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Tyler still LOVES the Disney movie Cars (where the main Car character is named Lightning McQueen). Lately, we've been having lots of rain and thunderstorms, and Tyler has a book about the weather that tells him lightning usually occurs during thunderstorms. Now, every time he hears thunder and notices that the sky is getting dark, he'll tell us it's stormy and we better get inside. He also tells us there will be thunder and McQueen :)
Tyler loves the song/story about the Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. He will say it over and over, starting at 5 and counting down to 1, then all over again. Here he is at breakfast, telling us all about the monkeys:
Happy Independence Day!!!
Feeling okay...getting a little bigger:
From BabyCenter.com, this is what's going on at 16 weeks:
Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.
Tyler woke up in the middle of the night last night crying and calling "I want my mommy!" I woke up and went to his room to check on him, and he was just crying and holding his blanket. I asked him if he had a bad dream and he said,"Mommy go away?" I told him of course I wasn't going away and that he just had a bad dream. So, I covered him back up with his blanket and rubbed his back and he fell back asleep pretty quickly.
In the morning, Tyler woke up in a pretty good mood, greeting me and then going to play with his trains. While I was getting him changed and dressed later, Mike walked in his room to say good morning. Unprompted, Tyler told him, "I had bad dream Mommy went bye bye." I couldn't believe he remembered it! I thought it was some fleeting thing, since he had gone back to sleep so quickly. Anyway, I told him that I would never, ever go away and I'd always be here for him. He responded with climbing on me and giving me a big grappling hug around my neck.
I just love hearing Tyler's voice! I don't think that I ever get annoyed with him asking me something over and over...I really do enjoy hearing him talk and sing. This is a cute video of Ty in the bathtub singing the ABC song:
For a while now, Tyler has been telling me there are "scary monsters" behind the trees (ALL the trees). Well, I started asking him what they looked like and at first he would say they were green with long legs or big noses, etc. Now he says they all look like boats! This morning there was a scary boat monster apparently behind a tree we passed on our way to daycare, and I asked Ty what the monster was doing. He said the monster was playing with trains. So we invited the monster over to our house to play trains later.
Tyler was laying on his changing table, while I was changing his diaper, when he poked my boobs with a finger. I asked him, while pointing to my boobs, "Tyler, what are these?" His response: "Daddy's boobies."
Tyler seems to be obsessed with "scary monsters" lately. He thinks they're everywhere. We were driving home from work/daycare the other day and he said there were scary monsters behind every tree! I asked him if he knew how to make them go away, and he told me that we had to give them "big hugs" to make them go away. He thinks they're outside the house, in the trees, and this evening he told me they were in his bedroom! I try to brush the idea away quickly and distract him with reading books, but he wasn't deterred. He doesn't seem frightened or scared when he tells me that there are "scary monsters" everywhere. He sort of says it matter-0f-factly. Like, if he were to tell me there's grass in our yard. But, I think we're on the verge of being scared of something...
Well, not really, but some friends invited us over to hang out with them at their community pool for Memorial Day. It was nice out, but the water was still freezing! Regardless, Tyler had a great time and really enjoyed playing in the water (a big change from last year!). I'm hoping he learns to love the water as much as Mike does :)
Mike was studying in our computer room, and I fell asleep on the futon behind him. At around 1 or 2 am, Tyler woke up and found us both in there, Mike was still studying. Tyler climbed onto the futon next to me and fell back asleep. Mike took this picture a few minutes later:
This weekend, we went to Pennsylvania for my great aunt's surprise birthday party. We stayed in a hotel near the event, but our bathroom only had a shower stall (no bathtub). Mike and I tried desperately for half an hour to convince Tyler to take a shower in the shower stall. He finally said he would, so I got him undressed and started the shower. Tyler took one look at the dark stall and refused again. Mike asked him if he wanted to take a shower with Daddy. Tyler agreed, but while Mike was in the shower, Tyler pitched another fit. Mike asked him if he wanted to sit in "Time Out" and calm down. Tyler said okay. We put a towel on the toilet seat and Tyler sat on the toilet (still naked) while Mike showered. After a minute or two, I went in the bathroom and asked Tyler if he was ready to take a shower with Daddy. He said,"No, Mommy, I'm still crying."
After a few more minutes, Tyler finally allowed me to guide him into the shower with his daddy. Mike calls Tyler's "stage" awkward, mainly because of Tyler's height, relative to Mike. I think Mike may have changed his mind, though. This is the conversation that ensued:
Mike: Okay, let's clean up Tyler!
Tyler: Daddy! Daddy has a BIG penis!
Mike: Well...yes, yes I do. (imagine Mike puffing out his chest, shoulders back, superhero pose)
Tyler: (Looking down and playing with his own privates) Tyler has a little penis.
Mike: Well, yeah...but, it will get bigger one day!
Tyler: Oh, okay, Daddy!
Last night, Mike and I were putting Tyler to bed. We had just read him a few books and Mike turned out the light and turned on Tyler's nightlight. Tyler wanted Mike to stay and rub his back so that he could fall asleep. But then he sat up and said,"I miss you, Mommy." I was surprised, but I just said to him,"Oh, sweetie, I'll just be in the other room."
Then Tyler said, again, "I miss you, Mommy," and his face scrunched up and his eyes welled up with tears. He just sat there in his bed on the verge of crying. I opened my arms up and told him I loved him and he gave me a big hug and said it again, "I miss you, Mommy." Geez, I'm about to cry writing this.
