24 weeks

Well I think its about time I update about the little Mr. who is growing and growing :)

I am 24 weeks this week. I have been feeling and seeing him move around!!! Dan has gotten to feel him and see him, too. It is so fun. I think besides the massive weight gain and body hurting the third trimester is my favorite. I love feeling the baby move so much and getting things ready for them. It finally feels real :) I am only 3 weeks away from my third trimester and am SO ready for it. Lots of people have told me that their 2nd (and 3rd) pregnancies go by so fast....ugh not MINE! I honestly feel like this has felt much longer than the first one...yes I have a major problem with patience :)

I had a Dr. apt last week and found out a few things. Thing 1: I have gained 10 lbs in 5 weeks...YIKES! I feel so huge already and I still have 16 weeks left. UH OH. The nurse was so sweet and acted like it wasn't a big deal...she even complimented me (do you see why I love this place)! Thing 2: On our sonogram we had in December they say his right foot and leg was (or looked to be) inverted, which could mean a clubfoot. We are going to have another sono in a few weeks to see how it is doing. The Dr. said sometimes it can work itself out. If it doesn't we wait until after delivery to see what we want to do. My dad is an orthopedic technician (works with an orthopedic surgeon and sees club foot patients often) and he said that 95% of club foot patients can be fixed with casting and does not need surgery. So we will learn more in a few weeks. A little side not: Dan actually was born with the same thing on both feet...hmmm maybe genetic????

Of course we don't want our sweet little boy to have to go through anything, but I am thankful that it is something that is fairly common and somewhat easily treatable.

Here are some pictures of me at 24 weeks! Enjoy :)

I know the last one is a bit blurry...sorry!

Snow baby

Saffryn's 10 steps for enjoying a snow day!

1: Make sure you bundle up!

2: Don't forget your gloves!

3: Investigate as long as necessary!

4: Pick up the snow to continue your investigation


5: Eat the snow!!!

6: Watch Crash (or other pets) play in the snow

7: Throw snow!!!

8: Walk in the snow!

9: Don't fret if you fall in the snow!

10: Lastly, if walking around doesn't get you where you need to go...crawl!!!!!


Happy Winter!!!

Sensory Time

I have been so excited to use Saffryn's new table and chair set....so once we got some plastic to cover the floor underneath it (a shower curtain...thanks for the idea mom) we got started!!!!

After some stipulation we decided to have a whipped cream sensory time. I know there are some debates about whether food should be used as a sensory/art item. I completely get that side of the argument: The child will think its always ok to eat the sensory/art item. It confuses the child regarding food and play. But after thinking and talking about it I came to the conclusion: Saffryn is so young everything goes in her mouth regardless of the item. Also I introduced it as a food and made it very clear that it was ok to eat it. There are lots of things we introduce that is a no mouth item so she has practice with that and will with other sensory/art items. And lastly...its fun and delicious so why not?!?! :)

So after letting the cool whip thaw out a little and getting her naked we set it out! I gave her a little taste and the spoon...here are the results!!!!

YUM!!! This stuff is so good :)

I love the look on her face...hahah!

Using the spoon to get whipped cream, good for fine motor development!

How can you tell if it's a good project...if it's everywhere...LOL.

Using hands and spoon to explore the texture!

It's safe to say she needed a bath...and got one promptly! Thanks for helping Daddy!!!!

I will leave you with just one picture to show how advanced Saffryn is....

OHHH alright...she might have had a LITTLE help from me....hehe!!!!

What a fun project!

Coming together

So yesterday Dan and I did some serious baby name talking. We sat down and wrote out any name we liked or was considering. That came to about 15 names between the two of us. We then decided to score the names using different categories. We got this idea from a baby name book. We used 10 categories. They include: goes with last name, namesake, nicknames, initials, spelling, pronounciation...and a few more. You score each name in each category, using the scale 0-3. Zero if you think it scores low in that category, 3 if you think its great. After you are done you add up the total scores, with 60 being the highest any name could get. (Side note...I know this sounds like a lot of work and it was. Maybe it even sounds a little crazy. LOL. Oh well). So we did that and had 4 names score 50 or higher. We evaluated those 4 names and.....PICKED ONE!


I am SO SO SO excited! I think the name is perfect! It was just what I was looking for. A strong masculine name that isn't too common! YAY :) Now I just need to keep it to myself for a few months...LOL...we'll see how that goes!

Anyway we have slowly been trying to get ready for this baby. I know we still have time, but it feels good to get started! Here are a few things we have done this week:

We have moved the rocking chair out of Saffryn's room. She really doesn't use it that much anymore, so we decided to start changing her room to a toddler room! I can't wait to do so many crafts, projects, puzzles, reading and other fun things on this table! She loves this table and chair set!
Another view of Saffryn's room. I know the wood doesn't match, but honestly Saffryn does not care, so I guess I don't either :)

This book shelf used to be full of blankets and baby toys...now look at it! It is full of big girl toys and lots and lots of books! She is growing up!

We moved the rocking chair into Jr's room. Here is a view of his room. We moved out the two twin beds that were in there. We still need to buy a crib, bedding and decorations...but hey its a start right?!?! LOL
Another view of Jr's room.
Here are a few of the goodies we have gotten him so far. The elephant was a gift from Papa and Gigi!!! The two dog statues are from Me and Dan. We got them after we found out we were having a boy. The train was mine when I was a baby! Can't wait to fill this room up with more :)


YAY! Its a boy :)

21 1/2 weeks along! I am showing much faster this time around! Dan and I also notice I am carrying differently with this one...what do you think...if you can tell in pictures???

21 1/2 weeks!

Well as you can see things are slowly coming together!!!! :)

Christmas Vacation

We just got back from our Christmas vacation yesterday evening! We went to South Carolina to visit Dan's family!!! We spent Thanksgiving with my family this year, so Christmas was with Dan's! It was so fun! This was the first time in a while that all of his sibiling and their significant others were able to come. We also got to spend time with his Aunt, Uncle, Cousins and Grandparents! Doesn't get much more fun that that :)

Here are a few of the highlights!!!!

Saffryn got a red wagon this Christmas!!! She loved riding in it, pushing it and putting her stuffed animals and other goodies in it! The best part....there's a seat for Jr. Jr. too :)

A little glimpse of our Christmas Brunch..YUMMY!

Saffryn helping open presents! She actually got the hang of it by the end!

Getting our stocking stuffers out!!!



We went to the beach on Christmas morning! It was super sunny and around 50! Saffryn LOVED it! She really wanted to play in the water..hehe. Maybe next time!

Walking on the beach with her Papa!



Pointing to the water! "Mom, I want to go there"

Saffryn on our trip to the petting zoo! She has a serious a love for animals!

As you can see from the pictures we had so much fun!!! Christmas day was full of love, laughter, the beach, and lots and lots of food!!! We spent a lot of time just relaxing and having fun with everyone!

Saffryn did great the whole trip! Sleep was a little irregular at first, but she ended up getting the hang of sleeping there (THANK GOODNESS)! She was such a wonderful sport on the plane rides to and from Savannah. She was attached to the hip with Papa and Gigi and loved loved loved spending so much time with them!

It was such a fun trip for Dan and I. All the siblings and Papa and Gigi were SO helpful with Saffryn! They were also so thoughtful and got gifts for Crash and Jr. Jr.!!!! The only downside to the trip was Dan had to go back to work for several days, then come back for New Years Eve. We all missed him, but especially Me and Saffryn! :)

I hope everyone had as great of a Christmas break as we did! Happy 2011!!!!!!!!!

The name game

I am SO bad about keeping this up...not too sure why! I could always find things to write about...but seem to not find the time or ambition to do it! I think part of it is, it is so time consuming...especially when uploading pictures. But I really really really want to be better at this for Saffryn's (and my sake) later on. So much to document and remember!

Ok moving on...

Saffryn is growing like a WEED! LOL. Really she is. I am not talking only physical, but mentally too! She just does so many things now! She learns new words all the time! She can say: Gigi, Momma, Daddy, Crash, Abbie (pronounced Abba), (We have tried the other Aunts and Uncles names, but they seem to be too hard for her), Up, Ya, Water, Kitchen, doggy, dirty, hi, hungry, help. Now to be fair her pronounciation is not perfect but she is trying very hard to say these things and understands the meaning! She is still using signs for some things and is responding to a lot of directions! I can tell her we need to go upstairs for something and she walks to the stairs. I say get your special bunny and she finds him. I can say we need to go to the kitchen and she walks to the kitchen! So amazing!

