My Baby!

Obviously I didn't finish the post yesterday, but this about sums up the rest of my birth experience:

• The Australian Doctor gave me drugs
• Brian put on scrubs
• There was a bright light
• WYATT WAS BORN
• Brian took him to the nursery
• I passed out
• I woke up an hour later
• I met our baby and fell in love.

Three Years Ago Today...

I published this last year on the day before Wyatt's second birthday, and I always love to look back on the day that we thought was going to be his birthday. Okay, maybe "love" is a strong word for what I went through, but whatever. It's the miraculous story of his birth. On with the story...

I was at the hospital. Wyatt was 9 days late and I was being induced. Brian and I spent the night before getting everything in order...dropping Noelle off, picking up a few things for the hospital, and just enjoying our last night together with no kids.

We woke up at 6am so that we could call the hospital at 7 to make sure there was a Labor & Delivery room for us. There was an opening, so we packed up and moved out! We stopped at Target (I know, we seriously have a problem) on the way and got to the hospital at 7:30.
Let me just say, this was NOT how I pictured my delivery. There was going to be water breaking. Rushing around. No painkillers or drugs of any kind. Then the Pitocin showed up. The contractions hurt, but I was convinced I could make it through. I just needed my balance ball. Our Prepared Childbirth Instructor said that balance balls were amazing. Um, no. By 11:30 I was begging for some drugs. Not the epidural, just the light stuff. This baby is going to be here any second.

Not so much. But you know what was there? Chick-Fil-A. For my husband. My parents brought him Chick-Fil-A to eat in front of me when I hadn't eaten in 12 hours. Whatever, pass the ice chips. I still loved him anyway.
I watched some TV, attempted to play some Nintendo DS (an obsession when I was pregnant with Wyatt. I had to play at least one game of Tetris and beat my previous score before I could fall asleep at night). Still nothing. By 5 I was at three measly centimeters! Um, are you kidding me?

I tried a second helping of the light stuff, but like I heard in class, it did nothing. I decided to go all in. I mean, my "birth plan" was screwed up as soon as the Pitocin drip hit my blood stream. My baby was going to be born drugged anyway right? Epidural please!

Shockingly, that big needle isn't even that intimidating when you're having contractions. That doesn't mean it was comfortable though. I got a little stressed when Wyatt's heart rate started dropping, but we made it through.

Apparently the epidural helped me relax (that and the 85 Popsicles I consumed over the course of the day), because within three hours I was 8.5 centimeters. The baby was going to be here by midnight!

Except, that's where it all ended. The next hour there was no change. I heard the dreaded "C-Section" word. I convinced the Doctor to come back in an hour. I promised I would be ready. But I wasn't. This little charade continued to play out until it was no longer March 29th...

Our Growing Girl

Reese is going through a totally new phase right now. She is incredibly verbal about what she wants and doesn't want, and she has an opinion about everything. A few of the things she has done or said to us lately have blown my mind!

The other day she grabbed her "pocketbook" and picked it up. Brian asked her where she was going and she replied "Target."

This of course, was not too surprising, since she's just as obsessed with Target as I am. When we go to the store she has a meltdown if she doesn't get to see shoes, baby dolls or baseball helmets (I know, she's incredibly well rounded).

She's also started "stretching" with Brian. Basically, Brian has been doing a ton of work in the garage lately. You know, trying to finally move the things that just ended up in the garage into the house. Well, when things need to go to the attic he has to carry them from the garage upstairs to the attic, and it has done a number on his ankle. About 8 years ago he had a freak jet skiing accident that resulted in a completely broken ankle. Like, bone showing and everything. I was fortunately spared from having to see the ankle, but let me tell you, I was so mad at him the day it happened. I called him that afternoon and that night and he never called me back (he was jet skiing with friends). He called me the next morning (at like 7) and asked me if I wanted to know where he was. Who wants to guess that!? But then he told me that he was in the hospital and had screws and plates in his ankle, and he was out of it. He couldn't move or do anything (like take care of Noelle), and I ended up waiting on him hand and foot for two months! Anyway, his ankle has swollen to massive proportions and at one point this week we could feel a screw sticking out. Ew.

