Breathe

Poor Ian. He's barely 11 weeks old and already has his second cold. He's exposed to so many more germs and viruses since we are out and around germy preschoolers all the time. I ask Malcolm to wash his hands before touching Ian, but that rarely happens because he's always wanting to hold Ian's hand.

Preschool has been going well. Mal goes 3 mornings a week and then we have a weekly playdate another morning. Friday morning is our only 'free' morning. Afternoons are spent at home since Malcolm must take a nap these days. He is a terror without enough sleep since starting school.

This past Wednesday, Malcolm slept late and therefore couldn't do his regular morning routine before leaving school. He was all out of sorts and did not want me to leave him there. It was the first time he's ever cried and it was so hard for me! I, of course, cried too. The crying didn't last long and he was back to his normal, happy self shortly after I left. Still - heart wrenching!

Ian - 2 months old

He's growing like a champ! 22 3/4 inches long (50% on the curve) and 10 lbs, 7 oz (25%). If he continues to grow at this rate, he'll definitely be bigger than Malcolm who is on the 25% curve for height and 10% for weight.

Life With Two

It doesn't leave me much free time. Preschool started for Malcolm last week which should definitely help establish a routine in our household. This year, he's going 3 days a week and for the first 8 weeks, I'm on maternity leave and do not begin working in the classroom until November. I'm looking forward to having some solo time with Ian but I have a feeling he's going to be taking a long nap in the mornings when Malcolm's not around. During Malcolm's first day last week, he slept the whole time Mal was away. The poor baby typically doesn't get a long stretch of sleep during the day but it does mean he sleeps better at night.

Life has been good with two kids even though it's a struggle to get much done around the house. Malcolm loves being a big brother. The only time he has a 'hard' time is when he wants me to do something with him and I need to feed Ian. Ian is such a laid-back baby; we feel very fortunate.

Speaking of babies, Stephanie, Tony's youngest sister, is pregnant with another boy! This family is filled with boys on both sides of the family.

I'd love to continue to ramble on, but I can't stop thinking of all of the things I need to do around the house :)

A Busy Month

I didn't realize that it had been a month since my last update. We've had a pretty constant flow of visitors since Ian's birth and I haven't spent much time on the computer. We're all doing great and staying very busy. Check out my Flickr gallery for photos.

9 Days Later

Why yes, I really was in labor. After sleeping for a couple of hours, I woke up at 3 AM and the contractions started becoming painful and close together. We made it to the hospital around 4:30 AM and Ian was born at 6:20 AM. I think it's safe to say that my body is very efficient at this labor/birthing business. Everything went smoothly and we didn't even stay at the hospital overnight. My recovery has been surprisingly quick and Ian is so healthy. He's a great eater and sleeper so far.

Sherry & Casey flew into Seattle last Saturday so I haven't had much time on the computer. I've uploaded a few photos from Tony's phone to my Flickr account. The ones from our camera were taken in a very large format so I have to adjust the size of all of them before I can upload them. It will take time that I do not have right now, but I'll work at it when I can.

I'm home alone with Ian while the rest of the family is at Snoqualmie Falls. Sherry & Casey leave tomorrow and I'm on my own during the day until next Saturday when the next wave of family comes in. Sherry has been a huge help and I'm not sure how I'm going to get dinner made with her not around to help. I guess I'll need to figure it out somehow.

I Wouldn't Mind Sleep

Am I in labor right now? Yes. Maybe. The contractions aren't nearly as painful as I recall with my labor with Malcolm (yet). They are painful enough to not allow sleep. So, I sit up with Tony as we watch TV. Amanda is on call for when we decide it's time to head to the hospital. I'm kind-of thinking this is false labor. I don't believe I'm in actual labor yet. Now we just wait and see.

