Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Leo, hard at work

Poor little man, he started off last week with croup and then ended up with an ear infection a couple days later. Since I couldn't take him to school, I had to work from home. Here is Leo (in my glasses) helping me work.




CRAB ATTACK!

I was so excited to bring home some dungeness crab for Charlie and quickly turned to the internet for a knock off of Joe's Crab Shack's BBQ crab recipe. (Which I found here: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Joe's_Crab_Shack_BBQ_Crab_Legs) They turned out great, although next time I would cut the salt back by half.

Now, some of you may remember, when I was pregnant with Leo I had an INTENSE crab craving. Much to Charlie's delight, we ate crab at least once a week if not more. I couldn't get enough of the stuff.

So the crab was great, and we settled in on the couch, belly's full and happy, for a movie. About 30 minutes later I started to itch, like really itch. By the end of the movie it had spread from my arms to my face and then my legs. I took a Benadryl and slept fine, but the next morning at work, the itching started again. I called the doctor who said it probably was the crab and I would likely itch for the remainder of the day (which I did) and to avoid crab for a few months.

Poor Charlie, here he was looking forward to months of crab again and I have to stay away from it.

About a week later I ate something with peanuts and felt instantly "off". I ended up getting sick and itchy, so peanuts are off the menu for now as well.

Pregnancy is SO strange!!

Jellybean - 15 1/2 weeks

We had an appointment at 14.5 weeks and all is well. Heartbeat was strong (156) and that really about summed up the appointment. We go back at 16.5 weeks for the anatomy scan and we should find out the sex!! Yay!

Since Leo was sick all last week, he came to the appointment with us. He got to hear the heartbeat and has been talking about it all week. So sweet. :)

Nausea is still hanging around a bit, but much better. Unfortunately, it was quickly replaced with acid reflux. I've started new medication for that which should kick in by the weekend. Besides utter exhaustion, all is well. I'm still hopeful that I will feel better in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Jellybean - 13 Weeks

Why didn't someone remind me how long pregnancy feels? I can't believe I have so many more months ahead of me!

On the bright side, my queasiness is a little better. I had one Zofran free day, and another handful of days where I only needed 1 in the morning. On the not so bright side, I feel more tired than ever. I'm right on the cusp of the second trimester, so relief should be around the corner, I hope.

Ever the optimist, and believer in positive thinking, I met with a personal trainer to set me up with a safe weight training program. Now, if I can ever muster up some energy again I will go back and do it. :)

We see the doctor next week for a checkup and in 3-4 weeks we should know if this little jellybean is a boy or a girl!

Leo - 33 Months

At 33 months, Leo is a bright happy handful! He's full of energy and opinions.

After the success of the Eating Sticker Chart, we implemented House Rules.
 If Leo breaks a rule, he gets a time out. But when he follows the rules, he gets to put a ball in the bucket. Once the bucket is full he gets a special prize, which can range anywhere from ice cream to a new car.
So far, it seems to be working well. Cooperating and Listening are big challenges for a 2 year old but the incentive system seems to be helping him focus.


Leo is talking up a storm. Lately we have been super impressed with his memory, especially with books. At night he's started asking to read his books to me, and he recites a few books from memory. He's also doing well at school. His teachers love him and all the kids want to give him hugs before he leaves. Here is the end of year garden stone he made for us at school.

Leo is slightly obsessed with cars from the Cars movie. He lines them all up on his nightstand before nap and night time. Sometimes they eat dinner with us too.
 Here are a few other pictures of Leo from the last month:

 Enjoying the mini van!



Taking the minivan plunge

Like so many girls, 10 years ago I fervently believed I would NEVER drive a mini-van. I said that I would be a Suburban mom, no mini van mom here!

Well, like so many things, the mini-van started looking better and better the older I got. Things like mpg and funtionality started to actually mean something to me. And lets give mini-vans a little bit of credit for uping their game over the last decade. With leather bucket seats, navigation systems, dvd entertainment and all the other bells and whistles, the mini-van of 2012 looks a whole lot different than the ones I remember from my youth.

So we crossed over to the dark side, we bought a mini-van and I LOVE IT! Here are a few pictures of my new swagger wagon!




Leo vs. Food


It's been a LONG battle since day 1 with Leo and food. As a baby he never ate the recommended amount of formula, he took to baby food, but only certain types. For a while we thought he would be eating baby food in Kindergarten. Finally he took to solid foods, but again, only certain types. I made my peace with it and tried new foods here and there without much success. And I kept telling myself that we would put our foot down when he got older.

Well, he's older, and Charlie and I were ready to start having some family meals. Since a sticker chart worked so well with potty training we gave it a try for new foods. For every new food tried, Leo got a sticker, once he earned 5 stickers, he got a new car. 

I figured it would take months to earn 3 new cars, surprisingly it only took about 3-4 weeks! Leo now eats grilled chicken, lettuce, pork chops, steak, sunflower seeds, and the list keeps going!