So, to make that story a little less gross and long, here are pictures of Reese stretching with Daddy.

The other night Brian brought new pajamas home for the kids. He showed Wyatt his cool new Buzz Lightyear jammies and then gave Reese her new butterfly jammies. She grabbed them and hugged them and said "Ank you! Love it!" She's also saying that things are "Cute!" Especially shoes. Shoes are always cute.

In her opinion, this outfit is also cute. She was playing dress up with Daddy the other day and she came out of her room wearing this:

Now I love all of it, separately. With all of it together there is certainly a lot going on. Usually Brian dresses her pretty well, but this I had to question!

And finally she has developed a few more words. My favorites are "no way!" and "why?" when I ask her to do things. At least she says them with a smile on her face, but it kills me.

"Reesie would you please go get you a new pull up?"

"Why? No way!"

Spiderman and Dora!

So we have all been cracking up the last few days watching videos of Wyatt and Reese. While Brian was searching for things for Wyatt's Spiderman birthday party next week, he came across this website that turns your kid into their favorite character or a friend of their favorite character. Unfortunately I can't embed the videos onto the blog, but here is Wyatt as Spiderman and Reese as Dora. Reese's is hysterical when she does her little dance!


Other than that, we haven't been up to much lately. Work. Playdates. House stuff. I'm working on my first really "crafty" project ever, and it isn't even that crafty. I have to work on getting a new trash can for Wyatt's room cleaned up and sparkling, and then I'm hoping to revamp a rocking chair and maybe jump into sewing some (really simple) curtains for the family room. I just can't find what I want anywhere without an outrageous price or a really dark design. Plus, I don't want to spend too much because I can just see jelly mouths smearing all over the curtains!

We are anxiously waiting for Wyatt's third birthday this Tuesday! I can not believe that my little baby boy is going to be three in two days! Brian and I both have the day off, and we have a nice little day planned for him. Including well child check ups for both kids that afternoon. And yes, I totally did that to him last year too! But I think we'll also go to the aquarium or zoo (based on weather), go out to dinner at Red Robin, and finish the day with cake and presents! His Spiderman party is next Saturday, and it is themed out to the max. I let Brian pick out everything, and believe me when I tell you this is about as Spiderman as it gets. Right down to the Spiderman shirts that my kids are wearing. Yes, both of them.

And yes, unfortunately I have no pictures today. And I might not even blog forever. Our power cord was literally smoking the last time it was plugged in and we need a new one. And as far as I know, it hasn't been ordered. So right now I'm at the mercy of my sister letting me use her computer. And hopefully, my husband will go ahead and order the darned power cord.

Sunday, Sunday!

Yesterday was a fantastic day for quite a few reasons. No, I didn't get to sleep in. All weekend. On Friday I woke up with the kids at 7:15. Brian's day was Saturday. He got up with the kids at 7. But he didn't turn any monitors off. And he left the bedroom door wide open. So I got up. I decided I would commandeer Sunday since I didn't get to sleep in on Saturday. And you know what happened? The exact same thing.

After all that torture, my husband decided that we could skip the Wal Mart run and just buy what we needed at Target. YES! I got all the big stuff last week, but we were still in need of the "essentials," and in case you don't already know this about me: I hate Wal Mart. So I got a trip to Target without going to Wal Mart first. Score!

The kids have been pretty obsessed with reading in the car lately, which I (and really probably any parent) love. They ask to read books as soon as they get in, and can stay content for awhile just looking through their books. Reese's new favorite book is New York Yankees 101.
When we go shopping, the boys usually go off and do their own thing in the toy section while Reese and I do the actual shopping. When we caught up with them yesterday they were trying on masks and playing with light sabers.

Reese stays with me because she gets a little um, grumpy when she doesn't get what she wants. Taking her to the toy section is currently a no no. We did need to get her some new shoes, and she was in heaven. I put them on her feet and she shouted "Cute!" Then she refused to take the new ones off. So this is how she walked through the store.

