Bike Videos

Big Boy Chase

Chase getting ready to go for a ride on his big boy bike...no training wheels! He's so excited! (I'm just realizing from this picture that I might have his helmet on backwards, oops!) He actually can go pretty far by himself, he just needs a little help getting started.

And Chase now officially makes poop on the big potty all by himself, he even did it at school today (you can imagine what his bottoms looked like when he got home since he doesn't quite know how to wipe yet, ha)!

So many accomplishments in one week, he's growing up so fast!
Today I made 34 weeks pregnant, only about a month to go! Here's what's happening with baby:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

More Birthday Pics Plus....

Ethan really loved being sung to and blowing out the candle, so Chase & I ended up singing the Happy Birthday song quite a few times yesterday. It was a great day and both boys slept past 6:00am and were well behaved all day. I felt like I received a birthday present!

Breakfast candles in pancakes

Evening candle in cupcakes

It's not all wrestling and fighting, they DO love each other after all

Where's Ethan?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan!

Ethan's 2nd Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Ethan's 2nd birthday with a small party at the park. It was the perfect day to have an outdoor party, the weather was beautiful. We kept it small (after all, how many friends does a two year old actually have) mainly because I knew I would be 33 weeks pregnant and not up for a big party. It turned out great and I can't believe our little man is two years old.

Happy Birthday Sweet Ethan

Back to Square One

Well, although we were able to get Ethan to fall asleep in his new toddler bed pretty easily, getting him to stay there all night and into the morning was a different story. After a very difficult week of everyone in this house losing sleep (Ethan would even wake up poor Chase), we decided that this would not be the best route for when a newborn is added to the family.

After another horrible night/morning with Ethan on Saturday, we realized that Ethan's crib could lower one more level. We tried that last night and Ethan is no longer able to climb out his crib. He slept all night back in his crib in the nursery.

So today we purchased another crib for Ethan's new room. The baby will take over the nursery and Ethan will have a new crib in a new room. His crib converts into a toddler bed and then into a full size bed once we're ready, so hopefully it was a good purchase. My plan is to NEVER take Ethan out of the crib again, ha!

Here's a pic of Ethan's new crib:
This is the crib converted into a toddler bed:

This is the crib converted into a full sized bed:

This is the 6 drawer dresser that matches his crib so the furniture will be able to grow with him. Fingers crossed this works for a while, we all desparetely need our sleep over here!

Pics to go with the post below

Ethan & Chase playing in Ethan's new bed in his new "big boy" room
Chase happily making poop on the little potty and Ethan taking notes

The boys playing in the rain yesterday afternoon after dinner. This picture was taken right before Ethan went down a little slide we have on the porch and brushburned his little tooshie

Ethan fell asleep during one his rides. Tell me, how can he sleep like this but refuses to take a nap in his bed?

SUCCESS

Yesterday was a HUGE day of accomplishments at the McCarthy household, and since it was Fat Tuesday, Shane was home to be a part of both.

Well at the ripe age of 4 1/2, Chase FINALLY made poop on the potty for the first time. Those of you who know us well are aware of what an ordeal this has been over the last couple of years. Well he finally did it! Given he will only do it on the little potty in front of the TV, but progress is progress! We made a big celebration out of it and Chase was so proud of himself that he told me he never wants diapers again and that he wants the garbage man to take all his diapers away. He also said he can't wait to teach Ethan on how make poop on the potty and that it's not scary after all. AMEN!

As for the other big moment, Ethan finally slept in his toddler bed last night all night long. We've been trying for the last 4 nights with very little success and on the 3rd night we couldn't even get him to sleep in his crib anymore. He would climb out and start banging on the door screaming & crying within 2 seconds of putting him to bed in his crib, something he's never even attempted before. I ended up having to lay on the hardwood floor in his room at 7 1/2 months pregnant to get him to fall asleep in his toddler bed. Then from 12:45 am till 2:30 am, he woke up every 15 minutes and would open his door and start wondering around the house. Finally at 2:30 he slept until 4:00 and woke up again and then went back to bed until 6:30. It was a very rough night for me with little sleep. So I was a bit nervous about how last night would go, but he slept in his new bed in his new room from 8 last night until 6 this morning without coming out his room even once. I did hear him whimper a few times over the monitor, but Ethan stayed put and we all got a good night's sleep. When he woke up this morning, he came into our room, grabbed our hands and pulled us into his room to show us where he slept all night. He was proud of himself and so are we!

Pictures to come soon!

Ultrasound and Dr Appointment

Hello from Baby McCarthy! Today we had another ultrasound and doctor's appt. Everything with baby is measuring exactly to date and he/she currently weighs 3lbs. 8 oz. The heartrate was once again in the middle at 145. My next appt is in two weeks, starting to get close!

The first 3 pictures are a profile view of the baby. It was hard to see because once again he/she wasn't cooperating and kept covering it's face with it's hands. The last pic is the baby's feet. The ultrasound tech did confirm what I thought, the baby continues to elbow me with it's very bony elbow on my left side...what a stinker.

I have felt the most activity with this pregnancy, the baby is constantly moving and doing flips. Let's hope that's not a sign that I'm having another kiddo that refuses to sleep :-)

I had no weight gain at this appt so Shane took me to celebrate with poboys for lunch...YUM! I haven't had one since the beginning of January when Shane's family was in town.