Waiting Game

Hey, there! Still pregnant. Is anyone surprised?

I experienced a few contractions this morning around 4:30am (nothing progressive) and later when I reported the news to Andi, his eyes bugged out of his head. Based on our baby track record (with Tory being eight days overdue and now being overdue with this one), I think we're both planning for induction with the hope Baby Boy decides to surprise us.

I'm actually fine with the waiting thus far. I had my due date circled in pencil; meaning, I never thought Aden would be born on time anyway. I have experience on my side this time knowing I won't be pregnant forever. I've also been through a successful induction so I'm not nervous if that's how things end up. Basically, I realize nothing about a baby's delivery is in my control, so I'm just taking it day by day. I'm feeling good this time around, which helps me keep a positive attitude. I'm moving around without much discomfort, getting some sleep and not stuck working out of the home somewhere. Things could be much worse.

Funny enough, even at Age 2, Tory is growing antsy to meet her brother. I keep finding her baby dolls stashed in Aden's gear around the house. It slays me every time I stumble on a doll comfortably resting in the baby swing with a dish towel laid over the top of it. Such a mother hen, that little girl.

Baby taking a snooze in Aden's crib

This afternoon, Tory and I were laying on my bed and she said, "Tory hold Baby Aden?" She lifted my shirt up to expose my belly, then said, "Tory find him. Oh, no! Baby stuck."

Yep, kiddo. Aden's stuck all right.

Don't worry, we'll see his beautiful face soon enough. I'm equally excited for that very moment.

Fall Family Photo Shoot

If there's one tangible (or rather, intangible?) thing I value most, it's photographs. I'm lucky to have a husband with an interest in photography as he captures many beautiful images of our every day life together. Though, while Andi has the skill and all the fancy camera equipment, sometimes it's nice for him to actually be in our family photos. He tries to show me how to use his camera and I like to think I'm getting better at it, but he's probably reading this and saying, "um, no, always blurry."

That's why I think it's worth the money to hire a professional photographer at least once a year to capture our family together. We've used our friends, Bee's Knees Photography, for a few years now and they're fantastic about letting us voice our photo shoot suggestions and location ideas. In September, we met up with them for an afternoon photo session to document Tory's second birthday, with some family shots of the three of us together and a few maternity pics thrown in for good measure.

Looking back on this September day, I have a few regrets -- both things in and out of our control. For one, the weather was super windy, cloudy and cool the afternoon of our session, so we're all faking big smiles and enjoyment in most of the photos. I would have dressed us differently for the weather, but we met up with Bee's Knees on the drive home from the cabin on Sunday afternoon. In hindsight, this wasn't the smartest idea since Tory had been cooped up in the car for 1 1/2 prior and we were limited to the clothing we brought with us. Tory was less than interested in smiling or taking pictures that day so it took a serious amount of M&Ms to get her to cooperate. As I look back on the photos now, I see that Tory's clothes were too big on her (she teeters between 18M to 2T and it's hard to tell sometimes what looks best). I don't love my choice in maternity wear either. My scarf photographed too long, my skinny jeans too tight on my legs and my brown boots weren't tall enough up my legs. Our clothes don't look horrible, but just not my favorite choices. But! None of these things had anything to do with Bee's Knees or their quality of photography. Despite all my personal gripes, we still walked away with some cute family photographs.

Look at that scowl ...

Possibly the only Tory smile we captured all day ...

"Who wants a M&M?!" (x1000 begging cooperation from this girl).

Love this one. Andi is always teasing Tory, so it captures their relationship perfectly.

One other thing we missed amongst all the commotion was a photo of just Andi and I together. We are still a couple, of course, though sometimes it feels like all we do is chase after Tory. We have a newborn photo shoot for Aden scheduled with Bee's Knees in December so we'll have another chance for family photos next month. This time, I think I'd like to be in the comforts of our home (away from the weather!) and I'm hoping for some sweet shots of our family of four together. (EEK!! Family of four)!

