Doctor's Appointment

I had a pleasant day with Maddix in which we attended our second day of "school time." He once again loved it and I think he making great learning strides. This evening Travis showed up early from school so he was able to come along with Anna and I to my Doctor's apt while Maddix stayed with Arek and James.
The Verdict:

• The placenta is completely off my cervix now! However I am convinced now that he will never okay me for exercise or heavy lifting because pregnant women in general should avoid carrying anything heavy... well, I am at least going to start swimming and yoga I think. 
• Also the exact length of how far I am is debatable; if you go according to last period (which is most correct) I am 22weeks, 5days. If you go by the measurements of the baby I am 21 weeks yesterday. SO I know it's not a big deal, and the baby will come when it wants but HELLO! I am the pregnant one so I'd like to know exactly! Baby can come anywhere from the 4th to the 8th apparently. But baby is healthy, however just measuring small
•  Baby was confirmed to be 100% BOY; although the doctor tried to joke that it was a girl and my heart sank at first. So now hopefully we can come up with a name! 
• I am now weighing in at 55.4kg's, which the doctor was not happy about, oh that's 122lbs, and I started at 112lbs. The doctor is upset that I'm starving myself and not eating enough, which brings me to the next point
• My levels are looking better. My thyroid is actually doing so well that I can eventually taper off the pill. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, my protein levels are DANGEROUSLY LOW. He was not happy because the reason they are so low is my diet. I have been put on a strict new diet that makes me want to BARF just thinking about it. I now have to eat 4hard boiled eggs every morning, and every night; that's 8 eggs a day folks! They have to be hard boiled and I must scrape out the yolk and eat only the whites. He said if my levels are not up in two weeks then we will have to start more drastic treatments. Do you recall my pregnancy post last week with the question of what is still making me queasy?! EGGS!!!! It is the number one thing I detest more than any other food right now. I ate some bad eggs at the beginning of my pregnancy and they have haunted me since then. And I especially don't like hard boiled. Freak, 8 eggs a day?! I can tell you I WILL be singing Gaston's song from Beauty and the Beast about all the eggs he ate to help him get large. Sigh. 

So after the appointment Anna took us to the store to stalk up on eggs and Orange juice. When we returned to her home we found Maddix having a wonderful time with Arek and James, and he didn't want to leave. We ended up joining them for dinner and having wonderful conversation until late. Unfortunately we were so carried away with our good time that I forgot to take Maddix to the bathroom and he was so into his I-pad learning games that I don't think he ever noticed he peed himself, until we went to leave. I cleaned him up, but had now change of clothes so we had to improvise...

 We wrapped him in Travis's sweater, then his coat, and then a towel from Anna and Arek. Poor guy was so tired, seeing as he woke up at 6am, refused to nap, and then we didn't leave until after 9pm. He fell asleep on the way home and I had to snap a photo before we undressed him. Overall it was a good day but tomorrow is going to be the beginning of something nightmarish for me. Wish me luck that this whole egg thing works out!!!!

Red Light, Green Light

Red Light, Green Light has to be one of Maddix's favorite games (next to Hide 'n' seek) and recently I feel like we've been living it through out our whole day. For example last night we attended FHE at the Gladun's home with the Elders:
Green light go:

We enjoyed good company

Ate some tasty food

Played games with these guys

Overall we had a very nice night and were grateful for their invitation.

Red Light Stop:
Although last night was fun, Maddix woke up this morning with an itchy red rash and I'm pretty sure he's allergic to either their 3 cats, or their dog. I'm allergic to cats as well so I could see him getting that.
Green Light Go:
Today we enjoyed some fun activities from cuddling during his morning cartoon, sword fighting, to a sweet conversations at lunch. "Mom, Jesus and God are coming over." "Oh really?" "yes, but I don't see them, where are they?" I explain. "Oh I think I have to poop on the toilet before they will come." Then a Cinderella song came on in the background and he began singing the words in a low lion/devil growl that caught me off guard and I bust out loud laughing, so he did it again:)

He was a "Gad Robber smoking
the Nephites." :)

Having a blast

 Red Light Stop:
Between teething and an itchy rash attitudes were flaring. Time outs were often, and tears were shed in buckets.
To end on a positive note, we made progress in Maddix's apologies after his last time out. Normally we have to instruct him to go say sorry and remind him what he's apologizing for, but tonight after his time was up he came over to me, hugged me, and apologized saying, "I'm sorry Mom for kicking your leg." I was impressed.

...First time to School...

After a friendly, subtle hint that it had been awhile since I'd updated the blog, here it is. This past week was pretty quiet, with a few exceptions. Unfortunately we said our farewells to Elder Rittmanic who has been sent back to his previous area, and we have welcomed in Elder Finch. He is from American Fork, and for having only been on his mission 6 months his grasp of the language is quite developed.

E. Peacock, E. Rittmanic, Maddix, Me, Travis

Then on another day Maddix told me he REALLY wanted to go on a trip, he even brought me his new backpack from Gma Jo that he got for Christmas. He continued to pack Pj's, clothes, a toy, a book, a stuffed animal, a comb and toothbrush, and of course: Money. Something he seems to understand already that you must have when going places:) I walked him down the stairs as he said goodbye to Travis, and we pretended to go on a trip; however, when we turned around and went back upstairs he was FURIOUS! Oh it was as if someone had ended his world and all he wanted to do was go to the REAL beach, not his blankets on the floor :( So maybe we'll wait awhile before playing that game again.

Excited to go on his trip!

Look at him wear that all
on his own!

Partly our week was quieter than others was due to Maddix teething and being out of control, so we avoided going in public. Also Travis was sick with a pretty sore throat most the week, and then come to find out, I'm teething as well! I felt a tear in my gums and looked in the mirror to see a giant hole with a tooth poking through. I'm sure not many moms have the opportunity to say they went through teething pains at the same time as their children:)

By Saturday we did DARE to step outside to go the the grocery store where Maddix kept throwing everything off the shelves, and cried the whole taxi ride home. Then he received no nap because we had to be to the Gladun home for a surprise homecoming party for their son, who has been serving in Warsaw, Poland. The rest of the day was spent there eating way to much food and watching Maddix be doted over by Grandpa Gladun who seemed to absolutely LOVE Maddix:)
  Now for today, this morning I was very excited to start School Time with Maddix! He has been bored, I have been going crazy, and everyday he proves to me just how much he is picking up around him so I wanted to foster his knowledge (and curb his energy!). We went through our normal morning routine and then after breakfast we got dressed, brushed hair and teeth, and packed his backpack. Then at 9:00am he started school in his room!

Opening the door to his first day at school:)

He loved all the stations set up around the room

Every 15 minutes we rotated through Art, Learning, and Music Stations, had recess, one more Learning Station, then snack time. He shared his snacks with me, and insisted on eating a grapefruit sour gummy he found in his bag, so I let him:

Surprisingly enough, he did like it

He was polite and shared his snacks with me, and then we cleaned up and ended school. I really think there is a lot of potential to be had and if anyone has suggestions for activities to help him learn in anyway, just let me know! We are going to continue M,W, and Fridays; however when we go home this summer we are going to turn Friday's into a field trip day! We are SO excited because he has several little friends who all want to come and I think he will love to go places like the zoo, or the BYU Creamery with a bunch of his little friends.

We have just two months left here, and we are going to take full advantage of what time we have left before I go back to work, and we welcome in another family member and it's no longer just He and I:) So I think that catches up. And tonight we have been invited to the Gladun's for FHE with them and the Elders, so I'll post about that later:) P.s. Thank you to G. Grandma Juline, as well as G.Grandma Wells for the Valentines you sent. We loved getting them, and Maddix loved ripping them open.

A Pregnancy Post

Okay, so I have a few friends who recorded their pregnancy through blogging a list of questions every week, and updating it with a photo. I liked that idea because being pregnant a second time, there are things I keep saying like, "Ugh I don't remember being THIS FAT already," or "I swear being pregnant was supposed to be nicer than not having a period every month..." So when the time ever rolls around again to even THINK about a third one, I want to know and remember just what I am in for, as well as those tiny little things that make it worth it (especially those!). So every few weeks I'm going to dedicate a post to that, so sorry to any boys that may read the blog, it probably won't interest you:)

How far along? 20 weeks today

How big is baby? This week baby measures 6 1/2 inches and about 10 ounces. It's fruit comparison is a cantaloupe!  
Names?  Naming a boy is hard, let's leave it there.
Maternity clothes?  Should be, but since we're in Poland I just wear an elastic to close the gap on my jeans, and a purposely brought big flowy shirts that will fit awhile.
Weights gain?  Last apt said 5lbs so far, but the mirror says 20lbs

Feeling the baby move? I am feeling him move a lot now. He's laying completely under my belly button and feels content to stay there. So I always feel him there.
Food cravings:  Cafe Rio, Craft Macaroni, Cafe Rio, Olive Garden, Wheatthins, Cafe Rio. Things I would miss either way, I just extra miss them now!
Happy or moody?  Well I've been quite moody, but a lot of it was adjusting to my new Thyroid pill. Travis told me I've been quite pleasant lately. I've been overly emotional at times but I think I'm doing better:) 
Sleeping?  Rarely. I am entirely uncomfortable at night now, and even if I weren't Maddix has been waking up every night for months with nightmares. I hope this baby wants to feed around 4am because I'll already be up calming his big brother down! 
Best moment(s) of the week? When I put Maddix on my lap little baby decides to kick him in the back the whole time, every time. So I think he's going to be scrappy! Also when Maddix explained to me that he had a baby in his belly and continued to have a conversation with "baby Maddix" in the same Manor I have him speak in to the baby in my belly. It was extremely cute, and the first time I think things started to click for him. The other day the baby was kicking me wherever I placed my hand down so Travis gave it a try and the baby followed his hand wherever he placed it:) Then yesterday i was laying in bed and baby was kicking real intensely so I pulled my shirt up and I can now see him kicking very prominently next to my belly button:)

Anything making you queasy?  Still any story about bad eggs, raw meat, sight of mold, overwhelming smell of garbage, but nothing like it used to be! Oh and I have a cold so when I cough to hard I trigger my gag reflexes.
How is the bump?  Like a Mountain. Between bed rest and a bum foot my muscle tone has just turned into a giant lump of pregnant woman mush!
Missing anything? Exercise, Holding Maddix, Going for walks, Being skinny, sleeping well:)
Belly button?  Doing just fine and looking normal

Looking forward to? The babies kicks coming more often, peeing less... sort of, my next apt when I should be taken off bed rest, and finally hitting the 20 week mark! Half way and it's flying by these days! 

 Dad? He's always supportive. Loved feeling the baby play with him. Has just as hard of a time thinking of names as I do!

 

Pleasant Weekend

Friday was a bit of a lazy day; however, it did have it's eventful moments. I was taking a nap when Travis sort of woke me up on his way to use the restroom. Shortly after I heard him calling for me, each one a bit more panicked than the one before. I hopped out of bed as I heard a crashing noise and found him laying on the floor one arm in the shower, one in the sink, and his head in the mop bucket; completely passed out. When he lifted his head open the first thing he said was, "I'm having a seizure," and his eyes were insanely dilated! He wasn't shaking much but I could not get him to focus on me, then out of nowhere his eyes went back to normal and he was came to. He's just fine. We're not sure why it happened, but he's been just fine since then. 

That night as we put Maddix to sleep Cody (our branch pres/ Taiwanese student) came over so we could go out to dinner with the classmates to celebrate Kossi's bday. As I was explaining to Cody of Maddix's normal routine of things to avoid sleeping I grew anxious that he would pull his, "Mom I can't sleep because I pooped," routine. Well we went out the door and before it was closed, I heard him. HA! Joke was on him. I quickly changed him and we were off. Cody said he went to sleep quickly after we left. We enjoyed a great night out and had fun sitting back watching all the "young-in's" enjoy their drinks. 

Finally got a picture of the two of us

Kossi's 2nd round of shots before
dinner even arrived

Everyone who came out for the party

Saturday started out with an ice skating trip to the grocery store. The night before we had a mist rain and then it dropped below freezing, so we woke up to a thin sheet of glass like ice. Everyone was sliding around and falling over. There was even a drunkered shuffling through the streets like a zombie as cars swerved around him. 

Sunday was a longer day as Travis's meetings ran late and by the time we arrived home there was no way to put Maddix down for a nap. And then that night our Elder's received "THE call" from Pres. Neilson telling them about transfers. And after feeling SO sure he wouldn't be leaving, Elder Rittmanic (Timpview Football player) found out he's being transfered back to Katowice where he just came back from; poor guy was extremely bummed. So tonight they're going to come over and get photos... Maddix is very sad, and I KNOW it really hasn't sunk in for him yet. I think it's going to get harder for him each transfer as he gains more memories and understanding. :( Oh and our new Elder coming in is Elder Finch and all we know is he's only been out one transfer longer than Elder Peacock who left the MTC and arrived here for Christmas... So this is going to be interesting!!! 

The Best Valentines Day

I woke up thinking Maddix would be my valentine for most the day since at 7:30am we said goodbye to Travis, and didn't expect him home until 5:30pm that night. Maddix was SO sad. He held onto Travis as he was leaving and after the door was shut he laid on his blanket in the hall and just cried that daddy was gone. He was so sad that he even let me hold him and cuddle a minute. 

Preparation of the heart pizza

Well you can imagine how excited we were when at 10:00am Travis showed up saying his classes had been canceled for awhile! So we finished up our Valentine making and enjoyed having our daddy home! Travis ran around the house with Maddix while I got it in ship shape and then for lunch we got into the valentine's spirit:)

The pizza after cooking

The cookie preparation as well as the spinach tortellini we had
for dinner up in the left corner!

Travis had to return to school during Maddix's nap so I began a slideshow comprised of pictures from back when we were dating until now... it took SO much longer than I was hoping for that I never actually finished! But that evening we enjoyed decorating daddy's study table to surprise him, some family movie time, made dinner together, and then to end the night we finished cooking a TON of pink heart shaped sugar cookies! Maddix was not happy to leave the party and go to bed before the cookies were all done, but after he was asleep we enjoyed some time alone and rented a new movie before going to bed. 

Daddy's Study table with our Valentine's, heart cookies, and
The slide show of our life together I made for
Travis:)
I love him.

This was easily the best Valentines day we've had since.... well since I was dating Travis! Every years since then I have either been at work, or Travis has been piled to his ears with homework, so I'm grateful for yesterday! Happy Valentines to all!

~Beginning of 2nd Year of School~

Well, as much as I fought it, it came; Monday came and Travis returned to school. Before he did though, he was able to go snowboarding on Saturday and then get his temple recommend renewed while Pres. and Sis. Neilson were in town; it was one of our nicer Sundays (And not just because I gave a talk... jk ;)

Travis going back to school has not been as bad as I was fearing. Maddix and I have been having a ball together, and Travis has been around more than I thought. Typically he is around to cook dinner with us; I think it takes twice as long to have all of us in the kitchen cooking and having Maddix really be apart, but it is so much more fun! It's one of my favorite parts of the day. So far we have:

Made cupcakes for the Elders

He also helped make frosting

Helped "clean" the dishes

Made homemade Hamburgers and Onion rings, as we
try to make it through the last of the
onions I over bought! I have to say how proud I am that Maddix
helped with all the onion ring prep work.
He was great at rolling them in the batter!

Built a boat fort where this was our boat
to keep us safe from the
crocodile!

