Summer Begins

Our Summer has been pretty busy so far.  I am determined to create fun, memorable experiences for James this Summer.  Not sure if it's because things are going to get a lot harder to do once there are two kiddos, or that I'm wanting to pack in the one-on-one time with James in the little amount of time we have left with just him, or that I just don't want to sit at home and watch Thomas or Cars all day ha.  It gets kind of lonely being at home all day, I think especially for James.  He loves kids and really needs to be around them more often.  Last year he had just recently learned to walk so we were still sort of limited but after Summer was over I kind of felt like what did I even do this Summer?  I sort of felt guilty for not being more of a fun mom.  So far we are enjoying doing fun things with cousins and friends.  Though I worry I may wear both of us out after this last week.

There are so many "free" or inexpensive things to do around here, I never realized.

Monday we went with Grandma Cullimore and Courtney and her kids up to Grandma Cook's house to eat lunch together and feed the ducks- FREE and the kids LOVED it!

We also went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point for Family Home Evening Monday night.  We have a membership so we took advantage of that.  We have been avoiding Thanksgiving Point on Monday evenings for fear it would be crazy busy but decided we'd try it out this once.  To our surprise, there was hardly anyone there!  It was great!

he did NOT want to ride on the pony

Tuesday we didn't really do anything fun, but ran a bunch of errands (specifically Father's Day) in town that made our day seem really busy.

Wednesday we went to Seven Peaks with my sisters and their kids.  We have a Pass of all Passes and this was the first time we had gone.  Carson was not able to come because of work and has never been before so we will definitely go back with him.  James had a blast!  

Thursday we went to the Kids Summer Movie Club movie that Cinemark is doing.  They show kid movies every Thursday during the Summer for only $1.  This was our second time going.  James has so much fun going with his cousins and he LOVES the popcorn!  He doesn't sit the whole time, but it is so laid back that we just sort of come and go as he needs and I don't feel that we're interrupting because the theater is packed with noisy kids.  

Friday we went to This Is The Place Park in SLC.  It was John Huntsman day so it was free admission!  They had tons of fun little activities for the kids and free ice cream.  It got really crowded but was still really fun.

We only spent maybe $5 this week on activities and had SO much fun! Score!  But boy are we pooped.  Maybe we'll spread out the activities a little more from here on out.  :)  

  

Big Boy Bed Update

As mentioned in this post, we were going to transition James into a "big boy" bed soon.  Well, last Sunday was his first night in his new bed and he has done really well!  I have to be honest, I was terrified about how he'd respond to this change but like all other changes we have encountered with him, he handled it like a champ.  I am finding that I am the one with a fear of change.

We borrowed a bed from Carson's mom that she no longer needed and set it up a few days before we actually put him in it.  We figured doing this might be a good idea as to sort of ease him into the idea instead of changing things all at once.  We would tell him that was going to be his new bed in a few days.  Then we went to the store and let him pick out some sheets for it.  Of course he picked out some Thomas the Train sheets and also some Cars sheets from the Disney Pixar movie (he has become quite obsessed with this).

Sunday night rolled around and I just prepared myself for at least a night or even a few weeks of little to no sleep including rough naps but we put him in bed Sunday night and that was that.  He slept SO good!  We didn't hear a peep from him from about 8:30pm to 8am the next morning!  We thought that when he did wake up he wouldn't realize he could get out especially on the first night but morning came and we heard his door knob turn a few times and out he came, shutting his door behind him.  It was the cutest thing.  He does this same thing when he gets up every day now, shutting his door behind him when he comes out.  Funny boy.

I have to be honest though, I cried the next morning making his bed.  Haha I don't know why, but it just hit me that he is not my little baby anymore.  He's growing up so fast!

Then with naps, again, he did really well!  There has been a few times that I have to go in there and put him back to bed 2, 3, 4 times but I am just persistent and usually he'll take a good nap as he usually did when in his crib.

This week has been sort of rough though with naps...I'm not sure if it's because we've had a super busy week or what but I sure hope it has nothing to do with his new bed.  Hopefully he can go back to napping well.  The other day, I was so desperate for him to take a nap.  After about an hour of putting him back in bed, I loaded him up into the car and we went on a little drive.  I could tell he was so tired.  Little stinker fell asleep minutes after we started our drive.  I got home and put him in his bed where he continued to nap and I took a much needed nap myself.  It was delightful.  I may just have to use the car more often :)

We can't believe how well he has done.  I really don't give this kid enough credit.  We are so proud of him!

Days of our Lives

Sorry to disappoint, although the title shares a name with a day time soap opera, no one will be in a coma or be plotting to steal their siblings spouse in this post.  

This is the latest happenings in May that I didn't write a specific post about.

We celebrated my birthday on May 10th.  I guess I don't have any pictures probably because James wasn't with us and that's practically the only reason we take pictures anymore haha.  Carson took the day off and my sister was so kind to watch James for us while we went out to see an early afternoon movie and dinner.  We saw Ironman 3 which was excellent and ate at Texas Roadhouse which was also very excellent.  I got my steak I had been craving :)  My boys spoiled me.  I got a few maternity shirts that I wanted and desperately need (I borrowed most of my maternity clothes with James....that or just wore over sized t-shirts).  James got me a wiggle car so we can cruise the neighborhood together...though I'm beginning to think it was just for him...and I'm lucky and got to continue my celebration only two days later with Mother's Day and had a really lovely day.  I got Lucky perfume (one of my favorites that I had run out of far too long ago) and a cute maxi dress which isn't necessarily maternity but is stretchy and will work for me for a while while pregnant and even after so I love it!  Thank you Carson and James for making those two days very special.

We had fun celebrating Memorial Day with Carson's family where we went to his parent's house (they had just gotten back from a trip to Poland the night before!) and enjoyed a bbq and each others' company.  The kids loved the slide and the bounce house.  

I bought this vintage piece for $50 and have special plans for it!  I'm excited!  I will show the final project when (and let's be honest...if) I ever finish :)  Yes, I am using a chemical stripper and yes, I am pregnant.  Don't worry, it is in a well ventilated area and I wear a mask.  I also have Carson put the chemical on and get it all nice and ready and let it air out and then I come in with my handy tool and go to town! But let me tell you, come to find out, stripping furniture sucks!

This isn't May but early June.  We got together with the Cullimore extended family (I couldn't even get everyone in this picture) for a family night and then had snow cones and cookies together out on the lawn.  I just love Summer and am so excited for it!

And I just have to share this pic...he positioned himself on my sister's couch GQ'ing it. 

Such a model :)

And he decided to claim another family in the row in front of us at church.  They are probably more fun, but I think he may have a little crush on this beauty....They are sharing treats here.

It's a....

We had our ultrasound today and found the gender of our sweet expected arrival and it's...a....BOY!!  We couldn't be happier.  Everything looked great.  He seems healthy :)

Carson and James came to the appointment with me.  James did great!  We made sure to pack a lot of toys and snacks to entertain him.  We wanted him there when we found out :)  At first he was a little nervous having me up on the exam table but then went back to playing with his cars.

James still doesn't quite get what is going on here.  When we ask him where the baby is, he points to his tummy.  We will ask him, "James do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?"  and he'll reply "Baby sister."  Then we'll say, "James, do you want a baby sister or baby brother?"  He'll say, "Baby brother."  haha so whatever we say last, that's what he wants.  We have our 8 week ultrasound picture up on our fridge and when he sees it he will say, "That's my baby brother, baby sister." (he lumps the two together cause that's how we've kind of been referring to the baby when we're talking to him) so he sort of gets some of it.

Today when we were driving to the appointment we said, "James we're going to get to see baby brother/baby sister today!"  He gasped and said, "Puppy!?" haha yeah, not grasping it quite yet :)

After I was finished with the ultrasound James asked to get up on the exam table.  This was surprising because this boy is deathly afraid of the doctors office no matter what kind.  The Sonographer was so cute with him.  We put him up there and she showed him the equipment and pretended to scan his belly.  He loved it! haha

Just making sure there really isn't a baby in there like he says...

When we got into the car to leave we said, "James you're going to have a baby brother!" He replies, "No! I want baby sister!" Uh oh....so now he cares ha. But when we said "No, it'll be fun.  You get to be his big brother and can show him how to play with cars and trains."  He seemed a bit more happy.

We are really excited to have another boy.  This is actually what we were hoping for.  I sort of thought it was going to be a girl, maybe because I wanted a boy so bad.  We're excited to have them (hopefully) be best friends and they can share a room one day and have bunk beds.  Plus it's nice because we have all the boy clothes already and toys etc!

So how has the pregnancy been going so far?

I am currently 21 weeks...can't believe we're more than halfway there! Slow down, I need to buy some time!    

After about 14 weeks I started getting my energy and motivation back but it wasn't quite like it was with James where it was almost day and night.  This time I do see a difference but I am still quite tired and I know that's because I'm chasing a two year old around.  I just try to take advantage of being able to sneak a nap in once in a while.  

The only cravings I've had are probably starchy foods like potatoes and then steak.  There's definitely a boy in there!  With James I craved starchy foods and chicken.  Funny the similarities. Actually I did have cravings for water and fruit and veggies there for a bit.  

I have had restless legs like no other this time around though....it's driving me bonkers!  I have found that the only thing that helps is lying on my left side with a pillow in between my legs.  I have also been having quite a bit of heart burn lately. Ugh.

I was able to feel the baby squirm (little muscle spasms is what it felt like) at about 12 weeks or so but the distinct jabs were felt by me at least by 16 weeks and Carson was able to feel him at about 18 weeks.  With James and it being the first pregnancy, I didn't feeling him until 18 weeks and that was the little  muscle spasm feeling and Carson didn't feel him until I think it was either 21 or 23 weeks.  So interesting.  

