VISIT OUR NEW BLOG!

For several and obvious reasons, we have decided to change our blog name from JohnNicoleandAJHall to bojanglesfamily.blogspot.com. Come visit us over there!

Why Bojangles? Well, I would say since John and I started dating we have always used this word to describe 'slowness'. I will say something like, "John, why are you bogangling" or "Stop Bojangling" and vice versa. It is a word that despite whatever it really means (which I have no idea) or the fact that there is a Southern fast food chain called Bojangles, to us it has become a very common word in our family! So, it is what I could come up with, because I'm definitely not creative. :). Hope you enjoy our new blog!

Ok now, I'm ready!

I'm so ready now to have baby boy--COME ON BABY BOY! I'm pumping myself up with quotes from the Bible and this is so far my favorite:

"And when she was in her hardest labor, her midwife said to her "Fear not for you have another son." Genesis 35:17.

I'm so excited to have another baby boy soon! CAN'T WAIT TO HOLD HIM! I can't wait to introduce AJ to him! I can't wait to kiss them both!

Still Here and Pregnant :)

Just in case anyone was wondering--I'm still pregnant! I can now say we are due next Wednesday--so fun and exciting!

So we can officially say we have MOSTLY everything done. Carseat installed, crib back to where it needs to be, bedding put in, diapers and such where they are, clothes washed and put away, double stroller ready for action. I even just got the carpets cleaned and made some freezer meals--I bought the stuff for some more, but need to make it and I will probably do that slowly until I finish because man it hurts to be on my feet for a long time! We also have to put the swing up and the pack n play in the basement, but that can wait if we have to. And for those of you that have had kids before--I have the extra thick pads and tucks pads ready for me when I get home from the hospital :). OH and the lansinoh and nursing pads as well. I'm ready for business!

So I think I'm ready. If he holds out, I am fine with that as well--but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have this baby now if he wants to come :).

AJ's SO EXCITED!!!

At the grocery store yesterday morning, AJ overheard a mom telling her daughter that they needed to get a small milk since they were going out of town and didn't want to spoil milk. AJ turned to me and asked, "Mommy, are we going out of town?". I told him that we weren't because we were going to be having a baby soon. He responded with a very loud and happy "YYEEAAHH, I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!". It just made my day.

That reminds me, John and I were discussing something about brothers and boys and how from what we see, boys tend to struggle more in school..yada, yada, yada. AJ was in earshot of us and thought we were talking about HIS brother. He yelled at us and said, "My Brother is a GOOD BOY". He is already sticking up for his little brother. It's what we love to see.

He also has an eagle eye for babies and always points them out, "Mommy, there is a baby...aww...so cute!" or "Mommy, that baby is crying..aww.."

Now let's see how much he sticks up for him and how excited he really gets when the baby is here!

Cravings

I haven't had any cravings really during this pregnancy. Then today I suddenly was hit with a Sushi craving (of course I can't have any!). I've also had a craving for a nice cold Corona and lime, but that is more because I can't drink it then craving it! I just told John I'm so excited to be able to eat at the following three places after having this baby:

1. Sushi at our favorite sushi place called Hooked
2. Beer and crablegs at this place called Tim's Rivershore
3. Raw oysters at this oyster bar by our house

I'll be breastfeeding, but you can eat raw fish while nursing--luckily! A beer or a glass of wine is ok too, just can't go overboard. They say that if you are ok to drive, you are ok to nurse! They also have these little strips of paper that you dip in your milk to test if it's safe to feed baby. I'll be pumping ahead of time just in case I fail--especially since one beer might make me feel a little drunk at this point! So with that all said, I'm getting even MORE excited to have this baby!

Oh my gosh!

I was just looking at picture of AJ when he was born--and I am emotional. I'm going to have one of these beautiful little things very soon! On top of it, I remember this picture like it was yesterday, and now I have a little man!

