Questions?

Have you ever had a question for me and not known how to ask? Maybe you wonder what Austin's daily schedule is like or how cloth diapering is going? Maybe you're curious about how my husband and I met, how long we were married before we got pregnant or what it's like being a stay-at-home mom? Maybe you have a question about a post I've written or want to know where I got an outfit Austin is wearing in one of his pictures...

Anyway, I thought about doing one of those ever so popular "Ask me a question" posts, but I've always felt they were a little narcissistic...especially for someone like me who doesn't really have all that many followers, however, I have gotten a few questions in post comments and never quite know how to respond back to them.

Not too long ago I noticed a few other bloggers using the website formspring.me and thought it would be a great place for people to post questions and for me to easily be able to answer them! You can even ask anonymously if you want and you don't have to sign up to use the website. Just go to http://formspring.me/inimnijeni and leave me your question and I'll answer as soon as I can! There is a widget in my sidebar where you can type in a question as well. The questions will be answered on the same page and if you follow me on Twitter you can see the answers there as well! (http://twitter.com/ARHsMommy)

So, go ahead and try it out if you'd like and if you can't think of anything to ask right now, just know that it'll be there for you next time you can't sleep at night wondering what my favorite color is or what Austin had for lunch! :-)

Great for teeth....and teething!

This is currently Austin's favorite way to relieve that terrible teething pain AND those terrible bad breath germies!!

Shy Guy

This afternoon we had our 3D/4D ultrasound for baby H #2! We went to the same place as we did with Austin and at 30 weeks just like we did with Austin....BUT this baby didn't quite cooperate the way Austin did...

The tech said baby had enough room in there but for some reason he wanted to be curled up in a little ball the ENTIRE time! From what we saw, he looks a lot like his big brother, but it was kind of hard to get the greatest pictures because he had his little knees in his face the whole time.

We watched our sweet babe wiggle around for over 30 minutes but I could have sat there all evening! He was being so active and we just kept waiting for him to show us his little face, but he wanted those little arms and knees by his face the whole time.

Babe is currently in a transverse position but the tech said she hoped that in a couple weeks, when baby has hopefully moved to a more head down position, he might not have as much room to bring his little hands and knees up to his face. Luckily they are letting us come back for FREE in two weeks to see if we can get a better look!

But for now, enjoy the cute pictures of our sweet nameless little boy...I especially love the one of his little ear!

So squished in there, but we can still tell he has his daddys and big brothers nose!
A perfect little ear shot!
Our best face shot

Baby all curled up in a little ball...you can see his fingers and toes in the same picture!

MMO & Need Mommy Advice

This morning I did something I never thought I'd do as a stay-at-home mommy.

I took Austin to daycare.

Ok, so it's not so much daycare as a program at a local church called Mother's Morning Out and we've decided to take Austin once a week from 8:30-12:30 until his baby brother arrives and then we're thinking about going two mornings a week. It should be a wonderful time for me to catch up on grocery shopping and housework and Austin will get to have fun with other kids close to his age and get a change of scenery. I think it will be especially helpful once the baby arrives and I'm not able to get out as much with the both of them. Grocery shopping with Austin is tough enough and I can't even imagine going out with him AND a newborn!

Anyway, this morning was our trial run, and in the 2 year old class no less! Austin was the youngest one in this class by far as 5 of the 6 kids were already 2 and the other one was just about to turn 2, however, Austin was much more advanced and active than the kids in the infant class and we all thought he wouldn't have nearly as much fun in there as he would with the 2 year olds. He was actually bigger than the two girls in the class and very close to the same size as the boys. You'd never even know he was 8-12 months younger than most of them!

Our trial run went really great but I have to admit, my feelings were a little hurt. Austin had such a good time playing with all the kids and new toys that he would have never known if I wasn't there! As soon as we entered the room he noticed a ball on the floor and screamed "ball!" and pointed to it and then ran over and grabbed it. He then noticed another ball in a corner and ran to get that one (this kid loves a ball!), and for the next 15 minutes he had no clue I was even in the same room with him and didn't look to find me a single time!

So yeah, my feelings were a little hurt by the fact that he was having so much fun he didn't even notice me, but overall I was pretty pleased that he seemed to fit in so well and have such a good time. It will certainly put my mind at ease when I drop him off on those mornings!

So this brings me to my question and need for other mommy advice...

