A bit of an update

Alright. I'm going to do it. I'm going to post this if it kills me.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me. I just seem to have lost all motivation to blog. I used to really look forward to it, but now? Eh. Honestly, I think ever since I switched my blog over, it's just not as fun. Like I lost my groove. I'm sure I'll get it back once this next baby is here, but right now, I'm not really feelin' it.

I don't think I'm the only one though. My blog feed is pretty quiet. Maybe it's the weather?

***

So what have we been up to?
Lots of random little things. If you follow me on instagram or Facebook, you've probably seen it. Playing outside (when it's not freezing), going to therapy, spending time with family... just little stuff that all adds up to good stuff.

I'm officially 23 weeks pregnant (as of yesterday).

I'm realizing this time around how off I was with Noah the whole time. No, I didn't develop full on pre-eclampsia until week 38, but something wasn't right. I feel totally different this time around. I mean, I still get the usual symptoms like heartburn (praise Jesus for Zantac).

But with Noah? I was exhausted all the time. Even in the 2nd trimester I didn't have much energy. I also gained weight like crazy, even though my diet hadn't really changed. I could never understand how my other pregnant friends were able to eat McDonalds every week and not turn into a heifer, yet if I dared to even look at a cookie, I gained 8 lbs. I'm not even kidding. I broke down in my OB's office when I was pregnant with Noah, because I was eating diet food and still gaining like crazy.

This time? I'm still being smart. I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full. I eat lots of lean meat, fruits, veggies, etc. I also stay busy with Noah. I was still "jumping" (more like gliding?) on the trampoline at 21 weeks. I do leg exercises almost every night. Basically, my last pregnancy had me freaked out about how this one would go, so I've been super careful.
But I also indulge my cravings. I've let myself eat ice cream, Chinese, and plenty of string cheese. Oh, and I had Krispy Kreme once. Go big or go home.
With Noah, that would've made me gain an insane amount. But every time I go for a check-in, I've only gained 2/3/4 lbs. It's been a little strange, actually. Like I brace myself for "the talk"... the "lay off the doughnuts" talk. I even warned them about how I gained with Noah. And every time, I've been pleasantly surprised with an uneventful appointment. No concerns, everything looks normal, see you in a few weeks.

So I'm extremely happy and grateful to be where I am right now.
I'm actually enjoying my pregnancy! Whodathought??

Week 22

A photographer friend of mine offered to do a family session/gender announcement pics recently.

We had wanted to do something fun like silly string or glitter. Actually, we tried both. The glitter was like fairy dust, so you couldn't even see the color (don't send a man to buy glitter). The silly string came out white, despite the vibrant misleading colored top.

Thankfully, I had thought to dress us all in blue. That's right, in case you didn't see somewhere else, we're having another boy!

Pregnancy details

It's definitely true that the second pregnancy seems to go by faster than the first. Noah keeps me pretty preoccupied, not to mention all the fall photography sessions I had, then there was Christmas... frankly, if it weren't for the nausea and the waist in my jeans getting tighter, there's a chance I'd forgot to do things like take my prenatals and drink more water. I also didn't see my OB until I was 10 weeks. She's incredibly popular here, so her schedule combined with mine and Brad's crazy schedule kind of put us behind a bit. I was super nervous by the time I finally got around to that appointment. I seriously prayed every day for this baby's health (and mine), and every time I got worried, God would give me a little reassurance with some kind of obvious pregnancy symptom. I've never been so relieved to feel so terrible. lol

The first trimester was different this time than with Noah in that I felt sick more. With Noah, I was mostly just exhausted all of the time. I was also starving. I would arrive to most of my photography sessions feeling awful, eat a granola bar, and then put on a brave face. Once I got distracted, it wasn't so bad.

As for finding out, we had actually kind of "thrown caution to the wind" since the summer. I was actually beginning to wonder if something might be wrong, considering how fast we got pregnant with Noah, then last year with the miscarriage. But I love God's sense of humor.

