This week

The past few days have been busy, not with anything major, but just with the everydayness of living life at home with an infant who nurses every other hour (and often more than that) and an extremely adorable but incredibly energetic 2 year old who is loving having Mommy home with him every day. I'm torn between exhaustion and guilt, wanting to play with Zach but not neglect Lucas and wanting to snuggle Lucas but not neglect Zach. Fortunately Zach is very self sufficient and plays nicely on his own pretty well -- he has full out conversations with his stuffed animal friends (and they all have "voices") and they play with him. When Lucas is somewhere other than in my arms, Zach and I do get to play together as well, but for the most part that's not happening too much now in these early days. Still, it's nice to be home with both boys and to see how they are together and separately and how they both have their own little personalities.

Lucas is 11 days old today and still a little snuggler. He will cuddle right down on my chest with his feet pulled up under him and his hiney in the air and stay sound asleep. He's got such a cute cry, not one of those annoying cries or a sad cry, but a really cute one. I'm not just saying this -- my other kids cries weren't this cute! I just think everything about him is adorable, including his wah wah wahs. He's starting to nap for a little longer and longer now, a nice change from his 15 minute catnaps of the previous week. And he's getting better about going into the swing or car seat for a change of pace. I still can't get him to sleep in his bassinet for more than 5 minutes at a time. I really need to work on that this weekend when Kevin can hang out with Zach and I won't feel so guilty about Lucas crying. I know you can't sleep train a newborn, but I would like him to sleep in the bassinet. He can't sleep in his car seat forever.

There is nothing like having another child to make your older child suddenly seem grown up. I know she was already a teenager when I had Zach, but I did go through this with Emily as well. I think I babied her for a really long time although I like to think of it as being a protective parent. But now with Zach being a big brother, I am surprised and happy to see that he is also thinking of himself as being older and more responsible. He will help us with the baby, and he's better about not having to be carried all the time but will walk and hold your hand better now. He is even sort of trying vegetables -- in an effort to "get big and strong". It's cute, and he's amazing. He has so many cute and funny sayings. I need to write them down or video him because he's hilarious. One new one -- the other day he asked me where my fairytale was. I said "my fairytale? what's that"? And he patted the back of my head (my hair was down) and said "you know, your fairytale". He meant my ponytail! Too cute, that kid!

So we bought a double stroller the other day. It's called a sit and stand -- the baby sits in the front either in the infant car seat or just in the seat, and the older child can either sit on the small seat in the back facing the parent, or can stand and look forward. Zach loves it! We've taken the stroller out a few times already and it's already earning its money. I like that I can get both kids out of the house without it being too crazy, and that we can walk down the street and they are safely in the stroller together.

Zach and I had some quality time with the finger paints the other day. He has been begging to paint for ages and we finally got it out for him to play with. He likes to do things with his hands and had a alot of fun playing with it! I need to get a bigger role of paper for him to paint on, also some that we can dry and save because of course he painted a masterpiece, but we rinsed it so that we could reuse the paper (basically it was a sheet of plastic). I think we'll play again tomorrow. He also enjoyed painting his arms when he was done with the paper.

Yesterday was Earth Day and we didn't do anything to celebrate other than to spend a little time outside, but then I remembered that we had a tree to plant! What is funny is that I've been joking that all I want to do for Earth Day is chop down the big pine trees in our yard (very non-PC, I know). But we got as a baby present a tree for Lucas! I love this idea and have actually done this before with a few friends -- send them a tree to plant the year their baby is born. Then this is that child's tree and it will always be in their yard. Anyway, the tree was from Scott, Rachel, and Kylie, and you are supposed to plant it in a flower pot and keep it indoors first, then transplant it outside when it's a bit bigger and stronger. This works out well because we are hopefully knocking down some of those pine trees in our back yard this summer. The new Lucas tree is an oak, very appropriate since oak trees are so sturdy and strong. Anyway, Zach was very interested in helping me plant the acorn into the flowerpot and water the dirt and moss. He is such a little gardener! Lucas napped in his car seat while Zach and I planted his tree. It was a sweet moment with Zach and I was glad he could help participate in something that was really for his little brother.

