One Million Questions and Still Going

OMG- We are fully immersed in one of the more tortuous milestones of childhood.

The Question Phase.

One question, when does it end?????????????????

All day long, the questions never stop coming.

Some are easy. Most lead to others. Some are un-answerable which causes fits of rage and always leads to the question, "Member Mommy! You have to member!" (apparently I'm supposed to remember and know where everyone is driving to . . .)

But we are still enjoying his fantastic sense of humor!!

Couple of pics from the last few weeks!

Last day of swim class, water safety night!

Father & son cleaning the "Gator" tires!
Prepping for the new traction bands to make the Gator drive better!

It's "jammie & action figure day" at school! He couldn't be happier! I got him his very first Batman action figure and Superman jammies with a real cape!

Thomas the Train day in Hood River. Sir Topham Hat wasn't very friendly. Petting zoo at Thomas the Train!

We loved the baby goats!

Very fun hay bale maze!

Daddy playing around with the camera!
Blurry but cute!

Cutie Pa-tootie!

Coy and cute!

And last but not least, Keaton update. Not much to report other than I am feeling and looking more and more pregnant by the day! Eating is pretty lame because I can only fit a third the amount of food in my tummy since it's squished up against my ribs. I'm up 12 pounds (compared to 20 pounds with Carson) at 28 weeks. Interestingly though, my tummy is about the same size.

I'm starting to get a bit more antsy about transforming our office to a nursery. Just in case (God forbid) I get stuck on bed-rest or deliver early, I don't want to be caught not ready!

28 weeks with Keaton

28 weeks with Carson

Oh SNAP!

Well I nearly made it to 7 months pregnant (tomorrow) running, albeit slower and with more walking breaks. But yesterday during my Baby Boot Camp work out, I was stopped in mid-stride by a very ODD and unnerving feeling. It, no kidding here, felt like Keaton was literally going to fall right out of me. To the point where I crossed my legs . . . just in case.

I paused, walked a few steps, and then tried running again. No good. It felt like someone was dropping a bowling ball on my cervix and trying to push it on out. Not good.

As competitive as I am and determined to keep running throughout this pregnancy, I also know that if I push it, I'll end up on bedrest and/or worse. Admitting that running is over is not easy.

I even called the midwife to check out my options. "Chill out, back off" were the last words I wanted to hear.

I tried again this morning. Ran for 5 minutes on the treadmill and those awful sensations began again. Double ugh.

So I am now resigned to walking. So not happy. Increased the incline on the treadmill to get my heartrate up. So frustrating.

But as my friend Dar always tells me, "Just surrender Kristin".

My white flag (with the running shoe on it) is cocked at half mast. I'll give it one more shot tomorrow and then surrender.

12 weeks to go. 12 weeks of walking and weight lifting . . . Keaton, are you listening?! At least let me do that!

It goes WHERE?

In my quest for an epidural-free birth for Keaton, I am reading all of the natural childbirth books that I can get my hands on. Even signed us up for a pain management class.

This morning I explained to Jeremy one of the preparation techniques I need to practice.

It requires holding an ice cube for one minute intervals and learning to breathe through the pain.

Jeremy looked absolutely horrified. He gulped and choked out, "You mean in THERE!" while gesturing awkwardly at his crotch.

I peed myself laughing at his visual imagery and sheer terror.

Fortunately, the options were simply holding in my hand, on my wrists, or behind my ears.

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Most people start a pool as to when the baby will be born, what day, what time or perhaps how much it will weigh.

I think Jeremy is secretly starting a pool for whether I make it all the way without an epidural. It may involve even evolve into how many centimeters dilation I can get through or perhaps how many hours of labor.

I made it through a marathon, and I made it to 8 cm dilated while receiving an epidural (meaning I had to hold completely still for 30 minutes while they inserted a needle into my spine while I was contracting). I'm going for the gold. What are you betting?

Stalling Tactics

Carson has always been an amazing sleeper. From the very beginning he would fall asleep easily and sleep through the night. Naps are still 2-3 hours a day. I LOVE it. I am also totally freaked out that it's a fluke and Keaton is going to be the complete opposite.

But I digress.

Here is our new issue. After his usual two stories, I kiss Carson good night and leave. Wait six minutes and we hear, "MOMMY me have to go pee-pee!"

