39 weeks

I'm taking full advantage of having Kyalo in school these mornings. . .getting things done, enjoying a kid-free breakfast with a friend this morning, and hammering out the final few blogs before this baby comes.

I'm happy to report that Kyalo loves school, but sadly, it doesn't tire him out as much as I'd been hoping - no guarantee of a nap in the afternoon.  Maybe we'll up his time at school in the future, but for now I like this schedule.

Sunday was 39 weeks.  As I did with Kyalo, I wanted to get a bare belly bump.

9.9.2014

39 weeks, two days

I have had no signs of labor yet - the Harvest Moon made me a little nervous last night, but Baby stayed put.  Baby continues to reside up in my ribs, it seems, so I'll be glad when that stage of life is behind us.  In general I really have no complaints in this pregnancy...very little sickness, or pain or problems. Baby has been head down for a while now, which is as it should be.  When I had the ultrasound last week, the estimate was about 7.5 pounds, so I guess he/she will be a little over 8, as Kyalo was. 

Alright, have to go pick up Kyalo soon so I better take advantage of the quiet house for the next little bit!

I'll be back later (I hope) with those family photos I mentioned the other day.

36 and 38 weeks

I'm running out of time to get these pregnancy posts up, and they're kind of stockpiling on me.

I'm actually 39 weeks today, but I'm so behind I'm going to play a little catch up here.  It is truly amazing to me that we're down to the final days of this pregnancy.  I remember when I was pregnant with Kyalo feeling kind of sad that the days were winding down and I'd no longer be pregnant.  I don't feel that way so much with this pregnancy.  I'm huge and uncomfortable and can't sleep or do much these days, so having the baby here in the flesh seems wonderful - even if it brings its own challenges and sleeplessness, etc. At least I'll be able to bend over and see my feet and all that!!

A few weeks ago we went to a local garden with friends Aaron and Gayle and Lucas to get some family photos.  The days of being a family of three are numbered!  Gayle took a few pics on our camera, and Aaron took the 'professional' ones on his.  I'll save his for another post, but wanted to get a couple up from that time.

36 weeks:

Kyalo & Lucas (4) playing 'train' 

there's not a lot of exuberance in these two boys. not at all.

If you like these photos, wait til I get the ones from Aaron up!  Gorgeous!!

And then 38 weeks:

 obligatory heart photo

I don't even look pregnant here.  

there's the belly

and only getting bigger! ah

Last week, because I'm in the lucky category of 'AMA' (Advanced Maternal Age) I went in for a final ultrasound.  It had been a while since I'd had an ultrasound (I got them at every visit in NJ - a little gift they give us!) I was excited for another little peek at baby.  I was NOT prepared for a 3D picture of our little person!

Our sleeping beauty, all curled up with a hand next to his/her face.  I sent this photo to my sister in law and mom and they said, 'Boy!' and 'Looks like Kyalo!' which is funny because I was thinking when I was having the ultrasound that maybe it is a girl.  But perhaps I'm just wishing. . . 

We'll find out soon enough who's right!!

first day of school!

I have a lot of pictures to get up here, and some general life updates, but I wanted to start with this, because it feels so monumental!

Today we shipped Kyalo off to school!  I've signed him up for two mornings a week (8-11:30) at a little Montessori school less than a mile from my home.  I like the Montessori philosophy of using natural items (wood, glass, cloth, etc) and keeping the rooms neutral so they aren't an onslaught of colors and plastic.  

We got him to school, he dropped his things in his little cubby, and off he went to play.  This morning we went extra early so Dexter could come and be a part of it, too.  Made it special.  He was off and running though.  I was trying to introduce him to his teacher and he said, ' Can I go back and play?'  Yeah. He'll do just fine.

I was sorry Dexter had to go out to work - a little breakfast date would have been nice.

Anyway, here are a couple of obligatory first day of school pictures I took on our steps.

when did he get so old??

