Spencer the Chunk

Today was another ultrasound and weight estimate. Spencer performed wonderfully doing the proper practice breathing and was plenty active. There is no question or need to worry if he will live up to the hype of being a big baby like his older brother. Spencer is chunky! I mean the kid already has what I like to call "kissin cheeks" and he still has another 3 weeks to grow. Right now he is measuring at 37 weeks gestation (as opposed to the actual 34) and is weighing in at 7 lbs. The ultrasound sound tech. (bless her heart) said, "That's okay, on average a baby gains 1/2 a pound a week, so that would make him more like 8 or 9 lbs!" I just smiled thinking in my head, "yeah right lady...there is nothing "average" about my babies!!!" But I guess there is no harm in hoping. Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if they pulled him out and he wasn't massive, but I have to realistic too! We have scheduled the rest of our visits/ultrasounds and the c-section. Ben still doubts that I will make it to the scheduled c-section, we'll see. One thing is for sure, ethier way we will have another chunky little boy in our family by the end of April.

Never too Young

Today when Natali awoke and asked what we were doing today I was prepared with an answer, CLEANING. And to my surprise she was not only okay with this answer she was EXCITED. She helped me clean up after breakfast and then she was in charge of vacuuming her room and the front room. It was AWESOME!!! Isaac followed her around with is mini vacuum and they kept themselves busy/entertained for at least 30 min's. She was so proud of herself when she was done, and I wondered why I had never done this before!?!?!

"NASTICS"

Ever since watching the Olympics Natali has loved anything to do with the "nastic girls." She found her bathing suit in her drawer the other day and but it on, announcing she was a "nastic" girl. I went ahead and enrolled Natali in a Tumble Tots class at our local YMCA. This last Thursday was her first day of class. I waited till after dinner to tell her about it, and boy am I glad I did! I think that with in 20 minutes I was asked over 100 times when it was time to go to class. She insisted on wearing her bathing suit and that was fine with me. I think she really enjoyed it, and man did she look cute out there running around!

You Scream, I Scream...

(click to enlarge collage)

Last Saturday was one of those lovely Spring days we have been waiting for. Ben was home with us and we made a full day of it. We loaded up the kids and went to the Zoo, again. But this was a first with Dad joining us this year. After wards we stopped by Sonic and picked up .99 cent ice cream cones. Natali though she had died and gone to heaven! She thought she was such a big kid having her VERY OWN ice cream cone. Isaac on the other hand wasn't so sure and it took a lot of coaching and helping to get him to eat it. I was happy to help him!!!

Zoo Fun

For about a week the weather tricked us into to thinking that Spring was really here. We took full advantage by going on walks, spending afternoons at the park, and going to the Zoo. This day was one such day. We packed lunches, meet friends, and enjoyed a morning out in the sunny fresh air! We even got to bring a friend along, Zoe. She was a great sport taking all of Natali's questions and Natali trying to hold her hand.

Natali, Isaac, & Zoe

Natali getting ready to cross the "old wooden bridge" in the rain forest.

The kids watching the otters.

Natali enjoying some fish.

Our Natali

My how we love our little Natali. She is growing so fast and is so ready to become a big sister again. She is constantly talking about "baby Spencer Chase" and can't wait till he joins our family. I think she is a little more excited at the prospect of Grandma coming and getting her all to herself. Natali is a true three year old and has AWESOME days and AWESOMELY bad days. She is a girl who know what she wants when she wants it! And the volume of her voice is something we are still on a quest to control. Man the girl can be LOUD...she must of got it from her dad:) !!! Natali loves to change her clothes MULITPLE times a day (hello laundry), and adores anything dress up and princess. She thrives on knowing what we are doing that day. Each night she says as I tuck her in, "Mom, what are we doing after night time?" Apparenlty another inhertied trait from her father (just kidding), always wanting to be on the go & doing something. She loves to sing in the car and is currently entertaining us when she sings along to ABBA, Super Trooper, and does the mens part! It is GREAT!!! She adores going to preschool, and loves to say to her dad, "Look Dad, I'm going to school like you!." The other day we were doing a little touch up painting inside the house and Natali came up to Ben and expressed, "Dad, when I grow up I want to be like you...a painter!" We can only hope, right!? She reminds us who is boss on a daily bases and is still in love with her TV friends The Backyardigans. She gives great hugs and kisses and at times can be the biggest help with her little brother. I don't want to forget all these cute and precious stages. Everyone always says, "Enjoy it, they grow up so fast." In between the tantrums and freak outs, I promise I'm trying to! Love you Natali!

