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January 31, 2013

A Positive Surprise - The Back Story

I'm sure there are a lot of metaphors about a woman's intuition.  All I can say is I trust mine and through the years I've learned to pay attention to the cues from my body even if I don't understand the message clearly at the time.  The week we were in England my skin starting breaking out horribly, more so than normal. I remember mentioning to Frazer one morning that there was something crazy going on with my hormones for me to be breaking out that bad.  That was the first message.  When we returned from England I started getting a horrible sinus infection, or so I thought, and while we were out running errands I was suddenly exhausted and couldn't keep up.  Without any planning the words flew out of my mouth to Frazer that either I had the flu or I was pregnant but my body wasn't happy and was out of energy.  That was the second message.

December 2, Frazer left for Brazil.  Since Frazer was gone I went shopping for Christmas decorations and while I was out I decided to pick up a pregnancy test.

The morning of December 3, I decided to take one of the tests.  I sat it down and continued my morning routine.  While I was brushing my teeth I told myself that it would probably say no.  I wasn't exactly late and it's not like we were actively trying to get pregnant although we were not "not" trying.  When I finished brushing my teeth I walked back into the bathroom, knelt down to look at the test and stood there in disbelief, my mouth dropped and I was wide eyed! No!  It couldn't be!  Could it?  I didn't pick up the test either.  I walked out and looked in the mirror at myself along with my dumfounded expression.  I brushed it off to blurry vision and decided I should put my contacts in and then take another look.  Then I walked back to look at the test and picked it up this time. All I could say, out loud, was Really?!, Really?!, in the most excited way possible while every fiber in my body bursted open and then I was covered in goose bumps!

It was POSITIVE! Inside I was giddy.  I didn't realize at first but my mouth was still dumfounded and wide open and grinning at the same time.  I looked at myself in the mirror and then at my belly and then back at myself in the mirror.  I was seriously having a conversation with the reflection of myself in the mirror.  I mean, Frazer was in Brazil.....again.  He was in Brazil when I found out I was pregnant with Isaac.  I had to process this information with someone so why not with myself? :)  I kept pointing to my tummy with by hands saying "there's a baby in there!"

At that point I walked downstairs to get some coffee before Isaac woke up and it was all I could do to keep from calling Frazer.  I started thinking how I would tell him and wondering if I would be able to wait until he got home on Friday.  The urge to call Frazer was overwhelming.  So I called Jenn.  She didn't answer so I sent her a text.  When I was helping her pack this past week I told her I thought there was a chance I might be pregnant.  Then she called me and I settled down.  Then Isaac woke up and our morning routine started.

About 5 hours later....Frazer sent me a text and we exchanged a few messages and it was KILLING ME to not tell him.  The little kid in me was bursting with excitement and I thought I would explode!  A whole week?  Not tell him for a whole week?  Could I do it again?  The simplest thing would have been to have not taken the test until he got home but since that was no longer an option, you can't un-ring the bell so to speak, I had to figure out what I would do.  Maybe I could keep it to myself for an entire week....maybe. 

Nope, instead after a few minutes I decided to send him a text message.  I really didn't want to send him a text but waiting wasn't an option any longer and I knew he was with colleagues so a phone call wasn't going to work either.  So I sent him a picture. 


Once I sent him this picture via text message I sent a follow up and I've captured our conversation below:
Kyla: "Cain't wait any longer to tell u! Your getting a baby for your birthday!!
Frazer:  "Your shitting me!"
Kyla:  "Nope! Due 8/10 by on line calculator.  First appt with Dr. Tate 12/31 :)"
Frazer:  "Didn't want to wait until I came back from Brazil again?"
Kyla:  "I've waited 5 hours.  That's all I could bare!"

I was able to talk to him later that evening and it is was clear we were both super excited.  It's a lot of information to digest too especially since I had a five hour jump start on him. :)

For the next couple of days I kept feeling my belly and saying almost in a state of disbelief "there's a baby in there"!  And just for added peace of mind I decided to take another test on December 5th.  Yep, it was still positive too.

Then Friday December 7, Frazer finally came home.  He actually came home early in the morning before Isaac was awake so while he was getting settled I got Isaac up and dressed then sent him in to greet papa.  Isaac was wearing a special shirt that said "I'm a Big Brother!"

