Six Years

Happy Anniversary to this handsome husband of mine! Stephen and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary last Friday by going out to a fancy restaurant called Log Haven located up Millcreek Canyon on the side of the mountain. It was fabulous! We haven't been on an actual date for at least seven months or more.

I just wanted to give a shout out to Stephen; he is more than everything I had imagined my husband would be before getting married. He rises above and beyond my expectations everyday as a husband and father. He is so caring for Zander and I; we both look forward to him walking through the door each night after work. He is an awesome cook, baker, guitar player, bow maker, gardener, and lawn mower. He is always putting others' needs before his own, and is a great help around the house--especially now days with me being seven months pregnant. I love you Stephen!

Catch Up

I didn't realize it's been over a month since I've written anything. Mainly because I feel like nothing of note has happened. Zander and I have had a few outings to soak up this unusual warm weather in February and March. We went with friends a few weeks ago to a free day at the Hogle Zoo. I'm not sure if Zander liked it or not, but it was A LOT of work for me to take him. It was incredibly crowded with lots of children being a free day, so I had to let him out of his stroller so he could see the animals. He loved watching the elephants.

I needed to take a break so we took the kids to the play area by the seals. I was watching Zander run around for a bit, then got distracted talking to my friend. I turned around to find Zander and he was nowhere in site. Panic started to set in as I peered through the sea of small children and strollers. He was gone; he was nowhere in the play area. How did he get out?! I ran out to see if he had wandered to see the animals. I caught a glimpse of him running down the lane to who knows where. I ran after him and picked him up. Whew! Scared me to death! He didn't want to get back in the stroller so he just cried the rest of the time we were there. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.

I don't really talk about my pregnancy much, but in January I was told I have placenta previa. When I went in for my first ultrasound at 15 weeks the tech told me it looks like it was low-lying, but at 20 weeks she told me it was covering the cervix and that I have previa, but not to be too concerned because I still had lots of time for it to move. Is it a partial or a full previa? I don't know. My midwife didn't even say too much except let's take a look at it at about 32 weeks. The previa is most likely the cause of my bleeding earlier too, so at least I have an answer for that. So I will either have a c-section in May or early June, or stay the course and deliver on my due date later in June. I'm hoping for the latter.

Zander has been turning into a little toddler right before my eyes. He's maturing so fast! He has one of the sweetest smiles that just melts my heart whenever he flashes it at me. He's becoming so independent and such a great help around the house. He helps me with chores every morning, he's getting better at eating with utensils, and he's saying more words. His latest phrases are "hi!" And " What is that?" He loves dogs and barks every time he hears one.

First Easter egg hunt!

He knows more parts of his body and loves to do "head, shoulders, knees, and toes", "itsy bitsy spider", and "the wheels on the bus". He tries to do all the actions and dances around whenever he hears music. Zander loves his daddy! He cries every time Stephen leaves the house. He calls out for dad throughout the house trying to look for him when Stephen has gone to work. He loves playing with dad after work in the basement with his bucket of balls or outside in the back yard. I'm so glad they have a close relationship, and I'm hoping it'll help me for when the baby comes. I'm nervous about how Zander will handle all the new changes.

I went to Twin a couple weeks ago so Zander could visit grandpa and grandma while I made a quilt for the new baby. I wasn't sure if it was going to look the way I envisioned, but once it was all done I thought it was perfect; I am very pleased with the final product. Thank you Mom, for all your help!

A Typical Afternoon

I decided to make some peanut butter cookies yesterday. Zander loves to help!

The cookies were Dad approved.

Random Pictures

 Zander decided to go treasure hunting in the pencil drawer and found a black sharpie and the tape dispenser.

 Yogurt facial anyone?

 Wearing mama's shoes

splashing in the sink while mom gets ready

His diaper was so full it started to fall off. I was laughing so hard chasing him around the house to change his bum. Cute little thing!

Zander's Shinanigans

He's at it again. Last week Zander got himself stuck in the bathroom. We have to keep the door closed all the time so he doesn't go playing in there, but the door will sometimes pop open by itself, which is how I think he got in. He loves playing in the drawers, but he knows he's not supposed to, so he shut the door and opened two drawers out all the way in front of the door trapping him inside the bathroom and with no way for me to get in. It happened within a few seconds. He thought that was pretty funny. He started pulling everything out of the drawers and just throwing it on the floor. I tried to talk him into closing the drawers, but he was having too much fun.

Stephen was instructing a training that day, so I knew he wouldn't have access to his phone, but I kept texting him anyway. Then I texted mom and Becky. They both thought it was hilarious. I really didn't know what to do except wait until he got tired of playing and closed the drawers, but my main worry was the chance of him falling in the toilet and drowning, as ridiculous as that sounds. I could see him through the crack under the door. He was playing and splashing in the toilet, then got the disgusting toilet brush out and started brushing the door with it. Any time I tried to stick my hand under the door to point to the drawer for him to open he would immediately try to shove my hand back out. I do have to admit, it was kind of funny, but not, at the same time, because there was literally no way for me to get in the bathroom without having to either chop the door down or smash the window.

I finally got him to close one drawer, but not the other. He went back to playing for a while. He climbed on top of the toilet and started going through the tissues pulling them out of the box and throwing them on the floor. I looked for long utensils like a spatula and a long wooden spoon that I could fit under the door and use it to close the other drawer, but as soon as Zander saw them he would run over to the door and grab them out of my hand. What a little stinker!

I finally got him to close the drawer. I got in! It had only been a half hour, but it seemed like forever. Sometimes that kid is too smart for his own good.

The next day was pretty rough on Zander. After a day full crying for no apparent reason, he fell down the stairs. This was the first time it has happened, and I hope the last. I cannot tell you how scary that was to hear his little body go thumping and thudding down the stairs head-first. He landed with a loud crash because he had hit his head on the wall at the very bottom. Stephen was yelling and panicking as he scooped Zander's body up into his arms to check him over for broken bones or a concussion. The poor boy had blood running down his mouth.

We took him to the bathroom to clean him up and give him Tylenol for his head. He didn't cry for too long. Kids are so resilient. I think it traumatized me and Stephen more than it did Zander. You can bet I cried that night just thinking about my little boy hurting himself like that; the thumping noises still ringing in my head. Like I mentioned before, he's usually ok after a few short minutes; as long he can continue playing he's all right.

Parenting

It's only half way through the week, and we've already had a lot of incidences happen this week. First of all, Stephen and I have been trying to get Zander to stop biting, pinching, and scratching. So far we've had no luck and it's driving us insane and I mean to the point of tears most days. We are at wits end and have resorted to yelling at him, and that shouldn't be happening. Period. But what do we do?! So we're trying something new. He gets to go to time-out every time he bites or uses his nails in anyway to hurt someone. Instead of losing my tempter and yelling during the day I decided I'd try and sing a song instead; to calm myself down as well as engage Zander and calm him down as well. I guess it's working so far. I haven't had to stick him in time-out more than a few times a day, and over all we've just had better days since I haven't felt like yelling. I can't tell you how liberating it is not to have to yell. I hate it. It makes me feel really bad and guilty, and Zander couldn't care less; he just tunes it out anyway.

The other thing is trying to get him to calm down while changing his diaper. He hates it. He kicks and rolls, and screams, and when we try to hold him still he scratches at our hands until we let go. So again, we sing songs that we know he likes to do actions for, like "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Patty Cake" etc... usually it works. I didn't think we would be having problems like this and that they would drive us crazy. Parenting is hard; and it's hard in ways you wouldn't expect, but I love it. There's so much more good that comes out of raising children. We love the little runt!

I kept telling myself I would always have a clean house even when I had kids. I'd teach them to clean up their toys and do chores etc... so I wasn't having to do all the cleaning. That was wishful thinking! I need a vacuum in all rooms of the house because I usually end up having to vacuum at least three times a day--the dining room after meals, the living room after he sneaks to play in the plant and throw dirt all over as he's eating it, the stairs where he throws anything and everything including food, the bedrooms where he tracks dirt and garbage from the trash cans throughout the house; it's never ending. There are toys all over the floor upstairs and downstairs at all times. Even after I pick them up; when he gets up from his nap it's like he knows I just cleaned so he takes the whole box of toys and just dumps them out all over again as if saying, "I wasn't done with them Mom."

But then you have the really sweet, tender moments with them like last week Zander learned to give kisses and hugs when you ask him. The other day he said his first prayer all on his own. He folded his arms and jibber jabbered, then did his amen. It was SO cute! Or when I sneak a peak in his bedroom while he's playing and I watch him use his imagination as he plays with his toys. And when Stephen and I try to help him with something, but he pushes us away because he wants to try it on his own. Hearing him laugh.

