T Ball Time!

Monday afternoon Brian put together Wyatt's new T Ball set. As soon as Wyatt saw it his eyes lit up and he reached for his bat. Then he followed Brian out the front door to the side yard. Before Brian even had time to the ball on the T, Wyatt picked up a ball himself and put it up there. He had a blast practicing holding his bat and swinging at the ball. I got some pretty good video but it's a little big so I'm hoping to scrunch it down. Here's a few pictures of his first few at bats.

Getting in a few practice swings with Daddy

Taking a swing on his own!

He got a hit! And shut his eyes.....

"Daddy! Why are you letting a girl show me how to do this?"

Taking a water break in the shade

Baby Girl Update!

This morning we had our 35 week appointment for Baby Girl (and I seriously just typed her name and had to go back and fix it). Weight gain and blood pressure are still great, and the Doctor said that her heartbeat is perfect! I had the Group B Strep test today as well, so that was fun :(. We start going for weekly visits next week and I have all but the final appointment booked because we have to see the Doctor that will perform the C Section that last week, and her calender was booked so they'll need to squeeze us in somewhere!

Wyatt was very fussy while we were waiting for the Doctor to come in, probably because the room was a sauna! Brian picked up a "Pause" magazine to fan himself off with. The irony of him using a menopause magazine to fan himself off was not lost on us....but it still didn't make Wyatt happy. Brian and Wyatt were on their way out the door when the Doctor came in and Wyatt calmed down. I was so happy that they didn't have to leave...Brian's never missed an appointment for either of them and I knew he didn't want to miss hearing her heartbeat and everything. And once the Doctor was in Wyatt was concentrating on everything he did, so he stopped fussing. Wyatt was especially interested in the baby's heartbeat when they put the Doppler on my stomach. He was just staring trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

Brian's at the Vet with Noelle now. She's been having some accidents and hasn't been eating...although she clearly has an appetite considering the fact that she still hangs out wherever Wyatt is eating! We're pretty sure that the accidents are a result of lower estrogen levels in older dogs and how it effects the muscle that helps bladder control (Brian does tons of research on this stuff), so we just need to find out what to give her to help with that. And we'll probably switch her food back to her old stuff. She's been on a special medicated food for arthritis for about two years, but she already takes the same supplements that are in the food and she's on pain medication so she really doesn't need the food. Anyway, we'll see once Brian gets back from the Vet.

Once they're back we're going to buy Wyatt this seat for Brian's bike. It's gotten great reviews online and Brian still wants to be able to interact with Wyatt when they're on bike rides. It will be great for when Baby Girl comes and the boys want to get out of the house and for rides down on the boardwalk! After we pick up the seat we'll hang out for a little bit before Brian and I head to the Poison concert tonight....

Weekend Fun

Usual stuff this weekend...Target, Wal Mart, et cetera. Wyatt and I spent a lot of time at my parents' house on Friday and Saturday because we had family in town (hi Jean and Michele!). My brother's fiancee, April, was in town as well making some wedding plans and we got to see her ring, and talk about her plans for the big day next summer. My sister and I were asked to be in the wedding, which we're excited about! Besides hanging out over there we've pretty much been homebodies all weekend (yeah, we're pretty boring around here). Wyatt's been watching a new Animal show On Demand and is learning the animals - he shouts "Cat," "Snake," Fish,""Titer," (that's a tiger folks) and "Zeda" (zebra). He's also become very fond of saying "Meow," when he sees a cat, even if it's a lion!

Anyway, our friends Pete and Shannon bought two kiddie pools for their son's birthday last month and gave the second one to us to let Wyatt hang out in. Since he's still undergoing his daily "soaks" for his foot, I decided to put him in the kiddie pool today. He had fun playing in there (not with actual toys, just a nozzle for the hose and his life jacket that wasn't on), until Aunt Katie jumped in the real pool. Then the kiddie pool wasn't as fun, so he swam with her for a little bit and then she got in the kiddie pool with him.