Isaac's Days of Being an Only Child Are Numbered

Isaac only has 195 more days to enjoy being an only child!  It's been so hard not to talk or write about our exciting news but we've passed the significant milestone so it's time to share the joy and we're so excited!!  We have lots of moments to soak up before we become a family of 4.


The past twelve weeks have in some ways flown by and in other ways crawled by.  The first four weeks or so I was fighting an awful case of bronchitis and of course being pregnant I couldn't use the typical treatment methods.  Fatigue seriously settled in too and who's to know if that was the bronchitis and being sick or the beginning of pregnancy or both.  Then, right at the beginning of six weeks nausea  hit me really hard and on top of that I experienced some spotting which was stressful to me but not a worry for my doctor.

Weeks seven through ten I was completely exhausted and nauseas.  I slept when Isaac slept and nibbled on soup and crackers for the most part.  I remember being nauseas with Isaac but not to this extreme.  With Isaac is was mild and fairly constant but manageable with lemon or ginger candies or ginger ale.  This time however, not so easy.  It was manageable best by laying down for some reason but as soon as I would sit up it would feel as though I was just slammed into a wall with a strong desire to run to the bathroom with no action.  It was just awful and not anything I want to experience again.  Fortunately things have been improving steadily the past couple of weeks.  And....only 13 more days until I'm officially in the 2nd trimester.  Yeah for returning energy!

All I can say is I feel extremely blessed that we're having another baby and to have such a wonderful supportive hubby.  Frazer is the absolute best in making sure I have all the comforts necessary to make me feel better.  He rounded up all the ginger beer (a version of ginger ale) and lemon ginger chews from Cost Plus Word Market in our area.  We're both super excited and looking forward to the August arrival of our little bundle of love.  :)

January 30, 2013

Smoothie Time

Aside from the crazy weather today we had a pretty good day.  I started the day with a startling wakeup from the extreme gusts of wind that blew the patio door open in my bedroom!  Talk about being jolted out of bed.  That certainly got my blood pumping.  But, we had places to go so it was nice to get up and get going since we were headed into midtown to meet a friend, Holley, for lunch.  We certainly timed our morning outing just right.  We finished lunch, headed home and as soon as we were less than a mile from home I heard the tornado sirens going off which meant bad weather, which meant spending the rest of the day inside.

My initial thought was not to worry.  I planned to head inside, get Isaac settled down for his afternoon nap and then take it from there.  All was going according to plan until we walked upstairs and found the patio door in my bedroom open again!


I knew the wind had blown the door open again but Isaac could hear the sirens so he was a bit anxious.  So much for nap time.  Putting a toddler to bed for a nap is hard enough and with the added sirens, dark clouds and pounding rain.....forget it.  I laid him down on our bed for a bit and watched the news to track the weather.  Isaac finally started to settle down and before too long I put him down for his nap but remained upstairs in the event we needed to make a quick dash to the basement.  Let's just say I strongly dislike severe weather.

Eventually the storms passed our area and Isaac woke up from his nap so it was time for some indoor fun.  I also decided to make a smoothie for a quick snack and Isaac made his first attempt at drinking from a big boy glass.


His first couple attempts he was very cautious and took his time.  Then he decided he liked the smoothie and wanted more.  Instead of taking his time again he decided to knock it back and chug the smoothie.  He was covered in smoothie!  It went all over his face, down his shirt and up his nose.


He didn't seem to mind other than the countless times I had to clean the berries out of his nose.  The look on his face says it all.  

It was an eventful day but we stayed safe while having lots of fun too.  :)

January 23, 2013

Another Curtain Project

Before I get into to my latest project I have to say that I was up twice last night.  I'm sure one day my night shifts will end but at least the episodes are brief and I can get back to bed quickly.  Last night Isaac was soooo cute.  I heard him crying and when I walked into his room he was overcome with a look of bewilderment.  His little puppy was under his blanket and and he couldn't find it.  He was making the cutest grunting sound and little noises to express his frustration of his unsuccessful search.  I guess you could say it was mama to the rescue.  Once he had puppy he instantly relaxed and settled back down to get comfy and doze back to dream land.  Love him!

