16 weeks {aka Watch Mommy Grow}

Well here I am at 16 weeks pregnant. Still can not believe I am pregnant, still seems weird to me and this is my second.

Leighton's expression in this picture cracks me up. She gets upset if she doesn't get to be in the picture too! HA!

Just for the record I will probably only do the "bump watch" every 4 weeks.
1.) Because I live in a "I must be fair and equal to my children" mentality. While I realize this can not and will not always be true, there is a lot that I can keep "fair and equitable." I only privately journaled and took bump shots of Lo's pregnancy monthly {pre-blog}.
2.) Because let's face it this is pregnancy #2, I have already "been there done that," I would have nothing to say every week. I just don't notice all the "new" and little things happening like you do with your first. Plus, chasing a toddler all day leaves me paying little to no attention to the fact that I am pregnant and may or may not be experiencing something. HA!

So onto my monthly questionnaire. :)

How far along: 16 weeks

I feel so "big" for being 16 weeks pregnant {I was still barely showing w/Lo}, but I am carrying this baby so high, all my pics make me look even bigger than I am.

Total Wt Gain/Loss:+2 (total)

Maternity Clothes: None yet, but I have worn a few maternity dresses just for kicks.

Best Moment thus far: Feeling more movement. This time I started feeling movement at 12 weeks I am just sure of it! It wasn't a lot or often, but I know the early feeling and what I felt. I am also finally starting to attach to baby Q, I have for some reason struggled with that this time. I think I fear that if I love Baby Q, I don't love Lo...stupid I know, but I really have no other explanation for it. Also, I think that my whole world is not centered around being pregnant like with Lo, so I just never took the time to make the bond.

Gender: currently unknown.
My best guess is girl.
However, I am just so beyond thankful I don't make this huge choice and God does! Part of me really wants a boy, but then I will see two sisters together and my heart goes into a puddle...I want that for Lo...

Movement: Yes, it is often at night when I am laying still and quiet I can feel those awesome little flutters. I cherish the flutters...it's the beating me up from the inside I don't care for. :)

Milestones: The baby is starting to be able to hear us in there.

Food Cravings: Lord, everything. I have ADHD food cravings. Seriously, I will see a commercial, hear someone mention a food, or just plain be grocery shopping and BAM! I have to have it! Thankfully, most the time I do not act on it, but it is a riot. I never had cravings with Lo, so this is new to me.

What I miss: Not feeling fat every day. Ugghh. I am in that is she fat or pregnant stage. I have a shirt from my MIL that says "I am not fat I am pregnant" I want to wear it every day in public. So for now I am just thankful for my loose shirts that hid my "pudge."
I also miss being able to take real drugs for my ailments (ie allergies and headaches).

Sleep: Thanks to my delightful allergies sleep is no good anyway, couple that with getting up to tinkle 3x/night and I feel like a walking zombie every day. But at least for now I can still sleep on my tummy!!

What I am looking forward to: Getting the gender sono! We probably won't get it until I am 23 weeks though, because that is the soonest Chad has a day off. :(

Belly Button: In.

What I learned at my pre-natal visit: That doctors like to scare you by not finding the heartbeat in a reasonable amount of time! I hold my breathe every time waiting for that sound, even if I am 36 weeks pregnant, I still get nervous. Baby Q's heart rate 152. And my blood pressure is really low. Thankfully, I haven't passed out yet.

Symptoms: Still nauseous some days. Fatigue. Headaches. Extreme back pain. I was really looking forward to the 2nd trimester reprieve, but it has yet to show up. :( And Wild and crazy dreams. I really should write/post some of them because wow, I have no idea why these things pop into my dreams.

Interesting things that happened/anecdotes: My favorite thing right now is asking Lo "where is your baby sister?" and she will come lift up my shirt and kiss my tummy. It is melt your heart precious. She is going to rock as a big sister! I love her.

Blessing Box

Every week over at Extraordinary Love, Natalie host the Blessing Box. It is really such a great way to pause and be thankful for all the small (and Big) things in our lives. It always makes me think of that song "count your blessings name them one by one..." So onto a few of my blessings for the week.

