Spring 2012

So there is this ice cream place near our house - Berens Frozen Custard - that we like to go to quite often. We have been going there since they opened 2 years ago. The custard is amazing and they even give the dogs a free scoop, so it makes for a great small family outing in the evenings.

Ryan's interest in my ice cream cone had been steadily growing until I finally had to cave and give her a few licks, which turned into her and I always sharing a cone, which turned into her stealing my cone. So, for the very first time, we got her her very own cone! We asked the girl to just give her a cone filled with ice cream and shave it off at the top of the cone, no ice cream piled on top...and they don't even charge for it!

Ryan was thrilled and ate her little treat so cleanly, even pausing to ask for a napkin to wipe her mouth with. She gets upset if anyone tries to help her at all, and Daddy even tried to joke like he was going to eat her cone once...major no-no...

my first cone!

it's SO good!!

After our trip to Illinois, Ryan has developed a love for choo-choo trains. We try to accommodate her new passion as much as possible, but there just are not many trains near our house! We take her to the bookstore frequently to play with the train set they have set up in children's area, but one weekend we had a great idea...take her to Stone Mountain to actually RIDE the train!

Dave and I had a planned date night one Saturday night, so we decided that we needed to make the afternoon special for Ryan before heading out without her for the night, so that is the day we chose to take her. We packed a picnic lunch and headed for the park!

We went straight to the train to buy our tickets and didn't have to wait anytime at all for the next ride. We boarded the train and every time the whistle blew, Ryan looked around to see where the choo-choo was...it took her a few minutes to understand that we were IN the train that she was hearing!

Look at that, daddy!!

Look at those old trains!

Sitting with my mommy

Whoa.

She had a good time on the ride, but I think she just enjoys looking at the train the most. The engineer was nice enough to come out and take a few picture with her and she was giving him high fives and waving at him.

Hi there!

I just LOVE this picture!

After our train ride, we found a shady spot to have our picnic. After we ate our PB&J sandwiches and other goodies, Dave took Ryan to look at the fish in the lake. She had such a great time and we can't wait to take her back!

This is MY apple...there are many like it, but this one is MINE!

Stone Mountain!

I love my daddy :)

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to!

Sidewalk chalk with daddy!

pretending to put mommy's deodorant on,

laying on a suitcase

with every bow I own in my hair...

just another day around here!

We "met" Justin Beiber at the mall! Someone slept through it...

Stealing mommy's falafel sandwich...it's just my size...

helping feed baby Truett - going to be a great big sister!

daddy's boots!!

playdate with friend Riley!

playdate with Wesley...he's my boyfriend :)

New car!

After months of research, followed by 2 solid months of Dave haggling every dealership around to whittle of every dollar possible, we finally got our new family car.

It was really hard to give up my Xterra. As we drove away, even now as I see it in the dealership lot when I pass by....it still feels like MINE. I loved that car completely and never wanted for anything more. It was the first car I went out and got on my own, and worked my butt off to pay for. It took us on all kinds of trips to IL and NC to see family. It was my car in college. It was my car as I was single. It was my car as I was engaged. It was my car as I was married. We brought Ryan home in that car...I still remember the incredibly inappropriate song that was playing on the radio when we pulled away from the hospital. I remember driving that car around with a 6 week old Grimm in my lap, with his head hanging out the window. It never ever failed me. I had it for 8 years.

With our growing family, we just needed more room. We take our dogs with us a lot of places, and 2 adults, 2 dogs, a stroller and a carseat would just barely fit in the Xterra if we maneuvered everything just right. There is no way another carseat would fit. And any time we had company, we always had to take 2 cars because 2 people would not fit in the back with the carseat. I know that in reality, we could have made it work just fine...plenty if people get by with much less. But with 2 kids under 2 years old, a certain level of comfort and convenience comes into play. And we have been scrimping and saving to put away a large down payment for the past year because we saw this coming. So, as much as we are against having debts, we were able to pay for about half of the car and finance the other half, which we hope to pay on for no more than 2 years.

It is a really nice car and fits our family's individual needs as perfectly as any car out there possibly can. We had the car custom built for us to make sure it was exactly what we wanted, since this is going to be our family car until...well, until it doesn't run anymore probably!

We named it "The Ni-Night Rider" since it is black on black and will see many a nap ;)

We wanted All Wheel Drive, since we hope to move somewhere with actual seasons someday, and the AWD will come in handy in the winter.

Dave really was sold on the captains chairs in the middle row - 2 buckets seats rather than a full across bench seat - they will be good for the kids to have their own space, and it makes moving around in the back a LOT easier.

I was set on having 2 sunroofs - a regular one in the front seat and a moonroof that doesn't actually open in the back seat - because I would have DIED to have my sunroof to look out of when I was a kid, so I wanted that for my kids.

The back hatch opens with the push of a button - something we thought was really unnecessary at first, but after grocery shopping with a squirming toddler...it is nice...really really nice to have.

There is a 3rd row seat, so that when we have visitors we can all ride together. And there is still enough room for a stroller in the cargo area when the 3rd row is in use. Or the seat can fold down completely so that the dogs can ride with us with no hassles.

The 2nd row of seats move in a lot of different positions to accommodate a range of situations that may arise.

I can use my phone through the speakers, and there is even a USB port so we can just keep the iPod plugged in at all times and play it through the radio.

It has heated seats...oh how I love heated seats.

We went with black leather interior, even though I don't favor leather, we thought it would be easiest with kids and dogs. Messes will wipe off a lot easier.

And we got this special exterior black paint color that has a little bit of shimmer or sparkle to it up close.

It has a tow package already installed for our future boat and/or jet skis ;) haha

I'm sure there is more...but those are the main things.

I am still getting accustomed to it. It rides a lot differently than my old car - its like your floating on glass rather than bouncing around in a doom-buggy! Hahaha! And its a lot bigger and wider than my Xterra. In the Xterra, I could reach everything a lot easier since it was a smaller car all around. And my old car was pretty manual - the radio buttons, the AC knobs - this car it's all different and just takes a while to get used to.

But we are enjoying our new car, even though I will always miss my old car, we are very thankful that we were able to provide our growing family with something that suits much better.

Gardening with Daddy

Dave planted a garden again this year, and Ryan loves to help daddy outside when he comes home from work. It is the cutest, most heart warming thing ever to watch her follow right along behind him with her little bucket of water. She helps water the plants and scoops dirt with her little shovel. I've never really allowed her to get dirty before this...she was either too young or it was dark by the time daddy got home or the weather was too cold for her to be parading around the yard. But now she is big enough and listens well enough to not try to put every single thing in her mouth. It's hard to believe that there was once a time when she was afraid of the grass! Now, most days she has to be stripped down at the back door because she is soaking wet, covered in grass clippings, or dripping with mud. It is strangely endearing to see her in such disarray...I can only imagine how much fun this must be for her and I am reminded of how much I loved trudging through creeks and climbing trees when I was a kid. I am watching the wonder of childhood unfold right before my eyes, and I feel so blessed that we get to be a part of that.

Yep, them un-yuns is lookin good!

We may need more water, daddy

Farmer Sullivan

He is teaching her what the different plants are, and she will stand next to him pointing and saying "may-toe, un-yun, beanzz, cum-ba"...pretty cute, and pretty smart! When Dave finds a worm, he shows her and they put it in the dirt together - she is not afraid to touch them! And one night when they came in for dinner Dave asked her to tell me what she found and she said "PO-LEEEE!!" meaning roly poly.

Scoop!

Daddy showing me how to rake the dirt

my very own watering can

watering the strawberries for daddy

Ryan enjoyed splashing in the garden's water buckets so much that we decided that she needed a water table. These things are GREAT...it's just a table that holds water that they can stand at and splash, pour, dump, and play with the water and any water toys we throw in there. Dave found one for only $20 in a Big Lots mailer, so we headed up there one night after he got off of work to snag one. He assembled it and filled it up with water on the back porch. He sat out there watching Ryan play as I cooked dinner and when they came in to eat, he said that she had not made ONE PEEP the entire time! She loves it!!

how many pictures do we need, mom??

teeny weeny bikini!

oops! missed my bucket!

I could do this all day!

