Disney!

a much need recap of our amazing trip to disney....

our flight was earllllly but asher took it in stride. he was so excited about the plane ride and the secret trip he didnt care that we woke him up at 5 am. i scored a first class seat on the plane and the boys were set up in coach. i have ALWAYS wanted to give up my first class seat to a person in coach and this was the prime opportunity. i sat in the seat in the row with asher and philip and patiently waited for the person to come to their seat. the look of shock was priceless! she was shocked and so surprised. she even sent me a napkin thank you note later in the flight. it made my day to give it up and to be able to sit with my boys. we finally told asher we were going to disney when we were in the cab on the way to the hotel...caught on video....

we arrived with no problems and checked into hotel 1: the swan. i had starwood points so we were excited it was a free night and the hotel was really nice...although it reaked of some kind of cologne they must have pipped into the place.

we decided to hit the pools before nap time vs venturing out. 

they also had a mock beach, lagoons, slides etc. all of the equipment, tubes, life jackets, floats, rentals were free. it was awesome.

we enjoyed a nice lunch pool side before we headed up for nap time. we were all exhausted from getting up so early that we crashed hard. hours later we woke up with enough time to get ready and head downstairs for our character meal at the swan. this was the best idea and required no rushing. we were a little bummed when we found out we would only see goofy, pluto, dale and chip but asher didnt care and that was all that mattered. the food was a delicious seafood buffet that included lobster. we were all in heaven and asher ate his fair share of calamari between partying with the characters...

he wanted to huge and kiss each and everyone one of them...

and of course get their autograph in his book

he was quite the character lover...

what a treat, both at the same time!

then they had a dance party...

since we ate dinner at 5 pm we decided to heat to downtown disney for an hour or two before we called it a night. we also wanted to try to snag a view of the fireworks at epcot...

waiting on the bus to take us to downtown disney

it was a friday night and downtown disney was hopping

all the local teens supposedly hang out there since its free to walk around. before it got dark we rode the carousel. still unsure how i fit into it, but i made it

asher probably wouldve stayed on for a long time if we had let him!

we walked around and visited the lego store where they had several large displays....

this one was a particular favorite.... imagine why!?

as it got closer to 9 (which is way past bed time we headed back to the hotel to see if we could see the fireworks...we made it just in time, but honestly they werent worth it. we were semi disappointed but who doesnt like to see fireworks. of course asher had to go potty about 15 minutes after we got there and 2 minutes into them starting so we had to hustle back to the hotel for a bathroom. thank goodness he has a bladder of steel.

i confess i love this photo.

the next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the parks to meet my coworkers dad who is a former disney employee. he was going to take us on to the park for free. if you have ever been you know it can be close to $90 per day for an adult so we saved a large amount of money thanks to his generosity...we snagged a few family photos at the entrance of magic kingdom..

once we got inside he took us into the gift shop and let us use his discount to buy a few souvenirs. we didnt show asher which was probably a good thing. we also stopped by the hat store and bought him ears (he picked them out) and got his name put on them. i still have my ears from when i went as a little girl so this was a must have for us.

then we said goodbye to my friends dad and entered the park with much excitement!!!

this was big time...

and the riding began...the lines were no more than 10 minutes and in some cases you could just walk right up... you didnt even need fast pass.

asher rode just about every ride he could for his age alone and/or with daddy.

he loved them, he was fearless and he was really well behaved.

as expected this was a favorite

you cant go to disney without riding dumbo

or the roller coaster....

we got to meet buzz light year, hug him, shake his hand and get his autograph. big time...

after 4 hours on the park it was time to pick up our hat... get some mickey ears ice cream and head back for a nap...

delicious...

even better all over our face, hands and shorts...

at this point we split up. philip went back to the swan to check out and i headed to the buena vista palace. we were going to be spending the next two nights there since that is where my conference was. things spiraled at this point. philip only had one shuttle to the hotel. we had no clue what my trip would be like but we were told i could take the ferry to the transportation center and then the bus to the hotel. ah if only it was that simple. the ferry was closed. i was already really tired about 4 hours on the park 30 weeks pregnant and made it to the monorail right before it pulled away. no biggie i would get the next one. little did we know the next one had no a/c and had to go back to the station.... i waited 45 minutes in the heat with a child that was way past nap time standing up for another tram. it was brutal. i almost cried...until i saw this fool of a dad who visited the barbershop at magic kingdom and got this little ditty on his head. the things people do at disney. wow.

