Sneak Peak

We had Christmas photos taken last weekend... Here is a sneak peak! They turned out AWESOME!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween today! This year was the first time Belle really understood what was going on. She chose her costume (from her dress-up stuff) and was very excited to be Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz - or "Wizard of Ba" as she calls it... :) Her costume was even complete with Ruby Red slippers! We had to layer up because of the chilly temps the last few days. (We even had snow here - in Maryland - Saturday!)

 Here is Belle in her costume with her Toto.

 Little pumpkins!

George the blue-eyed monkey.

We had a great time trick-or-treating in our Ferry Landing Woods community! We went from house-to-house on the hay ride and ended at Hooker's Train Station. Grandma Gloria is down visiting for a few days and got to enjoy this Halloween with us!

 Hooker's Haunted Train - all three Dorthy's in one car!

Carving pumpkins with Grandma.

Another month

Today, George is five months old. He is 21 pounds, 7 ounces - a VERY big boy! Today he had two shots and didn't make a peep! He's tough like his sister! His first ear infection (discovered last week) is cleared up. He did great on the anti-biotics, even if I DID screw up and only give them to him once a day when he was supposed to get it twice... :)

 Today, Isabelle is 35 months old! She is 40.5 pounds - also a very big girl! Next month, she will be three years old... I am not sure how that happened. Note: To everyone who said "it will fly by," you were right! No need to rub it in... Belle got a flu shot today. She went first (because I didn't want her to get scared when George started crying after his shots) and she did awesome! She didn't make a peep either! However, she did hide her head in my chest and the nurse said, "I'm so sorry! Did I hurt your feelings?" and she nodded "yes". Since she was so brave and SUCH a big girl, she got a lollipop, a balloon, AND... wait for it... a BAND AID! That was the highlight of her trip... The band-aid. I love this girl!

34 and 4

Yesterday began months 34 and 4 for our little ones. The day came with a nasty cough and fever for Belle, but a pretty good day for George. We spend almost 3 hours at the doctor awaiting our sick and well visits. Belle's cough and fever are not strep, as we thought it might be since it is going around at daycare. Her left ear was "questionable" (as Dr. Sue put it) so she is on another round of antibiotics for that and her enormous tonsils. The girl has the largest tonsils I have ever seen (and every doctor comments on it and runs strep tests everytime we go in because they are so huge all the time) but no strep! However, Doc said there's a chance it could be tonsilitis - another reason for the antibiotics. Hopefully everything clears up soon. She is still 39 pounds! One pound from officially having to move to the new booster seat we picked up last weekend.

She did not want to let me take her picture here, so I just had to snap one quickly when I managed to get her to look up...

Georgie boy is doing great! Healthy as can be! He is growing like a weed (still) and will be starting solid foods in the next couple days (probably this weekend). At four months, our little man weighed in at 19 pounds even and measured 26 1/2 inches long, dwarfing big sister at this age (who was 16 lbs 15 oz and 25 inches long). :)

Happy boy, sitting very well with support!

Derby!

We ventured out Saturday for the kids' first demolition derby and what an exciting derby it was! Belle was thrilled to see all the cars smashing together and got to see the firemen at work several times. There were multiple car fires (the largest I have ever seen at a derby) with one car catching another on fire and in another heat, yet a third car catching on fire! There was a truck heat (which I have also never seen before) as well as a stock car heat. It was very exciting! Belle also got to see a helicopter pretty close up because a little boy fell off the grand stands and had to be air lifted out... I do not know what happened to him, but it really made me watch Belle's every move to make sure she wouldn't fall off the stands (even though we were only a couple rows up, it would still cause some damage to fall for a little one!) I hope that he is doing fine.
George was not such a fan at first... He was already sleepy and I changed him before the derby started and the bathroom stalls crashing shut sent him into meltdown mode, followed shortly after by the announcer coming over the speakers VERY loudly... Luckily, he calmed down enough to eat and then the noise of the cars racing put him right to sleep. He was a trooper! Especially for such a cold night!
I didn't think to bring the camera, so I, unfortunately, do not have any pictures of the kiddos watching their first demo derby... They were looking awefully cute in their winter hats though! :)

Two

Two.

Two kids.

Two times more laundry.

Two times more work.

