Friday, August 23, 2013

the life of an elephant.

literally.
the other day I was watching animal planet with Rick & Gunner and they started talking about elephants and their gestational period - quickly I caught on to the fact that they are pregnant for up to 24 months straight. I say I caught on quickly because I instantly thought to myself "wow that must be terrible"... and then my mind quickly connected the dots and I discovered that WOW - I am an elephant.
 
Granite, I was given a solid two month break in between my pregnancies - but yes, by the time I give birth I will have been practically been pregnant for 2 years straight (because let's face it 9-10 months might as well be a full year)
 
and let me tell you friends, I feel it.
40 weeks with close to no break stacked onto another 40 weeks - is T O U G H. not just because my body didn't get a chance to recover or regain any energy or "youthfullness" - but also because I stacked on baby weight on top of baby weight and feel like a beached whale, or an elephant in this case does feel about right also.
as if pregnancy is not hard enough on your body - I also have a beautiful little 9 month old who goes goes goes NONSTOP and always wants to play! And I can't ever say no (no matter how exhausted, swollen or achy I am) so I, also, go go go go - all over the house we both crawl and play all day & all night. when i'm not working 8 hours a day and commuting 45 both ways.
 
yes. it's hard. I just keep reminding myself thought that one day very SOON - I will not be pregnant anymore. and that thought alone is like christmas. better than christmas because it's not just one day or one thing - it's a whole WORLD of things I will be able to do again and have again: energy, weight loss, running, working out, drinking caffeine to help me through the workdays and long nights, sleeping on my side, sleeping on my stomach, being able to chase gunner around and not feel like i'm going to die, wearing NON maternity clothes, getting massages, painting my own toes, reaching my toes or SEEING my toes - the list can go on & on.
 
even though I can write a book on pregnancy right now and the woes that go with it - I can also right a book on how incredible life is a mom. and I, more than anything, just cannot wait to not be pregnant so I can have BOTH my little ones with us and I can give them my full body's energy at all times and be the very best mom I can be for them both.
 
I just can't wait.
10 weeks to go, or maybe even less!
 
then this elephant will be FREE from her pregnant body and back in full force!
Ahhh, just the thought of it is so nice.
 
 
 
 
& for a random bit of knowledge, I've included the top 10 animals with the longest gestational periods: (now I see also why sharks are so mean!)
 
-manatees: 13 months
-camels: 13-15 months
-giraffes: 13-16 months
-velvet worm: 15 months
-rhinoceros: 15 months
-walruses: 15-16 months
-whales & dolphins: 17-19 months
-elephants: 22-24 months
-Black alpine salamanders – 24 to 36 months
-Sharks – 12 to 42 months

checkups!

Yesterday we had checkups for BOTH our little ones. Gunner had his 9 month checkup with his pediatrician, and I had my 30 week/7 month checkup for little McKenzie & me. First time I have had to scheduled two appointments for TWO KIDS together, it was a little strange & a tiny look into the future.
 
I got off work at 12 which is always a great day!
I went home and met Rick & Gunner (he watches him during the days and works doubles on weekends) and we loaded into the truck and head out to our doctors office. Super nice that my OB and Gunner's pediatrician are all in the same building and only one floor apart - made it much easiser!
 
First up- Gunner's checkup!
First appointment he's had with NO SHOTS so he was one happy camper!
He's starting to recognize his doctor and really enjoy going to the his appointments. The nurses are always so nice and friendly and just adore him - so naturally, he's fond of them too!
And his doctor is the cutest little chinese lady and we LOVE her!
You can see by the pictures below Gunner did SO WELL! He's such a big boy these days it really does blow me away. He laughed and talked to the doctor and nurses through the whole appointment and just held onto daddy's hand (so mommy could snap all these pics and about 292890340 more)







 
STATS
-Gunner currently weighs 17.10 lbs (13%) a bit on the "petite" side she said but he has been on the smaller side since he was born. Partially because he's so active & partially because his parents are not very "large" either! hehe.
 -He is 28" tall exactly (24%) 
-His head measures 44.8 cm (36%).
Doctor says that Gunner is on the "advanced" side of infants because he is already walking so well and talking so much. She was really impressed with all his progress and how great is at communicating and interacting with people.
What can I say, he's pretty perfect ;)
 
 
 
After his appointment we got the paperwork to schedule his 12 MONTH CHECKUP - aka ONE YEAR appointment! That just blew my mind. We scheduled it for a week late because the week of his birthday is also the week of my DUE DATE (yeah, it's a bit comical) - so that's another thing that was a bit of a reality check for us. Two checkups today - two babies next time. WOWZERS.
 
 
 
Next up was mommy & mckenzie's checkup!
-heartbeat was healthy & gunner and daddy got to hear it too which was really fun (I usually go alone before/after work)
- we are both measuring & growing right along schedule
-since I did get pregnant SO CLOSE (as is insanely fast) I have a higher rate of going into labor early. And since Gunner was 2 weeks early - my OB wants me to start coming in every 2 weeks to monitor me in case of preterm/early labor. He said it's nothing to worry about now, but better safe than sorry - and I'm all about that! 
Otherwise though, mama & baby are healthy as can be and it's crazy to think I can count the number of appointments left on ONE HAND till my due date. Life's getting really, well, real.
 
And that was that!
2 checkups, 2 healthy babies & one BIG reality check- our life is flying by so fast right now and sooner than we can spell out B-A-B-Y we will have another one!
 

Friday, August 2, 2013

nine month old gunner

I just can't stop staring at these photos. I'm so happy we found such an amazing photographer - she has captured such beautiful photos our our little guy and I'm so thankful that we will have these photos forever of him. We've had three month, six month & now have nine month done - next up - TWELVE month photos & cake smash photos! I can't even imagine how he'll look 3 months from now, but I'm sure he'll somehow manage to be even more adorable than he already is.
 






 
 
We had Gunner's Godparents Lola & Oscar meet us during his photo session to take some photos with him before they moved to San Diego. Now we have some really great pictures of the three of them and it helped complete the gift I made them before they left! We already can't wait to see them again in November for Gunner's BIRTHDAY! So crazy. We are so lucky to have such great people and Godpanents for Gunner, we couldn't have picked a better couple <3



{tomorrow} I have a NINE month old!

I'm writing this a day early to avoid being weeks late (again). I know we have a busy weekend with family coming in from out of town - so better get this up & posted now before I'm on the verge of his 10 month blog. Oh geez, let's not even think of that quite yet.
 
My little Gunner bear.
As you can see - capturing these photos are becoming quite the challenge. You act like sitting on a calendar and letting me photograph you is NOT the funnest thing ever?! ;)
 
How you are growing SO FAST! I can't believe that this month I will begin planning your first birthday. That just blows my mind.
But I am not focusing on that sad mushy-gushy mommy hormones right now - because I really am having SO MUCH FUN with you being the age you are. Everyday you are learning something new and evolving into your own little self. I absolutely love it. Every month I say is my favorite - but I definitely can see why people told me these months were the funnest - because they really are!
 
 
This month (amongst pretty much taking control of your monthly photos) -it's clear you are your own person. You have your own little personality and you know what you want.
 
new things this month:
- You said your first words!!! Started with DADA then a week later you were saying MAMA, MOMMM, BA-BA, and when youre really hyper and on a total talking rant - I swear you yell "wooowwwwww" and "daddddddd" and giggle in between words - oh my gosh I can't even explain how adorable it is to hear you talk. And boy do you love to talk! You talk NONSTOP - car rides, bath time, play time, EVERYTHING you do - you do it with lots of animation and lots of talking! Car rides are so much more fun because you just talk to you toys the whole time we're on the road and love shouting out DADA at everything we drive by.
- speaking of cars - you LOVE mom's new car. This is the first car where you have your own window that can roll up and down - (dads big truck has no back window and mom's old corolla had manual windows.. so lame) - but this one I can roll down myself and you just LOVE looking outside and shouting at the cars and semi-trucks we drive by. So much fun!
- you are on a mission to walk! you stand up against walls now and pull yourself up against everything you can and are getting braver and braver with letting go or only holding on with one hand. and now you also walk along everything - walls, couches, the doors - and you keep trying to stand up on your own but you're not quite there yet. But you're definitely working hard at it and I'm sure soon we'll have a walking baby!
- your new favorite thing to do is get chased around the house. If you're crawling around you'll sit and look at us and yell so we know it's time to play - and myself or your dad will start crawling after you and you just CRACK up and scream the whole time you crawl away as fast as you can. Not going to lie, you are getting to be faster than me! I get worn out after like 2 laps around the house, but you just go go go and anytime you feel like we stopped - you stop crawling, turn and sit there and stare until we start again - and then start cracking up when you see us chasing you again. It's the funniest thing ever! I don't think either of us can get enough because it's just so much fun to hear and watch you laugh out loud and get so excited.
- You have been bumped up to "Graduate" snacks! Very exciting stuff. Now there are lots of yummy snacks in your diet and they make road trips and eating out a lot smoother for everyone. You love your rice rusks (banana mum mums), the very berry yogurt melts and all the pinwheel snacks the best - mostly the apple ones and the waffle ones.
- you have lots of hair now! and very BLONDE! It's a dirty blonde, but very light still. And it's really thin but you are getting to have a lot of it. And it's WAVY! It has light curls at some parts and now you have little curls that go over your ears- SO CUTE! I hope you keep the wavy hair because it's a cute little surfer look on you! It's fun when we're driving with the windows down I look back and just see all this hair blowing around - and then you get the cutest and CRAZIEST bed head now! I love it. can't take enough pictures of it.
- You have a MOUTH FULL OF TEETH my love. Everyone comments on it all the time! It's funny because it makes you look a lot older than you are because you have close to 9 teeth and such a tiny mouth. You look like a big boy with them! But it's nice because you get to have more advanced foods & snacks because you do have so many teeth ;)
 