we finally got to the transportation center to find out that the bus only came every 25 minutes and we had just missed the last one. go figure our luck. we had to sit outside in the sun because there were no covered areas and no one volunteered to let me sit under the two umbrellas that were there. finally we got on the bus and i was delerious. i found some snacks and asher just smiled his way through it all. it was 3 pm by now. WAY past nap time. funny enough philip already got our luggage and took a shuttle to the new hotel and checked in....

asher could sense i wasnt feeling well and he snuggled up to me. it melted my heart and i insisted upon capturing the moment as they are few and far between these days...

after a 2 hour trek beginning to end we finally made it back to the hotel, got changed and napped. phew! we woke up and decided to hit up the hotel restaurant for  a quick and early dinner before heading back to magic kingdom to make the most of our day. it was neat to be there during the evening...we attended a little show

rode a few rides and caught a glimpse of the fireworks as we headed back. this was the latest asher has ever stayed up... ekkk it was almost 11 pm by the time he was asleep...but he was a trooper. he never ceases to amaze me. and even better, no accidents the entire visit on the park!

the next morning we enjoyed a mickey pancake breakfast at the hotel before heading to downtown disney again and back to the playground/pool for some fun.

cheesin up with our friends...

he insisted upon riding the train with mommy....again...

after walking all of downtown disney we finally got to take the ferry back to the beginning. we were the only ones on the ferry so it was a special little treat.

finally a pose with mickey and minnie!

we headed back to the hotel for swim and nap....

i had to work during nap time to set up for the conference.

we met back up around 6 pm for dinner and decided to check out the Rainforest Cafe. 

asher enjoyed the experience and we called it a night at a fairly decent hour!

sadly the boys flight left fairly early in the morning on monday and i had to be ready to work by 7 am so our trip was over... it was perfect in every way possible...other than the hotel change.

next time we will try to stay on a monorail stop if we can afford it or at a convenient hotel.

we will also make sure that i am not 30 weeks pregnant hahahah.

i am so glad this trip had a lasting impression on asher and cant wait to show him disney again in another few years from a big brother's perspective!

30 weeks...

i cant believe 30 weeks is already here!

i am measuring right at 30 weeks, great BP, heart beat was 135 and I have gained 13 lbs total to date. that is almost 3 lbs behind my pregnancy with asher at this stage?!?! weird. i gained 2 lbs in the past 3 weeks. i was prepared for a 4 lb gain because of disney and the lack of gym time. im still carrying higher this pregnancy. i still have crazy low back pain. Baby is head down and the head is right in my right hip, just like asher was. fun times!

2009 with asher at 30 weeks...

2012 with baby 2 at 30 weeks....

by this time in my pregnancy with asher i was experiencing constant hiccups. i havent started that yet with baby 2. but i can feel body parts already which is super cool. my stomach jerks constantly and the braxton hicks contractions have picked up. last week was super stressful at my work conference in orlando and my body was definitely over it. im glad to be home with no more travel trips planned between now and my due date. 

goal for the next two weeks till my next appointment: work out as much as i can so that my aches are minimal and get the nursery completed! all the furniture is in and now im trying to accessorize...find a lamp, hang the artwork we made, hang mirror, organize drawers, pick up glass top for the dresser etc...and the list goes on....

A day with Softa

ashers school closes on the last day of passover and softa was off work so asher spent the night and they went on an adventure....

waiting for the train to arrive at the station...

they rode the train uptown to imaginOn (the children's library...theatre etc)....holding on tight. the train was so packed they had to stand!

 enjoyed lunch at pike's together watching all the trains go by 

and came home and took naps while softa knitted some really awesome "wombs" for baby 2. i cant wait to show them off.

it was quite a treat and you could tell that asher really loved his special adventure with softa!

Disney Secret Surprise....

it all started with a work conference scheduled for orlando, fl. on the disney park.

i could not turn down this prime opportunity to cash in on some airline and hotel miles and fly the boys down for a weekend of disney fun before my conference. 

a final hurrah just us three

a little pre 3rd birthday action....cough cough this is his present.

it was perfect. prime and super inexpensive (which is totally my style, especially when disney can be upwards of 1k per day)

we booked the reservations, the character meal, got connections for free park tickets and the deal was sealed.... we were already experiencing disney thru the eyes of asher.

we knew it would be best to keep this our secret. asher had been asking to go on a plane a lot lately. for not even being three he has flown a ton and doesnt realize its a luxury. we need to work on that. but we let him know a plane ride was in his future to a secret place....and that is where we are now....the plane ride has been his obsession for going on a week and a half. if you have seen asher, you have heard about the plane ride. he wakes up talking about it, talks about it in his sleep and talks about it non stop when he is with us...and probably school too. pretty amazing since he has no clue where he is going, but for now he doesnt care and we couldnt be happier it will be a huge "saucer eyes" surprise when we arrive.

its the night before we depart. im giddy with excitement for him. he has no clue what is about to happen. disney people. this is HUGE when you are 3 year and you idolize buzz light year, watch nemo on repeat, sleep with mickey in your bed and are obsessed with all things CARS. 

counting down the minutes till we wake him up at 5 am and leave for the airport....

27 weeks ...Fail....Pass

it had been 5 weeks since I went to the OB. we spread the appointments so I could pair an appointment with a glucose sugar test.

all was great. got there. drank the fruit punch drink, which i really dont think is that bad at all, saw the midwife. weighed in at an ll lb weight gain total...i was up 13.6 lbs at 28 weeks with asher as comparison...so still down a little bit. measuring right on, heart beat was strong and 151. he is head down, head right in my pelvis bone and it hurts often. he could still move around a lot as there is still plenty of room for flipping in there. hopefully he likes my hip...wel not really, but id rather him stay right there than flip.

then i moved to the waiting room to wait for my finger prick and blood test.

and I FAILED. 135 is passing, i got 137. grrrr

i blame the brownie and peach cobbler i had at 7 pm the day before at our cookout.

thanks naomi and renee. all your fault. you forced me to eat that dessert, right?!?

i scheduled the 3 hour glucose follow up for two days later. i couldve lived my life without that waste of a morning. she drew blood upon arrival and clobbered my vein. it hurt the entire time i was there and the entire day. i drank another even more concentrated drink and waited an hour. she drew blood no problem out of the other arm, waited another hour, did some online shopping, read my book, texted, worked, drew blood out of said arm #1 again an hour later and the original place she drew blood that killed started to bleed again. then another hour and my last draw where she missed the vein, rolled the needle, twisted it to snag the vein with no luck and had to pull back out and re-draw. lovely i tell ya. by this point it had been more than 12 hours since i had eaten and i was getting famished. i already have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) normally so i was shaking. i ran out of there praying this was the end of this. got back to my office and i was out of breath, heart racing, sweating, panting and slightly freaking out trying to cram food into my mouth while attempting to have a serious conversation with my boss. i shouldve told him to call back. i was a hot mess. then i immediately started freezing and felt exhausted. what a day.  i was in bed by 8:45 asleep. my arm looks like a battle zone and was sore and swollen for two days. now it just looks nasty and its been an entire week later. what gives?

after i removed the bandaid the day of...

11 days later.... yuck!

the good news, i passed. oreo cookie consumption continues.... ya know one a night, but still i was worried i wouldnt get my fix.

back to the ob every 2 weeks now. crazy!? how am i already this far along....

and the dresser shipped this week. it was on back order and its deliver date was very much TBD. im thrilled to know i will be able to stash away all the cute little hand me downs from ash in no time and hang the handprint canvases we all made for baby 2 above the dresser. the glider is also in and will be delivered this week too... yippe. that was way better than i anticipated.  the nursery is coming along. if only we had a name we could really finalize a few details. but of course we dont.

and by the way this name wont be mainstream, it wont be normal and it will not be on the nameberry 2012 list. i can assure you of that. asher however is the #1 name on nameberry for 2012....grrr good thing he was born in 2009. start your guessing now....

passover and the plagues

school put together quite a week ful of activities to prepare the kids for passover. they learned about the plagues, the passover seder plate, made placements, hats and all sorts of goodies to lear about the holiday prior to their big seder.

i love coming to these school events even though they are in the middle of the day. its a chance to spend time with asher and see him interacting with his friends and teachers.

