Big Brother

Pat and I have been looking for a little gift to get Ryan when we have Sean. We wanted to get him something he could care for while I care for the baby. We'd seen something we thought was perfect but wanted to wait until closer to the arrival.

Yesterday Ryan and I made a trip to Target to get a few items. I noticed in the toy department that they were marking down a lot of stuff. I thought about looking for this specific toy, but decided it was still too early. That is until I found it marked down on an end cap with only one left. It was marked down to $4.98. I snatched it up without hesitating.

So what is it you wonder? It's the Luv n' Care Baby Elmo. A stuffed little Elmo that smells like baby powder, has a pacifier, removable diaper, and comes with a cloth carrier. Ryan really likes Elmo right now, so hopefully that is still the case in two months. Pat was even excited at the deal I found. But for the next two months, Baby Elmo is hidden away in my closet.

Shopping Till I Drop

Lately I've been indulging my urge to spend. Now granted, I'm only buying great deals or things that I need or have been saving specifically for.

We finally decided on the stroller we wanted. We got the Phil and Teds Dash. It is a step up from the Sport model. However, as it happened I ordered the Sport and they ran out of the color I had ordered so they offered me the Dash instead. We've set it up and taken Ryan for a walk in it. I'm pretty happy with our decision. Here are the factors that influenced my decision or that I've come to find as a pro/con since we used it:

*I love that this stroller can be either the single or the double stroller. The picture is of it in one of the double modes, but the back seat comes off and it can be a single if Ryan decides he is too big to be riding once Sean is here.

*Such a smooth ride, easy to push, great steering. This makes a fantastic outdoor stroller.

*Nicely padded seats that are cozy for Ryan. He actually looks small in this stroller compared to our Maclaren.

*A negative is the directions were a little bit hard to follow to set it up, but we figured it out.

*It's a tad heavy and folding is cumbersome.

Overall, I'm really happy with my choice and look forward to using it more.

I also got a new cell phone. I wanted to make it easier to text Pat because I'm often sending him a message around 5:30 to see if he'll make it home for dinner (which he usually won't, but that is a different story). It seems like a great phone, and now that I can text easily, I hear from Pat once a day.

You'd think that was enough shopping, but there was more....a lot more.

I bought a bunch of Omaha Steaks because I'd been promising Pat I'd do that for a while now.

I got some great deals on clothes for Ryan online. I had a coupon too.

I used the remainder of a gift card I had to motherhood to buy a couple t-shirts to get me through the remainder of the pregnancy. I didn't really have to spend my own money so this was great.

Then today I bought a bunch of nursing tanks and yoga pants to wear after Sean arrives. I really needed some new nursing tanks and am excited to try these new ones to see which ones I like the best. I had another coupon. It was a fantastic deal.

Overall, that is a lot of shopping. I hate spending money, but I'm so happy about all the great deals I got. Now that I have everything I could possibly need for a while, I need to step away from the computer shopping.

Improvising Art

Here is what I decided to try with my child who doesn't like to get his fingers dirty finger painting. It was a success...at least for a few minutes.

A Little Bit of Worry

Recently Pat brought home his training calendar. We've already talked about when he'll be in the field and off to training, but seeing it on a calendar made all the difference. I will say, I've been a bit freaked out since noticing on the calendar that Pat goes into the field the week before my due date and doesn't come out until a week after my due date. It really doesn't help the situation that I don't know what to plan for with the birth--meaning I'm not sure if I'm having a repeat c-section for trying for a VBAC. The hospital still cannot find the surgery report, and I've only seen staff that I'd call less than informed on the whole vbac situation.

The things I do know are somewhat calming for me. I have Pat's cell number and the number for staff duty. My mother is coming out around my due date to watch Ryan while I'm in the hospital. If I haven't gone into labor on my own at some point after my due date, then I know I'll have a c-section (you cannot induce a vbac). I guess I'm worried because labor is scary enough, especially since I'm like a first timer at this since Ryan was breech, it just makes me a little bit more fearful to think about Pat being in the field and whether I can contact him and starting off all alone. Along with all this worry is my stress about what to do with Ryan if I were to have to deliver before my mother is out here. Pat has a friend who we can call, but I'm always afraid of what to do if we can't reach them.

I know everything will work out. I'm sure my worry is for nothing. I'd probably bet money that I do not even go into labor. Hopefully at my next appointment I'll be able to get more clarity on the options I have and have a better idea of what I am planning to do. So even while I know everything will work out, it did throw me for a loop to think about the situation and logistics of labor alone and what to do with Ryan, etc.

Weekend

So far this weekend has really been an example of what I think weekends are supposed to be. This morning when we were all up, Pat took Ryan to get his hair cut. I chose to let them have some Daddy-Ryan bonding time and stayed home to get some stuff done. Pat and Ryan came home with donuts and a lot less hair (at least for Ryan). Ryan has such a big boy haircut. The top is still fairly long, but the back is so short. Pat calls it faded. While Ryan does look really cute, a little bit of me is sad to see him growing up.

We played in the yard during the midmorning. It was really nice to have Pat around because he usually misses all of the outback time while at work.

After nap time we all ate some lunch and ran some errands.

For dinner we met some friends from college that were passing through. Ryan was pretty good at the dinner, although he doesn't like to sit still for so long. It was nice to see some friends and socialize.

Tomorrow we have to pick up a few groceries, but then the rest of the day is going to be spent playing with Ryan and probably a little bit of relaxing on the couch, which is exactly how I think it ought to be.

For Auntie Rie

Auntie Rie wanted to see more Ryan. I caught a little bit of his dancing with Pat's camera. I didn't know how to work the camera so well, and don't mind the dog tails in the way. He's got rhythm, huh?

He is a Big Boy!

Yesterday was the day we were finally going to switch Ryan to his big boy bed. Pat and I spent the morning moving his crib out to the spare room and decorating the "new" big boy room. I am so pleased with how it came out. We then let Ryan in to check it out. He LOVES his monkey on the wall, otherwise known as Curious George. He loves going into the big boy room. Pat and I try to reserve the bedroom as a place for sleeping, but we wanted him to be comfortable so we let him play for a while.

Afterwards, we went to the park to play for a while and then had lunch. When Ryan's nap time came around I was rather nervous. It looked like things were going well. Ryan was just playing with his animals on the bed. That only lasted a few minutes though before he was crying at his door. I didn't want to force it because: a.) he'd have to sleep there that night, as there was no other choice, and b.) I didn't want him to think his room was a punishment. So in the end we let the nap go and went on with our day. Needless to say Ryan was an exhausted boy.

Bedtime came and I brought Ryan into his room. I rocked with him for a few minutes in the chair and put him down. He was so tired that he went right to sleep in the big boy bed without so much as a peep. He did wake up around 12:45 though. I was afraid the big meltdown was coming. I put him back to bed and left. He walked to the door, cried for 1 minute, and then turned around, went to bed and slept until 7:45 a.m. I was so proud of him. Shortly before he got up I told Pat we should go have a celebration with him when he wakes up to kind of say "Good job, you big boy!" Ryan enjoyed our praise.

As I write this now, Ryan is taking his afternoon nap in his big boy bed too. He cried for a couple of minutes, but then he laid himself down and is peacefully asleep. I cannot say how proud I am of Ryan. I'm amazed at how well he is handling the change. I'm happy that he seems to understand that it means sleepy time when we go to the big boy bed. And I'm happy he is liking the big boy room. In fact earlier today he pulled Pat by the hand saying "big boy, big boy" into his room so they could look at the monkey. Ryan loves when Pat makes the monkey sounds. Overall, things are going really well--in fact going better than I thought they would.

Prepared Meals

I've been very interested in making freezer meals or as some call it, once a month cooking. The idea is you prepare meals and freeze them so that when you want to use them you just pop them in the oven. While I'd like to do this more often, I've also found some of the recipes are not really any more time saving than preparing it the night I need it. For instance, some recipes are basically just marinading meat prior to freezing it, but I find with the quick marinades now available I can do that just fine in the same day I want to make that meal.

I realize that the above makes me sound a bit negative on the idea of freezer meals, but really I am trying a few. I've done lasagna in the past, and plan to make one to freeze before Sean gets here. A recent favorite of mine has been stuffed shells. I'll admit, I never made them until recently, and I have no idea why it took me so long to decide to cook them. They are so easy to make, delicious, and totally freeze really well. I just make a double batch cook half that night and freeze the rest for another time. I highly suggest you look into this.

The other freezer meal that has worked well for me is muffins. Previously I had frozen my blueberry muffins, and just recently I froze banana bread-blueberry muffins. When I decide to have the muffins, I take them out of the freezer the night before, let them defrost, and then in the morning Ryan and I have yummy muffins.

I've tried a couple other recipes that were okay, but nothing to really write about. I'll definitely post again about this if I find some other ideas that work well.

Sleep Issues

Ryan has been having some major sleeping issues lately. To be honest, Pat and I have no idea what is going on with him. Originally we thought he was teething, (which he may be), but that isn't the real issue. He has never had an issue like the ones he is having now. I'll spare you the long story of what our nights are like, though. So Pat and I have brainstormed all the different things it could be. A few weeks ago, Ryan was sick in his crib and we removed the bumper. Pat insisted that he wash it, and let's just say it didn't turn out too well. We never put it back on the crib, mostly because in a few weeks we plan on moving Ryan to his toddler bed. In an attempt to make the toddler bed all cozy for Ryan, I made some bumper pads for the toddler bed. I know that they are not traditional for a toddler bed, but hey, if he likes them that's what matters. I even sewed a special pillowcase for his pillow too. Ryan has been spending more time on his toddler bed, and I think this weekend we'll be making the big switch. I know it's going to be a rough few nights, but it almost cannot get worse than how it is now. So please wish Ryan good luck on the transition and wish me the patience to get through this change.

Just Like His Daddy

Sometimes Ryan seems just like his Daddy. I had a few pictures of Pat as a little boy, and I can definitely see a resemblance to Ryan in these photos.

A Peek at Our Long Weekend

On the 4th of July Pat and I hosted a BBQ. We made LOTS of good food, which isn't what my expanding body needs, but it sure was yummy. We had pasta salad, fresh fruit, buffalo dip, burgers, chicken and pineapple kabobs, baked beans, and cupcakes. Unfortunately, my cupcakes turned out looking less like Independence Day and more like Barbie's Birthday. You see the frosting had a yellow tint to it, and because of that the food coloring didn't work the way I expected it. So instead of the traditional red, white and blue, we had cream, magenta, and bright blue. At least they were yummy!

Even Ryan was wondering why we had such funny colored frosting on our cupcakes.
But then he decided they still tasted good.
On the 3rd of July we went to see the fireworks in downtown Clarksville after going to the carnival on post. Ryan really likes fireworks, or boom as he calls them.
I think all the guys like watching the fireworks and waiting on the big booms.
Ryan really liked hanging out with his buddy, Greg.
He's such a happy boy.

He's also a bit crazy. Yes, those are Pat's shorts he has on himself like a dress. And he is using the gas pump toy like a phone. He likes to say, "Huh?"
And this looks like a good habit, huh?

Last Weekend

Last weekend Pat and I went on a "little trip". Some of you readers who I talk to know what we did. For those that I don't speak with, you'll just have to use your imagination. It was a wonderful time, and I wish we could have stayed longer. I can show you a few photos, although I wish I could post more (but for the sake of privacy to our trip I cannot).