A Little Disturbing

Sunday night Jonathan went out with some guy friends. They went to their favorite restaurant, Bush's and then went to see Transformers. They had a great time and I fell asleep before he got home that night. I woke up to him saying, "Wow you sleep hard!" I was a little confused and asked him what he was talking about. He said that he rang the doorbell about 10 times and knocked on the bedroom window so that I would let him in (he didn't have his keys with him). But I didn't budge. He had to call Tim to bring over his spare key to our house so that he could get in. Crazy huh? Usually I am not a very sound sleeper, but I guess I have been extra tired lately. I'm glad he wasn't a burler or something, I probably would have woken up after it was too late.

Rewards

As a teacher I have always hated using big reward systems with my kids. The few times that I have, I feel very tied to them and I just can't escape. So when Bryan's therapist suggested that we use rewards to help correct his behavior, I was very against it. She listened to me and let me have my side, but every time she suggests it.

So I absolutely lost it with Bryan the other day. He gets distracted very easily while he is doing his morning routine. We have found him in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror quite a few times. It sounds kind of funny, but its not when you are trying to get ready to go somewhere. I have been pretty lax with him this summer, but now I am trying to get him back in the school mode.

Jonathan and I have tried everything that we can possibly think of with him and nothing has worked. So the other day when he had been in the bathroom for 20 minutes and hadn't even brushed his teeth, I was very upset (He was supposed to be using a timer and done with the whole routine in 15 minutes). Like I said, I lost it. I had so much anger and frustration that I didn't know what to do.

So that's when I decided to try the reward system. I made a chart with boxes and bought him some car stickers. Every time he does his night or morning routines without needing to be reminded about a step, he gets to put a sticker on the wall. Let me say that his routines are hanging on the wall, he is not expected to have them memorized.

So far is has worked out very well. Now when he gets off task, I have a consequence. Instead of turning red and loosing it, I simply say, "Oh that's too bad I guess you won't get your sticker today." He filled up his first chart the other day and got to draw a coupon from the envelope. He was so excited because it said that we would have his favorite for dinner, pizza! I just popped the Red Barron's in the oven and he was happy as a lark. He got a reward that he could feel proud of and I didn't have to spend any money on.

On a funny note. Yesterday Jonathan was helping him get ready for church and Bryan told him that he couldn't find any brown socks to wear with his loafers. This was really stressing him out. Jonathan told him to go look in the laundry room. He was looking through the socks and looking very stressed. Jonathan said, "What's wrong?" He said, "I'm almost out of time, I've got to hurry." So I guess its working. It all goes to show you, I guess I should have listened to the therapist in the first place!

I'm tired, no I'm tired

I called Jonathan while he was on his way home from work tonight and told him that I needed him to be in charge of dinner. I started having night sickness again and couldn't bare the thought of cooking. He said no problem. When he got here he told me that he didn't feel very well either and had a really long day, so we had cereal. It was very good btw.

I fell asleep on the bed after eating and about an hour later Jonathan came in and said that he was going to bed too. Well that would have been no problem if we didn't have an 8 year old, but someone has to get him to bed. So Jonathan and I were arguing about who was more tired and needed to go to bed the most. Of course he said that I should since I am pregnant, but I am stubborn and made him go to bed since he had been at work all day. Man we are old!

We did take my first belly shot tonight, but I still can't find our camera cord. As soon as I do, I will post it.

Past tense

Last night Bryan and I were reading a story with a lot of past tenses. He likes to pronounce ed like the name Ed when it is at the end of word. He does it when he is speaking too, not just reading. Jonathan and I have been trying to be better about correcting him when he speaks incorrectly. We kept thinking that he might learn by osmosis, but that hasn't worked.

So last night as we were eating dinner we were drilling him on words and their past tenses. Work...worked, wish...wished, look...looked, etc. Well then Jonathan asked him what the past tense of shoot was. He didn't quite get it so Jonathan explained, "You know like if you were out shooting and you were done, what would you say?" Bryan responded, "Yay I hit it right in the middle!" We couldn't stop laughing.

