April 30th, 2009 – 21 Weeks Along

Dear Baby…Benjamin!

Your daddy and I went to the doctor today for our “big” 21 week ultrasound and saw without a shadow of a doubt that you are a BOY!

We are beyond excited! We think it’s going to be great having two wonderful little boys running around the house and getting into things 😉

I, of course, cried when we got to see you. You are getting so very big! You weigh 1lb, and were laying across my stomach, completely strectched out. It’s no wonder that I feel kicks and prods all over at once. You are just lounging in there! You know, one of these days, you are going to have to ball up and give me a little break 😉
I am feeling fine these days. As with your brother Brighton, my sciatic nerve is killing me, making it difficult to walk sometimes, but other than that, all is well.

We can’t wait to see you in pesron!
Love,
Mommy

34 1/2 Months Old – April 24th, 2009

Dear Brighton

Well, yet again it has been too long since I’ve updated your journal  You are doing spectacularly well these days and say the cutest things just about every moment of the day. For this entry I think I’m going to list some events that we’ve had, and catalog some of your adorable quotes….here goes:

A few weeks ago we went to the beach. You LOVED it. You and Daddy built sand castles (well, you carted water back and forth and dumped some sand in a pile), and you had a blast running to the surf and back. When we were all done playing, we packed up and had lunch on a picnic table at the park (we went to Bethune Beach). You thought this was awesome. You ate well, and talked about the beach the whole time we ate. Well, while we were waiting for you Daddy to bring the cooler from the car, you were talking about this and about that, and I had gotten a bit distracted, and heard you say, “Bug, Mommy, bug!”. I looked down and there was the biggest wasp I’ve ever seen just planted on my arm! I screamed as I shook it off my arm. You were so funny, you kept saying: “Oh no, Mommy, that bee scared you. That’s not nice that bee sting your arm!”, and even though I told you that I was fine and that it didn’t sting me, for DAYS after you told everyone that a bee scared me and stung my arm 😉

Last month, we went to visit the Easter Bunny at the Oviedo Mall, and then Easter Egg Hunting at UCF. You weren’t too keen on sitting on the Easter Bunny’s lap, in fact I had to sit with you to get the picture, but afterward you go to ride the train in the food court and loved it. You really like the Easter Egg hunt, but were more concerned with your “treat” bag they said you’d receive at the end. You kept saying “I need my treat bag”, “Can we go get my treat bag, now?”. Afterwards we took you to Denny’s, where you coated yourself in pancake syrup and loved every second of it 😉

Last weekend you got sick…ugh! We aren’t used to you getting sick. You are about as healthy as they come, and before last weekend I could count on one hand the number of times you had thrown up in your whole life. It turns out that you had the Rotovirus. There was nothing really to give you, and your fever dissipated after the first day, but you weren’t able to keep anything down for 3 days. It was rough. You just laid on the couch with a bucket, telling us that you were “sick”. “Mommy, I’m really, really sick”. It was pretty pitiful. You are all better now, and other than Daddy being sick for a day or so, no one else seems to have caught it. Yay!

Lately, we’ve been trying to talk more and more about the baby and his/her impending arrival. Some days you are willing to listen, some you are not. The other day, this how the conversation went:

Me: “Brighton, do you know that we are going to have a baby in the house soon?”

You: “No. We’re not going to have a baby in the house soon, no!”

Me: “We’re not? Well, where is this baby in my belly going to go?”

You: “No. You don’t have a baby in your belly. I have a baby in my belly”

Me: “You do? What kind of baby? Is it a boy or a girl baby?”

You: “It’s a dinosaur baby. I have lots and lots of babies in my belly”

Me: “Wow! I just have one baby, but do you see how big my belly is getting?”

You: “Yes, your belly is big. You have lots and lots of babies, too. I have lots and lots of babies”

Man, you crack me up. These conversations go on forever. We’ve told you that you are going to be a ‘wonderful’ (one of your favorite words” big brother and that you are going to help us take care of the baby. You seem to be catching on a bit, so we’ll see when September comes.

At school every week you learn a new word, that’s not quite an every day word for a toddler, but one that you can definitely use and learn. I think your word this week is “attentive”. Well, Daddy had you all to himself on a Friday night the other week (Mommy went to a New Kids on the Block concert), and he taught you the words: Generous and Selfish. After one night you use these like a pro and say things like “I am not going to be generous with the new baby and share my toys…I’m going to be selfish!” You are too funny, and we have a lot of fun teaching you new words.