The first time it happened we were excited. Didn't think about the fact that he might be stalling, just gave him credit for not wetting the bedtime pull-up. Duh. Stupid first time parents.

The second time it happened we started to see the light.

"Mommy, me have to pee-pee."
10 minutes later.
"Mommy, me have to poo-poo." (Rock, paper, scissors on this one . . . Daddy won).
10 minutes later.
"Mommy, me have a big booooger on my finger!!"---- But sure enough not only was there a giant booger on his finger but another smeared across his face.

Enough is enough.

Valid excuses are one thing. But it is now to the point where he comes out wearing a sly smile and waving coyly to the parent on the couch (the one who won rock, paper, scissors), dribbles a few drops into the toilet, shrugs his shoulders and comments, "Just a little bit".

As I type this, he's had to pee three times in the last 15 minutes. It has gone from a full stream, to a decent sized squirt, to three clear (and very forced) drops. We're sitting here on the couch betting on what he can come up with next.

So to the experienced moms reading this, PLEASE email me and tell what on earth I'm supposed to do.

I hate to deny him and make him pee in his pull-ups. But on the other hand, how do I know when it's real and when it's just a stalling tactic?

13.5 weeks to go!

Keaton and I had our 26 week check up with my midwife yesterday. Hard to believe that in just over 13 weeks (give or take a week or two) that he will be here with us! I'm hovering around a 10-11 pound weight gain and very happy about that!

My midwife looked mildly amused that I'm still running and wearing a support belt to keep Keaton off my bladder. She suggested swimming, clearly she doesn't know me that well because I have a serious aversion to water.

The belly check appointments are fairly boring to be honest. It's the same two things every time, measure my uterus and listen to Keaton's heart beating away. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing that sound and I'm VERY glad to be having an easy pregnancy without any further complications. The best part about yesterday's appointment was 25 minutes of quiet and a NEW People magazine while I waited for my midwife.

I also had to do the Glucose Test. For those unfamiliar, I got to chug 10 ounces of not-so-great pure sugar water. Then one hour later they draw blood to test to see if my body is processing sugars okay. Pretty uneventful. In fact, as I type this I realize they haven't called with results yet but I don't have any other symptoms of Gestational Diabetes so I'm not expecting a call to come back in.

Next appointment at 30 weeks! Then every two weeks until 36 weeks. Then once a week. Time is a flyin'!

Some things change and some things don't. I read back through my pregnancy journal with Carson and discovered that it was at almost the exact same time with both boys that I felt the need to find crib bedding. Too funny. FedEx delivered Keaton's bedding on Tuesday and I LOVE it! Online shopping is the best! Colors are very similar to Carson's but then I'm a creature of habit!

My superhero in action! Yes, he attended Grandpa Bride's 97th bday party in costume!
For some weird reason I am obssessed with taking pictures of Carson sleeping in the car. I don't know why but he looks so angelic and peaceful everytime! This time he fell asleep with a power bar in his hand and his face covered in chocolate. Adorable!

Visiting the peER

Not a capitalization typo. Not the ER, emergency room, but the peER.

On the ride home from Sheridan, celebrating Grandpa Bride's 97th birthday, Carson asked for a drink from the back seat. I didn't think twice about handing him my completely full, 16 ounces water bottle.

DUH!

The water bottle has what a nearly-3 year old mind considers a SUPER COOL "bite straw" designed by Camelback. So even if a young boy had satisfied his thirst after a sip or two, the bite straw was just too fun and tempting.

We had no idea that he drank the WHOLE bottle in a matter of 5 minutes.

Sheridan to Portland -- 1 hour 20 minutes

Sheridan to Portland with not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR stops for a peER . . . Pee Emergency Restroom --- 1 hour 36 minutes.

Just for your visual imagery: Carson was dressed only in a shirt, underpants, and socks due to a pee mishap earlier in the afternoon- pee shot straight out between the seat and the toilet, soaking everything he had on. Why do I say everything? Because over his shorts, he insisted on wearing his Superhero costume for Grandpa's party. God forbid anyone called him Superman (due to the giant Superman emblem on his chest) because he would instantly correct them and let them know he is NOT Superman but a Superhero.

