Spring Fever

Today was a GORGEOUS day and tomorrow is supposed to be even better - yay!!! I rushed out of work as soon as I could so Luke and I could take a walk to the park and play outside as long as possible! It felt really good for me to get out and walk - I have been pretty much a couch potato all winter and fresh air is always good for everyone!

We played at the park!











Seriously, no more pictures Mom!


We chatted with neighbors and waved to school buses (who kindly honked back at us - Luke loves it!). We rode bikes and just had a great time enjoying the weather.



Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Seriously...

the baby gender vote is 50/50?!?! I guess we have a 50% chance of having a boy and a 50% chance of having a girl, who would've thought?!?! LOL Someone break the tie already!

One quick update from my doctor's appointment on Friday - my doctor mentioned that when reviewing my 20-week ultrasound, they were only able to get a limited view of the baby's spine, heart, and lungs so I am going to have another ultrasound just to have everything checked out one more time! It is better to have the reassurance than go through the next 17 weeks wondering...

Big Boy Room

and other room changes!

We have been busy over the last month or so with some demolition, painting, building, carpeting and decorating. I have to say that we have been in this house almost 4 years and I finally feel like the upstairs is exactly the way it should be. The carpeting in the kids' rooms makes it much more homey and feeling like what was previously the guest bedroom (and now Luke's room) has more of a purpose feels really good!!!

Let's start with the other rooms since Luke's room is the biggest change and most exciting!

Here is a before of the master bedroom. When we were looking at houses, we thought it was a sign that the master bedroom was painted with the different color stripes because it matched our comforter perfectly!



However, we have since changed bedding and had the same paint on the walls so it was time to go with a different color and curtains, etc.







Next up is the upstairs bathroom. This was previously blue, but since Luke's new room was going to be blue I decided to change this bathroom too and make it the kids' bathroom! It is so bright and fun - Luke loves the monsters!!!





The baby's room (Luke's old room) hasn't changed too much other than we got carpeting put in. Previously it was really cheap wood laminate. While Luke was still sleeping in there, we had moved the furniture around a bit. We put the changing table in the closet since he wasn't needing that anymore (and we are very lucky to have big closets in this house!) so there it still remains. I actually really love the look of the room without the changing table, and the furniture will have to be rearranged again if we bring it out of the closet. (Did anyone get by without a changing table? I feel like it is an option now since we have carpeting in the room, but I know Luke was a huge fan of laying on his changing table when he was a baby. Sometimes that was the only spot that would calm him down!)

All that this room needs now is a baby :)

Here is a before (like, way before - when we first moved in).


And now!




Here's the changing table in the closet...


Our one hallway change. Previously, the mirror that is now in our room was in this corner. However, after cleaning out the guest bedroom closet to get it ready for Luke to move in, we realized that we needed more storage for our extra sheets, blankets, pool towels, etc. Luckily we found this narrow storage cabinet that works perfectly! All it needs is some decoration on top.



And finally Luke's new big boy room!!! This room underwent the biggest change. We decided to keep the full-size bed in there since that still gives us options if we have anyone stay over, but the built-in shelving had to go. This was a worry of mine because of climbing and I wanted to make sure that Luke had plenty of room to play with the full-size bed in there. Thanks to my dad for doing the shelving demolition for us!

So here is the before:






And now! There are still a few pictures, etc. to be hung on the wall, but for the most part the room is done and Luke loves it!








We didn't realize that the headboard would make the bed not be right up against the wall so for now we are just shoving pillows there to keep Luke from falling and then the rail on the other side (which folds down so that is nice!).


As I mentioned before, we have large closets in this house so I decided to put his dresser in there so that he has more room to just play!!!


Don't mind the tv. It still needs to find a new home or be put in our storage room.


I will do a separate post on how Luke is doing in his big boy bed, but I will say right now that thus far, the transition has been flawless!!!

Here he is his very first night in his big boy bed! (2/20/11)

A Day at the Shedd

This past Sunday we spent the day at the Shedd. We had recently watched "Finding Nemo" so Luke was really into all things that live in the sea! We did lots of searching for Nemo and Dory! It was a really great day!



We found Nemo!




The aquatic show was really neat. We saw beluga whales, dolphins...




and penguins walked in front of us!


Luke enjoyed the show!


Then it was Luke's turn to play in some water...


kiss a penguin...


and dress like a penguin!


We couldn't avoid the play area of course!


That tongue is ALWAYS out these days!




Check out this eel - gross!!!


Check out these two adorable boys - I love this picture!


Checking out 2 disgusting, humongous spiders!


This wasn't Luke's first time at the Shedd....here is a picture of Luke at 2 months old....


and now!


We ended our trip with Luke's first face painting. I wasn't sure how he would do, but he was perfectly still and could NOT believe there was a shark on his face!!!

On a Lighter Note...

I am 22 weeks (and 3 days)! My next doctor's appointment is on Friday. I am still feeling really good except for some lower back pain at times. I know exactly when it will start hurting...the second I start doing 'too much'. Apparently 'too much' is cleaning my house, but unfortunately that needs to get done over the next 18 weeks so I will have to deal and rest when I can!

