Prenatal checkup

We had a regular prenatal visit with Dr. LePore today. They listened to the heartbeat and Nathan kicked the scanner really hard and the nurse was impressed but felt sorry for me. I guess he is going to be a showoff too! He measured me and I am measuring right on for size. I only gained one pound this month! Yippee! Who would have thought with all of the holidays and candy I've been eating! I am glad for that! I start going every two weeks now. They moved my due date up to March 1st instead of the 5th. Yay! We are in the third trimester and in the homestretch! It won't be much longer! I guess I should start preparing for his arrival.

Brian's one year check up

Brian visited his pediatrician on Monday. He weighs in at 20 pounds and some ounces and 29 inches tall. He is in the 25th percentile for his weight and 50th percentile for his height. He's a lean mean climbing machine! His doctor said he looked great. His blisters on his fingers healed up just fine and the doctor said they looked great and we didn't need to continue putting cream on them. No permanent damage. In fact he was fine by the next morning. I think he forgot that he had a boo-boo the nite before. I had her check his fingernail that he got smashed in the door on Thanksgiving and she said the discoloration would probably take 6 months to a year to go away completely. He liked when she tried to listen to his heart, he thought that was funny. She gave him a book to take home and then the nurse came in to give the dreaded shots... he got two in his leg and one in his arm. She did the leg first and after the first shot he looked at her with the weirdest face. It looked like he was saying "Who the heck are you and why are you poking me!?" Then he burst into tears and made sure everyone within a 3 mile radius knew he wasn't happy! He did ok for the rest of the nite. This morning he was a little cranky boy but who knows why. So we had a good visit and the next time we will see Dr. Ballard will be when Nathan is born!

Christmas Day!

Brian was up bright and early on Christmas Day. 8 am sharp! We took him downstairs and we let him open his presents. He got a learning toolbox from Mommy and Daddy and some stocking stuffers, and Santa brought him some finger paint. Dean got a GPS, some house shoes, a new head for his electric razor and socks. I got a new photo editing program and a bed skirt we needed for our bed. After we opened our presents I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. That was a first for Brian. We relaxed for a little bit at home and watched the Disney Christmas Parade on TV. Brian absolutely loved it! He laughed at all the characters and was such a happy little boy!

After the parade ended we headed off to my moms. Brian got way to many toys from Grandma! He got a lot of noisy toys, some books, a moster truck with Elmo on it, an inflatable trampoline, some clothing and alot of other fun stuff! We got a fire escape ladder for the boys room which I am very glad to have. I'm not going to go into the other stuff but it was alot fo fun things and things we needed. The one thing I will mention is the awesome Denver Bronco blanket me and my mom made for Dean. He was so upset when I told him I made his mom one for Christmas and he wasn't going to get one this year. He was very surprised when he got one! We love it and it's very warm! After we opened presents we relaxed a bit and had some lunch and then Brian took a nap before we headed off to our next location.

Later that afternoon we headed off to my Granny and Granddaddy's house. We got to hang out with my grandparents, my Uncle Chip and his girlfriend Kristen, my Great Granny and my Mom. We had a fantastic dinner with them! In between dinner and presents we hung out and chatted and that's when it happened..... Brian, just like most kids experience at least once in their life, touched the hot oven door! I was outside bringing in the gifts and probably should ahve made sure someone had him instead of assuming someone was paying attention to him and he got curious when the turkey was coming out of the oven. I ran back in the house when I heard the screaming. I followed the sounds into the bathroom where my grandparents and my mom were running it under cool water and putting aloe on it. He was not a happy camper after that. Eventually he calmed down. We tried to open presents. That went ok. He had his happy moments and his not so happy moments. But during the not happy times we distracted him with snacks and he was fine. We got some really awesome gifts. We got a date nite movie pack with popcorn and candy, a walter filter pitcher, a George Foreman grill, a blanket and some other things. Brian got books, clothes, and a snowglobe with teddy bears in it. I know we got some other things but I put them away right away this year instead of letting them sit under the tree for weeks and now I can't remember what we got! We are very thankful tho for everything we got!

