Savvy Toddler Mom

I guess it’s going to be a while before I wear those maternity clothes.

I found out on Monday that our little baby no longer had a heartbeat.  I delivered 15-week-old James the next day.

I don’t really know what to say.  We will be celebrating Christmas again this year with heavy hearts.  A year ago today I delivered our little Elizabeth at 17 weeks.  To say the least, I am heartbroken.

Our friends and family have been very loving and supportive, but our little toot is our hero right now.  Without him, we would be devastated.  He is the light of our lives.

Enjoy your children.  Hug them and hold them tight.  Tell them that you love them.  They are so very, very precious.

ChasingToddlerMom and I took our boys to Build A Bear on Tuesday.  Yes, we did.  It was awesome.

We’ve been brainstorming what exciting and fun things we can do with our kids since the weather turned so cold.  This was one of our ideas, although a little on the spendy side.

The toot got a darling bear - the “Curly Teddy” - that he has since given the oh-so-original name of “Teddy.”  The toot adores him.  I’m afraid his stalwart Tigger will be replaced by the new bear — sort of a Woody and Buzz situation.  So far, he’s been sleeping with both of them.  We’ll see how it goes…

The toot was enchanted with the Build A Bear experience: choose your bear, help get it stuffed (although he HATED how loud it was and I had to push the pedal for the machine for him), then choose a heart, kiss it and put it in your bear to be sewn up.  He’s hardly put Teddy down since.  It melts my heart to see him be so affectionate and cute with his teddy bear.  Makes me feel a little better about how he’s going to be with a new baby around.

Like Little Ro, the toot wasn’t too interested in clothes for his bear, although he did insist on some accessories: 1) a football and 2) a skateboard.  I got some CUTE shoes, too, and a little polo shirt so he would have something to wear… but to be honest, he’s hardly worn it.

Due to ChasingToddlerMom’s shopping savvy, we had a $5 off coupon (thanks again, CTM!!!).  They are also having a $5 off promotion on gift cards, which came in handy when I picked one up for my niece’s birthday.

Very, very fun — although, I can’t imagine Build A Bear gets a lot of repeat business from kids who aren’t interested in clothes for their bear (or other animal).  How many best friend stuffed animals is really reasonable?  One is good for me.  They had TONS of girl clothing, so maybe it’s different for little girls; loving dress-up and all that. 

The toot just wants Teddy to skateboard.

I mentioned that I’ve been having a lot of anxiety lately about my pregnancy… one of the things that has been bothering me is that I don’t feel pregnant really.  Now that I’m into the second trimester, the morning sickness is gone, my energy is coming back, and in general I feel pretty good.  To top it all off, I’ve actually lost six pounds since Thanksgiving.  What is up with that?!?!  Never in all my pregnancies (5) have I ever LOST weight.

My doctor said it’s probably due to stress. LOL

I am hoping and praying that all will go well and that I will soon be wearing maternity clothes.  Isn’t that funny?  With my two prior pregnancies that I made it this far along, I was dreading maternity clothes.  Delaying the inevitable as long as possible.  This time, I can’t wait.  Is there any way I can gain weight faster?  Get bigger sooner?

Trying not to put the cart before the horse, I can’t help but realize that I only have a few maternity items for winter weather.  When the time comes, I need to go shopping!  ChasingToddlerMom (due the exact same day as I am!) has been scoping things out and it does not look good.

Fellow Utah Moms, where do you shop?  I have some things from Old Navy, but I’m not a big fan of their style lately.  Mimi Maternity is great, Motherhood Maternity at Fashion Place and outlet in Park City is another option… but is that it?  I hate shopping online for maternity clothes, due to how important it is to me to try things on.  I hate the hassle of returning stuff.

It’s looking more and more like I might have to whip out the sewing machine… maybe ChasingToddlerMom and I could have twinner outfits.  LOL  (I’m kidding…)

For now, I’m still wearing my regular clothes and hoping they will get too tight soon.

Oooooh!  I forgot to mention that I sweetly asked my doctor and he agreed to do my ultrasound before Christmas!  I go in on the 20th, but I’m going to try and keep the baby’s gender a secret until Christmas Day.

I have to apologize again for not blogging very much these days.  Between the Christmas season, having a cold, and being pregnant — not to mention chasing around my three-year-old and having a job — things have been a little busy.

However, I am still here!  I’ve spent this weekend working on projects for Christmas.  We took the toot’s Christmas photo yesterday and got our Christmas cards ordered (finally!).  I started making garapinatas: sugared almonds with anise extract mixed in.  It’s a family recipe and absolutely means that Christmas is here.  We make them for our friends and neighbors — really fun!  I’ve made 8 batches so far (3 C almonds per batch) and have about 4 more to go.

I’ve also been trying to figure out what to get canyonfool for his birthday in two weeks.  If you have any ideas, let me know.

Pregnancy update: all is well so far.  I am now 14 weeks and feeling pretty good.  However, I am having some anxiety.  This was the week (at 14 weeks) when my daughter died, so I am already playing my paranoia cards and have scheduled appointments with my doctor every week this month.  I was in on Friday and there is still a very healthy heartbeat.  Yay!

Tonight is my in-laws’ live nativity production.  It’s the first one they have had since I married into the family nine years ago.  The toot is going to be a shepherd.  I have a feeling it’ll be a video camera moment. LOL

I hope you and your families are doing well and enjoying the holiday season.  I am hoping to get everything done soon (shopping, cards, garapinatas, etc.) so that I can enjoy it too.