Just Another Manic Monday

There is a first for everything, and today was our first visit to the Emergency Room. It seems like we've been due for something like this for a while.
This morning, Benjamin and Peter were playing with blocks, when tempers flared and Benjamin hit Peter with one of them. I immediately went for Benjamin's "cuddles" (his blanket that disappears for punishment) to put it up on the shelf. Before I knew it, I had two screaming boys, and I could tell that Benjamin was not just screaming because he was mad at me. After consoling Peter, I went directly to Benjamin, who had blood coming from his mouth. He had hit it on the doorway, and there was a gash on the side of his lip that sure wasn't going to be fixed with a band-aid. I put one on anyway to keep it together, packed everyone in the car, and headed out, not really sure where I should go. I called my pediatrician on the way, who sent us directly to the hospital Emergency Room. We were admitted and examined, and finally they determined that sutures weren't going to work since the cut went through the lip line. So they started calling plastic surgeons to see who was available.

About two hours later, we were back in the car, headed to another Surgery Center where a plastic surgeon was available for a short window of time. I called a friend at this point, and dropped Peter off at her house on the way. We got to the plastic surgeon's office, filled out a few forms, and waited. They told us we had to wait another hour, so we went and got some lunch before coming back for the procedure. Even though his lip wasn't bleeding much, it was still really painful to look at. The staff was really nice, and helped him feel comfortable in their office, up until the point where they ripped him out of my arms without warning to carry him back to the room. I was a little upset by it. He was being very cooperative, and would have gone with them no problem if they had explained to him what was going on. So I think that was harder for him than getting the actual local anesthesia and stitches. Poor guy. But they did a fabulous job, and there shouldn't be any scar when it's healed.

Benjamin got an ice cream cone when we got home for his bravery, and I finally got a shower. We made it through our first Emergency Room incident, and I am exhausted! And so, good night.

Toy Story 3

It's been way too long since we've been to a movie. We went to see Toy Story 3 as a family yesterday, and I'll admit I had zero expectations going in. We ended up seeing the 3D version (Not worth it in my opinion. It was fun, but nothing worthy of a ticket "premium") We spent the better part of the movie locating Peter's glasses in the dark theater every time he took them off.
We LOVED it though! It really was a fun movie. It brought tears to our eyes at the end, and plenty of laughs throughout. My favorite was the scary cymbal monkey. I can't help but chuckle every time I think about it...those haunting bloodshot eyes.
Two thumbs up for Toy Story 3.

Losing My Baby Peter

These days, I find myself thinking of little else other than the new baby and all the changes that are about to happen, so I'm sorry if I'm sounding a little redundant. It kind of makes me mourn the loss of my baby Peter, although at 20 months, he is hardly a baby anymore. I'm hopeful that this transition from two kids to three is a smooth one, and also that "middle child syndrome" doesn't come too fast or hard on Peter.
Benjamin is sure excited about the new baby. For a while, he was insistent on calling her "Ellie," but he's since changed preferences for "Eliza." I think that's because it's his friend's older sister's name. But we haven't decided on anything. I have a hard time picking out a name before I actually see the baby. We've finally compiled a pretty good list of names we like though. In the running are Elinor, Cassity, Leonora, Elizabeth, Margaret, Madelyn, Leah, Julia, Clara, Eliza, and Naomi. We'll find out when we meet her! Speaking of meeting her, I got this ultrasound last week with a close-up of her face. I think she's going to be pretty cute. The ultrasound technician even showed me that she has hair. I wonder if technology will ever advance enough to determine the hair color...
Peter is a funny little kid. I love how his personality is shaping. The other day during a substantial rainstorm, he would not come directly from the car into the house. Instead, he wanted to mow the lawn with his toy lawn mower in the middle of the downpour. He LOVES lawn mowers, and will stop whatever he's doing to go observe out the window if he hears one. His word for "lawn mower" is "mong-ow."
His vocabulary has really been expanding. He still only uses one or maybe two word phrases, but he pronounces longer words pretty well. For pacifier, he says "pas-ah-waur," and for dinosaur, he'll say "di-saur." My favorite is his liberal use of the word "nice," which he pronounces "nah-s." He likes to pick out his own outfits (which actually are pretty decent) and then point out how "nah-s" he looks.
The potty thing is still going on. I haven't used any incentives with him yet, but he tells me frequently throughout the day when he needs to go, and then I help him. So his diapers have been more and more dry. Number two is following closely behind. He's told me a few times he needs to go before he does the deed, but usually, he informs me right after the fact. But it's still progress as far as I'm concerned!
The transition to a bed hasn't happened yet, although I think we might be close. Especially since his latest habit involves dropping his "cuddles" and pacifier out of his crib and then calling out very loudly for "MA-ME" to retrieve them for him.
And to end on a random note, I love this picture of my three favorite boys!

