Weekend Away

Well, my mom and dad came to town this past weekend to watch Jace so Steve and I could get away for a few days. We spent Friday and Saturday in the Brenham area. We stayed at a wonderful B&B and explored the parks in the area. The Bluebonnets were spectacular. Just a few pics below (including a belly shot for those who have been asking).

We had some time to talk names for the girl. We narrowed it down to Kylie or Kaitlin (spelling is still up for debate). Steve says he won't make a decision until he knows the middle name- so now we have to work on that. A little closer...

Mom and Dad had fun with Jace. They taught him to Easter Egg Hunt and Mom made him our traditional Easter Bunny cupcakes. And of course there were many trips to the pond to feed the ducks- he loves that.

Short Update

Well, I don't have a whole lot to say for this week. Jace and Steve went to go see his parents in Mississippi this weekend so it was a somewhat quiet weekend. I did a lot of those things that I never seem to have free time for, like scrapbooking, yard work and decorating. I even did a couple "me" things like a pedicure, shopping, and lunch at PF Changs (my favorite). I also went to go order the baby girl's bedroom furniture. I lucked out because it happened to be 20% off, which made the trip much more enjoyable. We ended up with white- which I was surprised to find that Steve thought this was a must for a little girl- he is usually very contemporary when it comes to furniture but he wanted white traditional. So here is what we ended up with. http://rominakidsfurniture.com/products-nerva/baby-room-nerva.html

We also ordered her bedding. I needed something with a little yellow in it, because I did not want to get a new glider. And neither of us are big on pink, so here is what we got:
http://www.cottontaledesigns.com/collections/dragonfly-ii.html

I enjoyed my free time, but was glad to see them both back home today. Next weekend my parents are coming to watch Jace while Steve and I get away for a day or two. Mom already has big plans to make bunny cupcakes, a Toth tradition, and practice Easter egg hunting.

Yeehaw

Well, Jace had his first trip to the rodeo on Saturday. Unfortunately the weather was uncooperative, rainy and cold, but we had fun nonetheless. We were hoping the rain would keep people home, but instead they all just crammed into the buildings along with us. This was disappointing because the part we looked forward to the most was the livestock building where Jace could see cows, and pigs, etc, up close. It was crazy- people everywhere. He did get to see some cows and pigs, but after that mom and dad were done with the crowds and we needed to head over to the rodeo. So note to self, go earlier next time.

Then there was the rodeo. Jace loved when something was going on, but during the lull in between events and competitors his attention was limited. So Steve did not find this very relaxing. Luckily there seats were not taken all around us so we could spread out and Jace could move around. Second note to self, always buy Jace his own seat- there is no way he would have lasted on our laps. We were able to stay until after the bull riders, and by then his patience was thin and it was getting late.

Jace is picking up words left and right. He will now say "good-bye" to almost everyone, and my favorite is "please". I am a big fan of the word so we are trying to get him to say it when he wants something instead of grunting. He will someday have to learn that just because you say please does not mean you get it, but for now it is just cute to hear him say "pease" with a big smile on his face. He has also started to stand up to the dogs. Often time he gets his face licked whether he wants it or not, especially from Kayla, but now he will put up a finger and say "no-no" and amazingly she listens. Here is a pic of him saying "cheese" for the camera.

Post Surgery

Well, we made it, and with flying colors so far.. This morning Jace had surgery to have tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed. We were there at 6AM (thank goodness the surgery center was close by) and Jace was none the wiser. Steve kept saying he felt bad that he did not know what was going on, I was just thinking thank goodness he does not, as it would have been that much more stressful to have scared parents and a kid. By 7AM he was back in surgery. For the adenoids he had to have general anesthesia and a breathing tube which was the scariest part. Well 45 minutes later the doctor was calling for the post op review- he was glad we removed the adenoids- they were very enlarged and covered in puss (I know, yuck). After he came out of the anesthesia he was not very happy, so the car trip home he did not want to be in a carseat. He kept drinking water which made me nervous that he would be sick since I tend to have some nausea with anesthesia, so the car ride home was long even though it lasted 20 minutes. At home he was still out of it which made for a very unhappy Jace for a little longer. After walking him around for a bit he fell asleep hard on Steve's chest and we could put him down in his crib to sleep it off.

He woke up at 11:30 a new little man. He was laughing, playing, and hungry! He ate two bowls of oatmeal, which again made me scared since they had told us clear liquids, milk and then food and we skipped the milk part since he was so hungry (he was climbing the chair to get into his seat). The rest of the afternoon we just hung out- even went for a walk to find the local ducks and feed them. I kept telling Steve he was supposed to be taking it easy as they wrestled and were running to catch ducks. For dinner he scarfed down two scrambled eggs, applesauce and pudding. He did real well the rest of the day- he got sleepy early which was expected and not too happy with the ear drops, but that was much better than we expected.

Here are some pics from the day..

Baby News and Binkey Blues

Well this week we had two major events in the Flanagan household. The first is that we found out that we are having a girl. When they told us, Steve asked if they were sure, I am not sure if this is because he is afraid of having a girl or afraid of all the stories people seem to tell you about a boy popping out after they were told they were having a girl. Well anyways both the tech and the doctor said they were 99.9% sure, so let's hope they are right. I was going to be happy either way, as long as the baby was healthy, but it will be nice to have on of each. Steve has already fast forwarded to her teenage years- so it is a little harder for him to be quite as happy. The grandparents are thrilled- my mom finally has a granddaughter.

The other big news is that we are quitting binkies (pacifiers). Jace was not a fan in the beginning, but as teeth appeared we gave them to him, mostly to stop him from biting (gave him something to chew on). Well overtime he became more attached, and it became routine. Now that he has most of his teeth, we started the weaning, and were to the point where he only used it at night. So we made the leap this weekend, and knock on wood, so far so good. We have packed them all away in the cabinet- he seems to not miss them until he sees them, so out of sight out of mind. The doctor said it would be good to get rid of them before his ear surgery, so let's hope we are on our way.

Jace had his 18 month old check up this week. He is a talking machine these days, though nothing makes much sense. He got bit the other day at school (it always seem to be the girls that bite him) and the minute Steve came to get him he pointed to her and tried to tell him all about it. Well he is 33" tall (75%), 24lbs 4 oz (30%) and has a big head (90%). We told the doctor that we are still having issues with eating whole fruits and vegetables so we are supplementing with the pureed form, and he told us to stop the pureed. He is growing fine and he said he just needs to learn to eat them. So this week luckily strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, nectarines and oranges were on sale. So we are ready- our little boy has to grow up.

An Ear Update

Well we went to see the ENT doctor this last week and he definitely recommended Jace have tubes. He took hearing tests, and there was below average movement in both ears, and one ear was even worse (where he has gotten most of the ear infections), and his hearing was below average. I think Steve and I had already decided that we would do tubes, but then the doctor also recommended he have his adenoids out too. The doctor really thinks it is the root cause of why he gets sick so much (the place where the bacteria gets caught and grows). They don't normally take them out until the child is 18 months old, just because they are hard to get too when they are smaller, and Jace will be 18 months old tomorrow. He said if we just do the tubes he will likely still gets runny noses a lot, which he has constantly now (the doctor called him a mouth breather, because he is always stopped up). So we are currently scheduled for tubes and adenoid removal on March 5th- though we have until the pre-op appointment to make the final decision. We just feel so bad that he is sick all the time, but the idea of having to put him to sleep for surgery makes us both cry just thinking of it. Everyone tells me it is the best thing they ever did, but it still is very hard. Oh and he prescribed another antibiotic- his ears looked better but there was a lof of fluid in his ears, so it was a matter of days before he had a bad infection again. This one was supposed to dry him up (nose and all) but we are on day 6 of 10 and his nose is still running all the time.

So in a week we will know if we have a boy or girl- exciting. It seems so much more real then- you can start talking about names and SHOPPING. Though if it is a boy I have no reason to buy any clothes- Jace had so much and I saved everything (there are 8 big containers in closets upstairs). But we will still need to get furniture and start talking about the nursery. I know Steve is somewhat afraid if it is a girl- there is so much more cute stuff out there for girls, but knowing how much the grandmas love to shop and the bargain hunter in me will make me refrain from buying too much (I hope).

We actually got out by ourselves on Friday night for a friend's birthday party. Which considering it is the only the second time we have had a babysitter that was not one of our moms, it is a big deal for us. We use an older lady who works at Jace's daycare (she used to be his teacher) and her fee is reasonable so I wonder why we don't so it more- he reminded us. When she came he instantly knew what was going on. He did not cry he just got sad. He laid on the floor and put his face down- would not even look up to say goodbye- killed me. We had a good time, but felt guilty. We keep saying we need to do it more, just to go see a movie since it has been 2 years since we have been together, so we will see if we get the guts- he knows how to lay on a guilt trip.

No wonder there are problems with our legal system

Well, Monday and Tuesday I spent witnessing why there are so many problems with the legal system (or part of it anyways). I had jury duty. I report at 8:15 and after starting 45 minutes late I find out I have to come back at 1:30 for a jury pool- too long to just hang out in Angleton so I boogied back to Pearland (45 mins each way) ran an errand, had some lunch and headed back to the courthouse. The next three hours I spent in a jury pool where I had to keep listening to people basically making up ridiculous opinions in an obvious attempt to get out of serving. Now I was not exactly excited about serving, especially as busy as work has been, but it is my duty so I was not going to lie to get out of it. Well, needless to say I was not picked, but at the end we found out 25 of us needed to report back in the morning for another jury pool, and I was one of the lucky. So I headed back Tuesday morning. This was a DUI case where the person already had two convictions and he was on trial for the third, which apparently makes it a felony and the person FINALLY looks at serving some real jail time (this post would be too long if I posted my views on drinking and driving). It was amazing to me how many people either had a DUI (about 7) and how many people had a close friend or relative killed by a drunk driver which led them to believe they could not be unbiased (10)- which excluded them all. Well at noon they had decided who they wanted and when they called juror number 12 of 12 she did not respond- she had not come back from the break! And of course they did not want to pick an alternative but rather break for 2 hours so they could try to find her. When we came back 2 hours later, I heard her (juror #12) explain she was just standing outside when the judge called her outraged. I wish she had been instructed to give us all an apology. So we were called in again just to be released. So after two days, I know like I should have felt like I did my part, but somehow felt I did not. My husband is always mad when I get jury duty (3 times in 4 years and him none) but after calling him at every break I think he now understands why I get frustrated.

Jace did well this week, we are hoping the antibiotics cleared the ear infection but we will find out Tuesday. We ended up going to the zoo Saturday which he loved. It is funny because this week it seems like he started catching on to things. He now will give you a kiss- he leans over to you and presses his lips to you cheek- too cute. Also started to say "more" and doing the sign for it- good and bad. Most parents would think this is not a big deal, but everything Jace has said up to this point always sounded like "da" though we could tell he understood us when we asked him something. And he finally ate pasta- first spaghetti with ham and peas and then mac&cheese. He would not even touch it before so to pick it up and eat is stunned us. I still cannot get him to eat whole fruits or veggies, though he will eat anything pureed. My grocery bill is very expensive every week trying to come up with something new for him to try- but just like the pasta I think he will just change his mind someday.

Two more weeks and we will know if we are having a boy or girl- getting excited. I am doing well- kind of have a slight cough still, but feeling better than last week.