Happy Father's Day

It's not quite Father's Day, but AJ's school celebrated the dad's this morning with a Donuts for Dads. I wouldn't have gone, but John had a meeting to get to and I had to take AJ for his 3 year old doctor visit. So, while I was there--I got a picture of AJ and Daddy. Daddy is holding up the laminated plate artwork AJ created. John loved it.

AJ is very lucky to have John as his dad. John amazes me every day with how amazing he is as a father. You can tell just how much he loves AJ. It makes me so happy and excited to add another child into our family.

Happy Father's day to all of those wonderful Fathers out there!

Full Term! 37 weeks

I'm two days late posting this, but we made it to full term (37 weeks)! Now, I really do hope that baby boy stays in there for a while longer, but if he were to surprise us now, he would be considered healthy.

Still feeling great--still working out, we have been walking a lot, and I have tried to go swimming as much as we can. He dropped at least a little (it sure feels like he did) because I started to measure smaller (happens when they drop). I still think he will not come early--even though some people think he will. My midwife does not do internals until 40 weeks and I really like that. With AJ, it only made me frustrated to know what my progress was--some people can walk around dialated for a few weeks!

I got a lot accomplished on Monday. I took the day off to kind of nest. I washed ALL of his clothes from 0-6 months and WOW he has a lot. I worry a little though, because AJ was born slightly earlier in the year, so I'm not 100% sure if the clothes will fit the season, but we will see.

Now we just have some really minor stuff that I want to get done--like cleaning out our cars and putting in the carseats. That stuff can come later if it has to, but would be nice to get done now. I also need to pack the hospital bag and AJ's bag as well. But other then that, I think we can enjoy these next few weeks!

One last thing before my 37 week photo. I had to measure myself this week for a dress for my best friend's wedding (Maggie is getting married October 15). Do you know how hard it is to decide what size I will be wearing? Being a nursing mom, my boobs are going to stay big, so I ended up ordering a dress that is TWICE the size of my pre-pregnancy size because that is how large my bust measured! When she told me the waist size, I was like...uh, I'm going to need to get that altered in by a lot.

Here is my 37 week photo:

Maternity Photos

A few weeks ago we spent three hours with a professional photographer--one who I have seen the work of before and loved. She did engagement photos for good friends of ours recently and I absolutely loved them. They were exactly the 'style' I love when looking at photos. Well, I am extremely unhappy with our maternity photo shoot. We started out the day at Frying Pan Park in Herndon. She gave AJ a balloon prop, which actually ruined all of the photos and I ended up carrying it, causing my hand to be awkwardly placed in every photo. She was keen on keeping the dumb balloon prop. It was a cute idea for a location (although our original idea of the carnival was better--but it closed the day before our scheduled date), but I didn't realize how smelly and gross a petting zoo would really be for us. I found that our faces expressed 'it is really smelley here' instead of 'we are so happy to have a new baby in our life'. The photos from the park are pretty much a bust--all of them (except a couple at a tree that wasn't near the grossness).

Then we went back to the house where I did my maternity photos by myself. She only uploaded 4 of them because it must have been a terrible shoot. I felt weird and she didn't help me pose at all--so I knew I was already feeling large and in charge, much less I am so not photogenic. None of those will be posted or used ever because I hated ALL 4 of those pictures.

So that brings me to the following. I like some of them, but they dont' really show our faces! I guess I knew what I wanted, we didn't get it, and I am just disappointed. But--here are a couple that I do love (and some I kind of like):

Needless to say, we plan on getting professional photos done for newborn/family shots, but she will NOT be doing them. I contacted a few people already that come highly recommended in the newborn industry..and I am going to be very clear in my expectations and speak up when something dumb is suggested.

5 weeks--BIG DIFFERENCE

Wow, what a difference my belly has made in just 5 weeks. Here is me at 30 weeks:



And 5 weeks later at 35 weeks:

Baby boy is GROWING! I just realized my angle is a little different--so the rest of me looks different too--I will have to retake on on Wednesday at 36 weeks and get in the same outfit so we can really tell :).

35 weeks! Only 35 days to go!

