Breaking Bad

Someone mentioned to me a couple weeks ago that they're anxiously awaiting blog posts. I told them I would totally update the blog more regularly if I wasn't busy binge-watching "Breaking Bad."

I wish I could say that was a joke, but it wasn't.

And I don't really wish it was a joke because "Breaking Bad" (BB) was awesome! Mom and I started watching it when she came to help after Emmett was born. I believe she has started the series over with dad so they can both watch it!

Yes, a big reason for my blog drought is because there are now two tiny terrors in my house, but the main reason is because I WAS binge watching BB. As soon as Rolin was down for his nap, I'd grab Emmett, the boppy, my water and my phone, then settle onto the couch for two to three hours of BB. As soon as Justin would whisk Rolin upstairs for bedtime and/or a bath, I'd grab Emmett, the boppy, my water and phone, then settle onto the couch for at least one episode of BB. Justin's gone on a trip? Whoa, Nelly...I grab Emmett, the boppy, my water and my phone, then settle onto the couch for hours of BB before bed.

The worst part? Justin didn't want to watch it. What???? I know, right!? I had no one with whom I could discuss BB, that is until I found out my neighbors had watched it. They were just as excited to check in on my progress through the series as I was to talk about what crazy, insane, oh-my-gosh situation Mr. White and Jesse had just realized was all their fault.

The second worst part? I finished the series and now I don't have anything to watch.

I'll leave you with this:

BB fans, wouldn't you agree that Angry Emmett looks a bit like Tio Hector Salamanca?

Hector Salamanca, "Breaking Bad"

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding!

Lately, according to our phones...

Here's a collection of randomness, based on photos from our phones:

Adventures in feeding a toddler

Helping daddy build a small garden box

Deciding daddy needed a hug while he worked

Helping to get the soil nice and hydrated

Some of my new gal pals threw me a surprise baby "sprinkle." It was a total surprise and so sweet of them!

Rolin and his teddy helped me make Justin's birthday pie

Rolin was mad at me for continuing to (as gently as possible) tell people I will inflict bodily harm upon them if they allow Rolin to get too near the edge at the Grand Canyon. Therefore, he was carried often.

Wearing onion goggles, teehee

Playing with Grammy and Grandpa Thompson at the park

We hung around

Hung around some more

And continued hanging when we got home

Discovering Play-Doh

Checking out the train park with Grandpa L.J

Keeping an eye on the youths at the park

Eating mom's ice cream

Eating dad's ice cream

Just a regular day:

Wearing mom's shoes, dragging Pete the Sheep around, stomping on trains, yelling, "Oh, no!" for no reason, sharing our drank with friends...just a regular day around here!

Ostrich Festival

Chandler holds an annual Ostrich Festival in March, so we went...more out of curiosity than a need for entertainment. Turns out, it is more of a typical fair with rides, rows and rows of crafts, shirts with wolves howling at the moon and jewelry. There were tons of food options and, of course, real ostriches.

They do race ostriches. We didn't get a chance to see a race, but that's something I'd go for again to see. They also bring in some entertainment worth naming, such as Edwin McCain, The Axe Women Loggers of Maine (yes, you read that right), Flock of Seagulls and some gals from the Disney channel.

We had the most fun in the petting zoo area. Rolin got to see ostriches up close, which really excited him because there is an ostrich statue in almost every public building in town, and Rolin loves to see them. Here's one at the library:

Here are a few videos and pictures of Rolly feeding goats and sheep. He didn't hesitate at all to feed them!

Rolin also got to go on one ride with daddy, while momma sat on a bench with a few other pregnant ladies where we discussed how it was much warmer that day than expected, and how we're grateful for a bench and good husbands who ride rides with our littles. 

No spoon

Sometimes mama doesn't want to pick up the spoon once it has been dropped 17 times in one meal, so if you're hungry, you need to use your hands:

Pics of B2T2

Here's our baby #2!

I think B2T2 looks like Rolin -- in the chin area, anyway. I'm so looking forward to what this little one looks like; to see similarities and differences between my two babies will be amazing and mind blowing all at the same time.

Well, the whole concept of creating a human is pretty mind blowing, actually. It's the oldest, most natural thing that happens all over the world, every second of the day -- even animals make new animals -- and it is still such a phenomenal miracle to sit and think about.

Overall, B2T2 appears to be healthy and growing at the right pace. There is one thing that had me a little worried though. If you look closely at this picture again, perhaps you'll see it yourself.

Yes, that's the umbilical cord, "loosely" crossed around the shoulder and neck area. Now, I realize baby has another 20ish weeks of flipping, rolling and twisting to do, and that some babies are born with it wrapped up that way and are fine -- most are! You can even have a C-section if it is necessary (and that's fine by me!), but seeing this made me nervous. Then I read about things in some books and online and learned more. Well, that was a mistake.

3D pics are nice, but are they really that nice? Anyway...

I called and spoke with a nurse, who, after I had to be more or less forceful with to get her to read the results and look at the picture, told me yes, the scan results did note that the cord is loosely wrapped. She also did say that had there been any concern, the midwife or doctor would have brought it up.

That's all well and fine, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, I was concerned. I didn't want to be, I really didn't, but I let fear and anxiety take over and it was all I could think about. It was ALL I could think about. I unexpectedly burst into tears after I got of the phone with the nurse...I think I scared Rolin...but I calmed down soon enough to comfort him and tell him I was fine, just nervous about baby.

He didn't really care. He just wanted me to be quiet so he could watch "Thomas" in peace.

I shared the developments with a few friends, complaining about the crassness of the nurse. But I knew what I had to do. And I asked the friends to do the same. I prayed about it...not just to fix it, but to not think about it. I asked God to take my fears, nervousness and recurring blasts of terrible thoughts. I did not want them poking at me all day, all night and the next day again.

You know what, so far, it's worked. Thank you, Lord! Of course, it crosses my mind from time to time, but I just do my best to shake it off.

It's so easy to worry, but worry will wreck you. It has wrecked me before. That's why I don't want it this time.

Another thing that helps is I've actually been reading my "Jesus Calling" devotional...the book that's moved with me three times. It's spent time in three bathrooms, where I told myself I'd read it. I didn't. I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but you could say this year mine is to actually do a daily devotional, so the book spends time on the kitchen table now. It does get covered by one of the two high chair trays, mail or other randomness that lands on my kitchen table, so I forget about it from time to time, but, overall, I've read it more in the last two months than in the last three years.

My original intent with this post was to share today's devotional entry, so without further rambling, here it is:

March 4

REFUSE TO WORRY! In this world there will always be something enticing you to worry. That is the nature of a fallen, fractured planet: Things are not as they should be. So the temptation to be anxious is constantly with you, trying to worm its way into your mind. The best defense is continual communication with Me, richly seasoned with thanksgiving. Awareness of My Presence fills your mind with Light and Peace, leaving no room for fear. This awareness lifts you up above your circumstances, enabling you to see problems from My perspective. Live close to Me! Together we can keep with wolves of worry at bay. LUKE 12:25-25;  1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18

Will you do something for me, readers? Will you pray for B2T2? Will you also pray for me to not worry? Like I said, it's so easy to feel worry. In fact, I think it's expected by some people that we're worried about one thing or another all the time, you know what I mean? Thank you for helping hold me accountable with this particular worry of mine, and any future worrisome events that may cross my path, spoken or unspoken.

I've decided to end this post with some new pics of life:

My big baby thinking he's a small baby.

Movie and popcorn while dad's out of town.

B2T2 is growing

B2T2 is about 18.5 weeks baked as of today. I've already done a terrible job documenting the new baby...

But, here are some pics to watch Christine the baby grow!

14 weeks.