On another note, we are officially a real city now. We got a Target. We took a family outing to Target last night. Bryan and Jonathan had a blast looking at the toy department, it is way better than Wal-Mart. I bought a book for the baby and enjoyed looking at all of the school supplies. It was just a regular Target, but it was so exciting because it only took us 5 minutes to get there. They will be getting a lot of my business now, goodbye Wal-Mart!

I have a bump

So I have officially outgrown my first pair of pants. It is not cotton and has no stretch so I'm not surprised that I have outgrown them. All of my other pants fit me fine because my bump is very small. I'm not looking forward to the part where my back hurts, but I do want to "look" pregnant.

Bryan has become very protective of me since I am pregnant. He tells me that I shouldn't carry stuff and when I do he says that he will remind me when the baby is "messed up" that I carried whatever it was.

The other day I was making chocolate chip cookies and as most of you know, I love to eat the dough! Well because of the raw eggs, I am not supposed to. I was telling Bryan how much I wished I could eat some dough and he said, "Why don't you just call the doctor and tell him that you don't want to be pregnant anymore. Then you could throw up the baby and the he (the doctor) could put the baby in Jonathan's stomach!" LOL!

Prayers

As most of you know Jonathan has been looking for another job for a while now. He had an interview in Georgetown at a helicopter place a couple of weeks ago and now they have called him back for a second interview. The interview will be next week, but he doesn't know exactly which day yet. They have to bring in all of the big wigs for the interview. They are opening another hanger and have three positions. Apparently there are 5 interviewees. Please keep us in your prayers. We are hopeful that he will get the job, but trying to remember that it might not be God's plan.

Happy Anniversary!

Jonathan and I got married in December, but since I will be as big as a house by then, we went to celebrate our anniversary this past weekend. We wanted to go to a bed and breakfast since we had never been to one. I found one in San Antonio that looked really nice so we made a reservation. We made our way down to Austin where we dropped Bryan off with Jonathan's parents (thanks Chris and Pam!) then we headed down to San Antonio.

We were going to out for a nice dinner, but the only thing that I could think about eating was tuna. I usually don't even really like tuna, but we made our way to Subway where we had a very romantic sandwich with some chips.

We slept in on Saturday morning. They brought coffee and breakfast to our door. The breakfast was beautiful, delicious and even included dessert. It is called the Inn at Craig's Place and I highly recommend this bed and breakfast if you are ever in the San Antonio area.

Then we headed down to the riverwalk. I go there every year for my music convention, but Jonathan had never really been on the riverwalk so we had to enjoy the sights. We ate, walked, saw a movie at the imax and then I took him to my favorite jazz club, The Landing. He loved it!


We had a great weekend and it was a good recharge for us. We have been running like crazy and hadn't gotten to talk a whole lot lately. It was nice to have no responsibilities and get to relax!

Baby Tome

I had my first doctor's appt. today. He did an ultrasound and I wanted to share it with all of you. The doctor said that everything looks very good. Jonathan and I finally feel like its real, there is a baby in my tummy. Jonathan didn't seem that excited when we were looking at the screen today, but as soon as the doctor left, he said, "Wow that was cool!" I guess he didn't want to look too excited. The baby is looking straight out on the picture. You can see his/her left arm very well and the right arm just a little bit. Baby Tome sure was squirmy while he was trying to take a picture. I can't believe it is already so active. I can't wait until I can finally feel the baby kick.

I go back on Aug. 28th to see if it is a boy or a girl. So I will keep you updated as soon as I know anything. I can't stop smiling!!

Explanation: I forgot to mention that we did hear the heartbeat and it was very strong. Its amazing how fast it beats!

The head is on the right and the baby is looking straight at us. The mouth is open and you can see the eyes above them. The belly is on the left. There are no legs visible, but the doctor assured me that it does have legs! I hope that helps

Wow!

We are in a little dinner club with some friends of ours. Every Tuesday night we get together with them and we take turns cooking. So I know that I only have to cook every 3rd Tuesday. We were supposed to go to Steve's house last night for dinner, but I was having a little morning sickness in the evening. I decided that I didn't feel like going so Jonathan said he would fix me something to eat before he left. I was really craving some steamed veggies and grilled fish. We didn't have any fish to cook so he made me some grilled chicken and steamed carrots and broccoli. It was delicious. I was so impressed with his cooking skills. The chicken was juicy and seasoned perfectly. I was so proud that I had to take a picture of his cooking. It looks like a restaurant doesn't it?

Update, I can't find my camera cord so I won't be able to post a picture.

Good Weekend

We went to Dallas this weekend to visit my sister, Karen and her husband, Scott. We had a really good time. Friday night we got there late so we talked a little and then watched a movie on their big screen projector. It was a good movie, but I can't tell you what it was called because I feel asleep about 20 minutes into the movie. Jonathan was the only one who made it all the way through, I guess we are definitely old!

Saturday I wanted to sleep late, but my eating alarm wakes me up at 7 to eat every morning. I guess I should be glad that my baby is already on a schedule :). So I went downtown to the lab with Karen. She had to finish up some stuff that she hadn't gotten done the day before so I sat there like a little kid and asked her about everything that she was doing. She was very patient and explained everything, but I must admit I did not understand most of it. I did get that this one chemical kept things from bonding and man did it stink.

Then we went home and fixed lunch. Karen and I took a small nap and the boys headed out to Fry's (something they do every time they are together). Karen and I went to Babies R Us to look around because I hadn't gotten a chance to show her what we have picked out. It was fun!

Then we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. We had planned to take Bryan to Six Flags but we had to cancel because of the rain. Bryan shared his tokens with all of us and we all had fun playing the games. It was definitely a good weekend. I always wish that I lived closer to Karen and Scott.

So Cute!

Jonathan and Bryan REALLY needed a haircut. So we went to Wal-Mart last night after dinner to get their haircut. I've tried other places to get Bryan's haircut and they charge $13 and only cut off his side burns. I wouldn't get my haircut at Wal-Mart, but the boys don't mind.

So anyway we get their haircut and then come home. Bryan says, "I think someone needs a haircut!" We said, "Who?" He said, "My animals, can I borrow your 'real' scissors?" So I got my hair clipper set out and let him go to town. He only pretended with the clippers, but he must have been occupied for about an hour. He put his animals on the kitchen chair and wrapped a towel around them. He made good money too, $30 in tips! Maybe I should switch jobs.

I couldn't take a picture because he gets embarrased if he realizes other people know that he's pretending. You'll just have to imagine a picture.

Who knew?

Who knew that pregnancy would make me not want to drink water. I have an unquenchable thirst, but water makes me a little woozy. I know I should be drinking a lot of it, but it just rubs me the wrong way. I got some flavored water the other day and it was awesome, but it had splenda and I'm not supposed to have splenda--too many rules!

I have been a little emotional lately. Sometimes when I'm hungry I cry. The other day Jonathan called on his way home from work to see if I needed anything, isn't he sweet? Anyway I told him I would like some gatorade, but that he didn't need to get dinner and we would just eat something here. Well about 5 minutes later I got really hungry and called him back and tearfully said, "Will you get me some chicken?" He was already in the driveway at this point so he turned around and got chicken. I cried the whole time I ate it, but once I was full the tears stopped. Weird huh?

I found a crib online that we are going to buy, I am so excited! I'm gonna go and get it next week. I can't wait until we know if it is a boy or a girl so we can start buying other stuff.

Yummy!