Two times more mess to clean up.

Two times more stress.

Two times more exhaustion.

Two times more hugs.

Two times more snuggles.

Two times more giggles.

Two times more smiles.

Two times more love.

And I love these TWO!

Big Kids

Our little girl is growing up so quickly!  Yesterday, I picked her up from daycare and Ms. Bev said she will be moving up to the three Year old room in two weeks!  She's such a little Smarty pants! I am so proud of my girl!

George started daycare Monday and has been doing great!  Ms. Crystal,  Ms. Karen and Ms. Carleigh have all been fabulous,  but I am told that Ms. Crystal is his favorite!  He is very happy when he gets home which just makes me feel so much better about leaving him everyday for work. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for winning the lotto though!
'
Some pictures from Sunday.

2 Months

Our little man is 2 months old today! Time has flown by! At our doctor's appointment today, he weighed in at 13 lbs, 11 oz and measured 23 1/4 inches long! He is growing like crazy, but is sweet as can be!

Just a comparison below: Isabelle at 2 months. She was 13 lbs, 10 oz and 23 3/4 inches long. VERY close! 

Time. Time. Time.

When I knew I would be on maternity leave for 12 weeks, I had such a grand list of things I would take care of; painting rooms that still need to be painted, installing things that are just sitting in their boxes, unpacking the rest of the crap from our move a year ago, etc.  Here we are, week 8 of my time off and I have accomplished almost nothing from said list. How is it that I am home all day (most of the time) with just one little baby (who really usually does sleep about 4 hours a day) and I cannot manage to get anything done? I consider myself very lucky because I am home, but still get to send Belle to daycare AND still get to have cleaning people come every other week. Yet, I can't manage to get anything done. Could it be that those 4 hours of napping the little guy does are done in 15-20 minute increments which I try to use to eat, go to the bathroom, check the mail, get a drink, pump out the remainder of this milk?? I don't know.  I am now finding myself sitting here writing this, while he is sleeping and Belle is eating lunch and I am feeling guilty about taking 15 minutes to do this rather than something productive.  Why the incessant feeling of guilt?! Why do we, as mom's (and I suppose maybe dad's too) feel like we always have to be doing something? Why do we always have a lingering feeling of guilt if we take an hour to ourselves to just chill and watch TV or do absolutely nothing for once? And why isn't there more time in the day for us to veg for a few AND get stuff done AND spend adequate time with our children and spouses?

Moral of the story: I need more time.

Sweet Girl

While we were eating dinner tonight, George woke up and was fussing in his crib.  After a little while, Belle said "I'll be right back" and ran upstairs for something.  A few minutes later, when she was just a little too quiet, Nick went up to see what she was doing and found her in George's crib with him, patting his back to soothe him.

I love my kids!

Welcome George Wesley!

Our long awaited little bundle has arrived! George Wesley Lumsden joined this world at 7:46 am on May 20 weighing in at 8lbs 12oz and 21 inches long.  He is just perfect! Big sister Isabelle is slowly adjusting to him. She really wants to help and is doing remarkable well considering the time he takes from me (leaving mostly just Daddy for her right now).  I am truly blessed to have such a perfect little family! :)

Birth story: I had a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon and was dilated 2-3 cm.  The doctor said she didn't expect me to make it to my next appointment, and I guess she was right!  My mom flew in from Michigan Thursday evening.  We went to pick her up at the airport, picked up dinner, got home around 10pm, ate and went to bed.  I woke up at 3am to a really strong contraction and knew it was the real thing this time.  I only waited about 20 minutes to call the doctor because I knew it was going to be fast.  I woke Nick up and we were on our way to the hospital by about 3:30am.  We arrived at the hospital shortly after 4am. When we arrived, I was dilated to almost 4cm and in a lot of pain.  They admitted me and by about 5:30 am, I was dilated to 8cm.  The nurses were freaking out because the anesthesiologist was in the room next door redoing an epidural for another patient and they didn't think I would wait long enough to get one if he didn't hurry.  About 30 minutes later, I was at 9cm and the doctor said I probably wouldn't be able to wait for the epidural. Thank goodness the anesthesiologist came in and got me hooked up! However, I don't think the epidural really had time to set it because I was still feeling a lot of pain - especially in my left side, but it was enough relief for me to rest for a little bit before pushing.  Pushing was a lot more difficult this time around than I remember with Belle - but I couldn't feel ANYTHING with her.  I felt just about everything this time... However, after pushing for about 20 minutes, I had a perfect little baby boy in my arms!

