First night without a pull up and he woke up DRY!!

We finally put Jackson to bed last night in his big boy undies...and he woke up dry! He has been staying dry consistently over night for several months now but I just have not been brave enough to try the night without a pull up. He made it though so we are one step closer to having him completely potty trained!! Now, if we can just get him to sit and go #2 on the toilet, we will be home free and just in time for the process to start ALL over with Sarabeth, but at least we won't have two in diapers/pull ups at the same time, phew.

In other funny things that I wanted to record, we discovered that Jackson knows The Pledge of Allegiance this week!! I guess they are working on that in his new class because the other night when Jon was putting him to bed, he turned to Jon and told him "daddy, I want to say The Pledge of Allegiance"!! So, they said The Pledge of Allegiance IN THE DARK WITHOUT A FLAG in Jack's room before bed, ha!! Jon could barely contain his laughter when he came out of his room and told me the story. I love this age so much, it is like comic relief non stop the things he says and more than that, it is amazing the things he knows that we don't even realize!! Now more than ever, I see already the importance of why it is SO IMPORTANT to have a child of this age in a good environment for pre-school as he is such a sponge. I am so happy with the place we chose for him and the kinds of kids he is around. He has learned prayers, manners, classroom procedures, and even how to tell you if he is sad, angry, happy, "so so happy" or if something is "really really gross"!! He can also tell you his FULL name now and if he introduces himself to you he will say "hi, my name is Jackson Case Peshke". He is NOT shy at all and will go up to kids at the park or at the beach and introduce himself by his FULL name and ask if they want to come and play with him. It is so cute to see how well adjusted he is socially and developmentally and I really think a large part of this has to do with the school environment he has been in! Real pre-school and kindergarten are going to be a breeze for him!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Jackson!!!

Today is Jackson's 3rd Birthday and he is celebrating in high style! Last night Jon and I decorated the house after he went to bed and pulled out the presents we had been hiding for him, along with a few packages that we've saved that have come in the mail from family and friends. Jon cut out a special "Happy Birthday" sign for him last night and hung it over the entrance to the kitchen and he also blew up an entire bag of balloons and hand cut streamers from colored construction paper that we hung in the hallway outside his bedroom door. We piled all of the balloons into the hallway as well so it was like a birthday tunnel when he woke up and walked out! I put all of the gifts on the kitchen table where he was sure to see them as well and some left over party hats and favors from his Crazy Frogs party we had a few weeks ago with his little friends. At 6:30 this morning (extra early because he always seems to do this on Saturdays) we heard him out in the family room so we got up and found him blowing a noise maker and running through his "tunnel". Of course we then had to open the presents so the day started very "happy" and the gifts were all opened before 7am!! Jon then went and got chocolate sprinkle donuts for the birthday boy's breakfast (at his special request). What a great way to start the day for the little guy!! Here are some pictures from him discovering his birthday decorations and gifts early this morning.

Jackson is growing up!!

I've had so many posts lately about the end of this pregnancy with Sarabeth that I wanted to take a moment and document some of Jackson's recent milestones as he approaches the big 3rd birthday this coming Saturday! In just the past few weeks we have noticed so many more "big boy" behaviors and a new sense and pride in personal independence with Jackson. It really may have a lot to do with him moving up to the Young 3's classroom at school which also took place a few weeks ago. He is one of the youngest kids in this classroom and several of the teachers and most recently the director of the school told me how great he is really doing in there. He learns so much from the older kids (good and bad, but mostly good) and as has been the trend with him, he really steps up to any challenge he is presented and seems to thrive in this environment where he is challenged and there is a lot of structure. His new found independence is proof of this I am sure!!

Milestones:

***He has been sick with a bad cold this week and will now SIT willingly on the couch and take his nebulizer treatment like a champ WITHOUT having to be held down and without tears.....it has taken us nearly 3 years to get to this point and the timing could not be better with an infant on the way.