We continue to have some behavior issues with him, and I'm hoping that a few hours away from me and in a structured environment helps to nip some of them in the bud.  It isn't asking too much to think that the school can teach him manners, respect, direction following, obedience all in 8 hours a week?  Is it?? 

Oh, but we love him so and are so proud of him and are excited for this new chapter in his (our) life.

almost 3 1/2

Kyalo turns three and a half in October, but we have a few things happening before then that might distract us, so wanted to get in another month-by-month type post, filled with updates and (too many) pictures.  Hard to imagine what life will be like once this baby shows up in a few weeks!

Overall, this summer has been hard.  The transitions that we've been going through have really thrown Kyalo off, and he has been, shall we say, challenging?  It does seem it is settling down now as we get more settled and more into a routine, but wow, there have been days I've wanted to throw in the towel on this whole mothering thing!

August 3 - 3 years, four months

Kyalo is generally an easy going, sweet-natured  boy.  In addition to getting comments about his hair (oh! the comments.  If I had a dollar. . .) I often get comments about how even tempered he is, how he seems so well behaved, etc etc.  He also seems to be very thoughtful, always wanting to share something with me, or Dexter, or a friend.  We like to call him 'the negotiator' because if we tell him ' two more..' (books, minutes, whatever) he'll say, ' no, three more'.  

I've signed him up for a little Montessori preschool which starts next week.  I'm excited for him to have two mornings a week that are for him - away from me. I think it will help him transition with the baby's arrival, and I think he'll love it.  I like the Montessori philosophy, too.  I'm also hoping he'll learn to count to ten without skipping a number.  :)  We'll see how this year goes before I decide about the coming years.  Apparently there's a big homeschooling community here, so I'm eager to learn more about that in time.

Of course, his favorite people in the world continue to be Grandma and Grandpa.  (And then, anyone else other than us after that).  

This week we finally transitioned him from his crib to a big boy bed.  We need the crib for the baby, after all! He's been climbing in and out of the crib for months, so that's not the issue...we just didn't want to have to get something new in NJ and then move it to Maine.  Dexter and I got a new bed, so Kyalo is the happy recipient of our 15 + year old double bed.  He's pleased with himself about this.

Last weekend we had some friends take some family photos of us.  Kyalo was in an especially ornery mood, and wouldn't cooperate.  Thankfully we have a few photos that turned out, but most of the day he's doing things like this:

August 16 2014

One day when he should have been napping, I heard suspicious noises and went upstairs to investigate.  This is what I found:

He just needed to brush his teeth.

I'm still not entirely sure how he got into the sink, as we have no stool there for him.  I think he climbed up on the bathtub and then into the sink.  However he did it, it was a cracked skull just waiting to happen! But that's something else people notice about him - he's very industrious when it comes to getting what he wants.  He'll find a work-around that suits him just fine.  This could be a good life skill.  Right now it is just challenging!

He is still all baseball, all the time.  Maybe some day we'll see him on the Red Sox!

he's ready!

Every night he is sure to give the baby a hug and a kiss before bed.  He really wants a big brother though, so I'm afraid he's going to be sorely disappointed in a few weeks.

Today I had my former boss from the UAE, and his wife, stop by, and they asked him where he got his hair.  He said, 'Jesus.'  How's that for a winning answer?!

Of course, these pictures don't show the whole story. . .like the fact that he picked up a lollipop in Walgreen's and ran around the store screaming with it (and opening it) and generally making a scene.  Or how he can get so angry he starts punching things.  We're trying on helping him to figure other ways to channel his energy and frustration (frusterated as he says).  We're working on the concept of obedience (hard - if you have tips, send them my way) and listening/following directions.  Some days it feels like entire day is a battle. Some days are perfect.  I guess that's the way it goes in the life of a three year old.  

To think, we're about to start this all over again!

No matter what, no matter the hard days when I'm in tears more than him, when I'm not sure how to get through to him, when I'm really at the end of my everything, I just love him so much. I can't wait to see who he becomes and where life takes him! 

big baseball guy

We're having a pretty good summer.  In the midst of all the unpacking, organizing, shopping, painting, etc, we've managed to have some relaxing days of exploration around here.

