Finally, A New Post!

I'd say that things have been busy around here, but that would be a lie! Things have actually kind of slowed down- mainly because I have made them. Andrew is still busy though! I have been feeling awful followed by miserable, but am starting to feel a little bit better. The Dr. upped my dosage of Zofran and that's helping I guess. I still get sick almost everyday, but I am used to that from Andrew. They say that the sicker you get the healthier the baby. I think that I belive that phrase, because Andrew was a VERY healthy 32 week preemie- he didn't need to be on a breathing machine or have any problems with his organs and I got sick every day with him. So I can tolerate it for 31 more weeks...I hope! Anyway, here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks.

Andrew enjoys riding his tricycle
One of his favorite things to do is get my hairdryer and hairbrush and "dry" his hair after his bath. He has also learned to pull out the outlet covers and so I often catch him trying to plug in the hairdryer. He also does it with the vacuum cleaner and the phone charger.

Here he is last Saturday. You wouldn't know that he had been in the ER the night before because he couldn't breathe. He was having trouble breathing late Friday and so we called the Dr. and they said we needed to get him in right away so we should just go on to the ER. Thankfully, Mercy's new hospital is nice and they got us right in. We weren't even there for 2 hours. We had a couple of breathing treatments and a chest X-Ray that came back clear. He just had some bronchitis. He had to miss the big Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning because of that. Oh well, at least he didn't know that he didn't get to go!

Andrew got some new Easter shoes on Saturday. When we took them out of the box he went "OOHHH" and had to have them on. We put them on over his footed pj's and he was just so proud of his new shoes!

He really didn't want to take them off! He cried when he had to go to bed because he wanted to wear them.

We died eggs, but they didn't turn out really great. We didn't have any vinegar (that's something only a mother would remember to get at the grocery store and seeing as I haven't been since mid-March due to the smells in there we didn't have any) without vinegar the color does not stick, except for apparently the pink. So Andrew had a dozen pink Easter eggs.

Here we are at church on Sunday. Andrew looked so cute in his Easter outfit. It was the first smocked outfit I have put him in. I really liked it. Excuse my outfit, it was cold and rainy and the outfit I had bought to wear suddenly didn't fit right!

The other night Andrew (in his Easter shoes- per his request) decided that he needed to make a phone call. He drug the chair from the kitchen table over to the cabinet and stood up.

He got the phone and "dialed" the number.

Then, he had to sit down. It was a long conversation!

Well, that's what has been going on around here lately. I'm just worn completely out. My house hasn't been cleaned according to my cleaning standards since Spring Break. I'm about to go crazy. My mom is coming up this weekend and she said that she'd help me get it cleaned up. Let's hope that we do, because I'm about to lose my mind! Andrew has been helping with the vacuuming thank goodness!

Things Are Changing

Well, things are changing around our house. We found out that we're going to be having a baby in November. It's pretty surprising- as we are not ready to have a baby in November, but we're realizing that it's happening and are beginning to get excited! I am just enjoying the joys of early pregnancy- the nausea, vomiting, indigestion, heartburn, etc. etc. For those of you who don't know my pregnancy with Andrew was not pleasant and resulted in his arrival at 32 weeks. So needless to say I am totally panicked! I've already had one doctor's appointment and have called three times to discuss my symptoms- yes, that's right, I'm going to be a difficult patient, because I did not complain last time and spent 19 hours in preterm labor before I called the doctor because I "didn't want to be difficult". So "difficult" is my middle name this time. They have put me on Zofran for nausea and vomiting- it's what they prescribe to patients going through chemo to prevent nausea. So far it hasn't worked, so they upped my dosage yesterday and we'll see what that does. This pregnancy is different from Andrew because every thing I smell makes me want to throw up. Literally, everything! Jason had to move the trash bags from the pantry to the garage because I couldn't stand the smell anymore. Yesterday I smelled them and immediatly got sick. I ran to the bathroom and Andrew followed- of course- and I told him "no, no Andrew, it's yucky". He repeats "yucky" and then slams the toilet lid on my head- hard! So that's kind of how it's been for me over the last couple of weeks. I pretty much just lay on the couch and pray that I don't have to throw up because I usually end up with a toddler on my back! I go back to the doctor in two weeks- they're monitoring me a little bit closer this time due to Andrew's early arrival- so they're going to do an ultrasound then and I'll post a picture of this little one.

Enjoying Spring Break!

Well, Spring Break has finally arrived for us and we've enjoyed it so far. We've played outside, done some shopping, had a couple of playdates, and had our 18 month checkup! What we haven't done is house work...yet! Here are just a few pictures of the fun we've been having.

