Toddle Along Tuesday: A Boy and His Dog

Today I'm linking up with Melissa at Growing Up Geeky for her Toddle Along Tuesday blog hop! The topic today is Babies and Pets. Colin and Ellie are quite good friends. From the time we brought our little bundle of joy home, Ellie was curious about him, as she had never really been around babies before. She sniffed him, paced back and forth when he cried, and hovered around his bassinet. It was so sweet. Even though she didn't understand him, she felt protective of him. It's like she knew from the beginning that he belonged to her "pack."

 

As Colin has gotten older, he's also gotten faster, louder, and more unpredictable. Not exactly great traits to have around a dog. For a while, Ellie merely tolerated him, but when she discovered that he liked to share his food with her, they quickly became good friends. I'm surprised she hasn't gained weight from all the snacks he gives her! She will eat just about anything, and is delighted when we allow her to lick his high chair tray clean after a messy meal.

Yes, Colin and Ellie are definitely buddies, and I'm sure she'll be great with another little person to steal food from love as well. At 5 years old, she has a nice, relaxed personality, but she can also keep up with our fast moving little guy. I see many more years of puppy love ahead.

PS: A quick word about comments. I've noticed that if you don't submit your comment on the IntenseDebate form, it doesn't get published. I do receive an e-mail, but if I manually publish the comment, it erases all the IntenseDebate comments for the post. And if you do comment through Blogger (I think that's the only way on a mobile device), and you're a no-reply blogger, I can't respond to you! Make sure to check your settings so I can get back with you. :) If you have any questions or ever want to get in touch, my e-mail is sbuxsweetie at gmail dot com. Thanks!

10 Things About Me

Tagged by the lovely Kerry at It's the Little Things!


1. My feet - especially my heels - look terrible right now and I really need to do something about it soon because they're grossing me out.


2. I don't like tapioca pudding. It's a texture thing.

3. I broke my arm when I was very young by falling asleep at dinner and tipping over, crashing onto the floor and landing on my arm.

4. All 4 wisdom teeth are impacted and will have to come out one day. I was going to have them done this year, but got pregnant and decided to put off the surgery for obvious reasons.

5. I have a lot of anxiety over breastfeeding this baby, because of the rough time Colin and I had the first time.


6. I gave up coffee during my first pregnancy, and am allowing myself to have one cup a day this time. I don't know how I'd function without it.


7. Hubby and I have some guilty pleasure shows on HBO and Showtime. Dexter is my fave.

8. We went to see The Dark Knight Rises the day after the Colorado shooting, and I will admit I got a little nervous every time someone stood up to go to the concession stand or the restroom.


9. Growing up, I always pictured myself as a stay at home mom. I've never had a solid career goal because family has always been my #1 focus. I still feel that way even though I have a full-time job. I work to support my family, not because I place a high value on this job, or even on the idea of being a working woman in general. I work because we can't afford for me not to. Given the chance, I would gladly raise my children at home.

10. On a lighter note, I could really use some dessert right now. Coconut cream pie sounds amazing. Anyone want to bake me a pie?!


I tag... 


Happiness Is...
My Messmerized Life
Sweet Little Lovings
Phase Three of Life
The Mommyhood Chronicles

State of the Uterus - 17 Weeks

How far along? 17 weeks!

Due Date: January 6, 2012

Total weight gain/loss: Can I skip this one today? I'm gaining weight faster this time, and it's making me a little depressed.

Maternity clothes? Using the Bella Band a lot more. Can't button my pants anymore!

Sleep: Sleeping well, thank goodness!

Best moment this week: Hearing Colin say several new words including "duck," "quack quack," "spider," and "waffle," although "waffle" doesn't sound much like the actual word.

Movement: Definitely feeling little kicks, especially in the evening!

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. I just want FOOD.

Food aversions: Nothing lately.

Gender: 22 days until we can find out, as long as baby cooperates!

Labor Signs: Way too early.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Being able to carry Colin (who is 29 lbs now) without getting worn out quickly.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out this baby's sex and starting on the nursery!

Milestones: Baby's nervous system is developing now, and he/she should be able to yawn and get the hiccups, although I won't be able to feel those for a while.

Check out my 17 week pregnancy update from the first go-round!

Boy or Girl?

When I was pregnant with Colin, hubs and I both had a feeling we'd have a little boy. When the time finally came to find out, the ultrasound tech confirmed what we had felt all along. "There's the scrotal sack!" she proclaimed. Ha! 

We do plan to find out what we're having with this one, but this time we have different gut feelings. I think it's a girl; he thinks it's another boy. Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few old wives' tales about gender and see if they amount to anything. It will be fun to look back once we know what we're having, and see if any of them were right. (Thanks, Sarah, for the idea!)

Is baby's heartbeat fast or slow? At 12 weeks, it was 171. Then, at 16 weeks, it was 154. Since both were above 150, for the sake of the old wives' tale, we'll say this one indicates GIRL.

