Conversations With My Three Year Old.

Me: (after a game of 20 questions) "Dude, why do you ask SO many questions?"
LM:  (thinking) Um, because I need SO many answers, that's why!"

Note to self, stop asking my kid obvious questions...

Pregnancy Update.

I realize I've been a bit quiet about my pregnancy on the blog, which must seem kind of weird considering all of the talk regarding the making of baby #2. It's definitely not for lack of excitement, but rather, I think I've still been a little afraid that if I talk to much about it, I might jinx myself and that this baby may just disappear. While I'm not quite out of the woods yet, I did have my 12 week checkup today, and honestly, much to my surprise, not only was there an incredibly strong heartbeat, but also a few giant kicks to boot. My doc said at this point the risk of miscarriage is really low, and that I should finally take a deep breath, and believe that we are having this baby. After 8 long weeks I think I am finally ready to say that come July 17th, we are going to be a family of four!

File that under words I never thought I would say.

Now that I am moving closer to my second trimester, I promise you that there will be a lot more chatter about all things baby on here. Once we find out the sex, in 6 weeks, there are more than a few projects I am planning to take on, and I may be looking to you fabulous readers for some advice, and of course your opinions.

Over the past few weeks a lot of you have facebooked me asking how I was doing and feeling, and the short answer is pretty great, which is mostly what has made me so nervous these past few months. I have had little to no morning sickness, which is opposite how I was with the LM, and short of a downturn last week, which my Dr. thinks might have been the stomach flu, I am feeling and eating pretty normal (ish.) I know everyone says each pregnancy is different, but I am actually a bit surprised at how true that it. Other than being exhausted 24/7, I have no other similar symptoms. I want completely different things, with the LM it was sweets, and with this baby I am all about the salt. With the LM my skin was glowing, and with this one, not so much (thank you baby for breaking out my face like a 16 year old girl.) My stomach seems to be keeping pace with my ass and breasts, but all are growing at such a fast pace I am "officially" in my fat lady pants. I haven't been that emotional, but I definitely have been snuggling up to my little man a bit more. I am convinced I am having a girl, but my husband is pretty sure it's a boy. Well, at least one of us has to be right!

It really hit me the other day that soon it isn't going to be just the three of us anymore, I can't explain it but it just really makes me miss my little guy, even though he always is sitting right by me. Lately, I am constantly smelling his hair, kissing on him, and making sure he knows he's still my baby (to which he always replies,"but I'm a big boy now, the baby is in your belly,")  and surprisingly, he has been more excited about the baby than all of us. He likes to tell people that he has two babies in his belly (not quite sure where he got that from) and he is always telling me how he is going to help me feed and dress the baby, change it's diapers, and he said even when it's little and cries a lot the baby can still watch him play. I can already tell he is going to be a great big brother. (Okay, now I'm a little emotional.)

So, there you have it. That is the quick and dirty on baby number two. I really can't wait to hit the 14 week mark, and soon start preparing for the little one's arrival. It's hard to believe that in a few months, another, (and the last,) of us will be coming home. I can already tell that we should be reveling in our fairly quiet party of three.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for checking in on me, and for all of your amazing well wishes. I am finally believing that I am pregnant, and it means the world to me that you believed it all along.

(Photo Credit: From Here.)

Snowed In.

As it turned out we didn't have a "White Christmas" but boy oh boy did we have a "White Boxing Day." To say it snowed up here would be quite the understatement, and I must say my little guy and I quite enjoyed watching the snow fall for some 24 hours straight. Sure it was a blizzard, but that didn't stop my boys from heading out and getting in some late night/ early morning sledding.

Here is a look at the aftermath outside our window.

And this is what it takes to go outside and brave the elements (a big thank you to my hubby for not making me join in during this little outing!)

I hope all of you are staying warm out there, and for those of you traveling, and stuck, may the force be with you. Today is blue sky so hopefully some of those planes will be able to start making some progress getting you all back home, where yo belong.

I know I'm always the first to say "let it snow," but for now I have to say... "let it melt, and fast!"

From Our Family To Yours.

The highlight of the holiday season, for me, is sending and receiving holiday cards. It's something that I have done since I was in my teens, and thanks to the invention of the photo card, I get so much joy each year seeing the beautiful faces of all our friends and family members. If I could I would send you all a holiday card, but since I can't please accept this virtual version. From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday and a happy, happy happy new year.

Here's to 2011!

Of Course My Kid Would...

Learn how to surf before he learns how to swim.

 

 

P.S. Please excuse the enlarged pregnant tush + pre-pregnancy bikini.

P.P.S. We finally made it home after a marathon trip back (more on this later) and today is filled with nothing but Christmas fun. Decorating the tree, wrapping presents, baking cookies, and of course, watching the beautiful snow fall. Man, it's good to be home.

Low Tide.

Life down here is pretty much like Groundhog's Day. We wake up, watch Toy Story, go to the beach, go to breakfast, swim in the pool, nap, and then watch the sun set from the tide pools on the beach. Every day is the same, and every day is heavenly. 

My Little Man dreams of these tide pools. He looks for rocks, snails, fish, and crabs. He explores every nook and cranny, and being the adventerous little guy that he is he, of course, has to swim out just to see how deep he can get. I can't think of a better way to end the perfect day.

And if you needed any proof that they really do grow up too fast, here is the Little Man, enjoying the exact same spot, two years ago.

It seems just like yesterday...

(Non) Maternity Chic.

I saw this over on A Cup Of Joe (one of my daily reads) and I just had to repost.

