Daily Dimples

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Ryan spent the morning with his cousin Audrey and Aunt Sarah while mommy went to the doctor for her checkup and glucose test. Yum! I just saw my regular OB today so no sonogram. Everything is going well so there isn't much to report.
- I have gained another 3.5lbs which puts me at a total of 16.5lbs total. I still have 11 weeks to go so I am thinking I might gain more than 25 lbs this pregnancy....oh well.
- Baby's heart rate was 131 today, which is back down low...which according to old wives tales means it's a boy. So this week I will go with Boy again.
- Now I will start going to my doctor every two weeks - wow! I can't believe it's already time for that! This is really going to fly by...better get ready for this baby!

In other news, I found a cute mini session deal with Chelle Cates Photography and decided to get some 2 years pictures of the little man done. I love all the props that she uses and thought these would be super cute. The theme is SUMMER FUN and includes a cool truck, bright tires, bubbles, cold Cherry Limeades and more! I might try and see if Kevin and I could pop in one of the pictures so we could get one more family picture of just the three of us before little baby comes!

So what do you do once you book a photo session? Go shopping :) We headed to Crewcuts yesterday (because I am obsessed) and because I was looking for little white shorts. While I did not find the white shorts I set out for, I did find some other adorable items - go figure. I am loving these toddler sweatpants shorts...and they were $19.99 and an additional 30% off! What a steal...especially for that store! Ryan looks so adorable in them not to mention they are uber comfy. He is rocking them with a gray gap tank - a great friday look! Sometimes he is too cool for mommy.

In a few weeks we are headed up to Montana to visit Kevin's parents. We try and go every summer and always have a blast so I am really looking forward to it - plus it's so nice to get out of the heat! Anyhow, we will be there for a week and we return on Ryan's actual birthday! I have been searching for a cute little shirt that he could wear on the plane and was happy to find this one on etsy. Originally I wanted something that said "birthday boy" but I couldn't find anything I liked - I might just have to find a little button or sticker somewhere to add for his special day.

I have been working away on Ryan's 2nd birthday and this week I think I found some adorable party favors. I had an idea to give little aviator sunglasses but I wasn't having much success shopping online for them. This week I hit up The Children's Place and hit the jackpot. The only problem is that they had a few different options and I can't decide what I like best.

I ended up buying all of the metal framed aviators they had available because they reminded me most of a pilot - thinking Top Gun. However, the blue plastic aviators were super cute on Ryan and he seemed to like them better. Then, when I got home and was looking online I saw the orange ones (the party colors are orange and blue so I thought these would be cute too!). I was only able to secure 10 pairs of the metal ones in the store and I am planning on around 25 little kids so I need to get more...I just don't know if I should order the same or do a mix?!? Help me!

And lastly, Kevin and I met with the architect and builder to discuss plans for our new house this week. It was so cool to see what the architect came up with and I am so excited to develop it further. We really loved his ideas but it is still in the early stages and tweaks need to be made. One thing he brought to the table was an atrium/courtyard type thing. Honestly I would have never imagined or thought I wanted something like this but they way it fits with the house is actually really neat. I think if it is done correctly it could be a really neat feature and almost another "room" in the house. After our meeting Kevin and I discussed everything further and came up with a list of things that we needed altered. We have sent it back over so now we are just waiting to see how the architect will adjust the plans. I am trying to be so patient....and it's so hard!!! Good think I have a lot on my plate to distract me!!!

That's all for now!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Toddler Gift Guide

Ryan's second birthday is still a month away but friends and family have already started asking me what he wants! I realize he is going to be two and doesn't really want anything but he is a kid, and kids love toys...and mommy loves having him entertained...even if it is for only 15 min at a time :)

I can never seem to come up with ideas on the spot so I decided to sit down and compile a list of a bunch of toys that Ryan or any other two year old would probably love. Not only is it going to be Ryan's birthday but most of his friends have summer birthdays too so I have some shopping to do as well!

Obviously there are a ton of toys out there and it is a bit overwhelming (especially if you don't have kids), so maybe this will help you! And if you have any good toy ideas I would love to know about them! Like I say...I am always looking for ideas!

1. Grow-to-Pro super sounds Soccer Goal $29.99 - Little boys love their sports! Cute soccer goal that you could play with outside or even inside (depending on how aggressive your child is).
2. Plasma Car $69.98 - No pedals, gears or batteries! Easy to maneuver and tons of fun for little kids. Ryan played with this at a friends house and I couldn't get him off of it!
3. Fisher Price Cash Register $19.99 (Toys R us exclusive)- This play register has colorful, numbered coins to sort and drop, buttons to press, and popping, spinning and rolling action. What toddler wouldn't love this?
4. iPlay Jumbonetics $27.99: Toddlers love building things (and tearing them apart)! These magnetic building tools are specially designed for children 18 months and up. Ryan would have a fun time creating structures with these!
5. Melissa & Doug Construction Wooden Chunky Puzzle $14.99- Chunky puzzles are great for those little fingers! Melissa & Doug is one of our favorite brands and they have so many different themed puzzles including ones to help kids learn shapes, ABCs, numbers, animals, ect... Always a great choice!