The first 6 days with George have been a breeze.  He is such a content and good little baby. He rarely cries and is very alert.  He sleeps very well through the night - getting up only a couple times.  We are still having a little bit of difficulty breast feeding, but are getting used to each other and making progress!  George lost 12 oz in the first few days.  He had an appointment for a jaundice checkup on Monday and was down to 8lbs 0oz.  We had another appointment yesterday to check weight and he is up to 8lbs 1oz.  We will have another appointment next Friday for our two week checkup and are hoping for some more weight gain by then!

Happy Mother's Day!

My sweet little girl (and husband) got me some beautiful flowers and cards today for Mother's Day! They let me sleep in and enjoy doing nothing all day.  It was fabulous! And my girl worked on saying "Happy Mother's Day" to me all day! What an angel!

Only 15 more days until my second little angel is scheduled to arrive.  I am hoping for an earlier delivery, but suppose I need to just be satisfied with a healthy, happy baby! :)

We have been searching for a bedroom set for Belle, but have been struggling trying to justify the cost when we have so many other things to pay for this spring.  I think I just found two twin beds on Craig's List for  1/4 of the price of the furniture store and a dresser for under $100 (instead of $500)! SOOOO hopefully it all works out and we can get her bedroom set afterall for a fraction of the price that we originally had budgeted.  I also found the stroller I am registered for on Craig's List for 1/2 the price of new.  Still waiting to hear back if that is still available or not.  I sure hope so! I am all about saving some moolah right now! We still have plenty to pay for to get the yard up to par (and it's not looking hopeful to get a deck in this year).  We opened the pool last Thursday and the filter blew up, so we have to replace that at a pretty pricey penny... It's always something! The joys of home ownership!  But I have to say, I'll take that over being cramped into a place that we are not happy with anytime!

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all!

36 weeks and counting

Well, here it is: I began to lose my mucus plug last Thursday (at 35 weeks) and more on Saturday.  That's too much info for some, but exciting to the miserably pregnant!  I have been fully expecting this baby to come at any time because with Belle, this happened on Sunday morning and she showed up Thursday morning.  However, nothing has been the same this pregnancy, so I am not really quite sure why I keep thinking things might be the same.  So far, it has been 8 days with no baby.  I have been having some pretty tough contractions that last for about 2 minutes, spaced about 5-10 minutes apart for a few hours at a time, then they just stop.  This has been going on since last Saturday.  Needless to say, I am anxious for this baby to arrive and for things to not be quite so miserable with my body!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the good news is, I didn't gain anymore weight! Before I left my appointment, Dr. Leslie said "Happy dilating!" So, she knows this baby is coming sometime soon-ish.  I am hosting a baby shower for my friend Julia this Saturday, so I am now hoping Baby waits until after that.  THEN I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this show on the road! My feet are enormous, my back is sore, my stomach is sore and I can't do half the things I normally would do.  I'm really ready to just get life back to "normal" with a new baby!  I will keep you all posted.  I am very ready to meet the newest Little Lumsden!

33 Weeks

Dang. 33 weeks alread.  Here is the huge belly. I am officially 2 pounds shy of where I was when I delivered Belle.  Good news - in the last 2.5 weeks, I gained only 2 lbs (which is much better than the average of 2 lbs per week that I HAVE been going at for the past couple months).  I am feeling very large and not at all in charge.

As most of you know, I have been having some seriously swollen feet, ankles and legs the past week.  Here is a picture. The right one is so much worse than the left, but neither fit into my shoes anymore! I am resorting to breaking the new dress code at work and wearing only flip flops, because they will actually fit onto my feet.  If I could reach them, I would at least paint my toenails, but I do not see that one happening anytime soon!  Anyway, take a look at the pic... Seriously... That's just not right...

Proud of My Girl

Last week, we officially started potty training with big girl underwear. :)  Here's how it has been going so far:

Day 1 (Tuesday)

• 2 accidents (at daycare, they give them 2 accidents, then put them back in pullups for the rest of the day)

Day 2 (Wednesday)

• Wednesday's are Ms. Dana's day off, so we didn't do underwear on Wednesday because the other teachers seem more overwhelmed by things when Dana is not there and this class had 3 little ones starting in underwear last week

Day 3 (Thursday)

• 2 accidents, back to pull ups

Day 4 (Friday)

• Stayed dry ALL DAY!!! :)  Yay for our Big Girl!
• Had an accident about 7:30pm at home and was very upset about it - trying to hide in my craft room to hide it.  Poor girl.

Weekend

• Little stinker refused to go on the potty ALL WEEKEND. So we stayed in diapers and pull ups all weekend.  She did not go on the potty once! It was a serious attitude weekend, so I am excluding it from our potty training days...

Day 5 (Monday)

• Stayed dry ALL DAY!!! And ALL NIGHT!!!!

Day 6 (Tuesday)

• Stayed dry ALL DAY!!! Had an accident just before bathtime.

Day 7 (Wednesday)

• Had one accident at daycare and one at home. (It was Dana's day off).

I am SO PROUD of my Big Girl! We are going to be truly potty trained before we know it! Hopefully before Little Lumsden #2 arrives. :)

28 Weeks

28 weeks and going strong. I have a little wiggle bottom in my tummy tonight! He/she is wiggling and kicking and moving up a storm.  I have still had some rough days with contractions, but I'm working through it, trying to make sure to stay hydrated and working on eating healthier (with the exception of my afternoon chocolate craving that must be satisfied...)

We had a great weekend visit with Grandma Lumsden and Nick and I got our first chance to get away for a night since before Belle was born.  We made the trip to Atlantic City Friday night.  Nick got to play some craps, I got to do a little shopping and, most importantly, get a prenatal massage!!!  It was heaven!  Why do those 55 minutes always seem to go so fast?! And - I was out cold by about 10:30 pm.  Yeah, living it up.  But I actually got a solid night of sleep AND got to sleep in Saturday morning which doesn't really happen too often now that Little Miss can open doors and is in a toddler bed! :)  Thank you, Gloria for a night out!

So Pretty

Tonight, on the drive home from daycare, Belle said she wanted to go see Grandma.  I reminded her that Grandma had gone home in the morning, but that we would see her again in three months.  BUT in one month, we would see the OTHER grandma's and grandpa's.  I told her "In one month, we're going to see Grandpa Ray, Grandma Orveen, Grandma Vicki, Grandpa Harold, Uncle J...." to which she replied, "Yes. Uncle J so pretty."

I couldn't stop laughing. Silly girl.

Slow it Down!

I feel like I JUST put Belle into 3T clothes (it was early fall) and last weekend, I had to go get her some new clothes in a 4T.  She is just getting so tall and growing up way too fast! All her 3T shirts have become belly shirts and her pants are just so tight the poor little Peanut can barely move!  So, it's up to 4T... at barely age 2.  I'm not too sure I like this!

Fears

So, I haven't really voiced any of this before today, so just bear with me... First, this pregnancy has been really wierd for me.  I don't feel like I have been really that connected to this baby yet and I believe it stems from fears that I am trying to face... First, when I first found out I was pregnant (it was a Wednesday) and I was only about 3 1/2 weeks.  And once again, it happened so quickly that I was very disbelieving, yet, it was real.  However, that following day, I found out that my cousin had miscarried.  She was 14 weeks.  I tried not to panic about that, but that weekend, I started spotting making ME freak out that I was going to miscarry as well.  So, I waited a few days, took another pregnancy test (or 3 - whatever) and they were all positive.  So, it was still all good.  A couple weeks later (before I saw the doctor for the first time), I was spotting a little bit again, causing more stress and anxiety, but the tests still said positive.  When I went to the doc for the first time, she said this was normal, I was still pregnant and not to stress about it because that will just make it worse.  So, I tried not to stress about it, but getting to that 14 week mark was a real bitch.  I mean - it was really stressful and nerve wracking.  But, I finally made it around Thanksgiving and WHEW! A few weeks free of that kind of stress.  Things were going pretty good - except for work which was killing me - stressing me to the max with working late, keeping me from my husband and daughter, etc.  THEN comes December.

