Will is 2 1/2!

2 1/2 is such a fun age! He is curious, energetic, and creative. I have funny, sometimes meaningful, sometimes weird conversations with him everyday. He makes me laugh all the time. Here are a few of the things he is up to right now:

• His teachers and babysitters have all commented to me that he talks NONSTOP! I think he is going to be an extrovert like his daddy!
• He loves being artistic and creative right now and we really encourage him with this. He likes to to color, draw on his magna doodle or ipad app, and paint. When I take him to school he usually goes to an easel and starts painting before I even leave! And his favorite thing to do at home right now is to draw on his chalk board that Uncle Rob and Aunt Lennette gave him for Christmas!

• He finally sleeps with a blanket and a pillow! He's never allowed anything in his crib with him, and if we tried to put a blanket or stuffed animal in there with him he would immediately throw it out. Now he seems to like it!
• His most commonly said phrase right now is "I don't like___" It could be anything: a tv show that is on, food that is on his plate, a toy, a person, Ellie and Coco. He likes to let us know what he doesn't like, and it changes daily.
• He doesn't sit in a highchair or booster seat anymore for meals. He got a little table from Meme and Pop-pop for Christmas and this is where he eats breakfast and lunch now! And where he plays with daddy!

• He runs laps around our house all the time. He likes for me to say "Ready set go!" and then he takes off, doing lap after lap. It makes me exhausted just to watch him. We have to cheer him on too, or he'll say "Look at me! Look at me! I'm running!"
• His favorite question to ask is "What are you doing?" We've answered it so many times that he's started copying our most common response..."I'm just standing/sitting here!"
• He's also started copying our exclamations (we are having to watch what we say around him now!) You always get a few funny looks when you are out in public and your 2 year old drops something and shouts "Oh my gosh!" or "Shoot!"
• His most requested foods are pb&j's, frozen grapes, cheese, and yogurt. He also likes to help us cook dinner...

• When he is excited, he will run and enter a room with a jump (sometimes accompanied by an enthusiastic "Ta-da!" He does this when I drop him off at school - he'll run down the hall to his classroom and enter it with a big jump (and he LOVES school right now!)
• He has a very caring personality and says the sweetest things to me. If I'm laying down he'll look concerned and say "You ok mommy? You don't feel good mommy? You need medicine?" Whenever I tell him I love him he gives me a hug and says "I love you mommy!"

25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks

Size of baby: Eggplant

How I'm feeling: I am definitely feeling large! It's also occurred to me that I have a lot I want to do before this baby comes - I want to pull all Will's baby stuff from the basement (I don't even remember what we have), and I haven't even started to think about the nursery yet. I'm suddenly getting the "itch" to do some nesting and preparing for this baby!

Highlights this week: I have reached a milestone that I think makes all moms feel slightly better - the baby is now considered viable. That means if an emergency came up, the baby would have the possibility of surviving outside the womb. Of course the more time this baby stays put the better, but I'm happy to have reached this mark!

A few book reviews

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I want to start reviewing more of what I read on here. Most of what I decide to read is based on reviews I read on other blogs, so I thought I'd start throwing my own thoughts out there too. A few words of warning though: I don't rate books based on how much of a literary masterpiece they are - rather I just share what either holds my interest from start to finish (the mark of a good book to me!) or what I had a hard time getting through (as much as I may have wanted to like it!). I hope that will be helpful to any of you who like to read and share my taste in books.

1. Girl in Translation - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is one of my two favorite novels I've read in the  last year (the other is below!). It is the story of a immigrant teenage girl from China as she adjusts to life in New York. It wasn't necessarily a book that sounded all that interesting to me at first, but the writing is so good it will draw you in! I couldn't put it down.

Rating: 4.5/5

2. Kisses from Katie - If you only read one book this year, read this one! It is such an inspiring story of Katie, who grew up in a very wealthy neighborhood and was both homecoming queen and senior class president and decided to forego college to move to Uganda after high school. She's since adopted 14 girls. Watch the video below to hear Katie in her own words.

Rating: 5/5

3. The End of Normal - Stephanie Madoff was married to Mark Madoff, Bernie Madoff's son who committed suicide last year. This is the story of the Madoff family and their unraveling from her perspective. I got this one on my kindle from the library and couldn't put it down and read it in about a day. I thought it was fascinating. That said, I've never read another memoir in which I like the person less after reading it. Stephanie doesn't paint herself as a saint, at least in my opinion.

Rating: 4/5

4. A Praying Life - My sister read this book and liked it so much she gave it to me for my birthday. I thought it was excellent. Sometimes nonfiction Christian books can be a little dry and take me forever to finish, but this was an easy read, with really good things to say. In fact, I plan to read it again this year.

Rating: 4/5

5. The Soldier's Wife - This novel is set on Guernsey Island during World War II. It is the story of Vivienne, who falls in love with a German soldier who has moved in next door. I wanted to like this book, but it moved way too slowly for me. I kept waiting for the pace to pick up, but it never did.

Rating: 2/5

6. These is my Words - I LOVED this - it may be my favorite novel that I've read this past year! It is set at the end of the 1800's in the time of Little House on the Prairie. It is based on the author's great-grandmother, Sarah Prine. I loved Sarah, and even weeks after finishing this one I am still thinking about these characters...it is a story that will stay with you.

Rating: 5/5

7. Two Kisses for Maddy - This is a memoir written by a husband whose wife tragically died the day after giving birth to their first daughter. I couldn't put this down. A few warnings though: It was incredibly sad, but for a different reason than you may think. Neither the husband nor wife were believers - the husband didn't want God even mentioned at the funeral. Another warning: this guy uses terrible language, to the point it was distracting.

Rating: 3/5

8. Shanghai Girls - This is the story of two sisters who emigrate from China to the US in the 1930's. This was the first Lisa See novel I've read, and I didn't love it. I honestly tried to just finish it quickly so I could go on to the next book (I've got a VERY long "to read" list). I've heard Snowflower and the Secret Fan is better though, so I may give it a try.

Rating: 2/5

9. The Everygirl's Guide to Life - I just happened to see this at the library and it looked interesting. I like Maria Menounos, and I thought this book was pretty interesting. She is very organized and has good ideas and tips on everything from decorating, organization, clothes, makeup and hair, finances, etc. I actually took her advice on some makeup that she swears by (Eve Pearl concealer), and I love it too!

Rating: 3.5/5 

10. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - This is the true story of Henrietta Lacks, who died in the 50's of cancer. Before she died, doctors took cells from her that have been used for all kinds of breakthroughs in medicine, including the cure for polio. And yet Henrietta's family continues to this day to live in extreme poverty. I thought the story was interesting, but after all the hype about this book it honestly wasn't the easiest book in the world to get through. If you like true stories and have an interest in the medical field, you will probably really like this!

Rating: 3/5


What are you reading? If you read something I may like, let me know! I LOVE getting recommendations!

MLK weekend and snow!

We had a snowstorm come through Chicago Thursday. There wasn't any snow on the ground already, and a few hours after it started this was the view out our window...

I think we got about 10 inches Thursday afternoon! Will was so excited to go out and play in it, so when Matt got home from work they went out and made snow angels...

Will loves playing in the snow! He spent a lot of time Saturday and today outside, and we had to eventually drag him back in!

Today I had an appointment to be inserted with a new device that will check my blood sugar continuously throughout the day. This is actually part of a one week trial that my insurance makes me do before they'll approve me to have one. It is attached to the back of my arm with a small catheter under the skin...

Sexy isn't it? I already have an insulin pump, which is about the size of a beeper that attaches by tube and catheter to me all the time to give me insulin. I told Matt today that I am starting to feel part robot! I am hoping to get this new device though, because I think it will help me get my blood sugars in excellent control for the rest of this pregnancy, which is extremely important for me and the baby.

While I was at the doctor's, Matt sent me this picture of Will standing next to the snowman they'd built...

Will's been wanting to make a snowman for awhile, so I am glad they made one today!

Matt also made an igloo big enough for he and Will to play in...

It was a great day to have Matt home with us - I think Will had a ton of fun!

24 weeks

(I skipped weeks 22 and 23 while we were traveling. Also I'm using a VERY old phone to take these pics of myself (my phone still hasn't turned up) so the quality is quite poor...)

How far along: 24 weeks

Size of the baby: Papaya - a little over a pound and about 11 inches long

How I'm feeling: After fighting a cold and then a stomach virus I am feeling great this week! My energy is pretty good and I'm able to eat more things too (I sampled brussels sprouts and broccoli at dinner this week and they weren't TOO bad!) I also had 2 strangers ask me when I'm due today!

Highlights this week: I got to hear the heartbeat at a dr. appointment this week! She sounded great. Matt wasn't able to go to this appointment but Will accompanied me and gave me a big "Good job Mom!" after we heard the heartbeat!

Park City

We got back Saturday from Utah. We had a fun time, also mixed with some not-so-fun times! On our second day there Will came down with a stomach virus. Two days later my entire family came down with it, all within a couple of hours of each other. It was brutal, and took several days for us to feel back to normal. Thankfully though by the end of the trip we were all feeling better and were able to enjoy a few days out there!

Getting some loving from daddy while not feeling good!

We got Will and Baby Jack (my cousin Chrissy and her husband and baby were there too!) some lego duplo blocks to play with out there. We figured there will always be little kids out there for the next few years!

Happy Baby Jack!

Matt left Tuesday night on a red-eye flight back to Chicago, and went straight into work on Wednesday. My sister left Wednesday afternoon so she could get back to work as well. She got some hugs and kisses from Will before she left...

Will loves his Aunt B!

Doing sticker finger puppets with Meme!

This is the first year I can ever remember being in Park City in January and there being no snow on the ground! There was snow on the mountain so everyone could still ski, but there was hardly any at the bottom of the mountain. It was strange! Still, we bundled the kiddos up and attempted to sled on a small hill in the backyard in what little snow there was! The kids had fun!

Trying on daddy's helmet and goggles!

We put on the Polar Express movie one night and Will sat there with my dad to watch it - I thought it was the cutest thing ever...

All in all we had a great time! Will and I flew home Saturday, and wouldn't you know that we woke up Saturday to a snowstorm after no snow the whole week! We got behind trucks clearing the interstate on the way to the airport, but still made our flight just in time! And then once we boarded we sat on the runway for an hour and a half waiting to have our plane de-iced. This was my first time flying with Will by myself, and other than a tantrum when we first boarded and I explained that he had to sit with his seatbelt on, it went pretty smoothly! He watched Mickey Mouse on the ipad the whole time! We were happy to see daddy when we landed and happy to be home!