Welcome Baby Linn #2

When I went to my routine appointment with the midwife at 35 weeks, she noticed that the baby was breech. At the time, she wasn't overly concerned, since there was plenty of time for it to turn, but did say that most babies settle into a head down position by about 35-36 weeks. She told me to google exercises to encourage the baby to turn, and said that its position would be monitored at my weekly appointments. Some of the suggestions I found on the internet were absolutely RIDICULOUS - what 9 month pregnant woman can do a headstand for 30 minutes at a time 3x per day??? Another one said to place a bag of frozen vegetables at the top of your abdomen in an attempt to "chase" the baby's head away from the cold (and, I kid you not, they went so far as to say that the found frozen peas to be particularly effective). So, I did the easy ones (getting on all fours and letting your belly hang, which also helped ease the back pain caused by the baby sitting on my sciatic nerve) and even though the baby was very active and I pretty much had a dance party at Club Uterus from 2-5am every morning, every week when I went back to the doctor's office, the results were the same. So, after multiple ultrasounds confirming that baby was stubbornly comfortably stuck head up, we began to discuss scheduling a csection. Actually, the one doctor offered to try a procedure called ECV, in which he would try to forcibly manipulate the baby to turn.The optimal time to do it is between 36-37 weeks, and I was already past that time when it was discussed (plus when you do it at that time there is no guarantee even if it is successful that the baby won't turn back). The other option was to wait until 39 weeks, at which time you show up at the hospital and if it is successful, they induce you right away (so there is no chance of it turning back) and if it is not successful they do a csection right away. After reading about the risks and relatively low success rates (and after being induced with Connor, which resulted in a very LONG labor), I opted not to try the ECV. I was really disappointed at first with the news that I had to have a csection, but it really was the best and safest option. So, we went ahead and scheduled it for April 22nd (my actual due date was the 27th). I promptly went home and freaked myself out even more by watching 2 hours of YouTube videos of csections and reading articles about the how much more difficult the recovery is. Big mistake. 

I must say, it was so weird knowing the exact date the baby is going to be born ahead of time, and to a certain degree, having a choice your child's birthdate. We chose the 22nd on the recommendation of the doctor because it was on a day that Dr. Donato performs csections (as opposed to the other doctor in the practice) and was a few days before my due date so it minimized the chances of me going into labor on my own and having it turn in to an emergency csection. As a result, Baby Linn #2 shares a birthday with my dear friend Adrianne, and it is also Earth Day. As I mentioned in our last post, Easter was the Sunday before the scheduled date and I took off that Monday, thinking I would just relax. Turns out, I had so much nervous energy that I burned off by cleaning, organizing, doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I'm surprised I didn't put myself into labor that day! I was hoping to get a good night sleep but the discomfort of being approximately 73 weeks pregnant and the combination of nerves and excitement made that nearly impossible. My csection was scheduled for 10:00 a.m., and I had to be at the hospital by 8:00 a.m. It was a little surreal dropping Connor off at daycare, going to get a coffee for Ryan (I was practically drooling because I couldn't have any food or drink after midnight), and then just showing up at the hospital knowing that a little more than two hours later we'd be a family of four. I got checked in and they did one final ultrasound (but not before they hooked me up to an IV and drew labs, at which point I said that even if the baby hadn't turned they were going to have to induce me because I wasn't leaving without a baby). Thankfully (?), the doctor said "that's definitely not a head down there" so we were ready to proceed as planned. 

A few minutes before 10, I walked myself to the OR. I'm sure I looked pretty awesome wheeling my IV and catheter bags but it was a short walk and I was too nervous to care. I'm so thankful that my doctor is a family friend (Ryan grew up next door to him) because I knew I was in good hands. Ryan had to wait outside while they gave me the spinal block. It wasn't too bad, and within seconds I couldn't feel my legs. Things progressed extremely quickly from that point. There seemed to be a lot of people in the OR. I don't know what I was expecting, but I am amazed at how fast the actual birth was. Dr. Donato didn't exactly tell me he was beginning the surgery, but he was talking to us the whole time about what he was doing. I never fully understood when people said you can feel pressure but not pain. Until then. I guess they really have to help manually push the baby out since you don't have contractions because I briefly felt like they were going to break my ribs. But then, I heard Dr. Donato say "okay Ryan, in about 30 seconds I am going to tell you to stand up and make the announcement....legs are out, butt is out, shoulders are out...any day now, Ryan..." And, just like that, at 10:09 a.m., we welcomed Grant Patrick Linn. He was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 1/2 in. of perfection!

