Baby #1 vs. Baby #2

This pregnancy has been way different than the first. I had it so easy with Hanley.  This time around- not so much.

Week 13 Bump #1 and Bump #2

Weeks 6-10 were the worst. I was so tired at first..like beyond tired. Our office was on semi-vacation for a couple weeks so I had a couple extra days at home with Hanley. I would spend 2-3 hours napping during the day then turn around head to bed by 9pm. I don't ever remember being so tired when I was pregnant with Hanley but then again, I wasn't chasing a 2 year old around back then.

Dr. June arrived back from vacation at about week 10, that's when I told the office. Despite being excited about the baby, I was actually in tears when I announced my pregnancy. I was just so sick. I spent the whole morning throwing up. I took a long lunch that day and went home to nap for 2 hours.  When I came back I was feeling a little better and was at least able to make it through the day. That was probably the turning point.  There have still been a handful of morning and evenings of feeling nauseous but I think the worst was behind me at that point.

I started showing a lot sooner with this baby.  I have heard that is to be expected with baby #2 though.

I have a heightened sense of smell which I never experience with Hanley. We normally keep tomatoes in the pantry but I absolutely can not handle the smell. So, it's a strict rule in the house to keep them in the fruit bowl on the counter.

Everyone asks about cravings.  However, I have never really had any true cravings for anything with either pregnancy.  The only thing I can say is that with both pregnancies I have experienced enhanced taste buds. The difference is food tasted better with Hanley and it seems to taste worse with this baby.

Both pregnancies naturally left me feeling more emotional during the first trimester.  With Hanley, I was very emotional about all the changes in my body. It was really hard for me to accept the lack of control I had over my weight.  This time around, I feel a lot more at ease with the changes. Since I was capable of getting back to my pre-baby weight the first time, I know I can do it again. So...Pass another cookie please! J/k...

With Hanley I had the easiest pregnancy with one tough labor and delivery.  Since this pregnancy has been harder, I am fully expecting the trade off to be an easier labor! It seems that would only be fair...

Week 15-Baby Bump #2

22 MONTHS

We have spent the last couple weeks trying to get settled into the new house but its hard to unpack when your never home!!! Busy weekends away means we have been playing hard this month.  However, it also means some of the house is still in boxes.

At 22 Months...

-Hanley has a serious obsession with "dumps". Anytime he hears the back up beeping sound, he runs to the window yelling "Mommy dump!  I see dump!".  This makes one happy kid on garbage day.

Dump Day!

-He say's "love you". My heart melts every. dang. time.

-I love that he loves to read.  I can't even tell you how many books we read every day. Actually, I can...about 5. We just read those same 5 books more times than I can count.

-We spent Labor Day weekend at the Oregon Coast with my side of the family.  Believe it or not, it was Hanley's first beach experience.  He called the ocean "bubble waves" and of course loved the sand.  We totally wore him out at the aquarium.  He had so much fun and kept saying "More fish! More fish!". He played hard all weekend.

-The weekend at the coast, Wayne and Brooke announced they are having a GIRL!!!!! If you can't tell, I am pretty excited to have a little niece to spoil!!!

-Cody and I recently celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. The most time we spent together that weekend was doing the weekly grocery shopping at Winco.  It wasn't exactly how I planned on spending our first milestone anniversary. However, we had a blast celebrating April and Tyler's Wedding that weekend instead. We hope to plan a date night to make up for it in the near future.

-Hanley is doing great at daycare.  They often comment on what a good little teachers helper he is!

-He knows most of his colors: yellow, blue, green, pink, purple, and white. For whatever reason, he has a hard time with the color red.

-He loves Elmo, Mickey Mouse and "Dumps".

New House/New Baby

Coordinating the sale of a home and the purchase of another was way more involved and complicated than I imagined. We have had lots of ups and downs in the last several months but it all finally came to and end. We signed the sale papers to our old house and found a new house just in the nick of time.