Doing Well

When I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes while pregnant with Peter, I was devastated. It was a long, stressful pregnancy, and I always felt like I was starving. It seemed no matter how "good" I was at my diet, I wasn't doing well enough. I wrote down everything I ate every day, and was constantly referring to all the materials and handouts to make sure I was on the right track. Added to that were three different weekly appointments with my regular doctor and the specialists at the hospital. I was pretty glad when that was all over.
This pregnancy came a little sooner than we had anticipated, but we were excited nonetheless and knew that it was the right timing. My main fear when I found out we were expecting was that I'd have to go through all of that misery again, and I wasn't sure if I was ready yet. But I was given a little extra time before the diabetes showed up, which in my mind was a huge blessing.
Another silver lining is that they've already put me on some medication to help control my fasting numbers. They've been consistently high every morning, which makes it hard to eat anything and stay within normal blood sugar ranges.
Also, I feel like I have a better rhythm this time. I'm more accustomed to cooking with whole wheat pasta and brown rice, and have a good feel for what to make, how much to eat, and when to snack. So I'm a lot less crazy writing everything down (in fact, I don't write anything down, and have only referred to the materials occasionally for new ideas). We also bought a little charcoal grill, which I've wanted for a long time now. It gives us a little variety with all the protein and veggies we've been eating!
And as far as all the extra appointments go, it seems to be good timing for us now that preschool is over. They give us a little structure and time out of the house (and INDOORS- not outside in the crazy hot humidity...can't handle the humidity these days. It sort of feels like I can't get enough oxygen).
Another blessing is that this baby has been measuring on the small side, around the 34th percentile. Benjamin was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and Peter was 8 lbs. 12 oz., both pretty hefty kids. So she's the opposite of what you'd expect with a typical GD pregnancy.
I think my only real complaint is that I can't eat all the delicious peaches I want to. I have to limit myself. :) I'm not sure if there is a more intoxicating smell than a good, ripe peach....
Anyways, the countdown is on! And I really am doing much better than expected!

Birthday Festivities

We kept things pretty low key for Benjamin's birthday this year, but I think he had a great time. In the morning, I took the boys to the Magic House.
Benjamin wanted to open all of his presents at breakfast time, but we finally convinced him to save a couple for after dinner. He loved them all, and especially got into his new lego sets. Some of the tinier pieces are hard for him to fit together, but he's really good at following the directions largely on his own.
Benjamin had his heart set on having a "crane cake" this year, so I did what I could. I thought about doing something 3D, but it ended up piping chocolate on waxed paper for the detail work and flipping it onto a flat cake. So it was pretty simple. I think he liked it.
We ended up combining parties with a friend of his, since we had the same group of friends and close birthdays. We set up a treasure hunt, had a water balloon toss and played around outside. Another friend was gracious enough to let us use her backyard, which was awesome. They jumped on the trampoline, played on the swing set, and had a great time just playing together.
I made monster cupcakes.
And Benjamin enjoyed opening a few more presents with his friends.I love kids' birthdays. There's something really magical about that one day of the year and the anticipation and excitement that goes along with it!

Four Years

It's crazy to think that we have a four year old now! Benjamin has sure been a delight, and we can't imagine life without him. Happy birthday, Benjamin!

Benjamin's Four-year-old stats: He weighs 38 lbs (53%) and is 41 1/2"(54%) tall.

Summer Days

So far our Summer has been good. We've all been adjusting to the lack of structure. Benjamin has been especially interesting these past few weeks, wanting to control EVERYTHING and throwing a fit if things don't go his way. I guess Montessori provided a place for him where he was in control of his learning and activities for a few hours each day. Now that that time is gone, he's been having a lot more fits when things don't go his way. I'd heard really good things about "Love and Logic" parenting methods, but this week I finally got desperate enough to find this book at the library and try it out. I'm not even very far into it, but we're already doing a lot better.



This gestational diabetes thing is going alright. I'm on the lookout for good alternatives to eggs and toast in the morning, but it's been generally easy to control. And whenever I'm feeling a need for something sweet, sugar-free Jello pudding is my go-to snack. I love the stuff.


We've also been getting together with friends a lot these days, which has been a fun change of pace. We've been to the Transportation Museum, the Butterfly House, swimming, and have play dates at each others' houses.




Peter is a maniac in the pool. Somehow, he isn't even phased when he falls helpless, face-first into the water. I got him a full body flotation swimsuit, but it doesn't help much. If anything, it probably gives him more confidence. I should probably have him in swimming lessons. But for now, I stay right by him and watch him like a hawk.

Baseball Game

Thanks to a nice family in our ward who gave us some great tickets, we got to go to a baseball game this past Friday night! It was late, but we had a blast.
The blimp flying around the stadium was much more interesting than the actual game. :)
We had a great view, although it was really hot and sticky. You just had to embrace the sweat. Here's Pujols at bat.
The boys were both exhausted and were asking to leave by the 5th inning, so we didn't stay long. It was a really fun family outing!

Psych!

Yeah, so I do have gestational diabetes after all. It just showed up later. And so we're back to this:

Blah. At least I only have a little over a month until they would potentially induce me! I can do this....