The number 2 seems to be a common theme in our house right now. To start, we found out in October that we will be welcoming our second child in July, and this past Thursday we learned that it will be a baby girl! Eric and I had both convinced ourselves that Mac would be getting a little brother so we were very surprised when we saw a little girl on the screen. Then again, we were also confident that Mac was going to be a girl. And of course, she has already manged to aquire 3 cute litte outfits since then. We've already agreed on 2 name choices so now it's just a matter of picking one, which means we are way ahead of where we were in terms of naming her big brother. Now it's on to decorating and organizing. I can't wait!
The "2" theme continues as our little boy has somehow turned into a big boy, having just celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. I have no idea where the last 2 years have gone. He has definently started to assert his independence. He likes to push his own stroller, climb into his own chair, and I'm pretty sure he bosses the dog around even though I have no idea what he's saying half the time. Elmo is the man of the hour in our house, and after his party yesterday, I'm pretty sure he has every Elmo related item ever made! We actually had 2 parties; one for the kids in the morning, and one for the family at night. It was a very long and tiring day, but worth every minute of it to see such a happy little boy.
So the plan is to give this whole blogging thing another try...hopefully weekly posts? We'll see how it goes!
Here are a few pictures of our sweet baby girl and Mac's birthday party:
All the ups and downs in the last month have made me feel a little seasick! Less than a week after my last post it seems like all hell broke loose! The day before Halloween Mac, Heisman, and I met up with Mac's Godparents for a little doggie Halloween fun out near Cypress. It was basically a dog friendly/centered event that had fun stuff for the kids too. We had a really great time and of course mac was happy because there were tons of puppies for him to pet. As we were leaving I saw that I had a voicemail from my sister saying that she had to take my grandmother to the emergency room because she couldn't breathe. I'm the first to admit that my mind always jumps to the worst case scenario, but lets face it, she's 90 years old. Once I finally got in touch with her I found out that she had a pretty severe case of bronchitis and the doctors thought it would be best to admit her to the hospital. And before I go on, let me just say a huge "Thank You" to my sister and brother-in-law for sitting in the ER for at least 10 hours with her. Since I had Mac I couldn't really go up there and it was so nice to know she was being taken care of...so thanks Mel and Travis! Well, within 24 hours her bronchitis had turned into pneumonia, which is why they wanted to admit her. Pneumonia is serious in a young healthy person, so in an older person it is just not a good thing. Nothing really changed until Wednesday. I called up to the hosptial to let her know I was on my way up to visit and my great-aunt Ruth answered the phone and told me that she was about to be taken in to surgery! What?!?! Not only did they need to go in to clear out some of the mucus and fluid so that she could breathe, but in the process they found out that she had breast cancer. I was shocked. I got the hospital at 10:30am and after a very very long day of wondering and waiting, they brought her back to the room around 4:30pm. After a few days of waiting we found out that the 2 biospies that were done (one of the breast, one of the lungs) both came back positive for cancer. My grandmama is something else though. She said it doesn't make a difference to her. She had cancer before she came into the hosptial and she'll have it when she leaves because she's not going to do anything about it. And honestly, I am glad. I would rather see her live the rest of her life at home, not in and out of a doctors office than to watch her to through treatment. We did have a little scare last week when she suddenly spiked a fever and had to be sent to ICU, but within 24 hours she was back to her old self and in a regular room.
We did have a nice little celebration for her this past Thursday. She turned 90 years old and we had a little party! It was nice to get a few of us together to celebrate such an amazing and special woman! I love her!
During her little party Mac must have thought he wasn't getting enough attention and started coughing and subsequently puked all over himself. I had a sneaky feeling that he didn't just get choked and that sickness was upon us. Friday when I took him to school he just wasn't acting right. He usually sings all the way to school, but was oddly quiet, and just make matters worse he tripped in the parking lot and fell right on his chin. To add insult to injury, I got a call right before lunch saying that he fell in the hall and busted his lip open! Poor guy. Eric took Mac to dinner (so Mommy could have a little peace and quiet) and he threw up in the car on the way home. This morning it really hit. He was running 102 fever, threw up on me, and just wanted to be held. He took a 4 hour nap and still went to bed at 8pm. He has not had a good weekend. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow!
And yes...I am too lazy to post pictures right now. I'll put some up later this week =)
Mac always loves going to my Grandmama's house. You would think that it would be for the gigantic toy box full of anything you could possibly want to play with, but no. Other than his love for her, this is why Mac enjoys his visits so much:
The woman feeds him while he lays on the floor! Actually, she feeds him in pretty much any position he wants to be in. I always laugh when I take him over because I know we will be skipping the next meal because he is stuffed with whatever chocolate covered dessert she has made. She has a cabinet full of ever plastic continer she has ever purchased (sour cream, butter, etc) and Mac has the best time playing with them. I guess we've wasted a lot of money on toys!
Do you ever feel like you are always going somewhere??? I'm the first to admit that I am not a good traveler. I don't like to be gone from my house for more than a few days. I miss my house, my dog, and my bed. And to be completely honest, I pack such a ridiculous amount of clothing that even a weekend trip requries me to take the biggest suitcase I can find. So you can only imagine how much I take for a week long excursion. For those of you who know my husband, you know that from late August until December or January (based on whether or not the Ags actually decide to play and make a bowl game) we are always out of town on the weekends. It's not a complaint...just a way of life. About 2 weeks ago, since the Ags weren't playing at home, we decided to take a plane trip to Colorado to go see Eric's Mom and brother. I told Eric we need to get all our plane traveling in before next February so that Mac can still fly for free! We left late Wednesday night and were lucky to be on a plane that was half empty. Mac had a blast. The rows in front of and behind us were empty so he could get away with doing pretty much anything he wanted. We spent the next two days in Evergreen and Boulder visiting Eric's mom and brother and on Saturday we took a mini vacation to Vail. Just the two of us. Of course once we got there we missed Mac terribly, but it was such a nice little get away. Our major accomplishment is that we somehow managed to survive a 20 mile bike ride down Vail Pass. And when I say down, it does not mean down hill. The bike rental company told us it was a downhill ride and we would only have to pedal for a few minutes the whole ride...LIAR! It ended up taking us about 2 hours to complete and all I know is I did a lot of pedaling! When we got back from lunch we were both pretty tired and decided to take a nap. Our nap turned into us refusing to get up for dinner and ordering room service because we were so exhausted. It was really fun to just get to hang out and lounge around though. And Mac just hated being the center of attention! Eric's Mom kept him while we were away and I think she wore the child out. I think he went to bed by 8 pm every night...which is unheard of in the Bethea home. It was a good trip. Since I was 3 weeks late last month posting Mac's monthly report, I'll get this one in a day early:
Mac, at 20 months:
-You weigh 28 lbs -You know the colors red, blue, and white -You love cars and birds -You enjoy dancing naked in the back yard while Mommy sings Itsy Bitsy Spider(yes, I let him) -Your 3 favorite songs are "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Ring Around The Rosy", and "Shoes" (a Yo Gabba Gabba Song) -You have your own unique style of dance that I have yet to see anywhere else -You like to stand on your head -You said your 2nd sentence: "Thank You BB." -You recognize your friends and family by looking at their pictures -If I ask you for a smack you give me a big kiss -You think it's funny when Daddy smells your stinky feet -You speak in your own language that no one else seems to understand -You call Elmo, "Melmo" -You love babies -You have learned how to undress yourself, diaper included -You love to sing into your microphone -You peed in your big boy potty -You are still the most photographed baby in the world -You insist on double fisting milk and juice -You don't like to be fed, you want to do it yourself -You attended your first college football game with your buddy Caleb -You love to ride on airplanes -Your teachers always tell us what a sweet boy you are -You are still the greatest thing that ever happened to your Daddy and I!
Here are a few pictures from our trip and some randoms:
Growing up, I used to enjoy family summer vacations with you. I felt that we were great friends. However, I would like to bring up my last two visits. When I came to see you in January about 4 years ago, you made me fall down a mountain. I discovered that your snow is not fluffy like a cloud, but rather hard, cold and wet. This was not a lesson that I enjoyed learning. Strike 1. But I decided to be the bigger person. I gave you another chance and came back one August. You did not welcome me with open arms. Instead you decided it would be funny to play a joke on me and have a blizzard come through when all I brought were summer clothes. I was not amused. Strike 2. The point of this letter is to let you know that I will be coming to visit this evening. I will be staying for about a week and I will be using the rule of 3 strikes and you're out. While I do understand that it will be cool while I am there, I would appreciate it if you would abstain from hurling any form of frozen liquid from the sky. If you cannot comply with my request I am afraid I will have to end our friendship...
I have 3 partially written blog posts that I have started and not quite finished. Hopefully this one will actually be completed!
Eric and I took Mac to his first football game tonight at Rice. Since Rice is not known for it's football it worked out quite well. Mac had plenty of space to move around in all those empty seats. Mac's buddy Caleb even got to come with us. I was a little bit surprised that the boys seemed to pay attention to the game. They were at least looking in the direction of the field. Mac even made some new friends at the game. There was a group of 10 or 11 year old boys that were all on the same football team that sat on the steps right next to our seats. I had Mac sitting on my lap and told him to say touchdown so he raised his hands in the air and yelled "Ta-done." The next thing I know there were 6 boys asking me to make him do it again. Then I had him say good game and give me a high-five. I was surprised that boys that age would be impressed by a 19 month old, but it was very cute.
And yes, Mac is almost 20 months now, but I have to post this:
Mac, at 19 months:
-You weigh 27 lbs -You have never watched Elmo, but you love to show us where Elmo is on your pjs -You scream car every time you see one -You like to point at the moon and say "moooooooooon" -You like to show me "tees" (trees) -You scream "beep beep" when we get in the car until I honk the horn (I'm sure our neighbors appreciate it!) -You love to jump off of everything -You have to tell Heisman "Love you", give him a hug, and give him a kiss before we can leave the house -You still fight bed time -You can say some of your ABCs -You cry if Daddy won't smell your stinky feet (we don't get it either) -You like to yell "Stinky!" when I change your diaper -You have learned how to take your diaper off, and you think it is hilarious -You only swing one arm when you run (daddy says it's because you are pretending to run with a football in it) -You eat with your left hand -You draw with your right hand -You love to call Daddy on the phone -You know the colors red and blue, sometimes -Your favorite toy is your little red car -You are still a dancing fool -You say "Yo" all the time so that we will turn on your favorite show -You say "Brobie" every time you see him on Yo Gabba Gabba -You love "Biz's Beat Of The Day" (more Yo Gabba Gabba) -Your favorite book is Dr. Seuss's ABC's -You like to smack your lips when you give kisses -You give the sweetest, tightest hugs -You like to show Heisman where his eyes are (he wishes you would stop) -You love to be outside -You are still the greatest gift that your Daddy and I have ever received!
