A pregnancy update...

For the past six months, this pregnancy has been truly wonderful. I can honestly say that I have ENJOYED being pregnant (yeah, I know...I really said it). I have had, so far, zero of the uber crappy symptons I had with Owen (i.e. acne everywhere and I mean everywhere, numb hands starting from 5 months on, 40 lb weight gain by the 6 month mark, and the list could go on and on). And let me just point out that it is an incredible relief to have only gained 6 lbs so far as compared to the first go-round (but let's just ignore the fact that I started this pregnancy 40 lbs heavier than I would like to be....yeah, that's fun, huh?) At any rate, the point I'm trying to make is that this has been a really good pregnancy so far. And ANY time someone has asked me how I'm feeling my answer has been "great." Until...

Probably 2 days ago. During the day, the answer to that question is still the same. But ask me any time after 6:00 pm and my new official answer is: "pregnant." Yes friends, I am a bit afraid to admit this, but I think my days of feeling shockingly good are coming to an end as I tackle this 3rd trimester. Don't get me wrong, I still feel WAY WAY better than I did at this point with Owen, but our precious new little one is growing by the minute and I can tell. I'm already kinda wondering how on earth my tummy can grow any more and I still have 3 months left! And this growing bundle of joy is bringing increased discomfort. Like the other night when I was trying to watch tv and had to switch positions every 2 minutes because I just couldn't get comfortable. But the good news is: I still don't have acne (my scarred back will be thankful for that), I can still feel my fingers, I have had zero swelling (which is a nice contrast to last time when I had people telling me they could hardly even look at me because I was so swollen), I am still sleeping well at night, etc). But the even BETTER news is that we start construction on our house in about a week!!! Yeah, it is kinda bad timing having a baby in the middle of building a house, but I am VERY thankful that my mind will be occupied with house stuff for the next couple of months rather than just sitting around waiting for baby to come and realizing how not fun the last trimester can be. So there you have the update. Check back in about 2 1/2 months and you'll probably hear some pretty substantial complaining...but for now, we're still chugging along and feeling pretty darn good in the process. Ciao!

Three Wheels

So this last weekend, Jen and I attended the Yakima Valley Tour of Homes (edit) and had a great time looking at some new homes and getting some good ideas. Grandma and Grandpa St. Hilaire had Owen for an overnighter, which gave Jen and I a chance to have a nice dinner and spend an evening alone. Owen's cousin Grant also slept over. Grant had brought his bike and Owen had his tricycle. This was a picture Grandma took of Owen on his trike. I love it.



Funny little story about Grant... it was a bit chilly in the morning and Grandma had asked if Grant had a long sleeve shirt in his overnight bag. Grand said he did but it was a shirt which had some skateboards on it with a few tiny skulls on the skateboards. Grant told Grandma that he didn't want to wear it because it might scare Owen. I thought this was so sweet of Grant to consider Owen like that. Grant is a very sweet boy. :) Thanks G & G for watching the little guy.

C.J.

A rather embarrassing moment...

Yesterday I had a prenatal doctor's appointment in the morning. My dear sister offered to watch Owen for me so that I could go sans child, which was a huge treat. Everything was great until all I had left to do was see the doctor...and then she got called out for a delivery. So, I left the office and went back an hour later to finish the appointment. Still no doctor. So, we rescheduled for this morning.

It's 9:00 this morning and WE are at the doctor's office (Owen and Mama). He is being really good, entertaining the nurses and being his charming self. Then the doctor (who I LOVE, by the way) came in and we started chatting for a while. As I laid on my back while the doctor was listening to the baby's heart beat, Owen was playing in the corner with my purse. All of the sudden my doctor says to me, "WHAT is he eating?" Me: "What do you mean?" (since I can't see him from my position). Doc: "That powdery stuff. What IS that?" I look over and my child is dumping into his mouth...

Well here's the other part of the story. You know how at the movie theaters these days they sell the flavoring to put on popcorn? My husband happened to try it a few times and liked it and proceeded to get me to like the stuff. At the theater, you can buy a tiny little bottle for like $3 or something, and at the grocery store you can get about 8 times the amount for a $1.50. So, I decided to buy it from the grocery store and keep it in my purse, that way we don't have to waste a bunch of money every time we go to the movies. However, it's a tad embarrassing to open up my purse while in the Target checkout line and have popcorn seasoning sticking out. But what's even MORE embarrassing, is when you're at the doctor's office and your child has discovered the stuff and is dumping it into his mouth and then your DOCTOR has to tell you what he's doing so you can stop him. Yeah, let's just say I was a little mortified. But hey, we all got a good laugh out of it. I guess the lesson to be learned is: get a babysitter.