The Second Labor

One of the benefits of keeping a blog for as long as I've had this one - I can look back at my pregnancy progress with Malcolm and compare it to this pregnancy. At my 38 week OB appointment today, the doc said that my cervix is 3cm dilated and 50% effaced and that there is a 50% chance that I could go into labor this week. At first, I thought, "Wow! I can't believe I'm that far along!" And then, I read what my progress was with Malcolm at 37.5 weeks. Yep, about the same.

In many ways, I'd like to be done with this pregnancy. Let's get it over with already! On the other hand, it would be better if I didn't go into labor until next Sunday. Sherry is arriving Saturday evening to take care of Malcolm while we are at the hospital. Plus, Sunny & Chris' wedding is Saturday night and there are also 2 birthday parties that same day. Let's not mention all of the things I'd like to get done around the house...

Now we just wait and see when this little guy is going to make his appearance. Malcolm has made it very clear that he's ready for his baby brother to come out.

To Meat or Not to Meat

When I was in high school, I learned about the impact factory farming has on the environment and how poorly the animals are treated. I stopped eating meat for a couple of years but knew nothing about nutrition and became anemic. I started eating meat again in college and then stopped again 12 years ago. Not only did I stop for the previous reasons, but I also stopped because whenever I ate meat, I didn't feel well afterwards. It was hard for my body to digest, I would become lethargic and would also often experience indigestion. Food is nourishment and is meant to make you feel better and give you energy, not the opposite.

Since moving back to Seattle, there has been a big local movement to provide humanely raised and slaughtered cows, chickens, pigs and lamb. There are several local small farms who provide such meat at the farmer's market. It makes me ponder eating meat again. But then I remember how I felt eating meat that many years ago. If I was experiencing health problems due to my lack of meat consumption, I would consider it. I do appreciate the gorgeous, tasty eggs from the free-range, properly fed laying hens.

However, I'm the only pescatarian in my household. Whenever there is meat at a meal, we always offer Malcolm some but he often doesn't eat it. I did start eating fish again after he started eating solids and he does eat some fish. He's a big fan of chicken nuggets and hot dogs, but those over processed meat products make me shudder. So what's my option if I want my kid (and husband) to eat humanely raised, quality meat? It means I'm going to have to be the one who cooks it. I haven't been able to bring myself to do it until tonight. I grilled out tonight and made my boys hamburgers. Malcolm ate his all up and asked for more. I was worried that it wouldn't be tasty, but Tony said the burger was really good. Was I tempted to try it? No, not really. It didn't look appetizing to me at all. But, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting over the ick factor of handling dead, ground-up cow so I could make sure my boys were eating meat that didn't make me feel guilty.

I was inspired to finally get over the ick factor after reading, The Butcher and the Vegetarian and this blog post. My next venture: making chicken nuggets.

Photographs

Here's the link to all of the photographs from this weekend

35 Weeks Pregnant

A friend of ours started up her own photography business and asked if she could take pictures of us for her website. I'll post the link to the pictures once she puts them up on Flickr.

I am tired. It's too easy for me to overdo it. I'm ready to no longer be pregnant but am not ready to have 2 kids. There is still lots to do to get settled into the house. The kids' room still needs to be set up. Our guest room is nowhere close to ready for guests and our first one will be here in 4 weeks. Whew. OK. Complaining isn't going to help anything.

June 16th - the Heat is On

Literally. It's 2pm on a rainy June afternoon. Malcolm is taking his nap and I am shivering. I look at the thermostat in our house and it reads 64 degrees. No wonder I am cold. And no, we don't have air conditioning. It's because it's even colder outside. Yes, I turned the radiator on for a few to help warm up the place. So wrong.

Moved, but Still Much to Do

The movers came a week ago. We've been sleeping in our new house for a week now. There are still several unpacked boxes and a long list of things to do, but that's how it goes when you have to entertain a toddler and are 8 months pregnant. Plus, there is still a lot of things to get done at the old house. I'm hoping that Tony and I can spend several hours there on Sunday w/o Malcolm to make significant progress.

