19!

ow far along? 19 weeks

Updates on baby: Baby is about the size of a heirloom tomato and may be able to hear us at this point! Hi, littlest love! :)

Symptoms/Body Changes: That photo was taken Saturday night and Michael said today we probably need to take another one today... It's like it's doubled in size since then! No new symptoms... and if it wasn't for being exhausted by 8:30, the awful heartburn, getting sick every morning, and constantly being hungry... I might even forget I'm pregnant :)

Movement: Little love is not quite the mover big brother was. I'm definitely feeling movement but it's just already so, so different. A moms advice to me this week was to not compare our kids... not even in the womb! Crazy he/she has such a different personality already!

Cravings/Aversions: I want spicy! Anything spicy. I have been eating jalapenos several times a week... This did happen with C but not until much, much later. Not to compare or anything, though :)

Getting ready for baby: No news. Trying to empty that office still. Hopefully we'll be able to get rid of quite a bit of stuff with a garage sale (Hi Tara! :)) once Spring comes around. (Seriously, I have about 4 boxes of junk... how does that even happen?!)

What I miss: not having heartburn all the time!

What I am looking forward to: Next week we get to see our little one! Very, very excited for this!

Weekly wisdom: Schedule something to look forward to several times a week. 

18 months.

My son is 18 months. A whole year and half! I kind of can't believe it. Or, really can't believe it if I'm being honest. It feels like just yesterday he was a toothless, giggly newborn... but that also seems like an entire world ago, too. Being a parent really changed your perception of time. Like, whoa.

I thought I'd do a little run-down of this little guys development. He's such a total joy and he amazes me with something new every day. Every single day. He's just so awesome.

Physically: He weighs 22 pounds and is 32.5 inches. He is a little skinny minnie! He has his daddy's skinny legs. Recently he's starting to put on some chub around his face and around his belly... We think he's going to have another growth spurt soon because of that. He grew 1 inch in 3 months - staying right in the 50% percentile for height. Weight he's in the 15%. (Only including the averages because they really help to see where our kid is. We know he's healthy and that is all that matters... but for those of us with little knowledge of how much toddlers weigh or how tall they are... I think the percentages help).

Verbally: He will say "no", "duck", and "hi" really, really well. He can also make a lot of animal sounds. But still not a lot of words. We asked Dr. W about this and he said it's nothing to worry about - he'll talk when he's good and ready. And he wouldn't be surprised if one day he just wakes up talking in full sentences. Who knows if that will happen. He also gave us some encouragement by saying kids with really good comprehension sometimes will take longer to talk. I can ask him to do just about anything - throw this away, come lay on the floor (to change diapers), pick up your toys, hand mommy a book, let's go upstairs/downstairs/to take a bath/eat/go night night - and he totally understands. He doesn't always oblige, but I know he knows what I'm saying. So, I'm not worried at all... just anxious for the words to start, I guess. Also, he's getting very frustrated and I think (I hope.) that this will help a little once his vocabulary grows and he can express himself more fully. Dr. W also said to make a list of the words he can say right now and if in 3 months that list hasn't tripled we may consider speech therapy to help him out. But also that no worries, someday he will talk.

Socially: I am nannying a 6 month old for one more week - he greets her every morning with a "Hi!" and a super big smile. He'll also give her hugs and kisses throughout the day. It's pretty adorable and makes me confident he's going to be the best big brother around :) He does not like to share, though. Any toy I hand to little A, little man will snatch it away and say "NO" We also have play dates with a little boy a year older than C and every time they get together C is just more and more interested in playing with him. He's started giving him hugs... pretty adorable. He is still not at all a fan of the nursery at church (or really anywhere where Mommy is not in eyesight). We have enrolled him in a 2 year old preschool starting in the fall to hopefully help with this anxiety... the directors assured me they've never had anyone need to quit due to crying - I'm praying C won't be the first!

Sleep: He goes to bed around 7 or 8 and will wake up around 6:45 or 7. He's taking one nap - usually from 12 - 2. But every once in awhile he's a stink and won't go to sleep so he'll take his nap in between 1 and 2 and wake up whenever. These days are really frustrating for mommy because I'm used to having just a bit of me time around noon and I might be cranky when I don't get it...

