The Look of Determination.

Climbing up the big slide...

The look of determination...

Success.

A Stroller Built for Two.

As may be expected, we're in the market for a double stroller and I am having one helluva time trying to decide which way to go!!  Do I go with the practical double tandem or do I go with the sporty side by side jogging stroller that serves two purposes (one of those being getting my ass back into shape).  I'm torn.

I took Michael for a brief walk this morning before he got too steamy and weighed the pros and cons of this the entire duration of our crawl walk.  Sure the tandem makes sense- easy to maneuver, takes up less space (although it isn't by much) and I wouldn't have to worry about Michael poking at Will next to him as I would a side by side.  However, the side by side joggers have come a long way.  They are very light weight and manageable, would work with the boys up until they are 50+ lbs. each and would be a great way for me to get a workout in  without having to worry about childcare.  Ugh.  I need the opinions of some mommies who have had to make this decision.  What do we do??

Vs.

A Natural.

So, if any of you know me at all you know that back to school season is by far my favorite time to shop during the year.  The aisles of fresh paper and crayons does something for me that I just can't quite explain.  Naturally, when back to school stocking started taking place a few weeks ago I was one of the first customers to play in all of the new neatly placed display bins at Target to stock up on what I thought Michael would need over the next year.  Construction paper, crayons, Sharpies, etc.  Ok, maybe he didn't need the Sharpies, but I think that I might be able to use them at some point. :)  Michael has dabbled with finger paints, but never really with crayons.  Every time I give him one he sticks it right into his mouth and we play the "What, Mom.  It's just a crayon" game over and over again. I'm not feeling 100% today, and needed an activity to pass some time.  So, I busted out the perfectly formed box of 24 Crayola Classics and threw a couple along with some paper onto Michael's tray after lunch assuming that the paper would end up on the floor and the crayon in his mouth.  To my surprise he actually colored!!  He seemed so proud of himself, often stopping to admire the marks he had left from running his arm from left to right over his highchair.  I couldn't stop smiling at his great talent.  I believe his new interest in the arts is reason enough to go back to Target and do a little bit more back to school shopping, right?!

Snapshots of July (Part II)

"Mom, I think I can do it!"

"Here goes nothing."

Practicing with the Moby before William arrives.

365 Days Later...

Today happens to be the one year anniversary of the day Dennis and I took the plunge and became Mr. and Mrs. Breier in one of the finest courthouses in Iowa.  We are having a hard time deciding when our "actual" anniversary is because we technically had two weddings.  I'm sure we'll figure that out at some point.  I felt compelled to say today that I absolutely, without a doubt love him more today than I did a year ago, and I loved him an awful lot then :)  He's an AMAZING husband and I still claim to be the luckiest girl in the world.  I love you, Den.  Here's to our first year.

William the Great!!

It's been an interesting week.  I saw my OBGYN yesterday for my routine bi-monthly check-up and left there excited and nervous and scared out of my mind.  So, we did the routine stuff.  Weight, down a pound.  Blood pressure, great!  Fundal height, FULL TERM!  What?  Yep, a full 40 cm and William is head down.  Did I mention that while my doc was checking me out he noticed that I was contracting.  No big deal.  I can't feel them, but he assured me that I was.  Now, this wouldn't be an issue except that I technically have 6 weeks until his due date.  That's right... SIX WEEKS!  Of course, we chatted a little bit after this bomb.  He scheduled me for an ultrasound to check on size and fluid levels, which I went to today.  William is a whopping 6 lb. 5 oz. already of lean mean baby.  A fetus at his gestation is usually 4 1/2 lbs.  She also made the announcement that if Will kept growing at this rate we'd have a a ten pound baby on our hands.  She then asked me a laundry list of questions... "How big was your first one?"  "Have you thought about a c-section?"  "Does anyone else in your family have big babies or is it just you?"  "Do you think your body can deliver a ten pounder?"

After we chatted she asked me to return in three weeks (that is if I haven't gone into labor, which she didn't rule out could happen) for another ultrasound and if he is still packing on the pounds then we will decide on a c-section or induction at that time.  She urged me not to wait much longer than 37 weeks because he's huge.  I had a non stress test today as well, just to double check the little nugget and again, he's wonderful and healthy.  I was having contractions, small ones, but still contractions.  

I have issues with having a c-section (maybe I'll post about that later), and I also have issue with trying to squeeze a ten pound child out of my body.  I have a little bit of thinking to do to say the least.  

I was happy though to catch a glimpse of the "little" guy.  Here he is...

32 Weeks

I see my OBGYN again in a week.  Who knows, we might have a baby by then!!

Climbing Master.

Michael has mastered the climbing skill!  He's climbing up and down everything these days.  Beds, couches, slides.  You name it, he's all over it.  We were in Iowa a few weeks back and Michael just let himself down (backwards) off of the bed.  Of course, Dennis and I watched him do this with our arms outstretched.  But, to our surprise he just slid right down as though he'd been doing it his entire life.  Now, he's figured out that he can SLIDE down the stairs, not just carefully go down one at a time.  It's quite ridiculous really.  On a walking note, he's anxious to do it.  Over the weekend Michael was taking tons of steps, and today stood up in the middle of the room and took five steps to me.  He still finds it hysterical when you stand him up and ask him to walk and instead he decides that he is going to lower himself to the ground as slowly as possible and then laugh at you.  This kid!!  I love him.  Now, Michael, walk!!

