some news

I've been holding off on posting this blog. I'm not so sure why..but I have. Almost two weeks ago, we found out that we are pregnant again! We are super excited, but it is funny the mixed reactions that we have received (Marty does a super blog about the comments - I'll let you read his instead of getting into them myself Marty's Blog). I, personally, have only told a few people. I just wanted to savor the deliciousness of the situation for awhile (remember, I'm the girl that was told that I couldn't have kids..haha, fooled them).

So, before taking a pregnancy test, we kind of knew that I was pregnant. There were definate signs - sore breasts, sudden weight gain, TERRIBLE mood swings, etc. I remember being at Brandie's and Craig's on my birthday and Marty came up behind me in their kitchen and whispered "Honey, you have a "glow", I think you may be pregnant". But I had taken a test and it was negative (well, I pulled it out of the trash a week later and it was positive - I know, I know...I have to stop buying my pregnancy tests at the Dollar Tree).

Anyway - back to my story. I took a test late one night and it was positive. We flipped out. Marty told Roxanne (we had to stay true - she is always the first to find out). Then I called my mom but she wouldn't answer her damn phones! Then Marty called his Dad and let him know (he was SUPER excited). Then Marty was like "maybe we should hold off on telling anyone else". I was like "WHAT? I didn't get to tell ANYONE!" But I agreed to keep my mouth shut. The next day I spent the entire day with Beckie and her kids and I couldn't even tell (even when I was getting pukey to my belly, I had to make up a story). When Marty got home from work that night, I was super proud of not telling anyone - until he says "I only told Angie, Brian, Andrew, and Kim". After hearing that, I brought Ezekiel down to Beckie's with my pee stick and told her and Mark. Then I called my mom and Mandy and told them too. I also let Amy, Brandie, and Craig know (so I guess I caught up to Marty in the number of people told). We slowly told other people (some of their reactions sort of turned us off on telling other people). Again, we are super excited but scared! For some reason, the second pregnancy is scarier than the first (and people that know keep forgetting - it is kind of weird). I can't wait for the first ultrasound to see the new bean bouncing around.

co-sleeping

One of the most rewarding, yet challenging decisions that we have made in raising Ezekiel is to co-sleep. It is certainly a personal decision that doesn't work for every family. We took the time to educate ourselves to the risks; I thought about posting them here, but if you would like to read them, do a search for "cosleeping" on google or visit this wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-sleeping . You will be able to educate yourself on the risks and the benefits (there are some incredible 30 year studies that have been done on co-sleeping). I do recommend having a big bed (we have a King that sometimes doesn't feel quite big enough). Here are some of my reasons for not forcing the crib on our baby:

* You wake up nose to nose with your baby and you realize that your breathing is synchronized. You marvel at how well your body knows your baby even after they are born.

* A smell permeates your dreams. It etches itself in your memory forever. You realize that it is your baby's skin. Your heart falls head over heels in love again.

* More often than not you are "kissed" awake. Feeling those sweaty little hands holding your face while you get great big, open mouth kisses makes you start every day with a smile.

* Your baby whimpers in his sleep with a bad dream. You roll towards him, kiss his forehead and notice the whimpers turn into a smile as he drifts off.

* And this..sometimes words just don't show what a video can :)

Kitties are fun until they make you cry

Ezekiel loves our cats so much. Our cats sometimes love him - other times they just ignore him or "quack" at him. We try to monitor Ezekiel's interest in the cats, but he is getting so quick that sometimes he gets to them and we don't notice right away (or he tips their wet cat food bowl over his head). Baby Kitten Friend has discovered that he is snuggly soft and warm to sleep with. The other day, she climbed under the blankets and under his legs and slept curled in a ball underneith him. He slept so peacefully. During his nap today, I snuck in to check on him and busted the Tigers. It was like they were watching over him in his sleep. I managed to snap one picture, but I didn't want to wake him up by taking multiples. This is of Baby Kitten Friend on top of Ezekiel and Gus sleeping at his feet:


Tonight, we were having a little fun in the livingroom. Ezekiel was all wound up and cornering L.E. (the ultra fat cat). We were laughing and having a good time...possibly encouraging Ezekiel to harrass L.E. (*ahem*)



Just revving the little tyke up and letting him go:


/sigh and then it backfired. And it was all mine and Marty's damn fault. L.E. kept raising his paw to Ezekiel, but neither of us thought that he would get Ezekiel - he has never attacked him. Ezekiel cornered L.E. (and there was food in the vicinity) and L.E. just launched himself on Ezekiel's face. It was so terrible. So here's a picture...it really makes me terribly sad


HOWEVER - you see all of those tears? Those are not from L.E. getting him. Nope, he didn't cry even once after it happened. Those tears are because I just took my chocolate ice cream away from him. (he got ice cream because I felt so painfully guilty for letting him harrass the kitty...not just letting him, but ENCOURAGING it).

Update on E.

Ezekiel is 7 months, 3 weeks old today. About three days ago, his first tooth popped out! I found out because he went in for a kiss on my lip and it quickly turned into a harsh little bite. That jagged little pearl is crazy sharp!

He waves "bye-bye" and "hi" now. Especially to strangers - he always seems to love the Salvation Army bell ringers. When we go down to visit Beckie's he knocks on her door by himself. He loves going down to visit (I'm not sure if it is company or the chocolate chip cookies that Aunt Beckie sneaks him).

Marden's has quickly become his favorite store to shop in. Not only is there a Salvation Army Bell Ringing Lady out front, there are also mirrors at the beginning and end of almost every aisle (he loves his reflection).

