23 weeks - Silas Luke Pokswinski

At 19 weeks and 5 days, we got a good look at our 2nd beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately, they only gave us two pictures, and no video like the awesome Lee OBGYN did. Oh well. It was fun to see him wiggle around. I was pretty sure early on in the ultrasound that I saw some boy parts, and sure enough, I had. The profile of his face (especially his mouth) reminds me of his brother and his daddy. It will be fun to see what this baby looks like. Half way through the ultrasound, he curled up and crossed his ankles - just like his brother does when he's relaxing. The ultrasound tech couldn't get him to flip so that she could see the other side of his heart, so at my next appointment (which is already just next week), I'll get another ultrasound. Can't wait!

Picking a name was harder this time. Scott and I had liked Riley Scott for a boy from when we were first married. We certainly went through a big baby name book and talked about other names when we were pregnant with Riley, but we just had to stick with Riley. With this baby, we wanted a really special name, since we had Riley's picked out so early and had waited so long for Riley. For this baby, we waited in a different way. It took us 8 cycles to get pregnant with this baby. We fully believed that whatever this baby was (girl or boy), this was exactly the baby that God had for us and was conceived at exactly the right time. There were many prayers said for this baby by us, family, friends and friends of family. That meant so much to us. We were so delighted when we found out we were pregnant with him and wanted his name to reflect what a gift he is. So, after trying out a few names, we finally decided on Silas Luke. We had liked Silas even when we were pregnant with Riley. It was one of our top names, but the meaning listed in my name book was "wood, of the forest" - not so meaningful. So, we had it on the list and it was our favorite sounding name, but we weren't feeling the meaning. We tried out Simon for a day or so, but neither one of us felt it was just right. The meaning was great "He answered" or "He responded." That was so true for this baby. God answered our prayers and responded to our pleas. I got to thinking about there being other meanings for names sometimes and since Silas and Simon start with the same syllable, I searched meanings for Silas all over the place. And what I found was that many people believe that Silas is an Aramaic (or possibly Greek) translation of the Hebrew name Saul with means "longed for, prayed for, borrowed." We actually had Saul on our list, because we loved the meaning so much but felt that Saul has more of a negative "history" to it. I found this (Silas=Saul) in several places - online, from one baby name book, and from a couple of Bible commentaries/scholars. This meaning was perfect for us. The meaning is what we really wanted it to be, and I also love the "borrowed" part, because he is truly God's not ours, we are just stewards of our children. As for Luke, it was up there both times (with Riley and this time) too. We like it and it means "light" or "bringer of light" and that's what we want of our children, that they will bring the light of Jesus to the world. Silas Luke seems to be a good fit for our family and what this little one means to us. We can't wait to meet him!

22 weeks

Swim lessons - pictures and video

Blowing bubbles with Mama. In front of us is "Miss Amber" and Ashlyn.

Kicking the ball around

Throwing the pool toy (that he also called "torpedo") so that he could torpedo and kick to get.

"Bubbles, Ear"

Swim Lesson - mid July

This year, Riley and I took the "Parent and Tot" swim class through "the Y" (as it is now officially called). There is a pool store in town next to the Y that lets them use their outdoor sample pool for these lessons. The classes were for two weeks, half an hour everyday. We took the class with our friends Miss Amber and Ashlyn. It was a lot of fun. At first, Riley was nervous. I heard a lot of "Mama, hold you!"s. Of course, I was holding him when he said it, but I think he was thinking tight squeeze. He loosened up a little everyday. I think watching the video of his friend Natalie blow bubbles under the water really helped him be brave (thank you, Carla, for posting that!). Everytime he would get tense, I would remind him of Natalie, so he got to where he said "like Natalie" a lot and would be more brave. He loved when we sang "Wheels on the Bus" and did different things in the water. He was almost totally loose whenever we did that. He got to where he really liked to "torpedo" off the side of the pool. They sit on the edge with their hands together above their heads and you gently pull them in. He also like "step-jump" where they step onto your hand, while you're holding their hand with your other hand, into the pool. He got more jump-like each time. He never was crazy about going under, but we didn't push it. Maybe next year. He did do it a few times though the first week. The water felt so awesome on those hot, hot, hot afternoons. Of course, it's only hotter now! The half-hour lessons flew by. On the last day of swim lessons, all of the kids actually "swam" a little on their own. Each had a noodle supporting their chest and under their arms. Riley didn't do the swim arms great (well, his right arm wasn't bad), but he did kick and kick. He was proud of himself for letting me let go of the noodle. Riley was pretty good about blowing bubbles and was great at "bubbles, ear." Scott came one day and got a good video of that. Next year, his class will be a big step up. Hopefully, he will enjoy it. A couple of times, our class got rescheduled because of a storm. One of those times, we were already there - the sky looked great, but right before class started, we heard thunder. Riley cried the whole way home! It was sad. I'm so glad we did these lessons, since this is the last year that I will be in the pool with him.

Updates

Much time has passed since my last blog.

Quick updates:

• Spent a wonderful Christmas in Washington with all the Pokswinskis.
• Riley turned 2 on March 14th. We had lots of family celebrate with us on the 13th. Riley's 2nd birthday was exciting and a little sad for us. The time is flying by.
• A little less than 2 weeks after Riley's birthday, we found out we are pregnant with our second child (due December 2). We'll find out what we are having in about 6 weeks.
• Soon after, Riley and Mama made a trip up to see Baba. On our way, we stopped and saw several of our dear friends from Auburn/Opelika. It was so sweet seeing how all of the babies have grown and to visit with the moms.
• Easter weekend, we went up to Montgomery for a Wright (Robin's dad's family) reunion. We had a great time, and it was extra special, because Uncle Rocky and Aunt Charlene flew down from NC and were with us the whole time. We also saw Baba, Uncle JT and Tatum a little during this visit.
• In April, Gramps and Grandma Pokswinski came for a visit. We spent some of the time in Panama City Beach and had a great time.
• Right after Gramps and Grandma left, we started potty training. We have had a few rough days in there, but Riley's been doing quite well. After he uses the potty, he loves to ask who is proud of him. "Grandma proud of you?" "Oh, yes, Grandma is SO proud of you?" "Gramps?" "Baba?" "Grandaddy?" "Nana?" And lately, even "Charlie Brown, Snoopy, proud of you?" Silly boy!
• The three of us went to Okaloosa Island one Saturday to enjoy the beach before the oil rolls in. Another weekend, Baba came down and Riley, Baba and I (Robin) met Rachael and her girls to go to Navarre.
• Memorial Day weekend, we went up to Lake Martin to see Grandaddy, Nana, and Aunt Sandy and her family. Riley had so much fun running around outside when it wasn't raining and loved the attention from his older cousins and Nana and Grandaddy. Grandaddy even let him "drive" his big patio boat. Riley talked about that for days.
• We thought of going to the beach the next weekend for one last trip, but the oil was finally showing up, so we didn't go. The weather was bad anyway.

Riley's talking a lot. He repeats a lot of what his Dada says word for word. He's become a little bit more of a picky eater. SIGH! Hopefully, he'll get over it. It's hard to even make him take "just one bite" of something he doesn't want. He starts gagging before it even gets to his mouth. That reminds me more of his dad than myself. It's hard not to laugh when he does it. He still loves to sing and often requests specific songs. He say a phrase from the song, and we have to figure out what it is. Most of the time, it's obvious what he's asking for, but sometimes, the phrase he quotes is kind of obscure. Once he hears even the start of the music, he knows if that's the song he wants or not. And he lets you know quickly! Riley loves to color, especially with markers. He can really fill a page. He likes to play with his Duplo blocks (Lego) almost everyday. Most often, he makes a "plane" but sometimes he makes a house, car, tractor, fire truck, or train.

He's still a big helper. If I'm dusting, I have to let him dust too. If I'm vacuuming, so is he. He's gotten really good at cleaning up his toys, and often without me asking. Sometimes, he rushes around to clean up his toys and then comes to ask me for something else or to watch something. We let him watch a little bit of "TV" (we just have Internet and Netflix on Wii). He likes watching Dora, a Charlie Brown summer special about baseball, Super Why sometimes and Bob the Builder sometimes.

On Mondays and Fridays, we go walk with friends at the new walking park in town. Riley loves to go see the pond, ducks, geese, turtles and his friend, Ashlyn. She's only 3 month younger than him. They eat Cheerios, drink water and sometimes laugh at each other in their strollers. The other day, they reached over and held hands. It was so sweet. He also said "Ashlyn buddy" when we saw her last. He loves saying "Dada buddy" "Riley buddy" "Mama buddy." He definitely likes for the three of us to play together and cuddle. A couple of times, the three of us have gone to the walking trail together. He really loves that, because we let him run and walk around the trail. He mostly runs quite fast. Faster than I can walk and keep up with. He can mostly run the whole way around, which is 1/2 mile. He probably could go longer if we didn't make him rest. He's usually quite red and sweaty by then.

