Isaac at 18 Months

I cannot believe this kiddo is already 18 (alright, almost 19) months old!  He is so busy and fun right now!  It seems like the time is just flying by and before I know it he'll be 18 and off to college (or a mission).  Good thing I'm having another baby to keep me from getting too upset at Isaac for growing up.

18 months marked the magical day where we could start sending Isaac to the nursery at church.  Andy and I have been looking forward to this day for months!  I mean, 2 whole hours each week of just getting to sit and listen to/participate in the lessons?  It sounds like a dream...and it still is.  The first week went great.  I took Isaac into the nursery, introduced him to the nursery leaders, got him distracted with a ball, and then slipped out.  He stayed in for the whole 2 hours no problem.  I, on the other hand, wanted to cry as soon as I dropped him off (can we blame that on pregnancy hormones?).  It felt so weird to just sit in between classes and not be chasing Isaac around or trying to entertain him.  The next week didn't go so well.  He started crying as soon as we walked in the door (every other kid was crying too).  Since everyone was crying he never calmed down and eventually ended up back in classes with us.  The third week (last week) was even worse...he had a fever so we didn't even take him.  He sat on Andy's lap quietly all through Sacrament meeting and Sunday school, but then when we split for Priesthood and Relief Society he started bawling because I was leaving (we ended up going home because he was so upset that he couldn't be with both of us).  We have our fingers crossed that this week goes a little better.

Isaac's reaction to me trying to clean the apartment.

Checking for studs in the door.

Eating some yogurt and fresh peaches.  We're working on spoon control.

In his new life jacket. Now I won't have to worry about him so much at the pool!

All this growing is exhausting!

Falling asleep while eating.

A few other things about Isaac at 18 months:

• He's grown 6 inches since his birthday.  It's no wonder I feel like he constantly needs new clothes!  Thanks to all the growing, he's thinned out a little everywhere.  His cloth diapers are the only thing that keeps his shorts up.  I sometimes think about potty training him, but I don't know where we would find pants for his skinny little bottom if he didn't have on a diaper!
• He HATES wearing a shirt.  The only way I can put one on him is if I do it when I change his diaper; otherwise he goes around shirtless because it's not worth the tears that accompany getting a shirt put on. 
• He likes to build towers with his Legos...and he's actually getting pretty good at stacking and unstacking them.
• His favorite toys are still my kitchen utensils...and unfortunately now he can slide his hand in and grab a few things out even with the drawer locks.  He loves helping me cook though!  As long as I pull up a chair for him to stand on and give him a few things to play with he's as happy as a clam helping me to make dinner (or anything else that needs making)
• This boy is so strong and so smart.  This morning he pulled a chair up next to our TV stand, climbed on it, and stood next to the edge so he could reach around into the bookcase that's right next to it so he could try to grab my laptop that was sitting on one of the higher shelves (you know...so he can't reach it).  Nothing is safe! Yesterday he pulled the utensil draw out as far as it could go with the drawer lock and used it to try to walk up the closed cabinet beneath it.
• Isaac LOVES his dad!  It takes him a few minutes after Andy comes home to forgive him for being gone all day, but he seriously LOVES Andy.  
• Isaac is teething with a vengeance.  After a few months of me worrying if he was ever going to get molars, he's simultaneously cutting molars and canines.  6 teeth in a month is serious business (the two that haven't come in yet are the molar and canine on his bottom right side).  Hopefully it's all over before we go to Utah in a week and a half.  Then we'll be done for another 6 months or so!

20 weeks... Halfway There!

I can't believe I'm already halfway through this pregnancy!  Compared to my pregnancy with Isaac, this one seems a lot more tiring.  Maybe that has something to do with chasing an 18 month old around all day instead of sitting in a chair at work all day.  I wouldn't change it for the world though!

Today at exactly 20 weeks!

This time around, it's interesting to notice the differences between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Isaac.

