Bee's Blueprint: 8 Months!

This sweet little Bee is already 8 months old. Be still my heart. Bee is the sweetest of sweethearts and I'm guessing we say that at least 100 times per day around our house. She steals our hearts clean away with her soft smiles, cheeser grins, friendly pats and cuddles, and that little lizard tongue that is always out and about. Momma and Bee (and the rest of Utah) caught a cold this month and Bee cut her first two teeth during the same week. She was happy and smiley through even the worst of it, and sometimes would just look at us sad and confused like, guys why can't I breathe? Bee was practically over crawling as soon as she learned. Crawling is now only a means to get somewhere to stand. She is getting pretty savvy at pulling up on the couches and coffee table and chairs and walls and beds and our legs and...anything! Her favorite hang out spots are the living room coffee table and the ottoman in her nursery. They seem to be the perfect height for her to stand and have two free hands for playing with puzzles and books. Sometimes she forgets that she can't yet walk and has taken a few good spills with a fat bloody lip to prove it. We always find her with her feet or legs crossed in her highchair or car seat. She gets excited at meal time and watches me prepare her food anxiously, kicking her feet and drumming the highchair. So far she has eaten everything we've offered her, even green beans and tofu. I'm crossing my fingers it will last! We have now fully entered the stranger danger phase and she becomes uneasy around even family these days. She is more than happy to be out and around people as long as mom or dad is holding her. I can't lie, sometimes it feels really good to be the mom she wants! Sweet Bee, we love you more than you'll ever know. xo

A LittleMAN to Love

We're experiencing a little bout of déjà vu this January. Except this time, we're thrilled to know our new little bee is a LITTLEMAN! My heart was racing so fast laying up on that table with my belly exposed and watching my littleman squirm and dance around on screen. He was a maniac! Arms and hands flying everywhere. Legs kicking towards my ribs. Hands clenching and lips moving. All four chambers of the heart pumping and active. It's really quite unbelievable.
This little guy has stolen our hearts away already. Having two babies is becoming more of a reality by the minute. Having one of each seems about right for our little family. As tradition would have it, we stopped by Babinski's on the way home and purchased some blue high-top tiny Tom's for the new babe.

BD is about as proud as any dad could possibly be, he literally gasped when the technician stated that it was a boy. Daddy was very selective about picking out the first outfit. Lions! He seemed a little bummed that they didn't have anything in stock with a bicycle on it. But something tells me, junior will not have a shortage of bikes and gear in his future.

Phoebe says, "I'm confused. You said I was getting a baby brother. So why can't I eat the blue frosted cupcake?" Sorry to tease you baby girl! She will be the best big sister to her brother! We hope :).

The Story of a Surprise Pregnancy

One evening last October I wrote the following in my (other) journal:

“Tonight after [Phoebe’s] bath we nursed and she snuggled with me in the rocker. I sang and hummed "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" over and over and over. It's our favorite lullaby. Tonight she hummed along with me, making soft cooing noises through her binky. She was tucked into the crook of my arm and nuzzled against my chest. She loves to hold my fingers as she falls to sleep. As her eyes were getting heavier and heavier her grasp became tighter and tighter. Having a baby fall asleep in your arms is the greatest honor, it says: it is safe here and I trust you. The feeling came over me that I will have more children. I don't know how or when, but it doesn't matter tonight. I am simply grateful to know that I may have the chance to rock another baby. The thought makes me happy beyond belief. I am one blessed momma.”

In other words, I was oblivious to what Heavenly Father was trying to help me understand that night. It was still nearly two weeks later when I finally clued in to the signs my body was giving me and discovered that I was 2 months pregnant! It was the most unexpected happy surprise of my life. I’m sure any mother who has longed for or waited for children will agree with me when I say there are no accidents.
Yes, there were clues. I had started to notice that while breastfeeding Phoebe I would often feel nauseated. Weird, certainly. But hormones, ya know? I was only 3 months postpartum after all. Naturally, everything in our house was still being blamed on hormones.
Typically I use Bee's nap time to conquer quiet jobs around the house, like folding clothes or eating M&M's. One day I walked into my bedroom, looked longingly at my bed and decided to lay down for a quick rest. Only, I fell into a deep deep sleep and awoke dazed and confused by Phoebe's crying in the next room. After several days of this I started to think I was becoming extremely lazy. Unless. 
Our niece Ellie turned the grand ole age of 3 and her momma threw a darling little birthday party for her, equipped with a yummy dessert table chockablock full of naughty things I would normally devour at one such celebration. But that night, I wasn't even remotely tempted by any of those treats. What? Who? Impostor! So that had me thinking. 
I scanned the calendar events on my iPad searching for little signs that might help this magical mystery tour along. BD went out of town, here. DeeDee and I talked about this and that right around, then. I counted back using the very scientific method of my fingers. I scratched my head some more. And started to wonder.
The only way to put this nonsense to rest was to actually take a test. I spent the weekend waiting for an opportune time to sneak away to the pharmacy alone. I decided not to breathe a word of my delusions to BD because after years of negative pregnancy tests, why open a door that might not need opening? No such occasion presented itself. In the meantime more nausea, more tiredness, more food repulsions. And..I knew.
On a brisk fall Monday morning after BD had kissed us goodbye, I strapped Bee into her car-seat announcing Adventure! and drove straight to the pharmacy. I cried the whole way there. Because I knew. I cried the whole way home. Because I knew. I put Bee down for a nap and hunkered into the bathroom. I bought several tests of varying brands, because that's what you do. I read the instructions meticulously even though it was highly unnecessary and got straight to work. The paper says to wait at least 2 minutes before reading the results. Well, I'm here to say that's a long 2 minutes. 
Only it didn't take longer than 3 seconds for that second little line to appear. I stood over the sink staring at this positive home pregnancy test in my hand. Shock, awe, and wonder rushed through my veins. I was finally having that bathroom moment where suddenly the world teeters on its axis and you feel like you've been let-in on the greatest secret of all time. Only you and God and that baby know. Clutching my mushy postpartum stomach I took an exasperated breath and laughed out loud through happy tears.
I was terribly confused. For one, we didn't think I could ever get pregnant on my own. Birth control was far off my radar, and honestly, so was baby making (ha!). I mean, it was SO hard to achieve a single pregnancy with Phoebe. We were elated that IVF was an option for us and it had worked once! BD and I had just barely had a conversation about how much and how fast we wanted to save money for the inevitable next round of IVF. For two, I was exclusively breastfeeding and most women don't even...sigh. The short if it; I'm happy to say that I am not most women!
Then there was the business of sharing this wonderful (and shocking, and scary) news with my baby daddy, who was in the middle of his work day, nestled in his cubicle, probably on the phone, completely oblivious to what is happening back home. This would be fun! I schemed and schemed but my resources were limited and so was my energy (duh! because I am pregnant!). I gathered the tests, a sharpie, and a clean diaper. 
BD's normal routine when getting home from work included swooping Bee up for millions of hugs and kisses and holy cow momma! She has grown an inch today! We have the cutest baby in the world! kind of nonsense. He changes her diaper while I finish dinner (and sometimes by "finish" I mean preheating the oven, and by "dinner" I mean frozen pizza). When he arrived home that night Bee was still dozing in her afternoon nap. I had to keep my act together for another 25 minutes until she finally woke up. Torture. I asked BD to get her up and change her diaper and I would be in to feed her in just a minute. You must know, I am not cool under pressure so I awkwardly followed him to the nursery and watched him from the doorway like some sort of diaper changing stalker.
Eventually he discovered the diaper with a special message engraved in Sharpie from Bee saying "I'm going to be a big sister!" He screamed "WHAT?!" so loud it startled and scared Phoebe half to death. I came bursting into the room with a fist full of pregnancy tests jumbling my words together like a shake of Boogle. Phoebe was hysterical and confused and trying to roll off the changing table. Brad was attempting to keep her down and give me a hug all while trying not to faint. All three of us were crying. Looking back, it was a pretty great moment. One that would change the course of all our lives much sooner than this little family ever expected. Oh how wonderful life's surprises can truly be.

Skiing the foothills

BD was invited to ski the foothills just above our house with some friends. It was a chilly hazy morning in the valley, but above the haze he said it was sunny and warm. My friend Jane could see them skiing down from her front porch, but they were just out of my sight over the ridge. Poor guy, skiing is such a passion for him but he rarely has the opportunity to hit the slopes (sometimes being an adult really bites, ya know?). Plus, I've been pregnant the last two winters and haven't been much encouragement. He is already talking about taking Bee; makes momma's heart skip!

 

 

 

 

Video: Bee Learns to Crawl

I had such high hopes to post about Christmas and finish all of my 2012 blog drafts by the New Year. Ha. But today, TODAY! I'm going to chip away at it. It's priority #1 if I want to have my blog book printed in time for my Birthday.
However, here's something exiting that's happening at our house lately. Little Bee has learned to crawl. This opens up a whole new world for her. And us! Doesn't it just melt your heart when a baby crawls to your feet and wants to be held? It becomes less heart-melty when you are trying to clean the bathroom and she crawls across the soapy floor to pull up on the un-scrubbed toilet and whines until you put down toilet brush and finally pick her up and she looks at you like, why did you stop scrubbing? Love her.

Phoebe Learns to Crawl from B&G Duncan on Vimeo.

Happy New Year's!

2012 was a big year for us, starting a family and all. Next year we will add another little one to the hive and life will be even sweeter. New Year's Eve might look like this, jammies and cuddling on the couch before bedtime, for the next couple of years. I dozed off on BD's lap long before midnight but he woke me up for a kiss and escort to bed :). Perfect.