nursery bedding for peanut

i think it finally 'hit me' that peanut is due in 10 weeks, and I'll probably have him in 8 weeks! we're talking like 55 days people! that is insane. while we have everything that we *have* to have, we're still working on the little stuff. we have a crib, bassinet, car seat, some clothes, bouncy seat, swing, baby book and diapers but still need to get things like cloth diapers for burp rags, binkies, baby bedding, possibly a pack n play, and some sort of dresser/clothing unit.

but today, i'm looking at bedding. i figure peanut may not have a real name, but i could at least narrow his bedding down. so let me know what you think; these are the top 3. (oh and the crib is white)

Option 1: "Scooter" featuring jeeps, trucks and airplanes
Option 2: "Pirates Cove" featuring what else, but Pirates!
Option 3: "Zoom Zoom" featuring soap box derby cars and a retro pattern.
i like all 3 for different reasons. option 1 i like the colors and think they would 'pop' on a white crib. option 2 i like the overall theme and different textures in the fabric. i think its fun and the b&w contrast the baby would be able to see very early on. option 3, i like the idea of doing a car theme and i love the retro accent colors.

what do you think? if it helps, the crib is almost identical to the crib in option 2, but its white instead of that natural wood color.

oh and here is a slideshow of how big i've gotten over the last 29 weeks! yikes!

"Super Freak"

i've spent the last 2 hours putting together/working on the playlist that i will listen to during labor with peanut. with bubba and pooks, i also had my ipod and i felt like it really helped. (well in the beginning for sure) when i would get a contraction, i would turn up the music and focus on the song, anything the song made me think of, singing to myself, etc--really anything to block out the distractions in the room and the pain. surprisingly, it worked quite well. i don't think it took very long for B and nanaw to figure out that if i was turning up the ipod, it meant ''stop talking, contraction". then as soon as the wave passed, i'd turn it down and go back to conversing like normal.

but with pooks i made the mistake of putting too many slow, soothing, sappy songs on it. lullabies are great for babies....not so great for encouragement to push a baby out. while celion dion, cat stevens, michael mcdonald are all wonderful artists i found that i only wanted to listen to fast, upbeat, dancing in a club, in-your-face loud music. missi elliot anyone? how about buck cherry? justin timberlake, fergie, destinys child---nothing like a little ''bootylicious'' to distract the pain right?

it may sound crazy but it worked! so now i'm working on one for peanut. i lost 1/2 my music that was in our computer when we got that virus back in may so its like starting from scratch. so i've been going through CD's and uploading them to my iTunes. i've downloaded music (thanks Matt for that giftcard) and I'm finally coming up with a playlist.

in addition to my ''fun'' music i used with pooks, i've decided to add all my fun, upbeat, rockin 80's music. if you know me, then you know that i know the 80's like nobody's business. i couldn't tell you a single song on the mtv countdown (does mtv even play videos?) and i can't name a single jonas brother but i know all the lyrics to 'wake me up before you go-go', i know who would answer if you call "867-5309" and i've serenated someone to ''total eclipse of the heart.''

and peanut is apparently following in his mama's footsteps :)

while going through all this music, i *HAD* to download ''super freak" by rick james. after it downloads i naturally have to listen to it. would you believe that peanut went from completely asleep and having not moved in probably an hour; to moving so much that you could see it just by looking at my stomach? it was nuts. i made B come in and watch even. he was jamming out in utero.

so it looks like while all my kids love to dance, peanut may put his brothers to shame! 29 weeks and already shaking his groove thing!

the great pumpkin patch

today we took the boys to the local pumpkin patch. by local, i mean the one that is less than 5 mins from our house. they have a corn maze, bounce houses, country store and the pumpkin patch just ''opened'' yesterday.

for $7 per adult (the kiddos were free) we went on a hay-rack ride, enjoyed a petting zoo, and we each got to pick out 1 pumpkin. not to shabby when you think about it this way: $14 for a family of 4 to do all of the above, the whole ordeal took 2 hours, and we walked away with our pumpkins. the grocery store has pumpkins 3/$12 so really---we made out like bandits. and of course, we also took a TON of pictures and made memories. :)

when we first got there, we paid for the pumpkin patch tour but had to wait 40 mins for the next ride to start. so we looked around the country store, bought some fresh produce and then sat in the shade and enjoyed it. the boys had nectarines, i myself chose an apple.

after a messy snack, it was time for the pumpkin patch. bubba was VERY excited, so we ''boarded'' first--he had to sit behind the tractor. pooks however, bawled almost the entire hayrack ride...he hated that tractor. everytime it shifted gears, he cried. once we were to the patch, he was fine.

it was about a 10 minute ride to the pumpkin patch.
we had about an hour to take pics, choose our pumpkins and feed the animals. naturally, as soon as i told bubba that he could pick any pumpkin he wanted...he picked the very first one, right next to the tractor--as soon as we got off of the tractor.
pooks took a different approach. he couldn't care less about the pumpkins, he decided to strike a conversation with every scarecrow.

little ones....

and the mommy ones...

then bubba and b decided to be scarecrows. well, mostly B---bubba was just kinda frightened.
once their pumpkins were secure on the trailer, it was off to the petting zoo. bubba couldn't wait to see the ''BIG goats'' and the ''baby goats". in this picture he was saying ''big''.

they had a blast feeding all the animals. pooks mostly petted them, while bubba had to make sure that he personally fed each one. there were goats, a pony, some sheep, and a llama.

pooks loves ducks! he actually says ''duck'' too!
i love this one!

after we fed the animals, it was time to head back to the tractor/trailer. this is when pooks finally decided to notice the pumpkins---by standing on them.

somebody had a little Captain in him! LOL

hope you enjoyed our day at the pumpkin patch....we did!

more pics from today....

i took a ton of pics today, but didn't want to overload one post. here are other random pics from this evening.

pooks playing basketball with B

bubba making a slam-dunk

scurrying for the ball

after playing outside for about an hour, it was bath and bed time. i won't go too crazy with the pics so here are just my favorite two.

bubba washing pooks

pooks giving bubba a hug (bubba looks a bit embarrassed!)

Race for a Cure...

here are all the pictures from today. we had a lot of fun! the weather was nice, and the turn out was really good. there were 7,500 people registered to walk/run/race, and several booths and companies and activites.

all of us, right before the race

waiting for the race to start

aunt debbie with belle-belle; they joined us for the walk

bubba with energizer bunny ears
pooks being silly eating an apple

the boys waiting patiently to start....

the whole Mom's group getting ready to jump in the crowd

the starting line

nanaw, aunt debbie and the kiddos walking

the finishing line...the whole thing took less than 20 mins

i want to say thank you to those who donated, and for aunt debbie and belle joining us. total, with our registration fees and donations, nanaw, myself and the boys raised $155. woohoo! not to bad for just deciding to participate 2 weeks ago!

mommy's lil helper

i took this pic this morning with my cell at the grocery store, but wasn't bubba just the cutest little helper?? (he was pointing to the Cheetos)

normally when we go to this particular store, the boys ride in a shopping cart that has a 2 seat car on front; but today all of those were being used. i'd never even seen the little carts before, but we tried it and it worked really well. okay, bubba did run his cart into my heels about 5 times but other than that-he did great.

we're trying a new diet with bubba and so far (today was day 2) it is going really well. hence why were were shopping today, we are eliminating gluten/wheat from his diet. kids who have a gluten/wheat intolerance or full blown Celiacs Disease can have major health/lifestyle issues.

"There is a wide range of symptoms, but people also can�be asymptomatic. "Children seem more likely to present with 'classic' symptoms of celiac disease: tummy aches, lactose intolerance, constipation, short stature, failure to thrive, lack of ability to concentrate and learning difficulties," says Alice Bast, executive director of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness."

we know for a fact that bubba has been getting tummy aches alot lately. he'll tell me that his ''baby ouchie", meaning his stomach. (he's been calling it a baby instead of belly since I became pregnant). we also know that he his pretty small for a 2.5 year old; he's on the low-low end of the growth charts for his age and he used to be smack in the middle. i already posted about his speech delay, he also regularaly has diarrhea/soft stools, and he's had a rash on his bum that looks like chigger bites for well over 3 weeks now. also, if you know bubba you know that he has a lot of little idiosyncrasies that are almost OCD. he has to have a green tray to eat on for lunch, he hates being messy, he freaks out when his nose is running--things most 2 yr olds could care less about, really bother him.

lately he's also become a very picky eater. refusing to eat things that he used to love: spaghetti, chicken pot pie, Ritz crackers, chicken nuggets, most cereals and bread. but then wants seconds of things like fried rice, fruit, B's asian crackers, cheese, etc. well the common factor in ALL the foods he's suddenly not eating--wheat. i buy whole wheat pasta, bread, crackers, cereal--anything that comes in a ''whole wheat'' variety, i buy it.

so after researching alot, we decided to eliminate wheat/gluten products for a few days and see if that helps. he hasn't had ANY wheat or gluten products since tuesday at lunch time. from snack time on tues until this moment, he has been gluten free. it is going WONDERFULLY!

first of all, and most importantly. he has made a 'happy happy plate' at EVERY SINGLE MEAL since we started! he doesn't stop eating 1/2 way through, he hasn't gagged or vomited at all. we've had fruity pebbles for breakfast (its a rice based cereal), fruit snacks, chicken with brown rice and corn, homemade chicken fried rice (with carrots, peas, and scrambled eggs) turkey with cheddar rice cakes, cheese, and grapes for lunch, popcorn for snacks--and he's eaten all of it. the same kid that wouldn't eat peas and carrots in chicken pot pie 2 nights ago, picked out and ate every single veggie in fried rice at dinner! i was eating leftover chicken pot pie and he told me it was ''ucky''.

behavior wise, we had one tantrum today (at the store, he wanted to put up ALL the groceries by himself) but no meltdowns over the ''little things''. he ate at the table on a placemat--not the green tray and when we were playing outside this evening he actually had snot running out his nose and didn't even notice!

