It's cold outside!

Brr, I am not a fan of this weather. It feels too cold for only being November. The weather needs to pace itself. My friend called and asked to do something today, but I said I didn't want to go outside, so she came over and her son even went out and got my mail for me, so I won't be stepping outside today.

The pictures were a little disappointing. I'm used to Tate smiling constantly, but he really didn't smile once during the pictures. He was really scared and wouldn't stay put and cried, so they didn't turn out like I'd hoped. I think I might just take my own pictures from now on. My friend and I were talking this morning and she said she put up a sheet in their basement and tried taking pictures of her kids, and I'd seen them in the frames not knowing they were taken by her, and I thought they were professional, so I think we might do that next time. Then I could do them more b/c it wouldn't cost so much. I gave the boys a bath the morning of the pictures and as I was drying Hunter's hair he looked in the mirror and said, "Oooo! Lookin' good, lookin' good!" I thought that was funny. We left about 10 and didn't get home until 4. It was a looong day. I had a coupon for film processing that expired in two days, so I stopped by Target first to turn my film in. I don't like leaving the boys in the car even for a minute, so I had to take them in for that. Then, after the pictures I had promised Hunter he could ride the tractors that I'd seen there once. We walked the whole mall to find them and I was getting nervous that they weren't there until I happened to peek into where the old arcade used to be and saw them there. Whew! So I had enough quarters for him to go on all but one. That was two days ago and he is still talking about how fun that was, so I'm glad we found them. After pictures I figured they'd be hungry so we went to Wendy's for chicken nuggets and mandarin orange cups. I'm glad fast food restaurants are starting to have a little healthier variety of things. We ate inside and Hunter thought it was a "very nice restruant." Then I had to go to Wal-Mart to get a few things and then back to Target to pick up my pictures. Hunter had to go potty in Wal-Mart just as we got up to the checkout and our stuff on the conveyor belt, but luckily the bathrooms were close and the lady let us go really quick. Hunter was very fascinated with the automatic flushing toilets. He looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Mom that toilet just flushed itself!" I figured they'd fall asleep on the way home, Tate fell asleep before we were even out of Brainerd, and Hunter fell asleep as I turned on our street. I knew that they wouldn't go back to sleep if I took them in, and I knew that 45 mins for Tate was not near enough time, so I drove up to Backus to do some banking and then got gas, and by that time they were kind of starting to stir, so they got a little more nap than they would have. I was very tired by the end of it. I had planned on going to the bank yesterday, though, so I didn't have to do that, and that was nice.

MAC was yesterday, and Hunter wore his Vikings jersey b/c he said it would make him run faster. He did run around the gym pretty fast. I try to chase him, but I can't really do that anymore, so I just walk as fast as I can. I'm pretty sure if I do that when I'm due it'll put me into labor:) The DQ had cheeseburgers 2 for $2, so we went there with my two friends and their kids after. We pretty much took up the whole place, there were 7 kids amongst us.

Brent and I had a date night last night, and we went to Applebee's(we had a gift certificate from my old coworkers) and that was really really fun. We had a good waitress and I really enjoyed my food(I totally out-ate Brent) and company. It is so nice being waited on and not having to get up 50 times during a meal. I didn't take that for granted. After Applebee's we went to Wal-Mart to get a couple presents for the boys. I never could see before how people could spend hundreds of dollars on their kids for Christmas but I am starting to get it. We don't have a lot of money, but we figured $60 total for the kids is reasonable, but that doesn't go far at all! We had already decided on a $20 Cars kid card table for both the boys, so we had $20 each left and it was really hard to find something. Hunter is fairly easy b/c he loves cars and trucks and tractors so much, but Tate was a little harder. He is almost too old for the baby-ish toys, and yet a little too young for the other toys. We ended up getting him a moo-ing cow flashlight and a hippo you can push and ride on that picks up blocks. It was a good deal. As for Hunter, we got him the mack truck from Cars that had three cars(including Mqueen) I hope they like them.

