39 Weeks Pregnant with Baby II!
Just a few more days till we get to meet our new little boy or little girl. And by little, i mean little, because apparently this baby is about a week behind according to ultrasound growth scans, and my fundal height (height of my tummy) is measuring a few weeks behind. My OB is a little concerned and has said he does not want me to go “past” my due date, which is February 7th. I would much rather go into labor naturally then have to get induced, so i am crossing my fingers (bouncing on my exercise ball seem to help last time!) that it happens before then! We have our bags packed finally, and pretty much everything is in order for little one to arrive.
My in-laws arrived on Sunday and will be here for a couple of weeks to help us watch Vincent while we are in the hospital, and while our newborn is here. My mom will becoming up on Friday and stay for about a month. Thankful to have family to help out during this time!
As far as how i am feeling, i’ve had no complaints. I’m sleeping pretty well — better than i remember towards the end of my pregnancy with Vincent. I’ve been going to the gym very regularly and going on walks. I have been off work for a few weeks now — I decided to take my whole disability allotment which is 4 weeks prior to your due date. Best decision ever! I was SO SICK the last week of work — was battling a cold since Christmas, then got better a few days, then got a sinus infection that lasted for 10 days. I couldn’t breathe through my nose, and worst part was not tasting food for so long. Instead of gaining weight, i lost 2 lbs in one week.
But now i am finally feeling better. I’ve been cleaning the house from top to bottom — organizing everything from the garage, to the kitchen, to the closets. It’s amazing how untidy this house has become in the two years since Vincent’s been born. I haven’t had any extra time or energy to put into maintaining the house besides the essentials. We got rid of a ton of stuff through our garage sale in December, and by giving a lot of useless things to charity. It feels great to have a clean home once again! Not sure when the next time i’ll have to really dig up the house like this again.
Hopefully my next post will be about our new little baby! Wish me luck… if i have the same labor as last time i will be one happy momma!
Winter Day at the Boardwalk | Vincent is 2 1/2 years old!
The weather around here has been quite summer-like, so we decided to take a little trip up to Santa Cruz Boardwalk to take Vincent on the rides there. We normally don’t really get out on the weekends besides a small trip to a neighborhood park, so we wanted to take advantage of the fact that this may be the last weekend without a newborn!
When we got there, we went over to the “kid” section we went on last time — but it was gated off. Vincent wanted to go through the gate so bad! Must be because it is winter, so they shut down half of the boardwalk.
We walked around to the other side, and fortunately found a few rides he could enjoy.
The first was a small little helicopter that the kids can steer up and down. Vincent couldn’t reach the controls, so he just sat there and went in circles at the bottom instead of flying up. He didn’t really seem to enjoy it that much, but he did smile a bit everytime we waved to him.
The next ride was a bit more fun — a big “swing” for little kids. It was so cute to see him with all the other kids, smiling, and having a good time. He really enjoyed watching the ride next to this one, as he was on this one. It was a bit like a roller coaster that spun, so he was pointing to that and laughing.
The last ride he went on was Speedway, which is a little race car that goes in circles, but really whips the car around the corners. He loved this one! He was a bit small so Dad had to ride on it with him.
We ate some corndogs/hotdogs/burgers for lunch, then stopped by the big arcade. He’s never been to one before, except at the Pizza Factory last weekend.
We let him hop on Dad’s lap and steer on a driving game.
He liked it so much, we had to do it again when we passed by another one.
Then we headed to the “kiddie” area with games built for littles – we let him play a game where you drop a ball and then you get tickets. We scored 30 tickets, which let us get some bubbles from the prize shop!
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Vincent is 2 1/2 years old today! Since i just updated recently, there isn’t too much to update but here are a few photos to enjoy.
He recently has taken a liking to playing with the fridge magnets. He will take them from one area, then place them on a piece of paper. Sometimes, after he makes a drawing, he will run and put it on the fridge. I think we did this one time, and so he caught on that this was what you do with a drawing.
Speaking of coloring, we found a new set of markers in a drawer that were made for little hands, so he seems to like coloring more now. We also have been trying to teach him *NOT* to throw the caps on the floor. Previously, he would just fling them anywhere on the ground. Now we stand them up nicely at the edge of the table.
Everyone in the house has been battling colds/sinus infections/ear infections for the last month or so. We had to get Vincent on a neubulizer for his bad cough. He does pretty good with it.
After nap time, Vincent is super cuddly!
So is Butters! But Vinny gets mad when he tried to lie down on top of them, so we have to shoo him away. Poor Butters! Second fiddle — soon to be third!
Vincent Update – Fall/Winter 2013
Vincent is slowly starting to say more words. After many many months, this month, he finally starting calling me “nanaw” which eventually turned into “mama”! YES! Well, see how long this lasts, hopefully it sticks. He can now also say “cup”, “up”, “duck”, “truck” “eat”, “milk”, “car”, “cheese” (for when smiling at the camera) and “cheese” for “please” when he wants something.
It is so cute when he says his “please” because he cups his hands together like he’s begging/praying.
He has recently really fell in love with Curious George movie. We have it on DVD and when he wants to watch it he takes us by the hand to the TV and points to DVD in the cabinet through the glass and says “CHEESE!!!” He mostly likes the song in the beginning but he can sit through the entire movie. He also can open the DVD player on the XBOX and stick the DVD in/close it. He likes to shove the DVDs under the TV as well.
Vincent is starting to recognize colors, like yellow, red, blue.He can play with his shape sorter ball toy now too.
We taught him how to hop like a frog “ribbit” — he likes to jump from the bathroom to his bedroom this way after bathtime.
He has entered terrible twos. Some mornings he is just so grumpy! He gets mad for no reason it seems, stomps his feet and cries, or puts up a fit in the carseat – doesnt want any toys or any snacks. Just wants to cry!
Being silly on his couch!
Suddenly he doesn’t mind wearing the headphone we initially got him for his Hawaii trip back in March.
He is getting a lot more brave at the park – loves to climb up on the different ladders and structures.
When we make his breakfast in the morning, i let him help scoop the dry oatmeal into the bowl, measure the water, put in the raisins and the sugar and pop it in the microwave. He also now uses the ladder a lot so he can be at counter height to help make his meals.
One morning i was letting his oatmeal cool on the counter, and he couldn’t wait to eat it so he took it down all by himself and was eating it sitting down in the living room floor. I had no idea until he was halfway done.
Recently, Vincent’s become a bit better at playing the “matching” game on one of his iPhone apps. He also likes to line things up and when he is playing with his blocks he gets very mad when it falls.
Daddy took vinny to see “Frozen” the Disney movie. Jeff said he liked the songs (clapped after the first one) and was munching on popcorn throughout the whole movie. They stayed almost till the end. Jeff tried taking him in July to see Monsters University but that time they only made it through the previews and 1/2 hr of the movie.
He likes to go over to the water dispenser and full up cups and bottles. He also will take bathroom cups and pour from one to the other. He is learning to “rinse” after brushing his teeth but still not great at it.
A long while ago he used to try to lift the toilet lid and play, but he seem to forget about it until recently. If we forget to close the lid, he will play with the water, and he will “tell” on himself but running up to me with his wet hands saying “oh no!” He gets a timeout for that!
Yes, we’ve finally starting trying timeouts for discipline. Probably should have started earlier. We basically just tell him to sit down – usually in the hallway where there is no toys or distractions. We sit there with him as he balls his eyes out. A couple minutes will do it, then we explain to him why he was in timeout, and to give us a hug. Then he goes on with his day!
As i mentioned in my earlier post, we’ve finally ditched the old whale tub and he’s taking big boy baths now. So much more room to play, but also more water usage! We tried out the big boy bath several months ago, but he seem to not do too well so we went back to the whale. He defiantly better now in the bigger space and really looks forward to playing in the tub every night. Some nights he will put up a fit because he didnt have enough time to play with all his toys. He loves watching his little people go down the slide in his bathtub.
Vincent has quite the collection of stickers now! We help him unstick it and then he will usually place them on a piece of paper, all on top of one another.
