What you can learn from a two year old...

After spending 24-7 with Riley for 2 1/2 years...I have tried to be the best teacher I could be.  Ryan and I both actively participate in reading, playing, and learning.  And now that preschool registration is around the corner we have really been pushing the school basics...ABC's...123's and so on.  But as I lay in bed the other night I couldn't help but laugh at this epiphany...I think out of all the things we have taught Riley...Ryan and I have learned more from him.  Riley- a 2 year old- has taught me more than anyone else in my whole entire life!  He hasn't taught us how to be  millionaires...or how to rule the world.  He has taught us the most important lesson in life...happiness!  Here is a list of rules to live by according to a 2 year old

1.enjoy the sounds of life and mimic them loudly...train-choo choo...cow-moo...car-vrooom...
2. a good healthy poop should always be admired
3. string cheese, fruit snacks and chocolate milk should be staples in your diet
4. if you hear a good beat...dance...just dance
5. bubble baths are cool
6.  toots -no matter who-what-where-when-how- ARE funny...so laugh at them
7. dress for comfort not style
8. sometimes it's just easier to pick it- nose or bottom
9. make friends with strangers and hug them goodbye
10. mommy and daddy will always be your best friends and first loves!

30 Weeks

Had our follow up and 30 week appointment today...My blood pressure was still 140/90 sitting and 117/74 lying down.  The doc said that this tells her my blood pressure depends on my activity and positioning, so I am again, suppose to take it easy.  Riley went with me again this time, he went around hugging all the little kids in the waiting room and was so sad when they left with their mommies.  I brought the dvd player for him to watch in the room while the doctor did all her stuff (baby's heart beat, measure my belly)...so Riley watched Wonder Pets very quietly while the doctor discussed how I need to take it easy...she suggested, "...get a sitter or take him to grandmas or..... " and she looked over at him "put on Wonder Pets!"  I have to go weekly to the doctor now to monitor my blood pressure (since it was my blood pressure  (150/100) that forced us to be induced with Riley, they want to monitor it more closely so we don't have to be induced again)  So I have another appointment on Thursday at 10:30.  I have no other issues besides my BP, my kidneys are good, liver is good, weight (20 gained) is good...and most importantly baby Tate is good...heart beat is strong and these days...he is hanging out upside down, just like he is suppose to, kicking mommy in the side and diaphragm making my have to hiccup.

Good News

The clinical lab called today and let me know the results of the blood test.  They tested the ph levels in my blood for hypertension and everything came back normal.  I am still suppose to take it easy until my Friday follow-up appointment when we can confirm my blood pressure has lowered...I still feel funky, so maybe that's due to over-doing it a bit with the house cleaning and stair climbing (I have self-diagnosed myself with nesting OCD, which makes me want to clean everything all the time) plus holiday food packed full of sodium!   So I am going to watch my diet and let Ryan help with cleaning.

28 Weeks 5 days

I had our 28 week appointment today 1/6/11 @ 9 am.  I had to bring Riley, so Ryan can save as much vacation time for when the baby comes.  I was a little nervous about bringing him, but he did great...every doctor or nurse we passed by or met he called out the color of their scrubs..."BLOO!"  "GWEEEN!"  "WED!"  "PoooPle!"  Although Riley did great and the baby is fine (HB:147)  My blood pressure was 137/90...which was consistent after 4 readings.  Then I laid on my left side for a reading and it went down to 134/70, but the doctor was concerned nonetheless.  I told the doctor I did wake up this morning feeling swollen, dizzy and my vision felt "off".  She was concerned about my face and hand swelling, so she ordered me to bed rest this week and I have a follow up next Friday.  I do not have protein in my urine but I had gained 3 pounds...I'm thinking she is being cautious of preclempsia.  But I am to take it easy...she specifically said no house cleaning or grocery shopping.  This may be a rough week.  The 28 week picture is below...no little monster in the picture with me this time...but you will notice the swelling in my face and the rash on the back of my arms (which I got when I was pregnant with Riley too) My hair is starting to grow weird...new hair growth sticks out straight and I have to mat it down with hair spray.  I'm starting to feel more tired...which might be correlated with the high blood pressure.  I now have to sleep with 5 pillows (I did the same thing with Riley) strategically placed around my body so I get and STAY comfortable throughout the night.  Soon there won't be any more room for poor Ryan.  I still crave apples...apple pie, caramel apples anything apple.  And egg burritos.  


Baby is about the size of a butternut squash...almost 3 pounds and 15 inches long... Heart beat was 147.  We feel him move a lot and are starting to recognize or guess the body part we feel.  I am just too excited for this baby to be here...I am ready to be a family of FOUR! :)

A New Year Full of New Things

Since the weather was crappy on New Years...we did nothing.  Not that we had wild and crazy plans.  But on Sunday I had the pleasure of taking our friends Dameon and Lindsay's newborn's photos...Henry Dean was born December 19th...3 weeks early. This baby could not be more perfect...he barely fussed the whole 3 HOURS and didn't poop on me once.  It was fun and since I hadn't done a newborn session in a while, reminded me why I love it so much!