***He likes to take showers each morning when he wakes up and wants to do it "all by himself" with slight interjection from me when he actually has to wash his hair and body!!

***He is nearly 100% potty trained. He sleeps in underwear for naps now and while I have not been brave enough to put him in underwear all night yet, I cannot remember the last morning he has NOT woken up dry so that will be next once this baby comes!! We are still working on him going #2 on the potty, but everything else is really falling into place with the potty training, I am told this is really good for a boy!!

***He insists on trying to dress himself and on taking his clothes all off by himself.

***He asks for privacy when he goes to the bathroom...yet the concept does not work the other way around when I want to go to the bathroom, there is always an open door policy for mommy.......hmmm, I will have to work on this one with him, haha!!!!

He is really progressing well with his vocabulary as well, he says the funniest things sometimes! The other day he ran into the room that Jon and I were in and said "hey guys, want to go swimming", like we were kids like him too!! He also told us the other day that we were being "silly kids".

We are so proud of our little boy and looking forward to seeing him transform into a big brother really soon! I really think 3 will be the perfect age for this major life transition as he can understand it so much better than he would have a year ago!

I never thought I would want to be in pain.....

I never thought I would be excited to feel pain!! I started the day with lots of painful contractions this morning and for a while there, they did seem to be coming every 5 minutes so I started to track them and I got all excited and thought today might be the day. I dropped Jackson at school, went to work because I was not in that much pain and my water has not broken and I had a 10am estate planning consult!! I called Jon and told him to keep his phone close and I touched base with the babysitter who will stay with Jackson. The contractions continued all morning but by lunch time, the pain associated with them had stopped and it seemed to just be back to the braxt and hicks. I feel like I have many more when I am up and about than just sitting so I'm trying to keep moving, although I am very sore and pretty tired as I am not sleeping good anymore. My muscles and whole pelvic region just hurt from where the baby is sitting and from carrying this awkward weight around these last few weeks. I do not remember that from the end with Jackson and I do not remember feeling like he was ever this low. So, we'll see!! I feel like there is no way this could go on past the weekend and I'm hoping she will come in the next few days, stay tuned!!

39 week appointment

I had my 39 week appointment today and I am happy to report that we are starting to see progress!!! I am one cm dilated and the baby's head is all the way down on the cervix, no longer "floating" at all. I really felt like something had to have changed becasue just walking around the past few days, I feel like the baby is just going to fall out!! I know that is not really possible, but it does feel that way, her head is just right there. Sorry if that is too graphic for everyone, but it just is, at this point I would not need a doctor to tell me she is head down. I cannot even sit comfortably and cross my legs!! So, we'll see, this could happen at any time now.

All of my tests also came back great, BP was perfect today, I have still not gained any more weight, I actually went down another pound (yeah for that) and my blood and urine tests from Friday came back clear of any signs of proteins or preeclampsia. We also had another fetal non stress test this morning which was perfect as well. We will see the doctor again on Friday morning and see what is going on at that point going into the holiday weekend, that is, if I don't deliver before that, you never know!! I feel like this could happen within the next few days but I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

We've got a lot of other family events in the coming days, cousin George's birthday is the 26th, Jackson's is the 28th, Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary is also the 28th, Aunt Julia and Uncle Craig's anniversary is the 29th, and Mimi and Papa's anniversary is in this last week of May somewhere too.......so, we're bound to hit on something here, what is with this family and May events??!!

6 years and baby update!!

Today we are celebrating our 6 year anniversary, I can barely believe that!!! We've had a lot of changes this year, new job for Jon, new house, and a new baby who is soon to arrive (9 days to go, come on Sarabeth)!!