 

Today we had an appointment to take Lucas in for a weight check at the doctor's office, to be sure he's gaining. And...of course he is! This little hungry man has gained more than half a pound in a week and is looking good! He's now hit the 9 pound mark. So now he doesn't need to go back until he's around a month old. The doctor said he looks perfect. Zach scored some more stickers at the doctor's office and gave both Dr. Pam and the nurse shots with his doctor's kit and charmed the whole office with his dimples and laugh.

Day 1

Yesterday was my first day on my own with the two kids. Kevin went back to work and Sandy had been gone since Sunday so I was officially on my own. Not to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I had all 3 of us dressed and fed by 10:30. This is remarkable because when I had Zach I could barely get out the door to do anything before 4:00 in the afternoon. Of course this doesn't include a shower -- I wouldn't go that crazy -- but we were all cleaned up and looking good and ready to start our day well before noon. I consider that quite a success!

We had a playdate scheduled for our house for noon with Liz, her two kids, and Alicia (their nanny). Lucas took a little nap and I even cleaned up the house a little bit before they got here. Liz is of course so wonderful that she made the playdate super easy for me -- she brought lunch for the older boys (mac 'n cheese with cut up hot dogs) and lunch for the ladies (Panera sandwiches with chips and pickles). Alicia brought a fantastic cake that looked like a sunflower -- white cake with chocolate frosting and outlined on top with mashmallow peeps! Peeps are not my favorite Easter candy, but I ate some right up considering I had not had any Easter candy this year and I'm still trying to play "catch up" on sugar and carbs. That was some yummy cake!

The boys played nicely after being shy with each other for the first half of our playdate. Lucas was his charming self but had enough towards the end and just wanted to have some mommy milk and a snooze. Liz, Alicia, and the kids took off mid-afternoon and left all the food at our house -- along with a full pan of homemade lasagna. Kevin and I had some last night -- it's also delicious! We are getting very spoiled. :) Anyway, I successfully got Zach down for a nap in the afternoon, and then convinced Lucas to take a short nap as well and I got a couple of other things done.

Amazing. Maybe this two kid thing isn't so hard after all? Famous last words -- think I won't actually say that out loud! After all, today is another day and only Lucas is dressed yet (because he peed all over his jammies when I was changing his diaper this morning). But it's going to be a relatively warm day so we need to get dressed to go out for a walk or to the park while we have nice weather (it gets colder again tomorrow). I have already promised Zach we would do some finger painting today as well so need to time our day appropriately.

My (almost) 9 day old infant is now starting to get impatient so I need to go cuddle some more with him (not a hard thing to do considering his total cuteness). Thankfully he's getting better about hanging out in places that don't include being attached to my breast or lap so I'm getting a few minutes to myself (kind of -- if Z hanging on me at the same time counts) to write. Will write and post more photos soon!

Baby Lucas!

After 39 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy, I am very proud, pleased, and delighted to announce the arrival of Lucas James Mullen! He joins an overjoyed family as the newest and youngest member of our family and we are thrilled, albeit exhausted.

I have limited time to write, so won't go into a huge amount of details on his arrival other than to say I am not surprised when my water broke on Sunday evening/Monday morning. I was so energized on Saturday and then so crabby on Sunday. I had contractions all Sunday afternoon and evening, and we gave Liz and Sandy a heads up before we went to bed that things could be imminent. My mother's intuition was correct since my water broke at 3:15 a.m. Ugh -- what timing! I felt terrible calling Liz but had to get to the hospital so had no choice. Wonderful Liz -- she got right up out of bed and came right over to be with Zach (who handled the confusion quite well in the morning -- where are Mommy and Daddy? Doesn't matter -- Aunt Liz is here to play with me for the day!) We got to the hospital around 5:30 a.m., was induced around 9:30 a.m., got the epidural (twice) at 12:15 p.m. and then again about 45 minutes later since the first dose only numbed my left side. I fell asleep by 1:30 p.m., was woken by the nurse at 2:00 p.m., started pushing at 2:05 p.m., and had a baby at 2:59 p.m.

