Waldvogels Farm

Yesterday we FINALLY went to the pumpkin patch! We've been planning on going for weeks, but our plans all got squashed by some sort of scheduling conflict or another. We knew that if we didn't go on Saturday we'd miss our chance. Now, as I've said before Fall is my favorite season and I love Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities because of their colors, flavors, and the mild weather. Before I had Axel I always had this ideal of how it would be when we would get our pumpkins with our cute little child. I have to say, yesterday was pretty close to what I had always pictured!

We went to a place near our home called Waldvogels. They have a little play-time-farm with a huge pumpkin patch, a small petting zoo, and tons of other activities! Axel had a great time (for the most part), and so did we!

First we looked at the goats, who were very friendly. I had forgotten my purse in the car with all my quarters so we didn't by any animal food, but they were still very friendly and licked Axel's little hand. At one point he marched along the fence saying "hi" to all the different goats. It was too cute!



After the goats we went on the little train ride that took us around the corn maze and the edge of the pumpkin patch. Axel wasn't a very big fan of the train and wanted to get off of it the entire time, but he managed to pull through and we finished the ride.



The farm had a huge slide that Jordan and I took turns taking Axel down and it was so fun! Axel loved it so much and was giggling and squealing each time we went down with him. That was my favorite part of the day, seeing him enjoy the slide so much.



They also had a big hay pile with little tunnels for the kiddos to run around in. I guess this was the test to see if Axel had a hay allergy. Thankfully no reaction! Jordan climbed into one of the dusty (and in my opinion, very gross) tunnels and Axel was pretty aprehensive to follow him, but eventually made his way a few feet inside. He didn't stay long and quickly backed himself out.



They had a bunch of other activities that Axel will have to take part in when he is a little older. We also enjoyed some delicious apples, but skipped out on the cider and caramel apples because Jordan felt they were over-priced. (My husband, always the money saver).. I would have bought a whole gallon of cider and a dozen caramel apples if it were up to me :)

We also found a great backdrop to have someone take a family picture of us that I hope to use for our Christmas card!

Boy oh Boy!

I'm so excited to announce that we are having another BOY! Today I had my 20-week ultrasound and it was wonderful! However, my mothers intuition is completely off. From day one I was convinced this baby was a girl, but the ultrasound proved to be very different from my prediction. Jordan wanted to stay home so he could be surprised so I asked my friend Chelsie to come along. She is also expecting a baby (her first, a boy!) and was great company. It is always such a joy to see the healthy development of a growing baby inside. He has all his fingers and toes and a great heartbeat and brain. I love him so much already and am so excited to have two boys so close in age. I know they will be little partner's in crime together and create a lot of mischief! Jordan and his brother Ryan are 21 months apart and are so incredibly close. They bicker like mad, but can read each others minds and are really funny to watch together. There are so many cute pictures of them together when they were little boys and I am so excited to give Axel a little buddy to grow up with as well. Eeee! I'm so excited! Axel is going to be such a great big brother. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for him and I do wonder how he will react and if he'll know that he is still my baby, but if I know him as well as I think I do, I think he'll do well overall and take good care of his little bro. Here's our little guy...


Now here is a picture of Jordan and Ryan (Ryan is older) when they were little ones.. how cute are they?!?


So excited for our new addition. We are still toying with names... I think we have it down to two! (Which is good for me and Jordan.. we can't agree on many names). Oh, I also had a great talk with the nurse midwife at my clinic today regarding whether or not I will try a VBAC. I REALLY want to at least TRY. I know that at the end of the day the most important thing is that me and my baby are healthy, and once he is in my arms I wont care if he came out of my you-know-what or if the stork dropped him in my lap. But, I love that my doctors are giving me options. They are very supportive to my fears and are really wise as to the risks and what to prepare for. They also said that it is all up to me and they will do everything they can do accommodate my desires. As things progress we'll see what happens.

The Cutest Boy Ever

Is it bad to vocalize that I think I have the cutest child ever created? Because I do. This little boy makes me giggle and smile and coo more than anything or anyone else ever has! How can one little 14-month-old have so much cute in him? I just don't get it!

On the not-so-cute side, Ax was going through some pretty crazy sleep issues last week and over the last month in general. About 2 months ago he naturally went from two naps to one nap a day, which is okay, but the timing has been questionable. He used to nap at 9am and again around 3pm. So now the question is.. when do I put him down? If I put him to sleep at 9 he'll just make noise in his crib forever. If I put him down after 11am, he has no interest in sleeping anymore. It's almost like he's so over-tired by that point that he's talked himself out of being sleepy. So I've been trying to get him to sleep around 10-ish, or at least into his crib by then. Last week though, he started waking in the night! He's been sleeping solid through the night for the past several months so when he started waking up at 12:30am on the dot three nights in a row I started to wonder. Not only was he waking up.. oh no.. there's more.. it wasn't a simple.. okay, let's-snuggle-and-put you-back-to-bed-routine. Once he was up at midnight, he was up until about 4-5am. I'm talking WIRED and ready to play! If I put him back in his crib he would scream, which isn't normal for him so I didn't know how to react. It was the first time since his nightmare infancy (colic, reflux, refusing to nurse...oy) that I didn't know what to do next.

I typically try to avoid medicating him unless I KNOW something is up. I took him to get his ears checked and his overall health, and he came back completely healthy. Finally someone suggested it might be some back teeth bothering him. Sure enough 2 rounds of baby ibuprofen and he was sleeping like a... well.. a baby! I can feel those sharp big back teeth poking at his gums from all sides, poor little guy. Now that we have the situation under control, I've also been trying to wear him out more during the day. We've been really taking advantage of the amazing fall weather here in Wisconsin and have had some great fun at the park near our place.



He braves the slide all by himself now, and loves every thrilling second of it. We like to find sticks, make noise on the bells (some weird part of the play structure that makes a bell sound if you hit it hard enough.. totally Axel's thing!), and chase the geese so they all honk and fly away :) He is so much fun to run and play with. Notice the picture of him walking. I always crack up when he starts to strut his stuff. I think he walks like the Berlin Ampelmann, hah.



As far as baby #2 goes, things are going great! Axel keeps me so busy that I really don't have the same time to obsess over this pregnancy as I did with Ax. With him I was on babycenter 24/7 and everything was new and surprising. This time around I already know what to expect. A few weeks ago baby #2 started kicking pretty hard! It's unbelievable how much earlier on I can feel him/her this time. With Axel I didn't feel any definitive jabs until about 22 weeks. I felt this baby around 15. What's also funny is how much stronger Axel has made me. When I was pregnant with him I really had no muscle definition in my abs or arms. Thanks to him being a solid 30lbs for the past few months, I've grown some really sweet lean muscle. I thought I would be much bigger much faster this time around, but comparing two photos from this pregnancy and my last, around the exact same time, you can totally see the difference in my shape and belly.



Did you notice it said 20 weeks? Well I'm actually just under that right now, and the first picture was taken just AFTER 20 weeks, so I'm about a week or so apart in the different photos. But did you also know.. that me being close to 20 weeks means we find out the gender soon! On WEDNESDAY! I am so so so excited! I haven't had a lot of time to think about it up until recently, and now that I know it's close I am sooooo anxious to know if we are going to have a boy or a girl. My intuition from day one has said this baby is a girl. I feel it in my bones every single day. Plus, this pregnancy has been totally different from Axel's. I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything but who knows. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a little girl! I'm getting outnumbered around here! One of each would be so much fun! However, two boys so close in age would be an absolute blast and I know that Axel and he would be the best of friends (and at times, the worst of enemies).

Fallin' for Fall

We've all been little busy bodies lately as school is now in full swing. Jordan keeps busy at work and Axel definitely keeps me on my toes. We have been enjoying some beautiful fall weather over the past two months or so and I wish this season would last year round! Fall is truly, my favorite season.

So here's what we've been up to...

A few weeks ago we went to the World Dairy Expo in Madison. I was excited to go as I remember going in elementary school and getting a lot of delicious samples and cow pencils. This time wasn't as... much of a smorgasbord of goodies and dairy delectables but somewhat entertaining nonetheless and fun to see the absurd gleam in Jordan's eye as he went from booth to booth, explaining sciences and products to me that I had no idea existed, and still don't really know (or care..) what he was talking about.

After looking at the cows, I decided a cheeseburger was in order..


Axel has been showing everyone who's boss (as he always has) and now that he can walk as fast as he was crawling he's quite the big man! It is so cute to see him bobbing around the house with his little baby swagger. I need to get a video of him soon. It's too cute! Things haven't been completely rosey with my little munchkin.. he's going through something I'm not quite sure how to deal with. He's recently gone from 2 naps a day to 1 nap and now we're in a big struggle trying to figure out what TIME to put him down. He's not tired enough to sleep at his normal am nap time, and if I put him down too late (when he actually appears to be sleepy) he doesn't go to sleep at all. That's not the end of it... at night he has started waking up crying and does not want to be put back to bed. It breaks my heart not knowing what the problem is. Is he afraid of something? Is he having bad dreams? Poor little guy. I just had his ears and overall health checked and he is fine. He goes to bed with a fully tummy, clean body, and fresh diaper. The culprit may be teething, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's not fun!

We've been trying to find time to head off to a pumpkin patch but so far time hasn't allowed. We're hoping to go next Thursday... or maybe it's this Thursday? I can't remember, but soon! And I will take a lot of pictures!

Little baby is growing rapidly inside me and I am finally getting to the point of looking pregnant, not questionably fat. Here are some recent belly shots.. We find out the gender ONE WEEK from today! I cannot wait! My "mother's intuition" says girl, but everyone else swears it has to be a boy. We would love to have a girl around (I'm getting out numbered by testosterone here!), but a boy so close in age to Axel would be a blast and we'd be set on clothing, so we'll be excited either way!


My most recent little activity was last night's enrichment night at church. We made adorable fall throw pillows out of placemats! It was extremely easy and great to get out of the house and spend some time with other moms who were also escaping the home for a few hours. Axel loves the pillows too...