Too good.

This is a passage from my uncle-in-law's (?) blog.  He writes all about his family and their adventures.  He ropes me in everytime, and has a unique way of making old words seem different and new.

"I think it's great when a child sees and acknowledges glorious things.  Armed with a camera, he is on the hunt for beauty and ready to recognize it.  This is the proper way to go through life.

People pictures, different than scenic pictures, remind us of who we are.  Formal, silly, joyful, maybe grumpy.  Even at my advanced years, I depend on pictures to remind myself of who we are."

Wonderful & inspiring.  :)

I'm seeing stars.

Pretty excited.  I found the "theme" for baby boy's room.  I'm not big on "themes" in general, but I wanted one idea I could stick to for him.  You see, with Emma, we didn't find out what the gender was until she was born.  So we just painted her room in a light tan, and had cream and tan sheets with moons on them.  The whole room was very gender friendly.  When she was born, we just put up some pink picture frames and girly curtains.  But now....now.....I know.  I can plan.  I can go shopping for blues and greens - not just yellow ducks.  That's all we got with Emma before she was born - if it had a yellow duck on it, we had it.

Here's a general idea of the star situation:

Isn't it cute?!?!  I got this blanket and the bumper to match.  I think I'm going to get a green crib sheet to match the stars on the blanket, and paint the walls either tan or light blue (can't decide).





Oh little one, I can't wait to meet you and wrap you in your stars.  You're going to love it!

Holy COW. (Cow being the key word here.)

--I'm borrowing this format from another blog I kept up with - so I'm a copycat.  But I absolutely loved the idea of it, and it made me tune into her blog, so you should probably do the same.--

Due date: July 17th (3 days after my b-day!)

How far along: 19 weeks tomorrow

Weight gain: Total - 16 lbs.  Since last visit (5 weeks ago) - TEN POUNDS (seriously Lauren?)

Maternity clothes:  Yes, please.  I love when my pants go up to my bra.

Stretch marks: Unfortunately, this time, yes.  What the H?

Feeling baby: Oh yes.  David can't feel from the outside yet, but soon....very soon.

Food cravings:  Nothing I can't live without.  No food aversions really either.

Gender: BOY!

Baby's heartrate: 150's  This has fluctuated from high 130's to 150's multiple times.

Belly Button: flat, and dry??

What I miss:  Sleeping whichever way I want and not worrying about laying on my back!

Looking forward to:  David feeling baby from the outside

Milestone:  Some energy back.  Buying baby boy's new crib bumper and blankets. :)  Stars!

Number of trips to Minute Clinic: 1

Reason for trip:  Earache, which was a result of an ear infection.  Above all that, my ear drum is perforated (read - small burst) and is leaking some kind of crazy fluid.  Jealous?  I haven't had an earache since I was 12.  I am telling you, this pain is worse than labor.  I can't hear out of my right ear, it feels numb, and it hurts like crazy.  The doctor looked in my ear and said "Yep.  Your ear is gunky all over." (I felt so comforted - false.)  "I wish I could take a picture of it to show you what it looks like."  (Warm & fuzzy feelings.)  "Here's some amoxicillin and Tylenol with CODIENE in it.  Feel better." (Thanks Doc.  Sure thing.  Baby boy will love some Codiene.)

We have our next ultrasound scheduled 3 weeks from now, and our next appointment in 4 weeks.  Wanna see if I can gain another 10 pounds by next time?  Yeh, me neither.

A Baby BuMp Picture

---19 weeks---

Yes, you can see my pants through my shirt.

I know.  I'm a pregnant dork.

This is your birthday song.

It isn't very long.

I had a professor in college sing that song and I've just never forgotten it.

-----------

Today was hubby's birthday.  He drove my car, got a flat tire on the way to work, and had to change to the spare.  What a great way to start the day huh?  It did get better because he ended up taking the rest of the day off and hanging out with me & Emma.  We just had a relaxing day hanging out - getting new tires for the car - blah blah blah.  We finally ended up going out to dinner kiddo-free with his brother and wife.  It was a really nice time.

This is after we got home and said "night nights" to baby girl.  I say baby girl, but what I really need to say it BIG GIRL!  Look at all those teeth, and that long hair, and those facial features.  She is a kid - not a baby.  Man, it's a good thing I've got a baby on the way, or I'd be a mess right now.  :(

Don't you just look at this picture and want to hug her?

Well, Happy Birthday to my dear Hubby-kins.  You've got two girls in your life who luuuurrve you very much.

