Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Baby Bump Update: Week 16
So here I am at 16 weeks...
Um, can we tell who needs to go to the beach to get a tan?? Yikes! Though not flattering, I want to try to get a pic in the same top through the pregnancy, so I picked that white tank top because I know it will fit at the end and it will be nice and cool for the hot summer! :)
Week of Pregnancy: 16 weeks
Baby size: Baby is the size of an avocado this week!
Baby is 4 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and weighs ~3 1/2 ounces.
So, I guess I can't say the 6 pounds I've gained now is all from the baby. Oh well. Not too bad. ;)
Symptoms: The nausea has stuck around, but is getting better. This past week I have been able to survive without the Zofran, but TUMS are still my best friend to help with stomach issues. That value size bottle is disappearing quite quickly! While I had to invest in Imodium A-D last month when I had the stomach virus, this month I am having the opposite problem. For real. I had neither of these issues with my previous 2 pregnancies, and I am not thrilled with these new problems this time. :( All of my ligaments are definitely relaxing because my body is snapping, cracking and popping like never before! I feel like a bowl of Rice Krispies! Ooh that sounds good...
Food cravings: Speaking of cereal, I am still craving it (I love a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats before bed at night), string cheese, and other comfort foods. Add to that list fruit, especially pineapple and all things lemon (I craved lemon with Noah, too!). My latest craving is Cape Cod's salt and vinegar chips (I ate so many yesterday that I think I burned my tastebuds off my tongue...yikes!) and pineapple-cranberry juice. These two items go great together, by the way! ;) I never had weird cravings with the boys, so that one if kind of new for me.
Food aversions: Nothing specific, but a lot of things still don't sound good to me most days.
What I'm excited about: Feeling the little bean move!! Just this past weekend I've started to feel the flutters. So awesome! I didn't feel either of the boys moving this early, but I definitely notice it this time if I am lying really still in the morning or at night. I'm pretty sure the little bean is getting the hiccups a lot, too. :) I had a dream last night that the little bean is a boy, but my dreams have been wrong before, so we'll see in a month!
What I've done to prepare for baby: Still nothing, at this point. I'm dying to go shopping though!!!
Funny moment: While watching baby videos with the boys last week, we watched a video about getting an epidural. Ethan said, "Ouch! I never want that!" I said, "Don't worry, Ethan, you can't have babies. Only girls can have babies." Ethan, thinking to himself for a minute, "So, Rachel (his cousin) can have babies when she grows up?" I said, "Yes, she can have babies." Ethan's response, "Well, I'll be like Daddy when I grow up and grill hotdogs." Um, ok, yeah, that's pretty much the same thing. ;) Hahaha!
Week of Pregnancy: 16 weeks
Baby size: Baby is the size of an avocado this week!
Baby is 4 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and weighs ~3 1/2 ounces.
So, I guess I can't say the 6 pounds I've gained now is all from the baby. Oh well. Not too bad. ;)
Symptoms: The nausea has stuck around, but is getting better. This past week I have been able to survive without the Zofran, but TUMS are still my best friend to help with stomach issues. That value size bottle is disappearing quite quickly! While I had to invest in Imodium A-D last month when I had the stomach virus, this month I am having the opposite problem. For real. I had neither of these issues with my previous 2 pregnancies, and I am not thrilled with these new problems this time. :( All of my ligaments are definitely relaxing because my body is snapping, cracking and popping like never before! I feel like a bowl of Rice Krispies! Ooh that sounds good...
Food cravings: Speaking of cereal, I am still craving it (I love a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats before bed at night), string cheese, and other comfort foods. Add to that list fruit, especially pineapple and all things lemon (I craved lemon with Noah, too!). My latest craving is Cape Cod's salt and vinegar chips (I ate so many yesterday that I think I burned my tastebuds off my tongue...yikes!) and pineapple-cranberry juice. These two items go great together, by the way! ;) I never had weird cravings with the boys, so that one if kind of new for me.
Food aversions: Nothing specific, but a lot of things still don't sound good to me most days.
What I'm excited about: Feeling the little bean move!! Just this past weekend I've started to feel the flutters. So awesome! I didn't feel either of the boys moving this early, but I definitely notice it this time if I am lying really still in the morning or at night. I'm pretty sure the little bean is getting the hiccups a lot, too. :) I had a dream last night that the little bean is a boy, but my dreams have been wrong before, so we'll see in a month!
What I've done to prepare for baby: Still nothing, at this point. I'm dying to go shopping though!!!
