Adventure Is Out There

Carson: 23 Months

I can not believe that in one month we will have a TWO YEAR OLD! We are excited to head back to Kansas to celebrate with family and friends!

Over the past month Carson has discovered the TV (yikes!). I have to admit there have been times in the past where I wish he would sit and watch a TV show while I prepared dinner or picked up the living room a bit, but it just never happened. Well he found a show on Comcasts' On-Demand feature that he will watch for a good length of time. And don't dare try to tell him otherwise (or turn it off early) because you will have a true toddler on your hands. The videos are by Baby Genius and they have a few characters that sing nursery rhymes. Some of the videos also incorporate children singing the songs. I loved that he was interested in these at first (for reasons stated earlier) but there are days where he gets up in the morning and brings us the remote. Aside from the nursery rhymes, he has also taken to a My Pal Scout DVD called Numberland. So our remote stays hidden a lot these days!

Another big moment for Carson this past month was moving to a toddler bed. He did pretty good at first (and thank goodness for video monitors) but over the past week or so he has become so ornery with the bed. Everything is a game to him on how to test the boundaries of getting out. To keep my frustrations of him not sleeping at bay, I sat by his bed last night and rubbed his belly 'til he feel asleep. Hopefully he grows out of this soon and we will be back to good bed behavior. He has also decided that it is necessary to wake up at 6:30 (and today 6:00) a.m. I'm hoping this goes back to normal too very soon!

Some developmental news, I'm pretty sure some new teeth are poking through or are very close to coming in. Lately he has just been chomping on his fingers and yesterday almost had his whole hand in his mouth. He still isn't articulating anything, but is actively learning about new objects. Even though he won't talk, we try to engage him by asking him where something is and having him point to it (which we then put emphasis on the sound of the word). These range from different animals, to shapes, numbers, objects and most recently actions. He thinks the baby going "waa waa waa" is hilarious (oh just you wait kid!) He is wearing 3T shirts and size 8 shoes and needs some 4T pajamas. He has gotten a little better with eating and I actually got him to eat chicken nuggets and a few pieces of chicken sausage! I found the pre-made meals on sale at the grocery store and decided to give them a try (because Carson is one of those kids that when he doesn't get food right when he wants it, whoa! World War III). So I pop them in the microwave when we get home from daycare and he chows down. He ate the sweet and sour chicken and I was so shocked!! He really is a snacker so if I can feed him a meal right when he wakes up or gets home from daycare he eats very good. Lately he's been snacking on baby carrots which I won't complain about :)

A big change we will make over the next month is going to full-time daycare. I went back and forth on this decision for a few weeks before deciding/realizing it is for the best right now (you can read more about my thoughts on this here). Carson is getting to the stage where he needs to be fully engaged (and not by the TV all morning long) and I think he enjoys being at daycare (just not when mommy has a to drop him off). We originally planned to delay this 'til after my maternity leave, but after watching him cry because we can't go play outside and a day I had some pregnancy sickness unexpectedly, I think it will be the best for both him and myself.

This is my second to last "monthly" update on Carson as it will soon be time to document baby 2!

