Kyler and Mommy Fun Days....

~~There is another blog about Kolton's updates just below this one.

I'm not sure why...but this blog is leaving HUGE gaps again and will not let me take them out. I'm sorry and you'll just have to keep scrolling down.... hope you enjoy!!

Here are a few "catch ups" from over the past two weeks / weekends. I've "kidnapped" him from daycare; keeping him home a few days during the week on my days off and going to the park or something else fun before Kolton arrives. Just some Mommy and Me time with my lil man.

This was at our new favorite park (Thanks Nicole and Ethan). My lil monkey in the tree:

There was a boat on the water and he wanted to sit and watch them fish:

The next morning, we did a walk-a-thon for Special Populations. It was held by Guardian Angeles. Kyler and I raised $160 for the cause.

Kyler, Me (and Kolton) after just checking in and turning our funds in. Kyler is eating pears:

Ready to get the move on, this standing around was b-o-r-i-n-g:

Meem and Ian walked with us... ok Ian cheated and rode a scooter:

Meem and Maddy (one of the other girl's dog who walked with us):

Kyler meeting Maddy:

Ian and Kyler running off some energy and passing time:

Then the fun began!! They had a Zumba instructor attend to give us a warm up. Kyler was into it now! (sorry no front shots, he kept turning on me):

That night we went to the Super Target to get some things for Kolton's room and happened to run up on Chick Fil A doing a kids night fun thing. Kyler spotted the action first and went to yelling for Daddy to go see the helicopter.

As we were getting to the helicopter, Kyler found the cow and HAD to have his picture taken with him. And for those who know.... yes; this has been named "Papa Pat's Cow":

For someone SO excited about the helicopter, he would NOT go anywhere near it unless I was holding him. The pilot was even going to let us in the cockpit.. HA! Kyler was having NOTHING to do with that and that would have been comical seeing me climb up into it.

I'm holding my shirt down as Chris kept telling me that Kolton was peeking through!!:

Kyler "stalked" the cow and next we found him sitting for photo ops in the Bomb Squad Truck.

He wouldn't let me get any pictures of him near the firetrucks; motorcycles; police cars; or even the police boat that was there. But we "visited" every station and even got to meet the K-9 dogs that I work with. He was one very happy boy!

His new bed sheets Finally made it in. I got them washed and made his bed and had it ready for him when he got home from daycare. He was not as excited about it as I thought he'd be... until later when Daddy came home and then he was WILD and EXCITED about it!

It's a little dark, but the curtains match:

Later that night, Mister Big Boy wanted to help do the dishes. Where has my baby gone?!!:

Yesterday morning I kept him home again from school. He was having an English muffin with jelly. Can't you tell?! HA!:

He was so proud of himself... he LOVES this "Papa Pat Tractor" and he's been trying to find something to pull behind it since Christmas. Well he took the trailer from one of his trucks and he was SO excited telling me "Mommy it fits!":

My son (thanks to his Daddy - LOL) has found a new love for Monster Trucks. When he comes home from school he and Daddy just chill and hang out together and watch the Monster Truck show on TV. Well while he was sitting there he happened to look up and found a Monster Truck that belongs to Daddy still in the package on one of my curio cabinets.

I heard him moving a chair but had no idea until I rounded the corner and saw this:

Heart attack city!! He was determined he was going to get that monster truck no matter what it took. He never even asked me for it. I'm proud that he thought to do this but also scared!

(yes, that is a chair on top of a Tupperware container that houses dog food)

For lunch, we loaded up and met up with some friends at Chick Fil A so the boys could play inside their playground area. I had to make one stop after we left at BJS. He got into the cart that has the car in the front and played for a few minutes and then he stopped. I didn't realize it until someone told me he was O-U-T..out! He then started slumping over. Thankfully we were done and already on our way out to the car by then.

This was him on the way home:

I LOVE Mommy and Me days with him! He is SO fun and awesome to be around.

Kolton: 25 Weeks Down

We have reached 25 Weeks!! Just 98 days to go!!!