So far there have been days of. . .

 swimming at nearby lakes

 feeding cows at a near(ish) farm

 swimming and relaxing at a pool

 trying out his new scooter

 visiting Papa at the dental clinic in one of Papa's old school scrubs - he insisted on wearing that all morning: at the grocery store and even on the walk to the clinic.  If you notice the purple on his forehead, that's because he'd been busy in the morning drawing all over himself.

and weeding and planting with Judy who visited last weekend and brought lots of plants to help spruce up our overgrown gardens.

But if we had to sum up this summer in one word, it would be: Baseball.  At some point this summer, Kyalo discovered a pretty intense, all consuming love of baseball.  It started by playing 'bats' at Grandma's house (hitting balls back and forth with big plastic bats) and has fully escalated into playing catch and hitting, and insisting that someone (any warm body will do, thankyouverymuch) go to a park and play baseball with him.

He's even spent some time studying up on the finer points of baseball.  He was thrilled to find a book about baseball at the library the other day, and even checked it out himself.  Once we got home, he spent time looking at the pictures with his bats nearby.  We'd even find him practicing the skills mentioned in the book (lots of pictures!).

not sure you can tell, but he's talking to himself, telling himself what he needs to do. . .

However, it didn't take long for him to realize that his baseball equipment was sorely lacking.  He started putting out very specific requests:

there's a boy who knows what he wants!

Grandma was very happy to help him reach his goals, and got him a new baseball shirt and brown glove just his size, which we got last week when we were home for a quick trip. (Have I mentioned Dexter has Wednesdays off? Dream.)

Do you think he's happy?

He liked his brown glove so much that he fell asleep with it on that night.  And when he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was put his shirt back on and get outside to play baseball.

Later that day, while Dexter and I were running errands and taking care of business, he went to the park with Grandma, his balls, glove and three bats to play more baseball.  He likes to say, 'I'm a big baseball guy'  which I think sums things up pretty accurately these days.  And the best part about all of this?  On our way home, he fell asleep in the car at 5:15 and slept until 6:15 the next morning. Playing baseball with Grandma for the win!

the shirt and glove never far away!

I have a few more pictures to post, but I guess we'll wrap it up there for now.  I'm probably off to play some baseball (if, sitting in a chair and tossing a ball to him counts).

34 weeks

Sunday marked 34 weeks in this pregnancy, which means we've got six to go.  I calculated the other night, we've really got about 5 baby-free weekends left! Yikes.  In that time we need to do small things like figure out a bed situation for us/Kyalo so that the baby can have a crib, get the baby's room set up, wash all of Kyalo's old clothes (which are far more stained than I remembered) so baby can leave the hospital not naked, and, I don't know. . . perhaps pick out a name?  Details.

Got a few more pics of this growing belly on Sunday.  A few posts ago I was complaining about feeling 'large and in charge' now I look back at those pictures and yearn for those days.  Because now I am seriously huge - and I know I am only going to get bigger.  I'm in that stage now where I'm barely sleeping (which is one of the mean things about pregnancy. We should be getting as much as possible prior to the sleepless nights of babyhood. . . ) and have zero energy to get things done, also not fun when I have a house to set up and a toddler to keep up with!  Sigh.

As I've mentioned previously, this baby moves a LOT.  It makes me wonder what life with this little person's going to be like - Kyalo was a much calmer pregnancy, so far as I can remember, and he's hard to keep up with.  :)  I feel like this baby is really high - up in my ribs all the time.  I won't miss that feeling for sure.  Otherwise, this has been another smooth pregnancy and for that I'm really grateful.

 August 3, 2014

There's the belly, in all its glory!

