The year in review...

So I saw this list of questions on a blog recently for expectant moms as a "year in review" template. So, why not?

1. Where were you/who were you with when you got your BFP (big fat positive)?

At home. I woke up to tend to Ellie and took a test before I went in to get her. It looked negative at first glance, and honestly, we had just started with the "whatever happens, happens" stuff, so I wasn't surprised. I got Ellie back down, popped in to look at the test, and the second line was there. So I woke Ryan up and asked him if he had plans for February.

2. What has been your greatest challenge this pregnancy?

Being a good mom to Ellie and still getting the rest I need to grow this little person. Especially in the first trimester when my thyroid was out of whack and now in the third trimester when I am huge and tired

3. What has been your greatest achievement/accomplishment this pregnancy?

Being calmer for the most part and my body working better (not dealing with GD, blood pressure issues to this point, etc.). 

4. How did you decide your lo's name? (Team green/undecided: How will you choose your name?)

I've loved the first name for awhile, but we had a really hard time picking out a middle name. Going into the anatomy scan, we had a first name picked for a girl and some ideas for a boy, but nothing concrete.

5. What is the most invaluable gift you have received? (physical or otherwise)

Hmmm...non-physical is definitely the love/support from Ryan. He is an awesome Dad and husband. Physical? Not sure. 

6. If you could choose a favorite day/week/month/season/trimester from this year, what would it be and why?

2nd Trimester was wonderful. I still felt pretty good, and with it being late summer/fall we could get out and walk a lot. Third trimester in the winter stinks. I will take being hugely pregnant in the middle of summer WAY before being hugely pregnant in winter. 

7. What has been your go-to comfy outfit this pregnancy?

It is a good day when I don't have to get out of yoga pants and a hoodie. 

8. What has been the most useless/otherwise obnoxious maternity item you've used this pregnancy?

I haven't really bought a lot of maternity stuff this pregnancy. A couple new pairs on jeans and maybe 5-ish long sleeved tops? So nothing really here...

9. What has been your favorite food/meal/guilty indulgence?

Being in the third trimester and eating however I want just feels like a guilty indulgence now! I'd say lemon ices, though. I cannot get enough of those. 

10. What food has been the worst? (flavor, aversion, bad after effects)

I haven't necessarily had aversions like I did with Ellie. Liquids on an empty stomach don't sit well with me. Chicken is hit or miss for me. Some nights it is fine and some nights it is a chore to eat.  

11. What has been the most surprising aspect of your pregnancy? (symptom, physical change, etc)

*Knocks on wood* How much less drama we've had this time. Yes, some scary stuff in the beginning with the thyroid issues and the antibody stuff, but that seems pretty minimal compared with all the stuff we had with Ellie. 

12. What do you most look forward to in 2014? (other than giving birth to a healthy lo)

Watching the girls together! I think my heart might be so full that I cannot even contain it!

Happy 2014!!!

It. Got. Real.

Well, apparently something clicked in my brain, and things just got real that Miss S will be joining us pretty soon.

At least, my subconscious is trying to get me prepared. Friday night/Saturday morning I had 2 dreams about Baby S's arrival. In both dreams, I was at the hospital, getting prepped, got my epidural put in but not meds turned on, and....I decided to leave. As in, my OB was taking too long to get there so I went back to the house to pack some additional stuff. Wha? With a port in my back? No thanks. Ryan has now reassured me that once I'm at the hospital I won't be going anywhere. Ha! But, this has made me go into super-nesting mode. I now feel the need to get packing and get things lined up, etc.

In good news along these lines...the first coat of paint is on the nursery walls! Yay! It will definitely take another coat (it is WAY too see through) but I love it! And I love my husband for staying up WAY too late to get it on there, considering we had to go to a Christmas party last night and didn't finish with the moving/sanding/taping with enough time to get it done before hand.

Isn't it pretty? I love it. So on today's agenda, after church, is coat 2, and then maybe even getting the stripe done. 

Oh, and while Daddy worked on S's room, Miss E and I played with what may be the hit of Christmas...her new Water beads. These kept her busy for like a half hour. That hasn't happened with any toy in awhile. Hmmm....

Christmas and 34 week update!

We had an amazing Christmas this year. Ellie is SO fun. She is starting to "get" it more and more, and to see her face light up is just incredible. Definitely the best Christmas present I got this year was to see her make this face as she came around the corner into the living room and spotted all the goodies under the tree. I hope I can always make her face light up like that on Christmas morning!