1. Clothes and Stuff. This may sound trite, but I find myself complaining a lot about my clothes and how I need "new" ones etc etc. However, this past weekend I went through my closet and pulled out a bunch of stuff I no longer wear, it is all still very nice and hopefully, will bring new joy to someone else. Clearly, I have enough and there are plenty of people who would be ever so grateful to have what I have.

Also, we have some really awesome friends in our lives that have ever so graciously allowed us to borrow their daughters' baby/toddler clothes. Seriously, my daughter is dressed summer-winter-spring and fall until she is 4! (and she is currently 18 months!!) Do you even know how much money this saves us?!?! Not to mention other friends who have let us borrow other very expensive baby items. In all honesty because of their generosity, our little budget has hardly been "burdened" by the cost of a new baby.

2. Job. I work as a part time dietitian consultant. I am just so blessed to have a little job come my way where I can use my brain for something other than mommy stuff. It has been fun to get out of the house for a few hours and work and do my thing.

3. My daughter's love. This might sound silly, but I love when Lo returns my deep affection for her. As I mentioned above I am back to work for a few days. She and her grandma are having a fabulous time, but you have no idea how good I felt when I walked through the door and her face lit up and she ran to hug me tight!!!! I love it.

4. Prayer. I am so thankful to God for this lifeline to Him. I love the feeling I get after praying and feeling my burdens lifted. I also love watching God work through prayer and seeing His answers. The power of prayer amazes me, it seems way to simple to produce such amazing results!

To check out other's blessings or link up your own click on the icon above!

Miscellany Monday

Welcome to my random thoughts for Monday, to see other blogger's thoughts click on the icon above.

1. Leighton is a born gymnast. This child uses everything she can find as an apparatus to do all her "tricks." on. I am hoping to get her enrolled in "Y" gymnastics this October. It all really depends on our potty training status. Not that they require it, but I don't like going back and forth between diapers and big girl panties.

she uses any tiny ledge she can find as a balance beam.

2. So this brings me to potty training. We have spent most of the weekend potty training. You can read about it HERE in my Potty Training Diaries. My overall goal is to be potty trained by the time Baby Q gets here in 6ish months. I think we can do it!

3. I really have the moving "bug." Which if you know me at all know this is HUGE. I absolutely loathe moving. I hate the packing, searching, unpacking and getting re-set up in a new place. However, I am just really ready to move to the city where Chad teaches. It is only 20ish minutes from here, but it just seems like our whole lives happen there. There are some really great SAHM there and here there is no one to connect with really. Plus, a house with a different floor plan (ie 3 bedrooms UP) would be ideal with Baby Q on the way...still trying to figure that out with our current home arrangement.

4. Crazy, but 3 months have already gone by and I am back to work for my 5 days/quarter. Thankfully, Grandma Rachel has been watching Lo while I am working and Lo and her are having the best time. I really enjoy getting to work some, but the childcare thing makes it a bit stressful, I hate asking people to help me. Just my quirky personality, I feel like I have to do it all!

5. Finally, I am 16 weeks pregnant!! I don't know why but this just feels like a huge milestone to me. And boy is this pregnancy going by super quick. I feel like I just went to the doctor for my 3 month check just last week. I will have my "16 Weeks: Watch Mommy Grow" post up tomorrow, for those of you dying to see my belly! ;)

The Potty Training Diaries

Dear Diary,
We are now embarking on the (hopefully rewarding-- yes, it will be...someday...) uber challenging task of potty training. ::heavy sigh:: While I knew this would be challenging and require patience I do not currently (or probably ever) possess, I honestly had no idea how challenging it was/is going to be. It is kind of like before you have your first baby and everyone around you tells you how much your life is about to change...and you are like "I get it, I know my life will be different, just shut up already..." (or maybe that was just me?!) Anyways, then your baby comes and you then realize how right they were, you were oblivious. That is potty training.

Sporting our "Big Girl" Panties

Around 16 months I started talking to Lo about going potty in the big girl potty, since let's be honest I haven't gotten to potty by myself for over a year. She took right to it. She was so excited about using a big girl potty. She was very interested. So a few weeks a month later I finally bought a big girl potty chair. She was in 7th heaven. She loved that thing and played with it, AND most importantly wanted to sit on it. We toyed around with potty training to see and I felt like she was ready.