Christmas Eve!

So it took me a little while to get around to writing this but I'm finally getting there. December has proven to be a very very busy month!
I guess I will start with Christmas Eve. We spent the day at my Grandmother's house. We had a fantastic lunch, hung out with the family, and then the kids got to open there presents. Brian got alot of fun things! He got a carnival type clown that you throw the balls into, a radio controlled car that Daddy and Brian will get to play with soon, two Little People cars, a shape sorter, and Alphabet Pal. I'm sure there were other things but my brain doesn't remember everything these days. Shortly after we opened gifts we realized we really needed to get going because we were quickly losing Brian. We picked a gift from the gift exchange pile (Thanks Lisa!) and headed out! We had a good day. Brian had fun getting to play with my cousin Kyle. Kyle likes playing with him, I think we need to hire him to come and give me a hand after Nathan is born. Kyle seems to have alot of energy to keep up with him but probably not quite enough! I got a good picture of Kyle kissing Brian on the cheek. He says he wasn't kissing him but I think differently. HEHE.

After we got home Dean tried to convince me to let him open his present but I told him "NO WAY!" So we had dinner and off to bed we all went!

My baby turns 1!!!!

At 11:17am, 1 year ago, my little boy came into the world crying, weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces. A year later he is a happy, running, climbing, bouncing little man. He is a champion eater and will one day eat us out of house and home. At 12 months he is walking well, climbing the walls, and very strong willed. I can't believe my baby is 1 today! Happy Birthday Brian!

We had a birthday celebration today. It was a day full of fun stuff! We went and saw Santa at the mall and walked thru the Polar Express Snow Globes. After we battled the downtown traffic we headed home to eat some lunch and relax for a little bit. (Mommy was tired of walking)

I let him open his birthday present from us this afternoon. He got a TMX Elmo and 2 Sesame Street ABC books. He likes the box the Elmo came in more than the Elmo. Oh well. Maybe one day he will like it!

Once we recuperated we went to Olde Towne Portsmouth to see the Coleman's Nursery Collection. It used to be haused aat Coleman's Nursery but the buiding was torn downa few years ago and the Courthouse Galleries took over and display the collection. My mom took me to see it when I was younger and so I wanted to take Brian to see it too. He loved it!!!! His favorite thing was the train. He did a great job not touching the displays. I didn't even have to remind him. He was so aw struck that he could hardly walk. He reached out to hold my hand but wouldn't move his feet. I guess he couldn't think about walking while being so amazed. He stared at everything and it was so hard to get his attention to look at the camera. I guess he really liked it! I am still very amazed at how well he did with not touching. Even tho the little fence was only waist high to him he rarely even touched it. I think I will be taking him again next year!

When we got home I made dinner for us and then we enjoyed the rest of his birthday cake. Amazingly it was still very fresh and very moist. He seemed to like his cake again. We didn't give him nearly as much as at his party but just enough for him to try it. We had a great day today!

A year ago today....

...I was in labor with Brian. It's hard to believe that 1 year ago Dean was in Bahrain and I was sitting at home having contractions 5 minutes apart writing him emails letting him know what was happening every minute. Even tho I knew he wouldn't read them right away since he was working. I think I sent him more than 15 emails that nite. I was timing the contractions and trying to relax. the contractions hurt but not enough to go to the hospital. I remember trying to take a nap since I knew I'd be at the hopsital soon, but Brian was making that impossible. I knew it was time to go to the hospital when my contracions were 3 minutes apart. I wrote Dean one last email before I left for the hospital tellling him that I was leaving and we were having a baby soon. Little did I know I would be catching every light red between my Mom's house and Maryview Hospital at 1am! I remember seeing the lighted christmas tree on top of the hopsital coming into sight and was so exctied becasue I knew we were close....

Check back tomorrow for the rest of the story!

One year later as I sit here and write this Nathan is making his presence known and I am having contractions of a different sort. At least I won't be going into labor today!

