You never know!

Since one of our coworkers is having a scheduled c-section today and doesn't yet know the sex of baby, we got talking about baby brother and how "you never know" and he could turn out to be a she.  I told them, "no.  Nope, it's a boy."  They doubted me, so I pulled up the picture again.

Yeah....pretty sure they all agree with me now.  That's either a boy or a girl with some massive strangely shaped tumor between her legs. 
We now have all the newborn and 0-3 little boy clothes washed and ready.  Smallest things hanging in the closet, bigger things sitting in a laundry basket waiting for more little hangers.  I also want to get a second shelf or bar put into the closet since baby clothes only hang about a foot down and that leaves a large blank space that could be put to much better use.
I really am thrilled to have a second boy.  I was a little disappointed at first just because I had it so stuck in my head that it was a girl.  I have always wanted boys though.  Especially listening to a friend recently talk about her two little boys who are two years apart and how they are just the best of friends and know each other so well.  I am really excited to have my two little guys grow up together, helping each other, wrestling, playing, going to school together.... It will be awesome.
Everett already loves his baby brother so much.  If ever my belly is showing, he runs up, pulls up my shirt, and slathers his baby in hugs and kisses.  We're still working on not pushing babies over (but those are generally 9-12 month olds).  In fact, at a birthday party, Brian was holding a two-week old baby and Everett didn't really have a huge problem with it.  He wanted daddy to hold him but he wasn't requiring that daddy put the baby down.  And when daddy gave the baby back to his mommy, Everett nearly had a fit.  He cried and asked for the baby back.  I think he may have thought that it was our baby and that lady was taking it away!  It was awfully precious.  One interesting thing though - whenever Brian was holding Ev and the little baby, Everett somehow ended up with his thumb in his mouth.  He NEVER sucked his thumb as a wee one!  I have a feeling we may be in for some regression (which is why we're not pushing the whole potty training issue right now either).
Anyways.  I should probably get back to work, eh?  :)

34 weeks

How far along?  34 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:  Up around 26-27 lbs now
How big is baby?  Baby's now around 4.75 lbs.  That's about the weight of a cantaloupe.  Length is close to 18 inches.  Getting big!
Maternity clothes?  Yes and I may have just won a lot of 5 maternity shirts on ebay (less than $20!).
Stretchmarks?  Still just the ones above my belly button.  Yes, above it.
Sleep?  Horrid.  I really don't remember sleep being this bad with Everett.  Maybe that's because I didn't have to try and sleep and hear a crazy 2 year old a couple times per night knocking on his door.  (Not every night, but most.)
Best moment this week?  Everett was super cute at the doctor on Monday.  He was very excited to go through his routine of moving the chair over to the exam table, climbing up, helping measure the belly, hold the doppler, point out the goo....  We also had a lot of fun at one of Everett's friend's 3rd birthday party (too bad he was the only boy over the age of 12 months there!).
Movement?  Painful the last couple days!  I think this is going to be one strong baby (which is good because Everett is still having troubles understanding that it's not ok to push people over).
Food cravings?  Grilled cheese.
Bellybutton?  No change.
Boy/Girl?  Super strong boy.
Labor signs?  BH contractions have not increased, but I still have them regularly.  He feels low already.
What I miss? Sleep, deep water brews, energy
What I am looking forward to? Finishing my day care course and getting that stuff figured out.  Being done with work.
Milestones: Babies born at 34 weeks generally do fine.  Some NICU stays, some short term health issues, but generally fine in the long run.  My minimum goal is 36 weeks because I sure as heck am not delivering in Duluth.

New Videos!

Let's just say there was a very simple fix to my problem of downloading videos from my new camera.

Here are a couple videos from christmas break.

Ev opening his pillow pet Bee!

Skiing at Mt. Ashwabay

33 weeks

How far along?  33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:  Haven't weighed myself in a while....not sure!
How big is baby?  Baby's now likely up to over 4 lbs!!!  That's about the weight of a pineapple (which I also brought as a snack today....ooohhh).  Length is topping 17 inches.  What a big baby!
Maternity clothes?  Yep.  And many layers to try and hide skin.
Stretchmarks?  Same.
Sleep?  No bueno.  I woke up around 2 am last night because I was having a suspenseful dream (too much Bones before bed...) and couldn't fall back asleep for a long time.  I wake up many times a night, find myself on my back, and am just generally not well rested.  Sigh.
Best moment this week?  Having daddy home for three days straight was really nice.  We got a lot of projects started/done and Everett got lots of daddy snuggles.  We all had a nice quiet breakfast at the BC on Sunday morning and Everett's back to taking his afternoon naps without too much fuss (most of the time).
Movement?  Still a bunch!  Every now and then I will get a soccer kick to my right side and go OW!  Other times, he's just wiggling and squirming, rolling and turning, and pushing his head(?) really hard against my bladder.
Food cravings?  Leftover christmas chocolates.  What?
Bellybutton?  No change.
Boy/Girl?  boy
Labor signs?  Besides having to use the bathroom every.single.time. I stand up?  I believe he's slowly dropping and think that he will be born before Feb 23.
What I miss? Good sleep.
What I am looking forward to? Getting my coursework for this day care stuff and getting it done before baby comes.  Getting the nursery finished.  Getting started on my many sewing projects that need doing before baby arrives (diapers, diaper covers, boppy cover).
Milestones: We've officially reached bad sleep, annoying bladder pressure, and ribs getting squished.  Yay for third trimester!

Ok, here are my new year's resolutions

It seems like every blog I read has been posting new year's resolutions today, so it has been on my mind and I decided I'd just go ahead and throw them out there while I'm waiting for my bread to finish rising.

1. Have a baby
Pretty self-explanatory.  Should happen by the end of February, so that resolution will be taken care of!

2. Start the day-care process
I have sent in the paperwork for taking the necessary course for county day care certification.  Now I just need to wait on my book and assignments, get those done, and start on the county requirements (TB test, rabies shots for the cats, lots of fees, background checks, house check, etc.).  I am hoping that I will be up and running by summertime.

3. Build a fence
Isn't it nice of me to include my husband in my resolutions?  You know I'm not doing this one on my own!  Kind of essential for a day care and would be reeeeally helpful for my own crazy toddler.

4. Start running again
You may remember that I started running last spring.  Then I got pregnant and tired.  As soon as I get the doctor's okay, I plan to join a gym and start running on the treadmill until the weather is nice enough to go outside.  This may also require some sort of double baby jogging stroller....

5. Run a 5K
I'm making it a reasonable goal and hoping to run a 5K sometime this year.  Maybe in the summer, maybe for Whistlestop.

6. Read more books
I feel like I read nothing this year.  I am currently soaking in a bunch of pregnancy/birth books, but I want to make better use of my kindle this year and spend my spare moments reading.

7. Get on a cleaning schedule
With two kiddos and possibly day care children, I will need to have a strict cleaning schedule.  I have found some ideas, now I just need to sit down and figure out my own personal schedule, write it down, and start on it.  Really loving the resources at simplemom.net.

and of course, the continual
8. Work on relationship
Because relationships are never perfect without work.  I am still working on being a better communicator and taking care of my fair share of duties.