2 Year Check-Up

We had our check-up with Dr. Newton this morning, and everything looks good! (How rare to hear with our little booger!) Carter is weighing in at exactly 27 pounds (50th percentile) and is measuring about 35.5 inches (75th percentile), so he's right in the middle of the pack for weight and above average height. Dr. Newton said we can expect him to be tall and lean as a kid/adult, as percentiles generally stay consistent after age two. His head circumference was in the 90-95th percentile, so I'm thinking that means he is my little smarty pants. :) Tough guy got one shot and only cried for about a minute afterwards, so he got a lemonade from Sonic for being so brave. Given how advanced he is for communication, we were also encouraged to start getting Carter used to the idea of a potty seat since he'll tell us if he needs to tee-tee and has no diaper on after a bath. YIKES. Looks like we are going shopping! The only other suggestion he had was to take Carter to the dentist sometime before the age of 3. Wow, that'll be ugly! He's about to break his last two baby teeth on the bottom, so as soon as those get in, he encouraged us to go. Again, YIKES. Glad to hear we have a healthy, growing boy, though! :)  

Carter is 2!

Baby boy, you are 2 years old! Part of me wants to cry at how fast you are growing up, and the other part of me LOVES watching you change and grow into a precious little boy. You are most definitely no longer a baby - you know what you want, you know how to ask for it, and you have definite opinions if you don't get your way. We have started to have to discipline you a lot more because you have frequent meltdowns/tantrums over the most ridiculous things - i.e. I won't let you eat ice cream for breakfast, you have to put on a diaper, I take away the scissors, I played the wrong Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode, I give you milk to drink after you asked for milk to drink...you get the idea. You push limits and challenge us daily - a very normal and healthy thing, I know, but very challenging at the same time. We've started using the "Love & Logic" theories of giving strategic choices, and it works most of the time, but we occasionally just get "NO!" out of you when you don't want to do what we say. Then, we have to be the "bad guys" and force the issue which never ends well for anyone, so we are still working on it.

Let's talk routine - you have started going to bed and waking up a little bit later thanks to daylight savings, and we have decided to let that be. You go to bed between 8 and 8:30 at night and typically wake up between 7:15 and 7:30. On school days, you nap from about 12-2, and on weekends, you nap more like 1-3, but it's typically a good two-hour stretch. You have started sleeping with a pillow and blanket in your crib in preparation for the big boy bed transition (which I'm dreading), and I can't explain why watching you sleep on a pillow is so cute to me, but it just is.

You eat a LOT - usually three meals plus at least two or three snacks each day - and you drink even more! You LOVE any kind of sweet beverage - orange juice, apple juice, Fruitables boxes, Crystal Light fruit punch, lemonade, flavored milk, etc. You are pretty spotty on food, though, and you frustrate me with how finicky you can be. I've learned to accept that just because you loved a food yesterday doesn't mean you will eat it again today. Ugh. You refuse most meats, but your tried and true favorites that don't vary are fruit (you love them all - bananas, strawberries, applesauce, blackberries, peaches, oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon), french fries, tortilla chips, turkey dogs, rice, peas, yogurt, cheese, and any kind of sweet. You are currently obsessed with Oreos, but you really only want to eat the cream (which you call "meem"), and you love ice cream ("i-meam"). We've discovered you are pretty weird about combining any foods though - for example, you love tortilla chips and cheese separately, but when I make you cheese nachos, you won't touch them. Quirky little thing. Hopefully that's just a phase...

You are talking up a STORM! In the last month or so, you've started combining words together (ex: "mama car" or "basketball hoop"), and we've even caught a few very basic sentences lately. ("Carcar/I did it" or "Momo go too") You can count to ten in both Spanish and English and know all of your basic colors. You surprised me yesterday when you identified a few basic shapes - circle, square, heart, star - and you are starting to do more imaginative playing. You will take your helicopters or airplanes and "woosh" them around in the air as if they are flying.

You are definitely in a mine ("mise") phase, and you are obsessed with what belongs to who. You've also started wanting to "trade" with us - you want our fork if we get yours, for example. Odd, but at least you aren't just taking our stuff! :)

We are starting to wean you from the lovey by telling you that Momo is napping or not hungry or whatever - some days it works, some days it doesn't. We'll get there.

You are starting to like TV (praise Jesus!), and you love when we turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You will also watch Elmo or Dora/Diego for short periods of time, but unless we sit there with you, it doesn't last long.

You are going to be the absolute BEST big brother. You know your sister's name and you love to draw her pictures and "pat" her in my tummy. I know you don't fully grasp what is about to happen, but given your age, I'm very impressed with what you DO understand. You can tell me where her room is and point to her in my belly. You gave her a kiss the other day which about melted my heart. Your newest cousin was born last week (Grant) and you were obsessed with him at the hospital. You gave him kisses and wanted to pat him and loved watching me giving him a bottle at your birthday party. You are going to be the sweetest when it's YOUR baby sister!

Love you, angel boy!

And she shall be called...

Kathryn Reese Ezell :) 

We have a name!! I finally committed to her name and ordered a monogrammed decal for above her bed last week. Kathryn is a family name on Blake's side (his grandmother's sister) and mine (my sweet cousin Katherine Lowrey), but we both liked the spelling of the Ezell's side better. Kathryn means "pure" which we also thought was a very sweet sentiment for a little girl. We will most likely call her Kate until she's old enough to have an opinion on that. :)

In choosing her name, we tried to keep in mind that we had honored my side of the family with Carter's middle name (Wade), so we wanted to honor his side with her name somehow, and Kathryn was definitely our favorite name on his side. As far as Reese goes, we instantly agreed that we both loved how modern it was and knew that would probably be her middle name regardless of the first...we were originally torn between Abigail, Hannah, Kathryn, and Caroline. I liked how her first name was somewhat of a throwback and Reese made it very modern. Her loopy, swirly monogram is SO cute. I cannot wait to post pictures once the nursery is done and it's on the wall!

