Much Needed Company

Another rainy day. Which I don’t completely object to, but too many in a row feel gloomy. Lucky for me, a friend wrote me a message on Facebook this morning and she ended up coming over for the afternoon. I love having company! If you’re ever wondering about dropping in on me, do it. My house will not be clean and I may not look great, but I will be happy to see you!

It was so nice to have her around, and Dekker enjoyed having another person to perform for. He still had a few solid meltdowns for no real reason that I could tell, but he is still a little boy who is working on his communication skills, so I try to take it as much in stride as possible. Which doesn’t always work out as gracefully and I’d like, but we do ok. He eventually went to bed and Jerilee and I had some grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. Thats another disclaimer. If you come visit me, even if I have notice, you will either get that, or egg salad. Lunch is nothing spectacular at our house.

The afternoon was spent just visiting, and being lazy. We even would break the conversation and keep up with our texts. You know how sometimes, people texting while visiting can be super annoying? It wasn’t. It was totally comfortable! I loved it 🙂 We chatted and Facebook creeped a few people, and generally just enjoyed having another person in the room. Completely relaxed.

She left for work mid-afternoon, and soon after that Brady was headed home. I had some nice downtime, but not too much. I’ve finally caught the crocheting bug again. On the last day of spring. Not ideally timed but at least its back. So I’ve been working on a new hat thats sort of tedious so if I ever get it finished, I’ll show it off on here 🙂 So I worked on that while watching terrible youtube videos, and then Brady and I had subs when he arrived. It was a super relaxing day!

We got the phone call today that Dekkers glasses have arrived!! So tomorrow afternoon I’m going to head to Saskatoon for a much-needed chiropractic appointment (my hips, pelvis, and sciatica have NEVER hurt this much!!), and then we’ll go get Dekker fitted for his glasses. I’m nervously anticipating it, wondering if he’ll be the kid who never wants to take his glasses off because everything is just so much clearer, or if he’ll be the kid who hides his glasses, or tears them off and throws them. We shall see. It’ll be a new chapter for us either way, and we as a family would really welcome prayers! Sadly, the woman who helped us choose the glasses and get him measured up won’t be there to assist us. She was so patient with Dekker, when he would cry or toddle off. She would work with him while sitting on the floor, and even ask him if he’d rather she put his glasses on him, or if his mommy should. Every question was genuinely directed at him. I love her, but she deserves the holidays she’s taking. So hopefully we’ll meet someone just as sweet and helpful. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Hopefully.

Again, prayers.

Schedule Change?!

Its no secret that Dekker excels at sleeping. He always has. There are very few specific tactics we’ve implemented, he is just a good sleeper. He has always set his own schedule, and we’ve never had to really mess with it. He naps twice a day, goes to bed around 8:30, and wakes up anywhere between 9:30am-1:00pm. In the recent past, he’s been waking up on the later end of things and not getting his second nap, which is fine! He will be 22 months in two days, and a lot of kids are down to one nap waaay earlier! So if he wants one less nap, more power to him.

Call me crazy, like I know nothing about kids (which I don’t really) but with him being down to only one nap, we’ve just been rolling with it until the last couple of days. He acts out sooo much right before bedtime. How has it not crossed my mind before tonight that less day sleep might require an earlier bedtime?!?! He’s been fussing and struggling pretty hard around 8pm recently, and tonight was probably the worst yet. He came over for snuggles and within seconds was trying to hit me. Hitting faces is just one big issue we haven’t been able to get under control. He is so mild-mannered, it amazes me how often he tries to hit people! But as I said, he tried to hit my face. I took his hands and told him we don’t hit, but he was fighting me the whole time. He’s been catching on to “Think about it” in the last couple of weeks, and sometimes he really does think about whats about to go down, and he changes it. But tonight, he was just thrashing around. He’s been like this for the last few nights, and has basically just gone right to bed, since he’s acting up and hitting both Brady and I. I really wanted a few nice moments with him tonight. I kept encouraging him to just relax for a moment and think about what he wanted to do. Finally I let go of his hands and he absolutely walloped me. Sigh. I’m sort of out of ideas with this one, but not giving up. Consistency, right? I just miss quiet, fun bedtime routine. But I’m learning that routines change up! Maybe after a little while of putting Dekker to bed a bit sooner, he won’t be so far gone and things can level out again.