At 17 months we finally had some time at home and started this daunting process. My patience was not good, nor helpful to this process. She knew what to do. She would hold her potty for 2+ hours, but the second we would put her in big girl panties she would pee! grrr. After about 4 days of her being "stubborn" about it, I gave up. I know my daughter. She ::cough. like her daddy:: refuses to do anything that isn't her idea or choice. It doesn't matter how right mommy is or how smart they are they just "do what they want." The MOST frustrating quality they each possess!!


Now here we are at 18 months. I got a bunch of good tips and ideas on potty training from some awesome moms and it seems to be working. I also got a good helping of grace and mercy from God flowing through me too!

Today is Saturday. I told her she was a Big Girl and diapers are for babies. I put big girl panties on her and praised her every 5 minutes if her panties were dry. If she wet in them (which she did 4x) she has to go to the potty and practice pulling them up and down 10x (actually mommy does this part). After a few accidents she went to the potty a few times!!!! She was so excited to get M&Ms for going Big Girl!!!

I am so proud of her. I am hoping we can get this thing done in the next few days! And definitely before baby Q arrives. I only want to diaper one bottom! I know she can do it and I really think we may have turned the corner. ::fingers crossed::

I know this was long, but hopefully, we mommies can help each other with these "tasks." I will gladly take any tips or advice I can get. I plan to keep updating this to help future potty trainers and trainees out there. :)

Startin' Young

I am fairly confident she already knows way more about using a computer than I do...

Miscellany Monday

click on the icon to see what other Miscellany Monday's are out there.

1. I am a HUGE fan of the TV show FRIENDS. When I am pregnant my already very short fuse gets even shorter. So I really relate to Rachel when she was pregnant in season 8 and this has got to be one of my favorite clips from that season, because that is exactly how I feel right now. My husband is so lucky. HA! However to be fair he knew this would be me long before the "I do's" were said!

Click HERE to watch the clip, sadly there is no embed code. :(

2. Right before my sister Meg left for college, she came over to babysit Lo one more time and then spend the night. I guess it really tired her out running after a toddler for a few hours because the next day she passed out on the couch. I just had to snap this picture. There have been plenty of times I have referenced Lo's sleeping positions to that of someone else. This is it. Uncanny isn't it?!

Hahahaha, I will probably be laughing about this ALL day! If no one else enjoys it at least I know my family will! I love you Meg, and you KNEW this was coming!

3. A few long weeks ago I was in Wal Mart. ::insert shiver down my spine:: Honestly, I think I would rather have bamboo shoots shoved under my finger nails than go to Wal Mart, {praise be to God we got a Target 2 years ago!!} but at times it is unavoidable. However, the trip proved useful when we noticed that our sling had been re-called {not surprising really}.
Pictured below.

Anyway if you contacted Infantino you could pick a new product. I got this! I always wanted one, but couldn't find one that didn't cost an arm and a leg that would support my back. Here is Lo and daddy rockin' the infant carrier.

The carrier supports up to 35# which Lo is no where even near, so I guess she can break it in for her new "sister*. " :)

So IF you have that old sling, contact Infantino via their website and get a new product...there are several things to choose from.

4. Our house came with this beautiful deck. Not sure why the original owners/creators of the deck didn't protect it. So we bit the bullet and had it re-finished, sealed and protected, so we can enjoy it for years to come. It is such a nice place to get out and play with Lo and we are so glad we have it!

Before:

Chad will probably be mortified at the state of the yard in these pictures. He takes pride in having a very nice yard, and usually it is, but after 3 weeks of drought and extreme heat, nothing could be saved, unless we took out a small loan to water 5x a day...not worth it!

After:

*note: I am going on record that I believe this new baby is a girl {as does most of my family, including Chad}. Every fiber of my being says girl, just like when I was pregnant with Lo. While I will be over the moon happy to have a boy, I will be completely surprised if it is in fact a boy. However, I do know God likes to surprise me, so I guess we will know in 5-6 weeks!


Well, that is all I have for now. Nothing too exhilarating this week. All though my brain is swimming with a million things I shall spare you all of that.

FAQ about Baby Q

I know how nosey I am, so I thought I would answer some FAQs for those with inquiring minds about Baby Q.

But I want to first start out by saying, that this pregnancy has been very emotional for me because of my fertility issues and having such a sensitive heart to those around me struggling with infertility as well. Part of the reason I kept quiet so long was because I was terrified to go public and possibly {and probably did} cause hurt, heartache and pain to those so desperately wanting a baby. However, I am slowly starting to realize through much prayer, meditation and looong talks with Chad, that this is "the story of US" as written by God. These are the plans he has for us and our family and future. God is still writing their stories, I don't know how they will end, but I do know when God is the author of your story it can only end beautifully.


1. When did you find out and were you "trying"?
As most of you are aware at this point I (we) struggle with infertility. It took 15 months to get pregnant with Lo. Chad and I made up our minds after her that we would not prevent another pregnancy. However, after she turn 1 we were really hoping if we could get pregnant again it would be soon. {Like saying that was going to make it happen. HA!} Anyway I chose to get on clomid sooner rather than later and God willing the first round worked...this was very surprising and 110% completely unexpected to me.

I only took a HPT so I could get more clomid, NOT because I thought I was pregnant. On June 11 I saw the big plus sign and freaked.


2. How did you tell Chad?
Well, I wanted to be creative, but I just couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I just handed him the tests...he was a bit confused at first, but figured it out! HA!


3. Are you going to find out the sex?
Yes, I completely respect and admire those of you who wait all 40 weeks, but this girl is a 150% type-A planner! We should be finding out some time in early October.

4. Do you want a boy or girl?
I have "good" arguments for either. It would be nice to have one of each {because this is IT}, but then I really want Lo to have a little sister. I have all sisters and it is great {most of the time ;) HA!} Plus, I already have everything little girl and with them being born at exactly the same time it would save some money, at least at first. HA!

5. When is the due date?
Due to the clomid and my wacky cycles my due ranges from Feb 13-18, nice huh?! The 8 week sono couldn't give me a solid date either, so my doc chose the 13th...I love him. The earlier the better. :) Lo's birthday is Feb 15th, so we feel pretty awesome. HA!

6. How are you feeling?
I feel pretty good. Mostly tired. I had/have good days and bad days, but thankfully I don't have time to think about being pregnant while chasing after a toddler. Most of the time I "forget."


7. How and when did you tell your family and friends?
I wanted to keep it a secret for a bit. Mostly because I was freaked out it was twins {clomid increases your chances by 10%} and I just wanted to hear a heartbeat and see the baby. We told our families at the end of July using Lo's BIG SISTER shirt. All their reactions were priceless.
We slowly told friends once we had the 12 week sono. And FINALLY were able to get close friends told personally and go public this week!


8. Do you have any names picked out?
Yes and no. But this time {sorry grandmas and Misa} the names will be top secret until the birth. I want to do things differently this time, mostly just for fun.

9. Why "Baby Q?"
Since we aren't telling names, the baby needed a good nickname and this is what Chad came up with and it stuck. So this baby will be affectionately referred to as Baby Q, until his/her birth.

10.Have you had an ultrasound yet?
Yes, as I mentioned early we had a early sono at 7/8weeks to A) get a head count: SINGLETON PTL!!!!! B) Attempt to get an accurate due date: Fail. I am going to go to my mom's soon and get the sono scanned so I can upload it sometime. Overall the baby looks good and the heart has been beating away at 167bpm!


If you have any other burning questions I didn't cover just leave them in the comments and I would be happy to answer them.

Leighton Olivia 1.5

To my beautiful little girl. You are growing up so fast. I can't believe you are a year and half today {Aug. 15}. You have changed so much since those early days after we brought you home and even since we celebrated your first birthday. As I sit here, I can't help but be so thankful to God for giving us 18 wonderful months with you and we pray there are many more months and years to come. I know each day with you is a precious gift from God and I want you to know I don't take it lightly.


You bring us such joy and laughter, whether I am holding and snuggling you at bedtime and stroking your long beautiful locks or watching you eat your cheerios with a spoon and slurping up the milk from the bowl when you are finished. You are make us laugh with all your dance moves and cause a few headaches with your desire to assert your independence. But we wouldn't trade you for the world because you are our beautiful little girl that God chose for us!


