Our Boys

22 Aug 05
Alex has Jenni's nose

29 May 08

Whose nose is this?

Snips n' Snails...

and puppy dog tails...
That's what little boys are made of!

After a momentous ultrasound today, we're expecting a little boy on or around October 5.

Alex is already excited to teach him all about trucks and dinosaurs, and of course worms. He's also hoping to share a room with him when the baby gets big enough to not cry at night, and Alex is planning on sleeping with his eyes open, I assume to keep watch over the baby sleeping in his room.

Everything looked good on the ultrasound, we were able to count lots of little fingers and toes, and watch as he sucked his thumb and waved at the camera. With the due date moved up a week, I'm really feeling like this baby will be here in no time at all.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around having another boy in the house (I'm really going to be outnumbered now!). It's hard to imagine that this won't be a little copy of Alex, since he's my main idea of what a little boy should be. I can't wait to meet this new little one. Less than 20 weeks to go!

Pink or Blue???

Tomorrow is the day for our much anticipated ultrasound. I hope we actually get to learn the sex of this baby. I'm really excited to go through Alex's old clothes again, or start garage sailing like crazy if it's a girl. Perhaps we'll buy a bunk bed it it's a boy.

I guess I feel like it's a girl, like most people have indicated on the poll. I can't quite imagine us with another boy, just since Jeremy and I each just had one boy in our families growing up. I don't know anything about having brothers around, and think that would be quite the adventure. I'm sure it would be good for Alex to have a little brother to roughhouse with, since Jeremy and I quickly tire of his tricks.

But I do like the idea of pigtails and pink bows, and frilly dresses. It would be fun to have a little girl to teach to sew and to read girly books to, or at least something besides dinosaurs and trucks.

Whichever this child is, I suppose it could be a calming presence in our house, helping to mellow out our little hooligan. Or a co-conspirator to brighten up Alex's days currently filled with boring old adults. I just hope they are able to enjoy each other's company as much as I have enjoyed my siblings. As long as I have been here, first my brother, and then my little sisters have enriched my world.

Alex is so funny about "his" baby. His imaginary baby (he doesn't have a doll, he just picks up this imaginary baby out of thin air) is going everywhere with us these days. This is causing a major problem in the car, where I only have one car seat installed. He jumps in and pretends to strap his baby into the car. Then when I force him to sit in the car seat he shrieks and jumps back out and tells me he's squishing the baby. So then he has to take the baby back out of the seat before he'll sit in it himself. He then puts the baby in his lap, covered in his blanket, for the ride. This needy little baby also frequently needs food, diaper changes, and naps. I'm not allowed to go in his room when the baby is sleeping in his bed, since I might wake it up. After the baby's nap it cries (Alex may be preparing for a career as a ventriloquist) and he has to go in and ask it why it's crying. This is all getting to be a more complicated process all the time. I'm not sure how we're going to last through another 20 weeks before the real baby comes. Alex is going to be exhausted long before then from taking care of such a demanding newborn.

20 Weeks

20 weeks - this baby is half grown! Only a few more days until I get my first glimpse of our little banana (yes, s/he is approximately the size of a banana this week).

This pregnancy has been so different from my first, I'm curious to see what we have in there (perhaps a kangaroo??). The morning sickness, which I never really had with Alex, is gone now, but now our little joey is bouncing around in there like crazy. I don't remember feeling Alex move nearly this early or so much. His placenta was in the front, which is less common, and probably buffered me from feeling all his little jabs and pokes until he was bigger and stronger (his placenta is long gone, and I'm still feeling his big jabs and pokes, but that's a different story, ornery little sucker...).

We've had an eventful little weekend, starting with a birthday party/garage sale preparation day at grandma (Alex's great-grandma) Kingma's house. It was fun to see all the family before Alex and I take off for Sandpoint/Portland/Omaha, but I was so sorry Jeremy wasn't here for it.

Our diets have been suffering with Jer gone, as well. Tonight we had our third night of lasagna leftovers, with jello salad and leftover chocolate cake to round the meal out. Here's our little cutie after the cake.....

Watershed Festival

Alex and I spent this sunny morning at the Watershed Festival at the Fish Hatchery.

Sara and Lincoln went with us, so Alex had a great time. Sara and Lincoln were able to tell him all about fish, and Sara found us a tour of the facilities where he was able to see the actual live fish. What fun!

Alex is amazed by the hands-on water filter display.

Down the Cornhusker Road

Jeremy left today for Nebraska. This is such a strange time, with so much uncertainty. I guess it is a time of new beginnings. It feels like summer began today. There was a garage sale down the street, the sun was shining, Alex and I even filled up his baby swimming pool and lounged in the backyard on towels for awhile. Within a few hours of Jeremy leaving town, Alex has already scraped up both knees and a leg and had the biggest splinter he's ever seen. Summer is in full swing.


We had a fun family time last night getting the cars cleaned out and getting Jeremy ready to go. I'm now really motivated to find myself a new car since I'm driving the one that doesn't lock (although the doors randomly lock themselves while I'm trying to open them), doesn't have a reliable air conditioning or heating system, and has a broken gas gauge.


Last night we finally set up Alex's Tee Ball set we found for him at a garage sale last summer, and he thought that was great. I put the bases down and told him to run around them after he hit the ball. He decided to steal all three bases, picking them up as he ran, giggling all the way. That turned out to be more fun than trying to hit the ball.

I'm not sure what to do with myself now that Jeremy is actually gone. I'm not sure how much packing I should be doing, or what I should be packing, since I don't yet know when I'm leaving or where I'm going after Julie's wedding. I guess for now I'll just enjoy this summer sun and get some work done in the yard.

Delicious Dandelions

Short version

Long Version

Mom

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you!!

Ready, Get Set, Go!

And off we went, to Spokane for Jeremy's first Bloomsday Run.

While Jeremy and Mom participated, Dad and I really got a work out, controlling Alex in the crowds of people.

We had a pretty good time, entertaining Alex with his first taste of cotton candy, ducks and a garbage goat to feed (a vacuum pulls garbage into the goat's mouth to dispose of it).

Jeremy and mom successfully completed the run, and received their prized Bloomsday t-shirts. They both looked more refreshed at the end of the race than Dad and I did.

Discarded clothing covers a tree in downtown Spokane as the Bloomsday Run begins.

Alex presented Dad with his Top Secret craft project results - dinosaur "fossils" - imprints of dinosaurs in cement. Dad then dug out his rock collection and taught our budding scientist all about the wonderful world of geology.

Jeremy and I spent the remainder of the weekend attempting to make a decision about purchasing a new car. We test drove a 2007 Honda CRV (with the new body style) and were quite impressed. This was a car designed for moms. The back end comes with a removable shelf so I could have 2 layers of junk back there. It looked like there would be room for a stroller underneath with groceries up above. This is how I currently use the back end of my Subaru, but the groceries are all piled up directly on top of the stroller, tipping over and rolling around. The other thing that impressed me is that the back seat divides in three parts, so I could have a car seat on each side, and still fold the middle seat down to allow long items (such as a cello) to fit. This car was designed for me. There is even an extra curved mirror in the front for easy viewing of naughty children in the back seat. The only downside I've found is the price. I would really like an older car, but these just came out in 2007. So, now we just need to find a deal and make a decision. At least I know my dream car exists.

You may wonder about my sudden interest in buying a car. This is not just due to the upcoming birth of baby number 2. Jeremy accepted a job in Omaha, Nebraska, and will start work on the 19th. Suddenly, it sounds good to have a second car that can drive across country.

We have all sorts of other decisions to make, too. We'd like a new laptop, so we could have a computer there without dragging along our desktop. We're considering a Mac, but again can't seem to make the decision to fork out the dough for it, despite our interest. Also, we'd like a second cell phone, so we can actually keep in touch with each other over the next few crazy months.

Right now, it looks like Jeremy will be heading to Nebraska by himself. I have an ultrasound scheduled at the end of the month I'd like to attend(see the poll on the sidebar to vote on what you think the results of this ultrasound might be). I'm also enjoying finally watching the fruit of my labor last fall, as more and more of these bulbs begin to bloom, and it's hard to think about leaving just as our yard becomes such a great place for Alex and I to spend our days (He's been hanging string on the trees for the robins to build nests with, just like he read about in one of his library books, Robin's Home). Julie is getting married June 21st, and I'm not sure I want to go to Nebraska for a few weeks and then drive or fly with Alex all the way to Portland from there. So, I think I'll stay here and start packing, hopefully find a car, and then head up to mom and dad's house for a little while before Julie's wedding. Maybe I'll find a car in Portland and could drive out there to Julie's graduation at the beginning of the month to pick it up.

There are just too many "Ifs" right now for a pregnant lady like me. My impulse right now is to nest, not to move. But, hopefully the job will be a great experience for Jeremy (he'll be working for a German company designing combine parts, perfect for a farm boy with a German degree!), and I'm sure all the details will work out. I have to just remind myself that God is in control. One thing at a time. For now, I'm enjoying having our little family here together, and watching Jeremy and Alex interact.