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I Keep Meaning to...

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I'm not doing a great job with this pregnancy.  I keep forgetting to do the things I'm supposed to do.  Like tell people that I'm pregnant.  In 15 and a half weeks, I've told maybe 3 people?  And that doesn't include my family haha.  First I was waiting for an ultrasound picture (which I still don't have), and then I was waiting to see them in person, which keeps getting cancelled or pushed back... and then I just keep forgetting. 

I'll be in the middle of a conversation with someone and realize, oh I should totally tell them I'm pregnant!  And then it seems weird in the conversation, and we were talking about their problems and how weird and selfish would it be to suddenly say, HEY want to talk about ME?? I know you're dealing with some heavy stuff and all, but let's ignore that for now and discuss ME!!!  

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Busy Busy Busy

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It's funny, when we have free time at home, I don't say that E plays.  Instead I say he's hard at work.  He never stops moving, and is always on a mission.  I'm not sure where the mission comes from, or why he's doing what he's doing, but he's very determined.  

First he may come down stairs and go to his table and chairs, where all of his books are displayed.  Very purposefully, one at a time, he must take every book off the table and put them on the floor.  Once they're on the floor he'll ignore them for the rest of the day, but if you try and put a book back on the table, it must immediately be taken off again. 

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A Week in Maine

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I'm pretty sure when anyone looks back on our Maine vacation this year, they're going to remember two things.  E saying "hi! hi! hi!" and everyone singing "Do your ears hang low" until it haunts your dreams. Tom has taken to hiding the elephant, and my dad would start screaming from across the house whenever the song started, but the truth is E's reaction is SO CUTE, I'll push play over and over again.

Same goes with his talking.  He's so excited to have figured out a word, and the fact that it causes reactions from people?  It makes his day!  Which means he'll walk around saying "hi" to anyone or anything.  Unfortunately the birds, a person 3 blocks away, and the trees haven't figured out how to answer him.

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Lesser of Two Evils

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So I mentioned that I asked for nausea medication this time around.  I'm not sure why, but morning sickness hit me so much worse this time around.  And even worse that last time, I couldn't just sit on the couch when I felt horrible - I had a baby to chase around. 

There were nights when Tom would come home to find E half in his PJs, using me as a jungle gym while I was lying on the floor of his bedroom trying not to throw up.  It wasn't sustainable.  So I filled my prescription and wondered if it would change anything.  And boy did it.  They are magical magic pills that took away the nausea completely.  

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Getting Real Now?

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I've been here before, but a lot of things are different.  I had my first doctor's appointment at 8 weeks instead of 10 this time.  Two less weeks to wait to see if this was real, but less to see when we did check.  The place was different too.  I decided to leave my OB practice from my last pregnancy and go directly to the doctor that delivered E.  There were a lot of reasons, and I went back and forth deciding for a while, but I left today pretty sure that I had made the right decision. 

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E Lately

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We went on vacation for a week recently (more on that later - I'm still sorting through so many pictures!) but it turned out to be a big week for E! We woke up the morning we were supposed to be leaving to one very grumpy baby.  I finally got a peek in his mouth and it looked like there was a tiny hole in his gums.  Could he finally be getting a tooth!?

Of course we had no idea, because we'd made it 14 months without one, so we weren't sure what to expect.  We tried giving him some frozen teethers, but he refused.  He also refused all food.  And he was STARVING.  That combined with a failed nap left us worried.  We pulled out the Motrin and decided to just jump in the car and get to Maine.  We bought all the soft food pouches we could, which he sucked down the rest of the day.  The Motrin seemed to help, as did the friends we met in Maine.

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Why Choose One

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...when you can have four different pregnancy announcements!?

Honestly it was lack of vision.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  So I sort of did everything?  What ended up happening is different people saw different announcements at different times or places.  Here's a round up of most of them. 

