37 Weeks

So here I am. The picture is a little blurry. (Abby took it, not too bad for a 5 year old)

Anyhow, at my 37 week appointment I was dilated to a one and the baby has dropped. So far I have gained 22 pounds. The baby is growing and very active. The doctor said he can come anytime so I should have my hospital bag ready.

The only question now, will Baby Grant be another Dean clone like Carter? Take the poll if you want to make a guess.

Carter's Birthday

May 20th Carter turned 2 years old. Abby's preschool graduation was the evening of Carter's birthday so we gave him his gift the night before.

On Sunday we did birthday cake with our family, first at my mom's house then at Grandma Wendy's house. I think we could sing Happy Birthday to Carter every day and he would never get tired of it.



Carter also had his well child check up. He is 36 1/4 inches tall (90th percentile), he weighs 27 pounds 10 ounces (50th percentile) and his head circumference was 48 cm (25th percentile). The doctor said he is doing well. His vocabulary is doing better. Although, he is not forming two word sentences yet. The doctor said not to worry about it, boys are usually a little delayed in their speech because they are more focused on physical development. (He said this as Carter was hanging from the sink in the exam room.)

Trouble

When I drop Abby off at school the kids have free play time. I usually stay for a couple of minutes to let Carter play. Today, Abby sat at a table next to a little boy named Tomas to color and cut out pictures and Carter sat down next to them. I stood behind Abby and heard the following conversation:

Tomas: Abby we are going to go out to dinner tonight.
Abby: Okay.
Tomas: Just the two of us.
Abby: We can't do that.
Tomas: It's okay, I have my hot rod.
Abby: I am not old enough.

Mommy to Tomas: Abby can't date until she is 16.
Tomas: Dirty look to Mommy

If Dean was upset by the other little boy in her class telling her she was pretty, he is not going to be happy about this one. (I thought it was hilarious.)

Build-a-Bear

Abby had her first experience at Build-A-Bear last week. She had so much fun. My sister Sami went with us to help out. Abby decided that Build-a-Bear was an acceptable substitute for a birthday party. (We have had a crazy busy month.) She said her favorite part was picking out the clothes and dressing the bear.

Train

Abby's preschool went on a field trip to Hanford on April 30th. We got on the school bus bright and early, we rode from Sanger to the train station in downtown Fresno. Once there we boarded the train. Abby was a little nervous at first but once we got on the train and she was able to walk around she loved it.
Once we were in Hanford we walked to the park where the kids got to ride on a carousel a couple of times. After that we had a picnic lunch then ice cream from Superior Dairy. All in all a super fun day for Abby!

Yummy. . .

The best thing about strawberry season is, STRAWBERRY PIZZA

Crust
Combine:
2 cups flour
2 cups butter
4 tablespoons sugar

Press into jellyroll pan and bake at 375º for 15 minutes (until golden brown.) If your oven bakes on the warm side I would bake at 350º

Filling
Blend
16 ounces of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups cool whip

Spread over cooled crust

Top with sliced strawberries and one jar of strawberry glaze.

Not as bad as I thought it would be

So this picture shows Carter's happy place. Pacifier in mouth, handle up under his nose, blankey in hand and tag or corner of blankey rubbing around the pacifier.

Last week Carter was sick so I let him have his blanket and pacifier, "passy" whenever he wanted it. (So pretty much 24/7) Wednesday, Carter was noticeably feeling better. He ate only a few bites of his cereal in the morning and wanted down to have his blanket, passy and watch cartoons. When I tried put his passy up on the armoire, it was the meltdown of the century.

I decided that was it, we were getting rid of passy. I let him have it the rest of the morning. Abby and I talked to him about being a big boy and that passies are for babies. I told him if he was ready to be a big boy and throw away his passy, we could go to the pet store (one of his favorite places) and get a fish.

So, we went to the pet store. I let him walk through the store one time with his passy. We then walked to the trash can and I told him, "You are a big boy and it is time to throw away your passy." He looked at Abby, (apparently he needs to consult with her before making a decision) she told him to throw it away and he did. We went inside picked out two fish and set off for home.

He held the bag with the fish for a while then had a snack. After snack he asked for his blankey. I gave it to him. Then he asked for his passy. I told him, "You threw it away in the trash." He then panicked and said "uh, oh." He cried most of the way home and continued to say, "uh, oh."

As far as sleeping he is now doing fine. Last night there was not one tear. That first afternoon there was a lot of crying but he finally gave in and fell asleep. He does bring it up a little but it is not as bad as I thought it would be.

Now he seems like such a big boy. Hopefully I have given him enough time to get over it before the new baby comes. Next on the list: Potty training (Don't expect any post about this happening any time soon.)