Baby Lucas has a big noggin so pushing took a little extra time. Plus the epidural was in full force by then so I couldn't feel very well to push effectively. Regardless, was happy to not end up with a ceserean! And his little head is perfect, nicely shaped and very cute. He has hair as I suspected due to my heartburn throughout pregnancy. I think he's going to be blonde although it's all shades right now. Just like Zach, Lucas does not have eyebrows, or what he does have is a very light blonde. I think Lucas might look a little bit more like me than like Kevin. Or maybe like Emily as a baby. Still hard to tell. He's 1 week old today and starting to keep his eyes open longer and longer now (they're blue, by the way) so I guess we'll tell soon enough. Or maybe he just looks like his own little self.

This past week has been a blur. I've been absolutely exhausted and the first few days both in the hospital and once we got home I was pretty much a zombie. Kevin's mom came up on Monday and relieved Liz of Zachary duties. They came to the hospital that evening and Zach got to meet his new little brother. I have to say, he's been an excellent big brother so far. He doesn't even seem to be (too) jealous. He has shared toys and blankies with Lucas and gives him kisses. He is very sweet. I think it helped tremendously that Sandy was here for 6 days because she gave Zach a ton of attention and let me focus on the baby. Kevin also devoted a lot of time to Zach, and I think that is just what he needed because then he didn't get too upset about me not being able to do so. Lucas is a big snuggler and a big Mommy's boy. He really just wants to be held 24/7, and almost exclusively wants that to be done by me. I'm sure that's because I'm the source of his food, but it would be nice to be able to put him in his bassinet or swing for longer than 5 minutes at a stretch. He's been sleeping in the bed with me and Kevin at night (or in the glider rocker with just me) so I'm not getting much sleep. Hopefully that changes soon! He is starting to like his infant car seat so I'm trying to use that to get a few minutes to myself (as in right now as I type and he snoozes next to me).

Famous last words. Mr. Handsome is starting to fuss. Will update more later when my new boss allows me to.

The Fauna of Massachusetts

I discovered a new animal today that I had never seen before. Have you ever heard of a fisher? I hadn't, and I'd certainly never seen one before. But I was sitting at my computer this afternoon and something went flying past the window and I thought it might have been a dog or a deer. So I run to the family room and see...I don't know what it is. It's the animal in the photo above (I got the photo from the Internet -- we don't have snow thankfully!) It's bigger than a cat, smaller than a deer, kind of dog-sized. Weird long tail, kind of shaggy black fur like a bear would have, and claws. He climbed a tree in my back yard, hopped over the fence into Garden in the Woods, stopped, then ran off into the woods. Kevin and Zach saw him too. I had to do a Google search and scan photos to figure out what it was, but this is exactly the animal we saw. We've seen deer in our backyard, but I've never seen one of these guys. I hope we don't see one again!

Final Burst of Energy

Insomnia + Nesting = Jody awake at 4:00 a.m. and writing on the computer.

I slept relatively well last night (Friday) which meant that while I did get up twice to pee, I was able to fall back asleep. Unlike tonight, which is similar to most other nights, when I woke up and started to toss and turn. I finally gave up after an hour and decided to get up. I just had an orange because I was feeling a little shaky (tested my blood sugar first -- it's low, as it should be in the mornings) and now having a cup of warm (sleepytime) tea. I'm hoping to feel sleepy again in a little while and will crawl back into my warm bed and try to get some rest. Thankfully Kevin is incredibly understanding of my sleep issues and will let me sleep in tomorrow and will take care of Zach so I can get a little rest.

I had a crazy burst of energy today (I guess this is yesterday, actually) and did some major cleaning and getting ready of things upstairs in the house. Kevin helped me to move Zach's dresser under the window which also meant moving about 500 of Z's books. We really need to get him a bookcase. I now have them arranged neatly in rows on the floor next to his dresser, but that won't last long. I think maybe I can move some of the babyish ones to Bun's room, move some down to the bookcase in the toy room, but I still need to get him his own bookcase for his room. It's on the list of things to do and buy. Anyway, after moving things around in there, I needed to dust and sweep. It's amazing how dusty hardwood floors can get. Where do dustbunnies come from? Yuck. I also dusted and swept in my bedroom which was a major undertaking, but now it looks much nicer. Actually, I swept all the rooms upstairs. I gave Em's room a quick dusting, but it was in pretty good shape otherwise. Except her white furniture all seems to be kind of dirty and dull. I think it needs to actually be washed or maybe repainted. Another major undertaking. Sigh.

I've had quite a honey-do list for poor Kevin to take care of in the last few months, but he got a couple of them taken care of yesterday which made me quite happy. He replaced the blinds in Bun's room after buying (and returning) 3 different types of blinds. The first ones hung wrong (need to be on the outside of the window, not on the inside), the second ones were too short, and the third ones are just right. Well, they're long, but we can live with that and just not pull them down all the way. Kevin also put the bannister back up on the stairwell. It's been down for two months. He had to take it down to get Em's new queen sized boxspring up the stairs, and kept it down to get Zach's new dresser up the stairs, and then couldn't put it up again because his drill died. He needed to buy a new one and that just took some time. But now we have a new drill and the bannister is up and I'm much happier. I was a little stressed about Z or I falling down the stairs without having it to hold on to.

Zach and I went out shopping in the morning to finish some errands on my own to-do list and had a nice time. I took him out with his undies (not a pull-up) on and he was amazing. No accidents! We were out for a few hours and he even went pee pee for me in the store bathroom. He's really doing great with the potty training. Not so great at Lucy's, but at home we keep him in underwear during the day as much as possible and just use the pull-up to sleep or if we're going out somewhere. I was pretty excited that we could go out on an excursion and he would hold it. I think we've turned another corner!

Anyway, we went to a bunch of stores and I got a bit of the shopping bug out of me although I didn't buy much. I did buy new roller shades for the car to keep the sun off the kids in the backseat. I had some before but they didn't hold up too long, and with the brighter spring sun, Zach has been complaining. I also bought a couple of new books (buy one get one free at Babies R Us yesterday) for Bun which we read to Zach tonight before bedtime and he seemed to like. One of them is called "You're All My Favorite" and it's about 3 baby bears and how they each wonder if one of their siblings is their parents favorite. Since I'm about to give birth to my 3rd baby bear, I thought this was an appropriate book to get. And then I also bought some monkey artwork for Bun's room from HomeGoods. The walls are very bare so this was a nice addition. The poor kids -- all 3 have basically nothing on their walls. Maybe while I'm on maternity leave I'll be able to shop (or online shop) and find cute artwork or maybe even make cute artwork for their walls. I'd love to find something with their names on it. Something I really want for Zach's room (since it's pirate themed) is a treasure map, maybe personalized with his name. I'm on the hunt for something like this. Might make it myself if I can make it look cute enough.

Zach fought his nap even though he did lay down and get some rest. We got him up and took a nice family walk outside in the early evening before dinner. He rode in the stroller and we walked over to one of the long streets near us that has sidewalks. We had to go slow -- I'm not quick these days, but it was nice to get fresh air and see everyone's spring flowers coming up. Zach clearly knows what daffodils are (we have some coming up too) and pointed them out whenever he spotted any. Since he missed his nap he did fall asleep very easily tonight though, and hopefully he'll sleep in a little in the morning.

Speaking of sleeping, maybe I'll try to go back and do some now myself. It's 5:45 now and I hear birds chirping although it's still pretty dark out. Baby Bun is kicking me in the ribs and is letting me know I also need another bathroom stop before I lay down again. G'night!