On The Mend

Our little family of three is finally on the mend after a two-week cold bender. Man, being sick stinks ... especially while being being pregnant and caring for a little one who's also under the weather. I *may* have clocked my worst parenting days last week while I laid in bed and let Tory watch endless hours of Disney. A little Doc McStuffins never hurt anyone, right? (I hope not. She has been repeatedly asking to "watch show?" since then, so maybe I'm wrong). I was seriously living in fear of going into labor while being sick, so I was determined to recoup by whatever means necessary. Necessary = zoning a sick toddler out with television. I don't feel bad about it. Andi was really sweet by coming home early from work several nights to help with Tory. He even slept downstairs on the couch so Tory and I could snuggle up together in our big bed to get some rest. Okay, maybe he was dodging my admittedly annoying cough and germs ...  and if so, I don't blame him.

Unwilling to take any "traditional" cold medicine because I'm pregnant and cautiously being aware of what I was giving Tory, I tried some new (to me) cold remedies which helped soothe our pain and discomfort.

For Tory, I picked up both versions of Hylands Cold and Cough and saw a noticeable difference in her demeanor after dosing her with the daytime and/or nighttime versions. Highly recommend. She didn't seem to mind the taste either, as noted by her requests for "Tory, need more medicine." (Gosh, kid).

Andi also bought Little Remedies Cough Elixir and this really seemed to help Tory's cough. It's completely natural so I felt better about giving this frequently/as directed. Tory was licking the dosing cup clean so obviously the natural honey taste was a pleasant one.

Of note: kid's medicine is a sensitive topic (not interested in stirring up a debate on kids and medicine), but I also like hearing mom's testimonials when things work like they should, so thought I'd share my new discoveries on the topic.

Mid-cold, I finally broke down and called my doctor's baby phone line to see if there was anything I could give myself for cold relief. I was surprised when the nurse rattled off a list of "safe to use while pregnant" OTC medicines. (Obviously, everyone is different. This is what the nurse suggested I take given my personal healthy and pregnancy). Suggestions included Claritin, Robitussin, Tylenol, Vicks Vapor Rub and cough drops without menthol. I couldn't bring myself to use anything but cough drops and running a Vaporizer for fear I would hurt my babe, but it was nice to know there were dire-straights options if I really couldn't hang any longer. One thing I did do was purchase a Vicks Warm Mist Vaporizer. This version takes the Vapor Mist liquid or these Vicks Vapor Pads which really helped me cope. Though admittedly as I was packing up all this stuff this morning, I was gagging on the trademark Vicks scent. Vicks vapors are now equivalent to 7-Up and chicken noodle soup for me -- commonly, they all remind me of feeling like death.

Speaking of chicken noodle soup, I made a homemade version for dinner one night last week. (Don't worry, this recipe didn't taste like death. Chicken noodle soup only sounds good to me when I'm feeling under the weather. I can't stomach the condensed soup-in-a-can version, so it's go homemade or go home for me). This stove-top recipe was a quick, comforting meal to pull together.

Anyway, on the mend (thankfully!) now and looking onward to the birth of our baby son. Here's hoping we all steer clear of more sickness this winter and if we aren't as lucky, at least I have a few new tricks up my sleeve to help us through.

Weekend Happenings (No Baby Yet)

I'm 39w5d pregnant and running out of things to occupy my time. My house has been cleaned top to bottom. I've organized the front pantry closet, wiped the inside of the refrigerator clean, packed the hospital bag, sanitized Tory's toys and swept the garage floor. Both our freezer chest and regular refrigerator / freezer are plum full of make-ahead meals. Andi trimmed all the shrubs back for winter. It was on my to-do list, but he beat me to it. The only thing left to do is rake the massive amount of leaves in our yard. (I'm not so crazy I'd tackle that at nearly 40 weeks pregnant. Hiring that done for sure).

Since having a baby this weekend wasn't in the cards, Andi and I kept ourselves busy with visits to see family and friends, housework, cooking and a trip to the indoor water park. Andi was itching to make a quick trip to the cabin on Saturday, but I didn't feel comfortable risking it. My luck, I'd end up being one of those ladies who gives birth on the side of a highway. Um, no thanks.

The indoor pool was insanely busy Saturday night. Apparently, that's where suburban parents take their kids on the weekend. Who knew? Tory and Andi had a blast swimming together while I watched from the sidelines (can't be anyone out there itching to see my gigantic pregnant self in a swimming suit).

If there's one great thing about dual parenting, it's how differently Andi and I give Tory room to grow. As her mother, I probably shelter Tory more than needed and take far too long to realize she's perfectly capable of doing some things on her own. Andi is more willing to give Tory space to spread her wings. I nearly had a heartache from my chair by the pool when I saw Andi let Tory go down the water slide unassisted. (For the record, it was a small slide with padding at the bottom). But, you know what? She did just fine. In fact, Tory was a crazy little thing scurrying up the slide, sliding down and doing it over again x 100. She was having the time of her life.

I

This afternoon, I dug down deep into my bucket list of things to do and decided to make homemade Runzas. I invited my sister-in-law Lindsay over to help. The simple recipe fools you to believe homemade Runzas come together in a snap, but they're actually quite time-consuming and messy. I always forget that part until I'm half way into the process. Totally worth it to make them once or twice a winter though. There's something about the first bite of a piping hot homemade Runza that takes me right back to my childhood. So delicious. Andi loves to pop one out of the freezer for fast meals. (My mom's homemade Runza recipe here).

This was Tory's first time making Runzas and she was a big fan. I knew there was a little Nebraska in my girlie! She helped Lindsay and I roll out the dough and insisted we all wear aprons while we cooked. When I dumped flour on the counter top, Tory said, "Mommy made a big mess!" That's okay, Tory Girl, it's all part of the process.

With two dozen homemade Runzas tucked away in the freezer, I've officially crossed everything off my baby to-do list. You're welcome to make your arrival anytime now, Baby Aden! If he's not here by mid-week, I'm going to pull my Christmas tree out of storage and start decorating.

Must. Keep. Busy.

Take This Cold and Shove It

The only thing worse than a Man Cold is a Pregnancy Cold and, ugh, do I have a doozy. I just knew this pregnancy was moving along too smoothly, dang it. When Andi came home a few weeks ago and complained about feeling under the weather, it suddenly occurred to me it's "cold and flu season" and any one of us could come down with some sort of bug before the baby's born. I immediately went into Operation Disinfect Everything mode. Andi never did get sick, but last Wednesday I woke up sneezing and my cold has progressively grown worse since then.

Normally, I proclaim to have a fairly high pain tolerance but being sick while pregnant is the pits. I don't like to take any medicine while pregnant, so this decision forces me to fight through the symptoms. The last two days, Tory has been out of sorts with coughing as well so it only complicates things by having to shower her with extra care while nursing myself back to health. I did call my doctor's Baby Line hotline this weekend to see if there was anything I could do to make myself feel better. The nurse suggested a few over the counter medications to take if worse comes to worst. In the meantime, I'm hydrating with lots of hot tea, non-menthol cough drops and the vaporizer running 24/7.

Yesterday during my weekly babysitter time, I went to a local coffee shop to write out our meal plan and grocery list. The minute I sat down, I was overcome with a coughing attack that I just couldn't kick. A nice older man was sitting next to me and kept asking questions about my pregnancy. I've talked with him at the coffee shop a few times before and it was sweet of him to show concern, but good lord man, I couldn't breathe! I finally packed up my stuff to leave because I was seriously dying and the man told me he said a prayer that I'll get well before the baby arrives. He melted my heart. People can be so kind.

On the bright side, I'm thankful this cold took hold before the baby arrives and not after he's born. Better to be sick while pregnant than sick with a newborn. Or worse, for Aden to be sick in his first few weeks of life. I keep telling myself that if I've been sick for a week already, this cold has to be almost through. And just in time ... today, I'm 39 weeks pregnant so Baby Boy could make his arrival any day.

Tory's New Room and the Big Girl Bed Transition

The final step in our "musical rooms project" to prepare for Baby Aden's arrival is complete. Tory transitioned to a big girl bedroom about two months ago now. It's been an interesting process, that's for sure. The physical act of changing from a nursery to a toddler girl's room was easy. Transitioning one Miss Tory from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a "big girl bed" ... well, not so much.

