Easter 2012

Well Easter is just a lot more fun as a two year old than it was a one year old or a newborn for that matter.  Micah really got into the spirit this year and enjoyed the holiday to its fullest!  We tried to balance the commercial holiday traditions with the real reason for Easter and began reading Micah the Easter story a couple of weeks ahead of time.  Since one of his books about Christmas remains a favorite and regular bedtime story he knows about baby Jesus.  The concept of Easter proved to be a little harder to explain for his age.  He did however grasp all the fun Easter traditions this year!  We did our first Easter egg dying which was a big hit!  He also wanted to eat them, but we held off on that.  On Easter morning we got up and went to Church early.  Then when we got home The Easter bunny had come and hid all the eggs!  It didn't take him long to figure out that it was a big game of hide and seek and he did really well finding them.  He was less excited about the plastic eggs until he realized that there were candy inside!  Still to this day (at the end of June) if he sees a plastic egg he asks where the candy inside is! We finished the morning by having brunch with friends.  It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful Easter!

Mini Vacation Part 3

We spent our last morning in La Jolla beach before we drove out and headed back to hot Las Vegas. It was cloudy and overcast but I am so glad we made the trip. It was such a neat place.  Even though we didn't go down to the sandy shore because it was still a bit damp, we enjoyed walking along the sea wall and watching the waves and surfers along the beach.  Micah really wanted to go down to the beach but we managed to keep him clean for the drive home.  I am sure we will be back to the beach on a warmer and sunnier day for him to play. One of the coolest things we saw was a little cove that was just covered in seals!  You don't see that on the East Coast or the Gulf so we thought it was a pretty cool sight.  We finished the morning with a long drive through the town looking at some of the homes built in one of the most coveted zip codes in America.  It was impressive!


On our drive back to Las Vegas we made a small detour through a town called Poway, CA.  The entire trip since the model train museum Micah had been asking to ride a train.  Of course the one at the zoo ( a little mini kiddie ride) was only opened on weekends and not Thursday or Friday which were the days that we were there. So I consulted google and found a small town not far off our path home that had train rides. I am so glad we stopped because it could not have been more perfect.  It was an old historic real steam train that just rode around a little park for about a 5 minute ride and then dropped you off where you started.  Micah was so excited about every part of this, even just holding his ticket.  We waited in line, got our tickets punched and rode the train, not once, but twice around the park. After the ride was over Micah loved it so much he even convinced Daddy to do it again with him.  A great little adventure to finish the trip for our little man! One last stop at Chick-Fil-A by the highway and we were on the road again!

Baby Girl's Nursery

Well we finally finished up the nursery.  I think there are and will always be a few details left I want to add/change, but for the most part it is D-O-N-E.  So I got the camera out and took some pics for you!  It is hard to get everything you want in the frame in such a small space but I did my best.  I am sure you will notice the nice monogram above the crib.  Yes, we have very recently picked a name, and no, we aren't going to tell you.  I feel okay putting the monogram up because we are fairly certain no one will guess it.  It is a name that most everyone has heard but it is not common.  There is your clue! Enjoy the pics!

38 Weeks!

T- 2 weeks...or less!  I am 38 weeks today and out of room in my body for baby girl. I went to the doctor again today and I am 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  The doc said it could be any one's guess now as to when she will make her appearance.  We are slowly getting ready.  The nursery is pretty much done.  There are a few details that I still want to add but nothing major.  I am going to try to post pics of that soon.  We spent last weekend sorting through closets and switching out all of Micah's clothes to his 2T.  So now we have to get everything put back up in storage then do some cleaning and maybe we will actually be ahead of the game... assuming she doesn't some in the next 48 hours that is! Also on the agenda this weekend is getting the car seat installed and the bag packed.  I think it will be a reality check to look back and see two seats back there.  I have been more comfortable some days and more uncomfortable others.  I think since she is out of room she cant move as much so that has helped keep her out of my ribs and other places that can really hurt my body.  She is head down and she does like to push her entire bottom side and legs up and out a few times a day making me feel like she might just split me in half.  I am still not anxious for her to come but I am more ready than I was with Micah.  I think it helps that I have an idea what I am getting into this time. Knowing how much joy she will bring our family! 

Another adventure for the week was we finally fit it in the schedule to go on a tour of the hospital where we will deliver.  We had a great experience in South Carolina.  Their maternity wing was very new and nice.  Being in a much bigger city I wasn't sure how it would compare.  We were really happy with what we saw and it was surprisingly similar to me.  They had separate delivery and recovery rooms, and they were both very modern and new.  The biggest differences between this experience and our last one will be that once the baby is delivered here they never take them from your room.  Everything is done in the room, all of the measurements and weighing, they bathe them, even warm them if needed all in the room.  We had to send Micah away for a couple of hours to have this done in South Carolina.  The other big difference is that they don't have an active nursery for the babies.  They do have a nursery but the baby is supposed to stay in your room pretty much all the time.  If you really need to for some reason you can send them to the nursery otherwise you keep them with you. No sending them to spend the night so you can get more sleep... Oh well!

We are more excited by the day! 
 

Mini Vacation Part 2

We spent our last full day in San Diego where else but at the zoo!  Micah is at a fun age for the zoo and really enjoyed the trip.  We were able to walk nearly the whole thing and he loved spotting the animals and learning their names.  Some of them he knew and even requested to see like monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and alligators, and others were a fun surprise to see or learn about!  Micah especially liked seeing the Jaguar which really gave us a nice show walking around and strutting his stuff.  One of Micah's favorite TV shows is Diego and he has a buddy, baby jaguar who helps him out so Micah really was excited to see one live and in action! We loved spending family time at the zoo with our little man.  It would nice to have one closer to home but at least we have a world renowned zoo that is just 5 hours away!

We have arrived!

Right inside the zoo we got up close and personal with a HUGE peacock!

It was really stunning when it showed off!

Who needs a leash when you have a hood!

This is how we spent much of the day... pushing an empty stroller as our independant little guy wanted to explore and not miss a thing!

The hippos were another favorite of Micah.  We got a great showwith one swimming right by us several times and he just LOVED it!

Just trying to blend in...

I am one with the ice gophers!

Can't miss the aviation section anywhere we go! We had to PRY him out of this thing!

Finishing the day off right!!

36 weeks and baby girl is still baking away.  I have been much more uncomfortable than I remember beingwith Micah at this point but I also wasn't chasing a two year old around all day so who knows.  I have a lot of pain in my lower back and hips, especially at the end of the day and at night.  The good news is that she is not (so far) camping out in my ribs which Micah did for quite awhile.  That has been about the only upside.  Although I am still at a very healthy pregnancy weight, and according to my Doctor "all baby," I have already gained more than I did total with Micah so that could also be contributing to this pregnancy being harder on my body.  Another difference I note often with this pregnancy is that although she is never up in my ribs I feel like she is always pushing out on my belly.  My stomach is always, and I mean always, super tight.  At my last appointment my Doctor even asked me if I was having a contraction because it was tight and I felt it and told him no it is pretty much always like that.

I had my most recent appointment for baby girl this morning.  After waiting next to forever for the doctor to see me he came in and did all the normal checks and then did my first internal check to see how things are progressing.  To my surprise he informed me that I am 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  Since I was only 1 cm dilated and 20% effaced at 40 weeks with Micah and only 2 cm and 30% effaced when I went into labor this really caught me off guard.  He said that it is pretty normal for the second pregnancy though and that my body just knows what to do this time.  He continued though by saying he didn't really think I would make it to 40 weeks.  He said I am already carrying really low (I don't notice it) and there is a lot of baby in there for the size of my frame.  He said the head is down and providing a lot of pressure so it probably will happen earlier than my due date.  It was a little scary to hear (just because I am not one who is just dying to come early like a lot of women in this stage) but I remind myself he is just a doctor and not God so who knows when baby girl will decide to come!  My friend Ashley reminded me that the only thing we know for sure is that she will definitely come out eventually!  So with that my 36th week continues and we will see when baby girl decides she is ready to come!