Connor funnies...

Before I forget..

We were in the car and for the first time in well over a year I hear Connor say, "Look Mom! There's a 'windy car'!" I just love this. We never called convertibles by this name....just something he came up with on his own a long time ago. I think he's pretty smart... :)

——

On Sunday, Father's Day, Brian was cutting the grass and I offered to use the week whacker ("Grass Hog" I think) around all of our metal edging. Meanwhile, Connor was running around outside playing with whatever. Then I saw him pour water on the side of my car out of a plastic cup he retrieved from the kitchen.... Not the best plan to pour water on a car while it is still in the garage. This pregnant mama does NOT want to slip and fall, that is for sure. Then I saw the spray can of sunscreen on the floor. I picked it up...WAY too light. I'd gotten onto him earlier in the day for spraying it (while sitting at the kitchen table). I asked if he sprayed it. "Yes, I washed your car." Holy cow. Almost an entire can of sunscreen all over the side of my car and windows. What I witnessed was "rinsing". Oh boy.

I'm ashamed to say that I barely even looked at it. I just got the can away from him and reprimanded his actions...even though he already knew what he was doing was wrong. Of course this is after he spread mulch all over the driveway with the giant broom... Oh, he was in rare form on Father's Day.

Anyway, all of that to get to the story from today.... This is as told by Brian because I was not there.

Brian and Connor took my car to the car wash to clean all the sunscreen off. Connor told him the windows were "burly". :)

He meant blurry.

——

He also asks us to "fer-cord" and "fer-lete" shows from our DVR. We aren't sure why he adds "fer" but he obviously means "record" and "delete". And along those same lines, when a show comes on he asks, "is it fer-corded?" or "is it going to cut off" (because it records a few extra minutes of shows, so he frequently gets to see the first few minutes of another show before it cuts off).

——

Connor told me in the bathtub tonight not to worry when he lets the water out...he is too big to fit down the drain. Also, just fyi....Herons that fish in our lake (and have an amazing ability to eat multiple whole fish in minutes) "don't eat boys". You are right kiddo. Girls on the other hand may need to watch out. :)

God knew to make kids super cute. It increases their chances of survival into adulthood dramatically. :)

I am so fortunate that I have really liked all of the stages of Connor's life so far. I was not one that wanted him to stay a baby forever, but I am looking forward to experiencing all of the "firsts" all over again with Declan. 3 3/4 is a lot of fun too... I look back at videos from what doesn't seem like that long ago and he has grown SO MUCH in what is really such a short amount of time. Humans are amazing.

Declan Trotter Nealon

We are committed.
It is a "D" name & Irish....two things that although not completely necessary, I wanted.

Now we are ABCD! (We didn't realize that we became ABC until the Connor's first Christmas when I was "signing" Christmas gift tags.

Declan

MEANING: From dag ”"good”" and lan ”"full”" suggesting “”full of goodness.”" St. Declan was the founder of a monastery at Ardmore in County Waterford and may have preached in Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick. Many miracles are attributed to a rock on the beach at Ardmore known as St. Declan’s Stone. According to legend, on a trip back from Wales one of his disciples, Runanus, forgot Declan’s sacred bell. But a prayer from Declan and, miraculously, the stone carried the bell over the waves back to Waterford.

GENDER: Boy | Male

IRISH NAME: Declan Deaglan

PRONUNCIATION: “deck + lan”

So, his whole name technically means "Full of Goodness", "Messenger", "Descendant of Neal". We aren't overly concerned with name meanings ("Connor" is also Irish and means "lover of hounds"...) but I do hope our newest little guy is full of goodness as his name suggests. :) 

Can't wait to meet our little Declan. I swear he has been laying horizontal right on top of my pubic bone for most of the day. I think I can feel his whole back as he attemps to sprawl out...getting to be a tight squeeze in there, buddy!

Here is a picture of the mobile I ordered for above his crib. I LOVE it. It is 1920's vintage American planes. It is wind powered so will only move if the fan is on or windows open. Doesn't make noise, but absolutely adorable!

——

Connor and I went to Tunnel Park to the beach today in Holland with Jill, her mom, Lucy & Ellie. The kids had a blast even though the water was less than 66º (ie FREEZING). Connor dove in like it was bath water..just like he did when he was 11 months old in Traverse City. He and Ellie (4) have become great buddies. I'll add pictures soon. I want to go back with Brian. He could have come, but I think he also enjoyed his day to himself.

I absolutely crashed at about 7:30. I'm afraid I'm getting back to the point of needed a nap...and I'm only 24 weeks along. I know the sun can be draining, but thankfully it was pretty overcast today and yet I'm still wiped!

Baby Name Drama...

Yesterday was rough.

My facebook status after about 1:00 yesterday afternoon was (and still is) that I am "A bit of a hormonal wreck today."

I really wasn't "fishing" for comments or support as Brian would say. Just being honest. And I honestly wanted my neighbors to read it. Whether they posted anything or not, I guarantee they know what it was about and I wanted them to know I was pretty torn up about it.

So, a brief explanation is probably summed up best with the email I wrote my best friends back home after several of them were concerned about me. Here it is:

Girls,

Sorry to worry you guys with my facebook status (if you read it...) I've had a hormonally charged, rough day....

For a LONG time, the name for our little guy has been between "Declan" and "Logan". For the past 5 weeks, Connor has been very insistent on "Declan". He has even gone so far as to say that he will be "mad" if we name him Logan and that "Logan is mean." He hasn't backed down or changed his tune at all...I bought letters for his room, etc. We have a name.

Well, today has not been so fun.

We have neighbors that live about 4 doors down (opposite side of the street). No one was aware of their journey to have a child. No one knew she can't have children, no one knew they were going to adopt. Well, we got an email this morning from another neighbor telling us that things moved faster than they thought and they are driving home with their newly adopted baby boy TODAY from Iowa. They have nothing. The email was to "rally the troops" so-to-speak to let them borrow stuff until we have a shower for them or they get it for themselves. I messaged to ask what the name is...thinking I would get balloons or make a sign, etc.

Several hours later she wrote back.

Declan Ernest Emmick

Crushed.

The VAST majority of the hood knows that that is our name...or at least that it was between Declan and Logan. I do not know if she knew or not. I'm hoping that she did not know. I feel like it has been stolen from me. Regardless, there is a bit of sadness now. If we change it (which I don't think we will) then there is the feeling of being forced to change and I never want to regret or question the name that we chose for our baby boy. I would hate to have to tell him when he's six, "yeah, your name was going to be Declan, but the dopes down the street stole it 15 weeks before you were born." Then if we don't change it, he has to share a bit of his identity/name from the very start...with someone his age that lives right down the street. I realize that the name is becoming more and more common, but most people that I've talked to up here have never heard it before I mentioned it or they say, "is that the name of the guy on Revenge?" No one actually knows anyone with that name. (I heard it in February and it is the name of one of the main characters in Leap Year.)

I also don't want them to be mad if we don't back down. I'm sorry, but this kid has been growing in my belly for a while now and that is how I've thought of him...we'll just have 2. Whether I like it or not, it takes away from their kid as well. And then there is the question of telling them. What is an appropriate way of saying, "listen that is our name and we aren't changing it, so I hope you are okay with having 2 of them after September!" She's never been pregnant, I can imagine that she will think that changing ours is not a big deal....that isn't how it works.

Most people I have talked to have the same response...don't change it. And we most likely will not. We probably won't even live here in 5 years, and that will be his name for the rest of his life. But regardless, today has been hard. Many tears have been shed.

I am also very upset that I went from being so excited for them & their new little family, and even a potential playmate for our little guy to being irritated and mad. I'm hoping I can be happy for them soon, but right now I am feeling robbed. I am thankful that most people know that we had the name first....at least for now we will not appear to be the thieves.

Anyway, just a rough day. Of all the fricken names in the word, they had to pick Declan....

I don't know what my advice is...make it public on Facebook so everyone knows you are committed...perhaps even a sign for the yard.... Or never tell anyone the name until he/she is born. I don't know if I'll ever know if they outright stole it from us.......

At the end of the day, I'm trying to keep some perspective. We've waited so long for this precious little boy, and I am so thankful that he appears to be healthy and growing in my belly right now. :) Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow. I guess you'll need to stand by on the name....what was pretty set in stone is suddenly not so certain to me now.... :(

Love you guys. Sorry to worry you.

So, there it is. By the end of last night I was very tired, eyes swollen (from crying and it felt like some sort of chemical reaction from some sun screen....great combination...) and quite snappy at Brian and Connor too. I needed to go to bed. When I woke up this morning, I knew that it was still a reality and I know that there is only about a 1/2% chance that anything will be different today or in the future. I am trying to decide if I am going to go to the baby shower that is being held for them next week. I will provide a gift regardless, but Brian's parents will be at our house that weekend and I'm honestly not sure I'm ready to meet their little Declan. Oh, and my brother had a great idea....start calling him "Dee" (his initials) from the start. I'm not sure they would be too keen on that, but I got a kick out of it for sure. Christian, thank you for being devastated for us. I'm also kinda waiting to see if someone else in the hood is going to tell them that they took our name.... there has been essentially no response to her announcement of his name (via our neighborhood community) and I know it is because everyone is uncomfortable... not the most fun situation in the world, that is for sure. Oh well. Drama.

Connor's mad at Mommy....rambling...

Apparently I was being punished for getting too far ahead of him while we were riding around the track at our neighborhood clubhouse. He doesn't forget things, and will make you pay....

23 Weeks — Bump Progression

So, I waited too late in the day to take the picture and the lighting is very different from the previous ones. I'm also bigger at night, so I may do a redo picture tomorrow. I don't think a couple of hours is going to make much of a difference. Besides, I won't look like I've been up since 3:00 am with wind blown hair, essentially no makeup and not the best expression on my face!

Oh well...here I am with the little man...

I definitely think there was a bigger difference between 15 and 19, but if I kept up that growth rate, by the time September rolls around I wouldn't be able to get out of my house!

Current weight: 151.5 lbs.

No cravings, no real aversions.

I wake up in the middle of the night. I'm not sure how much of it is pregnancy related and how much of it has to do with the fact that I'm in Connor's bed. I don't mean to fall asleep after I read him a story, but it has happened 2 of the last 3 nights.

I started buying nursery stuff this week. SO FUN and the blackout curtains from Pottery Barn Kids came today. I still have to raise the curtain rod, but I just love the pattern and preppy look. I'm going to have to back off the "vintage" idea that I was hoping to use because the fabric is just too crisp and clean to pull of vintage. But that is okay...now I can get an inexpensive white crib that I like!

I'll likely post a few sneak peek pictures of the nursery, but nothing that will give the whole room away until it all comes together...probably late July or August!

HERE is the link to the same picture in my pregnancy with Connor.

The picture above is updated...taken at 23 weeks, 1 day and not at night. This was the original.

flips

Since we got home from Florida, I swear baby boy has been doing flips inside! Brian still hasn't timed it well yet and hasn't felt him move and Connor has been close, but not yet. Sometimes he kicks or punches so hard I swear I it makes me have to go pee!

Although it is a bit of a weird, alien-like sensation, I love feeling him move around and that is the best reassurance that he is growing properly and everything is good. :)

This fruit is a little premature, but he'll be approximately the weight of a mango on Thursday...

Home.

We are now home from a great trip to Florida. It was AWESOME seeing my dear friend Kristin, her precious son, Nathan and charming husband, Ryan. ;) They were so generous to let us stay in their home during our central Florida adventures. We hope to repay the favor very soon with a trip for them up north this fall!

Disney was amazing. We were successfully able to wear Connor out, which is quite a feat. I will write more with pictures, but let's just say that our shortest day was Tuesday and we began at 9:30 (Animal Kingdom) and were home by 8:20 pm.

I took about 700 pictures, which is actually a pretty low number considering where we were and the number of days. I will edit and add shortly.

I've also got to play catchup with work, but it was REALLY nice to have a full week off. I find myself wanting to find a good book, put on a bathing suit and soak up some sun instead of doing work...boo.

I was able to manage all the Disney parks quite well even being 22 weeks pregnant. My monthly picture will be taken this Thursday...so get excited. I'm feeling quite large, but I think I'm actually slowing down a bit compared to the beginning. It will be interesting to compare my pregnancies after Thursday.

I am feeling the little man dance around a lot more now, which I love. I didn't feel him much while we were at Disney, but I don't remember feeling Connor when I was walking around either...and I was on my feet most of the day every day.

Connor has a definite opinion about his baby brother's name. Now whenever you ask him what the baby's name is, he says the same thing every time, "Dec-a-lan".  I'm not sure why he adds a syllable to the name, "Declan" but he does and it is really pretty cute. The other name in the running is "Logan", but if you ask Connor what he thinks, he says it is a bad name and he will be mad. Uh oh. So, we still aren't fully committed to Declan, but that is certainly Connor's first choice at this point. Hopefully we'll decide for sure soon. Although I'm still very thankful to get to refer to the baby as a "he" or "him" since our ultrasound (I hated having to say "it") it will be nice to get to use an actual name.

I need to get dressed and I want to go to Home Depot and buy a retractable screen door for our front door....random, I know.