We've reached the third trimester! In 12+/- short weeks, Brock's sibling will be arriving to rock his world. Our friends loaned us some great books about becoming a big brother. He really likes the books. Let's hope he is as inviting to the new baby as he is to the books.
In the meantime, our little baby boy is growing up. No longer are we allowed to call him a baby, he's a BIG BOY and we adore him, even when he's a bit unruly, as many toddlers can be.
Brock loves being outdoors. He is quite the adventurer. If he's not the parks nearby causing raucous on the play structures, he is in the backyard playing until we drag him in for the night. I predict this summer, he will practically live outdoors! For his 2nd birthday, he received this baseball bat and tee. Check out his moves! Go get 'em, slugger!
Brock also likes to be doing whatever Mommy and Daddy are doing. If we are in the kitchen, he's pulling out all of the tupper ware and salad spinner (seriously, who knew this was going to be a hit with toddlers!?!). Here's a couple pictures of Brock helping Daddy wash the car the other day. It took twice as long to wash since he kept re-washing areas Brian already rinsed, but well worth it to see Brock so focused and excited to help.
I hit week 24 today - 6 months! In addition to this pregnancy going by waaay too fast, it is also extremely different than my first. For starters, I had more nausea (fortunately still not too bad) and am always hungry. For anything and everything. It's so hard to not eat but I am trying my best to keep the weight down. The other most significant difference in this pregnancy is the pain. Oy, the pain. I was able to work out every day with no issues when I was carrying Brock. Not this time. Three months ago my sciatica started acting up and it's to the point where I am in physical therapy but treatment isn't relieving the pain. My doctor suggested cortisone shots. Feel free to chime in on this one - I am trying to resist going down that path. The good news is that since we can't figure out what makes me feel better or worse, I am still hitting the gym - just not as hard or as often as I'd like.
But onto more exciting news...
Brock.
He is so funny. The other day he decided to pull his table (we use this for arts and crafts) outside. He said he wanted to move his "office" outside and went to "work". Where does he come up with this stuff?
Later that day, we took him to a park nearby where in addition to having a normal playground, there is an area for children to run around and water shoots up from the ground. He calls the park "Bear Park" because there is a play sculpture of a bear. He loves Bear Park. It's one his favorite parks. We love taking him there on warm days to cool off.
A few weeks ago my work held their annual fund raising event. I was 18 weeks pregnant in this picture and realized this is the first and only belly bump picture I have of Baby #2. See, it's already starting...second child syndrome. Now that we are 21 weeks into this pregnancy, I better start taking some "bump" shots.
Similar to our first pregnancy, we are not going to find out the gender of this baby. So, cast your vote to the right of this blog. Will #2 (so far this is the nickname most used) be a BOY or a GIRL?
We must admit, we are terrible at celebrating holidays. Case in point, Brock's second birthday. Poor kid didn't even get a cake! But we lucked out with Easter this year. Our local YMCA was hosting a Healthy Kids Day which coincidentally happened to be the day before Easter. So, one of their courageous staff members donned a bunny suit and let the kids crawl all over her. At first, Brock was a bit freaked out by the enormous animal waving at him but after a while, he proceeded to give the bunny a high five and a fist pump. He even gave a half hearten hug near the end. Sadly, I left my phone/camera in the car so we have no photographic memories to share. But, as a consolation prize, here is a picture of Brock climbing in and out of our friend's car. He really likes cars and all their fancy gadgets.
I can't figure out why the pictures are sideways...sorry!
Brock turned two on March 27th. Unlike his first birthday with family, friends and a fancy cupcake, this year was real low key. We figured save the big birthday celebrations for when he's older and actually cares.
More importantly than cake and balloons, Brock is healthy. At his two-year check up, our physician was pleased with his weight gain (at 18 months, he was dipping in weight). This made us (me in particular) very pleased because we had been worrying about his caloric intake these past six months. He still doesn't get fed any juices or sugary treats, which contributes to being in a lower weight category but we agree that instilling healthy eating habits are a lifetime treat.
Stats then and now...
March 27, 2010
Height: 19.75 inches
Weight: 7 lbs., 5 oz.
Head circumference: 46 cm
March 27, 2012
Height: 2', 7.9"
Weight: 23 lbs, 6.4 oz.
Head circumference: 48.5 cm
Brock's length-for-age and weight-for-age remains in the 5th percentile but his weight-for-length is in the 30th percentile. Bottom line,our physician said keep up the good work. He also couldn't stop saying, "He's so cute!" But we already knew that!
What's Brock into these days?
In the food category, he's digging:
- Mac n' Cheese
- Plain pasta
- Cris' rice (our nanny apparently makes the bomb rice!)
- Cris' beans (again, bomb black beans)
- Quesadillas
- Grilled cheese sandwiches with whole grain breads
- PB n' J
- Cheese (string, cream and baby bells)
-Most fruits (apples, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, mangoes, grapes...)
- Carrots
-Sugar snap peas
-Edamame
And, in the play category, he LOVES:
- Anything with wheels - cars, trains, trucks, etc.
- His new red tricycle
- His new baseball bat and t-ball stand
- His new play structure that includes a climbing wall, slide and ladder. Way cool!
- Running
-Reading books - tons and tons of books
- Singing songs
- Taking baths
- Little Splashers swim class at the YMCA
- Repeating EVERYTHING we say
- Snuggling (he says "cozy")
- Watching Elmo and trash truck you tube videos
- Jumping
-Climbing
-Brushing his teeth
-Coloring with crayons
-Getting into everything
- and sadly, biting and hitting. We're working on this...ugh!
In August Brock's world is about to get rocked. A new sibling (also not finding out the gender) is on the way. Any suggestions on bringing home #2 is greatly appreciated.
At the end of this month, Brock turns TWO! We can't believe how quickly time is zipping by. Last week, to celebrate my 40th, Grandma's 70th, Cousin Anna's 16th, and Brock's 2nd, we went to San Diego for a weekend of family and sunshine.
Brock has been talking about seeing Baby Logan (his cousin, our nephew) for months and months. So, he finally gets to see Baby Logan in the flesh - finally! And what does he do? Hits him. Many. Times. Makes the poor kid cry. Seeing that Baby Logan, who is 9 months old, is already the same weight as Brock, if Little Man Brock were smart, he'd best not upset Baby Logan anymore... Just sayin'...
Well, one thing is for sure, Brock better learn how to share his time and toys because in August, SURPRISE, he's becoming a big brother!
