Still waiting

Time has apparently stopped.  Or at least it feels that way to my 39 week, 3 day pregnant body.   I know I have no real reason to expect this baby to arrive "early" but a girl can hope.  I am terribly excited to meet my daughter.  Even just typing that gave me goosebumps.  Don't get me wrong, I love my son dearly and if this baby was a boy I would be just as excited but I am thrilled to see how things will be different with a little girl.

Also there are some things I have been missing while pregnant.
1. Wine and beer (duh)
2. Running.   At first I was relieved to have a break but now I would love to get out there and run. I will remind myself of this my first time out when a single mile nearly kills me.
3. Bending at the waist.
4. Being able to run around with Jack and play on his new swingset
5. Sleeping on my stomach
6. Sleeping on my back
7. Being able to go more than 45 minutes without having to pee
8. Sitting comfortably at my desk

I realize that once I have the baby there will certainly be other challenges.  Seriously, nothing irks me more than someone telling me "your life will never be the same."  Although since we have a child already it is usually "wow, you thought having one kid was hard, just wait."  No shit.  I really thought this time it would be a piece of cake.

To be completely honest I am a little bit frightened of starting over with another child.  I am dreading the exhaustion and 2am crying jags (mine, not hers).  I worry about being able to give my son enough attention while trying to manage an infant and a full time job.  In retrospect I think I suffered from PPD with my son but was too tired to realize what was going on.  I am nervous it will happen again and it will affect my son.   I'm an only child and I have no personal experience of being part of a household with multiple kids so I worry about how I will handle it.  I worry that the age difference (4 years) will be hard on my son.  He is already asking to go camping this summer but I don't relish the idea of camping with an infant so it will have to wait.  

I didn't start this post intending it to be so personal and possibly depressing.  I guess these are the thoughts that are rattling around in my head these days.  For now I will try to enjoy the last days (weeks?) with my son and when baby girl arrives I will do the best I can.  I could write a whole series of posts of the detrimental effect of the internet on a new mom's confidence but I will leave that alone for today.  All I can say is now I am older and more experienced and I have the confidence to do what feels right to me.  

That said, get this freakin' kid out already and pass me a nice cold beer.

Waiting...

Still no baby although I am not due until May 29th I feel like this one may be early.  Probably just wishful thinking on my part.  In the meantime here are some pics from the last month or so.  The first few are from his "Halloween" birthday party and the rest are from last night.  We had our first fire in the firepit and made s'mores.  Yum.

Catching up

I guess blogging hasn't been high on my "to-do" list these days.  A combination of a new role at work, pregnancy, 4-year old, and a host of other things have taken precedence over the blog.  The first 3 months of this year flew by.  We had visits from both sets of grandparents, took Jack skiing several times, and celebrated Jack's 4th birthday.  At this point I am also 33 weeks pregnant with Baby Girl.  Since this used to be a training blog of sorts I'll just mention that I have pretty much given up all physical activity aside from the occasional swim workout.  I don't know if it is age or having a 4 year old or both but I have been very tired with this pregnancy. As I mentioned above my job responsibilities have also increased which is also a contributing factor to my fatigue.  At some point I would love to do a post comparing this pregnancy with my first since there have been so many differences but that will have to wait for another day.  For now, enjoy some pictures.

Winter sunshine

Disney on Ice in Feb

Jack's "Horton" impression at the Dr Suess sculpture garden

Jack's 4th birthday

Slaying lobsters with his new "Light Slavers"

Thank you Easter bunny!

A new challenge for 2013

With each new year I like to think about a new challenge.  Not a "resolution" per se, but something I can look forward to.  In past years this has taken the form of races I wanted to complete, degrees to obtain or some other "Type A" endeavor.  Since becoming a mom I have had to pare back my challenges just a tad.  The challenges aren't always about my own personal accomplishments either.  Last year I considered getting Jack potty-trained a major success.  We also built a 700 square foot patio and walkway by ourselves.  As far as home improvement projects go this was huge and something I am extremely proud of.  For the record, I would never do it again.  I don't care to ever touch another paver as long as I live. There is a reason those things are expensive to have installed.

So what's on deck for 2013?   This one is simple (to think up, not necessarily execute).  I am going to undertake the challenge of parenting not one, but two children.  That's right, Jack will be getting a little sister at the end of May.   I think I can say with confidence that I have no racing on my schedule for this summer.

Obviously we are very excited.  Jack is very much looking forward to becoming a big brother.  He was initially a bit upset that he was getting sister and not a brother but has since made peace with the idea.  He refers to this pending sibling as "my baby" and talks to my belly every day.  I was a bit worried about the difference in age between Jack and this baby.  He will be 4 when she arrives.  However, I am starting to see that there are distinct benefits to having one child who can dress himself (most of the time), is potty trained, and in general can be fairly helpful when he wants to be.

Jack has already started telling us the rules about babies which I can assume he has picked up at daycare.  So far we have learned that we must be quiet when the baby is sleeping and that we should never place the baby near the heater.  Lucky for us it will be summer when she arrives and the heaters won't be on.

Jack has also named the baby.  He would like to call her "Whiskey" after a scene from "The Penguins of Madagascar" where the penguins hatch a plan that involves using the military alphabet (whiskey, tango, bravo etc.).  I can just see it as I introduce people to my children: "hi, these are my kids Jack and Whiskey."   I think we will have to work on finding another name but it has stuck for now and we do refer to this unborn child as "Whiskey."

So that's the plan for 2013.  It seemed easier than giving up gluten.

Skiing at Shawnee Peak

Shawnee Peak Jan 2013 from Kristin Mesires on Vimeo.

Christmas and New Year's

As per our usual routine we spent Christmas in Vermont with my extended family.  There were 14 of us in the house including 4 boys age 5 and under.  It was a bit of a zoo but a lot of fun.  We took the older 3  boys skiing on Christmas Eve day and the results were mixed.  Jack did ok but I think the chaos overwhelmed him a little.  He was also sick which didn't help. His favorite part was riding the chairlift. 

Hanging his stocking

Opening gifts with his "cousins"

Sledding with Grampa

Games with Gramma

Skiing with Mom

Between Christmas and New Year's we got about a foot of snow which made for some great sledding.  Dr. Nick also got me a fancy new camera for Christmas so I can take some decent pictures for a change.  These are some I took New Year's Day.  The boys had a blast and Otto loved running up and down the hill.  They were all pretty tired at the end of the day.

Train ride with Santa

This weekend we went to Conway, NH to ride the train with Santa.  Here are a few pics.  Thanks to our friends Matt and Amanda for capturing the day for us. 

Theo and Jack pre-ride

Picnic on the train

Seeing Santa

Buddies playing

Tired?