My AMAZING husband!!

Well, after waiting for 3 months, Jon was finally given the good news we've been hoping for. At his review in March, he was advised that National City is really happy with the work he's been doing on various projects he's been working on. If he kept going the way he was, his boss was going to push for a mid year review. On Friday, Jon got another raise. They are completely impressed with Jon---of course! This pretty much puts us in a position to have me stop working in October when Spud is born. I will probably try to work a few hours a week for extra spending money and to hold onto my sanity, but it looks like things are falling into place.
Back to Ben-- we have been explaining that mommy has a baby in her belly. He's slowly starting to get it. He now says, "hi baby" as he waives to my stomach. However, 5 minutes later, he'll shove his elbow in my stomach. The only down part is that he went up to Jon and said hi to the baby in his belly!
It looks like he's catching a cold. He's got a runny nose and just hasn't been himself today. Because of that, he had a rough time with his nap today. He's been doing excellent with his bed, but today, he couldn't lay still. I let him lay down with me in our bed. That seemed to do the trick.

Library

Ben and I went to the library today for play group. It was the first time I've been up there since its been renovated. Ben has been up there with Melissa, so he showed me around. Here are some highlights:

Relief

How do you spell relief????.........F-A-I-R-V-I-E-W! Jon and I went to see the birthing center at Lakewood Hospital on Monday and I was not even close to being impressed! The room I would get is tiny and has no shower. The surgery room (where I would have the c-section) isn't in the birthing area and once Spud is born, Jon would leave me to get sewn up and escort the baby to who knows where. They don't staff the nursery. They only use it for procedures. So if we wanted the nurses to take him for any reason, he would sit at the nurses station which is about the size of a bathroom stall and is right by the door. They don't have a waiting room in the birthing center and parts of the rooms we saw were dirty. I could go on, but I think you get the point. I was very worried because I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable there and I heard that my doctor rarely goes to Fairview. However, I saw her today and she told me she will go anywhere I want to go especially since it will be a scheduled c-section. So we wont have to worry about her not being on call. So, sorry family, you will have to pay for parking again!

In baby news, Spud is progressing as scheduled. I measured at 23cm today and am 23 weeks today. His heartbeat was 144. We go back in a month to do the sugar test and we'll have an ultrasound to make sure the placenta has moved up. It was too low last time. We were going to check it today, but the ultrasound tech wasn't there. We took Ben to the appointment with us and he got to hear the heartbeat. I don't think he new what to make of it, but it got his attention.

I'll be back with more Ben pics soon.

Kyle Hunter

Barb and Andy welcomed their son, Kyle Hunter to the world last Tuesday. We went to meet him tonight and were amazed at how little he is. He weighed in at 7lbs 12oz. He was just a little heavier than Ben, but we don't ever remember Ben being that little. Aylah is slowly adjusting to being a big sister, but has caught a cold so she's not going to make it easy for them. Here's a look at our new cousin.

Zoo

We took Benjamin to the zoo yesterday for the first time. I think he had a great time. He got a little scared when an animal would come right up to him, but overall, he did great. He seemed to like the cheetahs and leopards the best. Right now they have a touch exhibit where you can touch stingrays. Jon and I got to touch them, but they were a little too deep for Benjamin. He had plenty of fun just getting his hands in the water. Here are some highlights.
There are more animal pics on Flickr.

Better sleeping

I'm amazed at how quickly Benjamin took to his new bed. For a minute, it seemed like we sprung it on him out of the blue. However, he was starting to climb the rails of his crib and immediately went to a toddler bed when we saw it in the store, so we knew it really was time. He always does better at bed time than nap time, but overall, he's been doing surprisingly well. He will usually get up once after we put him to bed and go to the door. He'll open it up and peek out. When he doesn't see anyone there, he'll get in bed and go to sleep after talking to his new Elmo doll and playing his aquarium. He does the same thing when he wakes up, and will wait until someone goes up to get him. There's usually a little more walking around his room for nap time, but for the most part, he's asleep with in a half hour.

The downside is that when I don't have to work, and we can actually sleep in, he's up really early (6:30ish today). I'm so paranoid that he's going to get sick of waiting in his room and start wondering around on his own, that I've become an even lighter sleeper. Maybe this is just Gods way of getting me ready for those 2am feedings again. I was getting a little too used to a full nights sleep!

Birthdays

Last Thursday was Emma's birthday and Saturday was Tyler's birthday. Friday night we had a birthday dinner with some cupcakes for dessert. Benjamin only wanted Tyler's cupcake and he was nice enough to share.

Benjamin spent all day Saturday with grandma and grandpa while Jon and I went to our friends wedding. We also went to see Iron Man (an early Fathers Day present) and ended the night at the Indians game. I cant remember the last time we were there for a win.

Benjamin was so exhausted Friday and Saturday that he did great with his new bed. We had a little bit of trouble yesterday. He can get in and out of his room with no problem now so every time we put him down, he gets right back up and comes out of his room. He did a little bit better tonight so I don't think it will be too much longer until he has the process down pat!

Growing up

Well, we officially have a big boy. Tonight Ben made the transition from a crib to a toddler bed. The first hour was rough, probably more for me than Ben. He seemed to like it right away. However, when we put him in for the night, he immediately crawled out and ran to the door behind us and cried. After we went back in the room, he went back and forth between the bed and us, but after a while he got distracted with his musical aquarium and we made a run for it. I was surprised that after that, we didn't hear a sound out of him. I haven't peeked at him yet. I'm sure I'll do that the second I'm done with this. I'm a little nervous about the morning. He cant get out of his room yet, but it wont take much for him to be able to get the door open. Of course, I'm imagining all the trouble he can get into. I'll let you know how it goes.

In health news, I talked to the cardiologist today. She got the results from my holter monitor. Everything she saw was within normal limits for pregnancy. I had a couple extra beats and some tachycardia (faster beats), but overall, my heart is fine and it looks like all my issues are pregnancy related and I'm just going to have to deal with it. I think we all knew that in the back of our heads, but it was nice to get the reassurance. So I just have to drink a ton, rest as much as I can and see what happens.

Proud moments

On Saturday, our friend, Dave, went for his third degree black belt in Taekwondo. He went through three hours of showing off forms, one on one fighting, breaking boards and three on one fighting. Not only did he have to endure the physical demands, but there was no air conditioning and it was around 95degrees outside. He made it, and we're very proud of all his hard work. Here is a small portion of what he went through:

Jon and Ben were outside enjoying the cooler weather tonight. Ben told us, later, he really does love Emma.

We are continuing to work on animal sounds and are trying to throw in a couple new ones here and there. I know we've done animals before, but he's so cute. I cant resist! Try not to get motion sickness from all this.

Ben made an early Fathers Day present for Jon today when he was at Melissa's. He painted it all by himself.

Mall time

Ben and I met Jon up at the mall yesterday for lunch. It was a bit wet outside so we hung out at the play area and let Ben take a ride in one of the mechanical cars.

We checked on Ben last night and here's how we found him sleeping:

I talked to the cardiologist today. She doesn't have the results of the holter monitor yet, but she said the echo looks good. It did show that I'm not drinking enough fluids (I don't know how she got that from a few pictures of my heart, but I'll go with it) so I'll have to work on that. She'll call me once she gets more results in.

Look at my butt!

We went shopping with grandma over the weekend for spud, but Benjamin managed to find a Sesame Street couch and grandma couldn't resist!













In baby news, Jon is now able to feel him kick. He got the first kicks over the weekend. It was very cool!

In health news, I had an echo today. It was actually kind of cool. I got to watch the majority of it. I saw everything my heart did, watched (and listened) the blood flow and listened to the valves moving. Hopefully, the doctor will read it and give me a call in the next day or two instead of making me wait for my apt next week. I'll keep you posted.

Play house

Benjamin got a play house on Friday. Gram knows someone that works at Step 2 and got us a great deal. Ben loves it. He talks on the phone and isn't happy until you get in the house with him.

We went to the park the other night. Here are a few highlights: