Warning! Spoiler for single males. Please wait until you experience the wonders of diaper changing until you have your own :).

So it finally happened… the first time I was grossed out by changing a diaper. I wanted to let go of all my breakfast, lunch and dinner at once (and keep in mind that I hadn’t eaten dinner yet!) But lets go back a few months back…

[16 months earlier]
Hayden was only 2 months old and the idea of changing diapers was still an excitement moment in m life, without having a lot of practice little by little I was becoming better and better at changing those little bags that wrap around your babies little hinnies called diapers.

[14 months earlier]
Ah, I still remember like it was yesterday the first time our youngest one was laying down on the changing table and playing with his little toy. Laughing and making little baby noises, when all of the sudden I yelled

“OH NO!”
What happened? -said Kari from the living room
“Humm… he is…”
Yes?
“Peeing!!!!”

What do you do? Do you cover the baby? Do you let the baby do his business or Do you try to cover your body from getting some of those wonderful body fluids that the piece of you is releasing out to the air? If they say that Pilots have to have quick reflexes, sign me up! Those are moments are intense and require quick descision and precision.

Needless to say I wasnt expecting it, I thought it was just some sort of issue that only happened at the movies, but that it wasn’t for real. The worse part is that you cover every angle as best as you can and when you think it is time to go down there and check that everything is fine, you only get a second round, and this time hopefully your reflexes are as sharp as a needle.

After that moment everytime I had to change our baby I was trying to be careful but the thing is that you never know when it is going to happen. Did it happen again? You bet! this time my wife was wise enough to let me know that i was taking too long in changing him and that is why this was happening. So after that I started changing our baby faster and faster. Until it didnt happen anymore.

I dont know if he was just testing me or if it is for reals that you need to change your baby faste enough or they will get you, either way I don’t take my chances anymore.

[2 days ago]
By this time I have changed plenty of diapers of all colors, sizes, weights and smells, but never like it happened 2 days ago. Because this blog is rated FA (For All) I will spear you from the details, but it was the first time that I thought I wasn’t going to survive. Well, I did (I’m writing this blog right?).

Why do we have to change diapers? Why do we have to create tools to make it easier and less smelly? I am not sure but I remember I read once in a book about how it is a special time and opportunity to be able to change a diaper, and that it just brings you closer to your baby. How can poop bring you closer? you say. Well at the moment I was reading the book I was asking myself the same question, but in the end it is as described in that book. Having the opportunity to change the diaper and have that moment with your child are things that no one will ever take away.  Changing a diaper is one of the small things we have to do as a parent and in exchange we get to spend hours, days and if God willing years of taking, playing and enjoying everyone as a family.

We had our sonogram last week and decided to cheat and find out what we’re having. I’m very proud to say we’re having a Girl! Yippee. We’re both really really excited about it. For one it means we’re going to bow out of the baby making for a long time……if not completely. Maybe we’ll think about it again once this next one makes it through all the teething stuff. hehehe. We’ll see.

We’ve had a couple of playdate/dinners with a really great family from church the past two weeks who have 2 little children so we’re getting more chances to see how Hayden handles playing with other kids. He really seems to enjoy it. He’s also getting super active, to the extent that i don’t give him any sugar unless it is in a fruit. Period……okay so i give him homemade cookies sometimes too. We’ve been taking him to little kiddie parks around our neighborhood and letting him loose, I also took him to a really cool public pool last week that has water slides and sprinkler stuff and he had a blast (actually, we both had a blast). Still struggling with molars off and on. Hopefully the last couple sets come through and we can be done for good.

I don’t have sonogram pictures scanned yet, but hopefully soon. I’m including a belly pic for the 21 week mark. Try not to focus on my growing thighs or double chin….hehehe.

Checking out fake nature in downtown Austin.

Helping dad water the lawn.

This morning.

We’re almost at the 5 month mark here and my belly looks like i have a huge gut. I’m trying to get over some of my vanity, i know in a month it’ll start looking more like a pregnancy. The baby is kicking around a lot now which is very fun. When i sit with Hayden on my lap i can feel the baby kicking him….Already some sibling rivalry? Yikes.

Hayden is saying just about anything he can figure out how to repeat and then some. The other day Helmut sneezed and Hayden said “Bless you,” totally out of the blue. His main love is cookies and he asks for them from the time he wakes up in the morning until i put him to bed. So far i’ve only been letting him have 1 with dinner or lunch, but that doesn’t stop him from asking….haha. He loves his cars, and lately i’ve been finding him playing quietly by himself with some little cars. Today we took him to Grace’s birthday party where he terrorized all the little baby girls (hehehe) in the splash pool and had a lot of fun. He’s becoming more and more outgoing which is surprising to me because i’m so shy. He definitely gets it from Helmut.

Helmut has finally gotten himself a nice Mac laptop. After searching for a month to find the perfect computer he finally found the one he wanted. I have to say it’s pretty nice and makes all the other computers in the house look like junk. Work has finally slowed down a bit and we’ve had some really nice afternoons together.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated, but we haven’t been taking many pictures lately so we got out with the camera the past couple days and tried to make up for it. We were able to find some fun used toys for the backyard this week so Hayden has been learning how to go down the slide and climb. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful, 70’s and 80’s during the day with full sun.

In baby news, I’ve finally quit loosing my cookies. Something which I’m really excited about. I was never good at that sort of thing as Hayden AND Helmut can attest too. It’s embarrassing really. I’m still pretty low on energy but am hoping that will start picking up this month. I’m so thankful for “fake Jack” the cat. He’s become Hayden’s playmate. He’s so tolerant and no matter how hard his tail is pulled or how many times he’s poked in the eye he still seeks out Hayden to play with. This allows me to sit in a chair most of the time we’re in the backyard and relax.

The following are some pictures from the past couple of days..

.

First belly pic….13 weeks. No bump yet. This baby has been much easier on the wardrobe than Hayden was. I’m still able to fit almost all my clothing like normal.

This post has been a couple months in the making as I have been exhausted and nauseated due to a new baby! I’m 9 weeks now and we had our first official doctor appointment and Ultrasound on Tuesday. It went really well and I’m really happy about the new doctor. We had to switch from the guy we had with Hayden because we changed insurance. The new guy seemed to think I should wean Hayden or I might have trouble eating enough for 3….he obviously isn’t familiar with the Livingston pregnancy appetite!

Hayden is doing several new things now. He figured out how to climb onto the couch and all the chair and basically everything else, and has started saying some words. He says “car, eye, cookie, apple, cat, dog, diaper, daddy and hi.” He has also learned how to call the cats i.e. “pssswsswsswss.” He’s also eating sandwiches. The picture above is of his first attempt at PB&J cracker.

Helmut is doing great. He’s been working really hard to finish a project for Universal Studios which should be online in April. He’s been animating something called “script your trip.” He’s also been working hard to finish www.thegatestep.com for Dad. We also finally got his official Green Card yesterday!!!!! We’ve been waiting for this for about 6 months. We’re so relieved that we didn’t have to have another interview. Praise the Lord.

I’m including a few pics just for fun.

I have no idea what brought on this face.

Climbing the new light fixture.

This is a picture of the wonderful birthday cake that Helmut made for my birthday. In case you can’t tell it’s German Chocolate Cake. My Favorite!!

We’ve been enjoying 70’s - 80’s and sunshine for the past week, reminding us of why we love Texas so much. I actually layed out 3 times last week, reminding ME of why i need to go on a diet. We are about to embark on a new exercise regime after making over the garage into a work out area. Starting tonight when the baby goes to bed, we go to work out….instead of sitting on the couch eating chocolate chip cookies (which we never ever do). I’ve included a few pictures of Hayden helping me fold the laundry…..

Yes, those are socks hanging out of his mouth…

This one mommy?

Who would have thought a child’s hamper could be hazardous?

Dad trying to get an edge on our weight loss challenge.

We have Helmut’s biometrics meeting on wednesday for immigration. We’re so relieved that we’re not going to be interviewed again. Last time was such a nightmare (mostly because i was so nervous, the people there were really nice).

Helmut’s dad is baby proofing the screen door.

The very cool Christmas present turned weapon a few days ago, notice the cut under his left eye in the next picture…

Hayden turned 1 year old yesterday!! We had a great little birthday party for him with some great friends from church. We ate a huge chocolate cake and some ice cream. Here are some pictures of the event…

We had a great time with Dan and Erin on Monday and wished they could have stayed longer! They’re continuing to get support for Lahash, which is an organization that Dan started to support orphans and widows in Africa. It’s a really unique organization which Helmut and I fully support. At the moment they’re raising money for a number of things, one of which is a new school building for children in the Kibera slums. The school only costs 8,000 dollars and would mean a world of difference for those children and the people who have taken the responsibility of raising them. Hope is alive.