but mom, i'm hungry

Funny story. I'm sitting at the kitchen table filling out some paperwork from school while Keith is getting the vacuum and Luke is playing with his toys. Since we've had him in daycare (all two days of it!), we've tried not to cage him in our living room when he has time at home. He's listening a lot better and is really starting to understand what we're saying. Or so I thought.

When I looked away for a second, Luke opened our pantry door, retrieved his favorite bunny crackers, closed the door, and made a beeline for the other room where we wouldn't be able to see him. He's sneaky, but not sneaky enough. I chased him and was trying to tell him to take a seat in his chair and I would feed him some. This works for his cup and other snacks, but that wasn't good enough. He wanted them right now so he started to shake the box until it exploded open and bunnies went flying everywhere.

The funniest part happened when Keith was cleaning up the lost bunnies. He actually commented to Luke and I on how he was picking up all of the sad bunnies that weren't going to get to do their job. And then he said that I should have gotten a picture. My blogging ways are taking over my husband too. Ha!

day one

I would like to label day one a success at day care. It actually went way better than Keith or I could have hoped for. Luke slept like a champ, ate his food like a good boy, and had a blast playing with the other kiddos. In fact, he didn't even reach out for me when I went to pick him up. It took him a solid 5 seconds to process who I was and when he finally came to me, he was searching for his new friends to play with.

Although it's still incredibly difficult not to be with him, I can rest a lot easier now knowing that he is definitely in a good place. This is probably crazy, but I was a little bummed that it wasn't a little more difficult. It was almost like he didn't even miss me. Geez!

And to end the day, we were faced with this:

Luke crying for around 30 minutes in his crib tonight after we put him to bed. This is unheard of for him. When I went to check on him, I tried to take the blanket off his face and he clutched to himself harder. Poor kid was still completely fast asleep but sobbing his poor heart out. As Keith said, we thought we had to worry about how he would do during his naps. It never occurred to us to consider what might happen to his night time sleep. Maybe he's just missing his new friends already...

hiatus

As of tomorrow morning around 8am, my status as a stay-at-home momma goes on hiatus. Luke starts day care. The day that I (and Keith) have been dreading for so long is finally here and we are both completely stressed out and totally rethinking our decision for me to go back to work. My head knows that everything will be okay. My head knows that he will eat and sleep as needed. My head knows that this is really what we need for our family right now.

But my heart doesn't hear any of that and is sad. I'm sad that I won't get to spend every day with my little man. I'm sad that I'll miss some of the crazy funny things that he does throughout the day. I'm sad that I won't be the one to be there to comfort him or play with him or do any of those things we do.

I know it's going to be a tough transition but we're a strong bunch and we'll make it through. We'll have evenings and weekends and holidays to make the most of our time together. We'll cherish every moment we do get to spend together and make those new things we witness just that much more meaningful and special.

For now though, I'm just sad.

preview

I need to spend some quality time blogging about my parent's visit this weekend, but for now, I'm just going to post a few of my favorite pics to commemorate. Story to follow...just not right now!

growth

Nothing too exciting going in these parts (well, since Friday). No more head injuries. No more baby scares. No more nauseousness! All quiet on the Waltemeyer front. We did have to take Luke to the doctor yesterday for his 15 month check up. He is in great health with a few new vaccinations in him making sure he continues to be so healthy.

One thing that stood out to me was his measurements. They didn't seem like anything to jump up and down about or something to write home to mom for, but when I compared them to his size at birth, I was kind of shocked.

Weight

birth-8 lbs. 11 oz.

now-25 lbs. 10 oz.

gained- close to 17 pounds

Height

birth-21.5 in.

now-34.5 in.

gained-13 in.

Head Circumference

birth-14.4 in.

now-19.3 in.

gained-close to 5 in. (glad it didn't come out this size!)

When did this happen? I know I'm with him everyday so I don't see it so much, but the kid has grown two inches taller in the last three months! No wonder why all of his shirts seem so dang short.

On a final random note, Luke has now decided to use his firetruck as a skateboard. A heads up to Dr. Chang: we may apparently be visiting you for many more head injuries in the near future. At least I'll be able to explain how these ones happened. I'm off to go find a toddler-size bike helmet to strap to my kid's head permanently...

boom boom pow

I know this stuff comes along as part of the motherhood package deal, but I really think that my kids are trying to see how far they push me before I snap. Today was a pretty close call. I have a severe aversion to blood and vomit and one of my greatest fears is hearing someone scream like crazy and I go in and find one of the those two disgusting things all over the place. I've waited for Luke to do this to me since he was born, and until today, it hadn't happened yet.

Actually, it was kind of crazy how the whole thing went down. Luke didn't even make a sound so when I went to get him from his nap, I had no idea what was waiting for me. I walk in and a good quarter of Luke's face is covered in blood and his bumper has a spot the circumference of a drinking cup on it. Hello! No crying and you can hardly see through the blood? No fussing? No causing a scene and/or throwing a fit much like I would? No, my crazy kid smiles up at me as I run to get a paper towel to wipe his face with so I can determine where all the blood is coming from.

The bumper in question. No-I did not get a picture of the blood on his face; you'll have to use your imagination (or try to erase it from your imagination like I'm doing).

I called the pediatrician's office and they wanted to see us right away. I think it was mostly because when the nurse asked if it was a deep wound, I told her I barely managed to clean it up without losing it already. I was NOT looking to see if it gaped open thankyouverymuch. After cleaning the cut, they determined it had to be glued shut because it was a pretty deep slice. So, we strapped Luke up in a papoose (literally the name for the thing), I held gauze over his eye pirate-style to prevent glue for sealing his eye shut too, and the doctor smeared purple super glue over his eye brow to close up shop.

Things are back to normal around here now and Luke is glad to be away from the doctor. Too bad we have his well-baby visit on Monday for more vaccinations. Poor guy...

one, two, three, eyes wet!

***Disclaimer: Traci, I completely understand that the swim program put forth by the Chandler peeps is far superior to any program that is set forth by Gilbert. I also understand the up and ups at the Chandler pools, more specifically yours, are completely fabulous people, but they cannot hold any crazed pregnant ladies responsible for poor decision making within the first trimester of said pregnancy.***

A couple of weeks ago, I thought I was about to lose my mind. Luke and I had been holed up in the house to avoid the incredible hotness that is Phoenix in July for far too many days. I am typically one that can weather these summers without a problem, but trying to manage going anywhere while toting a 25 pound child while trying not to toss your cookies is no easy feat and I was not managing seeing the same walls of my house everyday very well. Keith even began to notice my stir-craziness when I began to call him hourly at work so I'd have someone to talk to. Sure, I could (and do...) talk to Luke incessantly, but its nice to have some adult interaction and response every one in a while. You know?

As if by some diving intervention, on the day when I very nearly lost my mind, the Gilbert Parks and Rec flier miraculously showed up in our mailbox that touted the swim classes that were to start the very next week. Luke's schedule is not one that typically works very well with activities planned by others. He's usually fast asleep when various places hold read-alouds or play groups. Thankfully, Gilbert offered a swim class that took place right after his nap time. Hurrah!

After the first day, I wasn't so sure that this was the stroke of genius I'd made it out to be in my head all weekend. Luke wasn't a huge fan and ended up fussing most of the time. Turns out that that was the only day like that. He loved it! It was a nice small class with only two other kiddos so we got a chance to know the others and not feel overwhelmed with the amount of people there. Luke (and I) learned a lot of things to work on, sang songs, and had a great time bonding together.

Luke loved sitting on the side and jumping off the side to me. He especially loved it when I had the fish toy for him to come get!

We would say "one, two, three, eyes wet!" and send them under the water to the step. He was so proud of himself for being able to do this!

He really got into kicking. Whether it was bear hug kicks or holding onto the wall and kicking, he had a great time!

We got to spend some time together singing songs and hanging out, just the two of us. I'm glad that we got to have some fun alone time together in the pool.

Back floats were our nemesis. Those just never got easier...we'll definitely keep working on that one.

All done! Although it may not have been at a Chandler pool (and yes it was Williamsfield High Traci!), Luke and I had a great time. Next summer, I'll plan better and make sure we go to the right place.

this could be huge...

So I've been slacking on having Keith take the same belly pics of me this time as when I had him do with Luke. Between napping and chasing Luke, it just really hasn't been a priority around the Walt household. I finally got my act together this past weekend and had him take a 13 week picture.

