Rename This Blog!

John posting:
Major programing note- This blog will need to have a new moniker once baby number two gets here. We can't keep calling our family blog 'peek-a-boo jack' without giving that kid a complex. Lets have some ideas people!

An offering to start:

Ursula Smursula

A Whole New Jack

He wears underwear & pees in the potty.

He stays in our church nursery without screaming (this has been an issue since he was 13 months old- one of us pretty much had to stay with him in the nursery for the past 2+years!).

He tells stories, volunteers & requests songs in Sunday School (and somehow it always ends up being hysterically funny- at least to John & me).

He goes right to sleep most nights without calling us in 100 times.

This has all happened in the past 3 weeks.

November has been a big month in our house.

4 more weeks!

Well, my due date is 4 weeks from today.  Hopefully not too much plus or minus those 4 weeks.  It's hard to believe that we'll be meeting this little one so soon & that very shortly we won't be able to imagine life without him or her.  

Diapers are bought, the crib is set up & now we're just waiting!

Potty Mouth

If you've ever been around a group of moms, then you know that a common topic of conversation is their child's potty habits.  Somehow, a totally unacceptable & gross topic of conversation becomes completely normal & fascinating.  Everyone has their diaper blow-out stories, potty training stories, etc, etc.  I could tell you the pooping habits of my closest friend's children.  Gross, but true, and not at all unusual.

Well, now it's my turn for some potty talk.

I've been trying, unsucessfuly, to potty train Jack since this summer.  It was a big deal for him to move from diapers to pull-ups & he met the change with much resistance.  Well, it turns out that pull-ups are diapers in disguise.  We got to the point where Jack would tell me he needed to go to the bathroom, I would tell him that I would take him to the potty & he would smile & say, "No thanks mom.  Maybe later.  I'll go in my pants."  He would really only sit on the potty for his grandma.  

So, this week we did a big countdown to take away the pull-ups.  He was not happy about this.  I made a paper chain that I rigged (of course!) so that we would run out of pull-ups & chains on Wednesday night.  This meant there were no more pull-ups & he had to wear his underwear.  (I'm going to miss the days when I can rigg things to my advantage.  One day soon he's going to catch on.)

Well, the boy has been wearing underwear since Thursday (with the exception of sleep times) & he's had ZERO accidents!!  And, yesterday at church he actually went poop in the potty.  He was sitting & told me he needed a diaper to poop in.  I told him I didn't have any & he would either have to go in the potty or hold it until we got home.  He paused & said, "Okay mom.  I went."  And he did!  Then we called John out of Sunday School to come take a look.  The 3 of us threw a poop party in the bathroom & last night had ice cream for dinner.  (I had promised him that we could do this a while ago to celebrate the 1st time he pooped in the potty.)

This is a huge success for us.  I can't believe it's been so easy so far.  I totally expect some set-backs, especially when the baby comes, but right now I'm just enjoying this.

So, that's my poop story for the week.  

Perhaps I need to duct tape the child's mouth shut in public...

Jack & I were at Wal-Mart for over an hour today at 5pm, when I'm pretty sure the store is the most packed.  I hate Wal-Mart.  I rarely go there.  It's overcrowded & hot.  Really, really hot.  But, I had to get our tires changed because, once again, I got a flat tire while John was out of town.  Bummer.

Anyway, Jack & I were hanging out in the toys & a woman with an abnormally large bottom came walking by.  If you took the average ample American bottom and multiplied it by 10, you might come close to what we were looking at.

And then it happened.  The inappropriate comment from my son.

"Mama!  That lady has a big bootie!  Mama!  Mama!  Look!  I like that big bootie!!"

This was of course said at the top of his lungs while pointing.  He was thrilled at her bootie & pointed it out to everyone within hearing distance.  I didn't know what to do, so I just picked him up & walked away, but I couldn't stop giggling myself...

Thank you friends!

Thanks everyone for your kind words on my belly photo.  Those are nice to read as I am rapidly growing out of my MATERNITY clothes!  But, truth be told, both times I've pretty much liked the way I've looked pregnant (up until that last month when you get bigger than you ever thought possible!).  

To answer the Jack question, he usually says the baby is a sister.  But, he also says that the sister is growing in HIS belly, along with a brother.  It's just a sexless baby growing in my belly according to Jack.  Most other people think the baby is a girl, including John & my mom.  I have no inkling either way.  I think I just assume it's a boy because I've already had a boy & that's all I know.  (And, I love little boys!)  

Jack has also told me that he wants the baby to sleep in his bed with him.  If it keeps me from waking up a zillion times a night like I did for months with Jack, I think it's a great idea!

My Little Pirate's Booty

The Belly

As requested, here is a photo of my gigantic belly, courtesy of my friend Emily.  Only 6 more weeks to go.  Ack!

Halloween!

We had a great time on Halloween.  Jack got to go trick-or-treating at school & at night.  I can't believe how much candy that kid brought home.  I had to carry his plastic pumpkin because it was so heavy.

We went trick-or-treating with our friends the Holcombes.  Ava Belle was dressed as a rat & Jack was dressed as a pirate.  They both made themselves right at home at the houses we visited & dug through pretty much every candy bowl, helping themselves.

Best Mom Moment of Today

Unprompted I love you's.  Jack gave me at least 10 today, followed by lots of kisses.  So sweet.

30 Weeks

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant.  30 weeks.  That means I'm having a baby in 10 weeks, or less, or more.  December doesn't seem soon, but 10 weeks seems way too soon.  I'm excited to meet this little one, but feel like the time is bolting away, there is so much to do, and I'm not quite ready to mother a newborn again.  Of course, Jack was born 3 days past his due date & even as I was in labor I thought, "aren't I supposed to have more time??"  My goal is to have everything major finished by the beginning of December.  I'm pretty sure that won't happen, but I can try!

I had another ultrasound on Thursday.  The doctor wanted to make sure the baby was big enough (even though I've been measuring big & look big, to me at least).  The baby is currently in the 60th percentile & weighs 3 pounds 11 ounces already.  That seems big to me since I do have 10 weeks left & that's when the pounds start packing on.  I'm hoping a 10 pound baby doesn't come out to greet me in December.

And, we're fairly certain by this most recent ultrasound photo (which I will post soon) that this baby is Jack's twin.  I seem to be winning the gene war.  At least Jack's a cutie.  That bodes well for the rest of our kids!

Two of my new favorite photos

Jack, holding John's new book.  I love this picture.  I think he looks like a doll.

We have about 5 photos of the three of us all together since Jack was born.  I'm glad this one is a good one!

Thank You Varicella Vaccine, for Giving My Son the Pox

Yes, it's true.  Jack is apparently one of the 3-5% of people who actually get the chicken pox from the vaccination.  We've delayed all of his vax, but I've been slowly catching him up on them.  Two weeks before school started he got the varicella vaccination so he wouldn't get the chicken pox.  

He now has the chicken pox.  Nothing like I had as a kid- I was covered from head to toe.  He has about 30 spots, no blisters, no fever.  He just itches.  It's supposedly not contagious, but I've still quarantined us, just in case.  The worst part has been sleep.  He's been sleeping so great for us, but the past 2 nights he's been in bed with me & up every hour or two because of the itching.  

If You're In St. Louis...

You should come to John's book release signing tonight.  It's at Subterranean Books in the Loop from 6-8pm.  Come by & buy a book or two, or three, or ten...

Barack Obama

I swear we haven't been brainwashing the kid, but he likes to walk around saying Barack Obama over & over again.  He thinks it's pretty funny.  So do we.

He also doesn't care at all that I've been leaving him at preschool.  I'm grateful not to have to deal with the tears & trauma that I was expecting, but I guess I thought he'd miss me a little bit!

In other news, I feel as big as a house.  Yesterday the doctor said I was measuring a centimeter more than they would expect me to.  I told him it's because I'm having a 12 pound baby.  This kid feels way lower & way heavier than Jack.  And, as a result I am way more uncomfortable than with Jack.  So goes baby #2 I guess.

First Day of Preschool

Jack went to his first day of preschool this morning.  I was expecting lots of tears from both of us, but we both had big smiles & dry eyes when I left.  I already feel anxious to go pick him up so I can see how his day went!

Would you like to see what's been growing in my belly??

Yep, that's our baby!  This was taken about 3 weeks ago at 22 weeks.  I'm almost 25 weeks along which means I only have 15 weeks to go before we get to meet this precious little one.

Hopefully you can tell what you're looking at in these photos.  They are both head shots.  We only had the regular ultrasounds with Jack, so these seemed pretty shocking to us when we first saw them.

Jack is very excited about being a big brother & really likes the babies at our church.  Most days he wants a brother, and for a while he would tell us he wanted a brother named Lyla.  Two weeks ago he told my friend he wanted a brother named Jesus.  Last week he didn't care about the name, but he definitely wanted a sister.  He's either going to be disappointed with the name or the gender!

We're looking forward to our Christmas baby.

Jack's latest obsession

Jack loves Buzz Lightyear & his Woody doll.  He talks about them non-stop.  We have a rule that Buzz is not allowed to sleep with him- no talking toys in bed.  But, he tucks Woody into his bed right next to him every single night.

Strange Dreams

Jack has been having nightmares the past few nights.  He keeps dreaming that it's raining inside.  Every night before he goes to sleep he says, "Mama, don't let it rain inside!"  And then, he wakes crying in the middle of the night telling me that it's raining in the living room.  

Poor kid.

9 Years Ago Today...