walk this way.

Our little monkey is walking!
He actually started a week or two before his 1st birthday and surprised us all when he mastered it in just a week! He LOVES it. 

He is super happy about it too! :-)
His favorite thing is for Mom to chase him.

Yours truly. Almost 10 weeks and already showing.

another one bites the dust...

Forgive me dear friends for my long absence. I've been busy growing a baby in my belly! In order to clear up some FAQs you may have, I've loving stolen this Q&A from my good friend Andi.

Pregnancy FAQs

Q: How are you feeling?

A: I'm definitely not about to join an pie eating contests right now, that's for sure. I'm pretty sick most days and puke when I even LOOK at food that grosses me out. That said, I don't have it nearly as bad as others who are getting their fluids thru IVs so I'm VERY grateful.

Q: Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?

A: It's so early that I really can't say with conviction like I could with Owen but there is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying it's a girl. There is another nagging voice saying I'm always wrong so ..... :-)

Q: Are you going to find out the sex before the baby's born?

A: Absolutely. I would love to be one of those people who could have a surprise by choice but I'm a type A planner and I just can't handle not knowing! Tim isn't fond of the surprise idea either.

Q: Were you trying, or was this an "oops!" baby?

A: "Oops!" just sounds so mean and unwanted! We definitely weren't planning on it for at least another year but now that the deed is done we definitely are excited. Excited, shocked, nervous, terrified and thrilled all at once. Honestly, I'm still so thrown at the news that I forget that I'm pregnant all the time. I even bought 4 more tests after the first 2 just to "make sure," because it wasn't sinking in.

Q: Are you going to give birth naturally?

A: We'll see. I'm not going to rule it out because I definitely have a breaking point but I've heard recovery is easier when you don't have an epidural. (*or a third degree tear! boo!)

Q: Have you thought of names for the baby?

A: Absolutely. Like I said, type A planner. I started hounding Tim about names the day we found out. We have a name set for a girl (always have) but we're struggling with boy names yet again. We are hoping for a girl just so the poor child will have a name before his 10th birthday.

Q: Are you scared?

A: Extremely. More so than with our first. With our first we were blissfully unaware of the "hitting a brick wall of realization," moments. I think this time I know more of what "could," happen and I'm afraid of how to handle it with a very active toddler and no family within 500 miles. That said, I do have moments of "hey, I'm a pretty good mom," and it helps build up my confidence that it won't be as chaotic as I imagine.

Q: Is this pregnancy much like your first?

A: Yes and no. My pregnancy with Owen was fairly effortless til the last trimester with only small bouts of nausea. Heck, I only vomited twice the whole pregnancy and both times they were pre-labor induced. Differences I've noticed so far is I'm ridiculously emotional with this one. I only had a crazy pregnant woman cry episode ONCE with Owen and it wasn't til I was 6 months along. With this one I knocked that record out before we even realized I was pregnant. (and the tallies are still racking up!) Also, cravings are totally different things and came much earlier.

Q: When are you due?

A: We're due first part of December. Which is scary. December/January/February are FULL of birthdays, anniversaries and GERMS! And as a December baby myself (12/27) I already feel sorry for the kid. December is a tough month to have a birthday. But hey, at least we can count it on our taxes, right? :-)

Q: Do you want a boy or girl? 
A: Honestly, I love boys, they are just so much fun. When I picture my ideal family when we're older it's just FULL of boys. I know Tim really wants a girl though and since everyone on his side of the family are fighting for our favorite girl name it'd be nice to have a girl too. :-)

Q: Are you just having one?

A: That remains to be seen! We had an ultrasound and they did find another sac but couldn't see well inside it. Chances are it's nothing and it will just resorb or something but they haven't ruled it out completely. Fraternals twins DO run in my family so you never know!

Watermelon.

It's amazing what a little watermelon can teach you. 

Here's what I learned:

Cutting up a watermelon can make you feel like an hibachi knife master in seconds!
I felt like I had some mad skills even though it was just soft pieces of fruit flying around.

Turns out a HALF of a watermelon is enough to feed us for a week.

Owen is a watermelon monster. He just can't get enough.
Also, he doesn't know how to take small bites. I give him an inch and he takes a mile.

It's best to have paper towels on hand.
Especially if you're planning on eating it with a 1 year old on a white couch. Whoops.

Can leave you DRENCHED in pink in seconds. De-lish-us.

So perfect on a spring day.

*did you notice how it totally matches my dress? Ya, we totally planned that. :-)

mr. bear.

Owen has never been a very cuddly baby. He likes to be held but not cuddled. Before he was strong enough to push me away, he'd yell when I kissed him too much. Luckily for me, my 9 months of pregnancy followed by 22 hrs of labor and a year of parenthood (and counting) entitles me to hug and kiss him all I want. :-) I kept figuring someday he'll change his mind and agree with me. I think it's working! Lately, he has been MUCH more cuddly and even hugs me and buries his heck in my neck. My favorite is when he crawls to follow me and then climbs up my legs and hugs them. So cute!

I.love.it.

party over here!

this little monkey had a party.

so these little monkeys came to play.

 

We ate some cake and played and played!



Owen had quite the first birthday! Thanks to all who came! We had a great time!

Happy Birthday Chunky Monkey.
We love you oh so much and have enjoyed every minute of your first year with you.

Love,
Mom & Dad


p.s. I'll be sure to do a more thorough post on myla rose in the next day or two.

Recently.

We have had a hard week. Owen has been sick for months now and been waking up 4-6 times a night. We tried everything and after about 6 weeks we finally took him in and were told he was "just teething." At this point we knew that wasn't it but didn't know what else to do. When things didn't get better a month later I took him in again and was told he has strep throat. Feeling a little relieved we picked up his antibiotics only to have him wake up two nights later wheezing and unable to breathe easily. Freaked out we took him to urgent care and were told it was NOT teething, NOT strep but CROUP! The poor kid! They gave him a shot to help him breathe and he's been doing a lot better since. Poor little guy. It's terrifying when they're sick at this age when you are mostly just guessing what's wrong. I admit I was bawling in the clinic about to have a heart attack thinking the poor kid was having some sort of allergic reaction or something.
We're just glad he's better now. Phew!

Owen's first Easter was a little uneventful. We were invited to an Easter Egg Hunt but I read it wrong and came on the wrong day! Oops. I don't think he cared anyway. :-)

"From now on you are Big Haircut"

Owen got his very first haircut today. It has been past his ears and major mullet style for awhile now. My friend Sarah graciously took on the task of de-mulletizing him today. He was really good for most of it, Emma & I had to sing a few primary songs at the end but I think he was just cold.

Here was Owen as a rockstar:

And now he's ready to get a job:

I'm a little sad to see his baby hair go. He looks so much older it just breaks my heart.
Plus, now that his hair isn't covering his ears I can see how dirty they are!

Our little guy is growing up!