Today is 35/35..meaning 35 weeks and 35 days to go (until the due date at least). I'm feeling really good. I of course am a bit tired and have a little bit of a hard time falling asleep since I'm so big, but I stay asleep which is the big thing. With AJ, I had terrible insomnia at this stage, so I'll take what I have now. Also, the heartburn and general uncomfortable pregnant feeling is much easier this time.

I am having Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) at least once a day. I had none of those with AJ. It is just merely a little uncomfortable, but it always messes with me. Last Saturday I actually thought I was in labor. During a much needed nap I woke up with contractions but fell back asleep. They continued for the rest of the afternoon, but weren't very timetable. Then that evening I woke up to timetable contractions--about every 7 minutes. I drank some water and rested, but it didn't make them go away. I kept getting upset saying, "I can't miss AJ's birthday party!". I decided to walk around and the house to see what that brought and sure enough, they went away.

So other then that, I am feeling really good. I'm still working out (although it's slightly harder!) and keeping active.

We finished AJ's new big boy room! I will have to take pictures and send them out. We have three things left to do: getting the curtains up, installing his drawer under his bed, and buying a bookshelf for his books. All of that will slowly get done by the end of June or so. For the baby's room--well that room is mostly done since we are keeping it pretty much the same as AJ had it. Here is my to do list for this month:
-Wash newborn and 0-3 month clothes (the joy of having a second boy, we kept his clothes!) and put away (can't wait to smell the dreft again!)
-Put up his monogram in his room
-Sanitize the room and change the bed from a toddler bed to a crib with a bumper
-Put the carseat in our cars

Wow, I can't believe we are so close!

I have a 35 week picture to share, but I need to upload it to my computer. Guess who is back in business? That is right, I bought a new lens this weekend--just in time for AJ's party. I have some great pictures to share with you all in blog world of his new room, birthday party and birthday. I hope to remember to upload tomorrow.

Happy 3rd Birthday, AJ!

My dearest AJ,

Wow...you are THREE now! I know I have said that when you turned 1 and 2--and I may continue to say that every year. As cliche as it sounds, it is really true--time goes by so fast when you are having fun.

I remember May 30th three years ago. I remember it like it was just yesterday. I remember your dad doing push-ups between pushes because he had to exert the extra energy building up inside of him. I remember how he said, "wow", as he saw your head getting closer to delivering. I still feel that intense motivation hearing that word--I wanted so badly to meet you. Within minutes you were on my chest looking at me and you were simply the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. You lifted your head--not bad for a 5 minute old baby!--and looked around the room. Knowing how you are now, it makes sense that you did that. You are such a curious little boy.

Seeing you grow into what you are at three has been the most incredible thing to witness. All of the milestones--from rolling over to crawling to walking to going potty has just been so amazing to watch. I see so much of me in you--the stubborness, the determination, the need for it NOW. I see so much of daddy in you too--your playfulness, your tough boy attitude, your charm. You are so loving to everyone in your life. You know how to make a bad day good and how to really melt my heart. All you have to do is say, "I love you Mommy" with those big blue eyes and you have me wrapped around your finger. Daddy gets mad at me sometimes because I can't help but give you what you want when you are being such a cute little boy--but that is why he is here, to be the bad cop (because I love being the good cop!).

I wish I could push the pause button on the remote of life. It kills me that you are getting older. I have loved every single moment with you--even the sleepless nights (oh and how many there were). Of course it has been hard being a mommy sometimes--but you make it more then worth it. I don't want you to grow up, I want you to just stay my little boy forever and ever. But, I know that can't happen. I am excited for your future, but can't help but to be sad leaving phases behind us. I just want to soak up every moment with you--I know I will blink and you will be graduating, getting married, and having children of your own. We just have to enjoy our time together now.

This year is going to be a big year for you. You are going to become a BIG BROTHER! You are so excited about becoming a big brother. You tell me that he won't have any teeth, he only gets to drink mommy's milk, and that you are going to kiss him when he is crying. I'm sure your brother and you will butt heads plenty of times over the years--but I'm confident that you will shower him with love and always have his back. That is how you are, loving and protective.