I feel like a bit of a failure that I haven’t thought of this until now! But my boy is growing up, and he doesn’t just sit down on the floor and rub his eyes when he’s tired anymore. He plays until someone figured it out, and then he is sooo sad to be hauled up to his room. We need to avoid that whole thing all together I think. Hopefully it gets smoother.

On a different note regarding Dekker, its been a week since we ordered his glasses and they’re not in just yet, but hopefully by the weekend. Early next week at the latest.

Also early next week, we are going to our UC-Baby ultrasound!!! We are sooo excited to get a solid tour of our baby, and another chance at learning the gender! I understand that some people genuinely prefer not to know, and I 110% respect that, but I hate calling the baby “it” and not being able to plan things the same way, or pick up that perfect little baby thing that isn’t gender neutral but is sooo irresistible. Hopefully we’ll get to find out soon! I’ll be 27 weeks at our scan, and when we went in with Dekker, I was 28 weeks along, so I’m expecting much of the same. At 28 weeks pregnant, we knew Dekker would look like Brady 🙂 Technology is nuts these days!!! So thankful for it!

After a couple of really nice of having Brady at home, he’s back to work tomorrow and I’m at home with the little ones. Time to hopefully catch up on some playtime. And dishes.

Speeding like a maniac

After several nights of waking up with Braxton Hicks contractions, they’ve been turning into pretty legitimate cramps. They usually go away within the hour of me waking up and I’m good to go until the next painful sleep. I’ve been keeping in mind that my next doctors appointment is this Thursday so I’ll have to remember to ask about these things. However, this afternoon I was doubled over with painful cramps more than a few times. I know my doctor works shorter hours these days, but I called the clinic to see if I could even get in with her tomorrow. I know, one day early isn’t really significant but with the pain getting progressively worse, I figured I’d rather be safe than sorry. I left a message with a receptionist who called back within minutes saying Dr. Guselle wanted to see me before she left for the day, and I needed to be at the clinic by 3pm. It was 2:10, so I was hesitant. The receptionist then said that if I couldn’t make it in time, my doctor wanted me to go to the hospital and get checked out. I opted for the clinic.

I was out the door by 2:15 and in the door at the clinic a minute or two before 3pm. That, everyone, is an enormous record, and could have also gotten me a record if you know what I mean. But I made it!

I’ve raved about my doctor before and I won’t do it too ridiculously again but she really is wonderful. I knew she had a deadline but at the same time, she was very thorough and let me ask her lots of things and had lots of advice and understanding. As per usual, though, we don’t know why I’m feeling the way I’m feeling. She told me a few things to watch for and told me where to go if what happened. Apparently I could even bypass emergency if I needed to go to the hospital! News to me! But very good news. She even remembered to ask about Dekkers eyes, and seemed almost excited when I told her he needed glasses. She apologized for being so pumped but that she just knew he was going to look super adorable, which is completely correct 🙂

All things in, I have no real new news. Babys heart rate is good, as far as we know I’m not going to deliver anytime soon, and I just need to take a few things a bit easier than before, and continue going to my chiropractor. Done and done! I’m so glad I dropped in on her instead of killing so much extra time at the hospital.

I grabbed slurpees on the drive home and listened to some new music I put on my phone in the last few days. We had a delicious supper downstairs in our cool basement and watched Glee reruns. Its nice to be home with my boys, one of which is now down for the night and hasn’t made a sound since we laid him down. Time for a bath and something delicious I hope. I can’t wait for nectarine season!!!!!

Pretty Much Trendy Now

Usually when we’re out late, its because we’re visiting with friends and couldn’t tear ourselves away. Today we got home after 11pm, with our poor son who had been awake since 2:30! He was a total champ, but definitely at the end of his rope. Bedtime routine was scrapped, and he got into his jammies and headed down for the night. Not one peep.

Our day, however, wasn’t spent at a friends house. It was spent between Brady, Dekker, my mom, and I. We headed in mid afternoon to run a few errands. We officially caught up to the coffee snob trend today. Behold!!

IMG_1352Can you hear the angels singing? I can!

I don’t always buy into these types of things (not right away anyway) but when I do, I do it my own way. Thanks to Kijiji, I bought our Keurig that has virtually no wear, plus the personal refillable cup for $40!! I know there are deals all over the place, but to buy this model of Keurig off of their website is around $180, and the little cup is anywhere from $15-$20. Pretty sure we saved a LOT! So therefore, we justified buying a few different drinks to test out. As I type this post, the vinegar cleanse is working itself out and everything should be cleaned and ready to use for morning coffee. We are pretty much thrilled!

We met my mom at the Broadway Cafe for supper before heading out to see the showhome that Brady helped finish for Daytona Homes. This was the home that got Brady his contract with the builder, and since its open nice and late, we were super excited to show it off to my mom. We love the style of house so much! Everything has nice, wide mouldings and trims, and feels really sturdy. Good clean lines. I love it, Brady loves it, and so does my mom. I met the main salesman for the company today for the first time, and he was such a nice guy! He talked to Dekker a lot, and even gave him a sucker. Oh! And he showed me how to use the Keurig in the kitchen, haha, so I’ve had a crash course! Everyone should probably check that place out. That aside, he allowed us to check out some of the other houses nearby that Brady has worked in. It was nice to finally see a few of the floorplans in person instead of through photos. Those houses are GORGEOUS! I think all things in, we killed around two hours at Daytona alone!

We did a quick grocery shop after the tours and headed home. On the drive home, I finally secured an AMAZING find for Dekker’s birthday gift! We’ve been looking for a toy kitchen for him but everything I find is either super overpriced or pink and purple. I’m not afraid of Dekker to have some pink and purple things, but big toys should be as gender neutral as possible, right? Anyway, I saw one on a Facebook buy and sell page and secured it!!! I’ll post a photo when we get it. SO excited to play with it, haha! It was a super successful day!

IMG_1347Our Dekker did wonderfully. I was nervous, as he had a pretty solid meltdown when he got up before we left, but he made it through! And he loved the house tours, racing from room to room, talking away. I should clarify, he often jabbers and speaks in his own special dialect, and yes, I call it talking. But is he ever absorbing these days!! I read somewhere that kids his age should hypothetically be learning a new word everyday, and Dekker doesn’t have any real foolproof words, but lately he is just erupting with vocabulary! Today he said “window” and “door” for the first time. When Brady asked how he was doing, he answered “good.” Flipped a light switch and said “on.” These are all new! Also, he’s always been really clear and understood what we’re saying, which makes sense, but in these times of attitude and tantrums, I’ve felt at a loss sometimes. However, today he started making a scene in the restaurant and I brought him to my face and asked “Should we go outside and talk about this?” and he turned those tears right off. WOW! He gets it. He is growing up. I mean, he could be fifteen in that picture! Ok, not fifteen, but not 22 months.

I am tired, physically and mentally. Time for some lame tv and a snack. Good night all! Hope your day was as loaded with family and fun as mine was!

 

 

Fafa’s Day

No, I don’t call my dad Fafa, but thats what I’ve started calling Fathers Day for some reason. No objections from Brady, so we’re good to go!

I gave Brady his gift yesterday, but it still counts for todays post. I got him a sweet Leatherman multi-tool. It was on for an amazing deal, so he actually got a 2-pack, with the “Rebar” as well as the smaller keychain one with ten tools. As soon as he opened it, I back pedalled all over the place, saying if he wanted something else, he could absolutely return it, no questions asked and no offense to me. What do I know about knives?! He waited patiently for me to shut up and then just asked if he could open it. My poor husband, haha! But it went over well I think. Success!

Today we spent the morning at church. The service was actually really great, and the message was all based on fathers and how to lead and treat those around them in a way that honors God. He touched on fathers who have lost children, single fathers, men who weren’t fathers yet, etc. The ones that jumped out at me the most were obviously the ones that fit our situation, and while I won’t get them perfectly, this is what I remember. Our pastor said one of the most important things a man can do for his wife is show affection towards her, compliment her, and take notice of her. The best thing a father can do for his son is to tell him he loves him, and affirm that he can do anything. The best thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother, and take her on father/daughter dates. I agree very much with every word of that, and I’m happy to say that Brady fits those points. I mean, as far as we know, we do not yet have a daughter, but he really fits the bill of a loving, involved, interested father. Love you babe!

Our afternoon was spent at my parents house having a full blown thanksgiving meal with them, and their friends Brian and Willa, and their son Reid. We ate ourselves silly, and then just visited in the living room while Dekker ate (he slept through lunch) and then played around us. He was sooo cute today! I hate that we don’t have any great pictures of him from today but he wore some super trendy jeans, a white tshirt and an old man cardigan 🙂 Waaay too cute!

However, if anyone is interested in belly size, behold!

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Feeling pretty monstrous in this photo but also, very nice and pregnant 🙂 I can still suck that thing in quite a bit but it takes way more effort, so I opt out and let baby be free. Apparently this week, Paddles is as tall as a cucumber and over 2 lbs! Grow baby grow!

Just a random thing I took a picture of today – my arm where I had my bloodwork done a week ago. Any guesses why I’m bruised down two veins? At least its not spreading anymore…

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Instead of ending this post on a picture of a bruise, lets go with two of my favorite people!

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Cuties. It was a nice day.

Coffee and Screaming

Today Brady was away, working at camp with a bunch of our friends, helping get the place set up for summer. I would have loved to go, but our son is just not in a great place, and I felt that the best thing I could do for him would be to spend a full day of normalcy at home with him before we were off to church tomorrow morning and gone all afternoon. This boy all of a sudden really suffers when his routine is thrown off.

He did great in the morning and while we played downstairs. We had “Hairspray” on in the background and he loved the music, so that was an added bonus. But he eventually got tired…

IMG_1339So it was nap time.

He slept the afternoon away and from waking up to going to bed, he cried. And cried. And cried. It was incredible, and not in a good way. It was completely exhausting. He would calm for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden throw his toys down and start screaming again. Amazing. Luckily, by this point Brady was home, so I had some backup and didn’t completely flip my lid. We finally decided Dekker needed to go to bed early, so we took him to bed for cuddles and he very purposefully slapped me in the face four times. Bedtime it is.

So tired. Yet its early, so I’m continuing my research from this afternoon. I’m getting myself into the debate between Keurig or Tassimo. We really want to join the “single serve beverage” club, as long as its second hand and we can afford it, haha! However, people seem to get pretty heated over which brewer is better. I have been “sold” on both options many times over the course of the day. We still haven’t settled but are definitely working on it, and will hopefully have a decision and a good deal soon!

Thats pretty much all I have for today. I gave Brady his Fathers Day gift this evening, and tomorrow we’ll spend the day with my parents and a couple of friends, celebrating dads. Hopefully Dekker is on better behaviour.

 

Play Date with the Ladies!

I had Braxton Hicks contractions all night. Aaaaall night. I woke up so many times with a rock hard tummy. Lucky for me, I kept falling back to sleep and was really only in the “dozing” state from about 5:30 on. Could have been worse. The weirdest thing is that they relaxed once I was awake and more aware of myself. I barely had BHs when I was pregnant with Dekker. I had contractions once in a while, but they were super painful (very much like real labor contractions!) and more about that than any tightening. I never noticed just tightenings. Therefore, I don’t claim to know a lot about them at all, but I’m pretty sure its more common to have them after you’ve been running around, or at the end of a long day. Mine come at night and wake me up in the morning, when I’m most relaxed. So weird. I’ll mention it to my doctor next week I suppose.

