Grant 4 months

Well Grant will be 5 months old next week, so just in time with his 4 month post. (I'm glad I'm a second child, because I have confidence that he will turn out alright in spite of everything) 

Most notable this month...he's trying to crawl. And it's really purposeful- like he wants the toy that's out in front of him so he pushes up on hands and knees and rocks. He hasn't accomplished putting one knee in front of other so from this position he dives, head first at said toy. And he gets there. And he's 4 months old. So there's that. 

He is also wearing 6-9 month clothes now. 

And after all of that is said and done, his 4 month doctor appointment showed that he's dropping in weight percentiles which is something to "pay attention to" but "not worry about". (Thanks Dr Pediatrician, I'm now worried). 

Grant also isn't much of a sleeper. (Boo Grant) I mean, he sleeps just not for longer than 3-4 hours at a time. (2 if we are particularly unlucky) Apparently he just likes hanging out with me. At 11pm. And 2am. And 5am. Cue Tyler yelling Mommy! Daddy! Ribbit ribbit (?!?! Yes that happened this morning) at 645am and yep there's Grants shining face again. Anyway, sleep is for the weak. Moving on. 

Bottles are for the weak too. Grant doesn't believe in them. Moving on some more. (But vowing to work on this, or pray for January 8ths arrival...6 months old, solid food, please like it and eat it and sleeeeeeeeeeeeep. I digress) 

Grant is increasingly more interactive with everyone and everything around him which is fun. This includes Tyler's (previously sole-ownership) toys. I now find myself suggesting Tyler ask Grant if he's done playing with xyz before grabbing it out of his hands. Tyler adapted fast. He now routinely says "Grant says he's all done with it." No Grant didn't say that! But you guys can duke it out in later years. 

I realize these posts about Grant quickly turn into posts about Tyler and Grant which is nice since I don't blog about Tyler's new developments every month anymore. It's safe to say they both change significantly every day and before I know it a week or a month has passed and shock! They're older! And doing something they didn't use to do! 

Grants 4 month stats

15 lbs 3 oz 

Length ?? 

Diaper size 2

Clothes size 3-6mo then 6-9mo

Sleep- for the weak, see above (7pm bedtime- 7am wake time, waking up 3-4 times in between) 

Naps- lots and in his crib and lengthening to around 1 hour sometimes, when the stars align, 2 hours in the middle of the day! 

Things Tyler says part 4

Do it mine-self

Happy birthday cake to you

Miled instead of smiled 

Big huge big huge (something that's really big...ex. that truck is big huge big huge!) 

Just found this list above from November ...and now we are hearing: 

Agigator (alligator) 

Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, Pteradactyl, Stegosaurus, etc- lots of dinosaur names that Kevin and I have to try super hard to learn ourselves before we teach him! 

Ta-da...when he accomplishes something, especially getting his own clothes on. 

What's that name? (Trying to remember names of people we see/meet) 

"God Jesus I love you" (the start to all the prayers he says) 

Hock and Deb! (One day he prayed for "Grant, Hock, Deb and me" out of the blue. I was in shock!!) 

Grant 3 months

Finally sitting down to write Grant's 3 month old post and we're only 1 week away from his 4 month birthday! 

Grant's newest tricks include rolling over, first from his tummy to his back and then back to tummy. So we also ditched his swaddle this month since rolling over & swaddling isn't recommended.  This was new territory for us since we swaddled Tyler until he was 6 months old, or longer?! He (and we) survived on the swaddle. This is our first indication that while we're not rookie parents anymore, we are actually rookie parents to Grant...and that leaves us still wondering what the heck we're supposed to be doing! 

We're still having lots of adventures during the day and enjoying the nice fall weather by getting outside  for walks and spending time at parks. Sometimes Grant is agreeable and sometimes it's just a little too windy for him! 

We're also having a lot of adventures during the night...we (and mostly me because of breastfeeding) get to see his bright shining face 3-4 times most nights and while his older brother was knocking the socks off of sleeping at 3 months old (7-8 hour stretches) Grant needs some Mom love every 2 or 3 or sometimes 4 hours.  On the other hand, Grant naps in this crib most days and falls to sleep without much less effort these days while Tyler at this age believed in the I'll cry unless you're rocking me method of napping. 

All this to say, we're tired but learning (and learning to love) the differences in our 2 boys! 

Grant is tipping the scales close to 16 lbs, wears a size 2 diaper and is getting dangerously close to regularly wearing 9 month clothes, since he's already wearing and filling up the 6 month ones. 

Note to self (add pictures!) 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday, one day early...the weather was perfect this morning so we found a new park to explore! 

