Articles from February 2014

February 28, 2014

24 Weeks!

24 Weeks!
Viability!! Nora is finally more likely than not to survive if she was born now -- but lets hope that doesn't happen. We are nowhere near ready, since we still seem to be in ignore-the-baby mode around here. I'm not really sure why, but its just so hard to get into this pregnancy. We did buy one outfit after our ultrasound, and the fabric for the nursery, so that's something. Thankfully, Wiggles seems content in there. She is so wild and constantly on the move. At my OB appointment her heartbeat was 159, and I was measuring great. So, all good news.  I'm feeling alright, for some reason, I have been so exhausted (hence the lack of posts lately). I seriously feel like I cannot move by the end of the day. I've been sleeping alright, so I don't think that's the issue. I do seem to constantly be fighting some little cold, so I'm blaming that. My symptoms have still been fairly mild, other than the exhaustion. My back is starting to ache more, a
February 24, 2014

Letter D Tot School

Letter D Tot School
We had fun with the letter D a couple weeks ago. I'm surprised how quickly Henry is picking up each letter's sound these days. Children's ability to absorb and learn is so amazing. On our first tray in our Letter D tot school unit was a dog tray.   Henry is 35 months old.  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  On this tray there was a set of dog figures , and a sheet with pictures of real dogs. The goal was to match. Some were easier than others, but some were kinda tough. It took close examination of each dog to figure out which was which. Henry always loves using little figures. The second tray was a set of dinosaur shadow picture to picture matching . This was the first time I've done matching to shadows, and Henry seemed to enjoy it. It was more of a challenge than his typical matching activities. The third tray was using duplos to make towers the same size as the number cards. Henry loved this tray and spent the most t
February 12, 2014

The Great Preschool Debate

The Great Preschool Debate
It blows my mind that we are already at this point -- thinking about sending Henry to school. The reality is that in a little over a month he is going to be three-years-old. Technically, he losses the label of toddler altogether and is officially a preschooler. But, does that mean he should go to preschool?  Morgan and I started thinking about preschools a few months ago. To be completely honest, I was completely set on sending him to a traditional Montessori children's house. Why not? We love Montessori. It provides a great academic base and a chance to gain independence.  Well, then realty hit. Montessori is expensive. Really really expensive. Schools in our area were in the $400 to $500 a month range for two half-days a week. I would have to get a full time job just to be able to afford it. That just doesn't make sense at this point. Playschools were still an option, but I really don't like the idea of sending him to an expensive glorified daycare center.  W
February 10, 2014

Letter C Tot School

Letter C Tot School
Henry is almost 35 months It's so nice to be back to easier letters where we can do some fun activities. Henry's interest in tot school and choosing to be in the classroom, however, seems to be at an all time low. He's been going through some major growth spurts lately and I think he just can't focus on anything for long.  Either way, he's been making some major connections between the letters and their sounds lately. Its been great to see his progress as pre-literacy basics are coming together.  On our first tray was a set of colorful counting cards I made. On one set of the cards were colorful dots from 1 to 10. Then, on the other card were regular number cards 1 to 10. Each number had a different color and the goal was to match them. I wish some of the colors hadn't been so close to each other, but it was still a great exercise in counting and color matching.  The second tray was a one to one corn fine motor tray. I have a {ice cube?} t
February 04, 2014

It's a...

It's a...
Meet Nora Marjorie Kavanaugh! Perfectly healthy, measuring 20w6d and 13oz! We can't wait to meet you baby Nora!
February 01, 2014

20 weeks

20 weeks
Somehow this pregnancy is half over! I honestly, don't know how that happened. It really does go faster the second time, just like everyone warned me.  This month I've felt really pretty good -- pregnancy wise. For the last two weeks, I've been fighting a lingering cold that has zapped the little energy I've had to begin with and interrupting my sleep. I'm slowly feeling better, so I hope that means my energy will return. I still feel like I'm carrying lower this time, and maybe smaller? It's hard to tell, I obviously didn't know as much about photography back when I was pregnant with Hen.  At my last doctor appointment, I mentioned to my doctor that I was having some weird heart flutters. Sort of a fluttering/pounding feeling. I had also mentioned it at my 1st trimester appointments. My doctor said its most likely normal -- although not a super common symptom for 2nd trimester. So, she wanted me to see a cardiologist just to make sure ever