Don't Be Fooled

That sweet face can be deceiving. Oh how I love it, and the sweet snuggles and kisses that come with it, but there is another side that is emerging! That side that says "no, no" and swats his chubby little hand at you. The side that has discovered how to climb, and virtually nothing is safe in the house. The side that runs out the door and instead of standing by you on the porch, runs straight for street. The side that pushes his chair up to the computer desk and starts playing with the laptop. Today I came downstairs and found Isaac standing up to the laptop and some how he had opened the Pandora Radio link, and had some Nelly playing! (please don't let this be a sign of things to come) The second I go into the room he is in, he bolts for the next room where he can destroy as he pleases! Help...I truly have a little BOY...and another is coming! Hmmm, where can I buy one of the those kid approved leashes? :) Thankfully he still has that sweet little face that just melts my heart.

I Heart Craigslist

Thanks to Craigslist Saturday night I was heading to Ankeny at 9:15pm. Why? I hit the jack pot. With baby #3 on the way I decided that I needed a dresser to store more baby clothes in. Especially since Isaac's clothes are currently in a plastic multiple drawer bin. I have been stocking Craigslist, daily, hourly even...looking for a dresser that would work as a changing table too. Something along the lines of low, 6 drawers (that don't squeak), smoke free, in my budget, and not needing to much TLC (none at all would be ideal). The few that I have seen needed MUCH TLC, and by the time I responded to the ad they were already sold. Anyway...Saturday night at 7:45pm I saw it...exactly what I wanted! I responded to the ad, and the nice lady replied with in 10 minutes. The ad had been posted less than 30 min's and already she had had 8 emails, and 3 people had appointments to see it the next day. Well I knew with it being Sunday I wouldn't be able to get there until Monday, so I decided to see if that night worked (it was now like 8:45 ish). She said YES! I got the address and within 20 mintues picked up a late night driving buddy (hello I was not about to go by myself to some strangers house in Ankey alone at night) and was off. The lady was super nice, it was perfect! No TLC needed, and the drawers open and close oh so smooth! Her and her son loaded it into my car for me and by 9:45 pm I was the proud owner of a "new" dresser! A small part of me felt bad for the people who thought they had a chance of seeing it, but then the bigger part of me squealed in delight and glowed in pride. I hunted...I found it...and I got it! New dresser for $50, a place to start putting cleaned and ready baby clothes, a happy prego mommy/wife...equals priceless (even ask Ben)! Seriously though...how awesome is Craigslist...within two hours this lady posted, sold, and had her furniture picked up and out of her house. I HEART Craigslist!

Baby

Today was another of the many ultrasound appointments. Baby is big, 85%, but looking very healthy. Today we could see him doing his practice breathing (go baby go) and a lot of shaking and moving. I know the 3D picture looks creepy, but for journal purposes I wanted to include it. He kept his little mouth wide open the whole time. He looked like he was taking a nap and snoring away peacefully. I have another ultrasound in two weeks, and then the week after that we start the weekly BPP/NST testing. His little heart looks good, but then again we didn't see any problems with Isaac's until the very last ultrasound before he was yanked out. Out of curiosity I had my AMAZING nurse look up what Isaac's stats were around this time of pregnancy, and he was running a little bigger than this baby. So with fingers crossed (and lots of prayers) I am hoping this chunky monkey won't be quiet as chunky as his older brother (10.9). We have selected our name of choice for this baby, Spencer Chase. I love it! I have always adored the name Spencer, Chase is my maiden name, and Ben promised that I could use it with this little boy. Oh...today during the ultrasound the tech got a great shot of his hair! She said there was TONS! What color is it???? We'll have to see, just a few more weeks.

Science Center

This year I took the plunge and bought a Zoo and Science Center pass. It has come in real handy on those days where we need to get out of the house and release some energy. It's perfect. It's been a little cold for the Zoo so far, but we have made it out to the Science Center a few times already. We go in the morning for a few hours, pack and eat lunch there (why mess up my kitchen), and come home for nap time. Perfect!

Peas Please!

Scene: Natali eating lunch...a large quesadilla. Not quiet finished with the quesadilla on her plate the conversation starts.

Natali: I'm still hungry.
Mom: Finish your quesadilla first.

