The Good, the Bad and the Tired

George and I have a new routine. We used to go downstairs about ten and he would go outside for an hour or so and then lunch. Then we go back upstairs and watch a movie and I pray he falls asleep. But I decided I need to start exercising again. So, after lunch, I put him in his stroller and we walk for an hour. Usually he wants to get out of the stroller after about ten minutes so I have to take lots of snacks and things to distract him. After about 25 minutes, he is usually out cold and sleeps for two to three hours. This has been awesome! I get to work out and he takes a nap!

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Because he is taking a nap, he thinks he can wake up earlier. The naps started Monday and Tuesday morning he was up at six, Wednesday it was 5:30 and Thursday it was 4:45. On Thursday I decided I wasn't going to get up that early so I told him to go back to sleep and after much coaxing he finally did. This morning he was up at six again. Six is okay because that is when my alarm is set anyway so I can go downstairs and have breakfast and read scriptures with Glen, clean the kitchen and shower before work starts at seven. However, he was sleeping until anywhere between 6:30 and eight last week. I have to decide if I want the quality work time while he takes a nap or if I want the extra sleep and get-ready-without-George time in the morning. So far I choose work time and sleepiness.

Maybe I'll wake him up from his nap early but that usually means angry crying for twenty minutes and a bad mood for much longer. I could also put him to bed later but that means less alone time with Glen before we both pass out at ten. We cherish that time sitting on the couch without the boy. And what happens when I have a newborn getting up at 3 am and then George at 5:30? I'm glad Glen will be almost out of school by the time the new one comes. And I am taking the full maternity leave. Last time I only took about a week off. It's hard not to work when you work from home but I will do my best this time. I will need lots of naps.

New Month, New Post

There isn't much to say about the past couple of weeks. Work has been slow so I've been working on my courses. I am just about finished with my degree! I can almost taste it! George has been learning every day. He knows all of the letters of the alphabet and will point them out every where we go. He does the same with numbers 1-11. Eleven is my favorite because it sounds like "lelele"which is very close to what violin sounds like but with emphasis on the second syllable instead of the third. We just figured out that George has been removing the bricks from the brick border we paid $700 to be put in. You'd think after paying that much the mortar would hold the bricks enough to not allow a two year-old to remove them. He has a pretty fun imagination already. He builds train tracks out of his letter/number blocks and takes his train across them. His train tracks double as a walkway for his Buzz. He has given up naps. This is no bueno. He has done this before but usually it is just once or twice and then he takes a nap the third day but we are going on four days. And the days he does take a nap they are really late in the afternoon, like five. We take daily "walks" which usually consist of him riding his bike for five minutes and then leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk and then I take it back to the house and we walk around the neighborhood VERY slowly as he looks at every rock and closes every garbage can. But at least we are out of the house. I almost wish he would ride in the stroller so he would take a nap but I do like that he is an active kid and not lazy.

One Down, Eight to Go!

I finished one of my 2012 goals. I got the rest of my fabric last week and finished up baby #2's quilt:It's very simple and I have almost mastered this type of quilt so I might try something more complex with the next kid. It took me about 8 hours total to make. This is the first quilt I started and finished completely on my own. Last time I needed my mom to help finish it and the first time I had to be taught every step. So, third time's the charm! I hope he likes it!

A Note to My Pregnant Friends...

...who are expecting boys:

While it may be expected in our society, you are not required to circumcise your little boy. I suggest before making the decision to do so or not to do so you do some serious research as this is not something you can go back on... And that is all I have to say about that.

Obligatory New Year Post

I am not one to celebrate New Year's. I don't get it. It's just another day. However, I did decide to set a few goals for myself that I would like to accomplish this year. New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful at the Hicks' home. We ordered Chinese food and put the baby to bed at his regular time. We both fell asleep on the couch watching the incredibly boring New Year's programs. I work up at 12:01 am and woke Glen up and we went to bed. Good times.

Okay, so on to my goals:

1. Potty train George
2. Have a healthy baby boy without needing to be induced (please!)
3. Gain no more than another 15 lbs this pregnancy
4. Finish baby #2's quilt before he gets here (still waiting on the fabric!)
   
5. Breastfeed through the end of the year
6. Save enough money for Glen to get his Masters without taking out a loan (we're only 1/3 of the way there and we are halfway through our available saving time...)
7. Graduate from BYU with my bachelors (Graduation is set for the same day as my due date so I will probably not be walking... Sad day)
8. Get Glen started at ASU in the Fall in the program he really wants (come on ASU, you need him!)
9. Find a good daycare for George when Glen starts school (I would love to keep him home but thinking about two babies and working full-time is scaring the crap outta me) I think it will help him learn social skills as well. He needs interaction with other kids and adults!

And that's about it. This is more for me than you. I need to put these things down in print so I can be reminded. Happy New Year!

We Made it! (barely)

So I made it through my crazy week. The RS activity went really well and Glen and Theora did a great job, of course. I took my final and passed the course with a B. Not my best work but the course is over and that's all I care about at this point. The orchestra concerts were also well done. The kids have worked really hard and Glen is a genius so put two and two together and you get a great concert. After the activity on Saturday, we loaded up the car and headed to Vegas. We were only there to sleep since we wouldn't get in to Springville until about 3 or 4 in the morning. That wasn't happening. We got to see my brother who was there for a training which was fun.

We made it to Springville on Sunday afternoon and Glen thankfully took George over to Grandpa's house while I took a two hour nap. Mmmmm.... I could use one of those right now. We stayed at my little sister's house which is a mother-in-law apartment at the back of Glen's dad's house. It was nice to be so close to family! George went a little stir crazy in the small space, though. My sister and I swapped houses so she came here and took care of Charlie and the house and we took care of her dog and house. It was a pretty sweet set up.

Most of my time in Utah was spent working but when I wasn't doing that, we were shopping, eating, and spending time with family. One day I actually went into the office. We had a Christmas party and it was really fun! I love to be able to see the people I work with and interact with them.

We took Grandpa Hicks up to the Natural History Museum at Thanksgiving Point the day before Christmas Eve. George loved it! He now loves dinosaurs!Christmas Eve was spent at Glen's sister's house which is the annual tradition. We all get together and eat and exchange gifts. It's always a lot of fun! George got a LeapFrog bus that teaches the alphabet from his cousins. He loves it!Christmas was awesome! George had a slight cold but he was still a happy boy. He got a tricycle from Grandma Robin that he loves! He went straight for it Christmas morning and wouldn't get off. We were able to have Christmas morning at Glen's dad's house and it was a lot of fun! Between the six of us (Dad, Glen, Marie, Marianne, me and George) we had enough presents to last an hour and a half. It was nuts! My most exciting presents were my new breastfeeding cover and Moby wrap! They are so cute! Glen and Marie got me those.
The week following Christmas was a little crazy. Glen woke up not feeling well on Tuesday and stayed in bed all day. I was feeling fine until that night. All night long I was vomiting and doing other unpleasant things. The next day was spent recuperating until the evening when we went to a friend's wedding reception. It was at the same reception hall where we had our reception and is the only other reception we have been to at that venue. It's a nice little place in Provo. We walked over to Sammy's around the corner and got hamburgers afterward. Anyway, the rest of the week was spent cleaning the house and packing. Our last night I took my car over to my brother's house and he replaced the speakers. I didn't get back to the house until one in the morning and we had decided to get up and leave as soon as George got up. George woke up around five so I got a good four hours of sleep and then drove the whole way home. I prefer to be the driver because, well, let's face it, I like to be in control... I almost let Glen drive when we got to Wickenburg but I had a time I wanted to get home and if I wasn't driving I couldn't guarantee we would make it. I have a problem.

Is this week over yet?

I'm so stressed. I really just need to breathe but I can't. Sunday Glen reminded me that I am playing in his concert on Thursday and I haven't even looked at the music. I also realized that my house is no where near ready for people to come stay here. Our friend Theora is coming tomorrow to stay for a couple of nights and then we are leaving for Utah on Saturday and my little sister and her family will be staying in our house. So Sunday night was spent tidying up the kitchen (after Glen's Christmas treat extravaganza on Saturday which lasted until midnight and involved making two kinds of cookies, peanut brittle, chocolate dipped candy canes and peppermint bark) and practicing the cello for the concert. One of the songs is ridiculous.

Then on Monday I continued to clean the rest of the house and do six or so loads of laundry. Glen didn't come home from work because he had to help with the elementary Christmas concerts. I met him at the school to watch the performances since my nephews were singing. Luckily my mom was able to give me a ride and help with George at the concert.

Tuesday I continued laundry and got my bedroom (the worst room of all) ready to be vacuumed. I started vacuuming and then my vacuum broke. Meanwhile, I have been trying to squeeze in as much studying as possible, which isn't a lot. Then we went to the band concerts. Glen's band was awesome! My nephew's band was pretty good, too. It was not easy to keep George under control on my own. This morning I woke up at 2 am to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep. I was too busy thinking about getting the Relief Society Christmas party ready. I have to go to the store to buy all of the food for it and it is a lot of food.

So, after laying awake for four hours, I decided I would only work a half-day today and then go to the store and buy everything so I don't have to think about it any more. Then I will deliver it all to my magnificent helpers. Tonight I am taking my final exam for Abnormal Psychology. I am not ready for it but I have to take it before we leave for Utah and this is the only free night.

Tomorrow is the dreaded concert. I guess I will be free to practice tonight after my exam since I won't need to study. Also, Theora is flying in and I will need to go pick her up. Friday should be good. My little sister will be here and I can hash out the last minute details for the activity. This activity is going to be awesome. Glen is doing a presentation on Handel's Messiah and playing the organ and Theora will be singing. She is a vocal performance graduate from SUU. Then we will have an awesome lunch. Any way, I need to go to the store!

Second Time Around

So far this pregnancy has been very similar to the first one. The only difference is I now have a small child kicking, punching and jumping on my belly from the outside instead of just the inside. I swear he knows an annoying younger brother is in there and he's trying to get rid of him. I finally got George to say "baby" instead of "mama" when he sees a baby or small child. We're making progress!
He can also say about 80% of the letters of the alphabet. He doesn't know the song but he will point out the letters in his books, on street signs, in subtitles and anywhere else he sees them. He also knows how to say numbers 2-10. He has a hard time with 1. He also points out numbers where ever he sees them. It's crazy! He's getting too big way too fast. He gives excellent hugs (or "hums" as he calls them) and kisses. He loves to be read stories before bed and he won't start eating his food until it's blessed. He tries saying the prayer on his own but it's just humming with his mouth open. That must be what I sound like when I pray...I love this little boy more every day! I won't lie. There are days I want to give him up to a nice family. Sometimes he will just scream and cry for no reason and he won't stop for 15-20 minutes and I just want to scream. I'm learning patience, that is for sure!