What are you craving? Last time, I did want the occasional sweet treat, but I couldn't get enough fast food, protein, and savory foods. This time, I am definitely wanting more candy and desserts. Sweet cravings are supposed to point to a baby GIRL.

Even or odd? According to an old Mayan legend, if the mother's age at conception and the year of conception are both even or odd, she's having a girl. If one is even and the other is odd, it's a boy. This one also says GIRL.

How's your skin looking? Those crazy old wives (whoever they are) say that if your skin breaks out, you're having a girl. The reasoning? Baby girls try to steal their mothers' beauty. Ha! Sadly, my face looks worse than it did in high school, so for this one we'll say GIRL.

Any morning sickness? Just like last time, I've been very lucky not to have experienced the horrors of morning sickness. I had a few queasy moments in the beginning, but nothing bad at all. According to the OWTs, this one says it's another BOY.

Soft or dry hands? Supposedly, if the mother's hands are soft during pregnancy, she's having a girl. If they're dry, it's a boy. Mine have been dry, as they always are. So BOY.

Chinese gender predictor test? I did two. This one says GIRL and this one says BOY.

Based on these predictors, the score is 5 to 3. Want to make a guess? I've added a poll on the right side of the page. I can't wait to find out what we're having and share the news!

 

The Sweetest Sound

This morning, I went in for my 16 week check-up. Baby and I both seem to be doing great. My blood pressure was a little low (105/63), so at the recommendation of my sister in law (who is a nurse), I ate something salty after the appointment to bring it up a little. I indulged in a McGriddle and hashbrowns from Mickey D's on my way back to work. It's a tough job, eating delicious McDonald's breakfast food, but someone has to do it. ;)

They drew blood at the appointment today for some more routine tests. My first trimester screening came back great, though, so I expect all will continue to go smoothly. The best part of the visit was getting to hear Peanut's heartbeat again. Today, it was 154. At 12 weeks, it was 171. I don't know if those old wives' tales are true or not, but I'm still feeling like this baby is a girl. Justin thinks it's a boy. If all goes well, we will see who's right on August 20th! I can't wait to share the news with you all once we find out if we're Team Blue or Team Pink!

Here is a recording I took of the baby's heartbeat today. The ultrasound photo is from the 12 week scan. Enjoy! I've listened to it at least 10 times already this morning. ♥

State of the Uterus - 16 Weeks

Here we are: 16 weeks. I'm 4 months pregnant! Now that I am well into the second trimester, I'm starting to feel more pregnant. I think I'm starting to look it, too. Sometimes I feel like my bump looks like chub, but on certain days, in certain outfits, I feel like I look pregnant and not just like I've eaten a few too many toaster strudels.

How far along? 16 weeks, or 4 months - whatever floats your boat.

Due Date: January 6, 2012

Total weight gain/loss: +4 lbs... okay, maybe 5. Don't judge.

Maternity clothes? Using the rubber band trick and my Bella Band to get by.

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well right now, other than the fact that Colin woke up at 5:40 am yesterday morning.

Best moment this week: I won a "What to Expect" blog giveaway. Woohoo! I also got to go see The Dark Knight Rises with my darling husband on Friday night.

Movement: Feeling more flutters, and I've felt a couple movements that made me go "whoa! That was the baby!"

Food cravings: I've still been thinking about cranberries. I wonder if they sell those in the summer?

Food aversions: Nothing in particular this week.

Gender: It kills me to know that I'm far enough along to have an elective ultrasound. Alas, it's not in our budget. We'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

Labor Signs: Way too early.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Seeing the numbers on the scale go down, instead of up!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the sex!

Milestones: Baby should be able to hear some sounds now!

Check out my 16 week update from when I was pregnant with Colin! No picture on that post, though. I don't know what I was thinking!

Homemade Haircut

We like to save money whenever we can. Really, we kind of have to. Even with both of us working full time, we've got a house, a car, student loans and a kid in daycare (soon to be two!) to worry about. I'm dizzy just thinking about it, really. So, over the past few months we've been trying to save money by doing Colin's and Justin's haircuts ourselves at home. The last time I cut Colin's hair, I did it with shears. While it made me incredibly nervous and he cried the whole time, it turned out pretty decent. The back and sides weren't totally even though, so last night when we decided it was time to give Colin a trim, Justin convinced me it would be a better idea to use clippers. He used the "4" setting and started with the top. He thought it would be even that way, at least.

This was the result.

Even though it was so much a little shorter than I thought it would be, I immediately shrugged it off, accepted that it would grow back and marveled at how cute the new 'do was. No I didn't, that's a lie. I cried. I said that it was too short, and may have even thrown a "how could you do this to my baby" at my poor husband. In reality, it IS just hair and WILL grow back. Plus, my kid is cute no matter what his hair looks like, so there is that. Even so, I don't think we'll use the clippers on top next time. Maybe just to get the back and sides even. This morning, Colin kept rubbing his head. I think he was a little freaked out by the whole thing, too. Hopefully we'll both get over it in time. :)

How do you handle your toddler's fast-growing hair, especially moms of little boys?