Pregnancy

Doing great so far!
I think I started feeling the baby around 14 weeks. It was hard to tell and I would question the movements I felt but at 18 weeks I could definitely tell it was the little munchkin (or two). I like to tease Barry that it is twins because he has quite a few sets of twins in his family :)
Barry felt the baby kick for the first time at 19 weeks on May 18th.
I can't believe we're one week away from being Half Way to baby!

 

May 1st: 16.5 Weeks

May 14th: 18.5 Weeks

Grandpa's Visit from Maui

Grandpa came to visit from April 29th to May 5th! He stayed with us until May 4th and then stayed at Grandma D's house.
On Friday he picked up Adrian from Grandma D's and brought him home. Adrian had been awaiting his arrival for weeks now and was so excited to see his Grandpa that he ran and hugged him.
On Saturday we hung out and relaxed.
On Sunday we had a birthday party for Adrian at Bounce!
On Monday, Daddy and Mommy got off work and we went out for lunch and  then to Sportsman's Warehouse to find Daddy his fishing pole for his birthday present. We went to Grandma D's for Family Dinner!
On Tuesday Mommy got off work and Grandpa and Adrian and Daddy hung out.
On Wednesday we went to the park together: Spring Canyon Playground!
On Thursday Grandpa flew back home to Maui :(

We had lots of fun relaxing with Grandpa and really wanted him to stay...now we have to just go out and visit him soon!

Birthday Boy #3

Adrian woke up bright and early for donuts and coffee...I mean donuts and soy soy! He got to open a couple of presents from mommy and daddy, grandma and grandpa!

New Roller Skates...why not try them while riding the turtle...better get a helmet for this fun-ness!

A skateboard, a bike, an easel, books, toys galore! He won't need another birthday with presents for at least 2 years!!!


We had a fun celebration at Bounce! in Loveland on Sunday May 1st. Grandma Linda and Grandpa Tim, Grandpa from Maui, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Kay, Grandma D and Papa Mark, Aunt Julie and Cavyn and Nico, Aunt Christie and Maddox and Uncle Ty, Uncle Judah, Uncle Bobby, Great Uncle Wally, Jami and Lexi and Julian, Amber and Taylor and Madelynn, Kayden, Ashden, and Jax, and Mommy and Daddy and Adrian had so much fun playing, eating pizza, cake and cupcakes, and jumping in the jump castles!

Easter Pictures 2011

16 Weeks and Easter

Adrian and I took the baby in the belly to the prenatal appointment for month four today. He got to hear the heartbeat today! He used the tape measure to measure my legs also. Everything looks good and the heartbeat is strong. My blood pressure is low as usual 100/60. I'm at 136lbs now from 134 last time. I may be starting to feel the baby...every once in awhile for the last week or so I've felt little flutters but so light that I second guess myself.

FMI (for my information):

Blood Pressure Range

Class Systolic/Diastolic

Normal 115 mmHg or lower /75 mmHg or lower

Prehypertension 120-139 mmHg/ 80-89 mmHg

Stage 1 hypertension 140-159 mmHg /90-99 mmHg

Stage 2 hypertension 160 mmHg or over /100 mmHg or over

AND

"In general, you should gain about 2 to 4 pounds during your first three months of pregnancy and 1 pound a week for the remainder of your pregnancy" (http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/healthy-weight-gain).

In other news: My dad is coming out to visit from April 29 to May 5th!!!!! I'm soooo excited! We will have Adrian's 3rd Birthday party (which he reminds us of daily) at City Park if it is nice and possibly at Bounce or something if it is not nice out on Sunday May 1st. I of course sent out invitations this Monday and will call everyone if plans change. Barry's birthday is Thursday April 28th!! He'll be 33 and Adrian will be 3. Work is crazy for both Barry and myself...long days for both of us this week. I'm planning on taking Tuesday and Wednesday off next week though!!

Adrian and I are still sick...I think Adrian's cough is much better but still lingers so when he screams, cries, or runs around a lot, he coughs a little. He has another appointment at the clinic tomorrow. I think I have a sinus infection because my face hurts. I never get this kind of pain in my face when I have a cold so I don't really know. It's been since Thursday till now and hasn't really gone away at all...at least I slept all night last night. 

Easter was fun! Adrian had tons of fun with his Easter Baskets..."It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" haha. We explained that it was Easter and then  he danced around that his birthday was coming up in a week!!! He had an Easter Egg hunt in the front yard and we had Barry's family over for dinner. I made hame, collard greens, and potatoes gratin with fontina cheese. Everyone brought food too! Then we did something that Barry does not remember ever doing with his family: we played a board game! This is not the same kind of board game playing that I've done with my family. Very entertaining! Tons of fun was had by all with Scattergories...next time we will have to get Aunt Laurie some bifocals though.

14 Weeks: 2nd Trimester

The 2nd Trimester is here...suprisingly faster than I thought it would come. So I'm still tired even though they say that you get your energy back...I feel like I'm losing it more and more. I am in a funny stage where clothes don't fit right and maternity clothes make me look fat. Only one client has asked a coworker if I was pregnant so far...Still 133lbs since the beginning probably just looking lumpy. At least I'm not as nauseas too often anymore but it still happens and I've got a sensitive gag reflex...ugh. Cravings include: cheese, pickles, skittles, cherry coke and pasta.
My being tired isn't helped by the fact that for the 2nd time this month, Adrian is sick. He just keeps picking up the respiratory bug. It starts out a runny nose and cough and turns into not being able to breath. Tomorrow will probably be pretty bad and I won't get sleep although tonight could turn worse. He's already up coughing and only fell asleep an hour ago. I wish he would just stay propped up but he's restless. We've got the humidifier going and some cough syrup which I'm trying for the 1st time. It's not the recommended thing anymore until after age 6 (although this year I was told at an urgent care I took him to to use it). I've just never tried it before so we'll see if it helps at all. Honey hasn't helped, tea hasn't helped, steamy shower/cold outside alternating hasn't helped, gettng anything into his mouth is a joke anyway I just want the magic cure. We washed our hands after chuck e cheese the other day but that's probably where he got it. He has started this habit of sucking on his fingers...the kid who wouldn't take a binky as a baby. I discourage it at all times and teach him about germs. We also wash hands more often.
So our clinic is Med Peds and this article is pretty scary. The fact is this can happen anywhere and is one reason that I do not trust doctors or medical professionals. They are human and make human mistakes as often as I do on a day to day basis. That is scary! Luckily Adrian got the flu mist vaccine this year and was not exposed to shared syringes with other children.

Onto brighter news...
Today we rode uphill the entire way and against the wind no matter what direction we were headed to the 3rd annual Kites in the Park Kite Festival. We flew kites, watched Mix McGraw (Guinness Book record Kite flyer) fly kites, and ran into cousin Cavyn and friend Leo! What an exciting day. Daddy went fishing with Uncle Bobby all day yesterday and we ate fish and brown rice for dinner. Adrian reports that he wants to go fishing with Daddy but does not like to eat fish.
Soon we will celebrate Daddy's 33rd birthday on April 28th and Adrian's 3rd birthday on May 1st, two days later! Grandpa from Maui is coming out to celebrate with us and staying from April 29th to May 5th. WooHoo!
On May 28th we have a scheduled appointment for our ultrasound and will find out if this baby is a sister or a brother and check to see if it has the right number of legs, arms, ears, etc. In looking on the Women's Clinic website, it seems they have the 3D/4D ultrasound technology. I wonder if that is standard procedure equipment but guess we'll find out soon enough. I've thought about not finding out the sex and just waiting till the baby is born, then no matter what I'll fall in love and won't obsess about it beforehand. We'll probably find out though, I'll obsess and then I'll fall in love no matter.

Prenatal Appointment #2: 12 Weeks Tomorrow

Barry and I went to a prenatal appt today and we got to hear the baby's heart beat! It was a quick appt and felt a little odd just going in for that. They also did a screen for proteins and sugars in the urine so I guess that's good. Blood pressure 116/60. Which is normal over low normal levels. I always have normal to low normal BP. Everything's good. Baby's about 3 inches below my belly button. 134 lbs now.
We got a recording of the heart beat on my phone. When Adrian was getting ready for bed I explained to him what it was and let him listen. He says "Oh baby heart." You'd think he understands everything.

We went on a lunch date afterwards  to East Moon for sushi...which I crave. I had an eel cucumber roll and a sweet potato roll. Barry made dinner tonight...thai basil chicken. Less sweet this time and very spicy-Delicious!

Speaking of cravings, I totally cheated the other day and ate soft cheese on accident. I forgot I wasn't supposed to and then had a migraine for two nights in a row...probably just guilt. Well...can't let good cheese go to waste...only to waist!
Got such bad morning sickness the other day that I actually threw up for the first time. And still not sleeping well.

Adrian is interested in names. He asks the other day "grandpa what is your name?" Grandpa Tim explained to him that he is grandpa Tim. He asked tonight if I was "mommy Barry'. He also thinks that everyone is a Leili-Biss. Tee hee. Mommy Leili-Biss, Daddy Barry Leili-Biss. etc... so awesome!

Adrian has only slept in his own bed a couple of days this month. In Jan and Feb we were up to half of hte month at least and now we have slipped back into our cosleeping nest! Barry is concerned that he won't fit with 2 kids in the bed. We may have to get an extension for our bed so we can all fit. Is there anything bigger than a king?

We still have our letters down, still love to read and play puzzles. Wants to go to preschool and to gymnastics all the time. Talking all the time. Likes to be center of attention and if he isn't raises his voice above everyone.

11 Weeks Pregnant

PREGNANCY #2

So all is going well. I have gained a lb maybe....that's good. Save it for the end when the baby is actually gaining the weight.

I've had some weird cravings...Sushi-but I can't eat anything raw. Gum-which I don't like. Lollipops and any other kinds of sweets or chocolate-I guess that's not new really. Sleep-of course. Lots of protein-especially cheese.

Last pregnancy I wore my regular jeans the whole time. I'm wondering if I'll actually be able to do that this time. Tight pants make me nauseas. I usually walk around with the unbuttoned...that can get embarrasing if I forget though. I feel bigger than I should though. I think that I actually didn't look very big last time...although I had a distorted vision that I did...until the 5th month. Maybe I've still got a distorted vision of myself. Who knows. But really I was not unbuttoning my pants yet last time at 11 weeks.

I'm very sensitive to cold lately. I feel cold all the time really. Luckily we had our furnace replaced by our landlords as the 16 year old one was not consistently working.

Work is busy. I have better boundaries lately because I have no energy to put any more than 8 hours in. Oh well. It will eventually get done...maybe late but better than never...and the work will always be there in piles. I feel bad for those who walk by my desk, not only are piles on my desk, they also are on the floor surrounding my chair. I haven't had time to empty my recycling since we moved desks in December...it''s probably 50lbs full now.

Still nauseas. I started feeling better and now feeling worse again this week :( Tired and occasional headaches. I had/have strep but not the kind that gets treated. I have a cold for sure. Going to bed earlier and earlier. Energy starts dwindling after 3pm and no energy after 6pm.


ADRIAN
I believe we are over the screaming phase...finally. At the rehearsal dinner, he had his last hoorah...he screamed for over half an hour possibly an hour. That was not a good night. We all made it through though.

He's talking more and more and reasoning more with us. This is the start of the 3's! "Why not?" he asks. Oh help....if you think the 2's are hard, the 3's are harder. Maybe now is the time to send him on long vacations with grandparents :)

We have gymnastics on Saturday mornings. Cavyn is in the class too.

 He loves swimming :) We went to a birthday party last weekend and also got to swim at the hotel after Julie and Chris' wedding this week. He just swims around with his arm and waist floaties on.

He went to Bounce today and gets to go to fun places like the park, WOW museum in Lafayette and Itty Bitty City with Grandma D on Fridays!

Adrian was in the wedding, dressed in a little tux. He said "i'm getting married too". At rehearsal, he and Maddox escaped and were playing outside together. Scared the pants off of the parents since we were right next to Hwy 34.

