Random Stuff

It was SO NICE here today. It got close to 60F! I decided to go for a jog with Carter after he got up from his afternoon nap. I haven't run in probably 4 months so I am very out of shape. Plus, being pregnant and pushing Carter who has gotten heavier made it a lot harder. I did the 2.25 mile loop around my neighborhood. Some of my jogging wasn't much faster than a walk but I didn't take a break until about 1.75 miles in. I was starting to cramp from all the uphills and decided I should probably take a break since I am pregnant. I walked about 1/4 mile and finish off jogging back to the house. It felt really good to get outside today. The rain comes in tonight but I think it's supposed to stay warm for a few more days. I'm hoping Carter and I can get out at least once more before it gets cold again. I'm already sore though so a day or two off isn't such a bad thing.

I'm 16 weeks and 1 day with baby boy #2 today. I'm up 5 lbs now to 124 lbs. I've been feeling a lot better the last week. I've stopped taking the anti-nausea medicine and I've had a little more energy (though not any where near as much as I'd like).

Here's a picture I took yesterday at 16 weeks ...


Just for comparison, here's the picture I posted at 13 weeks ...


Carter and I are addicted to clementines right now. I hadn't given Carter citrus until this weekend when he had his first clementine, and now he can't get enough. I think he'd eat them all day if I let him. I've been loving them too. I probably have at least five a day.

Carter's afternoon nap has gotten interesting. If I put him down later (3 pm or later), he usually takes a longer nap (up to 2 hours). However, he usually wakes up very grumpy and stays that way the rest of the evening. If I put him down earlier (closer to 2 pm), he naps for only an hour though is much happier when he wakes up. I really enjoy the longer nap because I can get so much more done during it, but Carter doesn't seem to be liking it for some reason. I'm going to have to keep working on finding the ideal time that makes us both happy!

Sock Monkey

I'm not crafty at all. I can hem a pair of pants or fix a ripped seam but that's about all I usually take on as far as sewing goes.

I found instructions for making a sock monkey and thought I'd give it a try. I really like the idea of making things like that for Carter. I spent a couple of naps and evenings this weekend working on my first sock monkey and I think it turned out pretty good.

UT vs Ole Miss

We took Carter to the UT vs Ole Miss game this afternoon. Our tickets weren't the best (Sect 330, Row 17, Seats 1-3) but we had the end of a row which was very nice. And having to buy a ticket for Carter worked out nice because we had extra room for all our stuff.

The game started at 1:30 pm so we were overlapping with Carter's normal afternoon naptime. We got there a little earlier than we had anticipated and Carter did really well for the 20 minutes before the game.

Here he is chilling on Brian's lap and watching the court ...


Announcing the UT players ...


Carter got really squirmy as soon as the game started. He wasn't terrible, but it was hard to watch the game. With the cheap tickets we bought, we got vouchers for free food. So near the end of the first half, we loaded up on nachos, a soft pretzel, and a drink. Carter LOVED the pretzel and ate about half of it (we did wipe off all the salt from his part). It kept him content for halftime and some of the second half.


UT was losing the majority of the game though always kept it within reach. It's been a rough few weeks for UT sports with 4 basketball players being suspended or dismissed for drug and gun charges and then the football coach suddenly leaving a few days ago.

Anyway, we decided to leave at the 8 minute TV timeout because Carter was tired and we had to take a shuttle to the Ag Campus where we'd parked. We didn't want to have to wait forever in line for a bus in an enormous crowd in the cold with Carter. We got back to the car in time to listen to the last few minutes of regulation and overtime and hear UT win!

Target Toy Sale

I found out by reading some other people's blogs that Target has an amazing 75% off toy sale a couple of times a year. They seem to have it once in January to get rid of extra Christmas stock and make room for the spring and summer toys and then again in July to get rid of those toys and make room for their Christmas stock.

Anyway, the blog world seemed to think the sale was going to be yesterday. I went to Target when it opened and was disappointed to find that toys were still only 30-50% off. Sarah and I had plans to walk this morning at 9 am. Since Carter and I were ready early, I decided to go to Target again in case they had marked down their toys. And they had. I bought way too much. I even went to another Target this afternoon to see if they had anything really good left.

I got Carter toys for the rest of the year and some things for next year even. I even got some stuff for the new baby. Everything I got was 75% off and all good brands. I spent a total of $98.94 including tax.

For the new baby ...

Fisher-Price Songs 'n Smiles Silly Town - $9.98


Fisher-Price Sing Along Stage - $11.24


Playskool Wheel Pals - $2.48
Parents Fun Cubed - $5.94
Infantino Wall Mounted Mobile and Mirror - $3.74


For Carter ...