the seder began with a service. i got there right in time to see the kids all walking in. i decided not to smother asher and satehind watching him participate in all of the songs and sit so nicely and listen. this is a great improvement to earlier in the year. he struggles with sitting still at circle time, in groups etc. hmmm wonder where he got that from....ughh me. they have tried a lot of different techniques including a weighted doll, chairs, circles on the floor etc. he was truly enjoying himself today and that made my morning.

after the service was over the kids moved to their tables to EAT!

the cutest part about this set up was that two dad's set it up. they did an awesome job. the kids devourd the food and surprisingly didnt go straight for the macaroon (sweet doughy cookie). most of us were surprised....

each child had their own seder plate with different items the parents had brought in

asher inspected his seder plate and deciding what he was going to dig into first!

some of asher's friends and their mommies. cabell and his mommie mae are on the left. mae was pregnant at the time and she just had a baby girl last week, leah and her mommie jessica are on the right and she is pregnant and due in july. there are 7 pregnant moms in our class out of 12. we are all due within several months of each other. all of our kids will be in school together again. crazy.

my silly little monkey

he was watching some live music entertainment during his seder feast

later in the week asher's cough/cold got worse and we ended up having to take him to the dr. we found out he had the beginning stages of pneumonia. this stired up a lot of worry regarding passover seder and getting the whole family together but thankfully we were all still able to get together and celebrate. we all gathered at softa and papu's for passover seder.

we had quite the crowd. softa, papu, all three of us, sissy and uncle rich, nana, poppy, uncle jay, great aunt estelle and great uncle jerry and our friends the dinermans and their family.

the weather we super nice outside so we got to snap a few cute photos

asher and tahli were very excited to see each other

and i got get some sissy snuggles in... and she copped a feel on baby 2

lots of aunt estelle snuggles are required.

tahli loving on her mommy

asher and uncle rich sizing up their shoes...

we enjoyed a lot of play time and snuggles before we all sat down to eat

the big yet not older boys....

mike dinerman, philip and uncle rich

they clearly got the light shirt memo....

mommy and sissy... such a lovely photo of them both

we began our passover seder and everyone settled in at the tables.

strangely asher loved the karpas... the parsley on the seder plate. you dip it in salt water and he was chowing down. evidently his daddy likes it too...

aunt eliza and uncle rich did a great plague presentation with kid friendly plagues.

the kids really enjoyed playing with each item.

i think this one is blindness...

softa put together a really cute kids seder plate.

and as always asher devoured my matzah ball soup.

(he ate matzah ball soup for 4 days after and everyday devoured it and wanted more)

we had an awesome time with our family. some how i managed to miss a lot of photos running around helping out but was glad to capture some of the funny memories we made this year.

until next year...

I did it...well, he did!

"i did it" he exclaims...every time he goes on the potty

we bit the bullet and went cold turkey the weekend before last after reading the boys potty book for 2-3 weeks every night, to the point that he knows almost all of the words.

we prepared his underpants stash...

he has all kinds of his favorite character big boy underpants...

nemo

buzz light year

cars

diego

dinosaurs

cute GAP ones

he loves them all. big boy underpants are special. and

so are the m&ms that he gets after going on the potty. at first he really didnt care about them at all and the m&ms werent working. but stickers didnt work either. they just seemed to annoy him. so we stuck to m&ms and although he doesnt always ask for them the praise he gets after going seems to be enough for him to keep coming back for more...."i did it" he exclaims every time, melts our hearts. he has such pride for his potty activities.

im trying to figure out what we did or why this was easier than i anticipated. but for now im going to keep my mouth shut. and live in the moment. in less than one week he got it.

here is what we did do....we have had potty seats (both floor pottys and the kind that go on top of the toilet) in the house since before he was 2. they are both prince lionheart brand. one is the weePOD toliet trainer (which we got on amazon) and the other is the PottyPOD.

we always gave him a chance to go on the potty before and after naps and before bath time (casually offered it up and if he declined, no big deal), never forced it and always celebrated the successes. we previously tried potty training back in december during the holiday break but realized he wasnt ready and dropped it, but let him go when he wanted to on his terms. we also encouraged him to go anywhere, not just at home on his special seats.

