16 Weeks, 3rd time around......

16 weeks with Donovan:

                                        16 weeks with baby #3:

Other than being super exhausted all the time (seriously narcoleptic!), I feel pretty good so far. Pretty similar to my other pregnancies. No nausea or anything. A few uncomfortable symptoms sometimes, but nothing major. I was obviously pregnant, even to strangers by 12-14 weeks this time. Waaaay too early for me. I'd rather keep it on the down low for at least 4 months, lol. Anyway, I think I look about as big as I was at 20 weeks with Donny.
Everything looks good so far. Heartbeat is always strong. I started feeling movement way early this time, too. Usually, I'm not sure of movement till 16-18 weeks. This time I felt flutters at 14 weeks and definitely feel little taps regularly. I guess I'm more in tune with what it feels like now or something!
We are going to do an ultrasound at the beginning of January just as a diagnostic and to make sure we aren't missing any obvious deformities or problems. We have decided NOT to find out the gender this time. I figure it will be a fun surprise and we already have one of each, so it really doesn't matter.  So, it will remain Baby Packard #3 till sometime in May!!

Donny at 16 months

This post is going to be pathetically short on pictures. These are from almost 2 months ago. I just haven't taken any lately. Pathetic. Taking some this week so we can see what the boy looks like now!!

Stats at 15 months: 19 lb 7 oz (3 %)
          31 in (44%?)
          head 21 in. (99%)

Yes, he really does kind of look like a cartoon with those stats.
Actually, these stats are an improvement. His prior appointment, he had dropped off the charts in weight, was at the bottom in height, but top with his head. Since he started solid foods it was a fairly continual decline and I did start to get a little concerned. He was meeting all his milestones just fine and mentally and socially he was totally normal if not ahead. He wasn't getting sick and looked healthy. But, it became clear he might need a little help getting enough calories. The doctor recommended weaning him and putting instant breakfast in his milk. I was hoping for a better way, so I saw a nutritionist. She recommended the opposite! Human milk has the highest concentration of fat of any milk and that Nestle stuff is just sugar and artificial flavors. Instead, she recommended turbo protein shakes. Using a full-fat yogurt base, I put in avocado, wheat germ, whey protein, spinach, flax, carrots and strong fruits to give it yummy flavor. They are actually really good! He immediately started putting on more weight and I felt much better doing it with healthy, whole foods. I haven't weighed him lately, but I'm pretty sure he is over 20 pounds now. His appetite seems to have picked up quite a bit as well, so I'm no longer worried.
He still is a little bit of a picky eater, but he seems to definitely be getting enough.

On the subject of food, Donny did wean this last week. Well, actually it's been 5 days now so I'm calling it a done deal. Early in the first trimester, I was really disliking nursing. I felt touched out and just got annoyed with it. First time I have ever felt that way. I think it was mostly hormonal, but also cause he was going back and forth about wanting to nurse at night and I was SO done with the night nursing. Recently, it didn't bother me so much. Probably because the last couple months he only would nurse 1 time in 24 hours. Usually, it was early in the morning to get him to sleep a couple extra hours. He hasn't nursed before bed or naptime in quite a while, so that wasn't a problem to stop. So, he has been pretty close to weaning since soon after his first birthday.  I never have a plan for how long I will nurse past a year, it's just whatever is working for us. I always assume I will nurse somewhere between 1-2 years since thats the recommendation from all medial associations. With Josie, she weaned naturally at 16 months when my milk changed to colostrum (I was pregnant ) So, I just kinda waited for him to do the same, rather than try to force wean him. And voila! It worked. I have no regrets, nursing him till a full 16 months and also don't regret weaning him. It worked out pretty well, I think.

Soon after he turned a year he got all four molars, giving him 12 teeth. Just waiting on those incisors.

He started taking steps at around 13 months, but it was just one here and there. At around 14 months, he could take several steps and walk from one thing to another, but still preferred crawling. Finally, right before he turned 15 months, he decided he wanted to walk. It was definitely a decision. He COULD walk much earlier. He just had to decide that it was less hassle and faster than crawling. He just started walking one day and pretty much didn't look back. I was a relief for me. It's a pain carrying him everywhere and he got SO dirty all the time. He can run pretty quickly now.

