While Daddy's Away....

Eli and I had a whole day to ourselves in NYC while JR was in his business class. We had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out on our adventure. We planned to visit the park and get some lunch. We were staying in the financial district so we were pretty close to Battery Park. There was a fun little playground there that Eli loved. We walked through Battery Park and found this neat little splash pad that a bunch of school kids were playing in.


At the park


Cool wooden blocks to climb on!


These were musical squares that you could jump on. What a neat idea!


Pure joy :)

Trip to New York City

One day of our vacation we went into the city to visit JR's sister Jayne. We planned to meet up at her favorite pizza joint (umm, delicious pizza) and then do a little sight seeing...toddler style. We grabbed some ice cream after pizza and then headed to the M&M store. Eli loved it there and had trouble holding our hand. We grabbed a pound of candy in every color imaginable and then went to Toy R Us. They had a huge 3 or 4 story store with a ferris wheel inside. We bought tickets and Eli got to ride on his first ferris wheel ride. Eli was really excited because his Jayne bought him a new angry bird too. He loved holding her hand as they walked through the city (I was chopped liver but that's okay with me).



All throughout the city were people dressed up in character outfits. We saw Elmo, Cookie Monster, Mickey Mouse, Mario and Luigi, Sponge Bob, Hello Kitty, etc. You could have your picture taken and they accepted tips. Eli thought this was cool. Mickey Mouse actually picked Eli up and I wasn't really sure how he would act but he was good with it.





Last stop of the day was a trip to the Top of the Rock. There are some amazing views from up there. Eli liked the cool elevator. It was a little cool up there and we didn't stay up there long because it started raining.

Day at the Beach

We took a trip to New Jersey in June to attend a wedding, visit our family, and JR had a business class in New York City. The weather was cooler than Oklahoma which was a nice change. It rained on and off while we were there so we were a little limited to the activities we could do. Here are some pictures from our trip


He's got the monkey grip on JR here cause he does not want to be put down!

The first full day we were there we drove two hours South to visit Seven Presidents Beach near Point Pleasant, NJ. It was supposed to be a really beautiful day and it started out that way. However, by the time we got down there, it had turned cloudy, really windy, and the temp had dropped below 70. I haven't been to the beach many times in my life but I was glad I had the foresight to bring our jackets or the trip to the beach would have been even shorter! This was Eli's first time to the beach. The waves were really big, because of the wind, and a little intimidating so Eli wasn't too sure about the water at first. We didn't go swimming for this reason (and the cold).

After a break for some lunch, we gave the water another shot.


He loved it this time! He was so cold though, his lips started turning blue and his teeth were chattering but he didn't want to leave.





We only stayed for a little over an hour, it was just too windy and chilly for us. I was a little bummed we didn't get to explore tidal pools or build sand castles but I'm sure we'll make it back another day.

Baby Jack

We have a name for our baby boy, Jack Richard Oakley. I can't believe I'm almost in the 3rd trimester already! I'll be 27 weeks on Monday. I had my check up last week and everything is going well. I had my glucose screening and I passed (barely). My other blood work was normal too. Jack's heart rate was 150bpm. My blood pressure is great and so far I have gained 6 pounds. The doctor said I can expect to gain about a pound a week the last trimester. I know by this point with Eli I definitely had gained more. I have been eating much healthier this pregnancy. Not nearly as much fast food, junk food, sweets, etc this time around. I'm also "chasing" a toddler around :)

24 weeks pregnant

Eli blowing a raspberry on my belly. He does it to wake up Jack :) JR finally felt Jack move the day before Mother's Day. He's an active little guy; it seems he's always still when I want someone to feel him moving though. Eli still loves to lay his head on my tummy when he's sleepy so he gets kicks in his face by Jack sometimes. I'm not sure at what point my belly will be too big or it will be too uncomfortable for him to rest his head there anymore.

Baby Boy Pictures

Profile of Baby Oakley (13 ounces, not even a pound yet)

Here's looking into his face, you can clearly see his eye sockets. If you look close, he has his arms up over his head.

Teeny tiny foot

It's a .......!

Today we had our ultrasound to find out if the baby is growing on schedule (and the gender of course). It's a boy!!! We are excited that Eli is going to have a baby brother; that's what he wanted. We also saved all his old clothes and toys so we'll be able to use those again too, a significant savings :)

We're excited to start thinking of names. I plan on getting the clothes down from the attic soon and sorting through what we can use.

The ultrasound seemed to go just fine. Eli could not stop talking about the goo that was on my belly. He didn't even seem to care about seeing the baby on TV, he was very into the goo. I know they'll share the results with the doctor and they will go over the results with me at my next appointment. She did say the baby is measuring a week ahead but she's not sure if they will change my due date. She did say if the baby continues to grow on the larger size, they might do another ultrasound towards the end to make sure everything is okay.

We got a CD with pictures on it and we were anxious to get home and look at them and send them out to our family. Unfortunately, the CD was blank :( The ultrasound technician mentioned that it happens sometimes and not to worry if it did. I will call them in the morning and let them know we don't have any pictures to see. He was very photogenic though so there should be some good ones :)

Spring Is Here

JR caught his first fish of the season today! Eli and I caught him taking the fish off the hook just in time. I asked Eli to touch it and he did, as did I. Then he touched the fish again, but got his eyeball, yuck!

