A half a year gone, and look what happens

Two friends, one a long-time blogger and one just starting, have by example made it clear to me that I have neglected this blog for far too long. One friend decided to start a blog to remove herself from the Facebook craziness and share her family adventures with friends, and another has returned after a rough patch of dissatisfaction with her creative direction and loss of motivation. Both write for different reasons, but both have committed to writing consistently, which has inspired me to get back on the horse.


 The last time I wrote, I was welcoming the beginning of a new decade of my life. What I did not mention in that post was that Eli and I were also beginning the journey to welcoming a new life into our lives. On my birthday I was just shy of 6 weeks pregnant, the tiny life so new that we had not yet been to our first prenatal checkup. My excitement about this pregnancy was and is beyond description. We had a long road of trying and disappointment leading to this new life, and the relief of success and joy following is such a gift. 


Pregnancy has been good the second time around, though more different than I would have suspected. Unlike my first pregnancy, I have had a multitude of symptoms to deal with, including 3 months of morning, afternoon, and evening sickness. Yuck! Aside from said sickness, none of the other symptoms have been particularly bad, though my repressed immune system has made allergy season much, much worse than normal for me. I have such sympathy now for those who go deal with severe allergies every year. I don't know how I would cope.


 One of the good differences about this pregnancy is my exercise routine. When pregnant with Will, there basically was no routine between working until 7 months along and then moving to a new city almost 1000 miles away from our apartment in Baltimore. This pregnancy I have been at the YMCA as much as possible. In the first 2 trimesters I was there 5 days a week more often then not. These last 3 weeks have not been as good because of travel and appointments, but I am back in gear this week and plan to continue this routine through the end of the pregnancy. I feel so much better and have not gotten nearly as big as I did the first time around. May I just ask, where has yoga been all my life? I scoffed at yoga for years but have now seen the light. I have a yoga class every day of the week and it is my favorite activity by far.


We found out in mid-March that our new bundle is a little boy! Will is going to have a baby brother, and I may apply for combat pay. :) In all seriousness though, I am delighted to have another little boy. Before we knew, when asked Eli and I would both say it would be nice to have a girl, to have one of each. And there was plenty of talk about how wonderful a little girl could be. When the ultrasound tech was taking the images, she initially thought we had a girl, only to correct herself two minutes later when the umbilical chord moved out of the way. If there was ever a sure-fire way to know if you truly had a preference, that would be it. Thankfully, I was just as happy to learn he was a boy as when I thought he was a girl.

                                                             Baby Boy at 21 weeks


 Choosing a name for this little guy was a bit more of a process than with Will. Will's name had been decided upon long before he even existed. This time, we had plenty of girl names ready, but not another boy name. I went though one of those giant baby name books and made a list, then made Eli do the same thing without seeing my list. The list of common names between the two lists was depressingly short, so it sat untouched. The day we found out the gender, while we were waiting for the doctor, I asked Eli what he thought about Benjamin. Eli, in his customary way, thought for a quiet minute, then said he liked it just fine. A few weeks later, after learning that Benjamin happens to be a family name on Eli's mom's side of the family, we agreed on a middle name from my side of the family. Benjamin Armstrong Roberson is what we decided upon, and Will very gladly will tell you that "Baby Ben" is in my tummy.


Speaking of Will, good grief is he growing up fast.  He is all boy, and such a talker!  ( I know, big surprise he is a talker, he is my child.)  He loves to play pretend and lines all his toy vehicles up to make them into one huge train.  He is currently obsessed with the movie Cars, and runs around the house quoting lines from the movie.  Potty training is happening slowly but surely,  probably more slowly than necessary but that is totally on Momma and Daddy.  He graduated to a toddler bed in early  March, and has done much better than I could have hoped.  We still find him sleeping under the bed fairly regularly, but he is staying out of things for the most part. He likes to tell stories and play at the park, and he absolutely knows how to turn up the cuteness factor to try to get what he wants.  Will is also going through what I am told is the typical emotional, dramatic 2-year-old phase.  Everything is either a huge joy or a huge tragedy.  We get several mini-meltdowns on any given day.  The funny thing is if you can get a word in edgewise to tell him what is going on, he normally calms right down.  I will offer something and he will scream and moan " I don't WANT that!!", and if I can get through the noise enough to remind him he isn't being forced and ask him how to say it nicely, he will calm down immediately and say "no thanks, Momma."  


 In a couple of weeks my best friend will be coming to visit in order to paint the spare room to become Will's new room.  We are going to decorate it with Thomas the Tank Engine decals and the walls will be painted sky blue and grass green.  I think it is going to be great, and I know Will is going to love it.  We will also be adding a waterfall to the murals in the nursery, along with a big turtle with Ben writing in the shell markings.  Plans for these rooms have caused me to start nesting early, and I know I am driving Eli out of his mind.  But I get so anxious worrying about all the things around the house that I want done before Ben arrives, because I know it will be months before we are really back to any kind of normal once he arrives.  I got in such a tizzy Saturday that Eli let me have my way, but only once I promised that Sunday afternoon I would take a break and go see a movie in order to protect every one's mental health.  I agreed, and as usual in these situations, Eli was right.  


That is as much as i think goes in this particular blog.  I have several entries under the topic of baking, and books I have read that I will share shortly, and if I am a slacker please feel free to call me on it.  I truly want to be more consistent with this blog.