Before I post the picture, I have some background information that I feel is completely necessary to share before exposing my belly to you. Before Baby Drama 2009 occurred here last week, I had really maintained a very healthy eating regimen and put forth serious effort to not too much extra stuff. I did not want to gain a lot of unneeded weight, and although everything I was eating tasted like it was coated in a thick layer of dirt, I struggled through. Post BD09-careful no more. With my new found perspective on how fleeting this pregnancy could be, I am now set to enjoy every single second of it. It I want Doritos, I'll eat Doritos (and I did). If I want movie theater popcorn with butter, then I will have just that (and I did). And if a 10 pc. McDonald's chicken nugget meal is screaming my name, I will answer the call and eat it (and I did). Keith has been really great about the whole thing too. He doesn't make any comments about my appetite and politely gets me what I ask for. It's just nice to have an appetite at all these days because it was non-existent during the first 12 weeks of this journey.

First, a before picture. Granted this is the before picture from when I was pregnant with Luke, but I was back to the same size and shape when I got pregnant this time.

And now the comparison. The first picture is me 12 weeks pregnant with Luke. The second picture is me 13 weeks pregnant currently. I'm not sure I like where this is going...

sticking

I posted a few weeks ago about how this pregnancy doesn't seem real to me yet; that I don't yet grasp the idea that there is another child, another little person, growing inside of me. The idea is sticking now.

This past Friday Keith and I experienced one of the single most scary moments of both of our lives. I don't want to go into any specific details because it was such a personal experience to both of us, but at one point, we thought we'd lost the baby. It was at that moment that the idea of the baby became real. My heart broke as I thought I'd never get to hold this baby as I got to with Luke. Or that I'd never get to feel the baby move inside me. Or get to hear it laugh some day. It was at that moment that I knew I loved this baby and wanted it to be real. I wanted it to stick.

At my appointment with the doctor on Monday, because we couldn't find the heartbeat with the usual thing, we were able to have a quick ultrasound to check what the status of my pregnancy was. Seeing the little heartbeat flicker away was such a welcome relief. All of our worries melted away and we were able to see our little peanut moving all over the place waving its arms and legs around.

Seems this baby already has a flair for the dramatic and likes to put on a good show. I love it.

monkey man

Luke has recently figured out how to climb onto our couch. We were both really excited about his skills and encouraged his trying new things...probably because its to frickin' funny to watch.

He starts by throwing one leg up on the couch. The foot left down is on the very tip of his toes and they even curl under sometimes. This part looks kind of painful sometimes.

Next, he hopes for the best as he pulls the dangling foot up. On multiple occasions, this step has resulted in Luke rolling off the couch and giggling on the floor. I have to say, it's kind of my favorite when this happens and he doesn't make it up.

If he gets both legs up, he proceeds to use his mouth to help pull himself the rest of the way up. Our couch is now littered with baby drool marks.

He gets so excited when he gets all the way up and tends to forget to put the tongue away during his moment of glory.

Much success! He made it up and loves to find his "spot" on the couch.

We thought this entire process was completely adorable and genius until Luke proceeded to knock the speaker over that is behind him in the last picture. If you know much about Keith, his electronic equipment is his prized possession. It happened on my watch when Keith was at work and that was the worst phone call I've ever had to make. I cried like a baby thinking we'd broken one of his babies, but it turned out fine, and Keith was really very nice about the whole thing.

Needless to say, I don't think couch time is so cute anymore. Sorry Luke!

rare

I can count on my hand the number of times I have actually seen Luke asleep since he was a newborn. He prefers to go down awake and put himself to sleep instead of having us rock him or soothe him to sleep and will usually wake up to the sounds of me making whatever meal of the day its time for him to eat. It's a routine we both expect and enjoy...or at least I do.

Yesterday, I went to get him from his morning nap and this is what I found.

He didn't even flinch when I opened the door. So, instead of waking him to feed him, I took pictures. I love that I can tell he's a teacher's kid already. He sleeps criss-cross applesauce style. You are welcome future kindergarten teacher!

mr. murphy go away

It must be Murphy's Law or some other cosmic happening that makes certain (or one very specific thing in my case) events happen. I am not a popular girl. I do not talk on the phone a lot and actually prefer e-mails to having a verbal conversation with someone. It gives me a chance to reflect and compose my thoughts the way I really want them to sound. Maybe that's why I like to blog so much. :)

Over the past week or so, my sickness-feeling has been on the decline (praise the Lord!), but my need for sleep and rest has not. I'm still on the schedule of sleeping when Luke does to accommodate my siesta needs. *Without fail* every single time I'm about to fall asleep or have just fallen asleep, my phone rings. Either the home phone or my cell phone, but either way, one of them starts wailing in my ear. If I can't form a very witty or insightful conversation on a good rested moment in my life, there is little to no chance I have a shot at making sense while I'm groggy.

The sad part is that most of the phone calls that I do receive during these times are from the dreaded telemarketers. They are the people that call me. I used to try to let them down gently and nicely refuse whatever service they were trying to peddle, but now, I just hang up or interrupt their schpeal with a very abrupt, "Do not call me again. Ever." Sorry. Well, not really. I'm not really sorry. I'm tired and pregnant. And since Luke just went down for a nap, I'm headed to bed too.

playtime randomness

Over the past week or so, during the brief times when I emerge from my sick-and-tired-from-baby coma, I've caught Luke doing some very funny and weird things during his playtime. Maybe he does these things to occupy himself since he does play alone a good majority of the time (I try but he usually runs away) or maybe he's just crazy. Either way you look at it, he's quite the ham.

Loves to "boom boom boom!"

Luke throwing his activity table over...

...and trying to escape punishment through Keith's legs when disciplined.

He's started putting his hands behind his back and playing with his fingers.

Still loves to spend some time in his toy baskets.

Still working on the exit strategy.

Successfully used his overturned firetruck as a prop to push on when pooing. Helped his cause.

Doesn't use the cup for drinking, but to scream in and make funny noises with.

We're getting better on the grass. After some much-needed grass therapy with Grandma last time they visited, he seems to be enjoying it again...or at least tolerating it for my sake.

hot stuff

Luke thinks its the greatest thing when Keith puts his sunglasses on him. Such the stud already!

i'm the turtle

I feel like Keith is running circles around me and I can't keep up or catch up. Ever since we found out we're expecting again, Keith has morphed into "I-want-to-fix-everything-around-our-house-and-have-it-completely-spotless" guy. I told him that I think he hit the nesting phase way too early this time. He claims that he's not nesting. Yeah right.

So far this week, he has:

• installed a keyless entry to our garage
• swept both the back patio and the front porch
• vacuumed carpets multiple times
• cleaned carpets in family room area
• wiped down our laundry room door
• adjusted the drape tie-backs so they are "more secure" in the wall
• installed a towel bar in our bathroom
• searched Home Depot and Lowe's to find a different towel bar that will coordinate with the rest of the house's fixtures since this one doesn't match just right
• cleaned Rosco's mat
• emptied garbages and recycling multiple times
• initiated purchasing bedside lamps for our room so it can feel bigger and more cozy...his words, not mine
• mowed and maintained the backyard
• reorganized our laundry room
• transformed our junk drawer into an organized miscellaneous drawer

Don't get me wrong. I am completely appreciative of everything he has accomplished. I just feel like I should be doing my equal share. Unfortunately, baby's idea of equal share means taking naps when most of this stuff was happening. I'll make it up to you sweetheart as soon as my second wind kicks in!

documenting

This post is so not supposed to sound like a whine, so I genuinely apologize for when it starts to drift in that direction. I realized that when I was creating Luke's blog book, I had very few posts of what happened while I was pregnant. I wish I would have kept better track then, so I'll start by keeping better track this time. So this poor kid gets the good, the bad, the ugly, and the nauseous in their book...Sorry!

People have always said that the labor and birth experience is fairly traumatic, though easily forgotten once you get your precious baby is placed in your arms for the first time. All the suffering and pain that was endured evaporates in a millisecond and is replaced with sheer joy (with a smidge of panic in realizing you are now a parent-yikes!). That is, until the epidural wears off or they forget to give you the pain medication on time or refuse to get you the double-dose of the good stuff. Whatev. I digress.

No one tells you how quickly you forget the torturous first few months of being pregnant as soon as you feel your baby move for the first time. Or in my case, as soon as I can stay awake long enough to realize there is, in fact, a child in there. Don't think I've felt the baby move already. Please-I'm only 9 weeks along. I am fully entrenched in the constant state of nausea and sleepiness. I'm just trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel at this point.

With Luke's pregnancy, I could solve my nausea issue, which only appeared in the afternoon, by eating small carby-type meals and a decent nap in the afternoon when I got home from work. This pregnancy is not following the same guidelines as Luke's did. Nausea occurs at any point throughout the day. Morning, noon, night, midnight. You name it, I've felt sick at that point. Food doesn't seem to help the situation either. It exacerbates the problem. I am no longer able to eat blueberry bagels, even though I lived off of them a week ago. Sometimes, I wish I would just throw up already so the feeling would go away.

Sleeping is a whole other can of worms. I took 2 two hour long naps today and I typing this now as a way to prolong staying awake so Keith doesn't make fun of me for going to sleep so early. Poor guy. I try to stay up, but the baby has very distinct other plans for my body and its well-being at this point. Its tough to get solid naps (I could easily sleep 3 hours at a stretch) in during the day. Luke takes a couple of two hour naps, but I have other stuff that needs to get done. At some during the day, I like to at least make it out of my pajamas.

I just have to remember that I'm on the downhill slide of this morning (ha!) sickness thing. I know that I have only a few more weeks of this *super fun* stage of pregnancy. It's like a chant in my head: downhill slide, few more weeks. Downhill slide, few more weeks.

just because

I haven't posted a picture of Luke in quite a while (probably because you know now its been extremely difficult to do much of anything other than lay on the couch during Luke's nap) and I can almost hear Holly in my head requesting a new one. So here is my little man who is happy as always.

I just can't get enough of this kid.

peanut makes four

Although we've known for almost four weeks now that Luke is going to be a big brother, it still hasn't registered in my brain. I mean, I even got to see the little peanut and it's flickering heartbeat on an ultrasound today and it still has this dream-like quality to me. One would think that photographic evidence would cement the idea that I am soon to be a mother to two kiddos, but, no.

Maybe I just need to get the rotund belly with hints of stretch marks around the edges. Then it will stick. Maybe I just need to feel this little one move and try to force its way out my ribs. Then it will stick. Maybe I need to stop feeling so nauseous all.the.time. Then it will stick. Maybe I need to hold another sweet, perfect, amazing bundle of baby in my arms. Then it will stick.

I can't wait for it to stick.

grass is a no-no

So we attempted the outdoor playtime again this morning with the deepest assurances from the hubby that the sprinklers would NOT go off for real this time. I set Luke on the grass to play with the same toys he was in love with yesterday and he ran off the grass faster than I think I have ever seen him move before. I tried blowing bubbles, putting him on his slide, pushing around the bubble mower. Nothing worked. I think he's just as paranoid as I am that yesterday's debacle will become our recurring nightmare.

So now I'm forming plans for Luke's Grass Rehabilitation Program. Step 1: Multiple exposures a week with some favorite and varied toys. Step 2: Maybe convince other kids to come over and show him that grass is not the devil. Step 3: I have no idea what Step 3 should be. Any suggestions?

bubbles and sprinklers

Although Arizona is quickly shaping up to meet its normal unholy-hot requirements for the summer, the mornings are still really nice. I thought I'd take the opportunity this morning to take Luke outside to play in the backyard because a.) there was no dog poo to be found on the lawn or nearby rocks for Luke to play with and b.) all of his backyard toys were still out from the night before which meant I did not have to lug them all out by myself. Sweet. I even remember Keith saying last night when I had mentioned this idea that it would be the perfect day because the sprinklers had gone on that day.

After Luke finished his normal breakfast this morning, we headed out to the back. As he ran around having a great time, I blew bubbles towards him from my central spot on a towel in the middle of the grass. He's never been around bubbles or even seen them before (I know, my child is deprived) so he was having a blast trying to catch the bubbles, pick up the bubbles, whatever he could with the bubbles. He was laughing and running around and it was too precious for words.

At one point, he walked over to his slide, so I helped him up onto it. He hasn't quite figured out the rock wall thing you have to climb up to get on it, so I lifted him up and sat him in position. Just as he was about to slide himself down, he looked at me with this beaming grin and I wish that I would have had my camera to capture the look. He was the happiest kid in the world at that moment. Bubbles, the slide, his mom, beautiful weather. Perfect.

And then the sprinklers came on. That would have been the real picture to see. I was not expecting them to come on at all, so I (kind-of) lost the typical mom-coolness and freaked out. Grabbing my phone and my shoes, I hopped up and saw Luke. He was screaming from the top of the slide. Poor guy had no idea why he was suddenly being sprayed with water rather forcefully and why this weird noise was being made from the water. His look was sheer panic so I grabbed him and bee-lined for the patio.

Needless to say, Keith received a very nice phone call from Luke and myself soon afterwards. I now know the water schedule very well and Keith knows to update me with any changes to said schedule. Hopefully Luke will be okay when we venture back into the yard tomorrow. I bet the bubbles will fix everything.