I was just telling my girlfriends how this time around I am refusing to buy any maternity clothes (except maybe a pair of jeans) and I just love how put together these moms-to-be are, without buying a ton of clothes that you are likely to never wear again. Before we left, I pulled out a few things that made it through my last pregnancy, and just the sight of them made me break out in hives. I wore them almost every single day for 9 months straight, I just don't think I can stomach them again.

According to Lucky, it looks like it's time to hit up my hubby's closet for some inspiration!

Shadow Bump.

The other day I was watching the sunset when my eye was drawn to a shadow of a pregnant lady on the beach. After years of dealing with "pregnant women everywhere" I knew I had one of two options. First I could give her the unnoticeable (patented) evil stare, or two I could give her the middle finger and run away, quickly down the beach. I decided to opt for number one, given that this is a small town, and then it hit me... the pregnant lady was none other than moi!

Yep, that is my 9 week bump! It's about triple the size that it was at the same time with my little man. and I  can say I have never been happier to have such a big tummy, bikini and all.

Sick In The Jungle.

Wouldn't you just know it.

Here I thought we could escape cold and flu season by escaping to the middle of nowhere (literally) but those school bugs followed my little man down, and right now we have three sickies in our house.

We seem to be on the mend, and I just keep telling myself that it is much better to have a cold in the 80 degree sunny weather, than it is in the 20 degree blustery weather back home, but still, sick is sick, and it pretty much blows (just like this constantly runny nose.)

This is when a cocktail would really come in handy....

Little Man, Big Ocean.

There are two things I know (and love) about my kid.

1. Is the fact that he has no fear.
2. He has an innate ability to take anything to the "next level."

Enter raft surfing.

I have to admit I'm a bit jealous of the fact that he ALWAYS has fun in any given situation and, well, I have to say I'm also a bit jealous of those abs....

Oh to be a kid again.

Morning Coffee.

After a delayed 2 hour flight to JFK, a literal run to our connecting gate, a 6 hour flight to San Jose, CR, a few short hours of sleep in a B&B, breakfast, and a 4 1/2 hour van ride, I can think of nothing better than waking up* and enjoying my morning coffee right here, right now.

* (Okay, If I'm being *picky* here, it might have been just a teeny weeny bit better if we were drinking our coffee at 6:30am on the beach, rather than 5:30... but I realize I am splitting hairs here...

Happy weekend my friends!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

It is officially FREEZING out! What the heck happened to Fall, and when did it get replaced by February? Let's just say that I am not a fan. Okay, okay, I can't complain too much, because tomorrow we are saying adiós to this igloo, and heading off for much warmer pastures. Yes, we are on the move and the three (well, four of us, including the little bean) are heading off for two weeks in Costa Rica. We will be back right before Christmas, and as usual, so long as the jungle internet holds, I will be blogging daily from our version of paradise. I promise to try to bottle up some of that sunshine in my suitcase, and will try my hardest to sneak it through customs.

Forget a white Christmas... all I want this year is a tan!

Little Man, Big Apple.

My Little Man and I spent the weekend in NYC for a whirlwind trip which will forever be known as the "Christmas extravaganza of 2010." We hit almost every tourist trap that the city had to offer, and I'm pretty sure my little guy had the best time of his life. Here are some of the highlights ...

The first stop was, of course, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Once we were able to make it through the massive crowds, we took our spot in front of the iconic tree.

After a quick "stroller nap" while Mom ooohhheddd and ahhhheeddd at the windows on 5th Avenure, we hit up my man's dream destination, Dylan's candy bar. Yes, it was impressive. Yes, it was PACKED.  Yes, we left with enough candy to feed a small army. (Or in this case a toddler and his pregnant Mommy.)

After our sugar high, we headed over to the Disney store in Times Square. After 2 hours, my little man was beat, and we were able to sneak in  some dinner at Mom's favorite place, and we were very happy to be back in the West Village, away from the crowds, to crash at my SIL's house. 

Not surprisingly, my Little Man was up at 5am because he knew what the day had in store. Yes, were meeting Santa. You see, the point of the trip was to get up early on Sunday morning, to head over to Macy's to see the real Miracle on 34th street. As expected it did not disappoint. We got there about 15 minutes before the store opened and after following a veteran dad (love those!) we learned that Santa was housed on the 8th floor. The doors opened, and after a made rush we soon found ourselves smack in the middle of Santa's Village. 

To get to the village, you had to take a ride on the polar express. 

To get onto the polar express you had to wait....

  

and wait....

and wait some more....

After about 30 minutes we finally made our way inside the train.

Which absolutely was worth the wait. 

After a little more waiting, we were let into a room to meet the big man. (Word is that there was about 19 Santa's in that hall, shhhhhhhh.) One look at that big red suit and my Little Man froze. Froze as in refused to enter the room. As in, we drove 4 hours, left our house at the crack of dawn, waited in line for an hour, just to see this "man," and now my little man is refusing to get off the ground, kind of froze... 

No, way, that was not going to happen. 

After I agreed to sit in the middle, my shy little guy finally got to meet dream celebrity.

 It was slow going in the beginning....

But after a couple of minutes he finally warmed up to his new favorite person.

I learned that all he wants for Christmas is a green dinosaur and since this is news to me, I'm really hoping Santa got the message.... looks like "someone" has a little more shopping to do. 

All in all we had a short, but fabulous time. It has been a dream of mine, since I was a little kid, to see New York during Christmastime, and I am so glad that I finally was able to do it, watching it all through the eyes of my favorite little guy. 

36 hours of Christmas fun... now it's time to settle in for a LONG winter's nap.