It's A boy!

Yes, it is a boy! The ultrasound went very well and it was such a joy to see the little guy moving around and wiggling his little fingers. Above you can see his head with his little hands and an arm! He weighed 8 oz. on the day of the ultrasound and the computer decided that our due date based on his measurements should be November 25, instead of December 2. The midwives didn't see any need to change the date officially though.

Ultrasound Wednesday

When I was pregnant with Sam we opted not to have an ultrasound and it wasn't until I was 7 or 8 months pregnant that our midwives thought we might be having twins and ordered one! So, we went and it was the worst experience of my life. To make a long story short...the tech had no bedside manners and basically eluded that our baby had some kind of heart defect. We left the hospital in tears. I had hoped the ultrasound would alleviate my fears of deformities and such. As it turned out, Sam was fine. We waited to find out the sex until the birth day and that was fun.
This time we are going to find out...assuming that the baby cooperates....and just for the record, 2 days before the ultrasound, I think we're having a girl. We'll see! I am also looking forward to seeing the little critter and having a much more positive experience. I'd like to have prints of the pictures this time too.
This morning my girlfriend Stacy came by with her son Jaadyn and while the boys played outside in the 100 degree heat (they wanted too, I promise!) we organized baby/toddler clothes (inside in the AC) and I got a pretty good idea of what I have that can be used again should this be a girl. I have a fair amount since we did not find out with Sam, lots of yellows and greens...very safe for either sex.
So think good ultrasound thoughts for us and I'll post as soon as I have more news!

Baby Names...Ugh.

So, of course we've been having the baby name discussion and I am searching and reading trying to think of the "perfect" names. When I was pregnant with Sam we used to talk about names on our long drives to and from Topeka. It was easy then. We decided on two names and that was that.
Sam's names were:
Samuel Barrett Grieshop (obviously the chosen one)
Nora Haviland Grieshop

This time we have picked (so far):

Isabel Haviland or Aurelia Grieshop
Willa Haviland

Emmett Kenneth

We also had Amon Kenneth for a while, but recently I nixed Amon...too close to "Amen". I also like Liam, but I don't think Matt does. This will all get easier when we find out the sex in just 10 days!!
Any suggestions??? Help us out!!

Yellow-Jackets and Dreams

On Sunday we were heading out of the house to run some errands and I stopped at the garbage bin to dump some things. I accidentally dropped my car keys down into the can and needed help retrieving them. Matt came to help and I stepped back to give him room and stepped directly on a yellow-jacket nest! I was immediately stung a minimum of 5 times ( I can see at least 5 swollen spots) and it hurt!! I haven never been stung by yellow-jackets, by bumble bees many times, but this was much more painful! I screamed and ran into the house. Matt followed and we poured cold water on the stings followed by witch hazel. The witch hazel helped relieve the pain and the swelling. Today I am fine, just a little itchy. YUCK!

Over the weekend I did not sleep well due to a number of horrible dreams including two very vivid dreams that I gave birth to a stillborn. Both dreams I gave birth in the living room and I woke crying. The third dream I had involved Sam and Matt's parents and a trip to have our ultrasound. I abandoned Sam and he wouldn't look me in the face in part of the dream. It was a long and detailed dream, too long to write, but I think it has to do with being a little nervous about our ultrasound in a few weeks. When I was pregnant with Sam in the week before our ultrasound for him, I had numerous awful dreams including one that I can still vividly remember where he was horribly deformed. I know the dreams are normal, but it doesn't make them any easier to handle!

Sam Update

Sam had his two year well-child appointment this morning. He weighs 30 lbs. 8 oz. and is 36" tall...a full 3 feet!! He reached 98% in height and in head circumference, and 75% in weight. He is a growing boy! The ped. does think that Sam's speech is a bit delayed and referred us to an audiologist and a speech therapist. So we'll see what happens there. My boy is so big!

Forgot about Nap time

After all these weeks of feeling so cruddy and tired and needing to nap when Sam does....I have forgotten how nice it is to put him to sleep and then have a couple hours to myself! This morning has been crazy with Sam having tantrums and Jaadyn whining a lot....we had playgroup at the park which was nice, but chaotic. After I left Sam's room with him sound asleep I stepped into the kitchen and felt such a sense of relaxation and relief and it all came back to me! Ahhhhh, naptime is really nice!

So after catching up here and sending a few emails I am going to finish cleaning up my sewing area and finally have my space to create returned to me! Now that I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER, I can actually use the space too! YEAH!!!

The second trimester of pregnancy ROCKS!

Sam is TWO!

Well, it is the big day! Sam's second birthday and I am in total disbelief, but I really do love this age. We went through a rough spot at about 20 months, but since things have been great and I am not sure why they're called the "terrible two's"...yet anyway!

At two Sam:

• Loves to play with his cars, trucks, boats...anything that will "go, go, go", as he likes to say frequently.


• Has some language skills, uses a few words such as, "more", "please", "go,", "NO!"...and a few muddled phrases like, "Where did it go?" and "Go away, please", which he says to the dog when he is trying to steal Sam's snacks.


• Puts himself to sleep in his big boy twin bed that beloged to his father, grandmother and great-grandfather.


• Sleeps usually until 6 a.m. then joins us in our bed and sometimes sleeps longer.


• Is completely weaned, as of about 22 or 23 months of age and it quite fine with it. He adjusted well and never asks for milk anymore, but will still talk about it when he sees my exposed breasts!


• Is beginning to share very well and show compassion for others when they are upset. He is also beginning to understand that his actions have reactions, such as taking a toy from his friend will make his friend cry.


• Is showing signs of being a somewhat disciplined boy! Or I should write that he is listening to directions and requests with much more respect than ever before! I like that!


• Is extremely energetic, enthusiastic and exuberant! He has more personality than most kids his age here. I am not just biased! He will express himself with fabulous shouts of joy, grunts of distaste, screams of anger. All of his emotions are amplified compared to his friends. I really enjoy it.


• Enjoys the movie "Robots" and almost any book you'll read to him. He will now sit through 4 or 5 books before bed and really likes the "Little Monster" and "Little Critter" series from the late '70's and "Duck on a Bike" is still a big favorite.


• Weighs about 30 lbs and I am not sure of his height...but will measure him soon. He wears a 3T consistently now and his shoe size is an 8/9!


• Still enjoys cuddling with mama and I LOVE it. He will sometimes take a nap laying on my chest on the couch.


• LOVES daddy and looks forward to his homecoming everyday...loves to help with yardwork and generally be outside.