Wild Child!

London is becoming quite the little talker. He is starting to repeat and seems to learn at least a new word a day. The cool part is he uses it correctly and often. Lately, he does this thing when he's upset where he starts to repeat, "my ma! my da!" He got stuck under a bar stool at grandma's and yelled that. He also says "mama" all the time and "my mama" and hugs and kisses me constantly. I am sooo in love with that little boy! He even asks about me when I am at work.
Today I took off work because "mam ma" (grandma) is sick. The weather has been gooorgeous and London and I have had such a fun day. We played at the playground, drew with chalk on the sidewalk, and sat in the grass and clovers. On the way to the park, he held my hand and said, "walk", "park", and "bird" while we were there. It was so cute.
London is such a boy...he is obsessed with cars and loves to lie on the floor and push his cars and make noise. He climbs on furniture and tries to balance on things. He is wreckless and fast! It stresses me out big time...haha! I love this age and am looking forward to summer...especially since we have a pool this year!

Well Hello There, Baby!

Last Saturday was like any other Saturday. London and I played and lazed around all day. I watched stupid tv and cleaned while he napped, and Kary came home and we shopped at Target. I bought a few new outfits and told Kary that because my period was due that day and no sign I also wanted to get a pregnancy test to be safe. As the cashier was ringing up one of my shirts I caught a glimpse of the tag that said "maternity wear" and I thought that's funny, didn't realize I bought a maternity shirt.
We went home and unpacked the food and I drank some water to bring on the pee. I was hoping it was negative, only because I had just scheduled my heart procedure the day before and wanted to get all that out of the way before taking on another pregnancy. When I first looked at the test stick I just saw one line. "hell ya!" I yelled because I wanted to get my heart fixed first. Then a few seconds later I saw the glimpse of another line...uh oh I started to panic. How was I going to deal with another 9+ months with SVT?! I handed the test to Kary and he looked at it in shock. We were both like, "What is happening?!!" We were super shocked because we didn't really try this time at all and last time took soooo long. I called my mom immediately and she laughed and was excited. London was cranky by now and was walking around whining and falling from being exhausted but fighting showing any sign of sleepiness. Kary and I started laughing and swearing and jumping up and down all at the same time. The second line was super faint but there it was, baby #2.
I took another test the next morning and the second line was even lighter...weird. But, we knew that a second line was still a second line. It was hard not to worry though. Suddenly, I realized I really wanted this little guy/girl and was hoping for a stronger test in a few days.
I took another test on Monday and the test was definitely dark and we are clearly expecting another little bundle of chaos. Kary was so cute and got teary-eyed when I showed him the clear positive.
So far, I am only about 5 weeks along. It's funny how this time I catch myself forgetting I'm pregnant because I'm so busy with London and work.
Looking back at the last month, there were so many signs. I had super smelling sense. I yelled at Kary about sourkraut one night and the lid was on the jar and it was across the room from me. My boobs hurt (haha) and I felt extra tired...I'm usually tired but I was sleeping even more than normal.
I haven't had much nausea yet and am hoping I don't. So far, I have felt like a total dumbass (preggo brain) and have been tiiiiired. One of my students even said, "You're acting like you have baby brain like you did when you were pregnant with London." I am hoping I don't blow my cover! I even had a little girl keep telling me I looked "different". It's so weird how intuitive kids can be.
Kary and I are sooo excited and once London sees my belly grow I'm sure he will be too! It is going to be so amazing to have another little miracle. I can't imagine having any more love to give but I'm sure it will overwhelm me again. I already feel a connection to the teeny little "sesame seed" and Kary and I are having fun talking about designing London a new room and setting up a new baby room. We LOVE that part!I will miss the wine as I watch "Cougar Town" and will be secretly hating Kary every time he gets a buzz this summer but my baby will keep me happy and growing a baby in your belly sure beats a sip of wine!
I am just so happy where I am in life right now. I am so grateful for my amazing husband, my amazing son, my potentially much-better job, our awesome, loving family, our sweet home and our 2 clumsy dogs. I am the luckiest!


oh yeah, and coolest part: baby due date (according to online) is 11/11!! Our lucky number, this baby is already pretty amazing.

Big Changes Everywhere!

London will be 17 months on Monday and has been going through so many changes. He now runs, throws a ball, and is starting to repeat everything we say. He has lots of new words and is getting so good at telling us what he wants. He started saying nana, papa, nack (snack), my milk, my car, daddy work, where's daddy?, lock (clock). His favorite words are still milk, car, and whaaaaat's that?....It is hilarious when he just repeats those over and over. We got him some new puzzles and he puts them together very quickly. We purchased an elmo potty book but we won't be trying that until his final surgery is done and he is ready.

London loves to chase the dogs and draw on EVERYTHING! No area is safe from London art. Luckily we have dry erase markers and dry erase crayons. Plus, his artwork is great.

He also is getting so good at pointing out body parts. He knows mouth, nose, teeth, eyes, hair, and chin.
We got London some skinny jeans the other day at target and they are so cute. I was trying to get a picture of him the other day and he was yelling "cheese!" and when I said, "Show me your muscles" and flexed, he did it too....soooo cute!!!

I was offered an opportunity at work to be part of something quite huge. It has been making national news and could be a huge resume booster, more $ and potential for great success. It will require more time away from London, which makes me nervous and sad. But, I could pay off medical debt and really do something great if I do it. Plus, I will always have my summers with my sweet man! He has been sooo lovable lately. He hugs and kisses me and cuddles.
Life is fast, crazy, and I am so happy to be right where I am. But, every now and then we all need a rest.

