nineteen weeks

written September 27th

Seriously, where is the time going?  The first half of this pregnancy is flying.  Stressing me out just a little bit.  We really need to get cracking on the giant list of crap that I want to get done before baby is here.  Also wanted to note that I got comments on the belly from a couple of strangers.  I mean I feel like it is fairly obvious that I'm pregnant, but I also thought it was a bit bold of them :o).

how far along:  19 weeks (compare to 19 weeks with Ryann)

size of baby:  according to the bump a mango, about 6 inches long and weighing 8.5 ounces.  SHE :o) is developing the nerve cells in her brain for her five senses, and also adding the protective vernix caseosa to her skin to keep it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

weight gain:  4 pounds.  Gained just under a pound this past week.  Although yesterday the scale was saying an additional pound as well.  Hmm oh well.  I'll pretend I never saw it.

maternity clothes:  Sometimes I wear maternity pants, sometimes I still just go the hair tie route.  I have a couple pairs of colored skinnies I got at Target knowing full well at the time the waist was way too big, but they might just last me a little longer in the pregnancy, and they are decently comfortable buttoned.  Tops I either need a maternity top, a long top, or a long tank of some sort under my shirt.

symptoms: Some headaches this week and some round ligament pain after I run.  It is also starting to get uncomfortable to bend over and get on and off the floor.

exercise: Some how I squeezed in activity six days this week.  three walks (1 mile, 1.25 miles and 2.25 miles, one short session on the stationery bike (3.25 miles), and 4 runs (4.5 miles, 5 miles, 5.4 miles and 9 miles).  Still no strength this week, gotta get on that.

cravings/aversions: Sweets.  I'm trying to eat more fruit to curb the addiction, but it isn't helping.  And still just wanting random things that I see.  On Monday I drove by a KFC and I could not stop thinking about freaking fried chicken.  I didn't give in, but man.  I wanted it something bad.  Aversions would be olives, and eggs are starting to sound gross again.

movement: Yes, still not super consistent, and not a lot, but I get a few kicks every night.  Chris got to feel another one a couple days ago, but for the most part he can't feel them.  Soon enough I'm sure.

sleep:  I haven't been going to bed earlier enough (my own fault), I'm super congested, and right now I have a ton of bug bites that are waking me up because I'm scratching.  Fun stuff.

gender: Still in shock that it is a girl.  But I'm thrilled.  So excited for Ryann to have a sister, I really really hope they can get along and be close.

looking forward to:  Colder weather, so that I can legitimately eat cold weather food like chili and soup.  Also raspberry hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Can you tell I think about food a lot?  Also Chris's aunt is going to crochet some things for the babe and I'm super excited about that.

worries: I don't really have any major worries right now.  Just sort of freaking out about getting stuff done around the house, deciding what to do in the nursery and picking a name, I'm worried Chris and I will never agree, and never find something we really love.

what's different this time:  Not feeling confident in a name choice.  Even though we didn't officially decide on a name for Ryann until later on, she was pretty much Ryann before she was ever conceived.  This time I have some names that I kind of like, and Chris kind of likes some other ones, but there aren't really and major front runners.  If you have some suggestions for not overly popular names definitely throw them my way. 

milestones:  Finding out we're having another girl.

best moment this week:  The gender reveal party for sure.  I'm so thankful to know that there is another little princess inhabiting my belly and it was great to spend time with family and friends.  Also the ultrasound was pretty awesome.  Baby girl is looking great and it was awesome to see her.  Silly thing was hanging out with her feet way over her head.  I thought it was funny simply because I feel like if you're going to have some time not to be completely squished I'd think now would be that time.  Pretty soon she is going to be stuck like that!  Here are some of the shots the tech gave me:

that's what she said

I've been terrible about writing down some of the funny thing Ryann says, but I have a couple now so I better share them before they are completely forgotten about.

Me:  "I'm going to go make some lunch."
Ryann:  "No!  Stay and play with me.  Don't make lunch."
Me:  "Well sweetie if I don't make the lunch, no one will, and then we won't get to eat."
I walk into the kitchen...
Ryann:  "NO!  Stop it!  STOP IT!  Stop the lunch making!"

Ryann:  "I wanna jump off everything!"

Ryann:  Hanging from the counter at the gym while I check in.
Male Gym Employee:  to Ryann "Are you going to do some pull-ups?"
Ryann:  "I'm not wearing a pull-up.  I'm wearing UNDERWEAR!!!!"
Male Gym Employee:  Gives me the WTF look.

Me:  "No, we are not climbing on the couch.  It is time to get ready for nap."
Ryann:  "But the couch wants me."


Also, the kid has been dreaming a lot.  It is rather funny when she is recapping, because sometimes you have no idea if she is describing a dream to you or something she really thinks or really did happen.

Ryann:  "I was eating something in my crib."
Me:  "What?  What were you eating?"
Ryann:  "White glittery food.  With Ginger."
Me:  "What are you talking about?  Did you dream this?"
Ryann:  "Ummm... yeah."

Ryann:  While somewhat sobbing in the middle of the night, "Mama!  Mama!"
Me:  Go in to her room, "What is the matter Ryann?"
Ryann:  "Finish the song."
Me:  "What song honey?  I wasn't singing.  It's night time."
Ryann:  "FINISH THE SONG."
Me:  "Sweetie it is night time, I think you were dreaming."
Ryann:  "FINISH THE SONG!!!!"
Me:  "Uh, twinkle twinkle little star..."

Oh little miss, you are a character.

a day in the life - rebecca

Good morning.  Thankfully today is starting out slightly better than yesterday.  Yesterday I woke up to a charlie horse, a head so congested I swear it weighed 20 extra pounds and a pounding headache, not to mention a five mile treadmill run on the calendar (yeah, did exactly happen).  Today it is just the head cold and a three mile run outside.  I can do it...

Today I'm happy to introduce you to Rebecca.  I hope you enjoy a peek at her day!

***

Hi, I'm Rebecca and I blog over at Daily Rebecca. I've been married to my husband Andy for 9 years and we have a 2 year old little girl, Grace Ellen and another little girl on the way (due Dec 2012). We live in Michigan and my husband is a first year medical student who's also in the Navy. I'm a recent stay at home mom and I'm loving every minute of it! Here's a somewhat typical day in my life :)

9:05am

I hear Grace playing in her crib so I roll out of bed to get her. Don't hate! She doesn't always get up SO LATE, but she was up past her usual bedtime last night because we were distracted by some family stuff. She usually goes to bed around 8:00 or 8:30 and sleeps till 7:00-7:30. Still a great sleeper and I'm very thankful!

After a quick diaper change and a ritual grabbing of whatever stuffed animals are her favorites this particular day, we head to the kitchen for breakfast.

She asks for "pop, pop, pop! cereal" which translates to Trader Joe's brand Rice Krispies :) I prefer to give her something healthier like steel cut oats, scrambled eggs or organic yogurt with fruit, but this cereal has been a fun novelty lately, so I oblige.

I pour myself a bowl of raisin bran and we sit down to eat together. My husband is a first year medical student, so he's long gone for the day. He usually wakes up around 5:30am to study before heading to school all day. Today he is staying late to study with some of his classmates so we'll eat all 3 meals on our own. We miss him while he's gone but we're so proud of how hard he is working!

9:30am

After breakfast, Grace asks to watch some TV. I'm not a big fan, but I let her watch a little each day. I set her up on the couch with her blankie and favorite toys (for today anyway!) and flip on the Sprout channel.

While she's cozy on the couch, I bring out a bunch of butter for some cookies I'm making later and then I make myself a cup of coffee and sit down with my Bible study stuff. I started a year-long study at my church and I'm loving it so far :)

10:30am

I'm wrapping up my study time and Grace has started playing around the house instead of just sitting like a couch potato in front of the TV. I love watching her budding imagination at work :)

I have a few emails to get out and some blog writing to catch up on so I get busy with that while she's playing.

11:15am

Grace starts saying "Am hungry, mom!" which always makes me laugh. Both for the "am" part and the fact that she's started calling me mom. I much prefer mama or mommy, but the mom thing has been pretty hilarious.

I cut up a plum and some strawberries for my little fruit machine and she gobbles them up in a jiffy. If only she liked veggies this much, I'd be thrilled!