I met with a couple of girlfriends one night for dinner back in October. No real reason, just as an excuse to get out and have some girl time. I remember feeling a little sick on the way there, but I didn't equate it to morning sickness. Sometimes I get queasy as a PMS symptom (weird, right?), so I just assumed it was that. I was fine the rest of the night, especially after we starting catching up. Anyway, one of the girls is in the process of adoption. They have three healthy babies naturally already, but adoption has been on their hearts for a long time. The other has four kids, all under the age of 5 (and she's seriously the sweetest, most patient mom I've ever met... the woman should be wearing a cape). So we were obviously talking about families and kids and all that. Well, I'm sure God was totally grinning as I told them how I'd been concerned about not getting pregnant yet. Because little did I know, I was already. Ah, irony.

A couple weeks later, I had an engagement session. Brad came along with me to help, and I told him how I'd felt sick the whole time driving there. We decided to pick up a pregnancy test on the way home. Once we got back, I went ahead and took it. And 5 minutes later, all that morning sickness was confirmed. Our buddy Chase had stayed with Noah while we were gone, so he was there when we found out as well, so that was kind of fun. And he did a great job keeping it a secret. :)

The next people we told were Noah's therapists, mostly because I'm a terrible liar and knew they'd know something was up. I used the "I don't feel well" only once on his OT, and she immediately thought I might be pregnant. Women are too perceptive. haha.

We finally told my dad and stepmom privately on Thanksgiving. I originally wanted to wait until Christmas like I did with my mom, but again... I'm a terrible liar. I felt terrible and knew they would notice I didn't eat much. Who doesn't want to eat on Thanksgiving?? I was able to avoid my mom easily, which sounds terrible. But she was super busy working (she's a freelance sign language interpreter) and doing typical holiday stuff.

My belly starting showing a lot earlier this time around, which I'd heard is normal. So here's me at 13 weeks:

As of today, I'm officially 16 weeks. I've been feeling better, still nauseous sometimes, but it's mostly subsided. I've also gotten lightheaded a few times... one time almost blacking out. I kind of move quick anyway, so I'm trying to slow down. The good news is my blood pressure is obviously normal/low (I was pre-eclamptic with Noah, so yay for that).

I'm doing my best this time around to be as healthy as possible. I've been eating salads every day for the last couple of weeks (once I felt like eating something besides bread again). And more red meat than normal. I actually don't eat much red meat at all... like twice a month maybe. But in an effort to increase my iron (I'm always low), I decided to increase my red meat and dark leafy green intake. Iron supplements tear up my stomach (even the "gentle" kind), so I'd rather stick to the regular sources if possible. My goal is to exercise 3x a week. I'm sticking to walking or yoga to play it safe. But like I said, I move quick naturally, so my fast walk? Most people have to jog to keep up with me. Drives Brad crazy when we're out places like the mall. lol

People keep rooting for me to have a girl this time (of course), but I keep telling them I'm happy with whatever. And it's not a lie. I really am so happy to just have a happy baby. Yes, a girl would be fun, but boys are fun too. So we'll see in a couple of weeks!!

Christmasy type things

I know, I know. This break has gotten a little ridiculous.
And I have good reasons, but I'll get to those later. Right now, I desperately need to do a Christmas recap! What better time to do that than on the weekend when nobody's reading blogs. ;)

So, Thanksgiving. Yeah, it's been that long...

We kept things simple this year and only went to my grandparents for lunch. Noah has been doing such a fantastic job at big gatherings. If it gets to be too much for him, he goes upstairs to the little game room to play where it's quiet.

Also, you'll notice in some of these pictures, Brad shaved. It was a temporary thing. A friend of ours posted some old pictures of him from high school, and I was all, "Aww, I miss his face!" So when he came home one day from work, I told him I missed his face. He went straight to the bathroom and shaved. That was our deal in the beginning. He would only keep it until I was tired of it (his rule, not mine). Anyway, the beard is back now, but it was nice to change it up for a week or so. I hadn't seen his face since the beginning of summer.