So not so lately, actually you have always been bit of a talker, you have been talking non-stop from the moment you wake till bedtime. Last night, we ate dinner (spaghetti and you LOVED it), then after I told you we’d go swimming. Well, your Aunt Paula called and while I was talking to her you just wouldn’t stop talking. You were saying:

“Mommy, I need to get my swimsuit on. I need to take off aaaaalllll my clothes, and my shirt, and my shoes, and I need to get my Lighting McQueen swimsuit on. Mommy, where’s you swimsuit? You need to put it on. I’m going swimming. I bet that pool’s going to be really, really cold.” And on, and on, and on…

I finally said, “Brighton, honey, can you hush for just a second, I can’t hear”. So you then you say “Mommy, can I talk to you now? Cuz I really need to talk you. Can I talk to you again?” You are as cute as they come, but man, you can talk. I have NOOOOO idea where you get it from (note the sarcasm ;))

Love,
Mommy

April 13th, 2009 – 18 weeks along

Dear Baby,

My, oh, my…you are just growing by leaps and bounds in there! As of today, I am 18 weeks and 5 days along, and feeling great. Other than a little bit of sciatic pain, everything is going very well!

This past weekend was Easter weekend, and your brother, Daddy, and I had a blast eating lots of candy and going Easter Egg Hunting at UCF. Of course, you too were along for the ride and you definitely loved my candy-intake as well 😉

We are getting more and more excited about your arrival every day now. We talk about names all of the time, and have a few picked out for both a boy and a girl. We haven’t made any decisions yet, but since we’ll be going in to get your ultrasound done on the 30th of this month, we’ll at least be able to narrow them further once we know what you are.

I’m sure most parents say this, but we truly don’t have a preference and are going to be thrilled when you arrive, whether you are a John or Jane 😉 (And no, those names aren’t on the list). We think it would be great to give Brighton a little brother, but it would be equally as great to have a girl to hang around and go shopping with 😉 One thing that we’re sure of is that September of 2009 is going to be a fantastic month for you!

Love,

Mommy

March 19th, 2009 – 15 weeks along

Dear Baby,

Wow you are really moving around a lot in there. Tonight I felt you in two different places at one time, like you were bouncing from end to end! You are only about 4 inches long (I’m 15 weeks along), so don’t know how you were doing all that, but it’s great!

Love,
Mommy

March 2nd, 2009 – 13 weeks along

Dear Baby,

I had another OB appointment today and I got to hear your heartbeat for the very first time! It was incredible! So very strong and fast – around 160. I am so happy that this pregnancy is progressing just as my first did. So far, we’ve had no complications and other than being nauseated for every waking hour of the day, I really haven’t had any other complaints. You are being very, very kind to me 🙂

Love,
Mommy

February 18th, 2009 – 11 weeks along

Dear Baby,

I felt you kick today! I’m only 11 weeks along, and with Brighton (since I didn’t really know what to look for) I was 19 weeks along before I felt him kick, I was sooooo very excited to feel you moving around in there! It is so great, and I can’t wait to meet you in person 😉

Love,
Mommy

January 29th, 2009 – 8 weeks along

Dear Baby,

Today we had our first ultrasound. It was amazing. With Brighton I didn’t get one this early so seeing you in the very, very beginning stages of development was awesome. The doctor had measured me earlier at 8 weeks and 1 day, but at this visit you measured 8 weeks and 4 days along. They didn’t change my due date, but now, I think you may come a bit earlier than 9/9/9 🙂

We still didn’t get to hear the heartbeat today, but we saw it very well on the ultrasound. It was sooooo strong and both the ultrasound tech and the doctor said that everything looked perfect. One of the reasons I had an early ultrasound was because they thought at the first visit that I might be carrying twins…twins! Since I’ve just recently located your Grandpa Dan and found out that twins not only run on my mom’s side, but his too, they wanted to check me early just to see. They only saw one of you in there, though 😉

Love,
Mommy

31 1/2 Months Old – January 27th, 2009 – “It’s okay, honey!”

Quite a few months ago, you started calling us “Honey”.  You mimic what we say, of course, and so when we say, “Come on, Honey. Let’s go” you often times respond “Okay, honey”. It is very, very cute and we think it is so endearing every single time you say it.

Last month, your Daddy and I bought a new TV, complete with new receiver and all kinds of fun stuff.  Well one of the things we got came multi-boxed with the last box being massive enough for you to crawl in.  It wasn’t tall, but you could lay down and scoot your whole body in.  Well, your Daddy was at work one evening and you thought it would be fun to play in the box.  After a few minutes, you then thought it would be fun if “I” got in the box. I was game, so I scooted on in, and as soon as I got in you proceeded to climb on top and start jumping on me!  Since I was on the wood floor, this hurt really bad and worst of all I was trapped!

I told you to you stop and you were like “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay”

I’m like ‘No! It’s not okay, you’re hurting Mommy. Get Off The Box!”

Well, you finally got off and stopped jumping once I threatened a time out, and I crawled out. You looked at me and said

‘It’s okay, honey. Are you okay?”

