God bless the timer!

Today I am 16 weeks!! YAY!!! It's been a while since I've posted anything. My apologies. Last week was a bit crazy with 2 doctors appointments (pg appt for me, and an ear tube follow-up for Ryan), a crazy work schedule, and we introduced a new discipline technique with Ryan that has absolutely WORKED WONDERS for us! Plus, it was absolutely beautiful outside this past weekend... who wants to sit inside and blog? NOT I!

So, here is the preggo update. Last Tuesday I went to the doctor for a normal visit. Everything looked great. I was pleasantly surprised that I'd only gained 4 pounds since the last visit, so I think that's 6 pounds total. It's a wonder though with all the crap I've been craving and eating. I thought surely I was going to go in and get lectured for gaining too much weight. I pee'd in a cup, that was normal. My blood preasure was 122/80-something... a little high for me, but no worries. And Baby Peanut's heartbeat was in the 160s. Dr. couldn't get him/her to stay still long enough to get a perfect heart rate. Peanut is definitely a wiggle worm in there. I've been feeling movements for a little over a week now and they get stronger daily. I can't wait until I'm able to actually play with him/her like I did with Ryan when he was in my belly. I'd poke and he'd kick back. I'd push and he'd do a flip. That is my favorite part of pregnancy... actually, I think that is the ONLY part of pregnancy I do enjoy. Well, maybe I'll add "special treatment" to the list. Side story - We were at an engagement party for our dear friends, Patrick & Susan, 2 Saturdays ago. The party was at a local restaurant and we had an appetizer buffet-type spread. Everything was absolutely delish, but Peanut and I wanted a big ole salad! Well, that was around 10:15pm and the kitchen was closed, but the fantastic server we had ran back and got be a salad after Susan rubbed by belly and said "The baby wants a salad!" I was thrilled! It was huge and I ate the whole thing! So good.

Ok, back to the appointment. I told the doc about my sciatic nerve pain again. Oh, it's horrid! She said to wear tennis shoes or flats. No heels. Oh dear! I have a few cute flats, but I wear by boots (with heels) on a daily basis! Especially in the winter. So... tennis shoes it is. Except yesterday I just couldn't do it. They looked beyond terrible with the outfit I had chosen to wear and I had a meeting outside of the office, so I went with the heels and oh, did I pay for it last night! Ouch! Today the tennis shoes went back on. I will deal with the ugliness on my feet and the old arthritic woman feel. Comfort and painlessness (is that a word?) is the goal at this point.

Also, Baby Peanut will finally reveal it's anatomical "goods" next month. Our "BIG" ultrasound is scheduled for April 13th at 8:30am. So... if you have a guess, get it in! You can vote for boy or girl on the left side of the blog. I'm starting to get a feeling, but I'll keep it to myself. :) For the record, the wives tales are pointing towards girl. The Chinese calender says boy.

As for Ryan, earlier I mentioned a new discipline technique that has worked wonders for all of us. Well, the famed little plastic and metal device has saved him AND ME from a lot of tears and has saved Brett from high blood pressure! It's a kitchen timer. Who'da thought a kitchen timer of all things would be the most effective tool in a parent's collection? Better than time-out, better than bribery, better than sweet tea (his favorite)! Ryan began throwing tantrums out of no where about 3 weeks ago. They were centered around diaper changes (prior to moving on to pullups), bathtime and putting his clothes on in the morning. He simply did not want to stop whatever he was doing and he would yell, kick, scream, spit, hit, cry, roll over... you name it (except biting), he did it. It was horrific to watch, especially from a pregnant & hormonal mother's point of view. I wanted to cry, kick, scream, hit and punch right there along with him. But, I'd wait until I was alone to do that! :) But seriously, it brought me to tears and I know Brett was ready to pull his hair out. This lasted for about a week and a half. Then I remembered a mother on one of the parenting message boards I am a member of used a kitchen timer to remind her son it was time to get out of the bathtub. Otherwise, he'd stay in there until he was shrivled up like a prune. So I decided to take it a step further and set it for each transition time. Breakfast to changing clothes in the morning, Playtime to pullup/potty time, dinner to bath time, bath time to end of bath time. And now we've started using it at each potty time too. After using it for a week, I've noticed that we can get away with not using it every once in a while. We haven't had a temper tantrum since we started using the thing. It is beyond me, and I don't have a clue why it works. But oh what a sanity saver for all of us!

Well, I best get back to work. :) I have a few belly pictures I'll post. They are progression pictures. I was going to take one this morning, but I ran out of time. So, these are 13 weeks, 4 days (light purple shirt) and 15 weeks 2 days (dark purple shirt). So, not too far off from today. One of these days I'll get the nerve to show my belly. Right now it just looks like pale, white flab. :)

Enjoy!

Spring is here!

I think I might have been more excited than Ryan was yesterday when we went to the park. Just like everywhere else, the winter weather in Fayetteville has been less than desirable. The mid-60 degree temperatures yesterday were just wonderful. I couldn't get out of the office fast enough to pick him up, go home, change clothes and walk over to the park. He and I were both stoked and our faces showed it. Don't get me wrong, I think snow is one of the most beautiful things God has ever made. It goes right along with sunsets and the moon and stars and the beach first thing in the morning. But nasty rainy/wintry mix precipitation and a group of paranoid city officials who cancel school just because of the mere thought of a snow flake is not something I am thankful for.

Anyway, back to our park experience...we had a wonderful time! Ryan greeted the dogs that are normally at the park with an over abundance of hugs that our dogs tolerate well, but the smaller dogs at the park don't seem as excited. Oh well, what can I say? He comes from a family of animal lovers. He rode the merry-go-round. Yes! Our park has a merry-go-round! I haven't seen one in years. He's not a fan of riding it, but he likes to push it. He actually ran a kid off from the thing because he was pushing so hard and fast. I pulled him aside and he agreed to slow down, but it was too late. The poor kid didn't want to get back on. Is my child turning in to a bully? I hope not.

Ryan doesn't play on one thing too long. He samples a bit of everything. Except he does love the slide and the monkey bars. With my help, he's a monkey bars champ. No surprise there, the child loves to climb. But I hold him up and he grabs bar after bar, and when he gets to the end, he likes to swing back and forth for a minute and then he'll let go. As for the slides, there are several on this one play structure. They are all different; short ones, long ones, bumpy ones, zigzag ones (not a fan of these), and then there are slides that look more like climbing walls than slides, and of course he climbs them. I let him. :) So, he climbs the "climbing wall" slides and then slides down the big straight bumpy slide. Before we had his hair chopped off, his head would look like that of a porky pine when he got to the bottom of the slide.

Even dinner last night was awesome for us. Lately, at our house, dinner time has been a challenge with Ryan. But not last night. He sat at the table with Brett and I and we talked and laughed and ate and had a great time. It wasn't until bath time that we had our first meltdown of the day. But that's ok... a little bit of bribery with a peanut butter M&M did the trick and everyone was happy. Yes, I am very aware that bribery is not the answer and I will probably regret it later, but for last night it worked. :)

Here are some pictures from Saturday morning playing in his tent and with his Thomas trains.

A weekend in the life off the Dipps...

We went to Durham on Saturday for an over-due double birthday celebration for Brett and my cousin, Josh. Ryan was so excited to sing happy birthday and help blow out the candles. You have to understand, in Ryan's world, everyone else's birthday is his too. Presents are no big deal to him at this time in his life. He's all about singing and blowing out the candles, over and over and over again. I have video from Saturday night of him singing happy birthday to himself. I'll see if I can upload it and post it here. Blogging on this site is new to me, so I'm not sure if I can do that. We shall see.

This weekend brought on some new challenges with Ryan. He says no to just about everything. (Yes, yes... I realize he's 2.) His "no" usually is answered with my "yes" and, mixed with both of our frustrations, inevitably begins a temper tantrum. My hormone level isn't helping either and most of the time Brett steps in and Ryan does whatever is asked of him. I think it is safe to say that Ryan has figured me out! He knows what buttons to push and how far he can go. He knows I can't resist his sweet pouty face. OK, let's just be honest... I am a push over! I'm soft!

On a more serious note, I'd like for everyone to pray for a 2 year old little girl named Layla Grace and her family. She is at the end of her life and battling neuroblastoma (cancer). I've been reading her parent's blog and keeping up with Layla on facebook for the past 2 weeks. She has touched many lives and each time I read about the struggle her parents are going through watching their child suffer, I think about what I would do in that situation, and I can't fathom it. Their courage and faith in God is miraculous to me and truly amazing. They have found meaning and purpose in every minute they have had with her. Their website is LaylaGrace.org. Please say a prayer for this sweet little angel and her family.

As for Peanut... my personal debate of boy vs. girl continues. I can find so many positives for both genders. I'm not opposed to either one, although having a brother for Ryan is still an amazing idea in my mind. I've been thinking about just for giggles, buying the intelligender kit. It's pretty much when you pee in a cup and it will tell you if you're having a boy or a girl. You buy it at the drug store and it's 85% accurate. It would purely be for fun and I wouldn't finalize anything or go on a shopping spree until our big ultrasound in April, but I still think it would be interesting. I've looked at the Chinese calendar too. It says boy. The Chinese calendar said boy for Ryan too.

I've been feeling things that are probably movement, but I can't really say for sure yet. That is my absolute favorite part of pregnancy. Feeling the baby move is just so amazing to me. Almost alien-like, borderline freakish, but sooooo amazing!

I've been having some off-the-wall cravings lately... guacamole dip that my dad and a friend of mine makes, sausage balls (totally wierd since I don't normally eat sausage), grits, salad... the list goes on.

I have belly pictures that I took on Saturday. I forgot my camera today, so I'll post them tonight!

12 week belly pics

As promised weeks ago, here are some belly shots. They are a week old, but I promise I don't look much different. I'll take more this weekend.

Forgetful Frannie

Why is it that with this pregnancy, sometimes I just flat out forget I'm pregnant? It is certainly not because I'm not experiencing symptoms; I eat everything I lay my eyes on, my sense of smell is canine-like and my arse hurts so bad from my sciatic nerve that sometimes I feel like a 90-year-old woman when I walk. Thankfully the nausea is gone and I'm not wanting to go to bed at 5:00pm anymore. But even after all that, I still forget. I guess it's because my world doesn't stop for a millisecond with Ryan. When I was pregnant with him I had all the time in the world to lay around, veg out and do whatever I wanted. Half the time Brett didn't even get dinner because I was too tired and too pregnant to cook. Poor thing! Not this time. Dinner may sometimes be boring and predictable, but still, it's a complete meal with the necessary food groups, sometimes they just all run together (think pizza... hehe!). Another reason for my forgetfulness is probably my job. I enjoy my job now, unlike before. My job requires me to regularly run around like a chicken with my head cut off, planning events, teaching classes, eating free food, doing presentations, and traveling to all the NC Welcome Centers, and *most* of the time, I love every minute of it! No wonder my arse hurts, right?! My previous job required that I sit at a desk, bored to tears for 95% of the day, doing monotonous paperwork. Oh, how terrible! So, to pass the time, I spent a lot of time on baby forums, browsing and adding to my baby registries, searching for baby names, etc. etc. etc. I am so grateful to have the wonderful job I have now!

So, I am now 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I haven't taken any belly pics since my 12 week shots. There's not a whole lot to see other than my left over belly flab from Ryan that has now poked out. I don't have the baby bump yet. According to a friend's scale, I've gained 8 pounds! EEK! But that's compared to the doctor's scale so I don't know how accurate that is. It was also after eating a breakfast that was the equivalent to the Denny's grand slam! If it's true, I need to watch myself! I can feel the gain in my thighs and hips, and very excited to say the girls are getting bigger too!!! I remained the same boob size throughout Ryan's pregnancy and even shrunk after he was born (ugh, so depressing). I was not even slightly blessed in that region of my body, so the sheer fact that I am now "busting" out of my bras just tickles me to death!

I haven't purchased anything except a pack of pacifiers. Lame, I know. I don't want to buy much until we find out the sex. We really don't need a whole lot as far as baby gear since we have all the big stuff. I do want to get a new stroller. I have my eyes on the double deluxe sit and stand. :) I became a baby wearing addict with Ryan, so I'd like to get a new carrier, but we'll see. I'd love an Ergo, but I don't want to pay the price. I already have a snugli front carrier and a Mei Tei that I LOVE! I've heard that with 2 kids, baby wearing is that much more convenient. YES! Feed the addiction!

You may be wondering about the name of my blog. "I love you like blueberry pancakes" is a line from a book called "I love you, Good Night" and Ryan and I read that book *almost* nightly. It's one of his favorites and it reminds me of his crazy obsession with waffles. The child can't go a single day without a waffle. BLUEBERRY waffles! So, when I was thinking of names, that just kind of stuck. Ryan has a lot of obsessions. In addition to waffles, he's mesmerized by the moon, shoes (specifically crocs), and recently, elephants, squirrels, and making coffee. Yes, I said making coffee. He likes to help Brett make coffee in the morning. As for the moon, he has a saying that our Mimi taught him, "I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me!" He says it every time he sees the moon and he just gets so excited. I love the mind of a child. I really try to stop every now and then and appreciate the simple things in life, but small children just notice and appreciate everything and it amazes me.

My little man...

This past weekend Brett and I both had to work on Saturday. Ryan went over to play with his friend, "Livie". Afterwards, I picked him up and we went to the park in our neighborhood! We walked back home and I started dinner, only to walk back in the living room and find Ryan passed out on the floor snoring at 6:45pm! Here are some pictures of our day!

In the beginning...

