The one with the Adirondack chair

I love weekends...it's a time to just spend with my family, no schedules, no emails, just around the house working on projects, and running errands. We have been starting the weekends early. Way early. This weekend started at 6:30 and 2 of the three of us were not ready for that early of a start.

Maybe she had had a long week and was ready for some exclusive us time too? Who knows. She spent the day with Dad because no daycare (Easter Monday), she found out about the whole brother thing, she's working on 4 teeth on the top - 2 cutting, 2 threatening to cut, and then on Friday she wore Grandma Di out - as they spent the day together because daycare took an off day. She's getting so busy - walking, conversing, and into everything. I know Matt and I need to work on finding new things to say beside "No," "What are you doing?" "Where did you go?" "That's not yours" and the newest "Ucky!" By the end of the days on both Saturday and Sunday I was spent!

We did get her a new chair with the coming of spring. We grabbed this one from Menards...call it an early birthday present, call it a summer fun spot, call it whatever you want. It made me happy to see her loving it and enjoying the sunshine, while we had it. Saturday was gorgeous! The sun was shining, there wasn't any wind, and the temps were 70'sish. Sunday was another story, it was cold, rainy, and windy as heck. The temps had dropped down to 40ish and it was isshy to be outside. We didn't do what we wanted to do, clean things up and plant the radishes - we ran some errands but we stayed warm inside!

Best meal: Not sure if I can say this was the best nutritional meal but we took Eleanor to her first fast food restaurant - Taco Bell. She's had some familiarity as it was a main staple in my pregnancy but she's not had it out-o-the-womb. We ordered her a cheese quesadilla with chicken.... she devoured it. Full hand in the mouth to ensure she was savoring each bite. I'm sure we are putting ourselves in the worst parent of the world for feeding the baby greasy fast food but she sure thought we were wonderful.

With finding out about the boy, it's been a busy week to talk nursery and plans. Eleanor will be moving into the bigger room upstairs and the baby will get the nursery with her crib and dresser. Matt and I agreed if it was boy, we'd have a nautical theme. Matt had a clear vision for what that meant, which if you as him I believe he'd mention "modern," "contemporary," and "crisp lines." Don't ask him to interpret that. We went to hobby lobby as a family and got all set up. We picked out paint colors, we picked out furniture that just needs to be ordered. We made huge progress in a short amount of time. I can't believe we are 1. having a baby, 2. having a boy, 3. having a baby that is 1 year old. I have been having trouble with the idea of her moving out of the nursery so any type of progress has been hard to prepare mentally for. I know Matt's been patiently waiting for me to keep things moving.

Because we're having a boy there's been some interesting conversations around our house.
MJR gets out of the shower while ALR is putting on make up one morning.
ALR: How do you clean a penis?
MJR stares: Uh, what?
ALR: How do you clean a penis? You know when Eleanor has a poopy diaper, new baby is going to have a poopy diaper and I don't know what to do there.
MJR: You use a baby whip and clean it all off and clean the other parts too.
ALR makes gross gag face: Other parts, Ewwwww! Not ready for this. 

The one with the Ultrasound

This was a big week for us....
We've been waiting for this for quite some time. We found out if we were having a son or another daughter. Matt and I've been whatifing for some time. We've each taken bets on what it would be. With Eleanor, I had what Matt and I refer to as the premonition. One day, like lightning it hit me, we are having a girl. Matt argued with me and was convinced it was a boy. I felt so sure of my conviction and weeks later at the ultrasound was proven accurate.

This year, we waited for the premonition. I didn't have the same feeling, I didn't have that bolt of certainty. Then one morning it came softly, washing over me. Eleanor had woken up early and was fussy, I thought we were done for, that it was 6:00 and we were awake. Matt went and got her out of her crib and without delay or saying a word brought her into our bedroom, into our bed. I watched with sleepy eyes and amusement. I was sure this was the 'Hail Mary' of pleas. He laid down with her on his chest. She rose a bit, looked at me, looked at him, and then put her little head on his broad chest. The sight was beautiful to me and then the thought snuck into my mind, that it's so wonderful, he's with our daughter and I'm with our son. And that was the only inkling of insight into what I was carrying - I didn't feel the same conviction so I didn't want to tell Matt and kept it to myself.