Words he says: apple, Josie, mama, dada, Buzz, moo, woof, baa, who-who (owl), this, that, trash, bath, water, yes (nods at the same time), no (shakes head as well), poop, diaper, cup, hat, uh-oh, woah, please,  thank you, and several others I'm probably forgetting. He is constantly copying words we say or trying to communicate what he wants. I'm glad he is wanting to talk! It makes things so much easier.

He is sleeping so much better these days. Not long after he turned a year, he started sleeping better. Part of it was coaxed by Kevin and I. His waking was obviously habitual, however, he also seemed to need the night nutrients at the time. Because he had dropped off the charts and it happened after I stopped nursing as much, obviously I was nervous about cutting it back even more. After getting him on a better eating schedule and making sure he was getting extra calories during the day, I started feeling more comfortable with the night weaning. So, it began. Actually, it wasn't that hard. I just had Kevin go in when he woke up. He hated it, but after a while he got used to it. There were some tears, but he was fine. So, he started cutting out wakings one and a time and is now on a very reasonable schedule. He goes down like a dream at 7ish, sleeps till about 5 or 6ish, wants milk, then back down till 6:30 or 7 (sometimes 8). It's a little early for me, but I can deal. I also dislike giving him milk in his crib in the morning, but at this point, it's whatever works. I never did that with Josie. Eventually, we will switch him to only water in bed. Maybe when I'm not so tired all the time (like that will ever end, lol) and he is sleeping better, I'll make him skip that morning milk and just get up with him.  He takes a regular 2 hour nap and goes down easily for that, too. Fortunately, he goes to bed very easily with absolutely no fuss and has been doing that for a long time. He even waves to me as I leave the room, lol!

Man, this kid has a personality!!!
He is not shy at all. He loves smiling and "talking" with other people and likes being especially silly around strangers. Josie never really cared about strangers, so he is definitely more outgoing so far. He doesn't really seem to be afraid of anything or anyone, but he is NOT cool with us leaving. He is fearless while mom or dad are around, but he still cries quite a bit if left by one of us. Understandable at his age. He will be going into nursery in a couple months, so I'm sure he will get better at dealing with this. He actually does really well with babysitters, especially if Josie is around.

He ADORES Josie and copies everything she does. She sneezes, he pretends to sneeze. She dances, he dances. She laughs at something, he concocts a crazy fake laugh. It's so awesome and cute. She's a perfect example to copy, so I hope it continues. : )

He loves shoes and clothes. He would wear shoes do bed if I let him. He is always bringing me shoes and holding his foot up so I can put them on him. Same with jackets and hats.

He's just such a funny kid! I think he is sillier and funnier than Josie was, and she was pretty funny! I need to post more videos! Oh, and a bazillion pictures!!

But for now, here's just a little snippet. This is "mellow" Donny. I know, our TV room is super dark and messy. : )

Lol....continued.

I miss the old Office episodes. It was so much funnier then.....



P.S. UTI symptoms gone. Looks like my body got rid of it before I got my antibiotic prescription. I'll probably take them just in case, but after a good nights' sleep and some cranberry pills I'm feeling better already!

Lol

So literally 10 mins after posting about how heathy I am, my midwife arrived for my prenatal appointment. During the routine questioning, I mentioned that I felt like I was peeing way more this pregnancy. She saw my flushed face and immediately handed me a cup for a sample. Her suspicions were correct. My very first UTI!! Oh, boy. Nothing like blogger jinxes, lol!!! At least it's something mild and treatable.....

Grateful.

I know I haven't said anything about Thanksgiving and being grateful for the million things I have to be grateful for. I plan on posting pics from our feast and visit from family, but I just wanted to share something that I have been especially grateful for lately. I am increasingly aware of just how blessed we  are to be so healthy in our family. It's to the point where it's a little freaky actually, and I wonder if it will just all cave in someday and we all end up with debilitating illnesses or something. 