Hunter has taken after his dad. Yesterday he was watching Sesame Street while I got ready, and he came into the bathroom and said, "Mom, I NEED a banana." I asked if he could wait, but he needed one right then he said, so I went and got him one. Then he told me he could peel it on his own, so he sat down in front of the tv with it, and that is when I noticed that they were singing about banana's on tv. Brent I'm told was banned from watching Three Amigo's b/c he would imitate some parts in it, and Hunter seems to be going down the imitation road himself. All the time around the house he says, "Paachow!" and "Checkered flag here I come" and "Oh yeah!" all from Cars. He doesn't even watch it that much, maybe once a month. So I think he's like his dad on that.

I'm expecting gray hair any day now...

Don't these two look ornery? They are.

It was an interesting day. Last night Brent left for work at 9:30 and I messed around for awhile on the computer, then went to bed to watch King of Queens on the portable DVD player, and as I entered the bedroom I heard that scratching again. There is still something in our wall!! AH! It kept me WIDE awake until Brent came home at 1:30. I then fell asleep somewhere around 2:30 just to be woken at 3 by Hunter falling out of bed downstairs. Then he woke up for good at 6. He was sitting on his floor yelling "MOMMY!" at the top of his lungs. Now 6 is over an hour before he usually gets up, so I am not accustomed to that. I got around 3 hours of sleep and that isn't enough for me. I told him to look at books and went back upstairs to bed, but I heard him pushing the kitchen chair to the counter a few minutes later and decided that it would be better to be down there with him. So I did my Beth Moore study which was on Joy today(it is an in depth fruit of the spirit study). I was motivated to have lots of joy today, but I got kind of stressed out later on...

We had MOPS today, so that was fun. The speaker we had was a karate teacher in Crosslake who showed us how to defend ourselves in an attack situation. It was very interesting and educational. I felt like wrestling Brent when he got home, but I am not in a position right now where that would be good. I just wanted to see if it would work. We moms practiced on each other. A couple of the moms were quite feisty. I always ask Hunter if he has to go potty before we leave and today he said no, but as we picked up Tate from his class he was doing his potty dance, so I found a bathroom, lifted him up b/c the toilet was too high for him to stand, and he peed everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Tate meanwhile was getting into the supply of tp they had. TP was EVERYWHERE. That kid is quick, but more on that later. Hunter told me when we got home, "I love you mommy, you're so cute!"

After nap Hunter wanted to play Candyland, so we got that out, then the wooden blocks, then they tore into their closet, flinging all their socks and diapers and Hunter's underwear and the sheets and pillow cases everywhere. It was a big mess. I'd already picked up the socks and underwear/pullups once today. I don't' like bending over. Then it was time to make supper. I was busy with that and Tate unbenownced to me got into our("kid-proofed") cabinet that has our dishwasher soap etc. in it and got the Fabreeze out. I did not hear him at all, probably b/c he is so fast and sneaky. How I found out they had it was Hunter came into the kitchen holding the Fabreeze can, facing him, with his hair COMPLETELY soaked and his face all wet with the stuff. I was like, "!!!!!!!!!!!" He said his eyes hurt, so I frantically grabbed him and put him under the sink with his face in the water. I got him rinsed out really good, and then went to check Tate, who smelled strongly of Cucumber Melon as well. I washed out his eyes thoroughly, and then asked Hunter if he'd swallowed any of it. I think they will be ok, they just will be smelling of Cucumber Melon for the next 5 years. So in the middle of making supper I had a near meltdown. I was pretty stressed about it. I will be putting ALL household cleaners up high. I always make sure the nozzles are closed so it won't spray, but that can didn't have one. So much for childproof. As we ate supper I told Hunter never to do that again, and he said, "Yeah, you should put that up high so we can't get it. So high that we need a ladder!" I think that is a good idea.

I think they found some speed laying around somewhere though, maybe they got a little silly from the Fabreeze, b/c they were tearing around here tonight like crazy. They were running around in circles, dancing about and all that. Crazy boys. Pictures are tomorrow, and I have been a nervous wreck that someone would get bruised. Tate fell tonight and split his lip, so he has a fat lip, and he bit Hunter's neck while they were wrestling, so I hope Hunter doesn't have a hickey-like bruise tomorrow. But...I've come to realize that that is life and they might just look goofy and beat up. That is real. They have tractor rides at the mall, so I am going stocked with quarters. I've been priming Hunter about the pictures, and we practice his smile. He makes a big pouty face and says that's how he's going to look.

Tate said a couple new words today. Hunter was coming out of a room, and Tate was a little ahead of him, and came running to me and said "Hide!" really clearly. He said "Bye" really clearly to Brent this morning. Later we were reading a book and when it was over he said, "All done!" and started clapping. All of these were really clear. He also (when asked) today took his diaper and threw it in the garbage for me. He's getting so big!

And now for funny Hunter sayings: Tonight after supper as he got down from his chair, he said, "Thank you, Sarah!" He's been saying my name occasionally. Then at supper he told me, "Mom, your belly is going to get really big." I asked him if it looked big now and he said no, so he is a nice boy!

back to routine...

Well, Thanksgiving weekend is over and we are getting back to our normal routine. We had mom and dad for a few days, and that was really really fun. It was nice seeing them for more than a day. We had Thanksgiving at the Norman's with gpa and gma and Jason and Fawnda and Gigi. I got nice and full. Then we had a turkey the next day with mom and dad. We went to Walker on Friday night for their lighted Christmas parade and fireworks. We bundled the kids way up b/c it is cold and Tate looked absolutely hysterical. I didn't get a picture of him but I did get a video of it. The only snow pants we had around his size are 24m, so we put them over his coat and since they were tan colored he looked like one of those sumo people. It was so funny!! He could hardly walk at all. They did really good at the parade, Hunter just sat in the stroller under a blanket and smiled and waved at everyone. We had to hold Tate, but he watched, too. I asked Hunter what his favorite thing was about the parade, and he said candy. And the horses(and their poop of course) And Tate really liked the horses and the firetruck. They both enjoyed the fireworks also. We got a really good parking space, so Tate and gma Mary and gpa BJ stayed in the van and Brent and I took Hunter outside to see them. I guess Tate was saying "Oooh! Wooo!" the whole time. Hunter really liked them also. Although its cold, its nice that they can see fireworks, 4th of July is just too late for kids to be up.

We've been having some computer problems lately, so I've been pretty frustrated with that. Definitely have a large surplus of pregnancy hormones floating around. I'm surprised our printer wasn't hurled out the window by me. Then we've also been having what we think are bats in our walls. That is a bit unnerving. I'm pretty sure they are there by accident and are going to die, but it is irritating none the less.

I made the kids picture appointment for Wed and 11, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no one gets bruised. Tate has a slight remnant of his black eye, but I think it will be fine in the pictures. Hunter had his car wash out today and got a little water on the floor, and Tate walked by and took a big fall, but it wasn't on his face luckily.

I'll try to remember some funny sayings lately, it is hard b/c there are so many...
As we were on the way home from Walker the other night Hunter sighed and said, "I'm tired of being patient." I guess he and Debbie were talking about the new baby last night, she said that there would soon be a new baby, and Hunter said, "Yeah and Tate's got to go." Man, that is all I can think of right now, I know there are more, so maybe I'll write them later...
I found this on myspace and thought it might be fun to do for the boys since I will probably forget everything:

Mommies, fill this out about all your little ones!!!! Have fun! Fill in the answers for your baby(s)


1. Age?
3 years

2. name?
Hunter Allen

3. Date of Birth?
September 17, 2004

4. time of birth?
10:40 pm

5. how long did labor last?
from start to finish 12 hours

6. who was in the room when baby was born?
just daddy and me, but gmas and gpas and Anna & Justin were waiting outside the door

7. how long did you push?
about a half hour

6. weight?
8 lbs 4 oz

9. length?
20 inches

10. any hair?
lots of dirty blonde hair

11. who does the baby look like?
they said you looked like us both

12. Be honest, how much weight did you gain?
28 lbs

13.was your baby early or late?
2 days early

14. Who drove you home from the hospital?
Brent(very slowly)

15. how many baby showers did u have?
1

16. when did baby start sleeping thru the night?
7 weeks, just in time for me to get a good nights sleep for my first day back to work

17. did u breastfeed?
as much as I could for about 8 months

18.if not, what kind of formula ?
you were also on Enfamil while I was at work

19. who keeps your baby the most?
me right now

20.. how did u pick the name?
If it was a boy, daddy got to pick it out, if a girl, me and daddy really liked the name Hunter