obviously i don't know for sure that its all related to gluten. but i can't help but get excited. the last 2 days he's been so happy, talkative and hungry! today he pointed at, and said ''pond'' instead of making the sound for 'water' like he usually does. he said ''air-pane" instead of making the noise that an airplane makes. at bedtime and naptime he went down without a fit!

i honestly think that he's probably been living with tummy-aches for awhile now, but since we didn't know, we couldn't help him. now that he's not in pain, he is SO much happier. sure i could be wrong, we could just be having a couple of really good days but i'll take a good day any way that i can get it! we're going to keep up the diet for a while longer and see how he does. if he is genuinely making improvements, then we'll have him tested for the allergy/ Celiac disease itself. it is genetic so pooks could have it, peanut could have it--we just don't know yet. and thats the hard thing, you don't know until they are on solids. they can have no symptoms or every symptom. its hard, but can be controlled simply by changing your diet.

good things come to those who wait...

...that is the lesson i learned today and I could not be any more excited!!

let me explain:

when you are preggo, there are now private places that offer 3d and 4d ultrasounds. they are about $150 for a dvd and pictures of your baby. it is really cool, we did it with bubba and pooks. you can actually see whose nose the baby has or chin, you can see toes and fingers. with bubba, we saw him sucking his finger. basically, you are seeing exactly what your baby will look like at birth, but you get this done between 24-28weeks. i don't have bubba's images on this computer, but here are pics of pooks. these were taken when i was 26wks preggo with him:

his little face with a hand in front

his right foot--we knew he had B's toes!

sucking on his hand/thumb

okay, so now that you know what i'm talking about---story continues:

well i really wanted to do it with this baby, but $150 is a lot when you already have 2 little ones. we decided that the money was better spent on a car seat, a swing---things the baby needs instead of us just getting a sneak peek at him. i really do think it is awesome, and in a way it helped me bond with the baby. i wonder if i could ''see'' this baby, if we could pick a name.

anyways, to make a long story short(er): today i received a phone call from Dr.P's office. apparently they just got a 3D/4D ultrasound machine and are needing women from various stages in their pregnancy to volunteer to receive ultrasounds (for free) so that the sono techs can earn their training hours and learn the machine better. i will be 30 weeks next week and they wanted to know if i was interested in being a selected ''volunteer''. HECK YES! it was a 'now or never' type thing, i was offered a time and date and if that didn't work then they would go to the next preggo on the list. of course i said yes! so i have an appt on wed, oct 1 in the afternoon for a 3D/4D ultrasound!

holla!! i will most definitely post pics--assuming i get them! i'm really not sure what to expect since i'm not paying for it, but i will try to get pics/video for sure!

as promised....

i have an update and pictures!

first off, todays update on peanut:

everything is going great! i'm up 15lbs, which is more than i expected, but is very good overall. dr p. expects me to gain about 1lb each week from here on out, which puts me at the recommended 25lb gain overall. peanut's little HB was 139bpm and my blood pressure was good. after measuring my uterus he could tell that peanuts head in up in my ribs, so for right now he is laying breech. he still has plenty of time to move around though so no worries. i am still measuring big so just to ''see whats going on in there'' dr. p will do another ultrasound at my next appointment! YAY! i love seeing the lil' guy so i can't wait til oct 20th. i'll be 32 weeks by then so we'll get a good idea of his overall size, position and fluid levels.

oh today i also had my glucose tolerance test, to see if i am at risk for gestational diabetes. basically you have to drink this glucose drink that is SUPER sugary, then an hour later they draw your blood to see how your body handles/breaks down glucose. my level had to be under 140 to ''pass'' and mine was 102....which is awesome! so now we just have to wait til october 20th!

okay so on to this weekend. we did a lot, but unfortunately i didn't take alot of pictures. i don't know why other than the kids are crazy active so sometimes i'm so busy chasing them that i don't think to take pics.

anyways, here's an overview of the weekend in photos:

on Friday, nanaw, myself and bubba made rice crispie treats. bubba did all the stirring, and then licked the spatula. he's had rice crispie treats before but we've never made them. he had fun and enjoyed eating them too!

this isn't the best pic, so i apologize nanaw!

on saturday we went to visit uncle matt. here are some pictures from his Hall at school. bubba loved playing the piano and took it pretty seriously.

as you can see, pooks did not. but he loved running around the place!

at one point, all 4 of us were playing--different things at the same time. i bet it sounded wonderful, lol. uncle matt was playing actual songs, the rest of us were just hitting keys.

on sunday the boys did not want to take a nap. we managed to finally get them down at like 3pm. they were so tired but i guess they didn't want to stop playing. regardless, when pooks woke up he had some WILD hair. i mean wolfman/wolverine-sticking-out-everywhere, hair. he would let me take his picture if papa was holding him, hence the picture of the boys with papa. however, both kiddos have a ''deer in the headlights'' look about them. oh well. don't forget to take note of pooks hair...

and the best close up i was able to get. it wasn't wet or sweaty, so i'm not sure what gave it such a bedhead look but it was really big/tall in the back. he's a silly boy, lol!
thats all for now!