Name Game

I am 23 weeks (and 1 day) pregnant now. I can feel the baby moving much more these days. I love that feeling. Billy can also feel him and we can see him wiggling in my belly, too.  I don't want to jinx anything, but I think the nausea is finally behind me! I have a cute little belly and can't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes. (pajama pants excluded!) I can't believe he'll be here in about 4 months! I know people do it all the time, but I'm starting to freak about having TWO children! Kaylin still doesn't sleep all night long and is such a mama's girl that I worry what will happen when a newborn needs me all the time.

I've started to get motivated about getting ready for baby's arrival. One of the main things we've been discussing is a name. Billy is the fifth (or is it sixth?) William in his family. We will follow tradition and name our baby boy William as well. I am totally cool with that. I was hoping we could call the baby by whatever middle name we chose. In my mind, since Billy goes by Billy (not William) and Billy's dad goes by Bill (not William) the tradition is in the boys officially having the name William - not so much being called that. Billy is dead set on calling the baby Will. I am not a fan. I especially don't like it with our last name. It sounds too short and choppy to me. I suggested calling him Liam, since, like Will, it's part of William. Billy is not a fan. So, I am getting pissy about it and Billy will not give in. It's starting to become a real point of tension for me. This is important - it's what we'll call our son! Forever. How in the world are we supposed to come to an agreement? One of us is going to have to give in on something he/she feels strongly about. Ugh.

I think we've settled on some bedding, though. Like with Kaylin, we didn't want anything too cutesy or annoying. Billy wanted dark colors (forest green was his #1 choice) and I wanted blues and greens. Here's what I'm pretty sure we're going with:


The plan is to give the baby Kaylin's crib and changing table/dresser and get her a big girl bed and new dresser.

I also found out that my sisters-in-law are throwing me a baby shower! Yay! I didn't think I'd have one since this is baby #2 and they'll be pretty close in age so this was a nice surprise! I guess I need to register. :)

We're also in the middle of trying to make a HUGE decision about where we'll live when our lease is up in September. One option is to move down to south Georgia and into Billy's grandma's plantation home. It's a big, beautiful 100 year old house and needs a little TLC which we both think would be fun to do. On the other hand, it will probably be expensive to do. It's in a very quiet little country town that is definitely nice to visit, but would we like living there? I would be able to stay at home with my babies, which is something I've wanted to so since Kaylin was born. Dropping a newborn off with someone else is heartbreaking. BUT, on the other hand, I like that Kaylin is learning to socialize with other kids. I could go on and on but I'll stop there for now. Bottom line? I don't think I'll be able to pass up an opportunity to stay at home with my kids. (although I have a couple of friends who did it for a while and say they did not enjoy it. hmm...)

I guess that's it for now. I still need to pick a new name for the blog - and get better about posting. Life just goes so fast right now. I finally got around to ordering Christmas cards and still haven't sent them out! Where does the time go?

I'll post more pictures soon, but here's one of our snowy Christmas night...

Hello, there!

It's been quite some time since I've written (and I only have a few minutes while Billy and Kaylin are out at the grocery store getting - what else?- more milk) but we have had some big changes in our lives. The biggest and best news is that Kaylin is going to be a BIG SISTER this Spring!! I will be 15 weeks along tomorrow and our official due date is April 28th. We have also found out that this little peanut is a BOY! We were shocked when they were able to tell us at my 11 week ultrasound! I am feeling ok, aside from the nausea and vomitting. Hopefully it will subside soon!

We also moved. I don't know if I'll share the details, but both of our commutes are a great deal shorter and for that we're thankful. Less time in the car = more time as a family. :)

I'll be redesigning the blog soon and trying to choose a new name since it won't be just three of us anymore. Suggestions welcome! :)

Hope all is well where you are.

Technical Difficulties

I'm having issues over here. I recently got a Trojan Horse virus on the desktop where I keep all the pictures and videos. We're still in the process of trying to get it fixed. I'm also having problems with my layout and background. I spent a lot of time making the blog all pretty about a month or so ago and the other night all my edits disappeared. So annoying!

