It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...

Twice this week Brady has asked to play with playdough after dinner. I love watching him make things & telling me what they are. Earlier this week, most of the things he made were "birthday cakes for papa". Who cares if Papa's birthday isn't until the end of May?! It's so neat to watch him be creative & use his imagination. It's a great way to get some insight into what goes on in the mind of a 2 year old. Well, last night while playing with play-dough, Brady kept asking me to make certain things- beetle, castle, duck, etc that ended up pretty much all looking the same. I decided to exercise my inner creativity (ala Grammie Robin) and make a person with a hockey stick & puck and tell Brady that it was him playing hockey. It looked much like all of the other things I'd made. :( Oh well. I asked Brady who he thought it was to which he replied "That's a testicle!" REALLY!!!!???? I asked him again to make sure I'd heard correctly which apparently I had. Rocky & I both laughed until we were on the brink of tears. Who knows if Brady really thought my rendition of him looked like a testicle or if he was just trying to make us laugh. Either way- we did! This is one of those stories I will have to share with friends one day- you know, like when he's a teenager. :) The pics posted below are from Monday night's playdough extravaganza while making the cake for Papa. The bathtub pic is from Tuesday night when he was channeling his punk rocker side.

Won't You Be My Darlin'?

Brady has gotten into the habit of "reading" a book first before letting me read it. It's amazing how with some books, he clearly understands the story and tells his own version of it. With other books, he simply says certain things he sees on the page. Well tonight, he's in the middle of reading "Things That Go" and looks up at me and says in a sing-songy voice, "Won't you be my darlin!?" Now where did he hear that line? For some reason, I think it's from an old song, but I'm not so sure. I asked him where he learned it to which he answered "I don't know" and then sang/said it again, this time accompanied by some serious giggles. This prompted him to say it many times during book-reading. He knows when I find something clever & takes much pleasure in making mommy smile. During our tucking in to bed routine, he likes for me to make up stories about his favorite characters- Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Mickey Mouse. I made sure to weave the line "Won't you be my darlin'!?" into each story tonight which he loved.

Speaking of darling, here's a great time to bring up something interesting going on with baby girl. Rocky & I thought we had settled on a name a while back. We decided not to officially debut it and keep it a surprise until she gets here. Glad we did, since just last night, we started seriously discussing a new name. If her "other name" had been announced, we would have then been bombarded with "why are you changing it" and "oh I like ___ better", and it would be impossible for us to make up our minds on our own. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to meet her, look at her, and say "Oh, she definitely looks like a ___". It's funny because Brady's name was Brady before it had been confirmed that he was a boy. Our daughter will most likely remain nameless until her TBD birthdate. Can't believe how quickly her birthdate is approaching. I'm 30 weeks along today & had another check-up that was uneventful- blood pressure of 110/60, her heartbeat sounded good, and I measured right at 30 cm. Brady always measured ahead, so maybe just maybe she won't hit the 9lb 1 oz mark of her big brother. Strangely enough, I'm within 1 lb of gaining as much weight as I did my entire pregnancy with Brady. Wowser! I'm definitely not excited about this fact, but quite frankly, there's nothing I can do about it, and as long as she & I are healthy, I'll worry about the pounds once she's out & about. The doctor didn't bring it up, so I didn't either. I go back in 16 days for my 32 week check-up. 32 weeks, 34 weeks, and 36 weeks are the "measure & listen" time check-ups. After that, I go every week until I have her and will have the option of being checked to see if anything is happening down there. I say option because really, whether or not I'm dilated/ effaced/ she's at whatever given station is really not that important. It's an uncomfortable exam that yields not useful information. I started dilating at 38 weeks with Brady & he decided to stay in the cozy baby cave until 41 weeks 1 day. I'm thinking I'll just avoid those exams until perhaps 39-40 weeks. We shall see.

Is that a baby in your tummy or are you just happy to see me?

The answer is: both! There is definitely a baby girl in my belly & I'm feeling quite happy these days. No major aches or pains to complain of, sleeping pretty well, no swelling, enjoying feeling her move alot. I'm really trying to relish the joys of being pregnant since this may very well be our last baby. It's not a certainty, but kids aren't free & we want to provide our children with everything we can, so it may be that 2 kids are the perfect number for us. More kids would mean a bigger house, bigger car (for me anyways), bigger college funds to be put away, etc. Okay, enough about what may or may not happen. Here are some pics of me at 29 weeks 1 day. Mind you, these were taken after a full day at work, so I'm looking a little tired, but I really do feel pretty darn good to be this far along. She has definitely grown since my 27 week pictures & I know my baby cave will continue to provide her with an evergrowing home. According to stats online, she's roughly 2.5 lbs and 15 inches long right now. Her main job in the upcoming weeks is to gain weight & increase her lung maturity. It's a hard job being a fetus!