Andrew loves playing outside, but he can't quite walk up our steep driveway! He likes to go on walks, but he'd rather walk himself then ride in the stroller. If only I could ride in the stroller and he could push me!
The other night I decided to cook a good meal for Andrew. I made homemade meatballs (NOT the kind that go in spaghetti), mashed potatoes, peas, and rolls. He enjoyed licking the potatoes off the beater, but he didn't enjoy my dinner =( He's going through a picky stage! He did like the rolls, but I can't take to much credit for those they were from a package!
He also thought it was fun to wipe the mashed potatoes on the dishwasher.

Andrew's friend Penny came over to visit yesterday. He enjoyed playing with her. They had some crackers and he was wiping her face off after she ate them. How sweet! He also opened the door for her to get in his car and he pushed her around.

He only pushed her into two cabinets and one door! Today was his 18 month checkup. You might be wondering what brand of diaper we are using. Well, it's a Huggie's little swimmer diaper. I got him up this morning and realized that we were out! I thought of the phrase from that new In the Motherhood show that's coming on ABC about using paper towels and tape (our pediatrician also suggested that), but I found some little swimmers in the bathroom closet! I will have to say they aren't extra absorbant, because when we got home he was soaked!

From the moment we walked in Andrew would not let go of me. He had his arms wrapped around my neck and his head buried in my shoulders. It was very sweet...and relaxing. I'm normally chasing him all around that place! He even let me read Green Eggs and Ham to him. THE WHOLE BOOK! Then, he wanted to sit in his own chair and read it to himself.

He decided that he'd tell the doctor all about his past 18 months! The only thing that he can't do is name his body parts. I just haven't taught him that. He can point to and name the mop, vacuum, and pledge. He also knows exactly what to do with them, but if you ask him where his nose is, he couldn't tell you! We'll work on that...I guess I'll just let my house get dirty!

But not today! We had to get a new mop, because Andrew decided to use ours to mop the garage floor. It got pretty nasty, so we bought a new one at Wal-Mart. I was trying to figure out a way to let him carry it in the shopping cart, but there was no way to do it without MAJOR damage to the store. So, I set the mop in the back of the cart and Andrew wiggled his little body around and screamed "AAAAHHHH MMOOOOOPPP!" He was so sad. He got the mop out as soon as we got home (notice, no pants due to the little swimmer incident!).

He also emptied the bags and found the pledge. He went to the bathroom and got some toilet paper to wipe with and went on his way cleaning!

Come Fly The Friendly Skies?

If you read my last post I'm sure you're thinking- aren't they supposed to be in Florida? Yes, we are supposed to be in Florida, but instead we are at home. Jason and I got to the airport about 30 minutes before our flight left- as we usually do- with no bags to check, but the attendant at the counter told us that we couldn't get on. Mind you, our fight was not leaving for another 30 minutes. There was no line at security and we weren't checking any bags. So we stood there and tried to convience Allison W. that we should get on the plane because we were going to a wedding. The two other people at the counter tried to get her to change her mind, but she said "no" and gave them a dirty look. They looked at us apologetically, but didn't want to face the wrath of Allison, which I'm sure would have been miserable. So, she told us to call customer service so they could help us and then said "you've just lost you're money." So we got in our car- with 30 minutes before our flight took off- and called AA customer service. We ended up speaking to a nice lady who said, "why aren't you in the airport getting on the plane?" We told her why and she thought it was ridiculous. I'm sure she could've taken Allison on, but she wasn't in the state =( She worked and worked on trying to get us there, but there was just no way to get us there yesterday. She did come up with a plan to get us there today, but it required us driving to Dallas, flying into Pensacola, leaving Monday- Jason would have to miss work, which is not something anyone needs to do these days with the economy- driving to Mobile, AL to catch our flight to Dallas, then getting into Dallas around 7 pm and driving back to Rogers. For about 5 minutes this sounded like an excellent idea, so we booked the trip! As we were driving back to the house we realized how much MORE money we would be spending, that we would barely get to visit with anyone, and we'd be stuck paying for two extra nights of hotels. These days, money is something to save not throw away (more on that at a later date...) so we decided to cancel those reservations. Thankfully, we didn't lose our money! We do have travel vouchers and can use them until January of 2010. So, we're going to get to work on our summer vacations! We have spoken to everyone in Destin, and they all understood the situation. What a mess! I truly think that Jason and I are the WORST air travelers EVER!! When we fly on our own, we're fine, but together we end up with broken planes, missed flights, delays upon delays upon delays, being rerouted, lost baggage, etc, etc, etc. Plus, we always end up speaking with the absolute rudest people at the ticket counter- and I can name about 15 different airports that this has happened in. I just don't understand how and why people so rude work at airport counters. Anyway, we're at home looking at the cloudy sky and wishing we were on the beach. Andrew is in Conway and Gracey is at the vet being boarded, but Jason is on his way to get her. So, we're going to do some serious cleaning and try to plan our next beach trip! Anyone want to go with us? Ha Ha!

Andrew is 18 Months Old!

Andrew turned 18 months old on the 15th! I can't believe that he's already that old. He is doing so many fun things at this age. We really are enjoying it. Here are some things to remember about Andrew at 18 months old...

* He loves to help out. If we're cleaning or fixing something or anything he wants to be apart of it!

* He says lots of words. Some favorites are- "uh-oh spaghetti-o", "NO", "yummy", "NO", "cookie", "NO", "eat", "NO", "daddy" (not a fan of saying mommy), " "NO", "Ally", "NO", "I got it", "NO", did I mention he says NO a lot?

* He has learned to open doors. We discovered this Monday when Jason found him in the garage!

* I loves to eat! He will eat just about anything.

* He loves going to school. There are many days that I pick him up and he cries, because he wants to stay and play.

* He likes to talk on the phone. He thinks anything that resembles a phone he can talk on so he'll pick it up and hold it to his ear and say "hello?"

* He loves to investigate things. He has to know what you're doing and what you've got. He has to check everything out!

* He sleeps GREAT! He goes to bed usually about 7:00 and will sleep until we wake him up on week days, but usually until 9:00 or 10:00 on the weekends!

There are numerous other things that Andrew does that we think are just fantastic, but I'd be writing for days!

So, here is a question. Have any of you ever had an inner ear infection? Well, I hadn't until Sunday. Sunday evening I started to feel a little bit dizzy, so I went to bed early and thought it would go away. It didn't. I proceded to go to work Monday, but went home around noon because I was so dizzy I was sweating and nauseated. I came home and took some dramamine and went right to sleep. I woke up Tuesday with the same problem so I called in sick (which was difficult, because I don't have any sick days left due to all of Andrew's inner ear infections) and went straight to the doctor. I'm supposed to stay home all week (yeah, right) and not drive. I am home today, but plan to be back at work tomorrow, unless someone else wants to volunteer to take my class to the recycling center and botanical gardens....any takers? Jason and I are also flying out Friday to Florida for Dale Smart's wedding. I'm hoping that I feel better by then.

Fears and Pet Peeves

Andrew says "Hi!"

Andrew has recently gotten some new "fears". Fear number 1: The Bathtub. Or should I say sitting down in the bathtub. He won't sit down for anything. The last three weeks I have been giving him a bath while he's standing up. I'm sure it's cold, but he will not sit down. I'll sit him down in the tub and he'll just scream. Then, he'll continue to scream throughout the rest of his bath. It's the weirdest thing. He used to LOVE the bathtub. He still loves water though, he turns the water faucet on and splashes. He splashes in the water table at school. I don't get it.

Fear number 2: Elevators. We were at Mercy Hospital visiting some good friends who just had a precious baby- Carter 8lbs 12ozs (he looked like a 3 month old to us!). Andrew was walking down the hallway to the elevator and we all got on and the elevator started going down and Andrew started screaming. I picked him up and he wrapped his arms and legs around me and buried his face in my chest. He's ridden on elevators before, but I guess he'd never stood up in one.

Ok, so Andrew doesn't really have any pet peeves, but the title came from an episode of Friends- The One With The Embryos- when Ross developed a jeopardy game for Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey. The end result was that the guys won and got the girls apartment. I am a HUGE fan of Friends. I own every season on DVD and watched them continuously throughout college and now!

Cornstarch + Water = MESS

It all started with Daddy letting Andrew help him mix the flour, salt, and pepper in the bowl to make Chicken Marsala. Andrew was happily helping his Daddy with the whisk when he stuck his freshly bathed hand in the bowl. He pulled it out and much to his surprise it was white!

" What is this stuff?" he wondered. All of a sudden his Mommy got a great idea! "I know," she said, "I'll mix cornstarch with water and let him play with that." Cornstarch and water make a weird textured mixture. You can lay it on waxed paper and it will look runny, but you can touch it with your hands and it isn't wet.

"Oh wow!" thought Andrew, "this stuff feels funny."

"I think I like this. Yay!"

"I wonder how it will feel on my feet?"

"All done! Time to clean up!"

Footnotes: One and a half year olds cannot keep the cornstarch and water mixture on JUST the waxed paper. Do not do this AFTER a bath, you will be taking another one when you're done. The good news is- cornstarch and water are non-toxic so they can eat as much as they want. Also, a damp cloth will wipe all handprints off major appliances as well as walls and furniture. Mopping removes all cornstarch from tile. Keep mixture away from carpet!!

Directions (for those brave enough to attempt!): Mix two parts cornstarch with one part water. Stir until smooth. Pour onto waxed paper and enjoy!!