24 Weeks

How far along: 24 Weeks

Baby’s size: ~12 inches and ~1.5 lbs (the size of an eggplant)

Maternity clothes: Oh, yes.

Sleep: Can't get enough! Beginning to feel tired a lot and REALLY struggling to get up in the mornings. 

Best moment of this week: Blake FINALLY felt her kicking last night! I've felt it for about 9 or 10 weeks now, but she has become very strong lately. Blake was finally patient enough last night to wait a few minutes with his hand on my belly, and she kicked her daddy for the first time. :) 

Miss anything: This is going to sound bad, but I would KILL for a margarita lately. Oh, and an extra cup of coffee or two in the mornings!

Food cravings: Mexican food, Mexican food, and more Mexican food! Plus sweets, soda, and strawberries - stereotypical girl, huh?

Queasy or sick?: Occasional headaches when I get tired, but not really!

Have you started to show yet?: Um...I'm huge. And have SO MUCH left to go! :/

Gender: Girl!

Belly button in or out: Out...very, very out.

Wedding rings on or off: On - this was never an issue with me while pregnant with Carter, so I'm hopeful that it won't be an issue now. 

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy - I've found myself being a little more moody in the mornings or when I get tired. And I get annoyed...quickly...I sometimes feel bad for my morning classes. I'm just not a morning person.

Looking forward to: Hosting Carter's birthday party this weekend (HOW is he already TWO?!!) and being done with work! 5 more weeks!!!

22 Weeks

How far along: 22 weeks. 

Baby’s size: ~10 inches, 1 pound.

Total Weight Gain: 9 pounds to date. (How a 1-pound baby causes nearly double digit weight gain is BEYOND me!)

Maternity clothes: YES. I can no longer do any regular pants unless they are athletic shorts or stretchy leggings.

Sleep: Sleep has been fine - I'm not uncomfortable yet, but I get really hot at night and am up frequently. 

Best moment of this week: Buying the first of many coordinated outfits for my kiddos to wear this summer/fall. They are light blue gingham with little crabs on them - she got a bubble and he got some shorts that will go with a red Polo. :) 

Miss anything: My old clothes...we put aside some money for me to go shopping this weekend because all of my maternity clothes from Carter were cold-weather, and it's been 85 lately. I've been surviving by rotating two different pairs of pants and a handful of shirts, but I need more to make it through.

Movement: TONS. Constant. I have been really trying to get Blake to feel her because she's getting so strong, but the minute he puts his hand on my belly, she stops. He must have a calming influence on her.
Food cravings: Mexican food - I've eaten more nachos and tacos lately than I care to think about!

Queasy or sick?: Nope!  
Have you started to show yet?: YES! I feel HUGE already, but I know I'm only going to get bigger.

Gender: GIRL! :) 

Belly button in or out: Officially out.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Becoming moodier...I have felt lots of ups and downs lately. 

Looking forward to: Wrapping up the school year (7 more weeks!) and putting together her nursery! My mom bought some of her bedding at Pottery Barn Kids this weekend, but I have lots of old little boy stuff to move out of her room before I can really piece it together. At this point, it's a baby storage land. 

20 Weeks: It's A...

20 weeks, 5 days

How far along: 20 weeks. 

Baby’s size: ~8 inches, 11 ounces or about the size of a banana.

Maternity clothes: Some...definitely had to bust out the maternity pants this week. Part of me is sad, part of me is thrilled to be comfortable again! I can still get away with most tops, but I'm starting to need camisoles underneath some that are getting short.

Sleep: Yes, please! Sleeping like a champ in our new house now that we got a fan going for white noise. Where has THAT trick been all my life?!!

Best moment of this week: TIE - moving into our new house last weekend AND finding out the gender all in a 24-hour period!

Miss anything: Comfortably sleeping on my stomach and being able to work out without getting sciatic nerve pain and shin splints. :(

Movement: TONS. And loving every minute!
Food cravings: Sweets, baked cheetos, and soda, mostly. Oh, and turkey dogs. Weird, I know.

Queasy or sick?: Nope! 
Have you started to show yet?: YES! Really, REALLY showing now.

Gender: We got official confirmation last weekend...and it's 100% BABY GIRL! (Lord, help me!)

Belly button in or out: Starting to pop out...

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy. 

Looking forward to: Putting together her nursery! The painters started today, and I went with gray and lavender (official name: wisteria) in her room. Three walls are gray, and one is a lavender accent wall. I was nervous, but it came out SO cute! Can't wait to start looking for bedding, art, etc. I have SO many ideas, but I am trying not to spend a fortune, too. Pinterest, here I come! :)

Bit the Bullet Today...

...and busted out the maternity pants. I've been squishing poor little baby E into my normal pants for the last two or three weeks and holding some of them together with a hair rubber band. Swallowed my pride this morning as I hit 19 weeks and brought the maternity clothes out of the attic. Sad day, but man, I'm comfy! :) We find out baby E's gender (officially!) in exactly 48 hours...I cannot wait!!!!