Things Tyler says 3

Pampakes. His favorite breakfast! And the cutest word he says these days. 

Yorgit...aka yogurt.

Tyler James. He knows his middle name now and will randomly walk around the house saying Tyler James Tyler James. He can now also add the L to his name so it sounds more like Tyler than his previous Tire version. 

Badger lane. He knows this is the street we live on! 

Nummy. When something tastes good

Santa jammies...because I had 2 pairs of Christmas pajamas that I think he's going to outgrow before they are actually appropriate, he has been wearing them already! 

Things Tyler WONT say...

Three!!! He counts 1, 2, 4 and it drives me bonkers (also probably the reason he does it). He can get all the way to 15 but always, always leaves out 3 no matter how many times I say it. Wahhhh 

Grant 2 months

Newest skill...smiling!! 

2 month doctor appointment stats

12 lbs 13 oz

24.5 inches 

Wearing size 2 diapers and 3 month clothes 

Sleeping usually 5-6 hour stretch at the beginning of the night then 3 (sometimes 2😢) after that. Record 7 hours straight- which was glorious. 

We are really starting to notice how alert and aware he is becoming every day. He has started tracking our movement a lot better and recognizing us immediately when we come into his view. He's definitely not as much of a sleepy newborn anymore...can't believe how fast that changes! 

Grant is a seasoned park-goer and library story time attendee. Funny to think that Tyler may have only experienced target and hyvee from his car seat at this young age while Grant is just along for the ride with Tyler's current activities! 

And one more photo...first bouncy seat experience. I think this is his happy face (?!) 

Also, note to self...write 1 month blog post (whoops sorry buddy). 

Things Tyler Says 2

Sided...aka excited. Most often used when Daddy gets home from work and it goes something like this- frantically running all over the house yelling "sided. Daddy. Home. Sided. Daddy" repeatedly

O.k... which is noteworthy because it, just the other day, changed from "otay" which had been consistent for a few months.

Hoodie...referencing a sweatshirt which he apparently thinks is hysterical because when he or we say it, he goes into a serious fit of laughter. Also, note to self, I probably wear too many hoodies for this to even be something he knows!

Baby Brant...I havent gotten around to writing an update since Grant arrived about Tyler as Big brother. Even though he cant quite nail the G sound, he is constantly interested in "baby brant" throughout the day.

Bullzer...aka bulldozer. The joys of living in a construction zone- suitable entertainment right outside our front door.

T too...means "Tyler too" in response to us saying we are going to do something. As an example I might say that I'm going upstairs and he will say "T too" and then follow me upstairs. I dont know where or how he picked this up- we dont regularly or ever really call him "T" so I dont know if he decided that on his own or if the T sound is his current version of "me" so he thinks he is saying me too!  Either way,  kind of funny.

The Arrival of Grant Glen Hockemeyer!

Baby H2 has arrived. Grant Glen was born on Wednesday July 8 at 8:56am, weighing in at 8lbs 7.2oz (which we found out later is "big" and above 97% of all babies born apparently) and 22 inches long (who knows where he gets his height!). He is a healthy baby boy with a good amount of brown hair, super long fingers and toes and so far, an impressive ability to be a sleepy, peaceful newborn! 

His arrival was anything but peaceful. We left home at 7:50am, arrived at the hospital and into labor/delivery room at 8:20am and little boy Grant appeared 36 minutes later. I began feeling contractions at 10pm Tuesday night so I knew there'd be a birthday on Wednesday- which was, I should mention, 3 days past my due date...an excruciatingly long wait it seemed. I didn't fully disclose all of the details to Kevin who was unsuspectingly woken up at 3am by me saying "I think I'm going to call my parents now so they can get on the road." Kevin said, "ok sounds good. I'll probably go to work and then you can call me to come home whenever you need. Or maybe I won't go at all, I guess we will just see." Insert perfect opportunity to "fully disclose to husband/about to be dad again" that I let slip away by saying "ok sounds good." I probably should have said "well actually the reason I think we need to call my parents is that the contractions are already 6-7 minutes apart and I am starting to  have to breathe/focus through them." 

Fast forward to 6am- I got up and showered trying to pass time. I called a friend who could take care of Tyler when we had to leave to get to the hospital. Kevin cleaned up the house, I packed my hospital bag, we passed time. At 7am, I told Kevin we need to get this process going- cue friend to come get Tyler who was still sleeping...finally we woke him, got him all packed up and on the road with our friend and then we left. 750am. 

Arriving at the hospital, we pulled into a loading zone area and checked into labor/delivery. We got settled in the room, I was hooked up to contraction and baby monitors at exactly 8:20am. Then admitting questions began from our nurse. While I answered those, Kevin went to move the car into the parking garage. Questions continued intermittently as the nurse stopped when a contraction would come...eventually realizing they were coming relatively quickly, she said "how long have your contractions been 2-3 minutes apart?" I said maybe an hour. She said, "do you think I should check to see where you're at?" I said...I don't know but the contractions are pretty good. (Whatever that means!) So she puts admitting me on hold, checks my progress and...lo and behold I am 9cm and basically ready to push! Immediate action takes place- she calls OB dr to my room immediately along with all other attendants needed to bring this baby into the world. Then she asks for my cell phone to call Kevin (who was parking the car!). His phone starts ringing as he is walking back into the room- which is now complete chaos compared to when he left. 

He arrives at my bedside and I say, we were calling you because I'm ready to start pushing! (Insert look of complete shock.) And precisely 15 minutes from that moment was Grant Glen's official birth time. 

As mentioned previously, his arrival was anything but peaceful- although a great and entirely different experience than Tyler's- but Grant is proving to be as calm as they come! 

More coming soon about the 2 days in the hospital, big brother Tyler and life as a new family of 4! So much to share about the last 4 days...here we are, all smiles in the delivery room! 

Things Tyler Says

"Oh no man" when something falls down or doesn't go how he wanted it to.

"Round, Round, Bus" (said in singing voice while waving pointer fingers in the air) for the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round song

"Teatup" for I'm a little teapot song. C's are T's these days.

"Did it" when he accomplishes something. Or, like yesterday morning, he waited until I got to the bottom of the stairs then said "mommy did it" while clapping. Yes, Tyler, walking down the stairs IS an accomplishment these days. Let's not even talk about walking up them.

"Snacks" not to be confused with just a general "eat", snacks means goldfish or veggie straws or something along those lines. Grandma found out the hard way recently...Tyler said "snacks". Grandma gave him yogurt. Yogurt is not "snacks". Tyler didn't eat it.

"Dilla" for quesadilla- a recent addition to the growing repetoire of meals he likes

"Cado" for avocado

and in similar fashion....

"Butt" for button. As in press a button, but Tyler has no time for multiple syllables these days.

Music Monday

This popped up on Pandora today- great timing as I used to listen to it all the time but haven't for a long time, love it and some days it's just a good reminder. 

"All will be well, even after all the promises you've broken to yourself. 

All will be well, you can ask me how but only time will tell. 

You've got to keep it up and don't give up. Chase your dreams and you will find, all in time. All will be well. "

Gabe Dixon Band- All Will Be Well 

38 weeks!

38 weeks with Baby H #2

And the rest of the family on Father's Day 2015...

And one more because it's cute 

The Calendar

I should maybe stop looking at a calendar...

I just realized tonight that we are:
3 weeks from Baby H#2's arrival "date"
4 weeks from Tyler (our baby!!) turning 2
AND
5 weeks from moving out of the house we currently love and into the one we hope to love for years to come

Emotions run high while 8 months pregnant. Emotions run approximately 10,000 times higher based on the above realization while 8 months pregnant.

Good luck to Kevin. Keep him (and all of us!) in your prayers :)

The End of an Era

Yesterday marks the end of an era...not to be too overly dramatic or anything! I coached the last soccer games of this spring season and of this current "era" of soccer in my life. When the next soccer season comes around in a month, I won't be a part of it as we've decided to make a big & major change for our family by having me stay home with Tyler and Baby H #2 after his or her arrival in July.

I say it's the end of an era because literally since I was 5, my life's calendar and subsequently- my life- has revolved around the soccer seasons. I am overjoyed to imagine what nights and weekends and falls and springs might have in store for our family. I am also simultaneously scared of all of that T.I.M.E.

It is bittersweet to walk away from coaching, as it really has been exactly what I dreamed it would be- creating relationships and connecting with players through a sport that I love, learning just as much (if not more) from all of them as I hope I have taught. In turn though, I will get to make Kevin and Tyler and Baby H #2 my priority for the next "era" of my life.

Since we announced to the club that I wouldn't be returning, I have received many responses from parents. Congratulations was said most often (which caught me off guard as I didn't realize making the choice to stay home was a "congrats" type moment until it started coming repeatedly) as well as "you won't regret it" and "the time when they are little goes so fast." I KNOW deep in my heart that I won't regret it although some days (like yesterday...coaching my last games) are harder than others. I also KNOW how fast the time goes every time I look at Tyler- who I can remember holding in my arms as a tiny newborn and now when I see him rapidly approaching 2, I wonder where 2 whole years went.

