He doesn't forget a thing

Sometimes to get Brandon to climb down the stairs by himself I bribe him with playing outside or in the toy room. Today I used the sprinkler outside as my method and it worked. But little did I know that the heat index would be 105 at lunch time and today he just wouldn't forget about sprinkler time. At 12:45 he brought me over my sandals, then I kept going over to the patio door and pointing to his pool toys and crying when I wouldn't get up from crocheting his brothers blanket. I caved and set up the sprinkler in the pool and am now sitting out under the umbrella watching him run around the water and try to tip the pool and water table over. I think he'll have enough after 15-20 minutes, but now I must be careful in the ways I bribe him to climb down the stairs on his own.

Brandon is 15 months old!

Yesterday I took Brandon to the pediatrician for his 15 month baby well appointment. He got 4 immunizations (one in each limb, poor kid!). He weighed in at 28 lbs 3 oz. His height is 32 3/4 inches. And his head circumference is 19 1/4 inches. All of these numbers put him in the 91st percentile.

Brandon fun facts

He loves to play along side the neighborhood kids. They will ride bikes and run around and he'll be chasing after them, it's very cute.

He can say a lot of words, but two he loves right now are CAR and BALL.

When he wants something he'll say Ning Ning Ning Ning until it drives you crazy and you just give him what he wants, f he doesn't get it he'll eventually start crying.

He still has no fear and scares mommy and daddy everyday with the trouble he gets into.

No more bottle, after 2 months of only having the bottle at bedtime we took it away for good. He goes to bed by himself....not even a sippy!

We went to the pediatric dentist for the 1st time this week and he was awesome, he has 9teeth with 2 molars in the bottom coming in

The ball pit in his toy room was his favorite toy, but we had to take it away because he learned to dump all the balls out.

Our favorite thing to do on a nice day is play outside in the sprinkler, even more fun when naked....we have a little nudest living with us, he has learned to take his diaper off if he is not wearing shorts.

He loves to climb on the couch, stand up, and run around on it....this gets mommy very angry because he has no fear that he might fall, which he has before.

Now that mommy is very pregnant daddy gives Brandon bathes, but if mommy needs to do it Brandon discovered his love of showers, I'm pretty sure he thinks it's an indoor sprinkler.

Brandon likes to help around the house, sweeping, laundry, picking up sticks outside, or pushing the refrigerator or dishwasher closed he gets such a kick out of being involved.

His new favorite game is to take any ball in the house and run it to the ceramic tile floor n the kitchen and throw it, he loves the sound

We have to watch CARS or Mator Tales at least once a day, he knows where the DVD cases are and will bring it over to us to watch, but if we don't move fast enough he'll try to work the blue ray player by himself.

5 weeks or less until Brandon becomes a big brother! We know he and Peter are going to be great friends.

Flipping around

For this entire pregnancy Peter has been hanging out on the right side of my belly. I've looked completely lopsided for weeks as he's been growing bigger and bigger. But last night for the first time he shifted to the left, it was weird to get a break on my right side. But now he is right smack in the middle and this is pushing on my belly button. I think if he pushes his cute little butt out he'll pop my belly button out.

Paul and I are getting very eager to meet this little baby. Friday I have my 34 wk check up. Then at 36wks I have another and an ultrasound to measure the size of Peter, but Paul and I have a feeling they aren't going to be able to measure Peters head size because he's already dropped and at the ultrasound all the will be able to see is a body, but it will be fun to see him once more before his birthday.

Exhaustion and insomnia 6 wks or less left

By the end of yesterday I was so fed up with my body aching. Brandon only gave me 1 nap, it was a long one, but it felt like I blinked and 90 minutes went by.

Last night I went to bed at 8pm with barely any dinner ( I felt super nauseous) and lots of aches and pains. Saturday and Sunday Peter did not let me sleep very well I was up every 2 hours (maybe he was having a growth spurt, but I'm guessing that he dropped more and that's the reason for my pelvic and hip pain). This morning Paul joked that I even looked like I was sleeping well last night when he came to bed and when he woke up this morning I looked very comfy. He didn't notice that I woke up at 1am for a late night dinner. My tummy was 10000 times better and grumbling for a sandwich. Luckily after my late night meal I fell asleep very fast and woke up at 7 am to a little guy running into our room. He's been sleeping 30 min later the past 2 nights. We think it's because the sun is coming up later so his room stays darker, either way I'm happy with the extra rest.

Repair damages update

Well, the company who did all the damages is coming back to our home (new repairman) to repaint and clean everything up in a week.  They are also going to reimburse the receipt value of the destroyed bag, which is about $325 short of replacing it, but it was this option or nothing at all.  What got me upset is that even though it is destroyed they are going to take the purse to keep for insurance reasons I'm sure (they can have that paint stained bag), but they won't just replace the bag.  They tried to guilt me saying they are docking the repairman's pay to give us this reimbursement and that last year the euro to dollar was not as good so technically I'm getting more money because I'm getting today's euro to dollar market value.  I honestly wanted to scream and cry all at the same time when he told me this, because they thought they were giving me a good offer.  Deep down I had a feeling this was going to be the outcome, with companies like this they need to reimburse receipt value and for us it's a loss since Louis Vuitton is an import and cost more in America than in Paris or Amsterdam.  We will really think twice before using this handyman service again, I'm happy they are fixing all the mistakes they made, but disappointed because we have to take money out of our own pocket to replace this bag.

Box Fun

Boxing in the living room

Monkey on his back

Locked in/locked out

I always fear I'll be locked out of my house, but I never thought my toddler would be the one to lock me out. this morning I was taking a soiled diaper to the trash can(which is 5 steps from our side kitchen door). I closed the door so Brandon wouldn't follow me outside in the blistering heat, but he did follow me to the door and once I shut it, he went up to the knob and turned the lock. This was the only unlocked door in the house so I was locked out. I ran barefoot to my neighbors house to call Paul. The neighbors also called the fire department just in case, but Paul got home with the big red fire truck driving right behind him. While waiting for rescue I stood at the door and talked to Brandon to keep him right there so he wouldn't run off. When I got back from the neighbors he was climbing the stairs and I caught him right before he lost sight of the door. I was so happy we taught him to go up and down the stairs. He climbed down and stayed right next to the door, crying the entire time. He was very upset, he spent 20 minutes in the house crying at the door. I'm so happy Paul works only 15 minutes away, but I am placing a key outside just in case this ever happens again

Damages reconciled

Well it's not official yet, but I think the company we used is going to replace my damaged purse (with proof of a receipt...phew good thing we have that) and they will fix the things in the house that need repainting. I'll hear more from the company tomorrow.

33 weeks and my hips are exhausted

No belly picture yet this week, I'll get Paul to take one tonight. Last Friday I had a doctor check up. All is well with me and baby Peter, my doctor did order me to have one last ultrasound at 36 weeks to get an estimate of the length, size, and weight of Peter so we can determine if anything in our birth plan needs to be changed.

Even though I feel much smaller carrying PJ, my right hip has been giving me so much pain. I'm now at the point where I will not pick Brandon up (he's close to or over 30lbs) unless I need to change his diaper. Other than hip pain I've noticed I can breath easier again! This sign means Peter has dropped. From reading they say with your second the baby doesn't drop until right before they are born, but in some cases it can be 4 to 6 weeks until the big day. I have another check up in 2 weeks so we'll see how things progress, I would love or Peter to come early, but only if he is ready and healthy.

As time seems to speed up even faster Paul and I are trying to shuffle the house around to make everything ready for Peter. We are taking out the swing, bouncer, and all the baby things we put away just a couple months ago. We also did a tour of the hospital I'll be delivering at. It's such a calmer feeling doing this the second time around. The 1st time parents were loaded with tons of questions and at times had a deer in the headlights look painted to their face, I remembered that feeling of not knowing what to expect, it wasn't fun. Our next big task in preparing for Peter is to make a plan for the actual day I go into labor. We have to find a friend to watch Brandon while Paul is coaching me and we have to pack a little bag for the hospital, I'm hoping everything else just falls into place.

Indoor home projects completed for 2011

This week we had some construction going on in our house. We had recess lighting with a dimmer switch put in our dining room (prior to this we had no lighting but a floor lamp in this room. Then we had a single ceiling light put up in the play room. All these rooms are downstairs so the electrician had to put a couple holes in the wall to feed the wires. Surprisingly the hardest room to feed the wires was the play room. There were lots of beams he had to drill through (I think I counted 5 beams and studs). Then the next day we had the repairmen from the same company come to patch and paint the walls this is where our trouble started. Tseed worked from 9-4:30 and got the job done, but never officially walked me through the work, I walked myself through it and saw some sloppy edging but nothing major. After they left though I started seeing more things.....damages. They got paint on the new ceiling light, the edging was even messier than I thought it was, the recess lighting was not properly put back in the wall and they got white ceiling paint on our area rug, custom curtains, and my Louis Vuitton bag (a bag that cost more than the work they did that day).

I have an estimator from the company coming over today to see the damages, I took pictures the day of because Paul wanted to try and get the paint off some things,it came off the carpet and curtains ( there is a little mark on the curtains, but it's small and blends in with the pattern) but we have paint on the hardwood floors and the two rooms are still pretty dirty. We have had this company do about 4-5 jobs in our home since moving in in March and this is the worst. I hope we can reconcile these problems. I called Louis Vuitton the evening of finding the paint on my purse and they told me the damages can not be repaired, the purse has to be replaced. Lucky for us Paul and I kept all the receipts and papers to my designer goods in our filings, yes I have a folder full of papers for my sunglasses, purses, and wallets! If anything ever happens to these designer things you can take them back to the designer and have them repaired, but only with proof that it's the real thing, these days there are so many knock offs it's hard to tell real from fake.

I'm crossing my fingers that this bag will be replaced and that they will figure out a way to fix the sloppy paint job they did the first time.

Splashdown water park

I took Brandon for toddler morning to Splashdown water park in Manassas.  Tuesday and Thursdays they open the baby section of the park 90 minutes before the whole park opens.  It's a morning for kids 5 and under.  Moms or caregivers can take all the kids for only $4 total.  So no matter how many kids you have under 5 years old it's $4 for Mom and all the kids to go in for 90 minutes.

He got to wear his adorable USA bathing suit and top because his regular bathing suit was wet from the night before at our pool.

I thought a whole morning of fun in the sun would wear him out and he would take a nice long nap on the way home and in the house, but I was wrong.  We had the electrician over to add recess lighting and a ceiling light in the dining and play room so the noise and distractions kept him from wanting to nap.  But by 7:30PM he was passed out in his pajamas.  Today he's so exhausted he is sleeping right through the dry wall repairs, and they are making a ton of noise right now!

After today we are done with indoor home repairs for 2011!  Everything else will have to wait until 2012 (we really have nothing left to do if you ask me, but Paul wants some minor aesthetic electrical things done to some lighting panels)

Forgetfulness

Today was looking to become a stressful day. I was dropping my car at the shop and getting a rental for the week. But once enterprise picked me up at the shop drove Brandon and I back to their office I realized I left my wallet in the pool bag. There was nothng enterprise could do. They had my license on file, but needed photo ID. So they drove me back to the shop and i got my car back, drove home, got my wallet, and then drove back to the shop to only wait for enterprise all over again.

I spent our whole morning out of the house. We got home at noon, after a quick bite to eat at Cosi. I was so happy Brandon was a trooper and didn't have a meltdown being put into different cars 4 to 5 times. I was also very grateful that he took a second nap this afternoon. I was exhausted and napped during his entire nap too.

You better believe I won't make the mistake of forgetting my wallet ever again.

31wks to dehydration

Today didn't go at all like I thought it would. My friend Carrie was supposed to come over and have a lunch date. But this morning while making a run to the store for milk I began to feel Braxton hicks contractions, menstrual like cramps, and a lower dull back pain that just would go away, all while driving home and I left my cell phone on the counter before leaving....go me!

So call the doctors office tell the nurse what's going on and she tells me the doctor will call me back. So Carrie comes over and I'm feeling better than before so I brush it off, but after an hour the doctor calls back asking me to come into the hospital anyway. So I call Paul and he gets home, Carrie and I cut our visit short, and Paul sets up his work in the office because he's staying home with Brandon. I knew I was okay enough to drive the 10 minutes to the hospital so after a quick bite to eat I headed over. The hospital was very nice and got me where I needed to be asap. I honestly didn't feel like I was waiting to long for anything, I just kept telling the nurse and doctor that even though 7/7/11 has a nice ring to it, it's not my baby's birthday. He will be an August or September baby.

After 3 hours of tests, ultrasounds, heart scripts, and fetal monitoring baby and I were okay to go home. Apparently I was a little over heated and dehydrated and that triggered the preterm labor, but for now I'm told to take it easy and to call again the moment anything changes.

The good part about this day was stopping for a dipped butter scotch icecream cone at DQ and coming home to a sleeping baby and sparkling clean house, I forgot today was a cleaning day, we moved the day this week because of the holiday on Monday. Now there is nothing forme to do but kick my feet up, sip some water and relax from a stressful day.

Dresser before and After

I nearly forgot the before picture so I took some while Paul started his sanding

You can't even see how thick this paint is

paint color two, Paul thought he'd never reach wood!

After 3 hours of sanding he finally got this piece free of green and blue paint, but I forgot to take a picture!

The final product, is sooo beautiful, what drew me to this piece was the knobs and making this white makes them look even more stunning!  Paul loved the project and thought it was well worth the time!

Brandon's new toddler room

 

 

 

Brandon is so loving his big boy bed!  Plus a special personalized growth chart from Mommy and Daddy to make his room special!

Toy corner! With his awesome train toy chest and refurbished dresser by Daddy, besides hanging a wall shelf and mounting the dresser to the wall this room is done!

We hung Brandon's handmade baptism banner on the closet door because it's just to beautiful to be put away in a box

A nursery for baby Peter

Dino Land for Baby Peter

So much more closet space than our European house!

Besides the books and bank on the wardrobe being Brandon's things this room is done!

We can't wait for him to arrive...only 9 more weeks!

31 weeks

Leg cramps,sciatic nerve pain, baby kicking and rolling, plus my 1 year old being a typical active kid are beginning to get the best of me including my mood. I could honestly say if I didn't gave the sciatic nerve pain running up my right leg I'd be fine, everything else I'm used to, but this new pain is hard to handle with Brandon wanting to be carried more. He is in for a rude awakening because from now on the mommy bus ride is out of service.

Peter is growing fast, as far as I can tell, I've gain 15 lbs in 2 months! He is also a tumbler. Instead of kicking and jabbing my ribs he likes to roll around and do summersaults. It's a much different feeling than just the kicks I got from Brandon.

Cross your fingers this sciatic nerve pain goes away, it did with Brandon, but can last for days at a time.