One nice perk about pregnancy this time that I did not have last time was that my skin has been a lot healthier feeling and clear of acne and blemishes.  So nice.  With James I had acne worse than I have ever had! I also had linea nigra (the line on your belly some pregnant women get) with James which wasn't a big deal but so far I don't have that with this pregnancy.  I think I got it pretty early on with James too.  Even before I started showing.  

We are about to journey into transitioning James into a "big boy" bed within the next couple weeks.  Hopefully he will do well.  Carson's mom had an extra twin bed so we are taking that one off her hands.  It has been nice, James isn't much of a climber so we haven't had to deal with him climbing out of his crib so I just want to keep him in there as long as possible but know we need to make this transition sooner rather than later.  I will post about this experience when the time comes.  Wish us luck! 

We are so excited for our baby boy and are just feeling very grateful at this time!

Day out with Thomas

Saturday we took James up to Heber for a "Day out with Thomas".  They turn the historic train into a Thomas the train theme.  James absolutely loves Thomas and we know this won't last too much longer so we decided to go a head and do it this year.

We adults were pleasantly surprised. We thought we were just going to go ride Thomas and take a couple pictures but they had all these interactive booths.  It was really quite fun.  James loved it!

getting a sweet tatt

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Mom and Dad got one too!  He's going to be devastated when they wear off.  He constantly asks to see all of them.

getting his face painted

at the coloring station

first sitting down on the train...he didn't even want to get on.  He was pretty nervous.

Ok we're doing a little better now...

and we're off and he's loving it

at the storytelling station.  I thought it was so cute how he got so into it.

this boy sure loves trains

holding his balloon puppy tight

not too sure about this guy...

St. George fun...without kids!

This past weekend I went on a quick little get-away to St. George with my parents and siblings.  James and Carson got to stay home and enjoy some "guys" bonding time together :)

My sister graduated from nursing school and originally wanted to do a girls trip with my sisters and my mom to celebrate.  The dad's would stay home and watch the kiddos.  Though Somehow my dad and my brother got invited too so it turned into just a Swensen only trip haha.  My oldest sister didn't come so we weren't complete.  She and her husband took a long trip to Hawaii and got back like two days before we were going to leave so she opted out of this one.

It was just what I needed!  I seriously didn't have that hard of a time leaving James.  Maybe because he was home with dad and in the same routine and I knew he was having a great time.  I missed them both but I seriously enjoyed some time away :)

We arrived in St. George late afternoon and checked into our hotel...worst hotel I've ever stayed in to date haha.  Apparently there was an Ironman race going on that weekend and when my mom tried to book a hotel months in advance, almost everything was taken so we got what we could.  I guess it wasn't horrible...I've heard of worse.

checking out the Ironman setup the evening before...wish I was cool (or insane) enough to participate

We ate at Texas Roadhouse for an early dinner and then had a little bit of time to kill before we hit the Brian Regan show at Tuacahn.  Cardin happened to be graduating that day from Dixie State University and then she and Mitch were to head to Missouri the next morning to sell pest control for the Summer so I had to see her.  It worked out perfectly.  She and my in-laws and Mitch's family were eating at a restaurant by our hotel so I popped in to tell her congrats and say a quick goodbye

The Brian Regan concert was great!  I had never been to Tuacahn.  It was a neat experience.

dang hoodlums behind us photobombed our pic haha

let's try this again and with Rob in it this time...(we can't take a decent pic)

Saturday we went to breakfast at Kneaders.  It was delish.  Their french toast is even bigger than any other Kneaders I've had before though and that's saying a lot!  Oh my heck, each slice was seriously like 4-5 inches of yummy goodness!  And funny enough, as my family and I are eating, there walks in Cardin, Mitch, Laurie, and Kelvyn!  They happened to go to breakfast there before Cardin and Mitch hit the road.  So funny.  So we got another picture.

We then went to Zion where we hiked to Emerald Lake.  My dad mentioned maybe hiking Angels Landing which didn't seem too fun to me.  You have to hold on to a chain during part of it so you don't fall off the side of the mountain....ummm no thanks haha.  And after seeing a picture of the hike, I'm super glad we didn't do that one.  Emerald lake was the perfect length and intensity for me ;)

On the shuttle up into Zion

during the hike...I was exaggerating, it really wasn't bad :)

After we hiked we ate at a local restaurant called Oscars.  It was [retty good.  As we were leaving paramedics were coming in with a stretcher.  Yikes....not sure what happened but we opted to go on another hike just to work off what we ate.  Kidding....we took our chances.  That evening we did some shopping back in St. George and then got ice cream.

Sunday we checked out, went to breakfast, and headed home.

Like I said it was a short trip but oh so wonderful.

super creepy statue...