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