Breakfast On Pluto

Ok...I just love doing these spur of the moment updates that recap the last month. So, in a nutshell,

Jordo and I drove to Washington DC, got to see Aunt Sher, hung out with my mom, I was in the city for the first time ever and saw a few things in one of the Smithsonian museums, walked around Alexandria (twice!) went on a ferry to National Harbor and watched Jordan play with tons of other kids, walked the entire National Mall while 33 weeks pregnant in the summer, reconnected with a friend I haven't seen since high school, our babies met and played together, had a great photoshoot with the two of them, met her sweet husband, took Jordan to her first water park, watched her get her first skinned knees and managed to get away from it without tears from either of us, Jordan got sick and we left early. Phew.

Now, where to go from here.

I am 35 weeks pregnant. Over the weekend I was seriously serious ill. The doctors were debating on sending me to Labor & Delivery at the hospital to monitor the babe and make sure I wasn't dehydrated, but since the weather was terrible  and we are 45 minutes from the hospital we decided to start with a few different prescribed medications and then see if that helped me retain enough fluids, or if I would need to head over. Luckily the medications worked their magic. Unluckily they seemed to have a Nyquilish affect on me and I became absolutely useless. I'm lucky Jordan survived. It was on this terrible weekend that we also moved out of our apartment. Guess what kind of help I was!

Where you ask? Well, we are in the process of buying a house. My husband's grandparents' house was offered to us as an option for us to buy it, and considering we never thought we would be able to consider owning a house for at least 20 years (thanks college) it was a really amazing opportunity. I am currently keeping this information OFF facebook, because the situation regarding his grandparents is delicate and they, unfortunately, have not been able to take care of themselves alone in this house, and I really want to respect them and Rob's family in letting us come into their home and make it ours. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE until you see me say anything about it, contact me privately if you want to say anything regarding this. Thanks.

Anyways we managed to move with people's help, and Jordan has been incredibly busy exploring all her new space. And there is plenty of it! I will put pictures up when I can of it, its a really really nice house, and we are excited to do a few things like paint that we have never been able to do before. Yay!

Anyways, thats all for now. I'll get into the rest of my night later.

Every kid is different.

That's what they tell us, anyways. However the window of normality within this different is a slim one I'm learning. As a first time parent, its really challenging to not A) compare my kid to every other kid out there, B) compare me as a parent to every other parent out there and C) frantically call the doctor every time I learn that I may be off the beaten path.

Not really. But that is just me. Well, except for B.

I'm really fortunately to say that I have made a conscientious effort to not compare Jordan with other kids. I know where she is advanced, but I let her do her stuff at her own time. I didn't worry when she didn't walk early, I don't compare her words or her motor skills, I just play with her and enjoy her and figure hey, its all gonna happen eventually and probably too soon anyways. And I really mean that. Now the whole comparing myself as a parent, its WAY too easy to do that. Especially when it comes to food - my kid eats when we all remember, drinks a ton of milk, and probably lives on too many goldfish, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs and boxed macaroni. And when I hear about parents giving their kids goat cheese, arugula, and the like, I am certain I am depriving my kid precious nutrients. But I can't force myself to cook what I don't normally carry in the house, and I can't afford to buy things like that for myself, let alone for my kid to squish into a ball and leave in corners of the house. So I had to learn to let that one go, give her vitamins and fresh fruit, and and least make sure she was getting basic meals and snacks with meat, dairy, veggies, fruits, and grains.

I guess I also have to remember that most of the people I compare myself to aren't almost 30 weeks pregnant.

Anyways, the real point of this post is a rant haha. There is nothing harder to stomach than moms who tout their child's skills and their proficient parenting methods under your nose, insinuating that you can't possibly match them. I don't know many of these personally. The few that I do, I block from my newsfeed and stalk their facebook/blog on my own time when I am good and ready to get mad. And maybe they aren't doing it on purpose...but they sure are good at it if they mean to! And if I give off the same vibes to my friends and readers, I am so sorry! I find every little thing Jordan does to be amazing, not in a "miracle that no baby has ever done earlier or better than her" sort of way, but in a "this little person is learning to be an adult before my very eyes and holy COW" sort of way.

Props to every parent out there that does their own thing, loves their kid, encourages without pushing them to move past their friend's kid developmentally, and understands that no matter how many grilled cheese sandwiches their kid eats, the only person's judgement that matters at the end of the day is the little kid in front of them. And frankly what my little person understands is being fed, being played with, and being loved. So today at least, I've gotten a glowing review.

