Three.

Well, sweet girl... today you're three. Three years old. How in the world have three years gone by already? And if its passed so quickly, how can I barely remember what like was like before there was you? Daddy and I are always amazed at how much you added to our lives. We'd be so incomplete, so lonely and frankly, so bored without you!

You're my first baby... the baby I held at minutes old, counting all your fingers and toes and marveling over this amazing creation. I remember how your arrival deepened my faith in God so very much... something as perfect as a newborn baby could only come from the Maker's hands.

Today, three years later, you're a loving big sister. You cannot get enough of playing dress up. You love princess and passionately sing into a hairbrush in front of the mirror. You love music. Your sweetness shines through when you tell me, "Mommy, you're my best friend... I love you so much in the whole world!!". Your sassiness also shows. You're dramatic already!

I'm a sucker for you, little girl! I love you!

Chocolate chip pancake for breakfast!


Her new American Girl doll and matching jammies!

Picaboo Book

Do you Groupon? I do! Every day, in every city, there is a special deal that offers awesome discounts on everything from food, to lodging, to classes... and beyond. It's fantastic! A month or so ago, Picaboo was offering $100 worth of their product for only $25. I hit the "BUY" button and excitedly downloaded the software to get started on Kate's first year album!

I had every intention of doing an amazing, elaborate scrapbook for her. I have the paper. The stickers. All the knick-knacks. And.... no time or energy for it. So, I thought this would be a good compromise- and Picaboo did not disappoint! They have all kinds of "scrapbook" looking backgrounds and great layouts for the photos. The flat fee goes up to 20 pages- well, her book was over 80 pages, so there was a little extra cost involved, but with the Groupon it was all good!

I was SO pleased when our book arrived! Here are some photos- they don't do the real thing justice!








There was recently another Groupon for Picaboo- $35 for $100 worth of product. Guess who will be making another book soon???

Dropped the blogging ball...

Ok, I've been busy... but nonetheless- I've been a blogging slacker. I was so much better at this when Kate was my newbie. But here we are- Will is fast approaching 3 months old and I haven't posted anything in months!

Let's see... catching up...
Things are going well and still, every day, I feel truly blessed! The fall has been awesome! We've spent lots of time pumpkin patching and enjoying the very unusual cool weather we've been having! I can't remember an October that it has been so cool and rainy- and I have loved every minute! Though I did get a new jogging stroller and am itching to take the kids out for a good walk!

Will is doing great- getting so big and sweet! He isn't much for sleeping... we're still up about every two hours at night. Yikes. Right around 3 months is when Kate started sleeping through the night... I don't have such high hopes for Will. But oh well- I've recently had such a change in attitude when I think about how very fortunate we are to have a healthy baby!


Kate is growing up so fast. Her third birthday is less than a month away and I don't even know what to think. She is such a big girl.


Soon we'll be celebrating Will's baptism, as well as Kate's birthday party, on the same day! Can't wait for such a doubly blessed celebration!

In other news, I've given notice at my job! Yes... it is hard to leave, but I am feeling so lucky to have the opportunity to stay at home with my beautiful babies. I know so many mommies who would give a limb to have the opportunity to stay at home. Being a mommy is a full time job and it has been tough to balance both of my FT jobs and feel like I am giving my best to both. So, come January 2011, I'll be working as just a mommy! I can't wait to do all the things with my kids that I've wanted to do, but haven't been able to dedicate time to. I'm also looking forward to chasing my photography dream, as well!

I'm wanting to start another blog about recipes, cleaning, 'mommyness' and whatnot to 1) inspire myself and 2) get tips from others about these things. Keep an eye out for that!

One last photo opp before I shove off to bed: we had a blast doing our Halloween sugar cookies last week! It was a perfect fall day!

Back tracking...

So, I never posted Will's one month photo. Whoops!

Here is our guy with his bear at one month:


And now, at two months!


Three months is just around the corner!

Glad that's over...

Remember that book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? I could relate yesterday.



On Friday night Matt went up to be with our Andrew and the other groomsmen before Andrew's wedding on Saturday. He rode with a friend, since I'd be driving up Saturday, and was staying the night up in Torrance, so I was on my own with the two kiddos. No biggie- the night went smoothly and I was super excited to see one of my closest friends marry the love of his life.

