Our Back Porch

I’m linking up again this week with Show Us Your Life over at Kelly’s Korner. This week is patios/porches.

We don’t really have a front porch with this house, but we do have a good size back porch that we love! At our last house the backyard was only in the shade for the first few hours of the day. This house faces the opposite direction and our back porch and a good portion of our backyard is completely in the shade by 11 or 12 in the afternoon which is perfect for playing outside in the afternoon/evenings.

When we first moved in, Aedan and I would eat lunch outside all the time. Now that it is about 100 degrees every afternoon, we haven’t done that much but I am sure we will start back up once it cools down.

Even if it’s hot, we manage to make it outside just about every afternoon for some play time.

Here is our porch, we haven’t gotten anything new for it so this is all stuff we had on our old back porch/patio. You can check that out here and see the pergola Jon built a couple of years ago.

We eventually want to replace the light fixture with an outdoor ceiling fan and maybe someday extend the patio with a deck, but that will be much further down the road.

Now I’m just ready for fall to get here so we can spend even more time outside. :)

-Lauren-

28 Weeks

I told Jon this week, we only have about 11/12 more weeks until this baby comes. I think we were both a little surprised at how little time that seems to be!

Now that we have Aedan’s room set up, I feel like I can focus on the nursery more. I am hoping to get most of the big stuff done in that room this month since we have a super busy September and October coming up. If she decides to come around the time that Aedan did, she will actually be an October baby!

I start my two week appointments yesterday and I got to do the oh so fun glucose test. At my last doctor, they just gave me the drink and told me to finish it before my next appointment. This time I had to come in so they could take a blood sample before, then I had to drink the stuff and wait and hour for them to take a second blood sample and then another hour so they could take a third blood sample. Hopefully I passed!

So here I am at 28 weeks…

And here I am with Aedan around the same time…

How Far Along: 28 weeks
Size of Baby: Eggplant
Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of today, I am up 18 lbs.
Genders: It’s a girl and we are so excited! We also decided on a name…Adelaide Caroline.
Movement: Lots of movement. You can even seen my stomach move when I am sitting on the couch.
Sleep: Sleeping okay. I’ve stopped waking up between 4-5, but now I wake up a couple of times to go to the bathroom. Luckily I have been falling back to sleep pretty fast. 
Maternity Clothes: I’m still living in my maternity tanks and a couple pairs of maternity shorts. When I am not going to work or out, I am mostly in workout clothes because it is just too hot.
Symptoms: I’ve been feeling pretty good lately. I get a little heartburn from time to time, but that’s it.
Aversions: Still some foods that I just can’t think about. Also some weird things like Dawn and the shampoo/body wash I was using when I was really sick.
Cravings: Fruit and ice water and sweet things (not great for the weight gain).
What I miss: Not being so tired at the end of the day. When Jon was gone for 2 weeks, I really noticed how worn out I felt at the end of the day. I would put Aedan to bed and then just want to get in bed myself.
Worst Moment of the week: Can’t really think of anything.
Best Moment this week: My sister was in town for a few days last week and we refinished the dresser for Adelaide’s room (pictures coming soon!) and cleaned out most of the boxes of baby clothes I had in her closet! Now that we have the big pieces of furniture in her room, I feel like we are making progress. I also got her bumper ordered and plan to start working on the bed skirt and curtains soon!

-Lauren-

From a Crib to a Bed

The transition from Aedan sleeping in a crib to a big boy bed has gone so well…this time around.

You may remember a couple of months ago, I mentioned we switched Aedan’s crib to a toddler bed and he was doing really well? Um, well he did great for a week and then not so much. I think it may have been the fact that he was getting in his two year molars at the same time, but all of a sudden he would not stay in bed. He would keep coming out after bedtime and even after he would finally fall asleep, he would wake up and show up in our room at 2 am or other totally random times.

Then there where his naps. Aedan totally takes after Jon in the sleep department. He has always needed a good amount of sleep or he is just super cranky. At 2.5, he still sleeps about 12 hours at night and a good 3 hours for nap time. I have a feeling he will hold on to some form of a nap until he starts kindergarten.

So back when we switched him to a toddler bed, he started taking forever to go down for a nap and waking up early. Looking back I am sure most of that had to do with teething, but at the time I was still pretty sick so if I could rest during his nap time I would. I just didn’t have the energy to deal with him not napping. So after a few days of poor sleeping, we switched him back to a crib and he went back to his typical sleep patterns.

We knew we wanted him out of his crib before the baby comes (I know she will sleep in our room at night for the first few weeks, but I plan on having her nap in her room from the beginning). I also wanted to do the transition before he started preschool in September since I was planning on a couple of rough nights and nap times. I decided the best time would be when my parents brought down his new furniture.

This time around, I am feeling much better and just felt more ready to tackle the transition. And you know what? I think Aedan was more ready as well because he has done great. He was sick with a cold last week and he definitely had a harder time sleeping soundly, but he only gotten out of bed once (the first nap he took in the bed). At first he was taking a long time to fall asleep at night and he was waking up about 30 minutes early (7 instead of 7:30, which actually works out well since he has to get up at 7 when he starts preschool next month).

But after about 3 days, he went back to his normal sleep routine. We put him down around 8 and he is asleep by 8:30. I am guessing this is about how long he stayed up before, but I don’t know for sure since I didn’t usually turn our monitor on until I went to bed. He stays in bed and looks at books until he falls asleep each night. He also went back to waking up at his normal time of 7:30/8.

For naps, he is usually asleep within 5 minutes after I put him down. I read him a book, tell him good night and by the time I remember to turn the monitor on, he is asleep.

While we haven’t really needed it, I did order him a toddler clock this time around. I’m not sure it has made any difference, but it is a cute night light and he likes it. Basically the bunny is asleep until 7am and then again until 3:30pm, which are the minimum times I want him to stay in bed for the mornings and naps. I point out that the bunny is asleep when he goes down and tell him he can get out of bed when the bunny wakes up. He usually tries to scare the bunny awake once before I tuck him in (he is very into Monster’s Inc. right now, haha!).

Anyway, I am happy our transition has been a smooth one. I think he really loves having a bigger bed so that has helped. He likes to pretend to go to sleep several times a day. Now I can get working on the nursery!!

-Lauren-

Changed Our Minds Again…

Remember when we got cable?

Ya, that was a waste. I guess going a year and a half without it kind of curbs the habit of watching it. Honestly, I think I recorded maybe 2-3 shows a week and then rarely even watched them. Mostly the DVR was filled with Barney and Sesame Street, both of which we can get anytime on Netflix.

So as of Monday, we turned in the cable box and shut off service. We can now put the ridiculous amount cable was costing us towards something more fun. We are thinking about getting the new TIVO so we can use the DVR function to record over the air shows, but most of those I can watch on Hulu. So we are going without anything for the month of August and then see what we want to do.

We have an Xbox in the living room so we can watch Netflix and Hulu through that and right now that is really all we need.

Speaking of TV, Jon and I like to watch seasons of TV shows together and usually wait until the whole season is over so we can watch an episode each evening after Aedan has gone to bed.

We finished up Justified a few weeks ago…love it!

Now we are watching The Wire. It took me a while to get into it, but now I really like it as well.

What are some of your favorite TV shows?

-Lauren-

Aedan’s Big Boy Room

I love Aedan’s new room! I think it is perfect for him now and will last him a number of years down the road.

Originally I was going to go with bedding from Pottery Barn, but it was so expensive. I was only going to be able to get a few things at a time instead of all the bedding at once. Then a few weeks ago, when my mom and I were at Ikea, I found the perfect bedding for a fraction of the price. In fact, since my parents gave us the furniture, mattress and curtains, I was able to get everything else for about $150 total.

Jon build a platform for the mattress so we didn’t need to use the box springs (it made the bed way too high). The red coverlet and blue and white stripped duvet cover are from Ikea and the bed skirt is actually from pottery barn about 10 years ago! I ‘d love to hang something over his bed, but I just know he would mess with it right now. Maybe when he gets older.

The curtains match the coverlet perfectly along with the lamp shade I had from his nursery. Eventually I am going to update the accessories on his dresser, but for now I am just using what we had on his old dresser. Between the double bed and large dresser there is not much space left in his room, but I think the mirror really opens up the room.

Since Aedan has a playroom right next door we don’t have to keep any toys in his bedroom. He just has a basket with a few of his favorite books.

And here is Aedan taking his first nap in his big boy bed. So cute! He used to sleep in his crib with all of those stuffed animals and at least 3 books. No wonder he thinks having a bigger bed is great! haha!

-Lauren-

Aedan’s Big Boy Room–Sneak Peek

Daddy came home late Friday night and we are so happy to have him back! Hopefully he won’t be doing much more traveling before the baby comes, although for the time being he is back on the project that requires him to work Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm-6am. Yuck!

Anyway, I am now in my third trimester (baby update coming soon!) and we are starting to go through all our baby stuff and get the nursery ready. Part of that process meant getting Aedan some big boy furniture, so we could use his crib and dresser for the baby. Luckily my parents had an extra bed and dresser that worked out perfectly.

They brought it down when they came in town last week so this weekend we set up Aedan’s big boy room. I still have a few things to hang up on the wall and I have some projects I am hoping to get done for his room before I get busy with a newborn, but the big stuff is all done.

Here is a sneak peek…

He loves it! I think he was so ready for a bigger bed. After his first night, I asked if he liked the big boy bed and he told me it was amazing! Haha!

More pictures coming soon!

-Lauren-

Come Home Daddy!

We are nearing the end of week two without daddy at home. I have to say, I am d.o.n.e. being a single parent! Jon was able to come back for the weekend so we could go to Fredericksburg, but he headed out super early Monday morning and won’t be home until around midnight tomorrow night. Sigh.

I feeling more worn out this week than I did last week, probably because it is the second week of Jon being gone, and I feel like it is taking a toll on Aedan and Hiro too.

This morning Aedan woke up extra early which blew my plans of getting up and ready before he woke up (I had and eye doctor appointment this morning so we had to get out the door early). So I get up to get Aedan, only to find that Hiro peed all over my new dinning area rug. Seriously. I can’t even remember the last time he at an accident in the house. We had a doggie door in the last house and we don’t have one here, but we have been here for 6 months and he has had no problem adjusting to no doggie door. I let him out right before I went to bed last night and I’m a pretty light sleeper so I feel like if he had tried to wake me up to go outside, I would have woken up.

I didn’t have time this morning to do a great job of cleaning the rug so I’m in the process of deep cleaning it with some water and vinegar. Now I feel like my whole house needs to be cleaned. I think when Aedan wakes up we may do a quick clean up with some vacuuming and mopping.

Luckily, tomorrow Aedan, Hiro and I are headed up to Round Rock to hang out with my parents for the day. My plan is to leave right after breakfast and come back right before bedtime. Then Jon will be home around midnight and will have 4 days off!!

Now, is it Friday yet???

-Lauren-