Ahhhh... Spring (for now)!

I know there is still a lot of potential for at least one more snow storm (I usually put away the winter gear for good by May), but we are sure enjoying this stretch of warm days in the 60's! Heat wave! It's nice to actually turn the heat off and open a few windows.

Spring is coming! It may not be here for good, but at least it's making an effort!

Well,

I have it. Again. Gestational Diabetes. I know it could be MUCH worse news, given that my family has definitely dealt with more serious health news recently, so this is peanuts, really. I'm just disappointed and need to vent a little. I was told by many that I can dodge it this time around if I eat right and exercise (which I have ALWAYS done), but it looks like my genetics are so deep with this, I really can't dodge it. Both of my grandmothers have/had borderline Type 2 Diabetes later in life, so there you go.

It's frustrating. REALLY frustrating. I've always eaten healthy and have learned so much more about nutrition on top of all that I already know. I've always exercised and we bought an elliptical machine for this cause, too! Oh well. It makes me a bit anxious for what my future health will be with this.

Oh well. I've done it once before, I know how to do it again, and it's just yet another kick of motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle, right?

Onward I go!

Hodge Podge

I have a good friend from college who lives in Madison and has a son a good six or so months older than Ben. We recently joined the same art class (I pretty much copy-catted her, actually) that meets every Thursday morning and it has been really nice seeing them so consistently! You'd THINK that since we actually live in the same town, we'd see more of each other, but there's always something going on or someone's sick or the schedule changes or... I'm grateful for this Thursday consistent meet-up (and it helps that we paid for the class, so we're ultra committed to making it each week!).

Anyhow, we both keep blogs and we were just saying how there's NOTHING to write about since... well... it's still cold outside. There's still a ton of snow on the ground. We're still stuck inside and don't leave the house all that often. Our creative energy is waring a little thin these days. Period.

So, here are the exciting things that have been going on in our lives that don't have to do with the weather:

1. We found out a few weeks ago we're having a girl! I know, I know, there are those of you out there that think "Well, it's not 100% with a girl," but we drilled my OB after our ultrasound and she said that she never sees mistakes unless it's twins (and still that's very rare). She also said that if the technician wasn't for sure, she wouldn't say anything. So. We're charging forward with anticipating a daughter at the end of May! Marc and I can't agree on a name, but he's getting closer to my side. I often remind him that I'm doing all the work making this baby, so my vote counts for more. :) (By the way, she's a cute little thing! I tried scanning a picture, but the scanner wasn't cooperating.)

2. Here is what Ben made in art class today... a bus! He's getting the hang of going to this class and doing projects, but it's a work in progress. He likes to explore around the room in search of materials that we're NOT using, which makes it challenging to complete his project. This class is so great for kids his age! The teacher is very relaxed, understands where 2.5-3yr olds are at developmentally, doesn't pressure, anything goes... and it helps that the parents are right there, too, of course.


3. Marc, bless his heart, painted our downstairs bathroom! He does NOT like painting and we've given it a long break since painting our whole first floor this past summer. I would have liked to have helped, but the scent from the paint was too much and unhealthy for me since I'm pregnant. Ben and I kept our distance and it didn't take long since it's a tiny space to begin with. It was just a royal pain to do. We also put in new light fixtures, towel hook, and toilet paper thingy. We feel very civilized compared to what was previously in there.


4. I'm just starting a GREAT book, Marley and Me. (I KNOW I'm suppose to underline titles of books, but I can't figure out HOW with Blogger... am I missing something???). If you love dogs and especially labs, this is a must. read. I grew up with always having a black lab and am thoroughly enjoying this book so far. Marc didn't grow up with any pets, but a plethora of larger neighboring animals such as cows, horses, mules, etc, etc. It's a new concept for him to think about having a pet in the house and we agreed that when our kids are older, we'll get a dog. Let's just say, I won't have him read this book. :)

Winter is (slowly) chugging on!

It's so cold, that...

... we should really put away our snow gear since it's not getting much exercise anyways. It's just taking up space.
... we're making up beyond-the-usual silly games and things to do (hence, the picture).
... Marc and I invested in an elliptical machine since you can't even walk outside because of the ice, not the cold (and I'm trying to avoid gestational diabetes this time around).
... Ben is going on the toilet more! (this isn't a result of being indoors all the time, but I'm excited to share our progress!)
... I have a very detailed plan of how I am going to paint the rest of our house when I can open the windows again.
... I've been making some pretty incredible meals, if I do say so myself.
... we've probably ran the most miles in our house playing chase with Ben in the past month than we have outside in a year. And, the 4-year boys at church are impressed with Ben's increasing speed each week as a result.
... even though we haven't had a big snowfall in weeks, it feels as though we have. The piles are still as high as they were when we made them!
... any temperature about 10 feels balmy.
... the hard corp northerner is thinking about moving back to DC where there are warmer temps in the winter.

Time for a bit of an update, eh?

