17 month old toddler and 7 months pregnant

My little guy is 17 months old now and a full blown toddler, subject to mood swings, tantrums, moments of "what were you thinking?!", babbling and imitating mommy and daddy. Its a fun yet exausting age! He can make several animal sounds now. One of these days I'll get him on video doing it and post it here. Its very cute. He can say lots of words and also tries to repeat EVERYTHING you try to say. And if he can't figure out what to say he makes up his own words. He is getting a bottom molar and that has caused a few bad moods. He definitely tries to pick fights and test his boundaries when he's teething. I suppose its the "if I'm miserable, so is everybody else" mentality. However, when he's not teething, he's a fun, sweet adorable little boy!

Here he is saying cheese for the camera. Isn't he so handsome?!



Here is his new play center I bought from a coworker. I love used stuff! Especially toys - they use them for such a short period of time it just doesn't make sense to buy brand new.


He loves the slides and also the door that opens and shuts on the side.


And here he is showing us his pearly whites while coated in mashed potatoes. He really likes to show off at dinner time. As you can see, the high chair is gone and we are in booster seat mode now!

I am 7 months along and feeling pretty good. I have had some ligament pains that my Dr is suggesting is an effect of my recent c-section with Brenden. I will have to get a maternity support belt to help lessen the strain on my weak muscles. Other than that everything is good. I have nice low blood pressure. I'm gaining lots of weight, but not too much. My belly is the "perfect" size. Again- compared to my pregnancy with Brenden, this seems too easy. I keep waiting for something to go wrong! Here is my 7 month pic - excuse the quality, it self-taken with my camera phone. Its very much the typical "basket ball" tummy. The baby is active and kicking and rolling around. He likes to keep me awake during the night with his movements - a sign of things to come, I'm sure. I cannot believe he will be here in less than 3 months now! I'm definitely feeling the urge to nest now. I just wish I had the energy to follow up on my urges! Ah well.. its tough working full time and chasing a toddler while dealing with pregnancy fatigue so I guess I can let a little of the housework slip through the cracks!

Almost halfway done with June!

How was it that it was just May and now all of the sudden its mid-June??!! Brenden will be 17 months old on the 16th. I can't believe he's almost a year and a half. He's getting so big and independent now. Today we officially retired the high-chair and he eats at the table with a booster seat. He got to where he was having a fit every time we put him in the high chair so we tried the booster seat and he loved it. The booster does have an attachable tray for extra-messy meals if needed. He drinks out of a big-boy cup very well. They've been teaching him this at daycare since he was an infant but now we have less and less spills. He can imitate sounds and also imitate figures he sees on the TV which is new. Like if he's watching the Wiggles and they are dancing he will imitate the same dance moves. Here are some pics for this month:


Enjoying a popcicle treat after my hair cut (Mommy cuts my hair with the clippers). I was very well behaved and sat very still for her.


I think breakfast is better UNDER the chair!


Our local park put in a "splash pad" and we tried it out for the first time today. Brenden was a little fussy to begin with (teething!) so he didn't last long, but he still had fun, and it was a nice way for both of us to cool off. They have 2 sections - one for big kids and one for toddlers. They only charge a dollar per person to get in. You really can't beat that, considering the park is about 3 miles from my doorstep. Its nice to know he's got a place to go when he gets bored.

Here he is playing with the squirter


And another little squirter...

I took a video of him saying banana. I don't know why, but I think its just the cutest thing he says. He always draws out that last part of the word and it sounds so cute and sweet - nanaaaaaaahhhhhhh.

As for Pray2 - he's doing great and quite the active little guy these days. I find my tummy muscles are more sore with this pregnancy. I'm not sure if its because they are still weak from having a C-section less than 2 yrs ago, or lugging around a toddler while pregnant adds to the strain. I've had to be careful how active I am or I end up really sore at the end of the day. I'll be 27 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe how fast this second trimester has gone by. I've suddenly realized I have a LOT to do before this baby gets here. I'd better get started!

More Beach Pictures

On our last night there we took some family pictures on the beach courtesy of a tripod and a remote control - I love technology. I love that you can even see little Pray-to-be in the pictures too.

The Pray family



Daddy and Brenden


Mommy and Brenden

Just some random funny Brenden stuff to add. The other day I asked him if he was tired and he said "Rawr!" It took me a few minutes and then I realized he thought I said "tiger" and not "tired" lol. Toddlers are so funny!

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good. Baby2 has suddenly gotten VERY active and kicks me like crazy ALL of the time. Unfortunately he doesn't kick towards my outside, he kicks towards my organs. Its still very neat to feel him move and know he's healthy and strong. I am 25 weeks along and my 6 month OB appt went well. Next month I do my 1 hour glucose test. I hope the results are okay. I'm definitely starting to feel big now. Its hard to believe I have 3 more months of growing to do! I forget how big pregnancy makes you. Here is a view of my 6 month belly: