Summer!

Well, we've had a busy weekend with Z's birthday, then our anniversary (11 years!), then the big birthday party for Z, his cousin Jenna, Aunt Biz and Uncle Andy in Mansfield. The biggest news is that Z spent his first night away from home on Saturday night. [insert **gasp!**] We had planned to have Ben's sister, Bekah, come over to babysit so we could go on a picnic for our anniversary. Then, when she and his mom suggested we bring him up to Akron to sleep over, we ended up ordering Indian takeaway and renting a movie ("The Producers"). The food was great, the movie "so-so". The experience of having your firstborn spent his first night away from you, not exactly priceless as you're constantly wondering how they are. He did great, no problems were reported. Below he's eating his current favorite treat (especially as he's working on those two year molars). "Want some?"

Yes, there's an owey on his nose. He got a really bad rug burn playing at his cousin's last week.

"One apple up on top..."

I was busy cooking and baking last week and made eight Stromboli and froze seven of them for after baby #2 arrives. Below is my first attempt at pretzel buns made with this pretzel recipe (the wheat version mentioned in one of the comments), which I rolled into bun sized balls, boiled for 3-4 min, rolled in the alkaline solution they mention, coated in egg white, sprinkled with Kosher salt then baked for about a half hour. Oh, and then I dipped them in melted butter. Ben can back me up, these were dreamy!

My best bag yet! I'm almost out of this fabric, and I'm kinda glad, I'd like to work with something different soon, but I made this for my sis-in-law, Biz for her birthday. It has four pockets (two in and two out) and is double stitched inside to reduce fraying. Oh to have a fancy serger that would eliminate fraying!

Z has been lots of fun lately, when he's not teething. He loves to play on this website (thanks Dana!), and says outloud the letters and their sounds along with the program. He's grown by leaps and bounds in his speech in the last month. He can identify many letters all on his own and sounds out many too. Our first shock was two weeks ago when he saw the "Scott" bath tissue in the bathroom (a giant multi-pack) and said, "Ssssss, Sssss, O, U" the two t's crossed together looked like a U kind of! Oh, and he sounds out C's like S's.

A couple of funnies, yesterday at the post office, he got antsy and so I set him up on the high counter next to me to get him out of his stroller. He was very good and played for a bit, then decided to lay down...on the counter. He just laid back. Cracked me up! Then just now (like five minutes ago) he discovered that if he punches in the air when he's facing the dogs (albeit 10 feet away) they'll run. So funny. It's like his super power. The dogs used to barely tolerate him, but now that he's not poking their eyes out, they instigate chasing games with him sometimes and let him pet them. This new super power shouldn't ruin the new relationship especially since he's not actually touching them and he still drops so much food when he eats, which is their main perk since we've had a kid. I almost forgot, he likes my growing belly, and lifts my shirt and his so we can rub bellies, so cute!

Z's Birth Day

Last year for Z's birthday I did this post with a picture of every month of the first year of his life. This year, I thought I'd share a bit about his birth day. So, read on, if you wish!

