It's been awhile...

Oops - sorry for the delay in adding anything to the blog in awhile. I have been meaning to write for at least a week now but time seems to slip by and not everything gets done the way I'd like. Reuben has reached several milestones since I've last posted something. He sits on his own, he rolls from back to front, and he has suddenly discovered 'textures.' Everything still goes in the mouth but he also likes to feel things with his hands/fingers. We have several 'touchy-feely' books that I have been reading to him since he was very young but in the past week to 10 days he has started really touching the fluffy/scratchy/smooth bits in the books and keeps trying to turn the book to pages that have textures he particuarly enjoys. It is so cute watching him.

His personality is coming through more and more as well and I can tell when he is getting frustrated now. He lets you know when he wants something and if he can't reach it or if it is something he's not allowed, he'll sometimes let out a little cry of protest. Object permanence is starting to develop too, and although I can usually distract him quite easily, he is starting to look for things I move out of his sight. He LOVES the cats (not sure the feeling is reciprocated yet) and I am teaching him how to pat them properly. The cats love his cot and try to make their beds at the end of the cot whenever I accidentally leave the door open (which never happens when Reuben is there but sometimes when he's out playing with me, we'll come back to his room later and a kitty will be curled up at the end of his bed.) They have never been cats that sleep next to your face so I'm not worried about them getting too close to his face but I still don't want them making a habit out of sleeping on his bed when he's this little. I think half the appeal for them is that it's off-limits! :) My cure for getting them off the bed at the moment is to let Reuben pat them - that usually sends them away pretty quickly. He is absolutely fascinated by them and when they're in the room and moving around, he will turn to try and see where they are and makes really cute noises.

Reuben is eating up to three meals a day now when we are at home. He's still not a huge fan of veges but we are persevering slowly. Any fruit is usually a total 'hit' with him so sometimes I am disguising the vegetables by mixing them in with apple or pear. I don't always attempt the 'solids' when we are out and about because he gets distracted and it is hard to feed a baby while he is sitting on your lap and trying to grab the spoon and bowl in order to feed himself. I am very excited that we have ordered a high chair that should arrive late this week or early next because I am feeding him in his 'bouncy' at the moment and it is getting dirty. Plus, the high chair will allow him to be more at our 'level' and feel a part of what's going on up in 'adult' world.

Well, I am sure there is much more I could write but I need to get ready before my little man wakes from his nap. Here are some recent photos. :) If you look closely at the ones with the book, you can see he is touching the fluffy bits.

Playing in the Kitchen

Reuben and I hung out for awhile in the kitchen the other afternoon. He played with various kitchen utensils while I made some yummy chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies. They turned out pretty good, too!! I have taken to rummaging through the kitchen drawers to see what items can be potential 'toys' for reuben to play with. He particularly likes whisks (because he can stick his tongue through the spaces) as well as sieves (I think because of the texture against his fingers.) Stainless steel bowls and measuring cups are a favorite, too. Anyway, I won't write much, I basically just wanted an excuse to post some more pictures of my little prince. Ha! :)

WHOA!!!! We're halfway there!

Yes, that's right! I am 20 weeks pregnant as of today (if my scans are accurate!) This pregnancy is 'moving' along. Baby is really starting to move and kick, especially in the morning (which was always when I noticed Reuben's movements the most too.) I even think he's had the hiccups a few times, either that or he's got a good sense of rhythm in his kicks! I had a nurse tell me once, though, that if a baby has hiccups, it shows their digestive system is developing properly so I don't mind the inconvenience if it's a good sign. :)
As for me, I'm feeling great. I barely feel pregnant which is awesome. I've spoken to some other ladies recently who really hated being pregnant but I love it (I am in the second trimester, though, which many have nicknamed 'the honeymoon phase' of pregnancy because you're over the morning sickness and you're still mobile and not too big yet.) The past couple of days I've felt quite tired but that's probably due to some late nights and early mornings I've had recently. It's 9 0'clock bedtime for me tonight!!!!
Anyway, I just wanted to make note of the milestone I've reached today. I am more and more excited about this baby the further the pregnancy progresses and I thank God the memories (and fear) of labor are really starting to subside (either that or I'm blocking them out really well. Ha!)

Our Baby Boy is 6 Months Old!

I find it hard to believe that Reuben is half a year old today! We have so many awesome memories already but the time seems to have literally raced by! He is growing so fast and the past couple of days he has even sat on his own for short periods of time. He easily recognizes people he knows now but has a preference for Mommy and Daddy (especially Mommy!!!!) He still lets pretty much anyone hold him as long as he's not too tired or overstimulated (then it's definitely Mommy that he wants.) We try to socialize him as much as possible but I must admit, it is a nice feeling to know when he is upset that I am able to comfort him quickly, usually just by picking him up. All that hard work is paying off. :)
He is very smiley and will smile at anyone and everyone and I love watching the reaction from other people. Smiles really are contagious and little children don't know that most adults walk around from day to day barely making eye contact with anyone, let alone smiling at total strangers. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned here... hmmmm.
Anyway, I am incredibly tired and am going to get into my nice warm bed because we are supposed to get a lot of snow tonight which doesn't happen a lot in Chirstchurch. The skiers will be excited!!!!
One final thought for my little boy before I sign off (in case Reuben reads this blog one day.) Reuben, you are everything I could ever have wanted in a baby. My heart overflows with gratitude daily for you and I truly believe God gave me the desires of my heart when He brought you into our lives. I love watching you grow and develop and become more interactive with the world around you. You are unique, special, bright, attentive, and all-around such a blessing to me and the rest of your family. We love you so much and are looking forward to the next 6 months, 6 years, maybe even 6 decades together. XOXOXOXOXOXO

19 Week Scan

Yesterday we went for our anatomy scan for baby No 2, which is conducted between 18-20 weeks gestation. I am just over 19 weeks - wow, almost halfway there! - and we were able to get a good look at the brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, spinal column, etc. We also took a sneak peek between the legs and it appears Reuben is going to get a little baby... BROTHER! Those of you who were in contact with me during my pregnancy with Reuben know that we were told he was a girl at his 19 weeks scan and so there was a little part of me that was skeptical about the gender of this baby but we got such a good look that it was a bit hard to miss!!!! :) Nonetheless, nothing would surprise me and if we did end up with a girl despite what it 'appeared' to be, I wouldn't really flinch. I'm happy either way this time and after having Reuben - who is such a 'dream' baby- I'm quite happy to continue with more boys for the moment. A little girl somewhere along the way would be nice but I really trusted that God knew which gender would best suit our family next and for Reuben to gain a little brother is really exciting! They really will be like twins! (I'm not sure I'll go so far as to dress them identically, though.)
As for the scan, everything appears to be totally normal and in the right places so I am blessed to have another healthy baby on the way. I was actually a little nervous before this scan for some reason - just hoping everything would be fine - but my fears were unfounded and I am very happy. I know some people really don't like to find out the gender because they like the element of surprise, but for me, finding out the sex of the baby gives me a greater sense of connection to this little person inside of me. Even though we were wrong with Reuben for much of the pregnancy, it still didn't stop me from feeling connected to him. I doubt I will ever go through another pregnancy and not want to find out now that I've found out with the first two. 'Another pregnancy' you may say - well, I've always wanted three (maybe four) children, plus I'd like to adopt so God-willing, I won't be closing up shop for awhile. However, I can say I will do my best not to add another sibling to the first two quite as quickly as we did this time around!!!! Ha!
By the way, the scan photo that I've uploaded is a profile picture of the head. We were actually given two print-outs of a couple of photos they took during the scan and the other one was a better shot by far (not sure why they only emailed us this one...) but at least you can get an idea of the baby's head shape. I think his little hands are in front of his mouth as well. I hope this helps you decipher what it is you're looking at! :)

AUSTRALIA, Part 3

Alright, I'm on a 'roll' here so thought I would add another post while Reuben is still sleeping. We had the awesome opportunity of getting to see some relatives that we don't catch up with often while we were in Australia - my Aunty Debbie and cousins Heidi and Maikel, as well as Nathan's older sister, Hannah, and her family (who also live on the Gold Coast.) I only managed to get photos of Debbie, Heidi, and Maikel with Reuben but I was really glad he was able to meet some more extended family members - and that they were able to meet him. Hannah has seven children of her own so Reuben got to meet some of his cousins (not that he'll remember it but his cousins will remember him.) He has now met most of his extended family - with a few exceptions - and my desire is that he grows up having a great relationship with all of his relatives. Family is such an important part of everyone's lives , but I think this is especially true when we are young.
I'm going to add a photo of Debbie, Heidi, and Maikel as well as one with my friend Anita and a cute one of him smiling with me.

AUSTRALIA, Part 2

Sorry it has taken me so long to add this next post. The days seem to be flying by at the moment! I thought I'd add a couple of photos of Reuben during his visit to 'Aunty' Anita's. We sat him in Shekinah's high chair and Anita fed him some yummy pureed apple one afternoon. The high chair was wonderful because my previous attempts at feeding him solids were met with mixed results. This day, however, he really seemed to enjoy the food and ate the most he'd ever eaten up to that point. I might add that now we are back at home, I have persevered with the solids and he is up to an average of two meals per day now (pear is the new favorite food!) I don't have a high chair yet but instead sit him in his 'bouncy' (not sure what you call it in the USA) and feed him in that which is working pretty well. The only problem we seem to run into is Reuben discovering that if he puts his lips together and blows out, the food does funny things like fly out of his mouth and hit other objects (including Mommy in the face.) This is actually very hilarious but I am trying not to laugh too much as I don't want to encourage this while he is eating!
I will search for my USB cable to my camera now and hopefully get some pictures on before Mr. Reuben wakes up from his nap - otherwise it could be a few more days before we get anything posted!