Busy is an understatement

Well hello there neglected blog! I realized today that it's already the middle of June and I have yet to do any sort of updates. Here's what's been happening in my life:

*Bubbie is awesome. He's still throwing tantrums every once and while, as well as working on the potty training, but he's such a loving boy. I just can't believe that he's going to be heading off to preschool in September already. I feel like I just brought him home.

*Bubbie's birthday trip to Disneyland was a big fat fail. We were there a total of 2 hours in which he started running a major fever. By the time we got home and I could check his temperature, it was at 102.6. Good times. Hopefully, we'll have a do-over next month.

*Z is growing and growing - already 6 months old! Talents include: laughing, jumping like a maniac in his jumperoo, rolling, sitting up for short bursts, shrieking, eating his toes and generally being adorable. He is still a beast to get to sleep, but we're working on it.

*B and I have decided that we're going to be moving sometime in the next few months. Our house has depreciated in value so much and we just don't foresee it increasing to the level we bought at for years and years. We're hoping to rent a place for a while until our credit recovers from whatever we end up doing.

It's been a crazy few months and I can't believe this year is already halfway over. I'm already starting to think about what to do for Z's birthday party. Ridiculous! Just cross your fingers for us that the housing stuff works out, Z starts sleeping better, and that Bubbie is fully potty trained by September for preschool!

2 is so much harder than 1

Well, here we are. It's April and I've yet to do any sort of updating at all about Bubbie and Z. So, without further ado:

Bubbie turns 3 in a month. He is an amazing, loving, funny, intelligent, and exhausting boy. I love him to pieces but holy crap, the tantrums that kid can throw. We really didn't have many behavior problems with Bubbie for the past year so for him to be throwing shoes at me, yes shoes comes as kind of a shock. He's definitely crying out for more attention, but I know that the 3's can be hard. He's having a hard time dealing with emotions and doesn't know how to express them appropriately. We're trying to teach him ways to cope with anger, but he's still working on it.

For his birthday, we're taking him to Disneyland (before he actualy hits 3 so he's free :P) with just us. Z is going to stay with my mom for the day and Bubbie is so excited. He has no idea what Disneyland is other then where Mickey Mouse lives but he's can't wait to just have B and me to himself. The only sucky thing is that I'll have to pump throughout the day since Z is breastfeeding. Sweet.

Z had a bit of a rough start with a week long stay in the NICU for a random infection. He is an adorable baby and I love him to pieces. We are still still adjusting to life with 2 kids. Z tends to be difficult when he's falling asleep and must be bounced. When I say bounced, I mean that I basically do calf raises over and over again until he relaxes enough to fall asleep. This makes it a little tricky when Bubbie is downstairs waiting for me to come play. Z has started laughing and has an amazing smile. He's rolled from his belly to his back a handful of times, but I have a hard time doing tummy time with his brother Captain Destructo running all around. I'm always worried that Bubbie will accidentally fall on him. He has found his feet and hands and has started passing toys from hand to hand. I'm looking forward to finding out his stats next week at his 4 month appointment, but not the shots.

I will say that I do not know why I ever thought having 1 kid was hard. 2 is so much harder.

Wee Man #2 is here!

Bubbie's little brother has made his big arrival. Here's my birth story!

I was due on Dec 10 but after going to my appointment on the 8th, I was 80% effaced and locked up tight. My doctor was pretty sure that he'd see me the following week and that we'd end up with a scheduled repeat c-section on the 16th. I was really hoping for a VBAC so I was pretty bummed.

We were doing lots and lots of walking and trying to naturally induce labor. Saturday night (12/11), we wandered over to Walmart to walk around. I started having some pretty gnarly Braxton Hicks contractions while we were there but they stopped after I got home.

Fast forward to Saturday morning (12/12), I get up at 6:24am (yes I remember the exact time) to use the bathroom and when I laid back down I felt a contraction. I had been having a hard time distinguishing a real contraction from a false one, but when they say you'll know, it's really true. About 10 minutes later, I had another one. So I let B know while he was getting Bubbie out of bed. I got up around 7 and started to time them. Around 7:30, I called my mom to give her a heads up and told her that if my contractions kept up for an hour, we were heading.

8:30am rolls around and we decide to head in. The hospital was an hour away, so I wanted to hit the road before they got too painful. My parents showed up and my dad took DS to his house and my mom followed us in her car. The drive in was okay to start with but by the time we got there, the contractions were pretty rough.

We checked into triage, where I started moaning through the pain. The triage nurse checked me and I was only 1.5 cm. I about cried. She asked if I could walk around even though I was in so much pain because they couldn't give me pitocin. I begged her to let me stay because of the drive and as she looked at my stats my water broke. I was stoked because I knew I would be admitted but scared because I knew the contractions were only going to get stronger. At one point, I was moaning so loud that I joked that I was ghost. B was cracking up but being super supportive while I basically tried to break his thumb.

By the time we got to the L/D room, we had been in triage for 2 hours. I got an epidural and finally began to feel better. The nurse checked my progress and I had already gotten to 5cm! The next few hours passed somewhat slowly but my mom and B kept me entertained. Around 3:30, I was feeling pressure and was about to ask B to get the nurse to check me. Right before he went out, the on-call OB came in to check and shocked me by saying I was fully dialated.

I started pushing at around 4pm and was able to feel pressure but no pain with my epidural. I pushed and pushed and pushed for 2 hours when the nurse asked if I wanted to use the mirror to help me focus my pushing. I wasn't sure, but decided to give it a try. The mirror completely helped and after another 30 minutes of pushing, Z entered the world at 6:25pm. Seeing him come out in the mirror was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and I am sooooo thankful that I was able to get my VBAC.

He had a lot of fluid and mucous in his lungs that they got out and he has a hydrocele that will eventually drain on its own. Once he was suctioned, they gave him to me for skin-to-skin time for at least 2 hours. It was awesome.

By 1:30 the next day, he was in the NICU for some rapid breathing and a possible infection, but he is doing fantastic now and will be coming home on Monday. My recovery has been awesome, especially compared to my previous c-section.

Due dates

So here we are...December 11. My due date was yesterday and there is no baby in sight. I had my last doctor's appointment on Wednesday and while I'm 80% effaced, I'm not dialated at.all. I'm on edge since I'm trying for a VBAC and doctor is giving me until the 16th before I have a repeat c-section. So any of you out there that actually read this blip of a blog, please send me some labor dust!! I want to meet this little guy!

38 weeks!

So, yeah, it's been awhile. Looking back at my last post, I was going to my 3 hour glucose test and we hadn't had our second ultrasound yet. I passed the 3 hour test and Deuce's ultrasound came back clear - no more cysts! Yay!

Now we are just in a holding pattern, waiting for Deuce to make his appearance. I hoping for a VBAC but have a c-section scheduled if I go a week over because they will not induce a VBAC. I'm crossing my fingers that it all works out okay because I really don't want to have another c-section.

Bubbie is doing well. He's speaking very well and only having a little bit of a set back with the whole potty training thing. We've just had to remind him more to tell us when he needs to go since we've been slacking.

So, we wait!

Hello September

Well, I'm officially in my 3rd trimester. I can't really believe it. I had my 1 hour glucose test on Wednesday and failed, again. So I have the fun of going back in a week to do my 3 hour test. I'm not looking forward to it. They end up doing the blood draws out of the same arm each time because they have such a hard time finding my vein in the other arm. It's not fun.

The pregnancy hasn't been too difficult, aside from the whole tiredness thing. I'm usually exhausted by the end of the day from chasing Bubbie around all day. I've also been getting awful heartburn. Aside from that, we're just waiting for the next ultrasound and appointments. I'm almost at the every other week mark, which is crazy.

As for Bubbie, he's doing well. We're still working on the whole potty training thing. He's doing great - except for going #2. I'll save you from the details, but will say that the kid's stubborn. He's also been having a lot of fun with the plethora of instruments he has. His current favorites are his guitar and kazoo, or kazooti as he likes to call it.

About a week ago, we took Bubbie to visit my brother at work. Big Bro is a firefighter so Bubbie was super excited. BB took him in the fire truck, the ambulance, showed him the station, and gave him a little Jr. Firefighter badge sticker. It was pretty cool.

Wish me luck on my 3 hour test! I'm really hoping I pass.

Well hello there!

It's been awhile. A month a few days to be exact. We've been in potty training land for the last month and it's been going well. That is, except for good ol' #2. Bubbie has become a master at not pooping, so much so that he's constipated himself to holy hell. It pretty much sucks.

