training pants

I've been looking for potty training pants for Oliver. I went to BabiesRus, Target and WalMart. Target had NOTHING. Walmart had them but not in any size under 24 months. Babies R Us had some in every size EXCEPT the size we needed. I didn't even see a spot for them! There were 12 months and 24 months but no 18 months. I've been looking online but everything is so expensive. Does anyone know about Potty Scotty training pants? They are affordable and they have some that are waterproof. I'd like to get some opinions before I buy them.

Halfway there!

Today marks the 20th week of Roy. We've only got 20 more weeks to get ready!!! I'm feeling Roy move around all the time now, he's an active little guy. I've been trying to remember to put the anti-stretch mark lotion on my belly every night but most times I'm so tired that I just roll into bed and fall right to sleep. I was reading today that I'm supposed to be eating more iron. Welllll, I didn't know that! I don't eat red meat that often so I guess I'll have to add some spinach and legumes to my diet. I wonder if my prenatal has iron in it.

The only things we still need to do to get ready for Roy are buy a bassinett and get Oliver in his own room. I'm also hoping to pick up a few cute outfits for him since I don't want him to have ALL hand-me-down clothes. Although, believe me, Oliver's old clothes will definately be washed and ready to go when he gets here. Oh yeah, we also have to pick out a real name. I think I mentioned before that Roy is only a nickname and will definately NOT be his real name. I'm really at a loss this time because nothing appeals to me. I am completely open to suggestions if anyone wants to help me out. I would prefer names that don't begin with "C" "L" or "S" because his middle name will probably start with 'O'...and we don't want his initials to spell cow, low or sow.

some pictures, finally!!

Eating with a fork...poke poke poke!

Playing with keys...he loves keys!

Taking a sweet baby nap on the futon.

Playing with the magnet board that Bob made. He's got a 5 and a 6 there, but to him all numbers are two!

dr appt results

Oliver had his dr appt today. We had a different doctor than we usually see because our regular doc was on maternity leave. We LOVED this doctor! She was personable and chatty, but not obnoxiously so. She was impressed by everything that Oliver can do - she said he's ahead in a lot of areas (talking, learning body parts, potty training). She checked him out and said he's a healthy boy. He's 32.5 inches tall (50%) and 24 pounds (25%). I'm kind of wondering...what in the world are these kids eating? Oliver eats constantly but he's at the small end of the curve. He mostly eats healthy stuff, fruits and veggies, but he also eats lots of bread, whole milk, cheese, pasta, potatoes. For snacks he gets teddy grahams, graham crackers, goldfish or something like that. Sometimes he gets sweets like cinnamon rolls, chocolate, cookies, and ice cream. How is he smaller than most other kids?!?!?! I don't understand!

He got two shots today, the DTaP and something else...he seems to be ok so far. We go back in a few weeks for the MMR and the stupid chicken pox. I still don't think he needs the chicken pox one.

I'm tired, exhausted, and worn out.

I didn't do that much today but I feel so worn out. Probably because Oliver didn't sleep well last night. It seems that the sleep fairies were angered by my previous post and decided to shine their favor on someone else. Oliver takes 30 minutes to go to sleep, most of that with kicking and screaming. Although tonight he did lay down after only 5 minutes, then spent the next 25 watching the clock tick the seconds away. I think that's what he was doing anyway. I just got a new clock. Even though it's digital it still shows the seconds and Oliver just stares at it while he is laying there. He's still doing pretty well with no physical contact though. I let him play with my hair but I keep my hands on the mattress. (I make up for lack of sleepy snuggles with LOTS of extra daytime snuggles)

We went to a park today where Oliver played in a tunnel, went down a spiral slide, climbed a rock wall, and walked down a long curvy path which took us over two cute little stone bridges. He did really well listening and staying where we could see him. When we walked down the path he stopped a lot to pick up rocks or sticks but he kept up pretty well considering.

His dr's appointment is tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it! He is getting two vaccinations...two that are follow up to ones he's already had...so I'm pretty sure he'll be a miserable little guy tomorrow. I know the stupid dr is going to tell us we're "behind" on his vaccinations but that's just too bad! We've decided to go ahead with all of them but on our schedule...one at each visit. I'd rather not overwhelm him with 3 or 4 shots each time even if it means he's behind or he'll have more visits.

I'll try to post some pictures soon. I know I haven't posted any in a long time! There are some on the camera so all I have to do is load them up. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow...we'll see.

asleep at last!

For the past few days I've been "sleep training" Oliver. Now since I am completely opposed to the CIO method I had to find a way to get him to fall asleep in his own bed without crying. So I put him in the bed and snuggle him as much as I can while sitting beside his bed. When he sits up I tell him to lay down on his pillow, which he usually does but sometimes I have to lay him back down. He has always played with my hair while he's going to sleep so I sat so he could still do that. This seems to have worked because I just got him to sleep in *7 minutes*! I gave him a bath, put him in his jammies, brushed his teeth and then carried him in to the bed. I turned the light off and sat down but he didn't get upset like he has every other time. He got his favorite giraffe (who we call "Favorite Giraffe") and laid down on his little pillow (it's about 6" square - purple checked with happy daisies on it. My mom made this YEARS ago for me because she thought I'd like the fabric. Turns out so does Oliver!). He went right to sleep, no tossing and turning, no putting his feet all over the bars, no playing with my hair, no crying, no fussing. He just laid down and went to sleep! Of course, I don't expect this to happen every time but I think he's finally learning that when I put him in the bed it's time to sleep. Hooray for gentle sleep training!!!

we've been sick...