17 weeks.

Yes, it's the same shirt. 

Yes, my posture is poor here.

Yes, I am wearing different pants.

Yes, I am 35 times bigger than three weeks prior. 

Yes, the letter blocks on the wall are crooked.

Yes, the majority of my growth is likely due to cheeseburgers and granola bars.

Yes, I'm carrying a lot higher than with Rolin. 

Any cravings? Yes...beer. And there is nothing I can do about it. 

Also, a lot of people around here use their outdoor grills, so by 5 p.m. the delicious scent of sizzling steaks is wafting through the air in our neighborhood and I find myself craving a burger or other type of BBQ-able food. Sometimes I give into this, sometimes I just go eat white cheddar popcorn while I heat up leftovers for dinner.

I also find myself gravitating toward spicy foods or pulling the tapatio out of the fridge to spice up my lunch. 

I am always starving (like, really starving) right after I brush my teeth and settle into bed for the night. I keep granola bars in my nightstand for this reason. Sometimes I try to go to sleep as quick as I can so I don't eat a granola bar. This is usually only when I've run out of granola bars. Plus, giving into my hunger pangs would mean leaving bed and going all the way downstairs to the kitchen. Justin is never happy about this request, but he has been a good sport and is kind about going to fetch me a snack. :)

I am feeling much better than I did in the first trimester. I have more energy, I can function in the mornings, I'm not *as* hungry. I'm still lazy. I still hormonal-cry (thank you P&G, for your super emotional Olympics-themed mom ads....AGAIN!). I still hormonal-yell (or head-scream). I still forget things...like words and proper punctuation. 

Here is a sweet moment between Rolly and B2T2:

Kisses for Baby.

Yes, I have a strange bellybutton. 
Yes, that mole was smaller before I got pregnant the first time.
Yes, yes. Thanks for noticing.

Not the mama

There is a framed photo of our wedding propped up against a wall in the corner of our bedroom. It's not that I don't like it -- it happens to be my favorite wedding photo! It's just that I ran out of picture-hanging steam, I suppose. Plus, it's usually covered by our laundry basket, so I forget it's there.

Well, I decided to do some laundry the other day, so I took the basket down the hall, exposing the picture.

Rolin has been sitting in front of it since that day, pointing at the pictures and naming those he recognizes.

Cute, right? Aww, he knows who people are! 

Maybe you can even see yourself in this photo? Feel free to point at those you recognize and joyfully call out their names as if you're a 19-month old.

It's fun, yes?

But you know what has got me baffled and questioning my appearance lately?

He doesn't recognize the lady in white, the one holding his daddy's hand. 

You know, the one who birthed him and has never been away from him for more than eight hours at a time (not necessarily by choice...). 

You know, HIS MOTHER!?

He won't believe me when I tell him otherwise. 

To him, this is not mama. 

To him, our wedding photographer is his mother. 

Nothing against her, of course. She's a lovely lady! I just really wonder why I can't convince him that I am the other woman in the picture!!! Ha!

Could it be her cowlick? Maybe. It's similar to the one that makes an apperance at the back of my head if I don't wash my hair daily. And, if we're being honest, I can't tell you the last time I washed my hair two days in a row. Maybe that's it. 

Is it her watch? No, I don't wear a watch. 

Is it her red shirt? well, I do wear my bull shirt from Spain a lot...so much so it's kind of orange now. Maybe that's it. 

I often stand with my hand up like that, protecting my tender Norwegian eyes from the bright sun. Even on cloudy days (which sometimes seem brighter, for some reason). Maybe that's it. 

January so far

January has been busy so far, and I didn't really expect it to be so. That's better than boring, right?

