Thing Two

Well, it's official... Audrey will be getting a little brother in March! March 22nd, according to his sonogram measurements, a full 6 days earlier than the original due date. Because Audrey was exactly on time according to her adjusted sonogram due date (which was exactly a week earlier than her original due date), I'm putting more stock in the 22nd. We are excited and a little nervous, as 'girl' has become our comfort zone. What an adventure we'll begin next year!

Shot of Baby Boy

Angle is as though the baby was sitting on the camera; you see bum, boy parts, and a foot

Hard to tell, but here's a shot of his big foot

Face and tummy

A slightly clearer face and tummy

A view from the side with Baby Boy laying on his back, head to the right

Stretched out on his tummy

Long baby, legs on the left, arm on the right, head out of the shot

I got the sonogram on Bill's birthday, and for fun, we decided to keep the gender news from the family until dinner, when everyone would be gathered together to celebrate... what was it? Oh yes, an anniversary of Bill's 29th birthday. Yes. I made a card and sealed it up, and everyone found out all together at the same time when he opened it up and saw:

Everyone was thrilled, naturally. However, they would have been just as happy to hear it was going to be another healthy baby girl, too. We are now turning our attention to boy names. We had a really hard time coming up with an alternate boy name for Audrey (in fact, we never did), and it's looking like it's going to be just as hard to find a name for this little guy. We'll figure it out, though, and be thankful and proud to do it. 

19 weeks pregnant, baby weighs 9 oz.

First Shots

Yesterday, Audrey got her very first round of shots. It was traumatic, for me more than her, I think. We made it through, though, and it seems this morning that she's forgotten all about it.

We decided before Audrey was born to delay all vaccinations until she was 2 years old. We based our decision on several sources, one being Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide by Aviva Jill Romm, another being an alternative shot schedule based on Dr. Donald Miller's research and work for LeeRockwell.com.

Basically, we chose to wait on Audrey's shots (not to forgo them completely) because we were convinced by the research we did that it was what was best for her as a member of our family. By waiting, we were able to confirm that she had no subtle health issues that would be complicated by 'normal' vaccination side-effects, we were able to establish a baseline of usual Audrey behavior and personality traits to measure side effect impact against, and we were also able to take control of her health care and the choices made on her behalf. Make no mistake- it was a very hard decision to make. However, once we settled on our choice, we could feel in our guts that it was the right decision for us.

We have a wonderful pediatrician who offered her advice and her own research and resources to add to what we were gathering to make our decision, and once we settled on delaying vaccinations, Dr. Longshaw had no further objections.

We were also able to make our decision knowing that Audrey wouldn't be going out of the country within her first two years, wouldn't be regularly exposed to people with, say, hepatitis, and wouldn't be attending daycare or pre-school programs prior to her first round of shots.

SO, all that being said, the Tuesday after Little A turned two years old, we found ourselves sitting in Dr. Longshaw's office, waiting on the nurse to prep her chubby little thighs for their first round of non-mercury based immunizations. The hardest part of the whole visit was the eye contact during the administration of the shots, as Audrey looked up at me with tears streaming down her cheeks, wordlessly asking me why I was letting a stranger hold her down and hurt her... but I think the long term trauma rested solely on her Mama. I still feel like poo from the experience, and am dreading the boosters scheduled for the Monday before Christmas.

Oh well, it is a necessary evil, no matter how delayed you can manage to make it. Aside from very wee red prick marks where the three needles punctured her skin, she has no other signs or side effects that would indicate her experience at the doctor's office, and today, everything is back to normal.

Side Note: Audrey is still in the 3rd percentile for her weight (22lbs even), 20th percentile for her height (32 inches), and 45th percentile for her head circumference (18.5 inches)!

This parenting stuff is hard, people... but I guess no one ever said it wouldn't be.

In The Pumpkin Patch

Audrey and the Pumpkin Patch from Kyle Ware on Vimeo.

Audrey very, very carefully selects a pumpkin for Mama

Turning Two

Our baby turned two today. It is still sinking in for both of us. She still seems so small, despite being so big! It just feels impossible. Her vocabulary is already amazing, she's been able to use the potty a few times (making her Mama start fretting about potty training!), and she goes up and down the stairs all day long by herself, yet she still feels like my little baby, and it just doesn't feel possible that it's been two years.

For her celebration extravaganza, we actually had a whole weekend to indulge. We had a family party the day before her birthday to celebrate with the family members that would soon be whisked away by travel plans, then we had an intimate day on her official birthday with just Mama and Daddy.  It was a wonderful weekend, and we treasured every fleeting moment with our toddler.

Audrey wakes up on Party Day in a happy mood

Audrey dons her Winnie The Pooh outfit, complete with Pooh ears hair do

 Audrey enjoys an episode of Sesame Street with lunch

Party prep upstairs, where the working air conditioner is

Mama and Audrey with her birthday girl crown

Audrey and Jake watch video clips from Audrey's birthday last year

"Presents!"

A tricycle!

One of the stars of the show: a drum!

Cupcakes, the next best thing to presents

A much better cake picture than the one from her first birthday party

Wrapping up the day with Pappy and new chalk in the driveway

Audrey's birthday party was a relaxed, cozy, family-filled event that left her happy and tired. After a long bath spent playing with her new and amazing bath toys, she hit the hay and slept pretty darn well. I wonder if she dreamed about riding her new tricycle, scooting around in her new wagon, or banging on her new drum...

On the morning of her real birthday, she woke up around 8:30am and devoured some fruit and oatmeal pancakes, then we all got ready, packed up, and headed to the pumpkin patch! During the short drive up the road to the park where the autumn festival was set up, Audrey kept crooning from the back seat, "Punkin patch, oh boyeee! Lots and lots a punkins!"

Daddy pushes Audrey through the woods toward the pumpkin patch

We were surprised at the great little petting zoo on the grounds

The hungry sheep and goats kinda put Audrey off...

...but she wasn't that phased

Next stop: chickens!

Audrey seemed to enjoy being with the chickens the most out of all the animals, and despite being a little nervous when the birds would flutter and scoot around, she was really happy to be there... 

Audrey Meets Real Chickens from Kyle Ware on Vimeo.

The chicks and ducklings were a highlight

Sweet babies

A little more intimidating: a Brahma bull

She ventures a pat, pat, pat, then is ready to move on

Inspecting 7-day-old piglets with Daddy

Inching a bit closer

Admiring a horse from a safe spot

Final stop: the pumpkin patch!

Choosing her pumpkin

She could have spent all afternoon with the gourds

After a little over an hour of wandering the grounds of the pumpkin patch and traveling petting farm, we were ready for lunch! What does one get for a sweet little two-year-old for lunch? Why, Vietnamese noodle soup, of course!

Awesome tastiness

One of her favorite foods of all time: noodles

After lunch, we had to remove her pants because of all the sticky rice noodles decorating her leggings! She didn't seem to mind, though, and took a good nap after we finally returned home. 

Once awake, Audrey headed straight for her new baby stroller and the pumpkins she picked out, to play "punkin patch" while Daddy prepared to put together her new easel...

Showing Yellow Guy her pumpkins

Moving on to easel box and tool inspection

Helping Daddy

Very technical assembly skills required

Exploring parts and pieces

Ready for the paint cups, Daddy?

It looked so small in the store...

Supervising

Finally ready!

Little artist

We colored all evening, and by bath time, had a content and tired little two-year-old. After putting her to bed, we sat around marveling at what lucky parents we were, and how fleeting these early years truly are. We are so blessed.