Well, here's how my day started: as Kate is shoveling apple sauce into her mouth and I am holding Will feeding him, Kate casually looks at him and says, "He pooped." I look down, and there is a poo-spolision all over him, me, the blanket... nice. So I pull Kate from the high chair and we go upstairs to get him cleaned up and bathed. As I am attempting to clean up the poo disaster, my once almost potty trained daughter proceeds to follow suit and poop in her pull up- while sitting in the Bumbo seat that hasn't been put away yet- which causes quite a mess. So now there are two babies to clean up. I run downstairs to the trash can that desperately needs to be taken out to toss the pull-up, knock it over and a glass bottle shatters all over the kitchen floor. So at this point, the bath is running for Will, Kate has no pants or pull up on and I've got to get all the glass cleaned up.

It was at this point I thought to myself, "Today sucks so far... hope nothing else goes wrong." Whoops.

I picked up our friend, Steph, from the airport around 10:30, we had some lunch and went back to the house to get ready. That was a little more difficult than expected with an attention hungry little girl and a milk hungry little boy. We got out the door, got Kate to her grandparents (later than I wanted to of course) and went on our way up toward Torrance for the wedding. As we headed for the freeway, we saw a woman driving on a flat tire and let her know she had a flat. We're both like, "Aww man, that sucks!" and proceed to tell our stories about getting flat tires in the past.

The wedding started at 4pm, and its 3:15 as we're cruising in the carpool lane on the 405 in Irvine. Out of nowhere, it starts. Ca-thunk, ca-thunk, ca-thunk! My first thought was, "Are you freaking kidding me?!" Steph and I were both in denial at that point I think. The car wasn't driving any differently, so I didn't think it was a flat, but who knew. So we pulled over, all the while saying that it was probably just something we were dragging or something. Couldn't be the tire. I've never wished to find a small animal hanging from my tire up until this point.

It was the tire. Left front. Not flat, but with the rubber completely peeling off and the threads showing. &%@*!! Called AAA, called my husband, crying of course, because I knew we were going to miss the wedding of one of my dearest friends since high school. Not too long after, 'Frank' rolls up in the tow truck to change my tire. He takes a look at the right front tire, then the left front and let's out an, "Ohhhhhhh, that's not good." Basically it came to that the right front tire was also in such poor shape that if we put the spare on the left front, the right front would go, too. It was totally unsafe to drive the car. We needed brand new tires for the front. Also, tow trucks are not equipped to carry more than three people, so since we had Will with us, we had to drive 30mph to the tire place with the tow truck close behind.

Matt had called his brother, who became our knight in shining armor by coming and giving us his car to use while the van got new tires. When we finally made it up to Torrance (after the phone call from the tire place that the two rear tires needed to be replaced as well), it was the cocktail hour. I went to give my hungry boy a bottle so I could at least relax for a minute and not need to breastfeed right away, but of course the bottle liners were in the van (along with the Baby Bjorn I'd intended to have on hand). Perfect. We'd decided to leave the van overnight and pick it up in the morning, so Matt's brother could get picked up and not have to wait around for it.

The reception was fun- our good friend's mom held Will for most of the time that he wasn't eating, which meant some fun with friends for us. We headed out around 9pm to go pick up Kate from Matt's parents. Guess what else was in the van with the bottle liners and carrier? Her car seat. Fortunately for us, his parents have one sitting in their garage. Phew. Disaster averted. So about half way home from their house, Matt breaks the silence with an, "Ohhh!" of horrified realization: "Did you grab the house key when you left the van?" %^&($^%#^%$&^&*!!!! Seriously?! We were locked out of our house at 10:15 at night, completely exhausted and with two little ones. Luckily, I remembered that I'd left one window unlocked. Matt would have to do some climbing, but it might work. And it did. I half expected the police to show up the way things were going at this point. But we got in the house, got the kids to bed and completely crashed.

I have to say, that amid all the crap of the day, I was so thankful for good friends and my sweet, wonderful husband who never fails to make me feel better when the poo hits the fan. Phew! What a day! Glad that today is a new one!

Today, now that it is all behind me, its actually all quite funny... glad I can laugh about it now!

I Was Wrong...

While I was pregnant with Will, I was secretly terrified that I wouldn't be able to love Will like I loved Kate. Not that he wouldn't be loved... but that I love her so intensely, so completely and so deeply that it would be impossible for my heart to double that love. I was scared about the boy thing, too... would it be different? Would I connect emotionally with a baby boy like I did our baby girl?

I am relieved to find that what they say is true- your heart grows. I'm wildly in love with my daughter AND my son. Last night was a sweet one. Will was a rockstar sleeper, and Kate stayed in bed until about 6:30am when she came in to our bed. I spent the 4am hour nursing little man and swooning over his perfectness, which meant he was back in his bed when Kate came to snuggle and I was able to dwell on her sweet blonde curls, her long eyelashes and her snuggly personality. Heaven.