Our bank was awesome to work with. We were able to close on the new house in 3 weeks! Everything went so smooth.  The sellers were moving out of state for work so they were motivated to get the deal closed too.

We had lots of help from family and friends. My Mom came up one weekend so she could help us pack. Kim and Loren came up another weekend to help with the move.  Our friends Cam, Kramer and Rachael showed up with their muscles on moving day too! 

I don't even think Hanley realized we moved.  He walked into the new house and acted like nothing changed and same with Roxy. Maxi on the other hand has been traumatized by the move. She hid under our bed for the first 24 hours. She then ventured into the master bathroom and walk in closet and hid there for another 24 hours.  It took her about a week to even cautiously make it down the stairs. She would come down in the evening after Hanley went to bed and it was quiet downstairs. She still doesn't feel very comfortable in the new house but I am sure she will in time. 

There are so many things I love about the new house:

-A level driveway, backyard and street... all which are Hanley friendly!

-Our street dead ends to farmland.  Hanley loves to walk down the street to see the horses and chickens!

-The neighborhood is so quiet!

-My kitchen and all the cupboard space! My Fiestaware looks great! 

-Cody loves the built in sprinkler system and A/C.  I am unsure about the A/C. We have already had a domestic dispute over it when I have asked him to turn it down. I told him one night that I never thought I would get in trouble for trying to save him a few bucks! Haha. 

-Our laundry room is amazing.  We are pretty sure there is more cupboard space in our new laundry room than there was in our old kitchen! My new washer and dryer are an added bonus in the laundry room!

-There are so many little details I love: The recessed ceiling in the formal dining room and the office, the wainscoting in the formal dining room, the french doors going into the master bedroom and master bathroom, the built-ins in all the closets, the fire place and the classy look of the wrought iron fixtures. 

It's almost like this house was built for us.  It's the perfect family home for our growing family.  Yes, I said GROWING family...

As of March 2015, our family will be complete when Hanley becomes a BIG brother!

21 MONTHS!

Hanley is almost 22 months old and I am just now posting his 21 month post.  Life has been busier than ever around here with packing and moving, work, friends Wedding's and busy weekends. It's pretty sad that it took Cody and I getting sick for us to actually slow down.

At 21 Months...

-I recently mentioned how much I love our bedtime routine before we tuck him in for bed.  Well, Hanley has switched things up and started tucking us in! It is so funny. He forcefully demands that we lay on our belly so he can place a 'baby' over each of us. Then he pats us on the back and says "Night Night Mommy. Night Night Daddy." Then as soon as we close our eyes and pretend to snore, he takes the babies away from us, lays down himself and pretends to snore.  I can't even describe how cute it is.

-Our neighbor girl gave Hanley a bunch of her old toy dinosaurs.  He loves them. So, of course we had to take him to Discover the Dinosaurs at the Portland Expo Center last weekend.  We were certain he would love it but we had some reservations when we walked in and heard how loud was inside.  Cody reluctantly paid the parking fee and the inflated ticket fee and we entered. There were about 10 scenes, each dinosaur scene was complete with a backdrop, sound effects (LOUD sound effects), motion, special lighting and even a fog machine. I packed Hanley around in the Ergo and we made a couple loops around making sure to look at each exhibit closely and read up on each species (I learned a lot about dinosaurs!). Hanley seemed to enjoy it but we had other plans the rest of the day so we decided it was time to go. As soon as we walked out the doors, Hanley pointed toward the doors and said "in".  Apparently, he wasn't ready to go. So, we went back in.  I explained to him that we would go around "1 more time then go bye-bye". This time, he directed us around.  He pointed to each exhibit in the order he wanted to see them.  So, we saw each exhibit one last time then headed out (which Hanley was okay with because we prepared him in advance that we were going bye-bye).  Cody was underwhelmed with the experience but we both agreed that Hanley really enjoyed it....and thats all that matters.

-The next day we met up with my cousin Melissa and her family for a fun day! We went out to lunch and then to Rosse Posse Acres. It was our first time so Melissa showed us the ropes. She scheduled the tour where we got to learn a lot about the elk farm then meet the elk themselves. After the tour, the kids got to check out the petting zoo then play on the playground.

-My brother Mark bought his first home! So, Hanley and I made a quick trip to Eugene to check it out.  It's a perfect house for him.

-Cody was in Quincy, WA for work the day that Hanley and I drove down to Eugene to check out Marks house.  Earlier that week, Cody said "Watch....watch our dream house come on the market the day both of us are out of town." And....that is exactly what happened! I got a text from Cody at 9 am Friday morning when I was half way to Eugene.  "THE" house popped up on the market first thing Friday morning.  As soon as I got to Eugene, I called our Realtor. Cody and I both rushed home Friday evening to look at the house and place our offer right away. There was no messing around. We were going to get this house....and we did! So, the packing began...

-Hanley has been Daddy's little buddy lately.  Whether Cody is mowing the lawn, pulling weeds or fixing something, Hanley is right there next to him and the action.

20 MONTHS!

Another month flashed before our eyes.  We now have a 20 month old on our hands and he's a blast.

At 20 Months Old...

-This has honestly been such an awesome stage in our little mans' life (Do I say that every month?!).  He's talking up a storm!! It's insane how many new words he's using and how he can use them in the correct context. I think he's a little bit of a smarty pants.

-He also copies everything we say and do.  Especially when it comes to Daddy.  One day, Cody stubbed his toe on a chair and said "ouch". Hanley witnessed the whole thing then walked down the hall, purposely kicked the chair and said "ouch" just like Daddy!

-We really have to start watching what we say around him because he dropped his first F Bomb around the campfire 4th of July weekend.  Oops! That was a little bit of an eye opener for us.

-One of he new words is "hot dog!".  He actually uses the term when he wants to watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse. At the end of each show they play the "hot dog" song and he loves it! It's so cute but we don't encourage too much TV around this house so we strictly limit his screen time.

-We gathered with family to help Easton celebrate his birthday.  Easton had a Duck Dynasty themed party which was super fun. Plus we loved spending the extra time with family.

-My absolute favorite time of the day is just before bed.  We brush his teeth then have family snuggles on our bed.  Sometimes we spend the evening tickling him and laughing. On rambunctious nights he tries to wrestle us or we play "dog pile on Daddy!". Other nights we just cuddle up and watch the ceiling fan (for whatever reason he really likes the ceiling fan). Some nights we quiz him and he points and says "eye", "nose", "mouth", "ear", "hands", "feet". Some nights we read.  Whatever we do its fun, relaxing, we put all the worries of the day are behind us, and we just focus on family time.

-He loves his Baby Bogs Meme bought him. Rain or shine he wants to wear them...

-His last day with April was just before the 4th of July Holiday weekend.  He started at his new day school and the transition was horrible.  For the first 3 days he cried all day.  When I picked him up at the end of the day, his eyes were red and swollen from all the tears.  It absolutely broke my heart. He acted as if I was going to drop him off and never come back. I always stayed strong and positive around him but behind doors, I cried myself.  Yesterday was the beginning of week 2 and he had a great day! His teacher said he only cried for about a minute after I left and was great the rest of the day! What a relief! I actually really like his day school and I want him to like it too.  I think the interaction with other children and the structure will be great for him.

-Cody was in Seattle over the weekend so Hanley and I had the weekend to our self. To get out of the house and beat the heat, I took him to the Portland Aquarium.  We went with low expectations and ended up having a total blast. Now I really can't wait to take him to the Newport Aquarium next month with my Mom and Brooke (while the guys go tuna fishing).

-He finally got his 2nd haircut. His locks were getting pretty out of control. He looks like such a big guy now!

-He shot his first gun camping over Father's Day weekend in Eastern Oregon.

-Due to our buyers financing issues, our house went back on the market.  We went pending (again) after 14 days. So, we have been busy looking for our dream house (again).  So, far no luck in that department but at least the sale of our house is going good this time around.

-The most exciting thing that happened this month is that we found out Wayne and Brooke are expecting in January! That means Hanley is going to have a COUSIN!!!!!!!!!!! As you can tell, I am just a little excited! I look forward to Hanley growing up with his cousin and having a little buddy to play with during family gatherings.

19 Months Old

It's been another great month with our growing boy! It's hard to believe he will be 19 months next week.

At 19 Months Old..

-This month has been a pretty big turning point for Cody and Hanley.  Hanley has always been a little bit of a Mama's boy which has always been hard on Cody. There have been many nights in the past year when Cody comes home after a long, hard day from work and then Hanley acts like he wants nothing to do with Daddy. It would absolutely crush Cody. We thought we were getting past this stage a couple months ago then Cody left for St. Louis for work for a couple days.  After his return, they were back to square one. We hope those days are past us now because Hanley is finally starting to ask for Daddy for certain things or pass right by Mama to grab Daddy's hand to go play. Probably one of my favorite moments earlier this week was as soon as Hanley heard the garage door open, he screamed DADDY!!!! (and I mean, screamed with more excitement than I have ever heard from that boy!). Then he started dancing around, calling for Daddy. I ran to grab the video camera it was so cute. No video though.  The camera shyness kicked in apparently.


-We have been enjoying the sun to the fullest this month. We bought one of those little blue kiddy pools-best $10 bucks we have ever spent. Hanley's favorite evening activity is playing Ring Around the Rosie in the pool, holding both Mama and Daddy's hands (he insists we both be in the pool). His excitement leading up to the "....ashes, ashes, we all fall DOWN" is contagious. And clearly, the bigger the splash, the better in his eyes.


-We have tried really hard to teach Hanley proper manners. So, he's really good at saying "please", however he seems to think its the magic word.  He tends to assume by saying "please" you 1)know exactly what he is asking for, 2)will respond in milliseconds to his request, and 3)thinks that even if its something he knows he can't have, you will change your mind if he asks for it nicely.


-We kicked off the camping season with another great trip to Crescent Lake for Memorial Day Weekend. Hanley absolutely loved it.  He loved the dirt, the rocks, the water, the food, the friends, family and all the dogs (seven dogs, if I am counting correctly). He played hard all weekend. We ended up being blessed with a beautiful weekend. God knows, we were due for some sunshine after the past couple years we have had up there! Of course we set up the wall tent for the weekend.  Cody was able to keep it plenty warm for both Hanley and I each night. So, we all slept well...well, everyone except Cody who was up in the middle of the night keeping the fire going!

-The sale of our house isn't going as ideal as we hoped for.  The buyers ran into a financing issue and everything is up in the air at this point.  It's really disappointing.  Things were going so well right up until the end. We hope to have more information next week but lets just say I am not holding my breath.


-Hanley has one month left with April. Researching new childcare has been very emotional for me. So emotional, that I even cried on the way to one of our scheduled tours! I know, I am ridiculous. As a parent though, you always want to make the right decisions for your kids and deciding when, where and how he will spend the majority of the week is hard. Weighing out the costs, convenience of location, quality of care, interaction with other children, etc. can be overwhelming at times.

18 Month Well Baby Check Up

I realized when I posted Hanley's 18 month update, it was the day before his Dr.'s appointment so I didn't post his stats.


Weight: 30% (22lbs, 10oz)
Height: 20%
Head Circumference: 50%


His Dr. thinks his height measurement is off because he didn't seem to want to fully stretch out when they recorded his length. Either way, he's still small.  Small but mighty.


In preparation for his appointment, I dressed him in his "Texas Tough" shirt. He had 2 vaccinations at this appointment.  He sat on my lap and while we read a book, the nurse gave him the shots, one in each leg.  Not a single tear.  He lived up to Texas Tough status. Way to go boy!