We have a nice routine going where every morning we read our scriptures then turn on an episode of Super Why before getting breakfast. This is another favorite part of the day because it's the only time he will cuddle with me. He actually lets me hold him for 20 minutes straight; and on top of that, this show has helped his learning accelerate more than I could have hoped for. He has almost his an entire alphabet down, spelled the work "dad" with me over and over, and can identify T,I,O,D,E, and sometimes C,B,A. We've also been working on the piano and can almost consistently point out all the "C" keys on the keyboard. I also think he has made up his mind that he wants to potty train now (knock on wood). So I'm just an overly proud mother, I guess:)

Meanwhile Travis is liking the new topics so far; he says they are more interesting and the textbooks are written more clearly this semester. He has been dong the Insanity work outs on and off to prepare for his Spartan race this June. He loves dinner time because that's when Maddix is most funny and we're all together. He is really hoping our residency cards will be here by the end of June so we can go on a spring break trip, and he loves talking about where we could possibly go:) He is busy busy busy every Sunday with meetings for his calling, and trying to do Young Men's Activities (if they'd come). He gets extra happy on Saturdays when he can call home because if anyone knows Travis, they know how much he loves his family. And he desperately misses Nala. I think that is about all he's up to.

I'm just plugging along. Now that I'm not sick all the time and two weeks away from getting of bed rest (fingers crossed), I have this renewed desire to be here. I play the hymns every Sunday, teach Institute on Wed, love the Saturday's we get together with friends, and during Maddix's naps I work on projects that I have started. People ask how I can handle staying here, and truthfully when I've spent too many days in a row without leaving the apt I become depressed and stir crazy, but with May approaching and the idea of going back to work, and having to live with other ppl again (although I'm extremely grateful, I just like my own kitchen:), as well as that I'm NOT coming back out makes me sad that my European adventure is over in 2 1/2 months! I feel guilty at how many weeks I spent wish it was just over. I guess that's life, right? That's the part we're here to learn to overcome. That life is a journey... enjoy the moments... and fight off that natural man of always wanting summer when it's winter and vise versa. Well, sorry this blog turned so long. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Travis's School Vacation!

As I previously mentioned, Travis studied his BRAINS out preparing for his finals and drank a lot of "daddy's medicine (pepsi; we called it medicine so Maddix didn't feel bad when he didn't get any. It started as a joke, but by the end Maddix was getting them out of the fridge and bringing them to Travis saying, "Here Dad, here's you's medicine.")

This is his study area... disaster area ;)

Well after passing all his tests on the first round he was awarded a week off before officially entering his 2nd Year of Med School. This week as been flying by, and I just WISH it would slow down (when do I ever say that?)! As you recall we had the Elders over Monday. Tuesday we were lucky enough to have a date night; seriously needed. We have been waiting forever, but Les Miserable finally came out here so we had Seena come babysit while we went to the movie.

We were feeling trendy for our night on the town

When we came home I shouldn't have been so surprised that Maddix was still awake... bouncing in his bed... waving Seena's phone around in the dark. He worked Seena over and went to bed pretty late:)

Wednesday we received a package from my grandmother and it was like Christmas all over again! My favorite part was the box of Wheatthins my Grandma sent for my bday, but Travis hid them at first. I heard him open the bag and my instincts kicked in. I could see the fear in Travis's eyes just before I began chasing him around the house; Maddix followed laughing the whole way. Then that night while I went and taught institute Travis took Maddix to dinner with his classmates; let's just say I didn't miss one of Maddix's FINEST showings haha. Thursday we mostly took it easy, cooked dinner together, and then had a family movie night to Harry Potter 3. We started the Harry Potter Marathon back in Sept when we got here and I'm starting to wonder if we'll make through them all before we leave.

Today was a really great day. After morning scriptures Maddix has been watching episodes of this Super Why cartoon that solves problems through examples from Children's books and teaches you the alphabet and such. Since Maddix has watched it he's really increased in his learning of the alphabet and letter recognition. But cuter than anything today he reached his hand to Travis and I as the show told us to put our hands in and he began repeating the entire intro! We were dying from his cute voice and how smart he sounded! For lunch we walked up the road to Angelo's for Pizza then came home and put him down for a nap, which of course led me to a nap.

When I woke up I found my boys in the front room playing together. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones but I was in love watching Travis follow Maddix around the house flying planes, playing hide 'n' seek, etc. Then after an INTENSE pillow fight that was inspired by the Les Mis. barricade scene where Maddix and I lost (because we were France, Travis was Germany) we took a trip to the beach:

They laid in the sand and looked at the shapes in the clouds

They did the backstroke 

Then they went diving for fish

After swimming there was some beach football

Click this photo; Look at his face! 

He's pretty good at making it in the
box

And to end the night we turned on some music and had a little rock band of our own.
I thought we were finished so Travis and I went into the kitchen to start a late dinner and I could hear Maddix singing and banging in the front room; this is what I found!

Look at that tongue

Look at that fierceness 

He was jammin' 

Happy day from the Island my friends. We be havin' fun at our beach... we don't be noticin' ta snow all out our window!

My Bday Post/Monday With the Elders

I can't believe it's February already. I'm so grateful that the first 5 days have been so beautiful! It's much different than the February we experienced last year! I think the weather forecast just expects it to be colder than it is because yesterday morning this is what the weather report said our current weather was... but the view from our window said otherwise

It said it was currently snowing according to the website
but it was so sunny and pretty out.

It was so nice out that Maddix and I during our cleaning, found our sunglasses and decided we could finally wear them!

Notice his are upside down:)

Oh yeah... we be coo'

After we got the house cleaned, the Elders came over and Travis took them to Mijdonik, our local concentration camp and 2nd largest behind Auschwitz. The Elders said they were scarred and changed by the camp. Maddix and I stayed behind because I re fractured my foot and children aren't really supposed to go; so we took naps:)

Opening gate onto the concentration camp

This dome contains bones and ashes from the prisoners that were cremated, and next to it are some rolling hills where on the day before their release, the Nazi's made the prisoners dig trenches and then at the end, shot them and buried 18,000 people; they called it "Harvest Fest..."

All the confiscated shoes

When they got back we set to work making Cafe Rio salads, which is what I requested for my birthday dinner, but we pushed it back to Monday because we were so busy over the weekend. And if you've ever wondered why it takes so many ppl to make the salads at Cafe Rio... Well it took all 4 of us a couple of hours to make everything from the homemade tortillas to the homemade Pico Degio Salsa; oh I love my hubby

It was worth every minute!

And if you can believe it, I am now 24 years old. I think I need to enjoy how young I am, instead of feeling so old all the time; I sure don't want to wake up 80 years old and wonder where the days went when I was in my 20's, 30's, and so on. So, on Saturday I turned 24 years young.
Friday night however for my bday, and to celebrate the end of 1st year of med school (WAY TO GO TRAVIS!), we all went to Fantasy, a game/arcade place and played a few games of pool, ate some Polish food, and enjoyed relaxing conversation about anything besides bio chem, genetics, anatomy, etc :)

Ajay, Kosi, Trav, Me, Seena, and Akshaytha.
I received chocolates from the girls...
They're all gone:)

Saturday, my birthday and groundhog's day, we slept in a little bit before Travis got ready and went grocery shopping since I'm still on bed rest, and I cleaned the apartment and got Maddix and I ready for the day. That evening Arek picked us up for what I thought was a trip to go snowboarding; however when we got to Anna and Arek's I was surprised when I turned around to find Cody, Jasmine, and the Elders holding a birthday cake (made by Arek's mother, DELICIOUS always) and it was a surprise party!


We enjoyed wonderful food and even better company. Thank you Cody and Jasmine for the cookies and S&P shakers from Taiwan, thank you Anna and Arek for the lavender popery, thank you elders for the cans of S&V Pringles and biosilk hair gel, and thank you Travis for my new leather booths for Prague; hopefully my foot will heal soon and I can wear them!  
And thank you everyone else who took the time to say happy birthday, send a card, gift, or anything else you did that made me feel special. Loved my birthday. Love all the people in my life; near and far away from me! And happy day that the groundhog predicted an early spring!!! (For you guys).