Below is our birthing room. To the left we have the tub that was indispensable to my ability to handle the ordeal. I was determined to go drug free, if at all possible. I was a week late and my midwife (yes, my mother-in-law) decided we would schedule an induction for Tuesday morning. Monday afternoon we went to Long Horn Steak house for a fancy steak meal with my parents. That evening after the room I wanted (the room with the tub) finally opened up, they admitted me at 5pm, and around 9pm gave me Cervadil (to "ripen" the cervix) in preparation for the pitocin/induction the next day. Thankfully, the Cervadil sent me into labor and I was able to avoid the pitocin all together. If you want to know some of the ways we helped bring on labor prior to coming to the hospital, let me know, I'll e-mail ya. :-) I'm positive it helped me avoid the pitocin!
Well, they put me in the tub pretty early on, and I think I was in there several hours. When I hit the transition stage and kept having huge urges to push, I started vomiting with each urge. Z was turned just a tiny bit and this caused some back labor which Ben was in charge of. I absolutely depended on him to push as hard as he could on my lower back (I had bruises the next day) with each contraction. My mother-in-law, who's given birth six times and delivered hundreds of babies was wonderful in telling me what to do and when.
Eventually, they coaxed me out of the tub because they needed to change the water (did I mention the puking?). When I got out, they told me I was 9cm dilated and it was time to move to the bed. I remember trying to be funny (in my delirium) and saying, "And you said you needed to change the water! You weren't going to let me back in all along, I was tricked!" But, they (my husband and mother-in-law) thought I was actually offended or at least confused. It's hard to play off a joke when you're anticipating the next painful contraction. I never bothered to explain...till now.
I'm not sure when my mom arrived, but she was there for the entire pushing ordeal which took two hours. She got a little queasy from the view as she held one of my legs, but she moved and helped hold up my head and made it through. So, there was one nurse and Ben holding a leg each, my mom holding my head and my mother-in-law delivering. It was rather perfect, I must say. The whole thing took about eight and half hours. I wouldn't change a thing (except I wish I didn't have to have an IV and the resident doctor lady who gave me the cervadil the night before had zero bedside manners). I was talking about having another baby within the first hour of giving birth!
There's lots of details I left out, like how my sisters-in-law came the night before and made me laugh till I cried and cheered me on for IV (I have PTSD with those things), oh and how I really had planned to have them and some others present for the birth, but I wouldn't let Ben leave me for a second as I needed him so much through the labor, so they never got called, and were surprised Z came so early. We were all a little surprised. I thought it would take 24 hours or more, like my poor mom had to endure. I loved that I got to nurse him right away. Ben and I would never really sleep the same again. And thus began my new job, the best job I've ever had, and I'm speaking from experience. I didn't like working out of the home 40-60 hours a week which I did for many years. But, this, non-stop, endless, work night and day, is my dream come true.

Happy Birthday, Buddy! We're glad you're here.

Weekend with cousins!

The day before Father's Day, here's Z making his Father's Day gift. We printed out a picture of this, gave it to him with the artwork and a bag of Riesens (Daddy's favorite).

Ben went to WV (yes the cabin) with his buddy, Matt, for one last hurrah before the baby comes. So, deciding not to stay home alone for four days, Z, the dogs and I imposed on Ben's brother's family for a couple of days. Seriously, it was as good as Disney World for Z! They have a full basement full of toys and wonderment, and a safe front and back yard complete with swings, a trampoline and best of all...a Barbie car that if I didn't know where Z was, I knew to look in the Barbie car. Thankfully, he couldn't quite work it yet, so he was easy to find. His older cousins, Jenna and Ally gave him rides around the yard and he loved it! Here he is with his younger cousin, Owen, cruising (in place) in the Barbie car!

Monday we got to go to one of Jenna's last T-Ball games for the summer. She did great!

Caught these two holding hands on the way out from the game. Z and his Great Grandpa H.

Yesterday was long long long without Ben. Z wouldn't take a nap until like 3pm. We were both in tears by the end of the ordeal. On a funnier note, I let my dog, Atticus, stay in the bedroom when we went up for the nap yesterday, thinking, he'll just sleep where he is. Well, he did, until Z started crying and screaming b/c I was insisting he take a nap which he was fighting. Then Atticus did what he always does when Z cries...he cried too. Loudly. Ben calls them ET and Elliot. It was so ridiculous I started laughing. I couldn't believe I was fighting with a two year old and my dog was screaming just as loudly as he was.

Thankfully, for sanity's sake, I'd scheduled a play date with my friend, Trisha, who's about to burst with another baby (they aren't going to find out what the sex is) and we had fun last night, she even kept me company for dinner. I'm busy this week with lots of sewing projects. My Navy girl (Jamie) is on a boat somewhere in the world and it's going to take a long time for her package to get to her, so I need to get that out! Oh, and did I mention everyone in the world's birthday is in June? Maybe just in my family, but oh my, I have a lot of sewing to do!

Ben comes home today, YAY!!!!