Actually, 2 years probably went faster because I was gone a lot! The timing for this change is impeccable too because just yesterday when I called Kevin in between games, Tyler was in the background saying "Mommy. Home. Mommy. Home." to which I had to respond, "No, mommy is working and not coming home yet." (insert fighting back tears here)  He's just getting old enough to really get it. Obviously, I know there will be times I'll be away (and I'll WANT to be away) but I hope my heart feels a little less torn between two worlds during those times.

But my biggest hope, thinking ahead to what life will be like, is that we will get to be the family we have dreamed we want to be! And that makes the "end of the era" actually just the start of a brand new one.

Tyler- 22 Months

22 months and counting! So close to 2 it's getting scary!

He learns and imitates SO many words every day. Some of our favorite things Tyler says:

"Come on" which always includes a hand motion of rubbing his fingers together over his shoulder to summon someone. 

"Are you" which means where are you but he hasn't grasped the first word of the phrase yet. 

"Amen" as clear as day and always very profoundly!

"Thank you" one day a few weeks ago, after soooo many months (22 to be exact) of trying to get him to use the actual words instead of the sign, I handed him some food for breakfast and he said "thank you." I stopped in my tracks because I am so used to seeing him sign it and responding "can you say thank you" or "can you use your words"....I was so excited that he actually said it that I probably got a bit over-excited only further encouraging him to say it a million times that day (and every day since). The thing I love about it is that he says "thank you" with a different tone than pretty much anything else he says- as if he knows how to be truly sincere.

New skills:
Tyler sings! (and dances) Often when he's in his car seat, he will strike up a little tune and although he's not singing actual words- I love it. He also raises his two pointer fingers in the air and waves his arms around to dance to his own song.

Old favorites:
Tyler still loves his legos. We don't have them out all the time but he knows where they are in the closet and usually at some point in the day he'll ask to get them (or go get them himself).  They hold his attention of longer than pretty much anything else he does or plays with. His legos also make us realize he needs this sibling he's going to be getting soon- he will play with them on his own but he'd much rather one of us sit on the floor to play with him. While the baby won't be able to "play" at first, eventually I know they'll be two peas in a pod.

Stats to remember:
Weight- 30 pounds
Clothes- 2T
Bedtime- 7-730pm
Wakeup- 630-730am
Nap- middle of the day & around 2 hours, give or take

This is Ours, 7th Edition

There haven't been as many photo updates of the house over the last few weeks because not much has changed from the outside appearance...until yesterday! They've been working mostly on the interior drywall and all of that so hard to see changes from the outside. We went over a few days ago to drive by and saw what we thought was siding sitting in front of the house and apparently, we were right!

32 Weeks

32 weeks down, 8 more to go! 

And by comparison- here I am with Tyler at 32 weeks. 

Reading through the blog from May 2013 when I was around this same week with Tyler, I found out that we had the crib and dresser in place and were working on doing all of the baby's laundry and getting ready. This time?! HA! We just put our house on the market yesterday. 

So we'll be doing minimalist style "preparing" since we don't have too much extra space to prepare. Over the coming weeks, I'll have to dig out some of the clothes and the car seat to get them all ready to roll but that is the least of my worries at 32 weeks this time around. 

I had a short and sweet doctor appointment this week. I don't have many questions this time around and so far, have been lucky that each appointment is basically "par for the course, see ya next time." 

I still think it's a girl. I can't even imagine having 2 boys right now because I'm so convinced it's a girl. Kevin just asked me tonight what I'll do if it is a boy. I said, "you'll have to pick up me off the delivery room floor." A bit of an inside joke because Kevin has routinely said prior to the first ultrasound (both times) "if it's twins, you'll have to pick me up off the ultrasound room floor." 

I can't wait to see what Tyler will think of his new baby brother or sister. A 3 month old baby started at his daycare in the last few weeks which I thought was perfect timing because Tyler hasn't really spent any time around babies at all. Apparently, the first few days whenever Griffey (the baby girl) made a sound (cry or not) Tyler would perk up and say "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh" until someone acknowledged him or the baby. I have also heard that he will stand over her in the swing or pack n play and wave without saying a word. So it appears he's interested although I'm sure he hasn't grasped the concept that there's going to be a baby in OUR house soon enough! 

This is Ours, 6th Edition

Can't believe how fast it's going...and I'm getting behind on my photo updates. This was 2 weeks ago so there are even more improvements now.  

This is Ours, 5th Edition

Second floor, another shower in the garage and roof tresses piled up waiting for action!

This is Ours, 4th Edition

Actual walls and a shower in the garage! 