My Snow Day

I had a fantastic day today.  I didn't have to work.  (Thank you Mr. Presidents)  I didn't have any appointments.  I didn't have to do anything!  I just had a very lazy day.  I sat by the crackling fire, watched movies and cooking shows, and drank hot tea.  All the while, I got to hang out with my Em-boo.  <----That was the best part. :)

Whenever we have a full day together, I think about how great it would be to quit work.  Granted, every day wouldn't be a lazy day by the fire, but it will still be wonderful.  Emma always loves on me more when I'm home all day - and how great would that be all the time?

Here's a picture I took today before daddy left for work.  We took Emma out in the snow for the first time this season, and she liked it for about...oh I don't know, 2 minutes.  We don't have the proper gear to haul her around in the kind of snow we got, but it was still fun.  I think daddy liked it too.

Don't they look happy?  :)

I think I'm sending this picture to my friend Ashley who lives in Australia now.  She says she loves it over there with the weather always being above 50 degrees, but she sometimes misses the seasons.  I think she would appreciate this.  It makes me sad she doesn't get to see this beautiful white snow anymore, but then I feel not so sad when I realize she can see the ocean from her house.  Darn her.

Well, here's to another snowy day in good ol' Indiana.

Why oh why?

I've read it in the pregnancy books.

I've experienced it with a prior pregnancy.

I've seen women fall prey to it.

And now, I'm here again.

Why does being pregnant make you want to chop all your hair off?

I have been growing my hair out for about a year now.  I want it to be long, straight, and hippie like.  Pre-natal vitamins help the cause.  But dang-it-all if I don't want to go the salon and get some hairs cut.  Ah!  What kind of crazy pregnancy hormone is this that is making me think this way?  Thing is...I'm not the only one.  It happens often enough that they write about it in books - to warn you - NOT TO DO IT.

No worries for now, as I will not be chopping the hair anytime soon.  But, man, I kinda want to.

Oh boy.

It's a BOY!

How exciting is that?

This little munchkin' rumblin' around in my belly is a little, tiny, baby boy. :)


Needless to say, it's time for some shopping. See ya.

Sometimes ya feel like a mom.

I had a big "mom" day. Today was Emma's 2nd birthday, as you know, and I had to work. I didn't think I would have a hard time going to work, especially because she didn't know it was her day. I thought "I'll be fine. She doesn't even know it's her birthday".

Yeah. Right.

I took pictures before I left for work. I dressed her in her "Birthday Girl" pink t-shirt. I kissed her and kissed her and kissed her. Then, very reluctantly, I left.

I couldn't stop thinking about her all day. Then on top of all that, baby moved a bunch today! It is such a comforting feeling. It's like baby was already telling me he loved me, and that I better stay home for his birthdays. :/

So, I had a big time "mom" day. And that's okay. Turns out, I love being a mom. :)

My First Baby

Emma turns 2 tomorrow! What? When did that happen? Wasn't I just pregnant with her?

It really is true when people say "It goes so fast." You hear it all the time when you're pregnant and baby is born. I tried to really listen and take every moment in. Then, all of the sudden, TWO YEARS have passed.

We took her for her 2 year check-up, and she's measuring fine...always has. She's built like her mama:

-85% for height
-75% for weight
-50% for head

She has been the best baby, toddler, child that any parent could ask for. She started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks. Twelve hours, all night, and ever since then - we've thanked our lucky stars. She breastfed. She wasn't collicy. She never had ear infections. She never cried for longer than 5 minutes.

Big milestone for her 2nd Birthday is potty training. We got her Hello Kitty big girl panties so she would want to wear them. She's not in them yet, but did have a successful moment at the potty today. We're giving her M & M's, and I think it's going to work. :)

So, I know that was a whole lot of braggin' on my baby, but I'm so proud of her. I can't even imagine where she will be in another 2 years, and 2 years after that....and I'm not sure I want to think that far out. I just want to enjoy these days, because they really do go way too fast.

First & Foremost

I'm going to play catch-up here. I decided to try something new. Well...borrowed, but new to me. I am going to use this outlet in an attempt to capture some of pregnancy #2 in writing.

Some things to know about me:

1. I'm married. Have been, HAPPILY, for 3.5 years. :)

2. I'm already a mommy. Emma is almost 2, and she's pretty much the greatest thing ever.

3. I'm pregnant! Blessing.

To extend a little on #3, we found out we were pregnant right after we sold our house. We had our house for sale for 15 months, and during packing, took a pregnancy test. Big-Fat-Positive. Yay! We are very blessed, and everything is going great.