Scott and I have EA Active for our Wii. Scott exercises with it every so often. When he does, Riley stays with him the whole time and does everything Scott does. He also repeats everything the "trainer" says. Throughout the day, everyday, he often pauses and says "right cross" "left cross" "squat, and up" "high knees" "kickups".... and does the action for that thing. He even makes his stuffed animals and Duplo man do the exercises. He keeps Scott accountable too, because he's often saying, "Dada, exercise! Dada, exercise!"

When I was pregnant with Riley, I felt him quite early. I started feeling "flutters" around 12 weeks, but I wasn't sure, because it was so early. As he grew though, I knew that I had felt him starting then. I think I started feeling stronger thumps and kicks when he was about 15 weeks, a few weeks before my ultrasound (at 18 weeks). I started feeling this baby squirming even earlier, early in my 11th week. It's so neat to feel that squirming, and today, I even got several thumps in succession. I'm 14 weeks and will be 15 weeks on Thursday. I've had three ultrasounds so far. The first one was quite early, 5 weeks. They couldn't see the baby yet, so I had another one a week later at 6 weeks. This time they could see the baby, and I got to hear the heartbeat. It was amazing. Scott was there for that visit. At 10 weeks, they couldn't pick up the heartbeat with the Doppler, which also happened when I was pregnant with Riley at 10 weeks. I got to have an ultrasound. Scott was home with a sick Riley, so he didn't get to see it. It was amazing!! Just a little tiny baby. The ultrasound that I had with Riley at that point made him look like a gummy bear, but this ultrasound was so clear, it didn't look gummy bearish at all. The arms and legs were so long - just like a miniature baby. The baby was moving so much, the tech couldn't get a clear picture. It was awesome to see though. The heartbeat was in the 170s (172?). We're looking forward to our 20 week ultrasound.

Thanksgiving with the Weldons

The cousins (minus Mac) - Riley not liking this so much...

John Thomas and Riley cuddling. Both were being pretty mellow.
He climbs up in the chairs at home, but I was surprised he climbed on this bench all by himself. It was pretty tall.

Riley and me with my brothers. JT is almost 9 years younger than me and Rocky is 2 1/2 years older.

Attempt at a family picture. Someone was really sleepy...

Brooklyn giving Riley a kiss - Hunter in the background

This picture was taken before the one above. Riley kept trying to give Brooklyn kisses. Brooklyn is a year and a half older than Riley.

Riley and Bebe/Baba

Mom's family with Mama Jewell and Pa Bill

All of us (well, only half of Scott). My mom is a twin. This is both of their families.

They love having the cousins and spouses line up for a silly picture. We are in order by ages. My cousin Rachael is the oldest at 35 and John Thomas is the youngest at 21.

Thanksgiving with the Wrights

Riley and Great "Grandma Jo"

Uncle Rocky and Aunt Charlene with Riley and his "tick" (stick)
Cuddling with Aunt "Lene"

Riley and his Nana

Grandaddy, Riley and Nana

Walking in the leaves with Mama

with Dada on the dock

The family

Grandaddy and Nana with the grandkids.

My brother-in-law Scott, Sandy my sister, Daddy, Rocky, Charlene, me and Scott

Better late than never

I'm not even going to try to remember everything since my last blog (October), but I want to record some of the things Riley's done since then. This may be a long post.

I have a feeling that Riley has been saying much to us for some time that we couldn't understand, but everyday we understand more, and I'm sure he says more too. We are hearing more and more sentences such as "I'n running" "I close drawer" "I smart" and my favorite "I can book." Of course, you can't top "that my mama and that my dada." He's really into making messes more than playing with his toys, but his favorite toy right now (besides his stuffed animals and Precious Moments "baby") is his Little People recycle truck that counts as you put things into it. It also sings songs including ABCs, and I've caught him singing certain letters and then "Y and Z." He loves to sing and read books. There is nothing like hearing his little voice sing. It's amazing. One day I was in the kitchen and he was playing on the couch with his stuffed Curious George. I was playing music and heard the song, "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the..." then a sweet little voice at just the right time and just the right note "Hi-ii". Now he sings "hi-ess." It's pretty precious. He also sings "Sing sing sing" by Chris Tomlin when that's playing. Often when I sing now, I will stop to see if he knows the next word, and he does a lot of the time. His favorite to sing with me is "I've been working on the railroad." When he wants to sing this, he starts blowing with his mouth, you know..."Dina won't you blow," though when he sings it, he says "blow." This song became the favorite when we were in Washington at Gramps and Grandma's. They have a Leap Frog fridge toy with several different songs on it. Riley always went to that song. In fact, we were all quite baffled by him because he would go so fast through the songs that you could barely hear the first note and definitely couldn't tell which song he whipped by. Then he would stop and immediately start dancing. Two or three seconds later the rest of us could tell what song it was ("I've been working on the railroad"). We figured that he must be "counting," so we kept trying to discreetly get it on a different song, but he could still pick it up and get to that song just as quick, so obviously, he can hear it. He does imitate lots of noises - ringing on Skype, airplanes, vacuums, etc. and he always matches the tone. His Uncle Rocky was like that.

