18 weeks, 2 years 9 months

New Baby

18 weeks, I can feel the new baby kick now. Even Andy got to feel him/her on a couple occasions. Van has been busy telling people about the baby, being sure to reiterate that while I have a baby in my belly, he does not. (This was a point of confusion for him at first).

In a couple weeks we'll have the 20 week ultrasound and the gender reveal party in PA just a week after that. More exciting news to come.

Van

I can't believe how much fun Van is to hang out with (although very exhausting). We had one outing this weekend where I took him to watch a race and taught him how to cheer for runners. But besides that we spent most of the weekend cooking, cleaning, watching movies, coloring, playing pretend, etc.
And yet we had such a blast. Here are some pictures of Van eating his blueberries and celery. I wasn't paying attention then when I looked up he had the blueberries all lined up on the celery.

Taylor Swift wrote a song from the point of view of a mom who lost her son to brain cancer at 4 years old. I heard it on the radio and cried harder than I can remember crying in a long time. Sure being pregnant doesn't help, but the way she describes the loss of her son sounded so real and so much like how I could imagine feeling if that happened to me. It's very beautiful and powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ITrd7fM6aY

Love that little man so much.

Chopping Wood

I came home to this adorable scene today.

Andy is chopping wood. They load it into Van's cart and Andy's wheelbarrow; then they take it over to the sauna together. I have a video clip and a couple of shots from my iphone. Not great photos, but a great moment to remember.

Video of Andy and Van chopping wood

Random Things

I just wanted to record some random things about Van right now.

He loves the color orange.
Yesterday we had cheesy crackers, cheddar cheese and mango slices, an all orange snack! We also made orange playdough.

Any time you ask Van why he, or anyone else, does something, he answers "because I need to"
For example,
Van: "Mama, I putting my blanket in the bathtub."
Me: "Why?"
Van: "Because I need to"

or

Van: "Mama, Adam bit me today"
Me: "Why?"
Van: "Because he need to"


He also likes to say, 'Follow me Mama" or "Follow me Daddy"

He loves playing pretend. Some common themes,
 - He's a tiger
 - He's a lion
 - crabs are attacking
 - crocodiles are attacking
 - it is required that we hide from something

One of my favorite lines from a game of 'Family Lion' pretend. Van is baby lion, Andy is daddy lion and I am momma lion.
Van: "I a lion. I eating leaves, and growling at dolphins."

Monkey

Aunty Hildur bought Van a monkey costume! I love baby/toddlers in costumes. Halloween is the best time of year.
For the actual event, we plan to dress him up as Buzz Lightyear, to coordinate with his cousins Jack and Madison who will be Woody and Jesse. But having an extra monkey costume around has been handy too :)

16 weeks

16 weeks yesterday. At first I thought I was showing really quickly but it turns out that just the first 4 weeks, after that everything has been pretty stagnant bumpwise.

Last cycle we didn't start until 24 weeks and I always wished I would have started a few weeks earlier. It's better to be on the too early side.

These pictures will be more fun with time.

Window Trouble

I walked into this operation in progress so like any good parent I ran to get my camera. That chair started in the living room, so it was a pretty impressive feat.

When I walked in he says,

"I'm just looking!"

(this is not our first experience with trying to climb out windows)

 

The view from the window.

Next order of business, locks on all the windows!

The Fair, day 2

When Andy finally got back into town from the field, we all went to the fair together.
It was so much fun to go as a family!
After my dry run, I knew all the tricks of avoiding lines and managing Van.
One problem was that we showed up at 10, although the fair didn't start until noon. We ate lunch at Carrs and took a drive to pass the time.
We were fully decked out in rain gear so we could ride the rides even in the rain. But it turned out to be a dry day and the questionable weather kept the crowds away.

 

Van in the car, ready for the fair!

 

Riding a roller coaster with dad.

 

Completing the obstacle course with mom.

 

Weeeeeee!

 

Ready for the next adventure.

 

Van the Fireman

 

He is the only one on the ride, there were no lines anywhere!

 

With a froggie we won at the games. It kept giving dad smooches.

 

Great family picture with his new car.

 

Once again, all tuckered out. 

So given our two trips to the fair, family trumps weather every time. We could dress for the colder weather, but nothing replaces having dad around. 

The Fair, day 1

Van and I took a spur of the moment trip to the fair when Zeze had to call in sick on a Tuesday. It was a gorgeous sunny day, but unfortunately skipping his nap for a noon fair start time, made for a cranky trip. Still he had fun seeing the animals and riding the rides.

Van was actually not too fond of the Merry-Go-Round. It was all I could do to keep him on the whole time. But he really liked the obstacle course, see the picture below where he's climbing the rope net.

 

Van had a great day, no diaper all day. The problem was he pulled down his pants and peed in the middle of the fair twice (including behind this bench). Once he starts it's hard to stop him, so I generally tried to pretend I didn't notice. 

 

As soon as we reached the car, he was asleep. A long day of playing at the fair.