The past three weeks have gone by lightening fast. Will had made it back to birth weight at 2 weeks (woohoo!) and judging by the way he's been eating this week, I'm betting he's far surpassed that by now. His umbilical cord stump fell off at 10 days old (5 days more than his sister's) and it was far less terrifying for me than it was when Kate's fell off. Guess its that second child thing. Sadly, I can tell his hair is already thinning out- I don't want it to go! It's so cute... especially right out of the bath.



I took his newborn pics at 9 days- though I tried at 6 days and failed- and it was fun to shoot my own little guy. Now I'm fighting the battle to pick/ design his birth announcement. I'm so much pickier since taking up photography and I want something unique... I just can't create anything I am thrilled with right now. Oh well... guess I'll find something!



As far as post-partum stuff goes, I am feeling great. Some pre-pregnancy clothes; but certainly not all, are fitting again which feels good. Breastfeeding still hurts a bit, which is a bummer... I thought for sure it'd be a piece of cake this time. Its liveable, though. Emotionally, I've got it together and am really enjoying this time in my life. Matt is doing well- going back to work this coming week and we're feeling pretty confident in our life with two!

Party of Four- Will's birth!

Its official- the Conrads are a foursome!

So my last post touches on just the beginning of the many phone calls I made to Hoag on Sunday. I called, as instructed, at 5am... was told to call back at 8am. The nurse didn't sound stressed and I assumed she'd give us the green light to come in after the next call. That was where I made a fatal error: assuming it would all go my way. I called at 8:00 sharp, to be told "Call back at 11:00- we're just busy." At 11am, I figured 'third time is a charm'... FAIL. Was told to call again at 2pm. And at 2pm- guess what?! "Call back at 5pm." At that point, I was in tears calling my mom to tell her, yet again, to keep waiting. I was emotionally drained and so tired from being up at 5am! Matt was getting antsy and wanted me to start calling every hour instead of waiting until 5, which really just got me more upset... so I called a little early at 4:20. Sweet success- kind of: she said they wanted me to come in at 8pm! BUT- I needed to call right before we left to be sure. Yikes.

Since they'd be watching Kate anyway that night (assuming 8pm stuck), we went down to Matt's parents' house and had some yummy dinner. I went outside and called at 6:30pm, with the rest of the family crossing their fingers and staring at me through the window. "Come on in!" YES! A little later and we gave Kate 100 kisses and headed out.

We got to L&D at 7:50pm and checked in, signed papers, changed into my ever-so-attractive hospital gown. I was 3cm dilated and 60% effaced at that point. I joked with our nurse, Kristen (who was fantastic!) that I was more nervous about the IV than anything else... my IV experience with Kate was no bueno. It hurt like no other! She, however, said she'd give me a shot of linocain first so I wouldn't feel a thing. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship with my L&D nurse! We got that all done and then since I had tested positive for GBS, I needed a couple of bags of anti-biotics before they'd start the pitocin. Did you know penicillin BURNS?! Yeah, oww. It hurt all the way up my arm. I even asked if I was having a heart attack or something because of the intense stabbing pain in my arm... no fun!

They started the pitocin at 10:15pm and I could feel the contractions start, but they weren't painful. At 10:40pm a doctor came in a broke my water. Even though I remember this from the first time, it still shocked me just how gross it felt! Ugh! I cannot imagine that happening in public! Once my water was broken, the contractions picked up quick and started becoming painful. Matt and I tried to rest (he had no problem...). I was checked again and was 6-7cm dilated at that point. We flipped on the TV, but as it turns out, there isn't anything good on at that time of night on a Sunday. By midnight, I was hurting, nauseous and ready for that glorious direct line of relief in my back. Bring me the epi! The anesthesiologist, who I am fairly certain was the same one I had with Kate, came in and took good care of me. Matt came to hold my hand, but casually walked away at a certain point- playing it real cool for a guy who thought he might pass out. Doc got the line in, made sure I was well numbed up and went on his merry way. Now it was resting time!

I tried to sleep as much as possible, but the nurse kept coming in, checking my progress and making me move around and switch sides, since Will's heartbeat would suddenly disappear from their monitors. Turns out he was much happier when I laid on my right side. My OB, Dr. Grouse, came in to say 'hi' and after that I think I got some sleep. The nurse came in somewhere around 2:30am and said she was going to give me a straight catheter to empty my bladder- she thought that would help him move down the rest of the way. She was right.

