It’s official, Ian is full-term! His due date isn’t actually until April 29th, but 37 weeks is considered a full-term pregnancy and since we hit that mark yesterday I, as his mommy, give him permission to come on out and play! Physically, he and I are both making our preparations to do just that. As of my 36-week check up, Ian was fully engaged and I was fully effaced. (If you know what that means, great! If not, I’ll spare you the visuals. If you’re really curious, you can go look it up.) In layman’s terms, I think it means we’re about halfway there. Now I just need to go into labor. I’ve had a couple of contractions, but nothing consistent. Every little bit helps though so I get excited anyway. [more...]
Three Years!
Our little family is now three years old! On March 17th, Michael and I observed our third anniversary. I say “observed” because we waited until March 19th to actually celebrate! To mark the occasion we decided to take our first night away from the kiddo. We drove down to Ft. Lauderdale and left him for an overnight visit with his Uncle Chris, Aunt Abby and his cousins, Corban and Abigail. We then drove on a bit further to South Beach in Miami. Mom and Ken gave us the gift of a hotel room for the night - at the South Beach Marriott. We stayed on the top floor in a room overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful!
After settling in our room and getting dressed for dinner, we walked about six blocks to a restaurant called Quinn’s for dinner. The people watching was fascinating - there’s quite a mix there on the beach - and the food was wonderful. Afterward we went for a short late night stoll on the beach and then retired to our room for some relaxing time with just the two of us. [more...]
Rubber Ducky, You’re the One…
It’s been well over a year since we decided on a Rubber Ducky theme for the kids/guest bathroom. Before Michael A. was born we painted the bathroom an obscenely bright shade of yellow and I started looking for duck accessories. I never found exactly what I was looking for and then Michael was born and the bathroom dropped to the bottom of the priority list. So we have had a bright yellow bathroom with a navy shower curtain hanging in it since then. We ended up with more of a drab boyscout theme than the fun duck theme I had planned on. Oops.
With Ian arriving soon, I am once again nesting. Since there isn’t much to be done directly for Ian, I have started focusing on general home projects and I set my sights first on the unfinished bathroom. While browsing at Target recently, I stumbled across a new line of duck accessories that I just loved. Lil Michael and I spent some time matching up curtains, towels and rugs to go with them and then we lugged it all home and put it together. I am very pleased with the results and even more pleased that the bathroom is finally done! Now onto my next project…
At the Park
We spent Saturday at the park for our church’s Field Day event. Lil Michael had an absolute blast and showed off some new big boy skills!
He mastered the play structure and slide in no time at all. I spent the first half hour hovering right behind him and trying to help before I realized that he was completely up the the task. I stepped back a bit, staying close to catch him if he fell, but letting him do his thing. I was so proud!
Next up, Michael discovered the sandbox and dove right in. He spent most of the time throwing sand on himself but he had so much fun doing it that it was tough to interfere. We did jump in the tub as soon as we got home though!
So Much to Say…
Ack! I am once again hopelessly behind on posting. I’m not up for doing another round of “catch up” posts so I’ll just give you the highlights and then start from here! 
We’ve had a lot of firsts since I last posted!
- Michael took his first steps…and then a bunch more! He took his first step just before Christmas and was taking a few at a time by the time Christmas arrived. Shortly after his first birthday, he left crawling behind and is now walking exclusively! He’s getting faster and has even made a few attempts at running. He still tumbles a lot, but for the most part brushes himself off and keeps on going.
- First Christmas - I’ve decided the 1st Christmas is a little overrated. He had no idea what was going on and absolutely no interest in opening his own presents. Still, it was fun to put him in a Santa hat and enjoy fun times with the family.
- First Birthday - A slightly bigger deal than Christmas, but he was still pretty clueless!
- First Haircut - Now this one was a big deal! My baby boy turned into a big boy with quick buzz of the clippers! Daddy did the honors at home and the result was a handsome, grown up little man! I still sigh occasionally over cute “before” pictures, but I love his new look too…and it was definitely time. [more...]
Ian Scott - At Almost 32 Weeks
This pregnancy has not gotten nearly as much print as the last one did, but that doesn’t mean it’s been less eventful! Ian has actually kept us hopping for more than half of the pregnancy so far…and recently that’s become more literal.
Our ultrasound at 17 weeks showed placenta previa - which means that the placenta was blocking Ian’s way out. It’s not that uncommon in early pregnancy and it usually resolves on it’s own before birth, but it needed to be monitored. If it didn’t resolve, it would mean a c-section in the hospital rather than the natural birth we planned at the birth center. The hospital delivery would mean a longer stay, more risk and a lot more money, so we were definitely concerned. We began going for ultrasounds every four weeks to check for progress. Slowly but surely, we did see some progress and finally at our 31 week ultrasound, we saw complete resolution. (Actually, we’re still waiting on the final report, but the tech’s opinion was that all is well!) [more...]
Picture Links
I just put up a ton of pictures from December & January. Since they’re all over the place in the gallery, I’m listing all of the links here to help you find them!
December 2009
Christmas 2009
January 2010
1st Birthday
1st Haircut
Michael on the Move
Michael is finally figuring out this walking thing…with the help of this handy push toy! He has a blast pushing it along until he hits an obstacle. Since this video was taken about a month ago, Michael has figured out how to turn his toy or at least push it around to where he wants to go.
Jumping on the bed! Michael’s new love of bouncing was indulged to the fullest during this play session after a nap. He was full of energy and having a blast!
Family Portrait
So we finally got around to getting some family portraits done! I was very pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the whole process went. We scheduled an appointment at Target for a weeknight and Michael met us there after he got off work. In just over an hour we were in, had our pictures taken, picked out the ones we wanted, exchanged a coupon and some cash and were on our way back out the door! Michael A. was smiley enough through most of the session and we got enough good photos that I was able to identify a couple for family and a couple more for us. Best of all, I got to check the task off my to do list and I’ll have something for all those relatives who were sure to start guilting me soon!
There’s someone in there!
In the last few days we have begun to enjoy a whole new level of interaction with Michael Aaron. Like somebody flipped a switch, it is suddenly apparent that he does indeed understand what we’re saying to him and what’s more, now has the ability to respond appropriately! This morning, while he and I were in the living room, we could hear Michael getting ready for work. I told Michael Aaron to “go find daddy” and he immediately crawled back towards our bedroom and found his daddy! Yesterday, I told him it was time for a diaper change and he started pulling off his diaper!!!
We have been teaching him some hand signs and he can now use “more” and “all done” in context - although he does sometimes get them confused. “More” is definitely his favorite and he tends to use it frequently. He is getting more verbal as well and I am getting the feeling lately that he is actually trying to say something as he jabbers away. He kept repeating the same sounds this morning while looking at me expectantly. I still have no idea what it is that he was saying!
It is so much fun being this kid’s mom! I love getting to watch him grow and change and I am constantly amazed at how quickly new skills appear and develop. I am so lucky!