Funny moment: While watching baby videos with the boys last week, we watched a video about getting an epidural. Ethan said, "Ouch! I never want that!" I said, "Don't worry, Ethan, you can't have babies. Only girls can have babies." Ethan, thinking to himself for a minute, "So, Rachel (his cousin) can have babies when she grows up?" I said, "Yes, she can have babies." Ethan's response, "Well, I'll be like Daddy when I grow up and grill hotdogs." Um, ok, yeah, that's pretty much the same thing. ;) Hahaha!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Our Big Boy is FOUR!
I can hardly believe Ethan is four now! We celebrated his birthday with a Cars 2 party with friends and family on Saturday, and on Sunday, he officially turned 4! Where did this little baby go??
He still has those same big, bright eyes, but those feet are definitely not that tiny anymore. :'(
On Monday, I took Ethan to his pediatrician for his 4-year well-check. Everything went great and he appears to be right on track with his peers. He actually scored between age 5-6 on the developmental milestones checklist, so that's good! He weighed in at a whopping (haha) 34 pounds (fully clothed, with shoes), and measured up at 41.75 inches (without shoes). This puts him in the 75th-90th percentile for height and 25th-50th percentile for weight. Looking at both figures, he's just above the 3rd percentile for height-to-weight ratio, with a BMI of 13.8. Must be nice to have no body fat! Haha!
He is doing pretty well from a medical standpoint, except for what we believe to be some seasonal allergies. Surprise, surprise! We're hoping a daily allergy medicine can help resolve this problem and that he won't have issues as severe as his mother does! Other than that, all looked good!
Three was definitely a rougher year than two was, from a parenting perspective. Ethan was a great two-year-old who did not go through the "terrible twos," in my opinion. By age three, though, he started asserting more independence and definitely showed a little more attitude. :/ We're hoping year four brings some better listening skills to go along with his great desire to be Daddy's helper. Overall, he's a good big brother, and we think he'll be very helpful when we bring another sibling home in September. He's as stubborn as a mule (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?), but also sweeter and more empathetic than your average little boy. He's inquisitive, curious, a thinker, and has a great desire to learn (he is his father's son!). His big, bright eyes can light up a room and his insatiable appetite rivals that of a teenager! He's quite the funny little man, too, and keeps us laughing most days. As you can tell by that face, he definitely doesn't take life too seriously yet. ;)
For his birthday this year, I decided to ask him some questions that I'll ask every year now, to see how his responses change over the years. Here they are, in case you can't read them in the picture:
 |
| This was FOUR years ago?!? |
He still has those same big, bright eyes, but those feet are definitely not that tiny anymore. :'(
On Monday, I took Ethan to his pediatrician for his 4-year well-check. Everything went great and he appears to be right on track with his peers. He actually scored between age 5-6 on the developmental milestones checklist, so that's good! He weighed in at a whopping (haha) 34 pounds (fully clothed, with shoes), and measured up at 41.75 inches (without shoes). This puts him in the 75th-90th percentile for height and 25th-50th percentile for weight. Looking at both figures, he's just above the 3rd percentile for height-to-weight ratio, with a BMI of 13.8. Must be nice to have no body fat! Haha!
He is doing pretty well from a medical standpoint, except for what we believe to be some seasonal allergies. Surprise, surprise! We're hoping a daily allergy medicine can help resolve this problem and that he won't have issues as severe as his mother does! Other than that, all looked good!
Three was definitely a rougher year than two was, from a parenting perspective. Ethan was a great two-year-old who did not go through the "terrible twos," in my opinion. By age three, though, he started asserting more independence and definitely showed a little more attitude. :/ We're hoping year four brings some better listening skills to go along with his great desire to be Daddy's helper. Overall, he's a good big brother, and we think he'll be very helpful when we bring another sibling home in September. He's as stubborn as a mule (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?), but also sweeter and more empathetic than your average little boy. He's inquisitive, curious, a thinker, and has a great desire to learn (he is his father's son!). His big, bright eyes can light up a room and his insatiable appetite rivals that of a teenager! He's quite the funny little man, too, and keeps us laughing most days. As you can tell by that face, he definitely doesn't take life too seriously yet. ;)
For his birthday this year, I decided to ask him some questions that I'll ask every year now, to see how his responses change over the years. Here they are, in case you can't read them in the picture:
- What is your favorite color? blue and yellow
- What is your favorite toy? race cars and monster trucks
- What is your favorite fruit? blueberries, apples, and grapes
- What is your favorite tv show? America's Funniest Videos
- What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? peanut butter & jelly and trail mix
- What is your favorite outfit? monster truck shirt
- What is your favorite game? race car game
- What is your favorite snack? trail mix
- What is your favorite animal? doggies
- What is your favorite song? race car movie (Cars 2) song
- What is your favorite book? race car (Cars 2) book
- Who is your best friend? Isaac and Asher
- What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
- What is your favorite thing to do outside? play on my swingset
- What is your favorite drink? water, milk and root beer
- What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
- What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "fake doggy"
- What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? pancakes
- What is your favorite dinner? hot dogs and mac 'n cheese
- What do you want to be when you grow up? Daddy
As our firstborn, Ethan continues to keep us on our toes, teach us about kids and how to be parents. He amazes us daily with the things that he says and does and we look forward to what this year will bring with it. Happy 4th birthday, Ethan. We love you!
