Sunday Funny

A few weeks ago Abram & I stayed at my mom's house for the weekend since Matthew was coaching in WV for a few days.

Abram is a super good sleeper, but tends to fight it a bit when we're staying somewhere besides home.  On that Sunday, he took a 15 min. cat nap on the way from church to brunch.  When he does this when we're out & about around Fred-neck, I usually put him down for his nap closer to 1:00 than noon.  It doesn't rock his routine too much & he wakes up around his normal time of 3:00ish (sometimes later).  On this particular Sunday he just would not sleep when I tried to put him down in the pack 'n' play at my mom's.  We don't cry it out (Matthew & I have just never felt comfortable with it) so we gave up on trying to get him to take some shut eye & went about our day.

Come 5:00 PM, this happened...

...it's hard to hear, but he was snoring the entire time I was filming.

This kid, my goodness...love him!

Daddy's Day

I was Mrs. Sappy Sapperson on FB yesterday & put up a pic of Matthew & A.B. on Father's Day, so why wouldn't I continue that on here  ;)

the first picture ever taken of Matthew holding Abram

Watching the big guy in this pic interact with his nephews & nieces (heck, the fact that he loved kids enough to be pursing teaching in college when I met him at a young 20 years old) helped me know that he would be an awesome daddy.

Though we had a longer & tougher journey into parenthood than most, Matthew & I believe that what we've had to do/continue to do to expand our family has made us better parents than we ever could have been.  Our journey has taught us patience in God's timing, that He is faithful, & that miracles happen.

Early in our marriage, I remember thinking that I loved how we work well as a team (dubbing us "Team Fohner").  That concept has become even more firm since we became parents.  As former college athletes, we both know what it takes to work together.  I am so thankful for his help, his encouragement, his ability to do so many things well that I don't excel in (especially cooking!), & his willingness to pick up my slack or do things for us that I just don't feel like doing/ever get around to doing (which tends to be a fair amount nowadays since I'm pregnant again).

The world is a better place because he is in it.

And even better now that a piece of him lives on in Abram & this little one that will join our family in a matter of months.

As my boys lay sleeping upstairs (yes, it's 8:30 & they are both still snoring...this is a rare treat since A.B. usually rises around 7:00), I feel so blessed to have these two  :)  Even more blessed that Abram & this new little one will have such a great example of our Heavenly Father here on earth.

Thanks for all you do, Matthew!!!

Everything Needs to Slow Down

This...

was taken 1 year ago today

:(

Why must time go by so quickly?

{sigh}

He was just over 6 months old, had learned to sit up by himself a few weeks earlier, & was a shrimpy few oz. shy of 16 lbs.

But...

Only about 7 more months & I'll get to snuggle up with another little shrimp  :)

Fohner Family of FOUR!

yup...

this little one makes it official...

our rainbow baby stuck and we'll be a family of four right around New Year's  :)

This was the last ultrasound we had done at 8 weeks & 1 day along.  His or her heartbeat was going strong at 174 & the baby even did a bit of twitching for us.

We officially "graduated" from our high risk specialist doctor to the midwifery practice we go to & were able to visit them the next day after this pic was taken.  Clean bill of health, though I'll have to be monitored as we get closer to my due date since Abram was macrosomic & 15 days late, but I was used to going to get a NST or ultrasound every 2-3 days during the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Abram so that's not a huge deal.  Matthew & I are just praying that this one's birth goes a bit smoother than his or her older brother's arrival did.  Who knows, maybe this one will come on time or early?  At least we can hope  ;)

The midwife we met with a few weeks ago was the one who came on shift right around when things took a turn for the worse with A.B.'s delivery (a good midwife but not our favorite in the practice) so I didn't take too much stock in what she was saying (she tends to be the one to practice the most like an OB of the midwifery group).  We absolutely love the other midwives so hopefully one of them will be on call when the time comes.  It's not like I can do anything about having big babies.  I was 9 lb. 13 oz., the oldest of my little brothers was 1 oz. shy of 11 lb., & our "shrimpy" younger brother weighed in at 8 lb., 8 oz...it's in my genes, people!  All of us came from my petite mom & even though I have more of an athletic body type than my her, I gained within the appropriate amount of weight during my pregnancy with Abram (25-35 lb.) & wasn't even close to developing gestational diabetes (what tends to cause macrosomia).  I've only gained 2 lb. so far into this pregnancy & we're already a 1/4 of the way through so hopefully I'll stay within that 25-35 lb. range again.

I don't have a recent pic of my belly to post (I'm only taking monthly shots this time around instead of weekly ones) but I am a good deal smaller with this baby.  Everything I have read says you tend to show quicker with subsequent babies, but not so far.  This gives me even more of a feeling that this is a girl.  Oh my, what am I going to do with a girl?  I mean, duh, I am one...but seriously, I've got the boy thing down pat now.  Sure we'd love a girl eventually, but it would be neat to have all our boys & then a girl.  Though it would be awesome if we could have 2 girls.  I have absolutely loved having brothers, but always wanted a sister, too, so it would be nice if we could have 2 and 2.  I guess we'll see in time  :)

As far as finding out the gender, I was actually leaning more towards being okay with not waiting but Matthew seemed super set with not finding out again saying he really liked waiting until Abram was born.  All the sudden last week, he brought up not waiting saying it would be neat to find out ahead of time.  I had actually had my mind set on waiting since he was so adamant about not finding out again so who knows?  We still have around 2 months to decide, so we'll see.

Just as I was with Abram, I have been super exhausted.  I nap when A.B. does almost every single day (usually for at least 2 hours) & usually need at least 8-9 hours at night as well.  If I remember correctly, my exhaustion seemed to fade around week 14 with Abram, so hopefully I have a little under a month left of this sleepiness.

And thankfully, no morning sickness or nausea :)  I did feel a little "off" from weeks 6-8 if I didn't eat something every so often, but never felt like I was going to get sick so that's been a huge blessing.  My pregnancy hormone levels (hCG) have been super high...7-9 higher than Abram's were, so when we had the first ultrasound at 6 weeks we were so thankful to see that the one embryo we transferred did not split into identical twins.  It only happens in 1.7% of embryo transfers at our clinic, but since high hCG can indicate multiples, there we a few weeks where we thought that might have happened.  If God had chosen to give us twins, we would certainly feel blessed, but wow, 3 kids age two and under...whew!  We would be afraid we couldn't give them the attention & love they deserve.  I'm already slightly nervous that this new baby will be missing out on individual time since toddlers can be demanding.  I know we'll make it work though.

So can this exhaustion be my excuse for taking a break from blogging over the past few weeks?  Haha...I know I can only milk the I'm-pregnant excuse for under the next 7 months so I think it's okay to relish in it now  ;)

Mother's Day?

Just about 17 months ago, I officially became a mommy.

I have waited my entire life to be able to celebrate Mother's Day & have looked forward to being able to celebrate this "holiday" more than any other.

I mean, if they had "Wife's Day" that would have been the holiday I looked forward to the most, but you know what they say, everyday is wife's day...haha, yeah right.

Well, when it comes to Mother's Day, I do feel like that statement is true.

Everyday is Mother's Day.

Don't get me wrong, since there is a day when it is pretty much expected that I get treated all nice & get a handwritten card & get to go out to eat & get pampered & get to do all the fun things about being a mom (meaning Matthew takes care of feeding & diapering little dude) then wow, I am all for it!

But, really...to me, everyday is Mother's Day.

Everyday I get to kiss chubby cheeks countless time, tickle soft thighs & neck crevices, play hide & go seek around counter islands, have story time...all sorts of fun things.

Yes, I also change super gross diapers, wipe boogery noses, wash grimy hands, feed a sometimes picky eater, say "no" at least two dozen times, supervise timeout, & stop the ever important thing I was doing when someone suddenly decides they wanted to wake up early (thankfully this doesn't happen too often).  And don't even get me started on what I'll be doing during those super scary I-have-a-teenager days...yikes.

But you know what?

For this sweet boy...

I do that not-so-fun stuff countless times because it means I get to be his mommy.

And because...

Everyday is Mother's Day.

And I wouldn't have it any other way  :)

Happy (early) Mother's Day to all my fellow mommies!

Throwback Thursday

It's a Thursday & I haven't synced my phone to my computer in a while so I decided to post an oldie (but a goodie)...