Illinois! Spring 2012

I wanted to get up to visit my family in Illinois before the baby is born and needed to do it before I got too big to travel. Dave had to go out of town for work for several days to D.C. and it just happened to be right around the time I was thinking of heading north. I don't like to be here alone, so we decided to drive up as a family, then Dave could fly in and out of St. Louis.

Our trip up was phenomenal. Ryan was OVERLY cooperative! She woke up around 5:30, which is unusually early for her, but we decided to go ahead and get up and moving. We had breakfast, finished packing, got ourselves ready, loaded the car, and it was 7:30 by the time we were out the door.

We only made one real stop the whole trip! I packed us a picnic lunch and we stopped at a truck stop to eat it and let Ryan and I walk around for a bit, then we were off again.

Somewhere in Kentucky Ryan dozed off for her afternoon nap and we pulled over to switch drivers so Dave could catch a nap too. When we stopped, I ran in a gas station to use the restroom, and that is the only stops we ever made...with a toddler and a water loving pregnant lady!! Seems unfathomable!!

We stayed with my grandparents in my hometown. Lots of family came over on Saturday to visit with us and my grandma made a big dinner for everyone.

Sunday morning, we went to church where I grew up before Ryan and I had to drive Dave to St. Louis to fly to D.C. Our friend, Damian, and his wife, Mary, live in D.C., so they picked him up from the airport and they all went out to dinner together.

Ryan and I had a great time with my grandparents while Dave was away. We didn't really do much of anything, but it's those small things that make for special days. We went on walks and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We watched countless choo-choo trains beyond the backyard. Grandma Judy taught Ryan all about birds and how they eat worms. Papa sat on the porch with Ryan and read books to her. He even taught her a new high-five....the "fist bump"! My great-uncle, Jim, is totally smitten with Ryan, and always comes to see us when we are up. He gave Ryan a couple of sweet toys, but her eyes lit up when he handed her a single dollar bill (she loves when she gets to put money in her piggy bank). My Aunt Sheila brought her some wonderful toys and read her lots of books too!

Hi Papa!!

Ryan smelled the daffodils in the front yard daily, and she picked a flower for her mommy for the very first time...my heart melted!! We pointed out endless cows, horses, chickens, dogs, birds, trucks, trains, trees and planes. We played on the school playground that I grew up on. We ran and played in the streets! (not many cars go by, so it's safe!) Ryan came home with bruised up and skinned up knees and I adore it. I don't say that to be mean, but that's it's a symbol of a kid having fun in the country...when is the last time you had a skinned up knee from having too much fun?

SMELL!

Bird!

Grandma Judy pushing me on the swings

It was wonderful having the extra sets if eyes and hands to help me with Ryan in Dave's absence, but the best part of the whole trip was watching my daughter interact with my grandparents, her great-grandparents, much in the same ways as I did as a child. She put Papa's cowboy boots on and it was like I was watching MYSELF as a child....because we ALL did that. I got pictures of her in Papa's boat...which I have a few pictures of myself sitting in his boat at that age. Ryan was completely enamored by her great-grandparents, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins. And I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual!

My "CUTE" face and wearing Papa's boots :)

In Papa's boat...this looks just like mommy as a baby!

My grandparents offered to keep Ryan Wednesday night as I went to go pick up Dave at the St. Louis airport. Luckily, it was late enough that all they really had to worry about was playing with her for about 30 minutes, then getting her to off to bed. They said she was no problem at all and went right to sleep...I always worry that she will be difficult for others and I just hate the thought of that!

the Easter Bunny came to visit Ryan in Illinois!

When I picked up Dave, we decided that we needed to cut our trip short a day and leave the very next morning so that Dave could get some work done Friday from home.