Fetal Development:
The structures of the spine - 33 rings, 150 joints and 1000 ligaments - begin to form. The blood vessels of the lungs are developing and the nostrils begin to open. Busy week!

~~ We have our next ultrasound scheduled for Feb 8th! Can't wait to see how big my lil man is and what his measurements are! Just this morning he and his brother had the hiccups which gave big brother the giggles. It was funny!

Maternal Changes:
You may be feeling like a "Soccer Mom" now that your uterus is the size of a soccer ball. (and because Kolton is kicking up a storm like he's playing soccer!) Your growing uterus places pressure on your back and pelvis and may cause periodic shooting pains in your lower back and legs. (yes, LOVE the sciatica ~NOT!) When you experience this, rest, change your position, take a warm bath or apply ice to the sore area. (you see there.. "DRs" orders..a bath!)


Preterm Labor Warning Signs: (eek!! don't want to know of these right now)
Do you know the warning signs of preterm labor? The March of Dimes advises that you never ignore any of these symptoms:
Menstrual-like cramps (constant or occasional) (check)
Low, dull backache (constant or occasional) (check) ~ also with back spasms
Pelvic pressure (feels like the baby is pushing down)
Abdominal cramping (with or without diarrhea) (check)
Increase or change in mucous vaginal discharge
Uterine contractions every 10 minutes or more often (may be painless) Be sure to discuss with your caregiver what you should do in the event you experience these warning signs before the 37th week of pregnancy.

Well, that was enough to scare me a little.. 3 out of 5. Good thing I'm headed to the Dr in a few days. I hope this time, he will behave and we can get some non-blurry pictures of him.

24 Weeks Down (15 to go!!!)

WhooHooo!!!! We made it to 6 months!!

Just 15 weeks to go till our scheduled C-Section Date! Man it's closing in quick. I'm excited, not nervous. Ready to see my boys in action together. I LOVE how Kyler kisses my belly, or talks to "Tolton" and he just now started running race cars and Mater across my belly telling me that he's playing with "Tolton". I just hope this sweetness continues between these two. I know there will be moments and days of the "Mooooommmmmm, Kolton did this or Kyler isn't sharing"; but I will take the good over the bad any day.

Fetal Development: (and mom's comments)
The baby gains about 6 ounces this week as the body begins to fill out (perfect, cause I'm not sure where I am going to put him.HA!) . This weight is in muscle, bone mass and the growing organs and tissues. The weight could top 1 1/3 pounds by the end of the week.

Maternal Changes: (and mom's comments)
Between weeks 24 and 28, your care provider may order a glucose tolerance test to determine if you have gestational diabetes (already done and yeah for me... I have it). Your uterus is 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the navel.

Your doctor may want to do a check of your cervix sometime soon so that if you develop preterm labor symptoms, s/he will have a baseline for comparison (ohhh goody, that feels SO fun!!! ~ if you've never had your cervix checked, poking your eyes out with hot pokers would be less painful). The things us mothers do for you loved ones (ohh I sounded like my mom then ;-D)

Ideas for Dad:
Take lots of pictures of Mom (yes, we need to get on this or Mr. Kolton is going to think that he wasn't loved). Even though she may not like it at the time, she will treasure the photos later. They will make a wonderful keepsake, and maybe she'll pose for you a la Demi Moore in Vanity Fair! (hahahahah.. NOOO BODY wants to see me that way!)

2 1/2 Years

Yesterday Kyler hit his official 2 1/2 year mark! Ugh, time sure does fly. He had a well check up at the doctor's office. For the first time since his ear troubles a year ago, he didn't fret going. He played in the waiting room and went down the slide with 2 pretty girls (a blond and a brunette) chasing after him. When the nurse called his name, he said "Come on Momma" and went to the door looking back at me. He stood on the scale (32 lbs 3/4 oz) and then stood still to get his height (37"). He is in the 95%ile for his age (yes, big boy). The doctor had a hard time believing he was just 2.

She said his motor skills sounded great and said that his speech will start improving by the time he turns 3. She checked his ears and he kept digging in the one...which turns out, the tube in that ear is in the canal and ready to come out. She said it's probably tickling the hair in his ears and bothering him that way, but there is no infection. Knock on wood that we will not have to repeat this procedure.

