded at all times.

9. It is considered impolite by some to show your food while chewing.

10. Spoons can be hard to manage. It is best to just drink your applesauce.

11. Cheerios should be shoveled in by the handful, not one-by-one.

12. Animal crackers love to dance! They taste better if they get to boogie a bit before you eat them.

13. Only the truly talented can drink from a cup with no hands!!

14. I don't know how I make it look so easy. . . I just do!