Baby Notch: The Sequel

Finally! After what seems like forever (but was really just a little over a year), Ryan and I can happily announce that we're expecting another baby! We've had so much support throughout our journey, and want to officially thank everyone who was there for us through all of the ups and downs - especially the downs.
We love you!

Quick preggie stats:

- At just about 12 weeks, I am already showing! Big time! At three months now, I look like I did at four or five months with Ethan.
- I'm super sick. Ryan says that I was this sick with Ethan, and thinks I blocked those memories out. I maintain that this time around is worse. Either way, no fun.
- I'm also super tired. In addition to the pregnancy fatigue, I'm working full-time, going to grad school full-time, and chasing after a toddler. I'm usually asleep before the sun goes down.
- Notice that "being a wife" is not on the list of things I'm tackling above. Poor Ryan has to pull his weight and mine around here. Cooking? Forget it. Grocery shopping? I can't stand the look/smell of food. Cleaning? Ha! Best. Husband. Ever.
- We do want to find out the gender, but won't be able to until July 27th. Just like last time, we'll tell you if the baby is a boy or a girl, but will be keeping the name a secret.
- Our due date is December 15th, but since we'll be having a repeat C-section, we'll likely get to meet this little one a week earlier.
- Ethan does not yet know that his world will soon be turned upside down. We've started talking more about babies around here, but he has no idea what he's in for.

Come to think of it, Ryan and I don't have any idea what we're in for, either! From jealousy issues with the firstborn to how to manage two kiddos at one time... anyone with good 2nd baby tips is welcome to send them our way!

Peter Cottontail Has Left the Building (About Two Weeks Ago)

Okay, I have a confession to make. I am so far behind with this Easter post that I actually considered back dating it. As though writing that this post was published two weeks ago would fool anyone. After Ryan called me out All on my own, I came to the conclusion that honesty is the best policy. So here it is. A post about Easter, over two weeks late.

Ethan participated in his first Easter egg hunt last year, which some of you may remember from this post (which was on time, by the way). He sort of understood the point then, and after 365 days of growth and development I was sure that he would be super jazzed about searching for eggs this year. With that in mind, we scheduled not one, but TWO Easter egg hunts this year. The first one was a community event at a local park, and the second was a small private affair in our own backyard.

For those of you who have read The Hunger Games, here's a quick description that may sound familiar:

- A mob of kids formed a ring in the grass, surrounding all of the Easter eggs and shiny wrapped candies, laying in the grass in plain sight (Cornucopia style).
- The Head Gamemaster counted down from 10 over a loudspeaker, signaling the participants to smash their way to the center with an enthusiastic "GO!!!"
- At this point, all rules of civility were off. Elbows were thrown, kids were pushed to the ground, necessary sacrifices were made to obtain that candy at all costs.

(For those of you who haven't read The Hunger Games, read it! It's fantastic! And then come back and reread this post... it will mean more to you than it just did. I promise.)

As for my little fighter? He just stood there, hands behind his back, taking it all in. Watching the other kids act like fools for little plastic eggs. Sixty seconds later, it was all over, and his basket was empty. Total Easter egg hunt fail.


Easter morning, we set up our own Easter egg hunt in our backyard. Oma hid the eggs, and together with Pa-Pa helped Ethan find each and every one of them, on his own time, without injury. It was much more our speed. Ethan opted to gather eggs in his Zebra backpack instead of an Easter egg basket. He ate the candy in each egg as he went along, and had a great time.



After the Easter egg hunt, Ethan found his Easter baskets (without competition), free to tear them apart all by himself. And that's exactly what he did.