Dad walks into the kitchen and gets a chocolate chip cookie.

Natali: I want a cookie.
Dad: Finish your quesadilla then you can have a cookie.

Mom (giving that look to dad and says): I was going to have her eat peas.
Natali: I want peas!
Dad: You can't have any peas until you finish your cookie.

Natali (5 min. later): Daddy, I finsihed my cookie...I want peas.

Man are we good parents or what?

Fire Station 18

Today we got to visit a fire station here in West Des Moines for playgroup. The kids loved! The firemen were really nice and did a great job keeping the kids involved and entertained. Natali was kind of scared at first, she thought they would turn the sirens on. But once they reassured her that there would be no loud noises she relaxed and enjoyed. Isaac also enjoyed this trip, but probably enjoyed our McDonald's Happy Meals even more afterwards.

Watching the lights, without the noise!

Natali & Chase...apparently having a moment

Bubba enjoying all the tubes and cord hanging from the ceiling

The kids getting a tour of the "Big" truck

Who is that Snoring?

So I was sitting in the kitchen and could hear this deep breathing/snoring. I just assumed it was Ben in the other room relaxing. Then about 5 minutes later, Ben says from the other room, "Is that you snoring?" Nope not me. The culprit was Isaac! He was snoring so loud that we could hear him from his crib through the kids room door. Like father like son.

Neil Diamond + Peyton Manning

Yes this year Peyton Manning graced the cover of my homemade Valentines day card from Ben. I laughed, and I am still laughing every time I pass our fridge where it hangs. Last year Neil Diamond was the face of choice. Ben is a HUGE anit-Valentines day person. I understand his point, why do we need to a specific day to show our love...shouldn't we do that every day? But, I still like any excuse to celebrate, do something fun, and eat yummy food! When we do our cards he chooses to go the more humorous route (which is one of the many reasons I love him) and this year he did not disappoint. Why Peyton Manning? Really...why not! Yes I do have a mini crush on him, he just seems like a nice guy. Plus I think all his ESPN commercials are funny, and he is hysterical on SNL (Fancy Pants)!!! And that picture rocks, just look that face (can you hear my sarcasm)! So funny and completely unexpected. We had a great day at home with kids just relaxing. We had X & O pancakes, kids opened their Valentines from us, went out to lunch, played a game of "family memory", ate heart shaped rice krispy treats, and ended the night with dinner and a movie. Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Back!

Oh, the snow was gone. We could see grass. All the nasty gray snow along the sides of the road melted away. The birds were singing. The sun was shinning. We stopped wearing "heavy" winter coats. Spring was coming...it really truly was! I was SO happy! Then "IT" happened today. Not just a little, but A LOT! I think about 6-8 inches. I tried to be happy and make the best of it. So I took advantage of Isaac taking a good nap, Ben being home early, and it still being above 30 degrees outside. We played!

The ER and Prune Jucie

Poor little Natali spent 9 hours yesterday in the ER. It started around 2:20 pm yesterday when she started screaming and writhing in pain on her bed. She said her stomach hurt. Instantly Ben prompted for her to go use the restroom. Nothing. No fever, no vomiting, ate earlier in the day, but was screaming and nothing we did seemed to calm her down. After about 30-40 minutes of this we decided something must be wrong and called the 24 hour nurse. She could hear Natali in the background and suggested/urged us to take he into the ER. So we all loaded into the car and Ben dropped us off at the front doors of the Mercy ER while he went back home and made arangements for Isaac. Natali had fallen asleep in the car, and now was relatively calm.

We got called back and I explained what was going on and felt pretty stupid. Natali was now popping jokes to the nurses, talking non-stop, and seemed normal although she said her stomach still hurt. Then we were taken back to the Children's wing of the ER. More nurses, forms, questions, a relatively healthy looking child, forms, more nurses, and finally "the" doctor. He was ready to pass it all off to some stomach bug until he had her walk. Instantly she doubled over in pain, wouldn't walk, complained of pain, and wouldn't let him come close to touching her stomach. He instantly became concerned about possible appendicitis. He ordered an IV, x-rays, blood work, urine sample (that was fun), and eventually a CT scan. We had multiple specialists come poke and prod her stomach. In the end the final ruling was no appendicitis, but lots of backed up...poop . Natali thought it was pretty silly that we kept talking about poop and if she needed to go poopies. After a little thing we like to call an enema (now that was really fun), Natali was jumping up and down and walking pain free. Seriously...all of this because of a constipation?