Baby Bun Update, Week 39

I never thought I would get to 39 weeks (it's actually 39 weeks and 1 day right now) with this pregnancy. I guess I should learn to expect the unexpected, or at least to not think that my last pregnancy and this pregnancy are identical. But here I am with less than a week to go until my due date and Baby Bun kicking away, but making no signs of wanting to come out anytime soon.

I had a doctor's appointment today and despite the baby being in good position and everything looking good, my own body is not cooperating and I am apparently not ready to have this baby yet. Without going into details, let's just say that I'm not dilated at all and it could be a while still. That said, due to the baby's size, my gestational diabetes, and probably other things like my age, we made a plan to induce me next week if Baby Bun doesn't decide to come before then. Yay! I like the plan. I'm happy with this plan!

So I will go into the doctor's office on Monday for another non-stress test (testing baby's heart rate, contractions, and kicking) to be sure he's still looking okay. Then on Wednesday evening I'll check into the hospital to have a cervical ripening agent given to me. This will help my body get prepared for the next morning's induction -- where they'll likely start the Pitocin early on unless labor starts on its own. My due date is Thursday, April 15th, and that's when the induction is scheduled for so I might end up with a tax baby! Won't be hard to remember his birthday if that's the case.

Of course the best laid plans don't always pan out that way, so I'm still going to expect the unexpected and be prepared as best as I can that my water might break over the weekend. I have a few last minute things to do before the baby arrives that I will try to get accomplished so we are all set for when he does arrive. I've been having contractions all afternoon -- not consistent, not painful, but still contractions -- which make me wonder if something is going to happen sooner. At this point I hope not because I like the new doctor plan, but we'll see what Bun has to say about all this.

Happy Anniversary to us!

4 years ago today I married my best friend. I know that everyone says that -- of course you married your friend, but it really is true. While I have girlfriends, guy friends, and a great sister that I am very close to, Kevin is all of those and more, bundled up into one adorable and loving package. I met him in October 1996; we got engaged in September 2005, and remarkably, I am not at all tired of spending every single day of my life with him. I still look forward to our evenings together, waking up next to him and his scratchy facial hair, and spending our weekends together, fighting over the newspaper, drinking coffee, and playing with the kids.

It took us a while to get engaged (this is not my fault -- I blame Kevin squarely for just not getting around to asking me -- I would have said yes years before), but once we were, I think we grew even closer together. Planning our wedding was so much fun, despite budget constraints and trying to whip up a fabulous wedding in under 7 months. But we did it and had an absolute blast on our wedding day. It really might have been the most fun day of my life and if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. The most amazing thing in the world to me was appearing at the aisle on my sobbing father's arm and looking down the aisle, the church pews filled with our family and friends, and seeing Kevin standing at the altar, waiting for me. I think I half-worried that maybe he wouldn't be there (I've watched too many movies), but there he was, with a big grin on his face. I just locked eyes with him so that I didn't cry, and focused on him as I walked down the aisle.

The past 4 years have been incredible and filled with so many life changing moments. We had a son together. We bought a house. We're having another son (any day now, I hope!) We packed up Emily for her freshmen year of college. Through it all Kevin and I have become an "us" -- a strong team of "we", not just "me", not just "him". But we're now Mom and Dad, the Mullens, a couple. While we are still strong individuals, we're also a strong couple, and I look forward to the rest of our lives together and becoming even stronger and falling even more deeply head over heels in love with this man that I call my husband.

I love you, Kevin.

My Last Ultrasound!

I had my very last ultrasound of this pregnancy today. I'm 38 weeks, 5 days, and this was to check on Baby Bun's growth and how he's looking. His growth has slowed a little bit. He's measuring right now at 8 pounds, 3 ounces (according to the ultrasound lady) or maybe it was 8 and a half pounds (according to the doctor who re-did the same measurements). Either way, his estimated due date is apparently around April 11th (my official due date is April 15th). Anything after 38 weeks is considered term, and if I get to this Friday I'll be very happy that everything is fine and normal and I won't be concerned about Bun coming too early. In fact, I'll be quite happy because I'm more than ready to meet him and spend time with the boys for my maternity leave.

