Luck o' the Irish...

As luck would have it, we did not have a very lucky St. Patty's day here in the Seeley household yesterday. :(

We started out the morning with Ethan's first trip to the dentist. We walked in the door and they had lots of fun toys and I was able to check-in electronically. It was looking promising. :) Ethan now does great in waiting rooms, however, as soon as they call us back through that door you would think he was headed to Death Row or something! :( The tears start flowing, I have to start dragging him behind me, and it's overall a pretty miserable experience. I am not sure why he has this newfound hatred/fear of medical offices, but he does. Lucky me. Fortunately, there was no waiting with this visit - we got right to it. I wanted to get a few pics or a short video of the experience, but I had to hold Ethan the whole time, so no such luck. He sat in my lap and we leaned him back into the dentist's lap so that she could begin. By this point he had calmed down a bit to a whimper, so it was somewhat bearable. Whew. Then the first thing she noticed was some gray staining on his front teeth. :( Not good. She asked if he took iron supplements, which he doesn't, but later determined it was just the early signs of cavities trying to form! Cavities in my baby!?! Not good. She removed a lot of plaque from along the gums and was able to get his teeth looking nice again. I also got a quick lesson on how to properly brush his teeth. It seems I was not doing a great job getting all the way to/past the gum line. As much fun as it is wrestling your toddler at brushing time, it will now be a necessary evil! After she got them all cleaned up, she applied a fluoride treatment. Much easier than what I remember from growing up. No bubble gum flavored foam stuff in an uncomfortable tray in your mouth for what seems like eternity. She just rubbed this very sticky stuff on in mere seconds and that was it! We just needed to be sure to not brush for at least 6 hours, but eating and drinking would be fine. Yay! Quick and painless. Perfect! I also learned something else at this visit. We had been using the toddler training paste, you know, the one with Thomas on front that doesn't have fluoride in it. Ethan does not yet spit out the toothpaste, but prefers to swallow it, so I thought fluoride paste was still a no-no. I was informed, however, that at the sign of the first tooth, fluoride paste should be used! Just a small smear (no pea-sized dabs) used twice a day and he should be fine. Doing this, we will hopefully avoid any cavities from actually forming. I guess we were lucky that we went when we did so that we caught it before he did have a major problem. So my advice to other moms - when your pediatrician recommends seeing a dentist at that one-year check-up (especially if you or your hubby is prone to cavities like I am), do yourself a favor and schedule it! I wish I would have sooner, but feel good knowing that at least we got him in there before it was too late. Though a bit traumatic for Ethan, we made it through it. I think the free balloon at Publix on our way home made up for it. ;)

Next up for the day - my allergy shot. I recently discovered that our insurance was no longer covering the cost of getting my weekly allergy shots. Instead of paying just 10% (and them covering the other 90%) like they did last year, I am now responsible for all 100%. Yuck! Over the course of a year, assuming I get my shot every week, this was now going to cost me over $700!! Wow! I know we have good insurance coverage (great deductible and co-pays), so I can't complain, but if I can save $700, I am going to do it! After speaking to an agent, I discovered that if I get my shot at a primary care office (vs. the allergist's office like I normally do), that it would still be covered at the 90/10. So, I was on the search for a new primary care office where I could do this. I managed to find one, and one close to the house too, an added bonus. Only problem is that it is a satellite clinic, so they are only there in the afternoons. This will mean working around Ethan's afternoon nap. So yesterday was going to be my first shot at this office. They wanted me to set up an appointment and be sure that the doctor was there, just in case. Of course a nurse would give me the shot, but I guess they were worried. We rushed from naptime to get there at the scheduled 3:45, of which they said I couldn't be any later than this. I proceeded to then sit and wait, and wait, and wait in their waiting room. :( Ugh. This was not how it was supposed to go. Of course I had Ethan with me, and trying to entertain an active toddler with just one of his toy cars and a Magnadoodle can be quite a task. And we all now know how he feels about doctor's offices too! haha. Then the lady at the desk tries to collect an office co-pay from me. Huh!?! I try to explain to her that I am not seeing the doctor, that I am supposed to only be paying an injection co-pay. So, they need to call insurance. Seriously? More than annoyed by this point, we continue to wait. Finally, they led us back to a room - oh joy, more tears from Ethan - and we sat there and waited some more for the doctor to come in and basically say hi. Then the nurse FINALLY gave me my injection. The doctor insisted that I wait at least another 10 minutes before leaving the office. Apparently this guy is quite scared that I am going to randomly go into anaphylactic shock, though it has never happened in the 5 years I have been getting shots. So, we sit and wait some more to appease him. We finally made it out of there, an hour after we arrived. Again, not so lucky, when this is usually something that takes all of 5 minutes at the allergist's office! :(

Already frustrated and late in the day, we took a walk when we got home. Ethan hadn't had a snack yet and it was already 5 o'clock, so I knew he would need one sooner than later. So, I strapped him in the jogging stroller instead of letting him walk with me, so he could munch on his Multigrain Cheerios and dried cranberries while Daisy and I walked. Things were going good until we were on our way back to the house. One of the neighbors has a male boxer puppy that is getting quite big and is already bigger than Daisy. The little girl was outside playing with him and when she saw us, she put him on a leash. We walked by the first time without any problems. On the way back, she apparently couldn't contain the frisky guy any longer and he broke free and started chasing us down the street! :( Here I am, Daisy in one hand, stroller in the other, trying to hold her back. Unfortunately, Daisy does not do well with other dogs. It all stems from an incident when she was a puppy and we were living in Kentucky. We were out one evening walking in the neighborhood when she was attacked by a Saint Bernard. The other dog drew blood on her face and neck and left poor Daisy traumatized. Ever since that point she has always gone on the defensive immediately if a dog gets near her face. I can't say that I blame her, but it's been hard trying to socialize her since that point. So, as you can imagine, this meeting of the two boxers in the middle of the street was not looking pretty. There was lots of vicious growling and snarling, and not just coming from Ethan either! ;) Finally the little girl caught up and managed to get ahold of his leash and drag her dog back to their house. Whew! Crisis diverted. My blood pressure, however, took awhile to recover. Could this day get any more unlucky??

Yep, it could. To top it all off, poor Josh got stuck at work late. They were having lots of issues and by the time he made it home we were eating dinner at 8 o'clock. :( The only saving grace to the day was the green Norwegian almond cookies we had for dessert. Oh yeah, so good they can make any day seem just a little less unlucky. :)

Here is my quick and easy version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup stick butter
• 1/2 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soften butter in microwave-safe bowl by nuking at 50% power for 45 sec to 1 min. Stir in the sugar. (To make them green, I added the food coloring at this point). Stir in the almond extract, lemon juice and egg and mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until the dough doesn't stick to the side of the bowl anymore. You may need to add a bit more flour to accomplish this. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 10 minutes, depending on how done you like them. This recipe usually makes 20 small (very rich and buttery) cookies.

The original recipe calls for actual slices of almond (instead of the extract) and using a cookie press to make them pretty. I prefer doing it this way because it's much quicker and easier too. These cookies have always been a favorite of mine and I think Josh may agree. Even Ethan loves them too! :)

After our dessert, we took a few pics in our St. Patty's Day gear and made the best of the unlucky day we had been having. Here is Ethan, cracking himself up at something. He's finally figured out the whole "say cheese" thing. haha!

And here is a sweet kiss for his big sister, Daisy! :)

Actually managed to snag a good one with my little cutie! :) His "say cheese" was a bit awkward here, but we'll work on it! ;)

And yes, little kumquat (who still needs a name) is growing quickly now! Here I am at 23 weeks. Looking back at the bump pictures I took with Ethan, it appears I am progressing along about the same. If so, look out, because in a few more weeks I am going to explode! haha!

Sorry for another long post, but I am finding this blogging thing to be quite therapeutic now. As a child/teen I was a pretty good writer (go me on Power of the Pen team! haha), but I fear that may not be the case anymore. Oh well, I guess I'm not forcing anyone to read! ;) It will be nice to look back on all of this someday when my memories are fading!

Here's hoping the luck o' the Irish was with your family yesterday more than ours! :)

Ethan's Two-Year Check-Up and Party Time!

Though there was a lot of work to be done leading up to Ethan's birthday party, I think everything managed to go off without any glitches! :) We finished painting the living room just in time to get the room back together and cleaned up before our families arrived from out of town on Friday afternoon. Now let's back up a bit...

On Friday morning we had Ethan's two-year well-check visit. Since birth he has seen Dr. Kemi at the PAPP Clinic in Newnan, but with me switching OB's to one in LaGrange (and also the hospital where I will deliver), we thought it might be easier to also change pediatricians to one a little closer. It usually takes us at least 35 minutes (depending on traffic) to get to Dr. Kemi's office and once we (who am I kidding...probably just me most of the time) will be going more frequently with a newborn (and Ethan in tow too), I thought this might be too far. So, we made Friday's visit with Dr. Lisa Allardice, at Pediatric Associates of LaGrange. I didn't know what to expect because we didn't know anyone who also sees her. I was very impressed with their new office location. When you walk in the front door you immediately choose one of two doors to go into next - the sick side or the well side. So, from the beginning you have different reception desks and waiting rooms. This is, of course, awesome! No picking up icky germs at this office! Unfortunately, it went downhill from there...We didn't wait long in the waiting room, but once we got back into a room, we waited for 40 minutes for her to come in! :( While I realize that this may not be unreasonable for a pediatrician's office, the only thing we had to compare it to was Dr. Kemi's office, where we have never waited longer than maybe 10 minutes for a well-check. Yeah, we loved that office and Dr. Kemi!! By this point, Ethan was super, super unhappy and tired of being caged in a tiny room with us. :( Finally the doctor came in and started talking...about potty training. Potty training?!? We really hadn't even begun to think much about this yet. Ethan had just turned two...and he's a boy. Everyone knows that boys usually potty-train later than girls. He still wakes up in the morning with diapers sopping wet and has given us no indication that he is anywhere ready for going on the potty. Yet this doctor seemed to think that we needed to be pushing it on him already without even really asking us much about him and his development at this point. :( Ugh! She went on to discuss several other things and the more she talked, the more I started to tune out. While Ethan suffered over a month of sinusitis last fall and I fear that he may have inherited my terrible allergies, this doctor wanted us to start giving him OTC allergy meds without so much as an allergy consult to see if he really has allergies or not!! Seriously?!? Did she really think we wanted to just start drugging our child up, just in case?? Needless to say, it was quite a miserable visit and by the time we left the office, Josh and I had already decided we would not be going back there again. After all that lecturing, the doctor never even asked us if we had any questions or concerns, just pretty much ran out of the room when she was done saying what she wanted to say. Not a good experience at all! So, I have now set up an appointment to see another pediatrician in LaGrange - Dr. Kalyani Rajeev, at Kid Station Pediatrics. One of Josh's co-workers uses this doctor and they seem to like her, so we're hoping this next visit goes much better than the last! I guess if it doesn't, we may just suck it up and make the drive to Newnan since we love Dr. Kemi so much! I also decided that instead of just starting Ethan on allergy meds as advised, we are going to take him to see a specialist to be tested to see if we really need to do so. For this, I made an appointment for him to see Dr. Robert Cartwright, of the Allergy Center at Brookstone, next month. I like that he is certified in both Pediatrics and Allergy and hope that we can get some answers at this visit. We're also set up for Ethan's first dentist visit with Dr. Angela Patterson in LaGrange. That should be fun and exciting! haha. We'll see how that goes this upcoming week...

As part of his check-up they did the usual height and weight measurements. We were not surprised to learn that Ethan has continued to top the height charts, but not so much on the weight side. He was measured at 36.5 inches tall and 27.6 pounds. For his age, this puts him in the 90-97th percentile for height, and just under the 50th percentile for weight. That is actually an increase for him with the weight, so that is good. When comparing his height-to-weight ratio though with others of his age, he falls in just the 3rd-10th percentile. So, he is still super tall and skinny! I guess Josh and I were both super skinny when we were little, so this makes sense. Now we'll just have to wait and see if he continues the trend. Using the predictor of adult height that a 2-year-old boy is half their future height, that means Ethan should measure in someday at 6'1". That is probably about right since Josh is 6' tall. I'm just happy to see he won't be a shrimp like me! ;)

After all the excitement of the morning, on Friday night, we all (my parents, Josh's parents and his brother, Jared) went out to eat together at Red Robin. We had a nice meal and even had them sing to Ethan for his birthday! :) I don't think he cared about the singing so much, but was anxious to get a taste of the huge ice cream sundae they brought out with them! ;) After dinner I picked up the party balloons at Party City and we headed home. For future reference, if you get the special "high float" added to the helium balloons to make sure they will last through your party...they will. Though they claimed it would make those little latex balloons last just 24-36 hours extra (and they usually last maybe 12 hours normally), the latex ones actually managed to survive almost an entire week afloat! It finally hit the ground here sometime yesterday. The big mylar balloons are still going strong, so Ethan has been enjoying his birthday balloons all week now! :)

On Saturday we began getting the house decorated for the party and I started decorating the cake. The theme for the party was Thomas the Tank Engine. Ethan is a big fan of trains, so I thought this would be fun for him. I had lots of cute ideas in mind and we executed a few of them. I had sent out the party invitations, that I created, a few weeks ahead of time, announcing the theme. Here is a generic version (in case there are any weirdos out there reading this)!

I bought all the decorations and party supplies at Party City, as they had a nice selection of Thomas items. To their "Happy Birthday" banner, I created an "Ethan" to personalize it more.

Using some plain, white canvas drawstring backpacks that I found at Michaels, I created personalized favor bags for all of the kids who would be attending. I downloaded images of Thomas (for the boys) and Rosie (for the girls) and then added the child's name to it and printed it out on an iron-on transfer. I affixed these to the bags and used them to hold all the goodies! :) I bought Thomas balls, Thomas bath toy squirters (found exclusively at Target), created Thomas coloring books (by printing coloring sheets out from the Thomas website, adding a cover and "sewing" it together), and threw in some Crayola crayons. Here are some pics...

Then came the cake. Whew! I had no idea it would end up taking me hours to bake and decorate it, but of course, it did! I started by making two batches of homemade vanilla sheet cake, baked in two-12" x 17" jellyroll pans. I cut each layer in half and stacked them all to make a four-layer cake. Between the layers, I decided to add a little flavor so I bought raspberry and almond filling and alternated those between the layers. I love this cake recipe because it is super moist and delicious! It is the same recipe my mom used for my birthday cakes when I was little, and still my favorite cake today! :)

I topped the cake off with a layer of homemade buttercream icing, then started working on the fondant. I had never used fondant before, but wanted to give it a try because I love how awesome it looks on all of the cake decorating shows. I bought a big 5-pound box of pre-made white fondant, at Michaels, and some gel icing to color it. Coloring fondant is no easy task! It took much kneading to get some green gel color all worked in to 2.5 lbs of fondant, but finally it worked. I used latex gloves to protect my hands from the color and then sprayed them with some oil cooking spray too, to keep the fondant from sticking too much to the gloves. I rolled out a big piece and then covered the cake with the green. Around the cake, on the cake board, I spread some blue buttercream icing and topped that with some blue sparkle gel icing that I found at Walmart. This was to represent the water around the "Island of Sodor" cake that I had made. To decorate the top of the cake, I colored some more fondant gray. I rolled this out and then cut out a big "2" to act as a train track. Then I made some small black pieces for the cross-ties. I set one of Ethan's wooden Thomas engines on the track and wrote "Happy Birthday Ethan" with the blue sparkle gel icing. I thought it turned out pretty well, especially for my first attempt at fondant! I definitely need to learn how to properly do corners though....haha!

Here is one of my favorite pics of Ethan from the day....

Yes, I think he was slightly afraid of the small candle that was burning on top of his cake. He also wasn't a huge fan of being sung to by a roomful of people either! :( Oh well. He still had a great time opening all of his gifts and enjoying the feast (hot dogs, hamburgers, homemade mac 'n cheese, baked beans, chips, and fruit with homemade dip) that we prepared for everyone.

After the party, I sent out thank you notes for all of the gifts he received using a matching design I created. :)

All in all, it was a great day celebrated with friends and family and I definitely need a year-long break before the next one! ;)

Two Years Old!!

I honestly can't believe that two entire years have passed already since the day our lives changed forever! Our firstborn, Ethan Paul, is two years old today!!

The boy certainly took his sweet time making his grand entrance though! Not only did he decide to start his exit nine long days after he was due to arrive, but he also took his time making that exit too. Apparently he felt like being fashionably late to his party? Since I never recorded the details of his birth story two years ago, I am going to do that now before the details get too foggy in my mommy brain! Read on at your own risk as I recall that day... ;)

It all started early on Monday morning, the 2nd of March. It was 1 am when I woke up and looked at the clock, feeling this strange, different kind of pain. Not the same aching pain my hips had been experiencing for a couple months, nor the constant heartburn that plagued my last trimester. When it kept nagging at me so that I couldn't fall back asleep, I finally got out of bed and made my way to the couch to wait it out, hoping that I was indeed finally having labor contractions! Little did I know at that time that I would be waiting all day. I was actually scheduled to go in to have labor induced that day at 5 pm and ended up waiting until that time to finally make my way to the hospital. I had continued to have contractions all day long, but despite my careful tracking, they never made it to 5 minutes apart consistently, so the nurses told me to keep waiting patiently. Um yeah...me, patient?? Fortunately they weren't super painful all day long, but started to move that way around 3 pm that afternoon. By 5 pm I was miserable and we were stuck sitting in the hospital lobby waiting for an L&D room to be cleaned. Lovely. Finally they came to take me up to the room where I met the doctor who was on call that night - not my doctor, of course - but he seemed nice. Not too long after I arrived, my doctor showed up to start the induction process since things weren't moving along very quickly at that point. She inserted the cervidil and we settled in for the evening. Unfortunately, I had tested positive for Strep B at the 38-week check (one of the unlucky 10-30% that do), so I had to be hooked up to an IV with antibiotics for that upon admission. I was also quickly informed by the anesthesiology team that due to the two protruding lumbar discs in my back, they did not feel comfortable with the idea of giving me an epidural, so that would not be an option if I had wanted it. Didn't seem like a huge deal at the time because I was determined to make this a natural birth. Much later, after a couple hours of trying to push Ethan out though, I think I would have welcomed the idea, haha. ;) I continued to contract throughout the night and fortunately, thanks to an Ambien, was able to doze off in between the contractions. Remember, I had been awake since 1 am - I was exhausted already! Poor Josh, however, was stuck sitting in a not so comfortable chair beside my bed, trying to hold my hand through the bed rail (that he says they insisted be kept up, for my safety apparently) with no drugs to help him sleep. :( Looking back, I almost feel bad for him...haha!