22. how did u know when it was time to go to hospital?
the doctor induced at 7 in the morning(actually not but that was when I had to be there)

23. who drove u there?
Brent

24. Did u go home or somewhere else when u left the hosp?
to gma debbie and gpa steve's

25. Anyone spend the night with u first night home?
Just the three of us.

Tate

1. Age?
1 year

2. name?
Tate James

3. Date of Birth?
August 17, 2006

4. time of birth?
9:39 pm

5. How long was labor?
from start to finish 5 hours, (lots of waiting time)

6. who was in the room when baby was born?
just daddy and me, but gmas and gpa BJ and Laci were outside the door

7. how long did you push?
about 5 mins

6. weight?
7 lbs 7 oz

9. length?
21 inches

10. any hair?
lots of dirty blonde hair (covered your ears!)

11. who does the baby look like?
Norman all the way

12. Be honest, how much weight did you gain?
28 lbs

13.was your baby early or late?
1 days early

14. Who drove you home from the hospital?
Brent(not as slowly)

15. how many baby showers did u have?
0

16. when did baby start sleeping thru the night?
8 weeks. The first 3 nights Tate slept through the night Hunter woke up in the night. Go figure!

17. did u breastfeed?
yes, just breastfed until 8 monts when I quit overnight. Not recommended.

18.if not, what kind of formula ?
he was on Enfamil for a few months after

19. who keeps your baby the most?
I have stayed home with him since the begining

20.. how did u pick the name?
If it was a boy, daddy got to pick it out, if a girl, me. I figured this would be the last time I'd be pregnant, so I helped pick it out a little more. Little did I know...

22. how did u know when it was time to go to hospital?
the doctor induced at 7 in the morning(actually not but that was when I had to be there)

23. who drove u there?
Brent

24. Did u go home or somewhere else when u left the hosp?
yep, we went home

25. Anyone spend the night with u first night home?
Gma Mary, Gpa BJ and Laci

I feel so huge...

0Here is a picture of me right now, I'm just starting my 24th week:



I feel kind of huge all of a sudden! I'm not upset by it, but I just think I grew overnight. My belly button is ridiculously sticking out.

Tate got a black eye the other night. It looks kind of nasty, but when I tried to take a picture of it, you couldn't tell at all. Plus he was a ham, so I'll post a picture of him:



He is so goofy. Over the weekend while at Gma and Gpa's he found their white ceiling fan remote, and started swinging it wildly about. It only took me a second to figure out that he was pretending to play the Wii. I guess he's seen mommy and daddy play it a little too much :) It was pretty cute.

Hunter has said a few funny things (actually most things he says are funny, these are the things I can remember, though) over the last few days. Last night as I was putting him to bed, he said he was scared of the dark. I said that Jesus was here with him so he wouldn't be scared, and he said,"But Jesus doesn't live at our house!" So I could explain that to him. While we were picking him up at our friends house from date night, he had to go to the bathroom, so I took him in and we saw a box elder bug on the floor on its back with its legs wiggling, and Hunter looked at me and said,"Look, mom, that bug is making snow angels!" I thought that was SO funny!

Brent just came upstairs with some peanut butter and chocolate ice cream for me. We had been reading an email survey and it talked about peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream, and my mouth started watering! He is so sweet. Perhaps this is why I've "grown overnight"?

latest ob appointment

I had another ob appointment today. We're at that point again where they know me by name and don't even have to ask it. I had my glucose screening today, so I had to drink the gross juice and wait an hour and give blood. The giving blood went great, I was really happy, b/c I don't usually have an easy time with that. I was hoping for another ultrasound, but I guess I won't be getting one until week 36. I was hoping for him to be able to give me one to know its "for sure" a girl. The heartbeat was 154 and he said, "Its a girl, Sarah, its a girl," so maybe I'm just being paranoid. I just don't want to be expecting something and then get a surprise at the end. Everything was fine, though, so that is good. I think I've gained a fair amount so far, the nurse said I was having no problem with that. And Thanksgiving is Thursday so... The baby has been pushing on my bladder a lot, I feel like it uses it as a trampoline, and I have to go to the bathroom a ton. Sometimes I haven't even gotten done washing my hands when I have to go again. I remember that happening with Tate, too.

Hunter has been calling everyone his best friend lately. At lunch today I was attempting to make it exciting for him to eat his sandwich by saying he would turn into a bear and could growl at us, and he said, "Mom, I won't growl at YOU, you're my best friend!" He told Tate he was his best friend, too, and gave him a hug. They are really getting to be best friends. Today before nap they were wrestling around. Most of the stuff they do while wresting doesn't look fun to me, but they laugh and laugh. I guess that is just how boys are. Hunter fell out of his bed this morning. I heard a loud crash all the way upstairs and then he started crying. He hurt his jaw, but mostly he was just scared by it. The normal routine for nap time with Hunter is we go downstairs, I say "love you, goodnight" and I rock him till I hear him snoring, and today when I said "love you" he said "love you, too." (which he normally does) Then a second later he said,"I love you so much" and pretty much melted my heart like a stick of butter.

Things I'm thankful for:
-mom and dad are coming to visit
-health for me and the baby
-being able to stay home with the kids
-Debbie watching the boys while I went to the doctor

crossdresser?!???

Here is what my sons looked like this morning:



It started out innocently enough, Hunter wanted to be a cowboy. He put on a vest, a cowboy hat and carried around a gun. Then it got interesting. He found some of my friends daughter's fairy princess stuff and wanted to wear that. He kept the gun, though. At one point he looked at himself and said, "Oh, I look like a girl! But I'm a boy!"

I am my parents!

For the last day or so I've realized that some things your parents grew up doing to you you can't avoid doing to your own children(whether you like it or not!) For example, my dad used to try really hard to make me smile when I was pouting, he'd make faces and say, "You want to smile, I know you do" and stuff like that, and Hunter has been pouting lately, he'll fold his arms and push his bottom lip out, and sure enough, I find myself saying and doing the same things to him as my dad did to me. I can just picture him doing it to me even as I do it to my son. Its funny really. Then, mom used to some days really crank up the music and dance around the kitchen while cooking or cleaning, and today I found myself in the kitchen, music cranked up singing and dancing with Hunter and Tate. I wonder if they will feel about it like I felt about it. (I didn't mind most of the time, mom, except when you brought out the John Elfante) It is inevitable, though. You WILL do the same things to your kids that your parents did to you. Its in your blood I think. And, its definitely not a bad thing.

Today we had MAC at the warehouse, where the kids play in the gym. We played London Bridges today, and I chased Hunter around a lot. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be "running" but it was fun. We bring out some toys stored there, like a kitchen set, some trucks and tractors and some balls. My kids did such a good job of picking them up! I am really proud of them. They have been doing an excellent job of pickup lately. I have them pick up the books and toys before nap and bedtime, and they do it without hardly any reminder(read: nagging). This may be a basic thing, but I think its awesome. I really want them to be responsible and self sufficient. I heard something the other day about if you don't train your kids to be responsible and self sufficient by doing the basics of picking up and stuff like that, then you are in essence teaching them to be lazy. I never had thought of it that way before. All I can say is that I am really proud of my boys.

Tonight Grandpa Steve came and got Tate for some one on one time with him. He took Hunter to the new Bee movie last Thursday, so he and Tate played over at his house tonight. So Brent and I took Hunter to Grandma Debbie's new work open house, and then we played Candy land. He was a bit preoccupied with all the special candy spaces, but he ended up winning(after I was totally ahead but got a lousy candy cane card at the end). It is fun to play games with him, now that he is a little older and is starting to comprehend that stuff. He's been carrying that blue bear around still, and he came to me upset b/c the bear was crying b/c daddy threw it across the room(I think they were playing) I showed him how to rock it to calm him down, and he was talking gently to it. He is really interested in all things baby! A little while later I was telling him that in a few months our baby will come out and sometimes it will cry and we can be gentle and calm to it, and he said, "Yeah, and daddy will throw it." So Brent and I had to have a talk :)

I still haven't satisfied my mozzarella stick craving, but I did make pecan bars today and ate half the pan. I'll maybe try making those ravioli things tomorrow.

I'm thankful for:
-the ability to stay home with the kids
-my portable DVD player to watch in bed when Brent is at work at night
-apple cider
-my kids(and Brent's) hugs and kisses
-Hunter telling me I'm his best friend today