I'm actually writing this post as I go along today, so I work on it while Grace has her snack. When she's finished she runs off to play again and I somehow get sucked into the blog post, Facebook, Twitter and the vacuum that is the internet!

12:15pm

Normally this would be lunch time but since we woke up so late and had a mid-morning snack, I think we'll wait a little while to eat lunch.

I decide to step away from the computer and get started on the frosted autumn leaf cookies I'm making in honor of the official start of fall! The butter is nice and soft now dig into making the cookies.

1:15pm

The cookies are well underway and it's time to get some lunch for the little one.

Chicken orzo soup and some feta cheese. Random, I know. She's a lot pickier than I would like, so I try to get creative.

2:00pm

Someone's getting a little cranky so I know it's time for nap. I try to get her down between 1:00 and 1:30, but today is running behind from the late wake up so we adjust. Gotta be flexible!

Our routine includes a diaper change and some book reading in my bed. Grace LOVES reading which we are so happy about since my husband and I are both avid readers :)

2:15pm

We say a quick prayer and get Grace all cozy in her crib.

It's mama time now! I decide to make the bed and freshen up a bit. Now that I stay at home full time, I just don't feel a huge need to shower every single day or get dressed in non-comfy clothes. I'm also 26 weeks pregnant so the comfiest clothes tend to be yoga pants or sweatpants with a loose shirt.

I straighten up the kitchen and living room so that I can think straight and then my stomach starts to grumble since I'm running on a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal.

2:45pm

Lunch time for me! Today it's leftover chili with a nectarine and bottle of water. Yum :)

I really should be doing something productive like a load of laundry or frosting the cookies, but I'm feeling really lazy so I cuddle up on the couch to watch some Food Network. My favorite shows are on this time of day (Giada at Home and The Barefoot Contessa) so I decide to chill out in front of the tube.

4:00pm

Ok, enough laziness. I've got to get moving if I want to get anything else done before nap is over. Not sure how long Grace will sleep today, but so far it's been an hour and forty five minutes which is a nice mid-day break for me. Although lately Grace is so much fun that I miss her at nap and bedtime :)

I write a bit more of this post and then throw a load of laundry in before whipping up a batch of icing for my autumn leaf cookies.

4:30pm

I just finish mixing the icing and I hear Grace talking in her crib.

She's awake and happy so I decide to keep working on the cookies while she plays.

6:00pm

What was I thinking making a double batch of cookies?! I just finish frosting over 90 cookies and don't ever want to see another cookie! But they turned out really cute if I do say so myself :)



It's also time for dinner. Hubby is still at school (we packed him some chili for dinner tonight) and Grace is getting a chance to finish her bowl of chili from last night. Tonight's half goes down a lot easier because she really, really wants a cookie!

7:00pm

Dinner and cookie are finished and I've had a chance to clean up the kitchen after Fall Cookie Fest 2012. At this point I realize we haven't been outside all day and it's been a gorgeous Michigan fall day. We suit up with sweaters and head out for an evening bike ride around the neighborhood.

7:30pm

When we come home from our ride, Grace desperately wants to play in the sandbox so I sit outside with her for a while. Then my tummy starts to rumble and I realize it's late and I haven't eaten dinner yet! Those cookies really monopolized my afternoon :o) I persuade Grace to come inside and sit with me while I eat. She's still a little hungry so I give her half a banana while I eat some leftover red beans and rice. Yum!

8:00pm

We get a text from Daddy asking if we can FaceTime before Grace goes to bed. We've missed him all day so we're excited to see him via video chat! We catch up on our day and he and Grace play peek-a-boo. We let him know we love him and Grace says goodnight. Gotta love technology for times like this!

8:15pm

It's time to prepare for bed! For us this means a diaper change, getting jammies on, brushing teeth and reading a few books in my bed.

8:45pm

Reading is done and Grace takes a few sips of water before snuggling down with her favorite two fingers and about a million stuffed animals. We turn on her star projector, say our nightly prayers and it's lights out. She talks for a little while but gets quiet pretty fast.

