17 Weeks

How far along: 17 weeks
Total weight gain: ? {Since October, I have had no idea where my scale is, and that's probably better for me, so I only weigh in at the doctor's}
Favourite clothes: Khaki/cargo pant from a consignment store I found last time
Sleeping: Meh.With everything going on, it's hit or miss
Best Moment: Meeting our nephew for the first time!
Worst Moment: Accident at daycare--see below. And moving.
Miss anything: Honestly what I miss the most at this point is energy. I feel so exhausted all the time and keep falling asleep without realizing it during the day, but I have things I need to do!
Cravings: Sushi
New symptoms: My hips have been worse this week. I've been using some essential oils, and they've been helping, but I need to be more diligent about applying them daily, and when I miss a few days, it's not so good
Looking forward to: Next Monday (4/28) we find out the baby's sex!
Crafting: I finished the gnome outfit! Yay! I've been doing some quick crochet projects, but I need to finish those monster pants.

The big day finally arrived! We moved into the house on Wednesday. All the pre-move-in stuff isn't completely done, but the areas we're living in for now are pretty much finished, so in we went. My father in law and brothers in law came out to help us move, which was wonderful! They were a huge help loading and unloading the furniture into and out of the truck, since I'm useless for that right now. I did the best I could and only had 2 or 3 melt downs, which is a total win. We won't count the stress and anxiety that comes after a move yet. 

Thursday was a difficult day. Getting G to daycare takes bout 40 minutes each way, and he hates the car, which makes driving anywhere incredibly trying. We turned around his car seat in an attempt to help, but I'm pretty sure it's the restraint that's the issue and there's not anything I can do about that. He's just so active and hates to be still or be held against his will. They had an egg hunt in the morning, so I brought his basket and his filled eggs, but around lunchtime I got a call from his daycare that he'd been standing right behind his teacher during a diaper change and she'd knocked him over and then tripped and was afraid she'd stepped on him. They called because he did that no breathing scream that sometimes happens and because the teacher was so worried/scared. He is fine, and by the time James went to see if he needed to go see the doctor, he was running around like nothing had happened. Either way, the director gave us her home number in case we did need to bring him into the doctor over the weekend. He's perfectly fine, and he does have a habit of getting right behind your feet when you're doing something. James and I have both tripped over him multiple times, and there was no harm done. The teacher was more freaked out than G was. 

Friday we went to pick up G's new twin bed set! We found someone in CraigsList who was selling a set with the bed, bookshelf/headboard, mattress, side table and high boy dresser for $300. We both knew we wanted a captain's bed with the drawers underneath and this was a great deal considering the new set is over $1,000. They were quite far away, almost in Mississippi, and we weren't sure about it since it was definitely designed for a girl: the knobs on the drawers are flowers (we can replace them), there are feminine cutouts (we can offset with non-flowery bedding) and there are pink flowers drawn on two of the drawers. We thought we might be able to sand them off, but there's a laminate, so that won't work. We decided we would paint the drawers (just the drawers) instead. We figure we can match his wall colour for the side table, and I'll try an ombre for the high boy drawers. He doesn't care, and I think it'll end up looking great when it's done. The people were so nice; they helped James load it all in the trailer, and they even gave us their son's booster seat for the car and a padding that protects your seat. Either way we got an awesome bed set for G at a great price and could now work on transitioning him into a big boy bed.

After we unloaded the trailer, we showered, packed up and headed to Panama City for Easter with James' family. It was so great to see everyone, and especially our 4 month old nephew, who we'd never met. G got his first taste of what having a sibling would be like as I held the baby. We had a bit of jealousy, but with all the distractions it wasn't so bad. James' mom had organized a big egg hunt/party for people on Saturday, but unfortunately, G decided to nap through almost the whole thing, so he missed the Easter Bunny and the egg hunt. We had fun seeing the little kids and catching up with family though. Besides, we made it for the egg hunt at church (check back next week for the full story!) It was a nice weekend seeing people we don't get to see very much, especially watching our older nephew hugging on G almost every chance he got. They were very cute playing together!

17 weeks: Baby 2 is the size of a sea turtle hatchling

Look at that bump!

16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain: ?
Favourite clothes: New maternity jeans from mom
Sleeping: Pretty good. Pulled out one of my old maternity pillows and it's seemed to help
Best Moment: Designing the kitchen was a blast!
Worst Moment: I basically did a 20 minute squat to rinse hair dye out of my hair. I thought I was going to die.
Miss anything: Wine.
Cravings: Phish food. I can't keep it in the house because I eat it too quickly.
New symptoms: Baby is definitely moving around
Looking forward to: Easter with James' family
Crafting: Finishing up the gnome outfit, then I plan to finish the monster pants and I found a crocheted teething ring I want to try to make.

We went to a first birthday party last Monday that was really fun. The birthday boy was a friend's son and it was great to see them. G enjoyed the different selection of toys, though there was too much going on for him to eat much. He especially loved chasing the cat, who ended up taking refuge in the garage (poor kitty). It was fun to see a cake smash; I think that's my absolute favourite part of first birthdays, and good to meet some more people/parents in the area.

James has bee so busy at work with summer camp prep. Camp is going to be a crazy time and there will be a lot of changes around then too. We'll move to camp for the summer since James will have late nights, and G is switching daycares then too. He won't go every day, and he'll only be there from 9-1, so it'll take some adjusting for us both. I think it'll be good, and G will enjoy "participating" in camp in the afternoons, I'm sure.

On Friday we went to Pensacola with a trailer to pick up the flooring we got for the house. Even though it won't be installed until summer, they were having a sale, so we went ahead and got it. We also stopped by a cabinet place and ended up designing the entire kitchen. It was so fun, and good to get some numbers to work with. There's a lot to think about, but looking at the projected end result is exciting; I can't wait to have a nice, open style kitchen! We still have to think about downstairs, but there's been a huge difference just by removing the popcorn ceilings and getting paint on the walls. We're planning on moving in Wednesday, when James' dad, brother and brother-in-law are coming to help us move furniture. We haven't really packed much, though James did use G's nap on Saturday to pack up the books and some other things. The kitchen is the biggest thing to pack, and we need to divide what we want to keep out and what can stay packed until after the remodel (wine glasses, blender, stand mixer, etc). 

We can't wait to move in and hang paintings and start really feeling at home. I can't wait for us to all start feeling healthier, because I'm convinced the mold has been the cause of our congestion and coughing and feeling icky all over. It'll be so good to be less isolated and I'm really looking forward to being able to walk downtown or go down to the pier to crochet (with plenty of bug spray of course!) 

In other news: The baby has been moving around. I can't feel her/him that much (only 2 weeks til we find out!) but s/he feels like a goldfish swimming around, though there was that one night that I definitely felt some jabs. G has been doing so well! It seem like every day he learns new words and he's very talkative. Hes been loving the tofu nuggets and the toy slide we pulled out again. He's also been consistently going potty, so I have hope for potty training, maybe before sibling arrives!

16 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of an emperor penguin egg

Bump

18 Months

Challenges: Tantrums continue to plague us, especially while cooking. He's also been grabbing my glasses, hitting and kicking when he's upset.
Triumphs: Feeding himself with a spoon! He's been pottying on his potty seat! (see below) Brushing his own teeth!
Words: "Aww duh" (all done), "baw" (ball), "joosh" (juice), "shuzz" (shoes), "guh guh guh" (go go go), "doggy". Daycare says he knows "duck" and "pig" as well, "ticka ticka ticka!" (tickle tickle tickle), "pat, pat, pat" and pats his lap along with Little Einsteins, then raises his arms up in the air , "nummy" (yummy?)
Favourite toys: He's enjoying playing with his fake food, especially putting it in and taking it out of the shopping cart he has. He's been obsessed with books lately; sitting down is fair game for having a book brought to you. Toy slide--he can do it himself!

3/23: G was wet, so I asked if he wanted a diaper change. He headed down the hall as usual, but instead of finding him at his bedroom door, I found him leaning against the bathroom door. I figured it couldn't hurt to put him on the potty seat. He ended up peeing! He's gone potty a few times on the seat now. We aren't skipping any diapers, and we're definitely not "training" yet, but positive reinforcement isn't going to hurt. He claps for himself when he's done. Its kinda adorable.

We had gumbo one night this month, and G ate two bowls full, consistently and (pretty) accurately using his spoon for the first time! He's been on and off with the spoon since then, but he's doing way better with it than he used to! We're still working on drinking out of cups. That's been a challenge for sure.

Ms. Carol told me that he ran after a chick they had for picture day, yelling "duck! duck! duck!" I had no idea he could say "duck" and she told me he can also say "pig," make animal noises, wiggle his fingers and count to two, do Head and Shoulders, and the hand motions for Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He's one of only two kids who can communicate with words, and one of two active participants in their circle time. She said if she could have a class full of kids like him, she'd have no problems.

He's started patting his lap with Little Einsteins and lifting his hands into the air when they say "Blast off!" He also loves to dance when there's music on the TV. He could care less about the shows or the dialogue, but it's adorable to watch him dance to music. He kinda bounces up and down, and does big claps, throwing his arms wide and then clapping.

James brushes G's teeth after his bath, but a week or so ago, he grabbed the toothbrush himself and started brushing his own teeth! How is he growing up so quickly?? In other growing up news, he points at his arms when we say arm/s, and we can now say "clean up!" and help him clean up his toys. He'll still fuss when we then take him away from the toys, but it's a step in the right direction.

Our other big news is that we are getting G a twin bed! We don't want to switch him out of the crib right before the baby arrives, so we figure we should start early with getting him used to his big boy bed. We'll probably start with the mattress on the floor to minimize any falling/can't get back in bed after getting out, but we think we've found a bedroom set on Craigslist that will work. It's so exciting!


Update: 4/22: G is 31" tall (10th percentile), 21 lb 10 oz (3rd percentile) and has a giant head in the 75th percentile :)

LOOK AT THE SUIT!!!

He loves the beach!

He's hard to catch nowadays

15 Weeks

How far along: 15 Weeks
Total weight gain: -7
Favourite clothes: A pair of gray yoga pants from target. Black shows too much dog hair
Sleeping: Decently, though it was difficult to sleep with James gone and a sick baby
Best Moment: Hearing the heartbeat it always a highlight for me
Worst Moment: Sometimes I just get down in a funk and feel really lonely and like the friends we have don't like us. I had a night like that this past week and it always make me just want to curl up in bed and cry.
Miss anything: Just the usual off limits things
Cravings: Sweets, BLT (still), salmon, nectarines, blood oranges
New symptoms: ACNE.
Looking forward to: April 28, ultrasound to check out all the organs and the baby's sex!
Crafting: Most of my crafting supplies are packed up right now, which is making me crazy because I want to make something! But I'm still working on the gnome outfit and the monster pants

Monday: We had another OB appointment Monday. I ended up being late because as I was driving to the appointment, I saw a dog on the side of the road. As I passed, he tried to run up to my car. I pulled over, thinking there'd be a tag on his collar, but no luck. He looked like his leg may have been injured at some point--he was walking kinda funny, and sat funny too. I called animal control to take him to the humane society and waited with him while they came. He was such a sweetheart, but would not get in my car for anything, not even animal crackers. I even lifted him in, and he jumped right out. Eventually, two guys who live down the road came out, and brought some rope for me to use as a leash. They ended up taking him so I could leave for my appointment, and I got a call from the guy who was picking him up about a half mile down the road--he'd seen the guys with the golf cart and dog, so I know he got picked up ok. I really hope they find either his owners or a new family for him because he was a sweet dog. (I was late, but the doctor understood; I had called ahead of time to explain)

Tuesday: I was running some errands and ended up in the yarn section at Michael's. A woman was there with her 2 year old son, who had just as much understanding of "indoor voice" as G. He was adorable and we struck up a conversation. Turns out she lives right around the corner from our house, so I've already met a nearby mom! We exchanged contact information and she told me to call her once we get settled. Hopefully I've found a playdate for G and a mommy date for me!
I got a call after this that G had a fever of 101 and had to be picked up. Luckily, James was able to leave work and get him (I was 45 minutes away). Poor guy was pretty hot and congested when I got home.

Wednesday: G couldn't go back to daycare on Wednesday, so I kept him home for a sick day. We watched too much TV and rested a lot. He developed a pretty nasty cough that kept him from getting much rest and we're still dealing with it now. His fever broke, and he felt much better by Thursday. The congestion and cough got so bad I ended up confronting my irrational fear of a pillow in his crib and putting one in. The only difference it seemed to make is that his bed head is now way worse. He moves around so much he hardly stays on the pillow anyways.
It might be teething. Fever, tummy problems, biting, lack of appetite...only time will tell if those molars are coming in because I'm definitely not getting my fingers anywhere near his mouth nowadays.

Thursday-Saturday: James hosted his first conference at Beckwith this weekend: Adults Who Work with Youth. Thursday we went to Pensacola to pick up his guest speaker, tacking on a trip to a hardwood flooring store and Sam's to pick up smoke/CO detectors. Since he'd be coming home after 11 pm and would have to be there by 8 am, he decided to just stay at camp, which meant two nights and three days without Daddy. G is all about Dad right now, so it's been difficult, and taking care of a sick baby who's not getting much sleep means a lot of stress and sleepless nights for me too. He ended up peeing on the floor of our bedroom right after I took him off the potty, and then I picked up a dead frog, thinking it was a dust bunny. I scared G because I screamed, loudly, for about a full minute. I wanted to wash my hand in bleach, but had to deal with it on my own. I joined the conference for lunch on Friday, and even though it ended Saturday morning, James didn't get back until 4 or so. Gee, I can't wait for summer camp.

