Our Toddler Free Weekend

Here it is Monday night and I should be going to bed but I don't really want to put in the effort to get off the couch and climb the stairs! So I'm blogging in an effort to delay the inevitable. I can hardly believe we've gone four days without Jack. Honestly, it has been wonderful. Even though we did a lot, it was so relaxing to not have a toddler to care for for a few days. Paul was a rock star and got a ton done around the house. He put up two new doors, casing and a little bit of base board. Almost all of which he had to paint first. Our guests will be happy to know that you can no longer see into the bathrooms from the hallways due to missing casing. However, with the new doors came new door knobs which Jack can open, he couldn't open the others. So I'm not sure there's really any more privacy. Paul also did some caulking and helped me clean and reorganize some stuff in the living room and made a lot of trips up and down the stairs carrying things for me. He put stuff in the attic and the crawl space for me too! He also vacuumed upstairs and helped keep up with the dishes. I could keep going. It was really quite nice to have all the help, though I did feel pretty helpless a lot of the time and wish I could have done more. We also made it a point to relax and take it easy; enjoyed two Blackhawk wins and went to see Iron Man 2 this morning. So we missed Jack and are excited for him to come home, but we enjoyed our long weekend without him. I know he will be excited to see us and tell us all about the fun he had at Grandma and Papa's house. Mom said he has done a lot of tractor riding, which is one of his favorite activities.

Happy Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been five years since our wedding day and ten years since we first went to prom together. We've had a lot of good times in those years and we are both excited to see what the next five years bring. Since I'm not really able to do any major traveling right now we are celebrating the occasion at home while Jack parties at my parents. Four days of rest, getting things done and hanging out together sans kids (except the two kicking me right now). Tonight we went out for a nice dinner at Stoney River and watched our wedding video. It was so fun to see all of our friends and family together and to remember the commitment we made to each other in front of them. I shed a few tears and we laughed a lot especially during the aisle runner debacle and when Nate dropped Angela during the wedding party dance. And Paul enjoyed embarrassing me and making me watch the part where I sing at the reception. Good times. It's fun to see how happy we were then and know that while our relationship has changed we love each other more deeply now than we did then.

Watch Natalie Grow-Week 31

I hope you're ready to laugh because this weeks post is stinking hilarious. I have never done one of these Watch Natalie Grow pictures and been more astonished. Obviously something changed in the past two weeks. I'm not sure if I simply got A LOT bigger or if babies changed position and now I'm carrying them a little different or what. But seriously, what a difference. And then to make things even more laughable I put up a picture of me pregnant with Jack. Of course in that picture I'm a week further along, but look at the difference. WOW. I have felt big for a while, but seeing the picture of me from this week, I suddenly feel gigantic.

Week 29                     Week 31

Week 32 (with Jack)

My Turn

Today it was my turn. My turn to be that mom that everyone else looks at with a sad smile while they think "why can't that woman control her child?". Yes that was me. While on the outside most people seemed at least somewhat sympathetic you know they desperately wanted my child to be quiet and they were more than slightly annoyed. If you have ever been this mom then you know that I wanted my child to be quite even more desperately than they did and I was exponentially more annoyed. As long as there are days there will be bad ones and today happens to be a bad one for Jack and thus a bad one for me. So now that I've dried my tears and we've had our third major "I'm Sorry" talk of the day, all I can do is hope and pray that we survive the day and that tomorrow brings a happier, more obedient son and perhaps the answers with how to handle days like this.

Sleepover!

