Tis the Season

What a great Christmas we had this year! Shae is at such a fun age to enjoy the holidays. He may have gotten a little spoiled by Santa and his grandparents (and a whole lot of other family members), but it was so wonderful to see his excitement.

Waiting patiently to open gifts

Getting the hang of things later that night

 The day after Christmas, getting ready to try out his new big boy toy!

This kid has no idea how good he's got it ;)

Shae has also been enjoying the never ending supply of snow this season. He loves getting pulled around in his sled, eating snow, and...

...helping daddy shovel!

Two peas in a pod

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

The verdict is in. Shae will be sharing his parents with a baby sister! Our little peanut cooperated during our ultrasound last week and we were able to see that it's time to start investing in the color pink!

To say that I'm excited would be an understatement. Of course we would've been happy with either a boy or girl and giving Shae a little brother would've been exciting as well, but it's just so fun to be planning for a girl this time around. I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to have a son and a daughter, and I can't wait to watch that little girl captivate her daddy's heart, much like Shae has. Also, I absolutely LOVE having a little boy; even more than I ever could have imagined, and part of me is really grateful that Shae gets to stay my one and only special little man.

Here are some photos of the little beauty at 19 weeks:

And the proof that she's growing fast:

20 weeks

Ho Ho Ho!

We've been talking about Santa a lot lately. We've seen him in cartoons, we've been singing songs about him, and we've been practicing our "ho ho ho's!" But there's something about seeing the big jolly guy in person that can understandably be a little scary to a one year old.

We did enjoy watching Santa and his elf, Albert perform again this year. We even got on the stage and did a little dancing with the big kids. But when it was picture time, Shae preferred that Daddy stay close by. And by close by, I mean between him and Santa.

 Watching the show. Look familiar?

 Shae gave Santa five!

Daddy snuggled close to Santa while Shae waited patiently to be done with this nonsense. 

How badly do you want to kiss this face?!



A Sweet Boy and a Growing Belly

Time for another addition of Shae Does the Cutest Things!

So many come to mind, but I'll try to narrow it down. My pride for this boy is overwhelming.

Shae is turning out to be one polite little boy, as his new most often used word is "please!" He has been saying and signing "more" for quite some time, and we've been encouraging him to say and sign "more please." Well he finally got it and even put his own little twist on it. He's combined the signs into one unique motion and just says "please." He says it all the time! He's also learning to use this new request when he is frustrated and needs help with something. I love this! Instead of getting upset when he can't get his blocks put together the way he wants, he'll say "please," meaning "please help, Mommy." I've actually seen him start to get frustrated by something and then stop, turn to me, and say, "please." It's amazing what you can teach such a young child with a little patience.

Shae has also begun telling his first stories. His favorite goes like this: "Mawy, gobble gobble. Vrrrrm! Boppa" ... or something along those lines. For those of you that don't speak one year old, he's recalling part of our Thanksgiving Day. Grandma Mary made a turkey and Grandpa cut it with an electric knife. He's been telling us this story multiple times a day and Thanksgiving was almost a week ago!

One more thing I'll mention is that Shae loves the Christmas tree. He walks around it saying, "Oooh, aaah," which we've taught him to do. We've tried to keep the unbreakable ornaments towards the bottom because he just can't help but to take them off for a closer look now and then.

As for the little sibling, he/she is doing great! We had another doctor's appointment yesterday and got to hear that sweet little heart beating at 150 beats per minute. Shae didn't really understand what we were listening to, but he keeps trying to imitate the sound and then says, "baby!"

I've also been feeling a little bit of very faint movement now and then. I just love the 2nd trimester! I'm feeling better, feeling movement, and starting to show. Yes, that belly is finally popping!

 Here I am at 11 weeks, shortly after I began to show. (Yes, that is new baby belly, not Shae leftovers.)

I seemed to stay like this for a little over a month, until...

pop!

16 weeks

Finally looking pregnant and not just bloated! :)

Our next appointment is two weeks from tomorrow, where we will do our big ultrasound. I'm so excited to find out the gender and also to see those adorable images of our growing baby!!!

Lunch!

I can't get enough of Shae saying "macaroni"! It's a word that only us, as Shae's parents, can decipher. It sounds like gibberish, but we understand him every time he says it...which is often as it's clearly his new favorite food. That and green beans and peas (weirdo). Don't worry, since he's eating it so often, we're giving him the all natural, enriched macaroni (with extra protein since he's decided to become a vegetarian).

TV or No TV? That is the Question.

It's fascinating to me to observe all of the different types of parents out there. One great place to do this is ECFE (Early Childhood Family Ed). There's a certain mother in our new ECFE playgroup who loves to talk about her children (even more than the rest of us) and brag about her parenting skills. "The television is never allowed on at our house," she proudly proclaimed last week. I try not to judge other people's parenting styles too much, but I couldn't help but to feel that she was judging those of us that allow the TV to be turned on from time to time. And I can't help but wonder, what's the big deal?

I certainly don't park Shae in front of the TV all day, nor would he actually watch it for very long if I did. But I do see some benefits to some television and videos.

1. Imagination and Exploration: One example: Shae has a couple of Baby Einstein videos that showcase animals from around the world. He loves watching all of the different animals, imitating some of them, and repeating many of their names. We do frequent the zoo quite often, but even the zoo can't show him so many animals and places up close and personal.
2. Learning Opportunities: Sesame Street! Seriously, letters, numbers, colors; he's absorbing a lot of information. Of course I talk of these things throughout the day with him as well, but there's no reason Elmo shouldn't reinforce these concepts from time to time. Shae always seems much more interested in what Elmo has to say than in what Mommy has to say.
3. A Better Mommy: I'm pregnant, okay? Sometimes I'm exhausted and I need a little break from chasing this very active boy around. A little down time on the couch with my boy can do me a world of good and re-energize me for some more chasing and playing.
4. Safety: Yes, safety. When I've got a hot pot of boiling water on the stove, things going in and out of the oven, and I'm cutting up veggies for dinner, the last thing that Shae should be doing is hanging out under my feet. And the last thing that I should be doing is allowing him to be around all of that or running out of my sight (which he loves to do these days). I pop in a video and I've got him distracted for a good 20 minutes (in my sight) so that I can move about the kitchen with my sharp knives and hot food.

So yes, my son does watch some television from time to time. He does so in healthy increments and he seems to be developing just fine. In fact, he seems to be doing better than just fine! He's a smart, playful, curious boy and I couldn't be more proud of him!

Shae watching Baby Einstein with his Elmo remote :)

As far as a pregnancy update goes, I'm feeling much better! We were 15 weeks along as of yesterday. The nausea started to pass a few weeks ago, but I was still feeling like I had been run over by a truck 24/7. I was also more pale than ever and I figured my iron was probably getting too low again (this happened when I was pregnant with Shae too). I knew I wouldn't have my blood tested again for another few weeks, so I decided to just go ahead and start taking additional iron supplements and that seemed to do the trick. Hooray!

I'm a little surprised that my belly isn't popping much more yet. I was expecting to show faster with this being my second pregnancy, but I seem to be staying pretty steady for the past few weeks. I was also surprised that I haven't gained any weight so far...and I actually want to! Even when I was feeling sick, I was always able to find something that I could eat, and now that I'm feeling better I'm eating more and more. I know I gained some weight in the first trimester with Shae, but every pregnancy is different I guess. I'm sure everything is fine, but I'm anxious for our next appointment (next week).

King of the Jungle

What a fun Halloween we had this year! Shae was at a fun age to enjoy his costume, pumpkins, and ghosts ("Boo!). All of the scary roaring he'd been doing the last couple of months led to the perfect Halloween costume made by Grandma Mary: a lion. He was the cutest and scariest lion I have ever seen. He loved wearing his costume and "scaring" us with his roar. He especially got excited to see himself in the mirror and would roar so intensely that his whole body shook. I didn't get that on video, but I did get some little roars while walking around the house. You'll also see him scaring Rocky who was locked in the office because he looked a little like he wanted to attack the lion in our house.

We started the festivities this year by visiting Grandma Kathy and Papa the day before Halloween. Cousin Blaise was also there dressed as a dragon. It was a fun little party! On Halloween we visited Grandpa Gary and Grandma Mary and then Grandma Lori, Grandpa Bob, Auntie Kimberly, and Uncle David. If I haven't said it before, Shae is so lucky to have so many wonderful grandparents that love him so much!

On Halloween night, we eagerly awaited the trick-or-treaters in our new neighborhood, but didn't get as many as I thought we would. I'm sure we'll get more next year as our street fills in a little more. I thought that Shae might get a little scared by some of the trick-or-treaters, but he instead got upset when they left. I think he thought they were coming over to play!

 Posing with his pumpkins

 Waving his tail

 "Ball"

 Shae and Blaise

Daddy and Mommy with their little lion

The Cutest Things

Time for a new segment entitled: Shae Does the Cutest Things!

He keeps us laughing everyday and I just have to document these new things he's doing.

I'll start with colors. Shae's favorite color is yellow and he's quick to point out anything yellow he sees. Not only is he brilliant for recognizing colors at this age, but it is soooooo cute to hear him say "lellow!" He also recognizes blue ("bu") and sometimes green ("ge"), but lellow is his favorite. If you ask him what his favorite color is or what color we should paint his bedroom, it's always "lellow."

Another thing that Shae is saying so adorably these days is "baby." He loves watching babies on YouTube and refers to any young child as "baby." He recently walked up to a kid twice his size at the mall, pointed in his face, and said, "baby." The kid looked at him like, "Who you calling a baby?" I hope he's still liking babies in 6 months!

Shae may be following in his daddy's footsteps, as he is already enthralled with football. "Go, go!" he yells when he sees football or any Vikings logo. He got his own little Vikings football the other day and took it to nap with him. Joe swears this was Shae's idea. :)

Shae usually knows what he's not allowed to do, but that doesn't stop him from doing it. He proceeds to do what he wants while saying, "No, no." He pushes buttons on the blue ray player while saying "no, no." He plays in Rocky's water while saying "no, no." He pulls on cords plugged into outlets while saying "no, no." It's so stinken cute.

Some other big news is that Shae is eating table food now! He just woke up one day and decided he was ready. What a relief! He's still a little picky when it comes to some textures, but he has been trying so many new things all of a sudden.

And finally, Shae's new favorite game: hide and seek. Well, hiding anyway. Check it out.

 Shae, where are you? (Hiding in my closet)

 Has anyone seen Shae? (Behind his rocking chair)

 I can't find Shae anywhere!

Ha, ha! I was under the bed, Mama!

And now for an update on our second little love. This pregnancy is just so different from what I remember with my last. I've still been feeling sick, although the medication is helping somewhat. I try not to complain about it constantly, but I don't even remember what normal feels like. I hope to soon. I know it will all be worth it.

Another thing that is so different this time is how fast it's going already. When I was pregnant with Shae, I remember counting down every day, looking at the calendar in my cube at work and fantasizing about maternity leave. Now, I'm so focused on Shae that I'm surprised at how fast this first trimester is going. It's weird though, because with the nausea and everything, the days seem to drag on and yet the time is going by fast.

Joe took my first belly picture the other night as I'm beginning to show! I love watching the progress of baby's growth and development through those belly pics. And I love having a baby belly (up until about 30 weeks anyway). I may be one of the only ladies on Earth to get excited about getting a big belly. It's just so fascinating to me. I'll get some pictures up soon of the growing belly to document the progress.

Sever's Farm

Last Saturday we took a fun little trip to Sever's Farm in Shakopee. Sever's is well known for their amazing corn maze, but we stuck to the little kid attractions: the corn pool, petting zoo, and pumpkins. It was a balmy, almost 90 degree day so it felt a little weird being out there in our summer attire celebrating Fall, but we had a blast.

 "Swimming" in corn is fun! I thought Shae was going to try eating it, but he was just smelling it. :-)

 The camel nibbled Shae's fingers, which he really got a kick out of.

 Shae loved running around in the petting zoo. That kid LOVES animals!

 "I like this one, Daddy."

"Ball!" To Shae, the pumpkin patch was a field of balls. :-)

Shae's Big Secret

Shae's gonna be a BIG brother!!! We are absolutely thrilled to be adding another addition to our little family. Baby #2 is expected to arrive around May 14, 2011, which will put the kiddos at just short of two years apart. Yikes! We'll be busy. :)

Joe, Shae, and I found out the good news on September 10th, and couldn't keep our mouths shut for too long before sharing with our parents and siblings. A few weeks later we were sharing with the rest of our family and a few close friends. And now we're going public.

This pregnancy has been a little different so far. The constant nausea has been anything but pleasant. Whoever coined the term "morning" sickness ought to be shot (although I'm sure they're dead by now anyway). I would give anything to only feel sick in the morning. A little help from my new favorite little pill, Zofran, has been starting to help though. Praise the Lord! If you've never been in charge of chasing a one year old around all day while feeling completely sick, consider yourself lucky.

We've also already gotten a little pregnancy scare out of the way (and let's hope this was the only one). The little worry ended up being a subchorionic hemorrhage (gathering of blood between the membranes of the placenta and the uterus). Nothing too worrisome at this stage and no bed rest! Hooray!

We've had two doctors appointments already and were able to see the tiny little heartbeat both times (first time: 139 beats/min, and second time: 162 beats/min). This is absolutely amazing to me. This is what actually made the pregnancy finally seem real to me too. Actually seeing that little being growing in there with a beating heart just takes my breath away.

I think the craziest part of this whole thing though is that Shae is going to be the big brother. He's my baby! How can he be the big one? It's really hard to imagine what it will be like having two children. We've got so much love and pride for Shae, and soon we'll feel the same way for another baby. Our hearts will have to double in size. And I know that they will.

Art Project Gone Wrong

Shae has really taken a liking to coloring with crayons lately. So logically, I thought he'd enjoy finger painting with chocolate and vanilla pudding. Who wouldn't? I found a picture of his favorite animal, a lion, to make it even more fun.

 Um, it's stickin to my fingers

And now it's on my face...get it off!

Put the camera down, woman! This is serious!

Not bad

For a little boy that enjoys getting dirty in the great outdoors, why would he have a problem with delicious, edible pudding? I don't get it.

A Look at Reality

I love dressing Shae up in cute clothes and taking photos...in case you haven't noticed.

Just check out this handsome necktie!

But let's be realistic. If you were to stop by my house at any given time, you're much more likely to see this Shae:

Sloppy shirt, no pants, one sock missing, the other sock barely hanging on, and making a mess of every room in the house! Silly boy!

Playing in the Leaves

It appears that Shae is in agreement with mommy and daddy that fall is one of the best seasons. We enjoyed visiting Nerstrand State Park on Saturday for the annual Gratz Family Fall Picnic. It was a little chilly, but Shae loved spending the day outside playing in the leaves, enjoying a campfire, and hanging out with family.

 Shae had to get his hands on the football right away

 Looks like he's getting ready to hike the ball to daddy

 Loved walking through the leaves

 Playing with leaves is fun!

 A brief look at the camera

 Sooooo big!

 A kiss from Bauer

There were a lot of other people at the picnic as well, but somehow Shae was one of the only ones that made it onto my camera. I'll have to work on that. :)

Silly Little Walker

I haven't been very good at blogging lately, but not because I don't have anything to share. There's always something exciting going on with a one year old in the house. Shae continues to entertain us and really loves getting a laugh out of us. The video below is a good demonstration of this. One might think that he's working on a dirty diaper, but that's not the case. He's just being his silly self.

And his newest big milestone: walking! He actually took his first steps on August 14th, but he just mastered walking all over the place in the past week. He's so proud of himself too. There's nothing better than seeing him toddle towards you with a big grin on his face and then falling into your arms. :-)

I've Conquered the World!

...or so it feels.

As some of you may know, Shae is not exactly the best eater. Although I don't share this theory, Shae believes that there are much more fun things to be doing than eating. Just about every baby food meal has been a struggle. And solids? Forget about it. The mere thought of putting finger foods into his mouth makes Shae squirm.

Over the past few months we've only been successful on a few solids:

• Gerber Puffs
• Gerber Yogurt Melts
• Gerber Lil' Crunchies

You get the picture. Something about those colorful Gerber packages I guess. Although not the worst thing in world to eat, those Gerber snacks just weren't going to cut it nutritionally, and I was really hoping to not have to keep up with straight baby food for too much longer.

What else can I get this kid to eat?! Hmmm...

Looks like a delicious Gerber snack...

Yes! He's eating it!

Ha! Joke's on you, kid! That's tofu coated in graham cracker crumbs you're eating! Mommy snuck them into an empty Gerber container and you were none the wiser.

And so, yes, this is what conquering the world feels like to a mom that has been worried about the development and nutrition intake of her dear, sweet child for far too long.

*Side note: For those of you following the soy debate, do not worry; the amounts of tofu being consumed will not affect Shae's estrogen levels :)