This is Ours, 3rd Edition

And, there are walls! 

Quotable

Tyler- 21 Months

Tyler spent his first "weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Hockemeyer" this past Saturday & Sunday...originally supposed to be Friday- Sunday but some travel plan snafus turned it into 1 night instead of 2. I think everyone involved had fun =) He stayed with them when we were in the Dominican Republic in November but this most recent "weekend away" made me realize he is getting older and older by the minute! Now so much more capable of having his own schedule and so much less reliant on Kevin and I as his caretakers. After spending so much of his first year focused on our time together vs our time apart- and specifically me, as I nursed for that whole year- this is turning out to be more of a mental adjustment for me than anyone else I think. It's been many months since I last had to worry about nursing/pumping but I think it became so ingrained that first year that it's almost default.

Other notable achievements over the last few months (since the last "monthly" update I did for Tyler was 2 months ago now...)

Words! All kinds of words! Every day he says and learns so many new words, love hearing him repeat new ones and watching him process our response. He is usually quite proud of himself! One of the best is that we THINK he's starting to say his own name. Kevin has a photo on his nightstand of Tyler when he was around 9 months old. Tyler will look at it, point and say "tire" or some variation there of...not very often but we've heard it once or twice. I also THINK I've heard him say "no, ti-rer" talking about himself in the third person while simultaneously scolding himself?!

His favorite food has to be toast. If he could eat toast for every meal, he'd be one happy camper. Some days, he does. (Some battles just aren't worth it these days!)

He loves his "blankie" more and more every day. We started letting him sleep with the blankets we used to swaddle him in when he was just a little guy about 1 year ago. We have always kept it in his crib so after nap time or in the morning, it stays there when we leave his room. More recently, he's wizened up...he now knows, if he can't reach the one in his bed through the slats of his crib, he can get a spare out of the bottom drawer or if he can't find one there, he knows they must be temporarily "stored" in the laundry basket in his closet. It is clearly his comfort item as sometimes during the day- generally late afternoon when the day has taken it's toll- he'll go upstairs, find said blankie in any of the hiding spots and stand in his room holding it. We've still been trying to keep the rule that it stays upstairs in his bedroom...but this is definitely not as easy now as it has been.

He also now smiles on command, so when trying to take pictures we can just ask him to smile instead of having to clown around behind the camera hoping we catch it! I took this one last night so I could send it to Kevin who is out of town on a business trip this week. (In hindsight, maybe I should've waited until he had finished swallowing the food he had in his mouth.......)

This Is Ours, 2nd Edition

We have a basement foundation now! And a SOLD sign on our lot!

27 Weeks

Whoops...it's been almost a month since I posted anything. At some point, when I have more time on my hands, I'd love to be more consistent with this blog thing but so far it comes in waves. 

Here we are at 27 weeks (on Easter Sunday) so bring on the third trimester for Baby H #2! Baby H #2 who I still think is a girl.

Anyway, all is well on the Hockemeyer home front. Tyler is a talking machine these days, repeating & learning a lot of new words every day. He is even starting to say his own name which I love! He has been calling me "baby" less and "mommy" more although I know he can't wrap his brain around mommy & baby actually being 2 separate people. His mind is going to be boggled come July.

I'll plan another post soon about our new house...which is currently under construction!

Park Hopping- Adventure 2

Centennial Park- Waukee

A few days ago, Tyler and I ventured up to our new house (read about that here) and then visited a new-to-us park in what will be our neck of the woods later this summer.

I didn't get any photos of this one, but Centennial Park turned out to be underwhelming. Tyler spent literally 15 minutes climbing on some rusty old play equipment and then was much more interested in just running around the huge grassy open areas. So I guess, it wasn't that bad on a scale of Tyler's enjoyment, but the actual playground was a lot less impressive than the gem that is closest to our house now. I'll have to blog about that one soon, because the more we visit other parks...the more respect it demands!

This is ours!

AND some more big news...

THIS is our hole in the ground! (Not to be confused with "hole in the wall")

As was previously eluded to, we are preparing for a move to this not-built-yet new home! Yesterday afternoon Tyler and I went for a drive out to Waukee, about 10 minutes north and west of where we live now, to check in on any progress on our lot. Low and behold, we found that the builders were already done digging out the hole for the foundation/basement. To put it in perspective, we drove out there on Sunday too (yes we're excited) and not one piece of earth had been moved but the backhoe sat on the edge of our property line...apparently waiting for Monday to get moving! 