My Love/Hate Relationship With Full-time Daycare

Well there was once a time when I said "the time has finally come," and we put Carson in part-time daycare. And now we are ready to move into full-time daycare. I'm having so many mixed emotions about this, it's tearing me up inside. But in the end Carson needs the attention and engagement that I can't give him anymore at home while working. Again I think it stems back to me having a job at my house so it seems weird to send him off somewhere while I'm just "sitting at home." But that's not my only reasoning. From the beginning I've never been a baby person, not even a little kid person. So I am feeling guilty that I somewhat enjoy time to myself and having someone else "manage" him for me. But I find myself more tolerant of him in the mornings, evenings and weekends and have feelings of excitement to go pick him up or get him up in the mornings when I'm not dealing with a toddler all day long. Does that make me a bad person/mom? It's an emotional struggle for me honestly. Carson is very independent and is not really a mommy's or daddy's buddy yet (I'm hoping this changes). He doesn't understand when I need 5 minutes to submit something for work, instead he starts to cry while shoving a book at me or when I won't listen to him when he gestures for me to sit on the floor and play. That breaks my heart too! I also know that I'm only going to get more uncomfortable the closer to my due date I get. For example last week I had to take off work early because I was so nauseous. It never subsided and Reid had to go pick up Carson even from daycare. It was nice having the time to myself to try and rest and make myself better. But then I think on the opposite end of the spectrum in that these are the years we have with them before they are bound to school schedules, extra curricular activities, friends, etc. Maybe things will change in a year or so when he can sit down and do a puzzle or color without throwing the pieces all over the ground because I'm not right next to him the whole time, or maybe he'll tell me "Mommy I like going to school to play with my friends," who knows! But baby 2 will be here before we know it and then I'll have a new buddy around. I just hope Carson doesn't "resent" me in someway for sending him off while his brother gets to hang out with mommy :( All I know is right now Carson wants to be a kid and I think he gets to do that more at daycare and not stuck in the house until I can take him outside for my hour lunch break. It's also nice to be able to get in a workout and/or pick up the house a bit while he's not around. And then my heart is instantly filled with love when I go pick him up and he instantly drops whatever he is doing to run to my arms!

'lil bro 28 weeks

I think this is the first time I actually took my picture and completed my blog post on the same day. Yippee!!

I think I'm finally settling in to my growing belly. I'm not quite as achy as I was the last month and I definitely think it's because my body has adjusted to the basketball I'm carrying. I still get achy in my left ribs and side of my back at night (after a very full belly) so the only thing that's comfortable is lying down on my right side. So strange, but this exact thing happened with Carson too. I got the infamous Snoogle pillow and it has helped a bit with my sleeping. I love leaning up against it and that it helps prevents me from sleeping all the way on my back. I miss back sleeping soo much!! Sleep has been off and on for me. If I wake up around midnight to use the restroom those are the nights I get a decent sleep. If I wake up around 3, then I find myself not able to go back to sleep til 5 or 5:30 and my 6:15 alarm (or Carson up at 6:30) are not very welcoming. For the past couple months I've had a half in/half out belly button. It just can't decide if it wants to poke all the way out yet :) My tummy is getting very itchy so I try to lotion up as much as possible. Baby is moving all the time and I'm not starting to feel limbs poking me. Still very strange to experience but exciting all at the same time.

This past month has been a big struggle on the food chart. I have not really wanted to eat at all and just crave ice cream! Probably not the best month to be going through this since I have my glucose test at my next appointment (which I failed with Carson). Working out is going ok. I don't stress if I don't get to something every day, but do walk almost daily. Walking is hit or miss still with my ligament pains, and I think I've pinpointed the problem to how hydrated I am. I still can only last at most 3 miles before the cramps/ligament pains set it, but hydration helps them stay away a bit longer. I don't do much in the workout department anymore. I like to lift weights and do some pregnancy pilates. I actually found a yoga video I enjoy, and need to incorporate it more often.

These last few months are going to go by so quickly so I'm excited to start working on the nursery in the next few weeks. I've slowly been gathering decorations here and there, and we know the dresser we want, so it's a matter of finally starting to piece things together.

How Far Along: 28 weeks
Sleep: Not really. I'll have a few bad nights then one good night
Best Moment of this Month: A new memory foam mattress
Miss Anything: Feeling well rested
Movement: Yes! And now poking of limbs
Anything Make You Queasy: Leftovers and salmon
Food Cravings: Ice cream (I think this was about the time my Blizzard obsession set in with Carson)
Labor Signs: Just lots of tightening
Gender: Boy!
Belly Button: Half in/half out
Happy or Moody: I had a few rough emotional days this past month
Looking Forward To: Hopefully starting to decorate and organize the nursery
Comparison to Carson

Hip to the Hippity Hop!