Almost immediately after she did that, I felt a ton of pressure. She checked me and said I was 9.5cm and still had a little bit to go before it was push time. She said if I felt lots of pressure to call her and then left. Not even 2 minutes later I told Matt I thought I needed to call her back... it was all I could do NOT to push. She came back and checked me again and I had made it to 10cm and ready to start pushing that quick! She and Matt started me pushing. Poor Matt. He is the sweetest man in the world... I just love him. But I know the whole thing made him a bit queasy.

After a few sets of practice pushes, the nurse interrupted us in the middle of a push and said, "Ok- we better stop and call the doctor now." At that point it was so much pressure with every contraction... it was unreal. I didn't feel ANY of that with Kate! Dr. Grouse arrived and we got down to business. I pushed for three ten-counts. "Push harder!" With another push, he was crowning (ow), second push head was out (ow oww ow!) and third push (and I pushed freaking hard) William Robert was born at 3:22am! The doctor practically threw that kid on my belly to get him cleaned up and I met the new man in my life! He was so quiet! He really didn't cry, but the nurses weren't concerned at all... he was breathing fine and let out a squeak here and there and they were all saying how cute he was.

He weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. He had all kinds of dark hair and had the sweetest little nose. So in love!



As the doc was pushing on my belly and doing that fun part, I could see Matt sitting there holding him and just smiling this amazed, joyful smile that I will never forget. It wasn't something I got a photo of, but it is a memory in my mind that only I will ever have- my husband and his son. So perfect. This photo was a little later, and still so sweet.


The stitching up part hurt. Kind of a lot. I don't know what was up with my epidural at that point, but I had felt a lot during the delivery. When he was crowning, it hurt so much... I seriously cannot believe that women can do that without any pain meds. It's incredible to me. Then I could feel every stitch at the end. Ughhh... makes me shudder even thinking about it again. But it wasn't all that bad; very minor tear below- and I came out of it with a beautiful son!

One thing that was lovely this time- having him in the middle of the night! No one else there but us. No one standing outside waiting to come in, no one to entertain, no one to pass the baby to. If and when we do this again, I feel like requesting that no one come until we call. It was so peaceful and wonderful. It was exciting with Kate to know everyone was there and we felt so loved, but it was a whirlwind.

The visitors that did come the next day were so welcome though- especially the big sister! I was so happy to see her sweet face walk into the room! I've never been as in love with her as I am now!




Poor Kate was showing some signs of a cold, so Matt's mom and sister took her home pretty quick, so we didn't get a pic of the four of us at the hospital, but at least we got one with daddy, mommy and Will...


Will is awesome and I feel great. We left the hospital a day before we had to because I just wanted to be at home! Emotionally, I feel 100% normal, which is strange. I was a hormonal wreck when I came home with Kate. This time I feel cool as a cucumber... it almost creeps me out that I feel so normal. My body is still a bit sore, but I am really looking forward to getting out and taking walks with my two children! Kate is doing so well. She loves to give him kisses and is so sweet. She is definitely acting up a bit with us, but nothing intolerable. Poor kid- it is a huge change in her life! Nursing is easier this time, but still painful for a bit, and the nights aren't as long as I feared they could be!

This morning I woke up to his tiny, pre-cry sounds and for a few moments was able to close my eyes and thank God for all of the incredible blessings I've been given in my life. I'm just in awe of my beautiful family and all that we have been given. Can't believe that just when I think 'my cup runneth over', it continues to flow! Amazing!

Induction Day is Here

Today is the day we meet Will! Well, hopefully. I was to call Hoag L&D between 5-6am this morning to check the status of my scheduled 7am induction. I was told to call back at 8am. It's now 7:50am and I am praying this next phone call doesn't end with "Call back at..." I had a dream last night that they couldn't admit me and finally around 1:30 in the afternoon they just sent me home and said they couldn't do it today. So, of course, the dream is still spinning around the back of my mind!

My feelings right now... I'm nervous and anxious, but excited. It's a struggle to eat breakfast right now- I'm hungry and won't be allowed to eat anything else after I'm admitted, but going into it knowing that more than likely I'll be looking at this food again in a little pink kidney shaped dish in several hours is a little tough on the appetite. I'm anxious about Kate- mostly about how she is going to react when I'm not at home tonight. Last night she woke up crying around 11pm and when I asked what was wrong, she said "I missed you, mommy." Sweet? You bet. But just a tad heartbreaking knowing that I'll be away the next couple of nights. I know she is in good hands with grandparents and daddy... it's just the mommy guilt thing.

I can hear that she just woke up, so I'll go snuggle her for a few more minutes then make call #2 to L&D. Let's get this show on the road!