I get back down to the basement to switch over the load of laundry and get another one started. Then I head to the couch with a few of my frosted leaf cookies, a glass of milk and More Business of Being Born on Netflix. I catch up on some social media via my phone and before you know it I hear the side door opening and my hubby is home.

11:00pm

Hubs chills out on the couch for a few minutes to watch some Monday Night Football (with cookies of course!) and I sit next to him and hammer out the rest of this post. Pretty soon I'll head to bed with my library book and read a little before lights out probably at midnight.

Thanks for hanging in there to hear about my whole day!

----------------------------

What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mom?

How Grace changed my perspective on just about everything. I have such a soft spot in my heart for children now that I can't even bear to hear bad news involving kids. The trivial things in life definitely seem trivial and I can't believe how much I love her and don't mind setting my own needs aside to take care of her.

What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be mamas?

You can do it. You're going to be an awesome mother and you should follow your gut but remain open to wisdom from other women who have gone before you. No two babies are alike so there is a lot to learn about your little one! Also, as controversial as it may be, I highly recommend sleep training. We followed the techniques in On Becoming Baby Wise and have had a wonderful, well-rested little one from early on.

What are your top 3 baby products?

It's been a while since we were in the baby phase, but I'd recommend a few things for when the baby transitions into toddler-hood. 1) Summer Infant Tiny Diner Placemat. This placemat coupled with a pocketed bib really, really helps keep food contained. Not so many lap or floor spills. I love this thing and still use it! 2) A suctioned bath seat like this one. Once baby is learning to sit on their own they want to be sitting rather than laying in the tub, but all the water sloshing around makes it hard to keep their balance. We loved our bath seat and only just put it away recently because Grace is too big to fit comfortably in it. 3) A star projector. Although Grace couldn't appreciate this early on, we started using it anyway. It became a nice signal that it was bedtime and now that she's older she loves to choose which color stars will be shining that night.

***

Thank you for sharing your day with us Rebecca!

our gender reveal party

As I've mentioned, Sunday we had our gender reveal party.  We opted to have a party, because Chris was unable to attend the ultrasound with me, and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate baby number two.  So at the ultrasound the tech had me look away, checked the goods, sealed the money shot in one envelope, and wrote the sex of the baby on a piece of paper and sealed it in a different envelope.  My friend Jenny picked up the second envelope from me and baked us a cake with all the answers on the inside.  So for everyone who was a little unsure, no, Christopher and I had no idea if the baby was a boy or a girl before the party.

My goal for the party was to make it cute and fun but keep it simple.  In the grand scheme of things this is a completely unnecessary party (well, I suppose every party is but that is beside the point :o) and since we couldn't schedule the ultrasound until about four weeks in advance, I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time to plan (except for I totally could have in anticipation of the date, but again, beside the point).  With my mom's help I think we succeeded quite well.  We kept the food pretty simple and the decorations to a minimum.  I opted to use aqua for the boy color so we could reuse stuff from Ryann's birthday party (namely the table cloths).  I knew I didn't want straight pink for the girl color, so I was considering yellow, then my mom suggested coral.  Perfect.  I found a couple of parties for decor inspiration (here and here) and we were off and running.  And this is what came of it...

On the menu was oriental smoked turkey pinwheels, Mexican style pinwheels, BLT pinwheels, veggies with tomato basil hummus from Trader Joe's and fresh vegetable dip, fruit with brown sugar dip, cheese and crackers and spinach & artichoke dip from Sam's with pita chips and Tostitos.  For dessert we had the lemon reveal cake, white chocolate dipped sugar cookies and peanut butter graham cracker balls (which were incredibly delicious, but apparently incredibly messy to make according to my mother).  We also had some citrus fruit punch, but ours never froze to the slushy stage.  Still pretty good though.

I ordered little mustache pins from etsy seller GreySkiesBlue (she is on a little vacay right now).  Katie was amazing to work with, very prompt in her responses.  I would have gotten the bows from her too, but she didn't have any coral felt and I was set on having coral bows.  TamTam to the rescue.  My mom made some bow pins out of coral fabric using this tutorial.  I believe she ended up putting a couple of stitches in the part that goes around the longer rectangle because they wouldn't stay glued down, but overall I think it was pretty easy.  Then again I had nothing to do with them :o).

