Hi, My name is Ashleigh and I have a two-year-old

Yesterday Ryan and I went to Haymount UMC here in Fayetteville. We've been going there occasionally since we moved back. I think I have mentioned before how much Ryan loves church. He truly enjoys it. He stands and holds a hymnal by himself and holds the bulletin up as if he's reading it along with the congregation. He loves all parts of the service; the music, the acolytes, the preacher... all of it. Yesterday, when it was time to go up to the front with the rest of the kids for children's time, Ryan had to walk by the piano. (I'm sure you can see where this is going.) As he was walking by, he decided to play a little tune. A two-note tune nonetheless, but it didn't go with the "Jesus Loves Me" piece the organist was playing at the time. Everyone laughed, the preacher thanked him for his "gift" and I just smiled. I am the mother of a 2-year-old.

The changing table I had for Ryan is a beautiful white bulky piece of furniture. Very functional, but big. It won't fit in the baby's room. So I sold it yesterday on craigslist and I purchased a smaller, simpler changing table that will fit in the space I have allotted for it. The people who purchased the table were a young family, about like Brett and me I would guess, and they had an 11 month old son. They brought him with them to pick it up. As Brett and the dad were loading the changing table into their SUV, the Mom and I stood on the porch with our sons and talked about mommy stuff. Ryan's appearance reflected his activities yesterday. His face was filthy from dinner, he had on only a shirt and underwear, no shoes and skinned up knees from where he fell in the back yard. He looked like... well, he looked rough. In my defense, they came right at bath time. Anyway, as this mother and I were talking about mommy stuff, Ryan looks down and proceeds to pee right then and there. Not just a little bit, but A LOT, soaking his underwear, running down his legs and creating a pool of pee on the porch. I looked at the other mom and smiled. I am the mother of a [potty training] 2-year-old.

Later on, after we said goodbye to the bulky changing table, it was bath time. Ryan wasn't interested and the timer idea wasn't working. He was tired, lacked a nap and very irritated with Brett and me for asking him to take his clothes off so he could get in the tub. After 30 minutes, a trip to time out for slapping Brett in the face and a power struggle on the bathroom floor, I put him in the bath tub WITH HIS CLOTHES ON. (Now is when I REALLY wish we had this on video or in pictures.) Still, as he was standing in the tub with the water running, he refused to allow us to take off his clothes. So I said, "Ok, tilt your head back so I can wash your hair." He did without argument. (His fuss wasn't about taking a bath, it was about taking off his clothes.) I poured the cup of water over his head and it ran down his neck, soaking the back of his shirt and the rear of his shorts. Apparently the feeling wasn't pleasurable since he asked us to take off his clothes then. Last night I didn't smile, I was tired. But today, I smile. I am the mother of a 2-year-old.

Between all the outbursts, "embarrassing" events in public, and the sometimes out of control times, I get hugs, kisses, requests to "kiss it and make it better" and "help me Mama!", cuddles in the morning & at night, smiles, laughs, belly rubs for his little brother, lots of play time and unconditional love. I smile because I'm the mother of a 2-year-old.

Tight Squeeze

Last night we went to Pizza Hut. Not my first choice, but the nice Italian place that we tried first was full of older folks quietly enjoying their meal and there were no booths available. So we thought it best to take our not-so-quiet, booth loving 2-year-old to somewhere a little less formal. (Not that it was formal, but it was nicer than Pizza Hut) We were headed to Zaxby's and he screamed out that he wanted pizza, so... pizza it was. When we got there, the host sat us at a booth that was about 2 inches shy of being able to fit my belly. Oy vey! Turns out it was the section of about 3 booths that had been pushed closer together. Nonetheless, it sucked. We moved to a more larger, more comfortable seating arrangement. I've never experienced that before and don't want to ever again!

Bring on the heat and the third trimester!

My jeep registered 104 degrees sitting in the sun today. Ugh! It's going to be a long summer! I'm 27 weeks and some docs would say today marks the first day of my third trimester. Others would officially say next week. Nonetheless, I can't comfortably bend over at this point, I feel like I have internal bruising from this little guy and my bladder control is equal to that of an 80 year old. So, I'd safely say I'm in my third trimester.

Up until recently, we were going to put the boys in the same room. We've changed our mind. Well, I changed my mind. Brett agreed. Each boy will have his own room and Ryan will forfeit the playroom. It's not the end of the world. Ryan has the master bedroom of the house. He has plenty of room for his toys. I've picked out an adorable monkey themed bedding set for the baby's room. I started a wish list/registry at Babies R Us when we found out I was preggo. I wasn't going to make it public, however, some people asked. So yes, we are registered at Babies R Us under both of our names. Not that we need a lot, but there are some things.