So glad to see you....Chick-fila

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourselves & things in life- either because it's genuinely funny or because it just plan keeps you sane. Let's discuss our weekly trip to Chick-fila that Brady & I took last night. When we get to there, and I go to get Brady out of the car, he says "So glad to see you" as if it's been a while. Wherever did he learn such a grown-up phrase? It made me laugh & I asked him where he'd heard that before, only for him to laugh and say "I don't know" in the sweet little way that he does. Turns out, his very own Papa tells him that every time he sees him. I guess Brady just wanted to appear as if he was the clever one & had come up with it on his own. Next up on the night's agenda- while waiting in line, I have Brady hold the P-sauce to keep him & his hands busy while we waited for our food. I told him to hold on tight so he wouldn't drop the P-Sauce & C-Sauce on the floor. He's a very literal child to the point that he held on so tightly that it exploded all over his jacket, pants, and the floor. This allowed mommy to hold up the line while she wiped him off & wiped the floor up with entirely too many napkins. While dining, Brady dropped his cup on the floor, spilling milk & more importantly, exposing him to Chick-fila floor germs. Well- I guess it will just have to toughen up his immune system. After eating, we proceeded to the play area where I realize his shoes have been on the wrong feet all day! I told Rocky about this once we got home because it was so funny & his response was "Woops!" I'm happy that Brady has a daddy who dresses him, changes his diapers, takes care of him when he's sick, things that some dads just don't do- but should do! Anyways, times like these further solidify how much I love being Brady's mom- there's no one else I'd really want to wipe sauce off of or clean up after their messes. Here's to more date nights for mommy & Brady at Chick-fila. I'm sure they will come with more interesting stories & eventually will include Brady's partner in crime, his little sister.

Beer & Tacos

Brady went to stay with his Papa & Grammie (my parents) this past weekend. As always, they had lots of fun things for him to do & lots of tasty food for him to eat. After leaving the science center on Saturday, they headed to lunch at Positano's, a fabulous Italian eatery in Greensboro. After browsing through the menu, Brady had made up his mind & told everyone, "I'll have the chicken taco!" Why in the world would he be thinking about chicken tacos at an Italian restaurant?!! I cannot even tell you the last time we've had chicken tacos. However, upon hearing this Mexican food request, Papa got in the mood for Mexican so they made a trip to Mi Pueblo for dinner. Now, on to the beer part of the story. Uncle John had given Brady his old boxed set of the Toy Story. Instant hit! He wants to watch it at our house now, but he does have a bit of a problem saying Buzz Lightyear. At Target last night he saw some of the Toy Story figures. He proceeds to declare for all of the aisle to hear, "Mommy, I want the Bud Light!" Nice! Not sure if I was more embarrassed that he was asking for beer or that he was asking for cheap, disgusting beer. :) While it's nice to have a weekend for just Rocky & me, it's always wonderful to have Brady back & experience his silliness firsthand.

My budding artist

Brady has been very interested in painting & drawing at school lately. He made 2 very special pictures this week. His daily email on Wednesday said that he drew a picture for "my baby sister". When I was picking him up from school I asked Brady who he drew his latest picture for at school & he said "baby sister." Then as we're walking down the hall he says "you should put it in your tummy so she can see it". I love how literal children are at this age. He totally takes after me in this respect as there have been reports from my parents that I was quite the literal child as well. The picture for baby sister will be proudly displayed in her nursery (Brady is very excited about helping me hang it up at some point). Yesterday at school, he told his teachers that he was drawing a picture for "my beautiful mommy". That made my heart just melt. Ahhh, more examples of what a sweet & silly little boy we've got on our hands. He is so precious to me & so full of love for his family and for life. We are so blessed to have him.

He said/did what?!

A day in the life of a mother of a 2 year old is never dull. I've been saying for a long time that I need to start writing down all of the funny/cute things he says & does. Everyone tells me if I don't write them down, I won't remember them when he gets much older. Here are some tidbits I found that I'd used as posts on Facebook. Glad I now have alot of these goodies written down in one place. Enjoy!

9/17/09: While riding in the car, I turned around (Rocky was driving) to see him with the English muffins pack in his hand as we had just down a bit of grocery shopping. I see him chewing and think he's eating the plastic wrap. I yell "spit it out" and turn on the light only to find him with 1/3 of a muffin in his mouth. The bandit had busted open the pack and had gone to town on one poor english muffin.

9/29/09: Brady's daily email. His teacher said he was so excited to "put tinkles in the potty". He goes at home, but has never gone at school. What a big boy!

