I did not realize.....

...how much my baby has grown up in the last 12 months!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday!

Joining in with Jeannett with Life.Rearranged for InstaFriday!

My Mom found this on pinterest, and made one for Baby Sister.

I love it.

Love, love, love, love, love it!

It is PERFECT to wrap Sister up in when she arrives!

These used to hang in my room at my parent's house.

I LOVE them...and they remind me that I very much miss my tap shoes!

I had DJ paint the mats, and frame to match Sister's room.

They are perfect!!

A certain {almost 2} year old found his coo-coo underwear in  his drawer last week.

He insisted on wearing them.

We tried potty training in December, and he was traumatized.

This time, he was ready.

He figured it out, in just a few days.

At the beginning of the week, he went all day without an accident.

We all had an ice cream treat to celebrate!

He has continued to not have any accidents, and we have continued to have ice cream every night to celebrate!

We had tacos one night for dinner, this week.

I always cut up all the ingredients for tacos on his plate.

He was a little insulted.

He made it clear he wanted a taco like Mommy & Daddy had.

He did so well, and ate the whole thing!

Sometimes, I forget he is getting big...and can eat a taco like a big boy!!

Molls waiting for Karson to wake up yesterday morning.

They love each other.

A lot!

The only problem when she does this...she usually whines in front of his door.

That usually wakes him up, and I hear him yelling 'MOWEE!'

Apparently, she is one smart dog!

Karson and I have been on house arrest, while we have been working on potty training.

We haven't left the house, except for to go to my parents.

And then the little frog potty came with us.

I had my 30 week appointment this week, and Karson came with me.

My doctor's office doesn't have a frog potty, so I was a little nervous and put a diaper on Karson.

Of course, my doctor was running an hour late.

Not usually a big deal, Karson is pretty easy.

He was doing well, and telling me he had to go potty, we would run back to the restroom, and he would go.

Then he realized it was fun to see the new bathroom, and as soon as we sat down in the waiting room, he asked to go again.

I finally told him, we couldn't go anymore.

Because...ya know...we can't take up the bathroom the entire time at my ob's office.

Then we went to Panera for lunch, and when we were done eating, I took him to the bathroom.

he was dry!

My {almost} 2 year old, held it for 2 hours, even with a diaper on.

I was shocked...and so proud of him.

So we got a cookie on the way out to split.

This came in the mail this week.

I love etsy.

I can't wait for Sister to wear it in at the most 10 weeks!!!

Green 'Monster' Smoothies

I have a hard time eating the foods that I should eat when I'm pregnant.

I always have a hard time getting enough calcium.  

I don't drink anything other than water, coffee, and fresh pressed apple juice (when I'm not having problems with reflux).  

Which means no milk. Blach!

And I don't like cheese, unless it is melted.

I like yogurt, but only certain kinds...that usually have bad things in them that I steer clear of.

{Yoplait's Thick & Creamy Strawberry Banana Yogurt.  So good, but icky ingredients.}

I have been trying to get enough potassium & calcium, because they are both supposed to help with charley horses.

Which I get a lot.

And they hurt!

My Mom found this recipe, for Green 'Monster' Smoothies {peanut butter-banana-yogurt-almond milk-spinach}, on Pinterest this weekend, and stopped to pick up the ingredients.

It is GOOD!

And all its tastes like is peanut butter and bananas.

We have been making them every day after Karson's nap. 

Plus I make an extra one to freeze, for DJ to drink the next day at work.

It could be that I love it so much because I have been deprived of peanut butter for the last 7 1/2 months.

{peanut butter = horrid heartburn!!}

Or, it is just really that good!!

{for whatever reason, this smoothie doesn't bother my heartburn/reflux.  but I would never drink it close to bed time.}

Green 'Monster' Smoothie

1 T. Peanutbutter

1/2 C. Yogurt 

The original recipe calls for greek yogurt, but I don't like greek yogurt.   

We use Dannon's all natural vanilla yogurt.  

Stoneyfield Farm Organic Vanilla Yogurt would be ideal...but I don't like it. :)

1 C. Almond Milk

anyone know where you can buy this in bulk?  so expensive!