Happy Easter 2015! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend with family and/or friends celebrating this special day. We were thankful that Nonni and Poppa came to visit. But before they got to town, Carson and I had a couple of Easter egg hunts to go to.

First up we went to MyGym for their Easter egg hunt. It's nice to go to events like this because they are in a controlled environment where the kids can roam! And it was divided by age group so there weren't a bunch of older rambunctious kids running around. I didn't get very good pictures of him Easter egg hunting because I had to help him figure out what to do. But he did stay far away from the Easter bunny! I tried my best to get him close, but he took one look and had enough.

The next morning we went to a local nursery where they hold an annual egg hunt. I heard it could be a bit of a zoo, but I decided to tackle the chaos anyways. Well, it was a zoo but I was surprised how organized the chaos was so it was not overwhelming at all. We waited in line for his age group and he did great! He stood right by my side and didn't wander off, and was a pro at getting eggs. We picked up a few eggs then headed out to wait in line for the Easter bunny. Again he did great in line (I think we waited 5-10 minutes). When it was our turn I knew he wouldn't sit there by himself, so I handed my camera to a helper and sat by the bunny with him. We supposedly got "lots of pictures" but the person didn't end up taking a single picture. I was very bummed because the background was so cute and it would have been fun to have those pictures to look back on. I suppose my memory will have to do!

These were Carson's first Easter egg hunts and he also got his first basket on Sunday. I had to give him some chocolate, but it was mostly filled with fun toys. He favorite was this bunny that popped balls out it's nose. His laugh is so cute while he's playing with it! Some other things in his basket were puppets, a book about brothers, a nerf football and a streamer. He also enjoyed the basket filler and made quite the mess with it!

Carson had lots of fun with Nonni and Poppa around and made sure he got to go on lots of wagon rides around the neighborhood. Him and Nonni did lots of balance beam walking in our front yard and I guess Poppa even taught him how to climb rocks! Ha, he beat daddy to that one. And of course another perk of grandparents visiting is date nights! Reid and I headed out to the Colorado Rapids game for a little alone time. We enjoyed watching some soccer and caught a pretty sunset on the way home. Carson even left us a note for when we got back :) Thanks for coming to visit Nonni and Poppa!!

'lil bro 24 weeks

Time for another update on baby 2! I have been feeling pretty good and even joined a #healthyfitmamas challenge to help keep me on track and accountable for eating right and working out. I'm learning some good tips and tricks, mostly that my legs get tired and sore super fast these days and I need to get more weight workouts back in my routine! So it was a complete shock when I went to my 24 week check-up and stepped on the scale for it to tell me I gained almost 10lbs! I know I'm pregnant, but that seemed like a lot for a month. I'm a few pounds shy of what I weighed when I had Carson. Thankfully the NP re-assured me that I just went through the weeks where you see the most weight gain and that it should taper off from here. Phew! I guess I just feared I was gaining weight in an unhealthy way, which is not what I want to happen. But to go along with this "massive" gain, I do feel like my belly has grown so much in the last couple weeks and my ligament pains are setting in when I go walking :( I had hopes to walk in a Mother's Day race with my moms group, but I know my body won't be able to take the 9K length. Something that's different with this pregnancy is random pelvic pains. The nurse confirmed this baby is sitting much lower so I'll probably feel more of that. I'm starting to also feel lots and lots of Braxton Hicks. I'm not sure if it's because I know what's going on this time around, but I can clearly pick them and monkey's movements out. Which this kid is always on the move! Should be fun when he starts to run out of space in my belly.

