Easter

Growing up, we always had a big to-do for Easter. Easter egg hunts, finding our baskets, scavenger hunts. It was awesome. Although I wasn't raised learning the real reason for Easter. Last year Nate was too young but now he's at the age where I want to start creating traditions for him like I had AND to learn the meaning of Easter. I think the message of Christ's death and Resurrection is a little over his head, so I guess we'll just stick with the eggs and candy this year.

We went to Michael's parents for Easter lunch and the egg hunt. Christy and I went out in the yard (the brief period of time that it stopped raining) and hid the eggs. We put some not so hidden eggs in the middle of the lawn for Nate. He had such a good time running around and picking up the eggs and putting them in the bag. I was kind of surprised that he got it. But it didn't take him long to figure out that these eggs had good things inside. He opened the first one and there was a shiny candy wrapper in it and then it was on! Afterwards he thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate. I wish I had some pictures but my camera is broken and I haven't been able to get a new one yet. :(

Bounce Spot

We took Nate up to Greenwood on Monday for his first trip to Bounce Spot (formerly Bouncertown). It is a place with big bouncers for him to jump on. He absolutely loved it! We took him in the toddler bouncer first, which was just his size. He enjoyed jumping (big shocker there), falling down, climbing, and sliding. We took him to the big bouncers, which he seemed to enjoy but was a bit hesitant. He was doing fine until a little kid (probably a little over 2 years old or so) decided that it would be fun to drop kick and pile drive him. His mom stated that she didn't know the rules about going in the bouncer and just kept saying "no" to him as he continued to jump all over Nate, making him cry. I told her that it would be fine to go in if she needed to get her son out, but she didn't. Nate eventually made his way back out, but was then done with the bouncers. I was pretty upset about it. She had said that he didn't know about hitting because he was an only child and there were no other siblings to hit back. Well, so is Nate and he doesn't go around beating kids up. We took him over to the arcade area and he liked running around and looking at all the machines and the lights. The he found the race cars and was in heaven. We tried to get him to get back on the bouncers, but it took him a little bit. But eventually he gained the confidence to go back and jump. He met a kid (around 4 years old) that started to play with him and they had a blast. This kid was so good with him and it just warmed my heart to see Nate so happy. What a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Not to mention that Nate had a great nap that afternoon!

Fun with Kids

It seems like some weeks drag on and on, and then there's some, like this week, that fly right by. I cannot believe that tomorrow is Friday and the start of another weekend (I'm not complaining!). The hustle and bustle of the house really seemed to start last weekend. We have been looking for a new dining set. Two of our chairs have broken and the remaining two chairs spend most of their time out in the garage, unless they are in use. Nate has learned how to climb up on the chairs and then up on the table. Irritated with constantly telling him to get down, I decided to just eliminate the problem. So we have been looking for a new dining set with chairs that do not have rungs across the bottom. Everything is either too expensive or not made well so we still have the old one. So while we don't think the weekend was a complete waste looking, as we now know what is out there, we still have the old set. On Monday we went to the gym with Sara and her kiddos. They were so cute all running around and jumping on the trampoline together. Next time I will remember my camera! We also had another play date today with Jill and her girls here at the house. I told Nate that girls were coming over to play and to get ready because this was going to be the norm in the near future but I don't think he understood me. :) And girl or boy, it didn't matter, Nate loves playing with other kids and had a blast. The best part is the fun isn't over yet. Lucas is coming up for a sleepover tomorrow night as well. So much fun with other kids...I don't think Nate will know what to do with himself.

We're Having a Girl!

My ultrasound appointment was yesterday morning. I couldn't sleep at all the night before, like a kid before Christmas. So many things running through my mind, but top were the sex and the health. I don't worry too much about the baby's health, but before this appointment I do. I don't opt for every blood test to check for things, so this is the first chance I have to hear if something might be wrong. Second, the gender of the baby. This is something that we have been wanting to know for, well, from the beginning. And every week that goes by makes it harder and harder not to know. With Nate, I found out at 18 weeks, so having to wait until I was almost 22 weeks pregnant made it feel like a lifetime.

Michael asked me the night before what I really wanted. A girl, of course! I've always wanted a little girl--to do her hair, and dress her up, color and draw, and play with dolls. To have her hate me when she's a teenager and love me again when she's an adult. But a boy? But I would love to have another little boy. I would have a house filled with blues and cars, wrestling and pee splattered toilets. Nate would have a little brother and they would share a room and be best friends. It sounded all so wonderful that I thought maybe I rather have a boy. But, I really want a girl too. So, I guess it really could have gone either way and I truly would have been thrilled.

So I got up on the table, the tech squirted the gel on my belly and it seemed like within seconds she was using the word "her". I was in shock and disbelief (still kind of am really). I couldn't believe we were really having a little girl. So of course I cried and I'm actually getting a little teary eyed now just writing this. Now we will have one of each and it all just seems so perfect. And she's healthy! Well as far as checking for the things that they can on an ultrasound, which is a huge relief for me.

When I was 9 years old I got a little brother that I wanted to be my little sister so badly that I would dress him up and put make up on him. I am finally getting my chance to have that little girl and I am so excited. The challenge now will be not to buy every adorable outfit I see.

15 Months

Even though Nate technically turned 15 months at the end of February, we couldn't get in to the doctor for his wellness visit until today. So I thought I would wait to update until we had all the stats.