1 Banana Frozen & Sliced

peel, slice, and freeze the bananas the day before...or a few hours before...or use a fresh banana and add ice :) 4 C Spinach

I don't have a blender, just a little Cuisinart food processor (that I absolutely LOVE), so it doesn't completely liquify the spinach, but we don't mind.

I fill my food process or (a 4 cup) with Spinach, and blend it up.  Then fill it up again, and blend it up again.  

I pack in as much spinach as I can, because I know I am lacking vegetables in my diet. :)

Then I add the frozen banana slices and peanut butter, and blend it again.

I add the yogurt and almond milk last, and blend, blend, blend, blend, blend.

It is yummy...and tastes like your eating peanut butter & bananas.

ENJOY!

Karson {almost 2}

My little boy will be 2 in one month from today.  

If you ask him how old he is going to be, he yells TWO! and points his two pointer fingers at you. 

 

I can not believe almost 2 years have passed, since the morning I got out of bed, and my water broke.  Three weeks before my due date.

I have sat down to write his birth story a few times.  It pretty much goes like this:

{6am}Water breaks...arrive at hospital...waiting...waiting...waiting...{10am}start pitocin...waiting...waiting...waiting...{12ish}epidural...waiting...waiting...waiting...waiting...waiting...turn up epidural...waiting...waiting...waiting...{10pm}10cm...{10:15pm}start pushing...{10:26pm}Karson is born!

I can not believe that day, was almost 2 years ago.

I can not believe how much this little boy has learned, and taught his Mommy & Daddy.

He loves his Mowee.  He asks for blue berries all day long.  He is obsessed with choo-choos.  He decided last week he wanted to be potty trained.  He figured it out, and aside from bed, we are done with diapers.  He loves being side, and playing in the shhhh-noooow.  He climbs on everything, and yells 1-2-3-JUMP!  If you don't stop him in time...he jumps.  He loves bugs, and has started adding a 'y' to every word.  Bug-y, up-y, hot-y, jump-y, hop-y.

His smile and giggle are contagious. 

I can not believe he is almost 2!!

Painting with Trucks and Trains

Usually, DJ is home from work by the time Karson wakes up from his nap.  But his schedule is unpredectable, and sometimes I get a call at the last minute saying he has to work late.  The hours between when Karson wakes up and DJ gets home are usually the hardest.  Karson KNOWS when Daddy is supposed to be home.  And Molly KNOWS when Daddy is supposed to be home...and barks constantly at every single noise she hears until he gets home.  On the days when DJ works late, we usually do a craft when Karson wakes up.

I saw this on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and it reminded me how much fun it is!  

I used to do this all the time with my 2 year olds when I taught day care.  

I let him pick out a few trucks, and tractors.

And of course, a few 'choo-choos.'

Put some paint on a piece of card stock, and showed him how to drive his trucks over the paint.

He had so much fun, and painted for almost an hour!

We ended up having to just keep the 'choo-choos' next to him. 

He was less than thrilled about getting paint on them.

My table ended up being covered with paint.

I want to find some butcher paper to cover the table with for this activity.

I don't mind cleaning up a paint mess, but I don't want him to think it is ok to paint the table. :)

 His paintings are hanging on our slider, and every time he seems them, he reminds me he painted them with his trucks.

We will definitely be doing this activity again!!

...and of course...he had to line up all of his trucks like a 'choo-choo.'

InstaFriday

Happy Friday!

Joining in with Jeannett to share my cell phone pictures from this week!

Karson, usually, always helps me make dinner.

Last week, we made stromboli.

YUM!

I gave him a jar of parmesan cheese, which is difficult to get out of the jar, and let him shake shake shake all he wanted.

Parmesan cheese isn't even in the recipe, but it kept him busy, and he had fun!

 See his little lips-he is making truck noises. :) 

Karson loves to paint.

I saw this idea on pinterest, and used to do it with my kids when I taught day care all the time.

I squirted some paint on a piece of paper and got him some trucks to paint with.

Karson never sits still for longer than a few minutes.

He didn't get up for an hour.

He painted 3 pieces of paper.