The trip home was not so good. Having to leave always makes me emotional, and leaving an entire day early magnifies it by 1000...oh, and did I mention that I am pregnant? We didn't pack anything the night before since Ryan was asleep in our room when we got back from the airport. So we didn't end up getting packed and on the road until about 10:30. Ryan fell asleep before we were even out of the state and had a pitiful 45 minute nap...the ONLY sleep she would get on the trip. Then it was time to stop for lunch, which takes about 2 hours. We got back on the road and ran into a completely miserable hail storm on top of a mountain...there was instantly about 3 inches of hail on the road out of nowhere! It was the loudest thing ever and I could just imagine the holes it was putting in the car....luckily, it wasn't our car! Hahaha! (the dealership we bought our new car from gave us a loaner to take on the trip until our new car was delivered). Ryan was not a fun passenger for most of the trip south...she was fussy, demanding, and nothing would suit her. I flopped my pregnant belly back and forth between front and back seats trying to appease her. We finally made it to the Georgia line and we stopped at the welcome center to feed Ryan a pathetic dinner of cold pizza, cheese crackers, and blueberries....all that I had left in the cooler. She was SO tired of the car, so we walked around with her for about an hour. She was in a terrible mood, and only daddy would do, so I took over driving so he could sit in the back with her. About 20 minutes down the road, the sky turned black and started to pour. I hate driving in the rain, plus I was in the middle of nowhere in a new car...we needed gas anyway, so I pulled over to make Dave drive again. We get maybe 3 exits down the interstate and Ryan reeks of poop. So we pull over AGAIN to change her at a truck stop. The changing table in the women's room was in use by a particularly fussy babe, so daddy took her to the mens room. He comes out looking quite flustered....there was no poop. False alarm. So back in the car, next exit down the road...I can't find my phone anywhere. I was sure I had not taken it into the truck stop with me, but I am so absent minded that Dave pulls over AGAIN to double check. I finally found it and we were off again. We were about 45 minutes from home and when Ryan REALLY pooped. We had to stop in the ghetto to change her, and no one had a changing table. So to improvise, we pulled out her stroller, layed down the seat, and changed her in the parking lot...I'm fairly certain Dave had his hand on his gun during this little episode. We made it home around 10:30....feeling like we had just been beaten to death. Dave and I were so over it, we never even ate dinner. We went straight to bed, too exhausted to unpack anything at all, be thankful that we made it home, or even laugh together at all of the CRAP we had just endured...

Little man update

We finally decided on a name for our little man! Dave had the final say this time around. We had a name picked out for a while, but we're a little unsure and weren't ready to fully commit. But when we had our ultrasound to determine gender, after they told us he was a boy, I kept thinking as I was looking at the screen "that's Jacob." Kind of the same thing that happened with Ryan. So after about a week of thinking about it, we went ahead and made it official...his name is Jacob Conner Sullivan. We both just like the name Jacob, as well as Jake, and Conner is in honor of my grandpa - it's his last name and his only son has only girls, so there won't be anymore Conners. Also, we apparently like to subconsciously name our kids the most Irish names we can think of ;)

The last boy born into my immediate blood family (the branches below my grandpa) was my older brother...33 years ago, so having a new little guy around is going to be quite a change!

Jacob is moving around a good bit these days. He feels much different than Ryan did. Ryan never changed positions. She laid in the same spot for 9 whole months just kicking the mess out of my ribs. But this little guy is a roller! He does kick, but he mostly kind of tumbles around. He pushes out a lot too. Sometimes it feels like he just decided to stand straight up!

I have been feeling good for the most part. Well, physically anyhow. Mentally I am in a stage where I feel very foggy...I am easily emotional, and it doesn't take much to hurt my feelings or make me get really down. And when I get down, it takes a LONG time to feel better. I feel pretty paranoid too...like everyone is looking at me, judging me, or talking about me. Very weird. Oh, and I feel very dumb too - baby brain has hit in full force. I can't think of words in general conversations! And when trying to explain something, I can't form the sentences I want and I go around in circles. It's like being a crazy person! Luckily, Dave is very understanding and helpful. When I feel like the whole world is against me, he can talk me through it and make me feel loved.

Recently I have been having a LOT of pain when walking...as in I can just barely walk. The pain is just under my belly, like where my leg bones click into my hips...I'm dancing around the words 'crotch' and 'groin' here...I talked to several friends about it who have been pregnant twice and they said they had it the 2nd time around too. My friend, Susie, said she even got so scared that she called her doctor about it and they said it was normal and to use a heating pad and stay off your feet. Well, I do those 2 things and it DOES help. It helps a LOT actually...but...I am NOT the kind to walk to stay off of my feet! I want to NEST! I want to cook meals to freeze, or scrub the shower, or vacuum the whole house, or take Ryan to the park to play, or push her around the neighborhood in her stroller on long walks for the fresh air and exercise! One day during her nap time, I decided to spend my free time lying on the couch, no TV, just laying there. I hated it. And I hated that I hated it, but I nevertheless...it was not what I wanted to be doing.