Ryan was able to walk to the nursery with Grant while I got stitched up and about 1/2 hour later they wheeled me into the recovery room where I got to hold him for the first time. We spent about an hour in there before being transferred to our room, where we called my parents, who were at our house anxiously awaiting the news. I just loved not knowing the sex of the baby ahead of time. It made it so much more exciting. Plus, this time around we really had no idea what we were going to name him or her ahead of time. I think we tentatively decided our names just a few days before giving birth and we didn't have a definitive middle name - that wasn't decided until we were in the recovery room! Grant was my mom's father's name. I never met him as he passed away long before I was born, so he's not really named after him per se, it was just one of the few names we both liked and agreed on, but it is a nice coincidence that it has a special meaning (my Dad told me that he was pleasantly surprised with the name, as he was afraid we were going to name the baby something "weird," whatever that means...).

I must say, after being in labor for 25 hours with Connor, it was REALLY nice, despite the pain, to have the whole thing over and done with in about 15 minutes! The only problem was that the pain medication I was on made me really sleepy and really loopy! After a while Ryan left to go pick up Connor and bring him to the hospital to introduce him to his brother. I was expecting him to go nuts with jealousy but he was surprisingly subdued - he was interested in the baby, but he was also enjoying the attention he got from his grandparents (and probably a little confused as to why Mommy couldn't get out of bed). 

We had several visitors that day (mostly family), but as I said before, I was in a lot of pain and the meds made me super sleepy. I definitely fell asleep mid-sentence more than once. I also fell asleep while eating my dinner and ended up waking myself up by a coughing fit as I choked on some Ginger Ale - holy crap was that painful! My parents offered to take Connor home and get him dinner and ready for bed so that Ryan could stay with me and Grant until I finished my dinner and got settled for the night. About 15 minutes after they left, my Dad knocked on the door of my hospital room. When they walked into the house, the dogs got excited and one of them knocked Connor over. He fell head first into one of our baseboards and split open his forehead, so my mom was two floors down with him in the ER and my dad came up to get Ryan to go down with the insurance cards and to sit with him. At this point I had about 15 Percocets and was quite confused, but apparently I uttered some pretty choice expletives! They ended up just gluing him back together instead of trying to stitch it and Ryan said he was such a good boy throughout the whole ordeal. I can only hope that Grant has the same laid back disposition as Connor. 

The next day, even though I was in a lot of pain, I was anxious to get up and move around a little. That first shower was glorious; the nurse extender that stood in the bathroom with me and dried me off/helped me get dressed afterwards (and talked to me the whole time)...not so much. I learned very quickly when I had Connor that you have absolutely no privacy (or modesty) during/after childbirth, and it was twice as bad this time around, as I pretty much needed help with everything. Plus, there is a constant stream of doctors, nurses, nurse extenders, housekeeping, phlebotomists,  lactation Nazis consultants, dietary, etc. coming and going at all hours of the day/night so it makes it difficult to rest. As painful as it was, I definitely felt better the more I moved (provided I was sufficiently medicated, which, by this time the dosage had been corrected so I was comfortable without being incoherent)! 

The following day (Thursday), I got discharged. Dr. Donato told me I could stay the extra day if I wanted to, but I was ready to leave. Even though I was a little concerned about being home by myself with the baby on Friday while Ryan was at work, I knew ultimately I'd be more comfortable at home. So, Ryan came to the hospital after work, we buckled this little sweetie pie into his carseat, went to pick up Connor at daycare, and headed home to start our life as a family of four.

Grant was down to 7 lbs. 2 oz. when we left the hospital. He won't be a tiny little thing for long!