As we left the doctor's office, we were sitting at a red light when I heard coming from the back seat.. "woooow..look! Momma's work!". Yup, we were sitting right next to the police department and that surprised me and made me proud that he remembered. Then I got a giggle when I said, "Momma's not going there today, I'm spending the day with you"! And off to McDonald's for a special lunch we went.

Mr. Happy Boy here helped me bake some cookies for Daddy (and him). We put them in the oven to bake while we started on dinner. He was saying "cooookies!!!" here:


Chef Kyler helping brown the meat for Sloppy Joe's. Daddy isn't a fan of Sloppy Joe's.. hence the cookies being made to make up for it.

And just because we can't leave lil brother out.. I went through some boxes of clothes that were given to us and started separating them by sizes. I went ahead and washed some newborn; 0-3 items and Yes (call me crazy) but even started putting a few things into Kolton's suitcase that I will like to have with us at the hospital.

Kolton's Room Update

Today Kolton's room came together! I am SOOOOO excited! Now that all of the heavy stuff is done, I can get in there and start adding my little touches to make it more welcoming for him (and playing with the baby clothes; blankets; toys and things we do have to figure out what we need).

This is a view standing at the closet looking towards the opposite corner. Moms don't fret...all the shelves are "bolted" to the wall and Nothing is moving them... and there is only stuffed animals on the shelves directly above his crib:

The swing will move into the living room when Kolton is closer to arriving, cause for now big brother wants to climb in it and we don't want him to break it. Also the computer (need a wireless router ~ ours died) will relocate to another room.

This is a view of standing at the crib wall (pix above) looking at the closet area:

The small wall as soon as you enter the room. There will be a few added arts and pictures to the wall for decoration. Hopefully Daddy will get to do it this weekend:

The crib.. we need a mattress so I can start putting the cribbing together and making it closer to being done. Gramma made curtains when it was Kyler's cribbing to match and since the windows are the same size (thankfully), we will just move that over to Kolton's room this week when big brother's new bedding comes in. And since this room is already blue, we wont need to paint!:

The nursing chair and some books to read to him. The box on the top shelf is a lullaby neat thingy that he got from Gramma for Christmas. It shines imagines on the ceiling and plays lullabies and does a few neat things like that.

The other dresser that we'll be using for a little added storage that we need (shhhh ~ don't tell our secret) HA! The 3 pictures on the dresser (police car; ambulance; fire truck) will be hung about the mirror. Thank you Zachary for the donations.. the boys will LOVE them!:

This was Daddy putting the crib together:

Up against the wall before I said Nope, needs to face the other way ;-D:

And just because I can't leave big brother out... He's been at Momma's (aka Gramma's) with his cousin Buddy Roe having a Great time! Here they are getting ready to "roast" hot dogs on the fire pit. We used to do this as kids and LOVED it! You take a palm fran and put a hot dog or marshmallow on the end and stick it in the fire. I'm so glad these boys are getting to experience the fond memories we got to make and are now making their own memories with "Momma":

The boys toting their table to the fire pit. Look how big they are and all grown up and working together like good big boys:

This morning they made a sling and Gramma sent this picture to me. It's too cute. I LOVE how they get along so well together:

The boys and their Papa Pat (Gramma too.. she was opening the gate and taking a picture) going for a ride to feed his cows:


Looks like the boys were playing musical chairs:

I miss Kyler so much and can't wait to get my hands on him tomorrow for my hugs and kisses; but glad to see him having a Blast!!

John Deere Green

As you all are aware; my son LOVES "Papa Pat Tractors" as he calls them. To the rest of us, they are John Deere Tractors.

Since we have upgraded his room recently; I just ordered him new bed sheets; comforter; pillow shams and curtains. I can't wait to get them in and to see the look on his face. He will also be able to use these sheets for some time which is Awesome!

Here is what the sheet set looks like that we've ordered!:

23 Weeks

We are 23 weeks cooking along now. Time is flying!

