Haircut

Punkin got his first haircut this weekend!

Austin has been pestering me for ages about getting it cut. I've been fighting it because honestly, it's just so darn cute. I seriously get comments every where I take him about what pretty red hair he has. Come on, a kid with head full of curly red hair...how can that not be adorable?



Before



But alas, it had surpassed the curly stage and was quickly entering the white boy fro stage. He's got a lot of hair, but like his Daddy, it grows out and not down. Also, it's still really fine so it was getting to where it would get tangled really bad in the back. So I agreed.

We went to a place here in town that I think is fairly new. It's a salon specially for kids, which I really wanted. I've learned from my sisters experience with my nephew that it's hard to find someone who can cut a kids hair really well, especially a squirmy toddler. The salon was great. It had it's own play room and was really kid friendly (obviously). They had a DVD player set up in front of the chair so when the stylist popped in a Mickey Mouse DVD, Punkin was perfectly content. It took all of 10 minutes and he sat so still and nice like a big boy the whole time. They didn't have to get out the clippers out or anything, so I'm sure that helped.



During



After he got it cut, I took a picture and sent it to a few friends and family members. I got the exact same response from 4 of them: "NOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU?!". While yes, his curls are adorable, it's a pain to have to comb out the tangles. It ends in screaming and me giving up and cutting them out of this hair (yes, seriously). So, when you want to come over every night to deal with that, we'll do his hair however you want. Until then, I'll just keep it manageable. Thanks! ;)



After



Really, his hair looks exactly the same, only shorter. I actually think it's cuter because he actually has curls now instead of a mess of hair flopping around his head. I love it. Austin wanted it shorter, but I don't think it would've worked with how curly it is. It would've ended up standing straight up!

So other than Punkins first official big boy hair cut, nothing new and exciting has been going on. I'm starting to feel the new little one move a bit, and I'm dying for the 20th to get here so we can confirm the sex.

My Dad asked us to make a list of what Punky needs/wants for Christmas, and the first thing I could really think of was a toddler bed! We need to get him out of his crib eventually since obviously we'll need it for the new little one. I really don't think he's quite ready yet, but it'll be nice to have the bed when he is. We may try it out around his 2nd birthday (which is quickly approaching!) and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We had him in the pack-n-play bassinet in our room until he was about 3 months old, so we have a little bit of time even after the baby gets here. There are just so many changes coming up in his world, I'm afraid to introduce them all at once!

And just because it's hilarious, here is a silly cookie face picture for your amusement.

Guessing Game

As many have already heard via my husbands facebook (he tells me "the public wants to know!"), at my last appointment on Monday the doctor took a guess at the gender and guessed another little boy for us.

Now, let me say, this is NOT 100% yet! I will tell you when I looked at the screen before the doctor said anything, the first thing out of my mouth was "That looks like a boy!". And it REALLY really did! Seeing as how I'm only 14 weeks I can't go by that just yet, but at my next appointment we should know for sure.

Now of course everyone knows I was guessing girl, but I just knew the universe would point it's finger and laugh at me! I'm very excited about another little boy. Punkin is going to have a little brother! The thought of two of them just melts my heart. One of the first things Austin and I did after finding out there's a good chance it's a boy is hammer out a name. We've been arguing over a boy name since we found out I was pregnant.

We had a middle name already, but we were stuck on the first name. So after Austin threw out a name that I've always loved but never thought he would go for, we settled on one and now it seems more real somehow. Things are happening! eep!

This weekend was the most miserable weekend of my pregnancy. After feeling pretty crummy Friday and Saturday, I was actually feeling a bit better on Sunday. Monday rolled around and wow. I got my ass kicked, to be perfectly blunt. From the moment I woke up, I was throwing up and just generally miserable. I made it to my doctors appointment and managed to get out of there without getting sick, but just barely. Seeing the little peanut helped take my mind off of it a bit. I spent all day in bed. Literally from about 11:30 AM until I got out of bed for work the next morning, I was in bed.

Tuesday I was feeling better, although a little fuzzy from having to rejoin the land of the living. Today I'm fully on the mend and trying to drink as much fluid as possible to make up for what I missed. Hopefully the little guy in my tummy had enough amniotic fluid to swim around still while I was sick. Poor guy was probably like, "what the heck, ma?!".

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe thanksgiving! Kiss and hug your loved ones!

Nostalgia

So my very dear friend mentioned in a previous post was married on Friday, 11-11-11. Punkin walked down the isle and was absolutely adorable. The bride was positively stunning. Seriously. She could've been a Disney princess.

This friend I've known and loved since high school. We've been through a lot together, including petty arguments and break ups. When the relationship you have with someone spans over 10 years, memories are abundant.

At her wedding, her Dad gave a toast for her and her freshly minted husband. He called her Mom up there, and watching them both stand up there next to my friend in her beautifully flowing wedding dress, I had such a strong hit of nostalgia I wanted to cry.

I remember being a kid in their house. I remember her older brother lifting me up by the overalls and teaching me to lock my arms in my pockets to avoid a horrible wedgie. I remember her younger sister starting high school and it being SO WEIRD to see her in the halls. And now here we all were. On one side I had my very best friend from 5th grade, who got way too hot for the likes of me in middle school. On the other side, my ex boyfriend, the last real one I had before Austin. My first love, who I still cherish dearly because I learned a lot about love and even more about heart break from him, but who honestly, I don't know anymore. And her parents. Grey haired with lines around their eyes. Her Mom, more beautiful as she let the grey take over. Her Dad, the exact same as I always remembered him.

I miss when things were simple.

I miss talking about boys until all hours of the morning. Singing in chorus together and eating lunch in Coach Crowder's classroom. I miss being able to come home and do nothing and not worry about what I'm going to feed a child who doesn't eat. Or when I'm going to get around to those dishes because lord knows my husband isn't going to do it. Or what could possibly be causing the cough my child has been carrying around for 3 months now.

I miss not having adult responsibilities. We're all so grown up now. Getting married and having babies. Getting a real job and struggling to pay bills. It makes me sad. But then I remember that towards the end there, high school was kind of horrible. I hated everyone. I never want to go back there and you can bet I will not be attending my 10 year reunion. Everyone I care to see, I still keep in contact with.

So when I think about it, I guess being grown up isn't so bad. My ex taught me some about love, by my husband taught me the rest and filled in the gaps. My child taught me more about unconditional love than any being ever could, I think. Having a grown up job sucks, but I've met some of the most caring, funny and smart people working here. Struggling to pay bills is still pretty awful. I don't have anything nice to say about bills.

So I'll take the grown up life, but I'm glad I have those memories with her. When you know and are friends with someone for that long, they help shape who you are as a person. I am so glad she asked me to be a part of her wedding.

Almost Done

With first tri! 12 weeks tomorrow!

I'm hoping that with the emergence of first tri, the retreat of certain symptoms will occur. For example, this horrible skin I've got going on. I've always had generally pretty decent skin, but wow. It's like every day there's a new pimple and every day I scream in outrage at the mirror. Anyone have any suggestions for a good face wash that doesn't contain salicylic acid? I'm using cheap clean and clear right now and it doesn't help AT ALL.

I'm going to go ahead and throw out into the universe that I think I'm having a girl. Maybe because this pregnancy feels so different from my first. Maybe because I'm buying into old wives tales that say if the baby steals my beauty it's a girl (I didn't have much to spare, but the horrible skin, thinning hair, and preggo fat face are not helping my cause). I don't know. But when I first realized I was pregnant, I was saying she immediately, and I have to catch myself at it now.

Of course, I'm sure this means it's a boy. Just because the universe wants to point it's finger and laugh.

I mentioned before that I'm a lot more emotional than I was with Punkin, and man is it still true. We just had a United Way presentation at work, and when the presenter was talking about Children's Home Society and how they helped a 2 and 4 year old that were removed from a home and were malnourished I was fighting tears. I can't take bad things happening to kids.

Also, and I thought this would be the total opposite, but I feel like I'm more paranoid during this pregnancy. Maybe it's because I have a child and I know what's a stake, or I've been through it and I know what can go wrong, but I'm terrified of something not going just right. I'm terrified I'll go to the doctor and get my ultrasound and they're going to go silent and studious searching the picture for something I can't see. Maybe it's because my hormones are crazy this time.

I'm in the wedding of a very dear friend of mine this weekend, and I'm looking forward to spending time with her and getting my mind off of things. Punkin is in the wedding as well, and I'm crossing my fingers he makes it down the isle without incident!

Punky is just getting so big so fast. He's talking more every day and though a lot of it is his own special language, he's definitely saying something. He NEVER isn't babbling about something. He's a bit like his Dad in that way. This gives me hope that he'll get Austin's outgoing personality. Austin never meets a stranger, and I love that about him.

He's still going through that stage of wanting to assert his independence. AKA being a giant brat sometimes. He especially loves to torture the dog, which is not okay but is also kind of cute. He LOVES his puppy. He calls for her in the mornings and always wants to give her hugs and kisses. He hits her with his toys, and we always get on to him and put him in time out for it, but I really just think he wants to play with her. He sees Austin rough house with her (I mean like, on the ground rolling around wrestling with her) and he wants to do the same but doesn't really know how. I think that's our biggest issue with him right now.

Another issue is his eating. He never wants to eat what we give him. Unless it's fresh fruit (which he gets with breakfast every morning and sometimes lunch) he pretty much doesn't want it. The only other thing he'll eat consistently is Macaroni and Cheese. I still can't get him to eat meat at all. Not even with ketchup. I thought I could mask the taste or texture or whatever he doesn't like...not so much.

He eats a lot of the same things every day because it's what we know he'll eat, but I feel like that can't be good for him. We're lucky that he'll usually eat some veggies here and there, but even then he only really likes green beans and sweet peas. So we're still struggling with that right now.

I mentioned earlier that Punkin is going to be in my friends wedding this weekend..he's not going to be the ring bearer, but he's going to go down the isle right before the bride with a sign on his back that says "Here Comes the Bride". My friend borrowed a baby tux for me and here is a totally adorable picture of Punky when we tried it on him this weekend:

As you can see he was none-too-please about putting it on, but he ran around a few minutes after this shaking a tambourine just as happy as can be. Isn't he a handsome little man?!

First Tri, We Meet Again (AKA You Sneaky, Sneaky B-Word)

So yes. Word is out to the masses. Austin and I are expecting a 2nd little bundle of joy (and poop) at the end of May. My doctor originally told me the end of June, but that math does not make any sense since I'm measuring 10 weeks. So I've taken it upon myself to correct him without him knowing. :)

Let me assure you, this was a complete shock. If I count backwards to find a date of conception, I was on my period. Doesn't make any sense and I still have no idea when it happened. I'll be honest and say with Punkin, I had a sneaking suspicion and even kind of hoped for it. Don't get me wrong, I totally lost my shit whenever I found out with Punkin. There were wails of "I CAN'T DO THIIIIIIIIS!" and Austin standing in front of me flapping his arms uselessly. But I can't say I was surprised.

This time though...shock. And terror.

I was only a few days late and kept telling myself there's no way even though Austin was picking on me for it. One morning I was nauseous and actually had to run to the bathroom. That didn't even tip me off. What REALLY tipped me off was the fact that my acid reflux had been acting up, which it hasn't really done since I had Jax. I remember just freezing and thinking "Oh, no. No, No, No."

I talked myself down and went to work and after being there for about half a second I couldn't take it any more. I went to the store, got a pregnancy test and took it right there at work in the ladies restroom. I do not recommend this. Seriously, don't even think about it. I absolutely crumpled right there on the floor of the bathroom and had a meltdown. As soon as I could collect myself enough to move, I ran to my desk, grabbed my stuff and hightailed it home.

Austin must have been having some sort of psychic calling because my phone rang as soon as I got into my car and it was him. I sobbed to him that I was pregnant and I swear he was silent for a good 2 minutes before he finally said "Can you come home?". Already on my way!

He panicked with me for a good 5 minutes and then of course, he was excited and making plans. I think I panicked for a good week before I was able to have a semblance of excitement.

I don't think I was truly excited until our appointment with the OB yesterday. Seeing that little blob on the screen wiggle it's little legs just made it so real.

I'm still scared. I had actually been thinking how okay I'd be just to have Punkin. I love being able to give him my full attention and love on him all day long. I feel a little guilty actually. I don't want him to feel like he comes second, ever. I know people do this every day so I just have to put on my big girl panties and figure it out I guess.

First tri is definitely having her way with me. I'm sick most days, but if I stay on top of when I eat and eat meals and snacks with protein I'm a bit better. I'm exhausted all the time. It takes some serious motivation for me to get off the couch and clean anything in my house (please don't come over. It's for your own safety). I'm WAY more emotional this time already than I ever was with Punky. I've never been one to cry at movies or TV  shows, but man. One little thing can set me off. Especially if it has anything to do with kids.

I'll take it all though, if it means I'm able to have a healthy baby. The payoff is definitely worth it in the end. I just have to keep telling myself that whenever I start complaining (which let's face it, is pretty often).

So there you have it. I'm pregnant and scared. And happy and excited. Can't wait to find out what we're having!

Leaps and Bounds

That's how it seems my baby boy is growing lately.

He's gotten really good at repeating what we say now. The newest terms he's added to his vocabulary are "poo poo butt" (after me telling him he had one as I was hosing him off one morning) and "peeper" (yes, that's exactly what it sounds like).

I laughed hysterically at both when I heard them come from his mouth.

He still babbles like crazy and although we have no idea what he's saying most of the time, he knows EXACTLY what he's saying. I'll look at him and say " I have no idea what you're talking about." and he'll get right in my face and repeat it exactly like he said it before like I'm slow on the uptake. Duh, Ma.

Oh yes, and I'm no longer "Momma" most of the time. I'm now just "Ma". Apparently he's too busy to get the whole word out. I tell him bye-bye and he'll say "Bye, Ma!" as he's running past me to his next activity.

He's learned when things are hot. He's learned to ask for a banana by name. He's mastered the use of saying "thank you"

This whole thing is so bittersweet. On one hand, I can't wait until he's really talking and I can have conversations with him that make sense. On the other hand, I just need him to stop growing so fast. He'll be 20 months old soon and that's only 4 months away from 2! 2 years old! Ugh. He's so big.

Sometimes I'll look at him and his long legs and his big boy cups and it just kills me how big he is. All I can think is one day he's going to be an obnoxious teenager (because let's face it, all teenagers have some degree of obnoxious) and my little baby boy with his red curls and his killer dimples is going to be a memory.

Sigh. I'm seriously just too emotional about it lately! I'm sure I'll get over it when we go to potty train and I'm wishing we could skip that part and he can just magically use the potty by himself!

He may be a big boy, but that thumb in his mouth gets me every time.

Flashback Friday

I heart baby fat rolls.