We have spent the last few weeks working through the beginning of the process of building this home, and although it's not custom, because we are getting in ahead of the actual building we got to pick out all colors and options for our house. It turned out to be more fun and enjoyable than we expected, although minor setbacks and disagreements ensued, in the end we are mostly confident that we made good choices. It will certainly be an upgrade from the 2 bedroom townhouse we know and love. I can't imagine yet what it will feel like to move in and have this be OURS!

It's probably fair to say there will be more pictures to come as the house grows up out of the ground. 

Quotable

Park Hopping- Adventure 1

These days, I am spending a lot less time bar hopping and a lot more time park hopping! I guess, to be fair, I never really spent THAT much time bar hopping but certainly in the last 2 years the hours I've dedicated to local establishments has greatly diminished.

Today, I'm home with Tyler and the forecast is 72 degrees and sunny. Unseasonably warm for March 13 but we'll take it. I decided this morning that we should start park hopping. As in, instead of walking down the street to the nearest park which we frequented late summer/early fall last year...we should explore! 

So I got out my West Des Moines Parks and Rec map (thanks to Google) and today our adventure will lead us to Quail Cove Park. Tyler has no idea what he's in for...he's napping now, but when he wakes up boy is his mind going to be boggled! 

Well, probably not really but hey- at least it's something to get excited about.

Updated to add photos-

Who needs all the fancy swings and slides when there are rocks to sit on and dirt to dig in!

Quotable

Music Mondays

Barefoot Truth- I Prefer

Music Monday

Haven't done one of these in awhile but this song popped up on Pandora recently and I heard the lyric I LOVE as it played in the background while I was working...

"Nothing worth anything ever goes down easy"

Tyler's first ice cream

There are two nutrition related reasons why I wonder if Tyler is my son...

1st of all, there was this night when he was given a bowl of macaroni and cheese on one side and green peas on the other and he ate the peas first...because he likes them that much! I, on the other hand, have hated peas for most of my memorable life. 

2nd of all, (and most alarmingly!) there was this past Saturday night when we went to a friends house for dinner/hang out time. Our friends made tacos- which Tyler scarfed down- as well as a special ice cream dessert. Tyler's never had ice cream before so this was his first go around...I had her give him a plate of the dessert because I assumed-  it's ice cream who isn't going to eat it?! WELL, my friends, Tyler didn't eat it! I helped him along with the first bite by putting it on his spoon and putting it in his mouth. He proceeded to make the most hilarious face (which I didn't catch on video), as if he had been completely traumatized. And then, assuming he'd want a second bite (because who doesn't want a second bite of ice cream!) I put the next bite on his spoon and he promptly turned his head, said "no" and pursed his lips tight. And that was that. His first, and last, bite of ice cream...his facial expression was somewhere between pure terror, mouth-puckering as if we'd given him a sour lemon and utter confusion. 

I had been planning to use the excuse "Well we have to go to Dairy Queen or Frozen Yogurt because Tyler wants it" this summer, but it looks like I'll have to blame it on Baby H #2 instead! 

Quotable

A big Sunday

All in one Sunday (February 15, 2015) Baby H #1 otherwise known as Tyler turned 19 months and Baby H #2 turned 20 weeks.

Smallest first- 20 weeks is halfway! Our family is halfway to getting it's world rocked, in the best way possible. And last night, Kevin was able to feel Baby H 2 kick for the first time. Baby H 2's future name choices have not been fully decided yet, however, one thing we know for sure is that if it's a boy his name won't be River. (Kevin used Dad-Veto power last night on that one.)

Loudest second- 1 month post 18 month appointment and Tyler is a walking running, babbling talking, getting scarily close to 2 year old...

Tyler's newest words include- eat, please, home, puzzle (said puddle or duddle, but at least sounds like 2 syllables), and potentially most excitingly...up! We've been trying to get him to say this one for months, MONTHS of whining/grunting/pointing all easily solved by the word "up."

In other exciting news, we are making some pretty big progress in the housing department and it appears we won't be living in a tent (for more than a week or so...). We have found a house we love, in a location we like, that we can afford! So our big Sunday, as mentioned above, turned in to a big Monday when we signed a purchase agreement.

There are more details, which I'm sure we're ready to blog about yet, BUT Kevin and I are floating a little higher/lighter these days knowing that (barring anything crazy happening) we have a house to call a home for our growing family!

Quotable

18 Weeks

18 Weeks...and I am...pregnant. (Especially when I wear this specific shirt!) 

Things are moving (literally and figuratively) in the Hockemeyer household. Baby H #2 came to the party in the last 2 weeks, I can feel lots of moving these days. Boxes and bags of items are also moving, moving their way right out of the house and right into the nearest Goodwill. 