Brad's work schedule... as you can imagine in retail... has been pretty crazy. Lots of 7 day, 14 hr shift stretches. But we keep reminding ourselves of all the time off he gets during the rest of year. We still manage to make Christmas memories, and Noah is so laid back that he's happy to go along with whatever. Another plus side to Noah... no whining and begging to do certain activities. He's happy wherever we are.

Noah also isn't very crafty. He likes to paint, but that's about it. So I spent a couple hours baking and decorating sugar cookies... for him to spend a total of 10 minutes on them. Oh well. His favorite part was eating the cookie dough and sprinkles. lol

Our little town had their Christmas parade a couple weeks ago. It's so cute to see who and what makes it into the line-up. Random tv newscasters, a group of kids from the elementary school, high school bands (that aren't even from our county, lol), the beauty pageant winners, and of course the Shriners in their mini cars. Noah's favorites were the police and firetrucks, the Shriner cars, and the bands. He spent a lot of the parade with his ears covered, but I expected that. It's a lot to take in for a sensory kid, and he did so well. And when it got to be too much... instead of melting down... he grabbed our hands and let us know he was ready to leave.

We also went to the Billy Graham Library, which has turned into a new tradition for us. Last year, we didn't do the horse and carriage ride because it was so busy. So this year, we picked a week night that Brad was going to be home, and it couldn't have turned out more perfectly. They have shuttle buses to pick guests up at one of the parking lots and take them to the library. Noah LOVED it. I knew he would, since he loved the one at Biltmore so much. He also loved the horse and carriage ride. He kept watching the other carriages go by and saying, "Horse!" It was so cute. The lights were beautiful, and they give everyone big blankets to use for cold nights (which it was!). The only thing missing was some hot chocolate, but I didn't want to risk spilling any on Noah. :)

My dad's birthday is the week before Christmas, so we always do something for him. This year we just went over there for dinner... and some music. ;) We have a very musical family. My dad plays the drums and guitar, my brother plays the drums, my stepsister plays the piano, my mom sings and plays the piano... so we have lots of instruments for Noah to explore. He's taken a really huge interest in music lately, which came in handy for Christmas ideas.

CHRISTMAS EVE...
Christmas Eve is always spent with my side of the family. It just keeps Christmas Day from getting too hectic. It's so nice having my whole family in one place, but it makes it tough to run from house to house. This just lengthens the celebration a bit and prevents Noah (and us) from getting overwhelmed.

First up is my dad and stepmom. They were awesome and got him therapy type toys... a mini trampoline, a bean bag, puzzles, etc. He's LOVED them all. That trampoline has definitely helped us out on these freezing cold days!

 
After my dad's, we head on over to my mom's house... which is like five minutes down the road. My grandma (aka "Mamaw") spends the night with them on Christmas Eve, and my brother's girlfriend (who we love) was there too. At first, it was all a little too much for Noah. Lots of food prepping, noise/talking, my stepdad making a fire... and the iPad wasn't picking up their Wifi. So we had a good 30 minutes of on and off meltdowns. We put him in their home office, figured out the internet situation, and he eventually was able to chill out. Those moments don't happen all that often, thank goodness. I'm just thankful my family, including my 83 yr old grandmother, understands.

It turned out to be a really fun night. Lots of laughing, good food, and a surprise for my mom.

 (Me, my brother, mom, and little sister)

 Why is my mom so surprised? Because this is what she opened...

Yep! We're adding another little Kemper to the family this summer! I had already told my dad at Thanksgiving, only because I knew he'd notice something was off about me. I didn't touch any of the food, and you do NOT pass on my family's Thanksgiving food. haha

But more on the pregnancy later. ;)

CHRISTMAS DAY...

Our morning was pretty low key. We got Noah up at a reasonable time (he likes to sleep like a college kid), and I even had time to make us breakfast.

