March in Pictures

March was the big 2nd birthday month! We celebrated for days (literally). Now that's my kind of birthday!

We checked out the Washington County "Bunny Hop" in Cottage Grove one Friday night. You moved from room to room and there were all sorts of fun things for little ones to do....crafts, play doh, toys, large motor room (slides, trampoline, etc.), story reading, and a guy doing music. She loved it! And as a mom, I just love that stuff. I love seeing her with kids her own age and it was especially fun to have daddy be able to come with us so he could see her in that environment as well. We paid $10 and got a flimsy "free" book, but it was a great time.

She cracks me up....she doesn't get scared of Santa's or people in large bunny costumes!

Daddy took a Monday off and we were off to the Mall of America in our attempt to squeeze in some fun family activities before Rory arrives and also to celebrate Gwendolyn's birthday since we didn't have a party this year. What a GREAT day! I was bummed b/c I couldn't ride any of the rides (I'm such a thrill seeker, you guys) but I thoroughly enjoyed watching her expressions (or lack thereof) from the ground. She loved the first ride and was pretty serious the rest of the time. But it still melted my heart to see her out there with her daddy doing such "big girl" things.

We had a great gift certificate for Rain Forest Cafe (her meal was free for her birthday and then $5 off our bill of $20 or more.) 

Cheers to being TWO!

They even sang Happy Birthday to her! I think she was a mix of confused and slightly embarrassed *smile.

Babies heartbeat was up in the 170's during my appointment on the March 8th, so my midwife Bridget wanted to hook me up to the monitors for 20 minutes to make sure it came back down. They have this great cozy room with a recliner, couch, pillows, magazines and a TV all set up for little ones to watch a movie if their mommy has to have monitoring. She loved it, and to be honest it was quite relaxing! 

Thankfully, his heartbeat did come down and all looked great. 

I've heard such great things about this open play at a place here in town called Perpetual Motion so we checked it out with some friends one Friday afternoon. There were little obstacle courses, balance beams, foam pits, trampolines and little things for them to climb over and under and through. (Can I play?!) She thought it was great. The timing bites as it was from 11:30 to 12:30 so she spent the last 10 minutes with her head on my shoulder, but all in all it was a lot of fun. 

The trampoline!

She had to hold on to my hand, but I was so proud of her for going across the balance beam! Jumping into the foam pit at the end was a bit too daunting, understandably.

34 weeks...no hands!

Another big day - moving her car seat to forward facing!!

She and I went on a road trip down to my parents so I thought she'd enjoy being able to see out before the 2.5 hour drive. I was right!! She's much happier and more content and we had a great trip both ways. 

It was fabulous to see some of my bf's from high school for our annual progressive dinner. Never a dull (or quiet) moment and it's amazing how having 8 hours together still isn't enough time. I think we would need a full week! Love them all so much! Also loved meeting sweet Hattie Jeanne who was born at the end of January!

She loved me, can't you tell?!

Look who just thought she had to join us for the main meal (which was so fab - go mom and dad!!)

She enjoyed bananas while we savored our creamy brown rice, asparagus, and parmesan crusted salmon caught in Lake Michigan.

Such a mama's girl...

This is her in the church nursery having snack time. It was her second to last time in the "infant" room and it was our Sunday to volunteer so I grabbed a quick pic to document her with her friends. I always love seeing all the little ones up to the tables eating their graham crackers and drinking water from sippy cups. Cracks me up. You know your child is ready to move on to the next room (despite you possibly not being ready) when she starts bossing the other "babies" around. We shouldn't laugh, but we caught her pointing her finger at one of the little girls and saying "no no". 

Yup, she's ready for the 2 and 3 year old room and hanging with kids her own age! We actually transitioned her yesterday and they couldn't believe it was her first day. When we picked her up, the leader said she washed her hands and drank from a cup as if she'd done it a 100 times! So cute.

A family from daycare was selling some things so we picked up this cradle and highchair and she loooooves them both. Here she is taking care of her "triplets." She told me that they were having "pizza" for dinner. Yum!

As I was observing her, she gave each of them kisses. So thankful for her tender heart!

Tom took another day off so we could check out the Children's Museum in St. Paul the day before her birthday. I had a bad feeling as soon as we pulled up and saw school buses parked out front (key word "buses") so it was a bit crowded for our liking, but a nice little family adventure.

Doesn't take a whole lot to entertain a 2 year old (well technically, she is 1 and 364 days in this picture.) Gwendolyn ran up and down this ramp over and over and over and over again and only stopped b/c we pulled her away.

The water tables were a hit!

Craft time...she thought the glue was pretty cool.

The mini grocery store was awesome....she loved "shopping" and unloading her cart.

Tunnels are more fun with daddy! 

We wrapped up the month with a date day with Grant and Brooke. They're moving back to Ohio in May....boohoohoo *very sad face. We took them to Lookout Ridge here in town, got ice cream, ate popcorn and watched a movie, and then had dinner at McDonald's. (Sounds like the perfect day to a pregnant girl!) Love them so much and will miss them like crazy. Gwendolyn adores them and it's been so.much.fun having them 30 minutes away for 2 years! We were spoiled!!

Easter....

After church, we headed to Eden Prairie for a fabulous meal and Gwendolyn's first Easter egg hunt. Finding things and putting them in a basket is totally up her alley!

The kiddos open some gifts from the Easter Bunny...

 

Woah, that was a busy month!! This doesn't even include her birthday pics, which I hope to get to soon. Like really soon since I'm nervous/wondering if Rory may decide to make his appearance early. I may be in the final days of my pregnancy, but really for the most part I am feeling great and am not quite ready. Although, I realize I don't get a say so I should probably be ready.

Off to get lots done!

Enjoy your Monday!

36 Weeks with Baby #2

I'm actually 37 weeks tomorrow, but here's my update for week 36 nonetheless!

(Picture taken last Sunday on Easter. Too many layers to do bare belly.)

How Far Along: 36 weeks on 3/29/13

Size of baby: Weighing almost 6 pounds and measuring about 18.5 inches. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Just under 15 lbs. 

Maternity Clothes: You bet!

Gender:  A boy!

Movement: He literally didn't stop moving for 1.5 hours last night. I video taped it so I'll have to upload it. It was unreal. They say they stop moving so much this late in the game? I don't think he got the memo. 

OR he's little and has room to do aerobics. (Gwendolyn was 8 lbs, 1 oz so I'm not getting my hopes up.)

Sleep: Some nights are so fabulous and some nights just.are.not. Like last night. Up twice. Moaning with every turn. I'm still amazingly able to not use a bunch of pillows like I was with Gwendolyn, but it's like a 3 minute process of rolling over. I exaggerate, but only kind of.

What I miss: I miss being 27 weeks pregnant when I still had a cushy 13ish weeks to go and I was frolicking by the pools of the Riveria Maya. Time has flown by since then, and we're suddenly down to three weeks (if we're lucky!) with taxes unfinished and a naked car seat (cover is air drying) and unpacked bags. But we'll be fine. (Repeat to self 148 times a day.)

Cravings: Wish more tasted and sounded good!

Symptoms: Ligament stretching, overall body achiness, full out waddle, overly emotional, forgetfulness, stiff upon standing, constantly feeling like I have to pee, random spurts of energy followed by extreme tiredness, etc. (The joy of the Lord is my strength! Sing with me now! *smile)

Best moment this past week: His heartbeat was 130 at my midwife appointment yesterday, and she confirmed he was head down (phew!) Gwendolyn was so sweet (she wasn't so sweet at my previous one - little miss TWO year old.) She stood right beside the table on the step stool and was so curious about everything. After my exam (that will be my first and my last until I'm in labor) she said, "my turn!" I told her she wasn't missing out.

Also, his closet is ready! It's organized and his clothes are sorted and folded and hung and everything has a place. While we were at it, we organized and decluttered Gwendolyn's closet as well, which makes me feel so good. I bought these from Amazon and they fit on their shelves perfectly. 

Huge, huge, huge thanks to Rory's Uncle Greg and Aunt Natalie for supplying his adorable wardrobe for the next year. I couldn't pass up a few good sales, but truly I wouldn't have needed to buy a single thing. We are so beyond blessed by friends and family.

Sleep tight! 

(As Gwendolyn would say.)

"What the?!"

Gwendolyn was doing some work on the computer this morning and randomly pulled this video up off our desk top and I realized I never shared how I told Tom I was pregnant with baby #2! Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Gwendolyn!

It was literally my first day as a stay-at-home mom - August 20th, 2012. Isn't that hilarious? And so fitting. I had a feeling I was b/c I was late so without even having taken the test yet, we picked up some newborn diapers while at Target along with a pregnancy test, came home, took the test, waited.................(seems to take forever, right?!) saw the word "PREGNANT" (love you Clearblue) and paced around the living room a bit with a giant smile on my face.

Tom had wanted to be there when we took the test with Gwendolyn but said he didn't have a preference with this one (don't take it personally my precious son) so I was excited to try and come up with a way to surprise him with the news. Upon receiving the confirmation, I replaced all of Gwendolyn's diapers with itty bitty adorable newborn diapers knowing that Tom would be willing to change her diaper after he got home from work if I asked him to. My plan worked perfectly and upstairs they went. It's hard to hear, but right around 20 seconds he says, "what the?!" as he picks one up for the first time. He's funny when it comes to finding out we're expecting. With Gwendolyn, we saw "PREGNANT" at the exact same time and he looked at me, threw his arms out, and said, "congratulations!!" I was like, "you're not supposed to say THAT!" and we laughed and laughed.

So anyway, here's the video. It was kind of fun to surprise him this time, but so hard to keep it a secret for a few hours before he got home. My heart was racing as he walked upstairs!

 

We're getting clooooooser!!

p.s. Gwendolyn looks like a baby! What a difference 6 months makes at this stage. Wow!

Baby Doll

There's a new baby in our house, and it's not baby brother. I'd like to introduce to you "Baby Doll".

She was named by her mommy, Gwendolyn. Baby Doll and Gwendolyn are rarely separated these days. She stays naked most of the time (babies need their diapers changed a lot so it's just easier.) Occasionally both mommy and daughter decide to bare it all together, which doesn't bother me one bit since Gwendolyn has the most squishable belly and ridiculously adorable long and lean legs that I wish I could say she gets from me.

It's important to strap Baby Doll in before going on a walk. Looks like they're all ready to take a spin!

She's a very good baby. She rarely cries, which is actually quite shocking since she is probably quite cold (ya know, being naked and all) and she occasionally gets dropped and stepped on and is often held by an arm or a leg. 

Baby Doll has a very calm and sweet temperament. She loves being rocked and sang to, both of which Gwendolyn is very good at.

Gwendolyn is a very organized mommy. She actually overpacks her diaper bag and is sure to take it everywhere, just in case. In the car. To Target. Downstairs. Upstairs. Church. Like any good mommy knows, you can't forget the diaper bag! In addition to the basics (diaper, wipes, two bottles, spoon, plate, food, ointment, etc.) she has extra socks and a small book in there as well. 

Gwendolyn takes very good care of her baby and is very hands on.

Well....................most of the time.

I'm sure we can all understand that sometimes mommies just.need.a.break. 

I don't blame her.

Needless to say, it's been an exciting couple of days since we brought Baby Doll home from Gwendolyn's daycare birthday party. And then she got a Minnie from Aunt Trishy and Uncle "Don" on Saturday so it's just been over the top fun around here. I mean, who doesn't absolutely love having a new baby in the house?!

*smile

34 Weeks with Baby #2

Recently many of the conversations around the house go something like this...

"Tom, I'm pregnant."

"I know."

"We're going to have a son."

"I know! So crazy."

"We're going to have two children."

"Yup."

"But seriously. I'm pregnant!"

Just like with Gwendolyn, I take time each day to just think about him and look at my belly and take it all in. He's in there and growing and kicking and Lord willing, he'll be here in a little over a month. (Although my sister reminded me this morning that she went 2 weeks early with her second.)

Some people say your subsequent pregnancies go really fast. I wouldn't say that's been necessarily true for us. Some parts have, but some parts definitely haven't. I still feel like I've been pregnant since August. Ha. While I'm keenly aware of the fact that I'm pregnant, in this crazy way I still just can't believe it's all really happening!

Just for fun, I thought I'd look back and compare to what I looked like at 34 weeks with Gwendolyn. (I think I'm carrying them pretty much the same? Maybe a bit bigger with Rory than I was with Gwendolyn? What do you think?)

How Far Along: 34 weeks on 3/15/13

Size of baby: Weighing about 4.25 pounds (like an average cantaloupe) and measuring about 18 inches. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 13 lbs. I've been *gently* encouraged to eat more. Although at this point, I'd only gained 18 lbs with Gwendolyn.

Maternity Clothes: Feelin' like a whole new pregnant woman with a few new things in my wardrobe!

Gender:  A boy! (If I didn't know what he was, I think I would be convinced it was another girl at this point b/c his heart beat was up in the 170's at my appointment on the 8th. That was a bit high so they hooked me up to the monitors for 20 minutes and it came back down to the 140's/150's. Perhaps mommy had too much coffee.)

Movement: We have a little bit of a show off in there I think. He likes to make his presence known.

Sleep: Sleeping while in your 3rd trimester is just hilarious. It's a bit hit or miss right now, but I'm so thankful that I can sleep in in the morning (7ish) and I'm not sure I've ever taken a bad nap *smile.

What I miss: I miss the energy. We haven't left the house in two days b/c nothing is urgent and the thought of getting her in and out of her car seat and walking to and fro in the snow and cold just kind of makes me want to stay home in my warm and cozy house and color and read books and blog and get some work done. We'll survive without eggs and olive oil for now.

Cravings: Wish more tasted and sounded good!

Symptoms: Ligament stretching, overall body achiness, tired, occasional waddle, overly emotional, ya know...the normal stuff. (It's normal, right?? *smile)

Best moment this past week: Gwendolyn and I traveled to my parents this past weekend and I got to spend Saturday evening with five of my best friends from high school for our annual progressive dinner. It never fails to be a wonderful time and makes me so grateful for friendships that will always stand the test of time. Love those girls and our memories! And we also loved seeing grandma and grandpa and Marina. Gwendolyn was sweet and easy for me the entire time. (Thanks girl!)

Tom had the grand privilege of staying home and having a day and a half to get our taxes done - gooooooo Tom!  

Babymoon to Mexico!

Well I was super bummed b/c I spent several hours working on a slideshow with all of our pictures from our little babymoon to Riviera Maya at the end of January, but after two failed attempts at it actually saving and no one responding to my questions on the Picasa forum (grrrrrr), I concluded a slideshow just wasn't meant to be. (I also just really, really want to get this off my to do list AND I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seat waiting for these pics! *smile)

So get excited b/c instead you're getting photo collages! But before you do anything and to enhance your viewing experience, please have Jason Castro's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" playing in the background. You can click here to find a nice version. It's probably a good thing I bought that song to use for the slideshow and not the tropical bongos song like I had originally wanted but Tom talked me out of. (He's so wise.)

Because what in the world would I do with that song ever again in my life?!

We stayed at the Grand Mayan in Riviera Maya and it was far more than I was expecting. It took so much effort to get out of the house (preparing to have someone stay in your home while you're away is a lot of work!) and of course I was nervous about leaving Gwendolyn for that long. Like with most things in life, I worried for nothing. I had barely looked at the resort before we arrived so I was just overcome with it's beauty once we got settled. We went hoping to sleep, read, relax, talk, and eat all without distractions and it that and more! It was really a great time to reconnect and spend time together, and I feel immensely blessed by the part Tom's parents played in it all - allowing us to use their timeshare and taking off a week to take care of Gwendolyn. She had an absolute ball with Mimi and Papa and her cousins that she honestly didn't even notice we were gone.

So with that, pictures at last! Enjoy!

(Click on the collage to view them larger.)






The gorgeous views around the resort:

They had photographers at the resort and their work looked really beautiful (not cheesy). It would have been sweet to capture the bump and remember our trip, but we just couldn't justify the cost. Plus we didn't take the nicest clothes. And it was really windy down by the beach, so I had a feeling I wouldn't have been super happy with the final images unless they had some amazing ability to hold my hair in place.

Tom said he could try and take some of me instead, and I think he did a great job considering what we had to work with! Thankfully we found a woman (from Minnesota!) who knew something about cameras, so she was also able to capture a few of the two of us together. Sweet memories!

27 weeks with baby brother:


Outtakes from our trip:


Home, sweet home!!

It was near 11:00 pm when we got home so she was a bit out of it and pretty sleepy, but boy was it good to have that little girl in my arms!! The pictures and videos we received from Auntie Trisha while we were gone were so cute and hilarious and really helped to tide us over!

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

I'm pretty sure Tom's mom aka "Mimi" has more energy than I ever will. No wonder Gwendolyn didn't notice we had even left - she was constantly being entertained!

As you can see from this video, things got a bit loud and crazy while we weren't here. Ha. One of my concerns upon returning home was that Gwendolyn would find me completely lame, but thankfully she didn't *smile.

1:07 and 1:11 are my ultimate all-time favorites.

Are we not blessed?! So thankful for family and my husband and our sweet daughter and God's provision over us as we traveled to and fro. Retreats like this one, whether short or long, are good for the marriage and the soul!

Happy Friday!!

p.s. 34 weeks today! AHHHHHHHH!!