For whatever reason she is equally obsessed with trying on baseball helmets and gloves. She asks about the helmets as soon as we walk in the store. I'm pretty sure Brian will give in and buy her one at some point. Hopefully not now because I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stand.

When we got home the boys had a picnic on the deck. Peanut butter and jelly, pretzels and milk. Yum!

When the kids were up from their naps we went outside to play while Brian worked on clearing out the garage. Every kid in our court was out, and we had a great time. Every family has at least 2 kids, and they range in ages from 16 months to 10 years. The younger kids make up the majority though, and we are lucky enough to have a family with a boy about 6 months younger than Wyatt and a girl 2 months younger than Reese right next door! All the kids played in the court and shared all their toys. I was astounded when two kids went to Wyatt's Jeep and jumped in and he was okay with it. He just walked over to their trike and jumped on. It was great.

Days like yesterday are fantastic because we had a blast, and they're really great reminders of why we moved. There are going to be days that we miss the pool (for sure). And there are days that I wish I was closer to work. But we have a back yard. We have neighbors we like who are respectful of one another (even if a few happen to be Red Sox fans). We don't wake up to someone's bass blaring at 6 am every day (a train is way more acceptable, and it's only that early like, every 2 weeks). We have a train that runs behind our house (but not right behind it). And our kids love it. And we do too.

Busch Gardens 2010!

Yesterday was Pass Member Preview day at Busch Gardens, and we decided that we wanted to go as soon as we found out how beautiful the weather was going to be! We took our time getting there, and that was a big mistake! We got to Williamsburg around 11:30, and by then the place was packed. Brian has a Platinum pass, which gets us into all the other parks (like Sea World and Water Country) and also gives us an added bonus of preferred parking. I hate taking trams with the kids and the stroller, and the ability to park and walk into the park is phenomenal. Unfortunately, that lot was full and we had to park and take the tram. Not fun. It's like loading and unloading the kids two extra times.

As soon as we got to the park we stopped to do the two most important things of any trip we take as a family. The first is stopping to let Wyatt go to the restroom (he spent the entire day in his big boy pants - and didn't ask to stop on the ride up or the ride home), and the second is slathering Reese in sunscreen (Wyatt of course gets some too, but for Reese it's crazy important). The first stop inside the park was the Highland Stables to see the Clydesdales. The new Clydesdales are black and as big as ever. Wyatt immediately wanted to ride the Clydesdale ride, and he had a blast.
Of course, when we usually go (even at the peak of the summer), he can just stay on this ride for as long as he wants. But it was so crowded yesterday that he could only ride once.

After the Clydesdale's we went to Sesame Place, where Wyatt was pretty much obsessed with finding Elmo. We thought that this might be a turning point in his "I hate mascots" phase (which I'm desperately hoping he's over by December when we go to Disney World), but no. He just wanted to see Elmo, not actually get close to him. He looked all over the place while he and Brian waited in line for their next ride.

Reese and I hung out while the boys waited in line, and when it came time to get on I passed her to Brian so she could ride with the boys (I get sick from the littlest things. Seriously. Me + this ride = pukefest). She was very excited!

This picture is just a crop of a bigger photo (that includes crazy 80's hair and a screaming kid), but I thought it was a great photo of the family! I love the look on Wyatt's face!

Our last stop for the day was the roller coaster in Sesame Place. We were so excited when we measured Wyatt and he was tall enough to ride. He waited patiently in line with his Daddy, and was super stoked to go on the roller coaster (which Reese thought was a train). You can kind of see the boys peeking out from the next to last car here.

This one is far away, but Wyatt had so much fun. He got off the roller coaster and wanted to go again. But after riding three kids rides we'd already been there for 3 hours, and we were dealing with hungry, tired kids. We stopped and got some kettle corn (yum!) and water and made our way to the car. After this we decided that under no circumstances will we ever go to Busch Gardens on a Saturday again. We actually usually stick to Mondays, since we have insider knowledge of the industry and the slower days (let's just say there's a reason that Brian has Mondays off during the summer).

Both kids fell asleep in the car after their bellies were full of McNugget Happy Meals, and we got to take the nice, scenic Monitor & Merrimac tunnel on the way home because of a major back up. Then we spent the afternoon in the backyard playing baseball and running around.

