Crabby day

I thought this was an interesting article about the trends in childbirth in the US. I hope it is true, like the article says, that people are trying to raise awareness about unnecessary c-sections.

Carter had a "crabby day" today. Not sleeping very well and woke up early, took an ok nap but is still crabby afterwards. I'll admit it, I've been leaning on the Baby Einstein DVDs a little more today to keep him happy. I have tried so many things to keep him happy. We went to the playground for a whole hour this morning, read books, played with his toys inside. After his nap, I got his pool and water table out and filled those up and put a bunch of toys in them and he played with them a whole 13 minutes...so I don't feel too bad resorting to TV after going through all of that.

The days are numbered

It is hard to believe we'll be having a second child just about a month from now. The time has really flown during this pregnancy. Some of the things I completed so quickly in my first pregnancy...ie: picking names and getting the room ready, are very much lagging behind this time around. Oh well, a name isn't that important is it?! :) Just kidding, just kidding.

Carter still has absolutely no clue that he is going to have a little sibling a few weeks from now. Boy is he in for a surprise when the big day comes.

I feel a LOT more confident and relaxed about this pregnancy, knowing more what to expect, but also I've been practicing self-hypnosis every day using a program called Hypnobabies and am hoping to have a 100% natural childbirth with no drugs or interventions this time around.

The Bump

Not much explanation needed! 6 weeks to go...

Erie, PA

We decided to take a mini vacation this weekend just to get away for a couple days before the baby arrives. We drove up to Erie since it's only about 2 hours from our house and had a fun time at the beach and the zoo there with Carter.
When we went back to the beach later at night it was quite windy and cold. Carter didn't even mind though, I think he would have stayed all night throwing rocks into the lake.

Contagious Smiles

If there's one thing this kid knows how to do, it is smile. He has such a joy for life...it's hard to be around him for long without smiling yourself or laughing along with him. It's good to be reminded to notice the small things each day and enjoy life in a childlike way. We all get too caught up in the everyday grind sometimes and let things slip by without notice.


New words this week: mail, hammer

Reading the Paper

This is Carter reading the Sunday paper a few days ago...just didn't get a chance to post it sooner. He's a real clown.

Awesome Moms

A friend sent me this today and I thought it was so true:

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.!
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

Send this to someone who you think is an awesome Mom.

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life

Job Title: Stay at Home Mom

There was a story about Stay at Home Mom's on the news yesterday and they estimated that the annual salary this year of a SAHM, would we be paid for all we do, would be $123K. Not too shabby.

My roles today...just so far, have included:

Gardener - transplanting new flowers into pots
Chef - making breakfast for myself and Carter
Exterminator - killing the ants that somehow keep getting into my kitchen
Delivery Man - driving to Home Depot to pick something up that Derrick needs.
House cleaner - self explanatory
Not-so-handy man - hanging shelves in Carter's new room only to find the door hits them....ugh...
Travel Agent - trying to plan a weekend trip for us to go on before the baby comes
Babysitter - pretty obvious - this can include being a clown, horsy, storyteller and master-inventer
Landscaper - mowing the lawn - I know I'm probably not supposed to but it's finally stopped raining and is supposed to start again in a few hours.

"spat"

Carter is in love with my spatula. Yes, it's sad but true. He spent a good part of the day with it yesterday in hand. As soon as he got up in the morning he was asking for it. He took it when I ran errands to Walmart and Babies R Us and brought it into the stores with him. He had it on his tray while he was eating. He took it when we went for a walk around the neighborhood last night and into the tub when he got his bath. And he insisted on taking it to bed with him. I've heard of comfort blankets, and teddy bears, but never a Spatula...or as he fondly calls it - spat...

He is shooting out all kinds of new words today. I've heard, peach, hair, bowl, piggy, and out.

Zoo Round 2

Carter, Grandma Alfano, and I went to the Zoo together this morning. Carter had a blast as usual and especially enjoyed watching the polar bears taking a swim today.

Some new words this weekend are, off, wheel, bear, up, do-do (all done).