Our First Date Night...Since Forever Ago

The picture above was from September 2014 and taken by my late sister in law. I realized I did not even get a picture of us from our date night last week. And if I didn't, does that mean it didn't happen? ;) 

It actually wasn't forever ago. We did go out to dinner on our birthdays, but I don't really count that as a date night. Anyways, I had never really considered date nights before. I honestly didn't feel like they were necessary. I thought I didn't need that time, and I thought the two of us hanging out with Mason was fine. However, after reading one of our cousin's blog post on date nights, I started considering it more. I was slowly losing myself in taking care of Mason. I didn't know what to talk to Brandon sometimes, and honestly, sometimes I still don't. I was always wanting to hear about Brandon's day, and my day seemed to pale in comparison. It seemed like our life revolved around Mason, and though Mason is super important, I knew that we needed to nurture our relationship too. In order to be the best parents to Mason (and our second one on the way), we needed that time away, and even though our first date night included a lot of discussions about Mason, I appreciated the time that we had together to just be us again, and not to have to worry about what he will eat at the restaurant, or if he will make a big mess. 

I'm super excited for our next date night. If you have any fun date night ideas, please let me know! I really want to do more things, other than just dinner. Hiking, bowling, golfing, etc.

Kaolee

To-Do Before Baby #2

Two more months! How we got here, I know not. But all of a sudden, it's nearly time. When I think in terms of months, it seems like a long time left, but when I think about the fact that I'm already 32 weeks, ekkkkk! Freak out moment!

These are the things I need to do before Baby #2 comes:

1. Freezer meals. Our fridge is so tiny, but I'm hoping to get some freezer meals prepped and in the freezer for the days that I won't be able to cook. Of course, I'm sure there will be lots of pizza deliveries, Panera runs, etc.

2. Hospital Bag & Baby Bag. I haven't even put together mine and the baby's bag yet! Must, must do! Since this is #2, there are definitely a few things that I am adding to my bag that I didn't before with Mason.

3. Stroller. And double stroller at that. I thought about foregoing the double stroller until after the baby, but let's be honest, how in the world will I have time? And one of my friends has one that I think I will get.

4. Carseat. I initially thought about reusing Mason's carseat and upgrading his, but after some thought, I decided that the baby needs a new one. Mason's car seat is quite a mess with all the food he consumes in the car. Cookies, bars, crackers, fruit snacks. Not all of them goes in his mouth.

5. Coping mechanisms. I have to do more research on coping mechanisms since I really want this labor to go more smoothly, and I really want to be more in tune with my body this time around.

6. Birth Plan. Having a birth plan was what allowed me to have Mason naturally, and so it's super important for me to have these printed out, and have them for the nurse and the midwife when I'm at the hospital. In the very hardest contraction moments, I will need a midwife who can stay firm with my wishes.

7. Baby clothes. Can you believe I have not bought any baby girl clothes yet?!!! I know, I'm crazy. I'm super stoked, but I just haven't even gotten around to thinking about it.

8. Setting up baby stations. Mason and I spend a lot of time upstairs and downstairs, which means that I need baby stations in both places, accessible to diapers and wipes, outfits, etc. I have both a baby swing and a rock n play so I plan to keep one upstairs and one downstairs. I will have the bassinet in our room for a while until she is bigger. Speaking of which.

9. Getting their room set up. Yes, Mason and his sister are sharing a space. I wanted to keep the guest room separate so I figure they can share a room for a while. This means rearranging the crib and Mason's bed and figuring out decorating so that Mason will still feel like he has his own space. His sister will be in a room for a while, but I don't want the baby's stuff to overtake Mason's space so I'll have to do some decorating to make sure he still feels like he has a space of his own.

10. Chicken diet. Yes, I'll do the chicken diet again this time. This diet helped me drop the weight so fast last time, and I'm hoping it'll help again this time. Not to mention that it was super yummy.

Is there anything else that I'm missing? Or should be thinking about. These are the things that's been on my mind lately that I still need to do. Let me know if I forgot something.

Thanks for reading!

Kaolee

This Could End Badly

It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a crazy pregnant woman going across the monkey bars!

I hadn't anticipated going across the monkey bars until I saw Brandon going across it, then I thought, why not? He doubted that I could make it across since my arm strength is on a low here these days. That made me want to get on even more. Across I go, and a couple of times after just for kicks.

Anyways, this is more of a bump update post, and not just me being crazy.

I'm 30 weeks, and not even sure where all the time has gone. I'm stoked that I'm so close to the end, but aware that there is quite a bit to do before the baby comes. Since we are in a new place, that means a different hospital, a different midwife practice, and a different routine this time around. With Mason, everything went almost like how I wanted so I am hoping things go as planned this time around. I'm seeing a chiropractor for my lower back pain. I'm hoping to read about coping mechanisms since I did not do that previously. With Mason, I just went with it, and though laboring was not fun, we made it through and this time, I'm hoping it'll be the zen, and controlled laboring that I'm picturing...probably not though lol. Each day is still different, and sometimes I'm super tired, and sometimes I'm okay. We try not to do too much so I can rest up a lot more. My taste buds are still a little crazy. Sometimes I think I'm back to normal, and then right after I say that, things start to taste weird again. So now, I just take it one day at a time, and just feel blessed when my taste buds are a-OK.

Thanks for listening to me ramble!
Kaolee

Mason's Birthday Month

I can't believe Mason turns two this month! I feel like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. He's gone through so much changes in his two short years, but he's been such a trooper, and he's also made our lives more fun. He is definitely the silly one in our family. The faces that he makes are always bringing smiles. He loves being funny, and making us laugh. He can be quite independent, although he is still learning to deal with other kids his age. Being the first born is hard! 

We can't wait to celebrate with this little guy! I love you with all my heart, my dear.

Kaolee

Oahu

It's been a while since I've been in this space, and what better time then now?!!! There's some changes coming to our family so I figure, I better record it somewhere. I love going back and reading my old posts.

In April, we went to Oahu. We had enough miles for our tickets to Oahu, and Mason was free so that saved us some money there. We split the cost of the house rental with our friends, along with the rental car so that was some savings there. My taste buds were all over the place so next time, I'm going to travel not pregnant since there were so many things I wanted to try, but didn't have the desire due to my heart burn and taste buds. It was nice to relax on the beach, and just not do much. I knew I was going to be a beach bum since I was still so exhausted. The house that we stayed at was a great location. They didn't have A/C which was a bummer, and I clearly needed, but we weren't at the house much so it wasn't too much of an issue. There was a constant breeze since we were right on the peninsula. The house had a pool, and the view was just incredible. 

I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted, but here are a few.