I posted the top picture on Facebook, and had a few people say, 'It's a boy!' and one person said, 'It's a girl!' So, I guess it is still a toss up as to what's hanging out right now.  Dr Kim is convinced, based on some Chinese conception calendar, that this is a boy. And I and a dream a few nights ago that we had a boy!  I go back and forth with what I 'sense' this baby could be.  I think I'm back in the boy camp, but couldn't say for sure.

But no matter - we'll know soon enough!  And we'll live in hope that baby will have a name when the time comes!

progress report

We've almost been in our house a month, and it has been non-stop action since then.  When I think of all that has been accomplished in these last few weeks, I must say, I'm impressed. When I think of all that still needs to happen to get ready for baby in just about six weeks, I get a little nervous.  One day at a time, I guess.

I should state clearly and upfront that I have done about 0.3% of the work, and the rest has been all Dexter.  He's the one who sanded, painted, rehung and added new hardware to 24 cabinets, he has painted three rooms, the stairway, and a whole bunch of trim.  He's unpacked most of the suitcases.  Clearly, I'm useless these days :)  I've been doing the less exciting, but no less important tasks of getting utilities set up, changing addresses, getting the car registered, etc etc.  And I've been cleaning and contributing as I could.  The landlords left behind their shop vac industrial vac for a few weeks, so we took full advantage of that - they had three (THREE!) Golden Retrievers here, and the amount of dog hair that we've uncovered has been. . .horrifying.  I could probably vacuum this house top to bottom every day for a month and still find dog hair.  Sigh.  But it is getting better.

And things look SO MUCH better.

Unfortunately, the pictures don't do the changes justice.  So, come on over and visit sometime.

First up was the master bedroom.  The carpet was being replaced the week after we moved in, so we made that a priority.  We decided to go with a color we thought would be a deep blue-grey-y color, but the results are mostly a pale blue.  Even though it wasn't what I envisioned, I love it, and I think the master is my favorite room of the house!  As my dad said when he saw it, 'It's not appalling, it's appealing.'  I think that about sums it up perfectly.

 Kyalo wanted to help

 ta-da!

Then, the nursery. Again, the color wasn't what I wanted.  Whereas the master was more muted than I expected, the nursery turned out to be a bit bolder/brighter in the green variety than I had hoped.  I'm coming to terms with it (we didn't have time, and the store didn't offer samples, to do a lot of little swatches).  With some decorations and curtains and things, it'll be pleasing, I think.  And anything is better than that purple that was there before.

we have our work cut out for us in here!

We got new couches -- one a sleeper sofa -- delivered this week, in a sort of emergency status since our nearly 3 year old (for us) Craigslist sofa collapsed on us last week.  Thankfully we'd already selected out what we wanted and it was just a matter of a phone call.  Phew!

They're super comfy but way bigger than we anticipated!  Still, we're grateful to have new couches, and a place for visitors to sleep when they come.  I wouldn't mind changing the paint in the living room here - even a lighter shade of brown - because the room just feels dark all the time.  I'm not sure Dexter is up for it in the same way, though. 

We are turning the front porch into Kyalo's play room.  It isn't insulated (we assume) so it will not be used in the winter but it is great to be able to keep his stuff corralled out of our space!  It needs some more organization but it has been a great space so far.  

see those crystal clear windows?  Dexter spent about a half a day washing them all of all the street grime that collects there.  Made such a huge difference!

Lastly here's the stairway and the entryway.  This was also a pale grey color - but it is really very very pale. Almost looks white.  Maybe some day we'll kick it up a notch, but for now, it feels clean and fresh, and 100x better than the floral wall paper that was there.

 Dexter painted that trim today!

and Deb, the owner, has been coming to work on the stairs.  Here the paint looks white or even grey, but other times it can look like a really soft blue.  Funny how the light can do that to paint!

The kitchen looks so much better too.  No pictures of that yet - I need to get the counters better organized first.  Are you sensing a theme here?  

The to-do list is growing, not getting shorter.  I'd welcome your favorite organizing tips - for just about any room of the house - as well as decorating ideas.  

Every day it feels a little better.