Jack had his first non-family sleepover last night. Paul is out of town for work and I'm supposed to be trying really hard to take it easy so a very kind friend offered to take Jack for the day and keep him overnight. We had playgroup this morning so I met up with them there. Jack was excited about getting to play with Caleb and I was excited to rest and get some work done on my sister's scrapbook. Obviously I wasn't there all day or night but Meghan said they had a great time and Jack was good. They played in the sprinkler and the pool and went to the park and talked a lot about their daddies being at work. Here's a cute picture of them getting cleaned up from being sweaty all day. And here is Meghan's blog about the day. At night they got to share a room, which Jack has never done except with Paul and I. Apparently they had a good time chatting for a while until Meghan made little tents around their beds to try and get them to ignore each other more. But what's a good sleepover if not staying up late talking :). Thanks Meghan for everything and thanks Caleb for being a good playmate for Jack.

Summer Sunday

What a beautiful day it was yesterday. We got out the pool for the first time this year and spent almost all day playing in it. Megan and Dennis were in town for the weekend visiting us. Megan and I spent all day Saturday shopping and starting their baby registry at Babies R Us. We were there for over two hours! But we got a lot done and I tried to be smart and not let my self consciousness keep me from riding around in a wheel chair the whole time. I felt a little silly, but I know my body and the twins really appreciated it, as did Paul. Sunday after church Paul got Jack's pool set up and Jack spent the afternoon splashing and having fun. Dennis made a great playmate, while Megan and I sat in our chairs under the shade. After a long, much needed nap Jack went straight back to the pool for another hour or so while Paul and I enjoyed sitting with our feet in the water and relaxing. It was quite a nice day minus the extreme heat in our house. We should have turned the air on, but we didn't do that until this morning.

working on the important big boy skill of drinking out of a cup

Naked Toddler Cowboy

In entertainment news, Jack is getting ready to release his first single as the Naked Toddler Cowboy. It's called "Just the One". No one is quite sure where the inspiration for this song came from but it's very catchy and easy to remember. I can't type out the tune he uses but the words go like this,

Just the one

Just the one

Just the one....

He sings it at various tunes, tones, pitches and the really special part is how long he holds out the "one" part of the song. Also making this song impressive is that he can sing it continuously, at the top of his lungs while going in circles around the house. It's very special. 

Baby Update

We're 30 weeks now and had another doctors appointment this evening. My blood pressure was up again, but after laying (very uncomfortably) on my left side for a bit it was down again. So I guess that's fine for now. Babies heartbeats were good, but Baby B is still breech. Not sure the likelihood of him turning again as it seems we are running out of room. But for now I'm going with the thought that anything is possible. We talked a little about how I've been feeling and Dr. Ankrah said it all sounded normal and expected. Things like a sore back, aching hips, severe grocery shopping exhaustion, tightening of my belling when I'm on my feet a lot, poor sleeping and so on. She did say that based on how I've been feeling and my exam showing that I am running out of room, I need to be extra sure to take it easy. She didn't put me on bed rest, but said I really need to be sitting, resting at least 4-6 hours a day. Sounds like a fun challenge what with Jack constantly wanting me to play with him, run with him, jump with him and carry him. So I guess we just do our best and hope these kids stay in for at least another 5 weeks. Dr. Ankrah did say that we are doing really well and there are a lot of things that occur during twin pregnancies that we aren't having to deal with, which makes her very happy. So she seemed pleased which is good.

It Happened

It finally happened. I knew it would sooner or later and it did. Jack got out of bed during nap time. Not after he had napped but after I'd put him down, before he fell asleep. I heard his door open and close and when I went upstairs he was just standing in the hallway. I told him to go back to bed and he did right away, but started putting up a fight once he was in bed and I was leaving his room. Not sure what the deal is today, hopefully this isn't a new trend.

Another Nephew

My sister found out yesterday that they are having a boy. That makes nephew number 3 for us! Somehow what was once a very girly family has quickly become very masculine. I see lots of rambunctious years ahead of our families, especially when we all visit grandma and papa at the same time.

The Choo Choo

I'll do my best to write this post, but all of my information is coming second hand from Paul and Jack. They had a fun day together on Saturday while I went to Amanda's for a jewelry party. Which by the way, now I'm having a jewelry party June 12. Anyway, Jack has been asking to ride a choo choo for a while and Paul and I decided we would take him sometime this summer. I also had been told by a friend about The Choo-Choo, a restaurant in Des Plaines which is only a block from the train station. So I suggested to Paul that perhaps Jack would really enjoy a father son train outing. Turns out, he more than enjoyed it. He had a blast and was telling me about it again just this morning. They took the train from Palatine to Des Plaines, which is about a 20 minute ride. Then ate at The Choo-Choo where they sat like big boys at the bar and had their food delivered on the toy train that runs around the restaurant. Jack thought that was very cool. Then they rode the train back to Palatine. I guess Paul was explaining to Jack while they waited at the train stop that he couldn't cross the yellow line or the train would conk him in the head. While they were on the train somehow Jack bumped his head on the window and told Paul that the train conked him on the head. So perhaps he's slightly confused. He was also concerned that the train did not have eyes like Thomas and while riding he kept saying the train was going to fall over. We think this is due to some of his videos where trains fall off the track, his favorite parts of the videos. Here is my best written version of Jack's explanation of the day. "Ride choo choo. bing bing. choo choo bring food. ride thomas no eyes." It's hard to capture his exact wording and excitement. And the bing bing, which is something new as of Saturday is because the train has a bell that they ring and the arms at railroad crossings also ding when they go down. 

Watch Natalie Grow-Week 29

Out of my own curiosity to see how fast I am expanding we did this picture only 2 weeks after the last one, instead of 4. I'd say we had some growth. The shirt does look shorter yet again and you can't tell from the pictures but these pants are getting extremely tight. I only wear them for these pictures and I'll be surprised if they last through the whole pregnancy.

Week 27                     Week 29

Mother's Day

This past weekend was our first weekend at home together in 7 weeks. It was so nice. Plus it was Mother's Day which made for a wonderful weekend for me :) Paul and Jack went out on a secret mission Saturday evening and left me at home to rest. When they got home Paul snuck in their purchases and Jack said "Momma flowers", nothing like a little kid "spoiling" the surprise. Paul had him carry the flowers in to me. I wish I had my camera then because it was so cute seeing such a little boy carry a big bouquet of flowers on his shoulder. He also got me some chocolates, yum! And after the twins are born, there is rumor I'll get some jewelry. Sunday I really wanted to get a picture with Jack, but he was a little uncooperative. Below are our best shots, of course showing off the flowers Jack picked out for me. The last picture is from our evening splurge of Mother's Day milkshakes. Jack really enjoyed them, as did I!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was our last bit of traveling before the twins are born. I think Paul is quite happy about that since this was his sixth weekend gone in a row. Hopefully now we can concentrate on getting lots done and also relaxing as much as we can since the word relax might not be in our vocabulary soon and for a long time. But this weekend was a lot of fun. We got to spend Friday at my parents just hanging out. Paul and Jack went on a hike and had lots of fun throwing rocks in the water, finding sticks, seeing the neighbors animals and going on one of many tractor rides. I got to enjoy an peaceful afternoon at the spa getting a pedicure. And we got to spend some quality time with family; lunch at Judy's, which is one of my favorites and dinner at Avanti's, another favorite. Saturday we had a big party/baby shower for us, thrown by Nicole. It was fun to see so many people and hang out with friends. And on top of that Paul and I are so grateful for and touched by the generosity of everyone. Their gifts will be such a blessing to us as we get everything we need for two babies. We got to spend Saturday evening with Paul's family, hanging out, eating leftovers from the party and watching a movie. It's so nice to be around family. Jack got to play with all of his cousins over the weekend, which I really enjoy. Minus the parts where they fight and scream at each other :). And he got a lot of tractor rides with his Papa. They spent quite a while mowing on Sunday while Paul and I packed up to drive home. Jack does love his tractor rides with Papa. So despite all the tantrums (by Jack of course) and the tiredness of traveling it was a very enjoyable weekend.