The cake topper was made based off this tutorial.  Even though I didn't exactly follow the directions, I still thought it turned out pretty dang cute.  And it paired perfectly with the adorable cake Jenny made.  We thought about going through a bakery for a cake so no one would know, but after taste testing a couple cakes (Jenny's are way tastier) and them telling me they couldn't do exactly what I wanted (which really, wasn't all that complicated in my opinion), I said screw it and asked Jenny to do it.  If you're in the KC area and need a cake for a party I think she just might be starting to branch out into baking for more people, if you wanted to be connected with her let me know!

The paper pinwheel decorations where made roughly following this tutorial.  At first I apparently couldn't follow the directions correctly and was having a tough time, but Evie thankfully responded to my e-mail and set me straight and we were good to go.  They were fairly simple to make once I streamlined the process in my own manner, so I think I'll try to make my own tutorial in the next few weeks.  All of the pinwheels and poms were attached to the wall using command strips.  I haven't tried to take them down yet, so I have no idea if the pinwheels will stay intact, or if I've ruined the wall...

For the garland on the fireplace I simply made some tiny poms and punched circles out of cardstock.  Then hot glued the crap out of them.  There are two circle on each spot, glued with their backs to each other around the ribbon.  It was a quick and easy project, and I, um, started it at 5am the morning of the party.  I had been behind on time and not feeling so hot the couple days before so I didn't get anything made, but then the morning of the party I couldn't sleep so I figured why not.  It took me maybe two hours to put together?  Probably less.  It was fairly simple.  The most time consuming part was the little poms.

Here are some more shots from the party...

As you can see, the guesses for a boy definitely outweighed those for a girl (which was quite the opposite on the blog, with 60 out of 99 voting girl).  Overall I thought the party was great and a fun way to find out what we were having.  Honestly it was a little shocking when we cut the cake, because Christopher wanted a boy so badly, and I think I had willed the baby to being a boy in my head for him, so the bright coral cake was quite a surprise.

Thank you to all of our family and friends who came and made the day special, and a HUGE thank you to my mama for helping me with all this.  Everyone knows I couldn't throw a party without you.  Next on our to-do list (yes, after picking Halloween costumes mom)?  Designing another little girl nursery.  :o)  Can't wait!

counting down...

In case you missed it, we found out yesterday that Ryann was right.  She is getting a baby sister!  More on that tomorrow :o).

So, um, running?  It is getting harder, QUICKLY.

Well, ok. Surprisingly the running isn't actually that much tougher (still tough, just not too bad).  It is the after that is horrible.  Saturday I ran nine miles, stopping only when I hit a red light.  And as long as I wasn't going up a steep incline I felt pretty good.  But I don't think it was even five minutes after I was home that the round ligament pain had me holding the walls while I was walking, and wanting to lay in the fetal position on the floor.

Stupidly I jumped in a hot shower (after pounding a giant pancake left over from Ryann & Christopher's daddy/daughter breakfast date) hoping to somehow relieve the pain, which really just made me feel like I was going to puke and pass out.  But that was my own dumb fault.

Later in the day and all day today I've been perfectly fine, but man, those couple hours right after I finish a long run are excruciating, to the point I almost don't want to do it.  BUT, I've got three more long runs, twelve more weekday runs, fifteen runs total, and then the half.  I will survive it.  Definitely counting down though.  After the half I'm pretty sure I'll limit my runs to no more than five miles.

For you other crazy runners who have done some distance in pregnancy, do you have suggestions for a running belt of some sort to help with the ligament pain?  Or any suggestions at all as my pregnancy progresses as far as running is concerned?  I don't want to give up, I want to run as long as I can, but I really don't want it to be painful either.

I still lacked in the strength department this week.  Really need to work on that.  It will be my only goal this week.  Get in TWO, yes two, strength workouts.  I'm not saying they'll be impressive, or long, but twice this week I want to make it a point to at least do some freaking push ups.

What is your goal for the week?

 

Link up your health and fitness related posts below!  And thanks to everyone who linked up last week.  Five is the most I've had in a while, I SERIOUSLY love reading everyone's posts, it is inspiring and encouraging.

we cut the cake...

We had our gender reveal party this morning.  It was lots and lots of fun.  I had to resist the urge to poke the cake when my friend brought it over at 9:30am.  How cute is this thing?

But I held off.  We cut the cake just before noon and..........

IT'S PINK!  Baby girl number two is on the way!  I can't believe it.  More about our gender reveal party coming on Tuesday (hopefully).  For now I need to sit around and let the fact that I'll soon have another daughter soak in.

Happy weekend :o).

boy or girl?

First off, it is my mama's birthday, so send her all sorts of good vibes because she is the best.  Happy Birthday Mom!  We love you tons and I don't know how I would function without you.

Now, on to the boy or girl part... My ultrasound was today at 1:30.  Honestly I hadn't thought all that much about it, because I am so focused on Sunday, but it was so fun to see my little babe!  The question is, what did the tech write in the envelope?  Here are some of the oh so scientific ways of predicting the sex, along with which way it is leaning for me.

Are you carrying high or low?  Honestly, no clue, in the middle?
Is the heart rate above or below 140?  For the most part it has been in the 150's, girl.
Are you craving sweet or salty foods?  Meh, a combo of both, but for the most part sweet, girl.
Did your face break out like crazy?  OMG zits galore, girl.
Are you craving orange juice?  Yes, actually.  Apparently that means girl.
Did you have morning sickness?  Never puked, but I was very queasy for quite some time, girl.
Is your leg hair growing faster?  No, another one for girl.

My mom helped me do the ring test, and it swung back and forth.  I've found about 50/50 answers on websites whether that means it is a boy or a girl so...

Apparently according to the Mayans, if the mother's age and the year at the time of conception are both even or odd, it means girl, if one is even and one is odd it means boy.  So for me this means girl.

The Chinese gender chart says boy, but we are a little touchy in that one.  The odds are we conceived the last day of May, but also possible we did the first day of June, which would mean girl.  But apparently reading the questions above I need a nod for a boy so I'll give this one to the boys.

Some say kids have the best intuition, and Ryann is dead set on having a sister.

My intuition?  I've got nothing.  I'm going with boy, but I have no idea.

When I asked the tech if she was sure she knew boy or girl, she said it was obvious.  My initial reaction was that meant it was a boy, but she also printed me a shot of the legs from underneath where you "couldn't see anything", and I think I might see girl stuff.  But who the heck knows.  We will find out Sunday.  Oh, and for the record, today the heartbeat was 148, moving closer to that 140 cut off.

I've added a poll to the upper left sidebar, cast your vote!

eighteen weeks

written September 20th

The belly must be getting bigger.  On my way out the door after picking up Ryann at MDO one of the other mothers asked me if I am expecting, when I said yes the director of the program was walking by and said she was glad someone finally asked because she was too chicken to do it :o).  And the girl I trained with at the gym last year came up to me today and asked if I had any exciting news to share.  Happy to know that I'm looking a little pregnant and not just chubby!

how far along:  18 weeks (compare to 18 weeks with Ryann)

size of baby:  according to the bump a sweet potato, about 5.6 inches long and weighing 6.7 ounces.  Baby is starting to move all over the place, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, yawning and swallowing.

weight gain:  3.2 pounds.  Whew.  Don't know how I only gained .2 pounds this week, but whatever, I'll take it.  Kind of evens out the 1.5 pound gain from last week.

maternity clothes:  Yep.  Still a combination, but I've worn my maternity pants a few times, and even though my regular shirts in theory, the elastic panel on maternity pants goes pretty low so it hangs out if I don't wear a long tank or a maternity shirt.  I'm almost liking the hair tie trick on my pants better right now, and the long and lean tanks from Target work great for adding a little length under shirts that are too short.

symptoms: The headaches have been a little stronger this week, and I'm starting to get some round ligament pain.  Mostly when I over do it a bit.  Tuesday I ran 5.35 miles, then quickly had breakfast, took a shower, got ready and carried my suitcase downstairs and then loaded it into my car (which my mother offered to do and I didn't think it was necessary).  After that I could barely walk.  Sitting in the car for an hour on the drive back made the pain go away (but of course made my head hurt like crazy).