Saturday is Malcolm's preschool's end-of-the-year picnic. We're definitely going to miss preschool this summer. His last day is next Tuesday. We'll have things to fill our days with over the summer, but he's not old enough for any of the summer programs that I looked into since he doesn't turn 3 until August.

We're going to head out to the park to enjoy the sunshine since rain is forecasted for this afternoon. Our summer has yet to arrive.

Progress

After multiple successes at using the toilet while out in public last week, I decided to take away the diapers on Sunday. After a couple of accidents at first, he figured out that he can't just pee wherever and used the potty like a champ ALL DAY LONG! He had one more accident after he put his jammies on that night. On Monday, we were out all day in underwear with no accidents. I put him in a pull-up for his nap but it was totally unnecessary. Last night, we put him in a pull-up for bedtime (we call them nighttime underwear). When I checked on him before I went to bed, he had taken his pajama pants off. When I asked him why this morning, he thought he had gotten them wet when he peed in the pull-up. So who knows...maybe he won't need 'nighttime underwear' for very long. He hasn't pooped on the potty yet. I'm still trying to figure out how to work that out. Right now, he's at preschool in underwear and I'm hoping he does really well there. This whole potty-training thing is going so much better than expected. My guess is because I waiting so long.

I've been having a lot of physical pain with this pregnancy to where it hurts to stand and walk. I finally bought a maternity belt to help support my growing belly and can already tell the difference. The pain has really hindered packing progress. Speaking of, I need to use the rest of my free time this morning getting some packing done!

In the Potty Training Trenches

After reading 3 (and working on the 4th) potty training books, I decided that it was time to get down to business. Malcolm is doing surprisingly well so far (knock on wood) and even insisted on using the public toilet 3 times today while we were out. In the morning, I give him the option to wear underwear or a diaper. This morning, he insisted on a diaper but has yet to pee in it. We're so proud of our little guy! Let's hope this keeps up. I think he'll get peeing on the potty down quickly. It's the pooping that worries me...a lot.

New Haircut

I got all of my hair cut off yesterday:


It hasn't been this short since I first moved to Seattle in 1998. Malcolm says it's beautiful. I did it so I could grow out the color quickly and it wouldn't be so painful. It's so freeing to have hair this short!

Happy Birthday to my lovely sister and happy mother's day to all of the moms reading this. Being a mom is awesome!

There is Still Much to Pack

Oh, look! I'm 28 weeks pregnant! Officially in the 3rd trimester. I had my glucose test yesterday and it came back negative (no gestational diabetes). The heartburn & round ligament pain only gets worse. The nurse I saw yesterday recommended I purchase a maternity belt to support my belly. Yay. It will help with the ligament pain, but not the heartburn. Here's a picture of me from last week:

I'm still having problems with exhaustion which has definitely put a hamper on packing. Hmm...maybe I should go pack right now while Malcolm's at preschool...

A Typical Sunday

The boys are over at Amanda's so I can have time alone in the house to clean. The cleaning. It's never ending. Although our new place is larger, I'm hoping the cleaning tasks are more manageable since I won't have 3 floors, two staircases and 3.5 bathrooms to clean. Wait...I will still have 2 staircases but only one of them is carpeted. Damn. Although I've been cleaning for 3 hours, the things that need to be done is still long. Who am I kidding? Once I cross one thing off of the list I add two more!

I'm taking a break now and making baked kale chips. They are seriously addictive. It's the only way I eat kale nowadays and I make them daily. When I run out of kale, I crave it until I get more. The first time I tried making them a few years ago, they turned out horribly. I recently read some new tips on how to make them better and now I just can't get enough.

The farmer's market in the neighborhood starts running again on Wednesday. I am so excited! I've missed it so. Sure, there are 3 farmer's markets that are year-round in other parts of the city, but I never seem to make it to any of them. It's likely because they happen on the weekends and I find myself focusing on other things (like cleaning) on my Saturdays and Sundays.