 One of my co-workers' wives delivered their baby at 26 weeks.  She was 1 lb 11 oz.  Made me freak out slightly, but I thought "no sweat - this one is staying put! I'm am blessed!"  About a week later, another friend of mine delivered twins at just shy of 26 weeks.  They were both under 2 lbs.  They lost one of them.  At the end of November, another friend was hospitalized at 26 weeks with her first.  Luckily, they were able to stop her contractions and her little guy stayed in to reach full term.  At 22 weeks, I had my first real contractions, brought on by stress from work and working a 36 hour stretch with less than 2 hours of sleep.  Really made me freak out.  I have been having real contractions (with a LOT of Braxton Hicks contractions) several times a week since, but nothing the doctor is worried about because they are not steady.  Needless to say, this 26 week mark has now been absolutely terrifying to me.  I have been having nightmares about having this baby at 26 weeks or earlier.  Now I have made it this far... I am hoping that once this week is over, a huge portion of this anxiety that I have been feeling will melt away and I will be able to get on with enjoying the rest of this pregnancy and bonding with the new Little Lumsden.

 Here is a photo from today.  Our 26 week mark.  Let's hope we make it to the 36 week mark! :)

25 weeks

Well, the good news is that apparently, Nick really did just take a really bad picture last week because I look much less like a house this week and more like a little cottage... :)  I was seriously getting worried comparing last week's photo with photos from being pregnant with Belle and my belly was looking about the same size as it was at 36 weeks last time, at 24 weeks this time!!! I was frightened!  But this looks MUCH better! :)  Anyway, here is the 25 week picture.  Only 15 weeks to go!

Struggles

I am doing a lot of struggling lately... Trying to figure out what I want to do with my career.  I am over this engineering stuff. It used to be fun, but is no more.  I do not enjoy what I am doing which is making my job search even more difficult as I am not sure this is what I want to do for the rest of my life or ever for the next 5 years... I am struggling trying to figure out what I want to do, what I want to be when I grow up.  Ideally, I would be able to do something that would make money from home; something that I love to do; something that would allow me to stay home with my daughter and new baby.  What is this dream job? Why have I not been able to figure it out yet?? Hoping for an epiphany soon.

24 Weeks

Made it to the 24 week mark this week.  Had a doctor's appointment today to check everything out and all is going well!  I feel like a truck though... much bigger than last time at this time, I think.  But that's supposed to be "normal"??  Anyway, I talked to the doc about all these contractions I've been having and she said it's fairly common after the first one because you are so busy chasing the others around that you are just moving way more than with the first one, which tends to cause more contractions.  She said it's nothing to worry about unless there are more than 4 in an hour and then I have to call to make sure everything is okay. Sooooooo.... nothing to worry about for now!

Had my glucose test today to screen for gestational diabetes.  Hopefully it comes back okay.  Didn't have the best lunch to prepare for that test!!! But it was delicious!  Next appointment is at 28 weeks and will have the rhogam injection then for being RH negative.  And then it's bi-weekly checkups from there.  Here's hoping we win the lotto between now and May so I don't have to go back to work afterward!!!

Big ole belly pic

Poem

My friend posted this on her facebook today.  It made me cry.  Such a beautifully written heartbreaking poem to describe how she is feeling for her husband with the loss of their baby boy last month... I had to share.

A Husband's Grief
It must be very difficult
To be a man in grief,
Since "men don't cry"
and "men are strong"
No tears can bring relief.
It must be very difficult
To stand up to the test,
And field the calls and visitors
So she can get some rest.
They always ask if she's all right
And what she's going through.
But seldom take his hand and ask,
"My friend, but how are you?"
He hears her crying in the night
And thinks his heart will break.
He dries her tears and comforts her,
But "stays strong" for her sake.
It must be very difficult
To start each day anew.
And try to be so very brave-
He lost his baby too.
-Sarah Gutchak

How did that happen??

Isabelle while playing: "Mama! I poop!"
Me: "Do you have to go poop?"
Isabelle: "No."
Me: "Is it too late?"
Isabelle: "No."
Me: "Did you already poop?"
Isabelle: "No."
Nick: "Do you have poop in your pants?"
Isabelle: "Yes."
Nick: "How did it get there?"
Isabelle: "Elwood put it there."