Oh. Eli is wearing his headphones that we bought for the monster truck show. He said it was loud at the pond.

Baby Oakley

This is an old picture, 2 1/2 months old actually (man, I'm a slacker). We'll have an updated one for you next week :) If it's been awhile since you've checked out our (outdated) blog, we are expecting our second baby on August 27th! Which is also JR's birthday; an easy due date to remember. That makes me 18wks currently.

At my last check-up (17weeks), I had gained 3 pounds, blood pressure was normal, and heart tones were in the 140's. Everything seems to be going well and we have our anatomy scan/gender ultrasound on Tuesday April 3rd. I'm really getting excited to find out whether it's a girl or a boy. We haven't even talked about any names yet because we are waiting for the news.

This pregnancy is different than my first. Unlike with Eli, this time I had nausea for the first month or so. I only got sick one time and I am certainly thankful for that! I have also been way more tired this time around. I'm finally getting more energy back. Everything is happening much sooner than it did the first time around. With Eli, I didn't feel him move until around 19weeks. This baby is moving already for the last month (started feeling movement around 15wks). Tonight I put my hand on my belly and pushed down a little and I could feel the kicks on my hand....eek so exciting! I can't wait for Eli and JR to be able to feel them too.

I've been much more uncomfortable this pregnancy. With Eli, I visited the chiropractor the last few weeks of pregnancy. This time my neck and back pain have been much more exaggerated and I get headaches 3-4 times weekly. Some days the headaches are tolerable, some days I am couch bound. I am seeing the chiropractor twice a week for the last two months. I'm hoping to see improvement soon but I really have a feeling this will continue throughout the pregnancy. I've had quite a bit of hip pain as well, it can be hard to walk and move around at times. I can only imagine what it's going to feel like when my belly is HUGE.

Well that's about all for now. I will write back next week after the ultrasound!

Eli

It's been a long time since I've talked about what Eli has been up to. Here are some of his favorite things to date:

Favorite Game: Angry Birds
Favorite Angry Bird: The Eagle
Favorite Color: White
Favorite Phases: Too bad, I want, No, You have to!
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Fruit: Watermelon
Favorite Snack: Cookies
Favorite thing to do with mommy: Cook
Favorite thing to do with daddy: Clean Up (he has told me all these answers himself)
Favorite cat: Hump a lump (don't ask)
Favorite thing to play outside: Play ball
Favorite TV Show: He answered Thomas but we haven't watched that in months. He watches Caillou everyday on PBS.

Eli has been potty training for two months. He does very well with pee pee, but we haven't been successful with poop yet. He wears undies all day and goes pee pee standing up on the big potty. If he has to poop, he asks me for a diaper. I encourage him to use the potty and he has tried a few times but still hasn't. Every time Eli goes on the potty he gets a sticker. When he gets so many stickers he gets a reward (usually a game on the iPad.) I guess we'll keep this up until he is out of diapers. He is very good at staying dry during the day and at night (he hasn't had a wet diaper overnight since we've started training).


His 1st Potty Chart completed!!

Eli is no longer napping. Back in October we started phasing them out. He was grumpy at first. I loved his nap time but he was napping for two hours each day and not falling asleep until about 10 or 11 at night some nights. I just decided I'd rather skip the nap and have him go to bed early. This worked out well until I became pregnant and I really want to nap every day, haha. I also don't stay up much later after he goes to bed because I'm so tired. I am no longer willing to sacrifice my sleep to surf the web, read a book, or work on crafts. Every once and a while he'll take a nap.


You bet I was jumping for joy :)

As far as his behavior goes, I guess he's a typical 3yr old. He has a really hard time when we tell him no. He raises his voice and yells at us quite often. Sometimes his attitude really stinks but we are working on it. He's sweet when he wants to be and most days I think he's turning out to be a very good boy. We have been trying to stop him from interrupting conversations and he occasionally remembers by saying "Mommy can I say something?". He has started the bad habit of hitting and that gets him in time out and a consequence.

On a happy note, Eli is excited to become a big brother. We talk about the baby almost everyday. He's become very interested in babies and always smiles and waves at them. It's very cute. He says he wants a baby sister...this week :)

Blogging once again

I've been meaning to catch up on the blog but considering I am almost 6 months behind, the task seems too daunting to pick up where I left off. So, I start from today and I'm including a few pictures from this month and last; I'll try to do my best from now on.


Eli had his first dental cleaning in February. He did AMAZING! The dentist is always impressed with how well he does; makes me so proud. He did have to go back for a small filling. The dentist thinks he might have actually ground a hole in his tooth. We are considering getting a mouth guard for him, but are waiting for now.


All Smiles!

Getting his fluoride!

We took Eli to his very first monster truck show in Februaury (my 1st as a matter of fact). He thought it was cool. We all got bored after about an hour. He liked wearing his headphones. It was VERY loud!

Waiting for the show to start



Enjoying a ring pop!


We have been enjoying a very warm winter this year. Eli and I decided to start an herb garden, from a container. He really wanted to plant carrots in there but I told him that wouldn't work.




We walked to the pond in our neighborhood one day during the week and had a picnic. The weather was beautiful, albeit very windy.



We haven't been up to much lately. I am finally starting to have more energy since I'm in the 2nd trimester now. I look forward to doing more activities with Eli over the next few months before I'll likely slow down again.