6 years ago we woke up to a beautiful classic spring Ohio day with sunshine, blue skies, and temps in the low to mid 70's!! I donned a strapless Lilly dress (which I still have and wear when not pregnant) and we headed to a salon near my house for hair and make-up by mid-morning. It was a lot of fun because I had a huge wedding party (9 girls) including family, and friends from all walks of my life and as I was getting my hair and make-up done, I got to see everyone else as well along with the moms as we all had staggered appointments. After the hair appointments we came back to my parents house for a light luncheon and then it was time to put on what I would wear to the church and head in that direction!! I put my dress on at the church and the next thing I new, it was 5pm and time to walk down the aisle. The mass was held at Historic St. Patrick's in downtown Toledo and the church was beautiful and comfortable with the cool spring air blowing in the open back door. Everyone looked great and the music and flowers were beautiful and I remember sitting up on the alter looking out at everyone and just smiling as our big day had finally arrived and the church was filled with special family and friends. After mass we had a fun old fashioned trolley to transport our jumbo sized wedding party to the reception and out door photo ops. We had special drinks and snacks on the trolley and headed to Aunt Debbie's gorgeous backyard and some special areas in the Hamlet for some outdoor photos and then it was on to the Carrinor Club for dinner and dancing. I still remember how beautiful the club looked that night, especially the outdoor tent area where my dad had hung beautiful pink and ivory ribbons and twinkle lights with tool (sp??) Thankfully someone (I think this was Frances) somehow got a picture of the inside of the club and tent all decorated without a bunch of people in there yet and it was just so beautiful!! We had a great night with lots of laughter, tears, dancing and the night capped off just before midnight with us changing into nice suits and walking through a tunnel of remaining guests for a sparkler sendoff. We got into a waiting limo and were whisked away to a hotel in Detroit (not before Jon made the limo go through the Wendy's drive through though as we were both starving) where we slept for about 2 hours, then got right back up and got on a plane to depart for San Juan and our 7 day southern Carribean cruise honeymoon. The rest is history...............Tonight we are planning to celebrate with a dinner out at a good steak restaurant Jon has always wanted to try near our house. We have a sitter for Jackson for just a few hours and then we'll head back home for an early night in. I am so tired these days, I'm not up for much more than that!!


Switching gears, as for the appointments I had yesterday, all appears to be well and I am happy to report that I did NOT get admitted to the hospital for bed rest!! My BP came down now that I am on the BP meds, it was 100 over 60 yesterday, my weight has been the same for about 3 weeks now so they are happy with that as well and the fetal non stress test showed that SB is tolerating being in the womb just fine and is not in stress at all. I still don't know the results of the blood and urine tests but the doctor said he would call me if there was a problem and that he did not anticipate anything to show up since the other tests were fine. I am just supposed to take it easy as much as possible and I will see the Dr. again Tuesday morning. Hopefully that will reveal that the baby has dropped more and I am starting to dilate and then maybe he will schedule an induction for next week, that would be SO NICE!! Stay tuned for more on this after Tuesday.

38 Week Appointment

I had my 38 week appointment and things are starting to get a bit "hairy" for lack of a better word. My BP was up again, so they put me on a BP medicine and starting Thursday night, I have to do a 24 hour urine collection test (I had to do this twice at the end with Jackson). So, tomorrow is supposed to be my last official day in the office, I will work from home on Friday and do the test and then I have to take the test to the lab at the hospital Friday, have blood work drawn and do a fetal non stress test. Based on the test results, they will call the doctor and he will then decide if I have to STAY in the hospital or go home. Don't get too excited though, if he opts that I have to stay, I likely just get to be trapped there and it is not like that means we are having the baby!! So, hopefully he will not make me stay at the hospital and I can just rest at home next week until either the baby is born or the Dr. decides it is safe to induce me again. Today's internal exam revealed no progress, I seriously was about to cry as I have been having so many contractions and today they were even hurting so I was sure something was happening but to date, no dilation and the baby's head is still not touching the cervix. The Dr. basically said that if they had to induce labor today, it would not work and would result in a c-section which obviously I want to avoid so we will monitor the BP and hope for the baby to continue to drop so that at least if he had to, he could induce labor and get her out that way. For whatever reason, my babies do not like to come out on their own, and my body does not tolerate these last few weeks of pregnancy well as far as the BP goes. So, I am now trying to get things in order for tomorrow to be my last day in the office (although I have been anticipating this so things are fairly well in order already) and more importantly, I am trying to find a sitter to keep Jackson Friday after school so Jon can go with me to the hospital for the tests. If I do end up having to stay, he will then go home that night and be with Jack but we don't need my car stuck there and him not there to know what is going on initially. Stay tuned, the next few days could get interesting.

Sunday Sunday

We have had a pretty good weekend around here!! I used my mother's day gift today and got my prenatal massage at a local spa near our house that one of my friend's owns. It was great, the lady really worked on my lower back and neck and shoulders which was really a nice treat. The massage was for one hour and I swear, I could have stayed there for three hours but all good things must come to an end!! While I was gone, Jon and Jack had planned to go to the park but we had an extremely rare morning with gray skys and rain (thank goodness as it has been so hot and dry here) so instead, they went and saw the movie Rio. This is the second time Jack has been to the movie theater and he loved it! I seriously think he likes the "snacks" better than the actual movie but they had a good time and he sat through the whole thing. When they got out of the movie, the clouds and rain had moved through and they went to the park on their way home to run off any excess energy that had built up. Jack took a good nap this afternoon (another really good thing as this does not happen often these days) and now we are just getting ready to face the week.

Sarabeth has definitely started to drop a bit, I can put my hand on the top of my stomach and push down and I could not do that before. I have also had many more of the practice contractions all weekend so she is definitely getting ready to arrive. The official due date is two weeks from tomorrow and we see the doctor again on Wednesday so we'll update on the pregnancy status after our appointment.

Jackson's third birthday party at Crazy Frogs!!

This morning we had Jackson's 3rd birthday party at Crazy Frogs, an indoor inflatable playground!! He had a great time running around playing on all of the inflatable slides and bounce houses with his friends. After the kids played for an hour, we had a pizza lunch in the special party room, we enjoyed a personalized Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater Disney race car cake, sang happy birthday, and we had a visit from the Crazy Frog himself! After lunch all of the kids got tokens to play some games and by 12:15, we were on our way home, exhausted and with one happy birthday boy!!!

Here are some pictures from Jackson's party, happy weekend everyone!!!

I saw the doctor again this morning, this time at 8:30am as opposed to 4:30 pm yesterday when it was 99 degrees out. My BP was normal, and I somehow lost two pounds over night (fluid I am sure) although I am not really looking swollen. So, they will continue to watch it and we'll see what happens.

37 week appointment

I had a very busy day today. The day was a little too crazy resulting in me having high blood pressure and having to go BACK to the doctor again tomorrow morning for another BP check. If it is still high tomorrow morning, he will put me on the HBP meds like last time (although last time by this point I had already been on them for nearly a month so I am doing better) and then he may make me do other blood and urine tests, wonderful.

As for the internal exam, the baby has started to drop, but no dilation or anything like that yet. The doctor did warn that she could fully drop at any time and things can go fast the second time around so I guess we will just pay attention to what is going on and try to take it easy as much as possible. Since we will have zero help for the first few weeks here even if she arrives on time and not early, it won't help me at all for her to come early although it is SO HOT here now (heat index near 100 today) so we'll see how I can tolerate all of this in the heat. I will update tomorrow as to what is going on with the BP. For now, I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed!!

office shower

My office through me a shower today during the lunch hour and we got many more sweet things for Sarabeth!! For a second baby, this girl is getting spoiled!! We had a great pizza lunch with pizza and salad from a local restaurant, we had chocolate mousse cake with a layer of fresh fruit in the middle, everyone told all sorts of birth/children stories (good thing it was only girls allowed) and we opened presents. I got a green and pink polka dot monogrammed diaper bag from pottery barn, a cute madras plaid bath wrap with Sarabeth's name on it, a personalized growth chart for her room, many many cute outfits, blankets, and even some gift cards for future use!! Now, we just need this baby girl to arrive. I have another appointment tomorrow afternoon and this will be the first internal exam so we'll see if any progress is being made......if history repeats itself, I'm not counting on much to report, but you never know!! I need her to hang tight for at least another week or so, we have Jackson's big third birthday party at Crazy Frogs this coming Saturday and after that, we will be ready for whatever is going to happen.

Mother's day photos

Here are some pictures from before brunch on Mother's day and 37 week belly shots!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day to all the moms and grandmothers in our lives! We are waking up to a beautiful sunshine filled day here in Florida. Jon and Jackson greeted me with flowers, a vase Jackson made at school, a pretty card and gift cards for a pregnancy massage at a place near our house and my office, and an extra gift card for a second massage post baby or for products, whatever I feel like at the time! Normally we don't do real presents for things like this so that was a nice surprise:) I think I am going to schedule my pregnancy massage sooner rather than later as I feel like I am having more and more of the B & H contractions and back pain so I want to make sure I get to use it while I am still pregnant!!

Today we are just spending the day together. We have reservations for brunch at Disney Vero this morning and then we'll relax at the house and enjoy the pool and the beach, the weather is just perfect today for this!!

We finally got the computer back and it is fixed so here are some pictures from the zoo last weekend and from our mother's day celebration at Jackson's school Friday morning, one of the pictures is with his teacher, Miss Julie, and finally some pictures from yesterday when we went to Lola's birthday party!! We had a special breakfast together for mother's day and Monday Jackson will be a very big boy and move to Miss Fran's class where he will be joining the "Young 3's". More on that later!!

the coolest double stroller!!

I have had my eye on the Contours 3 Berkeley Stroller by Kolcraft now for about 6 months. It FINALLY just became available for purchase at the beginning of May. I have contacted Babies R Us and asked them to send me registry completion coupons early (they should arrive any day now) so I can order it and save an additional 15%!! With the price of the stroller, it is worth it to wait for the coupon as that will save me nearly $50.00 plus I have a gift card to put towards the stroller and Babiesrus.com offers free shipping on purchases over $100.00 so it won't be too bad with the coupons in use!!

This stroller is really cool and we've seen the older Ruby model in use at both Sea World and Disney (the best places to scout out double strollers I've found) and the families that had them both had kids with similar age gaps as we will soon have and loved it! The seats can be turned in 6 different positions and the thing is just really cool looking to boot!! I can't wait for my coupons to get here so I can order it already!

Here is a link to the website showing the stroller:

http://www.kolcraft.com/products/strollers/tandem/245-contours-optima-tandem

If this does not work by copying and pasting into your browser window, then just google Countours, Kolcraft tandem Berkeley stroller.

This is their newest model, and it weighs in at only 31 pounds which is considerably lighter than the previous two models. It will still be quite a monster of a stroller but that just comes with the territory with a double stroller, but I do like that it is a long double stroller vs. a double wide one..............I've seen the double wides in use too and the people cannot get through doorways, or through crowds at amusement parks and crowded places so I definitely think this is the way to go!! Pictures once our stroller arrives!!

like father, like son!!

Just a quick post to confirm that Jackson is definitely the mini me of JON!!! Jon always told me how social he was as a child, always running with one friend or another from place to place, always of course, ON THE GO!!! Last weekend we were playing in the yard on Saturday and Jackson was running through the sprinkler and he told me out of the blue that he wanted to have a friend over to play. I asked him which friend and he said "Lola". I said, ok, we'll have to plan something soon and that was the end of that.

