Mom Brain, Newborn Version

Today, after I picked up Tera's birth certificate at the County Health Building, I drove behind a car going 45 mph in a 55 mph zone for several miles, and saw numerous cars pass it before it occurred to me that I could pass the slow car too. Also, I sat at a four way stop for several seconds waiting for the light to change. I'm like a walking/driving blonde joke! :-S I have several other examples of stupid things I've done while sleep-deprived, but I'm too tired to remember them . . .

Peach Berry Crisp Recipe

Our playgroup made this at our latest dinner made easy playdate (at Michelle's house). It has a lot of sugar and butter in the crust, and that's probably what makes it taste sooo good!

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups chopped peaches
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle peaches and berries over crust. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the top.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Jackson's Actions @ 2 Years Old

Talking: 
Mama = Grandma 
Papa = Grandpa 
Oggie = Ashley Ollie & Aw-ye = Allie 
pop pops = candy 
mote = remote 
paint = the action of drawing or painting 
cracker = crackers or cereal 
marney = money or Barney 
baw ball = baseball or basketball 
doggy = Lucky (our dog) 
baby = Tera or any other baby 
my baby = Tera 
toot-toot (usually said while pumping arm up and down) = train 
pack-pack = backpack 
fruck & *uck = truck 

Doing: 
When Jackson gets hurt, he comes to me, shows me the "boo-boo", and sadly says "kiss". After I kiss his boo-boo, he smiles and excitedly says "Is beddr!" (translation: It's better!). 

Jackson likes to fill a muffin tin with water, then hold it out to people and offer them a "cookie". Then we, Jackson included, pretend to take a cookie out of the muffin tin and eat it. 

He loves to give Tera hugs and kisses. Unfortunately we have to discourage the hugging, because they involve him laying on poor Tera and squeezing her.

Jackson's 2nd Birthday Party

This year, we celebrated Jackson's and Ashley's birthdays at Micke Grove Park in Lodi. It was a simple party, but nice and fun. We had a huge picnic lunch, sang "Happy Birthday" to Jackson and Ashley, ate cake, opened presents, then went to the amusement park. Trains are one of the many things that Jackson is into right now, so he was thrilled that our picnic site was close to the train tracks. Every time a train went by he would pump his arm and yell, "Toot! Toot!"

We thought Jackson would be excited about going on the rides at the amusement park, since he enjoyed them so much at the Yolo County Fair this year, but he wanted nothing to do with them. He must have been quite tired by then, because he fell asleep as soon as we started driving home.

Cake Time: Jackson had a Thomas the Tank Engine cupcake and Ashley had a Snow White cupcake.

Quality Time With Grandma and Grandpa:

Kissing Boo-Boos

Here's the latest totally adorable thing that Jackson does: His grandma (Chris) taught him about how kisses help boo-boos feel better, and they kissed each others boo-boos. Over the next few days it evolved to Jackson kissing all of our boo-boos, and having us kiss all of his boo-boos. Now he's cut out the middleman and he kisses his own boo-boos.
:-)

The Arrival of Tera Nicole Medeiros

All Friday night, I had contractions that were just painful enough to keep me awake and annoyed. I assumed they were just Braxton-Hicks (false labor), so I drank tons of water and kept changing positions but nothing helped. They finally just went away at about 4 AM on Saturday morning.

Around 9 AM on Saturday, the contractions came back, but again, I assumed they were just Braxton-Hicks. Matt, Jackson, and I went out to breakfast at Crepeville and walked around the Farmers' Market. On the way home (around 11:30 AM), I decided that since my contractions seemed to be getting more painful, I should start writing down the time when each one started. At 1:30 PM, they were about 20 minutes apart and getting a bit more painful (like menstrual cramps), so I called the ob-gyn on call. She basically said not to worry about it unless they get about 5 minutes apart.

At 6:30 PM, my contractions were still about 10 minutes apart, but a little more painful, and I didn't want to spend another night awake with contractions so I called the ob-gyn again. She said to go to the birthing center and they would check me out. I threw some necessities in my hospital bag and brought it with me just in case.

By the time Matt, Jackson, and I got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors, my contractions were varying from 3-8 minutes and were VERY painful (like the worst menstrual cramps EVER). The nurse said it would only take about 20 minutes to have me on the monitors and make a decision about whether to send me home or do a c-section, so Matt and Jackson went to wander around and I was to call them when I was ready to go (we assumed I would be sent home). Finally, and hour and a half later (at 9 PM), I was told that since I couldn't talk through my contractions they were going to schedule a c-section for 10 PM that night.

Aunt Judy came and hung out with Jackson (who fell asleep and missed all of the excitement) at the hospital, while Matt came into the operating room with me. Everything went quickly and smoothly.

Tera Nicole Medeiros was born at 10:52 PM on July 17, 2010. She weighed 5 pounds 15.4 ounces, and was 18 inches long. She was perfectly healthy, with a full head of jet black hair.

Happy Boy

How do you make a teething toddler THIS happy?

First, on a hot day, let him run around in the backyard with one shoe on. Then let him get soaking wet playing with a hose and playing in a wading pool. Invite his cousins over to play and get wet too. Finally, hand him a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting (or ice cream, as he calls frosting).

Bliss!