Brian and I got to go on a date night to our local sushi place, which is quite delicious. I had Hibachi last night, and it is sooooo good. It was hard for us to leave our favorite place, but it's 40 minutes away, and it doesn't have Hibachi. The Volcano rolls aren't as good out here, but Brian seems to like the Baby Octopus just as much (ew.). We finished off our date night with a trip to the mall to buy Brian some new shirts. So fun! The girls in the shop kept joking him because for awhile he was holding like 4 navy blue shirts in his hand, and he finally broke down and got a few different colors. I was also got a new Yankees shirt. Score!

Spring!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we spent a lot of time outside! This morning we went out to "bicycle" as Wyatt calls it. He loves to pedal around, but he also spends a lot of time stopping to explore (which is also what he does when he rides around in his Jeep). We played in the backyard and had a great time until nap time!

After they woke up we went for a walk around the neighborhood, and were surprised to see Daddy at home when we got back! He wasn't feeling well, so he rested while we did some more playing, but once he woke up we had even more fun....

Except for when he was trying to put Wyatt's new ESPN batting set together. We needed a screw driver and batteries and I ran inside to get them. Reese started running, and before Brian could reach her she fell down on the concrete!

She didn't cry at all (after she fell, or even when I was cleaning it, applying antibacterial stuff, and putting a band aid on)! In fact, she was kind of obsessed with the "sticker!"

Once we got out back the fun began! Wyatt kept walking around telling us that he was "being Derek Jeter." Reese was also Hideki Matsui. We haven't told him yet that Matsui is no longer a Yankee. That's going to be a tough conversation, because I was also "being Johnny Damon," who is now a Tiger.

I've got to say, this batting set is amazing! Wyatt can load the balls in and when he presses home plate the machine lifts and attaches the ball to the "tee." Then he can just swing and run!

Today he was more interested in having batting practice than actually pretending to run the bases! And he had two helpers to go and get the balls for him after every hit!

Reese also got to take a few swings while we were outside today. She kept swinging behind her and I asked Brian if he thought she might be a lefty, and his response was "No, she just swings like a girl."

After that insult, she decided to go back to collecting balls and carrying them like doll babies! This dress is way too short on her, but I had to get it back on one more time before she completely outgrew it. Plus we started potty training her today, so putting her in a dress made things incredibly easy! She actually peed more today then I think she ever has in one day, but she managed to actually go in the toilet twice!

This weekend is going to be absolutely beautiful, so we're hoping to spend even more time outside!

American Idol: Week 1

There is a strong possibility that I might give up on this at some point because I am so bored with American Idol already. Kara annoys the garbage out of me with her freaky shoulder movements and all her talk about "artistry" and "connections to the songs." Ellen honestly cracks me up at some points and other times I think that she has no idea what she's talking about.

I'm not really that into this season, although I did break down and vote for Lee last night. I think that for all the "boring" and "safe" comments the judges rambled on and on about just to hear themselves speak, I thought he did a great job.

My new enemy this season (because I always have one, and they inevitably end up in the top two - previous years' enemies were David Archuleta and Adam Lambert) is Aaron Kelly. I don't know what it is about that kid, but I just find him to be so sugar coatingly annoying that I don't think I can stomach his preciousness. So probably expect to see him be the first name announced as safe tonight, and look forward to hearing him singing some awful Kara DioGuardi song about standing in a tornado and persevering through the wind in May (has there ever been a good finale song?).

My bottom three for tonight (and Brian and I are playing Fantasy American Idol again so the stakes are high) are:

Tim Urban

Paige Miles

Lacey Brown

I'm hoping beyond hope that Lacey goes home, but I think Paige is going to go home tonight. I could be wrong. Maybe she got sympathy votes because she was all "I have laryngitis and couldn't practice." I guess we'll see in a few hours (you know, after I fast forward through the entire episode so I don't waste my time - I like to be efficient).

In a Toddler Bed....Finally!