We've been trying everything to get him to go when he feels the urge, but due to that stubborn streak (I blame B) he refuses. Then it hurts to go when he finally does, which causes him to not want to go. Good times.

He's doing great peeing in the potty, but refuses to use anything but our travel potty when we are out of the house - even at the grandparents' house! That potty has saved us many times already though and I totally recommend it to anyone who is the bowels (haha) of potty training. My only complaint is that it's not really made for a little boy to sit on to pee - the seat is oval enough, if you know what I mean. You really have to be ready to push him down or you are going to get a golden shower. But, he'll eventually be standing to pee and we can just have him go on bush like a grown man so it won't be an issue. Lovely thought.

As for baby #2, we've picked a name and started straightening up Bubbie's old nursery. I still have to come up with a nickname for him. Baby #2 just doesn't roll off the tongue. We have another ultrasound in October just to check on some cysts that the doctor saw. He's not concerned about them and told us that the second ultrasound will just be a bonus one. I also have my lovely glucose test in a couple of weeks which I'm hoping I pass this time around. I ended up doing the 3 hour one with Bubbie. I think it's because I ate a bunch of grapes before the 1 hour test....at least that's what I'm claiming the problem was.

Other than that, it's been the same old stuff, just different days here in the Bubbie household. We've become hermits as of late due to the fact that it's over 100 degrees outside in what is basically the reclaimed desert. So power on A/C! I'll be happy to pay that horrid bill when it comes just so I can bask in the glory that is central air.

Hope you're all having a lovely summer!

Boy oh Boy!

I just realized that after my last post, I never updated with the results of my ultrasound. Everything went really well, aside from having to keep my bladder full for an hour and a half. We also found out the sex of the baby. Let me just say that we were absolutely shocked that we are having another boy. I was so sure that we were having a girl just based on how different my pregnancy has been going.

My parents didn't want us to tell them until they could have my brother and his family over the next day. So, I baked a cake, dyed it blue inside, and covered it with about 2lbs of cream cheese frosting. Okay, maybe not 2 lbs, but it was a lot. Anyway, after dinner with the parentals, we cut the cake. My mom about fell over because she was sure that we were having a girl too. The family is super excited since my brother has 2 girls and now Bubbie will have a little compadre to get into trouble with.

Waiting for Tomorrow

We have our big ultrasound tomorrow and I'm so anxious! I know everything's okay, but until I get in there and actually get to see the baby, I'm going to be nervous.

We're hoping to find out the baby's gender, but my parents don't want us to tell them until Friday night. My dad is out of town on a business trip and my mom wants for find out with him. We're very close, my parents and I, so having to wait, especially since I have to pick up Bubbie from their house after, is going to be super hard!

My brother and his family are going to come over too. They're just getting pizza and I'm baking a cake colored with either pink or blue for them to cut into.

So, fingers and toes and eyes crossed that the baby is baking well in there!

Heartbeat

We got to hear #2's heartbeat yesterday. It was a strong 158 bpm. Bubbie's heartbeat was always high, up around 180-190. I have a feeling this one is a girl, but I don't have my big ultrasound until July 15.

I'm actually a lot more nervous this time around - I blame the internet. I feel like I know too much, not as blissfully ignorant as I was with Bubbie. I go to a pregnancy/parenting message board a lot and there are a lot of women who end up miscarrying or having other problems. There are so many things that can happen that I just didn't really consider when I was pregnant before. Needless to say, I've been a nervous wreck.

I just have to tell myself that everything will be okay and we're going to have an amazing and healthy little brother or sister for our little boy.

Making a difference

The sweet baby to the right is named Sam. He is 5 months old and on April 13, 2010 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. He is now having his second chemotherapy treatment.

As you can imagine, the doctor bills will be a great expense to his family. Along with donations through the button, the ladies at Team EcoNest are holding an auction from May 20-28 at their amazing online store. Please go by and help make a difference. All proceeds will go directly to Sam and his family.

Counting down

23 days...23 days left of school. I'm so freaking stoked. Along with school being out, I'm excited because I don't have to come back to teach next year. I was able to get a job as an assistant at the company my mom works for and I'll be working from home. The hours are really flexible and the pay is good. So, no more daycare, which hasn't been fun once Bubbie moved up to the 2 year old room. (Who's idea was it that the ratio for teachers to 2 years old could be 1 to 7??! Ridiculous!!!)

