On Brothers.

I am really digging this view. Multiple times every day, Jackson melts me by showing me what a sweet, sweet little soul he is.  He is always coming to love on his baby brother, and demands that I pull out my bare stomach, so that he can “hear him” and “seeee him.” Just as I am typing this, his tiny left hand is resting on my belly, and he told me “baby brother needs a paci” Other funny things he does in regard to baby brother include: trying to look in my belly button to see him, and trying to feed him pretzels through my belly button. Any worries I have about him reacting poorly to baby brother, or being jealous of the attention the baby will need are immediately washed away in these moments. The times where his baby brother is always on his mind, and he is always bringing him up in conversation “my baby brother is wiggly.” or “my baby brother needs a truck like this” and “LOOK! it’s baby brother’s car jammies!!!”

His kind heart and excitement over this baby have me really looking forward to watching the bond between brothers grow.  I don’t have any brothers, and Zac is an only child, so at first I was a little wary of how I am going to even MANAGE two boys (of which, I am pretty sure the definition is ‘noise with dirt on it’), let alone make sure that they love each other and are friends.  More and more, I am finding that last part to be happening before boy #2 even comes earthside, letting me  know that nature has a way of making these things happen on their own.  A couple months ago we went to a wedding of one of Zac’s best friends, where the groom’s younger brother was the best man.  This younger brother, on the outside, is so not a ‘feeler.’ He is alot of fun, and sometimes crazy (he used to ride bulls, i mean….), so when it came time for his toast, I was intrigued and excited to hear some embarrassing stories about their childhood. I was left feeling so touched when the best man couldn’t even get through his toast.  He choked up and was teary, and I think the most words that were exchanged were “I love you” to the groom and “welcome to the family” to the bride.  In that moment, I turned to my husband and said “brothers will be okay with me…if this baby is a boy, i won’t be the slightest bit disappointed.”

Do I think that every day will be rainbows and butterflies and not a cross word will be shared – NO. Of course there will be fights and boogers and bugs and everything else nasty that comes along with raising two boys, and I can’t wait for this dirty, sticky, bug-filled adventure.

 

Toddler Activity | Sidewalk Paint

I am always on the hunt for activities that will be entertaining for Jackson, but that he can also learn from. When I saw sidewalk paint on pinterest, I knew that it would be the perfect sort of activity for my boy, who by the way, is a whiz with his colors (and shapes too – he knows hexagon and crescent, but his ingenuity is a story for another day).  

The recipe is super easy, and you most likely already have all three ingredients in your kitchen.  It is equal parts water & corn starch mixed together, with drops of liquid food coloring added in.  I found that 1 cup of water + 1 cup of corn starch yielded the perfect amount to fill six  or seven cups of a muffin tin.

I let Jackson help mix the food coloring in, and he was so excited to see the colors take form, and was able to learn that blue + yellow make green, red + yellow make orange, and blue + red make purple 🙂

We took the paint out to the back patio & Jackson immediately went to work creating “rainbows” and the letter J.  This activity kept him occupied for over an hour (eternity in toddler time).  We were able to practice naming colors and work on the alphabet (he only cares about J, of course) for the entire time too.  Here are some photos I snapped of his paintastic adventure: 

When we were all finished, he had, probably, an equal amount of fun spraying his drawings away with the hose, and I am happy to report that there is not even a trace of paint left on the sidewalk!

 

 

This kid.  There is nobody cuter.

I found these overalls for ONE dollar. I couldn’t get them on his little body fast enough. Also, those shades are the most perfect ever. He wears them constantly, and never fails to look cool.  (Children’s Place has them on sale in store for $1.00 right now! I went last week to get a couple more pairs and was beyond happy with the sales price)

Baby Brother | 21 Weeks

I cannot believe that we are at 21 weeks already! We are more than halfway through this pregnancy.  This means that there are less weeks remaining than the number of weeks we have already kissed goodbye! I don’t know if it is because I have Jack to keep me busy, or just the heat of the summer, but this second pregnancy is going soooo much faster than the last.

Now that we know its a baby brother, we have spent a good deal of times disagreeing on names :).. Zac likes one name, and I feel just okay about it.  I like a different name and he feels just okay about it.  Maybe I will wait until I push the thing out so that he feels super grateful for all the work I did bearing his child, and this way I can pick whatever name I want ;).  We have asked Jackson a few times what we should name him, and his responses so far are: Stu (the only actual name on the list), pshhhhh, ipad, & excagator. All totally acceptable options, don’t you think?

The baby is becoming more active and stretches out several times each day now. Last week at the 20 week anatomy scan the ultrasound tech told me that the baby already weighs a pound.  It seemed like a lot for this early on, and got me dreading the giant birth weight this kid is destined to have.  J was 9 lbs even and TWENTY TWO inches long with a 14.5 inch head circumference, and I feel like the second baby is usually bigger than the first. I had a drug-free (natural) birth with Jack, and intend to do so again, so the size is a concern for me. Last time I had no idea that he was going to be 9 lbs. This time it is the fear of the known, rather than the unknown. I know what the pain feels like, and while I am able to better prepare because of that, I also worry that I will not prepare as well.  In any case, I don’t think it would have felt less bad to push out a 7 lb baby than a 9 lb baby. I had pretty much the worst kind of tear you can have, and I didn’t even really feel it happen (thank you adrenaline).

My favorite thing these days is Jackson’s involvement with his baby brother.  He loves trying to sneak a peek in my belly button (and always says ” I SEE HIM!!!”), feel for kicks, and includes him in the most random thoughts throughout the day.  We have a newborn photo of Jackson at the bottom of the staircase, and he swears that it is baby brother and will go try to give him things, and each morning he points to it and says “baby brother!!!”

We’re Having a Baby Brother :)

Jackson = Minion.

 

The resemblance is uncanny…

Rolling Thunder

Grandma & Grandpa got Jackson a little flag, which is nice, because the kid seriously loves flags.  Zac had the brilliant idea to hook it up to his bike – you know, channeling the rolling thunder bikers we see ample amounts of every memorial day in this area. Jack has been completely and utterly thrilled with the new addition to his bike.  He keeps checking to make sure its “flagging back dere”

This age is so fun.  You can make a year old toy new again, just by putting a flag on the back. His language skills are also exploding by the day.  This evening when Zac came home, he had a full conversation with him:

J: Hi Daddy!

Z: Hi Bubba.  How was your Day?

J: Good, I went to Grandma and Graypa

Z: That’s nice, what did you do there?

J: Have fun!

He speaks in full sentences, uses possessive tenses perfectly, and has a better memory than I do.  He watches Jake & the Neverland Pirates maybe once every two week.  The pirate crew always says “Aw, Coconuts!” when something goes wrong, and for the past few days whenever something “goes wrong” for Jack he exclaims “AW COCONUTS!”  Cutest phrase ever, and way better than the alternative (you know, the profanity that I accidentally taught him)

And just because he is such a nugget, and I don’t have much else to say, here are just a few more photos of rolling thunder in action:

Have a lovely week my friends!