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Round Two

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After hoping, and praying, and second guessing, and worrying.. here we are again.  Slightly different than last time, but also so much the same.

Am I experiencing symptoms so much earlier this time?  Or am I just aware of what they are so I notice them earlier?  Or am I just imagining them because I know what's to come?  It's a weird mind game.  

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Oops

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Let me apologize for holding this in for so long.  It was never my intention... I just kept forgetting to tell people? 

Maybe it's because I spend my days chasing around E that I'm too busy to think about anything else.  Maybe it's because I've been so sick that even sleeping requires effort.  (More on that later). 

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My Day

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Hey Caitlin, how are you doing?

Oh great!  I was driving home today, and it was only 92 outside according to my car, although it was at least 10 degrees warmer inside since the steering wheel was burning the skin off my hands.  AC was on blast, and the windows were all down so I'd get the breeze.  Felt nice.. right until something hit me on the side of my neck!

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Small Tales from Daycare

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It's no secret that we love our daycare, and E especially loves it there.  He learns new things all the time, and it's amazing.  One weekend we noticed he had started bringing books over to us and then immediately sitting down on the ground and crossing his ankles like he's trying to sit cross legged.  It's the cutest thing ever, and we definitely have circle time to thank for it. 

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I Need a Vacation

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Oh so much.

Life is busy, I'm tired, I've got things on my mind that make me worry a lot, and what I need is a nice long vacation to get away from it all! Luckily I won't need to wait too long, but that also means I need to add packing to my ever growing list... which kind of cancels out the fun of a vacation. 

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More Small Moments

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More and more, our days are made up of tiny moments strung together to make up our days.  Individually they aren't much more than a quick story, but together they give you a window into E's personality and our life. 

Daycare

When I picked him up from daycare the other day, a teacher I hadn't seen was in the room with him.  I could tell she was smitten with E, and trying to put it in words.  "He's such a big kid, stuck in such a little body! It's like he's miniature!"  Yes, he's definitely miniature, this one.. but not in the personality!

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The Fuzzy Baby

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Perhaps you've met our cat, Maia.  If so, you probably have opinions about her.  Especially depending on how much of a cat person you are.  

If you're not really a cat person, you might be a bit afraid of her.  She always seems to show up in random places that may startle you - behind your head, watching you sleeping, jumping out at you in the dark.  She may have even swiped at you, scratched you, or tried to bite you. (In which case, I'm very sorry!)

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Of Course He Did

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It's been a long, fun week. We're all exhausted in that, I can't play for a second longer, summer fun type of way. We've had my sister and niece here for a few days, and it was amazing. They mesh so well with our family they could probably move in and no one would skip a beat. We stay up late talking, and watching TV, and E is never happier than when he has them to play with - especially his cousin, whom he loves to stare at. Obsessed. One day we'll teach him not to awkwardly stare, but for now he just cranes his neck to follow her all through the house.

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Strawberry Season!

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E loves strawberries.  He'll eat them for every meal, and never turns them down.  He might like them more than watermelon even.  

I like strawberries, but I love strawberry shortcake.  I made some recently because I was craving it, and gave E a little bit, but mostly just strawberries.  We'd long since finished off the biscuits and whipped cream when I decided I wanted more.  I could bake some more biscuits and send Tom to the store.. or we could head to Parlee Farms and get it at the source!

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Our Night

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I knew I was in trouble the minute I walked in the room. E had a fire truck with a working ladder and was completely enthralled with moving it up and down. I knew I had no chance of getting it out of his hands and getting him out of the room without a meltdown. Normally I'm super thankful that E loves school so much, but I do miss the days when he used to run into my arms with a smile at pickup. Instead, I dealt with a meltdown as predicted and tried not to take it personally. 

He's been a little cranky lately.  A little off.  Quick to whine or get upset, waking up more at night, crying in his sleep.  We're not sure why.. growing pains, being a toddler, getting sick...eventually he'll actually be teething one of these times.