Today started with Liam flushing a bathtub stopper down the toilet.
Then we moved on to an epic nap battle that ended in him finally falling asleep at 3:15 and me having to wake him up at around 4:40 which resulted in kvetching, screaming, and a major attitude problem.
I want a do-over.
This weekend has been all moms, all the time. I kicked off the celebration yesterday with a lunch at my parents’ house with my mom and both of my grandmothers. We had a lovely time, although from looking at these pictures I need to take back the comments about being less puffy this time around…oy vey!
The next part of the celebration began bright and early this morning as we prepared to take Liam to the zoo for the first time. We piled in the car and went on the obligatory Dunkin Donuts run and then we were off to Grant Park.
We spent about 2.5 hours walking around and I think we actually got to see most things (except for the Tigers and Bears who are apparently hiding out until their new exhibit opens this summer). This was in no small part due to the fact that Liam’s idea of going to the zoo is apparently running through like his pants are on fire, looking at each exhibit until he spots the animal in question (or grows tired of looking) and then running off to the next thing shouting “Let’s go see sumfin’ else!” It’s not a coincidence that this is also Matt’s idea of going to the zoo…
Okay, on to the main attraction:
Flamingos!
(You can’t tell just how little sleep I had last night, can you…?)
“Look Liam! Can you see how the elephant is picking up leaves to eat with his…with his…Matt, what’s the long thing on the front of an elephant?” (Let no one ever tell you that pregnancy brain isn’t real…)
Lions and more lions and Liams, Oh My!
Meerkat Manor:
A boy and his meerkat:
“Look Liam! There’s a…oh geez…Matt, what’s that thing with the long neck called…?”
“It’s a giraffe, Mama!”
“Look Liam, there’s that animal with the stripes that your Mama can’t name to save her life…”
Zebra!
Gorilla gazing:
Gorilla!
Spying a Silverback:
Spying Silverback:
“Oooh! Mama! I see sumfin’! What’s dat?”
“Oooh! Dere’s a monkey up dere!”
More monkeys:
The best way to see the zoo:
Kimodo dragon:
Frogs!
Lizard!
Turtle!
Red Panda!
Otters!
One of the only things he was interested enough to stop and look at for longer than 20 seconds was the construction equipment for the new exhibit:
Panda!
“Oh my goodness! Oh my gosh! Dere’s da train!”
Train gazing:
“How fast can you go, Dad?”
“Wow, Dad. That was pretty fast! I think I should give it a try, too.”
“Look how fast I’m going, Dad!”
“I did it!”
Train!
Waiting patiently to ride the train:
“Here it comes! Here it comes!”
Riding the train:
“Oh, what’s that up there?”
Tunnel.
Tunnel!
Goats!
This is Liam’s “Mama, are you really taking another picture of me…? Really? Seriously?” face:
Giant tortoise!
This is Matt’s “Shannon, are you really taking another picture of me…? Really? Seriously?” face:
Bubbles!
While Liam and I were waiting in the car as Matt got lunch, the following conversation took place:
Shannon:Â Liam, what was your favorite thing at the zoo today?
Liam:Â Ummm…the peeing.
Shannon:Â The peeing?
Liam: Ummm, yes. The goat. The peeing goat, Mama.
We spent 2.5 hours walking almost every inch of the Atlanta Zoo and Liam’s favorite part was when the goat in the petting zoo peed while standing next to him. Of course it was…
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The Mother’s Day Caravan continued this afternoon as we pulled into Decatur with stops at Grammie and Pop’s and Gran and Granddaddy’s houses. Here are the pictures from this portion of the afternoon:
Gillian learns that half and half cannot be substituted for heavy cream when whipped cream is the goal…
But it was delicious, nonetheless (another lesson learned: that can of whipped cream that everyone has in the fridge can come in very handy from time to time):
Goober Peas:
Goober:
Liam’s version of playing catch:
Liam explores the pantry:
Helping Gran open her presents:
This is the exact moment at which I realized that my mother was making a grave mistake in showing Liam how to use a spray bottle and that I was the one who would pay:
And yet, she continued on:
This is the exact moment at which Liam realized that the direction in which he points the sprayer really matters:
Success!
And now, after what is possibly the longest blog post in the history of ever, I bid you goodnight and Happy Mother’s Day.
Today marks the beginning of week 21.
As of yet, there haven’t been any major changes in the way I feel, but a few of the highlights are: I’m feeling her kick a lot more frequently (and definitely with more gusto), my hips and knees are beginning to ache while I sleep (causing even more restless sleep than I was already experiencing), and (although I drink copious amounts of water and have been watching my sodium levels) the swelling seems to be rearing its ugly head again (tight rings, tight watch, etc.). Other than that, things here at the ranch are moving along swimmingly and I’m so looking forward to finishing the last few house projects and putting the nursery back together. Time is flying by!
Here I am at 21 weeks with Liam (This marks the first time I look more rested during my pregnancy with Liam than this pregnancy. The reason is obvious when I look at the background of the picture: we’re clearly in Siesta Key!):
Here I am at 21 weeks with Baby Girl (Much paler, but definitely less puffy. Also: exhausted.):
Onward and outward!
[Scene: Liam and I are sitting at the table having a snack after he woke up from his nap. He’s having a granola bar (which he calls a chocolate bar) and I’m having cheese and peanuts.]
Liam: Cheese! Please!
Shannon: This is my snack, Liam. I’ll be happy to give you a piece of cheese after you finish your chocolate bar.
Liam:Â [takes a bit of his granola bar] Please have some cheese now?
Shannon:Â You may not have any cheese until you finish all of your chocolate bar.
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Just add this to the long list of things I never thought I’d say to my child…
Liam is currently taking his first nap in his big boy bed.
I am currently sitting downstairs emotionally eating No Pudge brownies with my eyes glued to the video monitor.
He’s not been totally still since I left the room (we had one major turning over episode a few minutes ago and again just a few seconds ago) but (knock wood) it appears that he’s at least resting at this point. Judging by what his blanket generally looks like after a nap, tossing and turning is his MO, but I’ve never used a video monitor to observe before, so I’m kind of fascinated.
This is a big deal (both for him and for me) and I really hope it goes well. Anything has to be better than what he was doing in there earlier while I was feverishly trying to get rid of all the hazards I could see and I came back into the room to find him with the (previously plugged in) cord to his lamp in his hand, all of his t-shirts pulled out of his drawer and all over the floor, and approximately 30 board books all over his bed. I had been gone all of 3 minutes…
Fingers crossed, fingers crossed, fingers crossed.
For the past few months, whenever Liam does something accidentally that he’d rather he hadn’t done, he’s been saying (what we thought was) “Oh, Crackers!” While adorable, it was also very confusing, since neither of us says anything remotely like this and we couldn’t figure out where he picked it up.
We had just chalked it up to being one of those great mysteries of life. Until this morning.
Liam was watching an episode of Super Why while Matt was showering and I was waking up. This morning’s episode took the gang into the story of The Ugly Duckling (they always jump into a classic fairy tale and change the story to solve some sort of a problem) and all of a sudden from the television I think I hear “Oh, Crackers!”
Obviously, my attention was immediately piqued and when I turned over in bed I saw that it was the story of a duckling who was trying to learn to swim. He was saying “Oh, Quackers!” each time he had trouble. I guess this is what I get for having had morning sickness and letting my child watch PBS on a loop for a month or so. Also, this is just another reminder that his mind is a sponge, because I never left him alone in front of the TV, so he must have seen this episode once while I felt particularly crummy and wasn’t paying attention and then not only picked up the phrase but started using it in context immediately.
In any event:Â mystery solved.
I’m not sure if Liam realizes it, but he’s just begging me to take off his clothes completely and let him learn the hard way about how to use the toilet (and more importantly, when). The fact that he is now using the crackers he’s given with his hummus as a shovel (i.e. he simply uses the same cracker for the duration of his meal and licks all the hummus off over and over) is a sure sign that he’s ready, I’m guessing? I mean, surely he knows that at some point the hummus poo is going to do me in…or maybe it’s all a part of some sort of sinister plan?
(You should see a video above.)
Yesterday marked the beginning of week 20. Last week was a blur of sickness and inactivity, but I think we’ve all mostly recovered. I know I’m ready to get back to having energy for Liam and for myself. I’ve got a to-do list a mile long and I’m ready to get to it! Tomorrow is the “big ultrasound.” If Baby Connolly decides to spread ‘em we’ll have big news tomorrow morning. Now on to the pictures…
Week 20 in my pregnancy with Liam (Just another example of how bad our previous camera was — this was the closest to in-focus that I could find. The other thing that sticks out at me (besides my midsection and behind, which were sticking out at everyone and in every direction by this point) is that I can tell how swollen my wrists and fingers were. I drank a ton of water, but it looks like by week 20 it was already not enough to flush my system properly. Fingers crossed that things don’t get that bad again this time…):
Week 20 with this pregnancy (From what little I can tell from this picture, it looks like I’ve got more belly but less of other things than at the same point last time.):
The End.
There aren’t many salads that I love more than those which include spinach, goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. In line with yesterday’s post on the major differences in what I’m craving this go-round I thought I’d put together a summary of today’s lunch, which was a variation on my favorite spinach salad, complete with tips from yours truly. Here goes:
Now if I could just figure out what the hormones are that are causing these cravings and bottle them, I could be a millionaire.