Rolin had a really runny nose for about three weeks -- I mean really runny. We'd wipe it, turn around to throw away the tissue and then within seconds it'd be running past his chin again. I tried to pretend it was no biggie for a while, but when it showed no sign of clearing up, and he spiked a 101+ fever for a few days, we went to the doc. I had my suspicions of a sinus infection, and the doc agreed. I went home with a prescription for amoxicillin...Rolin barfed up the first dose -- I mean really barfed it and all of his lunch. Wheee! 

The next day his nose stopped running. Hummm. Would it have cleared up on it's own the next day anyway? Probably, considering my luck.

The rest of the dots are hard to see on his torso and legs, but they're there :(

Anyway, a few days later he started getting red spots on his torso, then legs and then his face. I asked a couple friends and my neighbor for their thoughts and expert parent thoughts, and then called the doc to see what they thought. By the time we went to the doc his "rash" was all over his body. It didn't appear to bother him and he was acting normal, but the poor thing had red blotches and dots all over :( We stopped the medicine and gave him some Benedryl, which seemed to help clear things up in about three days. He more than likely has an allergy to amoxicillin/penicillin. I also suspect roseola. But I'm no doctor.

He's fine now!

I've also been to a doctor or two myself because my body is building another baby! Yes, I'm pregnant; about three months along. Holy moley!

Best BIG Brother Ever, it should say... couldn't find a shirt that just said Big Brother. 

"B2T2" about 12.5 weeks baked.

This new little peanut is due July 27. For those of you who need a reminder, Rolin's birthday is July 24; our wedding anniversary is July 26; Joe and Brianna's anniversary is July 23; two other family birthdays are July 22. We always thought it would be nice to space our children about two years apart, but we did not intentionally plan them to be exactly two years apart! Nor did I really intend on spending another Christmas season laid up on the couch with the first-trimester ickies. All the same, I'd do it again, of course. I mean, look at that adorable profile:

All in all, this pregnancy has felt much the same as the first. I've been starving out of my mind, felt blergy from the moment I woke up until about 1 p.m. and I lacked energy or desire to do much of anything. Thank goodness for "Dinosaur Train," granola bars, apples & cheese, Costco trail mix and a husband who is happy to help. I'm in the second trimester now and things are much better. It really is almost like flipping a switch...I'm still hungry most of the time, but feel much better and have a bit more energy. 

In more doctor-related news, some of our friends in California have also seen their fair share of doctors after a series the triple Bs: blood clots, back surgeries and babies. After a long period of extreme back pain, our friend ended up in the hospital with blood clots; just days later, the need for emergency back surgery became apparent. A few days into recovery, his wife found herself in labor and soon delivered a precious baby boy. There has since been a second round of back surgery, and the recovery continues.

Team Thompson against painful and troublesome backs.

via

For their family, it's been a scary, emotional and trying time -- but it has been accompanied by the elation and pure joy a new baby brings a family. We thank God for watching over our friends and for his continued healing. We thank all of you who joined us in praying for their family, too!

In other January news, Rolin had his first haircut. If it were up to me we would have waited another couple months or so to cut it, but others beside just Justin thought it was looking a little shaggy. It was just hard to say ok to cutting off his baby curls!

Flowing locks.

Justin we tried to give him one at home, but we didn't have any hair scissors to give it a finished look (plus, it was a bit crooked, but that's just my opinion):

Then we ended up at a kids' hair cutting salon to make it look a little better:

Afterward, Rolin had his very first ice-cream cone that was all his own. He's had ice cream before, but never his own cone to eat by himself:

He looks like such a big kid with his new 'do.

Eating the entire cone himself proved to be a bit much as he vomited half of it up after gulping down a cup of milk at dinner. Ha! Gross.

As for the rest of January, we look forward to welcoming a lot of family visitors! Some are now in the vicinity in their motorhome, others are coming at the end of the month. Then my mom and dad come in early February. We're going to host a Super Bowl party at our house for everyone because the Seahawks made it! I can't wait to see everyone, even if it's really the 77 degree weather in Phoenix that was more of a reason for their a vacations than the Thompsons ;) (just kidding!).