Fetal Development:
Your baby weighs about a pound now! The body is becoming better proportioned each day, and the bones of the middle ear begin to harden.
If born now, your baby has a chance for survival. Let's hope, however, that the baby stays put for several more weeks (UMM Kolton, this is your Mommy and you have NO choice but to stay in there and cook longer)!

Maternal Changes:
Your baby still has room to move around so you're probably feeling kicks, jabs, flips and flops. You may even see your abdomen move (looks like a disformed punching / kicking bag). Your uterus is about 1 1/2 inches above your belly button.
If you're having some wild mood swings, don't fret. They're normal even if they don't feel normal. Try to be good to yourself when you're feeling blue (got it.. massages and pedicures every day!).

Ideas for Dad:
Do something nice and totally unexpected like doing the laundry without being asked or bringing home dinner after work. Let mom know how special she is and show her how special you are. (for those reading this...call Dad and give him the hints.. HA!)

Big Brudders Room

We had a busy but fun weekend. It started with me running some errands on Friday...which lead to ....

Yes, me chopping my hair off and I LOVE it!! I always wore it up and I figured if I'm going to do that, why not chop it off and make it cute. So that's what I did and I love it! I can make it messy and full or like this where it's straight. Better yet, the hubs loves it too!



Side view.. no double chin comments ..HA!:


The next day we woke up fresh and ready to tackle the boys' rooms. Chris and Kyler both helped me clean out the closet in Kolton's room and put only baby related items / clothes back in it and then we moved all of the furniture out of his room and Kyler's room and everything piled up in my living room. I was beside myself since I just cleaned and organized my living room.



Kyler was a huge help getting his toys and stuff out of his room. He didn't know it yet.. but he was getting upgraded from his Twin Bedroom set to a Queen Bedroom Set. We chose this route as we had to move one of them out and well it made more sense to upgrade him this way if / when family members come to visit they will have a nice comfy queen bed to lay in rather than trying to cram up in a twin bed...and the dresser is bigger which will hold big "brudders" clothes better.

So after a much needed nap; Kyler and I went in my bed to lay down while Daddy cleaned the carpets ~ since his room was furniture free. When we woke up.. we had learned that Uncle Kevin came over and helped Daddy transform his room too:

The view standing at the closet looking towards his door:


The Big Boy Bed! (it will soon have John Deere Tractor sheets instead of planes, trains and automobiles):


The big dresser (yes, we are relocating the shelf above the dresser):


A view of his bed from his door..and yes, he still has a "parking garage" underneath the bed (since we're limited on space):


Looking at his closet door and that side of the room:


Silly boy with his camera taking a picture of me taking one of him:


And we were extremely exhausted of the moving of everything.. so this is Little Brudders room for the time being. I plan on attacking it on my days off this week. Daddy will have to move the big items, but for the rest of it, I plan on getting my hands on. At least the closet (which we can't get to now) is cleaned out and organized:


We took a break and met up with my nephews; SIL and BIL for my nephews birthday dinner. These 3 monkeys had an Awesome night! They were all silly and we had a good night of laughter. Zachary (red shirt) just turned 10.. I'm still in denial.


Sunday morning we got up and got ready to try out a new church that we were invited to by one of the officers that I work with. (please excuse my messy bed..it was made shortly after the boys were done playing). Kyler was being launched like a rocket and was loving it!:


Sunday afternoon we got a surprise visit by Zachary and "Nikisus" (as Kyler calls Nicholas) and the boys were off to an awesome afternoon of fun. They didn't want to sit long enough for a picture pose. humpf.. HA:


Even the nephews dogs got to come and "ruff" up our dogs! The 4 of them had a blast playing and Kasey and Kady were PASSED OUT all night afterwards. Not sure where Chloe was in this picture:


Kyler was stealing "Nikisus" shoes and running with them. It was a huge game for him. He even tried his hardest to throw them over the fence.. poor guy didn't make it,, thankfully,, but he sure did give it his all several times:


Hopefully I'll be able to post more pictures very soon of Little Brudders room coming to an order if not completely finished! I have a vision of what I want it to look like and hope it will soon hit that mark.