She immediately found the Little People house that Santa had left. That was a hit! She didn't want to open her other presents because she was SO wrapped up in playing with this. 

When she finally did realize that there was more, she had a lot of fun tearing into the paper too, of course. 

Truff liked his stocking too, and enjoyed getting some new toys and extra treats.

Ellie's big gift from Ryan and I was a hit too. I must admit, I thought Ryan was a little crazy for staying up until 2am wrapping her new power wheels cobra, but she had a blast tearing into it. 

She can't reach the pedals (not even close!) but she had fun climbing in and out of the car all day and pushing the buttons to make revving and honking sounds. And now she has a cobra just like Daddy. And, I think it eases Ryan's mind a bit about living in an estrogen pit...there may be lots of XX chromosomes floating around, but he still gets his little racers! 

Both sets of Grandparents and Grandpa Neese came over in the afternoon, and the Bean got even more spoiled. I should have asked Santa to finish the downstairs playroom for Christmas! Bikes, and dolls, and doll beds, and Little People took over our living rooms completely. Finding spots for everything should be another fun challenge for the rest of the week. 

On a sad note, Christmas eve, Elfie had to leave us. Ellie and I are so sad about this. We had so much fun with her! She did make a special Rudolph breakfast for Ellie before she left, though. 

This year, it really was the little things that 'made' it for me, and so it will be pretty sad waiting until next year for those opportunities to come again. Elfie and putting money in the Salvation Army buckets were my two favorites I think. 

Baby S got spoiled for Christmas too. She's not even here and she got a blanket and picture frame from Grandma and a hat and ornament from her Aunt. Speaking of baby S, here is the update. 

How far along:  34 weeks. Only 36 days until we meet our next little princess. 

How big is baby: The size of a canteloupe. 17.7 inches and 5 pounds.

What I've done to prep for baby: Not much. Christmas made things a bit crazy. I am still hoping to get started painting her room this weekend. Crossing my fingers!
Best moment of the week: Christmas. In general. We are so blessed. 
Food cravings: No cravings this week really. I am feeling a bit more sick so eating has been tough. And eating WELL has been even tougher. 

Symptoms: Still not sleeping well, and S is still hanging out on my sciatic. It stinks because just sitting on the floor to play with E sometimes is so painful it will take my breath away. I have been pretty much attached to a heating pad these days, which does help a bit. and Ryan is awesome in that he tries to massage it when he can, and prevent me from doing really painful things. But, with a super active 16 month old, bending down to pick stuff up is a necessity, unfortunately. 
Movement: She's still crazy. We went to a movie last week, and she danced through the entire thing. 

What I’m looking forward to: As much as I love the holidays, I am thankful to return to 'normal'. There is so much to do before Princess 2 gets here, and I need to focus on that1

Next appt: OB appointment this afternoon. Should be interesting...considering I've pretty much eaten like CRAP the last week or so. Tis the season! 

33 weeks, lots of pics, and I am a SAHM again.

Well, I am officially a stay at home Mom again! My last day of "work" was Tuesday. I gave my final, and so now I am done. Well, as soon as I get my grades in. Can't rush it here. 

I have mixed feelings about this. I guess I was a little more calm last time because I knew I'd be back. This time there are a lot more question marks. We are trying to take a "wait and see" approach to see how 2 kiddos work out for our family. There are pluses and minuses to both sides. I love being home with the kids. But I also love teaching. Anyways, I am trying not to think about it much right now.

Which...has been kind of easy because we have been BUSY. Shocking, right? So here are the updates...and a bazillion pictures. 

Ellie is amazing, as usual. She is SO MUCH fun. She blows me away every single day with how verbal she is, and how much she is learning. 

Like yesterday? She said 'craisin.' And no, she was not parroting. I had said it, and then probably 5 minutes later, she asked for more craisins. What? Her vocab is just ridiculous, I cannot even keep up with how much she learns. Of course, some of the words sound alike, which leads to a VERY frustrated little girl. How dare I try to give her a book when she wanted Belle? 

She is way into hide-and-seek, and therefore way into forts too. We have had a couple of good fort building mornings. Truff likes that too. 

Ellie and Truff are still BFFs and love to play together. Of course sometimes they are just conspiring against me, it seems. But they adore each other!

Ellie has also been a great helper in grading my finals. She just LOVES everything writing-related these days. 

Last Saturday we were up in GR for regionals. Ellie was awesome and enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Mandy. It is such a long day for her, though, poor thing! I did love however, that she would NOT sleep in her pack n play, so I got sleepy baby cuddles. 

I only teared up a couple times. Mommmy guilt is going strong now. I am so not ready to think of her as a 'big girl'. She is going to have to be my baby forever and ever!!!

She is still LOVING her sled. We've switched to that for taking Truff on walks since it is easier. Girl is a daredevil and likes to go fast. She takes after her Daddy!

And, of course when she's over at Grandma and Grandpa's, she loves to swim in the hot tub. Such a cute little fishy, and a good way to warm up from sled rides. 

We finally got around to picking out a tree last Saturday too. That was SO much fun. Both kiddos had a blast in the snow. 

Okay, that's about enough E updates and pics for now! Onto Baby S...

How far along:  33 weeks, 1 day. 42 days left until we meet Miss S!

How big is baby: The size of a pineapple. 17.2 inches and 4.5 pounds.

What I've done to prep for baby: Still working on S's room. Hoping to paint before the New Year. Oh, and I got some new nursing tanks as an early Christmas present. Nice ones. Note to self...those are worth the splurge. I have lived in $10 Wal-mart nursing tanks for 15 months now. I should have splurged on the Motherhood ones a LONG time ago. 
Best moment of the week: Curling up with E at the competition. Oh, and being able to calm down and get into the holiday spirit with the kiddos. 
Oh, one more. One of my biggest worries has been taking care of E after S gets here. I mean, with the c-section, I was worried about being able to pick her up and such. Luckily, I had an appointment with my doctor last week, and he is FINE with me picking E up as soon as I feel able to. He said a week and I should be fine. Yay! That REALLY helped me mentally.
Food cravings: I love my doctor. Really. I asked him again about the gestational diabetes stuff. His response? Well, if you have a 15lb baby, I will just get an extra nurse to scrub into your section so I can have help pulling her out. Ha! I told him I was pretty sure if I had a 15lb baby that I would rip her out myself way before 39 weeks. Anyways. Cravings. Yes. I am back to citrus-y things (Chick-fil-a diet lemonade...yum...) and minty things (peppermint bark...sigh). 

Symptoms: Ugh. Whine. Feeling totally icky these days. And I feel awful for whining about it. I was so in awe and thankful for even being pregnant when I had E that it just makes me feel crappy complaining. I try to focus on how there are goods and bads to have "been there, done that". Like even though I might be a bit more whiny, I am much calmer and less freaked out by every twinge, which has to be good for S, right? But my back hurts. Tons. S can get off my sciatic nerve ANY TIME! So sleep is not happening. 
Movement: Yup! Although she seems to be slowing down a bit. Maybe running out of room?

What I’m looking forward to: Getting S's room painted. I think I'm nesting a bit because it is starting to stress me out!

Next appt: OB appointment on the 26th. 

31 weeks

Time is just going SO fast! I cannot believe that it is December. Sigh.

This girl? Yeah, love her to pieces. She is so stinking funny these days. A handful, for sure, but I love her big, BIG personality.

She is having a BALL with Elfie. She looks for her every morning and gets so excited, squealing and pointing when she is spotted. Elfie even left Ellie a note on the dry erase board in the kitchen.

But the biggest hit was when Elfie hid in the wreath on Ellie's bedroom door, and Ellie spotted her as soon as I walked in the room in the morning. She was SOOOO excited!

Elfie is proving that E has some pretty fierce language comprehension skills. I can ask her "Where is Elfie" and she will go to the room that Elfie is hiding in and point. And we've had her less than a week. That blows my mind.

Ellie is loving the Thanksgiving left overs too. She has been chowing down on the leftover turkey, potatoes, and veggies. Yum!

Oh, goodness. Her dancing. Yes, she is a little dancing queen. Especially standing on one foot. She cracks me up. See? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdLbKKm-EOo

She has learned another animal sound too! She can tell you that a cow goes moo!

And now for a baby S update:

How far along:  31 weeks. S will be here in 57 days. Gulp.

How big is baby: The size of a bunch of asparagus. Ok, this has got to be the WORST comparison yet. Really? A bunch of asparagus? hmmm. 16.2 inches and 3.3 lbs

What I've done to prep for baby: Ooooh, more shopping...kinda. Hit up Black Friday sales to check a couple things off my list. We got a freezer and a play yard. Oh, and I got a back up diaper bag. The whole diaper bag issue has been causing me major anxiety. Which is funny, because I didn't even bother buying a diaper bag for E until she was 3 months old. Yeah, I figure with 2, and especially with 2 in cloth diapers, I need a pretty awesome diaper bag. Of course, this is where the angel on one shoulder and devil on the other comes out. The one I WANT is $$$. Sigh. Of course I don't NEED that. So, I got a simple one. I'll be stalking the other for some kind of super sale, and if I can get it, I can always return the one I just got. But at least I'll have something to use. 

AAAAAAnnnnnnd...S's Namely pillow is done! I got a pic earlier this week. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?

Now I'm even more excited (and anxious) to get cracking on her room. We have made SOME progress. It is just so slow because 1. Ellie and 2. We have to move everything to entirely different spaces. So there is a LOT more drama involved. That ready to paint by the first part of December thing? No way. Hopefully painting by Christmas. Yeah. My fingers are crossed. I need to get going full force on other room projects too. Curtains, crib skirt, etc. Those were NOT fun to try to do at 34 weeks last time, and it looks like I'll be doing them even later this time. Grumble. 

Best moment of the week: Spending the weekend with the family. We had a blast getting into the Christmas spirit!

Food cravings: There is still a vast amount of cranberry stuff in my fridge. Other than that, nothing too bad. I've been keeping an eye on my numbers and they have been great. Like, crazy-great. I had a plate of thanksgiving leftover, turkey, potatoes and sweet potato puff and got a 108. Well! That would have been double that last time. So that is good news. 

Symptoms: Sleep still stinks. Add in the fact that it is the time of the year for sinus gunk and I cannot take ANYTHING between being pregnant and breastfeeding E still and I am about to rip out my own sinuses. 

Movement: She is still a wiggle worm. Bad second time mom confession here: I am so not doing kick counts. She moves all the time, so I am not too concerned. If she slowed down, I'd do an actual kick count. But no app on my phone this time. 

 What I’m looking forward to: We are getting to the end of the semester, so I am looking forward to some of that stress dissipating, and hopefully getting some more time to work on stuff to prepare for S. 

Next appt: OB appointment on the 12th. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

With Thanksgiving 2013 in the books, it finally feels like it is Christmastime! The snow we've gotten recently helps a lot too!

So, how are we getting ready for Christmas?

Well, first of all, we went to see Santa on Saturday. The local firestation puts on an awesome pancake breakfast with Santa. So pancakes, plus seeing her friend Braylon, plus running around entertaining everyone made for one happy Ellie!

We had to wait in line. By wait in line, I mean either Ryan or I stood in line and the other chased our little Ellie-nado all over. She loved all the other kids in line. And she was fascinated with the sparkly pink boots a girl ahead of us in line had.

When we finally got to see Santa, she was still a bit more interested in the people in line. Miss Social Butterfly. She was still talking up a storm, though. 

Our elf also came on Saturday, and brought some presents with her:

Ellie loves playing with the Little People Nativity. She knows which one is the angel, and loves pushing her down to make the music play. She will carry the stable around everywhere. BUT...no one can be in the stable. Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus get thrown out with a loud "NO" if you try to put them in.

Elfie brought Truff a new toy too, so both kids were happy and entertained. 

I know Ellie doesn't really "get" the Elf thing yet, but she has SO much fun looking for the Elf. Every morning the routine is now 1. Find Truff, 2. Find Elfie. And she giggles up a storm when she finds both. That is worth it to me!

I am so excited to see what other antics Miss Elfie will be up to in order to get Miss Ellie to smile!

30 weeks, Thanksgiving, and updates.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for here at the Mason house. And I would totally be lying if I said I didn't get a little misty-eyed throughout the day thinking about how blessed we are. Never did I think I'd be in the position of having the best husband, best 4-legged kiddo, best 2-legged kiddo, AND best not-yet-hatched kiddo all under one roof!

So...updates...

Ellie, like always, is hysterical! We've gotten a crazy amount of snow the last couple days and she has been loving it. Truff loves the snow too, so they go out and play in it quite a bit. Ellie thinks it is hysterical when Truff runs by and "dusts" her with snow. Well except for when she was laying down making a snow angel and snow got on her face. She didn't like that at all. 

Oh, and she just giggles and giggles when Truff jumps at the snow. It is the funniest thing ever. See?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYacY285mJY

They are playing together so much these days, it just makes my heart explode. Truff is SO good with her. Even when she sticks toys right in his face or accidentally runs into him. Oh, and they've started napping together. I mean, really, how cute is this? Truff is the best big brother ever!

E has a new obsession with climbing into things. So she will throw toys out of her toybox and then climb right in. This girl is crazy!

We went to the breastfeeding group this week too. Gemma, one of the LC's goes to our church and she gave us a hard time for not being there in awhile. E is up to 19lbs 13oz. And she got to work on her big sister skills with the babies there. 

We are, however, still in teething hell. We are officially up to 5 teeth. She has both bottoms, both "fangs" and one of her fronts has *just* broken the skin. I have a new trick that I use to see teeth (and the brush her teeth). I ask her how old she is and then we hold up one finger. But then she grabs my finger and sticks it in her mouth. No idea where that came from, but hey, if it gets brushing and checking done without screaming, I'll take it!

She is talking up a storm too! Momma, Dada, Fuffful (Truffle), That, Wawa (water), Food, Belle (any TV is "Belle" since Beauty and the Beast is our go-to car movie!), Grandma, Grandpa, No, Done, Milk. And I think she learns new words every day. She knows a bunch of body parts and can point them out (head, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, belly button). We are working on animal sounds (she does lions and dogs). And I know this is going to sound crazy, but I swear she can count. We were stacking blocks the other day, and I counted them...one...two...three...four...and then she went and grabbed another block, handed it to me and said "fai" (five). I did like a triple take on that one. For real???

She is a handful...but just SO much fun. She has such a big personality. There is never a dull moment with her, and I just love her SOOOOO much. She's the best. 

In baby S news...I had an ob appointment Tuesday. I had my favorite nurse, Kim. She made a comment that she hadn't seen me at all this pregnancy. Thank goodness! I'm still proud I've only had one freak-out appointment and the rest have been regularly scheduled, boring appointments! But, of course, since I had her my blood pressure was great, and we had fun chatting about the upcoming addition.

The actual appointment, though, was...meh. Heartbeat sounded great, but the doctor insists I am measuring big, and asked if Ellie was a big baby. Yup, a whopping 6 lbs 4 oz. *Rolls eyes*.  Funny how this doctor has now told be TWICE that I'm measuring ahead, but no one else in the practice seems to mention anything to me when I see them. Whatever. Next appointment I have an u/s. Fine. Not like size is the biggest concern, since I will be having another c-section anyways, but whatever floats your boat. Oh, and my next appt is with MY doctor, which I am excited about. That means I get to have the "You WILL let me out of the hospital after 48 hrs" talk with him.

How far along:  30 weeks 1 day. S will be here in 63 days. 

How big is baby: The size of a large cabbage. 15.7 inches and 3 lbs

What I've done to prep for baby: Hmmm...well, I did some shopping! Can't pass up some of the great Thanksgiving sales! I got a new carrier for S. I'm a big fan of good carriers and I am going to need to wear S while I am chasing around E, so I got a new K'tan wrap. I have a Moby from E, but that thing is SO hard to put on. I tried the K'tan on, and stuck E in it, and she loved it so hopefully her sister will too. Oh, and S's namely pillow will be done this week. Squee! I keep stalking her facebook page to see if she's posted pics of mine yet. 

Best moment of the week: Thanksgiving morning cuddles with the family <3

Food cravings: First...wooohoooo...I managed not to get sick on Thanksgiving. Yay! But I do have a new craving. And it is Thanksgiving-realted...Cranberry. Sauce, juice, whatever. Normally I like cranberry stuff as much as the next person, but not enough to eat it out of the can!

Symptoms: Sleep is rough as I am just sore. But other than that, nothing too major!

Movement: S is crazy! Every morning at 5am, I get the dance party wake-up call. Apparently my kid didn't get the memo that Momma likes to sleep in. 

 What I’m looking forward to: We have some family time planned this weekend, which is much needed, so I am definitely looking forward to that. 

Next appt: OB appointment on the 12th. 

Now I remember why I hate the 3rd trimester.

Not to be all Debbie Downer, but the 3rd trimester STINKS. Really. Why? 

*Caution WHINING ahead*

1. Getting sick. I apparently do pregnancy in reverse. While I only deal with annoying nausea and a couple bouts of getting sick in the first trimester, I am BFF's with my toilet bowl the last. 