Our annual trip to the beach...

I did it people...I actually got my camera out!!! And the big event that merited such a move? our annual camping trip to the beach. This past week was spent at Kalaloch campground with my parents, siblings, and their families (even Uncle Ryke was there!). It was definitely my favorite year at the beach with Owen so far...he is finally old enough to thoroughly enjoy camping, playing in the sand, throwing rocks in the stream, snuggling in the tent, cocoa in the mornings, playing with his cousins, etc. So here are a few pictures for you. There are a bunch more in the picasa album. At any rate, we had a super fun time and can't wait until next year!

Owen enjoying being burried in the sand by Gram:

From Kalaloch 09

Breaking free:

From Kalaloch 09

Holland:

From Kalaloch 09

Jack (formerly known as Baby Jack...until Lincoln was born):

From Kalaloch 09

Jack and his best buddy (Gramp):

From Kalaloch 09

Oliver:

From Kalaloch 09

Oliver and Owen playing their very masculine version of Frisbee. You have to understand that these two have a love/hate relationship. They are best buds MOST of the time, but then there are the moments where they are figuring out who is the dominant male...we're hoping that in a couple of years they'll just be best buds. Regardless, they love spending time together:

From Kalaloch 09

And here they are playing boats together:

From Kalaloch 09

Uncle Ryker and Jack...and a tid bit of the giant castle Ryker made:

From Kalaloch 09

Owen eating his snack of choice for the week:

From Kalaloch 09

And finally, you need to know that Owen made a new BFF this week: Uncle Ryker. We love him lots and are glad we got to spend a whole week with him:

From Kalaloch 09

From Kalaloch 09

Last night...

So here's the scene:

It's 2:30 a.m. last night. Owen walks into our room and says, "Mama, please get in" (which really means "can I please sleep with you?"). So, I lift him up over me and as I am laying him down on the pillow he bonks his head on the bed frame. He cries a bit, I kiss it, tell him it's going to be o.k., etc. About 10 minutes later I realize he is still wide awake.

Owen: Mama, please pray.
Me: Dear Jesus, thank you for Owen. Thank you that we got to play with Hudson and Tucker today...
Owen interrupts: No, no. Please pray my head.

Let me just tell you people, if hearing your 2 year old who is hardly even coherent in the middle of the night ask you to pray for his bonked head doesn't make you melt, I don't know what will. I love that kid!

It's a BOY!!!

I guess my maternal instinct was off a tad since I was convinced we were having a girl, but hey...we're still thrilled. For Owen's sake, I am SUPER happy it's a boy....I mean, what little boy wouldn't love having a little brother? And I'll be honest, there was a hint of disappointment when I saw the oh-so-evident protruding male anatomy (there's no question with this little guy...it's pretty evident he's a boy), but I'm not nearly as disappointed as I thought I would be. I think if I were one of those women who just popped out babies left and right and then returned right back to normal I wouldn't mind a bit.....but since I'm not, and I AM the kind of woman who has huge hormonal issues that totally mess with my body and fertility and I'm not sure how many more times we're going to do this, I am a smidge disappointed that I don't yet have a daughter. But believe me, I am SOOOO ready to love another little boy and believe 100% that God knows what is best for our family. And hopefully some day we will have a daughter....and that some day means at least a few years down the road!

I think the main reason why I thought this baby was a girl is because I feel DRASTICALLY different with this pregnancy than I did with Owen. Honestly, there wasn't much that I enjoyed with Owen...in fact, when I heard other women say that they were feeling "great" or even "fine" during pregnancy, I would be like "you liar." But now I get it. This pregnancy has been SO easy. I honestly forget most of the time that I'm even pregnant until I feel him moving and think "oh yeah, there's a baby in there." I was convinced that I felt so much better this time around because it was a girl, but apparently it really is true what they say "evey pregnancy is different." Honestly, I think it's probably just that my body has been so messed up and my hormones so out of whack for the past 2 years (ever since I got pregnant with Owen, an event that totally caused my PCOS to flare up big time) that being pregnant almost feels more "normal" for me than what I was dealing with. Whatever the case, I have been LOVING this pregnancy and am hoping that continues through the 3rd trimester (dream big, right?).