Brian's Birthday Party

Brian had his birthday party yesterday afternoon. It was pretty hectic but fun. He got lots of much needed clothing and some toys to keep him entertained. He got a little ride on toy that Dean has enjoyed trying to teach him how to ride. He already wore the batteries out of one of his toys! He loved his little cupcake that he smashed and ate way to much of! He was spastastic after eating all of that!
The fondant cake I made turned out really well I think. I was pretty proud of it. Took me forever but it looked cool!
The only present he got that we didn't want was a nice black eye! I'm not sure how it happened just yet. I know it's not the last bump and black eye but did it have to come right before his birthday and family pictures?! Oh well! He'll live.
Brian just wanted to say Thank You to everyone who came to his party!

Brian got his first Birthday Present

Brian's first birthday present came in the mail yesterday. I let him open it even though his birthday isn't for another two weeks or so. It came from Mandi and Austin Perrin in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I met Mandi on a message board for Moms of December 07 babies. We talk all the time and her little boy is having his first birthday this weekend! Mandi and Austin sent Brian and DVD called Elmo's Christmas Countdown and some paints to play with in the bathtub! It looks like soo much fun! We already watched the movie and he loves it! Thank you Mandi and Austin!!

Thanksgiving

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving Day. I let Brian eat his breakfast in the living room, which never ever happens, so he could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He ate his peaches and cheerios and laughed at the big balloons. He waved when the Abby Caddaby balloon and the Sesame Street float came on TV.

Then we went over to my Granny and Granddaddy's house to eat. My Great-Grandma, Mom, Uncle Chip and his girlfriend Kristen were there. Brian had a wide variety of Thanksgiving food, including turkey, lima beans, mashed potatoes, collards, sweet potatoes, and I'm sure there was other stuff. Daddy even let him sample from his dessert plate. He had apple pie and pumpkin pie. My Granny tried to squirt some whipped creme in his mouth but kept getting air instead. I had to cut her off because I was worried the baby was going to get stoned from the fumes. (probably wouldn't happen in reality) After we ate he played and we chit chatted and had a good time. (Pictures to come soon)

On Friday we had Thanksgiving again with the other set of family members. It was my grandparents (my mom's mom), all of my aunts and uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins (Baby Taylor), and my cousin's husband's family. Confused yet? Well let's just say there were alot of us! Brian again ate a lot of different stuff. Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, rolls and I'm sure more stuff. After lunch we sat and played in the living room with the family making a circle around the living room so he couldn't escape. He got it see Baby Taylor up close for the first time. Taylor is now like 3 months old. The first thing Brian did when he could see him was give him a big kiss on his head! Nobody told him to or anything he just right out and kissed him. I'm hoping someone got a picture of it. We came home and Brian slept like a baby with a full belly all nite!

Brian the Builder

Grandma came over today and played with Brian. They built towers out of the storage containers. Brian had alot of fun being destructive! He just thought it was sooooo funny!

Snow in VA!

Brian saw his first snow in Virginia today! It's only November and we had our first snowfall! We were watching the News at Noon and they were talking about the snow we had this morning. Apparently we missed it. This isn't the first time Brian has seen snow. When we flew to Colorado when he was two months old he saw snow in Minneapolis and in Colorado, but he ws to little to care. I was telling Dean that I wish we had seen it and been able to show Brian. No sooner had I finished my sentence a snow burst came through and huge snowflakes were falling. I told Dean to throw these warm clothes on Brian real quick and I ran to get myself some decent clothes. We tag team dressed Brian. I threw some fleece pants over top of his jammies and threw a hat and coat on him and we ran out the door just in time to take a few pictures of the snow before it stopped. Brian loved the snow! He must have some Colorado blood in him afterall! Dean showed him the snow in his hands and showed Brian the snow that landed on his pants. I wish it had stuck around, hopefully this isn't the only snow we get this year!

"You call this snow" - Dean (Colorado native)

"See Brian, this is snow"

OOO I like snow!

Where did he learn this?!

