October

Sunday we had our 3D/4D ultrasound for Miss Vivi.  It was a lot of fun to be able to see how her features compared to Cohen's at that stage in the pregnancy.  You can definitely tell they're related!  Cohen is on the left and Viv is on the right.   Her cheeks look a little more pudgy.. if that's possible, but they have very similar noses and lips.  Both stinkin cute...

She was weighing in at 5lb. 4oz. the day of the ultrasound.  If she gains an oz. a day like they estimate, she'll weigh somewhere between 8.5-9lbs.  Let's just hope that she gains like they're estimating and we'll both be in good shape! :)

All other measurements looked great.  We took Cohen with us because we thought it would be good for him to be included.  I'm not sure how aware he was of what was going on.  He seemed most interested in the gel they were using on my belly.  He kept pointing at it and going "Ewww.. yuck!" :)  Stinker!

The next day was Halloween and Worthington's trick or treat.  I made a monster costume for Cohen.  It seemed very appropriate...

Bustin a Move

Our pumpkins.  Daddy's on top, then mine, then Cohen's (Elmo)

Cohen did really well trick or treating.  We only took him out for about an hour, but I think he would have had no problem going the whole time.  He said trick or treat at the houses (in Cohen language), took one piece of candy and told everyone thank you.  I wasn't sure how this would all go, but he was a champ!  Maw Maw and PaPa came over after we were done and gave him his 'special' treat bag.  He was pretty excited to see them.  We hung out outside for a bit and handed out candy, but it was really cold so we didn't last long.  Cohen kept running in and out of the front bushes.  Every time he ran out he would laugh histerically at himself.  We all laughed pretty hard too.  It was hard not to.  The child is pretty entertaining :)

Weird to think that next year we'll be doing all of this with another one.  I'll have to come up with a cute, girly costume to go along with something for Mr. Monster.  Good thing I'll be at home!  Hopefully I'll have some more time to put together two costumes!

I'm 32 weeks today and my Dr.'s office has told me that they won't induce any sooner than 39 wks., so we're still planning on the 21st.. unless little miss decides to come on her own.. doubtful.  So 7 weeks and counting!  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going.  Having our ultrasound and getting to see her sweet little face has made me that much more excited to meet her.  I keep bringing her up to Cohen.  He'll kiss my belly and say hi baby, but I don't think he really understands.  How could he really?  I'm hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed that he'll do well with this major change.  He really takes an interest in babies when he is around them.  Hopefully he'll have that same, POSITIVE interest in his own baby sister :)

The Last Few Months

I haven't written in a llllong time!  Things have been pretty crazy since July.  We haven't had a lot of down time, but I think things are finally starting to slow down.  Thank goodness, I'm pooped!

Last time I wrote we were entering "binky detox".  I thought we were in the clear and I was  right!  We've been managing quite well without the bink.  Diane did tell me a funny story though.  They could hear something upstairs (where the kids sleep) so went up to check on them.  Cohen was out of his bed and in another room sitting on a cot talking to another little boy.  They put him back in bed and didn't think much more of it.  We found out a few days later what he was really doing in the other room.  He had hidden a binky in there.  Diane and Shirley found him in bed with a bink and realized that he had gone into the other room to get it.. where he had stashed it!!!  What a turkey!

 Since then, Cohen has also turned 2!!  He had a fun time at Kelley's Island celebrating.  This year Maw Maw and Papa went with us and so did Aaron and Tiff and the girls.  We took the day off on Friday again and stayed Friday and Saturday night.  We rode around in golf carts, went to the beach, rode in Papa's boat and sat around the camp fire!  Cohen did a great job with his cake too.  What a difference a year makes.. he helped us sing, blew his candles out and then clapped his hands after we sang!!  It was so cute :) 

I would say we did hit some kind of behavior marker around his birthday too.  Terrible two's began for us sometime around 18 months, but we hit a whole new level at 2.  I like to call him George because he is just so darn curious, but he gets this look on his face when he is about to do something that he knows he shouldn't that just makes you know that he is about as ornery as they come.  In the last couple weeks we have not only decided to say no to everything, but that the word "no" should also be backed up with some attitude.  He gets this scrunched up, annoyed look on his face and raises his voice to say "NO!"  DJ and I are constantly on our toes and Diane and Shirley have a new story for us every day.  I am starting to become very nervous for what is to come in December .. :) 

Speaking of December.. I had another appointment on Friday and Vivi has had the big jump I was anticipating.  I was 27 1/2 weeks at my appointment, but measured 30.  Dr. Wurst says it is normal for babies to have a growth spurt around this time, but that if I had any more of a jump at my next appt. that they would be scheduling another ultrasound.  Who knows, maybe she'll be completely different than Cohen and decide to come early.  If not, we're still planning on December 21st!  Her bedroom is starting to come together too.  I've been picking away at it here and there.  I'll post pictures when it is done.

I'm down to about 6 weeks left at work and am starting to feel extremely anxious to be done.. Cohen never wants to get out of his bed in the morning, so it always takes about 15 minutes to coax him out.  I rub his back and say, come on, it's time to get up and he says No, Mommy!  Little guy sure does like his sleep :)  It will be so nice to wake up in the morning and both have our time, instead of trying to rush around and get out the door.  I'm also looking forward to having some one-on-one time with my little monster before Sister comes along!

Just because DJ and I like to have major life changes in 3's... DJ has also taken a different job.  A recruiter for Waste Management contacted him back in August and wanted to set up an interview.  We ingored them the first couple times they contacted DJ because we figured it was bad timing with my leaving my job.  Finally DJ decided to pick up the phone and just hear what they had to say.  They told DJ that WM was very interested in talking with him and that he should send in his resume.  We forgot about it for a little while and pretty soon WM started contacting DJ directly.  Then we got a little curious about what the offer might look like.  He went ahead and set up an interview and came out of it with a much different perspective.  Suddenly, this seemed like it might not be such a bad idea.  After doing a second interview and getting all of the details of the job, DJ and I discussed and decided it was an offer he couldn't refuse.  The new job had a lot more flexibility, allowed him to work from home, had a lot more growth-potential and relocation options and just seemed like an overall better deal for our family.  It would make my staying home a much easier adjustment!  DJ started in mid-September and has been nothing but happy with his decision so far.  The company seems to really look out for their people.  We're hoping that everything will continue to go as well as it has so far.

I will try my hardest to update again soon!

Saying Goodbye to the "Dink"

Cohen had a monumental weekend.  We didn't have any plans for the weekend, so I suggested to DJ that we begin binky "detox" on Friday.  I've had it hanging over my head for the last 6-9 months, knowing that it needed to be done, but scared of what it would look like.  Ab and Rudy gave us a last minute invite to their house on Friday night, so we ended up going, thinking maybe it would wear Cohen out and bedtime wouldn't be quite so hard. He definitely got worn out.  We took him up to bed around 11:15 and I ended up just putting him in his crib and walking out after I realized he wasn't going to stop fighting me.  He cried when I left, but only for a few minutes and he was done.  Night one - check. 

The next day we planned to go to the farmer's market and then to Grant's baseball game.  Again, great opportunites to wear his wild butt out!  It worked, laid him down for a nap, no problem.  That night was a regular bedtime and routine and Cohen did great!  No fussing, no fighting us.  This was wwwwwwwwwwway to easy!  Full day #2 - check!

Sunday was very hot, but we had planned on doing some work around the house and trying to get Cohen out to play for awhile.  DJ laid him down for his nap that morning and finally, we got the fight that we expected.  He cried for about 15 minutes before falling asleep.  No afternoon nap that day because MawMaw and Papa were at the house.  Bedtime went down without a hitch, again!  Day #3 - check!

Monday was a new ballgame.  Time to go back to the babysitters.  Diane has told me that when she lays him down for a nap he goes right for his bink and he knows right where it's at because he always puts it in the same spot after getting up from his nap.  Hmm... I wasn't too sure how it would go, but I told Shirley that morning that we had a successful, binky-free weekend and that I was going to go ahead and collect all of the binkys at the house.  I didn't expect he would give Diane and Shirley too much trouble because he generally knows they mean business :)  I was anxious to hear the report at the end of the day.  Shirley said he did good!  He cried for a few minutes and went right to sleep.  Last night he asked DJ for his "dink" when he was getting laid down in his crib, but no crying after that and he slept all night without a peep!

