Family Update

Well, it's been a little while since I've last blogged.  Our family has (mostly) been keeping busy with daily life.

Ledger has been busily avoiding the cough and cold that is making the rounds at his child care.  He had been doing a great job at it... until today.  Don't worry, it hasn't slowed him down at all!  For Christmas, he got these miniature Star Wars action figures and he loves playing with them.  It cracks me up when he has Darth Vadar out and will sing the Imperial March (or at least, his own version of it) or when he fights with "WEEbacca" (Ledger's name for Chewbacca).  He can also always be found with at least one tool in his hands at all time, and often it's a Lego creation that he's calling "drill".  He has also been working on potty training and is wearing Pull-Ups at grandma Jamie's house and has pottied in the little boy potty quite a few times.  We're currently bribing him with Skittles at home and Starburst at grandma Jamie's house.  He has pottied a lot, but we're still trying to figure out how to get him to poop in the potty.  As I'm writing this, he just looked at me and said "I'm pooping".  *Sigh*  If only he would tell me just a minute in advance!

Chris has been suddenly motivated to watch his calorie intake and he's been on the treadmill almost every night.  He is using a super-cool app on his phone to track the nutritional content of everything he is eating and drinking.     If you've ever dieted, you know how difficult it can be to keep an honest food diary, so I am very proud of him!  So far, he's down about 11 pounds! :)

(I promise to post a pregnancy picture here soon!)

I have continued to be busy at work and at home.  Ledger is really going through a Mommy-clingy stage and although I love the cuddles and attention, it is very difficult to pick-up and carry my toddler while dragging my own belly around!  It seems like I am continuing to add pregnancy symptoms to the list -- including cravings for vegetables and smells that overwhelm me in a negative way!  My belly is big and tight and being on my feet does cause some very minor contractions.  Rhodes continues to move a lot!  That is supposed to slow down some as he runs out of room (or womb), but that hasn't quite happened yet!  Starting in February, I will be seeing the doctor every 2 weeks.  Things are really going to be speeding up as we near the end of this pregnancy!!

Kinley's Baptism

Kinley wearing her Mommy's handmade baptismal gown.

On Sunday, our family celebrated Kinley's baptism at Messiah Lutheran Church in Lindsborg.  We had a good turnout of family with Josh's family coming from Kansas City.  Josh's brother: Brad, Brandy, and I were all named as Kinley's baptism sponsors.  Kinley did great through the service, including having the pastor hold her through his entire sermon.  She didn't cry or fuss at all -- even with the water and oil placed on her head.  We were all very proud!  Chris and I were also very proud of how well Ledger did through the church service.  In one particularly funny moment when the choir had just finished performing their solo song, Ledger loudly said "Good Job!".

After the service, we had a family lunch at Oma's house.  Ledger loved getting to play with his big cousins - Ethan, Olivia, Isaac, and Faith.  Food was good, but hanging out with family was GREAT!  Congratulations Kinley, we are proud of you.

Ledger sitting with the big kids!

Michels - Hensleys - Perkins'

Michels - Powells - Perkins'

In another fun moment... Josh's dad, Don, passed the fantasy football trophy on to the new champions, The Kauai Roosters -- BoomMa and BoomPa Powell. :)

New Year Nesting

Since the new year, I have really felt the "need" to nest and get things organized.  With the baby on the way and the chaos that Christmas inevitably brings to our house, we really needed to buckle down and make some changes.  It started with a complete toy box overhaul last week -- out with the old and in with the new!  And I rearranged the furniture in the basement to create a play area for Ledger.  I was so inspired by a good start, that I actually agreed to buy some rubbermaid storage containers and cube containers for the playroom.  (That's a big deal for me, because I hate spending money on stuff like that.)

This weekend we really kicked it up a notch by recruiting our visiting family to help with some of the never-ending projects around the house.  Chris and Josh assembled two massive shelving units to help create some usable storage in our garage.  Dad and Chris installed an updated light fixture in the basement living room (and of course this turned into a bigger project than expected).  Thank you so much to my family for allowing us to turn every family gathering into a work weekend! :)

BoomMa probably had the most important job -- cuddling with Kinley.

Emily, Josh, and Ledger working on shelving for the garage.

Ledger, Josh, and Chris assembling.

BoomPa and Ledger working with POWER TOOLS.

Emily's primary project was to install  a sports-themed light switch in Ledger's room.

Baby Rhodes

As my first post of the new year, I thought I would reveal our little secret... baby #2 is going to be named

Rhodes Steven

There is no use in trying to hide it this time around.  Ledger knows the name and whenever he points to my belly, he talks about "Baby Rhodes".  Rhodes is definitely developing a little personality in there.  He is ALL elbows and knees, I think, because he is continually "reminding" me that he's there.  I am pretty uncomfortable already -- especially when I've spent a lot of time on my feet.  My belly tightens up and just gets achey and I feel like I'm lugging my body around.  At work, I spend a lot of time on the floor and it is getting increasingly difficult to get myself back up!  I remember feeling this way when I was pregnant with Ledger, but not until I was further into the third trimester!!

Right now, baby Rhodes is 28 weeks along and I have just started the third trimester.  We had a 3D ultrasound on Monday and invited Grammie Pam and Oma Korey to join us to see the little man in action.  The technology is pretty cool -- you can really see a little face and person moving around in there.  Rhodes definitely gave us a good show.  He was sitting breech (butt down) for the photo session which allowed us a really good view of his face.  He was suckling and swallowing a lot -- normal practice for babies in the womb.  He moved a fair bit and even "waved" at his big brother Ledger.  It was pretty cool.  By the end of the session, he put his hands in front of his face as if to say I'M DONE.  The only disappointment was that we couldn't get a good confirmation picture of his "boy parts".  The ultrasound tech took quite a few measurements and said that Rhodes is measuring about a week big -- that is definitely different since Ledger was always right on for his age.

Just today I had my glucose tolerance test and doc doesn't think there is any cause for concern there.  My blood pressure is great (yay!) and my weight gain has been pretty minimal so far.  He noted that the baby is riding way up high, under my ribs, which is why I've been so much more uncomfortable this time around.  Sally, the ultrasound tech, snuck me back into the ultrasound room to see if we could get a good "boy parts" shot.  Luckily, he has turned back into the head down position and so we got a very convincing "boy" picture this time!  I have another "monthly" check at the beginning of February and then after that we'll start doing appointments every 2 weeks.  I really am nearing the "home stretch"!  We also re-addressed the issue with my tearing and scar tissue problems from the last birth and decided that during that last month, we'll probably just have to repeat a pelvic exam and make a judgement call on how big the baby is at that time.  To make a long story short, if there is a big risk of me tearing again, we may end up in a c-section.  I'm hoping that's not the case, but I trust my doctor and if he says that he thinks that will be best, then that's what we will do.

Can you see his little smile?

Hands in front of the face -- I'm done having my picture taken!

That is definitely a penis.  No question... it's a boy.