• I don't crave meat nearly as much.  With Isaac I could eat burgers like no one's business.  I loved them! This time around, I'm more likely to crave a salad or a really good sandwich (or more realistically a bag of chips).  I think this is probably because we've been eating more meat now that Andy's graduated.  
• I've been drinking more water. Some days are better than other, but as a general thing I drink a lot more water.  Last time I dealt with slight nausea and dizziness throughout my pregnancy related to low blood volume (due to not drinking enough).  I think that since I was in a cool office all day I just didn't think about it.  Now that I'm moving and in a slightly warmer setting, my body tells me I need it more.
• I definitely started to show earlier! At 12 weeks one of my friends (who knew I was pregnant) told me I was showing and at 14 weeks someone who I hadn't told I was pregnant asked how far along I was.
• Maternity clothes are definitely not as exciting.  This is probably in part due to the timing of this pregnancy (aka, being pregnant all through a Texas summer).  My goal is to wear as few layers as possible.  Have you tried to find shirts that are thick enough to not need an undershirt and also have a high enough neckline?  Not easy.  Even harder is finding long enough shorts that don't have a full panel (I finally did thank goodness).  As for a non-knit pencil skirt?  Don't even get me started on that issue... Long story short, if anyone wants to develop and produce a line of modest maternity clothes I have a list of things that I would love for you to make/take into consideration!  In the meantime, it's time for my sewing machine to come out of the closet and for us to become good buddies again.
• I'm generally a lot calmer (in my opinion...Andy might say differently).  With Isaac I feel like there was so much to do throughout the pregnancy.  We needed to buy so much stuff...and buying all that stuff meant researching all that stuff!  I spent hours reading reviews and lists of different "must have" baby products!  This time around, my freaking out is more related to "where is this baby going to sleep" (Isaac went straight into his own room because we all slept better that way...having a baby sleep in our room does NOT seem fun) and "are we going to be able to be able to get Isaac into a big boy bed and off the pacifier before this baby comes".  The only things we "need" to buy are a pack-n-play and a double stroller (If you have an opinion on double strollers--inline vs. side-by-side, brands, etc--please tell me).  Much less stressful.  Plus I've lived through the newborn phase once, I know the tough things that are going to come up and I know how to address them.

This pregnancy has also made me take note of some things I'm going to need to do differently the next time around.  What kinds of things you may ask?  Well...

1. Stock the freezer and pantry really really well.  We survived the first trimester, but our grocery budget didn't.  We ended up spending a lot of money on convenience foods because I was so exhausted all the time.    Seriously... it was bad.  Even still there are days when it's nice to be able to just pull a few things out and make a quick dinner.  I'm definitely planning on stocking up before the baby's born so we don't have to worry about things after he/she comes.

2. Work out!  Specifically...get my abs and lower back in rocking shape!  Due to the lack of abs (and the fact that it's my second pregnancy) this baby popped out way earlier than I remember Isaac popping out.  My lower back is already taking a beating (and my sciatic nerve isn't helping things either) and with 20 more weeks (and the lbs to go with that) to go, I definitely should have worked on strengthening the muscles that  carry the load.  I ordered some prenatal yoga/workout DVDs that should be arriving today, so hopefully it's not too late for me to at least keep this from being a major issue as the pregnancy progresses.

3. Different timing.  I love having fall babies because it's easy to eat fruits and veggies throughout my pregnancy (plus they'll be one of the older kids in their grade...I hated having an April birthday once I got old enough to gain privileges with each birthday).  Now that I don't sit in an office all day (and I'm not in Utah where the summers are milder), I'm already thinking that I'd rather have the majority of my pregnancy be in the fall/winter. We'll see how that works out though.

All in all, we're pretty excited to have a new member of the family joining us in 4 1/2 months!  We're even more excited to find out in a week whether that little person will be a boy or a girl!

Memorial Day Weekend

This year, Andy got Friday and Monday off for Memorial Day weekend.  Since we're going to be going to Utah so soon, we decided to spend the weekend here in Dallas doing some of the things we've put off doing.  I'm definitely glad we did!  Despite Isaac teething and having a slight fever as a result, we had a lot of fun!  It was the perfect amount of relaxing and doing things!

One of the things we've been wanting to do since getting here is go out for BBQ.  Since most good BBQ places are only open during lunch it makes it a little hard for us to go.  So Friday we headed down to Mike Anderson's BBQ.  It was everything I had dreamed about!  So moist and delicious!  I forced myself to eat everything on my plate...and then ate a small ice cream cone (free ice cream is the best end to any meal)!

Polish sausage, turkey breast, brisket,  fries, and peach cobbler

Isaac's favorite part of the meal.

On Saturday we headed down to the Perot museum.  I've been wanting to go ever since seeing how much fun my friend Kristin has taking her boys there and I'm so glad we did!  It's amazing!  Andy and I are definitely excited to go just the two of us sometime.

We literally had to drag Isaac away from this truck multiple times so other kids could play on it.  He LOVED it!

Monday morning we met up with our good friends who live in our complex for some swimming and a little cook out.  Unfortunately it was a little chilly for swimming, but that didn't stop the kids (and therefore the dads)!  It was perfect weather though for blowing bubbles and hanging out next to the pool.

During the weekend Andy also finished our dressers!  Last July we bought a pair of Ikea Rast dressers to use as our nightstands with every intention of painting them and fancying them up a bit, but they sat next to our bed for 10 months before we finished them.  When I went up to Kansas at the beginning of May, he took the chance at an Isaac free apartment to work on them.  Unfortunately rainy weather made it take quite a bit longer than we anticipated (oh how we can't wait to have a garage!). We love them though!  They make our room look so much better!

Overall it was a pretty awesome weekend!  Isaac and I loved having Andy home for 4 days.  It was definitely a nice little break while we wait to go on vacation.