Wordless Wednesday

Bedtime Conversation

Me: "Shhh.... night night."
Kaylin: "Teeth?"
Me: "You already brushed your teeth. It's time for night night."
Kaylin: "Toons?"
Me: "We already watched cartoons. It's time for night night."
Kaylin: "Owsiii?"
Me: "We will go outside again tomorrow. It's time for night night."
Kaylin: "Toons?"
Me: "No toons. Night night."

Sweet dreams, lovebug.

Wordless Wednesday

Loving right now...

hearing her say "Mommy"... watching her sleep... kisses making it better... "This Little Piggie"... baby arms around my neck... "owsiii?" (outside?)... "I get it"... unsolicited kisses.

Happy Mommy.

Wordless Wednesday

Lazy Summer Days

So... I've gotten better about posting pictures, but I haven't gotten around to posting an update in a while. Kaylin and I have been soaking up the lazy summer days together and loving every almost every minute of it. I haven't been home with her 24/7 since maternity leave and even though I love love love her, some days she can really push my buttons and it takes patience I didn't know I had to get through the day. I've learned that it's good for both of us if I have some kind of outing planned each day. We usually have lazy mornings (cartoons in bed - "TOONS!", coffee on the porch watching Copa and the birds, playtime in the living room, some cleaning up, etc) then go somewhere after nap time. Sometimes it's just to run errands (grocery store, library) but sometimes we head to the park to feed the ducks, geese, and fish or go splash at the pool. Kaylin is a social butterfly and talks to everyone we see while we're out. She'll yell, "HIIIII!" until whoever she is stalking acknowledges her and says hello back. She gave a lady a fist bump today at the Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was hilarious.

She blows my mind on a regular basis. I know all parents think their kid is smart, but... mine is SO SMART! ;) She is talking up a storm and trying so hard to pee pee on the potty! While we were at the library the other day, she wanted to sit at the little kid computers. I plopped her in a chair and she grabbed the mouse and started clicking away like she knew what she was doing. At home, she likes to scroll using the little wheel in the center of the mouse. I'm sure she'll be better than me on the computer in no time.

Kaylin's become quite the water baby and nature lover. She loves playing in her baby pool, the sprinkler, and our neighborhood pool. She will only sit in her float for a short time - she prefers to jump off the edge into my arms and kick around in the water. I dunked her for the first time this week - she loved it! After she came up and realized she was fine, she pointed her little finger down at the water like, "Do it again!" I'm careful to load her up with sunscreen,  but her little body is turning a little tan from being outside so much. She looooves animals. She often gets upset when she calls animals and they don't come to her. At the park the other day she was calling, "DUUUuuuuuuck!" but that darn duck would not get any closer than about 3 feet which was way too far away for Kaylin's liking. She does the same thing with stray cats and the neighbors dogs. She often says hi to spiders and other bugs, too. She recently held a roly poly that thought that was the funniest thing ever.

I recently got to take a mini-vacation all by myself! Kaylin and Daddy stayed at home while I enjoyed some R&R in New Orleans - one of my favorite places ever! I didn't do much of anything - enjoyed a fabulous hotel and spent loads of time at the rooftop pool. :) When I got back home, Kaylin's face lit up like it was Christmas and she wrapped her arms so tight around my neck that I thought I might burst into tears. I missed her like crazy, but some time away sure was nice. Billy had gotten his big Father's Day present earlier (a huge bookshelf) but that morning I told him where to find the book and cards Kaylin had picked out for him. I think he enjoyed his surprise.

We're getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July with Billy's parents and sisters. We're going to take Kaylin to see fireworks for the first time, too. I hope she doesn't get scared!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Stuff She Says

"DaDa"
"BaBa" (bottle)
"Night Night"
"Bird"
"PoPa" (Copa)
"Kitty"
"Pee Pee"
"Ball"
"MaMa"
"Wower" (flower)
"ZeeZee" (Zoe)
"Dog"
"Bee"
"Eyes"
"Ear"
"Tickle, tickle" (usually while tickling our toes!)
"Uh oh!"
"Bye Bye!"
"Hi Baby!"

and, my favorite...

"Boobie!" :) (it's usually, "Hiiiiii boobie!")