Eating: His favorite things are blueberries and spaghetti (with any kind of noodle). Some days he will tear up something and the next day he will have absolutely zero interest in it. He doesn't eat a ton but so long as I'm offering 3 meals a day... I feel like that's all I can do. We don't do many snacks (except for mum-mums on occasion)  because since he doesn't eat much as it is... I don't want to fill him up on snacks in between meal times. He loves milk and has at least 2 cups a day (but I really try not to offer more than that unless it's a day where he's not eating much) He also sometimes pretends his different foods are either airplanes or cars... taking playing with your food to a whole new meaning. It is pretty cute though. :)

Struggles: I don't know if it's the combination of being pregnant with a toddler or him cutting four teeth at once or what but OH MAN he has been quite a handful! He's starting to throw some pretty wicked tantrums. If we're out and about and he wants to walk around - I make him hold my hand. Well, now he will say "NO" and sit down in the middle of an aisle rather than walk and hold my hand. Yesterday he wanted to help push the cart at Babies R Us and he couldn't go the way he wanted so he threw himself onto the floor and shed some tears. M and I haven't figured out the best way to deal with these tantrums - right now we just are trying to shrug them off and laugh (they last less than a minute most of the time and his passion really is kind of humorous - I know that part is going to get old real quick) But a big part of me worries I'm going to end up on one of those how-to-teach-your-toddler-to-be-disciplined shows because I'm going to do something wrong and mess him all up. 

All in all, things are going really, really great. There are new challenges that come up at every stage but these new challenges definitely seem like the biggest ones so far. I'm sure I'll say that as the next ones arise as well. But we're getting through it. We're just praying we're making the right decisions and that we don't screw him up too much. :) Really though, I wouldn't change this kid for anything. He's a total wonder and we are just so proud he's ours. Children are truly a gift... and we want to remember to cherish him... even when that seems pretty tricky like when he's wailing on a dirty department store floor because everything is not going as he wishes. But like I said, we're working on it. :)

date night!

The hubs and I rarely go out on dates together. It's a flaw and we need to go on more we just... don't. It's not that we don't get oodles of alone time together though. With little man's early bed time we're still able to get at least an hour together before our own bed time. We're both kind of homebodies anyhow and would prefer to cuddle on the couch with a movie rather than go out dancing. So it's very easy for us to skip going out altogether. As in we probably went on a total of 10 dates last year... and this year we're hoping to make it to a minimum of 12 dates (at least one a month) while still doing romantic date type things at home. (With a new one arriving in June we hope to keep this up - but already I'm kind of thinking it's going to be a challenge. But probably more needed then ever!)

It really is so important to go out. We don't have any family close by but fortunately we have a lovely family at church that little one is smitten with and luckily they offer to babysit for us every once in awhile... They happened to offer about a week ago for last night.

Well, yesterday started out a little rocky. Little love awoke with a fever of just under 100. He is cutting four of his eye teeth right now and they have been by far the worst so far. He had a small rash around his mouth and his nose may have well as been a faucet. We could just tell he wasn't himself. We really try not to give him medicine unless he is obviously unhappy and he never got to that point so we spend a majority of the day cuddling and by the late afternoon he was back to himself, mostly but still with a small fever. We debated canceling our date all day. But it had been about 2 months since our last date and we were both really, really looking forward to it. He called and Mrs. U said something like "Michael, take your wife out! We will be just fine. Don't worry" So they got here at 5 (yes, 5) and we left around 5:45.

We had a Red Lobster gift card so that's where we went... the wait was over 45 minutes so we ended up sitting in the car and chatting until our little buzzer went off. It was so nice... so, so nice. We were seated in a booth in a corner next to a family of 3 - with a daughter C's age and the wife was also expecting. So we kind of made some new friends... or at least buddies to chat with while we waited for our food. :) Anyway, after dinner we headed to Starbucks for dessert (it was much too cold for ice cream... so hot chocolate it was!). Not a crazy fancy date night or anything but it was wonderful and something we both desperately needed. We were home by 8 and still ended up cuddling on the couch while watching something on Netflix :)

It was just so refreshing being out - alone - with my husband. The opportunity to really chat without one of us being a little distracted with our toddler while we were out. Plus (as I mentioned) these teeth have been a doozie and C has been... a handful the past few days. So it was also just really nice to have someone else do dinner and bed time for just one night. Although I woke up about 5 times last night anxious for morning to be here so I could snuggle with my little man... I missed him like crazy but it was so refreshing to just have a night off. And today I felt like I was looking at him with new eyes. New appreciation for all the things he's learning, how much he's growing. If I hadn't taken a step back (a night away) I probably wouldn't have noticed all the things in the same way I noticed them today. In order for me to be a good mom - I need to make time for myself. And one of the most important things I can do is date my husband. Even if it is just one night a month...

And little C? He did great. He was crying pretty hard when we left which was more than heartbreaking... but on our way to the restaurant M got a text that he had stopped crying the moment we were out the door and he was happy playing. Sigh... what a relief! She also said he ate like a champ and fell asleep without any problems.

So glad we didn't cancel that date! :)

18

How far along? 18 weeks

Updates on baby: Baby is about the size of a bell pepper, about 5.5 inches long!

Symptoms/Body Changes: still the heartburn and morning sickness... but also my appetite has increased like mad. Yesterday I ate an entire bag of spinach before I decided I was finally full. In addition to about 100 other things. So crazy to just eat and eat and eat and not even feel full. Example, for lunch one day Michael and I got Chipotle... I ate my entire burrito, half of C's quesadilla, all of his chips and then when we got home I still needed to eat a granola bar. Just crazy!

Movement: Little bean has been moving a bit more than last week (that I can tell). Daddy even got to feel a tiny flutter once, too!

Cravings/Aversions: meat. We had pot pie, hold the chicken, for dinner one night this week. Luckily Michael wasn't too terribly disappointed. Or maybe he was... but momma has more say in our meals of late. :)

Getting ready for baby: No news here! We've still got oodles and oodles of time!

What I miss: being able to drink a cup of coffee without feeling insanely dizzy. (It's rare for me to drink coffee anyway but now that I haven't had it in a few weeks... I feel so sick after just one cup!)

What I am looking forward to: Well, after toying with the idea of NOT finding out the gender... we're not toying with the idea of finding out. We still don't know. But regardless of our decision.... I'm PUMPED about our ultrasound in just a few weeks. Can't wait to see our little bean and just hopefully get some reassurance things are still going great!

Weekly wisdom: Sometimes the tiniest thing will make you cry and cry... and there's just nothing you can do about it until you get it out of your system. No worries, it happens. :)

____________________________
(edit)

Just read about this week on BabyCenter... apparently this week is typically when your appetite increases and also when your blood pressure is lower than normal - hence the dizziness. Isn't that crazy! I thought that was neat.

little artist

My little man does not like to get his hands dirty. One time we were outside and he fell... his hands touched the dirt and he made the most hilarious face and started ferociously shaking his hands to get the dirt off. Boy gets this from his dad... but it's charming and it's so him. I love it. Needless to say "finger painting" will not be happening in this house. 

I got out the paints and showed him how to put his fingers in it to draw - he left his table, picked up a crayon, sat back down, and dipped that in the paint and then started making dots. He's a smart one, right? Anyway, so now we only even try to paint with brushes around here and he loves it. We're not really past the "dot making" stage but it's still fun. And very easy to cleanup! Which is a huge plus for mommy.

It's frustrating when you can't open the paint all by yourself... and mommy takes pictures instead of helping...

just open it already, mom...

and here he accidentally got some on his finger and he's asking me to get it off... sheesh. :)

Also, funny story about his painting. My mom was here last weekend and she was painting with him, he accidentally marked across his cheek with the brush and it made mom and I laugh... he looked so puzzled and then just started to tear up and almost start wailing. Luckily mommy was able to wash that stuff of pronto and not too many tears were shed.  Love this little man!

This was a great week! My mom came into town and it was just so fun watching her and C interact. They are absolutely crazy about each other. And then over the weekend my dad, my brother, his son, his wife and her daughter all came to visit. It was a full house and while a bit stressful at times (our townhouse is not the biggest)... It was so nice to have everyone here! We went to Cracker Barrel Monday morning (SO fun having a random day off!). and after that Michael and I just lounged around the house, then we took a trip to Lowe's to check out paint colors... we want to re-paint our living room and also we're already thinking of what color to paint our new nursery! :) I'm thinking a pale blue or gray... but I guess we'll all just have to wait and see :)

How far along? 17 weeks

Updates on baby: His/her bones are hardening and he/she is able to flex many joints now!

Symptoms/Body Changes: mmm... well, still the nausea/morning sickness. Luckily - just in the morning. I also have some serious heartburn several times throughout the day. But nothing 2 Tums can't take care of! :)

Movement: I have felt some movement... actually just a minute ago while I was laying on the couch since both kiddos were napping! :) (Both being my C and a little girl I watch during the day) But it's still very, very small movements that are keeping me from being positive it's our little bean.

Cravings/Aversions: Eggs never, ever sound good.

Getting ready for baby: Not much is new on this front... still just working on trying to clean out that office!

What I miss: mmm... at this moment... not a thing. :)

What I am looking forward to: Hm... my favorite show comes on tonight (Parenthood) It's not lame to look forward to that, right? :)

Weekly wisdom: I've got nothing for this week!

16 weeks!

I can't believe I'm sixteen weeks already! Being at stay-at-home mom has kept me busy I think I just haven't really had time to sit and think about the baby... but when I do I'm excited.

It's weird... a few weeks ago we met a dear friend of ours baby and I remember thinking when we left, "I'm glad that we won't have one of those for many, many more weeks." And then Michael and I were looking at Caedmon's newborn pictures the other night... and we both couldn't wait to have this new baby. To see how he or she is different from our Caedmon and to see how we grow as parents. Weird how it affects your heart different when it's yours, at least for us anyway. 

Well, I did this with my last pregnancy and I'd like to do it again... Maybe I'll re-post my old pregnancy posts to just see how this one compares? Any thoughts on that? No? Well, I'll probably try to do that soon... for my sake. You know, in case you're not all that interested. :)

So here we go... our first update! 

How far along? 16 weeks

Updates on baby: He or she is the size of an avocado! I had a midwife appointment this week and I got to hear the heartbeat for a second, but baby was wiggling around so much it was hard for her to find it. 

Symptoms/Body Changes: I still have morning sickness, only in the morning (just like last time). Even if I eat right away, I'll still get sick. It is what it is and it really doesn't even phase me too much anymore. As far as body changes go... My shirts are already becoming too short and I haven't been able to button my jeans in weeks. So, no judging if you only see me in yoga pants... Also, sleep is kind of an issue. Probably because I have to pee about every 30 minutes... no joke. (Luckily at night it's usually just once or twice but... still). And I'm so tired so much of the time. Actually, the other night was kind of a rough one. I finished making dinner. Then as soon as Michael walked in the door it's like my body said "Okay, we don't have to hold on anymore" and I got so, so sick. I was able to eat dinner but Michael made me up a bubble bath while he was putting Caedmon to bed. Next thing I knew he was waking me up... in the tub. I had fallen asleep in the bath tub. I didn't think that actually happened to people, but apparently, it can. 

Movement: I feel positive I felt movement once, three days ago... but nothing since then! I felt Caedmon move between 18 and 19 weeks, so maybe it will be the same this time around. I cannot wait for those little, tiny, reassuring kicks.

Exercise: Mmmm.... I'm going to try to keep this as a section on this weekly updates but if I'm being honest, I'm probably not going to do so hot in this area. It's gotten cold here and with having two young ones during the day... it's really difficult to leave the house. But I'm hoping to find some yoga videos or something...

Cravings/Aversions: Today I've had two cravings... and my mom is here visiting so she's indulged me. The first was some of those Hostess cupcakes with the cream in the middle. I told her I wanted chocolate and she said "Oh, what kind?" And I told her and then I took a nap while Caedmon napped. When I woke up she was getting back from the store and handed me a cupcake. The second was a vegetarian burrito from Chipotle. It was 4:00 and I was so hungry, we were out and about and she said, "Okay pregnant lady whatever you want" And so that's what I got to eat... I ate the whole thing and then I even ate half of Caedmon's quesadilla he had left over. I have been hungry lately. (Strangely, though, at my last appt. I hadn't gained any weight... that has never happened for me with pregnancy appointments).

Getting ready for baby: We have an office that is our junk room. It's ridiculous we have a room full of junk, but unfortunately, we do. We've gotten rid of some books, a small book shelf, computer games, and some clothes. The only things in there now are a dresser, the computer desk, and Caedmon's bigger toys that we don't have room for anywhere else. We've also organized all of our important papers (that may have just been scattered in the corner) and I organized all of my craft supplies and moved that small tower of drawers into our bedroom. We have a long way to go, but it feels good to at least be getting started!

What I miss: Sleeping all through the night. 

What I am looking forward to: This weekend! It's a three day weekend and my dad and brother and his family are coming to visit (Mom came up a few days early) and we're ordering pizza and having a game night tomorrow. We'll have a full house for certain, but it should be fun!

some big news!

Our family is growing... our newest little one is on the way! Our due date is June 25... so in a little less then 6 months we'll have a little one. We're very very excited... and a little nervous about have two kiddos under the age of two! This post may be a bit random - but full of pregnancy related things I've been wanting to talk about for weeks... so hopefully it will be entertaining/informative for some of ya'll. :)

We had decided to "stop not trying" in October of last year... and we found out in September that we were pregnant, so he/she was still a bit of a surprise for us! It was a Wednesday night and I hadn't been feeling well all day. I asked Michael to pick me up some Nyquil on his way home from rehearsal. I also mentioned he may want to pick up a pregnancy test - just in case. I was not at all expecting it to be positive... but I'm a little leery of medicines and I just wanted to make sure before I took anything. Well, the surprise was on us! 