Adrian got to play with Uncle Bobby all day on Thursday since grandma and grandpa were in Black Hawk. Bobby took him for a ride in his wagon to the park!

Adrian is very excited about birthdays and keeps asking if he is having a birthday :) Pretty soon.

Number 1: 34 months and 2 weeks & Number 2: 8 weeks 6 days

Number one is so smart and such a flatterer...especially when it's bedtime. "Mommy's so pretty.' This morning when I was getting my fluffy white coat on he said 'mommy's fancy.' Where does he learn these things?
What a cuddler these days. Oh And what a sCrEaMeR...I am about to rip my hair out. I've tried time outs, ignoring and spraying water at him when he screams. He loses privaleges and gets timeout for not listening. I count to 3 and if he doesn't listen, he gets timeout. Tonight he lost dessert b/c he wouldn;t listen/get his jammies on by 3. He wasn't even upset about it...he just acknowledged it and moved on. I guess the point of it is that I followed through and not that it affected him. Next time it might affect him more or next time when he really wants dessert he'll know I'm serious.
He knows all his letter's by sight and can sing most of the ABC song!
Still counting 1-2-4-3. Aahh..is it stubbornness or negative attention seeking? Or is he just confused? We'll just keep working on the letters, colors and shapes. He really has most of those down though so hopefully he starts counting in order soon so we can move on to algebra.
He's told his first joke this past week. "Mommy doggies say "meow meow" LOL and "Kitties say "woof woof". He thinks he's hilarious! He kind of is.
I think his calling is in interpretive dance. Just now as he refuses to fall asleep he is doing some odd interpretive dance with his arms, taking breaks to honk my nose. He randomly breaks out in movement in the kitchen also. He sometimes will only eat if his food is fed to him as a treat for being a good puppy and sitting. I guess as long as he eats, I'm fine with it.
He's started naming his stuffed animals, his hands, his froggy boots, etc....He especially likes his made up names Eda, Ida, Oti, and Oki. Maybe he'll get to pick Number 2's name.

Number 2 is a little peanut. Busy developing eye lids, toes, fingers, breathing tubes, and losing it's tail. I had my first OB appt today. Practically missed it b/c time flies when you're working too hard. I have decided on the Women's Clinic...there's a joke that all the caseworkers go there. I will get to meet all four of the midwives and at least one of them will be on call when I deliver. My next appt is May 29. I'll get to hear the heart beat then.
I've had a couple of weeks of nausea. General dizziness. Barely any headaches like last time...or maybe they just start later...hopefully not though. Otherwise, tired...but perhaps not as tired, or not as much time as last time to feel tired. I can't tell. All I know is that it's hard getting up in the morning, but not hard waking up 5 times at night to pee. I'm always hungry but seem to have not gained any weight yet. That's good and normal...save it for the 2nd and 3rd trimester.

I was just reading my blog from when I was 8 weeks last time. I started my blog then :) My sciatic nerve had just started bothering me and my nausea started at 8 weeks. This time it was at 6 weeks and I've been going to physical therapy since my sciatic nerve never stopped hurting me since then and most recently in Jan or Feb my lower back started hurting pretty bad. Anyways the physical therapy exercises, massage, stretch machine, ice and heat are working well to decrease the pain. I had been going to massage monthly but am taking a break since I have the physical therapy right now.
On the emotional level of things....maybe this one is a girl...let me just say that I cried listening to NPR this morning and couldn't help it. I don't think it was even sad, so that made me cry some more.
Barry is keeping us good and fed. He's been cooking a lot lately. He made caeser salad tonight with lemon pepper chicken and a homemade eggless caeser dressing. He has been on a asian cooking spree. He loves his wok and his asian cooking utensils. He uses such thinks as oyster sauce, fish sauce, and other smelly things to create lovely food. As long as it tastes good in the end!

We are thinking about getting a new car for me as mine is at 187000+ miles and won't go over 60mph without shaking...etc...it's just old. I guess '95's have good engines though so maybe we're only 1/2 to the end of this little car's life. I dread having a car payment...I've always been very spoiled and never had a car payment. I guess one of these days I'll have to grow up and have a car payment. I'd like to consider a minivan, gas efficient suv, at least something bigger than my little car...at least a hatchback if I"m going to have the same amount of seating. Well....This little car's lasted me 10 years and is 16 years old so what's another year or two. Maybe we can pass it on to Adrian.

A Sibling for Adrian

We're pregnant! So yes we decided it was time that Adrian had a sibling....I think since at least Fall we've been in agreement about this. We found out we are pregnant on February 5th. Still comes as a surprise and I feel nothing like I did with Adrian. I knew all along with him. I went to the clinic and took a test last week and they confirmed that I'm 5 weeks and gave me a list of obgyn's that take our insurance. I'm not looking forward to finding another doctor. That's so daunting. I think at least by 8 weeks I better make an appointment. They probably want to draw blood now to make sure that my hCG levels are going up...but really what are they going to do about it if they arent. Medling is what I call it.

We think we're due October 12, 2011. That is THIS year!!! With Adrian we got pregnant in 2007 and had him in 2008 so it seemed like a whole lot longer. I'm still in shock.

Today I've felt nauseas for the first time. I've felt a little sad lately. Crying easily...at work too...that should have been a huge sign since I never cry at work....now anything can make me cry.
Adrian says he's going to be "a big brother," that there's a brother in his tummy, and that there's a sister or a baby in mommy's tummy! He's been calling and telling everyone on the phone :)

Number 2 is the size of a sesame seed this week and is growing fast!
In other news: We went to Fabien's 8th birthday party! Adrian got to play with the big boys at his army birthday party! Had a blast!

Adrian just finished one session of the 'Moonbeamers' gymnastics class at Mountain Kids and is signed up for the next session and on the wait list for the Rainbow Rider's. This past session he got to go with mommie's friends from work kids: Mila and Mia! The Moonbeamer's have to have mommies and daddies with them but the Rainbow Riders do the gymnastics with a small group and their teacher. He's so big!!! I also need to get him registered for preschool....which I missed registration week last week. Now I'll have to put him on the waitlist for the fall session.

January Update: 32 Months

"How about this one?"

"Okey Dokey!"

"I have an idea."

"I told you."

Just a few of the many sayings my kid uses. Talking in full sentences and asking questions.

Working on 'privacy' still. It's just a little embarrassing when he decides to review the privacy lesson out loud while grocery shopping.

He's got a cold...first time he's been sick all winter!!!! We all got the flu shot this year. Barry has a cold and so do I but hopefully it'll be gone soon. We've been taking vitamin C, cold duration reducer, and our
gummy vitamins.

Adrian understands the concept of hide-and-seek and loves playing monsters! He talks to his hands and they talk back. He has such a great imagination and it's fun to watch him play.

Of course the closer to three we get, the more independence he wants. He is a stubborn Taurus (or is he?)!

If you ask him what his name is he'll say "five" "no six". Hilarious!!!

He's still doesn't say "L" and instead uses 'w'. He doesn't say "M" as in "oove" for "move".

He knows his colors, shapes and is learning his alphabet. Knows "A" by sight and that it's for "Adrian". Thinks that both G and J are for Judah. Thinks a "G" and "C" look the same and therefore are both for "Cavyn". 

Is AmAzInG at puzzles and can put together the twelve piece picture puzzles by himself, sometimes.

Loves to paint, draw dinosaurs and finger paint! Enjoys stickers tremendously. Right now we get stickers for each night we sleep in our own bed :) January is looking good!

Wears sizes 2T to 5T depending but mostly wears 3T already!

I had off on Monday so we had a nice day together. Also had off Friday-Christmas eve and Friday-New Year's Eve as did Barry :) I wish I only worked 4 days a week. That would be perfect.

31 months; Almost 32 at this rate....

Adrian's wearing size 3T pants and shirts and jammies and fits into 4T shirts and jammies. He is 37" tall and weighs 29. 4 lbs.  His foot is a size 8 almost 9 toddler. Just since spring his foot has grown from size 5 to 8. He's growing like a little mushroom.

He speaks in full sentences, asks questions and uses multiple sentence phrases such as "excuse me daddy. I need to get a cup." He enjoys the 'potty talk' most kids get a kick out of and announces his burps, farts, and any other weird noises with excitement. He has some words of his own such as dogs "fark" and he likes to "pank" a picture! He still says "my" instead of me or I, as in "my hungry" or "my scared". He refers to himself in the third person occasionally. When asked how old he is he'll usually answer "my Adrian" thinking he's being asked his name or "six" which at his size he could be mistaken for a small 6 year old.

Adrian enjoys dinosaurs immensely, is captivated by 'monsters', loves trains, and is so imaginative. It's fun to watch him play on his own as he now also narrates his play!

Timeout is fairly effective. We are working on 'stranger danger' as in 'it's scary to be far away from mommy' when he wanders or does not listen and follow. Adrian is learning about 'privacy'. Privacy is important if you're going to be a nudist. Step one: come home and go upstairs. Step two: Take off all your clothes. Step three: run downstairs and scream "NaKeD!!!!!" Step one is better if you can wait until guests come over.

Adrian has always had wonderful manners and still says 'please, thank you, excuse me, and sorry!' His social skills are increasing and he enjoys making friends everywhere he goes. Adrian must have been born in the season of boys because whenever we we go to the library, parks, or play places there are 2 and 3 year old boys to play with. We have to figure out what preschool to get him into for next year when he turns three and how we are going to work out the logistics of transportation since Gma Linda and Gpa Tim don't drive.

Adrian goes to Gma Linda and Gpa Tim's on Mondays through Thursdays. Gpa Tim takes Adrian for walks to the park, 7-11 and to the office where he gets a cookie more times than not. He is also fond of playing Thomas computer games at the office computer lab. Adrian has grown a fondness to cows, as Gma Linda collects cows and cow paraphernalia.  Adrian looks forward to going to Gma D's on Fridays to play with Cavyn! Sometimes by Tuesday he is already asking for his Cavyn :) They do fun arts and crafts and sometimes go on field trips together.

Adrian enjoys writing letters to his family and sending and receiving mail. He loves calling his family on the phone to say hello.  He has photo books to remind him of all his family members that are far away. Most recently Barry's friend Jason has moved to Colorado from New Jersey and plans on staying. Uncle Wally is back also after having tended to his mom's passing away in New Jersey. Uncle Bobby was planning on coming out but now will stay in New Jersey for a little longer.  Our friends Erin and Zac from our Birth Education Class are visiting from Virginia this week with their 2 1/2 year old girl Mattea and hopefully we'll be able to spend time with them!

Merry Christmas

Well Christmas was wonderful! Ths was Adrian's first Colorado Christmas :)

They say that the ability to delay gratification is a sign that one will be successful. Adrian was a little helper elf; wrapping and putting presents under the tree. He did not open one present before Christmas although did rearrange the presents daily...towers of presents and presents downstairs and all over! He also has not opened any of the gifts still under the tree for his cousins :) I think it's a good sign.

Adrian got lots of cool toys! He loves his pillow pet, travel aquadoodle, travel thomas track, tool bucket, monster truck, helmet, paint tray and new brushes and paint, books, a Leapster toy, and probably a couple other things....made out like a bandit.

We had Christmas Eve with Gma Linda and Gpa Tim, Christmas dinner with Aunt Laurie and Uncle Wally and we will have Dinner at Gma D's with the cousins on the 30th.

We love our real Christmas tree...we forgot to cut it when we got it home so it's dried out pretty quickly :( but it was an amazing full tree. I've decided I like bird ornaments and somehow have quite few from Deborah's collection. We also set up Gma Deborah's Fontanini nativity set.

New Jersey Trip 10-29-10 Day 1

Adrian and Claire...

Sleeping on the airplane...

Pushing mommy around the Dallas Airport:

Flew into Newark on Oct 29...of course flying anywhere takes up a whole day...we hung out in th airport in Dallas/Fort Worth for 3 hours. Adrian met Claire...they hit it off nicely!