OK - off to do more things on my list while I wait for my kale chips to bake!

Happenings

It was my birthday recently and we had fun. I said, 'No!' to cooking so we went out to eat twice over my b-day weekend. I am 36 and I feel older. I even dyed my hair brown in hopes of never coloring it again. What? Yes. I'm throwing away my hair-dying shirt and saying goodbye to my artificially hair colored days. Well, that's my goal anyway. Let's see if I can do it.

The little brother in my belly is kicking up a storm and growing like a weed. My OB even said so. I have outgrown my maternity pants that I wore with Malcolm already. I don't want to go shopping for maternity clothes, but it looks like I'm going to have to since I've exhausted all of the options of borrowing from friends.

I am happy to say that we are no longer on the hunt for a place to live. We found a place on Capitol Hill that is much larger than our current townhouse, has a yard, lots of charm and is just a few blocks away from our old apartment. We are pleased as punch. It's a duplex and we'll be on the top two floors. Friends of ours live on the bottom half; they were the ones who referred us to the owner of the house once they heard that their current neighbors were moving out. Our lease starts on June 1st. Now it's time to put this place on the market and get the hell out of dodge!

Finding a New Home

At 5:30 today, we're scheduled to look at an apartment on Capitol Hill that is larger than our townhouse. Townhouses around us have been selling quickly lately, so we are hoping that ours will do the same once we put it on the market. We moved away from Capitol Hill 3.5 years ago and can't wait to move back. What can I say? We're people that just need to be in the center of it all even with our kids. Plus, it will save us quite a bit of money to go back to renting from owning.

Pregnancy Update

My apologies for the delay in posting an update - life gets busy! Everything went really well at the ultrasound and the baby looks perfectly healthy. He's measuring at 20 weeks, 5 days so I wouldn't be surprised if he arrived before July 30th. Yep, Malcolm's getting a little brother! I'm excited to have 2 boys. My belly is so much bigger at this point than it was with Malcolm:

I Love Food

A good portion of the blogs that I read are about recipes, cooking and eating. I love good food. I love to cook and do not do it nearly enough. So many of the food blogs I read include recipes with meat. The meals look and sound delicious. They make me wish I ate meat if the writer describes and photographs the dish well. However, when I actually think about eating meat, I get totally grossed out. But many of these dishes out there? Just gorgeous.

Tomorrow afternoon is my 20-week ultrasound. I am nervous. Very nervous. Tony isn't worried in the least. Men!

New Babies

I started leading a new PEPS group this week. Last night was the first meeting. I had 16 new parents and 8 new babies (10 days to 3 months old) in my living room for two hours. First, I do not have enough seating for that many people, so there were a couple on the floor. Second, it gets rather warm in our house when we pack that many bodies into a smallish room. Third, I get so nervous about doing a good job. This nervousness kept me up last night after the fact. I wonder, "Will any of the families drop out because I did something wrong? How can I do things better?" Of course, I want to give all of the new parents a perfect experience, but, I have learned that it is impossible. In fact, PEPS tells you in the training that there may be a few families in your group that will not be completely satisfied. I can only do my best, right?

I also thought about how we thought we were going to have a baby that would have been in the age group that these babies are in and it made me a little sad.

Good Intentions

The swimming date never happened. Malcolm woke up from his nap and was very adamant about not wanting to go swimming. Next time, I'm not going to tell him where we are going. I have a feeling he'll want to go once he sees the pool.

I haven't been feeling 100% for the past, oh, 4.5 months. This pregnancy is wreaking havoc on my thyroid and we haven't found the right dosage yet. I have my OK days and then I have really bad days where I am too exhausted to eat. It's hard for me to motivate myself to do many activities with Malcolm. We get out at least once a day, but not as often as I'd like.

I really enjoy being productive so it's a downer when I don't have the energy to do much when my list of things I'd like to do is so long.