William is coming soon!

That's right, folks- we finally picked a name! Our son will be William Robert. It was a battle, but we finally buckled down and decided! If I had my way, we'd call him Liam... but, it looks like I won't be getting my way, so Will it is! I do love the nickname Will, so I can't complain, but I just love Liam. Oh well... can't win them all! It's nice to have the name chosen finally!

My due date is July 27th (a week from today), but if Will doesn't make his appearance this week then I will be induced on Sunday, the 25th first thing in the morning. Phew! It's so close! Now, last time they scheduled an induction for me (pregnant with Kate), I never made it to my induction date. However, I was also a week overdue the day I delivered... so it is totally likely I'll make it to the induction. I do like the element of surprise and going into labor spontaneously, but since I am already dilated and effaced, I am not opposed to the induction.

So this time next week, we'll have our little man! Looking forward to being a family of four!

His room is all finished and looks pretty darn good considering all the DIY stuff I did... I'm really happy with it!

Preggasaurus Rex

That pretty much sums up how I feel today... like a big, beastly creature walking around all awkwardly. Though I've been tremendously tired, I actually feel *pretty* good, all in all. I really have no room to complain. Yes, I'm exhausted. Yes, I am struggling to find shirts that don't expose the bottom part of my belly. And, yes, going up a set of stairs puts me horribly out of breath. But you know? I've had a darn good 37 weeks without complication or fear.

One thing I definitely forgot about pregnancy after Kate was born- the hiccups! But the moment he had them, it all came back to me. The rhythmic twitching of my belly instantly reminded me of how giggly I'd get when Kate would have the hiccups in there. I always felt, and still feel, bad for my baby! I hate the hiccups! Supposedly, it doesn't bother the baby, though. This poor kid has the hiccups more than anyone I know!

Kate has been paying a lot more attention to my belly the last few days, and talking about the baby more... asking "Where is baby brother?" and telling me that she is going to read books to him. "Sam I Am... Horton... Peek-a-Boo Baby..." I wish I could get her on camera saying it because it is so precious how much thought she puts in to which books she'll read to him. She'll pull up my shirt while we're on the couch and just leave her hand on my belly while she watches something else. She'll put her finger on my belly button and ask if that is where he comes out. It's all too sweet. I feel bad that she really has no idea how her life is about to change in the next month or so... she's been our world- calling the shots and getting all the attention. I know she'll be fine, but is it normal to have a little mommy guilt about rocking her world this way? I have to assume so.

One month to go!

At almost 36 weeks now, I am still not totally prepared for the arrival of our second little one. It seems like this pregnancy has flown by so quickly! His room is about half finished, which is fine really since he'll probably be in our room for sometime, but it would be nice to at least have it ready so I could feel like I did as much for him as I did for Kate! We're still not 100% sure on a name, but looks like we're getting closer... hopefully that gets solved soon!



Kate is doing great- growing and changing and becoming a "little girl" instead of a baby or toddler. In the past month, she has really jumped on the potty training bandwagon and is doing really well (minus a few accidents when she is too engrossed in playing). I think we're well on our way to not having two in diapers... phew!





Currently, one of her favorite places is Trader Joe's- there are always stickers waiting for her at the check stand, which she quickly removes from the paper backing and puts on her face and says, "Mommy- I have polka dots all oooover me!" She's pretty fun.

Home Sweet Home

I realized the other night that I had completely spaced on putting up pics of our new place! The were really all taken when we first moved in, so things have come a little further (and become slightly messier, ha)... but at least you get the idea!

So distracted.

I've been super ADD recently. I just can't focus. And I finally take some time to update the ol' blog and get horribly distracted reading everyone else's blogs... suddenly its 10pm and I have to force myself to actually focus on the task at hand and update! Life has been BUSY! I guess I kind of like it that way, though as I get more and more pregnant I'm finding myself getting pretty exhausted at the end of every day.

Mother's day was beautiful and I woke up to a yummy breakfast and my gorgeous gift from my loves hanging on our lower patio:


Beautiful, right?! I am loving them! In fact, I'll take this opportunity to say that I am completely, 100% head over heels in love with our home. Not just the material part of our home, but everything we're building as a family here. I love being in the backyard with Matt at the barbecue, rose bushes all around, bougainvilleas in full bloom over the fountain, Kate playing on her trike... its almost unreal sometimes. Just when I think I could be complaining about something, God reminds me that I have more things to be thankful for than I can even count.

I dared to attempt snapping a good picture of Kate for my mom for M-day and after a few rounds of peek-a-boo and some silly noises, was able to get just one to have a float wrap made for her!


