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!