Who knew life jackets were fun toys?

Having fun!

Dancing with Katie

He had just taken a sip of the nasty water!

Tomorrow we have a Doctor's appointment for Baby Girl and potentially a vet appointment for Noelle (she hasn't been eating much this weekend). Oh, and Brian and I are also going to see Poison tomorrow night. Yeah....I know. But, Brian really likes them and I'm tagging along because I think the girls are funny (and I really like his show), so we should have some fun.....

Good Dog Owner

Wyatt has a stuffed black lab (it's actually Brian's...I made it at Build A Bear for him years ago), that he has now become attached to. Attached as in, yesterday we went out to run errands and the dog came with us. He held onto it the entire time he was in the car and fussed when I wouldn't bring it in, but I don't want it ending up on some nasty floor. He thinks it's "Cody" which is one of his Grammy and Grandpa's yellow labs. He keeps saying "Where Cody go?" and searching for it.

He's also decided that his dog needs to eat just like Noelle does. This morning I gave him a cookie at snack time and he took it over to "Cody" and put it in his mouth. And he laid down next to him and was sharing the cookie, giving the dog a bite and then taking on for himself. I'm not going to say that he's ever seen anything like that in person (except maybe when Brian and Noelle have graham crackers...but Brian takes the first bite and gives Noelle the rest, they don't "share" it), but he was very sweet laying down next to the dog and petting it and giving it bites.

Giving his dog the first bite

Laying down and sharing the cookie

Lucky!

I am so lucky to be able to work for a really great company and a really cute little green lizard. Over the last four and a half years I've made some really great friends and I've been fortunate enough to work for some really great people (and only recently have I begun to discover that this isn't always the case for some. I've always worked for really great people....just ask my husband :)). Anyway, today I had lunch plans with some friends. I was driving because I have the cool pregnancy parking spot and we were on our way to Panera. We were pretty close to the shop when I looked in my rear view mirror and said out loud "Is that Brian's Jeep back there behind us?" My friend Lisa's response was "I should have driven today." Okay...I hadn't realized I was such a bad driver.

We turned into the Panera shopping center and my friend Laura said "Hey, can we stop at Outback so I can drop something off for my brother?" I pulled into Outback for a quick stop. Laura's brother owns the local Outback and her fiance is the local Events Manager so I legitimately thought nothing of her having to run in. Well, once we pulled in, Lisa grabbed her purse too and said "aren't you going to come in and say hi?" My response was "No, I'm going to chill in the car." Then Laura opened my car door. And I got out of the car. Then I saw Brian. And I knew. My friends planned me a surprise shower at Outback!!!!!!!

It was great! Outback usually isn't opened for lunch, but Laura's brother opened up and her fiance was cooking us some yummy food! There were cheese fries and blooming onion and wings and spinach dip and bread and steak and chicken and it was all delicious! There were about 15 of us there eating and having a great time..... including my husband who managed to keep ANOTHER secret from me for about 2 weeks! I was shocked! I couldn't believe I hadn't found out at all between Brian and the fact that I review my boss's calender and emails daily to make sure he doesn't miss anything! They hadn't even sent him anything electronic for me to pick up on! We had another situation of men not necessarily knowing appropriate and inappropriate things to discuss at a Baby Shower.... but this time it was my boss and the interns:). We got loads of great little baby girl stuff (seriously, we are so blessed to have so many fantastic friends who we love!) and Baby Girl corner has now become Baby Girl side of my room! Fortunately, Brian set up the painter to come next week so we'll have everything in order soon enough!

I really absolutely can not thank everyone who put all of our showers together enough....we're so lucky to have all of you!

Wyatt's Foot Remedy

Here's a quick shot from bath time last night. Wyatt got to take a bath in the Mommy & Daddy's tub since he's staying in for so long to let his foot soak (the pediatrician called yesterday to let us know that the cultures were negative and make sure the bump is going down). He needs a change of scenery from his boring bathtub! He kept trying to stick his fingers in the jets of the jacuzzi, which I kept stopping, and as usual he will not stay seated. But he just has so much fun!

Eventful Monday

Yesterday Wyatt and I kept Brian running all over town on his day off. I called the pediatrician first thing in the morning and left a message about a suspicious white bump that Wyatt has had on his foot for about two months now. At first I didn't think much of it, but once it prompted him to walk on his tip toes I decided to call. The only time they could fit us in was 11:15, which was a problem. Brian kept urging me to take the appointment (my fault, I'd told him I didn't think they had too many available slots with school getting ready to start), but I knew it was a bad time. The folks at the waterpark had emailed me a few weeks ago offering to throw a surprise baby shower for Brian (and me) yesterday at 11:30. I didn't want to spoil the surprise and Brian was getting pretty insistent that I take the appointment, so I took it and then called to push the shower back an hour.

The white bump turned out to be a minor infection (something's probably in there), so they opened it and took a sample and said we need to soak it a few times a day for about 20 minutes. Hopefully it will take care of itself, but his Well Baby check up is in a few weeks so they can follow up then.

I snuck a call to Dave as we were leaving the appointment and he called Brian with a made up story about the Fire Marshall being at the park and Brian needing to get up there. Wyatt and I had to tag along since we were with him. Brian wasn't thrilled to have to go up, but he was pleasantly surprised when we got there! The food was yummy and we got a lot of great stuff! We can't thank everyone enough :)!

We all then squeezed in an afternoon nap before we headed out for a few errands. Toys R' Us to buy Wyatt a T-Ball set, the Vet to pick up Noelle's medicine and Target to get "stuff." For some reason I always leave Target with more than I intended to buy! Anyway, at least taking Brian with me every once in awhile reinforces where the money goes!

Today I went to work and Wyatt stayed with my Mom. I guess he didn't take much of a nap today because he passed out on the way home. When we got in I figured he could take a little nap on the dog bed downstairs and wake up on his own for dinner. Not so much. He woke up crying and cried until I changed him into his jammies and turned on the Smashing Pumpkins! And he's out for the night. I guess it's just a question of when he'll wake up in the morning!

Here's Wyatt passed out on the dog bed!

Fun Day (No, Not Really)...

This morning started pretty typically. Got up, went to work, played in an Access Database and Pivot Table and Power Point. And then I had a "problem." My heart started beating crazy fast (an official medical term), I couldn't catch my breath, and I felt dizzy. All while I was sitting at my desk. So, I called my Doctor and was told to go to Labor & Delivery. Fantastic. I LOVE Labor & Delivery. The nurses there are excellent. I got all strapped up, Baby Girl is perfect, no problems with my BP or Pulse so good to go, right?

Not so much. A trip to the ER for an EKG was in order. YAY. We left our nice cocoon in L&D to go to....hell. The triage nurses were average, and then we got our nurse, Paul Giamatti's Italian Cousin (although I'm assuming the Giamatti is Italian too). He BUTCHERED my IV. Like, shoved it up my arm to the point of no return. My arm went numb. After 20 minutes Brian had to go get him and tell him he needed to fix it. So he came back and fixed it. Then (45 minutes later) the X Ray machine came. Sorry, I'm pregnant, even if it's a "Chest X Ray" that "won't effect the baby," we won't be needing it (I mean, the Dentist won't X Ray my teeth, but you want to get my chest? Not until I see a doctor). At this point it had been three hours since my 20 minute spell. 45 minutes after that the girl came in with the EKG machine. That took about 5 minutes. Paul Giamatti's Cousin came back 30 minutes after THAT and asked if a Doctor had been in. As a matter of fact, he hadn't. And I'm pregnant and hadn't eaten since breakfast. I was going to be dizzy again if I didn't get some food. So finally, after I got up and started to leave, an orderly stopped me and went and got a Doctor (there were 5 of them on duty and the ER was empty) who then came and gave me a bunch of attitude. He told me he didn't think I needed a Chest X Ray (seriously, I would have gotten it if the Doctor had said to, I just didn't want to do it without talking to him first), and my EKG was normal and he wasn't concerned about blood clots. So, if I'm short of breath again I should head back to the ER (I'll be going to the new one down the street), but other than that we were good to go. So the Nurse came in, took all my vitals again (and proceeded to explain that there was a D-Dimer(?) test or something that could check for blood clots...except that pregnancy elevates the results of the test) and basically talked to me like he himself is currently attending medical school. He said he just needed to fill out our discharge papers and we could leave.

