Sunday, July 29, 2012

2nd Birthday Party

When I say we got lucky on Grayson's bday...we got LUCKY.

Out here in the midwest we've had unbelievably hot weather. Dan and I were prepared to have an indoor bday party with small bursts of outdoor play for the little ones.
As the week drew closer, the weather was looking promising. Two storms during the week ended up cooling our weekend off and the weather only got up to 86. 86!!

It was beautiful out. We really couldn't believe our luck.

Grayson had a ton of fun with all his little friends  - and we were so thankful everyone came out and made time to wish/sing a happy birthday to him.

We had a pretty eventful week/weekend and are looking to finally relax and watch some Olympics tonight.

Grayson has his 2 year well baby check-up Wednesday morning - so I'll update with all the official stats then.







Friday, July 27, 2012

25 weeks

  • How far along?  25 weeks
    • Total weight gain:  ack. finally got to 10 lbs.
    • Maternity clothes? Just tops still. I rotate a lot of dresses and skirts. The dress above is from target juniors department - I got two to wear to work
    • Stretch marks? none yet
    • Sleep: Still pretty good..definitely not complaining.
    • Best moment this week: Getting the nursery furniture in and setting it up in the room. We were a bit shocked when we opened up the box to the dresser and it was ALREADY put together. Oh, and guess who helped her husband drag that bad boy up the stairs?? YES. ME. My husband has no shame in letting me do things I tell him are "ok". We were joking that I was probably the only pregnant women allowed to do such a task. It wasn't that bad...and it was worth it once finally in the room.
    • Miss Anything? Not really
    • Movement: Lots of kicks and rolls
    • Food cravings: None.
    • Food aversions: nothing really
    • Gender: Girl:)
    • Labor Signs: Still have some braxton hicks here and there
    • Symptoms: Getting more back pain...and leaking boobs
    • Belly Button in or out? Out.
    • Wedding rings on or off? On.

    • Looking forward to: Grayson's second bday party tomorrow. It should be a good time!
    • More looking forward to: we still need to remove the piano from the living room and are hoping to get the wainscotting up in the upstairs hall, stairs and foyer. We are waiting on a quote for painting before we proceed with the wainscotting since we both refuse to paint it. ha...We've also picked out the window treatments and lighting for the nursery and just have to purchase.
    • Rocker: Ugh. Once we got the furniture in the nursery we got a little concerned that the chair we picked out was not going to fit in the space. We don't mind the rocker that G has in his room at all - it has actually worked out GREAT for us...but I would prefer something that reclines or that is SUPER comfortable...I'm going back to Buy Buy Baby to test out some chairs and we'll hopefully have a decision made within the next couple of weeks to get ordered.



    Friday, July 20, 2012

    24 Weeks


  • How far along?  24 weeks
    • Total weight gain:  9lbs
    • Maternity clothes? Just tops still. I tried my skinny jeans on and they still fit..I would do the elastic band trick at this point with them since they'd be uncomfortable when bending over...and eating. Ha!
    • Stretch marks? none yet
    • Sleep:  Still pretty good. There was only one night this week where the night time movement bothered me
    • Best moment this week: Completing the nursery paint! We did end up having to do the 4th coat of paint on the bottom, but it was sooo worth it. A total of 6 coats of paint (and yes, I did help with at least half of it) and we are DONE.
    • Miss Anything? Not really
    • Movement: Lots of kicks!
    • Food cravings: None.
    • Food aversions: nothing really
    • Gender: Girl:)
    • Labor Signs: Still have some braxton hicks here and there
    • Symptoms: Back pain, leaking boobs
    • Belly Button in or out? Out.
    • Wedding rings on or off? On.
    • Looking forward to: Picking up the nursery furniture tonight! I'm so excited to see the furniture all set up.
    • More looking forward to: getting rid of the piano that's in our formal living room and extending the "playroom". We should be having someone move the piano back to my in-laws house within the next couple of weeks. Hopefully sooner then later. We aren't sure about  thefurniture (which will be minimal anyway) that will go in there, but we are so happy to finally get it done! It feels like wasted space right now since we hardly use it...and as G has more playdates, I've realized how nice it would be to sit in the same room as he plays...comfortably!

    Monday, July 16, 2012

    Milwaukee and Updates

    We just got back from our quick weekend in Milwaukee and LOVED it. Seriously Loved. Like in Dan legitamitely would move there....


    Milwaukee reminded both of us of San Francisco a bit (which is both of our favorite destinations) We were so lucky to be able to stay with a family whose home was directly on Lake Michigan and whose house was accomodating in every way - space, view and kid friendly. Grayson was able to spend the weekend playing with a 4 year old Zoe and almost 3 year old Savvy. He was BEYOND happy the whole weekend and it was soo cute.


    We had a bit of a rough Thursday evening trying to get Grayson to sleep and then him waking up for the day at approx 4:30am :/ buttt...we worked through it and still had a really good friday.