Poor little girl! The whole thing was quiet a long process. She screamed bloody murder during the x-rays. She was literally thrashing in the bed while they tried to get her IV in. She had to drink contrast for the CT scan, which she drank like a champ. She was forced to go "wetties" in a cup. But, she watched about 8 hours of movies while laying in bed, being 100% loved, and taken care of. She got a bunch of stickers, a stuffed animal to take home, and a new sparkle Sleeping Beauty Barbie. All in all, she was a trooper and even loved having the CT scan done. All the staff was great and made it such a positive good experience for her.

We were finally discharged around 12:10 am and advised to add 4oz. of prune juice to her diet. We were so grateful that it wasn't appendicitis, but couldn't help look at each other as we were walking out and say, "9 hours in the ER for an enema and prune juice!" What a day. Thankfully we had some friends take care of Isaac and Ben could be there with me. Especially since I couldn't go into any of the x-rays and CT scan with her because of being pregnant. Natali was such a brave little girl and did so well. We were so proud of her and felt so blessed that we were all able to come home together!

Isaac Roger 18 months

Sweet little Isaac is now 18 months! Let me just say that getting his picture taken is no simple task. He won't hold still, he won't smile at the camera, he tries to run out of the room, he touches everything he is not suppose to, and today he biffed it on the backdrop cutting his upper lip and getting a fat lip. Let's just say picture time was officially over after that. Isaac is constantly tripping and busting up his mouth! Is this normal? Natali never did. I blame it on the fact that he is a boy and extremely clumsy.

Isaac is growing up too fast. Last week was his first week of nursery in church. Being the paranoid mother that I am I went in and checked on him half way through. BIG mistake. I know, I know, I should have known better. But of course he clung to me and cried when I left. Sorry nursery people!

Isaac has such a sweet personality. He is down to one long afternoon nap, he will eat almost anything we put in front of him, and he loves to read books. Two of his favorites are, Goodnight Moon, and Goodnight Gorilla. He says so much: book, cookie, gorilla, Savannah, drink, mommy, daddy, quack quack, ruff ruff, yellow, up, no, apple, more, and all done. He loves climbing up and down the stairs and can not get enough of being in the bathroom. He is a riot to watch in the bath tub with his sister, and is starting to get the hang of "holding his own" around big sister. I've seen a few good pushes and hair pulls. She usually deserves it!

We sure love our little man and are blessed to have him in our family!

29th Birthday

On the 23rd of this month we celebrated Ben turning 29! It was a great day and Ben was a trooper and went along with all celebration that a birthday brings. Ben had the day off, which was much more of a present to me than him I think. Natali helped me make a German chocolate cake and was surprisingly patient while Ben opened his gifts. Later than night Ben and I went on a date (HALLELUJAH)! We dropped off both kids (which was a first with Isaac), and went out for an evening on the town (thank you fabulous babysitters). We even went to one of those restaurants where I'm sure kids are not allowed. It was magical...sitting by the fireplace, adult conversation, and eating food I did not prepare nor would be cleaning up. Yeah for birthdays, and a super duper yeah for dates!!!

Outside Fun Time

We haven't been able to really play in the snow much this winter. I mean, lets be honest, who wants to go out when it physically hurts to breath or blink your eyes. But on this day it it actually warmed up to a pleasant 35 degrees. After all the time we have spent inside I decided to bundle the kids up and let them go have some fun in the snow. It was pretty cute, and I think we all benefited from the sunshine and fresh air.

I think Isaac wasn't to happy with the snowball Natali threw at his head!

Cold Cold Days

We've had a few days this January that were too cold to even attempt leaving the house. I'm talking -25 with the windchill! So we kept our comfy cozy clothes on all day, watched movies, made forts, colored, played with play dough, and counted the minutes (and seconds) until Daddy came home from school.

We discovered that unlike Natali, Isaac is what we call a "dipper". He loves to dip his fries in the ketchup or Dad's homemade fry sauce. At times he doesn't even need a fry. He'll just stick his chubby little fingers in it and lick it right off. We're pretty amused!

January also brought Natali a day of the "sickies"! She sipped on pedialyte (she won't do carbonation) and dinned on dry toast and saltines. Thankfully it was only 24 hours!
WThe boys relaxing!

Cute kiddos playing picnic on the lion rug! I love it when Isaac crouches down in front of the lion and roars back at it!