6. Flexible Building Blocks $29.99 - Soft and squishy, but still strong enough to fit together and build tall - these blocks are a great sensory AND building toy for the little ones.

7. PlanToys Road & Rail Transportation Play Set $60- Little boys really do love cars, trucks and trains. Play Toys has a great PlanCity collection where you can add different services, forms of transportation and types of buildings to your city. This collection would be a great start for your toddlers new city!

8. YBIKE Balance Bike ($60-$100)- Balance bikes are the new rage these days (bye bye training wheels!). Apparently they are the new way to train your kids to...well, balance a bike. YBike's version is super kid-tough, lightweight, and a little smaller for the beginner in your life.
9. Melissa & Doug Food Groups $19.99- Two words - "Pretend play". Ryan loves the play kitchen that his Yiayia and Papu got for him and he loves pretending to feed himself and his stuffed animals. It is so much fun to watch him too! I recommend wooden food over the plastic & cardboard stuff they have because it is more durable.
10. Melissa & Doug Magnetic Hide and Seek $16.99 - Another M&D find - an activity board that featured nine hinged doors and when the door is opened, a magnetic piece is revealed. Items like this are very entertaining for a toddler!
11. Elmo Rain jacket/boots ($54/$37)- Buying clothes as a gift can be difficult unless you know mommy and baby pretty well. A lot of times mommy's prefer to dress their child themselves but I always think accessories are a good gift. Ryan loves Elmo right now - I saw this cute rain jacket and boots and think he would love it! Ryan loves splashing in puddles!

28 weeks

Oh those crazy whispys! I got them last time I was pregnant too!

Wow - I can't believe this weeks marks the beginning of the third trimester! This is going wayyyy too fast!

How far along? 28 weeks 0 days

Total weight gain/loss? 13+lbs and counting...official weigh in on Friday!

Baby size: Baby weighs almost two and a quarter pounds and is about 14.8 inches long. Baby is the size of a chinese cabbage this week (Babycenter.com)

Exercise: Still nothing but a friend was telling me about a prenatal yoga class that she loves - might check it out next Tuesday.

Maternity clothes? Yes - and stretchy stuff like the maxi dress I wore for Kevin's birthday!

Stretch marks? So far so good!

Sleep: Same ol story - some nights I am up a few times for the bathroom and some nights I sleep all the way though.

Best moment this week: Meeting with the builder and architect to see preliminary plans for the house! Makes it start to feel real! I love planning for our future together :)

Miss anything: Nothing much this week

Movement: Starting to feel larger movement...like an arm moving across my belly instead of just little kicks/hits

Food cravings: I finally made the Reese's Peanut butter banana bread that I found on Pinterest and it's AMAZING!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Have you started to show yet: Yes

Gender predication: No strong feelings this week...undecided again.

Labor signs: No

Symptoms: Big ol belly, heartburn, back pain (but only when we went on a long walk)

Wedding rings on or off? On

Belly button in or out? Out.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Kevin's Week

Last week was a special week for Kevin - we started the week out by celebrating Father's Day and ended the week by celebrating his 32nd birthday.

I'll start with Father's Day...
When we got up Ryan created a Father's Day card for his daddy - he loves to stamp those little hand prints everywhere.

When daddy got up he opened his gifts and we played with little R.

We met the Hales and Botterman's for brunch at Patrizios.

After brunch we headed back home to put the little man down for a nap. He was already tired on the way home and it wasn't even noon yet! Oh well, we figured if we put him down early then we would be able to get out and do something in the afternoon.

Original plans were to head to the Rangers game. I thought this would be so much for Ryan and also for Kevin but we didn't end up going. We wanted to get seats that were close enough so that Ryan could see what was going on but we didn't really want to pay a lot because we didn't know how long Ryan would actually last in a seat. The other issue was wanting to be in the shade...

We thought we would just head up to the pool but when Ryan woke up clouds had rolled in and it looked like a storm was coming. Goodness....so we ended up just heading to the mall. Not very exciting but we were able to exchange Kevin's shoes for the correct size and burn a little energy.

Ryan showing daddy the ducks and turtles.

We headed back home and Joe came over to watch the golf tournament with Kevin - we ordered pizza and they had some beers. Ryan loved playing with Joe, so all in all it ended up being a fun day and I think Kevin had a great time.

Saturday was Kevin's 32nd birthday! His birthday starts the McDonough birthday season - next up in July is Ryan's, then mine in August (the big 3-0) and then new baby due in September!!!

Special birthday breakfast with pancakes and sausage. Ryan loved the syrup and nutella...someone has a sweet tooth!

After breakfast we headed up to the pool! Ryan and daddy had a great time playing in the baby pool.

Ryan came home and took a LONG nap. When he got up we had a mini birthday celebration for daddy. We sang happy birthday and opened presents - always fun!

Little man loved this cupcake...mostly just loved the icing! We only gave him 1/4 of it because we didn't want to get him too hyped up on sugar for the babysitter!

To celebrate Kevin's birthday we met up with friends for dinner at Jorge's in One Arts Plaza. Kevin really enjoys sipping tequila so I wanted to do something a little special for him and arrange a private tequila tasting.