So, the room make-over part first:

I originally decorated Tory's nursery in a subtle lavender color with white and black accents so nothing was too "baby-ish" and needed to be replaced. (Of course, that hasn't stopped me from making updates here and there over the last two years). Here's a few pictures of her previous "baby nursery" for reference, taken shortly after we moved into this house in July 2011. 

Items which have changed in the last two years -- I removed the cube bookshelf (seen above) and replaced it with a glider rocking chair which has since moved to our living room. I also added white floating shelves on the wall in place of the cube bookshelf.

When designing Tory's new room, Andi and I went back and forth deciding if we wanted Tory to have a twin-size or a full-size bedroom set. At one point, we decided to go full-size and use an extra headboard and frame we have in storage, but then Andi measured and realized it's actually a queen-size bed. I thought a queen was too big for Tory's room so the decision was made to go with a new twin bedroom set. I wanted white, but finding a "girlie white twin bedroom set" proved to be somewhat difficult. We couldn't believe how much junk was out there for options! Some larger, fairly reputable furniture stores in the Twin Cities don't even carry white bedroom sets for girls. Amazon.com has some, but reviews about shipping damage deterred us from that option. We looked on Craigslist and a few garage sales, but nothing was just right. Finally, quite near the end of our shopping rope, we found the perfect set. 

Tory was as much over furniture shopping as we were

Here is Tory's new big girl bedroom, complete with a new white bedroom set and some of her favorite toys previously kept in the play room.

New bedroom layout

I adore all things monogrammed so with this set of room updates, I did treat myself - err, I mean, Tory - to a new wooden wall initial sign to hang above her dresser. This replaced the black, white and lavender name plaque I'd originally made for the room. With new pink and white twin bedding, the old lavender fabric and black frame didn't tie to the room anymore and I'm much happier with the monogrammed wall hanging. 

Previous name plaque

New monogram wall hanging

I splurged on new pink bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. When I first designed Tory's nursery, I was determined not to have a typical pink nursery for my girl but now two years later, I actually love how the pink compliments the lavender walls. The quality of the sheets, quilt and duvet are very nice, so hopefully she'll have this set for years to come. The white twin bed skirt was purchased separately from here. The safety bed rail is a hand-me-down from one of Andi's co-workers. 

I left the vinyl wall decal we originally printed to showcase three 8x10 photographs above Tory's bed. Every year around her birthday, I replace the photos with updated shots of my big girl. Still waiting on images from Tory's 2 year shoot in September to add to these frames ....

Finally, Tory's transition to actually sleeping in her new big girl bed:

Coincidentally, Andi was scheduled for work travel most of September so the pleasure of transitioning Tory to a big girl bed was all mine. By confession, she wasn't the greatest sleeper in her crib. Tory has always woken up 1-2 times a night and I usually had to soothe her back to sleep again. We've tried all the Cry It Out methods and sure, they work for a while but something (sickness, traveling, spending weekends at the cabin, etc.) throw us right back into an evil crappy sleep pattern. 

Back then, however, Tory was confined inside her crib. She'd started to climb out if I left her in there to cry but I never rushed right into her room to reassure her of my presence. I knew Tory wouldn't be one of those dream kids who stays in their big kid bed and calls for the parent to retrieve them. She's a little monkey by nature and has had no problem scaling Andi and I's fairly high master bed for some time. The minute Tory's new bed arrived, she climbed in and out on her own with no problem.

So, mixing Tory's light sleeping patterns and her ability to get in/out of bed on her own means I've been getting up with her 1-4 times a night to re-direct her back into bed ever since the dang bedroom transition in mid-September. When Tory wakes up in the night now, she doesn't even cry out for me. Instead, she grabs her pillow, sippy cup and a few toys, then high-tails it into the master bedroom for a sleepover. Since I'm already up with pregnancy insomnia half the night anyway, I do a pretty good job of re-directing Tory back into her bed. It just stinks I have to get up with her several times a night. I also have to wait until she falls back asleep again, or she follows me right back to my room. Naps seem to be going okay in the new bed. Tory will sleep 60-90 minutes in her bed which is comparable to what she slept in her crib. 