While getting things out of the attic, cleaning and sorting, Ryan has decided he likes to sit in his Bumbo seat again. He used his Bumbo a lot when he was a baby, but at some point didn't want much to do with it anymore. Now that it is going to be used by his brother, he's all about it again. Hopefully he'll be willing to share. He was asked today by another preschool parent if he was going to be a big brother. He smiled and gave her a big nod. It was the first time I had seen him be so proud. It makes me smile.

Monster now has a real name! It's only taken Brett and I 9 weeks to come up with a name. It wasn't really that we couldn't agree on anything. We couldn't come up with anything we liked! As I said before, I want my children to have names with meaning. I can't name a person just because I like the name. I need to have a connection to the name. So, with all that said, Monster's name will be William "Liam" Earl Dippolito. William is Brett's maternal grandfather's name. Earl is my paternal grandfather's name. Liam is a name that we both like. It's young, trendy, not overly common and sounds good with Ryan. So, Liam it is. Whew... that's a load off my shoulders! It's hard to name someone.


I'll leave you with some recent Ryanisms that have given me the giggles...

Over the weekend, we went back down to the beach. In the car on the way there, Ryan says "Mommy, I wanna put my feet in the beach."

This afternoon Ryan walked through the dining room while I was sitting at the table on the computer. He had a screwdriver in his hand. I say to him, "Ryan, what are you doing son?" Ryan answers, "I gotta screw, Mom!"

Ryan returns from the potty after peeing all over the toilet and tells Brett (in the most serious tone), "I need to work on my aim, Dad."

I love him.

14 weeks = 98 days = OMG!

I'm 26 weeks today, which means we are now less than 100 days from meeting our newest addition. Wow! It probably should have sunk in a long time ago that I'm going to be the mother of 2, but to be honest, it hasn't. I'm not sure what that means, if anything. I think I've just been consumed with Ryan that it really hasn't dawned on me that I'll have one more very soon.

Anyway, I've made a couple exciting purchases in the last week. I'm a Craigslist and consignment junkie. I learned to be when I was pregnant with Ryan and now I'm addicted to it. We have a store in town called Once Upon A Child. It is a phenomenal consignment store. I purchased a jumperoo last week from them along with a few small other things. But this jumperoo retails for $90-ish brand new. I got it for $35 and it looks like it was never used. Plus, it goes with the rest of my FP Rainforest collection. Then, today I found a FP Rainforest swing on Craigslist for $40. I've been watching for one that is at a price that I can agree with, but everything I've seen has been crap or so expensive that I might as well buy new. I just can't buy new. It seems like such a waste of money to buy new when babies just don't use it long enough to mess it up. If it has been taken care of, then I'm all about buying EUC. I had an stationary exersaucer for Ryan, but Brett took it COMPLETELY apart when we moved and the springs disappeared, so we threw it away. I also had a swing that I borrowed from a friend that was a cradle swing. It only reclines so when Ryan was older I bought a cheapo swing that he could sit up in. I then sold the cheapo because I wasn't crazy over it. I've posted a picture of the new swing. For whatever reason, every time I post the picture of the jumperoo it posts sideways. So I'll try again later.

On another note, I've started going through all Ryan's baby clothes, washing them and putting them away. It's crazy to see Ryan's clothes as "Monster's" clothes. It's crazier to see Ryan's current clothes in the same closet right next to "Monster's" clothes.

Ryan is getting excited. We talk a lot more now about his baby brother. He's very curious about all the toys and gear that I'm bringing out and cleaning and getting ready for the baby. He has decided he wants to use his bumbo chair, which he can still fit in. Tonight, after we went to pick up the swing, Brett, Ryan and I went out to eat. To keep Ryan entertained until dinner came, he played with "Monster." He felt him kick him pretty hard and he got so excited and wanted to keep playing. I think "Monster" enjoyed himself too. They are already bonding. :) It gives me goosebumps.

Aim high...

except when you're trying to pee! Poor Bubbas. He peed everywhere but in the toilet this morning. My clean bathroom suddenly smelled like first morning pee... come on, you know the smell! GROSS! I spent most of the 20 seconds he was watering the wall hunched over the sink laughing so hard my ab muscles were hurting. I'm sure "Monster" was thinking I had lost it. The look on Ryan's face was priceless. He couldn't figure out what was going on and he hasn't fully grasped the concept of holding his member to make sure the pee goes where it is supposed to go. I tried to tell him to hold it, but my words came out in between the giggles so he had no clue as to what I was saying. He was moving his body all around trying to get the pee to go in the pot, but the more he moved, the wetter everything got. He looked like he was doing the hula. Funniest. Thing. EVER.

Do they make wide-rimmed toilets with splash guards? I think we need one.

Growing up Dippolito

When Ryan was born he stayed in newborn sized clothing about 2 weeks longer than I had anticipated and the same applied to his 0-3 month clothing on so on. Still, even as he is nearing 30 months, he can wear some of his 18 month clothes. He's always been on the tiny side, except when he was born. 8lbs, 6oz is not exactly tiny. I was going through baby clothes the other day and I held a newborn sleeper up to Ryan's body and I couldn't believe how small that outfit was against him. Anyway, the point is I have been through 30 months of packing up small clothes. I always get a little sad when I pack up his clothes, but at the same time it always excites me to see what I have for him to wear in the next size. The sadness never really lasts very long. Obviously children grow, develop, learn new things, become more independent, etc. etc. etc. HOWEVER, this morning I was smacked (very hard) in the face with the fact that my baby is no longer a baby. Yesterday Ryan *told* Brett he was wearing big boy underwear to school. Brett allowed it. It was a good move. He did well through lunch and afternoon nap, but then had an accident on the playground and moved back into a pullup but kept it dry for the rest of the day. Fast forward to this morning and Ryan (Brett had to be at work early, so I was on morning duty this morning.) told me, "I wanna wear big boy underwear to school." Ok, cool. This is good. We're making progress! The next thing though took me quite off guard and this is where the smacked in the face reference comes into play. "I wanna pick out my shirt," he says. WHAT?! Since when do you pick out your clothes?

Don't get me wrong. I want my boys to be strong, independent, capable men with good values who can and will do for themselves and love others and God. I do not want to be the mother that makes her 16-year-old's bed every day or puts away his clothes. My boys will be equal opportunity men. They will know how to do laundry and vacuum as well as change a tire or build a deck. But for crying out loud, he's only TWO! Wanting to wear underwear and pick out his own clothes all in the same morning is a little overwhelming for me - the hormonal, exceptionally emotional pregnant mommy who loves her little boy to absolute pieces. Maybe when I am no longer pregnant I will come back and read this and laugh. But, for the time being, I hope I have some empathy from my fellow mommies.

When we found out that "Monster" is a boy I was told by a mother of 2 boys that I was a lucky woman. She said I was lucky because boys love their mama's forever. Not that girls don't, but it is a different kind. I already knew I was lucky to have a son when Ryan was born. Now I consider myself to have hit the jackpot twice, but of course not without some help from above!

Sometimes the grass *IS* greener on the other side.

I'm 25 weeks today and I had my first appointment with my new OB. It still hasn't been determined if my company is going to switch insurance carriers, but I figured I wouldn't wait around to be screwed in the end and switched to a new OB who accepted my current insurance carrier as well as the one the company is "shopping." I was dreading the switch. Switching docs half-way through my pregnancy is not something I ever wanted to experience. I had a WONDERFUL team of doctors and nurses when I was pregnant with Ryan. With this pregnancy, I really liked the docs at the old place but I despise the nursing staff and the front desk staff. When I went in to the new office today, I was greeted with a smile and awesome customer service. Everyone, the receptionist, the insurance lady, the nurse, they were all amazing. Then I met the doctor. HOLY COW he was more than amazing! He's laid back, slightly conservative and really takes the time to talk with his patients. I'm so glad I switched. I wish I had followed my gut and switched a long time ago, but oh well.

So I had all the normal stuff done... pee was normal, bp was good, Monster's heartbeat was 147 and I'm up to 147lbs. This weight thing bothers me. I need to pay more attention to what I'm eating and drinking. With Ryan I got up to 152 or 153 I think. I'm definitely going to pass that. As long as I can keep it under 35lbs I'm good. I have 15 weeks left... that means I'm allowed to gain 15 more pounds. THAT'S IT!!!!!! Doc also said that I should expect to be "more on time" this time around. As in, this child will more than likely not take after his brother and be evicted. Oh how wonderful that would be! However, I think it may be wishful thinking and I do not plan on getting my hopes up. My Mama had to be induced with both me and my brother. I'm convinced I have taken after her. Nonetheless, this little boy has until September 14th and he will be evicted. (That would be 1 week after my due date.) I was also told to possibly expect a bigger baby. UGH! Ryan was 8lbs 6oz. Do I really want a bigger baby that him? I think NOT! That's where the 1lb per week weight gain from here on out comes in to play.

Monster is a strong little booger. Last night while I was cooking dinner, I seriously thought his foot was going to come through my belly button. He was kicking like a mad man! He likes the same spot up under my ribs on the right side that Ryan did. It's cool, yet slightly annoying. Also, today when the nurse was listening to his heartbeat on the doppler, he kicked her away several times. I think we might be in for it, huh? :)