So here we are with another little boy and the way, and I am glad to be able to seriously say that I am SO thankful. We praise God that we are blessed with another healthy baby (at least everything looks A-O.K. for now) and will love having two little boys running around our house. Oh yeah, and him being a boy with undoubtedly save us a lot of money since you better believe I would have had a REALLY hard time not buying every frilly pink thing I saw. And saving money is a really good thing for us right now since we start construction on our house in October!! So many fun things coming this fall. Oh yeah #2...due date is January 9....a little later than I thought it was, but honestly that's good. I really REALLY don't want to have a baby in the middle of the holidays. Any time after Jan 3 or 4 will be great with me. Ta ta for now!

The Boys and their Hats...

This past Saturday, C.J. and I had Leah's boys over for the day while she and Jeff finished painting their house. We had planned to go to the antique tractor show, and as we were getting ready the boys decided (by themselves) that they would all wear one of Owen's hats to the event. They walked out of the house with hats they had chosen and put on all by themselves:

They look pretty darn cute if you ask me:

From Blog Photos

Grant:

From Blog Photos

Hudson:

From Blog Photos

Tucker:

From Blog Photos

Owen:
I know this isn't the best quality pic since it was taken in poor lighting in the truck, but I love his smile!

From Blog Photos

P.S. Tomorrow is the big day...we find out whether Owen is going to have a little sister or a little brother! So stay tuned for the update...

Our week in Seattle...

While C.J. was away on business the past 2 weeks, Owen and I decided to make a trek to Seattle to see some family and friends. We spent a few days at my parents house which is always fun and relaxing....spent a couple of days at Landon and Becky's house in Lynden (thanks Beck, it was SOOOOOO fun to see you guys)...and then returned to Seattle for a baby shower for Brie and a trip to Lake Washington to see the Blue Angels. It was a super fun (and BLOODY HOT) week! Here are a few pictures for you:

Owen playing at Golden Gardens:

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

Enjoying a Sponge Bob popsicle while waiting for the show to begin:

From Summer 09

Precious Little Lincoln:

From Summer 09

And then there was the shower. It is always SO good to see my college girlfriends. I miss you all!

The flowers:

From Summer 09

Christy's work of art. Pretty impressive, huh?

From Summer 09

The beautiful hostess, Kate:

From Summer 09

Christy's mini photo shoot. You can always count on Chris to be up for a picture or two!

From Summer 09

From Summer 09

Becky and the Mother-to-be:

From Summer 09

Brie and Kate:

From Summer 09

The end!

Our first trip to the ER...

Yes, people...we did it. We took Owen to the ER. Now you have to understand that I am definitely one of those parents that rolls my eyes when I hear of people rushing to the ER over any little thing...I just think that often people over-react to things. Well, then MY child got hurt. And let me just say, when it comes to your child and it's not your every day bonk or bruise, that urge to get things checked out for reasurance' sake becomes pretty darn strong.

So here's the scenario: Owen has gotten to the age that he wants to jump off of anything and everything. Problem is, he's not yet old enough to understand that this can often be dangerous. So...this morning he starts jumping off of the furniture and I decide "hey, I might as well let the kid jump instead of telling him no all the time." I then decide to make a nice landing spot for him...I move the living room furniture out of the way, make a giant pile of about 15 pillows complete with a down comforter on top on which he can land softly and safely. He takes a few jumps off the chair onto the landing spot and loves it. About jump #5, he takes a big leap, misses the pillows (somehow?) and lands with his legs locked straight. C.J. and I both hear a loud cracking sound, Owen screams, and cries, and screams, and cries. I try to comfort him to no avail. We take him outside, put ice on his leg, give him a popsicle trying to take his mind off of things, and wait. We decided that we would wait until he calmed down to try to make him walk on it. So, we hold him and let him watch his favorite movie, Barney songs, for the next hour or so (an hour complete with whimpering and Owen saying "it still hurts.") Now, the kid has had many bumps and bangs in his life and normally it takes a few minutes to settle him down and then he is off to play again. Not this time. We set him on the ground after he is good and calm and his leg immediately buckles. So.....we decide we should get it looked at. After all, we both saw it happen and heard a loud cracking sound so we realize it really could be worse than his other injuries. We then load Owen in the car and head to town to the ER at the hospital....my first time EVER visiting the ER (well, excluding my Dad's plane crash when I was in high school). On our way there, we pass the park and Owen says he wants to go to the park to play. We are now thinking "oh good, maybe he'll forget about it and it's really nothing." So we stop at the park, get him out of the car, put him on the ground and again, his leg buckles and he starts to cry. We then see a fire truck parked nearby and ask Owen if he wants to go see it. Now, Owen LOVES fire trucks so on any other day this would have been a HUGE treat. We head over to the fire truck, we try again to make him walk to it and the same thing happens. So, we decide to continue on our trek to the hospital to get it checked out.

After all of the normal hoopla they do at the ER (at least I'm assuming it's the normal hoopla), and quite a few tears from Owen because A. he hates doctors visits and B. the poor kid's leg is hurting him, he gets a few X-rays of his legs. Doctor reviews them and says he doesn't see anything "alarming" wrong. However, I didn't realize until today that x-rays ONLY see bones and nothing else....and since we think the injury is in the knee and the knee is not made of bone, what good is an x-ray? I mean seriously, isn't there a whole bunch of junk in your knee that can get injured that isn't bone? In fact, on the x-ray the knee is totally missing in the picture...just a blank spot. So yes, the doctor ruled out a major break in a LEG bone but to me that doesn't mean much. Oh well, I guess we wait. We are supposed to go back in a couple of days for a follow up appointment. We shall see. For now our poor guy is left with a swollen knee that we heard go "crack" in the middle of his jump that he continues to tell us is "still hurting" and he won't put any weight on, let alone walk on. I'm HOPING that by tomorrow he will start to put some weight on it and that there truly is nothing "alarming" wrong with him. Poor kid! So there you have it. We took our son to the ER today...and any of you out there who are like me can roll your eyes at us and think "overprotective parents"....but just wait til it's YOUR child! Ta ta for now!

Oh yeah, and how on earth do you keep an immobile 2 year old entertained? I mean seriously, a person can only handle so much Thomas the Train before they go crazy!

In my dreams...

So don't you all think this would be ADORABLE in our little girl's room? Oh yeah, but first we have to have the girl...and considering both of our families, the odds are not too good. But hey, I can dream right? But if we DO have a girl, believe me...I am going to splurge on this light for her room. I'm thinking it would look REALLY cute with the yellow crib, some brown bedding, and a grey-ish blue wall. Maybe, just maybe...

Finally some pictures...

However, they aren't of Owen. Today I got together with Kim to take a couple of pictures of her boys. We went to an awesome Train Depot and boy did the kids ever love it. I think Owen could have stayed all day. So here are a few pics of Brady and like 1 of his little brother Ryker.

Just as a side note, I dropped my camera a while ago and it is NOT working like it's supposed to. SOOOO frustrating! I can not get the thing to focus properly for the life of me. Uggh.

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

This is how happy they were to have their pictures taken...also the reason why there is only 1 of the two of them together!

From Little Ryker

From Little Ryker

I've had a break through and I'm SOOO excited about it...

For quite a while now I have been in search of some really good audio books for Owen. However, even after my endless hours of searching, I haven't been able to find many good ones...either they are really boring or way too expensive. All I want are a few good stories for Owen to listen to in the car that keep him entertained and have different voices for the characters that make the book exciting. Well.....I FINALLY found the solution: iTunes. Yes, people, go there. I didn't even know they had audio stories until tonight but was pumped when I discovered them. For a mere $10 I was able to create a cd for Owen that is over an hour long and has 9 different classic stories, all of which I previewed to make sure they were good and entertaining. And let me just say, paying $.99 for each 8-10 minute story is WAY better than the $16.99 you would pay for them individually at Border's. Plus, I got to pick and choose which stories I wanted to include...and the options were endless! So, Owen's first iTunes audio book includes Goldilocks, The Ginderbread Man, The Little Red Hen, Horton Hatches the Egg, Curious George Rides a Bike, etc. Pretty good stories if you ask me. Anyhow, I just wanted to share this little tidbit for any of you moms out there who also might enjoy a good audio book for your child. iTunes, check it out. You'll want to create your own, guaranteed! Happy audio book hunting!

On being pregnant the second time around...

I know, people...I have been the biggest blogging slacker ever. I really do intend to update the blog more often, and then other things come up and I put it on the back burner. But, I thought it was about time to give a little update on round 2 of pregnancy. So, here goes...

1. I think I can safely say that being pregnant is WAY better the second time around. When I was pregnant with Owen, it was literally the only thing I could think about and pretty much consumed all of me. All I could think about was what it would be like when he was born, what to do in his nursery, how I was feeling any given week, etc. Let me just say, it is SOOOOO nice to not be so stinking consumed with it this time. That's not to say that I'm not excited about this baby, because believe me, I am!! It's just that this new baby is not the only thing I think about right now. You know, I have a toddler that I play with and take care of, a house that needs tending to, a garden that needs to survive the desert summer, a husband that I enjoy spending time with...and then, oh yeah, I'm pregnant. It's nice to have this pregnancy be a side note to life instead of being life itself.

2. I don't think I feel as crummy this time around (yet...the 3rd trimester brought all sorts of fun treats last time so we'll see what's to come). Or maybe I do feel as crummy and I just don't have the time to sit around and feel sorry for myself about it like I did last time...but either way, I haven't been feeling too bad. Yeah, there's definitely some nausea in the evenings, but nothing horrible. So far, the throwing up has reached a grand total of 2 times which I certainly can't complain about.

3. I AM TIRED!!!! Everybody knows that the first trimester brings extreme fatigue as your body produces a baby and a big old huge organ that supports that baby, but whoa, having a toddler on top of that makes it a million times worse, I'm pretty sure. Seriously, for the moms out there who have more than one child to take care of while pregnant, props to you! The good thing is, Owen is still young enough for naps so you better believe I have been taking full advantage of napping with my little guy every day. And you really don't want to be around me on the days that I miss that nap, or if the nap is delayed by too long...which leads me to my next point...

4. Hormones. Now, I'm not really the world's most patient person even on my best days, but something happens to me hormonally while pregnant that brings out every ounce of irritability and impatience in me. I hate it. I hate not having my normal buffers to be able to handle stress and the struggles of parenting a 2 year old. I wish I had WAY more patience than I do, but my pregnant self doesn't do so well in that department. Thankfully, C.J. is VERY good about helping out and taking Owen when I've reached my last straw. I'm really hoping that this time around the irritable Jen only sticks around for pregnancy and not the year of breast-feeding that follows. Seriously, my breast-feeding hormonal self was almost as bad as my pregnant self last time. In fact, after I quit nursing Owen I had gotten together with a good friend for coffee and she said "Wow, you're back to yourself! I was wondering where the Jen I knew had gone." You know it's bad when the people around you recognize you're not your typical self. Is this just me? Or do other pregnant women find themselves being way out of whack hormonally and emotionally....which in turn leads to irritability? Just curious.

5. Juice. You have NO idea how extensive my juice craving has been. Now I need to point out that I seriously don't remember purchasing juice for our household (excluding for parties or something) since Owen has been born. I'm not really a huge juice drinker and don't really think that kids need the extra sugar on their teeth all that bad. But something happens the moment I get pregnant that screams "give me juice!" Same thing happened when I was pregnant with Owen. And let me just say, I seriously can NOT get enough. I have resorted to (this is really embarrassing to admit) making Kool-Aid with Splenda to avoid drinking umpteen extra calories every day that I don't need and I have been GUZZLING the stuff. If somebody out there has information that I'm not aware of that says consuming Splenda while pregnant is not good, then please let me know...because I should really quit this habit right now if that's the case (as far as I know, Splenda is fine...obviously, or I wouldn't be drinking it). But even better than this concoction is the all time best juice I have evern come across: Simply Limeade. Try it people, you will be addicted...guaranteed. Or maybe you won't be because you're not pregnant, but I bet you'll at least want to pour another glass.

And lastly, a tid bit about my lack of picture taking. I haven't quit, I promise. It's just that right now I don't have a ton of energy (see #3) and what energy I do have left-over hasn't been going into my camera. Instead, I've been taking Owen swimming, going for walks, watching movies with C.J., and doing a few other things that I enjoy. And for now, that has been suiting our family better. But believe me, I will pick up my camera again before too long...maybe next week when I'll be done with the first trimester. No promises, though!

Believe it or not, our boy is TWO!!!!

So our little guy turned 2 on Saturday, and yesterday we had a party to celebrate. It was fun to have so many family and friends around and I know for a fact that Owen had a blast! Here are a few pics of the shindig...thanks to Grama Saint for taking these shots. I was so busy running around that I didn't manage to take any pictures myself. But Sherrie did a great job, so I stole some!

Owen enjoying the cupcake he had been begging for all day...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Tucker riding Owen's new tractor...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

By far the favorite present of the day...he's probably put in a good 3 miles behind the thing already. Thanks Grama!

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Blowing out the candles...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Cupcakes...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

My sister, Hilary, and her new little guy, Lincoln...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Saying thanks to Grandpa Saint for the lawn mower and other goodies...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Daddy helping Owen with his first swing at the pinata...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Owen enjoying last year's present while Oliver and Grant enjoy this year's...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

The St. Hilaire Grandkids...and yes, they are all boys!

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

Grant...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

From Owen's 2nd Birthday

C.J.'s brother Brian, his wife Samantha, and their little guy Solomon. They have another little one on the way due a few weeks before us. Maybe we can add a couple of girls to the brood...

From Owen's 2nd Birthday