Baking Cookies

Tonight Owen and I made peanut butter cookies. This was our first time baking together and I did my best to let him do everything himself (except crack the egg and use the oven). We had a really good time and it made me laugh watching him try to roll the cookies. We'll have to practice with Play-Doh. Afterwards we took some over to Aunt Judy, Uncle Boo, and Elsie. Owen was very proud of his cookies and it was a nice change from our usual evening routine.

Being Pregnant

I really enjoy being pregnant. It is so amazing if you really think about it. Some people I know hated being pregnant and couldn't wait till it was over, but not me. The second trimester is the best because I am over the sickness and not completely enormous and uncomfortable. I have to admit, being pregnant this time is a little rougher than last time. Before, I could come home from work and rest on the couch for as long as I wanted. Now, I have Owen to look/chase after, so there really is no resting or relaxing till he goes to bed and by then, I am ready for bed too. I am trying to savor every moment this time around because it very well could be my last (according to Mike... it is!). Today at work, the baby was VERY active. I felt like someone was poking me from the inside all day long. I don't think he slept at all. Pretty soon I will be able to see his hands/feet moving across my belly!

On a totally different topic.... Tonight we ate some of Mike's leftover birthday cake. Owen loved the blue icing and is still awake an hour after putting him to bed because of all the sugar he ate. Here's a picture of our little Smurf.

Playdate

Today Owen had a playdate with Cohen, Olivia, and Tanner. Crystal and Jill have been friends of mine since I worked in E-town three years ago. I really miss working with them and seeing them everyday, but I am glad we still keep in touch and get together. Jill has two boys- Cohen (he is two months younger than Owen and also obsessed with trains) and a three month old boy, Tanner. Crystal has a little girl, Olivia who is about one and a half and Crystal is also pregnant and due in April! Jill is taking a year or two off work and Crystal is planning on taking next year off work as well so we plan on having a play date every other week. It was a little chaiotic at times with four kids running around, but we were talking about how much crazier things will be when Crystal and I both have our babies. Hopefully, for Olivia's sake, Crystal has a girl because poor Olivia is terribly outnumbered. Here's a picture before everyone left. We always make the mistake of trying to get a picture at the end when they are tired and ready for naps. Cohen was the only one paying any attention to the camera. Olivia was crying because she hated the mulch and Owen was staring at her and refused to smile for the camera.
Here is a picture from one of our first playdates. Owen and Cohen were just babies. Jill and I with our boys.
I think Crystal had just found out she was pregnant.
I totally forgot it was my turn to host the playdate and only remembered last night so I did not have time to go to the grocery store or make anything good for lunch. We ended up just ordering pizza. Hopefully next time I can make something yummy and have a good dessert to share.

Our Cutie Patootie

This afternoon we had our 20 week ultrasound. I am "officially" 20 weeks today which means I am halfway through my pregnancy. My due date is February 10th which is two days after the date the ultrasound technician told us. I am not too concerned about the due date since I doubt he will come on his due date anyway. Everything looked good. She checked his heart, spine, brain, diaphragm, stomach, limbs, as well as some other important things. He weighs 12 ounces which puts him in the 50th percentile. He was pretty active and uncooperative at times just like his big brother was during his ultrasound. I told Mike we are going to need a track in our backyard for our VERY active boys. She said an active baby is a healthy baby. We feel so lucky and blessed that everything looked good.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today was Mike's 32nd birthday. We started the day by having breakfast with Mike's mom. Owen got the red (strawberries), white (bananas), and blue (blueberries) french toast. He liked it a lot, but did not come anywhere close to finishing it. Owen kept telling the waitress that it was daddy's birthday so when she brought out his breakfast, she had two candles in his watermelon.

Then we came home and played until the Eagles game. While Owen took a nap, Mike and I watched the game. Well, actually, I took a really good nap during the game.

Tonight we went over to Bob and Kim's house for Mike's birthday dinner. Mel picked up a really delicious ice cream cake!


We got a couple pictures of Owen outside with the pumpkins.

Trains, Trains, and more Trains

Today was a busy day. Owen and Mike went along with me to my doctors appointment in Lancaster. I was seeing Jana Myers today. She is the midwife that delivered Owen and I really liked her. I finally was able to get a picture of Owen with Jana. Hopefully she is on call when I deliver our baby in February!This was Owen and daddy waiting for Jana to arrive.

After my appointment we headed over to Strasburg to visit Thomas the Train. He is in town again for only a couple weeks and tomorrow is his last day so we did not want to miss it. This time we skipped the ride on Thomas and just visited and got our picture taken with him.

Here's Owen and daddy watching Thomas head down the track. Mike said he could feel Owen's heart beating through his sweatshirt from all the excitement. Owen waiting for Thomas to come back to the station so we could get a picture with him.
I loved how clear and blue the sky was today.
This picture did not turn out well so we bought one from the camera they used to take the picture.

