The stomach

It's hot and I'm still pregnant

So we're all slightly cranky and are trying to deal by sitting in the kiddie pool. Maybe also the crankiness comes from waiting for the boy to come out. Though Hazel can't really use that excuse.
I'm hoping that since I finished up this little blanket for him this afternoon, the "if you build it, he will come" principle will apply. I love zig-zag quilts so I used the template from Anna Maria Horner's Folk Dance quilt pattern and just made a little version. It being a project of mine, there are of course little issues and mistakes, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's also a cheater "quilt" since it's not quilted at all with just a flannel back. But I'm ok with that!
(Little note: while taking pictures of the quilt, I said to Jason, "I need to move. It's too bright out here." Response: "That's why we have this camera - so you can adjust the settings." Oh. Right. This is why I need a mechanically-inclined husband: to change my camera settings. Thanks hon!)

Second Time Around

Yesterday was my due date for the second time in two years. Hazel was also due July 20, but decided she needed an extra 11 days to cook and came out on August 1.

Baby Boy hasn't come yet and I'm thinking that it will be a while yet too. But that's ok, except this time I'm just a little more anxious to move on to the next stage. Jason and I are impatient to meet him, to see how he looks compared to Hazel, and see how she reacts to having a little one around to help take care of. But either way, we'll be parents for the second time around within two weeks, even if he does decide to stay inside for a while yet.

So we'll see what happens next! Thank goodness I know the Lord has a plan and knows exactly when we'll meet our son.

Here's Hazel on her birthday two years ago.

For little bums

Got a bunch of newborn diapers today. I just had to lay them out next to Hazel's. His tush will be so small!

A must try

Just saw this recipe for an Almond Joy milkshake on DesignSponge. It's from Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef (which if you're like me, you are totally addicted to) a few seasons back. I haven't made it yet, but I think we will be trying this this week since I'm headed to the store tonight and might just pick up some cream of coconut and chocolate ice cream.

Also, I am waiting for laundry to finish and surfing Etsy for cute vintage clothes for Hazel and the little guy. Found some very cute things I might get (or might just wait since it seems that having a new baby means lots of purchases all at once). I need to remember to check Etsy for clothes since the prices are great and then the kids are wearing fun pieces that are unique (since I am as guilty as every other mom in Moscow for mainly shopping at Old Navy - that's what happens when you have a limited number of shops in town).

Jumper from jherrmann

Striped shirt from babyhankvintage

Julyness

Things are rather summery right now, being that it was in the 90s yesterday and probably will be again this weekend. We've been the pool a couple of times, once at night with Jason since Thursday nights in July are free for co-op members - woo hoo! Hazel's turned into a little fish and loves to try swimming, so I think next summer we might try official lessons and see how it goes.

Yesterday we went to the park to visit with some good friends in from out of town, but of course I only took two pictures of Hazel since all the other kids were scattered hither and yon exploring the park. We also enjoyed a nice post-dinner stroll downtown to get a drink and listen to some blues at Bucer's. Hazel loved the music and even had her daddy to get up and dance with her. And of course a basket of monkeys and plastic soldiers is always fun to check out while sipping on a chai.
Jason came home from work and said that it sounded fun trying to go vegetarian for a while (he was inspired during lunch since he purchased a cantaloupe and some carrots for lunch yesterday and found that quite satisfying). I thought it was an interesting idea, but I will need to do some research for menu planning since we have the rather active toddler and I will be nursing a hungry baby very soon. So our nutritional needs as far as protein shouldn't be neglected. I think it would be good for me to explore new dinner and lunch options and it would help with my goal to plan meals a bit further out. I love how Jason has new ideas all the time, even ones that might be considered odd for someone who loves bacon on everything and a good steak as much as the next guy.

And even though I am generally more comfortable with this little guy's pregnancy than Hazel's, I think I am starting to hit that point where labor would be a welcome respite since I am no longer able to sleep very well. Our bed, usually a good place to sleep, has turned into a hard rock in my mind. The couch is actually very comfy, but since there isn't much room for stretching out side to side, it isn't the best option. So being able to sleep comfortably (although in short spurts due to the little one's feeding schedule) would be a dream come true.

I'm praying in earnest that whenever labor comes that I will be able to handle it with ease and grace, since this time I'm going into it with eyes wide open (as far as I know how contractions hurt). It might be more difficult, but we are getting so excited to meet our little guy and see how he looks and get to hold and cuddle him. At the most, it will be only about 3 weeks away!

It has kicked in

The whole nesting instinct...with only about 3 more weeks until the due date. Really, I haven't quite thought about that yet. Will I really be a new mom again with a newborn? Strange. But that's how life is and I'm still here and I've managed to adjust to lots of unusual circumstances in my life. Maybe I should praise God that my worrying hasn't started. I guess I'll just deal with it all when he's born. Also I'm not as stressed since at this point two years ago we were moving into a semi-unfinished house. That made me not so happy. I am LOVING our little apartment that has curtains hung and pictures on the walls AND a bathroom with a door and linoleum.

But at least the house is staying semi-neat and we have cleaned out drawers and are working on closets and all the baby clothes are washed! Right now I'm working on a few little painting projects: the window frames we use in our living room as picture frames, an old gun cabinet that used to be in Hazel's old room in Colfax got moved back in, and we will be redoing the old black dresser in her room. So that's it for painting - though it kind of is a lot.

And there's just a few sewing projects to do, but they're actually belated baby presents for several friends. Whoops. I have a plan for a quilt for the little guy, but I think I'll just work on that slowly over the next few (6, 8, however many) months since I'm not going to kill myself trying to finish the painting and organizing plus a quilt before he comes.

Here's a little snapshot of the progress on Hazel's gun cabinet/bookshelf.

Ow

The one way I wish this pregnancy was like Hazel's is that I never felt any Braxton Hicks contractions with her. In fact I didn't feel anything really until I went into labor. Not so with this little guy. They are annoying to say the least. I remember feeling sorry for all my friends who commented on their Braxton Hicks contractions and being glad that I never had any. I guess you can't avoid them forever.

And this little guy is a hard kicker at night when he's trying to settle down. Not so good.

Saturday

Manly Fabric

Now that I know we're soon to have a little man in the house, I'm starting to look at prints to make the little guy some pants, shirts, and other items. Heather Ross has wonderful prints with a vintage feel, including her Lightening Bugs and Other Mysteries collection, Rabbits and Racecars, and West Hill.

Munki Munki VW Bus

The above print has swimming frogs from the West Hill collection. I already have some prints from this grouping and I might get more to make his quilt. The other prints have horses and goldfish and dogs running around.

And I am now slavishly going through Made by Rae's February posts since they are all about Celebrate the Boy. I think Jason would like it if I made him and the little guy matching shirts.

Anyways, my list of possible projects is now growing...

Much easier this time

Two years ago at this time, while during my 20 week ultrasound, the tech was trying every trick in the book to get little Hazel to cooperate so we could try and determine the sex. This time was much easier....it's a boy!

We are very excited that Hazel will have a little brother to play with and Jason's excited to soon have a little buddy that one day can toddle along to work with him and learn early on to appreciate hardwood floors and to turn his nose up at vinyl siding (although I'm sure that Hazel will also be able to discern good siding from bad siding at an early age too).

Here are some pictures of Baby Boy S (shhh....the name will be revealed when he makes his grand entrance) and a little video of him moving around. He wasn't all that active during the ultrasound, being rather comfy in his little corner of my uterus.

Someone to play with

Hazel is very excited to announce that she has a little brother or sister arriving around her birthday next summer! Just kidding, she has no idea that a baby is on the way and probably won't for quite some time.

So we are expecting a little addition to our family and he/she is due exactly two years to the day that Hazel was!

So that's why there haven't been all that many posts recently, since Hazel and I have been watching a lot of Finding Nemo and mostly just lounging around the house. At least I have an excuse (nausea), Hazel doesn't, so I'm not sure why she's been lazy. Actually she's been running around the living room doing laps and wondering why mama has suddenly become incredibly boring.

So here is a very blurry picture we took of one of our ultrasounds. If you can't tell, it's a profile with the head on the right side of the picture. With a wee little hand waving hello!