Wyatt has probably been ready to make the switch to a big boy bed for awhile now, but Brian and I weren't! With two kids we treasure our sleep time, and with this crib tent he stayed in his crib in the morning and entertained himself. Typically this resulted in nice conversations with his BFF Monkey. We purchased the tent last November after we learned he knew how to escape the crib. It obviously helped us with getting extra sleep (if he wakes up at 6 and your newborn had her last feeding at 5, isn't nice to know that your kid is happily talking to his Monkey in the crib?), but we also had concerns about him making his way downstairs once he crawled out of bed (which is no longer a concern at the new house). This kid has been able to barrel through baby gates since he was less than a year old!

So after a lot of conversation, and finally the destruction of the crib tent by Wyatt (who readily admits that he was trying to get out of there), we decided that he could finally make the switch. Wyatt was very excited to be able to "help" his Daddy put the tent together!

Brian actually did let him help with a few things, and I know that Wyatt had a blast reading the instructions and helping to put a few bolts in the crib.

He was incredibly excited to go to sleep in his new bed on Sunday which made us very happy. I am not kidding you when I say that he is scheduled to the point of being ridiculous. He needs the fan on, his nightlight on, his animals and blankets arranged a certain way...he's basically just nuts! I was nervous that he was going to start missing his crib tent or something.

Brian had a talk with him about not getting out of bed without Mommy or Daddy's permission, and he said he understood. And did he ever! At 5:30 I answered a call because "Noelley fell out of bed." And by "fell out of bed" he meant she was about 3 inches from the bed!

His nap times have been going smoothly (I leave books out for him to read if he wakes up before his nap time/quiet time is over), and even if he comes out, he understands that he needs to go back until I get him. I actually like this time because he has nothing to do but read his books (we don't really keep toys in his room), and he really seems to enjoy it!

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On Why I am an Idiot

I seriously don't think I could be more upset with myself right now! Wyatt's last swimming class ended two weeks ago, and there's usually a three week break between classes. But his last session was pushed back a week because of the snowstorm, which resulted in only a two week break. Shannon and I got the boys together for a play date on Monday, and while we were talking we realized that the classes started tonight.

I should have just filled out the form and the check and given it to her right then (she's a swim coach for that league), but noooooooo, I decided to mail it in. And then I got the email last night. The class is full, they can't even squeeze him in. And I feel like the worst mom in the world. Fortunately, he is unaware that he is missing class. But I'm not. I'm all "I'm the worst mom ever! He was going to pass station two and start learning to float! Now he'll never be the next Michael Phelps! And his dad runs a waterpark! This is awful!"

Fortunately Brian reminded me that there is a summer session, that Wyatt will be just fine at the waterpark, and that we never actually intended for him to be the next Michael Phelps. Or even a swimmer that won a bronze medal. I was just hoping that he could go without the swim diaper this class.

Potty Training!

I seriously feel like we've been potty training Wyatt for the last 6 months. I hate to make excuses for him, but I really feel like the confusion of moving out of our house, moving into his grandparents' house and everything else just caused this setback. Like, he wanted to have control over this one thing. Now that we're in our own house again, he has been doing a fantastic job!

I'm not sure what it is, but over the last 2 weeks, he has had this major breakthrough, to the point that I even leave the house now with him in his big boy pants (regular underwear, not pull ups). The only problem we still have is with his bowel movements. He likes to do his business as soon as he wakes up in the morning and as soon as he wakes up from his nap, so it most often happens in his Overnight diaper (which has actually been dry in the morning) or the Pull Up he wears at nap time.

He has never been a fan of sitting down to urinate, he prefers to stand up. He does a great job, and once I help him get everything off, he usually runs in the bathroom, does his business, and then washes his hands on his own. But going in the little potty has been such a pain because I have to go empty it and clean it. Wyatt must have been reading my mind, because the other day I sent him into the rest room to go, and when I walked by I saw him standing on his stool, which he'd pulled over to the toilet, going to the bathroom. Then he just pushed the stool over to the sink to wash his hands. He cracks us up!

I've decided after this experience that now is the time to really crack down on Reese and get her potty trained. I am so incredibly ready to stop buying diapers it's ridiculous. I think she'll be really good about it, and she's already gone in the potty a few times, so now I just have to commit to it. And I think I'm ready....