Apparently this is what it's like to have hiccups for the 1st time (outside of the womb)

...as well as what it looks like to not blink for 23 seconds.

I promise you my child was used to me holding him by this point (he was 2 days old) & he wasn't terrified of me (as it may seem)...he just had no clue what it felt like to hiccup with oxygen.

I laugh at this video every.single.time I watch it.

Pretty sure it will be one of my bride videos for him when he is older.  You know, the ones your parents hold hostage over your head to make sure you don't try to be too cool for school when you're a teenager.

No, I'm not going to tell you what my #1 bribe video of myself is but I will say it features my protruding toddler belly (not too unlike Abram's current pudge), a pink bikini, & that it involves the questionable sunbathing habits I had back in '84 when I was 2 years old.

Anyway...

Happy early weekend  :)

Like Father, Like Son

this...

was a picture taken at the gorgeous Morningside Inn during Matthew's banquet for the b-ball team he coaches.

I just happened to be scrolling through my phone the other day & noticed it.

At first glance, I thought, "wow, Matt got some good perspective on this one."

Then I noticed how it was taken.

{umm, is that the floor?}

And then I realized...

Abram took this picture while he was sitting on the floor watching his occasional bribe "Toy Story" on my phone.

That kid is not only getting good at manipulating things on my phone, but now he's taking pictures?

And good ones at that!

By no means am I a photog expert (I'm married to a pretty good photographer, though), but I thought this was pretty well taken pic.

I think it's fair to say he is more like his daddy everyday

...and I'm loving it  :)

Father-Son Road Trip

these two...

...are on the road today.

Matthew said earlier this week that he wanted to take a road trip up to PA with Abram & his mom (where she is originally from) to visit some of the Hiner family (Matthew's mom's family) for the day.

{cue all kinds romanticy feelings on my part}

Seriously, how sweet is that?

On both parts...a boy wanting to spend time with his momma / a father wanting to spend time with his son  :)  Makes me fall in love with him all over again.

I'm hoping Abram takes after his father & always holds a special place in his heart for me.  If I had a dollar for every time I have heard Matthew say "my mom is the best" I wouldn't be working from home.

So while I have plenty to keep me busy here while they're on the road, it's a strange feeling of "wow, I can do whatever I want today / I miss my boys"

Here's hoping I get texted some sweet pics to hold me over until I see my favorite faces tonight!

sooOO BIG!!!

Little preview pic for whenever I get around to posting about A.B.'s 2nd Easter  :)

We hit up a few day trips around MD & some neighboring states...little man was a trooper!

Working from home & nannying keeps me busy (very good thing) so the blog has been a big neglected as of late.

I'll get around to posting some stuff soon, Brownie's honor (never got past being a Brownie to being a Girl Scout so I guess I can't say "Scout's" honor  ;)

Peaceee ouuut...

This is Cray-Cray...Aslan is SIX!

How did this little sweet girl...

turn into this big sweet girl...

her daddy loves her...

her mommy loves her...

her brother loves her...

she is the best  :)

Seriously, how many dogs let babies use them as a tumbling mat, or just sit there while a toddler repeatedly pokes her in the eye shouting "eye, eye, eye", or knows just what toys are her's never attempting to grab any of her brother's, or ever so gently takes her chew toys that her brother repeatedly shoves in her face while never getting the least bit rough with him?

We struck gold with this one...

Happy SIXTH Birthday, Aslan Chewbacca  :)

A Little Pic...

...to hold you over until I actually have time to post something significant over here...

My work from home job is in it's busy season & has been kicking my tail recently with me pulling 4-5 hour days lately (when little man lays his cute noggin' down to sleep) leaves me with little time for much.

Though, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to have this job!

In the meantime, if you happen to come over I will steer you clear of the piles of clean (but unfolded) laundry piled in the basement & master bedroom as well as the paperwork stacked on our kitchen counter stools.  I can only manage to keep 1 out of the 3 floors of our house semi-organized now.

In happy news, it's Matthew's Easter Break so day road trips to O.C. & D.C. are in store in the next week...yay for fam time  :)

Lessons Learned

We've been having some teething issues here around the Fohner Pad lately.

Well, some of it is teething & some of it has to do with this.

Umm, I thought that junk didn't start until those "terrible two's" hit.

Anyway, I'm sitting here listening to Abram whine on the kitchen floor...

{I know, bad mommy}

But when I try to hold the sucker he either bites me or squirms out of my arms & continues whining or crying.

He's fed & he's changed, though he did wake up early from his nap.

He's had Ibuprofen & teething tablets.

He just had his 15 month well baby appointment where his ears were checked & he was given a clean bill of health.

I have no clue what could be wrong.

But you know what?

Sometimes it feels good to cry.

To just let it all out.

I'm just going to go ahead & say that's what's going on right now.

Or it might have been the fact that I will not let him go near the stool he was attempting to monkey climb up.

All well.

This reminds me of a time last week that was very similar.

Everything appeared to be all right.

But suddenly, I became just as frustrated as he was that I nothing I did was snapping Abram out of his funk...

So I cried with him.

I sat there...

& held him...

& just cried.

And after a while, we both looked at each other, brushed away our sniffles, & then he just looked at me like, "see, Mom...didn't that feel good to just let our emotions hang all out there for a few minutes?"

It reminded me of those verses in Ecclesiastes that talk about there being a time for everything...time to weep, a time to mourn.

And thankfully, those verses also mention there being times to heal, to build, to laugh, to embrace, to mend, to love, & to dance (wait a minute, does God really intend for a time of dancing to apply to me, because He knows how I dance & it's not pretty).

Oh, the lessons we learn from those who have been in the world for much less time than ourselves.

And I'm very much looking forward to everything else this little munchkin will teach me along the way.

Yup, He's a Boy...

bang...bang...bang...bang

...yup, he's a boy.

Is it weird that I'm looking forward to more things in our house getting beat up/destroyed/messed with?

And with this nice weather we've been having lately it means puddle jumping, mud pies, worm-finding, sidewalk chalk, trips to the pool, & other very messy things are in store for us soon  :)

and.i.cannot.wait!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

celebrating some Irish luck in 2010...

our fuzzy-headed little leprechaun in 2011...

& picking clovers with "Mommy's Little Charmer" in 2012...

Raising a glass to a lifetime of celebrating with our favorite little Irishman  :)

CHEEEEKS...

...& boy,

does this kid have them!

(according to my iPhone)

 ...sleepy cheeks

 ...shady cheeks

...sloppy cheeks 

...smiley cheeks 

...pouty cheeks 

....cuddly cheeks 

...smirky cheeks 

...feasting cheeks 

...morning cheeks

...Bateman cheeks (me at 12 months)

Yup, he's got 'em!

& somehow they help make my world make more sense  :)

Loss

I've debated posting this.

Written & re-written this post again and again.

We haven't necessarily wanted to share this with the entire anyone-can-find-this-on-google internet.

But,

then I thought about things we have shared before...

here...and here...and here...and here.

And I thought about other things that aren't easily talked about or shared.

And how beneficial it would be for other couples to know that while things like infertility or miscarriage aren't topics that are readily shared, they are hurts that affect more people than most realize.

It's challenging thinking about the fact that we should have had a picture like this taken on Thursday...

...that was Abram at 6 weeks & 1 day.

On Thursday we were supposed to be 6 weeks & 1 day along with this precious little embryo...

On or around Halloween we were supposed to be taking a picture like this...

But on January 25th, a pregnancy began that wouldn't end the way Abram's did.

About two weeks ago, I suddenly didn't feel pregnant anymore

& when we got the phone call that we'd have to try again, we wept.

Though we weren't very far along, we had so many hopes & dreams for this baby...

we had taken the same pictures we took everyday we entered a new week of my pregnancy,

just like we did with Abram...

we had talked about names, mostly boy names because somehow I knew that this baby was a boy,

just like I did with Abram...

I had found a verse in the book of Timothy that for some reason I kept turning to over & over, making me call this little one Timothy before we even had any sort of confirmation that he was a boy,

just like I did with Abram...

we had truly believed this baby would make it through all the odds stacked against him,

just like we did with Abram.

But, for whatever reason, this baby wasn't meant to join our family this side of Heaven.

But,

everyday gets a little easier.

And,

we can try again.

We have another transfer day set...

And another 3 embryos to choose from.

In the meantime,

please know that we decided to share this in the hope that it may encourage others who have experienced similar battles that they are not alone.

And,

as an encouragement to Matthew & I that this little miracle...

once looked like this...

And,

that Lord willing,

our next precious embryo(s) will, too.

COUSINSFEST 2012

COUSINSFEST 2012

Why in all caps do you ask?

Because it was that awesome.

And despite the fact that our Cali cousins & their spouses weren't able to join us (as well as the youngest cousin of the crew...college girl said she had too much work to do, boo) we had an absolute blast.

A little February beach wiffle ball on VA Beach?  I think so.

P.S. My team won b/c I am the more athletic Fohner  ;)

I put that winky face for Matthew's benefit (to make him think like I was kidding)

{I'm not}

The following were taken by my sidekick, the iPhone, in the car on the way to dinner on the 2nd night of the weekend.  Most of these were taken immediately after I shoved the camera in my subjects faces while waiting for the automatic flash to blind them...

I don't think Scotty was expecting this shot...

nor Derek on this one...

I have THE BEST cousins...don't even try to argue with me on that.

Little Man's Milestones :)

There have been a lot of crazy cool things going on at the Fohner Pad lately.

I mean, this might be my favorite stage yet...

Well, this stage was pretty awesome...

{sigh}

Oh, I LOVED those newborn days...those first 3 weeks when it didn't matter that the largest chunk of sleep I got was 4 hours in a row because we were just so thrilled to have that little one in our lives, his smell, the way he scrunched his legs up to his chest when we picked him up, how easily he would fall asleep nursing before just laying there curled up on me for hours, skin to skin naps, I could go on for hours...

Anyway...

14 months...you are fun!

In the past month, little dude has...

said his first word

"Azzie" of course, it makes sense since that's what he first thought his name was...

taken his first steps

& is now going across the room without falling or stopping in a matter of 2.5 weeks...

become super independent at meals

now he's taking the spoon from my hand, keeping the food on it until it enters his mouth, & handing it back to me to put more food on it.  He's also attempting to "cut" food up with his fork (not successfully yet), but he can stab a piece of food with his fork & bring it to his mouth to eat...it's crazy awesome but kinda of sad at the same time.  I mean, this is my baby boy...I'm not sure if I'm ready to start letting him handle eating all by himself.  And then he's all like, "mom, get outta my face with that utensil, I'll do it!"  I can just hear my mother repeating back my favorite phrase from when I was about 6 months older than Abram, "no, I do it!" over & over.  Yes, he is blossoming into my child.

started making animal sounds on command

what animal?  Take a wild guess...

Yes, I realize that "oh oh" does not sound like "woof woof"

After a night at Mimi & Pap's house while Mommy & Daddy were hanging out with their cousins in VA Beach (it took us 14 months to leave him for the night, but it went super well), we came back to Abram responding to "what does Deacon say?" (their Chesapeake Bay Retriever) with "oh oh".

Since Aslan almost never barks, it was challenging to try to even teach him this.  When we got home from that night away, I would occasionally replace "Deacon" with "Azzie".  Sometimes when we let Aslan out in the backyard to roam around inside the fence, she likes to let the occasional passerby know that this is her yard by letting out a random bark every once in a while.  A few days ago I noticed that when Abram heard this he would say "oh oh".  I'm assuming that when he learns how to pronounce his "w"'s & "f"'s this will turn into "woof woof".  In the meantime it's fun to hear him practice his new skill.  We're working on other animals now, but somebody's too busy looking at his board books & toddling around.

I think the coolest thing to watch is Abram's face when he's learning all this...he gets this look like he just knows he's doing something new & fascinating & he just can't contain his smile.  Like he's thinking, "hey, mom...check this out!  Can you believe I'm doing this?  This rocks!"

With all these fun things, some interesting skills have also developed...ones that make me realize that the Bateman genes are starting to come out.  Abram has become a bit more sure of what he would like at certain points in time.

For example, my dialog sounds like this while Abram's internal dialog is as follows...

Me: Abram, let's go run some errands, buddy!

