November | 2015 | thechroniclesofanonbellymama

I haven’t posted anything on my blog in the past two weeks because things have been rather hectic! The fastest way to catch you (any myself) up to this whirlwind that has been my life, I figured I would do it the easiest way I know how…in bullet points! Here goes nothing!

My Boys Turn 10 Month!

Levi is babbling so much and really using his words. He calls all food Bananas (anana!) and screams MAMA and MOMMMMMMY at the top of his lungs most of the day. He is standing unassisted and lets go of furniture for a few seconds and sits down again. He still loves music, and is starting to dislike baby food, but will go to town on spaghetti (and slurps it up too, making the noises and everything!) He has 2 bottom teeth, loves to sing, and at their 9 month visit (at 10 months!) he was weighing 20.2lbs, measuring 29″ and his head circumference was 49cm. This little baby that wasn’t even on the curve at 1 month old is officially in the 50th or so percentile, although that head! That head is in the 97th!
Noah is our active baby. He is always on the go, and last night, he took 5 WHOLE STEPS!!! It was so awesome but I think he got a little overwhelmed with our excitement and refused to do it again. He would take 2 steps and sit! He doesn’t have any actual words yet, but spends most of the day babbling and “talking” to his brother. He is a bottomless pit that eats just about everything and anything (including the rug!) and won’t hesitate to let you know that he wants more. He loves all his “wheels” and can sit on the carpet and roll his cars around for a good 40 minutes. He is fast as lightning, loves chasing the car around, and has become the biggest cuddle bug ever. It doesn’t matter what time he goes to bed (they can be up pretty late on the weekends when we are with family) he always wakes up at 7am, no question! He like to beat up his brother, but also is the first to care for him when he is upset. At his appointment yesterday he weighed in at 19.12lbs, height at 19.5″ and head circumference at 45cm. This little guys is also just about in the 50th percentile give or take.

Mary’s TPR Hearing

11/10 we had a hearing
The judge refused to hear Mary’s mom’s excuses
Mary’s lawyer stood up and said that he had spoken to Mary and that his “client loves her mother but is content with bi-weekly visits and would like to remain with the foster family. She is thriving in school, her soccer team coached by her foster mother is undefeated, she begins basketball this Saturday, and is thriving academically.”
Mom wasn’t too pleased to hear that Mary wants to stay with us, and approached Mary’s lawyer claiming that Mary had said that she wanted to go back with mom, which we all know isn’t true. Her lawyers response? ” I spoke with the child, and although I can’t and won’t tell you what she said, I can assure you, it wasn’t that!” SCORE!
The judge did not suspend judgement for another 6 months. We were worried that she would, considering that mom has a new baby that she has access to 7 days a week from 9am-8pm (baby is with the paternal grandmother and so long as the grandmother or biological father are there to supervise the visit, Mary’s mom can see the baby and be the primary caregiver between those hours…yeah, ridiculous I know!).
When mom walked into the waiting area, I greeted her and she rolled her eyes at me!!! Why in the world would you act that way with someone who HAS YOUR DAMN KID!?!?! Let’s see how many emails she’ll get with pictures of Mary enjoying her pretty kick ass life. I’ll give you a hint. It starts with Z and ends with ERO!
Termination Hearings officially start May 9th, 2016. The first person on the stand? Our caseworker…so yeah…
Our only concern is that (Currently) mom is complying with all of the recommendations (drug treatment, individual therapy, and parenting classes) so when we have our hearing in 6 months, this could potentially lead to a suspended hearing. We are pretty worried about that, but we are ~~praying~~ thinking that mom’s patterns will prove true and she will likely screw up in the next few months.

25 Weeks

Baby is a wiggly little thing. Callie can actually feel him on the outside now
I pee….a lot!
Noah loves to rub my belly and lay on my tummy. Something tells me these two will be the best of buds
I haven’t had much of an appetite and despite how terrible it is for you in real life, let alone pregnancy, the craving for Coca-Cola is TOO DAMN REAL!
Baby weighs about a pound and a half and is measuring approximately 14 or so inches, so this guy is the size of an eggplant!
I have definitely decided on a name, and although we both agree that it is our FAVORITE NAME, Callie refuses to name our son this because she has a second cousin who we have seen all of TWICE (a wedding and a funeral ) in the past 5 years, named her son our number one name. The kid is 4 and we never see him! I am still arguing this point fervidly, and I refuse to let it go! Nothing else sounds as great or feels as right…

Callie Interviews for a Job

And NAILS it!
The position is an Instructional Coordinator for 4 daycare centers in Brooklyn and the Bronx. She will be traveling between the 4 schools and making sure that the educational curriculum is being implemented properly in all of the classrooms
It’s basically her ideal position, except now the boys and the new little one will have to be in daycare and no one is happy
My pockets on the other hand, are very very happy!
We toured some schools yesterday and actually really like the program and the staff, so it’s going to help make the transition a little easier when we have to drop out babies off with complete strangers for the first few weeks
The pay is just FANTASTIC, and we will be a 6 figure family again, which means we can take “real” vacations, pay off all of our debt in the next few months, and very likely be able to buy a home before the end of 2016 rolls around. I’m shooting for September-ish. Callie is thinking I’m crazy. We’ll see who wins THIS battle (because obviously the baby name battle will be mmiiinnnneee! Mwahahaha!)
Callie is pretty bent out of shape about returning to work, but I keep doing my best to gently remind her that she is so lucky that she was able to practically spend the whole first year of the boys lives with them. And I keep reiterating, “money for us all to go to Aruba/Bahamas/Puerto Rico/Jamaica…for a week…and stay in a house on the beach…and create lots of new memories that we wouldn’t have otherwise”…it’s kinda sorta almost working….kinda
Did I mention that my pockets are very happy about this?

Planning the ULTIMATE Pirate Party Bash

Venue Booked for 1/16/16 from 2-6pm. We get one hour set up and one hour take down
Decorations are being ordered weekly in order to have everything that we need
Can we say “DIY at its finest”? Why yes, yes we can! Thank you Pinterest, for being pretty much, AMAZING!
Magician? YUP! We got that!
125 people (36 kids)? YUP! We got that too!
My boys in matching pirate costumes is gonna be TO DIE FOR, especially when Callie, Mary, and I wheel them out in their Radio Flyer wagon turned Pirate Ship! EXACTLY!!!
We are so lucky and blessed that our village is INCREDIBLE! Everyone is helping to contribute to make the boys birthday party just the best thing ever, and we couldn’t be more grateful. It’s hard keeping tabs of who volunteered to pay for what, or who is making what dish, or who is picking things up and coming over to help make center pieces, and who is coming early to help decorate. This is turning out to be just as involved as a wedding!
So glad we are taking the day of their actual birthday off. January 11 will be a day spent with out two little ones, probably somewhere baby friendly like Gymboree and letting them eat all the cake they want!

and finally, 26 Weeks!

Had an appointment with my OB yesterday, and my blood pressure is the lowest it’s been since 2002! It’s at 127/72. And that’s GREAT considering it’s been at about 145/100 the past few visits. I guess having no real appetite kinda helped that.
Doc just called me to let me know my 1 hour glucose test was borderline and he would feel better if I took the 3 hour considering that my sugar was a little high at the beginning of pregnancy. It was at 138 and they wanna see it no higher than 135, so back to the lab I go on Monday.
I have only gained just under 11 lbs during this pregnancy, which is great considering that they really don’t want me to gain much more than 15lbs.
I have another growth scan on 12/4, and I cannot WAIT to see this little guy!
Pregnancy has been really good to me, except for the oily skin, but my hair looks awesome, and I seem to be losing body weight but gaining baby weight if that makes sense.
Biscuit is weighing close to 2 lbs and is measuring about the same length as last week, anywhere between 14-16 inches head to toe.
Little Biscuits testes are descending this week and that is hella important IF he is in fact, well, a HE! Can you tell I’m still not convinced?
I soak my shirt daily when I wash my hands and occasionally turn the corner too closely or turn the knobs on the stove. Still not used to a protruding belly.
Still not waving a white flag on this baby’s name…soon friends, I will announce the name we both love that Callie is currently ~~refusing~~ considering to name this little person.

So those are the goings on around these here parts!