Bryan and I went to get a doughnut after his therapy this morning. We were on the other side of town from our house so we decided to give Round Rock Doughnuts a try. I used to have their doughnuts in high school when I lived in Austin. I remember they were always very sweet and melted in your mouth. They had chocolate glazed so Bryan was happy and they had an apple fritter for me. I grew up on Dunkin Doughnuts apple fritters, man they were good. This one was as close as I have had in years. It actually had big chunks of apples!

Bryan had his birthmark removed on Monday. I took him to a plastic surgeon about a month ago and he suggested that we just do it in the office, it was quicker and less trouble. I agreed and then went home to tell Jonathan about the appt. He pointed out that doing it in the office was not a good idea (I usually have to hold him down to get a shot)! So I called the office back and they scheduled minor surgery. Bryan was so brave. They were very kid friendly. He got to watch cable while he was waiting, they brought him his very own teddy bear to keep and they were all very reasurring that he wouldn't feel anything. He blew up a balloon to fall asleep and then they put in the IV, genius! He still has a bandage strip on it so I haven't gotten to really look at it yet, but it should come off by next week.

I will write more later about my weird appetite. I hope all of you are doing well.

Enjoying the Summer

Well it has been very uneventful so far, but I am enjoying my summer. I have been sleeping about a half an hour in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon. But I have an excuse right? Every evening when Jonathan gets home I go over the list of things that I really did get done, even if they are small. I guess I feel that I have to prove myself since I have been home all day and he has been working. His response is always, "Your job is to make our baby, I don't care if you watch TV and sleep all day." Isn't he a sweet husband? But I'm sure I will continue to try and "prove" myself anyway.

We are getting cable today. The cable guy is here. We went with dish network becuase it is only $25 for 2 years! We get 100 channels and two DVR's. The set-up is free and so is all of the equipment. Jonathan and I talked about the threat that cable brings though-more time in front of the TV. We both agreed to make it a priority not to veg out every night. I think we will do okay.

Bryan had to watch the cable guy as he put the dish on the house. Then he got a duffle bag and began collecting tools around the house to make a tool bag like the guy. He just came in and said that he fixed his desk and it works a lot better now. How cute. Oh and one more cute thing, he has started sleeping in flannel pants with no shirt like Jonathan. :)

Hormones!

I have been waiting for the first outburst of hormones and it finally came last night. I picked up Jonathan from work and we stopped at Taco Bell on the way home. I have been really wanting chicken quesadillas lately. So that is what Jonathan got for me. When we got home, I sat down to eat and Jonathan said, "What's wrong." I looked at him and tearfully said, "It doesn't have any chicken." I knew it was the hormones crying, but I just couldn't stop myself.

I went to my ob nurse visit today, I still haven't gotten to see the doctor, anyway, she said that I have to take only mildy warm showers because I might hurt the baby. What a bummer, I love hot showers! Jonathan said he is going to turn the water down to prevent any temptation.

Big News!!!

I can finally blog about it! I am pregnant!! I took a test on my first late day and it was faintly positive. The next day I took two more tests, faintly positive. So I called the doctor and they gave me a test. After 16 hours of waiting, I finally got their results--positive!

So I started calling family. I called all of my family except for my mom and mother-in-law. Jonathan wanted to tell them in person, which I thought was a great idea, but it was hard to keep it in.

We went down to Austin Sunday night and I had to keep the secret until lunch on Monday when my mom came over. We wrapped up a newborn baby outfit for each mom and put a print out from my pregnancy test on top. We told them that we had a late Mother's Day gift for them and they had to open them at exactly the same time. Needless to say they were very excited.

I haven't had any cravings or sickness yet. I have had a reduction in my appetite, which worried me. But thanks to the internet, I found out that was normal. When I am hungry, I have to eat right away or I get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I am hoping to get to see the doctor by next week. I am going up there to set up the payment plan with my insurance today. Who knew that you had to pay for having the baby before you could even see the doctor?

By the internet calculations, I am about 6 weeks pregnant. So that would make me due around January 28th, but we'll see what the doctor says.

