::YOU ARE MY SONSHINE::

You had your 2 month check up yesterday at the pediatrician.

And 10 lbs (25%). Way to grow, Nolan!

You obviously have a healthy appetite.

And now for the good stuff.

At 2 months old, you recognize faces, especially Momma's.

You study the face of whoever is holding you, particularly their hairline.

Your dimple is as cute as ever!

You are smiling lots, even laughing a few times recently.

You coo at me when I talk to you softly.

You are still only sleeping for a few hours at a time. It seems your grumbly tummy wakes you up, demanding milk.

How far along? 36 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 24 lbs. since becoming pregnant.
Maternity clothes? Bare minimum, mostly elastic waisted shorts and yoga pants on bottom and long tanks on top.
Sleep: Becoming harder and harder. Thanks, Mother-Nature, for preparing me for a newborn!
Best moment this week: Everywhere in public, people just smile and say "it's another boy, isn't it?" That makes me laugh.
Movement: Movement is too benign of a word...more like karate kicks and punches...in my ribs.
Food cravings: Not really.
Gender: Another boy to love. Nolan Patrick!
Labor Signs: Yes, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and nesting and other stuff ;)
Belly Button in or out? Couldn't be more out.
Stretch Marks? No, thanks!
What I miss: Not having heart burn nearly every day.
What I am looking forward to: Delivery...weird I know...but then I will be able to breathe again!
Weekly Wisdom: Just the other day Bryan asked me "where exactly are your stomach muscles right now?" Me: "Um, curled up waving a white flag I'm sure." Later I secretly had to google it because I wasn't entirely sure what happens to them.
Milestones: Baby is considered full term in a week! And we are 100% ready for him now. Still need to pack bags for the mad dash to the hospital though.

{An array of stripes, truck patterns, and baseball themed jumpers}

Do you think Nolan has a sufficient wardrobe for someone that isn't even born yet?

All the clothes up to 6 months old are washed and ready to go! I have to admit it was a little fun to go through them all again and recall Warren and Jack wearing them. And to think of all the new memories that will take place in these little outfits.

I am even going to pack our bags for the hospital this week since I am having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and just generally feel like this baby will be at least a little earlier than the due date of July 25th.

Just about due for another belly picture!

The two weeks between each prenatal appointment go by so quickly these days. It is a good thing for my nerves and my nesting that the crib is all set up and ready. I am having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and getting more excited by the day to have another baby. I can't wait to hold him and nurse him and watch him for hours as he sleeps.

I had an appointment yesterday and everything is perfect. The weight gain has slowed down a bit (only one pound gain in two weeks), which I am sort of glad for. I am still under 140, so I don't think I will break the 150 marker this time around. The baby measures perfectly and is very active still. The doctor said he couldn't tell if he is head down yet but I know he is based on feeling little feet in my ribs, oh and actually seeing them travel across my upper belly. That is something you just never get used to!

Here is a silly little collage I made from some pictures I took of my belly the other morning in the bathroom mirror:



We got the crib set up...well it is actually sitting in the living room upstairs at the moment, since Bryan has to take it apart to get it to fit through the bedroom door. I am so excited to get the mattress in and decide which of the many sets of linens to put on. I got a new washer and dryer! With three boys, an extra large capacity washer with steam capability is a must!

The bassinet is set up next to our bed in the master bedroom, it is so special to me that all three of you boys will have slept in it. The only thing I still need is a nice rocking chair...oh and to find the newborn clothes. I know I combined them with another age category for storage, so it is just going to be a matter of rummaging through all the crates.

Then we are set! Can't wait to meet you, Nolan. I am dying to see what you look like, since Warren takes so strongly after Bryan and his mom's features and Jack is a spitting image of Grandpa John...we'll see if it's in the cards for one of you boys to resemble me and/or my family!

I got the most fabulous new stoller and carseat. I found it on Craigs List and had to drive across town to get them, but oh so worth it to have a Peg Perego travel system (with the Prima Viaggio carseat) that retails new for over $500, all for $125. My favorite part is the stroller, which is the A3 Pramette model. It converts from a regular unsuspecting stroller to a Pram-style buggy with a few simple steps. I have always wanted to have one of these European looking buggies to push my little babe around in. And the icing on the cake...it is a lovely shade of orangey-red!

{traditional stroller mode}

{complete travel mode with the carseat clipped on}

{pram mode...with a baby doll modeling in for Nolan ;)}


I had another appointment on 4/28 and all is well. Gained 6 more pounds and most importantly got my one and only concern taken care of. See, Jack was essentially born in the car on the way to the hospital. And, we live considerably further from the hospital now at our new house. So, naturally I asked my doctor what we (meaning Bryan) would need to do in the event that little Nolan is born at home. Big sigh of relief, doc said we will just make sure that doesn't happen by going in for a scheduled induction at least a week before my due date. It is official, our newest son will be here in July and most likely in the middle of the month. Yeah! Can't wait to see his little face peeking out from the new (to me) buggy!

...Mommy loves you!!

The thing about brothers is...

...they sometimes overindulge.

{Warren made a Boppy pillow tower in the nursery at the Children's Museum in Nolan's honor after I told him that we will be getting our Boppy pillow out soon for when mommy is feeding the baby}



...they love a little healthy competition.

{Playing the "Hungry Hippo" game that the Easter Bunny brought them. There's plenty of room for another set of little hands!}




...they gravitate towards things with wheels and/or triggers.

{So many cars, so little time!}



But the main thing about brothers is, they stick together and love each other immensely!

Last night Nolan had the hiccups for the first time that I have been able to tell. There was that very distinct jumping in my tummy and it went on and on for almost an hour and kept me awake. So, I am tired today but every time I think of him in there with the hiccups, I just have to giggle. It is a good sign that he is doing his practice breathing and developing right?

Jack wanted to "talk to Nolan" a minute ago so I happily obliged and let the two have a brotherly exchange. This involved Jack giving him a kiss and sharing a gummy worm with him...how sweet!



{..."Bite for you Noli, then a bite for me"...}

Yesterday, March 30th, was the "Systems Check" ultrasound and prenatal appointment.

Here are some little tidbits at this time in the pregnancy:

~You are still a boy. Hah! No changes there. And I am so glad you are a boy. Not only have a come to terms with my boy mom status, I am now fully relishing in it and wouldn't have it any other way.

~You were sleeping at the beginning of the ultrasound, all curled up and very peaceful. Then as the wand passed over and over my belly you began to move and acknowledge that your little nest was being disturbed. I saw a clear shot of your face and you kept your right hand in a fist near your face.

~You are 13 ounces, just three more and you'll be into the featherweight category at a whopping pound! Keep it up!

~I weigh 128 pounds right now, so I've just barely got you beat ;) Here's something kind of remarkable; I was the exact same weight at this point in my pregnancies with both Warren and Jack. I get a gold star for consistency.

~You checked out just perfectly. All of your organs and systems are just dandy and you are cute as a button. Lots of movement and I am able to now tell when you are asleep as well as when your precious little feet are digging into my bladder!

I didn't get any digital pictures from the ultrasound and truthfully you are kind of camera shy so far. Every time we were able to manage a good shot, you would quickly move or turn your head. So, I'll just have to make up for it after you're born when you can't escape me!

Daddy is now more "into" the pregnancy as he always is once I really start to have a big belly and call the baby by his name. I can tell he is awful proud to tell everyone that he has three boys. He is already protective of you and often fetches me my prenatal vitamins and commends me on eating so much to make sure you are getting enough calories.

Well, I have to admit that both Warren and Jack's baby books are in various forms of incompleteness. And I found the majority of the pages to be a little silly, especially when I found myself asking and then saying:

"Bryan, what is the average cost of the newspaper right now?"

"How about for a car?"

"What was your paternal Great Grandpa's middle name?"

"Oh, forget it. I'll skip this part and do it later."

Yeah, later never happened. At least not yet. So, I am trying something different this time around. I can type much faster than I can write, and uploading pictures is so much easier than printing and cutting and gluing.

I will try my best to mimic a traditional baby book, minus those annoying parts I mentioned already. And after Nolan is a year old, I will print the blog content into a glossy, beautiful book using Blog Books, where they "slurp" your blog into a real book. How cool is that?

So, here we go!

I said, "here we go!"

...Oh yeah, I still have 18 weeks to go before Nolan is actually born...

What can I say, I'm excited.

Nevermind the worried look on my face, it's just that my photographer, aka husband, gave me no warning as to when he was actually taking the picture once I had asked him to do so. ;) So, this is actually what I look like when I am waiting for the person behind the camera to give the indication...ya know something like "say cheese!" That's okay, there are lots of things he is great at so I still love him.



I went to dinner last night with a friend, so I got to sport the little bump out in public. Even though it is totally obvious to anyone that knows me that I am pregnant, I think people in public still probably wouldn't call me on it for fear of being wrong and me just having a very awkward build ;)

As seen in...my living room while I was gone at dinner. Warren got ahold of my camera again (he has been doing this lately at every chance) and took a picture of Jack holding Zoe, the teddy bear, with daddy walking past. I think it's funny and post-worthy for two reasons. One, Jack's hair is ridiculous from his earlier nap, which left him looking like a rooster. And two, it captures the fact that no adult can sit down in our house from the hours of 6-9 pm, it is just not possible with all of the evening activity and chores.

Hey, Nol, it's me, your big, er biggest brother, Warren. Since I'm five years older than you and I know a lot more than you about our family, I will introduce them to you. I had mom's camera last night at the weird ultrasound place while we were waiting in the waiting room.

Here's mom. Ha! You can tell she has a glimmer of hope for a girl still at this point. She is moments away from finding out that you are on our team, just how we like it:



And here's dad. You can see that he is still kind of shell shocked that he will soon be outnumbered kids versus grownups. Man to man coverage is a thing of the past:



Then there's Jack. Kind of oblivious to where we were and easily distracted by a puzzle, which I of course taught him how to put together:



I'm the cool one behind the lens, and since I didn't take a picture of myself, I'll substitute my idol, Obi Wan Kenobi:

So, straight away it was very, very clear that you are a dude, I mean not that I need to tell you that, but mom and dad were saying things like "wow, three boys. huh. better start saving for car insurance...need a deep freezer for pizzas..." And dad said we need some mountain land and a cabin. Sounds good to me. I hate to do this to ya bro, but it's stricly for documentary purposes:




So, once we established that, Jack suddenly became aware of what was going on and saw that there really is a baby in mommy's tummy. It was kind of a dethroning moment for him, but I think he took it reasonably well, aside from throwing his head back onto the bed where mom was laying. You can see mom's belly in the background, and you might notice that she is still rather toned and svelte for being 4.5 months pregnant. (Okay, she made me say that, plus I am hoping she'll take me to Chuck E. Cheese tonight after dinner.)



We basically spent the next like hundred minutes watching you do tricks and pose, a little overkill in my opinion. But here are some of the shots I thought were funny:

{Maybe we should call him AH-nold instead of Nolan}


{You didn't want to show your face and kept hiding it behind something they called the placenta, sounds gross to me, but whatever floats your boat}


Anyhow, we are all so happy you are joining our family. We have a lot of fun together and are constantly laughing. I hope you like Star Wars!