the weekend before last we stayed home (we had lots to do anyway) and went cold turkey into underpants. yes we had one or two poo accidents which seemed to be the biggest battle for him (he always used to hide to poo or run in a corner and always denied it when confronted), but as of last thurs/fri he is now telling us he has to go before he has his accident. he also doesnt care where we are and if it is his special potty seat. i was really worried about public bathrooms, the big intimidating seat etc. so many friends kids are not fans. thankfully asher doesn't discriminate. he just goes. we didnt flood him with juice or water like some people do. we didnt put him on the seat every 15 minutes....because, well he is almost 3. and he has an opinion. he was not having that. we also let him roam the house, but kept an eye on him to make sure he didnt sneak off. and since i am constantly in the bathroom being pregnant i would always just take him with him and make it a team activity... i can only hope school is able to be as diligent as we are about encouraging him and keeping him focused on his needs to use the potty. so far he is pretty vocal about his needs at school and we are having great success. its still definitely more challenging at school. regardless, he gets it. he likes it and he feels like a big boy. and boy is he ever.

and because i get this question a lot. we taught him to sit to pee. everything i read said you teach them to sit first, then stand. i figure he is too short to stand in regular height, public pottys right now anyway...

potty training or not, he is our big boy. we are so proud.

so far ive saved you the potty pics, but if i catch one like one my mom has of me sitting on the pot reading a mag...i will post definitely be posting....

26 week update

im clearly carrying differently this pregnancy...

but my belly growth slowed down and is back on target with last pregnancy... i think!?!?

the aches and pains are significantly more this time around.

last sunday and monday i couldnt walk thanks to some lovely paralyzing sciatic pain

things are finally losening up and i was able to get back in the gym

typically by 6-7 pm i am dying to get in bed from the low back/hip pain and then everything locks up. the heating pad is my best friend. still able to sleep on my sides and back thankfully.

this baby boy also seems to be more active than asher was.

i could clearly be forgetting as it is very easy to do that, but wow. dance party in my belly.

thankfully no movement wakes me up out of my sleep...just philip snoring... sorry honey

i have cleared my 3rd trimester!?!? that is crazy to me. life is so busy with a toddler. potty training. pneumonia. just to name a few of the recent things. i try to soak this up and take it all in. spending time in the nursery and making progress. trying to enjoy this pregnancy as its very own.

its tough calling this baby...baby. and for now, its just that. baby. we really have no definite name. we are super picky and we are struggling. we want it to have some relevance or importance to us...either after someone or derived from family. hopefully in the next 10 weeks we can come up with something. you know im dying to put the name on something. DYING.

so thats my 26 week update. next week is my glucose test and first appointment in 5 weeks. we spread them apart so i could kill two birds in one appt. then i go to bi weekly appointments. really!? already!? ahhhhh!!!

just had to share...

Home Depot Kids Workshop

while i was out running errands and catching a viewing of the Hunger Games the boys were out buying more big boy underpants and participating in an impromptu Home Depot Kids Workshop they stumbled upon....

which is right up asher's alley.

he loves to be handy, loves to use tools and loves to help.

here are the details:

FREE hands-on workshops designed for children ages 5 - 12 offered the 1st Saturday of every month at all The Home Depot stores between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

• Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment.

• All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement.

i had heard about it but figured asher was still too you. boy was i mistaken. philip said he owned the project.

this week they made bird feeder's. they set out buckets with big thing plants of plywood as the desk and upside down buckets for the seats. daddy said it was perfect. each child was given a kit/set and the parents helped them go to work. he hammered his heart away. hey also supplied them with bird seed. these feeders should attract song birds so they had a pitch for saving song birds. it was not only a free craft but to benefit a great cause.

asher was very into his project and enjoyed the popcorn afterward...

we will definitely be going back again...next month is build a Scott's Planter Box....what a special treat with daddy!

Hamotzi & Elijah

asher has learned the blessing over food (they sing it every day at school)

we said it at dinner last night and he was really into it....but i missed the first line in the video.

you get the point.

this cuteness kills me....amongst his recent answer to my question..."who is coming to visit us on Friday....?" thinking he would say aunt eliza and uncle rich he said... ELIJAH (the prophet) for PASSOVER! thankfully ELIJAH and eliza sound alike we should be in good shape in the event he realizes ELIJAH doesnt "actually" come to the seder.

oh mi. i couldve eaten him alive.

i love that he is learning so much at school every day.

the joys of a jewish preschool