I will update more often now that I am home for the summer.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a belated Happy Mother's Day wish. I tried to write this entry yesterday, but my computer froze and I lost it. We will see if it works today.

Sunday we went to church and heard the traditional Mother's Day sermon, then we made Mother's day cards in our Kindergarten class that Jonathan and I teach. After church Jonathan asked me where I wanted to go for lunch and I decided that I really wanted Romano's Macaroni Grill. Since we live in a small town, we do not have one and so we were planning to go Austin for lunch.

Jonathan got called into work right after we left church and we headed over there so he could look up a part for a customer. It was a parts emergency if you will. Bryan and I got to drive a gator around. I let him sit in my lap and steer. He was doing very well and I complimented him. Then he said that he would get back in the passenger seat so we could turn around. He then told me, "See Becca, you're a good driver too!"

After we left John Deere my allergies were really acting up so I asked Jonathan if we could just grab Taco Bell and head home. I though maybe we could go out to dinner that night. While we were waiting in the drive through line Bryan said, "Since I am going to live with you forever can I start calling you Mother and Father?" We were a little floored and said that we would love it if he called us Mom and Dad. We assured him that he could still call his Mommy Mommy and that he was lucky because he had two Moms and Dads.

Jonathan and I were planning on talking to him about that exact topic later that day, God took care of that! While I was talking to Debi that afternoon Bryan overheard me talking about adoption. He said, "Oh man I have to be adopted." So Jonathan and I sat down to talk to him about the adoption that evening. He said that he though adoption was bad, but he didn't know why. He then explained that adoption meant that you had to go and live with another family--he would have to go and live with someone else, not us. :( We quickly explained that we would be the ones adopting him and he wouldn't have to live with anyone else.

Then we read him a kid friendly book about adoption and talked about it a little more. He was obviously a little overwhelmed because he was acting very silly. He did call me Mommy once yesterday. That had a nice ring to it!

A musical week

Monday was our choir field trip. We took the kids bowling as their reward, had lunch at a park and then headed to 2 nursing homes to perform. The kids did really well and all of the residents were very excited that we were there. Needless to say I was exhausted after Monday. The field trip wasn't all that stressful, but just knowing that you are responsible for 45 kids is stressful!

Wednesday morning we did two performances for our school. The kids did pretty well, but not as good as I had hoped. Thursday evening we performed for parents and friends. That was their best performance yet! I was so proud of them. I wish I could show you pictures, but I don't think I am allowed to without written permission from the parents, so you can just imagine me standing in front of some kids.


Today the Oklahoma Christian Band came to my school and played for our kids. We were the last stop on their recruiting tour. It was so good to see Heath and Fletch. I recognized one other person, but I can't remember his name. I got to play on Oklahoma ! and America the Beautiful. Wow it has certainly been a while since I have played!

MEDICAID!

I just checked the mail and we got approved for medicaid for Bryan! I am so thankful!!! It will only be until we adopt him, after that we no longer qualify, but 3 months of free therapy instead of $300 is great! I told Bryan that it is free for him to go to the doctor now and he asked if we could use the money to buy a skooter for him. Kids! :)

Progress is good, I think

Bryan is really having a tough time lately. He has really been acting out. The therapist says that as he starts to realize that he will be with us forever it scares him. He is kind of in a roller coaster as he starts to learn how to trust adults. We are going along fine and then all of a sudden he panics and "tests" us. At least this is not the normal "testing that kids do," but it is still challenging. Bryan is testing to see if we will love him even if he is really bad.

So in a weird way, it is a compliment that he is lying, stealing and being moody. The therapist, we'll call her Kate, said that he seems to be bonding with us at warp speed. He even hung on to our legs the other day like a two year old. It was very strange, but Kate said that he has to go through these stages to reprogram his brain.

He has been doing baby talk too. I told him that he could do it while we are at home, but in public it is not appropriate. He likes to call me "Boo Boo." So we are taking it one day at a time and we are seeing that he has made a lot of progress. Please keep us in your prayers.