So his stuffed animals, he plays with "dorge" (George) the most, but he loves "Bear Bear" and "baby" a bunch. We play "hide the baby" many nights, and he loves closing his eyes and counting with us and then going to find baby. He also loves his blue "teddy" and "moo" the moose that his Uncle Nick and Aunt Stephanie gave him for Christmas. He sleeps with both of them every night. He's sleeping great. I know that I've definitely babied him with sleeping, but it's really helped me be consistent. At night and for naps, I sing to him for just a few lines. He lets me know he's ready to lay down by giving me a kiss. I put him down and leave the room. He goes to sleep pretty quickly most times.

He loves all of his books, but his favorite right now is "Willy Bear." It's my older brother Rocky's book and was his favorite growing up. He also loves "Chicken Pox" and knows most of that book. For both of the books I mentioned, he points to the little boy in the story and says "Riley!" Both also talk about school and he loves to say "cool." Glad that's a ways away!

Recently he started opening doors by the doorknobs. I wasn't so excited about this, but he seems to either have forgotten, not be interested or think it's too much work. Either way, he hasn't done it for a week, and I'm thankful.

As I said, he learns new words everyday. I wish I kept better track, but his favorite words are "book" "cookie" "choo choo" for train "car" "vac-cuum" "teddy" "willy bear" "nine" ("nine" might be one of the top words he says) "wall" "door" "on" "off" "up" "nack" for snack and "no" (of course). He says a lot more than that, but those are the ones he says the most. His favorite food is still spinach calzones. He sure loves his "broc-ee" (broccoli) though. He often eats his veggies first...yea! Eating is still pretty messy, but it's getting better. We finally took him out of the highchair, because he kept trying to climb into it. It's on wheels, and even with the wheels locked, it slips and slides on the tile. Now he sits at the table with his booster seat. It's actually less messy. He always has a utensil and uses it a good bit of the time. He always uses his spoon for his Cheerios. If he isn't eating lunch or dinner well, we pull out the mustard to see if he will eat if he can dip his food in the mustard. It works almost always. He loves mustard and sour cream, too. Riley used to hate anything slightly spicy and would get mad if you (meaning his daddy) gave him a taste. He seems to be getting over that. Scott was eating Wickles the other day and Riley wanted a taste. Scott was doubtful but said "okay." These Wickles were pretty spicy (and delicious). Riley liked it and kept asking for more. If we have some around him, he wants some. You can tell it's hot to him because his eyes get watery and he will sort of shake his head and sometimes wave at his mouth and say "hot," but that doesn't stop him from wanting more. Just like a man ;)! "If Daddy can handle it, so can I."

About a month ago, the lady who is in charge of all preschool at church gave Riley a CD full of songs directed to "Riley." Her daughter is Riley, so that's why she had this CD. Riley loves it! Whenever I ask if he wants music he says "Riley!" If I start a different CD, even one that he loves, he gets upset and shakes his head "noooo, Riley!" He's starting to get a little better about listening to the other CDs in the player, but "Riley" is still the favorite. He has really funny dance moves. I'm not sure where he gets them, but he keeps us entertained for sure.

Finally, he's learning names of family members better every day. He's had all of his grandparents down for some time. He can't quite say Gramps, it's "Gerrr." He says both "Baba" and "Bebe" for my mom, but mostly he says "Baba." He says "Nick" often and randomly. He still says "Lene" for Aunt Charlene and "Step-ni" for Aunt Stephanie, but this one is a little harder some times. He said "Troy" this week. He still says "Gaga" mostly for Kaylee but sometimes says "Kaylee" quite clearly. He hasn't been able to say "Lisa" yet for Aunt Lisa. Usually when I try to get him to work on it, he will say "and Gaga." He says "Rock-ee" now. We work on all family members names every day. He tries to say John Thomas and almost has "Tatum" down. Lately, he's been going around saying "Pa Bi" for Pa Bill and said "Jool" this week for the first time for Mama Jewell. It seems like whenever we talk to family on Skype, he gets their names down a little better. Not sure why - he's known who everyone is for some time now, but there's something about it that helps him.

Just now Riley spilled his cup of water in the kitchen. He grabbed a blanket and went over to wipe it up. Not excited about having to wash the blanket now, but how do you get upset about that?! He is definitely "our little helper" even if he does make a lot of messes.

Will post pics next (or soon).