Happenings

Things are happening. A lot of things are happening! First of all, I'm pretty pregnant and as of tomorrow I will officially be full-term! Wahoo! And I'm big. Real big.





Those pictures were taken this weekend. I'll talk more about pregnancy and babies in a moment. We had a very busy, but enjoyable weekend. On Saturday my sister came over to spend the night. I absolutely love when she comes over, and so do Jordan and Axel. We wish she could live with us. She is so much fun to have around. Although I felt like a terrible host. Before I went to pick her up, I spent the entire morning cleaning. I only cleaned the kitchen and living room but somehow got caught up in what I was doing and really cleaned. Scrubbed the floors, cleaned the cabinet doors, behind the fridge, etc.. Although it felt great to have it done and sparkly clean, by the time my sister was here I was pooped! I was trying so hard not to fall asleep just sitting with her. She was pretty understanding though and I think she just enjoys being out of the house, even if that means sitting around ours.

Saturday evening we had some of our neighbors over for pizza. Jordan makes delicious home-made pizza and we have made great friends with a few of our neighbors. There are 3 floors in our apartment building and on our floor alone there are 6 little boys! All of them except one (who is only two weeks old!) are just about the same age, give or take a month, so the moms try to get together often to let the kids play and have some grown-up chatter. We all enjoyed the pizza and had a nice time talking and watching the kiddos run around. I had to take a picture of the boys in their high chairs. It was too funny.



The two boys on the far right are Brayden and Silas. They are such sweet, calm, boys. Axel and his friend Christian (to the right of him) are one in the same. They both love to make mischief and have a little problem with hitting that we (the mommies) are working on. They are cute together though.

On Sunday we went to Church and relaxed in the afternoon. I took Lucy to meet up with my dad (we meet half-way so the drive isn't too long for either person) and then got ready to have people over once again. Once a month our Branch President and his wife hold a fireside for the young married couples in our branch. There are only a few of us, but it is nice to just get together and talk to other adults about ways that we can improve and strengthen our marriages. It's always very uplifting and makes my heart flutter for Jordan. It's a great reminder of how lucky I am to have him. Anyways, we take turns hosting the fireside and this week it was at our house. Once everyone left Jordan and I basically fell asleep standing up, as we were both so tired after the busy weekend. I forgot to mention that on Saturday, he got up to go to work at 3am, came home at 10am and aside from when we were hosting our little pizza soiree, he was working on homework until midnight! I don't know how he does it!

On Monday I had my weekly OB appointment (yes, I'm down to weekly appointments!) I mentioned to my doctor that I had been feeling a lot more pressure than normal and having a lot of braxton hicks that day. He measured my stomach and said that the baby is probably somewhere around 8lbs right now (which is pretty big for being just under 37 weeks). Of course, they can only estimate so he could be off, but the baby does feel big to me too. Then he checked me to see if I was dilating. The last time I was checked was at about 35 weeks and I was at a 1. Yesterday when he checked me I was still at a 1, but he said he noticed something abnormal happening with my cervix. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but he drew me a picture of what is going on. He said it's nothing to be really concerned about, but it's also something he doesn't see very often and it's not necessarily a good thing. A broad explanation would be that while my cervix is changing, it's not changing into the right shape (???) so the baby is going to have a really hard time getting out. He said to come in and get checked again if I am having more braxton hicks, and that he will definitely check me again at my next appointment (which is next week). Once I get to 2cm he said it is best to have the baby. With the size and cervical funny business it will do more harm than good to keep him inside. It's exciting news, but then again I could go to a 2 today, or it could take another 2 weeks (although if he continues to grow for 2 more weeks, that's another 2lbs he could gain. I can't imagine having a 10 lb baby! yikes!) We shall see! Either way, I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo excited to meet this sweet baby boy! Of course I will miss having him tucked inside me nice and safe and warm, but I can't wait to hold him (and breath, and bend, and sleep).

Last night we went on a nice long walk. It wasn't as long as I would have hoped, but with how low the baby is sitting it was getting pretty painful, and Ax was getting cold. Still, it felt great to get outside and get moving!

And of course I have to share a little about our amazing Axel. What's new with Axel you ask? Well, he loves to be naked! I let him run around naked for awhile yesterday and right after I took this picture, he pooped on the floor. Oops!



He also loves to eat cereal out of the box. I was a little nervous to just let him go crazy with the box, but he does much better this way. If I give him a cup or bowl with cereal he thinks it's a party and throws it everywhere and then steps on it. Real fun for Mama.



I'm having so much fun soaking up my days with just Ax before the babe comes. I know he will be such a great big brother, but I want to hold on to these last few days alone with just him and I. He is my number 1 and I have a hard time imagining how I will make room in my heart to love another child as much as I love him. It is an indescribable love. He is my everything. I really can't fathom how fulfilling and almost overwhelming it will feel to love TWO boys so much!

Spring Planning

If you've ever looked at clothing on pinterest, you may have noticed an awesome website called Polyvore (www.polyvore.com). This has got to be one of my favorite new websites ever. It is simply genius. It allows you to put together an outfit from thousands and thousands of clothing options. Not only that, but if you really like something it will give you the price and link to purchase the item. Sadly, everything I have put together is way out of my price range so I've never purchased, but sigh.. a girl can dream.

Anyways, with a new baby coming in only a few weeks I have been thinking a lot about the family pictures we are hoping to have taken this spring. We have the spot all picked out (wouldn't you like to know... not telling just yet.. but it's pretty cool - at least to us). Anyways, Jordan makes fun of me to no end but I am already planning our outfit options in my head and thanks to polyvore I have put my ideal clothing set into one look!

Family Pictures '12 by courtney-stanley featuring a lace shirt

You should try it!

Lovin' the Love

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I will warn you now that this will post will probably consist of some bragging, so if you're not into it STOP READING!

Last night Jordan took me out on an early Valentines Day date (to avoid the crowds.. Yes, we're old farts). He had the whole thing set up! We took Axel to Grandma and Grandpa Stanley's house where he had a blast playing with his Uncles and Aunt. Then Jordan and I headed off to Madison. We stopped by Jamba Juice downtown and then headed to the movies and saw The Vow. The whole thing was a surprise! I can't tell you how much I love that he is into girly movies! It's the best!

We had such a fun night and really enjoyed some one-on-one time out of the house. I was so bummed that we forgot to take any photos the entire time, so I made Jordan smile for a picture right before we went to bed. I look like a doofus in the picture but oh well.

Then, this morning when I woke up I found a surprise Jordan had left for me! Some yummy candies (he knows me well!), a cutting mat for my sewing projects - which I've been wanting for months, and a super sweet note which I had to cover up in the picture because my husband can be a bit perverted. Still, it was super thoughtful and sweet and I didn't expect it at all! I felt so bad because for once, I didn't have any surprises planned for him! Thankfully I can cook a decent meal (not as good as my Mother-in-Law, who is seriously the worlds best cook), but my skills still came in handy. I wanted to make him a "guys meal" and since he went to a "Courtney restaurant" last year I had to go with something he would love. Jordan is a big fan of Wingers Sticky fingers, but we don't have a Wingers here in Wisco. I did find a copycat recipe though and it turned out really yummy! I also found an AMAZING French fry recipe on that Pioneer Woman blog. Seriously, if you're going to make home-made fries, use her recipe.

Now we're just winding down and enjoying some peace, quiet, and Teen Mom 2.

I am so so so incredibly grateful to have found, and married such an amazing man to spend eternity with. He is absolutely perfect for me and I do not deserve him! He is so uplifting and supportive, even when he doesn't have a clue what I'm freaking out about, haha. He is such a good dad to our sweet boy and so attentive to us both. I love him for being such a hard worker, and as cheesy as it is.. for being so sensitive. He really is my best friend.

Happy Valentines Day Friends!

Ps.. Axel was my Valentine while Jordan was at work. I'm so lucky to have such sweet boys!

Indoor Activities

As many of you know, we only have one vehicle at the moment. During the warmer months it isn't a big deal, but in the winter months it gets a little rough. Ax and I are stuck at home while Jordan is working and we both start to get pretty stir crazy after awhile. Luckily, this winter hasn't been too harsh, but still with Axel's respiratory issues, I certainly don't want to take him for walks and things when it is so bitter cold.

I've been trying to stay creative and keep him entertained by playing games in the halls, experimenting with different foods and textures, and lately we've been spending a lot of time playing cars (his new favorite thing, after his beloved books of course).

Today, we had fun with a couple new activities! I took an empty diaper box and royally dubbed it our "activity box". Then I went through the house gathering random items that Axel might enjoy. I put in a picture of Jordan and I, his cup with juice, an empty cup, a muffin tin, a cell phone holder, a closed container of goldfish crackers, and some alphabet magnets from our fridge. I shook the box to catch Axel's attention and set it down next to him. He got up, looked inside and said "oooh!". Then he sat back down and returned to his book. Hmmm.. Not the reaction I was expecting. I let him continue and watched from the side to see if the activity box would ever entice him. It did! He wasn't interested in all of the contents but we spent about 30 minutes putting the goldfish in the muffin tin (and our mouths!) and back into their container. It's amazing how such a simple game can hold a child's attention for so long! And it's fun to watch him think and sort.

Once that got old we hung out for a bit, had a snack and found a new game. Axel LOVES playing with water and will come up to me with empty bottles and cups that he finds, hand them to me and say, "couuuu?" which in his language means "will you please put water in this cup?".

I laid a towel on the floor and got out a few storage containers and some baking pans, filled some of them with water at different levels and set them on the towel. Axel was stoked! We took his pants and shirt off (because any time he gets water he gets wet.. Go figure right?). Then we played in the water forever! He had sooo much fun! Finally I had to end it because I could tell he was getting cold (but didn't care) and didn't want him to get sick.

Again, it's so amazing how such simple activities can keep him entertained for such a long time! I'm super anxious for spring and summer so we can spend all day outside, but for now I suppose we make it work.

January in Wisconsin

This year we have been soooo lucky to have such a mild Wisconsin winter (thus far... *knock on wood)! Moderate snowfall and pretty decent temperatures. This is all more than fine by me because I've grown to really hate harsh winters! Mostly because of the irresponsible drivers. Anyways, my rant is over. We spent the morning playing and Axel took a super long nap - 3 1/2 hours!

What is it about little ones that makes running around with no clothes on so exciting? Axel jumps at the chance to be naked! He had fun playing with his cars in his skivvies.

When Jordan got home from work (don't mind his dirty work clothes), we went for a winter walk and fed the ducks. Axel wasn't quite sure what to think of them and instead of throwing bread to the ducks he ate it himself, haha! But thanks to Jordan and I, the ducks still got a little snack.