Then, 5 minutes later the Doctor came in and said "You guys are leaving, you're good to go?" Um, yeah Dude, you told me 20 minutes ago that I was good to go. And I AM STARVING TO DEATH. Anyway, we finally got to leave a few minutes later, after getting a lecture from Paul Giamatti's Cousin about why it's not good to leave Against Medical Advice (insurance doesn't cover it), but we weren't leaving against the Doctor's advice. He had told us we could leave, the Doctor hadn't even signed the paperwork that we were leaving AMA. I was so confused and so hungry I just wanted out. So I left. And I feel fine! Except I'm tired and ready for bed now. And I have other updates on Wyatt, but those will have to wait for tomorrow....

Baby Girl Update!

Today was my 33 week appointment for Baby Girl. I've now put on 22 pounds and my blood pressure was 106/58. I was actually shocked at how low my blood pressure was taking into account how stressful it is just to get both of my boys out of the house!

I had a few questions for the Doctor today (I won't bore or disgust you with the details) which resulted in me being "checked." I HATE being checked. In fact, I had blocked out just how miserable the whole experience was until today. Anyway, this resulted in the Doctor notifying me that I am now effacing and that I need to seriously be aware of my contractions and take immediate precautions to lie down and drink water when they set on. If they keep coming for over an hour, I need to call them. I've had several, mostly 4 here and 2 there but with a 15 month old, lying down and drinking water isn't exactly an always option. Wyatt will play nicely in his playroom by himself for up to an hour, but I hate leaving him in there for that long (and I hate the way the room looks after I've left him in there that long).

The Doctor asked me why I had the C Section with Wyatt, and after fighting the urge to tell him to flip back in my chart and read because I was pretty sure the Doctor had made notes, I told him it was failure to progress. He wanted to know how far I'd dilated (8 cm, only after an epidural relaxed me enough), and whether Wyatt was late (10 long days). He seemed kind of surprised by all of it. Then he told me that our goal right now is to get Baby Girl to 36 weeks (which I know) and that I really need to make sure that I make sure I pay attention to everything. After 36 weeks I guess they'll just rush me into surgery and she'll be born. So for now, the goal is to get her to August 5....and then hopefully August 25!

OK, so I would typically be self conscious about putting my big fat stomach online, but this picture of Wyatt giving his sister a kiss is too cute not to. Especially since he walked up and pulled my shirt up to do it. By the way, it really sucks when your stomach sits on your thighs. Seriously.

Visiting "Daddy Work"

Yesterday Wyatt and I went to visit Brian at the waterpark. The cool thing about this visit was that Brian had a super special manager shirt made for Wyatt that looks just like his. So when we set off on our trip Wyatt was wearing his khaki shorts, sneakers, blue sunglasses and his blue collared shirt that's just like Daddy's. The only thing Brian has that Wyatt doesn't have (yet) is one of the waterpark baseball caps.

Wyatt had a lot of fun sitting at Daddy's desk and "doing paperwork" as well as "crunching numbers" on the calculator. He also took part in a "meeting" with Dave and then made the rounds out in the park (after he tucked his shirt tails in), where he checked to make sure the balloons were blown up at the birthday party tent. He also got to hang out with one of his favorite people Anna, who let him use her walkie talkie until he got his own kiddie one.