I took the test then set it on the counter, it said it would take about 3 minutes, so Michael started putting something away and I just started at the test. As soon as I saw the word "positive" appear on that tiny screen... my mind was blown. I said "Babe..." and then Michael said, "nu-uh!" and then we both just laughed and hugged and laughed some more in the kitchen. It was beautiful. I always thought for our second baby I would think of some fun way to tell him (with Caed, I woke him up at 7am to break the very surprising news!). But I think this way was still perfect. :)

So far this pregnancy has been very similar to my first, except I've been more sick. With Caed my morning sickness started at 6 weeks and lasted till week 40 (but luckily Zofran and I were great friends). This time, morning sickness started at 6 weeks again and was pretty relentless until week 12... but it's still a day-by-day thing. But weeks 6 through 10 this time were very, very difficult. My midwife almost prescribed me anti-depressants (but I refused because of the whole leery of medicines thing... and unfortunately Zofran and I haven't been friends this go around - I hear that's very common with a second pregnancy!) I was basically a crying-emotional mess for weeks (Something I never dealt with with my first pregnancy) I would lay on the couch because I was so tired and just sad... it was a rough month and I'm just thankful it's over! I'm excited to see how this pregnancy will be different from my first - it is still hard to wrap my head around the fact that it's a whole nother baby in there! Pretty awesome.

Okay, I have more pregnancy updates that will be coming soon... so stay tuned :)

a glimpse into 2011

Goodness, 2011 really flew by, didn't it?

 Well, last year I did a quick recap of our year that was kind of fun so I thought I'd do the same thing for this year.

So, in January of last year we had a 6 month old and we were busy trying all sorts of new fruits and veggies.

 

In February my beau came home from work and surprised me with these beauties that were grown locally. So thoughtful :)

In March we had a visit from some of our best friends, the Guest's before they left for Honduras... where they are right now. I was roommates with Ashley for years in college and then our first apartment happened to be right across the street from theirs - so we were used to seeing them pretty often :) We miss them so, so much!

In April, I had did my very first photo shoot for some very good friends of ours. Big confidence booster seeing many of the images around their house! 

In May, I planned my first baby shower for a friend from our small group. I learned so much and was so proud of myself for how crafty I was (see airplane advice clouds above, that I painted!) :) Thankful for friends who also pitched in and made that day a special one.

Also in May, we headed to Chicago to visit Michael's side of the fam for a memorial service for his grandfather. It was so wonderful getting to see a side of the family we don't see very often. Caedmon loved tormenting his cousin Annabelle, too. We also ate lots and lots and lots of Portillo's. (I've you've never been and have the chance... GO. it's amazing!)

In June, Michael and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Michael surprised me by planning an overnight stay at a hotel here in town (the same one we had our reception in!). He arranged for two of our friends to come over and watch Caedmon all through the night. It was so, so fun!

In July, our boy turned ONE! We threw a fun birthday party for him and he had a total blast. I may have already started some planning for his second birthday.... maybe.

In August, I turned 24 and Michael planned a surprise party for me in Northern Kentucky on our way to OH to visit some of my family for my cousins wedding. Again, it was so fun watching Caedmon meet some of my family for the first time. We walked into my grandparent's house and C reached out immediately for my grandpa to hold him. One of my favorite memories from the whole trip!

In September we took a wonderful vacation to Charleston. It was probably my favorite week of the year... I love the beach so much. It was awesome watching Caedmon play in the sand and watching the waves too. I wish we could go every year!!!

Other highlights of September, Michael turned 25 and Caedmon got his first haircut!

October was a fun month. Fall is a favorite season of ours! We went to the orchard with some great friends.

I helped throw another baby shower for one of my best friends! 

Had my second photo shoot - a maternity shoot... super, duper fun!

And we celebrated Caedmon's second halloween with going to the Fall Festival at church and painting a pumpkin. Fun memories, for sure!

In November we had both of our families over to our house to celebrate Thanksgiving together (one positive to us both being from small families - planning things over the holidays is never a headache!) It was the second year doing this and it was just so fun! My grandmother from Oklahoma even got to be here for it!

December was another fun month! Almost every weekend was filled with some type of Christmas party (which I loved) and on Christmas day is ended up being just the three of us which was so fun... I love the holidays!

And there was a quick look into our 2011. It's fun going back through some memories I had almost forgotten about... 2011 really was such a good year. But I'm thrilled to see what 2012 has in store for us!