(For the record - she did NOT have poop in her pants and she DID go poop on the potty after this!)

Little Moments

As we were driving to the doctor's office today, we pass by this huge unfinished house. The conversation went like this:

Isabelle: "Big house, Mommy!"
Me: "Yes, that is a big house."
Isabelle: "Mommy take it."
Me: "No. It is not ours, we cannot take it."
Isabelle: "I too little to take it."
Me: "Yes. You are too little."

A few minutes later:

Isabelle: "I bigger than Mommy. I take it."

I could not stop laughing.

a, b, c... neffer neffer neffer neffer...

She knows the important part... :) So cute. Enjoy.

Hurricane Isabelle

Going to test this new blog format to see if videos upload better.  I sure hope so! :)

This video is from New Year's Eve when Little Miss was supposed to be napping... She just spent 2 (somewhat) quiet hours in her room... making it no longer clean...

Giving it the finger...

As most of you know, we had a "manditory furlough" over the Christmas holiday from December 23 - January 3.  This means: 3 paid holidays and 5 days unpaid.  To top it off, I had not one, but TWO projects due on the 7th, and of course, they didn't bother to move those deadlines for us.  So, now, instead of having 2.5 weeks to do our projects (more than enough time), we had 4 days.  Then, I happened to get sick last week and had to stay home Thursday because I just wasn't feeling up to work after vomiting all night long.  Needless to say, one of my projects slipped because PM for one of them is pushy as they come and somehow always manages to find a way to get his stuff pushed to the front of your agenda.  Well, I didn't finish one of my projects because instead of having 3 days to do it, I had one.  I planned to work on it some this weekend, then thought about it more and decided to give it the finger... While I feel sort of bad for the PM on this one (he's a great guy), I know I'll get it done before the ACTUAL deadline of this Friday, but I am NOT giving that place anymore of my free time away from my family.  Instead of working tonight, I read books and watched a movie with my daughter. I have to say, that is time MUCH better spent! :)

Boy or Girl?

When I was pregnant with Isabelle, I had this stong gut feeling the entire time that she was going to be a girl, and even though we waited until November 20, 2008 to find out for sure, my gut proved to be correct.  This go around, I have had absolutely no strong gut feelings telling me either way what Little Lumsden #2 is going to be...  Here are some of my uncertainties.

It could be a girl because:

• I was completely miserable this time around and several of my friends experienced this when they had a second baby of the same gender - smooth sailing the first time, rough seas the second.
• During the ultrasound yesterday, Little One was very stubborn, very much like Big Sister was.  Little One did not want to move to let the ultrasound technician take the photos of her face, making our visit extra long...
• I have had recurring dreams about having 4 little girls that look just like Belle and one little boy that looks just like Nick (at the end of the line)
• And finally - the Chinese birth prediction chart says another girl.  Laugh all you want, but this thing has been right for everyone I have checked since I was pregnant with Belle, (except for my cousin, Fawn, and that's because I screwed up and put her due date in February when it was really March or the other way around).

On the other hand... It could be a boy because:

• I was completely miserable this time around (from week 4 until week 15!) Since this pregnancy has been so different, there's a chance Little One is actually a boy.
• I feel like I am carrying MUCH lower this time around.  I don't remember having this much difficulty bending over this early on with Belle.  This time around, I feel like there is always a baby in the way where I need to bend.  However, it could be because I didn't have a 2 year old to pick up after constantly the first time, so I did much LESS bending! :)
• The heartbeat seems to be a bit lower than Belle's was - I didn't write down all her numbers - I am going to try to get them from the doc on Thursday to compare. But, if I recall, she was around high 150's, low 160's the whole time (which the docs told me was consistent with a boy, which was the ONLY thing that made me doubt that she was a girl... but they said that at about 36 weeks, so I didn't have much time to doubt).  This one has been pretty consistantly low 150's - still consistant with a boy, but could still be a girl.
• And finally - everyone seems to be wishing a boy on me this time around... and some keep wishing TWIN boys on me... But, rest assured, there is only ONE in there! :)

Here are some "pictures" from our 20 week visit yesterday.  Yes!!! We have made it halfway!

 Sticking butt in the air.

 Two little feet!

The thinking pose...

 Great profile pic.

And finally, 20 week (and one day) belly...