June 24 = Melt Mommy's Heart Day

People often ask me which of my two pregnancies has been harder.  It's a tough question to answer.  Liam's pregnancy was full of tests and monitoring and bed rest.  I thought it was normal to get blood drawn during every appointment.  However, when I was pregnant with Liam, Liam was the only thing I had to concentrate on.  Every Tuesday, I would get TheBump.com telling me what fruit he was the same size as and I would read about his developing fingernails or growing hair.  When people would ask me how far along I was, I would annoyingly reply with the number of weeks and days.  With Malia, I know when the due date is and that's usually what I cite as an answer and I make that person figure it out because my pregnancy brain prevents me from doing so.  With this pregnancy, I've had blood drawn twice- once at the beginning for baseline labs and once because I asked for it.  Oh- three times- I forgot about the glucose tolerance test because unlike with Liam, with Malia, I passed the first time and didn't have to endure the second, four hour, four blood draws test.  At this point in my pregnancy with Liam, I was driving 45 minutes at least once a week to get a non-stress test.  This was supposed to be a 20 minute test where they hooked me up, watched non-existent contractions and let me go.  It always turned into a 6+ hour test where they hooked me up, watched crazy looking contractions that I couldn't feel and didn't let me eat just in case they had to do an emergency c-section.  And Zachary was gone.  I'd ask the nurses to please let me know if/when it was appropriate to let my husband know- thank goodness it never came down to that but there were so many anxiety producing times.  With Malia we had two scares- the first was when her heart rate was really low, really early in the pregnancy.  The doctor told me at the next appointment, after her heart rate had risen significantly, that she didn't expect to find a heart beat at all that appointment.  The other scare came halfway through the pregnancy when she was measuring at the 8th percentile but that was resolved too- she's now above the 30th.  Other than that, I go in, they listen to the heart rate, measure my belly, ask if I have any questions and send me on my way.  So in that regard, this pregnancy has been easier, hands-down.  On the other hand- being pregnant while chasing a toddler has been a real challenge.  At this point in Liam's pregnancy, I was on bed rest.  Now, I'm carrying Liam to and from the car.  I'm lifting him up on the changing table, squeezing my belly against his crib to bend down to get him out, squatting down while holding Liam to pick up whatever he's dropped on the floor, doing twice as much laundry, dishes and picking up 10 times as much stuff.  It's rough.  This is all to tell you about how Liam melted my heart today.  I was picking up puzzle pieces from the floor and putting them in the right places.  Bending over hurts so bad so I just decided to sit down halfway through.  When I finished putting the puzzle back together, I didn't get up right away.  It's hard to get up sometimes.  Liam was in the kitchen where I could see him and he was entertaining himself playing with a Hess Helicopter his Uncle Matt gave him for Christmas so I gave myself a few minutes of just sitting in the middle of the hallway.  Liam looked up and saw me; I smiled at him.  He got up, brought over the helicopter, sat two feet away from me and went back to playing.  Now a lot of mommies have boys who come up and hug them all the time or want to be in their laps... Liam is not one of them.  So for him to voluntarily come and sit next to me to play, made my day, my week, my life.

I got up and got my phone so I could take this picture to always remember how sweet he was and he sat there for a few more minutes.  Eventually he got up to find something else to play with but he had done his good deed of the day.  And then 10 minutes later- my husband comes home with these!

I asked, "Awwwww, what are these for?!" and he said they were for being such a "good little wifey."

Note to self: Read this on a bad day and remember you are loved.

June 23 = Upgrade the Car Day

Zachary and I are 26 years old and now the proud(ish) owners of a mini-van.  If you had told me 5 years ago I'd be driving a van in my mind 20's, I would have... well actually I would have believed you but it's still a tad bit jarring.  We had to buy a new car seat for Malia because the one we used for Liam, which would have been perfectly acceptable, got mold in it because unbeknownst to us, the storage unit downstairs gets damp and gross when it rains and so anything with fabric on it, you can kiss goodbye.  We had to let go of the car seat and the stroller that the car seat conveniently fits into because both were ruined.  We figured we probably won't use a single stroller for a long, long time so we just got a new car seat.  I was going to have Zachary install it in the CRV so that we could all get used to it- Liam having a back seat buddy and us having our storage space significantly decreased.  Zachary pointed out that it was going to be a tight squeeze.  Now we aren't driving my old Honda Civic here... we originally got the CRV because we thought it would be a good family car.  And if you had a child who didn't require a car seat and one who did, I think the fit would be a bit better but when you have to shove two car seats in that back seat, there's no room for anything in the backseat- no groceries, no diaper bag, certainly no other humans. 

We had been joking about needing a van but reality set in when we tried to picture the two car seats in the back seat and the huge double stroller in the back.  So I went online just to look at how old this new purchase was going to make me look and they had a deal on their Siennas, 0% interest for 5 years plus $1500 cash back.  The 0% interest piqued my interest for sure.  So I did my research to make sure it was a safe, reliable car and Zachary put in requests at different dealerships around here- we went to one last night and after about 4.5 hours consisting of a test drive, Zachary having to big boy the dealer and Liam making it very clear this was not how he wanted to spend his Monday night, we drove home a 2014 Shoreline Blue, AWD Toyota Sienna. 

 

I have yet to drive it- I'm slightly terrified to.  I remember when I got the CRV after only having driven my tiny Honda Civic I was very intimidated.  I'm hoping I adapt well.  But I love it!  You can set three different temperatures for the driver, front passenger and the back of the van; the third row folds down flat for extra storage if you only have four people riding; the back doors open with the push of a button- either in the back, in the front or on the keys; there's a special place for my purse so I don't have to ride with it at my feet anymore... I've only been in it for a combined total of maybe 20 minutes so I'm sure there will be other things I love about it but mainly, my little family of four can be comfortable and safe!

Our main method of entertainment for Liam was providing him with unlimited fruit snacks and letting him crawl around the cars that were on display inside.  Note: You may not want to buy cars that have been on display because more than likely there have been two desperate parents who let their child crawl around and drool all over said car.

June 22 = Try Out New Stroller Day

Oh the joys and challenges of having two children really close in age.  Two car seats in the car for the foreseeable future since, in Maryland at least, children have to be in a "child safety seat" until they are 57 inches tall or 7 years old.  The days of getting the super light, easily maneuverable umbrella stroller out of the back of the CRV and heading inside the store are coming to an end.  Cue internet searches for "Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna" and a double stroller!  I have been going to the YMCA for walking because the heat and the hills do not agree well with my current 35 weeks pregnant status but this particular night it was great; the temperature was perfect and I felt like I could benefit from some fresh air so we hit the sidewalks instead and decided to see how Liam liked the double stroller.  He held on the whole time, acting like he was steering and he was very alert.  He loved it!

June 20 = Hang out with Joey Day

Liam woke up so happy today and has been uncharacteristically easy going today.  He's been just sitting or laying on the couch for 10 minutes at a time.  Joey has been running away from Liam because of Liam's innocently rough nature but because he's so calm today, Joey stuck around.

Also, because this is such a rare catch, here's Liam just lounging on the couch:

June 18 = Church Softball Day

Last night was Zachary's first softball game with the church we've gone two twice now.  It was some kind of hot.  We came armed with ice packs, a Tervis tumbler full of ice, a water bottle filled with ice water, cold juice, sun screen, a picnic blanket a bag of toys.  These fields are not the most professional fields you've ever seen- there's no fence to speak of, only a backstop.  There are orange cones separating the fields and serving as the foul line.  So there are no dugouts which means Zachary got to hang out with us while our team was batting (which didn't last very long).  Our team lost even with a double and a home run by Zachary but he had fun and we met a few super nice people; we even had three other kids sitting on our blanket playing with Liam's toys.  Liam is a very good sharer, thank goodness because the other kids didn't share his skill.

Also, we have a crazy cat.

June 17 = Crazy Hair Day

Not a lot to say about this picture.  It looks like he's saying, "Deal with it, Lady."

June 16 = Put Together a Desk Day

When we moved to Maryland, it was the first time we let the military move us instead of doing it ourselves.  It was so nice not to have to stress about packing and not having to carry in countless boxes in the heat.  The only downside is we had quite a few damaged objects.  There is now a hole in the back of our bookcase and the stairs for the bunk bed we bought Liam 2 days before we moved has a crack down the side but the worst damage happened to our desk.  One leg snapped in two pieces and the shelf that the keyboard rests on wouldn't slide in and out.  So our plan was to wait until we were reimbursed for the damages and then buy a new desk.  The hole in the bookcase is covered by the far too many books we own and the stairs are against the wall so you can't see the crack but the desk really wasn't functional.  After we waited over a month and a half and still had not been reimbursed, we decided to go ahead and get another desk- especially with Zachary having so many papers to write.  Now he has a nice space to spread out his books and papers.  Liam's favorite part of the desk was- shocking- the box it came in!  Here are some pictures of him crawling up and down the boxes.

I also snapped some pictures of Liam walking on the treadmill at PT.  We had an interesting PT visit this week.  Normally, when we drop Liam off at the church nursery or the Kid Zone at the Y, he has no reaction.  We mentioned this at his Infants & Toddlers Program evaluation because it's always been interesting to me.  The evaluation was on Thursday and that night, Zachary took Liam to the Y and he got upset when Zachary walked away.  He did it again Friday and Saturday and then Sunday he cried when we dropped him off in the church nursery.  So when we went to PT on Monday, I warned the physical therapist of this new development and she invited me to come back.  That's when I snapped the pictures of him on the treadmill but he was upset because he could see me but wasn't allowed to be near me.  So the physical therapist and I decided it'd be best if I went back out to the waiting room.  He got pretty upset but eventually moved on and had a good session.

Using this, the physical therapist is able to use her hands to keep his legs closer together instead of using them to keep him upright.  Beginning walkers walk with their feet far apart because it gives them more stability so this is a good way for him to work on narrowing his stance.  I know he doesn't look happy but I do think it's pretty neat that they have this available for him!  Maybe with time he will learn to love it :)