The doctor's visit went well. Of course, like every time he goes, he was hamming it up, trying to make the nurse laugh. He will hit himself on the head (we call it 'the Lucas' because his cousin Lucas started doing that to make him laugh and now he does it) or fall down on purpose. His ear infection from last week is all cleared up and the rash is almost gone. She wants to keep him on Zyrtec daily though. His skin is sensitive and with his eczema, she feels this will help keep itching to a minimum. I didn't expect to have my toddler on a daily medication, but he scratches to the point his skin is raw and if this helps prevent that, then what's a little grape flavored medicine each morning? He is 33 1/4" tall (95%) and 28lbs (90%). He's our big guy (and yes, my back can vouch for that).



Now, let's see...about Mr. Personality. He is full of life and character. He loves to make people laugh and loves to be the center of attention. He also likes to make Mommy and Daddy mad by seeing what and how much he can get away with. We are working on this (mostly Mommy working on trying not to react too much so he won't want to do it again). But even with all the testing his limits and my patience, I feel like he really is a good boy. He is becoming very independent. He now likes to brush his own teeth and feed himself. This is still a work in progress too, but he's pretty good with foods like mashed potatoes that stick to the spoon better. He tells me when he's hungry by going to the pantry, fridge, or his highchair. While most of the time he hollers for something he wants, he his getting better about getting up and showing me or pointing. He can also sign "more" when he wants more of something, like a cracker. He loves to play with Sammy (and her dishes), balls, read books, and cars. He loves music and dancing. He loves cartoons, especially Elmo, Jack's Big Music Show, Curious George, Yo Gabba Gabba, among many others. He absolutely loves playing outside and going for walks and now that the weather is getting nicer it is something we can do more often. He loves to swing, walk around the yard throwing a ball, and pick up rocks and hand them to me. He can say 'mama', 'dada', 'uh-oh', 'cracker', 'dog', and 'baba'-'baby'-'ball ball' (which all sound the same). He gets into everything and now the top drawers in the kitchen, so nothing is safe. He climbs on everything, now including the kitchen chairs so that's not off limits anymore either. He recently started pulling his pee-pee out of his diaper to play with it. This one I'm not thrilled with. He absolutely hates getting dressed (I mean hates--kicking and screaming like he's dying) and diaper changes are a chore too. He will not lie still to get a new diaper on. He will cuddle with me for 0.3 seconds after his bath when he's wrapped in his towel. This is the only time I feel like he's still my baby. He does still drink a bottle of milk at the end of the night before bed, which I'm going to cut out here very soon, which will probably make me more sad than him. I feel like he's growing up so quickly and while this is a good thing with another baby on the way, I want to cherish these tender moments that I have with him.

20 Weeks

Halfway done! Not much to report. I think the baby is a banana now. :) I feel movements but nothing real strong yet. I'm getting bigger and my belly button has already popped out, which is so disappointing. It didn't pop out until almost the end with Nate and I hate the preggo belly button! Oh well. Otherwise, things are going smoothly. I feel good and even if I get tired a little more easily (carrying and chasing Nate around) I still am full of energy (most days). Nate thinks it's funny when I lift up my shirt and show him my belly. He likes to poke at it. And then of course he has to show me his belly (they look similar!). We are anxiously awaiting the ultrasound, scheduled for the 22nd. I cannot wait to see this little baby, make sure that he/she is healthy and strong, and find out if it is a he or she! I had a dream last night that it was a little girl. Wishful thinking? Maybe. I guess we will see in about 10 days.

Don the Pharmacist

Nate got a diaper rash that quickly turned very bad. He was itching it so bad anytime he was undiapered or unclothed that it was becoming raw and tender, even bleeding. Just horrible. So I took him in to the doctor last Thursday to make sure that it was just a diaper rash and nothing more. The nurse thought it might be a yeast rash but it turned out to be just what we thought, a really, really bad diaper rash. So the doc gave us a script for some cream, told us no more wipes until it clears up (just washcloths and blow dry), and hydrocortisone cream. We could also give him a little Benadryl to help ease the itching.

Normally I go to CVS or Walgreens to fill a prescription but I had other things to get and did not want to make more stops than necessary. So I went to Wal-Mart. When I dropped the Rx off, she told me it would be about 45 minutes. So we did our shopping and came back to pick it up. She rang it up and told me it would be $50. What!?! For a little tube of cream!?! So I asked if it was the generic and after talking to the pharmacist, Don, I found out that he had to call the doctor because the script was written for cream and the generic only came in ointment. Okay. So after some more waiting (and note that Nate can only take so much of sitting in the cart so now I am either chasing him around or trying to hold him as he wrestles out of my arms) I find out that the doctor okay'd the ointment but that they were out of stock. Don could either transfer it to another pharmacy or order some and it would be in tomorrow. He also told me that he swears by Bag Balm; used it on his kids and grandkids and they never got diaper rash. He was out of stock of that too, but could order it and it would be in tomorrow.

So, that's what we did. And when we went in the next day he came over to help us. Instead of the large tins of Bag Balm, they received the small tins, which he said were more expensive and insisted on paying for it. He told us to try it and if we liked it he would re-order the large tins. He found a piece of chocolate for Nate (which Nate thoroughly enjoyed) and talked to us for a few minutes. He was so nice and it was refreshing to have that kind of customer service and genuine caring. The day before I was there an hour and half and left quite exhausted. But I don't remember the long wait time or inconvenience of stock issues. All I keep thinking about is how wonderful Don the Pharmacist is!



**Note**We really liked the Bag Balm, but I think Nate's rash was so bad that we did end up getting the prescription ointment as well, which is working miracles. I think the Bag Balm would work very well for normal rashes or just as a preventative ointment because it was having some effect on the rash before we got the prescription.