Thank you AJ for everything you have given Mommy and Daddy. We are so blessed to have you in our life. We love you more then anything in the entire world. Happy Birthday my little Monkey.

Boys weekend

Since mommy is away, the boys have a full weekend planned. Tonight John sent me this photo of AJ and M&Ms while at the movies watching Rio. So adorable.

Leaving on a jet plane

Lauren and I are on our way to San Francisco for a girls weekend with Maggie to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. "Trouble comes in Threes!"

Happy Easter

We celebrated our Jesus Christ by having a near perfect Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny came bearing some cool things for AJ (but no candy--I love that Easter Bunny!). He did, however, get some fruit roll-ups. AJ loved waking up to a basket full of surprises!

And he even got a new potty for the basement bathroom--which he loved as you can tell from his face. He loves "Cars" things--even though he hasn't seen the movie.

We had a nice Easter Breakfast outside since it was a beautiful morning. I love spring mornings more then anything season-wise. Do you notice the yellow and purple tulips? John sent them to me for Easter. He also sent 24 Chocolate Covered Strawberries AND a Easter Cookie Bouquet. No wonder I gained 4 pounds in three weeks (between that and Europe :)). That is ok, you only live once.

We went to Grandma and Eagle Pop-Pop's House. We got to open our baskets, eat an amazing meal cooked by my amazing mom, and play with the boys. Roman and AJ had a very interesting Easter Egg hunt. The Easter Egg hunt has been a tradition for us since I was born! Now it's so much fun seeing Roman and AJ continue that tradition by getting competitive as David, Kayla, and I did as kids (yes, I'm 15 years older then my sister and got competitive with her!). It was cute though, as they are still in that age where they aren't quite as competitive. What a change though from just one year ago--the boys were running and finding eggs and 'getting' the game. AJ even almost stole an egg that Roman was going for and when he got the egg, realized Roman was going for it, and gave it to him. It was very cute. AJ was on the move, so this was the best I could get (don't you just love his outfit ?):

We had a fabulous Easter!

30 weeks!!

We are 75% the way there with this pregnancy! I am feeling very behind in what I need to be doing and have a very busy couple of weeks coming up--so I'm fairly certain we will be getting everything done last minute. I was trying to avoid that since June is one of my favorite months and I didn't want to be doing anything--but what can you do??

I'm feeling great. I passed my glucose screening test with flying colors and am very healthy. So is the baby. I'm still working out and feeling good during the workout.

The baby is very healthy as well. He is head down already, so we just have to pray he doesn't move! He is moving a great amount.

AJ and John LOVE to talk to the baby and kiss him. It's very cute.

Nothing more to really report--just keep on keeping on at this moment!

Baby Boy #2's 4d pictures and videos

Technology is really amazing. I don't think my mom would have thought when she was pregnant with me that one day people would be able to see their babies in real live 4d imaging. Shoot, I think she was lucky if she got a grainy ultrasound.

The place where we had AJ and Dos's (as we are calling him--dos as in 2 in spanish) 20 week ultrasounds offers a free 28-30 4d study (we are a little over 29 weeks). It is so amazing to see your baby on the screen like that. I can't even explain it. The photos and videos below do it no justice really.

We brought AJ with us and he was so excited to see his brother. Oh, we also confirmed for sure that it is a boy--we saw all of his glory today! We also learned he is already head down (YEAH!) and got to see him open and close his eyes, smile, stick out his tongue, open and close his mouth, and saw the other beautiful parts of his body.

Now 4d imaging probably has some improvement to endure. It has already made improvement in the three years since we had AJ's. Today we got there and my bladder was slightly too full, causing him to be pushed up against the uterine wall and thus created blurry pictures. Then he had his feet, hands, and umbilical cord covering his face. With some taunting by the tech and some flipping and movement by me, we were able to get him to move his feet and hands most of the time, but the cord hung out. When the cord is covering the face, it causes distortion to the body parts it covers. Also, the ultrasound wand pressure causes 'bubbles' to the area it's hitting--so in all photos there is some sort of distortion. Some of you will think it's scary, but some of you will find that it's really a cool and amazing thing to see. I was blown away as I was able to learn quickly what everything was.

So first thing is first, let's compare AJ to Dos. The major difference in the photos below is that AJ's eyes are open and Dos's are closed. But, you can see that they look very similar (or maybe you don't see that, but we do!). I think that AJ and Dos have the same nose, eye shape, and face shape. The lips are a little fuller in Dos. John thinks the forehead shape is different. We are making these assumptions based on multiple photos and live imaging we saw today. It will be really interesting on how it really turns out!

AJ circa over three years ago:

Our second son:

I show this photo because it reminds me of a Sleeping Baby AJ. I also felt like they were similar in a lot of ways--facial expression wise.

Now on to some exciting videos! Here is the first of three:

This photo is amazing because it shows his little hand (he has 5 fingers!)

In this one, you will see him open his mouth, a little tongue, a smile, and him open and close it.

So a very amazing day--and now I'm SO excited and ready to meet my little baby boy. I can't wait to snuggle with him, to have him wrap his little hands around my finger (and he will have me wrapped around his finger just like AJ does), to nurse and look into his eyes, to hear him coo, to watch AJ interact with him...I'm just so looking forward to it.

Oh and in just to bring me down to earth for a minute, I thought I would remind myself of not only how I looked in the first few weeks after AJ, but how tired I was as well. Ok, nevermind, I'm back on cloud 9 thinking of those days and how amazing it was to snuggle with such a precious little thing (and now emotional thinking of how fast time flies):

A busy Good Friday

AJ and I had a very busy day today! First--AJ had his very first dentist appointment and I'm happy to report that he was really good! We started with him watching me get my teeth cleaned first. Then he hopped right in that chair ready to go. The hygenist counted his teeth (20) and even used the pokey thing to clean some plaque--which we all know is the worst part. AJ did so good and sat still, listened, and relaxed the whole time.

Then we went home for lunch and a nap. After waking up--we got to go see our baby boy in real live 4d. It was amazing. AJ sat on John's lap and pointed at the screen saying, WOW he is doing this or he is doing that--he is point to his face or he is moving. It was really incredible. I will post a separate blog entry on that experience.

Then AJ and I went to go see the Easter Bunny (John had to go back to work). Of course my brave little boy loved the Easter Bunny. Look at the big smile.

Then we came home and had some supper and cookies that John had sent us for Easter (he also sent flowers and chocolate covered strawberries, but I'm not sharing!). After supper, we dyed Easter eggs. AJ's favorite food is hard boiled eggs believe it or not, so he will enjoy colored ones!

A great Good Friday for us!

Wow--AJ is ALMOST three!

I just booked his birthday party--exciting! It's strange that I will have a THREE year old in a month and a half!

We're back! Funny (now) Poop Story Inside

Well, we survived our first European vacation as a family! It certainly is a whole lot easier to go as a couple without small children and we had our National Lampoon's European Vacation moments for sure, but AJ was such a perfect angel. Of course he had a few two year old meltdowns--but they were mostly due to exhaustion and I know I wanted to through a fit sometimes, so I don't blame him. Overall, he was so good.

One very awful thing that happened was that we lost our brand new digital camera. The camera was purchased specifically for this trip (to avoid bringing a big bulky SLR camera that could have been lost) and was lost after a week--so over 400 pictures all gone. It was our fault--I'm pretty sure--as I think we left it on a hop on-hop off bus in Brussels. AJ fell asleep on my shoulder while we were waiting for the bus at the end of the day. Once on the bus (with a stroller and sleeping child!), he looked so peaceful and I asked John to take a picture. He showed it to me and I think I put the camera down on the seat. Neither of us thought to look to make sure we had everything because we were so distracted with a sleeping AJ and a stroller. It put a bit of a strain on my next few days. I was in mourning for sure. John wasn't as bothered as I was. I just had so many plans for those pictures! It could have been so much worse, that was the theme for me this trip actually, we were safe, we didn't get robbed, we didn't lose our luggage, we were fine. We made up for it on John's I Phone, but the picture quality isn't great.

One of the moments that reminded me of the European vacation was our first train ride out of Paris. If you are skiddish on kid bowel movement stories, you might want to stop reading. If you are a mom, you will want to read.

First off, I have to say that riding the train in Europe is SO EASY. I thought it would be like flying where we had to be there early, check bags, etc. I had never even took a train in the US and the last two times we travelled to Europe we took flights internally instead. Realistically, you don't need to be at the station until about 20 minutes before the train leaves. Anyway, I say that because we didn't know how easy it was and showed up super early for our train out of Paris. We found a quiet and out of the way spot in the train station and just waited. I left to go to the bathroom and John changed AJ's poopy diaper in the said quiet spot. Remember how AJ was doing very well in potty training? Well, I regretfully say that John and I pushed for him to go in his diaper at times because not only are the bathrooms not clean in Europe for the most part, but you also have to pay to use them--even in some restaurants where you are paying good money for sub-par food!

So anyway, AJ had held in his poop for a day, partly because he was used to going on the potty and partly because the change in food. We were getting worried (remember--AJ is a kid that goes A LOT in a day) and then relieved when he did finally go. So John changes his diaper and I come back from the bathroom. I asked John if he was sure that he got everything because I swore I still smelled it. Thinking that maybe it was the disgusting bathroom I just came from, I dropped it, thinking maybe it was ME that smelled. A minute later, I look over at AJ, who was sitting on luggage and being quiet and said to John, that does look like a poop face, doesn't it. Sure enough, he was pooping again.

I asked AJ if he was going again and he didn't break concentration. I guess I caught it once he was already in the middle of his business. John and I laughed it off and he made sure to tell me it was 'my turn'. Once AJ seemed to be done, I told him we were going to change his diaper again and he complied.

Man, it smelled without even taking his pants off. I knew it was going to be bad, so I thought I should be somewhat careful. AJ was in a stage of wearing his soccer jersey my mom had just got him before he left (luckily we had a washer in the Paris apartment!). It came with soccer shorts and AJ really wanted to wear the shirt and shorts everwhere under his warmer clothes. In hindsight, it was a good thing he had an extra layer of clothing. I took off his jeans and the smell intensified. I immediately knew this wasn't good. I asked for some help from John before taking off the shorts--very carefully of course. Sure enough, the shorts were filled with poop. I mean filled. Let's not even discuss the diaper.

So within two seconds I went from smelling poop to a poop explosion. Even with careful attention, I still managed to smear the poop all over AJ's legs. John quickly took the clothes to the nearest trashcan. Then, after a half hour of no one coming near our little corner, a group of about 50 people walked by. My son's poor poopy butt, laying on our large piece of luggage, and legs were in the air held on by just three fingers on my left hand while I was trying to use wipes to clean him up -- all while trying to avoid smearing further poop to our luggage or me or John or onto the upper part of AJ's body. I glanced over at the people--who were of course, all staring at us in disgust.

I just shrugged it off and went back to work. John and I got a system going. AJ was laughing at us. Our faces were priceless I'm sure. It took a good 15 minutes, but we managed to clean him up well enough that we felt he at least no longer smelled. We put a good new diaper on him and LUCKILY had our bag so we were able to put all new clothes on him. His shirt and socks weren't affected, but I felt better with all new clothes.

The little **** laughed at us. LAUGHED at us cleaning up HIS mess! I swore I smelled poop the entire train ride. This caused us all to shower when we got to our hotel before doing anything. All of our clothes ended up in a laundry bag just in case so not to disturb our other clothes.

It's funny now looking back on the story. The rest of the trip I felt paranoid that we were going to have to go through that again--so I never left without a change of clothes for AJ.

I will post some more stories this week and hopefully some pictures later once I somehow get John's IPhone photos to my laptop. Ok, I am still upset about losing the camera.