    The city of Milwaukee was hosting Bastille Day, so we took G down there Friday morning and walked around a bit. I only wish I wasn't pregnant- they sure LOVE their alchohol!

    Friday afternoon G played outside with girls (refused to nap), played with the six (YES, six) dogs. This family is the ultimate animal lovers family and Grayson was soo excited about all the doggies. The house was plenty big for everyone, dog and person to roam around...believe me.

    Friday evening Rachael babysat Grayson while Dan and I attended a Brewers game. While we were at the game, apparently G and his friends Zoe and Savvy had a dance party and pooped Grayson out enough that he finally went to bed! Wahoo!

    Saturday morning we took G to the children's museum downtown...which was a little sub-par in our opinion. The museum was not set up for toddlers (very overstimulating). Afterwards we walked around a bit, went home, napped and then got ready to go to the Miller Brewery and dinner.

    We didn't end up doing an actual tour since my child would NEVER have sat through the almost hour long of "tour"...but we did manage to walk through the gift shop and buy a couple things (barely. seriously my child is THAT bad)

    At dinner, we were pleasantly surprised with our decently behaved little being. And that was only because we brought tons of crayons, airplanes, ipad and immediately requested fries and ketchup upon arrival. It was really the iPad that ended up doing wonders. We were able to restuarant for a full 40 mins!!! That is HUGE for us.

    Sadly we had to go home Sunday...but if Rachael ends up going back at any point in the summer or next year..we are totally going back to visit!

    A couple of random updates:
    •  Toddler Bed- G is doing pretty good. He still doesn't officially go down to bed until 9:30, 10 getting up at least a couple times to bang on the door, beg for milk or just complain that he's in his room
    • DVD Player- we decided not to use the portable DVD player in the car this trip because Grayson is the most annoying toddler ever and kicks the player OFF the back of the seat. If I put the player up as high as it goes, which means he can barely see it, he freaks out. So we decided we'd just download a video onto the iPad and see how he does holding it..worked out prefectly. Couldn't believe it.
    • Potty Training - I think we're going to bite the bullet and attempt to potty train G after his birthday. He's been slowy showing signs...my biggest fear is that he's not ready and we push him too early. We don't plan on doing it in "one day", more like a long weekend if that's even possible. I'm actually probably one of those weird moms who thinks it's easier to have him in diapers then to potty train, so I'm hoping I stay consistent.
    • Nursery - for the LOVE OF GOD. Don't ever put up wainscotting/shadowboxing and not have someone else paint it for you. What seems really easy is actually really annoying. Although, it does look SOOO nice. After 3 coats of paint to the bottom of the nursery, we had to leave for our trip to Milwaukee...we are still debating a 4th coat of white paint. The top coat was put on tonight (thanks to my husband!) and that will hopefully only need one more coat. We've already made the decision that if we're getting the upstairs hallway, staircase and foyer done - we'll have them quote to paint, too!
    • First 5K - I'll elaborate below in the weekly quiz


    













  • How far along? 23 Weeks
    • Total weight gain:  8lbs
    • Maternity clothes?  Just tops. The outfit I'm wearing in the picture above is all Target and from the juniors department - no maternity!
    • Stretch marks? none yet
    • Sleep: Pretty good this week
    • Best moment this week:  seeing Grayson have so much fun with his new little friends
    • Miss Anything? Not really
    • Movement: Lots of kicks!
    • Food cravings: None.
    • Food aversions: nothing really
    • Gender: Girl:)
    • Labor Signs: Still have some braxton hicks here and there
    • Symptoms: Back pain, leaking boobs
    • Belly Button in or out? Out.
    • Wedding rings on or off? On.
    • Looking forward to:  Finishing  painting the nursery. The furniture hasn't come in yet - which is a good thing! We are pushing to finish everything this week because Dan is leaving for South Carolina next week on a business trip  (gets back just in time for Grayson's Bday party on Saturday.)
    • Feelings: Still feeling pretty good...we seem to have a lot more to do this time around then when I was pregnant with Grayson - we still haven't picked out a name (still early) and we haven't bought ANY clothes other then a tutu. I think once we have the nursery completed we'll start stocking up on some basics for her. We actually don't have any good basics from Grayson because he had acid reflux and everything that was white we threw out...this is the same for bibs and some other over-used items that we need to re-purchase for this little one.
    Workout
    I'm excited to announce that I'll be completing my first 5k. I'm sure I've completed 5ks on the treadmill when working out in the past, but this will be the first one I've signed up for.
    My girlfriend, Christina, is signed up for a triathalon in October, a mere 4 months after she gave birth to her son. In  an effort to stay active and help her train, we've picked out the 5k to complete.

    When I was pregnant with Grayson, I ran about 2 miles a day in the middle of my pregnancy...since then, I've been mostly using the elliptical, which, most of you know, is WAY easier then running. It's very low impact and great for pregnant people.

    In an attempt to start running again..slowly, I printed out the Couch to 5 K program. I did the fist 5 minutes and ended up running the rest of the 25 minutes. I guess I didn't really need the warm-up!

