Big changes in Hackettland

Big changes have come to Hackettland in the last few weeks. The largest of which is that we found out we're expecting a baby at the end of April! We had been hoping for this for exactly a year, so this has been a long time coming and very exciting news. Ben is so excited, too! I know he will be an amazing big brother!!



At my  first OBGYN visit, my doctor said the heartbeat is good, and he/she is measuring exactly right. The actual time with the doctor was exciting, but the rest of the the doctor visit turned into a bit of a nightmare; Clay and I were there for 5+ hours. It turns out my doctor was on call that day and three other doctors were out of the office (she attended 4 births that day!), so instead of being seen at 10:30, it was closer to 2:45. I'm so lucky Ben was at my wonderful friend, Tina's, house, because it would have been really terrible if we'd had Ben waiting with us that whole time.

Little one's head is up top, and you can see one little arm sticking out

Two other big changes in our home lives: starting potty training and Ben learning to sleep in his toddler Ben (instead of the crib).

A few weeks ago Ben had diaper rash so bad he had to go to the doctor. They suggested keeping him diaper-free as much as possible. He was in no way close to being potty trained, but I was willing to try anything to get rid of the diaper rash. We had wanted to wait until later in my pregnancy to begin potty training, but it didn't work out that way. Luckily all of this happened during a three-day-weekend, so Clay was at home to help clean up all of the many floor puddles. Weeks later, now only has a few accidents a day and often even remembers to tell us he's got to use the toilet. What a slow process, though!

Ben and Oz contemplate lizards on the window

sleepy Ben after Mama's 5-hour doctor visit

For some insane reason Clay and I decided we might as well transition Ben to his "big boy" toddler Ben that same weekend. In hind-sight don't know what we were thinking! The first night Ben was given the chance to sleep in his "big boy" bed, he spent two hours getting out all the toys in the room, turning on and off all the lights, and climbing on the dresser. Around 10 at night we put a stop to it all and put him back in the crib. The next day I formulated a better plan and told him that he'd be given three chances each nap-time/night-time and if he couldn't stay quietly in bed he'd have to sleep in his crib. He's done so well in the bed, I don't think he'll ever have to regress to the crib now.

fast asleep in his toddler bed

potty training requires few clothes

All of these home-life changes would have been rough enough, but with me in the first trimester of this pregnancy, things were pretty awful for a while. My nausea, exhaustion, and headaches were way way way worse than with Ben. So trying to help Ben with potty training and getting a good sleep routine going in his new bed was pretty horrible. At week 11 of my pregnancy, I'm feeling way better and things are definitely looking up now!

Three is a lovely number

Ben had a dino-mite third birthday surrounded by family and friends this weekend. He and his friends spent a solid three(+) hours dashing madly around the house, playing with all his toys, and bouncing like maniacs in the moonwalk we rented. The house was draped in green, swampy streamers and plastered with all sorts of dinosaur-themed decorations. A weekend full of wonderful, visiting family made the celebration complete. A boy couldn't ask for more, and a mama couldn't ask for a more amazing little guy!

And of course, Ben is already asking for "next birthday..."  

**Photos courtesy of Auntie Nic

t-rex melon courtesy of Auntie Nic

family knows how to party hardest

...AND Ben got his first tattoo

Adventures at Crystal Beach

I had one of the best vacations of my adult life this past weekend when we joined my sister, my older brother, and his wife at a beach house on Crystal Beach, Texas. While the name "Crystal Beach" is clearly just a marketing ploy (the water is just as silty as every other part of the Texas gulf), the beach was not crowded, and we could walk the two blocks from the house we rented to the beach with ease.

Ben was super duper excited to go to the beach as well, and he even got pretty brave splashing in the surf (until a larger wave knocked him and his uncle sideways). After that, Ben retreated above the waterline and played in puddles. He had so much fun-- and I got to have an awesome amount of fun, too, since there was a rotation of five loving adults to help watch over him. I feel like it's been at least ten years since I really got to play neck-deep in the waves, and it was incredible!

Clay & Ben walking back to the house

There were only two downsides to Crystal Beach. First, the fact that Crystal Beach is on the Bolivar Peninsula, and you have to either take the 1 hour+ ferry or drive 1 hour+ from Galveston. And second, the enormous, stick-to-you even-as-as-you-walk-in-the-wind monster mosquitoes: super gross. Luckily, the giant mosquitoes stayed pretty close to the ground, so because the beach house was up on stilts, the porch was mostly safe from the disgusting blood-suckers.

The first morning we spent at the coast there was a big storm, so Ben got to watch cartoons all morning while Clay ran an awesome D&D game for the rest of us. We probably spent a total of 8 hours the reminder of the time at the beach, and miraculously none of us uber-pale people got sunburned! 

Last Wednesday Ben had been pretty sick with a virus, but was luckily recovered completely by the time we left for the coast on Friday. It was fantastic to have my sister ride in the backseat with him for the 5-6 hour car trip and keep him entertained the whole way. Without her, I would have been a wreck by the time we arrived! 

Ben didn't appreciate the deliciousness of fresh coconut

Ben was in a wild, happy mood this whole weekend (he only got a total of 1.5 hours of nap the entire three days we were gone, and he didn't sleep well at night). He loves his aunts and uncle so much, it was pretty special that he got to enjoy this with them. Speaking of which, I feel like I haven't gotten this much hang-out time with some of my favorite people in a really long time. It was wonderful! <3 

on the ferry ride

being entertained by Aunt Sandy

**photo credit for the at-the-beach pictures goes to my sister, Nic, and brother, Matt who bravely brought their phone to he beach while mine stayed safely at the house.

 

 

Easter Eggs & The Boy Who Loves Chocolate

Ben apparently wanted to get an early start on Easter 2015 this morning by waking up before it was even light out (normally he sleeps until 8ish). Luckily for me, I'd already been outside hiding the Easter eggs in the backyard.

So Ben began his Easter with an egg hunt in the drizzly-wet morning, and then moved on to playing with his Easter basket (containing insect-shaped eggs, a set of mini plastic tools, bubbles, and CANDY). This was Ben's real first go at true, mass-produced candy and let's just say he enjoyed his chocolate bunny and marshmallow peeps even more than I would have (which is saying something).

After needing a good hosing-off from all the sticky food, Clay took him to the park to work some of the sugar. The excess craziness still hadn't worn off by this afternoon, though, because he spent a really long time talking and laughing to himself in his crib during nap time, but never did fall asleep. Apparently there is a good reason we don't ever give Ben candy.

This past week, Ben and I also had a lot of fun dyeing eggs with our good friend, Tina and her son. I think she and I got more pleasure out of the dyeing process than the kids did, but at least they (mostly) let us dye in peace. I also found a couple of good "hacks" for Easter eggs online: using a baby nose-suctioner for blowing out eggs, and putting a hard-boiled egg inside a whisk to help a toddler dye with less mess. This year I turned the blown eggs I dyed into birds for my Easter tree, which was a lot of fun too.

 

  

...AND some wildflower pictures, too

 "Let's go catch some!"