As 8 am was nearing on the 3rd, I started getting this uncontrollable urge to want to push. It just felt like that was going to help the pain. But, it had apparently gotten busy in L&D and the doctor was not able to come in to my room. So, I had to wait for one of the midwives to arrive and then the real fun began. Yeah, lots of fun...I finally started trying to push the little man out. And I tried and I tried. Minutes ticked by, then hours. Finally, after four hours of pushing he made his appearance. I pretty much collapsed back into the bed out of relief and exhaustion. He arrived at 12:05 pm and was absolutely perfect!!! Weighing in as a heavyweight at 8 pounds, 7.2 ounces and 20 inches long, he was bright-eyed and amazingly alert for a newborn! Here is one of our first family pictures, after we had both cleaned up a bit. Trust me, I was looking pretty rough before that shower and no one wants to see those pics!! ;)

And here is a pic of our perfect little man, just a few hours after he came into the world, changing our lives forever...for the better! :) Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan!! :)

Painting, Pregnancy and Priceless Moments!

So what did we decide to do this past weekend with three days of sunny temps in the 70s? Yep, you guess it...we painted. I guess our timing wasn't great, but I told Josh I wanted the downstairs painted before Ethan's 2nd birthday party in two weeks, so the clock was ticking! We did still manage to get outside all three days for strolls with Ethan and Daisy. I think we all appreciated the great weather. :) It was also nice to be able to open all the windows while we painted to avoid inhaling lots of extra paint fumes!

We had three rooms on the agenda: the office, the kitchen and the living room. We managed to complete the first two. We're hoping to get the living room trimmed out this week during the week which will leave just the rolling for next weekend. Last year around this time we bought all new office furniture from IKEA to update our office. All of the furniture is white and the office (which is actually supposed to be a formal dining room) has white wainscoting as well. So, we wanted to balance all of this white with a dark color to contrast with it. We finally settled on a dark cranberry red color - "Spanish Tile" (1010-5 by Valspar at Lowe's) to be exact. Neither of us had previously painted a room red, though working with paint daily, Josh knew that it wouldn't be easy. Who knew it would take 3 coats of trim and at least 2 coats on the walls to look halfway decent?? Ugh. The office took much longer than anticipated to complete and also took an extra gallon of paint too! Despite the extra work, we felt the end results were worth it. The room looks fantastic!

The paint we chose for the kitchen wasn't nearly as temperamental as the red was, but it also required two coats. With the lighter maple cabinets we have in this house, we decided we wanted something kind of dark here too, to be sure the walls contrasted the cabinets rather than matched them too closely. So, we chose a color that I would compare to milk chocolate - "Hubbell House Clayo" (2006-9B by Valspar). I thought this room wouldn't be too bad to complete, but then quickly realized how much trimming around cabinets there was to be done! :( We finally finished on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed the rest of our weekend outside and grilling out. We had to take advantage of near perfect temperatures in February! I am incredibly happy with how well the kitchen turned out as well! :)

Next up after the living room this weekend will be Ethan's new bedroom (the new baby will get Ethan's current nursery) and our master bedroom. Once we get those completed I think we will be content for awhile. Eventually we want to hire someone to do the entryway, stairway and upstairs hallway. Being two levels tall, this isn't something Josh is eager to do himself! We already have our bedroom color paint and I have purchased the bedding for Ethan's new room, so we can soon get the paint to match it too. :) I am determined to get as much done as possible before July because I know accomplishing anything with two little ones around will be difficult!

Speaking of the little one...it's hard to believe that I am halfway there already!! Today marks exactly 20 weeks and I go to the OB on Friday for my next check-up. It seems to have gone much quicker this time around, but maybe that is due to having an almost two-year-old to keep me occupied? ;) I am sure these next weeks will start to drag by a bit slower as I get bigger and more uncomfortable. Fortunately so far I have only gained about 7 pounds, but my back is already starting to feel the strain of the added weight to the belly! According to BabyCenter.com the little guy is now about the length of a banana. No wonder I am starting to really feel some movement in there!! :) I am hoping things continue to go well and that I continue to feel good for the duration.

Our other little guy, not wanting to be upstaged, continues to amaze us daily with the things he learns. While taking his bath this morning he correctly identified the letters A, B, C, D and E when I asked for them!! :) We have been working on letters and numbers a lot lately and he is getting better about pronouncing them and now it appears he is starting to recognize them too! It's hard to believe how quickly he is growing up, but then I remember he will soon be two!! :'( I caught a few pics of him playing with my cell phone camera.

Yep, in case you were wondering, the tongue helps him think and concentrate. ;) We see it all the time lately because he loves spending his time doing puzzles and practicing counting everything. He is too cute for words!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our kiddos! :)

Our little 'handsome dude' has had a great Valentine's Day so far. He enjoyed his extra special PB&J sandwich for lunch today. :) He looks so grown up here!! And he even paused for me to take a pic before he dug in! haha!