We always have to take the good with the bad no matter what it is we are dealing with. I know that if we have good attitudes the bad doesn't always seem so bad, and you can usually turn it to something positive. I have the best job in the world; there isn't anything I'd trade it for. I am so thankful that I was entrusted by Heavenly Father to raise Zander and any other future children I may have.

Cravings

Wahoo I'm almost halfway through this pregnancy! I think it's definitely gone by a lot faster this time around. I'm half way into my second trimester, and I finally feel, almost, like my old self again...minus the growing belly. It's been really weird the past several weeks after the morning sickness let up, I didn't feel pregnant at all--its been great, but now that my belly is getting bigger and more stretched out, I definitely feel pregnant.

I am SO excited to meet this little guy! Since I am no longer nauseous all the time my appetite has come back with a vengeance. I have been craving all sorts of junk food. Like chips and crackers, and juice. Not so much chocolate, but sour things like sour patch kids. I gave Stephen some for his stocking for Christmas, and I'm pretty sure I ended up eating two thirds of the bag. I felt guilty about it since they were Stephens, so I bought him a new bag, I had good intentions, I swear, but by the time he got home from work that day there was only a third of the bag left for him.

Seriously, chips. I can't get them off my mind. I hardly ever buy chips for this very reason; they'll be gone within a day or two and then I feel guilty and fat for eating them all. Also, tacos. I've been craving tacos a lot lately--just the hard shell, simple beef tacos or better yet, one made from Doritos! Oh that sounds so good....I may have to have Stephen make a Taco Bell run tonight... Despite my unhealthy cravings I really do try to eat healthy, and I don't cave in to those craving all the time, as much as I want to. In fact I marinated a few steaks for fajitas tonight, yum!

I get the question, "So are you nervous to have another baby, especially being so close in age?" All. The. Time. So let me tell you, NO! I'm not nervous about having another baby, sure it'll be an adjustment, but we'll all get a new routine that works for everyone and we'll all be happy. Zander will be a great helper and big brother, and Stephen and I will have to work a little more around the house and lose some sleep here and there, but that's life.

What I am nervous about is going through labor again. I don't know why, but it freaks me out a lot more than it did the first time. I am planning on doing a natural birth again, so I'm sure that's half of it. The other half, I think, is now I know what to expect when going into labor and remembering how much it hurt and thinking "I'm never doing this again" makes me nervous. I'm hoping all will go just as it did last time, because Zander's birth was perfect--I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I'm nervous that I might wait too long before going to the hospital and not making it in time. It's about a 25 minute drive to the hospital, so you can see why I'd be nervous about it. There's only one change I'd make from last time, actually two: (1) do not get my membranes swept ever again, and (2) do not pack a hospital bag. Seriously, I only used two things out of the bag I packed--my slipper socks, and my robe. I used nothing else; I didn't even eat the chocolate I brought for my recovery. Obviously, I'll bring a bag, but there won't hardly be anything in there. The hospital provided everything I needed last time.

Zander. He's such a boy. I love his guts, but lately he's been driving me crazy. I don't know why, it could be because I'm pregnant, but I don't like to pin my faults on my hormones. He's somewhat gotten past the biting, and now he's on to pinching and scratching. My hands and wrists are covered in tiny scratches, scabs, and bite marks. I have no idea what to do about it. When we tell him no or that hurts he just laughs. Most of the time I don't think he means to hurt us, but he doesn't understand the word "hurt" or "ouch" that's funny to him so he continues to do it. I can't get through to him, so I'm hoping it's just a phase and he'll grow out of it soon.

He loves to be outside. He lives for our little walks around the neighborhood in the afternoons. It's been so warm here; it's been perfect for little outings. He never wants to go back inside the house because there's so much to explore. I'm anxious for spring so we can spend more time in the yard. He loves to throw things down the stairs too; it's his newest favorite game. He also loves to read his books especially if they're interactive like flap books or touch and feel. He's becoming so independent all on his own, and it's nice that I can give him a simple task like "put your shoes in the closet" or "close the door" and he'll gladly do them. I've also noticed that he likes physical touch; he is happiest when Stephen and I tickle him, or throw him on the beanbag, or chase him around the house,  or roughhouse with him, etc... He can play by himself all right, but I think it's a good thing he's getting a little brother soon to pal around with in the the next year and half.

My life is great; there isn't anything I would change. I love being a stay-at-home mom to one little boy. He is my world. And I have the absolute best husband. He works hard everyday to provide for us, and looks forward to walking through the door to see Zander every night. It's so cute, Zander is now giving kisses and hugs when you ask him to. Stephen and Zander already have a special bond and I love that.