Due to the scare of toner cartridges in a couple different airports...our layover extended just a little...made it to Newark where Uncle Joe picked us up from the airport and took us home to a nice yummy meal...Adrian ate a ton :)

We stayed at my old house in my old room the whole time :) with my cousins Eric and Justin, now ages 17 and 16 amazingly! and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Joe. The first night Adrian had a tough time understanding why we could not go home at bedtime. He asked to fly on an airplane to mommys house...so sweet. I explained to him that we were staying at mommy's old house...he finally settled in and did great the rest of the trip.

2 and a half....

Adrian turned 2 1/2 this October 1st...

We switched from Mondays to Fridays going to Grandma D's house! Talking even more then before...he reads stories to me and has imaginary food, toys, animals, and conversations! He includes us in his play or games. He loves to draw, write, and paint. Loves playing 'tato' aka 'playdo'. He's learning his 'letters' as he calls them. His favorite are F, G, N! But he picks up new one's all the time. He can recognize A for Adrian. He's starting to recognize more colors like yellow and blue, now knows brown and pink, including the others he knew: orange, black, green, red. He's been counting 1-2-4-6, skipping 3 and 5...we're working on it. He can match shapes and knows circle, star, moon. We have a preschool uppercase letter book we like to look at. I found pancake molds in circle, heart and star shapes :) Makes for fun breakfasts!

He knows more tv shows than I ever let him watch like 'Kipper' and 'Wiggles' I only let him watch 'Thomas the train' and 'Caillou'....Hmmmmm.....He cries whenever his show is over and the tv goes off. Sometimes it's easier not turning the tv on in the first place.

Adrian associates daddy with dinner because he makes dinner so often...anytime he hears pots and pans he asks 'daddy making dinner?' even if I am in the kitchen cooking....haha. I still cook often but Barry makes dinner most of the time.

Adrian has taken to singing often and enjoys playing the piano, his drums, and all the other musical toys he has...especially his shrill whistles early in the morning :)

When he wakes up early, he doesn't get out of bed (our bed) but instead bargains with me 'breakfast, hungry, soy-soy?' , yells at me to wake up, and plays until I finally wake up...he only sleeps in during the week and is up at 7 on the weekends. He still ends up in our bed 99.9 % of the time. I still only get 9% of the bed and usually have to scoot him over to prevent myself from falling off the bed...probably payback from the time he fell off the bed awhile ago. Barry never got more than 10% of the bed so he's used to it...

People say that the Twos are Terrible but I find them enjoyable...it's the Threes that are Frightful! Then is when the child becomes more aware of their impact on the world and their ability to manipulate and influence others. This doesn't start on the day the child turns three but in Adrian's case after he turned 2 1/2. He now bargains and pleads. Throwing fits is another way to control parents or caregivers' who feel bad if a child cries. Saying please and batting the eyelashes is a way to appeal to the soft hearted. Getting something down by 'myself' is another way to bypass the system and now with another inch gained (36 1/4 inches tall) is easier to do. Of course bargaining is another method, 'mommy drinks it' so 'adrian drinks it'. 'Cavyn has a binky' so 'Adrian needs a binky'....that's what we hear now that he talks. And there is a huge difference between ''need" and "want" and Adrian is not in need of anything but soemtimes thinks he is...we have to remember to say 'want' when we mean 'want' and 'need' when we mean 'need'. A good lifeskill...since most American's don't actually need anything.

So all in all, moments are few and far between, and are more frequent when Mom is in a hurry and running late, of course. Luckily we started timeouts at 1 1/2 so he's familiar with the process. He usually requests a 'clock' aka timer when sitting on the step or if it's emotional situation aka 'fit' then he slowly creep out of timeout and throw himself to the floor for attention while howling...usually it takes a lot of active ignoring to prevent from laughing in serious parenting moments as those. Eventually the toddler calms himself and realizes that at least at home, he won't get attention for such shennanigans. Throwing a fit is reason enough to be put in timeout or bed, timeout for another reason is reason enough to throw a fit. Luckily he's not too 'naughty'.

The things he does well are singing the clean up song while mom cleans up. Helping clean up when the vacuum is on for fear that it will eat his toys. Throwing trash and other things that look like 'trash' in the garbage.

