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!!

February in Pictures

February went crazy fast! When you're ready for spring to get here, that's awesome. When you have a ridiculously long to do list of things that need to get done before your second child arrives and you have jam-packed fun-filled days then that's not so great. It's my own fault I haven't accomplished more, and I won't lie and say that afternoon naps haven't been wonderful and I haven't been loving all the fun days with Gwendolyn. Despite not being where I'd like to be in the baby preparation department, I know I'll cherish our library time, play dates, leisurely mornings, and ECFE classes. 

It'll all get done. (I've been repeating that to myself a lot lately.)

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

The picture on the left was taking the morning after we got home from Mexico. Right back to being a mom!

Most of the time, Daddy does bath time while Mommy sits for a heavenly 20 minutes in the recliner. I do feel like I miss out though since I often hear a lot of giggling up there. Gwendolyn does not like having her hair washed, but otherwise loves to play and be silly with Daddy.

Left: Eating her banana ice cream (made with just frozen bananas and some milk in our Vitamix.)

Right: "I'm ready to go to Kathy's house, Mama!"

Always a book worm.

Enjoying a free MacPhail Music Class at the Cottage Grove Library with our friends.

Amanda and Chris came to visit!! We hung out Friday night and then went to a bunch of furniture stores Saturday morning. Tom and I were debating about buying a storage bed as part of our plan to empty out the guest bedroom closet to make room for "Rory" and Amanda and Chris were looking for things for their new house (building!!)

I told Gwendolyn to go lay down and pretend to be asleep, which she does perfectly pretty much on command. This bed cracked us up. Every little girl's dream, but so impractical!

After falling in love with an Amish-made bed that would have lasted the rest of our lives but also cost us our lives (well made things are not cheap), we decided to purchase Space Bags instead. My life is forever changed. That's 15 winter sweatshirts and sweaters you're looking at below. All of my winter clothes for next year are currently vacuum sealed and stored neatly under our bed with room to spare instead of taking up shelves in the guest bedroom. I'm not overly excited to open the bags and discover just how wrinkled everything is come end of September, but sometimes you just gotta pay the price. And thankfully, I know how to iron. Plus, my mom taught me the damp towel in the dryer trick. Booya. 

Left: She had somehow ended up in our bed that night (no clue how that happened *wink) and while I was getting ready the next morning in the bathroom, the door opens and there she is standing like a little person with both blankies in hand. Makes me smile.

Right: Due to our poor timing and bad weather, we missed Nathan's dedication at church, but were able to enjoy celebrating with brunch and play afterwards.

A bed of diapers....so comfy. 

Lovin' on Daddy....

Remember the Mommy & Me class Gwendolyn and I used to go to when she was first born? Well we've stayed in touch with several of the moms and babies from class - and added a few news ones! - and so we had to try and replicate the birthday hat picture from the little party we had in honor of all of their 1st birthdays. What a hoot. Of course, my daughter was a stinker both times.

February 2012: 

February 2013:

Hot pursuit of Colby's poor cat!

Watching the dog in the basement (who was probably so relieved to be behind a gate from these crazy toddlers.)

Left: Gwendolyn with her Valentine's from Miss Kathy's! She carried her bag around so much, the handle broke.

Right: You can commonly find us like this. 

I love everything about this picture. The way all of those pillows and blankets and animals started her nap off at the other end of her crib. Her messy hair. And closed eyes. And peaceful look. And beautiful lips. And princess sleep sack. And how almost everything is a shade of pink. She can be sleeping and she tugs on her mama's heartstrings...

Matching nail polish? You bet!

Sledding with Papa, Trishy, John and Brooke in Eden Prairie  She'd go down as many times as people would take her!

Playing and singing...

Sunday afternoon sleepy time...

See...our favorite spot. This could mean several things...

I am in my 3rd trimester.

Our daughter is a snuggler.

Our daughter is a Mama's girl.

It's winter.

We're home bodies.

We love family time.

We're taking a break from work.

Or all of the above.

I'm going to go with #8.

Happy Monday, friends!!