Dave is extremely helpful when he gets home from work. Most days he takes Ryan outside to play so I can finish making dinner, then after we eat, he plays with her some more and helps me clean up the kitchen. Then I lay on the couch with my feet up for a few minutes before getting in the shower with Ryan. And after our shower, it is pretty much couch time for me until bedtime. I want to be up helping him get Ryan off to bed, but by the end of the day, my body just kind of gives out on me sometimes. It is actually not THAT bad, but we don't want it to get THAT bad, so we are trying to have me take it easy as much as possible. I definitely do not feel as strong as I did with Ryan...I have NO time to work out this time around, and the first time I was working our at least 4 days a week, not including walking almost every night.

All of my doctor's appointments have been going well. Jacob is measuring right on schedule and doing all of the little baby things he should be doing. Heart rate is good, my blood pressure is good - even lower than it was with Ryan usually! I had my gestational diabetes test and passed with flying colors...and I did NOT pass out this time!! The girl who draws my blood now is VERY good and I barely feel a thing.

Once Dave can get Jake's ultrasound pictures scanned, I will post them. But until then, here are a few belly photo of us :)

21 weeks

23 weeks

27 weeks

Our sleep troubles

Ryan has always had a problem with going to sleep. Sure, she can pass out no problem in the car or in her stroller, which is usually how I try to plan her naps each day, but at night...well, sigh. She has ALWAYS wanted to be held. Rocked to sleep every night. When they are tiny, helpless newborns, it's not as big of a deal-those are the fleeting moments that everyone should try to cherish and soak up as much as possible. But an 18 month old who insists on being rocked, and then almost always wakes up when put down...not so much fun. Dave has been bearing basically ALL of the nighttime routine, since my belly is getting pretty large and Ryan squirms, climbs, flails around and kicks....not very comfy for me OR the little man.

She was also waking up 2,3, even 4 times a night. Again, poor Dave would handle it so the baby and I could rest and not have to deal with the stress. He is awesome, by the way. We refuse to co-sleep with her, since the dogs jump on the bed as they please, and we just don't want to have to break the habit later when there is a newborn in a cradle in our room...not to mention that is OUR space!! But on some nights, it would get so bad that we would find ourselves just giving up and wanting to LAY DOWN, so we would put her in the bed with us...she would typically snooze like a rock. Well, things were getting SO bad that we decided that Ryan just hated her crib. So we put a twin mattress on the floor and made it very cozy for her. The first 3 or 4 days were great. We would lay next to her until she fell asleep, which only took a few minutes. You could tell that she really enjoyed it. Then that started going south because she didn't want to settle down at night. She would waller around on Dave for upwards of 2 hours some nights. Eventually we just gave up and went back to rocking her again.

We were basically at our wits end. We have tried basically everything...from rocking to crying it out, I even made her go without naps during the day thinking that she could just be getting TOO much sleep. So I found a book at a consignment sale and we read about some different methods to get her down at night. I told Dave to decide what he thought was best and just DO it, since I am so baby-brained right now I can't even think of basic words in conversations.

He decided that we needed to go back to crying it out, but also a more
calm routine before bed, as well as getting her to bed earlier. And I am happy to say that what he is doing has been working well so far (I don't want to jinx anything, because she always seems to do well at first, then it all takes a nose dive!)

Ryan and I take a shower together after dinner, then Dave begins the wind down. After she gets out of the shower, it is all calm, soft voices, low lights and lots of cuddle time. He brushes teeth with her and reads books for a while. Then they say goodnight to her room, just like in Goodnight Moon...goodnight chair, goodnight door, goodnight sheep... Then he turns on Nickel Creek (her favorite right now) and slow dances with her for one song. He lays her down in her crib, pats her back, leaves the music on very low, and quietly leaves. The first night, she cried of course, and he went in to see her after 5, 10, and 15 minutes but never picked her up. She eventually gave it up and laid down and went to sleep. The next night, he went in once to see her, but it seemed to just make it worse, and she was out soon after anyhow. Now he does not go back in and she is down within usually 15 minutes. She will lay there calmly and talk to her baby or blanket, or just listen to her music for a few minutes before dozing off.

