Our Big Boy

I took Joseph to the doctor this morning, he's still getting some rashy areas on his face and neck and we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious (it wasn't).

When we got there, they treated him like a "big boy" for the first time! He stepped on the scale himself (24.5 lb!), Stood up to get measured (34" tall!) and even got his temperature taken by mouth. He wasn't scared and he did each task quickly and without complaint. I was so proud of him!

He also got two shots today. :( But he's almost "caught up" now - just the MMR and one Hep A shot to go. I think we'll do the Hep A shot next time we go in, and set up a separate day for the MMR later on. Since we aren't doing chicken pox, we'll be all set for him until he starts school!

After shots, we went to Costco for pizza and ice cream. He fell asleep on the way home, and now is trying to get settled in bed. I think they put some sort of sedative in those vaccines. ;) (kidding, I know they don't, but they never fail to make him sleepy!)

Funny thing about toddlers

The things you find the least amusing, toddlers find the most. Here's a short list from the last few weeks:

1. Thoroughly inspecting (visually - thank goodness) poop before flushing it down.
2. Going through airport security and waiting to board an airplane
3. Riding the commuter train
4. Riding the bus

It's a good thing that Joseph finds these items amusing - makes them less of a chore for us, too! Sometimes it's good to be able to see things through a toddler's eyes (still working on seeing the beauty in flushing).

Second Child Syndrome

I meant to have a big "yey" post when I had 99 days to go... but that was a week ago. Oops.

Yey! I have 93 days to go! That's almost exactly 3 months. Woo hoo!

Can't wait to meet this little one. She is feisty on the inside, giving Mama lots of little bumps to remind her that someone's in there (as If I couldn't tell - honestly, did you see the latest belly picture?)

A Home of Our Own

We closed on our very own house this morning, up in Pittsburgh! We'll be moving after the baby arrives - in mid-November. We're very excited about the house and being closer to family.

The house is a bit of a fixer, and we have BIG plans for it. But we're not planning to do much with it until we've lived there for a bit, so we can get a feel for what will work best for us. I'm sure my home blog will be getting some action in the coming months, so go ahead and add it to your RSS feed if you are interested in keeping up with our renovations! Here's the url:

http://ahammerandacalculator.blogspot.com/

I've copied this post to the house blog to save myself time.

American Four Square, Built in 1924. Brick with a slate roof.

Entrywy - original door, mouldings, and stairs

Living Room - Original windows, light fixture (I think), and decorative (for now) fireplace with built-in shelves. And POCKET DOORS!!!

Dining Room - Original plaster walls, mouldings, side windows. The back window was replaced with a giant vinyl monstrosity. I envision French doors going out to a deck in its place.

1950's retro kitchen, complete with pink speckled laminate countertops, pull-out stove, and probably the first ever dishwasher (also in pink). I see a gut reno in our very near future!

Up to the 2nd floor:

Bedroom #1 - will probably start as a guest room,
turn into a nursery, and then back to a guest room.

Bedroom #2 - Joseph's room, and hopefully someday Baby Girl will join him
for several years when they are both sleeping through the night.

The Bathroom. Yep, there's only one... for now. Do you love the sage green and pink?
Even on the ceiling? I thougt you would. The tub and toilet are still pink. Whee!

Bedroom #3 - The Master. I hope it'll fit the king sized bed that I have planned for in my head since I was pregnant with Joseph. There are hardwoods under the carpet.

Bedroom #4 - AKA the future master bath. Ooooh, yeah, baby.

And up to the third floor (yup!). I envision it starting out as a family room - housing my craft stuff, the office stuff, and probably our lone TV. We think it'll morph into a bedroom for one (or both) of the kids in future years once we finish the basement.

Up the stairs...

Nice storage closet on the landing!

The back side of the room from the stairs

And the front side. It's very bright up there from those windows,
and two huge ones over the stairs.

And down to the basement

Towards the front of the house... our realtor thinks this was the "original summer kitchen"

Storage Room #1 under the front porch

Storage Room #2 under the porch - I wonder where that door came from... hmm.

The future family room... tall celiings, relatively dry and open. I'm in love.

The "Pittsburgh Potty". For some reason the 'burgh thinks they have the monopoly on these things. We had one in our old house in MN (built in the 1890's. We called it the "emergency bathroom". Haha.

And finally, the exterior:

The front porch - beautiful beadboard ceiling, and they already have the hooks in place for my imaginary porch swing. Yahoo!

The parking pad... we are hoping against hope that there is enough side yard to put a one-car garage in next to the house. Envision that bottom glass block window as the door to the garage. Cross your fingers.

The back yard... South-East facing, bright, relatively large, and mostly flat.
It's a freaking miracle in Pittsburgh.

The back porch. More awesome beadboard. This could become part of the kitchen (enclosed) or just get connected to the future deck. Not sure yet. Either way I'd like to spiffy up the part underneath and make it look less... yucky.

So there you have it - our new house! Hope you enjoyed the tour.

There's a rumbly in my .... Ribcage? + belly pic and prenatal update

This morning while I was laying in bed my stomach started to growl. Except it wasn't in my tummy, it was in my ribs. I cannot express how bizarre that feels.

We had our prenatal appointments last week, and baby girl is looking good. She's still basically transverse. I think Joseph was until he was 28 or 32 weeks or more, so it's nothing to worry about for now. I gained almost 10lbs last month. Oops. My blood pressure is still catatonic, though, and I'm not swelling or anything.

I blame the fact that I have to drink a gallon of fluid per day now to stave off dehydration headaches, and I'm incapable of doing that with just water. So I've been drinking 1/2 gatorade 1/2 water - a half gallon of gatorade per day is not exactly the picture of health, but it's better than the alternative, I suppose. I'm sure the weight gain has nothing to do with ice cream, or chick-fil-a, or the 4th of July party and additional week we stayed with my inlaws, filled with mayo goodness.

I'm surprised at how different it is being pregnant in the summer. I thought it'd be no big deal, but it is.

So, anyway, I'm pretty enormous now. I'm creaky and cranky and sore and I waddle everywhere I go. I look about as pregnant as my friends who are a couple of months ahead of me, and I got my first "you POOR thing" at the store the other day when I said I wasn't due until the end of October. :P

Without further adieu, here are the photos:

26w0d

"Going to Work"

The other day Joseph grabbed Daddy's new backpack and said he wanted to go to work, too. So I put it on him. It was empty, but it still nearly pulled him backward! He was so cute... doesn't he look just like a little turtle?

I'm going to work like Daddy!

Don't try to stop me. I can do it myself.

Oh man, this thing is heavy.

Bye Bye!

V-Day!

Today I'm 24 weeks - when our little fetus is considered "viable" outside of the womb. Of course we want baby girl to stay in all the way until Halloween, but it's a great milestone! Hooray!