My whole life, I have been extremely healthy. I've never broken anything, been hospitalized, had a super high fever, or even had the flu (except stomach flu) since I was old enough to remember. Very healthy. I have super easy pregnancies (comparatively) and anytime I get tested for anything, it always comes back that I have amazingly heathy levels or numbers of whatever it is. I'm sure this is a big mix of good genetics (my extended family is very healthy, too), lifestyle choices, and straight blessings from God. 

I seem to have passed this all onto my children. Neither of my kids have even had a bad diaper rash! No fevers above 100, no throwing up (other than stomach flu a couple months ago), no ear infections, nothing! When Josie was younger, she was in the ER twice, both for things that ended up being nothing (nurse-maids elbow and clogged tear duct). They have never been to the doctor except for well-visits. They don't even seem to get colds very much.  These kids just never get sick!!

Can we say seriously blessed? 

Not only have we saved a ton in medical bills, it's nice to not have to see them suffer or have to keep them home from things. 

I know I need to do a lot of catch-up on here, but I just wanted to post that really quickly.

Oh, and if our situation ever changes, thank goodness for modern medicine!!!

A "Grimm" Halloween

So, I decided to be ambitious this year with costumes and make them myself. We thought it would be cute for them to be Hansel and Gretel. It's one of the stories I tell Josie at bedtime and she was very excited.  Just so you know, I am not very crafty and I suck at sewing. I have a brand new sewing machine just waiting to make cute things. Usually, when I decide to give sewing a try, I end up wanting to throw the thing out the window, lol. I think I need a sewing group. Anyway, I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I mostly just modified old clothes Josie and Donny had. I made the apron out of a curtain, put ribbon on the top (which used to be a dress), and made a crown out of wired together flowers. For Donny's costume, I hiked up some pants of his and sewed on strips of material to make it look like lederhosen. I borrowed the hat from someone in the ward. I thought they looked so cute!!

Friday night was the church "trunk or treat." Here she is going after a donut.

Halloween day ended up being ok weather wise, so we were happy the kids would get to go trick or treating around the neighborhood!  It was still a little chilly, but the kids didn't care.

Our neighborhood is super busy on Halloween. Probably cause some of the houses at the end of our street are pretty big so people assume they will give out good candy, lol. It was really nice and we love seeing all our neighbors.

Our little handsome Hansel:

                                                                 Our gorgeous Gretel:

Donny loved trick or treating. He got the hang of it really quickly. Free candy?!? Yes please!!

Kevin decided to serenade all the trick or treaters. Many of them remembered him from last year, haha!!

Candy is a very rare thing in our house. Enjoy it while you can, kids!

I found this costume at Goodwill. I know, you were going to be impressed that I made it, lol.

I guess since they are used to no candy in the house, they forgot it even existed after a couple days. So, we still have a bucket full of candy in the cupboard! 

Josephine turns 3!!

The day we left Florida to come home was Josie's 3rd birthday! Of course, most of the day was spent traveling and recovering at home, but we managed to make some cupcakes and have a short birthday celebration before bed. Donny was already asleep. He was pooped! Since she did plenty of celebrating and got lots of presents in Florida, we only had one thing for her to open. Daddy broke down and got her a Cinderella doll. It's a little too close to Barbie (which I'd rather not buy for my kids) for my comfort, but she loved it. Yeah, we'll discuss my groans towards the princess market later.......

Anyway, she got some cake and ice cream and was off to bed! Seriously, a cupcake with a candle to blow out is really all a kid needs. She was over the moon and it was just a crappy cupcake, lol!!

Now, a little about miss Josie at 3 years old:

She's about 31 pounds and 37 inches tall, putting her at slightly larger than most her age. She is the tallest in preschool, but younger than most of them. She's healthy.

On that subject, she is a great eater and not super picky (unlike the boy). It's a good thing we don't have junk food at home, or I think she might be in trouble. She can out eat me, easily. Even pregnant.

She knows all her letters (upper and lower case) and most of the consonant sounds. Vowels are a little confusing. We are starting to try to sound out words. She's still a little young for this, but as long as she is interested, we might as well try to learn! There's no pressure, of course. She also knows all her numbers to 10 by sight. She gets a little confused in the teens. She recently learned the concept of counting and amounts. She can correctly count  how many there are of something (under 10) whereas before, she would just randomly throw out a number.