(Actually, some of these things will probably be presents for friends because some are similar and Carter doesn't need all this stuff!)

Little Tikes TotSports Drive and Putt Golf Set - $6.44
Little Tikes Easy Hit Golf Set - $6.44


Playskool Clipo Creativity Table - $8.24
Playskool Clipo Basic Figure Set - $2.98


Playskool Handy Manny Picture Find Game - $2.48
Eric Carle From Head to Toe Game - $2.48


Parents Bristle Blocks Acrobats - $6.24


Parents Bristle Blocks Swing - $4.98


Fisher-Price Mr. Bump Medical Kit - $4.98


Little Tikes Big Rockers Guitar - $4.98


Little First Act Discovery My First Harmonica - $1.98
Little First Act Discovery My First Recorder - $1.98


Fisher-Price Sesame Street Silly Sounds Giggle Remote - $2.98


I felt a little crazy buying a cart full of toys this morning (I was not the only one and I had less than a lot of other people). But I think I got really awesome stuff for the new baby. And I'm not planning to give all the other toys to Carter immediately, and I don't feel like I was buying stuff just because it was cheap. I think he'll like all these toys throughout the next year and some will make really good gifts.

Tongue

Carter learned a new body part last night ... his tongue! Here's a video of him pointing to all the body parts he knows so far.

Busted Lip

This morning when Carter was walking out of our bedroom and into the hallway, he somehow tripped on his own feet. He didn't get his hands out in time and ate the hardwood floor with his face. I think a tooth went through his lip because there was some blood and crying. He got over it after a few minutes but here's what the poor guy looks like now ...

Messy Hair

Carter has had some crazy hair lately. It's still not very thick, but some sections are getting a little long. He's also got a little curl / frizz so it can stick out pretty far sometimes. He often wakes up from a nap or in the morning with it going in all different directions.


Also, it amazes me how many strangers comment on Carter's red hair. We can't make it through an entire store without someone making the comment, "Look at that red hair!" How do you respond to that? "Yep" or "Thanks"? A lot of people also ask where he gets his red hair from. I usually explain that some of Brian's cousins have red hair and so did one of my grandmothers but it's starting to get old and I'm soon just going to answer "I don't know". Some people ask if my husband has red hair and seem surprised when I tell them he doesn't. I'm pretty sure red hair is based on recessive genes so they probably shouldn't be so shocked.

We're really curious if the next baby will also have red hair!

Oak Ridge Children's Museum

Sarah and I REALLY needed to get the kids out of our houses today so we had a busy day of walking and then going to the Oak Ridge Children's Museum.

Since it's still freezing out, we walked at the mall again. We're starting to get used to walking there but I can't wait until it's warm enough to walk outside again! Carter napped for little while at the end of the walk so we headed over to Sarah's house afterward to change and have some snacks before driving up to Oak Ridge.

The museum is in an old elementary school. The building is large but a lot of the space is classrooms that are used for specific classes they offer. The museum had a few play areas including a life-size dollhouse and a train room which the kids liked. They weren't too interested in a lot of the other exhibits. The museum wasn't bad but it was older and felt kind of dirty. I'm not sure how soon we'll be going back. But it was great to get everyone of the house and check out something new!

Carter checking out the view before going down a slide for the first time all by himself ...


In the dollhouse ...


Carter playing at the train table. He actually started to get moving the trains on the track a little bit.


Standing in a "train" ...

Tent

We left one of Carter's tents set up from this weekend and put it in the corner of the dining room. Carter really likes going in and out of it. He's just a little too tall for the door but hasn't figured out how to duck down yet so it's pretty funny watching him go in and out. He also likes to lean against the sides of the tents. Luckily he's only been leaning against the sides next to walls. If he chooses another wall he's going to fall over and take the tent with him!

It's a BOY!

I had an ultrasound today since there wasn't time to do one last week at my regular checkup appointment. We were really hoping the baby would cooperate so we could find out the sex. And HE did - we're having another boy!



He looked great in the ultrasound - growing as he should and was active. We didn't catch the heart rate but the heart beat was strong.

We're so excited that Carter is going to have a little brother to play with. I am a little shocked because I was 100% sure we were having a girl since I've felt so different this pregnancy. But I really wanted Carter to have a brother. Plus, we're practical and thrifty and I'm glad we don't have to buy all new clothes and pink accessories and girl toys!

I'm so excited to finally know! Now we can start throwing around names and deciding if we're going to move Carter to a "big boy" room or do another nursery. Time to start planning and shopping!