Grape fiend

This kid loves grapes almost as much as he loves throwing them on the floor. And I'm trying out the blogger app for iPhone.

Happy end of February!
I

Baby D: 28 Weeks

28 weeks with Baby D

27 weeks with Hens/Baby C

So, I figured I should put up a baby bump picture since I am in my third trimester and have managed not to post pictures of my burgeoning bump everywhere.  To compare, I also added the picture below (black shirt) of me at 27 weeks with Henry. I feel like I am bigger now than I was then...but based on those pictures I guess it looks pretty much the same. And now, to celebrate my pregnancy brain I will blog my thoughts, feelings, and facts in bullet point fashion.  Prepare yourself.

• I am officially 28 weeks and 5 days.
• Braxton Hicks contractions started around 26 weeks and I get probably 3-4 a day. I notice I get them more frequently when I bend over (picking up toys/Henry/etc.) and/or spend extended time cleaning/doing things on my hands and knees. I reeeeally hope they don't get worse as this pregnancy progresses because they're starting to get in the way of life.
• Baby D moves around a LOT. I don't know if I can feel it more or I have less to pay attention to, but I notice it all the time. My one comfort is a lot can change in the next few weeks. Doesn't mean he's going to be a really active, awake infant, right?
• I get heartburn probably 2-3 times a week, usually on days when I eat lots of fast food or sugar. It's very odd because it's not unbearable, but it's just not comfortable. So next time I'm going to take some Tums for the first time in my life.
• Starting to get mild swelling in my legs if I don't walk regularly. Sexy, I know.
• I recently bought a king sized pillow to serve as my body pillow/other Josh. I love it.
• I am carrying much lower than I remember with Henry (/Baby C)
• I have to eat frequent, smaller meals or I feel uncomfortably full for hours and hours.
• Following that same train of thought, nights are not a very comfortable time of day for me. The lack of naps and accumulation of lifting a small child make a very tired lady, and most nights when Josh gets home I'm laying on the couch watching TV. But don't worry! I do make dinner most nights and clean at least one room a day, so I'm not a complete waste of a housewife.
• I haven't had any major aversions or cravings like I allowed myself with Henry. Spinach is no longer in my diet and I've been eating quite a few Burger King chocolate chip cookies, but other than that I eat like a fairly healthy individual.
• I've gained about half the weight I want to, so I'm on good track to stay in my desired 20-30 lb pregnancy weight gain assuming I don't give up in the next 12 weeks.
• And finally, I'm starting to freak out about having another baby in the home. Like, what is going to happen with Henry when I'm in the hospital? And who is going to play with him when I have to spend an hour figuring out nursing with a newborn? And how am I ever supposed to catch up on sleep? Yikes. Tips from all my 2+ children mom friends are very much encouraged, please.

I think that's all for a baby D update. It's about time I post some pictures and updates on Henry. It's like 12 months gave him permission to grow up and learn really fast or something. Growth and I have a love/hate relationship. AND Happy post-Valentines day. Cheers!

Actually New Years Eve

What was I thinking, forgetting to blog about my New Years Eve?  OBVIOUSLY THE BABY TOOK OVER.

Let me share.

My Dad is the new bishop of the single's ward in Lake Oswego/Wilsonville/Portland area. There was a YSA dance on New Years Eve that my parents and recently transplanted sister had to attend. Josh and I have done lots of sleeping on New Years Eve since we met and I wasn't about to pass up this brilliant opportunity to pregnantly dance away 2011, so we got my friend Amanda to come with us, had her little sister stay home with sleeping Henry, and we hit up the dance.

My dapper father in his tux, and Mom looking sexy in a fancy dress.

Amanda, Josh, Nat and me trying to figure out the semi-formal dress code and rocking it.

We had fun. It was great to actually do something on New Years Eve, and even better that it was DANCING and hanging out with three of my best friends. It was also fun to be pregnant and think how ridiculous it was that Josh and I were actually at a YSA dance...so thanks Amanda and Natalie for letting us embarrass you. We rang in New Years' 2012 with a couple party poppers and really loud noise machines and Josh and I took this, the very first picture of 2012.