All of that aside, I slept ok and was fairly rested going into the day. Lucky for me, I had a friend and her little daughter coming over, and they are very relaxed people. So I slapped on some sweats and put on deodorant in preparation for their visit. Literally, that was pretty much it. I don’t even think I brushed my teeth. Sorry Carrie and Lucy! I got Dekker up a little bit before they arrived, and he was in good spirits. These days, getting him up from bed is a little bit of a gamble. He’ll either be on top of the world, jumping away in his bed, or he’ll be furious. Thankfully, he was happy. I picked him up and we did our circle around his room, looking out the window, touching the stars that dangle from his light fixture, seeing his pictures, etc. Its just become a routine. But before I put him down on his change table, I snuggled into his neck and gave him some kisses. He always lets me, no problem, but he’s usually busy doing other things. But today, he just tilted his head back and let me kiss him. I could feel his little cheeks get bigger as his smile grew. He just loved it! Such a nice little soft moment before the day had to start.

He was eating breakfast when our friends came. He ate really well and came down to play in the living room while we all chatted. Its so funny to watch him with Lucy. She is practically half his size and she just turned one, but he is sooo scared of her! She moves pretty quick, and I think that throws him for a bit of a loop. Dekker was bigger at six months than she is now, so I’m sure its just a little confusing. But he really wanted to come sit on the couch with me, so he climbed up and cuddled into me, watching Lucy. He eventually got more comfortable, but not too comfortable 🙂 He walked around on the couch, jumped on the couch, climbed around and on top of me, behind me, and talked nonstop! But he would NOT go down! Sooner than later, he was ready for a nap anyway.

We ate lunch after he went down, and then moved downstairs, since its a bigger space for running around, and carpeted to break the falls of a newly walking toddler. We had a really nice time catching up, and I really loved the company. When they had to leave, it was nice to know Brady had finished his day early so he would be arriving home at a decent time with a van full of groceries.

Today has actually really gone well. Dekker had one meltdown which he got over very quickly, and thats it! He got up from his nap at a good time and waited patiently in his highchair while we unloaded groceries and made supper. He ate with us, and played a bit until he needed another nap. ANOTHER NAP! I love his two-nap days. He’s currently sleeping, Brady is doing some paperwork and writing up an invoice or two, I’m doing this (obviously), and soon we’re going to run outside and put in the last of our garden – four tomato plants we got from my mom on Wednesday. Perfect timing for the rain to let up!

Even if our last hour before Dekker goes down for the night turns out to be a big challenge, the day has been awesome. All his wake-ups have gone well, he’s eaten great, and been pretty relaxed! Its nice to know that if he refuses to eat or needs to be held constantly or something, he ate well all day and has played well too. But we’re gonna think positive!

I’m so thankful for such a relaxing day with me friends and my boy, and to have my Brady home at a good time. Love them.

Tomato time!!!

Rain Day

Today was cool and rainy. Thanks to this, Dekker and I got to sleep in a little bit! He may have slept in anyways after yesterday, but I got him up after noon! The house was nice and cool, really dark, and the soft sound of rain was sooo calming! It was the perfect way to wake up after we all passed out last night. SUCH a long day yesterday was, and I was so looking forward to relaxing today.

We did ok. Dekker had breakfast and we played toys downstairs. I wanted to keep him awake as long as possible since he’d woken up so late and likely would only have one nap. However, he went down for a nap around 2:30 and woke up around 6:00 in quite a state. He was crying and very off his game. Since his eyes have started doing downhill, he gets so mad so fast! Granted, some of this could very well be a phase he is in, but his attitude is so very different than he was just a couple of weeks ago. Poor dude. He sat on Bradys lap and would not eat or drink anything.

Sometimes it sucks to know your kid as well as I know mine. I brought out a few blackberries, knowing both how much he loves them and the fact that he would reject them. Then I waited until he got really angry and let out a big cry, and I popped one in his mouth. So mean, right? I know. I know he could choke, and I know we shouldn’t force feed our kids. But I know him. He cried with his mouth hanging open for a minute, and then inadvertently ate the berry. And immediately reached for the other one and ate it too. I passed him his bowl of Cheerios and he immediately went to town on them. He ate more Cheerios, some Life, spaghetti and meat sauce for supper, and about two handfuls of blackberries. He still was asking for more and I was kind of at a loss, so he had a couple of pickles 🙂 It was chaotic in the moment, and while I would likely never make that move in front of anyone other than my husband, I knew it would work. Sometimes Dekker needs the reminder that he is in fact hungry, and what he likes to eat. Just seems to take a lot more convincing these days. I also try and remember that I have days when I’m not hungry, and he is allowed to have those days as well, but when he’s only eaten once around noon, I am not letting him go the rest of the day without food!

He got through supper and we went to play toys downstairs again. It seems like he is really missing that routine, and the normalcy that it brings him. So we played and watched Four Weddings, and I finished up some laundry from the weekend. Now he’s in bed, the bath is running, I’m craving watermelon, and I’m thinking I like you free Tassimo people less and less. I want a latte!! Anyone can feel free to bring me one. A Tassimo, I mean. Or a Keurig. Or a latte. Whatever. Just jealous.

PS: Unrelated to anything, but we booked an appointment with UC-Baby in less than two weeks. Sooo excited to see our baby again, and hopefully find out the gender!

“Ophthalmologist” is really hard to spell!

As per our family doctors advisement, we brought Dekker in to see an ophthalmologist today, aka eye specialist. Dr. Rubab, to be exact. We were instructed to arrive a few minutes before 8:00am. So last night, we slept Dekker in a tshirt and sweats. This way, we could wake him totally last minute, change his bum, and put him in the car so he could wake up a little before we started stuffing breakfast down his throat. Plus he could sleep as long as possible. I think we woke him at about 6:55 and we were on the road a couple of minutes after 7:00. Success! Brady and I hadn’t eaten anything ourselves, but how long could one appointment take?!

Long. We got in right away and Dekker was put through a few different vision tests. Twenty minutes of that and we were back out in the waiting room. He cooperated really nicely the whole time he was being tested. The only tears came when we had to give his toy back. That never goes especially smoothly.

It was 8:30 and we were told Dr. Rubab would only arrive around 9:00. So we played in the little playhouse and lots of other kids came and went. Dekker seemed pretty overwhelmed by a few of them, but so was I! Crazy, uncontrolled kids with no bubble whatsoever. Not that I was worried at all, but Dekker is pretty cautious of new places and people. He did surprisingly well though, and only cried once when an older kid kind of barricaded him inside the little house and stood right face to face with him for several minutes. I would have lost it too. But honestly, that whole family was crazy.

Little guy sitting in his playhouse
Little guy sitting in his playhouse

At about 9:15 Dr. Rubab called us in and started her tests. I was nervous about the appointment for the silly reason that I wanted all the information I could get, but I was scared I wouldn’t be able to understand everything. I know, it sounds racist and mean and stereotypical, but I just didn’t want to miss anything. Lucky for me, our doctor was easy to understand, a wealth of information, and so soft with Dekker. Little whistles and tongue clicks were all he needed to catch his attention, and he cooperated beautifully. She did several different tests that his eye doctor had not done, actually holding lenses up for him to look through. I was surprised he had the patience he did, but she was engaging and was also very patient back.

Once she finished her tests and Dekker had a toy to keep himself occupied, Dr. Rubab went over some general information with us. She said these kind of eye issues usually present themselves around ages two or three, so its really great that we caught it so quick. Kids like him can often be grouped into three or four different categories. Some are just born more farsighted than others (I guess everyone is born farsighted to a degree) but we don’t know because everything they need to see is within reach really, and the eyes start to turn in as their world gets bigger, basically. Kids can also have their eyes turn in from a virus or some kid of trauma, that would weaken a muscle or nerve. Makes sense. Sometimes, she says, the issue just shows up out of nowhere, and there’s no real explanation and thats ok. And of course the scary option, where the child has a brain tumor or something awful like that, and I’m not even going there in my head right now. We’re going to put him in glasses and come back in two months. If his eyes are getting way worse or something, we’ll talk brain scans, but not yet at all.