Easter

Easter was a little late this year. I actually had Connor's basket finished a couple weeks in advance just in case Baby Linn #2 decided to make his or her arrival a bit early. He looked so cute in the little outfit my mom got him, and the bunny ears I picked up in the $1 bin at Target, even though he was not overly impressed by them, and will undoubtedly hate me when I pull out this picture and show his prom date.

We went to Courtney's for Easter dinner. I was thankful (1) that at 39 weeks pregnant I did not have to clean my house and host the holiday at our house and (2) that the baby hung in there long enough that I could enjoy a good meal (including 2 slices of ice cream cake - had to take advantage of double desserts while I still had the excuse of "eating for 2") instead of hospital food.

The rest of Connor's last few days as an only child was pretty uneventful. The weather was beautiful, so I managed to muster up the energy to take him to the park to run off some of his energy (admittedly, this was only so he would be guaranteed to take a long nap in the afternoon...so I could do the same).

My last day of work was Friday, April 18th. I took off on Monday the 21st, and I think that I had so much nervous energy because I was hoping to just relax, but I ended up having a very productive day, including very random chores such as cleaning out the refrigerator and dusting the ceiling fan blades, in addition to grocery shopping and about 13 loads of laundry. I'm pretty sure when Ryan got home from work he asked me if we could schedule a csection every six months!

Here are a few pictures of Connor and the dogs. Thankfully he will be getting a new (human) playmate very soon!

Last Few Weeks as an Only Child

Hard to believe that in a couple of weeks this blog will be about our adventures with two kids instead of just one! While we anxiously await Baby Linn #2's arrival, here's an update of how Connor has been spending his last few weeks as an only child.

This is apparently what happens when you don't take a nap at day care and Mom takes too long to make dinner:

Poor little guy was so tired that he slept right through dinner, but since the times he sits still are few and far between these days, I was glad to have a few minutes to hold him. 

In early fall, Ryan bought Connor a pair of Carhartt overalls. They finally fit him this winter, and he was so excited to wear them. 

Since we didn't buy him actual snow pants this year, these worked out great in a pinch while we were up at Blockhouse this winter and Connor got to play in the snow (sorry, no pictures of that, but I did manage to get some inside warming up by the fire afterwards).

We actually spent a fair amount of time at Blockhouse this winter but I'm really looking forward to the weather getting nicer when we can take the dogs (and kids) up and do some hiking, fishing, etc. We are really lucky that Ryan is able to be a member of such a nice club and I am excited to see Connor be able to enjoy participating in the fish stockings, fishing, hunting, etc. when he gets a little older. 

We've officially retired the high chair for now, upgrading Connor to a booster seat. He seems to like it. Most times I use the tray that comes with the seat so that he's not actually reaching up onto the table to get his food. As you can tell, Lucky REALLY likes that Connor is in the booster seat rather than the high chair, as it is right at his level, which is very conducive to "sharing," although depending on what it is, Connor is not always very generous with what he's willing to share.

This winter was exceptionally long and exceptionally cold. About a month ago we enjoyed a very brief warm up, so we took advantage of the nice weather and got outside to test out the bike (or as Connor calls it "a bick") that my parents got Connor for Christmas. He really liked it, although he didn't quite get the concept of putting his feet on the pedals. Thank God for the parent's handle to push and turn the bike!

Yes, I realize that he needs a haircut. His hair grows so fast! He got one a few days after this picture was taken. I also think we got 8 inches of snow the day after it was taken. 

In the middle of March, Ryan went on vacation for a week with his friends. This was planned before we even knew I was pregnant, so I couldn't be upset about it, but at 35 weeks pregnant, it wasn't exactly the best timing for me to be a single mom!  We survived though, with minimal meltdowns (from Connor OR me). I'm lucky that, for the most part, Connor's so laid back and not overly whiny. We got into a pretty good routine and even though I was really worried about Ryan being away, we did just fine. The first weekend my parents came up to see us. While I am thankful that Connor is such a good napper (still taking 3-4 hour naps on the weekends), it does prevent us from making any big plans to do anything in the afternoons. We still had a good time. They brought up Connor's Easter presents just in case we don't get a chance to see them before then. Connor got an Elmo (his new obsession) doll that sings and talks and that I now hear in my sleep as well. 