How Far Along: 24 weeks
Best Moment This Month: Picking out a name, but it's a secret until he's born
Have You Told Family and Friends: Yes, everyone finally knows!
Miss Anything: Sleeping on my back and not tossing from one side to the next all night long
Movement: I don't think he ever stops! Reid got to feel him for the first time this month
Food Cravings: Mango smoothies, lemon sorbet,
Anything Make You Sick/Queasy: Leftover chicken and salmon are the two we commonly use to eat
Gender Prediction: IT'S A BOY!
Looking Forward To: Keeping up with a healthy lifestyle while I have the energy!
Fun Fact of the Month: XC skiing while pregnant. Never, ever thought I'd do that one!
Comparison to Carson: http://reidntara.blogspot.com/2013/01/carson-24-weeks.html

Bump picture with Carson since it wasn't showing on the blog post

Mini Mountain Get-Away

Last Sunday Reid got a text from his boss asking if he could fill-in for depo's all week in Edwards, Colo. Of course I wanted him to have the opportunity, just stressed we had a 12 hour notice of me managing the house, dog and Carson for a week alone! Thankfully my boss was generous enough to let me have Friday off, so Thursday after work I picked up Carson from daycare and we headed up to Edwards for the weekend. It only took 1hr 45 min to get there, so we met Reid at the Smiling Moose for dinner. We returned to the hotel just in time to catch a sunset from the hotel balcony.

Now let's talk about this hotel. We stayed at the Riverwalk Inn and Suites and it's going to be really hard to stay in a normal hotel again! It was a true 1 bedroom that was completely separate and could be closed off from the living area with it's own bathroom. Then there was a full kitchen and separate bathroom in the living area. It was so nice having that bedroom separate for Carson at bedtime. Now onto the weekend...

Friday: Reid had to work again today, but too our surprise he was done by noon. Trying to fill the day with as much as I could, I started with a walk on the trail behind the hotel. Unfortunately Carson was still tired, cranky and would not walk! Yikes considering I didn't have the stroller. Thankfully my belly isn't too big yet, so I was able to cradle him with two hands. We crossed a bridge where I stopped for a break to listen to the water then decided to keep walking. I saw a small hill which I decided would be my turnaround as soon as I got to the top, but when I got there I realized we were at the dog park :) Perfecto!! Thankfully Carson wanted to walk around the park while Snyder got some off leash time. I tracked the walk later on and it was about a .6 mile walk to the park. A good work out for walking while carrying 30lbs. After our walk I decided to take a drive into the mountains for "nap time" so I went off towards Leadville. Not very fond of the road I had to take to get there, but I put my fears aside and we drove to Tennessee Pass then turned around. By the time I had gotten back to Edwards, I had a missed call from Reid to let me know he was done for the day. Yippee!! We walked over to Old Forge Pizza for lunch then decided to meet up with someone we knew from the area so Reid could go rock climbing.

The trail followed the Eagle River

Freedom Park

Watching Snyder have fun at the dog park

Mountain views on our walk

Views on my drive to Tennessee Pass

Reid's friend Brandon wanted to show Reid some climbing in Wolcott which is about 5 miles west of Edwards. The trail we took to get to the crags was actually an abandoned railroad track. We hiked up to the wall and unfortunately there wasn't much roaming room for Carson. He wanted to be adventurous and walk around, but it was slippery dirt and he was not letting us help him. So Reid had to take us back down to the tracks where Carson and I hung out while Reid did some climbing.

Saturday: We woke up and enjoyed some breakfast and coffee before packing up to head home later in the day. We had our skis with us to enjoy some winter activity in the mountains and we ventured off to Cordillera which is a mountain community in Edwards with a nordic center. Unfortunately the snow wasn't deep enough for our skis, and the winter recreation trails weren't clearly marked, so we called it a loss and decided to make the drive to Tennessee Pass where we knew there would be plenty of snow. We got up there and didn't have any service, so we set out on a trail. I later looked it up and we did a 2.5 mile loop on the Powderhound Trail. The snow wasn't ideal, even for the stickiest wax, but I had as much fun as I could and decided this would be my last time on skis while pregnant.