She is still my champ sleeper. She sleeps anywhere from 10-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours in naptime during the day. She still really needs a nap, thankfully! Doesn't look like she will be giving them up anytime soon. She rarely puts up a fuss and never gets out of her bed or messes around during sleep time.

I'm not even going to apologize for bragging, but Josie is the child parents dream about. Unless her sleeping is off, she is not a big tantrum thrower. Even then, they are pretty short lived and mild. She is funny and silly, but also knows how to be quiet and still. She is an expert whisperer and is good when I need her to sit still somewhere and occupy herself. I almost never have a problem with her in public. She likes to please me and follow "the rules." She is my little mommy. I have to remind her often that I am Donny's mommy, not her and she needs to not worry about what he is doing. On the other hand, she is often very sweet, loving, and helpful with him.

Her struggle with Donny lately has been him taking "her things" and this really frustrates her. Thankfully, she is not a hitter or pusher, but she does yell at him and is constantly trying to keep him from taking things. On one hand, she needs to learn how to share (though I don't force her). On the other hand, he needs to learn not to take her things. I'm sure it will be a long lesson for both.

Other than that, she has found that when Donny is sad or upset, sharing her snuggly with him or giving him a hug or a tickle immediately make things better. I love those moments. It makes my life easier when they take care of each other.

I often find myself thinking about how incredibly easy life would be if all I had was Josie (not that Donny is that bad, lol) I'm sure I will look back to how easy 2 kids were when #3 comes.

She loves singing and dancing and often jumps around saying "Mommy, it's time for me to dance!" She knows the words to so many songs, it's incredible. She is getting better at paying attention to pitch, too.

One thing I absolutely love is that she always says, "no, thank you" when she doesn't want something. I never drilled this with her. It's just how she learned to say no. She always says, no thank you and it sounds so sweet. As far as asking politely, I usually give her "the look" if she makes demands and she will quickly go back and rephrase.

She is starting to become a little more social and outgoing. I don't think she's ever been really shy, but she has never been super outgoing. At the playground, she is not the type to just start playing with other kids or talk to strangers. But, if a stranger talks to her or another child invites her to play, she gladly goes along. She tends to be fairly independent. I think I may have been like this when I was a kid. I see so much of my personality in her. She definitely takes after me much more than her father. Donny is the opposite. I think this is part of why I feel like I understand her so well and we are best buds.

I love hearing the amazing things she remembers. She will randomly remember something we did almost a year ago, or just what we bought at a store the last time we were there. Kids have awesome memories.

Other than 2 random accidents on the same day, she has not had any potty accidents in almost 9 months. Man, am I thankful for that! I somehow doubt any of my other children will be as easy to potty train.....

She's a good talker. She doesn't have any speech impediments and can pronounce words clearly. Speech impediments in kids are kinda cute, but I'm glad I don't have to work with her on her r's or l's.

I could go on and on and on about her. She is just such an incredibly sweet, snuggly little girl. I love her so much!! Almost every night after putting her to bed, Kevin and I turn to each other and gush about our little Josie. So glad she is a part of our family and that she is my oldest. Having her makes me want a dozen more!!

One last note: As soon as she turned 3, she started calling me "mom" instead of "mommy." I don't think I like this change. I sometimes correct her and make her call me mommy, lol.

My accessory queen. That is a hat and night gown on her head and a mason jar lid on her arm, lol.

Disney Trip - Part 2

Day 3 At Disney (Day 4 of trip)


Unfortunately, my mom caught some sort of stomach bug and stayed at the hotel this day. I actually was feeling pretty sick too, but I thought it was just the pregnancy and figured it would wear off. I felt yucky off and on and only when I felt better a couple days later did I realize it must have been the same stomach bug. It wasn't nearly as harsh on me as my poor mom! I felt so bad for her. Anyway, we decided to spend one more day at Magic Kingdom since we didn't go on everything we wanted before, and we wanted to see the fireworks that night (Saturday).

There were several highlights this day. One major one was meeting Mickey!! It was so funny cause when we were in line, there was this prop shelf with a giant magician's hat. Inside there were white rabbit ears sticking out and they would wiggle and move every few seconds. Josie talked about "the silly rabbit in Mickey's hat" all day. She said it was her favorite thing of the day. Anyway, they both LOVED seeing Mickey!

Of course, another highlight for Josie (and Donny) was meeting Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. She hasn't seen Sleeping Beauty yet, but she still loved talking to her and telling her about her snuggly.

Donny was quite enamored as well.......

Just look at that big smile!!!

Not sure what Donny is doing in this picture, lol.

She also hasn't seen Beauty and the Beast but loved seeing Belle, too. They were all so sweet and talked to her for several minutes. She kept talking about the "pretty girls" that she got to talk to and hug.

You can't see it in the picture, but Aurora had just given Donny a big kiss on his cheek, leaving a lip-stick smooch on it. He loved kisses from the princesses. Here he is looking for more....

By far, Josie's favorite was Cinderella. She HAS seen Cinderella, so she actually knew who she was and was excited to ask her to dance with her. She immediately showed Cinderella how to dance at a ball. It was too cute.

Getting another lipstick kiss. (You can see one on his other cheek)

Look at that happy, smooch-filled face!!

Skipping waaaay ahead, another highlight was the Main Street Electrical Parade. The kids were completely mesmerized!! Josie loved seeing the "silly snails" and seeing Mickey and Cinderella again. She also loved the dragon and was a little concerned about the boy (Pete from Pete's Dragon) on top of him.

Donny giving Doc a high five.

The long day ended with some amazing fireworks. When Kevin and I were dating, we both had Disneyland passes. We went several evenings a week and would often go just to watch the fireworks. Watching those fireworks always takes me back to those days 9 years ago when we were so new! Love them....

Other ride highlights were Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise. We went on Jungle Cruise twice cause the kids loved it so much. They also loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and Philharmagic. Josie loved seeing Mickey from Fantasia cause she loves that movie. I actually think we did those on our first day. Oh well, it's hard to remember everything we did each day.

Once again, Josie went all day with no nap and was soooo exhausted as we were going home. Donny took a short nap each day, but not nearly enough so he was tired too.

Day 5 of trip


Sunday we spent back at the villa catching up on sleep, relaxing, recovering (mom) and taking the kids to the pool. It was really nice to have a day off and the kids really needed a break. As amazingly fun as it is, all day at Disney parks 3 days in a row is really tough on kids (and us old people too!) No pictures of that day, but we all got nice naps and some time at the pool. After putting the kids to bed, we all went out to the pool, using our cell phones as a makeshift baby monitor. Don't worry, the pool (as you could see in my last post) was literally feet from our back porch. I think the kids were half dead from exhaustion anyway. It was nice. I was craving some Thai food so we got take-out. Mistake. Stomach flu came back for me and my mom. Yuck.

Day 4 at Disney (day 6 of trip)

The reason we got our Disney passes in the first place was because Kevin was invited down to replace the drum kit on the set of the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Aerosmith is one of Kevin's endorsers so they wanted one of his kits in the display. (There was one of his old ones from a different company there before) So that's how we got the free tickets! Kevin had to be at the park at 4 am before it opened to meet up with a Disney "imagineer" so they could make the change. He got a cool backlot tour and got to see how everything works and how they check rides before the park opens. The imagineer even showed him the Disney archives building where everything Disney has ever produced is stored. It was a really cool experience for him. There's no way I was getting up at 4, especially since I was a little sick, so I skipped out.

So now f you go on the ride, you can see the set Kevin set up!!

When we were all up and ready, we decided it would be Epcot day! I love Epcot and especially the World Showcase.

This is what happens when someone takes your picture and can't figure out how it works. This was the best one. The rest had several of us not even in the picture, lol.

Josie loved the Nemo ride and doing "Turtle Time" with Crush. In our Disney movie cram session the days before leaving on this trip, I had her watch Finding Nemo so she could at least recognize him. She always calls him "rainbow fish" since she is a big fan of the rainbow fish books. (Anyone else know those books?)

Later in the day, they discovered one more drum had come in to be installed so they invited both of us back to set it up. This time it was during park hours and they had to stop the ride for a few minutes so we could go in and do it. It was really cool. After setting it up as quickly as we could, they got us to the very front of the line and let us all ride front row. Love those perks!

Me with the ride managers and the nice imagineer Kevin worked with.

Donny tucked out for quite a while on one of the boat rides at the World Showcase. He stayed asleep during most of our lunch at the restaurant in Mexico.

My mom couldn't resist getting Josie this hat in Mexico. Of course, she needed one for Snuggly, too! So cute. She wore it the rest of the day.

Josie was really tired around the middle of the day and actually wanted to take a nap, so she laid down in the stroller and was out for 2 hours!! She wanted to sleep longer, but I encouraged her to wake up and see all the fun stuff she was missing. While she slept, we got yummy treats at one of the shops in France. Mmmmm......fruit tarts, eclairs, and cakes!! Donny enjoyed greeting everyone at the door. He stood at that rail for about 30 mins smiling and waving to everyone walking past. He is such a social guy!

I was finally able to wake Josie by telling her Pooh and Tigger were here to see her. She was still a little groggy and disoriented, but she was very happy to see them. Pooh and Tigger are very snuggly and not as intimidating as some of the characters.

We always love seeing the acrobats in the China section, so we made sure to get front row seats for it. That meant that I got chosen to participate!!! It was quite embarrassing. They had me dance and do this crazy hat trick. I must have looked like such a dork, lol.

Since they both had a nice nap, at the end of the night, they both had some good energy left over. As we waited for the fireworks they danced around like maniacs. I soooo wish I had video taped this. Josie kept yelling "Mom! I NEED to dance right now!!!" She was spinning, jumping, running, dancing, and being a crazy little goof. Donny of course wanted to copy her so he did the same thing. I kept having to shepherd them back toward me cause they kept dancing right out into the walking area and people nearly stepped on them. Even still, everyone around us was thoroughly entertained : )

Day 5 at Disney (Day 7 of trip)

This was our last day at the parks. It was super sad because not only was it our last day, but my mom was feeling crappy again and had to stay back. Poor thing!! It just wasn't the same without her. We saved Animal Kingdom for last and it ended up being a perfect plan. It was forecasted that there would be a severe thunderstorm and it was going to rain most of the day. After completing our (long, boring, annoying) time share meeting, we rushed to the park to try and beat the rain. Turns out, everyone must have skipped out knowing it was going to rain so the park was empty! We walked on every ride. The best part: It never even rained at all! The forecast was way off. It was overcast, but dry. Actually best weather to view animals. 

The kids loved seeing Goofy in Dinoland U.S.A.

High five!!

Donny was mesmerized by the Gorilla's.

Looking at more monkey's.....

This is Donny's reaction when anyone comes and talks to him. He smiles and sort of shies away, but lets you know he really likes the attention. I've never seen him not smile when strangers come up to him.

Josie was once again so exhausted, she fell right to sleep on my lap during the safari ride. It is probably the bumpiest ride at the park and I was shocked she could sleep through that. Also, this is the first time she has fallen asleep on me since she was a baby. My arm was asleep, but I loved it : )

Oh, and this day was our 8 year anniversary!!! Kevin made reservations for us at the restaurant in Canada at Epcot. It's really nice. Kinda pricey, but it was for a special vacation. It was so nice to have my parents to take the kids so we could do things like that. Truly, this trip would not even come close to being as awesome if my parents hadn't come. It was so nice sharing the toddler load and having some free time without them. Ahhhh.......a true vacation!

Then next day, we left the villa at 4 am to catch a flight home from St. Petersburg at 7. It was also Josie's 3rd birthday!! We had already kind of celebrated the week prior, but we made it as special as we could. Both kids slept on the flight home and it was super quick and easy.  

What an amazing trip it was!! I didn't take as many pictures as I should have  and I know I missed a lot of stuff, but there was so much that we did it's hard to document it all! The whole week was just so perfect. We ended up spending less than $1000 for everything including food and gifts. Not bad! I hope we can do something like this again. At least Josie was old enough to remember it. I'm sure we will visit Disney again, maybe when they are a little older and can actually ride more rides! It was sad coming home. This was a trip we will remember forever. I only wish I had taken more pictures!!