Ryan was gone over St. Patrick's Day, so I took the opportunity to dress Connor in his ND finest. Most Wednesdays when Ryan has off and I have to work, I come home to find him in some sort of Penn State crap, so I didn't feel a bit bad about showing off his Irish pride. 

Kiss me, I'm Irish!

Ryan got home on Sunday morning. All three of my boys were anxiously awaiting his arrival when they heard his truck pull up to the house.

We've been slowly getting ready for the baby's arrival. I am trying to savor every moment with Connor that I can before I have to divide my attention between two kids. He is just becoming so fun and I love how he learns new words and concepts every day. I know he will probably have a tough time at first when the baby is here because he's pretty attached to me right now but I'm sure it will be a good opportunity for him to exercise his independence and it won't take long for him to adjust. We are going to keep him in daycare 3 days a week even when I am on maternity leave just so he is able to maintain a routine, do fun things, and play with other kids his age (and so I can occasionally nap and get laundry and housework done in between feeding and changing a newborn). We almost have Connor's new room ready for him. I ordered him a new crib to match the furniture in that room and I am praying that he does not have an emotional attachment to his current crib. Because he is such a good sleeper and has not exhibited any desire/attempts to climb out of his crib, we are going to hold him hostage in there hold off as long as possible before making the switch to a toddler bed. I think too many changes at once (new baby, new room, new bed, etc.) would put him over the edge, so we'll make the other big changes (big kid bed, potty training) gradually. I am already dreading being up 3, 4, 5 times a night with one kid, I don't think I could handle two at a time! 

As for me, I am more than ready to be done being pregnant, but not quite prepared to have another baby! I'm currently just about 37 weeks, and feeling very large, even though I've only gained about 20 lbs so far this pregnancy. As of my last appointment, the baby is still breech, and it often sits right on my sciatic nerve so I've had quite a bit of back pain. There are some exercises I have been doing to relieve this pain and also to try to get the baby to turn on his/her own, but some of the ones I googled are absolutely ridiculous and no pregnant woman could possibly get into those positions. So we'll see. Why do I have a feeling that we lucked out with Connor and this baby will end up being fussy, moody, and stubborn?!?!

We May Be in Trouble...

I keep trying to tell him that a baby will slobber, steal his toys, and take up room on the couch so it won't be ALL that much different than having another dog. Not sure he's buying it, but we'll keep working on it. Pretty sure that, boy or girl, the baby's nickname is going to be "Bobby" or "Puppy."

Not-so-Recent Stats and Some Current Tidbits

Connor had his 18 month well visit in the middle of December. Actually, two days before the appointment he got sent home from daycare with a fever of 102.7 so it ended up being a combination sick and well visit. Luckily he just had a virus and, aside from a few miserable days of coughing, runny nose, and no appetite, he's a healthy, growing boy. Here are his latest stats:

• He is 33 inches (he grew 1 inch in 3 months and 12.5 inches since birth) which puts him in the 67%
• He weighs 25 lbs. 2 oz. 23 lbs. 2 ozs. (gained 2 lbs.. in 3 months and 16 lbs. 6 ozs since birth) which puts him in the 37%
• His head circumference is 18.75 inches, which puts him in the 43%

In the past couple of months he has really started developing his own personality. He's now 20 1/2 months old and I feel like every day he learns new words, tricks, expressions, etc. I am amazed at what a sponge his little mind is. I guess it is officially time to start watching my language! 

Here are a few fun facts about Connor at 20+ months:

• He is an excellent sleeper. His usual bedtime is between 7:15 and 8:00pm. He goes down without a peep and sleeps through the night. Thankfully he has not yet attempted to climb out of his crib. I plan to keep him in a crib until he overstays his welcome! Most mornings I am able to get ready for work and if he is awake he just entertains himself until I go in and get him. Other mornings I actually have to wake him up.
• He takes one long nap per day. On the weekends he usually sleeps from about 1:00 - 4:30, which is awesome, because usually by that time I am also ready for a nap! At daycare, they have mandatory rest time. Most days he sleeps for about 2 hours, although there have been days that he has not slept at all. His teachers have said on the days he doesn't sleep that he is very good and will just lay on his mat and look around. The only possible drawback to his routine of taking a long nap is that it pretty much ties me to the house all afternoon on the weekends. I'm not really complaining though because I can get stuff like laundry done and just relax. I am praying that he continues to take good naps into the summer because I'm really going to need that time to catch up on sleep if I'm up 3, 4, 5 times a night with the baby.
• He's a pretty good eater. I try to give him pretty balanced meals and not go overboard on anything processed or sugary. He has some interesting tastes, to say the least. He is really not a fan of any kind of pasta or macaroni & cheese, but give the kid a few slices of ring bologna and he'll be your best friend. Similarly, ordinary vegetables like peas and green beans don't excite him, but he will most definitely ask for more black beans, kidney beans, and cooked carrots.
• Some of his favorites for breakfast include waffles, oatmeal, and Nutri-grain cereal bars. He also goes nuts over sausage.
• For lunch he usually has a grilled cheese or a quesadilla, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, or cut up bologna and cheese, some yogurt, and bananas or blueberries or raisins.
• His favorite dinner is chicken nuggets (but only the Wegman's brand for some reason), black or kidney beans, applesauce and Fig Newtons. He also eats pizza, meatballs, steak, lima beans, and french fries.
• We're working on getting rid of the binky. He goes all day at daycare without it but he knows where we keep it in the house and it is the first thing he grabs for when we walk in the door. I know we should be fully rid of it by the time he is two but I am terrified that taking it away from him will cause him to be fussy in public or ruin his amazing sleep habits. Part of me feels we should just do it cold turkey well in advance of when the baby arrives so that hopefully if he has withdrawal he will get it out of his system and get back to a normal routine in time for me to only have one kid who doesn't sleep. The other part of me feels selfish and thinks that it is important for me to sleep well now AND we have a good dentist in the family so I should just wait because no kid ever went to kindergarten with a pacifier. 
• He's become quite the talker. He knows the following words (half of them are not pronounced fully/correctly, but we know what he means):
• Mama, Dada
• Hi, Hello, Bye-Bye
• Uh-oh
• Baby
• Shoes/socks
• Cracker/Cookie
• Banana ("Nana")
• Doggie/Puppy
• Ball/Balloon (when we are at the grocery store and he sees balloons in the checkout line, he gets very excited and won't leave you alone until you grab him one...and then he makes you pry it out of his little hands when you are ready to leave so you don't have to buy it)
• Yum
• Please ("Peas")
• Car/Truck/Train ("choo choo")
• Blocks
• More
• Red/Green/Blue/Yellow, and he can correctly identify the colors in books, toys, etc.
• Moo (when asked what sound a cow makes....also sometimes when asked what sound a dog makes)
• Eye/nose (and points to the correct body part)
• He knows a few words in sign language and uses them regularly/appropriately:
• More
• All done/all gone
• Please
• Thank you
• His favorite toys right now are any kind of blocks (he especially likes the MegaBlocks), a few select books, cars & trucks, his train table, and these bowling pins that are shaped like animals (even though he does not understand the concept of bowling and really just likes to line them up and say what color they are). Thankfully, he's not overly impressed with noisy battery operated flashing lights and annoying songs toys. Or maybe it's just me that isn't impressed with them and therefore I really try to limit his use of them.
• He loves bath time and hates having his diaper changed. 
• He LOVES dogs and has no fear of them, although he definitely prefers big dogs to small dogs. He can spot dogs and balls from a mile away and it is usually the first word he says when we come downstairs in the morning. Sometimes it amazes me how patient our dogs are with him, especially Murphy, who used to be mean and scary any time Ryan or I would try to take anything out of his mouth. 

I don't know if you can hear it on this video, but he has recently acquired this devilish laugh that he uses very appropriately...such as when he is teasing the dog.

