Three Updates!

It's been awhile since I did three personal updates in one month. No guarantees that it will ever happen again, but there is never anything too exciting going on around here.

The weather has finally been breaking 80 degrees consistently in the past week. We have had a few water adventures so far. First, we took Bennett on his first boat ride while Bernie was fishing. He hated the life jacket of course. It was quite bulky and probably would have pissed me off as well. He also wasn't too happy with the confined space, but really enjoyed the live well. That is a well on the boat where you keep the fish until you are someplace to clean them. There were no fish that day but Bennett got to splash the water all over. We also got him a water table and there is a small pool from last year. He played with the water table, but the dog seemed to like the pool a bit more. She laid in the cold water while Bennett watched and laughed.

There are a few parks in Longmont that have outdoor water features. They are some kind of fountain usually that kids can run around it, sort of like a giant sprinkler. He absolutely loved that, so I'm sure we will return many times. I think we will try one of the outdoor pools this Tuesday. There are pictures documenting all of our water fun on Flickr.

Our summer vacation is rapidly approaching. In less than three weeks we will brave the drive to Great Falls, stay for a week, drive to North Dakota, stay for another week, and then drive home again. We haven't done this since Bennett was less than a year old, so it will be interesting to see how he does. We recently turned his car seat to forward facing, so that should help. At least he can look at something other than the back seat.

Bennett's 18 month appointment was this past week. Weight: 25 lbs 14 oz. Height: 32 inches. He's right in the 50th percentile for both. He was not a fan of the doctor or nurse and screamed every time they came in the room.

It seems we have finally fully transitioned to one nap. It has been a long transition (3 months or more). I think what finally helped was the black out curtains. It's like nighttime in that room all day long. Bennett would usually get up between 6 and 6:30. Post-black out curtains he usually sleeps until between 8 and 9. Naps are 1.5-2.5 hours. This new schedule as freed up quite a bit of time that we can be out doing play dates, etc. Then a new baby will come and we'll start all over!

The ultrasound is in 5 days. The longest 5 days of my life. I will be sure to update Friday after the appointment.

I got most of my planting done between yesterday and today. I cut back the flowers even more this year due to the toddler living in our house. He loves to scoop up the dirt and throw it on the ground. So I am only going to attempt one pot on the ground, a few hanging up, one on the back patio table, as well as the normal flower bed. I planted flowers in the bed the first year we were here, most of which were supposed to die. Well, I must have picked myself some mutant flowers because they are alive year-round and multiply every spring. They almost take up the entire bed now. They make me happy because they are so low maintenance. No dead-heading and they bloom all summer...my kind of flower. For veggies we planted 3 tomato plants, four bell peppers, one banana pepper, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, and onions. I actually read the instructions this year and plated everything with the correct amount of space. Hopefully I won't have a repeat of last year when a good portion of our veggies didn't do well and I had heads of lettuce that were five feet tall. I will try to get some pictures up. Sorry about the boring gardening talk, but it is definitely a significant activity for us around here.

Heather came through last week. We ate lots of good food, talked, and laughed. Having guests is always one of my favorite things. Hopefully she and Garrett can stop back by sometime and stay for a bit. And yes, Heather, we did figure out that you went out the back gate. I was wide awake the entire time you were getting ready and didn't hear you open that gate! That's crazy since it's right outside our bedroom window. I'm glad the dog is sleeping outside now in case someone scary tries to open it. Sorry I didn't come down to help you!

Two more weeks until our big ultrasound. It still seems like forever, but hopefully the nicer weather we are having now with make time go by a bit faster. Baby is moving now. I can feel it most days. I also feel much bigger this time around. I guess what they say about showing faster the second time around is true. I've been wearing maternity clothes for 4 weeks now! Again, hopefully I will get some pictures up soon. We have yet to take any belly photos. I'll get Bernie on it this afternoon.

Bennett is almost 18 months old now. He is trying to communicate more, although actual words can be difficult to decipher. His new thing is to do the "I don't know" pose with the raised shoulders and palms in the air. He does it every time he hears a sound he doesn't know or when we ask him a question. Oh, and we can't forget about his new favorite activity. He like to sit on my lap, snuggle, and watch Days of our Lives (very child-appropriate, I know). My grandma would be so proud!

The waiting game

I don't know what it is about this pregnancy, but I am OBSESSED with the gender. I really wanted to know with Bennett, but I don't remember being nearly as impatient as I am this time. We don't find out until June 4th, which still seems years away. I have spent my time over at the In-gender forums learning all about the "nub theory" and how to predict gender from the 12 week ultrasound. It's very interesting if anyone wants in checking it out. I'm trying not to get too invested in their guesses, but it's fun nonetheless. Boy or girl would be fine with us for different reasons. I think we will only have two, so both genders would be good. But I'm sure Bennett would rather have a brother. I just want to know damn it!

Heather is coming this week and had decided to stay two nights. Now we at least get to go out and do something while she is here instead of just eat and sleep. Some shopping on Pearl Street in Boulder might be in order.

I was going to get my veggies and flowers in this coming week, but Bernie predicts snow for us. Boo on that. We went to the Farmer's market and I bought a couple of plants anyway. I have to remember not to eat before we go next weekend so I can stuff myself full of yummy potstickers and other assorted goodies.

No news yet on the job Bernie applied for, but that's no surprise. I would expect we would hear if he has an interview or not this coming week. But this is the government we are talking about so who knows. I think he applied for the job hear in early April and we didn't find out he got it until the end of June.

The March of Dimes went well. Thanks again to everyone who donated! The weather was certainly shitty, but so very worth it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's I know and love out there. I hope you all have a beautiful day.