Ethan's "Cars 2" Fourth Birthday Party
When I asked Ethan what he wanted for his birthday party this year, his response was the same as last year...Cars!! Well, more specifically, he wanted Tow Mater, and later decided he wanted Lightning McQueen mixed in there, too. So, I started designing his invites with this in mind. Last year, I made pit passes for the invitees (just family, since we had the party at the Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio), so I wanted to do something different this year, yet still race-themed. So, I decided to make tickets to the "race," aka his party. :)
I was happy with how they turned out and most importantly, Ethan thought they were really cool. :) All items you see here are available for customization and purchase through my business page, seeley LANE design, or Etsy shop. See bottom of the post for details!
After I got that far, I struggled to find motivation to get the rest of the party planned, due to a combination of pregnancy, hubby being out of town, and well, just the fact that I unfortunately procrastinate everything. So, the day before the party, I finally got to work designing and printing and getting everything ready for Saturday's party! Here's a summary of what I came up with for the big day.
To decorate the house, we bought a 5-pack of Cars 2 birthday balloons at the local party supply store and I made a custom banner that read "Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!" using checkered flags. Here's an example of the flags, close-up.
And here are some pics of the birthday boy!! :)
Happy 4th Birthday to my big boy!
I was happy with how they turned out and most importantly, Ethan thought they were really cool. :) All items you see here are available for customization and purchase through my business page, seeley LANE design, or Etsy shop. See bottom of the post for details!
I sent the tickets to each of the children invited to the party, and decided to also include a letter for the parents with more details.
After I got that far, I struggled to find motivation to get the rest of the party planned, due to a combination of pregnancy, hubby being out of town, and well, just the fact that I unfortunately procrastinate everything. So, the day before the party, I finally got to work designing and printing and getting everything ready for Saturday's party! Here's a summary of what I came up with for the big day.
To decorate the house, we bought a 5-pack of Cars 2 birthday balloons at the local party supply store and I made a custom banner that read "Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!" using checkered flags. Here's an example of the flags, close-up.
I also made tags to label the food items that we served at the party. I have these, in addition to blank tags (with characters), available.
My favorite was Francesco's Caprese skewers, because of the cute little checkered flags that we pasted onto toothpicks to hold them together. Adorable. :)
I also made custom water labels, like I did for Noah's Very Hungry Caterpillar party last summer.
I purchased a small favor for each of the kids to take home from the party - a Cars 2 cup filled with a Cars 2 fruit pouch, with a thank-you note for coming.
Then, finally, there was the cake. This consumed most of my Friday night and Saturday afternoon between baking three batches of my favorite vanilla sheet cake (in order to make 3-9" layers and 2-6" layers), then decorating it to look like a cake I found on Pinterest, that Ethan picked as his favorite! The cake has a mix of Lightning McQueen eyes with a Tow Mater mouth. Ethan thought it was absolutely hilarious every time he saw it on my laptop screen, and really wanted me to make one for him. The original was super awesome, done in fondant, of course, which helps tremendously, but I didn't think mine was too bad. Ethan loved it, and that was really all that I cared about when all was said and done! :) I found the cute cake topper and candles at Walmart. The candles have tires on the bottom - love it! For my frosting, I made a batch of faux fondant icing. After you ice the cake, you can let it set, then go back in with a smooth napkin or paper towel and rub it to create a smoother looking finish to the icing. It has worked fairly well for me in the past, but I think the humidity that day (it was snowing, in March!!) was messing with my icing a bit. :( So, it wasn't perfect, but not bad.
Happy 4th Birthday to my big boy!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
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