He thinks "NO!" is the funniest joke ever. He expresses pleasure and displeasure the same way - by screaching; and he loves to chase the kitties and pull their tails and their whiskers. Oh, and he loves corn-on-the-cob.

Potty Training

We've started potty training Ezekiel. It's hard to explain to him exactly what we are doing (he is only 7.5 months old after all) but I think it is starting to click with him. Plus, he really likes to crawl over to his potty and turn it upside down over his head (I make sure to keep it VERY clean ) He pooped for the first time on it yesterday. Of course, we had the camera ready to go!

Here he is really involved in the "process":


He's done his book, not the process:


Here's video of him being impressed with himself:

Summer Time!

I've been keeping Ezekiel pretty busy this summer. We have been spending a lot of time with my sister Beckie and her two kids - Jacob and Emily. It is really nice - Ezekiel LOVES both of the kids. He thinks he is one of the "big kids" and he struggles so hard to keep up with them. Here are some pictures of some of the things that we did last week.

In Mount Vernon, there is an animal sanctuary called D.E.W. Animal Kingdom. They house everything from wild cats to goats and sheep to monkeys and camels. I wasn't sure how Ezekiel would feel about so many animals, but I figured we would give it a try. I strapped him into his carrier (which I can safely say he is way too big for now!) and we (along with Beckie, Jacob, and Em) went exploring.

This is his first look at the animals. A chicken crossed in front of him. I knew it wasn't going to be a successful trip by his look (if he couldn't handle a chicken, how was he going to handle the spitting camels?)


The first breakdown.....Ezekiel sees his arch nemesis:


Meet the arch nemesis that made him cry so hard (yes, the little one):


Ezekiel also met his first calf. The calf immediately nosed Ezekiel. That didn't go over so well:


It was a long trip, but he did start to relax when he saw how much fun Emily and Jacob were having. This was his favorite (he even screamed at this little guy - we spent LOTS of time here):


The next day, we spent with Grammy shopping in Portland and picking up his new "big boy car seat". We went to a new store - Tiny Totland - and Ezekiel got to play with all of the toys. He wanted EVERYTHING. Here he is snuggling in to Grammy:


Grammy let him ride the giant frog. Ezekiel thinks he may like it:


Grammy even bought Ezekiel his very first baseball hat (who would of thought that a child of mine and Marty's would wear a BASEBALL hat and look so good?)


Beckie decided that the next day, she would be bringing her kids to the Maine Aquarium in Boothbay and asked if we wanted to tag along. I figured that since Ezekiel is used to having fishtanks, that he would probably do better at an aquarium. We had a great time. Here he is looking at the 50 lbs lobster (Yep, FIFTY POUNDS)


He got to pet sharks, play with sea cucumbers and crabs; he hollared at the star fish and then tried to pull their arms off; he yanked the lobsters' tentacles and he was the only one allowed to walk barefoot around the "petting area". Here he is seeing the sharks and the skates (right after this, he tried to plunge both hands into the shark petting pool)


Here's the blue lobster:


Here he is at the end of the day, sitting down by the rocks:


On Thursday, we spent the day at the ocean (where I got a TERRIBLE burn). Ezekiel was a little afraid of the waves at first, but he calmed right down and had a terrific time wading in the pools and playing in the sand.

Here he is burying his feet in the cold, cold sand:


Looking around to make sure that no one is watching:


YUM!


End of the day, pure exhaustion:


Yesterday, we decided to cool our heels and just relax. We babysat Jacob for a couple of hours, and Grammy, Jacob, Ezekiel and I all went to "Ninny's Beach". Ezekiel, once again, did wonderfully in the water. He laid on his belly in the water on the sand and kicked his feet and splashed. He even made a new little friend - Bryce - who is 2 years old and the same size as E!! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the day yesterday, but it sure was fun!

Tonight, Beckie watched Ezekiel so me and Marty could go on a little mini-date. (Our first since Eek was born). It was exciting holding hands (while not balancing the baby in our arms) and kissing without a little head popping up between us. phew....I think that is enough for tonight! I'm sure I'll have more stories/pictures next week!

My mom is a clown

gosh I love this kid

Here's Ezekiel on his last day of fitting in his old car seat:



Here he is yesterday at his Mommy's birthday party:



Rocking the tie dye:

click Happy

I've been snapping a lot of pictures lately and although it is difficult to get good ones (my camera is still broken, so I have to kind of aim and click), I do manage. It makes it easier having such a cutie-pie subject. I've decided to go through the last couple of days and pull out the best ones to share.

Here he is yesterday, right before his nap. You can always tell when he is getting tired because his eyes get red (just like his Da-da's)


Just waking up from said nap. Notice the red-eyes is gone and the spice is in full effect


Ezekiel went swimming the other day for the first time! It was at "Ninnie's" beach (this little tiny private beach in the middle of a trailor park - it is the coolest, cleanest place! And foot long bass and trout swim right up to you!) I clipped myself out of the picture (this is one of those pictures you DO NOT want to see after having a baby. I was like "but I thought I was losing weight!"...sigh...)


Busted by Marty - taking a nap at 5:00 in the afternoon. Yes, Ezekiel really does insist on sleeping this close...every..single..night. (It is actually the best ever )


Today, we kind of got stuck at home and we were a little bored, so we took lots and lots of pictures! Here he is playing with his new Tu-Tu Chew

Showing a little leg


/shock "WHAT time did Da get home last night???"


Carol Burnett impression


He likes kitchen ware better than his toys.

He learns new things every day

Ezekiel learns new things every day. Some of them, he makes up on his own - like this new chewing style (it lasted two days). Here he is, old man chewing: