Boys vs. Girls

On Wednesday my friend Tonia and her daughter McKenna came over to visit us at my brother's apartment for 5 hours while our house was being shown (neither showing amounted to anything though).

It is just so fun to watch Ben and McKenna interact as they become little people. :) Here they are hanging out in my brother's extra bedroom... note Ben's toys... a wrench set, a helicopter and his favorite Uncle Ryan toy (not shown) a race track that has a robot at the end that you knock over when you shoot the car down the track. :)

Well, when McKenna came to visit these toys did not do it for her. As you can see below...



'Kenna managed to find my brother's exercise shorts which were "sparkly" and came walking out of his room standing in one of the legs asking us to tie on her "sparkly princess dress."


Here she is with her "princess dress" and purse that she found. She also managed to turn on of the pieces of the wrench set into a ring. So funny! I guess this is what I have to look forward to! :-PAnd here is Tonia holding Naomi... such a sweet picture!

Oh the things you forget...

To say that I was not excited about having a newborn again would be an understatement. I just remember the constant worry, the fear that he was going to catch some horrible cold or that I would miss something really big because I didn't know what I was doing... the list went on and on.

However, I had forgotten all the wonderful parts of having a newborn, and God has seen fit to bless us with a baby who (so far) eats, sleeps, poops etc. better than her big brother ever did. :) For this we are extremely thankful. (Not to mention that having already done this once, it is not all as scary and foreign... and I highly recommend a spring-time baby :) Sunshine does wonders. ) And I just have to say, I am LOVING all the squeaks, stretches, cuddles and milk-drunk smiles that having a newborn brings. Here are a few pictures from the last few days...

Naomi and I just hanging out. :)

Babyness.

So peaceful.

Coming home from the hospital.

She is Here!

Announcing the arrival of NAOMI GRACE

Born: Monday, April 26th 2010 (on her Uncle Ryan's 25th Birthday) at 7:05am

Weight: 8lb 14.5oz Length: 20inches

The jury is still out on who she looks like. She has a whopping 2+ pounds on her brother at birth (Ben was 10 days early, and Naomi arrived ON her due date). She definitely looks like her brother... with cheeks, but most say she takes more after her daddy's side of the family. :)

She is a champion eater, for which I am extremely thankful, she is pretty laid back so far and we have just been enjoying every minute with her!

Her big brother is very proud and tells everyone "This is MY baby sister!! Baby Naomi!"

What have I created?

There is a line from a Friends episode that says something to the effect of: "Let's have a child so we can screw them up in our own special way." It is funny and sad how true that can be. Here is an example for you:

When Ben was little we decided that we weren't going to make a big deal out of him falling and getting bumps and bruises. We tell him we are sorry, hug him, kiss it if need be and then try and distract him. For the most part it has worked, he has learned to just "dust it off" etc. and most of the time he just gets up and goes on. Well, I have found a fatal flaw in my plan. In my distractions apparently they have centered around food because this of often the scene:

Ben: Bump! WAA!
Me: Ben, are you ok? Just dust it off!
Ben: Sniff, sniff. Mommy, need pretzels to make me feel happy!!!! Sniff.
Me: You are just fine! Keep playing Ben!
Ben: Sniff. No Mommy, need strawberries to make me feel happy!! Sniff.

The food changes almost every time, but it is always food of some kind. Augh. Poor warped child... and I did it, I have created this need-food-to-make-me-feel-better monster! :)

The Whipped Cream Boys

One of our favorite summer time desserts is strawberries with cream... the other night I whipped it up in our handy-dandy blender... as you can see... not a drop was wasted. :)

Sign in the Store Window

So, for those of you NOT from Asheville (and who may not have seen it in the news) Obama and his family have blessed us with their presence the weekend.

It is cool that the president has come to visit, however so far it has just meant sitting in stand still traffic for an hour because they shut down a major highway... but anyway...

I wish I had taken a picture, but last night we went on a fun double date with my brother and his wife and we stopped by O.P. Taylors Toy Store in Biltmore Town Square. There was a big sign in the window that read:

ALL PRESIDENTS
(Past and Present)
25% OFF THIS WEEKEND!!
(Before state, federal, local, medicare, medicaid and social security taxes)

Awesome. :)

Oh, this boy...

I have been meaning to post about this boy since he turned 2. Well, that was three months ago, and I am just now getting around to it. Heaven only knows how long it will take me once I add another child. :) I still can't believe that I have a 2 year old. The picture above is of Ben hiding under the cover to our grill. He was there for about 30 minutes, just hiding and playing with his ball. :)

Since turning 2 the one thing that has really stuck out to me is how his imagination has just taken off. He is constantly pretending to be some animal... well, I should clarify... it is always a small or baby animal. He never wants to be a BIG dog, or a large elephant... it is always a little doggie, or a baby giraffe etc. I will often wake him up (in the morning or from a nap), and he will look at me, then bark and sniff me from head to toe. Crazy child. :)

Everything also must have a name, from every car to every character in a book... I am quickly running out of names! And when he is pretending to be an animal he must have a name. Favorite doggie names are Pongo, Perdy, Jack, Jake, Spot, Fido & Pip. (All names of dogs in books/movies). Cats are always Misty, Mice are Gus, Pigs are Curly, Sheep are Woolly and Cows are Buttercup, Daisy or Dutchess. (Again, all movie/book characters). And heaven forbid you call him Ben when he is pretending to be something!

He pretends to drive his cars to work with daddy, or up a big hill or to grandma's house. :)


And here is a picture of Ben in the outfit Andrew brought him back from China. Too cute. :)

This child is very particular about his clothes. I thought it was just girls... but apparently not. Nothing itchy, too tight or too small. (Although he often gets his words mixed up and yesterday he told me he couldn't wear these pants because they were "too loud mommy, too loud!" :). And he is also very particular in names of things... If you ask him to take his shoes off and he is wearing sandals or crocs he will correct you.


And here is a picture from when Andrew and I cleaned out the garage a few weeks ago. One box was over an hour of entertainment. In, out, around, upside-down... so many possibilites.

And finally, I will leave you with a few of my favorite sayings of late:

"Mommy, what you saying?" Any time he doesn't understand something or I don't say it loudly enough (as in I am in another room talking to someone else) he will say (or yell depending on his proximity to me) "Mommy, what you saying???" And he won't stop until he understands.

"SLOW DOWN!!" Any time I go fast up a hill or around a curve... or if I hit my breaks a little too hard a little voice from the back seat will YELL... "SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!!" Too funny!

"What that mean?" This child is on a quest for knowledge. If there is anything in a book he doesn't understand or recognize he asks. And it usually ends up something like this:

Me reading: And the groundhog went into his borrow.
Ben: What that mean?
Me: That means the groundhog went into his home in the ground, it is called a borrow.
Ben: What that mean?
Me: It means the groundhog has a home in the ground.
Ben: What that mean?

You get the idea... :)

Random Story

So a few days ago I was at Sam's Club wasting time on a rainy day (where else can your child run?) As I was waiting in line, I heard the woman in front of me lecturing the cashier on the effects of carbonation on your body. I found it amusing but didn't think much of it.

As Ben and I were waiting for our pretzel, the same woman turned to me and asked:

Crazy Lady: So, when are you due?
Me: (taken a little back, since I have actually never been asked this question by a complete stranger before) Um, 2 weeks.
CL: Do you sing?
Me: Excuse me? (What? Did she really ask me if I sing?)
CL: Do you sing?
Me: Yes, I do.
CL: GREAT! Did you know that when you are pregnant a hormone is released that improves your singing voice after the baby is born? So the more you sing now, the better your voice will be after you sing.

So there you have it folks. Sing while you are pregnant because it improves your voice... straight from the mouth of a random 60-something-earthy-hippie woman at Sam's Club!

And Anthony, if you read this, just think of what a great asset all these women are that sang in choir while pregnant. Who would have thought that the puffy, breathless pregnant women are GOOD for the choir? :-P

Yikes.

I am not sure what about this picture is supposed to be comforting. I don't think anyone wants to be compared to having a watermelon inside of them. (As Drew said... something squishier would be nice). I am just sort of hoping that she comes before next week... because that picture is a PUMPKIN!

I finally gave in and packed my bag, groceries are bought and put away, all the laundry is done, the house is clean, plants are watered, Ben plans in place.

I have just decided that I am just not going to feel ready until she gets here... and maybe not even then... but at this point the only way out is through. :)

Lord willing, my mom arrives tomorrow morning (she is flying stand-by, SLC to LAX to ATL to AVL) which will be nice to not have to worry about getting Ben somewhere once labor really hits. But, my mother-in-law is great and would come at any hour of the night, so even is she doesn't decide to wait it is not a big deal.

So we shall see.... maybe she will be 10 days late to balance out Ben's 10 days early. Life is going to be interesting... I have a feeling this little girl will turn out lives upside down. I am a first born, Andrew is a first born and Ben is too... what are we going to do with a second born??? :)

Baby Shower

Our wonderful church family hosted a baby shower last weekend for my friend Rebecca and me. It was a wonderful time of fellowship (and food :) and a beautiful time of prayer.

And here was the amazing diaper cake they made for Baby Girl Z! Isn't is just amazing?!




And here are Rebecca and I with Rebecca's cake. The cake is a little misleading, but she found out yesterday that she is having a girl as well! YAY for girls! Ben and Rebecca's little boy Ezra are 2 months apart, so it will be fun to have girls now too!

Fun at the Park

In honor of McKenna's second birthday tomorrow, here are a few pictures of Ben and his friend McKenna! Other than their chins, they could be twins. :)

Not Ready Yet

Just like every other pregnant woman, I keep getting asked if I am ready for the baby. What does that mean? Do I have diapers? Yes. Do I have clothes? Yes. Carseat? Yes.

Am I ready? No.

I know, I know. I really need to get on the stick, since if this baby came when Ben did that would have been YESTERDAY! That was a little bit of a reality check. But I am just not ready. And the problem is, I don't know how to get there. I think part of it is the fact that as #2, I haven't been able to sleep 10-12 hours a day for the past 4 months. Also, between grad school, Andrew's long work hours, trying to sell a house and a 2-year-old I just haven't had time to think about it. And I also think that part of it is that I have NO idea what I am going to do with a girl. I find myself still thinking about her as a boy. I know boys. I do boys. Girls.... I am lost.

I know God will give me grace, but I am just not quite ready for that next step yet... although, I think it will be here soon, whether I am ready or not. :)

Curried Couscous

I got this recipe from a woman at church and loved it, so I thought I would share... cause the world needs good recipes. :)

Curried Couscous

1 ½ cups couscous

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 ½ cups boiling water

¼ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup good olive oil

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp curry powder

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup grated (or small-diced) carrots

½ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

½ cup currants

¼ cup blanched, sliced/slivered almonds

2 scallions thinly sliced (white and green part)

¼ cup purple onion

Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over couscous. Cover tightly (I did plastic wrap) and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Wisk together the olive oil, yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper. Add carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions and red onions. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Serve at room temperature.

Changes I made/would make:

Add a little more olive oil and yogurt… maybe 1/3 cup… it is a little dry, especially if you add extra veggies. It needed more salt and pepper… I also added some lemon juice (like the juice from half a lemon). I replaced the parsley with cilantro… WAY more flavor. I replaced the currants with crasins. I added more almonds, carrots and cilantro, and I added tomato and would add cucumber and maybe even broccoli next time. I added a bunch more green onions, but I skipped the purple onion. So just have fun with it, you really can’t go wrong! It is SOO yummy!! (Before you serve it, make sure it isn’t too dry, I added a bunch more yogurt right before I served it.)

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