Dear Reagan: 18 months

As promised: Reagan's 18 month update.

I mainly write these updates for myself. It is easier to upload a few pictures and type things out fresh in my mind than it is to get around to scrapbooking. So then when I do finally get around to scrapbooking, I have quick easy access to what photos were in that age range...and what exactly was going on. But, I know a few people like reading them too...so...read on!

Dear Reagan : 18 months.

You are a ball of energy.
You love to run and you recently learned to JUMP!

You weigh just barely 25 pounds and I am not sure how tall you are, but you are pretty tall.
You are wearing almost all 18 month clothes.
You have a mouthful of teeth! People always ask how old you are when we are out and about and when I say "he just turned 1 and a half" they almost always comment on how many teeth you have. So weird.
You are down to 1 nap a day, which typically ranges between 1 and half to 3 hours long.

You are definitely a talker. To anyone and everyone.
You can say SO MANY words. Daddy, mama, grandpa, papa, Jordan, thank-you, (you're) welcome, ball, basketball, vroom vroom, Kya kitty, apple, yum yum, cookie, cracker, juice, puppy, bird, bubbles, one, and two are just a few off the top of my head.

You have a serious love for vehicles. Cars, trucks, vans, tractors, trains. You LOVE them!

You also tend to be a little OCD.
You are always lining things up perfectly, or stacking things perfectly...and you do not like when things are out of place.

You love to be outside. You love rocks and dirt and sticks.
You also love your daddy.

You love to be a helper. Some chores that I give you are: take dirty dishes to the kitchen, help pick up toys, throw certain things away, and put dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

Your dad is jumping on board thinking you will be left-handed. You have definitely always favored it and still do. I guess only time will tell.

You are so good at nap time and bedtime.
All we have to do is tell you its time for nap or bed and you grab a few toys and walk right into your room and wait at the crib. It is so sweet!

I feel like I am always cutting your hair. If we wait too long the tuft gets out of control.
Speaking of which...we will probably cut it again tonight.

You really do have a sweet personality, it is rare when we have to discipline you. On the occasional meltdown (usually due to being overly tired or not feeling well or hungry) you can be crazzzzzy strong-willed though.

You favorite show is Umizoomi. It is the only show you get excited about and you will actually sit through a whole episode.

You have some problems sharing, but whenever we spend time in the nursery or with your cousins we get to practice that. I have a feeling 3 months from now and a little brother will cure that problem.

You don't like to cuddle and HATE to be restrained.
But you also do not like playing by yourself and always have to be RIGHT NEXT to me. I am constantly tripping over you.

I am interested to see how you will handle being a big brother. I keep telling people that I honestly think you will just ignore him at first.

Nope...thats not a tacky cell phone.
It's my obnoxiously annoying heart monitor. 2 days down...12 to go.

To the boy who made me a mama.
I love you!
I love watching you learn and grow...and I love to see your personality develop.
You are so much fun!
I look forward to these next few months as you meet your brother and your life is turned completely upside down. I just know you two will be best buds...and I am anxious to see that friendship grow.

Baby E 2 - 25 weeks

Matt said something funny...and inappropriate. So obviously I was obnoxiously cracking up.

How far along: 

25 weeks and a few days! How many of you noticed I totally skipped over 24 weeks? I have been trying to do updates every 3 weeks, but...woops.

Total weight gain:

I have gained about 8 pounds since last time! My goodness! My body finally decided to start making up for losing a bunch and a slow start. So that puts me at about 5 gained total.

Size and growth of the baby: 

About the size of a rutabaga! A little over a foot long and 1 and a half pounds!

Sex:

BOY!

Maternity clothes: 

Yes. Give me all things comfy.

Sleep:

We have been sleeping in our guest bed, and I have been sleeping ok, but that bed is so much more firm than ours and my pregnant body is starting to notice. My back and neck have been hurting for several days. We finally made the transition to our new room last night...and it was heavenly. So comfy!

Best moment(s) of the week: 

Our room is finished! It feels so good to make some progression in the chaos.
Up next: new nursery!

Movement: 

Yes, definite movement :)
I have a hard time figuring out how he is positioned, because he literally moves all over my entire stomach.
He had the hiccups for the first time (or at least the first time I could feel them) the other day :)

Food cravings/aversions:

My appetite has been pretty good, which has been nice!
Also...Matt found this new candy apple flavored pop. YUM!
Jena - you need to try it! It tastes very similar to Mexico Manzana!

Morning sickness:

Just depends on what I eat, but its pretty much fine.

Symptoms: 

My doctor  is still concerned about the heart palpitations, so he referred me to a cardiologist. They took some blood and ran a lot of tests. I have to wear a heart monitor for 2 weeks :(
Other than that I have been having normal aches and pains. My back is starting to feel the effects of pregnancy.

Labor signs :

A lot of contractions...also concerning to my doctor, but he thinks it might be related to what is also causing my heart to race.

Belly button in or out:

I can't believe it, but that sucker is OUT already!

What I miss:

I have felt really good the last few weeks. I am so thankful!
I miss being able to roll over in bed...or do anything with my ab muscles.
I am at the point in pregnancy now where your abs are pretty much useless and you have to use your arms to assist in any movement.
I'm also at the point where putting on socks and shoes is getting hard. Ugh!

What I'm looking forward to: 

I know its a way off still, but I am looking forward to our next ultrasound.
I almost asked the tech who was taking an ultrasound of my heart if I could get a peek at the baby...but decided not to.
Also looking forward to this fall weather and fun fall activities!

If you want to follow this pregnancy I will link up below.
12 weeks
15 weeks
18 weeks
21 weeks

Master Bedroom Renovation

I don't typically post home project posts.
I mainly just write about babies and motherhood and stuff, but we LOVE a good project.
And it seems like we are always doing something.
Most of you know we are doing a lot of room changes and renovations right now to finish up before the new baby comes.

Our large old master is becoming the new guest room/playroom.
The empty room downstairs is going to be converted into the new nursery.
The unfinished room downstairs is becoming our new master.

So the first of 3 room renovations is DONE!
Our new Master Bedroom is totally finished!
I am quite pleased with the progress :)

Before I get too far into it...let me remind you what this room looked like.
The previous owners tried to finish it...but...yuck.

We gutted it, and then my dad helped Matt frame in the closet.
Thanks daddy!

Then Matt drywalled and mudded (?) the closet.
Sanded it down.

The only closet in this room before Matt and my dad built one was like 1 foot, by 1 foot.
I have no idea what their intention of it was for, but we decided to make it useful space, so Matt drywalled and finished that up as well.
Then we decided to texture the ceiling...
The people who tried to finish this room before we bought the house didn't do such a good job and you could see a lot of lines and cracks and we didn't think it would look good just painting it flat.
We had no idea what we were doing, but we did a lot of research and we figured it out quickly.
Honestly I think it turned out great! It looks just like the rest of the house.
SO MESSY THOUGH!

Then we started painting.
I really wanted to go with a very very faint purple, but Matt said that was an absolute no-go.
So we compromised on a faint yellow.
We both love it.

Matt built the window frame.
I might be biased, but I think it is the best frame in the house.

Then we got new carpet installed.
Yay!
And then we added the new trim.
And got a new light fixture.
It is amazing what a few upgrades will do to a room!

We were planning to make a new tufted headboard.
There are so many tutorials, and it didn't look so hard, but we are pressed for time before the baby comes. And we still have 2 rooms to finish, so we just decided to buy one. And we really love it.
Reagan approves as well :)

I read a blog somewhere awhile ago that said your bedroom is a reflection on your marriage. Precisely 1 minute after reading that blog I walked into our bedroom and "...." embarrassing.
I kind of took it to heart that our bedroom does always get neglected.
It isn't a room anyone really sees, so if people come over we just tend to close the door.
In this season of babies and chaos, there is a whole lot of mess.
And as most parents know...you can't control it all.
I do my best to stay on top of the laundry and dishes and keeping things picked up.
But in reality by the time I get one room cleaned, Reagan could have completely destroyed another.
It is an impossible game of catch-up.
And while I may feel defeated most of the time in the rest of my house I needed a space that I HAD control over.
A space that was always clean and organized and that made me feel at peace and cozy....not stressed and overwhelmed.
The same for Matt as well.
So I made it my mission to make our new master such a space.

We tried to keep things on a very low budget...and by doing most of the projects ourselves and buying everything else via thrift stores...we did just that!

We were a little concerned with space in this new room, because it is so much smaller than our old room.
We decided to make the closet just for hanging clothes and made two racks.
One for my hubby and one for me.

We also built shelves in the tiny useless closet before, and bought baskets to store things in...which turned out perfect.
Matt was not impressed that I wanted a mirror AND my armoire in that corner, but he obliged...and it makes me happy.
I have had that mirror for about 2 years and this is the first time it is hung up!

And then we also had enough space for a dresser, so we actually ended up having more storage space than our old room...which I am not complaining about!
Eventually there will be a vase for fresh flowers next to that frame...and I love that thing on the dresser that we can leave each other love notes on :)

Our bed before was so big that neither of us ever had nightstands, so we are both SO excited to each have one!
Matt's only request was that he have a cool clock on his and that it not be cluttered.
:) Love him!

I am still planning on hanging a painting and buying some more pillows in fun accent colors, but for now it is done and we love it!

Now if only I could gain the courage to sleep in it and be on a different level than Reagan...

"With this baby..."

I haven't been very good at blogging lately.
I guess exhaustion from a pregnancy and chasing around a 1 year old and redoing a whole lot of house limits my time to sit down and jaunt my thoughts loud and clear.
But no fear! I am back! With a new computer and an organized house and ready to conquer the bloggers world.
Or at least the 100 or so people the typically read my blog ;)
Be on the lookout though. I am going to do an 18 month update on Reagan soon. He is a completely different baby from his 12 month update, so I figured why not add some more milestones and keep them fresh on my mind for whenever I get around to finishing up his scrapbook.

So without further ado: a blog post!

I catch myself saying "with this baby we will..." a lot lately.
We will do "this" better.
or be more strict on "this."
or be more lenient on "this."

While I know things will be different the second time around, and while I may be more prepared; I also know that most of my "plans" will be thrown out the window.

I know I say I won't snuggle him so much so he doesn't get so used to being held.
But in reality I know that they grow SO QUICKLY, and I will snuggle away as much as I can.

I know I say I will be more strict about sleeping schedules.
But in reality we did pretty well with Reagan. He has been sleeping through the night since two weeks old.
And as strict or lenient as we are I know that it doesn't really matter how good of a sleeper they are, because I now know that they will regress when they are teething, and when they are having a growth spurt, and when they are sick.
But no fear, because I also know that when that time passes they will go back to their old schedule.

I know I can give him formula, even when people say not to, and he will be just fine.
My milk won't go away...and I will probably be able to nurse for an entire year again.

With this baby I won't be as scared...I am a veteran mom now.
But in reality I know I will be in pain, and my hormones will be all over the place, and I will probably call my mom the minute we get home from the hospital and feel like crying and overwhelmed and say "help."

If you would have asked me two years ago, I would have assuredly told you I was ready for Reagan.
Umm...I think we can all agree that no one is reallly prepared for children. Amen?

My brain is now FILLED with what most people would view as useless information. Like which diapers make Reagan break-out or what soap is the most natural.
I can tell a tired cry from a whiny cry from a sick cry from an in pain cry.
I have tried cloth diapers, making my own wipes, making my own baby food,
I know about so many things that 2 years ago I had NO clue about.

Things like putting your kid under a fan - try it...it fascinates them.
Or take them out. It is most moms worst nightmare to take a fussy baby out, but if Reagan was ever fussy and we went out...he was almost immediately calm.
Did you know that their toenails hardly grow? Or maybe that is just my kid, but I have clipped Reagan's toenails exactly twice. On the contrary I am clipping his fingernails weekly.

Yes, with this baby things will be different.
I might be more prepared.
I might understand the day to day life a little more than I did before.
But I also know that things will not always ever go as planned - and that is ok.

So while I say I am going to keep this baby with me in the hospital room our whole hospital stay; reality is that giving birth is hard work...and I might just need to sleep a little bit before we are sent home. I can send the baby to the nursery...that is why its there! And he will be just fine.

Newborn photo cred: Ashley Clark