A few pics of him enjoying some bus time in the basement on these scorching 100* heat indexed days...

Climbing up or down??

Snapshots of July

Homeruns4Hope

On Sunday we made the trip out to Arlington Heights for a fundraiser put on by Homeruns for Hope, an event in honor of a fraternity brother of Dennis' who passed away in March after battling cancer.  His good buddy Zack Clow and wife Emily did such an amazing job putting together a wiffleball home run derby.  Also included in the fundraiser was a giant silent auction, raffles, etc.  All of the proceeds were donated to the American Cancer Society.  Dennis raised $550 (top fundraiser award) to participate in the derby.  He was given ten pitches.  He hit one of them.  It was foul.  Nine wiffs.  What can I say, I'll have to teach Michael how to hit a ball with a bat.  The coolest portion of the fundraiser (well, at least to me it was) was watching Elliott From of ArtBeat Live paint a large Blackhawks logo, which was then raffled off immediately after he painted it.  I'm a huge fan of Elliott's.  When I heard about this fundraiser I had to put him in touch with Emily and Zack.  I knew that having Elliott perform for the audience could bring in some money for the ACS, and it did.  The fundraiser pulled in over $15K for the ACS.  I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple from our day.  If you are interested in making a donation in honor of Joe Marsillo you can do so at www.homeruns4hope.org.  It's not too late!!  And, check out Elliott's work at his website, www.artbeatlive.com.

Den in the derby.

Elliott From with his painting and the family who won the auction at $800!!

I just had to put this up.  Bri was such a trooper.  She painted faces during the entire fundraiser.  Tiger faces, Spiderman, mustaches.  You name it, she did it.  Way to go, Bri!!

Squish.

Michael's new skill is his amazing ability to squish things.  Anything that can be squished will be squished whether you like it or not.  Recently, my nose has been the target of his new skill.  Tonight, it happened to be his veggies at dinner.  What a nut!!

Just squishin' away.

His attention turned to my nose only briefly.

Bottle?  What bottle?

One Week Later...

Still no bottle and we're doing awesome.  Michael has adjusted so well to life without his bottle, I couldn't be prouder of our little guy.  Our routine has changed a bit, as I'm sure it does for everyone.  Now instead of having a bottle first thing when he wakes up in the morning and then playing for 1/2 hour before eating breakfast we now wake up and go straight downstairs to fill up his belly.  He's drinking more than the recommended 16 oz. of milk a day.  Fantastic.  He doesn't seem to even notice that his bottle has gone missing. We'll see how this sticks once Will is here and has to have a bottle.  Keep your fingers crossed for us.  So far... so good!!

Eight Weeks To Go!!

Only eight more weeks until we can plan on meeting Will!! I can say it now, I am done being pregnant. Considering I'm the size I was when I delivered Michael I'm not exactly thrilled that there are eight weeks left. I am trying to be patient, but it's very difficult when my one year-old is in a throw and fetch phase which means EVERYTHING ends up on the ground, and I can't quite bend over any more. Yikes, please make it a quick eight weeks.

I saw my OBGYN today. Everything looks great, except for the fact that he mentioned that he can pretty much guarantee that I'll be delivering a 9+ lb. baby and suggested that we do an ultrasound at my next appointment just to see exactly how large William is. Nice.

Here we are at 32 weeks...

Stars and Stripes (and American English, Too!)

What an amazing weekend!! We spent Friday relaxing on the deck and followed it up with The Lights in the Sky Festival in Lisle, where I got to experience American English for the first time. Now, if you aren't familiar with American English let's just say they are a Beatles cover band who know how to get the crowd excited. Michael joined us for the event which meant staying well up past his bed time. He spent hours dancing and bopping his head to the crowd friendly tunes!! It was really super cute watching him enjoy himself, and watching the other concert goers enjoy Michael. Saturday Den was participating in the Darien Lions Club Annual 4th of July Parade. It was hot, but we made it through the event with a bucket full of candy and a little bit of a sun tan! Picnic in the park, catching up with the Kotwicas and an early night for us followed the parade. We spent almost all of Sunday at the pool, which Michael loved since he had all of the "ladies" swooning over him. By "ladies" I mean any female toddler in a 10 foot radius. It was incredibly cute!! Monday we recovered. I love the 4th of July!! Without a doubt one of my favorite holidays, a close second right behind Halloween. We took lots of pictures, enjoy!!

Here We Go...

The time has come.  We're saying goodbye to the bottle.  I'll get back to ya and let you know how things are going in a week or so. :)

Snack Attack!!

Michael's eating habits lately haven't exactly been what I would consider fantastic.  The minute a new flavor hits his tongue he's spitting it out immediately.  I was super excited today when I handed him a celery stick and he put it right into his mouth and started gnawing on it.  That was 45 minutes ago and he still hasn't put it down.  It's the traveling celery stick!!