Sitting at Brian's desk enjoying his water

Laughing at Daddy and Dave

Something needs to be taken care of outside

Crunching the numbers

Out in the park with Daddy

Checking something out

Playing with the balloons

Playing with the radio

Laughing with Daddy

Walking through the kiddie section with Daddy with his own little radio (Daddy's Number 1, you can call Wyatt 1.5)

First Baseball Game!

Last night Brian got tickets to the Norfolk Tides game at Harbor Park. We didn't think we were going to go at first, Brian's parents were going and mine had already watched Wyatt all day so we figured we'd just stay home. But then we thought, "why not take him?" Granted, it was essentially a Red Sox/Orioles game that we were taking him to for his first game ever, but we had the tickets and wanted to see how he would react since he loves watching it on TV.

He had a blast. He did the usual moving and stuff, but I've never seen him stay still for so long, just sitting or standing on Brian's lap and watching the game. He had trouble following the ball from pitcher to batter to outfield (or wherever it went) but he was very interested in watching the pitcher throw the ball. He would talk and say "whoa," "go" or "ball" and point to the field. When people clapped he clapped with them. It was so much fun to watch him enjoy the game!

There was only one thing about the trip that Wyatt didn't enjoy...Rip Tide, the Tides mascot. Brian walked up to Rip Tide and Wyatt flipped (and screamed). He recovered nicely though and will play with the little Rip Tide souvenir that we bought him (but only if he's back is facing him, Wyatt won't play with him if he can see his face!). We stayed for the Seventh Inning stretch and Wyatt enjoyed his first rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." After that we headed for the car, where Wyatt was asleep within 3 minutes and happily stayed asleep until 8am...although he did say "ball" in his sleep about an hour before he woke up!

Going into the stadium with Daddy

Wyatt watching the game with Daddy

Watching the pitcher

Watching the game with Mommy

Clapping...and sitting on his sister!

First Name - Check! Everything Else?

So Baby Girl has a first name (but she's still Baby Girl to you)! It's the name that we were planning on using for Wyatt if he was a girl and while we were looking for other names, we've decided that we like that name the best! Now, we just have to find her a middle name (which I am leaving in Brian's completely capable hands).

So now we need -

• A middle name
• Stuff moved out of Wyatt's future bedroom
• The painter to come and paint two rooms and the hallway
• Move Wyatt into his new room
• Get the Baby Girl set up in Wyatt's old room.

I've been filling out my pregnancy journal and I've gotten to the part where it asks the question about classes (and I mean like 2 pages about classes). I'm stalled. I feel bad, but we went through all of it a year and a half ago. And, who needs Prepared Childbirth when you had a C Section? Or took the class a year and a half ago? Who needs a breastfeeding class when they succesfully breastfed for nine months (until they got pregnant with number 2...and the kid lost interest)? I don't need to go to an infant care class...my kid is only 15 months, I remember how to take care of him! And a hospital tour? I'll be spending like 4 days there, why spend more?

I guess the point is....I feel bad for Baby Girl. I mean, when she looks at my pregnancy journal she'll see that I didn't take any classes to prep for her. And then she'll think that I wasn't excited to have her or something. I'm not going out on a limb here, I think like that, so won't she? I'm already worried that with her being Number 2 we're not going to take as many pictures or won't get as excited (I don't think that's the case, I'm just worried that we won't have time to take pictures or something). Anyway, those are just current stresses, I'm sure that they're just typical jitters...right?

Wyatt Drinking

The other night Brian gave Noelle some fresh water. He held it for her to walk up and drink and Wyatt decided to help him hold it. Then he decided to drink it.....

Going in for a drink

Taking a sip

Slurping!

Busch Gardens!

Today Brian and I took Wyatt on his first trip to Busch Gardens. We hadn't really made any plans for today until we woke up this morning, so we got a late start. We didn't leave the house until 10:30 (would've preferred to leave by 9) and we didn't get there until 11:45 (10 would have been better).

We pretty much laid out what we wanted to accomplish on the car ride up in terms of what Wyatt could do. We wanted to take him to the Pet Shenanigans show (we saw it at Sea World and he loved it), plus the Carousel, Land of the Dragons and the Clydesdale horses. Unfortunately, the heat started kicking my butt as soon as we got in. I'm not even sure I moved 1 mile an hour while were in the park. And as much as I should have known better, I didn't eat enough for breakfast so I got light headed. As soon as we got in, we took Wyatt to the Clydesdales, which he really enjoyed. He'd never seen a horse before, let alone one up close. He got his picture taken with one named Chip and he got to pet him. Brian told him to do "nice horsey" and Wyatt was very gentle, like a good boy!

Then we went off on our hunt for food. For some reason I only wanted to eat at FestHaus which was across the park (I'm dumb!). So we hiked over there and got lunch, but missed the Pet Shenanigans show. We went to the carousel instead and Wyatt had a blast. He rode it three times! Brian said he kept saying "whoa" while they road around.

We headed over to Land of the Dragons where I sat and Brian and Wyatt played. Wyatt thought the skyride was so cool. The boys went to the top of the "fort" and the skyride was passing right by. Wyatt kept smiling and pointing. He then got to ride two rides with Daddy that took him high up. On the ride where they "flew" the dragons, Wyatt kept playing with the controller that made them go up and down and laughing.

There was still enough time to make it to the next show, but the three of us had all had enough of the heat, so we packed up and headed home. Of course, we didn't stop to think about the tunnel traffic so we had an enjoyable 2 hour ride home! Wyatt was so cranky on the ride home (unless he was listening to Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood) that I was sure he would fall asleep. But no such luck! The little fella just had a pretty early bedtime.

Anyway, lessons learned - leave early (10-2), pack even more water for us and Wyatt, and eat a better breakfast. And get a grown up stroller for me!

Nice Horsey

Posing (yes, they are both wearing camo shorts and red shirts...Wyatt also had his Yankees hat and blue sunglasses on for a little bit)

Happy on the carousel

Giddyup horsey!

Wyatt astonished by the skyride

Wyatt had a blast up there!

Playing in the netting

Peaking out of the bars

Riding the ferris wheel like thingy

Flying the dragon!

Little Yankees Fan

Last night was game four of the Yankees/Red Sox series in the Bronx. After Brian got home he put on the pregame and we were all playing in the den. Wyatt was watching the "Plays of the Week" on TV with Daddy and kept pointing and saying "Whoa, whoa." We sometimes refer to him as our little Keanu because this kid is all about some "whoa." Anyway, Joba Chamberlain was making his first start against the Red Sox last night, so I went upstairs and got my "Joba Rules" t-shirt and put it on Wyatt. The look was complete with Brian's Yankees hat and Wyatt's Yankees bat. Then Bam Bam ran around the house with bat in hand trying to hit things. He actually ran into the Yankee Room (yes, we are obsessed) and started trying to hit one of Brian's autographed baseball's off the shelf (Ron Guidry). We had to remove him from the room before he did too much damage, but he ran back in the den to watch the game and scream "whoa" some more!

Hi, I'm cute, I know it

Welcome to my Yankee room (with some baby gear mixed in)

Trying to beat the Ron Guidry ball (at least he knew to hit a baseball with a bat)

See, this is how you get to Yankee Stadium

Beating the dog bed with the bat

Running somewhere else

Cuddling with Noelle

Brian doesn't realize it when he looks at this picture, but this is EXACTLY what he looks like when he watches the game (arm up, look on his face, everything but the legs 'cause Brian's can touch the floor :))

Watching the pregame