The float wrap is soooo cool and now I am trying to pick some photos to have a bunch made for the main wall in our living room. Part of me wants to wait until I have some photos of our new addition, but I can always add more later, right?

We're almost at 30 weeks pregnant now and it's time for the every-two-week doctor's appointments now. I remember that with Kate, that was when it became really real. They were keeping an eye on me- and it wouldn't be much longer. While a few weeks back I was totally gun-ho about starting the nursery, I have now done a 180. Oops. Guess I should've jumped on it while I had it in me. With everything else that has been going on, I just haven't gotten there yet. The paint is purchased and sitting in the garage, the sewing machine and fabric are on the table waiting for me to fire it up and the pieces of the mobile are ready to put together... just.need.motivation. It's been so perfect outside that it is so much more appealing to sit on the patio with my Matt and talk after Kate goes to bed, than to sit inside and sew.

Speaking of Matt, we got to take our first trip away this past week! In 2.5 years, we've never left Kate overnight. I've been gone, but he's been with her and vice versa, but never together. So we took our little escape to Dana Point on Monday & Tuesday and it was fabulous! We spent hours just sitting by the pool, napping and being toddler free. I'll be honest- we missed her a lot, but it was great to take some time to be husband & wife instead of mommy & daddy for a few days. It was a great reminder that we need to make date night a priority!

So all in all, things are busy- but in a good way! Next on the agenda: name this baby! Hmm... any suggestions? ;-)

Projects!

Here are some pics of the projects in progress!

Putting my ideas together for the little man's nursery:


And a closer look at the fabric...


I'm completely in love with the little guitars... it's so stinking fun! I've got to take the fabric over to Lowe's to pick out a great paint color for the room. I'm hoping for a light aqua shade... I haven't decided whether I want to do a brown chair rail or not. It's a pretty small room, so I don't want to go too crazy. Might be better to keep it simple.

And after about 3 months of the unfinished letters sitting upstairs waiting for me to tackle them: Kathryn's new wall letters! I painted them to coordinate with the Target Love & Nature bedding... its so cute! The scalloped frames were a HUGE pain, but worth it in the end.








The bedding:

Week 25

Whoops. I promise I didn't just drop off the face of the earth... just lagged in the blogging department. Eh.

So we're at 25 weeks through this pregnancy already and doing great! Saw the doctor today and although the number on the scale is beyond horrific, everything is going well- she said we had a pretty dramatic growth spurt this month, adding an additional 5cm to the bumpage (although that 5cm seems to equate to a lot more belly than it sounds like). I'm feeling him moving all the time and it is my fave part of pregnancy- hands down!

I'm in the planning stages of his room and somehow I decided that I am going to attempt to make his bedding on my own- ha! I found fabric that I just had to have, and being the cheapskate I am, decided that it would make way more sense for me to make it myself than to have a pro do it. We'll see how that turns out. I'm going to use this guitar fabric- Michael Miller's Groovy Guitars in Lime. The photo doesn't really do it justice- it is way cuter in person! I'm going to make a cover for the CozyWedge bumper that we already have (rather than a traditional bumper), as well as a crib skirt. Then, I'm going to put together a mobile using embroidery circles, blue, lime and brown guitar picks and small wooden guitar silhouettes. The room I am envisioning is going to be so sweet- I just hope I can pull it off!

I finally finished Kate's new wall letters to coordinate with her big girl bedding, too! I'll have to put some pics up, but they are pretty adorable if I do say so myself! Pics to come soon!

Speaking of my Kate- man that girl is growing up fast. The thought of her turning 3 in November is very difficult for me. 2 was tough- but 3 is a whole different ball game... she's becoming a little girl and saying adios to babyhood so quickly. She naps exclusively in her big girl bed now and we'll be trying out night time this weekend, now that the gate is installed at the top of the steps. I'm really struggling with that one. It feels like the crib is one of those last "baby" things. She still isn't looking too ready for potty training, so I guess there is still that... although that isn't the most pleasant remnant of babyhood. It's all so crazy. I was sorting through her clothes the other night and found her coming home outfit. It was so big on her!

And now it practically looks like doll clothing up against her. It's so cliche, but OH! it goes so fast! As much as I do miss my baby girl, I love who she is becoming. Her voice can make me smile through anything... I wish I had a recording of her asking for "more popcorn"- she pronounces every consonant so sweetly. She loves to dance and play outside and study rolly-pollys. She is fascinated by grass, flowers and dandelions. I adore that she insists on leading our meal time prayer with her sweet singing prayer... its beyond perfect. She is just so fun. And sassy- oh does that girl have sass... but I love her for it.


We had a great Easter full of family and fun... but, I completely lagged this year and didn't get one picture of her in her pretty Easter dress! I'm going to have to get an "after the fact" one, because the dress is so cute. We did go see the Bunny (in a different dress) and it was pretty funny to be honest. She didn't cry... just gave him the side-eye the whole time. She wasn't so sure about this giant bunny rocking glasses and a vest...


So things are great... Kate is beautiful, baby boy (who still remains nameless to this point) is growing strong and Matt and I are so happy in our new home! Life is good!

It's a...

On Thursday, we headed out to our 18 week ultrasound... me, nervously, Matt... totally calm and collected. I think I am always a little nervous going into these ultrasounds because of the what-ifs. What if something is wrong? What if the heartbeat isn't there anymore? What if?! Matt's parents came over to hang out at house while Kate napped. After the chaos of trying to take her along to the 6 week ultrasound ("I want to lay on the table with mommy!!! Ahhhh!!!"), we weren't even going to try.

The first fumble came after I'd already removed my clothes from the waist down, and the u/s tech came in and said, "I think you're here too early. Your last u/s measurement puts you at 17 weeks 4 days- not 18 weeks." Ok. My doc never changed a due date, kept me due at July 27th, putting me at 18 weeks 2 days I think? She just told me to go between 18-20 weeks. So after some discussion, we decided to go ahead with it, and if she couldn't get what she needed then we'd just have to come back again. Fair enough.

So goo gets puts on my belly (whoever created the warmer for that stuff is genius) and the exploration begins! If you've ever had an ultrasound, you know how amazing it really is. It's this secret, sneak-peek into a world that we'd know nothing about if it weren't for technology. And to know that what you're looking at is your little baby... gets me emotional every time!

So first came all the heart stuff- everything looked good. Then she decided not to waste any time and went looking for the gender specific bits and pieces. As she passed over the little spread legs, I knew exactly what I was looking at! She said, "Yep! It's a BOY!!" and proceed to place a little arrow on the screen pointing at his manhood and type "Oh Boy!!!" onto the page. We're going to have a SON! I couldn't stop laughing for some reason! Of course I was a weeping mess, but just couldn't stop giggling. With Kate, I didn't really know what to expect. I had no intuition. This time, I felt like it would be a boy... but my intuition on these things is usually so bad I didn't take much stock in it. But YAY! We're so thrilled! After getting myself to stop giggling like an idiot, we saw all his arms, legs, feet, toes and more. Always amazing.


He's got his little arm laid over his face, so above his face you kind of see his arm and hand. Isn't he handsome? ;-)

It was so fun to tell the family- this will be grandbaby #6 for Matt's parents, but only the second grandson. Back in December when we told our families we were expecting, my grandpa said he was hoping for a boy, so we'd have one of each (keep in mind, with the first pregnancy he wanted a little girl and got his wish). So he was completely thrilled. My mom is over the moon and its just all so sweet.

I've felt him move a few times, but nothing consistent yet. I'm not in as big of a rush this time, knowing that I'll soon spend a few months begging him to stop kicking my bladder, elbowing my pelvis and kicking my ribs. :)

I have a feeling names are going to be tougher for us to agree on this time... but that's okay. We still have some time. Now to start looking at room decor and preparing Kate for the arrival of her baby brother!

We're so incredibly blessed. I say it all the time, but I mean it: My cup runneth over!

Sometimes a girl needs her mommy.

I'm 27 years old, and tonight, I knew the only thing that was going to calm me down and make me stop crying was calling my mommy. Even as an adult, sometimes I just need mom. I'm pregnant, emotional, exhausted and my patience was wearing incredibly thin with Kate tonight. After hours of whining, demanding things be done her way, and crying all the way home from Grandma's because she didn't get to close the front door the way she wanted to close it, bedtime was a trial. I can tell lately that she is trying to keep me in the room with her longer and longer each night- always needing to revisit certain pages of Goodnight Moon, sing ABC one more time, etc. Once in her crib in a fairly decent mood, I tucked her in, did our normal routine and as I began to leave the room, she began frantically crying that she wanted her book in a certain spot. Thinking she'd move it and be ok, I closed the door... leaving her PISSED and SCREAMING like someone was stabbing a knife into her repeatedly or something. I mean s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g.

Now for the bad mom part. I did the first thing that came to mind. Stormed into her room and yelled at her to stop yelling! Nice, Alison. Way to keep it together. Grabbed her from her crib, tried to calm her down, put her book where she wanted it, put her back in bed and left the room again. She was fine. I; however, was not.

