Fingernail Painting

Jeremy's never done this for me...


But...maybe that's okay.

Chunky Monkey

Some of you will remember that when Carolyn was a baby, I stressed about her weight just about everyday. I worried that she wasn't nursing enough. Jeremy set an alarm to wake me up to feed her at night (thank goodness the lactation lady told him that was just not necessary).

It all started with her two-week checkup. I had a pediatrician I knew little about, and I left the office crying after he told me that Carolyn was crying because I wasn't feeding her and she was at an unacceptable weight. Needless to say, I never saw that pediatrician again. We promptly switched and our new doctor was much better. He assured me that some kids are small and Carolyn was growing and developing just fine. I quit worrying about her when we moved her to solids and she ate so much we switched her to table food to save $15 a week in baby food. She eventually gained the twenty pounds necessary to go forward-facing in the car. At 18 months, and just by a hair. But it all ended well.

So Blake had his two-week appointment today. Although he's a marathon nurser, I admit to some anxiety because of my previous experience with a small child. But not this one. He hadn't been weighed since we left the hospital (8 lbs 2 oz.), but now he is a robust 9 lbs. 8 oz. How nice to have a baby that gets fat like all those other babies. How nice to know he gets enough to eat and isn't hungry. Here's to many more appointments where my child does not slide off the growth chart!

Sister Love

He's Here!

Blake Lawrence Horner

Born 15 December 2008 at 8:24 pm. I know that technically it was my due date, but I was done with this pregnancy weeks ago.

A little bit about Blake: he's blonde, he was 8 lbs 12 ounces (!), he seems lengthy at 20.5 inches and, like Carolyn, he has his Daddy's eyes...

Plus, I think he's pretty great...

but so does Carolyn, which is mostly wonderful. When she came to the hospital, right after telling me hi, she said, "I want to hold him." She climbed right up and gave him a sweet hug.

Now that we are home, she wants to hold him, rock him, hug him, kiss him. Someday, like when I get free babysitting out of the deal, I will appreciate her natural maternal instinct. For now, it just makes everything harder. Maybe I'll teach her how to change diapers soon.

P.S.: Those cute bows and hairdo are courtesy of Rachel, who had Carolyn for three days. Apparently, aunts can convince Carolyn to do things that she would never put up with from Mom.

Snow!

This is not common out here for us in Portland. Carolyn was so excited though. It was quite the effort to get her to church today instead of letting her play outside. Luckily, we are in Oregon, so they cancelled church after Sacrament Meeting. We were home with plenty of time to change and play before nap.

Of Hair and Creme

Sometime this summer before I decided to cut Carolyn's bangs I had spent quite a bit of time trying to find a salon to do it for me. I have no talent at cutting hair. But I couldn't justify the expense, especially because it was really just her bangs I wanted done.

Then months passed. And her hair got more out of control. I really don't know how to explain it. She has curly hair in the back and a little on the side, but the top layer all around her head is straight. It won't curl for anything. Also, if I gelled her hair, it would look really cute for about 10 minutes. 5 if she sat in her carseat. Then it would fall out and look silly.


We really needed some help. So I took her to a kiddie salon today. Yay for chairs that look like airplanes. And for big screen TVs showing movies. And hair people who can cut hair while their subject is trying to look at everything in the store at once.



Carolyn did a great job and her hair looks great. What I love the most is Bouncy Creme. Apparently, this is what we have been missing her whole life. It defines her curls, stayed looking nice after car seat rides, and wasn't all crunchy. Now I just have to find the energy to go to a beauty supply store to buy some.

Grandparents

Jeremy has been encouraging me to get to Olympia to visit my grandparents for months. But I never felt good enough to take that on. I get one day a week with Jeremy to help around the house, and I needed the weekend to recuperate and gear up for the following week with Carolyn. So, finally, when Thanksgiving weekend came around, and Jeremy had an unheard of four-day weekend, we made the trip up to Olympia. I am so glad we went. We just went for a half day, hoping that Carolyn would sleep on the way home for her nap. We should've known better than to hope for that. I wish we lived closer, or that Carolyn were more adaptable to sleeping in unfamiliar locations.


We had a wonderful time, capped off by a delicious milkshake from Eagan's, and were able to make it home without too much of a problem from Carolyn although Jeremy did have to sit in the back with her. Thank goodness for spouses that don't get car sick. Just thinking about making a two-hour drive back there makes me nauseated.

Nothing New

So...I've been meaning to blog. Really. But there just hasn't been too much going on here. We are mostly in a holding pattern. We don't make real plans because I keep hoping I'll have a baby. Well, I don't. The best thing is Jeremy is off for the next month for all intents and purposes. I am really looking forward to having him around to finish all the things I haven't been able to get to.

Maybe soon I'll have more pictures. We have some exciting things coming up this month. My sister is moving in with us short term while she figures out where she wants to live. I am thrilled about this because when Jeremy returns to work, it will be straight into busy season. My entire family is coming here for Christmas. We did it two years ago and it was a lot of fun. And, of course, the new baby. There will be lots of pictures once he arrives.

So stay tuned...

Name that baby!

I hate naming children. We just got super lucky with Carolyn. For some reason, I knew what I wanted, Jeremy agreed, and it was settled. Her birth announcement was mostly finished at least two months before I delivered.

This baby? No idea. I just don't like names in general. For awhile, it was all my issue. Jeremy had a list, I vetoed the whole thing and had nothing I liked to offer in return. Then I came across a name I liked. Jeremy and I talked about it. We were mostly decided. And then my cousin named her new boy that same thing. Everyone says that it doesn't matter, but...I don't know. I'm weird like that.

Then like two weeks ago, I came across another name I liked. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded nice. Then Jeremy shot it down. But I kept hoping he would just come around. You know, I could be in labor, tell him that's the only name I like, and he would have to agree. Of course, I find out that a friend due the week before me has decided to name her baby that. Now I will never get Jeremy to agree.

So, we need help. This baby is due in four weeks. I personally am hoping for only 2.5 weeks more of pregnancy. It's looking like we'll just follow Carolyn's lead and call him baby brother for the rest of his life.

Although there is no guarantee we will use any of these, input is always appreciated.

Bowling

We had the wonderful combination of a day with the schools closed and tons of rain. Not that days off school affect me directly, but all of a sudden all of Carolyn's friends have older siblings around that need entertainment too. This limited our options for activities, but Rachel suggested we take all the kids bowling.
Rachel helping Carolyn since my belly makes it a little harder to squat like that.


After some time, one of these ramps became available and we let the two toddlers use it to help them bowl. Carolyn loved it. She even got a high score of 80. I should use the ramp next time I bowl because that's pretty close to what I usually get.

How I've spent my time

I wanted to have this done for Carolyn when she moved to her toddler bed. That didn't happen, but, hey, I'm pregnant. At least I finished it. It's big enough to move with her when she switches to a larger bed again, and for now, she loves it. I do too.

People always ask

if she understands about the baby...

I think she gets it.

Christmas for Dad

We are planning ahead this year because of my due date:

me: Carolyn, what should we get Dad this year for Christmas?
Carolyn: huh?
me: A present. What kind of present do you want to get Papa?
Carolyn: uh....to come home.

Luckily for Carolyn, Jeremy has the month of December pretty much off to welcome the new baby.

Happy Halloween

We carved our pumpkin today right before we left for the trunk-or-treat. Here's Carolyn checking out his candle.


I think this has been Carolyn's favorite holiday so far. She really got in the spirit of saying "trick or treat" and "happy Halloween." Jeremy took her house to house and he said she was having so much fun she was running between houses. I just think she's the cutest ladybug I've ever seen.

He's growing up

Lucky me, my doctor was worried that the baby wasn't growing enough, so she requested an ultrasound for that day! The baby was just in a totally weird position, and is actually a little larger than my due date would suggest. Here are pictures of the growing boy.
This is his little face kind of turned toward the camera. You can see his forehead, eye, and cheek at the top of the frame.

Profile shot.