As for me, I am happy to cross another project off my list.  I bought the painters drop cloths several months ago to make curtains for the porch off our bedroom.  The drop cloths I used for the downstairs porch turned out so well and it's such a economical solution for outdoor curtains I knew I couldn't go wrong.  What I didn't know was how I wanted to hang them since I didn't have to add any extra material.  I decided to add grommets which I've never done.  For some reason I always imagined grommets being a complicated process until I watched a youtube video.  It looked simple.  To save money on the grommets we found the perfect color on line instead of going to the local craft store.  Once they arrived I got to work.  The hardest part was figuring out the spacing to make sure I could replicate it across the five individual panels.


Once I had the spacing mapped out it was simple.  I used the circle template that came with the grommets, drew the circles where I wanted them, cut out the circle and then snapped the grommets into place. That was it.  It only took a couple hours then I was done!


I love how they turned out.  After pollen season I'll bring them in and wash them again and maybe hem the bottoms a bit but not much.  I also need to make some tie backs but otherwise, I love the look and the added privacy.  :)

January 22, 2013

Georgia Aquarium

Since Grandma Sue was still in town we decided to plan an outing for Isaac to visit the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  The aquarium can be a very busy place so the middle of the week, mid morning, was the perfect time.  Since papa was still traveling for work I was sure to take lots of pictures to share the experience with him too.


There was so much to see at each exhibit Isaac almost didn't know where to look first.  He also didn't like that he had to hold my hand or stay in the stroller.  It was just too much excitement for him to contain to be still. ;)



Isaac loved looking at all the fish and pointing to them to make sure I was seeing the same thing he was.  I taught him the sign for fish too so he would wave his little hand like a fish swimming through the water.  It was super cute. 



Grandma held Isaac up close to some of the exhibits to make sure he could get a good look at all the fun fish and colorful elements.  There was also a small tunnel through one exhibit.  Isaac was small enough to walk through the tunnel and grandma crawled in with him too.




It was our first time to the aquarium and now that we've been I understand all the hype.  It really is a fun place.  There was so much to see that it really is a place to visit several times to makes sure you can take everything in.  I loved seeing the penguins and we all loved sitting in front of the glass to watch the dolphins swim and jump.  We all had so much fun!

January 21, 2013

Story Time

We had a fun outing this morning to the School Place of Roswell for story time.  Some how I think the mama's paid more attention to the story than the kiddos but that's okay.  Isaac sat and listened for a few seconds at a time then he would get up and explore.  He likes to come back to home base for comfort or to show me his latest find.

Isaac collecting all the snack cups.

Isaac decided to collect all of the stuffy's and show them to mama.


With story time outings I've let go of the hoping or expecting Isaac to sit still and who can blame him.  The environment is just as exciting if not even more so and he's determined to check it all out.  As long as he has a good time and snacks are involved then it's all good.  :)

January 20, 2013

A Visit with Grandma

Grandma came in for a visit and Isaac enjoyed having a new audience to show all of his toys too.  :)


We followed up the visit with an early dinner at the local barbecue restaurant which is one of our favorite spots, 'Cue.  It's always a fun atmosphere and Isaac provided entertainment by trying out on of their pickles!



January 19, 2013

A Week in the Life of Isaac :)

I've been a bit behind in posting updates so I'm doing a few posts in weekly chunks to get everything caught up.

This was a low key week, it's January and cold combined with papa traveling mid week meant a lot of indoor time.  But we were able to have fun and keep Isaac busy.

I want all the toys and the blanket too! 1/14/13

I can do it myself! 1/14/13

Isaac has been keeping me on my toes and all exterior doors now have to be locked with the deadbolt.  Every morning when we come down stairs Isaac wants to go the door to the garage and open the door to look for papa.  He looks for papa's car as if he's expecting to find papa in the garage or just to make sure the car is gone and he's not hiding somewhere.  All while saying, "Pa!".  This week has been different though since Frazer left for Asia on Tuesday will be gone for several days.  So I keep a count down and tell Isaac how many more sleeps until papa comes home.

Where's papa? 1/15/13

Once Isaac is satisfied that papa isn't home he's able to let go and move on.  This morning he indulged in toast with Nutella as an after breakfast treat.

Yummy!  1/15/13

When papa travels Isaac is starting a ritual of pulling all of Frazer's shirts out of the dry cleaning bag in our closet.  He always pulls shoes out to play with when we're in our room but he doesn't pull the shirts out unless Frazer is traveling.

Wearing papa's t-shirt.  1/16/13

This morning he pulled a t-shirt out of the laundry and insisted on bringing it down stairs.  So I left this one in the crib with him the rest of the week.  That same evening he went for the dress shirts and shoes for a total combination.  I can't blame him for wanting to keep papa close.

Dressed Up Like Papa :)  1/16/13

Another morning I had my laptop out while I was attempting to create a meal plan for the week.  While I was writing some notes Isaac navigated his way around the laptop and found the photo booth application.  The screened popped up and turned the camera on and when he saw himself he was thoroughly entertained!

1/17/13

Once we had a plan in place and Isaac was finished looking at himself in the camera we moved in the kitchen to make some muffins.  Isaac was my little helper while we made strawberry yogurt muffins which he loved!


Saturday, the sun was shinning but it was still to cold to go outside so I thought I would attempt to put a movie on and see how Isaac would respond.  I searched around in Netflix and found Dr. Suess's The Lorax.  I'm looking forward to being able to take Isaac to the movies one day but I know we'll have to wait awhile until he can sit through an entire movie.  Much to my surprise though he was mesmerized by all of the colors, the animation and the music.  He stood still, completely motionless forever, then he moved to his little red rocking chair and sat down to continue watching.  Now, he didn't sit through the entire movie but he certainly enjoyed it!

Watching The Lorax 1/19/13

January 12, 2013

A Week of Isaac

Although I've been feeling less than 100% lately it doesn't mean the world stops, which is good since Isaac wouldn't allow that at all!  We still have to have play time it's just that mama doesn't have as much steam. :)

So, on Tuesday 1/8 we had a low key morning and Isaac took a dive into play land with his Mr. Potato heads.  He was a busy little man with all the different pieces and potatoes.

Isaac's also in the midst of a growth spurt.  His timing couldn't be more perfect so I can rest while he sleeps in longer in the morning and takes longer naps.  He took close to a 4 hour nap today!!


Wednesday, 1/9, we had planned to go to the park but Isaac's afternoon nap went a big long.  By the time he woke up we only had enough time for a stop at the grocery store to make sure we were back in time to get dinner started.  But just because we were only going grocery shopping didn't mean Isaac couldn't have some fun too!

Publix has 3 grocery carts with kids in mind.  As soon as we walked in Isaac spotted the race car shopping cart and I knew there would be no way around it.  So, in he went.  It was little boy heaven.  Two whole steering wheels all to himself!  He vroom-vroom-ed, and beep-beep-ed all through the aisles.


Thursday, 1/10, Isaac was so excited for papa to come home from work.  He had so much fun pulling all of his toys out to show papa his new skills.  He loves pulling his big Tonka trucks out and making them go "crash-bang".  He is also determined to sit and ride on the trucks despite the infinite amount of times he falls off the back.



While the boys were playing I pulled out my new camera to capture some precious moments.  I'm still learning how to use the new fancy camera papa got me for Christmas.  Frazer is still so much better at capturing Isaac but I'm learning.  Between the two of us we tend to capture Isaac's essential milestones.



He's such a cutie!


Even though it's January, the weather on Friday 1/11 was nice enough to spend some time on the porch.  Isaac loves bubbles so much one of his favorite words is bubble.  He got a toy "leaf" blower thats an outdoor toy that blows bubbles.  He's been walking around with it in the house trying to make it work so I figured it was time to put some batteries in, fill it full of bubbles and take it outside.  I'm brave but not brave enough that I want bubble liquid all over the house!  So we were both pleased for some outside fun.

January 1, 2013

A Walk in Papa's Shoes

Isaac LOVES shoes.  He makes the sign for shoes using sign language, he can pick up a matching pair of shoes, he loves to bring shoes to you but more than anything he loves to put on our shoes and walk around in them.


Today he wanted to take a walk in papa's shoes!  This is a little boy that loves his papa.  Which is a good thing since papa thinks the world of Isaac too.  :)


Papa's shoes are a bit big but that's not stopping Isaac.


He wanted to wear papa's shoes while driving his little car too although that proved to be more of a challenge than he bargained.


I love that Isaac has so much fun enjoying the little things.  I just want him to enjoy being little while it lasts.  I know it will go by much quicker than we'll ever know.