10/8/09: While Rocky was holding him this morning I asked Brady for my goodbye hug. He said "No, I want big hug" and turned to grab Rocky's neck, then my neck, and squeeze us all together for one big family hug. To top it off, he sang "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...". I teared up for sure.

10/11/09: At breakfast he looks down and says "whatcha doin doggy?" A few minutes later when he couldn't see the dog he said "i miss the doggy." Guinness- thinking he was gonna get food- came up only to have Brady say "move away doggy" since he knows he's not supposed to feed him.

10/11/09: Brady singing "All the single ladies, all the single ladies" to Guinness and then when Guinness started barking at him he told him to "Hush doggy!"

10/13/09: I was leaning forward on the couch so he wedged himself behind me & started playing with my hair. Then he said "Mamma, you're pretty. You pretty mamma!" I told him he was a sweetie and when he started playing with my hair again, he said "Love you mamma. Love you." Wow! What a sweet boy!

10/15/09: I was getting ready this morning & heard Brady awake upstairs singing "BE NICE TO EVERYONE!" from Yo Gabba Gabba about as loud as he good. That boy cracks me up.

11/4/09: Brady pointed to my jewelry sonicator and said "What's that?"- his new favorite sentence since he likes to know what everything is. I told him it was a jewelry cleaner only to have him say "Mommy, it's a sonicator". I mean really?!

11/8/09: I asked Brady if he wanted to go play with the trains & he said "I want to go to Barnes & Noble to play with the trains". I don't know why he randomly decided to call it Barnes & Noble because he's never said that before. That boy continues to amaze me every day. Ok, done with my Brady bragging for today.

11/21/09: Brady started singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on the drive home today. We've never even sung that song to him before. I love the randomness of children.

12/4/09: Brady suggested the names Cracker, Firetruck, and Barbeque for the baby. Cracker Davis? Yeah, that's gonna happen!

12/18/09: Brady's sang his version of "You Belong to Me". Wednesday on the drive home from work, he randomly sings "I like t-shirts, I like t-shirts" to the tune even though it wasn't on the radio. Okay, so the words were a little off but that's how a 2 year old makes a song their own.

12/20/09: I was wrapping presents with Brady last night. After I would write out the gift tag, Brady would "sign it". We got to Papa's gift and he asked if he could draw on it. So I handed him the tag & he said "I draw B.R.A.D.Y. for Papa". He spelled his name outloud!

12/21/09: Brady holds up his milk & says "Fill up my cup. Mazel tov". Thank you Black Eyed Peas. Then we were out shopping & as I'm putting him in his carseat he sees an older woman walking toward the car & says "That's gramma. She got run over by the reindeer." I almost peed my pants laughing.

1/23/09: Brady has been laying down for over an hour trying to take a nap, any every time I've checked on him, he says he's ready to go to Nick's house. Too excited for a birthday party to sleep!

1/30/09: We got 5 inches of snow today. Brady woke up talking about building Frosty outside today, he only wanted to stay out 10 minutes because he said "Daddy, it's too cold for my hands!"

1/31/09: Brady did this strange little squat tonight that looked like a 5 second dance move. I asked him what his new move was and he said "FART!" After I corrected him & told him that the correct word was toot or poot, I realized about 30 minutes later en route to bed that the fart, toot, or poot was actually a surprise in his diaper.

Whew! So there is almost 5 months of Brady's silliness. Granted, this only includes what I thought to write down at the time. He makes us laugh every day. Sometimes, he's trying to be funny. Other times, it's just funny to hear how a 2 year old views the world. And some times, he's just being sweet and it's so cute that I can't help but include it on the list.

Happy Birthday Rocky

It's a special day at our house- it's Rocky's birthday. Contrary to what he says, he's very hard to shop for as far as getting him a birthday present goes. He always says he needs nothing & that there's not anything he wants. Erggg! Realistically, if Rocky or I want something, we usually just buy it (within reason) so if he really wanted a particular video game, for example, he would buy it & I wouldn't have any idea which one he would want anyways. We do always go out to dinner for everyone's birthdays. Rocky decided last night we should go to Moe's since he received an email for one free entree. Really, of all the places we could go, he wants to go get a free burrito? Fine by me. I like it all! He also got a coupon for one free drink at Caribou Coffee & since his caffeine source of choice is soda, I get the free drink. Yum! Brady made daddy a birthday card on Sunday that he'll give him tonight. Brady & I were gonna make a cake, pie, cookies or something, but Brady said he wanted to buy something for daddy. So we went to Lowe's last night and got him a Boston Creme Pie. Confession- we dove into said pie last night. It was sitting there staring at us in the fridge & since it is for Rocky's birthday, if he wanted his pie one day early, who was I to say no? And of course, I was polite and ate my slice too as Brady & Rocky enjoyed theirs. :) This morning while taking Brady to school, Brady told Rocky "Happy Birthday Daddy! You need a Spiderman cake with a blue candle." Funny boy! I'm so happy to spend this 6th birthday in a row with Rocky. Hope he has a special day as he turns one year older. We love you Rocky!