Then, we headed across the street to the Railroad Museum. They had a nice area for kids. Owen loved playing with the trains on the really big train table.

Before leaving Strasburg, we stopped to get some pumpkins and mums. Each of us picked out a pumpkin and we got a tiny one for the baby too. Owen picked out two gourdes for Cheech. Then we went to the Polo outlet to get daddy some pants for work before going out to lunch.

This evening we went to the soccer game. Owen enjoys going down on the field with Mike. In a couple years he will be old enough to be the ball boy!

"The Look"

Some mornings when I drop Owen off at Linda's house she has something special greeting us at the entrance. On the first day of school, and a few other special days, she has bubbles coming out of her bubble machine. Other times, she might have a breakfast pastry that she baked for all the parents when they drop off their children. During holidays she has decorations and music playing. Well today we were greeted with big flowers lining the walkway to the door to Linda's house. The children traced their hands for the petals of the flowers and their picture was in the middle. Owen's was the first one in line and this is what it looked like....

All the other children had big smiles, but not Owen. I wonder what he was thinking? This is a new face for him. One that we have seen recently at home whenever he is not sure about something or about to get upset. It looks like a really disgusted face, but I think it is more of a "what is going on?" face.

On another note... Linda said Owen did great today with his glasses. He only took them off once for a little bit. I'm so glad it is going well so far!

I Can See Clearly Now

This afternoon Owen and I picked up his glasses. He was so good as he patiently sat on my lap while his glasses were adjusted. I think he looks adorable! He's been much better about wearing them than I anticipated. I think he really needed them and they must make a difference. I ordered them in a brushed silver color, but they are black. I was not going to make a deal of it- they are just glasses. He was watching TV when I took these pictures so he was not very interested in looking at the camera.

Rainy Saturday

This morning, Mike took Owen to Fairview to see the Hershey Bear's Calder Cup. He looks kind of terrified. I think he was scared he'd fall.


Then, he came home and snuggled up on the couch to watch Caillou (his favorite show right now).


I took a half day yesterday and went to see my family doctor. He looked at my rash and right away thought it looked like ring worm, which was a relief. He said I should come back in a week and have my blood work results sent to him. Then, I will have blood work done again in three weeks to check my Lyme levels. If they go up, then it means I could have Lyme Disease. He does not want to treat me with antibiotics until he knows for sure, but he seemed confident it is ring worm.

Bulls Eye

When I got home from my school's open house last night I noticed the rash that I thought was probably just ring worm was now a definite bull's eye. I immediately called the OB doctor on call in a panic. He was not helpful or reassuring at all and just said to call back tomorrow morning. So, I am taking a half day off work to get this figured out. We are still hoping it is not Lyme, but it is really looking like it now. I feel like it is one thing after another!

You know you're pregnant...

when the cashier as CVS asks you when you are due. That takes some guts. I knew it would happen eventually, but I did not think I would get that question from a stranger this soon. Then she proceeds to say, "Wow! You are going to have one big baby." Thanks.

I was at CVS getting cream for some fungal thing that is growing on my leg- probably ring worm that I got from Mike when he had a bit of athlete's foot on his big toe. I went to Priority Care tonight because I was not able to get into my doctor or dermatologist and I don't want to take time off work to go. The doctor at Priority Care didn't seem to know for sure what is on my leg so he is treating me for a fungus (Ring Worm) and had me get blood work done to rule out Lyme Disease. He said he was not sure if Lyme Disease crossed the placenta so he wanted to make sure it's not that. I really hope it's not. Here's a picture. Any ideas?

My student teacher has been out all week and won't be back till the middle of next week. She had to go home because she is so sick and her doctor thinks she has pneomia. He gave her Tamiflu in case it is Swine Flu. Someone in her building at LVC has Swine Flu. Her doctor did not want to do the nasal test for Swine Flu because he does not think it's that reliable.

Never a dull moment with me!

Photos

I have not been keeping up with the blog and adding pictures like I had been all summer. I am just so tired after work and by the time Owen goes to bed, I am ready to go to bed myself! My feet and legs are achy so I am going to try to sit a little more at work. I wish I could sit in a hot tub, but that's not allowed when you're pregnant.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I downloaded from the new camera. I hope to get some outside fall pictures soon! I am still learning how to use the camera and have only used the automatic feature so far.

Here is an action shot of Owen playing in the basement.

Here he is that night in the bathtub. Looks like he's posing!
Playing Choo Choos in the bathtub.... what else?!
Making a new track with Papa and Daddy after dinner on Monday night.
Look at those big, blue eyes! Since he was a baby he has gotten so many comments about his beautiful, big, blue eyes. Strangers at the store will stop and comment on them. And now... he needs glasses for those eyes. Isn't it ironic?
Here is a picture of the track Owen made all by himself. He no longer likes to keep the track confined to his train table, but likes to create his own design on the floor. It drives me nuts to have to step over tons of track and trains on the floor, but at the same time, I am pretty impressed at what he is able to do. I find he works best at times when he plays by himself downstairs. Today, when I went downstairs, this is what I found....