I am supposed to send a snack and lunch with Austin for the days he goes to MMO and they can't need to be heated, refrigerated or take lots of preparation. I think I can handle the snack part pretty easily...but besides a cup of fruit and a PB&J sandwich, I have to idea what to pack for his lunch!!! At the house we eat chicken nuggets, soup, grilled cheese, pasta, yogurt, oatmeal, hot dogs and a bunch of other stuff that needs to be heated or kept cold. I know I can put an ice pack in his lunch to keep certain things cold...but what about his protein and cooked veggies? He's not old enough to chew up raw veggies and cold meat products just don't sound appealing. I would truly LOVE any ideas any of you other mommies might have so that I'm not sending him in everyday with the same packed lunch.

And kudos to all you working moms out there! Whew! I never knew how much thought and preparation it took to take your child and put them in someone else's care for an extended period of time! Between getting them up and ready as well as yourself, eating breakfast, packing snacks and lunch, making sure you've got a change of clothes, diapers and other necessities and then getting out of the house on time...wow...total chaos and panic! How do you do it?? :)

Here comes Spring!

What could be better than a weekend of snow followed by a weekend of warmth and sunshine?! We can have some crazy weather down here in the South, that's for sure!

We took full advantage of our first real Spring-like weather and met up with the Johnson's for an afternoon at the zoo! Austin was more aware of the animals this time around than at our previous visit and pointed to every one that he saw. He liked the elephants, giraffes, orangutans and all those creepy crawly things in the reptile house...well...except for the crazy iguana that jumped up on the glass right as he was peering in to take a look. That caused a minor freak-out moment at which time we had to leave the reptile house, but I certainly can't say I blame him!

We had a great time walking around the zoo in the nice weather and spending some time with Ben, Tonya and Tyler...but I have to say, the highlight of the afternoon (for Austin at least) was when we let him run around the park after leaving the zoo! It was pretty cute to see him enjoying himself so much and mommy and daddy got a great workout trying to keep up with him!

Who doesn't love an elephant?
Look mama, a monkey!!
Tyler and Austin observing the primates.
Taking a ride!
We tried out the backpack leash...something I said I'd never do as a mother...until I actually became the mother of one wild little boy who doesn't like to sit in a stroller, be held for long periods of time and who won't stay with us when let down to walk....judge me if you must...
Feeding the goats!
So happy to be free to roam!
And he's off...
Before the sumo wrestling began...
Action shot!
Looks like a nice day to fly!

Big Baby!

This afternoon was our 4th ultrasound for baby boy Harris and it looks like he'll be making at least 3 more on screen appearances before his arrival late April. This "little" guy is close to being in the 90th percentile with an estimated weight of about 4 lbs. already! Not only is his size a bit alarming for being only 29.5 weeks...but even more so when you take into account the fact that his mommy is only 4'10"!! Not sure if I've ever mentioned that on my blog...but that's not a typo...I am indeed one inch away from needing a booster seat in the car! So, to break it all down; Little mommy + Big baby = Limited room (if ya know what I mean...)

The only thing they can do right now is just keep a close eye on his growth and we'll be going in for an ultrasound every 3-4 weeks until he's born to monitor things. My doctor mentioned that talk of a possible c-section could be in our future since I did indeed have some trouble with Austin and he was only 7 lbs. 9 oz. A c-section is about the last thing I want to think about right now, mainly because I was hoping for a quick, easy delivery and fast recovery so I could be back home with my boys as soon as possible...but as long as this baby gets here safely, I guess that's all I can truly wish for at this point! I have to tell you though, the thought of having surgery and being in the hospital for 4 days when I've got an 18 month old at home who needs me...it's kinda frightening!

But anyway, besides the obvious size issues, everything else is going wonderfully! Baby looks good and sounds good and mommy feels pretty good, too! My blood pressure is still great, I DON'T have gestational diabetes and I've only gained 8 lbs. so far. Oh, and I'll be 30 weeks on Saturday! My how time has flown this pregnancy...

Since baby boy was in an odd position during our 19 week ultrasound, we never got a cute little profile shot...but he did cooperate for a few moments this time around and we finally got to see that sweet little face! It's not the greatest picture as he is much bigger now and his head is down low, but it still melts my heart!

Pop!

Austin's new favorite word is none other than "pop." We're not talking about soda pop here (not that we actually use that term down here in the South) but what you do to bubbles in the bathtub. He also likes to pretend to pop bubbles he sees in his books and apparently thinks anything small and round needs to be popped now.

Today I gave him some round baby carrot slices for lunch and placed them on his high chair tray. He refused to eat them at first, as usual, and then decided to take his finger, squish it into each round carrot slice and exclaim "pop!" "pop!" "pop!" with a very serious look on his face the entire time.

I couldn't help but laugh as I cleaned up all the smooshed carrot....

And from a completely unrelated (but equally amusing) meal time moment, here are some pictures of Austin's spaghetti dinner the other day.

The News

Since some of you have asked, I thought I'd write a quick post to inform everyone that I got my results back today and I PASSED my 3 hour glucose test!! Yay!!!!

I think I'm going to take Austin out for ice cream to celebrate! ;-)

29 Weeks

As promised...here I am at 29 weeks!

(And if anyone has any tips on how to take a sideways photo without looking like you have a double chin...I'd love to hear it!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Children's Museum Fun!

Yesterday afternoon, after playing in the snow, naptime and watching the Clemson basketball game, we decided to head downtown and take Austin to the Greenville Children's Museum. It was quite the busy day!!

Here's how our afternoon at the Children's Museum went:

Austin picked some carrots on Grandma Betty's farm...
...and proceeded to carry them around with him for a good 10 minutes...even while going down the slide...again...and again...and again etc. etc.
He found a hungry pig and decided to feed him some corn...
...and helped the chickens lay some eggs.
He went back to the garden and picked some pretty flowers just for mommy...
and then played with the giant lite-brite!
He crawled through lighted tunnels...
...and helped daddy play music like the Blue Man group.
He donned a lovely blue smock and played in the water at the lily pond, but got soaking wet anyway...
and then left his mark in the classroom down the hall.
He put balls into tubes of air and sent them flying all around...
...and then decided to do some grocery shopping at the local Bi-Lo.
He gazed longingly into the bread display as it was getting close to dinner time...
...and on the way out, he picked up some syrup to go with his wheat thins! Yum!

Snow Day!!

Well folks, believe it or not, the forecast called for snow and it actually arrived...right here in upstate SC!! We ended up with about 5 inches of the fluffy white stuff on the ground by Saturday morning...the biggest snow we've seen in these parts in quite sometime!

And the greatest thing about snow in SC...it's all melted by the next afternoon! I guess that's why we never get tired of it like those complaining northerners... ;-) just kidding!!

Anyway, we took Austin out this morning to play in the snow before it all melted and he was one happy little guy! He had so much fun just crunching around in it and watching Lucy run around like crazy. He threw quite the fit when we made him come inside and dry off/warm up.

By the way, isn't Austin just the cutest snow baby you've ever seen?! Okay, maybe I'm just a little partial! :)

Wickedly Good!

For Valentine's Day, Ryan surprised me with tickets to see Wicked at the Peace Center Friday night. Ok, so I wasn't really surprised considering I had been begging to go since I heard the musical was coming to Greenville...but I give him credit because he did have them for about 2 weeks before he had to break down and tell me to keep me from buying them myself!

So, we've had these tickets for months and have been looking forward to the show for so long! I was a little worried when, come time to go, I looked outside and there was already about 2 inches of snow on the ground, but that didn't stop the show and it didn't stop us!! We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Giovanni's, who ended up closing for the night after we left due to the snow. With bellies full of delicious Italian, we made our way downtown and to our seats in the packed out theatre.

The show was 2 hr. 45 min. long but I could have sat there all night! The music was great, the costumes and set design were fabulous, the actors were amazing....the entire show was just phenomenal!! The story line was pretty different from the book, which I didn't realize going into it, but I think it made for a more appealing musical, even if it took me a little getting used to after being such a fan of the novel.

Ryan absolutely adored it and said he got chill bumps during "Defying Gravity." He even insisted that we buy a souvenir at the end of the show!

This was the 5th musical we've seen together and we both agree that it tops our list...for now!

My Little Tiger Cub

Finally, a home basketball game early enough for us to take the little guy along! Even better, it ended with a Clemson victory!!

Austin had such a great time at the game tonight and clapped for the Tigers all evening and even helped boo the refs after some bad calls. He pointed out the Clemson tiger paw and yelled "paaaaaw!" every time he saw one and loved seeing the Tiger mascot walk by. He was certainly the hit of section 116!!