Tonight, when we got home from school and running some errands, we saw one of his friends from school and one of our neighbors heading to the beach access to play. We went on into the house and he would NOT let up that his friend "Ella" was at the beach and could he PUHLEASE go play with his friends too. So, after dealing with him bouncing off the walls for 30 minutes or so, I decided getting the energy out was the only answer so to the beach we went for a walk and to PLAY with his friends.

I don't often get to sit and observe him with other children but tonight I did and it is HILARIOUS what a leader he is and to see how much he loves playing with his "friends". He is not shy AT ALL and just loves to play with other kids. He did not even know the neighbor kid who is just about 6-8 months younger than him but he was herding this little boy and Ella (who is 9 months older than Jackson) before I knew it and I kept hearing him say "come on guys, let's go, let's go" with regard to whatever game they were playing. If you have not sat back and just watched or observed your child at play lately, give it a go, it is pretty funny to watch and see their little personalities!!!

I bit the bullet.....

I bit the bullet today and hired the cleaning company we had before Jackson was born to come back!! We have been doing the cleaning ourselves since we moved, and lately, things are just NOT as clean as I would like them to be and I do not have the energy to work full time, and be this pregnant and then spend half of Saturday deep cleaning the house. So, starting next Friday, the cleaning fairies will come to the house every other week for the next few months to get us through the birth and transition thereafter. After that point in time, if I can afford to keep them (even just once a month for a good deep clean), I will do it, but who knows with paying more than most people's mortgage payment for two kids in daycare. At least then I won't still be so pregnant!

I also had my 36.5 week appointment yesterday with our doctor and things are still looking really good, much better than my pregnancy with Jackson at this point. My BP was still totally fine the first time they took it (at this point in the last pregnancy I was on a HBP med) and no real swelling. I can still wear my wedding band and my feet and ankles look normal. I've gained 10 pounds less at this point in the pregnancy as compared to the last pregnancy so that is of course also good. I think I can thank Jackson for that because I have no choice but to keep up with him, whether I feel like it or not. He give me no breaks!!

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone.........I have a luncheon planned with friends today to celebrate my friend Melissa's b-day and of course Cinco De Mayo. We are all working ladies and half of us are also pregnant so no margaritas for us but we are eating at a great mexican restaurant in town, should be a good time and a good break in the work day. Jon always jokes that I am so "social" with all of my lunches (I seriously do this like 1x a month or every other month) but I told him, this is the only time my friends and I can ever do anything that does not involve inconveniencing our families now that we are all married and have small kids so we take advantage of the lunch social hour when we can!!

heard in the car and around town....

Sorry for no pictures from the weekend, but our lap top decided to get a virus so it is being repaired, hence I cannot upload photos right now!! This past weekend was pretty quiet which was nice. I am still fighting a bad cold and now Jackson has it too. In spite of that, Sunday we went to the zoo (our zoo is much smaller than the Toledo zoo) but it is a really neat zoo, the animals are all very up close and you can see them really well in the exhibits and there is a lot of interactive stuff which I've not seen at other zoos. To top it off, they have an amazing splash zone for smaller kids as well to cool off when you're finished with seeing the animals so Jackson really had a great time. I will share pictures once the computer is fixed!!

While driving to the zoo, Jackson asked us "how will Sarabeth get out of mommy's belly"? We told him the doctor has to get her out at the hospital. He then asked "what tools does he use"?? Before I could respond he then said "scissors"......... and then said with great concern, "oh no, that would really hurt her and hurt mommy". I just said for him not to worry and that the doctor had "special tools" and that we would both be ok. It is amazing his stream of thought these days and his genuine concern about this whole ordeal.

The other random thing that I want to record is that a complete stranger asked me if I was having twins yesterday!! Seriously......the doctor thinks this baby will likely be only around 7 pounds like Jack was and I am not measuring big, but right on track for 36 weeks. Don't people know it is NOT appropriate to say that to a pregnant person, much less to someone they don't even know??!! I laughed about it but really, that is not a comment that should be put out there!!