That brings us to this week. We've talked names, we've talked decorations, we've talked options and maybes.... but we'd been waiting to see a beating heart, a solid body, and have things get a little bit more real. We saw the beating heart, we saw the kidneys, the brain, the blood flow, the fingers, the toes, the tongue sticking out at us.... some times seeing is believing. We asked her to put our answer in an envelop so we could soak up what we had just seen.

That night we sat on the couch together... just the three of us, while Eleanor napped and let things get a bit more real. I told Matt my premonition story and then we opened up the envelop.

MJR opens up the envelop: Oh, she sent ultrasound pics. 
Both stare at pic
MJR: I can't read this.
ALR: It says it right there, on the bottom of the pic.
Both read the word and look at each other.
MJR: We are having a nautical nursery!
ALR: Oh, we are going to have to get all new clothes. 
Both sit in silence for a moment.
MJR: Oh... I have so much responsibility, I'm going to have raise a gentleman.
ALR: You will be a great example. 
MJR: I think I am feeling more stress than raising a little lady. 
ALR: That's so funny, I think I understand exactly what you are feeling as I felt that way with Eleanor. 
Both sit in silence again.
MJR: We are having a boy.
ALR: A boy.

The one with the Easter "bug"

So here's what I think my immune system says.
"I feel great, best I've felt all year! I can whip any cold! I'm on top of the world!!"
And here's what I imagine fate said,
"Don't get cocky...here comes the flu"
First Eleanor, then me, then Matt. Yeah! We were like the three bears with our own puke pails. Mine was the only one with a handle.

Aside from being sick, it was a slow week. We didn't do much over the weekend. Eleanor turned 11 months old this past week. So Matt and I mustered up the energy and took those pictures. that is a two person job and leaves us both exhausted. The only consolation is that it's easier to get a smile from her now than it was a couple months ago. I did forget to put her height and weight on the board... she's almost 30 " tall and just over 22 pounds.

What I couldn't convey well on her board was just how busy she is. She's walking
and climbing and moving. This past weekend she discovered a new fun past time. She can crawl up into my rocking chair, on her own. She then will drop items that she loves and reach down and pick them up... these items include blankies, socks, stuffed animals. We don't hold onto them, we just keep dropping them so we can keep picking them up. And boy are we proud of ourselves!

The other thing Matt finally witnessed was the attempt to spring herself from her own crib. She's able to lift a knee and start working her way over the top. She's not good enough to go over, yet.... but it's only a matter of time. To prevent this, we dropped her crib again. I feel like we are delaying the inevitable that is moments away.

Easter was pretty lowkey. with still feeling like crude we didn't go too far from home. We had brunch, Matt worked on the yard, putting new sprinkler line in, which had been damaged by the root structure of one of large trees in the yard. We also went grocery shopping and did a late night (6:30) drive. The Easter bunny came and gave Eleanor some animal fridge magnets, which she loved - which made me happy. She would carry them around and get mad when we put them back on the fridge. She's getting quite the temper on her.

Best meal: Here's the thing... it sucks to be sick... but it's way no fun being sick and pregnant... food doesn't sound good but you think you should be eating but the foods that sound remotely decent does not agree with you body. I wanted chips, salsa, popcorn, and oreos. My body said "You may have two stale saltines."

Watching TV
MJR responds to commercial: What do you mean people don't want to eat fiber? Frosted mini wheats are amazing.
ALR: Do you remember when we were driving early today... and we talked about the golf course and how people that go out right now are just hacking up the course and then do you remember what you said?
MJR: That I need to quit saying things that make me sound old.
ALR: Right...so let's review your comments on fiber.
MJR stares
MJR: What?!! People don't realize what they are missing out with good cereal.
ALR: So, what I think the problem may be is that you don't realize what comments make you sound like an old man.
Silence ensues.
Minutes later, MJR: Ahhh, there's nothing wrong with eating mini wheats.

The one with the Walker

It was a beautiful weekend... reminded me that spring may actually be coming. We were super busy... cleaning up outside, cleaning up inside... we got a ton done this weekend.

We started off by Eleanor and I making a trip to the airport to have Matt play hookey - the weather was begging for us to take a walk. We went down to the river. Eleanor has gotten so she loves to ride in the stroller. She chats up the passerbyers, feels the wind in her fingers, kicks her legs... it's all about freedom to see it all. Matt and I did a little jaunt on River Road... the temp was close to 80.

The weekend was a blur of activity. While Matt took on the yard and the patios, I took on some inside work. Making food pouches for Eleanor - the girl will eat her weight in fruit (and carbs) but vegetables are often spit out upon first bite. So I've become the sneaky resourceful mom. I'll puree a ton of veggies and add a little fruit and she'll eat that. Daycare likes to play "Guess what Eleanor is eating"... each day is a struggle to make sure she's eating veggies! I've been creative, last week she had roasted sweet peppers with carrots and applesauce... they said she ate it up like crazy!

We also saw a ton of family this weekend. Michele and Randy came down to take care of some of Eric's stuff and they stopped over to spend some time with Eleanor. We also went out to the farm on Sunday to celebrate Alaina's birthday. I learned something new about my sister... she requested meatloaf and carrot cake... You could have knocked me over as I didn't know some of those were her favorite. Eleanor had a
special meal too, Grandma Di made her veggie pasta.

Probably the big news that everybody has been wowing over is that someone is walking! She's not just taking a few steps here and there... Eleanor is walking the length of a room, standing up herself, and has been pretty full of herself. She does pick and chose who and when she shows off her talent. I can't believe we are a month away from having a 1 year old! Where did my baby go!!!

The big news that Matt is wowing over is that Lola finally caught something. Whether it was a vole or a mouse it was big. Matt wanted me to come outside and look but I didn't know at what... and as I'm trying to look from the top of the deck, into the house she came... live vole and all! AHHHHH!!! I'm sorry I didn't capture that conversation for posterity.

best meal: This is a combination... Michele and Randy took the family out for dinner and I had been craving the blooming onion for weeks, so that scratched that itch (kinda - I could probably go for one now) and then with the dinner that Mom made... that carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting! That really hit the spot.

MJR working on bills. 
MJR: What did you buy at amazon for xx.xx?
ALR: hmmm, I think that was diapers.
MJR: How about for x.xx?
ALR: Oh, a julienne peeler so I can make Sassafras her zucchini noodles. 
MJR: What was your Walmart breakdown? Baby to Grocery ratio?
ALR: Well I bought that clearance packnplay and potty seat... so xx.xx to baby, xx.xx to food.
MJR: Little Caesars!!!
ALR looks down sheepishly.
MJR: I thought we were cutting back?
ALR: I felt sorry for myself.
MJR: Why, what did you have to feel sorry for yourself? You are pregnant, beautiful, have a wonderful husband, wonderful daughter...
ALR: All the other girls in the office had sushi and I had to stay behind.
MJR looks sad: Oh, yeah, okay, I don't blame you. 

The one with the Meat

Okay... I won't lie. I'm glad March is over. I had high hopes for March. Big things planned. March had other plans. I thought March would be sick free... I would be able to do things and clean things especially after February, which I spent hoarse and blowing my nose. March had other plans... instead I just existed... well, barely. I was in the doctor's office so much for one thing or another it'll be a mess when the EOBs come through. But March is over.

A recap on the end of March.... while I was slowly perishing on the couch, Matt got his sausage done, all while watching Eleanor too. He made polish, trail bologna, summer, and bangers. All in one weekend, and cleaned the kitchen... I moved from one side of the couch to the other.

Moving into April, I'm feeling better, Eleanor is feeling better. Matt has an appointment with the ENT guy as he may have to have his tonsils removed at 33 years of age. I told him if we are going to have them removed, let's get on that...I don't want to have a new born, a 1 year old, and a 34 year old.... I will never shower. So we'll see when that surgery will happen.

We had a busy weekend trying to catch up around the house. We did the usuals, bought diapers, went to Sam's club, but I've also been working on Eleanor's birthday party. I can't believe I almost have a one year old. ugh. She's grown so much, too fast. I would like to slow it all down. She's having some teeth issues right now and I know she's in some pain... breaks my heart. I sent invitations out, worked out the "menu," and have been planning decorations.

Best meal: Matt made tuna steaks this past weekend, with a caesar salad, and homemade breadsticks. Eleanor had zucchini noodles with turkey and fruit, which she could eat by the bucketload.

ALR and MJR at night after EER has gone to bed.
ALR takes invites that she designed and ordered and stuffs them into envelopes.
ALR takes labels that she had printed and places them on the outside of envelopes.
ALR takes stamps from her purse and puts them on the envelope.
ALR hands envelopes over to MJR to stuff.
ALR begins working on decoration wreath by cutting tool and ribbon while looking over the background garland that she made.
MJR licks envelope: Boy this party is a lot of work for me.
ALR give him death look.