Other than G's cold, it's been a pretty good week, although I'm realizing that the fatigue I indulged in with the last pregnancy was a true luxury. That just doesn't happen now. Not only is there a demanding little Tasmanian devil running my life these days, but even when he's not home, I need to use that time to empty/load the dishwasher, prep food, clean up after him, do laundry, run errands, get groceries, etc. His naps have gotten so short that I barely have time to shove food in my mouth and unload the dishwasher before he wakes up, so I can't get as much done during nap time now.

ALSO. I MAY have felt the baby kick Thursday night. I know it's really early, but it's only about a week and a half before last time, and it definitely felt like kicks. Yay!

15 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of Nemo!
(Ignore the floopy hair)

Starting to feel like a little goldfish is swimming around in my belly too! :)

14 Weeks

How far along: 14 weeks
Total weight gain: -7 lb

Favourite clothes: My love/hate relationship with maternity jeans has begun again. Love the comfort and fit (mom got me new skinny ones!) but I hate that they don't stay up

Sleeping: Not too badly, but I still can't seem to get comfortable

Best Moment: Closing on our very first house together! It's so exciting! And taking G to the park in Fairhope on Saturday was so fun!

Worst Moment: Sunday was a long, tiring day. James worked from 10-7 and I tried to run errands with G, but we were prone to tantrums

Miss anything: A glass of wine after a long day

Cravings:Sushi, satisfied with a grocery store crunchy roll. Candy; lots and lots of candy. Phish Food Ben and Jerry's ice cream

New symptoms: Nothing new, just intensified. I'm sick of dry heaving every morning and the acne is driving me nuts

Looking forward to: Vacation: warm weather, beaches, family and food! Also, no working for James!

Crafting: I'm still crocheting the newborn outfit and I need to finish those monster pants

This was a long week. We closed on our first house on Thursday, which is so exciting! We are really looking forward to making it our own and finally being able to put up pictures and decorate and finally feel at home and settled. Our contractor is working on scraping the popcorn ceilings, painting them, painting the walls and building a baby gate to keep G off the stairs. We chose a pretty green color for the baby'sroom; we'll find out the sex in another month!!

The weekend was what was really exhausting. James was conducting interviews for summer camp positions all weekend. In fact, on Sunday he had interviews from 10 am to 7 pm! Saturday, I took G to see the house; he had a blast running around his room and hiding in the closets. We headed down to the pier, which has a little park and two small beaches as well. G was OK in the stroller for a while but he got out and wanted to go look at the waves hitting the wall. I definitely had to keep a good hold on him, but he loved watching the waves and having them splash up in our faces. He laughed each time. Eventually he wanted to get down, so we went down to the little beach. I had not planned for this, but I had an extra onesie and a blankie to use as a towel. He had so much fun! He got soaked and incredibly sandy, but didn't get in the water too much because it was chilly. I found quite a few pieces of sea glass and G had fun grabbing handfuls of sand and little sticks. We ended up waking up and down the pier, and G was so exhausted by the end that he passed out for an hour as soon as we got in the car.

Sunday was difficult. G slept late, but we had errands to run so we left pretty early for Target. I went for dreft and ended up without about 20 other items of course. G was fussy, but was fine until I grabbed a gift for a birthday we're going to. He wanted to play with the toy, and totally freaked out when he couldn't. I mean full on screaming  tantrum. Nothing I did helped and I couldn't hold him and push the cart so we hung out in the cereal aisle for a while. He calmed down a bit but by that time he was exhausted so we continued to have little tantrums. He finally walked, flopping down on the floor for a tantrum once, and picking up every single thing on the end caps and walking down every aisle picking up everything within reach. While checking out, I had to chase him down about 5 times but we both survived. He fell asleep at his high chair and didn't even wake up when I changed his diaper before putting him down. I was beat; I haven't had that exhausting a trip out since he was an infant. Then we went to the grocery store. It went remarkably well considering that I always have to walk the store about 4 times to find everything and he usually freaks out. We used the cart that looks like it has a little car so he could play with the wheels. It took ages but he was very well behaved, only freaking out when he couldn't reach the toy he dropped by his feet. By the time James got home I was pretty much asleep on my feet. 

It was a pretty good week. We're looking forward to my OB appointment on Monday; it's always reassuring to hear the heartbeat plus we get to schedule the big ultrasound appointment! My friends are also coming to visit this week and I can't wait to see them and catch up and see how much her boy has grown. James has a conference next weekend too so we'll be pretty busy again!

14 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of a sea urchin

I had to use the self timer, so I'm sorry they're not great photos