Apparently I underestimated my child.  I thought binky detox was going to be horrible!  We had cut down to just naptime and bedtime.. for the most part, but he rrrrreally liked having it when he slept.  We were giving him one to hold and one to suck.. binky fein :)  He is doing 400x better than I expected though and I hesitate to say this, but I think we are pretty much in the clear at this point.  It feels good to have finally be rid of the bink.  As much as Cohen loved it, I worried about it affecting his teeth, speech and health.  We battled so many cold and flu bugs this year and I knew the binky was probably a big culprit.  So hopefully, getting rid of the bink will make for a happier, better rested and healthier Cohen.  Very proud of the big boy...

Vivienne and More

At 14 1/2 weeks, we had an ultrasound as early as we possibly could.  Most elective ultrasound companies start them at 16 weeks.  Count on me to find someone that could do it EVEN earlier :)  We had our appointment last Saturday, July 2nd.  Suprisingly, it was not torture waiting for that day.  I guess that's what happens when you have a two year old to keep you busy.  Pregnancy #2 is completely different from #1. 

I invited Gwyn and Grace to come with us, so it was DJ and I, Cohen, Grace and Gwyn.  I checked with everyone beforehand and made sure they got their votes in.  If you can believe this, all the boys on the Thompson side said boy and all the girls said girl! ; )  The Clevenger side had more boy votes.  I think Stacy was the only one that said girl. 

Everyone struggled to be patient as the ultrasound tech measured all the baby parts, making sure everything looked good.  Gender was going to be the last thing she told us.  I knew she was done with her measuring when I saw her get a smile on her face.  I was watching the screen and I thought, "hmm.. it looks more flat than I remember it being with Cohen" :)  Pretty soon, we saw It's A Girl!!! printed across the screen.  I tried to contain myself, but did let out a small eek!!, Grace and Gwyn both let out some hoots :) and I looked at DJ, who just smiled...  Cohen continued to be a 2 yr. old and squirmed to sit on the bed with Mommy.

Since finding out that we're having a girl, I have been doing A LOT of shopping.  I have been waiting for  this for a llllong time.  I told DJ, I walk into stores and into the baby girl clothing departments and just smile.  Finally, I can shop in this section and know that it is for MY baby!  DJ is adjusting to the idea of being a Dad to a girl :)  He says he is nervous, but he has had so much experience with little girls.  I guess it's different when it is your own.  As my Dad said, I'm sure she will have him wrapped around her finger in no time...

So the preparation has begun..we ask Cohen to give baby Vivi kisses, try to get him to say her name, although Baby in Cohen language sounds a lot like Vivi...convenient!  I'm exploring nursery ideas and I think I have a pretty cute theme planned.  The colors will be pink, red, blue and white.  Pictures to come...  I already feel like I have closer bond, knowing that "it" is now a "she".  I talk to her and make sure I use girl talk :)  Can't wait to meet my new little peanut.

In other news,  we just had our house painted.  It was part of the insurance claim from the ice storm.  Siding was torn off, so part of the check was for repairing and painting.  We went with a grey-blue color with white accents.  They just finished up yesterday and it looks good.  It was quite the process getting there, but we're happy with it now.

DJ and I just had our four year anniversary yesterday.  Time flies.  I know that isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but it seems like just yesterday we were planning our wedding.  We had a low key night.  DJ got me a potted orchid and a nice card.  I made him a card.  We're having a date night next weekend and are going to the Cameron Mitchell Steakhouse and to see the last Harry Potter movie.  I don't remember the last time we had a date night, so I would say we are due...It will be very nice to be able to enjoy a meal together without having to yell at Cohen every 3 minutes to sit down :)

Speaking of Cohen.. he is our monster baby.  He is as wild as a 2 yr. old can get.  The boy never stops moving except for when he is sleeping...kind of.  We went on a walk last night and Cohen rode in the stroller.  On the way back to the house he decided he wanted to walk.  I thought, sure, let him burn off some of his energy!  I call him curious George.  He stopped and wanted to pick up every single leaf, stick, pine cone, etc.. that he saw.  Every house has a drain pipe that runs to the street and he would stop and look in every single one and say ewww, yuck!  It was a long trip back the house, but we laughed a lot.

We finally have a free weekend, so I think we're just going to hang out and home and try to relax.  I proposed binky detox to DJ, since we don't have anything planned.  He said he was game.  We'll see how it goes... Hopefully I'll have a good update for you next post :)

WOW

Do you ever just stop and look around you and think, wow?  I have these moments every once and awhile.  It's like my brain is just realizing where I'm at and what I have done.

WOW-

I am 28 years old ( I'm to the point where I have to think about my husband's age to remember my own)
I am only 2 years away from 30!  Well, technically not even.
I graduated from high school 10 years ago!
I graduated from college 5 years ago!
I am a Mom
I am a Mom of 2
I'm working on my second set of stretch marks : /
I will have been married for 4 years this summer!
I'm married to DJ Clevenger.. do you ever think about your husbands name?  I never thought I would marry a DJ, but I sure am glad I did! :)

I think it is pretty normal to have these moments as you embark on another major life change.  I think it's good to take these moments, think about where you've been, where you're going (and whose going with you) and what you have.  It makes you appreciate life, not take things for granted and focus on the positive.  Have you taken a "Wow" moment lately?

And Now We Are Four

Easter weekend we were making the trip back to Columbus Grove to celebrate with the Clevengers.  It was a really nice day.  Probably around 75 degrees and blue skies, a great day to get such exciting news.  I decided that I should go ahead and take a pregnancy test.  I had already taken one earlier in the week, but it was negative, so I figured my cycle was just a little off.  Apparently I had just taken the test a little too early because this test was positive!  I was so shocked, but really happy.  Life was about to make another big change. 

Because it was still so early, we decided not to tell anyone yet.  About a week later, we were busting at the seams with our news, so we ended up telling the Thompson side.  Everyone seemed to be expecting the news, so it wasn't a huge surprise, but everyone was happy and excited.  A couple weeks later we made another trip to Columbus Grove, so ended up telling the Clevenger side then.  Not long after finding out that we were expecting, we found out that Kelly, my good friend from Tiffin, was expecting just a few days before us!  It's so fun that our close friends are starting families and will have kids close in age to ours!  Rachel and John Sharp are due at the end of the June, so their daughter will only be about six months older than our new baby.

May 19th we had our first ultrasound appointment.  The nurse asked if I was nervous.  My blood pressure was a little higher than normal.  I was feeling a little nervous!  I just wanted to hear that everything looked okay and that we were on the right track!  Everything looked great.  The Dr. confirmed my due date as December 28th, but said that we'll plan on taking the baby about a week early, around December 21st.  The 21st is my Dad's birthday and the 22nd is my Mom's birthday, so the date could have some extra meaning, which is exciting.   The babies heartbeat was right around 157.  The old wive's tale says that means it is a girl, but I think Cohen's was right around 150 too.  I have been feeling much more nauseous this time around though, so who knows!  A girl would be great, but it would also be great to give Cohen a little brother.  Our next appointment is scheduled for June 30th.  I will be about 14 weeks.  We also found an ultrasound place off of Polaris that will do a gender prediction ultrasound at 14 weeks, so hopefully we'll be finding out the sex around then too!

I can't believe we're diving into this adventure all over again.  Already anxiously counting down to December...

What a Smart Little Guy...

March 14th began just like any other work-day morning. DJ and I woke up at six and started getting ready for work.  Cohen woke up early that morning, around the same time that we did.  Usually I have to wake him up to get him ready to leave, around 7:15.  Daddy left for work and I continued to get ready while Cohen played with toys.  I was in the bathroom getting ready and Cohen was standing in the hallway, I went up and gave him a hug and when I grabbed onto him I noticed he was a little stinky :)  I said, "Cohen, did you poop?"  He then proceeded to walk into the bathroom and lift the toilet seat.  Thinking that I would go ahead and humor him, I took off his jammies and diaper and sat him up on the toilet.  You can imagine my shock when I noticed that he was grunting while sitting on the toilet.  Did he actually understand what he was  supposed to do on the toilet??  After a minute or so he started scooting off the toilet, so I helped lift him off.  I instantly became the mother that I never thought I would be.  I think I startled Cohen I was making such a fuss.  When he realized I was acting so nutty because he had pooped and peed on the potty, he became very proud of himself!  When I say that I became the mother that I never though I would be, what I mean is this - I have been completed disgusted in the past when other mothers have showcased their child's potty training milestones.  One thing in particular seemed especially twisted - taking pictures to "document" their moment.  I could not believe a parent would ever do something so disgusting.  And then, to actually show the pictures to people?!  What the heck could they possibly be thinking?  Well, after Cohen had his big moment, and I had my freak-out session, called Daddy to share the big news and Grandma...I had a moment where I thought about getting the camera.  Then I remembered my previous disgust, and quickly decided that was a BAD idea :)  Instead, I took a picture of Cohen on his big day.. much more attractive!

I was so proud of my little guy.  Just over 19 months and already new how to go to the bathroom on the potty.  I didn't set my expectations very high.  I was just happy with the fact that he was even thinking about using the toilet.  Even if this was a complete fluke, it was still a step in the right direction!  I went ahead and bought a new potty for Mr. Mo.  It has all the amentities... toilet paper holder, pee gaurd, flusher, praises when used correctly.. very exciting.  Since then, Cohen has peed in the potty two more times!!  It is kind of crazy in our house right now.  We are getting our roof replaced and house painted because of damage from the ice storm.  We are also working on finishing our basement and the basement bathroom.  I  think trying to potty train in the midst of all of this would probably turn out to be a disaster, so I'm supporting and encouraging Cohen when he needs it, but I am not pushing it.  We hope to be done with all of the house projects soon, and then we can put a little more time and effort into potty training.

I think the whole world knew about Cohen's big moment, thanks to Mommy :)  I told Diane, Cohen's babysitter, about him using the potty and her response was, "I told you he was advanced"!!  I knew I loved this woman for a reason :)

I can't believe we are talking about potty training.  It seems like just yesterday we were worrying because he was 3 days old and hadn't had his first poop yet!  Time flies!!

Seeing daffodils

Hack, harck, hock!  I've been coughing for over a week and I am sick of it!  This crud just keeps getting passed around in our house.  First Cohen will get it, then me and then DJ and the cycle repeats.  I decided I should go ahead and get Cohen in to the Dr. when he started running a fever.   They told me he had an eye and ear infection along with a red and swollen throat and prescribed yet anther round of antibiotic.  Ugh..  A few days after Cohen started with it, I did.  I completely get why he was such a little terd those few days.  It was a nasty bug!  I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die.  Thankfully, the worst of it was only a couple days.  Now we're just dealing with this lingering cough.

In the midst of the cruddiness of winter we also dealt with a power outage.  We had a really bad ice storm last week.. about an inch of ice came down.  With the extra weight of the ice, we had quite a few large branches come down in our yard.  One came down on top of our garage.  It pulled our gutter off and did some damage to the roof itself, but it all looks to be things we can repair on our own.  Our power went out around 11 pm, but was back on by 7 the next night.  We were all packed up and ready to head to my sister's and poof, it was back on!  DJ and I jumped for joy :)

I thought I was dealing well with Winter this year, but after that storm I have been sooo anxious for spring!  I love that feeling of going home from work, walking up to my house to see the little green daffodil shoots coming up through the mulch.  I can't wait!

Our little booger butt is getting to be quite the little boy.  Rotten, rotten, rotten! : )  I say this with a mother's love of course.  I'm sure he has hit the terrible two's and he is only 18 mths.  Everything that we do is a battle of will and sadly.. most of the time Cohen wins!  He has learned to kick, scream and cry to the point that I want to pull my hair out.  I mean, how do you reason with an 18 mth. old?  This being said, the majority of the time he is very sweet.  His speech and vocabulary has grown so much in the last month.  He will repeat pretty much anything you ask him to.  The babysitter tells me that he is the greeter of the house too.  Everyone that walks in is greeted with a hug by Cohen : ) I'm taking him to get his pictures taken Friday.  I've given up trying to do them myself.  It is too hard now.  It was very easy when he was little to put him in cute little outfits and prop him up with pillows or lay him on his belly facing the camera.  No such luck anymore.  Pretty much all the pictures I take have a blur of him running across the room.  Not so great for the frame on the wall.

Well, according to Puxatony Phil, we will be seeing daffodils sooner, rather than later.  I hope so!