Its been a busy, busy summer so far. Right after planning and having Jordan's first birthday, Ashley and her kiddos came by for a visit. We spent a lot of time at Nonni and Papa's house playing with Jordan's cousins and swimming. It is so fun to see her interact with other children. Jordan and Emmett really loved each other; they would talk to each other in baby babbles, give each other kisses, and Jordan would get Emmett to crawl around chasing her. She also really loved Ben and he thought she was so fun, she was allowed to play with his toys even though he didn't want his sisters to.

Robert and I finally had a doctor appointment, and got to see our little Bean 2.0 on the big screen. We got some adorable profile pictures, but when it came to gender they couldn't tell us for sure. So we know a maybe, which we aren't saying, but I don't see the point in telling if there is a 50/50 chance it will be different. Rob was disappointed since he really wanted to know, but I was a little relieved. I don't think it is a secret at this point that I am hoping for a boy - not knowing is annoying but at least we don't know its a girl - yet. Anyways, the important thing is that the baby is doing really well, has a strong heartbeat, and is VERY strong. Baby kicked the doctor so hard it scared him. :-D



Then we got to celebrate the 4th of July! Jordan was only a month old last time, and so we stayed home, slept, and didn't do anything fun or see fireworks. This year I was really determined to do something fun, so even though Rob had to work, Jordan and I went to see a parade in Norwalk. She had a ton of fun watching everything and talking to the people next to us, and enjoyed 2 popsicles, 2 lollipops and a tootsie roll - my little babe's first junk food binge.

Later we enjoyed KFC, a tradition of mine, and went to bed. We saw fireworks a few days earlier. We woke Jordan up at 10PM and brought her out with Brad and his family to see the fireworks at Willard Park. She didn't mind getting up, and had fun watching them. She had seen fireworks before at DisneyWorld so it wasn't new but it had been so long, I doubt she remembered them. 



Then Aunt Dutch, Uncle Marc, Matthew and Eric showed up for a visit, with Aunt Sher for a few days. Jordan got to play with more cousins, including Alex and Anna, and it was fun to see everyone. Jordan REALLY was into Matt. She followed him around and played with him, talked to him, and would get mad if she got taken away from him.

I really wanted to write in this blog today because I had to say: It is so very rare that I feel a perfect mix of motivation "doing things" while maintaining a balance of staying on top of things. Usually it's I'M TOO BUSY or I'M SO BORED! And when I am bored I start doing things that I get way behind on until I am too busy and overwhelmed and give it all up. Right now I am in that perfect balance. Somehow in the last week I have managed to keep a relatively clean home, do the dishes before we have completely run out, tackle my laundry pile, play a lot with Jordan, work, and start focusing seriously on my photography hobby. Mostly without feeling overwhelmed or like I have done too much or too little of something. I even still have time to nap because, as I forget until my clothes get too tight, I'm 6 months pregnant! I have to remember this energy that I have is going to go away too, so I have a deadline for my photography (through September only, for now) and I'm trying to get enough work in now that I can take a month off after the baby is born. If I do half the work in October and half the work in November then I still get the full break but won't miss a paycheck.

Anyways, it just feels like a miracle when that happens. One of my photo sessions the other day was for a one month old baby boy. And it made me SO excited for this little baby! I forgot how small and helpless they are, how they like to just lay there in your arms and stare at you. Jordan has been getting so big this past year that it is easy to forget where she started such a short time ago.

Three times I blogged. Three times my blog got deleted and I gave up. This is attempt #4.

Sooooo its the middle of May and a whole lot has gone down since my last post! Most importantly, please note the addition to our family pictures on the right...that's little holthouse #2, who turned 18 weeks unborn today. Jordan is excited about being a big sister. At least, she really likes wearing her big sister shirt.



We went to Texas for a long weekend at the end of March, to see our cousin Holly get Bat Mitzvahed. Jordan was a flying pro, and charmed everyone sitting near us. You know who wasn't a pro? American Airlines, who sent my luggage to Italy. Actually, they lost my luggage because it got tagged with someone who didn't have my name, who didn't fly out of Cincinnati, and who wasn't going to Texas. Luckily they found it, in Italy, and was returned, the day before I went home. We ended up buying a bunch of stuff to get us through the trip and were reimbursed for it all, so it worked out and Jordan and I got some "free" new clothes. It was good seeing relatives and letting everyone see Jordan! The last time most of them had seen her, she was 2 months old. Big Change!