If you've ever experienced Mommy Guilt, you know what I am talking about. That feeling that what you've just done has officially scarred your child for the rest of their lives. Now, looking at it written down, it doesn't seem nearly as bad as I made it out to be. But between hormones and exhaustion, I spent the next 10 minutes crying uncontrollably about what a terrible mommy I am for reacting so angrily. Matt is at a meeting and wasn't here to talk down my crazies, so I did the only thing I could think of- called Mom. After patiently listening to my ranting about "how could I get angry at a 2-year-old for being a 2-year-old?" and "what if all she remembers tomorrow is me yelling at her?", my mom calmly asked me, "Do you remember every time I yelled at you?" Hmm... no. Guess not. "And of all the memories you have from being little, do the times I yelled at you haunt you?" No, not so much. And not 5 minutes into the conversation, I am calm, sniffling and feeling much better.

Man, I love my mom.

20 minutes later, I hear Kate crying in her room and decide I just have to go in, shush her, tell her I love her so much, and get her calm. All it took was pulling her blankie back over her, rubbing her back and "Goodnight, mommy loves you..." and she was happy again and we both felt better.

Harder the second time?

I don't know if it's just that I don't remember it being tough when I was pregnant with Kate, but I'm fairly certain that being pregnant this time around is considerably more difficult. Maybe it's chasing a two year old around. Maybe it's that I'm not in as good shape as I was with her. Maybe it's just that every pregnancy is different. Or maybe it's a combination of all of those things. Whatever the case, I am finding pregnancy number two to be a little rougher.

Nonetheless, I am thankful. Being a mommy has always been one of the answers to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" for me, so to double that title is a huge blessing. Last week I had my check up and we heard baby's sweet heartbeat rockin' away at 156 bpm. Almost spot on with what K's was about that week... funny! The old wive's tales say that fetal heart rates over 140 bpm = girl, but my instinct says 'boy' this time. Now, I guess it kind of did with K, too, and we know how that came out, so we'll see. We have a little online baby pool going on and only 3 out of the 14 guesses are for a girl! Won't we all feel silly if it's another girl? Well- 50% chance! We will find out on February 25th... I CAN'T WAIT!

We're in the exciting, but exhausting, process of moving! We got our keys last week and Matt has been over there doing all kinds of work getting it ready for us to move on up. Still to be done: paint our room, paint Kate's room, install new shower in master, install new bathroom vanities, buy some furniture, install wainscoting in breakfast nook and... move. Oh... that last one is going to be a lot of work. We've got to be out of our current place by February 11th, which originally seemed like a ton of time... now, all of a sudden, he first of the month is less than a week away and I am panicking! I hate packing everything up! Luckily, we can start gradually moving things over there as we want, so that should take some pressure off... as long as I actually get on it. It is very exciting, though... it feels great to finally be making a place OURS, you know? Painting where we want and making any changes we feel up for. Love it! The adventure of home ownership begins!

And since I've been terrible about taking pics of the girl... here are a couple of crappy ones from my phone. Home shopping at Cost Plus ( sweet hat, no?) and hanging out on the steps at the new place (stairs will be a whole new adventure!).

So much for slowing down after the holidays...

You know how you go through a really busy time, and tell yourself, "It will calm after XYZ...". Well, I think I have been saying that for about 6 months. Seriously.

And, just when I told myself in early November that everything would slow down after the holidays, I found out that we're pregnant again! Well, I am pregnant... Matt is just along for the gig. So shortly before Thanksgiving, we found out. Exciting!

Once we knew this information, and had an ultrasound where our little one's heartbeat was good and strong, we started thinking about our house and that we're already so overrun with Kate's stuff... we'd be needing to make a move. So the house hunting began. We looked at a couple of different places, put in an offer on one, got outbid, and started over again. Recently, we found a place we really liked, and they accepted our offer! We're in escrow right now, but soon we'll be homeowners! So exciting!

So... in the near future we'll be moving. I'm unbelievably excited, but it is still moving. Moving is never all that fun. It never ceases to amaze me just how much crap we have accumulated in our almost five years together.

Speaking of which, February 5th will mark 5 years of marriage for Matt and I! I can't believe how fast the past 5 years have gone. We had talked about getting away for a bit for our anniversary, but it looks like we'll be right in the middle of renovations and moving, so we'll have to post-pone a bit. Que sara, I suppose.

So hopefully the new year will bring much health and happiness to everyone, including us in the Conrad house!