I have yet to wear any maternity pants, but that is really only because I have some dress pants and a couple pairs of jeans in a size up that I wore to get me by right after having Luke. I am slowly growing out of those and will have to pull out the maternity pants soon. As for shirts, I have only made 3 purchases so far and they were all from the maternity clearance rack from Kohl's. I am trying to get by with what I have right now (lots of tanks with cardigans) so I can hopefully just purchase a spring/summer maternity wardrobe. A new coat is definitely on the horizon though...my winter one is ready to bust open!

I had a website through Baby Jelly Beans when I was pregnant with Luke (this is before I knew of the free blogging world). I had the website made into a CD right after I started keeping this blog. I pulled the CD out the other night to take a look and reminisce. I found some belly pics so I thought we would do a side-by-side comparison.

At 22 weeks with Baby Z. on the left and Luke on the right.




I appear to be bigger and carrying higher this time around, don't you think??? Hhhmmm...this has me thinking...I was on the boy bandwagon all along, but now seeing these pictures side-by-side, I am wondering because I am carrying different, if that means it's a girl?!?! Thoughts??? Only time will tell! I have to say I love seeing the results of the poll in the upper right hand corner of the blog. I am always curious to see what people think we are going to have :)

I will update the blog after my doctor's appointment on Friday if there is anything worth sharing, but I'm hoping it is just an easy weight, blood pressure, heartbeat check!

A Note from a Coach's Wife

I can completely understand being a voice for your child and wanting to protect them. I am like that now and am sure I will continue to be the same way. However, this should not be done at the expense of someone else and the reputation that they have built for themselves. Twisting stories and making false statements is unforgiving.

There are many parents who believe their child is the ‘best’ at everything. And maybe they have been that ‘star’ athlete for their whole childhood, but at some point, you and your child need to understand that they won’t excel at everything they do. Life is full of disappointments, but one disappointment is not the end of the world. So you won’t be a 3-sport athlete in high school…maybe this is your opportunity to take that sports season to condition or work at one of the other sports that you are excelling at.

As a coach's wife, I go to the games because I enjoy it (and so does Luke), but also because I like to get my face out there as the “Coach’s wife”. I don’t generally talk with any parents, other than small talk that is expected because I have a toddler running around of course. But I like them to know that their child’s coach has a family/home life too. I think parents often forget that many coaches themselves are also parents. Everything you feel and do for your child, the Coach also does. And the Coach also does this for your child too. Good coaches build great relationships with many of the members of their team and want nothing more than to see that child continue to exceed at each level and in life.

Parents don’t see the agony that many coaches face when it comes time to cut players. I know not all coaches have a problem with this, but the ones I know feel this way. I have seen firsthand for 4 years the lack of sleep and stress that a coach faces as tryouts begin and cuts are looming. The coach knows that he is breaking a child’s heart by not making them a member of the team. Not all coaches will sit down one-on-one with each participant and go over all of their strengths and weaknesses with them. Most coaches will just post the student ID number of those who made the team. These are young kids and they deserve the respect of being told why they haven’t made the team even if that results in tears in front of the coach. Well, guess what, tears and sadness are all around. The coach isn’t immune to feeling either, and when he gets home too there may also be tears and sadness.

One of the most caring, kind, and generous men I know happens to be my husband, who also happens to be a teacher and coach. I consider the kids he teaches and coaches lucky to have him as a part of their life, whether it be for a semester or a season. He has no bias towards anyone, does not play favorites, and makes choices that are fair and right for everyone involved. Thankfully, my husband has a lot of people that believe in him and know that he is a good person who has a great understanding for the game and for potential talent.

I am writing this out of frustration to the many parents who are always looking for someone else to blame. Instead, use this as a learning experience for you and your child. Life isn't full of rainbows all of the time. Be that voice for your child and teach them to be their own voice, but consider the whole picture before you click 'send' or make that phone call.

Vent over.

Instant Gratification

We all want instant gratification, adults and children alike. The difference is that as adults (well, most adults) we understand that that isn't always possible. But children, and more specifically, toddlers definitely do not get that! This is the face one might see when there is no instant gratification:



We learned pretty quickly about a year ago that we have to be careful what we say to Luke. For example, we couldn't talk about going to the waterpark too far in advance, otherwise he would want to go right.this.second. and not get that we wouldn't be leaving for 2 days.

Unfortunately, I apparently made a mistake today. When I picked Luke up after work I told him that we were going to go to the bank. This weekend we had emptied out the 2 piggy banks that he had and can I just say HOLY COW!!! Where does this kid get his money?!?! He had $191 in cash (those grandparents must be sneaking money in there) and ended up having $45 in change. So we headed to the bank to deposit the money into his account. The mistake was made when I told Luke that we were putting the money in the bank so he could buy a car when he gets bigger. He kept saying, "when I get bigger" and then talking about his muscles (he must associate getting bigger with muscles!). So we deposited the money and walked out of the bank, BUT Luke wanted his car! And at that point it was meltdown city! He kept saying, "I don't want to go home! I want car!". This lasted the entire car ride home (about 15 minutes) and another 1/2 hour or so once we got in the house. The meltdown became even worse the second I pulled into the garage - he did NOT want to go home, he wanted his car. Whether he thought I was talking about buying a matchbox car or what, I have no idea, but he was NOT happy! And the matchbox cars we already had at home, along with the millions of other trucks and such were not cutting it.

All was better though once we had pancakes and eggs for supper!