Back in the Swing of Things

Okay, time to get serious about starting the blog back up again. My baby is getting so big so fast and he is constantly moving - exploring, learning, changing - and that makes it difficult to (1) get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture and (2) find time to actually post them on here. But, that's really no excuse, especially since I don't have any sort of "real" baby book and nearly every picture I have is on my phone and one of my biggest fears is losing it or breaking it and having all my memories erased (side note: I did figure out how to transfer photos to a thumb drive, which is stored in our safe for now, so there is a backup to my phone...I have just been too lazy to actually get many hard copies of the pictures printed). Plus, if I continue to be this bad about keeping this updated about my firstborn, this poor second kid will be completely out of luck! So, now that we've started a new year, one of my resolutions is to make sure I am much better about keeping up with my posts - my goal is more frequent, less lengthy ones. That being said, I have a lot to catch up on from the past few months, so don't expect this one to be short!

It seems silly to be writing about Halloween in the middle of January, but I think my last post left off right before then. I had high hopes of being one of those moms who makes all of her kids' costumes. I could even envision a few ideas. Unfortunately, I'm not overly creative or crafty, and before I knew it Ryan and I found ourselves in the middle of Halloween hell at Party City about two weeks before Halloween. Since Connor was only 17 months, I didn't want to put him in a cumbersome, complicated costume, and I figured the daycare workers would appreciate something simple as well. He was a late walker, and for the first month or two after he started he looked just like Frankenstein with his arms outstretched and off-balance gait, so we wanted to get him a Frankenstein costume but sadly they were out of his size so our second choice was a bad ass little biker dude. It was so much cuter on him than I imagined, and it was an easy costume to get in and out of!

It was a chilly, rainy day on Halloween so they daycare parade was held indoors and then his class had a little party. I left work for about 45 minutes so I could go see it and Connor's costume was definitely one of the cutest (although the cheese curls and cookie crumbs all over his face made him less than intimidating):

Because it was raining (and because I did not want to be one of those moms who takes her obviously too young to eat a snickers bar child trick-or-treating in hopes of getting candy for herself) we didn't go out at night. Instead, we sat on the porch and handed out candy. Okay, well, Connor and I sat outside for about 5 minutes and then I brought him inside to give him a quick dinner and I swear 10 minutes later Ryan came in with 3 pieces of candy left (this was at approximately 6:25, and trick-or-treating hours are from 6-8) so we turned off the porch light, locked up, and ate the last three pieces of candy ourselves. 

Not long after Halloween it was time to start thinking about our vacation! Ryan has taken several courses in Scottsdale, Arizona, and when he was there in the spring he signed up for one in November and suggested Connor and I come along. I had gone out with him a few years earlier and loved it but I knew this time around would be much different with a toddler! I was having anxiety attacks about our decision not to buy Connor his own seat on the plane, and just the trip in general. Ryan and I are both pretty laid-back travelers - I like to start my vacations with a nice Bloody Mary - but there was just so much to think about with a kid. We flew out of Williamsport, which was super convenient, since our flight left at 5:45am and we had a car seat and a jogging stroller in addition to our luggage! The flight to Philly was quick but we ended up sitting on the runway for an extra 20 minutes while they de-iced the plane. The woman who checked us in in Williamsport told us that the flight from Philly to Phoenix wasn't a full flight so as soon as we got to Philly I put on my best tired/stressed/inexperienced mom face and marched up to the gate agent and pretty much begged to have our seats moved to a row with a currently open middle seat. It worked and it was so nice to have that extra space. I don't know what we were thinking when we originally booked and (1) didn't buy him his own seat and (2) got two seats on the aisle across from each other. I had done a lot of reading about tips for traveling with a toddler and had purchased a bunch of new toys/games to bring out periodically to keep him entertained. After the first one (a travel sized magna-doodle), Connor decided he was much more interested in the items in the seat back pockets than anything I brought for him (I don't blame him, Sky Mall is fascinating). All standards of cleanliness and my germophobia went out the window just as long as he was being quiet - you want to lick the emergency landing instructions? Go right ahead. Drop your raisins on the floor and have a scavenger hunt? 5 second rule applies. He ended up napping for about an hour and a half and did so much better than I imagined he would for the rest of the flight. When we got to the airport, we got a porter to help me grab the luggage while Ryan went and got the rental car and soon we were headed north to Scottsdale. It was so nice to be in the warm sun! Our room wasn't ready at the hotel, so we went and got some lunch. When it still wasn't ready at the time they promised, I think I was closer to having a meltdown than Connor! After we were finally able to check in, I knew if I put Connor down for a nap he might be down for the count, so we decided to try to keep him up and walk over to the neighboring hotel for dinner. It was so nice to be able to eat outside in the middle of November! We had a great dinner but were all exhausted and all 3 of us party animals were in bed by 8pm! 

The next morning Ryan left for his course and I decided to take Connor to a place I had read about called McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park - it was a beautiful day and we had a great time at the playground, walking on the trails, and riding the train (it is an exact replica of an old railroad and goes on a mile-long loop throughout the park).

Thankfully, I think Connor inherited his easy going personality from his parents and was able to easily adjust to the time change and had no problems maintaining a pretty consistent nap and sleep schedule. While it would have been nice to be able to spend the afternoons at the pool, I was pretty content to relax with a good book on the hotel room balcony while he napped in the afternoons. He also had no problems being up a little later than usual since we would often get a later start on dinner than normal by the time Ryan got back to the room after his course was finished for the day. 

The next day while Ryan was at the course, I decided to make the 1/2 drive back to Phoenix to take Connor to the zoo. It was very warm, but it was a weekday so it wasn't overly crowded. I think Connor really enjoyed it, despite thinking that almost every animal was a "doggie!" The wolves I could understand. The wild boar and giraffes...not so much. My favorite was the African exhibit!

I think he looks so much like Ryan in this picture!

On our last full day in Scottsdale, we did a little window shopping in the morning (Scottsdale has some AMAZING shopping and I was actually thankful that I was pregnant and not able/willing to really buy any clothes for myself because I easily could have spent a lot of money!) and then checked out one of the four pools at our hotel in the afternoon.

He is laughing in this picture, not crying. The sun was just in his eyes.

I wasn't sure how much he would like the pool, since he really wasn't in it much over the summer and it took him a little bit to get used to it when he went in over the 4th of July at my parents' house, but he LOVED it. He had so much fun and we pretty much stayed in the water until his lips turned blue! I was hoping he would take a nap on one of the chairs under an umbrella so I could at least come back to chilly Pennsylvania with some color, but no luck. That night, we had dinner at a really neat Mexican restaurant in Old Scottsdale (okay, I won't lie. We had Mexican food 3 out of the 4 nights we were there because we don't really have very good Mexican options in Williamsport). We discovered that Connor LOVES black beans and guacamole. The kid couldn't get enough!

We left bright and early on Saturday morning to head back to the airport. I did not have high hopes about being as lucky as the flight out to AZ, but even with several standby passengers we managed to get our seats moved to the very last row where there was one open middle seat. I was so thankful, especially since Connor must have been tuckered out from all the excitement of the past few days that he stretched out on that middle seat and napped for about 1/2 of the flight.

Ryan's comment was "at least my beer belly is good for something!"

We got home around 8pm on Saturday night. We had a great time, but I was really glad to be home and have all day Sunday to relax, do laundry, etc. This trip made me realize how lucky we are to have such an easy going, pleasant kid. He exceeded my expectations about how well he would hold up, adjust, etc. 

The holidays were right around the corner after we got back from vacation. Connor and I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving and Ryan stayed here in Williamsport to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family and get started on hunting season. It was a nice, quite holiday and I appreciated not having to worry about cleaning the house and hosting/cooking for two major holidays in one month! After Thanksgiving, things seemed to kick into high gear - the end of the year is always our busiest time at work and it is also peak hunting season for Ryan, so it seems to be a little stressful getting everything done AND getting in the Christmas spirit! We got our Christmas tree at Brown's Tree Farm's annual tree picking party and decorated it a few days later.

 Despite the hectic time of year, we managed to get everything together, the house cleaned and decorated, presents wrapped, prime rib cooked, etc. I don't have a ton of pictures from any of the holidays because we were so busy! I will have to remember to do better next year. Connor wasn't as in to the present opening as I thought he would be. I guess he is still a little too young to appreciate it. Santa came to day care and his teacher said he wouldn't even entertain the idea of sitting on his lap! He is a very lucky little boy though - got thoroughly spoiled with gifts. Our big gift to him was a train table. I stupidly waited until Christmas Eve to try to put it together, so while Ryan was prepping our prime rib dinner for the next day, I got to work. It only took me two and a half full showings (i.e. 5 hours!) of A Christmas Story to put it together, but I was so impressed with the end result and it is something that Connor (and hopefully his little brother or sister) will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

My Christmas present to Ryan was tickets to the Steelers vs. Browns game on December 29th. My parents came up and watched Connor on Saturday so we could go a day early and hang out in Pittsburgh. We had a great time exploring the city a bit on Saturday night. On Sunday it rained from the minute we got up until the 

minute we got home, and it was very cold, but it was still a neat experience. I never thought my first NFL game would be the Steelers and not the Eagles, and because it was so rainy I had to wear a Penn State poncho, so that's why I don't have any pictures to post! 

Things seem to have slowed down a tiny bit in the new year. Connor got his first real haircut a couple weeks ago and he looks so cute! He is definitely not a baby any more and after his haircut he certainly looks like a little boy.

Now that 2014 is in full swing, we are starting to think about the arrival of Baby Linn #2. For various reasons we are no longer moving to the house in Hughesville as previously planned, and since it is only about 3 months until my due date, we are figuring that we will be in our current house at least when the baby comes and probably for the foreseeable future after that. We have some things we would want/need to do before we would list it for sale again, but of course I'm always checking out the real estate websites in case something comes up. We are lucky that we have plenty of room in this house, even though the layout is not ideal for little kids, so in addition to getting done what we will need to do in order to get it ready to sell, I'm spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to make it more kid friendly without having to do major renovations for while we're still living here. I really wish we were more handy and creative around the house!

A Little More Linnsane

Things are going to get a little crazy around here in about 6 months.

 

We are excited (and a little terrified) to share the news that our family is growing and Connor is going to be a big brother. My due date is April 27, 2014, which means Connor will be about a month shy of 2 years old when the new baby arrives. I am currently about 14 weeks along. This is definitely more difficult this time around with an almost 17 month old to chase after. I've been lucky in the fact that for both pregnancies I've not experienced the puking end of the morning sickness, but for several weeks I was nauseous all day, every day. I'd think that I was hungry enough to eat a full Thanksgiving dinner, but then nothing appealed to me to eat. I also got a nasty cold that lasted two weeks, had a pinched nerve in my neck that was super fun, and by about 3pm every day my arms and legs felt like spaghetti and all I wanted to do was close my office door, pretend I had a "phone conference" and take a nap. Connor very well could have been the smelly kid in daycare on several occasions because I was too tired to give him a bath the night before! Thankfully I am finally starting to feel human again (still tired ALL the time, but I'm pretty sure I've had African Sleeping Sickness for the past 10 years).

Despite all these lovely symptoms, it still didn't seem quite real until I had my first ultrasound about 2 weeks ago. I won't post pictures of the contents of my uterus, but it did confirm the following: (1) there is only one baby in there (THANK GOD!) and (2) it does not have four legs and a tail. Everything looks good so far. Like the last time, we won't find out what we're having. There was just something so exciting about waiting. I'm not easily surprised, and I think that is one of the true surprises in life. I am praying that this labor will be easier and shorter than the last time. I also plan to get an epidural a few days before my due date just to make sure it actually works when the time comes. Ryan can push me around in a wheelchair if necessary.

So, this marks 2 out of 3 football seasons, holidays, and wedding anniversaries that I won't be able to drink, but that's okay because it also means 2 out of 3 summers that I'll be off of work. We know that things will be crazy and expensive and exhausting with a newborn and a 2 year old (the thought of diapers alone is scary!), but I'm so glad that Connor and his new sibling will be so close in age. I hope they will be the best of friends. I truly don't care what we have, but if I had to guess right now, I'm thinking it will be another boy.

I wasn't kidding when I said I am tired ALL THE TIME. It is 8:53 (on a Saturday night!!!) and I am ready for bed. Guess I should enjoy it while I can!