Merry Christmas Pumpkin

This Christmas was absolutely fantastic! It was the first Christmas where you actually got the concept of Santa Claus and that there would be presents waiting for you when you woke up. You even went to bed easily because you knew that Santa wouldn't be able to drop off any presents until you went to sleep. You aren't usually bad at going down for the night, but you certainly requested less!

Christmas morning, your Mommy actually woke up before you. I got ready anticipating that you would wake up at any moment. Thankfully you slept in until a little after seven and immediately asked me if Santa had came. You were so cute in your little hockey pajamas with that sweet, boyish grin stretching from ear to ear. You needed to be changed and wait a moment while your Daddy got up, and you were fantastic about being so patient to be called downstairs. Once your Dad gave you the okay, we held hands as we walked down the stairs, as I anticipated your every step in wonder how you would react. You exclaimed sweetly how there were toys there and immediately spotted your work bench, a present that Santa, Mommy and Daddy just knew you would love. You received other fun gifts like puzzles, a tea set, paint set, and some Scooby Doo toys, but your tool bench certainly ranked number one. After a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs cooked by your Daddy that you just HAD to eat at your work bench, we all got ready to go to Gaga's house. You were so just in the best of moods and I was so thankful because today was one of the most joyous days ever.

We arrived at Gaga's after driving through a few flurries. Your Mommy was a little apprehensive about the snowfall, but your Dad put her worries aside. We had such a great time at Gaga's house. She spoiled you rotten with a little tool/flash light box, extra tools, some figures of a cartoon I know I'll soon learn from you and a fantastic remote operated crane. You LOVED your presents, but your favorite by far was the crane. You only really let your Dad touch it as your Mom wasn't even allowed to touch one button! I guess it was a Ben/Dad present only. Stinker! After we opened presents and talked a bit, we all sat down for a nice luncheon. You were too busy and didn't eat much, but then again you had probably four cookies not too long before that, so you not eating was easily understandable.

After Gaga's we went to Nagypapa and Nagymama's house where Ty, Uncle Eric and Aunt Amy were going to celebrate the day with us. Ty greeted us at the door with a big grin and you shyly walked into the house and as usual it took a little while for you and Ty to get the run of the place. You of course wanted to start immediately opening presents, which Nagymama and Nagypapa gave you their gift first, a huge set of power tools! You were sweet and shared your toys with Ty (I really was proud of you for doing that) and had to try out every single one to see how it worked. After that you moved onto new gifts and got a fun magna dooodle and play dough set from Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric and Ty. You and your cousin played and played, laughing and giggling contently while you both wrestled with Uncle Eric. Soon it was dinner time. Nagymama had prepared a huge feast for all of us and you had your first taste of cranberries. You ate what was given, but you did not want any more. I was surprised you ate any at all! You also ate mash potatoes, which we discovered you started liking per a Thanksgiving celebration at your school a month back. You wanted to start playing again, so off you went to explore and discover the new toys you just got. After dinner, your Dad arrived carrying this huge box....and it was moving. I was taken a little back wondering what was going on, until you popped out of it! Thus started the box games as you and your cousin were both busy with various boxes that Nagymama kept producing for at least an hour. You two were so darn cute!

After a long day, your Mom, Dad and you were certainly beat so we headed home. You played a bit at your tool bench and watched a cartoon or two. We knew you were tired but you were trying so hard to stay awake. You never want to miss a anything. My sweet boy, you had such an incredible day. You celebrated Jesus's birthday with life and a bit of sweet loves here and there. Once we got you up to bed and started saying our prayers together with you nestled snuggling into my arms, I thanked God for the wondering gift of you and prayed for many more years and Christmas days just like this one.

My sweet boy, you bring me so much happiness and so much joy. You are my little fire cracker, but you have such a soft little side of you that just radiates beautifully. I'm so proud that you are my son and I love you very, very , very much. I love you pumpkin! Merry Christmas.

26 Week Appointment

Technically I was suppose to have a 25 week appointment last Tuesday, but because it snowed that day both I and the doc decided to reschedule. Today was an easy appointment per usual. I gained a total of 13 pounds thus far in my pregnancy, my blood pressure is perfect and your little heart measured in the 140's bpm. You even kicked the doppler as if you were saying "get that off of my Mom! This is my space!"

Next appointment (January 5th), I have to go in for the dreaded 28 week appointment to test my glucose levels. I pray to God I don't have to do a repeat three hour test like I had to do for your brother. That really was horrible. The drink they make you gulp down in five minutes also isn't on my top favorites, but as things go, I will do anything for you or Ben.

I feel great, although I am not sure if its the early wake up call for work, having to chase after another kid during this pregnancy, being pregnant or a combination of the above, but I certainly am more tired. I don't remind going to be around eight these days and watching some television before I go to sleep. It is one of my most favorite times of the day with you as usually it is your most active time. I guess you dislike me stopping that swaying motion from walking and being so busy during the day. Feeling you move about is one of the most amazing things about being pregnant.

You room is nearly ready. Your Dad painted it one Sunday while Ben and I were at the Army Christmas concert at Constitution Hall. It turned out really cute! Ben and I also put your dresser together, although for a moment he thought the shell of your dresser was going to be a cool fort for him to hang out in. Soon your crib will arrive and I think I'll need some help putting that one together with your Dad. I can't wait to see your room completed!

I love you princess!

Love,

Mommy

All Things Ben

There is lots to write up since September on things going on with Benjamin. He has moved onto a bigger kid room (preschool YIKES), his vocabulary is taking off, he has a new love of movies and is becoming more and more independent. He also says and does the funniest things. He certainly keeps us entertained!

First Ben moved into a bigger kid classroom, the preschool room. YAY!!!! He still hasn't mastered the art of potty training, but that will come with time. He knows and I know he can do it. Its just a question of when he will actually have the drive to go ahead and take the plunge into the ultimate big kid leap. However, after a talk with the Director, it was decided that in order to help his speech that perhaps moving him into a class that has children who speak better would help him move along as well. Boy were we right! It certainly has taken off. Ben also really was ecstatic moving in with familiar friends including a blond hair boy named Garrett and Christian. Together they are known as the three musketeers. He is thriving and doing specatcular things. Just the other day Ben brought home some paperwork (pictured below) with traced out letter "A's". A few weeks ago he was having trouble making straight lines and with lots of concentration he certainly is able to do just as well as most of the older kids in his class. I am so proud of him!!!

Ben also is talking so much better then he used to. He can now pronounce a lot of "B" and "P" letters, where before it was difficult for him to sound out. His speech therapist Cheryl has really made huge strides with him and she will comment how cute it is to see Ben try so hard at the tasks she sets out for him. His reward for concentrating and working hard at his appointments is that he gets to use scissors and glue. I certainly have to be careful about scissor and glue usage at my house as we both want this incentive to keep continuing since it is working so well! u how

Another big thing in Ben's life is Spider Man. I think this is a bit of peer pressure as all the little boys in his class no matter what type of Spider Man merchandise is big stuff in their world. I can't tell you how many times I have been shown Spider Man shoes, back packs, gloves, action figures, shirts, etc., Ben has one of the prized possessions though, which is a Spider Man beanie that his Dad found him during a shopping trip. He really loves his hat and its so funny to see how proud of such a silly thing like a hat makes him puff up his little chest. Ben also is big time into Scooby Doo. This is just a Ben thing as I don't hear any of the boys talk about Scooby like Ben talks about Scooby. He literally loves watching the same cartoons over and over again. Another few movies that Ben likes to watch is Toy Story, Peter Pan and Return to Neverland. He LOVES Peter Pan and especially loves it when the alligator shows up to torture Captain Hook.

Short Stories About Ben

Ben also has a lot of cute stories that I just find so amusing. Tonight we were in Lowes Ben saw a manger scene with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I explained their names and who they were in three year old terms also explaining that Mary is Jesus Mommy and Joseph is the Daddy (without getting too confusing). He looked at me perplexed and asked, "where is the Nagypapa?" How cute! I never thought about Jesus's grandparents, but Ben did!

The other day Ben also watched Star Wars for the first time. His conclusion was, that he wants to bea tup the bad guys. He thinks Jabba the Hut needs a bath and the droids are his favorite characters. He especially love C3PO.

Ben also thinks when he goes to a store and sees flowers that his Mommy should receive some! He is so thoughtful in so many ways, but when he thinks of others beside himself it certainly makes me proud! I also love receiving flowers from my favorite little gentleman!

Lately Ben sings a lot when he's in bed trying to go to sleep. He makes up words and songs so its not usually "Twinkle Star" or anything like that. Its interesting to see what he comes up with!

While watching the Musketeers with Ben one night, he told me his Dad can use a sword and fight with fire ( there was a scene with a torch). Never knew that about James! I asked Ben if his Dad was his hero and he said "yeah" like how could I not know. I agree. James is my hero too.


On the way home one night while we were out, Ben saw stars in the sky and called them twinkle stars.

On the way home from day care, I tried to call my Mom with the voice recognition hands free thing James got me. I tried several times asking for "Sally Pekarik" only to get a little voice in the back trying to parrot me but instead asked for "salad and carrots". I nearly died laughing!

Each night after prayers I talk with Ben about what we should be thankful for today. Usually its things like a beautiful day, playing outside, etc., The other night he told me what he was thankful for. He was thankful for Daddy, Rick, Gaga, Nagymama, Nagypapa, Mommy, Daddy (again)....and last but not least...Scooby Doo. LOL. I love his sweet little mind.

I was woken up one morning to Ben kissing my stomach saying "Hi baby". He's so sweet. It would of been a perfect morning if he didn't point out a minute later that one of the dogs peed on the floor.

During a open house at a police station in Reston, kids of all ages got to sit on a policeman's motorcycle. Tons of kids sat on it before him, but when Ben sat on it he turned the key and jerked the bike pulling the clutch (at least I think thats how you start a motorcycle). The bike jerked forward, but thankfully it was in neutral. It certainly surprised the cop who was standing right next to him. No other kid figured that one out, but leave it to Ben to know how to turn on a motorcyle at three!

One morning while I was driving Ben to school I told Ben that I loved him. He responds back, "No, I love YOU more Mama". He's said it before to me and has said it since, but I never get tired of hearing it.

Ben told me a story during his prayers of what he did at school that day. He told me Nora kissed him and he screamed. She must of left an impression because earlier he told me a house of his was hers.I was woken up one morning to Ben singing, "Rain, rain go away. Come back again some other day." It surprised both James and I, but we've read him the nursery rhyme book enough for him to know it!

One night when I was saying prayers with Ben, we ended with what we are thankful for that day such as playing outside, funny monkeys, etc.,Ben looks up & says, "Mommy, God so silly." I repeated to make sure I heard him right & he giggled a "yes" back. I love the mind of a child. I would never think God is silly, but I guess in a child's eye he can be. I wonder how many times God has been innocently described as silly?

I hear Ben cracking up so I come to investigate....only to fine James trying to get Ben to put on his shirt. He certainly has unexpected and funny ways to get the job done. Lol

Dear Alexis

Dear Alexis,

My sweet little girl, we have already been on such a wonderful journey together. Life keeps your Mommy certainly busy with taking care of your brother and doing day to day things, but you already have made your little presence known by kicks and little flutters. I have yet to formally meet you face to face, but already I'm in love with knowing God is giving me another blessing, you.

I wanted to let you know your Daddy and I choose your name as we both think it is beautifully feminine but also strong. We want to raise our daughter and our son to be strong, independent, intelligent, God loving, people loving and family loving people. Our hopes for you is that you are ultimately happy and healthy. Whatever dreams and goals you have for yourself someday, we'll be behind you 100% lifting you up and supporting as much as we possibly can.

My beautiful daughter, know that you are so very much loved and have been wanted for such a long time. Your Daddy and I spend our evenings with his hand on my belly feeling you kick and move about. We talk about your future, our family outings that we want to attend with you and your Daddy already jokes about what you are NOT allowed to wear.

Your Daddy has such a beautiful, soft heart and I know you'll have him wrapped around your finger in no time. He jokes about the girly things he'll get to do with you and he certainly will have no qualms about doing it either. He also comments on the fact that if his little girl chooses to play hockey, she'll be the one out on the ice with pink laces on her skates. My only fear for you my sweet girl based on my own experience, is to NOT have your Daddy do your hair. Maybe he will learn how to make a pony tail, but just know to leave hair dos to your Mommy until you learn how.

Your brother is so excited about your arrival. I don't know if he knows exactly how much you'll rock his world, but I am so excited to see the type of fun sibling relationship you two will have. I'm sure you'll have your arguments and I am sure you'll have days you'll want to kill each other. However knowing you two will be there for each other warms my heart. He always knew you were a girl from the very beginning. I would ask this little three year old if he was going to have a brother or a sister and he never deviated from his confident answer of "swister". It was as if God whispered in his ear letting him know your of your arrival.

My dear sweet pea, even though it didn't matter if I was having a girl or a boy, having a someone on my team after having an all male household for so long is pretty amazing. I dream of all the things we'll get to do together. I hope that our relationship blooms into the relationship I have with my own Mom. I want you to know that you can always come to me no matter what the subject is and I'll be here for you with a listening ear. I won't always like the things you do, but I will always love you and I will always be here for you. My wish is that you are confident about the girl you are and about the woman you will someday become. Don't ever let anyone decide who you are. You decide that for yourself. You are in charge of paving your own road in life. Don't let anyone or anything get in your way. Follow your dreams and think with both your heart and your mind.

I love you princess!

Love,

Mommy

It's A Girl!!!!

On Monday October 25th, my husband and I went in to the twenty week ultrasound (even though I was technically 18 weeks) to see our baby, make sure he/she is healthy and to HOPEFULLY find out the gender of the little person growing inside of me. I was so nervous and excited the night before about going to the ultrasound that I barely slept that night and was a bundle of nerves going into the appointment. THANK GOD I scheduled it for 9:30 in the morning. I would be a mess if I had to wait all day.

The technician we had was a very nice lady. I was glad for that because you never know who you may get walking in the door. You could get one negative tech on your hands or someone just having a bad day. She started right away first measuring my cervix, which I could thankfully empty out my bladder once she did those measurements. Next, she called in my husband so we could let the fun begin. If you have ever been pregnant, you know that each and every time you see or hear you baby it is one of the most reassuring sound/sight you will see. I then told the technician my apprehension of my baby being shy and not being able to find out the gender. She gave me a reassuring smile and told me we would find that. It did not matter to me if the baby was a boy or a girl. I didn't dream of having one versus the other. I just wanted a healthy baby and to just know.

She took about a million photos of the baby that day. The heart measured around 150 beats per minute. The baby weighed in at eight ounces. My due date didn't even change (due March 28th). Then we got the big news. She told us, "its a girl!" We were silent for a few seconds. It wasn't a disappointed silence or a angry silence. It was a "Um, what?" silence. Obviously we knew we could have either one but I guess since we have a boy we were kind of shocked/surprised. I smiled. A tear streamed down my face. I was going to have a little girl. My husband smiled at me as our eyes met. Our little Ben had been right all along. He was going to have a sister. My husband and I joked during the rest of the ultrasound about different things like her playing hockey and that she'd be the cute little girl out there with pink laces on her skates. It was a fun experience and I walked away still a little stunned, but glowing. My baby was healthy and the fear of not being able to find out quickly dissipated into thinking "girl".