We love you so much sweet girl and I am anxiously awaiting what the next six months will bring in our story.

Here is a run-down of all the things you are up to this month:


Milestones:
*Is it too early to call her a "south-paw" (ie Lefty)?! You really favor that hand and have for several months now.
* You are announcing to everyone you are going to be a BIG SISTER. (via her shirt ppl, she doesn't talk yet. :) )

Her facial expressions are priceless.

*Working on potty training, all I can say at this time is it is going. She "gets it," but she is also being stubborn about it...that is how she rolls.

*You go down the stairs forward now. Self-taught. You think you are SO big now, you should go down the stairs like big people.
*You can basically take your clothes off and almost get them on all by yourself. Not that you by any means have any desire to dress yourself.
*Not sure this qualifies as a "milestone," but you are getting a tiny birthmark on your thigh. Who knew you could get them months after birth?!
*You take actually walks with us and will walk a couple of blocks, before you get so worn out you must ride in your stroller. Wish I got pushed around in a stroller. HA!
*You know which dog is which. This is a great feat considering most adults can't figure it out. HA!
*You are doing really well at putting the puzzle pieces on your puzzle. You just work and work on it.

Language Skills:
*Things you are now saying-Book, Boys {in reference to the dogs}, Mail, Nose, Eyes, Mouth, Movie {thanks to the dvd player in our car...that is all she wants to do no matter how far we go} and Bowl. Very random words that put me in awe of the toddler brain.
*Nose is currently my favorite.
*You have sort of have a mini language explosion, we may be teetering on a big one!! Let's hope!

You are going to be such a good Big Sister. She is already a better mommy than me, she got her baby to be swaddled. :)

Eating:
*You are using a spoon and fork like a pro. I am impressed with the "little" mess you make doing it.
*However, you do like to play and explore your food. You seem a little behind on this activity, but I chalk up to your neat freakness.
*You love to drink your cereal milk from the bowl, which just makes me laugh and then you insisted on "more" milk in the bowl, so you can do it over and over and over again.


*You have decided you no longer enjoy lunch meat and would prefer a PB and J for lunch. You will eat PB on anything. (You prefer creamy to crunchy.)
*Your favorite snack is graham crackers, seriously buy stock in this people...we go through that many boxes! HA!

Sleeping:
*We are officially down to one nap. I thought I would hate it, but I actually love it! I don't feel trapped in my own home, I feel like I can actually schedule things and go places without worrying about you missing a morning nap and wondering what kind of pistol you will because of it. It.is.awesome! You nap anywhere from 2.5-3 hours. You go down after lunch (~1230p), but everyday just like clockwork you wake and cry at ~145p for about 10 minutes and then you fall fast asleep until 230/3oop. I so wish I had a video monitor...oh why did I think those were "stupid?"
*Bedtime has reverted back to being a nightmare. You are perfectly happy to go to bed, until you actually "go to bed." As soon as we lay you down the SCREAMING commences for at least 20-30 minutes. I.hate.this. I "hate" the cry-it-out method, but for you it is the only thing we can do, if we go to you it basically re-sets the "clock" and we eventually have to listen to you scream for the whole 30 minutes. I am longing for those "easy" nights again, when you just went to bed and rolled over and fell asleep!!!

Favorite toy(s)/book(s):
*You still love all books. Mommy doesn't. Each morning as soon as you are out of your crib it is the first thing you reach for, a book.



*You love your baby dolls.


THE next Nastia Luikin. For those of you who no nothing of gymnastic she and Carly Patterson are/were the "it" girls at the 2008 Olympics. I was a gymnast and I plan on making her one {and I don't care what the books say about living vicariously through your kids...this is why you have them.:) Saturday night Nationals were on and she stayed up and watched and clapped with me and then proceeded to start her somersaults and kicking her leg in the air like the gymnast's she was watching. Never had I been more proud!!

Anecdotes/Quirky things you do:
*You shake your head "no" at us when you don't want something, which is helpful, and better than hearing "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Currently I find it darling. Ask me in a few months if I still do.
*When ever you hear something or are listening for something you tug on your ear.
*You pick up all your bath toys at the end of your bath to signal you are "all done." Seriously, I don't comprehend your neat freak OCD trait, Grandma Jo will lives on! HA!
*Due to potty training we have taught you to plug your nose when you are "stinky." Each and every morning when I go into get you, you stand up and plug your nose and point to the changing table. You are so funny.
*You absolutely heart airplanes. Guess it is a side effect of living near an airbase. :) When ever you hear them you stop and search the sky for them. Thankfully most of the KC-31s (I think that is what they are called) like to fly very low for their touch and go's.

The other day daddy put in Top Gun for you guys to watch and you found it very exciting watching all those fighter planes. Daddy said your call sign could be Goose. :) HA!
You have just made your daddy (who may never have a boy) very happy. We can't wait to take you to the air show this fall.

Look at that HAIR! I am in love and jealous. And I can confidently say we have avoided the dreaded mullet stage! I don't know how, but we did!

*For snack each day you get cheerios, you usually spill most of the all over creation...sometimes on purpose. One day you dumped them on the couch and yelled "boys," so they would come "clean" them up...you thought you were so "funny."

Temperament:
*You are getting to be very shy and clingy again. It is like we have re-verted back to when you were 8-9-10 months old. Evidently this is normal...why didn't anyone tell me this?!!? Oh well, we will get through it.
*You are still sweet as pie. I love when you reach up to hold my hand. My heart just swells every time.
*You are what we like to call "quietly stubborn," I don't know where you got that from ::cough.Chad.:: Things have to be done on your time table. When you decide you are "ready" or want to do something you will, but not one moment before. God give me strength and patience. Amen.
*You are very "funny," you work so hard to make us laugh, which isn't too hard most of the time.


STATS:
*Diapers: size 2 swaddlers (yes, still she is tiny)
*Clothes: 6-9-12 months, just depends on the brand.
*Shoes: size 3 are getting snug and size 4 are a bit too big...wish they made size 3.5!
*Height: 29" (1%)
*Weight: 19#7oz (1%)
*Head: 17" (0%)


As always if you made it through all this congrats! And thanks for tuning in to another edition of "Watch me Grow." Just think in a few months you will get TWO to read! HA! Actually after she turns two I hope to just do 6 month updates. Fingers crossed. :)

Happy 18 Months Sweet Girl!!!

Blessing Box

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I stumbled on to this girl's blog and she recently started a Blessing Box link up. Literally, the day I found it I was thinking about how I need to do a post about all the blessings I have in my life. Mostly, because it is such a beautiful thing to see all the BIG and small things God does in our lives. So many things I/we take for granted and I want to just take a moment and pause and say "thank you" to God. Writing allows it to be tangible to me a way to truly remember. So with out further ado here are just a few things I am blessed by.

1. This beautiful little girl! For 18 months she has brought nothing but joy and laughter to our home. There were moments I was not sure I would ever be a mother (and not sure I wanted too either), but God is good and I love every second of being a parent to her...


2. and I feel truly blessed to be able to become a parent to our newest little one. Baby Q. It is hard to accept this newest blessing as I know so many want a baby themselves and my heart literally aches for them. However, I am remembering this is "the story of us" as God has written it and God is writing their story too, I can't promise them it will turn out the same all I can promise is God is in control and no matter the outcome of their story it will be beautiful.

I wish I had my 8week sono to upload, but I don't have a scanner :(

3. RAIN!!!! Oh my gosh, after 3 weeks of drought and HEAT we are getting rain! What a beautiful beautiful thing. I literally went outside the other night, raised my hands to the sky and prayed HARD for the heavens to open and give us rain. God listened ;) And I.am.thankful!


4. Family. I am a very part time consulting RD and without the help and support of my family I couldn't do it. I am a very FULL time SAHM and it is hard to find child care for 1 week every 3 months. My MIL is very graciously using her vacation days to watch Lo for me so I can pursue my career aspirations. THANK YOU! Of course, she doesn't see it as a sacrifice of vacation time, she sees it as a great time to spoil Lo, but to me it is a sacrifice I greatly appreciate.

Wanna to know a Secret?

Leighton has a secret she has been dying to share:

















This is what they are giving me for my second birthday...not so sure how I feel about that!