Abram:  Um, no.  I'd rather play with my truck.

Me:  Come here, bub.

Abram:  I can't hear you & to prove it I'm going to look extra into playing with my truck despite the fact that I wasn't all that interested in it just a few seconds ago.

Me:  I'm gonna get him.

Abram:  Haha, have you seen how fast I crawl?

Me:  Hey, quit wiggling, crazy man.

Abram:  If I keep throwing my head back while attempting to dead fish, this may work.

Me:  Here's your bink...take your bink.  No?  Here's your sippy cup.

Abram:  Bahhh!  Yes, my 180 degree turn worked.  I think I can crawl out the top of this car seat thing.

Me:  Hold still!

Abram:  Hey, this handle would be a great way to act like I'm on the high bar about to do an Olympic dismount if I grip it with both hands.

Me: WHOA!  Hang tight, bub.  Just let me get the straps snapped...

Abram:  This isn't working...flail, flail.  Yes, yes, now she can't get my arms in, it's working.

Me:  Let me see that arm...I'm gonna eat them fingers, give 'em, give 'em.

Abram:  Here's they are, don't eat them, that tickles!  Hey!  Darn, that works every time.  Okay, start to buck again, then she can't tighten the straps.

Me:  Abram Brian, look at Mommy.

Abram:  One...last...buck...should...do...it...grrr...

Me:  Oh my goodness do you feel that wind blowing (while I blow on Abram's face).

Abram:  Ahh, I love it...do it again, do it again!  Seriously?  She tricked me again.

Me:  Annnddd done...ready to go?

This time frame leading up to those "terrible two's" is going to be fun...I can just see it now  ;)

aaand we have steps :)

He "officially" took his first steps three days shy of his 14 month b-day (my little take-my-time boy :) in front of BOTH Matthew & I!!!  This video was taken on the day he turned 14 months.  That was the first occasion he actually put on the show for me when I was ready to film it.  I would stand him up in the center of a room with my phone all ready for filming & of course he would decide that he would rather crawl...go figure  ;)

It's only taken 1.5 weeks to go from his first 2 steps to going halfway across the room.  Little man is on the move & it's adorable to watch him learn new things!

Stomach Bugs & Things I Never Thought I'd Be Able to Do

this...

is how we Fohner's have been feeling in the past 3 weeks.

Matthew was spared the stomach bug (praise God), but poor A.B. & I had it baaad.

I lost 5 pounds in a week due to having absolutely no appetite for a full seven days (all I managed to keep down was a few crackers or a random piece of bread everyday).  It got me down to what I weighed when Matthew & I got married 6.5 years ago, but it was not they way I envisioned dropping those last few lbs.  I didn't throw up as much as poor Abram but I still felt awful all week.  I have never felt so thankful for not having morning sickness while I was pregnant with Abram & I hope I never get it with any subsequent pregnancies.  Is that what morning sickness feels like...having no appetite?  Knowing you need to eat but having no desire & feeling like you're going to yak any second when you even think about food?  Oh please, Lord, no morning sickness!  Oh, I felt terrible.  I have only had colds since I was in middle school so I had forgotten what truly being sick felt like.

Speaking of getting sick, I DO NOT handle vomit well.  Aslan has a bad habit of chomping on grass every once in a while so occasionally she throws up...& I cannot handle it.  Even if she does it in the morning while Matthew's at school (I know this is not sanitary but) I just don't go near it so Matthew can clean it up when he gets home.  If I happen to see it or hear her dry heaving I run in the other direction {shudder} or I will get sick, too.

But a small miracle happened in the past few weeks.  I was actually able to clean it up.  I mean, I had to.  When your child vomits in their crib & they nap twice a day you have no choice.  Oh, & it was sad.  I laid him down on Saturday for his morning nap & he promptly rolled over on his hands & knees, threw up, & proceeded to fall into it.  It was so sad that I got over myself real quick, plucked him out of his mess, & got to cleaning him up & loving on him pronto.  Poor boy.  I know I keep saying that but really, poor boy.

It's been 3 days since either of us threw up & I sure hope that stomach bug is clear out of our house by now b/c that was no fun at all.  But we survived with snuggles & Netflix & Pedialyte.

Here's to a healthy house soon!