How on earth did he figure out how to stick his tiny little toes into those holes and climb straight up the gate? I was washing some dishes and went to check on him and I saw him climbing up! I happened to have the camera nearby and I snapped a picture before telling him to get down. Wouldn't you know the little stinker climbed right back up it? He got up further the second time to where his belly was at the top and he was leaning over. I freaked out that time and didn't take a picture. I yelled "NO!" very loudly and he got down and looked at me and said "oh". Like he knew he was in trouble! The little stinker!

He advanced!

Dean advanced to second class! they called us at 8:30 this morning with the fantastic news! We are so excited! This was the fourth time he had to take the test because the advancement rate was so low. Only 8% of everyone in the navy that took the test would advance. He passed his test every time but never advanced! YAY! I know he is relieved, especially with the other baby on the way, the economy the way it is, and with only one income.

My little climber!

Brian is really starting to climb all over everything these days! He really must think he is a little monkey! I panicked just for a second when I looked over at him and saw him sitting on his table, but when he started to try to stand on it that is where I had to draw the line. This morning he flipped his toy basket onto it's long edge and climbed that and tried to get on top of the TV stand. He was touching the TV when Dean ran over and pulled him off. Needless to say the toy box is no longer in the living room, I don't think Dean would ever let me live if Brian broke his TV while I was in the bathroom. Ugh! I think I'm going to lose my mind when I have two active little boys!

Our adventure at Golden Corral

We went and had dinner at Golden Corral. I was a little worried about taking Brian but I figured there would be plenty for him to eat. I made him a little buffet of food to eat. Mostly things he likes and eats on a regular basis. I gave him a green bean first (his favorite thing at home, he eats them plain, no salt). First thing he did when it went in his mouth was spit it right out. Oh well. Then he had some mashed potatoes. He ate that no problem. He spit out the half chewed lima bean. He had some chicken, he ate one piece and then spit the rest out after that. And then the brussel sprout... I wasn't sure if he was going to eat that since he had never had it before. He put it in his mouth, then stuck his tongue out, raked the piece off of his tongue with his mouth and THREW it on the floor with attitude! It was hilarious! We laughed and the family at the table next to us laughed. They had a little girl about Brian's age. She did the same thing with most of her food too. So in then end, I guess if you wanted to know how the food was at a restaurant you should ask an 11 month old. He was pretty right on about the food tonite.

It's the little things that make me proud

It is the little things that Brian does, learns, or figures out that makes me so proud of him. Things that nobody else except his mom and dad care about. It's those little things. Things like pushing his arms through his sleeves, pulling his head out of his shirt at bed time, learning how to open the wipe box (not so good), using toys or boxes as a step to get up onto the couch (also not so good), learning how to throw the ball, knowing that it's mommy's hand inside his puppet, knowing that when I sign food to him he knows it's time to eat or figuring out how to peel the duct tape off the cabinet to open the doors whether its with his little fingers or his sharp teeth. It's these little things that he picks up on and figures out. Even the things I'm not really happy about him knowing, I'm still proud that he's learned it. My little boy is getting so big!

His new favorite things to do with daddy...

Brian has two new things that he likes to do with Daddy. They are playing with the shape sorter and taking laps around the living room.
Dean is teaching Brian about his shapes. So far Brian has been able to do the cylinder which is the first one they started learning. Brian actually gets it in the hole, lifts up the flap to get it back out, puts the flap back down and does it again. They started square today. He hasn't quite gotten that one just yet but he will. The last one to learn is triangle. At the moment we can't find the triangle so it might be awhile before he gets that one.
The other thing Dean and Brian have been doing is working on Brian's leg strength. They did laps around the living room this morning. It is building Brian's confidence and maybe it will help him walk a little better. Right now he walks like a drunk. In due time.

Dean's first welding project

Dean has been playing with his new welder and he made a stand for his truck took box. The box was a little to small for the truck and would slide off and lay in the bad. So he made a stand that held up the box! What a smart idea! It works great!

Prenatal Appointment

I went in for a check up today. Baby is doing great. His heart rate is about 140. I gained 2 pounds (keep in mind Halloween was last week). I had to take Brian with me and he was not having it after a while. I don't blame him tho, I was tired of sitting around waiting to. The nurse watched him while I went to the bathroom and she was showing him to the nurses in the office and said he had Paul Newman eyes. She told everyone he looks just like his handsome daddy. I'm sure Dean will love to hear that he is being checked out by the nurses at the office. hehe Everything looks good and I go back in 4 weeks for a checkup and to take the Glucose test. Check back for an update!

Brian's 1st Haircut!

Brian went and got his first haircut today. He was starting to look like he had a mop on his head. We took him to Great Clips in Chesapeake. He sat in Daddy's lap. He did great in the beginning when she was cutting his hair. He kept trying to look at the scissors and comb. When she pulled out the buzzer he didn't like it that much. It was hard to keep him still. I think it kinda tickled his neck. He got a balloon and a certificate to mark his big day! My big boy now looks like a little man!

We have a climber!

Brian wiggled his little butt up on to the couch this morning... I'm not ready for that! He was so excited when he got up there! He turned around and looked at us with a huge grin on his face... AHHHH

Election day!

Today is election day! Me and Brian stood in line for an hour and a half waiting to vote this afternoon. It had been rainy all day and it had stopped so we took advantage of it and ran to the poll. But.... It started raining on us. We got pretty wet but Brian never fussed or anything! We met some guy who was running for something. School board? No.. Something else. I had never heard of him. But Brian was a very good boy! We finally got inside and into the booth. Brian liked playing with the bottom of the curtain while I voted. He almost pulled it down twice! Oops. But he was good! On our way back to the car, we saw and shook hands with Congressman Randy Forbes. That was pretty exciting. I wish I had been able to take a picture. Oh well... maybe in 4 years..

Peek-a-boo!

Brian was having fun playing peek-a-boo today. He initiated it for the first time this morning. Usually we play with him, but today he played with us! So much fun! It's amazing how much he grows everyday!

He clapped!

Brian clapped today!!!! We've been practicing and trying so hard to get him to do it. Finally today he did it!

Fun at the park

We went to the park today. I think we both needed some fresh air. Grandma came with us and everyone had smiles on their faces! Brian liked the swings and the red bridge. He especially liked it when Grandma was jumping up and down on it. HeHe

Splish, Splash I was Taking a Bath

Brian was cranky all day today. By 7:30 I had had enough! The only thing I hadn't tried to make him happy yet was to play in the water. So he and daddy played in the bathtub for about 30 minutes. They had fun together. Dean showed him how to push the button on his little shower head to make the water come out. He ate quite a bit of bubbles, so I guess that means his insides are clean too! He loved playing with his rubber ducky. Just before it was time to get out, he tricked mommy by playing a little game of peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

This water tickles!

Big smiles!

Ahh, this is the life!

This is MY duck!

Silly duck!

The view from above!

Where is Brian?

Peek-a-boo!

Hi Mom!

Now that is some messy hair!

Trick-or-Treat!

Brian went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight! It was a little chilly but he had fun. He rode around in his stroller most of the time. He got a ton of candy and mom and dad are pretty excited about it! There weren't a lot of houses that were really decorated but there were a few. Some people thought he was a cow and some people thought he was a girl. The one's who thought he was a girl all said he had really long lashes so I guess that's why they thought he was a girl. Mom was tired of walking after two hours but it was ok!

When a pregnant woman wants s'mores...

...and its below 40 degrees outside, her wonderful husband makes them for her over the stove!

2 out of 3 are well!

Me and Dean are well... Brian is kinda so so at the moment. He still has a little runny nose but seems to be doing fine. I think by morning he will be OK!

Brian's first cold....