We took a wonderful walk this afternoon to enjoy the gorgeous, high 60-degree weather. Little man has now graduated to walking with us sometimes instead of riding in his stroller every time. Yay!! Today, he managed to run at full speed (his full speed, of course, which is a pretty brisk walk for me!) for the entire mile (do we have a runner on our hands??)! He only slowed down to point out each spray-painted number on the side of the road (for utilities I guess?) and to smell the flowers. haha! He is such a goof! :) Speaking of numbers, he is really big on numbers and counting right now. This weekend, when we put him down for his nap, I heard him in his crib, counting away. I turned on the video on his monitor and watched him as he counted. When he was done, he tried to clap for himself (as he normally does, haha), but this was apparently too hard while laying on his tummy. So he sat up, clapped, then decided he was tired, laid back down and went to sleep! He cracks me up daily it seems now! I love this stage where their little personalities really start to show. :)

Hubby and I will celebrate tonight with a romantic meal here at home with our little man. We decided our present for each other this year would be some new bedding for our bedroom. :) Hope everyone has a great day with their sweeties!

Update: Poor Josh. This was the beautiful flower arrangement he picked out that was supposed to be delivered to me on Valentine's Day while he was at work...

But...he got home and noticed that there were no flowers. :( He had been anxiously waiting all day for me to send him a pic of the flowers when I got them and I had even sent him the above pic of Ethan, so he was very concerned when I didn't mention anything. But, he didn't want to call and ask about it in case I hadn't gotten them yet and spoil the surprise!! :( So, he wasn't able to contact the florist until he got home from work that evening. He had been way ahead of the game and ordered them a week ago, but the order got misplaced! So instead of this arrangement, I got what they still had left at almost 8 pm on Valentine's Day (granted it was a bigger arrangement and they threw in an almond tart thing as an apology). It is still very pretty and I will post a pic once the lilies open up, but not quite the same. :( I could tell he was disappointed and he even commented that there were no red flowers, just pink and white, which he said says, "I'm confused about whether I love you or not!" hahaha. Poor guy! I love you dear!!

It's a...

Yep, we're having another little boy!! Though I had to suffer through another full day of waiting to find out when their ultrasound machine went down on Monday (tears!), thankfully I survived and we can now prepare for another little guy's arrival! :) Sorry to the majority who voted for girl on my poll! I would have put money on girl this time...I guess that's why I don't gamble much. ;) hehe. I guess I did have a dream that it was a boy. I should have paid more attention to that!

Funny story. So I laid down on the little bed and she put the gel on and we were just getting started. The screen popped on and viola! This picture is what we saw immediately!! haha! Yep, I was pretty sure I knew what I was looking at on that screen. The tech confirmed it. I guess our little guy must have been anxious to let us know that he was indeed a boy, not the girl that I was expecting. Good thing we wanted to a) know the gender, and b) that I didn't buy that pink bedding I had been eyeing! ;) As my sister said, it looks like he is also giving us a thumbs up too, to let us know that everything looks good! :) Or maybe he's just saying, "Way to go, Dad! Boys are going to rule in our house!" haha! Poor Daisy and I. We are outnumbered for sure now! We are excited about the idea of another little guy. At least I already know what I am doing when it comes to boys and honestly, a girl born under the cancer sign (like myself), may have been too much moodiness for one house to handle! LOL! We think that the boys will be best buds and should be able to share a room well when it comes time to think about the next baby. That will be convenient if we are still in this house.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a great look at the little guy's face. He was apparently more interested in keeping his face buried in the placenta, according to the U/S tech. I guess it's probably nice and warm and cozy there? We tried to get a look on the 3D, but it is kind of hard to see the face behind the placenta. We got a peek at the eyes and nose as you can sort of see in this pic.

Because we didn't get a great view, the tech and doctor said we may just try again later to get a better look! Yay! :) I hope that is the case!!

After we finished the ultrasound, we headed over to the West Georgia hospital for a tour of the maternity floor. Wow. They just opened a brand new maternity area on June 1st and it is beautiful!! It will be quite a treat to deliver the little guy at this facility! :) It reaffirmed to us that our decision to change OBs and hospitals was a good one. We are excited to beginning preparing for this little guy's arrival now. I guess it's time to pick a name aside from 'kumquat'....hmm...ideas anyone?? ;)

Must Have List for Mamas and Papas

It's that time again. Time to start thinking about everything I will need for a new baby! I definitely have my list of must-haves that were great essential to have with Ethan, but it's been almost two years. I am sure there are even more super awesome products out there that I need now! ;)

The following is my list of must-haves. I will continue to add to it as I remember items. I would love your input about your favorite products for me to check out too!

Health & Safety

• Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor - I am a control freak. I'll be the first to admit it. With the help of this video monitor, I have always felt in control when it has come to Ethan's sleep. I don't have to worry about what he was doing every time I heard a noise, I could sneak a peek on the monitor without worrying about waking him up by peeking in the room. Also great for naps to see if he is actually awake or just making noises in his sleep. I never have to worry about waking him up because of my need to check on him! :)
• Safety gate - Obviously once your child starts crawling, safety gates are a must at the top of stairs! I love this Evenflo gate! It is one that you actually screw in place, not a removable one. We figured we would need one for quite some time, so we decided to go with this more permanent option. I must say that the removable ones drive me nuts. I can never seem to grip hard enough to take them down and then putting them back in place takes me forever. This one stays in place and then you just simply squeeze the handle in and push down to open. Not something an older child (3-5 yrs probably) could do easily to be able to let themselves out, but easy for an adult. You can adjust the width to fit the stairs or other openings in the house. I like this color of this one too. It's taupe, so it matches the walls in our house, blending in so that it doesn't stand out much.
• Ear thermometer - I really like this Braun one. The pacifier thermometers never worked well with Ethan. He always spit them out before they were done. This ear one works quick, so even with a fussy, wiggly little guy, you will get an accurate temp every time. We also have the traditional digital one that we use in his bum for the most accurate temperature reading, but the ear one is good for most purposes and well, much less interesting...
• Hyland's teething tablets - These were great when Ethan started teething. He loved them and they seemed to keep him in a much better mood when those pesky teeth were breaking through!
• Itzbeen baby care timer - Feeling like a zombie from those midnight, 3 am, 6 am, etc, etc feedings for the past few weeks? Can't remember which boob your baby last nursed from, or if you changed that diaper, or wait, did you feed them?? This timer will solve your problems. You can keep track of the last time you fed them, changed them, gave them medicine, when they slept, etc. It also has a nice little switch to let you remember which boob they last nursed from too! It's got a clip and a light, so you can always see it and never lose it. Awesome.
• Mylicon - As their website states, gas hurts. And it makes babies scream. Yep, fun stuff. We went through a lot of this stuff with Ethan when he was little. It really seemed to be help him. I wouldn't say that he was "colic" but he definitely had his fussy periods that seemed to be gas-related. This is a great product to have on hand!