He's a packrat and likes to 'bring' things with. we recently got a 'back-up blankie' so when blankie is dirty, he has a back-up.....this however has not been his idea. His ideas is that he has two blankies and cannot go anywhere without both of them....he was easier to bargain with when he was younger.

Anyways...It's crazy to see him grow up and learn so much!

Busy Boy

Maddox and Adrian

Pony Rides at the Farm
Adrian, Rowan, Maddox at the Farm

Swinging-Library Park

Chicken Fingers-a whole new meaning

Goofball

Flying Goofball

"GAGA!"

Posing with his babies "Cheese"

Avery Park

Pretending to be tough guys

Pretending to be a rabbit

Water that little brain...

Devilish Grin--so excited to fly on an airplane (Oct 29 to Nov 5 to NJ) and have his own suitcase

Puzzle Practice...smart boy

Autumn is upon us...the cool air in the morning and the heat during the day and then confusion by evening...how am I supposed to dress for this weather...well...take it from Adrian...sweatshirt and flip-flops covers all potential.

Counting to 9: 1-2-3-laugh, 4-5-6-laugh, 7-8-laugh, 9!!!

Knows red, white, green, orange, and sometimes yellow. Learning blue and black and purple and all others.

Loves rocket ships, dinosaurs, cars and trucks and especially 'wooowooos' aka 'firetrucks' because he's "Adrin" (as he says it) and a 'Fighter'. At the video store, Adrian got to see a firetruck and ambulance and ems help someone who passed out. Since he sat and watched the whole time until the unblocked our car, he got two stickers and a fireman told him that he's a 'junior fire fighter'! He was so excited he could barely say 'thank you' and stood there with his mouth hanging open and was practically drooling (which he does when he's concentrating very hard on something).

Must be rocked to sleep at night (he gets one minute or twenty rocks and then falls fast asleep in his bed with his new pillow he calls 'squish').

And what happened to letting him dress himself, well sometimes it's just faster to help a 2 year old...patience is key at this age. Even I find myself saying 'hurry' and know that's not fair or even comprehendable to a two year old. Sometimes we race but I must always give myself time for him to observe and learn aka be distracted by every little thing and turn a run into the library into a field trip to explore the elevator, bathroom and all the rows of books while attempting to play hide and seek. No Daddy did not get any movies or books...somewhere my patience goes out the window and that was it...but I figure Daddy didn't miss what he didn't have and also it's the thought that counts...but we didn't want to tell him that or else he would have missed what he didn't have...I know him.

What else: Talking up a storm, singing songs, 'what's that? what's this?', proud of himself, shows off, loves to jump, run races, still has good manners-is now saying 'you're welcome' if someone says thank you to him, loves to use public restrooms whenever we're out-doesn't miss a chance, PRETENDING-so cool to watch him talk to his people, cars, Loves the dogs and enjoys having licking wars with Harley-so gross I know, Also drinks out of the dog's water bowl like a dog-also not encouraged, does chores with mommy and daddy like pick up toys, fill the dog's water bowl, the cat's food bowl, and help put dishes away, cook/mix/makes coffee. Very helpful...I should probably have more if they can all be this helpful.

Anyways... still only 3 feet tall and 27.8 lbs...but that brain sure is growing.

Jumping Castle

Tour de Fat 2010 Fort Collins

A PRACTICE RUN

Adrian and Barry had a blast at Tour de Fat! Barry of course built a contraption and rode it backwards much of the time. Adrian had fun...he's a people watcher!


THE REAL RUN





All while Mommy was in Wisconsin at friends Monica and Brandon's wedding with friends Patti and Erin. Adrian did great and had a fun weekend with Daddy :) Got to see Milwaukee and a lake with waves, eat cheese curds and enjoy some time away with the girls.

September

We're going to NJ from Oct 29 to Nov 5th for Ronnie and Romi's Halloween Wedding! Adrian's going to be a ring bearer :)

Adrian can now recognize red and green and can point them out consistently. Driving in the car, he says 'green go!' when the light turns green.

This weekend I'm going to WI to a friend and coworker's wedding. Adrian is staying home with daddy and they are riding bikes in Tour de Fat!!
Happy Labor Day Weekend!