The other fun bit of news for us is that I'm pregnant! I'm due December 10 and we're so excited for Bubbie to be a big brother. #2 (gotta come up with a nickname!) is another big reason for me leaving my full time job. Daycare for 2 would eat up so much of my paycheck that there would really be no reason for me to work.

All in all, things are going well and I can't wait to stop spending time with other peoples' kids more than my own.

Teeth!

All is well in the land of Bubbie teeth. He had his next checkup for his chipped tooth last week and it tightened up. So, hooray for not having to go back to the dentist for 6 months. Yay!

Tooth update

I just realized that I didn't give an update on Bubbie's tooth! We were able to get him into a pediatric dentist 2 days after he fell. I wasn't really sure how in the world they would be able to get x-rays or even get Bubbie to open his mouth. So, off we go to the dentist, luckily B was able to meet me there.

The dentist's office was in an older medical building, but when we got to the suite, I was surprised at how bright and cheerful it was inside. There was a movie playing, bright colors painted on the walls, video games, and balloons. Bubbie was in heaven.

We got called back to do x-rays after just a few minutes there. While I filled out the paperwork, B sat Bubbie on his lap along with the pre-requisite lead aprons. The dental assistants were total pros. While Bubbie freaked out and screamed (he really didn't like that apron), one assistant held the film in his mouth and aim the machine while the other waited to get the word to turn it on. They gave Bubbie a "badoon" which turned his tears into smiles really quickly.

After the x-ray was developed, the dentist called us back to do a quick exam of his tooth. While B sat on a chair, they had Bubbie sit in his lap and face him. Then they leaned him back so the dentist looked into his mouth while he was upside down. It was really quick.

The good news was that he didn't crack his tooth, but it is a little loose. We now have to watch to make sure that it doesn't change color and go back once month for three months.

Now we're hoping that Bubbie watches his step. He's already got a little chipped tooth and a scar on his forehead from a fall at daycare. I don't want any more injuries!

Duuuuuude

B and I were taking Bubbie out for a walk this morning trying to get him worn out for a nap. Bubbie was not too keen on the idea and really didn't want to go. Well, during a minor tantrum, he fell on the sidewalk. Not too big of a deal, until we picked him up and he had split his lip and was bleeding everywhere. Good times. He looked like he'd been in boxing ring. When blood mixes with saliva, it never looks good.

I luckily had some Kleenex with me, got him cleaned up, and went home. All was fine and good. We had snack time with some apple and watched a little Nick Jr. to calm down. Then I noticed it. Bubbie chipped his tooth. Not a big Dumb and Dumber chip, but just a little one in the middle of his front tooth. Just enough for me to see it. Son of a .... I'm not too happy. He doesn't seem to be in any pain so I don't think he injured the root, luckily. But, I feel like I should take him to the dentist just to make sure there aren't any cracks. Yay.

Why you shouldn't let your toddler play with the phone.

I'm home with Bubbie today because of a random fever causing virus. It's a good time all around. I've had to check his temperature a lot with our ear thermometer and just generally let him chill. Well, we were coloring, while Bubbie held the phone, and noticed he was burning up again. I got up from his little table in the kitchen got him some Motrin off the counter. Mind you, I was about 2 steps away from him.

When I came back to give him the Motrin, I noticed that the phone was on and that he'd dialed a bunch of numbers. I didn't really look at them, just hung up the phone. Not 10 seconds later, the phone rings. It was the county sheriff dispatch. Awesome. Bubbie managed to dial 911 in the 30 seconds he had the phone without me hovering over him.

The dispatcher told me that someone had dialed 911 and they needed to check if anyone needed help. I explained that my almost 2 year old had been playing with the phone, but that I didn't think he'd actually dialed 911. Oh no, she assured me. He dialed 911 and then hit a bunch of other numbers. Sweet. She asked me Bubbie's age and my name and then double checked to make sure everything was okay. I was so embarrassed and apologized profusely for the accidental call.

I thought all was well until about 10 minutes later when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find a county sheriff outside. He said that they had received a call and was checking to make sure everything was alright. I said yes and he asked to come in to check. I told him how Bubbie had somehow dialed 911 and he said that it's pretty amazing that kids can get the numbers just right to call. He was really nice, but again, I was super embarrassed and apologetic. The awesome part of it is that I know there was a squad car either in my driveway or in front of my house. Now I'm just waiting for the neighbors to come by to see what happened.

I just hope we don't get a bill for the visit! Good times.

Um, he's the cutest kid EVER!!

Now, I know that all moms say that about their kids, but I'm hard pressed to not believe that my little guy is the cutest kid ever.

Bubbie's gotten to an age (21 months) where he is just so fun to interact with. He's talking in little sentences, dancing, joking around, telling us what he wants - really all sorts of stuff. He's also sleeping in his big boy bed at night, which is essentially a mattress with a mattress cover and fitted sheet on the floor.

So last night, we're doing our bed time routine and Bubbie started to do the same routine with his little kitty cat that he sleeps with. He was giving it kisses,saying "Sleep tight, sleep with the angels, see you in the morning" (which I say to him every night) in his little way to the kitty and tucking it in with a blanket. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen him do.

It's just amazing to me how much he's changed in the last year. He's gone from this:

February 2009 - Just started crawling

To this:

January 2010 - Still working with B

I can't believe he's going to be 2 in a few months. How has time gone by so fast? No sir, I don't like it.

It's already been better.

I was looking through old blog posts today and came across this one from last year on New Year's day. I was so full of hope after having an extremely stressful year in 2008. I really wanted 2009 to be an uplifting and easy year, but you can't win them all. Just a day or two after that post, a good friend of my husband took his own life. It was pretty much an indication of how difficult 2009 would become.

I think the hardest part of last year, aside from our house being worth half what we bought it for and pay cuts, was the fact that I was forced to go back to work (because of the aforementioned house and pay cuts). I had really hoped that I would have been able to get a part time job in the evenings and not have to go back to teaching full time. But, that didn't happen and after an extremely stressful job search, I got hired at a school that is about 45 minutes from my house. It's a lot of work and very different from my previous teaching experience.

We're hoping to get our home loan modified to expand our options job and money wise. We really wanted to start trying for baby #2, but the job things and money (freaking money!!!!) is putting the kabosh on that for a little while. Once we find out about the loan, we can start making some decisions on that front.

But as for now, 2010 is already looking better. I'm praying that it will be.

Where's the time going???!!

I'm such a slacker. I just read my last post about how it was already November and here we are in December. Rather than lament about how quickly time is going by with my little boy, I thought I'd share what he's been doing these days. So, here are some of Bubbie's latest tricks!
*Repeats lots of what you say - time to watch the language!

*Says "Thank you" and "Bless you" - hoping on please getting thrown in there soon.
*Eats with a utensil most of the time
*Knows when he dirties a diaper, but has zero interest in actually using a potty
*Can go to daycare and not cry when he gets dropped off - I don't know how I feel about this.... :)
and much much more!

Since I've been so busy with working out of the house and in the house, I'm sure I won't be back until January...so Happy Holidays!

Wait....It's Already November??

October was a super busy month with home visits, parent conferences, ear infections, really just a lot. So I'm kind of glad that we're into November. This year should be interesting with a very mobile, toddler-y Bubbie. He's into everything these days. He's running, talking, dragging me around, and generally just being a lot of fun.

As for Halloween, Bubbie was a monkey and B and I were zookeepers. We had a little family party carving pumpkins. It took Bubbie a little while to warm up to all of the people in his house mainly because he was asleep when they all showed up. He wouldn't let me put him down - appropriatley hanging onto me like a monkey. He finally came around once my parents came over and loved playing outside for the majority of the day. I think he'd live outside if we let him.

We didn't take him trick-or-treating. I have issue with people bringing little kids who obviously can't eat candy to go. We had people at our house with little babies, like in the infant carrier car seats, out trick-or-treating for their kids. Yeah, just say it's for you. He did enjoy coming to check out the kids who did come to our door. We kept him up pretty late in the hopes that he'd adjust to the time change better (he didn't). One thing I was pretty bummed about was how few kids we did get this year. There were maybe 40, 50 tops. That's not a lot for our neighborhood. We did get a lot more compliments on our decorations than we have in the last few years, so that we cool. And we have a ridiculous amount of candy left, which is not so cool for my waistline...

Anyway, here are some photos of Bubbie as a monkey and his pumpkin picking adventures.