 
-you little personality so far:
- you are full of energy and love to play! toys are your favorite thing ever and whether they are yours or grizzlys - every toy in the house must be played with at least once before moving onto the others. Everyday you have a new favorite - but you always stay loyal to your main ones: plastic eggs from easter, your pink toothbrush (you lost the others and hold this one near &dear to you), grizzly's stuffed piggy, your toy hammer with all the beads in it (you love to bang it on the table and dad's head) and recently - the box to the race car grandpa got you - not the car itself, but the box. Oh and your remote controller to the tv (dad got an extra w/o batteries so you'd leave ours alone) and mom's cell phone when you can get sneak it - yesterday I found it in your toybox hiding.. touche
 
- you are a tad stubborn. (that's definitely from me) you fight sleep as long as you can even if it means laying down with your eyes closed and just waving your toothbrush around until you can't hold your arms up anymore. It's so adorable, I just giggle to myself as I watch you sleep-play until you pass out or I find your toothbrush still in your hand in the morning.
 
- you are very loving. you love to give hugs now and learning to give kisses. you love when dad or I sit with you while you play with your toys - just so you can keep one hand on our leg to know that we're nearby. and you love to be rocked to sleep or slow dance to my singing - you are a total cuddle bug like you mama and I wouldn't want it any other way
 
- You are a bit bossy my love. (total dad gene) if not bossy, then you are just more vocal - you make it very known when you like or dislike something. I.e spitting food out if it's gross, crying if you see something and can't reach it or have it.. little things like that. I still think everything you do is adorable - so I think it's really cute, but dad says we need to start teaching you that you can't always get your way so you don't become spoiled.. that's dad for ya though (I'm the nice one btw) haha.. totally kidding
 
- I see a bit of a competitive side of you these days. When you play tug o'war with grizzly or play with her toys - you get real frustrated if you can't get the toy back or if she doesn't let the toy go - You're a very determined little guy and you will chase her around the house and make it your mission to chase her until you get that toy back though. Definitely got the competitve spirit from your dad.
 
 
 
Other than those things - you continue to develop & amaze your dad and I everyday! It's so much fun to see you develop these traits and get a little peak at what kind of boy you will be. You are just so much fun and your just a little gift that keeps on giving, because every day we get a new face or a new trick you learned - and every day is really a gift in itself, beacuse it's shared with you.
 
 


 
 


Thursday, August 1, 2013

august in view

I cannot believe it is August already!!
This makes me so excited though because I am beyond ready for Fall!
I'm not a fan of Summer (ok, so I absolutely hate summer) - but I live for Fall & Winter! The beautiful seasons, the cool weather, the holidays - every single part of it I absolutely LOVE!
 
Last Fall we were preparing ourselves for the arrival of Gunner. Life was mildy busy but I was making myself & Rick busy with doing something on a daily basis to prepare for the life-changing moment our son would be born. I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect.
 
Speed up 12 months -
Now we have a NINE month old Gunner!
He's TONS of fun and more amazing than I ever could have dreamed of. He keeps us pretty busy (to say the least) with chasing him around the house and playing with him all day and night. Between working full-time, cooking dinner for myself & rick and still making sure to be involved in our nighttime traditions (bathtime, playtime, dinnertime, oatmeal before bed and rocking him or dancing with him in his room till bedtime) - life is beyond busy.
But to add to it - we have little miss McKenzie on the horizon!
 
In a little over 2 months (13 weeks till our edd) she will be here!
However, this time around - that is not stressing me out this time around. Call me crazy, but round 2 at pregnancy is so much smoother. Granite, the exhaustion is at it's highest just because I'm so busy with Gunner - but the pregnancy & planning in itself, is so easy breezy to me! We've been through it all now (literally months ago we were doing it) and are aware of what is needed and what can wait. It's just simple things now that I know have to be done, but nothing is overwhelming to me this time.
 
I am so excited for her to get here and I am just doing my best to soak up every second with gunner because he is growing faster than a weed these days. Other than focusing on him and making our days together special - my biggest concern is just making sure to stay healthy and keep our baby healthy while she is still growing & developing.
 
 
It's all so exciting this time around - not so scary or stressful or overwhelming at all. I'm sure once she gets here life will be a little bit crazy for awhile, but I know that we will eventually find our groove and it'll all work itself out - that's what happened with Gunner!
 
I just can't wait to see where we're at 12 months from now & what updates i'll have on life come next August!