Excellent Big Brother in Training

Every day at work I receive an email from Brady's school teachers called a "daily" that lets me know when he went to the bathroom, what he ate, when he slept, what they did for small group, and what they did for outdoor exploration for that day. Here's the small group excerpt from today: "This week our focus will be love & friendship. We began a disscussion about how we treat and care for our friends. Our friends shared several responses on how we care for our friends. Examples: Giving friends hugs, kisses, saying I love you, sharing with friends and more. We took time to draw pictures for our friends. Brady wanted to draw a picture for his sister." Baby sister is still so hypothetical to Brady at this point & yet he's already thinking about her & wants to draw her a picture. I seriously almost started crying at my desk. I know the first time I see my two babies together I will be a crying, hormonal mess. Brady will look so big up next to her & will seem so very grown-up. I'll also be faced with the realization that Brady's not my only baby anymore. I'm excited, nervous, and anxious all at once. I can't believe she'll be here in 3 months or less. I hope Brady is as happy to meet her as he seems to be now. I have no doubt he'll be an excellent big brother.

Oh Heavens!

I always find it refreshing hearing the perspective of a 2 year old, namely Brady. Talking about death is never easy & I think it's important to talk about things in a different way with the little ones- I don't like to baby things, but I can't be too philosophical either. He oftens asks about his Grammie Linda who passed away 6 1/2 years ago (before I even met Rocky). Rocky & I have shown him pictures of her & explained that she's Rocky's mommy just like Brady's other Grammie is Mommy's mommy. He pretends to call Grammie Linda on the phone sometimes & will ask about her & if she can come to the zoo with us, if she gave him one of his Christmas presents, etc, etc & today he asked where she was at. So how do I explain her passing to a 2 year old? I told him that Grammie Linda went to heaven even before mommy met daddy. Being an inquistive 2 year old & following in his mommy's footsteps by asking TONS of questions, he asked where heaven was. Hmm, another tough question. So I told him heaven was not on Earth & that it was a good & special place to go when you're not on Earth anymore. He thought about it for a second (we're actually in the car at this point) and from the backseat I hear him say, "I think she took a rocketship to get there!" I guess in his mind, one way to leave Earth is one a rocketship. I told him that's not exactly how it works & decided to leave it at that. He said "it was fun for Grammie Linda to ride the rocketship." Well Brady, Grammie Linda is in a better place, but there were no rocketships involved. One day he'll understand. In the meantime, I think it's important he knows who is Grammie Linda was, how much daddy still loves her, and how she would have thought the word of him. Just like all of his other grandparents.

Fun times with Brady

Time to post some of my favorite recents pics of Brady. While he's only ever been for one "professional" photo shoot, I try to take alot of pictures of whatever we're doing at home or out & about. He is such a fun, sweet boy (most of the time!) and I love it when pictures really capture that. Here's just a taste of the silly boy at work.

Oh Sharoney!

So friends have been joking with me about calling the baby Sharoney- a sort of Shannon Meroney hybrid. It started because I confessed that we have a name picked out but have decided to wait to debut it until she's born. A friend threatened to start calling her Sharoney for unless I told, but I'm sticking to my guns. Anyways, here are all the belly pics I've taken thus far. Can't wait to see how I continue to grow as she continues to grow.

















14 weeks 2 days
















18 weeks 6 days

21 weeks 4 days
















23 weeks 5 days















27 weeks 1 day

I've already been asked if I think Baby Girl will be as big as her big brother. I'm thinking it's definitely a possibility especially if I'm 8 days past my due date like I was with Brady. Perhaps I'll have a better idea in the upcoming weeks based on how I measure at the doctor. Only time will tell. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by since I'm busy spending time with my sweet 2 year old & I now have a job that keeps me much busier. My 27 week appointment was rescheduled until next Monday at 28 weeks because of the office closing due to the snow. That visit will include the always anticipated drinking of the glucola and my RhoGam shot.

Pics of Baby Girl

I can't believe I"m already 27 weeks 1 day pregnant- aka 6 months along. I love going back and looking at the U/S pics we've had and seeing what a miracle life is. From 6 weeks to our last scan at 23 weeks, she went from being a dot on the screen with a yolk sac (a gender neutral dot, mind you) to being a teeny tiny version of a full-term baby that is most definitely a girl. I thought I'd post pics from each scan. From top to bottom: 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 week, 19 week, and 23 weeks. See what a difference a little time makes in the life of an embyro/ fetus!