Feeding

• A formula dispenser - I bought a couple of these Bornfree ones. Each had three sections. I pre-measured out Ethan's cereal (rice, oatmeal, etc) and put it in the divider along with the correct amount of powdered formula. When it came time to make him a meal, I could just dump what I needed in the bowl and add water! This was really helpful when we were out to eat (a definite space saver in the diaper bag) and a timesaver at home when the little man was hungry....now! ;)
• Good, leak-proof sippy cups - There are several that I like. Here is a Playtex one. Ethan still uses these for water. He can tote it all around the house and I don't have to worry about it leaking everywhere. :) Here is another Playtex one. This one has been great as he has gotten older. It's a little bigger, insulated better, and great for taking on the go. He can figure out how to get it open himself and feels like a big boy with the straw. He also has super cool ones with trucks and stuff on them. ;) I can't find the link to the Gerber ones I love, but they are the first ones I used with Ethan. They have handles and only hold 6 ozs of liquid, but we still use them for milk for Ethan. They also have never leaked, despite many trips across the dining room table, floor, etc! ;) You get the idea.
• Food mill - I can't find a link to the one I have, but any food mill should do. You can take a banana, for example, and grind it through, making the perfect consistency banana mush for your infant who is new to solid foods! This is a much cheaper option than buying baby food at the store and I feel better knowing there are absolutely no additives going in too. I am planning on purchasing more items this time around for making my own baby food here at home.
• Disposable placemats - I love bringing these along whenever we are eating out. If you haven't already noticed, I am kind of anal retentive about cleanliness and such. You can stick these mats right to the table and feel good knowing that your child is eating off of a clean surface. At the end of the meal, you can just gather up the whole mess and toss it! Perfect. Ethan loves the Cars ones. ;)

Nursing

• Breast pump - A wonderful tool for nursing moms. A must-have for nursing, working moms. I have this Medela Swing Single Electric one. Had I been working, I would have went with a double pump to save time, but as a SAHM, a single pump works fine for me. I do recommend an electric one versus a manual one, because I think my hand would tire too quickly trying to do all the work myself! I got my pump shortly after delivering Ethan. At the risk of revealing TMI...my milk wasn't coming in very quickly and the pump was great for helping with this! If you are nursing exclusively and want any chance at a break from your little one, then you need a pump. You can pump bottles for someone else to feed your baby if you need to get away for more than ~2 hours (if your child is anything like mine, he thinks your boobs are an all you can eat buffet open 24/7!) :(
• Boppy pillow - Also be sure to get at least one extra cover. Never underestimate the number of times your baby will spit up all over everything in a day. :( You don't want to leave a wet, stinky cover on it when you can toss that one in the wash and put a fresh one on! The pillow makes nursing much more comfortable for you and your baby. I always toted mine along if I knew I would need to nurse while I was out!
• Pacifier - Some people like them, some don't. For us, a pacifier did just that - pacified him. It was a relief. And it may possibly save your boobs from needing to be nursed on 24/7! Yay! Though I feared he would never want to get rid of it as he seemed to become more and more attached to it as time went by, he did. I managed to break him of it (cold turkey) at 14 months. Maybe I took it away before he was ready, but I feared he would be that four-year-old that everyone would stare at in stores because he couldn't give up the paci. So I took it. It was a rough couple of days, but we both survived. Ethan really took to these Avent ones more than any of the others we tried. I liked these completely clear ones, so they didn't stand out quite so much in pics too.
• Nursing pads and nipple cream - Oh yeah, I went there. After trying several brands, I prefer these Lansinoh ones. They are nice and thin so your boobs won't scream "look at me!" with big, bulky pads on top of already crazy swollen, huge boobs. Since the lining is pink (lining in general is great, it holds the moisture in better than a pad without any sort of plastic lining), it doesn't show through white tops like a white pad can. They are individually wrapped, so you can stuff some in your diaper bag and know that they will still be clean when it comes time to use them. They also have adhesive on them to help them stick in place which is key. Nothing more embarrassing than your pad slipping out of place and leaking through your shirt! Yeah, super hot. You'll also probably want a good nipple cream. Your nipples will likely be raw that first couple of weeks and this Lansinoh cream will work wonders!
• Nursing tanks - I love these Bestform ones. I have several in black and white. They are nice enough that you can wear them alone or under other shirts. They are comfortable for sleeping in too! They are as supportive as you are going to get with a built-in bra tank and are a nice alternative to nursing bras. They also keep your tummy covered if you need to lift a regular shirt to nurse (versus buying a bunch of nursing tops).
• Hooter hider - I have this classic, ivory cover from Bebe au Lait. Very stylish and useful if you need to nurse in public. This one is great because it has a rigid neckline that juts out so you can keep an eye on your baby (and them on you) while also ventilating well, without the rest of the world also getting a free show! ;)
• Cloth diapers - Nope, I didn't use these on Ethan's bum, I actually used them as burp cloths. While I love a nice, cute burp cloth, I soon realized that my child was like Old Faithful when it came to spitting up. I easily went through 5 to 6 cloths a day, so buying these diapers in bulk was a much more affordable option.

Bathing

• Shower - Yep, simply that. If you have one of those children who does not like taking a bath, try a shower! Ethan wasn't thrilled with the idea of the infant tub, so we let Josh try taking him in the shower one time. He loved it! Problem solved. Your child gets clean, your hubby gets clean, and you get a breather. What could be better than that? ;) This is also a great idea if your baby has a stuffy nose or cold. The steam from being right there in the shower will help loosen it all up and trust me, it's much easier than trying to use the snot sucker!
• Johnson & Johnson Bedtime Bath - Not only does the lavender scent smell wonderful, but it helps them go to sleep faster/better too! :) Sounds like a win-win to me!

Diapering

• Pampers diapers - Everyone has their preference when it comes to diapers. For us, it's Pampers. We started Ethan in the newborn Swaddlers, used the Baby Dry at night for awhile, and now Ethan has been in the Cruisers for awhile. I personally love the new dry-max that they switched to. Some moms reported problems with these diapers causing bad rashes, but we have never had any issues with Ethan. They save lots of space in a diaper bag or purse and they really do soak up a lot of liquid. Ethan has always been a good sleeper, yet even after 14 hours of sleep and pee, he doesn't leak out of his diaper often. Also, in case you didn't know, Pampers has a Gifts to Grow program where you enter codes from the packages of diapers and wipes that you purchase. Once you accumulate so many points you can redeem them for some pretty cool gifts! Unfortunately I didn't know about this at first, so I lost out on several months worth of points, but we now have almost 3000 points and we'll start thinking about redeeming soon! :)
• A tote-along changing pad - (This is the one I have, a JJ Cole, in a different color.) The diaper bag is great, but I especially love the changing pad tote. It has a pocket, so you can stick a diaper or two and some wipes in there, and just take the little bag with you to change the baby. Changing tables are nasty. It really doesn't matter where you are, they are often not going to be the cleanest of surfaces. I love having the pad to put on the table to keep my baby clean! It's also great in a pinch when there isn't a changing table around and you need to change your child on the floor, on a carseat, etc. It protects the surface in case you have a messy one...fun stuff!
• A Diaper Genie - Dirty diapers stink. Literally. You do not want to just throw them in the trash, even if you empty the can daily. Sure you can take them directly outside to the trash bin, but who has time for that when you are changing diapers 10 times a day? And yes, you will change your baby that often in the beginning! I have this Genie II Elite one. I like that this one has a nice step pedal to open it up so you can just drop the diaper in and be done with it. This genie does great at keeping the stink to a minimum and is definitely a must-have in my book!

Traveling

• A jogging stroller - (This isn't the exact one I have, but I do have a Baby Trend one that came with the infant car seat.) Having any stroller is great, but having a jogging one (even as a non-jogger) has been especially nice. We may not jog with it, but we do walk a lot on our street, and the ability to "off-road" with this one is an added bonus.
• A pack 'n play - (This Graco one is the exact one I have, minus the cool bassinet. They didn't come with those when I got mine!) These are great!! Ethan actually slept in his (in our room) for his first 8 weeks. It was a great option without needing to buy a separate bassinet. I like the changing table and diaper bag - they were handy. Now we use it just for traveling as his bed, which is great, especially when staying in hotels. I liked the little sound/light machine that came with this one too. Ethan loved this when he was tiny for falling asleep at night! :) In addition to ours, we have a small waterproof mattress (just in case!) and fabric cover that fits right into this. It helps make it even more comfortable for sleeping at night and in case of accidents, you only need to wash the cover and the insert will stay clean! It folds up pretty compact and it's easy to do (yep, even for those who are not mechanically inclined, like myself!)
• Portable seat - We received this Chicco caddy hook on chair as a gift from a friend with two children. If you like going out to eat, this is a must have! Sure you can use the highchairs or booster seats at a restaurant, but do you know how many germs those things possess? Yuck. This seat folds up flat, so it's easy to leave in the vehicle all the time so that you always have it with you. It hooks right on to almost any table you will encounter and keeps your child at the perfect height (versus watching them struggle to reach up to a high table while sitting in a short highchair). You can start using it as soon as your child is able to sit up unsupported and it holds them up until 37 lbs! This has come in very handy for us too at restaurants that either don't have highchairs, or don't have enough. We always have a seat for our little man! :)
• Baby carrier - I love my Baby Bjorn. It's great for toting around a little one that you want to keep close to you or have to keep close in situations that won't allow a stroller. I plan on using mine a lot with this next baby while shopping. I can throw Ethan in the cart seat, keep the baby in the carrier, then still have an entire cart open for my purchases! ;)

Activity

• A good bouncer - (Again, not the exact one I have, but mine is a Fisher Price one that bounces and vibrates).  This was perfect when Ethan was little and not really moving around yet. I could move the bouncer easily from room to room if needed. This is definitely how I got a shower every day for the first 3 months of his life. Ethan was content to sit in his vibrating bouncer and bat at the dangly toys. Often it would put him right to sleep while mommy got clean (and in a better mood)! :) If you are anything like me, a shower is what makes you feel sane again in the middle of a chaotic day. A tiny little escape when you need it most. This one definitely makes my list!
• A good swing - (Not the same pattern as mine, but you get the idea - a Graco Lovin' Hug Swing). I like this one because it swings, vibrates and plays music! The music was classical, so not annoying and you could adjust the volume as needed. If you haven't already noticed, Ethan was a fan of vibrating things, so that was also a nice feature with this one too. It has 6 different speeds and the seat can recline too. This was great when I needed a break from holding him (I know, I know, who needs a break? Well, sometimes things like eating and cleaning become essential.) ;) Ethan took many naps in his swing before I started doing naps in his crib. This one worked out great!
• Bumbo seat - This is a great little seat for helping your infant sit-up before they can actually do it on their own. You can add trays to them too if you want to use it for feeding them! Want to take some good pics of your little one but they keep flopping to the side? :( Put a nice blanket over the seat and slip them in. Viola!

