It's a girl???

I got another ultrasound today and it was for diagnostic purposes (down syndrome check, etc.) but I was so curious if we could tell what the baby is. So I asked and she said she could tell with 70% certainty. That was good enough for me, so we checked. Within seconds she had that perfect angle - legs strait out, bottom facing us. She and I both said at the same time, "That's a girl!" I will spare you the anatomical details of the image, but it was pretty obvious, baring radial future growth. I am a bit torn emotionally about it. It sure explains the many differences between this pregnancy and my first. Also, the strange feeling that I was making a mistake each time I referred to her as 'he' or 'your little brother' (to Benjamin). However, I really wanted a boy. Mostly because that's what I already have and what I'm used to and what comes naturally now. I'm not a prissy girly kind of person. That stuff really turns me off. But I also really hate dirt, so maybe a girl is really what I need. :) In any case, time will tell if it's correct, but in the mean time, I'll be looking for non-prissy girl clothes and imagining my little blonde-haired cutie - Maya/Isabella/? - suddenly I'm not so sure about names either.

Also, Happy Halloween everyone and a happy birthday to me tomorrow!!!! 30 years old! I'm excited. My party is on Friday and I've invited a lot of people so I think it will be tons of fun. I'll post pics of cutie Benjamin in his costume tomorrow, but in the mean time, here's a couple cute photos from a week or two ago.

Benjamin, Laura (from Utah), and I went to a cider mill to give Laura a Michigan experience (in addition to getting lost in Detroit) and Benjamin entertained himself on the train.


I let Benjamin put the rice and water into the rice cooker for dinner, but once that was done, he decided there was much more fun to be had. I'm still finding stray rice kernals every so often.

First Trimester Blues

Life with an active toddler can be stressful. Add to that raging hormones, fatigue, and frequent nausea and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. These last few weeks have been...interesting. I've had to put myself in time-out a few times in order to regain composure before I attempted to control whatever he was doing. I'm not regretting the decision to have another child, but certainly adding a nanny to the mix these last few weeks wouldn't have hurt. Alas, we're surviving and Benjamin still seems happy and fairly well adjusted. :)

It seems with this pregnancy (in addition to mood swings and bone crushing fatigue) I'm overly sensitive to smells. I've heard this from women before but it wasn't a problem with Benjamin. This time I can't stand the smell of garlic, dirty diapers (more so than usual), and my fridge. I have to hold my breath each time I open my fridge and leave the room afterwards until the residual smell clears. I've cleaned it out and washed it twice already and no one else smells anything in it, but it makes me so sick that anything I get out of it can be put right back because I can no longer eat it. Luckily I can tell these symptoms are fading each week, so hopefully I'll be better in a little while.

To lighten some of the load, I've been taking advantage of Benjamin's curiosity by allowing him to help me in the kitchen. He stands next to me on a chair at the counter and watches me every night as I prepare dinner. He used to stand/lay at my feet whining because I wouldn't play with him. Now that he's old enough that I'm not worried he'll fall or grab the knife out of my hand, I've found the current situation much more appealing. Luckily he loves it too. He'll watch me mix, chop, fry, etc. for as long as it takes. It's been such a relief. However, there have been a couple times when his attention waned and I turned around to find he'd moved his chair and found new sources of entertainment.

The first was our medicine cabinet. (It's now locked.) I thought he was moving the chair to look at the radio (another favorite diversion). I never even saw him climb onto the counter, just suddenly he was there.


He also found the rice cooker, with it's various lights, fascinating. That night nothing I did compared.


And nothing beats emptying out all the pans and climbing in a drawer. Especially if you've stashed Mom's cell phone there earlier. (I have found my phone in the strangest of places, including the fridge - probably knew I wouldn't be looking there anytime soon. I'm so glad I can always call it and follow the ring.)

Who's Next?

For those who haven't heard through other means, we're expecting! Our second baby is due May 10th. Not sure if it's a boy or girl yet, obviously, but he/she definitely seems more mellow that Benjamin already. Benjamin's ultrasound at 9 weeks was a flutter of activity. This baby's ultrasound was the picture of calm. Just floating in the warmth, content to stay put. I was going to post the ultrasound picture, but thanks so his/her mellow nature, there was no chance to get the cute little teddy bear pose we got with Benjamin, just a little curled up blob, only slightly representing a human. In the motion of the ultrasound I could make out the limbs, but no still photo captured them very well. So, you'll just have to take my word for it that my bulging midline isn't due to all the bratwurst I consumed on my vacation. Just thought I'd share the good news! :)

Watch him like a hawk!

Benjamin requires constant supervision, I'm discovering more and more each day. If I can't watch him, I need to make sure to clear the area before going away. When I forget to do that, less desirable events occur. For example, yesterday I was cleaning on top of the fridge, which required me to move a chair up to it. Unfortunately, I ignored my rule and didn't Benji-proof the kitchen before moving onto the living room. The chair stood there in front of the fridge just calling to him. So while I was vacuuming I was wondering what Benjamin was doing. Usually he loves the vacuum and is all around me while I'm using it. After I'd been vacuuming for a couple minutes and he hadn't joined me yet, I began to worry. I turned off the vacuum and heard....water running! Not a good sign. Where was there water that he could reach on his own? Answer: the fridge door. I went running into the kitchen and found him standing on the chair that I'd so kindly placed for him. He was pushing on the water dispenser in the fridge door, staring with rapt attention at the stream that was gushing out all over him, the chair, and our wood floor. There was a puddle over half the kitchen floor and growing by the second. My first thought was, do I get the camera or do I stop him immediately? I decided that the puddle wouldn't show up well on the camera anyway, and I really needed to put a stop to this before it became unmanageable, so I grabbed him, instructed him to stay put in the dry area and grabbed all the towels I could. To his credit, he obediently stayed in that same spot the whole 15 minutes it took me to sop up the water. It's an adventure a minute with this kid!

Here's a harmless amusement he adores - grab my drawer organizer and wear it as a hat all day while playing with the kitchen utensils. He does this several times a week.



One last Benji-adventure: Today I patiently folded all the laundry while he was sleeping but then didn't have time to put it away before he woke up. So, stupidly I left it on the floor for a minute thinking I'd be sure to get back to it before he found it. Wrong. Here's what I found after literally, no less than 60 seconds unsupervised:



This time I made sure to get the camera before making him help me clean it up. He sure is a cutie, though. We all went to the golf course tonight and I played with Benjamin on the putting green. We had so much fun. Whenever my ball didn't go in, he'd run over and drop it in the hole for me. Then he'd grab one end of the putter and I'd grab the other and he'd run in a circle around me, laughing the whole time (until he'd face-plant) :) Then he'd just jump up and keep going. Trying though he is, I'd never trade my active, inquisitive boy for anything.