I have my regular doctor's appointment on Friday morning and I think she's going to likely schedule a date for an induction for next week if I haven't had him before then. She has told me she doesn't want me going past 40 weeks which is great news for me because I'm not sure my skin can stretch any further than it already has and I think we need to have this baby ASAP.

We did not get any ultrasound photos today which was a bummer. After waiting more than an hour after my scheduled appointment time, they then ran us through the ultrasound pretty quickly, and were pretty efficient and business like. So it was a little sad, but I have about a hundred pictures from previous appointments (and many in 3-D) so I'm pretty happy regardless. And I'll see this little guy in person within, hopefully, the next week!

Easter Sunday

Easter 2010 dawned bright and beautiful in Framingham. The sun was shining and the air was warm. I really think that no one in the South can appreciate a warm spring day like those of us in the Northeast do. We have perfect weather so infrequently that when we do it just brings a happy smile to all of our hearts.

Zach woke up at around 7:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday and was eager to get up. We went outside to see if the Easter Bunny had eaten his carrot (he had) and then went into the kitchen to find that the Easter Bunny had left a basket for Zach! For the first time in his life, Zach started off his morning with a chocolate breakfast -- bunny ears, m&ms, foil covered chocolate mini bunnies, and a bite of a marshmallow peep (which he decided he doesn't like). I did eventually shovel in a few nutritious items into his toddler mouth, but was grateful he was also drinking a big glass of milk so he did get some nutrition into his breakfast.

After the decadent breakfast, we woke Kevin up and got ready for church. Zach was an excellent boy during the entire mass, just looking all around and being quiet and very cute. The church was of course packed, but we got seats because of the size of my gigantic belly. The usher took one look at me and directed us towards an available pew. Following mass we went to the grocery store for muffins, and then went home for an Easter egg hunt. Zach found all 11 eggs that the EB had left for him, and the hunt ended with a bigger gift from the Bunnyman -- a new Fisher Price tee-ball set! Whoa, that was pretty cool. Zach took to the ball and bat pretty quickly and started swinging like a natural in no time. Still not sure if he's a righty or a lefty. Maybe he's ambidexterous. He hit well both ways (and eats like that too).

 

Following Zach's afternoon nap we had an intimate dinner with just the 3 of us. Definitely missed Emily being here for Easter. I know she would have loved the Easter egg hunt (she hasn't had one of her own in a few years) and getting out the good china for dinner. Plus, she probably would have made at least one of the dinner options or the dessert. Our dessert was a homemade angel food cake that exploded all over the oven as I was baking it. Turns out Zach wasn't a huge fan, but he did love the berries and whipped cream that accompanied it.

All in all it was a beautiful day and very relaxing and nice. I was glad to spend the time with my boys and be able to go outside and get some fresh air, talk to the neighbors, and be able to relax and enjoy our home and neighborhood. I feel like we've been on the go for months and I've been nesting and so anxious about things that I haven't had a chance to relax and be a little lazy, so this was an extra nice day. Blame it on the weather -- I hope to have many more days like this ahead of us!

Happy Easter!

Easter Eve

What a beautiful day today was! The weather was absolutely perfect and we were thrilled to actually spend time outside after a couple of weeks of downpours and floods. Kevin even wore shorts today -- it was that warm. Of course I woke up very cranky since I was up ALL night with insomnia and an upset tummy. At one point I almost got up and finished packing my hospital bag because I thought maybe I was in labor. But it doesn't appear to be the case although I was cranky and out of sorts all day long. The wonderful Kevin was very patient with me and let me stay in bed (even though I was awake) so I could rest longer this morning, and he got up with Zach.

When I finally did get up today, Zach and I decided to color our Easter eggs. He loved it and seemed to know exactly what to do (except for smacking the eggs together a few times -- thankfully they were hard boiled!) He really does love his arts and crafts and had a great time coloring on the eggs and on paper on the table, and then putting the eggs into the dye and spooning more dye over them. He didn't want me taking his picture so I had to sneak a couple in when he didn't notice. The funny thing is that later in the day I took a video of him coloring and when I showed it to him he got very excited and then at dinner time told me I could take his picture and that he liked it. He likes seeing his picture on the digital camera so we had to go through the whole gallery. He's too funny.

We had a family shopping trip today to run some errands and the best part of it was buying a new glider rocker! I've wanted one for ages and think it will make nursing and rocking the new baby so much nicer. For the first few months we'll keep it upstairs, maybe in my and Kevin's bedroom initially, then down the hall to the baby's room (once we move him out of the bassinet and into the crib) and then down to the family room once he starts sleeping through the night. Unfortunately the glider rocker won't be delivered for 7-10 business days, but I'm hoping maybe it comes in earlier than that since I think that every day is going to be The Day that Bun arrives. I'd love to have the new chair before he comes, but if not I'll make due with the rocking chair.

I also bought a new baby bathtub for Baby Bun today. I didn't like the one we had for Zach so thought we'd get something a little bit bigger and nicer. We can use the other one to travel with (it folds up) or will sell it at our neighborhood yard sale in September. The last thing I really wanted to be sure to get before Bun came was a new hamper for his clothes. Kevin thought it was hysterical when I said today that now it's okay that the baby comes because I have a hamper for him. But for a nesting mom, this was something that was kind of bugging me -- I had nowhere to put the things I needed to wash for him, and wanted to have something for after he got here so I could immediately start to put dirty little onesies and clothes in it. So now I'm happy and feel much more like things are in order.

Kevin met up with his friend Doug tonight to watch the Duke game (they're in the Final Four -- Go Duke!) and I gave Zach a nice relaxing bubble bath. He desperately needed it after running around the yard for a bunch of today, playing with sidewalk chalk, jumping into piles of leaves and pine needles (I raked out flower beds and Zach saw the pile of leaves and said "thank you Mommy!"), and digging in the dirt. He had a very full boy day and no nap. So after his bath, jammies, stories, and prayers, he conked out pretty quickly. Oh wait, there was one more thing. Before the stories we went downstairs and left a carrot on the front steps for the Easter Bunny. We wanted the Easter Bunny to know that there was a thoughtful little boy who lived in our house, and maybe, just maybe, that little boy will find a nice Easter basket waiting for him tomorrow morning.

Do you see the carrot?

38 Weeks

It's April Fool's Day, I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and did not play any jokes on anyone today. I seriously thought about it -- thought about posting a photo of me in the hospital from when I had Zach and trying to pass him off as Baby Bun, but I'm terrible at the follow through and with my luck would have gone into labor tonight anyway and would then have some explaining to do when a new photo of a new baby is posted. So I stayed non-funny, which I hope keeps everyone nice and calm. :)

We did have a nice surprise today though when we received a great Easter package in the mail today from Sandy! In it was the new Grammy-made monkey bedding for Baby Bun! She made the monkey quilt, crib bumpers, and diaper stacker. I think her handiwork just gets better and better! We LOVE it and I really really love the colors! I think blue and brown is such a beautiful combination and she far exceeded my expectations. I couldn't articulate what I wanted her to make, and she went with it and came up with this beautiful artwork. I just think it's absolutely fantastic and so excited for Bun to try it out!

Along with the monkey bedding, she also sent the most adorable lamb quilt for Bun as well. It's got soft fuzzy lamb-like fabric and is really sweet and soft. Zach and I couldn't stop petting it! It will be fun to have that be a play quilt for Bun although it looks so nice that you could really hang it on your wall. Zach was not left out either as he received an Easter goody bag (which he immediately dug into) and some cute Easter-y clothes. We are very spoiled! And very lucky.