    My new workout plan is going to change for the next couple of weeks (at least until the 5k)
    I'll be running for 35-40 minutes Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays at the gym. On Wednesdays and Fridays, I'll spend 20 minutes doing strength training at home with my weights.

    And that seems to be it for all the random updates and such!

    Monday, July 9, 2012

    Quick Family Post

    I'm sitting here while my dad plays with Grayson in his playroom....and can I just say that Grayson is having SO much fun with his aunt and Grandpa here?!!

    We've actually gotten more accomplished this weekend then I thought we would. The furniture for the nursery has been purchased and should be at BRU within the next two weeks. BTW. I seriously do NOT care for babies R Us...especially having a Buy Buy Baby that's close by. I wish we were able to order our furniture there, but BRU had the sale we needed. We ordered a crib and dresser for the nursery and are about 95% sold on a rocker/glider/recliner from Buy Buy baby. So glad we went and spoke with a salesperson because apparently it takes 8-12 weeks for these chairs to come in - yikes!

    Along with ordering the nursery furniture, we went and picked out the paint colors and completed the first coat of the wainscotting that was needed. Hopefully we only need one more coat and we can move to the top of the wall...which will also most likely need two coats. We aren't sure whether we'll finish painting before we leave for the weekend....but we'll at LEAST get the wainscotting finished.

    Oh. and yes, we're going away this weekend - to Milwaukee! It was a pretty last minute decision (as was my sister and dad visiting which I knew about 2 days ahead of time!). My younger sister Rachael is out there and we'll be staying with her on lake Michigan enjoying all that Milwaukee has to offer. Since this weekend falls on our anniversary, we'll be taking a trip to a Brewers game (sans Grayson) so that Dan can experience another of our great ballparks. Don't worry, we plan to take a mini vacation just the two of us in August....July has already been a tad crazy!

    My sister and I got to do a bit of shopping this weekend in between cooking out, relaxing, painting a nursery....and it has been super fun. It feels like just when we were kids sitting in the family room watching Gilmore Girls Bunheads:)

    Some pictures of our weekend:








    Friday, July 6, 2012

    22 Weeks



  • How far along?  22 Weeks 
    • Total weight gain:  7 lbs - It's the official weight gain according to the doc!
    • Maternity clothes?  Just tops, but can still wear a lot of my regular tops, too...I just don't want to ruin them. I can still fit into my pre-preg skinny jeans - Hell yea!
    • Stretch marks? none yet
    • Sleep:  Pretty good this week
    • Best moment this week:  seeing the wainscotting in the nursery - I almost cried! It looks SOOOO nice!! I am thisclose to having it done in our upstairs hallway, stairs and foyer. It totally transformed the room and it's not even painted yet!
    • Miss Anything? Not really
    • Movement: Lots of kicks!
    • Food cravings: None.
    • Food aversions: Nothing at this point. I can drink coffee again. THANK GOD
    • Gender: Girl:)
    • Labor Signs: I've had some BH's contractions, but only a couple here and there.
    • Symptoms: Back pain. The midwife said to make sure I'm using my legs when I workout (I do a lot of lunges/squats with weights) She said I'm probably over-using these muscles and that back pain is almost always worse with a second pregnancy.
    • Belly Button in or out? Out.
    • Wedding rings on or off? On.
    • Looking forward to:  Seeing my dad and sister this weekend!! Getting the nursery furniture purchased (it's currently on sale, or else I would've preferred to wait...the nursery isn't painted yet, so we're going to have to work around furniture now. boooo

    Thursday, July 5, 2012

    Meet Brewsky!

    I am so excited to announce that the Bouchard Family has adopted a dog! Brewsky is an almost 8 year old Golden Retriever, whose owners couldn't keep him anymore...luckily for us, he was exactly what we've been looking for in a dog.

    Dan and I have been talking about getting a dog for a bit now, but weren't really "looking" for one...I don't know how to train a dog and Dan doesn't have the time to, so our ideal pet was one that was already trained and GREAT with kids.

    We've adopted a dog that is perfectly house trained, GREAT with Grayson (previous owner had 3 small children), the MOST cuddly dog you will ever meet and the most laid back dog you will ever meet. We are so in love with this guy already. He is so well behaved that I sometimes forget he's even here. He doesn't need a leash to be taken out, although we do put him on a leash while walking the neighborhood, and answers to us when we call his name. He doesn't beg for or go after food(and grayson has definitely dropped food off his plate on purpose)....We haven't even heard him bark yet! This is a complete 100% difference from the type of dog I grew up with...a yorkie (aka, yapper!) who is fed table food constantly, would go to the bathroom in the house if you didn't take him out enough, who most definitely needed a leash, and DEFINITELY was a yapper!

    The only negative right now is age....Golden's don't live that long and I'm honestly not wanting to think about how we'll have to explain THAT situation to a 6/7 year old.