Hiding Under a Rock

So we haven't really been hiding under a rock, but we've been incredibly busy this week! For starters I imposed a sort of "computer shut down" on myself, hiding the lap top until Friday. I mean, I knew where it was, I just didn't bother with it. It was kind of nice. I can still keep up with practically everything I want or need to see from my iPhone, it just cut out a lot of unnecessary computer time. I just couldn't blog :(!

We didn't do much besides hang around the house all week. Reese enjoyed her kitchen to the point of climbing on top of it. She just lays across the counter and lounges!

Wyatt enjoyed playing with the new paper airplanes that he and Daddy made together,
and he also enjoyed creating his own "lounge area" of pillows on the floor of the family room while he watched Team Umizoomi. Brian kept calling him Baby Hef.

This week really wasn't too eventful until Friday, which was my birthday! I spent the morning at Target with the kids (ha!), and then we all came home for their naps. Brian came home early with my presents (two new charms for the Pandora bracelet my parents got me for my birthday and a picture frame), and then we went to Red Robin for dinner, where I got my free birthday burger and sundae! Yummy! Unfortunately just about all of us (lucky Wyatt) had a snotty nose or a sinus headache, so we came home and all went to bed exceptionally early.

We spent the whole weekend together running errands and hanging out around the house. We got a few things done around the house and spent lots of time eating my Coldstone Birthday Cake (also a present from Brian).

Sunday morning I was home with Reese while Brian and Wyatt ran over to his parents' house. I was unpacking and putting away groceries, and I realized I hadn't heard Reese talking or running around in a few minutes. I walked out of my kitchen and saw this:

Completely unprompted,

happily changing,

her new baby's diaper.

She is such a big help at 18 months! Always wanting to help around the house and taking care of her baby dolls!

Unlike her big brother, who prefers to lounge around in bed all day with his Iron Man mask and his baseball equipment!

Last night we went to the local comedy club with my fellow March birthday folks to see D.L. Hughley. It was absolutely hysterical, and we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we ate terribly this weekend (Red Robin Friday, Firehouse Subs Saturday, and the Comedy Club last night), so we will be having nothing but homemade meals all week (good for my budget and our waistlines), so I might be publishing our Meal Plan for this week later.

Another Trip to the Aquarium

Yesterday we were looking for a cold weather activity so we could all get out of the house. We took the kids to the Aquarium (which will always be the Marine Science Museum to me), and they were both really excited to see the fish!

This was Reese's first trip to the Aquarium that actually involved her walking with us. I still took the stroller in (it's great for getting them inside, for snack times, and for punishment for little kids who won't listen when they walk by themselves), but we let her walk for the majority of the trip.

She loved being able to walk with Wyatt, to stand and look at the fish, and generally being able to do whatever she wanted. Sometimes I feel bad for her because she's gotten stuck in the stroller at a much older age than her brother. He walked through the zoo and aquarium when he was a year old, and here she is at 18 months finally getting to do it all. It's not hard with two of them out and about, it's just easier when we don't have to chase her too!

They both really liked looking at the sting rays, but neither of them were very interested in touching them. I think it's so funny because Wyatt tries to give her lessons about them.

Reese did try to do a little escape act when we got to an open space, and I just let her run because it was practically empty and she was having so much fun. At least we know that when she runs she always comes back to Daddy!

After her little escape act I decided to declare snacktime so that both kids would get in their stroller. I usually give the baggie to Wyatt and eats and shares some with Reese. I have to say that I am extremely impressed that he actually does share the food. He says "Reesie wants some more? I'll share with her." Of course that means she will get one goldfish to snack on while he shoves 5 in his mouth, but at least he isn't greedy with them!

I am excited that it is finally March, and can't believe that my baby boy ("I'm not a baby Mommy. I'm a big boy. Reese is a baby.") is going to be 3 at the end of the month! I'm looking forward to his birthday, hopefully some spring weather, and of course springing forward! I hate days with less sunlight, and I love losing an hour of sleep to get more sunshine!