Pinterest

I think I was a little later than most on this Pinterest craze.  I joined in December but didn't pin anything until a month or so ago.  I have found some really good ideas on there, but mostly I look for recipes. 

I did come across this little activity and it was easy, so this weekend we set out to make it.  I hope to make these every year so we can see how our little ones grow.  They are stones to put out in our garden.  I recommend reading the entire directions before making them.  We did not...the stones cracked a little and I had to take them out of the oven because I did not put them on wax paper.  Oh well, trial and error.  They still turned out good, just not as good as they could be!  But they're going to be outside, so I don't care. Check out the website here (this website looks amazing).

Super easy: mix salt, flour and water and shape them into the appropriate size circles

Press hand to make the mold

Thats it.  We used a toothpick to write the year and we sketched their first initial into the hand as well.

I thought about it and depending on how many kids we have and how many years they let us do this, we could have a lot of handprints in our garden.  We may need multiple gardens but we'll deal with that when the time comes.
This was a little more challenging with Gavin.  He just tried to claw his way out! 

We baked them for 3 hours at 200 degrees on one side and then 2 hours on the other side.  This part took the most planning, we couldn't go anywhere or cook anything else during that time.  If we had done this a few weeks ago we probably could have just put them outside for a day to dry out.  I'll try to remember that for next year.
Day 2 was painting the stone.  I thought about leaving them natural, but decided that Reegan would have more fun if she could paint it and through the years it would be neat to see which colors they picked and how they designed them. 

I picked gray and navy for Gavin and Reegan, of course, picked pink and purple.  She did almost the whole thing by herself, only needed a little guidance.

Gavin was not impressed with this activity.  Thats quite the stink face...

I think they turned out great.  I did not account for the fact that these are going to be outdoors in the rain, so I need to go back to Hobby Lobby to get a waterproof seal for them.  (Gavin's pinkie finger is not deformed but he wouldn't straighten it, so this is what we got :)

Another pinterest idea I got was making pancakes and putting them in a muffin pan to bake.  They were good, tasted just like any other pancake, but were easy to grab on the go. 

I have a few more projects I would like to complete, but I start work in 2 more weeks, so we'll see about balancing it all.  I'm excited for more Pinterest posts, but they're looking to be in the far off future.

Birth Story

Here it is, 7 weeks later.  This labor and delivery was quite a bit different from Reegan's.  We were induced, again.  This time I was only 39 weeks and the doctor didn't feel comfortable letting me go much longer because we both felt this was a large baby.  We were right!!!  I had been saying it for months, that this baby was much bigger.  He just felt like he was crammed in there, more so than Reegan ever did, and when he kicked it hurt, everything was so stretched out.  This picture was taken on June 25, the day Gavin was originally supposed to be born.  We were getting ready to walk out the door for our induction.

We arrived at the hospital and were told to wait in the waiting room.  June 25, must have been the day that babies everywhere wanted to be born because they didn't have enough space or nurses for us.  After an hour or so of waiting, they told us to go home, eat, and take a nap.  They would call me about 11:00 to come back in.  We went home did all those things and at 11:00 the call came.  It was not the call I was hoping for as they told us that they were still very busy and the doctor wanted to reschedule our induction for the following day.  Everyone's question to me is, "were you so disappointed?"  The answer is yes.  I may or may not have been a little hysterical.  I may or may not have also called my mom crying that we were never going to have this baby and how much money we "wasted" sending the dogs to boarding and Reegan to daycare.  After she and Jason talked me off the ledge, we picked up Reegan from daycare early and did a few last minute errands and spent the afternoon with our only child. 

Tuesday, June 26 we woke up bright and early and headed back to the hospital.  This time Jason left our bags in the car until we knew we were going to be staying.  We were assured that we would not be sent home a second time (they were still incredibly busy, I think there were 2 other couples who were sent home).  Thats the crazy thing about L&D, you can't predict when babies are going to decide its time :)  Pitocin was started  at 8:00am and at 10:30 doctor came back to break my water.  The contractions started within minutes of the pitocin starting and after my water broke they were intense.  My mom was there for the entire thing and took notes throughout the day.  Good thing she did, because the day is kind of a blur.  About 11:45 my contractions were very strong and I was deciding when to get an epidural.  I asked to be checked because depending on how far I was, I had the crazy thought of maybe going natural.  Well, I was only 4.5, super disappointing because I thought I was farther along than that.  At 12:45 I got the epidural and at 1:00 I was 6.5 cm dilated.

Our smooth sailing day stopped here.  My body did not react well to the epidural and my blood pressure dropped dramatically.  I felt awful, was throwing up and really thought I was going to pass out.  I think the nurses in the room feared the same thing because they were giving me medication to bring my blood pressure up.  The lowest it got was 60/30 and I can assure you, it was awful.

Pitocin was stopped for a couple of hours due to my blood pressure.  At 4:05 I was dilated to a 7 and at 5:05 I was complete.  Gavin Scott was born at 5:22pm. 
Show-time.  Completely dilated and ready to get this baby out!

Delivery wasn't too bad, suprisingly.  One question I always get asked/people assume is that I had a c-section (people also assume I had gestational diabetes because of his size, but I didn't).  I did have to push more than with Reegan, but 4 times isn't bad! 

Jason cutting the cord and our awesome doctor!

Checking out our new addition

Our first picture with our little man!

Healthy boy!!!

First photo as a family of 4, Reegan was not sure what to think about me being in a hospital bed.  My legs were still numb so there was no where else for me to go!  Day 2 went much smoother and she would actually give Gavin and I hugs and kisses!

At my 6 week check-up I asked the doctor if this means my next baby is going to be big as well.  His prediction is that next baby will be closer in size to Gavin than to Reegan (she was 7lbs, 10oz).  

We are so happy to have 2 healthy babies, the uncomfotable pregnancy and nausea was well worth it!   

Weekend

I'm getting braver about getting out with the kids all by myself, but only to certain places..  I try to plan play dates or outings for 2 mornings a week, but not to the grocery store or other errand places.  I tried the grocery store once and it is not something I want to repeat soon.  So, the weekend comes and since Jason is there to help me, we run our errands.  I actually like doing it all together, we get out of the house and get to have family time.  Sometimes I can even convince Jason that we need to go stop for lunch/dinner or sonic happy hour depending on the time of day :)  This weekend we didn't run many errands, but Jason and I did go out for date night.  It's been too long.  We went out for sushi, our favorite date dinner, at Sakura and ate at the sushi bar from the train.  We don't have a pic, but if you like sushi go check it out, really fun!  Then we went to a movie. 

Sunday we headed out again, but this time for a church picnic.  Here is the food line!  We were hungry. 

 After eating, we spent time enjoying the evening and being outdoors and this little guy loved it. 

 Of course, if Reegan is around, she has to be by his side making sure he is OK.

 Seriously, she is a great big sister.

Singing

Reegan loves to sing and dance and is quite the entertainer.  That is if she knows you well, otherwise she's shy and you get nothing out of her! 


Here she is signing her ABC's and twinkle, twinkle. 

Gymnastics

Here's the gymnastics post we promised!  Apologies for the blurry pics, but they make the parents sit up in a hot and stuffy "observation" room that all the way across the gym.  :(

Reegan is LOVING gymnastics.  She gets really excited every Wednesday when she gets to put on her leotard and head to Elite.  She's by far the youngest in the class (it's supposed to be for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 years old), but she does a pretty good job of keeping up.  She has done a great job of listening to the teacher and really tries hard to do everything.  She's also incredibly cute doing it!  :)

They keep it pretty basic, of course, but they do change it up every week too.  Here the teacher was helping Reegan do the demo for the "back handspring" station.

And of course -- forward rolls are no trouble for this one...

This week they also worked on how to start a backward roll.

And Reegan really has fun swinging on the bar!

So far, so good in this class.  We're really glad she loves it so much.  It's been perfect timing to have the Olympics happening right now too.  Every night Reegan asks "Watch 'nastics??"  Who knows.  you could have someone in your family asking to watch 'nastics in 2028 and turn it on to cheer for our baby girl!!  How amazing would that be?!  :)

Pictures...

 Our days have been filled with lounging around the house and getting out a couple times a week for a change of scenery for Reegan.  Everyone says that there are never the same amount of pictures with a second born, so I am trying my hardest to get all those cute shots that I made sure to get of Reegan.

Just being handsome...

The only baking we have time for these days!  I'm looking forward to making a real meal again soon :)

 Sister loving on Brother, after bath and before bed both babes were in an especially good mood. 

 Gavin loves his sister as much as she loves him!

 He's tracking people now, so it was time to bring out the toys. 

 Of course, Reegan wants to help! 

 Reegan "posing".  "Get one of me mommy!"

 Tummy time...or belly time like Reegan calls it. 

He;s getting so big and changing so fast, has started talking and laughing too.  LOVE

Beating the heat

It's HOT.  Every morning while making breakfast, eating breakfast, and in general start our day, I watch the Today Show.  They show the weather every 15 minutes it seems and each day I wait for Brett Anthony to tell us that the heat streak is going to end.  I'm still waiting...

So, to beat the heat I have been researching many indoor children's activities.  This past weekend we went to the convention center for the Midwest Kid's Fest.  Not gonna sugar-coat it, it wasn't that great.  We probably won't be going back next year.  However, we did manage to spend a large chunk of time there and found some fun for Reegan.  In addition to going on the inflatable slide 20 million times, she got her face painted.  This was the first time and she was so cute sitting so still for the lady.  And afterwards she loved looking at herself in the mirror.  We opted for a smallish flower instead of the entire face.

 They also had a booth where the kids could make a little bracelet. 

 And this was the "petting zoo".  A couple of birds to hold.  I am not a fan of birds, I have been pooped on twice by birds and therefore I am fine to stay far away from them. 

 We also met some friends.  Reegan does not like life-sized anything.  Easter bunny, Santa, or any other characters.  Elmo and Pooh were no exception.  Sister is getting braver and did give them both high-fives by the time our day was over.  She's also got some good eyes, she could spot those bright colored suits from a long distance and wanted to get a good look at them..without getting too close. 

This weather has to break at some point and I am more than ready.  I thought having a baby in the summer would allow for many strolls around the neighborhood.  I've struck out both babies so far, the day we came home with Reegan there was a big snow storm, now record heat.  I can't win :)