Oliver picked up a cold, probably at the museum. Of course in my role as caretaker to the sickly little guy I contracted the same yucky phlegmy mess. Being the good sharer that I am I soon passed it along to Bob. We've been a sorry bunch for the past week or so. Finally Oliver and I are seeming to get over it with just a bit of runny nose and coughing. Bob is still in the middle stage where he's stuffy and tired. We haven't done much during this time but Oliver did pick up a few new words. (apple, up, balloon, bag, Kyle, George, ouch!, pee) and he's starting to get "circle" "red" and "blue". We're restarting the potty, this time with a timer. I got a kitchen timer today and we're going to just sit on the potty every 30 minutes or so. He did pee in the potty right after his nap the other day but he cried as soon as he did it and most of the time he won't go he'll just sit on the potty for a loooong time. He has started saying "pee" and pointing to his diaper when he's wet so he knows what's going on for sure now. Hopefully things will work out better with the timer.
He went down for a nap in his bed today. We ran errands and he was soooo tired when we got home. We got some quick lunch (mmm, fried eggs, toast, cheese) and then I have him some Smoothie (thank you Juice Shop!!) in his bed. He fussed and cried and tried to get up about 3 million times but finally he laid down on his little pillow, rolled so his back was facing me and went to sleep. An hour later he was still in the same position so I know he was completely exhausted. Hopefully this will be a trend and he will learn to sleep in his own bed. By the way we did convert it into a toddler bed so he can get in and out of it all on his own. He liked it better immediately, I don't think he liked being "caged in" by the crib.

Roy seems to be doing fine. I can feel him bumping around in there every now and then and he's starting to poke out. People at work are starting to notice "the belly". I love it! He is giving me cravings though. I had to stop at the grocery store on my way home because I HAD to have some ice cream with bananas and chocolate sauce. YUM!

Happy half birthday!

I can't believe my baby boy is 18 months old already. He's gotten so big - about 32 inches tall and about 22 pounds. He's doing so much and saying so much. He loves being outside. He'll go around the yard and pick up sticks to put in the yard waste trash can. He even helps out the lady next door by getting her sticks, too.

He knows where things (shoes, clothes, books, dirty dishes) go and will put them away when asked...most of the time. He knows which room is which. If I tell him to go to the living room then that's where he goes. Same with the kitchen, playbaby room, bedroom and Oliver's room. He also knows where to go to get his shoes and jacket when it's time to go out.

He's gotten really good at opening and closing doors as long as he doesn't have to turn the handle to do it. He's getting into the kitchen cabinets now, too, and pulling out all the plastic bowls and lids for the pans. This is great motivation for me to keep my kitchen floor clean!

He's doing better with eating by himself. He uses a fork and spoon fairly well, although sometimes he still just holds in it one hand and shovels the food into his mouth with the other. He's also getting better at taking bites instead of shoving the whole thing (cracker, piece of bread, apple slice, banana, etc etc) in his mouth at once. He's still pretty messy, but not as much as before.

He's picked up a bunch of new words since the last time I posted it. truck, door, wall, two, potato, Pappy, cool!, button, blanket, bed, turtle, poke, wait!, apple and pepper (as in green pepper). He's also got a few new signs. bunny, flower, hairbrush, turtle. It's amazing how he picks words up so quickly. Sometimes if I say something new to him he'll repeat it back. We practice things a lot! He loves looking through books and telling me what the pictures are. It's funny - he'll say and sign cow, then say "booooooo!"

He's started taking an interest in puzzles. He has a few that he got for Christmas and there are some at the museum we go to. He's beginning to recognize that every shape/piece has it's own place. It's fun to watch him try to match it up.

He's such an amazing little guy! - and getting more amazing every day!

Since I was so mean yesterday...

I'll post this one first...

yep, we're having another boy! We are so very excited!! We both cried when we found out.
This next one is a 3D one, though it kind of freaks me out. The tech thought it was super cute that he had his hand on his chest like that. Like he's saying "Who me? Oh yes, I know I'm cute...but go on!"

This is one of the many profile pictures we got. He's not really doing anything in this one, but we have a few others that I'll post where he's being a bit more active.

This is his foot - look at his cute little toes!

He's yawning in this one. It was so amazing to see him yawn - he's a real person and he does real people things!

I call this one "The Thinker" - his hand is on his chin like he's thinking really hard about something.

So, that's Roy! I can't wait to meet him!!!!

Ultrasound results...

We had our ultrasound today even though by their calculations I am only 17 weeks 3 days. The ultrasound tech said that if they couldn't get all the measurements then we'd just have to have a second ultrasound a little later. Oh darn! Luckily Roy cooperated and we got all the measurements and stuff she wanted. The baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes. There is a beating heart, kidneys, and a bladder. There's a head with a VERY cute profile. The only thing she was slightly worried about was that the placenta is sitting very low. They might schedule another ultrasound to check on it later. And now, what you've all been waiting for....Roy is a... ... ...













yeah right! Did you think I'd post the answer without the ultrasound pictures? No way! I'll scan them in tomorrow and let you all know if Roy is a boy or girl. s/he was VERY cooperative!

no updates for a long time!

I just realized that I haven't really posted much about this pregnancy. I've been feeling ok for the past few weeks now that I'm in the 2nd trimester. I still get heartburn if I eat too much or if I eat chocolate or tomato sauce. I've been less tired, though, so that's a good thing. I haven't weighed myself lately but I'm sure I'm gaining weight. I have started to round out a little in the belly area - just enough so that people can tell I'm pregnant. I'm not sure if I have felt movement or not, sometimes I think it's the baby for sure but then I question it later. I'm sure that I'll be getting kicked in the bladder and punched in the ribs soon enough!

I've started being able to eat more food, not just bland things. I feel hungry more often and snack a LOT. I try to eat good snacks like bananas or peanut butter crackers but how am I supposed to resist chocolate covered raisins?!?!? ....oh I found out that eating rolaids or tums after a meal can actually make your heartburn worse! Apparently it neutralizes some of the acid in your stomach - which makes digestion take longer. Which means that all that food is sitting there in your stomach for a longer time. I've started chewing mint gum after meals - it makes me feel better.

The weirdest part of this pregnancy is that if I'm not eating or chewing gum then it feels like there is lint on my tongue. I don't know how else to describe it. It is so weird! I've tried brushing my teeth more often and using mouthwash but I guess it's just a weird pregnancy related thing. Hopefully it'll go away when this baby is born.

The baby has aquired a nickname...Roy. It's a long and not very interesting story of how that came about but that's what we call him/her. even if it's a girl we'll probably keep the nickname...yeah, we're odd. So?

another pregnant blogger!

I just found out that Vladimir's mom is 8 weeks pregnant with baby #2!!

This is cool because now all Oliver's "birthday buddies" will have siblings right around the same time!

Daddy and Boobah

Oliver playing, and my tax money treat...

Oliver has gotten really good at putting his stacking rings together. He's started picking them up in order instead of just grabbing whichever one is closest. Of course, putting them on the peg isn't the only use for them!


Here is a tower of blocks that Oliver built. He can usually stack 3 or 4 before he knocks them down. I'm trying to teach him the colors while we play with these. So far he says red and blue but I'm not sure he knows which is red and which is blue.

This is the treat that Bob and I got with our tax refund "fun money". We had the computer on an old (giant) table with a rickety old chair that tried to throw me out every time I sat in it. Now I have this pretty new desk, chair and printer/file cart! It looks so much better and fits better too. The office looks so much more open now!

poor little sick boy...

Oliver is sick. It started out with a fever which, I think, was from the two canine teeth that are coming in. He was feverish and clingy for two days, then he got a cough. A horrible phlegmy cough. He isn't sleeping well, he doesn't want to eat very much. He doesn't have a fever anymore but he's still clingy and so miserable. He kind of lost his voice yesterday so he's all squeaky today. All he wants to do is snuggle and snuggle and snuggle. That's normally ok by me, I love snuggling, but he just coughs and coughs and it makes me so sad! He's asleep now, hopefully he'll sleep for a few hours before he wakes up again. Poor little guy, it breaks my heart. :-(

and then it snowed!

Sometime yesterday evening while I was sitting at work bored out of my mind it started to snow. It was huge giant flakes! The snow lasted a good part of the night and it was so pretty! We ended up getting about an inch I think. It's warm today so it's all melting away but it was nice while it lasted. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get any pictures of Oliver in it but he's getting more teeth and has a little fever. He's not quite his usual self and so I'm letting him take it easy today.

Oliver with tooooools

This was in the room above where Bob built the fort. I put the toolbelt on Oliver and Bob loaded it up. Doesn't he look handy?

more from the GCM...

Playing with trains. I had to put the track back together but Oliver didn't even care. He just liked that yellow truck...brrrrrooooom!

The ball pit...Oliver likes taking the balls out and throwing them then gathering them all back up into the pit. Luckily we were the only ones in this area at the time.

And the giant legos. This was Bob's favorite part. Bob made a big fort (see below) and Oliver helped by hammering the pieces together and putting screws in them. They were so cute! Unfortunatly some punk kid knocked the fort down before we left. Snotty little brat!

The Greensboro Children's Museum...

We decided to go ahead and get a membership to the Children's museum. We used Oliver's tax return fun money to do it so it didn't mess up our budget at all...hooray! Anyway, we went down there Tuesday and he played for about an hour and a half. He's so busy! There's so much to do there and so many things to play with. Here he is on a rocking horse...

playing with a giant ball...

getting pushed around the track in a car (by Daddy)...he's making that face because he was going brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooom!

and flying the airplane. He didn't like the plane very well.

modeling a new outfit.

How do you like it Gramma and Grampa?