Excuse Me Fall, I Don't Think Summer Got the Memo

Yesterday it was 90 degrees. 90 degrees at the end of September. This is nuts. Normally the heat wouldn't bother me too much, but it means we have to sleep with the windows opened. Opened windows means tooting trains all night long. Ugh. One night I convinced Matt it was cool enough to sleep with the windows closed. I only got up once to pee. That is a good night's sleep. Colder weather, you can't get here fast enough.

Catch 22

Cleaning our house is still a dilemna. I clean the house the most, and I'm also the one who thinks we should look into getting cleaning people (Matt isn't sure). If Matt cleaned the house more, perhaps I wouldn't think we needed cleaning people (but isn't that only because Matt would be the cleaning people?). Also, maybe then, he would want cleaning people, and I wouldn't. Hmmmm...what to do. Currently, the house is awaiting a decision on who will end up cleaning it.

"UNCLE!!!"

I think I'll go get out the vacuum.

So How Are You Feeling?

I must say this is the most asked question of my second pregnancy. All in all, things are going well. It really hasn't been that much different from the first time around. I had a little more morning sickness in the beginning, but it really wasn't bad at all. I feel much bigger this time, but was assured I am measuring right at 24 weeks. This also leads to the fact that I feel like it is taking FOREVER this time. I suppose when it comes, it will feel like it is too soon. I'm also a bit more tired, but I have a feeling Elias has almost everything to do with that.

The first time around I ate a lot of smoothies, but I think that was because there wasn't as much fresh fruit available as it was a little later in the season. This time, I seem to be eating a lot of banana bread. I don't think it is a craving thing, it is just we have had a lot of overripe bananas around, so banana bread it is. Probably the weirdest thing is my lack of craving for chocolate. I usually really feel like having chocolate at work after lunch...now, not so much.

Matt and I aren't doing as much prep work this time either. We aren't taking any classes at the hospital, and we haven't been reading the "What to Expect" book (who has time?). We also have no name picked out yet, but I'm not worried. That will come.

Elias knows he is getting a little brother in January, but I'm sure he doesn't really know what that means. I'm sure, neither do Matt and I.

Concert Fun

Matthew, Elias' Music Together teacher, told us about a childrens' musician who was playing at a free outdoor concert last Saturday. We hooked up the bike trailer and rode our bikes over to a nearby park to listen (on a side note, I was so sore the next day...my knees and hips...I could barely walk). The concert was a lot of fun, although Elias was pretty shy and didn't do much dancing or singing. Unfortunately when we went to ride home, we had a flat on the bike trailer (and no spare tubes). Matt rode home and brought the car back, and we managed to squeeze everything in the car. Even with that, we all had a good time. At home, listening to the CDs we bought after the show, Elias does some of the dance moves and says, "Thank you very much" after each song. Clearly, even though he didn't participate on Saturday, he was paying attention.

You Should Have Seen the Other Guy

When you ask Elias about his shiner, he hasn't figured out how to say, "You should have seen the other guy," but he will tell you he hit it on the toilet. After washing his hands one night, he slipped off his stool and got this giant black eye by hitting it on the toilet. He was a pretty brave boy and only cried for a few seconds. It swelled shut over night, but didn't seem to bother him too much. This is a few days after the accident. It has been over a week, and it is still a little purple around his eye, but the swelling is all gone. If this is the worst injury he gets, we will consider ourselves lucky.

I like to think of this one as showing both Elias' tough guy side and his book smart side (notice the blue crayon behind his ear)

Random Song Thoughts

I think it is pretty cool that Elias has been able to keep the beat for about 6 months now. Maybe 2 is a pretty common age to be able to drum along...although I suppose I do know quite a few people my age who have trouble. Let's hope he picks up some good dance moves while he's at it.

Elias likes a few specific country songs they play on the radio. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite understand radio yet. He always wants me to play his favorite songs on the radio, but I keep telling him they only play what they want...I have no control. Many times he gets mad and just wants me to turn it off. He likes the, "We don't have a lot of Mommies" song (which is really the song "Free" by the Zac Brown Band, and goes, "No we don't have a lot of money."), and he likes the "Uh, Oh" song where Elias always reminds me that we have to be careful of the sharp knife (which is really, "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry and has a line, "The sharp knife of a short life."). I think it is fun that he is really starting to listen to the lyrics.

Elias likes to sing a lot at home too. He has been bringing home some new songs from school. It always takes a while for us to get the lyrics down (and I'm still not quite certain how they go), but here are two below:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. That's Saturday (shouted). That's Saturday (shouted).

They told me get a penny. I do not have a penny. Say, bubble gum (spin your hands around and around during the bubble gum part), bubble gum, bubble gum, bubble gum, POP! (clap on the POP part). Repeat for nickle, dime (which Elias calls diamond), quarter and dollar.

If you want to hear the tunes, you'll have to call and ask Elias to sing them for you.

G-Ma and G-Pa

Grandma Marjie and Grandpa Paul came for a visit. They were here for two wekeends and went out on their own adventure for the week between. It was a relaxing time with not much on the agenda. We did go up to the mountains for one weekend and even drove up to Grand Lake for a picnic.

Having a talk (I hope Paul gave him some good advice)

We also went and played on the playground.

As suspected, Elias asked for Grandma and Grandpa for many mornings after they left.

A Cold!

This is probably the one and only time I will be happy to report that Elias has gotten a cold. This is the first one he has had that tested out the new outrageously expensive medicine. While not a complete miracle worker, I am happy to report Elias did not have to spend a day at home moping around while having an enormous amount of trouble breathing. While not wheeze -free, he was breathing well enough not to miss any school. We increased his dosage, as prescribed, and it did the job of controlling most of his wheezing. Thank you test cold. Now that we know the medicine works, please do not return. You are not welcome here anymore.

Hey Guys, Whatcha Doing?

Elias has started asking, "Hey guys, whatcha doing?", or "Hey guys, whatcha having?" at dinner. He must have picked it up from school. He asks it over and over again. I guess this is the 2-year-old banter these days.

Such a Late Nighter

Elias is turning into such a late nighter. His bedtime is now (and has been for a few months) 7:00. I can easily think back to the good ol' days of 6:00. This is rough for Matt and me when we go to bed at 9:00 (OK, fine, it has been more like 8:00 for me now that I'm pregnant). That doesn't leave much down time for us. I suppose it will only get harder with two. What worries me is that Elias is getting up earlier and earlier in the mornings too. Does that mean naps are going to have to go soon too? I sure hope not. Maybe he is just growing, or hungry, or affected by the changing seasons, or maybe a pesky leprechaun is waking him up. Please, let it be anything but less nap time.

OK, so I Guess Elias Gets His Weird from Me

Elias has had a bug bite for a month that just wouldn't get better, so I took him into the doctor's office today. She prescribed some antibiotics that she thought would do the trick. Elias took off his bandaid, showed her his owie, and let her touch it without a peep. Only as we are leaving, after he gets a sticker, does he start bawling because he doesn't want to leave the doctor's office. What? Crying on the way out. Only my child.

Miracle Medicine?

Elias has been on a new inhalant medicine for a month or two now. It is supposed to help with his wheezing when he gets a cold (unfortunately you can't just use it once the cold arrives). Lucky for us we haven't had to test it out yet. I suppose winter is coming soon, so colds will be prevalent soon enough.

When Elias and I went to see the specialist, he suggested for a child that has more than 3 colds a year, this medicine would be beneficial. He failed to mention the side affects, some of which can be dry mouth, upset stomach, cough, WHEEZING (hello?), stunted growth (although no effect on overall height...huh?) and a weaker immune system (hence more colds, right?). Luckily Elias doesn't seem to have any of the side affects that we can see.

The other thing the doctor failed to mention was the cost of this medicine. We have insurance, but we have a high deductible plan which means cost does matter a little bit to me. He proceeded to write a year's prescription (good thing Elias wasn't allergic to the medicine). I had the office change it to a 90 day supply so I could save a little bit on the mailorder. The thing is, they changed the way they wrote the prescription so I really ended up with a year's supply anyway. Elias is supposed to take it every other day (via a nebulizer) unless he starts getting a cold. Then we up the medication to once a day. If he starts getting wheezy, we do it twice a day. Converting that into a 90 day supply does become a bit tricky.

The kicker is the way the prescription company sent it. They mailed the medicine via Fed Ex, but then Fed Ex delivered it to our local post office (what?) who left it on our doorstep. Luckily I was home when they delivered it because losing $1000 worth of medicine would not have made me happy. Will it work miracles? At $1000, it better.

I'm weird. I know.

It isn't the extra weight, the clumsiness, the waking up in the middle of the night 4 times to pee (although this is a close second) that bother me. I don't mind the funny clothes, the uncomfortable sleeping positions, or the inability to eat a lot at one sitting. The thing that most bugs me about being pregnant is my inability to walk quickly. Just walking into work seems to take forever. I like getting where I need to be in a flash. I guess I will just have to wait at least another 5 months.

Big Boys

The school teaches the kids things I would never imagine doing at their age. When Elias gets to school, he changes from his pull-up into his big boys (underwear...and don't worry, he doesn't wear them on his head like in the picture). He wears them all day (even during nap-time) and has started coming home with no accidents. Ms. Sholanda suggested he start wearing them to and from school, so I guess we are officially starting the potty training (at home anyway). We haven't had as much luck at home as they have at school (usually one accident after school, but just pee).

Outings do make things difficult. Elias is often afraid to go potty in public restrooms, so when we leave the house for a long event, I usually put him in a pull-up. Then getting him back into his big boys at home becomes a challenge. He has just gotten used to peeing in his pants at home, so we will have to crack down soon to break him of the habit. I would also like to get it done before the new baby arrives. Oh the things to conquer!

I Kiss It

If you happen to bump your knee or hit your head and say, "ow," Elias will offer to kiss it. He will then declare it, "All better." He has even started kissing his own owies. So self sufficient. Now if he could only make a decent meal.