30 weeks

I have been getting asked to post some more baby pictures, mostly by my mom, but Adi is already getting the second child treatment and I keep forgetting.  I remembered today and since Derek isn’t home I decided to just take care of it myself.  So you guys get the awesome self bathroom portraits. 

Yes, I know I am huge.  About a month ago as I was in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store putting some serious thought into the kind of ice cream that I wanted, one of the guys working there looked at me and said, “Wow you must be ready to pop any day now, huh?”  That comment actually got me to look away from the ice cream selection for a few seconds.  I just politely laughed a little and said, “Yeah, I still have another 3 months to go.”  I really just wanted to smack him though.

Similar to Braedon, this pregnancy has been going smoothly with no complications and I have been feeling great.  The only thing different about this one is that I went through about a 2 month time frame where when I worked out I would get so out of breath and found it hard to catch my breath.  I think this little girl was just sitting a lot higher than Braedon.  Early last week I felt like she might have dropped though because I am no longer breathless, my crotch bone is getting sorer by the day and I have to pee every 4 seconds.  Isn’t pregnancy fun?  One other thing that is different about this pregnancy is that I am craving red meat like crazy.  Last week I got a call from my doctor saying that my blood results said I was anemic.  I guess your body really does tell you what it needs.  Derek is liking that I am craving meat considering I am usually right on the line of being vegetarian. Other then that, not too much to report on the pregnancy front.  It’s all been pretty boring and uneventful, which is a good thing!

Best husband ever!

It really is the little things that Derek does that separates him from the rest. Those thoughtful deeds that brighten my day. Like yesterday evening when he biked home from work with one hand while carefully balancing a plate of leftover chocolate cake with the other (we all now how crazy I am for cake). Or this morning when he had to take the Jeep to an all day off site meeting and I was to be left car-less for the day with a 2 year old who always likes to, “go!” I woke up really wanting my Starbucks coffee, which I haven’t had since Sunday, but knew that I wasn’t going to be able to satisfy that recurring craving because I wasn’t going to have a car, and walking past the trailer park is never an option in my mind, no matter how much I want my coffee. Yes, directions to our house include, “once you go past the trailer park…” Knowing this I was a little cranky this morning, for no other reason except that I wanted coffee. Well my wonderful husband surprised me about 20 minutes later with an iced coffee on my doorstep! He is way too good to me. That or he just didn’t want to come home to a cranky Lacie. Now I’m sitting here enjoying my coffee…

with a side of Braedon. Is it sad that all it takes to make me happy is some kind of chocolate treat and/or coffee? I would blame it on being pregnant but we all know that simply isn't true. I wonder if I can bribe Braedon with having to stay home all day with a piece of cake. But the question is, am I willing to give up my last piece of cake?

Lots of play

Sunday afternoon we took Peyton and Braedon to the park.  Peyton got to swim and Braedon got to play in another water fountain.  It is so nice that the city has these things all over!

A lot of the kids will just stand around and play over one of the fountains.  Not Braedon.  He has to be running the whole time and will run through and around the fountains just doing circles.  He kind of reminds me of someone I knew when I was younger.  Always having to run everywhere without really ever stopping.  Okay, maybe that was me.

Water in the eye.

Braedon and I really enjoyed the teeter totter!  Did someone say cheese!?

Today I took Braedon to a sports complex in San Jose that was huge.  They had multiple indoor soccer fields (where he is able to start classes!), ice hockey, baseball, and the reason we went there today…bounce-a-palooza!  They also have open play where little kids can come and bounce, run, jump, slide, and crawl on about 7 huge blow up structures.  Braedon LOVED it!

Yes, he was pretty much just a blur the whole time.  There were signs on all of the structures saying that if you’re pregnant you should stay off the equipment.  However, the slide was way too tempting so Adi and I may have broken the rules a couple of times.  Braedon told me to!

Dominating the obstacle course.

Learning to climb!  He was running around constantly the whole time we were there and finally after about an hour and a half of pure activity he laid down on the mat and said, “nap!”  Mission accomplished!