We had some drywall repairs completed last week so we moved most of Tyler's toys which had previously inhabited our main 1st floor living space into the basement. At first, he stood in the middle of the floor looking around (since the big move happened at bedtime), I can only imagine him saying what happened to all my stuff?! But then he carried on playing with the small basket of toys we left for him and has been perfectly content with said small basket for almost a week. It kind of makes me re-think his toys...and the presence of so many of his toys! I've been doing some research about simple solutions for toy rotation & storage so we can change things up a bit...

Anyway, this morning we finished a big move of pretty much all of the items on our 1st floor to prepare for the painters who arrived promptly at 8am! Tyler and I are escaping to a friends house until Wednesday while the house is a painting zone...full of fumes and wet paint that a toddler would love to destory explore. We didn't get any before pictures so there's no turning back. We vetoed (but considered) Sherwin Williams Anew Gray but then picked one of their most popular colors- Kilim Beige- so it can't go wrong, can it?! 

17 Weeks

Most notable is that sometime last week (after I wrote the 16 week post) I started realizing that what I had been thinking "might" be the baby kicking/moving in there was actually the baby kicking and moving in there! 

So that is new and exciting. Not very strong yet, and can't feel from the outside yet, but every now and then there's a small reminder that Baby H #2 is rolling around in there. 

Need to update this post with a photo, I've been meaning to take one since depending on what shirt I wear, I do actually look pregnant sometimes. 

Tyler- 18 months

Tyler is 1.5 years old...officially closer to 2 than 1 and boy is he acting like it!

New Skills

- Feeding himself. He rarely allows Kevin or I to get close to him with a fork or spoon...he wants to do it himself! Which means meals take forever, with varying degrees of actual eating. Sometimes it's frustrating for us because it'd be soooo much easier if we could do it for him but it takes a little mental reminder to say hey, this is actually cool to watch him want to be so independent.

- "What's that?" Said 500 times per hour. Also, large mental reminder to say hey, this is how he is going to learn all the words in the world so answer the question...every time...even when he has already asked 499 times in the last 58 minutes. 

- Puzzles. Tyler got some great wooden puzzles for Christmas and when we opened one that day, he looked at the pieces, tried 1 measly time to put it in its proper resting place and when it didn't go, he literally dropped it and walked away without a second glance. Less than 1 month later and he is a pro. A few days ago he was sitting by himself on the floor, took all the pieces out, put them all back in and then stood up to look at me and gauge my reaction. Of course, I clapped and cheered and now, now he is a puzzle finishing professional who practices many times a day. 

- Vocabulary- Mama has finally arrived although I still get called "daddy" a lot! Eat and hi are new this week. We have taught him baby, which he says is a soft high pitched voice, different than his usual voice. He must be imitating the way we say it to him...which I love. My favorite thing he says though, besides mama, is touchdown...we think he should get bonus points for his 2 syllable word even though he doesn't quite meet the milestone in this arena for his age. He's been saying it for a few months now and every time he does it makes me laugh!

Old Favorites

- Legos 

-Kitchen bowls and spoons...but he has graduated to this...

Tyler by the numbers

Weight- 27 lbs, 9 oz 

Height- 32.5" 

Sleep- bedtime 7pm (if not 630) wake up 7am (if not 730) 

Napping- 1 nap most days (2-3 hours long)

Quotable

16 weeks

Things are really jammin' these days. The process of growing our family this year also brings with it the realization that we are simultaneously outgrowing our home. Our 2 bedroom townhome is glorious and perfect for the 3 of us but seems to be 1 bedroom shy of perfect for our incoming "family of 4" status. With that said, we are going to use the next 5ish months of pregnancy to prepare our house for selling- selling our house (fingers crossed its that easy), buying a bigger house AND moving into it. 

Does this sound enjoyable? Here's the thing...while we just catapulted ourselves into a timeline of intense, 2015 is SURE to be remembered as the year we did SO many things to make progress towards the vision that Kevin and I have of what our family/life will be. I know it will be challenging but I hope that we can keep that perspective while we try to do all of the above mentioned "tasks" before Baby H #2 arrives. Curveball- we will be doing this during soccer season. 

Bring it on. 

Painting estimates were obtained last week. De-cluttering began the day we got home from all Christmas festivities this year. And it continues. I even sold a few clothing items that were destined for Goodwill on a local buy-sell-trade page and have profited $24 so far! $10 of which is being used to buy the new baby's first cloth diapers, since I didn't start with Tyler until he was 6 months old I need to fill in the gap between newborn-6 months with some smaller sized diapers. (More on that in a future post) 

Yesterday we cleared out an entire dresser in our bedroom by relocating or removing (goodwill or garbage bag!) the clothes it contained. The dresser then went into our storage closet in the basement so our bedroom looks less "cluttered" and more spacious to prospective buyers. I think we will say this a lot over the next few months of continued prep...we should've done this years ago!! 