Just Keep Swimming

A few weeks ago, I made plans with our friend Angie (mom to Zavyen and Rowan) to take the kids swimming this afternoon at the best indoor pool for kids. We'll be heading out in about half an hour. I haven't bought a bathing suit for Malcolm in quite some time and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that (1) I can find his bathing suit, and (2) it still fits him. I'm also hoping that he will actually want to go swimming. Last time I took him swimming while we were in San Diego, he didn't seem to really enjoy himself.

Don't Mess With Texas

We just returned from a lovely, long weekend spent in Georgetown, Texas. My dad & stepmom bought a house in Sun City last May and it was our first visit out there. They love it there and I can see why. Malcolm loved being outside, playing in the waterfalls and driving golf carts. We spent most of our time in Georgetown but did get to see a little bit of Austin on Sunday before we flew back to Seattle. I prefer it over Houston hands-down. We had lunch at Threadgill's and I loved that they had a ton of vegetarian side dishes for me to choose from. I got to eat real southern cooking, meatless-style: black-eyed peas, garlic cheese grits and turnip greens with sweet tea to drink. Delish! Oh! And I can't forget the dessert: banana pudding. I ordered it for Malcolm but he was just interested in the whipped cream and cookies. More for me!

A First Time for Everything

Today was our first parent-teacher conference. I appreciate so much that the teachers at Malcolm's preschool do this. We got to ask questions and she asked us questions. One that struck me as funny was Malcolm's eating habits. At snack time at school, Malcolm is always the first kid to finish eating (if he eats at all). Who wants to eat when there is so much fun stuff to do?! He also has a gross habit of chewing up food and spitting it out. He does this all the time but it was something that she had never encountered before. It started when he was younger and would shove way too much food into his mouth and couldn't chew it. The habit of overstuffing his mouth has stopped, but not the spitting out of food. It occurs most often with cheese and apples.

Another first for me - I was bitten by a dog yesterday. Malcolm loves dogs and always wants to go say, "Hi". I always ask the owner if the dog is friendly before we approach the dog and I always let the dog smell my hand before I let Malcolm near it.

A mom had her two dogs, on leash, in the play area of the playground. We went over to the dogs and I asked her if they were friendly and she said yes. As I reached my hand out to the Boxer, it bit me hard enough for me to have a deep gouge in my thumb. The owner was shocked; she said it had never done that before. I was too flustered and also bleeding to get her contact information before heading to wash up and get a bandage.

As we were walking home, Malcolm and his friend, Han, were climbing a set of stairs when the same dog came running up and lunged at Han. It was off-leash and obviously in front of its house. The owner called out to it to come inside. I am incredibly relieved that neither of the boys were bitten or attacked by this dog. I've got a call into my doctor to see if I need to go in for a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

I'm still undecided if I should search out the owner and talk about the situation. I understand that dogs can be unpredictable and I hope that she is more cautious with her Boxer. She had both of her dogs in the play area of the playground which is illegal in the city of Seattle. Can I count on her to keep the dog a safe distance from other people, most importantly children?

30 months

Our little Malcolm turned 2 and a half yesterday. To celebrate, I took him to the doctor's today for a check-up and fun vaccination shot. He is doing great and actually jumped up to the 10% curve for his weight. His weight has always been a bit of a strain since he was born. For much of the past year, he had fallen completely off the charts. He's continued on the 10% curve for his height.

Yesterday, he decided to sleep until 9 AM and skip his nap. Today, he's taking a long nap. I ponder waking him up so we can go outside and enjoy a bit more of the sunshine, but I figure he must need his sleep. Speaking of naps, I believe he just woke up. Time to go crash trucks with my little guy!

Neglect

Hi Blog,

I neglected you for a whole month. I'm not sure if I've ever done that before. I can make up a lot of excuses but I'm sure it wouldn't change anything. I'll try to tend to you better from now on. I know it wasn't the best way to start a new year, but I'll do my best to change my ways. Sorry.

Love,
Kris