Ok, so many many people have been asking when I will start a website for baby numero dos... so here it is, but instead of just including our Peanut, I'm including Ryan in here as well. I've started a blog for him, but keeping up with 2 blogs along with my very busy (and soon to become busier) schedule, would just be a ridiculous expectation of myself... so rather than fooling anyone, I'll start fresh with both children...

So here is a brief background minus the little details... Brett and I met during my junior year of college at Methodist University (way back when it was Methodist College, and I will forever refer to it as such). We dated for a little over a year, got engaged on my birthday in 2005, got married in September of 2006, bought a house in Feb 2007, got preggers in March 2007 with Ryan, Ryan was born in December of 2007, we moved back to Fayetteville in July of 2009... and finally, here we are, preggers again with baby Peanut #2, due September 7 of 2010. We've done a LOT in 4 years, huh?

Now on to the good stuff... Ryan is 2 years old. I decided I'd stop referring to his age in months, but secretly I still do. So, to make myself happy, he's 26 months old. :) He's a strong-willed, hilarious, fireball of pure boy! Not a day goes by that the child doesn't make us laugh, whether it is something he does, or something he's said, or a look on his face. I can't help but smile and forget about all the problems of the world when I look at him. Cliche, I know, but so true. Ryan was named after the Ryan family; Chris, Susan, Christopher, Joshua, & Caleb. Chris passed away in September of 2003. The whole family has been influential in mine and Brett's lives that we named Ryan after them. Ryan's middle name is Michael, after Brett and my brother. I like names with meanings. I have a hard time just naming a child because I just like the name. I know, silly, but I want my children's names to be strong and mean something. Later on when he's old enough, he'll know why he was named Ryan Michael and my hope is that he will appreciate it for the meaning and the simplicity of the spelling since his last name is such a bear!

This pregnancy has been very different from my pregnancy with Ryan. It seems like I've had every symptom in the book! With Ryan, I hardly had any except being super tired all the time. We found out super early that we were expecting. I had an IUD (intra-uterine device) put in just after Ryan was born. It is, by far, the best birth control I've ever used. We had it removed in December 2009 thinking it would take at least 2 months to get pregnant again (thoughts based on research done prior to removal). Well, surprise, surprise...right before Christmas, first cycle and bam! Preggers! All the emotions and feelings came at once. I was freaked out, I was happy, I was worried that something would go wrong, etc. etc. etc. So, after 6 pee-sticks (yeah, I'm a tad obsessive), I called the doctor. They brought me in and couldn't determine a conception date, so we went in for an early ultrasound and there was nothing there but a gestational sac. I was bummed. I thought surely I was further along than the ultrasound said and I was convinced that this was a sign of a miscarriage. I had a miscarriage just before we conceived Ryan and I was absolutely surprised and devastated. I didn't want to be shocked again, so I prepared myself for bad news. 2 weeks later, we went in for a second ultrasound and there was our Peanut, with a great heartbeat and everything! We told close friends and family at that point, but decided to wait to tell work people and the "facebook world" until we had our first official OB appointment which included another ultrasound. That was Feb 11th! A whole month away! I didn't think I could do it. I was starting to show, I was sick as a dog, I was tired. There was no way I was going to be able to keep this a secret. But we did! And on the 11th, we went in again, had another ultrasound saw the heartbeat, saw a cute little noggin, 2 arms, 2 legs and we are in baby heaven!

Today we are 12 weeks. I have no idea how much weight I have gained. Some days I feel like a cow, others I hardly feel pregnant at all. My belly has a little pooch to it, but nothing that really resembles a baby bump (I'll post pictures later). I have no strong feelings as to the gender. There are positives and negatives to both. I think it would be totally awesome for Ryan to have a little brother. It would certainly be easier, since we've been there, done that! :) Plus, I've always thought of myself as a Mama to boys, even before Ryan was born. On the other hand, a girl would bring something to our family that we've never experienced. It would be the first granddaughter on Brett's side to go along with 4 grandsons! But, oh my, how broke would I be buying all those bows and dresses and frilly pink and purple thinks. All those accessories and what about when she gets older? Holy Cow! With Ryan, I just have to worry about him and a bunch of crazy girls, but with a daughter... WOW! I don't even want to think about it! Plus, I know how I was when I was 14, 15, 16 years old... Good Lord! God help me and Brett! :) Hehe! But seriously, either way, we will be thrilled.

Our next appointment is March 16th. I will be about 16 weeks, so no ultrasound then. Boo! But we'll hear the heartbeat and do the usual pee in cup, get weight, measure belly, etc. The BIG ultrasound will be in April!

I think that's enough for now. In the meantime, I'll be playing around with the look of this blog, posting pictures, posting stories and funny "Ryanisms."

Stay tuned!