Muuuuah!

London James is closely approaching 17 months old and I think this may be the most fun age so far. He is such a funny little boy. His days consist of playing, running, laughing, hugging, tackling the dogs, wrestling with dad and he LOVE LOVE LOVES drawing. He is so well behaved in public (for the most part), he loves his dogs, his grandma, and his babysitter. He is so well-adjusted and sweet. He gives kisses and hugs to everyone and everything. He is no longer freaking out around strangers and men. He will now happily give grandpa a high five and a wave and will wrestle with Uncle Sean (as long as mommy or daddy are fairly nearby)
He is growing tall but still not eating much. His chunky thighs are replaced with long lanky legs. He still has his big old belly and is still having issues with pooping. We are hoping that soon he'll start eating more and that may help with his pooping.
We were able to skype with my parents last weekend and London said "papa" when pointed to my dad. My parents were so happy to see him and it was awesome to see him be old enough to interact. He kept pointing at their faces and looking at me and smiling. I miss them all so much and hoping to see them soon. It's awesome to be able to skype with my sister in Pittsburgh so I can see Mason, Isla, and baby Jude.
London also has a new cousin named Willow. She is so cute and looks so much like him it's crazy. He loves to give her kisses but got overly excited last time he saw her and clocked her in the head...ooops.
I am getting a little sad as London grows so fast and becomes more independent. I do cherish those rocking chair moments when he is nestled on my chest and finally ready to cuddle. He does stop playing and run and give m
e hugs every once in a while so I guess he's not quite too cool yet. haha...I can't wait until spring break and I get him for a whole week. Just 1 more month and then the summer countdown begins :-)

16 Months..."My daaaa!"

We've noticed that with each new month, London immediately acquires new skills and behaviors. It's like he wakes up on the 5th of each month a new man. This month he has added the word "my" to every phrase. He says "my da car" (my dad's care) and "my dog"..."my milk...and where my milk?" He can understand many commands and it's pretty cool. He can tell us what he wants by walking to the pantry and pointing and saying "my daaaaa" which we assume means "I want" We can tell him to go get a book and then ask hi to turn to "the page with the door" and he can find that page...amazing! He gets so proud when he is successful too. He also is quite the little artist. He has an easel and tons of tub crayons. He has decorated our tub, his tub, a few walls and tons of papers. He's pretty good. He learned to take off the tops of the markers so we're in a bit of trouble with that one. We keep them in an unreachable spot currently.
He has an obsession with milk and not such a good appetite. We're hoping he is just going through a phase.
Lately London has been having meltdowns in stores if he can't have something he wants. Last weekend at Garden Ridge I gave London a car book to hold his attention while we looked for a new toy organizer (picture below) He held onto the book tightly. When it was time to go we put the book back. By the time I got to the door he was having a full blown tantrum screaming and crying. We got to the car and as I was strapping him in he looked at me and said "my car" and a huge tear ran down his cheek. I grabbed him and walked back in and bought him the book. I wrote him a message on the inside and dated it. We had a similar incident with a bag of pretzels, ball, and pillow. We did not buy the pillow but gave in to the ball and got him an elmo balloon yesterday. We are not planning on keeping this up and Kary always says he'd never be the dad that would just hand stuff over to keep him quiet...haha....it's a matter of survival.
I love weekends with my boys and London had his buddy Dexter over last weekend and they had a great time. London is still not the nicest friend to Dexter but we're working on it. The age gap is getting closer so they are starting to play together. It was cool to hear Dexter talk so much and see where London will be in about 10 months. I can't wait for summer and spring break is coming up soon. I am so lucky to have a career that allows me to spend every summer with my London. It makes all the crap I deal with throughout the year worth it.

You've Come a Long Way Baby!

Two years ago, we got the best news ever! We had been trying and hoping and wishing for a baby for 11 long months and on January 25, 2010 we got our wish! I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Monday, I had a teacher workday and came home feeling "different." I took a test and it showed a question mark. I jumped in my car, ran in the store and bought another test. I called Kary and peed on the stick without telling him. He was mid-conversation when I screamed out, "Holy shit!! There are 2 pink lines!!!" Then it was a blur of cheering and jumping up and down and calling family. I could not have asked for a better little person to join my life. We never imagined such an adorable, smart, fun little baby. He reminds me of what is beautiful in this world everyday. From a piece of rice to a little boy who can laugh, talk, run, play, and love me to pieces...what a fantastic miracle!

MMRV.....yikes!

London had his 15 month check-up and along with that he got his MMRV vaccine. London was screaming through the entire exam so when it got to shot time, I consoled London while Kary looked over the paperwork and signed. We thought nothing of it and went home. Over a week later we noticed London was running a fever. He was on antibiotics for a sinus and ear infection so we thought that was weird. The fever continued every 4 hours and we had to administer tylenol constantly. After 2 hours the fever stopped and then we noticed a rash. The rash started mild but within 2 days he was completely covered. It looked bad. The worst part is he would not eat or drink that morning. Kary's mom texted me at work and I left and took him to the doctor. He screamed through the exam (male doctor) and it was sooo bad that we had to meet in the waiting room to talk. The doctor said it was a "mild" rash and we had nothing to worry about. I took him home and after a huge poop he started to eat and be happy again. We think the antibiotics may have messed with his appetite and being the high-maintenance kid he is, he was lucky enough to be that 20% of babies that get a reaction like that. The doctor doesn't seem to think he'll react the same when he gets the second dose when he's 5...I sure hope not!