Our lake cabin throws an interesting twist into the big girl bed transition. We moved Tory to a full-size bed there (she was sleeping in a pack n' play before) and she has yet to sleep past 11:00pm in that bed. Since August. It's hard to develop a consistent routine of familiarity because we're only at the cabin on weekends.

So, in summary, the big girl bedroom transition is: rough going. I think we made the right decision in transitioning Tory from a crib to a bed before Baby #2 arrives but, man, I wish she was a better sleeper. Really, I've been wishing that for the last 26 months! I hope Tory grows out of this light sleeper / up several times a night phase and eventually, I know think she will. I mean, teenagers love sleep, right? Eventually she'll love to lay in her bedroom all day ... I just have to hold on until then.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about bringing a newborn baby home in a few days AND dealing with Miss Up All Night at the same time. How I'll nurse a baby and put Tory back to sleep several times a night will prove interesting. Usually, all bedtime routines in our household fall to me since I'm the stay-at-home parent, but Andi has agreed to help when the new baby arrives. Tory, on the other hand, may have another thing to say about that as she screams for "Mommy" when Andi or anyone else tries to help. (Maybe waiting nine days before my due date was a bad time to work Andi in the bedtime mix)? I'm trying not to worry about it because the new baby is coming (soon!) and we'll have to figure it out. So is the life of being a parent ....

Halloween 2013

We had a very happy Halloween this year. In fact, I think it was one of my favorite Halloween holidays to date. Celebrating any special day through the eyes of our little girl is just THE BEST.

As I mentioned previously, I wanted Tory to be a sheep for Halloween. At two-years-old, I thought I could get away with dictating her costume for one more year and she loves sheep, so I thought it'd be a big hit. Plus, it was both warm and adorably cute; perfect in every way. 

Tory's trilled to wear this ... can't you tell?

Silly, Mommy. I was able to convince Tory to try on the sheep costume one afternoon earlier in the week (by bribing her with M&Ms, of course), but on Halloween night she was insistent on being Minnie Mouse. My mom sent her this dress-up outfit at the beginning of October and Tory's been wearing it near daily ever since. "Minnie Mouse. Beautiful dress!" she insisted on Halloween and how could I say no to this sweet little face?

We invited Andi's parents, sister Lindsay, and her boyfriend, Kyle, over for dinner and an evening of trick-or-treating at our house. Bless my mother-in-law Janie's heart, she volunteered to prepare dinner so I didn't have to the cooking or clean-up at 38 weeks pregnant. She found a festive recipe for Dinner in a Pumpkin which was perfect for Halloween night. Janie served the warm hot dish casserole inside small pie pumpkins and individual winter squashes. The dinner presentation and casserole itself were fantastic! I'm definitely adding this recipe (minus the pumpkin shell) to our winter menu repertoire.

After dinner, we snapped a few photos with our #1 pun'kin, then headed out for an evening of trick-or-treating. Having six grown adults following one two-year-old trick-or-treating isn't overkill, is it? Our girlie had quite the posse behind her. Tory seemed to really understand trick-or-treating this year and had no problem marching right up to our neighbor's houses, knocking on the doors and saying "trick-or-treat" for candy. We only trick-or-treated on our street since it was chilly outside and Tory didn't really know the difference. She had a ball visiting the eight or so houses with lights on and it was a good chance for Andi and I to re-acquaint ourselves with some of the neighbors.

Dressing up my little Minnie 

Tory and Grandma Janie

Kyle, Lindsay, me, Tory and Andi before trick-or-treating

Ringing a doorbell with Lindsay

Trick-or-treating with Daddy

We were back home by 7:45pm and ended our night with freshly baked apple crisp and vanilla ice cream. As soon as dessert was finished, Tory waved to everyone, tugged on my hand and said "Nite nite. Read books, Mommy." Girlfriend was TIRED after the day's excitement.

I hope celebrating Halloween this way becomes a new tradition for our Minnesota family (at least until Lindsay has kiddos of her own and then we'll have to swap houses each year or something). It's the closest I've felt to the Halloweens at my grandma's house when I was a little girl. There's something about family coming together, little kiddo(s) in costume and trick-or-treating together which makes Halloween so much fun. I'm already looking forward to 2014 when we'll have a new little man to add to the mix.