He has asked to do it again every day since.

How did he get this big?!

I never put him in jeans, which I think is why he look so big to me in this picture.

I was getting ready to take him to Costco for some zuppy, and he grabbed one of my Mommy Necklaces to wear.

{zuppy = pizza-he came up with that one on his own}

I love Costco's fresh pressed apple juice.

Except I can't drink it right now because it makes me sick.

Karson LOVES it too, and so does DJ.

Needless to say, running out of apple juice is one of those things that immediately sends me to Costco.

And for the second time in a row, the apple juice fell out of my car, when I got home.

My garage now smells like apples, and I am 1 jug of apple juice short. 

It could be a hint for me to clean out my trunk...

We have a hard time getting Karson to sit for meals.

He always wants to sit on our laps. 

Since my lab is rapidly shrinking, thanks to baby sister, we are working with him on sitting in his own chair.

Usually halfway though dinner, we pull his chair from the other side of the table, and put it in between us.

While I was making breakfast yesterday, he moved his chair on his own.

Putting it right between Mommy & Daddy's chairs.

He was so proud of himself!

A few weeks ago I counted how many newborn outfits we had for Sister-we had 4.

With a newborn, that could get you through maybe 4 hours if your lucky.

I have been on the look out for the cheapest Carter's sleepers I could find.

Kohls was having a huge sale a few weeks ago, and I scored 9 sleepers for a little over $4 each.

I LOVE all the pink!!

Linking up with Life.Rearranged for Insta Friday!

29 Weeks...2 Days

I counted how many weeks I have left before baby sister arrives...11 weeks until my due date...8 weeks if she comes when Karson did.  Oh my...so much to do before then!  A few pregnancy highlights...

*I have been feeling pretty well.  I still have problems with reflux & heartburn, and am figuring out what I can and can't eat.  Peanut butter is BAD...made that mistake one morning.  My doctor has switched my medicine a few times, but ended up being back on my original prescription.  It is working, as long as I am careful about what I eat.  Aside from that...I just have normal 3rd trimester aches and pains. 

*I finally went and did my glucose tolerance test.  The order has been in for...um...5 weeks, but I have been putting it off.  Bad roads...sick munchkin...dreading drinking that orange drink...blach! 

*At times, I feel huge.  Other times, I feel so much smaller than I was with Karson.  I'm sure it is just because I remember being at the very end with him, and I gained a lot of weight. 

*I have no idea how much weight I have gained, but I am thinking it is less than with Karson.  I was paying attention for a while, but I stopped.   I am not one to worry about weight gain, especially while pregnant. :)

*I told my Mom the other day that I am actually, kind of, enjoying this pregnancy.  Karson's pregnancy was not so much fun, and although I still have days when I don't feel well, I still feel 100% better than when I was pregnant with him.  On nights that I am not feeling well, I usually have DJ take over Karson duty for an hour, and go take a bath.

*I have started talking with my doctor a little about my birth plan.  We are requesting they delay cutting the umbilical cord.  We donated Karson's cord blood.  After doing some research and talking with my doctor, we decided to delay cutting it.  I have also asked that she is to be put on my chest immediately, and DJ and I be given time to snuggle her, before any exams.  But I also made it clear that in an event of an emergency, they ignore my requests and do what is best for Sister and I. :)  I absolutely love my dr, and trust her judgement.  I also told her they could just hook up my epidural as soon as I walked in the door.  ...so I'm not the poster Mama for natural child birth. :)

*I still get Charley horses at night...and they hurt.  :)

*Sister's room is almost done, I will post pictures soon.

*Karson knows where his sister is, he knows where her room is, and where she will sleep.  He will say her name if we ask him to.  I love hearing him say it.  Although, if you ask him "What is Baby Sister's name?" he says "nooooooooooo."  Daddy may or may not have taught him that, after people started asking him what we were going to name her. :)

*I have been craving peanut butter pie, and would like to have words with whoever decided to close all of our Perkins!

*Sister has started moving a little more.   She starts moving as soon as I try to go to sleep, and gets the hiccups all the time!  Lately I have been able to feel and see baby parts pushing out on my belly. :)