For lunch, we headed to my grandparents' (on my dad's side). I didn't get too many pictures of Noah opening gifts there, because frankly, it got too hectic. It's too hard helping him in the chaos and also take pictures. Eh, it is what it is.
He had a blast though. This was the first year that Noah really got into opening presents with everyone without running off. So that part was nice. We also celebrated my dad and uncle Bob's birthdays.

Oh, and I finally got out of 2003 and now have an iPhone!
Seriously, you have no idea how badly I've been wanting one, mostly so I can document on instagram more. It's also extremely hard to take selfies with Noah (since I'm never in pictures) with a big ol' rock of a camera.

Brad also got me a kitten. He really was the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. Unfortunately, he was also the most badly behaved one. He was a rescue kitten who never had a mom/litter to teach him how to play appropriately. He wasn't mean... but he was constantly biting us. It was awful.

So after talking to the vet, she offered to exchange him for two extremely awesome lap cats. They are the most perfect, loving, well-behaved cats. Meet Bruce (the black one) and Louie. :)

I know a lot of people hate cats, and I get it. They're not for everybody. But I love them. I love the sarcastic looks they give, the goofy personalities, and the "I don't need you 24/7 to be happy" part. haha.

And THAT was our Christmas. *breathes*
Now I feel like I can move on...

Have a happy weekend!!

***

ps. I haven't read blogs much either, so if I haven't been commenting, that's why. I don't know what was wrong with me. Just needed a break I guess.

Friday Randoms

I'm really glad my husband doesn't get all weird and macho about things. Like he didn't care one bit when I told him I wanted to get Noah a play kitchen. He doesn't care that Noah has been watching Angelina Ballerina clips on his iPad. Or that Noah found a red crayon and pretends to put lipstick on himself and me. lol. Frankly, I think if his favorite color happened to be pink, Brad really wouldn't care. I love that about him.

***

Speaking of ballet... you guys have to watch this.

In the beginning of the video, a guy named Silas Farley is talking. And while it seems silly to be all, "I know him!! I know him!!"... that's totally what I'm doing. I was/am good friends with his oldest brother (who played pro basketball in Europe) and have known his family since I was little. I give his momma hugs regularly in the hallway at church. His other brother? He started as a freshman for Notre Dame's defense (football) last year. Clearly, this family has zero talent. haha.
Anyway, I just think it's super cool to see him being so successful, especially knowing his family had very humble beginnings. And I remember him being the only little boy in our church's dance ministry. See what happens when dads don't get hung up on stereotypes and instead encourage their kids' talents? They end up being amazing. 

Also, families like theirs sometimes make me feel like this...

via

 ***

I've decided that I have zero problem being thankful and also celebrating Jesus' birthday simultaneously. I also don't have a problem if people like to be thankful and celebrate Jesus separately. So stop peeing on my flowers.

Somewhat related: If you move down South, please don't make fun of the rest of us for getting excited about a few snow flurries. Also, don't whine and complain about it. That's like me moving up North and making fun of everyone for wearing flip flips in 50 degree weather. You know, "because y'all don't know what real heat is!"
You could be stuck in your house for a week if you were back up North or West or wherever you're from. I think you can handle maybe 24 hours of Southerners losing their ever loving minds over the pretty white stuff. Let us build our snowmen from snow dust (hey, we're resourceful), stock up on milk and bread, and pull people out of ditches with our big trucks. We'll calm down eventually. :)

***

I took a brain test last night. Apparently, I use both sides of my brain equally. Which really, that kind of makes sense. Sometimes I have a hard time tapping into the creative side of my brain, and other times I can't seem to be logical if my life depended on it. So basically, I'm constantly on the verge of an identity crises. ;)



That's all I've got.
Happy Friday!!

Noah update

I really can't even begin to tell you guys how amazing Noah has been doing lately. And this has a little to do with my blog quietness. He's just so BUSY. He wants attention 95% of the day, and honestly, after trying so long to get him interested in being social? I don't mind one bit. He doesn't just want me around. He wants to play games with me, jump on the trampoline, give me kisses, have me tickle him, sing songs... it's just so amazing.

 

(he thinks it's hilarious when we take turns spitting water out at each other)

His vocabulary is taking off like crazy. He can now tell me what he wants regularly. Earlier tonight, he looked at me and asked for, "Cheese"... enunciated perfectly. He's making correct associations. Pictures aren't always necessary. I can say, "Okay, we have to go bye-bye", and he will respond with, "Shoes on!" While shopping at Target, he will clearly ask for "cookies", "cwackers", "apple", "Na-na", or my personal favorite "gweeps" (grapes).
He's now pretending to go potty. He'll sit on the potty, with his clothes on, and say "Potty". Needless to say, I think it's time. We're heading to Lowes soon to get one of those fancy dual toilet topper things, because he's too big for both of the potties we've bought already.

If he wants me to jump with him, he signs jump. He can say slide, swing, and outside. He can tell me if he wants to watch "George", "Tos" (Thomas), or "Tiguh" (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood).
He does a TON of scripting, which is where he recites favorite clips from shows he watches. Sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out what he's reciting, which is kind of fun. :)

One of his favorite phrases is "Oh no, makin' a mess!" Wonder where he got that from?? (<-- sarcasm font).

Seriously, I'm not even sure I can remember everything he says. Words are just flying out of his mouth now. And so much credit goes to his speech therapist we've had since June. She's tough on him, but so awesome. I tell her all of the time that I know she doesn't always get to hear how much he says when we're with her (because she's making him talk vs him offering it up on his own), but that all of her hard work is showing up at home.

Speaking of his therapists....

He made them cry Tuesday.
Like tears streaming down their faces crying. I had told them a few times how he could sing and sign "Jesus Loves Me", and they finally got to see it. His OT felt it the most I think though, because she's been with him for over a year now.
She saw him when he barely acknowledged our existence. She was with him when he didn't even respond to his name. She knew him when his vocabulary was less than 10 words. So as he sat in front of me, concentrating very hard on following the signs and attempting to enunciate every word, she just couldn't hold it back.

He's come so very far in such a short amount of time.

And then she proclaimed for the second time in two weeks that she's convinced I will be a speech therapist or OT one day. haha. I just told her that the only reason anything I try ends up working is because he's mine. I know how he thinks, what makes him laugh, how to motivate him, when to push him, when to hold back. And really, he's such an amazing kid. I always worry people think I want a ton of praise when I brag on Noah. Because really, it's all him. His personality is just so sweet and silly and bubbly. I would love to live in his world for a day. It seems like a very happy place. :)

In the pictures above, you can see his OT on the horse swing with him. That woman, you guys. She has been a Godsend. She has worked for the past year on building his muscle tone, increasing awareness of his own body, and other sensory issues he's had. And because of her?

This is happening...

I know it probably doesn't look like a big deal, but I've been waiting for the big kid swing transition for a long time. He just didn't have enough core strength to hold himself steady. Now I can walk away, and he stays put, totally happy to hang on.

He had his (very late) well check on Monday. He's 48.8 lbs and 3'7" tall. So 97th percentile in weight, and 94th in height. Told y'all he's a big kid.

We saw a new pediatrician, and he is absolutely amazing. Amazing doesn't begin to describe it honestly. He was able to get a "high five" from Noah when he walked in. He's patient and calm, and I know Noah senses that. I don't feel rushed when I ask him questions. When I explained how the last ped labeled Noah as obese, his eyes got wide and he responded calmly, "That seems a bit presumptuous to label him at age 3". He went on and on about how, yes, Noah is a bigger kid. But that he's clearly healthy. We'll obviously need to watch what his weight does as time goes on, but as of right now, he's fine. He explained how kids on the spectrum are almost never in the middle... they're usually on the skinny side or heavy side. That for reasons doctors aren't fully aware of yet, their metabolisms are different and could be because of any number of things (including being low tone). When talking nutrition, he recommended going to Earth fare. Earth fare!! And to see if I can get him to eat tofu since he doesn't like meat.

And then as we were talking, he said words that were music to my ears. He said the words, "He seems pretty high functioning to me."
Noah's diagnosis says he's severe. I'm pretty sure it was so he could qualify for more services through the state, however hearing a medical professional confirm what you already hope in your heart is true? Cue happy dance.

Socially, he's doing so so well. He loves attention. We've gone to a couple of bigger parties lately, where other kids were there, and he was right in the middle of the action the whole time. At one point, his friend Jackson was wanting to ride in this little push car thing. Noah wanted to ride it too, but I told him he had to wait, that it was Jackson's turn. So he proceeded to push Jackson all around the yard instead. I couldn't believe it. No tantrum. Nothing. Just "okay, then I'll just push him"...

I'll stop here, because I know I'm just gushing at this point.
I guess we're just in a really good place right now, and it has me all kinds of excited at the moment. Had you asked me last year if this is where I thought we'd be? I would've been doubtful. I honestly had no idea what to expect. So yeah, I can barely contain myself when I get going on everything Noah has been doing lately.

I just love this kid so much I could squish him.

Halloween

Most of you know how I grew up not trick-or-treating or celebrating Halloween in any way. However, as the years have gone by, I'm fine with letting Noah go. My only rule is that he can't be anything scary or evil... but we haven't had to worry about that. Brad, who grew up celebrating all things Halloween, even refuses to let Noah go to the scary looking houses and avoids the scary aisle at Target with him. It's really cute actually. And of course, Noah doesn't quite "get" the concept of Halloween. So it's a non-issue.

So anyway.
The night before Halloween, we carved pumpkins. Noah, being a total sensory seeker, actually doesn't like the feeling of pumpkin guts. So I let him paint his instead.

Afterwards, he decided to do some pumpkin bowling. He set up his paints on the floor, and tried to knock them over with his pumpkin. Obviously, that proved to be a tad difficult, so I got him some TP to knock down. He plays pumpkin bowling every day since. I'm worried he's going to be really disappointed when his pumpkin starts rotting.

That night, after Noah went to bed, Chase insisted we watch a scary movie. I hate scary movies, so we compromised. We watched the 1931 version of Dracula, which turned out to be more funny than scary. Seriously, if you want a good laugh, go watch it. It was great.

For Halloween, Noah was Bob the Builder... he makes a good one, don't you think?

The other neighborhood kids loved it and would walk around singing the theme song when they saw him.
Noah did okay trick-or-treating. He's not a big candy eater, and he couldn't figure out why we were ringing doorbells and NOT going inside. Made NO sense to him. lol.

But he was awfully cute...

 Happy Wednesday! ;)

31

I recently celebrated my 31st birthday. Which is weird, because I swear I'm only 25. Ha.

I had these big plans to meet up with friends at a local (huge) corn maze... at night with flashlights. I just knew it would be so much fun and was looking forward to it for weeks. Only for Noah to get strep throat the day before.

womp womp.

So yeah, we of course cancelled it and spent the weekend trying to figure out how to get Noah to actually swallow his antibiotics instead of squirming, crying, and spitting it out (we eventually opted for a shot instead).

But it's okay. I think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that birthdays don't like me. Last year, if you remember, was probably the worst birthday ever. Nobody was around to go out with me, and I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks. We tried to make the most of it and go to the beach, but Noah refused to sleep the whole weekend. That and he pooped all over Brad in the ocean. Super fun.

However, I ended up spending my birthday with those most important to me. On my actual birthday, Brad cooked me an amazing dinner. Chase also came over and brought cupcakes from a local bakery. While we were hanging out upstairs later on, he went downstairs and came back with a cupcake, candle, and sang happy birthday to me. I swear sometimes guys really do make the best friends.

The next day, we went to my grandparents for dinner with my family. Chase came too and got a few family pictures of us. I'm trying to be better about asking people take pictures with me in them. Sure, there are bound to be blurry ones, but I don't even care. I've been documented in moments with my family, and that makes me really happy.

So no, my 31st birthday wasn't quite what I'd pictured, but it was still perfect.