God knew I needed yesterday.  Wednesday night was rough.  I was worn out from my work week, and I think Mr. Harry was worn out as well.  He was really pressing my buttons, and I didn't like how I handled it.  I went to bed feeling defeated, feeling like a bad mom.  Then yesterday came, and I felt like a whole new person.  We had the great news from the ultrasound, and Harry was an absolute angel the whole day!  We went out to lunch with Mom, stopped at a store (he didn't whine the whole time!) and he was also super good at his 18 month checkup (more on that later).  Later in the evening we went out to dinner with the gang.  It took us quite a while to get our table (he was so good!), he ate a decent portion of his meal, and he was so good natured the whole time.  He thrived on the attention, and we all had such a good time.  He was so sweet and loving all day, it made me so proud to be a mom, but most importantly HIS mom.  Man, how I love that kid!

Harry once again got a perfect report at the doctor's office.  Here are the latest stats:

Weight:  24 lbs. 6 oz. (40th percentile)

Height:  32 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Head:  49 cm

He tolerated the examination so well, and he also got two shots and a heel stick that he cried a little over, but he was easily consoled.  We also got to break the good news to the doctor that she would get to take care of another one of our sons in March!  We also got some really great news...no more shots (except flu shots, I guess) until kindergarten!  And he doesn't have to go back to the doctor until he is 2!  Yay for Harry! 

He brought me the camera to take his picture...Mr. Model!

Here are a few cute stories about Harry from the past few days.  Yesterday at the doctor's office, he was weighed for the first time on a digital scale.  He saw the numbers pop up and said "Nine!" even though there were plainly no nines in his weight.  He sure loves that number.  Last night at dinner, he was showing off how he knows most of his body parts.  We asked him to brush his teeth and he stuck two fingers up his nose!  He is always looking for a laugh.  Speaking of body parts, he can also point out other people's/dog's body parts.  He loves to point out Callie's ears, and things on Mommy and Daddy's faces.  Yes, there are days that we have our challenges and we all get on each other's nerves for sure.  But most days, I often need to remind myself, are so very good.  And every single day, I am so thankful for my family and the joy they bring me!  Even the 4 legged boogers!

Does this face look like I could be difficult to get along with??

Our much anticipated 20 week ultrasound was this morning!  Everything looked so good and the baby is measuring right on track.  The doc said that HE looked perfect!  That's right....God has blessed us with another baby boy and we honestly couldn't be any happier.  I 100%; did not care what we had, but I thought for Harry's sake, a brother would be more fun.  Hopefully my own brother doesn't feel that way!!  So yes, in about 20 more weeks, the Minivan Fam will be a little bit more testosterone fueled.  If it wasn't for our 3 girl pets, I would be outnumbered!  I would post some pictures, but they have my name on them.  I'm sure there is some way to doctor them up, but of course I don't know how to do that!  So if you'd like to see some pics of our newest munchkin, let me know and I'll email them to you!

We also have Harry's 18 month doctor's appointment today!  I can't believe that he is already a year and a half!  Once I get all of his latest stats, I'll do another post and fill everyone in on his latest activities.

Enjoying the Un-fall-like Temps!

So, it's supposed to be fall around here.  However, October temps nearing 90 is not what I normally expect this time of year!  I suppose we should be thankful for the last few nice days of the year and prolonged freedom from jackets and coats, but I have to admit, I am ready for jeans and sweaters!

The Minivan Fam became a little less dependent on their awesome minivan this week.  We finally broke down and bought a commuter car for me to drive back and forth to work!  It hit us last week that it was time when one of the tires kept losing air.  We didn't know what was wrong with it at the time (it had a nail in it, they fixed it for $15!) so I was going through the manual to see if they were still under warranty.  While doing so, I realized that the acutal full warranty for the whole van was set to expire in about 3,000 miles!!  We have only had it for a year and 5 months or so!  Luckily, my parents' neighbors had a very used Lexus for sale at a good price and still in awsome condition for its age.  Travis picked it up Wednesday, cleaned it all up, and I drove it to work yesterday!  If it will hold up for a few more years, we will definitely get our money's worth!  And our beloved minivan will get a well deserved rest!  If we are going to drive it for another 10 years we better take care of it!

After a few cranky weeks, Harry has come back around to being his wonderful sweet, funny self!  I think it had everything to do with him cutting THREE molars at once!  I knew the 2 on the bottom had been trying to break through for quite some time but one day I saw one on the top sprouting through too!  Ouch!  He won't let me check them out very often, but I sometimes catch a peek when he opens his mouth really wide.  So, back to Harry being such a joy lately.  He is constantly talking in his own super secret baby language with a word we can understand every now and then.  I know he knows exactly what he is trying to say, and someday we will understand him too!  The latest new game is chase, and I can't express how much he absolutely loves it!  He laughs, shrieks, and screams with delight!  He loves to hide and for us to hide so we can scare him, and then chase him about a thousand times around the kitchen island.  I love it when he is so happy and excited.  No matter how sick and tired I feel by the end of the day, this always brings a smile to my face!

Harry has now mastered almost all of his body parts!  He can point out hair, head, ears, eyes, mouth, teeth, feet and toes, and sometimes his nose!  He gets so proud when he does them and we laugh and clap!  He also insisted on feeding himself some mashed potatoes at dinner the other night, and he was pretty good!  I hadn't really forced the issue of eating with utensils yet, I just figured he would try when he was ready.  I was right!  One funny thing did happen though.  I kept switching the spoon to his right hand and trying to show him the easiest way to do it, but he wouldn't have any of that!  He kept eating with his left hand!  Travis and I are both right handed, and the only people I can think of who are leftys are Rob and Linda, and George eats with his left, but writes with his right.  Maybe we have a south paw on our hands??  Only time will tell!

I can do it all by myself!!

Harry finally got to meet his Uncle Shannon last Friday night!  He was home for a week from Guam, so we had a get together at Harold and Sandy's home.  We had a lot of fun, and I finally got to meet Jimmy and Shannon's significant others.  We wish we got to see them more often, but when you live on the other side of the Earth, it tends to be a little difficult!  And as usual, I remembered to take my camera but forgot the small detail of actually taking a photo of everyone.  Duh!

Tomorrow we get to go see Baby Brady again because they are up here for the weekend!  We will spend the day over at Granny's cuddling the baby and eating ourselves senseless!  Tonight I think we are going shopping for some fall/winter clothes for Harry!  I'm so excited...I have been itching to buy him some clothes for a while, but he stayed in the same size the whole summer so I didn't have a good excuse!  Baby #2 is doing well as far as I can tell.  I can occasionally feet him/her move, and my belly is starting to protrude some but not enough for maternity clothes quite yet.  I can't believe that we will find out what we are having in less than 2 weeks!

Cute new words:  Travis claims he has heard him say both Oscar and Callie, but I have not heard it yet.  He repeated "Good boy!" after I said it when he was eating his mashed potatoes.   He also likes to imitate the noise a kitty cat makes, said "Neeeeow!"  He can also sometimes mimic a dog's woof, woof, but that one seems a little harder for him.  That one seems funny to me, our dogs bark all of the time!!