We are working hard to take stock of what we have, what we use and what we need (and need to get rid of). It isn't painless- the work or the getting rid of- there is always a reason to keep but at the end of it all, we hope to lighten our load for moving, lighten our lives of stuff and enjoy the more important things more! (Not quite minimalist living but future posts coming about that too) 

Tyler Got Promoted!

Well, well, well...here's the latest...

Tyler is a big brother! 

He, and we!, are very excited about Baby H. #2's impending arrival (July 5, 2015). 

First Trimester Mumbo Jumbo

I started this post as a draft so many weeks ago (10, to be exact) when No one knew but Kevin and I. So here are my thoughts before everyone knew there were thoughts to be had...

6 weeks
I'm pregnant! I took a test last Thursday that came back negative, I traveled to Kansas City for a soccer tournament over the weekend. I came home and took another test Monday morning that was positive which didn't surprise me...I had been starving. Like non-stop hungry so for future reference, even if the first test says negative I should determine if I am pregnant or not based on my appetite!

7 weeks
I feel great. I don't feel "first trimester-y" at all. Yay! I'm going to work out and be fit and active and feel great this pregnancy. Ya! I am so shocked I don't feel bad. This is going to be awesome. (Or so I thought....in hindsight, less than 1 week later, BOOM first trimester hit me like a ton of bricks.)


8 weeks (or so I thought)
First ultrasound! In which we found out I am probably really only 7 weeks along. TORTURE. During this early part of pregnancy, which isn't the greatest or most enjoyable, every week that passes feels like a serious victory. Both for being one step closer to the second trimester and (hopefully) less nauseous and crappy feeling AND for the further comfort of knowing this baby is still growing and thriving in there. So 7 weeks it is.

8 weeks (again).
Leaving to go on vacation tomorrow and I am both excited and nervous. Don't know how it's going to be leaving Tyler for this long, don't know how I'm going to feel while down there and am hoping that the joy of being on vacation overpowers the crappy feeling of being right-smack-dab in the first trimester "fun".

9 weeks
Turns out, vacation was great! I randomly started eating ketchup and mustard, which I never eat at home. As well as made quick friends with the beach-side grill's french fry server...he literally knew me, and knew to fill my entire plate (not just a small side serving). I need salty foods these days and could totally do without sugar or dessert which is so weird for me. I learned during Tyler's pregnancy that our body "craves" what vitamins and minerals it needs so I know to embrace it, not try to ignore it...That this process of craving actually is purposeful (like so many other parts/symptoms of pregnancy)...so I started putting salt on many foods (which I also never do). I figure if my body wants it that bad, that the baby must really need it or be draining me of it.
We also let our secret out, only to the friends who were traveling with us, because clearly I wasn't going to be drinking while on our trip. It was exciting to tell although it still doesn't really seem real yet. When we got back home, we had to tell ourselves OK no more baby talk because we were able to talk about it so much over that week, since it was just us and our friends who knew.


10 weeks
Kevin just reminded me yesterday that I am 10 weeks now! I am usually the first to remember, every week past is one week closer to baby! (and feeling better) He also reminded me that before I even considered or thought I might be pregnant, I mentioned to him one night that I needed to buy new shampoo because I, all of a sudden, despised the smell of the shampoo I had been using for weeks. Reason #5,280 why I should've known....same thing happened to me when I was early in Tyler's pregnancy and I had to buy new shampoo then too! I, however, didn't put 2 and 2 together and had completely forgotten that even happened until Kevin brought it up again yesterday.

14 weeks
Well this isn't technically first trimester mumbo jumbo anymore because I'm 14 weeks...BRING ON THE SECOND TRIMESTER. The fact that there hasn't been any mumbo jumbo for the past 4 weeks means 1 thing, and 1 thing only, this tiny little baby was certainly throwing her weight around. (We do not know the gender, but if I haven't already mentioned this above, I am certain it's a girl. As certain as I was for all 9 months that Tyler was a boy- so I wouldn't bet against me. In a few months, I'll come to terms with the fact that I may not actually know for sure but for now, I'm sure.)
Anyway, the last few weeks of mumbo jumbo should be written like this !?@#>#!

Moving along, I feel much better now. Miraculously like I will, at least, be able to handle life until July. Once July shows up, and the new baby arrives, all bets are off...but until then, it appears I'll be able to function like a semi-normal individual.