Her temperament has been better during the day since we started this. She was at a point of exhaustion and frustration and would get pretty cranky, needy and demanding during the times when she SHOULD HAVE been napping peacefully. But she is doing well now. Good sleep is SO important for little ones. Of course, it's nice for the parents too, but in the end, we really just want what is best for Ryan.

We have been on this routine for over a month, and I am happy to say that Ryan has found her groove! She actually prefers to be put down awake now. If she falls asleep in the car or stroller, she almost always wakes up when moved and that is the end of her nap. She wiggles away when trying to rock her, so I don't even try anymore! I dance with her to one song and lay her down. She talks to herself about her day for a little while, but typically goes to sleep fairly quickly. She naps for 1-2 hours right now, and usually wakes up refreshed and in a good mood. At night, Dave reads her a few books, they listen to music, and she is down in the crib by herself. She typically sleeps 11 hours on the nose.

So...the moral of the story is...crying it out WORKS. It is actually what they NEED. It seems so cruel, and it took us 18 months to finally commit to do it, but it WORKS! And they are so much better for it! I was always afraid that not getting her when she cried would instill a sense of worthlessness, as if she was not "good enough" or valued enough to be consoled when upset, or as if her being upset was not validated. I wanted to show her that we were always there for her. And I had read that picking them up when they cry gives them a higher sense of self-worth and better self esteem. That is why it was so difficult for us to get to this point. In the end, we figured she knows we think pretty darn highly of her, and she was just getting to be the biggest fuss ALL the time because of the sleep troubles. Not to mention, we were FRIED as parents! All of the things we WERE doing were not working, so we decided to flip it on its head and do something totally different. So we went for it, and after 3 nights...trust me...the next one will be broken MUCH sooner ;)

Babyland General

We woke up one Saturday morning with no real family plans for the day. Rather than squander the entire day running errands or doing remedial chores, I suggested we take Ryan to Babyland. Babyland is the home of Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. You can adopt handmade babies there, there is a small museum area with some of the very first dolls on display, nurseries set up with cribs full of babies, and best if all-Mother Cabbage, where a nurse delivers a doll from the patch right there in front of you! She has been very attached to her baby dolls lately, and I knew she would just love it. It is about an hour and a half away, and near where my brother lives, so we met up with him for lunch. We ate at a little country place that was not much more than a roadside stand. Everything was either BBQ or heavily fried, but it was pretty darn tasty!

When we got to Babyland, we couldn't wait to let Ryan see all of the babies! She immediately wanted to hold a little baby boy doll out of one of the cribs and put him in her stroller. Daddy helped her clip him in and she pushed him around. Then she got a different baby boy doll (little brother practice!) and climbed up in a rocking chair to rock him. She sat there rocking this baby for at least 15 minutes. It was adorable.

Rocking a little baby boy

Clicking the baby in the stroller

Pushing a baby in her stroller

She did NOT want to get up and we had to basically force her to move on! But we were able to distract her since there was a play kitchen in the next room. She ran right up to it and proceeded to prepare a tea party for herself and another little girl who was there. Then we let her wander around the store area for a whole as mommy and daddy followed behind. She found lots of dolls to hold, and even a stuffed dog that she played with for a long time. Then she picked a baby and found a doll stroller an pushed it around FOREVER! She is so loving and motherly to her babies. She pushed around the stroller like it was her DUTY, then she found a doll car seat carrier and put the baby in it and carried her around the store for a very long time.

She found a little table and chairs and sat the baby and carrier in a chair and sat down herself in the next chair, just like a realm mommy would do at a restaurant. She even rocked the carrier occasionally. She got to see a doll being born in the cabbage patch, but it wasn't very interesting to her.

Watching a Cabbage Patch Kid being born!

We made it out somehow without spending a dime, even though I think Dave and I both desperately wanted to get her the doll she carried around the whole time. I can't wait to take back again soon!

Lots of stuffed animals all around!

On the Cabbage Couch with daddy!