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. :)