Terrible Threes?

Most of the time my posts include cute little stories about the latest events, phrases, etc. in Mikey's life.  Today we are going to shed some light on his recent imperfection.  Sigh.

Whenever we are getting ready to leave the house---to run an errand, go on a road trip, whatever----Mikey is given PLENTY of notification ahead of time.  At the time he is excited and willing to leave the house.  However, when the actual moment of leaving the house occurs, we have been greeted with tantrums (throwing himself down on the ground, running back to his room to snuggle with his lovey, crying, kicking his feet....).  Being that I am now 33 weeks pregnant and Mikey is weighing 37 pounds,  picking him up is not a preferred method for me.  On Tuesday I started the process of leaving the house at 8:00----we got in the car at 8:30.  Yesterday we FINALLY left for Eva's at 8:50 (which is very late for us).

Today's experience tops the cake.  Each night when I tuck Mikey in, we review the day of the week, what happened during the day and what we would be looking forward to doing the next day.  Last night he was so happy that today was Friday and we would be going to My Gym.  (**As a side note, we have been dragging Mikey around to plenty of furniture stores and other not-so-fun-places for a toddler recently, so I get his hesitation, but not every destination can be fun for him, right?!?!)  So as 12:30 approached, Mikey went potty by himself, put on his sweatshirt and sneakers independently so we could leave for My Gym.  Once we got downstairs (which is a whole other process----I will NEVER have a garage under my house in the future again!), Mikey decided he wanted to check out the grass and started walking around.  I said, "We can come back and check out the grass.  Now it's time to go to My Gym."  And the look came.  He immediately became defiant.  His feet didn't move, like they were stuck in cement.  Finally, I was able to nudge him along and he made no effort to climb into the car or car seat.  After some words of encouragement and attempts to distract him (and still no effort on his part) I pulled the dreaded "threat".  "Do you want to go to My Gym or stay home and take a nap?". Guess what the fresh mouth responded with?  Yup, nap.  "I want to go upstairs and take a nap in my bed."  And so the threat needed to be followed through.  I tried one more attempt at getting him in the car (FAIL) and then we proceed upstairs.  He took off his jacket and shoes and went directly to his bed.   I put the gate up at his door and kissed him goodnight.  Within minutes he was at the door whining "Mommy? Mommy?".  From the couch I told him, "Mikey, it's naptime now.  I'll see you when you wake up".  And now silence is here.

Some days he doesn't have a choice and we will have to wrestle him in the car seat (Mommy and Daddy errands, going to Eva's, etc.).  Today he had a choice to go someplace fun and declined.  So I followed through.  I feel so bad that he is missing out on something he enjoys so much but at the same time he needs to understand that if he doesn't cooperate, he can't always do what he wants.

Sigh.  I hope this passes before baby comes.  Getting one kid out of the house now is a challenge.  I cannot imagine what TWO will be like (especially when one will be on such an unpredictable schedule). AHHHH!!!

ATTN: Hurricane Sandy

Dear Hurricane Sandy,

The weather people here are taking enjoyment out of "preparing" us for your wrath Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the coming week.  The deleading process is to be started this coming Monday (the 29th) on our rental home at the same time you are set to arrive.  We have been waiting long enough to move in and cannot handle any more set backs in this process.  If you could change your course and just move yourself out to sea, sparing us heavy rains, wind and flooding, we would be most grateful.

Thanks.

The Scialabba Family

Getting ready....

We have lots of changes coming up in the next few weeks:

1) We are moving to a house that we are renting in Wellesley starting November 10th!  Very exciting but also a very busy time for us since we have lots to do to prepare.  Our move-in date got pushed back a bit since lead was found amongst the windows and front door of the home.  The work should begin on October 29th and (hopefully) take a week to fix.  We have also been shopping for furniture (all of our furniture is from when Mike moved to West Palm in 2002 and it has served its purpose!).  Oh....and I will be 35 weeks pregnant at the time of the move!

2) Baby Boy Scialabba should be appearing within the next 8 weeks!  I have taken the car seat to get inspected at the Waltham Police Dept. this week which has been a good introduction to just some of the "baby paraphernalia" that Mikey will be exposed to.  We have also signed up for a Sibling Class at the hospital on November 3rd.  The hour long "class" reads a book about becoming a big brother/big sister, practices holding a baby, tours the maternity floor where they will be visiting Mommy and baby and then "graduates" with a certificate.  Obviously nothing can really "prepare" Mikey for this huge change in his life, but hopefully these little steps will ease the transition.

Here's to hoping that everything goes according to plan and we move FIRST and THEN baby comes!  Only time will tell.....

Recent forms of communication

Mikey has been expressing himself in many ways over these past few days:

1) Statements:
     "I want Mommy to brush my teeth."
     "I don't want to go to Eva's.  I want to stay home."
     "I'm hungry."
     "That's the coffee store/bank/gas station";

2) Questions:
     "Where?"
     "What's that?"
     "Where going?";

3) Exclamations:
     "Yo Ho, Let's GO!"
     "All aboard!"
     "BABY COME OUT! YOU ARE READY NOW!" (in a yelling voice)

4) BEGGING:

   "Mommy/Daddy, I want ________ NOW!  Pleeeeeeease?!?!?!?" 

(This is used for a variety of items: use of the iPad, watching TV, seeing a toy in one of the many catalogs we are getting in the mail with the holiday season approaching, etc.)

Also as a side note (since we are talking about Mikey's speech), Mikey has been NON-STOP talking for the past few weeks.  I have finally made it to the point in speech therapy where I can tell the therapist that my kid does not shut-up anymore!  I never realized how quiet our car rides used to be until now!  No more radio---we now converse about the vehicles on the road, the weather, Halloween decorations and other sightings.  Mikey is also the WORST backseat driver EVER.  "Mommy go this way" (while pointing) and "Don't go on the highway" are the most frequently used.

Daddy's Birthday Weekend

For Mike's birthday we traveled to West Point to see Boston College play Army in football.  We left on Friday night and stayed at a hotel in New Jersey with both sets of our parents.  Saturday morning we went to the BC Alumni tailgate and the game.  Uncle Timmy and Emily met us at West Point that morning.  We also met up with a big group of our friends at the game and had a fun time!  The weather was warm with a little rain shower during the game but not too bad.  The only thing that could have been better was a BC win!

Overall, it was a fun weekend away for football, friends and family!

Group Shot

West Point is beautiful!  We are definitely going back to really appreciate it!

At the BC tailgate before the game with Mimi, Uncle Timmy and Emily (look at Mikey's face smiling at Emily!)

Having fun with Uncle Timmy

Playing football

For Mike's actual birthday, he worked 15+ hours so it was good that we celebrated the night before.  Mommy and Mikey made Daddy a cake and sang "Happy Birthday" along with showering him with lots of cards and kisses!

Happy Birthday, Michael!  We love you and appreciate everything you do for our family!

xoxo

Alli & Mikey xoxo

Hiccups!

Baby Boy #2 is practicing his breathing this week!  He's had the hiccups multiple times a day, everyday since Monday!  Yay baby!

29 week ultrasound

This week's ultrasound was scheduled to check my placenta (it measured low on the previous u/s) and check the fluid level.

Results are as follows:

1) The placenta has moved and I can have a regular delivery ( as long as everything else goes according to plan);

2) Fluid levels are within the normal range;

3) We saw peach fuzz hair on baby's head!!;

4) Baby S is approximately 3 lbs 4 oz!!

We received three pictures but not great ones. Will scan and post soon.

Three Reasons....

Top Three Reasons Why Michael Loves "Pregnant Alli":

1) There is always an interesting dessert in the house;

2) We get to spend quality time together waiting in the doctors office and skimming appropriate new parent reading material such as "Eat this, Not That!";

3) With the fall weather now approaching, the heat is set at 67 degrees (!) and last night during the Giants game we also had the windows open and the fan on low!!!