Jordan had two months of swimming lessons, which just ended. She learned how to "jump" into the pool (aka fall into my arms lol), kick her feet, go after a toy, blow bubbles, float on her back, and had a really great time. There was another little girl Sophia, and her and Jordan would stand next to each other and touch hands or babble back and forth. The teacher said it was obvious how comfortable Jordan was in the water and was really advanced (she was only 9 months old at the start of the lessons), and we got lots of cute pictures and videos.

We told everyone about baby#2 in April, had a couple really nice days where we went to the park, and enjoyed planning Jordan's 1st birthday party, which is fast approaching! There will be pictures posted of that here and on facebook, promise! In April, Jordan started standing on her own a bunch, so she so steady that she can bounce up and down, clapping her hands, and not fall! She also took her first steps, and since then has been tentatively taking one or two here and there. She still likes to hold on to one of our hands though.

Jordan also is working on using the "big" toilet. It started as a one time accident, but Robert has been working on it with her and we bought her a little seat to sit on top of it so she doesn't fall in. She's pretty good about using it enough that we think its a definite possibility she will be potty trained by October! Jordan talks up a storm, and besides her little babble she says Mama, Dad, Hi, Bye, Uh Oh, and copies a variety of things that sound like Oh, Stop, and I love you. <3

May has started off pretty great! I feel good enough to get back to keeping a (mostly) clean house, I've been started work part time at home to help with bills, and we are ready for nice summer weather to go outside more. We found a church we like so far, and last Sunday Jordan got dedicated. It was on Mother's Day so we had family there and went out to lunch afterwards. For my first Mother's Day, Robert and Jordan got me a doppler, so we get to listen to baby's heartbeat all the time. Jordan doesn't seem to quite understand whats going on, but she likes to pat my growing stomach. :-) I can't believe she is nearly a year old. I can't believe I am almost halfway to having another small babe around. I can't believe Jordan and I are about to spend a summer pretty much without Daddy. Time is flying.

Anyways, no more to report. Probably the next post will be about the birthday party, unless I get motivated before then. Here is a picture we took recently of this Big Girl!

We've had some nice weather recently, 70 and sunny with a breeze. Jordan got to go to a park with Rob for an hour and play on the swings and slides. It was a little weird to think that I was enjoying weather that I had enjoyed back in January in Florida. Now the rain is here and with it some major thunderstorms. So far only one thunder was loud enough to scare Jordan, it made her jump when I was holding her and she stared at me with big eyes, looking around and clutching my arm. Sorry, I laughed. :-)

We were supposed to have swim lessons last Saturday, but a heating pipe burst and they canceled the lessons that are supposed to be in the heated pool. I guess a few people didn't get contacted because I showed up along with 2 other parents, and we decided to go in the other workout pool, with is much much colder, since we were already there. Jordan was a little hesitant at first, but then she loved it. We floated around, she splashed, I "flew" her through the water, and she held onto my neck while I kicked her legs and moved her around. I think she will be great with the lessons, and she loved the other little kids too. They were a little older, by a year or two, and had a much bigger problem with the water, so I am glad we are starting her out early. Hopefully next Saturday I will have something more fun to report.

Agh have I really not posted since November? Well, in my defense, lots of things have been happening. I turned 26. We had Thanksgiving in Orlando and Christmas in Willard. Jordan met tons of family. Tons of family met Jordan. And then came the Great Sickness of 2011. I won't get into the details, but between Robert, Jordan and me, we were sick from December through February. If you think I'm exaggerating, look up hand foot and mouth disease. That was just 2 weeks of our fun.

Also, for those of you not in the loop, we moved! We trucked our little family from Orlando, FL all the way up to Willard, OH for a job offer at the farm. Jordan doesn't have to go to daycare anymore and we get to spend every week absolutely knowing that we will get a paycheck. Its fairly exciting. Jordan has loved being near family, loves the cold weather, loves having carpet.

Little Miss J. has learned to crawl, pull herself up onto everything, cruise around, wave, and has 6 teeth with at least 1 more coming in. We can't believe she is 8.5 months - this year is speeding by so fast its blinding. There are tons of pictures - go look at the facebook album.