She also likes to scream. A. LOT! She has always been a loud baby but wow! She has got some pipes on her! Sometimes she does it because she is excited, other times frustrated, other times she is doing it for a reaction. I am never totally sure how to respond, but I try to do the best I can and help her learn that screaming will not get you what you want!

I could write a lot about her, but sufficient to say she is such a sweet girl FULL of personality! She could not fit more in line with her name (Saffron a spice)! She is spicy, in a good way!!! LOL :) We just love her.

Now on for Jr. Jr.!!!! We had our sonogram on the 2oth and got to see a PENIS!!! LOL Its a boy! Dan was so proud! We are of course thrilled. One question I keep getting is: "will you keep this name a secret like you did with Saffryn's?" Well the answer is yes, though it is a moot point! We don't have a name picked out yet!!!!

I know we still have time, several months but it is just kind of bugging me! With our two dogs and Saffryn their names just came to us! We both liked them right away and it just fit. It was almost like an "ah ha" moment. We haven't had that yet. Does that mean we just haven't found the right name? I don't know... Dan seems to think that maybe it doesn't work like that all the time. Maybe this time it just wont be an "ah ha" moment. But I want the moment! I want us both to love the name and say "yes" this is the one!

But in the mean time, we are playing the name game. Listing off name after name. Spelling it, saying it aloud, feeling it out. This time the name is just so much work! I guess we had it coming considering, "King Tut", "Crash" and "Saffryn" came to us super easily!!!!

But regardless we are thrilled! We love our children (even Crash) and can't wait to continue our journey together!!!! :)

12 months old

Well considering this is ridiculously late and her development is skyrocketing I will only be able to tell you what she is able to do now, December 1st. A few weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but honestly she is growing and learning so fast I cannot remember what she was able to do a few weeks ago, compared to what she is doing now...so sorry! WALKING: She is walking EVERYWHERE! She is so much more stable now, too. She can squat, stomp her feet and turn and stay up. I love seeing her waddle everywhere. It is just too adorable!
TALKING: This is the area that has really taken off within the last few weeks! She is able to not only sign, but use actual language!

Signs she knows: bye bye, more, all done, milk, eat, help

Words she says on a consistant basis ( I say this because she tries to repeat what we say ALOT...its amazing...but that doesn't mean she knows the word)...so anway: Uh oh, Crashy (why Crashy and not Crash..not too sure), cracker, water, hi, daddy, up (which she whispers for some reason), thank you, ball and bubbles.

I love her adorabe voice!!! This has been SO much fun!
FRUSTRATIONS: Now with all this talking you would think the frustration would be way down, but just the opposite. Now that she has gotten the hang of communicating she wants to communicate more! She is getting stuck because she only knows some basic words, and tries to use those to say something else. For example she will sign for milk, when really she wants a turn to play with a toy but has no vocabulary for that yet. So Dan and I are trying to figure out the more complex ideas she wants to communicate and giving her the words to say with them...much easier said than done sometimes!!!
LIKES: Her most recent favorites are: Crash (this may be a long lasting favorite...who can blame her), meat..including bratwurst and sausages...LOL!!! Bubbles, singing, reading, dogs in general, putting things in buckets, dancing, listening to music, baths, playing outside, her special bunny, stuffed animals and walking/exploring!!!!
DISLIKES: New people or places...still VERY slow to warm up, being alone (just like her mother..hehe), being told no, eating baby food while we eat adult food in front of her and certain books and songs...If i start to sing a song or read a particular book she starts flailing her arms and makes it VERY clear she has no interest in that activity..haha!
OVERALL: She is such a joy! We love her quick mind and serious personality. We love that she has a big heart and loves animals and soft cuddley things. We are so proud of her development and the girl she is and is becoming! She is adorable, funny and smart! Well we are officially obsessed...hahaha!!!! Happy 12 months...a few weeks late :)