We also bought him a new desk that is his height and comes with two chairs and storage on the bottom.
Going outside and playing with chalk is another fun activity daddy has been doing with Vincent. We also let him scratch on the indoor chalkboard that i use for my “belly shot” pictures.
We bought Vincent a “I’m a Big Brother” book to introduce the concept to him. He knows the difference between big brother, baby, mom and dad, but still not sure he knows he will get a baby brother or sister here very soon!
On New Years, we let Vinny sleep in his new race car bed. It was rough for naps for the first couple of days. Previous to this, he had not quite learned to open a door yet. But give him enough time/willpower and he learned to open it first day in his new room. He came out, but we put him back in. He also spent the time in his room carefully peeling off all the stickers we had worked so hard to put on!! He would peel them, then stick them under ht door. There was a huge pile.
The second day he did that, he had the most sorry look on his face, like he knew he should not be coming out of his room. I put him right back in and told him he needed to take a nap. I sang the nap time song, he started balling crying, and i left him in there. He cried himself to sleep and when he woke up, he was crying, and had fallen asleep on the wood floor next to the door! It was sad. but ever since then he has been pretty good with taking naps in the bed.
Our night time routine has changed slightly now that he is in his new room. We still use the nursery to get his diaper and PJs on, but we don’t use the glider to read to him, we just sit on the floor in his room and read, and sing songs. He runs around a bit after we leave him in there, but eventually he goes to sleep. I’d say he transitioned pretty well and pretty quickly.
Here are some recent videos:
Vinny playing with his puzzle game, saying some words.. or trying to.
Playing with his trainset. He is getting really good at placing the tracks by himself, but he does get frustrated if it takes him too many tries to get it right.
Trying to catch and through a rubber ball with Dad.
Santa Cruz Warriors Basketball Game
Santa Claus gave the McGirr family 3 tickets to the Santa Cruz Warriors game! They are a D-leauge basketball team that started up in the last fea years. We were late getting to the game, because we were already running late, and then we could not find parking in Downtown Santa Cruz! We walked in midway through the first quarter. Vinny was very interested at first. He usually loves to play with the basketball hoop.
He did start to get a little antsy so we let him sit his own seat and play on the iPhone a bit. I couldn’t get a good picture of him except when i turned the mirroring on, then he was happy to see himself i the camera. We wore matching Santa Cruz Warrior shirts!
He also got some snacks and wanted to feed Daddy.
The game was exciting at first, but then pretty quickly, opponents started to take the lead and “got their asses handed to them” (according to Jeff). We left a bit early because Vincent was ready to go since it was pretty late in the evening. I’d say Vincent was actually most excited to walk from the parking lot to the venue where he could see all the cars rushing by with their headlights on. I had a good time despite getting round 2 of a another cold. It would be fun to go back again and see another game.
Taking Down Christmas Decorations
Vincent helped to take down the Christmas Tree.
He would pull it off the tree.
Then place it in the box just like we asked him too.
And these are the two ornaments for 2013 that we bought while we were in Disneyland.
Vincent liked these a lot!
Playing at Tatum’s Garden
There is new park they built in Salinas that is “accessible” for kids called Tatum’s Garden. It was quite busy when we went since it was a weekend, but still enjoyable. Here are a few pics and video at the end (we went back a few days later when it was less busy)
There is a fruit/vegetable/ag theme since we are in Salinas.
The toddler area is perfect for Vincent.
I’m a strawberry!
Climbing through….
Those spring loaded seats are fun.
His favorite part by far was this little house that had windows and door.
The little mushroom stepping stones were a bit too hard for him to do himself, but he did try!
The xylophone! Making music.
Christmas 2013
Merry Christmas from the McGirr’s! I usually print out Christmas cards at Costco because they are so dang cheap, but this time i thought i’d splurge and use TinyPrints. It was a nice change, but certainly more $$. But i figure, why not! I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out. We took this picture of course, at Thanksgiving (see post below!).
Here is our Christmas Tree on Christmas eve. Lots of gifts from family and friends!
And our stockings — next year we need another hook! 😛
When i woke Vinny up on Christmas morning, he was being really cute and sitting down nicely on the floor, so i grabbed the Christmas bear and took a couple of cute shots of him. He has that just woke up look!
Vincent’s big christmas gift this year was his new race car bed! It is a toddler bed, that can convert to a twin bed frame for when he gets older. We put the bed together on Christmas Eve, carefully placing the stickers and assembling the big plastic red bed frame. It comes complete with Lightening McQueen eyes, and real light-up headlights.
We showed it to him on christmas morning when Dad got up and after opening a few presents. I put a bow on the door! It’s his brand new room!
He was very excited to see it in his room and climbed right in!
We grabbed his mattress and put it in, then he started lying down on it right away.
He had fun playing in it – using his new Cars figurines we got him from Disneyland to race down the front of the bed.
We opened a lot of gifts! Of course Vincent wanted to play with each one right away, saying “CHEESE” and clasping his hands together. We did open up most of them for him to play with, so the morning took a while to get to all the gifts, but whats the rush anyway?
His new tracks to add on to his existing garage toy by V-Tech.
Also got him a fire station to add to that!
He loves lining things up!
New water doodle board from Grandma Lisa and Grandpa Mike.
One of Vincent’s presents was his very first Piggy Bank. We had a free Rabobank one that he liked to play with, so we thought getting him his own would be a special gift. With the gift i gave him a box full of coins so he could fill it up. He thought it was funny to try and feed the pig by the mouth. Check out the video.
After his afternoon nap, we video chatted with my family in Hawaii and opened their gifts. Vinny was mellow. Vincent and I were just getting over a little cold. Even Butter seem to be sneezy (Vinny thought that was funny!) and sick. Jeff was fine.
Opening more presents and wearing a cute hat he got from his Aunty Susan.
This year he didnt really “get” the idea of Santa Claus. Last year we thought he would be now, but that’s fine with me. Less work! Haha! Although i know a lot of parents use Santa Claus to encourage good behavior. “Santa claus is watching you!” — we’ll see how that plays out next year.
We did pull out the Elf on the Shelf. We didn’t really do it, but we just read the story and had it out. It seems like so much work to move the guy every night. I dont think i’ll ever really do it but you never know!
Merry Christmas~
Butter’s 6th Adoptiversary
Poor Butters! We almost forgot his adoptiversary! I was joking about getting a new cat for Christmas, and then Jeff suddenly realized that today was the day we adopted him 6 years ago.
Besides the occasional puking (mostly i think from hairballs) Butters has been in good health. He does have rotting teeth that we certainly should take care of… one of those things we just keep putting off. Maybe ill take him in while i am on Maternity leave.
He puts up a lot with Vincent — pulling tails, head butting and general roughness. He just sits there and takes it. A lot of the times i wonder why he doesn’t get up and move, or meow, or take a paw swipe to Vincent.
Vinny loves to help comb Kitty!
Schipper Holiday Party 2013
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Annual Schipper party at the Schipper household! Full of food, fun, games, and alcohol! :[) None for me of course. Vincent was the only kiddo there this year, despite my two newest coworkers having 2-3 kids each (they got sitters!). He had fun playing with the toys there (Luckily K is a grandma of many!) and at the end of the night, was chasing after Riley the dog.
Yep, he discovered the doggie door!
BODYPUMP Certified
After a few months of learning choreography and proper coaching cues, i am officially certified to teach Les Mills BODYPUMP which is a barbell training program. I’ve been interested in BODYPUMP for a while but hadn’t really gotten the chance to even take a class… was so surprised when my gym (InShape) decided to partner with Les Mills and offer it at our club! I got certified for free (WAHOOO!!!) so i could NOT pass up the opportunity, even though i am getting a little burned out from learning new things due to my recent U-JAM Certification and being pregnant. I am glad i went ahead and got certified before having the baby though! I was about to postpone till after, but that would have made it way too hard for me. YAY! So happy i passed, and love this great new muscle-building format. Les Mills is a great company that has lead the industry in group fitness. So proud to be a part of their tribe.