We were thrilled to leave the hospital with a much lower prescription! It was a little uncomfortable to go back to our eye doctors office and use a different prescription than what Dr. Patterson had given us, but they were very accommodating and worked it out. We also couldn’t get the glasses we had originally wanted for him, but the woman who helped us was very honest in saying they just weren’t fitting well. While we could get them anyway, his tiny little non-nose would barely hold them up, and it wouldn’t make it any easier to teach them to keep them on his face. We tried on a lot of glasses!!

Dekker in the glasses we really wanted for him but that he couldn't have :( Who would have thought someone would ever say his head was too small?!
Dekker in the glasses we really wanted for him but that he couldn’t have 🙁 Who would have thought someone would ever say his head was too small?!
The crazy and/or super awesome glasses I would buy if I needed glasses right now! Also, if they weren't Prada and didn't cost $330 for the frames alone...
The crazy and/or super awesome glasses I would buy if I needed glasses right now! Also, if they weren’t Prada and didn’t cost $330 for the frames alone…

 

So she rummaged around and suggested lots of pairs until we found one we were happy with! Not that we’re super picky or anything, but the selection wasn’t great in the brand we were looking at. Doesn’t matter. We found some great ones, and they should be here in about a week to ten days. And then the fun really begins!

We didn’t get home until… about 1pm? Yikes, that was a long morning!

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But Dekker did awesome 🙂 We were and continue to be sooo proud of him! From sitting through many exams, to waiting in the waiting room with almost no toys, to more eye drops, to sensitivity to light, to MORE exams, to trying on 10+ pairs of glasses, he did wonderfully! So proud of my little boy 🙂

Falling more and more in love

As the title of this post suggests, I am falling deeply in love with my son. It is truly amazing how I felt so attached to him as soon as we discovered our pregnancy, and how that feeling jacked when we found out he was a boy. Weeks and weeks of growing love later, I’m amazed my chest didn’t burst open when he was born. Blew. My. Mind. I am so amazingly thankful that we were blessed with our son, and I can barely fathom the thought that we are being gifted another life to nurture and dote on in just a few short months.

I realized a few weeks ago that we haven’t told Dekker very much about the baby. He’s currently learning to identify all of his facial features, and has known his tummy for a while. When I would point to my tummy and tell him it was a baby, he seemed a little unsure, his eyes asking “Are you sure thats not your tummy?” I’ve hardly showed until just recently anyway, so I thought maybe we’d talk more about it when my tummy was obviously very different.

Not long ago, I was laying on the couch with my shirt rolled up, rubbing my baby belly, when Dekker came up to me. He very gently rubbed my belly, and looked at me as if looking for confirmation that his actions were good. I praised him up, saying he was such a good big brother! Of course, in my head, I said that he’s a little boy and is likely just mimicking what his mommy is doing. I seem to jump back and forth between “Oh, he’s little, he doesn’t actually get it” and “Kids know way more than we give them credit for.” However, today, I’ve decided to honestly lean towards the latter.

My mom was over for the afternoon helping us finally put in our garden. She, along with the boys and I, were playing toys downstairs once the work was done. I, again, was stretched out on the couch (sitting up is hard!) and Dekker walked over and started tugging at my shirt a little. I rolled it up and rolled down the belly band on my jeans so my stomach was showing. He very gently stroked it like he had a few weeks ago. Then he held his hands on it, said something in his very own special language, bent down, and gave my tummy a kiss. An actual kiss. And then he was off, back to toys.

Mind. Blown.

While Brady loves my belly, and does his share of kissing it and doting on the new baby, usually thats when we’re all cuddled up for bed, long after Dekker is sleeping. Where Dekker would have picked up kissing my belly, I have no idea. Does he actually understand that there is a little person in there? Or at least something very important?! I say again, kids know way more than we seem to think. Just because he doesn’t speak much english sure doesn’t mean he doesn’t soak up everything around him!

Totally in love.