I said, “No, I’m not okay, you hurt Mommy”

And after looking at me for a sec, you said “You’re not beedin'”.

I’m not bleeding! I couldn’t help but laugh. You did have a point, but it still hurt 😉  Later that evening we were playing something else in your room and you hurt me again, and basically the whole dialogue replayed 🙂

A couple weeks ago, I picked you up at school, and as I was unlocking your door you stepped into this planter/median type area that I had parked next to. It’s just enclosed by a 4in step of concrete, like when you step from the street into a sidewalk.  Well, I stepped in to get you and as I stepped out, I must have twisted my ankle, because I felt this massive surge of pain and then just fell straight down on my butt with you on my lap! It hurt soooo bad, and for a second or two I couldn’t even catch my breath. You were so sweet.

You immediately held my face in your hands and said “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay. Oh no! Mommy, did you fall down? Did you hurt your leg?”

I said “No, I twisted my ankle”

“Oh no…mommy! It’s okay, it’s okay. Do you need me to go get you some help?”

I was shocked. What 30 month old knows to ask that?  I said no, and that I just needed you to sit with me for a minute. I was afraid to let you go, in case I couln’t chase after you.  So we sat there for a couple minutes and the whole time you hugged and rocked me and kissed my face. It was the sweetest thing ever. I am always so amazed at what a loving and sweet child you are. I will always remember those moments as the best in my whole life 😉

Someone finally noticed that you and I were chillin’ on the ground the parking lot and I was able to hand you over while I got up.  I was fine and after a couple of weeks, my ankle didn’t hurt anymore.  But now almost everytime you fall you tell me that you twisted your ankle. It’s so funny. The other day you actually did and I think you sympathized with me for a second 😉

Other than you being your sweet and wonderul self, not much else is going on.  Your Grandpa Dan came down for a visit last week and we had a great time. You absolutely adored him and he you.  We’re hoping we can take you to Texas to meet your Grandpa Tom sometime this spring.

Other news includes an addition to the family 😉  Mommy is currently 7 weeks along with your sibling, and we are very excited.  We try to talk about it with you every day, but you are a bit to young to understand what’s going on. I know it will initially be pretty hard on you, so I hope that we can do as much as we can to help soften the blow.  I wonder everyday what it will be like to have another baby to look after.  I love you so much that it’s hard to envision feeling that way for someone else, but I’m sure I will 😉  I think deep down you will always have a special place in my heart, “honey” 😉

School is going well for you, too. You have moved up to the 2 1/2 yr old class and you seem to like your new teacher, Miss Yvonne.  You are testing her a bit though, and have been put in time out a couple of times for not listening 🙁  Apparently, she has signs taped to the walls and shelves all around the room letting you know where things go, what things are, etc.  Well, you keep taking down her signs. Your response when she asks you why…

“I don’t like those there”

She says you still end up winning though.  After your 2 minutes of time out was up the the other day, she told you could get up, and you just sat back in your chair, and said

“No, I’ll just sit here”

And you didn’t get up until you were ready! You are such a willfull child 😉 She said that at story time when she asks every one to come sit, you ask

“What story is it”

and sometimes you’ll say “I don’t like that story”

when she tells you and play by yourself. You are definitely not a follower 😉 You don’t cause any trouble, you are just willful and really just want to do what you want to do. You are not persuaded easily. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by the time school rolls around, we’re hoping you’re a little more flexible.

Since you speak so well and in complete paragraphs and thoughts, it’s at times difficult to remember that you’re only 2 1/2.  Sometimes you seem so grown up with your logical responses to things! 😉

Well, I think that’s about it. As always, we love you more than life itself and lookforward to playing with, loving you, and seeing what you’ll do next to amaze us every single day.

Love,
Mommy 😉

January 15th, 2009 – We’re Pregnant! – 6 weeks along

Yay!  Rudy and I decided a couple of months ago that it was time to add to our little family, and today we had our first OB appointment confirming that I am about 6 weeks along!

We are so excited, and I plan to use this area to post my pregnancy journal as I did for Brighton.  Feel free to check back often for updates 🙂

Due date: 9/9/9 – This very cool because Brighton was due on 6/9/6 and born on the 6/12/6. Would it be neat if this baby was born on 9/12/9!?

January 5th, 2009

Dear Baby,

Today, Leonard and Brady came over to play all day at our house with Brighton. We had a blast! After he left I told your Daddy that I had the biggest craving for a canolli. He laughed and said that I should pick up a pregnancy test on the way home. Well, I did! Since two came in the box, I decided that I’d try it that evening instead of waiting till the next day, and I hadn’t even finished my business before the line appeared marking it as positive! We were sooooo excited. Even though we had really known for a couple of weeks, it was nice to get the validation 😉

Love,

Mommy