Also, Henry didn't seem to mind that we left him (because he didn't know?) because we brought him home a handful of balloons and noisemakers. Those provided at least an hour of entertainment. Happy 2012!

Baby D

Okay guys. We're having another baby.

WHAAAAAA.....You should already know this from Facebook or any word of mouth, but if not, it's the truth and because the blog says it, it's for real. Here's baby D at 18 weeks.



Here is Henry getting a baby doll for Christmas that is supposed to teach him about babies. Obviously, he is really excited to be an older brother.



But in all seriousness, he sort of likes the baby now and at least knows what toy we are referring to when we say, "Go get baby!" I have no idea what we're going to do to teach him more in the future? All my friends with children, do you have any good ideas for helping this transition at all? At least I feel like Henry will be too young to either a) put up much of a fight (maybe like a month of tantrums?) or b) not even realize there's another baby in the house until all of the sudden it's normal. We'll see.

Quick Facts:
1. I'm due May 7
2. That makes me 25 weeks pregnant
3. I'm due almost exactly a month after my cousin BFF, Rachel!
3. We're having another boy
4. The babies will be 17 months apart
5. This baby was a planned surprise....meaning we thought "Hey, that'd be really cool if we got pregnant in these x months and had a baby before med school" and then we were having another baby! (and we are terribly excited and happy and blessed and lucky to be expecting another baby)
6. I am really excited to have two boys so happy and close together because like 70% of the women I know and love in life have 2 boys pretty close and can give me all sorts of parenting advice. (Thanks in advance to Erica, Amber, Abbey, and Megan)
7. I am really excited that I get to deliver at Orem Community, again. It's better than a hotel.
8. I look more pregnant now than I did at 8 months with Henry.
9. This baby is "Baby D".
10. I get heartburn now for the first time in my life.

Any other questions? Cheers!

Oregon and New Years

Oregon was great! Pictures and highlights list below.

• Waking up at 7 am to be at Target when it opened, 3 days in a row.


• Finally getting the 75% off on the 4th day we didn't wake up


• Henry following Kino around everywhere, but keeping a "safe" distance


• Henry waiting at the door, watching Kino, every time he went outside


• Henry getting brave enough the last few days to actually "chase" Kino making his doggie sound


• Wii for Christmas!


• Renting Just Dance for the Wii and having a dance party with Josh and Mom


• Waiting for Henry's naps so Nat and Josh could play Super Mario Brothers


• Senor Taco


• Chevy's salsa....mmm


• $50 wii fit from Costco!


• Day dates with Josh!

I'm sure I'm missing tons of things, but we had a wonderful time with Mom, Dad, and Natalie. It was great to have Nat in Portland and even better when she was home from work. I am reeeeeally excited she's in Portland now.

Pictures!



Somehow we didn't really take any pictures the whole time, nor did I get any pictures of Henry with the Williams' grandparents or Aunt Nat. Sad, but I promise we did have plenty of fun times. All the pictures you see here are from Henry's birthday in Henry's "birthday suit" that was Natalie's gift to H on his special day. Another blog to follow, I'm sure.

Happy February!

Christmas Day 2011

Henry's first Christmas! We woke up at 7:30 and opened a couple gifts before church. Henry didn't really get what was going on but he did get that there was a big awesome toy that made noises (Racetrack from Grandma and Grandpa), a ball, and lots of fruit (from Spencer's stocking).

The one picture of me on Christmas day.

It was fun to experience Calvert Christmas for the first time. We finished opening presents sometime in the evening, I can't remember if it was before or after dinner. It was nice take time to enjoy each and every gift, and it definitely made Christmas last longer. :)

We played some Blokus with Amber and Mike and this Calvert family managed not to get any more illness after the Christmas flu passed from big Josh to Spencer, little Josh, Emma, and Randy.


At one point we took a fun jaunt to Gas Works Park in Seattle. It was a cold and windy day, but it was one of the few reprieves we had from the rain, so it was awesome to get out. The park has gorgeous views of the Seattle skyline and we got to watch a couple airplanes land in the lake. And my personal favorite bit of information, the paintball fight from 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed here.




Lastly, two pictures I just really liked from Christmas. I love all these men together, and then the three little redheads.



We left Seattle on the 28th. It was a crazy experience because a)We didn't want to leave and b)The power was out at the Seattle train station. The train was completely full and they had no way to assign seats and monitor it all, so I had a mini-meltdown when we finally got on a full train and couldn't find a seat. Fortunately, someone was polite enough to point out two seats across from each other so Josh, Henry, and I sat together. Henry missed his morning nap to take this train ride, so we had a fairly miserable time with him, but it was the THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Josh proposing. Big deal.


We arrived in Oregon to waaaay too much rain, ready to party and shop Target Christmas clearance.

Christmas Eve

Can I just start by saying I hate the voice I've written all of this in? It's mostly anecdotal which is the problem with blogging specific events that occurred too long ago for me to remember many specific emotional details. Feel free to gaze at and enjoy the pictures and skip my annoying blog voice while I journal Christmas eve, Christmas day, and probably the remainder of winter break. Cheers.

Words and pictures can't do our Christmas vacation justice. We spent 6 days in Seattle enjoying the pounding rain and lack of obligation to work and school. The Calvert Christmas Eve tradition has been to eat Chinese food on Christmas eve, but that tradition has recently been updated to include any kind of Asian food, hopefully a kind that won't make anyone sick...so we settled on Thai food. Henry kind of liked it but mostly stuck to his puffs and juice and flirting with the waitress. The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and it was great to have such a stress free Christmas eve meal!

After the meal we wandered around the mall and took plenty of pictures in front of the giant Christmas tree.





Then we went caroling to a few different families, came home and Josh read "The Night Before Christmas" (another Calvert tradition) to Henry before he went to bed.



Then the Calverts (minus Henry and myself) left to do some Christmas good deeds (family tradition), I made some Honeymoon breakfast/Egg casserole (Calvert AND Williams tradition!), and Randy read "The Night Before Christmas" before we headed to bed. Next stop? Christmas!!!

Major

Okay, I've been major slacking. I am going to do this in some bite-sized chunks so I don't get overwhelmed about spending 100 hours on a catch up blog. Ready?

I GRADUATED! I am so happy. I passed all my classes and my diploma is coming in the mail. I don't feel a huge sense of accomplishment or grandeur, but my happiness mostly manifests as a giant weight that I don't have any more. Like how if I want to I can just spend my days playing Wii Fit, playing with Henry, and being obsessed with stay-at home mom things like organization, cleaning, and decorating. I love this new life. Well, so far anyway. I'm only 1 day in to the new semester and life of Josh working 30+ hrs a week and doing school. I'll keep you updated. Probably.

I think my son is adorable. So I'm posting this video. There's nothing all too important about it except I sometimes remember I should be taking more videos and pictures and this is what I get.



Also, two pictures. Henry being cute in some winter clothes.

The ornament/decoration I made for my moms and sister for Christmas. I spent waaay too much time making these and it's a pretty large reason why I haven't blogged in 2 months. Merry Christmas!

Real quick

Real quick update for Journal's sake. I get bogged down thinking about uploading pictures and videos and never accomplish, so let me get these dates and thoughts down.

Last Saturday, Nov 5 Henry started taking more than 4 steps and has learned to correct himself if he gets off balance. I think it's safe to say he started walking. When he walks himself from one room to another, without encouragement, he will be OFFICIALLY a walker. For now he's a professional starter walker.

Henry is now using more consonants than the "m" sound. He started babbling more using "Dadada" and "Bababa" and every once in awhile we hear a "yayaya". He's giving kisses, but almost exclusively on the lips. Apparently Josh and I are going to have to start kissing each other on the cheek when Henry's watching to get him to learn the appropriate way of kissing. H is also good at waving hello AND goodbye (the newest one) after he gets warmed up. After the initial "remember, Henry? You know how to wave." he won't be satisfied until he's waved at every person nearby.

That's all. This 10 month old is getting waaaay too old.

Too many videos

Sorry to those of you who hate watching videos (nat), but these are a couple videos of adorable Henry. They're better at showing the second love of my life than I am at explaining him.

As promised, video #1 is Henry "clapping". I'm so happy Josh got this video, because it looks like he sorta traded out the clapping for arm waving instead. I love this so much.