Brian has his first cold. :( He went to bed just fine. No signs of sickness. He played and ate normally all day. Around 11:15pm he woke up fussing and wouldn't go back to sleep unless someone was patting his back. That went on till about 1:15. I had already been asleep for an hour before he woke up so I was exhausted standing there over his crib patting away. Around 1:15am I tried to leave and just let him cry it out for a little while. I thought he might only cry for maybe 10 minutes but it was at least 45 minutes. Around 2am Dean went in there to calm him down. He rocked and patted him for a good 20 minutes in our bed. We laid him in bed with us for a half hour and then took him back to his crib. By 3am I think we were all sleeping again.
He woke up this morning with a runny nose, sneezing, and a little cough. We all woke up with a stuffy nose. I think we all got head colds. Unfortunately there is nothing we can give him to make him feel better. He's been sleeping alot today which is nice. He hasn't been eating very well but he's still drinking his formula. Poor little guy sounds horrible. He wants to make sure everyone gets sick with him tho. He walks over to you and then coughs on you and then spits just to make sure you catch it.

Trick-or-Treat Round One!

We went Trick-or-Treating In Olde Towne Portsmouth in their annual Safe Trick-or-Treating. We had fun today! We thought it was going to be a wash out since it was rainy on the drive over. But it cleared up just in time! It was a little crowded towards the end. But it was definatly fun! There were actually alot of businesses that participated, much more than I expected. Brian got alot of candy in his container, but of course, mom and dad get to eat it! Alot of people thought he looked like a cow and alot of people figured out that he was a dalmatian. Here are the pics!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins last night. We had fun with it! Dean carved his own and I carved one for me and Brian. It took us a little bit to figure it all out and it was a mess but it was still fun! Mine is a cute face and Dean's is the Headless Horse Man.

Oops....

Brian took advantage of the opened wipes box while I was cooking some dinner...

What a great week!!

We had a great week developmentally this week! Brian got rid of his bink and his bottles at the same time!! yay!

No more bottle?!

Well i ran out of bottle liners yesterday afternoon and instead of going to the store I decided it was time to learn the sippy cup. He bites it instead of sucks on it, which makes a huge mess. Well his dinner bottle was a mess, he got milk everywhere. His bed time bottle started out messy but then he figured out how it works! He had his sippy cup at breakfast this morning and had no problems! He takes his sippy cup like a champ now! I guess I can pack up the bottles too!

Bye, Bye Binky Day 3

Brian has finally given up the bink! He didn't need it at all today! I think I can go ahead and pack them up! YAY!

Bye, Bye Binky Day 2

Day 2 of trying to get rid of the bink went great! He fussed a little bit before his morning nap but went down quickly. He spent his afternoon nap in the car so obviously that went well to. So two days of no bink and I'm still alive. I think this is going well!

Mommy-2 Bink-0

Bye, Bye Binky! Day 1

We are trying again to get rid of the bink. I thought it would be good to do it now while Dean is gone. It tends to get stressful when we try to take the bink and we end up caving because we get so short tempered with each other. The only time he needs his bink is duing nap time. He spent his morning nap in the car so that wasn't a big deal. The first problem didn't start until his afternoon nap. That was a disaster! He cried for nearly an hour and a half. Eventually I got him to lay on a pillow and go to sleep. So day one ended with just one battle but mommy won!

Mommy-1 Bink-0

Brian's Halloween Costume

I made Brian's Halloween costume this afternoon. I had alot of fun making it! He is going to be a Dalmatian! I love it! I can't wait to show everyone! Come back and see it on October 31st!

Hunt Club Farm Pumpkin Patch!

We went to the Hunt Club Farm today. We met up with some other local moms from the WTE message boards. The babies had a blast. We went to the petting zoo and played with goats, sheep and chickens. We saw a cow, a donkey, turkeys, ducks, geese, pigs, and bees. Then we went and played in the hay stack. The babies tried to eat the hay and looked really confused with it. After a throw down in the hay we went and played with the pumpkins. Brian tried to pick up the little pumpkins, but they were a bit heavier than his baseball. He had fun trying to roll them around tho! He played with pumpkins twice his size and three times his weight! All in all I think we had a fun family day!

Baby # 2 is a...

It's a boy!!!!! We are having another boy in March! We are so excited! The ultrasound Tech is very positive. Dean actually said it was a boy before the tech did. lol Here are the pics!