Anyway, Mike saw the whole thing and was just speechless at how cute the whole exchange was. He wanted in on the cuteness, and I think he was trying to cheer Tyler up, so he asked Tyler for a big hug, too. When Tyler hugged him, he said, "I miss you, Daddy." Well, we just couldn't leave Tyler's room after that. So, we both stayed, with Mike rubbing Ty's back until he fell asleep.
I don't know what brought up the "I miss you"s, I haven't been away from home at all, we've actually all spent a lot of time together lately, since Mike's spring classes are over and we've had some breaks in our volleyball season. It might have been a fleeting thought for Tyler, because he didn't say "I miss you" when we put him to bed tonight. Regardless, I've filed that evening exchange away in my memory, with hopes that I'll be able to recall it again one day when Ty's older...and not missing me anymore.
Me and Tyler in the aquarium:
Tyler playing with the bubble columns (I think we could have stayed there all day and he would have been just as happy):
Early Saturday morning, getting a picture with "big Thomas":
Me and Tyler on the train platform, on our way to board Thomas the Train:
Tyler and Daddy in front of an old-fashioned steam engine:
Mike and Tyler in the Roundhouse:
Tyler was so excited he got to see Thomas!
Tyler liked the dinosaur exhibit they had...he fits perfectly in a dinosaur footprint:
Upstairs, they had a bunch of cool hands-on exhibits about gravity. Mike enjoyed it as much as (or more than?) Tyler:
Arrggh, mateys! 
Sunday, we wrapped up our weekend with a trip to the zoo. Tyler loved the turtles!
Only 8 weeks along and I am showing about as much as I did at 17 weeks with Tyler. Other moms I've talked to have said that your body already knows what to do, so out goes the tummy! I was trying to hide it from my co-workers until I had my first ultrasound...and I still might be able to, because sometimes I just look fat and not pregnant. It's probably not the baby as much as it is bloating and gas, anyway. As much as I really did and do enjoy being pregnant, this is not the beautiful part.
And here's what our baby is up to this week:
I've gained about 3 pounds, (no throwing up for me!) my boobs are always sore, and I've been breaking out like a teenager. Like I said, not the beautiful part of pregnancy. But, our baby is the size of a kidney bean, and he or she has fingers and toes!!Good news, everyone! My digestive system and my hormones are finally working in harmony (the stool softener in my vitamins probably help a little, too). What a relief...haha. Now, the morning sickness is in full swing...at least I hope this is it in full swing and that it doesn't get worse! I started feeling a little bit last week, but those bouts were easily quelled with a small snack. Yesterday was pretty bad, although the spaghetti I had for lunch helped out more than I thought it would! Today, around lunch, I really started feeling sick, almost gagging, but I just hate throwing up, so I held it in. Mike mentioned getting Five Guys last night, but we had eaten out every meal over the weekend, I just wanted to stay home and have something even somewhat homemade, so we had kebabs and mashed potatoes. But, guess what I had for lunch today. Yup. A Five Guys burger. And it was so freaking awesome. Sorry Mike, but you suggested food to a pregnant lady, that's your own fault. We can get you Five Guys for dinner tonight, if you want ;)
So, I read that the baby is the size of a blueberry! Our little person is getting big! So are my boobs. Another thing I read was that your boobs can grow a full cup size larger in just the first 6 weeks of pregnancy! That's a "benefit" that my husband enjoys. Mike said to me yesterday morning, "Pregnancy boobs are so much fun!" Anyway, I guess I'd better go and find my maternity bras because the ones I'm using are becoming too small.
I must say, it hasn't quite set in that we're going to actually have another baby in the house soon. Another small, helpless, wondrous creature in the house to take care of and lose sleep over. Okay, maybe it's setting in now. Tyler's going to be a big brother. Mike and I will have kids...that's plural. With an "s." Can I freak out yet?
I'm 7 weeks along tomorrow and Tyler's pretty excited...the other day, we were in a store and the woman who owned it started chatting him up. She eventually asked him if he had any brothers or sisters, and without missing a beat, he said, "In my mommy's belly." So cute! The storeowner was kind of surprised at first, and then I think it registered what he meant, so then she congratulated me.
So, I'm 6 weeks along today and am all stopped up again. Not sinuses, but way down at the other end. I remember this happening when I was pregnant with Tyler, but I don't remember how long it lasted. I think that my system eventually got back to "normal" during my pregnancy. The prenatal vitamins I'm taking now even have a stool softener! I don't remember that from last time...but who would have thought that a stool softener incorporated into my vitamins would be something that I would ever think was a wonderful idea? Other than the semi-bloated feeling and sore (but larger!) breasts, I haven't been feeling much different. Well, I take that back, I have been exhausted lately. Mike and I were playing Rock Band the other night, and we stopped so Mike could download more songs, and I zonked out while he was doing that. Needless to say, we had to put our world tour on hold for the evening.
Sometimes, with all the stuff going on and with it being so early in the pregnancy, I forget that I'm pregnant! It's not like I forget and eat sushi or anything, but it's more like I'll be thinking about our summer plans and then realize, "Oh yeah, I might need to get a maternity suit by then."
I'm so excited to tell Tyler more about the baby. He knows there's a baby inside my belly and that he'll be a big brother. Tyler kisses the little baby good night every night and every time we ask him if he'll help us take care of his new little brother or sister, he answers with an enthusiastic, "Yes!"
Here's a picture of me with my sisters-in-law, right before our big "girls night out" last weekend:
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