Not an artist

Everybody already knows how in to cars, trucks, and jeeps Braedon is.  He has now started asking me to draw him these things.  Um, yeah.  I can’t draw. Period.  Especially vehicles.  When I was younger if I ever did sit down to try and draw something it was usually a flower, or a tree, or a box I would call a house.  Yesterday morning as I was eating breakfast Braedon came up to me with his etch a sketch and asked me to draw a truck.  I drew my version of a truck for him and handed it back.  He looked at it and replied with a long, drawn out, “Uh Oh.”  He then handed it back to me.  I asked him if that was good enough and if he could tell it was a truck.  His reply was, “No way!”  I guess I’m going to need to start practicing my drawing skills pronto.  Especially if my skills aren’t good enough for a two year old.

Fire truck

When we are out and about, every time Braedon sees some kind of emergency vehicle with lights such as a cop, ambulance or fire truck, he has to create his own sound effects and act as the siren for that vehicle.  He loves pointing them out and he loves making a siren noise to go along with them.  I think he does a pretty good siren.  Others look at him like he’s weird.  There is a fire station pretty close to our house that we end up driving by on a regular basis and most of the time there is a firefighter out cleaning a fire truck.  Today we decided to stop so Braedon could check out the fire truck up close.

The fireman was very nice and let Braedon sit in the drivers seat and “drive” the fire truck, get in the backseat and look around, try on a fire hat, and ring the bell.  With most things, Braedon loves to watch from a distance.  The first time Derek put him up in the seat he flipped out and cried.  He wanted nothing but to get down.  He eventually warmed up a little bit and really did like checking out the truck. 

He thought the bell was pretty cool.

Before we left the fireman gave Braedon a few stickers that said junior firefighter and he promptly put one on his shirt and wore it proudly. 

Our next stop today was to the YMCA so we could get a membership.  Shortly after we got there we took a tour to check out the facilities and the first stop was the Kid’s club where Braedon will stay while I work out.  He walked right in like he owned the place and ended up staying and playing for the rest of the time we were there.  I’m glad to know that Braedon will have no problems adapting to daycare again!  For those of you who have been reading for awhile or know Braedon, he really struggled with daycare at the YMCA for awhile in Ithaca, but eventually began to love it to the point where he didn’t want to leave.  I was a little worried about how he would do here since it was a new place, but no problems at all! I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised considering he walked right into daycare at church no problem too.  I’m excited to take spin classes again!!  You know where Braedon and I will be Monday.

You will never guess where our third stop of the day was.  Happy Hollow of course to see the goats.  Yes, this was two times in one week.  Braedon will wake up from his naps talking about the goats.  No pictures because if I took pictures every time we went to Happy Hollow my computer would be full of goat pictures. 

Regressing?

Maybe.

Now on to some fun stuff.  This morning I took Braedon to Happy Hollow, which is an amusement park and zoo for little kids.  Braedon’s favorite thing to do there is visit the goats.  The very first time we went he was afraid and didn’t want to be put down, but as he got more comfortable, he got more brave.

Fast forward to today, our third time visiting the goats.

He immediately walks right in and gets down to business.

His favorite things to do with the goats include brush them, feed them, pet them, hug them, and chase them around saying, “hi goat” over and over again.  For some reason the goats always run into there "safe” zone when Braedon comes a running.  The safe zone is where they can get away from all the little goat chasers and rest.

Sneaking up on his next victim.

Caught in action, which isn’t hard to catch, saying, “hi goat.”

Happy Hollow also has little rides for kids Braedon’s age as well as daily story time and puppet shows.  Today I took Braedon to the story time and puppet show as well and he really liked it.  The guy telling the story was very animated, which was good for keeping Braedon’s attention.  Good thing we bought a membership because I have a feeling we will be torturing, I mean visiting the goats at least once a week.

I’m sorry goats but yes, the Baeo will be back.

Fun with water

My computer got a big virus yesterday and wiped a lot of things out, including my beloved Windows Live Writer, so I am having to post through blogger. Boy was I spoiled with Live Writer. Must get that back asap!

It has been HOT in San Jose lately. Today it is 100 degrees! I am not complaining one bit though considering the winter we had in Ithaca. Since it has been so warm Braedon has been spending a lot of time out in his little pool. He and Peyton have an ongoing game going on where Baeo will take her ball and throw it in the pool then they will both jump in the pool, Peyton will take her ball and run across the yard while Baeo follows, grabs her ball and heads for the pool again.

I think it might be my favorite game too because it causes Braedon to take 3 hour naps!

Swimming suits? Nah, we roll with the birthday suits when we are in the backyard, and when I say we, I mean Braedon. Man, wouldn't that be a sight! We ran out of swim diapers and I still have yet to go buy some more so once Braedon's diaper gets so full with pool water that his diaper is dragging on the ground and he is showing some crack, I just strip him.
Today we spent the morning downtown where they have fountains that are made for the kids to run through. At first Braedon wasn't so sure of them and when a little boy sprayed him in the face, he got downright pissed. After that it took him a little bit to warm back up and once I ran around with him through the fountains he saw how fun it actually was. We played for a good hour and then walked around downtown for a little bit before heading back home. I think I like all of this outdoor play. Baeo is napping as I type this and is going on 2 hours. He has never napped this well before!

A belly full of Adi…and ice cream

Every night as I’m eating my mug full of ice cream I always feel like I look like Tim Allen from The Santa Clause when he is sitting at his lunch meeting looking pretty hefty, finishing up his ice cream sundae, and all of his co workers are staring at him and waiting for him to finish.

I told this to Derek tonight and he agreed with a, “yeah.” Jackass.

South Bay

One of my goals after moving to San Jose was to find a church for my family that was a good fit. After doing some research last week and going through a few of the nondenominational churches in the area, reading comments and just seeing what they were all about I picked one that I thought would be just that. A good fit. We went on Sunday to check it out in person and were very impressed. They have a great kids program where Braedon was able to jump right in and did very well his first day! I am very excited for him to be learning about Jesus and I can’t wait to hear him say he loves him for the first time. I grew up going to church on a regular basis and got to know and love Jesus and I always knew that I wanted my kids to have the same opportunity. Derek and I both agreed that being done with grad school, where his schedule was so all over the place that being able to find and attend a church on a regular basis would have been a little tough, and moving again to a new area would be a perfect time to start fresh. Especially since Braedon is now to the age where he is starting to absorb all kinds of information.

Derek and I also enjoyed our first time experience at South Bay. It was a very casual and laid back experience where everyone was very friendly and inviting. I really like the pastors so far and enjoyed listening to the one that spoke this week. Plus they had coffee and breakfast foods to munch on before and during the service. They had me at free coffee!! Just kidding….kind of.

Day at the beach

This morning we got up and drove to Santa Cruz, which is only about 40 minutes from our house.  The beaches there are so pretty and it was a perfectly sunny day.  We ended up getting there at about 10 am, so there were some morning clouds, but they burned off real fast leaving us with sun and blue skies for the rest of the day.

The water was still pretty cold and Braedon was not happy when it hit his feet at first.  He kept wanting to go back down to the water and eventually started loving it.

Another thing he loves…throwing sand.  Yeah, so not cool.  Derek and I would be sitting on our beach towel and all of a sudden we would get a handful of sand down our shirts or in our face.

I brought a bucket, a sand rake and a couple other toys because I thought Braedon would enjoy piling sand in his bucket or making piles with it or something.  Nope, he really just enjoyed throwing it and used the toys I brought to do so more effectively.  He also didn’t quite get the concept of trying not to get sand on the blanket.

 

Next time I’m bringing a chair and putting it about 50 feet from Braedon.

After spending a couple of hours at the beach we decided to check out the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  Very fun.  Filled with rides, fair food and games, and little shops.  We spent a couple of hours walking around and exploring until we decided to head home.  Braedon crashed in his car seat about 30 seconds after we left.  When we got home I put him right in the bath to clean out the pound of sand in his diaper.

We all had a fun day at the beach and I can see myself bringing Braedon back multiple times this summer to hang out and play!

Out of control

Everyone who knows Braedon knows he is quite the hugger and will hug pretty much everything. He has hugged rocks, flowers, trees, leaves, pictures, animals (both fake and real.)

I think his hugging is getting out of control….and quite messy. You see, he hugs everything he loves and he just so happens to really love ketchup as well.

See? Ketchup loving. All you need is a knife.

Tonight for dinner, Derek barbecued some hamburgers and of course I put ketchup on Baeo’s. He told us he loved “chup” and felt the need to hug it. He also felt the need to hug his hamburger. Yum. So the other afternoon he had sand in his ear. Tonight he had hamburger.

I really don’t want to discourage hugging. He is so sweet and affectionate. I guess I’m just going to have to deal with “chup” on the side of his face. At least he hasn’t declared his love for ice cream, worms, or banana strings yet (if you're family or know me well, you might understand the last one).

Love

The last couple of weeks Braedon has started to tell us that he loves us, which just melts my heart.  Out of nowhere he will come up to me or Derek and say, “love, mom,” or “love, dad.”  Although after he tells up he loves us he then continues on with a list of things that he loves including Neyney (Peyton), papa (grandpa), na (grandma), car (the movie cars), Mac (a character from cars), and ppsssshhhh (goldfish crackers).  He is such a crackup, although we don’t think it’s all that cool that we are on the same level as the movie Cars and Mac.  Also, I think he is starting to realize that I just melt when he tells me he loves me because today we went out for dinner and he was not behaving as well as he normally does.  I was starting to get a little upset with him and then he busted out with a “love, mom” and a little smile.  I forgot I was upset.

He found dad’s sunglasses the other day and demanded we take his picture.  Derek also completed his first little project for Braedon yesterday, which was a sandbox.

Braedon was so excited and played in it for about an hour.  In that time he was able to get sand in his ear, hair, mouth, and other crevices that I didn’t know sand could get into. 

We are absolutely loving San Jose!  The weather is so nice, people are friendly, and after doing some research, there is so much for me and Braedon to do this summer!

That is the forecast for as long as I can see.  Sun and warmth.

We’re Back!

Man! The last two weeks have been crazy! We are now living and somewhat settled into our new place in San Jose. Derek graduated May 28th, his parents came to visit for that week, the day after he graduated we loaded the trailer and then the very next day we drove for six days straight where we arrived in San Jose. We had a lot of fun having Kent and Debbie around for the week prior to our move and really appreciated all the extra help we received from them as far as Baeositting, helping us pack and loading the trailer. A big thanks to Kent and Debbie!!

Here are a couple of pictures from Derek’s graduation.

Braedon got to walk across the stage with dad as he received his diploma (he loved pointing out the tassle to everyone).

While we were waiting around after graduation and everyone was taking pictures and visiting Braedon kept trying to sneak into some of the pictures. I kept having to run and grab him so I figured I would take the opportunity of him wanting his picture taken to take a few.

Doesn’t he look so grown up?

He did very well sitting through graduation.

Two days later we said goodbye to Ithaca and started our journey towards the West Coast. We took our time and stopped in St. Louis to check out the arch, but couldn’t find a place to park our big trailer, so unfortunately we weren’t able to get out and play in the big park by the arch like we had hoped.

A couple days later we took some time to see the Grand Canyon, which was pretty cool.

Pictures don’t really do it justice. The views were amazing.

Here are a few more pictures from our long road trip.

Braedon was a champ during the drive!

When he did get cranky I would tell him to close his eyes and try to take a nap. This is him closing his eyes.

He is such a goof!

I have to say we absolutely love our house! It is exactly what we were hoping for! Also, now that we are done packing, moving, unpacking and for the most part settled, my posts should be back to normal. Braedon is starting to talk a ton so I’m sure there will be lots of funny stories in the future!