Stop One in Carlton: "Mommy, pull over, me have to pee real bad". A gas station bathroom so gross that even the owner asked me to carry Carson in and not let him touch the floor. First experience with a urinal because it was only slightly cleaner than the toilet.

Stop Two in Gaston: 20 minutes later. "Me have to pee more". Detour to a baseball field with a portapotty. Second experience with a urinal because he could stand on the toilet seat and aim over.

Stop Three in Forest Grove: 10 minutes later. "More pee Mommy". No bathrooms to be found, pit stop on a gravel road. Aim for the drainage ditch kid!

Stop FOUR in Portland: 20 minutes later but only 10 minutes from home. "I gotta go!" The emergency pull-over in a business park, tinkle on the grass, in full view of a cop. Thank goodness he was busy with a real problem and not the public pee break.

Note to all other mothers. Do not hand over a full water bottle. Ever.

Carson's Graduation Ceremony

I must start by saying we LOVE LOVE LOVE Carson's pre-school/daycare. We were blessed with the amazing luck of connecting with Carson's Clubhouse. The name in itself was a huge sign but we had no idea what amazing care and education Carson would receive.

The director, Sherrie, is always going above and beyond the call of duty and tonight was the perfect example. In spite of a crazy thunderstorm that cut power to half the city, a wind storm that closed roads, and a flat tire on the way to the party, "Nana" as the kids call her, hosted a graduation party at Out of This World for all of her kids.

Complete with grad caps, diplomas, and framed grad pictures, the ceremony also featured the Pledge of Allegiance in two languages, several songs, pizza, and cake.

Graduation you ask? Yes, Carson's class of four kids graduated from the "2's Class" to the "3's Class".

As new parents did we prepare for this event? Not even close. Didn't pack the fancy camera. Didn't even think about grabbing the video camera. Duh! Thank goodness for my purse cam!

Diplomas for all!
The Grads

Our graduate!


Nana Sherrie and our graduate leading the procession up the stairs

The Pledge of Allegiance Graduation hand-shake

The "graduating" moment

The table of graduates

The Cake!

World's Most Expensive Fun

Aiyiyi having fun can be expensive! If the Portland Rose Festival can suck $85 out of you in less than 3 hours, I can only imagine what it costs to take a family to Disneyland!!!

It was a TON of fun though! Carson was a bit nervous at first but warmed up quickly and tried all of the rides except for one. We blew through the first $20 ticket package and being the doting parents we are, ran to buy another $20 package, and then $4 more after that :-)

Carson insisted on wearing his "moo gloves" and wouldn't take them off until the canoe ride. He was absolutely exhausted by the time we finished and had to ride on Daddy's shoulders back to the parking garage. Mommy got in big trouble for "forgetting" to bring the stroller. I hate toting that thing around empty and keep hoping we won't need it... but inevitably we do at the end of each outing. A nearly 3 year old gets tired, refuses to walk a step further, and then all 34 pounds of him has to be carried back. Ugh!

The "Moo" gloves

Stupid me mentioned there might be motorcycles. Carson wouldn't go on any other ride until he found a motorcycle. Thank GOD we found them!

Solo airplane pilot!Moo gloves are now driving glovesYup, he's in there all by himself next to a sweet girl. All the parents stood on the ground praying not to hear any frantic screaming when the two children realized how high they were!
World's LAMEST canoe ride. Don't waste your money!

This construction truck deserved two whole rides!

Finally at the very end, Carson agreed to ride the roller coaster. This was a HUGE accomplishment since the "incident" last summer when Nana scared the BEJEZUS out of Carson with her out-of-control screaming on the Oaks Park coaster. It was a good thing he liked it (thanks to Daddy's smiles and support) because they got a free extra ride on it.

And finally it's time to go home, happy as a clam!

I NEED!!!!

Nearly 3-year old Carson-isms

"I NEED dat" (as opposed to I want that)

"Save dat for me"

"Das my FAVORITE"

"Dat would be AWESOME"

"I need a _________ for my brfday" (it changes weekly: bike, sword, scuba mask, motorcycle)

"NOOOOOOO"

"Whas dat man doing?"

"What are you dalking bout?" (talking about"

"I o know" (I don't know)

"I love you so much"

"I like it so much"

"Me do it myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This week Carson REALLY wants a motorcycle and helmet. Daddy indulged him while I was out running and I came home to my son wearing my helmet and my jacket: