May 4th, 2012

a serious case of ugh

Last week I hit the 30-week mark in my pregnancy, it was also when all energy and life was sucked from my body overnight. One day I was bursting with nesting energy and cleaning our apartment like a crazy person, the very next I wake up 30-weeks pregnant and in a walking coma.

It’s only gotten worse. We are now in the single-digit countdown until Coco’s arrival (yay!), and with each passing day I get more and more tired and slow (and round).

I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open (and sometimes I don’t), while David is packed with toddler energy. It’s been WINDY here and rainy and hailing and more windy so we haven’t been outside much. David desperately needs to chase something outside and burn some pent-up energy. He’s been literally jumping off the walls and attacking pillows (or me, depending on which is more conveniently located). It’s not angry attacking, it’s wound-up aggressive 18-month-old boy attacking.

My phone, which is on the arm of the other couch less than six feet away from me, just rang. I didn’t attempt to get up and answer it. I feel like my entire body has been filled with cement (except my belly, which has a family of octopi living in it).

I think I just fell asleep with my eyes open. Either that or I just spent the last 20 minutes only breathing and blinking.

I should check my phone.

 

 

CategoryDavid, life, new baby | Comment1 Comment »

April 25th, 2012

for just a moment

I wanted to quickly brag about David (because I *never* do that).

He had his 18 month check-up a couple of weeks ago. Like at all appointments they ask questions about his development and such. One of the questions was, “Does David know seven to ten words?” I said something to the effect of, “Oh, yes.” And the nurse asked about how many words I thought he said. I said I thought he knew 20 or so words. She raised her eyebrows at me.

Ever since, I’ve been going over it in my head and wondering if I exaggerate. Does David really know that many words, or does it seem like he does, but he’s just saying the same 10 over and over again?

For two days I wrote down all the words he said. I didn’t include animal or vehicle sounds or words he was TRYING to say, but doesn’t really know yet.

How many?

I ran out of room on my paper at 75. David says 75 different words regularly. He literally learns a new word a day (yesterday’s word was “waffle” I didn’t add it to the list).

His favorite words:

  • car
  • truck
  • hot
  • oops
  • momma
  • eyes
  • this
  • that
  • what? (he has the best comedic timing with this one)
  • daaaad (almost always all drawn out like Dad’s lost or in trouble)

Funny word jumbles:

  • He calls his stuffed lion “lettuce”
  • All dinner is “pasta”
  • Vacuum is “truck”
  • For a while please was pronounced “plop”
  • Down is “nup”
  • No means yes or no, even though he knows how to say “yes”
  • Ball is “but”

My favorite words he knows:

  • help (so nice instead of whining)
  • cup
  • snack (which means food or can just mean craisins, he loves craisins)
  • please/thank you (recently added, though he still says thank you mostly when he is handing me something and not the other way around)

Two-word pairings:

  • most words with up/down or on/off (socks on/off, light on/off, etc)
  • “help this” I think he’s trying to say “help me with this”
  • most words with please
  • most words with uh-oh

(He is currently standing at my closed bedroom door begging “Mot, eeese! Mot, eeese!”  (more please) for me to open the door and get him a Tums. He giggles like an insane person when he thinks he’s getting a Tums. Maybe we should give him more candy, just so he doesn’t think things like Tums are a treat …)

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April 16th, 2012

the big day

Easter Sunday was a lot of things piled in one day: Easter, Matt’s first Sunday in almost three years not in the bishopric (David’s first Sunday sitting with Dad at church), and David’s first Sunday in Nursery. Nursery.

We had a little Easter egg hunt on Saturday afternoon after David got up from his nap. David loved “hunting” for the eggs, and loved that they were filled with snacks even more. We filled each egg with a few raisins and a single fruit snack. He had no idea he was ripped off, and was absolutely delighted to find raisins.

The big guy on his first day of nursery.

We live in a ward with a lot of babies. A lot. What happens when all those babies turn 18 months old? They go to one of the SIX nursery classes. It’s not as simple as just taking him to nursery: you have to find someone in charge, fill out a piece of paper and then they assign him to a nursery class.

He was a little timid at first. When I say “at first” I mean for about 10 seconds and then he went and sat on the nursery leader’s lap and played with the playdough, forgetting all about Mom and Dad.

David was a big, brave boy. I cried. I knew that of the two of us, I would have the harder time. We do 99% of everything together, and I love it immensely. We play together, we shop together, we go to the library together, we cook, clean, and craft together. Not only is David my shadow, but he’s been my only church buddy while Matt’s been away taking care of a ward. I probably have more separation anxiety than David does (clearly).

Don’t get me wrong, I am THRILLED he’s in nursery. Three hours of church with a toddler is hard. Really. We’ve had our great Sundays, but we’ve also had a few Sundays … well, when the only reason I even got out of the car and took him in was because I’d see my — single mother of twin five-year-old boys — neighbor walking tall and alone into church. As happy and excited as I was to take him to nursery, it was still hard.

I am grateful for three things:

  1. David liked nursery (and did great his second week, too).
  2. Matt was there so I didn’t have to sit/cry alone.
  3. We watched a movie about the Resurrection in Sunday School. So the lights were off most of the time and no one could see me crying, and if they did, they thought I was touched by the movie and not just a mom with separation issues (and hormones, can I blame hormones too?)

And now we know which mom I’ll be on the first day of Kindergarten. I should just buy the Kleenex now.

PS Don’t let yourself feel overly sad for me, I didn’t so much as sniffle when Matt took him off to nursery yesterday. Though, I did try to spy on him.

CategoryDavid, life | Comment1 Comment »

April 16th, 2012

my morning so far

It’s 7:15 am. It’s been a long morning.

David woke up at 2 am, I spent an hour getting him back to sleep. He got up again at 5 am, this time Matt went and tried to get him to go back to sleep. After half an hour of continuous crying, Matt came back and I went to try to convince David it wasn’t time to be awake.

By 6 am I could hear that our upstairs neighbors had given up on sleeping and started their day (sorry neighbors). I was just about out of patience with David when he suddenly got quiet and widened his eyes. He heard birds chirping outside.

“Wow!”

“Do you hear the birds?”

“Caw! Caw!”

“Your crying woke up the birds.”

He lifts his hands next to his face with his palms up, “Ups.” (“Ups” is how he says oops, it’s one of his newest, most favorite words.)

I chuckled. I was tired and frustrated, but I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

I convinced him to lie down on his pillow and “listen” to the birds. When they stopped chirping, he said, “Uh, oh.” So I told him that the birds went night-night (maybe they did, right?). He rolled over and snuggled with his blanket and went to sleep. By this time, I knew that he would only sleep for half an hour or so before being ready to be up for the day, but I still felt validated as a parent that he went back to sleep in his bed, and I didn’t have to give in to the crying.

He did get up half an hour later and immediately ran to the pantry (maybe his hunger had been keeping him awake …).

We ate breakfast.

We made shadow puppets in the rising sunlight.

I started a load of laundry.

I got dough out of the freezer to make homemade hot pockets for lunch.

David carefully arranged his cars on the couch.

Now David is watching Sesame Street via Netflix, and I’m trying not to fall asleep.

CategoryDavid, funny things, life | Comment1 Comment »

April 6th, 2012

1-2-3

A few weeks ago I woke up and decided to make David little bean bags to throw around. These would have taken me only a few minutes to do, but, like the over-achiever I am, I decided to put numbers on them, too (which ended up taking a lot of time because I made it complicated).

 

I used some fabric scraps and dry beans I’ve had around for quite some time, so they were FREE.

I made enough 4×4 squares for numbers 1 through 10 in various colors (20 squares, 2 for each bean bag). I printed the numbers on cardstock and then traced them onto some iron-on adhesive I also had around (if you make some, trace the numbers BACKWARDS onto the webbing so they will be right when you iron them to the fabric). I followed the iron-on directions and ironed them onto contrasting fabric, cut them out again, and then ironed them onto the front of 10 of the 4×4 squares.

I stitched around the edge of each number (which is what made it complicated and take forever), and then sewed right sides together around three of the sides of each bean bag. I filled each with 1/4 cup dry beans (which ended up being exactly a one-pound bag of beans to fill all the bags). I finished sewing the fourth side.

Viola! Free new “toys” for David.

Categorycrafts/diy, David | Comment3 Comments »

April 3rd, 2012

here and now

You probably want to know more about what’s going on in our lives other than what toilet paper we’re using and Dollar Store shopping …

Matt: working on exciting things and still an awesome dad. When I say awesome Dad, I mean the fort building, piggy-back giving, box pushing, ball throwing/kicking/bouncing, walk going, story reading, hide-and-seek playing kind of Dad. David adores him and looks forward to him coming home every day from work.

Ashley: possessed by the nesting devil and pregnant. Combine spring cleaning with nesting hormones and you get me: a ball of anxiety and constant reorganizing, rearranging, decluttering, and cleaning. Think of something on your spring cleaning list and I’ve probably done it. Think of something on your spring cleaning “I wish” list, and I’ve done that, too (unless it’s in the kitchen, I haven’t tackled that room … yet). I’ve also made new activities for David (little bean bags and church distractions) and have a growing collection of baby hair bows.

David: an explosion of communication, milestones, and toddler mess-making. He knows more words than I can list, started putting two words together (light on, light off so far), figured out zippers, climbs on everything, started saying NUMBERS (one, two, and nine are his favorites), started sleeping in a “big boy” bed (post on that later, for sure), and has the funniest, quirky personality. Oh, and he apparently knows how to work our BluRay player, the things they pick up on.

I did take him to the doctor today after a very l-o-n-g weekend with a fever and then a serious case of worst tantrums you’ve ever seen, followed by a rash. He’s okay; virus + exhaustion from virus + lack of eating because of virus = really long weekend. This week has started out sunny, and hopefully we’ll all recover soon (Matt and I are healthy, but a little war-torn).

Baby Coco: full of movement and getting bigger. She’s healthy and moves constantly. I think there is a good chance she could be bigger than David’s 7 pounds, 14 ounces. I crave mint and chocolate and have been in this weird lemon poppy seed phase for a while. Before you invite me to come clean your house after reading my earlier blurb, I decline. Today marks the first day of my third trimester, meaning we have 12 weeks or less before she’s here and there are still things to do around here; that, and I can tell that I’m getting very close to being too big, uncomfortable, swollen, and tired to be of much more use.

CategoryDavid, life, new baby | Comment2 Comments »

March 27th, 2012

lies

In case you soon find yourself standing in the store trying to remember what brand of toilet paper you usually buy and wonder, “Is Angel Soft really soft?” Remember this:

It’s not. I know they put pictures of babies and clouds on the packaging, but that’s just marketing. Lesson learned.

Here’s my question to the world: Can you return something to the Dollar Store? I mean, it’s the Dollar Store so you shouldn’t be surprised that something you spent one dollar on ends up being worthless … right? Well, I bought something at the Dollar Store that said on the package that it was “sturdy” and “durable” that is, in fact, less durable than a plastic sandwich baggy. What do I do with it? Return it? Throw it away? Donate it?

 

Categorylife | CommentNo Comments »

March 2nd, 2012

the name game

We had a hard time narrowing down names when I was pregnant with David. I had such a hard time picking a name for a boy: their names don’t change when they get married; it should be something “strong” sounding; it should ‘go’ with our four-syllable, semi-difficult last name; etc. We asked friends and family for name ideas and suggestions (we got a lot of jokes in return) and read and re-read all of the names in a baby name book.

I really resisted naming him “David.” I’ve never been particularly fond of the name, but David Carter kept coming to mind during my pregnancy. I started thinking of him as David before we had even decided on naming him that. We had a short list of names in mind when he was born, some that I liked more than “David.” When we held him, he was David. “David” is a common name on both sides of our families and Carter comes from Matt’s side, so his name comes with a lot of heritage.

So, people want to know: Do you have any names in mind for a girl? We do. It’s very different this time. I have lots and lots of girl names I like, and a few Matt likes, too. I had it narrowed down to two names before the ultrasound; one I’m already particularly fond of. We’ll keep the two in mind until we meet her, and then we’ll choose.

But I’m keeping them a secret.

Right now, I call her Coco. For people who are really persistant, I tell them we’re naming her Cleopatra.

CategoryDavid, life, new baby | CommentNo Comments »

February 28th, 2012

dishing the dirt

I realize that most (if not all, I haven’t really checked …) of my posts are about the sing-songy happy moments of our lives (or David). I don’t intentionally leave out “bad” stuff, and I certainly hope that when you read my blog you think that my life is all sing-songy happy moments, or worse you think I’m not being genuine and trying to paint an untrue version of our lives.

We have hard days. We have hard trials. Sometimes David can be a real poop. Sometimes our apartment is a wreck (and I have a silent prayer in my mind all day that no one stops by). There are several days a week that I don’t do my hair/face more than a ponytail. Some days I eat lunch in my pjs (I hate myself those days; nothing makes me feel worse about myself than spending a perfectly good day in my pjs). I have worries, a lot of them irrational (like how David is going to fit in at school … in four years).

I just don’t see the good in me dwelling on the negative things in our lives, and quite honestly there aren’t that many to dwell on. Our lives are filled with so much happiness and blessings. Over the last year there have been many, many of my friends or people within our circles that have faced (and are facing) incredibly difficult health problems; the kinds that you only read about but don’t expect to ever affect someone you know, that forever alter their lives, that may later claim their lives. I cannot help but give daily thanks for my health. I have a perfectly healthy baby kicking my belly button, which means more to me than I could ever adequately articulate. I have a healthy, beautiful, happy toddler who fills my life and heart with so much joy. I have a healthy, helpful, able husband who serves well beyond expectation. What do I have to complain about?

A few less-than-bright moments that I think you’ll still enjoy:

  • David has a horrible haircut. That I gave him. I’ll eventually do a post on it with a picture for your pleasure and my embarrassment. Matt assures me it’s not so bad, but really if you’re sitting next to him, it is; uneven, choppy, too short in the back. Poor guy. Yes, yes hair grows.
  • Last week while I was in the kitchen making dinner and unloading (or loading, I don’t remember) the dishes and not paying close attention to David, I turned around to find him ninja waving the sharpest knife we have. He pulled it off the counter when I set it down. No limbs were lost.
  • Saturday night we had pizza for dinner and the pizza box didn’t fit in our trash and hadn’t been taken out to the dumpster, to make it less of an eyesore in our kitchen on Sunday before my mom came to visit, I put it in the empty, cool oven. Do you see where this is going? Later that evening while making dinner, I managed to melt part of our plastic cutting board on the stove AND cook the forgotten pizza box in the oven. Glad there wasn’t a fire … but really, the whole experience is embarrassing for so many reasons.
  • David fell/rolled/climbed out of his crib yesterday at nap time. I put him in his crib for nap time, which he was furious about, and right after I closed the door to his room I heard a distinct “thud” and more screaming. I went back in to find him on the floor about a foot away from his crib holding his head. His mattress was already in the lowest position, he didn’t have anything in his crib he can use to step on for leverage except bumper pads that didn’t look like they had been stepped on (they’ve been removed anyway, for good measure), and he really isn’t that good of a climber yet (maybe he saves his best tricks for private).

Categorylife | Comment1 Comment »

February 20th, 2012

a day in the life

The other night as we were falling asleep …

Matt: “What are you thinking about?”

Me: “Babies. What are you thinking about?”

Matt: “… Passwords.”

 

We’re that simple and that nerdy.

 

A funny David moment:

Last week after Matt had left for work David wondered off to our bedroom (he usually goes in there to play with Matt’s balance ball). He came back to the front room a few minutes later with one of Matt’s ties draped around his neck and came up to me and gave me a few kisses. Then he went and stood by the front door and said, “Bye! Bye!” and blew me kisses.

It was pretty cute.

 

Categoryfunny things | Comment3 Comments »

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