Clothing & Accessories

• Sleep sack - If your child is anything like mine, a blanket is not an option at night because of how much they moves around in their sleep. This Halo sleep sack is great because their blanket always stays on no matter how much they wiggle, so you don't have to worry if they are warm enough. The zipper goes from top to bottom (opposite of normal), so even once they get smart enough to know how to unzip things, they can't get this undone. :) I am planning to get one of the swaddle ones for the next baby. Ethan needed to be swaddled for the first 4-5 months, so this will be perfect!
• As for my favorite brands of clothing to buy, here is a short list of our top picks:
• Old Navy: They have tons of super cute, fashionable clothes! As for sizing, they are pretty true to size by age for Ethan. He is tall and skinny, but does have short legs. Everything seems to fit pretty well on him though from this store. For example, at age 9 months, he was wearing the 6-12 month size, at 19 months, the 18-24 month size.
• The Children's Place: Another store with super cute, fashionable clothes! :) Sizing here runs very big on Ethan. For example, they recommend getting a 12 month shirt when aged 9-12 months or an 18 month shirt when aged 12-18 months. For Ethan, he was wearing a 12 month sized shirt here after he had already turned 12 months and can still wear an 18 month shirt now, at almost 2 years old. A tip for this store - Never pay full price, always shop here during sales or with coupons! They almost always have 15-20% off your entire purchase coupons available.
• Carter brand: These clothes are cute and they run very true to size by age as well. Added bonus - you can find this brand almost anywhere you can find children's clothing. They offer tons of super comfy options and we buy lots of their jammies. :)

Last, but certainly not least on the list, alcohol and a hot bubble bath. Nope, not to be rubbed on your teething infant's gums, nor to soak your spit-up covered baby in. These items are for you to enjoy at the end of one of those days when nothing has gone right. You know, the day the dog puked all over the new carpet, your son's outfit needed changed four times because he couldn't stop pooping everywhere, you burnt dinner and you ran over a happy little bunny with your freshly washed vehicle. Darn postpartum hormones. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has had days like these! ;)

This list is far from complete, but it's a good start! I can't wait to see what products you other moms and dads love most! :)

My Little Monkey and a Re-cap of January

So my New Year's resolution to post more often isn't going so well. :( In my defense, we haven't really had very many blog-worthy events around here lately though. ;)

We enjoyed some snow on Christmas Day in Georgia! First snowfall since 1882 on Christmas! It was quite magical to watch the snow fall as we sat at the dining room table eating our Christmas dinner! We stuck around here for a few days, then headed north to visit our families for the holiday. It was a long ride up, but we enjoyed the trip in the spacious, new van and had a great time visiting with everyone! Ethan was spoiled rotten, as usual, by his grandparents and aunts and uncles, but we managed to almost get everything in the van for the trip home! haha.

January has been a pretty relaxing month with lots of time spent in the house with unseasonably cool temps. We did enjoy a wonderful weekend though yesterday, with temps hitting 72 both Saturday and Sunday! It was delightful to get outside and run around and just soak up the sunshine. I even managed to get a little sunburnt! :)

This past Thursday, Ethan and I headed to Newnan for a playdate with Ethan's buddy, Aiden, and his mom, Tanya. We decided to visit Monkey Joe's, a local bouncehouse, for some indoor fun! We hadn't been in almost a year and I was curious as to how Ethan would do. As expected, he was a little timid at first, but once he saw the fun that Aiden was having, he joined right in! To my dismay, his favorite of course, was the big boy slide (which required the longest climb to the top)! So, I got quite the workout climbing the ladder about 20+ times with him to keep sliding down. It was wonderful to see the joy on his face, but my body definitely let me know how out of shape I am! haha. Here are a couple of my favorite pics from the day along with a video, complete with a little WWE action at the end! No worries, they were having a good time. ;)

I recently switched obstetricians and have been very happy so far with my new doctor, Dr. Bowie, in LaGrange. It will be nice making the 20 minute trip to his office versus the 40 minute trips to my old OB in Newnan. This also means that I will be delivering at the hospital in LaGrange now, instead of the hospital in Newnan. West Georgia Health recently updated their women's center, so it will be great to enjoy the delivery experience in a nice, new facility! :) I am now almost 17 weeks along and everything has sounded great thus far with the little "kumquat." :) Thankfully I have moved on from the nausea of the first trimester and I am feeling great now. I am scheduled for an ultrasound next Tuesday and I must admit that I can't wait to find out the sex!! That means just 8 more days for you to guess what it is! Will there be a pink nursery in our future? ;)

Merry Christmas from the Seeley Family!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Here is  the card I designed for 2010. I thought it would be neat to make one that could double as an ornament for the family.

(front)

(back)

(Please click on the letter to view a larger version.)

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with your families and a Happy New Year!

Love,

The Seeley family

Josh, Kristy, Ethan and Daisy

Why we need our new Minivan....and some other catching up!

So I realize I haven't been doing a very good job lately with keeping my blog up to date. But, this time I think I have a pretty good excuse. ;) Life became a bit more chaotic for me in November, shortly after learning the big news...

Yep, Ethan is correct. We are expecting another little bundle of joy in July! :) With that news though, has come the exhaustion...and the nausea. :( This has been a major bummer since I had such an easy pregnancy with Ethan and didn't have to worry about these things. Pairing that along with trying to care for a very active toddler this time too and I am one worn out mama! So, I have been sleeping a lot more and even napping while Ethan naps most days. I am almost 10 weeks along, so hoping that it won't be too much longer until I start feeling like myself again.

As the title of this blog suggests, yep, we got a new minivan! Once we have two kids plus Daisy, the 4-Runner will no longer cut it for those long drives North. So, Josh gracefully traded in his beloved sports car and sensible truck to get me a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country. I am in love with it already after just the first week. It is loaded out with all kinds of fun and useful options, including Ethan's personal favorite...the dual screen entertainment system complete with a few children's satellite TV stations! Sadly, he does throw a small tantrum if we go outside and it's not to get in the van, but I guess it's good that he likes it so much! Should prove to be helpful for those long drives.

Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to taking any pics of the new van yet, so I will have to update this later with those.

It has been a rough couple of months for Ethan with fighting an ongoing sinusitis battle. Two rounds of antibiotics and a decongestant and he has managed to come down with it yet again this week. :( He's a trooper, but the runny nose and congestion have got to be miserable for him. Unfortunately it seems I have also managed to come down with whatever he has this morning. Here's hoping we can get rid of this junk soon!

After a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (including my first attempt at a stuffed turkey and real gravy) here at the house...

...we put up our Christmas tree for the first time on Thanksgiving Day too! :)

Ethan was able to help this year and it was fun to see the excitement on his face while he helped put on the garland and ornaments! :)

I even got the kids to pose nicely in front of the tree for me! :) Merry Christmas!!