2. My glucose numbers. Party!!! I passed by GD tests, so no worries, right? Ugh, have you met me? I'm a worrier. So I'm still testing my blood sugar. For the most part it has been amazing. I am supposed to be under 130 an hour after meals. Bagel with cream cheese and greek yogurt? 101. Spaghetti with meatballs and too much garlic bread? 107. Ryan's homemade baked potato soup? 103. And then, out of the blue...pumpkin pancakes, sausage, and sugar free syrup? 160. There are no words to say how annoyed I am by this. Really. There is NO REASON that it was that high. None. It makes no sense. I could have that same meal last time when things were MUCH harder t control (like, I could not even have a HALF of a bagel for breakfast) and it wouldn't spike me. So now I am freaked and crabby and just in an altogether bad mood about my blood sugar.

3. Prepping for S. I *should* be proud that in the last month we've gotten a LOT accomplished. But instead, I am having a meltdown about how much their is to do. With the holidays in there, it feels like there is just no time at all. I am really hoping that we can have her room cleaned out and ready for paint by the first part of December. A girl can dream, huh? I guess that is the power of keeping a blog like this, I can look back and see that last time, we didn't get E's room cleaned out until 32 weeks. But I feel like when we couple how fast time is flying with how much I have left to do for S's arrival, PLUS the holidays in there, I just can't wrap my brain around getting everything done in time. Hence, the tears that were shed last night.

Okay, I am done whining now. Time for updates. 

How far along:  29 weeks 2 days. S will be here in 69 days. 

How big is baby: The size of a butternut squash. 15.2 inches and 2.5 lbs

What I've done to prep for baby: We worked on the nursery. I don't really feel like we are getting anywhere, but oh well. 

Best moment of the week: E has been a snuggle bug, and S just loves kicking at her. So funny! Ellie gives me a look like "what the heck was that, Momma?"

Food cravings: Nothing. With being sick, eating is tough.  

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary.

Movement: Still lots of movement. It is SO funny when Ellie is on my lab nursing and S kicks her. Ellie gives me the 'what the heck was that' startled look. 

 What I’m looking forward to: Still Thanksgiving! And checking things off my list...

Next appt: OB Tuesday.

Gulp...3rd Trimester

I feel like a broken record, but really. How in the WORLD am I in the 3rd trimester??? How did that happen? I JUST found out yesterday, right?

Sigh. Time goes too fast, and I just don't think it is going to slow down any.

So, updates. Well, I did my bloodwork last Wednesday. I took the bean with me and she sure kept me occupied while I waited my hour. BUT...good news, I PASSED my 1-hour test, my thyroid is in check still and my titers are still 1:1. Wooohooo!

Of course, my blood sugar numbers ARE creeping up. So I am attempting to cool it on the sugar, and watch what I eat a bit. But so much of the stuff that would have spiked me before is fine now. For example, breakfast, I can do greek yogurt and be under 90 for my 1-hour. No way could I do that before. And I can have OATMEAL. That was forbidden fruit last time. So it is definitely better.

I also had an endocrinologist appointment on Friday. Great news there too...since I don't officially have GD, AND my thyroid looks good, I graduated from the endo for now! Yes, my next endo appt is scheduled for March! Yay! That means I actually graduated from 2 specialists, and am down to "only" my OB.

How far along:  28 weeks 4 days. S will be here in 74 days. Yikes

How big is baby: The size of iceburg lettuce. 14.8 inches and 2.2lbs

What I've done to prep for baby: Scheduled S's arrival! 7am on January 31st! Whaaaa? Still trying to plug away on the nursery. Maybe S will have a nursery by the time she can drive. 

Best moment of the week: Curling up on the floor, all 4.5 of us, when the power was out.

Food cravings: I don't feel like eating anymore. So that is a struggle. I am trying to get enough down. But no real baby-related cravings, that I would say. Now with this colder turn in the weather? Uh, I want ALL THE SOUP. But that is weather-related...

Symptoms: Meh, I've been more crampy lately. I know I'm overdoing it. So I try to take breaks and drink lots of water. 

Movement: Oh yes. S is a ninja baby. I seriously thing she might bust herself out. 

What I’m looking forward to: I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK. So that. Definitely. I will probably only be able to eat 2 bites, but I can dream about all that food!!!

Next appt: OB next Tuesday.

Oh, and then there is the little princess. She's awesome, as usual! 

We've been working on eating with a spoon. It is going...marginal. She's still wearing more yogurt than eating it, but at least she is attempting to feed herself and not just shoving her hand in the container. 

Last Sunday, at church, I really wanted to smack the lady in the next room over from the classroom E is in. I went to get her and she steps up to me and says "Boy, Ellie sure is a strong willed child." Since I was fairly sure the proper response to that was not "duh" I proceeded to keep my mouth closed. Come to find out, when we get home, Ellie WAS upset. She dug right into her diaper bag, grabbed her sippy, took a drink and started melting down. Someone had put the lid on too tight and nothing was coming out of the straw. Poor thing was thirsty, I bet, and they didn't get it. Arg. I mean, I don't expect everyone to know my child's every cue. And yes, she is strong willed. I mean, please, look at this face:

Only one of us is going to survive her teenage years, I am sure. But it went over MUCH better this Sunday when a good friend was in charge of her room at church and I got to hear how she was such a crack up, and how her expressions reminded her so much of her girls when they were younger. 

Oh, and we got her 'main' Christmas present. Uh, this was supposed to be a 'light' present year. Nope. We are keeping it top secret for now, but I think both Ellie and Daddy are thrilled and can't wait for Christmas now...

Last weekend we went to Detroit to see Aunt Mandy's dress. Well, let me back up. See, Mandy wanted E and I to go with her and the rest of the bridal party to pick up her wedding dress. I agreed. Friday night I asked for the address, pumped about a Mommy-Ellie roadtrip (and I think Dad was pumped about some free time getting stuff done around the house). She gives me the address. Yeah, not in Grand Rapids. IN DETROIT. Sigh. So...we decided Ryan would come with and we would hit Ikea to get stuff for S's nursery. 

It was a good trip. E is fantastic in the car. Mandy looked gorgeous! And Ellie picked out what she thought Aunt Mandy should wear...this gold number right here. Girl is obsessed with sparkles. It is in her blood...

It was a LOOOOONG day, but she did awesome at Ikea too, and we got all the furniture we need for S's room: Book shelf, dresser, shelving unit, toy storage unit, rocking chair, etc. 

Girl still really throws me for a loop sometimes. Like last Monday. I put her down for the night, check in via webcam an hour later and find this:

Yes, my child is totally asleep, sitting up. How weird is that? I had to go lay her down so she wouldn't get a sore neck. 

We had an interesting time Sunday too. The power went out (for the second time in 2 weeks. Arg.) Luckily, we now have batteries in her monitor and noise machine. She was a trooper, and we had a little family playtime and picnic in her room before we all laid down on her floor together and then Dad gingerly transferred her to her crib when she fell asleep. Power outages with kids are just SO hard, though. I am glad that at least she wasn't as scared as she was when it happened last weekend in the middle of the night and she woke up and FREAKED out. She did not want to be put down, though. Not that I minded too terribly much!

So really, Ellie is awesome, and I love her to bits, and although she is SO exhausting these days, she is really just more fun than I ever could have imagined and I am SO lucky to be her Mom!

26.5 weeks, Halloween, and such...

So, Thursday was Halloween! My little birdie dressed as a birdie and we went out Trick or Treating. We didn't get to go to as many houses as we would have liked, but that's okay. It was icky and rainy out anyway!

We started out at Craig and Ellie's house. Have I mentioned they are obsessed with Ellie? Yeah. She has them wrapped around her finger! We were their first trick-or-treaters since they moved in in 2004. Turns out, they had their son and daughter in law over and were having pancakes for dinner. Well, that made my Ellie awfully happy, as she went right to "big" Ellie and enjoyed some pancakes. Who said that 14 month olds can't have treats? She sure made the right dinner for this one!

Then we stopped at Reabe's house. They hadn't seen Ellie in awhile and she had a very good time "trading" candy with Jim while we talked.

Then it was over to finish the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

She was pooped after all that running around, for sure! But she had a great time trick-or-treating, even with the crummy weather!

Then, Friday we took off to WI to see the family. We got there really late, and Ellie was pretty much delirious! She was running circles, laughing and falling down. Poor overtired princess...but it was SO funny. The rest of the weekend was fun too, but SUUUUUPER busy. We had a full day Saturday seeing family and having Ellie's "Wisconsin birthday party" and then had to head home bright and early Sunday in order to make it to the gym in time. Needless to say, Monday I CRASHED!

And now, a baby S update...

How far along:  26 weeks, 5 days. There are 93 days until my due date. Being in double digits makes me want to throw up. How is this going this fast??? Thursday I will be in the THIRD TRIMESTER. 

How big is baby: The size of an eggplant. 14 inches. 

What I've done to prep for baby: We ordered her crib! It should be in this week, and it was a pretty darn good deal. I'm trying to start a 'needs' and 'wants' list that is a little more comprehensive than my half-registries. Ryan did point out that the "needs" list is actually pretty low. Which is good! Hopefully we can get some of our wants for Christmas too. We'll see! 

I will say that it is funny this time around, because I'm almost MORE compulsive about making sure things are taken care of for Ellie when S comes. Like the busy bags. And I am fighting the urge to cook up like 100lbs of sweet potato under the premise of making sure I have easy food to heat up for E. Reason number 406 that a freezer is on our new baby 'needs' list, I guess! 

Best moment of the week: Honestly, the real best moment of the week was this weekend when we were in WI and I was trying to get E to sleep. She curled up on my chest and was just so stinking content to snuggle in and fall asleep. Sigh. I love that little one. But pertaining to pregnancy and/or S? That is harder. I mean, I love her ninja-girl dance parties, but other than that, I can't really think of anything. Which makes me kind of sad. I feel like I don't appreciate this pregnancy to the extent I did with Ellie. And that makes me nervous about making sure I appreciate S when she gets here. 

Food cravings: Nothing really. I was just telling Ryan last night that eating has gotten easier again. I still can't eat very much food, but I haven't had the aversions that I did earlier. If I can remember with E, this is when I started getting sick a LOT so I am hopeful I can skip that part of pregnancy!

Symptoms: Nothing new. Feeling HUUUUUGE. Been having loads of sinus issues which pregnancy just makes worse, so that kind of stinks. 

Movement: Oh. Yes. S is SO active. 

What I’m looking forward to: Getting my glucose test over with. Arg. And a fun Mommy/Ellie road trip this weekend!

Next appt: Today I have an OB appt and then I have an endo appt on Friday. Fun, fun!

Pumpkin Patch...and 25 weeks!

We took Ellie to the pumpkin patch on Monday. She had a blast! She was all smiles and loved running around from pumpkin to pumpkin, looking for the perfect one. 

I was a little worried at how it would go, since we had to go after Ryan got home from work, and not on a weekend since our weekends are just too full. That, and teething. Oh, wretched teething! She has been a mess with that, most recently not even wanting to sit in her high chair to eat, but wanting to sit on my lap. I hate that those chompers hurt so much!

Oh, oh, but she now has ANOTHER tooth! Yup! She now has a "fang". Baby half-vampire for Halloween, maybe?

But when we got to the farm, she was all smiles, starting with the wagon ride. She LOVED that. She did really well sitting on her bottoms and holding on too. Looks like I need to start looking around for a wagon for this girl. And you can see her little chomper. Sigh. So cute. 

She then proceeded to run all around the pumpkin patch. We had it all to ourselves, so she got to go crazy!

We did manage to find the perfect pumpkin, although I don't think she'll fit in it this year! But we all had fun, and then stopped for some yummy soup and sandwiches afterwards. 

Oh, and because I'm feeling all sappy and sentimental, how in the world did this happen???

Okay, so now for a "Baby S" update. Yes, we can officially start calling her Baby S now. 

How far along:  25 weeks

How big is baby: The size of a zucchini. 13.6 inches. At the ultrasound they said she was 1lb 15oz. Of course, we all know how much I trust ultrasound measurements, right?

What I've done to prep for baby: Not a whole lot this week. Set a date to do an Ikea run. Oh, and got some stuff to start putting together "busy bags" for Ellie. Must get a move on...we are getting close to the countdown being in double digits, so I am starting to FREAK OUT. Oh, and we started to clean out the study to turn it into S's room. I still can't believe we are doing another nursery. 

Best moment of the week: Seeing Baby S on the ultrasound. She looks SO much like Ellie did as a newborn. Like, identical. How cool is that?
See? 

Oh, and I felt hiccups for the first time today. Love that!

Food cravings: Meh, still not really having "cravings" per say. Probably part of that is that I kinda eat whatever I can cram down while chasing around the bean. 

Symptoms: Nothing new here. Well, I guess I am having a lot more heartburn than I had with Ellie. I know the wives' tale about the baby having hair. If that is true, E will NOT be happy, since she is still my little baldy! 

Movement: It was hard to get her MCA's on the ultrasound since she was moving so much. Silly little girl! She loves to have middle-of-the-night dance parties too. 

What I’m looking forward to: Starting to check things off my never-ending to-do list. That has got to happen at some point in time, right?

Next appt: OB and endo in a week and a half. Oh, and I have to do another 1 hour glucose test soon. Oh joy. Fingers crossed that I can pass this one!