He did all of that himself in a matter of 20 minutes!

That's all for now!

Labor Day Weekend

It is so nice to have a four day weekend! Friday evening Mike and I went out to dinner and then planned on going over to the football game, but instead came back home and had people over for a campfire. Nana Way watched Owen while we went to dinner and once we got home he went right to bed. He was exhausted because he did not nap at all that afternoon.

The stinker did not nap at all Saturday either. I am really not liking this no nap thing and I hope it is just temporary. He is such a good boy and stays in his bed for two hours, but instead of sleeping, he sings and talks to himself. I was really hoping he would take an afternoon nap till he was 4 years old. His afternoon nap will be crucial once the baby arrives too! Saturday night Mike's soccer team was playing Elco and I was very excited to go and take Owen. My parent met us there during the JV game. Owen was enthralled with the Falcon Mascot, but got very scared when it came up to talk to him. He was so scared of the bird that he would not leave his seat the entire game, which was sort of nice. Then, all of a sudden, at 6:15pm, I was holding him and he fell fast asleep. He was out! My dad carried him to the car and he did not wake up even for a minute when I put him in his carseat. I drove home and carried him right to bed and he slept till 7am this morning! I think he still needs his afternoon nap.

This morning we went to church and Owen had another good day in the nursery. He was a little more hesitant to let us go this time, but once we left, he was fine. After church my mom, Mike and I went to Costco and I got my new camera! I love it! I am still reading all about it and figuring out how to use it. There are a lot of capabilities. I was taking pictures with both my old and new camera to see the difference and it was amazing to see how much better the lighting and quality is with my new camera. The action shots I took of Owen are great. While we were at Costco, Owen went to the horse show with Nana Way. He had a good time and after singing for only 45 minutes, he finally fell asleep and took a good nap.

I will post some pictures from my new camera soon. I am anxious to see if the quality looks any better/different on my blog.

Bless His Heart

I really procrastinated this summer with making eye doctor and dentist appointments. It was not until the very end of August that I decided I better schedule them. So, this morning while I went to the dentist, Mike took Owen up to Hershey for an eye doctor appointment.

When Owen was an infant (less than 1 year old) my mom and sister thought his one eye looked turned. I remember them telling me and I went into a complete panic. I asked around and found out about a great pediatric opthamologist in Hershey and took him there. It ended up being nothing. The doctor said that the bridge of his nose was just really flat and once that grew and his face changed it would look normal... and it did. We went back a year later for a check up and the doctor thought Owen had the beginning of an astigmatism that he wanted to keep an eye on so we scheduled an appointment for a year later. I called back in June and was only able to get him in today! This guy is sort of famous. He was on Jon and Kate Plus 8 when Kate took the kids for eye check ups. He is really strange, but very nice and really knows his stuff.

Anyway, we found out that Owen needs glasses. His eyes are pretty bad, but the doctor said because we caught it so early there is a good chance he will grow out of it and not need glasses/contacts when he gets older. The tricky part will be making sure he is wearing them as much as possible and keeping them from getting lost and broken. Bless his little heart. I will be sure to post a picture once we get them. I wish Calliou, Elmo, or one of the choo choos wore glasses. Mike has glasses and should wear them all the time, but doesn't. He is going to have to start wearing them around Owen so he thinks they are cool. As much as we really wish he did not need glasses at 2 years old, we will be very thankful if this is the biggest health problem he faces as he gets older. So many parents are dealing with very sick kids, so in the grand scheme of things, this is minor.

Update: The doctor that fitted Owen this evening for glasses said he probably won't outgrow his astigmatism. :( He is probably seeing really blurry now and once he has glasses it will make a big difference.

Belly Picture #1

When I was pregnant with Owen I took a picture of my bare belly every month. It was neat to see the progression. I have not been good with taking pictures of my belly this time around so I had Mike take one tonight. Here I am at 17 weeks 3 days. I realized I am slouching in the picture, but oh well. I am finally starting to feel the baby kick a little more. I was getting worried because all I had felt were a few flutters here and there. I felt like Owen was a lot more active by this point, but maybe not. In the past few days, however, I have felt stronger kicks.

I survived the first week of school. My kids are very very low, but not too much of a behavior problem (so far!). The boy who I was told throws things, has been perfect (so far!).
One week down, less than 23 more to go!

In other exciting news... Owen went pee pee on the potty tonight. He decided, out of the blue, that he wanted to sit on his Thomas potty so Mike took him and he tried so hard and squeezed and squeezed and a little pee came out. We were so proud. I think his new Thomas potty seat is really motivating!