She can also do a variety of animal sounds, including a monkey ("ooh ooh, ahh ahh" while scratching under her arms), a dog ("oof off") and a cat ("Owwww"). She can make  a a train sound ("choo choo!") and a motorcycle sound ("vroom, vroom!"), too.

Wordless Wednesday

New Look!

I've been busy creating a new look for our blog tonight! I'm not quite finished, but I hope you like it!

Wordless Wednesday Returns!

Kaylin road trips w/Daddy & Mother's Day 2010

Since Billy is still recovering from his torn Achilles & subsequent surgery, he hasn't worked in about 6 weeks. He decided that when he got to feeling a little better he wanted to take Kaylin down to Albany to visit his parents. I reluctantly agreed because I knew it would be good for them; knew the grandparents would love the visit, and I could feel myself needing a break. We have also been trying to wean without much success. (she could go all day without nursing, but as soon as we got home from work, she'd think the buffet was open for business.) We figured that a few days apart from each other might help in that department too. So, on Thursday morning, Billy and Kaylin headed down South while I went to work. I got teary eyed when I looked in my rearview mirror out of habit and didn't see Kaylin or her carseat. I made it through the day, but really didn't know what to do with myself when I got home from work. The house was so quiet and still. I had planned to go out with a girlfriend, but...

I didn't realize just how much my boobs would hurt (my Dad is probably reading this...ha!) but OH. MY. GOD. It was like I'd gotten a terrible boob job - they were HUGE and rock hard. I popped some ibuprofen, put cabbage leaves and ice packs in my sports bra, and laid on the couch for the majority of the time. I was so glad to see Kaylin again Saturday night. She was not a big fan of me not nursing her early Sunday morning, but we made it. Since then, I have put her to sleep twice without nursing. Yay! I have loved nursing my sweet little love, but it's time for us to move on now.

I also learned a valuable lesson - I need to take more time to myself. I will, and I won't feel guilty about it. I think if I do, I'll be a better (more patient!) mom. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to take perfect care of Kaylin, be a perfect teacher at school, and keep a perfectly clean house, etc. I think this "time off" reminded me to take better care of me or I won't be a whole lot of help to anyone. So, point taken. :)

Today is my second Mother's Day and I had a wonderful day. I got flowers, 2 cards and chocolate chip pancakes. Yum! After nap time, we had a picnic at a park near the house. We let Kaylin play on the playground, but there weren't any swings (her favorite). Oh well, she still had a good time. We had a good rest of the day at home. Thanks to Billy and Kaylin for making Mother's Day so special. I am so lucky to be the mom to such a special little girl!

I love you, monkey.

Beach Baby!

Over Spring Break, Kaylin and I went down to Florida with my friend/co-worker Jennifer and her 4 year old daughter Molly to spend some time at the beach. I felt guilty leaving an injured Billy at home, but he assured me that he really wanted to be alone to recover from his surgery. (torn Achilles tendon... ouch!)

We could not have asked the girls to be any better on the way down! Kaylin took a two hour nap and then played with Molly the rest of the time. We only had to stop once! It was amazing! When we got there, we unloaded everything, took a quick walk on the beach, then went down to the pool for a bit. Kaylin loved being in her frog float, but the water was so cold that her little lips turned blue. I didn't take any pictures because I ASSumed she'd be spending more time in it over the week, but she didn't. I guess she realized the water was really cold. You'll just have to take my word for it that it was adorable!
The next day, we spent the majority of the day at the beach. Kaylin LOVED the water! She loved standing at the edge of the water and letting the waves crash over her toes. The higher the water got - the louder she laughed! I had a hard time getting her out of the water to play in the sand, but once I did, she loved that, too. She had sand EVERYWHERE!

We were lucky enough to get to have Grandpa over for dinner one night! :) We boiled some shrimp and had corn, potatoes and bread to go with it. Yum! It was so good to see him!

Kaylin had a great time playing with Molly! She would follow her around, wanting to do whatever she was doing. When Molly climbed up to the top bunk, Kaylin wanted to get up there, too. It was so funny! Kaylin is so independendent!
Happy girl, after some shopping...

Relaxing at the pool...


Looking adorable while playing in the sand...

The beach certainly isn't as relaxing when you take a one year old with you, but it was a blast and I can't wait to go again!