exercise: I felt like I took a lot of rest days, but apparently it was only two for a total of 5 days of workouts.  I got in a 2.25 mile walk, a 3.5 mile bike ride, and four runs, 3.35 miles, 5 miles, 5.35 miles and 9.6 miles.  23.3 MILES.  And my right leg can tell you all about it.  I think the most impressive part of the 9.6 miles was the fact that I made it the entire way through without having to pee :o).

cravings/aversions:  In general I would just say the days I do a hard workout I mostly crave food.  It doesn't matter all that much what it is.  Usually I don't know what I want, and then I start eating and I find out.  The things that win out are sweets, Mexican and this weekend all I wanted was Fritos.  My only for sure no is still olives.

movement: Yes!  Yes yes yes!  Tuesday (September 18th) I was talking on the phone and swore I felt a few thumps.  Pretty sure I completely lost my train of thought in the phone conversation.  That night we used the doppler to listen to the heart beat and baby was moving around like crazy, I could feel him/her kicking the little wand.  And Wednesday night while laying in bed I got a few decent kicks, one that even Chris felt.  So not a lot, but I'm starting to feel something, and it is absolutely amazing.  By far my favorite part of pregnancy (until the kid gets so big that every movement hurts, but you have to take the good with the bad I suppose).

sleep:  Sleeping on my stomach is pretty much gone, but that only seems to be a problem if I'm having  a hard time falling asleep in the middle of the night.  I've been waking up (woken up) a decent amount this week, but surprisingly was able to go back to sleep.  So I guess it was ok.

gender: Honestly I really don't know.  I think I'm going to list out all the old wives tales today, but for the most part those are all bogus anyway.  The good news though, is I think I've really gotten excited about both a boy and a girl.  Not that I ever wasn't, but for several weeks I really wanted another girl more.  I'd be very happy with another girl, more bows and cutesy stuff, Ryann would have a sister close in age, I think the three of us could be very close.  But with a boy I get to do all sorts of shopping again :o) and I want Christopher to have a son, and I know I want to have a son someday as well, so if now is the time I'd be thrilled.  So either way, I'm just excited to find out.

looking forward to:  My ultrasound tomorrow (Friday) and finding out boy or girl at our gender reveal party on Sunday!!!!!!

worries: Right now I'm mostly worried about finishing my to-do list this week.  I haven't been as productive as I should have been the last couple of days, and now I'm worried I won't check everything off.  But I suppose that is minor.  I'm also a little worried the tech will slip tomorrow or I'll see something on the ultrasound, and won't get to be surprised at our party.

what's different this time:  The pregnancy seems to be going by quicker (I say that now...) than it did with Ryann.  I'm sure that is because I have a lot more going on, and much less time to dwell on the baby.  I can't believe how close I am to halfway.  And then the holidays will start and then all the sudden it will be 2013 and then we will be having a baby!

milestones:  Finally felt some movement!

best moment this week:  Feeling movement, crating some stuff for the party with my mama (she is the best, I need to say that a million times because she just is), and getting a gymnastics leotard for Ryann because ohmygawd her little bitty body in a leotard/unitard is so freaking cute.

project 366 {week 37}

I apologize for the lack of 'a day in the life' today.  I completely forgot that I didn't have anyone scheduled until Monday, whoops.  Then I thought maybe I'll share some of my favorite toddler products right now or something, and that obviously didn't happen.  Between some crafting some things for our gender reveal (this freaking Sunday!!!  wohoo!!), three design projects and my headaches that are back with a vengence this week, I'm not quite on my game.  Plus there is that whole being a wife and mother thing I've got to do too.  So, yeah.  You get some more pictures of my kid.  But they were coming anyway, so no difference.

Ryann's favorite thing to do right now is jump on the furniture, off the furniture, from furniture piece to furniture piece...  Pretty much anything that involves jumping and the danger of an injury (ironic since it wasn't all that long ago I thought she was behind developmentally because she couldn't jump.  i'm an idiot).  So one afternoon I made a jumping area full of pillows she could jump on.  That lasted all of about five minutes before she was trying to find furniture pieces to launch herself from.  Gah.  I tried.

Also we bedazzled a $1 microphone from Target, and Ryann puts on some pretty sweet performances now.  It is hilarious and amazing.