My Mom and Dad drove down for an evening to say hey to all the family here. We had such a good time seeing them, even if it was only for a night! My dad was recently called as the Bishop for the singles ward in Oregon, so his life is about to get a LOT busier. Video #2 is Henry after he re-met Kino yesterday.



Last video is sort of monumental. Henry is pretty good at standing on his own and this morning we decided to try and teach him how to walk. I don't think he's really ready yet, but he did manage to take 1 good step, then another step before the fall. You can hear how shocked I was it actually worked.




I loooove being a mom. Henry is at such an adorable phase that I can hardly imagine the terrible twos and tantrums that are sure to come. I'm happy that it'll still be with my Henry. And for now, I just get my adorable 9 month old. And that's all for now!

We're all alright

Lainy Jo took some family pictures for us on Tuesday. She had pictures up for us to see the next day! Here are some of my favorites even though some of them are "unedited". The lighting was so beautiful. Alaina's good at making us look good even when we feel like we don't look great.

Aww family.



Don't you just love little Henry?






Oh goodness. I am more enamored with him every day. My favorite new thing he does is SNUGGLE and it's ADORABLE. He snuggles his head in my neck, then will bring his forehead to my forehead (my nose if I don't move my head fast enough to meet his) then turn his head to the side and move it back into my neck. It's hilarious and adorable and my favorite thing for sure. Henry also thinks my hair is hilarious and will laugh when I toss my hair around. He loves fresh peaches and still detests peas. Tomorrow his his big 9 month birthday.

Alrighty. This weekend we will be in West Jordan watching some boy cousins while their parents are out of town. Don't expect much online from us Calvert's because we are laptopless and not taking the computer. Farewell until Tuesday, and enjoy conference weekend!

k

OhKay

I'm posting this just to get another thing up here. I'm a lazy lazy person and I've been procrastinating the blogging for days and weeks and months. My apologies. Also, blog will stay private for now since most of you said you'd still read anyway. Awww you're the best.



Henry is almost 9 months. He can crawl like a maniac and he will only sit still if he's tired or hurt. Or around strangers. H gets suuuuper cuddly and shy around strangers. It's cute.

Also, he waves. Sometimes. And he claps. I still haven't documented those and I know I need to before either change. Henry laughs more now, and he always has a smile for Josh and I. He has to get pretty comfortable around strangers before he starts smiling and talking. He also babbles like it's his job sometimes. He can say "momom", "dadad", "yaya", and "gaga". Though I am fairly certain he still doesn't know who she is.

This kid pulls himself up on everything, and has even started standing without holding any thing! He can stand for a good few seconds before falling over. He's going to be walking so soon.

In all, Henry is a joy. It's so fun to be home with and around him. I look forward to coming home to him every Monday and Wednesday when I'm away at school/work. Much love!

k&j

To privatize or not

Obviously, this blog is private. I always flip-flop between wanting it private or public. I like the privacy because I know who is reading my crazy words and learning about my child(ren in the future, perhaps) and family and all my vacations and stuff. I don't have to worry so much how I come across because, chances are, you know who I am if you're reading this stuff. But, mostly, the private blog is so no one can try and steal my adorable son/husband/belongings if I blog that we're out of town or going to the park or the mall or whatever. Got it?

On the other hand, I sorta hate private because of the whole logging on with your email thing. I have multiple email accounts and I'm rarely in the right one for whatever blog I want to read. It's hard on a generation less familiar with "logging in" to do the already difficult task of reading a "blog". And I, myself, am bad at checking those private blogs I read because the updates don't pop up in Reader. By the time I remember to check I'm either a) Annoyed it actually has been 2 months without an update or b) so overwhelmed with the volume of posts that I read a few and comment on none. Leaving everyone unhappy.

So, I'm putting it to a vote. Just wondering what the few of you who read think about this whole privacy vs public issue specifically for this blog. Voting ends on September 1.

Now, vote away!

July 30, 2011

H.R.'s month 6: Looking back.
Henry is growing. He's starting to realize his limits, and trying to push them somewhat. He (inadvertently) falls over less and less when he's sitting up, and has become much more deliberate in his falls to get where he wants to be. You can see, here, he's trying to get my keys just out of reach.

Also, Henry looooooves things he's not supposed to have. He's content with his toys (sometimes) but he always chooses any other object he's not supposed to play with (ipod, scissors, stapler, calculator, etc) over his brightly colored toys. In fact, it's a miracle he hasn't been hurt by any of the "toys" he's gotten a hold of while we've been here. Henry is absolutely obsessed with a) the cell phone b) car keys and c) my glasses. If I'm not paying attention or (he's not paying attention to something else) when I'm holding him he'll grab my face with his razor sharp claws and put my eye/glasses into his mouth. It's cute, but terrifying.

He hasn't cut any teeth yet, but he sure likes chewing on things. His two favorite chew toys are knees and noses. Sometimes he'll eat the occasional frog.
Also, this month marked his first injury. Henry was sitting on the floor and face planted while his pacifier was in his mouth. He's fallen forward before, but this was just so sad because he not only bled, but he had a fat lip! Oh so sad. And so adorable. But so sad.
I am reeeeally excited to get back to Provo where Henry has his own crib and bed. For now Josh and I have been trying to keep Henry swaddled for convenience sake. He doesn't really have a place to sleep here and his pack'n'play isn't the best quality, so he sleeps much better on the floor. We don't want him just sleeping anywhere on the floor so the swaddling keeps him safe in the closet. However, frequently he gets his arms out and plays in the closet until I come and get him. Now, usually he just has his arms out and is pulling at the blankets, but this is what I found today...
Awwww. He even shoved his pacifier under the door so I knew he was ready to come out. He's just so hilarious without even trying. Did I mention that I love this kid?

Also, Henry is still scream-y. I've never blogged about it before, but this kid likes to scream. S.C.R.E.A.M. He's great at letting us know when he's annoyed or bored or mad because his piercing shriek can be heard all the way at the front door of the apartment building from our 3rd floor back apartment. I sorta hoped the screaming thing would go away with age, but, alas, it's here to stay. Maybe once he can use words?? But, I suppose his insane amounts of cute have to come with some sort of negative. I don't mind the screaming too much.

Lastly, H's nicknames:
Hens'a'bens
H Rex
H
My little Henry! (the ladies next door)
Sugar buns
Chubby bunny
Rexy boy
Wipper-woo
Tiny face
Chewpacabra (my favorite)(and it's purposefully spelled "chew"pacabra)
and basically anything else we can think of. I probably call him Henry more than anything, but he does get a lot of other names. We are so happy with this little man, and I can't wait for the weeks, months, and years ahead!

6 months and a vacation in a vacation

Henry at the spry young age of 6 months.

I know I'm supposed to say, "oh they grow so fast!" but really, I don't think Henry has! I mean, there are those moments where I realize he's not a teeny tiny baby who just sleeps all day, but for the most part I think I've been savoring every moment of little baby Henry growing into just baby Henry. It's been fascinating to see him grow and learn and change every day. Now he's rolling from side to side like a pro, and it's near impossible to keep him still. He's pretty much outgrown his closet.He's sorta stopped sleeping through the night, and I think it's mostly due to having his feet touch the walls and door, etc. Last night was hilarious. Usually we leave the door closed, but I opened it a little thinking he may want more room. So he woke up-ish and I gave him his pacifier and laid (isn't laid not a word?) back down and waited for him to fall asleep. It took me a minute to realize he stopped moving, and when I went back over to feel how he was sleeping he had turned onto his stomach, outside the closet (not on blankets), while he was completely swaddled. It. Was. Crazy.

So, I put him back in there and shut the door. Now he's going to sleep in his pack & play, I guess.

So, my friend Amanda was here in New York visiting this week. Josh and I saved some tourist things to do with Amanda, and we got tons of stuff done! We saw the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Ground Zero, Momofuku's Milk bar, S'Mac, Juniors, Grand Central Station, Times Square, 42nd Street, Battery Park, Central Park, the Bethesda Fountain & Row Bridge, and walked the streets. A lot. But mostly we just ate really good food.
It feels like cheating to put all these awesome pictures into a collage, but I have so many I want to post I just have to or this blog would be 9 pages long. We had fun, and we miss you already, Manda!