A Proud Mom...

WARNING! Bragging Parent Alert!  

Please avoid reading if you are severely annoyed with parents that brag about their kids! 

This summer, if you were to ask me if my toddler was excelling physically...I would have said absolutely....if you would have asked me if my toddler was excelling mentally I would have changed the subject.  BUT, since Riley has turned 2 and we found out we were expecting baby #2....our lives have been swtiched upside down.  And Riley has become a little person.  So much has changed with his abilities (I'm not sure what is normal) but we sure are proud!

Riley is...

Potty Trained during the day (he can even pee standing up) (9/2010)
sleeping in a toddler bed and stays in it (8/2010)
eating what mommy and daddy eat for supper or gets nothing :)

Riley can...

jump with both feet 

alternate feet walking up stairs

balance on either foot
Stack blocks until they are too tall to stand!
Wash and dry hands
Brush his own teeth
Open doors
Draw a vertical line
Use pronouns; my, I, you
Recites his own name "R is for Riley!"
Uses adjectives:  green horse, cold milk, and his favorite "Riley's a big boy!"
Carry on a simple conversation...the other day we had one about a Big green horse outside...I just kept asking questions and he kept making up this tall tale!
Following commands like: "take your blankie upstairs and bring down a book to read" or "throw this paper in the trash and bring back a tissue"
Imitate sad and happy

Understands descriptions like big and small "Riley bring mommy the big truck"

Riley Knows...

All the letters in the alphabet and recognizes them in books, signs and everywhere else letters are

The following colors (purple, blue, pink, green, yellow, red, brown, orange) again recognizes them everywhere 

The following shapes (heart, diamond, triangle, circle, square, oval, rectangle)

It's just so exciting to see how much toddlers learn and to FINALLY be able to hear their thoughts is amazing to me!  We are to the point where we can calm a hissy fit and ask..."tell mommy what is wrong..."  and we get an answer!  So rewarding and it will be nice to have a little helper around when baby #2 comes!

Cozy up for winter

  The snow has fallen and our new house has officially become our new home.  The decor is in place and little finger prints are pressed on doors, light switches and walls...we've laid our claim.  We took family pictures this fall and I have always wanted a frame collage on the wall but never wanted  to spend the money on frames...well since we moved I discovered a whole tote of black frames...so after a little measuring, a little creativity and falling off the ladder twice... I came up with this...for $0 (which is even better)

Also this year in our new house home, we have a new Christmas tree theme.  All I changed was the ribbon and got candy canes...$10 max!  But what a difference and very festive!

are stockings are hung....

 Finally Ryan and I got a much needed gift for each other this year...Recliner Chairs.  Our couches are old and we have been talking about getting new furniture forever...we got these for 50% off at homemakers and they are wonderful...super soft and comfy!  They will be perfect for when baby Tate is here.  We got them in "his" and "hers" colors. Ryan placed his chair(brown)  to have the best view of the TV and I placed my near a table.  We are officially an old couple! :)

24 Weeks and 4 days

We had our 24 week appointment today, and it was the always pleasant glucose screening.   I went in at 8 am, drank some gross orange drink and waited for 1 hour, then they took my blood.  The drink made me nauseous and so that hour felt like eternity.  My blood sugar level was fine...no gestational diabetes here.   I also had a regular appointment, my BP was 119/86 and baby's HB was 130.  I am feeling the aftermath of sodium filled holiday dinners, the doctor said pregnancy makes it hard for the body to expel excess water, so drinking tons of water should help.   Plus I need to watch the sodium, if I eat McDonalds I can feel my face, lips, hand, legs and feet start to swell, it's not pleasant.  Our next appointment is January 5th and it will be the last 4 week appointment, after that it's every 2 weeks!  This baby will be here before we know it!

1 Month Until....

CHRISTMAS!
Just a sneak at some trimmings around our house.  Most of our decor is hand-me-downs or rummage sale finds...which I think makes our Christmas decor unique and special.

Grandpa & Grandma Brown's Santa Candy Cane Holder (with "fresh" candy canes)

Craft show find, I love personalized decor

Opportunity Village (Clear Lake's Version of Good Will)  I was going to buy Pottery Barn Stockings, but my mom found these for $2!  I think they are great, reminiscent of mine and Ryan's stockings as kids.  

Santa's Plate, a gift from my mom 2 years ago and this is the first year we get to use it!

Baby's Room Peek

We started organizing and putting the baby's room together this week...

Riley has a beloved blankie and he picked this one out for his baby brother...

Craft show find...that I love!

21 Week Baby Update

We had our second ultrasound to check for heart defects and even though little baby boy wasn't cooperating again...the tech managed to get what she needed and didn't see anything abnormal...so we are in the clear.  We took Riley to this ultra sound and he was pretty excited to see the baby, he kind of acted like he understood the process of gooey gel on mommy's belly = picture of baby on tv :)  That night at home he kept wanting to kiss and hug my belly...and said "awwww....baby, love you baby"

Clark W. Griswold

Like every responsible Christmas decorator Ryan decided to put up the outdoor lights before it got too cold or too snowy.  I thought he was just going to string the lights on the porch...I guess I have my very own Clark on my hands.  Riley kept climbing the ladder yelling "Daddy...you there?"  When Ryan got down, we went to go plug in the lights and he said "this better %&*@#$ work!"  HA!  They did and he did a wonderful job!

Chuck+Door Hinge

Riley was pushing and pushing his Chuck Truck and ran into the door hinge, head first.  Ryan was reading the paper (he had the day off for Vet's day)  and I was fixing lunch...When I heard Riley start crying, I really didn't think much of it because he always runs into something, until I turned around and saw blood pouring down his face!  Ryan didn't react until he heard me say "OH MY GOD!!!"  he jumped up and aided the poor child as I paniced and got a roll of paper towels.  As I wiped the blood away, I saw a hole about the size of a door hinge.  We took him to urgent care and they glued and butterflied it shut, the doc didn't think Riley would sit still for stitches...he was right.  

 

Arts and Crafts

Recently Riley has been going through a "change"  with his behavior. Lots of fits, lots of hitting, lots of screaming, lots of time outs!  He doesn't take his naps like he use to, during his naps, he has pulled his dresser over twice, torn up 3 books, pulled down the curtains, I found dirty hands prints on the wall that are way to high for him to reach??? (I have no idea)  I am in his room every 5 minutes telling him to get back in bed.  It has been exhausting!

So Ryan and I had a pow wow and discussed this problem...because we refuse to give into the "terrible two's" theory.  We figured out I need to have more organized mental activities during the day.  So I went and bought finger paint, colors, coloring books, games...all kinds of art supplies.  And guess what....so far so good!  Although we still have a fit once in a while, he is 100% easier to deal with.  He is not the most artistic child, but he loves a task.  I guess all he needed was a little bit more attention and mental stimulation...and mom and dad have fun with the crafts too!  It's a win-win!  Here are some pictures from the last week!

Finger Paint!? How about Toe Paint!

 I poked holes in a foam bowl and Riley was so intent on stringing the leaves through the holes

We collected a bunch of leaves, smeared glue and squashed the leaves down!  I then asked Riley to draw a purple flower, brown dog, orange cat, green grass hopper, blue bird...he did his best and I added the faces

We went out and counted stars one night and the next day we finger painted what we saw...I drew the moon and Riley smeared the blue and red paint together, then we added sparkles for the stars!

It's a Boy!

Up until 2 weeks ago, I thought we were having a girl.  My instincts were telling me and my dreams were showing me girl.  But I was walking down the stairs 2 weeks ago and I was overcome with a feeling...we were having another boy, I just knew it.  Well I was right!  The ultrasound was intense compared to Riley's.  It took an hour and the tech was very thorough.  Although baby wasn't positioned right for the tech to check for heart defects, she was able to check for other defects and all is good.  I need to go back next week to try again for the heart ultrasound.

The room was set up really neat, I laid in a chair, while the TV displaying what the tech saw was on the wall right in front of me, in easy sight.  I started to cry when she said "here is baby's little arms..."  I couldn't help it, the picture was so clear!  Then we saw the profile and the baby was opening and closing his mouth, it was so cool!  He was even giving us a thumbs up...(we may have another thumb sucker)  Everything is measuring right on...due date stayed the same, my weight is good (13 pounds total)  I feel pretty good, I have been walking and running every morning to try and keep in shape for taking care of Riley and for labor.

Ryan and I are really excited and glad we found out the sex, 2 boys will be a lot of fun!

Maternity

Our really good friends Dameon and Lindsay Place asked me to take some maternity photos for them.  We had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day at Buxton Park (where I take most of my outdoor sessions)  Dameon and Lindsay live in Winterset, which is about 30 minutes west of us.  Lindsay is due almost 10 weeks ahead of me, so we will have fun watching these babies grow together.  Maybe if they are both boys, it will be Dameon and Ryan all over again!  :)  Here are some photos from our session:

Halloween

We went trick or treating in Grandma Deb's neighborhood, thinking Riley needed to see how Reese and Caleigh  trick or treated.  But after the first 2 houses he caught on and did a great job on his own.  It was a lot of fun to see him walk up to strangers houses and say "trick or treat....thank you...BYE BYE!"  All the people seemed to really enjoy our little football player!  Ryan checked all the candy for needle holes and all was good, after that he dug in to his bucket, of coarse not without saying Trick or Treat first...even today when he got a potty treat he said "trick or treat...thank you"