Midsummer, Must Destroy Daddy!

Midsummer's Eve was Saturday!  Of all the odd feast meals the boys have each year this is the one I look forward to the most.  Usually there is dancing under strings of lights hung from the trees in Matt's parents back yard.  A fertility ceremony involving a fire barrel, torches, and flowers.  The possibility (or as Caitlin says the eventual) of an explosion/someone catching on fire/man related accident of epic proportions.  Good times!

However, this year tragedy struck when Matt's grandmother passed away on Thursday.  His only remaining grandparent was lost and his mother was understandably stressed and grieving.  Especially seeing as grandma was currently living at Matt's parents house.  All of this lead to us volunteering our house to be used for the feast meal since it was too late to postpone.  So this year there was no dancing under lights, dangerous fires, or fertility ceremonies.  There's always next year.

Instead there was LOTS of cake!

And then this morning (in between party clean up attempts) Sam and Morgan had a good 'ol fashioned tickle and face smash session.  Some things are too cute not to share.

Then Sam tried to run to me and Morgan pantsed him.

And he was very confused by it.

And Daddy had to help get them drawers back up.

A Little Something 'Bout Pencil Neck

I don't seem to be talking much about this pregnancy.  It's a combination of things.  Busy chasing Sam, not really much to tell, I'm lazy, I can't break out the laptop unless Sam is napping or he rips it apart, and I'm on Facebook this time around.  Up until I was 8 months pregnant and laid off from my job I wasn't a Facebooker.  But yeah, doing a 2 sentence status update with a photo is more in line with my lazy ways.

But, for fear that my precious pigeon pea #2 will read this 20 years from now and wonder "Why the lack of love, Mommy Dearest?" here's an update all about him.

He's growing and healthy and everything checks out.  He's much more active than Sam was.  He didn't give me his first firm kick till week 20 (which Sam did at 18 weeks), but he is constantly flipping and thumping around.  So much so that at our 20 week ultrasound they couldn't get a picture of everything they needed, even after an HOUR of scanning.  So today I went back for a 22 week follow up so they could get that last photo they needed.

No, the last photo they needed was not of his penis.  However, I like to remind myself often of the joy that will be TWO BOYS!  There are some who think I am completely loony for wanting two boys when we only plan on having two kids.  But for me, I really couldn't be happier.  I'm not a girly girl.  And I know if I had a girl she could be just like me and not care about hair bows, curling irons, ballet, and the latest hot boy band.  But. . .what if she did?  I'd have to ship her off every other weekend to my SIL's house just so she could get a dose of girldom.  This, this I am much happier with.  Much more comfy with.  All Hail The Penis!

Other than the most obvious difference (amount of activity) between Sam and Pencil Neck, he also doesn't like for me to eat.  I often go till noon before I realize I haven't had anything to eat or drink.  Even then, even though I might be starving, he sometimes just won't let me eat.  Nothing sounds like something I could manage to swallow and not feel like crap later.  He does love him some french fries!  But Mommy and Pencil Neck cannot survive on potatoes alone.  Oh, and he also hates it when I drink plain water.  Yeah, that's great.  Survival instincts.  He ain't got 'em.

Another funny thing, which I have managed to capture this time around, is that awkward stage of pregnancy where how pregnant you look completely depends upon if the baby is laying towards the front or towards your spine.  It's ridiculous.  5 1/2 months is apparently when this is the most extreme in my baby gestating.  Look and be SHOCKED!

Bedtime, kid pushing out my belly 'cause he's in the front.

Next morning, looking much smaller 'cause he's resting against my spine.

And that's about it for right now!  I have not started organizing and washing all Sam's baby clothes because I still have months to go till labor.  Kinda pointless since I would just feel that nesting urge to wash them again.  When Sam teeters over to me and grabs my belly to either headbutt it or give me a good shake we tell him "That's right!  Tell little brother to wake up!".  But of course he doesn't understand what we're telling him.  The arrival of the new baby will probably be quite the shock to him.  But I think he'll handle things just fine since, aside from the headbutting and stuffed animal choking, he's a rather gentle little guy.

And so the countdown till mid October begins!

Ketchup Monday!

So, yeah.  I have this blog where I write about things and stuff so I can help myself to remember the awesome times while entertaining the 5 people who trickle by to look at cute baby photos.  Speaking of whom - Hey, cute baby photo seekers, this post won't disappoint!

So Saturday before last we went to Cowan's Gap with friends for a BBQ and swimming.  Now, if you will recall, last year when Sam was 5 or 6 months old this didn't go so well.  He hated the water! My, oh my, how things can change in a year.  This time he loved it, didn't want to leave, didn't care that the water was cold, and was chasing after other little boys and trying to play with them.  Totally adorables.

Totally in love with Karen after she gave him Doritos.

Passed out after a long day of play!

Then we jump forward to Friday, June 7th.  Our anniversary.  5 years ago we did the "I do" thing, 7 years ago we did the "Yes, I'll marry you" thing, and almost 10 years ago we did the "Hey, you wanna get dinner sometime?" thing.  We celebrated by having my mom babysit, going to my 20 week anatomy ultrasound, going out to dinner, window shopping and ice cream, and seeing the new Star Trek movie!  What a GREAT day!  I mean, really!  I was on cloud 9. 

Fist pump!

It's A Boy!!

Yeah, the fact that I am carrying around a little boy had MORE than a little to do with how happy I was on our anniversary!  I may have confused our waitress with my happy and random "Penis!" outbursts during dinner.  Morgan kept laughing at me and my hyper joy, but he was just as happy as I was.  It's just, you know, he's a man.  He instead expressed his excitement by poking my side and belly during my exam after Pencil Neck thrusted his hips forward to reveal his wiener.

Ever since I have been day dreaming of bunk beds, living room wrestling matches, and scruffy little boys who come home so dirty after a summer day of play that they have to be hosed off before they can walk inside.  I'm so excited!

Just Chillin By The Pool

Sam has decided his baby pool is pretty awesome.  The water didn't get as warm as I had hoped yesterday, but even with him slowly turning into a popsicle he was having so much fun that he didn't want to get out.  Besides, cold baby just means extra snuggles once we came inside.

The slow introduction.

"No, really.  I'm having fun.  Weee."

"We do again tomorrow, right?"

15 Month Monster

He's growing.  He's learning.  He's hilarious.  He is walking!

Over Memorial Day weekend he went from taking 2 steps at a time, to taking 5, to taking 10 or more.  So yeah, he's kinda awesome.  He also has decided scrambled eggs are delicious, curly hair is fun to play with, and All The Things belong to him and him alone.  He loves to wrestle and uses his head as a battering ram to show you just how much he loves you.  No really, his highest compliment to give is a concussion.  The bulldog, always on the move.

Stats?  Yes.  He weighs 23 pounds 15 ounces, still in the 50%.  Height is 33 1/4 inches, so still in the 95%.  Head size, off the charts as always.  Baby has a huge head.  Dr said he looks great and he's growing perfectly!

Memorial weekend was pretty awesome!  The cookout at Ggma's house was tons of fun and Sam's first chance to really explore the outdoors since last Summer he wasn't mobile yet.  Family was in town from Belgium, Ohio, and areas much closer!  Pretty much it was a 6 hour story sharing free for all while everyone took turns playing with Sam.

And that brings us to today.  It's a Wednesday and I filled a baby pool earlier today so the 90+ degree sun can heat up the water.  If the wasps stay at bay then one little boy is going to be in for a big naked time surprise when he wakes up from his nap!  So far he thinks his baby pool is the living room bachelor pad.  

Photos to come, if we are successful.  With naked time modesty patches, of course.

A Boy & His Favorite Toy

I bought him this a couple days ago to reward him for being a trooper during a difficult Dr visit.

I'm thinking it was a very good buy.

They have been inseparable ever since.  Even taking it up for naps.

And he gets a little jealous if I try to play with it too.

Inseparable.

Library Time aka Mommy Social Hour

For a little under a year now I've been taking Sam to the Babies With Books program at our library.  I love this program.  We sit in a circle with our little, and not so little, babies and do fun things like bouncing rhymes, instrument play, bubble time, and parachute play.  After the program we have about 15 minutes of free play and us moms get to chit chat.  As a mommy who doesn't get out of her house as often as she probably should, I live for Tuesday mornings.

A couple weeks ago, and again today someone broke out their phone to take a few snap shots of the baby extravaganza.  I never bring my camera/phone into the circle because I know I go a bit nuts with the photos and I didn't want to creep anyone out when I'm taking 40 pictures with their kid involved.  But if someone else does it?  YAY!  As long as they share it with the group.

That little girl on the left is Sam's girlfriend.  They always seek each other out.

They share a mutual love of other peoples strollers.