There have been several inquiries about my lack of blog involvement in these last few months, so I thought I'd rev 'er back up again and hopefully I can keep up. Frankly, I lost a bit of steam. For those who don't know by now, I'm pregnant with babe #2 and October (my last post) was in the height of my first trimester and I had very little energy to do much of anything other than keeping up with Ben. Those of you who have gone through this I'm sure are shaking your heads, "yes."

So. There you go.

We are 20 weeks this week (I'm due at the end of May) and we find out the gender next week! Ben has a little clue of what's going on, but easily forgets. We've taken him to our appointments and he can mimic the sound of the heartbeat. Every now and then he looks in my pockets for the baby and gets a wee bit impatient why he can't see it yet. I keep telling him, "in a long bit" he can see it. When we talk about time in this house, it's either "in a little/long bit." He seems to get that concept, thank goodness!

As of late, we have been surviving this very cold and snowy winter and coming up with creative things to do indoors, which makes it extremely challenging to burn off that 2.5 year old energy. I'm hoping to sign Ben up for some art classes and find an open gym for little people during the week. We see friends every now and then during the week, but not as regular as it used to be since we moved across town, which is a major bummer. Later this week, it's suppose to hit a low of -40 with wind chill, which is cold enough that I won't even get in the car. Egads.

Ben continues to be hilarious and it feels as though his brain is exploding with growth! He picks up language and songs (with the correct tune yet to boot!) faster than ever. He loves to read books and fill-in-the-blank with certain stories and poetry. We bought him an easel with loads of art supplies and he really enjoys that, along with building legos. My heart just bursts with happiness to see him so engaged in creative play. He thrives with friends who are a little older than he is, possibly because they don't pose as much of a threat for sharing than his friends that are the same age? I'm not sure. He has figured out how to play in incredibly deep snow and loves it, which is a relief since deep snow is all we have (and it's only getting deeper)! While we were at my parent's house over Christmas break, Ben was always the last one in. Well, he pretty much had to come in since he couldn't be outside by himself anyways. He continues to love dogs, trains and tractors.

One major challenge that we're facing is that he won't sleep in his bed through the night. He happily jumps into his bed when it's time and I snuggle with him until he falls asleep. About two hours later, he wakes up and we go sooth him (which takes little-to-no time at all) and then he wakes up again, this time barging into our room and sleeping the rest of the night in our bed. I know that nightmares start at this age, but does any one have any advice? We'd REALLY like to come up with a solution to this before the baby comes and don't want to go backwards with anything. Yes, we have roughly 20 weeks, but these things can take time, too. We've tried fans, tick-tock clocks, music (until the end of the cd), etc, etc. He actually slept a couple weeks straight starting in November through the night without waking up once. Hmmmm...

So anyway, that's us in a nutshell. Hopefully I can keep up with this a little better in the future.

Ben's Activities

I thought it would be fun to record some of the things Ben has been doing these days. Often, they are QUITE comical, leaving both Marc and I in tears since he makes us laugh so hard.

1. Hiding things: We are discovering little treasures all over the house that we're pretty sure the other didn't put there. For example, finding tractors, trucks and fire engines lined in a kitchen drawer. I found a nice wad of dried play-doh and a chunk of old (OLD!!!) banana in the rice cooker. Oh yes, and the cell phone in the refrigerator. These are just a FEW of the hidden things we have found recently, among so many more.

2. Figuring things out: Ben LOVES to study us doing things. With moving into a new house, there are plenty of projects going on and Ben has to be in the middle of them (like, literally), soaking in how things work. Thankfully, we have a few tool sets for him to play with, but sometimes that's not good enough-- he wants the real deal. Marc and Ben had somewhat of a heated discussion surrounding the measuring tape this morning. When we were at my parent's house this past weekend, the favorite book for my dad to look at with Ben was this book about how things worked, probably for middle schoolers. Apparently, I was a lot like this as a young child--studying things, trying to make things work, and being a pretty good problem solver in general.

3. Copy-catting: A few weeks ago, I noticed Ben was rocking in his chair and nursing his baby doll. He would even say, "odder side!" and switch sides. Isn't that dear? We actually stopped nursing completely right after this happened and he hasn't done this since. He also likes to make sure his animals are feeling okay. He'll notice lamb or turtle upside down and go comfort them, talking quietly to them and saying, "it's o-tay, it's o-tay."

4. One of the greatest joys Ben gives me these days is when we read books for long periods of time and a few hours later, he's acting out the book. His current favorite book for acting out is "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." I'm sure you can imagine how much fun he has with that one! Good thing our bed is on the floor for now.

This stage that we're going through is so much fun! There are definitely some rough spots with the usual tantrums and learning to share bits, but overall, I'm very-much enjoying and relishing this dear, sweet boy of mine.

Coziness

Marc and Ben built our first fire of the season. I was telling Marc that this felt like completing something in this new house for me, possibly that I grew up with frequent fires during the colder months and had been missing that ever since leaving home 11 years ago.

We had a very cozy evening. I made pumpkin bread (that's actually for a breakfast potluck tomorrow morning, but it still smelled really good), we played, listened to good music, ... just being together.

Cozy.