The shock of it all is still wearing in even after telling the world what we were having. I think having lived in an all male household with even the dogs being boys is maybe why I'm so perplexed that there will be another female in the house besides me. I don't really distinguish doing girl things vs. boy things with my son, but I know there will be a time when things may change to doing more boy stereotypical things with my son versus girl stereotypical things that I will do with my daughter. Maybe she'll like the American Girl dolls and want to have a girly tea party when she gets a little older. I doubt my son in a few years will really be interested in playing dress up the dollies with Mom and having dainty tea parties. He would always be invited though! I also can't very well dress up my son in little hair bows and ribbons and the same goes for my girl in not being able to dress her up in little old man suits, but she will certainly rock out hockey jerseys! Both will have a lot of similarities in the way of being taught, how to act, etc., I want my girl to be just as independent as my little boy is. I want my boy to know how to do just as many little domesticated duties as my girl will know how to do. I also will encourage sports and academics. In all, I want to raise my children to be healthy, independent, God and people loving, educated individuals.

We Are Pregnant!

First Photo 8 Weeks Old

I found out the Saturday before my birthday that I was pregnant. James and I just came home from a party and I decided...why not? Needless to say, I was shocked but ecstatic to see two VERY clear pink lines. I came downstairs and handed the test to my James. He at that point was used to seeing one liners even though we would squint in hopes of seeing a second line. He didn't need to squint. I can remember his face clear as day...surprised, almost a bit shocked from months prior and asked me "REALLY?!!!!!" We told Ben, but he really had no reaction at that point, which is expected of a three year old.

That Sunday we told both of the parents. My parents picked me up for church, and unlike most days, I asked if they could come inside. James told them and they were so excited! I did let my Dad tell the priest. It was the Sunday that Ben thought Father John's name needed to be blessed like the sign of the cross, "Father, John, Holy Spirit" instead of "Father, Son, Holy, Spirit". Later that evening we told my James'sMom and her boyfriend. The boyfriend got it when James said that Ben was going to have a brother or a sister. James'sMom initially thought we were just telling her we were trying, and was so excited to hear that we were actually pregnant.

Ben is the sweetest little guy of them all about this pregnancy. In the past few months he has become accustomed to knowing that Mommy has a baby in her belly. He even thinks he has a baby in his belly too sometimes too. We talk about the baby. He tells me how he's going to be nice to the baby and share, although he did state that he would NOT share his bath toys. That is fine with me for a while since the two won't be sharing baths initially. He also told me he would share his old crib and points out that the nursery is the baby's room and his room is the one next to it. He even makes it a point now to say "hi" to other babies when we are out in public.

I will also say, that neither his Dad nor I care what sex the baby is. I think most people are a little surprised to hear that, but honestly we just want a healthy baby. If we have another boy, then great because we know boys and Ben will have a brother. If we have a girl, then great because we will get another type of experience raising a girl and Ben will have a sister. However, when we have asked Ben if he is going to have a brother or a sister, he always replies with "swister". He has never deviated from that. I have told him a sister means a girl and a brother is a boy, but he is adamant that it is a girl. So we will see if my little predictor is correct when we hopefully find out at the end of October.

Lastly, I thought maybe I would feel different when I got the sonogram (pictured above). I have already experienced sonograms with my first pregnancy and even though I obviously think this baby is a miracle and it is such a blessing, I almost thought I would be used to it. What a silly notion! The moment I saw my baby, my heart fluttered and I could not stop tearing up. Hearing the heart beat (a steady 170 bpm) was amazing. It was the first time I got a glimpse of my baby, my second child, my Ben's sibling. I was in complete awe and truly humbled.

Babies will come when they want to and honestly, even with all the stress and new beginnings going on in my life, it was the perfect timing. There are some hurdles to jump and new things to figure out, but life is forever changing and I'm so happy that God has blessed me with another child, a sibling for my son. This pregnancy has been hard with feeling nausea and having multiple migraines in my first trimester, but it has also humbled me too. I would rather feel healthy in some respect, but I almost am glad that I don't feel terribly well because for me its a sign the baby is fine. It certainly is a completely different pregnancy then what I experienced with my first, but it is still just as amazing and pretty awesome.

Thank you God. I could never thank you enough for all the blessings you have given me.